RopedHitchedandLassoed

by Ann Jacobs

  This was his time. Time to step into the void in her life. He’d be fucked if he’d lose Diana again. As he had done nearly every day since he’d come home to stay, Matt trotted up the worn horse trail to a spot where he could see her house in the distance.

  He ground-tied Midnight, his thoroughbred mare, and looked over the split rail fence that separated his land from Diana’s part of the huge McTavish ranch. It was almost a cruel coincidence that her ranch bordered the place he’d inherited five years ago from his grandfather. At first he’d tortured himself, coming here nearly every day he’d spent at the Rocking S during off-seasons, hoping to get a glance of her. He’d given up after a while, sick at heart because he’d heard whispers at the saloon outside Laramie that she’d completely submitted to her cruel Master and rarely left the hundred-year-old log house he could glimpse in the distance.

  Until he’d come home to stay and heard Diana was in rehab, her now-ex-husband in prison. His heart broke when he heard what she’d been through. And every time he thought about Gareth Bender, Matt wished he’d come back a month sooner. If he had, he’d have killed the sadistic motherfucker with his bare hands. Instead he vowed to step in and be all Diana needed in a lover, even to the point of joining her brother’s BDSM dungeon and setting out to become a Master.

  Matt had enjoyed learning about the lifestyle when observing scenes there. Truth be known, he eventually participated in some scenes and fit right in. If Diana wanted a master, he’d become one, but no way would he ever hurt her. He wouldn’t let anybody else do it, either. Her ex wouldn’t be out of prison for a few years, but when they let him loose, Matt intended to be there. If Bender was fool enough to come back to Laramie, Matt would warn him to stay miles away from Diana. He’d back up that warning with his fists—or his gun, if need be.

  What the fuck was he thinking? From what he’d seen last night, Diana wanted a slave now, not another master. Matt didn’t think he could play that role, being trampled under a Domme’s stiletto heels.

  He looked up. The sun was taking its time to rise. The air had a cold edge to it that told him winter was almost upon them, and some ominous-looking clouds hung low in the western sky. So far they’d had a warm fall, but he had the feeling the balmy days were history now that it was mid-November. He bet that by nightfall they’d be getting their first big snow of the season. He’d better get back home and make sure the horses were rounded up and in the barn.

  Then he saw a figure on horseback, moving erratically. Diana? He doubted it. She’d been one of the best barrel racers on their high-school rodeo team. Still, it looked like her, dragging a surly calf toward her barn.

  Maybe he wouldn’t go home. After all, he’d told her last night he’d come see her and she hadn’t offered any objection. He whistled for his mare and swung into the saddle.

  “Let’s go see our neighbor, Midnight.” He flicked the reins against her glossy, black neck. The mare seemed to understand everything he said—something most women couldn’t, he thought wryly—and took off at a leisurely pace through an opening in the fence and down the hill toward Diana’s place.

  What the fuck? As he got closer, he realized Diana wasn’t dragging the calf along. The damn critter was attacking her. Her horse reared, lashing out with its front hooves at the crazed beast. “Come on, girl, we’ve gotta get there fast.” Matt spurred Midnight to a gallop and grabbed the lasso off the saddle horn. He wasn’t going to lose his woman to this loco calf, any more than he was going to lose her to some sniveling sub.

  * * * * *

  “Damn you, you little bastard. I swear I’m gonna turn you into a steer. Stop it,” Diana yelled, a lasso coiled in her hand as she struggled to stay on her pony and hold the satellite phone to

  her ear at the same time. “Finally you come to the phone. Brad, I need you out here now. East pasture.”

  “On my way.” The phone went dead, then sailed onto the ground.

  “Hold on. Don’t let go.” The shouted order made sense. Too bad she couldn’t comply. Her mount bucked wildly, spooked by the devil calf. She tried to hold on, but it was no good. She hit the almost-frozen ground hard, instinctively rolling into a ball to protect her vitals from the crazed bull calf. In all the years she’d spent on the ranch, as a child as well as when she’d moved back here with Gareth, she’d never run into a situation like this before. She rolled up tighter in a fetal position and closed her eyes.

  She’d never been so scared.

  “You okay, honey?”

  “No. I mean, yes.” She opened her eyes, just a little, and saw a set of dancing jet black hooves. It wasn’t Brad, unless he’d been halfway here when she called. And she didn’t recall the high-strung black mare from her visits to his barn. “Matt?”

  “Yeah. Hold on there. I’m gonna try to get a lasso around the critter’s neck and pull him away from your pony.”

  “Thanks.” They’d both done rodeo in high school. All the kids had. She didn’t remember Matt being particularly good at roping, but then he’d only done spring rodeo because of football. God, let him have practiced since then. Diana turned her head enough to get a glimpse of him galloping toward the calf, his lasso poised to throw.

  Oh no. He missed. Twice. Now the calf was coming at him. Matt leapt off his horse and grabbed it around the neck. Diana struggled to her feet. “Idiot! That crazy SOB has to weigh five hundred pounds. Hold on, I’m coming to help.” She scrambled around in the dirt. Had to find her lasso. There it was. Re-coiling it, she moved as fast as possible, considering it felt as if her ankle might be broken. Had to get where she could throw it before Matt lost and the calf won.

  The muscles in Matt’s neck bulged. He let out a bellow louder than the little bull. Then he slammed the critter to the ground and straddled his neck. Infuriated, the animal twisted and struck out with his hooves, but Matt held on.

  “Hold on. Let me help you hog-tie him before he gets loose again.” Diana moved closer, trying to avoid sharp hooves and hobble his rear legs at the same time. She got one, then the other tied. Not tight enough, though, that the damned little bull couldn’t lash out at her.

  “Matt, choke him.”

  “I’m trying, damn it. He must’ve gotten into some locoweed.”

  He sounded out of breath. Who wouldn’t be, after spending ten minutes holding down something twice his size? “I’m gonna try to tie his front legs, too. Brad’s on the way.”

  The calf’s frenzied movement slowed. “Try now. I won’t let him loose.” A powerful engine roared in the distance. “Is that Brad?”

  Diana nodded. No time to talk. She managed to loop first one front leg and then the other, but she didn’t have the strength to force all four legs together. Even though it was barely forty degrees outside, sweat poured from her body. “I can’t,” she cried, tugging as hard as she could on the rope and seeing the hobbled legs edge closer together. “Can’t.”

  The truck engine roared then went silent. She’d never been as glad to see anybody as she was when Brad came up beside her and grabbed the ropes. “Let go, I’ve got him.”

  Diana scrambled backward, avoiding the bull’s flailing hooves. The two men worked together as if they’d been doing it all their lives, and soon the animal lay helpless on the ground with Matt and Brad standing over him.

  “Is he going to break loose and come after us again?” She found it hard to believe the bull was just going to stay there peacefully until somebody came to cut him loose.

  “He’s not gonna get a chance,” Brad said, his gaze shifting from Diana to Matt, and back to the frenzied calf. “I’ve got a vet coming. If I don’t miss my guess this guy had a feast on some locoweed up in the high pasture. Damn shame, I’d thought this one might be a good breeder.”

  Matt snorted. “He might be better as rough stock for the rodeo circuit. I thought he had the best of me, and I’ve wrestled down defensive linemen almost as big as him and laid them out on the ground.”

  “Yeah, but the weed makes cattle go
bonkers. Hope the weather holds a few more days, because we need to send some wranglers up to find and poison the stuff. Don’t want a whole herd turning into killers.” Brad dusted off his Stetson and set it back on his head. “Have you got enough crew to send a few guys up there tomorrow, sis?”

  “Yes.” She glanced down at the struggling animal. Somehow she couldn’t dredge up a lot of sympathy for him. He’d damn near killed her. If it hadn’t been for Matt coming along at just the right time… No, she wouldn’t think about that or she’d turn into a sniveling, helpless lump, unable to hold the faith in herself that she’d worked so hard to build up during the past year

  “Matt, I can’t thank you enough,” she said, meeting his dark, serious gaze and barely succeeding in keeping her voice steady.

  “Your smile’s more than enough thanks, honey. I’d been up on the hill trying to decide whether you’d toss me out if I came visiting, but then I decided I could live with rejection. When I saw this ornery critter trying to take out his frustration on you, well, I knew I’d made the right decision.”

  Brad took off his gloves and held out a darkly tanned hand to Matt. “Yeah, you did. And I owe you. No one can run the books the way Diana can. Jared and I would hate to lose her great business sense when we just got her back again.”

  Matt grinned. “Give yourself and your sister some credit, too. If it hadn’t been for her getting rope around his legs and you hog-tying him, I’d have probably given out before much longer. I can only imagine how my arms and shoulders are gonna ache by tomorrow.”

  Gorgeous arms, shoulders broad and powerful. What a pity for them to hurt. Diana pictured herself rubbing that hard male flesh with pungent liniment, reveling in his strength…his ability to control her.

  Idiot. That’s just what you don’t need. Still, Diana couldn’t help fantasizing, wishing she trusted herself—and Matt—to cherish and protect her, never cause her the pain that visited her every night, reminding her she never dared be another man’s slave. Ever.

  Then Doc Johnson pulled up in his battered SUV. While he worked with Matt and Brad to load the calf into the back of Brad’s truck, Diana retrieved her pony and Matt’s beautiful jet-black mare, taking up their reins and heading for the back of the big pickup. When she saw her satellite phone on the ground, she picked it up and flipped it open.

  It didn’t surprise her that the phone was dead. Or that her poor pony was limping. They’d both taken a beating. She was glad Matt’s mare seemed to be okay. “You’ve got another patient,” she told the vet. “Want to see if you think he’s in shape for me to ride him to the barn?” No way could she walk, not with all the scrapes and bumps and bruises. But she wouldn’t risk the little gelding who’d bravely tried to fend off the crazy calf.

  All three men turned from the bed of the pickup. Doc Johnson bent and examined the pony’s forelegs closely. Then he moved around and took a careful look at the rest of him. “I’m pretty sure nothing’s broken. He’s got some cuts and bruises. I wouldn’t suggest riding him right now, though.”

  All eyes turned to the truck bed where the loco calf was securely tethered. The pony backed off. Diana didn’t blame him for being afraid. “We can’t put him in there,” she said. “He’s afraid.”

  Matt took his mare’s reins. “Midnight’s not hurt. I could ride up to the house and pick up my horse trailer.”

  “Or you could ride to my place and get mine. It’s closer.” Diana’s pulse raced at the forbidden fantasy of having Matt there, seducing him in front of a crackling fire.

  Brad looked at the pony. “I think he’d be better off walking without carrying a rider. I doubt if this guy’s ever been loaded into a trailer. After getting attacked the way he did, he’s going to be skittish. I’m afraid he might hurt himself more, fighting us while we load him.”

  “You’re probably right,” Diana said, her gaze on her pony. “Why don’t we tie him onto the black’s saddle and let Matt lead him to the barn?”

  Matt took Diana’s hand. “How about riding double? The pony would probably be more comfortable if you stay close by.”

  “All right.” Even though she’d only been riding the pony a couple of months since she’d moved back home from rehab, Diana thought he might feel more secure with her company. She tried to squelch the excitement that coursed through her veins at the idea of taking a slow ride holding on to Matt’s hard, powerful body. When Matt held out a hand and lifted her up behind him as if she weighed nothing, her heart raced and her pussy clenched with irrational anticipation.

  “Hang on. We’re gonna take it nice and easy. Brad and the doc will meet us at your barn.” The muscles in his back flexed when he tightened his thighs around the mare’s sleek midsection.

  Easy… Did he mean that in a sexual way, or was it just her wishful thinking? Diana held on, let the smooth walk of the mare and the heat of Matt’s body lull her into a state of sensual enjoyment. And the sort of almost desperate need she’d sworn never to allow herself again.

  The need that made her want to race into the house and hide the moment she dismounted, slid into his waiting arms and felt his heat surround her.

  * * * * *

  Matt couldn’t believe his luck. For having been in the right place at the right time to act the hero, he was now here in Diana’s house, alone with her except for the purring gray cat that had twined itself around her legs when they stepped through the door. It sat by the hearth looking almost like a statue, its green eyes focused on him as though he somehow posed a threat to its mistress.

  Diana had issued the impromptu brunch invitation to them all, but Brad had begged off because he was meeting a special sub at the club. Doc Johnson had gotten an urgent call from another rancher just as he finished patching up her pony.

  Midnight was in a clean stall in the barn, being fed and rubbed down by one of her ranch hands. And Matt was here, his legs stretched out on a cozy couch in front of the fire while Diana warmed them some food and her cat watched him. Yeah, he knew she was as skittish as her pony after their run-in with the calf. But she’d let him in here when she could have retracted the invitation and sent him home.

  That gave him hope. It was obvious her ex had done a number on her. Had to have since she’d spent all that time in a rehab facility. The fear in her still resonated. What Matt hated was that something about him seemed to make her draw back, withhold herself. Looks-wise, she hadn’t changed much since they’d been teenagers. Her dark hair was longer now, and he’d noticed a few fine lines on soft skin that hadn’t seen much sunlight lately. She probably had lost a few pounds—understandable considering all she’d been through—but her curves were still lush, enough to tempt any red-blooded man to explore them. Rogers, you have it bad.

  He wanted her so much his balls ached. If he had to play the sub to her Domme, he’d do it. At least he’d try. He only hoped she wouldn’t drag him into the dungeon to show him off as her slave in front of everybody in the local BDSM community. The tempting smell of something beefy distracted him, reminded him he hadn’t eaten for hours and that he had another hunger he needed to feed.

  “Come on in the kitchen. Stew’s ready.”

  Now commands like that Matt could live with and love. Getting up and stretching, he hurried toward the sound of Diana’s voice. When he saw the steaming bowls of beef stew and a tray of biscuits she was setting on the table, his mouth watered. “Your wish is my command. That smells real good.”

  “Eat up. You want milk or beer?”

  “Milk.” If he was going to make this work, he had to keep his brain sharp.

  She poured him a glass then grabbed a beer and sat across from him.”I’ve got half a pound cake for dessert. Ice cream too, if you want some.”

  Small talk. Diana was nervous. Matt could tell from the tone of her voice, the way she avoided eye contact. “Sounds good. Sweetheart, I’m not about to bite you.”

  “See that you don’t.” She smiled, but from her tight expression he could guess the serious
ness of her discomfort.

  He reached over and took her hand. “Look, I’ve wanted you ever since we were kids, but the time was never quite right. But now I’m home, and you’re free. I still want you, and I’ll do whatever it takes to wipe that scared look off your face.”

  “I-I’m not ready. Don’t know if I ever will be, but if I ever am, I doubt I’ll go looking for another master.” When she hesitated and nibbled at her lower lip, Matt wanted to pick her up and hold her like a baby until he could cure her of her fear. “I don’t ever want to be under someone else’s control again.”

  “Even if I’m willing to let you call the shots?”

  When she set her spoon down, he noticed a tremor in her hand. “I don’t know. Part of me wants to say yes, but I’m afraid.” At least when she smiled at him this time, a lot of the tightness had disappeared from her expression.

  “Don’t be. There’s no way I’d hurt you. All I want is to bring you pleasure. Whatever it takes.”

  “Right now I want us to eat. We’ll talk later.”

  He could do that. The stew smelled great, tasted even better. And the biscuits reminded him of the ones his grandma used to make, big as his palm and dripping with butter. “As I said, your wish is—”

  “My command. You said that before.” As if she needed something to distract her from him, she slid a jar his way. “Try the jelly. It’s homemade.”

  “By you?” The spoonful he set on his plate jiggled, a translucent blob the color of purple berries he’d helped pick when he was a kid.

  When she laughed, her whole face lit up. “By Jared’s wife. Ninia. She brought that over when I got back from Denver. She’s quite the little homemaker, and Jared’s 24/7 slave.”

  “I’ll have to thank her, too, next time I see her.” Matt smeared jelly over the biscuit and finished it off in three giant bites. “Mmmm. Everything’s delicious. My housekeeper sticks pretty much to beef and beans and tortillas.”