Her Rancher's Caress: (Taken by Cowboys: Part 3) A Billionaire Western Romance by A.L. Loire Read Free Book Online

Maybe she was making it too complicated. After all, her heart was calling her to both Spencer and Nate. She had tried to resist, but it clearly wasn’t working. She wanted to explore her feelings for both of them. No amount of talking would talk her out of that.
    By this time, the dinner dishes had been replaced with pitchers of coffee, plates of pecan pie and dishes of peach cobbler.
    “In the meantime,” Caroline said, reaching for a plate and breaking Jess’s thoughts, “have a piece of pie.”
    “At least there are still some easy decisions in life,” Jess said and grabbed the spatula.

Chapter 5
    When Jess got back to her cabin after dinner, she found another note under the door. She picked it up with trembling hands.
    “Come to the barn where you saw me buck and spin. I’ll find a new way to make you grin.”
    Her face broke into a smile. Damned if the note wasn’t working already. But who had written the note: Spencer or Nate? She turned it over. Again, no signature. What were they going to do—compete for her affection on the mechanical bull again? That didn’t seem likely.
    She went to the bathroom and looked in the mirror. She was surprised by how pleased she was at the sight. She was already a few shades bronzer than she’d been when she arrived—though that wasn’t hard—and more than that, she looked relaxed. Happy.
    She remembered Caroline’s words. Follow your heart and the rest will come.
    “I’m following,” she said out loud to her reflection.
    ***
    When she arrived at the barn where they’d started off the contest earlier that day, she found it dark, the door locked.
    “Hey, what’s this about?” she mumbled. Then she noticed a warm glow coming from the structure next door—a smaller barn she hadn’t been inside.
    She went to the barn, her heart beginning to hammer. The door was slightly ajar. She pulled it open and took a tentative step inside. She stopped short and gasped.
    The barn was lit entirely by candles, hundreds of which were balanced on its rafters and windowsills. The flickering flames cast a warm glow over the bales of hay that were stacked against the farthest wall and the straw-covered floor. Standing a few feet away from her was Spencer, wearing only jeans and a cowboy hat—just like in her dream, she realized with a jolt.
    “Do you like it?” he asked, taking a step towards her. He was strikingly handsome in the candlelight, his well-developed pecs and abs rippling.
    “Oh, Spencer,” she breathed. “Did you do this—for me?”
    “Who else would I have done it for?” he asked. He came towards her and drew her into his arms, gently closing the door behind her.
    “Remember that promise I made to make love to you and do it right?” he asked, his voice low. She felt his warm breath on her neck and shivered.
    “I remember,” she whispered. She could feel herself melting against his muscled body.
    “I’m going to do it right now,” he said, running his lips gently down her throat. She arched her head back and moaned. His touch was light—excruciatingly light—and it stirred her deep inside. His words excited her beyond belief.
    “But I’d be lying if I said this was only my doing,” he said.
    Her pulse quickened. Did he mean…
    “He had a little help,” came a voice behind her, along with a gentle puff of night air. She turned around to see Nate pushing the door shut behind him, also wearing only jeans and a cowboy hat. She felt her knees go weak.
    Spencer was still holding her close, his hands now on her hips. Nate approached her, coming so close that he was almost touching her. Her breathing was getting heavier and heavier.
    There was a moment of silence in which she was acutely aware of every tiny sensation—the air rushing in and out of her heaving lungs, Spencer’s chest against her back and hands on her hips, Nate’s bright green eyes boring into hers as the heat of his body washed over her.
    “We realized today after the contest that we