by Jenny Penn
Tara didn’t even know what she was thinking and when she thought they had. After all, she wasn’t dating them. They were just fucking. That was all she was to them, a good time. The fact that she’d even entertained the thought that what was between the three of them was anything more went to prove just how right her uncle was. She was delusional, and about ready to leave.
“Tara.” Richard came to a pause by the table. “I see you got my note and gift.”
“It’s a little late for both,” Tara shot back, reaching for her purse.
It dangled on the back of her chair, but Richard’s hand came down over hers as her fingers began to curl around the strap. “Please, Tara, just give me this chance. We’re already here, and the food is supposed to be good.”
“This chance?” Tara arched a brow at that, unimpressed by the plea in his tone. “I’ve given you enough and I’m not that hungry.”
Jerking her hand out from under his, she shoved her seat back, forcing him to give way so that she could slip her purse strap up and over her shoulder. She paused only long enough to give him a look that assured he knew what she thought of him and then turned on her heel to storm out of the restaurant.
It was a beautiful exit, ruined only by the fact that Richard trailed after her, refusing to accept her denial.
“Tara, please. I made a few mistakes. but I promise things will be different.”
Tara didn’t believe him for a minute or even spare a look back as she shoved out the front door. “No, they won’t.”
“I swear they will,” Richard vowed, but that wasn’t the first vow he’d made to her. Tara didn’t expect he would live up to it any more than he had any of the others.
“Save it, Richard.” She’d reached her car by then and had little choice but to stop and turn to face him. “I know all your moves. All your lines. They’re not going to work.”
Richard’s gaze darkened with a true hint of anger as he towered over her. “You don’t know everything.”
“Really?” Tara snorted. “Well, maybe it’s that I don’t care to know any more.”
In fact, she didn’t want to know what she already did but was glad for it. That knowledge allowed her to see the truth, and it was ugly. That was just why she was done with this conversation, because there was no point to it.
Turning to reach for her door handle, she all but dismissed Richard, but he wasn’t going to be so easily discarded. He latched onto her arm and spun her back around with a painful grip as he leaned in to pin her up against the car.
“And is this what you care for now? Being used and abused?” Richard snarled, his gaze burning now with unfamiliar emotion that was almost as alarming as the solid feel of his erection pressing against her.
“Let me go!” Tara twisted, trying to buck him loose and twist free, but Richard simply settled more of his weight against her as his head dipped so his words whispered out, dark and menacing, just between the two of them.
“I know all about the Cattlemen and the way they like their women. If you want it rough, then, baby, I’ll take it the way I like!”
Richard tried to end that bold statement with a kiss, smashing his lips against hers as Tara began to fight back. It was no good. He was too big, too strong, and she was a second from panicking when suddenly he went flying back. Tara blinked open eyes that had snapped shut and found herself staring up into Bryant’s concerned gaze as Travis lorded over Richard, who had been shoved to the ground.
“You okay, sunshine?” Bryant asked with such tenderness and concern that she had to blink back the tears.
No, she was far from all right, but she didn’t have time to break down right then. Not when it looked like Travis was about to pound the crap out of Richard. As much as she didn’t care if he got hurt, she didn’t want Travis getting into trouble because of her. That was just what Richard would cause if Travis laid a hand on him.
She swallowed back the pain and nodded at Bryant before pushing past him to latch onto Travis’s arm. “Don’t.”
Travis blinked and turned to glare down at her. “Why the hell not? The man was assaulting you.”
“I’m fine,” Tara assured him, trying to soothe the savage inclinations she could sense swirling within Travis. He was tense and standing at battle-ready attention. “Richard was just⎯“
“Richard?” Travis spat the name out like it was a blaspheme.
“Her husband,” Richard answered the implied question in Travis’s tone as he rose up off the ground to glare back at Travis.
“Ex-husband,” Tara corrected him, sending Richard a warning glance of her own. “And he was just leaving, weren’t you?”
“For now.” Richard pinned her with a pointed look. “But we will be finishing this discussion later.”
That had Travis taking a threatening step forward, but Tara held him back from taking another one. Thankfully, he didn’t say a word because, no matter what he said, Richard would have a comeback. Tara had a suspicion that would lead to an all-out fight. Richard might have worked out regularly and developed some impressive muscles. but that didn’t mean he knew what to do with them.
Travis did.
Tara was certain of that, but he proved himself capable of restraint. The look, though, on his face warned her that there were limits to his control. He was clearly fighting them right then. Tara fought her own emotions, too. She wasn’t winning the battle.
Despite her determination to stand tall in front of Richard, Tara felt herself begin to tremble as he slammed into his car and sped off. By the time his bumper was bouncing over the hump at the end of the restaurant’s driveway, she was shaking hard enough for both Bryant and Travis to notice.
“Oh, sunshine, you are not all right,” Bryant whispered before wrapping his arms around her and pulling her into the warm comfort of his embrace.
Tara collapsed against him, still fighting back the tears as she felt everything inside her start to churn. She’d never seen Richard like that before. He’d scared her, scared her badly. Bryant’s scent, on the other hand, soothed her, healing her fear along with all the other raw emotions ripping through her.
Even as they quieted, Tara felt exhausted and not the least bit inclined to argue as Bryant took her keys from her and insisted that he drive her home. She let him load her into the passenger side of her car and watched silently as he slid behind the wheel. Bryant started up the stately sedan and eased it out of the parking spot as headlights from Travis’s truck pulled up behind them.
He tailed them out of the small lot and down the darkened streets back to the highway that led to Pittsview. As they drove along, Bryant reached a hand out to twine his fingers between her own and lent Tara the strength she needed when he finally broke the solemn silence with a simple question.
“Want to talk about it?”
“Not really.” But Tara felt like she owed him an explanation anyway. “It’s just all messed up. I thought I had escaped, but…”
“Escaped?” Bryant picked up on that word, shooting her a dangerous look. “As in an abusive situation?”
Tara snorted. “I guess you call it that, but Richard never actually…not like tonight.”
“He’s upset about losing you.”
“He’s upset about losing my money,” Tara countered instantly without thought and then realized what she’d said. “I guess I have never told you about that, have I?”
Bryant shook his head slowly. “Nope.”
“Well…the thing is…” Tara struggled to find a way to say what she had to say without sound crass or shallow. She needn’t have bothered. Bryant certainly didn’t when he finished her stuttering explanation with his own simple one.
“You’re rich.”
Tara nodded slowly as Bryant glanced from the road to her. “Very rich. My grandmother left me a trust worth a few hundred million.”
“I see.” Far from accepting, he sounded more confused and depressed as he prodded her further. “And you work as a low-paid clerk because…
”
“Money doesn’t buy happiness,” Tara stated simply. “Just the opposite, and I enjoy waking up every day with something to do, people to see, friends to enjoy.”
Bryant squeezed her hand and shot her a quick smile before turning his attention back to the road. “I get that. On the force, we’re all just one big happy, grumpy family. As much as the other guys drive me nuts, I still couldn’t imagine my life without them.”
“You’re very lucky,” Tara whispered, envying him in that moment for the kind of life he had.
“And so are you.” Bryant shot her another grin. “After all, you’re with me now.”
“I am?” Tara blinked, not certain of what to read into that statement.
“You are.” Bryant nodded, paused, and when he spoke again, his tone was back to sounding somber. “And I’m sorry about tonight.”
“Sorry?” That caught Tara off guard. “For what? You saved me.”
“Because I didn’t think of sending you a slinky black dress or of taking you out to a romantic restaurant.”
Tara blinked that in, amazed at his words and even more by the honest regret in his tone. Then she burst out laughing, unable to do any more than shake her head at him until she regained a little control.
“Don’t be ridiculous.” Tara breathed deeply and sighed. “I don’t need slinky black dresses, and romantic restaurants are overrated.”
“Really?” Bryant lifted a brow at that and cast her another speculative look. “Then what is it that you do need?”
“Loyalty,” Tara answered without thought, and once again, she found herself surprised by her honesty and out on another limb because of it. Before he could say anything or the moment could deepen any further, she perked up in her seat and intentionally rushed to change the conversation. “This isn’t the way home.”
“It is now.”
Bryant didn’t elaborate on that bold statement. Instead, he pulled into his driveway and killed the engine, leaving Tara to wonder if he was actually saying what she thought he was saying. She sat there stunned for a moment, shocked by the very idea. Still dazed when Travis opened the door, Tara allowed herself to be assisted out of the car and escorted up the path to the front door of their rental. It wasn’t until she stepped into the house and looked around that the weight of the moment finally caught up with her, and she spoke without thought.
“I can’t live here.”
That brought both Travis and Bryant to a stop, each with different questions falling off their lips.
“Why not?”
“You moving in?” Travis blinked, shrugged, and then nodded. “Okay.”
“No, it’s not okay,” Tara insisted. “We’re not even dating.”
“So?” Bryant frowned. “I’m not dating Travis either, and he lives here.”
“But you’re not fucking him either, are you?” Tara snapped back, exasperated by their attitude. Moving in with two men should mean something, but apparently it didn’t. Not to them.
“No, but I’m fucking you with him,” Bryant countered before pointing out the all too obvious. “Besides, you don’t think your ex isn’t going to be sniffing around the pool house you’re staying in? Do you know how easy it is to break into that place?”
Tara felt cornered by his logic and didn’t care for the sensation. “No, do you?”
“How do you think we found you tonight?” Travis smiled. “We told you we had a surprise planned for you.”
“And sneaking into my house was it?” Because that didn’t sound the least bit romantic. Of course Travis’s ideas of romantic were almost frightening.
“We were going to set your bedroom up as a sexual jungle gym.”
“Be still my beating heart.” Tara rolled her eyes. “Why didn’t we just go to the club? I’m sure they have whatever you were planning already set up.”
There was a moment of silence as Travis and Bryant shared a look before Bryant admitted they were out of the club.
“What?” Tara blinked that in. “When?”
“We were given a choice,” Bryant declared. “And we chose you.”
“Me?” Tara’s heart clenched. “Over all those other women?”
The smile Bryant shot her almost had the tears returning to her eyes. “Over everybody. Now, come on, let’s get you something to eat. I think we have some leftover pizza, and I can always microwave some macaroni.”
Microwave macaroni? Tara sighed as the glow that Bryant had lit in her with his words began to fade. She looked around at the messy living room and the grim dining room and knew something was going to have to change if she was really moving in here.
Chapter 13
Sunday, June 29th
Bryant woke up the next morning feeling a little strange. It was Sunday, time for church and then lunch with the parental units. Travis and his parents were very close. They went to the same church, and afterward, every weekend, the women gathered to cook a feast that would satisfy all the men and children running about having a good time.
Neither Travis nor he had ever taken a woman to church. There was a reason. Showing up to church with a woman in tow was as good as announcing a man’s intention to put a ring on that finger. Normally that thought would have had him breaking out in cold sweats, but with Tara’s soft body curled into him, Bryant had trouble working up any kind of panic.
In fact, he couldn’t find the energy to do anything else but smile and whistle as he roused both Tara and Travis. They needed to get a move on it before they were late and suffered the displeasure of the their mothers. That was just what Bryant reminded Travis of when it looked like his best friend intended to roll Tara over and have another round with her. Travis heaved a sigh of regret and shoved out of the bed while Tara sat up and blinked in confusion.
“Late for what?” she asked as she pushed back the wild mess that was her hair.
“For church,” Bryant answered, pausing to admire the sight of Tara looking sexily bedraggled as she started to shove the sheets back and climb out of the bed.
“Oh, you have church.”
“Every Sunday,” Travis called back as he headed into the adjoining bathroom.
“It’s kind of tradition,” Bryant explained. “But we’re going to have to share the shower if we’re going to make it on time.”
“We?” Tara blinked, going still and looking like he’d just threatened her. “You want me to go to church with you?”
“Sure, why not?” Bryant asked, playing the moment off as if it were nothing.
Instinctively he knew Tara would balk if she realized how momentous of an occasion this was. As far as he could tell, the girl had serious commitment issues. Bryant couldn’t exactly blame her, given her ex. There was a dick he’d get to later. Right then, he had to convince Tara to come along with them.
“But I don’t have anything to wear,” she sputtered.
“We’ll stop by the pool house on our way. Now, come on.” He held a hand out to her. “Let’s get that shower.”
Tara hesitated for a bare second before taking his hand and allowing him to pull her into the bathroom, where Travis was already sudsing up under the spray of the hot water. He welcomed Tara in but shot Bryant a dirty look. Bryant returned the favor, refusing to leave.
He knew what Travis was planning, but they didn’t have time to each take a turn with Tara. They were going to have to share. Tara certainly didn’t mind. Then again, she never did. Whatever hang-ups she had, they weren’t about sex.
Attending church with them was another thing. She really dragged her feet on that one, but since she didn’t say no at any point, Bryant and Travis just kept prodding her until they reached the mayor’s house. Thankfully, he’d already left for church, but his new houseguest hadn’t.
Richard arrived within minutes of them parking in the drive. By then Tara had scurried off to the bedroom to find an outfit to wear. That allowed them to have a little private conversation with the dick she’d divorced.
“Well, well
, well.” Bryant smiled as he greeted Richard at the door. “Look who it is.”
The man was, no doubt, considered handsome by many. He certainly wore his wealth well, but Bryant wasn’t impressed. Neither was Travis, who stepped up to back Bryant up.
“It’s yesterday’s garbage.” Travis snickered.
“And you’re today’s trash,” Richard shot back, proving that he had not only attitude but also a hell of a lot gumption to take them both on at the same time. “Where is Tara?”
“That’s really none of your business.” Bryant glanced at the main building Richard had come from before deducing the obvious. “So, you’re staying here.”
“And you’re leaving,” Richard stated pointedly, as if he had the authority to enforce that command.
“Yep.” Bryant nodded and smiled. “With Tara, because she’s ours now.”
“Please.” Richard dismissed that without hesitation. “I know what you really want, and it isn’t Tara, but don’t even think for a second you’ll get your hands on that trust.”
“That’s not where we plan on putting our hands, friend,” Travis assured him with a lecherous enough drawl to leave no doubt of his intentions.
“You think I care about that?” Richard smirked. “You can use her any way you want to, friend. You are just warming her up for me.”
“What’s wrong? Can’t warm up your women?” Bryant asked, not about to take the bait.
It didn’t matter what Richard said. Bryant knew what he’d seen, and that was Tara clearly saying no. Given her comments about loyalty, he didn’t figure that was ever going to change.
“What’s wrong? Can’t satisfy a woman on your own? It takes two of you?” Richard shot back, and Bryant had an answer for that, but Tara’s came out first.
“No, but it’s just better that way.” Placing a hand on Travis’s arm, she eased him back so she could step up and confront Richard directly. “And it’s best when it’s both at the same time.”
Richard’s ears flushed, proving that he wasn’t as unaffected as he wanted them to think. His tone, though, remained ice-cold. “You really have decided to go slumming, haven’t you, Tara?”
