Borrowed Cowboy (Shadow Maverick Ranch) Read Online Free Page B

bruises later. “Twelve-thirty.”
    Now he did grin. Big and wide. “Eleven-thirty.” Oh yeah, this was much more enjoyable from the deciding side. When she scowled he added, “Bring it on, Jayden. I can do this all night.”
    He glanced at Reese. Pax wondered if she recalled arguing with his little sister wasn’t the only thing he could do all night.
    “Fine,” Jade huffed. “We’ll be home by midnight. You’re such a hard ass.”
    “I don’t make the rules, sweet pea.”
    Jade shot him a look that warned it’d be wise to check his boots before he put them on in the morning. “I suppose we should be thankful for that small favor,” she muttered on her way out of the kitchen.
    A door slammed a moment later, signaling he and Reese were alone. Alone for the next several hours, in fact, if he could talk her into sticking around.
    “Sorry. Teenagers.” He figured that was explanation enough.
    “What was that all about?”
    Pax finished his beer. “You want another?”
    “Sure.”
    He was tired of trekking to the fridge, so this time he grabbed a full six-pack and set it on the counter between them. “That was nothing. You should see her when her hackles are really up. Damn girl can shout the paint off the ceiling when she’s pissed off.”
    “I remember you mentioning her. I guess I expected her to still be a little girl. And Jared is her twin?”
    “Yep.”
    “And you still live here?”
    Pax tried not to take her tone personally. At thirty-one, he understood how it looked for him to be living in his parents’ home. “Only while my parents are on vacation. I have a house.” He wasn’t sure why it was so important to clarify that point, since he hadn’t been to, let alone slept at, his house for well over a year.
    “Tell me something. You got someone special in your life?” Her ring finger was naked, so he was pretty sure she wasn’t married. If she was, her husband was a dumbass for not making sure the world knew she was taken.
    She hesitated, making him wonder what her secrets were. “Guess I’m still waiting for the right guy to sweep me off my feet.”
    He could’ve been that guy once. He stared at her fingers working havoc on yet another label, dumbfounded she’d made him consider what it would be like to be that man again. To have someone who belonged to him as much as he belonged to her.
    “What are you really doing here? You can’t tell me you didn’t recognize Gavin’s name when they hired you.”
    “I did. I’m not really sure why I said yes. I guess I’d hoped to see you.”
    That excited him more than it should. He pulled her stool forward until her knees were nestled in the vee of his legs. “You guess?”
    “I didn’t have a plan, if that’s what you’re wondering. If your brother hadn’t hired me, I wouldn’t be here right now. But he did.”
    “Yes, he did.” He’d have to thank Gavin later. Much later. He had the house to himself for once, and a beautiful woman within his grasp. He couldn’t think beyond the need that held his balls in a vise.
    He traced his fingertips down her bare thigh. Her shoulders twitched, not quite a shiver, but close enough to make his dick pulse in anticipation.
    She grabbed his wrist, her short, well-manicured nails digging into his skin. He wanted those nails scoring his back, biting into his ass as he pushed into her.
    He stilled, waited to see if she’d shove him away.
    She didn’t.
    Her eyes drifted closed, thick lashes resting beautifully against her skin.
    She pulled his hand across her flesh to the hem of her shorts, which caused an eruption of tiny bumps to form across her skin. Her nipples peaked, pressed toward him, all but begged him to tongue, tease, and suck.
    He took over from there, following the line of her shorts to her inner thigh, allowing the backs of his fingers to brush where he wanted his mouth.
    She made a noise, a soft sound of consent that about killed him. Heat radiated from the denim that stood between