Free Two Cowboys in Her Crosshairs [Hellfire Ranch] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) by Jennifer August

heart.
    Jake framed her face and stroked the silken curve of her cheek. She trembled, and her lips parted. Jake’s gaze dropped to her full mouth and the urge to taste her was as strong as the scent of wisteria in the spring air.
    He searched her eyes and found them wide and cautious.
    He lowered his head. She didn’t stop him.
    She didn’t utter a word of denial.
    “Olivia,” he whispered, and his mouth covered hers.
    A blinding sense of familiarity and absolute rightness slammed into him. She tasted as sweet as Texas Tea, and her lips were softer than the down on a baby chick. She moved beneath him, pressing her mouth to his. She mewled in demand, and her fingers inched up over his neck and speared into his hair. She pressed down and opened her mouth.
    Jake couldn’t have resisted her invitation if an angry bull charged him. With long, slow strokes, he traced the outer edge of her mouth then dipped inside. Her tongue met his in a tangle of heat and moisture that sent his blood pressure reeling and his cock throbbing.
    He wanted to plunge deep inside her body as he had the last night they’d been together. He needed to feel her warmth and life wrapped around him. Wanted to prove to both of them he was still alive.
    Jake pulled his mouth away with a harsh, rasping gasp of air.
    “Jake?” she whispered and caressed his face.
    He pulled back, her touch burning him.
    She let her hand drop to her side and stepped away. Her arms wrapped around her midriff, and she stared at the truck. “They were watching,” she said. Her tone was flat and unemotional.
    He tried to pull himself together and found it nearly impossible. The primal urge to haul her back into his arms was strong.
    But he couldn’t do that.
    They had too much history and too many secrets.
    The sheriff lifted his hand in a jaunty salute and gunned the engine as Hudson stepped back.
    “Hud’ll give you a ration of shit if you let him,” Jake said.
    She nodded, and when she looked at him again, her face was expressionless. “He would have fit right in.”
    Jake nodded. “Yeah, he would have. Except he’s a damned pacifist. If not for the whole cowboy angle, you would think he’s a hippie.”
    She didn’t smile, but he thought he saw a softening in her features. He extended his hand, thought better of touching her and dropped it back to his side. “I was out of line,” he said. “I shouldn’t have kissed you.”
    Olivia’s face was more relaxed now. “Someday, you’ll have to explain why not.”
    Someday.
    Hudson’s boots rang on the bottom step as he ambled onto the porch with a grin as wide as the Brazos River. “Having fun, kids?”
    Jake shoved him. “Shut up.”
    Hudson looked at Olivia and his eyes tightened just a fraction. “Tag enjoyed the show. Said it was like old times. Didn’t realize you two were that close.”
    Her skin flushed deep, rosy red like wine from a Hill Country vineyard. “Knock it off, Hudson, you’re embarrassing her.”
    “Sorry, ma’am,” he drawled. “That was not my intent.”
    She laughed, and her blush faded. “I’m afraid my eyes are already brown, cowboy, so no use throwing that bullshit around for my benefit.”
    Hudson grinned widely. “You’ve got spunk. I like that.”
    “Are you kidding me?” Olivia said. “If I didn’t hold my own with these guys, I would have been an afternoon snack.”
    Hudson leered playfully and slung his arm around her shoulders. He snuggled her to his chest. “I’d love to nibble on you, darlin’. You just say the word, and I’ll bring the chocolate sauce.”
    All sorts of erotic thoughts raced through Jake’s mind. Each one starred a naked and wanting Olivia between them. He felt pole-axed and damned aroused. Now was not the time for either sensation. “Enough,” Jake snapped.
    They stared at him. Hudson eyed him with speculation, and Olivia’s face held censure.
    He drew a calming breath. “Did you get the statue?”
    “No,” she said. “Tag showed up