“I don’t think he really meant he would actually—” Now it was time for Wes to sputter. Fuck a fricking duck, where is Evan? He’d better get his ass in here before she gets wound up any tighter.
“Don’t speak for me, Wes,” Evan said quietly as he entered the front door and closed it firmly.
* * * *
Evan closed his eyes, trying to gather his thoughts as the image of the skimpy G-string she was clad in danced through his mind. Rosemary stood grim-faced, her arms crossed under her generous, round breasts, pushing them up even higher, so they were barely covered by the twin triangles of her tiny, red bikini top. She might as well have been standing in front of him naked, the perfect silhouette of her torso and her supple thighs like a siren song to his lust-soaked brain. His hands clenched at the thought of stroking her perfectly curved ass, and his eager cock twitched in agreement.
He wished he’d kept his damn mouth shut. Then he might be doing something a little more pleasant than arguing with the little spitfire. Evan opened his eyes as Rosemary turned to face him. His heart lurched as Rosemary lifted her chin, and her lip trembled. Her tear-stained cheeks were red, and he could see more tears brimming in her eyes. He was not proud of himself at all.
Praying for wisdom, Evan said, “Wes, I need to talk to Rosemary alone. You reckon you could give us a few minutes?” Wes gave him a warning glance, and Evan nodded at him. He had no intention of spanking Rosemary now. That, in itself, told him he never should’ve brought the issue up in the heat of the moment.
Evan and Wes had talked recently about circumstances like this at Jack, Ethan, and Adam’s urging. Jack, Ethan, and Adam literally had the whole of their adulthoods to work out how they’d handle problems like this. It was a damn good thing the men had made the time to share their wisdom for dealing with problems and settling priorities. Adding to the mix that Evan and Rosemary’s personalities tended to be volatile at times, Wes and Evan knew they were going to need all the wisdom they could get.
Wes nodded quietly, went in the office, and closed the door. They’d recently agreed between the two of them that in an argument between Evan and Rosemary, Wes had to make himself scarce. Rosemary had the tendency to go to Wes for sympathy, which unfortunately, only made things worse. Reconciliation between the two who were arguing had to occur before she could have any contact with the other brother.
Rosemary stood there looking like she wanted to smack him in the face, but the tears in her eyes told him how much he’d hurt her feelings and embarrassed her. Evan wanted to be careful here and not screw things up more than he already had.
He held out his hand. Hesitantly, she took it, and he led her down the hall to his bedroom. For the sake of his sanity, he reached in a drawer and handed her a white T-shirt. She drew it over her head, after surreptitiously pressing her nose to it, breathing in his scent. That little gesture on her part went a long way toward easing his nerves. Sitting down beside her on the end of the bed, Evan lifted her small hand in his grasp. He played with her fingers, drawing his fingers down the length of each one, before lifting her coconut-scented palm to his lips.
There was a point in their relationship where this would’ve been about the power struggle, pure and simple. Now, he could plainly see the important thing was coming to some kind of understanding and reconciling with Rosemary.
“I’m sorry, Rosemary. We told you this was your home away from home. I can’t very well get mad at you when you sunbathe where the sun is best. I had no idea that’s what you’d be wearing. I’m really sorry I startled you and made you jump up because it’s my fault you were exposed. I saw David’s and Steve’s faces, and it made me angry that other men saw you like that. I shouldn’t have yelled at you. The truth is I love that tiny little bikini on you.” Just not when other men were around.
He must’ve done okay apologizing because she pressed her forehead against his shoulder and replied, “I’m sorry, too, Evan. I should’ve asked if there were going to be people coming over before wearing this. Next time I’ll stay in the backyard. I’m sorry I yelled back at you. They probably thought I was a real harpy.”
Evan grinned and said, “Harpy? No. Firecracker? Yes, probably.” Truthfully, he loved that she was a little spitfire. It kept life interesting.
Rosemary crossed her arms under her breasts again, so the red material was visible through the white cotton. “About that spanking you threatened me with?” she asked, looking at him pointedly.
Cautiously, Evan turned so he faced her on the bed. “I can imagine how you feel about that. Making threats like that was not cool at all, I know, but hear me out, okay?”
She scoffed lightly. “This should be interesting.”
Evan didn’t reply in kind to her comment because she had a right to question his intentions. “From time to time, we have customers who want to see the shop, see samples of what we can do. A lot of our business is done on the internet but not all of it. Customers come from San Antonio and Austin, sometimes from Mexico. We’ve always welcomed visitors, but that doesn’t mean we do background checks on them. What if someone showed up and you were here alone and exposed like that? What if the visitor mistakenly assumed that if you were willing to expose that much flesh you might also be available for some uninvited attention? We’d never forgive ourselves if something happened to you.”
“I can see your point of view, Evan. But what does this have to do with spanking me?”
Evan noted that while she was still determined to get to the issue that concerned her most, she didn’t seem like she was ready to walk out over it. Maybe she was more curious than concerned.
Forging ahead, Evan asked, “Would you agree, now that you see it from a different perspective, that seeing to your safety should be a higher priority than finding a sunbathing spot with premium sunshine?”
“Certainly, but—”
“I’m getting there, baby. It was a mistake on my part to threaten a spanking in front of the others, and I apologize for doing that to you. But now that you know you’re safer in the yard, if you ever endangered your safety like that again, I’d spank your ass bright pink.”
Her full, pink lips popped open in surprise. “You would not,” she whispered, her cheeks flaming with color. Evan noted that she didn’t immediately hop up and flounce out of his room. She sat there quietly, evidently thinking about what he’d said. Evan also noticed that she squirmed a bit where she sat. Was the thought of a spanking turning her on? He loved her enough that he’d risk offending her to keep her safe, but it hadn’t occurred to him when this discussion began that she might be intrigued by the idea.
“I would, baby, I promise. Your well-being and safety have become my number one priority. If you endanger either, I’d spank you to get your attention and teach you to be more careful. If I didn’t care about you, adore you, I wouldn’t care whether you laid out buck-ass nekkid on the front lawn. We’ll clear out some of the trees in the backyard to allow more sunlight for you if that’s what you want. Hell, we’ll put in a pool for you if it’s something you’d like back there, but I won’t tolerate you putting yourself in harm’s way.”
Uncertainly, she replied, “I’m used to taking care of myself and being on my own. I’m sure I’m going to do things you view as ‘endangering’ myself from time to time.”
Evan sensed that this was not the moment to equivocate. She needed the truth, and she needed to know where he drew the line. “Well, you’d better start considering some of those things, Rosemary. I’m not going to go looking for reasons to spank you. I don’t want you afraid of chastisement when we’re together. But you shouldn’t push it, either.” His last words drew her gaze to his, and he saw…something there before she looked away. Interesting. He could almost hear the gears turning in her head.
Rosemary gave what he said some thought then nodded. “Okay, but what if I misbehave and don’t realize it’s a spanking offense?” She gave him the innocent-eyed angel look, but he saw the way her full upper lip curl
ed slightly as she suppressed a smile.
Evan chuckled and leaned into her space a little. “Well, misbehavior is something totally different. If you were a naughty girl and needed a spanking, I might have to pull down your panties and spank your little heinie over my knee until you promised to be a good girl.”
She gasped and squealed when he reached for her and began tickling her on his bed. Rosemary was very ticklish, so it didn’t take long for her to beg him to stop.
“So am I forgiven?” he asked, poised over her on his now messy bed.
Beautiful and breathless, she nodded. “If you’ll forgive me for yelling at you like that. I’m really embarrassed they saw my chee-chees.” She giggled when he rolled his eyes at her use of his juvenile term for breasts while they were growing up.
Evan gathered the hem of the T-shirt he’d given her and tugged it up to reveal the breasts in question and growled, making her giggle again. “Damn, woman, but these are some fine breasts you have here. I can’t believe I was so hardheaded for so long. I could’ve been feasting on this bounty all these years.”
Rosemary scoffed playfully, but there was a tender quality to her words. “I know. But I saved them for you, didn’t I?”
“Yes, you did, now when are you going to break down and let us make love to you? I’m available at a moment’s notice.” He pressed his solid erection against her hip while kissing her cleavage. He understood she had her reasons for wanting to wait to have sex, and he couldn’t rightly blame her. The reason was mostly his fault. It had been a few weeks since she’d come back into their lives as part of their threesome, but she hadn’t spent the night yet.
Evan supposed Rosemary was waiting for the other shoe to fall. Waiting for the first confrontation, the first argument, to see how things went. He thought they’d handled it like adults, apologizing and compromising. Evan knew he and Rosemary were both a little hotheaded, and he was not so foolish that he believed because they’d handled this little setback well that it would all be peachy-keen from there on out. Life for them was going to be a series of confrontations and, hopefully, reconciliations until they figured out ways to avoid all but the most important conflicts. Rosemary needed assurance that what they had wasn’t going to flat-line at the first sign of difficulty.
As for her little crack about misbehavior, Evan had a feeling he and Wes were going to see plenty of it, judging by her reaction and her words. While he’d been tickling her on the bed, he’d caught the scent of her arousal as she wiggled and squirmed beneath him. Her fragrance made his mouth water for a taste, but he was going to do like Jack had suggested and put her in the driver’s seat. As much as his cock hated him for it, if she knew she was in control of the timeframe and didn’t feel pressured, she’d come to them sooner rather than later. His cock thought that was a stupid-ass plan and wanted in, now.
“Soon, big boy. I don’t want to go there until I’m ready.”
Evan nodded in understanding. He knew first hand, once you flipped that switch, it was damn near impossible to unflip it. Even though it had infuriated him during that fateful Christmas break, the sight of them in bed together, glowing with satiation, had been riveting. It made his cock twitch and his balls draw up now, thinking how much he’d missed her and the three of them together, and for how long.
If he hadn’t had his head up his ass, or more accurately, if he hadn’t been thinking with his dick, they probably would’ve been long-settled by now. The thought made him sad and renewed his desire to earn her trust.
“Don’t be upset, Evan. I just need a little more time.”
He nodded and smiled, encouraged that any trace of her earlier upset was gone.
“I want to do one thing for you, now that we’ve worked things out,” Evan began carefully.
“What’s that?”
“Give you a safe word.”
“A safe word? Why?”
“Because you seemed interested in the idea of erotic spanking. Wes and I won’t do that unless you’ve been provided a safe word.”
“Oh, okay. I trust you. I don’t see why it’s necessary.”
“You need to have a way of calling an immediate halt to whatever kind of play we’re involved in, especially spanking. The safe word would apply to any kind of spanking. Not just play spanking.”
“You mean if you were punishing me, I could—”
“Call an immediate halt to it. It needs to be a word that you don’t normally use in conversation.”
She paused and thought for a few seconds. “Boomerang.”
“Boomerang it is. If we’re ever doing something together and you want it to stop immediately, say ‘boomerang’ and it stops.”
Rosemary rolled her eyes at him and smiled. “All right. But I think it’s unnecessary.”
“People wiser than us said it should be non-negotiable that you have a safe word.”
“Who?”
“Ethan Grant and Grace Warner.”
“Oh.”
“Why don’t we go find Wes and let him know everything is fine?” Evan said, rising from the bed and offering her his hand.
They found Wes still in the office with the door closed, working at his desk. He looked up from his laptop cautiously. “So? Are we all okay?” Evan felt guilty at the guarded look on Wes’s face.
Rosemary smiled at Evan when he released her hand and directed her to his brother, sensing that was what she was waiting for from him. She reached for Wes, and Evan watched his brother relax as his arms slid around her hips to pull her to him.
“Yes, honey. We’re all okay. I’ll be more careful in the future, and I won’t be sunbathing anywhere besides inside the privacy fence. Evan said he would clear some of the post oaks out of the yard so it gets more sunshine back there.”
Wes pressed his nose to her belly and inhaled. “Sure, baby. We can do that. We probably should’ve taken care of that already. They get pretty thick around here.”
Evan smiled as Rosemary stroked her fingertips through his brother’s hair, reassuring him with her touch that all was well. “You don’t have to clear them all. I love oak trees, even post oaks. Just clear enough so I can sunbathe.”
Evan crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against the door jamb. “I told her we’d also see about putting a pool in back there. She liked that idea.”
Rosemary turned her face to gaze at him and said, “You spoil me. Skinny-dipping is sure going to be fun!” She laughed out loud when they rolled their eyes and groaned.
Chapter Five
Rosemary was willing to admit it was morbid curiosity, balanced with a huge portion of mistrust, that had her sneaking out to the workshop in the afternoon of the following day. Not mistrust in her men, but in the woman who belonged to the disembodied voice she’d just heard. Though she was pretty sure she didn’t know the owner of that voice, she definitely recognized the sexy, dulcet tone as the woman walked past the house on the other side of the privacy fence from Rosemary. That was the sound of a woman on the prowl.
Rosemary was currently up to her elbows in landscaping mix, fortifying the soil in the empty flowerbeds that lined the back veranda before planting Mexican heather. Wes had mentioned to her earlier that morning that they were expecting a visit from a supplier in San Antonio. Evidently, the account representative was a woman who’d visited with Rosemary’s men on more than one occasion, judging by her familiar tone.
Rosemary frowned and took notice when the woman dropped a not-so-thinly-veiled innuendo after Evan mentioned that Wes was tied up in the workshop. Rosemary heard a seductive laugh and a comment concerning what she’d do if she had either of them tied up in the shop. The Mexican heather could wait a few minutes.
For Evan’s part, it seemed that he ignored the comment. Rosemary slipped to the fence and peeked through the slats. She watched as the woman stroked Evan’s arm as they walked along talking. Evan’s hands were down in his pockets, and he did not look at the woman but sidled a few inches farther away as he walked with
her to the shop. Rosemary smiled at his subtle reaction.
The woman didn’t seem to notice and kept on talking. If this was a business contact, Rosemary wouldn’t want them to brush her off too brusquely unless she was more overt once she got in the shop, behind closed doors. Rosemary dealt with her fair share of friendly suppliers and account representatives working at Cheaver’s. They were a mixed lot. Some were super friendly and helpful professionals, and then there were some for whom the job was a chance to socialize and network, sometimes taking the contact further than necessary.
Evan and the woman disappeared through the wide double doors of the workshop a moment before Rosemary quietly raised the latch on the side gate of the privacy fence and slipped through. She convinced herself she had a right to know how the men handled someone like this because she was sure this was not the only female account rep they had to deal with. Stopping beneath one of the opened windows on the side of the shop, she leaned against the exterior wall and listened to the woman make her pitch.
Rosemary had only gotten a small glimpse of her through the fence, but it was enough to know that the woman was a statuesque blonde, dressed in a red pencil skirt that stopped at the knees and a snug, white knit top and tall, metallic heels. She was everything that Rosemary was not, dressed as she was in her gray yoga pants, thin, pink tank top, and wild ponytail.
The woman, whose name turned out to be Davina, covered all the pleasantries with Wes as he finished varnishing a table top. Wes and Evan discussed what they’d need from her employer and took care of business before Davina gradually dropped into a more flirtatious mode of conversation. It was obvious she found both men attractive and, in irritation, Rosemary missed some of what Davina said because she dropped her voice down to a lower, sexier pitch.
“Are you coming to the trade show and convention on the Riverwalk this fall?” Davina asked, her voice sounding as if she were moving around the shop.
Box Set: The Divine Creek Ranch Collection, Volume 2 [Book 4 - Rosemary's Double Delight (MFM), Book 5 - Spurs and Heels (MF)] (Siren Publishing Romance Collection) Page 5