His Adam’s apple bobbed. “Yes. But in the long run, I know it was—”
“Fate?” she interrupted.
He nodded. “From the story I understand on Kyle, he’s a good man and was a loyal wolf until fate put him between a rock and a hard place. But I’m not sure I was meant to be under the command of a renegade cowpoke. You know I served in the military before college. Solomon’s more my speed.”
“How’d you get so knowledgeable about all these werewolf semantics after just one night? Dillon and Kyle explained things to me all weekend, and I still feel like I have no idea what’s what in that world.”
He chuckled. “Another werewolf advantage. A certain amount of genetic memory gets transferred from the one who bites you. Jack isn’t that old a werewolf himself, but he knows all the basics.” He tapped his forehead. “Now, I do, too.”
“That’s handy.”
Conversation lapsed, and awkward tension seemed to thicken the air around her. She reached into her skirt pocket and held the contents up to him. “I believe this belongs to you.”
His mouth settled into a straight line as he glanced down at the ring glittering between them. With a brief hesitation, he took it from her and dropped it into his palm. “Thank you.”
Her pulse jumped a bit as she gave him a wan smile. “Maybe someday it will go to the real mate who’s fated for you.”
He curled his fist around the ring for a moment and then dropped it into his shirt pocket. “I think it will go back to the jeweler, and a new one will replace it when the time comes. The commitment this one symbolized wasn’t nearly what a mate bond truly represents. Not by a mile.”
She nodded. Her tongue held on to so many different forms of apology, so many things she wanted to say to convey her regret that his proposal hadn’t been meant to be. But she could see in his expression that there was no need. Now that he was a werewolf, he understood more than she could have ever explained to a human.
“I was hoping you would show up today,” he said, pulling her back from her thoughts. “And not because I expected that ring back. I wouldn’t have asked for it.”
“I know. But it wouldn’t have been right to keep it.”
He snorted. “You mean Kyle and Dillon would have pitched a fit if you had.”
“That, too.” She eyed him. “So why were you hoping I’d show up?”
He circled his desk and sat down. “I figured you might not want to work for me anymore.”
“There’s no reason why I shouldn’t, is there? And Kyle and Dillon don’t mind me being employed by a werewolf, in case you were wondering.”
He straightened a stack of papers on his desk. “Not only that. From what I learned about Kyle, he’s fairly well off. I thought you might not need this job anymore.”
She shook her head. “Whatever money he has isn’t my concern. I have no plans for him to support me, even if he offers. So yes, I am very much in need of this job. Assuming your pack doesn’t insist you replace the trouble-making rival pack mate with one of your own?”
He laughed. “I could just see Jack or Hunter trying to make sense of my filing system. That, my dear Aimee, is a supernatural skill only you possess.”
She beamed at him. “Great. I’m glad that’s settled.” A warm glow spread through her chest. “And I’m glad that you’re happy with the way things turned out.”
“Funny, I was going to say the same to you.”
“I thought maybe you’d have to give up your business. Some shifters have trouble holding down a job, I hear.”
“Well, I will be taking a few extra days off around full moons for awhile.” He leaned back in his chair and hooked his hands behind his head. “Some of us in Solomon’s pack are gainfully employed. Quite a few of the shifters up in the falls were cowboys at one time or another, what with all the ranches in the area. I’m darn lucky that I own my own business, and it’s neither animal-related nor overly aggressive.”
“Will you move up there?”
“I’ll keep my condo but will be with the pack much of the time. They divide their time between a cabin and out in the wild. I spend a lot of time up there, anyway, so it won’t be that big a change. Except Adam and Solomon both snore like banshees.”
She giggled. “Just one other thing. Kyle asked whether I could take Wednesday off. He’s got something planned. If not, it’s no big deal. We can reschedule to the weekend.”
“Wednesday’s fine.” He shot her a knowing glance. “I know how persuasive alphas can be when it comes to getting their way.”
“Thank you. I swear he won’t interfere with my job, though. After Wednesday, I’m all yours.” She paused, her face flushing hot. “From nine to five, that is.”
He laughed and sat upright. “Good. Because with my improved mental clarity, I intend to bring our game up. Now, let’s figure out the next break in my schedule so I can go buy some new pants.”
* * * *
Aimee felt around in front of her while she took slow, shuffling steps in the darkness. She breathed in the fresh scent of forest pine, and the sound of roaring water in the near distance brought a smile to her lips.
“I hate to ruin your surprise, Kyle,” she said, louder than was possibly required but unable to help herself. “But I think this blindfold is kind of a waste of time. I can tell we’re over by the falls.”
She reached a hand up to the bandana tied snugly around her eyes to block her view, but a warm, firm grip on her wrist stopped her. “No peeking,” Kyle said.
He took her by the hand and gently pulled her forward for a disorienting stretch. Then abruptly, he stopped and dropped her hand. “Right here’ll do. Stay here, and do not cheat by slippin’ off that blindfold.”
“Yes, sir,” she said, cracking a sarcastic grin.
Then she heard his boots scuff away, and after a few moments of listening to the waterfall and bird chatter, she began to wonder if the men were playing a prank on her.
“Guys?” She reached out again, feeling around to find only empty space. “You better not be ditching me and running off. I have a thing about being lost in these woods, you know.”
“You definitely ain’t lost in the woods,” she heard Kyle call out from some distance away. “Just be patient a minute. It’ll be worth the wait, I promise.”
She opened her mouth to reply when a familiar sound snapped her jaw shut—and widened her unseeing eyes behind the bandana. The rattling noises came closer, then dropped to the ground in piles on either side of her. “Is that what I think it is?” she asked.
Dillon’s knowing chuckle seemed to confirm it. “Wait and see.”
A moment later, she heard the loud clink of a hammer pounding something metal. She listened to the echoing sound, pursing her lips in thought. “Are you driving in tent pegs? I know—we’re going to camp here.”
“Nope.” Kyle this time.
The pounding continued, first off to her left, then the right. “Are you sure you aren’t putting up a tent?” she said. “This is driving me crazy!”
“The driving-you-crazy part hasn’t even started yet, darlin’,” Dillon said in a butter-melting croon that set off a low tickle in her pelvis.
“It could start now, if you want to get her ready,” Kyle added.
Aimee froze. “Get me ready for what?”
She heard the crunch of approaching boots in the dirt, and Dillon’s familiar heat and scent caressed her. She felt his fingers brushing against her sternum, and the cool mountain air wafted to her bare chest as he opened the buttons on her blouse.
The graze of his fingers across her skin sent a chill through her, despite the sunny, warm afternoon. “What are you doing?” she asked, her voice dropping near a whisper.
He pushed the blouse back over her shoulders to let it fall away, and she felt his hands circle around her back to work on the snap of her bra. “What’s it feel like I’m doin’?”
She heard him groan appreciatively when her torso was bare. “Those perky breasts
are the most beautiful thing out here,” he said. “You definitely improve the setting, and that’s sayin’ quite a lot at the moment.”
“Don’t give it away,” Kyle said, still pounding metal.
“Give what away?” Dillon asked. Aimee felt his fingers fumble with the button of her hiking shorts. “I don’t even know what all’s goin’ on.”
She heard her zipper give way, and the shorts slipped down to her ankles. “We’d better not be in the middle of a campground.”
“Hold onto my shoulders,” Dillon said. “Steady yourself so I can get your shoes off.”
She did as instructed, noting that his shirt was already off. His torso was warm and damp with sweat while he finished undressing her.
“Come help me,” Kyle said, and she felt Dillon wander away to leave her naked and blindfolded in the middle of God knew where. Prickles of nervous anticipation tingled all along her skin.
The rattle of chains returned just before she felt a man on either side of her, taking hold of her arms.
“Remember our chat yesterday about safety words?” Kyle whispered in her ear.
She nodded. “The word ‘red’ stops the game.”
“Right. Do you trust us to begin?”
A shiver ran along her spine. “Yes, but I’m afraid someone will see us.”
“No one can see us here,” he said. “We’re completely alone.”
Cold metal slid around her wrists, clicking into place. She tried to raise her arms when Kyle and Dillon released her, but she couldn’t lift them higher than shoulder level.
She sucked in a breath. “This is what I thought it was. You’re chaining me up.”
“You said the bondage thing turned you on,” Kyle said. “So is it?”
Wet warmth gathering between her thighs answered her before her mouth even opened. “Definitely.”
“Spread your legs,” Dillon said. “Just a couple feet apart.”
More metal clamped around her ankles, stopping her from moving forward more than a few inches. Having all her bare limbs shackled into place like this set a cloud of butterflies loose in her stomach.
“How does that feel?” Dillon said, sliding a hand along the back of her calf.
Heat rushed through her as she tugged the chains to test their strength. “Like I want to fight against them.”
“Because you want them off?” Kyle’s voice held a note of tender concern.
She smiled. “No, because it triggers that whole animal thing I warned you about.”
His growl in reply sent a shock of pleasure through her clit. “You definitely ain’t alone there.”
Then both men were against her, and she felt bare flesh rubbing hers. The demanding mouth claiming hers was Kyle’s. She could tell because of the lack of stubble along his upper lip. Another tongue was teasing her nipple into a stiff, throbbing peak, and her hand went to the top of Dillon’s head to thread through his hair and pull him closer. Her knees weakened as desire and adrenaline surged through her veins, sending moans of lust from her throat. Though she knew only her two cowboys were present, the blindfold played tricks on her mind until all she could feel were hands and mouths everywhere on her flesh—groping her breasts, her ass cheeks, parting her pussy lips. The sheer, animal decadence of being bound naked in the middle of the wild, engaging in nature’s most primal act while surrounded by the scents and sounds of male lust and the great outdoors, sent thrills of longing through her. She couldn’t imagine anything more erotic than making love with her wolves right out in the forest.
Seductive lips pressed against her clit, and a rough tongue flicked out to run along her slit until her legs wobbled. Fingers pinched both nipples, twisting them while cupping handfuls of her breasts. She cried out and parted her thighs as best she could, groping male flesh to hold herself upright when the tremulous peak of climax crashed over her with force. Aimee arched her back and let out a piercing cry, only vaguely aware of the possibility that she could be anywhere and that anyone might be in earshot. She didn’t care in that moment. The only entities that existed in her world were the two men whose hands and mouths expertly brought her off until juices ran down her legs.
Her climax seemed to impress no one else, however, for her two cowboys were far from done with her yet. Dillon took her left hand while Kyle took hold of her right hand, the latter pushing her hand down to his stiff, throbbing cock. “See what the hell you do to me?” he said in a barely restrained growl. “Feel how fuckin’ hard you make me, screamin’ out that way when you come?”
She greedily squeezed his shaft and milked it up and down in her fist, feeling the slick drops of fluid on the wide head. Meanwhile, Dillon’s mouth went to work on her other hand, sucking in her index finger in a seductive gesture she remembered all too well. He rolled his tongue around the tip of her finger, and the resulting flare of excitement shot all the way through to her pelvis.
“God, Dillon,” she breathed. “It makes me so crazy when you do that.”
By the time he got to her third finger, she could neither speak nor think straight anymore. The feel of his hot mouth over her fingers, paying them the same erotic attention she’d seen him give to Kyle’s cock and her pussy, coaxed her climbing orgasm higher with each movement he made. The familiar graze of his teeth over her finger sent a hiss from between her lips, but when he pulled away she was mystified to note that he’d left something behind.
“What is that?” Her thumb prodded at the anomaly, and she blinked behind the darkness of her blindfold. “Did you just put a ring on me?”
“It’s only fair for you to wear a ring of ours, since you came to us wearin’ one from another guy.”
“Consider the ring a token to go along with that mark,” Kyle said, grinding his hips against her hand. “Weres consider the matin’ bond as a fair equivalent to marriage. If we decide to do somethin’ more legally bindin’ later, you’ll already have the ring.”
Her heart pounded as she twirled the band around experimentally. “Can I see it?” She held her left hand up in front of her as high as her arm would go.
He pulled his erection out of her hand. The blindfold was tugged down over her nose and mouth, and there in front of her was a crisscrossed double band of gleaming gold. One had a brushed finish, while the other shone like her cowboys’ eyes.
“We wanted two joined bands so one could represent each of us,” Dillon said.
“I don’t know what to say,” she whispered, emotion choking her throat.
Then the backdrop around her hand came into focus, and her eyes widened as she took in the view. She was all of maybe three feet from a tree-studded cliff, and the falls were visible in the stunning vista from much closer than at the overlook she’d visited with David. The green, lush mountainside and the spray of the majestic Shay Falls drop-off were crisp, breathtaking, and completely unhindered from this vantage point.
“Oh, my God, it’s so beautiful,” she said. “Just stunning.”
“The ring, or the view?” Kyle asked, nuzzling her shoulder as he stood beside her.
“Both. Where are we?” She twisted around to survey the open flat expanse of landscape behind her. “Is this near the advanced trail?”
“We’re on private land,” Kyle said, pausing to meet Dillon’s gaze from her other side. “My land.”
“This is part of the old West Ways Ranch?” Dillon asked in a tone of slight awe. “Wasn’t sure I’d ever see this place.”
“Figured it was high time to bring you both here. And break it in again with some new memories.” He took hold of Aimee’s chin to turn her face to his, then placed a kiss on her lips so tender that she felt her insides turn to mush. When he pulled back, however, his eyes were glittering with a wicked heat. “Get down on your hands and knees,” he commanded.
The gleaming desire evident in his eyes had her scrambling and rattling in her shackles to comply. He came around in front of her, careful not to get too close to the edge of their unfettered view of the mounta
inside. When he knelt in front of her, she assumed he meant for her to suck his straining cock, but when she opened her mouth and tried to take him in, he pushed her away. Instead, he slid down under her, scooting his naked back along the dirt until his head was right beneath hers as she knelt above him. “Straddle my cock. Sink it all the way inside that hot, sweet cunt.”
Aimee’s heart pounded with delicious anticipation as she groped the head of his dick and lowered herself onto it. Both of them hissed as his impossibly stiff erection filled her dripping pussy inch by glorious inch.
He closed his eyes for a moment. “Ah, yeah. That’s right, baby. All the way down. Then stop.”
She sat herself upright until she felt him hit bottom.
His gaze returned to her filled with fire. “I’ve brought you to nature’s most spectacular view, chained you up, and given you my ring. I suppose you’ll want to make slow, sweet love to me now?”
She shook her head. “Hell, no. I’m so hot to fuck you that my heart is trying to beat its way out of my chest. Please.”
His eyes darkened with need. “Good answer. Dillon?”
The other man came around to the side of them so she could see he was stroking his hard, reddened shaft.
“I need that thick meat of yours in my mouth,” Kyle said, and Aimee’s heart skipped a beat at the wicked gleam in his eye when it met Dillon’s. “I’d never seen your cock get as big and hard as it’s done since Aimee wandered into the cave. Must ache like hell.”
“It will if it don’t get some attention soon,” Dillon said, his voice hoarse. “Both of you are makin’ me fuckin’ insane.”
He knelt beside Kyle’s head and leaned over him. The moment Kyle’s mouth slid onto his shaft, Dillon let out an almost agonized moan that sent Aimee’s hips into a wild gyration.
She sat back, shifting her chained hands until they rested behind her on Kyle’s tense thighs. She ground her cunt lips on his pelvis and watched his tongue and lips turn Dillon’s cock into a glistening, purple blade. Dillon’s jaw clenched as he shoved himself deep in Kyle’s mouth, prompting her to pivot her hips faster. She worked herself back and forth, then around in circles, fucking Kyle until her bangs stuck to her forehead and rivulets of sweat ran down her bouncing breasts.
Allister, J. Rose - Disowned Cowboys [Lone Wolves of Shay Falls] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) Page 21