“Yes. How do we do this?”
“You just let me settle you here on the sofa between us, and we’ll take care of everything else.”
Dale suited his actions to his words. She nearly complained about missing his heat. And then Parker moved in closer, and she had the heat of them both surrounding her.
“You’ve had a long day, and you’re headed for another, tomorrow.” Parker angled himself beside her so he was facing her, with his left arm over the back of the couch. He reached out and used his right hand to gently turn her head so she was facing him. “We’re not going to give in and try to seduce you tonight. We do, very much, want to make love with you. But later, when you’re ready. For right now, we want to kiss you and touch you. If you like what we’re doing, we’ll take it to a light second base. But no home runs, not tonight. That’s a promise.”
“Y’all make me wish baseball was my game.” Jenny was already aroused. She’d know, after tonight, just how much these two Montanans got her—and got to her. Keeping Parker’s gaze, she flirted shamelessly, in her mind, by licking her top lip.
Parker’s eyes widened, and she wondered if she only imagined the increase in the heat of his body, pressed so close to hers. Then his smile, slow and sweet, kissed his lips just like she wanted to. “Damn, woman, I love that sweet little ‘y’all.’” Parker lifted her chin then laid his mouth on hers.
When she’d tasted him outside earlier, she’d had to fight to keep her eyes from rolling back in her head. This time, she didn’t worry about that at all. Instead, she absorbed his flavor, cherished the warm, wet slide of his lips over hers, and when his tongue slid against her own, she opened wide so her tongue could meet his in this salsa of seduction.
There could have been sexy Latin music playing, for all of the rhythm and the emotion of this oral dance. Kisses had never been like this for her. She’d received her first kiss from Jimmy Lucas in third grade, and it had been so gross she hadn’t tried again until her senior year of high school. Even with her low expectations, that kiss hadn’t been anything to write home about, either. Neither had the ones she’d experienced in college. Not even Jerry Peters, the sophomore to whom she’d given her virginity, had ever given her any really good kisses.
How could she have known what she had been missing all these years? How could she have known the fault was in them, and not her?
“Stay with me, baby.” Parker’s words, pressed against the corners of her mouth, pulled her back from the morass of her embarrassing past life.
“I’m just discovering that kisses are sexy and delicious.” God, Jenny, could you be any less unsophisticated?
Parker didn’t seem to mind. He eased back, his grin huge. “Oh, yeah?”
What the hell. She’d already shown them how small-town she was at heart. “Outside, earlier, I thought those were flukes. But they’re not.”
“Well, you haven’t thoroughly tested that theory yet.” Dale whispered those words in her ear, so of course, she had to turn her head to face him.
He combed his fingers through her hair just above her right ear, cupping that side of her head. Then he kissed her. Wild and wanton, wet and wonderful, Dale Benedict’s kiss took her right to the edge of the cliff. She felt drenched in passion. Her arousal turned edgy and sharp.
Over and over his tongue dipped and swirled, leading hers in a sensual ballet. She drank him down as if parched for him.
He lifted his head, and she mewed, but then Parker turned her, laid his lips on hers again, and down she went once more.
Drowning in them, going down for the third count.
Thought evaporated as Dale laid sweet kisses and tiny licks along the side of her neck. Her tongue caressed Parker’s, his flavor invading her blood stream. Cocooned between these two men, Jenny melted, becoming boneless…and very needy.
A tiny sound emerged from her throat. One hand reached for Parker, the other for Dale, and her fingers trembled even as she stroked their chests.
“Let us?” Dale’s hand was on the top button of her blouse, rubbing back and forth. Then Parker lifted his lips for a second.
“Yes.” She wanted a bit more. It occurred to her, in the vacuous chamber that used to be her brain, that if their kisses were the best ever, then what else they could give her might be the best ever, too.
She suddenly, absolutely, desperately had to know.
Cool air caressed her naked breasts. Jenny blinked because that had been fast. Then moist heat surrounded her left nipple as Dale began to suckle. Parker turned her face to him, and his mouth devoured her own. Arousal, hot and compelling, filled every inch of her body, awakened every nerve ending from the top of her head clear down to her toes.
Dear Lord, even my toes are horny!
Her right hand wrapped around Parker’s neck, and her left one rested on Dale’s head. He suckled her breast while Parker continued to kiss her, and Jenny began to shake.
Both men eased their seduction, weaning her with slow, sweet, tapering kisses.
“Easy, sweetheart.” The men worked together to fix her bra and her blouse. Then Parker scooped her onto his lap and held her snugly in his embrace. Dale slid in, his right arm over the back of the sofa, likely so he could be closer, while his left hand caressed her legs that now rested on him.
She felt surrounded in their heat and care, even as that sharp edge of arousal began to settle down to an easy hum.
“Woman, we came so close to losing control. You’re dangerous.”
Parker’s declaration should have made her mad as hell because, on first impression, he was blaming her for their inability…Jenny exhaled and let that thought go.
“I think we’re dangerous together. A little more smooching and we’d have gone up in flames.” They didn’t call it “chemistry” for nothing. At least now she understood how people could lose control.
“That’s the damn truth.” Dale took hold of one of her hands and brought it to his lips. He kissed it then rubbed his thumb over the spot, as if he could massage his kiss right into her bloodstream.
“Let’s just sit and snuggle for a few minutes, baby.” Parker placed a sweet kiss on her head. “I don’t know about you, but I don’t think my legs can carry me just yet.”
“I know exactly what you mean.” She didn’t think hers could carry her, either.
“In a little while, we’re going to escort you home,” Dale said. “Parker will ride shotgun in your car—unless you want to give him the keys—and I’m going to follow.”
She opened her mouth to protest, but Parker gave her a bit of a squeeze. “Not negotiable, sweet Jenny. It’s night, and late. We’ll see you safely home.”
Jenny sighed. “Okay.” She snuggled into both of them, laid her head on Parker’s chest, and closed her eyes. Handsome, considerate, buff, completely appealing, and totally alpha. Times two.
Jenny figured her poor heart didn’t stand a chance against these two Montanans.
* * * *
The invitation to Sunday supper really hadn’t been a surprise. He and Parker had been in Lusty for just over a week. They’d both hoped they’d get a chance to see Grandma Kate. It had been a quite a few years since they’d had that pleasure.
Uppermost in Dale’s mind, as his brother pulled the truck into the driveway, was the story Ari had told them earlier—about the time, not long after she’d started seeing Cord and Jackson, that she’d been faced with a man and a gun and how she’d been rescued by Grandma Kate.
There had been other tales told as well, but that one had stayed with Dale.
“The stories they’ve told us shocked me,” Parker said. He parked the truck beside the other vehicles taking up space in the parking area at the Big House. “When we got here and found out Grandma Kate was still leading a busy, active life, I was surprised. But to hear the rest?”
“I know what you mean. The last time we saw her was at Grandpa Benedict’s funeral. We were kids, and she seemed old then.”
“Hell, Mom and Dad seemed old then.�
�� Parker shot him a sly look.
Dale wouldn’t be outdone. “They still do.” He laughed along with his brother, but then he sobered. “Maybe old is more a matter of attitude than it is a matter of years.”
“You’re a smart man, brother,” Parker said.
His brother’s praise pleased him. Dale clapped him on the shoulder and, with him, headed toward the porch and this supper with some of his Texan aunts and uncles—and, of course, Grandma Kate.
He didn’t recognize the blond woman, hair upswept, who answered the door. She apparently recognized him. “You’re Dale.” Her smile reached her eyes.
“Yes, ma’am.” Her smile was infectious, and he returned it.
She held the door wide, inviting them in. “That would make you Parker. I’m Abigail. Please, come in.”
When they stepped inside, she closed the door behind them. “I’m married to Carson and Michael, Kate’s two younger sons. I know I’m more than a week late, but welcome to Lusty. We’re all so glad you’re here. This way, please. We’re gathered in the great room for a before-supper drink.”
The house on the outside had been more than he expected, and he’d understood the moment he saw it why all the cousins called it the Big House. Inside was just as impressive.
The Benedicts of Montana weren’t slouches in the money-making department. They all seemed to have been born with that particular ability.
Standing inside the entrance hall of the Big House, Dale reckoned that skill truly had been in the genes, and it had begun right here in Lusty, Texas, with their great-great grandparents.
They’d taken their ball caps off when they’d entered and kept them that way as Abigail Benedict—Aunt Abigail he mentally corrected—introduced them around.
They shook hands with Carson and Michael and then Caleb, Jonathan, and Bernice. Jackson had told him that Uncle Jonathan had been a rancher and that Uncle Caleb had been a Texas Ranger—the cop kind, not the ball-playing kind.
Grandma Kate looked the same as she had when he’d been ten. She got to her feet, and because she was Grandma Kate, he gave her a gentle hug.
The one she gave him back was much stronger than he’d expected. He stepped back and let Parker have the same revelation.
Carson offered them a drink, and soon he was sitting comfortably, a Shiner in his hand, starting to get to know these aunts and uncles who were already different from the ones in Montana.
“That was a good thing that you boys did,” Kate said. “I understand it made things rough for you back home.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Dale sat forward. “We were sorry for that. Parker was the one on the ball that day. He started recording on his cell phone as soon as we realized what Norah was saying.”
“We never had another thought except to give Jackson and Cord a heads-up.” Parker’s expression was serious. “When they all asked us to post that video, it didn’t occur to us to say no, even though we knew the family wouldn’t be happy about it.”
“We came down here because Jackson invited us. We thought it would be a good idea to let the family in Montana have time to cool down,” Dale said.
“Doing the right thing shouldn’t ever be penalized,” Caleb said.
“No, sir, it shouldn’t. But things often happen in life that shouldn’t,” Parker said.
“That’s a sad truth.” Michael nodded and took a sip of his beer.
“We’ve only been here just over a week.” Dale looked at his brother. Parker nodded. He turned back to the Texan Benedicts. “Only a week, and already we see the difference. We love our family. That will never change. But we don’t love the way they behave sometimes.”
“We’re glad you’re here,” Bernice said. Her smile made Dale feel good. “I understand you’re helping your cousins out?”
“They offered us jobs,” Parker said. “We’re workers and have always worked hard. In fact, we were looking for a new opportunity when all this happened. Even so, we can’t commit right away to long term. We promised Jackson and Cord three months,” Parker said.
Jonathan nodded. “Under the circumstances, I don’t blame you a bit. I reckon working with family hasn’t been a good experience for you up to now.”
“No, sir, it hasn’t. We’re really hoping that changes.” Dale didn’t feel they were on the hot seat or being judged. In fact, he couldn’t ever recall being this comfortable in the presence of any of his extended family back home. He was comfortable here, and judging by Parker’s body language, his brother felt the same way.
The men smiled. “I’m sure it will,” Michael said. “Those boys—our sons Chase and Brian, as well as your cousins—they’re building something special together. I must confess they’ve surprised us all.”
Grandma Kate cleared her throat.
Michael chuckled. “Let me amend that. They’ve surprised all of us except Mother.”
Dale and Parker both chuckled. Just then, it was easy to see how Grandma Kate was considered the head of the combined families.
“Their business looks to be something that will really do well,” Parker said. “We were quite impressed.”
“We like how they’ve got all the bases covered, and we know how talented Trace and Lucas are in training rodeo stock because they were darn good on the circuit,” Dale said.
“That’s not something the two of you have ever done, is it?” Grandma Kate asked.
“No, ma’am.” Parker grinned. “The most adventurous thing we’ve ever done—before coming down here—was to go to U of M. We stayed close to campus the first year and then commuted for the rest of our time there. We’re both ranchers down to the bone and believed we’d only do a better job with some solid learning to go with the experience we’d already racked up.”
Jonathan sat forward. “That’s the way I saw it, too. I attended college and got degrees in animal husbandry and ranch management. I wanted to do the best job I could do. Our son, Steven, did the same. He runs the first Benedict ranch now.”
Abigail and Bernice got to their feet, and Dale and Parker both did the same, as did the older men in the room.
“Gentlemen, sit. Supper will be ready, shortly. We’ll just get it finished up.”
Dale already knew another difference between the family here and the one up north. Both his aunts Norah and Mary coveted household help year-round. That was one thing his mother never seemed to care overmuch about. She understood that the ranch came first—simply because it was the foundation that supported them all.
Norah had been especially bitter about Uncle George’s refusal to hire a full-time housekeeper-slash-cook for her.
There might not be much flash here in Lusty, Texas. And that was fine with him. He preferred the substance, and the impression he was forming was that the folks down here—even the transplanted ones—were all about that little thing.
Chapter Seven
“This has got to be one of the prettiest little towns I’ve ever seen. And so friendly, too!”
Camille Collins settled onto the padded bench at Angel’s Roadhouse. Bailey had seated them in a booth beside the windows. Of course, she’d greeted Jenny by name, and then Jenny had introduced her coworker to her parents.
“You’ve clearly made a good impression in the time you’ve been here,” her father, Jason, said. “Do you know when we checked in, the owner of the inn, Mrs. Benedict, told us what a nice woman and competent waitress you were?”
Jenny grinned. “Lusty is definitely different from any other place I’ve ever been. Although, seriously, I’ll be the first to admit I’ve not been to a lot of other places.”
“Well, we have, sweetheart. I like this town and these people. And I really like knowing that you’re so well-known and thought of here. That you matter.”
That was a strange thing for her mother to have said. When she’d called last week about this visit, her mother had assured her there was nothing wrong. But that wasn’t the feeling she’d gotten in the time since she’d arrived at the Parkview Inn and
greeted her folks.
Now here they were at lunch, and her sense that something was off just grew stronger. Bailey had taken their order, but it was Laci who brought the tray of drinks to the table.
“Mom, Dad, this is Laci Benedict. She’s the manager here.”
Her dad slid out of the booth. Once Laci set down the drinks, she extended her hand.
“It’s wonderful to meet you both,” she said. “We all love Jenny here—not just the staff and Angela, the owner of the roadhouse, but the guests love her, too.”
“That’s so nice to hear,” her mother said. “Have you worked here long?”
“Since Angela opened, yes. I came from Abilene to visit my best friend who’d married and settled down in Lusty. I liked the town and the people so much, I stayed.”
Laci had indicated that her dad should sit, which he did. “Benedict.” Jenny recognized the musing quality in his tone. “Would you be related to the nice woman who runs the inn?”
“In a roundabout way,” Laci said. “My husbands are distant cousins of her husbands. Mine are from a branch of the family that moved to Montana just after the Second World War.”
To their credit, her parents didn’t blink at the plural of the noun.
“There are a lot of Benedicts in the area,” Jenny said. “Along with Kendalls and Jessops.”
“You should take them to the museum,” Laci said. She turned to Jenny’s parents. “It tells the story of the founding of Lusty.”
“That sounds like something I’d like to see.” Her father, especially, was a history buff. He turned his attention to Jenny. “Have you been through it?”
“I have! It’s fascinating. If you want to see it, we could do that after lunch.”
Laci stood aside as Bailey arrived carrying plates of food. Jenny hadn’t ordered her usual individual pizza and green salad. She was treating herself to a hamburger. Patrick was the most talented hamburger magician, as far as she was concerned. Her mom had ordered the taco soup and a ham sandwich, and her dad had caved on one of his favorites—a pulled pork sandwich with a side of fries.
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