I placed my weapon inside the safe, checked that the safety was on, and closed the top back securely. I heard Gage huff and start walking towards his closet, and chuckled under my breath.
“The FBI showed up today, finally,” I said, watching as he dropped the towel to the floor to grab a clean pair of jeans. I couldn’t help but admire the play of muscles as his body moved. Everything he did was a turn-on for me. Even slipping into a pair of boxer briefs instead of out of them.
He glanced at me over his shoulder and smirked when he caught me staring at his ass. “I’m assuming that’s why you have new information?”
I didn’t bother to hide what his nudity did to me, though I did have to adjust my cock in my slacks from where it had been resting against my thigh. “Have you talked to your aunt today?” I asked instead of answering the questions I knew he had.
After zipping up his jeans, he grabbed a T-shirt from one of the many hanging. He turned to me as he slid it over his head and tugged it into place. He was so muscular that the cotton did little to hide the six-pack of abs that made me drool, and the sleeves were pulled tight across his biceps.
He raised one eyebrow as he stepped out of the closet with his wet towel in hand. “What do my aunts have to do with anything?” he asked.
“There are only four rooms at the inn,” I reminded him unnecessarily. “There were five FBI agents who arrived today.”
I watched as he froze in the act of hanging his towel up. Then he finished straightening it before slowly turning to me. “You didn’t.”
I nodded and stood up from where I had been perched on the edge of the mattress. “Since she couldn’t get a hold of you, Aunt Mildred called and asked if we minded having a guest staying in one of the cabins. I told her we wouldn’t mind.” What I didn’t say was that when she explained the situation, she also hinted at the beauty of the Special Agent. While I didn’t care about that at the time, I had gotten the impression that Gage’s aunts were attempting to play matchmaker.
Gage’s entire family had been worried about him from a young age. His serious demeanor had only grown even more stoic with age. He never partied, even though it was almost expected for such a popular teenage boy who’d played sports. But his popularity was tied directly to his looks and skill on a football field and had little to do with his personality. His family had hoped that being in a relationship would soften him. When he’d never shown interest in anyone before he left for the military, they’d nearly lost hope.
Then, he’d returned with me on his arm and Dante in tow. Now, I think they were hoping that if we added a woman to our duo, Gage might find his soft side. I almost snorted out loud. If anything, Gage would only become even more serious in his need to protect her from every perceivable threat.
“Damn it, Ry. We can’t have an FBI agent poking around the ranch.”
I stepped into his space and grabbed the back of his neck and held him until I could feel some of the tension drain out of him as he stared into my eyes. “I’ll keep an eye on her, babe. I don’t think she will be a problem, though. But if it will make you feel better, we can tell Dante to keep an eye on her, too.” I leaned in and nipped at his lip. “Trust me.”
He huffed and then eyed me in warning. “You’d better hope so. I’m not the only one in this family who needs secrets to be kept,” he reminded me.
I knew he was more concerned about his dad, Brent, than he was for himself. It made me love him even more. He was one of the most selfless people I’d ever known. “I get it, babe. I’ll never let anything happen to you or your dad. I’ll personally take responsibility for this girl.”
After a long moment, Gage finally relented enough to grunt at me. I knew he wasn’t convinced and would likely be on the phone in the next few minutes to relay the information and givea warning to Brent. He kissed me, hard and fast, leaving me hard and wanting, before stepping back. I knew it was a punishment for springing the information on him.
I watched with a smirk as he walked over to his nightstand and picked up his cellphone. As he hit his dad’s number, I turned to head out of the bedroom but paused at the doorway. “By the way, I invited her for dinner. She’ll be here in about ten minutes.” Then I walked down the hallway and towards the kitchen to let the housekeeper know we were expecting company and to add an extra place at the table. I chuckled at the vicious curse that sounded from the room behind me.
As I walked into the kitchen, I saw Dante standing at the island. His long hair was pulled back into his usual knot at the back of his head. A pang hit my chest as I saw my friend. It always did without fail. Knowing that I nearly lost him, knowing that I did lose the rest of our team, while I walked away without a scratch fucked with my head. I knew I didn’t owe the man a damn thing, but I still wanted to beg his forgiveness regardless.
If there were one person on this ball of bullshit we called Earth that I wanted to see happy, I would have to say, Dante. He needed peace more than anyone else I knew. I was scared to death that he’d eventually decide that life wasn’t worth it. Maybe the aunts should be matchmaking him instead of Gage. I thought about Special Agent Parker, and my chest squeezed at the thought of seeing her with my best friend. I wasn’t jealous at the thought of him being happy with her—I wanted him happy, it didn’t matter who it was with. I was jealous that I would never have the chance to touch her, taste her, or fuck her.
Clearing my throat, I said, “Hey, man. How’d it go today? You were going to ride over to the west pasture and check the fences, right?”
Before he could answer, Ruby, the housekeeper, leaned against the island and smiled. “Hey, Ry.”
I nodded politely. “Miss Ruby. How are you today?”
She smiled brightly, flashing her perfect white teeth. “I’m doing great now that you’re here.” I wanted to roll my eyes. The woman was an unapologetic flirt. I knew she was harmless, and she knew full well that none of us guys were interested in her; it just seemed to be a part of her nature. Literally a part of her DNA to flirt with everyone, be it man or woman, whether she was sexually interested in them or not. She’d slept with almost every ranch hand we hired, but so far, it was always a mutual fun, no-strings-attached, short-term affair. Somehow, everyone always walked away without any hard feelings. It was some kind of magic that Ruby wielded.
Dante grimaced as he turned his back to the island. I knew he couldn’t stand Ruby. I was certain that it was because the way she flirted with everyone freely reminded him of his ex. I wasn’t going to be the one to try to convince him she wasn’t like that.
“Ruby, I need you to set another place at the table. The guest staying in the cabin will be joining us for dinner.” I glanced at the time on my phone. “She should be here in about ten minutes if she’s not late.”
Dante grunted and headed for the back door. “Don’t bother,” he called over his shoulder. “She can have my place. I’m not hungry.”
With a sigh, I watched him walk out the door. I turned back to Ruby. “Thanks for getting the cabin ready. Expect to have her here with us every evening for dinner while she’s here.”
“I’m still not sure that’s the best idea,” Gage said from behind me as he walked into the kitchen.
Ruby glanced between the two of us with a grin. “Umm, what should I do?”
I turned around and glared at Gage. “Don’t be a dick. Parker needs to eat, too. Having her here won’t be a problem.”
