The Lovin’ Is Easy (Triple Diamond Book 1)

by Gemma Snow

  He brushed one more strand of her hair over her shoulders and paused mid-motion. And fuck, because this woman, despite the high heels and the city girl attitude and the fear of horses and kittens, turned him on like no one ever had. Especially since a little sliver of lacy purple bra peeked out from behind her black tank top and just below it was a tattoo…

  In an instant, Christian’s mind conjured a thousand images of Madison Hollis wearing nothing at all but that tattoo and whatever other surprises she had hiding across her skin.

  “You don’t strike me as the tattoo kind,” Christian said, sinking his thumbs into the tight knots at her shoulders and kneading just that little bit.

  Madison arched into his touch and he liked the motion way too much for what this was supposed to be—an innocent, helpful way to relieve stress.

  “You barely know me,” she said, her voice light and a little teasing. She didn’t quite strike him as the teasing kind, either, but she was right—he didn’t know her, despite the undercurrent of connection that made him want to meet her intimately on a whole lot of levels.

  “So, tell me something about you,” he replied, sliding his hands down her back, maybe just a little inappropriately and seemingly unable to stop himself. Yeah, he wanted her. He wanted her bad. “What’s the tattoo for?” The piece was beautiful, delicate but still powerful, just like the woman who wore it. It was a small, intricately patterned monkey in a tree, done in the watercolor style of tattooing that could either go really well or really badly. In her case, it looked incredible and he felt the insane urge to lick her skin below the colored ink.

  “My parents used to call me monkey,” she said, her voice a little far off and a little distant and a little sad.

  “Used to?”

  Madison turned around and faced him, her eyes dry but stained with memories. “They died when I was ten,” she said. “My uncle and aunt adopted me.”

  Without meaning to, Christian reached out and took her hand in his much larger one, guilt streaking across his mind. He knew better than to judge people, given all he’d been judged for his whole life, and yet he’d reacted to her presence without a second thought and he’d made some mistakes.

  “I’m sorry,” he said, his voice low, meaning it for more reasons than one.

  She looked away but didn’t move her hand. “It was a long time ago,” she said. “I’m okay.”

  “You can still be sad,” Christian replied. “My mom died when I was fourteen. It’s kind of how Ryder and I got so close, actually. It’s been a long time, but I still miss her. I won’t ever not.”

  She nodded and he was pleased to see her accepting the empathy. Madison Hollis didn’t seem like the kind of person who accepted help from anyone, and certainly not pity. He would know. He’d been the exact same way when his mom had died. He’d shut out the world, daring them to come fuck with him. And, thankfully, Ryder Dean had done just that, worming his way into Christian’s life with a badass attitude that had gotten them in trouble for over fifteen years.

  “Of course not,” she said. “And I’m sorry that happened to you, too. But you’re lucky you had Ryder. I don’t know how I would have survived without my cousin Lily. She’s my everything.”

  “She sounds great,” Christian said. He stood up, mostly because his feet were growing a little jittery and his breathing a little rough. It had been years since he’d talked about his mom and the fact that this woman he had just met pulled some strange desire to do just that out of him—well, he didn’t really like it all that much.

  At that moment, the back door to the kitchen swung open and Ryder walked into the kitchen, shirtless as usual.

  “Why the long faces?” he asked plopping a box on the counter and indicating the cat asleep on Ms. Hollis’ notes. “I thought you might want this.”

  Madison scowled. “She’s going back to the barn. I only let her in because she wouldn’t stop yelling. Awful loud for being such a little thing.”

  Ryder raised an eyebrow and Christian just laughed, though his mind whirled in the direction of exactly how loud Madison would be.

  “Hey.” She narrowed her eyes, but he glimpsed a spark of desire in the dark, condemning gaze. “Whatever you’re thinking right about now, stop it. Both of you. I’m not a cat.” And she wasn’t exactly a little thing, either. She was tall and curvy, with an ass that filled out a pair of dress pants and a tight, thin skirt with equal skill. Not that Christian had been watching, because he definitely hadn’t. Flirting to make a point, not for any other reason. Yeah right.

  “Yes ma’am,” Ryder said. He put the box on the ground and grabbed a beer from the fridge. “Have you named it yet? Or are you just going to keep calling it cat?”

  “Very Holly Golightly. And I’m thinking Lucy.” She smiled up at both of them with an expression of innocence so sincere that it took Christian a moment to comprehend what she said next. “Short for Lucifer.”

  The cat—Lucy—stood up from Madison’s pile of books and stretched. Then, seeming to keep eye contact with Madison, it swatted at a stack of papers until the entire pile careened to the floor.

  Madison gave them a fake grin. “Isn’t she just the cutest?”

  “It’s your warm welcome,” Christian said, looking down at the cat.

  “Oh, speaking of,” he continued, accepting the beer Ryder handed him without him asking. “We meant to tell you yesterday, but you passed out. There’s something you should see. It’s over at Holmwood, if you want to take a break.” The expression on her face said she’d be interested in taking the kind of break that had nothing to do with the old manor house except the beds they’d find inside, but she squared her shoulders and grappled for control. Christian couldn’t help but wonder what she’d be like if she gave it up.

  They walked through the unlocked back door to Holmwood—ha, would I ever leave the back door to my apartment unlocked?—and though Madison had tried to insist she had work to do, both men eyed her with such discerning and, admittedly, unsettling gazes that she gave up her weak protestations and followed them…where?

  Was it a good idea for her to be walking with two strange men through the hallways of a house she had never been in before? Was it a good idea for her to feel like Ryder and Christian weren’t actually strangers, but two men who, despite having only just met her, seemed to have a much deeper impact on her psyche than anyone else she had only ever spent two days with? She could for sure answer that question. No, it was not a good idea.

  They walked up a flight of stairs and down a hallway until they stopped before a door. Ryder fished a set of keys from his low-slung jeans and Madison tried not to look. She really did. But she couldn’t deny the firm, hard muscles stretching from shoulder to waist, accentuating a deep summertime tan across broad, powerful biceps. Her defenses were down and she was acutely aware of Christian leaning against the doorframe just behind her, a powerful, overwhelming force that was just as distracting, and delectable, as Ryder’s chiseled back. Stupid man, can’t even put on a stupid T-shirt.

  He unlocked the door and motioned for her to go into the massive room. It was obviously the master bedroom—the space was twice the size of her very expensive San Francisco apartment. It smelled of rich, fresh wood and the lingering breeze from the warm summer afternoon lapping at a shuddering windowpane.

  “In here, Ms. Hollis,” Ryder said. He placed his hand gently around her waist to guide her through a small doorway and released his touch in an instant. Her skin burned where his fingers had been, but she tried not to react and instead followed the two men, and Lucy, her ass high in the air, into a small closet—if walk-in closets could ever be called small. In San Fran, they passed for apartments.

  Ryder buried his head in a shelf and Christian closed the small closet entryway off with the bulk of his body, leaning against the door jamb. Christ, the man was big. A black tank top hung low off his muscled, powerful frame and he had at least a head on her. The idea of that much muscle and power and want…


  No. You’re losing your cool, Madison. The inheritance, Joshua, it all has your defenses down.

  “Here it is,” Ryder said. He pulled a box down from a high shelf, knocking a sweater onto the kitten in the process, who voiced her obvious displeasure. Though the room smelled faintly of mothballs, there weren’t any dust or cobwebs on the box. In fact, despite being shoved to the back of the closet, it looked well cared for. “Mason showed us these pictures a few times over the years. He never said why your family stayed away, but I think he really regretted whatever caused the rift.”

  Madison accepted the box and lifted the lid cautiously. She almost dropped it. There, right on the very top of a stack of photos, was a picture of her mother sitting under the maple tree right outside Holmwood Manor. The tree had been smaller back then, and her mother couldn’t have been more than twelve or fourteen, but there was no mistaking her. The reminder of her mother’s perpetual smile and the softness of her cheeks, along with the confusion of seeing it there had Madison shutting the box closed tight. She needed privacy and a lot less distraction to look at these photos.

  “Is it all right if I look through these on my own?” she asked. “Can I take them out of this room?”

  Ryder’s smile was a little sad. “It’s your ranch,” he said. “You can do whatever you want.”

  The heated tone of his drawl pulled her back to the present, kindling an undeniable awareness of the two hulking cowboys in the very small closet. God damn it, it was her ranch. And it had been one hell of a week, between the shattering and overdue breakup with Joshua, who’d sought greener pastures, and the reality of her family’s ghosts coming into stark focus.

  Maybe it wasn’t such a bad idea to let go, to give in to something she wanted. She worked too damn hard to have not enough fun, and it turned out that some people weren’t worth waiting around for, anyway. She should make the best of this little adventure, sow her wild oats and enjoy herself. She had no doubt that there were two willing participants in the room with her right now. And with her disastrous relationship at an end, she had two years of flirting to catch up on.

  “Whatever I want?” The words spilled out before she thought better of it. But Madison refused to regret it. No, she was going to let loose for a change.

  Christian’s lazy, deliberate pose against the doorframe grew even more pronounced and intentional. She couldn’t walk through the door without touching him, and Ryder leaned back on the shelf in the very small space, nearly pressing himself against her back.

  “Well, city girl,” Ryder drawled low, intent apparent in those few and challenging words, “that depends on what you want to do.”

  Chapter Five

  Maybe he was pushing her. But the woman standing before him in Mason’s old closet, with her tight dress pants and fuck-me high heels, didn’t look like the sort of person who cowered easily. Plus, he hadn’t missed the radiating heat or the intense perusal she’d given both him and Christian since driving up in that fool white BMW yesterday. Judging by Christian’s expression, he was just as aware of Ms. Hollis’ wandering lust. And Christian was reacting—his best friend of twenty years reacted by acting out, being over the top flirtatious, pushing buttons, stepping on toes. From the second Christian had spoken to her, Ryder knew she was under his skin.

  But damn it to hell, this woman was getting under Ryder’s skin, too. Ever since she had arrived, stepping out of that damn sports car in shoes meant for the runway, he’d thought of little else other than stripping her down and pressing her against the nearest flat surface—and he wasn’t the only one. He’d seen that look in Christian’s eyes enough times to know exactly what his best friend was thinking, and it ran something similar to his own depraved fantasies. Sure, Christian could be a bitch about it. They’d both been rocked a little on their heels by expecting some white-haired old man for an owner and getting the stuff of nighttime fantasies instead. But where Christian poked and prodded, Ryder let it roll off his back, indulging in a little of the daytime fantasies that went along with her ass in those tight dress pants. He’d been dealt some hard hands in his life, and there were things a hell of a lot worse than coming to the unnecessary rescue of a woman in pink lingerie, especially a woman who looked like her.

  For once, a tiny, hidden part of him surged at the idea of having Madison Hollis all to himself. He and Christian had always been open about this particular kink—it worked for them and the women they were with seemed to enjoy it very much. But this particular woman called to him on a deeper, more carnal level than anyone he’d been with, alone or with Christian, in the past. And Jesus, she’d been here a day. Fucking dangerous.

  She looked up at him challengingly, and she needed to look up. Though curvy at the generous breasts and hips, she was overall a slight thing, which had Ryder wondering right away about how tight she might feel wrapping her legs around his waist as he drove hard into her heat. A totally normal reaction to just meeting a person. The slight pout of her full pink lips didn’t help his hardening cock any.

  She was made intimately aware of that fact when she leaned back just a little, rubbing that totally insane ass against the front of his jeans. Her gaze flashed when she brushed his growing erection, arguably a second longer than necessary, before walking free of the closet. She strode out of the bedroom door, the tall, thin heels making her ass sway until Ryder’s mind burned, then she tossed a deliberate look over her shoulder.

  “I want a drink,” she said.

  * * * *

  An hour later, Christian sat at the picnic table and looked out over the lake. Ryder stood at the grill and the familiar smell of burgers and toasting buns brought back a flood of memories, years of early summer nights just like this one. Christian felt the pang of Mason’s loss all over again, making him itchy and uncomfortable.

  “I’m going to miss this,” he said low, not sure if his friend had heard him over the sizzle of meat. Back still turned his way, Ryder nodded.

  “It’s not a done deal, man,” he said, “but I know. I miss Mason.” His voice got a little scruffy, which always meant Ryder was feeling an emotion. Christian had known the guy long enough not to press. If Ryder wanted to talk, he would.

  “She seems pretty intent on selling the place. Think she’ll change her mind after looking through those photos?” Christian didn’t want to get his hopes up, but there had been so few things in his life to be really hopeful for.

  “Maybe.” Ryder shrugged and glanced over to the back door of their house before turning around to face him. Ms. Hollis was up in their guest bedroom right now, grabbing a quick shower before she’d promised to come meet them for dinner. Images of her under the spray, body soapy and glistening, got him hard in a breath.

  “We’re three weeks short,” Ryder said, his expression promising trouble of one kind or another. “Mason put it in the will. There’s got to be a way for us to get that money, a loan or something.”

  Christian looked down the narrow neck of his beer bottle. He owned a couple of things that could serve as bank collateral, a few collectibles Mason had given him over the years, a high tech computer that he’d purchased after getting his degree, his custom Harley. It was worth considering—assuming the written clause was legal and not just a gentlemen’s agreement. He nearly scoffed at that. No one would ever call him—or Ryder, or Mason—a gentleman.

  “If it’s legal,” Christian put in. “You’re assuming a lot there.” Still, something a hell of a lot like hope glowed in his chest.

  “She’ll want to sell it to us,” Ryder replied, his voice confident. “Hell, she’ll be happy to. It gives us the responsibility and she just gets paid for a chunk of the land. It’s not a bad deal.”

  Christian raised an eyebrow, but Ryder did have a point. “How quickly can we get that kind of money together, though?” he asked. The ranch was big enough to need an office manager and payroll was still going through, but it would take almost a month of that income to square off their required ‘family rate�
� to buy the section of ranch Mason had once promised them. They needed another way to get it.

  “A few days,” Ryder said. “I can go to the bank tomorrow and figure out the details.”

  “And the city girl?” Christian asked. The damn city girl who’d been plaguing his mind with delicious sinful images of pencil skirts and red high heels. He didn’t want to want her, didn’t want there to be anything below the sinful banter and laced innuendo they’d shared. But, of course, he did—want her, that was. The way she gave as good as she got, and how she seemed to be taken in by Triple Diamond, was getting to him. And that really pissed him off.

  “I mean…” Ryder paused, an almost guilty expression on his face. “We could keep her busy, ya know? I’m not the only one getting those vibes, am I?”

  Christian raised an eyebrow, a small smile tugging at his lips. Despite his hedonistic tendencies, Ryder played that choirboy innocence to the very end.

  “Are you suggesting…” he began, knowing full well what Ryder was suggesting, but wanting it said out loud, wanting to be certain they were on the exact same page.

  “A fling,” Ryder clarified. “Nothing we’ve never done before, and she’s one hell of a flirt. It’ll keep her distracted from the sales documents for a few days while we square things off at the bank.”

  “So, we sleep with her for long enough to get the loan?” Christian asked.

  Ryder made a face. “Don’t be crude. We both want her and she clearly wants us. It doesn’t make sense to tell her about the deal with Mason until we know for certain we can afford it. How about we give her the…tour of Wolf Creek and we can tell her the truth when we know the score? How’s that sound?”