She spotted Andrew’s truck on the far side of the lot, near her house. Her men were sitting on the tailgate waiting for her. She was secretly pleased.
“Don’t you boys have anything better to do than sit around my diner all day?”
“Nope,” Andrew replied. “It’s our day off.”
“Come on in,” Annie said with a smile as she pushed open the door to the house. She couldn’t help but smile around these two. “If you don’t mind too terribly, I’d like to take a shower. I get gross on the grill.”
“You look fine to me,” Andrew said.
“Well I smell like sausage.”
“We like sausage,” Ryder teased. “Can we at least get a hug before you run off?”
“Well if you’re going to look so pathetic about it, I guess so,” she returned.
It was becoming clear that Ryder was more comfortable with initiating physical intimacy with her, than Andrew was, and that was okay. Someone needed to take the lead, and if she had a say, it wouldn’t be her. He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her tight against his chest.
“You feel good in my arms,” Ryder whispered softly.
Andrew approached her from behind, slowly, as if he was trying to give her time to adjust to the idea. He too wrapped his arms around her and he pressed his lips gently to the side of her neck, just under her jawbone. She tilted her head to give him better access and sighed involuntarily. This felt amazing.
Ryder put a finger under her chin and lifted her face so that he could kiss her. Different from the night before, when they’d been in a public space, this kiss was aggressive and full of fire. She felt it all the way down in her toes. She was dizzy when he released her a moment later, and had to lean into Andrew to regain her balance.
“Shower,” she stated dumbly, unable to think of much else.
Ryder laughed. “Okay, we’ll let you shower, but make it quick. We miss you.”
Annie shut the bathroom door and dropped the back of her head against it. It was difficult to breathe. She had two gorgeous men waiting on her couch for her to come back. She better hurry.
She started the water and tried to pull her clothes off at the same time, which caused her to lose her balance. For the second time in one day, she nearly had an altercation with the toilet. She needed to get a hold of herself.
Pulling her hair up in a quick bun so it wouldn’t get wet, she stepped under the warm water. She lathered up and rinsed off as quickly as she could. She also made sure to brush her teeth, something she’d always done in the shower to avoid getting toothpaste on her clothes.
It wasn’t until she was stepping out of the shower and drying off that she realized she’d neglected to bring clean clothes into the bathroom with her. The option to put her smelly clothes back on was less than appealing. The guys were in the living room. At least she thought they were. And they shouldn’t be able to see the short hallway that she’d have to cross to get to the bedroom from there. At least she thought they couldn’t. Wrapping her towel around her middle, under her arms, she decided she could make it.
Cracking the door open she checked the hallway. No men in sight. Confident in her decision, she made a break for it, jogging across the hall. When she reached the bedroom door she looked down the hall toward the living room. In the split second that it took to open the door and go into the bedroom she learned something new about her house. You could, in fact, see the bedroom door from the living room, just barely. Ryder’s whistle made that clear.
Praying that they wouldn’t make fun of her for it, Annie decided to pretend it never happened. She dressed quickly and then snuck back into the bathroom for a quick check in the mirror on the way to the living room.
“I liked the towel look better,” Ryder teased.
“I just knew you weren’t going to let me get away with that.”
“I think you look great in anything,” Andrew chimed in sweetly.
“I also knew there was a reason I liked you better than him,” Annie replied to Andrew with a laugh.
“Oh yeah?” Ryder returned. “Like him better do ya? We’ll see about that.”
He moved so fast that Annie really couldn’t even respond. He was up off the couch in a flash, and he scooped her up with one arm under her knees and the other catching her shoulders. He sat back down on the couch, with a squirming Annie in his lap. She barely had time to register that he was strong enough to do all of that, before she realized that he was tickling her. Breathlessly, she slapped at him, trying to get him to stop.
“Say I’m your favorite.”
“Never!” she protested. Why did she have to be so damn ticklish?
“Say it!”
Annie squealed as he attacked her sides. “Okay, okay! You’re my favorite.”
Ryder let up with the tickling. “I knew it.”
Still trying to catch her breath, she relaxed into his arms. She smiled up at Andrew who was pulling her feet into his lap on the other side of the couch.
“If you start tickling my feet I am so going back to the diner.”
“Would I do a thing like that?” Andrew asked.
Annie looked back and forth between the two handsome faces. God she wanted them already.
“No. I’ve decided you’re the nice one,” she teased again, and they all laughed.
Ryder cupped the side of her face and turned Annie to face him. The mood suddenly became a little more serious. The air was charged with electricity and every muscle in her body started to tense.
Andrew pressed the pad of his thumb into the arch of her foot, and she moaned involuntarily. She spent all day on her feet most days, and despite her efforts to buy good shoes, her feet still ached at the end of every shift. Andrew had found the perfect spot to rub.
It looked for a moment as if Ryder might comment, but then he changed his mind and kissed her instead. It started out soft, as it had been the night before, when he’d kissed her at the fair, but it didn’t stay that way this time, and she didn’t pull back. The tip of his tongue found the crease between her lips, and he encouraged her to open for him, gently exploring.
She once again felt as if she couldn’t breathe. What were these men doing to her? Whatever it was, it felt wonderful. Andrew increased the pressure on her foot, rubbing slowly up and down her arch. Ryder shifted her in his lap, never breaking their heated kiss, but bringing her closer. He sunk his hands into her hair, using his fingertips to massage her scalp and the base of her neck. She wanted to purr like a cat.
She pulled away a moment later feeling completely overwhelmed and wanting to catch her breath. She rested her head against Ryder’s chest and looked at Andrew. He was watching her, and she was fairly certain that he’d been watching their kiss, too. What did he think about that? Did he enjoy watching them? Was he jealous?
“What are you thinking, beautiful?” Andrew asked.
Annie laughed. “I was just wondering the same of you.”
“I’m thinking that watching you make out with Ryder is really turning me on.”
Annie smiled at his frank answer. Yeah, it was turning her on, too.
Chapter 7
Andrew hadn’t been kidding. Watching Annie and Ryder kiss was hotter than anything he’d ever seen before. He hadn’t been sure at first that he’d be okay with it, but there wasn’t a doubt in his mind now. He could watch those two all night.
Her face was flushed from the tickling and the kissing, and her long brown hair was falling out of the ponytail she’d put it in. He’d never seen her more beautiful. Releasing the foot that he’d been working on, he started on the other one, giving it the same treatment that had made Annie moan aloud a few minutes before. He loved how she responded to Ryder and him. She was like putty in their hands.
“Feel good?” he asked. He knew she was enjoying herself, but the whole thing was still new, and he wanted to hear from her that she was okay.
“Feels amazing.”
Scooting a little closer to the other two
on the couch, Andrew worked his way her to her calf muscles. Her legs were firm and smooth under his hands. All those hours on her feet at the diner had given her great legs.
Crawling out of Ryder’s lap she came toward him, until she was sitting between the two men, with her legs still draped over Andrew. Not wanting to disappoint the lady, Andrew met her halfway, putting his hands in her hair as he’d seen Ryder do a moment before. He wondered, as he kissed her, if she felt the same way about him that he already felt about her. He couldn’t speak for Ryder, but he was pretty sure that they were both over the moon for her.
Somewhere during all those early breakfasts and late night burgers he’d fallen in love with her, and he just hadn’t known it. He’d always been so afraid of competing with Ryder for her, that he’d never really allowed for the possibility, but now that she was pressed between the two of them, he was sure of it.
She tasted like toothpaste and something else—something that might have been Ryder. Without opening his eyes, he knew that Ryder was kissing Annie’s neck from behind, while he kissed her lips. He could sense where Annie, all feminine curves and gentleness, stopped and where Ryder, a much more aggressive strength, started.
Annie was panting when he released her, and it made him want to behave like an animal. The desire to get her naked and writhing between them was overwhelming, but she also looked a little bit hesitant, and he wondered if this was all too much at once.
“I don’t want to overwhelm you,” Andrew said.
“Too late for that,” Annie said with a laugh. "Not that I'm saying I want you to stop, but this whole thing does feel a little dreamlike."
“We know,” Andrew agreed, “and it’s possible that people won't respond well to it, but we want this, Annie. We want you. It’s worth that risk to me. You’re worth that.”
“Yeah. I’m onboard,” Annie confirmed. “I just want to take it rather slow and keep this between us for a while.”
“That’s okay with us,” Ryder chimed in. “But there’s someone we’d like for you to meet. Can you have dinner with us Tuesday evening?”
“Yeah, I guess so. Who am I meeting?”
“Sara and Tyler…and Gage.”
“They’re another…” Annie trailed off, unsure of how to finish her sentence.
“Trio,” Andrew finished for her. “We met them last year, and we thought you might want to see how it works for them.”
Andrew watched as Annie leaned back into Ryder’s arms. He never stopped touching her, twirling a lock of her hair around his finger, rubbing her arms or neck. She seemed to be comforted by it.
“Yeah, I’d like that,” Annie agreed. “Are we going to a restaurant or—”
“Sara generously offered to cook. They live on a ranch a couple of exits west of here.”
“Tell her we’ll bring dessert then? I’ll make a pie?”
“Blackberry?” Ryder asked. They all laughed.
“Sure. Blackberry. Just because I know it’s your favorite.”
Andrew watched as Ryder passed his hand over Annie’s belly, tugging her shirt up just a little so he could see an inch of skin above the top of her jeans. He wanted to press his lips to that spot, maybe even nibble. He’d spend hours exploring her. All in good time. For now he was just going to enjoy the show.
Ryder shifted her forward slightly so that he could pull her shirt over her head. Annie made a sound that wasn’t quite a protest, but Ryder calmed her.
“Shhh, I’m not going to push. Andrew and I are both going to keep our clothes on. I just want to get you off. Doesn’t seem fair to get you all riled up and leave you like that. Let me touch you.”
Annie shrugged and then seemed to settle into the idea. When she’d relaxed, Ryder moved his hands up to cup her breasts through her lacy beige bra.
“God, you’re so beautiful,” Andrew said before he even realized he was going to speak.
Smiling, Annie crooked her finger at him in a “come here” motion. Andrew complied, leaning forward over her, pressing her between him and Ryder on the couch. He touched his lips to hers, and quietly rejoiced when she made the kiss more aggressive.
He had his eyes closed, and his focus was on kissing Annie, but he could tell when Ryder unbuttoned her jeans and slid his hand under the waistband of her panties. Her breathing grew more erratic, and she squirmed wantonly in Ryder’s lap. Andrew pulled back a little so he could watch her. She was gorgeous with her head thrown back and lips parted.
Ryder was whispering in her ear, just loud enough for him to hear. “That’s right, sweetheart.”
Andrew was torn between wanting to watch her orgasm on Ryder’s fingers and wanting to help get her there. In the end, he couldn’t resist her. Using his arms to brace himself on the couch cushions, he gave Ryder enough room to work, and was still able to press his lips to her collarbone. He worked his way up first, placing slow sensual kisses along her neck and under her chin. Annie reached for him, looping her hands around his neck and running them though his hair.
She was getting closer to orgasm. Ryder was telling her how good she felt, how tight and how hot. Andrew could already imagine it. She was going to be incredible in the heat of passion, and his rock hard erection knew it, too.
Moving back down her neck, Andrew placed slow kisses on the top of each perfect breast. If he had her naked, there was no way he’d be able to keep from making love to her, but for now, he worked around her bra, kissing the exposed skin before sucking her lace-covered nipple into his mouth.
“Come for me, Annie,” Ryder said, gently encouraging her to let go.
Andrew moved to the other breast and this time bit her nipple, gently tugging it with his teeth.
Annie gasped and tugged at the short hairs at the back of his neck. Her body stiffened, and she cried out as the orgasm rolled through her. Andrew loved the way her little fingers dug into his shoulder as she came. He was going to love how it felt when he was inside her even more.
Andrew gave her some space to catch her breath, and she curled up on the couch between them.
“I’m going to have to get back to work,” she said reluctantly a few minutes later. They were all coming down from the high.
“Us, too, unfortunately,” Ryder agreed. “It’s our last day off, but we’ll pick you up on Tuesday for dinner?”
“I’m looking forward to it,” Annie agreed.
She got up off the couch and pulled her shirt back on over her head. Andrew stood, too, and pulled her into his arms. He gave her a leisurely hug and a kiss good-bye before he and Ryder returned to the truck.
It was a quiet ride home but Andrew noticed that Ryder couldn’t seem to wipe the smile from his face. Andrew understood that feeling. It was going to be a long two days until Tuesday.
Chapter 8
Ryder had been hatching this plan for a while now, and while he wasn’t sure exactly how it would go, he knew there would be change involved. He wanted Annie in his life, and he wanted Andrew, too, that much seemed to be working out better than he’d hoped. But he wasn’t satisfied yet. He wanted more from life.
He was tired of catching speeders on the interstate, like he was doing now. Andrew was just a few miles up, doing the same, and they’d been communicating by radio most of the day, but it wasn’t safe to talk about Annie when anyone could be listening, and that bothered him. He was so happy he wanted to tell the whole world that Annie had said yes to them. Why couldn’t he live in a world that was more accepting of the idea?
For weeks now he’d been envisioning the perfect home, but it bothered him that Annie might still be alone so much. With two men to take care of her, you wouldn’t think that would be a concern, but he and Andrew worked the same shifts, and Annie put in a lot of hours at the diner. They’d be lucky if they managed a couple of hours a week together outside of her restaurant. Their work lives didn’t fit into his ideal for this relationship.
Andrew’s voice came over the radio, calling in a license plate number. Ryder flippe
d on his lights and went to back him up. At least their lunch break was coming up soon.
Spotting Andrew’s cruiser and the pulled-over gray SUV, Ryder pulled up behind them, and took in the scene. From the look of it, it was a mom with a backseat full of kinds in car seats. Andrew would probably let her off. He was too soft sometimes, but Ryder couldn’t hold that against him. He’d written his fair share of warnings and seatbelt violations to let speeders off easy.
Sure enough, the SUV drove off a moment later, and Andrew walked around to talk to him.
“Soccer mom?” Ryder asked.
“Could you hear the baby screaming in the backseat? No wonder she wanted to get home in a hurry.”
“Lunch time?”
“Yeah. I’ve been ready. I wish we could go to Annie’s,” Andrew lamented. Ryder felt the same way.
“It’d be a heck of a drive.”
“We’ll see her tomorrow, I guess.”
“I vote for subway,” Ryder said reluctantly.
“Okay with me.”
Ryder waited for Andrew to return to his car and radio back to the station that they were stepping out for a few minutes, and then he followed Andrew to the next exit where there was a combination Subway and gas station. Turkey on wheat beat McDonald’s as far as he was concerned, but it wasn’t even comparable to Annie’s.
“You looking forward to dinner tomorrow?” Andrew asked when they were seated with their sandwiches spread out on that crinkly paper in front of them.
“Yeah. I really think we could be good friends with Tyler and Gage. They are pretty cool guys and Sara is just a lovely person.”
“I think so, too. I think it’ll be important to have friends like that,” Andrew said, and then added as an afterthought “for Annie I mean. I don’t want her to feel like she’s the only one in a relationship like this.”
Ryder didn’t say it, but he was pretty sure that they would all value the friendship and Andrew knew it, too. It wasn’t easy dealing with the bigotry and hatred some folks had. In their career they’d seen more than their share of battered women, gay men beaten in bar fights, and just about any kind of sexual hate crime you can imagine. It was mostly farmers and ranchers out here, and people were spread out over a lot of land, but they still managed to find each other and hate each other.
Blair, Samantha - Pioneers [Protectors 2] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) Page 4
