He ran a hand through his hair. “Give it time, bro. Until then, concentrate on the tracking down who or what’s killing our stock.”
“I’ll try, but that’s not half as much fun.”
Rick chuckled, once more appreciating his brother’s humor. He kept his gaze away from the window. If he didn’t, who knew what he’d do?
* * * *
The longer Mallory was around Rick and Gunner, the more nervous she became. After the disturbing, yet intriguing conversation at the end of dinner, she’d rushed to her bedroom to try and sort out her thoughts.
And her emotions. Sorting out her thoughts was a lot easier than understanding her feelings. What the heck was going on inside her? It was like someone had started a fire on coals that had long since grown cold. Sitting across from them had left her reeling from her growing craving. Craving for raw, wild, uninhibited sex. The kind of sex she’d only fantasized about.
What was it about them that made her mouth water and her palms itch to hold their cocks? If she believed in magic and supernatural things, she’d swear they’d put a spell on her.
Kid hadn’t helped calm her nerves, either. As soon as she’d gotten up from the table, he’d run after her and started hammering her with questions.
From what he’d seen, she was already lusting after their bodies. Then after they’d made her laugh more times than she could count, he’d started picking out event venues to hold the wedding. She’d slapped his arm and tried to change the subject several times, but had given up and left him standing in the hallway. Frustrated with herself as much as with him, she’d slammed the door in his face.
How could she explain anything to him when she didn’t understand it herself?
She soon found out that being alone didn’t help. After settling into the room which consisted of laying out her toiletries, she couldn’t find anything else to take her mind off the men. What was the point of unpacking? She wouldn’t stay that long. Instead, she paced the room like a caged bear in a zoo.
Or did she mean lion? It was funny how her thoughts went straight to a bear. Or was it the photograph of a group of bears that hung over the bed that had her thinking about them? She climbed on top of the old-fashioned farm-style feather bed to get a better look. Were the bears posing? But that was ridiculous. Animals didn’t pose. Whoever had taken the photo had gotten lucky and caught the exact moment when the bears just happened to appear as though they were posing. She was surprised that whoever had taken the photo had managed to get four bears together in one spot, much less close enough to get all of them in one frame.
“Girl, you are losing it.”
She clambered off and started pacing again.
Muttering to herself was a bad habit, but one that she hadn’t bothered to stop. Most people assumed that she was talking on a phone through a headset.
“Remember why you’re here. These animals need you.”
Need. Oh, hell, how she needed Rick and Gunner.
“Urgh. Stop it. You’re not here to hook up with anyone, much less them. No matter how sexy they are.”
She’d always had a fascination with cowboys. When the men had ridden up, she’d been blown away. They were so manly, so virile sitting on top of their horses. Then when she’d seen their chiseled faces and heard the low timbre of their voices, she’d felt the warmth between her legs spur to life. Before she’d forced herself to stay on track, she’d had to smother a sigh. It was a good thing, too. With the way they’d watched her, their intense looks centered on her like she was prime rib, if they’d heard the yearning in her sigh, they would’ve jumped on her in a minute flat.
But none of that explained her wild reaction to them. Although it wasn’t half as strong as whenever she was around them, the arousal of desire still sang over her skin. They were amazing and sexy as hell with their cowboy hats and perfectly fitting jeans, the type of men she’d never thought she could attract. She’d given up on thinking her fantasies and wet dreams could ever come true. Those were for starry-eyed young girls, not someone like her who had her head on straight and her mind set firmly on her goals. And yet, here they were, the subjects of her investigation and the objects of her lust sitting at a picnic table and chowing down on meat.
She groaned and flopped onto the bed. Instead of being disgusted when they chewed on a hamburger, she’d found her mouth salivating, her attention focused on the stubble running along their square jaws and wondering how it would feel to skim her hand along the prickly hair.
Before she knew it, the sun had set and she’d moved on to wondering how the rest of their bodies would feel. Hard as rock? Soft to the touch in other places? Flaccid? Or erect and ready to roll?