Free Between Two Sisters (contemporary western romance novella) by Shayna Ryan

door.
    “Hey, Cass, you couldn’t stay awa-” The words died on his lips when he realized it wasn’t Cass at his door, but Melanie instead. She looked ravishing in a long belted leather duster and her cheeks were colored by the nip in the air.
    “Hey, Billy. Mind if I come in?” she asked quietly.
    Dumbfounded, he clumsily gestured for her to enter. She breezed past him and sat down on his bed, pulling the duster closer to her as she tried to warm up. Billy lowered himself back into his chair at the table and poured himself another shot.
    “This is certainly unexpected,” he mumbled. He didn’t understand why she was there, but his muddled brain vaguely recalled that they needed to talk about something. What, he couldn’t quite recall in his drunken state.
    “Aren’t you going to offer a lady a drink?” Melanie asked.
    “Sorry. Where are my manners?” He went into the kitchen, pulled out a drinking glass, and poured her half a glass of whiskey. She accepted it without comment and took swallowed most of it down with one gulp. Billy settled back down at the table.
    “You gotta stop it, Mel,” he told her suddenly.
    “Excuse me?”
    “The looks. Those looks you were shooting me all night. Marty’s gonna kill me if he finds out what happened between us.”
    “That’s what I’m here to talk to you about.”
    “The last thing I need is the ranch manager thinking I’m after his girl!”
    “I know,” she said quietly, “and I’ve been thinking about what happened between us the other night.”
    “You and me both. I see you’re still with Marty,” he added bitterly.
    “That’s not fair, Billy. You show up, out of the blue, and expect me to just fall into your arms. It’s not that simple; Marty and I were happy, until you came here, and we have a history together. He’s a good guy, and I can’t just kick him to the side. He deserves more than that.”
    The air was thick with tension as silence overcame them.
    “Why are you here, anyway? Don’t you want to be home, or with Marty?” She didn’t reply right away, but drained the last of her whiskey instead, gesturing for him to pour her some more. He obliged without thinking about it, then poured himself another shot as well. The bottle’s contents were quickly dwindling.
    “So what’s it gonna be?” They couldn’t continue on this way, with the longing looks and the tension between them.
    “What does it matter to you? Aren’t you with Cass now?” she demanded angrily. “You expect me to just toss Marty aside, but meanwhile, you’re starting things up with my sister.”
    “Cass and I are…well, I don’t know what we’re doing,” he admitted frankly.
    “So you’re not serious?” she asked cautiously.
    He shrugged noncommittally. “Too soon to know.”
    “Okay then.” Melanie sucked in a deep breath, as if to steady herself. Billy watched her as she rose up from the bed and crossed the little cabin towards him. He assumed she was leaving and pushed his chair away from the table to see her out.
    She moved in front of him, and the tenderness in her eyes rekindled all the feelings towards her that he had been working so hard to bury.
    “Melanie…”
    She placed one finger to his lips to shush him, then pushed him back down into his chair again. With the other hand, she slowly undid the belt to her duster. Because of his drunken haze, it took Billy a moment to register that she was completely naked underneath it.

 
    -8-
     
    The leather duster fell to the floor as Melanie straddled Billy’s legs and sat in his lap, facing him. He stared at her glorious naked form, soaking in every detail of her. She was more beautiful than he had even imagined.
    She removed his hat, and placed it on the table behind her. With one hand she s oftly caressed the side of his face. He closed his eyes and leaned against her soft palm, treasuring her touch. Slowly, she moved her hand down to his shirt and began unbuttoning it ever so slowly.
    “But