Smokin' Cowboys: A Contemporary, Reverse Harem Western (Loved By Three Book 1)

by Poppy Flynn

  Now as he sat tenderly rubbing her back and making her feel so sheltered and protected that she never wanted to move, she knew that Cody could have done anything he wanted with her and she wouldn’t have stopped him. He must have been aware of that too. But he hadn’t taken advantage. She knew that, not least because she could still feel the hard ridge of his unappeased erection pressing insistently against her tingling ass.

  And that alone made her appreciate him all the more.

  Chapter Sixteen

  So, here she was, a few weeks later, with dozens of experiences, some memorable days out, a few explosively sexual situations and a jar full of precious memories.

  Of course, none of this was helping Ellie to decide. If anything, it just made things more difficult.

  Each one of the Carson brothers was special to her; all in their own different way. They all offered something that she desperately wanted to clutch hold of and never let go. And that was impossible, of course.

  Cody with his commanding presence, his sexy dominance and that way he had of making her feel like she was completely secure, and he would take care of her and always make certain everything was alright.

  Syrus with his relaxed sensuality, his romantic heart, and sincere thoughtfulness, who melted her heart and made her feel like she was the most important person in the world.

  Ezra with his playful, fun loving persona who always made sure she was never down and brought a lightness and laughter into her life that had been missing for far too long.

  They were all as sexy as sin, and every single one of them got her motor revving in their own unique way.

  As she tried, once again, to test her preferences, a slew of those memories inundated her mind.

  Like the time Syrus moved all the furniture in the lounge and put on a playlist of romantic ballads and insisted she dance with him.

  The lights were dimmed, and she felt as if she was in a precious little bubble where only the two of them existed and things were simple.

  Then he had started singing some of the lyrics in her ear and she had just melted, just like she always did when she was with him. He made her feel cherished, and that was a heady and addictive sensation. Yes, Syrus would make an attentive and loving husband.

  Except then there was Cody. In a lot of ways, he was like the flip side of the coin to Syrus and Ellie’s mind drifted to those regular interludes which had sprung up where he took her aside, laid her across his knee and drizzled lube down the crack of her ass. Then his fingers would be there, rubbing and probing, dipping and stretching. Readying her for the next size butt plug and lighting up nerves which she never knew existed. Playing with her until she was wet and panting and ready to go off like a firecracker, which sometimes he encouraged and sometimes he forbade, which only made the next time even hotter. But there was much more than just the physicality. She had come clean and told all three of them about her windfall inheritance and Cody had immediately sat her down and helped her to invest it wisely and started the process of ensuring that her money was protected and earning her interest. It proved to her he cared about her wellbeing and wasn’t going to rip her off, even though she had been more than happy to share and contribute to the ranch. She treasured the security he enveloped her with, and that was a potent thing for a girl who had so recently been homeless. She knew he would be a stable and reliable husband.

  And finally, there was Ezreal. He might be fun loving and often irreverent, and he always made her laugh, but in a lot of ways he had proved to be a mixture of his two brothers, and he brought with him echoes of both of them. He could at times be sensitive and romantic like Syrus and at others be kind of kinky and wickedly sexual. Sometimes she thought that made him the obvious choice of husband; except it wasn’t really obvious at all, because she couldn’t get past the desperate sadness of losing the others.

  If she could only take all three of them and roll them into one, then it would be perfect.

  But that was impossible, too. Almost as impossible as the thought of having to give two of them up.

  So, there she was, back at square one again and no closer to making up her mind.

  It was a Sunday afternoon, and the men had retired to the den while she cleaned up after the roast dinner she had served. The weekends had become a sort of ‘family time’, since she had returned. Time the brothers could take off, except for having to do the usual daily chores, because with her there, all three of them could work the ranch, without one of them always having to take time out to do the cooking and the household chores that she had taken over.

  She could hear them bantering as she made her way down the hall, but a couple of the words she heard stopped her in her tracks.

  “Do you think she’s decided yet? I mean, I don’t want to push, but it’s been a while now. Surely she must have some idea?” She recognized Syrus’ voice and Cody’s reply.

  “What’s the hurry? She’ll get there in her own time.”

  “You just don’t want to give up your spanking rights when she chooses me,” Ezra retorted with a laugh.

  “Who says she’ll pick you? I’m pretty sure she prefers romance over some jock who throws her into a pond!”

  “Because I’m the one who got past first base,” Ezra sniggered.

  “You’re not the only one who got past first base, though, and I’d shut the hell up if I were you, because I don’t think it will help your chances if she hears you talking like that.”

  “Aw come on, I’m only joking. So, you got past first base too, huh? ‘Cos I know Romeo here sure as hell hasn’t.”

  Ellie was aghast, and her anger and frustration boiled over before she had a chance to temper it.

  Barging into the den, she planted her hands on her hips and gave them all a piece of her mind.

  “Is that what this is, some kind of joke to all of you?” she shouted angrily, barely even acknowledging their shocked and shamed expressions.

  “Because if that’s the way you’re going to discuss me, then you can just take me back to town right now. I’m not a damn object.”

  Cody held his palms up in supplication and then waved a hand to stop the other two from both talking at once.

  “Hey, it’s not like that at all,” he reassured in what she thought of as his soothing daddy voice.

  Except she knew even he couldn’t make this right, no matter how hard he tried.

  “It’s more a friendly rivalry, because we’ve all become attached to you and we all care about the outcome. It’s natural for us to judge our chances.”

  “Well, when you work it out, be sure to let me know what conclusions you’ve come to,” she tossed back at them, tears of frustration forming in her eyes because, as hard as she tried, this was the one crucial answer that she didn’t have for them and it was more and more obvious that they had come to the point where they were expecting one. How much longer could she string them along for? Not that it was deliberate in any way, shape or form, but her lack of a clear favorite was tantamount to the same thing.

  Why couldn’t she choose?

  She spun away and ran towards the stairs, trying to keep a hold on the sobs that wanted to escape. She refused to break down in front of them, but the truth was, the longer this went on, the more confused she became, the more she felt like she was leading all three of them on, and the harder it seemed to become to make the decision they all deserved.

  She got up to the first landing, oblivious to their thundering footsteps hammering behind her, before Cody finally caught hold of her arm and spun her around.

  “Hey,” he said with a concerned frown. “What’s the matter. Why are you so upset? We weren’t serious, honest. It was just a bit of horseplay. We can wait, I promise.”

  He said it with such sincerity, those blue eyes deepening with such concern, that the tears she’d been trying to repress broke free of the dam that had been holding them back and over spilled from her eyes.

  Cody tried to pull her close, but she was excruciatingly a
ware of Syrus and Ezra behind him, so she just couldn’t allow it. Because she didn’t want it to look like she was playing favorites.

  “Don’t you see?” she sobbed. “I can’t make a choice! I want to, really I do, and I’ve tried; I truly have tried, but every time I think I’ve come to a decision, something throws me off or make me second guess myself. I’m sorry. Maybe I should just leave, because I know this isn’t fair on any of you, and it’s not fair on me either.”

  “No!” The emphatic denial came from all three of them at once.

  Ellie took a deep breath and wiped her cheeks with the heel of her hand.

  “Do you not understand?” she implored, earnestly. “I don’t think it’s ever going to change!” Her voice had taken on a high, volatile pitch, and she was having to squeeze out the words past the lump in her throat, but honesty was the only option at this point. “I like all of you for different reasons. You all have specific traits that call to me and make me want to keep you.”

  She looked over Cody’s shoulder to Ezra. “I love Ezra’s playfulness. He transports me to a time that’s been absent in my life, and it’s like experiencing the childhood I never had. I never even realized it was missing until he showed it to me, and I don’t want to let that go.”

  She turned to Syrus, who stood next to him. “And then there’s Syrus. He weaves a romance and sensitivity into my life that I’ve never had. Someone who thinks about me for a change, and that is so damn precious that I never want to lose it. And just so you know, the fact that he wants to do more than just get into my pants makes him just as attractive as you too turning up the heat factor,” she told the other two with a sniff.

  Finally, her eyes moved to Cody and her voice lowered to an aching murmur. “Then there’s Cody, who gives me the dominance and the discipline that I’ve never had and who takes control so I have the blessed chance to rely on someone other than myself for a change and makes me feel so safe and secure that I just want to curl up on his knee and stay there forever.”

  She looked at the three of them who were silent now, just staring back at her. Perhaps they realized the futility of it and finally accepting that this would never work.

  “And aside from all of that, the attraction I feel for each one of you is intertwined. I want all of you; I want each of you so desperately.” Her voice had tapered off to a hushed whisper.

  “But I just don’t think I can choose between you.”

  She gave them all one final, sad look. They understood now, she knew, and her heart was almost breaking knowing that this was really goodbye. That she couldn’t, in good faith, stay here and lead each of them on any longer. And they knew it too.

  Trying her best to swallow around the lump in her throat, Ellie turned away and headed resolutely towards her room. She’d pack straight away and get out of here quickly. There was no point in beleaguering the situation and making it worse for all of them. It would be the kindest thing to do all around.

  They could look for three new wives and she could wrap up her memories of them and take them out when she needed them to keep her warm or make her laugh or feel secure.

  Maybe, in the fullness of time, it wouldn’t hurt so much to remember everything she was losing, just because she couldn’t bring herself to make a choice.

  She knew in her heart it was the best decision. If she stayed and maybe, oh, picked a name out of a hat or something, the feelings she had for the others, the jealousy she would feel towards the subsequent wives they chose, would sour everything for them all. She couldn’t allow that to happen.

  Better by far to leave and pretend that it wasn’t breaking her heart.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Ellie didn’t quite get to the foot of the attic stairs.

  She was vaguely aware, through the depth of her own torment, that the three of them were talking quietly, frantically, behind her. No doubt they were trying to work out a way of keeping her here to work things out, but nothing they could say would make any difference now. No matter how much time she spent thinking about it, she doubted she could ever choose and, if she was entirely honest with herself, she didn’t want to. She was completely selfish and wanted to keep them all for herself.

  Except maybe she hadn’t quite banked on their combined determination or the depths of their own feelings too.

  A moment later, she was tossed none too gently over Cody’s shoulder before he did an about turn and strode determinedly to a bedroom at the far end of the hall.

  She was too shocked to respond, but somewhere outside of her surprise, she knew it was someone else’s hand that opened the door.

  Below her she could see several sets of feet and was still trying to make sense of everything when she was thrown down, with a bounce, onto a huge bed.

  Her head was still spinning as all three brothers began divesting her of her clothing. In retrospect, she knew just how astonished she must have been at this turn of events because it never once occurred to her to stop them.

  “Right, we’re going to settle this once and for all,” Cody claimed stridently as he shucked his own clothes.

  Ellie just blinked as his tanned, hair-roughened chest was exposed and then looked across in shock at Syrus and Ezra, who were in similar states of undress. She tried desperately to take it all in, but her brain just wouldn’t compute.

  Her body, on the other hand, was completely on board with whatever was going on and her libido was busy doing a happy dance as her pulse kicked up at the sight of all that delicious, naked flesh.

  Before she could contemplate any further, she was surrounded by all three of them. Their hands and mouths were everywhere, and Ellie had to seriously wonder whether she was dreaming.

  Really though, she must be, because things like this just didn’t happen outside of her sleeping subconscious and maybe a book, or a few, she had read. But if this was a dream, then she was totally going with it.

  And then all conscious thought was completely wiped out and all she could do was feel.

  The mouth that was sending skitters of warm pleasure down her neck, as his lips nibbled the sensitive area behind her ear, she suspected might belong to Syrus. The one suckling strongly at her breast and igniting a corresponding fire in her belly; Ezra.

  There was some shuffling around, and Ellie kept her eyes resolutely closed. Since the likelihood was that this was a dream, then she didn’t want to wake up.

  Or maybe she wasn’t dreaming after all. Maybe she’d died and gone to heaven. It felt like heaven. Wait, did they have sex in heaven?

  Or perhaps be she’d been sent to hell for her sins. But if this was hell, then she was totally up for staying here.

  A strong arm positioned itself behind her knees and pulled her butt clear of the bed at the same time as a hand speared into her hair and tugged her head around to meet the lips that had recently abandoned her neck.

  There were no prizes for guessing the identity of the person delivering the light swats that were peppering her ass, but her cries were swallowed by the sensual kiss that engulfed her and the slight pain was immediately morphed into something altogether darker and sexier by the teeth that grazed her nipple and the sensual, stroking hands that seemed to be everywhere all at once.

  The bed creaked as bodies moved, and she felt something soft cover her face and the tiniest pressure around her head. She opened her eyes to complete darkness and realized it must be a blindfold. Slowly she became aware that her arms were incapacitated. They were both still straight by her sides, but a strong hand held her immobile at the wrist. And then two hot mouths engulfed both her nipples at the same time, and she didn’t think about it anymore. The pure eroticism of having lips on both breasts at once started a fire in her chest and soon she was panting and mewling, breathy nonsense words spilling from her throat as she was swept away on a tide of hot desire.

  Strong hands grasped her ankles, pushing upwards and forcing her knees to bend. Not that she needed much encouragement. Then, the bodies on either side
of her grasped her knees with the hand that wasn’t already holding her wrist and pulled them apart until she was splayed wide open for all to see. They didn’t let go, and neither did they cease their sensual assault on her breasts.

  Ellie was well on her way to spontaneous combustion when she registered the first gentle slap against her labia. She nearly catapulted off the bed. She bucked so hard, but the hands that held her kept her in place.

  The erotic torment didn’t stop there as a half dozen carefully placed spanks sent her deeper into a sensual delirium. Just when she thought things couldn’t possibly get any hotter, the aim altered ever so slightly and caught her clit instead. Ellie screamed in pleasure, writhing and canting her hips off the bed in a desperate effort to get closer to the source; to be granted the relief she so desperately craved.

  She was indulged with some well-placed slaps that had her ready to skyrocket, but just when she thought her climax was inevitable, everything stopped.

  “No!” Ellie screeched. “Don't stop, please don't stop. Dear lord, please don't leave me like this.”

  She didn't care that she was begging, she didn't care that they must surely be able to see the sticky evidence of her desire leaking down her legs.

  There was just one thing on her mind right now, and that was the culmination of the wild, breathtaking ride she was currently on.

  “Don't worry baby, we'll take care of you,” Ezra promised.

  “We'll make it good for you sweetheart, Trust us,” Syrus soothed.

  “You just lie there like a good girl and let Daddy do his thing,” Cody ordered.

  Wow! Did he really just call himself ‘daddy’?

  The bed dipped down next to her and strong arms maneuvered to her across a little bit.

  “You need to follow our instructions now and do everything we say, okay?”

  “Can you do that?”

  “If you're uncomfortable with anything, just say so.”