Bridling Lucy (Horse Mountain Shifters Book 3)

by Sierra Brave

  Chance winced as Davis mentioned the identical meatheads. “Sheesh—she’d sic those two crazy, bicep-brained freaks on me?”

  Davis’s teeth showed as he grinned. “In a heartbeat. They’re not good for much besides moving furniture or people. Either way, isn’t it best to arrive on your own accord rather than to be dragged?”

  “I guess.” Chance huffed.

  “Of course, none of that would actually happen. We both know no one enjoys the order and security of a life lived well within the boundaries as you do. You’ll be at Gram’s tomorrow and right on time if not early.”

  “Yeah, yeah, shut up, Grammy’s boy.” Chance offered a half-assed salute, his voice dripping with distain.

  “Are you trying to start some shit?” Davis jumped up as he clenched his jaw.

  One side of Chance’s mouth curved upward into a crooked smile, and he lifted his eyebrows playfully as he put his hand on the holster of his gun and unsnapped it. “Maybe.” The two men squared off, glaring at each other for a few seconds before the corner of one side of Davis’s mouth twitched, signifying he couldn’t hold his laughter much longer. The two men nearly burst a gut before Chance asked, “So when are we going fishing again?”

  Davis’s shoulders slumped. “Man, I wish it could be today, but between work and wedding planning, I’m swamped.”

  “Congratulations on that. I’ve saved the date on my calendar.”

  “Good. You better be there, and tell your no-account brother I expect to see him too.”

  Chance rolled his eyes as he thought about the spoiled, college-boy wolf. “Good luck with that. Little fucker didn’t bother to show up for mom’s hunting party three weeks ago. Even daddy and I made an appearance; we were there practically tiptoeing around on our hooves so we didn’t disturb the prey.”

  Davis looked away, tapping his bottom lip as if he were thinking. “Weird how it works out, huh? Same parents, different result.”

  “Yeah, in my family’s case, I think it worked out nice though. Dad got his foal and momma got her cub.”

  Davis nodded. “Guess so. Did you hear Abram’s marrying a cougar?”

  Chance grinned. “An older woman or a shifter?”

  “Maddie Mittens.”

  Chance whistled between his teeth. “Wow, lucky Abram. I didn’t ever think anyone would collar that kitty. How’d that happen?”

  Davis shrugged. “Guess she took pity on him, but she’s still as strong-willed as ever. If anyone is collared, it’s him.” A sideways smile curved his lips before he added. “Good luck with Gram tomorrow.”

  Chance lifted his chin, eyeing his fellow clan member. Something about the look dancing in the man’s eyes didn’t sit well with him and he suddenly got the impression Davis knew a lot more about why he was being summonsed than he was letting on.

  Chapter Two

  Chance knocked on Carolyn Bank’s front door at exactly 8:55 a.m. When the clan matriarch answered, she looked as regal as ever with her chin-length, gray bob and her signature equestrian boots. If he had to guess, she probably hadn’t dropped her rear on a saddle in more than five years; yet she was always sporting her new-looking, freshly shined footwear made expressly for the purpose. She wasted no time hustling him into the parlor, and she insisted he take a seat before offering him coffee. He sat down across from her but declined her refreshments.

  He studied her face, searching for clues as to why he was there. She wore a smile but he couldn’t be sure she wasn’t just baring her teeth before dropping the hammer. By all accounts, she was one tough lady. He’d tossed and turned all night, racking his brain to figure out what he might have done to bring down her wrath. Shifter clans had to stick together to survive, and their rules had to be respected. As far as he knew, he hadn’t broken any, but if he wasn’t in trouble, why the hell was he there?

  Most of the regulations were meant to protect the clan from exposure and to keep order within but also to maintain peace between the different shifter clans. Disobeying the rules led to swift punishment—usually an ass kicking from someone you liked and trusted who was just doing their duty. If the perpetrator was a minor, it might mean a switching and a talking-to from a parent or grandparent. For adults, lectures were rare but not unheard of. Fines were more common and pretty stiff. Unless you had the matriarch’s blessing to bring someone into the loop, blabbing about shifter business or transforming in an area visible to humans was likely to get your entire family sanctioned with all of the above. He’d heard tell of one poor sap who was ostracized by his whole clan for over a year after getting wasted and telling a bar full of people he could turn into a horse. The idiot had gotten so mad when they laughed at him, he started to undress. Luckily, someone got him out of there before he shifted or he might have been pushing up daisies about now.

  “Auntie, did I do something wrong?” He tugged at his collar.

  She shook her head. “Not at all. Quite the opposite, really. I’m very impressed with you. You’ve become such a fine, outstanding gentleman that I know I can rely on you for a special task.”

  All the pride puffing out his chest after the first half of her statement shrank away and his face fell when he heard the rest. “What did you have in mind?”

  He sat quietly, wishing he’d accepted the coffee she’d offered, as she went on and on telling stories of her childhood and growing up in the clan. After what seemed like a stinking eternity, she got to the point and he learned she wanted to stick him with babysitting some spoiled princess from out of town who’d got into trouble back home.

  Chance balked, “I don’t know about this. I have a full-time job. I can’t drop everything. I’m not even sure what you’re asking of me.”

  The matriarch straightened her shoulders as she glared at him. That woman wasn’t used to her orders being questioned, but he liked his regimented routine and he’d be damned if he were going to be saddled with such a burden.

  She smoothed a lock of hair behind her ear as she offered an unnerving smile. “I’m simply asking you to do your duty as a member of the clan. We have a shortage of available female equine-shifters in this area, and our numbers are dwindling worldwide. We have an opportunity to shape a wayward filly into a young lady our community would be happy to accept.”

  He resisted the urge to roll his eyes. “Why me?” As soon as the words came out of his mouth, Carolyn’s brow knitted and a biting chill ran up Chance’s spine like a thousand ice-cold pinpricks poking into his back. “That is…I mean to say…um…you have a lot of nephews and grandsons. Wouldn’t one of them be a better choice?”

  The corners of her mouth curled upward in a most disconcerting fashion. “I believe you are best suited for the task.”

  “I assure you that is not the case.” He shook his head. “What happens if I refuse?”

  She smirked as she picked up her cellphone before punching in a few numbers and then held the device up with her thumb hovering over the send button.”

  He lifted an eyebrow. “Is that some sort of threat? Who are you calling?”

  Her teeth showed as she flashed a grin. “Your mother.”

  A gasp slipped through his lips as his eyes widened and his stomach sank. Shit. His mom was a strong woman. He had no doubt she’d be the wolves’ matriarch one day. She took clan etiquette very seriously and would be all over his case if he didn’t comply with Mrs. Banks’ wishes. “I apologize. Of course, I will do whatever you ask, Matriarch.”

  “That’s better,” she replied before canceling the call.

  “I’m still not sure what you want me to do. How old is this girl?”

  “Twenty-one.”

  He sighed. She wasn’t much more than a kid, but legally, she was still an adult. What the hell could he do about her poor behavior? “So…a little guidance.”

  “She can’t get a proper job because some people her mother doesn’t want to find her might be able to trace her social security number so my grandson is employing her as a chambermaid at the ranch
in exchange for her room and board with me. You will drive her there every morning and pick her up each afternoon.”

  He groaned. “Two of your grandsons and a granddaughter live just down the road from here and they all work at the ranch. Wouldn’t it be easier for them to get her there?”

  “Unlike you, my grandsons are both engaged to beautiful young women. It would hardly be appropriate for them to spend time with Lucy. She is not happy about being here nor does she want the job we are offering. She will need a firm hand, and my granddaughter doesn’t have one. In fact, Melly is much more likely to be led astray than to be a positive influence on Lucy.”

  He snorted. “Firm hand…what exactly do you think I’m going to be able to do? I carry a pistol, but I don’t threaten young women at gunpoint. If she refuses to go to work, how can I make her?”

  Ms. Banks chuckled. “When you were a colt, how would your mother handle it if you gave her attitude?”

  Chance’s eyes widened and his lips parted as he laughed nervously. “You serious?”

  She nodded. “I’m fairly certain that’s what it’s going to take.”

  He pinched the bridge of his nose as he closed his eyes and sighed. “I’m so not down with this…but I guess you’re not leaving me a choice.”

  She stood up and walked toward the hallway before calling out. “Lucy, your ride is here.”

  A minute later a sexy blond immerged wearing a hunter green polo shirt with the logo of the Banks Family Ranch embroidered on the right-hand side, bringing his gaze directly in line with her large breasts. He took a quick gander, noticing the way her waist curved inward before getting an eyeful of her thick, creamy thighs showing beneath her short, denim shorts.

  “Well, don’t you look cute?” Ms. Banks motioned toward the tight ponytail holding the young woman’s fluffy tangle of unruly, curly hair up high on her head.

  The moment his gaze locked with Lucy’s, Chance’s heart raced, and as he breathed in her scent, a hazy intoxication covered his brain. He rubbed the back of his head as the matriarch made her introduction. Lucy couldn’t have looked less enthusiastic as he held out his hand, but after a few awkward seconds, she shook it. As their palms connected, he could have sworn he felt a spark ignite like what happens when someone uses static electricity to give you a shock. He jerked his hand back, and she looked at him as if he were nuts. Didn’t she feel it? Great, now I look a fool. What the hell is up with me and why am I suddenly so thirsty?

  “Well, I guess we should go. I have lots of work to do.” He glanced at Ms. Banks who was grinning at him.

  “Would you like a bottle of cold water for the trip down the mountain, Chance? You look a might parched.”

  How the fuck did she know that? “Yes, please.” His new charge huffed and folded her arms across her chest like a sullen, impatient child. This is going to suck.

  Chapter Three

  Lucy pursed her lips and frowned, stewing as her warden drove her toward a job she was going to hate. Cleaning toilets? This is bullshit! A barista at fourteen…a hospitality representative at one of the best hotels in Vegas at sixteen and a damn good blackjack dealer the day I turned eighteen…now I’m going to be cleaning up after a bunch of cowboy wannabees. Un-fucking-believable.

  She glanced at her driver. He was tall, dark and handsome with his long, flowing hair pulled back into a low ponytail. “So…are you excited about starting your new job?”

  Her nostrils flared and without thinking, she mouthed off, “Oh, hell yeah! I can’t wait to be a mother fuckin’ maid.”

  “Watch your language.” His thick, dark black eyebrows knotted and creases developed on his forehead.

  She gritted her teeth as fury filled her belly and then she lashed out. “Don’t tell me what to do. I have no idea why I’m even riding with you. I hold a valid drivers’ license and the old lady has a car she never uses.”

  “Hey! I’ve been tasked with looking after you, and the first thing you need to learn is some respect, especially in regards to the matriarch.” His authoritative tone cut right through her, but once she was on a roll, Lucy couldn’t stop.

  “I’m a grown-up. I don’t need a fucking babysitter, and I don’t have to listen to you.”

  “Young lady, I’m not sure how things are done where you’re from, but around here, people speak to each other without all the rudeness.”

  “Oh geez, that’s another thing. Why do I have to be stuck in this hick town?”

  “Maybe if you weren’t off showing your ass back home—“

  Her jaw dropped as her eyebrows lifted. “Showing my ass? Who the hell said that?”

  “It’s an expression…means misbehaving.”

  “Fuck…speaking of hicks!”

  As the truck went flying off the road and the came to a sudden stop on the shoulder, Lucy’s body bobbled about and then the back of her head smacked on the headrest while the seat belt tightened against her chest. “What the fu—“

  In a flash, he’d parked and thrown the driver’s side door open, and before she could get a handle on what was happening, she found herself staring at the ground as he hauled her across his lap with her hips resting over his thighs and her torso hanging off the side of the bench seat.

  “Agh!” What the hell are you doing?” She flailed her arms and tightened her abdominal muscles, fighting gravity as the blood rushed to her head.

  His hand landed on the back pocket of her shorts with a thud, and she squealed. The next swat fell just an inch or so off from hitting the exact same spot. She kicked and squirmed as she squawked and flailed her arms, but he was strong as an ox, and the truck was raised up enough she couldn’t touch the ground.

  “You need to learn how to act, and since you’re too unreasonable to talk to, this seems like the best way to teach you.” Her shorts tightened across her backside as he tugged at the waistband. He smacked her butt again and she gasped.

  “You can’t do this!” She put her hand behind her back in an attempt to cover her stinging buns, but he grabbed her wrist and twisted her arm so he could hold it at the small of her back.

  “Really?” His question preceded four sharp, painful slaps against her posterior. “Because I’m pretty sure I’m already doing it. I’m not exactly thrilled about having to take time out of my schedule to chauffeur you around, but I can’t disobey the matriarch.”

  She wiggled her butt attempting to shake away some of the heat burning up her backside while kicking as much as she could in the confined space. “Let me go!”

  The beep of a car horn brought her attention to the road just as a jeep zoomed by with a man hanging his head out the window and whistling. Her face flushed, heating up all the way to her ears as the realization that anyone in the world could drive by and see her in such a humiliating position. All the fight drifted out of her and she hung her head as her tears began to fall.

  Even though she stilled and allowed him to chastise her without any more fuss, he didn’t go any easier on her, popping her right cheek to the point she was sure it would swell and be twice the size of the left. She scrunched up her nose and clenched her teeth as he busted her butt while continuing to lecture her. “From now on you better speak politely to everyone. I don’t want to hear tell of you being nasty to anyone at the ranch. You better listen and do as you’re told, and when I come back to pick you up this afternoon, if I don’t get a glowing report, you’ll get it worse!”

  “I’m sorry! I’ll be good. I promise.” She sniffled as he landed a couple of heavy swats.

  “You damn well better be.” He rested his large hand on her bottom as he spoke.

  “I won’t cause any more trouble.”

  “Good.” Her words seemed to calm him and his voice no longer sounded angry. “I don’t want to be doing this. You’re supposed to be an adult so be responsible.”

  “I will. No more back talk.” Her ass smarted like crazy, and she’d have said anything to make sure he didn’t start wailing on it again even though she was
absolutely furious at him.

  His touch became soft as he ran his hand over her shorts, caressing her spanked ass as he continued to chide her. She closed her eyes as the endorphins released by her punishment began to trigger her pleasure receptors. Back and forth, his palm glided over the curvature of her bottom. Her mind went hazy, and the area between her legs throbbed so much she barely heard his long-winded lecture.

  She squirmed, moving her hips and pressing her tingling pussy against his thigh. Her respiration sped up and her heart pounded. She’d nearly forgotten where she was when she felt his cock stiffed beneath her. Her eyelids popped open. What am I doing? I don’t even know this guy and why the hell does he smell so good?

  Before she had a chance to gather her thoughts, he hauled her up and then plopped her back down. “Buckle up.”

  Lucy favored the left side of her rear as she settled into her seat. She bit down on her bottom lip as she glanced at Chance’s reflection in the rearview mirror. His dark brown eyes were rounded and bulging as he stared at the road. He lifted his eyebrows high creating a crease between them while he pushed up his lower lip in a look of dismay. Is he just as embarrassed as I am?

  Her heart beat so fast she felt as if she might kill over at any moment. She glanced his way. He’s not bad looking. I love his dark complexion, chiseled features, and broad shoulders…he looks fit. Her mouth filled with saliva as her pulse reacted. No! No! No! This man just beat my ass. What the hell am I thinking? She turned her head and stared out the window for the rest of the ride.

  Chapter Four

  Chase hoped his heart would have calmed down by the time he arrived at the ranch, but it was still banging so fast, he was sure Lucy could hear it. I can’t believe I spanked a grown ass woman and got a hard-on. She just made me so mad…and Ms. Banks said it had to be that way. He shook his head.