Naked Love

by Jones, Lisa Renee

  “Tell me you’re going to crucify that fucker, Jack,” Sam said as his partner sat back down at their table at The Barn. It was hours later, but the rage still simmered close to Sam’s surface.

  It had taken everything he had to walk Abby out of that place and soothe her wounded pride. He’d gotten her back to the car and then made a few calls while she retouched her makeup. Sam hadn’t missed the tears in her eyes. The first call had been to David Sandberg and his wife, Polly. They were old friends of his who ran The Barn. Sam had been explicit in his instructions, and he hadn’t been disappointed.

  Abby had smiled when she was shown into the small, private dining room at the honky-tonk. It was located in the back of the building and mostly used for storage, but it was quiet, and Polly had done wonders turning it into a romantic space. She’d gone all-out in the twenty minutes she’d had. By the time they’d escorted Abby in, the space had been transformed with an intimate table and pretty tablecloth, china and silver for the place settings, and candles the only illumination in the room. The light made everything soft and gauzy, and he’d watched Abby relax as Polly played the gracious hostess. She had soft music on and glasses of wine ready for them. He and Jack were really more beer drinkers, but they could handle a glass of wine on occasion.

  They had carefully avoided the subject of the scene at the steak house after Abby had tried to apologize and Jack quickly shut her down. He let her know that there was nothing to be sorry about. It was their fault for taking her to a place that would treat her like that.

  Slowly but surely, she’d started to laugh again as they enjoyed their quiet meal. Sam and Jack told her all about the pitfalls of cattle ranching in the modern age, and Abby told them stories from her life as a trauma nurse.

  It had been nice to share a meal with her. He had done it many times over the last month, but this was different because all the cards were on the table.

  “I’m gonna kick his ass, you know,” Sam stated flatly.

  Jack’s lips curved into a knowing smile. “You’ll do what you need to do, Sam. Make sure to let me know what your alibi is so we can have our stories straight.”

  Sam nodded. Mike Wade sat down at the table with his second longneck of the night. Sam had been thrilled to see Christa and Mike were at The Barn. Abby could use a girlfriend.

  “So the rumors are already all over town.” Mike looked over to the bar, his gaze finding his wife and Abby.

  “That was fast.” He shouldn’t be surprised. It was a small town and everyone in that lobby had a cell phone and knew how to use it.

  “Oh, I bet it wasn’t five minutes after it happened that Christa got the call.” Mike took a long swallow of beer. “She’s friends with one of the bartenders. Christa said the staff thought Luther would have a heart attack after Jack had his talk with him. The way they told it, the man went white as a sheet and left for home early. What the hell did you say to him?”

  “I pointed out a few facts of life he has overlooked up to this point,” Jack said evenly. “I explained to him that he had roughly six months’ worth of business left, so he should start looking for a new career or move to a new town. He did that sputtering thing. You know, the one where people tell you they don’t believe you, or you can’t do that. I find that part of these conversations very annoying. I greatly prefer to move on to the part where he realizes I’m going to bury him. Men handle this one of two ways, I’ve found. They get pissed off or they cry. Luther, it turns out, is a crier.”

  Mike whistled. “Damn, Jack, what did you tell him you were going to do?”

  “Offer The Treasure Cove a thirty percent discount on all our products. Pull our beef out of Delbert’s, obviously. I happen to know that the owner of the Cove has had trouble getting a loan to redecorate and expand his selection. He wants to hire a new chef. I believe I feel like investing in a restaurant again. This one turned out well.”

  “Damn straight.” Sam loved it when Jack plotted. Sam would have simply kicked the man’s ass, but this was much better.

  Of course, he would still kick the man’s ass, but Jack’s revenge was longer lasting. Sam’s would just make him feel better.

  “If that doesn’t tempt the good people of Willow Fork away, I’ll buy the property and kick him out,” Jack finished. Like Sam, Jack had ditched the jacket and tie. He watched Abby with an unmistakably possessive gleam in his eyes.

  Mike nodded. “Well, I’m with you. I believe in retribution. There are people in this town who more than deserve a little justice coming their way for how they treated Abby. I saw they already towed the car.”

  “Yeah, her new one will be delivered tomorrow.” Sam grinned at the thought of Abby tooling around in her brand-new convertible. He’d ordered it himself when Jack had informed him Abby needed a new car. Sam had chosen a pretty pearl Mercedes. It would look nice with Abby’s auburn hair.

  “She’s going to put up a fight, you know,” Jack mused.

  “That’s half the fun.” Sam sat back. He was looking forward to Abby’s reaction when she got the car. “She looks awful cute when she’s yelling at us.”

  “That she does.” Jack turned to Mike after taking a long swig of cold beer. “This is really all about some boy who died more than twenty years ago? I don’t understand what the problem is. From what I’ve heard, Abigail wasn’t even in the car with him.”

  Mike rolled his eyes and sighed. “Abby and Adam had a big fight that night. Practically the whole town heard it. They said some awful things to each other. You gotta understand, Adam was wild. He ran off, got drunk, and killed himself driving too fast down the highway. One of his friends said he was trying to get to Abby so they could make up. He wouldn’t have been on the highway if he hadn’t been trying to see Abby. It’s ridiculous, but they blamed her. Adam’s mama, Ruby, claims Abby changed him. Back then, the Echols family ran this town. I suppose they still do. They used to be the biggest employers in Willow Fork. Ruby’s dad ran a textile mill. It closed down shortly after Abby left. It hurt the town, but the Echols family didn’t seem to lose much cash.”

  “Then why does everyone follow their orders?” Sam had noticed a certain portion of the town practically worshipped at the old biddy’s feet.

  Mike shrugged. “I suppose it’s a habit. People want a king. Especially in a small town. I guess that person is usually the town’s mayor or the richest family or the biggest employer.”

  “Two out of three ain’t bad,” Jack commented with an arrogant smile.

  “It’s going to have to be. I don’t think either one of us wants to be the mayor.” Their packaging plant was small, but it still employed more citizens than any other business around.

  “No, but the mayor might be more willing to stand up against the Echols family if you and Jack mentioned that you might have plans to expand in the future,” Mike mused. “Plans that might not include Willow Fork.”

  “They might not.” Jack’s eyes narrowed. “If this town doesn’t accept our queen, then this set of kings will take their business and their money and their jobs elsewhere.”

  Sam exchanged a look with Jack. Sam would go along with whatever needed to be done. It would be hard, but they could do it. He wouldn’t have Abby treated like that.

  Jack put his beer down. “Mike, will you excuse us for a moment? I need to have a private word with Abby and Sam.”

  Mike smiled knowingly as Jack stood. “I’ll keep the table warm.”

  Sam’s entire body went on red alert at the thought of cornering Abby. He’d been crazy to find out what she was wearing under that skirt. “What’s the plan, Jack?”

  “Follow my lead,” Jack said with a predatory look.

  Sam had been following Jack’s lead for years. He wasn’t about to stop now.

  * * *

  “What is this place?” Abby tried to contain the excitement of being alone with Jack and Sam.

  Jack used a key to open a door at the top of the stairs. The Barn had, at one point, been an actual bar
n, Jack had explained over dinner. When they renovated it to make it a bar, they created a second floor for offices and storage.

  “Sam sometimes gets plastered.” Jack escorted her through the door into the room. “I had the contractors build this room specifically for those times.”

  It was a small room but well kept. There was a bed and a dresser. Several bottles of water and aspirin were on a bedside table, ready for use. “Are you telling me Sam has a drunk room?”

  “Hell, no.” Sam’s smile was wicked. “The bar is my drunk room. This is my passing out room.”

  “It’s a drive from the bar to our house, and I was worried Sam might decide to take the more direct route right through our land.” Jack turned on the light by the bed. “I couldn’t take the chance he might plow through our fences or hit the herd.”

  “I don’t always make the best choices when I’ve had a few,” Sam admitted with a negligent shrug.

  “Come here.” Jack sat down on the bed. He indicated his lap, and she felt her body getting soft and warm.

  This was the part of the evening where she’d sworn to herself she would explain that she needed to slow things down…like to a stop. She would be polite, but she needed to end things. It was for their own good. So why was she coming up with a million excuses to put it off?

  Earlier, she’d told herself that they had gone to the trouble of changing their plans, so she should enjoy dinner with them. Then she thought it wouldn’t hurt to dance with Sam. Just once. Once with Sam and once with Jack. Then she would tell them. Then Christa had shown up. Now she was wondering if she shouldn’t chuck the whole idea of leaving them. The truth was she didn’t want to. She wanted all of this to be real. She found herself settling onto Jack’s lap. His hands went around her waist, and for the first time in hours, she felt safe.

  “I need you to tell me why you didn’t mention that someone had vandalized your car, sweetheart.” Jack’s voice had gone dark and deep.

  She sat up straight, her whole body on alert at the tone he used. How had he found out about that?

  “Abby didn’t know about it,” Sam protested. “She was driving your truck, Jack.”

  She flushed because she knew the truth.

  “Abigail went by Christa’s earlier in the day.” Jack looked down at her. “I suppose she meant to trade my truck for her car, but then realized that plan wouldn’t work. That’s how she got that dent in the truck. It was from Mike’s trailer.”

  Damn, she was in trouble. It was right there in his stare. “I am sorry about that. I know I should have gone on and taken my car anyway, but I was embarrassed, and I didn’t have time to get four new tires. They slashed those tires good.”

  Jack tilted her head up so she was forced to look him in the eyes. “What you should have done was call me. What you should have done was been mad as hell and told me what was going on. She didn’t call out for you tonight, did she, Sam?”

  Sam’s face was grim. “No, she didn’t. If she hadn’t fallen, I expect Luther would have hustled her out the door without me knowing about it. I was busy talking to the feed store owner.”

  “You should have shouted out the minute you even thought that son of a bitch was going to lay a hand on you,” Jack explained sternly. “I never want to have to hear about you being hurt or humiliated from someone else again. I want to hear it from you because I want to be the first person you call when you need help. It’s me or Sam. There’s no going it alone.”

  It looked like they were going to push her into the discussion after all. “I don’t think you should get involved in this.”

  “Wrong answer, sweetheart,” Sam said.

  Jack’s eyes narrowed. “Not get involved?”

  She swallowed. Yep, now that intimidating look was turned right on her. “Just in that part, Jack. It’s nothing that should worry you. I can handle it.” Jack’s face was turning a slightly pink color and his right eyebrow started to twitch. “Are you all right? I think you might be having a reaction to the stress, or is that a nervous tick?”

  Sam started laughing.

  She sent him a dirty look. “Don’t you laugh. Stress is a serious problem.”

  “And I need some stress relief, Abigail.” Jack’s hands tightened around her waist. “Can you think of anything that might relieve my stress?”

  “Exercise.” At least he’d asked her a question she could answer honestly. “It’s absolutely the best thing for stress.”

  “Excellent.” Jack neatly flipped her over his knee.

  “Do you practice that move?” She found herself staring at the floor again. He was really good at it.

  “It looks like I will be getting a lot of practice in the near future.” Jack pulled the skirt of her dress up, exposing the fact that she had been completely truthful about her lack of undergarments.

  Cool air hit her backside. Her heart started to race. She had always thought she might be sexually submissive, but these men were proving it to her.

  “I want to make a few things very plain.” Jack’s voice was a dark seduction. “I want to settle some things between us so there is absolutely no misunderstanding. Do you understand the type of sexual relationship I want with you? That Sam and I want with you?”

  It took everything she had not to laugh at him. She was laid out over his knee with her bare ass in the air. He couldn’t be less subtle if he tried. “Yes, Jack. You want to top me.”

  “It is not something I want to play at.” Jack’s hands caressed her buttocks. She heard him sigh. “I’m in charge in the bedroom. If I hurt you, I want to know because that is not my intention, but I want to experiment. I want to push your limits. I want you to trust us with your pleasure.”

  “I trust you.” All thoughts of leaving them were gone now. She had to find out where this was going. She owed it to herself to see if this was really what she wanted.

  Adam had been very dominant. It was what had attracted her to him in the first place, she recognized now. They might not have understood the correct terminology, but they had been headed toward it.

  Her relationship with Ben had been completely different. She had subjugated her own needs because she wanted to protect her heart. Ben had been what she needed then, but Jack and Sam…she needed them now more than she’d ever needed anything in her life. She was ready to discover who she was as a woman.

  “We’ll take good care of you, baby.” Sam’s voice had gone husky.

  A hard hand came down on her ass, the pain a shocking burn that bloomed across her skin and then turned to a sweet heat that sank deep inside her. She moaned and waited for Jack to continue.

  “That was for not telling me someone vandalized your car.” Jack’s hand came down strongly on her other cheek.

  She cried out and clutched at Jack’s leg. Her pussy was getting ridiculously wet. Please don’t let him walk out like he had before. She wanted both of them, wanted Jack to fuck her hard while she sucked Sam’s cock.

  “That was for not telling Sam that some asshole was threatening you.” His hand rained down on her, sharp and hard. He gave her another five.

  She gritted her teeth, letting the sensation wash over her. It hurt and aroused her all at the same time. Her bottom was hot and sensitive, and she wriggled against his lap, trying to get some relief from the desperate ache lodged in her pussy.

  Another sharp slap.

  “Stop moving,” Jack ordered, and she stilled. She was rewarded with Jack’s fingers slowing pushing into her exposed pussy. “When I am disciplining you, you will remain still. If you need it, I’ll tie you down.” His fingers slid into her wetness as his thumb slipped over her clitoris, and she had to bite her lip to keep from crying out. “Outside of our sex life, I won’t completely dominate you. I will protect you and take care of you, but I won’t expect you to not be you. I won’t order for you in a restaurant or tell you who to be friends with. I want you to have all the things you want. But when we’re alone, I want you naked and submissive. I don’t think you�
��ll mind, sweetheart. Sam and I will treat you like a princess.”

  “We want to give you everything you need, everything your heart desires.” Abby felt Sam’s hand caressing her bottom where Jack had spanked her. His fingers trailed over her cheeks, tracing the sensitive skin. “If you have obnoxious friends, we’ll put up with them.”

  “But here, in the bedroom, I want you to obey me.” Jack lifted her up, easing her around.

  Sam’s strong arms lifted her off Jack’s lap, and she found herself on her feet. Jack got up as well. He towered over her. It made Abby feel very petite.

  “I want your submission,” Jack said solemnly. “Can you give it to me?”

  “Yes.” She felt Sam relax behind her as she answered. Had he really thought she would refuse?

  Jack’s smile was slow and satisfied. “I want you to undress me, Abigail.”

  He stood in front of her, hands at his sides, waiting for her to obey. She eagerly went to the buttons of his shirt, drawing them through and exposing his gorgeous tan chest. “Does Sam top me, too?”

  Jack’s smile was warmer than she could ever remember. He was in a happy, safe place, she decided. He needed this from her.

  “If he likes. But mostly Sam likes to be told what to do, too. He’s got a submissive streak like you, darlin’.” He glanced back at his partner, who was waiting patiently. “Sam, you can take your clothes off or you can wait for her to undress you.”

  Abby looked briefly at Sam.

  He was tossing his clothes off behind her. “I can get it.”

  Sam’s eager voice made her smile. She carefully unbuttoned Jack’s white dress shirt, pulling it from his slacks and pushing it off his strong, broad shoulders. Her skin sang wherever she touched him. Even as she went to the small closet and hung it up neatly, she could feel Jack’s quiet satisfaction with her. She did the same thing with his pants. She neatly took care of the rest of his clothes, making sure they were hung up or folded. Sam’s were chucked to the floor, and he was eagerly kissing the nape of her neck as she put up Jack’s shoes.