Prologue
“Lord, have mercy!” Brianna forced her chest forward and arched in Handsome’s muscular arms.
“That’s it, pretty woman. Get wild with me.” He buried his lips in her cleavage and nuzzled her breasts as his repetitive stroking gained momentum.
Thrust for thrust, she matched him, lost in the impeccable feeling of a hard screw, a real nice fuck. Handsome’s rigid cock was large enough to shatter a good girl’s dreams, but no one had ever mistakenly called Brianna out as a good girl. When she’d spotted Handsome in that mountainside bar, she’d known precisely what her flirting would earn her. So far, Handsome hadn’t disappointed.
Stroke. After stroke. After stroke. He delivered sweet-pounding excitement, the kind that would serve as a good reminder day after tomorrow.
Brianna brushed her clit against his groin, beckoning him to move closer, fuck deeper. Her breath caught as she felt him stiffen inside her. She leaned way back, loving the wicked and throaty laugh escaping his lips.
“Good God, woman, you’re a wildcat.” He grabbed hold of her hips, jerked her forward, and thrust inside her walls, shoving his cock still higher.
“You ain’t seen nothing yet, cowboy,” she drawled, playing the game. She didn’t want to win, of course, but it was nice to think she might be a contender if she happened to decide she wanted to keep the prize.
In a matter of minutes, Brianna and Handsome were grinding out that old familiar rhythm. He flipped her over, staying locked inside her pussy as their positions changed.
Back on bottom, Brianna locked her legs around Handsome’s waist and enjoyed the hell out of him. No one could accuse this cowboy of being lame in bed. He had all the right moves and the good looks to carry him through each and every one. Tall, dark, and definitely wearing his name well, Handsome was cut like a well-trained man-stud with shapely pecs and abs, a great ass, and a pretty face to boot.
Brianna couldn’t believe her good fortune. That is, until Handsome took on a much different persona. His dark, hooded eyes became as heavy as hovering clouds. Even worse, they were as cold and murky as a dirty pond in the middle of winter and every bit as ugly. As his body jerked with his release, he locked his hands around her neck until she couldn’t breathe, let alone scream!
Chapter One
“I ought to drag her ass out of that hospital bed and tan her hide.”
“Tough talk now, Jax Jackson, but where were you six months ago when she knocked on your door there at Circle J Farms and told every damn one of you what was on her mind?” Drina, one of Brianna’s older sisters, nearly glared a hole through him.
“You looking for somebody to blame, Drina?” Jax snapped back. “From what I understand, you left Brianna’s ass on that mountain. If you want to place fault at someone’s door, just set it right down on your front stoop when you go home later today. Regardless of where you place blame, there on your porch is where it belongs.”
“That’s enough.” Tyler stepped between them. “Take it out in the hall.”
“He’s right,” Flint snapped over his shoulder. Flint hadn’t left Brianna’s bedside since she’d been transferred from ER to ICU. “Go on now.” He tilted his head at the door. “I don’t want to listen to this shit and arguing won’t help Brianna.”
Jax and Drina walked outside. Tyler followed them.
The early spring air was like a cold drink of water after a day’s work in the high heat—fresh, welcomed, and desperately needed. They’d had a hell of a winter and with cattle in five counties, Jax and his brothers had worked themselves to death in subzero temperatures.
Walking to a nearby bench, Jax took a seat and a minute to reflect on the last twelve hours. Flint’s buddies worked for the local rescue squad. Thanks to them, Jax and his brothers had been notified about Brianna before her sisters had apparently realized she hadn’t come home.
According to Flint’s friends, a hotel front desk clerk reported an accident and they were first on the scene, beating the local PD to the motel. According to information passed down the pipeline, the motel room where they’d found her had been a horrifying sight. Toppled mattresses and furniture suggested the guy had a temper. Blood on the sheets suggested she was lucky to be alive.
On a positive note, Brianna had given the dude one hell of a fight. Jax was proud of her, but pride didn’t still the angry beast raging inside him.
“The two of you ought to be ashamed of yourselves,” Tyler said, yanking Jax away from his thoughts. “Pointing fingers won’t help Brianna.”
“There’s only one thing that will help, Brianna.”
“And what’s that, Jax?” Drina asked, placing her hand on her hip. “You gonna track down the man who did this and demand answers?”
“I don’t give a damn about his answers, but understand one thing if nothing else, I will find him. And when I do, I’ll make him hurt.”
“Jax!” Tyler snapped, glancing over his shoulder and looking around as if he were afraid someone might overhear them.
That slow-burning fury had resurfaced again. He’d been fighting his anger since he’d arrived at the hospital but the more he thought about the man responsible for hurting Brianna, the more he wanted revenge.
“Keeping me quiet won’t change facts. I want this fella’s blood on my hands,” Jax said bleakly. “And when the time’s right, that’s where it’ll be.”
“We take care of our own,” Drina said. “We’ll handle this our way.”
“And what are you going to do. Huh, Drina? Gonna call your daddy and tell him your problems, maybe ask him to show his face and handle this mobster style?” Jax snorted at that. “If Daddy hasn’t been here for the big moments in life, there’s a good chance he won’t show for the low ones.”
Drina started to speak, but turned her head. Tears welled in her eyes, and for a split second, Jax thought about apologizing. He quickly changed his mind when he remembered why they were there. Drina had left Gemma and Brianna in a club known for drug trafficking thugs, whoring women, and disillusioned men. The latter was typically credited to drugs.
“Tell us what happened,” Tyler said.
She dabbed the corners of her eyes and sniffed. “I don’t know. When I left, Gemma and Brianna were talking to this big dude.”
“What’d he look like?” Tyler asked.
“He was about Jax’s build, had eyes as dark as coffee, and a weird laugh. I remember that about him.”
“What do you mean by you ‘remember’ that? Were you drunk?”
“Yes, Jax, I had a little too much to drink.”
“And you drove off that mountain intoxicated?” Jax grunted. “You and Coco have done a fine job of setting good examples for your sisters.”
“Don’t you judge me, Jax Jackson. My sister has been half in love with you, with all of you, since she was sixteen and what have you done? You’ve looked the other way, pretended not to notice. That’s what you’ve done. Maybe if you’d paid her a little attention, she wouldn’t have gone looking for it somewhere else.”
“Well, how about that. You and I finally agree on something, Drina.” Jax stood. “And for the record, I wasn’t pretending anything. I was waiting on her to grow up. If she can survive what happened in that roadside motel, I’m pretty sure she’s old enough now to handle the likes of me.”
Chapter Two
Ansley Cartwell sat on her usual morning perch. She’d just kicked up her feet and planted them on the neighboring barstool when her phone rang.