by Brynn Paulin
Pete pinched the tips he worked between his fingers and another flood of arousal rushed into her folds. Her eyes rolled back in her head as she shook. Hell, if this kept up, she’d be so wet the moisture would drip down her leg. Not that she’d really complain. She was the center of three men’s attention.
“Moon, you’re mouth feels so fuckin’ great,” Cord groaned as she swallowed him. His fingers tightened in her hair, but she didn’t mind the slight pull. It kept her grounded to the moment, to these three horny cowboys.
She yelped then let out a low keening moan of bliss when fingers parted her and a mouth pressed to her cunt. Sully. His tongue lashed over her, and her thighs shook. She nearly toppled into Cord, but Pete balanced her, keeping her upright when she would have fallen.
When Sully sucked her clit between his lips and Pete pulled at her nipples at the same time, she screamed around Cord’s cock, a white-hot climax slamming through her. Black spots blinded her as she struggled to breathe around the crushing pleasure. Her eyes watered as she drew wildly on Cord. He jerked, choking out a curse just before he came. She swallowed convulsively, wanting it all, needing it to be part of her. This was part of her illicit memory making.
She licked her lips as he stepped backward then he straddled Sully, still at her cunt. He kissed her, hard and fast. “Thank you, Miz Moon.”
“I—” Her cry pierced the quiet family room as Sully thrust two fingers into her quivering sheath and curled them against her g-spot. Her center clenched as the nerves balled up, readying for a second release. Her hips jolted, seeking the orgasm.
Pete pressed his lips to her neck and sucked at her pulse point.
“Watch Cord,” he murmured, back at her ear once more. His low rumbling words did strange things to her equilibrium, making her shake in the same way as his touches.
With a heavy, passion-laden gaze, she turned her eyes to the man in question. As she watched, Cord fisted his hand over Sully’s cock. He must have lubed it while she’d been lost in Pete. She had no idea when Sully had taken off his pants again, and she didn’t care.
Now, her entranced gaze took in the pair as Cord worked his hand up and down Sully’s latex-sheathed length, making it shiny with the substance. Her eyes widened as he moved, lining himself up with Sully’s erection. A tremble shuddered through her as the thick rod disappeared inside Cord and Sully groaned into her folds.
“Sully and Cord are a couple,” Pete told her. She’d guessed it might be true, but this kinda sealed it for her. Mesmerized, she watched Cord move, somewhat unconsciously rocking her hips in unison to his. Pete’s hand replaced Sully’s as Sully grew distracted by Cord. Whispering, dark promises of taking her until she couldn’t bear any more, Pete finger-fucked her.
She turned her head to kiss him, and Pete lifted her into his arms and away from the other two men. He carried her to the couch and laid her down on the cushions. She gazed up at him as he stood over her. Her mouth watered as she took in his wide, sturdy shoulders and powerful, corded arms. She’d never seen washboard abs like his, not in real life. Everything about him screamed strength.
His jeans hung low on his hips, the curve of his oblique muscles a mouthwatering temptation above his waistband. Her fingers curled, wanting to trace the line with her hands, with her mouth. He had on too many clothes, and he was just too far away.
His eyes were dark with passion as he regarded her. Then as if he’d heard her mental laments, he leaned down, bracketing her shoulders with his strong forearms. He swung a long leg over her and straddled her.
“More,” she demanded.
One side of his mouth lifted. “You’re really not in a position for making demands,” he teased.
As if…
“Pete,” she moaned, lifting her hips and rubbing against him. Distantly, she heard the other two groaning as they fucked, and though she couldn’t see them, the sounds were turning her on further than she’d already been. And she needed Pete. More than she could explain. “Please…” she whispered. “More.”
Apparently unaffected by her pleas, he lightly trailed his knuckles along her cheekbone. “You have no idea how many times I thought of you while you were gone. Do you have any idea how much I wanted you in my bed?”
If it was anything like she wanted him in hers, she had an inkling.
“Tell me,” she murmured.
He gave a nearly imperceptible shake of his head, denying her request. “I shouldn’t have wanted you so much, not after only one night. When I saw you yesterday, it was like… I don’t know. Like my obsession had returned. Like…I’d been off drugs for years then my drug of choice was dangled in front of me and I had to have it.” His fingers traced her cleft. “You’re that drug.”
She blinked at him. No one had ever wanted her like that. She’d always been…convenient. A commodity. Rather than terrifying her, his desire warmed her. She’d thought of him no less while she’d been away. He’d often starred in her late-night fantasies.
“I’m here right now,” she told him. “Have as much of me as you want.”
“I don’t think I can get as much as I want,” he chuckled. His lips brushed over hers. “I guess I can try.”
“Yes, try,” she agreed.
He glanced to his side, over the edge of the couch to where Sully and Cord had grown louder then he looked back at her. “Would you like to see my room?”
As much as she enjoyed all the men, being with just Pete was exactly what she wanted. It made her feel a little guilty, as if she were leaving out the other two, but it had always been Pete she wanted most. “Yes,” she said. “I’d like to see it very much.”
Chapter Four
Pete’s room was on the second floor and at the back of the big house. Large windows overlooked what would be considered the backyard, but she wasn’t sure if it could be called that. Open land went on as far as her eyes could see. A grassy lawn faded into undulating fields and pastures. Snowcapped mountains rose in the distance. There wasn’t a single structure between the Red House and the rolling hills. The view was breathtaking. Moon could have stood there, staring at the picturesque scene for hours.
But there was something equally breathtaking standing only a few feet from her—no…not equally. Pete overwhelmed her.
He stepped closer to her and reached for the rope.
“As much as I like having you tied and at my mercy, I want you free beneath me,” he said. “I want to touch all of you.”
“I want to touch you,” she echoed as Pete helped her to sit upright on the edge of his bed. Though he hadn’t tied her tight enough to cut off any circulation, her skin tingled as he unwound the rope that held her. He dropped it to the floor then pushed off her blouse, leaving her naked since he’d torn off her bra earlier downstairs and her pants were still in the truck—as far as she knew anyway.
Pete rubbed his hands over the slight grooves left by the bindings. His palms stroked down her arms then over her midriff, but he soon lost interest in his soothing and moved to mold her breasts in his large hands with just enough pressure that she sank onto the mattress once more, the thick comforter cradling her body. He half-knelt half-crouched between her legs and bent over her. His warm body pressed into hers as he explored her.
“I missed you,” he said against her nipple. He sucked the tip between his lips and she jolted as tendrils of electric sensation shot to her core.
“It…it was only one night,” she gasped, pushing up on her elbows and arching into his touch. He paused, his lips brushing the sensitive flesh as he spoke.
“But I’d wanted you for so long. That night was the culmination of so much need. It was like we’d been together for longer.” He looked up at her, his eyes slightly accusing. “Then you were gone.”
He resumed playing at her breasts as if he hadn’t said anything. Had she done him a disservice when she’d left? Him, Sully and Cord? It was more than Pete in question.
“I had no choice,” she said, despite her misgivings. They bo
“I would have taken care of you,” Pete argued.
“Wait!” She shoved against his shoulders and pushed him off her body. “What?” she demanded.
She jumped to her feet. What did he think she was? Sure, she’d slept with a lot of guys when she was younger, but she’d never, never, been compensated for it. What the hell was he implying?
“You would have taken care of me?” she repeated. “What do you mean by that? I’m not some—”
She cut off and snapped her lips together refusing to say the word she was thinking.
“Whoa!” Pete protested, holding up his hands as he sat up. “Where’s that coming from? I wasn’t implying anything.”
“I need to get out of here,” she muttered, looking around. He didn’t think any more of her than those boys in college had. Sure, she’d kinda deserved it then, but—
Where the hell were her clothes? Crap! Not here…and damn him for being so neat, he didn’t even have a shirt thrown in a corner.
“Hey,” Pete said gently, coming up behind her as she looked around. His arms wrapped about her gently then pulled her against his chest—gentle but with the strength of iron she discovered when she struggled to get loose before she started crying.
“Shh,” he soothed. “Calm down, baby. I don’t know what you think I meant, but I can tell you’re completely wrong. I care about you. I wanted you here with me—with us.”
She closed her eyes, unwilling to give quarter or believe him, but embarrassed by her over-the-top reaction. She had to get it together. The past was the past, and Pete wasn’t part of the painful section of it. “You can’t care about someone after just one night. No sane, rational person would.”
“Then call me crazy.” He kissed her shoulder. “Besides…plenty of sane, rational people have experienced instant attraction and the unfathomable need to be with a certain person after just one time together, sexual or not.”
True enough. Whether she wanted to admit it or not, she felt the same draw. It was the only reason she’d consider spending this time with these three men.
“So what do you want?” she asked.
“I want you to stay.”
She turned to look at him. “You know I can’t.”
“Why?” His dark eyes seemed to burn into her. This was serious for him.
“There’s nothing for me here. I have—”
“We’re here.”
“For now. We don’t know if this will last.”
He didn’t look happy about her response. He pressed his lips together, and she wondered if he was fighting a reply.
“Can’t we just focus on right now?” she asked. “I have at least a week.”
She figured she did, anyway.
He nodded tightly. “A week,” he muttered. “Okay.”
How could he be so pissed at someone yet want to fuck her so bad? Pete lifted Moon in his arms, and she wrapped her legs around his waist. He groaned at the pleasure of her against him. She just felt so right, so perfect in his arms. She always had, right from the start.
And now, she was giving him a week. Only a week. The thought was torture. How was he going to let her go at the end of it? As connected to her as he felt now whenever he was with her, how much harder would it be on him when she went back to her life in California?
He’d think about that later, maybe when he was alone and could string together coherent thoughts. At the moment, all he could think of was getting inside Moon again and figuring out how to stay there as long as possible—metaphorically anyway. He wanted a place in her heart, because he wanted to do a lot more than fuck her for the rest of eternity.
Carefully, he bent back over the bed and placed her in the center before crawling over her. After fumbling for a condom on the bed stand then rolling it on, he pushed inside her and closed his eyes, absorbing the pleasure and ignoring the peace that seeped into him as her walls closed around him.
* * * *
“Where…shit, how bad…is it contained?”
Moon startled awake at the deep voice firing out questions beside her. Pete sat on the bed to her right with a phone pressed to his ear. Without looking at her, he reached over and patted her shoulder then smoothed his large hand down her arm. Apparently, he somehow realized he’d woken her though his back was to her as he sat on the edge of the bed.
“No, no, I’ll be right there,” he told the person on the other end of the line. “Just keep everyone out of the area until the Sheriff gets there. The last thing we need is for the scene to be contaminated.” Hanging up the phone, he swore while driving his hand through his already disheveled hair. “Fuck,” he growled then finally turned to her. “Baby, I’m sorry, but I have to go. There’s been another fire.”
“Another fire?” she asked, pushing up on her elbows. The movement caused the sheet to slip, and she hastily yanked it up over her breasts as his gaze lowered to her chest.
“Yeah…” he answered distractedly. He shook his head as if clearing his thoughts. “Yeah, um…we’ve had several since last year. Fires and other vandalism. I’m sorry,” he said as he stood and reached for his pants, “but I’ve got to head over there and assess the damage. This time, one of the alfalfa fields was lit up.”
“Can I come with you?” she asked. “I’ll stay out of the way. I promise. I just want to see… I don’t know. I want to experience what you do every day.”
He was yanking clothes from the closet and pulling them on. “I don’t do this every day, thank God.” He pushed a hand through his already mussed hair and looked to the window. “It’s almost midnight. You should sleep. We might not be done out there ‘til morning.”
She swung her legs from the bed then tucked the sheet around her when she realized again that she didn’t have any clothes in the room. “I won’t be able to sleep if I know you’re out there in danger.”
“I’ll be fine. I know what I’m doing. God knows I’ve had to do this enough the past year.” He sighed. “If you want to come with me, that’s okay. You have to stay in the truck though. Depending on what I find, it might be the safest place for you.”
He grabbed a dark T-shirt from the dresser and gave it to her. It swallowed up her smaller frame, falling almost to her knees. Pete frowned and stared at her chest. She looked down and discovered the soft cotton clearly outlined her unbound breasts. Shaking his head, he went to the closet and withdrew a flannel shirt.
“Put this on over that,” he ordered. “I don’t need every ranch hand we have forgetting his job ‘cause he’s busy staring at your rack.”
“Nice,” she replied drily.
He shrugged, unrepentant. “You’re in cowboy country, baby. This is how we are.” He started from the room. “Your pants and shoes are in the truck. You can put them on while I drive.” He patted his pockets. “Damn it. Cord has my keys.”
As she tried to keep up, he bounded down the steps, yelling for the other two men. Everything moved in a blur from there as they scrambled to get out of the house. Before she knew it, she was in the front seat of Pete’s truck, shimmying into the rest of her clothing while he sped down one of the dirt road that led deeper into the ranch. Cord and Sully followed in another pickup behind them. Pete explained to her that they might need the extra vehicle for fighting the fire—whatever that meant. She couldn’t fathom it.
“There have been multiple fires?” she asked after she’d gotten her seatbelt secured.
“Yeah.”
“Why?”
“Vandal.”
“Who?”
He slid a sideways glance at her.
Right. Dumb question. If they knew, the guy would be jailed by now.
“You have to have some sort of idea though,” she pressed.
“Yeah.”
“Sharing?” she asked, mimicking his one word responses. So this was Pete under stress. As they drew closer to the glow in the distance, circled by a darkness that blotted out the millions of stars overhead, she saw the tension tightening his shoulders. His fingers clenched the steering wheel, and his jaw seemed carved from granite as he gritted his teeth.
She licked her lips then bit the bottom one. Well, she knew Pete in passion and now she knew him pissed off and worried.
He took a deep breath and tilted his head to one side then the other. “Sam,” he finally said, his voice a little calmer than it had been. “The old foreman. We can’t prove it though.”
“The first fire a year ago that got him fired…that one was an accident though, right? So why do you think these are him?”
“Because he’s a vindictive son of a bitch. Unfortunately, for as lazy as he is, he’s also fucking smart. And so damn smug about it, too. You should just see the way he smiles, all superior, because we can’t disprove his alibis. But damn it, I know it’s him.”
She frowned, her brows knitting together as she pieced together the clues he offered her. “So he’s making it look like maybe that first fire wasn’t his fault, since they keep on happening.”
“Yeah,” he growled.
“Jerk!” she swore.
“Yeah,” Pete agreed. “And then some.”
“Any idea how you’ll catch him?”
He shook his head, his frustration clear in the staccato movement. “Joe—the town’s sheriff—he’s aware of my suspicions, but I can’t just come out and start making accusations, not without getting myself in hot water. I have enough friends at other ranches though that the other spreads have been warned to be on the lookout. Not that they have to worry. Lo and behold, all the fires keep happening on the Flying D. What a coincidence,” he added sarcastically. “I have some money laid aside. I’m seriously considering hiring a PI to tail him.”
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