Cole, Kaliana - Good Horses, Fast Cars and Real Men (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour)

by Kaliana Cole

  She hooked the trailer up to the old Ford and headed over to the Kelly farm. Determinedly forcing back nightmares from the last time she had been on the property, Jade began to worry about what the lovable but very trying horse was up to. It could be damn near anything.

  She had lost count of the times she had gotten phone calls to extricate him from sticky situations. He had invited himself to a wedding party on the church grounds next door to his agistment paddock once, eaten the cake, and chased the groom. He was not popular that day, but the couple sure had a one of a kind wedding video.

  Toby also had a tendency to remove washing from lines he came across. He much preferred whites to colors. But he was the one who had kept her life bearable over the last few years, so she treasured him for the gem he was, flaws and all.

  Dust was billowing from the area behind the sprawling homestead. Jade pulled up a respectful distance from a fully restored, 1951, sunfire-yellow, stepside F-100 pickup.

  Wiping the drool from her chin, she circled the work of art slowly, the flawless finish reflecting every worshipful step. Her matt-black Camaro was meant to be driven, but this, this was meant to be drooled over.

  Every piece of chrome gleamed. Every panel was polished within an inch of its life. This wasn’t just someone’s pride and joy, this was their life.

  Reluctantly tearing herself away from the classic machine, Jade headed for the cloud of dust still rising steadily. Stepping through the wrought-iron house yard gate, she circled behind the house, noticing numerous improvements and changes that had taken place.

  There was a new outdoor entertainment area, complete with covered deck, built-in bar and barbeque, and a lacquered hardwood setting for eight. There also appeared to be some new rooms added to the back of the century-old building.

  A lot of the yards and out buildings she remembered were also gone. She was thankful the old round yard that used to be on the eastern side of the house no longer existed outside her nightmares.

  A tall, male figure leaned against the weathered stonework wall, not big enough for Matt and built more compactly than Nate. With that black Irish coloring, it had to be Brett. He was facing a chicken run of sorts, which at the moment happened to contain a lot of flying feathers, two yapping dogs, one rather portly palomino quarter horse, and what appeared to be one oversize Kelly brother halfway up a sapling that was struggling with the task.

  Trying to contain her amusement, Jade took a deep breath to fortify herself and stepped up next to Brett. “Sorry it took me so long to get here.”

  “Hey, stranger! Don’t worry about that. I haven’t seen anything this entertaining for years.” Brett turned with a smile.

  “You watch, every time Matt slips down the tree, that mad horse of yours ducks in and nips him on the ass. We should sell tickets to this.”

  “I’m so fucking glad you’re having fun, Brett!” Matt’s rather pissed off interjection from the tree came through loud and clear. “Jade, come and get this fucking horse.”

  Jade had never heard Matt curse in anger. Brett must have picked up on it, too. “Lady present, numbnuts. Watch your mouth.”

  “Sorry, I’m too busy watching my ass at the moment” was his pithy retort.

  Jade had to laugh. “I think I had better go save him.”

  “Can’t we leave him there just a little bit longer?” This new, lighter Brett was a creature she had never encountered before. He smiled down at her, the combination of black hair and bright blue eyes damn near stealing her breath.

  Had he always looked so striking, or had he grown into it with maturity? All she could remember with any clarity was the jut of his chin, but that, too, had changed. He no longer looked at her as if he was spoiling for a fight. His body language was relaxed and confident, open and friendly in a way she could not reconcile with the angry, highly strung youth she had known.

  Matty chose that moment to embarrass her. “Jade, remember how you said I had a cute ass? Well it’s not going to be there at all if you don’t hurry up!”

  “You told him he had a cute ass?” Jade felt the heat steal to her face as Brett turned back to her, a wide smile creasing his lean cheeks.

  Jade chose to ignore him. “I’ll just get that horse.” She could feel piercing blue eyes on her every step of the way.

  A shrill whistle brought the big horse straight to his mistress. She took hold of his head stall and rubbed his sweaty ears. “You big old fool. What were you chasing the chickens for, huh?”

  A loud crack had her turning in time to see the struggling tree come down with Matty still attached. She winced and turned back to the horse.

  Brett handed her a lead rope. “Actually, he wasn’t chasing the chickens. The pups were chasing the chickens. Matt was chasing the pups, and then this fella decided he liked the look of Matt.”

  Brett ran a practiced hand over Toby’s heavily crested neck. “He looks like he could do with the exercise. I didn’t know horses could get this fat.”

  “He’s just a good doer,” she defended Toby weakly. He really was getting too fat. “Hey, should we check on Matty?” He was still lying on the ground moaning.

  “No he’s just looking for some sympathy. He’ll be fine,” Brett assured her without even looking at his fallen brother. “The hens are a different story. It will be weeks before we get any eggs from those girls.”

  Jade looked worriedly at where the big man lay sprawled on the bare earth with the shattered sapling beside him, now not making any noise at all. “Here, hold Toby for a minute. I would never forgive myself if he really was hurt.”

  * * * *

  Brett took the lead and watched with amusement as Jade hurried over to where Matt lay.

  “And she called you a fool,” he muttered to the gelding, absently stroking the velvet of his nose.

  Resignedly, he waited while his brother feigned death, lying in wait for Jade to lean close enough. As expected, Matt toppled her to land full-length atop him.

  The girly squeal she emitted made Brett beam. The Jade he had known would have died before letting such a feminine noise escape her control. It made a man wonder what other sounds could be wrung from her. Matt soon had her laughing and shrieking as she halfheartedly tried to fight off the growling giant trying to maul her neck.

  Brett bit back a laugh when Jade caught his brother with a short right to his ribs that made him release her. The new, girly Jade still remembered a few old tricks. He was still grinning when she stalked back over, gathering her dignity as she went.

  “Can I say ‘I told you so,’ or will that just make you madder?”

  She gave a rueful grin. “Nah, I deserve that. You would think I’d learn, but I couldn’t leave him there without checking.”

  “He’s not a baby anymore, Jadey. He’s all grown up now.” His eyes dropped to flick over her nipples, aroused from her contact with Matt and pressing hard against her shirt, before locking onto the prominent love bite exposed where the top button had come undone in her wrestle with the big fool wandering in their direction.

  “But you don’t need me to tell you that.”

  Jade let out an exasperated sound. Taking the lead rope from Brett’s hand, she turned on her heel and led Toby toward the float, muttering darkly about the need for less Kelly men on this earth. Just as she reached the vehicle, the third brother turned up.

  “Great. Just fucking great.” Jade snarled, barely audible. Brett kept his smile to a minimum and followed.

  “Hey, darlin’. That a horse or a yellow hippo?” Nate gave Toby a light slap on the rump as he walked to her. Brett winced when he saw how long it took the fat to stop reverberating. She really needed to put that horse on a diet.

  “Leave him alone. He’s just solid,” Jade defended her horse. “Now that I have him home, he can get a bit more work. He will drop a bit of weight then.”

  Her nonchalance was clearly feigned as Nate kept coming toward her, not stopping until he put an arm around her and kissed her briefly but th
oroughly. He plucked some twigs out of her hair with a raised eyebrow before he released her. The blush that rushed to her face wasn’t missed by any of them.

  She dropped the tailgate and told Toby to load up, throwing the lead over his wither. The big horse put himself on the float and waited patiently for her to close the tailgate. Big hands beat her to the job, lifting the heavy ramp effortlessly. “Thanks, Nate.”

  She turned to walk to the cab but apparently couldn’t resist feasting on the yellow eye candy parked beside the old farm truck. Brett walked up beside her, thumbs tucked into the belt loops on his jeans. “Nice, isn’t she? Want to come for a drive?”

  “She’s yours?” Jade asked excitedly, peering through the dark tint of the window to ogle the interior.

  “For another day, anyway.” Brett watched in amusement as Jade panted over his creation. He would much prefer her panting over him, but the machine would do. “The buyer comes to pick her up on Monday.”

  Two years of painstaking work had gone into seeing a rusted shell rescued from a forgotten barn become a show ’n’ shine contender. Hours spent after work meticulously stripping and rebuilding, thousands of dollars of parts, and every single one worthwhile as he enjoyed Jade’s delight. Jade looked down at her jeans, covered in dust from her tangle with Matt. “I can’t, Brett. I’m covered in dirt.” Disappointment was easy to detect in her voice. “And I have to get Toby home.”

  “I have got a drop sheet on the seat, and I am sure Nate or Matt can run the horse home for you. Better make it Nate. Numbnuts can’t drive for shit.”

  Ignoring Matt’s spluttered protest, Brett turned to his older brother. “Can you take the float home for us, Nate?”

  Nate’s grin was carefully contained. “Sure. What do you want me to do with the hippo when I get there?”

  Looking from one brother to the other, Jade hesitated. Brett could see she was torn between the compulsion to get in the classic at all costs and making sure Toby got home safely. Nate was the one who, as always, read her to perfection.

  “Go on. I can get him all settled in. Just tell me where you want him, and I will make sure it’s done. You go for a drive. Matt can drive my truck over after he changes his pants. He’s not going anywhere with me with his ass hanging out like that.”

  Jade’s laugh rang loud when Matt turned to give her a good look at the back of his worn jeans. One pocket had torn out, taking most of the underlying fabric with it, and the other was hanging down dejectedly. No undies for this soldier.

  Matt gave her a knowing grin and headed back to the house, putting a little more swing into his step than usual. Both brothers looked on in amusement as, mesmerized Jade watched Matt’s ass peek out with every step all the way to the front door, where he gave her a saucy wink before disappearing.

  It was Nate offering her a clean handkerchief from his pocket that had her gathering her scattered wits. “What do I want that for?”

  Nate gave her a mocking grin. “To wipe the drool off your chin, darlin’. Matty will be crowing for a week with the way you can’t keep your eyes off him.”

  Jade slapped his hand away, embarrassment heating her cheeks, and moved closer to Brett. Her voice held all the superiority of a grand lady giving instructions to a lowly lackey. “Put Toby in the yard closest to the house. There is a snap lock on the latch. Make sure you use it.”

  Brett didn’t bother to hide the smile that graced his face when Jade backed up enough that he was forced to put a hand on the small of her back to stop her from coming in contact with the polished paint work.

  He restrained a “yes” of success when he saw her react to his small touch with a tiny gasp and the instant pebbling of nipples. He knew Nate had not missed it either when his lips curled mockingly.

  Nate gave her a sardonic bow as Brett opened the passenger side door and guided her in with his hand still resting on her lower back. Brett’s self-control was firmly in place as he resisted the easy opportunity to caress her ass on the way in. Instead, closing the door softly, he gave Nate an enigmatic smile over the hood of the vehicle as he circled around to the driver’s seat, right where he liked to be.

  Chapter 11

  Settling into the plush seat, Jade groaned, suffering a severe bout of vehicle envy. Even covered by the heavy cotton of the protective sheet, the luxury of butter-soft, full-grain leather embraced her fully.

  She fisted her hands to contain the need to run her fingertips over the gleaming walnut dash with its shining chrome instrument panel. The smell of beeswax polish and well-dressed leather was complemented by clean musky male with undertones of sandalwood as Brett slid behind the wheel.

  The engine started with a purr, the customized V8 rumbling to life. Brett was silent as he turned the car toward the drive and let it idle along so as not to raise the dust.

  “I can’t believe you are selling this. It’s a fucking work of art!”

  “Firstly, I always sell them. It’s getting them like this I enjoy, not showboating around in them. And secondly, ladies don’t swear.”

  Jade looked at him incredulously. “Come on, Brett, I always swear.”

  “Try to restrain yourself then, or I will stop restraining the need to put you over my knee when you do.” His statement was more menacing for the unemotional way in which he said it. Not a threat, merely a statement of fact.

  “You’re serious?” Jade was a little disconcerted by this turn of direction.

  “Completely. You cheapen yourself by using that kind of language. It demonstrates a lack of self-respect or a limited vocabulary. I happen to know that you received an excellent education. Use it.”

  “I am not sure what to be more concerned about, you dictating behavior to me or the fact that you are talking about spanking me.”

  She turned on the seat cover to face him fully, studying his profile as he drove onto the blacktop at the end of the drive. “Brett, I have had to watch every move I have made for the last ten years. I am not about to let someone who claims to be a friend tell me what I can and cannot do now that I finally have the freedom to be me. Take me as I am or not at all. I am sick of pandering to the whims of male pride.”

  “See, that’s the vocabulary I was talking about. And don’t worry about the spanking. I know you would enjoy it.” His blue eyes flashed. “I would make sure of it.”

  Jade sputtered as he turned down a little-used lane that she knew led to a swimming hole on Miller’s creek they had used as kids. “It’s a bit cold for a swim, Brett.”

  “I know. I just want somewhere quiet to talk to you where we won’t be disturbed.” He maneuvered the vehicle beside a budding willow that stretched over the chilled stream.

  “Come on,” he urged, stepping out of the beautiful classic.

  Brett sat down on the grassy bank with his back resting against the trunk of the willow, looking out across the waterhole where they had passed many summer afternoons as kids. Unsure, Jade approached to stand beside him.

  She took the hand he wordlessly extended and followed his mute request to sit beside him. She settled herself on the soft grass that grew beneath the protection of the old tree and waited for him to speak. He retained possession of her hand, placing it on his raised knee where he studied it, stroking the back absently.

  “You said you needed to be you after being what David wanted for so long. You are not the only one who needs a chance to be themselves, Jade.”

  He took a deep breath, turning her hand to study the other side. “Nate and Matthew want you so bad that I was tempted to go along just to make them happy. Don’t get me wrong, I want you, too.” He gave a small smile. “I always did. I just felt threatened by a girl who was stronger than me, tougher than me, one who could put me on my ass anytime she liked. I didn’t know how to deal with that, so I reacted the only way I knew—by lashing out.

  “But I have come to terms with who I am now, Jade. I am no longer the little brat with a chip on his shoulder daring everyone to try and knock it off. I am a
grown man that knows who and what I want.” Jade was mesmerized by the heat in his eyes as he turned toward her. “You are the one I want, Jade, and I would be honored if you could find it in you to forget the past and give us a chance, but there are a few things that I will not compromise on.

  “I am a Dom, Jade. I like my sex rough and kinky, and my woman submissive. If the idea of being tied up, or spanked and blindfolded, and every orifice belonging to me to do as I wish does nothing for you, then we will never reach a working agreement. I insist on total control in the bedroom.” He ran his fingers over the back of her hand, paying special attention to the areas between each digit.

  “I have had other relationships fail because my needs were not being met, and others failed because we had nothing in common outside the bedroom. So I want you coming into this with your eyes wide open. Does the idea of a bit of kinky play disgust you, Jade, or is it something you would like to try?”

  Jade collected her thoughts as she strived to answer his honesty with some truthfulness of her own. How did she feel about his revelations?

  Wet and horny.

  That had been her first primal reaction to his admission of liking “rough, kinky sex,” but what if, like a lot of things, the fantasy was a lot different from reality? What if she said yes and then couldn’t handle what he wanted? Would they be trapped in an unsatisfying relationship for the sake of Matt and Nate?

  Deciding on complete honesty, she curbed her natural embarrassment at such intimate talk. Jade turned her hand in his loose grip and entwined their fingers so she would have something solid to ground her while she fought her aversion to non-physical intimacy.

  “In all honesty, Brett, the idea excites me, but never having done anything like that, I don’t know if the reality is going to match. I can’t say that I would like everything you want to do because I have no idea what you really want or if I would like it. I don’t know how to answer you any more truthfully than that.”