Western Ties: Compass Brothers, Book 4 Read Free

nights. One weekend to confirm a few suspicions she’d always held in regard to her sexual preferences. Sawyer was going to put a wrench in the works.
    She gestured at her outfit. “I would think my role here would be obvious.” For the first time, she allowed her gaze to travel over him as well. Her body heated with arousal as she noted how unbelievably sexy he was. He wore tight dark jeans and a black T-shirt that hugged his muscular chest to perfection. No one in the place would fail to read the dominance in his stance, the aura of power he projected.  
    On the surface, she was shocked to find her friend in a place like this, but there was another part—deep inside—that wasn’t a bit surprised. He belonged here.
    “So you’re a Dom?” She fought the urge to laugh as she asked the absurd question. Of course he was.
    His gaze drifted to her arm. He grasped her wrist, pulling it up and toying with the white wristband the host had given her upon arrival.
    “You understand what this means, right?” he asked, gesturing to the bracelet.  
    Sawyer completely ignored her Dom question. It didn’t matter anyway. It had clearly been rhetorical. He was a Compton. Anybody and everybody from their neck of the woods knew that name was synonymous with alpha male.  
    She gave him an annoyed look. “Of course I do.”
    It was evident from his tone he didn’t think she belonged here any more than Stacey. One of the reasons she’d planned this adventure far away from home, surrounded by strangers who didn’t know her, was because rumors spread like wildfire in their small hometown. She knew about Sawyer’s sexual proclivities, and she’d always wondered if she shared a few of them.  
    Besides, her sweet disposition didn’t inspire the more adventurous cowboys back home to ask her out, so her opportunities for exploration were seriously limited. Stacey was right. She was a goody-goody.
    Sawyer didn’t appear to like her answer, so he restated the obvious. “It means you are an unattached submissive who’s looking for a Dom. This wristband has declared it open season on you.”
    She shrugged, unconcerned. “Sorry to shatter the illusion, Sawyer, but I think I can handle whatever this party dishes out. It’s not like I’m a virgin.”
    He frowned. “You lost your virginity in the backseat of a Pontiac to Les Prescott after Compton Pass won the district football championship our senior year. The guy was a shithead. You should’ve chosen better.”
    Leah laughed, though a ripple of desire slammed into her. It was always this way with Sawyer. Though they were just friends, there’d never been a time when she hadn’t felt his gaze on her. He’d scared off more than a few would-be boyfriends in her lifetime claiming they were only after one thing . Les had fallen into that category, but Sawyer had been playing on that championship team and had been a bit distracted that night.  
    Sawyer had appointed himself her personal guardian in third grade when Jordan Haskiell had shoved her down on the playground after she’d beat him in a footrace. As a result, Sawyer had endured an afternoon in the principal’s office and God only knew what kind of punishment at home after issuing Jordan a very physical, very painful warning of what happened to guys who messed with Leah. While Sawyer hadn’t pursued her romantically, he’d certainly taken the bonds of friendship to a new extreme.
    Despite the fact they’d existed in different cliques at school, Sawyer hadn’t let social status stop him from being one of her best friends. He’d run with the jocks and cheerleaders, while she’d been firmly encamped with the brainiacs, less affectionately referred to as nerds by their peers. “How could you have known about Les?”
    “I told you. He was a prick. He was bragging about it at school the following Monday.”
    She flushed. She’d never heard of Les spreading rumors about her. “I didn’t know—”
    Sawyer grinned.