Her Rancher's Caress: (Taken by Cowboys: Part 3) A Billionaire Western Romance Read online

  “Damn!” Jess cried. The throw had been so sudden that she almost forgot to stop the timer. She clicked it off and then jumped up to run to the side of the pit.

  “Are you okay?” she said breathlessly.

  “Not bad,” Nate said, pulling his foot out from between the wooden rods of the railing. He collected himself and got to his feet. “Not my best ride, though.” He looked around for his hat, which had flown to the opposite end of the ring. He fetched it and placed it on her head. “It looks better on you.”

  She giggled. “Just don’t make me get on that thing.”

  “Deal,” he said. “For now. So what kind of time did I make?”

  She was so absorbed in watching that she’d almost forgotten what this was: a contest. She looked at the stopwatch. “Twenty-two…” She paused dramatically. “Point five eight.”

  Nate whooped. Leaping over the railing, he grabbed Jess by the waist and pulled her to him.

  “Whoa, whoa,” Spencer said. “You may have won this round by the skin of your teeth, but we still have two events left to go.”

  Reluctantly Nate released her. She stumbled a bit, breathless with the sudden rush of heat from his body.

  “So what’s next?” she asked.

  “Our next event will feature more of an appeal to your senses,” Spencer said. “Follow me.”

  An appeal to her senses? What did that mean? She followed Spencer and Nate out of the barn, her heart jerking just like the mechanical bull. They walked across the grass behind the barn to an open field. There was a campfire pit with a stack of kindling next to it, a bright red cooler and a wooden table covered in a cloth.

  “What’s this about?” she asked in surprise.

  “You need a man who can take care of you in every way,” Spencer said as he knelt by the fire pit. He lit a match and ignited the tinder, using a branch to light the smaller kindling underneath the logs. “That means making sure you’re thoroughly satisfied.”

  The flames began to bristle, licking up the sides of the logs. Spencer added a few more small sticks from the pile.

  “What Spencer is referring to,” Nate cut in, “is, of course, food.”

  Food. At the mention of it, Jess felt her stomach rumble. Until this moment, she’d forgotten she hadn’t had breakfast, or dinner the night before. After Nate and Spencer had left, she had gone straight to bed. Now she was ravenous.

  “Our next event is a cook-off,” Spencer said, rising to his feet. “That should do for now.” The fire was burning nicely. She inhaled deeply, enjoying the scent of pine smoke mingling with the fresh air.

  “Wow,” she said. “I didn’t know you two could cook.”

  “Well, I certainly can,” said Spencer. Nate had opened the cooler and was setting ingredients out on the table. “I can’t say the same about this guy.”

  Nate scoffed. “Please. I can cook a better meal than you blindfolded with one hand tied up.”

  “Happy to oblige,” Spencer returned.

  Jess giggled. If things had been interesting before, they were getting even more intriguing. “I can’t remember the last time a man cooked for me,” she said. “And now I have two!”

  Spencer tsked. “A man who doesn’t have time to cook for his lady is no man at all.”

  “Wait until you try Spencer’s food before you agree with that statement,” Nate put in.

  “I’m sure both of you will serve up something absolutely scrumptious,” Jess said. “I can’t wait to see what you come up with!”

  “In the meantime, have a seat and relax,” Nate said. He picked up a folded picnic blanket from the table and spread it out near the fire. Jess settled down, kicking off her sandals. The sun was shining so brightly that she could already feel it tanning her sun-starved skin.

  Spencer produced a bottle of wine from the cooler. From a wicker basket on the table he took out a wineglass. “For the lady,” he said after uncorking the bottle and pouring out a glass of pale yellow liquid. “Pinot grigio, of course. From Alsace.”

  “Thank you!” she said, accepting the glass. She took a sip. The crisp, chilled wine tasted like heaven rolling down her throat. “Wine with lunch. This sure feels luxurious.”

  “Just because we’re out West doesn’t mean we don’t know how to live,” Spencer commented. An array of ingredients was set out on the table, as well as two cutting boards and assorted knives and utensils.

  “When did you get to plan all this?” she marveled. They’d had the conversation leading up to this cowboy contest just last night.

  “Let’s just say that when we put our minds to something, it gets done,” Nate said. He was busy chopping up vegetables, his knife reducing them to neat cubes with practiced speed.

  “Do I get a hint about the menu?” she asked.

  “No hints,” Nate said. “Just relax and enjoy the show.”

  She watched Spencer take out a juicy-looking steak from the cooler and lay it on the board. Her mouth watered with anticipation. There were few things she enjoyed more than a well-prepared steak. She leaned back on her elbows and closed her eyes.

  The pinot grigio was already having its effect. Then again, it might have just been the intoxicating effect of the sun and the attention being lavished on her that was going straight to her head.

  The smell of toasting spices filled the air. She opened her eyes. They had hung a cooking pot over the fire and Nate was standing over it, stirring something with a spatula.

  “You’re making my mouth water,” she said.

  “That’s the point,” he said.

  “Hey, scoot over.” Spencer came up from the fire carrying another pot, which he slid over the fire.

  “You’re really going to cook this whole meal over an open flame?” she asked.

  “It’s the cowboy way!” Nate said. “The food tastes better this way, anyways.”

  “How long is it going to take?” she asked. The rumbles in her stomach were growing louder and louder.

  “Patience,” Spencer said with a smile. “The hungrier you are, the better it will taste.”

  “No kidding,” she said.

  “Have another glass of wine and relax,” Nate said, picking up the bottle and refilling her glass. “You city girls. You have to be taught how to take a load off.”

  “You might have a point there,” she admitted, taking a sip. “But I have to say, I don’t remember the last time I was this content. My New York life already feels like a distant memory!”

  “We call it Getaway for a reason,” Nate said.

  She took another sip of wine and lay on her back, looking at the fluffy white clouds that were moving lazily across the sky. It was still a marvel to her how wide and expansive the sky looked out here, like it was getting ready for an enormous embrace. The diaphanous seeds of a dandelion floated above her eyes, carried on the gentle breeze, as the smell of burning firewood and aromatic spices cooking floated into her nostrils. If this wasn’t heaven on earth, it was pretty darn close.

  “Lunch is ready,” said a deep voice next to her. Her eyes fluttered open.

  “Nice nap?” Nate asked with a grin. He was kneeling next to her on the picnic blanket.

  “How long was I out for?” she asked, sitting up and rubbing her eyes.

  “Not more than thirty minutes,” said Nate. “Even when you’re asleep, you’re a distraction. I could barely keep my eyes on my dish. They kept straying back to you.”

  She blushed. “I guess I must have been really relaxed.”

  “Ready for some grub?” Spencer asked, wiping his hands on a dishtowel.

  “Am I ever,” she said.

  “First up is my special cowboy chili with skillet cornbread,” Nate said. He ladled a fragrant brown stew out of the cooking pot into a thick bowl. “Bon appétit,” he said, handing it to her with a spoon and a yellow hunk of bread.

  “This smells incredible,” she said, raising the bowl to her nose and inhaling deeply. Her mouth was watering like a fire hydrant. She raise
d the spoon to her lips and took a bite.

  The chili was spicy and meaty, an explosion of tastes on her hungry palate. The flavors were deep and complex, a mix of warm spices she recognized—cumin, coriander, a touch of oregano—along with something she couldn’t quite put her finger on. “Is there…chocolate in this?” she asked before taking another spoonful. It was so hot that it almost burned her mouth, but she couldn’t stop herself.

  “Secret ingredient,” Nate said, smiling broadly. “A little spin on Mexican mole sauce.”

  “This is incredible,” she said, taking another bite along with a taste of cornbread, which was the perfect sweet counterpoint to the piquant chili. Before she knew it, she had inhaled the whole bowl.

  “More?” Nate asked.

  “Hey, now,” Spencer interjected. “You may have whetted her appetite with your little stew, but now it’s time for something truly satisfying.”

  She took a gulp of wine. Spencer handed her a beautifully made-up plate. On it, a steak was cut lengthwise, revealing its deep red interior underneath a nicely grilled crust. Next to it was a pile of fluffy-looking mashed potatoes.

  Her mouth was watering like mad. She cut a piece of steak and, inhaling the scent of meat and spices, put it in her mouth. “Mmmm.” She closed her eyes as she chewed. The steak was expertly cooked, juicy and almost bloody the way she liked it, with a perfectly peppery spice rub. “Holy shit,” she said after she swallowed. “That might be the best thing I’ve ever put in my mouth.”

  “Well,” Spencer smirked at Nate. “I think we know who won this round.”

  “Not that your chili wasn’t phenomenal,” she said quickly to Nate. “Because it was, it really was. I guess I’m just a meat-and-potatoes girl, after all.”

  “That’s the best beef the West has to offer,” Spencer said. “Grass-fed, dry-aged goodness.”

  Jess was already devouring her second slice of steak. She dipped her fork into the mashed potatoes. They were light as clouds in her mouth. “This is better than any New York steakhouse,” she gushed. The meat was truly perfectly cooked, tender but with enough chew to get her mouth working, and juicy as all get-out.

  “More pinot, ma’am?” Spencer said, refilling her glass. The smirk hadn’t quite left his face. She stole a glance at Nate, who was clearly trying to hide his irritation. Uh-oh. Oh, well. She had more pressing matters to attend to at the moment—like cleaning her plate.

  “So what’s the last event?” she asked tentatively, swallowing the last scrap of steak. Nate had won the first round of the contest, and Spencer had won the second. This wasn’t making deciding between the two of them any easier.

  “The last event,” Nate said, fixing her with the bright green eyes that made her weak at the knees, “is you.”

  Chapter 3

  “Me?” Jess sputtered. She’d needed a minute to gain control over her senses. “What do you mean, I’m the last event?”

  “Just like Nate said,” Spencer said, taking a step towards her. “You see that tent over there?”

  She nodded, but her heart was beating so fast that she couldn’t speak. Surely, he couldn’t mean…

  “We’ll each have five minutes to spend in there with you,” he said. His voice was trembling slightly. “You’re an incredibly beautiful woman whose body deserves the most pleasure it can stand. The man in your life should be able to give it to you.”

  She shivered at his words. The proposition seemed crazy—go into a tent with two men, one right after the other, so she could decide which one pleased her the most?—but it also aroused her beyond belief. Plus, it wasn’t like she was any stranger to either of these men’s bodies. That’s what had gotten her into this mess in the first place, after all. Now, though, it didn’t seem like such a bad mess to get into.

  “Of course, there are some rules,” he said, a sharp note of control entering his voice again. “There’s a decision to be made, after all, between the two of us.”

  “What rules?” she asked. Her heart was thumping like a gong.

  “Clothes stay on,” he said.

  That made sense. It was only five minutes anyways. So why did she feel a little disappointed to hear it?

  “And no serious touching,” Spencer continued. “We’re keeping it PG here. The point is to show you that we’re sensitive to what you like. Well, at least one of us is.”

  Jess nodded. That sounded reasonable. Sort of like a grown-up “seven minutes in heaven.” “So who’s first?” she asked nervously.

  “As long as we’re trading off,” Spencer said darkly. “I guess that would be me.”

  Ouch. Silently, she followed Spencer to the tent. He held the flap open and she went in, turning around briefly to catch a glimpse of Nate. He was standing several yards away, his back turned.

  “I’m not sure if I like this, Spencer,” she broke in as soon as Spencer had zipped the tent closed. A well of anxiety had suddenly risen in her chest. She let herself fall to a graceless seat. The grass poked through the thin bottom of the tent, pricking at her bare legs. “I don’t want to feel…you know…passed around between the two of you.”

  “Jess, no,” he said, his handsome features folding with concern. He knelt down next to her and put a hand on her shoulder. “I apologize for my comment just now. It was terribly insensitive. Forgive me.”

  She bit her lip, staring intently down. Gently, he put a finger to her chin and tilted her head up.

  “I hate the thought of someone giving you pleasure without me,” he said softly. She raised her eyes to meet his, and instantly she felt her insides melt like molten lava deep inside a volcano. His deep brown eyes penetrated hers. She was suddenly excruciatingly aware of how close his full lips were to hers—and of how much she wanted to feel them. In fact, all of a sudden she could think of nothing else.

  “When I saw you with Nate I felt so jealous,” he said, so quietly he was now whispering. His eyes were growing hazy as their faces got closer. “But I also have to be honest with you…”

  He trailed off. Their lips were now so close that only the tiniest whisper of air stood between their kiss.

  “About what?” she whispered. The heat radiating off his body mingled with hers, creating a vortex of heat that seemed to envelop them, hypnotizing her.

  “It turned me on to see you come,” he breathed.

  Their lips met. She felt the molten lava that had been simmering inside her bubbling up to the surface. The touch of his lips was firm enough to draw her in, but soft enough to intensify her already heightened desire. He let his fingers travel downwards from her chin, lightly grazing her throat and tickling her collarbone. She sank deeper and deeper into the kiss, her tongue melting with his, and everything else seemed to melt away.

  “Time’s up!” Nate’s gruff voice suddenly rang from just outside the tent. Jess started.

  Spencer broke the kiss. “That wasn’t five minutes!” he said indignantly.

  “It sure as hell was,” Nate said with just as much irritation. “Get out of there.”

  Spencer gazed at her with eyes full of reluctance. He put a hand on her cheek and she closed her eyes and leaned into it. She had almost forgotten how good his touch felt. How could she give this up?

  “I’ll see you on the other side,” he said. He stood quickly and unzipped the tent flap, quickly disappearing from view. Jess felt a pang. Clearly he couldn’t stand the thought of Nate following after him.

  Except hadn’t he said that it turned him on to see Nate pleasuring her? She felt a ripple of excitement deep inside her. Behind the shock and the guilt, hadn’t it turned her on too?

  Nate entered the tent, tearing her thoughts abruptly away. Her breath caught in her throat. He looked so handsome, with his bright green eyes and sun-bronzed skin. He was wearing that lazy smile that drove her crazy.

  “I’ve missed you,” he said as he knelt in front of her. “I can’t get yesterday out of my head.”

  Her heart rate, which had barely slackened since Spe
ncer left, was now picking up again. “I’ve been thinking about it too,” she admitted.

  “Oh, Jess,” he said. He grabbed the back of her neck suddenly and raked her fingers through her hair, pulling him close to her. She gasped. He rose to stand on his knees, and she rose with him. “You’ve been driving me crazy.”

  He kissed her intensely, his tongue parting her lips and entering her mouth. She moaned. All at once, he had turned her into a helpless puddle of need. Her tongue sought his eagerly as she lost herself to the sensations in her body, dizzy with desire.

  His hands traveled up her waist, past her ribcage, and teased the sides of her breasts. She pressed herself to him. She could feel his manhood, firm and full, throbbing against her pelvis. If Spencer had warmed her up, Nate was now taking her straight to the point of no return. She wanted him to lay her down and do a thousand things to her.

  “Alright, partner. Playtime’s over.” Spencer’s voice broke through the sounds of heavy breathing and muffled moans that filled her ears.

  Already? she thought in dismay.

  Nate slowly drew his mouth away, sucking on her bottom lip as he did. “As much as this pains me, I guess I have to play by the rules,” he whispered. His hand found his way into her hair again. “I love this mane.” Turning her head to the side, he placed a kiss on her exposed neck. A tremor shook her body. Then he stood and left just as quickly as he’d come.

  She sat in the tent in a daze, trying to pull herself back together. The whole morning had felt like a dream. She could hardly believe this was her life—but the very real sensations in her body told her that she was, indeed, the star of this show. She swallowed. Her heartbeat had hardly abated. She was so full of desire, she felt pinned to the spot.

  “Everything okay?” Spencer’s voice came through the tent flap.

  “Fine!” she gulped. “I just need a minute.”

  “Take your time,” she heard Spencer say.

  Spencer—she wanted him back, his warm hands and gentle touch. But she also wanted Nate, with his roughness and wildfire heat. She wanted them both.