by Brynn Paulin
Chapter Four
Verity smiled as she curled up in a chair the next morning and watched the two men sleep. The sun streamed through the window of Patrick’s eastern-facing room, warming her. She hadn’t bothered to dress. None of her clothes were here save for the ones she’d worn last night. She didn’t want to search them out. Chances were they’d be damp, and worse, the guys might wake and think she’d taken off.
Not a chance. She’d told Patrick she’d give them the weekend and she’d meant it. As Sim scooted into Patrick like a puppy seeking warmth, pleasure filled her. Seeing them so close, she knew she hadn’t gotten everything she needed yet. She needed to see them together, but she wasn’t so sure she would. Patrick was obviously unsure of this new development with Sim.
It surprised her that she’d been the one to bring it on—she must have. There was no other way to explain Patrick’s shock. But Sim must have been considering it for a while.
Patrick had seemed wary of Sim after the occurrence on the porch, as if he’d been stunned by his own behavior too and didn’t much know how to react. After the two of them had seen to feeding her—very unglamorous peanut butter and jelly and milk—they’d seen to her sexual needs in Patrick’s California King bed. Both of them had focused completely on her, almost pathologically determined not to touch each other. If she didn’t know better, she would have thought what had occurred earlier hadn’t happened.
Drawing up her knees, she curled her toes into the cushion of the chair and wrapped her arms around her legs. Her chin rested on her knees. In bed, Patrick rolled onto his back, one arm slung over his head. His morning erection tented the light woven blanket.
She grinned. She could get used to this. But where would it leave her? She’d studied for years to become a veterinarian—and not just any vet. She’d specialized in large animals. She couldn’t imagine either Sim or Patrick being thrilled with her running off in the middle of the night to help birth calves or foals. That would be a big part of her work. That and assisting with impregnating stock. Medicating and checking them too.
Working with big powerful animals—her big, powerful men wouldn’t approve, especially if she got pregnant. With these two virile men, it wasn’t an “if”. It was bound to happen. It had happened once before. Her smile slipped as she remembered what had precipitated her terror when she’d been seventeen. She had been pregnant. By which one, she didn’t know but she’d lost the baby before she would have been forced to tell her parents. The guys had known and promised to marry her. She’d seen all her dreams slipping away. She’d run.
That was why she couldn’t stay longer than the weekend. She’d come home to see her parents and see about joining her dad’s practice; she wasn’t sure that was such a great idea now. If she stayed in Daly, she’d stay in Patrick and Sim’s bed.
She needed to be careful. But she’d enjoy this time with them. Her insides felt hollow at the thought of leaving again though. She’d just have to fill herself with the memories of them.
While she watched, Sim edged a little closed to Patrick. His eyes opened and he focused solely on the man beside him. Regarding Patrick with unwavering dark brown eyes, he slid his hand down the man’s torso. The ridge moved beneath the blanket until it reached Patrick’s cock. Verity licked her bottom lip, waiting.
Slowly, Sim jacked his fingers up and down the shaft. Patrick moaned, his hand going down to cover Sim’s.
“Sim,” he murmured. Verity’s pussy clenched at the husky rumble of his voice.
“Yeah, it’s me,” Sim replied. “You feel good, man… Know what? I want to taste you. I’ve wanted to for a long time. Are you going to punch me if I do?”
Patrick turned his head, and Verity saw the sleepy vulnerability on his face as he looked at Sim. “How did I not know?”
“I’m good at hiding it. Besides, I love women. You know that…”
Verity stayed silent, barely daring to breathe lest she distract them from the moment. Seeing them touching, talking intimately, tightened her heart. She bit her lip as Sim let go of Patrick’s cock then slowly drew down the blanket, revealing a tanned, muscular chest. His mouth followed the path. He paused when he reached the curling nest of hair surrounding Patrick’s cock.
Patrick took several chuffing breaths, his head pressing into his pillow. Verity’s fingers dug into her calves as she waited.
“Yes?” Sim asked.
“Damn it, Yes,” Patrick growled. “Hurry up before I change my mind and decide to punch you after all.”
Sim laughed. “So nice.”
Patrick reached down and grasped his friend’s hair then pulled him up so they were face-to-face. “You want nice, then go play with Miss Verity who’s watching so quietly over there.”
The nerves in her stomach jumped at that and she couldn’t hold in a momentary, self-conscious rasp of laughter as they both turned their heads and looked at her with grins on their faces.
“Of course, we knew you were there,” Sim said. He reached out a hand. “Come here and lay next to him while I do this. You should feel how jumpy he is—”
“Shut up,” Patrick growled. Still, he reached out a hand and beckoned her over. Unfolding from her curled up position, she stood. Without worry for her nakedness, she walked over and climbed into the space beside him. The sheet was cool against her side, but he was fiery hot as she pressed close. She rested her head on his shoulder as he pulled the other pillows beneath his head.
He was so tense beneath her that she knew he wasn’t as calm about this as he portrayed. But he wanted it and he wanted to watch. He’d never do anything like this unless he fully desired it. His heart thundered in her ear as Sim bent over his cock. A gasp shot from his lips and his arm tightened around her as Sim took the tip of his cock.
Verity’s vision blurred as arousal coiled in her womb. The sight of Sim’s mouth on Patrick’s cock was beautiful. And the feeling of Patrick taking it. His taut muscles flexed, his back arching as his friend sucked him. Gently, she rolled one of his nipples to deepen his pleasure. Knowing the response that went through her when he pulled at hers, she pinched then tugged at one of the tiny peaks.
“Shit,” Patrick swore. His fingers clamped into her shoulder. His gasps choked as Sim cupped his balls. She saw a finger reaching deeper. Damn… She’d gasp, too. Her anus tightened as she remembered the first time Sim had touched her there…and how it had felt to have his large cock inside her. He’d been there, every time she’d taken both men. Would he fuck Patrick?
She swallowed to loosen her tight throat.
She wasn’t sure she was ready for that. The way Patrick was shuddering beneath her… Maybe he was ready.
Sim pulled at Patrick’s sac as he took the cock deep. He sucked in earnest, moving up and down rapidly while Patrick tilted Verity’s head up to him and kissed her. She knew the moment he came, giving Sim what he’d wanted for so long. His fingers tightened in her hair as he moaned, his body jerking. Sim reached over and grasped her thigh, including her.
Moments later, he crawled up beside them. Patrick broke the kiss with her to turn to Sim. It didn’t bother her in the least as she watched them experience the wonder and unity of the moment for the first time.
They didn’t have time to enjoy it. Banging on the front door, along with someone laying on the doorbell, dragged them from their bliss. Was it the friends Patrick had mentioned?
“Any guesses?” Sim asked.
“One or three. I just hope they didn’t bring a gun.”
“A gun?” Verity exclaimed.
“Your daddy, the vet, has one, doesn’t he? So does your daddy, the cop,” Sim clarified.
“Thank God, he’s not the law here in Daly,” Patrick muttered.
“No…” Dragging the blanket with her, she leapt from bed and ran to the window. Looking outside, she met the upward gaze of her mother. She said something Verity couldn’t decipher and a second later the pissed off faces of her two fathers were staring up at her too.
“How’d you know?” she asked. “I didn’t tell them I was coming.”
“Small town. News travels fast—”
“Then they’re going to know you lugged me over here,” she groaned.
“Which is why I mentioned the gun.” Patrick climbed from bed then grabbed a black terry robe from the closet. After wrapping it around her, he tugged on a pair of jeans. Sim disappeared down the hallway and she guessed he was doing the same.
“C’mon,” Patrick urged as he shrugged into a shirt but didn’t button it. “They know you’re here and they know you know they know you’re here. Best face the battle.”
“They teach you that in the military?” she asked as she followed him down the stairs.
He squeezed her hand. “They taught me lots of things. I’ll show you some later.” Reaching the door ahead of her, he pulled it open. “Folks,” he said.
“Get out of the way, O’Keefe,” Fletcher Thompson demanded, pushing through the door. Dorian Thompson followed. Her mother, Charity, followed a bit more slowly. Hands laced together as she took in the scene, she looked far from pleased, but something about the irritation in her expression told Verity that her ire was directed at her husbands rather than the situation in which she found her daughter.
Dorian grabbed the front of Patrick’s shirt. “What the hell do you think you’re doing, O’Keefe?”
“Daddy, stop!” Verity cried, grabbing Dorian’s arm.
“Hey, let’s remember homicide is still illegal in Daly,” Sim remarked from the stairs as he surveyed the scene. It was only then that Dorian released Patrick and took a step back. Verity wondered if he was indeed contemplating murder. She stepped between Patrick and the trio who’d just arrived. A mistake. Both her fathers narrowed their eyes at her attire.
“Simeon,” Fletcher growled. “Get over here. You three can explain what the hell’s happening.”
Charity snorted. “I think it’s clear what’s happening. We dragged these poor kids from bed.” She looked around.
When Verity followed her gaze she saw it on the panties that had been discarded on the way to the sauna. Embarrassing! Verity cringed at the heat rushing to her cheeks.
“Once they got there,” her mother added.
“With our daughter!” Dorian blasted.
Charity ignored him and pulled Verity into her arms. “I’m so glad to see you. I missed you,” she murmured. She sniffed, and Verity pulled back to see tears in her mom’s eyes.
“Patrick…um…sidetracked me.”
“So we heard.” Fletcher narrowed his eyes at Patrick. “If I ever hear of you manhandling my daughter like that again…”
“Dad, stop.”
“She likes it,” Patrick muttered. Fletcher growled, taking a step toward the younger man.
She jabbed her elbow into Patrick. “Dads…Mom…I’m coming home on Monday.”
“Nice to see how we rate,” Fletcher muttered.
She rolled her eyes. They were acting as if they hadn’t seen her in ten years like the guys. Her parents had just been to see her less than three months ago. It was when her mother had asked her to come home and help Fletcher with the veterinary business.
“Don’t be melodramatic,” Charity chided Fletcher. “Verity is a grown woman who’s used to being on her own. And you know very well how these boys feel about her. We squared things with our daughter years ago. It’s their turn now.”
“They’re probably the reason she left. I don’t feel comfortable having her here with the pair of them.”
Hello Pot? This is Kettle… Verity thought. “Dad, I’m twenty-seven. Leaving before was about me, not them. I told you that the last time you were in Michigan.”
“You’re coming with us now,” Dorian insisted.
This time, Patrick and Sim bristled. They pushed her behind them, closing ranks at the shoulders and facing down her parents.
“No,” her men growled. Suddenly, she felt like a giant chew toy being pulled between four large dogs.
She pushed between her two guys. “Dads…I’ll be home on Monday. We can discuss my job.”
“There’s no job,” Fletcher muttered.
What? She shot a look at her mom. Her mother had promised to discuss it with him, to clear the path. They were all worried about Fletcher’s health and the strain on him dealing with large animals. Verity shook her head, momentarily stunned. She’d thought she was coming home, but it appeared she’d only be stopping here on her path to another job.
Since she’d specialized in medicine for large animals, moving to a rural location was in the cards for her because of her specialty. If it wouldn’t be here, then some other small place. Since there weren’t a lot of people in her field, her prospects were good most anywhere in the country.
She gave a single nod, cast a brief glance to her mom who appeared completely disgusted with her husbands. Verity leveled a stare at her fathers. She wasn’t budging on this. “I’ll be to your house on Monday,” she repeated. “I promised Patrick and Sim that I’d stay with them until then. We have a lot to discuss.”
“Interesting way to put it,” Dorian replied. He pulled her into a hug, and she sighed lightly at the comfortable, safe warmth of his embrace. Oh to just be the state cop’s little girl once more. Life had been so much less complicated.
“Daddy, I’m twenty-seven,” she reminded, though it was as much to herself as to him. “Mom was married to you two for three years by my age.”
“That was different,” he said.
She stepped back, making a face, and crossed her arms over her chest. “And how’s that?”
Dorian laughed ruefully. “She wasn’t my daughter.”
“I’m sure Grandpa Thompson wasn’t too keen on you guys, either. Please let me do this. I owe it to Patrick and Sim after running out on them.” She shrugged, knowing she was reaching and suspecting they knew too, but she just wanted her parents out of the house. She had little time left before Monday then she had to think of job hunting.
Her mom prodded the dads toward the front door while they grumbled. Fletcher broke away and came back to Verity. She gave him a tight hug. “I’ll see you soon, Mr. Grouchy. I’ll make waffles when I get home, ‘kay?”
With a grumble, he let her go. “Watch it, munchkin. I can still paddle your rear.”
In moments, they were gone and she was alone once more with Patrick and Sim. Uneasiness twirled around in her middle like a child’s bouncing toy. She could enjoy her weekend with them, but her parents, even her mom, felt none-too-happy. Familiar guilt settled over her. The same guilt that had prodded her back here.
Her parents needed her, especially Fletcher though he was too damn stubborn to admit it. She couldn’t help but think she’d let them down.
“You okay?” Sim asked.
She nodded and squeezed her eyes shut, wishing she was still upstairs curled in the chair and listening to the birds tweet their greeting to the rising sun. “I’m okay. I don’t know why I expected it to be roses and light. My dads never particularly got on with you.”
“Because you’re their little girl and we’re the men who will take you away from them,” Patrick said. “Or at least they see it that way,” he added when her eyes flew open.
“Everything will work out,” Sim added, but she didn’t believe it. It suddenly seemed as if she was right back to that place she’d been ten years ago.
“Why don’t you run upstairs and take a bath in that huge tub you were admiring last night,” Patrick offered. “Just relax and we’ll make something for us all to eat. And our friends will be here soon. Remember I mentioned them last night.”
The two other men…making the group five. Her and four guys. That would take her mind off things, wouldn’t it? Just do it, Verity. Have this last big fling then enter the big, bad, real world.
Because she wouldn’t be staying in Daly; that was clear. No one would care what she’d done, and she’d have memories to
tide her over for forever.
“A bath sounds good,” she told them. She headed up the stairs, all the joy from the morning drained from her body. Reality sucked.
* * * *
The doorbell rang while Verity was nose deep in steaming water and mounds of bubbles. That had to be them. The other men. Though she was submerged, her pussy tingled and she suspected a flow of cream had slicked her cunt. Excitement tangled with trepidation in her belly as she anticipated the moment. For a second, she envisioned herself as a girl in an old-west brothel, readying for a group of randy cowboys… In this case, it was more a group of randy military men, all wanting to fill her up with themselves.
She needed that.
Her insides seemed to echo with emptiness since her father had announced there was no job. Clearly, she’d be leaving Daly again. She’d eagerly anticipated coming home.
She sat up slightly as one of the guys tapped on the door. Sim poked his head inside. “How you doin’?”
“I’m okay. I was looking forward to settling in Daly again as a vet.”
Coming in, he sat on the edge of the tub. “You know that coming back here would likely mean you ending up in a ménage relationship?”
Not in her delusional little world. She’d grown up here; she knew better. What was she thinking? “Yeah,” she sighed. “Moot point now.”
“Why?” He grabbed the sponge. After dipping it in the water, he urged her to lean forward then rubbed it gently over her back. Bending her legs, she wrapped her arms around her knees while he made soothing circles.
“I need to work.”
“Work here,” he offered.
“Sim,” she protested. “You know I can’t. I’m not gonna open a practice to compete with my dad. I want to work with animals. It’s what I trained for.”
“I suppose…” He slid to kneel on the floor. When he kissed her shoulder, a flutter worked through her. She’d missed this man more than she could ever admit. Not aloud. Not to him. Not to Patrick who she’d missed just as much. “I suppose you can’t put it off, just for a little bit.”
“If I stay, it will make it harder for me to go. It will make it harder on all of us. Let’s just see what the weekend brings, okay?” She moaned as he cupped her breast. His fingers pulled at the tip, and she melted for him. He didn’t play fair.