Cowboy

 

I glanced over at Hush sitting beside me in the truck, staring out of the window. I tightened my grip on the wheel and shook my head. I’d known the fucker for years, and I still couldn’t believe how he refused to let anyone in but me. Since Ky had told us we were assigned to watch his baby sister, Hush had closed in on himself, as always. Fucking locked himself inside the head that was a damn fortress to breach. And I knew why, but the stubborn asshole was too proud to admit the truth.

I sighed, turning up the radio. But it took about two seconds for me to get bored. I was a loudmouth, I knew it, and the fucking deathly silence from my best friend was killing me. “You get the stuff I left out for you this morning?” I asked. I knew he had. I watched him pack it, just to be sure. I just wanted to fucking talk. Wanted my friend back to the way he was.

Hush’s shoulders tensed, but then he muttered, “Yeah.”

I sighed in defeat, laying my head back on the headrest. We were about five miles out from where Sia lived: a little ranch, in the middle of fucking nowhere. It reminded me of my childhood home. More rustic and less refined, but a ranch was a ranch.

“At least there’s a gas station close in case I need hard liquor during all this, hey, mon frère?”

Hush grunted, but he kept his head away from me. My fucking chest squeezed when I thought of his face this morning. My brother was dog tired. And I knew that shit wasn’t good for him. His face looked paler than normal, and his blue eyes were dull as fuck.

Set off a shit-ton of warning bells inside my head. He was thinking too much.

It was Sia.

All of this, the moping, the silence, was because of the beautiful bitch driving alone in the truck up ahead. Fuck, I could barely think of her without wanting to wrap my hand in her long hair and pull her to my fucking mouth. Tasting her tongue, her tits pressed up against my chest. I looked at Hush from the side of my eye and knew the brother did too. Since we’d met her at Ky’s wedding, I knew on the spot I liked the bitch. Her damn sassy mouth, the confidence that oozed from her every move.

Her ass wasn’t too bad either.

My lip flicked up in amusement as I thought back to yesterday and the VP’s little “talk” he had with me and Hush . . .

“Shut the fucking door behind you.” Ky stood at the front of church, arms folded. Styx stood on his right, his face like thunder too. Hush was tense as he trailed behind. He shut the door. I slumped down to my seat and threw my hands up behind my head. I made myself real fucking comfortable.

Hush pulled his chair out. I smirked at his ramrod back as he stared at Ky, waiting for our VP to speak.

I brought my lazy gaze back to Ky and had to fight back a grin at how his eyes narrowed on me. “VP,” I said. “You wanted to talk to us?”

“Damn fucking right I did.” Ky leaned his hands on the tabletop, palms flat. “Neither of you are gonna go near Sia except to protect her.” Ky got straight to the point. I felt Hush grow more tense. I didn’t lower my hands from my head. I’d known this was coming.

“You watch her ranch. Take shifts in looking out for any trouble. Not an hour goes by when one of you ain’t looking for that cunt, Garcia. Got it?”

“Got it,” I confirmed, just before Hush said, “Yeah.”

Ky’s eyes locked on me. “She is my fucking sister. Not one of you two assholes touches her in any way, got it?” He quickly sobered, and then said, “She’s been through enough shit at the hands of a man. I ain’t gonna tell you the fucking minute details, but she was fucking ruined by that bastard. Ain’t even had a date since. She’s better on her own.” The cocky smirk I was wearing fell away at that bit of intel. Ky leaned further forward until he was almost at my face. “I will fucking kill anyone who hurts her again. And that ain’t a threat.” His eyebrows drew together. “And it sure as shit ain’t gonna be any of my club brothers. Especially the two sweet-talking Cajuns that have slut pussy creaming over their fucking accents on the daily.”

“Okay, VP,” I said in my thickest Cajun French. Just to see if I could turn Ky’s red face up a few shades more. I saw the guy’s hands roll into fists, but before he could start throwing them my way, Hush put his hand on my arm to tell me to shut the fuck up.

“Ain’t gotta worry about that, mon frère,” he said. “We ain’t going after your sister. We get it. She’s off-limits.”

Ky glared at us. As did Styx. Before Ky left church, he pointed in my face. “You better be listening to your best friend out there, Cowboy. You don’t wanna face me again if I hear you’ve been sniffing around my sister.”

I laughed to myself as I thought of the VP’s veins throbbing in his neck, as if he could read my thoughts about his sister on my face. Hush turned around, his brows pulled down. It was a permanent damn feature these days. “Turn that frown upside down, mon frère,” I instructed and pushed my fingers against his lined forehead.

Hush batted my hand away. “What the fuck are you laughing at?”

“Ky. Yesterday. His fucking tirade. The gris-gris he tried to put on our asses.”

Hush shook his head, exasperated. “We got it good here at the club. Don’t go fucking it up for a piece of pussy.”

I choked on a laugh. “A piece of pussy?” I winked. “Think I’ll tell Sia you said that when we pull up. Sure she wants to hear it.” Hush’s nostrils flared, and his hand went to his thigh and squeezed. It was how he calmed himself down. How I did if I saw it happening before he realized he was losing his shit. Especially in public.

I quickly lost my smile, and I blew out a long breath. “That’s it though, hey Val? She ain’t just any pussy, is she?”

Hush turned to look out of the window again. “She is, Aub. That’s what you can’t seem to get through your fucking thick skull.” He shook his head. “You just won’t let it fucking drop. All the winks and raised eyebrows, the damn tapping of your motherfucking Stetson anytime she’s mentioned or speaks to us. I told you before, and I’ll tell you again: I ain’t interested. Just end your fucking games.” His shoulders tensed. “You want her that bad? Fuck her. You want my written permission or some shit?”

“Fuck you, Hush.” I was a pretty laid-back guy, but him speaking like that raised my forever-dormant rage from a one to a good solid three out of ten. “You want me flying solo on this one, mon frère? It can be arranged.” He sat there, seething. I just let him. Fucking prick was as stubborn as an ox. First thing I ever noticed about him at sixteen years old.

I rolled my eyes at Hush’s continued silent treatment, and then caught Sia turning right. We traveled a few miles until we were absolutely in the middle of nowhere. She turned left, and fields of pasture protected by thick trees surrounded the truck on every side. I could see why Ky got her this place. From the road you would never know there was a ranch here.

A few miles later, a small house came into view. Fucking typical ranch style, with a porch. A barn and a training ring for horses were to the side of the property, along with fields and fields of green.

I breathed in the fresh air. Fucking loved places like this.

“Reminding you of the good old days?” Hush goaded with a still-shitty attitude. The brother had no love for where we were from, and especially my roots.

“Hush, I ain’t hit you since we were kids, but I’ll tell you now, you miserable bastard, if you don’t stop pushing me, I might just snap and be forced to flick your arm . . . and I’ve been told my flicks leave a real a good sting.” I waited, a shit-eating grin spreading on my lips. And I called it a big fucking win when I saw his cheek twitch and his lip curl slightly at the side.

“Careful, mon frère,” I playfully warned, opening the door. “Looks like you might be about to smile. Ain’t a good look when you wear that brooding-handsome-bastard look so well.” I held his stare. “Sia’s been getting off on that shit. Can’t take her eyes off you . . . and, of course, me. But that’s just part of my pretty-boy looks and Cajun charm.”

I jumped out of the truck and saw a pair of long jean-clad legs climb out of the truck in front. Sia slid down onto the gravel driveway, her blue plaid shirt tied at the waist and her long curly hair flicked over her shoulder like a fucking siren.

“Nice place you got here, cher,” I said. Sia smiled my way, her blue eyes catching mine.

Her gaze ran over the property, and the expression on her face changed from the one she’d worn this morning when we set off from the club to . . . fucking peaceful, I would say. Relaxed . . . my favorite fucking bodily state. “Yeah,” she breathed. “It’s home.”

Sia turned and reached over the console to grab her purse. I knew I shouldn’t have looked down—outlaw brothers’ code and all that—but I had no choice. I held onto the door tighter and fought back a groan when she reached her arms further forward, the shape of her tight ass fully on display. I looked over to my truck, catching Hush’s eyes. His arms were crossed over his chest. I winked and smiled—exactly what he’d just given me shit for in the truck.

I wasn’t gonna change for no one.

“I’ll take that for you, cher,” I offered when Sia brought her bag out of the cabin.

“Thanks, Cowboy.” She looked over my shoulder at Hush. Her eyes lowered and she sent him a nervous smile before heading inside her house. Hush caught up with me.

“She thinks you hate her,” I said as we made our way up the steps to the porch.

“I don’t hate her,” he replied, offering me nothing else. No shit he didn’t hate her. He liked her. I knew he liked her as much as I did.

Hush trailed behind me as we entered her house. Sia stood in the center of a living room. Two couches sat on either side of a coffee table, and an open fire took up the back wall, a chair beside it. “I’ve only got two bedrooms,” Sia said and ran her hand over her forehead. “One’s mine, obviously.”

“We’ll share.” I placed her bag down on the floor. I stepped back and put my hand on Hush’s shoulder. “We ain’t shy with each other, right, Hush?”

“It’s fine,” he said. I shook my head at Sia and sent her a wink.

“In that case, it’s this way.” Sia led us upstairs to two doors. She opened one. “My room is there, just opposite,” she said and let us through. A large bed sat in the center.

I turned to Hush and flashed him a huge grin. “Big enough to cuddle you in, at least.”

Sia laughed, and then clapped her hands. “Well, I’ll leave y’all to unpack. I need to check on my horses.”

She had barely taken two steps when I said, “Wait up. I’ll come with you.”

Her smile fell and her eyes narrowed in suspicion. “My brother tell you to do this? Never leave my side? Because I’ll tell y’all right now, that ain’t the way things are gonna go down here. You can be here. Sleep here. But I do what I want, when I want. I know this ranch better than anyone.” Her cheeks burned with anger.

I held my hands up. “Whoa, no, cher.” I pointed at my Stetson. “Ranch kid, remember? I know you don’t know much about me, but I told you I grew up around horses.”

Her eyes searched my face. Then her shoulders relaxed. “Yeah, you did.”

I leaned on the wall beside me and stopped myself from smiling when I saw her eyes flash to my bicep, then back to my wide chest. I flexed. Bitch left me no choice.

A flush coated Sia’s cheeks, and I said, “So? You gonna show me the goods?”

Her eyebrows shot up in surprise. I stepped closer, and closer still, until I looked down into Sia’s big blue eyes. They were fucking huge at this proximity. “The horses, cher.”

Sia backed away, flustered. “It’s this way.” I fell into step beside her until we were out of the house. I heard footsteps from behind. When I turned, Hush was coming down the steps of the porch.

“You’re coming?” I asked, fucking shocked.

Hush met my eyes, then flitted his gaze to Sia before rubbing a hand over his head and muttering, “Gonna check the perimeter. I’ll take first shift.” He searched around us. He let out a deep breath, then made himself address Sia, looking right into her eyes. “Ky said there were some bikes around here somewhere. Said we were to use them for now ’cause we came in the truck.”

“Poppa’s bikes?”

Hush shrugged. “Just said there’d be bikes.”

Sia’s shoulders stiffened. “My poppa had a couple of bikes. Ky stores them here.” She pointed to the garage at the side of the house. “Ky keeps them running. Comes up most weeks and keeps them up to scratch.” Sia brushed past us to head to the garage. She took a ring of keys from her belt and opened the door. Hush fell into step beside me, and we waited to see the famous Big Poppa Willis’s pride and joys. Sia flung the door open. She pulled dust sheets off two bikes that sat in the center. Two Harleys were revealed. One fairly new Fat Boy, and a—

“1960s Duo Glide.” Hush crouched down beside the vintage motorcycle in awe. Brother had always got a boner for the older models. I preferred a good ole Chopper. Never got the Harley obsession.

Hush ran his hand over the leather seat. “It’s beautiful.”

I didn’t realize how tense Sia was beside me until, radiating pure fucking hate, she hissed, “They should have been buried along with the man that rode them.” Hush slowly got to his feet and looked dead in Sia’s eyes.

“I’ll get the key for you,” Sia said and left to go into the house. I moved beside Hush.

“Daddy issues?” I asked. Hush shrugged.

Sia came back and threw the keys in Hush’s direction. “Gas canisters are along the back wall if you need them. There should be enough for about a week before we’ll have to go to the station down the road to get more.” Sia spared a glance at the bikes again. “My brother idolizes anything of my poppa. These bikes are no exception.” She looked to me, then Hush. “You all do though, huh? See anything to do with that club as sacred and untouchable?”

I’d just opened my mouth to agree when Hush said, “Club saved most of us. We owe it everything.”

Sia, all ballsy and shit, walked up to Hush. My brother stood his ground. His nostrils flared as the bitch I knew he had a huge fucking for stood toe to toe with him. Hush stood tall over Sia, but that didn’t stop the firecracker from saying, “Yeah, but more often than not it takes more than it gives.” She put her hands on her hips. “You meet my poppa, Hush?” Hush shook his head. “He was a total bastard.”

“Damn, cher.” I whistled low. “He died for the club.”

Her head whipped to me. “So did my momma. Only she didn’t ask for any part of it. The club was his life. Because of your precious club, I never got to know my mother. My aunt told me as much as she could. That Momma was always fucking torn up over the fact that my poppa stuck his cock in any slut pussy he could find, so much so that she left him when she was pregnant with me. She tried to take Ky too, but Big Poppa Willis would never let her have his son. His Hangmen heir. My father kept Momma caged by her love for him. Kept her pathetically hanging on to any scrap of love he threw her way, only for her to die because he couldn’t even open a fucking gate without making her beg for that too—” She stopped herself from continuing, her face bright red with rage.

Thrusting the bike’s key at Hush, she turned on her heel and headed out of the garage. She only stopped at the door to speak over her shoulder. “I ain’t got much love for the club, that’s obvious. But from the minute I met you two, you seemed different to most of the assholes at that place . . . I’m praying I was right. It’s why I asked for you two to come here, with me.”

I fucking stopped breathing until she walked into the bright daylight and away from us. I turned back to Hush, who was watching her go, his blue eyes fucking lit.

“We’re different, huh?”

“You know we are,” he said, and then got on the bike. The engine roared to life. He tore out of the garage, leaving me watching him go.

I ran my hand down my face and stared up at the garage’s dusty rafters. I breathed in deeply, and then took off after Sia. I saw her sexy ass walking across to the barn. I kicked into a jog and caught up with her just as she entered the barn doors. She went straight to her horses, stroking each one down the nose. I went along each stall, seeing them all for myself. A strange kind of tightness pulled in my stomach as I did. This was my fucking world once. Horses, rodeos, and no Hush.

A whole lot of ignorance about those around me too.

It felt like it was someone else who had lived that life. It was the life my parents had mapped out for me. One I never dreamed I would walk away from.

I patted the neck of the quarter horse I was looking at. She nuzzled her nose into my shoulder.

“You’re good with her.”

I smiled and turned, and immediately thought that I’d never seen blue plaid look so fucking good. “I’m good with all the females, cher.” I waggled my eyebrows at her and smiled wider; a huff left her mouth, followed by a light laugh.

“That line normally work for you?” she said playfully, cocking her head and placing her hands on her curvy hips.

I slammed my hand to my chest, spooking the mare. “Sia, baby, I’m hurt,” I pronounced dramatically. I walked slowly toward her. She straightened slightly, but kept my stare until our chests almost touched. I smoothed back a curly piece of hair that had fallen over her shoulder. Her breath hitched as I did so. “I got no smooth talk for the ladies.”

“Sure you don’t.” Sia tilted her chin up at me. “You’re a Hangman. I know what club life is like, remember? Ky is my brother. Hell, but for blood, so is Styx. I know what goes down with you guys. Slut pussy and sucking your dicks. Y’all got no fucking talk for the ladies.”

I rolled my lips together, knowing my dimples had come out in full force when I saw her baby blues flare. “Oof, cher, that mouth.” Sia struggled to fight back her smile. I leaned down and whispered in her ear, “I like it. Never fucking lose that sass, darlin’.” I could sense, rather than see, Sia roll her eyes. She slapped my chest and tutted. Before she could remove her hand, I took hold of it. She watched as I lifted it to my mouth. I locked my eyes on hers and kissed the soft skin on the back.

Sia pulled her hand away and thrust a shovel into my hand. “You may be a smooth talker, but all I wanna know is how good you are at shoveling horseshit.”

“The best,” I said and started cleaning out the stalls as she put the horses out into the fields to graze.

When they were all done, Sia asked, “You wanna go for a ride?” She pointed her thumb at two horses: one mare, one stallion. “They need exercising. Clara, the girl who helps me out here, didn’t get much chance with them while I’ve been gone.” She pointed to the stallion. “And she daren’t ride him.”

“Recently broken in?”

Sia nodded. “Still goes bucking-bronc at times.”

A familiar sense of excitement zipped through me. “Don’t you know you’re looking at the New Orleans and Louisiana State youth saddle bronc champion? Three years in a row.”

“You’re a bronc rider?”

I tapped my Stetson, lowering my head. “Aubin Breaux at your service, ma’am.”

Her eyes widened. Her mouth fell open. “Oh my God! I’ve seen you!” Her head shook in disbelief. “I used to watch you on Rodeo TV when I was younger.” She stilled. “Wait, I’m only twenty-four. You can’t have been much older than me at the time.”

“I’m twenty-six.”

“And Hush?”

“Same.”

She nodded, seemingly to herself, and then came toward me. “Aubin Breaux.” She sounded stunned. “Your name is Aubin Breaux.” She smiled. “I get the road name though: Cowboy. But . . .” Her head cocked to the side like she was trying to figure me out.

“Ask me, cher.”

“You were set to go places in rodeo. Professionally. Why did you stop?” Her eyes fell to my cut. “And how the hell did you get in with the Hangmen?”

My fucking stomach twisted again; that weren’t my story to tell. I turned back to the stallion. “I’m more interested in this guy than talking about my rodeo past.” I ran my hand down his neck. Sia was still watching me curiously. “You breed them?”

She sighed, seeing I wasn’t gonna give her more information. “Yeah, I breed them.” Sia moved beside me and ran her hand over the stallion’s nose. “But I train them more. Barrel racing mostly.” She nudged my shoulder. “Broncos too. Basically, everything a horse can do in a rodeo.” She shrugged. “I’m pretty damn good at it.” She dropped her hand. “I’d have a bigger business if I wasn’t . . .” Her eyes dropped. “If I didn’t live in hiding. Can’t risk the exposure.”

I tipped my head to the side. “You barrel race yourself?”

“Local champion,” she said, grinning. “Still the title holder ’round these parts.”

“Then why the hell didn’t I see you on the circuit?” I pursed my lips and ran my eyes down her body. “I would have remembered you, cher.”

Her face frosted over. “Because, like now, I was hidden. Big Poppa Willis’s daughter is good leverage for enemies. So we were tucked away and I had to curb my dreams. Had to compete amateur instead of competitive. Still do.” She raised her hands. “But that’s okay, because it’s for the sake of the club, and everything is always for the club.” She put her hand on her forehead and looked up at me. “Sorry. I just get pissed a lot.”

I decided to leave that shit right the fuck there. “Where’re the saddles?”

Sia exhaled, clearly relieved that I’d turned the conversation around. She brought the bridles and saddles from a back room and got the horses ready. She jumped on the mare and smiled down at me. “You still remember how? Or can you only ride something with an engine these days?” she teased.

I jumped on Triumph, the stallion, and quickly found my seat. Triumph danced on the spot, nose flaring. “Let’s see, shall we?” I said and kicked him into a gallop out of the barn and across the open field. I heard Sia’s peal of laughter behind me. I turned with the edge of the field and saw Sia coming after me. After a sprint around the field, I drew Triumph to a walk. Sia pulled up beside me, eyes bright. “Well?” I asked.

“You’re all right,” she reluctantly admitted, then laughed. “No . . . you’re pretty fucking good, and you”—she pointed at me—“you smug bastard, know you are.”

I sat back in my saddle and sighed. “Yeah, but it feels so fucking good to be constantly told so.”

Sia punched my arm. I threw her a wink.

An engine roared in the background. We looked over to see Hush slowly tracing the perimeter of the far field. In a second my damn mood switched from happy to frustrated.

“Did I do something to offend him?” Sia’s question pulled my attention from my best friend to her still-flushed face. “At Styx’s and Ky’s weddings he seemed so good with me.” She sighed. “I know you and I did most of the talking, but he chatted some too. Now . . . nothing. Nothing but anger and cold stares.” She glanced over at my brother fading away into the distance. “I thought he liked me.”

“He does.” A few moments of quiet went by before I explained, “Look, cher, he’s a quiet guy. Always has been. But . . .” I closed my eyes and tipped my head back. “I ain’t gonna go into all the reasons, because I wouldn’t disrespect Hush like that.” I could feel her watching me. “He’s shutting you out.”

Sia’s brow was wrinkled in confusion. “I don’t understand.”

“If he shuts you out, it’s because he likes you. He’s shutting you out because it’s how he protects himself.”

“From what?” she whispered.

“Getting hurt again.”

“Again?”

Leaning over to where she rode beside me, I said, “You ain’t the only one who’s had trouble in their past, cher. I don’t know fully what happened with you and this Garcia dick, but I get it was bad and you wanna move on from it.”

“Hush is the same,” she replied knowingly.

“He’s got his own past too. He’s shutting you out because he knows you could make him want you.” I shook my head. “No. The stubborn asshole already does. Therefore, he’s ignoring you. It’s his failsafe.” I sighed. “Brother has more layers than a damn onion.”

Sia seemed to stop breathing. I looked into her shocked eyes. She licked along her lips, and asked, “He wants me?”

“Have you seen you?”

That made her smile. Before the smile dropped and she said, “And . . . you?”

A slow grin spread on my lips. “Me what?”

She narrowed her eyes at me, knowing exactly what I was doing. “You want me,” she said, as ballsy as I loved her for being.

“Fuck yeah,” I confirmed and watched her blush.

Sia stared in the direction of where Hush had just been. “And it doesn’t cause issues between you? That you might both like the same woman?”

My dick started to harden as that question passed her lips. Because the fucking image it painted in my head, I wanted to come real fucking true. “We don’t work like that, cher.” I saw the confusion on her face. So I explained, “The jealousy thing? Doesn’t really happen between me and Hush.” I let her sit with that awhile.

After about ten minutes of silence, Sia leaned forward and kissed the neck of her mare. Noticing me watching, she said, “They’re my emotional therapy.” She barely met my eyes before looking away and patting her mare’s neck. “My horses. I’ve always loved them. I’ve always been into barrel racing. But after . . . when I came back . . .” She took a deep breath. “They became my emotional crutch. They held me up when I thought I might crumble.” Her eyes drifted off to stare blankly at the trees to our left. “It’s why I couldn’t stay at the club. Every day got worse for me without them . . . I . . .”

I reached over and took her hand. It was shaking. Anger that I wasn’t used to feeling built in me at how fucking scared she was. And when I held her hand, she didn’t push me away; the bitch gripped on tight.

Sia didn’t move her hand from mine as we traveled over two other fields. When we started heading back, she said, “Cowboy?”

“Mmm?”

“You and Hush . . .” I couldn’t help but smile when she dropped her head and her cheeks beamed bright red. I stayed quiet, letting her ask what she wanted to ask. When she glanced up and saw my smirk, she manned the fuck up and said, “I’ve heard rumors . . .”

“What rumors?”

She blew out an exasperated breath. “You’re gonna make me ask, aren’t you?”

I sat back in my saddle, getting real fucking comfortable. “Yeah, darlin’. I think I fucking am.”

“Are you gay?” she blurted, then blinked like she couldn’t believe she asked it. “I mean . . . but you said you liked me . . . so, bisexual, maybe?”

I fucking hated labels. Always had. Never labeled myself as shit. I didn’t roll like that, but, “We’re close,” I said and shrugged. “People can think what they want. We just do everything together. I don’t care what people want to call it.”

“Everything?”

Now that got her fucking attention. “Well, Hush don’t ride horses, so not quite everything.”

“Cowboy!” Sia exclaimed, clearly sick of my dancing in circles.

I smirked. “But he’s there, with me, when we fuck sluts, so I’d say we’re pretty damn close.”

Sia’s mouth dropped open and her chest heaved. “You fuck women together? You . . . you have threesomes?”

“Yeah.” I studied her face closely. I wanted to know what the bitch thought of that bit of information.

“You never fuck women on your own?”

“Nope.”

“Ever?”

I shook my head.

“Only with Hush there as well?”

I nodded. Then smiled. Leaning closer, I asked, “What do you think of that, cher?” Her nipples hardening under her shirt showed me exactly what she thought of that.

“You don’t touch each other while doing it?”

“Ahh . . . the million-dollar question.” I made her wait, one, two, three seconds, before, “I mean, sure we touch . . .” Her eyes widened. “But we don’t sink the swords in each other, if that’s what you’re getting at.” I held up my hands. “Strictly into sinking the bitch’s pink.”

Her lip twitched, and she shook her head at my response. “Well . . . y’all are just regular spit-roasting Prince Charmings, huh?”

I choked on a laugh, but I leaned over to where she sat and looked her dead in the eyes. “Not just spit-roasting, cher.” Her breath hitched. “Double penetration is the position of choice.”

Sia’s cheeks beamed red. But, owning that shit, she whispered, “Different strokes for different folks, I suppose.”

I grinned and straightened. “Too true, cher.” I shrugged. “Way I see it, life is too fucking short. Live how you wanna live, have to live, and fuck everyone else.”

“I can’t imagine Hush doing that with anybody,” she said. “You, however, after this chat, I have no fucking doubt.”

I laughed, then taking her hand in mine again, said, “Don’t worry, cher, we’ll wear Hush down together. Get him seeing things our way. His walls are high, but I reckon we can smash through them if we try hard enough.”

“I . . . Cowboy . . . I don’t—” she tried to argue, but I dropped her hand and kicked Triumph off into a gallop. I let the bitch sit with that image awhile. Of having both of us. Her, crushed against our chests. Both our mouths on her neck.

After a few stalled seconds, Sia came sprinting after me. I glanced back and tapped my Stetson at her. Her face was determined as she tried to catch me. I’d give the bitch her dues. She could fucking ride.

She didn’t catch me as I entered the yard. Face flushed and out of breath, she dismounted and walked past me, muttering, “If that was a fair race I’d have spanked your Cajun ass. Next time, I’ll show you what Sandy here can really do.”

“Ooh, darlin’.” I licked my lips and dismounted too. “Spanking my ass? That can be arranged.” She raised her eyebrow at me. “What?” I said, mock shocked. “I’ve clearly just told you I’m into kink.” Sia grabbed Triumph’s reins and put the horses out to pasture. By the time everything on the ranch was done, night had fallen and I was fucking starving.

I turned to Sia. “I can see why you like it here, cher.”

She panned her eyes around the ranch. “Yeah. It’s my haven.”

“Unlike the club.”

She narrowed her eyes, and her shoulders slumped. “I’m just bitter about certain aspects of the club, Cowboy. Of course I don’t hate it. Just . . . sometimes I wish I wasn’t Elysia Willis, you know? You chose this life. I was born into it. And even then, I wasn’t allowed to be fully ‘in’ it.” She looked away.

“Deep down I knew you didn’t hate us,” I said. She looked up at me. “Kinda hard to think you hate bikers and the world we live in when you go and name your stallion Triumph.”

Sia’s mouth opened and closed, finding no fucking words. When she walked past me, clearly in a fucking huff, I smiled. Bitch didn’t hate bikers at all. She loved Styx and Ky; I’d seen her with them. And she liked me, I knew it. And Hush, she found fascinating. She hated her poppa. That was it.

But then, from what I’d heard of the old VP, who fucking wouldn’t?

 

*****

 

Hush came into the house as Sia was making food. He looked down at me making myself real fucking comfortable on the couch, hands behind my head and my legs kicked up onto the arm. “Hush.” I lowered an arm to tap my Stetson. “All good?”

Hush nodded. His eyes found Sia. She was looking at him from her place at the stove. “Hey, Hush.” She pointed at the food. “Food’s almost done.”

“I ain’t hungry,” he announced, and Sia’s smile quickly fell.

I stood up and took hold of his arm. “You need to eat.” I glared into his eyes. He knew why I was saying that, and I was fucking right. He went to argue, but he had no fucking argument to give.

Instead he glanced at Sia and said, “Merci.”

I pointed at the table, and Hush sat down. He ran his hand over his stubbled cheeks. Sia placed a glass of water before him. “Thank you,” he muttered, before draining the glass.

Sia placed the steak and beans before us and sat down herself. “Looks good, cher,” I said, rubbing my hands together. Hush started digging in.

“So,” Sia said, looking right at Hush. “How did the bike run?”

Hush swallowed. “It’s a good bike.”

The brother didn’t say shit-all else. I rolled my eyes, and then grinned at Sia. “He rides well now, cher, but you should have seen him when he first tried.” Hush’s blue eyes fixed on mine. His jaw tensed. I gave zero fucks.

“What happened?” Sia looked relieved that I was fucking talking.

I sat back in my seat. “Me and Hush got shitfaced one night. We were eighteen and walking around New Orleans.” I left out the fact that we were living on the streets. Hush would kill me if I dared include any of that shit. His eyes flared as he glared at me, my warning to keep the fucking story simple. I slapped my hand down on his shoulder. “We walked past a biker bar, and Hush here, drunk as fuck on whiskey”—I tilted my head to one side—“or was it Slippery Nipples?”

“Asshole,” Hush said, shaking his head. Sia was smiling. I guessed more at the fact that Hush had finally opened his fucking mouth around her than at my joke.

“Fine, whiskey. Anyway, he saw a row of bikes out front. Thinking, in his inebriated state, that an old Harley he was obsessed with would be good to ride, he went straight over to it. The keys were still in the ignition.” I flashed a grin at Hush. “Should have been our first sign not to take it. The bike had keys in the ignition but it was untouched.”

“Whose was it?” Sia asked.

I held up my hand for her to wait to find that out. “Hush here backs it out of the parking spot and then kicks it to start.” I started laughing my ass off. “He only made it about twenty yards before he lost control and smashed that fucker into the road.” Hush finished the last of his steak and sat back in his seat. He kept his eyes on the tabletop as I continued talking. Sia kept her eyes on him. I watched them both. “I ran to where he was getting off the ground, then the doors of the bar slammed open and a mass of brothers in cuts came barreling out.”

“The New Orleans Hangmen?” Sia asked.

“The very same.” I saw Hush’s lip lift at the corner, obviously remembering that day. “Turned out the bike belonged to Ox, the old prez.” I shook my head at the memory. “But Hush here, instead of being intimidated, got to his feet and went toe to toe with Ox, who was about to kill us.”

“And you?” Sia asked.

I went to reply, but Hush said, “He stood beside me. Ready to fight too.”

I shrugged. “Couldn’t leave my brother to be killed. Figured getting killed by a biker would be a fucking way to go out.” Hush smirked. “But then Ox looked down at us, filthy and fucking filled with arrogance, and laughed. Hush swung, cracked the old man across the jaw . . . and two hours later we were the newest prospects of the New Orleans . Ox gave us a home. A purpose. A fucking life.” I laughed, chest tightening at the memory of those days. “Owe him everything.”

Sia was smiling big at the story. “I love that,” Sia said. Hush lowered his eyes and got to his feet.

“Thanks for dinner.” He put his plate in the sink and left the room.

I watched him go. I tipped my head back in frustration. “He’ll come around,” I reassured Sia as she got up to put away the dishes.

I waited at the table until she was done, checking in by text with Styx and Ky. When Sia started shutting off the lights, I walked her to her bedroom door. She looked up at me and swallowed. “Night, Cowboy. Thanks for helping today.”

“Not a problem, darlin’.” I shuffled closer. “I had fun.” Sia nodded, her chest falling hard with each breath as I stepped closer still. I could feel the warmth from her body pushing against mine. “I get to see you practice barrel racing tomorrow, yeah?”

“Yeah. I got a rodeo in a few weeks. I gotta train if I’m gonna keep my top spot.” I smiled, already fucking hard at the thought of seeing her in diamond-encrusted jeans, flying around those fucking barrels, Stetson on her wild curly hair. Her chin tipped up. “As long as I get to see you train one of my broncs.”

“Oh . . . you can count on it.”

Sia smiled, and unable to fucking resist, I dipped my head down and put my thumb and finger on her chin. She sucked in a breath as I kissed the side of her mouth. “Bonne nuit, cher,” I whispered against her soft skin, dragging my nose up her cheek. Then I backed away to my door.

Sia stared after me for a few moments before quickly ducking into her room. I groaned, my head tilting against our bedroom door. Finally pulling my shit together, I turned the doorknob to the room Hush and I were sharing. I had only just shut the door when Hush said, “Ky will fucking murder you if he knows you’re doing this shit.”

Brother had heard everything.

“Shut the fuck up, Val. We’ve wanted her for a fucking age. Don’t pretend that shit ain’t true.” I grabbed my dick through my jeans. “I’m just not a pussy, afraid to go after what I want.”

In the light coming in through a split in the curtains, I could see my brother lying on his stomach in bed. His shirt and jeans were gone. My eyes fell to the fucking tattoo on his back, the one that tried to cover the burn that always would be there. The ink did its best to meld the mark into the design. But all I ever fucking saw was that damn mark.

Hush sat up. I shed my shirt and jeans and climbed into the bed beside him. He glared down at me. “Enjoy your ride?” He spoke in Cajun French again. I knew it was so Sia wouldn’t know what was being said if she overheard.

“Yeah. Felt real fucking good to be back in the saddle.”

Hush slumped back down to the bed. “Sure it did. Help you reminisce about the good old days, did it?”

“Fuck off, Val. I ain’t gonna let you come at me just because you’re pissed you weren’t out with us.”

“I was checking the perimeter.”

“All afternoon?”

“They could come at any time.”

“Styx and Ky got brothers up and down the way here every day checking for anything suspicious. You’re fucking avoiding her.” Hush was quiet. “She reminds me of you.”

Hush tensed beside me. I rolled onto my back and looked at him from the side of my eye.

Hush stared back. I knew he wanted to know what I meant, but it took my brother a real long fucking time to grit his teeth and relent. “How so?”

I thought about how to say it. Finally, I just said the fucking truth. “Because she’s broken, Val. Real fucking broken.” Hush’s eyes closed and my fucking chest tightened. “Damaged like you too, brother. You could help each other. She’s all alone. She fucking needs someone.”

Hush opened his eyes, gaze determined. “Then be that someone for her.”

I knew the pain it caused the stubborn fucker to say that shit to me. So I just tore off the Band-Aid. “We could be those someones for her.” He held his breath. “She knows about us anyway.” His eyes snapped to mine, exhaling quick. “About how we like it.”

“Why the fuck did you tell her that?”

“So she knows how we are. Knows the situation.”

Hush’s teeth ground so loud I could hear them. “Then, for once, ignore all that and just fuck her.” He got up on his elbows and looked me in the face. “I give you permission, Aub, okay? Be there for her. However she wants and needs you to be.”

“We don’t fly solo. Never have.”

Hush covered his face with his hands. “Yeah, but that’s with sluts and club whores.”

“And?”

“And she’s not one! She’s nowhere near a slut. She’s . . . just . . . more.”

Hush turned away from me. I stared up at the moon outside of the window. “Just tell her, Val. Fuck. She’ll understand. You’re here. Living here for the time being. She might find out anyway.”

I would never tell him so, but sometimes guarding his secret was real fucking hard. Especially when he refused any good thing that came our way because of it. All he ever said was . . .

“She’s worth more,” Hush whispered.

And there it was. What my best friend thought about himself. That he was nothing. A fucked-up past had conditioned him to forever think that way. “She deserves more.”

“She’s worth you,” I argued, but I knew I’d get no response. “She’s worth us both.” I turned over, punching the pillow into shape with my fist.

Closing my eyes, I pictured Sia on that horse today, telling me how she needed the horses to feel better. I thought of my stubborn-ass brother behind me and knew he needed me like that too. I had become his fucking emotional crutch. But there was no way I was walking away from him. Didn’t know what life looked like without him in it anyhow. We’d been this way for so long I’d be fucking lost without him. And I didn’t even wanna think what he’d be like without me. We’d always flown two-up, him and me. Not needing any bitches.

But I could see it with Sia. I could see her with us. They were both so broken and damaged, but I wanted to be there for them. With them.

It wasn’t long before I heard Hush’s breathing even out. I rolled over and looked at him. I saw the scars and burns that littered his dark skin. Then I glanced down at the Confederate flag tattoo on my arm.

I sighed.

I just had to find a way to bring him to my way of thinking. People could change. I was testament to that.

He liked her.

I liked her.

She liked us both.

We lived a fucking strange life, but with Sia, I was sure there was at least a chance we could be something more.