by Eileen Green
“No, she wasn’t.” Brooke hung up the phone.
“If she’s better qualified, by all means…”
“She was highly qualified,” Brooke said, interrupting him. “But I have really decided to go in a different direction.”
The silence that enveloped the room was a bit disconcerting, but she knew she had made the right decision. Rising, she went around her desk to stand before Bradley. Resting her butt against the desk, she looked at the man before her.
Relaxed was something she noticed he didn’t do fully. She knew he had to be on guard when he had been working as an agent, but he needed to learn to let himself relax a bit, especially in these parts.
He watched her with those intense hazel eyes. Today, they were more of a green with yellow flecks in them. His mustache twitched under her scrutiny.
“First rule for working here, Mr. Smith, is no suits. Unless you’re filming a commercial or meeting with the mayor or something like that. Dress shirt, pants, nice shoes will do. I don’t want people to be stuffy around here.”
In a flash, Bradley had reached out, grabbed her wrist, and pulled her into his lap. A shriek escaped her.
“You think I’m stuffy?” he asked right before he swatted her ass.
That shock of being spanked at her age was brief when heat began to radiate out from under the warmth of his hand that still rested on her bottom. She squirmed a bit as his eyes were taking in her face while the heat he had generated was moving to her pussy.
Her nipples pebbled in her bra, and she felt moisture oozing out onto her panties. Ducking her head into his hard chest, she hoped to hide her embarrassment, and her arousal.
It felt as if her cheeks were on fire as Bradley continued to hold her butt. Also, she had to hope he didn’t find out what effect he was having on her.
His hand slid into her hair and pulled it gently, causing her head to tilt backward. Their eyes seemed to search each other’s for a brief moment before he captured her lips with his.
Warm and soft, she felt his lips pry hers open right before his tongue slipped into her mouth. Moving her tongue across his, she felt electrical sparks zip through her body.
Sliding her hand up, she wrapped it around the nape of his neck and held him close. She was finding she enjoyed kissing her men, and she wanted a lot more of it.
When they parted, Brooke opened her eyes and looked into Bradley’s peaceful but lust-filled face. His eyes were half-lidded while his mouth was slack from the kiss, and wet. Taking the initiative, Brooke kissed his chin and then made her way back up to his mouth, pressing small kisses on the way.
Slightly coarse hair tickled her lip as she kissed him, but she liked it. His lips were hot as he let her take over.
She held his head as she licked his lips, asking for permission to enter. A deep ragged breath was heard first before she felt the fan of hot air on her cheek.
His hold on her tightened, and the feeling of something hard, long, and thick was rising against her hip. That she was doing that to him was a bit of an ego boost. She had to wonder if she did that to Frank also.
Bradley’s lips parted for her, and she slipped inside. His taste was minty, with a hint of coffee he had when he had first arrived.
Savoring the taste and feel of him, she found she enjoyed kissing both of them. Her body fired up when she was being held by them, and her mouth ached to be kissed. Not to mention what happened to her girly parts.
She wasn’t naïve about sex. The books she had read and overhearing the other girls at school talking about it had given her an education. However, she hadn’t been prepared for how her body was going to react to the two men who had held her heart since she first met them.
Whenever she spoke with them, just their voices would turn her insides to goo, and her nipples and clit would stand at attention. Now that she knew she got turned on by a spanking, she knew she was lost to them.
The thought frightened her, but she knew she was in love.
Brooke pulled away from the kiss but not before she pulled at his lower lip with her teeth. Her boldness amazed her. She had never led a kiss before, but she had to hope that there would be more moments to do so.
Bradley was watching her as she tried to right herself, but he wasn’t letting her up. His arms were strong and unyielding as he held her, his hand still resting on her ass.
“Do you still think I’m stuffy, Ms. Alton?” he asked, his lust-hazed voice rumbling in his chest next to her ear.
“I think we have a way to go to get you westernized, but you’re on your way, Mr. Smith.” A giggle emerged from Brooke before she could stifle it.
His face turned serious, his eyes darkening. “As long as you are my teacher, Brooke, I’ll be the man you want me to be.”
Brooke pushed against his chest at his words and flung her legs until she was straddling Bradley’s lap. Placing her hands on both of his cheeks, she chastised him. “I don’t want you to change because of me. I want you to be the real you, no matter what, Bradley. Promise me you won’t change because you think it’s what I want.”
Astonishment crossed his features before a smile lit his lips. “I promise you, Brooke. I will be the same man you met, but I do have to learn to relax and live life outside of being an agent again. There most likely will be some change, but hopefully it will be for the better for all of us.”
It was then there was a wince of pain that ran through his face. Brooke felt her bottom begin to move as his leg seemed to have given way beneath her.
Realization struck her that she was sitting on his injured leg. She pushed herself completely off of his lap but didn’t catch herself before she fell on the floor with a resounding thud.
The shriek that escaped her was loud enough that while Bradley was trying to help her up, Raven came bursting through the door.
“Oh my gawd! What happened?” she said as she rushed over to assist Brooke up along with Bradley.
Once she was standing again, Brooke noticed a blood stain blossoming on Bradley’s slacks. Her heart hurt that she had done that to him.
“Oh, I’m so sorry. We need to get you in to see Dr. Anderson.”
“It’s all right, love. It was my fault. I shouldn’t have pulled you down.” Bradley smiled down at her, the smile reaching his eyes.
It didn’t soothe her that he was acting as if it was nothing. Tears smarted behind her eyes as both he and Raven watched her.
She knew he was right, but he was hers, and she didn’t want him hurting. “You have to be more careful, sweetie,” she said as she leaned back against her desk. “I can’t stand it that you are hurt.”
“Just like we couldn’t stand it if you were hurt, love. I’ll be fine.” Bradley reached out and caressed her cheek. “I know one thing.”
“What’s that?” Brooke asked.
“This is one less suit that will be in my wardrobe.”
A snort of a laugh sounded from Raven before she headed out the door. Bradley opened his arms to Brooke, and she slid into them, letting him comfort her.
* * * *
Frank was waiting impatiently in the waiting room of Dr. Anderson’s office in Polson while Bradley and Brooke were in with the kind man. He wanted to be in with his friend and his woman, but the exam room just wasn’t big enough.
The woman at the front desk kept eyeing him as she worked at her computer, seemingly summing him up. He felt like a piece of meat in the display case at the market the way she was looking at him, especially since the waiting room was empty save him.
He was certain he wasn’t like the other men who came in here, his brand-new blue jeans and T-shirt both sporting the creases from the store.
Brooke told the story of what had transpired with Bradley, and Frank knew that they both had to relax and learn to live out here in the country. It was a bit more laid-back, and they had to hope they could fit in with their friends. He knew their new friends would be able to help them, and Brooke. He had noticed she wasn’t in the small-tow
n lifestyle yet either.
The door opened to his left, catching his attention along with the woman behind the desk. Gina Lawson entered first holding Nathan, followed by one of her husbands, Jared Pierce. Standing, the three greeted each other while Nathan fussed to get down.
“I heard you two were in the area,” Jared said as he sat in a chair across from Frank. Gina took the seat next to him.
Frank chucked Nathan under the chin as the three-year-old walked over to the pile of toys in the corner.
“Yes. We got in yesterday and made a beeline for Brooke,” Frank spoke lowly as not to give too much fodder for the woman behind the counter. He wasn’t sure how everything worked around here with the ménage relationships and the locals.
“It’s all right,” Gina said as she noticed where Frank was looking when he spoke. “We’re good here. Most people in town know.”
Frank nodded his understanding. It was going to take some getting used to how all the idiosyncrasies worked in this area.
“I take it Brooke was surprised,” Gina said, a wide grin on her face.
“She was. We took her to dinner last night.”
“Yeah, Ray said you all looked really happy last night.” Jared threw his two cents in as Gina slapped his arm. The man looked at his woman with love in his eyes but with mirth mixed in. “What? I’m not spreading gossip!”
“Men!” Gina admonished as she looked in her purse. Frank could see her lips quivering as if she were trying to hide a smile.
“What brings you here to the good doctor’s office?” Jared asked as he swung his arm to the back of Gina’s chair.
“Bradley was shot three weeks ago in Europe. He went against doctor’s orders and made the trip here. While he was holding Brooke a while ago, his leg started bleeding. He’s just getting it checked out.” The explanation was all Frank could give for the moment. He had to hope his friend was all right.
Perhaps now that they were here they would be able to settle down and Bradley would heal properly. Of course, if the man kept pulling Brooke into his lap or riding his Harley, the leg would never heal.
“I heard about his getting shot,” Jared said, sympathy in his voice. “I also heard he resigned his post.”
Nodding, Frank said quietly, “Yes. I’ve put in for a transfer myself, but don’t hold too much faith in getting it since Lyndee and Lawrence are here. But I’ll find something. Bradley just hired on with Brooke’s company.”
“That’s wonderful! Perhaps you could lead her security team,” Gina suggested.
That was a thought that had never occurred to Frank. It would be less money, but he would be near Brooke. And now that there was a possible danger coming their way, it was the perfect setup.
Standing, Frank stepped over and kissed Gina on the cheek. “Thank you for the suggestion!”
The dark-haired woman blushed as Jared squirmed a bit in his seat. “Hey!” the sheriff’s deputy protested weakly. “You’ve got your own woman!”
The three of them laughed as Frank resumed his seat. Nathan limped over to him a smile on his face and a plastic dinosaur in his hands and then handed it to Frank. “Play,” the little tyke instructed before he turned to gather some more toys.
Frank watched the little boy pick up more items and bring them back to him. A truck, a plastic cow, and some Legos joined the dinosaur, and Frank had to wonder what to do with them. Deciding to use the floor rather than his lap, he got down on his knees and began to play.
As he zoomed the little car around on the carpet making “vroom, vroom” sounds, he thought about a future with Brooke and Bradley. In all the conversations he had had with Bradley, they had never thought about what would happen if they had kids. How did the others deal with all of it?
There would need to be some serious discussions with the other families to find out how they worked everything.
So involved with playing with the enthusiastic boy, Frank hadn’t heard the door that led to the exam rooms open. When Nathan looked up and smiled, Frank followed his gaze and found a grinning Brooke and Bradley standing next to Gina’s chair.
Gina looked up also, squealed, and jumped up. She gathered Brooke in her arms. “Oh, I’m so happy to see you!”
Jared stood and shook hands with Bradley, who was back to wearing a pair of shorts, the gauze bandage peeking out past the hem. He then turned to Brooke and gave her a hug while Gina hugged Bradley.
Frank stood and picked up Nathan before turning back to his friends. Brooke’s eyes lit up when she saw the tyke.
“Ah, what an adorable little boy!” She stepped up to Frank smiling and took Nathan’s tiny hand in hers when he offered it to her. “Hello, young man. What’s your name?”
“Nathan,” he answered in his small voice.
Not being around children very much in his life, Frank was surprised to hear the boy’s answer. Did little ones know how to talk so well?
“Well, hello, Nathan, it’s nice to meet you. My name is Brooke.”
Nathan smiled before reaching out to Jared, who took him from Frank. It had never occurred to Frank to introduce himself to the child.
Gina was the one who did the honors. “Nathan, this is Mr. Bradley and Mr. Frank. Can you say hello to them?”
It was refreshing to see parents teaching their kids manners. Nowadays, there weren’t very many kids who had manners, and certainly ones that didn’t call someone by mister or missus.
Nathan put his hand out to shake with first Bradley and then Frank. Then, he said brokenly, “Nice meet you.”
Everyone laughed at his slight error of words before Gina rescued the situation. “Sorry to hear about your leg, Bradley. How’s it doing?”
“It’s good. Just have to remember to take it easy,” Bradley spoke as he pulled Brooke to his side with an arm around her waist. “I just have to remember not to pull beautiful women into my lap.”
Brooke blushed wildly at his comment.
Jared gently pulled Gina toward him when his arm bent behind her back while he commented, “Sometimes it’s hard to remember things when our women are within looking distance. Just being in the same room as them causes a lapse in judgment. When I got bucked off a horse right after I met Gina, I forgot about my back hurting and picked her up. I took us both down.”
Levity was provided as everyone laughed, causing Bradley to relax a bit. Frank knew all three of them needed to let go and have fun.
Their friends had a lot to teach them here.
Chapter Eight
Brooke burst out laughing as the door to her office closed. When Raven had sheepishly knocked on the door an hour ago, announcing someone was there to talk about security, Brooke had never imagined it would be Frank.
The interview was conducted pretty much the same as the one with Bradley on Friday. Right down to landing in Frank’s lap and being kissed thoroughly. This time it hadn’t ended in a bleeding man in her office.
There had been a blood stain on the carpet that needed to be attended to, but since they were carpet tiles, it just took a maintenance man a few minutes to change it out.
Frank had given a good interview, promoting the reason why he was needed on the job. Unfortunately, the head of security she had was from Atlanta. He had transferred out here with her, promising her father he would take care of her.
After explaining everything to Frank, he took it graciously although he had asked to speak with Allen. She had to hope that he didn’t do something to the man to make him quit. It would have been nice to have another boyfriend near her on the job, but she didn’t want to rock the boat with her employees already in place, especially long-standing employees who had shown their dedication to Alton Industries.
As Frank and Allen were leaving, Frank made a choking gesture with his hands behind Allen’s back, causing Brooke to laugh once they were gone. Her two men were going to be trouble.
Leaning back in her chair, she swiveled around until she was looking out at the mountains. Such majesty was right out th
e window for her to take in. There was no smog in the air, only blue sky dotted with puffy white clouds above pine-green-colored mountains.
There was beauty around Atlanta, but this was magnificent. She would say she could get used to this view, but she already had. And now, she had two men to enjoy it with.
Saturday had been spent visiting with their friends. Andrew, Jake, and Gwen had opened their home up to have a welcoming party for them. Most of the group of friends were there, including Anita’s three adorable little boys and Nathan.
Everyone had been so nice to them, and she remembered them from when she was rescued from the kidnappers. Laughter and happiness abounded. Gossip reigned and stories were shared.
When the men were out on the patio around the fire pit later in the afternoon, the women congregated in the large great room at the back of the house. A fire burned merrily in the fireplace while all of them enjoyed margaritas, save Angela who was nursing her six-month-old son. It was fruit juice for her.
“So,” Lyndee, who was sitting across from Brooke, began. “What do you want to know?”
Her excitement nearly bubbled from the petite blonde as she sat on the edge of the couch. It was as if she was eager to talk about the ménage lifestyle, and as Brooke thought about it, she was the first one in a relationship among these friends.
Even though they were friends, nerves were still getting the best of Brooke. None of them knew she hadn’t had sex before. Were they going to laugh at her? No, they wouldn’t, they weren’t like that.
Lily, the only woman she didn’t know, was sitting next to her. The beautiful woman was curvy with a short blond hairstyle, and was in a relationship with Morgan and Kyle. Brooke remembered Kyle as the one who had come with Andrew to offer medical aid to the sick kids in the truck with her while in captivity. Kyle had been the one shot and left for dead when the kidnappers moved on toward Canada.
She found out Lily was a romance writer and had been recuperating from her own injuries that she had sustained in an avalanche with Jake, Andrew’s partner in their ménage with Gwen. Andrew had talked about the ordeal while they were trapped in the truck. She found she genuinely liked Lily, and they were nearly the same age.