by Rhea Regale
“The car is hidden in the back barn,” Travis said. He raked a hand through his hair. A worrisome crease touched his forehead. “I’m curious to know how they came here, of all places.”
“I don’t know,” Lexi muttered. “I wouldn’t put anything past Dom. For all I know, he could’ve put a tracking device on the car.”
“I’m not sure about that. Otherwise, they would’ve pressed me more for the car when they stopped by the shop.” Brent chuckled. “Damn, this is like déjà vu. This time, we’re dealing with more than one bad guy.”
Lexi accepted the brief embrace Brent gave her and then separated herself from him. “I can make some dinner, since it’s already late and I’ve disrupted your day.”
“Miss Bess packed us a meal before we left her place,” Travis said then smirked. “The woman thinks because I live alone, I don’t keep my fridge and pantries stocked.”
Lexi laughed. Despite the terror showing up at Miss Bess’s, being in the company of her sexy cowboys eased the tension and washed away the fear of Dom’s ever-impending threat.
“Little does she know, I suppose?” Lexi asked, following Travis into the kitchen. Brent came up a few steps behind her, pulling out a chair from a glass-top circular table. A bowl of fresh-picked plums and peaches sat in the center. Lexi couldn’t resist snagging one.
“Guess so.” Travis eyed the plum at her lips then smiled. “Baby, I want you to make yourself at home here.”
“You’re opening up your bachelor pad to a woman?”
“No.”
Travis started unpacking the box filled with glassware of different food. Chicken and dumplings, corn bread, and fresh string beans and carrots couldn’t hold her attention like his unfinished answer. Damn the man, he made her wait while Brent laid out plates and utensils, and they settled in their chairs to eat.
Travis peeled back the plastic wrap from the dumplings and looked up at her. “We’re looking for you to stay with us, Lexi. For good.”
Lexi stared back at him. Sure, he joked about their relationship, and sometimes made a jesting comment about keeping her between him and Brent. Never did he flat out say they wanted her to stay.
She was at home in this small town, with the simple elegance and beautiful surroundings. She loved the carefree nature of Ryder’s people, the genuine camaraderie, and the country lifestyle.
Lexi glanced at Brent. He lounged back in his chair, his blue eyes intense and locked on her. His gaze made her heart skip and her world tilt. Turning back to Travis, she all but drowned in his fathomless eyes.
She loved so much about Ryder, but nothing could compare to the surprising love that exploded inside her for these two men.
“Huh, think I caught you off guard,” Travis said with a smile, dishing out dumplings for her. Despite the lightness in his voice, she detected a tinge of concern or maybe resignation. “Beans?”
“Travis and I were hoping—”
“Yes,” Lexi interrupted. Yes. She would stay. She would build a new, comfortable life. No more hiding behind skimpy dresses and sealed lips. No more painting her face with so much makeup she often felt suffocated. No more being someone she was not, because this was the real Alexis Barrett, sitting at the kitchen table, eating dinner with those she loved, and just damn happy.
She glanced between Brent and Travis, both appearing quite perplexed, and nodded.
“Yes. I would love to stay.” A dose of giddiness bubbled in her gut, stretching out through her chest. She laughed quietly. “I would love to stay here with you both.”
“You’re not gonna up and run once your pansy ex is dispatched?” Brent asked.
Lexi might’ve been hurt by his assumption had her own excitement for a new life with these men not claimed every thinking molecule in her brain. She shook her head.
“I was wondering how this would end, and every time I thought of walking away, it hurt. I like Ryder. No,” she said, tapping her fork on her plate. “No, I love Ryder.”
“I’ll be sure to let my cousin know,” Travis joked, dropping a spoonful of vegetables on his plate. Brent chuckled. Lexi raised a brow.
“And here we were hoping to earn some of that love. Instead, my runaway cowboy cousin Colt gets it all.”
Lexi pressed a forkful of dumpling to her lips and whispered, “You have.”
* * * *
Brent realized Travis missed her quiet reply when he continued digging into his meal. Hell, he nearly missed it, too, what with that dumpling against her lips, lips he wanted to nibble and kiss. Having caught those two simple words on her breath, he clenched his fork in his hand, his knee in the other, and willed away the sudden urge to throw her on the table and claim her.
Every ounce of doubt about their hopes for Lexi vanished with that soft confession. Never had Brent imagined himself so damn happy to know a woman loved him again. Lexi soothed the raw wounds his ex left and filled him with contentment. After his short discussion with Travis following their playful afternoon at the pond, both men were in agreement with one thing. They would do whatever it took to convince Lexi to stay with them.
Apparently, Lexi had made up her mind all on her own, which added another bout of emotion to the setting at the dinner table.
“So, this ex of yours killed three guys and you saw it happen. That’s why he’s after you,” Travis said, turning the euphoric air into a solemn mass of pressure in a matter of words. He stabbed some beans on his fork and looked at Lexi then turned his attention to Brent. “You think he’ll come here personally in search of you?”
“Yes. He won’t let me go. I’m his biggest liability outside his closest circle of men,” Lexi said, her head bowed over her plate, her fork poking at a piece of chicken.
“Think you should call one of the New York precincts to report the crime?”
“And have to testify? In court?” Lexi’s gaze shot up to Travis. When she looked at Brent, he noticed the fear sparking in her eyes. A protective beast bristled inside him, and he pushed his plate aside. “No.”
“You know something, doll? They have programs to protect people like you. You wouldn’t have to worry about them finding you,” Brent assured.
Lexi shook her head, dropping her fork on the edge of her plate. “Absolutely not. I don’t know all of his acquaintances. I don’t know if he has connections outside those who are with him at the club. I don’t know the extent of the threat he may present to me, even if he’s behind bars for the rest of his life. If I testify, I put myself out there for him to target, and anyone I didn’t know before will sure as hell know me.”
“Lexi—”
“No. That’s final. I’ll stay hidden here. I won’t go out until he’s gone. He won’t want to leave a trail, so as long as I stay hidden, he’ll search, he’ll come up empty, and he’ll move on.”
Brent groaned. He scooted his chair to Lexi’s side and grabbed her hand. Travis leaned back and pinched his chin, a sure sign that he was trying to stew up some sort of alternative plan to get the bastard away from their woman for good.
“Listen to us, Lexi. Seriously. Men like this guy won’t stop just because they didn’t find you today. Or tomorrow. Or next week. When they don’t think straight to begin with, their drive leads them. It doesn’t matter who they hurt in their path. They are true predators and will not stop until they have found what they’re lookin’ for.” Brent tucked a thick wave behind her ear and tipped her face toward him. “Trust in us, okay? If calling the authorities in New York and testifying against this ass will stop the chase and let you relax, then we can do it. We’ll support you. We’ll do whatever we must to give you peace and happiness.”
“I’m already happy. Here, with you and Travis.”
Lexi’s eyes glistened. She turned her cheek into his hand. He cupped her face, looking at Travis over her head. His lover frowned and nodded.
“I’ll get in touch with a friend from the city, and we’ll start working on legally changing your name. We can have a small ceremony
at the ranch, invite close family and friends—”
Lexi straightened up and turned her body toward Travis. “Ceremony?”
Travis’s forehead wrinkled. Brent clasped her shoulder and gave it a light squeeze. The quick tapping of her pulse hit his pinkie finger. The sharp, shallow rise and fall of her chest could be seen beneath her loose shirt.
Brent silently shook his head and motioned for Travis to remain silent. “We’re talking about the future. But if you’re to take one of our names then we should do it right.” He offered her the most reassuring smile he could muster, even if her expression was one of reserve. “I think everything from today has taken a toll on you. I know it’s got Trav and I riled up and ready for a fight. What do ya say we eat dinner, grab a few beers, and settle in over a good movie? Trav’s got a killer theater room.” Leaning his mouth close to her ear, he whispered, “You never know what might happen in the dark.”
Chapter Seventeen
A storm began to blow in as they finished dinner, grabbed beers, and retired to Travis’s impressive theater. Unfortunately, the movie came to a sudden stop the moment Travis started kissing her neck. Those delicate, airy brushes of his lips flooded her skin with goose bumps, her body with heat, and her pussy with moisture. He left no room for her to worry over Dom and the happenings of the day, or the confusion she felt over his earlier mention of a ceremony. Talk of a wedding so soon after having met these two pitched her hopes up dangerously high. Her poor heart couldn’t stand the thought of waking up to find this all a dream.
She loved her two cowboys. How love could happen so fast she didn’t know, but there was no denying it. Maybe they loved her, too, but neither one said so much. They’d sworn to protect her and offered their home to her. Maybe it was in their roots to be helpful to those in need.
Travis’s tongue traced over the shell of her ear. She closed her eyes, drawing her foot onto the recliner. He relieved her of her beer and slanted his body across hers, pressing a deep, lazy kiss to her mouth. She moaned against his lips, her fingers tangling in his hair. He made easy work of the buttons down her shirt, spreading the fabric away from her breasts.
Brent scooped one breast from the restraint of her bra and suckled her into his hot mouth. He palmed her other breast through the lacy material. Lexi wove her fingers into his soft hair, holding both men close to her, feeding more of her supple flesh to Brent while following the swirling dance of Travis’s tongue.
When Travis led a warm, moist path of kisses down her chest, she sighed.
“You two are insatiable,” she murmured, arching her hips slightly as the liquid fire began to stir through her. Brent hiked up her skirt and slid his hand between her legs. She pulled her knee up, spreading her thighs for his touch.
Travis’s mouth met Brent’s at her breast. She gasped and lowered her half-mast eyes to them. Their mouths battled for her nipple in a rough, erotic kiss that drew every nerve ending taut. Soft grunts filled her ears, the heat of their mouths burning her skin. Travis’s fingers wove between Brent’s as he slipped under the thin sheath of fabric covering her pussy.
“Mmm. Wicked, wicked men,” she breathed, her head falling back onto the seat, her fingers curling in their hair. She moaned as their fingers glided over her clit and through the slick lips of her cunt. “Ahh, yes.”
“I think you’re insatiable,” Travis whispered, lifting his head from her chest to look down at her. Brent drew a moist line to her other nipple and sucked it between his teeth with a chuckle. The subtle vibrations plucked the cords straight down to her core. Lexi struggled to keep each breath steady as Brent and Travis guided two fingers into her heat. She hooked her heel on the seat, angling her hips to accept more of them. She could barely focus on the gorgeous man hovering so close to her, his warm breath caressing her face, those dark, fathomless eyes drinking in her reaction. “You know how beautiful you look right now? The rose on your cheeks, arousal misting your pretty eyes, and those plump lips gasping for air.”
In. Out. Their fingers stroked her inner muscles. Their palms rubbed the small bundle of humming nerves, spiraling her lightning-fast to a peak.
She crested. She shattered.
“Look at me, baby. Let me see it in your eyes,” Travis said, his voice muffled against the fierce rush of blood through her body. She fought to keep her eyes open. Her vision pulsed with each wave of climax. Her hips undulated shamelessly against their merciless touch. She dug her fingers into Brent’s scalp and into Travis’s shoulder, desperate to hold on as she exploded through her orgasm.
Because as she came down and could finally see the stark hunger in her lovers’ expressions, she knew she was about to fall hard.
* * * *
Travis didn’t say a word to Brent as he pushed off the recliner and brought his musky-scented finger to his mouth, licking the cream from his appendage. He drank in the very sight of Lexi gasping for air, her legs spread and her panties barely covering that warm, sweet pussy of hers. Her pert breasts, perched over her bra, rose and fell with each breath. She was a haphazard, goddamn sexy mess, and he barely restrained the urge to rip off his clothes and fuck her.
Brent stretched up off his recliner, his eyes raking over their sexy woman. “Now that’s hot, sweetheart.”
Travis reached down and grabbed her under the arm. He flashed her a wicked smile and pulled her to her feet. “Feeling frisky?”
“With you two, always,” she said. Holy hell, the way she purred those words made his cock twitch. He snickered and led Lexi from the theater.
Travis paused in the living room, blocking the stairs to the second floor. He turned to Lexi and nodded to her. “Get those clothes off.”
She blushed, but slid out of her shirt and bra then shimmied from the skirt. Travis stopped her when she hooked her thumbs on her lacy blue panties and tsked.
“I’m taking those off with my teeth.” Travis ripped his shirt over his head and tossed it aside. Brent was already unfastening his belt, sidling around them to the stairs, Lexi’s clouded gaze following him. “What’re you thinking?”
“Whether I can handle you both,” she said. The blatant honesty of her answer made him smile. He lifted her chin with a single finger.
“Baby, with us you’re right where you belong.” He leaned close to her, casting Brent a quick glance as his lover started up the stairs. “You want to take him with your mouth?”
That endearing blush deepened over her cheeks. He pressed his fingers between her legs and was rewarded with the slick cream of her mounting arousal. She nodded.
“Catch him. Suck his cock on the stairs. I’ll tell you exactly what he likes.”
Lexi hurried after Brent, catching him halfway up the stairs. Travis climbed out of his jeans and came up behind her.
“Sit down,” she coaxed Brent, tearing his jeans down his legs. A knowing light blazed in his blue eyes when he turned his gaze to Travis. Brent complied, kicking off his jeans and lounging back on the stairs. Braced up on his elbows, he followed Lexi as she settled between his legs. “Since you let me taste you in the barn, I’ve been craving you.”
Travis covered her hunched body with his, nudging her round ass with his cock, running his length through her slick slit. He inhaled the familiar, tangy scent of Brent’s desire and the delightful aroma of Lexi’s musk.
Lexi’s tongue ran a slow circle around Brent’s tip, creeping lower and lower.
“Hungry, baby?” he whispered against her ear. Above them, Brent’s head dropped back on a low groan, the muscles along his lower stomach cinching.
“Very,” she replied, drawing out the word on a low breath.
“He likes his cock swallowed. Go ahead. Suck him into your mouth as far as you can.”
Travis narrowed his eyes on the seething sight of Lexi’s lips sealing around Brent’s cock and taking his length into her mouth. Her cheeks hollowed, her eyes closed, and she stretched her neck. He shuddered, his cock growing thicker and heavier, stressed and engorged. The sig
ht burned in him, making his jaw tight to join her, but he extinguished the thought for the moment.
Mimicking her carefully controlled journey down Brent’s cock, Travis ran his penis through her hot pussy. His muscles tensed, the need to plunge inside her making him dizzy.
“He loves a pinch, baby. A hard suck. A playful scrape of teeth will drive him crazy,” Travis continued to instruct. He could hardly watch, his mouth watering.
“Aw, shit, that’s fucking nice.” Brent growled. He lifted his head and grabbed her hair, his eyes darkening as they met his. “That’s one helluva mouth, doll. Ohh, just like that.”
That hunger he saw in Brent’s eyes and that pulsed off Lexi’s body consumed him. He couldn’t watch this and not have Brent in his mouth. He couldn’t strum Lexi’s pussy and not sink inside that wet, inviting cunt.
Lexi began to pump Brent’s penis at a steady pace. Her hand fisted the base of his cock. Travis’s nostrils flared. He bent his head and licked the corner of Lexi’s mouth. She purred, the vibrations causing Brent to buck into her.
“Damn…damn.” The gravelly tone of his voice scraped down Travis’s cock like tiny teasing fingernails.
With his cheek aside Lexi’s, Travis said thickly, “We don’t want him to come yet, baby. Pop him from those lush lips of yours.”
Lexi pulled off Brent with a low smack, turned her face into his, and plundered his mouth with a heady, starved kiss. The tangy, salty-sweet essence of Brent’s juice filled his mouth, the even sweeter flavor of Lexi setting him into a blazing frenzy. She grabbed a chunk of his hair and forced him to his back.
When she tore her mouth from his, leaving him breathless, she cooed, “You wanted to suck him, too. Taste him, cowboy. Drink him in from my mouth.”
All the playful antics in him disappeared. Lexi made her demand, raw and carnal. Her eyes flashed with a poignant heat, a devilish challenge.
He grabbed for her head. She snapped back. How she climbed to her feet so fluidly, like a forsaken tigress waking from a nap, he didn’t know, but it caused a flutter in his chest and a painful ache in his dick.