by Lori King
When she told him she had kissed Ryker, she assumed he would flip out. Any one of her previous boyfriends would have flown off the handle at the mere suggestion of impropriety with another man, but instead he had laughed it off. Then his reaction to Ryker’s affectionate teasing and manhandling of her person had chipped away another layer of her beliefs. She didn’t think he was a cuckold. He certainly didn’t seem the type of man to get off on watching his girl be used by other men, and yet he didn’t react normally to the obvious interest his brother had in her. Trying to wrap her brain around him and Ryker was driving her mad.
A smile broke over her face when the ranch house came into view, and she spotted Mack’s broad back next to the barn with two saddled horses ready and waiting. She appreciated his punctuality, and she said so as she climbed out of her car.
His dimples appeared and his blonde curls flashed under the morning sun as he swaggered over to her. She could almost feel his eyes touching every inch of her body when he looked her over. The boots she wore were for hiking instead of riding, but she didn’t own a pair of genuine cowboy boots yet, so they would have to do. Otherwise she had settled for a plain white t-shirt and an old pair of jeans. She had tucked her hair up into a beat up ball cap that she kept for yard work, and for the first time in months she wore no make-up. If he was really interested then he may as well see the real Claudia now.
“You look fantastic,” he said, reaching for her hand and making her spin for him like a model on the catwalk. “Absolutely delicious.”
She tried hard not to blush as she found her center of balance by placing her other hand on his chest, “Thank you. You look pretty damn good yourself this morning.”
He wore the same style button down shirt she had seen him in previously, but this one was a well washed blue color that echoed the soft blue of the morning sky. It really made the crystal clear color of his eyes pop, and she couldn’t seem to pull her gaze away from his. She knew before he even began to lower his head he was going to kiss her. Some small tick gave him away. Maybe it was an inhale, or a parting of his lips, or even the flaring of his nostrils, she couldn’t be sure which, but she knew.
Fire raced through her from the soft connection between their lips straight to her toes and back centering on her clit, and she moaned into his mouth. His hands slid around her waist and rested on the upper curve of her ass, gently holding her against him while he devastated her with his mouth. His tongue stroked across hers, and his teeth nipped at her bottom lip making her pussy clench. It would be so easy to get lost in his kisses, never to return to reality. He and his brother were made for kissing. The thought of Ryker was like ice water on her heat, and she pulled back, breaking the kiss.
They stared into each other’s eyes, panting for breath and imagining the dozens of ways they could get hot and sweaty with each other. Mack’s face was slightly flushed with his desire but he stepped back and held his hand out for her to take. He led her to the horses without a word about her pulling away from him, and she felt her walls weakening at his easy acceptance of her limits. She loved that he was equally affected by her, and that he was willing to give her the space when she needed it without questioning her motives.
Forcing her thoughts back to the present, she focused on the pretty mare in front of her, “So who is this?”
“This is Juliet.” Mack answered, “And before you ask, yes there is a Romeo in the barn, but he belongs to Parker and I wouldn’t put you on his cranky ass for all the kisses in the world.”
Claudia stared at him for a moment, before she let out a loud laugh, “Please tell me Rachel and her husbands did not name their daughter after a horse.”
He shook his head with a chuckle, “No, not that I know of, but if you decide to ask them please do it when I’m around. I would love to see Parker Brooks’ reaction to that question. Now, did you slather up with sunscreen?”
She gave him a funny frown. “Yes, daddy, I did. I might be a city girl, but I’m a smart one.”
His laughter died away, and the lust returned to his eyes. “Sweetheart, I promise you I don’t feel like your daddy when I’m taking care of you, but if you want to try out a bit of role play sometime I wouldn’t be averse. I’m pretty open.”
The squeeze of her throat was too tight to talk through, and her tongue suddenly felt too big for her mouth. His wicked suggestion had her panties dripping wet, and she could feel a shiver of excitement skitter through her.
“Horseback riding. That’s all we’re doing today, cowboy. Focus.” She ran her head over the neck of the gentle Juliet, and clucked her tongue at the mare. “Silly men. Only thinking about one thing.”
Mack stepped up to her back, and pressed a kiss to the nape of her neck while he rubbed the hard line of his erection against her plump ass. “I’m thinking of lots of things, Claudia, but they all seem to involve you and getting you naked in some form. It’s damn hard to concentrate on anything else right now.”
“Poor, baby. It’s going to hurt riding with that in your pants today,” she teased, taking a step to the side to give herself some breathing room. As flattered and turned on as she was by his interest, she still hadn’t made him understand that any relationship between the two of them would have to be temporary, and she couldn’t live with herself if she led him on and hurt him. “Mack, you know I want you, but I think we need to clear some things up before this goes any farther.”
His clear eyes suddenly darkened with confusion, and his body grew tense. “Is this about Ryk?”
“Ryker? What? No! This is about you and me. I’m only in Stone River temporarily. My job won’t allow me to live here forever. Once the project is done I have to go back to Austin, or wherever they send me for the next project. I don’t want you to be hurt when I leave.”
The hint of hostility evaporated and his face relaxed. “Of course. You said so before, but I won’t give up trying to convince you to stay. We have something special here, Claudia. A spark I don’t imagine too many people feel, and I’m not just talking about the sexual chemistry between us. I want to explore this and see where it leads us, and I really hope you do too.”
“Don’t get your hopes up, Mack. My life is back in Austin.” She stared at the leather saddle covering the back of the horse, doing her best to focus on the tiny engraved lines crisscrossing it in a pretty scrollwork design. It hurt to think of leaving Stone River behind. This was the first place she had ever really felt like she was home. “We’ll know more after the town hall meeting. The way I understand it, once everyone has had a chance to say their piece, the town council will take a vote and make a decision. If they veto the project I will have to go home sooner than planned.”
The air around them felt heavy, and the horse shuffled a step away from them sensing their tension. She couldn’t blame Juliet for wanting to escape it. The last thing Claudia ever wanted to do was fail to secure this project, and have to return home with her tail between her legs.
Instead of arguing or trying to convince her otherwise, Mack just sighed, and resumed his easy going attitude. “Okay. Well then let’s just take it one day at a time, shall we? No need worrying about the future until it gets here. Now, up with you city girl, show me how a duchess rides.”
Relief washed over her, along with a touch of annoyance at his use of the prissy nickname. “Just because I rode in an arena doesn’t mean I don’t have skills, cowboy. Back up.” She gave him a little shove with her shoulder to his ribs, and lifted her foot into the stirrup. The swing up into the saddle was high, but she felt at ease once she took her seat. There was something comforting about the easy acceptance of Juliet, and the gentle sway of her movements as she adjusted to Claudia’s weight. The saddle felt different than she was used to, but not terribly so, and she quickly took the reins to direct the mare away from the barn. Glancing over her shoulder at Mack, she smiled saucily, “You coming, cowboy? Or are you just going to watch me show you how it’s done?”
His laughter boomed through
the yard, echoing off the building and drawing a couple of ranch hands out of the barn. The front door of the house opened, and Rachel stepped outside holding a chubby little girl in her arms. The man who followed her onto the porch looked a lot like Sawyer, and the possessive way his arm wrapped around the two females with him, assured her this was another Brooks brother.
“Claudia! It’s good to see you again,” Rachel called out, and Claudia directed the horse over to the edge of the porch to greet her new friend.
“You too, Rachel, and this must be your lovely Juliet.”
Juliet was sucking on her fist like it was the last bit of food in the world. Drool coated the one-year-old’s chin and chest, but the smile she gave her mom when her name was mentioned was radiant. “Yes, this is Miss Jules, and this is my husband, Hudson, I don’t think you two have met yet.”
Claudia nodded at Hudson Brooks, wondering again how Rachel managed to juggle so many men in her life. Just being with Mack and Ryker as a pair left her feeling out of her element, so she couldn’t imagine how much harder it would be if she were dating them both.
“Nice to meet you, Claudia,” Hudson said politely. “You’re not quite what I pictured when Sawyer told me Mack was dating a real estate tycoon.”
Shaking her head, she laughed, “I’m no real estate tycoon. Just a regular woman doing a job. With any luck the town will side with Schmidt Properties tomorrow night and Granite Estates will be a reality.”
“Exactly why would that be a good thing?” Another Brooks brother appeared in the doorway, and Claudia actually felt herself cringe away from the distrust and genuine disgust he directed her way.
“Rogan, stop it. Be polite,” Rachel snapped.
Refusing to cower, Claudia stiffened her spine and leveled her gaze on Rogan Brooks. “Mr. Brooks, Granite Estates would bring more families to Stone River, which at this moment is bogged down in the good old days. The world has changed, but this tiny Texas town has resisted changing with it. It can’t hold out forever. If not Schmidt, then another company will come in and buy up land, but instead of putting up homes and schools, and bringing in businesses, they will throw up oil derricks and trailer parks for the workers who run them.”
“Not if we stand our ground,” Rogan snapped. “The last thing we need is for Austin to swallow up Stone River. We live here because we like being part of a small town. If you bring the city here it will take away our freedom, and the values we have built generations of families on. I don’t dislike you, Ms. Schmidt. I don’t know you. But in all fairness, you don’t know me either. So how can you be so sure this development is what’s best for me and my family?”
Her argument died on her tongue when Rogan reached out and took Juliet from Rachel’s arms. He held the little girl against his chest, uncaring when she drooled all over his shoulder, gumming his shirt. This wasn’t a council member, or a protester. This was a man with a family, and an idea. Even if it was naïve, he believed there was room in the world for small towns and slow easy lifestyles.
“Out of respect for you and your family, I think we should agree to disagree. Today is my day off, and I would prefer not to debate the morality of my job if it’s all the same to you,” she offered. “It was nice to meet you all.”
Turning her head, she realized Mack was already astride his horse and waiting just behind her. He appeared to be ruminating over their conversation, and he wore a deep frown until he caught her eye. Giving her a wink, he waved to the Brooks family, “We’ll be out all day. I want to show her the ranch, and the pond.”
“You two have fun,” Rachel responded enthusiastically.
“We’ll see you at the town hall meeting, Ms. Schmidt. Enjoy your ride.” Rogan gave her a nod, and she was sure that was as close to a truce as she was going to get. Clearly the town planning board wasn’t the only hurdle standing in the way of this project.
Following Mack out of the yard, she chewed on all of the information she knew about Stone River. It was settled in the early eighteen hundreds by the Raft family who set up a trading post and made nice with the local Native Americans. It had never really been a boom town like many other places, so it hadn’t ever fallen into disrepair as most ghost towns did after their heyday. Instead, a handful of families had planted their roots here, and built up a close-knit community who valued a good day’s work, and honest living.
From what she had seen with Rachel’s family it was obvious Stone River was an accepting group of people. They clearly valued a person’s heart more than their sexual proclivities. Tanner had even mentioned a BDSM club nearby. Perhaps this was a case of still waters running deep. There seemed to be much more to this tiny town than she ever could have imagined, and now she felt like her alliances were being torn apart.
On one side stood her father and his life’s blood—Schmidt Properties, and on the other side were the people of Stone River who were accepting her and embracing her in every way except business. She had no desire to change the town, or shift their ideals. She just wanted her father to accept her as an equal, and stop treating her like a teenager whining over her zits and gossiping about her date to the prom. If she was ever going to be taken seriously as his heir to the position of CEO, then she had no choice but to push this project on the people of Stone River. No matter what her personal feelings. It just didn’t sit right.
“You’re awfully deep in thought for a woman who’s supposed to be enjoying her day off with a relaxing trail ride,” Mack said, and she looked up, startled to find they had traveled far enough she couldn’t see the Brooks family home anymore. They were surrounded by a sea of rolling hills and thick green and yellow grasses. In some areas the grass was knee-high to the horses who grazed on it. She couldn’t imagine a sight more magnificent than the peaceful serenity of this Texas ground.
“Wow. It’s so pretty here,” she declared. “This is all Brooks land?”
“Mmmhmm. They’ve owned it for decades the way I understand it.”
“How long have you known the Brooks family?” she asked, adjusting her seat in the saddle. The horse had a pleasantly even gait, but the slope of the saddle was just different enough from what she was used to that she felt a little awkward in her seat.
“I met Parker probably eight years ago when I owned my own business. He was a customer of mine, and we hit it off as friends,” Mack explained. She admired the grace he and his horse had together. A symbiotic relationship that appeared to be completely fluid and fulfilling for both man and horse. And he looked damn hot in the saddle with a cowboy hat pulled low over his brow, his trademark red bandana peeking out from underneath.
Jerking in the saddle, she fought to remember what their conversation had been about as her hormones dominated her thought process again. What was it about this man that sent her hurdling off the cliff of reason just being close?
“You had a business?” The subtle way he dropped the fact into conversation but didn’t elaborate wasn’t lost on her, but she wanted to know more about his life pre-cowboy days. “What kind of business?”
They’d reached the edge of an oval shaped pond surrounded on three sides by trees. A fire pit and a dock dominated one end of the pool, and she could imagine many a campfire late into the night with the smell of wood-smoke and burnt marshmallows heavy on the air. Mack stopped his horse and faced her, meeting her eyes before he answered her question.
“At one time in my life I was a Master leather artisan. I ran my own company, Saddle-Up Leather. I created all kinds of things out of leather. Saddles, bags, belts…even floggers and harnesses for BDSM players.” He sounded both proud and wistful about his past, “I was making money hand over fist for years, but as good as I was with leather, I was equally bad with business. I chose the wrong employees, the money was mismanaged, bills weren’t paid on time. It was a disaster of monumental proportions and the business collapsed underneath me.”
“You loved it though.” It wasn’t a question, and she didn’t expect an answer. She could see on
his face and in his eyes how much he missed working his craft. “Would you show me some of your work sometime?”
His face split into a wide grin, “Sure. Look down. You’re sitting on one of my saddles.”
She felt her mouth drop open, and she heard her gasp of surprise, but she didn’t remember sliding out of the saddle and dropping to the ground to inspect it closer. Her fingers traced the deep grooves in the supple leather, and she wondered out loud how many hours something like that would take.
“An intricate one like this can take up to forty man hours. A simpler design I can have done in thirty. It just depends. Saddles are where I got my start. My father enjoyed creating them, and taught me everything he knew when he realized I had a knack for it.”
Meeting his eyes after he climbed off his own mount, she smiled up at him, “You do amazing work on saddles, Mr. Thompson, but I must admit to being curious about the other items you listed. How does one go about making harnesses and floggers?”
“Hmm, well for that kind of explanation I would really need to give you a demonstration, and it’s not going to happen today. Just suffice it to say I’ve learned what sells the best over the years by testing them in my hand and even on my own body.” His nonchalant way of stating his experience left her open mouthed again.
“You let someone flog you?” she asked. “But I thought you were into BDSM because you liked to flog women?”
Her question seemed to stop him in his tracks as he worked his brain to come up with a suitable response. His jaw tightened and relaxed more than once and his throat worked as he swallowed hard. “BDSM isn’t just about men hitting women. It’s never about abuse if it’s practiced correctly. I’m not much for inflicting pain, but it turns me on a lot to have control over another person’s pleasure. I’m Dominant ninety percent of the time, but I’ve also walked on the other side of the line. I’m what they call a Switch. I can switch back and forth between Dominating and submitting and still find my pleasure, but I lean toward the Dominant side.”