Espino, Stacey - Corralling the City Girl [Ride 'em Hard 2] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) (7 page)

“Why haven’t Chase and Dawson come back to check on us?”

Brad’s large body was behind her the next second, pressing against her back as an arm came around her waist, tugging her close. “You may have scared them off with your bitter attitude. A ripe peach is more digestible than a crab apple.” He clucked his tongue and the horse jerked forward. Her retort stayed lodged in her throat as she clutched Brad’s arm like a lifesaver.

Her heart raced. It amazed her how the lack of light could level the playing field, or throw it completely off balance. Any power she held vanished with the sunset, leaving her at the mercy of these cowboys. “How can you see where you’re going?”

He snuggled her against him and leaned down to whisper in her ear, “I’ve got you, Jane. Why don’t you try and rest.” His breath was hot and soothing against her sensitive flesh as the chill of the night crept in around them. Somehow this cowboy she’d never met offered her security, and she believed him. Maybe he was right about everything. Was she that superficial and unlikeable? She was becoming everything she wanted to be—independent, strong, and detached from emotion. If the cattle roundup went well, she’d add the final ingredient to her perfect life—wealth. But was that what she truly wanted from her life?

Chapter Seven

Dawson heard the other horses approaching over an hour later. At least they’d been delayed a bit, but he’d hoped Ms. Williams had called off the run altogether. He’d get paid whether or not they went through with this pointless roundup. One way or another it would fail, and if it didn’t, he’d make sure it did. With the thirty grand promised to him, he’d be able to take a year off the rodeo circuit and rest his injured ribs. At his age, if he kept pushing himself without allowing his body time to heal properly, he’d be heading for an early grave.

“’Bout time you two showed up.” Dawson couldn’t sleep, wondering if the other two would find them at all. He had a small fire going within a ring of rocks he’d collected from the forest behind them. After tonight, it would be solid prairie with no protection from the elements should the weather turn ugly.

“Hush now, she’s asleep,” said Brad.

Dawson poked the kindling with a branch, the embers fluttering above the flames. He slowly stood up from his perch on a section of downed log. For a brief moment he flinched from the pain in his ribs, but recovered quickly.

“Pass her to me. She can have my bedroll.”

“Where’s Chase?”

“Asleep.” The other cowboy didn’t have a care in the world, other than mentioning a little sister before passing out like a stone.

Brad slid the girl off the saddle and into his waiting arms. She was a slight little thing, not enough to cause him much discomfort. Common labor was far more taxing than handling her sleeping body. She roused briefly as he supported her weight in both arms, cuddling up against his chest and wetting her lips. Shame he had to bring her down. She had no idea that the trip was destined to failure. His only consolation was knowing she’d never have made it anyway. Five thousand head needed more than three fucking men to round them up and escort them across the province to new grazing territory.

Jane was no cowgirl. He’d dealt with country girls on his travels. They usually had more testosterone in their veins than him, and he had no desire for the domineering tomboys. If one of those women led the roundup, he’d have his job cut out for him. Not with the city girl. She was clueless.

“Dawson?” He could barely hear her faint whisper. Her head was tucked against his shoulder, and he thought she was still asleep.

“What is it, darlin’?”

“I’m sorry.” It’s all she said, and he didn’t reply. He lowered her to his cot, placing her on her side before pulling the blanket over her shoulders.

He assisted Brad in securing the horses for the night. Only the glimmer from the fire and starlight provided illumination. He unfastened the extra bedrolls and supplies, and prayed he’d get at least an hour’s sleep with his conscience doing flips in his head.

* * * *

“Good morning, sweetheart!”

Her warm blanket was stripped from her body before she even opened her eyes. As soon as she moved a muscle, the pain and ache in her back screamed to life. She tried to reach for the blanket to stave off the morning chill, but her efforts were in vain. Jane was not a morning person. When she finally squinted open her eyes, three cowboys were standing side by side in front of her, partially blocking out the early morning sun. They were dressed, refreshed, and wide-eyed when she felt worse than shit.

“Leave me alone,” she complained, draping her arm over her eyes.

“Oh no, you don’t,” said Chase. “You’re leading this roundup, remember?”

“Forget it. It’s not worth it.” She moaned when she twisted to give them her back. “This is inhumane.”

More than one set of hands hoisted her unwillingly to her feet. Her stomach protested in hunger, her muscles ached, and she could just imagine how haggard she looked—hair wild, no makeup, and puffy morning-eyes.

“The early bird gets the worm. Warm up by the fire and have a bite to eat before we head out,” said Dawson. “I scouted out the herd this morning. They’re only an hour away.”

“What time is it?” Jane ran her hands through her hair, trying to smooth it out as best she could.

“Just past sunrise.”

“I need my bags.” She did a visual of the land now that darkness didn’t hide it from view. Where would she go to the bathroom? Change? Wash?

Brad directed her to her horse where some of her supplies, including her pink suitcase, were piled on the ground beside it. She bent down and unclasped her bag and began rummaging through her stuff. Even under the dire conditions, she could still try and look half-decent. She pulled out her compact and makeup bag.

“I wish you’d keep that paint off your face. You look lovely all natural. The way a woman should be.” Jane turned to the deep voice beside her. Brad crouched on his heels, his dark-blond hair slightly damp and tousled off his face.

“No. I was teased enough with my name growing up.” He tilted his head, not comprehending. “You know…
Plain Jane
. I vowed to always try my best to stand out in a crowd.”

He reached out and tucked her hair behind her ear, and then raised her chin with a bent finger. “Leave it off.” His tone and intense eye contact did crazy things to her body. The way he touched her, even though slight, was gentle and comforting, making her forget all her rigid no-touch rules. Even when she dated, she rarely kissed. Anything to keep the emotional barrier safely in place.

“Okay.” Her voice came out half-breathless.

“Time’s up, little lady!” shouted Dawson, who came riding up beside them on his horse. “You gonna babysit her again today?”

His horse pawed the ground and snorted. She glanced up at him. He wore a dark cowboy hat, leather chaps, and a checkered shirt. It was his squinty blue eyes that continually teased her, as if he played a game he intended to win. But with the light of day came a new inner strength. “You said I could eat first.”

“I gave you time for that. Next time, don’t dillydally around.” With that, he tugged the reins to the side, gave a nudge with his heels, and he was off. As soon as he took off galloping, Chase joined behind him, leaving her alone with Brad.

“I assume you’ll be able to find them again?” She stood up and straightened her shirt.

Brad rose to his full height and crossed his arms over his chest. “I want to help you get where you’re going in time, but you have to put in an effort.” He watched the two riders disappear across the open land, letting out a disapproving sigh. There was a mess of supplies and four unprepared horses around them.

“I am making an effort. I’m on this stupid roundup, ain’t I?”

“This was your idea, darlin’. You should want this more than us, considering you’re the one paying the tab.” He started to tighten her horse’s girth strap. “Doesn’t make much sense to me. If you hate the country, and aren’t interested in the cattle run, why bother? You’d save yourself a ton of money and heartache if you just stayed home in the city.”

“Don’t worry about my intentions. Just do what you’re paid to do and help me get the job done.” She stalked off to the forest to relieve herself, wishing she could change and wash up properly.

By the time she emerged from the underbrush, Brad and his horse were nowhere to be seen. Her horse and the two pack horses were eating the green grass in the shade of the trees, not a care in the world.

“That bastard!” she muttered to herself.

It took her over half an hour to load up the horses herself. Mounting the beast was another story. It took several good personal pep talks before she worked up the courage to get into her saddle. At least he’d secured her saddle before disappearing. Brad had told her how to start and steer the animal, but knowing was half the battle. As she started to walk in the direction the cowboys took off in, she peered behind her to ensure the other two horses were following on the leads she’d tied. Not so bad, if she said so herself. She didn’t need a man at all.

Jane walked the horse without stopping. It took her hours before she saw the countless dark dots on the horizon that she knew represented her uncle’s herd. Then she heard the distant yells and whistles. She focused as she neared, completely in awe as she watched her three cowboys race their horses back and forth behind the cattle. The trembling of the earth vibrated into her bones as the cows began to stampede in the direction they were given. The men certainly knew what they were doing, and appeared to work well as a team.

She dared not get too close to the melee, but stopped and watched. The hoots and hollers they made were reminiscent of the rodeos she’d go to with her girlfriends. It was hard to avoid The Calgary Stampede altogether when you lived in the hub of the tourist district. Her attention was piqued when one of the men pulled off his button-up shirt, leaving him gloriously bare-chested. With the heat already making her skin damp, they must be downright boiling. They’d been working for hours already and had the entire day to go before they’d get a proper break. She watched in rapt awe as the other two followed suit, stripping off their shirts. In just cowboy hats and blue jeans, they rounded up the cattle, pushing them further toward their destination. Brad’s little dog worked just as hard, corralling the odd stray that veered away from the herd.

She dug in the saddlebag and pulled out a strip of jerky. It was too salty, but anything would taste good with her hunger becoming distracting. Jane giggled to herself when she noted none of the men had a farmer’s tan. They were all evenly bronzed, muscle upon lean muscle. Her traitorous body responded, her stomach fluttering, not from hunger, but baser needs. It wasn’t every day she got to see such eye candy in the flesh.

One of the men broke free and started riding straight toward her. She shifted out of her lust-filled daze, sitting straighter in the saddle. It was Chase.

“Finally decided to join us, sweet thing?” He came to an abrupt stop, his horse rearing slightly before settling. His bare skin shimmered with clean sweat, and she followed a single droplet of perspiration that fell from his hair to his chest and down his ripped abs. “We’ll be coming across a stream within the hour. You can wash up then if you like.”

Washing in a river wasn’t exactly what she considered a good time, but it would be better than feeling sticky all day. She nodded, not trusting herself to speak when her mouth was dry as cotton. Apparently her bravado fizzled away along with Chase’s shirt, which now hung in one of the loops of his blue jeans. She itched to feel and test the strength of all those hard muscles, and feel his little brown nipples between her teeth.

A second horse snorted and stopped on her right this time. Brad had a naughty smirk on his face. “Sorry about this mornin’. I knew you just needed the proper motivation to shift yourself into gear. Seems to have worked.” He rode around behind her, checking her job of packing the supplies.

“That was a wicked thing to do, Bradley McCay!” She glared at him as he steered his horse back alongside hers, his leg brushing her thigh.

“It’s called tough love, sweetheart,” said Chase. “I would have done the same thing myself.”

“Of course you would. Do none of you have a sympathetic bone in your bodies?”

“When the situation calls for it.” Chase sandwiched her between his and Brad’s horses. She wasn’t sure what his cocky smile did to her—did it annoy her, or turn her on? He was so close she could practically sense the heat from his body, taste his skin, and feel his muscles. Her imagination went on overdrive and her pussy rubbed uncomfortably against the leather saddle. She was damp and overstimulated from just looking at these shirtless gods.