Page 21 of Hooking Up

Carter, standing on the opposite side of the bed, smoothed the messy hair on her brow. “Sleep, darlin’.”

She closed her eyes before she eased herself back on the pillows. In seconds she was out cold again, leaving them to stare at each other.

“Dammit, I want her bad,” Quint said.

“Bad enough to share her?”

He wasn’t ready to answer that but looking down at her, he thought that yeah, he wanted her that bad.

But in the end, Bella held the reins.

Chapter Five

When Bella opened her eyes, she blinked into the dimness. Was it night?

“She lives.” The deep voice caressed her senses.

“How do you feel, sweetheart?”

Recognition flooded in. Carter and Quint. Where was she and what was she doing with them?

She tried to push into a sitting position but her muscles felt too weak. The scents of freshly showered male surrounded her, and she carefully turned her head from side to side. Big, broad man on her right. Tall, muscled on her left.

“Am I dead?” she asked.

Two chuckles sounded.

She wet her dry lips. Her mouth felt filled with hot sand and her head hurt, though not as much as the first time she’d awakened.

Wait. I’m in their room. They gave me pain relievers.

“How long have I been here?” she managed.

“You’re not dead, for one. You’ve been sleeping for about nine hours.”

“Oh jeez. I have to get out of here. My horse—”

“Relax. We took care of her. She’s tucked up with our stock, happy as can be.” Quint’s eyes twinkled with so much mischief that she looked at him more closely.

“Does ‘happy as can be’ mean she’s being mounted right now and I should be expecting a foal in the spring?”

Carter burst out laughing, and surprisingly, the noise didn’t make her teeth hurt as she expected. Pushing into a sitting position, she looked between them, awaiting an answer.

“No, your mare’s safe.”

“Maybe your horses aren’t safe from my mare.” She swung her legs out of bed and grabbed her head to hold it on her shoulders.

“Here. Have some more pain relievers and drink this full bottle of water. It’ll help with the dehydration.” Carter thrust a wide palm beneath her nose, the little white pills in the center. She stared at the calluses riding across each finger, and a shiver began low in her belly, moving up her spine.

“Can I…take a shower?”

“Drink that water first.” Carter wasn’t about to take no for an answer.

She accepted the pills and water while trying to untangle her legs from the twisted covers. Quint sank to the edge of the bed and tugged the sheet and blanket until she was free. As he straightened, his knuckles brushed her forearm.

Goosebumps broke out on her arms and caused her nipples to pucker. She sucked in a harsh breath and fought her reaction to him. He’d touched her arm, not fingered her into a screaming orgasm. What was the matter with her?

The guys waited while she drank the water. Only when the last drop tipped into her mouth did they move. Two hands reached down for her. She looked between them, ignored them both, and crawled down the mattress to the foot of the bed. Avoiding each.

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