Triple M Ranch [Slick Rock 10] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting)

by Becca Van

  “I tried to hit him, but he grabbed my wrists and held them in one hand. No matter how hard I tried to escape, he was too strong. He—He grabbed my breast and squeezed so hard I cried out, but since he was trying to shove his slimy tongue down my throat the noise was muffled.”

  When she shuddered and gagged at the remembered assault Danny couldn’t take any more. He slid his arm around her shoulders, pushing Cain aside and then the other beneath her knees and lifted her onto his lap. Cain gave him a scowl but Danny ignored his brother. He needed to comfort Cashmere. He ran a hand up and down her arm and hugged her side into his chest.

  “I tried to get my knee up hard between his legs but I was much shorter than he was and since he had me pushed into the wall I couldn’t get any leverage to get high enough. That’s when he hit me in the face. He moved his hand from my breast and down to the waistband of my pants and tried to undo my jeans. He pulled my shirt up and scratched my stomach with his nails. He let go of my wrists and was pulling at the fastenings on my jeans when Danny pulled him off me.”

  By the time Cash was finished she was crying again. The sobs were so hard they shook her whole body. “Give her to me,” Bruce demanded.

  Danny looked at the rage and fear on his older brother’s face and knew if he didn’t get to hold Cash in his arms again that he would lose the tight rein of control he had himself under.

  “Cash, Bruce wants to hold you, sugar. He needs to know you’re safe. Will you let him?” Danny kissed her head and hugged her. Her tears finally slowed and then she nodded. Danny passed her off to Bruce and watched as his big brother shuddered as he cradled her against his chest. Cash wrapped her arms around his neck and nuzzled her nose into his throat.

  Luke cleared his throat, drawing Danny’s gaze. “Tell me what you saw and did?”

  By the time Danny had finished giving his statement he felt weary to the bone, but he was also pent up and knew he would have a hell of a time sleeping that night. He was going to see that fucker attacking Cash over and over in his nightmares. Danny was just glad he got to her before she got hurt worse.

  “I’ll be out sometime tomorrow with your typed-up statements so you can sign them.” Luke nodded toward Cash. “Take your woman home, she’s been through hell and is exhausted.”

  “She’s asleep,” Bruce said quietly.

  Danny held the office door open for Bruce as he carried Cash and then looked at Cain. “Bring the truck up close to the back. We’ll go out one of the emergency exits so we don’t wake her up going through the noisy bar.”

  Cain gave Cash a look of longing before nodding and hurried away. Danny caught the door his brother had left through so it wouldn’t slam shut and held it wide as Bruce carried her out.

  Hopefully Cash was out for the night and they could have her sleep in their home where she would be safe.

  Chapter Four

  Cash groaned at the ache in her eye and cheek but she was so warm and comfortable she didn’t want to move. When she did move her leg it connected with something hard and warm. She tried to open her eyes but it felt like they were glued shut. One eyelid cooperated but the other refused. The events of the previous night came rushing back and she sat up with a gasp. She looked around at the strange bedroom and then down the bed next to her when the mattress dipped.

  Bruce was in bed next to her, his brown eyes watching her. She gulped when she realized his chest was naked and hoped the rest of him wasn’t. His chest was so thick with muscles she could see every delineated line when he moved. He shifted and leaned up on his elbow with his head resting on his hand.

  “How are you feeling, sweet cheeks?”

  “Okay. Where am I?”

  “At the ranch house.”

  “Why am I here?”

  “You fell asleep, Cash, and I wanted to make sure you were safe. So I brought you here.”

  “Umm…” Cash looked down to see a huge T-shirt covering her chest. When she shifted she sighed with relief when she felt she still had her panties and bra on. Thank God he hadn’t seen her totally naked. As good as, her inner voice said, which caused her to shiver. Did he like what he’d seen or was he turned off? Why are you even thinking that way, girl? He’s just taking care of you because you work for his cousins.

  She reached up and brushed the hair from her face, gasped and winced when her hand connected with her swollen eye and cheek. Bruce rolled out of bed and she couldn’t help but stare at his godlike body. He was ripped and cut and bulged everywhere but she was glad to see he had on a pair of boxers. He bent down and picked his jeans up from the floor, which made the knit material of his underwear stretch over his muscular beefy ass. She wanted to crawl over the bed and take a bite out of it. Heat shot up her face when he turned around to face her. He smiled and gave her a wink as if he knew she had been ogling his backside.

  “I’ll get you some painkillers, sweet cheeks.”

  “Why do you call me that?”

  The smile on his face widened and he waggled his eyebrows, “Because you have the sweetest little peach of an ass I’ve ever seen.”

  More heat swept into her face and she felt like it was on fire. He bellowed out a laugh, winked at her again, and then turned toward the door. “Feel free to have a shower if you want, sweetie. You can wear another of my T-shirts when you come out.” Bruce pointed to the dresser drawer where she could find his shirts and then left.

  Cash couldn’t believe how turned on she was, especially since she’d thought herself in love with Harry. God was she so fickle? Why did she have to be lusting after three men who were way out of her depths? Her breasts were swollen and aching and not because of last night. Although she still had a little pain where that asshole had grabbed her, the ache she was experiencing right now was different. Her nipples were hard, her clit was throbbing and her pussy was wet. She was going to have to go home and shower there instead of using this one, because she didn’t have any clean underwear with her and she wasn’t about to put wet undies back on.

  She knew they owned their own ranch and wondered why they were taking such good care of her. But she figured that because she was their cousins’ employee that they would feel guilty if anything happened to her whilst they were looking after the Double M Ranch.

  Cash winced as she got out of bed and stood up. The skin on her face felt tight and so did her eye. She also had a headache but she’d dealt with worse and she had work to do. Thank God it was Saturday and she only had to work a half day, and tomorrow she would spend the day resting in her cabin with a good book. Looking around the room, she spotted her jeans and red blouse on the chair near the door and her boots were placed neatly on the floor below. She didn’t want to put her shirt back on but she stepped into her jeans, dropped her red shirt on the floor and found her socks in her boots. After she put them and her boots on she picked up her blouse and headed out.

  The delicious scent of cooking food wafted to her nose and she inhaled deeply, but by the look of the light shining through the living room window she was already late for work, so she headed to the door and had her hand on the handle.

  “Where do you think you’re going?”

  Cash screamed, jumped, and spun around all at once. She placed a hand on her rapidly beating heart and tried to gain her breath.

  “Sorry, baby.” Cain moved closer. “I didn’t mean to scare you. I brought you the painkillers.” He held up his hands and showed her two pain pills in his palm and a glass of water in the other.

  “Thanks.” She took the medicine and drank down the water.

  “So, where were you going?” Cain nodded toward the door.

  “Work.”

  Cain shook his head, reached out and took the shirt from her hand and then gently gripped her arms with his free one. “Not happening, baby. The doctor’s orders were to rest and that’s exactly what you’re going to do.”

  “I’m fine, Cain.”

  Cain took another step closer and nudged her chin up. “No you’re not. I can s
ee the pain lines around your lips, and from the tension in your forehead you have a headache.”

  “I’ve had worse.”

  “Jesus, Cash. Stop arguing with me, you aren’t working and that’s final. Now come on into the kitchen, breakfast is ready.”

  Cash couldn’t hide the shiver that ran down her spine when he dropped his hand to her shoulder and caressed down her arm. The huge T-shirt she was wearing was falling off and in danger of exposing the top of her breast through the neck hole. Before she could adjust it Cain stroked a finger over her collar bone and down to the material of the shirt. She shivered again and then felt her flesh goose bump. Cain had been watching his finger as he caressed her and seemed to snap out of his trance. When he looked at her she could see the hunger in his eyes. She went to lower her head but he stopped her with a finger under her chin and gazed at her intently.

  “We would never do anything to hurt you, baby. Do you trust us?”

  Cash gave a slight nod.

  “Good.” Cain didn’t give her a chance to speak because he moved quickly. He stepped into her until their bodies were touching, wrapped an arm around her waist, and lowered his head. He gently brushed his lips back and forth over hers and she was surprised that his lips were so soft, and she figured that just maybe he was being careful with her because of her fat lip. Cain could be such a hard-ass and she had expected him to kiss hard, too, but he kept his touch light. Tingles of warmth began to travel through her body, making her feel weak and feminine and even though her body liked it, her mind didn’t.

  Just as she placed her hands on his chest to push him away he lifted his head and released her. “Breakfast is getting cold.” He took her hand again and led her toward the kitchen.

  Bruce and Danny were already just sitting down to eat. There were platters of bacon, scrambled eggs, toast and pancakes. She’d never seen so much food for only four people and wondered if some of the ranch hands were joining them.

  Cain seated her to Bruce’s left where he sat at the head of the table and then sat down beside her. Danny was sitting across from her. There were four mugs of coffee on the table as well as cream and sugar, maple syrup and jars of jelly. The men began loading their plates and when they had finished all eyes were on her. Bruce sighed and then reached over and picked up her plate. He had two pieces of bacon on her plate already and was about to put another on, but she stopped him.

  “That’s more than enough, thank you. I don’t eat as much as you three do. I’m not as big as you are.”

  Bruce gave her a look but then he scooped up some eggs and finally put a piece of toast on her plate. He quirked an eyebrow and pointed at the pancakes and she shook her head. He put the plate in front of her and then starting eating. Cash sighed because even though she wasn’t very hungry she knew that these three domineering men weren’t going to let her get away without having breakfast.

  Everyone was silent as they did justice to the meal and by the time Cash had eaten her fill, her plate was still half-full. She’d never been one to eat breakfast often and didn’t know how she was going to do her work on such a full stomach. That was another thing. Cain had demanded that she rest but other than being a little achy around her cheek, her swollen eye, and the slight headache, she was fine. She had no intention of letting them dictate to her. She was going to do her job and that was all there was to it.

  “You didn’t eat enough, baby.” Cain’s gravelly voice drew her eyes. “How the hell are you going to heal if you don’t fuel up?”

  “I’m fine, Cain.” She sighed and then took a sip of her coffee.

  “Don’t give me that shit,” Cain snapped. “Do you think we can’t see that you’re in pain? God you are stubborn.”

  “Pot, kettle,” Cash snapped back.

  Cash watched with amazement as the scowl on Cain’s face turned to a grin and then he rasped out a deep belly laugh. A smile tugged at her mouth but she was determined to hold her glare. There was no way in hell she was going to laugh with him even if his humor was catching.

  Bruce reached over and covered the hand she had resting on the table. “You’re just full of surprises aren’t you, sweet cheeks?” He was grinning and the smile lit up his whole face. God, they were all so handsome and her body kept taking notice. If she didn’t get out of here soon she was going to do something she would regret.

  She removed her hand from beneath Bruce’s and gathered her dirty dishes and rose, intending to take them over to the kitchen.

  “What are you doing?” Danny asked.

  Cash hesitated and rolled her eyes. She looked back over her shoulder. “I’m going to rinse my dishes and then I’m going home to shower where I’ll have some clean clothes to put on.”

  “And then you’re going to rest, right?” Cain ordered more than asked.

  “Yes, Cain,” Cash lied.

  “Good,” Bruce said. “I don’t want to see you back at work until at least Wednesday.”

  She ignored him and took her dishes to the kitchen, rinsed them, put them in the dishwasher and then headed out. She paused in the doorway and glanced back over her shoulder only to find all three sets of eyes pinned to her ass. Clearing her throat to get their attention, they each let their gazes peruse her body until they met hers. Her breath hitched in her throat when she saw the hunger there. Heat suffused her cheeks but she wasn’t about to acknowledge what she saw in their eyes. “Thank you all for taking care of me.”

  She didn’t wait for a reply but lit out of there as if her pants were on fire, because they were. By the time she got back to her cabin her panties were so wet they were uncomfortable. She hurried to the bathroom, showered, dried off and dressed. After brushing her teeth and drying then braiding her hair, she headed to the barn.

  Cash had been working solidly for over an hour, mucking out stables, laying fresh hay and then making sure the horses had plenty of water. She had just picked up the bucket holding the grooming tools when the door burst open. Harry and David came rushing in and they looked worried.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “You’re in a heap of trouble, Cash.”

  Fear skittered down her spine but she had no idea what she’d done wrong. The two men looked scared for her, which caused her heartbeat to race, and when they stopped before her she realized she was panting for breath.

  “What’s going on?”

  “Cain went over to your cabin to check on you. He’s headed this way. You might want to run.”

  “Oh shit.” Cash covered her mouth with a shaking hand.

  Harry and David burst out laughing and their humor turned her fear to anger. They had made her think something was terribly wrong. She didn’t appreciate their sense of humor. Just as she was about to give them a dressing down, she caught movement near the open barn doors and saw Cain coming toward her.

  He looked madder than a disturbed hornet’s nest.

  “This should be fun,” David snickered. She shot him a dirty look.

  “Cash,” Cain roared. “What the fuck do you think you’re doing?”

  Each step he took brought him closer and closer. His body was taut with anger and his fists were clenched. Cash backed up with each step he took and she dropped the bucket of brushes when her back collided with a wooden stall wall. When he raised his hand she whimpered and dropped to the floor. She curled up into a little ball and covered her head.

  * * * *

  Cain was so damn mad he was shaking. He’d gone over to check on Cash and had become worried when she hadn’t opened the door to her cabin when he knocked. When he tried the door and found it unlocked he walked inside worried that she was in pain and couldn’t come to the door. When he found the place empty and that she hadn’t locked up, raged consumed him. He spun around slamming out of her place and headed toward the barn. He spied David and Harry fixing one of the wood slats on the corral near the barn and Harry looked up and gave him a wave. Cain was too pissed off to acknowledge him and picked up his pace.

  Harry an
d David dropped what they were doing and went racing into the barn, no doubt to warn Cash that he was on the warpath. Those two had been told last night that Cash wouldn’t be working today and they had promised to take over her chores. They must have seen her sneaking into the barn and now were trying to warn her.

  Moments later he was storming into the barn, and his fury got the better of him when he saw that the stalls had already been mucked out and fresh hay put down. Cash had just picked up the bucket of grooming tools but she had done more than enough as far as he was concerned.

  “Cash,” Cain roared. “What the fuck do you think you’re doing?”

  She looked up at him and started backing away. That only pissed him off more. When she bumped into the wall and couldn’t go any further he lifted his arm, intending to take the bucket from her hand.

  Cash dropped the bucket, whimpered and then fell to the ground and before he knew what was going on she had curled up into the fetal position with her arms over her head.

  Fuck! Way to go asshole. She thinks because you’re angry that you’re going to hit her. After hearing about her childhood last night and then her getting hit, you shoulda known better.

  Harry took a step and was in a half-crouch position when Cain gripped his shoulder and stopped him. “Let me take care of this,” Cain said in a quiet voice. “Keep everyone out of here.” Harry nodded and then he and David walked out.

  Cain sighed over his insensitivity but Cash was going to have to learn that just because he or his brothers got angry sometimes, didn’t mean that they would ever hurt her. He knelt down and scooped her up into his arms and carried her over to a bale of hay and sat down. She was still making whimpering noises and he could feel her shaking.

  “Baby, Bruce, Danny, and me would never hurt you.” He kept his voice low and hopefully soothing. She was still curled up on his lap with her hands protecting her head. “Cash, I would never raise my hand to you. Come on, honey, don’t be scared of me. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you.”