by Leah Brooke
“That doesn’t mean I trust anyone else. Trust has to be earned.”
Hayes laid a hand over her forearm, the tingling awareness from his touch shooting straight to her nipples.
“You can ease up on that pistol. That’s Jeremiah, Phoenix, and Hart up ahead. I’m sure Jeremiah can’t wait to see Maggie, and Phoenix and Hart are probably checking to see if they brought any women back with them. They all know that you’re already spoken for.”
Something had already told her that the approaching riders posed no threat. The men had obviously seen and identified them, probably long before she’d even noticed them.
Uneasy at her own lack of vigilance, she took her hand from her gun.
Wyatt glanced at Eb, but Savannah could feel his attention on her.
“We’re on Tyler land now, Savannah. Eb, Hayes and I are going on to the pond with your charge. We’ve got a few things to discuss before we get to the ranch. She’s safe with us.”
Eb nodded without hesitation.
“Didn’t doubt that at all.”
Savannah thought about objecting, but one look at the worry in Maggie’s eyes changed her mind. She didn’t want to upset her friend by arguing with Wyatt and Hayes in front of her, and figured this would be as good a time as any to set them straight about a few things.
“I won’t be long, Maggie. I know you’re tired. Why don’t you go on up to the ranch and get a little sleep? We can talk later.”
Not bothering to wait for Maggie’s reply, she turned away, a little surprised at the looks of respect and indulgence from Eb’s ranch hands.
She hadn’t expected that, assuming that they would think less of her after hearing that both Wyatt and Hayes had an interest in sharing her.
She thought about it as she rode in silence between Wyatt and Hayes, staring straight ahead as they made their way through a small grove of trees.
Perhaps the other men had been forced to accept what Eb and Jeremiah had with Maggie. After all, their pay depended on respecting their bosses’ wishes.
When the trail narrowed, Hayes urged his horse forward to lead the way, while Wyatt fell back to ride behind her.
Her position between them filled her with an inner warmth she didn’t want to examine too closely.
It struck her suddenly that ever since they’d approached her in the store, she’d let her guard down, relying on them to keep her safe in a place where danger lurked around every corner.
No matter what she’d said to Eb, she trusted Wyatt and Hayes with her safety every bit as much as she trusted them with her body.
Somehow she felt connected to them, and in ways she hadn’t even considered. Even now she couldn’t keep her eyes from the compelling sight of Hayes riding in front of her. Staring at his broad back, she couldn’t help but admire his wide shoulders as he sat straight and tall in the saddle.
The coat he wore against the early autumn evening only emphasized his rugged build, a build she knew intimately.
It hit her suddenly that the night they’d spent together in Kansas City would always be between them—an intimacy they’d shared that nothing could ever change, and one that no one, not even her uncle, could ever take away from her.
Her stomach tightened at the memory of just how firm and sleek those shoulders she couldn’t stop staring at felt under her hands. How safe and solid his body felt as he cradled her against him.
How hot. How strong.
How those wide shoulders could block out the rest of the world and make a cocoon of warmth and safety just for them.
How they’d blocked her view of the fire he’d built as he held her, whispering words of affection and encouragement as he took her virginity.
“I think you were right in suggesting some sleep. Mrs. Tyler was looking a little under the weather.”
Wyatt’s low tone coming from right behind her snapped her back to the present. Raising her collar around her burning face, she nodded and looked around, taking in the small clearing they’d entered and the cluster of large rocks by the pond.
“Yes. I’m sure she needs more rest now. I just hope Eb and Jeremiah are taking care of her.”
Glancing in her direction, Hayes brought his mount to a stop beside the pond. He slid from his horse in a graceful move and headed straight toward her, frowning when she dismounted without waiting for him.
“Of course Eb and Jeremiah take care of her. They worry about her all the time and check on her constantly. Sometimes I wonder if she’s strong enough for life out here.”
From behind, Wyatt touched her shoulder, making her jump because she hadn’t even heard him approach.
“It’s a hard life, but I have to give them credit for making sure she’s as protected as possible. I just don’t know if she’s got the sand to make it here.”
Insulted, Savannah rushed to defend her only friend.
“You know nothing about Maggie, you sidewinders!”
Ignoring their looks of surprise, she rushed on, not giving either one of them a chance to speak.
“You don’t know her at all! She might have been surrounded by people who loved and protected her, but she’s never been spoiled.”
Wyatt straightened to his full height, several inches over six feet, and crossed his arms over his chest.
“I know she’s nothing like you. I know she didn’t have the kind of life you had to endure. Your friend’s been protected and spoiled her entire life—”
“No!” She shoved at him, infuriated when she encountered rock-hard muscle on an apparently immovable frame.
“Maggie was my friend when no one else wanted to be seen with the daughter of a loose woman and the niece of the crazy Reverend Perry. She included me in everything and shared everything with me—even her family. The Tylers looked after me because I was Maggie’s friend. Every time Esmeralda made a dress for Maggie, Maggie had her make one for me. Even Eb and Jeremiah looked out for me because of Maggie. She made them stop for me every time they went to town. She always made sure I had as many of the treats they bought as she had.”
Turning away from their probing gazes, she stared at the pond behind them, furious at herself for letting her mouth get away from her. Apparently, she’d dropped her guard too much and scrambled to create some sort of distance between them again, and at the same time defend her friend.
Memories crept in again, memories of a night long ago, the night Eb rescued her from the man who was supposed to be taking care of her. If not for her friendship with Maggie, he wouldn’t have been there to collect her, and her life would have been changed forever.
Lifting her head, she met their gazes.
“Maggie’s friendship has always been the best thing in my life. I don’t know what would have become of me if not for that.”
Some unspoken message passed between Wyatt and Hayes, one filled with pity that made her uncomfortable enough to look away.
Staring back at the pond, she took a deep breath and let it out slowly, determined to get her emotions back under control.
It was important to her to make them understand Maggie.
“Maggie taught me how to shoot and ride, even though my uncle forbade both of them. She went toe-to-toe with both Eb and Jeremiah when they found out and somehow managed to get them to not only keep it a secret, but to help teach me. When she’s determined to get her way, Eb and Jeremiah don’t stand a chance.”
Her smile widened at their looks of surprise.
“Maggie’s always been hard working, courageous, and full of life. She has the kindest heart of anyone I’ve ever known, but don’t ever make the mistake of confusing that with weakness.”
Hayes smiled, a sad smile that Savannah had seen more than she cared for. On Hayes, however, it made her want to cry.
“But she didn’t have it as hard as you did, did she, Savannah? You were a slave to whatever chore your uncle wanted you to do. He had you running all over town to tend to the sick members of his church, making excuses about being busy because
he didn’t want to be around them. Cleaning the church and his house. Cooking for him and for folks he wanted to impress so that they would give him donations.”
Wyatt’s jaw clenched.
“He ran you ragged and then expected you to sit and read scripture to him every night because he wanted to instill it into you and was too damned lazy to read it himself.”
Savannah blinked, too surprised to hide her reaction.
“How did you know that?”
Hayes smiled and took a step closer, his eyes narrowing when she stiffened. “Don’t. Don’t be afraid of me.”
Lifting her chin, she met his gaze squarely, surprised at the vulnerability darkening his eyes.
Wyatt closed in on her from the other side, running a hand over her trembling arm.
“We watched you like hawks, and have no intention of changing that. You really didn’t think we were going to give your uncle a chance to put any more of those bruises on you, did you?”
The fire in Hayes’s green eyes reminded Savannah far too much of the night they’d both taken her, a fierce possessiveness combined with tenderness that made her weak in the knees.
“We’d wondered if we’d made a baby with you that night.”
The hand he slid a hand inside her coat moved over her abdomen with the same tender possessiveness, the shock of sizzling heat making her gasp aloud. Her stomach tightened in response, the sharp stab of intense heat making her pussy clench and dampening the place between her thighs.
His eyes narrowed.
“We didn’t, but we will.”
She tried to pull away, but Wyatt caught her from behind, wrapping an arm around her waist while nuzzling her neck.
“Why did you run away, honey? You know how much Hayes and I want you. We told you that we both wanted to marry you. We would have handled your uncle for you.”
With a surge of inner strength she didn’t realize she possessed, she pushed out of their arms, her heart pounding.
Keeping her back to them, she took a few precious seconds to get herself under control before adopting the cool dismissive look she’d long ago become accustomed to wearing.
“I don’t want you handling things for me. I can take care of myself. I’ve been doing it for years. I have no intention of being under the control of any man ever again. I left one. What makes you think I’d let myself belong to two?”
Hayes’s eyes darkened and narrowed into that terrifying look he must have perfected during years of facing down outlaws.
“Take that tone with me again, Savannah, and I’m going to turn you over my knee and paddle that perfect little bottom of yours.”
Savannah’s jaw dropped, hardly believing the always stoic man standing before her would even say such a thing.
Gathering her wits, she chuckled, reminding herself that she no longer had to answer to anyone.
“What would make you think that I would be interested in tying myself to a man who wants to hurt me? If your arrogant attitude is supposed to make me swoon and fall into your arms, you’re in for a big disappointment.”
Gripping her forearms, Hayes yanked her against him, his eyes narrowing to slits.
“My arrogant attitude is what kept you alive and unharmed during your trip here. We sat up nights watching you—taking turns sleeping. We moved closer and closer every day, but you’re so green, you didn’t even realize it. You were almost attacked twice, but we got to them first and you slept right through it. My arrogant attitude will deter other men from thinking they can even get close to you. This isn’t Kansas City. This is wide-open country and is only as safe as those who uphold the law make it.”
Wyatt slipped his arms around her from behind.
“We want you, Savannah. We quit our jobs with the Marshals in order to become sheriffs in a town where we can marry you.”
Staring into Hayes’s hypnotic gaze, she moaned as her hands moved of their own volition, flattening on his muscular chest.
“You shouldn’t have done that.”
Surrounded by the heat of their bodies, she trembled with a need so strong it scared her, her stomach muscles tightening as Wyatt moved her braid aside and touched his lips to her neck.
Somehow her head fell back and tilted to the side at her involuntary need to give him access to the vulnerable place on her neck.
Closing her eyes, she moaned again at the delicious heat that sizzled through her, from her neck to her breasts and back again, the pinpricks of pleasure making her ache everywhere.
Wyatt ran his lips over her neck, his voice low and intimate.
“We couldn’t have done anything else. Don’t you realize by now that we would do anything for you? We couldn’t just ride away and leave you there.”
His hands closed around her waist, the tension in his big body unmistakable.
“We couldn’t take you with us and subject you to the kind of danger we dealt with every day. We all want to build something here, Savannah. A place where folks can live any way they desire as long as they’re not hurting anyone else. A place where the women’s safety is the main priority. Stay here with us, Savannah. Help us build this place. Help us be a family.”
Hayes slid his hands from her shoulders and into her hair, tilting her head back, his eyes hooded.
“No more running. You’ll be safe here. Stay.”
Savannah gasped at the feel of his warm breath on her lips, the anticipation of his kiss making her heart race. Remembering the slow way he kissed her, a way that made her feel as though she was drowning, she fisted her hands on his jacket and waited.
As he’d done before, he teased her lips with his, enticing her to open to him before he ventured inside.
Her lips parted in another gasp when Wyatt closed his hands over her breasts, his touch so light she wondered if she imagined it.
But the heat, oh God, the heat from his hands burned through her shirt, making her breasts feel even more swollen. The tingling sensation in her nipples made her squirm against Hayes as he covered her mouth completely with his.
He swallowed her cry, lifting her against him and urging her to wrap her legs around his waist. With one hand tangled in her hair and the other firm beneath her bottom, he held her, sliding his tongue over hers in an erotic dance that made her head swim.
From behind, Wyatt nuzzled her neck and shoulder, his chest hot against her back as he teased her nipples through her shirt.
An inner passion she didn’t know she possessed broke free, and before she could stop herself, she began sucking on Hayes’s tongue, drawing it into her mouth and caressing it with her own.
His reaction both stunned and delighted her.
At first, he stiffened as if surprised, but he recovered quickly.
Tightening his hand on her bottom and in her hair, he pulled her impossibly closer and moved her body against his, pressing the hard bulge at the front of his pants against her center.
Lifting his head, he held hers steady, forcing her to meet his gaze.
“Do you know what it did to me when you left?”
His beautiful eyes glittered, the distress in them melting something inside her that had been frozen for years. The rare glimpses of tenderness this wonderful man seemed to have trouble showing made each one even more special.
The sudden warmth hurt, making her feel things that she’d only gotten a glimmer of the night they’d taken her.
It made her feel vulnerable and soft, two things she couldn’t allow.
Frightened, she tried to pull away, but Hayes held strong.
“Let go of me.”
With a hand wrapped around her braid, he set her on her feet and reached between them, caressing her mound.
“I’ll never let go of you, Savannah. I ache every night with wanting you. Why did you leave Kansas City without telling us? We would have taken you out of there and away from your uncle any time you wanted.”
From behind her, Wyatt massaged her breasts, his fingers pulling away the ends of her shirt as Hayes
unbuttoned it.
Wyatt groaned against her neck. “You should have come to us.”
Savannah couldn’t catch her breath as they bared her breasts to the cool evening air. Her knees weakened, threatening to give out on her when each man began to toy with her nipples, teasing them into throbbing points.
“I, oh, God. I didn’t want your help. Oh!” Defenseless again the intoxicating pleasure, she let her head fall back against Wyatt’s chest and closed her eyes.
They’d paid quite a bit of attention to her nipples that night in Kansas City. She’d been too nervous and overwhelmed by their hands everywhere else, though, to notice how incredible the lightest touch there could feel.
Each brush of their rough fingers sent a surge of pleasure through her, making her pussy clench with need and her clit feel swollen and tingly. Tightening her fists on Hayes’s coat, she struggled to concentrate.
“I didn’t need your help.”
She gasped at the pinch to her nipple, crying out at the sharp pleasure of Hayes’s touch.
Wyatt caught her with an arm around her waist, steadying her.
“Yes, you did.” His hand closed over her breast, a sharp contrast to the cold air on her other.
“You put yourself in a dangerous position. Your impulsiveness could have gotten you hurt, or even killed. Those men who tracked you weren’t looking for a cup of coffee at your fire, and the outlaws you almost ran into would have done a hell of a lot worse to you.”
Hayes rolled her nipple between his thumb and forefinger.
“When I think of what could have happened to you—”
With a curse, he gave her nipple a sharp tug. “I’m not used to caring about anyone, Savannah. Hell, it took me years to warm up to riding with Wyatt. This doesn’t come easy for me at all, and your blatant disregard for your own safety infuriates me. I won’t be able to take it if something happens to you.”
Wyatt buried his face against her neck.
“You should have come to us.”
The need inside her frightened her, becoming far stronger than it had been the night they’d taken her. That night, they’d spent most of the time easing her fears and comforting her. This time, however, they seemed different—more intense.