by Poppy Flynn
When she finally couldn’t eat another bite, he packed everything away again and refused to let her help, so she lay back on her elbows and watched him. He was equally nice to look at as their surroundings; she thought indulgently, letting her gaze travel along his tanned, lightly haired forearms where his shirt sleeves were rolled up. She wondered if he enjoyed spanking too. That first time in the office, it almost seemed as if hadn’t been as comfortable with the punishment Cody had insisted on.
The thought came out of nowhere and she choked with surprise. Did she seriously just think that?
Syrus swiveled his head around. “Are you okay,” he asked with wide eyed concern.
Ellie cleared her throat and nodded briskly, barely able to meet his eyes. Instead, she chickened out by dropping onto her back and closing her own eyes as if she was soaking up the warmth from the sun. But as soon as he turned back to what he was doing, she peeked at him consideringly. The thought had been born and now she couldn’t put it away. She smiled guiltily to herself. No, she just couldn’t see it somehow. Cody… well, she knew that was a certainty since he’d already proved it. Ezra? Maybe. But Syrus? Nope, he seemed far too much of a sensitive soul to initiate something like that without his brother’s insistence. Pity though, she would have liked to have kept that element. Wait! Did she really just say that to herself? Seriously? She had thought herself ambivalent to the reality of having her ass spanked in comparison to the fictional hype. The longer it had been since Cody had taken it upon himself to initiate her, the more she believed she had talked herself out of it.
Looked like her subconscious had different ideas. Well, wasn’t that a turn up for the books?
A few moments later, Syrus distracted her from those disturbing revelations when he stretched out next to her and rolled on his side to look at her.
“What?” she asked, self-conscious under his gaze.
“You’re beautiful,” he whispered, toying with the end of her braid. “But I wish you’d let your hair loose sometimes.”
Ellie swallowed, his closeness doing fluttery things to her insides.
“It gets in the way,” she whispered.
“There’s nothing for it to get in the way of right now,” Syrus murmured. “Can I take it out?”
Ellie just nodded, mesmerized by the look in his eyes and the movement of his fingers over her hair. What would those fingers feel like on her skin?
Syrus made quick work of the hair tie that held her braid and part of her wishes were filled in the next few seconds as he loosened her plait and released the heavy length of her hair, running his fingers through the heavy tresses all the way from her scalp to where he arranged it across her shoulders.
When he’d finished, he leaned back and just looked at her for what felt like forever. Ellie sucked in her bottom lip under the weight of his gaze, but he pressed on her chin to release it. The reaction took her aback and confused her mind. So alike was it to his brother’s actions.
Then he buried his hands into her hair and leaned in towards her. Ellie parted her lips in an instinctive invitation and then his mouth was on hers and she discovered that those full lips of his were every bit as soft and pliant as she thought they might be and his kiss every bit as sensuous.
He sipped on her lips and sucked the bottom one into his mouth briefly, before settling in and deepening their connection. He lazily stroked his tongue against her own, everything about him unhurried and sensual, as if he wanted to explore every facet and savor every moment. He took her breath away.
Syrus pulled her flush with his hard, delicious body. That wasn’t the only thing that was hard! She could feel the evidence of his desire pressing insistently against her leg, and a thrill ran through her that she could do that to him with just a kiss.
I mean, sure, she was attracted to him, but the flip side of the coin that had brought them together, was that she was just some girl who had turned up in his life. For all she knew, he might have been sweet on Sheri before the three sisters’ combined actions got them their marching orders. Except there had been that time in the stable…
Syrus moved his hands to the waistband of her jeans and found the bare flesh under her shirt and every other thought went flying from her mind so that him, his woodsy scent and the feel of his fingers casually exploring the skin of her midriff were the only things left; along with her own yearning for him to maybe just move those hands a little higher or a little lower. She really didn’t mind which, but Syrus, it seemed, was the consummate gentleman and although he went out of his way to make sure she felt good, he never once pushed too hard.
He eased the kiss and trailed his lips across her cheek, nibbling at that oh-so-sensitive spot behind her ear in a way that had her nipples pebbling and pressing against the confines of her bra. She wished he would offer them the same treatment, but instead he nipped and kissed his way down her neck, all the way to her collarbone.
She realized, deep in the back of her mind, that he had undone the buttons of her shirt at some point and now he eased the two sides open, exposing her to the sun and his continued ministrations. His mouth cruised over the tops of her breasts, where they peaked out from her bra, and the taut skin of her abdomen and Ellie couldn’t stop the little moans that escaped from her throat or the way her body seemed to undulate against him with a mind of its own; arching into him and begging him, without words, to take it further.
Heat sizzled across her body and had her mindless. He could have done pretty much anything he wanted to right now, but he didn’t.
And that alone made her want him all the more.
Chapter Fourteen
Two days later, she had barely had time to catch her breath when Ezra announced at breakfast that he was taking her out for the day and boy, did he seem to have an entire itinerary planned. Maybe he thought he was having to play catchup because she’d already spent time with both of his brothers, and perhaps, if she was honest with herself, he was right.
There was a definite bond between her and both Cody and Syrus, which hadn’t been there before. She was still vacillating between the two of them, but until now, at least Ezra hadn’t figured in her dilemma.
In all honesty, she wasn’t sure that could ever be a thing now, but she was determined to give him the time that she’d given the others. That was only fair.
And for their own part, Cody and Syrus assured her they could certainly take care of themselves for one day, when she pointed out that she hadn’t planned dinner, so it seemed as if they felt the same way. And she guessed that made sense; he was their brother, after all.
Just like the playful, exuberant character that he was, Ezra seemed to have crammed everything he could into the time they had.
It started with a trip into town where he took her to a games arcade. He was duly horrified when she told him she’d never set foot in such a place before.
“What do you mean, you’ve never been to an arcade before? Have you never lived?” he asked, completely aghast.
“There was never the opportunity after Gran became ill,” she told him honestly.
“Then you’re in for a treat and I’m going to make in my mission in life to introduce you to all the fun things you have missed out on.”
He was true to his word. The next few hours were a helter-skelter of fun, laughter, and completely ridiculous competition.
They had a completely mad air hockey tournament during which he completely thrashed her. He smashed the puck around at a breakneck speed that Ellie simply couldn’t keep up with, but which made her laugh. The problem was the more she laughed, the worse she played, and Ezra showed no mercy. She actually liked that about him.
They took a turn on the slot machines and he insisted on feeding the machine until she finally hit the jackpot, at which point he punched the sky with his fist and whooped out loud, which caused her to forget herself until she found herself jumping up and down and clapping her hands and subsided into embarrassment at the number of people watching them. Not t
hat Ezra cared at all, and his breezy, easy-going attitude was contagious.
Next he taught her how to play skee ball, horrified that she’d never even heard of it. Of course, his idea of teaching was to get up close and personal; plastering himself to her back, holding her with one arm around her waist while he guided her other hand with his own.
Of course, there was no way she could concentrate on getting the ball in any of the holes with his warmth heating her back and his hand naughtily dipping just inside the waistband of her jeans. Not to mention his hot breath on her neck whenever he tried to give her instructions.
Somehow, he still collected enough tickets to win her the cutest little plushie, He grabbed her hand and dragged her over to the prize booth to choose and she rounded out the day with a frivolous, eight inch plush unicorn under one arm, while she licked at the ice cream he bought her as they wandered back to the jeep. Her other hand was tucked firmly into his as he swung their arms with abandon and took huge, unapologetic bites out of his own cone.
Ellie was truly amazed by it all. She couldn’t remember the last time she had just let loose and enjoyed herself for no reason other than to have fun. It was surely sometime before her parents had died, when she’d still been a child. She’d had to grow up fast after that and as much as she had done for her, Gran had really been too old for those kinds of shenanigans, even in those days when Ellie had still been a youngster.
The day was by no means over. After the most humongous cheeseburger with all the trimmings at a quaint mom and pop diner, Ezra drove her back to the ranch, but there was no going back to the house. Oh no. He pulled up at one of the barns, grabbed a rucksack that he’d obviously left there ready, and then started up one of the quad bikes. It was a full-size machine and there was room for her to ride with him, which seemed to be his plan.
They tore off at breakneck speed across the fields to who knew where and Ellie was certain Ezra purposefully maneuvered across every ridge and dip so that they frequently sailed through the air and Ellie hung onto him for dear life in between squeals and laughter and the constant plunging of her stomach.
It was approaching twilight when they arrived at their destination, and Ellie found herself faced with another hidden jewel that existed on the ranch, which she had never known about. She couldn’t help wondering how many more there were, and if this one had also been a special haunt for the Carson great Grandparents.
The sun hung low in the sky and fingers of pink and gold crept stealthily across the sky. While it would seem the timing hadn’t been a part of Ezra’s plan, that certainly didn’t mean that he wasn’t going to seize the opportunity.
There was a pool spread out in front of them which reflected the colors of the dying sun in the half light, and further back in the pasture was a massive broad leafed oak tree with low, wide branches.
“Come on,” Ezra encouraged, grabbing her hand and pulling her towards it. “The view is great from up here.”
“Ezra, I haven’t climbed a tree since I was a kid.”
“Then it’s about time you remembered how. Don’t worry, you can go first, and I’ll catch you if you fall.”
He looked so adorably pleased with himself, Ellie couldn’t resist. Besides, it was an easy climb.
She scrambled up the first couple of branches and suddenly felt something brushing at her rear. Looking down, she found Ezra with a palm on each of her butt cheeks.
“Are you feeling up my ass?” she demanded.
He threw her a look of mock innocence.
“Of course not. I’m just helping you up.”
Ellie laughed and climbed out of his reach. Stopping at a sturdy branch that spread out at an almost perfect right angle, when he called to her, she maneuvered herself along its length to give him room to perch next to her.
It took him just a couple of brisk moves to join her, and he cuddled up close with his arm around her before the pair of them looked out from their new vantage point.
Ezra was right. The vista from here was something else. They got a bird’s-eye view of the pool and the pastureland stretching away from it, and in the distance; the hills blushed pink in the evening haze while the sky stretched on forever. It was no wonder this state was known as Big Sky Country.
This was a different side of Ezra, quieter, reflective, a little more like Syrus. She snuggled into his side and they watched in an amicable silence as the sun went down.
And that was as long as it lasted. As soon as the last rays of light dipped below the skyline, Ezra virtually jumped up and was shimmying down the tree, jumping and swinging like a damn monkey and making just as much noise.
“Come on, the night is young, and we have more to do, still.”
“We do?”
“Yes, we certainly do.”
As she made the climb a lot more sedately, Ellie was slightly taken aback to find Ezra stripping his clothes off.
“What are you doing?” she asked, trying her best not to sound too shocked and prudish.
“Skinny dipping!” He said it with a flourish as he flung his shirt aside and started rummaging about in the bag he’d brought. A moment later, he produced two large beach towels and spread them out on the ground before plopping down on one of them to take his socks and boots off.
“You can’t be serious!” Ellie exclaimed as she dropped down next to him.
“I am totally serious,” he told her with a wicked grin. “Now get ‘em off before I do it for you.” An exaggerated wink and a wiggle of his eyebrows accompanied the threat.
Ellie sat there looking at him, completely gob smacked. Her mouth must have literally been hanging open, because he leaned over and pressed cheekily on her chin to close it again.
“If you don’t hurry up I’m going to tickle you into submission,” he threatened and removed his jeans until he sat before her dressed only in a pair of skintight black boxers which left very little to the imagination. It wasn’t shock that stopped her this time. She was one hundred percent too busy drooling!
Not that Ezra let that stop him, of course. A second later he dived on top of her and his fingers got busy carrying out the threat.
Ellie squealed and dissolved into fits of laughter. She tried to push his hands away, but the only reprieve she got was when he stopped momentarily to pull her t-shirt out from her waistband and whip it over her head while she was still convulsed with laughter.
His busy fingers played over her ribs and down her flanks and Ellie squirmed and wiggled, helplessly laughing, as he somehow managed to pull her jeans and panties off, tickling down the backs of her knees at the same time. Her wild kicking only helped him with his mission by flinging her boots off.
In next to no time, she was laying there in just her bra. She might have felt self-conscious about it if Ezra hadn’t irreverently snapped the back of her bra strap before undoing the catch. Seriously, did he just do that? It was so deliberately playful and un-sexy that it took away any tension that might otherwise have seeped in at him getting her naked.
There didn’t even seem to be any time to consider the state of their nudity before he had shucked his own boxers, hauled her up over his shoulder in one sweeping movement, and took off.
Ellie was still chuckling hysterically as he jogged down to the water’s edge, slapping her backside intermittently as he went, which only caused her to shriek louder. Two minutes later she was flying through the air and before she landed with an undignified splash in the pool.
At least she managed to hold her breath before she submerged. She had just come up, spluttering and still laughing, trying her best not to choke on the water, when a gigantic splash showered her as Ezra jumped in to join her.
She treaded water as she waited for him to surface. She should have known better. She had turned a three-hundred-and-sixty-degree circle and was just starting to panic when a sharp tug on her leg had her under the water for a second time. They came up together, Ellie coughing and spluttering and trying to curb her helpless laughter becau
se it stopped her from getting the air she needed, and the hilarity was making her sink.
Ezra came to her aid. At least that was his excuse for hauling her back up against his chest and holding her tight against him. The laughter died on her lips as their limbs tangled and the heat of his naked body suffused her skin, making her suddenly overheat, despite the coolness of the water.
One arm was banded underneath her breasts and she felt his lips, hot on her chilled skin, draw a string of goosebumps along her flesh that had nothing to do with the cold.
He was gentle as he turned her to face him; different. He gazed down at her in the half-light, and his dark brown eyes held an intensity that she had rarely seen. He pulled her tight against him and first peppered her lips with brief butterfly kisses that never lingered long enough for her to catch them but had her frustration building enough that she felt like taking matters into her own hands, before he finally covered her mouth with his own. Ellie grabbed hold of his hair and gripped it in her fingers to keep him there. Now she finally had him, and sank into the kiss, thankful that he was keeping them both afloat. She could feel the long length of his erection pressing against her belly and had an overwhelming desire to crawl on top of him. It would be so easy, here like this in the water. Just a bit of maneuvering and he would be inside her. His hand went to her ass, squeezing and molding the flesh there while one hard thigh found its way between her legs. She rubbed up against it, desperate to relieve the ache she was feeling in her throbbing, neglected clit. Damn, these men were driving her insane with lust!
She hooked one of her knees around his waist and might just have taken that final, irrevocable plunge, if it hadn’t been for the water swirling over her head that brought her back to her senses.