Mastered by Mavericks (Doms of Destiny, Colorado 3)

Jason turned to Reed. “You’ve already met Reed Coleman.”

“The pleasure is all mine, miss,” Reed said, bending at the waist in a silly bow.

“I’m sure that’s true, Coleman.” The corners of Nicole’s lips curved up slightly for a moment and then back down into a frown. Reed’s devilish charm seemed to have worked on her if only for a split second.

God, he would love to see a full smile on her gorgeous face.

“And the guy by the ladder is…?” Nicole’s brown eyes zeroed in on him, her long lashes fluttering.

“I’m Reed’s brother, miss. Sawyer Coleman.” He stepped forward, closing the distance between them, and put his hand out for her to take.

She smiled and took his hand in her tiny fingers. The connection felt electric, sending a hot current through his body and eventually settling in his cock.

“Nice to meet you, Sawyer Coleman. I’m sure you have your hands full with this one.” She tilted her head toward Reed.

“More like the other way around,” Reed said.

Nicole laughed. “I’m a police officer, Coleman. I know when someone is lying to me, so don’t even try it.”

His brother’s eyes narrowed. Nicole was getting to the man-whore like no woman had ever before. It was fun to watch. But she was also getting to him. Though their handshake had ended, he kept his fingers wrapped around hers, unwilling to let go of her for even a second.

“Don’t be too hard on my brother, officer,” he said. “He’s not used to being around women like you.”

“Like me?” she asked, pulling her hand free but keeping her gaze locked on him. “What does that mean?”

Sawyer immediately missed touching her fingers. “You’re not blown away by his overused lines and floppy blond hair.”

“Don’t forget his big blue eyes. I bet the girls swoon over them.” The amused grin on her full lips made his blood turn hot in his veins. “I like blue but I also like green, like yours.”

Damn. He could already tell this girl was going to rock his world. “Nice to know, Nicole.”

She blinked and her cheeks turned a gorgeous shade of red.

Sawyer’s heart thudded in his chest like a jackhammer. She might have the body type he was always drawn to, but her manner, edgy and defensive, was calling to him, too, which was new. Why? What was it about this woman that had him reacting like a teenage boy and not a twenty-nine-year-old cowboy?

* * * *

Reed couldn’t seem to keep his eyes off of the sexy Chicago police officer. He didn’t understand his reaction to Nicole’s arrival. Life had a certain flow that fit him quite well. Women were easy for him to read. He liked it that way. Liked it very much. He knew just how to flirt, to tease, to touch, to get what he wanted. And he always got what he wanted. Why was he having such a hard time getting into Nicole’s head, and why was she so inside his? Getting into a woman’s pants was as simple as ABC, but apparently she wasn’t falling for that. He thought with Nicole, he might have to go past ABC and all the way through the alphabet and back again, if that would even work. He wasn’t sure. She might be a puzzle to him now, but he was determined to do whatever it took to solve this gorgeous mystery.

“Sawyer, you’re as much of a player as your brother, aren’t you?” Nicole’s brashness floored him.

Damn it, what the hell is wrong with me? He’d never felt so unsettled about a woman in his life. He wanted her, wanted her more than anything. That was a problem, and he knew it. No matter how exciting and alluring she was, he needed to keep his head straight and his heart in check. That is how I roll. That was how he got through everything.

Sawyer sighed. “No one is as much a player as Reed.”

She laughed, and everything inside him exploded with want.

More than desire or conquest, he could feel a new emotion growing inside him—the need to possess, to protect, to pleasure.

Nicole moved closer to him, and his temperature rose in his veins. “You two are trouble. I knew that the moment I walked in here.”

God, he couldn’t let himself imagine having the life his parents had. Their two dads were brothers, just like him and Sawyer. They’d found their mom on a trip to a livestock auction in Texas. A whirlwind romance later, and they were married and back in Destiny. Growing up in his parents’ home had been so wonderful. They didn’t have big bank accounts, but they had something worth so much more—love, real and enduring. At least until the plane crash.

The only way to get her out of my head is to get her into bed.

He grabbed her hands and held them up against his chest. “You have no idea what kind of trouble I can be, Chicago.”

Chapter Three