Page 24 of Wrangled Up (Menage a Trouble #2)

As if seeing him for the first time, her scope of vision widened and she drank in his entire appearance. He’d cut his hair. No longer did the warm brown ends brush his shoulders. Instead, it curled up from under the brim of his black Larry Mahan cowboy hat.

His shirt was open at the throat, exposing the tanned flesh she’d dreamed of each night since he left weeks ago. She snapped her free fingers into a fist to keep from reaching for him.

“Let me at that sauce, girl. You go and take a break.” Letty removed the spoon from her hand.

Still, she sat in shock, staring at Tucker. He dropped his gaze to her mouth and stared at it for a full minute before lifting his eyes.

A flurry of motion behind Tucker drew her attention to Christian. He spit out his chew and jammed a breath mint he always carried into his mouth. Then he spun on his heel and strode toward the house.

Her heart turned over. She jumped to her feet, skirted Letty and Tucker and broke toward the house with Tucker on her heels .

“You aren’t glad to see me.” Tucker’s voice burned with pain and accusation.

She shook her head hard. How could he believe that? She and Christian had suffered daily while he was gone.

But she couldn’t force the words past her frozen lips, because Christian’s rod-straight back was disappearing into the house.

“Chris!” She launched herself up the stairs after him and ran into the cool recesses of the house. Tucker slammed the door behind them all.

Christian whirled, fists clenched, a vein pulsing in his throat. “Where the hell do you get off, Langley?”

Tucker widened his stance and hitched his thumb in his jeans pocket. “You mean by returning home—to my ranch?”

“Oh, that’s dirty. A man walks—no runs—away from everything he has, leaving two people to pick up his slack, and then he acts as if we’re stepping on his toes.”

“That’s what this is about? You’re pissed off because you had to water a few horses?”

Christian’s face mottled red then interspersed with alarming purple. Claire mentally bounced between the men. Every cell of her being strained to touch Tucker. To put her arms around him, bury her face against his delicious throat and inhale him.

But the fathomless struggle in Christian’s eyes drew her to him.

With a jerk, Christian closed the gap between Tucker and himself. He butted a blunt finger into Tucker’s chest, rocking him on his heels. “A few horses? How about all the particulars of running this ranch, such as how to find a way to purchase feed or cure a case of hoof rot?”

Tucker’s face blanched. “I wired you money… You didn’t use it? You stubborn ass. How is that my fault?”

“I didn’t want your guilt money. I take care of my own. I don’t run.” Christian glared at him.

For several heartbeats, Claire held her breath.

“I was trying to be nice,” Tucker grated out.

“Would have been nicer of you to keep your goddamn relatives from threatening us. ”

“Leon and Dale?” His voice strained, as if he’d gulped down some barbed wire, not spaghetti sauce.

“That’s right. We never know where they’ll pop up next, but it seems they have me and Claire pinned down right nice. See, they think we’re squatting on your land with thoughts of stealing something. If I don’t keep Claire in my sights at all times, I’m afraid of what they might do or say to her!”

Surprise speared her. She’d had no idea that Christian might have these fears or that he wasn’t with her every second simply because he wanted to be.

She must have made some noise, because Christian swung his gaze toward her. The depths glimmered with fury and hurt and something deeper she didn’t understand. But it wounded her to see it.

She reached for him. He slashed the air with a hand and tore into Tucker again.

“What the hell do they want with your land?”

With an unsteady hand, Tucker pulled off his hat. The shorter ends of his hair stuck up, giving him a more boyish look. Claire’s heart tumbled straight into the dark heaven-hell it was to love this man.

“They want another access shoot for the coal mining taking place on their adjoining property. But I won’t grant it because I want to preserve the water and land for my stock.”

“You mean our stock.”

“Chris,” Claire gasped. She clapped a hand over her mouth. Did he mean to challenge Tucker for part ownership of the animals or ranch since he’d invested some time?

Tucker shot her a look then returned his attention to the pissed-off laborer who’d turned cowboy in front of him. As Tucker stared at Christian, his expression softened. “Look, man, I’m sorry.”

Christian’s composure shattered. His features convulsed, and he scrubbed a hand over his face. Claire couldn’t take it another minute. She drifted to Christian’s side.

He wrapped an arm around her waist and tugged her into his body.

Tucker gave a slow blink at the sight. “I was afraid it would be this way. ”

She opened her mouth to stop him from jumping to conclusions, but Christian beat her to it.

Looking right at Tucker, he wrapped a possessive arm around Claire. “We’ll leave right after we’ve finished this sauce.”

* * * * *

Christian leaned against the porch railing and stared at the spot in the yard where so many people had just enjoyed each other’s company. Several tables had been clumped together and Letty had insisted upon feeding everyone who had come to help with the sauce-making.

Now the only evidence he’d even shared a civil meal with Tucker were the depressions on the grass where the table legs had rested.

Damn that man for believing he could just march into the middle of it all and take over. Did Christian’s hard work amount to nothing? Even Tucker’s possessive gaze on Claire fueled Christian’s annoyance .

A boot scraped over the porch floor behind him. Without turning, Christian sensed Tucker’s presence.

“We’ll be goin’ soon.”

Tucker sidled up to the rail beside him. “Don’t go. Stay on the ranch and take my bed. I’ll sleep on the sofa.”

Christian glanced at Tucker’s face, hoping to see anything but the remorse that lived on his rugged features.

The kettle of anger in Christian’s soul bubbled.

Tucker had hurt Claire—hurt both of them.

His leaving had heaped stress and work on them.

If Tucker believed just turning up on the ranch would earn him forgiveness, he was dead wrong.

Christian stared at Tucker for a long minute. Tension stretched between them. Finally, Christian tugged on the brim of his hat. “Thank you for that. Claire and Letty are pretty exhausted after working all day. We’ll take your offer tonight and figure out what to do tomorrow.”

Tucker turned away, eyes averted. Christian sucked in one more deep lung full of fresh air and went in search of Claire.

He found her at the kitchen table, head in her hands. His stomach hollowed out at the sight of her despondent pose. Wrapping his fingers around her wrist, he said, “Come to bed with me.”

She looked up. Her gaze wasn’t focused on him but on some faraway point in her mind.

On Tucker, most likely, as his was.

Drawing her against his side, Christian led her down the hall to the bedroom they’d been sharing since Tucker left. So many amazing moments they’d spent together, always wishing for the man who’d run. Now he’d returned and Christian was pissed off at him for it.

No, not angry because he’d returned. Angry because Tucker hadn’t begun to say jack shit about being sorry. He and Claire needed more than Tucker’s handsome face to make their burning pain of the past weeks recede.

Claire allowed Christian to strip her. Then he pulled down the covers and tucked her into bed. When he had abandoned his dusty clothes and boots, he slipped in behind her.

The kiss of her bare flesh against his cock instantly aroused him. His shaft lengthened against her ass .

She reached back and sank her nails into his hip, wriggling closer. “I need you tonight. Just like this.”

As he nuzzled her fragrant neck, he located a condom and rolled it in place. By the time he pressed his cock on her slick folds, he was aching. The hollow in his chest closed a bit as he guided his erection home.

Deep into her tight pussy.

She gasped at his sleek invasion, pressing her back against his chest. Reaching back, she pulled on his hip. He rocked into her hard. She cried out, her pussy clamped around his throbbing cock.

Knowing Tucker was in the other room haunted Christian, but he wasn’t about to stop. The extreme pleasure and solace he gained in Claire’s sweet body blew his mind. With a few violent shoves, he reached a depth only achieved by their position.

She curled back against him, small, muted sounds bursting from her as if she didn’t want to parade their lovemaking in front of the man who wasn’t participating either.

Christian sucked on the side of her neck, lost in her flavor and feel. When the first pulsations struck her, he could hold back no longer. He palmed her breast as he exploded. Waves of release slammed him, heightened by their quiet passion.

Claire’s tight channel gripped him like a glove as her own orgasm stretched on. After several moments, Christian’s senses returned—along with throat-tightening remorse that they’d shared this in Tucker’s bed while he was on the couch.

And while both he and Claire wanted Tucker with every fiber of their beings.

A soft sob from Claire made Christian pull out of her. Flipping her onto her back, he stared down into her beautiful face. Tears streamed from the outside corners of her eyes.

“Oh sweetheart.”

“It feels weird without him. This was the first time we shut him out.”

The ache in Christian’s chest increased. He buried his face against her neck.

“I think he’s hurting bad, Chris.”

“Me too.”

“He hasn’t been whole. We need to help him heal. And I care enough to try. Do you?”

“I fucking shouldn’t, but I do.” He raised his head to meet her gaze .

She swiped the tears away and gave him a watery smile. “Clean up and let’s open the bedroom door.”