Cameron, Paige - Commando Cowboys Reclaim Their Love [Wyoming Warriors 4] (Siren Publishing Everlasting Polyromance) (3 page)

After the sale was rung up, Cassie started to put it in a box. Rae stopped her.

“I’ll wear it.”

“It’s a man’s bracelet.”

“I know.”

“Seems I’m not the only one with secrets. Cindy said she’ll be here at one. Shall I meet you at the main ranch house at one-thirty?”

“Yes.” Rae waved and walked out to her car. She slid in and stared at the bracelet hanging heavy on her wrist and heart. The stones reminded her of his hair and his golden eyes. And the fact was, he was in her heart for eternity. Wherever he’d gone. She blinked the tears away, raised her chin, and drove home. She had plans to make for her new business. No time for remorse or old memories.

Rae stopped in at the main ranch house to see Sara and the children. Anything to keep her mind busy until time to meet with Cassie.

* * * *

“Where is this house?” Cassie asked as they rode deep into the heart of the ranch land.

“It’s in a beautiful area, sheltered between the mountains and a tree-covered bluff. This road goes across one of the lower elevations,” Rae explained as she turned onto a narrow two-lane road headed north.

Cassie saw the bluff covered with cottonwood and pine trees. The road they were on curved up the bluff. At the top, Rae stopped.

“Let’s get out and enjoy the view.” Not waiting for Cassie, she opened her door.

Cool breezes blew across Cassie’s face as she stepped out of the warm car. She pulled her jacket close around her and studied the panoramic view. The mountains looked much closer than they did from her apartment window. Between the bluff and the mountains was a wide expanse of pasture land with a creek winding through the area. In the middle, a house sat surrounded by trees and flowers. Sunlight flashed off a two-story window.

In the distance, to the left of the house, was a barn and a three-car garage. On the right someone had a garden. Thick trees grew further on the right.

“What an idyllic setting.” Cassie whispered the words. She turned around and gazed at the tall trees scattered across the bluff. “Whoever built this wanted privacy, to keep the world out.”

“I agree,” Rae said. “Shall we go forward and explore?”

“Yes. I’m anxious to see the inside of the house.”

The road they were on wound down off the bluff. At the bottom was a gate and a sign.
Private, Keep out.

“I guess they don’t mean us?” Cassie asked.

“No, I have the code to get in.” She got out and punched in some numbers on the metal box attached to the gate. The gate slowly swung open. They drove through and straight to the curving driveway.

Up close, Cassie’s stomach churned with butterflies. There was a familiarity about the place. But what? She’d certainly never been here before. She followed Rae to the front door and stepped gingerly inside the living room.

The fireplace had been built in the center toward the back of the open room. It was made of large stones native to the area. The chimney soared to the second floor. An area wide enough to sit on circled the chimney. There was an opening on both sides. The living room walls were a shiny, medium-brown wood, and the ceiling was tongue and groove. Parquet floors were a mixture of light and dark tones.

Cassie’s heart ached. She walked behind the fireplace and saw the bar open to a dazzling modern kitchen. Above the kitchen and facing the front window was a loft.

She turned to face Rae, who was watching her closely. “This is Nick and Lang’s home.” It wasn’t a question. She didn’t need to see the rest to know they’d built her dream house. The one she’d playfully designed with Nick so many years ago. Tears filled her eyes and spilled down her face. “They sent you to convince me to help you on this project.”

“Yes, but I was serious about wanting a partner.” Rae walked to her side and put her hand on Cassie’s arm. “They love you. This”—she spread out her hands to encompass the room—“is an act of love. They want the house to be what you would desire.” Gently, she wiped Cassie’s tears away with her handkerchief.

“There aren’t too many women who are lucky enough to find not just one, but two men who will do anything to make the woman they love happy. Why can’t you accept them? I believe you love Lang and Nick.”

“It’s a long story, and not one I can share right now. There are some problems I have to take care of first before I allow myself to think about being in their lives.”

“They’ve already waited a long time. I know at least two women trying very hard to get their attention.”

Cassie bit her lip. “I’m not surprised.” She wandered away from Rae and went down the hall on the left. As she expected, there were two bedrooms with an adjoining bath and an office. On the right of the house was one large bedroom. She stepped inside onto plush green carpet. Side windows faced the forest. To the front of the bedroom, she walked past two big closets on either side and into a huge bath with a sunken tub and an enormous shower. Windows faced an enclosed garden.

Going back into the bedroom she passed another smaller, two-sided fireplace, one side opening to the bedroom and the other to a small sitting room facing the mountains. A door led outside to a wide veranda.

“I’m jealous,” Rae said. “If you don’t marry them, I may just to get this magnificent house.” She gazed across at Cassie. “Any ideas on how to decorate and furnish the place?”

“Oh yes. I’ve dreamed of doing this for many years. Next week when I go to the city, I’ll start looking for furnishings and such.”

“Good.” They walked back out to the living room. “Let’s sit in these two chairs and discuss our ideas. I told them I’d present them with a plan and a bill.” She grinned at Cassie. “This is going to be so much fun.”

Cassie glanced around her. It would be, if it didn’t break her heart.

Chapter Three

They were so engrossed in discussing various ideas, neither heard the back door quietly open. Cassie sensed his eyes on her and caught his scent. She raised her head and looked into wintry-gray eyes. Her heart throbbed, and heat rushed through her veins.

Her mouth went dry.

“I haven’t seen you in a long time, Cassie.” His words slid inside her, smooth and luxurious like a warm sip of cognac. He strolled into the living room. “Do you like the house?”

“I love it. You all used the design Nick and I made together.”

“We did.”

“And all the fancy, carved woodwork is your special contribution,” she added.

“I like to work with my hands.”

Cassie glanced at his tanned hands holding his gloves. Briefly, a picture of those hands touching her, caressing her skin, molding her breasts, sent an ache straight to her pussy. Her inner muscles clenched with desire, and moisture pooled in her panties. His eyes darkened. He was aware of the feelings he’d aroused.

“Rae, shouldn’t we be heading back? I’m sure Cindy must be ready to go home.”

“Sure.” Rae gathered her papers. “I’ll get back with you soon, Lang.”

“No rush. We’ve waited this long. We can wait a
little
longer,” he said and stared across at Cassie. Her face heated. She forced herself to turn and walk out behind Rae. Her body was screaming, “stay.” She wanted to walk up to him, wrap her arms and legs around him, and never let go.

Lang’s words stopped her at the door. “I can save Rae the trouble of driving you into town. I haven’t seen your shop yet.”

She stopped in the doorway, caught between the desire to run away and her need to face Lang. His footsteps rang across the floor, bringing him right behind her. She breathed in his wonderful scent, musky and male.

“Haven’t you run enough?”

Her body no longer listened to her mind. She leaned back against his warm frame. Rae looked at them, smiled, waved, and went to her car. They stood and watched her drive off. Lang had opened Cassie’s coat and placed his hands on her breasts. He bent to kiss the side of her neck. Her heart beat almost uncontrollably fast as his thumbs rubbed across her pebbled nipples through her thin blouse and bra. His teeth nibbled on her earlobe as a spark of sheer pleasure shot up her spine.

“Haven’t you missed this?” His soft voice blew across her ear. “I have.”

He stepped back with her and, reaching around, closed the door. Turning her, he cupped her face and just stared.

“So many nights, I visualized your face in front me, and I wasn’t sure if I wanted to love you or hate you.” Anger flashed briefly in the depths of his eyes. They darkened like gray clouds before a storm.

“I imagined this, finally having you in my arms. And still a part of me wants to throw you away.”

“Why don’t you?” She stood on her tiptoes and brushed her lips across his. “I deserve to be punished for hurting you and Nick.”

“Yes, you do.” He swung her into his arms and took long strides across the room and into the large bedroom with the plush, light-green carpet. “It’s the one furnishing I picked. It reminded me of your eyes.” He laid her on the floor and stood towering over her.

From some of her recent past experiences, she should be frightened from the look in his eyes and the tension in his body. But neither Lang nor Nick would ever hurt her. His arrogant stance above her only raised her temperature and her desire.

He unsnapped his shirt and threw it aside, and then sat and pulled off his boots. Next his jeans and shorts were gone, and he stood before her. His tanned body was well muscled. His wide, hard cock jutted out, ready to plunge into her.

When he pulled the rawhide tie from his hair, it fell to his shoulders like black silk. His scent had gotten stronger and flowed around him, inciting her hunger. Straddling her body on his knees, he yanked the scarf off that held her hair back and ran his hands through the strands. Lang brought a handful to his nose and breathed in.

“I recognized your scent at the wedding. It almost tripped me up during my song. I had given up expecting to find you here at the ranch. And then after the wedding pictures were taken, I looked around. You were gone as quickly as mist floating away on the early morning breeze. Nick saw you, though.”

“On some level, I knew he’d be the first to seek me out. You wouldn’t.”

“No. I wouldn’t.”

“Can you forgive me?”

“Are you ready to come home all the way?”

Silence stretched between them.

“Then this may be all there is.” His hands quickly undressed her. When she was naked, he ran his fingers across her body. “Soft skin, sweet scent, but an uncertain heart.” He kissed her chest where her heart pounded.

Then his lips closed over her breast, while his other hand went down and separated her wet folds. When his thumb rubbed against her clit, she was on fire. His lips suckled her breast, and his fingers moved from her nub and into her pussy. She rose to meet the movements of his hand.

He moved his mouth from one breast to the other. His teeth scraped across her sensitive nipples. Below, his fingers moved in and out of her wet pussy. She grasped his cock in her hand. He was soft as satin, and yet hard. Her finger ran across the wet tip, and she sucked his essence into her mouth. He’d raised his head and watched her lick her fingers and smile.

Leaning down, he kissed her mouth, and his tongue plunged inside to taste her. His finger pinched the tip of her peaked nipple, and his other hand brushed across her sensitive nub. He surrounded her, and her body ached, screamed inside her mind for him to fill her.

Her one hand moved up and down his cock, and with her other she grasped his silky hair as he tormented her hungry mouth.