Between Her Cowboys: (Taken by Cowboys: Part 4) A Billionaire Western Romance (2 page)

Breakfast was torture. The whole time, Jess had to repeatedly tell herself,
Don’t stare at Spencer. Don’t stare at Nate.

She positioned herself far down the long table from them—they always sat in the same seats at the middle of the main table, getting up to mill around and talk to guests during the meal—but not so far that she couldn’t still catch a glimpse of them out of the corner of her eye. Then she put her head down and ate her eggs, bacon, and toast (plus a blueberry flapjack or two), listening to the conversation around her more than she contributed to it. All she could think about was being between the two men, flesh against flesh, Nate’s head between her thighs as Spencer’s hands ran wild over her body from behind…

Don’t stare at Spencer. Don’t stare at Nate.

“Everything OK, hon?” Caroline asked her. She had walked up and put her hand on Jess’s shoulder as she was getting up from the seat, startling her. “You seem a little preoccupied.”

“Everything’s great!” Jess trilled. “I guess I’m just a bit distracted.”

Caroline smiled knowingly. Jess had confided in her the night before that she was torn between two men. Of course, Caroline didn’t know
which
men, and Jess wanted to keep it like that. Not that she was even torn between them anymore. More like deliciously wedged.

After breakfast she made her way out of the dining hall, having managed to avoid letting her hungry gaze linger over the two jaw-droppingly handsome men that she could now call hers.

She let her feet carry her over the trail to the horse pasture. It was another bright summer day, with dragonflies buzzing in the air that smelled of grass and honeysuckle. The blue-tinged mountains cut imposing silhouettes in the clear blue sky. Her heart began to soar as she walked over the trail, suddenly filled with an overwhelming feeling of gratefulness. She was so lucky to be in this paradise
and
to have two men devoted to her.

She felt a vibration in her pocket. She took out her phone, saw “Dani” flash across the screen, and promptly put it on mute. Dani had been skeptical at best when Jess had told her that she was quitting her job and taking a month out of her life to spend time doing nothing in Middle-of-Nowhere, Wyoming. She had no idea how Dani would react when she told her she had promptly gotten herself involved in a romantic relationship with two men. She knew she couldn’t keep screening calls from her best friend—in fact, she was surprised that Dani hadn’t already assembled a search party. They rarely went a day without speaking. But for the moment, she felt it was better to save that conversation for later, when she had some perspective on the whole thing.

She reached the pasture. The horses had been let out to graze. She stood by the fence and watched the large, graceful creatures bend their heads to languidly pull up stalks of grass. It looked like a nice life.

She sighed, feeling the sun press into the back of her neck, her hair swept up into a messy bun. It had been the best she could do with the few minutes she’d had between rousing herself from the bed of straw in the barn and making it to the dining lodge for breakfast.

One of the horses sauntered over to the fence—a dappled cream-and-black mare. “If it isn’t the infamous Oreo,” Jess said. The horse seemed to remember her. She reached her neck over the fence, pushing her broad muzzle towards Jess. “So we’re friends now?” she said, stroking the horse above her nose. Nate had given Jess her first horseback riding experience with Oreo, promising her she was great with beginners. Everything had been going swimmingly until Oreo had picked up the pace, and Jess, inexperienced rider that she was, had almost gotten thrown. She might have accidentally given the horse a bit of a thigh squeeze, but no one had to know that. As the tension soared between her and Nate, her thoughts had definitely been elsewhere.

“Maybe we should give it another go, huh, Oreo?” she said to the horse, which blinked its deceptively docile eyes. “Sometime when I’m not so distracted, maybe?”

She heard light footsteps behind her and turned around. Spencer and Nate were sauntering towards her. Her heart felt like it was cut from a cord, freefalling to her stomach.

“Saying hi to your friend?” Nate said, a playful spark in his eye.

“Just getting reacquainted,” she said. The men approached her. Nate put a hand on her hip and kissed her lightly on the lips, then stepped away, letting Spencer do the same. She felt a ripple of excitement with each touch. She was amazed by how easy and natural it all felt.

“Maybe we can help you out here,” Spencer suggested.

“Oh, I’m sure you have much more important things to do,” Jess said. “I don’t want to hog all of your time.”

“I think we can spare a few minutes,” Nate said. “We strive to keep all of our Getaway guests satisfied, after all.”

“You must be kept
very
busy, then,” she said.

“Well, some of our guests are a little more demanding than others,” Spencer said.

“I can’t help it if I’m a city girl with no notion of cowgirl ways,” Jess said innocently. Nate and Spencer laughed.

“Alright, girl, enough talk,” Nate said. “Let’s get you back on the saddle.”

He hopped the fence and Spencer followed suit, helping Jess over. Nate jogged to the barn to get a saddle, lead rope, and bridle, while Spencer corralled two jet-black mares.

“These are our two favorite horses, Midnight and Jesso,” Spencer said. Two cowboys on two black stallions—it was a dream come true.

Spencer and Nate helped her onto the horse, then mounted their own effortlessly. Jess felt a little nervous as they began to move in sync, bobbing up and down a little with each step. She tried to calm the butterflies in her stomach and tune in to the animal’s movements as she kept a light grip on the reins, as Nate had instructed her. “That’s it. Keep those heels pointed down in the stirrups,” he said.

“You’re doing great, Jess!” Spencer exclaimed as they rounded a corner. “You’re a natural.”

“Nonsense,” Jess said, but she flushed with pleasure nonetheless.

They made a slow loop around the pasture, Nate and Spencer flanking her. She couldn’t help but feel thrilled, especially as she remembered the strange dream she’d had a few nights ago in which she had been riding a horse sandwiched between Spencer and Nate. It had been a warm, sensual experience.
Whoa, girl
, she told herself. This was not the time to let her mind wander.

“Got plans tonight?” Nate asked casually.

She laughed. “Look where we are,” she said. She wanted to gesture at the pasture around her—grass, sky, mountains in the distance—but didn’t quite trust herself. “What kind of plans would I have?”

“You’re free, then?” Spencer said.

“Completely,” she said.

“What would you say to a night on the town?” Nate said.

“What town?” she said.

“Hey, now,” Spencer said. “This may not be New York City, but Big Horn has its attractions, too.”

“Yeah,” Nate said. “What we lack in fussy cocktail bars, we make up for in saloons.”

Her heart skipped a beat. “Are you proposing to take me out on a date?” she asked. “Both of you?”

“That’s exactly what we’re proposing,” Spencer said. “What do you say?”

It was one thing to spend time with Nate and Spencer when there was no one around—out here in nature or behind closed barn doors. The idea of being escorted by two men out on a date in public was another consideration entirely.

“But…what if people see us?” she asked.

Nate laughed. “Well, of course people are going to see us. Unless you have invisibility super powers you haven’t told us about.”

“I mean people you know,” she said. “Couldn’t that be…I don’t know…dangerous?”

Spencer waved his hand dismissively. “This town is full of gossips. Let them say what they like. Why should we pay them any mind?”

She carefully turned her head to look from Spencer to Nate. They were both looking back at her with wide-eyed expectance. Could they really be fine with the idea of people they knew—maybe even guests—catching wind of their three-way relationship? And more importantly—was
she
fine with it?

“That sounds like fun,” she said, managing a smile. “Let’s do it.”

“Great!” Nate said, beaming. “We’ll swing by your cabin at seven.”

A three-way date? It sounded like fun, but what if it went horribly wrong? What if people stared at them and made comments? Of course, they didn’t have to be totally obvious about their romance. They could just be three friends out together. Right?

Her mind flipped through a half dozen disastrous scenarios. What if she accidentally showed one man more attention than the other, and the other got jealous? She remembered how close to blows they’d gotten when Spencer had discovered Nate making love to her.

They finished their loop and the men helped her dismount Oreo. She touched the ground with slightly shaky legs. “That was better, wasn’t it?” she asked Nate, her first riding instructor.

“You managed to stay on her back this time, so I’d say so,” Nate said with a grin.

Spencer excused himself to go lead some guests on a nature walk. Jess stayed to watch Nate as he led Oreo into the stable to remove her saddle and bride. He showed such care for the creature, murmuring soft words to her and stroking her muzzle.

“Want to help me groom her?” Nate asked.

“I’d love to!” she exclaimed.

He grabbed a pail full of brushes from the shelf at one end of the stable and brought it over. “This one’s called the curry comb,” he said, taking out a hand-sized rubber brush with stiff bristles. “You attach it to your hand like this, and then you use it to loosen the dirt in her coat.” He demonstrated, swiping Oreo’s side with short, swift strokes.

“Can I try?” she asked.

“All yours,” he said, unstrapping the curry comb and handing it to her.

She strapped it to her hand and began brushing Oreo’s other side. Soon her arm muscles were aching. “Wow! This is harder than it looks.”

“This is the tough part,” he said. “But you’re doing a great job.” He looked Oreo’s coat over approvingly. She glowed with pride.

“Next is soft brushing,” he said, taking a wooden brush with soft-looking bristles from the pail. “Same idea. This is what removes all the dust and dirt we just loosened.”

They took turns using the brush on Oreo, who seemed to be enjoying the treatment. Then Nate showed her how to use a smaller brush to groom Oreo’s face, mane, and tail. She found it satisfying to brush out the horse’s black tail until all the bits of grass and twigs were gone and the hair was lustrous.

“The last part is picking the hooves,” Nate said, when she had finished. “But you can leave that one to me. It can be dangerous if you aren’t experienced.”

She watched Nate take a sharp-looking pick and, after draping a rope over his arm, coaxed the horse’s leg up and switched his grip so he was holding the hoof from underneath. With his other hand, he began to scrape at the thick layer of dirt that was packed there.

“Doesn’t that hurt her?” she asked, grimacing.

“Not a bit!” he said, continuing to scrape. “She can’t feel a thing. Her feet are literally as tough as nails. If we didn’t do this, her hooves would rot.”

She watched him pick each of Oreo’s four hooves. He continued to murmur under his breath as he moved with practiced grace, words that Jess couldn’t pick up. A smile lingered on her face.

“All done!” he said, straightening up and wiping his brow.

“I could use a shower,” she said. She felt like she was covered in a layer of dust and dirt from Oreo, along with a thin sheet of sweat. The horse was probably cleaner and sweeter smelling than her.

“It’s not the cleanest work in the world,” Nate said. “But you seem like a girl who likes to get her hands dirty.”

“I guess I do,” she said with a smile. “I have to say that it feels really good, being out here in nature, spending so much more time out of doors than inside.”

“You sure don’t get that in the city,” Nate said. “Just those stupid carriage rides in Central Park. My heart always broke for those poor creatures.”

Nate really was a sensitive soul. “I know what you mean,” she said. “I always feel the same thing.”

Without warning, Nate dropped the comb he was holding and approached Jess with intensity. He grabbed her and pulled her close, the warmth of his body flooding into hers, and kissed her.

“Mmmm,” he moaned, pulling away. “I’ve been fighting the urge to do that all day.”

Slowly she opened her eyes, gazing up at him. She was weak at the knees. “More,” she whispered.

He pulled away, smiling mischievously. His hands on her shoulders, he turned her around and gave her butt a playful slap. “I’ve got to take care of the rest of the horses,” he said. “Move along, partner.”

***

As she made her way back to her cabin, a smile pasted to her face, she noticed a sign she hadn’t seen before—an arrow labeled “Pool” pointing down the path. Surely she had time for a quick swim.

She followed the path, which wended a short way around before leading to a small pool, its perimeter laid with tiles and scattered with long chairs. Set against the backdrop of a flat-topped mountain in the distance, it glittered like a jewel.