Claiming the Cowboys Read Online Free PDF Page B

door. Her car stood, packed and ready to go, and she veered towards it. Damn them both. If they had used her, she wanted nothing more to do with them. She should have stuck with her original intention and put this place far behind her. Put it on the market. Never return.
    “Sophie. No.” Hamish half hopped, half ran up behind her, still pulling on one boot. “Let me explain. Please. Don’t go.”
    He reached out to take her hand. She wanted to snatch it away, wanted to get in the car, but her traitorous body refused to obey her. The warm clasp of his fingers melted her resistance and she allowed him to lead her back into the house. Jackson walked, silent and brooding on her other side.
    “Go wash up,” Hamish said. “Jackson and I will meet you in the kitchen.”
    She nodded. They needed to talk but she needed to regain some control. She hurried to the bathroom.
     

Chapter Three
     
     
     
    As she approached the kitchen she heard the hum of their voices. Hamish and Jackson were sitting on opposite sides of the table, holding coffee cups. There was a third cup waiting for her. They stopped speaking as soon as she entered. If there had been any disharmony, they seemed to have healed their differences while she showered.
    She sat, picked up the mug then took a sip. She wasn’t going to speak. Hamish was the one who had explaining to do.
    But it was Jackson who spoke first, surprising her. “I love Hamish. We’re partners in life and in the business. I want to make that clear.”
    “And I love Jackson,” Hamish added.
    That didn’t surprise Sophie, but it didn’t come close to answering her questions either. She remained silent. This was their story to tell.
    “You have to believe that,” Hamish continued. “Because it’s vital.” He blew out a gust of breath. “We love it each other but…” He paused as if he couldn’t find the words.
    “It should be enough,” Jackson said. “But it’s not.”
    Sophie felt the blood drain from her face. The words Jackson said were cutting. She experienced a rush of sympathetic pain for Hamish. But when she looked at him, instead of appearing hurt, a small smile played around his mouth.
    “We need more. Jackson has tried to deny it. He always says he’s fine if I bring it up, but I know. We do love each other but we’re not complete. Both of us need a woman.”
    “And that’s where I come in?” Sophie surged to her feet. All the empathy she’d felt for them fled. Rage sizzled at the edges of her mind. “I turn up and you think, great. A woman. Let’s both fuck her then we can send her on her way and that should hold us for another… How long does it take before you have to do this? Once a year? Every six months? Is it just good luck that I happened to stumble into your clutches like the biggest fool alive?”
    “No!” Both men spoke at once.
    “It wasn’t like that!” Jackson added.
    “I wanted you the instant I saw you,” Hamish said. “Not just anyone, you. And I knew Jackson was attracted to you too. Far from wanting to use you, he wanted to run. He did his best to avoid you. Because he doesn’t want to hurt me. “
    Hamish stood then paced around the room. “I’ve never met any woman who I felt so strongly about so soon, and I knew Jackson hadn’t. We needed you, Sophie, and yes, I have to admit, I manipulated that scene in the barn. I knew you’d come down to see the foal. I wanted it to happen but I knew I had to find a way to get Jackson there, to breakdown his reluctance. He needed you, I needed you. We need you.”
    “Why? It was just one afternoon of sex. It was unbelievable, but if you don’t let it, it won’t harm your relationship. It’s over.”
    “It doesn’t have to be. Not if we don’t want it to end.”
    Sophie shook her head. “Forty-eight hours ago I didn’t know you two existed.” Her chest tightened in panic. What did she really know about the two men? “You can’t stop me if I want to leave.”
    Hamish glanced