Heat traveled from her neck to her face. Was the couch too low to crawl under? Could she be any ruder? She’d asked them about their life and all she could think about was getting under their clothes.
“I’m sorry, my mind drifted. It was rude of me and I don’t have an excuse except that I must be more tired than I thought.” She glanced at Maverick. “Would you mind repeating the story, please?”
Both men burst out laughing and the mood lightened. “Relax, Adrian, we’re messing with you. I saw your thoughts drift off and what you heard was basically all Maverick said. What were you thinking about?”
“Nothing in particular.” Oh, how she longed to close her eyes and give herself over to the erotic pleasure she was sure their hands could bring.
Behave yourself, you need to work with them.
She squirmed in her seat and focused her gaze on Maverick. “So, tell me about your shoulder.”
“Nothing much to tell. During our last rodeo, one of the bulls got a bit testy and spooked my horse. I had a minor disagreement with the balusters surrounding the ring.”
She was sure it was much more serious but left it there. “Are your family still staying on the ranch?”
He nodded. “My sisters”—he held up two fingers with a pained expression on his face—“both married doctors and live in town, but my parents still live on the farm.”
“You adore your sisters.”
Maverick smiled. “I do. Both are older than I am and they used to spoil me rotten. Now, they’re more of a pain in the butt.”
“Why?”
“Because the only subject they know to discuss is when I’m going to stop my bachelor ways and find me a good old Texan wife to settle down with.”
Adrian sighed inwardly. She’d gladly volunteer for the job. “Sounds like they love you to pieces.”
Maverick glared at her, but humor twinkled in his eyes. “Only a woman can make such an assessment. You don’t know my sisters.”
“What about your family?” Wade asked while Adrian’s giggles subsided.
“Not much to tell.” She waited for the familiar pain to stab at her heart. It didn’t and she breathed easier. Everyone had said she would stop hurting someday, but until today, the word family had evoked feelings of intense loneliness and searing sadness. Maybe the time had come to move on.
Wade watched her but didn’t push, and Adrian found herself telling them about the accident that had taken her parents’ lives and changed her own forever. Although she still missed them, it didn’t hurt as much as it used to.
“So you’ve been on your own since high school?” Maverick asked.
“Yes, but it wasn’t as bad as you might think. You get used to relying only on yourself. After I got married it was quite a struggle to defer to another person once again.”
A stunned silence followed her words.
“You’re married?” they chorused.
Wade stood and walked to the window where he closed the drapes on the darkness outside. At Adrian’s admission, the temperature in the room had dropped as if the icy wind howling outside had been let in. Why hadn’t he considered that a woman like Adrian might be married? Stunning women rarely stayed single for long.
Maverick’s silence spoke volumes. They both had an unbreakable rule—they never dated or had sex with married women. Although the lust straining through his veins might convince him in this instance that it would be all right to do so, his conscience would never agree. Her actions today didn’t mirror those of a married woman and bile rose in his throat. How could he have misread her so completely? Did he really think with his dick more than his brain?
Wade cleared his throat. “Where’s your husband now? Doesn’t he mind that you’re here alone for extended periods of time with virtual strangers?”
She shook her head, causing a blonde strand to whisper against her cheek. Wade curled his fingers into his palm to prevent him from reaching out and stroking the hair away from her face.
“We’re divorced.”
Relief flooded his mind. A little of his confidence returned and he ambled to the couch where Adrian sat, leaving only a breath of a space between their bodies when he reclined in the soft folds.
“Why?”
“I was married to a fashion model I had met during a photo-shoot in Mauritius. Although we initially agreed to have an open marriage and other sexual partners were allowed, he walked out on an important shoot after he discovered I had also indulged in a little extra-marital sex for recreation.”
Wade frowned at her. “You cheated on him?”
Her chin lifted an inch. “No, I had sex with another person. In our marriage, cheating implied we saw the other person more than once and had an affair. I had one night of incredible sex with someone I’ve never seen again.”
Wade shook his head in disbelief. If she were his woman, there’d be no way he’d allow another man to touch her in his absence. “So why was it a problem?”
“He looked tired during a shoot and when I reprimanded him, he lashed out and flaunted his conquests—which included all three female models on the assignment—in my face.” She shrugged. “I told him he wasn’t the only one getting some, but I could still do my job afterwards.”
Maverick’s laughter bellowed through the room and he came to sit on the armrest of the couch next to her. “I bet that went over well. What did he do?”
Adrian closed her eyes as if the question elicited painful memories. “He caused a scene, calling me names, and then he walked out on the shoot—left me with no male model and no means to fulfill my contract.”
Wade moved closer to her and draped his arm around her shoulders, gently massaging the exposed skin of her neck. To his relief, she didn’t shrug off his arm.
“I’m guessing that’s not the end of the story?”
“No. The advertiser sued and my reputation went up in flames along with most of my financial security.” She glanced at them. “That’s why nothing can go wrong on this assignment. There won’t be any third chances if I blow this.”
He received the message loud and clear. No frolicking to endanger her livelihood on this trip. If he could just get his hands on her ex-husband…
A polite knock sounded at the door and the men moved away from her. After her little revelation, they wouldn’t want to touch her with a bargepole. Which was a good thing, right? So why did she feel like she’d lost a chance at something good when Wade and Maverick jumped at the knock?
Marie poked her head around the doorframe and smiled at Adrian. She barely spared the men a glance. “Dinner is served, if you’re ready.”
They nodded their thanks and followed Marie down the hall. Dinner was a quiet affair with everyone lost in their own thoughts. After the meal, she arranged to meet the men at dawn, bade them goodnight and hurried to her room. Although it was barely eight in the evening, the day had taken its toll and for the first time in ages, she was deliciously tired.
Once she slipped between the warm sheets, her mind refused to still. Wade’s questions had her re-evaluating her marriage to Rory. She turned onto her other side. They’d been happy in the beginning. Rory was an attractive man who’d appeared to have all the answers to life’s questions. During the early stages of their marriage, they’d laughed a lot and had such great fun. What had changed?
Adrian plumped up the pillow and pulled the blankets to under her chin. After the newness of being together had worn off, they’d just seemed to drift apart. Each had their own life and they were seldom home at the same time. She had been physically attracted to Rory—with his great physique it was hard not to be—and they’d had great sex. But even the sex had petered out in last couple of months prior to the divorce. Maybe she hadn’t really loved him and only felt physically attracted to him.
She shook her head in the darkness. It was water under the bridge and flogging herself now could do her no good. It just proved that she shouldn’t try to build a relationship with a man.
Ima
ges of the men sleeping in the adjacent rooms flooded her mind and her body heated. Her attraction to Rory paled in comparison to the raging inferno of lust she had for these men.
Dammit, Adrian, you have to pull the reins on your libido. Any relationship with those two could only end in disaster.
She turned again and clamped her eyes shut. Nobody said anything about a relationship. What she felt for the men was lust, nothing more. Forcing her body to relax, she drifted to sleep.
Chapter Five
Adrian stared over the veld from her seat on the porch, a steaming mug of coffee resting on the low wall in front of her. It was still dark and the stars twinkled in the sky. In the east, the sky gradually lightened, creating a fairy-world in the pre-dawn minutes.
Shuffling sounded from inside the house as the men prepared to face the day. Heaven help her, but she couldn’t wait to see them again. Her body tingled at the mere thought of the ecstasy the cowboys offered. She rested her elbows on her knees and cradled her chin in her palms. She had to get over this unholy attraction she had toward them.
The screen door banged shut behind her and Wade’s woodsy cologne drifted on the early morning breeze. His scent and the way he slightly dragged his right leg was enough to identify the man coming through the door.
“Did you sleep well, Wade?”
He sank into the chair next to her. “How’d you know it was me?”
She smiled. “A woman must have her secrets.”
“Fair enough, but a man can’t wake up with only coffee.” He leaned over and pulled her head toward him. “Morning, gorgeous.” He brushed his lips across hers. His feathery touch whirled sharp pinpricks of awareness through her body. She shouldn’t do this, her mind screamed. But it’s only a kiss.
“Morning,” she whispered then she kissed him right back, losing herself in his tenderness.
“I hope there’s some left for me as well.”
Maverick’s voice startled Adrian out of the daze Wade’s kiss had induced. She grabbed her coffee from the wall and cupped the mug in her hands.
She shook her head. “Huh-uh. I told you I can’t do this.” At their sighs, she risked a glance at them. Damn, they were hot. Freshly shaven and full of energy, the cowboys would test the resolve of a nun.
“We’re not your ex, Adrian.” Maverick lugged an empty chair closer. “If I’m not mistaken, you’re as attracted to us as we are to you?”
With her heart fluttering, Adrian nodded. “It makes no difference. We can’t act on those attractions.”
“Why?” Wade grumbled.
“Because I think the company employed a chaperone to make sure I don’t repeat past mistakes.”
Both men frowned. “I didn’t see anyone else besides the chef, so how…” Wade slapped his knee. “The chef?”
“Maybe she’s just that, a chef?” Maverick queried.
Adrian shook her head. “Nope, from what she told me yesterday, I suspect the company sent her along as chaperone.”
Maverick sipped his coffee and stared into the darkness. “How could she be a chaperone when she doesn’t live on the premises?”
“According to her, she tried sleeping here on her first night, but couldn’t manage. Why would she try to stay at such an isolated location when she knew she wouldn’t be able to cope unless the company expected more of her than mere cooking duties?”
“Maybe you misunderstood?” Maverick questioned.
“Possibly,” Adrian nodded, “but it still doesn’t change the fact that we can’t indulge. The risk is just too great.”
Wade turned his empty cup in his hands. “You didn’t contract us—the company did. If we walk out, the company will sue us directly.”
“And we’ve never abandoned a job just because it got awkward.” Maverick winked at her and her insides warmed up. “Besides, we always finish what we start.”
The awareness that had simmered in the air sprang to life, re-igniting the fires she’d tried to douse the previous night. She had no defense left. She’d wanted the men since she’d laid her eyes on them the previous day. Maybe if they got the sex out of the way, she’d stop fretting about restoring her reputation and be able to focus on doing what she loved best—being an incredible photographer.
Excitement stirred in her veins. “I hope you’re ready for some hard work today.”
Wade removed his foot from where it rested on his knee. “Don’t change the subject. You’re not opposed to the idea?”
Adrian shook her head. No use pretending she didn’t want them. “I’ll leave the details up to you.” She got up from the chair. “Just so you know, I like creative men.”
“Yeehaw,” they replied in a chorus, and Adrian laughed.
“So what are you waiting for? Get your gear, and let’s head out.”
The sun had started to lighten the sky during their conversation and the temperature had dropped a few degrees. Already she could see frost forming on the ground close to the house. She shivered and pulled her jacket closer to her body.
Maverick stood and sipped on his coffee. “I don’t know much about the weather here, but I sure as hell hope it’ll warm up during the day.”
Adrian wanted to smack her forehead for her oversight. The men came from summer in Texas to winter in South Africa. “It will. Our mornings are chilly, but it warms up nicely after a couple of hours, and between eleven in the morning and three in the afternoon it can be quite pleasant.”
“Pleasant as in you don’t freeze your butt off so much, or pleasant as in I can take my shirt off?” Wade enquired.
“Both. By eleven you won’t need a jacket if the wind doesn’t pick up.” She indicated toward the mountains. “However, the weather in the mountains can be very unpredictable, so it’s better to be prepared. You can have both winter and summer in one day.”
Maverick nodded. “Great. Where to today then?”
“I thought you guys could get used to the saddles, and I’ll follow in the Cruiser. If I see a good spot for a photo, I’ll stop you. That way we get to accomplish two things at once.”
“Sounds fair to me.” He drained the coffee in his mug and turned to Wade. “You ready to saddle up?”
“Just waiting on you to move your ass.”
Adrian watched the men disappear into the house only to emerge minutes later with their Stetsons in place and well-worn leather chaps protecting their jeans. After the semi-darkness swallowed them, she finished her coffee and dragged her equipment to the car. Once she’d filled the vacuum flask Marie had left on the counter with fresh coffee, she buttoned her jacket and closed the door behind her.
Dawn fully arrived as she steered the Cruiser through the narrow gate at the start of the trail up the mountain. In front of her, she could just make out the silhouettes of the riders. Not wanting to spook the horses, she kept her distance and watched the men going through their paces.
As the day progressed, Adrian’s respect for the two cowboys grew. They knew what they were doing and judging by the snippets of conversation she’d overheard, they liked the saddles. Not once did they complain when she stopped them and arranged them into poses to take some photos. They were courteous to a fault, although neither of them let the opportunity to touch her pass. By the time the sun touched the horizon, her libido was roaring into overdrive from their stolen kisses and seemingly accidental touches.
She arrived home well before the riders. The photo-shoot for the day had been a success. She liked them, and they were fun to be with. Not once did they make her feel incompetent or stupid, although she must have sounded half-witted with her lack of knowledge about the horses.
As she alighted from the car, her stomach growled. All of them had agreed to skip lunch in favor of using the available time to work. The kitchen was empty and Adrian hurried to her room to shower and change into a fresh pair of jeans and a sweater. By the time she entered the lounge, both men had showered, built a fire and were lounging on the oversized chairs. She poured herself a glass of
wine and sat on the couch opposite Wade. The air crackled with the awareness that had brewed during the day.
Wade scooted over and placed his arm over her shoulders. “One way I’ll stay awake until dinner is if I kiss the breath right out of you.”
He didn’t need to kiss her to accomplish his mission. His presence so close robbed her of her ability to breathe quite thoroughly. He lifted her chin, swiped his tongue over her bottom lip, and Adriane decided breathing was overrated in any case. She slid her arms over his shoulders and pulled him closer. Somehow, tomorrow didn’t matter. They all needed a little release.
Wade took the glass from her hand, placed it on the side table and lowered her against the cushions. Adrian’s heart rate thundered in her ears as his warm body partially covered hers while his mouth claimed hers in a searing kiss. He teased her lips apart and she obliged without hesitation, causing her world to spin out of control. His tongue duelled with hers, both demanding and giving pleasure. His hands roamed over her body—a body sorely overdressed for the occasion. She wanted his hands on her skin, sliding over her heated flesh.
Shocked by the fierceness of her need, Adrian forced her mind to clear. She pushed at Wade’s chest to gain some distance between them. He complied immediately but frowned.
“This is just sex—nothing more?”
Wade nodded. “No strings attached. I find you incredibly attractive and beautiful, but neither of us is in the market for a serious relationship.”
Why did her heart pinch at the thought of merely a one-night stand with them? Could she keep her emotions out of the equation and let the men leave once the assignment was over? If she couldn’t, she had to get up now and say goodnight. The idea of the cold, lonely bed awaiting her sobered her thoughts. Previously she’d managed perfectly fine to keep the sex to just that—sex. Why would this be different?
“Good, neither am I.” Adrian tugged at his shirt. “What are you waiting for, cowboy?”
Grinning, Wade flattened his palm over her breast, making small circles to stimulate her nipple to nearly unbearable tightness. His fingers kneaded the soft flesh while his other hand skimmed up her thigh, electrifying each nerve-ending and sending want and need straight to her core.
Her Bareback Cowboys Page 4