by Jane Jamison
“It’s nice to meet you.” She took a seat and crossed her legs in a way she knew would draw attention to them. Her skirt barely covered the necessities, but wasn’t that the point?
“I heard about Cowboys for Hire from a friend of mine.” At least that much was true.
“But I want to apologize first for coming into your home. I wanted to find you, but when you weren’t home, I kind of let myself in.” She gave them a smile that showed her dimples. “I never knew anyone who didn’t lock their front door.”
“It’s a thing around here.” Bill’s blue eyes zeroed in on her. “We trust people not to walk in uninvited.”
She bowed her head and peered through her eyelashes. “Again, I’m sorry for that. It’s just that I’d walked so far, and I was so damn hungry and hot that I took advantage of the opportunity. I realize it’s no excuse, but I hope you’ll forgive me.”
William leaned back in his chair. “Don’t worry about it. We’d have let you in anyway. Providing you need help. Is that why you’re here?” He lurched forward, startling her a little. “Are you in trouble, Shawna?”
For a second, she forgot that she’d given them the fake name. Recovering, she favored him with a blast of her white-for-the-stage teeth and a flash of her dimples, then wiped them away and put on as pitiful a face as she could muster. “Please, I hope you can help me.”
Carter took the other chair. “Tell us what’s going on.”
“Does that mean you’re really them? The Cowboys for Hire? And that you really help women who need it?”
He checked with the others then nodded. “We’re part of that organization. Now tell us what’s going on.”
“It’s my boyfriend.” She uncrossed her legs, drawing their attention away from her hands so she could drive a fingernail into her palm. As her acting teacher had taught her, the pain helped bring up a tear. “He’s after me.”
The atmosphere in the room changed, going from the easy flow of before to one of concentrated concern. Bill edged closer. “Has he hurt you? Or threatened you? Tell us everything.”
She clasped her hands in her lap and acted as anxious as she could. “He’s very jealous and controlling. He only lets me go to work, and then I can’t talk to another man or he goes crazy. I couldn’t take it any longer, so I ran off.”
“Then what’s the problem? You got out of the situation.”
She shook her head, making her golden locks dance. “I did, but I don’t have anywhere to go. I don’t have any family, and I don’t want to stay with my friend and put her in danger. That’s when I heard about you guys and decided to use my last dollar to get here.”
“Get here from where?” Carter rose, went to the kitchen, and returned with a bottle of water, giving her time to sort out her answer.
“I’m from Dallas, and I took the bus to Tulsa. I knew you were in a small town close by, and I don’t know. I think Destiny’s name kind of lured me from there. I got lucky, I guess. From Tulsa, I hitched with a trucker until he let me off in Destiny. A couple of really nice ladies at the market told me how to get here, and I grabbed another ride out to the main road. Then I walked the rest of the way.”
“No wonder you needed a bath.” At her surprised look, William added, “I meant wanted. Not needed. You don’t stink or anything.”
“Smooth, cuz.” Bill chuckled. “So what do you want from us? Sounds to me like you made a clean getaway.”
She let a tear slide down her cheek and saw the alarmed reactions on their faces. “I don’t know that for sure. He’s not the type to let go that easy. I have this horrible feeling that he might follow me.” She went in for the kill. “If he does, I don’t know what he’ll do.”
She looked at each of them then, her eyes clouded over with moisture. “Do you think you could let me stay here? Just until I’m sure he’s not following me?”
If the plea in her eyes didn’t get them, then maybe appealing to their macho side would. “I know I’d be safe with you guys.”
Carter answered even as William nodded his agreement. “Yeah, you can stay. No problem.”
Bill, however, didn’t say anything. Instead, he gave her a suspicious look and remained silent.
He was going to be hard to convince, but she liked a challenge. Bolting out of her seat, she pulled first Carter then William into a hug. At last, Bill stood and she pulled him into her arms.
Don’t you worry, big guy. I’ll have you believing my story in no time.
* * * *
Bill stalked back into the living room after checking to see that Shawna had closed the bedroom door behind her. “Gabriel’s not going to go for this.”
Carter had to agree, especially after how angry Gabriel had been when the Granger boys had brought Maria back to the ranch for safekeeping. Their leader had warned all the men that it was a one-time thing. But then, since she’d fallen for the Grangers as hard as they’d fallen for her, the problem had resolved itself. All the men expected to bring women home eventually. But Gabriel still didn’t want clients on the ranch.
“Bill’s right. Gabriel’s going to go ballistic if he finds out we have a client here.” William paced the area between the kitchen and the living room. “But maybe we should let her stay. What else are we going to do? Kick her to the curb and hope the boyfriend didn’t follow her? Gabriel wouldn’t do that, either.”
“No. He’d say find her a safe house and guard her there.” Bill lingered near the hallway as though standing guard in case Shawna came out of the bedroom.
“Then maybe that’s what we should do, Bill.” Yet Carter knew they could hear the hesitancy in his tone.
“Naw, man. What’s the point? I mean, she’s already here.” William locked his hands behind his neck and sighed. “Why bother moving her to a place that won’t be half as safe as our home?”
“Then we let her stay and let the shit hit the fan with Gabriel. He’ll get pissed off, but he’ll get over it.” Carter played both sides of the argument, but what else could he do when each man presented valid points? He often played devil’s advocate in their discussions.
“So do you want to be the one to tell Gabriel that she’s here, William?” Bill chuckled. “Good luck with that.”
“Hell, no. I’m not telling him by myself if that’s what you’re saying.” William opened the refrigerator door, perused the contents, and then let it close.
Carter went to the front window and stared out. He hadn’t wanted to put their home so close to the main road, but Bill had insisted, claiming that they’d save money whenever they got around to paving the driveway. If they’d built the house farther back on the land they’d chosen as theirs, then maybe she wouldn’t have found them.
He was surprised to find that he didn’t like that idea any better. She was in trouble, and he wanted to help her. Plus, she was the best-looking woman he’d ever run across. He would’ve hated to miss seeing her get out of the tub.
“We can’t tell Gabriel.”
He felt them tense. Lying to Gabriel, even if it was a lie of omission, didn’t sit well with any of them.
“What are you suggesting we do with her, bro?”
He turned to face them. Although Bill was older, it often fell to him to come up with a plan. His big brother was more about action than thought.
“We keep her here under our protection until we know for sure that her boyfriend’s not going to be a problem. Then we help her get set up somewhere else. In Tulsa or even another city out of the state.”
William lifted his beer in salute to Carter and his idea. “I second that motion. Besides, she’s way too hot to let roam the streets alone.” He took a big drink then wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.
“Before we decide for sure, I think we need to talk about the other problem.”
“Damn it, Bill. What other problem?” asked Carter.
“I think she’s lying.”
Bill may have been all action, but he was a good judge of character. “About what?”<
br />
“I don’t think her name’s Shawna, and I don’t think she’s running from anyone. At least not a boyfriend. It’s just a gut feeling I’m getting.” Bill joined William by snagging his own beer from the fridge.
“What makes you think so? Other than your gut.” He’d never discount Bill’s intuition, but he still wanted more concrete proof for his suspicions.
“Not much else.” Bill took a swig of his beer then sat down and leaned back against the sofa. “Except she just doesn’t hit me as the type who’d run from trouble.”
“And you say this because you know her so well?” He didn’t know why his dander was up, but the more obstacles Bill threw in the way of letting her stay, the more irritated he became.
“Look, Carter, I said it’s a feeling, that’s all. But it’s also the way she handled herself. Would a woman who’d had a domineering boyfriend stand up buck naked in front of three strange men? And there was this gleam in her eyes, like she wanted us to challenge her.”
“She seemed like she was pretty scared to me.”
Bill scoffed at William. “Which is why you’re lousy at poker. You can’t pick up on people’s tells. Especially when the lie’s coming from a hot woman.”
Could Bill be right? If he was, did they dare take her into their home? Or would she turn out to be the real trouble?
“He could have a point, but how do we find out?” As much as it irritated Carter, he knew better than to ignore Bill’s instincts.
“By keeping her here,” added William.
Bill nodded at William. “And there’s one last thing.”
Crap. Bill was doing his best to try and talk them out of letting her stay. “What now?”
“I don’t know why, but she looks familiar.”
It was his turn to laugh. “Hell, Bill, you think every pretty blonde looks familiar. Or at least, that’s what you tell them.”
“And it always works.” He would’ve sworn Bill’s chest inflated from pride. “But she’s more than just another pretty blonde. She’s smokin’, and from what I’m getting, she’s the type of woman who could handle men like us.”
They’d often talked about the kind of woman they’d like to share, and she did fit the bill. At least, physically. And if Bill thought she was more of a fighter than she was letting on, then her personality would be a good match as well.
“Dang, man,” joked Carter. “One minute you’re suspicious of her, then in the next, you’re ready to make her ours. Which is she? Liar or lover?”
Bill shrugged. “Just because I think she’s hiding something from us, doesn’t mean she can’t be the one. The fact that she’s shown up out of the blue makes me think fate might be handing us a gift.”
“That’d really be something, wouldn’t it?” William’s excitement tinged his tone and infected Carter.
“Okay, then, we’ve decided. We keep her under our protection and lay low out of Gabriel’s sight.” Carter couldn’t deny the little thrill of excitement that whipped into him and stirred his cock.
“Fine. If that’s how you two want to handle this.” Bill took another swig of his drink. “Just keep your eyes open and your brains working. If she’s lying, we’ll find out.”
Chapter Four
Sela didn’t want to get out of the huge bed. Stretching, she luxuriated in the soft sheets against her naked skin. If anyone thought silk sheets were great, they didn’t realize how good cotton could feel.
Voices drifted to her as she lounged, letting her mind and body take their time waking up. The Richland men were sexy as hell. They were so sexy that she’d had a wet dream about them.
She closed her eyes, willing the memory of the dream to come to the forefront of her mind. They’d gathered around her, their bodies pressed against hers as their hands and mouths made every inch of her skin an erogenous zone. Although the dream was now a blur of tangled bodies and sounds of sex, she could still feel her pussy throbbing even after awakening to find her hand between her legs and covered with her own juices.
She let out a frustrated breath. Experiencing a wet dream was wonderful, but it still came in second to having the real thing. Not that she’d ever had a threesome, much less three men at one time.
Her public image exuded sexuality, but in truth, she hadn’t had much luck with men. Finding a good one was hard enough, but trying to warm up to him was even harder. After everything men had done to her in her life, it took a long time to earn even a modicum of trust and even longer to get between her legs.
She’d had a few boyfriends and she’d tried to take them at face value, tried to trust them even when her gut told her not to. But even after shoving aside the anger she still felt at her father-gone-AWOL, she’d been torn apart when each one had cheated on her and left her bitter and alone. She still wanted to put those bad experiences behind her, but with each occurrence, the wall around her heart grew harder.
And as for the happily ever after? She wouldn’t let herself dream that particular dream no matter how much she yearned for it.
She’d better stick with the wet dreams. And the Richland men were the stuff wet dreams were made of.
I wonder what they’re doing right now? Talking about me, probably.
She threw off the sheets, and slipping back into the tight skirt and a T-shirt, she smoothed the material as best she could, but wrinkles didn’t take away from the sexiness of the outfit. Deciding to go barefoot rather than put shoes on her aching feet again, she gave her image a once-over then headed toward the sounds of men’s voices.
“Hey, there she is.” Carter, the easygoing one of the three, grinned at her.
Sela waltzed into the room. She hadn’t thought she’d slept that long, but the moon was already casting shadows across the floor. The men were gathered together in the small living room and passing around a bottle of tequila, taking quick shots of the fiery liquid. A saltshaker, as well as a bowl of limes, was on the kitchen counter, but it didn’t look as if they were using them.
“I guess I missed the start of the party.” She smiled, letting them know she was kidding, then clasped a hand over her mouth when her stomach growled.
“I bet you’re hungry. We made dinner, but figured you were resting, so we didn’t want to disturb you.” Carter, the one she’d already started thinking of as the reserved-yet-ready-to-serve kind of guy, bolted from the couch, took her hand, and dragged her into the kitchen.
He grabbed a plate from the cabinet then found silverware in the drawers. “We made tacos.”
“Wow. So you guys cook?”
Carter’s chuckle flowed over her, making her feel welcome. “Yeah, we can make a mean batch of tacos or a hell of a pot of spaghetti. Oh, and for breakfast, we scramble eggs like nobody’s business. Anything beyond that and you’re asking for a day spent over the toilet.” He cringed. “Sorry. I shouldn’t have gotten that graphic.”
“That’s okay. My stomach’s pretty tough.”
“You can grab the leftovers out of the fridge along with some salsa, if you like. I’ve got the shells right here.”
She did as he’d told her, and before she could get a word in edgewise, he had two scrumptious tacos ready for her to eat. Helping herself to one of the barstools, she chomped onto the first taco and let the spicy beef fill her mouth. If her manager were around, he’d knock the food out of her hand and declare her insane for taking in so many calories. The thought made the tacos even more delicious.
A few minutes later, the two tacos were gone. She licked her lips and sighed. “I haven’t had anything that good in a long time.”
“Didn’t your boyfriend let you eat?”
She tensed up at the accusatory tone in Bill’s voice. He was definitely still suspicious. “Of course he did. But he told me what and when to eat.”
She was using her manager as a reference. Of course, Grisham was supposed to keep her weight on track. Nobody liked a fat pop star.
“Seriously? What else did he do?” William brought the tequila bot
tle over to the kitchen counter and waited as Bill and Carter gathered around for a shot.
“Lots of things. He told me what to wear and who to talk to.” Once again, poor Grisham was the model, and again, it was part of his job to get the best wardrobe and publicist to advise her. And to decide which reporters deserved interviews.
“And he chose the outfit you’re wearing?” Carter’s light brown eyes slid over her.
“What? Don’t you like what I’m wearing?” She gave him a dazzling smile, one that brought out her dimples, too. But as her gaze shifted to Bill, she knew she had to tone it down. “I mean, he picked this out.”
She hung her head and tried to act more timid. “He only let me wear it when I was with him. And even then, if I so much as looked in the direction of another man, he’d go nuts and accuse me of cheating.”
“Well, you don’t have to worry about that bastard any longer.” William’s tone brooked no argument.
William’s face had tightened, his blue eyes taking on a worried gleam that touched her heart. Carter’s face matched his cousin’s. How could these men care about her well-being in such a short time? She wasn’t used to any man caring about her unless it had to do with either having sex or making money.
“William’s right, you know.”
Bill’s blue eyes, so much like his cousin’s, bored into her. He was ready to keep her safe even when he didn’t fully trust her.
What’s with these guys?
Yet, as difficult as it was for her to understand them, she couldn’t help but love the warm feeling they gave her. They made her feel safe and, more importantly, free to do as she wished. She hadn’t counted on the restrictions becoming a music star had thrust on her. To do exactly as she wished instead of having to confer with managers and the rest of her “people” was a heady feeling. One she now realized she missed.
The whole thing left her excited, yet uncomfortable. She needed to get her emotions in hand. “So it’s okay if I stay a while? I promise I won’t get in your way.” And yet a part of her, the part that had dreamed of them lying next to her, their hands running over her body, wanted to get in their way.