by Jane Jamison
He pointed back at the shed. “Pay attention so you’ll know how to do this. There’s another pair of plyers on the wall. Get moving and get these cattle fed. I’ll do a few more, then leave you to it.”
What the hell just happened? Not only didn’t he fuck her, but he’d turned back into the same cold cowboy of last night.
Determined to make good on her job, she dressed as fast as she could. She took the plyers, then snipped off the wire and lifted the heavy pile of hay. Holding her head high, she marched into the field and started tossing the hay out to the cattle.
You hard-ass son of a bitch. I’ll show you.
* * * *
“Hey, Jilly, have you seen Derrick or Molly?” He stopped in his tracks. Jilly sat on the back steps with her knees hugged to her chest. “Are you okay?”
“I hate those fucking chickens.” She pulled a feather out of her hair. “They attacked me.”
“They attacked you? The chickens?” He pointed back toward the chicken coop. “Those chickens?”
“Yes, those chickens. They’re like flying rats.”
She was serious. As such, he wouldn’t make fun of her. “What happened?”
“Derrick told me to feed them so I found the bucket of chicken feed. But I didn’t know if I was supposed to feed them inside the pen or outside. So I opened the door. And then they came at me, attacking me with their pointed little beaks and staring at me with their beady little eyes.” She drew in a ragged breath. “I barely survived.”
So far, he’d never heard of anyone getting attacked, much less killed, by chickens, but no way would he tell her. “Are you all right? Did they peck you?”
She stretched out her arms as though checking for any wounds she might have missed. “No. I don’t think so. But they were all over me. It was horrible.”
He sat down beside her and took her hand. “I understand it was rough. People who don’t know chickens can find them a little…unnerving.”
“You mean freaky? Like feathery devils? If that’s what you mean by ‘unnerving,’ then yeah. I found them unnerving.”
“But you got them fed?”
She practically snarled at him. “I dropped the bucket and ran like hell. So, yeah, in a way, I fed them.”
He’d have to go check on the chickens soon. Although they rarely ran off, they could’ve gotten into fights among themselves if the feed didn’t get spread out enough. As it was, it sounded like they’d had a free-for-all over a pile of seeds. “It’s okay. I’ll take care of it.”
She leaned against him. “Thank you.”
It’d be so easy to make her his sub. She wanted to learn as much as Molly did. Before meeting Molly he would’ve jumped at the chance. But now? All he could think about was Molly and more lessons.
“So do you know where Molly and Derrick are?”
“Derrick came home and went into the barn. Molly hasn’t come back yet.” She sat up again and studied him. “It’s okay, you know.”
“What’s okay? Molly?” Derrick wouldn’t have run her off. Even if he wasn’t ready to try his hand at being her Dom, he knew how much she already meant to him.
“It’s okay for you to want her as your sub and not me.”
Talk about a slap upside the head.
“Yeah, uh—”
“Don’t worry about it. We came here to learn how to be subs and work at the club. What we didn’t expect was for her to find you two.” She dragged in another breath, but at least this one was steadier. “I’ve seen the way you and Derrick look at her. Like she’s everything you ever wanted.”
“You figured that out, huh?”
“It wasn’t hard. Any fool can see it.”
“And you’re okay with it?”
“Sure. It’s not what we planned on, but then again, I’m not sure we ever really thought about sharing our Dom. Or Doms, if that’s how it turns out. Besides, she’s my big sis and she’s always had my back. I think it’s time I had hers.”
“But what about you?”
She made a funny face. “You’re not the only Doms in the pond, are you?”
At first, he didn’t catch it. When he did, he couldn’t help but get embarrassed. “She told you about last night?”
Her gaze lowered to his crotch, then back up. “Yep. Every little and big detail.”
“Oh, hell. Although I guess I should’ve figured it. Girls always talk about stuff like that.”
“Pulease. Like guys never talk about the girls they were with.”
“Yeah, I guess we do. Sometimes. But not as much.” He laughed when she gave him a yeah, right look.
“Caleb, do you think you can do me a favor?”
“Sure. What is it?”
“Please don’t make me even look at another chicken.”
She was so distraught, how could he refuse her? “I don’t know about not ever looking at one again, but I’ll talk to Derrick and take you off chicken duty. How’s that?”
“Thanks again. I owe you one.”
“Hey, Houston!”
The men striding toward them were friends as well as fellow ranchers. Caleb got to his feet, taking Jilly’s hand to help her up.
“Hey, Alex.”
Alex Triston ate up the ground between them, with Mike Triston leading a horse along behind them. Caleb liked the cousins. They were both outgoing and ready for fun. The girls like them, too, with their dark-blond hair and their tall, muscled physiques. Both liked ranching as much as he and Derrick did, although the Triston cousins had been born into it instead of having to buy their ranch. Plus, the Tristons were two of the Doms at the club and had promised to show Derrick and him the ropes.
Caleb’s attention jumped to the stud horse. “Thanks for bringing him. I’m glad we could reach a solid price for him.”
“No problem.” He shook Caleb’s hand, but his attention had drifted to Jilly.
Caleb checked Mike. Both of the Triston boys had lost interest in the conversation. Instead, their attention was centered on Jilly. “Guys, this is Jilly Miller. She and her sister Molly are our new ranch hands.”
“You’re kidding.” Alex didn’t hold back. “But you’re a girl.”
“I’m so glad you could tell.” Jilly crossed her arms, her head high. “Girls can work a ranch, too, you know.”
“Of course they can.” Mike took her hand and held it between the two of his.
Yep, there he goes. Mike had always been more of a charmer than Alex. From what he’d heard, they had an impressive trail of heartbroken women in their past.
But Alex wasn’t about to be left out. He took her other hand. She was caught between the two large men, but she didn’t seem to mind one little bit.
He’d been right to give them a call. They could be the answer to making Jilly happy, too, as well as clearing the way for them to take only Molly as their sub.
He and Derrick could have Molly. And, although she’d said she understood, he couldn’t miss seeing the disappointment in Jilly’s face when she’d said it was okay that they wouldn’t be her Doms.
If she likes Alex and Mike, then no one’s left out.
He’d never played matchmaker before, and he wasn’t even sure he should think of it that way. But what could be wrong with bringing two good Doms together with a wannabe submissive?
“Hey, will you guys stick around with Jilly? I’ll take the horse and get him settled in.”
He chuckled when not one of the three answered him. They were too busy checking each other out. He snared the reins from Mike. “Come on, boy. We’re not needed here.”
He led the horse to the barn. If Derrick was inside, then they could have a talk about what they’d do next. And he could fill him in on how well the Triston cousins and Jilly had hit it off. He whistled a tune as he entered the barn.
Derrick was where he thought he’d be. Brushing down Raider.
“Hey, bro. How’d it go today?”
“’Bout as I expected.” Derrick didn’t look up. He just kept on br
ushing his horse.
The new horse’s whinnies brought his head up, though. His face brightened as it did whenever he saw a good horse. “I see the Tristons have delivered.”
Caleb led the horse into the biggest stall and took the halter off him. “He sure is a beauty.”
“He’d better be for what we paid them.”
“He is. And the added bonus is how they reacted when they met Jilly.”
Derrick’s interest picked up. “Yeah?”
“I’d say the Triston boys got an immediate hard-on for her. And she sure wasn’t telling them to go to hell, either. We might just want to keep getting those three together.”
“That would solve the problem of wanting Molly and not her sister.”
“Exactly. So how about the girls? What’d you give them to do?” He patted the horse’s neck, the muzzle, and latched the stall gate behind him.
“Mostly housework and going to town for supplies. I haven’t been inside the house to see what got done, though.” Derrick leaned against the stall. “You?”
“Nope. I didn’t check anything. But Jilly wants to be let off taking care of the chickens. Seems she doesn’t like them much. Or them her.”
“Doesn’t matter to me as long as they’re taken care of.” Derrick snorted. “There’s something you should know.”
“Yeah?”
“I gave Molly a lesson today.” He tossed a questioning glance at Caleb. “On how a bullwhip feels.”
“Aw, shit. A fucking bullwhip? Damn it, bro, if you scared her off—”
“Take it easy. She survived. And she got a reward.”
“How much of a reward?” He planned on sharing Molly with Derrick, but he wasn’t too keen on the idea of Derrick fucking her first. “Did you fuck her?”
“Not the way you’re thinking. Let’s just say I helped her relieve some of her stress.”
“O-kay.” Would it be better not to get into the details? Maybe.
“Still, I’m thinking we should keep hands off for the next few days.”
“What the hell for?” He’d planned on getting his hands, his tongue, and his cock all over her.
“I want to see how she’ll handle ranch life before we get too involved.”
“She’ll be fine.”
Derrick pushed past him and headed for the tack room at the back of the barn. “You didn’t see her with the herd.”
“What’d she do?”
“At first, nothing except squeal like a little girl. She acted like the cows were about to bite off her face. You know. Like how you used to act when we were kids and I’d stick a spider down your shirt.”
“Fuck, bro. You know crawly things freak me out. And it could’ve been poisonous.”
“They were just spiders. Get over it.”
He still hated the damn creatures. Anything that small and that fast gave him the creeps. He’d rather face a dog with rabies than go anywhere near a spider. “What do you have in mind, bro? About Molly, I mean.”
“That’s all. Let’s see how she handles hard work. As well as how good she is about taking orders when there’s no sex involved.”
“Are you just trying to be a hard-ass or do you really think this is necessary? I don’t care how she reacted with the herd. She’s the one I want.”
“It won’t hurt any of us to give it time. We need to lead with our head and not just our cocks.”
“Fine. We’ll do it. But only for two or three days max.”
“Deal.”
“And when she finds out and blows sky high? You’re the one taking the heat.” Once Derrick took the blame, he’d move in and do his best to calm her down.
“No problem. But don’t go thinking it’ll give you a leg up.” Derrick grabbed the horse brush lying on a nearby table and tossed it to him. “Remember. I’m the one who gave her the first orgasm.”
Damn. He hadn’t thought of it that way. His mood brightened. “Hey, bro?”
“Yeah?”
“Molly and Jilly have been here twenty-four hours.”
Derrick scowled at him. “So?”
“Come on. You remember our bet. They made it past one day, which means I won the bet and you owe me fifty bucks.” He tossed the horse brush back to Derrick, then strode out of the barn. “You can pay me later.”
Chapter Six
Molly bent over and gave Derrick and Caleb a good, long shot of her butt as she dusted the television stand. She knew she was obstructing their view of the soccer game, but if it helped get their attention, then she was doing it right.
“Hey, baby.”
Caleb hadn’t called her baby in days. She straightened up, eager to hear him say he wanted her. Eager to hear he was ready to teach her more about being a submissive. “Yes, Dom Caleb.” She liked using the term of respect even better than sir.
The corners of his mouth quirked upward. At least until Derrick shot him a hard look. What was going on with them? She wasn’t sure, but she had a strong suspicion that they were playing a game. One Caleb wasn’t completely comfortable with.
Caleb glanced at his brother and the possibility of a smile was gone. “You need to dust there later. We want to watch television and you’re in the way.”
For what had to be the hundredth time, she started to open her mouth and let all her frustration out. But for what also had to be the hundredth time, she shut it and choked back the words. Were they trying to run her off? Didn’t they want her any longer? Even though they hadn’t had real sex yet? She did a little curtsy—her way of sarcastically obeying them without saying anything—then stepped out of the way.
She didn’t mind cleaning the house for the third time since she and Jilly had arrived, but she did mind that the men hadn’t touched her since after she’d finished tossing the hay out for the herd four days earlier.
Had she done something wrong? If she had, she didn’t know what it was. Besides, shouldn’t they punish her for messing up? In fact, they hadn’t said much of anything other than to order her to do yet another chore. So far, along with her household duties of cleaning and doing the laundry, she’d taken over gathering the eggs then feeding the chickens, feeding the horses in the barn, tossing out more bales of hay for the herd, and was headed for a long day shoveling manure.
And she’d done it all with hardly a grumble. How could she complain when every time she started to, Derrick or Caleb would remind her that a good sub never questioned her Doms. She wasn’t sure, but she didn’t think getting ordered around like a slave, at least a domestic and ranch hand kind of slave, had anything to do with being a good submissive. The one time she’d dared questioned them, asking how those chores were part of being their sub, they’d given her confused looks and reminded her that she’d been hired on as a ranch hand. Which, in her case, included housekeeping.
At least I don’t have to cook anymore. But if this keeps up for much longer, I’m not sure I can take it. Not without some loving in between the work.
They’d given up on having her in the kitchen. But only because they were tired of her burning food and having to toss it out. And Jilly wasn’t doing any better.
What the hell is going on?
The men were immersed in the soccer match so there wasn’t any reason to try to talk to them. Instead, she dropped her dust cloth and picked up the laundry basket. Who still hung their laundry outside on a clothesline anyway? If she stayed with them much longer, she’d have to talk them into buying a dryer. Their washer was on its last legs, too.
She’d just gone out the door to the backyard when Jilly strolled around the corner. “Hey, sis. How are you doing?”
Lifting the basket, she tried to keep the bitterness out of her voice, but failed. “Oh, just great. Yeah. Wonderful. While you’re spending time at the Triston place, I’m here breaking my back.”
Jilly’s happiness couldn’t be suppressed. “I know and I’m sorry. But you understand how it is, don’t you? I mean, you’ve got the Houston brothers and I’m hoping to have the Tri
ston men. You’ve got your Doms and I’ve got mine. It’s all working out for the best.”
Molly dropped the basket. “So is it official? Are they really your Doms?”
Jilly sat down on a stump next to the clothesline. “Sure. Just like you three.”
“Oh. Are you doing chores every day? Are they ignoring you and treating you less like the woman they’re hot for and more like a dog? If so, then yes, just like us.”
“Wow. So it hasn’t gotten any better, huh?”
She nudged her sister over so she could share the stump. “Not one damn bit. They haven’t touched me at all. I mean, at all.”
“That’s sucks. I wonder why.”
“I’m beginning to think they don’t really want me. Other than as a ranch hand and house maid.”
“You know that’s not true. I’ve seen the way they look at you.”
“How? You’ve been gone for the past two days. And before that you were so hung up on getting with Alex and Mike you weren’t paying attention to anything else.”
Jilly wrapped her arm around her waist. “I’m sorry, sis. But maybe it’s a test to see how much you’ll take.”
“Why would they want to test me? And if they were, why not test me by teaching me to be submissive?”
“I don’t know. Maybe it’s like how Alex started breaking a horse yesterday. It’s not like you would’ve thought it was. Like him jumping on the horse and letting it buck until it tired it out and gave in. No, he’s taking it slowly, letting the horse get used to the way he wants it to act.”
“Great. So they’re working me like a dog, but training me like a horse. Yep. I feel special.” She searched her sister’s face. “But Alex and Mike aren’t training you like that, are they?”
She was both pleased and jealous by her sister’s expression. Her sister was falling in love with the men she wanted as her Doms.
“No. I mean, sure, they’re teaching me how to be a good sub, but not by doing chores.”
“Then how?” Why had she asked the question? “Never mind. I don’t want to hear the details.”