Compromised Cowgirl (4 page)

“Liar. Come here and I’ll fix it. You haven’t ridden like that in years and your muscles will be stiff.”

“Nope.”

“That wasn’t a request. I can’t have you too sore to move tomorrow morning.”

The thought of his hands on her body made her shiver. Why couldn’t she have signed on with ugly weasels with whiney voices instead of deep ones which made her chest vibrate?

“Now, Jessie.”

She could do this. He would touch her shoulders, and that was all. It would help her sleep so she could work in the morning. She’d much rather soak in the secret hot spring, but that couldn’t happen for another three weeks. She gave him her back. He rested his huge, warm hands on either side of her neck for a moment.

Oh, damn, it felt good.

He placed his right hand just under her collarbone and worked her back with his knuckles. If she wasn’t wearing her bindings, and if his fingers trailed to one side or the other, he’d touch her breasts with those large, hot hands. She startled and winced when he hit a knot at the edge of her shoulder blade.

“Relax, Jessie. I’ve got you.”

She relaxed her muscles as much as possible with her heart beating like all get-out. For such a huge man, his touch was gentle. He dug his thumbs into a knot of muscle, and she winced. He went back to soothing, and she relaxed. If he dropped his head a bit, his teeth would be perfectly placed to nibble her neck. Would he nibble her there if he knew she wasn’t a boy?

“You did a good job today, Jessie. Even Ace gave a short nod of approval.”

She rolled her lips over her teeth and nodded her thanks. He switched hands, but this time his left palm rested on the top of her bound breast. Her nipple fought to rise. There was no way it could get past the layers of wrapping, but thank God, at least she finally knew it worked when she wasn’t cold.

Over the years she’d heard the older boys talking about how to tell if a woman wanted them to touch her, and hard nipples were high on their list. Never had she felt anything for a man. She could make her fingers do things between her legs to make her feel good but could never imagine wanting a man to touch her there. His touch changed her mind. Unfortunately, now that she found a man whose touch she liked, she couldn’t let him find out her secret. Not yet.

“Better now?” She nodded, unable to speak. “Henry should have supper ready. Wash up here, and I’ll see you at the house.”

He left quickly and quietly. Someone had set a full ewer and bowl in the barn’s corner stall where she’d be sleeping. She scrubbed from fingers to elbows, forehead to chest. Had Sin done this for her? Why would he care if she washed up here, rather than outside the kitchen with the others? Maybe he suspected she was shy and didn’t want the new boy to feel overwhelmed. She bit her lip. If he knew about her sex, he’d say something.

Wouldn’t he?

Chapter Four

Sin looked out the window at the virginal miss strutting from the barn. Right from the start he’d wondered what was off with Jessie. Her stubborn chin, pointed like an elf, and the lack of peach fuzz suggested something other than a boy.

When she put the first spoonful of stew in her mouth and moaned, his cock had hardened like she was about to take him there. That morning, when she looked up to hand him his coffee, confirmed it. The graceful line of her throat and the swell of her ass, previously hidden by her coat, proved it.

She was so damn efficient, roping ten steers for every one of theirs, that by the end of the day he wondered if he was wrong. When she bent over to pick up the blanket, her pants tightened and he’d almost choked. No boy had a heart-shaped ass like that. He had to touch her, telling himself it was to make sure. Working out the knots in her shoulders was sweet torture. Then he’d let his fingers drop lower on her chest and felt ridges where her shirt should cover only skin. Ridges from binding her breasts.

How big were they? Were the tips rosy, or coral pink? Large or small nipples?

Shit! He was never going to get supper if he couldn’t get his cock under control. He hadn’t had a hard-on this big since he was fifteen. He snorted and thought back. Ace and Henry were visiting. One of his mother’s merry widows invited all three of them into her bed. The woman spent the next week showing them what every young buck should know. She was demanding, insisting she come first, second and third. That was bloody difficult to do at fifteen. Considering how long he’d gone without a woman, it would be no easier now.

Jessie entered the cabin, and Sin turned away from the window. He was twenty-seven years old, and a slim girl dressed as a boy made him want to plunge his cock in her mouth, her pussy, and her ass, one after another.

He knew why Ace was so out of sorts. The man was so focused on getting the job done that he only saw what he expected. Ranger said Jessie was a boy. Therefore, if Ace felt attracted to Jessie, it meant something was wrong. Ace would withdraw, using cutting language to hide his discomfort.

They’d planned to get a mail-order bride in a couple of years after the ranch was well on the way. But Sin wanted the little miss who quivered when he touched her. She was eighteen inches shorter and at least a third of his weight, but she was tough. Her work today proved it. She was so small and delicate that he wanted to take care of her. At the same time, he wanted to plow into her again and again.

Could she take all three of them?

Neither he nor Henry needed to produce heirs. They wouldn’t care what name their children had, as long as they all belonged to the Double Diamond. Ace, however, needed the roots a legal wife provided. He needed to have sons with his name to prove his descendents were not wastrels like the rest of his family. Ace was also the son of an Earl, and their natural leader. He would be the one saying “I do.”

If Sin wanted Jessie in his life, he’d have to get Ace comfortable with Jessie-the-boy for a while and appreciate “his” abilities on the ranch. The antagonism between Ace and Jessie, given the right encouragement, could turn into passion. He’d enjoy watching the two of them throw sparks at each other. Sin intended to fan the flames. He wanted Jessie in his bed, one way or the other.

The Elliotts shared Trace’s wife, Beth, and the MacDougals shared Ross’s wife, Amelia. Why shouldn’t the Double Diamond do the same? Henry might figure out Jessie’s secret, but he’d keep quiet.

But who was Jessie Bonham? She must be connected to the Elliotts, since Ranger brought her to them. From only one day, he knew Jessie wanted to be respected for her ranching. If he’d seen her in a skirt first, would he believe her abilities on a horse? Did Ranger want Jessie to find a husband who respected her as who she was?

Sin suddenly choked. Dammit, Ranger set them up! The one time she took her hat off he saw her hair was brown, like Ranger. Her chin looked as stubborn as well. Jack once mentioned a sister who was more cowboy than girl. Her name—was Jessamine!

Thank you, God.

Sin snorted a laugh. Ace wanted deep roots and a family. The Elliotts were the perfect choice. They arrived before Tanner’s Ford became a town and had two ranches up the valley. Their so-called cousins, Gillis MacDougal and his half brothers, had The MD Connected, bordering the Double Diamond on the west.

Sin cracked his fingers and then rubbed his hands. His face damn near split from the wide smile on it. By the time snow fell, Ace would be married to Jessie. Somehow, it had to happen. He and Henry could show her who the best man really was!

Though the courtship was extremely unusual, and invisible to the bride- and groom-to-be, Sin had to keep things proper. They were raised to be honorable gentlemen and always conducted themselves accordingly.

Ranger must have told Trace about Jessie, and that she was safe at the Double Diamond. Since her father was dead, he would speak to Jessie’s oldest brother. Trace was very protective of women. He’d not let his younger sister live with three male strangers, no matter how innocent it seemed. But if he knew Ace would marry Jessie, and Sin would keep her safe until then, Trace might let her stay until Ace came to his senses.

After all, Jessie was a very demanding woman and not anyone could keep her in line. There were three other ranches in this valley, each with three partners looking for a wife. Ranger had a reason to choose the Double Diamond for his only sister. Sin would make sure it happened, and do his damndest to keep Jessie a virgin until her wedding day.

He hoped spending twelve or more hours a day in the saddle would lower his libido.

Chapter Five

Virginia

“What do ye mean Jessie’s gone? She was to come home to
Texas
with me!”

“I said sit down, young man!”

Finan MacDougal, Junior, ground his teeth for a moment. He looked at the white-haired, white-gloved old biddy with the face and attitude of a spoiled lapdog. Miss Bonham, sister and only surviving relative of Jessie’s ma, would know where he’d find his fiancée. Pa sent him to bring the Elliott brat—and her inheritance—home to Texas, and by damn, he would do it!

He’d learned a few things since leaving
Texas
. The first was that his fists couldn’t always get him what he wanted. The second, that it was not a good idea for a stranger to show anger by using those fists. The two-bit sheriff of that one-horse town kept him in jail for a week. Most of his gold went to fixing the saloon’s furniture and window. He did a lot of thinking while cooling his heels in jail.

Once he married
Jessie
,
Pa
would treat him like a man. No more ordering him around like he was one of the hired hands. With Jessie’s money in his hand, he could change a few things around the Bar MD. First, he’d change her attitude. She’d soon learn to treat him with respect. If necessary he’d chain her ankle to the stove for a while to stop her running.

But first he had to find her and haul her back to
Texas
. Pa was already planning the wedding to ensure the right people could make it. Fin carefully set his bulk on the parlor chair again and smiled through his newly trimmed moustache.

“Milk or lemon?”

“Dinna suppose ye have any whiskey?”

Miss Bonham raised an eyebrow and dared him to make trouble.

“Lemon,” he growled, though he didn’t give a damn. She waited, her mouth pursed like the back end of a plucked chicken. He sighed. “Please.”

She took about an hour to pour the damn tea, stir in lemon juice, add a dry biscuit to the saucer and pass it over. He took it carefully, his huge hands making the delicate cup seem like his sister Louisa’s toys. He forced himself to drink the stuff. After downing gallons of cheap whiskey all the way from
Texas
to
Virginia
, he could stomach one cup of weak tea.

“My niece took the Bride Train to
Montana
Territory
. She left a fortnight ago.”

“What—” He set the teacup on a scalloped-edge table with a rattle. “What’d she do that fer?” The old bat sniffed. He held back a snort. Jessie shared the uppity attitude of the old biddy, as well as a name.

“Jessamine has been taught marriage is a holy sacrament, one every woman strives to obtain.” She placed her hand over her bosom. “My dear Edward was taken from me before we could wed. I did not have the heart to find another.”

Finan waited while she dabbed her eyes. He figured she’d found a patsy and, when he died, didn’t want to marry someone who would be a real husband.

“I did my best to find her a good
Virginia
boy. Unfortunately, she didn’t suit.”

She looked down and stirred her tea. Two round spots of hot pink appeared in her cheeks. Fin choked back another snort. He couldn’t see Jessie with one of those pasty-faced weak Eastern dudes. She needed a strong hand, one he was ready to apply.

“Miss Elliott insisted her brothers would find her a good husband.” She flicked her eyes over him, from trimmed hair to polished boots. She curled her lip. “Men of the West need the calming effect of a genteel woman’s hand.”

Dammit, how dare she look down her bony nose at him! He bought new clothes for this visit, including a neck cloth that damn near choked him to death. The tight clothes made it hard to breath, to move, and to think.

“She were supposed te marry
me
!”

This time she hit him with the lip curl and sniff at the same time. Her eyes glittered like the jet beads around her scrawny neck.

“My niece has proven she is a lady. I find it difficult to believe she would discuss marriage with you.”

Fin bit his tongue so he wouldn’t roar at her. He had a hard enough time being in the same room with this woman, much less listening to her drivel. Real men didn’t “discuss” things with women. They told them the way it was to be. If they didn’t like it, a beating or two would cure them.

Pa never had to beat Sunbird because she behaved properly. He figured he’d have a few go-rounds with Jessie, but she’d learn. By damn, he wasn’t going home alone. He needed an heir for the Clan. But first, he had to find the damn brat. He curled his hands into fists, remembering those days in jail. After that, he could put up with one old woman. He attempted another smile, though it made his teeth ache.