Desire Oklahoma The Founding Fathers Trilogy

by Leah Brooke

  Jeremiah watched in disbelief when she readily complied, her pussy quivering all around him. As soon as Eb touched her clit, she froze for an instant and then began, screaming and twisting on the sofa, fighting their restraining hands as she came.

  Both Jeremiah and Eb cursed, and it took both of them to hold her down for Jeremiah’s thrusts and Eb’s strokes to her clit.

  A deep groan escaped, one that felt like it originated in his toes, the rumble of it consuming his entire body. He came hard, his seed bursting from his cock into her hot pussy with a force that left him weak and trembling.

  Breathing heavily, he couldn’t take his eyes from her, mesmerized by the sights and sounds of her in the throes of orgasm.

  She arched, jolting and clamping down on Jeremiah’s cock with every one of Eb’s strokes to her clit. Her legs wrapped around his hips, her heels digging into him in an apparent effort to hold him deep.

  When she slumped, he shared another look with his brother, all amusement gone.

  He couldn’t keep his eyes from Maggie for long and, with an indulgent smile, slid his hands beneath her and, still inside her, lifted her limp body against his. Dropping back onto the sofa, he gathered her against him, running his hands up and down her back in an effort to calm her trembling body.

  With a hand in her hair and the other on her back, he met Eb’s gaze over her shoulder, unsurprised to see the longing in his brother’s eyes. “It always takes her so long to settle.”

  The softness of her creamy skin under his hand never ceased to delight him.

  Eb kept his eyes on Maggie as she cuddled into Jeremiah and sighed. He nodded soberly, running his hands up and down her arms while bending to kiss her shoulder. “And then she falls asleep. Give her to me so I can put her to bed.”

  Jeremiah stood with her, holding her with a hand on her bottom and the other on her back, smiling when she let out a disgruntled moan. “I’ve got her.”

  Eb stood with him, holding out his hands as though afraid Jeremiah would drop her, his whisper full of impatience. “Easy with her. Give her to me before you wake her up.”

  Jeremiah laughed softly, bending to kiss Maggie’s cheek when her head fell to his shoulder. “Can you believe how hard she came this time? Hell, I never even heard of a woman coming when she had her clit slapped. I’m gonna have to do it again.”

  Eb cursed as Jeremiah passed him with her and followed them to the bedroom.

  “You didn’t hit her hard, did you? Hell, if she’s sore because of it—”

  Frowning, Jeremiah strode into the bedroom and laid Maggie gently in the middle of the bed, the pale moonlight coming in the window affording enough light for him to watch her immediately curl into a ball.

  “Of course I didn’t hit her hard. I was only trying to slap her hand away from her clit.”

  Eb hurried to get in beside her, tucking the covers around her and pulling her close.

  Jeremiah watched Maggie curl into Eb and, listening to her satisfied sigh, suddenly felt the cold. “How come you get to hold her?”

  He climbed into bed, cuddling into Maggie’s warmth. “I took her. I should get to hold her.”

  Eb opened one eye. “You did, on the way here. It’s my turn. Now shut up before you wake her.”

  * * * *

  Hours later, Jeremiah woke as Maggie turned in her sleep and cuddled against him.

  “Hmm. Jeremiah.”

  Her soft whisper eased a knot inside him he hadn’t even been aware of until then, but one which must have stayed with him even in sleep.

  Wrapping an arm around her to pillow her head on his shoulder, Jeremiah kissed her hair and waited until she settled once again.

  Eb grunted from beside him. “What the—? Damn it.”

  In the darkness, Jeremiah smiled and, with Maggie in his arms, let sleep overtake him again, the tightness in his belly gone.

  Chapter Eleven

  After washing clothes and putting them on the line, Maggie did her housework and started making pies with the dried apples she found in the supply shed. She’d promised all but one to Duke, who seemed to be softening more toward her every day.

  While rolling them out, she’d gotten so caught up in memories of making pies with Esmeralda and thinking about Eb and Jeremiah’s reaction to having their favorite dessert that she hadn’t even noticed when the clouds started rolling in.

  A dangerous thing when living on a ranch.

  She heard the rain hit the window and looked outside just as the wind picked up and blew several freshly washed pieces of laundry across the yard.

  With a curse, she raced to the back door, pulled on her boots, slicker, and hat, and raced outside. Fighting the wind, she hurried across the yard, her pants becoming soaked within seconds. Several of the things she’d had on the line had already fallen off and were now muddy and would need to be rewashed.

  Using some of the more inventive cuss words she’d overheard at the Shenandoah, she stripped the clean items from the line as quickly as she could, not even bothering to chase her hat when it blew away. Wadding them up in a ball, she ran for the back door, eyeing the dirty clothes in resignation.

  She’d have to make another trip or risk getting the rest of the clothes dirty.

  A flash of lightning came out of the darkening sky, the electricity in the air making the hair on the back of her neck stand on end. Hearing a loud crack, she spun, watching in horror as smoke came from a nearby tree and a large branch broke from it, falling to the ground.

  The deafening thunder that followed had her feet moving again, racing toward the back door. Once inside, she dropped the clothes in an empty basket and ran back out again.

  In the two weeks she’d been here, she’d learned how hard it could be to get supplies, and several items of Jeremiah’s and Eb’s work clothes were about to blow away.

  They worked their asses off every day, and she couldn’t bear to see the disappointment on their faces if she just ran inside and let their things go.

  Surprised at the strength of the wind, she tried to brace herself but fell to the ground several times anyway. The wind had gotten so strong that the rain came down sideways, the force of it stinging her face.

  Her knees stung from falling down so many times, but she’d finally gathered every single item she could find. With her arms loaded down with the muddy clothes, she turned to hurry back to the house just when the hail started.

  It hit hard, stinging everywhere. The force of the wind knocked her down again, blowing her sideways. Holding on to the clothes with one hand, she dug the fingers of the other into the wet grass and managed to raise herself to one knee, wincing as a large hailstone hit her on the back of the head.

  Another hit her shoulder, and then another.

  The flashing of light seemed to come from everywhere, followed by thunder so loud it terrified her.

  The noise from the wind and the thunder was deafening as she struggled to get to her feet once again. Loud sounds that sounded like crashing came from somewhere behind her, and lightning hit another one of the nearby trees, the sound like that of a gunshot.

  Her face was wet with both rain and tears as she got to her knees again, ducking her head against the sticks and leaves that hit her with a force that staggered her.

  The sound of thunder grew louder. The snaps and cracks came from all around her now.

  A sob broke free as she got to her feet and fought the wind in her determination to get back to the house.

  Where were Eb and Jeremiah?

  Daring to pause, she looked over her shoulder, sending up a prayer that they’d found shelter. Assuring herself that they knew this terrain and would find a place to stay safe, Maggie couldn’t help wishing they were with her.

  She’d never been so scared in her life.

  She could do this. She would light lanterns and be ready for them when they came in with hot coffee and pie, and everything would be all right.

  They counted on her to know how to handle this,

and she wouldn’t let them down.

  She wouldn’t let herself down.

  The sound of whistling puzzled her and she looked up, horrified to see that a piece of wood from the side of the chow shack broke free. And then another. And another.

  One after another, as if a giant hand flicked them away, the entire side of the chow shack came toward her one board at a time. Horrified, she stood rooted to the spot as several of the pieces came hurling in her direction.

  They came so fast she didn’t even stand a chance of avoiding them.

  One hit her hard in the side, another in the shoulder. She didn’t even feel any pain as her knees gave out.

  And everything went black.

  * * * *

  Eb watched in horror as the wood sailing across the yard hit Maggie and she fell to the ground, unmoving.

  He’d been in the far pasture when he saw the storm coming and raced to get back to the house, realizing that he’d never showed Maggie where the tornado shelters were.

  How could he have been so stupid?

  He should have been taking care of her and seeing to her safety instead of spending the last month just trying to get inside her whenever he could.

  Panic set in, fear like he’d never known pumping wildly through his veins.

  Furious with himself and his failure to protect her, he rode faster than ever before in his hurry to get to her. He knew she’d never been afraid of storms in her life. Hell, they’d all had to get her when she got caught in a storm because she would just stand there with a big smile plastered on her face, watching the lightning.

  Why hadn’t he remembered that until just now?

  He didn’t bother saying anything to Jeremiah, who rode grim-faced beside him. With all the noise, his brother wouldn’t be able to hear him anyway, but they shared a look that said everything.

  Maggie was hurt. Nothing else mattered.

  Calling her name until he was hoarse, Eb raced to her side, not even waiting for his horse to stop before he flung himself out of the saddle in Maggie’s direction.

  Alarmed at the blood that ran into her hair, he gathered her against him, leaning over her to protect her from the storm and the flying debris.

  Jeremiah leaned over her from the other side. “Maggie! Damn it, Maggie, open your eyes right now.”

  “Come on! Let’s get her to the shelter.”

  Eb glanced over his shoulder at Duke’s mighty roar and nodded. He started to lift her against him, for the first time noticing the dirty clothes all around her. Impatiently throwing them out of the way, he gathered her in his arms, bending over her the best he could to protect her.

  Jeremiah leaned over her from the other side, using his body as a buffer as they raced toward the shelter.

  Duke strode in front of them, using his big body to deflect the debris that flew toward them.

  It seemed to take forever to get across the yard to the shelter situated beside the house, but they finally managed it.

  Hawke fought the wind to rush forward while Blade held the door open for them.

  “How bad is she hurt? Hell, I’m sorry. I should have gotten here sooner.”

  Eb shook his head, tightening his arms around her and fighting his panic that she didn’t come to. “It’s my fault. She’s my responsibility.”

  Several of the other men stood aside, all grim-faced as they watched Eb start down the steps with his precious bundle.

  Jeremiah whipped off his slicker and spread it on the dirt floor, and Phoenix immediately covered it with one of the dry blankets they stored there.

  Choked with fear and emotion, Eb laid her on the makeshift pallet, swallowing the lump in his throat when she moaned.

  “It’s all right, baby. We’re here. We’ll take care of you.”

  Jeremiah started running his hands up and down her legs and under her slicker. “Just stay still, darlin’.”

  Hawke and Blade each held a lantern above her and Phoenix hovered over them with yet another blanket.

  Duke crouched next to them, lowering the huge knife he always carried toward Maggie.

  Eb reacted without thinking, grabbing Duke’s arm. He and Jeremiah each swung a fist toward the larger man’s face.

  Ducking one and blocking the other with a speed unusual for such a large man, Duke glared at both of them.

  “I wouldn’t hurt your woman.”

  He looked away, dismissing them, and slid his hand into the waistband of her pants, keeping his hand against her skin to protect it as he slid the knife through the material with alarming ease.

  Eb pushed her slicker the rest of the way off of her, wincing at the angry looking red mark on her hip which had already started to bruise. “Hell and damnation.”

  Duke nodded, removing his hand. “In the chow shack when the side blew off and saw the plank hit her. Tried to yell a warning, but don’t think she heard me. Another one glanced off her shoulder and hit her head.”

  He stood and moved away, but Eb only had eyes for Maggie.

  Ripping off his wet kerchief, Eb wiped the blood running far too freely from her temple. “Damn it, Maggie. Wake up.” He didn’t remember ever being so scared.

  Jeremiah used his own kerchief to wipe her face, leaning down to whisper to her.

  The sound of the howling wind got louder then quieted again, and for the first time, Eb looked around. Several of the other men stood around them, worried looks on their faces as they lit lanterns and offered bandages and advice. Others stood on the stairs while someone held on to the door.

  The sound of the hail hitting the door stopped suddenly, allowing Eb to hear what Jeremiah kept saying to Maggie.

  “I love you, honey. Open your eyes.”

  Eb spun back, hardly able to believe he heard those words from his brother’s lips.

  Jeremiah brushed Maggie’s hair back from her forehead, holding the wet kerchief over her injured hip. “Come on, honey. Open your pretty blue eyes for me. I love you, Maggie. I love you.”

  Maggie moaned, her eyes fluttering just as Duke pushed his way back to her side, his huge hands full of hailstones.

  “This should help.” He dropped them into a kerchief another man offered and started to put it on her hip and paused, his eyes meeting Eb’s.

  Without a word, he handed the ice-filled kerchief over. “You should do this.”

  Eb accepted the kerchief, his eyes meeting Hawke’s as Duke turned and walked away.

  Hawke shrugged and whipped the blanket from a preoccupied Phoenix and started to cover Maggie’s legs. “I hope you ordered a pint-sized woman for him. I never would have believed Duke had a soft side, but it looks like any woman of his would have to fit in his pocket.”

  Phoenix grunted. “That wouldn’t be hard to do.”

  Maggie groaned, her eyes fluttering open again, widening when she saw everyone staring down at her.

  “What happened?” A look of horror crossed her face. “The laundry!”

  “The laundry?” With a sigh of relief, Eb bent over her, keeping the ice on her hip and cursing when she tried to sit up.

  Wincing, she fell back.

  Jeremiah caught her, lowering her to the blanket. “You went back out in that to get the laundry?”

  Maggie shrugged, wincing again. “It was only a storm.”

  Eb took the ice from her hip and put it to her temple, where a knot had already started to form. “If I don’t miss my guess, that was a tornado.”

  “A tornado?” Maggie leaned into Jeremiah, smiling up at him. “Did you say you love me?”

  Jeremiah gathered her against him, kissing her forehead and taking the kerchief from Eb to hold it to the bump on her head. “I did.”

  Several men chuckled, their relief evident as they turned away. The sounds of the storm outside lessened and dwindled while Eb watched Jeremiah and Maggie cuddle together. Instead of making him jealous, it gave Eb a deep sense of relief that Jeremiah could comfort her while he tended to her injuries and checked for others.