by Sam Crescent
He had been the one to decide to wait before going to her. Parker hadn’t been in a rush, and with the jobs on the ranch, there wasn’t a lot of time. He didn’t want their time to be filled with exhaustion.
“It has been such a long time since I heard you play.”
“I don’t really do much in the way of playing anymore,” he said, putting the guitar down.
“Can I come in?” she asked.
“Yes, please do.”
She entered his room and sat down next to him.
The scent of vanilla was heavy in the air. He pressed his hands together, knowing she wanted to talk.
“Have I done something wrong?”
“No, of course not.” He took her hand and placed a kiss to her knuckles.
“I don’t know how this works. Casey and Shawn said that you wanted me, but—”
Parker silenced her with a kiss. “I want to take you out. Go dancing. Would you be willing to go out with me?”
“Of course. I’d love to.” She glanced down at herself. “Do you want me to go and get dressed?”
“Nah, come on. Let’s get out of here.”
He took her hand and led her out of the house down toward his truck. Helping her inside, he rounded to the driver’s side. Casey was there, and he knew that look.
His brother was reminding him to take care of her. He didn’t need reminding. He’d always take care of her. With a final nod at Casey, he climbed inside and took her out of town toward a bar. It wasn’t too far from the ranch, and it was usually busy. There were a couple of fights but nothing the owners couldn’t handle.
“I’ve never been to a bar before,” she said.
“We’re here to have a drink, dance, and have some fun.”
It was busy as it was a Friday night. He’d expected it to be. Tapping the counter, he ordered them both a beer, and kept one arm around Poppy’s waist.
“When was the last time you were out?” she asked, shouting to be heard over the live band, playing some country music.
“It’s been a long time. I didn’t want to go out partying while you were dealing with your mother. I wanted to be there for you whenever you needed me.”
The barman handed him two beers. Paying for them, Parker gave one to Poppy. “To new beginnings,” he said.
She clinked her bottle with his before taking a sip. He watched her as she glanced around the place. Some of the locals were there, but he didn’t pay them any attention.
Once they finished their beers, he led her out onto the dance floor.
“You’re keeping me very busy tonight, Parker Smith,” she said.
“I like to keep you busy.” He brushed a curl out of her eyes. “How are you feeling, Poppy, seriously?”
“I’m on cloud nine. I’m happy. Is this not what you wanted?” she asked.
He saw the sadness come into her eyes, and he hated being the one responsible for that.
“I wanted this, princess. I think I wanted it long before Casey and Shawn realized it.” He held her close as the song came to a slow one. All of the couples were holding each other. Parker closed his eyes, breathing in her scent, and loving her in his arms. “My parents are always so happy together. I love my brothers, and I knew we’d want a life like that. A woman to call our own.”
“You couldn’t even share a pie.”
“But we each fell in love with you, and you made it so easy for us to love you.” He pulled away to look into her eyes. “You’ve got so much passion and fire inside you. You’ll match Casey step for step. He’s always so serious, but you’ll make sure he has fun. Shawn, he’s the delicate one. The youngest, and so he needs reminding that he’s equal to us all.”
“What do you need?” she asked.
“For you to come to me whenever you need to. To talk to me, and to know that I’ll listen and do everything in my power to give you the world.”
“I don’t need the world, Parker. I just need you.”
The music spun, and he twirled her in his arms. She was so fluid and natural with him. She didn’t fight his lead, and trusted him as he moved her around the dance floor.
Once she was back in his arms, he held her over one arm, smiling down at her. “And I’ll want to take you dancing. I love to dance.”
She was laughing, holding onto his arms. “I’ve got no problem with that. I want to go dancing with you.”
He pressed a kiss to her lips, and smiled at her. “I’m ready to go home now.”
“One beer, a couple of dances, and you’re ready to go?”
“Yes. I’m a man of simple pleasures.”
She was still laughing as he led her out toward his truck.
“Parker!”
The sound of his name had him frowning, and he turned to find Ben, the bully, standing a little away.
Helping Poppy into the truck, he slammed the door closed, and turned back to Ben. “Are we going to have some trouble right now?” he asked.
“I’m not looking to cause trouble. I wanted to ask if everything was okay at the ranch,” Ben said. “I was at the sheriff’s office. I’d reported a case of … animal cruelty.”
Parker stared at him, raising a brow. “So I was right. Ben the bully likes animals.”
Ben rubbed the back of his head. “I heard that two cows had been … mutilated.”
He folded his arms. “Do you know anything?”
“There was a girl, Sarah, I went to school with her. I caught her torturing a cat. I was walking home, and I chased her away. Whiskers, my cat, was the one she was hurting. I stopped her. I know that she was shot down by Shawn. I’m not a nice person, but I’d never hurt an animal.”
Parker stared at him, unsure. “You know, if you gave people a chance instead of being a prick, most people will like you. Do you know anything else?”
“That there’s a small group of women that are pissed you decided to pick Poppy for your family.”
Parker stared at him, not sure how to deal with this information. He’d be telling Casey and Shawn for sure.
“If you hear anything else, let me know.”
He moved toward the truck door.
“Parker,” Ben said.
“Yeah.”
“Sarah was cruel. The things she was trying to do. She hides it well, but there’s a cruelty to her. Be careful.”
Parker nodded, climbing into his truck. Ben’s information was more than they had, and they wanted to keep Poppy safe. He’d take anything right now.
Chapter Ten
Poppy cried out as Parker filled her from behind. His hands were on her tits, holding her in place as he pounded her pussy. She turned her head, and stared at the mirror that he’d placed so that she could watch as he fucked her. He’d already made love to her, kissing every single inch of her body, and making her his in all the delicious ways. Now he was fucking her, taking her to heaven and back, holding her throughout each second, making her moan for more.
“You’ve got such a sweet, tight pussy, baby. So fucking good.” He pulled out, and she saw his dick was slick with her cream.
She watched as he changed positions, lifted her ass a little more, and then plunged in deep.
Crying out from the depth, she wanted more, needed more, and he was fucking her so hard.
His hands went to her hips, holding her in place. The tips of his fingers dug into her flesh, making her ache in all the right ways. Suddenly, one of his hands moved from her hips to slide between her thighs. He teased across her clit, and she cried out for him as her orgasm startled her. A few touches to her clit and she was burning fire.
She’d thought he’d been fucking her before. That was nothing compared to what he did next. There was no time to come down from her orgasm as he kept her at the pinnacle. He fucked her hard, taking her so that there was nothing left. She was screaming for release, desperate for it.
He held her tightly as with one final thrust, he came, spilling himself into her waiting pussy.
Afterward, they both collapsed in a heap on
the bed. “I’ll be fine in a moment,” she said, waving him off.
He laughed but made no move to leave.
Kissing her neck, and she groaned, thinking she was all out of feeling pleasure, but his stubble was creating a riot of sensation again.
“I think I’m addicted to sex,” she said.
“I think you are. That’s okay, you’ve got three men who want you.”
She nibbled her lip. She had a couple of questions about that. Casey and Shawn had been avoiding it.
As the pleasure ebbed away, they both moved up the bed, and Parker wrapped his arms around her. “I can feel you thinking.”
She traced a pattern on his stomach, trying to make sense of her own thoughts. “I was wondering something.”
“What?” he asked.
“I was cleaning the other day, and I noticed at the end of the hall there’s a door. It wasn’t locked and I’ve never been in it, so I entered, and I saw a really large bed.”
“It’s the master bedroom.”
“Why doesn’t anyone use it?” she asked.
He stroked her hair, running the curls between his fingers.
“Are you allowed to tell me?” she asked.
“Of course I’m allowed. That’s where we’re hoping to all, you know, share.”
“A bed?”
“Yes. The bed is so big that we’re hoping to share with you. One on either side, and one along the bottom. We want to be like an ordinary family. The plan was to turn these rooms into bedrooms for our children.”
“Wow.” The room she’d seen was so beautiful. It was at the part of the house that overlooked most of the ranch. The views were for miles, and she’d seen it while the sun had been high in the sky. The thought of all of them together in one room made her feel so warm. She’s loved Casey, Parker, and Shawn so long now. Her love for them had been growing for years. “How come none of you have asked me about moving into that room?”
“We don’t want to overwhelm you. Mom told us that this way of life can be pretty tough, and if you’re not ready we could scare you away. None of us want to scare you away. Three men is a lot to handle, and we’re brothers as well. We’ve lived with each other our whole lives. Casey was worried that you’d run. Shawn was scared that you’d stop being friends with him, and I was worried you’d no longer trust me. None of us want you to leave. We love you, Poppy. We want to take care of you.”
“And cook for you.” She added with a smile. Her work on the ranch had come to her so easily. Cleaning, cooking, washing, feeding the animals closest to her, maintaining the small garden. She didn’t even miss the trailer. Life on the ranch was where she was supposed to be. Loving the Smith brothers was natural to her.
She’d been doing it from afar her whole life.
“Are you mad?”
“No. Of course not. Why do you think I’d be mad?”
“We were planning all this even before you agreed.”
He was only saying words that were making her even happier. “I’ve got nothing to complain about. I love it. Just as I love you and Casey and Shawn.”
“You’re happy?”
“More than happy, Parker. You have no idea how happy I am. For the longest time, I pretended that I didn’t care about you all. Well, I cared, but I tried to pretend that I wasn’t affected by you. I was. All of the other women would fall at your feet, and I didn’t want to do that. I wanted to be different.”
“You are different, princess. Never forget that.”
“I can’t help but smile when you call me princess.”
“It’s what you are to us. You’re our princess.” He pulled her closer, claiming her lips.
Yes, this was exactly where she needed to be, and no one was going to take that from her.
****
“You told her what?” Casey asked, pacing the barn. The horses didn’t like it when Casey paced, and Parker raised a brow at his brother. Shawn reached out, patting the horse closes to him, offering the mare comfort.
“What’s wrong with him telling her our plans? That room is getting dusty, and everything is going great.”
“Because I thought we’d agreed that we’d unveil the room when she agreed to marry us.” Casey glared at his brothers.
Parker burst out laughing. “If we leave it to you, we’ll still be in this position when everyone is fifty years old, and you know, you’ll be sixty. Poppy’s not made of glass. You won’t break her. Why don’t you have some trust in her? She wants all of us. She’s in love with all of us, and nothing is going to change.”
“Okay, let’s move past this. Casey won’t change his mind until he sees for himself,” Shawn said. “Sarah tortured a cat?”
Parker had told them all what Ben had told him. “He said she was cruel. Think about it, it makes sense. She could be the person who is attacking our ranch.”
“Don’t you think that’s a bit much for one woman?” Casey asked.
“Not really. She kills the cow first, and it falls over. She can easily have an hour or two before anyone goes by that area,” Parker said. “I figured you could talk to Sheriff Dawes about it.”
“What about the chickens?” Casey asked.
“It wouldn’t exactly have been hard to do what she did. We assume that it’s a man, but what if it’s not? It could be a woman.”
“Sarah did try to come on to me at the fair,” Shawn said.
“And she did to me when I went to the feed store. This was before the fence was first broken,” Casey said.
“Why didn’t you say anything?” Shawn asked.
“She’s not the first woman to want to sleep with me. I turned her down flat. So we think she’s the problem?” Casey asked looking toward Parker. “The sheriff said that no one had a prior conviction of animal cruelty.”
“Ben stopped her and never told anyone. What if she was never caught?” Parker asked. “Wow, no wonder Ben had such an attitude growing up if he’d seen some awful shit like that.”
“I wouldn’t pretend for a second it makes him a decent human being. It just doesn’t make him cruel. He’s still a bully,” Parker said.
“I’ll go and talk to Sheriff Dawes,” Casey said. “You go and see if Poppy’s okay.” He pointed at Shawn.
“I’ll go and assist on the ranch. You know, do my job.” Parker shook his head, knowing that until Casey saw Poppy with his own eyes, he wasn’t going to be happy.
“He’s very protective of her,” Shawn said. “I don’t mind. Gives me an excuse to spend an hour with our girl.”
“I wouldn’t rush her. You know that, right?”
“Yeah, I do, Parker. I’m guessing she brought it up?”
Parker nodded. “She did, and I wasn’t going to not tell her the truth.”
“Casey worries all the time. I swear at times he’s a stick in the mud.” Shawn shrugged. “I’ll be out to help as soon as I check on Poppy.”
Parker watched his brother go. Turning back to his horse, he stroked down her back. “Are you ready for a run?”
It was time to get to work.
****
Casey was pissed off. The sheriff thought he was crazy with his accusations of Sarah. Not only did he think they were total lies but using Ben as an excuse was even more so. It had been an uneventful morning, and by the time he got back to the ranch, he was in an awful mood.
Slamming the truck door closed, he turned and saw Poppy waiting. Her hands were on her hips, and she looked ready to fight.
“What have I done now?”
“How dare you get Shawn to make sure I’m okay!”
He sighed. “It’s a lot to take in.”
“So now you think I’m dumb, stupid, and don’t know what I want?” Her arms were on her hips, and she was glaring at him.
Shawn was weeding out the vegetable patch, and Parker was rubbing down Stitch. Not a soul was in sight. Casey didn’t like confrontation, and often avoided it. Poppy looked ready to kill him.
“I didn’t say that.”
<
br /> “Then why are you treating me like I can’t handle all of you? You don’t think I can take you all on. What is it, Casey? I agreed to be your woman, and from what your mother tells me, marriage is going to be on the cards pretty soon. When are you going to trust me that I won’t run away from you all? That I’m here to stay.”
“You’re young.”
“Yeah, so that better mean you should learn to keep up, old man.” She was teasing him, taunting him.
“You think I don’t know what I’m doing?”
“I know, you know what you’re doing, but with me, I don’t think you’ve got a clue. I’m right here, Casey. I’ve always been right here. You want to know the truth, I tried to make you all believe that I wasn’t drooling over you. That when I looked at you, I wasn’t thinking about all of you. Guess what, I was. I wanted all three of you, and have been for a lot longer than for a couple of weeks. When Mom was at her weakest, fantasies of all three of you belonging to me was what got me through. You think this is too much for me. You’re wrong. To me this is a dream come true.”
He watched as Poppy turned, looking first at Parker and then at Shawn, who had both joined them when she’d raised her voice.
“And that’s the truth. I love you all. I want you all. Not a moment goes by when I don’t think about you all. This is the life I wanted, and so.” Casey watched as she sank down on one knee, looking at each of them in turn. “I was wondering if you’d all like to marry me.”
She had taken their words from them. They’d had a plan to ask for her hand in marriage.
Poppy looked at him. “Because I don’t want to wait anymore. Life is too damn short. I love all three of you. I want to share the rest of our lives together. To be the woman you need, and for all of you to be the men I need. I love you all more than anything, and I don’t want to lose any of you. I’ve felt selfish. There’s one of me, and three of you. I don’t want to live without you all.”
They were all silent, and she was patient.
Slowly, he saw tears fill her eyes. “You’re not making a girl feeling all that great right now. Please answer.”
As her tears fell down her cheeks, Casey went to her side and wrapped his arms around her. Parker and Shawn did the same. He held her close and nodded. “Yes, Pop, I’ll marry you. I was supposed to ask you.”