by Vanessa Vale
Crazy, yes, especially since he was a stranger. But I sensed he was a good man, took his role seriously. His job put him in a position of trust, and deep-down I knew he wouldn’t take advantage of that. I doubted he’d pull over the sheriff SUV and have his way with me, even if I consented, but it did have me shifting in my seat, remembering how that one night with the three guys they’d bound my wrists with one of their leather belts and secured to the headboard. That had been hot, the moment charged with the balance of control. I’d tipped it—at my own choosing—in their favor. They’d made me come, first with their mouths, then their dicks, flipping me from my back, legs spread, then onto my knees.
I cleared my throat. Why was I all of a sudden thinking of them, of that weekend, that night, of what could have been if I’d only gotten Sutton’s contact info or left mine behind?
“Then where are you taking me?” I wondered as we headed out of town once again, this time to the north.
“Steele Ranch, as you wanted.”
I flushed, realizing the direction my thoughts had gone and he was just being nice. “Thank you,” I murmured, relieved.
I wasn’t excited about the chance of Schmidt or Rocky finding my car abandoned on the side of the road and what they’d do with it if they did, but I felt safe enough, knowing my trail disappeared. Nothing was resolved, but for now, I could lay low and think about what I was going to do.
We turned off the road a few minutes later, passed beneath the ranch’s wooden archway and drove down the long driveway. This was mine? This gorgeous piece of property. And when the ranch house came into view, I gasped.
“It’s huge!” I exclaimed, leaning forward and putting my hands on the dash.
Wade glanced at me, then studied the house growing larger the closer we got. It was white, two-story with a wrap-around porch. “It was built by Aiden Steele’s grandfather, I believe.”
He pulled up in front of the house and turned off the SUV. He climbed out and I stared up at the house that was mine. Or, at least, part mine. But it belonged to me. Me! All the land around it too, if the letter from the attorney was correct. And it was. Very official and legal looking. I didn’t even have to sign papers. A father I’d never known left me all this. It had me wondering so much. Had he known about me? Had he known my mother had given me up?
Now, I could afford nursing school. I could afford anything I wanted. I could even pay off Schmidt’s ridiculous compound interest, but that didn’t mean he’d leave me alone, especially when he found out how much money I really did have.
But that wasn’t to worry about now. Now I had to figure out how to get inside the house. Would Sheriff Wade just leave me here once he removed the handcuffs? The paperwork from the lawyer was in my desk in my apartment.
He came around to my door, opened it and helped me down, keeping a hand on my elbow. When he stepped back, I noticed two men walk across the porch, go down the central steps to the stone walkway and stop a few feet in front of me.
My heart stopped at the sight of Sutton. Here. At Steele Ranch.
I blinked, then again, thinking he wasn’t real. He looked the same as I remembered. Over six feet, well-muscled, yet lean. The first time I’d seen him in the rodeo stands, he’d reminded me of a fighter. Not only because of his physique but his demeanor, too. Hard edges, dark looks. With his close-cut dark hair, intense dark gaze, strong jaw, and brooding gaze, he hadn’t changed a bit. Every line of his body was tense, intense. He exuded power, strength and yet at the same time, calm.
“Cricket,” he said.
That deep, familiar voice sent a chill down my spine. My nipples hardened instinctively as my body recognized him. I’d hoped for months and months I’d run into him, but here? Now?
The events of the day had me frazzled and seeing Sutton had me fraying at the edges. Schmidt and Rocky all but kidnapping me and taking me to the club, believing I’d be forced to strip, escaping, fleeing, it was too much. I was a simple woman. I worked, I went to school. I slept. I didn’t do things. The craziest thing that ever happened to me was getting a double deal on a coupon at the grocery store.
“Cricket,” he repeated, this time his voice deeper, darker.
I shivered, then ran to him. He wrapped his arms about me, my cuffed arms folded against his chest. I closed my eyes, breathed in his male scent, felt the steady beating of his heart. I gave in, gave over. Let go.
4
SUTTON
* * *
“Time to tell us what’s going on.”
After I’d held her, breathed her in to convince myself she was really in my arms, we’d gone inside the main house to the great room and the big couches. Having gotten the keys from Jamison after Archer had called, we’d had the door unlocked before they even pulled up. Since neither Kady or Penny lived in the house—they’d both moved in with their men—it remained closed up except for the group meals Penny insisted on having each Sunday. It was a little stuffy with the windows being closed, but we’d left the front door open behind us to let the cool air in.
We were in the great room and I had her settled on my lap, my arms wrapped around her, my chin on the top of her head. She hadn’t mentioned the handcuffs still on her wrists, most likely because she was as stunned as we were at finding each other and had forgotten about them.
I’d never expected to see her again, resigned myself to the fact that I’d had one weekend with the woman of my dreams and that was it. That I’d scared the shit out of her with the nightmare that first night we’d been alone and she hadn’t wanted to deal with it. That was why, when she’d mentioned her fantasy of being fucked by multiple guys at once, I’d been into it. Well, into it since I’d arranged for it to be with Archer and Lee. I couldn’t have shared her with anyone else. I’d lived for the past year with memories of her feel, her sounds, her touch, her laugh.
Now, she felt so good in my hold and I breathed her in. I recognized her scent as if it were elemental. A floral shampoo, something girly, and something that was just Cricket. She was lithe and lush, the lean muscles and soft curves I hadn’t forgotten. Nothing about her was forgotten. The way she looked at me with equal parts wonder, saucy kitten, shy schoolgirl and laser-sharp woman. I loved every facet of her. She was wicked smart and had an air about her that I recognized as life hard-lived. Things hadn’t come easy for her—I recognized that look because I had it myself. She wasn’t beaten down though, pushing past the shit she must have grown up with and was succeeding.
We hadn’t talked all that much that weekend. Not about anything deep, like why the fuck I’d woken her up shouting and thrashing, sweating like I’d run a marathon, but it hadn’t mattered. Hell, we hadn’t even shared last names or phone numbers, but I’d been afraid to give her mine. But then it had been too late. She’d taken the decision from me when she’d left before dawn.
But sometimes, none of it was necessary. The names, details about someone. I just knew. I knew.
Her mouth was the last one I wanted to kiss. Her breasts were the last ones I wanted to suckle. Her pussy, the last one I wanted to taste, to fuck. And if I thought about her ass…I’d come with her sitting in my lap. That weekend had been—
That weekend…fuck.
It had been amazing. Incredible. Insane. And then poof. She was gone. Literally disappeared. And Archer, who was a fucking sheriff, couldn’t even track her down. I’d been cranky as shit for the past twelve months, my dick missing her. So had my heart.
And out of the blue, she just appeared.
Fate? Coincidence? Serendipity?
I didn’t give a shit about any of those fancy words. I was the least poetic person on Earth. That was more Jamison, the ranch’s foreman, than me. I was straight forward. Blatant. But with Cricket, it seemed I hadn’t been blatant enough. If I had, she wouldn’t have slipped out before dawn and disappeared. She’d have known I’d claimed her, that my two best friends hadn’t even seen her but wanted to keep her, too. That even if I couldn’t share a bed at night wi
But no. I’d fucked it all up.
I wouldn’t let that happen again. I wasn’t what anyone in the lifestyle would call a true Dominant. I hadn’t had a shit-ton of training at it, but I was bossy-as-fuck in the bedroom and I wanted my partner to submit. Cricket had done that beautifully because that’s what she’d wanted. Not just for a night of play, but the real deal. To give over control, her thoughts, her pleasure, to me. And Archer and Lee. She’d been right there with me, all weekend. I knew it. Hadn’t doubted her submission every day since.
Once we found out about why Archer thought it best to put her in handcuffs, why she’d been going fast enough to be pulled over, why he’d told me she was scared of something, we’d get things cleared up. Let her hear the truth, know it, feel it. She was here and she wasn’t going anywhere.
“Cricket,” I repeated, this time in the same deep tone that she’d responded to so well before. I knew her, deep down. But I didn’t know the everyday shit, the stuff that was affecting her now.
She shook her head against my chest.
I glanced at Lee who sat on the coffee table in front of us, his elbows on his thighs, just looking at her.
“I don’t understand why you’re here,” she finally said, turned her head toward my friend. “And who you are.”
“I’m Lee, baby.” He reached out, placed his hand on her knee, slid his thumb back and forth. He followed that gesture by giving her his signature grin. “You probably don’t recognize me since it was dark in Sutton’s hotel room and that was the point, but you might if I had my cock back in your pussy.”
She stiffened in my hold. I wasn’t sure if I should kill Lee or thank him. “Archer and Lee are the men who shared you that night,” I clarified before she thought Lee was a fucking pervert.
Archer moved closer, stood behind the coffee table, crossed his arms.
“Oh my god,” she whispered. Her head lifted and I assumed she was looking at Archer. “You knew when you pulled me over?”
He shook his head. “No. Not until you said your name was Cricket. I called Sutton for confirmation.”
“There aren’t that many Crickets around,” Lee added.
I shifted so I could tip her chin up, slide my thumb over the familiar chicken pox scar on the side of her cheek. “I remember this…and other things about you,” I said.
Her eyes met mine and while her dark eyes were laced with confusion, I saw calmness. Happiness, perhaps?
“Like the way you like your hair stroked.” I lifted my hand, slid my fingers through her long tresses, remembered it had been pulled back into a sleek ponytail when I’d first met her at the rodeo. “The way you smiled at me across the arena and ruined me for all others.”
She sucked in a breath and her eyes dropped to my lips.
“The way you tasted,” I continued, sliding my thumb over her plump lower lip.
Her tongue flicked out and licked it. My cock went instantly rock hard.
“And lower,” I added, slipping my thumb into her mouth so she sucked on it, swirled around it as if it were the head of my cock.
I pulled my hand away, not sure if I could handle any more reminder of how skilled she was on her knees. My balls ached with the need to sink into her and my pants were all but strangling my dick.
“Do you remember, too?” I asked.
She closed her eyes, nodded. Her lips were still parted, her breath ragged. She wasn’t indifferent and it gave me hope.
“Remember when you rode my cock?” Lee asked. “You’re the best cowgirl I’ve ever seen. You stayed on a lot longer than eight seconds.”
That line was old and cheesy, but it certainly lightened the mood.
“And me? Do you remember me?” Archer added, gazing at her with dark eyes. He might be wearing his uniform, but he wasn’t on duty. No, he was talking to her as a man.
“Your name’s not Wade?” she asked.
Archer glanced down at his chest, noticed his name tag. “It is. Archer Wade. And I remember you. I was the one who fucked your ass, claimed that virginity, made you come so hard, right?”
A whimper escaped and she shifted on my lap. Oh yeah, she remembered.
But that wasn’t for now. Kissing her, touching her, loving her. Fucking her. No, there were some things we had to know first.
I lifted her off my lap so she stood between me and Lee.
She had on a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. Sneakers. Nothing fancy, but she looked perfect to me. Although, she would look even better naked.
Soon.
Archer moved to the wall, flipped a light switch and the recessed lighting in the ceiling brightened the room now that darkness was setting in. He dropped onto the couch next to me.
“What are you doing here, Cricket?” I asked.
She looked to me, saw fear widen her eyes, then she lifted her chin as if setting her resolve. I wasn’t sure if she were afraid of me or something else. Either way, I appreciated her honesty, even if she didn’t know she was showing it.
“I’m…this is my house. I inherited it.” Her words became more confident as she went on.
Archer, Lee and I all froze, stared. What?
“You’re one of Aiden Steele’s daughters?” I asked. If she’d said she’d been one of the clowns at the Poulson rodeo, I wouldn’t have been more surprised.
She gave a slight shrug of her narrow shoulders, clearly unsure if I thought it was a good or bad thing. “I got a letter last week saying I was.”
“You never knew?” Lee asked, his face a mix of surprise and doubt. It was a little hard to imagine someone didn’t know who her father was, especially someone who lived only a few hours away. But neither Kady or Penny had either.
Lee was the happy-go-lucky one of the three of us. Being a professional bull rider meant he was serious on the back of a bull, but other than that, he was all smiles and easy laughs. He hadn’t seen the shit I had in the military, lived through hell and returned. He didn’t have to deal with shitty people and criminals on a daily basis like Archer. A bull might be pissed at him for tying up his balls and climbing on his back, but the animal never talked back. And once the eight seconds were over, the fight was done. No guns, no bad guys. No fucking roadside IEDs. No nightmares.
She turned her head toward him. “I didn’t know either of my parents. My mother gave me up when I was two months old. I was in foster care until I was eighteen and aged out.”
If her birth certificate did have Aiden Steele’s name listed as father, it would have made Riley’s job as executor of the estate much easier. She’d have been easy to find. Instead, it had taken over six months, I guessed, for his hired investigators to find her. I imagined a younger Cricket in foster care, never having real parents, to feel the love of a mom and dad.
I glanced at Archer and he knew exactly what I was thinking. Being friends a long time, sometimes words weren’t needed. He pulled out his phone, started a text. Riley needed to know she was at the ranch.
“What are you doing here?” she asked.
I lifted my hand, slid it down her back, felt the ridges of her spine. “I work here. I train all the horses.”
“And I’m on a break between rodeos. I’m friends with Sutton and Archer. BFFs as the ladies might say. I have a place in Sheridan, but I stable my horse here and crash in the bunk house often enough. Especially between competitions,” Lee added.
“You know my job and like Lee said, these two are my friends,” Archer offered, slipping his cell back in his pocket. “I called Sutton when I took your ID back to the SUV. I needed confirmation you are the Cricket.”
“This is a big coincidence then?” she asked.
I shrugged. “You could call it that.” Fate. Definitely fate.
“What had you so scared?” Archer wondered, his voice shifting to that of authority.
She stiffened, as if she’d been Tased and she pinched her lips together.
“Tell us, baby,” I murmured, trying to keep the balance of getting her to tell us everything and not scaring her away.
“Is this why I’m still in the handcuffs?” she asked, sticking them out toward Archer.
“I told you on the way here, you wanted them on. It makes you feel better, doesn’t it?”
“What? Being cuffed?” she scoffed.
I shook my head. “No, knowing Archer was in charge. That you couldn’t do anything but let him lead. That’s the same way with us now, just as it was that one night. The whole weekend with me. Give us your troubles, baby.”
She bit her lower lip, looked down at the floor.
I glanced at Lee and he gave a slight shrug. It had to be something serious. From what I knew of Cricket, she wasn’t full of drama. She was a straight-shooter. If something was wrong, seriously wrong enough to ask Archer to arrest her, then it was a big deal.
“Not going to tell us?”
Her dark gaze flicked to mine.
“Last chance,” I added.
Her eyes widened and she took a step away, but I hooked my hand about her waist and pulled her into me, then moved her so she was bent over my thighs, her belly on the couch. Her head was by Archer and he took a hold of the chain that linked the cuffs.
“What are you doing?” she asked, trying to shift off of my lap, wiggling and squirming like a fish on a line. I hooked a foot over her ankles, pinning her in place.
Lee flicked his eyes to mine, then he reached for the button on the front of her jeans, worked it and the zipper down, then tugged the denim over her hips along with her underwear. He settled it mid-thigh, pinning her legs together.
“What’s your safe word, baby?”
5
SUTTON
* * *
She stilled then, realizing we weren’t taking advantage of her. I would never force her to be spanked, to strip her down, even only partway.
Instead, we were dominating her, just like we had last summer. With the safe word question, she was in control here. She had all the power. We’d let her up, fix her jeans and get her some fucking hot chocolate if that was what she really wanted. She’d tell us, sometime, but this way was faster. This was what she wanted. She’d backed herself into a corner and needed us to make her tell us. It was confusing and subtle, but it was what she needed.
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