by Ember Cole
She moans into my mouth, and it’s the sexiest sound I’ve ever heard.
Her hands are on my chest, her fingernails digging into my skin. I welcome the tiny pricks and move my mouth to her neck.
I trace the tendon with my tongue, kissing her pale, perfect skin, all the way to her collarbone.
I move both my hands to her bare ass, pulling her against me. I want her to feel me, to know that I’m hard for her and that I’ve wanted her for days. The only thing between us is my jeans.
“Vance,” she says, the word a breathless whisper. “Off.” She plucks at my fly, but her trembling fingers don’t seem capable of unbuttoning me.
“No,” I say. I won’t be able to keep from impaling her on my cock, and as much as I hate Jesse’s plan, he’s right. “We’re not doing this. Not right now. Not up against a wall in the spur of the moment. Not in a way you might regret later. You have to choose to be with me, not react.”
She gives a little growl of frustration, then bites me. I feel the sting in my pec and laugh a little. She’s not a timid miss. She’s a fierce, passionate woman who wants what she wants.
“I’ll take care of you, though,” I say.
“I know.”
I kiss her again, taking my time, exploring her mouth, nipping at her lips. I move my hand to her pussy. She’s wet and hot and ready for me. I brush her clit with my thumb, then dip my finger inside her.
She closes around me, and I groan in agony. “You’re going to feel amazing wrapped around my dick,” I say. “I can hardly wait to be inside you.”
I plunge my finger deep, and she arches against my hand. She’s so tight and wet and eager. My dick throbs, trapped behind my zipper. It would be so easy to get rid of that last barrier and take her now. I stroke her faster, needing her to come quickly before I lose the will to resist her sweet, hot body.
I dip my head and suck one pink nipple into my mouth while I continue to finger her. Her fists clench, nails scoring my bare back. I move to the other breast to lick and suck and tease her, while I move my thumb over her clit with more pressure. She’s close now. So close.
I yank my hand away and press my straining fly against her pussy. She gasps and wraps her legs around my waist without hesitation. I grind into her, and her eyes flutter closed. High-pitched little gasps escape the pink O of her lips.
I press harder, thrusting, mimicking what I really want to be doing.
She stiffens. I slide my hands back to her ass, pulling her even tighter against my dick as she tumbles into her orgasm. Her face is flushed, her arms clenched around my neck. Her cries of pleasure are so sweet I’m torn between crushing my mouth to hers to save them for myself and hearing them ring out.
My dick feels like it’s about to explode, but as she slowly comes down from her high and her knees turn to mush, taking care of Amelie becomes more important than getting off.
I scoop her up and take her to my bed, settling her on my lap. She lays her head against my chest, drowsy and spent. I press a kiss to the top of her damp head and smile to myself. A fierce sense of protectiveness floods every other thought in my head.
I want her. Not just for a night. Not for a week. I want her to stay here, on the ranch with us. With me.
All I’ve ever wanted was to leave this place and do my own thing. Now all I can think about is staying. With Amelie. I have no idea what the hell to do about it.
“Do you still want me to go?” Amelie asks me. I hear the slight tremor in her voice.
I can’t lie to her or to myself any longer. “No.” I let out a big sigh. “I never did, Amelie. That’s the problem.”
“Why is that a problem?” She looks up at me, her wide green eyes trained on mine.
“Because it’s complicated.”
She doesn’t answer, and I know she expects more.
“I think some of my brothers are half in love with you.”
“They’re amazing men,” she says. “And so are you.”
Something swells inside my chest at her words, and I hug her tighter. “I wish that were true.”
Her smile falters. “What do you mean?”
I shake my head, not wanting to go into all the reasons I’m not the man she thinks I am. My gaze is drawn to my dresser and the photos of my parents. I can almost feel them looking at me.
“Another time,” I say, hoping I’ll never have to explain. I don’t want to see disappointment in her eyes.
I kiss her then, sweetly, taking my time, savoring the quiet moment.
When we break apart, I rest my forehead on hers, breathing her in. I never want to let her go.
“You’d better go get changed for movie night or the boys are going to wonder what happened to you and come looking.”
“I know,” she says, but makes to move to go. She traces the line of my jaw with her fingertips.
“Come on,” I say, setting her on her feet. “I’m afraid to ask what my brothers gave you that constitutes ‘comfy clothes’, but you better put it on anyway.”
She smiles at me sleepily. “Will you come down?”
“Yes,” I say before I can think better of it. And I know I’ll be staring at her all through the movie with the same dopey look all my brothers have been wearing.
She smiles at me, picks up her towels, and heads out of my room.
I sit on the side of the bed for a moment longer, wondering what the hell I’m going to do. I know this is all going to blow up in my face. Seven men all wanting one woman is a recipe for disaster. Add in the fact that she’s unlikely to stay for more than a few days, and the wrath of her father, who has been bent on destroying the Maddox family for years, and well, it’s a real clusterfuck, but the outcome is clear.
We can’t all have her, even if she does choose to stay. We will have to let her go.
We can help her get on her feet, make sure she has what she needs. Make sure her father can’t force her to marry a man who won’t love her. But that’s all.
Just as I’m contemplating going to the library and pouring myself a whiskey or three, I hear voices on the porch. I can’t hear exactly what’s being said, but it’s clear my brothers have gathered outside to do it, and that’s never good.
Without bothering with a shirt or shoes, I head downstairs to see what’s going on.
13
JESSE
We had managed to make it through dinner without a fistfight breaking out, but just barely. As soon as Amelie left the dining room, the easy flirtation disappeared. The rest of us were almost silent, lost in our own thoughts. Even the twins. Tension coiled around us, and the room crackled like the atmosphere does before a big storm rolls in.
Then somebody made a crack and in an instant, we were at one another’s throats. That’s when I insisted we take things outside.
“Fuck,” Reed finally says, kicking at a small rock in the yard. “I can’t take this.”
I agree. I hate discord and uncertainty, but I try to bring him back down.
“We all want her, Reed. But it’s her choice what happens from here. There’s no use in fighting each other.”
Reed glares at each of us, one by one. “I think all you fuckers who just want a piece of ass need to step aside.”
“Like you don’t want it?” Jackson says.
“It’s more than that to me,” Reed says, turning away.
I’m shocked. Reed hasn’t shown any real interest in a woman since he got back from rehab at Walter Reed. It’s clear that Amelie means far more to him than just sex.
“Reed, she might decide to just go home,” I say. “Will you be okay with that?”
“I don’t know,” he says on an exhaled sigh.
I look up to find Vance leaning against the porch’s post.
“You got something to say?” Reed asks, looking for an excuse to vent some of his tension. He’s probably already imagining punching Vance in the face.
I expect a harsh, mocking reply from Vance. He’s been a dick where Amelie is concerned since s
he showed up. But instead his words are soft and laced with a heaviness I haven’t heard from him in a long time. “We need to let her go. Let her find someone she can love. A man she can have a life with.”
“You don’t think I can give her that?” Reed asks, getting in his face.
Vance’s mouth hardens. “I don’t know. But if you try, it’ll destroy all of us.”
Vance is right. We all know that.
I look at Vance then—really look at him. I know he feels something for her. And it seems that the feeling has only intensified. The look on his face as he’s telling us we need to let her go reminds of the expression he wore when he came back after the car accident, convinced it was all his fault.
He cares for her. Maybe as much as the rest of us. And it’s killing him, too.
“Fuck you, Vance. You don’t get to be king of goddamn everything.” Reed says, exploding. He knows Vance is right, too, but doesn’t want to hear it. “I’m sick and tired of you trying to run my life.”
Reed lunges for Vance, but he is held back by Memphis and Jackson before he can throw a punch.
Reed is amped up, red-faced, and ready to throw down. He takes off his shirt and tosses it on the porch. “Come on!”
“Wait,” I say. “This has to stop.”
“Stay out of this,” Reed barks, not taking his eyes off Vance.
Vance steps into the yard, but he’s not eager to fight. He’s not even angry. I get the feeling he’s doing this because Reed needs it, not because he wants to fight anybody.
I push between the men, knowing that they’ll probably just gang up on me and then finish their fight over my dead body.
“Maybe Vance is right,” I say, though the words feel like a punch to my gut. “We need to let her go.”
Nobody likes this thought, but everyone except Reed seems to understand there’s no other choice. We can’t all have her. So it’s better if none of us does.
“We can’t go on like this,” Vance says to Reed. “It has to be this way.”
Reed looks from Vance to me to the rest of our brothers. The fight bleeds from his body and his shoulders sag. “I’ll leave,” he says, deflated. “You were right, Jesse. I’m not sure I can handle seeing her with one of you day after day and know I’ll never have her myself. I need her too much.”
I know how he feels, and maybe he’s right. I care about Amelie. I want her. Maybe even need her, like Reed, but I’m not sure I can watch her with one of my brothers, either. “I’ll go, too.”
“No,” Vance practically growls. “No one is fucking leaving.”
“So what do we do?” Tanner asks.
Just then, Amelie appears on the front porch. She’s wearing a pair of boxers—I have no idea who’s—with the band folded down over her hips, and another of Reed’s T-shirts tied at her waist. Her feet are bare, her hair damp around her shoulders.
“I don’t want you fighting,” Amelie says, her face pale, her lip trembling. I hope she doesn’t cry. I’m pretty sure that would bring all seven of us to our knees. “And I don’t want anyone to leave.”
She looks at Vance then, and her eyes go soft. He looks back at her, and something passes between them. Vance has scratches on his chest, and Amelie’s lips look swollen, I realize. Something has happened between them. Maybe everything. And the look she gives Vance…it makes sense. Maybe he’s always been the one. Yet he’s willing to give that up to keep us together. And to give Amelie a future he thinks she deserves.
That might be more than any of the rest of us is willing to give. My heart breaks a little, but it’s not just for myself anymore.
Amelie tips her chin up and turns back to us, wearing the same determined, stubborn look she wore when she first knocked on our door asking for our help.
“You told me you wanted to give me a few days to think things over and decide whether I wanted to go forward with my original plan. You opened your home to me. You gave me space. You gave me power. You’ve made me laugh. Made me feel safe.” Her eyes go to each of us in turn as she speaks. “I can never repay the kindness you’ve shown me the last few days. Each of you has become so special to me.”
She smiles, and I feel my heart beat a little faster, though it feels like it’s crumbling at my feet. She’s going to tell us she’s leaving. I know it.
She straightens. “So I’ve made a decision.”
She takes a deep breath and lets it out slowly. All of us are silent, our hearts pounding in our chests.
“I want my first time to be with all of you,” she says. “All seven. Right now.”
14
AMELIE
There is complete silence for a heartbeat. Seven pairs of blue eyes stare at me. I’m about to repeat myself when Memphis finally breaks the silence.
“Fuck, yeah,” he breathes.
Vance is the closest and he grabs my arm, staring down at me. “Are you sure about this?” Concern dances in his eyes. I know how much he wants me. And I know this is right. My heart surges.
“I’m sure.” On impulse, I rise on my tiptoes and press a kiss to his lips. I want to reassure him that this is what I want, what I need. I care about all the guys. I want them all to be part of one of the most special events of my life.
Vance wraps his arms around me, and he takes my lips hungrily. I wrap my legs around his waist, pressing kisses to his face as he walks us into the house and back into the library. When we get there, Vance sets me down in the center of the large room.
A couple of the guys grab all the pillows off the couches and chairs, making a big pile around us. And then they start to undress.
This. Is. Happening.
Vance moves in again, tilting my face up to his, and presses an almost-sweet kiss to my lips. “This is your show. Anything you want. Anything you don’t want.”
“I know,” I say.
“Let’s get you naked,” Memphis says, coming up behind me. He strips Reed’s T-shirt over my head, while Greyson tugs down the boxers he’d lent me. In two seconds flat, the twins have me standing in front of them all, completely naked.
All the activity in the room stills, and all seven of the brothers stare at my body. Maybe I should feel embarrassed. Or ashamed. Or even a little afraid given that I’m alone in a room with seven enormous, strong men who are about to do things to my body that will be completely new to me. But instead I feel empowered. Beautiful. Sexy.
“Damn,” someone says.
Jackson approaches first, kissing me deeply. He’s stripped down to his boxers, as most of the guys are, and I feel his erection pressing to my belly. Then he slides around behind me to press kisses to my neck and shoulders as Jesse takes his turn kissing me. He slides his tongue into my mouth. I’m sandwiched in between two powerful males.
He moves to the side, taking one breast into his mouth, circling my nipple with his tongue. Tanner goes for the other breast, giving me a jaunty grin and a quick kiss before tugging at the nipple with his teeth and stroking my soft belly. Three men now have their hands and mouths on me.
My knees go weak, but my guys can see what’s happening and they draw me down onto the soft carpeting I’d loved so much the first night I sneaked into this room, laying my head on one of the pillows already waiting there. Someone pushes another pillow under my hips. Jackson and Tanner move to my breasts, loving me with tongues and hands, while Jesse presses hot kisses to my belly.
“We want in,” Memphis says.
“Can’t let you guys have all the fun,” Greyson adds. Both of them start on my feet and legs, massaging the soles of my feet and pressing kisses to my toes and ankles.
Hands and mouths touch every part of my body, and I feel like I’m burning up inside.
Reed joins us then. The twins gently part my legs to make room for him. With my hips elevated, it’s easy for him to have access to my pussy, and he takes advantage of it, stroking my opening, first with fingers, then with his tongue.
“You taste so good,” Reed says. “I could stay here for ho
urs.”
“No, you don’t,” Jackson says. “I want a turn.” Reed sucks at my clit, drawing it out, causing my nerve endings to scream with building tension. Then he moves aside for Jackson.
Jackson presses kisses along my pelvic bone as he strokes me with his fingers. “She’s so wet. I wonder which of us is getting her so hot.”
“All of you,” I say, meaning it. I wouldn’t have thought I’d want this, so many men at once, but I love it. I love the attention. I love that I’m their treasure, their sexual obsession. I love that there are seven hard dicks in the room, all for me. Selfish? Maybe. But right now I don’t care. I want them on me and in me.
“Turn your head, beautiful,” Reed says. His cock is in his hand and he’s stroking it slowly.
I lick my lips and he accepts the unspoken invitation, filling my mouth with his huge erection.
Around me, there are collective moans. It turns me on to perform for them. I suck and lick Reed, making sure the guys get a good show and Reed gets what he needs, too.
My skin is burning now, my empty pussy clenching, needing to be filled. I writhe on the floor, and then someone is filling me with their fingers, stroking me. I open my eyes. It’s Vance. A little thrill runs through me at that realization. He’d stayed back and let the other guys have their turns at my body, but he is here now, and his steady gaze and raw heat make everything just a little better.
Vance has removed his clothing down to his underwear, too, and I admire his impossibly broad chest and powerful arms. But he’s capable of tenderness, too, which he proves as he expertly explores my folds.
I’m needy, a ball of nothing but nerves and desperate want. I look at him, kneeling between my thighs, that look of possessiveness, of tenderness, and above all contentment on his strong features.
I want him to be my first.
I meet his gaze, silently pleading.
He stills and his eyes soften, but then his expression hardens with determination. He shoves down his boxers, his cock oh so close to where I want it to be.
