Branded (Siren Publishing LoveXtreme Special Edition) (4 page)

Blaine glanced at the nightstand clock. She’d been in the bathroom for an hour. He stared at the door and wondered if he should check on her. Blaine muted the TV and climbed off her bed. He crossed the room and knocked on the bathroom door lightly. “Erin?”

When she didn’t respond, he opened the door and peeked in. Erin laid in the tub sound asleep. He smiled and walked toward the towel rack. He had no idea her life had been so hard. None of them had. He unplugged the drain and waited for the tub to drain before he tried to lift her out.

She looked so beautiful lying there. The cooler air had hardened her rosy nipples to stiff points. He allowed himself the pleasure of taking in the rest of her body, his eyes stopping at the triangle of hair between her thighs. His cock took an interest, and he felt like a sick pervert for watching her while she slept.

After mentally scolding himself, he draped the towel over her body and leaned down to lift her body from the tub. He kissed her forehead and carried her to the bedroom. He sat her on the bed and rubbed the towel over her body, drying her wet skin. She stirred slightly, turning her head toward the far wall as she spread her legs a bit more.

Blaine closed his eyes. He really needed to stop staring at her. His cock pressed against the fly of his jeans. He took a few breaths and tried his best to keep a clinical touch. It didn’t work. He wanted to taste her, from head to toe. It had been so long since he’d been with her and he couldn’t stop thinking about being with her again.

He pulled the comforter over her to hide the temptation of waking her up to fuck. He blew out a breath and turned off the light. He walked around the bed and climbed in the other side. It just may kill him, but he wasn’t going to let her sleep alone tonight.

* * * *

“I’ve got my list of chores done.” Scotty pulled his gloves off and stuffed them in his back pocket. “It’s time for you to pay up with breakfast. I’m starving.”

Blaine rolled his eyes. “Dixie said she’d bring breakfast around seven thirty.”

Scotty propped his arm on the gate and peered in the barn stall at Blaine. “Is Erin okay? I haven’t seen her since we’ve been here and from what I’ve gathered she really doesn’t want to see me—or any of us for that matter. Is she really okay with us staying here?”

Blaine nodded. “She’s just stressed, which is why I asked everyone to chip in around here.”

Dierks and Devin came up behind him. It was just like old times again, the five of them working on the ranch, each plotting and planning how they’ll get into Erin’s panties. Scotty smiled as he reminisced.

“We’re starving, man.” Devin grabbed his stomach as it growled. “When you going to pay up?”

“Yeah, Blaine. I’m lookin’ forward to a plate full of eggs and bacon. Ooh, nice fluffy biscuits, too. Maybe some gravy.” Kade groaned. “All our chores are done, so it’s time for breakfast.”

Scotty laughed. “Seven thirty is what he told me.”

All the men groaned. Blaine rolled his eyes. “Stop being such pussies.”

“Oh, no. No, no, no, no, no.” Erin ran toward them, frantically looking for something.

“Hey, sweets. What’s wrong?” Scotty moved away from the stall, facing her.

“I woke up late and it’s set me behind schedule. Did one of the ranch hands take Coco?”

“I took her out to graze the field.” Scotty came to her.

“Shit. I need to go on the north side of the property to fix the fence.” She glanced around. “I guess I can take the ATV.”

“Dierks and I fixed the fence this morning.” Devin came toward her. “It’s just a patch job. We’ll work on putting up a new one day after tomorrow when we get some supplies.”

She stared confused. “You fixed the fence?”

“And watered the cattle.” Devin kissed her forehead. “We all sort of took over our old jobs. Figured it’d help you out some.” He paused. “God, you’re gorgeous.”

She shook her head, not comprehending. “You all did your old jobs? I can’t afford to pay you.”

“Staying here is enough.” Scotty smiled at her. “We’re earning our keep. And I think most of us were hoping you’d prance around the pool in that skimpy yellow bikini you favored.”

Scotty’s relationship with Erin dated back to high school. He’d been her first boyfriend, which also led to him being her first lover. He’d been fifteen when her dad hired him to work on the ranch. She strutted around in her bikini, teasing him to no end. It took some creative talents to get out of work, just so he could be with her.

“That’s not going to happen, Scotty.”

He wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “Well, if you’d rather go naked, I think I speak for everyone in saying, we’re not going to complain.”

She smiled, relaxing a bit, which was what he wanted. After talking with Blaine, he realized how difficult her life had become. The carefree rancher’s daughter had turned into a rancher herself. Scotty couldn’t believe half of the workers quit because of the jackass they knew her father to be.

“That’s not going to happen either.” She looped her arms around his waist. “I’ve missed you.”

He hugged her and kissed her cheek. “I’ve missed you too.”

“Hey! What about me?” Devin held his arms open.

“Nobody missed you, Devin,” Dierks commented.

Erin pulled away from Scotty to hug Devin. “Don’t listen to him.”

Blaine stepped out of the stall and glanced at his watch. “Dixie should be at the house.”

Kade and Dierks took off toward the door, fighting all the way for first place. Scotty, Blaine, and Devin walked back with Erin.

“Why are they so excited to see Dixie?” Erin asked.

“Food,” the three men said in unison.

Scotty looped his arm around Erin, and to his surprise, she reciprocated. His stomach growled, but walking with Erin tucked against his body for a few minutes felt better than a belly full of breakfast ever could.

Erin sat in her office, going over the financial books again. The bank had given her thirty days to come up with a large sum of money to pay off the leans her father had put on the ranch. Otherwise, they planned to take the ranch. She rubbed her forehead. Even with all the men helping and the cattle sales she planned to do, she still didn’t have enough time to make the kind of money the bank wanted.

“Hey.” Dierks stepped inside her office. “I hadn’t seen you since breakfast. Are you hiding out in here or something?”

She smiled. “I wish.” She tossed the accounting books aside. “My father was an idiot.”

Dierks laughed and moved closer, shutting her office door behind him. “I’m sure we all have our reasons for believing that, but I’m curious about yours. What happened?”

She leaned back in her chair. She debated what to tell him. When they first came, she really didn’t trust any of the men to know her secrets. Then they all chipped in to help her without being asked. During breakfast, they caught up with each other. Kade and Devin placed high in the team roping category. Scotty, Dierks, and Blaine all did well at bull riding. It was almost as if five years hadn’t passed.

And with Dierks standing before her, honestly caring about her well-being, she couldn’t lie to him. “I’ve recently discovered he had a lot of debt, and stupidly, he put the ranch up for collateral. I don’t have the kind of money I need to cover his ass. I swear if he wasn’t already dead, I’d shoot him myself for being so stupid.”

Dierks took a seat in the pink chair next to her desk. He looked odd and out of place in the newly decorated, pink-themed office. “What kind of money are you talking about?”

“Six figures.”

He blew out a low whistle. “Damn.”

She nodded. “I’m planning to sell the cattle I have next week at auction. Hopefully, that’ll bring me enough money. If not, I don’t know what I’ll do.”

Dierks sat quietly for a moment. It surprised her that he, of all the men, came to check up on her. He normally left the fussing to Blaine or Scotty. She took in his appearance. He still favored his ratty old Atlanta Braves ball cap over any Stetson he owned. The guys used to give him a hard time about it, saying he wasn’t a real cowboy unless he had a Stetson. Erin remembered him trading his Braves cap for a Dallas Cowboys ball cap just to piss them off.

“If there was another way to get the money, would you consider it?”

She frowned. “There isn’t another way, D. Not legally anyway.”

He held up a hand. “Answer my question.”

“If there was another way, that was legal and didn’t involve me prostituting myself or robbing a bank, yeah, I would.”

He grinned. “You know someone with money. It really wouldn’t be that much trouble for him to loan you a few bucks until you could pay him back.”

She narrowed her eyes. “You have this kind of money?”

“Not just me.” He licked his lips. “We all have money. And you know any one of us would be willing to help you out.”

Erin’s heart melted at his sweet offer. “And you’d just loan it to me? It would take me years to pay it off.”

Dierks grinned. “I guess that’ll give us a reason to stop by more often.”

* * * *

Blaine stood next to the tailgate, taking a break. The ranch was honestly in bad shape. A lot of repairs needed to be made, and a lot of replacements needed to happen. Some were necessities, and he’d made a list to take to Austin when he went in two days. He knew Erin didn’t have the money, and the less she knew about him helping her, the less she’d fuss about it and simply
let
him help her.

He drank half a bottle of water and wiped the sweat from his brow. “We need a plan.”

Devin laughed. “How in the world did you ever get into bull riding? Bull riders don’t plan.”

Blaine narrowed his eyes. Devin was the wild child of the bunch, as well as the baby. He was two years younger than the rest and his lack of maturity showed more times than not. He liked adventure. Erin always told Blaine that Devin wanted to be like him when he grew up.

“To be successful, you plan.” Blaine tossed the empty water bottle in the back of the truck. He’d lost his Stetson a while back when he’d been helping Devin work on the fence. “We need a plan.”

“She’s going to feel obligated to pay you.” Devin shrugged. “There is no keeping secrets from that woman. She should have been a PI.”

Blaine couldn’t help but to agree. There was little Erin didn’t know. He hoisted himself up onto the tailgate and stared at the back of the house. Dierks never met them in the field like he’d promised, and Blaine suspected he’d snuck off to see Erin. His suspicions were confirmed when the two stepped onto the back deck of the house.

“She’ll also notice that you whipped the ranch hands in line.”

Blaine scoffed, still watching Dierks and Erin. “She’ll have to get over it.”

Blaine jumped down from the tailgate and headed toward Erin. He wouldn’t overstep his boundaries, but he would take care of her. He met them on the deck, near the pool. Dierks had her smiling and laughing at something he’d said.

“What’s so funny?” Blaine asked, coming up behind her.

She turned toward him, still smiling. “Nothing.” She glanced at him. “You’re all sweaty.”

“It’s called working, babe. Something Dierks should have been doing instead of chatting with you.”

Dierks rolled his eyes. “I’m going.” He leaned in to kiss Erin and headed off toward the truck in a full run.

“That boy is trouble,” Erin said with a grin.

Blaine leaned against the railing. “You two seem chummy.”

She reached out to cup his cheek. “It’s not like you to be jealous.”

He sighed. “I’m not.”

And he wasn’t. Not too much anyway. All the men had an agreement. Erin could be with whoever she wanted between them and the others would not interfere. He wanted her to be with him, and damn near thought about it every free moment he had. Five years away from her was too damn long.

“I’d hug you, but you stink.” Erin chuckled. “You really need a shower.”

Blaine grabbed her hand, grinning. “Let’s go then.”

Blaine led her through the house and to her bedroom with Erin protesting the entire way. Her futile remarks fell on deaf ears. He wasn’t about to let her talk herself out of being with him again. He locked the bedroom door behind them and went to the patio door to make sure it was secured. Erin panted, standing with her hands on her hips as she watched him.

“Strip.”

She shook her head. “You are crazy.”

“No I’m not. We’re going to do our
hugging
in the shower.” He grabbed his damp T-shirt and pulled it over his head. “Strip.”

To his surprise, she reached for the buckles on her overalls. He didn’t know why she preferred the damned things over normal clothes. Blaine worked on undoing his fly when Erin dropped her overalls to the ground.

“You really are determined to sleep with me, aren’t you?”

Blaine glanced at her tank top and yellow panties. “I slept with you last night. Right now, we’re going to fuck.”

She paused, as if the coarse language surprised her. “You have a way with words.”