Awakening Veronica [Divine Creek Ranch 17] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting)

by Heather Rainier

  “You didn’t tell me?”

  “You were busy and I didn’t want to derail your work, and I didn’t mind. No, not all of them were happy about it but I think the majority were either unaffected by the news or happy for us. One lady wanted to know if she could get you to autograph one of your books for her.”

  Surreal.

  Travis tilted her face so she looked up at him. “I was already feeling a pull to Divine, Nika. Running into you at the wedding has only increased that pull. But I haven’t wanted to push you, either. I want you to make your own choices about staying in Divine. Yes, the opportunity in California is a good one but it isn’t the only one. They may wind up passing me over. But, I gotta say, regardless, I hope you’ll consider moving down here. Now tell me what Brent is up to.”

  She explained the texts and the e-mails from Brent to him, and that she’d reminded him on several occasions that he had to move out—no ifs, ands, or buts, to no avail. She’d even had the landlord phone him but he hadn’t answered any of the calls.

  Travis went into the kitchen to make a pot of coffee. While he put it together, he looked at her with a twinkle in his eyes. “Guess what I did during all those delays getting home.”

  “What?”

  “I read your books.”

  “More than one?”

  “Yes. I read The Game Warden Traps a Wife and Bound at the Bonfire.”

  Her original sweet romance and her first attempt at erotic romance. “That’s quite a wide range of heat levels.”

  Travis gave her a warm smile that made her tension unfurl. “Yes, it was.”

  “Did you like them?”

  Hank walked in the kitchen with the beautiful crocheted gown draped over his shoulder. “I started a fire for us.” Without another word he started undressing her, and she went instantly wet as his eyes roved over her nudity.

  “I did. Reading your first book was very…”

  “Awkward?”

  He scoffed. “Why do you have to expect the worst? I was about to say it was humbling. I know you have to develop characters and add conflict and all that ‘writerly’ stuff but I was humbled by how you characterized the game warden. I hope I get the chance to try to live up to some of those fantasies. And the other, erotic one…hell.”

  “You liked it?”

  Travis pressed his lips together and gave his head a shake. “You’ve got a handle on that erotic writing thing. You’re naughty.”

  Hank helped her into the gown and chuckled. “She is at that. I started Bound at the Bonfire on my lunch break today.”

  “You did? You didn’t say anything.”

  “Forgot. I would’ve told you but other stuff stole my attention this evening. Trav is right, you are a naughty girl. I can see why your readers love you.”

  She bit her lip and said, “So…how did you react to Bound at the Bonfire?” The curiosity was killing her.

  Travis made a rumbly sound of amusement. “That outdoor bondage scene, the one that happens on the camping trip, was hot.”

  “I haven’t gotten that far yet,” Hank said with amusement lacing his voice. “Don’t give it away.”

  “Let’s just say that your writing talents include getting me hard.”

  Hank nodded. “I’ll go with you on that one. Sometime, I want you to read to us from what you’re writing.”

  “You’d like that?”

  “I think it’d be a great start to an evening of play,” Travis said. “I’d like that, too. You look beautiful, Nika. The gown is sexy on you.”

  They both kissed her, and although she was still worried about what’d happened earlier in the evening, she went willingly into his arms for a kiss, and then turned to Hank and gave him the same.

  Hank sipped from his mug of coffee and said, “Let’s go sit in front of the fire and hammer out what happened earlier.”

  She took her place in the middle of Hank’s couch, folding her feet up under her and curling into a ball, thinking that they wanted to talk some more, but Hank stood before her, looking so powerful and masculine in his boots, jeans, and his sexy silver temples and sideburns. There was a smile on his face and a hot look in his eyes as he said, “Maybe ‘hammer’ wasn’t the right word, Nika. Stand, please.”

  She did as he asked, responding instantly to his steely tone, and then she remembered what he’d told her earlier. “Time for my spanking?” She smiled, her pussy warming at the thought of another spanking like the first one.

  He sat with Travis on his left and said, “Time to get your attention. Lift your gown, please.”

  He’d said “please” both times, so mannerly, but his tone left no room for argument. She went completely wet as she gathered the skirt of the gown into her hands until she had it up around her hips. He gazed at her, his lips a straight line, and she knew she was going to get extra licks for not lifting it higher. “Have it your way, Nika.”

  She pulled it up to her waist and Travis murmured, “Good girl,” as he caressed her abdomen and her mound, drawing a soft exhalation from her.

  She was about to ask them what next, already knowing, when Hank pulled her across their laps, so her upper body rested on Travis’s thighs and he pulled her arms forward and held them so she couldn’t pull them back down. Her arousal was like a helium balloon rising on the currents of heat in his eyes.

  Her bare ass was across Hank’s lap. He positioned her so her legs slanted down and her feet rested on the floor, giving him the perfect angle for spanking her. More liquid arousal leaked from her pussy as he squeezed her butt cheeks, molding them with his callused hand, warming them, and increasing her feelings of vulnerability. “Nika, we’re tired of hearing you doubt your worth to us.”

  Wham! Oh, that one was hard. It jarred her whole body and made her skin sting.

  “You insulted me by implying the only reason I’d want you with me is because I feel sorry for you. That’s not how I feel at all.”

  Wham! That one was even harder and her whole body shook with the force of it. Pain bloomed in her other butt cheek. Tears misted her eyes.

  “You pulled back from giving Travis a sweet welcome home, hurting his feelings.”

  She scoffed but didn’t have time to voice her objection before his palm landed again.

  Wham!

  Holy shit! That one stung something fierce. Okay, clearly this is not going to be a fun spanking. But every word he’d said was true, although she didn’t believe for a minute that Travis got his feelings hurt that easily.

  “You called yourself stupid. Three times. You are not stupid.”

  Wham! That one was really hard. Her lip swelled from biting it so hard, and from being facedown. Her breasts rubbed against Travis’s thighs, stimulating her nipples, and she moaned.

  “You believe that I would need to be forced into making a declaration of how I feel, we feel, about you. Silly girl.”

  Wham!

  Ow-ow-ow!

  “You insulted us by implying that you don’t trust us enough to hope that there is the chance for something more between us. You implied that we would let you go easily. Let me tell you right now, Veronica Benedict, you should be full of hope.”

  Wham! Holy fucking hell! She wasn’t going to be able to sit down!

  “You implied that you don’t make a difference in our lives.”

  Wham! She burst into sobs. Maybe he had been right when he’d used the word hammering. Her butt felt hammered. But more importantly, so did all her doubts. He beat them all down for her and she dropped her head into Travis’s lap, her tears soaking his jeans as she cried.

  Hank’s hands gently squeezed her cheeks, making them even hotter. They felt swollen and painful and must’ve been bright red. This definitely hadn’t been a pleasure spanking like they’d given her before.

  Hank spoke softly as he stroked her bottom. “Do I have your attention now, Nika?”

  No other thoughts circled in her brain and she nodded. No doubt, no negative tapes playing in her head. She listen
ed to him.

  “You listen to Hank, Nika,” Travis said softly as he cupped and stroked the back of her head. She nodded as she cried.

  “It’s only been a little over a week we’ve been together, Nika. So much has happened, to us and to you, it seems longer. But I know my own mind. And I know how Travis feels. We want you in our lives. And we don’t want to change you. We want you just the way you are, with all of those qualities you perceive as flaws. Being with you…Nika, being with you is like coming in from a freezing rain and finding the house full of warmth and love. We can’t predict the future and we don’t know if you want to stay with us just for now or maybe forever but I’m not letting you pull back into your shell. You’re not going back to the foreman’s house. I know that sounds bossy and highhanded. But I don’t believe that in your heart you really want to go back there either. Divine loves you. Our friends love you. They were ready to go to war for you the other day when those ladies showed up. Everyone I’ve talked to, who has met you, has told me how much they like having you here. You need a declaration, Nika? I’ll give you a declaration. I want you here with me, with us. I want to bundle you up, get in the truck, and bring whatever remains of your life in Montana down here where we can love you and protect you and take care of you. And if I run across Brent, Phil, or Gordon while we’re there…” His harsh growl made all her senses fire with the purely territorial sound. “I’ll find it hard to hold back from beating the shit out of all three of them.”

  Her body felt limp and warm, draped over them as the words washed over her and she lifted her head to look over her shoulder at him. “Divine loves me?”

  Hank stroked the underside of her chin and said, “Do I have your attention?”

  “Yes, Hank.”

  A wide smile crossed his lips and his eyes went warm and misty. “Good, I wanted to make sure I had your undivided attention when I told you I love you, too.”

  Another sob escaped her lips, which normally would have embarrassed her but she could see the truth in his unflinching gaze.

  Travis’s eyes were centered completely on her as he stroked the back of her head and his beautiful lips, framed by that sexy red beard, turned up in a smile and he said, “I love you, too, Nika. I don’t know if that’s enough for you. Moving from Montana to be with us is asking a lot of you. We know your life is there but we want you here with us.”

  She struggled, reaching for both of them, and they helped her turn, draping her over their laps. She hissed as she put weight on her tush but she ignored the pain and threw herself into their arms. “The election? The job offer?”

  Hank said, “Secondary. This is what matters to me right now.”

  Travis said, “California is nothing compared to you, beautiful Nika.”

  She lifted her head. “You’d do that? You’d make those sacrifices?”

  In one voice, they murmured, “Yes.”

  “You would do that, knowing what a basket case I am?”

  Hank squeezed her butt cheek and growled. “Careful, Nika.”

  A giggle suddenly erupted from her, almost surprising her. Did she dare hope? The heat in their eyes told her she had to. She rested her head against Hank’s chest, taking his scent deep into her lungs. “I did not enjoy that spanking.”

  Travis chuckled. “Then you’ll learn to stop thinking the worst and putting yourself down, because we’ll be happy to light your gorgeous ass up for you if you do. You’re a gift, Nika. That’s how I see you. You’ve lived among animals who have made you feel less than the beautiful woman you are and we aim to protect you from them in the future and help you learn to embrace what we already know to be true. Wake up, Veronica. We love you just the way you are.”

  Hank cupped her face and leaned forward to kiss her. “Just the way you are.”

  She reached up to stroke Travis’s jaw and Hank’s cheek and she murmured, “I love you, too. I love you so much my heart is practically beating out of my chest. I want to be with you, too. I’ll move to Divine. And I’ll trust you to make the decisions you need to make.”

  Hank said, “And no more pulling back from us when we’re together. Regardless of where we are. You have no need to feel ashamed.”

  They sat, holding her to them, stroking and petting her, speaking soft words, and Veronica giggled when Hank told Travis about how he’d startled her earlier when he’d come in. Travis eventually lifted her in his arms and they took her back to Hank’s master bathroom and put her in a tub of warm water to soothe her bottom. Hank smoothed a cooling cream on her red ass cheeks, and then they made sweet love to her until she cried with what felt like the first true joy she’d ever known.

  She was awake now.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Veronica felt like she was encompassed with an army of men. Men willing to fight for her, to protect her, and to get to the bottom of the harassment she’d been experiencing online. It was a marvelous feeling as she sank into the desk chair at Hank’s dining room table and signed into the online chat room.

  She’d put Duke in touch with the reader group’s admin and she’d set him up as a moderator in the chat room, so he could see the IP addresses of the readers as they entered. The only one they were interested in was the address for BookAddictedWhore. Duke had found a bulletin board post leading them to believe that this person planned to be in that chat room that evening. Veronica hoped so. Duke smiled at her over the monitors and nodded as she greeted the admin and readers started to enter the room.

  Kemp sat at another computer setup next to Duke, a headset over his ears and his craggy face frowning between the two screens as he watched and waited. With his brows drawn down in a frown, he looked like a massive avenging angel waiting for the opportunity to enact retribution.

  BookAddictedWhore entered the room, followed by the three minions who followed wherever that troll led. Duke’s face lit up and he bumped fists with Kemp who had a trace of a smile as he looked across the table at Veronica. He said, “Veronica, we’re going to nail this bastard to the wall.”

  Duke said, “Do whatever it takes to keep him in the room.” He was one hundred percent certain that BookAddictedWhore was a man.

  “He hates when I ignore him.”

  Kemp nodded. “Good, then make him work for your attention.”

  She felt safe, insulated, and secure from whatever this creep wanted to say tonight. With warm cheeks, Veronica greeted readers as they entered the room and did as the guys directed.

  Her fingers flew on the keys as the chat began, and she happened to catch a glimpse of Hank and Travis as they observed the event, arms crossed over their chests, admiration burning in their eyes. Occasionally they whispered to each other. When she glanced to the side, she saw them focused on the monitors in front of Kemp.

  Kemp spoke softly into the headset, catching her eye when she looked up from her screen. “You’re doing great, sweetie. Stay relaxed and do your thing. He’s ours.”

  She nodded, focusing on the task in a way that was usually beyond her, given her short attention span. Answers to question flew from her fingertips, and she ignored BookAddictedWhore’s questions to answer others. This of course made him indignant, and he started complaining.

  BookAddictedWhore: Hey, you skipped my question! Does Bound at the River Bridge have edgier BDSM in it? What you wrote in Bound at the Bonfire was too light. I want hard core.

  His minions chimed in behind him and Veronica finally replied.

  Veronica Benedict: You’d like it harder, BookAddictedWhore? Maybe like a cane across your thighs? Tied down and a dildo shoved up your ass? Duct tape across your mouth?

  Kemp saw what she typed and let out a snort. To Hank and Travis, he whispered, “Your girl is one of a kind.”

  BookAddictedWhore: Fuck yes, you fucking slut, that’s what I’m talking about!

  Kemp chuckled, “Consider it done, you nasty bastard.”

  Of course, she didn’t plan to write any such thing because it didn’t make sense for her story but s
he giggled as she got BookAddictedWhore and his minions worked up before going on to answer other questions, hoping that the other readers wouldn’t think she’d lost her mind.

  A few minutes later, a reader asked a question about Bound at the River Bridge and Veronica dropped a bomb that she knew would set off BookAddictedWhore, because he had previously demanded that she write a book with a certain character lineup.

  Veronica Benedict: Wonderful question! I’m happy to share the answer, now that the next book in the series is done. Gabrielle will be the heroine in the third book in the Bound series, Bound at the Bed & Breakfast, and you’ll have your chance to see how Nate and Gaston find their happily ever after.

  BookAddictedWhore: What the fuck! Angelina is Nate and Gaston’s heroine!

  Daisygirl233: Um, BookAddictedWhore, I think Veronica can write whoever she wants to write about and it will be great. You are very rude.

  FantasyDomme17: I agree, Daisygirl233. BookAddictedWhore, perhaps you want to back the fuck up and apologize?

  BookAddictedWhore: Fuck you, bitches. It has to be Angelina with Nate and Gaston. Veronica, you’re a stupid fuck. I should shoot your stupid ass.

  She sensed Hank and Travis’s reaction as they moved to watch the chat over her shoulder. They both made deep growly sounds in their chests and a warm hand came to rest on her shoulder. Smiling, she leaned her cheek against it for a second.

  Veronica Benedict: So sorry, BookAddictedWhore. You’re entitled to feel however you feel, but I don’t let readers dictate story content to me. But I guarantee you I do let them inspire me.

  A string of hysterically laughing emoticons streamed by from Daisygirl233, FantasyDomme17, and several others.

  FantasyDomme17: You go, girl. Just for that, I’m buying every damned book you’ve ever written.

  BookAddictedWhore flipped his ever-livin’ lid. Because the admin had agreed to not put him on moderation if he got abusive, all the readers in the chat got to enjoy his temper tantrum. He turned the room blue with his cursing fit but Veronica felt completely untouched by it.