Page 17 of Shared on the Ranch

“Oh, you’re dead wrong about that, sweetheart. You need me to believe you. Orelse. Now, who’s watching you?”

“Wh-what?” She gaped at him.

Aaron wondered if she was surprised by the change in subject, or the question itself. “I said, who is in charge of your stay here?”

“Oh, ah… I didn’t get his name.”

Man, this one’s got my hand itching something fierce.He surveyed her guilty gaze shifting this way and that until in the face of his stern disbelief she dropped her eyes to the ground.

“Alrighty then. We’ll take ourselves a walk down to the office and you can explain to Nate why you felt it necessary to jump out a window. You might not know this, but we take safety very seriously around here.”

“There really was a bee,” she muttered at her feet.

“Sweetheart, there coulda been a whole hive and opening the door and walking out would’ve still been the best option.”

She opened her mouth to answer—despite the seriousness of the potential danger she put herself in, he was enjoying himself immensely and was eager to see what she’d come up with next—but before she could, there was a stern bellow behind them.

“Chyanne? Didn’t I leave you in the corner?”

He could tell by the way she flinched that the bellow was meant for her. He gazed down at her with fresh eyes. “Chyanne, huh? Well, it suits you.” Then he set her down on her feet.

She looked like she wanted to make a run for it, but Chandler closed the distance between them and with a man flanking her on either side, she simply balled her hands into fists at her sides, breathing hard.

“She jumped out the window,” Aaron told the other man, who looked both amazed and aghast all at once.

* * *

Chyanne

The moment her feet had left the ledge, Chyanne had had a change of heart.I need this job. Being a bronco rider is the only thing I’ve ever really wanted. I can’t just throw away all the training, the injuries, the longing…

But unfortunately, she had already taken the leap and her nixing her escape plan last minute—okay, last second—left her confused and unfocused. She found herself falling and was wholly unprepared for it, which made her scream.

Generally, she found women screaming cringe-worthy. The whole damsel in distress thing was a real turn-off as far as she was concerned, and made her derisive of her own sex. Real damsels in distress were the exception, of course, not that she ever planned on being one of those. She prided herself too much on her self-sufficiency.

Except that, just like that, a high, damsel-worthy yelp emitted from her lips before she could stop it. And just like that, she found herself being caught—literallycaught—like she had been popped into some Hallmark movie.

He even looks like he could be an actor, she thought before she could stop herself. He had dreamy brown eyes. Chyanne had never understood that term before, until this moment, but the chocolate lava of his eyes looked… soothing, somehow. Like she could fall asleep if she gazed into them long enough.

He had a perfect Roman nose and the longest eyelashes she’d ever seen. Then he grinned, and she felt her breath catch in her chest.

When he spoke, his voice was the perfect blend of sexy and stern and though she demanded he put her down, she could feel her pussy clench all the same.

Then Goliath had come on the scene, and they’d frog-marched her between them until she was back in her room and at their mercy.

“What should we do to her?” Goliath murmured aloud.

He was sexy in his own right. If you liked the tall, muscly type. Which, if her damp panties were any indication, she did. His arms were folded across a burly chest and the sinewy muscles were flexing.

Damn.Her eyes leapt between the two of them. They couldn’t have looked more different, and yet, if she was forced to choose the more handsome one, she didn’t know if she’d be able to.

Stop it! What are you doing? You’re not supposed to be voting which guy gets the rose; you’re supposed to work, get paid, and get the hell out of here!

Even as the thought crossed her mind, Chyanne exhaled, acknowledging it and dismissing it all at once. She couldn’t help it. Maybe realizing sheneeded—no, that was too loose a word. Shehadto have this job—had put her under some kind of spell. Or maybe it was the spanking, which she could still feel underneath her jeans.

One that she felt was going to be repeated—times two. Her stomach twisted into knots at the stern expressions on their collective faces.

“Didn’t I tell you to leave those pants down?” Goliath demanded.

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