Wrangled (Steele Ranch Book 2)

by Vanessa Vale

  “What is that ridiculous outfit you’re wearing?”

  She stood, hands folded in front of her, her eyes taking in every inch of me.

  I didn’t look down at my button-up shirt, the jean skirt and cowboy boots I loved so much.

  “You’ve met Sutton, I’m sure,” I said, not responding to her question, to her dig.

  She angled her head in his direction, but didn’t look behind her. “Yes.”

  “May I introduce you to Jamison.” I lifted my hand in his direction, then toward Boone. They remained behind me a few feet. “And Boone.” I didn’t tell her anything more about them. The less she knew, the better, and I doubted she even cared.

  “How quaint.”

  Just as I thought. “What is it you wish to speak about, Mother? Surely, you didn’t come all this way for the scenery.”

  She pursed her lips, not liking my sarcasm. “You could at least invite me into your home.”

  “May I offer you and your security detail a beverage?”

  “No, thank you. Sutton has seen to us.”

  I inwardly rolled my eyes.

  “Mother, you pulled me away from something important with your unannounced visit. Please tell me why you are here.”

  Her eyes narrowed. I recognized the look. I’d seen it often enough. She was upset at my lack of interest in her presence.

  “Perhaps we can have some privacy.”

  I sighed then. “You wish me to dismiss my friends while your security detail listens in? I think not. I have nothing to hide. The question is, do you?”

  She turned on her heel and walked right past Sutton and into the house, the two security men following. Sutton remained where he was and I gave him a small smile as I walked past him. I heard Boone and Jamison’s boots on the steps, knew they were right behind me.

  I found my mother in the dining room, sitting at the head of the table as if this was a conference room and she was in charge. I remained standing, my hands on the high back of a chair at the other end.

  The security men remained in the great room, nearby if I decided to jump across the table and harm their charge. Boone, Jamison and Sutton all came into the room, pulled out chairs and sat down. Three big cowboys, hats resting on the table before them, ready to listen.

  My mother raised one plucked eyebrow, then said, “You told me you turned down the job offers you’ve received.”

  “I did.”

  “Why?”

  “I didn’t wish to live in Iceland.”

  She lifted her hand, gave a quick wave as if pushing Iceland to the side.

  “The company in Charlotte didn’t seem like a good fit,” I continued.

  “But the one with Borstar would be much more accommodating. You may complete your dissertation and have the job. They will be quite flexible, I’m sure, with someone of your abilities.” She folded her manicured hands on the table.

  I studied her closely. Remained silent. Considered her. She’d come eighteen-hundred miles for something important. Something important to her. She didn’t care about me. And she really didn’t care about Aiden Steele. She wanted to erase him from her life. Probably me, too, except I held some value to her. Not love. Value.

  I could infer so much from her words. Everything, in fact. It was so obvious now. I laughed, looking at the woman who’d given birth to me. It was as if I’d needed glasses and I’d finally put them on. It was crystal clear.

  “I was sent to boarding school to get out of your life.”

  “That is not true,” she countered. “It was to give you the best education, advantages other children could never dream of having.”

  Of a life devoid of love, a childhood no one would want.

  “Your money paid off. I’m smart enough to see what this is all about.”

  She remained quiet. Poised.

  “You knew about the job offer was with Borstar. Now I have to wonder how I got the job, because of you or because of my brains.”

  She gave a negligible shrug, but her shoulders stiffened impossibly more.

  “A surveyor from Borstar was here the other day. What arrangement do you have with them?”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she countered, a little too quickly. “I didn’t raise you to speak to me like this.”

  “You didn’t raise me. Chapman Academy did.”

  I stepped back, turned around in a circle, bit my lip. “You’re on the Committee for Energy and Commerce.”

  “The Environment sub-committee, to be exact,” Boone clarified.

  All eyes shifted to him. He’d obviously checked out more than me with his online search.

  “I’ve been in college for five years,” I continued. “It took you that long to get yourself set up within the ranks in DC and Borstar helped you. How much money did they provide to your campaign?”

  My mother stood abruptly, her chair scraping across the floor. “Penelope—” Her tone held censure. Anger. Yet she kept her cool. Barely.

  I cut her off with a wave of my hand. “In exchange, you gave them me.” I paused, analyzed. “At first, you did. But then you tossed in Steele Ranch to what, sweeten the pot? Figured out how to use your one-night stand with Aiden Steele to your advantage.”

  She gasped in feigned outrage.

  “The surveyor was here—what, a day early?—because you told them I’d work for them. That once I was on their payroll, they’d have access to my inheritance. Prime oil and gas land.”

  She pursed her lips, remained silent.

  “I’m not taking the job. I’m not doing the stupid dissertation.”

  Her eyes narrowed. “You will do as you’re told.”

  Boone and Jamison stood to their full height, towering over both me and my mother. Perhaps that was the DNA I’d gotten from her. Short stature.

  “I’m staying here, in Barlow.”

  She laughed then, but it was laced with sarcasm. “And do what? Can home-grown vegetables?”

  I shrugged. “Maybe I’ll dig for oil. I’m certainly well versed in it. But you planned for that, pushing me into that area of study. For just this moment when you needed an insider in the field.”

  She sputtered, then stopped. Took a deep breath. “Do you remember what I told you would happen if you didn’t follow in the Vandervelk footsteps?”

  I nodded, smiled. “Oh yes. You’ll cut me off. Consider it done.” I stuck my arm out. Pointed. “There’s the door. I don’t need you. I don’t need your money. I certainly never had your love.”

  “What do you have here in this God-forsaken place?”

  I glanced at Jamison and Boone. “Everything.”

  She followed my gaze, raked her eyes over Boone as if he’d just wrestled a nest of snakes. “You found love with a cowboy? He’s at least a decade older than you.” She laughed then. “What would he want with a child like you? Oh yes, he’s in it—in you—for your money, for the inheritance. At least my interests are for the good of the country. My connection with Borstar will lessen the American reliance on outside energy resources.”

  “No, your connection with Borstar lines your pockets and ensures your political position. Nothing more. You don’t give a shit about America. You don’t give a shit about anything but yourself.”

  Her mouth fell open then. Practically to the floor. I’d never spoken back to her like that, never used foul language.

  “So you’ll shack up with an old cowboy. All that education for nothing. You’re a waste.”

  Boone took a step toward my mother, but didn’t touch her. I could see the anger radiating off him in waves. “I’ve never hit a woman, but that might change today.”

  Mother paled. “How dare you—”

  “You don’t speak to my wife that way.”

  “Wife?” she sputtered.

  I held up my left hand, let her see the rings on my fingers. While Jamison remained quiet, I knew he was ready to toss her out the front door if I gave him the green light.

  “You are an idio
t! He now has half your property.”

  “I don’t think I formally introduced myself. I’m Boone Montgomery. Of the Butte Montgomerys.” When my mother didn’t even blink, he continued. “Never heard of me?”

  She shook her head, writing him off. I had no idea who the Butte Montgomerys were either, but I didn’t really care who his family was. Based on my mother, family didn’t make a person. I just wanted Boone.

  “No? Then perhaps you’ve heard of Nathan Montgomery, Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. He’s my uncle. I believe he’s in your neck of the woods. Then there’s Jed Montgomery, but he’s a little before your time. He was Senator from Montana back in 1924. Then there was his father, Garrison Montgomery, who was one of the great Copper Kings. You’ve heard of them. They had more money than the Rockefellers, but that was only a small amount of money. It’s been over a hundred years and I’m sure the sum’s much bigger now. Are those enough big names for you or did you want me to go further back on my family tree?”

  Mother sniffed. “So she married you, after two weeks? She must want you for all that money.”

  “So am I after her money or is she after mine?” he asked. When she realized she’d gotten caught in her own words, Boone relaxed, smiled. “You think she’s after me for my money? Please. She wants me for my big dick.”

  I choked on my own spit. Jamison outright laughed. Sutton’s lips quirked up, his version of a smile.

  “That will be quite enough,” she replied tartly.

  “That’s right. We’re done here.”

  She glanced down the table at me, but didn’t say anything.

  “Tell Borstar to stay off my land or I’ll have them arrested. And you as well. You’re not welcome here. At first, I thought you walked away from my father. My real father. But now, I’m sure he walked away from you. What were you guys, drunk? Is that how he got you pregnant?”

  I shook my head when she pursed her lips so tight, it looked as if she were sucking on a lemon. She did flush a bright red, but made no comment. It didn’t matter. I didn’t really want to know about her one-night stand.

  “If you come back, or make any contact with me, I’ll talk,” I added. “About Borstar. About Aiden Steele.”

  “You’ll be ruined,” she said. While she was full of bravado, I saw her powerful walls crumbling.

  Slowly, I shook my head. “No, I won’t. You will. Goodbye, Mother.”

  I went around the table, stood between Jamison and Boone.

  She gave me one last disdainful look, then turned and left. The security detail followed. We didn’t move until the SUVs started up and pulled away, their engines fading into the summer day.

  “They didn’t even close the front door,” Sutton said. He stood, grabbed his hat and walked out, closing the door behind him.

  “Are you all right, Kitten?” Jamison asked, coming over to me, putting his hands on my shoulders, leaning down so his gray eyes met mine.

  I smiled. Brilliantly. My mother was gone. For good. “Fabulous.”

  He smiled. “That’s right, you are.”

  “You told that woman she’d interrupted something important.”

  I flicked my gaze up to Boone. “That’s right. She did.”

  “Oh, and what was that?” he asked.

  Seemingly content I wasn’t going to burst into tears over the confrontation, Jamison stood to his full height, crossed his arms over his chest. Waited.

  “It’s not Scrabble.”

  16

  BOONE

  “You really have an uncle who’s a judge?” Kitten asked as I worked to undo the buttons on her shirt. Again.

  This time, even if the house caught fire, I wasn’t stopping.

  “For a scientist, you didn’t do much research.” I was responding, but I had no blood left in my brain to process. It had all dropped to my pants at the sight of Kitten in her bra. Jamison knelt behind her and was helping her off with her skirt, providing her balance as she stepped out of it. Jamison stood. She was before us now in the matching black lace, her cowboy boots. And our rings.

  “Fuck, Kitten,” Jamison said, running a hand over his mouth. “You’re the hottest thing I’ve ever seen.”

  “Get naked or those panties will be ruined,” I growled. I was too far gone to be tender.

  I’d been cock blocked by a parent when I was a teenager. But that had been high school. My balls ached from having to take time to deal with Congresswoman Vandervelk. And now, with Kitten undoing the clasp on her bra and seeing her luscious breasts bounce free, I groaned. I knew how they felt, tasted. I watched as her little upturned nipples hardened.

  Jamison glanced at me, then back to her chest. “One for each of us.”

  I liked the way he thought.

  We moved on her then. She stepped back, once, then again until the backs of her legs bumped Jamison’s bed and she dropped down so she sat on the edge of the mattress. We’d made it to his cabin—we weren’t fucking her in the main house. We wanted privacy, and lots of it for what we were going to do.

  Jamison dropped back to his knees and got his mouth on her, sucking a nipple hard enough his cheeks pulled in. Her hands tangled in his hair as his eyes slipped closed.

  I joined him, cupping her other breast, laving the nipple. “I’m rich, Kitten,” I said, before wrapping my lips around the tip, grazed my teeth over it.

  “I don’t care about your money.”

  “Are you sure?” I asked, glancing up at her, seeing her with her eyes closed, her lips parted. Her cheeks were flushed, the pink color spreading down her neck and almost to our mouths.

  “I didn’t even know you had it until a little while ago.” She gasped, dropped her hand on my head, curled her fingers and tugged. “I should…I should be upset, but I’m not.”

  We took our mouths off of her, Jamison with a loud pop. Her nipples were a cherry red, glistening from our mouths.

  “Why not?” I asked.

  Her eyes fluttered open and she slid her hand around to cup my jaw. She smiled, so sweet, so pure. Her pale eyes held mine. “Because I’m only interested in your big dick.”

  I laughed, leaned forward and kissed her. And kissed her.

  “Hey!” Jamison said. “What about me and my big dick?”

  I pulled back. Kitten reached out for Jamison, leaned forward and kissed him too. “Yes, you and your big dick, too. I love both your dicks equally.”

  “Good, because we’re going to fuck you at the same time,” Jamison added. He stood, began to strip. “The lube’s in the drawer, Boone.”

  I moved to get the lube, tossed it on the bed. We’d be needing it. Lots of it. I’d claim her virgin ass, but I’d do it carefully. She loved ass play and I knew she’d love this. Kitten was so fucking passionate, so sexually responsive. She’d come, and hard.

  Jamison dropped down on the bed beside Kitten, his knees bent and his feet touching the floor. His dick was hard and pointing straight up. He crooked a finger and Kitten moved over him, straddling his waist, the cowboy boots sexy as hell. Her breasts swung down, brushed his bare chest.

  I loved seeing the black lace on her ass, but it had to go. Grabbing the band at the waist, I carefully tugged, tore the delicate fabric so it was in two pieces in my hands. She gasped, but said nothing as she watched it flutter to the floor.

  “I warned you, Kitten.”

  Jamison shifted then, one hand on her hip, the other between her parted thighs, sliding in and out, testing her readiness.

  From my vantage point, I couldn’t miss how wet she was, the way his fingers came out of her pussy coated with her sticky honey.

  “Please, Jamison. I’m ready.” She shifted her hips forward so he slipped out. With one hand on his shoulder, she gripped the base of his dick and hovered over him. “I don’t need to come first. I need you in me. Now.”

  Jamison didn’t respond, most likely because she’d gotten her little fingers wrapped around him. But she’d slipped in the br
oad head and he groaned. He knew she was ready and wasn’t going to argue. He wanted in.

  So did I, but I had to wait. Her pussy might be ready for a dick, but her ass wasn’t. Not yet. I grabbed the lube, flipped the lid and squirted some of it onto my fingers. I watched as Kitten fucked Jamison, took his dick nice and deep, then lifted off. Watched the way her virgin hole winked at me as I knew she clenched her pussy.

  It was time. I moved toward her, slid my coated fingers over her. It was time for her to bring us together as one. The one person who could make us a family.

  Our Kitten.

  JAMISON

  I wasn’t sure if I was going to last. Being inside Kitten, having her ride my dick, using it for her own pleasure had pre-cum coming out in little spurts. It was as if there was too much cum in my balls and I had to get some of it out. She was so fucking wet, she needed none of it to get her slick to take all of me. Nope, she slid right down in one quick slide.

  The way she’d handled her mother had made my dick hard. Insane, really, but it had. She was smart, a fucking ball buster and gorgeous as hell. I was so proud of her, so insanely in love with her, I was losing my mind. And seeing our rings on her fingers was my undoing. She belonged to us. No legal document was needed. Just her words, her love. The rings a physical proof. My dick buried deep another one. And soon, Boone would join me in her. We’d prove to her she was everything, the center of our world.

  I gripped one curvy hip and lush tit, cupped it, kneaded it as she moved.

  The sound of the flip top on the lube made me thank every god out there. And when Boone leaned in and began to get her ass all ready for him, she stilled, leaned forward. I took that opportunity to lift my head and take a nipple back into my mouth, suck on it. Hard. Hard enough that it made her walls rhythmically pulse around me.

  Sweat beaded my brow. She barely moved, just circled her hips. I was going to die. Killed not from Kitten’s claws, but by her sweet pussy.

  She groaned, her eyes widening as she relaxed her neck, her head dropping and her silky hair falling in a curtain around us. I knew Boone was working her, carefully opening her up with more than just a finger. Two, possibly even three.