Tangled (Steele Ranch 3)

He pulled up in front of the house and turned off the SUV. He climbed out and I stared up at the house that was mine. Or, at least, part mine. But it belonged to me. Me! All the land around it too, if the letter from the attorney was correct. And it was. Very official and legal looking. I didn’t even have to sign papers. A father I’d never known left me all this. It had me wondering so much. Had he known about me? Had he known my mother had given me up?

Now, I could afford nursing school. I could afford anything I wanted. I could even pay off Schmidt’s ridiculous compound interest, but that didn’t mean he’d leave me alone, especially when he found out how much money I really did have.

But that wasn’t to worry about now. Now I had to figure out how to get inside the house. Would Sheriff Wade just leave me here once he removed the handcuffs? The paperwork from the lawyer was in my desk in my apartment.

He came around to my door, opened it and helped me down, keeping a hand on my elbow. When he stepped back, I noticed two men walk across the porch, go down the central steps to the stone walkway and stop a few feet in front of me.

My heart stopped at the sight of Sutton. Here. At Steele Ranch.

I blinked, then again, thinking he wasn’t real. He looked the same as I remembered. Over six feet, well-muscled, yet lean. The first time I’d seen him in the rodeo stands, he’d reminded me of a fighter. Not only because of his physique but his demeanor, too. Hard edges, dark looks. With his close-cut dark hair, intense dark gaze, strong jaw, and brooding gaze, he hadn’t changed a bit. Every line of his body was tense, intense. He exuded power, strength and yet at the same time, calm.

“Cricket,” he said.

That deep, familiar voice sent a chill down my spine. My nipples hardened instinctively as my body recognized him. I’d hoped for months and months I’d run into him, but here? Now?

The events of the day had me frazzled and seeing Sutton had me fraying at the edges. Schmidt and Rocky all but kidnapping me and taking me to the club, believing I’d be forced to strip, escaping, fleeing, it was too much. I was a simple woman. I worked, I went to school. I slept. I didn’t do things. The craziest thing that ever happened to me was getting a double deal on a coupon at the grocery store.

“Cricket,” he repeated, this time his voice deeper, darker.

I shivered, then ran to him. He wrapped his arms about me, my cuffed arms folded against his chest. I closed my eyes, breathed in his male scent, felt the steady beating of his heart. I gave in, gave over. Let go.

4

SUTTON

* * *

“Time to tell us what’s going on.”

After I’d held her, breathed her in to convince myself she was really in my arms, we’d gone inside the main house to the great room and the big couches. Having gotten the keys from Jamison after Archer had called, we’d had the door unlocked before they even pulled up. Since neither Kady or Penny lived in the house—they’d both moved in with their men—it remained closed up except for the group meals Penny insisted on having each Sunday. It was a little stuffy with the windows being closed, but we’d left the front door open behind us to let the cool air in.

We were in the great room and I had her settled on my lap, my arms wrapped around her, my chin on the top of her head. She hadn’t mentioned the handcuffs still on her wrists, most likely because she was as stunned as we were at finding each other and had forgotten about them.

I’d never expected to see her again, resigned myself to the fact that I’d had one weekend with the woman of my dreams and that was it. That I’d scared the shit out of her with the nightmare that first night we’d been alone and she hadn’t wanted to deal with it. That was why, when she’d mentioned her fantasy of being fucked by multiple guys at once, I’d been into it. Well, into it since I’d arranged for it to be with Archer and Lee. I couldn’t have shared her with anyone else. I’d lived for the past year with memories of her feel, her sounds, her touch, her laugh.

Now, she felt so good in my hold and I breathed her in. I recognized her scent as if it were elemental. A floral shampoo, something girly, and something that was just Cricket. She was lithe and lush, the lean muscles and soft curves I hadn’t forgotten. Nothing about her was forgotten. The way she looked at me with equal parts wonder, saucy kitten, shy schoolgirl and laser-sharp woman. I loved every facet of her. She was wicked smart and had an air about her that I recognized as life hard-lived. Things hadn’t come easy for her—I recognized that look because I had it myself. She wasn’t beaten down though, pushing past the shit she must have grown up with and was succeeding.

We hadn’t talked all that much that weekend. Not about anything deep, like why the fuck I’d woken her up shouting and thrashing, sweating like I’d run a marathon, but it hadn’t mattered. Hell, we hadn’t even shared last names or phone numbers, but I’d been afraid to give her mine. But then it had been too late. She’d taken the decision from me when she’d left before dawn.

But sometimes, none of it was necessary. The names, details about someone. I just knew. I knew.

Her mouth was the last one I wanted to kiss. Her breasts were the last ones I wanted to suckle. Her pussy, the last one I wanted to taste, to fuck. And if I thought about her ass…I’d come with her sitting in my lap. That weekend had been—

That weekend…fuck.

It had been amazing. Incredible. Insane. And then poof. She was gone. Literally disappeared. And Archer, who was a fucking sheriff, couldn’t even track her down. I’d been cranky as shit for the past twelve months, my dick missing her. So had my heart.

And out of the blue, she just appeared.

Fate? Coincidence? Serendipity?

I didn’t give a shit about any of those fancy words. I was the least poetic person on Earth. That was more Jamison, the ranch’s foreman, than me. I was straight forward. Blatant. But with Cricket, it seemed I hadn’t been blatant enough. If I had, she wouldn’t have slipped out before dawn and disappeared. She’d have known I’d claimed her, that my two best friends hadn’t even seen her but wanted to keep her, too. That even if I couldn’t share a bed at night with her because of my PTSD, Archer and Lee could easily keep her warm.

But no. I’d fucked it all up.

I wouldn’t let that happen again. I wasn’t what anyone in the lifestyle would call a true Dominant. I hadn’t had a shit-ton of training at it, but I was bossy-as-fuck in the bedroom and I wanted my partner to submit. Cricket had done that beautifully because that’s what she’d wanted. Not just for a night of play, but the real deal. To give over control, her thoughts, her pleasure, to me. And Archer and Lee. She’d been right there with me, all weekend. I knew it. Hadn’t doubted her submission every day since.

Once we found out about why Archer thought it best to put her in handcuffs, why she’d been going fast enough to be pulled over, why he’d told me she was scared of something, we’d get things cleared up. Let her hear the truth, know it, feel it. She was here and she wasn’t going anywhere.