When he heard Veronica was going to drop in on Annie, he’d been ready.
Between the message he’d received earlier when he’d gotten to his shop and the vibes he’d been picking up lately, it looked like things might be heating up fast. If everything went south at the same time, he didn’t know if he’d be able to keep it all under control.
The time might be coming to call on some re-enforcements.
Chapter 10
Jesse watched Annie with Grant. His best friend was giving their woman another riding lesson. This time, Grant sat upon Sandstone, his preferred ride. Annie sat atop a pretty little palomino filly named Razzamatazz.
Later, they would tell her they acquired the horse especially for her. The blond quarter horse made a perfect beginner’s mount. Jesse had purchased the spirited, but well-mannered, mare from a ranch just outside of Cheyenne.
Jesse folded his arms across his chest and leaned against the doorframe. Annie paid rapt attention to Grant’s instructions, absorbing every bit of information he gave her. Since Annie enjoyed her first lesson Monday night, he and Grant decided to take turns giving her further instruction.
Dinner was ready. Cooking had always been a hobby Jesse enjoyed. His thoughts carried him into the past. As much as he worked hard with his dad, out on the pastures when he’d been a young teen—riding fence, chasing after wayward cows—he’d looked forward to Sundays, to time spent with his mom in the kitchen.
Jesse’s attention was pulled back to the riding lesson in progress. His gaze wandered down the lane. He knew they were all pleased they hadn’t drawn an audience again this afternoon. Annie seemed a little nervous when she first arrived, casting furtive glances back toward the county road that was just visible from the paddock.
Who could blame her? None of them wanted a repeat of Monday’s events. None of them thought they could manage that kind of tongue-in-cheek banter a second time.
Grant looked over and nodded. Jesse left his perch, taking the steps two at a time.
They were still working their way through the parameters of this relationship, still cautiously on guard against feelings of jealousy. There hadn’t been any yet and Jesse couldn’t be happier.
“Molly here’s been in the kitchen rustling up some grub for us,” Grant announced to Annie as Jesse approached them.
“Homer’s just jealous because he can’t cook.” Jesse teased in return, easily throwing back the familiar insult.
“I’m no great chef either,” Annie said, “so I do admire a man who can cook.”
“Okay, I’ll learn,” Grant returned, deadpan.
Jesse leaned against the corral, his right foot on the bottom slat, his arms folded on the top.
“So what do you think of your horse?” Jesse asked.
“She’s a sweetheart,” Annie replied. She leaned forward and ran a hand down the palomino’s neck. Jesse imagined her hand running down his body in much the same way and shivered. His gaze flicked up to Grant and he could see his best friend was having the same thought.
“So what’s for dinner?” Grant asked, his voice sounding a bit strained.
“Roast chicken and vegetables. It’s done, in the oven, on low. It’ll keep a while.”
Annie must have caught the arousal in his tone. She looked at him, then over at Grant. When she met his gaze again he could tell it wasn’t just the men in this ménage whose fires had been lit.
“After I take care of my horse, I’d love a shower.” Annie’s voice turned sultry, kicking Jesse’s arousal up a notch.
“Well now,” Grant said. “Water sports.”
“I’m thinking one just like we enjoyed the other night,” Annie said. “That is one very jazzy bathroom you have there, Mr. Conrad.”
When Jesse came into his inheritance, one of the things he’d done was to renovate the master bedroom, installing an ensuite bathroom complete with a nice, round Jacuzzi tub and a shower large enough to hold a party in. Definitely money well spent.
It didn’t take much for him to conjure the image of the three of them Monday night. That had been one hell of a party, no question about it. The thought of a repeat performance made him hard.
“Yeah,” Jesse said. “Let’s all go get wet and wild.”
* * * *
Annie hadn’t expected such an oasis of luxury in the middle of Wyoming cattle country. This bathroom—somehow that name really didn’t fit—felt like uptown Manhattan meets gracious country living. No, she’d think of this lavishly appointed room as a spa—her own personal spa with her own personal attendants.
As she stretched, arms above her head and eyes closed, she imagined herself a pampered princess from early Roman times. Two virile, naked men ran soap-covered hands over her, touching every part of her body. One pair of hands cupped and tweaked and cleansed breasts and nipples, the other traced her body’s curves between her legs, back and forth from belly button to ass-dimple.
A shiver wracked her and she wondered how long she’d be able to keep standing.
“Gotta love that smile,” Grant’s whispered words came from in front of her.
“I’m imagining you both as my sex slaves, ministering to my every want and whim.”
“Works for me,” Jesse’s voice from behind her held the trace of a laugh, “as long as next time, you’re ours.”
“Oh, yeah,” Annie purred, not only in response to the sensation of male hands on her flesh, but because she could picture herself as their personal sex slave, and loved the image.
“You have to say ‘master’ and everything,” Grant teased. “Maybe you can disobey us. Then we’d have to…punish you.”
Annie laughed. She never imagined sex could involve teasing and laughter and be so much fun.
Jesse wrapped one arm around her at the same moment Grant speared his fingers into her pussy. Annie cried out as the sudden orgasm swamped her. Letting go, she rode the wave, knowing her men would keep her safe, knowing this was just a tiny taste of pleasures yet to come. Grinding her hips against Grant’s busy hand, she felt her body gift him with her moisture.
“You’re so responsive to us,” he whispered, then covered her mouth with his. Hot and wet, arousing all on its own, Grant’s kiss awakened senses that had mellowed under the heat of water and glide of hands.
Jesse’s hand slid between her legs, barely brushing Grants, then back and up. One finger rubbed across her anus. Grant had touched her there the last time they’d been wet and wild together, and the sensation had shot her instantly higher. Today wasn’t any different.
Jesse began to press inward. “Okay, baby?”
She never imagined a lover touching her there, let alone using it to give her pleasure. In the last few days, her entire body had evolved into one giant erogenous zone. His touch thrilled her, reigniting her inner flame. “Mmm, yes.”
“I’ll be careful.”
She felt the tiny opening spread, felt a single finger begin to breach that ring and sink into her. Annie never imagined when she headed West that she’d be crossing so many new frontiers.
Grant rubbed her pussy lightly, his fingers tracing over her clit. Arousal climbed, and Annie obeyed her body’s urge to follow the source of the thrill. She undulated her hips slowly forward to meet Grant’s caress, back to enjoy Jesse’s, and groaned in response to the delicious sensations combining and swirling within her.
Her arms came down and her hands gripped Grant’s shoulders.
Jesse’s arm felt snug around her waist. He kissed her shoulder. “Lean forward, lean on him more,” he said. Annie had no thought but to comply, to bend forward, giving Jesse freer access to her ass.
He began to move his finger in and out of her in a rhythm that caused a shudder to caress her spine. Grant still had his fingers inside her pussy, but because she leaned on his shoulder, his gaze no longer locked on hers. She sensed he watched what his friend was doing to her, because he shivered, then turned his head and nipped her shoulder.
“How does that feel?�
�� Jesse asked, his voice husky with arousal. The water continued to shower down on them, the steam swirling in the air.
“Oh, God,” she responded. Needing more, Annie put more desperation in her motions.
“Brace her,” Grant said as he eased her away from him to lean on Jesse. He reached up to the shelf, to where he’d put a couple of condoms.
He put the protection on in seconds. When he stepped forward, when he spread her legs, she looked down, watched as his latex-covered cock caressed the folds of her pussy.
He surged into her and Annie sighed in bliss. He moved inside her, pulling out nearly all the way and then pushing deep. The combination of the sensation of his thick cock caressing the inside of her pussy and the sight of it moving had her on the verge of climax in record time.
Jesse’s chin rested on her shoulder. Knowing he watched Grant take her as intently as she did pushed her over the edge. The orgasm possessed her, every part of her, in tingling, throbbing ecstasy. Electric shocks buffeted her flesh, pebbling it, chilling her, until there existed nothing but these spasms. Wanting only to grab as much rapture as her body could absorb, she exerted muscles, closing around Grant’s cock in her pussy and Jesse’s finger in her ass, squeezing them as if to draw the essence of the climax out of them and into herself. She heard a feral noise, half grunt, half scream and realized the sound came from her.
“Yes.” Grant grabbed hold of her hips, his control shattering as her climax triggered his. He thrust into her hard and fast, the expression on his face one of harsh concentration as he rode his own wave of rapture.
Annie stretched back, her arms once more going above her head, this time her fingers locking behind Jesse’s neck. Jesse wrapped both arms around her, holding her secure.
Grant braced his legs further apart, increasing the power of his penetration. Closing her eyes, she reveled in the movements of Grant’s cock and the feel of Jesse’s arms around her.
The water turned tepid and someone turned it off. Grant’s heavy breathing bathed her face when he rested his forehead against hers.
“Holy crap.”
Annie sighed. “Yeah, that about sums it up.”
He stepped back from her, then reached out and stroked a finger down her face.
“My turn,” Jesse whispered. He moved his hand up to cup one wet breast. “But I think we should move Act Two to the bed.”
“Good idea. I’m not sure how much longer my legs will hold me.”
* * * *
The reality of the three of them was so much hotter than his dreams. Stretched out on his bed, Annie rose above him. Her sexy, sultry smile warmed his heart and fired his blood. Fanning his fingers through her hair, he gripped her head and brought her down for his kiss. She was his new favorite flavor, spicy heat and cotton-candy combined.
He stroked his hand from her head to her breasts. Her nipples—dark coral as he now knew instead of only imagined—had already stiffened with arousal. The areolas, pebbled, drew his attention, and he rubbed his finger over them.
“I want to taste you.” Not a plea, or a request, but a declaration of intent.
“I’m all yours, angel.” He needed her to know that whatever claims he and Grant wanted to make on her, she could make on them in return.
Her hair brushed his chest as Annie leaned down and began to kiss him. She swirled her tongue over his nipple. He sucked in air, the jolt going straight to his groin. He’d had no idea he could be aroused that way.
On the other side of the bed, Grant propped himself up on his elbow, intent on watching Annie, appearing totally comfortable in his own nudity.
Jesse experienced a sense of déjà vu. Just like my favorite dream only much, much better.
As Annie slithered down the bed, his hand trailed up her back until once more his fingers combed through her hair.
Her breath brushed his scrotum, her tongue stroked his cock. Jesse couldn’t hold back the groan. Closing his eyes, he laid his head back on the pillow, all his focus on enjoying Annie’s eager tasting of him.
“She’s got a great mouth,” Grant said.
“A fabulous mouth,” Jesse agreed.
“Mmm…never did this before you two came into my life. No pun intended.”
The combination of the vibration of her words and her wet tongue against his achingly hard dick nearly made him climax as fast as in his dreams.
“We know, sweetheart,” he said, needing to give her this. “We know that it’s a measure of how much you care for us and how much we turn you on.”
Annie lifted her head to meet his gaze, her expression thoughtful. “I do care, and you do turn me on. I don’t understand it, but I do know I couldn’t be with both of you this way if it wasn’t true.”
Annie bent back to her task, opened her mouth wide, and sucked his cock deep. Anything Jesse would have said in response to her heart-felt words was swamped as lust, sharp and heady, swamped him.
With hands and lips and tongue she worked him hard and fast. His orgasm exploded out of him, beyond anything he’d ever experienced before, completely above all of his expectations, totally beyond his control. He felt her swallow each stream as it left his body, and when he looked down, when he could look down, the pleasure on her face satisfied him that she’d enjoyed the experience nearly as much as he had.
His gaze flicked over to Grant. That man’s focus was Annie, and although he was hard—Jesse still found it odd that he would even look in that direction—he knew his friend’s desire wasn’t to take, but to give.
As soon as Annie raised herself on her hands and knees, Grant moved. Both hands on her hips, he turned her, laid her flat, and buried his face between her legs.
“Oh, God,” Annie obviously thought she’d stretch out for a short nap, but Grant’s mouth and lips, tongue and teeth, sent her climbing the ladder of heat and arousal once more. Jesse could see Grant’s tongue in her pink folds, became fascinated by the slide and swirl, the plunge and suck. Her back bowed off the bed. Her hips began to thrust against Grant’s face in short, fast jabs.
Jesse placed an arm across her chest, just under her breasts. His action joined Grant’s in holding her fast and sure against the mattress.
“Take what he gives you, baby,” Jesse murmured.
Grant moved, sliding his fingers into her. Jesse knew the other man was feeling her g-spot, stroking it back and forth, just as he himself had done the other night. A wave of climax washed over her, making her jerk and shiver. Tiny feminine mews turned into rising grunts of pleasure, and Jesse felt the same satisfaction as if he’d made her come himself.
Chapter 11
“At the time, it was quite the scandal. Brian Conrad was ten years older than Beth,” Mrs. Bishop confided a week later as she perused the tray of cotton thread, slowly picking out the colors she wanted. “I can still recall the day she came over, stars in her eyes, day after the Harvest Festival. She was walking on cloud nine because Brian asked her to dance, and after that dance, though she was only sixteen, no other man in the world ever existed for her.”
Annie’s heart softened. Mrs. Bishop seemed lost in her memories. Clearly, she still mourned her best friend, nearly eighteen years after her passing.
“There’s a picture of the two of them hanging in the parlor at the ranch,” Annie said. “They have their arms around each other, looking at the camera with soft smiles. You can just see they belonged together. Jesse looks like his mom.”
“Yes, he does. And he possesses her kind heart, too. But that devil’s grin and penchant for mischief? That’s all Brian. A hard worker and a sober man for the most part, was Brian Conrad. But my, could he be full of piss and vinegar when he wanted to be.”
Annie laughed, and suspected the older woman chose that old expression for precisely that effect.
“Jesse has shown me that side of himself. He and Grant seem to balance each other out perfectly.”
“They’ve been practically inseparable from the first time their mothers put them together
in the same play pen at Sunday school. They couldn’t have been more than a few months old. Their birthdays are only two weeks apart, they tell you that? Grant’s the older of the two.”
Mrs. Bishop flashed Annie a smile, then handed her the spools of thread she’d selected. It only took a few moments to ring up the sale and slip the thread into a small paper bag.
Mrs. Bishop scooped up her parcel. “Well, I’m off. Going to spend the rest of the day relaxing in my backyard, doing my needlepoint. Tomorrow, my oldest and his family are coming for dinner. Going to make pot roast. My Ernie really loves his momma’s pot roast. You have yourself a good weekend, Annie.”
“Thanks, I will. And you enjoy those grandchildren.”
Sometimes, it amazed Annie how well she fit into the community and way of life here in Branchton. Customers came in, but unlike the ones she’d known in Queens, these ones seemed to have all the time in the world to visit as they shopped. Once in a while, someone would be in a rush, and full of apologies for it. That didn’t happen very often. By chance or by fate, Annie had landed in a real community with real people who cared. People who made room for her, and made her one of their own in a way that seemed so easy and natural, she’d hardly noticed it happening until it was done.
The bell over the door jingled and she looked up. Veronica didn’t often step into her store on Saturdays. Usually, she was up and off early, on her way to spend the weekend with her cousins in Laramie.
Annie guessed she wanted to get as much visiting in while she was still assigned to the bank here. She didn’t kid herself. She liked Veronica, but the other woman wasn’t destined for a lifetime in the wilds of Wyoming. Likely, it wouldn’t be long before her sophisticated friend transferred to a new city and a new bank. If anyone had been made for climbing the corporate ladder, for bright lights and glitter, it was Veronica Ferris.
“Hi there. You don’t usually spend Saturday in town,” Annie said.
Veronica wrinkled her nose. “I know. Nothing against Branchton, really. But my relatives are gone for the weekend. So that leaves me at odds. I was wondering if after you closed the store, you’d be interested in having a movie night?”
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