STORY EXCERPT

Once they made their way out of town and started the long ride back to the ranch, Hart became aware of the other men’s interest in her, including his brother’s.

Glancing at her, Hart saw that she stared straight ahead. “Sorry about your husband.”

She nodded once, still staring straight ahead. “Thank you.”

Irritated that she didn’t look at him, Hart glanced at her again. “Married long?”

“No.”

His irritation grew at the one-word answer.

“How long?”

“Almost a month.”

Hart had to bend closer to hear her, the cold wind whipping her words away. “What happened to him?”

“They hung him.”

More intrigued by the minute and aware that the wind and the noise from the buckboards and horses made eavesdropping almost impossible, Hart eyed her again. “For what?”

“Robbed the bank—well, tried to rob the bank.”

“How long ago was this?”

“Three months ago.”

“Town folk turn on you?”

“Yeah. No chance at work.”

“So you decided to go to a strange place and marry a total stranger?”

She turned to him, her eyes flashing.

Filled with satisfaction that he’d finally broken through and gotten a glimpse of the woman beneath the hard shell, Hart held her gaze for several long seconds before she turned away, facing forward again.

“Women don’t have the same choices that men do.” With a shrug, she glanced around. “Word is out that the men of the Circle T take care of the women and keep them safe. I’m hoping that’s true.”

Clenching his jaw at the fleeting glimmer of fear in her eyes, he sought to relieve her. “It is. All the women on the Circle T are well protected. We make that a priority.”

She turned to him again, appearing both relieved and curious. “Why would you make it a priority?”

“Because the bosses are buildin’ somethin’, and it’s hard to do that without women on the place and the babes they have. Can’t get women to come if they don’t feel safe.”

“That sounds like a real smart idea.”

“The bosses think so, and we’ve all begun to think the same way.” He glanced at her again as she brushed snow from her blanket. “Are you warm enough?”

“I’m fine, thank you. When I get to the ranch, is there a place for me to stay until someone wants to marry me?”

Jeremiah moved closer. “We built a place for the doctor’s office. It’s a house with several bedrooms. You’ll stay in that house with the doctor until someone claims you and you accept the claim.”

Her eyes went wide. “Claims me?”

Jeremiah inclined his head, his gaze flicking to Hart. “Yes. Preacher’s in Tulsa, but if a man, or men, claim you and you accept their claim, he or they are responsible for you as if you were married until we can make it legal.”

She stared up at Jeremiah for several seconds before turning to look at Hart. “So some man has to say he wants to marry me, and I get to say yes or no?”

Hart inclined his head, reaching back to get another blanket for her. “Yes, ma’am. You’d have to agree.”

Jeremiah inclined his head. “Just to let you know, some of the men share a wife. You might find yourself married to more than one.”

Charlotte frowned and stiffened. “I’m sorry. I don’t think I heard you right. It sounded like you said that I might find myself married to more than one man.”

“That’s what I said.” Jeremiah inclined his head. “The ability to share a woman is why my brother and I started the ranch. You could have two, or even three husbands.”

“What?” Charlotte gaped at him. “You’re kidding!”

“No. I’m not. That’s a subject I take very seriously.” With a frown, Jeremiah started toward the outside of the group, scanning the tree line. “Put that other blanket on. Can’t have you freezin’ to death before we get there.”

Charlotte wrapped the other blanket around her shoulders. “A woman married to more than one man? Is that legal?”

“It is on the Circle T. Jeremiah and his older brother, Eb, share a wife. Her name’s Maggie. They have a little boy, Ace, and another babe on the way.”

He gestured toward Phoenix driving the other buckboard. “Phoenix there shares a wife with his brothers, Blade and Hawke. Their wife, Sarah, just had a baby boy a couple of weeks ago. His name’s Matto. The sheriffs on the Circle T, Wyatt Matlock and Hayes Hawkins, have been friends for years. Their wife, Savannah, has a baby boy, too. Jacob.”

“Does every man share their wife?”

Hart shook his head, glancing at his brother, who’d moved closer, his lips twitching. “Duke Faulkner doesn’t. His wife, Esmerelda, is getting ready to have a baby in about two months.”

Phoenix looked over and chuckled. “I haven’t heard you string so many words together since you hit your thumb with a hammer.”

Adam smiled faintly. “I was just thinkin’ the same thing.”

Hart glared at both of them before looking straight ahead, the thick snow slowing their journey.

They rode in silence for several minutes before Charlotte turned to him again. “Are you married?”

“No.”

“Why not?”

Hart glanced over at his brother, shifting uncomfortably in his seat. “We wouldn’t be good at it.”

Charlotte stilled, swallowing heavily. “We?”

Inclining his head toward one of the men on horseback who rode ahead of them, Hart glanced at her again. “My brother, Gideon, and I share women but don’t plan to get married.”

Aware that his cold bluntness would put an end to the conversation, Hart nevertheless regretted it.

It was a long, cold ride back to the ranch, the frigid air seeming even colder when the conversation with Charlotte ended.

He’d always been a man of few words, finding small talk useless.

He wished now that he had the words that would make Charlotte smile.

ADULT EXCERPT

Sliding his tongue over hers again, Hart teased her tongue with his, stroking it while pinning her against the wall of the chow shack again and sliding his fingers to the place between her legs.

Embarrassed to feel a rush of moisture escape from her pussy, she tried to press her legs together, surprised and filled with nervous excitement when he slid the hand from the back of her head lower.

Gripping the backs of her thighs, he parted them, wrapping them around his waist as far as her skirt allowed, pressing against her and lifting his head. “If it wasn’t so damned cold out here, I’d hike your skirt higher. Keep your legs where they are.”

Charlotte gulped, tightening her legs around him and sucking in breath after breath at the feel of his fingers moving to her slit. “Hart, I—”

Taking her mouth with his again, Hart tangled his tongue with hers, groaning huskily when she hesitantly touched her tongue to his.

With his hands bracing her thighs, he slid his fingers over her slit, groaning again when she moaned and began to writhe against him.

Lifting his head slightly, he brushed his lips over hers. “You’re wet.”

Mortified, she tried to lower her legs, but Hart held firm. “I’m sorry. I don’t know—”

“Because you want me. That’s all I needed to know.”

Charlotte gasped when he touched a sensitive spot, the effect of his touch making her jolt. “Hart!”

“Your clit is soaked. Makes it feel better when I stroke it. Kiss me back. Come for me.”

At the first touch of his lips on hers, she parted them eagerly, loving the way it felt for him to kiss her.

It made her feel desired. Wanted.

His hold made her feel safe.

Womanly.

Moaning into his mouth, she tentatively stroked his tongue with hers, thrilling at his groan and the feel of his fingers stroking her slit.

She gasped again, gripping him tighter when he slid a finger into her, the strokes to the sensitive spot faster and firmer than before and creating a warm gathering inside her.

Each stroke made her more desperate, the tension inside her growing.

Moans poured from her, and she wiggled against him, frightened at the sensations bombarding her.

The pleasure grew, the tension inside her almost unbearable.

Tightening her hands on his shoulders, she pushed away, breaking off their kiss. “Hart! I’m scared. What’s happening?”

At the feel of a hand sliding beneath the blanket to caress her breast over her shirt, she gasped and whipped her head around, stunned to see Gideon standing next to her.

Sliding a hand through her hair, he unerringly found her nipple, the gentle squeeze sending heat to her slit where Hart caressed her. “Damn. She’s ready to come. Come, baby.”

Hart grunted, shifting his weight. “I’ve got her clit. Feel her pussy. Feel how wet she is.”

Charlotte’s face burned as hot as the rest of her, the feel of Hart sliding his finger from her clit and Gideon releasing her breast to thrust a cold finger into her curling her toes inside her boots and tightening her body even more. “Please. I don’t know what’s happening.”

Gideon moved his finger, withdrawing slightly and thrusting into her again, his speed increasing. “Almost there.”

She found herself tightening on his finger without meaning to, her entire body bowing as the most incredible heat and pleasure washed over her.

She opened her mouth to cry out, wrapping her arms around Hart’s neck and holding on for dear life, another moan escaping when he covered her mouth with his again.

Her hips rocked of their own volition, the pleasure rolling through her with a strength that scared her.

But another kiss and the feel of their firm hold gave her enough of a sense of security that she let herself go.

Gideon withdrew his finger and stunned her by pressing it against her most forbidden opening, eliciting a moan from her, the too decadent attention unnerving her into struggling to lower her legs.

Hart allowed it, lowering her to her feet and lifting his head to stare down at her. “You act like you’ve never come before.”

Charlotte stared at his chest, not daring to look up at him and too mortified to even glance in Gideon’s direction. “Is that what you call that?”

“Yeah.” Hart touched his lips to hers, breaking his kiss off with a low curse, bracing his hands on the wall on either side of her head and bending his, his breathing harsh. “You came.”

Straightening, he wrapped an arm around her and tugged her close. “You okay?”

Glad of his support when her knees shook, she stared at the ground, aware that Gideon walked on her other side. “Of course.”

Gideon chuckled. “She came for the first time and is probably flustered because I touched her bottom hole.”

“Wondered why she squealed.”