Page 22 of Rope Me, Cowboys

“We need to hire you a bodyguard,” Waylon said. “It’s a full-time job keeping you out of trouble around here.”

“The only trouble I see around here is you,” I shot back.

“I thought all we had to do was keep you away from cowboys,” Sawyer said. “I didn’t think we’d have a problem with cows.”

“It was a bull,” I protested.

“Bullshit it was a bull,” Waylon said. “That was straight up heifer.”

“Okay, how was I supposed to know?” I asked, throwing up my hands. The blanket slipped again, and this time, all three of them had a fine time ogling my boobs before I pulled it back. I took a deep breath and tried to compose myself and not notice the looks on their faces. “Whatever it was, it outweighs me by about two tons, and it was attacking me.”

“She’s just being friendly,” Sawyer said with a Cheshire grin. “They like to play a little. Tease you a bit. She’d never hurt you.”

“You sure you’re still talking about the cow?” I asked, looking him up and down.

“And you can tell if it’s a heifer because it has udders,” Holden said in his low, soft voice, interrupting our moment.

“Okay, okay, I probably should have known that,” I admitted. “But still. It wasn’t like I was going to crawl under it and see what was hanging down between its legs.”

“That’s probably smart,” Sawyer said, his eyes sparkling with laughter.

“What do we do now?” Holden asked, seating himself beside me on the bearskin rug, his legs stretched out towards the fire.

“I think I should probably get dressed,” I said. “In my own clothes.”

“Veto,” Sawyer said.

“Shut up,” I said, pulling the blanket up to my neck.

“You should stay wrapped up,” Holden said. “Your body temperature will take a while to go back to normal.”

“I wouldn’t mind sleeping right here by the fire,” I admitted.

“And there’s nothing to worry about with nosy old Mrs. Grimes,” Sawyer said to Waylon, who was scowling towards the window.

“I should have stopped and talked to her out there,” Waylon muttered. “I was trying to get Amber back to the house.”

“And you did, and we got her warmed up good,” Sawyer said, with a knowing smile aimed in my direction.

“Yeah, nothing happened,” Holden said. “It might have looked bad, but there was nothing going on.”

“You know how she gossips,” Waylon said. “She’s probably on the phone to our mother right now, and after that, she’ll be calling Dad.”

“And we’ll tell him we’re just getting her warmed up,” Sawyer said with a grin.

“You better be ready to back up those words, big boy,” I said with a sexy smile. “You can’t get me warmed up and then leave me hanging.”

The smile faltered on his face a bit, and I secretly reveled at the looks flying around the room between the three of them. Did they think I meant it?

Did I?

A blast of wind whipped against the house, whistling across the eaves. I shivered and pulled the blanket tighter around me.

“I’m going to bed,” Waylon said, standing abruptly. He was still wearing his long johns, and I tried not to ogle his package through the thin fabric. I couldn’t help but notice it was an exceptionally good-sized package. A shiver of longing went through me, and I felt a warmth swelling between my legs, clad only in his pants. If something happened between us, would his brothers find out? Surely our parents never had to.

My eyes climbed his body and met his, and a jolt of connection sizzled through me. I was sure he knew exactly what I’d been thinking. And that he was thinking the exact same thing.

“I’ll make sure your mother doesn’t find out about this,” he said to me. “Because nothing inappropriate happened, and nothing ever will. You’re our sister, and that’s all you’ll ever be to us.”