Peaches 'n' Cream

by Lynn Stark

  Not much good at bending, he actually felt something akin to physical pain as he bent.

  “Okay,” he said gruffly, his jaw tight. “Will you go into town with me? We’re supposed to be getting some really bad weather for the next few days. This will be our last chance to get supplies out here.” Fuck, could words really burn your tongue? He felt like he was the one begging.

  36

  “Okay. I’d like to go into town.” He watched as she bounced around the room again. The woman had some energy to burn off. He guessed she wasn’t used to sitting around. “I was thinking I would start giving the house a good cleaning tomorrow.” She didn’t ask his permission. She wouldn’t. He guessed that normally she wouldn’t over-step the bounds of being a guest, of politeness, but she wasn’t going to show him even that kind of weakness.

  “It needs it. We mostly look after ourselves, with a woman coming in to clean a couple times a week. But she’s been sick off and on the past month and hasn’t been able to get out here. I suppose there’s some stuff that could use a cleaning.” His gaze went to her ass again as she took a bright green sweater from the drawer and pulled it on over her head. Then she was finding thick socks and the heavy boots she had been wearing earlier. The holster was strapped to her shapely thigh and his cock hardened again. Damn, Ryan wasn’t the only one who saw that as hot, he thought with disgust. The pistol slid in, and he watched as she stroked the dark metal with the tips of her fingers. “You plan on using that?”

  “I will if I have to. Don’t tell me you’re not armed. I won’t believe you. You’re carrying.

  It’s under your shirt, tucked in a holster in the small of your back.” Laughing suddenly, Logan shook his head and moved toward the door. He opened it, and then held it politely. “I always carry. So do Ryan and Damien, when they’re here, as do all the men who work the ranch.”

  They didn’t take the big, ugly, black SUV, but a big, ugly, black pickup. Both were his vehicles, but the truck would be more useful this trip. They made the trip to town with little conversation. He wasn’t much of a talker and appreciated the fact that she didn’t try to push him into it. The second woman his partners had brought home hadn’t known how to shut up, always trying to smother him. Coupled with the fact that she wasn’t very good in bed, basically without any kind of sexual imagination, he had left her alone for the most part.

  When they got to Silver, he took her on a slow tour, mainly due to the fact that the streets and sidewalks were jammed with pedestrians. He pointed out the oldest buildings, their significance, and told her some of the history. His great-great-grandfather was one of the gay men whom had founded the town. Though gay, he had realized early on that if he wanted to preserve his legacy, he would have to produce a child the old-fashioned way and found a woman willing to live a grand life in exchange for her womb.

  “Were they happy?”

  “By all accounts, they were extremely happy. Lucinda enjoyed her position in Silver’s so-ciety. Her husband Edward was wealthy and politically ambitious. He doted on her and their children. It was a good place for her. My grandmother has her diaries, if you ever want to read them.”

  “That would be very interesting. Thanks.” She sounded sincere.

  Logan knew his suggestion that she might want to read the diaries would probably give Peaches a small measure of hope that he was thinking about something more with her. It was tempered by reality. He had shown her little more than animosity since her arrival. Why would she want someone like him? Was he beginning to think about her as something other than an annoyance?

  No, Logan thought, Peaches was not the kind of woman he wanted, though she was perfect for his two partners. It sucked. They had talked about finding just the right woman for 37

  years. A woman who would love the ranch life as much as they did, helping them create a home for them all.

  Living on a ranch was damned hard work. It was a rough life, even with modern conveniences. Was Peaches the type of woman who could live that life? When she wasn’t laughing and playing with his partners he saw that tough side of her. It was odd that he should find it appealing. Yes, he thought, she could survive the life. But would she really want to?

  Then there was the sex. Could she ever be interested in sharing in what he enjoyed? The sex he enjoyed was definitely not vanilla. There was no sign Peaches would participate in what he had in mind, let alone enjoy it. Would she let him tie her up and do dark, dirty things to her?

  Logan tried to imagine her bound and awaiting his pleasure. It wouldn’t stay formed in his mind. Instead he could clearly see her standing in front of him, defying him on every level.

  Sighing, Logan tried to quiet his conflicting emotions. If he didn’t quit asking himself questions he didn’t have answers to, he was going to have one hell of a headache.

  After they loaded the truck with feed for the horses, the groceries, and other supplies for the house, they returned to their tour of the town. It had a charm that wasn’t always preserved with such attention to detail in other places. But the citizens of the town did everything they could to do so. There was no new construction within the town itself. The facades and interiors were protected, Logan told her. Signs for the businesses were discreet. There weren’t gar-gantuan signs or blazing, flashing neon. It was only as they moved away from the center that the occasional, discreetly sized neon letters could be observed.

  There was a crowded parking lot in front of a building that looked like something right off an old western movie set. “They have the best pizza and selection of beer around. Care to stop?”

  It was another opportunity to get to know her better. He realized he would have to give them both every chance to learn about each other, otherwise it could ruin his friendship with Ryan and Damien.

  That was unacceptable. He couldn’t lose those men as friends. He loved them, even if he wasn’t all touchy feely about it.

  “Sure. Big appetite, huh?”

  There was a bark of laughter. He wondered what was wrong with him. He rarely laughed, unless numbnuts Ryan did something amusing. As much as he loved him, he usually just wanted to punch the guy. “Yeah, you could say that.” Twenty minutes later they were biting into slices of pizza and washing it down with a beer. They didn’t talk much, but he did introduce her to people as they stopped by. Her open, friendly manner made it easy. It wasn’t long before she was talking with people like an old friend.

  Logan could see that she would fit in great in Silver. Would she consider staying? Even if he didn’t think they would suit one another, he had seen how important she was to his partners. They were already half in love with her. Ryan, with his need for a strong woman like Peaches, wouldn’t give her up easily.

  “You’ll consider staying with Damien and Ryan, won’t you?” 38

  Peaches nodded. “I’m thinking about it. I hadn’t really expected to feel like this about them, but it’s there. I can’t ignore it.” She looked at him directly, their gazes connecting.

  “What about you? Are you going to have trouble with it?”

  “No. I just don’t want to see them get hurt.”

  “Like you were hurt?” He didn’t respond, but he could feel his face tightening. The woman was going someplace few would be bold enough to tread. Even Ryan and Damien were smart enough to leave the subject of Sally alone. He wondered why they had felt the need to share this part of his life with her. “She was a stupid, selfish bitch. Forget about her. She didn’t deserve anything you felt for her.”

  Logan didn’t say anything. He watched as she wound a long string of cheese around her finger. He stared in surprise when she offered it to him. Grinning like a wolf, he leaned forward, opening his mouth to take her cheese-covered finger in. Then he was sucking it off, his tongue dragging slowly along her digit, until her finger popped from between his firm lips.

  There was a smile on hers. With his cock growing hard, he wondered what the hell he was going to do with her.

  Nothing, he told
himself, if they couldn’t find a way to work past their differences. She wasn’t just another woman he would learn to ignore, like the last two. Well, he hadn’t been able to ignore that last one, the one with the loud, grating jackass laugh. The only way he could deal with it had been to run away until he’d gotten word she’d left like the others.

  “Damn! That’s hot,” he heard her mutter. Turning his head, he looked to see what had her tongue all but hanging out. Jealousy sparked deep inside, shocking the hell out of him. It was something he had never felt before. “Who is he?” The tall man walking into the pizzeria had a small, pretty woman on his arm. They were both bundled up in expensive coats, the woman’s trimmed with what was likely genuine mink. Logan knew exactly what she saw. Tall, handsome, and elegant, the man had a dangerous air about him. That was exactly what he was.

  “He’s no one that would interest you, honey. He likes it rougher and dirtier than I do,” he drawled, turning back to look at her with a deep, unfathomable gaze.

  “Maybe not, but it doesn’t hurt to look. What’s his name?”

  “Colt Redford. He’s another descendent of the founders.”

  “And the woman is?”

  “I don’t know her. I suspect she’s here for the skiing.”

  “Skiing, huh? They have much of that in BDSM clubs around here?” His eyes narrowed on her face. “What would you know about such places?” A soft laugh escaped her. Her own eyes were dancing with mischief. “Oh, enough to know that there’s not many people I would put that kind of trust in.”

  “You just haven’t met the right person.”

  She nodded. “True enough. I sure wouldn’t let Ryan tie me up and use a whip on me.” Throwing back his head at the image, Logan roared with laughter. He knew surprised faces turned in their direction. He could feel them as they looked them over, but their consideration was focused on Peaches. Few had ever heard Logan laugh. It didn’t happen very often.

  None had ever seen him so at ease with a woman. Particularly one that wasn’t bound and gagged.

  39

  “No, I wouldn’t either. As much as I love the idiot, I wouldn’t trust him with a whip, or anything else found in a dungeon. He’s strictly forbidden to go into my playroom.” Those warm brown eyes looked at him in surprise. “You have one at the house?”

  “Not in the house. I converted a small building not far from it. It’s my own little retreat away from numbnuts.”

  “Is that where you went when woman number three was around?” Logan grimaced. “No. I packed up a horse and rode out. I camped about five miles away.

  I had to be sure there was no way I was going to hear that fucking horrid sound. I know she couldn’t help it,” he said, shaking his head as if in pain, “but it was just unbearable.” Peaches nodded in understanding. “When I first started out as a cop, I was partnered with a guy who sounded like a barking seal when he laughed. Try being trapped in a patrol car with that for a whole shift.” She leaned toward him across the table. “Do you want to know what’s really funny?”

  “What?” he asked. Despite his best intentions he could feel himself being drawn into her web. With each passing moment he could understand why Damien and Ryan were so attracted to her.

  “His wife and all his kids laugh just the same as he does. And their last name is Seally.” Again, Logan found himself roaring with laughter, drawing the attention of everyone within the place. They smiled. They couldn’t help themselves. Everyone liked and respected him.

  It was good to see someone was able to penetrate that hard shield he kept so firmly in place.

  “You’re pulling my leg.”

  She crossed her heart. “Honest. It’s the truth.” Her attention was drawn again to the door as the bell tinkled. “Oh, my god, Logan. Tell me they’re not married.” Logan looked, his mouth tightening. Four men walked in, dressed in the typical winter wear for cowboys. They shed the sheepskin jackets as soon as they were inside. “No, they’re not married. Yet.”

  “They’re looking for a wife?”

  “Or wives. Preferably ones who’d like to share everything,” he added meaningfully.

  “Why? You interested?”

  Peaches shook her head, grinning. “No, but my sister might be. I just discovered she’s not the prude I always thought she was.”

  “I suspect she just discovered the same thing about you.”

  “She did. What are their names?”

  “That’s Mick, Jake, Collin, and Cody Preston. All jerks.”

  “Are they honest, hardworking men? Do they get in trouble?”

  “Yes and no. I suppose they’ll be good husbands to a woman,” he conceded grudgingly.

  He didn’t want to talk to her about other men. A seed of jealousy had been planted the moment she had admired the ridiculously handsome Colt Redford. Why, he couldn’t guess at.

  He’d never been jealous a day in his life. He hadn’t even been jealous over sharing Sally with his partners. And why he would feel something like that over a woman he had only known a few hours was a complete mystery to him. “Forget them.”

  “I will in a moment.” She jumped up from the booth. “Excuse me. I’ll be right back.” 40

  He watched with growing irritation as she crossed the pizzeria to the table where the four men sat, being waited on by a flirty, buxom blonde in a tight, neon-green sweater. Whatever she said to them had them grinning and nodding. Then she was pulling out her phone and taking their picture. She was nodding her approval as she examined the result, then spoke to them a moment more as she pressed buttons on the phone. She waved to them before she returned to their table.

  “What was that all about?” Logan glared at the men. Mick flipped him off and laughed.

  He returned the gesture even as he wanted to haul her fucking sexy ass out of the restaurant.

  At that moment he knew he would toss her in the front of his truck, pull her jeans off, and fuck her right there in the center of town, potential witnesses be damned.

  “I’m sending Cherry their pic and phone number. They said to have her call, if she was interested in talking.”

  Dark eyebrows went up. “Your sister’s name is Cherry?”

  “Yes. Dad named everyone else. We were the last two. Mom has a fanciful side, but somehow she named us for fruit.”

  “Creative,” he answered temperately, earning a knowing grin.

  “Don’t worry. I haven’t been bothered by my name since I kicked Leroy Jacobs’s butt in kindergarten.”

  “Since then no one was brave enough to tease you again?” Logan asked wisely, rising from the seat.

  Peaches laughed. “That was pretty much it.”

  Without giving it a thought, Logan helped her with her coat. She wriggled into it, the sweater bulking her up. They laughed together as he helped her with the sleeves. Then he was guiding her out of the restaurant, patently ignoring the knowing looks and the rowdy, suggestive calls from the Preston brothers. They paused only long enough to pay the bill and pick up the dozen pizzas Logan had ordered to go.

  “I take it you guys like pizza.”

  “Yeah. We’ll throw about half of them in the freezer. The rest we’ll probably finish off tonight and tomorrow.”

  “Ever heard of cardiovascular health?” she teased, allowing him to help her into the truck. When he stretched the seat belt across her and secured it, she continued to tease him,

  “Just couldn’t resist tying me up, could you?”

  Their faces were very close. His wayward cock stirred as he caught her scent. There was a hint of vanilla and raspberries. They stared at one another for a moment before he leaned toward her. When their mouths met Logan felt the intense jolt of lust like a fist in the gut.

  Groaning, he slid a hand behind her neck, holding her close for his kiss. Peaches responded to it, her lips parting, giving him access to the hot, wet interior of her mouth. Thrusting his tongue inside, he tasted her unique flavor, as well as the hint of beer and pepperoni. A unique co
mbination, but one he found as pleasing as her hungry response.

  When he pulled back, they were both out of breath. “Fuck!” he muttered, backing up. The last thing he wanted was to be attracted to her. She wasn’t his kind of woman. Or was she?

  Damn, he had to give her a chance. The reminder made him growl low in his throat as he stared at her.

  41

  “Don’t worry, sweetheart,” she murmured, grinning. “It’s only the seat belt that’s got you going.”

  Sweetheart? Him? Fuck, he thought again, stepping back and slamming the door shut.

  He stomped around the front of the truck to climb in. The woman in the passenger’s seat was still grinning, obviously not in the least disturbed by the heat that had been shared by them.

  Sweetheart was so soft, so gentle. He was neither of those things. He wanted a woman who would bend to his will, submitting to it, accepting his dominance in their relationship, accepting what care and devotion he would provide in return. He would give the right woman everything.

  Ryan and Damien could be sweethearts. He wanted to be Master. Or Sir, at the very least, the title moaned from her lips as she discovered the pleasure they could achieve together.

  She wasn’t the right type of woman for him. The only soft thing about her was her name.

  Peaches. What had her mother been thinking? She wouldn’t bend. She wouldn’t submit. She would never accept his dominance. As for her properly addressing him as Master? The thought was almost laughable.

  “Uh, Logan.”

  “What?”

  “The truck’s on fire.”

  Swearing, Logan pulled the truck to the curb and jumped out. He grabbed the fire extinguisher from the backseat then popped the hood. Flames whooshed out from beneath it, heat flaring up. Pulling the pin, he aimed the hose. Within seconds the flames were extinguished, leaving a smoky, stinking mess.

  Standing there with Peaches beside him, they surveyed the damage. “That’s really ugly. I wonder what happened.”

  “Lord knows,” Logan muttered, tossing the extinguisher to the curb lawn in disgust. He heard a fire truck. The firehouse wasn’t too far away. “It’s a fucking new truck. I haven’t even had it two months.”