by Jan Springer
“JJ, you are going to want to see what is in that envelope,” Dan soothed.
“Why are you guys looking so gloomy? It’s Christmas, and presents are supposed to make us happy. This envelope is giving me bad vibes,” she admitted.
What had up until now been the best Christmas of her life was quickly turning not so nice.
“Believe us, you are going to want to see what’s inside, baby,” Dan said. To her surprise, he slung an arm over her shoulders and squeezed gently.
“You need to open this. It’s the best Christmas present ever,” Brady replied. He sat down on the floor beside JJ and put the envelope in her lap. His smile was wobbly. He continued to be uncertain. But why? What was in the envelope?
“If it’s the best, then why the frowns?” she asked.
“We’re afraid you’ll want to leave us,” Brady said. His gaze was shuttered. A muscle twitched in his cheek.
Irritation whipped through her.
“Why are you guys being so damned mysterious?”
To her surprise, all three of them laughed.
“You’re the one that’s mysterious in not opening the envelope, JJ,” Rafe said with a chuckle.
JJ stared at the envelope in her lap. Her full name, Jennifer Jane Watson, was written on it. Not JJ. It was Brady’s handwriting. But why had he written her name so formally?
She swallowed at her suddenly dry throat. Her heart began an incredibly fast thump against her chest. The inklings of anxiety sparked at the back of her mind.
Shit. Not now. She couldn’t have an attack now.
She needed to know what was inside. She had to know what was making them so uneasy.
She took a deep breath and tore open one end of the sealed envelope. A folded sheet of paper was inside. With shaky fingers, she plucked out the paper and unfolded it.
The letter looked official. She read the typed words as if she were mesmerized. But three words made the biggest impact on her.
Criminal Record Suspension. Otherwise known as a pardon.
She could barely hear Brady as he spoke.
“My sister called me this morning. She forwarded the letter here via email and I printed it out for you. She knows people who know people and they reviewed your sentence. Jenna said that you had a poor defense lawyer and there were so many openings for appeals and dismissals that it wasn’t even funny. She said you should never have gone to prison based on the self-defence wounds on your arms and hands and other areas on your body. And that you had every right to defend yourself based on his past behavior toward your mother and you.”
Oh damn. The guys knew all the details? That when she’d come home from visiting a friend, she’d found her mother’s dead body in the hallway and she’d lost her mind. She’d confronted her step-father while he’d casually sat watching tv. He’d, acted as if her dead mother wasn’t even in the house. As if he hadn’t killed her.
He’d been irritated at being disturbed by her screaming and had started beating on JJ. She’d suffered a broken arm, a broken wrist and in her fear for her life, as well as her rage against him for what he’d done to her mother, she’d grabbed the fireplace poker and smashed the metal bar over the head with it, killing him instantly. Seeing him go down the way he had, had brought instant relief and happiness pouring through her. She’d said as much to the cops who’d shown. Cops, who’d been his co-workers and they’d made sure she paid for what she’d done to that son-of-a-bitch.
“They looked at your good behavior in prison as well, and her friends were able to get the appropriate people to get you a pardon. She emailed this just this morning. The pardon is legit,” Brady said softly.
“Congratulations, JJ,” both Rafe and Dan said.
Now they sounded cheerful, but she could barely hear them from the rush of disbelief buzzing through her ears.
She’d been pardoned? She was free?
“You’re shaking,” Dan said as he hugged her close to him. His warm embrace was just what she needed and she melted into his strength.
“I…I don’t know what to say?” she said as she stared at the paper.
“A hell of a Christmas present I’d say. We are very excited for you, JJ.” Rafe winked.
“You’re free, JJ, girl,” Brady said with a grin.
Doubt rocked her. She was free. So why did she not feel that way?
Suddenly the lights overhead flickered. Then the house dropped into darkness.
Oh crap. Not again.
* * * * *
“JJ is being too damned quiet,” Rafe shouted from behind Brady as they both stumbled through the snowdrifts. They were using the guide rope so they wouldn’t get lost in the blizzard as they headed toward the ranch house from the barn.
Howling wind froze the skin on his face and stinging snowflakes bit painfully into his cheeks. The cold urged him to move faster, but he couldn’t pick up the pace because the snow was piling quickly and reaching past his knees. It appeared there would be no relief from this storm anytime soon.
After a quick lunch, they’d spent a good portion of the afternoon checking on the nervous cattle in the barn. Dan had helped him deliver two calves this afternoon. Christmas calves. Both had been difficult births, but the calves were sturdy and healthy. Their mothers, despite being weak from birthing, had taken to their newborns immediately.
The cows reminded him of JJ. When she had kids, she would be just like the new mothers. Protective, nurturing and loving. She was like that with them. A sexy mother hen. A woman who naturally loved to take care of people.
Through the Freedom Run program, they’d been given some information about JJ’s brutal past, and that’s why they hadn’t pushed her about details about her incarceration. When she’d admitted it was just her in the world with no family, it had only endeared her to them that much more.
Now she was free to leave them.
His gut twisted with sadness.
“I wasn’t expecting her reaction to that pardon. She didn’t crack a smile. Hadn’t seemed happy. She’d been happier with the necklace. What was up with that?” Brady shouted.
“I don’t have a clue. I just know that I don’t like seeing her upset. It kills me,” Rafe shouted back.
“Any suggestions as to what we should do to cheer her up?”
“If a pardon doesn’t make a woman happy, then hell if I know what will!” Rafe replied.
The two of them fell silent and as they neared the ranch house a figure loomed out of the swirling snow right in front of them.
It was Dan. His arms were laden with firewood. His eyebrows and cheeks were white with snow.
“Hell of a storm, eh?” Dan shouted.
“A good one!” Brady yelled back.
Rafe scrambled up the snow covered stairs first and shoved the door open so they could get out of the blustery wind.
“Hey, smells nice in here. JJ says she’s making turkey for Christmas dinner,” Dan said as Brady grabbed pieces of wood and placed it quickly on the existing pile just inside the door.
“I can smell gingerbread cookies, too. One of my favorites,” Rafe grinned.
“Mine too. I’m guessing that’s why she kicked me out. So she could surprise us with the cookies,” Dan chuckled as the three of them removed the gloves and hats that JJ had given them as presents and then took off their coats and then hung them on nearby hooks. They kicked off their boots and quickly stuffed them along the wall out of the way.
“Firewood should be enough to hold us through the night. It took me more than a freaking hour just to get all this wood inside. You probably didn’t notice that I shoveled a walkway to the barn, but by the time I was finished I had to shovel my way back to the ranch house,” Dan laughed.
“Hell, if you hadn’t, we probably would still be trying to get through,” Rafe grinned.
Brady inhaled the aroma of turkey and baking deep into his lungs and let the memories sink into him. Christmas back home when he’d been a kid in Toronto had always been an exciting
time. His mom, a part-time high school teacher, baked up a storm around Christmas. She’d get them all singing Christmas songs, have them put on aprons and she’d teach them to bake fruitcakes and cookies. Dad, a successful architect, always took care of cooking a couple of huge turkeys.
It had been a good life. Really good. And then one day it had just vanished.
A frisson of sadness whispered through Brady as he remembered his parents were no longer around. They’d died five years ago, shortly after Christmas. Dad’s car had slid on an ice patch on the way to the family cottage north of Toronto. The car had done a donut and stalled right in the middle of the major highway. A transport truck had smashed right into them. Both of his parents had died upon impact. His youngest sister, Ginny, had been in the car and had suffered serious injuries. Thankfully, though, she’d survived.
“Where are those gingerbread cookies?” Rafe yelled as he rubbed his hands together and led the way down the hallway.
When they entered the kitchen, JJ wasn’t there. But they were greeted to a heaping pile of gingerbread cookies on a plate set upon the dining room table. The cookies looked delicious. JJ had decorated them with wisps of white frosting, giving each gingerbread eyes and a smiling mouth.
To his surprise, something was set right beside the cookies. A small red wicker basket with a huge red bow on the handle.
“What the hell?” Dan whispered as he and Rafe stood beside Brady and peered inside the basket.
“Who left that there?” Rafe asked.
“Who do you think?” Dan chuckled.
Brady blinked in surprise as he stared at the large tube of lube, packages of colorful condoms and sexy, see-through black panties.
“There’s a note,” Dan said. Before Dan could grab the note, Brady plucked it out of the basket.
The turkey can keep.
What will it be?
The gingerbread men, or me with three?
“Me with three? What does…” Rafe’s words trailed off.
“Light-bulb moment,” Dan whispered.
“Shit,” Brady replied as the full meaning of her note and the contents of the basket hit home.
JJ was ready. For all three of them.
* * * * *
JJ knew the instant the men found her note and the basket. One moment they’d been downstairs talking and laughing, and the next moment silence permeated the ranch house. Supper wouldn’t be ready for a couple more hours and she’d left her panties in the basket. She wore the white cowboy hat they’d given her and she also wore a black see-through negligee that left little to their imagination. She’d purchased it online and it had come with their presents.
The instant she’d seen that gown, she’d known it was for her. For her sexy side. The side she wanted to experiment with, considering all she’d been able to do in prison was masturbate. And it had been halfhearted because of the cameras.
What she wore wasn’t the only clothing she’d purchased. She’d bought necessities, such as better-fitting jeans, tops, and something she’d always wanted but had never felt the need to have while in prison—makeup.
She’d put on just a swipe of pink lipstick and some black mascara. She liked her new look. She hoped the guys would like it too.
She trembled with both fear and excitement as she stared out her bedroom window. Swirls of snow pelted the glass pane and tumbled over the nearby meadow and the yard. But beyond that, she couldn’t see anything except fresh and clean white. Everything far away was just…not there.
It was like her life right now. She couldn’t see beyond today, because things had changed so dramatically this morning when Brady had handed her the envelope containing her future.
Her entire stay here had been fraught with disbelief at how lucky she’d been. At first to get paroled, and then to come here and meet three easygoing cowboys who’d taken her in even when they’d expected other people for the job. They had bedded her. They had told her she was family.
Now, with the pardon, she owed Brady’s sister big time for doing all that she’d done. Jenna had opened a door to JJ’s future. Now she was free to do whatever she wanted. Yet as much as things had changed, everything was still the same.
She wanted to stay here with them. She needed Brady, Rafe and Dan, and they needed her to take care of them and to love them. The three men had so easily buried themselves inside her heart, and now she wanted all three of them buried inside her body.
A soft noise at the door made her turn around.
The guys stood there. Brady holding the red basket, and Rafe and Dan standing behind him. They each wore their cowboy hats. No shirts. No shoes. No socks. Just a whole lot of muscles and jeans. Jeans with huge bulges at the juncture of their thighs.
Aroused nervousness shot through her. Their eyes were dark and heavy-lidded. They stared at her as if she was their prey. As if they wanted to devour her. She could hear them too. They were breathing heavily. Their need to dominate her drifted through the air and wrapped around her.
Her breasts suddenly felt heavy. Her legs melted with weakness. Lust pulsed through her, thick and heavy. She creamed.
Oh my gosh, what had she unleashed in writing that note and leaving that basket on the table? She’d done it on impulse. Had wanted a ménage for her Christmas present.
Her hands knotted nervously as Brady stepped forward and placed the basket at the foot of her bed. Then he prowled toward her. His legs were long and he walked with confidence. That bulge between his thighs seemed much larger now.
He reached out his hands and took hers. He squeezed her fingers gently as if to reassure her that she’d made the right choice. But had she?
Suddenly, she was terrified. Doubt cascaded through her as Brady let go of her hands. His fingers dropped to his jeans.
“You look fantastic in black,” he whispered as he unzipped his pants.
She began to shake. She bit her bottom lip and watched as his cock jerked free. It angled straight up toward his belly. It was thick and swollen. Very big.
“I’m going to enjoy watching you get taken by the three of us, JJ, girl,” he whispered.
Her pussy trembled with exquisite heat.
Behind Brady she could hear the rustling of clothing. Rafe and Dan were undressing and when Brady moved aside, she saw their erections, jerking as they stroked themselves.
She blew out a tense breath as Rafe stalked over to her and then behind her.
“Lube,” he called out.
Dan grabbed the lube from the basket and tossed it to Rafe, who caught it with ease. Then Dan joined Brady and stood beside him in front of her. Dan’s appreciative stare lingered on her breasts and then lifted to capture JJ’s gaze.
“Brady is right, JJ. You look fantastic. You are absolutely glowing,” Dan whispered.
Dan nudged past Brady and stepped closer. She held her breath as he grabbed her hands and held them in much the same way as Brady had just done. His fingers gently squeezed hers.
“We hadn’t expected that you would be ready so soon,” Dan said. His eyes glittered with appreciation and he smiled tightly.
“I…I’m not sure I am,” she whispered, telling him the truth. But her body was humming with an intense anticipation that she’d never experienced before. She liked it.
“You are. Or you wouldn’t have left us that note, the basket or the lube,” Brady said.
She swallowed and nodded jerkily. He was right.
“Rafe will prepare you while Dan and I play with you,” Brady whispered.
“O…okay.”
She worried her bottom lip as the slurp of lube echoed through the air.
“Yeah, we’ll give you something to remember us by.” Dan slid his hand along the outside of her upper thigh. His fingers were hot and created a tingling line of pleasure.
Suddenly, she understood why the men had looked so forlorn when the envelope with her pardon had been presented to her. They thought they had lost her. That she would grab the pardon and take off.
All three of them stiffened. Oh no. She’d said something wrong.
“Unless…you don’t want me to stay,” she breathed. Insecurity rushed through her. What if they didn’t want her to stay?
Behind her Rafe swore softly beneath his breath. Brady and Dan stared at her as if she suddenly had sprouted horns out of her head.
“Baby, are you serious? We wouldn’t be fucking you if we didn’t want you,” Dan said.
He smiled and his hands settled on her waist, his touch was a pleasant burn on her skin. He leaned in and his breath was hot against the side of her neck. Bristles from his chin tickled her skin as he sucked her earlobe into his mouth. He nibbled until sweet shimmers whispered up and down her neck. When he drew his face away, JJ wanted him back there.
“We want you to stay with us forever,” Brady whispered.
He grinned and his cheeks darkened with a slight blush. That shy look that she’d noticed her first night here showed up again. Her heart fluttered. That expression on his face was so endearing.
“More than forever,” Rafe growled from behind her.
Wow, they sounded so possessive. Exquisite happiness exploded in her heart. She really belonged here. Belonged to them.
She sucked in a breath as a heavily lubed finger slid against her tight sphincter. She’d removed the largest plug this morning after a quick shower and she’d been feeling empty down there ever since. Now, with Rafe pressing his finger into her ass, her muscles eagerly clenched at the intrusion. He pressed his finger past the ring of muscles and she hissed as he slid it in deeper.
In front of her, Dan’s hand settled onto the hem of her negligee and she held her breath as he lifted the material to expose her pussy and then her breasts.
“Lift your arms, baby,” Dan whispered. She did as he asked and he slid the negligee up over her head, and then dropped the filmy garment upon on the floor. She was naked, fully exposed to them. But she didn’t have time to be shy as Dan dipped his head. He cupped her breasts and sucked her nipple right into his hot mouth. She moaned at the exquisite pressure as he nibbled and lapped.
Brady had angled his body to her right side. His fingers touched her chin, urging her to turn her head toward his. When she did, his lips caught hers in a searing kiss that sent shockwaves straight down to her toes. His tongue boldly pushed into her mouth and he began stroking her tongue. Sensations shimmied up and down her spine. His kiss was intense and addictive. Needing more, she moved closer to his body, her hands sliding around his engorged shaft.
