Sexual Healing [Contemporary Cowboys 1] (Siren Publishing LoveEdge)

by Natalie Acres

  “And what is it that you want to say exactly?” Kane seemed amused.

  “That’s between me, Brianna, and my brothers,” Jax said.

  “Maybe so, but I’d appreciate it if you’d fill me in and tell me what happened this morning. Did you happen across the man who assaulted Brianna?”

  “We believe we did.”

  Kane pivoted to the left and stood directly in front of Jax. “Either you did or you didn’t. Which is it?”

  “It’s complicated.”

  Tyler said, “Brianna says the guy didn’t do anything she didn’t want him to do.”

  “And you believe her?” Kane asked.

  “Hell no.” Jax was still pissed that she’d tried to pass off her time with Handsome as consensual.

  Kane nodded at the patio furniture. “Pull up a chair, fellas. Let me tell you what I know and you tell me what you’ve got on this guy. Maybe by the time we’re done here, we’ll all have a better idea of what we’re dealing with and why.”

  Chapter Seven

  “So you’re saying the guy had New York plates?” Ten minutes later, Kane was still trying to decide if the Jackson guys were telling him the whole truth. The fact that they’d roughed up the fellow responsible for harming Brianna but hadn’t dragged him off to the local sheriff’s office was telling.

  They’d let him go for a reason.

  “He had an accent, too,” Tyler said.

  Kane paced the porch, thought of something, and stopped. “This club where she met this fella, where is it?”

  “On the old highway right outside of Erwin. It sets back off the road at the top of the ridge,” Flint said.

  “I’ve traveled that road plenty back in the day, but I don’t remember seeing a nightclub.”

  “It used to be a roadside market. They were known for their vegetable and fruit stand. Back about twelve or fifteen years ago, it was the only gas station between Asheville and Erwin.”

  “And it’s just a hole in the wall now?” Kane asked. “Is it a biker bar?”

  Jax chuckled. “What you really want to know is if it’s a lifestyle club.”

  “I know there’s one in these parts, but I can’t imagine Drina leaving Gemma and Brianna in a place like that.”

  “It’s probably not like what you’re accustomed to,” Flint said, grinning like he was recalling a recent memory. “The front of the place is still a roadside market. The room behind it was converted to a pool hall and bar. Now in behind it? That’s where you find the fetish club.”

  Flint cleared his throat. “And uh, you have to be a member to go in that part of the club.”

  “You don’t say.” Kane planned to join. “Brianna goes there often?”

  “You’d have to ask her,” Tyler said, glancing at Jax. “We think she was in the pool hall and bar.”

  Kane studied Jax. He was quiet and seemed to be taking everything in and storing it to memory. Jax shifted in his chair, obviously uncomfortable with the notion that Brianna might have frequented the place. Poor guy. If he was trying to pass off his concern as a friend, he’d need a few dozen acting classes. He was as lovesick as any man he’d ever met.

  “What’s the name of this place?” Kane asked.

  “Paddles and Picnics,” Tyler replied.

  “Owners apparently don’t believe in hiding what they promote, huh?” Kane laughed, turned up his beer bottle and took a long pull.

  “White water rafting is big in these parts,” Tyler explained. “Hence the name.”

  “Sharp marketing, I guess,” Kane said, his voice trailing. “Tell me about the motel. Is it nearby?”

  “Right next door,” Flint said. “My buddies work for the rescue squad. We caught wind of what happened before Brianna had even made it to the hospital.”

  “Did you see the room?”

  “I did.” Jax finally spoke, catching surprised glances from his brothers. He took a deep breath and added, “I had to know what happened.”

  “How come you didn’t say anything?” Tyler asked.

  “You boys can discuss that later,” Kane said, thumbing the door. “Coco and Peyton are right inside. I see no reason to upset them.”

  “You’re right,” Jax said, rising from his chair. “And we need to be going.”

  “Any idea where you’ll find Brianna?”

  “No.” Jax walked off the porch and stood there staring straight ahead. After a moment, he added, “But Mr. Cartwell, you should know. If Brianna’s father has new enemies, they probably didn’t come all the way from New York to scare only one of Alberto’s daughters. We’ll keep Brianna safe, but someone needs to protect her sisters.”

  “That’s why I’m here,” Kane assured them, summing up the men promising to keep an eye on Brianna. “But tell me something, boys. How are you planning to protect Brianna when you don’t even know where she is?”

  “We’ll find her,” Jax said. “And when we do, we’ll let you know, but we have no intentions of bringing her home.”

  * * * *

  After the Jackson boys left, Kane reentered the house to tell Peyton what they’d discussed. Hearing voices in the kitchen, he paused. He hadn’t had a lot of luck with Coco earlier. Maybe Peyton would be able to get somewhere with the one who viewed herself as the head of the household.

  “Kane hasn’t said a lot, Coco, but I know my husband. He doesn’t think this is a freak incident or he wouldn’t have loaded me up and headed to Tennessee. He would’ve driven over to check on you girls and he would’ve returned home the same day. What’s going on here?”

  The silence was deafening. The only racket in the background was the soft hum of the dishwasher.

  Finally, Peyton said, “I know we’re not close, but at one time—”

  “You had your own children to raise,” Coco interrupted her. “I get that.”

  “We would’ve gladly taken you and your sisters in, Coco, but our lives were in North Carolina. Your father didn’t want you to leave here. You and Drina weren’t ready and—”

  “Is that offer still on the table?”

  “Well…of course.” Peyton was clearly blindsided. “Besides our own daughters and their children and spouses, you and your sisters are our only close family. We’d welcome all of you. We’ll help you move, get set up in your own place, and do whatever it takes to help you start a new life.”

  Kane felt a stab of pride as Peyton rebounded quickly.

  Coco laughed. “Just like that, huh?”

  “Just like that,” Peyton agreed, probably unaware she was being played.

  “Tell me something, Peyton—since we’re bonding and all—do you really think we’d leave this life here in Erwin and travel an hour over the mountain to another itty bitty town where everyone knows everyone’s business?” She grunted. “No, thank you. I wasn’t asking for me anyway.”

  “What are you asking?” Kane marched inside the kitchen, furious because Coco had blindsided his wife. “Peyton is offering to help and what do you do? Slap her with an insulting attitude.”

  “Well if it isn’t my favorite cousin,” Coco drawled. “Let me ask you something, Uncle—since that’s what Mom always wanted us to call you—did you coach the Jackson boys out there today?”

  “Coach them how?” Kane played dumb. Given Coco’s demeanor, he could already guess where this conversation was heading.

  She shrugged. “Ah you know, about the greatest loves in life, the lovers who share a wife and pretend it’s completely normal? Did you tell them all that nonsense? Did you give them your stamp of approval and tell them you thought it was perfectly okay for all three of them to pursue my sister?” She snorted. “My mother would be disgusted.”

  Kane and Peyton exchanged a knowing look. Her mother had been anything but an innocent angel, but he wasn’t about to tell her that or share with her how and where she’d come to know Coco’s father.

  “What’s this really about, Coco?” Kane asked, seeing Ann in her oldest daughter. Ann had always been a vict
im. She didn’t start out that way, but she’d certainly ended up a victim of her own circumstances.

  Her eyes filled with tears and she snatched her keys off the countertop and ran for the door. Before she made it outside, Kane grabbed her by the wrist and forced her to turn and look at him.

  “Let me go!” she screamed.

  “It’s not happening. You’re an adult so act like one. Tell me what’s going on and don’t think you’ll use school as an excuse. I don’t give a damn if you’re late for class or have to drop out for a semester. There’s something going on here and I demand to know what.”

  “Well good luck with that.” She jerked her arm free. “I answer to no one.”

  Chapter Eight

  “I thought I might find you here.” Jax leaned on one of the log posts. “It’s supposed to get chilly tonight. I was worried about you.”

  Brianna kicked her legs over the side of the porch. Balancing her hips on her palms, she swung her body away from the house with full intentions of running.

  “You can’t keep avoiding me, Brianna. I’ll just keep coming and one day soon, I won’t let you run from me. Don’t test me now. If you run, I’ll catch up and pin you to the ground until you hear what I have to say.”

  Detecting the longing in his voice, Brianna slowly turned. She stared back at the man who had always been her main reason for staying in Erwin, the man who had often watched her as if he’d always known, one day he’d claim her. One day, she’d belong to him and maybe even his brothers. “Then don’t let me get away.”

  As if she’d summoned a different man than she’d tried to tempt in the past, Jax walked toward her with a determined gait. His muscles flexed as he ground his molars. His large arms swung at his sides as he took long strides. Reaching the end of the plank porch, he jumped off and landed in front of her.

  For a moment, Brianna’s heart stood still. She started to say something, but couldn’t push the words past her dry mouth.

  “Shh,” he whispered, placing his index finger against the seam of her lips. That lone finger soon became an enticing instrument, stroking over the texture of her mouth with minimal pressure. The eroticism of the act intensified as a haze of lust settled in his blue eyes.

  He stared at their limited connection, acting as if he couldn’t decide how to best pursue her, how to explain what he was feeling or perhaps ask about her feelings instead. Finally, he lowered his forehead to hers and a lone tear escaped his left eye and drifted over his cheek in slow motion.

  In that moment, Brianna crumbled. She locked her arms around his neck and held on for dear life. “Jax, I’m so sorry.” She cried as she clung to him, dragging him as close as humanly possible and wishing a thousand times she hadn’t been so determined to rush what should’ve been, what would’ve been, if she’d only waited for the right time, for the right man to come along and claim her.

  Taking a step back, she studied him then. That was the right thought and the right word to describe precisely what this moment meant.

  The waiting was over. They were alone and as far as she knew no one would be coming to find them.

  Their time was now. Their moment had arrived.

  Jax had come for her. He wanted her as much as she wanted him.

  And it would be one hell of a claiming.

  * * * *

  They hadn’t even bothered going inside. The dipping sun provided a beautiful romantic setting as it slipped behind the mountains, almost out of sight.

  Clothes were stripped, nearly ripped, away. Shoes were kicked to the side and tumbled down the hill.

  Jax dragged her body against his and framed her face with his hands, smothering her lips with a kiss he’d waited years to take. “You’re so damn beautiful.” He stroked the texture, indulging in the sweetest of kisses, the kind of kisses that ruined a man on one hand and made him a better fellow on the other.

  Entwining their fingers, he pushed away from her, aware of his cock stretching for her, the hardness between his legs pounding with his excitement, that pent-up lust demanding that he make her his. Questions. There were so many questions. Had he risked her safety by turning her away when he should’ve taken her so very long ago?

  He swallowed as he studied her, ate up the sight of her. Sore from the bruises marring his flesh, but agonized by the ones deeply embedded in her skin, he caressed her face, smoothing his fingers over the discoloration in her skin.

  “You make me crazy,” he said, breathing heavily as he attempted to grab some semblance of control. He brought her closer, held her tighter. “But I can’t do this. Not now. Not tonight.”

  What the hell was he saying? How had he come this far only to push her away? He was dying inside, needing so much from her but longing to give her the space and time she needed in order to heal.

  “Jax, don’t.” She ran her fingers through his hair. “I want you.” She kissed a trail up his cheek and to his ear. “I know you want me, too.” She pulled back and looked at him.

  Apprehension wasn’t in her expression. Only lust and longing filled those lovely bedroom eyes.

  He stilled then. The man living inside him was dying to get a hold of her, yearning for that first stroke, that first hard thrust, but there was more than the lust-filled evening to consider here. Brianna had been abused and he still didn’t know all the particulars. Had the abuse run deep? Had it been surface wounds or were there scars that would remain with her forever more?

  She wrapped her hand around his cock and pulled him into her tightly drawn fist, pumping up and down, sliding her palm around him before twisting his shaft gently. Now her burning gaze was purely sexual. Carnal heat resonated from her skin.

  “Brianna, I can’t take you. Not like this. Not here.” But God help him, he needed her to agree. If she didn’t at least pause and give him time to come to his senses, if he even possessed them.

  “Why not?” She nipped at his lips. “Give me one good reason.”

  And there it was. The request for reason.

  “You know why,” he rasped, grabbing hold of his last bit of nearly shot control. He grabbed her arm and pulled her hand to his lips, kissing her knuckles and deciding he could at least give her some pleasure if he took the lead.

  “I don’t.”

  Understanding how carefully he needed to phrase his words, he said, “Oh, but I think you do, lover. I think my reputation more or less speaks for itself.”

  A wicked smile slipped across her lips. “You’re a Dom.”

  “Damn straight.”

  “And you’re toying with me?”

  “No, sweet baby, I’m not toying with you.” He brushed her bangs away from her face. “But I will teach you. You will know how to harness and control that lust so it will never get the best of you again.” As if he could teach her a damn thing at the moment. Right then, all he wanted was to lay down his rules, throw her down and love her.

  “And you want to do that now?”

  “Now works for me,” he said, acknowledging the sound of vehicles rumbling through the pastures behind the cabin. His brothers had wasted no time in finding them. “Get dressed.” He pulled up his jeans. “Let me see if I can’t get rid of them.”

  He was stone, just rigid as hell, and it hurt like the devil when he zipped up his pounding erection. Still, he managed to tuck his cock inside his jeans. He then picked up her clothes and tried not to gawk too long at the bruises on her thighs. That wasn’t the problem anyway. It was those three damp curls sticking to her pussy now wet with her excitement. And her excitement was even more evident in her full voluptuous breasts, those pert nipples that he would see clamped because that’s all he’d thought about since seeing her at her eighteenth birthday party, stripped down to a thong and a wet T-shirt, planning to strut around her pool and make him and every other man there drool.

  A smile tugged at his lips as the memory stuck with him. He moistened his lips with hers, driving into her mouth with a passionate kiss before he forced himself to pull away.
“Let me get rid of them. Promise to get dressed and wait for me?”

  “Where would I go?”

  He narrowed his gaze. “Are you forgetting who you’re talking to here?”

  “Of course not,” she said sweetly.

  “You’re known for running.” He cupped her neck and brought her to his lips again, thinking he could kiss her crazy, give her just a slight taste of his impetuous need and she would then have more reasons to stay than she’d have to leave.

  “I’ll wait on you,” she promised, flattening her hand against his evident bulge.

  He groaned, wondering if he could walk the twenty or so feet to the truck when he was aware of the aroused vixen at his back. “Wait, Brianna.” He used a firm tone, one he’d already determined she liked. “I’ll be right around the corner.”

  “Jax, I don’t want to hurt you.”

  As he’d turned to walk away, she’d caught him in the middle of the second step. “What do you mean you don’t want to hurt me?”

  Her lips thinned. Her small nostrils pulsed. She seemed to have a hard time coming up with the right words to say.

  “What is it?”

  She took a deep breath. “I…I’m crazy about you.”

  “And that should hurt me?” He’d been mad about her before she was even legal so the feelings were mutual.

  “But I’m—”

  Two doors slammed in the distance. In another minute or two, his brothers would walk around the house. He flinched. That was what this was all about. Did she think he would be surprised? Had she forgotten how brutally honest she’d once been with them, how she’d told them she was attracted to all three of them?

  “You want us, not just me,” Jax said, figuring he’d make it as easy as he could for her.

  “I want you all,” she agreed, starting to dress.

  “We’ll see what we can do about giving you everything you want.”

  Chapter Nine