Zane tugged at his elbow and led him away from the group. “Stop it. You aren’t responsible for what happened.”

“How did you know what I was thinking?”

“I’ve lived and worked beside you for years. I know when you’re letting the old man get to you. He pushed you so fucking hard you couldn’t take a dump without wondering if you were the best at it.”

Nate couldn’t help it. He laughed, really laughed. It was true, and Zane knew just how to put it to him. His father had pushed him on his grades, pushed him at football, pushed him to date the prettiest girl. Only the best for a Wright… His father hated Zane.

His father wouldn’t like Callie.

That thought sobered him really quickly.

Zane’s brow was furrowed. “Now I don’t know what you’re thinking.” It seemed to bother him.

“I was wondering how Callie and my parents would get along.”

“They wouldn’t, and you know it. He’ll see her as a little piece of fluff who could never help you socially. I know exactly what your father would say. He would tell you that if you simply had to have her, keep her as a mistress and find a proper wife. That’s when I would go to jail for assaulting your dad.”

Only if Nate didn’t get to him first. Damn, Zane was right. Callie was far too sweet for his high society world. “They would tear her up.”

“I didn’t say that,” Zane corrected with a shake of his head. “She’s no shrinking violet, Nate. She can be downright mean when she wants to. Did you see what she did to my bike? That was a custom-made bike. It took some strength to pry the seat off. And what she did to the tires… I’m kind of scared of her now. I don’t think I’ll piss her off again anytime soon.”

Nate grinned at the thought. She had been one pissed off sweetheart of a woman. Callie often allowed them to take the lead, but when she put her foot down, he had the feeling he and Zane would fall in line. She could handle herself, but that didn’t mean she wouldn’t get her heart broken. “You need to stick close to her. I don’t trust Ben and Marcus with her.”

Zane’s eyes went positively arctic. “What did they do?”

“I just didn’t like the way they questioned her,” Nate admitted.

“Why the hell did you call in those two? Damn it, Nate, they’re going to cause problems here. They’re assholes.”

Nate sighed. “I didn’t ask for them. I actually tried to get Tyler Williams out here.”

Williams wasn’t as senior, but he was a solid agent. He didn’t mind getting his hands dirty and did undercover like he was born for it. He would have fit in here because he fit in anywhere. He was smart and quick. He didn’t think Zane was a fuck-up.

“Yeah, he would be good here. So why send in the suits?”

Nate shrugged. “This is serious, Zane. I guess they wanted their best agents on it.”

“The director’s blind. Those two are paper pushers. The only reason they move up is the fact that they went to Harvard and their dads are big in Washington.” Zane laughed bitterly. “I know why they sent them. They want you back. They’re really here to convince you to return to work.”

“Well, I think they might reconsider now that I apparently outed us as a gay couple.” He waited for Zane to roar.

A slow smile broke over Zane’s face. “What?”

“Yeah, I was pissed about the way they treated Callie. They were acting like she didn’t matter. Assholes. I might have outed us as a threesome, and they took it wrong.”

“Nice. Now I’m not only the agent who blew his cover. I’m the gay agent who blew his cover.”

He didn’t seem upset. Zane was grinning from ear to ear. It surprised Nate. “This doesn’t bother you?”

“Nah. I’m perfectly comfortable with my heterosexuality, man. I have no desire to jump your nasty ass, but our lady likes a little kink. I put up with you for her sake,” His smile faded slightly. “It doesn’t matter what they think of me. I’m never going back. This could hurt you. Go and talk to them. Tell them you were just protecting your partner.”

“Fuck that. It’s the truth. I love Callie. I share her with you. I’m not hiding it.” He wasn’t going to hide it. He still wasn’t sure about the future, but he didn’t want to hide Callie and Zane. It didn’t feel right. He looked at Zane and realized they had a problem. “Damn it, Zane, try to be less comfortable with yourself.” Zane’s cock was lengthening by the second. “Seriously, you can’t walk around with that thing.”

Zane pointed to a spot behind him. Nate turned, and then his dick was hard, too. Callie was standing next to a woman talking animatedly. She was gloriously naked, her skin glowing in the sun. Her smile was lit by a warm glow that came from deep within her. Even as his dick got hard, Nate felt his heart soften. She was so beautiful. He heard a feminine squeal as two women ran to Callie. It was Callie’s friend, Jen, who seemed to make Stef insane, and the twins’ wife, Rachel. The three women hugged enthusiastically, and he heard a bunch of questions about what had happened. Nate felt a definite affection for the women who seemed so concerned about his Callie.

“Damn, Sheriff, you gotta put on some pants,” a wry voice with a deep western drawl said. “The naked thing only works when you keep your dick calm, man.”

Nate cupped himself and reached for his pants as the Harper twins walked up.

The second twin laughed out loud and didn’t give him the courtesy of looking away. “Yeah, Rye, this is why we couldn’t live up here. I would be hiding too damn much of myself.”

Nate tried to quell his rising embarrassment. He carefully zipped up his pants and left the shirt off. He wasn’t going to show just how uncomfortable he was. It was a natural damn reaction. She was his mate. She was naked. He would be worried if his cock didn’t react.

He looked back at Zane, who was calmly grabbing a towel from the stack near the horseshoe pit. Zane wound it around his waist. There were piles of towels neatly stacked throughout the place. Like Nate, his chest was still on full display.

“Harper,” Zane acknowledged.

“Damn, Max, you were right about him.” Rye Harper was wearing a blue shirt while his brother was in a black T-shirt. Otherwise, they were identical. The former sheriff looked Zane up and down and finally whistled. “You are one big, scary dude. Callie has way more exotic tastes than I would have thought.”

Zane’s eyes were off in the distance, watching the women as they talked. A faint smile touched his lips. “Lucky for me, huh?”

Rye’s eyes went hard as he stared at Zane. “It is lucky for you, you big son of a bitch, and it better stay that way. The way I look at it, you might have some nasty people after you, but you break her heart and I swear I’ll make those bikers look like a toddler’s playgroup.”

Max was sighing heavily. “Back off, Rye. I told you. The big guy and I have a deal. He takes care of Callie, and I don’t kill him.”

Zane’s head was thrown back as his laughter boomed across the yard. “Yeah, believe that, Harper. We made that little deal of yours with my hand wrapped around your throat.” He looked at the twins seriously. “Don’t worry about Callie. I’m staying close no matter what. She owes me. She trashed my bike, so I can’t leave.”

Nate didn’t like the way any of this sounded. The way Zane was talking, he was taking responsibility for Callie on his own.

Rye Harper held out a hand and shook Zane’s. “All right then. Just know that when you take on Callie, you take on her family. Rach will have you out to the house for dinner as soon as possible. She’s completely obsessed with having a close family for our kid.”

“You better be ready to play the doting uncle,” Max tossed in.

Yup, Nate didn’t like this feeling at all. “I think Zane and I can handle it.”

Max turned to him with a frown on his face. “You’re welcome, of course, Sheriff. For as long as you’re here. The rumor is you’re going to leave as soon as you can. I’m just glad one of you has the sense to stay with Callie.”

“Callie is going to have the good sense to stay with me.” Nate heard himself grinding the words out of his mouth. Max Harper would just have to find his close-knit family with someone else. Callie would leave with him. She would leave behind the Harper twins and Stef and Jen and all her friends at the diner. She would say goodbye to Logan and his moms, Marie and Teeny. She would wave a fond farewell to everything she knew to follow him to Washington and a cushy job where he never had to deal with alien invasions, naturists, or vegans declaring their rights at the stoplight on Friday afternoons. Zane could be a well-kept secret. Yeah, the money he could make would be worth giving up all of this, right?

“Damn it, Rachel!” Rye Harper was screaming across the yard at his pretty wife. “You put your clothes back on.”

The woman with the strawberry-blonde hair and a faint curve to her belly placed a hand on her hips and yelled right back. “No, I won’t, Rye. I’m in Rome, damn it!”

Rye turned back to his brother. “She is pregnant. What the hell is she thinking? Pregnant ladies shouldn’t be walking around like that.”

Max’s grin was broad. “I don’t see why not, bro. That’s how she got pregnant in the first place. I think she makes for some really nice scenery.” He turned a black look back on Nate and Zane. “Not that anyone else should be enjoying it.”

“You’re safe, Harper. I only got eyes for one woman.” Zane slapped Nate on the back.

Jen ran across the yard and practically threw herself in Zane’s arms. Luckily, she still had her clothes on, but Zane seemed startled by it anyway. The slender brunette kissed his cheek enthusiastically. “Thank you so much, Zane. When I saw you earlier, I was so caught up in my own drama that I forgot to thank you for saving Callie this morning.”