by Beverly Rae
“Don’t answer it.” His voice was husky, filled with need.
She nodded then started tugging his jeans over his firm, round buttocks. Again, she paused, unable to ignore the incessant music. “I have to get that. It might be my mother.”
Sighing, she twisted, grabbed for her purse, and then fished in her bag. Jimmy finished the job she’d started by shucking his jeans off then twirling them once before he hurled them into the air.
She giggled then punched the answer button. “Mom?”
“Mandy, where the hell are you?”
Decker.
Guilt hit her, draining the desire from her. Why hadn’t she checked the caller ID first? She put a finger to her lips, widened her eyes, and hope Jimmy would get the message. “Um, I’m on vacation.”
Jimmy grabbed her wrist and tried to pull her toward him, but she yanked her arm away. Grabbing her skirt to hold over her naked body, she covered the mouthpiece then hurried off the bed, shaking her head for him to leave her alone.
“You went to Lost Hills, didn’t you? I thought we decided going to see your father was a bad idea.”
Decker’s tone was level, cold, and unemotional which meant his temper was at the breaking point. If only she hadn’t answered the phone.
“No. We didn’t decide anything. You did. I never said I wasn’t going.”
Jimmy came to her, slipping his jeans over the rise of his buttocks and raising his hands in question. She waved him off, unable to respond when her hands were full with Decker. Jimmy had to keep quiet. If Decker heard him, he’d arrive by morning.
“Damn it, Mandy. You didn’t even let me know you’d left town. I had to find out from your mother.”
“I know, and I’m sorry.”
“Well, what’s done is done. I’ll get there as soon as I—”
“Decker, I don’t want you coming here.”
Jimmy narrowed his eyes and mouthed his question. “Who’s Decker?”
She ignored him. “Hang on a sec, okay?”
She had to get Jimmy out of the room both to keep him from saying anything and to keep her conversation with Decker private. Motioning for him to go, she held the phone to her chest and pulled the door open.
His confused expression ripped her apart, but she could explain later. Providing he gave her the chance. She watched as he gathered his boots and shirt, and hoped he’d see how sorry she was. He kissed her on the cheek then left the room, glancing back once before she shut the door and returned to the call.
“What’s going on? Where exactly are you? I didn’t think the town was big enough for a hotel.”
Decker wasn’t going to let this go. His perseverance was one of the things she both liked and disliked about him. The man could be like a dog with a bone.
“You’re right. It’s not.” She cringed. She couldn’t tell him where she was. He’d never understand her staying with strangers, especially a bunch of men. And who could blame him? But what other option did she have? She wouldn’t leave town. Not yet. Not without trying again to talk to her father.
“Then where are you staying?”
The hard edge of his tone, one she’d heard seep into his voice too many times in the past few weeks, set her on edge. “I’m staying with my father.”
Liar, liar. Pants on fire.
The silence on the other end of the phone unnerved her. He didn’t believe her. But then why should he when it was a lie? Sometimes she wished she was a better liar.
“So you and your father are getting along?” Suspicion laced his words.
“Yeah. We’re doing okay.” She bit her lower lip. Lies and more lies. But what else could she do?
“Good. I’m happy for you.”
Aw, crap. Did he have to be sweet about it? “Thanks. So you see, you don’t have any reason to come here. In fact, it might be better. You know. My father and I need some alone time.”
Decker shouted at one of the many men who worked for him then came back to the conversation. “Okay. We’ll do this your way for now. But check in often so your mom doesn’t worry.”
Her guilt pounded into her stomach, forming a knot the size of a baseball. Decker had his faults, many of which she found difficult, but he had good traits, too. Like thinking about her mother. She glanced at the closed door, her mind jumping to what she’d almost done with Jimmy. Yet the twinge of her pussy tightening at the memory of Jimmy’s hard chest leading to the narrow hips and the bulge in his pants overshadowed her guilt.
What was it about Jimmy that had her dropping her panties so fast? Sure, he was sexy as hell, but he held an indefinable lure for her. A lure that came from a place deep inside her. Almost as though she’d always known him and would one day find him.
“Mandy?”
“Yeah?” She put her back to the door, shoving her thoughts of Jimmy away.
“You’re alone, right? I mean, other than your father?”
“Of course I am.” She bit her lip and added to the growing mound of lies. “It’s just me and my father.”
Chapter Four
Mandy crossed her arms and gazed out the window of the guest bedroom. The land surrounding the Matheson home spread out as far as she could see. Thickets and small brush dotted the landscape along with a few clusters of trees.
She sighed, unable to shake the tension stiffening her neck. She hated lying to Decker, but she couldn’t have him barging into town and taking over. Lately, he’d grown more possessive and even controlling. Not for the first time, she reconsidered their relationship.
Was Decker the one?
The answer came swift and hard. No.
But what surprised her even more was the image of Jimmy coming straight after her denial of Decker.
She rested her forearms on the windowsill then placed her chin on top of her arms. Her mind wandered, taking her in another direction.
What if she was meant to be with someone else?
Again, Jimmy’s face took over, followed by the faces of his friends. Why would she think of them? She barely knew Jimmy, much less the rest.
Could Jimmy be the one?
She tried out the same answer she’d given for Decker. But her denial wouldn’t come. Instead, the truth won out.
Maybe.
Surprised and a little unnerved by her reaction, she turned and slipped into the huge bed. What she really needed was rest. Tomorrow was soon enough to think about her problems and the men in her life.
Decker, her father, Jimmy, and the other men of Matheson Ranch. They could wait until the morning. Pulling the soft comforter around her, she nestled into the bed and closed her eyes.
“We’re here.”
Mandy inhaled, bringing in the familiar scent. Déjà vu struck her. She’d heard the words before, felt the same sensations. And yet, something was different.
As she always did, she kept her eyes closed, knowing they were near. Closer than ever before.
You’re here again.
“We’re here because you want us here.”
When she opened her eyes, she would see them, clearer than ever before. Her gaze found him, his body leaning over hers, a soft smile playing on his lips.
Jimmy.
His gaze slid down her body, flecks of amber shining in his eyes as his look grew more heated. She ached to run her hand over his hard, flat stomach, to glide it over the valleys and hills to the slender waist. Once there, she’d pause then trace the crease between his crotch and his leg down to the impressive shaft. Already she could feel the way his muscles would undulate under her touch, the heat from his body scorching into her skin.
Wait. How had she gotten naked when she’d gone to sleep in a T-shirt and panties?
Nick and Ranlon sat on her other side, their hands already skimming over her arm, her leg. William moved next to Jimmy and took her other leg.
The four naked, magnificent men locked their gazes on her, their amber-flecked eyes searing into her as though they wanted to eat her alive. She trembled at the idea.
As though he’d heard her thought, Jimmy slid down her body, dipping his head to take a nip here, a lick there. She reached out, for Jimmy, for someone. Nick caught her hand and brought it to his cock. Yet she couldn’t take her attention away from Jimmy.
“Spread your legs for me, babe.”
William and Ranlon helped her, massaging her thighs as she opened for Jimmy.
The touch of Jimmy’s tongue on her folds jerked her up, but Ranlon’s hand on her breast pushed her back down.
“Take it easy,” he whispered.
Lust and anticipation whipped the excitement in her belly. She wanted the men, all of them.
Please, Jimmy.
He chuckled, the warm air tickling her almost as much as his fingers pulling her folds apart to expose her clit. The men held her legs apart while the others explored her breasts, the swell of her stomach. She shook from the need to have him taste her.
Jimmy pressed his lips to her pussy and sucked, driving her into a quick orgasm. She cried out and took William’s shaft in hand. Stroking William and Nick, she arched her back, offering her nipple to Ranlon again.
Jimmy stroked her, using his tongue first then his thumbs. She jerked, the flood of passion rippling into her like a tsunami. She rode the crest of the wave and opened her mouth in a silent scream of pleasure. He held on to her by moving his hands under her to grab her buttocks.
“Now, Jimmy.” Nick licked his lips.
Her breath hitched in her throat, and her heart picked up speed to pound a rhythm against her chest. Jimmy rose, lifted her legs, and placed them on top of his mountainous shoulders.
Nick swept a hand through her hair, making her look at him. “Relax. We would never hurt you.”
Murmuring tender endearments, Jimmy pushed his cock to her pussy, then slid inside. She inhaled, shocked at the width and length of him, then drove everything other than the pleasurable sensations out of her mind. Her body reacted without thinking, her hips moving against his.
She closed her eyes, wanting to feel their touches, hear their whispers. Her body shook, taking each wave of release as it spread outward from her core. She moaned, pumping the cocks filling her hands faster, harder.
Needing to see his face as he climaxed, she opened her eyes. Each masculine face was filled with a primordial look of unbridled lust. Yet each of their features mixed with another emotion. Adoration? Reverence? Maybe even…love?
Pausing, Jimmy dropped one leg to twist her onto her side then slammed into her again. “William needs you, too.”
She nodded then gazed into Nick’s face and saw what he wanted. She drew his shaft inside her mouth and delighted in the ecstasy on his face as he watched her.
William leaned over to sweep his tongue along the crack in her butt. She flinched then forced herself to breath evenly.
“Don’t worry, Mandy. I’ll take it slow.” William rubbed a cool gel over and inside her anus then pressed his cock against her tender ring muscles. Gently, he pushed inside her.
Her stomach tightened as both men worked their cocks inside her. Matching their pace, she pumped Nick and took Ranlon’s shaft in her hand. Silence, broken only by their quick breaths and soft moans, surrounded them. She let the myriad of emotions flow through her, not caring to understand the why or how of anything. She only cared that she was what they wanted. And she wanted them just as much.
The orgasm, powerful and overwhelming, broke free. Her body shuddered then trembled, darkness threatening to take her, but she held on. Jimmy’s groan mixed with Ranlon’s as the men, their bodies tightening and jerking, turned loose. Nick and William joined them, climaxing hard and fast. The men slumped around her, their harsh pants deeper versions of her own.
“Jimmy. Make her yours.”
She didn’t grasp the meaning behind Ranlon’s words. Looking to Jimmy for an answer, she watched as he put his weight on his hands and knees then crawled on top of her.
“We’re here for you, Mandy.”
Jimmy’s words didn’t make sense, but they touched her nonetheless. How long had she yearned to hear those words? “But why? You don’t even know me.”
Ranlon pressed a kiss to her palm in the same moment William touched her cheek. “Because you’re meant to be one of us. Like Sara and Cally.”
Jimmy caressed her with his hands and his eyes. “Do you want to become one of us?”
She nodded before she’d taken time to wonder at his question.
Tell me how.
“Are you sure?”
Please. Make me yours. But how?
Jimmy glanced at the other men then back at her. His amber-flecked eyes sparkled. “Like this.”
His face blurred then changed. Fangs erupted from Jimmy’s gums as he leaned closer, his breath blowing a wisp of her hair away from her forehead.
Mandy’s heart thudded in her chest even as she reached for him, welcoming him in his different form. She turned her head, offering her neck to him.
A roar ripped the air as Jimmy’s body was flung from hers. His friends howled their rage, their bodies evaporating until she could no longer see them. She struggled to sit up, but strange men, men who’d never come to her in her dreams, held her down, keeping her where they wanted her.
Decker moved out of the surrounding mist to stand at the edge of the bed, his body looming over her. His face contorted as fangs grew and fur spread over his nude body. “You’re mine. Not his.”
No.
She fought against the men but was no match.
Jimmy. Where’s Jimmy?
“He’s gone.” Decker’s wolf face pulled back into an evil grin. “You’re mine, bitch. You always have been and you always will be.”
Saliva dripped from his mouth as he opened wide and howled. She screamed, yet no sound came out. Laughing, Decker bent over her and sank his fangs into her neck.
Mandy sat up, her heart racing, her eyes wide. The dreams had never been like that. She’d never awakened in fear. Had never felt anything but yearning to keep the dream going. She closed her eyes tight, just like she’d done so many times before, and tried to remember their faces. Yet she could remember only one.
But why had Decker entered her dream? And why in such a horrible way?
“Mandy!”
She trembled as she hurried out of bed toward the sound of Jimmy’s voice. Flinging the curtains aside, she found him, standing underneath her window and holding the reins of two horses. Relief flooded her, weakening her knees. She gripped the edge of the window and waved to him.
“Open your window!”
She flipped the latch and shoved the window open. “Why are you yelling under my window? Why not just knock on my door?” She wished he’d come earlier. Then maybe she wouldn’t have had the horrible dream.
He grinned, looking sheepish. “Sorry. I guess we’re used to being loud around here. Anyway, how fast can you get dressed?”
She ran a hand through her hair, suddenly wishing she’d taken a moment to brush her hair. “I haven’t even had a shower, much less breakfast.”
He motioned to the backpack strapped to the bigger horse. “Don’t worry about either of those things. I packed a breakfast for our ride.”
“Our ride?” She hadn’t been on a horse since she was a kid. “I don’t know. I’m not exactly the cowgirl type. Besides, I must look awful.”
“Aw, don’t worry. Rocky’s a gentle thing and he doesn’t spook easy.” He cocked his head to the side. “You look amazing this morning. Then again, you always look amazing.”
The compliment scored a hit, softening her heart. The man had a way with words. That was for sure.
“Plus, you’re going to want a shower after the ride anyway.”
Great. Not only would she start out looking like hell, she would stink afterwards. She started to refuse, but his longing expression tugged at her heartstrings. “Okay. Give me a few minutes.”
“No problem. The horses and I won’t budge an inch until we see your sweet smile.�
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She spun around and headed for the bathroom. Once at the door, however, she froze to gawk at the room. “Holy cow.”
Bigger in size than most bathrooms, it held a massive whirlpool tub as well as an automated shower with rainfall showerheads. Beautiful gold trim accented granite countertops and mahogany cabinets. “This is the best bathroom I’ve ever seen.”
But she wasn’t the best she’d ever seen. Her hair sprouted from every angle on her head and smudges of mascara darkened the skin under her eyes. How could he tell her she looked good? Was his eyesight bad? Or, more likely, was he just being kind? She looked amazing, all right. Amazingly bad. No way was she letting him see her up close.
Throwing cabinets open, she found shampoo and the fluffy oversized towels. After a few moments of learning the system, she hopped into the shower and let the warm water flow over her.
She stood, transfixed, positive she was having another dream. The shower heads struck her from every side, massaging her muscles.
But she needed to hurry. Promising to take an hour-long shower once she returned, she rubbed her body and hair down with the towel and rushed to pull on some clothes. Her favorite jeans hugged her in all the right places and the green halter top clung to her still-damp skin. Luckily, she’d thought to pack her favorite pair of running shoes.
Dashing from the room, she hurried down the stairs while watching her step and almost ran headlong into Michael. She clung to the railing to help her stop in time.
“Whoa. Slow down. You almost wiped out your breakfast.” He held up the tray, calling her attention to a plate of pancakes dripping in syrup and butter, a large glass of orange juice, and a smaller plate of bacon and sausage. A single sunflower lay on top of a white napkin.
“My breakfast?” Her stomach rumbled at the sight.
“Yeah and it sounds like you need this.” He pivoted, heading back to the kitchen. “I guess the breakfast-in-bed idea is shot, though, so I’ll just put this on the kitchen table.”
“No. Wait.”
His dark eyes found hers and, for a moment, she wanted nothing more than to please him. She might have still been staring at him if Ranlon and Nick hadn’t burst through the kitchen door, breaking her focus.