by Sophie Oak
Trev straightened up. Bo opened his mouth, but Trev put a hand out. Beth got the message. They were behind her, but this was her fight. And she had a decision to make. She could play it safe and hide, or she could embrace the woman she was becoming.
“Somehow I think Bo will be kind when it comes to paying him back. And I have it on the highest authority that my blow jobs are worth a lot of money.” She managed to get through it without laughing, but it was right there. There was a strange joy in telling off this woman who had dealt out such misery. “I think I can safely quit doing people’s taxes and helping with their accounting and concentrate on fixing my house.”
“Don’t forget the blow jobs,” Bo called out.
“And blow jobs. I need time to give a whole lot of blow jobs.”
Trev shook his head but was silent as he took another long swallow of coffee.
Clarissa leaned in, her voice tight with anger. “After I get through with you, your name won’t be worth a thing in this town, Mouse.”
“My name has never been worth anything. And it’s not Mouse. My name is Beth, so when you start telling everyone what a slut I am when I’ve had two men in my whole life, you get it right. You tell everyone that Beth Hobbes is a whore and proud of it. You’re the pathetic one, Clarissa. You’re the one who tosses away men like they were used napkins. I love them. I won’t give them up. You can’t scare me away. You can’t shame me into it. Consider me an immovable object, and get on with your own life. I don’t care what anyone thinks. That’s what you never understood about me. I never really cared. I never really tried to fit in. I was patient and waited until the right men came along. Now go back to your workout. You’re going to need it.”
Beth turned before Clarissa could say a single nasty word. She nodded at her men. “I’m going out to the garage to look for a ladder. I’ll be right back.”
She walked away, her heart pounding just a little. She was really going to do it. There was no way to keep her clients. Some of them might not care, but she doubted the pastor of the Baptist church would allow her to do their monthly bookkeeping after he heard about her crazy threesome. And the principal of the school wouldn’t want it known that his accountant paid back loans with blow jobs. She felt her face flush. She’d really said that.
It didn’t matter. Bo would take care of her. She approached the garage. She should shy away from that, but what was the use in being a couple—or a threesome—if they didn’t depend on each other? She was confident that she could bring this house back to life. She could make it beautiful again, and it would pay out. She would be able to pay Bo back and have some money left over for her next project.
And Deer Run could go hang if they didn’t like it.
Beth stopped and stared at the door to the garage. It was a detached garage. Beth had only been in it once before. It had been stuffed to the point that she’d known she couldn’t get a car in there. All three of their cars were parked in the circular drive. At the time, she’d simply relocked the garage and promised to put cleaning it out on her never-ending list of things to do.
But it looked like someone had decided to move that project up a little bit.
The lock that had been on the door lay on the ground next to the garage. Someone had cut it and tossed it aside. She reached down and grasped the handle, afraid of what she would see. The door squealed in protest as she opened it.
The garage was in shambles. The neat piles of boxes and magazines and old newspapers had been overturned and stomped on. It was utter chaos, as though the people who had trashed the place hadn’t been sure of what they were doing so they had touched every single item in the place.
What the hell was going on?
“Wow, Maudine was kind of a slob.” Bo stood behind her.
But she hadn’t been. Maudine’s house might have been stuffed to the gills, but there had been a pattern to it. Everything had been neatly stacked.
Trev stood beside him, coffee mug in hand. “Someone’s looking for something, and they don’t care how they find it. I think we were wrong that first night, darlin’. I think someone was in this house that night.”
Goose bumps raced along her arm. “What on earth would I have that someone would want?”
“Maybe it’s not about what you have,” Bo said. “Maybe it’s about Maudine.”
“Maudine was a shut-in. She rarely went out, and when she did, she was nasty to everyone. She didn’t have a single friend.”
“She had a relative,” Bo supplied. “Barry Bellows was her nephew, but I don’t think they were terribly close.”
“But Barry was close to Bryce. Barry was Bryce’s partner. Fuck. Who was your loan officer?” Trev reached out and grabbed her hand, squeezing it reassuringly.
“Kevin Jones.”
Bo frowned. “I saw Kevin having dinner with Bryce not two days ago. Bryce sends all his clients to Kevin for loans.”
“I’m seeing a pattern here,” Trev said. “But I don’t know what to make of it. Does Bryce have any connection to that kid who took a shot at Beth?”
Beth shook her head. “That kid’s name is Austin Hall. I talked to the sheriff about him when they brought him in. He’s been in and out of trouble, mostly drugs. I heard someone say that his father deals meth and possibly some other stuff. The sheriff thinks Austin is afraid of his father.”
“Everyone knows where to go for drugs in this town. Nelson Hall cooks meth, but he changes the place so often the cops out here gave up on finding him. But none of that explains why he would send his son in here to shoot at Beth.” Bo reached down and picked up a box. It looked like it held old towels. Maudine hadn’t been big on throwing anything out. “And what was he looking for?”
“And what’s his connection to my brother-in-law?” Trev’s face had taken on a stony look.
“Bryce wanted this place. It was only luck that the shelter put it up for auction while he was out of town.” Beth had always known she’d lucked out. Bryce would have outbid her in a heartbeat.
“I think it’s time I had a talk with my sister. And put a couple of feelers out on my brother-in-law. I think I know someone I can call.” Trev shook his head as he looked at the mess. “I think we can kill a couple of birds with one stone.”
“Which birds are you planning on killing?” Bo asked, setting the box down. “Because it’s Sunday, and the Cowboys are playing. Beth’s TV here is crap. I thought we could go out to the ranch. Lexi makes Sunday dinner. It’s the only time she cooks. I would hate to miss it.”
A sadistic little grin lit Trev’s face. “I think the ranch suits my purposes just fine. I believe we owe our little sub some punishment. Oh, and look, someone was nice enough to leave us some rope.”
Trev pulled a carefully wound length of rope from his back pocket. The rope was white and fairly thin, and there looked to be a lot of it.
“No one left that.” Beth was starting to wonder just how uncomfortable this punishment would be.
Trev grinned, but it was a predatory thing. “No. I brought that myself. This rope is special. It’s made from jute. Have you ever heard the term ‘karada?’”
Just the way he said the word made her breathless. Bo moved out of the garage and closed it. The mystery would wait for a while.
“No. What does it mean?” Beth asked.
“It means I get to dress you today, darlin’.”
Chapter Seventeen
“You look really pretty, Beth.” Bo couldn’t help but look into the backseat of his cab as they turned down the road that led to the ranch.
Beth frowned at him, her eyes narrowing. “I look naked.”
“Yeah, that’s what I meant.”
Trev snorted a little as he drove. Though it was Bo’s car, Trev had insisted on driving. Control freak. Bo was getting used to it. And it meant he could look at Beth, who lay across the back bench.
“You don’t like the dress I made for you?” Trev asked.
The dress Trev had “made” for Beth con
sisted of nothing beyond the jute rope he’d pulled from his kit. Trev had ordered Beth back inside the house where she’d taken off her clothes and submitted to him. Bo had watched as Trev wound the rope around her body. Beth’s hands were tied behind her back, the rope twisting in a pattern that formed an odd dress. Bo had gotten hard as a rock watching the rope wind around her breasts, forcing them to thrust out. The rope wound all the way down her body, holding her legs together. And the rope descended into the valley of her sex, splitting the lips of her pussy and the cheeks of her ass.
Beth hadn’t been able to walk by the time Trev was done. She’d been thoroughly trussed up like a pretty little sex toy waiting for her Masters’ use. She’d knelt on the ground, obviously waiting for the sex to begin, but Trev was way kinkier than that. The minute he was done with his elaborate knots, he’d announced it was time to head out to the ranch. And he’d picked Beth up and loaded her in the truck, naked breasts and all.
“What if we get pulled over?” Beth asked.
“You’re in a seat belt, darlin’,” Trev replied. He seemed to be in a much happier mood now that he’d had some caffeine and gotten his morning bondage session in.
Bo felt good, too. “Two in fact.”
“And whoever pulls us over isn’t going to care that I’m naked?”
Bo had an answer for that. “If we get pulled over, I’ll just throw this blanket over you. It’s okay, I use it on horses.”
“Nice, Bo,” Beth replied, sarcasm dripping.
Trev chuckled. “Maybe we should try a little pony play. I think she would look good with a tail.”
“I know what that is, Trevor McNamara. I am not letting you shove a horsetail in my backside. Consider that a hard limit.”
Bo couldn’t help but laugh. She sounded so prim and proper for a woman wearing a rope dress. The whole time Trev had been tying her up, he’d explained Shibari to Bo. It was Japanese rope bondage, he’d explained. Naturally, Leo taught a class.
Trev slapped lightly at the steering wheel. “I blame Lexi for that. Imagine, I find that most elusive of prey, the natural submissive. I manage to take her down, to make her mine, and Lexi writes a book that explains all the ways for a sub to manipulate her Dom.”
“A contract isn’t manipulation,” Beth retorted. “And shouldn’t we talk about this? Shouldn’t we talk about whether or not I want my vajayjay on display?”
Trev turned to him. “Bo, there’s a ball gag in my bag.”
“I’ll be quiet,” Beth said quickly.
“I think I have something I could gag her with,” Bo offered. His dick had been hard as a rock ever since she’d taken her clothes off.
“We’ll get to that.” Trev turned up the long driveway.
The house came into view. Bo stared at it. Sometimes he hated that house. There was a reason he’d moved into one of the smaller houses on the ranch the minute he’d been able to. That house held a lot of bad memories.
“We’re going to talk about it, you know.” Trev was looking at him, his face set in a serious expression.
Bo didn’t say a word, merely watched as his brother stepped out on the porch, Lucas at his side. Trev had to park behind a Volvo. Ike, Aidan’s big mutt, was trotting across the yard. “Hey, isn’t that your sister’s car?”
Trev nodded. “Yes, I want to talk to her. I thought it best we did it away from her husband.”
Aidan waved as he stepped down from the porch. Bo took a minute. His brother loved him. Bo knew that, but Bo had never shared what had happened that night with anyone but Beth. Was he ready to open up to Trev? Hell, was he ready to trust Trev? He was happy with where they were, just starting to wrap his mind around it, but to tell him what had happened was to show Trev a piece of his soul he wasn’t sure he wanted to share.
Lucas looked into the back of the truck. “Ah, it’s going to be one of those days. I look forward to them.”
“Oh, my god. I’ll take the blanket now, Bo. I don’t care if it smells like a horse.” Beth’s whole body had turned a bright shade of pink the minute she’d realized Aidan and Lucas could see her.
Trev got out and quickly moved to open the back door. “No, you won’t. And think very carefully before you use your safe word. This is the lifestyle, darlin’. You’re not going to shock anyone here. What do Doms do with their pretty little subs in Lexi’s books?”
Bo was going to have to read Lexi’s books. Apparently they were a how-to manual of some kind. BDSM for Dummies. He hopped out of the cab and went to stand by Trev.
“They show them off,” Beth replied.
Trev turned his eyes to Bo. “Is this not the prettiest sub you’ve ever seen?”
Bo watched Beth relax a little. She was getting turned on, and more than that, she was gaining confidence. She never would have handled Clarissa the way she had this morning without Trev. Bo had wanted to save her, but Trev had explained that part of her training was to learn to stick up for herself. She wasn’t a fragile flower. She was an amazing woman, and hell, yeah, Bo wanted to show her off.
Bo smiled down at her. “You’re gorgeous, baby. And I really do want to watch that football game. Seriously, if you had wanted to stay home, you would have fixed the satellite dish first, but no, you had to make the bedroom all pretty.”
Trev hauled her out of the cab like a piece of luggage. “Come on, sweet thing. Aidan and Lucas aren’t going to blush.”
“No, I’m already thinking about how to get Lexi to turn her bratty mouth on me so I can truss her up, too.” If Aidan was shocked by the fact that Bo had come over for Sunday dinner with a woman dressed only in some rope, he didn’t show it.
“She’s being punished for far more than a bratty mouth.” Trev had her over his shoulder, her gorgeous ass in the air. The rope split her cheeks like a thong.
“She lied and didn’t let us protect her,” Bo explained. Just thinking about it made him angry all over again.
“I tried to explain that.” Beth wiggled on Trev’s shoulder.
Without really thinking about it, Bo reached out and smacked her ass. “There’s no explanation for letting some asshole shoot at you and not even calling out my name.”
Aidan’s eyes got wide. He turned to Trev. “I thought you were going to take him as a sub.”
Trev shook his head. “He’s not really a sub. He’s Bo. He’s different. And I’ll train him the way I think he needs to be trained. I do not expect, nor welcome, your interference. This is between me and Bo.”
Aidan took a step back. “He’s my brother.”
“And he’s my partner. I don’t give you advice on how to deal with Lucas.”
“I’m fine, Aidan.” The last thing he wanted was for Trev and Aidan to throw down. He could smell dinner, and the game was about to start. And he really wanted to get to the part of Beth’s punishment where he got to shove his cock into her mouth. “I’m happy. Stay out of it.”
Lucas put a hand on Aidan’s shoulder. “Careful what you wish for. Your brother already seems different. Now, let’s head inside. Trev, your sister is waiting on you. She and Leo have been sniping at each other since she walked in the door. It’s funny.”
“Can I get into the barn?” Trev asked. “She’s got at least four hours of this.”
“Four hours?” Beth practically shouted.
Trev smacked her ass now. “I can make it more. It’s only fair. You shaved a good year off Bo’s life.”
“Yep.” He could still remember the terror he’d felt. It had only been matched by that night his father had asked him to come into his office. Bo shoved the memory aside. “I think four hours is too little.”
“Traitor.” Beth’s face was deliciously red, and her lips pouted.
Bo just gave her a wink that had her huffing as Trev walked her toward the barn.
Leo stepped out of the house, his face red and his fists clenched. He looked like a man ready to hit something, but his expression eased quickly into the placid look he normally wore. “That is an exc
ellent tortoiseshell design. You’ve been practicing. Ah, and you’re obviously an indulgent Master. You’ve tied that perfectly. She’s going to really enjoy that.”
“I’m not enjoying it now,” Beth complained.
Bo smacked her ass again. It was actually kind of fun.
Leo reached out and patted Bo’s back. “Ah, Bo, exploring your inner Master. Very nice. You wanted to talk to me, Trev? You need to talk fast because I’m heading back to Dallas as soon as I can. It’s been pointed out to me that I’m only causing trouble here.”
Bo watched Trev’s face tighten. He shifted Beth off his shoulder and passed her to Bo. She was a sweet handful, and her breasts poked out of their bindings like flowers waiting to be plucked.
Trev passed him a small bag. Bo was pretty sure he knew what was in it. “You’ll know what to do with that. Settle her down in the barn. I believe Aidan has a place for her to rest while she thinks about what to do the next time someone shoots at her.”
Bo knew his way to the barn.
“Are you sure he’s treating you right?” Aidan asked, walking behind him.
“It’s fine. What, did you talk to him or something?” Bo didn’t like that thought.
“I just asked him to consider taking you as his sub.”
Bo felt his eyes roll. “Thank god he didn’t listen. I’m not a sub. I’m really not. Trev offered to share Beth with me, not spank my ass when I’m bad. Though I suspect he would kick it. And he might kick yours if you keep putting your nose in our business. Seriously. I will help him.”
Aidan stopped and allowed Bo to walk into the barn on his own.
Bo placed her gently on the long cot Aidan affectionately referred to as the rack. He rolled her to her side. A deep sense of love rushed across him. He was getting used to the crazy lifestyle Beth wanted. “You comfortable?”
Her lips curled up. “As comfortable as I can be while tied up fifteen different ways. Kiss me and I’ll feel better.”