by Ellis Leigh
At least until the quiet was broken by a voice that made my panties wet. “Looking to go for a ride?”
I turned, smiling at Tripp. He stood in the doorway—one heavy shoulder leaning against the frame, his arms crossed over his broad chest and a smile on his face.
Wet was an understatement. That big, hulking, beast of a man had me soaked in seconds just by looking at me. It was definitely time to play with my cocky jock.
“I’ve never ridden before.” I bit my lip and backed up, bumping into the side of a saddle. “Are you going to teach me?”
Tripp pushed off the wall, striding closer, his gait long and loose but determined. The man looked as if he were on a mission, and if that mission had anything to do with making me crave his body on mine, he was succeeding in his plans.
Without a word, Tripp lifted me, setting me sideways on the saddle. Grabbing my thighs with rough hands. “I’ll teach you anything you want, little doll.”
I spread my legs wider and gripped his hand, tugging it under my dress. Directing him to my pussy with a brazenness I’d never displayed before. He groaned when he felt how wet my panties were, but I didn’t stop there. No, I pushed the delicate pink lace aside and dragged his hand right up to my flesh. Working both our fingers against my clit. Keeping my eyes on his as I teased myself. As I got us started.
After a few strokes, I moved his hand down and slid his thick finger inside me with a sigh. “Teach me everything, Tripp. I want it all.”
As I knew he would, my stallion took over. He plunged two fingers inside me, pressing his thumb against my clit and leaning over me until I was forced to arch my back and cling to his shoulders to keep from sliding off the leather seat of the saddle.
And then he started with the whispers.
“You like this? Knowing any of the other guys could come in here and see me with my fingers buried inside your cunt? Like knowing we’ve all been dreaming of getting up under this flirty little dress of yours and taking a piece of you? You do, don’t you? Such a little dick tease, our doll.”
He dropped down to plant a kiss on my lips, biting my bottom one until I gasped, then sliding his tongue inside. He tasted so good, all hot and minty and him. I wanted more. More of his tongue, of his taste. More of his fingers inside of me. Just more.
I grabbed his wrist, pulling him closer, deeper. He gave me what I needed, adding a third finger to the mix. Making me moan and shake as he stretched me. As he curled those fingers deep and hit a spot that had me seeing stars.
“Tripp,” I gasped, every inch of me starting to tremble under his ministrations.
“That’s it. Fuck, your pussy’s so wet and hot already. You’re going to be nice and swollen for me when I’m done, aren’t you? Gonna be good and tight when I stuff you full of my thick cock. Can’t wait to fill you up, doll. To come inside this little heaven and know my seed is dripping down your thighs. Make you walk past all the other guys, smelling of sex and me and leather. They’ll be so fucking jealous. You’re going to have six other men dying to bend you over one of these saddle racks.”
A girl could dream.
My orgasm took me by surprise. One second, I was riding Tripp’s hand, feeling the pressure build inside of me with every stroke and curl. The next, I was biting down on his shoulder as my world broke apart and put itself back together. As my body clenched down hard and time stood still before everything moved at the speed of light and set us back to rights. I was still coming, still clenching around his thick fingers, when Dalton ran into the room.
“Time to go back inside, princess.” He froze, his eyes hot and hard as they took in our position. As they moved from my face down my flushed chest to where Tripp’s hand disappeared under my skirt and between my legs. No way did he not know what we’d been doing, and no way did he not enjoy seeing us this way, if the bulge behind his fly was any indication.
But then his words sank in.
“What’s wrong?”
He didn’t answer me. “Tripp, now.”
“Sorry, doll. Hang on to me.” Tripp yanked his hand from inside of me and picked me up, throwing me over his shoulder like a sack of flour before running out the door. Dalton followed, Matthew joining him before we hit the big sliding doors that would lead us to the driveway.
We were inside the house in seconds, all four of us breathing hard. Me shaking like a leaf from the panic roaring through me. When Tripp finally set me on my feet, I got a good look at his face. Gone was the needy, sexy smile and lust-filled eyes. The man looked worried.
Tripp never looked worried.
“Calm down, doll.”
As if. “In the history of the world, not one person has ever actually calmed down when someone’s told them to. I’m not about to be the first. Tell me what’s going on.”
Dalton took that question as he moved to lock the back door. “Quinn thinks we’ve got a visitor. Seems there’s another camera looping, and it’s attached to the outside of the barn.”
The barn I’d just been inside, where my men had been working all day. So close. Too close. Quinn would hate himself for missing Chance’s approach, for calling this downtime when we’d truly been under attack. “Is he okay?”
Dalton gave me a funny look, one filled with confusion. “Quinn? He’s fine. We’re all more worried about you right now.” He nodded to Tripp. “You got her?”
“Yeah. I’m good.”
Dalton and Matthew disappeared out the front while Tripp wrapped his body around mine and rocked me. Obviously trying to soothe my frazzled nerves. But there would be no soothing today—not until I had all seven of my men back under this roof.
Not until I figured out how to rid my herd of the threat against them.
Chapter Thirty-One
Four hours. It took my stallions four hours to secure the property, inspect all the cameras, install more to capture possible movement on all parts of the ranch, and feel safe enough to join Tripp and me inside. Matthew only popped his head in for a minute before rushing back out, taking on the job of patrolling while the rest of us had dinner. As soon as the men were done eating, Quinn and Garrett joined him, leaving me alone with Cade, Dalton, Liam, and Tripp.
Liam broke the post-meal silence first. “I know it’s bad timing, Tripp, but I think it’s a good idea if we have Waverley spend the night with Cade and Dalton.”
I darted a glance at the two stallions in question—the men who did everything together. They appeared unaffected by Liam’s words as if they’d already known this was coming.
“But it’s Tripp’s night with me,” I said, the argument sounding weak even to my own ears.
Tripp leaned closer, looking unaffected and calm. “I’ve got some damn good memories to get me through the lonely night, doll. If the boss says you go with Cade and Dalton, then you go. You can always make it up to me next time you come to the barn for a visit. There are some lovely ropes we can play with out there.”
Naughty boy. I gave him a weak smile, trying hard to stay positive. “I’ll make it up to you anywhere you want.”
The heat in his eyes flared, and he grabbed my hand. Tugging me out of my seat. “Come on. I’ll help you grab your stuff.”
I didn’t have stuff. Not really, and definitely not in his room. I’d been given my own room in the house, though I didn’t use it as anything more than a holding area for what little I’d brought with me when I’d run. Still, I followed Tripp down the hallway and into his room. Assuming he needed to talk to me.
I was so damn wrong.
As soon as he had the door closed, he grabbed me and lifted me up, up, up. Hooking my knees over his shoulders and pressing me against the wall. Almost knocking my head into the ceiling. Just like our first time together.
I wasn’t naked this time, though, so he ripped my panties right off me, tossing the fabric to the side. And then his mouth was on my clit. Like earlier that morning, there was no teasing, no slow start or easy licks. Just abrupt, strong suction right on my bundle of nerves.
The kind that sent shock waves straight to the heart of me. The kind that would make a girl come before she could even catch her breath.
I curled over him, crying out at the intensity of the attack, supporting myself with my hands on his shoulders as my body shuddered at his touch. As I let go of all my control and surrendered to whatever he had planned for me.
My orgasm came on hard and fast like a freight train, taking over my body in no time. Seconds. I came within seconds of him putting his mouth on me. Clenching on nothing and wishing, wanting, craving so much more. Needing his cock and his fingers, his filthy words and his big body covering mine. The weight of him on top of me as he drove his cock inside.
His mouth hadn’t stopped working my pussy, but I missed him already. And by the way he clung to me, how he held me so tight, I assumed he felt the same way. This wasn’t fair. Nothing about the situation was.
“Tripp.” I ran a hand over his head, tugging lightly on his hair until he rested his head against my stomach. Needing his words more than anything. He didn’t disappoint.
“That was just a teaser, doll. A little taste of what I had planned for you tonight.” He let me drop down, keeping me pinned to the wall. Keeping his body covering mine and his hands gripping me tightly. “Goddammit, I want to tell Liam to fuck off and keep you here, but I can’t. It’s not safe for you.”
“I’m sorry. It’s your night, and I feel so bad—”
He kissed me, sliding his tongue between my lips to stop my words. Letting me taste myself on his lips as he took my mouth. As he slicked his tongue against mine in frenzied strokes. There was desperation in his kiss, fear and need and everything I already felt at the idea of not being with him tonight. Of missing out on time with him.
One night. That was all I’d wanted. But we would have to wait.
Tripp finally broke the kiss, breathing hard as he pressed his forehead to mine and held on to my ass. Clutching me to him as if trying hard not to let me go.
“You’re going to have to walk out of here on your own, doll. I can’t—”
His hands tightened, a groan rumbling through this chest. I wanted to cry. Wanted to throw a tantrum about missed opportunities and how unfair it was to cut his time with me short. But I couldn’t… We both knew this was what was best, not just for me, but for the herd. And I would do anything for my stallions, even if that meant disappointing one. Temporarily.
“When all this madness is done,” I said, cupping his cheek and forcing his eyes to mine. “When the threat is gone and we’re back to normal, I’m going to spend that first weekend in your bed.”
His lips tipped up, just barely, but enough for me to notice. “Yeah?”
“Definitely.”
“I’ve got a better idea. How about we spend that first weekend out at the lake? We can go skinny-dipping.”
“There’s a lake on the ranch?”
“Out on the western edge of the property. It’s nice and secluded out there.”
“And we can spend a few days there?” I frowned, unable not to. “I’m not the biggest fan of tents. Or bugs. Or…camping.”
“There’s a cabin with indoor plumbing and everything.”
“Sounds perfect.” Grinning, I rose up to press a soft kiss to his lips, a goodbye one even if I refused to say the words. “I should get going.”
“Yeah.” He sighed, finally letting me go. Looking damn-near heartbroken. “Cade and Dalton live in the basement. It’s super secure down there, which must be why Liam wants you with them. You’ll be safe.”
I nodded, accepting his words as true. That I’d be safe in the basement—that it was the best place for me. But as I walked down the hall and across the kitchen, as Cade led the way down the stairs with Dalton following behind me, I couldn’t help but wonder.
Would my stallions be safe without me nearby?
Chapter Thirty-Two
The basement felt more like a fortress than the rest of the house—no windows broke the plain, dark walls, no obvious way out except the stairs I’d walked down. Trapped. I felt trapped down there. Add in the close proximity of Cade and Dalton—two of the most intimidating men I’d ever met—and my instinct to flee was on full alert.
These are my men. My mates. My stallions. They won’t hurt me.
“So,” I started, trying hard to pull up a smile for them. “What are we going to do to pass the time?”
The two shared a look—they share everything—before Cade said, “We’ll be monitoring the security footage all night and watching the alarm board Quinn installed.”
Well, there went the idea that maybe we could do something together so I could get to know them better. My fox felt pretty deflated at such a quick dismissal, and I wasn’t far behind her. “Oh. Okay. I could just read, I guess.”
Dalton grunted and stood from the small couch he’d been taking up room on, holding out a hand for me. “Want to watch with us?”
My answer was immediate, my smile way brighter than it had been since I’d walked downstairs. “Yes. I think I’d like that.”
Two chairs and three bodies at the control panel meant I had to sit on someone’s lap to watch the screens, but I didn’t mind. Heck, I quite enjoyed it. Cade and Dalton were both big, strong, muscular men with rough hands and an even rougher demeanor. They intrigued me, but we had a job to do. A mission. We needed to watch for my ex-boyfriend Chance on the cameras and help keep the Hidden E and the herd safe.
It was almost a gift to feel so useful to my stallions.
“The lights here”—Dalton pointed to a large board of what looked like tiny Christmas tree lights held individually on a wooden board—“are for the various motion detectors and alarms we’ve installed around the farm. If anything moves or sets off one of these, a camera will turn on, and the others nearby will zero in on that area. If anyone steps foot on our property, we’ll know.”
It all seemed like so much. “But he’s gotten on to the Hidden E twice, right? Did the alarms not work those times?”
Cade grunted. “They worked, but we didn’t.”
“What do you mean?”
Dalton answered my question. “The first time, we didn’t have alarms out there for motion. He was able to loop the camera feed before we noticed he was there.”
Right. All this was new…because of me. “You didn’t need the cameras before.”
Cade shook his head, his voice a deep rumble as he said, “We should have had them all along. If Liam had listened to me two years ago, we wouldn’t have been caught with our pants down.”
Heh. Pants down. As in naked. I should not be picturing them naked. So many days of being sexed up made my brain go into twelve-year-old-boy territory. Thankfully, neither man seemed to notice.
Dalton picked up where Cade had left off. “The second time the perp got on property to fuck with a camera is another thing altogether. We thought we were ready for anything, but the bastard made it all the way to the barn without setting off a single alarm. That’s…”
He trailed off, shaking his head and staring hard at the monitors. All the camera feeds. All the little lights. So much in the way between the outside world and us.
I couldn’t imagine how Chance was able to bypass it all. “It’s impossible.”
Dalton sighed and sat back, rubbing a hand over his close-cropped hair. “Not impossible because the bastard did it.”
“Do you know how he got through the web?”
“The web?” Cade looked so confused by that—to the point that I almost felt bad for describing their elaborate set of motion detectors and alarms that way. The word seemed too simple for what they’d done.
“I…I just mean it seems very web-like. Like a spider web but not flat. All the cameras and motion detectors—they’re not aimed at one point, right? So they form a sort of web of points to avoid.” I looked from one man to the other, trying hard to find the right words to explain the image in my head. “Like that movie with that really hot actress—she’s a thief and they go
to steal something, but there are all these laser lines crisscrossing the room, so she has to twist and turn her body through them to get to the prize. It’s super sexy and sensual but tactical at the same time. The contortion required to crawl through a web.”
Cade’s face went blank, his eyes burning into mine as he stared silently. I wanted so badly to fidget, to curl up against Dalton and seek his warmth, to escape from that penetrating stare, but I couldn’t. Wouldn’t. I refused to back down from one of my mates, even if he was making me incredibly uncomfortable.
Finally, he blinked and shot a glance to Dalton. “Get Quinn on the phone.” Cade hopped up, pacing as Dalton moved me to the other chair and grabbed his phone. Calling Quinn instead of just walking upstairs. If my naughty professor was at his monitors, he might not hear the device go off.
“I could run up and get him,” I offered, trying to be helpful.
Cade’s growl made goose bumps appear on my arms. “Fuck no. You’re not leaving the basement without one of us beside you. Preferably both of us.”
I couldn’t decide if I should be scared of the hulking shifter…or turned on by him. Something in the way he ordered me around, the way he demanded things, was so hot. Sort of like Matthew, but rougher. So much rougher. Easy to obey.
“Okay.” My acquiescence came out as a whisper, barely more than breath over my lips. But Cade heard it. He stopped pacing and stared again, only moving closer when I shuddered from his hard glare.
“Are you afraid of me, woman?”
Woman. Why did I love being called that so much? “Yes. A little.”
“I won’t hurt you.”
“I know that.”
“Then why are you trembling?”
Honesty time. “Because I like your roughness. A lot.”
His eyebrows flew up, and a slow smile curled his lips. “Do you want me to fuck you, Waverley?”
Oh. How could I not be honest with such a direct question? “Yes. Not this second because we have a job to do…but, yes. I want that.”