She could feel color move into her cheeks. “You…you did?”

“Yeah, and I went to an out-of-town bookstore to grab a copy.”

Her eyes widened. “So you knew?”

“Yeah, I knew.” He nudged her and said, “And I liked it, Jess. Jesus, here it is years later and my fingers are still scorched from turning the pages.”

She nibbled her lip. “I can’t believe you went through so much trouble.”

“Well, I couldn’t buy them at home. The guys would have taken my man card and sacked me on the football field.”

She laughed. “From what I saw, they sacked you a lot as it was.”

He laughed with her. “Football wasn’t really my thing, but I liked being on the team.” He stopped laughing and said “Wait, you were watching me?”

“Maybe…”

All humor gone from his tone, he said, “I used to look for you after practice, to give you a ride home, but when I found you…well, I didn’t want to disturb you.”

She furrowed her brow, her mind racing a million miles an hour. “You were in the school after hours?”

“Yeah.”

When understanding dawned, she said, “That’s how you knew about my singing.”

“That’s right,” he confessed. “I loved listening to you.”

“I can’t believe you heard me singing…peeked at my journal.”

“About your journal, Jess. Tell me, is there anything specific in it that you’d like to share with me, that you’d like me to do?”

Her chest rose and fell erratically as she scanned the ranch, her glance settling on Blake as he exited the barn.

Mac followed her gaze. “If you liked the club, we can go again,” he said. “Maybe there are some other things you’d like to try there.”

For a brief second she thought she spotted tension in his jaw; then he ran his hand over his face, and it was gone.

A noise in the valley below drew her attention. The two women who took over the karaoke machine after Jess last night, the same women from the club, met Blake near the corral. As they ran their hands over him, making no qualms about what they wanted, he slid his arms around their waists and led them inside one of the barns.

Jess grinned. “I take it Blake is the jack-of-all-trades around here?”

“You could say that.”

“Where to now?”

“First, I have to check on Eleanor, then we have some chores to do.”

“We?”

“This is a working dude ranch, you know. Did you think you were getting off easy?”

“Well, so far I’ve been getting off pretty easy,” she teased.

When he laughed, she flushed, unable to believe that she’d say something so bold, so sexy, but there was just something about Mac that made it so easy to relax around him and let go of her inhibitions.

Chapter Six

After spending the day helping Mac with chores around the ranch and falling into bed for another round of lovemaking, Jess awoke feeling gloriously content. She stretched her body out, and even though Mac had insisted he join her in her early-morning stretches, she was certain his muscles really did need the rest.

She climbed from her bed, pulled on her gear, and left her room. She walked along the large expanse of ranch, taking in the beauty, and this morning, instead of climbing the mountain, she decided to do her routine in a secluded spot tucked beneath the crest overlooking the ranch. Once there, she turned her music on and began her routine. Less than twenty minutes later, she felt a body move against hers. At first she assumed it was Mac, until a blindfold was placed over her eyes.

Her breath caught and she tensed. Her earbuds were removed and a voice whispered, “Shh.” She turned her face toward him and pulled a breath in through her nose. The familiar fragrance of citrus and soap assailed her senses. Mac. Desire replaced the alarm. Ribbons of heat moved down her spine.

She sucked in an excited breath, but she felt another person step in front of her, blocking the warm sun from her body, and she suddenly found herself sandwiched between two walls of muscle. She gasped, sucking in air as she realized the scenario was right out of her private journal.

Was this what he’d read?

“What are you doing?” she asked breathlessly, almost too excited to speak when he began to walk her backward.

“You have nothing to worry about, baby. I’m going to take good care of you. I promise you that,” Mac said. A moment later, he slipped out from behind her, and she felt herself being pressed against the towering mountain, the heat from the warm rock wall seeping under her skin, arousing her all the more. With her vision blocked, her other senses became finely tuned. She felt something rough brush over her arms before her wrists were bound and secured over her head.

She tugged at the rope, discovered that she could, if she chose to, pull her hands free, but the thought of being restrained by two cowboys had pleasure zinging through her. “What—”

“Easy there,” the other man said. She recognized Blake’s voice.

Oh. My. God. Her pulse leaped in her throat, hardly able to believe what was happening. This had to be what he’d read, and the fact that he was playing it out for her, going so far as to solicit the help of another man, touched her in ways that left her feeling a little shaky, a little emotional.

“Mac,” she whispered past the lump in her throat as her heart swelled. God, there was so much more to this man than she knew. He was sweet, funny, kind, and so giving. He was everything a girl could ever want.

“Now you be a real good girl, and do as I say,” Mac whispered, his voice loaded with promise. A hand stroked her breasts, and she knew from the way Mac touched her before that it wasn’t his hand on her body. Through her shirt, Blake lightly surfed his finger over her nipple until she found herself arching into him, giving herself over to the pleasure he was offering.

“Easy, sweetheart,” Blake said, his mouth close to her ear, his warm, familiar scent feeding the hunger inside her. “No need to rush things. We’ve got all day to play.”

Warm lips found hers. Blueberries and cream cheese. Mac. She moved her hips and returned the kiss, thinking how easily she could lose herself in him.

Moisture pooled between her thighs, and she squirmed, seeking relief for the ache building there. The restraint securing her arms rubbed against her skin, and while she loved being held captive by these two men, she wanted to touch them, to feel their rippled muscles beneath her fingers.

“Do you like that, baby?” Mac asked, slipping a hand between her legs. “Do you like having us both touch you?”

“Yes.” She whimpered and wiggled against the wall to prove how much she liked it.

“Good. I’m going to keep the blindfold on for now because I want you to just feel and enjoy,” he said, a tenderness in his tone she’d never heard before. He pressed a soft, loving kiss to her mouth, a kiss so gentle and affectionate it took her breath away.

Before raw emotions could get the better of her, someone lifted her shirt. She sucked in a breath as a breeze washed over her bare skin, tightening her already-hard nipples. Mac’s and Blake’s groans of pleasure merged, exciting her all the more.

“Beautiful,” Blake said, and a moment later, she felt his hot, wet mouth on her breast. Then, when she felt Mac’s lips close around her other nipple, the dual assault nearly drove her over the edge.

“Oh my God,” she murmured, working to keep a modicum of composure as her entire world flipped upside down. Scorching mouths laved her buds, and a need so powerful it was almost frightening gathered in her stomach. She closed her eyes against the flood of emotions and concentrated on the pleasure…so much pleasure.

Mac’s mouth left her body, and she immediately missed his warmth on her nipple, but Blake’s hand closed over her bare breast, kneading it with deep hunger. Mac’s thick fingers dipped inside the band of her pants, pushing them downward, and she whimpered with need. He dragged them lower, and when he reached her ankles he said, “Lift your leg, sweetheart.” She immediately obliged. He removed her pants and slid her panties down, nudging her clit in the process. A moment later, she stood before the two, completely bare in so many ways.