Boots and Bareback: Ugly Stick Saloon, Book 3

by Myla Jackson

  His brothers reined in beside him.

  “What’s she doing?” Sean asked.

  Isabella’s arms rose above her head and she tossed something to the side.

  Gabe’s heartbeat galloped, his groin tightening. “Looks like she’s stripping.”

  Tanner whistled. “Damn, she’s beautiful in the moonlight.”

  Although his first inclination was to race down the hill and join her, Gabe hesitated. As did his brothers.

  “Would it be pressuring her if we joined her now?” Tanner asked, for once tentative, so unlike his normal brusque, confident self.

  Gabe’s chest squeezed. “Maybe.”

  “What if we don’t mention her decision?” Sean’s horse danced to the side, eager to descend to the creek. “We could tell her the horses were thirsty.”

  Gabe snorted. “Like she’d believe it.”

  “I think it’s worth trying.” Tanner hadn’t taken his gaze off Isabella since arriving at the top of the hill.

  “How do you feel now about sharing her between the three of us?” Gabe asked Tanner.

  Tanner sucked in a breath and let it out slowly. “I’d rather have her between us than not at all. If we make her choose, two, if not all of us, will lose out.”

  “I’ve been thinking about that too.” Gabe’s gaze returned to Isabella.

  She bent to remove her boots, then her jeans. The moonlight reflected off her pale skin, accentuating every curve.

  “I’d rather have her love all of us than choose between us and be hurt by it.” Gabe’s gut knotted. “The thought of seeing her all the time would kill me, knowing I couldn’t hold her.”

  “Same here,” Tanner agreed.

  “About time you boneheads came to your senses.” Sean nodded toward Isabella. “So do we go down or not?”

  “We go.” Gabe nudged his horse, sending it over the crest and down the incline toward the creek.

  In the distance, Isabella waded into the water, sending ripples across its glassy surface.

  Riding bareback, Gabe had kept his horse at a walk or a gallop. Trotting was too hard on his balls. Now, when he wanted speed, he knew it would be no good to go racing toward the creek, only frightening Isabella or her horse. Instead the three brothers approached at a sedate pace.

  As they neared, Isabella dove beneath the surface.

  Gabe reined in beside Stormy and slid off Drago’s back. He held his breath, waiting for Isabella to come up. After a moment or two, he stepped forward.

  Isabella emerged, rising slowing until she stood in water waist-deep, her back to the men.

  Had she not heard them riding down the hill?

  Gathering his breath, Gabe prepared to clear his throat to get her attention.

  “Are you just going to stand there or are you coming in?” She gave them a wicked glance over her shoulder and dove under.

  Gabe ripped his shirt off his back, shucked his boots and jeans and dove in.

  Two splashes reverberated through the water as he broke through the surface.

  Isabella floated on her back, her nipples rising above the water, glistening in the moonlight.

  All three men cleaved the water, getting to her in seconds.

  “Why did you leave the party?” Sean asked. “Not that I’m complaining. The view here is much better.”

  “Being surrounded by all that happiness made me sad.” She let her feet drop to the creek bottom and she reached out to touch Sean’s cheek. “I needed time to think.”

  “Are we intruding?” Gabe asked. “I promised we wouldn’t pressure you.”

  “No pressure. Please stay.” With her other hand, she trailed her fingers down Gabe’s chest, setting his body on fire. “I think, deep down, I wanted y'all to follow me.”

  “All of us?” Tanner closed in on her other side, his expression dark, a muscle ticking in his jaw.

  She smiled. “Dear Tanner. You are always so serious.” She cupped his chin and kissed him. “Yes. All of you.”

  Tanner closed his eyes, letting go of the breath he’d obviously been holding. “Thank God.”

  Isabella pulled in a deep breath and let it out slowly. “I’ve made my decision.”

  A knot settled in Gabe’s gut. Even before she spoke, he knew he wasn’t going to like what she had to say.

  “I can’t be with you three. Tonight will be the last night we can be together.”

  “No.” Sean reached for her, pulling her into his arms. “We’ve decided. We’re willing to love you on your own terms. If that means sharing, we’re in.”

  Isabella glanced from Gabe to Tanner. “All of you?”

  Gabe nodded. “Absolutely.”

  “Damn right.” Tanner lifted her hand and kissed her knuckles. “We want you no matter what.”

  She shook her head. “Much as I love you all, I can’t do that to you. You deserve to be happy like Jesse. One woman each. It’s selfish of me to want the love of all three of you.”

  “We don’t care.” Gabe smoothed a hand down her cheek, his chest tightening at her mention of love. “We want you any way we can have you. I’d rather share you with my brothers than lose you altogether.”

  She shook her head. “Don’t you see? You’re settling for something you really don’t want.”

  “I love you, Isabella,” Tanner spoke softly, but his words carried across the shadows. “I love what you do to me when you’re with me and my brothers. You’re the woman for us.”

  “We all love you,” Sean added.

  “Then show me, because it will be our last time.” A tear slipped down Isabella’s cheek and fell into the pool.

  Gabe dragged her into his arms and kissed her, his tongue pushing past her teeth, delving deep, twining with hers. He wanted to hold her until she changed her mind, until she knew how much they loved her and would do anything for her. Soon, he broke off and handed her to Tanner.

  Tanner lifted her, settling her legs around his waist. He kissed her, thrusting into her at the same time.

  Sean wrapped his arms around her from behind, burying his face in her neck. “Please, Isabella, don’t leave us.”

  “Shhh,” she said, her head falling back, her eyes closed. “No words, just action.”

  In silence, Gabe and his brothers showed her just how much they’d come to care for her.

  Tanner drove into her, drawing out their lovemaking until tears spilled from her eyes. When he’d climaxed, he lifted her off and passed her to Gabe.

  Gabe floated her on her back, while Sean draped her legs over his shoulders and tongued her clit.

  She cried out, her hand reaching behind her to capture Gabe’s shoulders, her fingers digging in as her body arched out of the water.

  Sean’s relentless assault on Isabella’s clit yielded a long, drawn-out sigh when she finally relaxed.

  Gabe wished he’d been the one to bring her there, but he didn’t begrudge his brother the pleasure of making their woman come. All of them pleasuring her made him even more excited, more determined to make her a permanent part of their lives.

  “You all are amazing.” She slipped her legs from Sean’s shoulders and let her feet drift to the bottom. She turned to Gabe. “Can we go ashore?”

  “Yes, ma’am.” He lifted her in his arms and carried her to the huge rock they’d shared the day before. Laying her down, he stretched out beside her.

  “How can I have all of you at once?” she whispered.

  Gabe’s cock twitched, his gut tightening, his body on fire, ready to take her. “Let us show you.”

  Isabella’s insides shook with the intensity of her feelings for the men and what they were doing to her.

  Gabe rolled her over onto her stomach and pulled her up to her hands and knees.

  Tanner laid on his back and scooted beneath Isabella, positioning his head beneath her pussy, his cock below her mouth.

  Sean parted Tanner’s legs and dropped to his knees in front of Isabella.

  Gabe knelt behind Isabella, his
hands on her hips. “Will this do?”

  She chuckled. “Oh, yes, it will.” Then she gripped Sean’s cock in her hand and guided it into her mouth, licking the tip, tapping the tiny hole oozing with pre-come.

  Tanner flicked her clit with his work-roughened fingers, setting her on the path to the stars for the second time that night. If she didn’t know better, she could become a nymphomaniac with these cowboys. They knew exactly how to make her body sing.

  Gabe nudged her entrance with the tip of his engorged cock, pressing into her in a slow, easy glide.

  Her hand tightened on Sean’s cock as she leaned back, taking more of Gabe into her. “Harder,” she begged. “Fuck me like it was your last time.” As Gabe complied, Isabella sucked Sean’s dick into her mouth.

  With Gabe fucking her cunt, Tanner flicking her clit and Sean’s cock filling her mouth, her senses swirled, her body throbbed and her heart beat so fast she couldn’t breathe.

  Sensations built, the electricity between the three of them exploding in a firestorm of lust and need.

  Sean stilled, his muscles tensed, his eyes squeezed shut with the effort of controlling his release.

  Isabella shot over the edge into her own orgasm. She grasped Sean’s balls and squeezed, pulling her mouth away from his shaft to gasp for air, giving him the chance to come.

  As soon as Sean released, he scooted back.

  Isabella grasped Tanner’s jutting cock and lowered herself to take him into her mouth, twirling her tongue around his big length.

  His heels dug into the ground and he raised his hips, pumping deeper into her mouth. When Tanner came, Isabella’s head rose and she held her breath as the tingling started all over again, racing across her body like electrical shocks, racing toward her core.

  Gabe grasped her hips in his big, coarse hands and thrust in once more, burying himself deep inside her as she rode the wave, his cock pulsing against her channel.

  When she returned to earth, she rolled off Tanner and lay on her back, staring up at the stars between the gaps in the branches above, pleasantly exhausted. “I’ve never felt this complete.”

  “Me either,” Gabe echoed.

  Sean sighed. “I think I died and went to heaven.”

  “If this is heaven, Isabella is an angel,” Tanner whispered, gathering her into his arms, spooning her from behind.

  Gabe lay in front of her, his hands stroking her breasts, her belly, her mound.

  If she died right then, she’d die the happiest and most fulfilled she’d ever been. But she was very much alive and it was time to go. Her throat closed off as tears filled her eyes again.

  “We should be getting back,” she choked out. “The horses need rest.”

  “The horses can wait.” Tanner’s arm tightened around her middle.

  “No, really, I need to go. Audrey will be looking for me.”

  “We’ll take you home.”

  “No, I’ll ride with Audrey.” She pushed to her feet and located her clothes, dragging them over her damp skin.

  The men rose and joined her, pulling on jeans and boots, skipping their shirts.

  Isabella grabbed Stormy’s mane, swung up onto her back, nudged her into a gentle gallop, and headed for the barn.

  Before she’d topped the hill, Gabe rode up on one side, Sean on the other, Tanner beside Sean.

  They rode back to the ranch buildings in silence and dismounted.

  Isabella slid off her horse and led Stormy toward the barn.

  “We’ll take care of Stormy,” Sean offered.

  Brushing away ready tears, Isabella nodded. “Thanks.” She stood on her toes and kissed Sean and moved back before he could wrap his arms around her.

  More tears spilled down her cheeks as she dragged Tanner’s face down for a kiss.

  Finally, she stood in front of Gabe.

  He didn’t lean toward her, his eyes glistening in the light from the party. “Don’t go.”

  She shook her head, a sob rising up in her chest. “I have to. Now, kiss me goodbye.”

  He shook his head. “Not goodbye.” Gabe crushed her in his arms, his mouth slanting over hers as he bent her over his arm. When he set her back on her feet, he sighed. “We’re not over.”

  Unable to argue, Isabella turned and ran.

  Chapter Nine

  Tanner stormed into the Ugly Stick Saloon as soon as it opened the next afternoon. When he spotted Audrey sweeping the floor near the bar, he cornered her. “Where’s Isabella?”

  After glancing up briefly, Audrey continued her work. “She’s not here. She quit.”

  “Then where the hell is she?” Tanner’s heart thundered against his ribs. “She wasn’t at her apartment.”

  Sean came up from behind and placed his foot in front of Audrey’s broom. “Look, Audrey, we have to find her.”

  Audrey leaned against the broom handle, her lips quirking upward. “Well, she’s not here.”

  Gabe’s eyes narrowed. “But you know where she is, don’t you?”

  Her mouth twitched. “Yeah, but she swore me to secrecy.”

  Tanner slammed his palm on the bar. “Damn it, Audrey. You have to tell us.”

  Audrey fisted her hands on her hips. “I keep my promises. Besides, what are your intentions toward my Isabella?”

  “We love her. We want to marry her,” Tanner answered without a hint of hesitation.

  Audrey snorted. “Now, all three of you can’t marry her. Bigamy isn’t legal in Texas.”

  “Who marries her doesn’t matter. We all love her and we want her to be with us always.”

  “Your father was here this morning asking about Isabella. He likes her a lot and thinks one of you should marry her. I agree. A woman needs stability and a place to call home. So who will it be?”

  “Me!” All three of them spoke at once.

  “We’re back to the problem of legality. Why don’t you draw straws?” Audrey flipped the broom over and yanked out three straws of equal length, breaking one in half. She held out her hand, demonstrating the differences in length. “Okay, who will be the lucky fella?”

  Tanner drew in a breath and let it out like a bull in the fighting ring. “This is ridiculous. You can’t decide who a woman is going to marry by drawing straws.”

  “Well, if she won’t choose, y'all have to.” Audrey hid her hands behind her back.

  “If choosing is all that’s holding Isabella back from committing to us, I say let’s draw.” Sean reached out a hand. “Let me have one.

  “You all need to choose at once. It wouldn’t be fair otherwise.” Audrey stared from Gabe to Tanner. “Are you in or not?”

  Frustration threatened to burn a hole in Tanner’s gut. “You’re crazy.”

  “I’m in.” Gabe reached out.

  Not to be left out, Tanner held out his hand as well. “As long as we all agree, it’s only for legalities.”

  “Agreed,” Sean said.

  Gabe nodded. “Agreed.”

  “Now that you’re all in agreement…draw.” Audrey held out her hand, her fingers wrapped around the three straws that appeared to be roughly the same length.

  The men pulled the one closest to them.

  Tanner’s heart sank when he drew a long straw. He wanted to be the one who married Isabella. She was perfect in every way.

  Sean’s mouth sank into a frown when he compared his straw to Tanner’s.

  Gabe’s face split into a grin. “I win!”

  “Remember, it’s only for legal purposes,” Tanner reminded him.

  “Seems kind of fair anyway, Gabe being the oldest,” Sean conceded. “Besides, now he has the task of convincing Isabella to marry him with the two of us thrown into the bargain.” He slapped Gabe on the back. “Good luck, old man.”

  “We all have to convince her.” Tanner clenched his fists, his jaw tightening. “We have to present a unified front or she won’t go for it. She has to know she’s getting all three of us. And we have to believe it in order to sell it to her.” H
e stuck out his hand like one of the Three Musketeers. “Are we all in this together?”

  Sean slapped his hand over Tanner’s. “You bet.”

  Gabe laid his over the top. “I’m in.”

  Audrey sighed. “Well then, now all you have to do is find her.”

  Tanner glared at the bar owner. “You said you knew where.”

  “I do, but I said I wouldn’t tell you.”

  “Does she have a big lead on us?” Sean asked.

  “I told her I wouldn’t tell y'all where, but she didn’t say anything about when.” Audrey smiled. “She left an hour ago.”

  Gabe snorted. “Are we going to play charades to get the answer?”

  Audrey shrugged. “Sorry, boys, but a promise is a promise.”

  Tanner wanted to reach out and wring Audrey’s neck. Instead he asked, “Within a fifty-mile radius?”

  Audrey nodded. “I’ll give you a hint. She’s going to visit something she loves.”

  Sean scratched his head. “I didn’t think she had any family left.”

  “Something?” Tanner closed his eyes and thought, trying to push the feeling that they were wasting time to the back of his mind. “Human, object or animal?”

  “Definitely animal.” Audrey grinned.

  “Horses.” Gabe’s eyes shone. “Is she going after horses?”

  Audrey’s smile broadened. “Not plural.”

  “Where would she go after a horse?” Tanner wanted to shake Audrey. He hated guessing games.

  “An auction?” Sean asked.

  Audrey shook her head.

  “A race track?” Gabe suggested.

  She shook her head again.

  “A ranch?”

  “Bingo.” Audrey’s eyes lit.

  “Good grief.” Tanner flung his hands in the air. “There must be a hundred ranches in a fifty-mile radius.”

  “Then we better get to guessing.” Sean nudged Tanner in the side. “We don’t have all day.”

  “If you were to ask me where Isabella worked before she came to the Ugly Stick Saloon, I could answer that.”

  Tanner blurted, “Where did Isabella work before here?”

  Audrey propped her hands on her hips. “The Circle C.”