Gerald turned in his saddle to look over his shoulder to see what had captured Patrick’s attention.
His heart sped and his cock came to life as they watched Kate ride toward them. The way her body moved with her mount told him she was indeed an accomplished horsewoman.
By damn, that woman just keeps getting more and more perfect for us.As she neared he could see the hat she wore was one of his father Charles’s standby hats that he kept in the saddle barn. He guessed he would have to thank his father later for sending her out to them.
Of course Dad sent her. She wouldn’t have known where to find us, otherwise.
“Our morning is definitely looking up.” Patrick moved slowly, and Gerald could see he did so without taking his eyes off their woman.
Gerald swung his leg over the horse and dismounted, so that he could stand with his brother, and wait for their woman to reach them. He guessed they’d surprised her, because the closer she got to them the slower her horse moved.
When only a few feet separated them, she stopped and for a long moment simply looked from him to Patrick.
His brother flicked him a glance, and Gerald nodded. Patrick and he were fairly competitive sometimes, and absolute equals. But in this, his brother would let him take the lead. He turned his attention back to Kate and said, “Thank you, sweetheart. Thank you for coming to us.”
She’d proven herself both brassy and with plenty of spirit. Back in Washington, her bravado had gotten him hard, fast. She’d challenged him like a little devil and kissed like an angel, and Gerald knew he would remember this day until he breathed his last. Here and now, they three would become one—just as had happened for his fathers, and their fathers before him.
Kate’s confusion charmed him, and her honesty captured his heart.
“You’re welcome, but I have no idea what happens next,” she said.
“What do you want to happen next?” Gerald knew what he wanted, but he could certainly understand her hesitation.
Kate wouldn’t give herself lightly, and never casually.
“If these were normal times, I’d want to spend the day getting to know you. Having you getting to know me.” She looked around her surroundings, and he wondered, in that moment, what she saw.
“But these aren’t normal times. There’s this sense of…”
“Urgency?” Patrick asked. “Like a feeling in the air that tomorrow might not come?”
“Yes! I saw that back in Washington, a lot. People rushing things, because of a basic, underlying fear that if something didn’t happen now, then it wouldn’t happen at all.”
“We feel it, too, sweetheart.” Gerald had felt it, still did, though not as strongly now as when he was in England.
“So I feel that, which makes everything seem as if it’s been sped up, like a snowball rolling down a hill.” Kate looked from him to Patrick. She closed her eyes for a moment. When she opened them again she said, “I’m pretty sure that I want to make love to you, but I really don’t know what happens next.”
“It’s all right, Katie. We do.” Patrick’s voice took on a quiet quality Gerald knew would soothe her. He was grateful for that. Patrick’s finesse, and his gentleness, meant he could just be himself.
He stepped forward and held out his hand. Patrick could placate. He would command.
“Come here, Kate. Let us take care of you. Give yourself to us and let us give you what you want and what you need.”
Chapter 7
Kate’s heart pounded so hard that she wondered it didn’t pop right out of her chest.
In one instant of crystal clarity, she understood that by getting on this horse and following the directions she’d been given and the trail she’d found, shehadcome to them.
She knew from talking with them the night before that the time they’d have together, the three of them, was limited. The men might get some leave once a month—at least for as long as they remained stationed as instructors at Goodfellow. But who knew what the future held? She certainly didn’t. They could get orders at any time and find themselves shipped off to God would only know where.
And she could be left wondering about what might have been.
Kate found herself in the bizarre position of taking an irrevocable step that only a few short months before she could never have considered. She’d been determined to have no romances, and to in no way eventhinkabout settling down.
How could she have known she would fall in love, in a heartbeat of time, with not one man, but two men?
How could she have imagined that the urgency to act, to claim these men as her own would race through her blood filling her with a reckless kind of carpe diem?
Did that passage she’d read in Sarah’s journal, about the night that young woman made the decision to give herself to her gunslingers, have something to do with the decision she’d just made? Maybe, a little. For here she was with another two Benedicts, who were also brothers, with no one else in sight for miles around. The sun shone, the breeze blew, and, Kate admitted to herself, arousal simmered.
And while she could try to deny that she’d come to them to make love with them, she’d be lying—both to them and to herself.
Kate Wesley was not going to lie to herself anymore. Generally, she knew it could be said that she had more brass than could possibly be healthy for any woman, even in these modern times. Her mother wasn’t happy about that fact, but Kate couldn’t change her nature. That was simply the way she was.
She just wished her brass hadn’t chosen this time and this place to desert her.
Gerald’s commanding words still shimmered in the air between them, and in their aftermath, she could do nothing but reach with both hands for what she craved beyond all reason.
Gerald lifted her down from the saddle and pulled her flush against his body. She could feel the hard planes of his bones and the strong cording of his muscles rippling beneath her hands as she held on to his arms. She held on to him as if he’d plucked her from the ocean and he was her only lifeline.
“Kiss me, Kate. It feels like forever since I had your flavor on my tongue.”
Kate grinned, and despite the fact that she needed to do just exactly that, she said, “You’re a bossy man, Gerald Benedict.”
He gave her what she could only call an arrogant look. “I’m so glad you noticed, woman.”
This will only be our second kiss.The thought formed and then evaporated as Gerald’s mouth devoured hers. His tongue invaded, sliding against her own, bringing heat and arousal and the flavor she recognized as being, simply, him.
The feel of his hand in her hair, his fingers working themselves under the pins to cup her scalp sent shivers down her spine. Captured by his strength, conquered by his manliness, Kate wrapped her arms around him and surrendered.
His heat seeped into her body, warming her when she hadn’t even known she’d been cold. Nothing existed in the world for her right then except the man kissing her, and the one pressing himself close to her back and caressing her hips.
“Jesus.” Gerald’s lips deserted hers, and she actually whimpered! He kissed her cheeks and her forehead and she tried to capture his lips with her own.
She’d been called feisty, formidable, and fierce, but here and now she knew that beneath the façade she showed the world, she was a woman who hungered for the touch and the kiss, not of one man, but of two. Not of any man, but of these men—andonlythese two men.
“Mine, now.”
As if she was nothing more than a doll to be passed between them, Gerald gave her over to Patrick—her feet didn’t even touch the ground. His mouth covered hers, and his tongue, slow and sly, invaded her mouth and caressed her own.
The heat she’d felt the first time they’d kissed her was nothing compared to the conflagration that burned within her now. Having the taste of both men on her tongue at the same time aroused her. Their individual and unique flavors combined to form an essence more powerful than liquor. That essence addicted her instantly, a
nd she knew with a certainty she couldn’t explain that she would forever feel incomplete without them.
She clung to Patrick, her lips melding with his, her arms clutching him as possessively as she had his brother. He held her, one hand on her head, the other on her bottom, pulling her snug against his body.
The sensation of the erection pressed against her stomach actually made her wet. She could have sworn the lips framing her slit swelled and then quivered in anticipation.
How could she hunger so desperately for what she’d never tasted? A sound emerged from her, a sound she recognized instinctively as feminine need.
“Shh, baby. We’ll take care of you.” Patrick eased his lips from hers, and spread sweet little kisses across her cheeks and down her neck.
He set her on her feet, and Kate wondered if her legs would continue to hold her.
Then Gerald stepped close to her back and pressed his hot body against her, and Kate knew it didn’t matter if her legs held her or not.
These men would keep her from falling—at least literally.
Patrick stepped back and cupped her face. He used his thumbs to caress her cheeks. Gerald laid his hands on her shoulders, then stroked down her arms until he held each of her hands in each of his.
When he raised her arms, she didn’t fight him.
“Knit your fingers together behind my neck, sweetheart.”
She felt so completely under their control when she did as he asked. Not a sensation that she’d had much experience with, she shivered when she realized that the suggestion of being powerless only made her hotter.
Patrick’s grin, quick and filled with fun, flashed across his face. She could almost believe he’d somehow guessed at the state of her emotions just then.
He leaned forward and placed a chaste kiss on her lips. Then he lifted his hands from cupping her face, and used his index fingers to trace twin lines down her neck to just above the edge of her blouse.
Patrick kept his gaze on hers as he set his nimble fingers to work, opening the buttons of the simple cotton garment.
“We won’t hurt you, Kate.” Gerald’s words brushed the shell of her ear as his lips brushed soft kisses there.
He must have thought the trembling he felt came as a result of virginal fear. The low rumble of his deep voice strummed her nerve endings much the same way a musician might strum the strings of a guitar.
She didn’t want them to think she was completely ignorant of what was happening between them. “It’s all right. I’m a nurse, so I know enough to understand the first time will hurt.”
“There are ways to minimize the discomfort.”
Patrick’s voice had dipped, going deeper than normal.Another log laid upon the fire of my arousal.
He grinned. “We may shock you in the process.”
“I’m shocking myself.” Kate licked her suddenly very dry lips. Patrick stood just inches in front of her, his hands clutching the tails of her blouse, holding them close together, even though he’d unfastened every button.
Behind her, his brother had a bird’s-eye view of whatever it was Patrick was going to do to her.
“All you have to do is say one word, sweet Katie, and this ends. We want you beyond all reason, but we’ll stop if you ask it of us.”
“That’s how I want the two of you, as well—beyond all reason. Please don’t stop.”
Patrick flicked his glance up, and Kate knew he was looking at Gerald—for agreement, or direction, she wasn’t sure. She had the sense that Gerald, being the oldest, quite often took the lead.
He certainly was bossy enough for that.
“All right then, Katie.” Patrick leaned closer and ducked his head so that he could kiss her again. Warm and wet and wonderful, his kiss seduced her, soothing her nerves, stoking her fires, so that she shivered again, this time in response to the need that seemed to fill her to overflowing.
Her tongue danced with his, and she lost herself to the rhythm he set, following blindly and blissfully. She let herself sink into the emotions these two men created in her and suspected she’d found her own personal paradise.
Gerald stroked her arms, and then tugged on them slightly. She obeyed his unspoken command. Her hands separated and her arms lowered.
Patrick eased her blouse from her body.
“Pretty.” Patrick used a finger to trace the top of her thin cotton vest.
She’d donned the extra undergarment that morning without thinking. She’d gotten in the habit of wearing the vest over top of her brassiere simply because it smoothed the look of her uniform.
Kate had perused the Sears catalogue when it would come in and often wondered about some of the fancy lingerie she’d seen there—wondering how it would feel against her skin. But she’d never actually pined for something that would be more alluring than her usual simple cotton sets, until just now.
“Pretty plain,” she said, her nerves getting the better of her.
“You’ll have to take our word on it, Kate, since we’re the ones doing the looking. That little vest is a glorious tease, and very alluring.” Gerald’s no-nonsense tone steadied her. “However, it most definitely has to go—at least for the moment.”
When Patrick gathered the vest in his hands and began to raise it, she lifted her arms for him herself.
Cool air kissed her heated flesh. She didn’t look down, choosing instead to keep her gaze fixed on the man who seemed to be enjoying the task of undressing her. He certainly seemed to be enthralled with her, if that heated look that had just come into his eyes was anything to go by.
Gerald’s hands stroked her back and then she felt the hooks in the back of her bra release. Patrick gently pulled the small cotton covering off her.
“Your breasts are beautiful, baby.” Gerald’s gruff voice didn’t prepare her for the gentleness of his caress as he reached around from behind her and cupped her right breast in his hand. His finger and thumb stroked and then tugged at her nipple. Both nipples reacted by hardening into tiny little nubs. A wave of shivery thrills swept her, and Kate’s knees weakened.
“Your nipples look like tight, ripe little berries, just waiting to be devoured.” Patrick’s tone had thickened, and his words tickled her pussy.
Kate shivered because although she’d known the slang that men used for a woman’svagina, she’d never even thought that word in relation to herself before.
She swallowed the urge to laugh.Thatfirst time was nothing compared to the one she was about to experience.
Gerald lifted her arms once more, and she cooperated in sliding her hands around his neck and locking her fingers together.
“I wonder if they taste as sweet as berries?” Gerald directed that question to his brother.
Usually Kate’s temper would flare if a man spoke about her as if she wasn’t even there. Gerald’s domineering attitude didn’t ruffle her feathers. It stroked her pussy with wisps of pleasure.
“Mmm, good question.” Patrick bent forward and sucked her left nipple into his mouth.
“Oh, God!” Heat exploded out from her breast radiating through her entire body. She’d never understood the degree to which a woman’s breasts could be manipulated to arouse and excite her. She moaned, and couldn’t stop her hips from thrusting out toward Patrick, a tiny little roll that had been completely instinctive.
“You’re so damned responsive, Katie.” Patrick released her nipple that now felt wet and even more swollen. He nuzzled her breast and then turned his attention to the other one.
He suckled her right nipple, treating it to a tiny nip that made her cry out. She felt moisture flood her underpants, and knew an urge to strive and reach for…something.
Gerald chose that moment to reach around from behind and smooth his hands over her stomach. He used broad, sweeping strokes that caressed just above her mons.Oh, yes, that’s what I need.The man had magic hands and she needed him to touch her slit.
“Mmm, you are so very damned responsive to us.” Gerald reached up with
one hand and cupped her chin, raising her face, turning her face toward him so that he could kiss her. Excitement skittered through her and Kate reveled in it. Feeling daring, she boldly met his tongue stroke for stroke. She copied him, drinking from him in the same compelling way he’d been drinking from her.
Her pants came loose, and then dropped from her body to lie in a pool by her feet.
“You’re so hot. Your heat, and the scent of your arousal is coming off you in waves.” Patrick had raised his head from her breasts to meet her eyes.
“We need you naked, baby.”
Maybe she wasn’t the only one shaking. Patrick’s hands conveyed urgency and need in the way he slid them down her waist to the edge of her underpants. One sweep of his hands and her panties joined her pants around her ankles.
“Dear Lord, woman, you are magnificent.” Patrick’s whispered words thrilled her. He dropped to his knees in front of her, and eased her feet free of not only her fallen clothing, but her footwear as well. Then he looked up and met her gaze.
“Here’s where I begin to shock you.”
Kate had no time to ask him what he meant, for in the next breath he leaned forward and put his mouth on her pussy.
* * * *
The feel of her pressed up tight against him had entranced him. The scent of her as her arousal climbed, as he’d peeled the clothes from her body had stirred him.
But this,this, the taste of her slick juices on his tongue, this was what he’d dreamt of and craved and feared he would never find.
She was what he’d been missing all his life.Kate. She was his, she was theirs, and they would never let her go.
“Oh my God! What are you doing? Patrick!”
He grinned even as he continued to lick and lap at her delicate folds. He felt Gerald lift her slightly, and he took the opportunity to wedge himself between her thighs, draping her legs over his shoulders.
He grasped her bottom and squeezed the delectable globes of her ass.
A Very Lusty Christmas [The Lusty, Texas Collection] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) Page 7
