by Becca Van
Her shaking slowed and then stopped and she lowered her arms. She peeked up at him and then she tried to sit up. Cain helped her until she was sitting upright with her side against his chest and her legs hanging off his. She felt so damn right in his arms he didn’t want to let her go.
“Sorry.” Cash’s breath hitched and she lowered her head.
Cain placed a knuckle beneath her chin and nudged her face up. “You have nothing to be sorry for, sugar. I guess your reaction was instinctual, huh? I was going to take the bucket from you, not hit you.”
Cash looked at him with a blank expression for a moment and then her eyes widened. Red swept up her neck and into her cheeks. She pushed at the arm he had around her waist but he wasn’t about to let her go. Not now that he had her where he wanted her. She pushed at his arm again and when he didn’t let go she dug her short nails into his forearm.
“Let me go,” she whispered.
“Why?”
“Because I asked you to,” Cash yelled.
Cain sighed but removed his arm. She scrambled from his lap and paced away and then spun around to face him. He looked up when he saw Bruce and Danny entering but Cash was so intent on him she didn’t hear his brothers stop behind her. Bruce raised a questioning eyebrow but Cain ignored him and focused back on Cash when she pointed at him.
“I can’t believe you. You and your sanctimonious brothers heard every word I said last night, didn’t you?”
“Yes,” Cain answered honestly and then watched with horror as tears filled her eyes.
“Oh God,” Cash sobbed. Turning blindly, she plowed right into Brutus. She gave a startled cry and then looked up at his big brother.
Bruce wrapped his arms around her waist to steady her and Cash surprised him once again by bursting into tears. She hid her face in Bruce’s torso and hugged his big body. Bruce stroked her back and made murmuring noises until she was finished with her crying. Instead of letting her go as Cain expected, Bruce gripped her waist and lifted her up until her head was level with his shoulders. Cash placed her hands on his shoulder for balance and then wrapped her legs around his waist. God, she looked so tiny against Bruce’s hulking body. Cain wanted to pull her from his brother’s arms and have her wrap him that way. He was getting a little jealous of the way she seemed more connected with Danny and Bruce. He wondered if she was scared of him because of his harder attitude. Well, he wasn’t changing for her so she was going to have to learn to get used to it. Besides, Danny and Bruce could be just as arrogant and dominant as he could. Even though Bruce was the quietest out of the three of them and slower to react, if his big brother was pushed too far, then there was hell to pay. He nearly smiled when he imagined their tiny woman going toe-to-toe with Bruce. He pushed his thoughts away when Bruce began to talk.
“What’s going on in here, Cash? Why were you crying?”
Cash lowered her head and tucked it beneath Bruce’s chin. It looked like she was going to be stubborn. Cain stood, moved in close to Cash’s back, and rubbed soothing circles between her shoulder blades, explaining what had happened. All the time he talked he kept his eyes on her bent head. She peeked up at him and stared daggers at him.
“If you weren’t already hurt I would spank your ass for looking at me with attitude like that.”
Her jaw dropped open and then she closed her mouth, pulling her lips tight.
“I think it’s time we talked,” Danny said and Cash blanched as if she hadn’t realized Danny was there.
“Good idea, brother.” Bruce began to carry Cash out of the barn. “It’s beyond time.”
Cain followed his brother and their woman to the ranch house. He just hoped like hell that they could convince Cash to give them a chance. But after what she’d been through with her childhood and again last night, he wasn’t sure how she was going to deal with what they wanted from her.
Chapter Five
Bruce and his brothers had thought about selling up their ranch near Alamosa four and half hours away and relocating their operation to this area when they’d heard about the polyandrous relationships in Slick Rock. Now that they had found the woman he could see having in his life for the rest of his days he wanted to start the ball rolling. But first things first.
He loved the way Cashmere felt in in his arms and against his body last night as he cuddled up with her and again now with the way she clung to his neck. He didn’t want to let her go but he knew she wouldn’t put up with being carried for long. She was trying to hide from Cain, Danny and him right now, but he didn’t think it was because she was scared of his brother. Cash may have reacted to Cain’s anger initially, but now she was calm, he thought she might be embarrassed over her reaction. And the fact that she now knew they had heard her talking to David and Harry about her abusive childhood.
After Cash had left the house this morning he and his brothers had talked about how much they wanted her in their lives. But first she had to learn that when they said something they meant it, especially when her health and welfare were at stake. Bruce didn’t stop until he entered the living room and sat on the sofa and when he tried to pick Cash up to set her on the cushion next to him she tightened her arms around his neck.
“What’s going on with you, sweet cheeks?” He kept his voice low so he wouldn’t startle her. “Come on now, Cash, my brothers and I want to talk to you.” She clung tighter and shook her head no.
Cain looked worried and he knew his brother was still beating himself up for scaring her, but by the determined gleam in his eyes he wasn’t going to let her get away with hiding from and ignoring them. Bruce decided she needed to see he could be just as indomitable as Cain. He reached up and gently pried her hands from behind his neck, nodded to Cain to help him and between the two of them, placed her on the sofa. Cain sat on her other side and Danny sat on the floor in front of her, crossing his legs so he could get closer to her.
“Cashmere, look at me,” Cain demanded. Bruce watched as her spine straightened, her shoulders pushed back and finally she lifted her head. “I’m sorry I frightened you, honey. Yes I was angry to find that you had disobeyed us and gone to work, but don’t ever think that I would raise my hand to you.” Cain stroked a finger down her uninjured cheek. “When I get upset I’m likely to yell, but I would never, ever hit you.”
“Yet, you told me you’d spank me. You lied!”
“No, I didn’t.” Cain scrubbed a hand over his face and sighed. “Don’t you know the difference between someone beating on you compared to an erotic spanking?”
Bruce heard her slight gasp and dropped his eyes to her chest. Her nipples hardened and pushed against the front of her shirt in turgid little points. She shifted on her seat and squeezed her legs together.
Is she imagining herself over Cain’s lap while he spanks her?
“You know that Slick Rock is full of ménage families, don’t you?” Danny asked.
Cash turned to face him and nervously licked her lips. “Yes.”
“Haven’t you seen the way the men interact with their women? How they pamper them and treat them like queens but how protective they are of their wives?”
“Look, I don’t get out much and I haven’t really had much to do with anyone except for my bosses and Tara, and even then only minimally. She’s busy looking after her kids and her men.”
“Do you think Tara is happy with her life?” Cain asked.
“She’s so much in love she glows,” Cash replied, even it if it was a little pithily.
“She does, doesn’t she?” Bruce didn’t expect an answer. But the question he was about to ask he wanted an answer for. “Why do you think that is, Cash?”
“How the hell should I know?”
Danny got up onto his knees and placed his hand on hers. “Do you think it’s because they satisfy her in bed? Or maybe it’s the way they make sure she takes care of herself, making her eat when she should and rest when she’s tired or not feeling well?”
“She could be happy because sh
e has two men seeing to her needs, making sure she finds pleasure in their arms before they find their own,” Cain said. “Or because there is always one of them around to help her out with the kids.”
“I think it’s all those things,” Bruce said, drawing Cash’s gaze. “But I also think it’s because they love each other very much and can lean on the others when they need to. A relationship isn’t all give, Cash. It takes a lot of work to keep things on an even keel. Sex is a big part of it but unless there is a bond of friendship and everyone is willing to compromise and communicate then I don’t think it would survive.”
“Why are you telling me all this? What has any of this got to do with me?”
“We’re attracted to you, Cashmere, and we want what our cousins have with Tara, with you.” In the silence that followed Bruce’s declaration, he could have heard a pin drop. Cash opened her mouth and then snapped it closed again. She glared at him and then turned her scowl onto his brothers. He wanted her to tell him yes but from the look in her eyes that wasn’t about to happen.
“No!”
Bruce’s chest ached but he'd be damned before he showed any vulnerability in front of her by trying to rub the pain away.
“Why the hell not?” Cain asked. “We know you’re attracted to us, baby. Why are you denying the connection between us?”
Cash’s body tightened as if she was getting ready to bolt and Bruce wasn’t about to let her. She needed to rest and he was going to see to it that she did. Her hand lifted to her temple and she rubbed it with her fingertips, massaging in little circles and besides her bruising her face was paler than normal. She was in pain but was too stubborn to say or do anything about it.
“I’m never going to get into a relationship and get married,” Cash blurted in a half shout.
Those words told Bruce how much her momma leaving and then her father’s abuse had affected her. He was going to have to sit down and come up with a way to get around her worries, but for now he was going to make her take a nap.
“We’ll talk more about this later, sweet cheeks.” Bruce stood up and held out his hand to help her from the sofa. “You are going to have a nap.” When she stared at his hand and then looked up at him he raised his eyebrow. That action seemed to let her know he wasn’t about to back down. “I’ll walk you to your cabin, Cash, but if I see you anywhere on the ranch other than taking in the sun on your porch or sitting under a tree reading a book I will put you over my lap and smack that ass when you’ve recovered. Are we clear on that?”
“Crystal!” Cash said through clenched teeth, taking Bruce’s hand. When she was on her feet she pulled her hand free and headed for the door. “Don’t bother seeing me out, I’m a big girl and don’t need your help.”
Bruce watched her hips sway as she stormed out of the house. Their woman was a little spit fire when she had a mad on. He couldn’t wait until she unleashed that passion on him and his brothers in the bedroom, or the living room, or maybe the kitchen table. He groaned and shifted his hard cock trying to get a little more room and then headed to the kitchen for some coffee. Cain and Danny followed him and sat down at the table, lost in their own thoughts until the fresh pot of coffee finished brewing.
Cain was the first one to break the silence as they sipped their drinks. “I can’t believe I scared her after what we heard last night. Fuck!” He thumped his fist down on the table with self-castigation.
Bruce couldn’t let his younger brother keep thinking that way or he was going to back off and ruin everything. “I don’t think she’s scared of you, or us, Cain. Her reaction was understandable considering the abuse she got from her father.”
“How can…”
“Let me finish,” Bruce interrupted. “Yes, she’s scared, but of herself, not of us. You saw the way she clung to me, trying to hide from you. If she was frightened of us she wouldn’t have done that.”
“What…”
Bruce held up his hand, “I haven’t finished. Cash said she’s not interested in a relationship or marriage, correct?”
His brothers nodded in agreement. “She never said anything about sex.” He paused to watch their reactions and they didn’t disappoint. Cain and Danny both sat up straighter in their chairs and waited for him to continue. “When we were talking about our cousins and Tara, especially the intimate parts, she was squirming. The thought of having more than one man touching her got her aroused. Her nipples peaked and she was squeezing her thighs together.”
“Where are you going with this?” Danny asked, showing his impatience.
“What if we offer her all the sex she wants?”
A wicked gleam formed in his brothers’ eyes.
“I figure if we can get her into bed and keep her satisfied that the rest will follow. She’s not the type of woman to have sex with just anyone. If she agrees then we know that she has a least some feelings for us and we can build on that. Hopefully we can touch her heart and end up with what we want from her. In our beds and lives, permanently.”
“We need to move the ranch,” Cain blurted. “You both heard what she said about breeding horses and the kids?”
Bruce and Danny nodded.
“We talked about having one woman to share between us but didn’t see how we could make it work until Clay and Johnny told us about their relationship and the ménages in Slick Rock.” Cain paused to take a breath.
“Go on,” Bruce encouraged. He already had a fair idea where Cain was heading.
“Polyandrous families are accepted here. They wouldn’t be where we live and I don’t want Cash having to deal with slander that could come her way if she was involved with us. We have great ranch hands that are already trustworthy looking after our place while we’re here and I asked them a few months back if they would be willing to relocate with us if we moved.”
“What was their answer?” Bruce asked eagerly.
“They had no problems with it. They’re all single and aren’t in serious relationships, or weren’t at the time anyway. We can pay out anyone if they don’t want to come along but I don’t think that will happen. If we asked I know they would pack everything up and move the whole shebang.”
“That’s a good plan,” Danny said. “But we can’t expect our hands to pack up our house and all the animals. It wouldn’t be fair to them. We’re going to need to put the ranch up for sale and it could take time to sell in this economic climate.”
“Wait,” Bruce interjected. “We’re getting ahead of ourselves. We need to get Cash into our lives first. When that looks like it’s working out then we can start on the ranch. But I will call a few estate agents tomorrow and get some valuations. So are you in, boys?”
“I think that just might work.” Danny smiled.
“I’m in,” Cain rasped as he adjusted his crotch.
“Then let’s start planning how to get what we want,” Bruce said.
* * * *
Cash threw herself onto the bed and hugged the pillow to her chest. Her body was achy and she didn’t know what to do about it. Those three men got her aroused just by breathing, but the way they made her feel was so out of the norm for her it scared her. When they were talking about their cousins satisfying their wife she had imagined those three men touching and kissing her naked body. It had been hard to concentrate on what they were saying but when Bruce had said they wanted that with her…Well she’d just about melted into a puddle on the floor.
How the hell she was going to get through the next few weeks seeing them around the ranch and keeping them at arm’s length she had no clue, but she was determined to succeed. She’d seen what marriage did to people and didn’t want a bar of it. When her mother had left her father he had taken to drinking and become bitter and mean. There was no way she was letting anyone do that to her. Bruises and injuries healed but once a heart was broken it stayed that way. She wasn’t going to put herself up for that kind of pain.
Cash sighed and tried to clear her tumultuous mind. She was actually thankful that
Bruce had put his foot down and ordered her to rest. Her head, cheek and eye were throbbing like a bitch. Her body relaxed and she let herself drift into sleep.
Bruce held her hips while Cain and Danny removed her clothes. When she was standing naked in front of them she felt vulnerable and exposed but she was so hungry for their touch that it overrode her anxiety. Bruce’s massive warm body was against her back and he smoothed his big manly hands up her sides as if taking in her shape through touch. Cain had her eyes pinned with his and no matter how hard she tried she couldn’t look away. He intimidated her a little with his forceful personality and attitude, but those traits also seemed to make the fire smoldering inside her burn hotter. She didn’t know how much more she could stand before she begged the three sexy, hot men to make love to her.
Cain moved closer and cupped her face between his hands. She felt like she was drowning in those intense pools of hazel. He slowly lowered his head and she stopped breathing in anticipation, and as his lips got closer to hers she reached up and gripped his wrists. She loved the feel of his skin and muscles under her hands and fingers and wondered what it would be like to run them over his chest and stomach. He brushed his lips over hers, back and forth as if waiting for something. She sighed and her lips parted. Cain licked her lower lip and she couldn’t help but moan with desire. He thrust his tongue into her mouth and glided it along hers. She loved his taste and copied his moves, trying to get more. Two large warm hands cupped her breasts and she cried out into Cain’s mouth as he explored every part of her.
When her nipples were squeezed between fingers and thumbs she arched her chest, hoping they wouldn’t pull away. Pleasure zinged from her breasts to her pussy, making her internal muscles clench as cream dripped out. Her clit was throbbing with need and felt swollen between her legs.
Cain lifted his head and then scooped her up into his arms and carried her over to the bed. He placed her into the middle of the mattress and got on beside her. The bed dipped on the other side and when she turned her head Danny bent forward and started kissing her. His kiss was hot, wild, demanding, and carnal and left her wanting more.
