by Jenny May
Dark Days Ranch 3
Crack the Whip
Georgina’s seen both the good and the bad that comes from having mates. The love the bonding creates lasts a lifetime. But that’s just it. After she watches her mother die of a broken heart, the anxiety Georgina develops over bonding to Damien and Austin is well warranted. Can she get over her fear, or will she keep the pact with her brother that they’re better off alone?
Damien and Austin know they have to bring Georgina around to being their mate. After all, Damien sees the perfect submissive that Georgina is, and he wants her to embrace the life she’s been ordered to live by their alpha. But as things heat up between the three of them, a plea for Damien to take over the Big C leaves him with a tough decision. Does he try to become the alpha he’s always known himself to be, and risk making Georgina’s fear of losing one of her mates a possible reality? Or does he walk away from it all and face the consequences?
Note: This book contains topping by the heroine.
Genre: BDSM, Contemporary, Ménage a Trois/Quatre, Paranormal, Vampires/Werewolves
Length: 49,403 words
CRACK THE WHIP
Dark Days Ranch 3
Jenny May
MENAGE AMOUR
Siren Publishing, Inc.
www.SirenPublishing.com
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A SIREN PUBLISHING BOOK
IMPRINT: Ménage Amour
CRACK THE WHIP
Copyright © 2013 by Jenny May
E-book ISBN: 978-1-62740-783-0
First E-book Publication: November 2013
Cover design by Harris Channing
All art and logo copyright © 2013 by Siren Publishing, Inc.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: This literary work may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic or photographic reproduction, in whole or in part, without express written permission.
All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.
PUBLISHER
Siren Publishing, Inc.
www.SirenPublishing.com
Letter to Readers
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DEDICATION
To Eddie. You’re not only an amazing cousin, but a great friend.
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright Page
Dedication
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
About the Author
CRACK THE WHIP
Dark Days Ranch 3
JENNY MAY
Copyright © 2013
Chapter 1
“What…in the hell are you wearing?”
Damien looked up to see his older brother, Rogue, walking toward him. The six-feet-four-inch cowboy usually strolled around with a blank expression on his face, but while he got closer to Damien, he didn’t miss the pure shock that was filling his brother’s features. His mouth was even parted. It was enough to make Damien smile.
“What? You’ve never seen Armani before?” The sound of him closing the trunk blended in with the surrounding noise of Dark Days Ranch. Various animals, from horses, to dogs, even to chickens, were singing their tunes. Cowboys laughing and yelling was also thick in the air. It was pure and utter torture to a man trying to hide a killer hangover.
As Damien threw the new plastic-covered suits over his shoulder and headed into the main office, his brother followed closely behind. “Ar–what? Bro, what in the hell is up with you? You’ve been acting strange ever since Knox took over Hidden Hills.”
“Actually, I need to go visit him, Lynna, and Lewis, by the way,” Damien said, lowering the large pile of clothes on the backside of the chair that sat on the other side of Logan’s desk. He looked around for his alpha, trying his best to dodge Rogue’s question. By the glare he connected with, he knew he wasn’t going to escape the grilling that was sure to come.
“I’m waiting. What’s up with you and the form-fitting suits? You thinking of leaving the ranch?”
Damien groaned. “No. What I was thinking was that I needed a change, and I happen to like this look. Sorry, brother, but I’ve been dressed in tight jeans, boots, and dirt for far too long now. It doesn’t hurt to change it up a bit, every now and then.”
“Right,” his brother said, sarcastically.
The reflection in the mirror looked damn good. The dark suit molded to his tall frame, starting out at his broad shoulders, and narrowing at the waist. The black vest and skinny tie stood out powerfully against the white buttoned-up shirt underneath. He turned in the mirror, taking it all in. The gel the stylist had put in gave off a messy yet sharp look to his short, dark hair. His hand trailed over his freshly shaved face and he turned to look at Rogue. “Don’t hate because you know I look better than you. Jealousy doesn’t become you, brother.”
Rogue lunged for him and Damien leaped over the desk, laughing. Logan and Ty took two steps inside the office and his alpha raised an eyebrow at him. “Damien.” Logan’s voiced was clipped as his eyes narrowed. “You mix up that paperwork on my desk and you’ll be pulling guard on the border of Hidden Hills for a month.”
“But there’s nothing to worry about over there.”
“Exactly,” Logan snapped. “Away from the desk.” He motioned with hi
s hand and took his seat behind it. “I’ve been sorting this crap now for a week. If I have to start over I’m going to be pissed. There are better things for me to be doing than going over requests.” Logan’s eyes lifted from the three stacks he had before him. “Nice suit, by the way.”
“Thanks.” Damien’s eyes cut to Rogue. A growl came from his brother’s mouth. “At least someone knows style around here.” He eased down on the edge of the chair, careful not to lean against his new clothes. “So, I’ve been thinking.” Logan looked up long enough to give him a surprised look. Damien rolled his eyes and continued. “Maybe I should look for a partner. I’ve been working alone a lot lately, and Myles said I should give it a try.”
“Myles?” Both Logan and Ty looked at him at the mention of their mate’s name. “When did you talk to My? She’s at Whiskey River Ranch visiting her brother right now.”
“I know. I stopped to see Jack on my way to El Paso to get my new suits. She asked how I was doing, and I told her I needed a hobby because I was bored out of my mind. That’s when she said I needed a partner, slash friend. Someone I could hang out with at work and on my downtime. Made sense to me.”
Logan’s head leaned back against the chair. Maybe this wasn’t the best time to talk to him. Damien could suddenly see how stressed he looked. “You’re bored? I can give you something to do. Change your damn clothes and find Georgie. That’ll keep you busy. Now out. Al wants a report by the end of the day and I have work to do.”
“But I’m off this week.”
“Not today, you’re not. Now go.”
A groan came from Damien’s mouth and his brother laughed as he followed him out to the black M3 his brother, Knox, used to own. Since Knox had become the new alpha of Hidden Hills, he’d gotten new toys and wasn’t in use for the car anymore. Damien had gladly taken it.
“You should have left him alone. Now you get to pull ranch duty for the day. Have fun with that. I’m off to the bar.”
Damien looked down at the Rolex around his wrist. “It’s only four.”
“Yep. See ya round.”
The clothes he wore for surveillance were piled in his trunk. He grabbed a pair of Wranglers and a white T-shirt, pissed that he couldn’t enjoy his suit any longer. “Find Georgie. What kind of name is that?” He stormed into the building’s restroom and changed. While he hung his suit up and covered it in the plastic wrapping, he tried to force the anger down. At least the day was almost over. He’d only have to put in an hour or so and he could call it a day.
Damien slid on the boots and carried his suit into Logan’s office to lay across the chair with the others. Logan and Ty were so consumed with the paperwork that they didn’t even notice him.
The Texas heat engulfed him the moment Damien stepped into the sun. He headed for the corral, thinking that was the best place to start looking. Footsteps pounded in his direction and he looked over to see Cooper heading in his direction. “Hey, what are you doing here?” The cowboy stepped into stride with him and Damien snatched the Stetson from his head.
“This is mine. Where’d you get it?”
“Logan. He gave it to me this morning when I couldn’t find mine.”
“You don’t take a man’s hat. There are consequences for that.”
“Any you care to enlighten me with?”
Damien stopped and turned to the dark-haired cowboy. He wasn’t referring to what he thought he was…was he? By the nervous smile on his face, Damien didn’t need that question answered. “It depends.” He took Cooper in, skeptically. “Naw, I don’t think you could handle it.”
“Are you as dark as they say you are?”
A laugh exploded from Damien’s mouth. “Is that what they say? Well.” He looked around the busy ranch, making sure no one was close enough to hear. “How good are you at taking orders? Do you like pain, Cooper?” He stepped into the cowboy’s space only leaving a good two inches between their faces. “If I ordered you to follow me into the barn and start off by sucking my cock, could you do it?”
The panicked expression had Damien shaking his head. “Nope, wouldn’t work between us, my man.” He smiled and slapped the guy’s shoulder. “You definitely got looks, but I don’t see it working out.”
As he started to walk forward again the pounding against the dirt had him sighing. “Is that what you want? I mean, I could go in there.”
Cooper’s blue eyes were a bit desperate. What was up with this guy? “Cooper.” He turned the young cowboy to face him. “What’s this about? Every time I’ve seen you you haven’t once made a pass at me. Now, I have you following me around like a lost dog. What’s up?”
There was only a slight hesitation. “All right.” Cooper nodded and shoved his hand in his pants pockets. “So, there’s this guy.”
“Ah,” Damien nodded. “Now we’re getting somewhere.”
“And, well, let’s just say that he won’t have anything to do with me. I’ve tried everything to get his attention. Even gone out on a limb and flirted, showing him I was interested.”
Damien nodded. “Okay. And did he know you were flirting?”
“Yeah,” Cooper said, defensively. “And he blew me off.”
Three men rode past on horses and Damien walked closer to the barn. “He’s a jerk, then. Screw him. He’s not worth your time.”
“But I think I might be bonding to him.”
Damien nearly tripped over his feet. “Well, that poses a problem. Does he know? I mean, mating with someone is a huge thing.” They entered the barn and he grabbed one of the radios from the table. If he was going to have to do anything ranch related, at least he could listen to the chatter going on. It’d give him something to do. Might be fun to mess with people, too.
Out of nowhere, Damien was slammed into the stall door. He looked up at Cooper and the poor cowboy’s eyes were big as if he was scared at what he’d done. If Damien hadn’t liked him, he’d have put the kid through the wall. As it was, he’d grown a little attached during the short periods of time they’d spent together.
“It’s you, jerk. You’ve been in my dreams now for weeks. And the thing is, I’ve been waiting for you to come to me. But nothing. You don’t even look at me like a mate would.”
“Me?” Damien straightened and made himself look deep into Cooper’s eyes. He liked him, but mate material? He surely would have picked up on something that big. “Are you sure it was me?”
The cowboy collapsed to one of the chairs and put his head in his hands. “Well, not exactly. I mean, I can’t see very clearly in my dream. It looks like you a little, but I’m not entirely sure.”
“Looks like me?” Damien’s head snapped to the main office area and he suddenly remembered his brother was already gone. “Have you met my brother, Rogue? He looks a lot like me, but he’s slightly bigger in the muscle department. I think you might be talking about him.”
Cooper’s head rose. “Really?”
“Yeah. I’m surprised you haven’t seen him around. He’s kind of hard to miss. Then again, he does hang out in the office a lot when he’s in town. Mostly he works surveillance with me, so he’s at the border the majority of the time.” A smile came to Damien’s face. “Why don’t you go to the bar in town? The one Myles works at. You’ll find him there.”
Cooper slowly stood from the chair. “Thanks. I think I will.”
Ah, let his brother bask in that one. If Cooper was indeed his mate, Rogue was in for a surprise. That cowboy was about as submissive as they came. It’d be a good match. Remembering what he was supposed to be doing, Damien rushed out to catch Cooper before he left. “Hey, where do I find Georgie?”
A laugh came from the cowboy’s mouth. He pointed to the far corral a hundred yards away. “Have fun working with her.” He paused. “Eh, you might like it.” Cooper continued to laugh until he rounded the office.
Georgie was a girl? Damien shook his head. Unbelievable. He’d never seen that one coming. Well, this should be interesting. He headed in the dir
ection Cooper had pointed him in. The heat baked into his already tanned skin, and he nodded toward Hector and Kyle, who rode by. The wolf stirred within Damien’s core and he paused and looked around. Tingling took over his skin, resulting in the hair on his arms to stand on end. What the hell?
Damien wasn’t sure what to do. The beast inside wanted him to continue, but everything inside of his mind warned against the pull. He thought it’d be funny for his brother to get blindsided by the possibility of having a mate. The closer he got to the corral holding Georgie, the more he was starting to think that maybe the joke was on him.
Chapter 2
Whistling filled the air while Georgina spun the bullwhip, off to the side, in a circle. A crack immediately followed as she hit the surrounding dirt inside the corral. The quarter horse next to her didn’t move as she did it again. Smiling, she threw the length of the whip over Wyatt and let it slide across his large body, tenderly.
It was imperative he not be afraid. As Georgina walked around him, sliding her hand down the thick muscle, she caught sight of a man resting against the metal bar of the corral. Her eyes narrowed, and she brought the whip back up. The leather cut through the air like butter. The sound exploded again and she took in the quarter horse’s energy. He was okay. Her wolf could sense that he wasn’t afraid. Logan would be happy to hear it.
“Bex.” She called out to her helper. He knew the routine. The young boy wasn’t a day over eighteen. He took the horse and led Wyatt to the stables. A feeling pushed against the middle of Georgina’s back and she turned to see the man still staring. She clenched her jaw at the sensation of her wolf stirring around inside.
