Fuck a duck.
It wasn’t fair to them. They wanted a woman who could love all three of them, not a woman who couldn’t think for herself, who was a weak mess, one who’d made one bad decision after another.
“If you frown any harder, you’re going to screw up that pretty face of yours forever,” Ryan said mildly.
She glanced up, guilty heat suffusing her cheeks. She hadn’t even been paying attention to him, her horse or where they were going. And Ryan knew it.
“Sorry,” she said in a low voice. “I was just thinking.”
Ryan shrugged. “It’s why I asked if you wanted to go out for a while. You looked like you could use a break.”
He turned back around in his saddle and stared ahead, silence looming between them once more.
She sighed. He wasn’t pushy. She liked that. But then none of the brothers had pushed her hard. Adam could be demanding. Any fool could see that, but he hadn’t pressed her boundaries.
“It’s beautiful here,” she said, focusing her attention on Ryan.
He nodded. “No place on earth is more beautiful than the Rockies.”
He loved it here. She could tell by the way his eyes scraped across the landscape. Some of the bleakness and torment he wore like a permanent tattoo disappeared, replaced by satisfaction.
“How did you all end up here?” she asked.
He shrugged again. “We grew up on a ranch. It was only natural that we’d want one of our own. And we like to hunt. So we decided to combine those factors and make our living at it.”
She thought on that a moment. The cabin they lived in was large. Though they didn’t take meals in the dining room, the room sported a table that could easily sit two dozen people. And there were several rooms she hadn’t explored yet. An uneasy thought crept into her mind.
“So when it’s hunting season, there’ll be lots of hunters in the cabin?” she asked.
He studied her for a moment as if delving into her thoughts.
“Are you worried about what they’ll think?” he asked, his tone slightly challenging.
“I don’t know,” she said honestly. “I mean I don’t know how I’ll be presented. How do you introduce me to other people?”
“As our woman,” he said.
Her stomach turned over. On the one hand, it did funny things to her, the idea of three sexy as hell men claiming her as their woman, but on the other hand, it could be awkward as hell.
“You’ll get used to it,” he said.
She felt her cheek warming again as another thought struck her. One she hadn’t considered, but in light of their very different relationship, she wasn’t sure.
She cleared her throat, wondering how to present such an awkward question.
Ryan sighed. “Just say it, Holly. Whatever’s on your mind. I don’t bite.”
She stared up at him, sure she was growing redder by the minute. “It’s just that I wondered, that is I wasn’t sure…” She took another steadying breath. “You won’t want there to be others, right?”
His eyes darkened and a scowl twisted his features. “I’ll kill any other man who touches you.”
Her breath eased from her in relief.
Ryan scrubbed a hand over his chin. “Holly, just because we have a different situation, in that all three of us are fucking the same woman, it doesn’t mean we’re going to be sharing you with every man who crosses our path. You’re ours. You belong to us, heart and soul, and if another man so much as looks at you, we’ll rip off his dick and cram it down his throat.”
She couldn’t help it. She laughed. Then she sobered. “I hope you all aren’t making a mistake,” she said quietly.
He tipped up his Stetson to get a better look at her. “Are we making a mistake, Holly?”
She flinched under his frank appraisal. “I don’t want you to be making a mistake,” she whispered. “I don’t want any of this to be a mistake.”
“Maybe you’re rushing things,” he said. “There’s no hurry. We’ve got all the time in the world.”
She drew comfort from his words. And maybe she had felt rushed. As if she should immediately feel right with the situation she found herself—no, that she chose to be—in. Relationships took time, even if she had a habit of hurling herself into them. It sounded as though they were more than willing to grant her time, and for that she was grateful.
She was surprised to see they were nearing the cabin again. She hadn’t even paid attention to their ride, so deep in her thoughts she’d been.
They rode around to the back and stopped outside the barn. Ryan slid from his horse then held up a hand to help her down. She landed inches from him, his body heat reaching out and enveloping her. He smelled so damn sexy. Just like a man should. Of wood, leather and a hint of wildness.
She placed her hand on his hard chest, unable to resist the temptation. His heat seared her palm. He growled low in his throat.
“Let’s get the horses in before I fuck you right here in the snow,” he said.
Goose bumps assaulted every inch of her body. Her nipples tightened and streaks of pleasure burned between her legs at his explicit words.
Her hands shaking, she followed him into the barn. She watched as he groomed the horses. She imagined it was her his hands roamed over instead of the horse. Sweat beaded on her brow. She wanted him. Right here. Right now. And if she could gain the courage, what was to stop her from taking what she wanted?
Chapter Ten
Holly’s courage deserted her halfway to Ryan. As if sensing her approach, he turned around after locking the stall. He studied her for a moment.
“Did you want something?”
What a question. She swallowed. Then swallowed again.
“I want you,” she said simply, it all coming out in a quick rush.
He flashed her a sexy, arrogant grin.
“Then come get me,” he said, spreading his arms out in a gesture or surrender.
She trembled with nervousness, but she walked slowly toward him. Her gaze focused on the bulge in his jeans, the bulge that had grown larger with her announcement. She knew precisely what she wanted to do with it. She wanted to taste it again. Like she had done before.
With shaking hands, she reached out for the button of his jeans. She heard his quick intake of breath when she worked it free. She pulled the zipper down until she could see the band of his underwear.
“Take it out,” she whispered. “I want to see you pull it out.”
Somehow the image of him pulling his cock out of his pants excited her wildly. She wanted that image to come to life.
“Get on your knees,” he rasped.
She hastily complied, and he reached into his pants and pulled out his erection. She reached up, wanting to touch it. She curled her hands around it. It was inches from her lips, straining, hard as a rock.
She flicked her tongue out and delicately swirled it around the broad head. He flinched and groaned then moved forward, seeking more of her mouth.
She wrapped her hand around the base of his cock and guided him toward her lips. She let him rest on her lips for the merest of seconds before sucking him gently into her mouth.
“Ah damn, sweetheart. That’s it. Take it all.”
His hand tangled in her hair as he gripped the back of her neck. His hips surged forward as he thrust into her mouth.
She delighted in the contrast of soft, smooth skin and iron hardness. He tasted exotic, all male, like he smelled. Silky fluid spilled on her tongue as he surged to the back of her throat. She wanted more. She wanted to make him come. Make him as wild for her as she felt in his arms.