Four Sworn Read online

  Dedication

  To anyone who loves a tall, dark Texan, willing to go the extra mile for his girl…

  Chapter One

  “Dance with me, cowboy.”

  Bo Crenshaw didn’t know what surprised him more. Her wanting to dance—or her asking him. She always cringed over her inability to master a simple two-step, and she usually avoided him like the plague in public.

  But he wasn’t arguing. It was Friday night after a long week of wrangling cattle. He wanted to replace the musky smell in his nostrils with something a whole lot sweeter. Giving his drinking buddy a shrug, he let Shanna Davies tug his hand and lead him onto the dance floor, pretending a reluctance he didn’t feel.

  Not that dancing with Shanna wasn’t pleasurable—if a little painful. She danced the same way she lived—a little too fast and completely out of synch with everyone around her.

  She wrapped her arms around his neck, but her head was tilted as she peeked around his shoulder. “Let’s go this way.” She bumped his knees, and they scooted backward toward her destination.

  He pulled in her hips to slide a knee between her lethal knobs and circled so he had a view of what had caught her attention. Eyeing one particular trio of dancers at the far edge of the parquet floor, he thought he knew what had Shanna so intensely curious.

  “Get me closer,” she hissed.

  “What’re you doin’?” he asked, his tone dry.

  “Tryin’ to see.”

  “See what?”

  “Them. Oops.” She ducked her head and stared at his chest. “He knows I’m watchin’.”

  “Who?” he asked, pretending confusion.

  “Justin Cruz.”

  Bo leaned closer to whisper in her ear and bury his nose in her fragrant hair, feeling sure she’d allow it—seeing as how she was trying to pretend she wasn’t there to spy. “How do you know he knows?”

  “He winked at me.” She lifted her head and gave him a glare.

  Bo suppressed a grin. “You’re really curious about them.”

  She slid her hand down to twist his nipple through his shirt, and he winced.

  “Don’t make fun of me.” She blew out a deep breath, frustration turning down the corners of her mouth. “Most exciting thing to happen around these parts, a real ménage à trois, and I can’t get close enough to see.”

  “See what?”

  She shrugged. “I’d like to see how they all dance together like that. For starters.”

  Bo chuckled, and then hissed when she twisted his nipple again. He’d be bruised. Worth it, though. He’d missed holding her close.

  “Oh hell, they’re leaving. You wanna get outta here?” she whispered.

  Bo grunted and pulled her tall, slender body closer, rubbing his belly against hers. “You want to see if they do it in the parking lot, or are you horny? Thought you said we weren’t gonna do that anymore—use each other.” He ground out the last because the way she’d described their last sexual rendezvous still stuck in his craw.

  Shanna grimaced in dismay but her brown eyes glittered with humor. “Did I make it sound that way? I’m sorry,” she said, her tone anything but apologetic. “It’s not that the sex isn’t great, but…”

  He couldn’t help his impatient snort. “I know. You’re blowin’ this town as soon as you have the cash.” Bo turned around on the floor again, fighting her for the lead and winning. He danced them into the darkest corner of the dance floor. “Hell, see what you did now?” he grumbled, pushing her hand down to the front of his blue jeans.

  She cupped his erection, running her palm up and down his length, and then tossed back her dark honey-colored curls. Her laughter was low and dirty. “Guess since it’s my fault, I should do something about it, shouldn’t I?”

  “Promises, promises,” he muttered, acting like he wasn’t so excited his head and heart were pounding faster and heavier than the band. “You bring a purse?”

  “Do I ever?”

  “Then let’s go.”

  He dropped his arms and resisted the urge to snag her hand inside his. They walked out of the bar and into the gravel parking lot, making a beeline for his truck—but not before she’d darted a glance around the rows for the threesome’s vehicle.

  When her shoulders sagged, Bo opened the cab door. “Hop up.”

  As he climbed in behind the steering wheel, she raked a hand through her hair. “We don’t have to go far.”

  “You in a hurry?” He turned the key and the engine rumbled to life, growling like he wanted to. He was pretty sure Shanna was right there with him by the way she clenched together her thighs.

  “Don’t be a shit,” she said, punching his arm.

  He let a grin slide across his face. “Sweetheart, I know just the place.”

  Bo gave Shanna a quick kiss then slid all the way inside her, sighing as her moist heat enveloped him. It had been far too long since the last time she’d succumbed to her natural urges and begged him for a quick “dick-fix”.

  Her legs wrapped around his hips and hugged him so hard he had to thrust a couple of times to remind her to give him a little room to move.

  As he got down to work, his cock rocking inside her lava-hot little channel, he blessed his Boy Scout training for his foresight to stuff a thick blanket behind the seat of his truck. It gave him just enough padding beneath his knees to keep him comfortable and to shield Shanna’s back from the cooling metal.

  “This workin’ for ya?” He tried to sound nonchalant when what he really wanted to do was let out a whoop it felt so good.

  She gave him a coy look from beneath her lashes. “You needin’ a little praise?”

  She lifted her head and scooped his mouth with hers, fluttering her tongue over his bottom lip until he growled and consumed her like a bear dipping into a honey jar. She giggled into his mouth, and he pulled back, making a face. Moonlight shone so bright he could see the gleeful humor digging dimples deep into her cheeks.

  He frowned. “Do you know what it does to a man when he’s balls-deep and the girl starts laughin’?”

  Which only made Shanna laugh harder. “Since you’re not wiltin’ beneath the disrespect, I’m not gonna feel sorry for you.”

  Bo gave a rumbling groan and tunneled deeper into her slick heat, every inch of his dick surrounded by her gently rippling channel. They grew silent, their bodies straining together.

  Then, “You don’t think what they’re doin’ is dirty, do ya?” she asked, her tone far too conversational, considering how much effort he was exuding.

  He knew how her mind worked and what had precipitated this hot little interlude, but he still couldn’t resist the urge to tease. “Who?” he asked, stroking deeper and cupping her butt with his palms as he powered into her.

  “Dani and her two fellas.”

  “Long as they aren’t hurtin’ anyone else, I say let ’em be.”

  “I’m envious as hell,” she groaned.

  “Woman,” he growled. “How the hell can you hold a thought?”

  “I’m a girl. My brains don’t flee south at the first sign of pussy.”

  Bo’s bark of laughter ended in another groan. “Hush. Talk in a minute.”

  “A little overconfident, aren’t you?” she quipped, but she was gasping now too.

  Holding her against him, he rolled.

  Shanna tossed back her wavy hair and gave him a look that bespoke challenge and arousal. A heady mix as she drove her slender body downward then ground against the crinkly curls at the base of his cock. Up again, she went, moonlight gleaming on the sweat coating her small breasts.

  When he’d been a teenager, he’d ogled the women in his daddy’s Playboys, but he’d been hooked on Shanna’s little “fried eggs” since the first time she’d bared them in a dare
. They’d still been middle school virgins.

  “Now, don’t you tease me,” a thirteen-year-old Shanna had whispered, when he’d double-dared her into it, her hands shielding her chest after she’d let him pull her shirt up.

  “Scout’s honor, I won’t,” he’d said, so hard and excited he’d have spent himself in his jeans if she’d so much as rubbed against him.

  Even now, when her hands cupped her little breasts and her eyelids slid closed, he thought her breasts were just about perfect.

  “Ever think about…” She bit her lip and ground down on his cock again, a little faster and harder, and he knew she was still thinking about the trio everyone in Two Mule, Texas couldn’t stop talking about.

  “Ever think about what?”

  Her gaze went skyward. “About doing it with another guy?”

  His derisive snort brought her attention back. He gave her a scowl.

  She snickered. “I didn’t mean it that way. I mean doing a girl with another guy.”

  “Why stop at just two?” he asked, liking the conversation because he’d never seen her so hot, and moisture was seeping faster as she thought about her wicked little fantasy.

  “Lord, Bo,” she moaned, swirling her hips, screwing him sweetly. “You shouldn’t say things like that. My legs are shakin’.”

  “Need me to take over?” he murmured.

  “Would you? I know you’ve had a hard day at the ranch, but…”

  “Honey, I’m never too tired for this. Not when it’s you.”

  He could have kicked himself for that last bit. In all the years they’d snuck away to play, he’d never let her see how much she meant to him, sensing she’d shy away like a nervous filly, and he couldn’t have that. If all they ever had was this, this strange, sexy friendship, then he’d savor every minute.

  He rolled with her again, his hands slipping beneath her ass to cup her close. “Now, do you think we might concentrate for just a second or two? And yeah, I’m bein’ overconfident again.”

  She grinned and slid her hands down his belly, past where their bodies joined and cupped his balls.

  “Take that hand away, baby. I’m ready to come.”

  “Ready to go all Terminator on my pussy?”

  He gave her a sexy roll of his hips, circling inside her. “I’m not out to demolish. I just want what’s mine.”

  Her hands tugged his balls gently. “Think this pussy’s yours?”

  “Is someone else’s dick divin’ deep inside you?”

  “Gawddamn, cowboy, I love it when you talk dirty.”

  “You’re the one with the potty mouth,” he said, giving her an openmouthed kiss. He pulled back because she was massaging his balls, and he was quickly getting lost in the sensations building inside him. “Shanna?”

  “Yeah, stud?”

  “Take that hand away so I can fuck you raw.”

  “Tell me more,” she said, giving his sac another gentle pull then slipping her hand from between them. “Whatcha gonna do to me?”

  He gritted his teeth. “Can’t think. Wanna go wild on your ass and hammer until you’re flyin’ apart—so wet and hot and close that you can’t do anything more than squeal and bleat like a pink little pig.”

  She wrinkled her nose. ‘“Cowboy, you tryin’ to spoil the mood? That’s so not sexy.”

  “It is from up here,” he said dropping his voice to a purr. “I like your piggy squeals.”

  “I’m gonna kick your ass.”

  “Not until after I fuck your pussy raw.” He thrust harder, cramming his swelling cock through tissue so hot and wet he thought he’d lose his mind.

  Her eyes widened, and her fingernails dug into his ass. “Bo?”

  “Yeah, baby?”

  “Now! Do it now!” Her back arched off the truck bed, and her head dug into the blanket.

  He withdrew all the way, re-centered his cock, and slammed home, not stopping until he felt the end of her channel and bounced against her cervix. He knew what that was because he’d been as avid a sex-ed student as she’d been. They’d both peeled off their clothes to explore and name of every part in high school—and they’d both gotten As.

  With her eyes squeezing shut, and her moan tightening to that sexy-as-hell little squeal, he let loose, hammering her over and over until the pressure in his balls released. He shouted, come spurting deep inside her. Then chest heaving, he landed on top of her.

  Her hands stroked over his back, gliding in his sweat.

  “That would be just plain greedy, don’t you think?” she said softly

  This time, it took a second for him to recall the thread of conversation they’d dropped somewhere between the heavy thrusting. “If it’s not hurtin’ anyone…”

  “I wouldn’t want it to be a permanent thing,” she said, her voice sounding dreamy. “I don’t think I could be as strong as Dani.”

  “You think she has to be strong to have two men?”

  “She has to be strong to put up with havin’ everyone talkin’ about her business. You should hear how the old biddies at the beauty shop skewer Dani Cruz. Even at church. Sanctimonious bitches.”

  Bo dragged in a deep breath and came up on his elbows so he could watch her face. “You’re really curious about it, aren’t you?”

  Her gaze slid away from his to where she curled a finger in the hair above his ears. “It’s just a fantasy. Gets me hot.”

  His lips twitched. “I couldn’t tell. What if I told you there might be a way to satisfy that itch without anyone ever knowin’?”

  She gave his hair a tiny yank and stared up at him. “I’d say you’re a horrible tease, and now I’m completely horny again just thinkin’ about the possibility. You did it on purpose, didn’t you? Just ’cause I said we shouldn’t have sex again.”

  He reached up to pull her fingers away from his head and kept them cupped inside his hand. “I’m not teasing. I have a solution. Guess it just depends on if you’ve got the guts.”

  She bit her bottom lip. “No one would ever know?”

  “Just those there. And the guys I’m thinkin’ of don’t gossip.”

  She grunted. “How do you know?”

  Gotcha, babe. “Ever hear of Chrissi Page gettin’ naked and fuckin’ three guys under the bleachers during halftime at the homecoming game?”

  “No.” Her eyes widened. “Prissy Chrissi? Really?”

  He nodded.

  Her eyes widened. “Were you one of those boys?”

  “And if I was?” He’d been there but hadn’t been one of the three havin’ a go, but she didn’t need to know that.

  A frown dug a line between her brows. “I never would have put you with her. You said she wasn’t your type.”

  Bo bit the tip of her nose, embarrassed now to admit his part. “She wasn’t when she thought she was too good for anyone around here.”

  “How’d you ever talk her into it?”

  He hadn’t, but he gave her a wicked waggle of his eyebrows. “Now, I’ve already said too much.”

  “You’re just tryin’ to get me hot enough for another round,” she muttered.

  “And if I am?”

  “Just remember, I ain’t marryin’ you, Bo.”

  “Did I ask?”

  “No, but people see us together too often, they’ll start makin’ plans. And I already have plans.”

  Bo ground his hips against hers, dragging his slackening cock around and around her pussy. “No one will know about us,” he said softly. “No one will start sendin’ out wedding invitations. And I really can give you one hot-as-hell night. You game?”

  Her teeth bit into her lush bottom lip as she studied his expression. “Who’s your posse?”

  He lifted his eyebrows, telling her silently that she ought to already know.

  “You talkin’ about the boys at the Triple X?” She stared. “Holy cow.”

  He could tell from the hitch in her breathing that the idea appealed.

  “But why would they go for it, with me, I
mean? I’m not…like Chrissi.”

  “Don’t you dare say you aren’t pretty enough.”

  “I’m okay, but they’re…” She blew out a breath between pursed lips. “Let’s just say there’s not a woman in Two Mule, except maybe Dani Cruz, who hasn’t thought about tryin’ to lasso one of ’em. How you gonna ask them?”

  “Leave it up to me.”

  Shanna swallowed hard. “Why would you do this for me?”

  He gave her a one-sided smile, aching inside to tell her the truth, but settled for, “What’re best friends for?”

  Shanna reached up and kissed him then dropped her head back.

  Bo was so handsome it broke her heart to look at him. Brown hair, green eyes, a lean, muscled frame were only the start of what she liked about him. His sharp-edged face, square jaw and the way he looked right into her eyes when he talked to her, never failed to make her melt.

  He was the best friend she’d ever had. Knew every one of her dirty little secrets, but he’d never judged her. Never looked down on her. And she knew he’d be more than willing to take on all her problems on a permanent basis because he thought he was in love with her.

  But she couldn’t do it to him. He deserved better than getting smeared with the likes of Camilla Davies’ daughter. Which was why she’d never let him park his truck outside the tidy little house her grandma had left to her when she moved to the retirement home.

  “Blood will out.” Or so Gran had always said, shaking her head mournfully whenever Shanna colored outside the lines. And hadn’t the old woman been right, after all? Just look at what she’d asked Bo to do for her.

  A coyote howled in the distance, bringing her back. The ridges in the truck bed were digging into her spine, but she didn’t want to be the first to push away. She wiggled her butt to realign with the ridges.

  Bo lifted his head from her shoulder. “I’m crushin’ you.”

  “No you aren’t,” she said, but she lowered her legs from his waist and let him slide to the side of her body. Shanna stuck an arm under her head and gazed at the stars glittering against the dark sky. “This was a great idea,” she said softly. “You always know the perfect place.”

  Bo rolled to his back. “It’s the middle of the football field. Better hope we don’t get caught. There won’t be any hidin’ the tire tracks in the grass.” Bo laughed. “At least it’s better than the high school janitor’s closet.”