CHAPTER 39
Maxie
“What the fuck, Shep?!”
I jerked awake at the angry shout and gasped when Shep was yanked out of my bed. I twisted around to see what was happening but was instantly hit with the worst headache and nausea. Groaning, I covered my face with my hands and whimpered. I was never drinking again.
“Who the fuck is that? How the fuck could you bring someone else home? To Maxie’s bed? Are you fucking kidding me?” Arlo sounded like he was seconds from murdering Shep.
“That is Maxie, jackass!” Shep sounded just as cranky as Arlo. “Jesus. You really think so little of me?”
“What do you mean?” Rhett was the only one speaking at a normal volume, bless his heart.
Slowly sitting up, I shoved my new hair out of my face and grimaced at the three men staring at me.
“ Hungover . No yelling. Need pain relievers.”
Shep was the only one of them to respond. He jumped into action while Arlo and Rhett just stared back at me. Through the hangover pain I was hit with a large amount of doubt. I’d wanted to be different and not as tolerable as the normal Maxie but what if they hated the way I looked? My stomach clenched as I waited.
Arlo’s mouth was hanging open. He blinked slowly as he looked at me, his eyes wide. Finally, he moved closer.
“You have no goddamn right to look this fucking sexy when I’m trying to keep my hands to myself.”
I flushed at the compliment.
“Shep didn’t keep his hands to himself.”
Rhett knelt in front of me and brushed my hair out of my face. His eyes searched my body, finally landing on the sliver of plastic sticking out from the lowered blanket. His mouth tightened as he pushed the material lower and saw my tattoos.
“Who touched you?”
Even feeling like crap, I wanted to push him.
“Lots of people.”
His jaw clenched.
“You need to clean it.”
Shep came back with a glass of water and pills I immediately gulped down. He saw Rhett looking at my tattoo and huffed.
“Apparently a bunch of the women in town got shitfaced and went to a guy named Big John last night. Nellie was there, too.”
“Big John?” Rhett’s scowl turned deadly.
Seeing his hair-thin trigger I reached out and rested my hand on his shoulder.
“He was professional. And maybe a saint. He was happy to welcome all of us into his place last night and he didn’t even mind that we were drunk and loud.”
I felt my face burn even hotter when I thought of how much the man had heard the night before. Including all about my relationship with the three of them. I was pretty sure I’d even talked about my plan to be their surrogate. Humiliation struck hard and hot but I tipped my chin higher, refusing to wallow in it.
Rhett caught my lip and tugged it free from my teeth.
“No more of that. Come on. I’ll help you clean your new tattoo. I’m hoping to find my name after I pull that plastic off.”
He carried me to the bathroom counter and put me down next to the sink. I watched him move as he gently peeled the plastic off and shook his head when he saw the tattoo of Bob.
“Fucking horse. It’s a good picture of the jerk.”
I hissed at the sting from the warm water he used to clean both tattoos.
“Are you over me now?”
Rhett’s head snapped back like I’d punched him. His reaction made me feel like an idiot for voicing my thoughts. He looked at me like I’d grown a second, and third, head.
“Are you serious? You think dying your hair and getting a tattoo would make me want you less?”
I bit at a piece of skin on my inner lip and winced when it tore away.
“I thought maybe you were interested in the meek version of me. Mom barely thought I could attract a man when I followed all of her rules. So…”
He patted my thigh and hip dry before straightened to his full height and looking down at me.
“Your mom was a bitch. A bitch who knew nothing about men, I’m willing to bet, because you’ve been a temptation since the first time I laid eyes on you. When you were tiptoeing around everyone and their needs, when you decided to stop that and speak up for yourself, and now that you’re this bad girl version of yourself…You are the sexiest woman I’ve ever seen and my dick is perpetually hard for you. For your looks and for your attitude, Maxine. You couldn’t make yourself unattractive to me if you grew a beard and stopped showering.”
I crinkled my nose and made a face.
“You’re nuts.”
“For you.” He bent down and kissed the skin next to the picture of Bob. “Still convinced you’re going to give us a baby and leave?”
I wasn’t. I was stubborn, though.
“Yes.”
He sighed and moved away.
“That’s too bad.”
Arlo straightened from where he’d been leaning in the doorway. Walking over to me, he tangled his hand in my hair and tipped my head back until my throat was stretched and exposed. His teeth were sharp against the sensitive skin as he nipped me. I felt him marking me but I was wanton for it. I pressed my hips forward, seeking relief and finding none.
“Old Maxie, new Maxie, future Maxie… They’re all ours. No matter what you say, you’re ours, Max. We’re not letting you go and we all know you don’t want us to. If you thought this new look would force us to decide we didn’t want you, your plan backfired. If anything, I just want to fuck you harder and leave my mark all over your pearly skin so every man who lays eyes on you knows that you’re owned. Fight all you want for now, baby, but I’ve broken harder horses and won bigger battles. And I didn’t care about those half as much as I care about you.”
His words made me want to shout that I’d changed my mind. Maybe some women wouldn’t have liked his need to own me but it did something to me. I shuddered and gripped his shirt in my fists.
“Now get ready for the day, sweetheart. We’ve got a ranch to run.” He lightly patted my tattoo and grunted. “Next time, it’ll be our names.”
I gasped as he strode out of the bathroom and left me sitting in shock while Rhett laughed. Glaring at him, I shook my head.
“He’s not serious.”
From outside the bathroom Arlo calmly called back.
“Be careful or I’ll do it myself.”
I should’ve been horrified. I wasn’t.