by Unknown
"More practice, maybe?"
She shrugged and stared at her plate. "Maybe. I never seem to have time to spend hours in the kitchen. I'd rather be out in the barn with the animals, ridin' across the fields out here, mendin' fences—you know."
"Cowboy stuff," they said in unison and laughed.
"I know the feeling, Emma. Sometimes I wish I could go back to the simpler days before all the craziness of tourin' and singin'."
"Don't you like singin'?"
"I love it, but it would be nice to be able to go to the store without someone I don't know recognizing me. You can't imagine how hard it is to take a lady out on a date and get interrupted a dozen times for pictures and autographs. Privacy would be great. Sometimes this star stuff isn't all it's cracked up to be. I'm sure Beau gets it, too."
"But you've been singin' since you were small."
He glanced across the fields they'd ridden through and sighed. "Do you have any idea what it's like never to know if a woman is after you or your money?"
"Can't say that I do, since I don't do women," she replied with a little grin.
His laugh came out as a small snort.
"How do you know I'm not after your money, Brandon?" she asked, lying on her side on the blanket and propping herself up on her hand. "What if I'm some money-crazed fangirl who wants to trap you and Beau into a relationship?"
"Because for some unknown reason, I trust you, Emma." He stretched out beside her and tugged her over so she lay completely on top of him. "Mmm. I like this position. Ready for a ride, cowgirl?"
"I thought you said the next time you were gonna take my ass, big boy."
Need speared right to his cock the moment her words left her mouth. He loved anal sex, and when he'd been in her ass before, it felt perfect—better than anything he'd experienced before. Unable to stop himself, the flat of his palm came down on her ass. "Saucy wench. Strip."
Jumping to her feet, she whipped her shirt over her head, taking her sports bra with it, and then pushed her jeans and underwear off her feet. "You're still dressed."
"Yep, and I'm gonna stay that way," he replied, sitting up to crouch on his knees.
"Then how are you gonna fuck me?"
"You'll see. On your hands and knees, baby doll, and spread your ass cheeks for me." When she'd done what he asked, he sucked in a ragged breath and leaned over to kiss her butt cheeks. "What a sight you are, Emma, honey. I could fuck you until the end of time, just like this." The rasp of his zipper in the afternoon air sounded loud to him, and he glanced around to make sure they were alone. The last thing he wanted on this earth was for Emma to be embarrassed about being with him. He shoved his jeans and boxers down around his knees, releasing his cock and balls from their confines. Grabbing the condom from his front pocket and the small tube of lube he'd brought, he made everything—including her puckered hole—slick and ready.
"Hurry, Brandon," she whispered, wiggling her butt, encouraging him with every movement.
God, she made him hotter than hell with her begging words. He penetrated her hole with two fingers and stretched her well before he did anything else. The last thing he wanted was pain for his girl. His girl. He liked the sound of that.
"Ready?"
"Oh yeah," she whispered, pushing back against his fingers. "Fill me up, cowboy."
The slow penetration of his cock into her ass felt like heaven and hell. The slick walls of her ass gripped him tight as he slowly pushed into her tight passage. "Relax and let me in, Emma."
"I'm trying. It burns a bit."
"I know, honey. Inhale and then exhale slowly."
Doing what he asked, her whole body relaxed on the exhale, and he pushed the rest of his cock deep inside her. "Fuck, you're amazing."
"Oh yeah. Perfect. You feel so good," she whispered, dropping her head down on her folded arms, which raised her ass higher.
A groan left his mouth when she pushed back and squeezed him with her muscles. "You okay?" he asked.
"Fantastic, but Brandon?"
"Yeah?"
"You need to move. I can't stand it anymore. I need you to fuck me hard."
"With pleasure," he growled, pulling his cock almost all the way out before slowly sliding it back in. "I wish I had a toy here. I'd shove it inside your pretty pussy and fuck your ass at the same time."
"Next time we'll play with toys."
"Next time," he repeated, shoving his cock in and out of her, loving her willingness to experiment.
Her anal muscles held him tight enough, he wasn't sure he could hold off his climax if she didn't hurry and come along. Needing to make her lose control, he found her clit with his fingers and started stroking until it hardened more under his touch. High-pitched whimpers left her mouth, and her hips bucked while he continued to pound into her, increasing the pace of his thrusts until he felt her climax building.
"Come for me, sweetheart. Come for me."
An explosive climax shook her frame, and she screamed loud enough, they probably heard her in the next county, but he didn't care. He'd made Emma feel good, and nothing else mattered. With her muscles spasming around his cock, he couldn't forestall his own climax any longer. The blood roared in his ears, and his body trembled from the force of it.
When his vision cleared and he could move again, he pulled out of her ass and collapsed on the ground beside her. "God, you're amazing."
"Glad you liked it," she said with a small giggle. "I aim to please, and believe me, you aren't easy to please."
"Why do you say that?" he asked, worried she felt she couldn't continue to please him as he tugged his boxers and jeans back up.
"How many women have you slept with in the last year?"
He frowned and thought back to the mindless, nameless hoard of women he'd slept with. "To tell you the truth, I don't know."
"And if you'd found one who pleased you outside of ridin' your dick, don't you think you might have wanted to see her again?"
"Maybe, but I haven't really…until now. I did have one serious relationship, or what I thought was serious until I realized she only wanted the money." Her hair felt like spun silk between his fingers as he brushed the curls back behind her ear. "I can't seem to get enough of you."
"What happens after you leave? I mean, the bus should be fixed soon, and you and Beau will be off to God only knows where."
"I don't know, Emma. I wish I did. I'm sure we can work out somethin'. I haven't gotten my fill of you yet." The thought of leaving Emma behind soured his stomach.
The jingle of his cell phone cut through the tight atmosphere developing between them. He cussed out loud when he saw Beau's name on the caller ID.
"What?" he snapped when he opened his phone. "This is my time with Emma. What's so important—"
"Brandon you need to come to the room. We have a problem."
"Can't it wait? We're out ridin'."
"No. It's your management company. You need to be here to hear this. I won't go into it on the phone." The tone of Beau's voice and the evasive answers worried Brandon. It wasn't like Beau to get upset about anything.
"All right. We'll ride back to Emma's dad's place, but it's going to be a couple of hours before we get back and drive into town."
"Its fine, but we need to take care of this soon."
Brandon snapped the phone shut and stood. "We need to get back. Beau says there's a problem of some sort, and I need to be there."
"Okay," she replied, pulling her clothes back on.
Their picnic lunch ended up stuffed back into the saddle bags.
* * * *
They made the ride back to the house in complete and stifling silence. Emma didn't know what to make of Brandon's mood. He'd been so playful and loving out on their picnic, she could almost believe he cared about her.
Deciding to broach the subject once they'd returned to the barn, she said, "Brandon?"
"Yeah?"
"I hope it's nothin' serious."
He glanced over at her fro
m where he stood brushing down his horse. "Me, too, honey, but Beau sounded worried."
"Don't you two have the twin thing where you can feel each others' moods and stuff? I've heard of it before between twins."
"Sometimes, but we usually have to be fairly close to each other. Not like it works miles apart," he replied, finishing up and leading the gelding into his stall. "Are you about ready to go?"
"Yeah. Just let me put Missy away. Can you drop her tack in the storeroom for me along with yours?"
"Sure, honey."
Several moments later, they bounced down the dirt driveway of her dad's place, heading back to town in her truck. A bad feeling sat like a lump of coal in her belly. For some reason, she knew somethin' bad was gonna happen, and she tried to brace herself for it.
The front of the hotel came into view about fifteen minutes later, and she steeled her heart for whatever news Beau had to share. The walk up to their suite felt like what she thought it might be like to walk death row. Trepidation rolled down her spine and made her tremble with uncertainty.
"It'll be fine, honey," Brandon said, taking her hand in his and kissing her fingertips.
"I don't know, Brandon. I have a bad feelin' about this."
Brandon slipped his key card into the door and pushed it open. "Beau?"
"In here," Beau replied from the direction of the dining room area. "You might as well grab a drink, brother, you aren't gonna like this."
When they rounded the corner of the living room and Brandon headed for the bar, Beau looked surprised to see her. "Emma?"
"Hey."
"Hi. I didn't realize Brandon was bringing you along," he replied, brushing her lips with his. "Did you enjoy your day?"
"Yeah. We went ridin' and had a picnic."
"Sounds like fun." The look in his eyes worried her. He looked tired, torn and pissed off.
Deciding she'd rather not hear this now that she was faced with whatever bad news this entailed, she said, "I need to use the little girls' room, guys. I'll be back in a minute." She pushed the bathroom door open and then shut it behind her. It only took seconds for the raised tones to penetrate the door. Even though they shouted, she couldn't make out the words clearly, but anger and irritation rang in their voices.
Moments later silence filled the suite, and she figured she needed to go back out there. Hopefully everything had blown over. When she walked back into the living room, she could see Beau standing by the bay windows, looking out over the wildflowers and the mountains in the distance, and Brandon sitting in the chair, tapping his fingers against the leather.
"Guys?"
"Emma, honey," Brandon said, getting to his feet. "Come here."
She moved into his embrace and let him hug her tight. The trembling of his body as he held her scared her more than anything. "What's wrong? What's happened?"
"Nothin' for you to worry your pretty head about," Brandon answered.
"Bullshit, Brandon. She has the right to know," Beau snapped.
"Know what? You're scaring me."
Brandon glared at Beau for a moment and then sighed. "Sit down, Emma. We need to talk to you."
The ending of their little love affair had always loomed in the dark corners, just waiting to rear its ugly head and force her to face the fact of their departure. The tightness around Beau's mouth and the anger floating in Brandon's eyes made her realize the end was closer than she'd thought.
"Now, what's this all about?"
"God, I hate this!" Beau shouted. "Tell them no, Brandon. Tell them we have something we need to finish here."
"We've been over this, Beau. I can't and neither can you. They could cancel my contract, and I'd be out on my ear. There's no room for a difficult-to-deal-with performer in country music. You know that! You've been pounding it into my head for the last five years."
"Damn it! This isn't fair."
"Uh…would someone please explain?" Emma asked.
Brandon dropped onto the couch next to her and took her hand in his. "We have to leave."
"I know. When the bus is finished being repaired—"
"No, honey, now. Today."
"What? No, you can't leave yet." I'm not ready for them to leave.
"I know, Emma. God, I know," he said, raking his fingers through his hair. "Neither of us wants to leave, but we have to. My management company called earlier, while we were out. They're sending a private jet to pick us up to fly us back to Nashville. They've set up another bus to get us around until ours is fixed."
"I thought you'd cancelled the shows you had coming up," she said, her gaze meeting Brandon's, hoping beyond hope this wasn't real. They couldn't be leaving so soon.
"I called them and told them to," Beau interjected, his own despair and disbelief written on his face as he sat down on her other side and gathered her into his arms. "But apparently they didn't. They've decided to make other arrangements for Brandon to be there, and I have to go with him."
Tears burned her eyes, and one trickled down her cheek. This couldn't be happening. They can't leave yet.
"I'm sorry, Emma," Beau whispered, wiping the tear from her cheek. "I wish we had more time."
Brandon rose to his feet and began to pace back and forth. "I know. Come with us, Emma."
"What?" she asked, pulling away from Beau. "I can't. I have a life here. School. My family."
"You can leave that. This would be us. You, me and Beau. We'll take care of you. I have more than enough money. Beau can tell you."
"It's not about the money, Brandon. It's not about you and Beau. This is me. I can't up and leave everything I know."
Beau's eyes were shadowed with hurt and indecision. "Brandon, we can't do this to her. It's not fair to make her chose."
"I care about you, both of you, but I won't leave my family, my friends, or my life here." She got to her feet and backed up.
"Emma, please," Brandon said, taking her hands. "I think I'm falling in love with you. I need you with me—with both of us. I know Beau feels the same."
Disbelief, elation, and then disappointment tore at her heart. "Don't, Brandon. I can't handle it. Please." She pulled away and glanced at Beau, then back to Brandon. "I guess this is good-bye then." Unable to stop herself from one last touch, she pressed her lips to Brandon's and then to Beau's. "Please don't hate me."
"I could never hate you, darlin'," Beau said, running his hand down her back.
"Me either. You know how to get in touch with us if you want to, right?" Brandon added.
"No, but it's probably best." She closed her eyes and bit her lip. "I…need to move on. It's been great, and I'll never forget either of you, but—" With her knuckle pressed against her lips to stop the choking sobs, she grabbed her purse and rushed out the door.
Chapter Thirteen
Four months. Four fucking months since either of them had seen or talked to Emma and it was driving Beau absolutely insane. At the moment, they sat in one of the houses Brandon owned, in a suburb of Nashville. When he'd made it big, Brandon had said he wanted to own a home with some acreage. Nashville seemed the logical place, with all the time he had to spend in the studios. Right now, all Beau wanted to do was see Emma. She refused to answer their phone calls, and every avenue they'd tried got shut down by those around her.
Beau paced the living room, stopping every so often to glance out at the barren landscape. The pastures behind the house stretched for miles over the gentle slope of the terrain. Horses moved in and out of the corrals, hunting for morsels of hay left from this morning's feeding. "I need to see her, Brandon. I can't stop thinkin' about her."
"I know, Beau. I feel the same way, but we're booked solid on this tour for another month. You know traveling to Montana in the fuckin' dead of winter is a bad idea."
"I know." He slammed his fist down on the tabletop under the window and cussed when the skin on his knuckles broke and bled. "Son of a bitch! I can't sleep. I can't eat. I sure as hell can't fuck another woman, and I'm about to lose my mind
." Grabbing a paper towel from the kitchen, he wrapped his knuckles to stop the bleeding and glanced at his brother. "Where's the number you found? I'm gonna try callin' her again."
"She's not takin' our calls, Beau. We've tried this how many times now?"
"I don't care. I need to hear her voice, even if it's just the voicemail." He sank down on the couch, laying his head against the back. "I never thought I'd find the woman I want to spend the rest of my life with by gettin' into a car accident. How in the hell did I fall in love with her?"
"I wish I knew," Brandon whispered, his voice soft and in awe. "If I had the answer to that, I wouldn't be feelin' the same way. I love her too, and it's drivin' me nuts not talking to her or being near her. We should never have left Red Rock without telling her how we felt."
"If those assholes from Nelson and Britchert hadn't corralled us onto the plane so damned fast, I would have. Hell, we were going after her when they caught us in the lobby. This is such a fuckin' mess. Callin' her house didn't work—her dad refused to tell her we called. Cade won't talk to us either."
"Do you blame them? They think we left her high and dry. Have you tried callin' her friend Becky? Maybe she can tell us how Emma is, at least."
Beau snapped his fingers and sat up. He grabbed his phone and dialed information for Red Rock. When he had Becky's number, he crossed his fingers and dialed.
"Hello?"
"Becky?"
"Yes, who is this?"
"It's Beau Tucker. Don't hang up please. I need to talk to you."
"Well, I don't want to talk to you, you asshole, or your brother, either. How in the hell could you leave Emma like that?" she snarled into the phone. "You're both fucking worthless pieces of shit, and I hope your nuts fall off."
The phone clicked in his ear. "Damn it! Is the whole goddamn town pissed at us?" Frustration and fear raced through his mind. What if they never got to see her again? What if he never held her again?
"Probably," Brandon replied. "But I have one more idea. Didn't you say you met Emma's gram when you went out to dinner with her?"