Branded (Siren Publishing LoveXtreme Special Edition)

by Lexie Davis

  “Well, you got me naked, cowboy. What are you going to do now?”

  Plenty. He kissed her, cupping her ass as he walked her backward to the bed. Hot desire raced through his veins, heading straight to his already too-hard cock. Erin had the ability to make a man lose his head within seconds. All it took was the touch of her lips against his. He leaned over her, pressing her against the mattress, his cock finding the sleek crevice between her thighs. Her hot moisture nearly burned him through the cotton of his boxers. Erin bucked her hips, rubbing herself against him.

  “Easy.” Blaine tore his lips from hers. “We don’t want this to be over too fast.”

  He propped himself on one side of her, and caressed her, starting at her neck and moving down the valley between her breasts until he touched her belly. She was perfect. He grinned to himself, feeling like the luckiest bastard in the world.

  “Where are your condoms?” he asked, before leaning in to kiss the side of her breast.

  “Uh.” She swallowed hard. “I don’t have any.”

  He met her eyes.

  She groaned. “It’s not like there was much need for them. I’m not about to consider screwing the ranch hands while you guys are away.”

  He chuckled and rested his forehead against her chest. The ranch hands wouldn’t know what to do with Erin. He pulled away from her and searched his pockets for his cell phone.

  “I’m sorry.” She chewed on her lower lip. “God, I feel so stupid. I should have told you earlier.”

  She sat up staring at him. He glanced over at her while searching for Devin’s phone number. “Go start the shower.”

  “Who are you calling?”

  “Devin.” He pushed the number and stuck the phone to his ear. “Go get the shower ready.”

  She slipped from the bed. With his gaze focused on her, he watched as she moved away, heading toward the bathroom. The woman was sexy as hell, and he was a fucking moron for not seeing it.

  “What do you want now?” Devin asked when he answered the phone.

  “Condoms and lube. The good kind too, not the cheap stuff. A couple of boxes, maybe. There are what, twelve to a pack?”

  “You’ve got to be kidding me!” Devin laughed. “What makes you think I’m going to stop all my hard work and go buy you condoms and lube so you can fuck my girl?”

  Blaine closed his eyes. “Because you do not want me to come out there and kick your ass.”

  Devin sighed. “You’re going to owe me big time.”

  Blaine laughed and clicked his phone off, tossing it to the floor. After slipping his boxers to the floor, he headed to the bathroom, finding Erin halfway in the shower. The water spurted out at her, and she squealed, jumping from beneath the spray.

  “Cold?” he asked, grabbing some towels. He sat them on the vanity.

  “A little.” She rubbed her arms. “I didn’t jump back in time.”

  He leaned down to kiss her. “Come on. I’ll warm you up again.”

  He opened the door and stepped in first. The stream felt good against his skin. He combed his hair back from his eyes and turned, reaching for her hand. She didn’t take it immediately.

  “What?”

  “Nothing.” She placed her hand in his. “I’m just thinking about things.”

  He pulled her into the stall and shut the door. “What things?”

  “I’ll tell you later, after dinner.” She wrapped her arms around him. “Right now, I’m only going to think of you.”

  He cupped the back of her head and kissed her. “I like that idea.”

  Erin grabbed the bodywash first and squirted a large amount in her small hand. The scent of coconut filled the shower stall, a delicious scent Erin favored most. He watched as she smoothed the gel over his chest.

  “You’re going to smell like a girl.” She smiled at him.

  “My girl.” He cupped her breasts, his mouth settled over hers, nipping and licking. Her hands moved down his body, stroking every part of him but the part that needed her touch the most. She liked teasing him, he determined. She liked to see how far she could push him before his control cracked. Blaine grabbed her hand and brought it to his cock.

  Erin was far from virginal, but she did have a sense of innocence about her. He folded her fingers around him and guided her hand along his shaft. He tore his lips from hers and leaned down to suck the water droplets from her neck.

  “Why is the water cool?” Erin asked. “I had the faucet turned all the way over on hot.”

  “We used it up, I guess.” Blaine slipped his hand around to squeeze her ass.

  She pushed against his chest. “You’re joking, right?”

  “Are you suggesting we hurry?” He bit her shoulder, scraping his teeth along her wet skin.

  “I’m suggesting we’ve wasted a lot of water.”

  Blaine pulled back to meet her eyes and she glanced away. Since when did Erin make a big deal about wasting water? He stared at her, contemplating her sudden mood change. Moments ago she was fired up, ready to fuck, and now she didn’t even look at him. And it was all because of wasting water? He brushed a stray hair from her face and leaned in to kiss her cheek.

  “I’ll finish taking my shower then.”

  “You do that.” She turned to step out of the shower, leaving him standing there with a hard-on, alone.

  * * * *

  Devin tapped on the bedroom door and waited. He still couldn’t believe Blaine was the first to sleep with Erin. After him talking about how pissed off she was, they were all beginning to wonder if she even cared for any of them anymore.

  Blaine opened the door nude. Devin shoved the boxes he’d purchased into Blaine’s arms. “Condoms and lube.”

  Blaine looked them over. “Did you rob the condom factory?”

  Devin flipped him off and left. Once he got outside, Devin met up with Dierks, Scotty, and Kade. “You want to head out for a while? I just gave him twelve boxes of condoms.”

  “Shit,” Kade remarked. “He won’t use that many.”

  Scotty and Dierks stared at him. Devin asked the question. “How do you know?”

  Kade sighed. “The last night we were in town, before we left for Austin to enter the rodeo, both of us slept with her. We had a threesome.”

  Devin’s eyebrows shot toward the sky. “A threesome?”

  Kade nodded. “It was fucking hot too.”

  How had the three of them fucked and no one else had known about it? They’d all made a pact not to interfere with whoever Erin wanted to be with. She at one time had claimed to love them all. She also had slept with them all years prior. If she was willing to have a threesome with Blaine and Kade, then she might be up for more interesting sexual adventures, some that didn’t leave any of the men out.

  Devin stared back at the house. “Blaine is usually the planner, but I think we need to come up with a plan of our own.”

  Chapter Four

  Erin sat on the edge of the bed wrapped in her soft pink robe, frowning at the collection of condoms in Blaine’s arms. “You really were expecting to get laid. Multiple times obviously.”

  He dumped the boxes in the floor at the foot of her bed. “Okay, what am I missing? You were hot a few seconds ago and now you’re pissed off because I was wasting your water?”

  She picked at her chipped nail polish. She didn’t want to tell him, but the stupid ranch had been on her mind all day. Thoughts of losing it came up at the most inopportune moments. “I’m going to lose the ranch.”

  Despite what Dierks had said, she didn’t want to depend on anyone to get her out of this mess. She ran her fingers through her hair. It was a complicated situation, and short of prostitution, she didn’t know where she could come up with enough money to pay off the loans before the end of the month.

  “Erin, tell me what’s going on.”

  She blinked a few times. “My father had liens against the property and unless I come up with the money to pay for them, they’re taking the ranch at the end of the
month.”

  He moved across the room to where she sat and forced her to look at him. “That doesn’t surprise me. The bastard had a bad gambling addiction. How much money did he owe?”

  She shook her head. “It doesn’t matter. I can’t afford a pot to piss in right now.”

  Blaine blew out a breath. “Stop being difficult. How much?”

  She narrowed her eyes. “Why does it matter to you?”

  “I’ll help you out.” He sat on the bed next to her. “Just tell me how much and I’ll give you a check right now.”

  Just like that, he’d give her the money. She stood, moving away from him. Tears filled her eyes and she tried her best to blink them away. Five years of nothing, and he suddenly cared. She busied herself at her dresser, finding her brush and combing her wet hair.

  “Erin, what’s wrong with you?”

  She sat the brush down. “You’ll give me the money, for what, sex?”

  He frowned. “No. Where did you get that idea?”

  She blew out a breath and met his gaze in the mirror. “I should have figured it out sooner. That’s the only reason you came back. You didn’t call me or see me in five years, and suddenly you walk back in and expect me to just bend over and give you my body.” She turned around. “Fuck you. Fuck you, and fuck them, too.”

  Blaine licked his lips. “Erin, I already told you…”

  “My father died, Blaine. I was scared and alone. I had to deal with everything by myself. My sister didn’t even come home for the funeral and my brother only wanted his cash settlement. I had to deal with all of this and I was by myself.” She shook her head, angry. “I don’t know what pisses me off more. Is it the fact that you knew about his death and didn’t come back or that you’re here now pretending everything is okay? Both suck.”

  Blaine walked around the bed and found his boxers. “I’ll leave then.”

  “Yeah, you’re good at that.”

  He pulled his boxers on and grabbed his cell phone. “What do you want me to do?”

  She folded her arms over her chest. She picked a fight with him because she could. Blaine was the only one that would allow her to vent her frustrations and not coddle her about it. The others would try to coddle her, to tell her it would be okay and she shouldn’t worry about anything.

  Tears filled her eyes and spilled onto her cheeks. She couldn’t look at him. It was embarrassing enough that she couldn’t run the ranch like her father had. She didn’t know the first thing about anything to do with ranching and she had no one to blame but herself.

  Blaine blew out a breath and tossed his cell phone to the pile of clothes on the floor. “Don’t cry. You know how much I hate it when you cry.”

  She turned away from him and swiped her cheeks. “Just leave.”

  He propped his hands on his hips. “I’m not going anywhere. You can be pissed at me, but I’m not leaving you while you’re crying.”

  “I have a business degree.” She swiped beneath her eyes. “I should know how to manage this place.”

  He leaned against the bed post. “How much do you owe?”

  “Two hundred thousand.”

  Blaine’s eyes widened.

  She chewed on her lower lip. “I didn’t know anything about them. Our financial advisor had been paying the loans in secret until we didn’t have enough money to keep him on the books. He gave me this news nearly three months ago, and I don’t have the money to pay them.”

  “That’s a lot of money.”

  “Hence, why I’ve been stressed.” She sniffled. “I also spoke to Dierks about it. He said I could get a loan to pay the debt off before the end of the month. I doubt my credit for the ranch is any good. My own personal credit is, but I don’t know if I want to risk my personal financial status for a failing ranch that I don’t even know how to run.”

  God, why was this so hard? She’d lived here her entire life, minus the four years she went to college. She came back just before her father died and had to take over immediately without help. So much for that expensive piece of paper she called a college degree. Everything she learned had nothing to do with the business known as ranching.

  She moved across the room to the bed. “Maybe I should just let the bank take it. But if that happens, I don’t know where I’m going to live.”

  Blaine folded his arms over his chest as he looked at her. “We’re not going to let the bank take it.”

  “I’m not taking your money.” She stood firm about that. None of the men were going to rescue her from this mess. Erin laid back and covered her eyes with her hands. She had to find another way.

  “Why? Because you think I’m paying to have sex with you?”

  She snorted. “Probably.”

  “Erin, why do you think so little of me?”

  She sat up. “Because you’ll do anything to get me back into your arms or into a bed somewhere. If I need money, ‘here’s the money, Erin’ like it’s no big freaking deal. This of course happens right after I pull away from you in the shower because I’m upset. I don’t even know if I can afford my fucking water bill, and you really don’t care. You pretend to care by throwing around nice words every now and then, but you don’t. A few more days and you’ll be out of here which would prove the two thousand dollars you’re willing to give me is expensive for a little bit of pussy while visiting.”

  His eyes narrowed. He didn’t intimidate her. She laid back and pulled her blanket over her body. Talking to him stole all of her energy. The day had been rough enough with the crazy work schedules. She stared out her side window wondering how long it’d take him to walk away.

  Blaine moved around the bed, climbing in the other side. “You’re wrong.”

  She clutched her pillow. “No I’m not.”

  He lay on his right side, head propped up on his fist. “Erin, I’m sorry I didn’t come back for your father’s funeral. You could have called me anytime if you needed me. I honestly don’t know what you expect of me. I’m here for you, but you don’t want me around. I stay away and you’re pissed off that I left. I do care, Erin. I want to help you, and it has nothing to do with getting pussy while I’m here. You were always more than that to me and you know it.”

  She closed her eyes. He was easier to talk to if she didn’t have to stare into those intense, deep blue eyes. “I wanted you to ask me to go with you.”

  “When?”

  She opened her eyes. “That night—the last night we were together. I wanted you and Kade to ask me to go with you.”

  He brushed his fingers along her arm. “You wouldn’t have gone. It would have been boring for you, and you would have hated every single moment of it.”

  “I know that.” She stared at his finger as it lightly stroked her skin. “I wanted to go, though. You guys just left early in the morning with me still asleep. I woke up and it was like a dream. Both of you had vanished and I was all alone. I felt used.”

  He leaned down and pressed a kiss against her cheek. He moved closer and wrapped his arm around her. “I’m sorry.”

  She pulled back and sat up. “Yeah.”

  Blaine blew out a breath. “Erin, you’ve got to know I care about you.”

  “I don’t know that, Blaine.” She didn’t know much about anything anymore. “I’m done talking about this.”

  She didn’t know what possessed Rory to allow them to stay at her house without so much as mentioning it to her, but she wanted to kill her brother for doing so. She combed her fingers through her hair.

  “We’re nowhere near done talking about this.”

  She glanced back at him. “I am tonight.”

  “What the fuck do you expect for me to do, Erin?” Blaine slid from the bed and walked around the bed. “I’m sorry I left. I’m sorry I didn’t come back when you needed me. I’m so fucking sorry that I’m not a mind reader and cannot pick up on every little emotion you’re having.”

  She shook her head. Blaine mad was a big deal. He had a bad temper and the obstinate des
ire to get what he wanted. She didn’t expect anything from him. Even with all the crap between them, she honestly wanted them to stay the three days and leave.

  “Please get out of my room.”

  His nostrils flared. Erin stared at him, waiting for him to say what was obviously on his mind. He didn’t. Blaine took the high road and grabbed his cell phone from the floor. Stomping out of the room, he slammed the door behind him.

  Well that went well.

  * * * *

  Blaine sipped his beer in front of the TV, mad as a hornet. Erin’s little tantrum was warranted to some degree, but it fucking hurt to know she thought so little of him. He punched the buttons on the remote to change the channel.

  The door to her bedroom opened and a few moments later Erin came around the corner. She’d dressed in flannel pajamas that hung on her body like a bag. Blaine watched as she grabbed a laundry basket from the breakfast table and carried it to the living room to be folded. He lifted his beer to his mouth.

  “You left your condoms in my room.”

  He put the footrest down and sat his beer to the side. Blaine didn’t know where the guys were, but he really wanted some reprieve. Scotty was best at handling her moods. Blaine preferred to stay away.

  He picked up the boxes of condoms and lube from her floor and carried them back to the living room, tossing them to the coffee table. She stared at him for a moment, before continuing with her laundry.

  He couldn’t stand the tension any longer. “How can you say I don’t care about you?”

  “How can you say that you do?”

  “I’ve done nothing but help you since I got here.” He propped his hand on his hip. “What’s it going to fucking take?”

  She sat the laundry basket aside. “I can’t handle this right now. I have enough trouble as it is trying to manage this place. I don’t know what I’m doing…”