Unbroken: Country Fever, Book 3 (33 page)

Tucker’s heart caved in a little more for this woman. How had he ever left her? Never again.

She threw herself into his arms and Christian wrapped them both in his embrace. They stood this way for several heartbeats before Leon joined them.

He poked his finger in Tucker’s face. “You.” His voice trembled. “If you woulda signed long ago…”

Claire stepped out of Tucker’s hold. “See, there’s a problem with your statement.”

Christian glanced between them, fists clenched. Tucker tensed.

Leon waved Claire away. “No one wants to hear advice from a waitress.”

“You should. Especially when that
waitress
,” she growled, stepping right into Leon’s space, “is a good listener. People like to talk to her. And she hears things.”

Tucker’s heart thudded hard. What did she know?

She plowed on. “This
waitress
heard that a certain set of survey maps was altered.”

Leon’s face paled.

“And the land Bradley Coal is mining actually is zoned by the state—preserved in wait for a special dig.” She arched a perfect dark brow.

At that moment, Tucker could grab her, bend her over his arm and kiss the pink out of her cheeks.

“You’re talking crazy. Just like all those people in town always said you and Letty here are,” Leon said.

At that, Letty tapped him in the temple with her rifle butt. Hard.

Leon roared in pain.

Christian, his face wreathed with mirth, disarmed Letty before she could get herself in trouble.

Claire went on. “So if you don’t back off with your request for Tucker to grant you that access by signing an illegal contract, I’m sure the state would like to know about your activities. It’s only a matter of time, anyway, before they discover that the ground they’ve ordered a no-mining zone has been dug up.” She dropped her gaze and stared at her fingernail as if disinterested. “Wonder what was in that ground? Ancient Indian cemetery? Dinosaur remains?”

Leon took a step back, slow and uneasy. “You don’t know anything.”

“Doesn’t she? By the look on your face, I’d say she’s spot on.”

“I talked to an executive at Bradley Coal who knows what’s going on.” She glanced back up at Leon. “So you ready to burn those contracts?”

“This isn’t over. Whoever shot my son can expect my attorney to be in touch.”

At that, Letty stepped forward. “Tell him to put away his daddy’s guns and keep his skinny ass off our property or he can expect a hole in his other leg.”

Tucker’s heart warmed as he realized what she’d said.
Our property
. That’s exactly what he wanted—for her and Claire and Christian to feel at home here with him.

He wrapped an arm around Claire’s waist and tugged her against his side. She stood tall, but he felt the underlying tension in her form. Christian flanked her other side, and they watched as Leon tucked his forked tail and headed back to his offspring, who was being loaded into the back of the ambulance.

It wasn’t until the four of them were alone that Tucker released the whoop of joy and exhilaration he’d been stifling.

Christian planted a kiss on the top of Letty’s head then delivered a bruising kiss to Tucker’s lips. They both turned to Claire. Her pretty face was alive with happiness.

“I aim to put that look on your face every day of my life, baby,” he rumbled before claiming her lips.

Epilogue

With hands clapped over Christian’s eyes, Claire guided him forward into the kitchen. The smells of Letty’s special birthday dinner for him tickled her senses. It probably wouldn’t be a mystery to him what she’d spent hours preparing for him, seeing how he was such a connoisseur.

He allowed Claire to guide him to a chair, where Tucker pressed him down.

“Okay, open your eyes.” She removed her hands and slipped around the table to catch his expression.

Before him, Letty had placed a platter of the best hot dogs, toasted buns and a big bowl of homemade chili. Small bowls of cheese, condiments and onions dotted the rest of the surface.

“Surprise,” Letty exclaimed, grinning.

Christian let out a whoop. “No squirrel ankle stew or waffles with chicken gravy?”

“Nope,” Letty said, popping her P.

Christian stood and reached across the table to envelop the tiny woman in his embrace. Claire’s heart filled with affection for him and for Tucker, who hugged her after Christian released her.

The scents of the chili dogs made Claire’s stomach cramp. They all settled down to the meal with a side of potato chips and some icy beers. When they were finished, she cleared the table and Tucker presented a small stack of presents.

Christian’s eyes glittered as he looked between them. “You didn’t need to get me anything.”

“Hush,” Letty said. “Open mine first.” She nudged a package that was wrapped in plain brown paper and twine.

With a grin, he grabbed it up, shook it and plied it until Letty smacked him on the arm. “Just open it.”

He peeled off the paper with enough ceremony to woo Letty. When the square object fell into his hand, he stared at the cover.

“A Guide to Horses for the Smart Cowboy,” he read the title of the book aloud.

“Guess that means you’re a smart cowboy,” Tucker said.

Christian looked so pleased, Claire couldn’t help but swoop in and lip-smack his beard-roughened cheek. Weeks had passed since the mess with Leon and Dale, and they’d all settled in to ranch life. Claire had quit the diner, but she and Letty had planned a new venture. After the fair, two restaurants in the area had requested Letty’s special sauce be featured as part of their menus. And she and Letty had agreed to provide it.

Tucker and Christian had been hard at work on the ranch, repairing broken fences. And a huge pile of timber was settled outside near the place they’d raise a new barn on the old fieldstone foundation, with the help of several area ranchers.

“Thank you, Letty.” Christian’s eyes shone with affection. Letty patted his hand.

“Mine now.” Claire passed the present into his hands. It was wrapped in green foil paper and no bow. She hoped what was inside was manly enough to match the exterior.

He reached up and cupped her face with one broad palm. “Sweetheart, you’re gift enough.”

She wrinkled her nose in a way that made him chuckle. “Open it.” She hummed with nervousness.

When he unwrapped the present to reveal the navy blue velvet box within, she held her breath. Everyone was silent as he popped open the box. Inside laid a band of black leather. She’d spent hours hand-tooling it with a rugged design and fitting it with a silver buckle-type clasp.

“Whoa,” he breathed. He pulled it out and unclasped the silver. Then he wrapped the band around his wrist and stared at it. “Did you make this?”

“She did,” Tucker said with pride tingeing his deep voice.

Christian tipped his head back to look at Claire, who still hovered over his shoulder. “Sweetness, you’re the
best
. Thank you so much.” He drew her down for a lingering kiss. The barest touch of his lips sent tendrils of heat straight to her core. Between him and Tucker, she was always burning. But they wouldn’t have it any other way.

“Now, now,” Letty scolded when their kiss extended past the time she thought proper.

Tucker gave Christian the final gift. Inside a plain white box was a gold belt buckle, as gawdy and Wyoming rancher as Claire had ever seen. Christian burst into laughter and stripped off his old belt buckle then and there to replace it with the new.

Suddenly, the phone rang. Tucker snagged it, as he was closest.

“Oh, hey, Jake.”

Claire froze. Letty’s eyes grew round. He’d called but Claire had never returned it.

Tucker flicked his gaze to Christian, then Claire. “Yeah, she’s here. I’ll let you talk to her, of course. I would never come between you and your daughter. But first there’s something Christian and I want to ask you.”

She groaned and buried her face in her hands. What now? The last thing she wanted was a phone battle on Christian’s birthday.

“That’s right,” Tucker continued. “You see, Chris and I have been talkin’. Claire’s a perfect woman, as you well know.”

Her head snapped up.

“A wonderful listener, smart, good cook and the nicest gal we’ll ever find. Seems she also has two hands.” There was a pause. Then, “We both want one of them. Not in marriage but in acknowledgment that we both love her and intend to spend the rest of our lives with her.”

There was a long silence while Tucker listened. Claire scoured her lover’s face for a hint as to what was being said. Finally, a grin spread across Tucker’s face so broad that the sun might have dropped from the sky and hit the ground in front of her.

Christian gave a whoop and shoved back his chair. He grabbed Claire and spun her around. Tucker said a hasty thanks and goodbye then shoved the phone at Letty. “Here, you talk.”

Tucker grabbed both Christian and Claire and towed them down the hall to the master bedroom. He kicked the door shut behind them even as Christian placed his rough hands over her eyes.

Excitement trilled in her belly. “What is this?”

Big male bodies prodded her from all angles, until she found herself pressed into the mattress. Someone grabbed her wrist, stretched her arm overhead, and a cool, slippery fabric was fastened around her flesh.

She hissed. The other wrist was secured the same way. The hands vanished from her eyes and she looked up to see herself bound by two red silk sashes.

“New ropes.”

“It’s not my birthday,” she protested, pussy pulsating with anticipation.

Christian gave a crooked grin that melted her to the tips of her toes, just as it had the moment he found her in the parking lot, beating the hell out of Tucker’s truck. She couldn’t exactly say she’d loved Christian at first sight, but it was damn close.

She struggled against her bonds.

“Oh, it’s your birthday. Today and every day, we will give you these presents.” Tucker ducked his head and skimmed a path up her throat to the corner of her mouth. She twisted into the kiss even as Christian began to slowly, methodically strip her.

“And this gift.” Christian bared her midsection and spent a mind-blowing minute working a trail from her navel to the lace of her panties.

She squirmed and tried to scissor him between her legs, but he resisted. When Tucker came close, she sank her teeth into his earlobe in an attempt to hold him close to her as well.

Then they each tore off their clothes and stood naked and sexy as hell before her. And she knew it would always be this way for her—accepting everything they dished out from sensual torture to backtalk about breakfast. Her world was filled with warmth and joy.

“You’re not going anywhere until you’ve come at least six times,” Tucker growled against her nipple.

She arched into the sensation.

“She’s not going anywhere ever,” Christian drawled.

“No one is running.” She gasped when Christian closed his lips over the hard pearl between her legs.

He bathed her slit from bottom to top then back down. “Nope, you can’t. Not tied up as you are.”

“I can…” she panted, “hide these scarves.”

Tucker lifted his head and grinned. “We’ve got a rainbow of silken ropes for you, baby. Don’t fight it.”

“Never,” she whispered, and lost herself on the slippery slope to ecstasy—just where she wanted to be.

About the Author

Em Petrova lives in backwoods Pennsylvania, where she raises four kids and a Labradoodle puppy named Daisy Hasselhoff and pays too damn much for utilities. She loves to write gritty characters with lots of heart and is well-known for scorching, panty-soaking erotic romance.

You can find her at
www.empetrova.com
or holding parties here on Facebook:
www.facebook.com/em.petrova
.

Look for these titles by Em Petrova

Now Available:

Country Fever

Hard Ridin’

Lip Lock

Coming Soon:

Somethin’ Dirty

Think there’s nothing spicy beneath her vanilla shell? Brace yourself…

Lip Lock

© 2013 Em Petrova

Country Fever, Book 2

From the moment he spots the blonde bombshell in the small-town Reedy, Wyoming, grocery store, Brant Foxfire can’t help but check her out—all the way to the checkout line.

He always hoped he’d see her again, but never thought it’d be this way—with her young son in his orthodontist chair for a consultation. It’s not the boy’s overbite that captures his attention. It’s the single mom’s mouth. Her luscious lips…and that one charmingly off-kilter tooth.

Hayley Graff knows firsthand that lust doesn’t equal a long-term relationship, but Brant awakens her body’s needs in a way she can’t ignore. She’d love nothing more than to “open wide” for the sexy orthodontist, as long as he never learns the embarrassing truth.