Chapter Sixteen
What was she saying? This was just sex, sating that burning lust between them. Or was it?
Robyn had been in an internal conflict since arriving in the small town. The cowboy brothers snared her, tilting her entire world off its axis. Should she keep resisting, fighting for her pointless ideals? Or should she take a risk and reach for that fairy tale?
“Yes, ma’am.”
Parker’s muscles flexed as he supported his weight over her body. He’d already proved he was a godsend in bed, his wicked tongue bringing her higher than she’d ever been. Men usually shied away from dirty sex, making her feel embarrassed or uncomfortable if she suggested anything out of the ordinary. Not Parker. He made her feel like a goddess, all her locked-up sexuality allowed to break free.
He ran the head of his cock over her pussy, teasing over and over until she was arching up in a poor attempt to capture his length. He’d left her dangling on the edge, desperate for more. He knew exactly what he was doing, and his experience only turned her on more.
“I need you, Parker.”
She did. Not just sex, but love … forever. For once in her entire life, she wanted to let go and allow someone else to take the reins. She remembered his tattoo. Robyn needed to have courage, despite her fears, and take what she wanted. She wanted Yukon and Parker. Could they love her together? Could she say goodbye to everything she’d ever known and trust them not to abandon her?
“I need you too, baby.” He filled her with his big cock. She gasped, savoring the fullness. Loving the connection of having Parker inside her. She had the urge to tell him she loved him, to beg him not to break her heart, but she kept silent. “You feel better than I imagined. You’re squeezing my cock like a fist.”
“You’re so big.”
“It’s all yours, if you want it,” he said. Parker began to fuck her, pumping his lean hips like a piston. She could see the stars start to appear from the open hayloft. Robyn held him tighter, never wanting to let go. All the memories of their days together came back, and she was transported to those happy moments. The happiest of her pathetic life.
“Yes,” she murmured. The thought of Parker making love to another woman was indigestible. She wanted him for herself. Wanted his brother just as much.
He worked her body, slamming into her over and over. The man was skilled, every thrust of his hips bringing her closer. They kissed and held each other, the warm breeze caressing the clean sweat on their nude bodies. When her orgasm started to spark, she dug her nails into his back.
“That’s a girl,” he said. “Come for me, baby. I want to fill you up and make you mine.”
Yes, she wanted to be his. His woman. His everything.
Her womb began to contract, and she panted as her orgasm reached its peak. She exploded, screaming Parker’s name, her contractions squeezing his cock until she felt him come. He growled, his muscles going taut as he filled her with his cum.
Parker exhaled, rolling to his back. She looked at his body, completely naked, partially concealed by shadows. Even flaccid, his cock was impressive. “Thank you,” he said.
She crawled over to him, his cum leaking down her inner thigh. “Tell me you love me,” she said.
He narrowed his eyes, looking at her with a mix of confusion.
“Please.”
He twisted to his side, running his hand into her hair and securing her head in one place. “Say that again.”
“Tell me you love me.”
“Don’t play with me, Robyn.”
“I’m not.”
He tugged her head back and she let out a little gasp of pain. Parker licked along her jaw before nipping her ear. He kissed her on the mouth, deep and possessive. “I could stay here forever. With you. But—”
She shook her head, not wanting to hear it.
“I can’t fuck Yukon over. If you have to choose, choose him.”
Her eyes filled with tears. She felt so vulnerable, so completely exposed. “Why can’t I have you both?” She bit the inside of her lip after daring to spit out the most important, raw question plaguing her thoughts. It could cost her both men. But she couldn’t bury the truth forever.
The way they’d toyed with her in their horse barn and by the fireplace. It had felt natural for them to share her, but maybe it was all in her head. They were brothers, after all. This could be a deal breaker.
He shut her up with another kiss, his tongue caressing hers. Robyn never did get what she asked for.
****
The next morning, Parker needed a cold shower to wake up. He could barely keep his eyes open. He’d been up until late with Robyn before driving her back to the diner so she could get her car. Watching her leave had been one of the hardest things he’d ever done. It wasn’t easy keeping up a stone-cold exterior, but he wouldn’t let her break his heart. She’d already done a good job of that with his brother.
She was heading back to the city today, just as he predicted she would. His brother foolishly believed she’d give up her fancy lifestyle for him, but Parker knew better. They had nothing worthwhile to offer a woman like Robyn.
He was out in the barn saddling his horse when Yukon came in. His shadow blocked out the early morning rays.
“No work today?” asked Yukon.
“Not today.”
“What’re you doing with Silver?”
“I’m taking a ride. Do I have your permission?” He backed out his gelding, forcing Yukon to move out of the way. He wasn’t in the mood for the third degree. As much as he hated to admit it to himself, Robyn took a piece of him when she left. Making love to her under the stars had meant something. But it wasn’t meant to last.
“You getting practice in for the barrel racing?” asked Yukon.
He growled as he led Silver to the paddock. His horse had been his sidekick when he was in his rodeo heyday, but he’d been retired ever since Parker stopped competing. “Stop worrying about me and worry about your damn self.”
“I don’t know what’s happened to you. You used to give a shit. Now all you do is sneak around and get drunk. Is that how you want to live your life?”
“Fuck off, Yukon. You’re the one pining over a piece of pussy.”
Yukon gave him a shove, and Parker laughed. Within seconds they were brawling in the dirt, throwing punching and roughhousing like they did when they were teens. They were matched size for size, but Parker needed the physical outlet as much as Yukon.
After a hard right hook to his jaw, his brother paused, then dropped his fist. “Whatever. You do your thing, I’ll do mine.” Yukon walked off back to the house.
Parker rubbed his face and cracked his neck to the side. He mounted Silver and tore out into the fields. How much was one man expected to take? He’d been trying to be the head of the house, take care of Yukon, and keep food on the table. Life wasn’t easy for them, but he fucking tried every single day.
Now they were in their forties, both single, both growing bitterer by the day. Yukon was right—they were heading down the same path as their father, and there was nothing either of them could do about it. Parker wished Yukon could have found that happily ever after with Robyn. He still remembered the goofy look on his face when he came home from Meg’s that first day. It had been the look of a boy in love, and it suited him.
He brought his horse into a full gallop, savoring the feel of the wind on his face. Why couldn’t he get Robyn off his mind? He should have fought for her, told her she belonged to them.
Them?
She’d actually said she wanted both of them. Was it even possible to love two men? Was she screwing with him? He didn’t take her for the kind of woman to sleep around, but she’d fucked both of them in the same week. The thought of sharing her with Yukon didn’t even bother him, which was scarier than anything. If he even mentioned the idea of his lovesick brother, he’d probably knock him into next week.
It didn’t matter. She was gone. Back to the city. Back to her real life.
He needed to talk, but not with Yukon. Parker rode his horse through the back paths to Carlson’s ranch. He dismounted when he reached the fence line of their property and walked Silver the rest of the way.
Ava was climbing down from the roof of the house.
“What the heck are you doing up there?”
She stepped off the final rung of the metal ladder. “Fixing the shingles. We had some leaks during the rain storm,” she said.
“Carlson around?”
Ava shrugged, adjusting the hammer in her tool belt. “He was helping Wade fix his truck earlier. Check by the barn.”
Parker continued to walk his horse toward their barn. They’d grown up with the three Wright kids. Carlson and his identical twin Wade and their younger sister Ava. Nobody messed with her, not just because she had two brothers, but she was more of a cowboy than all of them put together. They didn’t have a mother, so he guessed she just never learned how to be a woman.
He spotted Carlson, and he tied Silver to one of the tie outs.
“Hey, stranger,” said Carlson. “Where’ve you been hiding?”
“Working my ass off.”
Carlson took off his hat and brushed the dust off his jeans. “Yukon was complaining you’re never home.”
“I got a side job.” Parker didn’t want to tell anyone, but he trusted Carlson to keep his mouth shut. “With the Palmers.”
Carlson laughed out loud. Parker gave him a shove.
“I’m serious.”
“No, you’re not.”
He ran a hand through his hair, trying to focus on the reason he was there in the first place. “Don’t tell Yukon. Don’t tell anyone. Sometimes you have to do shit you don’t want to do.”
“Okay. I get it.”
Carlson knew how much Parker and Yukon hated the Palmer brothers. They’d tormented them in grade school. The Palmers were born with a silver spoon in their mouths. Parker and Yukon went to school in hand-me-downs mended by their mother. They’d sworn never to work for them, and they’d gone without too many times to count even when the Palmers needed laborers.
Yukon was worth the sacrifice, even if Parker was only good enough for the most dangerous tasks and mucking out.
“You and Wade are my age, so tell me something,” said Parker. “You okay living without a woman?”
Carlson narrowed his eyes. He began coiling a length of rope around his hand and elbow. “What’s this all about? Is it something to do with Yukon and that girl from the diner?”
“It has to do with me. I’m forty-five. That’s a lot of lonely years until I hang up my hat.”
“Shit, you’re depressing me,” said Carlson. “I’m sure you’ll find a woman when the time is right.”
“I’m just not sure I can trust one again.”
Carlson walked over to his truck and put the rope in the bed. He reached in his pocket for his keys. “How long you gonna live in the past? You fucked around with that girl, what, over twenty years ago? It’s time to move on and expand your horizons, buddy.”
Parker nodded.
“If you keep playing it safe, nothing will change. Sometimes you have to put yourself out there. I’m not saying there aren’t any risks, and another bitch may break your heart, but eventually you’ll find the right one.”
Parker moved to the side as Carlson boarded his truck. “You’re just like your dad. You have a way with words.”
“I’ll see you at Meg’s tonight. You best be there.” Carlson backed out of the driveway, disappearing down the drive.
His friend was right. He should have taken a risk and told Robyn he loved her.