Branding the Virgin (Cowboys & Virgins 1)

just to hold her and feel her sleeping in my arms. My heart gives a little whimper, and I make myself stop looking at her.

After closing the door, I creep silently back to my own room and get ready for bed. Once I’m stripped down to my underwear, I lie in bed and think about her. Reaching between my legs, I feel my cock stir a little, and I can’t help but smile. It’s not all the way there like it was when I touched her, but this is something.

When I close my eyes and roll onto my side, I envision her next to me in bed. And when I dream, it’s of a dark-haired beauty who smiles like an angel.

5

Mary-Jane

I turn to the side, looking in the mirror to make sure my little baby bump isn’t showing. The peach-colored sundress flares out at the hips, giving me the extra coverage I need. I don’t know how much longer I’ll be able to hide it. I’m just praying that maybe the men around here have manners and no one will call me out on being pregnant. I’m scared that I might say I’m not and make things all kinds of awkward.

Taking a deep breath, I try to get the swirl of emotions under control, hoping that maybe Ty just had a bad day yesterday and today he’ll be in a better mood. I slip on my flats and make my way out of my bedroom and down the hall towards the kitchen. Part of me wants to get to know Ty, the whole reason I’m here, but other part hopes that maybe I’ve missed him and he’s already out working on the ranch.

I come up short when I enter the open kitchen, the morning light shining in through the windows. Everything looking different from the day before, including the woman standing at the kitchen island. She turns towards me, her wild mass of red hair bouncing with the movement. A smile pulls at her round face, and she looks to be a few years younger than me. Her pale skin is a stunning contrast to her big blue eyes and fire-red hair.

She looks like she fits here. Like she actually belongs on a ranch, with her cowboy boots and blue flannel shirt tucked into her jeans. But she’s not the only thing that’s different. The house has come alive. I have to bite my lip to keep from laughing because I don’t know if the woman in front of me decorated the place. It looks a mess, like someone just threw a bunch of stuff together with no rhyme or reason, but it’s still better than the cold that coated the space yesterday. Only now it’s a decorated mess.

“Hi, I’m Dolly Jennings.” She takes a step towards me, holding out her hand. Of course her name is Dolly. It even falls off her lips with a sweet twang. I smile back, then her last name hits me hard. Oh God, is this his wife? My stomach drops, and I slowly raise my hand to meet hers.

“I’m, ah…” I take a deep breath, trying to get myself under control. I knew this was a possibility, but the reality is so much harder to take. Would this be the other woman in my child’s life? “I’m MJ,” I finally push out. I try to get myself under control, fighting an inner battle I’ve been having for days since I found out about Ty. I’ve always known that I could rip his world apart if he did have a wife, but I try to find the good. That it would just be one more person who could love our child. But it still feels like I’m losing something, and I’m not sure what that something is.

She cocks her head to the side, studying me, before she suddenly pulls me in for a hug, squeezing me tighter than I thought someone her size could. I have to hold my body away from her a little out so she doesn’t feel my baby bump.

“Ah, he’s not that scary. I promise Ty doesn’t bite,” she says as she pulls back from me. That smile is still lighting up her face. This close I can see freckles sprinkling her nose and they make her look even younger than I initially thought. “The big scary ones are always the ones with marshmallow in the center. You’ve just got to…” She makes a hand motion and a pop sound with her mouth. “…Crack them open.”

With that, she goes back over to the kitchen island, picks up her coffee mug, and takes a sip.

“Don’t you have class?” a deep voice rumbles from behind me. I don’t turn to look. I know it’s Ty. He still has the grumpy voice from yesterday, or maybe that’s just how he always talks.

“What happened to this place?” Dolly looks around the kitchen, then towards the living room. “I mean, anything’s better than what is was, but this is still kind of…” She scrunches her face, her distaste for the decor clear. I know now that this wasn’t her doing. “…Weird.”

“Class, Dolly,” Ty grumbles again, and I can feel him move farther into the room. Closer to me. It takes everything in me to not turn and look at him.

“Chill. It’s summer.” She takes another sip of her coffee.

“Where are you staying?” Ty asks. I glance to my side and see him standing there with no shirt on. His eyes are trained on me, but I just look back at Dolly, wondering about his question.

“The little cabin over by the lake.” She raises her hand. “Don’t even start. I own part of the land, and I’m eighteen. I’ll stay there all I like and you can’t stop me. You can’t make me stay here. I mean—”

Ty cuts her off. “I’m good with the cabin.” I can’t help but glance over at him again, and I’m surprised to see his eyes still on me. It takes all my willpower to look away and not down his naked chest.

Dolly’s mouth hangs open like she can’t believe what Ty just said, and I’m just as confused. Maybe they don’t live together. That would explain why the house was kind of bare. Maybe she took most everything with her. I hate that I like that idea a whole lot more than them being under the same roof.

“You don’t like the shit I got?” Ty asks, and I keep looking at Dolly, uncertain who he’s talking to. I’m not going to speak up, just in case. That cliché if you don’t have something nice thing to say… rings loudly in my head.

I feel a little tug on my hair, and I look over to see Ty has a strand twirled around his finger. “You don’t like my shit?” he asks again, staring down at me.

“It’s different,” I admit. Somehow I manage to keep my eyes trained on his face. God, he’s even bigger than I remember from yesterday. He’s hard all over, and in my peripheral vision I see that the hair on his chest matches his beard. He looks like he hasn’t shaved in a few days.

“We can get different shit if you want.” He keeps playing with my hair, and I hear a whispered, “What the fuck?” from Dolly. Seems everyone has a dirty mouth. My kid’s first word is going to be a curse.

“It’s not my home. I’m fine with whatever.” I mean, I’m only going to be here for a short time. It’s only supposed to be a part-time position, and who knows how things will blow once Ty finds out all my secrets. They’ll be showing sooner rather than later.

He releases my hair and reaches into his back jean pocket, pulling out his wallet. He takes out a credit card and tosses it onto the counter next to him.

Then he turns and leaves back down the hallway. “Do that Amazon shit. Don’t be leaving my ranch,” he throws over his shoulder. Like I could leave. He still has my freaking keys!

“Wow,” Dolly exhales as she walks over to the counter and picks up the credit card. “I’ve never once in my whole life gotten my brother to let me use his credit card. You’re here five seconds and he just hands it to you.”

“Brother?” I ask, feeling relieved. One less obstacle.

“Yep. And there’s more of them. I know you already met Blake—he’s been running his mouth about you all morning—but there’s still Trace. But no worries. Ty’s the only asshole of the bunch.” She laughs at her own joke, like Ty heard it, and that’s when I see the dimple. The one all the Jennings seem to have.

She hands me the card. I take it from her, but I don’t plan to use it. Unless that’s what he wants me to do. He hired me to take care of the house and help with the office. I guess I can get a few things. I think about all my stuff shoved away in a storage unit, things it took years to acquire to make a little home for myself. I feel a stab of sadness. I still have them, I remind myself. One step at a time.

“Told you. Those big bastards fall hard.” She winks and polishes off her c

offee. “I just wanted to pop in and see if what Blake said was true. I’ll stop by later to poke the bear.” With that, she turns and walks out of the house, leaving me standing alone in the kitchen with no idea what I’m supposed to do.

Guess I’ll go find this office.

6

Ty

I hear Dolly head out the front door, and then hear Mary-Jane’s footsteps. When I hear the door to the office open, I can’t stay in my bedroom any longer. I wanted to get dressed and then get outside, but something is keeping me in the house.

I put on a button-up shirt, but leave it open while I pull on my boots and grab my hat. I walk to the office and give a knock on the open door, startling her. She turns around and bites her lip, and all I can think about is doing the same thing to it. Sinking my teeth into her full bottom lip and finding out what she tastes like.

My cock stirs in my tight jeans, and I can’t keep the rush of blood from hammering in my ears. I want her like I’ve never wanted anything in my life. Being in the same room with her is like climbing on a bull for the first time. I’m excited, nervous, and don’t know what to do with my hands.

I grip my hat and try to think of what to say as her eyes slide down my chest. I move the cowboy hat in front of my cock just before her eyes land on it and see how hard I am. Jesus, I’ve never been this uncontrolled before, and I hate how shook up she has me. I see her cheeks flush as she takes in my appearance, and I can’t say I’m not doing the same. My eyes roam down her dark curls to her exposed neck, and I think of licking the pulse there. Burying my nose in there and smelling her scent. I look to her cleavage that’s spilling out of the peach sundress, the ruffles on it only exaggerating how top heavy she is. I’ve got an image of her round ass burned in my brain from when I saw her from behind this morning. My eyes make their way back to her face and we catch each other staring