by Becca Van
“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” Hank shouted as he strode into the barn.
“What?” David glared at Hank.
“Why did you bring her out here?”
Barry knew Hank had fucked up when he heard Cat suck in a harsh breath. When he looked at her, he could see hurt in her eyes and her body was literally vibrating with it. “Hank.”
Barry bit his lip when Hank ignored him.
“What is wrong with you?” Hank stalked toward David and poked him in the chest. “She’s in danger and you fucking bring her outside?”
Cat moved from the stall and stomped toward Hank.
“What the fuck?” She prodded Hank’s arm.
“What?” Hank roared.
“This.” Cat waved her hand toward David and back to Hank. “This is why…”—she spun on her heel and walked toward the entrance—”this isn’t going to work.”
Barry dropped the shovel into the wheelbarrow, shoulder checked Hank as he hurried passed him, and searched for Cat as he left the barn behind. His heart beat faster when he didn’t see her walking toward the house, and he was about to call for his brothers to help look for her when he heard a choking sound coming from around the side of the barn.
He walked around the corner, his heart aching when he found Cat crouched against the wall, her arms wrapped around her middle and crying.
“Ah, baby, don’t cry.” Barry lifted her into his arms and walked toward the house. He hated seeing her sad and hurting, and his anger at Hank grew.
“I knew this wouldn’t work,” she sniffed as she wrapped her arms around his neck, buried her face against his skin, and sobbed.
“Shh, baby. Everything is going to be fine.”
“No, it’s not,” she wailed. “Hank and David are fighting because of me.”
“It’s not your fault, Cat. Hank’s hurting.”
“Why? Because I didn’t say I loved him back? What does he want from me? To serve my heart to him on a silver platter?”
That’s exactly what he wants, baby. It’s what we all want.
“I don’t even know what love is.” She hiccupped after her statement.
Barry carried her inside, sat on the sofa, and held her in his lap. He glanced toward Hank and David as they quietly walked into the room. He nodded at them to stay quiet.
“You guys are older and more experienced than I am. You’ve had relationships. What would you think if I told you all I loved you only to realize that it was an infatuation? I don’t like to lie. I feel more for you three than I’ve ever felt for anyone else besides my parents, but it’s different to what I felt for them. I feel safe and the thought of leaving when this is all over hurts, but…”
“It’s okay, Cat.” Barry hugged her against his chest and kissed the top of her head.
“No, it’s not. I don’t want to be the cause of fights or a rift between you all.”
“You won’t do that, baby. I can’t say that we won’t ever fight, because I know that we will, but you could never cause a rift between me and my brothers.”
“You don’t know that for sure.”
“Yes, he does.” Hank sat on the cushion next to Barry and Cat before running his fingers through his hair. “I’m sorry, sweetheart. I was acting like an ass.”
Cat lifted her head and wiped her cheeks with the back of her hands. “Yes, you were.”
“I don’t know why I lost it like that. I’m sorry I took it out on you and David. Can you forgive me?”
Cat sighed and Barry tensed until she nodded.
“Thank you, sweetheart.” Hank took her hand in his, raised it to his mouth, and kissed the back of it.
Barry smiled at David and then winked at Hank over the top of her head. She might not be ready to say those three words yet, but she had all but declared her love for him and his brothers.
He just hoped they had the rest of their lives to show her how much she meant to them.
* * * *
Hank worked with Cat as they fixed sandwiches for lunch. She’d been really quiet since his outburst this morning and he just hoped that he hadn’t fucked things up with her. She’d said that she forgave him, but he wasn’t so sure.
He’d contacted Luke that morning about her uncle, but there had been no sightings of the bastard and he was becoming antsy. They were SEALs, and he wanted to go out and track the fucker down, but keeping Cat safe was more important. He knew Luke, Damon, and the other deputies wouldn’t stop looking for the prick until he’d been found, but the knot of dread that had started forming in his gut when he’d found Cat in the barn had grown bigger and bigger.
Frustration was making him short tempered, and it took all of his self-control to refrain from snapping at David, Barry, and Cat. The hair on the back of his neck and been up and down all morning, and although he’d sent some of his ranch hands out to patrol, his anxiety and instincts were screaming at him. That was one of the reasons he’d overreacted when he spied Cat in the barn.
“David said you’ve got your teaching degree,” Hank said as they grabbed the plates and carried them over to the table.
“Yes.”
“I know for a fact that there is a position available at the school in town. Can you access your resume?”
She nodded as she took her seat.
“If you want, I can drop it at the school this afternoon. I need to pick up some supplies,” Barry said.
“I would love that. Thank you, both.”
Hank smiled, his heart light for the first time that day. She might not have said she loved them, but if she was willing to apply for a teaching position at the local school, then she had already decided to stay. At least he hoped that she did. For all he knew, she could have plans of trying to find a place of her own. He sucked in a breath, hoping he was wrong. The moment he remembered that her parents had won the lottery and that Cat was worth millions of dollars was one filled with trepidation. She didn’t need to work if she didn’t want to but suspected her parents had instilled good work ethics in her before they’d won big. As much as he hoped the law found her uncle so that she would be safe, he was also dreading it.
However, she hadn’t hesitated to take them up on the offer of submitting her resume to the school. He looked over at her, and when he saw the smile on her lips, he couldn’t help but smile, too. She looked so happy and carefree, and she hadn’t been that way since he found her just outside of their land. He liked seeing her that way and made a promise to himself to try to curb his bossy ways when he was feeling uncertain and frustrated. The only thing he should be concentrating on was keeping her happy. As the old adage went “happy wife, happy life.” But she wasn’t their wife. Not yet. Hank wasn’t about to give up though. He and his brothers would spend whatever time they had with her wooing her and trying to convince her they were the men for her.
They finished lunch, and Hank made sure Cat took her antibiotic before they cleaned up. Barry left to go to town and David headed out to help the ranch hands bring the cattle closer to the house. Before long, the paddocks surrounding the barn would be full of cattle as the cold set in. He, his brothers, and their hands would take turns breaking ice in the watering troughs and feeding the cows through the long winter months. Although it was hard work and sometimes a pain in the ass, he wouldn’t have had it any other way. He loved working with the animals and on the land. It was a far cry from fighting in the military, but it brought peace to his heart, knowing he’d done his share in helping to keep what was theirs and the people in the US safe.
The only thing that would make him happier was to have Cat tell him she loved him and his brothers, and hopefully one day soon, start a family with her, but first they had to keep her safe until the threat to her life was over.
* * * *
It had taken him nearly a week to get to Slick Rock, Colorado, and the minute Max stepped into the diner was the moment he realized he’d made a mistake. He should have stopped in the town before here, but now that he was here, he
The instant he entered, all eyes turned on him, and from the way the older waitress behind the counter was looking at him, with her eyes narrowed, he was sure she wasn’t taken in by his disguise.
She picked up the pot of coffee warming on the hot plate and walked toward him as he sat down. “What can I get you?”
“Coffee, please.”
“You’re not from around here. I’ve never seen you before.”
Max mentally cursed when she scrutinized him as if he was a bug under a microscope. Thankfully he’d dyed his hair red, bought contacts to change his eyes from brown to green, shaved off his mustache, and picked up a pair of clear glass, glasses.
“No, ma’am. Had some business in Durango and decided to stop in on my way to Denver for something to eat.”
“Hmm.” She poured the coffee took his order and disappeared in back.
He sipped at his coffee while playing with the apps on Kelly’s phone, trying to look all business like and professional. The waitress came back with his roast of the day and plonked it in front of him. Max gave her his biggest smile as he inhaled noisily through his nostrils. “That smells mighty fine. Thank you.”
She smiled at him before turning away, but the smile didn’t reach her eyes.
He glanced up when the bell above the door tinkled and tried to hide the quiver of alarm that raced up his spine when he saw the two sheriffs entering the diner. The food in his mouth turned to cardboard, but he just kept right on eating until his plate was clean. The moment he’d finished, he fished a fifty from his pocket and dropped it on the table before heading toward the door. The money was way more than cost of his coffee and food, but since he was supposed to be a successful businessman, he hoped that by leaving a large tip, the waitress wouldn’t be so suspicious of him.
He knew the sheriffs were watching him, but he kept the smile on his face and continued on his way. He was lucky enough to have parked the car he’d borrowed around the corner and prayed that the lawmen didn’t decide to follow him and run the plates. If they did, he was doomed.
Max knew when he borrowed money from a less than savory source, but what he hadn’t known was how unsavory Jim Barker was until it was too late. Now he had thugs searching for him, no doubt having been given orders to take the million dollars he’d borrowed out of his hide. He knew that if those fuckers ever caught up with him he was a dead man. The only way out of the deep hole he’d created was getting his hands on his niece’s money. He wasn’t sure how but he had to find away.
He drew a deep breath and pushed his unsettling thoughts aside. His hand shook as he inserted the key in the ignition, and he figuratively held his breath until he saw the welcome sign to Slick Rock in his rearview mirror, grateful that he didn’t spy anyone following him. He would find a place to stay in the next town over, seek out an Internet café, and search for the Triple H Ranch. Hopefully in the next day or two he would have his bitch of a niece in his clutches. He needed to make her withdraw that money from the bank and give it to him, and then he would find somewhere nice and quiet to kill her.
Then he’d pay back the money he owed and skip the country to somewhere tropical and spend the rest of his days living the high life.
Max smiled for the first time in months. He would be home free in a little under a week.
Chapter Fourteen
Cat looked up from the book she was trying to read when Hank sat beside her.
“How you doing, sweetheart?”
“Okay,” she sighed.
“Come here, love.” Hank wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her against the side of his body. She sighed again but this time she rested her cheek against his chest, her hand landing beside her face. He looked down when she covered her mouth as she yawned. “Are you tired?”
“No, just bored.”
Hank lifted her up and sat her on his lap. “I’ll make a deal with you. If you promise to stay inside and out of sight until your uncle’s behind bars, I promise to teach you how to ride.”
A slow smile curved her lips. “Thank you. I’ll take you up on that promise. I’m sorry about this morning.”
“I am, too, sweetheart. I don’t know why I acted the way I did.”
“I do, and in a way it was my fault. I didn’t mean to hurt you.”
“I know that, Cat.” He pressed his forehead to hers and stared into her eyes.
Cat drew in a deep breath and nearly moaned when she smelled his Old Spice cologne. She’d always loved the way that smelled and didn’t care that it had been around forever. There was just something about that scent along with Hank’s natural aroma that hit straight at her core. She tried to keep her breathing even and quiet, but in the end, she knew he could see and hear her reaction to him. His pupils widened and his nostrils flared as if he could smell her arousal.
He lifted her head from his chest, held her face between his hands, and groaned as he lowered his mouth to hers. She gripped his shirt and opened to him when his tongue licked over her lips, seeking permission to enter.
Hank licked into her mouth, twirling his tongue around and along hers before drawing back, nipping at her bottom lip before sucking on it to soothe the slight pain away. Her heart raced, her nipples began to harden and ache, and her clit began to throb.
She nearly moaned with frustration when he pulled back to stare into her eyes. “I need you, Cat. Will you let me love you?”
Cat wanted that so badly she couldn’t answer, so she nodded.
He lifted her on his lap so that she was straddling his hips, facing him and kissed her again. The kiss was hot and wild, causing her to moan and gasp as the ache and the hunger for him grew.
She sighed when his big, warm callused hands pushed under her shirt before caressing up and down her back. She was so lost in the sensations of his mouth and hands on her she didn’t even notice when he’d popped the clasp on her bra until she felt the cups spring apart. She heard a door bang somewhere in the distance, but since Hank was still kissing her and he was now kneading both her breasts, she didn’t really care. All she cared about was having him touch her.
He lifted his mouth from hers, pulled her shirt up over her head without undoing the buttons, taking her bra with it, and then his hands were on her breasts. She moaned as her eyes closed, loving having his hands on her aching flesh, molding and kneading the soft globes. When his thumbs brushed over the sensitive peaks, she gasped and arched her chest toward him.
“Your breasts are perfect, sweetheart. So soft and warm and responsive.” Hank dipped his head, flicked his tongue over first one tip and then the other, leaving behind moisture that cooled her heated flesh and made her nipples harden even more.
She shifted on his lap and moaned when the hard ridge of his cock pressed against her mound and throbbing clit, but it wasn’t enough. She needed more, needed to have his skin against hers, in hers, taking away the heat of the simmering embers slowly growing in her pussy and womb. She craved him, Barry, and David. Their touch, their taste, their scent. They made her feel complete, as if she was home and she never wanted to leave, never wanted to be more than a few paces from their sides.
Her heart beat rapidly in her chest, and it was so full of emotion she wondered if the organ would burst wide open. She cried out when Hank sucked a nipple into his mouth, drawing on it firmly and sending waves of heat, of desire straight down to her cunt. Her internal walls clenched, and juices wept from her pussy, coating her folds and dampening her panties until they felt as if they were soaked through.
She threaded her fingers into his hair, grasping the cool, soft silky strands as her body shook with hunger. He was her only anchor in the tumultuous storm of raging passion, and she needed him like she needed her next breath.
Hank moved to her other breast, suckling on the tip as his hands caressed down her belly to the waistband of her jeans. His fingers tugged the button free and then the soft rasp of the zipper reached her ears. By their own volition, without any conscious thought, her hands left his head and stroked over his strong broad shoulders, but she needed to feel his warm skin beneath her fingertips.
She blindly searched for and found the buttons on his shirt, released them one by one from their mooring, and then spread the material wide. His skin was so warm under her hands as she stroked over his muscular pecs and through the slight sprinkling of hair on his chest, but it still wasn’t enough. Saliva pooled in her mouth as the hunger in her veins heated her blood until she felt as if she were about to melt.
Cat didn’t remember leaning forward but knew she must have when her mouth placed soft kisses over his flesh. The moment she felt the small nipple brush against her lips, she opened her mouth and licked it. Hank moaned, his hands now on her denim-covered ass as he kneaded her butt cheeks. She swirled her tongue around his flat areola and sighed with pleasure when it began to ruche, and then she sucked that small hard tip into her mouth.
Feminine confidence washed through her when he shoved his hips up toward hers, his breathing a fast and raspy sound in the otherwise quiet room, but she hungered for more and couldn’t wait any longer for what she wanted.
She shifted from his lap, getting to her knees between his splayed thighs, and stared at the long, hard bulge straining against his jeans. She moved to the button, her fingers fumbling with her hungry eagerness to get to and taste her prize. She met Hank’s gaze when he covered her hand with his and gently brushed it aside before taking over the task of opening his jeans. The instant he had them undone she pounced. She drew the waistband of his boxers over his hard dick and tugged them and his jeans from his hips, thankful that he lifted his ass from the sofa to help her.
Cat lightly stroked the tips of her fingers up and down his erection, feeling every bump and vein of his hot, hard rod. When she saw the drop of clear moisture in the small opening, she leaned forward and licked across it. Salty and sweet was the delicious combination on her taste buds, but that small taste wasn’t anywhere enough to satisfy her hunger.
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