Authors: The Sextet
* * * *
While Sam sat at the counter in the kitchen, Greg poured her a
glass of iced tea, then eyed her as she drank it. “You sure you’re all
right?”
“I’m fine.” She smiled and patted his hand. “So can I get a rain
check on that ride?”
“Anytime you want.” He leaned in and kissed her sweetly.
Sam saw the concern plainly in his eyes, and it warmed her. “You
know I feel bad. You took care of my stress yesterday, and I haven’t
taken care of yours.”
He lowered his head, chuckling. “Well, unless you’re planning on
leaving the ranch soon, we’ve got plenty of time to get to that and
many more…naughty things.” Leaning in, he kissed her again with a
little more heat and lots more tongue. “I need to finish cleaning up
first. I’ll catch you later.”
Sitting at the table, Sam couldn’t stop smiling. Problem was—she
was smiling about two different men. Greg was fun, entertaining, and
a bit on the wild side, while Dallas was dark and brooding with
secrets. But both men cared about her, and both men caused her lust
to stir.
“Samantha? Earth to Samantha.” Tammy Jo stood in front of her,
waving her hands. “Heard you weren’t feeling too well.”
Rolling her eyes, Sam smiled. “Who told you? Greg or Dallas?”
“Both! Dallas told me you overheated, and Greg wanted me to
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keep an eye on you.”
Sam took a drink of her iced tea while Tammy Jo plopped down
next to her. “I’m better, you don’t need to worry.” Seeing the concern
on Tammy Jo’s face, she knew that wasn’t going to suffice. “It’s
just…” She closed her eyes and shook her head. “I dated David, my
ex-boyfriend, for almost two years. Thought for sure he was
the one
and that we’d get married, have a family…” She ran her finger up and
down her glass, wiping away the beads of sweat. “I get a little
dehydrated and two men—two men I barely know—worry more
about me than David ever did the entire time we were together.”
With a smile on her face, Tammy Jo patted Sam on the shoulder.
“That’s ’cause we’re family here, and we look out for one another.
And while you’ve only been here a few days, ya fit right in with this
crazy bunch.”
* * * *
Later that night, Sam was lying in bed thinking about Greg and
Dallas. She draped her arm over her head and closed her eyes.
This is
crazy. I’m crazy!
“How can I be falling for two different men…?”
Sighing, she turned on her side, hugging the blankets close to her
body.
For someone that gave up men, you’ve gotten yourself into
quite a mess.
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Chapter 5
“Eat up, everyone. We’ve got a hard day of moving cattle,”
Tommy reminded them when he took a seat at the breakfast table.
Sipping her coffee, Sam caught a glimpse of Dallas staring at her.
Instantly, her stomach muscles tightened.
Damn those dark eyes.
Setting down her cup, she looked up when Greg took the seat next to
her. She smiled when he winked at her and his hand grazed her back.
God, I’m so screwed.
When everyone was done eating, Tammy Jo and Suzy cleaned up
while the rest of the group headed outside and got on their horses.
Tommy and Charlie led the way as they galloped over the dry, flat
land to one of the outer areas of the property. Greg rode next to Sam
while Dallas stayed over to the side with Chris and Bobby Joe.
Sam wasn’t sure how long they’d been riding, but it was long
enough that her ass was beginning to ache. She caught a glimpse of
Dallas riding ahead of her with Tommy. He looked like a man who
was born in the saddle, and damn if that wasn’t hot.
Before Sam realized it, they were sitting atop their horses, looking
out over the largest herd of cattle Sam had ever seen. Greg was still
next to her, and he took a moment to point out the differences
between the bulls, cows, and calves. She noticed a few of the herd
moving erratically. Some were even stomping their hooves into the
ground as if to challenge the other animals.
“Are they normally this excited?” she asked, glancing at Tommy
after Greg rode off to circle around the back of the herd.
“No, somethin’ has ’em agitated,” Tommy replied with a hard
stare. “Sam, I want ya ta stay back while we gather the herd. When
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they’re like this, they can be unpredictable and dangerous.”
Sam picked up on the uneasiness, and so did her horse. She kept
the reins tight, stayed back, and allowed the men to do their jobs.
Scanning the open field, she took note of how they directed the cattle
into a tighter herd. Some of the cattle charged at one another while
others stomped their hooves into the ground.
Off to the side, something caught Sam’s eye, causing her to turn.
She gasped when she found a few steers charging and realized Dallas
and Tommy were directly in their path.
“Look out!” Sam yelled, swinging her arms and pointing at the
wayward animals.
Dallas and Tommy reacted fast as lightning. Turning his horse,
Dallas swung his horse wide around the cattle and directed them back
into the herd while Tommy flanked the other side. They were poetry
in motion.
“Nice job, Sam,” Tommy hollered. “You’ve got good instincts. If
ya ever need a job, I’ll hire ya as a hand.”
Sam laughed and rode along with the men as they drove the herd
to the new grazing field.
* * * *
Stretching on top of her bed, Sam tried to sleep. After dreaming
she was being chased by a cow, she startled awake.
Damn cattle.
Looking at the clock on her nightstand, she discovered she’d only
slept twenty minutes. “You’ve got to be kidding me.” Even though
her body was exhausted, she had too much nervous energy to fall
back to sleep, so she decided to go for a walk and clear her head.
Once outside, Sam sat on the steps to the main house, admiring
the most beautiful sunset she’d ever seen. Some clouds had moved in,
causing the most dramatic shades of pink and purple to mix with hues
of blue. There was a slight breeze that felt refreshing after the long,
hot day, and she relaxed while enjoying the moment.
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When the sun was just about to disappear behind the mountains,
Sam got up and walked toward the barn. Inside, she found the horses
stomping for attention and was happy to rub their noses or give them
a treat. She even found herself laughing when one of the horses
moved its head to her shoulder as if it wanted a hug. “You’re a flirt.”
“Watch out for that one. He likes to nibble on ears. Of course, so
do I.”
Sam pushed away from the gate, recognizing the deep voice.
Dallas walked toward her. Big, bad, and hot as hell. Everything inside
her responded to him, and heat pooled between her thighs. She put her
hands in her back pockets, trying not to fidget.
“What are you doing here?” she asked.
“I was about to ask you the same thing. I thought you turned in for
the night.”
“I tried, but then I had a dream about being chased by some
agitated cattle.” She grinned, catching a hint of a smile forming at the
corners of his mouth. “So you never said what you were doing out
here?”
Dallas got quiet for a moment as he leaned on the gate and rubbed
the horse’s nose. He saw Sam waiting for an answer to her question.
“Honestly? I’ve no idea. I saw you walkin’ in here and…” He turned
and gazed into her eyes. “I just wanted to see you again…”
He wasn’t sure if it was her smile or her eyes that got to him the
most—but something about her most definitely got to him. Every part
of him. Matter of fact, it’d been getting to him since that morning
she’d mowed him over. Earlier today, he saw something even deeper
in her eyes when she saved him from the charging cattle. He just
hoped what he thought she felt, she actually
did
feel about him—
because he felt a lot for her. Fantasized about her. Desired her.
“So you really don’t hate me?” She cocked her head.
Laughing, he ran his hands down his face. “Not sure you can hate
someone who saves your butt. Besides, I thought we settled this hate
thing yesterday.”
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Samantha grew nervous as warmth washed over her as she stared
into his dark eyes. Eyes that were filled with passion…for her. He
pushed her hair behind her ear and leaned into her. She closed her
eyes when his lips brushed against hers, causing a hungry ache deep
in her pussy when their lips finally met.
Unknown sparks that had been growing between the two for days
quickly erupted into a raging fire. Dallas palmed the back of her head,
deepening their kiss, forcing her lips apart with his tongue. He then
dragged it along the edge of her teeth before darting it in and out of
her mouth.
Sam ran her hands up his sides, feeling his taut muscles under her
fingertips until she found her way to his chest. She pulled away,
needing to take a breath to regain some control as she stared at his
firm lips—lips she imagined kissing every inch of her body. Flushing
at the thought of them together and naked, she let out a slow breath,
then looked up at him.
Taking her hand, Dallas led her to the back of the barn. He lifted
her hand to his lips and kissed her palm. “You’re so beautiful.” He
kissed it again, adding his tongue as her body shivered. His left arm
snaked around her waist, pulling her closer. He kissed the soft spot
behind her ear, his teeth nibbling on her lobe while his tongue quickly
soothed the sting.
“Umm…I like that.” Sam closed her eyes as his warm breath sent
even more shivers down her spine. She stepped closer, pressing her
body into him as his mouth traveled down her neck to her shoulder.
With a moan escaping her lips, her hands ran up his arms, capturing
his face and pulling him into another hot, hungry kiss.
Her heart racing, she leaned into Dallas, causing him to take a step
back…and they both toppled backward onto a bale of hay.
“Are you okay?” they said in unison before laughing at each
other.
Dallas sat up, pulled her onto his lap, and began kissing her again.
Damn, but he loved kissing her. While his mouth covered her
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whimper, his hands made their way to her shirt, where he opened the
buttons, needing to touch her soft skin. His thumb massaged her
breast, then his fingers toyed with the nipple beneath her lace bra,
bringing it to a hard nub.
“What was that?” she whispered, freezing in place and placing her
palms against his chest.
“Stay here…” Dallas moved her to his side and disappeared into
the dark barn to find what caused the noise. Not seeing anything, he
returned to find Sam sitting with her arms wrapped around her legs
and her head resting on her knees. “Sam?”
In the few moments that Dallas was gone, Sam’s brain turned
back on, and she realized how crazy she was acting. “What am I
doing?” She hurriedly buttoned her shirt and sat staring into the
darkness.
One day, I’m with Greg…then days later, with Dallas. I’ve
officially lost it!
“Samantha?”
Hearing her name, she looked up at Dallas and watched his smile
fade. “I can’t do this…” Her breath caught as she stood up. Dallas
reached out for her, but she pulled away. “I think I’ve lost my mind.”
She laughed, sounding far too crazy for her liking. “I’m not this kind
of person…I shouldn’t have ever let things get this far…but you and
Greg…” She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to hold back her tears.
“The two of you were kinder, cared more about me than my ex-
boyfriend. I wanted you both…I…”
His strong hand reached for her again. “Sam…Please…”
“No! I can’t. I can’t come between you and Greg! And I can’t
decide…” She stepped away when he stepped closer. “I just can’t
decide…”
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Chapter 6
Standing on the porch and leaning against the railing, Sam drank
her coffee early the next morning. It was cloudy and overcast with a
forecast of storms for the day. She spotted Greg and Dallas walking
toward her and considered ducking inside to avoid them. Knowing
that really wasn’t an option, she held the warm cup with both hands,
forced a smile on her face, and waited for whatever her bad karma
was about to drop upon her.
Dallas looked up at her first. “Sam? Can we have a minute?”
Looking back and forth between the two men, she could only feel
dread. She’d let things go too far with both of them, and they
probably thought she was nothing but a dumb cock-tease. While she
wanted both men deeply, felt far more for both of them than she
should after such a short time, she knew those feelings would only
cause trouble. “I’m sorry if I led you both on. If I let things go too far.
I never meant…You both just meant…so much to me.” She whirled