Lies That Bind (2 page)

Rex and Tyler gave as good as they got and then some. It was the
then some
that had played through her mind the last year, making her reach for her toys at all hours of the day and night, or lure a friend—aka Nate—into easing her woes. No, she hadn’t wanted Nate along. Awkward about summed it up.

A shiver coursed through her.
Enough of that
. Her body didn’t listen. Her mouth watered. Her clit throbbed, parting the flood of juices below. Tessa had a serious weakness for these cowboys and their calloused palms, wide belts, and strong thighs used to long hours in the saddle. Her insides thrummed at the thought of hot cowboy flesh pressed against hers.

“They’re Derek’s partners in Rustlers Retreat, Rex Williams and Tyler Coltrane.” At least that was the plan when she’d hauled ass out of there a year ago—full partnership in the ranch and inn, rather than the inn alone.

“How do you fit into the picture?”

Very nicely right between them.

Nate’s chuckle hinted he knew what she was thinking. The plane bounced with the landing, a deliberate maneuver meant to rattle her, just like his laughter. Tessa didn’t appreciate it in the least.

“Your landing sucks.”

Nate laughed. “Is that the best you can do?”

She kept her mouth closed, eyes riveted on the cowboys monitoring their stop.

Nate cut the engines and shut down the controls. “I have to say, they don’t look too happy.”

No, they didn’t. Rex’s scowl almost broke her heart. She’d done this—deserted them, walked out like they didn’t matter, like what they’d shared in the time she’d been there was nothing. “They just lost their friend. Their business partner.”

“I’m pretty good at reading people, Tess. I’m not seeing grief. One’s pissed, and the other one’s got walls up.”

True enough. Worse were the feelings stirring inside her at the sight of them—not the ones that curled her toes and plummeted her stomach, but rather the ones that forced her to mirror their actions. Yeah, she might have walked out, but if they cared for her as much as they said they did, they’d understand.

“You spoke to one of them yesterday after the lawyer called, and everything seemed fine.”

The richness of Tyler’s voice over the phone had seeped into her veins, triggering so many emotions she’d wanted to weep. The memory of all the good times they’d shared had lingered throughout the night and had helped take the edge off the ordeal to come. Envisioning his tongue tracing idly through her…nether regions sweetened her dreams in what little sleep she’d managed to get.

“Maybe something’s happened since then,” Nate said. “I’m just saying, having your guard up might be a good idea.”

“No problem there.”

Tessa made the mistake of glancing toward them. She bit her bottom lip.

“I don’t think looking like you want to jump their bones is what you were going for.” He chucked her under the chin.

She flashed him a glare. “Maybe I’ll jump yours instead.”

“I’m crushed you’d use me as a substitute for what you really want.” The glint in his eyes said differently.

Tessa unsnapped her seat belt. “That never seemed to bother you before.”

“Aha. Now you admit you were thinking of someone else whenever we were together.”

“And you weren’t?” She snickered.

“Point made. But”—he pulled off the headphones—“that’s what friends are for, right?” He gave her a wink, released his seat belt, and started to stand.

Tessa fisted his T-shirt, holding him in place. “I need you to have your game face on.” That no-nonsense look that scared the piss out of people and made linebackers quake.

“Why? To scare them off so you won’t be tempted? To teach them a lesson?”

He didn’t have to thread that hint of laughter through the words. “Something like that.” Damn, did her cheeks heat with that statement?

“I’ll consider it.” He whipped up his right index finger. “But if there’s any hint they’re gonna beat me up—”

“What’s so intimidating about two cowboys? You could take them.”

“I don’t know, Tess. You tell me.”

Heat definitely flushed her cheeks this time, giving her away.

Nate’s laughter filled the plane. Tessa was fairly certain Rex and Tyler heard it too.

“Well, well, well.” He leaned into her space. “This should be interesting.” He peeled her fingers from his T-shirt but didn’t release her hand. “All right, then. Game face on for the moment. But I’m not getting in the middle of this. Unless you want me to,” he added with a wide grin, his innuendo loud and clear.

Tessa jerked her hand free. “We’re wasting time.”

She pushed from her seat, anxious to put as much distance between them as possible. He’d scrambled her thoughts, churned her emotions, and hadn’t really helped one damn bit.
Some friend he turned out to be.

Tessa released her hair from its haphazard ponytail and fluffed out the long strands. She stuffed her scrunchie into her pocket, then grabbed her carry-on and exited the plane. Texas heat and humidity slammed into her full force, making her wish she’d shoved vanity aside and left her hair up.

Sure strides took her toward Rex and Tyler. False bravado but bravado nonetheless. No one needed to know her emotions danced a fine edge. Too many thoughts conspired against her control. Tessa fought every one, only too aware of the man coming up behind her and the two cowboys in front of her.

Her breath hitched. She wanted to run to them, toss her arms around them both, and feel them press her between them, shielding her from the world. Tessa shoved the emotion back where it belonged, behind her walls, and yanked her badass persona to the forefront. It was her protection against the world. The one that made her a formidable and well-respected businesswoman.

Both men relaxed their rigid stance as she neared, making her second-guess herself. A hint of dimples kissed Tyler’s suntanned cheeks. Rex’s square jaw was set but not clenched. Seeing their eyes would have helped her judge them better. She could tell a lot from a person’s eyes, especially theirs.

She pushed her sunglasses up, using them as a headband. Tyler snatched his off, stuffing the stem into his shirt pocket, lowering his defense shields, as it were. Seeing his chocolate-brown eyes and the hint of sparkle in them helped. Maybe things weren’t as they seemed.

It was Tyler who moved first, stepping forward to close the distance between them. Tessa quickened her pace, her arms opening of their own volition. In seconds he’d swooped her into a hug, lifting her sneakered toes off the ground. She held on for dear life, eyes closed, her face burrowed into his neck, inhaling the scent of one of the men she’d loved yet left. Strong, calloused fingers slipped under her T-shirt and spanned her back.

“God, I’ve missed you.”

His voice rumbled in her ear. The swell of his erection against her stomach backed up the words.

“I’ve missed you too,” she whispered.
So much.

He kissed her cheek as he eased them apart. All too soon, three feet of space stood between them. The distance killed her. She wanted to grab his face and seal her lips to his.

“Sorry, we’re a little sweaty.” Tyler swept his hand down his flat torso. “We had a tour group arrive this morning.”

Despite the tragedy, it would still be business as usual. Tessa wondered if any of the guests realized one of the owners had died.

“They’re on a trail ride and picnic.” Tyler pointed to a line of oak trees far to the left. “Our in-house guests are—”

“Smart enough to stay inside in the middle of a hot August day.”

Rex’s deep voice rivaled thunder. There’d be no hugs from him. He wasn’t happy to see her. Judging from the scowl he shot over her shoulder, he wasn’t happy to see Nate either.

Tyler squeezed her shoulder—a touch Tessa took as a silent apology for Rex’s behavior—then let go.

She tried to soothe Rex’s ruffled feathers with an introduction. “This is Nate Bridger.”

“Your lover of the moment?”

Jealousy? So he
did
care. A pity he’d used a snide tone that ruffled
her
feathers. She stared Rex down. “And it’s your business because…?”

Rex fidgeted enough to let Tessa know she’d won the round. She didn’t gloat. Somehow she suspected it was the first of many. Rex definitely liked to be in charge. Well, so did she. Being at war gave her the distance she needed to stay away.

“I was asking because of accommodations.” Rex braced his hands on his lean hips. “We’ve got a full house at Rustlers. I’d planned to have you stay in my bungalow for the duration of your stay. I’ll bunk at the ranch house.” One eyebrow lifted behind his dark glasses. “Unless you’d prefer to stay there.”

Ah, the ranch house. The scene of the crime. A reminder that her life wasn’t what she thought it was, that
she
wasn’t who she’d thought she was. He had a lot of nerve. The cut hurt. Words failed her. Her lower lip betrayed her emotion first, quivering. All the willpower in the world wouldn’t stop it. Her carefully erected walls crumbled.

Tears blurred her vision. She reached for her sunglasses to cover her eyes. A tear had the nerve to trickle down her cheek before she could do so. Gaze locked on Rex’s shadowed eyes, she felt the droplet wiggle toward her chin but refused to acknowledge it by wiping it away.

“The ranch house would be perfect.” She slipped her sunglasses into place. “Be a dear and fetch my bags.”

Tessa walked on to the Suburban, knowing at least two men watched her go and that neither of them was Rex. That was fine with her. She didn’t need him to notice she measured every step, using the energy to shore up emotional buttresses, and that one trip would mire her in a wasteland of agony so great, she’d never pull free.

Wasn’t that already the case? Mike Ford had seen to that a year before.

Chapter Two

The tears nearly did Rex in, and he’d been close to caving from the second he’d laid eyes on her. The erection trapped behind his fly and trying to peek above his belt buckle had a lot to do with that. He’d missed her more than he could stand this last year, and he hated himself for that. She’d made herself damn clear when she’d severed ties, lumping them in with Mike’s foolishness. It felt like someone had cut his heart out. Rex counted himself lucky she’d left. He didn’t need that kind of nonsense in his life. If she cared as much as she claimed, nothing would have mattered but them. She would have leaned on them in the turmoil that followed Mike’s bombshell. They were better off without her.

But with Derek’s death and her departure, all Rex could think about was seeing Tessa again, wrapping her in his arms, pressing her into the mattress, and fucking her until the cows came home.

The order to fetch her bags gave him the perspective he needed. She had a lot of nerve, showing up with a fucking boyfriend. It galled him even more that the guy wasn’t bad to look at, a good match for her. He wanted to plow his fist into the guy’s perfect nose. Then Tyler had the nerve to cave in, to give her the greeting Rex had dreamed of. Although in his dreams, he didn’t let go, and her legs were wrapped around his waist as he carried her to the Suburban and made her his again. Tyler, ever the peacemaker.
Bastard.

Rex played back the image of her walking into Tyler’s arms. Her long black hair fluttering behind her, dark blue eyes as intense as ever, her cute button nose.
Quivering lips.

He cursed the rise that thudded relentlessly below his belt. His lack of control bugged the shit out of him. Rex didn’t want to want her so badly, didn’t want to feel jealousy claw his gut.

“What the fuck was that all about?”

Tyler smacked his shoulder, shocking him into the present.

“You might as well add asshole to your résumé.”

Tyler was going to kill him the first chance he got. If Tessa’s boyfriend didn’t get to him first. The man was seriously scary, and Rex didn’t intimidate easily. Maybe it was Nate Bridger’s five o’clock shadow that promised he could be one bad sumbitch if pissed off, or the fact that he hovered over Tessa like a dragon ready to swoop her off to his lair.

Another rush burned fire in his groin. This one wasn’t so easy to hide.

“I don’t trust her,” he whispered harshly, one eye on the pilot lurking behind them.

“Which is exactly why you should be making nice,” Tyler hissed back.

“She can kiss my…” He started to grab his crotch, then thankfully reconsidered when the idea of her lips on his cock appealed to him way too much. “She can kiss my ass if she thinks she’s going to get a piece of our business.” Not that having her lips on his ass was any less enticing.

Tyler loosened a beleaguered sigh. They’d been on tenterhooks since Derek’s death, emotional on so many levels, Rex couldn’t even count. He tried to tell himself it was better to focus on the business than to allow the grief to take over. If he slipped, he’d lose his mind.

“Whoa, where the hell did that come from?” Tyler faced off toward him, hands braced on his hips. “Why would she want it? She made herself pretty clear.”

“Derek’s death changes everything.”

“You don’t know that.”

Even though Tyler kept his voice low, Rex suspected Nate heard anyway.

“At the worst, she’ll be an absentee owner,” Tyler added.

All the reasoning in the world didn’t quell Rex’s worries. Nothing would until this was over and done with and he knew for certain where they stood.

“Just go get her bags and get in the fucking truck.” Tyler gestured toward the plane, then turned on his heel and walked toward the vehicle.

“I’m not getting her bags. Let the pilot do it.” He’d said that loud enough to make sure that her ladyship and the man behind him heard, then wished he hadn’t when the words sounded like he was a six-year-old.

“Tessa
is
the pilot,” Nate said from behind him.

Of course she was, because Rex really needed something more at this point to make him feel like an idiot.

Nate walked up beside him and stared at the SUV. He seemed less imposing now. The tension in his shoulders and the glower were gone. Rex figured he could take him.

“I’d leave the luggage where it is. I doubt she’ll be staying long.”