Along Came Merrie

by Beth D. Carter

  “I may be young, but I’ve lived a hard life.” She spread her fingers through his soft chest hair. “I may be putting the feminist movement back a few a decades, but all I want is a home and to take care of my two men.”

  “Your men, huh?” Leo asked, a big smile on his face.

  “Yeah,” she challenged. “You got a problem with my claim?”

  “No, ma’am.” He tugged her down onto his chest.

  “Good,” she said just before Leo touched his mouth to hers.

  A feather light kiss from Braden danced across the back of her neck and everything else was forgotten for a long time.

  * * * *

  They returned from their picnic and Braden stayed behind to take care of the horses, while Leo drove him and Merrie to the house. She took a shower and then went down to start dinner.

  That night, Braden didn’t return for dinner. She knew he’d gone through some monumental feelings that afternoon by letting go of the baggage that had held him a prisoner for so long. He had more in common with her than he’d realized.

  She and Leo ate dinner and when they finished with their meal, he took the dirty dishes out of her hands and nodded to the front door.

  “Go to him.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “I had you to myself not too long ago, remember?”

  “That was when Braden was being a prick.”

  He smiled. “I know. But there’s one thing to understand about being in a three-way relationship. Some days it’ll be all of us, some days you and me, and other times you and him. What we have is going to require a lot of work and right now, he needs you. I know my big brother. I’ll take you to him.”

  “I can drive the one minute to the barn.”

  He frowned. “I don’t want you to be alone. Look what happened the last time.”

  “But I’m not alone, am I. The barn is right there and you’re right here. Besides, you have dishes to wash.”

  She kissed his cheek and headed out of the door, taking his truck keys and driving the short distance to the barn. As she entered the low-lighted area, the smell of hay, leather and horseflesh assaulted her all at once. It was a good smell, one she remembered from being on the dairy farm. Horses were a little different from cows, of course, and she liked the heady aroma.

  Braden emerged from a stall and looked at her, eyebrows raised.

  “What are you doing here?”

  “You missed dinner,” she said.

  “Yeah. Sorry. Just…had things on my mind.”

  “Good things?”

  He nodded. “I was saying goodbye to Samantha—finally. It’s only been nineteen years.”

  She walked up to him until she stood as close to him as possible without touching. “Good. I meant what I said, Braden. You and Leo are mine.”

  He brought his hands down on her shoulders. “And you’re ours,” he answered firmly. “I just wanted you to be sure, because once I give you my heart, I won’t ever want to let you go.”

  “Then kiss me, Braden, because I’m not leaving you, ever.”

  Braden slid his tongue into her mouth, twining it with hers, jolting a salacious moan from her. He explored each hidden corner of her depths, plunging in and out. Fire danced through her body from his kiss alone. He raised his left hand to hold her head immobile while he swept his right hand along her rib cage to pull her closer to his chest. She wrapped her arms around his neck and threaded her fingers into his hair.

  When he finally broke the kiss and she looked up at him, blue fire shone from his eyes. “I want to continue this but I reek of horse.”

  “I don’t care,” she whispered and dragged his lips back down her hers.

  As they kissed, he walked her backward but it wasn’t until her back hit the barn wall that awareness came rushing back to her. Her pussy instantly drenched at the wicked intent she saw in his eyes.

  “Fuck me, Braden,” she ordered breathlessly. “I want you inside me so bad.”

  He kissed her almost savagely, as though he couldn’t get enough of her—as if he wanted to devour her. He swept his tongue in, meeting hers, dominating her. He roamed his hands over her body, bringing her alive, sensitizing each nerve to sizzle. She tugged on his shoulders, at his clothes and nipped the skin on his neck.

  She was careful of his dick pressing against the zipper as she eased it down. She reached inside and brought his cock out, enjoying its size and hardness in her hand. As she gave him a hand job, he shoved her bra up and sucked each of her nipples. Up and down, he trailed his lips along her skin, taking each bud with his teeth, biting just hard enough to elicit a gasp from her then sucking until she arched in pleasure. Back and forth, he repeated the same on each tip, until her head thrashed from side to side and she thrust her pelvis upward, inviting him closer.

  While Braden played with her breasts, he ran his other hand down her body. He rubbed her sensitive clit while he found the entrance to her pussy with his index finger, dipping it inside to tease her.

  “Please.” She moaned and arched her back, shoving her breasts harder against his face.

  He engulfed her right breast in his mouth while he began kneading her other one with his left hand, rolling the taut nipple between his fingers. Merrie threw her head back, tensing at the unbelievable sensations radiating up from her groin. Braden released one of her breasts and stroked down to her legs, pushing her jeans down until she was able to get one leg out of them. This allowed her to open her legs wide and fit his body between them. “There’s a condom in my back pocket,” he said as he broke free from her breasts. “In my wallet. Be a good girl and roll it on me.”

  Merrie slid her hand along his ass until she found the wallet in his pocket. She withdrew it then opened it, seeing some money and cards before finding the condom. She took it out, dropped the wallet then tore the foil open. Quickly, she rolled the rubber over his swollen cock. She pinched the tip, leaving enough room for his blast of cum, before giving his balls a loving squeeze.

  “Christ, Merrie,” he growled.

  He leaned up to kiss her mouth again, but this time, when he swept his tongue inside, she captured it with her teeth and sucked. He wrapped her long hair in his fist, pulling her head back to expose her neck. Nuzzling her throat, he licked the salty skin.

  “I’m going to fuck you against this wall.”

  “Oh, yes,” she all but purred, rubbing against him.

  Braden lifted her and she hooked her legs around his waist, the perfect position for him to slide into her pussy. With one hard thrust, he impaled her and they both moaned at the exquisite feeling—wanton and wicked. He backed her against the wall and began pounding into her. Merrie met his thrusts with sharp jabs of her pelvis again and again. She tried to draw him closer, tried to get his cock deeper. Sweat poured from their bodies, her breathing harsh, staccato.

  She adored being with both men, but there was something so primitive in this joining that she knew she’d be wanting it again. With Leo, she had beautiful, and with Braden, she had intensity.

  She fell first. She mewled as the dam burst and her cream ran. Her inner muscles milked the hard cock rooted deep inside her. Braden let out his own harsh groan as he climaxed with her, pouring himself into the condom.

  “Holy fuck.” His labored breathing echoed in the stall. “Screwing in a barn like I’m seventeen.”

  “Get used to living out your youthful fantasies,” she warned with a smile and winked.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  The next day dawned very bright. Maybe it was Merrie’s rose-colored glasses but the world seemed peaceful, beautiful. After their little tryst in the barn, Braden had followed her back and Leo had waited for them upstairs. They had showered separately and when they’d fallen into bed, both men had nestled her between them.

  Merrie kissed her men awake then bounded into the bathroom to do her morning ablutions before heading to make breakfast. She couldn’t seem to keep the smile from her face as she scrambled eggs, buttered toas
t and crisped the bacon. When Braden and Leo made it downstairs, she slid warm plates to them and placed coffee near their hands. Then she kissed each man on the cheek before sitting to eat too.

  After breakfast, she put the dishes in the dishwasher and turned it on before running out the door to hop into the truck next to Leo. Braden waved at them and he took off toward the barns while she and Leo headed to the office. Several people waited for them and she hurried to open the office quickly, booting up the computer and turning off the night service as she greeted owners and their pets.

  The morning stayed busy but as lunch approached, they had a breather.

  “Do you want to come into the back with me? I’m just going to finish up some of these reports while I have a moment,” Leo told her. He leaned down and kissed her on the lips.

  “If I come into the back with you now, we’ll miss hearing the next patient come in.”

  “I can close up early so we can play doctor.” He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively at her.

  Merrie just laughed and shook her head.

  “Well, then, let me finish up then we can grab a bite to eat. Shouldn’t take me long at all.”

  “That would be great,” she said.

  He walked out of the reception area and she admired his tight, firm ass encased in jeans. Wowzer. Butterflies flittered through her belly as she wondered if they would have enough time for a quickie during lunchtime. Just imagining him plowing into her on his desk made her pussy clench in anticipation.

  At some point during the night, she’d made up her mind. She was going to press charges against Axe. Her new start in life was at her fingertips and all she had to do was have the courage to grasp it—and that meant not looking over her shoulder every day. With Braden and Leo by her side, she felt safe. Protected. And strong enough to face her fear—to face him.

  When the last morning patient left, Merrie began entering all the payments info into the accounting ledger. The door opened and closed. Merrie turned to smile at the next patient when her gaze landed on Axe. Her smile died instantly and her gaze fell to the big black gun he held in his hand.

  “Get up from your chair and come with me,” he said.

  She didn’t immediately obey. If she went with him, she was dead. She’d be lost somewhere in the wilderness, her body never discovered, and all she could picture was Leo and Braden as they searched for her for the rest of their lives, hoping to rescue her. Keeping her gaze trained on the gun, she absently scribbled out one word on the paperwork, just in case she was going to have to tell them about her death from the grave.

  “Stand up!” he snapped at her. “Else I’d hate to kill your Indian lover in front of you.”

  She began shaking her head but she saw him flick the safety off and level the barrel at her. She couldn’t risk him hurting Leo and if Leo came through that door right now, thinking to rescue her, she knew Axe wouldn’t hesitate to fire the gun. She rose and came around the counter to stand in front of him. Part of her wished Leo would come out and save her and another part of her hoped he didn’t because she didn’t want him hurt. The crazy glint in Axe’s eyes told her was prepared to kill someone.

  “You’ve fucked everything up for me, bitch,” Axe said angrily.

  “You know, I had no idea what I saw that night,” she said, stalling. “All I wanted to do was forget, but you’re the one who won’t let me.”

  “So now it’s payback.”

  “They’re going to know who took me. You’ll be the number one suspect. Do you think you can hide from the sheriff?”

  “Halloran is a fucking joke,” Axe said.

  “Then North. He didn’t seem like a fucking joke.”

  “I have one more shot to get what I want.”

  He grabbed her arm and jerked her in front of him, poking the pistol into her back, urging her to walk. Outside, a scuffed white van waited. There weren’t even tags on it for identification. He marched her to the back and opened it, using zip ties to tie her arms together, although it was slightly tricky with the cast around her wrist. Then he backhanded her across the face and she fell with a sharp cry. He closed the van doors and she was once again a prisoner of Axe, the madman.

  The engine rumbled to life and seconds later, the van roared away from the office. Tears leaked from her eyes. Would she see Leo and Braden again? What would they do when she didn’t come back? Would they know it wasn’t her choice, that she’d been forced? Somehow, she’d known this showdown was coming, had felt it in her bones when Sheriff Halloran had left to go arrest Axe. Her gut had told her that this man wouldn’t go meekly along with an arrest.

  They drove for a long time. At first, she tried to keep her wits about her and count if they went left or right, but her sense of direction—which was never good to begin with—combined with a lack of a window, grew majorly skewed. Finally, Axe stopped the van and turned off the engine. She heard him walk around to the back then the doors swung open. Sunlight poured inside and she blinked at the brightness.

  Axe yanked her out. She stumbled to her feet and tried to run, but he caught her easily. It was then that she noticed a forest surrounded them. He’d parked in a small clearing that held nothing more than a hunter’s shack. A sick sinking feeling settled in her stomach.

  “You’ve ruined everything,” Axe told her again, shaking her. “You’ve cost me an easy slide into the Demon Devil’s gang.”

  “Why would you turn against your own club?” She really didn’t care one way or another but the longer she kept him talking, the longer she had before he hurt her.

  “They’re going legit,” he muttered, grabbing her arm and dragging her toward the hunter’s shack. “North was voted in as president and started spouting off about going straight. He turned the other assholes of the club into pussies. Fucking shit made me sick. I didn’t join the Red Wolves thirty fucking years ago just to be a fucking cunt in my golden years! But I couldn’t talk anybody into getting rid of him. Oh no. Everybody loves North Tabion. Thinks he’s the guy who’s going to bring the Red Wolves into the future. Well, I’ve got something to say about it and damned if it didn’t mean getting the Demon Devils involved. Then you showed up and saw me shaking hands with Gray Dog, a fucking witness. Fucking bitch!”

  “If you’d have just let me use the phone, none of this would’ve happened,” she cried.

  “Shut up,” he ordered.

  He pushed her into the shack and pulled out another zip tie, which he looped through the ones already tied around her wrist before securing her to one of the bars that ran across the window.

  “I may have a use for you, so you’re going to stay here until I figure out how to salvage this fucking operation,” he spat.

  She flinched as spittle landed across her cheek.

  “I’ve got one last shot at North and if I fail then you’re going to be my consolation prize to the Demon Devils.”

  With that, he stormed out of the shack. Part of her was glad he was gone and that all he’d done was leave her tied up. It could’ve been much, much worse. On the other hand, he’d be back—or worse, he’d forget about her. She heard the van start up and drive away, the sound of the engine fading out as it left her behind. Alone. Tied to a window bar.

  She was going to have to think of something fast. She didn’t want to die here like this.

  * * * *

  When his stomach rumbled, Leo decided to pick up Merrie so they could go to lunch. He shut off the overhead light and headed to reception.

  “Merrie, what do you—?”

  Unease settled over him when he discovered she wasn’t at her desk.

  “Merrie?”

  He walked toward the hallway where the bathroom was located. He knocked on the closed door.

  “Merrie?”

  No answer.

  Unease turned into worry and he turned back toward the reception. At the computer, he saw she’d been entering payments and making notations in the books of who had paid what and how much. The last scribbled wor
d turned his blood cold.

  Axe.

  He ran to the back room to the camera equipment and scrolled through the recording until he saw a man walk in and raise a gun. His heart sank as he watched Merrie walk out the door with Axe keeping a gun trained on her. With shaking hands, he reached for his phone and dialed his brother.

  “Lunch already?” Braden teased as he answered.

  “Braden… He took her,” Leo choked out. “He had a gun. She’s gone.”

  “What?” Braden bit out. “How do you know?”

  “I’m staring at the recording monitor. He’s pointing a gun at her!”

  “I’m on my way.”

  Leo hung up. He couldn’t seem to take his eyes off the monitor or the terrified expression on Merrie’s face as he replayed it over and over. He had been right there, right in the back, only a few doors away. He hadn’t heard anything. And she’d been abducted by…by that mad man. Why the hell hadn’t they taken precautions? Because he hadn’t believed the man would be desperate enough to try something in broad daylight.

  Fury coursed through him. Axe shouldn’t have been loose. Givon assured them he was going to arrest that man, so how had he been able to kidnap Merrie?

  Angrily, he dialed Givon’s number.

  “This is Sheriff—”

  “He took her!” he shouted into the receiver. He was so upset he didn’t know what to do. He wasn’t the one who usually got upset. He’d always been the calm, collected one between him and Braden but right now, all he wanted to do was hit something—or reach through the phone and punch Givon’s lights out.

  “Leo? What are you—?”

  “I’m staring at my video monitor watching Axe lead my girlfriend out the door at gunpoint, so what the fuck happened with arresting the son of a bitch?”

  “Shit! I put an APB out on him and we’ve been searching for him everywhere.”

  “Searching? Well I fucking found him! He’s on my security monitor!”

  “I’m on my way.”