by Roma James
And okay, maybe I was trying to be a little seductive, but I honestly did enjoy the feel of the warm sun on my face. I had always loved being outdoors whenever the harsh Montana weather would allow it. But being out here with two hot guys on a blanket and nobody else around?
That was basically my idea of paradise.
“It is really nice out here, isn’t it?” Cade asked. Even without opening my eyes, I could hear from the closeness of his voice that he had shifted his weight toward me. And I also had the feeling that they were both watching me—probably both giving each other those secret looks, too.
“And the scenery…” Boone’s voice was closer on the other side of me, too. “It’s so much better than anything we have back home.”
I smiled but still didn’t open my eyes. “You might find that a lot of things are better here if you give it a chance.”
I felt a hand—Cade’s, I was pretty sure—brush against my thigh. That little touch sent a wave of heat rushing down to my core, and I sucked in a sharp breath as another hand lightly stroked the inside of my arm.
“So much better, from what I can see.” Cade’s voice was low and thick with desire, and I was pretty sure I could feel his warm breath hit my neck as he spoke.
God, I’d wanted this for so long that I had to hold myself back to keep from begging for it.
“Kiss me,” I said, finally giving in to my desires.
I felt rough stubble and soft lips brush against my own as another set of lips started slowly moving up the base of my neck. With my eyes still closed, it was like nothing I’d ever experienced before. And then with those hands lightly touching, stroking, caressing up and down my body, it was almost too much, almost sensory overload.
I almost liked it better not knowing which lips I was kissing or which hand was teasing my inner thigh, but self-control wasn’t exactly my strongest point, and I couldn’t resist the temptation anymore. I finally opened my eyes and then felt another rush of heat as I found myself looking into Boone’s dark eyes just before he closed his again.
Had they switched places? I could have sworn Cade had been kissing me first, but I’d been so lost in the moment that I couldn’t be sure.
“Does this feel good?” Boone murmured, moving from my lips to plant a trail of kisses down my jaw as Cade came back up to take his place.
They didn’t give me time to answer, but I hoped they could tell from the way my body was reacting to their attention that it felt really, really good.
“So beautiful,” Cade whispered between kisses.
“So sexy,” Boone added, moving lower against my body as his hands moved to the button and zipper of my jeans.
Oh, God, I really was in heaven.
“Just wanna make you feel good,” Boone said, sliding my jeans and panties down with one smooth motion. I could feel his breath and his rough stubble against the sensitive skin of my inner thighs. I moaned as Cade’s mouth found mine again and as Boone’s tongue lapped at my most sensitive spot.
Little explosions were going off in my brain as I raised my hips, my body desperately trying to get closer to Boone’s hot mouth as if it had a mind of its own.
Cade’s hand slipped up the front of my shirt, his fingers teasing my nipples through the thin fabric of my bra as Boone’s tongue probed deeper. My whole body was starting to feel warm. Warm and cool at the same time—and tingly all over.
Oh, God.
They were going to make me come with just their fingers and their mouths. It was so good, better than anything I could have ever done on my own—and having two of them taking care of me was almost more than my brain could comprehend.
Two mouths, four hands, all those naughty, curious fingers exploring my body.
“Oh, my God,” I gasped, reaching down to tug at Boone’s head. “You’re gonna… gonna make me… oh, God…”
“You’re gonna come for us,” Cade murmured, kissing me between each word. “Gonna come so hard and so pretty. Just let go, beautiful. We’ve got you. We’re going to take care of you.”
Yes.
Yes.
That was what I wanted. That was what I needed. They understood.
I gave in. I let myself go just as I felt my orgasm rushing through me. I might have cried out. I might have passed out. All I knew was that once the tidal wave of pleasure had crashed over me, my guys were there for me, just like they’d said.
Cade was on one side and Boone on the other, their big arms holding me and caressing me as their deep, sexy voices guided me back down to reality.
A vibration from somewhere underneath me jolted all three of us to sit up on the blanket. I blinked in confusion, my brain still in a haze of lust and need.
“What was that?” Cade asked, moving his hand to rub my back reassuringly. “Are you okay?”
I groaned, belatedly realizing what had happened. “My phone,” I said, sighing as I scrambled to pull my jeans up so I could fish it from my pocket. “Sorry, but it’s my uncle. I need to answer.”
They both nodded, and I swiped to hear Uncle Justin’s voice boom over the speaker. “Janessa? Sweetie, are you there?”
“I’m here,” I said, my adrenaline spiking at the sound of his worried tone. All of my irritation at being interrupted in the middle of what had been the best time of my entire life slipped away as I heard his next words.
“Get Cade and Boone to bring you back to the house right now. There’s trouble here.”
Chapter 12
Janessa
My uncle hadn’t given me many details over the phone, just saying that we needed to get back to the house as soon as possible. The three of us didn’t speak a single word on the way back. With our horses running full out the entire time, we couldn’t have had a conversation about what had just happened between us even if we’d wanted to.
Nothing looked out of place as the main house finally came into sight, but I could see two trucks—my uncle’s pickup and one that looked like the one the vet had been driving—parked in the pasture out past the stables.
“Over there,” Cade said, pointing in the direction of the trucks.
We closed the distance quickly, riding up to see my uncle and Logan crouching down among several cows lying on their sides.
They looked still and lifeless, just like Rebel had been when we’d first found her in her stall.
“What’s going on?” I asked, leaving my horse to Cade and Boone so I could join my uncle. “What happened?”
Uncle Justin’s face was a mask of anger, and his jaw was clenched. I’d only seen him like this a few times before in my whole life, and it had never been good. “Poison,” he said simply.
“Just like the time before,” Logan added.
“How is that possible?” Cade asked. He walked over to one of the nearby cows and leaned in to place a hand on her side. “She’s still breathing. Are the others still alive, too?”
“Barely,” Logan replied, shooting Cade an annoyed look. “I think we may have dodged another bullet this time. If so, you all should consider yourselves lucky.”
I didn’t feel lucky at all. I felt my world had been turned upside down. And I was more than a little irritated after seeing the way Logan had just looked at Cade. I remembered the last time Logan had been here, when we’d called him out to take care of Rebel. He’d asked me out, but I hadn’t thought anything of it in the days that had passed since then.
Was he jealous of Cade? Did he suspect that something might be going on between us?
Not that it was any of his business at all. He was here to take care of the animals’ needs, not mine. If he hadn’t done such a good job helping Rebel and hadn’t come with just a moment’s notice both times, I probably would have asked Uncle Justin to find a new vet.
But not only was Logan the best vet around, he also happened to be the only one who worked close enough to be of any use in an emergency like this.
“How could this have happened, though?” Boone asked, finally catching up to us af
ter making sure the horses were tied up near the trucks and out of harm’s way. “We’ve been keeping watch on this place around the clock. Literally twenty-four-seven. If anyone had driven back here, one of us would have seen them.”
“Is there anyone else who has access to this pasture?” Logan asked.
“Just a few of our ranch hands,” Uncle Justin answered, shaking his head. “But they’ve been with us for years. I’d trust each of those guys with my life. And besides, they love these animals just as much as we do.”
“Yeah, I don’t believe any of them would be capable of something like this,” I said, blinking back tears as I looked at the pitiful animals as they snorted in pain. “I can’t believe anyone could do this.” I dashed at my cheeks as the tears started to fall anyway. “Why? Why are we being targeted like this? What did we do?”
Cade and Boone both stepped closer to me, but Uncle Justin put his arm around my shoulders and pulled me in for a hug. “It’s gonna be okay, sweetie. Logan is going to take care of the cows, and then we’re going to find the sick bastard who’s behind this.”
“That’s right.” Boone nodded. “Whoever it is will regret doing this. I promise you that much.”
“Well, whoever it was must have been sneakier this time,” Logan said. “With the number of cows here all showing the same symptoms, I’d say someone either got into their food or their water. I doubt someone would have gone through the trouble of poisoning each animal individually, but their laziness might have been the thing that saved these cows.”
“What do you mean by that?” Cade asked, his brow furrowed as he listened.
“Putting the poison in the water supply would have diluted it,” Logan explained. “And so, rather than one or two lethal doses, we have several cows who are sick but will almost surely make it through.”
“Thank God the person was lazy or stupid or whatever,” I said, taking a deep breath. “But I still don’t understand why? Why is this person doing this to us?”
“The Winslows have had some trouble, too,” Logan said, getting everyone’s attention as we all turned to face him. “Two of their horses were sick, and a shed burned to the ground the other night. So whoever it was seems to be moving through the area causing trouble.”
My tears had finally stopped, but I almost started crying again at the thought of Derek Winslow—a relative of Cade’s—going through the same thing just a few miles away from here.
Boone turned to Cade. “Have you talked to Derek lately?”
“No.” Cade shook his head. “But I’ll call him and see if he has any idea about who it might be or what the hell they might be trying to prove with all of this.”
“That’s probably a good idea,” Logan said. “All I can advise in the meantime is to keep watch out here. I’ve given the cows the same medication I gave Rebel last week, so they should be able to get up and walk again soon. You’ll need to call me if any of them take a turn for the worse, though.”
“Thank you for dropping everything to come out here again on such short notice, Logan,” Uncle Justin said. “I hate that you keep needing to visit under these circumstances. You’ll have to come over for dinner sometime just for a change of pace.”
My stomach clenched at the idea of cooking for Logan Hensley and inviting him into our house. I knew I shouldn’t feel that way—especially after everything he’d done to help our animals in the past week—but I couldn’t help it.
I didn’t like the hungry look in his eyes when he glanced in my direction. I didn’t like the way he seemed to resent Cade and Boone being here. And I especially didn’t like the idea of turning him down again if he ever took another shot at asking me on a date.
“I might have to take you up on that offer, Justin,” Logan said, all smiles as he gathered his things and walked back to his pickup truck. “It’s been too long since I’ve had a proper home-cooked meal…” He paused, then looked at me. “And I bet you can do some amazing things in the kitchen.”
Gross.
I nearly threw up in my mouth.
And I enjoyed cooking, if I was being honest. But why did he have to make it sound so… so gross?
“Maybe we’ll all still be around to enjoy that meal,” Boone said. “I might not be as amazing as Janessa, but I wouldn’t mind cooking something for you, Logan.”
Cade snorted, no doubt envisioning all sorts of ways to spice up a recipe for the veterinarian.
Logan just scowled and climbed into his truck without another word. I had to turn my head to keep from laughing, but Cade didn’t hold back.
“And you call me the smartass?” Cade snickered, jabbing Boone in the side with his elbow. “You’d better hope none of our animals get sick, the way he was glaring at you. I’ll bet he won’t drop everything to come running if we have to call him.”
“I don’t even care.” Boone grimaced.
I wanted to walk over and hug both of them, but not with my uncle standing there scowling his disapproval. “Maybe we should all treat the vet a little better,” Uncle Justin said. “I don’t know how things go over at other ranches, but we like to show appreciation for the kind of top-notch service Logan Hensley delivers around here.”
Boone nodded. “Your ranch. Your rules. Can’t argue with that.”
I needed to change the subject—and to remind everyone of why we were out here in the first place. Even though I was firmly on Cade and Boone’s side as far as the top-notch doctor was concerned, I didn’t want to cause any unnecessary friction with my uncle. God knew I’d already had enough of that over the past few days.
Turning to Cade, I asked, “Do you think Derek would mind if we came out to take a look at his horses? I’d like to compare what we know with what he’s seen if he’d be willing to talk to us.”
“I think that’s a good idea.” Boone nodded. “I’d like to go along and see for myself as well.”
Cade shrugged. “I can’t think of a reason why he wouldn’t talk to us, but I’ll call and double check just to be sure.” He shook his head. “I don’t like the way this is looking, though. If it really is the same person, I don’t like that they’ve resorted to arson on top of everything else. If something like that happened here, these outbuildings would burn to the ground before we’d be able to put out the fires.”
Uncle Justin nodded. “I was really hoping we’d find out it was just a group of teenagers out causing trouble. This is starting to feel a lot more dangerous than that.”
“I think so, too,” I said. “We need to go talk to Derek. Uncle Justin, do you mind if we go while you stay and keep an eye on the cattle?”
I thought back to the conversation we’d had in the kitchen that morning and how I’d told him I didn’t mind that he always wanted to look out for me. I’d meant it then, and I still felt that way now, but I hoped he would recognize that this was one of those times when I needed a little space so I could follow my own instincts.
He nodded. “Go ahead. If there’s some kind of connection, we need to know about it.”
I gave him a quick hug—partially from feeling relieved that he really did seem to be making an effort to let me make my own decisions and partially because, well… I’d learned the hard way that it was always good to show the people I cared about the most that they were important to me.
And as long as there was some lunatic out there setting fires and poisoning animals, I wasn’t taking anything for granted.
“I don’t like that guy,” Cade muttered as we pulled out of the driveway in his pickup truck. “He walks around like he’s better than everyone else, but I don’t give a damn that he’s a veterinarian who’s been through all those years of school and whatnot. He’s just an asshole as far as I’m concerned.”
I reached over and gave his leg a gentle squeeze. The cab of Cade’s truck was surprisingly spacious, but Cade and Boone were big guys, and I couldn’t help feeling a little rush of excitement when I realized I’d be sandwiched between them for the drive to and from Derek Winsl
ow’s ranch.
It was going to be really hard to keep my hands to myself. We were just pulling out of the driveway and I’d already failed.
Cade didn’t seem to mind, though. He looked over and gave me a little smile in spite of his rant. God, how was it even possible that he was so hot all the time? Everything he did, every little move he made was just… sexy. And I couldn’t get enough.
“Pretty sure Logan feels the same way about you,” Boone said, smirking. “Every time you open your mouth, he looks like he’s in physical pain.”
“I should open my mouth more often, if that’s the case,” Cade shot back.
I laughed. “He’s a piece of work, for sure. I think he means well, though…” I shook my head, remembering all the things about the vet that sort of creeped me out. “I think he might just get along better with animals than people.”
“Your uncle sure seems to get along well with him,” Boone said. “But yeah, I think you’re probably right. And honestly, that’s probably a good quality for a vet to have. If you’re going to trust someone to take care of your animals, it might as well be someone who gets along with them.”
“I think that’s the only reason why Uncle Justin likes him so much,” I said. “He’s taken such good care of our animals, and he really does drop everything to get out there whenever we call.”
Cade snorted. “Yeah, I can’t imagine why he’d come running whenever the prettiest girl in the county calls…”
“And again,” Boone added before I had a chance to respond, “he probably thinks the same thing about us.”
Cade gave Boone a serious dose of side-eye but didn’t say anything else. I had always just sort of assumed that Logan had been so prompt because he respected Uncle Justin or because he was so dedicated to his job, but maybe I’d just been fooling myself. I certainly didn’t want to believe that Logan was just there to see me, but I couldn’t say for sure that he wasn’t.