by Jane Jamison
“Sir?”
“No.”
“No what, sir?”
“No. I’m not going to fuck you. Not tonight.”
“Oh.”
“You’ve got to prove yourself first.”
Wasn’t what she’d done enough? “How, sir?”
“By doing everything my brother and I tell you to do. No matter what it is. Even while you’re doing your chores around the ranch, we’re going to expect you to answer to us as your Doms.”
“But I thought Derrick wasn’t sure about being a Dom, sir.”
“After I tell him what went on here, he’ll change his mind. Let me handle him.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Now clean yourself off, then come back to the house. I’m sure your sister and Derrick have left you a sandwich or two.” He began pushing through the water toward the shore.
“You’re not going to wait for me? Sir?”
“Why should I? You’re a big girl, right?” He tugged on his clothes and left hers where they lay. “I’ll see you at sunrise. Get some sleep. You’re going to need it.”
She stared after him, wanting to call to him to come back, but knew it would be the wrong thing to do. Before long, he’d disappeared into the night.
“What the hell?”
The touch of something slithering over her calf rid her of all thoughts of Caleb. She let out a yelp and dashed for dry ground.
Chapter Four
The ranch house was dark when Molly made it back. Just as Caleb had said, Jilly and Derrick had left several sandwiches on the kitchen countertop. She snatched up a couple of them and a bottle of water then closed the door behind her as quietly as she could. After dashing across the yard, she burst into the bunkhouse and found her sister sitting on the bottom bunk bed, using her tablet.
“Where have you been?”
Molly couldn’t keep from grinning. How could she when she’d had such an amazing night? “You will not believe what happened.”
Jilly jumped off the bed and tugged her back with her to sit down. “Tell me. And don’t leave out any details.”
“Caleb has started teaching me how to be a sub.”
“No way!”
“Yes. And it was fantastic. Better than any of my fantasies.” She could still feel his hands on her, between her legs, his mouth on her nipple.
“Where? How? Oh, hell, tell me before I burst.”
Molly opened the water bottle and took a swig. It wouldn’t hurt to let her sister wait a little.
“I swear, sis, if you don’t tell me right now, I don’t know what I’ll do.”
“I’ll tell you more. Don’t worry.” She settled into her seat again and took one of the sandwiches out of the plastic baggie. Why couldn’t she take a little time to savor the moment? “But first, tell me about you and Derrick.”
Strangely, as soon as she pictured her sister and Derrick together, she felt a little off-kilter. Like the feeling she got whenever she slipped and fell. One moment, she was standing upright, then in the next, she was flat on her back. The moment of weightlessness in between was fleeting, but hard to forget.
“There’s nothing to tell. Zilch. Nada. Not a damn thing.”
“Seriously?”
“Dead serious. He’s a great guy and all, but that’s it.”
“That’s too bad.” But she didn’t mean it. Not one little bit.
Jilly swiped the sandwich away from her. “You’re not taking one bite until after you’ve told me.”
“But I’m starving.” Still, she couldn’t blame her sister. “Fine. So Caleb and I went for a walk.”
“Don’t tell me what I already know. Get to the juicy parts.”
“If you keep interrupting me, I’ll never get it out.”
Jilly tightened her lips, thinning them and making sure she knew she wouldn’t say another word.
“Anyway, we went for walk and we were talking. He asked me why I wanted to be a sub and he said he wanted to get back into being a Dom once the club is open again. Then he took me down to the pond—”
“There’s a pond? Sorry. Go ahead.”
“And we were sitting on this log when he ordered me to strip.”
Jilly let out a happy gasp. “Now we’re getting somewhere.”
“Yeah. And then he stood up and dropped his jeans.”
“Oh, shit. Is he as good as I think he is?”
“Better.”
She loved seeing Jilly’s eyes get big. “Anyway, so he orders me down on my knees and tells me to suck him off.”
Her sister’s eyes got even bigger. “Talk about moving fast.”
“Yeah.” She took another drink and listened to her empty stomach rumble. “So, well, I did.”
* * * *
“You had her suck you off?” Derrick dropped his tablet onto his bed. He’d stopped reading the moment he’d heard Caleb stomping his way up the stairs and knew his brother was headed to his room.
“I sure did. And she was the best I’ve ever had. Bro, she’s got a tongue that can wrap around you and drag every last bit out.”
Irritation flooded him, but he didn’t want his brother to see. He turned his back and looked out the window onto the pasture beyond. They hadn’t made any firm agreements about what they would or wouldn’t do about taking a permanent submissive. After all, before Molly had shown up, he’d been on the verge of telling Caleb that he didn’t want to be a Dom or share a woman. But once she’d gotten out of her car and he’d learned that Caleb had hired her and her sister as ranch hands, he’d started wondering if he should change his mind.
And now Caleb had already had her blow him.
“So do you think you’ll want her as your sub once you get going at the club?”
“As our sub, bro. That was the plan, right?”
“Yes and no.” At least Caleb hadn’t cut him out entirely. “I’m not sure I want the same thing you want.”
“Come on. You know you do. How can you look at Molly and not want her as our sub?”
He had a point. She had everything he’d ever want in a submissive or in the woman he’d call his own. Their own. Her personality was confident, even assertive, but he’d always found a strong girl attractive, even though a little annoying.
“Is it Jilly? Do you want her? I mean, we talked about sharing a sub, but if you’d rather go with her, then that’s okay.”
They’d talked about sharing, all right. With him doing more of the listening than the talking. And they’d shared a few women before, just to see if they’d like it. He had. The realization had surprised him. Watching his brother with a woman was a turn-on.
“Or do you want to try to take both of them?”
“No. It’s not that. Jilly’s a sexy girl and fun, but I don’t…feel…anything for her.” He hated sounding sappy, but there it was. Why bother hiding it from Caleb? They were more than just brothers. They were best friends, too.
“No chemistry, huh?”
“Nope.” He hadn’t made a move on her, not even to see if he could spark an attraction. And she’d made it obvious that she wasn’t into him.
“So you two didn’t do anything? Nothing?”
In the past, Derrick might have played around for the hell of it. But he’d had no desire to even fool around with Jilly. Instead, his mind had gotten locked on Caleb and Molly. And wondering what the hell they were doing. “We made sandwiches, ate in silence, then I kicked her out and came upstairs.”
“Do you think Jilly’s into us at all?”
“Not a chance.” She’d treated him like a brother. Not as a possible lover.
“I’ve got to admit I’m relieved to hear it. If she’d been into us, it could’ve caused a problem.” Caleb blew out a long, slow breath.
“I meant she wasn’t into me. We don’t know what she feels about you.”
“Shit. You’re right. And with my natural charisma, she’s bound to take it hard. I’ll just have to turn her down as easy as I can.”
At t
imes, he had a difficult time telling if Caleb was joking or not. “Don’t get ahead of yourself. She didn’t seem to mind when you took off with Molly.”
“Yeah, I get it. She’s not interested. But that’s okay. I feel the same way about her. She’s fun and good-looking with a great body, but no real connection. At least, not like it is with Molly.”
“Caleb.” He turned toward his brother. If Molly wasn’t attracted to him, he wouldn’t stand in the way of his brother’s happiness. “If you want Molly for yourself, then have at it. Like I said, I’m not into being a Dom. I’d rather run the ranch.”
Caleb flopped down on top of his bed, dirty boots and all. “I don’t get it. Why can’t we do both? One during the day and the other at night.”
“You can. Go ahead and knock yourself out.”
“Sure I could go it alone, but I’d rather find a sub for the both of us. And I think I have.”
He was tired. Too tired to think about anything more tonight. “Let’s let it go for now. Give it some time. By then, maybe one of us will see things differently.”
He grabbed hold of Caleb’s boot and yanked him to the side of the bed. “Now get the hell out of my room and let me get some sleep. Sunrise is going to come sooner than we’d like.”
And yet, as Caleb strode from his room, he doubted he’d get any sleep at all.
* * * *
Molly was still floating. Had been ever since she’d spent time at the pond with Caleb. Even after an insistent pounding on the bunkhouse door had startled her awake. She’d sat up, almost jumping off the top bunk before she’d had sense enough to figure out what all the noise was.
Jilly groaned and stumbled out of her bed. “What’s going on? Is there a fire?” She flung open the door, then stumbled back as Derrick came charging in.
“You two need to get dressed now.”
Jilly scooted back to her bed and pulled the covers over her flimsy nightie. Molly did the same, but not to cover any nightie. She liked sleeping in the nude.
“What’s wrong?”
Derrick looked at her like she’d just spoken in Greek. “Nothing’s wrong. Aside from the two ranch hands my brother hired not getting their asses out of bed and getting to work. I’ve already been up an hour. Get moving. Daylight’s a-burnin’.
She glanced past him to the one small window by the door. “It’s not even light outside yet.”
“It will be soon and you won’t have gotten any work done in the meantime.” He pivoted on his heel and strode to the door, still talking. “Up and at it if you want to keep your jobs.” Slamming the door behind him, he was gone before she could think of anything to say.
Jilly stumbled over and got her tablet off the kitchen table. “It’s not even five yet. Is he for real? He expects us to work at this hour?”
Molly grabbed the T-shirt hanging on the railing of the bunk bed and pulled it over her head. “I hate to say it, but I think he’s serious. We’d better get showered and dressed as fast as we can.”
“This is so not what we planned,” grumbled Jilly.
“It is what it is.” She climbed down and headed toward the bathroom. “Make a pot of coffee, okay? I’ll get my shower first.”
“Whatever.”
Ten minutes later, she was out of the bathroom and greeted with a steaming mug of coffee.
“Sorry. There’s no sugar or cream or anything.”
She didn’t care. “It’s okay. We’ll pick some up when we do the grocery run today. Until then, I think black is what I’m going to need.”
Jilly shuffled into the bathroom, taking her mug along with her. “I sure hope the club opens up really soon. I don’t think I can take much more of this shit.”
You can say that again.
But she wasn’t about to let her sister know. Instead, she pulled the sheets up on both their bunks, then sifted through their clothes, trying to find an outfit suitable for ranch work. Aside from the clothes they’d worn yesterday, they only had one other pair of jeans and a couple of work shirts. It seemed odd to pull those over the lacy panties and bra set. The clothing just didn’t go together at all.
By the time they made it outside, the sun was already starting to cast its yellow glow over the land. Even as tired as she was, Molly couldn’t help but bask in the beauty of the Texas landscape. Colors she hadn’t noticed before were out in all the glory from the reds and browns of the land to the golden light of the sun. Birds were chirping and the horses in the barn were raring to kick up their heels.
“Let’s get breakfast going before Derrick starts yelling at us.”
“We’re cooking again?” Jilly trudge ahead of her, her head down. But at least she’d brought along her tablet. They’d need it to learn how to cook eggs the way the men liked them.
“That was part of our agreement.”
The girls stopped in their tracks and faced Derrick. He led a horse out of the barn, his scowl deepening as he got closer.
Damn. “I’m sorry?”
“You were supposed to have cooked breakfast. I wanted to wake you up, but Caleb got me to cut you some slack. So we got our own food and now it’s time to get at it.”
“At it?” She prayed she’d misunderstood him. “Are you saying we don’t get to eat?”
“Bingo, pretty lady.”
“You’re kidding.” Jilly grabbed Molly’s arm like she had when she was a toddler. “You’re not going to let us get breakfast?”
“You’re late enough as it is.” He pointed toward the back of the house. “Caleb’s already gathered the eggs from the chicken coop, but he left the feeding for you to do.”
The suck of Jilly’s hard-won breath was easy enough to hear. “Chickens? You want me to feed them?”
He stroked the horse’s neck to settle it down. “You don’t feed them, then they won’t feed you.”
“But it’s…chickens. Molly, it’s chickens.”
Molly took her sister’s hand and put her face close to hers. “You can do this. You know you can. And you have to. If you don’t, we might as well get back in the car and head home.”
Her sister’s fear fought with her urge to stay. The battle was written all over her face. “I don’t know, sis.”
“You can and you will.”
“If you girls are through wasting time, Molly, I left a list of chores for both of you.” He shifted in his saddle. “I guess you can take a few minutes to get something to eat. But not long. You’ve got to get all the chores done before dinner. Dinner that you’ll be cooking. Which reminds me. Don’t forget to get into town and pick up some groceries.”
“Gee, is there anything else you need done today, Your Highness?”
Molly nudged Jilly and whispered, “Don’t get him any crankier than he already is.”
“Is that the attitude you’re going to have with your Dom?”
He had a point. One Jilly understood. “No, sir.”
“Good. I’ll be back later for you, Molly. You’re going to help feed the herd.” He studied them for a moment, then added, “Well, what are you waiting for? Move.”
Molly took hold of her sister’s arm and pulled her along with her toward the house.
“Sis, I’m not sure I like him very much. Maybe you should pick someone else to be your Dom. Along with Caleb, of course.”
“Nope. He’s just putting up a front, is all. Just you wait.” She opened the door and let her sister go inside. Derrick had already started riding away. “He’ll come around.”
* * * *
“What are you waiting for? An invitation?”
Molly was worn out. After breakfast, she and Jilly had taken their lists and gotten to work. Most of it had consisted of housework, then driving into town to pick up groceries, but now it was time to find out what feeding the herd would be like. She’d rushed out of the house as soon as Derrick had returned. Caleb had disappeared around noon and hadn’t shown back up yet.
She hurried past Derrick and into the barn to find a horse already sad
dled and ready to go. He was beautiful, but the idea of getting on top of the huge animal was frightening. A shadow fell on the ground, drawing her attention to Derrick, who waited on top of his horse.
“I got him saddled for you.”
“Thanks. That was nice of you.”
“Not really. I figured you wouldn’t know how to saddle him and I didn’t want to have to wait on you.”
“Oh. Well, thanks anyway.” Maybe she was wrong. Maybe he wouldn’t come around. And yet, after expecting to see cold, unforgiving eyes, she found warmth and a gleam that was anything but cold. “But you’re right. I don’t know how to saddle a horse. Or ride one, either.”
“Looks like we’re going to have a lesson. Think you can mount up on your own?”
She gave him a smile filled with a challenge. “Don’t worry. I’ll figure it out.”
Was that a smile she saw? Maybe, just maybe, she was breaking through that hard shell of his.
Taking it as a good sign, she strode into the barn with all the confidence of walking into a club where she was a regular. She’d never ridden a horse, but she’d seen enough people do it in the movies. How hard could it be?
The horse nickered as she approached him. At least she thought it was a him. And he was big. Worry eroded her confidence as she glanced over her shoulder and found Derrick watching her.
“Okay, boy. Let’s make a deal. You let me get on top of you and you don’t throw me off. Then, when we get back, I’ll find the biggest carrot in the house and it’s all yours. Deal?”
She laughed when the horse snorted then bobbed his head up and down. “Good. Then let’s do this.”
After untying the reins from the stall railing, she took hold of the handle—or was it called a saddle horn?—then stuck her foot into the stirrup. Hoping the horse would stay still, she did a little hop and pulled her body up and onto the horse. For a moment, gravity pulled her back the other way, but she managed to hang on. Sitting in the saddle on top of the huge animal was unnerving, but it also filled her with pride.
“We did it. Now if only I knew how to steer you.” Holding the reins with both hands, she tried an experiment. If turning a steering wheel to the left made the car go that direction, then maybe pulling on the left side of the reins would do the same thing.
