by Carol Lynne
Ranger stood over them, handing them each a glass of red wine. Ryker looked up to take his glass and met Ranger’s gaze. He knew Lilly had jumped her first hurdle in gaining Ranger’s love as well.
Getting into bed, Ranger quickly finished his glass of wine, and set it on the table. He motioned for Ryker to look at Lilly and grinned. Glancing over, Ryker saw Lilly trying her best to stay awake. It seemed her orgasm combined with the nerves of their first date had worn her out. Finishing off his wine, Ryker took Lilly’s glass out of her hand and passed them both to Ranger. “Poor baby,” he crooned, pulling Lilly against his chest.
They both watched as she yawned and promptly fell asleep. “She’s just so damn cute,” Ryker said, putting his other arm around Ranger, who cuddled up against him.
“She is,” Ranger agreed. He brushed the hair away from her face. “You think it’s going to work?” Ranger asked, lips barely touching Ryker’s.
“Yeah, I really do.” Ryker opened his mouth and kissed Ranger. After several minutes, they broke apart and settled in for the night, Ranger’s head resting on Ryker’s chest next to Lilly’s beautiful face.
Chapter Eight
Waking up before dawn, surrounded by the people he loved put an immediate smile on Ryker’s face. He could feel Lilly’s soft curves against his morning erection as well as Ranger’s half-hard cock tucked against the cheeks of his ass. “Life just doesn’t get any better,” he whispered to the morning sunrise.
The need to explore was strong, but his conscience kept telling him to wait, Lilly deserved more than a quick, before-work, kind of loving. It would be her first time and Ryker wanted it to be memorable for all of them. Still, a little groping couldn’t hurt, as long as they didn’t do too much.
Feeling his way up from her stomach, Ryker brushed his palms across her warm breasts, happy when they immediately pebbled for him. His fingertips explored the raised bumps and ridges surrounding her tight buds as he kissed her bare shoulder.
Lilly arched her back, pushing her sweet ass against his aching cock. “Morning,” she said, reaching behind her to hold on to his hip as she continued to grind herself against him.
He felt Ranger’s cock stiffen the second his eyes opened. “Having fun without me?” Ranger asked in his rough morning voice.
“Just starting,” Ryker said. He reached back and pulled Ranger closer.
“What about my morning hand job?” Ranger chuckled.
“You’ll have to make do rubbing against me this morning because I’ve got my hands full at the moment.” Ryker looked over his shoulder and kissed Ranger.
Ranger looked at Ryker before glancing toward Lilly. Ryker could tell what he was worried about, but they all needed to get used to each other. Nibbling on Lilly’s neck, he whispered in her ear. “You don’t mind if Ranger rubs off on me this morning do you?”
Lilly took his hand off her breast and drew it down to her pussy. “Not as long as you take care of me, too.”
“Hot damn, pass me some lube, brother.”
“Uh…I thought we agreed…” Ranger stammered.
“Right, I need to talk to Lilly about that.” Ryker kissed Lilly’s shoulder again. “Sweetheart, Ranger and I think it would be better to wait a little longer to make love to you. Lord knows it’s not because we don’t want to, but you deserve something special and we aim to give it to you.” Lilly turned her head and kissed him. “That said, I thought we could do a little playing this morning before Ranger and I have to get you home.”
“I’d like to play, but just so you know, any time would be special to me as long as it was with one of you.” Lilly turned in his arms to face him.
“You do say the sweetest things,” Ryker grinned. With his hand to the back of her head, Ryker pulled her in and licked her lips. When she opened, he delved in deep, tasting her passion just bursting to be set free.
The ringing phone and a nudge from Ranger finally broke them apart. “What?” Ryker asked looking over his shoulder.
“There’s a call for Lilly, its Rawley,” Ranger said, passing the phone to her.
Ryker looked at Ranger and he shrugged. “He wouldn’t tell me anything. Only that he couldn’t find Lilly so he called Debbie and she told him to phone here.”
Turning his attention back to Lilly he listened to her side of the conversation as Ranger’s hand wrapped around his cock. He thrust his hips back against Ranger’s erection as he tried to concentrate on what Lilly was saying to Rawley.
“Okay, yeah, I’ll have the guys drop me by the station. Thanks for calling, Sheriff.” Lilly disconnected and handed the phone back to Ranger. “My landlord called the police this morning. She went out to get her paper and saw my car had been vandalized. Rawley wants me to come by the Sheriff’s office and file a report.” She bit her lip, “I know you guys need to get to work, but could you wait after you drop me off so I can make sure my car will run?”
Ranger released Ryker’s cock and crawled over the top of both of them to sandwich Lilly between their warm bodies. “Of course we will. If you want, you can borrow one of our trucks until you get your car fixed.”
“Thanks, but depending on the damage it’s probably not worth fixing. My poor baby was on her last leg anyway.”
“We’ll figure it out. The most important thing is to find out who would do something like that. Did Rawley say if he suspects kids or a different type of threat?”
“He didn’t say. It’s only me and Mrs. Clemens, and she doesn’t even hear her own phone half the time. Rawley doesn’t even know when it was vandalized, could’ve been any time after you two picked me up yesterday evening.”
Brushing the hair off her face, Ryker kissed her. “I don’t like the thought of you there alone if someone’s trying to start trouble.”
“It’s probably just kids. I’ll be fine, besides I can’t leave Mrs. Clemens there to deal with it, she’s darn near eighty.”
“As much as I’d like to stay right where we are, we need to get going. Ryker, why don’t you go hop into the shower while Lilly and I make breakfast.”
Sticking his bottom lip out, Ryker sat up. “You’ve always been a party pooper.”
“No, I’ve always been the one who gets your ass to work on time.” Ranger grinned, swatting Ryker’s ass as he walked by on the way to the bathroom.
* * * *
As soon as Ryker shut the door, Ranger looked back at Lilly. “Do you think it could have anything to do with your failed date with Jeff the other night?”
Sitting up, Lilly swung her legs over the side of the bed. “I can’t see Jeff doing something like that. He was a real jerk Saturday night at work, but I’ve never heard of him having a violent streak.” Lilly looked toward the bathroom.
“Maybe you should come back and stay the night tonight after you get off work.” Ranger pulled on his jeans and watched as Lilly put on her clothes. Damn she sure is a beauty.
She seemed to be thinking about his invitation as she slipped her skirt on. Lilly paused and slapped her forehead. “Oh, no, I can’t. Dang you two have completely fried my brain for anything but the two of you. I forgot tonight’s Bunco night at Jeanette’s house and I promised mom I’d go. I even scheduled an evening off.”
“How long does it usually last? You can always come by after.” Ranger hated to beg, but he really didn’t like the sound of someone destroying her car. He tried not to make a fuss, not wanting to worry either of them, but he planned on making a phone call to Rawley later.
Lilly was back to biting her lip as she pulled the shirt over her head. He sighed as her perfect breasts were once again covered. She seemed to know what he was thinking and gave him a wink. “Later,” she teased.
Hearing the water shut off, Ranger grabbed her hand and led her to the kitchen. “Quick, let’s get breakfast going. Do you need a shower?”
Lilly shook her head and retrieved a carton of eggs from the fridge. “I’ll just put my hair in a ponytail until I get back from filing the report.”
Pulling down a bowl, she began cracking eggs. “I hope you both like scrambled. Sorry to say, I’m not much of a cook.”
Ranger hugged her from behind, “Scrambled’s my favorite.” He ran his tongue around the shell of her ear as he slipped his hands under the thin tank top and up to cover her breasts. Lilly rested her head back on his shoulder as she arched into his touch.
“Oh, now I know why you wanted me to shower first, you pig.” Ryker said, still drying his hair with a towel.
“I couldn’t help myself,” Ranger said, squeezing her nipples.
He felt the snap of the towel on his ass and turned his head toward Ryker. “You’re asking for it, Bub.”
Ryker smiled and pressed against Ranger’s back. “Yeah? What am I asking for?” Ryker used the position to stretch his arms out around Ranger and onto Lilly’s breasts.
With two sets of hands on her, Lilly moaned. “Well unless you both stop, it sure ain’t breakfast.”
Ranger and Ryker both laughed and released their hold on her. “Okay, I’ll get in the shower,” Ranger said, placing one more kiss on Lilly’s neck. He turned toward Ryker and kissed him. “You be good and let the woman feed us before we’re late for work.”
“Yes, sir, boss.” Ryker saluted.
* * * *
Pulling up in front of her tiny apartment over Mrs. Clemens garage, Lilly gasped. “Oh, no.” As soon as she saw the busted out windows, she was glad Ryker had insisted she borrow one of their trucks. They’d still followed her home, but at least now she had a way to get to the Sheriff’s station. She felt Ryker’s arm wrap around her waist as Ranger parked and got out of his truck.
“Holy shit,” Ranger said, as he walked toward her destroyed Toyota. Ranger narrowed his eyes and looked around the street and yard. “This wasn’t done by kids.” Ranger turned his gaze on Lilly. They both knew who’d done it.
“Excuse me, but is there something you all want to let me in on?” Ryker asked.
Lilly looked up at Ranger, who closed his eyes and nodded. She turned back to Ryker. “It’s just a guess, but Jeff wasn’t very happy with me the other night. When we got into his truck, he immediately started putting his hand up my skirt, and I kinda freaked out. I apologized and told him I couldn’t go through with it. Needless to say, Jeff’s not used to being shut down. I don’t know how we’d prove it though.”
“I’ll kill him,” Ryker said, jaw tensing.
“No, you won’t, Bub. It’s Rawley’s job, let him do it.” Ranger put a hand on Ryker’s shoulder. “Our job is to protect Lilly, not play cops.”
Lilly looked at her battered car again. Every window was either cracked or busted along with her taillights and headlights. She decided to take Ranger up on his offer for a place to stay. “I’ll talk to Mrs. Clemens and tell her I’ll be gone for a few days until they find out who did this. I’d like to try and convince her to go stay with her sister in Lincoln. If she agrees, I’ll probably drive her up this afternoon, if it’s okay that I use your truck?”
Ryker hugged her. “You can use anything of mine you want.” He gave her a grin and a wink. “Just make sure when you come back to pack, you have one of us or Rawley with you.”
“Will do,” she said standing on her tiptoes to give him a quick kiss. “I’ll be by after Bunco tonight.”
With one last look at Lilly’s car, Ryker shook his head. “Let’s get out of here.”
Chapter Nine
By mid-morning, Ryker was back in the office. He looked at the clock and picked up the phone. Surely Lilly had had time to fill out her police report by now. Dialing Rawley’s number, he waited. When he got a recording, he hung up and tried his cell phone.
“Sheriff Good,” Rawley answered.
“Hey, did Lilly come by?” Ryker leaned back in his chair and put his muddy boots on the edge of the desk.
“Yeah, I’m over at her place right now. She’s upstairs getting some things together while I take some fingerprints off the car.” Rawley paused, “Lilly’s staying with you for a couple of days I take it?”
He could almost hear the censure in his big brother’s voice. “Yes, something wrong with that?”
“Nope, not as long as you’re sure of what you’re doing. And before you get all defensive, it’s not because of her age, even though I know that’s a sore spot with you and Ranger. I just need you to be sure this is what you want because it might not go over very well in town. You need to think a little about what’s good for Lilly and the consequences of your actions.”
“Rawley, we know all of this. Ranger and I have talked about it for years. What it would all mean to our personal and professional lives, and we decided that Lilly had a right to choose for herself. We had a nice talk last night and the night before. I think she knows what she’s getting into. She talked to her momma, so we’re not sneaking around behind anyone’s backs. Just let us deal with it.”
“Deal, huh? What about Lilly’s car?”
Worrying his fingers through his hair, Ryker closed his eyes. “I don’t think that had anything to do with me and Ranger. I’m sure she told you about her almost-date with Jeff.”
“Yeah, she told me. If you’re going to continue this with her it will be your responsibility to make sure she stays safe.”
“Yes, Sheriff, we realize that. Why do you think we’re insisting she come stay with us until this whole vandalism thing is settled?”
Rawley sighed on the other end of the phone. Ryker could just picture him taking off his hat and wiping his brow. “On a brotherly note, if this is what you all want, I’m happy for you.”
Ryker knew his brother meant it. Ranger told him about the talk Ranger and Rawley had a couple of months ago and it meant the world to them to have his blessing. “Thanks.”
“Be careful, that’s all I ask. Not everyone’s going to be as accepting of this new relationship.”
“We know. Call us if you find out anything about Lilly’s car. Do you think it’ll be totaled out by the insurance company?”
“Yeah, I’d say so. The whole car’s not worth more than a thousand bucks. I hope she has full coverage.”
“Doesn’t matter. We’ll figure something out.”
“Here she comes, do you want to talk to her?”
“If you don’t mind,” Ryker grinned. He heard Rawley hold out the phone and tell Lilly it was Ryker.
“Hi,” Lilly answered.
“Hi, sweetheart. Did you get Mrs. Clemens to agree to go to her sisters?”
“Finally,” she chuckled. “I’m taking her up to Lincoln in a few minutes.”
Ryker’s body began to stir from the sound of Lilly’s voice. “Make sure you drive safe and keep a watchful eye out for anything suspicious. I don’t think anyone would be foolish enough to bother you in broad daylight, but it doesn’t hurt to keep your eyes open.”
Lilly laughed. “I care about you, too. I need to go. Mrs. Clemens is standing on her porch with suitcase in hand. I’ll call you before I go to Bunco.”
“Bye, sweetheart. I’ll see you later.” Ryker hung up the phone and closed his eyes. “Life is good,” he whispered to himself.
* * * *
Lilly went straight to her mom’s after dropping Mrs. Clemens at her sister’s retirement apartment. She pulled up to the old farmhouse with just enough time to rinse off and get ready.
After a quick shower, she dressed in a pair of white shorts and a floral button-up camp shirt. Pulling the sides of her hair back into a large barrette, she went into the kitchen to find her mom.
“Hey, baby girl,” Debbie said.
“Hey, mom,” Lilly answered, giving her mom a kiss on the cheek.
“What did Rawley tell you about your car?” Debbie asked, putting plastic wrap over the top of a plate of brownies.
Lilly snuck a brownie off the plate before her mom had it completely covered. “That he’d send a report to my insurance company. He went over with me earlier to take fingerprints and wait for me to pack a bag. Ranger and Ryk
er think I should stay with them until we know whoever did this has got it out of their system.” Lilly pinched off a piece of the dessert and stuck it into her mouth.
Debbie’s eyebrow lifted as she looked at Lilly. “You know you could’ve just come home for a while. Are you sure staying with them is a good idea?”
Lilly looked at her mom for several seconds. She’d thought about the implications all the way home from Lincoln. “Yeah, mom, it’s what I want. If people are going to have a problem with it, it won’t matter if it happens now or two months from now because I feel like this thing between the three of us is right.”
Debbie walked over and kissed the top of her head. “Okay.” She looked up at the clock. “You ready?”
Lilly picked up the plate of devilled eggs on the counter while her mom carried the brownies. “Let’s go play.”
* * * *
Getting out of Ryker’s truck, Lilly grabbed her purse and a plate of food. She looked around at the cars lining the street. “Pretty good turnout it seems.”
“It’s usually a good crowd when we play in town.” Debbie came around the truck to meet Lilly on the sidewalk.
“Maybe I’ll get lucky and you won’t need me to play after all,” Lilly grinned. She’d much rather be playing with her men than a bunch of old women.
They headed toward the big front porch when a voice like nails on a chalkboard spoke up. “Isn’t that Ryker Good’s truck?” Mary Waters asked. Mary was several years older than Lilly and liked to think of herself as the town beauty.
“Yes, it is. What gave you your first clue? Could it be the Good’s Feedlot sign on the side?” Lilly knew she was being snide, but dammit, she wasn’t in the mood for this holier than thou bitch today.
“Why are you driving Ryker’s truck? I thought you were going out with Jeff?” Mary inquired with her hands on her bony hips.