STORY EXCERPT

“Good morning!” Esteban said a little too happily for Roland, but his bright enthusiasm was contagious.

The hearty smells of fresh food wafted in the air and made his stomach churn, nearly converting his bad attitude. The strongest smells, of course, was one he needed the most, sausage and fresh-brewed coffee.

Two of the guys who promised to help him wrangle the newborn calves and brand them called out this morning, leaving him only Chad and a lovesick brother who would be useless to help. Unless it seemed he found a use for him in the kitchen.

Roland slid into the empty seat at the bar and nodded to the plates of food. “Dude, what are you cooking? It smells fantastic in here.”

Esteban smiled and poured him a glass of orange juice without asking if he wanted anything to drink. “Just the usual, pancakes, sausage, and hash browns.”

Roland frowned sharply. “Whose usual? I usually have cereal for breakfast unless it’s Beatrix serving up breakfast at the diner. When did you decide to go all Betty Crocker on me? Does it have anything to do with our beautiful guest sleeping in?”

“Brother, you know me by now. This has everything to do with our guest.” Esteban made a wide sweep of his hands and laughed. “Surely you know the way to a woman’s heart is through her stomach.”

“Dude, you can’t make her fall in love with you with food.” Roland shook his head, genuinely concerned for his brother.

“Us, brother.” Esteban’s face softened.

“What?” Roland frowned.

“I’m doing this for both of us. Of course, she’ll fall in love with me first, but you can use every brownie point you can get with the way you come off so hard-ass. Once she sees how much you want her under that steely reserve, she’ll have a hard time resisting your charms.”

“You’re a fool—and I’m not a hard-ass.” Roland ground his teeth on a piece of toast. He didn’t want to argue with his brother, but where did Esteban get off thinking she would fall in love with him at all? It was a fool’s dream.

“Dude.” Esteban cocked his head to the side and looked down. “Have you looked at your ass lately?”

Roland rolled his eyes. “If I come across as a hard-ass, maybe it’s because I feel like I have to make up for this soft romantic shit you pull.”

“Dude, you gotta learn from the master. You should be thanking me. You will need a helluva lot more than breakfast. You need flowers, chocolate, the whole nine yards before you’re likely to get laid.” Esteban finished a stack of pancakes and slid them one by one from the griddle to a large serving plate.

“Loretta’s not stupid. She won’t fall for any of your tricks.” The scowl didn’t leave Roland’s face. This was an argument he didn’t really want to fight. Loretta was a good woman, but it just was not going to work out romantically between any of them.

“How would you know? Did she already fall into your bed, mister I-can-keep-my-hands-off-her?”

“I may not have fucked her, but I already kissed her, and I know this isn’t what’s going to win her heart,” Roland said gruffly.

“You kissed her?” Esteban stared incredulously.

It dawned on Roland that his brother didn’t think he liked her from the way he was acting. He had been an ass lately toward her.

“Yeah.” Roland sighed because he hadn’t wanted Esteban to find out about the kiss like this. Not in a fight because he was angry and throwing it in his face. He wouldn’t keep any secrets from his brother, but he also knew they both wanted her, and she was proving a difficult temptation to resist in this close proximity.

“How was she?”

“Sweet as honey, smooth as silk. Loretta is everything I want in a woman. She’s soft and full of spirit. It was a spur-of-the-moment thing. She made me so mad I couldn’t stop myself from kissing her. She may have been married, but she didn’t feel like she had much experience. I think you need to back off a little and take it slow to see where it goes,” Roland said with a heavy sigh.

“Do you think she may be the one?”

“How the hell should I know?” Roland shook his head, frustrated at himself for allowing himself to think of her sexually. He had a taste of her, and it was enough to drive him crazy inside, but he was now curious what it would be like to feel more than a kiss on his lips. “She could be, but we have to take it slow. I don’t want to scare her off. She may be ready for a rebound, but if she feels either one of us coming on too fast, she’ll go running for the hills.”

“You kissed her, and she didn’t slap you?” Esteban’s eyes widened as if he was surprised, but then he shrugged it off. “Roland, I think she’s the one. All we have to do is ease her into the lifestyle.”

Roland sighed deeply. His brother might be too far into her to stop this idiotic plan of his. The sexy houseguest may not be as willing to share them both as lovers. “Easing won’t stop her from leaving. She’s a big-time country music star. What do we have to offer her that she can’t buy?”

“She’s here, isn’t she? She must see something in you to not have run screaming into the hills after you kissed her.” Esteban cocked an eyebrow high.

ADULT EXCERPT

“Okay. I trust you.”

He pulled her close, and the air left her lungs for a moment. In a much deeper but soft voice, he whispered, “Do you really?”

“Yeah.” She gave him a weak smile.

Chad made a groaning sound. “Oh, gross! You guys need to get a room if you’re going to try and kiss.”

Loretta had to laugh. It was probably a man thing with Roland. He was staking out his territory and making sure the kid didn’t think of her as relationship material, but she rather liked Roland’s possessive nature. It felt nice to be admired for her body and not just the money she could rake in as singer.

Roland laughed right along with her, but it didn’t take away from the power of the moment. She liked the way his hand stayed firmly attached to the small of her back. He held onto her like she belonged to him.

“I’d love to do a lot more than kiss with Lorie. A woman like her only comes around once in a lifetime, but that’s probably why I have such a hard time keeping my hands off her. We got to get going if we want to see the rest of the ranch before it gets dark.” Roland gave her a little tug as if to lead her away.

She took it as a hint they were about to go, but she did wish she could stay and chat for a while. She took a lot of her song writing inspiration from the people and the world around her. He seemed like he could be an interesting young man to talk to. “It was nice meeting you Chad. Hope to see you around.”

“I’m sure you will, Lorie. Chad’s here almost every day helping out. He took over most our chores for the day while we were picking you up.”

“Ma’am.” Chad did that cute little cowboy tip of his Stetson hat for her, and she saw a dimple grace his cheek when he smiled. No wonder he was a ladies’ man. He had a killer smile for a kid.

They walked away arm and arm and left Chad to attend to his remaining duties and feed the cows.

“Is it true?” She couldn’t stop herself from asking once they were alone.

“What?” Roland looked down at her, and she felt goose bumps rise along her arms.

She felt breathless and nervous. She was not the kind of girl to pursue a man she wanted, but if he already wanted her, it would be easier to say what she wanted to. “What you said about you can’t keep your hands off me?”

“Yeah, I told you that would be a problem from the start, sweetheart. When I look at you, I think of sex.” His words were erotic, deep, and made her vibrate in places she didn’t want to admit. “Hot and wet and can’t-stop-myself-from-wanting-it sex.”

She hissed in her breath between her teeth. It was shocking to hear his attraction so brazenly spoken from his lips, but it was also a big turn-on. She felt her middle melt and heat ooze into her pussy.

“And it’s not the pretty or I-feel-sorry-for-you-so-I-will-sleep-with-you kind of sex. It’s fucking raw, go-at-it-like-rabbits sex that leaves your body hot and sweaty and tingly and so exhausted you can’t walk the next day. The kind of toe-curling sex that leaves you screaming for more until your voice is hoarse, and you can’t stop yourself from going again. That’s what I think about every time I look into your eyes.”

“Wow.” Her jaw dropped, and her knees felt weak. If he weren’t holding her up, she may have fallen.

“I told you when we first met that I was bad for you, but you decided to stay. Did you think I wouldn’t be attracted to you? Did you want me to say the truth or lie? Maybe you wanted to feel what it was like to live for once, or to feel what it is like to be truly fucked for once. So what do you say, sweetheart? If I told you that you had a beautiful body, would you hold it against me?”

She moaned softly. How was she supposed to answer a question like that? She could lie of course, but then that offer, as crude as it was, was also tempting her. He was trying to lure her into his bed.

She tried to sound sure of herself, but her voice cracked as she said the single word, “Yes.”