by Chloe Lang
Everything about Alex Champion mesmerized her. Absolutely everything. That wasn’t a good thing. In fact, that was a very bad thing. Her clenching sex didn’t seem to agree.
After her breathing settled down a little, she turned to her friend. “Jessie, what did I just agree to?”
* * * *
Alex walked back up to the stage after getting Shelby to consent to helping him pass out the gift bags that had been made up for all the attendees. Austin’s secretary was quite capable and quite the looker, too. The blonde beauty had curves he would love to get to know better. Deep blue eyes. Pouty lips. The whole package. He’d been meaning to ask her on a date, but with the project being in full swing and dominating all his time, he hadn’t. In another couple weeks he would clear his too-busy schedule and take her on a proper date.
Shelby was from Wilde, his new residence. He’d agreed to move from Elko to Wilde permanently after talking with Charly and hearing her unbelievable offer to be the lead on the project. When completed, she wanted him to take the reins of the hospital, becoming its chief of staff.
Austin had gotten Shelby to get the gift bags put together for today’s event.
Gift bags?
More like “shake people down for additional donations” bags. Fund-raising was something he knew how to do but had never cared about doing. But it had to be done. Even with Charly’s enormous donation, the hospital would need people invested in its success. The best way to make that happen was to have people involved in the project and later in the hospital’s day-to-day operation. Locals could volunteer, which was definitely going to be needed, but he’d learned a long time ago that when a person donated hard-earned cash, their involvement would be less likely to falter.
Wilde needed this hospital. Yes, the local doc had an office where he could see patients, but any emergencies had to be transported to Elko, Alex’s hometown. The drive wasn’t long, but when someone’s life was on the line, it was too far.
“You about ready to get this shindig underway?” Justin, his brother, came up beside him. Justin’s restlessness was in full swing since getting tossed off that bronc down in Texas this summer. “The longer you string things out, the longer I have to wait for the barbeque to be dished out, which is the best part of this party. You get me?”
“I get you, Justin.” Alex’s brother’s gut dictated a lot of why he did what he did—almost as much as his cock, which definitely was the reason Justin was a proud man-whore from the top of his head to the bottom of his feet.
He did understand Justin. He also understood Brandon. His brothers were his closest friends. He trusted them utterly. They’d always been close, but after their shared tragedy years ago, they’d been cemented together even more.
Their mother’s death had hit them all hard, including their dad. Wayne Champion had done his best with them, but had been as lost as they were without her. Alex and his brothers had all ended up basically on their own during their high school years, each only one year apart—Brandon the senior, him the junior, and Justin the sophomore.
“We both get you, little brother,” Brandon said, sidling up beside them. Then he turned from Justin to him. “But I have to agree with him, Alex. I need to get back to Elko today. I have a deposition to take at 3:00 p.m. I’m here as a supportive brother, but can you please hurry things up?”
Alex was thrilled his brothers were here today at the ground breaking of the hospital. Besides their dad, there was no one else he wanted here more.
“Who was the little blonde morsel you were talking to a minute ago?” Justin asked.
“Keep your cock in your pants, bro. She’s from Wilde,” he said, trying to get him off of Shelby’s scent and fast. “Girls from here never go for guys from Elko. You know that.” Alex knew that, too, but he wasn’t about to stop until he got at least one date with Shelby.
“I think this Elko boy can break the drought with Wilde girls, and I plan on starting with that one. What’s her name?”
“Damn it, I told you both I have to get back for a deposition.” Brandon had always been the most dependable of the three of them. Serious. More than a little OCD. “I love a good-looking woman as much as anyone, but can you two Neanderthals please stop replaying your teenage years and move on?”
Alex knew what Brandon was referring to. Even though their bond was unbreakable, during their younger years, their sibling rivalry got them crosswise more than a few times. All three of them had stolen dates from each other, but never serious girlfriends, though Brandon’s ex was the only one to be deemed serious by any of them.
“Look at her, Bran.” Horndog Justin pointed at Shelby. “Tell me you don’t find her irresistible. Alex definitely does.”
“She’s fucking hot. Yes. I agree.” Brandon clearly did, as his gaze never left Shelby. “Alex, please. Get up there and do the litany of thank-yous and then move on to the celebratory meal.”
“Still love to play boss, don’t you?” Justin teased. “Some things never change.”
“Some people don’t either.” Brandon finally did move his eyes off of Shelby—which pleased Alex very much—and turned to Justin. “Have you decided on what you’re going to do now that you can’t rodeo anymore? It’s time for you to grow up. Way past time, if you ask me.”
“I didn’t ask you, Brandon.” Whenever Justin called their brother by anything but “Bran,” Alex knew the fireworks were about to fly.
“Okay, guys. Settle down. Don’t make a fucking scene here.” He placed his left hand on Justin’s shoulder and his right on Brandon’s. “You came to show your support. Well, show it.” He looked up and saw their father, dressed in that damn sheriff’s uniform. Yes, he was tough, but Alex still worried about him. Wilde had given his pop the opportunity after Sheriff Davis had been injured and stepped down. “Here comes Dad.”
“Everything okay, boys?” his dad asked.
“Fine,” Brandon answered.
“Fine and dandy, Pop,” Justin chimed in.
His dad looked Alex in the eyes. “What about you? Are you okay?”
He nodded, though it was far from the truth. The old competition was springing back to life and Shelby Taylor was right in the center of it. When this event was over, he was going to amend his plan straightaway. No matter how busy his schedule was, he was going to ask Shelby out on a date. He had the advantage. He’d been in Wilde for months. She knew him.
“I’m fine, Dad.”
“Good. I could really go for some food now.” His dad raised his eyebrows. “How long until the dinner bell, son?”
His father’s new wife, Connie, mother of Charly Wynn, came up beside him. “Don’t let your dad push you, Alex. This is your day. Yours and Charly’s.”
“Sweetheart, this old man is hungry.” He put his arm around his lovely wife. Seeing how happy his pop and Connie were thrilled Alex. There was a sparkle back in his dad’s eyes that had been so dull for far too long. “The Wildes have pulled out the stops and have enough barbeque to feed a small army.”
“Sheriff Champion, you’ll live. I promise,” Connie said. “Alex, you do whatever you need to do. Take as long as you require.” Then the sweet woman turned back to his dad and kissed him on the cheek. “You behave and you might get a piece of that pie I made this morning.”
“Pie?” His dad’s eyes lit up.
“Connie, thank you for keeping my dad in line.” He grinned, and then stepped up on the stage. He walked over to Charly. “You ready?”
“I am.” She nodded. “Take it away, Dr. Champion. Let’s shovel some dirt and get this project underway. This town is going to love their new hospital.”
Moving to the podium, he tapped on the microphone. Why did people always do that? It wasn’t like it was necessary. “May I have your attention?” He looked over the crowd.
All of Wilde and several surrounding communities had showed up. Everyone was smiling but the one person who held all his attention. Shelby. She had been passing out the gift bags as he’d as
ked, but now was at a standstill as one attendee of today’s event had hold of her wrist. Justin.
“There are several people to thank today—” His mind locked in on Shelby and his brother. He glanced down at his prepared notes briefly, and then brought his gaze back up to the place he’d seen Shelby. Now her back was to him as she walked away with his younger brother. “Let me bring up the woman of the hour, Charly Wynn.”
As the applause rose and he brought the microphone down to accommodate Charly’s height, Alex felt his gut twist into a knot of frustration. He wanted to run after Shelby, to push his brother, the man-whore, away from her. She deserved better than one-night-stand Justin. Alex was finally ready to settle down with a woman and start a family. Shelby deserved someone like him.
Then he spotted Brandon, who was watching Shelby and Justin’s retreat with narrowed eyes.
Damn it.
Alex didn’t want Shelby to be fodder for foolish sibling rivalry between him and his brothers. When this was over, he would make sure she wasn’t.
Chapter Two
“I can’t believe you’re leaving.” Justin walked beside Shelby. “Don’t you want to sample the barbeque first, doll?”
The gorgeous woman stopped in her tracks and turned to him. One hand was loaded with plastic bags, and the other was placed on her curvy hip as a clear act of defiance. “Time to get something straight right away. I’m not your doll. I’m not your sweetheart. I’m not your honey, your babe, your sugar, or anything else, cowboy. I’m Shelby.”
God, she had fire, which was igniting the blood in his veins. Sexy as hell, this one. “Sorry, darlin’. I’m from Elko. It’s a place that can be a little too familiar at times.” He smiled, hoping to hit the mark on this native Wilde girl with the backhanded comparison of her town and his.
By the look on Shelby’s face, his comment had done the job. “The barbeque is great. You’ll love it, I’m sure.”
Even though his stomach was chomping on his backbone because he was so hungry, he didn’t care. He wanted to spend time with Shelby. A lot of time. “I’d rather walk with you or help you with whatever you’re working on.”
She shrugged. “Suit yourself, Elko.”
Shelby clearly was testing him. Alex’s statement about Wilde girls and Elko boys was something Justin had experienced over and over. Elko and Wilde folks didn’t mesh well. Never had.
Most in Elko knew the score in Wilde. The poly life was the norm here, not to mention that just outside the town was The Masters’ Chambers. BDSM. He’d tried to gain access to the exclusive club with a couple of buddies a few years ago when it first opened. No dice. The asshole owner, a Mr. Austin Wilde, wouldn’t grant them access. The reason? The dick said they would have to attend an introductory class prior to getting to tour the place. Clearly the training session was a means to weed out unwanteds, like Justin and his friends.
His left ankle, the one that had broken and put him out of commission for the circuit this year, began to throb. Don’t limp in front of her.
“I’d much rather spend time with you than the old fuddy-duddies back there,” Justin admitted.
He turned back slightly to the crowd, where his brothers were—Alex on the stage and Brandon to the left of it. They were both looking his direction, but he knew it wasn’t him they were focusing on. It was Shelby.
It had been years since they’d been attracted to the same woman. Brandon’s ex. The old game they’d played of who could get the girl to date them first had been set aside after Brandon had fallen head over heels for Ashley. They all had fallen, but Brandon had gotten the jump on him and Alex. Several secret dates later, Brandon’s confession of love had sealed the brotherly pact. They had stepped aside for him to pursue Ashley. Justin had feelings for her, but not on the level Brandon had shown. Not even close. Of course, what happened with Ashley had soured all of them on love.
“Are you sure? I can hear your stomach growling.” Shelby smiled slightly, a hint of amusement on her lips, lips he would love to taste. “This is boring work. I have to unpack the leftover gift bags—and there are more in the office—and sort the contents into neat little piles. It might take an hour or more. Can you wait that long to eat, cowboy?”
Despite the fact that he really was starving, Justin bet if he didn’t go with Shelby now he’d never have a chance with her. This wasn’t about reliving the game he and his brothers had played years ago. This was about Shelby. He did want to get to know her better, much better.
“I want to go with you. Also, I want to point out that you get to call me ‘cowboy’ but I can only call you ‘Shelby.’ That’s not really fair, is it?”
“Wilde girls never play fair, Elko. You know that. By the way, my real name is Selby, though my friends call me Shelby. Which are you?” She trotted off, swinging her hips in such a way he completely forgot about his hunger—well, the one in his gut, anyway.
* * * *
Shelby looked into Justin’s dark brown eyes and thought the Fates were testing her resolve. An Elko cowboy? What could be worse? Justin might be the pinnacle of what she found attractive in men. It sure seemed he was. Six feet five inches of mouthwatering male perfection in a Stetson, black T-shirt, faded Levi’s, and cowboy boots. Peeking out from under his hat was dark, thick hair. His face was chiseled nicely and the lone dimple in his left cheek added to his beauty.
But Justin wasn’t from Wilde, or even from any of the towns around the country like Bliss or Destiny in Colorado. Those were cousins to her home, places where the kind of family she’d grown up in was accepted in full.
Justin was from Elko. A place she knew well, since it was only thirty minutes south of Destiny. She’d been a cheerleader for Wilde High School’s Wolves, whose team played Elko’s Indians every year. The jeers from both parents and students often got personal, deriding the poly lifestyle of the citizens of Wilde. The slurs came more quietly of late since the meeting between the two school boards, but they still came.
“Here we are,” she said, opening the door to the executive wing.
“What do you need me to do to help you, Shelby?”
Leave. Kiss me. Hold me. “See those bags stacked up by the sofa?”
He nodded, slipping off his Stetson and placing it on her desk.
“Let’s unpack them and make piles of each of the items.” She felt completely safe since a few of the administrative staff were within shouting distance of her office. Though she didn’t completely trust herself around Justin, he didn’t seem dangerous. If he was, it likely was in the sinful way, which only added to her troubles. “There are sixteen things in each. We can stack them up and then get a count.”
“Why not just count the bags?” His sexy smile made her weak in the knees.
Arrogant. Great. Another thing she liked in the other gender. Not too much but just enough. And once again, Justin seemed to have the perfect mix of it. She felt a tingle—the kind that she knew would last much longer than a few seconds—grow inside her. The impact of him being within fingertip range was causing heat to zip under her skin.
“Elko, you want to help or do you want to be in charge?”
Justin’s eyebrow rose and his lips twisted into a cocky grin.
Shit. Why did I just say that? Because she was a submissive. It was much more than role play for her. It was part of her very makeup. She’d come to the realization early on in her twenties. Now a regular at The Masters’ Chambers, she still clung to the hope to find some Masters who would give her their collar. Masters from Wilde. No outsiders. Never again.
Justin landed on the floor and began sifting through the contents like a pro. She had to hand it to him. The cowboy was doing a great job.
Twenty minutes into the task with about a third of the bags emptied, she heard Justin’s stomach, also clearly empty, grumble. She looked over at him working away like a fiend, and another bout of hot shivers raced up and down her spine.
They’d talked about all sorts of things—the weather, sports,
and even politics. It was easy to talk to Justin.
“I heard that you Wilde girls all carry guns,” he said with a grin. “That true?”
“Do I need to be carrying one right now?” she teased back.
He held up his hands as if surrendering to the law. “Don’t shoot me, Shelby. I’m innocent.”
“I doubt you’re innocent, Justin, but I’m not packing, so put down your hands.” Continuing the task at hand, she glanced over at him. “I do have a gun, you know. It’s a pearl-handled revolver that my grandmother left me. It’s one of my most precious possessions.”
“I’d love to see it.”
“It’s not here. It never leaves my house. Ever.”
“Will you show it to me sometime?” Justin’s hands were flying, emptying out the bags.
Damn, he was such a devil.
How can I refuse him an invitation to my house? “I’ll let you see my gun one day. First, let’s get through this mess.”
He had to be starving. She admired the hell out of his resolve. His introduction and lines earlier? Not as much.
She stood and walked to her desk.
“Break time already?” he asked.
“Maybe.” She smiled at him. “I think I might have some crackers in my desk.”
“Crackers?” His tone was heavy with hunger. “Really?”
She opened the drawer and pulled out the package of crackers with peanut butter in between.
She held it up and saw Justin’s tongue sweep across his lips. “Have some.”
Tossing the package over to him, she let her mind roll over the idea of what kissing him would be like.
Justin winked at her. “Good job, Shelby. Very good job.”
Another tingle. He’s not a Dom. He’s not from here. He’s from Elko. I need to get a grip.