Espino, Stacey - Hardcore Cowboys [Ride 'em Hard 1] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) (15 page)

“Maybe you were right, Val.” It took more strength to say those few words than it did to shovel out all the houses from the storm.

Val’s eyes lit up. “Oh?”

“All that talk about settling down and needing a purpose in life…you were right. And I think Samantha is the answer.” He didn’t look his twin in the eye, even when he stood up to join him. Why couldn’t he be more in tune with his emotions like Valentine?

“She is.”
Val moved around him to lean on the fireplace. Now facing each other, Cord waited for him to say “I told you so,” but it never came. “Let’s go find them.”

They traveled in their pickup truck, not bothering to remove the snow plow off the front before leaving. Unless they were visiting the Garner ranch, they’d be in town. Cord doubted Wyatt would be foolish enough to take their woman to a house filled with horny, available cowboys.

“Can’t hurt heading into town. We’ve been working nonstop. A game of pool and a couple beers will do us both good,” said Val.

“No. Finding Samantha will do me good.” He drove above the speed limit, overwhelmed by the need to see those big brown eyes and wild curls.

Val laughed at Cord’s intensity. He was acting out of character and he knew it, but it couldn’t be avoided. “You’re a lost cause, brother.”

“And you’re not?”

His twin shrugged. “You’ll scare her off if you come on too strong. Trust me.”

Cord would be able to control himself when he knew where Samantha was. With the constant threat of her leaving each day, coming home to an empty house had rattled him to the core. He never wanted to feel that way again, and knew he had to convince the dark-haired little beauty to let the
Carson
brothers take care of her.

Twenty minutes of driving snow blind through the countryside, they pulled into the rear of the strip mall and parked at Carter’s. Just seeing the big sign, weathered from countless Canadian winters, comforted him. He’d been coming to Carter’s with his brothers and friends since before he could remember.

“Cordell and Valentine Carson. How long has it been?” shouted Grant Garner from behind the pool table.

“At least one goddamn winter,” said Cord, shrugging off his jacket and entering the warm interior of the pool hall. He scanned the room for his brother. “You see Wyatt today?”

“Wyatt back in town?”

Guess not
.

Where the fuck did he take Samantha?
“He’s back. I don’t know for how long.” Cord pulled a cue down from the rack and reached for the chalk. “Your brother just left our place.”

“Which one?”

A few old friends gathered around—Paul, Trevor, Johnny, and Jared. Any other time and Cord would love to shoot the shit, but he was too uptight to be friendly. “Chase. We needed him to help us tow a stranded car. He went home to watch the game.”

The game in question was playing on the big screen behind the bar, almost too loud to hear each other talking. The sharp crack of billiard balls contacting filled any brief white noise.

The lighting was too minimal and the room too smoke filled for him to see the far corners. If Wyatt wasn’t here, there was no sense in him hanging around.

“Ain’t that Wyatt’s truck?” asked Jared, peering out the tinted front window. Val turned around at the same time as Cord, and there it was at the other end of the parking lot.

Cord didn’t even stop to answer, say his good-byes, or even grab his jacket. He stormed out of Carter’s, Val at his side.

“Calm down, brother.” Val grabbed him by the shirt to slow him down. “No sense jumping to conclusions. They’re probably just grabbing a bite to eat at the diner.”

It was the only logical explanation. He did begin to calm as they approached the little eatery. In fact, he was glad Wyatt brought Samantha out to get some fresh air and socializing. He just wished he’d left a note or something so he hadn’t worried.

Jared and Grant entered the diner soon after they entered, no doubt hoping to see Wyatt after such a long absence. They were two of his closest friends growing up. But he was absent, making Cord scratch his head as he glanced around the mostly empty restaurant. Grant’s aunt sat at the counter on one of the swiveling stools. She turned around, along with everyone else, to see what all the commotion was at the front door.

“Cordell, that you? Thank God for that! Your brother’s lost his mind. How many times he hit his head in the ring?”

Grant leaned on the counter beside her. “What are you talkin’ about, auntie?”

“I’m talking about Wyatt. He ordered me out of my own shop. I’m too afraid to even go back.” She feigned innocence, batting her wrinkly eyes at all the men around her. The Garners’ aunt was anything but sugar and spice, the biggest gossip and backstabber in the county.

“What’s he doing in your shop?” asked Val.

“Was he with anyone?” Cord was less concerned with Wyatt’s erratic behavior and more interested in finding Samantha safe and sound.

“He said he was buying clothes for some foreign-looking girl. Then he just lost it!”

Heat crept up Cord’s collar, and being a gentleman and respectful of his elders wouldn’t last if she said one more unpleasant thing about his woman. Her face soured when describing the woman he dreamed about day and night. But he didn’t need to act.

Val scowled as he spoke, goading the town gossip to dare say another ill word about Samantha. “I reckon you’ve met the woman we plan to marry then.”

“We?” Confusion marred Jared’s features.

“That’s right!” Val exclaimed as Cord pulled him by the jacket toward the entrance. His usually calm and laid-back brother was about to boil over, and he had to take on the role of responsible brother for once. Val neared tripped as he walked backward, not willing to leave without saying his piece. “The
Carson
brothers have chosen a woman—”

Cord yanked him out of the diner into the crisp late afternoon air.

“Put a cork in it already.”

“What the fuck’s your problem? You like the way that old nag talked about Samantha?”

“Of course not, but you have to choose your battles. Starting a fight with a woman isn’t something to be proud of. Don’t forget we have a reputation to uphold for the fire department.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Val narrowed his eyes. “You ashamed of sharing a woman?”

Cord didn’t answer, only brushed past his brother on the narrow sidewalk between the storefronts and the parking area. Was he ashamed? He wasn’t ashamed of Samantha, and he liked the idea that their relationship bonded all four of them, but he hated the idea of other people looking down on them and their choices. They didn’t work for the fire department, only volunteered, but it was as much a part of him as raising cattle. Would being public about their unusual relationship get him and Val kicked out of the department? He needed to decide what was more important in his life. A job wouldn’t love him or keep him warm at night. Then why did he have such a hard time admitting what he truly wanted?

Chapter Sixteen

Wyatt laughed. His wide, white-toothed grin was too cute for her to throttle him. He’d denied her, time and time again, bringing her to the edge and leaving her there. Now she felt more animal than woman, desperate and dirty. She barely noticed her nudity or remembered where they were. All that mattered was Wyatt and the relief his muscular body could bring her. Forget his rules, too, because there wasn’t anything he could do that was worse than this.

“Take off your clothes,” she demanded, clawing at him.

He moved out of reach, increasing her irritation. She slipped off the counter onto her bare feet and followed him as he backed up, his playful grin teasing her. With his tight Wranglers, she could easily spot his long, thick erection pressed diagonally behind the denim. How much control could a man possess? He held back just to torture her?

“Feisty now, aren’t you, little pussy cat.”

He held her wrists as she tried to pull off his shirt. Wyatt was too strong. His hands shackled her like iron manacles. His strength, dominance, and self-control turned her on, but his failure to give her what she needed pissed her off.

“Damn you, Wyatt Carson!”

He released her without warning, and she crashed against his hard chest. “I didn’t think you had it in you.” Wyatt proceeded to snag the hem of his shirt, pulling it off over his head. When her hands and body met the warmth of his smooth, bare flesh, she nearly melted on the spot. Her anger dissipated and her needs grew—not just unadulterated lust, but the need to be loved, wanted, required.

With her forearms resting against his chest, palms flat on his pecs, she dared to look up into those ocean-blue eyes. The humor had fled, leaving only intensity in his gaze. He leaned down and kissed her, deeply, thoroughly. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed her body tight against the length of his, wanting to be as connected as possible.

“Please…”

“Don’t worry, sweetheart. I’ll take good care of you,” he whispered against her lips before scooping her up into his arms, kissing her as he walked to the back of the store.

God, she loved him.
Loved him?
These were crazy thoughts from reading one too many romance e-books. But this was real, wasn’t it?

Before they reached what she assumed was a private back room, the glass front door opened, the bells rattling violently. She curled herself into the smallest ball, hugging Wyatt tighter. He only turned enough to see the unwanted stranger, without exposing her nakedness.

“Well I’ll be!”

She peeked over Wyatt’s arm to see Cord standing just inside the entrance. His expression was anything but friendly. Val came in a minute later, freezing in his tracks when he saw the source of Cord’s irritation.

“What are you two doing here? Spying on me?” Wyatt’s voice was rough and carried a barely hidden threat. She felt cocooned and protected in his arms but didn’t want to be kept from the twins, whom she also cared for.

Cord crossed his arms over his chest. “We were worried about Samantha when we got home to an empty house. But I can see you’re taking good care of her.” The sarcasm in his voice dripped like venom. Despite the cold weather outside, Cord only wore a partially buttoned-up checkered shirt, his muscled shoulder and chest peeking out from the flannel. Val wore a padded navy jacket, his dirty-blond hair in disarray. Both men caught her attention, staring at her with wanton desire. Their threatening posture softened the longer they held eye contact.

“You can see she’s just fine. I only came out to buy her some clothes.”

Val shook his head and scoffed. “Considering she’s not wearing any, I’d say that’s a good idea, brother.”

Wyatt lowered her to her feet as the twins closed the distance between them.

“What’s going on here, Wyatt? Chase’s aunt says you ran her out of the store.” Cord’s voice softened when he addressed her. “You okay, darlin’?”

“I’m fine.” She still pressed her body to Wyatt’s in an attempt to gain a little dignity. The intrusion squelched her unbridled desire, but it lingered just under the surface. But the situation changed abruptly when the door opened again and two strange men waltzed in. They were rugged Canadian cowboys, no different than her men.

She couldn’t help but squeal, pulling Wyatt down as if his body could shelter her like a blanket.

* * * *

“This the girl you’re talkin’ about?” asked Grant, trying to look around Wyatt’s frame.

His hackles rose significantly. Wyatt didn’t want another man getting a glimpse of Samantha in her state of undress. She was for
Carson
eyes only. His heart rate picked up, and he unconsciously clenched his jaw. Where the fuck was all this malevolent energy coming from? Yes, he was pent up and disturbed in the heat of the moment, but there was so much more. He wanted to throttle his friends just for mentioning the woman in his arms. God knew he fought for less when traveling on the road. This situation evoked buried passions, making him lethal if his friends dared to try and take what was his or even say one ill word against Samantha.

“That’s right. Now get out. She ain’t your concern,” said Val.

Val surprised him. Always cool, collected, and the voice of reason, he was acting out of character. Samantha brought out the beast in all of them.

“Maybe she’ll like me too.” Jared pushed past Val, but in seconds Val and Cord blocked them from moving farther, the solidness of their bodies creating a virtual wall.

“Get out, unless you want more trouble than you can handle.” Cord probably itched for a fight after the long winter locked in the house, but at least he was helping Val get rid of their nosey friends. Wyatt didn’t want bad blood between them, but he certainly didn’t want them getting an eyeful of Samantha. And he had unfinished business with his woman.

After ushering the two men out of the store, Val bolted the lock before returning his attention to Samantha. With the idiots looking in through the large plateglass window, Wyatt led her to the back room. Boxes were stacked high in every corner. There was a small desk and file cabinet cramped to the right and a threadbare sofa and mini fridge to the left. It was warmer back here, too, since it was windowless and away from the large, drafty front of the store.