by Reece Butler
Marci had bolted, released by an indulgent Lance. He’d shrugged and said it was her honeymoon, after all. Eric had walked Nikki outside. He kept an arm over her shoulder, his hand loose around her neck.
Aggie had rushed to hug Marci while Donny hauled the children out of the truck. Keith had flicked his eyes over the two of them. The corners crinkled the merest fraction. When Eric gave a small nod of agreement, Keith’s mouth had turned up in a ghost of a smile.
Eric hadn’t been in the military, but he’d been responsible for a couple of villages full of people. Meeting the needs of those under your command was part of being in control. Eric had been Keith’s best man when Aggie vowed to obey him. The word had shocked her relatives, making her mother and a couple of aunts sputter. They damn near fainted when she then turned to Donny and vowed to love, honor, and cherish him.
Later, he’d overheard Aggie telling them that she knew what she wanted. She thanked them for fighting to allow her the right to choose her own destiny. She then added they should be ashamed for putting her down because she wanted something different.
Keith and Donny had come up behind her, each wrapping an arm around her back. The aunts had shrunk back, but Keith calmly told them he and Donny would protect Aggie and any children they shared, unto death. Donny then asked if vowing to obey one person in return for knowing you and your family were safe was a problem.
Aggie’s Aunt Cordelia had looked Keith in the eye and said that she would have done the same thing as Aggie, if she’d been able to find a man she respected and trusted. But all she’d found were trumped-up boys demanding what they didn’t deserve. Then she’d informed Keith not to hold back in disciplining his new wife, as she was always a willful child. She’d patted Keith on the arm and strode away like a queen.
Aggie’s first child, a daughter, had Cordelia as a second name.
They’d had a good roughhouse with the boys, Travis and Riley, while the ravens looked on. It was like when they were kids. The women and girls congregated in the kitchen while the men and boys headed to the barn. Eric found out that Sam and Trey Elliott were close in age with Aggie’s sons, so were often over visiting. If Matt had his way, there’d be a half-dozen Frost children added to the mix in the next ten years.
That made Eric think of Nikki’s belly swelling with his child. His, not Matt’s. A part of him wished that their slipup resulted in a baby. Seeing how both Simon and Lance had changed with Marci in their lives, and a little one on the way, made him feel…empty. He pushed away the feeling. What he was feeling had more to do with losing everything he’d done in those villages than wanting a family of his own. That was for Matt.
After Donny and Simon had taken the boys riding, Keith had joined Lance in expressing approval of Eric hooking up with Nikki. Both men adored their wives and would move heaven and earth to make their women happy. The corollary to that was if Eric screwed things up with the doc, and their women became unhappy, they would take it out on his hide.
“I fail to understand why the presence of a penis between your legs gives you the right to dictate anything to me.”
Nikki’s voice filled the truck’s cab. He glanced to his right. Hands tightly folded in her lap, she stared straight ahead. The sentence, spoken like an uptight, prissy, spinster librarian, turned his cock to granite.
“I have the right because you’re under my protection.”
She whipped her head around. “What?”
“You live in my home, you follow my rules. That’s the way it is.”
There was a moment’s silence. “I do not belong to you.”
He adjusted his hand on the steering wheel. “Not yet, but you want to be mine.”
“You are not going to treat me like Lance does my sister.”
“You’re right,” he agreed. “You don’t need the same things Marci does.”
Lance knew how to gentle injured horses. He said social animals needed to know they belonged to the male who protected them. In a pack of wolves, this was the lead Alpha male. On the MacDougal ranch, it was Lance. Marci would obey, or be punished.
Matt was the ranch boss of the Circle C, but he deferred to Eric on other matters. They’d agreed long ago that, if they found a woman, while Eric was home, she would obey him. Matt would establish his own relationship, depending on the woman they chose.
Being Matt, he didn’t take the easy route. There was no quiet country gal for him. Nope, his little brother, the one who felt most school subjects were a waste of time, chose a woman with years of postsecondary education.
While Eric found Marci easy to read, her older sister held everything in. He saw Marci as a calm, warm pond, while Nikki was a deep pool of cool water. Deep dark water. A pool that he planned to dive into and stir up. She might have a few monsters lurking in the weeds, but he and Matt could help her lure them out. Between the three of them, they could banish those monsters. And then she could enjoy the things she craved.
He inhaled a hint of the aroma that drifted from under her swirling skirt. He’d spent the afternoon trying not to stare, wondering if she wore anything between her belly button and those killer boots. The rest of the time he’d stared at the curve of her breast, peeking out from her shirt. His buddies had laughed at him and Aggie had rolled her eyes when neither Marci nor Nikki could see.
Just before leaving Aggie had pulled him aside and told him about Keith showing Nikki the toy closet in their master bedroom. Knowing Nikki might be interested in exploring his own toy chest was driving him nuts.
As far as he could tell, all three of the Adams adults, both MacDougal men, and Max and his sister were behind his seduction of Doctor Nikki Meshevski. A seduction to be followed by her learning to submit to his authority, while learning the advantages. He’d held off long enough. It was time to act.
“If you were my pet I’d pull over, strip you naked, and tease that swollen pussy of yours until you scream,” he murmured into the dark. “You’d beg me to let you come, but I’d keep you on the edge until you couldn’t take any more. When I gave you permission, you’d come so hard you wouldn’t be able to think of anything but wanting more.”
Her strangled gasp, followed by wriggling on her seat, proved how right he was.
“That is not going to happen!” She glared into the night, lit only by the headlights.
“No?” he asked, soft but intense.
“Certainly not!”
She wiggled some more. She wanted her pussy filled, even if she was too new to this to understand. He waited patiently for her to imagine the scenario. It didn’t take long.
“Fine!” she blurted. “You take the master bedroom and I’ll sleep in the guest room. I don’t want you touching me.”
That did it.
They were on the ranch road, past the turnoff for the Adams ranch. No one was likely to be taking this road tonight. Even if they did, they’d be Valley ranchers, and would understand. He turned off the headlights, put the truck into neutral, and killed the engine. Momentum kept them going forward.
“What are you doing?” she demanded.
He let the truck slow until it stopped in the middle of the dirt road. He put on the parking brake and cranked down the window an inch. There wasn’t much outside but cold, crisp air, silence, and the night. Stars littered the dark sky. She shifted on the seat. He inhaled her aroma.
“Are we just going to sit here all night?”
“Yep. Until you tell me the truth.”
She shifted again. Nervous, aroused, or both? He had patience, and a reason to use it. He was home, had had the best sex of his life with the woman sitting beside him, and wanted more. He had a good idea she was what he’d been looking for. Who would ever have thought he’d find her in his backyard?
“The truth about what?” she finally asked.
“About what happened yesterday, and how much you want it again.”
She gasped, fluttering like a broody hen.
He couldn’t see her nipples now as it was dar
k, but whenever her shirt pulled against her chest, he’d seen those marbles. The faint aroma he smelled matched her red thong. She wasn’t fighting him, she was fighting herself. He’d give her a chance to wind down, but if she kept it up too long, he’d take action. He flipped the lever and ratcheted his seat back a few notches. He lay back and settled his hat over his eyes.
“The harder you fight, pet, the longer this will take. I’ve slept in a lot worse places than my truck. We can be in that big bed in ten minutes if you want.”
She huffed for a few minutes. Because it was dark, he didn’t have to hide his smile. She was fighting herself tooth and nail.
“I said I’d take the guest room,” she blurted.
“Not an option.” He lifted the edge of his hat and looked toward her. “You’ll sleep with me. Case closed.”
Her sudden inhaled gasp sent another jolt to his cock. The buttons were too damn tight but at least, he didn’t have a metal zipper impaling itself into his flesh.
“Your arrogance is astounding,” she blurted. “I’ve been on my own all my life, making my own decisions. Just because we’re sharing a house, don’t think you can order me around.”
Time to give the good doctor a few facts. He leaned on one elbow to face her.
“Yes, you’ve had to carry those burdens all your life. You’ve become a strong, powerful woman. If you’re smart, which I believe you are, you want an even stronger, more powerful man. You want a partner, not one you can walk all over. Someone like me.”
“Why?”
“I won’t stand for your nonsense when you lie to yourself. I will tell you how things are going to be, and I’ll do it because it’s best for you. If you complain or balk, you’ll get my hand on your ass to convince you differently.”
“What? You—”
“And if you’re honest,” he added, interrupting her, “you’ll admit you want that spanking.”
She parted her lips and made a noise of disgust. It made him think of how he’d slide between those lips and fill her mouth. First with his tongue, then with his cock.
“In your dreams, cowboy!”
“No, Doc,” he replied as he relaxed back into position. “In yours.”
She made a sound deep in her throat. That noise meant he was on the right track. He gave her a few minutes to fuss. She twitched, sliding her ass over the seat.
“If I put my hand between your thighs,” he asked, “what’s the chance my fingers will come out wet?”
She growled something he didn’t catch and shifted again. A sudden burst of aroma proved he didn’t have to touch her to get an answer. But damn, did he want to!
He crossed his arms to stop himself from reaching for her. He did the same with his ankles. With his hat tilted low she might not see his grimace as he fought the pain of an eager cock straining against a zipper.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Nikki wanted to bash Eric Frost over the head, haul him out of the truck, and drive herself home. She also wanted to bash him over the head, haul him out of the truck, and demand he strip her naked and take her, right there!
The first was caused by his insistence to be in charge. The second, by her dark desire to let him.
But this was 1988, not 1954. Women had been fighting for too long to let themselves rely on a man taking care of them. That was the way it was in her mother’s generation. Only, her mother had been abandoned by the man who said he loved her, when she told him she was carrying his child. Nikki’s grandparents had thrown her mom into the street when she needed them most. The ones her mother loved, and thought loved her, had thoroughly stomped on her dreams of happiness and prosperity.
Nikki, with Marci’s help, had studied every moment to bring her mother’s dreams to life. They were her dreams as well, to become a medical professional and never have to worry about scraping together enough nickels and dimes to buy food. And then, just before graduation, her mom had died. Knowing there was no insurance, and that Nikki and Marci would insist on finding a way to pay for her treatment, she’d said nothing until far too late.
So, Mom, what do I do now? Admit that I have cravings to submit to a man, giving up control in return being cared for, loved, and protected? Or stand tall and straight…and alone?
Nikki had achieved her dreams, but had found them hollow. Yes, she was warmly welcomed by the people of Climax. Yes, she was a medical doctor, and well paid for it, too. Yes, she had everything she needed for basic survival, and to be safe. She had family, was making good friends, and had respect in the community.
She’d never minded being alone before. She’d been so busy with school, and then work. Now that she was settling in and making friends, she saw how the community of Climax helped each other. Those who lived in Tanner’s Ford Valley had close relationships with each other. Marci was now part of that extended family. So was she, according to Brenda and Aggie.
Surrounded by dozens of caring people, she felt lonely. In the city she could explain away the lack of attachments as she had only a few acquaintances. Having been rejected so often, she’d learned it was safer to push people away. But her new extended family refused to be pushed. They took matters into their own hands and did what they thought was best for her. Most of them seemed to think she should marry at least one of the Frost brothers.
She wanted something from Matt and Eric, but it wasn’t wedding bells. It was one of the basic physiological needs of an adult human: sex.
She could do without intimacy, as that meant commitment and attachment. No one, other than Marci, had stayed in her life for long. Her mother had done her best, but she worked long hours once Nikki was old enough to take care of herself. Being a responsible child, that meant she was often on her own at age five. The arrival of Marci had changed things for a while. By age seven, Nikki was Marci’s main caregiver while her mom worked. Since they moved so often and she didn’t have friends, her life revolved around meeting her baby sister’s needs.
Nikki put all her efforts into Marci, then school, then grad school, and then her hospital work. She had no hobbies, rarely read fiction, and wasn’t particularly interested in gaining homemaking skills. What was she going to do with her time?
Until Eric left she might just spend that extra time meeting her need for sex. She was thirty-six years old and, until yesterday, a virgin. She had at least fifteen years’ worth to catch up on.
And all those dark fantasies to fulfill…
Eric was right about her being tired of having to be strong. It was very tempting to have him take over for a while, letting her relax and enjoy his touch. But he wanted to spank her as if she was a disobedient child!
No, that wasn’t right. What he wanted was one-hundred-percent adult. And if she was honest with herself, the thought of it did make her tingle. She’d always been a good girl, hoping to fit in when she wasn’t quite accepted. That was no longer the case. The people of Climax wanted her to be their physician.
So why shouldn’t she try a little rebellion?
She stretched out her legs and pulled at her hips. The waistband of her old skirt had been tight even before she’d eaten too much of Marci’s great food. She pulled the bottom of her blouse out. That gave some relief, but it wasn’t enough. Maybe she could undo the button at her waist and slide her zipper. The gap would be covered by her blouse.
She glanced over at Eric. He had his arms and ankles crossed, with his hat low over his brow. She’d learned early not to trust what people said. Later she’d learned that sight and hearing could also be deceiving. He looked asleep, but she could hear his elevated respiration rate. Hers was the same.
Too bad, she needed relief from that second piece of pie. Or maybe it was the third.
She pressed her back into the seat and raised her hips to undo the stubborn button. When it popped out she inhaled with relief. Eric didn’t react. After a moment she lifted her blouse free with her right hand. As quietly as possible she slid her left hand over to her zipper. It went all the way down too qu
ickly, leaving a hold big enough for her hand. She changed direction to slide it up a few inches. A hand whipped out. Callused fingers caught her hand.
“Let me go!”
“Not until you tell me if your fingers would get wet.”
She held back a moan. Just hearing him say it made her want him to check. But, though her pussy clenched at his demand, she tugged to get loose. He easily held her tight. The only way to get loose, and take charge, was to turn things around on him.
“Why don’t you find out if my pussy’s as wet as you say?”
Harsh breathing filled the cab. She’d called his bluff. How would he respond?
The hand that held hers, relaxed. He turned her hand over, exposing her palm. The ball of his thumb lightly massaged the center of her palm. It made it hard to think of anything but that same thumb doing the same thing on her eager clit.
She chewed her lip. Right from the start, he’d treated her in a way she’d never experienced. He wasn’t awed by her being a doctor. He liked her size, and certainly liked her body. Everything she’d seen so far suggested she could trust him as a short-term lover. But before things went further, she had to get a confession off her chest. Trust worked both ways.
“Max said you don’t remember anything between buying a beer in the Roadhouse yesterday and waking up in jail this morning.”
“Yep. That’s what Max said.”
“What we did…” She paused, but he didn’t speak. “I’d never felt anything like that before. It was amazing.”
Eric’s thumb slowed. “None of your boyfriends took the time to give you an orgasm before taking theirs?”
He sounded both surprised and disgusted. She jammed her eyes shut even though it was too dark to see. She found herself squeezing his thumb.
“I never had a boyfriend. Yesterday was…” For goodness’s sake, she was thirty-six years old. She’d had wonderful sex with him, and wanted more. “Yesterday I was a virgin. That isn’t true today.”