Cowboys for Christmas

by Jan Springer

  “Fuck me,” she begged them.

  They didn’t move. Didn’t say a word. They just stood there watching her. Their eyes were dark with lust and need. Their hands were torturously slow as they kneaded their shafts

  Her face heated as their gazes drifted to her breasts and then lower. They watched her hand between her thighs as she fingerfucked herself. Her swollen pussy throbbed as she stroked her fingers past the folds and plunged in and out of her vagina with a despaired frenzy.

  Oh, damn them! She would do the job herself!

  Her breaths grew harsh and fast as her two fingers swept over her clit. She rubbed herself until pleasure mounted. Then she plunged her fingers into her pussy.

  Tension built. Her body ached. She sobbed and rubbed harder.

  Her thighs tightened. She thrust deeper and faster and then she exploded, her body jackknifing into a maelstrom of pleasure.

  JJ awoke with a strangled gasp. Her heart crashed against her chest. Her quilts were tangled around her thighs and her hand was nestled between her trembling thighs.

  Her pussy felt wet. Her body strained for release.

  The room was empty. No naked cowboys. It had been a dream. Such a vivid, naughty fantasy. The ache of wanting them fucking her threaded through with an intense need. Her body ached and her clit pulsed beneath her fingers.

  Aside from her heavy breathing, icy snow and wind blew against the dark windows. But inside the house, an eerie quietness hung in the air. No fire flickered in the fireplace and the battery-operated alarm clock ticked softly on her night table. Four fifty-nine. The alarm clock would go off in one minute.

  She blew out a tense breath, reached out and turned off the alarm before it could shatter the quiet. Then she flicked on the bedside lamp. Nothing happened.

  Crap, still no electricity. Brady would be putting on the generators soon. A hot shower would have to wait until the generator warmed the water tank.

  Her cheeks heated and sexual frustration gnawed through her as she suddenly wished her dream was reality, but she knew something so scandalous was better left to her imagination.

  From somewhere she heard a rumble of an engine, and a second later, the light came on. Brady was up. The other guys would be climbing out of bed soon. They would be hungry.

  With a groan, she untangled her quilts and climbed out of bed.

  * * * * *

  The week passed quickly and JJ loved her duties. The storm dropped so much snow that the ranch looked like a gingerbread house dumped with powdered sugar. The men spent most of the days out of the ranch house in the barn or out with the cattle. When they came in for meals, they ate like hungry wolves. With the help of some recipe books she’d found in one of the drawers, she’d whipped up simple yet nutritious meals.

  She was just removing a raspberry pound cake from the oven when, to her surprise, the phone rang from somewhere in the living room. She found a landline tucked beneath a clipboard on an end table.

  “Moose Ranch, JJ speaking. How can I help you?” She might as well sound professional. This ranch was, after all, a business.

  “”JJ. Great to hear your voice. How are you doing? I missed a couple of calls from you.” Immediately JJ tensed at her parole officer’s stern voice. Her spirits plummeted.

  “I’m fine,” she said stiffly. She’d grown to hate people in authority. They did bad things and got away with it. Just like her cop stepfather had gotten away with things. Like beating on her mother. The few times her or her mom had called 911 for help, his police buddies would show up, remove him from the house and he’d be back a few hours later, madder than before he’d left. After awhile they’d both been too afraid to ask for help.

  “I’ve been trying to get through, but I heard there was a storm your way that took out your lines.”

  “We just got the electricity back this morning.” Piss off and let me live my life in peace. She’d been doing great, pretending she hadn’t just spent the last ten years of her life incarcerated. Now this woman had to crash right through her newfound peace.

  An awkward silence followed. She wished she had the nerve to hang up and never have to answer to anyone ever again. But if she did cut this woman off, she would probably send in the SWAT team.

  “Do you need help with anything? Are there any problems you’d like to discuss concerning your job?”

  “Nope.”

  “Are your bosses treating you well?”

  JJ smiled into the phone. She wondered if perky Sabrina Heathers would faint dead away if JJ told her that she was having wicked ménage dreams about her three cowboys. She didn’t have to tell her that she was only fantasizing, but boy oh boy did she wish it were true.

  “They are perfect gentlemen. I couldn’t ask for better bosses.” It was true. The three guys were such sweethearts.

  She swore she could hear Sabrina smiling over the phone. If that were even possible, to hear someone smile.

  “Any panic attacks?”

  “None.” This perfect place had cured her.

  “Wonderful. So, you’re taking your meds, then?”

  “No meds needed.” Gosh, she was so damned nosy.

  “Perfect. Can I speak to one of your employers?”

  It was exactly at that moment that Brady stepped into the kitchen. Gosh, she hadn’t even heard him coming in from outside.

  “Yeah, just a minute. One of them just walked in.”

  Tension zipped through her as she held up the phone and motioned Brady to come into the living room. Embarrassment heated her face.

  “My parole officer wants to talk to you.”

  Brady didn’t show any emotion as he took the phone. She wished she could stay and listen, but it would be rude. Besides, she needed to get lunch on the table. Her guys were hungry after tending to their cattle and doing chores.

  “Hello, sorry we haven’t been in touch. The phone lines were down. What can I do for you?” Brady’s strong voice echoed through the room and whispered over her nerve endings, bringing that unique awareness of him cascading over her whenever he was around.

  Keeping one ear on the conversation while she quickly prepared roast beef sandwiches and stacked them on a plate, she grinned at his answers. From what Brady was telling Sabrina, it appeared as if all the guys liked her and she was working out better than they had ever imagined.

  Yes, she was a conscientious worker and a fast learner and she was fitting in. Yes, the phones and power had gone out and just been restored earlier this morning.

  Wow! Her parole officer was asking Brady so many questions it seemed like she wanted to find out if JJ had done something wrong. That would give the authorities an excuse to come and get her, take her back to prison, lock her up and have full control over her again, just like her stepfather had had over her. She felt safe here. She didn’t want to go back there. She absolutely loved taking care of these guys.

  She hadn’t realized her nerves were strung too tightly until her heart began to pound frantically and the familiar urge to run away screaming hit her like a giant truck. It was the same terrifying panic she experienced as when she’d been locked in a cell or in that damn basement closet.

  No escape. No control.

  She’d forgotten how violent these sensations could be. The feeling of panic came right out of the blue. The kitchen walls began to waver and close in around her. Restlessness made her tummy queasy and she couldn’t catch her breath. The room was stifling.

  Oh gosh, she was going to die. She needed to get out of here.

  “JJ? What’s wrong?” Brady’s deep voice crashed through her frantic thoughts. He’d already hung up the phone and had walked into the kitchen. She hadn’t even realized it until he grabbed her hands and held them tight.

  She shook her head. Anxiety swelled inside of her.

  Oh God, she was going to die.

  “You look scared. Are you having one of those attacks?”

  “Yes.” How embarrassing.

  Dan and Rafe were here now
too. When had they come in?

  “Just breathe. Deep and slow.” Dan’s voice was soothing as she followed it back to feeling halfway normal.

  “Where are your meds?” Rafe asked. His concerned face hovered right in front of her.

  “My room, but I don’t want to take one.” Oh damn. If she took her meds, she’d zone out and be useless for the rest of the day.

  “I’ll go and get them,” Rafe said and he was gone.

  “Don’t look so devastated,” Brady said in what she perceived as a false cheeriness.

  “I’m sorry. I don’t want to be a bother.”

  She felt terrible. This was simply awful and she’d been doing so well. Would she ever feel normal? Her heart hammered in her ears and her hands shook in Brady’s grip. She felt like screaming and running.

  Focus on your breathing. The rest will follow.

  “She’s been cooped up in here for too long. She needs fresh air.” Rafe was back. Gosh, he moved fast.

  “Sit down, JJ. Drink some water,” Dan instructed. Brady helped her sit and then he let go of her hands. She felt abandoned.

  Her hands shook as she accepted a glass of water from Brady but she refused the drug from Rafe.

  “I’m fine. Just give me a few minutes.”

  To her surprise, she was beginning to think a bit more clearly now that she’d focused on controlling her breathing. Adrenaline continued to whip through her body and her hands continued to tremble.

  “What the hell happened to trigger this?” Dan snapped.

  “I was on the phone with her parole officer and she just started looking wild-eyed,” Brady explained.

  “Damn it. I forgot that we needed to keep in touch with them,” Rafe growled.

  “Get her dressed warm. We’re going out to get that Christmas tree.” Brady’s excitement shot through some of her anxiety.

  Christmas tree. Yes, this would be a good distraction.

  “But you guys need to eat your lunch.”

  “We’ll eat when we get back. You’re already looking better. I’ll get the snowmobiles running,” Brady said.

  The men moved quickly.

  Rafe and Dan hovered around her like two mother hens, helping her get dressed into appropriate winter wear. By the time she was wrapped snugly in her winter parka, hat, mittens and boots, her panic had eased and Brady had three bright-yellow snowmobiles purring and waiting for them just outside the mudroom. One of the machines had a long metal sled hitched to the back.

  “Whooee!” Dan yelled as he popped open the door and led JJ outside.

  The icy cold air blasted against her face, sucking the breath right out of her lungs. But the chilled air was just what she needed. It was beautiful out here. Sunshine glistened like jewels on the snow and she felt as if she were standing in a snow village with the barn, fences and sheds covered in white.

  To her surprise, she was feeling pretty darned good too. Distraction about getting the Christmas tree had pushed away the anxiety that stupid phone call had caused. Heading outside was just what she needed.

  She was finally getting her Christmas tree!

  Chapter Five

  “That one!” JJ squealed from immediately behind Dan and he automatically slowed his snowmobile. Up until now JJ had been quietly sitting on the padded bench seat behind him with her arms wrapped tightly around his waist and her cheek nestled against his shoulder as he followed the tracks that Rafe and Brady had blazed with their machines.

  He followed his gaze to where she pointed up ahead and to the left. The lone pine tree sat in a large clearing.

  And the pine tree was huge.

  No sooner had he turned off the ignition and JJ had scrambled off the snowmobile and immediately sank up to her knees in the white powder. She’d already removed her helmet and goggles and surprise washed over her features.

  “Oh my gosh! I didn’t know snow got this deep!” she laughed.

  “This is nothing. Wait until January and February. It will be past your hips.”

  To his surprise, she began struggling toward the what he estimated as a good eight-foot-tall blue spruce about fifteen feet off the track.

  Damn fine-looking tree, he had to admit. He just didn’t feel much like getting his pants wet wading through all that snow. It was a good thing Brady had packed a couple of snowshoes for them, along with a saw, in the back of the trailer.

  He wanted to call out to JJ and get her to return, but she was already at the tree. Within a minute, he had his snowshoes strapped to his boots, an extra pair of snowshoes for JJ strapped to his back, and the handsaw clutched in his hand.

  When he met her at the tree, her eyes twinkled merrily and her cheeks were flushed red from the cold.

  She looked really pretty and sexy and sweet as she stared up at the tree.

  “I don’t know if this is such a nice tree. It’s kind of scrawny. Here, look at the bald spot right there.” He pointed to a nonexistent bald spot and enjoyed it when she shook her head and smiled at him.

  “Quit kidding and quit stalling. This is our tree. Cut,” she ordered.

  “At your service. But put on these snowshoes so you’ll have an easier trek back.”

  He handed her the wood webbed items. She shook her head and laughed as she grabbed the snowshoes and peered at them.

  “I’ve never been on a pair in my life.”

  Curiosity won out and he grinned as she placed them on the snow in front of her.

  “I am not about to get on those funny-looking contraptions. They don’t even match my attire.”

  Dan blinked in shock. Didn’t match her attire? Was she a fashionista? Did they even make designer snowshoes?

  To his surprise, she burst out laughing. The sound was so sweet that his breath literally backed up into his lungs.

  “You should see your face. Got you back!” she laughed.

  Man, she was so beautiful when she laughed. So not city girl, but not country girl either.

  He shook his head. Not city. Not country. What the hell was he thinking? He set about scooping snow away from the base of the tree, then placed the saw against the bark and began to cut.

  JJ wished for a digital camera as she watched Dan cutting the tree. It was going to look so beautiful in the living room. She already had the spot picked out. Right beside the fireplace and in front of the living room window.

  Dan looked sexy in his winter hat and the dark shadow lining his red cheeks and chin. He was such a cheerful guy and she loved being around him. She could have gotten some really good shots with a camera of all three of them…something to remember them by, if something happened where she’d get sent back to prison. Sadness swooped in around her and she frowned. Why would this last? In her life whenever she got happy, something bad happened. Why would this time be any different?

  “Timber!” Dan’s yell crashed through her thoughts as he took a couple of steps back. A large crack ripped through the air. The tree swayed and then fell in slow motion away from them. It hit the powdery snow with a big puff.

  “I’ll get it on the trailer and we can wait for the guys to circle back when they realize we aren’t following,” Dan said. “You strap on those snowshoes and I’ll give you a quick lesson. A girl living out here needs to know how to walk in snowshoes.”

  She wrinkled her nose as she stared at the shoes. She wanted to ask Dan exactly how to put them on, but he’d already grabbed the tree, hoisted it up over his shoulder and was heading back to their snowmobile.

  He did make it look easy as he barely sank into the snow. He was practically walking on snow and she was knee-deep in it and her feet were getting wet and cold from the snow that had fallen in her boots and melted. It wasn’t very comfortable.

  “How in the world do I put these on?” She called to Dan after he placed the tree on the sled. She wasn’t even sure the sled would be able to transport the tree, for the sled was hidden somewhere beneath all those pine branches.

  “Be right there!”

  She
had to admit she was impressed with how easily he walked in the snowshoes.

  “First, you place the snowshoes near your feet,” he said a moment later when he returned. “Then you place a foot into one shoe. Here, I’ll hold you and then you can do it.”

  His arm snuggled around her waist and he held her firm. His scent was pleasant, a combination of soap and a tinge of aftershave. She liked it.

  “There you go,” he said quietly as she placed one booted foot onto one snowshoe. While holding her steady with one arm, he leaned down and strapped on the boot. Then he straightened.

  “And now the other foot,” he instructed.

  She struggled as she lifted her other foot out of the deep snow, but thankfully he kept holding her. He strapped the other boot and she was standing on top of the snow, instead of in it.

  It was an amazing feeling.

  “I guess I should have waited until we had snowshoes on before leaving the snowmobile,” she said with a laugh.

  “I guess so,” he muttered. He was still holding onto her and she ventured a step forward.

  The webbed contraption on her feet felt awkward.

  “Keep your legs far enough apart so you can walk without the edges of the snowshoes touching each other,” he coached.

  She nodded and took another step forward. Then another.

  He kept pace with her, his body pressing against hers as he held her waist. Hmm, he felt very nice as his hip rubbed against hers and suddenly she couldn’t concentrate on walking. Instead she began to wonder how he would come over her naked body, his long thick shaft thrusting deep into her pussy.

  Mercy! He was making her way too warm for comfort.

  “Okay, let me try on my own.” To her surprise her voice sounded breathy and husky.

  She needed to get a bit away from him so she could focus on the snowshoeing and not on him.

  He did as she asked and she took a step forward. Something prevented her one foot from moving and suddenly she was airborne. A second later she met the powdery cold snow face on.

  Behind her, Dan cursed softly. Then strong hands grabbed her around the waist and she was flying through the air again like a ragdoll. A second later he had her standing.