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Not expecting him to be home yet, I waste no time going upstairs to my bedroom, stripping my dirty clothes off as I walk into the bathroom between Gage’s room and mine without knocking.
Gage is standing in the steamy room, fussing with his dark hair in the mirror with only a small towel wrapped around his waist. Our eyes meet in the reflection before mine travel over his muscular chest and tattooed arms. I feel his eyes roaming over my taut body, only my boxer briefs hiding my straining cock.
My gaze returns to his face, watching him as he explores me with his eyes. When he sees it, his reaction is undeniable. Nostrils flaring and eyes widening to take me in, he looks back up at me, turning to face me. I take one step closer to him, and he hesitantly takes a step, closing the distance between us.
Knowing it’s now or never, and willing to risk everything I have for a chance with him, I lean forward, pressing my lips to his. He moves, and my heart sinks, certain that he’s going to reject me, reject us, and I’ll lose our twenty year friendship for good.Instead, he tilts his head to the side, aligning our lips and pressing his body into mine.
My hand settles on his hip, the towel teasing my fingers, and I’d give anything to see what’s under it, but I’ll be damned if I rush him, no matter how much I need more of him.
His lips part slightly, his tongue peeking out and tracing my lips until I open for him. Our tongues rub together slowly in tentative, exploratory strokes, and it’s nearly impossible for me to choke back the contented moan at the pleasure that rips through me as Gage’s hand comes up to grasp the back of my neck, holding me to him.
We finally break apart, neither of us daring to speak and ruin the moment.
One of my favorite parts of ranch life is training horses. It takes patience to build a connection and a certain amount of intuition. Quinn and I have spent enough time together since she arrived that I know she’s frightened of something, like a skittish filly.
She finally agreed to meet the boys, and tonight, we’re having a family dinner so she can join us. For the most part, they’re curious about her and excited to meet her. Kain has remained closed off to the idea, which doesn’t surprise me, but I know once he spends time with her, actually gets to know her, he’ll be just as charmed by her as I am—as the others will be.
On a whim, I decide to come home early today to surprise her, but when I walk into her room, all thoughts of a fun afternoon together give way to body-numbing fear.
Her bed is empty but fully made. I rush to the closet, looking for her bag, only slightly relieved to see it hanging from the hook it’s been on since her arrival. Turning back to scan the room again, looking for any sign of her, I put my hand to my racing heart when I see the bathroom door closed and steam escaping from beneath it.
Walking across the room, I rap my knuckles on the wooden door, waiting for confirmation that my girl is still under my roof. When she opens the door dressed in new clothes, I pull her into a tight hug, breathing in the floral jasmine scent that is so uniquely her.
We’re eating lunch together, now that my heart rate has returned to normal. I’ve answered dozens of questions about my boys, and from the things she’s asked, it would seem she’s been far more observant than I gave her credit for.
“East,” she says shyly, watching me from under her long, dark lashes.
“Yes?” I say, quirking an eyebrow and giving her a mock scowl. The first time she called me that, I told her she’d be the only one to ever get away with it, and I know that’s true. Since then, she’s made a point to use it, always giving me a devilish smirk as she watches me closely. Not for the first time, I wonder if she knows how her teasing endearment affects me.
“I—what if I—what if they don’t like me?” she asks hesitantly. I don’t for one second think that’s the real question she wanted to ask, but I decide to humor her with an answer.
“That’s impossible, princess. They’ll love you because I l—” I stop myself just in time. It’s way too early for that. Hell, she’s younger than my youngest son. Of all the available men on this ranch, I’m the least suitable, but that doesn’t stop my heart from skipping a beat anytime she’s nearby. “I promise you, they are going to enjoy getting to know you, Quinn. Don’t borrow trouble.”
Doc gave her clearance to move about, and she’s been taking it slow so far, moving from spot to spot in her room, but calling into question her safety on the stairs got her just where I want her.
Descending the stairs slowly with Quinn in my arms, I’m the envy of every man under this roof as four sets of hungry eyes track our every movement. I’d warned them last night not to overwhelm her, so they stay in place, smiling—or at least baring their teeth semi-convincingly in Kain’s case.
I take her directly into the living room, placing her gently down on the leather armchair before arranging her ankle onto a pillow on the ottoman and dropping a chaste kiss onto the crown of her head. The boys file in behind us, settling on the sofas and waiting until she’s situated before introducing themselves. Unsurprisingly, Kain remains stoic, observing, barely sparing Quinn a nod when Brooks finally introduces him, adding a stage-whispered “he’s a grumpy asshole to everyone, not just you,” before ducking and narrowly missing a down pillow to the face.
She laughs at their antics, looking more relaxed as time goes by. They’re peppering her with questions, only stopping when Simona summons us for dinner.
As expected, Kain is quiet throughout the meal, offering little to the evening. To her credit, Quinn tries to engage him in conversation several times, but he gives short, vague responses or simply grunts and nods. She takes it in stride and moves on to more willing participants, totally enchanting the rest of us.
I pin Kain with a frustrated glare while Quinn is talking to Beau about his time in the military. She’s so enthralled with his story that she’s stopped eating altogether.
“Eat, princess,” I whisper, leaning over and lowering my voice so only she can hear my command.
“Yes, sir,” she says, shivering as she digs her fork into the mashed potatoes on her plate and lifting it to her pillowy lips, her mouth opening seductively before closing around the tines.
She glances sideways at me, and my cock is instantly hard, jealous of the fork in her hand. I gulp, nodding almost imperceptibly, praising her silently.
“Good girl,” I rasp, grabbing blindly for my water glass, needing something to distract me from my indescribable need for her. Thankfully, she returns her attention to Beau but continues to eat slowly. With her attention off of me, I’m able to sort my thoughts, returning my focus to my frustrating son.
Communicating silently through a series of glares and raised eyebrows, Kain finally gets over himself, asking her several innocuous questions. From her vague answers, it’s clear that she has been sheltered. She’s comfortable here, but there’s still some hesitation to show me—us—the real her.
I was right, damnit. Dinner was amazing. The guys couldn’t keep their eyes off of her, and more than once, after we left the table to go back to the living room, I saw them touching her in some small, casual way. Jealousy flared inside of me, but I bit my tongue and enjoyed spending time with her.
We’ve spent the entire evening together, and it’s been great. It’s the most time I’ve spent with my boys without work interfering in far too long, and I make a silent promise to be more present with them moving forward. When I see Quinn try and fail to disguise a yawn, I stand and move over to her, picking her up bridal style, making sure I don’t jostle her ankle in the process.
