Cupid Cowboys (The Boot Knockers Ranch Book 7) Read online

  Jared went totally still. “Are you thinkin’ about leaving the Boot Knockers?”

  Brock threw a look over his shoulder back at the barn where Riggs was working. “I don’t know. Guess not. I just wonder what it might be like to only do the ranchin’ stuff.”

  “That’s called a ranch hand, and they don’t need any. You know that.”

  Brock dropped his gaze, staring at their boots, almost toe to toe in the thick grass.

  “Dude, if you go, I go too.”

  He snapped his head up at Jared’s low admission. His tone was gritty, burning with intensity he hadn’t expected.

  Reaching out, Jared gripped his shoulder. “Never said it, but…”

  “Hey, you guys ever comin’ to give me a hand?” Riggs’s call interrupted the moment, and Brock stepped away from Jared.

  What had he been about to say to him? What would Brock say given a bigger opening?

  For now, he wouldn’t find out. He and Jared threw themselves into checking over the horses for a Valentine’s Day ride. While he checked their hooves and cleaned out several frogs, his mind worked over the strange atmosphere hanging over him and Jared today.

  Something about walking into that kitchen had changed him. Charged him—ignited him with a spark to make a fresh start.

  If he was honest, the thought hadn’t only just entered his mind. It had been sputtering around in the corners on and off for months. When he lay with Jared plastered against his side after the hottest sex of his life, he’d let the idea take hold.

  And being so close to the gorgeous little chef. He had an inkling that if he and Jared shared her, he would no longer be so content—

  “You’re deep in thought today.” Jared reached an arm around him, pinning him back against his chest.

  Brock closed his eyes, feeling the thick muscle behind him—and the steely edge of his lover’s cock pressed against his ass.

  Suddenly, he turned.

  Jared stared at him in surprise, playful expression falling away. “What is it?” he asked quietly.

  Brock cupped Jared’s jaw and stared into his eyes. “Tonight. Tonight we go back for LeeLee.”

  His lover’s eyes widened, the black depths shining with shock. “What?”

  “You feel it too. We both want her.”

  “Yes.”

  “Because there’s something between the three of us. Tonight we go back and find out just how deep that goes.”

  Jared lifted a hand to Brock’s wrist, and when he closed his fingers around his skin, Brock felt a slight tremor there. “What aren’t you sayin’?”

  He gave a quick shake of his head, knowing Riggs was several stalls away. He released Jared but retained eye contact. “She needs assistants to make all those Valentine’s Day treats.”

  A crooked grin cut a path across Jared’s rugged features. “And we’ll be her assistants.”

  Brock gave a nod, tugging down his hat over his eyes as Riggs rounded the stall and spotted them.

  “Save the fucking around for later, you horny asses.” Riggs grinned at them. He of all men knew how it felt to secretly love the man you worked closely with. He and Hugh had once stood in the same exact boots as Brock and Jared now were.

  They moved away from each other, and Brock dug in to the work he loved, muscles burning pleasantly as he mucked out three stalls in a row. As he worked, he tossed looks at Riggs’s profile a few stalls away.

  He realized something. Something big.

  Riggs and Hugh didn’t just get what they wanted—they took it.

  Chapter Two

  The mission: Not impossible. LeeLee had embarked on quick prep challenges before. She’d even done one of those TV cooking competitions fresh out of culinary school. She’d been sent home after two rounds, but she’d been green then.

  Now she had a few more years in her oven mitt and she could do this.

  She looked at her notepad on the countertop and swiftly made a game plan. Hillary had the cakes poured into their little tins, ready for baking. While they were in the oven, LeeLee would continue prepping the fruit for the sculpture.

  She had a good idea how to construct the Venus that Hugh had requested. Some skewers, toothpicks and clear gelatin that would bind it all in various stages. She’d pulled up an image of the Venus de Milo on her computer tablet to work from. From pineapple shaping the shoulders to melon curls as hair, she had it covered.

  She was in for a long night—and without help too, as she’d given approval for Hillary to have the night off to be with her beau months ago. But she’d taken a short break, showered and changed into a fresh uniform, prepared for a long night. She didn’t mind, because seeing the Boot Knockers and their guests enjoying her delicious and beautiful food was her ultimate goal.

  Throwing a glance at the clock on the wall, she realized seconds were ticking by and she’d better get to work.

  First, she walked into the cooler to retrieve the cake trays. They were stacked five high and one by one she popped them into the convection oven, her mind already trundling ahead to the little decorative touches she’d add with frosting and delicate candies.

  As she worked, she hummed to the radio that was always on in her kitchen. She preferred rock, but earlier today Hillary had tuned the streaming radio to a lighter station and an old love song was on.

  Sappy, she thought. But soon the song became only background noise as she peeled and cut fruit into various shapes, placing mounds of it in prep bowls for the moment she was ready to construct the Venus.

  Her mind kept wandering, though… to the hot cowboys who’d entered her kitchen and shaken her up so bad. For hours after they left, and she cleaned up, she’d thought of little else but Brock and Jared. Jared and Brock.

  The names intertwined with an undeniable musicality. Or maybe it was just the rhythm of her heart whenever she saw them.

  If she were to officially apply to stay on the ranch as a client, she’d request them. Apparently it was actually a checkbox on the form—you could ask for a duo for the length of your stay.

  Two men teaming up to make you feel like more of a goddess than the Aphrodite she was creating out of fruit. She couldn’t imagine what it would be like to have one of those cowboys touching her let alone two.

  Or watching them together…

  Today she’d caught Jared stroking Brock’s cock through his jeans and had instantly soaked her panties with want. The sexual sight still had her aching and throbbing, and she’d rubbed her clit in the shower to a gasping orgasm just to slake her need.

  It had only pushed the throb in her core back for a time. Later, she’d have to break out B.O.B.—her battery operated boyfriend—and take care of her needs better.

  The song changed to a more upbeat one, and she sliced off a bit of honeydew melon and popped it into her mouth.

  Fresh and sweet, just as she’d hoped. The shipments came from California and were always the best—

  The boot step made her look up at the door.

  The knife she held clattered to the counter, loud in the sudden vacuum of the space.

  Her mouth dried out and she had to force herself to swallow the fruit in her mouth.

  Jared gave her a crooked grin that slashed through her body like a hot knife. “Thought you could use some assistance, sweetheart.”

  She could hardly breathe. Brock stepped forward first, his dark hair slicked back as if he’d just showered.

  With Jared?

  Her stare shot to the other cowboy. Sure enough, he too appeared to have just cleaned up.

  She swallowed, the fruit sliding down her throat. It was a wonder she didn’t choke, with two gorgeous cowboys looking at her that way.

  Jared moved to stand next to her. “Tell us what to do and we’re at your command.”

  Her knees grew weak, and she clung to the edge of the island. “You’re… here to help me?” she managed in a faint whisper that surely gave away all the desire pent up inside her. And they’d hear it loud and cl
ear—they were tuned in to know when a woman was primed for them.

  Oh God, how was she ever going to concentrate on getting her work done now? With this pair looking on, distracting her with their rough good looks, she’d end up creating a fruit sculpture resembling a Muppet rather than Venus.

  “Don’t worry, sweetheart. We take orders real well. You tell us to jump, we say how high. You say fetch, we get on our hands and knees.”

  That. Didn’t. Help.

  Not one bit.

  Mind spinning, she tried to figure out what was happening here and how she could not offend them by turning their help away. She didn’t see how she could keep them in her kitchen and get all her work done.

  Jared lifted his head and sniffed the air. “Do I smell something burning?”

  “My cakes!” She ran for the wall of ovens and used a thick towel to pull out the baking pan. Two were just a hint over the golden brown she’d been going for, but with frosting, hopefully nobody would notice.

  She set the five pans on a surface to cool, breathing hard. Trying not to look at the guys.

  Without hats, they somehow looked sexier. She didn’t know how that was even possible.

  “You look a mite shaken up, LeeLee,” Brock said, leading her away from the oven. “What can we do to make it up to you for nearly making you forget your cakes?”

  She stared up at him, sweat breaking out in all the wrong places. She could think of a dozen ways they could make it up to her.

  Brock caught that stray tendril of hair that always seemed to escape her hat. Her breath stopped in her lungs, and dizziness washed over her as he rubbed it lightly between his thumb and forefinger while staring deep into her eyes.

  “Tell us what to do next.”

  Kiss me.

  Suck my nipples.

  No. The Venus would have more done to her nipples tonight than LeeLee ever would, when she sculped them out of berries.

  Jared moved up before her, standing so close, hovering over her. His breath was minty-fresh, his clean masculine scent drawing her own nipples into hard points.

  Brock crowded next to her, and she found herself pinned in by a wall of muscled shoulders.

  “We’ve been thinking about you all day, LeeLee,” Jared crooned in his Southern drawl.

  She gulped. “You have?”

  Holding her gaze, he nodded. “If we can be of any service to you…” He moved in so his lips were a scant inch away from hers.

  She trembled, lust pounding through her system. She had things to do but… if they wanted more…

  They couldn’t want to have sex with her. Could they?

  Brock pressed closer so his big body sheltered against her side, her hip brushing his groin.

  One thought of that massive erection snaking down the leg of his jeans had her on an even steeper cliff of desire.

  “You know we like to share our women.” Jared’s whisper washed across her lips.

  Stunned shock had her speechless.

  Brock tugged off her hat. Her hair, quickly bobby-pinned up, tumbled halfway down. He threaded his long, callused fingers into the mass and shook the pins loose so all of her hair tumbled around her shoulders.

  “Jesus, look at all this beautiful hair. A shame you have to hide it all day.” Jared caught a lock and drew it to his nose, inhaling deeply.

  She quaked between them. “What…” Her mouth was too dried out to speak. “What is happening, guys?”

  “You know what’s happening, sweetheart,” Jared said.

  “We’re seducing you,” Brock added.

  “But. Anybody could walk in. Hugh, Riggs. We’d all be fired.” Her protests died on her tongue as Jared snaked out his own tongue over the corner of her lips.

  “We locked the door, don’t worry. This ain’t our first rodeo.” Brock’s deep voice vibrated through her as he lowered his lips to her throat. Tasting right under her ear.

  Jared took the opportunity to kiss just under her lip. Then the other corner, working his way up over her cheek until she wanted to beg for him to just kiss her properly. Her insides were a quivering mess of need and her panties already drenched. She’d probably pass out if they all went through with this. If they took her.

  They’d back off, she was sure of it. This was only a test of some kind, more teasing to get her to blush.

  But they didn’t seem to be stopping.

  Brock created small looping circles down her neck to the juncture of her shoulder, where he left a nipping bite. She sucked in harshly, and at that moment, Jared dropped a gentle kiss between her eyes.

  “So beautiful.” A kiss landed on each closed eyelid. “We’ve wanted you a long time.”

  “You… have?”

  “Oh yeah. You think you can hide from us in your loose uniform.” Brock skimmed his hands over her waist, finding the dip and then roving down to cup her ass. “Just what we thought, Jared. Curves for miles.”

  The fact they were talking to each other about her as if she wasn’t even standing between them had her heart racing and her insides turning to liquid want.

  “I’ve gotta feel for myself.” When Jared touched her, she jumped.

  Having two hands on her belonging to different men? Pure fantasy and nothing she ever could have expected.

  He leaned closer, giving her a chance to adjust to his nearness, to the stroke of his fingers across her ribs.

  All at once they closed in. Brock latched onto her neck while Jared tipped her head up and claimed her lips. The sensual caress had her shaking, and Brock anchored her to his big, hard body, which didn’t help her shakes, because it allowed her to feel every inch of that massive hard-on in his jeans.

  For being such a rugged man, Jared’s lips were shockingly soft. He probed the seam of her mouth with the tip of his tongue, and she opened on a gasp. He hauled her against him, wrapped an arm around Brock as well, and kissed her like he’d been thinking of it… well, as much as she had.

  As she drank in the flavors of the man she’d wanted since the first time she’d laid eyes on him, Brock circled her earlobe with his hot, wet tongue. A moan escaped her, and Jared pulled back, that boyish grin of his turning cocky.

  Before she understood what was happening, Brock turned her into his arms and slammed his mouth over hers. A cry broke from her throat as he sank his tongue deep, claiming her for himself while Jared took over on her neck. When Jared cupped her breasts from behind at the same moment Brock grabbed her ass, her knees did buckle.

  But her big cowboys supported her as they kissed and groped her into insanity. Her body was on fire and if she let this continue, it would be just the beginning. They hadn’t even shed any clothes yet.

  “Wanted you so long,” Jared whispered along her jaw as he moved around her. Suddenly, his tongue snaked out over her lips—over Brock’s.

  The pair pulled back and kissed right there in front of her, like two men who were dying to get at each other. The crush of their lips was bruising and forceful, holding nothing back.

  And LeeLee could see for herself just how powerful their attraction was for each other. If not more.

  She must have made some noise, because they broke apart. “Poor baby. We’re neglecting you.”

  “I wouldn’t exactly call it neglecting,” she managed to say.

  Brock grinned as he dragged her in. When he kissed her, she jolted with a fiery need. But when Jared’s tongue added to the mix, she reached up and clung to both of their necks.

  Her body had a mind of its own, moving in a slow glide against theirs. “Guys,” she breathed, “maybe we should move it to the office.”

  They broke away and exchanged a look. “Oh yeah. Desk,” Jared said.

  “Four walls and a floor.” Brock’s lips tilted in a broad grin.

  Then they bundled her back through the door of her small office where she performed normal, everyday accounting work and list making, budgeting and orders and looked up recipes.

  Today she was definitely moving outside her
norm.

  Brock went to lean against the desk and Jared bore her back into his lover’s arms. When he flattened himself to them both, creating a LeeLee sandwich, she thought there never was such a menu item till now.

  Her mind still whirled with confusion. Was this really happening?

  It was. And she wanted it.

  What did she have to lose?

  Lifting her hands, she touched Jared. Running her fingers over his sculpted chest to broad shoulders and up to pull him down for a kiss.

  “Now she’s getting into it.” Brock’s drawl was in her ear but he cupped her breasts. A cry left her, and her panties flooded again as he located the centers of her breasts, plucking her nipples into harder peaks.

  “We’re going to have our way with you, but if you want us to stop at all, just say the word,” Brock whispered.

  “Don’t stop,” she made out.

  Jared’s chest rumbled against hers with a chuckle. He bit into her lower lip gently, tugging. As he drew back, he took her by the hips and pressed her down—onto Brock’s lap.

  His hard cock dug into her ass, igniting thoughts of them having her simultaneously. She’d heard things other women who worked on the ranch said, and she knew such things went on in the world. But she’d never expected a chance to live it herself.

  Her insides quivered at the thought of feeling one of these big men inside her let alone two.

  All at once, she wanted everything she could get—each and every sigh and cry. If she had one night only with these beautiful, rough men, she was going to take full advantage.

  * * * * *

  Jared’s dick couldn’t get much harder. The silky feel of LeeLee’s skin slipping beneath the white cotton she wore had his balls straining.

  When Brock jerked his hips, bumping his cock into her backside, Jared burned to rip off all their clothes and get to the pleasure part faster.

  No, he had to go slow. For LeeLee, for all of them. He wasn’t blind to what Brock had brought up earlier in the barn—something was going on between the three of them, a feeling deep in his blood that was the same sensation he had for Brock himself.