by Mari Carr
“No,” Paige said quietly, gripping the handle of her mug. “But I’m not sure one night is enough either. Is there a middle point between a full-blown relationship and a hookup?”
“Sure there is.” Sadie knew that fact all too well. “That’s where I am right now.” She hoped that if she said the words aloud to Paige, it would help her reinforce the beliefs she’d always held on to with the tenacity of a bulldog. “Not all of us want to settle down and get married with a houseful of kids. For some of us, it’s just not what we’re made for.”
“You’re not?”
Sadie slowly shook her head. She needed to say this, to get the words out. “No. I have enough issues as it is. I don’t need to inflict them on some offspring of mine, or set up house with a husband when I know he’ll only end up disappointed down the line.”
“Just one husband? Maybe that’s your problem right there.”
Sadie knew Paige was teasing, but she didn’t smile. “Nah. It’s not a problem. It’s a philosophy. And it’s practical.”
Paige nodded. “I think I’m growing allergic to becoming practical. All I’ve ever focused on was business, business, business. I wanted to grow the store and make my granddaddy proud.”
“How’s that working for you?”
“As far as the store goes, incredible. Profits are up, customers are happy, word is spreading. Charli and I have talked about expanding, and it’s a real possibility if things keep up as they are. But personally…I’m not going to say how long it was since I did the deed before last weekend. Let’s just say our president was in his first term in office.”
“Oh. Ouch.” Sadie winced in sympathy. “No wonder you went big when you finally went.”
“Big? Try huge.”
Sadie snorted a laugh at Paige’s risqué joke.
Paige rolled her eyes. “Jeez, pervert, that’s not what I meant. Though if we’re dishing, they are both really well-endowed—”
Sadie made a slashing gesture with her hand when she noticed Drake standing directly behind Paige.
His big-ass grin told Sadie he’d clearly heard what they had been talking about as he claimed the stool next to Paige.
“What’s your poison?” Sadie asked.
“PBR’s fine. Thanks, Sadie.”
“Pleasure’s all mine.” Sadie moved away to fill his mug, then set it in front of him. “Let me know if you need anything else. Like, say, another huge drink.”
She laughed as she walked away, but the good humor was short-lived. Talking to Paige had forced Sadie to face facts she’d been trying to ignore the last few nights.
Every time she fell back into Joel and Oakley’s arms, she lost a little bit more of her heart. She was an idiot to keep going back to them, knowing things couldn’t end the way they wanted.
However, there was no doubt in her mind, she was going to keep paying the fool. She couldn’t give them up. Not yet.
* * *
Sadie stood outside the bunkhouse and cursed herself for being a fool. And a nympho-fucking-maniac. She’d told Oakley that bullshit about anticipation making sex better just this afternoon. The conversation with Paige a few hours earlier had stirred up all kinds of confusing thoughts in her head making it impossible for her to concentrate. In the end, she’d gotten so hot and bothered and frustrated that she’d messed up at least a dozen drink orders and broken three glasses. She’d been so fucked-up her dad had told her to go home for fear she’d do some real damage. His exact words had been, “Get the fuck outta here before you burn the place down.”
So she’d hopped on her bike, traveled two blocks toward her apartment, then turned around and headed here. She glanced at her cell phone. It was just after midnight. The lights in the ranch house and the bunkhouse were off. The entire spread was pitch black. Not that she was surprised. Days started early at a place like this. The polar opposite of her sleep-until-early-afternoon, then-stay-up-half-the-night lifestyle. She was the vampire in Oakley and Joel’s early bird world.
She considered leaving them to their sleep for all of two seconds, and then she lifted her hand and knocked on the door.
Sadie only had a couple of minutes to second-guess her actions before the door opened. Joel stood before her in nothing but a pair of boxers. His hair was slightly mussed up and she suspected he’d actually been in bed for a while. Which made her feel really stupid for showing up unannounced.
“I, um—”
That was all she could say before Joel cut her off with a loud, “Thank God,” and pulled her into his arms. His kisses could melt butter quicker than a microwave. She went soft in his embrace, letting his strength surround her, overwhelm her.
“Sadie?”
She heard Oakley say her name from somewhere behind Joel, his voice groggy from sleep. Joel either didn’t hear Oakley or didn’t care, because he didn’t release her. His lips actually went hard and became more demanding, his hands gripping her head tightly when he thought she might back away. He didn’t need to make that effort. She wasn’t going anywhere.
When they finally came up for air, Sadie noticed Oakley leaning against the dining room table. His posture gave off an air of patience, but the rest of him betrayed his true feelings. His arms were crossed, his eyes hungry, his jaw clenched.
He radiated sex and need and desire.
“Hey,” she said, realizing how silly it sounded in lieu of the kiss she and Joel had just shared.
Oakley’s lips twitched. “Thought we were letting the anticipation build.”
She lifted one shoulder. “That was bullshit. Have you ever known me to sit around idly and wait for something I wanted?”
Oakley didn’t laugh as she’d expected. “Actually, yes. You kept me and Joel hanging on like lovesick puppies for years.”
She couldn’t tell if he was joking or if he was seriously upset that she’d put them off for so long. It didn’t matter. He had a pretty good point. She had wanted them. But she’d denied it because she’d never in her dizziest daydreams, in her kinkiest fantasies, imagined anything like this. “You’re right. I did. I’m sorry.”
Joel reached out, grasping her upper arm and turning her to face him. “We don’t need an apology, Sadie. We just need to make up for lost time.”
She grinned, and then peeled off her leather jacket. Neither man stepped closer to help, but they certainly didn’t look away as she pulled her t-shirt off, then her bra. She crossed the room to sit in a chair at the table where Oakley still leaned and lifted her foot. “Pull my boots off?”
Oakley wasted no time dropping down into the other chair and reaching for her foot. As he did so, Joel joined them, stepping behind her, his hands cupping her bare breasts.
Oakley licked his lips, his gaze glued to Joel’s fingers as they pinched her nipples. They’d discovered her penchant for pain very early on. On top of that, Joel had her number when it came to dominance and submission. She wouldn’t bend her will to any man outside of the bedroom, but there was something so sexy about the way Joel took over when they were fucking.
Once her boots were off, Oakley began to tackle the button on her jeans. He jerked his head at Joel, who moved his hands to his waist to help her rise from the chair. The men had spent years working side by side on the ranch. They didn’t need words to make their desires known.
Oakley tugged her jeans down as Joel’s hands returned to her breasts, his squeezes alternating between gentle and rough. He was a master at keeping her on her toes.
Neither man had bothered to dress when they answered the door, so it was a very simple matter of them dropping their boxers to join her in a naked state.
Sadie turned toward the table and started to bend over. At least one of them had taken her that way every night they’d come together at the bar, and she had to admit she loved the position.
Joel grabbed her upper arm, halting her. “Not tonight. Tonight we’ve got a bed. Let’s use it.”
She accepted Oakley’s hand as he led her to the bedroom. There
were two full-size beds in the room, each occupying an opposite wall. It wasn’t what she’d expected to find in a bunkhouse, regardless of the fact they were the only two guys living there.
At her questioning glance, Oakley gave her a quick tour of the room. “When I first started working here, there were only twin beds. I got tired of squeezing my six-foot-two frame on that tiny piece of shit. Convinced Joel we could fit bigger beds in here,” Oakley explained. Then he looked at Joel with a devilish grin. “Your bed or mine.”
Joel rolled his eyes. “Mine. I have no idea when you washed your sheets last.”
Sadie giggled, following Joel to the bed on the left. Both beds were unmade since she’d woken them, but where Oakley’s sheets were just tossed on the mattress in a tangled mess, Joel’s bed had been made with hospital corners, the cotton appearing almost pressed. The beds looked exactly as she would have imagined them.
Joel sat on the edge of his mattress and she wasted no time straddling his hips. They’d sat this way the last time they’d been together at closing time, her riding him as Oakley stood behind her, lifting her and pressing her down until she thought her body would implode under the intense, wonderful impact.
She shifted against him, his cock resting along her slit. She was soaking wet, her permanent condition whenever these guys were within a fifty-foot radius. She began to rock against him, moaning softly as the head of his cock stroked her clit.
Oakley gripped her ass cheeks, kneading them as she moved. Every now and then, she felt his erection against her back.
Joel kissed her throughout, his tongue plunging into her mouth the way she wanted his cock to do inside her. When she felt ready to explode, she lifted her hips, reaching for him, intent on guiding his dick in.
Joel’s hand clamped down on her wrist tightly, halting her. She loved it when he used his undeniable strength to shackle her. He’d seen how much she enjoyed it when he held her hands behind her back, and he had promised her that one of these days he’d tie her up, he and Oakley tormenting her for hours before letting her come. The threat thrilled her as much as it frightened her. She had no doubt they would carry through on it.
“Turn around,” he commanded.
As always, she responded without thought. She had no idea how he managed to do that when she had bucked pretty much every other authority in her life since the cradle.
She remained on his lap, his cock now resting against the slit in her ass. Her arousal crept higher.
“I’m going to fuck you this way while you suck on Oakley’s dick.”
It wasn’t a request, though she only had to say no if she didn’t want to. Not that they’d ever attempted anything she’d felt the slightest desire to refuse.
She started to rise up once more, dying to feel him inside her, but Joel gripped her hips and held her still.
“I need to borrow a condom, Oak. I’m out.”
Oakley paused. “What do you mean you’re out?”
“I was going to grab some on the way to Pitchers, but the plan changed and we didn’t go into town.”
“Fuck,” Oakley muttered.
Sadie knew what he was going to say before he said it. She grimaced. “You’re out too?”
Oakley nodded. “We’ve kinda been plowing through them this week. Shit. The last box I had lasted me a year. We bought that ten-pack three days ago and it’s already gone.”
Sadie started to laugh. It wasn’t funny. Not by a long shot, but she loved the brutal honesty she shared with these guys. There was no game-playing, no second-guessing or trying to pretend to be something they weren’t. So many years as friends had left them with no choice but to speak the truth, because they knew each other too well to fall for bullshit.
Neither man seemed to share her humor. They actually looked like they were in pain. “Look, we probably should have had this conversation a week ago. I’m on the Pill and I’m clean.”
Joel’s arms tightened around her waist, his chin resting on her shoulder as he whispered, “I’ve never taken a woman without a condom.”
“Me either,” Oakley added. She and Joel looked at Oakley with raised eyebrows. He threw his hands up, palms toward them, as he quickly read their unasked question. “Or a guy. I’ve never fucked without a rubber, okay?”
“It’s up to you, Sade. We don’t have to have sex to come.” Leave it to Joel to be the voice of reason at a time when she wanted nothing more than to be wild.
“I don’t want to stop.”
Both men studied her, neither moving for several moments. Then Joel lifted her up until the head of his cock rested at her opening. She cried out when he reversed the motion, pulling her down until she’d taken every lovely inch of him.
“God, Sadie.” His voice contained an amazed sort of reverence that twisted her insides, made her heart beat a little bit faster.
Before she could reply, Joel was moving. Her feet fell to the floor between his and she put her years of doing lunges at the gym to good work. His hands remained on her hips, directing the speed, the depth. Even though she was providing the motion, she didn’t forget who was driving the car.
Oakley stepped closer. Sadie was ready for him. Had been waiting. She lifted her face, reaching out to grasp his cock and pull him even nearer.
He pushed her hand away.
Joel, who slowed down so she could take his friend into her mouth, didn’t miss the action. “Oak?”
“You’ve called the shots this whole week. Tonight, it’s my turn.”
Sadie shivered. Oakley had never given any indication that he possessed the same dominant streak that ran through Joel. The idea that both her lovers would want to command her had her inner muscles clenching tightly.
Joel groaned in response, his breath was ragged when he asked, “What do you want?”
Oakley didn’t reply. Instead, he lifted Sadie’s legs, placing her knees over Joel’s. The position left her wide open, completely spread apart. Joel’s cock was still buried inside her. Sadie leaned back against Joel’s chest, her head resting on his shoulder. Joel kissed her ear, the side of her neck, and then he faced his friend again. “It’s your show, Oakley.”
Oakley grinned at Joel’s offer. “Remember you said that.”
Before Joel could take back his words, Oakley knelt between their outstretched legs, his breath hot and oh-so-fucking close to the place where her body and Joel’s connected.
Oakley wasted no time doing exactly as he pleased—and as she pleased—when he ran his tongue along her clit.
“Holy shit,” she cried out when he repeated the touch. Despite her limited mobility, Sadie found it impossible to remain still. She pressed her thighs against Joel’s to lift herself, greedily seeking more stimulation.
Joel’s hands gripped her waist tightly, adding his own strength to the thrust, lifting her once more. Oakley’s tongue worked magic on her clit until she saw stars. She’d never come as quickly as she had with these two men this week. Sadie was used to having to work hard to find her own release with other lovers. With Oakley and Joel, the problem was the exact opposite. She couldn’t keep herself from coming within minutes. Not that it mattered much. If the past week had taught her anything, it was that she was more than capable of having multiple orgasms.
Glancing down, she trembled at the sight of Oakley licking her clit, his hand wrapped around his own hard cock, stroking it. The image joined forces with the sensations of Joel’s dick inside her and she fell over the edge, her hands digging into Oakley’s scalp as she jerked roughly.
Neither man halted. There was no reprieve from the onslaught. In fact, as her orgasm started to fade, Joel picked up the pace, using his incredible power to bounce her more rapidly on his cock. Oakley replaced his tongue with his fingers on her clit.
She assumed he’d made the switch because it was too hard to keep his mouth on her, considering the almost brutal pace Joel was setting.
She was wrong.
Everything stopped when she felt it. Oakley�
��s tongue had drifted lower, licking along her opening, around Joel’s cock.
Joel froze, no longer moving her body according to his pleasure, or hers.
For several captivating moments, she and Joel gasped for air as Oakley explored their union with his tongue. Sadie’s head rolled backward as Oakley rubbed her clit with his finger, using that super-sensitive nub against her. Part of her waited for Joel to call a halt. Oakley was caressing Joel as much as he was her.
Joel didn’t move. Didn’t make a sound. Sadie was afraid to turn and look, terrified of breaking the spell.
Then Joel did make a noise—a deep-throated growl that was equal parts hunger and pain. Sadie looked down. Oakley had Joel’s balls in his other hand. She marveled at his ability to render both of them mindless. Oakley rubbed her clit and squeezed Joel’s balls while working his tongue around Joel’s cock and her opening with total ease.
Sadie’s pussy clenched once more. “I can’t, I need…” She needed to come again.
Oakley lifted his face, smiled at her, then bent his head and bit her clit. Sadie shattered. And her undoing was also Joel’s.
He moved then, twisting quickly, tossing her facedown on his bed. The quick movement sent Oakley backwards, landing on his ass on the floor. That was all Sadie had seen before she landed on her stomach on the soft comforter. Joel gripped one of her ass cheeks in his grip as she listened to him pump his cock quickly with the other.
“Look at me, Sadie.”
She lifted up onto her elbows, watching him over her shoulder. His dick was slick with her juices and he was jacking off fast and furious. The second her gaze met his, it was over. He grunted, jets of come landing on her back and her ass as he continued to stroke, to push out every last drop.
He fell to his back next to her on the bed, but he didn’t close his eyes and he didn’t look at her, his gaze focused solely on the ceiling.
Sadie started briefly when she felt Oakley’s hand on her shoulder. He’d found a towel somewhere and was gently cleaning her off. The soft ministrations almost lured her to sleep. Until she felt Oakley’s soft touch on her thigh and heard him call her name. Then she rolled over, opened her legs and lifted her arms, beckoned him to her. Oakley came over her without hesitation. He touched her pussy, found her wet, and guided his cock inside.