Harper's Little Spitfire (Harper's Series) (22 page)

“Spitfire, you have no idea how much I care about you. It’s hard to explain, but I feel this pull between us; I have since we were all younger. You bring a smile to my lips everyday just thinking about you. The way you laugh, the way you say my name, damn, just you doing that has me wanting to take you against any piece of furniture,” he moaned into her ear.

Oh, Jesus
.
Me just saying his name does that? Well, shit, it does it to me just from the look he gives me.

“I care about you too, Zeb. I have always cared for you and the rest of your brothers. It’s not just you I have that same pull with; it’s all of you,” she gasped as he ground against her.

In response to his movement, she fisted the towel, holding it in place as his other hand slid down the side of her and bunched the towel in his hand.

Her breathing became faster as the towel began to rise further up her thighs. He pushed one of his feet between hers, making her widen them; his upper thigh rested snug against her pussy as he held onto her hip with his other hand.

Moaning and letting go of her towel, she gripped his shirt that now covered his body, as his hand travelled up her thigh to her waiting core. Her thighs gripped his hand as it made it between them; her hips moved forward wanting him inside of her. But before he had the chance to do exactly that, someone knocked on the door.

Holding her breath, Zeb’s fingers froze where they were, as whoever was behind the door knocked again.

Turning her head, she responded, “Yes?”

“Sage, it’s close to lunch time, are you planning on coming downstairs at all?” Bri asked from the other side of the door.

Resting her head back against the wall, Zeb’s mouth latched onto the side of her neck, causing her to moan, but she bit down on her lip, holding it back.

Pushing against him, she mumbled, “I’ll be down soon, Bri.”

She listened as she heard Bri’s footsteps walking back down the hall, away from her. Zeb gripped her hips as he pinned her there. Lifting his head from her neck, his eyes looked into hers as they both stood, panting for breath.

Glancing down at her a final time, he removed his hands from her body and stepped back several steps. Her eyes roamed over him, travelling down his body, her eyes landing on the hard evidence of his erection that she had felt pressed against her moments before.

Licking her lips, his hand came into view, and she watched with a gaping mouth as he started to undo the zipper. Pushing down the sides of his jeans, his cock sprang free, a drop of pre-cum glistened in the light from the sun as it shined in the room.

Gulping, Sage’s eyes shot to his and saw the grin covering his face. Clamping her thighs together, wanting nothing more than to drop to her knees and take him completely into her mouth, she pushed the thought away and reached for her clothes.

“Go and get dressed, spitfire, before I change my mind and take you,” Zeb growled.

Running to the bathroom and slamming the door closed, she dropped the towel and dressed in record time. She had to get away from him before she agreed with her body and allowed him to do exactly what he wanted.

Once she was dressed and had her hair pulled up in a ponytail, she opened the door. She glanced around the room and found that Zeb had left her there all by herself.

Grabbing her hat, she opened the bedroom door and stepped out. She needed to stay clear of him and the rest of the brothers; she wanted them badly, but it was best for her and them if nothing more happened between them. If she did allow it, the only thing that would happen is her coming out of it with an even bigger broken heart, and she couldn’t handle that. It wasn’t just sex for her; she knew having sex with one or all would be amazing, but she needed way more than that, much more.

Closing her door, she made her way down the hall towards the stairs. She needed to stop what she was thinking and feeling towards them and move on. There was never going to be an easy way to do this with them. She loved them all equally, but she doubted they did towards her. While she understood their desire to protect her, and it was obvious they wanted her, this was more than just sexual desire she felt for all of them. This was love. Her heart was in this with them, and although she could see their care and affection, it wasn’t enough. She wanted the whole package, including giving their love to her. So it would be easier to just fantasies’ about being with them as one or all, and move on. She needed to control her desire and find that one person who would love her back unconditionally. She was moving on, regardless of whether her body and heart agreed; it was what she needed to do, and she was starting it immediately.

––––––––

L
ogan, Caleb and their father finished up on the barn, and what a pain in the ass that had been.

It had been a long morning trying to find all the parts his father had said were missing. Logan honestly thought his father was losing it and just didn’t remember where half of his stuff was, until he found most of it hidden in one of the horses stable under a pile of hay. Someone was hiding it there for themselves, stealing it. He was pissed when he found it, but they had all decided eventually that it was best to leave it where it was and place one of the hidden cameras above the stall to see exactly who was stealing from him.

It wasn’t just from his father; it was from the ranch that his grandparents built with their own hands and from the four of the brothers. He really hoped it wasn’t one of the ranch hands who had become family; they all were, but a few of them were new.

If he thought anymore into it, it would piss him off more. Pushing it away, he pulled Caleb aside, not wanting his father to hear what he was about to talk to Caleb about.

Watching as his father spoke to one of the other ranch hands, Logan spoke quietly, “I’m planning on staying over at the house tonight, are you in?”

“Which house are you talking about?” Caleb asked as he washed his hands in the trough beside the barn.

“Our cabin,” he replied, still watching his father.

Caleb’s eyes shot to his, knowing exactly what he was meaning now. “So, it’s finally going to happen tonight?”

“Yes. She needs to know who she belongs to, and that’s all of us. I can’t hold back anymore, especially after getting a taste of her. I want more, and I know you do too.”

“Fuck yeah, I want more. I’ve been going out of my brain holding back. It’s driving me insane how much I want her. My cock is constantly hard. No matter how much I jack off, it doesn’t help.”

“I know. We’re all going through the same thing, Caleb. We just need to take our time tonight. Whatever happened last night wasn’t good, but after we find out the details, we will finally have our time with her. She belongs to us, and we’re making our claim on her. Tonight.”

“It’s about time we take what’s ours. Need to let Zeb know what’s happening tonight. No point in letting Mac know since he ain’t here anymore, and I doubt spitfire will want him in the same room as her.”

“No, we’ll do this tonight, just the three of us. If Mac wants in or if Sage says so, then so be it, but he doesn’t deserve to be there tonight. After what he did at the dinner table, I doubt any of us want him there right now,” Logan said with a determined nod.

His eyes went back to where his father was, standing at the barn entrance with Braden, the new ranch hand. There was something about him that had Logan’s guard up; something wasn’t right with him and Logan was determined to find out what it was. He also needed to keep Sage away from him. The way his eyes roamed over her body when she wasn’t looking, and the smirks he gave Logan when he caught him looking, were nothing short of evil.

Logan frowned when his father shook Braden’s hand, and the look that passed over Braden’s face made him freeze up. Something was going on. He needed to talk to his father after tonight and find out. By the look on Braden’s face, it was something that made him happy, yet would most likely not evoke the same feeling from him or his brothers.

Getting his brother’s attention, Logan nodded in Braden’s direction. “What’s the deal with Braden?” he asked as he watched both his father and Braden walk back towards the main house.

“I don’t know. He hasn’t been here that long. The other boys don’t say much about him either,” Caleb replied.

“Keep an eye on him. There’s something about him I don’t like, and make sure that he goes nowhere near Sage.”

Caleb looked at him and nodded; he knew exactly what he meant by Logan’s warning.

Ripping his shirt off, the heat was ridiculous; they were in for a storm the way the clouds looked, and the humidity was high. Looking up to the sky, glancing from one end of the ranch to the other, the clouds had darkened slightly to the left of the ranch, meaning they were in for a bad one, most probably the worst one this year.

Checking the gages, the humidity was sitting around ninety-seven-percent, and it was only 11:42 a.m..
Shit!
They would have to round up the cattle in the back paddock closest to their cabin and lock them down in the small area overnight, so they didn’t lose any from the storm that was obviously going to happen.

He caught Zeb walking out of the main house yard and towards them with a grin plastered over his face. By the way he strolled across the yard and from the grin covering his face, he knew exactly what it was from:
Sage.

He wanted that for himself, that complete feeling of content, relaxation, instead of his whole body being constantly wound up. Every single one of them were holding back from Sage, but he was holding back more than they were. He was convinced of it.

He didn’t want to show his true want for her. Knowing if he did, it would scare her away from him and possibly his brothers. He wanted everything from her, not just her love. It was more than that; he wanted her to surrender her body and soul to him completely. To accept everything from him and not hold back.

Zeb slapped Caleb on the back as he approached and laughed as Caleb growled at him. “What’s wrong with you?” Zeb asked Caleb.

Logan knew the answer before Caleb voiced it, but he had to hold back a laugh when Caleb told him. “You’ve been with spitfire. I know that bloody grin covering your face, and it isn’t fair,” Caleb mumbled.

Zeb laughed and Logan couldn’t help but join in. Caleb glared at both of them as Zeb leaned against the door of the barn, holding his stomach. “Cut the shit, Zeb,” Caleb growled, ripping off his boot and throwing it at him.

Zeb sidestepped, stumbled over a bale of hay and fell over.

Both Logan and Caleb busted out with laughter as their brother groaned on the ground. His father came back towards the barn, took one look at his son on the ground and laughed himself. “Get up, you big bloody sook. Grow some balls and stop acting like a damn baby.” He shook his head, stepped over his body and walked up to Caleb and Logan.

“There’s a storm building out north. It’s going to be a big one. We need to round up all the cattle and the horses, and lock everything down.”

“Had a feeling there was going to be and noticed the clouds building over there,” Logan answered, pointing behind him.

“You two saddle up on horses,” their father, Markus, pointed to him and Zeb. “And Caleb, you jump on the red quad; the yellow and blue ones are down, one needs a new motor, the other, the rear suspension is playing up. Problems I do not need right now. The cattle need to be moved to the paddle closest to the Anderson’s property.”

“We were going to stay out at the cabin tonight, so I thought moving the cattle to the west paddock would be best so we can keep an eye of them,” Logan told his father.

Markus looked between the three of them and back to him. “I hope you know what you are doing, Logan. Don’t fuck it up.”

That was all that was said from his father. He knew what he was saying, ‘
Don’t fuck it up with Sage, or all hell is going to break loose.’
It wasn’t just directed to him; it was to all of them.

He turned to face his brothers once Markus headed towards the main house. “You guys grab what you need for tonight and meet me back here. I’ll shower and grab spitfire on my way out.”

“What are you going to tell her?” Zeb asked.

“I’m telling her that Dad said for her to come along for the ride, and we need her help. She won’t know that we will be staying the night until the storm hits.”

Both of them nodded to him, and then walked off towards the house. Taking his shirt off and wiping the sweat from his face, Logan made his way towards the house himself, in need of freshening up before heading out. He didn’t want to have to lie to Sage, but he knew that it was the only way to get her to come with them. He was willing to do what was necessary.

Walking through the back door, he found his mother in the kitchen with Rosie, cooking. He snuck up behind his mother and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her into a hug.

She looked over her shoulder and smiled at him as she patted his arms. Kissing her on the head, he pulled back and took the plate of cookies that were sitting on the side, quickly moving away from the tea towel coming his way and laughed.

“Of course, that was the only reason you were in here, Logan,” his mother said around a smile.

“You know I love you, Mum,” he mumbled around the mouthful of cookie.

“Caleb, Zeb and I are staying out at the cabin tonight. Sage is coming with us.”

“You’re lucky I stocked up the supplies there today. Why is Sage going?”

“There’s a storm coming and Dad said it was best that she come along since she can help with the cattle,” he lied. It wasn’t a complete lie; there was a storm coming and Sage did know how to muster up cattle. His father knew the situation, so if his mother said anything to him, his dad would save his ass.

“I had a feeling there was. I’ll round up some food for you for the trip. It’s at least a couple of hours riding, and possibly more if the cattle don’t behave right for you.”

“I’m going up to shower and I’ll be back down. If you see Sage, can you let her know I’m looking for her?”