Page 12 of Claimed By the Cowboys
Clayton bristled with irritation. “The whole ‘sir’ business really isn’t necessary.”
“I’m afraid you have me at a disadvantage, since you never introduced yourself.” Piper’s fake smile was enough to make the rest of us wince. She was doing her best, but Clay wasn’t givingher much to work with. And he wondered where Maisie got her mood swings from.
“Clayton Blackwood,” he snarled at her. “We'll see about dinner tomorrow.”
Since he was my boss and pack lead, I couldn’t put my boot up his ass for being so unpleasant to the sweet little omega. But I would have been lying if I’d said I wasn’t still tempted.
“You certainly will,MisterBlackwood,” Piper snipped back at him without missing a beat.
Montana and Dakota dragged Clayton away, along with the dishes, while I showed Piper to her new space. Before we made it to her room, I stopped at the linen closet to grab a stack of new quilts, sheets, and towels, along with some clothes for her to sleep in. We hadn’t had a guest in a while, and I knew the bed needed a refresh.
“This is your bedroom.” I waltzed into the good-sized room, tossing my pile of stuff on the empty queen-sized bed before giving her the tour.
“It’s got a fireplace, bathroom, and its own little deck.” I did a slow turn of the room, showing her the fieldstone hearth, the solid wood wardrobe, and the glass doors that led to the deck directly off the back of the room.
Piper’s eyes lit up as she took in the sight of the small but well-equipped bathroom. There was a sink made out of an old wash basin, an antique nightstand that Montana had put together from his flea market finds, and a clawfoot tub with a long brass pipe leading up to a large, round showerhead.
I followed her eyes as they darted up to the skylight overhead and back to the bathtub.
“It’ll be really nice to take a bath in here, especially on a night when the moon is bright,” I explained to her earnestly.
Her face lit with a dazzling smile. “I can’t wait to give it a try.”
Heroically, I manage not to be completely distracted by the thought of this petite slice of heaven in that bathtub, wearing nothing but her birthday suit and some suds.
Ever since I caught her honeysuckle scent, my mind had been caught on what that sweet fragrance mighttastelike.
Mercy.
“I know it isn’t much, but I brought you one of my T-shirts and a pair of Dakota’s sweats, since he and Montana are the shortest of us.” I did my best to move on to another subject, marching out of the bathroom and into her thickening cloud of scent.
“Tomorrow, Emmy from the diner is gonna come by with some clothes for you until me or one of the other boys can take you to get some basics at the store. Sorry you gotta wait, but we’re really up to our eyeballs in work right now with foaling and calving season, along with all the regular droving for grazing.”
Even to me, my excuses sounded pretty lame—but Piper just shrugged.
“That’s really nice of her to bring some stuff. I don’t need much until I get to the store myself, and even then, I just need whatever is good enough to keep up with a four-year-old. Getting up and down a lot, getting covered in craft project materials and other mysterious stains,” she laughed, those sky-blue eyes of hers starting to become almost as distracting as thinking about her in the bath.
“Good night!” I rushed to say, needing us to go our separate ways. My hands were itching to reach out and touch her, and I didn’t want to get handsy on her first night in our home.
Chapter 8
Piper
Ididn’t know why the grumpy asshole thought the room wouldn’t be enough for me; the whole property was beautiful. Full of charm and real-feeling fixtures, instead of the tacky, overly modern ranch that Pack Adamar had chosen to stay at.
Thanks to my exhaustion and the surprisingly comfortable bed, I slept like a corpse. The worn quilt was clearly handmade and had been well-loved over the years. I knew that real ranchers got up early, so the moment my eyes opened, I darted out of bed.
Putting on my gingham dress, I frowned. My lack of clothing was going to be an issue, but I was rather fond of the scent clinging to the T-shirt I had slept in. As I had drifted off to sleep, I’d racked my brain, trying to place exactly what it was.
Zeke was an anomaly, and I wanted to know more. It was impossible not to like him. He was basically a giant golden retriever who clearly didn’t have a mean bone in his body.
All the members of Pack Blackwood had been welcoming enough. Clayton had been a little aggressive, but something told me that was simply his personality.
The sun was just starting to rise, so I splashed some water on my face and twisted my hair into a messy bun to get it out of my way.
Padding down the stairs to the kitchen, where I could hear voices drifting from, I found Dakota standing at the burner, flipping something in a frying pan as he chatted with the little girl sitting at the table.
“Morning, pretty girl!” he greeted me, flipping a few slices of bacon. “Come take a seat, and I’ll rustle up some breakfast for you.”
