Espino, Stacey - Hogtying the Cowgirl [Ride 'em Hard 3] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) (17 page)

* * * *

Landon was in the supply room when he heard his name called. “Your mom,” yelled one of the crew. He’d only been gone a few days and already she must be missing him. Even at his age, he’d never been away from home. There didn’t seem a point when he had no woman of his own, and money was tight for everyone. The truth was he’d give anything to be back on the prairies working the land, caring for livestock, and seeing his family and friends on a daily basis—and Angel.

She consumed his thoughts, even at work when he needed to keep his wits. But it wasn’t meant to be for them. Clay could provide for her, give her the life she deserved. Landon would only be a disappointment and embarrassment.

He reached the main office. The news he received shattered the barely formed barrier over his heart. Angel was thrown from that fucking stallion. He’d always warned her not to mess with untamed horses, but she never listened. Why had he just left without saying a word, a good-bye? She didn’t even have a way to contact him, which was why his mother had to call him to tell him the news. He had an epiphany as he stood there in the sterile office with the phone receiver still in his hand long after his conversation was finished. He’d been selfish. Selfish and prideful, both qualities he was raised to avoid. It was time for him to be a man and do what was right. He’d take Clay’s offer and work for him. If it meant living with Angel in the town he grew up in, then so be it.

* * * *

Angel was prodded back to consciousness when all she wanted to do was have a good night’s sleep. Her body was exhausted physically and mentally. When she cracked open her eyes, she saw the familiar face of her momma, and peace instantly settled through her. “Good Lord, Angel. You gave me quite the scare.” She stroked her hair and kissed her forehead. “Matthew Garner, you get yourself on the phone this instant and tell Doctor Hunt to get himself down here immediately. This child has a broken wrist that needs tending. Grant, put some water to boil and fetch me some bay leaves.”

Angel knew she was in good hands with her mother. Town folk often came to her for mending, uncomfortable with the hospital scene. She’d always said there wasn’t much you could do at a doctor’s office that you couldn’t take care of at home.

She saw Clay standing in the distance, watching her. Angel reached out her good hand, beckoning him closer. “Clay…”

He sat down on the wooden coffee table near the sofa and leaned over his knees, accessing her. “How you feeling?”

“Like I was run over by a stampeding herd.” She chuckled but stopped herself when her ribs hurt.

“Ah, ah. None of that now. You need rest and plenty of it.” Her mother turned her attention to Clay. “How on earth you let a young girl ride that crazed animal, I’ll never know.”

“Actually, it’s hers. And I had no say in the matter. Angel tends to do as she pleases.”

“How’d you afford a purebred like that, Angel? Did you use all the money Chase gave you already? You were supposed to be saving that for your future, not some no-good horse.”

Angel wanted to come clean. Her mind needed mending just as her body did, and the only cure was coming clean to her family about Clay. “Clay gave him to me. No charge.”

Her mother scowled, and she could practically hear her thoughts.

“What she have to do for that?” asked Matthew, arms crossed over his chest as he returned to the room.

“Shut up, Matt. He gave it to me because—” How could she phrase this? “I love him. And he loves me.”

“Since when?” Matthew didn’t appear convinced. She had hid everything from them fairly well, and the relationship was a budding one. Her brothers probably never expected this day to happen. She was a tomboy, forever slamming any advances from men. The shift in her focus surprised even her.

She attempted to sit up a bit, but all her muscles were sore from the shock. Her mother was quick to press her back down on the cushions.

Clay manned up, speaking for her when she was at a loss for words. “We meant to tell you, but just not yet, not until we made more concrete plans. I realize Angel’s younger than me, but I promise I’ll do everything in my power to make her happy and provide for her.” He looked so handsome in his vulnerable state, so uncharacteristic for him, his broad shoulders hunched over as he leaned over his knees. Her mother had a way of inspiring fear into even the roughest, toughest cowboys. But with a husband and three sons, she had to be hard hitting.

Angel didn’t care about age or status or even following the norm. Love was love and that’s all that mattered to her. Her heart still ached for Landon. She was sure he cared about her. If he’d taken off because he didn’t have land and a business like Clay, she’d throttle him. He should know she wasn’t impressed by silver buckles and shiny new Fords.

Her brothers moaned and complained to each other, grumbling about their baby sister and her foolish choices. She ignored them until her mother finally kicked them out of the house, along with Clay, so she could tend Angel’s wounds with her homemade herbal remedy for swelling and bruising.

“They’re gone now. I expect you to speak the truth, young lady. Do you love him?”

“I do,” she said. It had been less than two weeks, but she just knew. It was a gut feeling, a sense of completion, when she had Landon and Clay together. Clay made her feel special, whole. He understood her past and cared about her future. What more could she ask for? Even the sex was hotter than hot.

Her mother covered her back up when she’d finished treating her. All she needed now was a cast for her broken wrist. She had it propped up on a pillow and dare not move it a millimeter due to the pain. “Angel Garner. We’ve babied you long enough. Some days I forget you’re about to turn twenty-three. I’ll forever see you as a ten-year-old trying to keep up with your brothers. I want you to be happy. If you think this man can give you everything you deserve out of life, then don’t let him go.” Then she added, “But if he ever touches you in anger or raises his voice in a threatening manner…Well, you best not forget your brothers are just a phone call away.”

Chapter Seventeen

Five days after the accident, and Angel was resting on the same sofa. It was twilight, the living room flooded with warm reds and oranges. She’d gone home for a couple days but returned to the Roberts ranch as soon as she felt well enough. The only lasting damage was her fractured wrist, which was secured in a small, white plaster cast. Clay had just helped her shower, washing her hair, lathering her body. She could see the lust in his eyes and the bulge at his crotch, but he never crossed the line from caregiver to sexual aggressor. Angel was starting to wonder how long he planned to wait. Her pussy was feeling the burn, getting needier and needier by the day.

Clay was lounging back in his chair by the fire, his feet up on the coffee table, wearing just his jeans. It should be outlawed for him to go shirtless if he had no intentions of pleasing her. He was too damn good to look at. Now that her injuries were healing, her main focus was her ever-rising libido.

There was a loud knock at the door. Clay brought his legs down and frowned. “Who’d be paying a visit at his hour?” He went to open the door. From her spot on the sofa she was able to see the visitor. It was Landon. Her heart skipped a beat, but she forced herself to stay neutral. He’d only disappoint her again. After all this time he just showed up? She could have been dead from her fall for all he knew.

“Well, well, well. If it isn’t the elusive Landon Wilder. I don’t know if I should let you in or knock your lights out for breaking Angel’s heart.” Clay had his arms crossed, blocking the doorway with his body.

“Let me see her, will ya? I’ve been driving all day to get here.”

Clay stepped aside and then closed the door when Landon entered. He rushed over to Angel and dropped to his knees by the head of the sofa. “Why you here, Landon?”

“I swear to God I came as fast as I can. They wouldn’t let me leave the job site until I finished by week. I tried. Damn it, I tried.” He lowered his head. “All I’ve been thinking about is you, Angel. You consume my thoughts. I was a fool to run off like I did.”

“I thought maybe you had a change of heart.”

“Are you kidding? You’re my girl. Finding out you got hurt was a wake-up call for me. I won’t make the same mistake again if you take me back.” He pulled her good hand to his mouth and kissed her knuckles. “Please, baby.”

Landon looked tired, defeated. His shaggy blond hair was more unkempt than usual, more than a day’s worth of stubble on his face, and the blue ocean in his eyes washed out. Had he let himself go due to her? Was this really all a horrible misunderstanding between lovers? There was no doubt in her mind that she wanted him back. She’d been secretly pining for him but wouldn’t show it in front of Clay. But she sure as heck wouldn’t make it easy for him.

“Why should I bare my heart to you just to have it trampled on again? If you can’t make peace with Clay, it’ll be a vicious cycle that replays itself.” She turned to Clay. “I hope the two of you can find a way to make things work with the business, because I won’t live like cats and dogs.”

Clay winked at her. “Don’t you worry yourself about anything but getting better. We’ll talk about this like men and get it all cleared away.”

Landon smelled like the fresh outdoors, his plaid jacket was still cool, not yet warmed by the fire. Having both her men in the same room made her needs bubble to the surface. She’d already been battling her desperation for Clay to give in and fuck her, but now that Landon had arrived, she needed some relief.

“If you both care about me so much, you should consider
my
needs.”

“What needs, baby-doll. Name it and it’s yours,” said Clay.

She bit her lower lip, letting it slowly slide out of her bite. “My body’s all hot and tingly. You can’t expect me to have two gorgeous cowboys in the room and not get aroused.”

Landon smirked. “You think I’m gorgeous?”

She swatted him. He’d always be her best friend, but now she’d have the best of both worlds. “Clay’s been torturing me, walking around half naked, doing push-ups by the fire while all I can do is watch.”

Clay found amusement in her words now, too. He sat on the coffee table close to the sofa. “I was afraid to hurt you. That wasn’t a little fall.” He leaned forward and ran the pad of this thumb over her moist lips. “Tell me what you want.” Angel closed her eyes and savored his touch.

“I want you both to make love to me, to stop treating me like an invalid.”

“You’ve got a broken wrist,” said Landon. “We could hurt you.”

She would
not
lose this battle. Their reluctance to hop in the sack with her only made her pussy pulse stronger. Big, strong cowboys with raging libidos refusing her because they loved her more than satisfying their urges? It was unheard of. But she wanted them all the more because of it. “Don’t you dare refuse me, Landon. You’ve been gone for over a week without a word.”

“I suppose it wouldn’t hurt if I ate your pussy. You could just lay still with your legs open.”

Her folds were soaked, her skin crawling with need. “Yes,” she managed to say. It was a start, and she knew they wouldn’t deny her once things began heating up.

“I just washed her myself,” said Clay. “Her little pussy is sparkling clean.”

“No matter, I’d eat her anyways.” Landon got to his feet and shrugged off his padded jacket and then pulled the quilt off her body. She was only wearing her panties and one of Clay’s old T-shirts. “Good Lord, look at the size of that bruise!”

Her hip and upper leg were nearly black, but it honestly looked worse than it felt. She’d taken the brunt of the fall on her side, but it was her wrist that broke. “I’m fine.” Angel parted her legs to pull his attention to her swollen cunt. Her panties were nearly soaked through from arousal.

Landon carefully slipped her panties down her legs and pushed her T-shirt up past her breasts. He growled as his eyes roamed over her nudity. She turned to look at Clay. He was already unbuckling his belt, watching intently.

“What happens if her blood pressure rises too high?” asked Landon as he caressed her inner thighs.

Clay shrugged. “Guess we’ll find out.”

“It’s a mild fracture in my wrist. It has nothing to do with my pussy.” She reached between her legs and touched her clit. Just the contact made her gasp. What would Landon’s warm tongue feel like? She was afire with anticipation.

“Give her a lick and see what happens.” Clay massaged behind his neck, all those toned muscles moving and shifting deliciously.

Landon didn’t disagree. He spread her thighs tenderly and lowered his blond head between her legs. He did just as Clay suggested—one long, firm swipe of his flattened touch up the length of her folds. “How’s that?” he asked.