Free Buckskins, Boots & Bondage (Cowboy Kink) by Desiree Holt Page A

she’d ever experienced in her life. But more than that, each night together had been a building block toward a more permanent relationship.
    They’d only in the last week or so really begun to explore what was happening among them. Talked a lot about themselves, opening up a little more each time they were together. Tiptoeing around what no one had come right out and said—was there a chance to make this permanent?
    The emotion was there, no question about it. What they shared at Rawhide was intense because of that emotion, because of the feelings they were all a little nervous about stating out loud.
    Angel sensed that old hurts were hanging around on the twins’ side as well as hers. A failed relationship like the one she had? Whatever it was had apparently affected Justin more than Tucker because, except during sex, it was obviously that he was holding back. No one had come right out and talked about where they might be headed, but today was a big step forward.
    Although they’d learned a lot about each other, shared stories and history, this was the first time they’d be together outside the protected environment of the club. They’d picked her up right after lunch with plans to show her their life outside the club. The brothers wanted her to see the feedlot and their home just on the edge of town.
    And later they were invited to the Hallidays’ for barbecue with some other friends Reece and Katie wanted her to meet.
    “They’re all in the life,” Tucker assured her, “so you don’t have to feel self-conscious about anything.”
    “But none of them has a ménage arrangement, right?” she’d asked nervously.
    “No,” he answered. “But it’s not anything they’d see as unusual, either.”
    But what about the rest of the town?
    What if they moved forward with the thing they were all dancing around? None of them had yet openly expressed their real feelings about each other, or said the big “L” word. It was almost as if they were afraid to take that last big step forward.
    Angel couldn’t have asked for two more compassionate or caring men when it came to sex. Any lingering reservations she had about latent jealousy or possession had long been set to rest. And in the soft, relaxing times between intense sexual activities, they talked easily with each other. But now they were taking the whole thing “outside,” so to speak. And she was doing her best to conceal the sudden attack of nerves. What if this turned out to be another situation like the one with Brad and Hal?
    “It’ll be fine, Angel,” Tucker said, taking one of her small hands in his larger one. “We just want you to see where we live and run our business. Get a flavor for the countryside. See if you like it.”
    “Because?” she asked
    “Because,” Justin answered, “I think we all know the direction we’re headed, even though we’ve been dancing around it the past couple of weeks. The two of us have…very strong feelings for you, so it’s important to us that you’re comfortable with our lifestyle here.”
    Angel wiped one hand on her jeans. “Lifestyle. Right.”
    “We haven’t really talked a lot about the future, darlin’,” Tucker added. “We wanted you to see firsthand what we’re all about. But I think even before we say the words, we all know where this is going.”
    “And your friends and neighbors?” she prompted.
    “Our friends will accept however we live and our neighbors can adjust or not.”
    “What about your customers?” she persisted. “Wouldn’t it affect business if you had living arrangements so different from everyone else’s?”
    Justin’s chuckle was only partially humorous. “We run the best feedlot in this part of the state. As long as we keep doing that, customers will stick with us.”
    Angel wasn’t all that sure. And she had her own situation to think about. Masterson was still dangling the possibility of the junior partnership like a carrot just out of reach on a long stick.