[Truyện Tiếng Anh] Cowgirls Don't Cry

Cowgirls Don't Cry
Cowgirls Don't Cry Page 20



“Maybe last night when I was up walking the floor with him at four a.m. I considered loading Landon up and driving to your house.”

“I can imagine.”

While she struggled—Brandt sensed she wanted to say something—just for a second, he closed his eyes and pretended this was a normal night in his life. A sweet, ***y wife to come home to. Supper on the stove. A cold beer nearby. As the phantom life teased him, he inhaled slowly. The scent of her shampoo drifted into his nose, filled his lungs. The scent was hard to place—a mix of fruit and honey. But beneath that aroma was the undeniable heady scent of Jessie. Which was better than any perfume in the world.

“Brandt.”

“Mmm?” He let his thumbs sweep across the muscles between her shoulder blades.

“You said ‘backing out of this deal’.”

“And?”

“And what am I getting out of this deal?”

That snapped him out of his fantasy lickety-split. “What do you want?”

“I don’t know yet. But I’m thinking about…some things.”

Brandt angled just a little closer. “Anything you want, Jessie, all you have to do is name it and it’s yours. Anything.” Before Brandt felt ****y or relieved, or hell, even hopeful she’d wrap herself around him and kiss him, she bolted.

“I’d better get these groceries put away, huh?”

He’d didn’t push it, not now anyway.

Landon woke up about halfway through Brandt’s first beer. The kid started out cranky, but that morphed into sweetness after Brandt dosed him with grape-flavored Tylenol. Landon dragged his blanket with him and curled into Brandt as he sat on the couch, watching the news.

Even Lexie sensed something was wrong with her tormentor. She sniffed his feet and put her head on Brandt’s lap so she could lick Landon’s hand.

Landon wasn’t interested in eating Jessie’s beef and noodle casserole. He didn’t suck down his bottle like a junkie, either. Brandt hated to watch Jessie eating alone, but he couldn’t move now that Landon had finally settled down.

After about an hour, Jessie said, “Why don’t you tuck him in bed? I don’t think he’ll wake up. He’s had a rough couple of days.”

“So have you.” Brandt grinned at her. “Want me to tuck you in bed too?”

Jessie blinked. Blushed. Then a sneaky smile stole across her face. “We’ll see.”

When Brandt returned from putting Landon down, Jessie was washing dishes. He rolled up his sleeves, snagged an embroidered dishtowel and stood beside her. Right beside her.

She gave him a strange look. “What are you doing?”

“Helpin’. Doesn’t seem fair that you cooked supper and have to wash the dirty dishes too.” He rinsed a plate and began to dry it, still feeling her eyes on him. “What?”

She smiled. “Thank you.”

“At your service.”

They chatted easily, although Brandt was surprised by how long it took to wash dishes with two people…until he realized, Jessie was dragging out their time together as much as he was.

Don’t hope, man. You’ve done this before and it nearly destroyed you.

When she began to rub the back of her arm, Brandt took a chance. “Want me to do that?”

“Nah. It’ll probably be fine by tomorrow.”

“You sure? Because after I left the doctor’s office today I stopped by Healing Touch Massage and talked to AJ. I told her you’d been carting Landon around nonstop for three days, and she gave me some specific pointers on how to loosen up those muscles.”

Jessie’s eyes went wide. “Seriously? You did that? For me?”

“Yeah. I don’t think you understand how bad I felt leavin’ you here with him, when I promised that wouldn’t happen. So I’d like to make it up to you.”

“By giving me a massage?”

Brandt held up his hands in the face of her obvious skepticism. “No biggie if you don’t want it.”

“Would my clothes be on? Or off?”

Think with your head, not your dick. Do not blow this. “I believe AJ said the part of your body bein’

massaged needed to be uncovered. So since it’d be an arm and back massage, probably I could work around a…short-sleeved T-shirt or something.”

A thoughtful look crossed her face. “How about if I wore a sports bra?”

Hell yes. And maybe some of those ass-hugging boy shorts. “Ah sure. I suppose that’d be okay.”

“Where we doing this?”

“In your bedroom,” slipped out right away. Dammit.

“Okay. Give me about five minutes?”

“Sure.” That’d allow him time to brush his teeth, shave, see if he’d brought four or five condoms…

No. He had to be a perfect gentleman. Just a massage. Nothing else.

That sucked.

He drank the rest of his beer in the kitchen. At the five minute and thirteen second mark, he knocked on her bedroom door. “Jess? You ready?”

“Uh-huh.”

Brandt stepped over the threshold and the first thing he noticed was her butt. She hadn’t worn sweats, but ass-hugging workout shorts.

Do not do a celebratory fist pump, man. Act casual.

His gaze leisurely followed the curve of her back, the very ***y, very feminine curve of her back, stopping when his eyes reached the wide band of her black sports bra. It criss-crossed between her shoulder blades and the straps separated and disappeared down her front.

He’d forgotten what all that creamy, mouthwatering flesh looked like in the flesh.

Jessie looked at him strangely. “What’s wrong?”

“I just realized I forgot to ask AJ one thing. Where am I supposed to sit when I’m givin’ you a massage?”

“Good point. How about if we both sit on the bed. You can sit behind me.”

“I guess that’ll work.”

She sat in the middle and crossed her legs.

Okay. Brandt had to keep his groin from touching her backside because then she’d know he had a hard-on, which had popped up the instant it’d gotten wind he’d be putting his hands all over her.

“Brandt?”

“Hang on.” He scooted behind her, trying to spread his legs out, but damn, he wasn’t very flexible.

Maybe he could reach her from here. When he brushed his fingers across the slope of her shoulder, she jumped.

“You sure you wanna do this?” Killed him to say it, but he did anyway.

“Yes. It’s just…I’ve never had a massage before and it’s awkward to sit like this when I can’t see you.

It just startled me.” She stopped babbling and sighed. “The truth is, no man’s hands have touched me in a really long time, and I think I forgot how to act when it’s anyone’s hands but my own on my body.”

“This is supposed to be relaxing you, not makin’ you nervous.”

“I know. Let’s try again.”

Thank God. “Close your eyes.” This time when Brandt put his hands on her, she didn’t flinch. Her skin was so warm. So soft. So pale, compared to his rough knuckles and sun-soaked flesh. When he dug his thumb into the base of her neck, she moaned.

“Did that hurt?”

“No. It feels good. Really good. Keep going.”

He thoroughly massaged up and down both sides of her neck. Then he moved to arc of her shoulders, concentrating on the section between her shoulder blades. After that he branched out to her arms, earning another series of soft grunts and groans.

No matter how hard he tried, Brandt couldn’t help but wonder if Jessie would make the same throaty sounds if he used his thumb on the sweet spot between her thighs.

“God, Brandt. If this whole ranching gig doesn’t work out for you, I’m thinking you could give massages for a living.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment, although I wouldn’t enjoy givin’ someone like Bart Clarkson a rubdown.” Brandt shivered, imagining the crotchety old timer’s wrinkled skin and flabby ass. “And I’d hate to be accused of bein’ ***ist, because I’d only wanna put my hands on ladies. Young ladies. Definitely would scar me for life to see some of the senior citizen set spread out on a massage table.”

“But having a hot, young, studly cowboy rubbing them down?”

Jessie had just called him hot and studly.

“You’d make a ton of money, and I bet your tips would be outta this world.”

“Now you’ve gone too far.” Brandt smoothed his hands down her sides, somehow just knowing how ticklish she was.

She screamed, “Brandt!” and tried to squirm away from him.

He held fast, keeping hold of her ribs as she rolled, taking him with her. She wiggled to the other side of the bed, and Brandt released her, letting her think she’d won.

Wrong.

Once she let down her guard, he pounced, she shrieked again, and he pressed her back into the mattress, squeezing her thighs together with his knees as he pinned her arms over her head. He leaned forward. “I oughta tickle you until you cry for mercy for puttin’...

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He couldn’t stop himself from sweeping her hair from her face, then gently running the back of his knuckles from her temple to her chin. This woman who’d given so much, wanted to give more. “No. This was for you. I did it because I wanted to, Jessie. I enjoyed it, but I don’t expect anything in return.”

Her eyes softened. So did her body.

As much as he wanted to stay…That was his cue to leave.

Brandt scooted backward on his hands and his knees until he was off the bed and his feet touched the floor. “I’ll get up with Landon tonight if need be.”

“Thank you.”

“Get some sleep. See you in the morning.”

He made it to the door before she said anything.

“Brandt?”

“Mmm?”

“How did you know my ticklish spots?”

“I didn’t. But I sure do know them all now.”

She laughed, a little huskily, and said, “Oh, you don’t know all of them.”

Damn. Was that…suggestive?

“Goodnight.”

As Brandt tossed and turned on the couch, he replayed every second of their interaction. Twice. At the end of the third dissection, he’d determined Jessie probably wouldn’t rebuff his ***ual advances this time.

While that possibility caused a gnawing feeling of anticipation in his gut and made his dick stir with interest, it also served as a warning. He’d have to wait for Jessie to approach him about making a change in their relationship. Not because he intended to punish her for turning him down previously, nor did he want her to beg, but he had to be one hundred percent certain it was a change she initiated—not a change she was reacting to if he suggested they become lovers.

It’d be hard as hell to wait. But he would, because he knew taking that next step, a permanent one in his mind, would definitely be worth the wait.

“I think your best option is just to walk up to him, stark naked and say, Ride me, cowboy hottie.”

Jessie glanced up from tying a bag of garbage. “You cannot be serious, Simone.”

“What’s the problem? It’s direct.”

“A little too direct.”

“Girlfriend, ain’t no man gonna turn and run when faced with a ***y, naked, willing woman such as yourself. Trust me on this.”

Problem was, Jessie had seen a man turn and run when faced with her naked, willing self. Well, in Mike’s case it was more like he fell down and passed out, but still, it’d happened.

“Trust Simone on what, Jessie?” Skylar asked.

Crap. She blushed. “Oh, nothing.”

Simone harrumphed and said, “Later,” leaving her alone with Skylar.

Thanks, Simone.

Jessie spent an extra long time securing a knot in the plastic garbage bag, hoping Skylar would leave.

“I have a confession to make,” Skylar said, moving in closer.

“What’s that?”

“I overheard your conversation with Simone.”

Jessie looked at her boss. “Which part?”

“The ride me, cowboy hottie part. I’m assuming she meant Brandt.”

“Yes, but it’s not what you think.” Liar.

“So you’re not planning on riding him into your bed?”

Don’t blush. “I am. It’s just…” A whole new possibility to me and I’m flustered with you grilling me about my plans. “I imagine you want to talk me out of it.”

Skylar shook her head. “Exactly the opposite.”

Jessie wasn’t expecting that.

“Look, although our situations aren’t similar, in some ways they are. I sprang a surprise baby on Kade. He moved in to help me take care of her. I insisted we just be friends and parenting partners, nothing else, meaning absolutely no way, no how, was I having *** with him.”

“How long did that last?”

Skylar smirked. “You’ve seen my husband. So, oh, about two weeks before we were getting naked together at every opportunity. I hope this isn’t too much information, but I wanted to let you know, I’ve been exactly where you are. And I almost let the best thing that ever happened to me get away because I was afraid to take a chance.”

Kade and Skylar had a nauseatingly perfect marriage, so Jessie doubted the truth to that statement.

“Like you, I had past relationship issues to work through. Like Brandt, Kade had family issues to work through. I wasn’t sure if Kade wanted me, or if he only cared about me because of Eliza.”

Okay. So that did sound a little familiar.

“The point I’m trying to make? Brandt is a great guy. He’s crazy about you. I know you’re crazy about him, too, and well, it wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world if you two got to know each other on a whole new level, would it?”

“No. But this…situation with Landon isn’t permanent. I don’t want it to be permanent. But Brandt wouldn’t mind if it was. So can I start something with him knowing I’ll have to walk away?”

“The better question is: how can you be willing to walk away from him now and not be willing to take a chance that you might never have to walk away from him?”

For the psychoanalytical slant she used to make her statement, Skylar could’ve just said, you’ll never know unless you try. Jessie smiled. “Thanks, Skylar. I appreciate your candor.”

“Good.” At the door, she turned. “For what it’s worth? Simone was dead on. Getting naked always works.”

Chapter Nine

“Landon is down for the count.”

“Thank God,” Brandt muttered. “You have the magic touch. I swear the kid looked like he’d punch me in the face if I so much as touched him.”

She rolled her eyes. “He’s a little young to start brawling. But he is a McKay, so I wouldn’t be surprised.”

Brandt took another pull off his beer and gestured to the couch. “Sit down and take a load off.”

Jessie paced to the door, peering out the window, cursing her nervous energy. Hah. Who was she trying to kid? She was just plain nervous. This seemed like such an easy idea in the truck on the way home from work. Get naked. But it was two hours later and she still had her clothes on.

“Something on your mind?”

She couldn’t un-stick her tongue from the roof of her mouth.

“Jess? You know you can tell me anything,” Brandt said.

Yeah, just spit it out. You turned him down once. What’s to say he won’t do the same to you…just to even the score?

She closed her eyes, trying to slam the door on the self-sabotaging portion of her brain. “This…the way we’ve got this set up isn’t working for me any longer.”

He exhaled a frustrated burst of air. “Okay. What’s the problem?”

“I’m tired—”

“We both are. That said, I can probably pick Landon up earlier and take him back here until after you get off work so it’s not—”

“This isn’t about Landon. It’s about…us.”

“Us?” he repeated.

“Yes, us. Living in the same space. Sharing everything.”

Another one of his thoughtful pauses. “I’ve tried to keep to myself and not cause you extra stress.”

Jessie whirled to face him. “That’s what’s not working, Brandt. I am stressed and it’s because you’re everywhere. In every part of my life. In every part of my house. We eat together. We do chores together.

We take care of Landon together. We watch TV together. You’re the first person I see when I get up in the morning and you’re the last person I see before I go to bed at night. We’re acting like a married couple.”

The muscles in his jaw rippled and he gritted out, “And that bothers you?”

“Yes, dammit, because we’re doing all the hard day-to-day couple stuff without the benefit of the good couple stuff.”

“Such as?”

“We’re not sleeping together. And if we’re gonna act like a married couple then I want you naked in my bed every night.”

Brandt’s mouth dropped open so fast Jessie swore she heard his jawbone crack. Then his eyes tapered to fine points and his entire posture changed. “Since when?”

“You want an exact moment? How about last night when you gave me a backrub? I wanted you to stay with me all night and rub more than just my back. I know you’re probably thinking I’m crazy since I freaked out last year when you told me you wanted more than friendship.”

“What’s changed?”

“Honestly? Me.” Jessie briefly closed her eyes. “I’m not as emotionally raw as I was even four months ago. I’ve also realized I don’t want to spend my life unwilling to take a chance because I’m scared.”

“I scare you?”

“Yes.”

Embarrassment flickered on his face.

“You don’t scare me physically. There’s an intensity to you that is intimidating as hell. There are no half measures in your world, Brandt. It’s all or nothing. Being with a man like you would be unlike anything I’ve ever experienced.”

...

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But Brandt flinched. “Jessie that’s not—”

“True? Yes, it is. Yet, I know you would’ve tossed me a pity **** if I’d asked.”

That shocked him. But he recovered quickly. “You sure?”

“No. I’m not sure of anything. Except I can’t get you out of my head since you’ve moved in. All that mundane household **** that oughta be boring and I hated doing by myself? I look forward to doing it with you. Even when you’re driving me crazy with lust.”

“Crazy with lust?” His dark eyebrows winged up. “That’s a stretch, ain’t it?”

His skepticism might’ve sent old Jessie scurrying to her room to hide. But new Jessie soldiered on.

“Every night after you get out of the shower and the scent of your shaving cream drifts out of the bathroom I fantasize about you rubbing your face and that scent over every inch of my skin.”

Surprise and something else like…desire flashed in his eyes, which spurred her to keep going.

“Sometimes when you’re talking to me? I’m so busy staring at your mouth, imagining your kiss that I don’t hear a single word you say.”

With that, his surprise changed to recognition. So Brandt had noticed her attention to his lips whenever they were within kissing distance.

“But know what really twists me into knots? Seeing the way you look at me now.”

“And how’s that?”

“Like you no longer see me as sweet, innocent Jessie. That if you ever got those big hands of yours on me, the last thing you’d be with me…is sweet. You’d get a thrill pushing past my boundaries, the ones I had before Luke and the ones I’ve erected since Luke. You’d derive great pleasure in showing me facets of ***ual intimacy that I’ve been denied—or denied myself.”

“Fancy talk.” Brandt ****ed his head, as if he was trying to study her from a new angle. “I’ll admit, you’ve got me pegged better than I ever thought you would. With one exception.”

“Which is?”

“If we set this in motion, I’ll demand more than just physical intimacy from you. It ain’t only gonna be about scratching an itch, Jess, because I can get that any time I want.”

How had Brandt picked up on her plan to prove to herself that she could experience *** without the pesky emotional ties?

Because he knows you better than you’ve ever given him cre*** for.

“I’ll expect a different kind of intimacy than what we’ve had in the past. A connection between us that has nothin’ to do with Luke.”

She looked away.

“What?”

“It’s a nice thought, but this connection has everything to do with Luke and there’s no way we can ever get around that. Besides, you brought Landon into my life, Brandt, and he’s connected to Luke. We wouldn’t be in this situation if not for him. And maybe Landon’s presence has forced us to deal with this-”

she gestured to the space between them, “—so I’m done denying the pull is there.”

“Is this ‘pull’ something you recently realized? A proximity thing? I’m a man, I’m here, I’m good enough to **** for a few months?”

Jessie twisted her fingers together. “It’s more than that and you know it. After you made that pass at me, I convinced myself you were exactly like Luke—biding your time until your charm earned an invitation into my bed. You’d get your fill of me, work me out of your system and move on. And no, you can’t fault me for that mindset, because of my limited experience with men, and my experience with Luke in particular. Plus, I wasn’t so sure you wouldn’t be using me to settle a score with Luke.”

“You really think that lowly of me?” he bit off.

“You really think I’m a clichéd horny widow desperate to screw the first man who smiles at me?” She didn’t bother to bank the anger in her eyes when she met his glare head on. “If that was true, I wouldn’t have waited two goddamn years, would I? I wouldn’t be asking you to touch me, would I? I could’ve found another man to scratch that itch in the four months since we last saw each other. But I didn’t. Something held me back.”

“Again, nice sentiment, but spell it out for me.”

“I want no-strings *** for these four months we’re together. At the end of those four months, we’ll walk away.”

“Just like that?”

Be strong, be confident. “Can’t we try it and see?”

“What do we tell people? Because you know my family, they’re gonna ask.”

“We are living together, even if it’s temporarily. People are already gonna assume we’re sleeping together, especially in the gossipy McKay family.”

“So if Skylar comes right out and asks you if you’re with me? Will you tell her that we’re just **** buddies?”

She couldn’t confess that Skylar encouraged her to get naked with him. “What would you rather I told her? That we’re attracted to each other, but we’re keeping our hands off each other because it’d be like Luke was in bed with us?”

She’d struck a nerve with that. She hadn’t meant to but there was no sense in apologizing now.

“I’m not Luke.”

“Then stop acting like him,” she snapped. “Quit trying to tell me what I’m feeling is wrong. I’m being completely honest with you. I’m telling you this because I realized if we start this, I’d own my ***uality for the first time in my life. I want that. With you. Starting tonight.” Jessie took a breath, figuring she’d said enough. Too much probably.

He studied her more intently than she was used to. With an edgy stillness that seemed totally foreign to him.

The longer she stood before him, the more her paranoia built.

Finally, Brandt pushed to his feet. His dark eyes remained on hers as he deftly skirted the coffee table and the pile of Landon’s toys. He stopped in front of her, his big hands clenched at his sides. “Starting tonight, but especially this first time, I call the shots. All of them. I own your ***uality. We clear?”

Talk about being the big, bad wolf. Jessie nodded.

“Say the word so there’s no misunderstanding between us.”

She swallowed and said, “Yes.”

Brandt slanted his mouth over hers. But he didn’t kiss her with lust-fueled passion. He drank her in—

with his eyes, with the short, choppy breaths he pulled into his lungs.

Although Jessie was pretty sure he wanted to take a possessive kiss, he didn’t, which indicated his monumental control.

His tongue darted out and slid along the plump inside curve of her bottom lip. A leisurely, sensuous glide across the sensitive flesh that caused her mouth to tremble even as her lips parted in invitation. But he didn’t dive in for a greedy, openmouthed kiss. He lightly swept his damp lips over hers. Repeatedly. Male hunger and hot breath, tempered with softness that was unlike anything she’d ever experienced.

He gauged her responses and inched closer, but didn’t allow their bodies to touch. Heat shimmered between them.

Jessie actually felt dizzy from want. What would he do if she fisted her hands in his T-shirt and just took the kiss she craved? His warning, This first time, I call the shots, forced her to truly surrender to him.

And that’s when Brandt kissed her.

Holy mother of God did the man lay a kiss on her. His hands framed her face with utmost gentleness as his mouth conquered hers. Dominated. Destroyed. Ignited.

After several minutes of proving his mastery, Brandt changed the angle of his head, taking the kiss from fiery to flirty. Sucking on her tongue. Nibbling on the very edges of her lips. Kissing the corners of her smile.

“Jessie?” he murmured between kisses. “Can you do something for me?”

Her head buzzed. She had no idea how her body remained upright when he’d turned her inside out.

“Jess? Darlin’? Are you listening?”

“Umm. What?”

“Hang on.” His hands dropped from her face and he took her arm.

She thought he was taking her to bed, but he detoured to the couch. She blinked at him. “What are we—”

“I’m getting to it.” Brandt curled his hand around her jaw, feathering his thumb across her kiss swollen lower lip. “Take your clothes off.” Her eyes must’ve given away her confusion because he clarified, “I don’t need a striptease. I need you nekkid.”

With shaking fingers, Jessie gripped the edges of her mock turtleneck and tugged it over her head.

He’d seen her naked before, but her whole body flushed with color anyway.

Brandt didn’t help with her clothing removal, besides the heat in his eyes urging her to hurry.

Next she unhooked her bra, tossing it on the floor. She yanked to release the button on her jeans.

Brandt’s hand shot out and held her shoulder as she shimmied the denim down her legs. She’d hooked a finger in each side of her black lace panties, when Brandt’s rough hand covered hers, forcing her to look...

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What a rush, seeing Brandt’s take-charge side. In the last week she’d been thinking a lot about the kind of lover he’d be. And thank God sugarcoating his demands wasn’t his style.

She barely got a peek at his **** before he commanded, “Hands on my thighs.” He grasped the base of his dick in his right hand and rubbed his ****head across her lips. “Open.”

Jessie let her eyes drift shut in anticipation of tasting him, of pleasing him, of pleasing herself by admitting how much she wanted this, wanted him.

His gentleness during the slow glide across her lips, over her teeth and across her tongue, surprised her. As did the loving way he framed her face in his hands, sweeping his thumbs over her hollowed cheeks up to her temple. “Beautiful.”

The musky, salty, utterly masculine flavor filled her mouth and zoomed straight to her core.

His gentleness vanished without warning. He held her head tightly, angled her neck and rammed in fully so the base of his **** rested on her bottom teeth.

She opened her throat against her immediate reaction to gag. She relaxed her jaw and sucked air in through her nose. The circumference of his dick was thick enough that her lips were stretched to the limit.

But man, she loved this. Giving in to him. Giving it all to him.

“Look at me.”

The only things she could move were her eyes. The satisfaction in Brandt’s caused her heart to jackhammer. Caused her pulse to pound between her thighs. In that moment, she knew there was no going back. Anything that happened between them would be so much more than ***.

“I’m gonna want you usin’ that mouth more. Swallow.”

She did, but it wasn’t easy.

“That’s it.” He withdrew, leaving just the head balanced on the edge of her teeth. “Use your tongue.

Good. Oh, yeah, I like that.” Then he flexed his hips and buried his length into her throat again, starting the rapid in and out thrusting that told her he was already close to the edge.

Mired in a ***ual haze, Jessie listened to his play by play of what he wanted. Of how hot she looked.

How ***y she was. How much he’d wanted her. She lost herself in the deep cadence of his voice. In the heat of his **** driving into the wetness of her mouth. In the feeling of connectedness to him. In his tenacity.

He swore and stopped halfway in her mouth, until the tip rested on the back of her tongue. He said,

“Suck. Jesus. Suck hard. ****.” He grunted and hot semen burst against her soft palette.

She sucked and swallowed, tightening the seal on his spasming ****. Wanting to blow his mind.

Wanting to keep this bond as long as he allowed. Those big, wonderful hands went from gripping her head to tenderly caressing her hair to tapping her jaw so he could slide his spent **** free from her mouth.

Before he could get too far away or say anything, Jessie grabbed his butt. She pressed kisses to his left thigh, moving up to kiss his hipbone and over to rub her mouth across the trail of dark hair that started between his pectorals and ended right there. He twisted her hair between his fingers as she nuzzled this ***y part of him.

“Jess.”

“Hmm?” He smelled so good in this spot. She nuzzled again.

“Enough. Baby. You’re killin’ me.”

She froze mid-kiss, not daring to look at him. “You don’t like it?”

“I love it. But it’s my turn now.” He stepped back.

Jessie glanced up just as Brandt dropped to his knees. Oh man. He wasn’t looking at her face. At all.

A delicious curl of heat ebbed through her.

His hands circled her hips. He slid the lower half of her body off the couch cushion, practically ripping off her panties, uttering a terse, “Brace yourself.”

She scrambled to lock her arms when Brandt’s rough-tipped fingers scraped the top of her thighs as he spread her knees apart.

A half snarl left his throat. He snagged an extra pillow and tapped her butt in a signal for her to raise her hips. The soft velvety fabric brushed her bare ass. Ooh. That felt nice.

But not as nice as Brandt’s soft, velvety tongue brushing her *** from bottom to top.

She gasped when he did it again. And again. And again.

His fingers opened her ***** completely, baring every wet inch, allowing Brandt to taste every wet inch. Thoroughly. Burrowing his tongue into her channel, retreating to delicately lick her folds. Using his mouth in ways that caused her body to twitch and tingle. In ways that had her making noises she’d never heard before.

No play by play this time. Brandt’s mouth was too busy driving her higher and higher until she feared she’d combust.

Almost embarrassing how short her fuse was. The zip down her spine of impending pleasure was a brief warning—a microsecond later, she exploded. Imploded. Went sailing headlong into bliss. She arched back and gasped. Her legs shook. Her arms shook. Her internal organs shook.

This man had the power to shake her to her very core.

After the trembling stopped, she peered down at him, expecting he’d be gazing at her with a ****y grin, because oh, yeah, he’d rocked her world. But Brandt’s dark head was pressed into her lower belly as he fought to level his breathing.

She smoothed her hands over the short hair on his scalp. The stubble on his head felt as funky and cool beneath her palms as it did between her thighs. Just touching him reinforced her feeling of rightness.

Of the sense of security and trust he gave her. Yet, he made her feel like a hot-bodied porn star. “You okay?”

“I should be askin’ you that,” he muttered against her skin.

“I’m excellent. That was—”

Suddenly, he pushed away from her and rolled to his feet. “Ah. I need to get something.” He yanked his duster on over his naked body, shoved his feet into his over boots and booked it out the door.

What the hell?

Panic seized her. Had she done something wrong? Why had he just up and left?

They always leave you. Haven’t you learned that by now?

This couldn’t be happening. Jessie was trying to process Brandt’s retreat when the door slammed. A muffled thump echoed to her as boots hit the carpet.

Then he stood in front of her. “Jess? What’s wrong?”

Startled, she tore her gaze from her feet. “I thought you left.”

“What? No! No way. I said I’d be right back, didn’t I?”

“No, you didn’t.”

He crouched down and tilted her chin up. “I’d never do that to you. Never up and leave you. And it has nothin’ to do with you sitting here nekkid.”

He brought her mouth to his for a prolonged kiss that soothed as well as aroused. If he could read her so perfectly now, what would it be like after they really got to know each other intimately?

Paradise.

“So you tired?” he asked in a husky tone that dripped with bedroom prowess.

“Not at all.”

“Good.” He tugged her to her feet, stalking her with another show of masculine grace, backing her down the hallway with such raw possession she could scarcely breathe. No man had ever looked at her like that.

After he shut the bedroom door, she said, “Where’d you go?”

Brandt shucked off his coat. He tossed a box of condoms and an unopened tube of lube on the bed.

“Kept them in my truck. Just in case.” He offered her a shy smile. “I never assumed anything, just wanted you to know that.”

No, like a true gentleman he wouldn’t assume, but like a true boy scout he was prepared. Another little shiver of desire rippled through her. “Oh. Well, we don’t have to use the condoms, if you’d rather skip it. I’m on the pill.”

“Why? When you haven’t…”

“Keeps my cycle regular. But if you’re used to using them, then that’s okay with me.”

“No condoms.” He slowly dragged his hungry gaze over her body with a terse, “On the bed on your hands and knees.”

When Jessie hesitated, Brandt made the warning growl that meant there was no room for argument.

Okay, the big, bad wolf was back. She faced the headboard. The mattress dipped as Brandt joined her.

She flinched when his big hands circled her ankles and widened her stance.

Brandt stilled behind her. “Jess? Am I scaring you?”

“No.”

“Why’d you flinch when I touched you?”

“You surprised me.”

He draped his body over hers—his chest to her back.

“You’re cold.”

“It is November and I was just running outside nekkid.” He brushed aside her hair and kissed the back of her neck.

She shivered.

“Now that’s the kind of shiver I like,” he murmured. “I want you. You ready or do I need lube?”

“I’m ready. Are you ready?”

Brandt answered by sliding into her slowly to the hilt. He continued to pepper warm, soft kisses across the slope of her shoulder.

She savored the sensation. Nothing in the world compared to this heat and fullness and connection.

“I love it when you kiss me like that.”

“I could spend hours kissing every inch of your skin. Next time, I will.”

...

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She hissed, “Yes.”

In this position, every time he thrust, the flannel sheet abraded her nipples. The simple eroticism of Brandt’s sure and steady movements as his **** tunneled in and out of her ***** forced a whimpering sigh from her lungs.

“So tight. God that’s good. Not gonna last.”

She closed her eyes, allowing the sensations to wash over her, sensations exclusive to ***; the rhythmic squeak of the bed, harsh male breathing on her back, rough-skinned hands gripping her hips, the heat, wetness, the sounds of their body parts meeting, the friction of the sheets on her knees, elbows and nipples.

But it was more than that. And she couldn’t find the right words to explain it because the push and pull lulled her to a floaty plane where need and satisfaction were in perfect balance.

He plunged faster, muttering, jarring Jessie from her fog of pleasure. As soon as she felt his **** jerking against her inner walls, she bore down on his shaft, earning a holy **** and then another groan.

Followed by another louder holy **** and another longer groan.

Then his stillness.

Between panting breaths, he said, “Jess. I know…you didn’t…”

Brandt pulled out and flipped her onto her back, imprisoning her arms above her head. He sealed his lips to hers, as he slid his length of his shaft along her cleft, rubbing the rim of his ****head directly on her clit.

Oh. Wow. This was something new for her, but Brandt knew exactly what he was doing. He skipped the gradual buildup, going straight for the high point. With his relentless attention, she ripped her mouth free from his, unable to breathe or gasp or even whimper as the orgasm pulsed in short, intense bursts and he rode every wave of it with her.

After her brain clicked back on, she peeked at Brandt. “What?”

“I could get very used to watching you come.” He kissed her. Sweetly, tenderly, but with the hunger that let her know he wasn’t done with her. “Regrets?”

“Not a single one.” She twisted her wrists as a hint for him to release her.

“Good.” He pushed up. “Are you sore?”

She said, “No,” a little too quickly.

His eyes narrowed. “Dammit, if I was too rough on you—”

“I would’ve said something. I’m not fragile, Brandt, remember that.”

“You’d say that even if you were bleeding, Jessie.”

Sometimes it surprised her how well he knew her.

“I need a drink,” he said rolling off the bed. “You need anything before we go for the round two?”

“Round two?”

“Uh-huh. Because we’re just getting started.”

Chapter Ten

Brandt gulped two glasses of water in the kitchen and took a minute to grasp the situation.

Holy hell, he’d just had *** with Jessie.

Jessie.

It boggled his mind.

Not only that, she’d initiated ***.

Not only that, she hadn’t wanted gentle lovemaking—she wanted to be ****ed. Hard.

Not only that, she hadn’t balked when he’d called her on her bravado, pushing her to put her money where her mouth was.

Holy hell, talk about a mouth that could own him body and soul. How he’d managed to hold out for more than fifteen seconds when those soft, warm lips circled the base of his **** while she sucked his shaft also boggled his mind.

How he’d managed to keep his cool when he got his first taste of her ***** was another miracle.

Because damn, she’d been so wet that he could’ve stayed buried between her thighs, licking away that sweet juice, feeling her come against his mouth, all damn night.

Brandt’s mental play by play fired his blood and he knew he’d have Jessie at least one more time tonight. Maybe in straight missionary position.

Boring. Don’t you want to blow her circuits with your ***pertise? Show her every position you’ve ever tried and some you’ve only seen in porn?

Hell yeah. No. Hell no. That ****y attitude made him sound like…Luke, actually. He never wanted the comparison, especially not from Jessie. Not ever.

He could admit he’d taken her from behind for their first time because he worried she might whisper Luke’s name in his ear during a moment of passion. Maybe he feared he’d see regret or sadness in her eyes.

But he’d pushed aside those worries when the primitive side of his brain seized control and he flipped her on her back, just to see the look on her face when he made her come.

A look he couldn’t wait to see again.

He refilled the water glass and he walked to the bedroom. For some reason his heart sped up and he lingered in the doorway. Had he left her alone too long? What if she’d fallen asleep?

“Brandt?”

He found her resting on against pillows propped against the headboard with the comforter tucked beneath her armpits. “You want a drink?”

“Sure.” She drank half before handing the glass back. “Did you check on Landon?”

“Nah.” He set the glass on the dresser. “I thought I might wake him up and he’s not included in the plans I have for you.”

She smiled. “What plans?”

“That depends on if you think we need to talk about anything that just happened.”

“We’ve done enough talking.”

“I agree. Let’s go to plan B.”

“Which is?”

“It’d be easier to show you.” Brandt ripped back the covers and crawled over her body, until he was hanging directly above her. He whipped aside the pillows so she laid flat on the mattress. He angled his head over hers, seeing her eyes spark interest and heat as his lips closed the distance between their mouths.

Jessie released a soft moan, which reverberated in his mouth as he kissed her. Her lips were warm and eager. Her tongue as curious to explore as his was. They kissed, drawing out the pleasure by switching between hungry openmouthed kisses, sweet nibbles, teasing nips and soft smooches.

Brandt gazed down at her.

She caressed the side of his face. “Man, I could kiss you for days.”

“I can arrange that. But first…” Brandt let his hands skim over her skin. “I want to touch you.

Everywhere. It might take a while, because I’ve been living for the day I got to put my hands all over you.”

He stretched out, propping his head on his left hand, figuring it’d take twice as long to acquaint himself with her body if he limited himself to one hand.

“You still trying to figure out all my ticklish spots?”

“No. I wanna figure out which spots make you squirm and which ones make you moan.” He let the rough tips of his fingers follow the line of her delicate neck down to the base of her throat. Then his thumb swept across her collarbone to her shoulder. Her skin was pale, he’d expected to see more freckles or moles, but it was just a silky smooth expanse of white.

His palm cupped the ball of her shoulder, traveling down to squeeze her firm biceps. He traced the bend in her elbow, first with his fingers, then with his tongue.

“Oh, I…wow. That feels good.”

“Tastes good too.” Brandt’s fingers drifted down the inside of her forearm to her wrist. He threaded his fingers through hers and brought their joined hands to his mouth, lightly kissing each fingertip. He reversed course back up her arms and did the same thing, bestowing the same diligent treatment to the other side, except he dragged it out a little more.

Jessie’s body wilted when he skimmed his fingers up and down her side, in a feather-light caress, from her armpit to the curve of her hip. She managed not to squirm too wildly when he wrapped her fingers on the rungs of the headboard and zigzagged openmouthed kisses down that same tender section of skin.

Twice.

Her chest rose and fell rapidly with the marked increase in her breathing. His **** was so hard it pained him to bend over as he moved down the wonders of her body, but Brandt would not be rushed. He’d take his time, even if it damn near killed them both.

He paid no attention to her breasts or her nipples. Instead, his mouth brushed over every rib in her ribcage. Then down the centerline of her belly, past her belly button, to that sensitive span of skin between her narrow hipbones. When he put his mouth on her there, her entire belly rippled. So he did it over and over until she huffed out an impatient breath.

“What are you doing to me?”

“Memorizing you.” He pressed kisses around the triangle of strawberry blonde hair at the juncture of her thighs. Again he allowed his fingers to map the muscles in her legs, tease the skin on the inside and smooth his palm over the curve from hip to ankle.

He kissed the tops of her thighs. He lifted her leg to nuzzle the back of her thighs and to trace the bend in her knees with his tongue. He peppered kisses down her shinbones, which were covered in bruises from Landon smacking into her all the time. When he reached the top of her foot, he sucked at the delicate skin and Jessie shot up off the bed so fast she almost kicked him in the face. “Easy there,” he murmured.

“I heard that toe sucking was erotic, but this…this is way better. I never knew that would make me…”

“Make you what?”

...

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The colorful butterfly emerging from a land cocoon fit Jessie’s personal metamorphosis. Yet, it bothered him that she’d had the McKay brand removed. Why not just get a new tattoo? Keep the old one as a reminder of a past life event? If he thought about it too hard, he might take offense to it. Like Jessie no longer wanted to be associated with the McKays. Like she wanted to erase any part of her life with them.

If that’s true, why did she keep the McKay name?

“Brandt? What’s wrong?”

“Nothin’.” He met her gaze and managed to smile before he placed a tender kiss on her tattoo. “But since I’m down by your feet, that means I’m all done exploring. Unless you can think of a spot or two I missed.”

He waited for her to remind him he hadn’t touched her nipples, and she didn’t disappoint him.

Jessie released the headboard to cup her breasts. “Put your mouth on me here.”

Brandt centered himself between her thighs and lowered his mouth to her left nipple. The peach colored tip was already hard so he began to draw circles around the quivering flesh on her chest with his fingers and his tongue. If he thought she squirmed before, it was nothing compared to how she reacted when he lavished attention on her breasts. Every part. From the nipples to the upper curve to the lower swell. He could stroke gently or pinch the tips with a little force, or nuzzle or softly suckle and she whimpered, moaned and thrashed.

Okay. Loved nipple play. Check.

He scattered kisses up her neck, stopping at her mouth. He kissed the corner of her smile, nipping and licking the seam until she parted her lips. He dove in for a blistering kiss, feeling her hands moving all over him, on his lower back, pressing down as she tried to connect their hips.

He buried his lips in her hair above her ear. “Jess—”

“If this is another warning to be patient…you oughta know I almost came just from you sucking my nipples. When you went down on me? Just thinking about it now still makes my entire groin throb.”

Brandt smiled against her temple. “Throb, huh? So, does that mean you don’t want to show me this super vibrator of yours that can get you off a dozen times a day?”

“Huh-uh.”

“Why not?”

“Because I’m thinking of throwing it out.”

“Why?”

“I’d rather you got me off a dozen times a day.”

“Glad to know I’m a step up from a vibrator,” he murmured.

“You’re ten stories above a vibrator and you know it.” She sighed. “You have a mouth made for ***.

When you kiss me it’s like my brain goes on overload.”

He levered himself over her, watching as her eyes went dark with anticipation. “There’s something else you oughta know about me, Jess.”

“What’s that?”

“I’m a ***ual man. I’ll push you, but the biggest thing you’ll need to get used to with me is that I like ***. I like a lot of ***. Once we start this, there’s no backing down. No changing your mind. I will want you morning, noon and night, because you’ve proven you’ve got a pretty magical mouth yourself.”

“Bring it on, cowboy. I’ll have no problem keeping up with your demands. But if you expect I’m gonna be a passive lover, think again.”

Her ****sure reply made his dick jump against his belly. “Bring it on, cowgirl.”

And Brandt continued to focus on her face as he slipped inside her inch by inch.

Jessie wrapped her feet around the inside of his ankles, holding him in place. Soon as her hands landed on his ass, she arched, driving him deeper.

The slow, steady, easy strokes didn’t stay that way for long. She urged him on by canting her pelvis, moaning yes, yes. Brandt forced himself to keep the same pace as he greedily watched Jessie unravel. She held him still with a nail digging grip on his ass as her ***** spasmed around his shaft.

As soon as she went limp, his hips pistoned harder, faster. His entire body seemed to boil—blood, skin, balls and bones—when his seed shot out of his dick in a hot wash of pleasure. An eye crossing, leg cramping, sweat pouring, primal grunting, he’d found heaven kind of ecstasy.

When he found his way back to reality, he realized this was true heaven. Not the outstanding orgasm, but seeing Jessie’s soft smile. Feeling her soft, sated body beneath his. Having her here, with him. Where she belonged. Because his beautiful, sweet Jessie was his perfect match in every way.

How long before she realized it?

“Brandt?”

“What? Sorry.” He smiled a bit sheepishly. “Zoned out.”

“I noticed.” She rubbed circles on his lower back that sent another wave of tingles dancing up his spine. “That was amazing.”

“Uh-huh.”

Wow. Got some ***y love talk going on there.

Spent, emotionally and physically, he rolled onto his back.

Immediately Jessie snuggled into him so thoroughly she was practically on top of him.

“Comfy?” he murmured.

“Mmm. Very. You don’t mind, do you?”

No. I freakin’ love it. “No. But do you, ah…need to go to the bathroom or shower or anything before we call it a night?”

“Nope. I wanna fall asleep like this.”

“You do?”

“Yep. I like your scent all over me. I like feeling the stickiness between my thighs and remembering how it got there. Does that sound weird?”

“No.” He brushed his lips over her crown. “It’s hot as hell.” The remnants of his seed would ease the way when he ****ed her first thing in the morning.

“I like having you in my bed.” She kissed his pectoral. “Thank you.”

“For what?”

“For the smokin’ hot ***. But also for not being petty and turning me down. I would’ve deserved your rejection for the way things have gone between us in the past.”

Brandt forced her to look at him. “As far as I’m concerned that’s where it can stay. In the past. We’re movin’ forward, right?”

“Right.”

He pressed her cheek back down on his chest. “Go to sleep. Mornin’ is gonna come awful early.”

She snickered. “Already got your wake-up call for me planned out?”

“Definitely.”

“Tell me.”

“And ruin the surprise? No way.”

Chapter Eleven

Jessie and Landon were sitting side by side on the couch watching a Winnie the Pooh DVD when Brandt returned from the ranch. As soon as he’d divested himself of his outerwear, he marched over and cradled Jessie’s face in his hands.

The man nearly set her lips aflame with his hungry, and yet unhurried kiss. She tried to pull away, but he breathed, “Not yet,” against her mouth and returned to those deceptively lazy kisses. Then he eased back and murmured, “Not nearly enough, but it’ll do for now.”

Right then, Jessie understood she wasn’t prepared for what it meant to be Brandt McKay’s lover.

Sure, he’d tried to warn her last night about his ***ual appetite. About his intent to satisfy that appetite as well as building the same type of appetite in her. Maybe she’d even suspected his declaration was a little too filled with machismo. A little too over the top.

She should’ve known better. She should’ve understood after he’d made love to her so thoroughly that last go around. She should’ve understood when he’d proved his desire for her first thing this morning.

Spooned behind her, lifting her top leg over his, ****ing her slowly while one hand played with her nipples and the other controlled her clit, whispering in her ear with that made-for-morning-*** voice. She came so hard she’d ripped the sheet off the bed.

“Jess? What’s up? You’ve got a scared rabbit look goin’ on.”

“Seeing this forceful side of you…is a bit of a shock.”

“You’ll get used to it.” He smooched her mouth again.

Landon made a noise and she saw him watching them with wide-eyed wonder.

“Hey, buddy, how’s the ear? Better?”

He blinked at Brandt and refocused on the TV.

Brandt laughed. “Thrown over by a cartoon bear. I’m gonna hit the shower.”

Less than a minute later the water kicked on.

Landon pointed at the TV and bounced on the couch cushions when Tigger appeared on the screen.

Animation and cartoons were new to him, if his total absorption in them was an indication. Jessie doubted Landon’s mother used the TV as a babysitter.

Once she heard the bathroom door open, she headed down the hallway, inhaling the steam that held hints of Irish Spring soap and lime shaving cream.

She stopped in the doorway to her bedroom. Ooh. Naked Brandt. The man had such a hard-toned body. All ropy, bulging muscles and pure masculinity. Virility. Luke had been built more rangy than bulky and she’d never appreciated the differences in the male form as much as she did right then.

“Getting an eyeful, are you?”

She let her gaze drop to his groin. “Definitely got more than a mouthful going on there, Brandt.”

“Christ,...

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He tried to hoist himself up on the bed. Soon as she set him on the mattress, he started jumping in his best Tigger imitation.

“You little monkey. Where’d you learn—” Jessie’s head whipped to Brandt when he snickered. “You let him jump on the bed?”

“All kids jump on the bed. Besides, I was there the whole time.”

“What happens if you’re not there? What happens if he sneaks into a bedroom and starts jumping while you’re doing something else? What if he flies off the bed and breaks his neck?”

Brandt snagged Landon around the waist and propped him on his hip, much to Landon’s displeasure.

“Okay, okay, I get it. Bad uncle. No more jumpin’ on the bed. And I’ll make sure since I’ve introduced this bad behavior that all bedrooms doors will be shut from here on out.”

“Good.” After they trooped back into the living room and Jessie said, “I didn’t plan anything for supper because I didn’t know if you’d be here.”

“I don’t expect you to cook for me every night.”

“I like to cook. So do you have any requests?”

“I’m feelin’ like pizza.”

Jessie frowned. “That’s the one thing I don’t have the stuff for.”

“Don’t you have frozen pizza in the freezer?”

“Nope.”

“We could go to the Pizza Barn in Moorcroft?” Brandt suggested.

After the last public appearance at Dewey’s, fielding a dozen questions about Landon and why she was torturing herself caring for a child that wasn’t hers… Nah. Not an experience she was anxious to repeat, especially not in front of Brandt with Landon tow.

“You not wantin’ to be seen in public with me?”

Her gaze caught his. “It’s not about you, paranoid man. Just remembering the scream therapy I needed last time I ventured out to a restaurant. So I’d rather stay in.”

Tension left Brandt’s posture and he smiled. “How about if I call in an order, pick it up and we eat it here?”

“Sounds like a plan.”

While Brandt was gone, Jessie fed Landon and bathed him. She dumped out the jumbo Legos on the coffee table and they sorted the pieces by color. Landon was fascinated by how the different sized parts fit and he was pleased as punch when he figured out how to snap them together by himself. Every day at the daycare and at home, she watched Landon learn something new. And rather than getting a sense of pride, it humbled her to see how hungry he was to learn.

Jessie ate the pizza one handed because Landon demanded she hold him while he drank his bottle.

Brandt returned from settling Landon in his crib with that get-nekkid look in his eye.

Good thing she’d taken the time to brush her teeth.

Tell and Dalton showed up at Jessie’s around noon on Sunday. Luckily they’d called first and hadn’t walked in on him and Jess going at it in the shower.

Or on the couch.

Or on the kitchen counter.

Man. They could not get enough of each other. Within a few days they’d become intimate on a level he’d never experienced. As freakin’ awesome as the *** was, Brandt knew it wasn’t the only reason they’d become so close. They’d let their guards down and hadn’t put those walls back up.

So far.

He hadn’t announced that he and Jessie had become more to each other than Landon’s guardians.

Would Jessie shy away the first time he showed affection in front of his brothers?

Nope. She’d gone him one better and kissed him. With tongue.

She was a natural fit to their Sunday afternoon tra***ion—flipping back and forth between football games and waiting for Chase to compete in a televised PBR event, knocking back a few beers. Even Landon refused to nap so he could hang out with his uncles.

But at suppertime Landon staged a crying, screaming tantrum. The thought of wrestling the crabby kid into the bathtub made him shudder, but he wouldn’t pass the duty off to Jessie either. Somehow Tell and Dalton ended up bathing the ornery boy. The bath time screams Brandt expected were largely absent, replaced by giggles.

Giggles?

What the hell?

He poked his head in the bathroom door and saw Tell, on his knees in front of the tub, and Landon—

with Dalton’s help—was spraying Tell in the face with the hand-held shower sprayer. Tell, being even keeled Tell, just let them do it and laughed right along with them.

His brothers managed to get Landon diapered and in his pajamas without incident.

Dalton held Landon while the kid sucked down his bottle. Once he’d tucked the tyke in bed, Dalton and Tell asked if they could have Landon the following Saturday night. For the last of the McKay wild men to give up their weekend plans proved his brothers intended to be part of Landon’s life.

Maybe it was a little selfish, but his first thought was that he’d have Jessie all to himself for a night.

Jessie was washing dishes two days later when Keely barged into her house, demanding, “What the hell? Luke had a kid? I hate when nobody tells me this kind of ****.”

“Yes. Keely. Please. Why don’t you come in?”

“Shoulda locked the door if you wanted to keep me out. As soon as I heard I had to come over here and see—”

“About adding Luke’s illegitimate love child to your roster of nieces and nephews?”

“No. And wow, snippy much, Jess? I came to see if you’re okay.”

“I’m fine.”

Keely snorted. “Yeah, and you’re acting like it, lashing out at me for checking on your mental well being.”

Jessie blew out a breath. “Sorry. The shock hasn’t been easy, but I’m coming to terms with it.”

Which it, Jess? Luke’s infidelity? Or Landon’s presence?

Aren’t they one in the same?

“Have you?” Keely demanded. “Have you really?”

“Some days, yes. Other days I wonder what the hell I’m doing and who in the universe I pissed off to have to deal with this.”

“I cannot freakin’ believe Brandt expected you to help him. I cannot freakin’ believe you said yes.”

Keely paced to the kitchen and back. “Actually, I can believe you said yes.”

Did Keely think she was a doormat? Only one way to find out. “Why can you believe it?”

“Because you’re sweet, thoughtful, kind and generous.” Keely pinned her with a look. “Damn near annoyingly perfect in that nauseating girl-next-door way, to be honest, but I like you anyway, cuz.”

“Gee, thanks.”

“But mostly, you said yes because Landon is as innocent in this whole situation as you are.”

Keely’s insight always surprised her. “You want a beer while I’m spilling the gory details of lost innocence?”

“No.” Keely flopped on the couch. “I’ve got a late patient tonight so I have to head back to the clinic.”

“How was the honeymoon?”

“Amazing.”

“How’s Jack?”

Keely smirked. “Amazing.”

Jessie launched into recent events. Before she finished, Landon cried from his crib. “I’ll be right back.”

Landon had woken in a somber mood—not all cute smiles and sweet snuggles. Not knowing how he’d behave continued to be a struggle, so she hoped for the best and returned to the living room with Landon in her arms.

He shrank back as he spied Keely.

Keely’s eyes sparked tears. “Omigod. It’s like he’s a clone of Luke.”

“Those McKay genes are powerful stuff.” Jessie grabbed Landon’s cup from the fridge and a handful of animal crackers. He stayed on her lap with a wary eye on Keely.

“So you really do seem fine with all of this.”

“I have my days where I’d like to leave town with no forwarding address, believe me. But I agreed to do it so it seems pointless to complain. Plus, I know it’s temporary.”

“Is it a possibility?” Keely kicked her boots up on the coffee table. “That it might become permanent?”

“Not for me. Maybe for Brandt.”

“Were does Brandt fall in all of this?”

“He hasn’t just passed the responsibility of taking care of Landon off on me.”

“Jess. That’s not what I meant. I meant personally. Brandt is living with you. You’re together all the time, taking care of a child. I hope you’re working out some of your past issues?”

“If you mean working them out between the sheets, then yes,” she said in a rush.

“And?”

“And…it’s intense. But, again, that’s because this is a temporary situation.”

Keely gave her a calculated look. Like she was ready to call bull****.

“What?”

“Why can’t this be the start of something that will be intense for years to come?”

Jessie couldn’t answer that to anyone’s satisfaction, so she sidestepped the question. She brushed crumbs off Landon’s shirt. “You dated Jack’s brother for awhile, right?”

“Yes.”

...

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“Oh, Jess.”

“So I’m in a different situation. It’s complicated enough between me and Brandt without adding him—” she pointed at Landon, “—into the mix.”

“Maybe Landon’s the glue that will allow you and Brandt to be together.”

Or maybe he’s the wedge that will drive us apart.

“Look, it’s no secret that you and Brandt spent a lot of time together after Luke died. Everyone thought—”

“That I’d just slip from one McKay bed to another without any problem whatsoever? God. Has everyone been listening to Casper talk about me?”

Keely’s boots hit the carpet. “See? That’s your problem. You automatically assume everyone thinks the worst of you. Casper is the exception, not the rule. What I started to say was we all hoped you’d both find happiness in what’d been a bad situation.”

Landon said, “Goggie,” and Lexie rose from her spot by the door and headed toward him, tail wagging.

Jessie kissed the top of Landon’s head. “See? She’ll come to you if you ask nice.”

He reached for the dog with the hand holding the cup and almost clunked Lexie on the head with it.

Lexie slunk away.

“And…that lasted thirty seconds.”

The door opened and Brandt stepped in. Landon squirmed off her lap and ran to him. “Up!”

“Hey. Whoa. Watch the cup, buddy.” He lifted Landon and his gaze traveled between Jessie and Keely.

Jessie knew Brandt wanted to march over and lay a big wet kiss on her like he always did after a day on the ranch. But he refrained. “Keely. You’re lookin’ tan. Glad to be home?”

“No. We could’ve used another two weeks. I told Jack next time we get married, we’re taking an entire month for our honeymoon.”

“Funny.” Brandt stayed on the rug in his work clothes. “Jess, have you fed the animals yet?”

“No. Landon was sleeping and Keely stopped by so I haven’t had a chance.”

“Looks like you’n me got chores to finish, boy. Come on let’s getcha suited up.”

Keely didn’t say anything until after Brandt and Landon were out the door. “This feels bigger than you guys just playing house. It sure as hell feels bigger than temporary.”

It does to me sometimes too. “We’ll see.”

“Be careful.”

“You afraid Brandt will break my heart?”

“No. I’m afraid you’ll break his.”

Jessie froze. She wasn’t expecting that.

“I probably better get back.” Keely leapt out of the chair and wrapped her scarf around her neck.

“Anytime you need to talk, Jess, just call. I mean it. There are things…” She smiled. “Never mind. Ignore me.”

“Oh, hell no. You can’t just drop that into conversation and leave. What kind of things?”

“Casper… People want to believe he’s just a grumpy old man, but we both know he’s not. People want to believe it’s not as bad as it looks in his household, but I’m telling you, it is. He wields a heavy hand with his wife and his sons, full and total control. I know Luke shielded you from a lot of what went on.”

“You think Brandt will too?”

“No. But I’m telling you it won’t be pretty if he ever decides to let go of the anger and resentment he’s been carrying around for years. Back to that annoyingly perfect comment, you are just the type of woman he needs. You’re the only woman I know who can handle anything that’s thrown at you and keep standing. But that means if Brandt actually opens up to you, and you leave him, you’ll do more than just break his heart. You might just break him.”

Jessie stared after Keely, shocked, but not really. Brandt had a hard edge he tried very hard to hide, not only from her but from everyone. Part of her wanted him to open up that side of himself, while part of her feared it if he did.

She wondered how long before he trusted her enough to even admit it was there.

Chapter Twelve

Mark my words; Jessie is using you as much as you’re using her. You’ll always be a pale imitation of Luke in her eyes and everyone else’s.

His father was such a jackass Brandt threw his truck in reverse and his tires spit gravel as he sped away from the machine shed.

The day had started out perfect. It was one of those times when all was right with his world. When Brandt knew he was exactly where he was supposed to be doing exactly what he’d been meant to do: be a steward of this Wyoming land he loved. Some of his cousins weren’t keen on being part of the McKay cattle company, they’d moved on, but Brandt couldn’t understand that mindset. He loved the ranch. He loved the day to day back breaking work. The cycle of seasons. The unpredictability of the cattle market and the weather. Working with his brothers day in and day out. The humility of being a part of something that was so much bigger than him. From the time he was a little boy, all he wanted was to look across this gorgeous hunk of earth and know it belonged to him. As he’d gotten older, he realized that he belonged to the land—it owned him, heart and soul. He couldn’t imagine living anywhere else.

Naturally his father noticed his good mood and felt entitled to destroy it.

Goddamn him.

At times like this, when clouds of rage fogged rational thought, Brandt was half-tempted to keep driving until he ran out of gas. And then keep walking until he ran out of energy. What he hated most of all was the way his father could twist his love of the ranch into something ugly. Into Brandt berating himself for sticking around because he’d always be second banana to Luke. He’s always be a verbal punching bag for his father.

God knows he’d tried—and failed—to protect Tell and Dalton from suffering the same fate. He’d watched his mother become a shell of a woman. Thinking that all these sacrifices and drama would mean something in the end when his father trusted him enough to turn over all the ranch operations to his oldest son.

Yeah, the McKays were just one big happy ****ing family and it’d just gotten worse in the two years since Luke had died.

If the urge to physically lash out wouldn’t go away, he’d head to a bar, drink until he was ten foot tall and bulletproof, and start a fight. It never made him feel better. In fact, he’d usually end up bloodied, bruised and broken. His compulsion to fight wasn’t something he was proud of—the primitive need to Lorelei James

prove himself with his fists was his deepest shame. His cousins Colt and Kane both had the same violent streak. When Colt’s punching bag wasn’t enough to keep his demons at bay, he and Kane mixed it up. At least they had each other to take the edge off. Brandt had no one. And Luke had taken perverse pleasure in denying Brandt a good fight.

He imagined one of those head shrinking docs would have a field day trying to analyze him, especially since the violence was never directed at anyone he knew.

Right now he wanted so badly to drive to some hole in the wall bar where no one knew who he was.

He’d drink, come out swinging and after having his ass handed to him, or ending up victorious, he’d sleep off the booze and the pain in his truck. Then he’d feel calmer.

Why not go to Jessie? She has a calming influence on you.

Jessie.

Now that they were sleeping together, he couldn’t get enough of her and she’d held nothing back from him in bed or out. She’d given everything of herself to him one hundred percent. He wanted her body under his the last thing before he went to sleep at night. He wanted her body beneath his first thing in the morning. He wanted her after he’d just had her. He thought about all the different ways he’d take her while he was taking her. If he thought he’d been obsessed with her before, it was nothing compared to the craving he had for her now.

Which was why he had to stay away from her right now.

He texted Jessie, letting her know he’d be late without going into detail. Then he called his mother, who was watching Landon at his house, telling her he had to finish a couple of things. She didn’t complain or ask questions, but then again, she never did.

Brandt gave his mother’s car a cursory glance and parked his truck behind his barn.

Too bad he didn’t have backbreaking tasks like splitting wood or digging new postholes that would exhaust him. He shucked off his coat and let his anger lead him into total destruction mode. Grabbing a sledgehammer and a crowbar, he began to rip apart the last stall with the loose and broken boards. He couldn’t afford to upgrade to metal and they were too damn dangerous as is.

The sledgehammer came down, the loud thwack followed by another thwack thwack thwack until he couldn’t hear anything besides the blood pounding in his ears. Sweat poured down his face. When he had the boards loosened, he used his hands to break them free. The muscles in his back screamed. Slivers penetrated his holey gloves, but he didn’t stop. Couldn’t stop. Not until it was done. Not until this consuming fury was gone.

He finally took a break when he was down to one long board on the backside. Placing the heels of...

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Her eyes focused on his cheek. “You’re bleeding.”

“Where?”

“Your face. Come inside with me and I’ll clean it up.”

Brandt shook his head. “I’m sure it’s just a scratch.”

“Made by a rusty nail. When was your last tetanus shot? Just let me take a quick look—”

“No,” he practically bellowed. “Don’t you understand? I cannot be around anyone right now.”

Her face registered surprise, then hurt. “Why not?”

His entire being quaked and words poured out a stilted mess. “I hate that he still has that much power over me. I hate that he can get a reaction out of me when no one else can. I hate it’s a test to see if I’m strong enough to fight this…****ing rage I inherited from him. I’ve tried so hard not to end up like him. So ****ing hard and when I act this way, I’m exactly like him and I hate it. I hate myself.”

Her eyes overflowed with pain, not tears, which was harder for him, because he suspected she’d cried herself out over the years.

“You’re nothing like him, Brandt. Nothing. Don’t ever give yourself an excuse to act like him by saying it’s inevitable that you will end up like him, because it’s not. You’ve chosen to be different. Even when you’re like this you’re different. Remember that.”

For the millionth time he wondered how this caring woman had coped with Casper McKay’s bitterness for so many years.

“Anyway, I thought I’d give you a heads up about Jessie, so you can, you know…”

“Get it together before I see her?”

She nodded.

“Thanks. I’ll be right there. Just give me a minute.”

“Don’t take too long, because she will come looking for you first thing.”

Not an accusation; a fact.

She left.

Despite the agony in his arm and the muscles screaming in his back, he lifted the sledgehammer. But it was a half-hearted swing at best.

He wasn’t calm, but he wasn’t in that dark place either. He snagged his coat off the floor and walked outside, breathing in the fresh air to cool him down.

Jessie waited for him by the steps, wearing an anxious expression.

He couldn’t muster a smile, but he went on the offensive. “Didn’t you get my text?”

“Yes. That’s why I’m here.”

“Because I said I was gonna be late?”

“No, because I knew something was wrong.”

“You got that from my text message?”

Jessie placed her hand on his chest. “I had a feeling something wasn’t right, and seeing you, I see my gut instinct was dead on.”

Far as he knew, no woman ever had a gut feeling about him. Certainly no woman had never cared enough to follow through with it and make sure he was all right. He held her face between his gloved hands and kissed her. “Jess. I’m fine. Now let’s go inside. It’s cold out here.”

“Then how come you’re sweating?”

Woman was too damn intuitive for her own good. Brandt pressed his lips to hers, bestowing several soft smooches. “Because you’re so hot, baby, just lookin’ at you makes me sweat.”

She smooched him back. “I don’t buy it, cowboy charmer. I’ll let it slide for now, because I’m sure your mom is anxious to get home.”

“I highly doubt that,” Brandt said dryly. He took Jessie’s hand and led her inside.

His mother put her finger to her lips. “Landon just went down a half hour ago. I know it’s late for a nap, but he had so much energy today. I tried to get him to lay down with me on the couch, but he wasn’t having any of it.”

“I know how that goes, so no big deal,” Jessie said.

“Thanks for watchin’ him today, Mom.”

“I enjoy him. He reminds me so much of you.”

“Me? Not Luke?”

“In looks he’s nearly identical to his father.” Joan slipped on her coat. “But in temperament, he could be your son.” She leaned over to kiss his cheek. “Take care of yourself, Brandt. If you need anything, call.”

Brandt ***ched his outerwear and headed to the refrigerator. Might as well have a beer if he was sticking around until Landon woke up. But he hadn’t been here much the past few weeks and he was out of beer.

Whiskey?

Nah. In his mood that’d lead to trouble.

He exited the kitchen and said to Jessie, “If you wanna head home, I’ll hang out until kidzilla awakens.”

“You trying to get rid of me, Brandt?”

“No. But I’m not the best company right now.”

She sauntered forward. “So maybe we shouldn’t talk.”

Brandt didn’t move. “Not a good idea, Jess.”

“You’re tense. I have a remedy for that.”

“I’m not in the mood.”

Jessie lifted a brow. “Never heard that from you before.”

And likely she wouldn’t again. “Look. I appreciate the offer, but—”

“Offer?” she repeated. “Like you’d be doing me a favor by doing me?” Her face shuttered. “Screw that. I’m outta here.” She turned so fast her coattails whapped him on the knee.

He grabbed her out of reflex. “Whoa. This is exactly what I didn’t want to happen.”

“Congrats. You made it happen anyway.”

He hauled her against his chest, imprisoning her in his arms.

“Let me go.”

“No. You started this, Jess, not me.”

“What is wrong with you?”

He pressed his mouth to the shell of her ear. “I want you, okay? ****. I always want you. But I’m on edge in a big way today, and it’d be better if—”

“You shut me out? Wow. Like I’ve never dealt with that from a McKay man before.”

Once again, she’d pushed the wrong button. In a flash, he crowded her against the living room wall.

“You don’t know what you’re getting yourself into by taunting me.”

Jessie lifted her chin. “Show me. You won’t shock me.”

“Don’t bet on that, sweetheart.”

Then she shocked him by wreathing her arms around his neck and whispering, “Trust me. Please.

Don’t shut me out. Let me in. I’m here for you however you need me.” Her cool fingers settled on his nape.

Damn. Her touch felt good, soothing him and stirring him up. “I don’t have a lot of control right now.”

“So you admitting that Brandt McKay, the almighty gentleman cowboy, is showing me that he’s not always as even-keeled as he projects?”

“Yes.”

“That’s a start.” Jessie crushed her lips to his, inhaling him with a take-no-prisoners kiss and ground her pelvis against his. When he stupidly tried to pull away, she held him tighter, kissed him harder and he was done fighting her. Done fighting himself.

Brandt wrested control, frantic to touch her everywhere, her throat, her breasts, her belly, between her thighs. Letting his desire for her burn up any residual anger. Letting her help him take the edge off. Letting her in.

She writhed against him. When Jessie dropped her hand over his fly to unzip his jeans, he growled and ended all body contact.

He stepped back. “Clothes off.”

Moments later, she was completely naked.

He turned her around. “Put your hands flat on the wall.”

Jessie didn’t hesitate.

She wasn’t being obedient for his sake, because he wanted it this way. She wanted it this way. Her breathing had become erratic. Her body rippled with that **** me now tremor that kicked his lust into the danger zone. He let his mouth tease her ear. “You sure you want this? Me ****ing you, only thinkin’ about how good it’ll feel when I’m buried balls deep in your tight ****? You really want me to use you hard?”

“Yes. God yes.”

Brandt slipped his fingers between her thighs and found her soaked. A primitive yowl in his head had him jerking his shirttails free from his jeans. Belt unfastened, zipper undone, he removed his jeans only to the tops of his boots because he was obsessed with getting inside her and couldn’t wait to get completely undressed.

“Brandt.”

Please don’t say stop. “What?”

“Hurry.”

His **** slapped his belly before he impatiently shoved it between her legs and impaled her with one greedy push.

Her full body quiver was followed by a low-pitched, “Yes.”

Brandt curled his hands over her hips and pulled her back, completely controlling her movements. His pelvis smacking her ass made a discordant slap slap slap sound that was almost as satisfying as Jessie’s guttural moans bouncing back to him.

He reached around until his finger breached the soft nest of curls, gliding down to where their bodies were joined at the mouth of her ***. Then he slid his wet finger back up her slit to stroke her slippery nub in a gentle motion that countered the ferocity of his **** surging into her. But in this position he couldn’t get deep enough. He widened his stance, but his strokes...

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He rocked into her, letting that humming greed for release amplify until they were both panting.

Sweating.

When she rolled her hips side to side, he knew she teetered on the brink. For all his blustering about using her hard, he wouldn’t ever deny her an orgasm.

He whispered fiercely, “Give it to me.”

“Touch me. God, please…”

Brandt separated her ***** lips with his fingers and flicked his middle finger over the responsive flesh until he felt her clit expand. “Squeeze me harder. Yeah, like that—”

Before he finished speaking she unraveled. Her ass cheeks clenching against his groin, her **** a vise-like grip around his ****, her clit pulsating beneath his finger, her nails digging into the back of his neck, her passion-dampened skin rubbing against his wherever they touched. She moaned his name, over and over. His name. No one else’s.

When the word mine flashed behind his lids, he lost it. ****ing her with fast jabs, slamming home with every stroke. Holding his breath until he was woozy. Heart thundering, blood blazing, skin slicked with sweat, every muscle coiled tighter and tighter until that perfect moment when everything unwound.

He shouted as his **** emptied in almost violent pulses, no coherent thoughts registered beyond the words again, again, again. Nothing in the world existed but the connection of their bodies locked together.

Then he felt Jessie lightly scraping her teeth along the rigid line of his jaw.

His grip on her increased—mentally and physically—he never wanted to let her go. “I…Wow. I’m a little out of it.”

She murmured, “No worries.”

“Mmm.” He nuzzled her hair, breathing her in. Filling his lungs, his heart, his soul with everything this woman freely gave him, no matter how much he asked of her. “Thank you.”

“Anytime.”

“Jessie, I—”

She pressed her lips to his. “You don’t have to explain.”

“Even if I want to explain why, after I just ****ed you like a madman, I have this overwhelming urge to spin you around and **** you face to face against the wall?” He nipped the section of skin below her earlobe just to feel her entire body shiver while he was still inside her. Just to hear that ***y little moan she made. “And then I want to take you to my bed and keep you there all goddamn night?”

“You afraid I’ll say no?”

“No. I’m afraid you’ll say yes.”

Her purring laugh vibrated against his throat.

Then Brandt heard Landon rattling the bars on his crib.

They both froze.

He sighed. “Duty calls. At least he had good timing and didn’t interrupt us again like he did last night.”

The way Jessie’s whole body stiffened, he realized Landon hadn’t crossed her mind at all. But rather than laugh it off, chalking their oversight up to head-exploding orgasmic intensity, he knew she felt guilty.

She wiggled and demanded, “Let me down. I’ll get him.”

Later, when they were snuggled together on the couch, watching TV, Jessie reached for his hand and he winced.

“What’s wrong?”

“Ah, nothin’. Just a little sore.”

“From what?”

From beating the **** out of my barn today. “From workin’. No big deal.”

“Let me see.”

“Jess—”

“If it’s no big deal then let me see it.”

Brandt held out his right hand and turned the palm side up. The glove had rubbed his skin raw. Where the glove had holes, he had slivers. Even his fingertips were scraped up.

“Oh, your poor hand. Are those wood slivers?”

“Yeah.”

“Stay put. I’ll be right back.” She returned with tweezers, a needle, a washcloth, and a tube of anti-bacterial ointment.

“Here I was hopin’ that was a bottle of lube.”

“Maybe later. Right now, I’m gonna get those slivers out.”

“You don’t have to bother because I hardly even noticed them.”

But Jessie wasn’t deterred. “I noticed them and I happen to excel at sliver removal, so you’re in luck.”

She bent her head close to his palm and started poking his skin with the needle.

As much as he didn’t want to ask if she’d done this for Luke, his mouth had other ideas. “How’s it that you’re so good with tweezers?”

“When me’n Josie were kids, there was this really cool abandoned tree fort in the woods behind our house. We weren’t supposed to go there, but we couldn’t resist. Problem was, it had an old rope to climb to reach the wooden platform and we both ended up with a lot of splinters. Since the tree fort had been expressly forbidden, we couldn’t tell Mom about the slivers, so me’n my little sister both got really good at picking them out.”

“Where was your mom when you were sneakin’ off to the woods?”

“Working.”

“And your dad?”

She snorted. “Billy? Off rodeoin’, where he always was.”

Jessie rarely talked about her family. In fact, that was the first time he’d heard she had a sister.

She worked in silence and with such a deft touch he didn’t feel a damn thing. And his hand was much more tender than he’d wanted to admit.

She said, “Almost done.”

“Thanks, but you didn’t have to do this for me.”

“Oh, I didn’t do it for you. I did it for me, for purely selfish reasons. See, I love the feel of your rough, manly hands on me, but not so much if they’re swollen and pus-infected.”

“Nice visual,” he said wryly.

“But it’s a reason you’ll accept a lot easier than me admitting I can’t stand to see you hurting. Not when I can do something to help you or something to stop it.”

That’s when Brandt knew he loved her. Not lusted after her. Not felt obligated to her. He loved her.

Loved who she was, this woman who tended to him in so many ways. Who touched him in ways he was only beginning to understand.

Jessie finally looked at him. She brought his hand to her mouth and placed a tender kiss in the center of his palm. “All better.”

“Now that you’re done, will you let me put my hands all over you?”

“Nope. I’m thinking these need to heal up so it’d be best if I put my hands all over you.” She smiled with wicked intent. “We still get to the same destination, but I hold the reins.”

Brandt groaned. “You’re gonna torture me, aren’t you?”

“Yep. But I promise you’ll love it.” She gave him a thoughtful look. “Now. What did I do with those ropes?”

Chapter Thirteen

“No. That’s okay. I understand.” Jessie forced a laugh. “Yeah, cell service is ****ty in Wyoming.” She walked into the kitchen and set her empty coffee cup in the sink. “I’ll check the road con***ions. Uh-huh.

I’ll let you know. Bye, Billy.”

Jessie punched the off button on her cell phone and stared at the snowy landscape out Brandt’s front window. They’d finished chores as quickly as possible this morning because of the bone chilling cold.

She’d looked forward to spending the whole day snuggled up with Brandt since Tell and Dalton had taken on babysitting duties.

But now…

Strong arms circled her waist. The clean scent of a freshly showered and shaved Brandt surrounded her. His warm, soft lips traveled up the side of her neck.

“Who was on the phone?” he asked.

“Billy.”

“Billy…as in…your dad?”

“Yeah.”

Brandt quit kissing her neck and spun her to face him. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing. He was just calling to let me know he’s competing at an event in Gillette. Today.”

“Today? He couldn’t’ve told you before now?”

She shook her head. “That’s how he operates, Brandt. In his own little rodeo world. Nothing else matters but chasing eight and winning that elusive gold buckle.”

“So, did he call you to tell you he’s just passin’ through?”

“What’s funny is he probably drove within ten miles of my place and he couldn’t be bothered…”

Jessie extricated herself from Brandt’s arms, hating the girlish, whining tone to her voice. So Billy didn’t care enough to pop in and say howdy. Hell. She should be happy he remembered she lived in Wyoming.

Happy. Right. The man flat out didn’t give a damn about her.

Like his apathy is news, Jessie.

True. But it didn’t stop the hollow feeling from expanding, a feeling she only got when she heard from her vagabond father.

But Brandt wouldn’t let her shut herself off, especially not after she’d pushed him to deal with his mood the other day. “Jess. Baby, talk to me. What did he want?”

“He asked me to come to Gillette to watch him ride and he wants us to catch up. Jesus. I haven’t seen him for three years. The last time was at the Niobrara Rodeo with Luke. And to say Billy and Luke didn’t hit it off...