by Eileen Green
The waiting had just about driven the spying woman insane. After the first hour, she went back to the vehicle she had rented and pulled out onto the main road, parking several hundred yards away on the shoulder. As she sat waiting, she had nothing to do but wait, thinking all kinds of possible scenarios about why they had taken so long.
When the trio emerged and headed back to Kalispell, the woman followed behind, but only because her hotel was in the same city. Unfortunately, her hotel wasn’t as nice as the one Bradley and friends were staying at. She promised herself she would be back to the finer things in life very soon.
* * * *
The soreness in her body served as a reminder of what had happened the previous evening as she woke. Sitting up was difficult, the pain from her ass drawing a hiss from her. She would bet her company that the pain wouldn’t be so sharp if she hadn’t had to wear that infernal plug all the way back to the hotel on the back of a thundering Harley.
When they had returned from the club, which she wanted to go back to soon to play, Frank pulled the plug from her after fucking her with it a few times. Being upset about the entire punishment process as she was, she opted to sleep in her own bed instead of with one of her men. She knew it was petty and childish, but it was how she felt. They didn’t argue with her, but Bradley had handed her two ibuprofen along with some water and watched with sadness as she closed the door to separate them.
“Damn it!” she heard Frank exclaim. “She’ll never forgive us!”
“Yeah,” Bradley added. “I think we may have made a bloody mess of this.”
A pang of guilt struck her as she had sat gingerly on the bed. The guys were feeling guilty for punishing her, and she deserved what they had dished out. Well, some of it.
After thinking about it briefly, she had known she would forgive them. Also, because she had been so damn horny all the way back, she figured there could have been worse punishments. However, she had decided to let them stew for the night in their guilt.
Today was a new day as the saying went.
As she stood, she noticed a note written on the hotel’s notepad in Frank’s handwriting.
We both decided to let you sleep in. We contacted Raven and told her you’d be in late. We’ve gone to retrieve your bike so we’ll see you at lunch at the Tipsy Tavern. Love, Frank and Bradley.
Smiling at their thoughtfulness, Brooke knew she couldn’t stay mad at them for very long.
She downed a couple more ibuprofen, which had been left on the nightstand along with the note, before heading to the shower. The house she was having built was going to have a nice soaker tub with jets for an invigorating and relaxing bath. She wished she had one now to soak in.
When she arrived at her office, she found Raven unable to look her in the eye, and she knew it was because of the letter incident with Frank the previous day. The girl had to have helped him out with seeing the letter, and now she felt guilty because of it.
“Good morning,” Brooke singsonged as she passed Raven’s desk. “Beautiful day, isn’t it?”
Opening the door to her office, Brooke heard a sob, stopping her in her tracks. She turned to find tears running down the Native American girl’s beautiful rounded cheeks.
“Please don’t fire me,” Raven pleaded. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to get you in trouble with your guys.”
Brooke stepped around Raven’s desk and gathered her in a hug. “I’m not going to fire you, silly. I got myself in trouble with them by not being truthful or trusting them to help me.”
“He made me promise not to warn you.” Raven’s voice warbled.
Brooke stood. “In the future, if something like that happens again, which it shouldn’t, you have permission to warn me. I won’t have my employees or friends worried about their jobs from those two.”
Raven gave a weak smile. “From what I’ve seen, they’re not going to like that.”
“They’ll have to get used to some of the things I do.” Brooke stepped toward her office door. “I know yesterday’s incident was because they want to protect me, but there are things regarding the company that they don’t have a say in.”
“Just get them to understand that,” Raven scoffed. Both women laughed briefly before Raven became businesslike. “The photo and video shoot have been set up for Monday. I’ve already shot an e-mail over to Mr. Smith regarding his schedule for that. Mike in shipping requested some time with you this afternoon. Said he’s got a packaging strategy that might save the company some money. I penciled him in for two. And your designer’s assistant called to see if you can go out to the house later this afternoon. She said there was an issue with the plumbing in the kitchen that needed to be cleared up.”
“I’ll see Mike at two. As for the designer, I’ll go out there, but it’ll have to be after five. I have some ruffled feathers to smooth out besides going over the daily reports.”
A giggled escaped Raven when Brooke mentioned the ruffled feathers. Brooke rolled her eyes at the girl before ducking into her office to begin her day.
* * * *
Frank and Bradley walked into the diner in Polson, looked around, and found the party they wanted to see sitting in the back booth. They had already picked up Brooke’s bike from the club and then called Lyndee and Lawrence to meet up with them. After the bombshell dropped the previous night from Lyndee Dwyer, Frank was curious about one thing.
Lyndee waved the duo over to the table that she, Lawrence, Sheriff Connor Lawton, and one of her fiancés, Trey, shared. They all had cups of coffee sitting in front of them and Glenn’s famous cinnamon rolls. Frank felt his stomach rumble at the delicious aroma of the sweets.
The foursome moved around until they left enough room for Bradley and Frank to join them. As soon as they sat, the middle-aged waitress arrived with her order pad in hand.
“Good morning,” she said with a smile. “What can I get for you two?”
“Coffee,” the two men said in unison. They had left early to pick up the bike, so they hadn’t had coffee or breakfast.
“Also, we’ll each have a cinnamon roll,” Frank added.
“Very good. I’ll have your coffee up right away,” the waitress said quickly before she turned away. In a flash, she was back with two mugs and a carafe of coffee. She filled each mug and then left the carafe on the table for everyone.
“So, what brings you guys into town so early in the morning?” Connor asked as he cut into his own roll.
Frank looked at Lyndee, trying to read her. He wanted to know if she had informed Connor about her pregnancy.
As if Lyndee had read his mind, she smiled brightly and answered his unasked question. “I’ve already told Connor. I also informed John Drake.”
John Drake was Frank and Lyndee’s FBI supervisor in Denver. He was the one who would decide if Frank could transfer to Polson or have to give up his own FBI career. Frank hoped it was the former.
Connor chuckled. “That was certainly some shocking news. I thought for sure she would have waited another ten years before becoming a mother.”
Lawrence, the conundrum of the group, agreed with Connor. “I thought so, too. Some women put so much stock into their careers nowadays that they forget about family, or starting one.”
“Hey!” Lyndee interjected.
“I just thought that you would wait longer, that’s all,” Lawrence rebutted. “You spent the first five years of your career undercover, so I thought you would want to expand your horizons.”
Frank viewed Lawrence as a surfer dude with his hair longer than standard policy. His hair reached his shoulders and was a riot of yellows with the various tones of blond. Golden tanned skin belied the fair-haired man, giving Frank to wonder what tanning salon Lawrence used.
Lawrence was Connor’s soon-to-be brother-in-law. He was in a poly relationship with Connor’s sister, Angela, and both were partners with Running Wolf. They had also had a baby recently, which had left Angela being the most attentive mother Frank had ever seen
. Frank had heard some stories about Angela in the past that painted her in a much different light, but since Lawrence and Running Wolf had come into her life, she had changed quite a bit.
From the stories Frank had heard from or about their new friends here in Polson, the poly relationships had really blossomed. They had also changed people for the better.
Finally speaking, Frank kidded, “Well, I hope you put in a good word for me.”
Lyndee, who was sitting between Lawrence and Trey, reached out and patted Frank’s hand that was lying next to his coffee mug. “Of course I did. You didn’t think I’d leave a fellow agent and friend hanging, did you?”
“No,” Frank responded with a chuckle. “I appreciate it. Bradley has found a new career for himself, and Brooke is very busy with the company. I’m worried that I won’t have anything to do if I don’t get a transfer here.”
“Are there no security positions open with Brooke’s company?” Connor asked between bites of the gooey pastry before him.
“The head of security there doesn’t plan to retire for another five years or so. Brooke had brought him out from Atlanta. He’s planning on retiring here.” Frank moved his arm from the table as the waitress set a cinnamon roll down before Bradley and himself.
“Was there anything else I can you folks?” she asked.
“I don’t believe so,” Frank replied as he looked expectantly around the table. Everyone shook their heads.
“Good. Just holler if you need me.” With that, she walked away.
“How’s Brooke doing?” Connor asked. “Is she able to settle down after the move?”
“Production is going well,” Bradley said quickly right before taking a bite of his roll.
“Shipping is set to begin next month,” Connor continued from Bradley. “PR is set, and the commercials should be ready to air in about two weeks. That’s as long as Bradley doesn’t flub his lines.”
Teasing Bradley about his new career was simple to do, and the man took it all in. Frank knew a good-looking man with a British accent would draw in a lot of women.
“How is Brooke doing this morning?” Lyndee asked, her violet eyes sparkling with mischief.
Frank and Bradley glanced at each other, and Frank felt his face heat with embarrassment. “Not sure. We left her sleeping.”
Lyndee’s eyebrows raised in question at Frank’s answer.
Bradley cleared his throat, and Frank could sympathize with the man. They were both nervous after what happened last night.
Brooke had been furious when they had reached the hotel after having to wear the butt plug all the way back. She had told them she was sleeping by herself, which really hurt. They could lose her because of what they had done, and all he could do at the moment was wait until she quit being mad.
“I hope she’s all right,” the woman said. “Perhaps I’ll call her later on.”
“I’m sure she’ll like that.”
Brooke needed friends she could confide in and hang out with.
Lyndee continued eating her roll as Frank tried to figure out how he was going to ask Lyndee his question. Taking a couple of deep breaths as everyone watched him, he decided just to go for it.
“What did John have to say about the position?”
She cozied up to Trey as he slipped his arm around her shoulders. His dominant side showed, but so did his love for his woman. He was protective of her, and Frank knew that he would be as protective of his child, no matter who the true father was.
“He said he would consider it, but I don’t think he’ll have a problem with it. He’s just upset that I’m leaving.” Lyndee was sad as she spoke. “He’s been like a father to me besides being a boss. I’ll miss him, too.”
Frank knew all about the undercover job Lyndee had done. In fact, he had worked on some other aspects of the case she was involved in but had never met the woman until it was all over. It was a big job, but since Lyndee had spent so long undercover, many people had suspected she would go off the deep end at some point in her life. Perhaps living out in the country and being surrounded by her three men kept her grounded.
“All of us will miss you, Lyndee,” Frank offered sympathetically.
“Thank you.”
The sadness still registered in her voice, but as she looked up at Trey, all Frank saw was her love for him. He thought he saw that same look in Brooke’s eyes when she looked at him or Bradley, but last night, that look was gone, replaced by anger. They had to do something to put the sparkle of love back in her eyes.
* * * *
Bradley and Frank were on time for lunch. Brooke arrived at the Tipsy Tavern a bit early, hoping to talk to Siobhan. Unfortunately, the Irish woman wasn’t in, due to her men telling her she needed to get some rest. She had been covering for the new manager, Erin, and putting in too many hours, and she was totally drained.
The manager, Erin, had had some kind of mishap and had been out for several weeks already, but Ray and Siobhan had been hush-hush about what had happened. Brooke had also noticed the five men from the Lazy R had been missing whenever she had come in to eat. Brooke was dying to know the story there.
But for today, she was happy for some time away from her own men and from the office. She realized her foot tapped to the rhythm of a country song on the jukebox. Country music hadn’t been something she had listened to when she was back in Atlanta. There, she listened to classic rock and music from the ’80s. Her father had a soft spot for it, and Brooke continued to listen to it while in college. Now, the twang of a guitar and a sometimes sad song did it for her.
A basket of onion rings sat on the table waiting for Bradley and Frank to arrive, and an order for their drinks was put in, to be delivered when they arrived. Brooke wanted everything to go without a hitch. It was her way of letting them know that everything that had happened the previous night was now in the past.
Yes, she felt as if they had gone too far, but she understood where she had erred. She believed they had done it as a punishment, but also as a reminder not to be deceitful in the future.
She had to hope that they wouldn’t hold it against her for being such a brat about it the night before.
It was another ten minutes before Brooke looked up at the front door opening. Her two men strode in with a bit of hesitancy. Perhaps there was some regret that niggled at them.
Once they spotted her at the table where she sat, they made their way over. She noticed Bradley had a slight limp and had to wonder if he was over doing it.
Frank bent over and gave her a searing kiss. When he was finished, Bradley gave her one also. As they sat, she was surprised how she could be so aroused by the time they were finished. They did it to her all the time.
Both men eyed her speculatively, as if they weren’t sure of where she stood. Of course they should be after what they did to her, but she had learned her lesson. Now it was time to move on.
“Is my bike safe?” she asked, breaking the ice.
“Of course it is, love,” Bradley replied as he moved closer to her in the booth.
“The guys at the club let it sit in the garage out back, out of the elements. She’s safe and sound back at the hotel.”
Frank’s smile was bright as he spoke. He had been trying to get his hands on her bike since she had been rescued by her abductors. She wouldn’t let him near it back then, unsure of how things were going to roll between them. Now, he had had his little ride, and there would be no more for him. Besides, he had his own bike.
A waitress stepped up to their table. “Were you ready to order?” she asked happily.
“No. Not yet,” Bradley said as he picked up his glass of iced tea that Brooke had ordered for him. “We’ll need a minute or two to look over the menu.”
“Sure thing,” the woman responded. “I’ll be back.”
She was a middle-aged woman with a wedding ring on, but Brooke knew when women were flirting with her men. She couldn’t blame them as they set her own tongue to wagging sometimes, b
ut she did hate that they did it with her sitting right there between them. Sometimes she felt as if she were invisible.
The guys had explained to her that it was because the women thought at least one of the men were single, the third wheel in the relationship. Well, she didn’t care for the way others looked at her men.
Bradley took a sip of his tea before adding some sugar to it. Frank drank down half his soda before placing the glass on the table. The latter took one of the fried rings of onion and bit into it.
“Thanks for thinking of us,” Frank stated. “You really know how to take care of your men.”
A smile turned the corners of her mouth up at the compliment. She wanted to please them even if her bratty side came out.
“So,” all three of them said in unison, causing a giggle to sound from Brooke. The guys chuckled.
“You go ahead, sweetheart,” Frank offered as he leaned back in the booth. Bradley agreed by the shake of his head.
“I wanted to explain about last night.” She took a deep breath. “I was wrong to go to bed the way things were between us last night. I should have sat down and discussed my anger instead of acting like a child.”
“Yes, you should have,” Frank began. “But you are just beginning your training as a sub. Once you are trained, you will not be able to act the way you did last night. You will always sleep in our bed.”
“Unless you are sick,” Bradley added.
“Right.” Frank continued, “You will not be able to pout or ignore us. That just pisses us off even more. We’ll overlook it this time. Next time, you will be punished. Is that clear?”
It felt as if she was being chastised, but there was a ring of dominance and protectiveness in his statement. The love shone through no matter what.
“Yes, Sir,” she said with a bit of sass. “I will remember that for the future.”
“Good girl,” Frank said as he took another sip of his soda. “Now, let’s eat. I’m hungry, and I want to go back to the hotel and have some fun.”
Brooke knew what he was talking about, but she did have meetings this afternoon. Of course, they had met early for their lunch, so there was another three hours before she had to meet with her shipping guy. There was enough time for some fun.
