Total pages in book: 70
Estimated words: 68058 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 340(@200wpm)___ 272(@250wpm)___ 227(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 68058 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 340(@200wpm)___ 272(@250wpm)___ 227(@300wpm)
3
TJ
Paradise Ranch
Four Months Later
I’d arrived at Paradise Ranch two hours earlier, and I’d already reached my limit for how long I could sit around in the farmhouse. I wasn’t much for the outdoors, but there wasn’t anything to do inside, and I wasn’t allowed to leave the property. So, despite being told to stay put, I decided to wander. When I wandered into the barn, my dick perked up immediately.
A gorgeous man was pitching hay into a stall. He was shirtless and wearing jeans so worn they were nearly threadbare. They hung low on his slim hips. An equally worn t-shirt hung from one of his back pockets, sadly hiding way too much of his round ass. His arms flexed, showing off his well-developed muscles. I wanted to lick away the beads of sweat that ran down his back and into his waistband.
“Damn, nobody told me the scenery was going to be this damn fine.”
In a flash, the man turned and laid the tines of his pitchfork against my chest, pressing hard enough to leave a mark but not to puncture my skin.
I gripped the shaft of the pitchfork and jerked it from his grasp, tossing it to the side. “That’s a hell of a way to do foreplay.”
The man had a gun to my throat in a millisecond. He was close enough I could smell him—horses and sweat and something earthy that had me hardening all the way. My dick had no ability to sense danger.
I grinned. “Kinky.”
“Who the fuck are you?” the man asked.
“I’m TJ. It’s nice to meet you.”
“The TJ who’s also known as the Reaper?”
I’d thought the ranch hands weren’t supposed to know who I actually was and what I was doing there. “Who are you to be asking?”
“I’m Rhys. Grant’s my older brother, and he brought you here against my wishes. I don’t like your kind.”
“I bet I could change your mind about that.”
“I could shoot you, cut you up into little pieces, and scatter you in the hills, and no one would ever hear from you again.”
I was liking him more every second. “You could do that, but I’ve got some ideas that are a lot more fun.”
“Maybe I like slicing people up. Maybe I think that’s fun.”
“If you do, then you’re definitely my kind of man. I’m somewhat of an expert in slicing people up.”
“So I’ve heard.”
“Then aren’t I exactly the kind of man who should be here?”
“No. You don’t need help. You can fend for your fucking self.”
I pretended to consider his statement. “You’re right. I can. But my father insisted, so here I am.”
Rhys snorted. His eyes were dark, but I saw the fire he held inside. Everything he said, every move he made, made me want him more.
Grant had told me his brothers were off-limits, but he hadn’t told me they looked like Rhys. I should have guessed. Grant was a gorgeous man himself, but he wasn’t my type. He was way too uptight. Rhys, on the other hand… And he had a twin? Goddamn, that would be a fantasy come to life. “Are you going to shoot me, or can we move on to something more pleasant?”
“The most pleasant thing that could happen right now is for you to disappear.”
“One. I can’t do that with your gun against my neck. Two. That hardly seems to help the family business. Three. If you really can’t think of anything better, I have some suggestions.”
Rhys took one step back and then another, but he kept his gun pointed at me. “Get out of here.”
“So you don’t want to hear my suggestions?”
“Get out of my barn and don’t come back.” His face was red with anger, and that only made me want him more. No way in hell was he going to scare me away.
4
RHYS
TJ showed no sign of leaving, and I was done with his bullshit. I fired my gun, embedding a bullet in the wall an inch from his temple.
“So you really are good with a gun. I guess the rumors are true.”
Before I could respond, the barn door cracked open, and Grant walked in. He looked between us, obviously noting the bullet lodged in the barn wall.
“I see you’ve met.”
TJ snorted, giving me a look that said this wasn’t finished. I made a show of tucking my gun back into my thigh holster.
Grant gave a disgusted sigh. “Rhys, it looks like you were just as welcoming as I expected you to be.”
“He’s—”
“I was—”
TJ and I both spoke at the same time.
Grant shook his head, then turned his attention to TJ. “What the hell are you doing out here?”
“I got bored.”
“You were told to stay in the house.”
“The barn is off-limits,” I added.
Grant frowned. “Not if I send him out here to get chores done.”
TJ glared at him. “I’m not here to work for you.”