by Lynn Stark
Tipping her head back, she looked up at him, then down the aisle to where Logan was releasing Demon from the crossties. The chains dropped, slapping the walls on either side of the aisle. The two big beasts walked out of the barn, not looking back.
“I’m working on it. He’s going to be a tough nut to crack. Especially if he likes to be tough and macho all the time and thumping on his chest. I’m not some sweet, girly girl. I might not have what it takes to interest him.”
Both men laughed that time. “Baby, you’ve already got him interested. Hell, he hasn’t left yet. That’s a sure sign you’ve got something the others didn’t.”
“I think I’d have a better chance with him if I was tied down in the snow with a couple of raw steaks strategically placed.”
Both men roared with laughter, hugging her close. Peaches kissed both of them and then looped her arms through theirs as they made their way back up the aisle. Roxie and Juno trotted after them, obviously enjoying their new freedom, even if it involved snow and bitter cold.
All three of them were surprised when Logan announced that he would be joining them for supper. Though they hadn’t asked, the men were relieved when she offered to cook for them. Like most things in her life, when she attempted something she worked at it until she was skilled. Cooking was something she did for pleasure. It was a necessity, yes. Everybody had to eat. But she cooked for herself, making every meal an experience.
“Fuck, baby,” Damien growled after swallowing a piece of a perfectly prepared steak. It was close to two inches thick and covered in mushrooms and onions, with a tangy brown sauce. “You should be working in a restaurant.”
“Thank you. I love to cook. Actually, I did work in a restaurant for a little more than a year. After I got shot, I decided to do something a little less exhilarating for a while.”
“The scars on your stomach and thigh were where you were shot?”
“Yes. Took two in a shootout with a guy we were serving a warrant to. We took all the precautions, but he managed to slip out an upstairs window. When he was spotted, he opened fire.”
“You were a cop?”
“Five years.” She looked at Ryan. Her brown eyes gleamed with all sorts of naughty thoughts. “Did I tell you I have handcuffs and know how to use them?”
“How am I supposed to finish my supper with my cock about to rip my jeans?” he demanded, but grinned. “You have them with you?”
“I do.”
“You naked except for the gun and the handcuffs is a perfect fantasy. I’m all yours, baby.” Reaching out, Peaches patted the irrepressible Ryan on the cheek. The day’s growth of beard was rough under her fingers. She stroked it before pulling away. “Sorry, lover. Damien’s going to be giving me lessons tonight.”
“I am? What do you need lessons in?”
“Well, I need to work on how to give the most pleasure while I have a cock in my mouth.” There was a growl, but the three of them ignored Logan. Damien grinned and leaned closer. His green eyes were glittering like emeralds in his tanned face. It seemed he knew what she was doing and he would play along. “As I recall, you do real well. Except when you’ve got another cock shoved somewhere else. For you, it’s rather like rubbing your stomach and patting your head at the same time. Not a hellava lot of coordination.” 31
She nodded and poked the tines of her fork through a slice of steak she had tossed into some greens. “I can’t do that, either.”
They finished their meal in silence, with the exception of low moaning noises from Ryan, whose cock seemed to continue to torment him. Damien and Peaches grinned at one another as she got up to get the dessert. Ryan cleared the dishes and put them in the dishwasher while she dished out shortcake, covered with home-canned cherries and fresh whipped cream.
“If one of you is available, I’d like to go into town tomorrow.” They had told her a lot about the town of Silver while they traveled there. While it was isolated, it was hardly a back-water place. Currently it was experiencing an influx of tourists. The population nearly tripled during the winter months, when the wealthy arrived for skiing and other winter pursuits the area had to offer. “I’d like to rent a car so I don’t have to bother you guys. I know you have a lot to catch up on, now that you’re home.”
“What do you need a car for? You can borrow any of our vehicles when you need one.”
“Even that big, ugly, black SUV out there?” she asked tongue-in- cheek as she scooped up an equal portion of shortcake, berries, and whipped cream. Her gaze strayed to Logan, who was watching her with the intent of a hawk on a rabbit. Lifting the spoon of dessert to her mouth, she opened and then slowly inserted it, taking her time withdrawing it from between her lips.
“Shit, baby, are you trying to kill me?”
Laughing, Peaches shook her head, forgetting about teasing Logan. “No, hot stuff, I’m not trying to kill you. I was just thinking, maybe it would be better if you joined Damien and me tonight. What better way to practice my coordination skills? And bring the whipped cream.”
“Did you make enough?”
“How much could you possibly need?”
“Well…”
Damien interrupted their playful banter. “I still don’t know why you want to rent a car.
You’re more than welcome to use one of ours.”
“It’ll be hard to get one right now,” Ryan inserted. “All the tourists have them reserved months in advance.”
Sighing, Peaches leaned back and dropped the spoon in the empty dish. “I hadn’t wanted to say anything yet, but I believe I should stay in town.”
“I thought we already covered this. It’ll be easier to spot these bastards, if they come after you, if you’re out here. The town is full of tourists.” A frown dipped her brow. “Then it’s probably best if I just leave altogether. Darla told me that our picture was in the newspaper.” She had put her phone on speaker while she made supper. She and her friend had spoken for nearly an hour.
“You mean from when we met at the rodeo?” She nodded to confirm, her face grim.
Damien swore angrily.
“Yes, and from the store. Someone put two and two together. The story has been all over the news. It won’t be long before those creeps show up here.” Logan reminded everyone he was still there by slamming a massive fist on the table. “I want to know what the fuck you three are talking about. It seems like someone forgot to fill me 32
in on a few details concerning our guest here.” He looked from Damien, then to Ryan. Flames of anger were in his amber eyes.
Peaches looked at them as well, her brows dipping into a frown. “You didn’t tell him?”
“No. I thought to tell him tonight, after he’d been fed. He’s generally happier then.”
“Happier? What about content?” Ryan corrected, jumping up and out of reach when a massive fist came in his direction. “Okay, so we should have told you about the robbery. And about bringing Peaches with us so she could hide out here.”
“Tell me what happened. As briefly as possible,” he added when Ryan went to open his mouth. His gaze fixed on Peaches. “You,” he said, pointing a finger at her. “You tell me.” Peaches did so, as briefly as possible. Not because he had commanded her to do so, but because the two men involved in this tale seemed determined to either goad Logan or shield him from the facts. That was dangerous for all involved.
“I think it would be better for me to leave here altogether. The sooner the better.” Peaches thought it would kill her to go, tearing her heart from her chest, but she didn’t want anything to happen to any of these men. Not even to Mr. Grumpy.
Logan seemed little more than politely curious as he asked, “And where would you go?” Shrugging, she said, “It doesn’t really matter. Now that I’m in all this snow, skiing seems like something fun to do. I could head east. There’s excellent skiing in Vermont. Or I can take off for some Caribbean island. With the exception of going home, I’m not really limited. Dad says they’ve had some leads on
the shooter who got away the other night, but none of them have panned out. It seems like they always just miss him.”
“For all anyone knows, he could be on his way here.”
“He could be.”
Amber eyes touched on the other two men, then Peaches. “So, there’s actually no point in your leaving. Now that I have been told about all this shit, we can take appropriate measures to be certain that none of us gets killed.” His eyes narrowed on his friends. “Damned dumb-shits. I don’t think either of you were thinking with the right heads the past few days.” Both grinned unrepentantly. “Ya think?”
It finally happened. Logan laughed, rising from the chair. The sound was rather harsh, as if it was rusty with disuse. “Assholes. You two need to get your priorities straight.” Then he was looking at her, pinning her there in her chair. “And you. You’re not leaving here.”
“Who’s going to stop me?” Peaches folded her arms over her chest as she leaned back in the chair. She looked up at him. The man truly was impressive in size. The fact that she was all but challenging him was something he obviously didn’t like. “You?”
“I will if I have to. You’ll stay here. If you start jumping all over the country, it’s just going to make it harder to find these people who are after you.”
“Maybe. Or maybe they would just give up and go home. They’d slip up sooner or later.” The man growled again. She didn’t know if she was supposed to be afraid, but she did know one thing. Every time he made that dark, sexy sound it went straight to her pussy. Just looking at him had her panties drenched. Hearing him and catching the scent of his body was a major bonus.
After Logan stalked out of the room, Ryan, of course, had to tell her, “He really likes you.”
“How can you tell? All he did was glower and growl.” 33
“Well, he hasn’t run off. He ate with us. He didn’t flatten either of us in front of you. And he didn’t tell you to get the fuck out.”
“I have to admit that numbnuts is right. Logan seems to like you. And Logan is right, too.
You’re better off here with us. Have your dad send info on the creeps to the sheriff. The man’s a jerk at times, but he’s usually pretty good at what he does. Especially if having these men running around Silver could have a negative impact on the town’s economy. That’ll keep him on his toes. He likes his job too much.”
Peaches decided she would listen to the advice of all the men. It really didn’t make any sense to change directions at this point. If the creeps were going to come looking for her, they would be heading for the ranch. It wouldn’t make any difference if she were actually still here or not. They might shoot first and ask questions later. They knew what Damien looked like.
Ryan, too, since the store’s security footage had been playing nonstop on TV the past couple of days.
When the men wandered away to watch the weather reports, she got her phone. Tucking herself away in her bedroom, she stretched out on the bed while she talked with her parents, then three of her seven siblings. Juno draped his slinky body across her stomach, while Roxie took it upon herself to groom her hair.
Having such a close, supportive family was sometimes smothering. But there were times like these, when the risks were the greatest, that having such a family proved to be invaluable.
Her father told her he would get the information to the sheriff in Silver. Her mother fussed over her in her usual fashion, concern obvious in her soft voice, while her brothers teased her mercilessly about having to find herself stranded in the wilds of Montana with two men.
“Three,” she corrected, grinning, easily imagining the shocked expressions on their faces
“It’s three men. They own this ranch together.”
There was an audible gasp from her sister, Cherry. They were on speakerphone. “Three?
Did you tell Daddy?”
“Do you think I’m crazy?” Peaches asked with a delighted laugh. “I might be all grown up, but Daddy would still come to get me and drag me home. And, believe me, I’m not ready to be dragged away yet.”
“They’re that good, huh?”
“Yes, they’re that good. They’re nice, too.”
“Do you think you’ll stay, once everything’s calmed down?” That was a question. Would she stay? Since she was quickly developing deep feelings for Damien and Ryan, she knew it depended upon one thing. Or, rather, it depended upon one person. Logan. “Well, it’s the third guy that’s the problem. If he doesn’t want me here, and he currently doesn’t, I really don’t see it working out. I’d leave. I wouldn’t want to cause trouble here.”
Cherry made a sound of disgust. “What’s wrong with the guy?”
“Other than being all hot Dom? Not a thing.”
“Oh. Okay. I see the problem now. You couldn’t be submissive if you tried.” Cherry sighed. Their brothers laughed at the idea. “Well, I guess it did sound too good to be true. I always thought Aunt Judith got it right. Her husbands are great. What a family!” 34
“Well, if you think that’s great, you should hear about this town. It was founded by gay men more than a hundred years ago. It’s filled with families of every kind. A woman being married to more than one man is very common here.”
“Once you get settled in,” Cherry said with a laugh, “I think I’ll come visit you. I wouldn’t mind meeting a cowboy or two. Preferably it would be two or more cowboys. Now that’s my idea of a dream come true.”
“Cherry!” Peaches was more than a little shocked and didn’t hide the fact. She had never guessed that her sister had even thought along those lines. It was an eye-opener. “Well, huh!
I’m speechless.”
“That’s a first. Never knew I had a secret dream of having my own kind of harem?” It was all girl talk after that. Their brothers wandered away. They lost themselves in it for over an hour, until her phone began beeping. Peaches sighed as she realized her phone was about to die and she hadn’t a clue as to what Juno had done with the cord. She had seen him dragging it around earlier. “I have to go. I’ll call in a day or two, to let you know how things are going. I’ll also keep a lookout for just the right men for you.” Her sister laughed. “You do that. Now that I’ve given it some thought, three or more would be just right. The more the merrier.”
“Jeez, you’re such a perv.”
“And you aren’t? Good night, Peachy. Love you.”
“Love you, too, Cherry girl.”
The phone went dead on their girlish laughter. Peaches rolled off the bed, going in search of the cord so she could charge her phone. She was looking under the bed when there was a knock on the door.
“Come in,” she gasped, seeing the cord and reaching for it. “Damn you, Juno. Why did you leave it so far under?” Her fingertips could just touch it, but not enough to get a purchase on it.
“What are you doing?” The voice of thunder rumbled around the room.
It went straight to her pussy. Peaches resisted the urge to wiggle her ass in the air. Would that be too obvious, she wondered?
Chapter Five
Logan stared at the shapely ass in the snug-fitting jeans. His cock reacted predictably, causing him to curse as blood filled it, making it press against the front of his jeans. What the fuck had he been thinking when he came to her room? That they’d just chat a bit and he would wander back down to watch a shoot-’em-up movie with the guys?
He was well aware that the dynamic duo was giving him a chance to get to know their lovely guest. The last three certainly hadn’t worked out. The first, though. A sigh escaped him.
Sally had been such a sweet beauty, all gentle curves, a breathy voice, and cornflower-blue eyes a man could lose himself in. He had fallen hard and fast for her. Especially when he had discovered that sweet Sally had a really dirty side. Yes, the woman enjoyed being tied up, whipped, fucked in the ass, all while being gagged and blindfolded.
When she had packed her bags one day, blindsiding them, they were to learn she had a cruel sid
e, too. “It’s been fun, boys,” she had told them airily. “But I’ve got to go.” That was it. There hadn’t been any real explanation. But it was simple enough to figure out. She’d used them from beginning to end. When she’d grown tired of them, she’d left. No muss, no fuss. Except she had crushed that part of him he had allowed her to pull from him.
He had been falling in love with her, and it hadn’t mattered to her.
“Would you prefer I take my pants off?”
Logan said nothing. He just stared at that ass some more, thinking of all the deliciously nasty things he could do to it. It was a shame that Peaches, despite the sweet name, didn’t seem to have a submissive bone in her body.
“Well, that is a possibility. I’ll give some thought to it. What are you looking for?”
“The power cord for my phone is under here. Ah, there, got it.” A moment later she was shimmying back out, and his lust grew tenfold. Jumping up, she hurried to plug it in. “I have to call my friend Tad later. He used to be my boyfriend. He’s married to my best friend now.
He’s also my therapist.”
She chatted away as she turned to the cats, which were sitting side by side on the bed, staring at her with unblinking eyes as she instructed them not to dare touch her phone. One of them yawned, the width of the gaping, fanged maw impressing him.
“You talk to him a lot?”
Peaches shrugged. “We’ve talked about the shooting twice now. It’s good to talk through it. I found out after the first time I was involved in a shooting that it’s not good to bottle things up. I started getting depressed. Now there’s something that sucks big time.” Logan nodded, and then turned his gaze on the cats. “I hate cats.”
“Well, they don’t care much for you, so I guess the three of you are even.”
“Get dressed. We’re going into town.”
Nope, she was not submissive in the least. The command got her hackles up. Her beautiful brown eyes gleamed as she looked at him. “Really? Do you think I’m just going to fucking kneel at your feet and be your little sub? Ask me if I’d like to go to town with you, and I’ll consider it.”
