by Kaliana Cole
* * * *
Identical grins creased their faces as they stepped back and found a seat on bales of hay. The kind of grins that would have earned them the sharp edge of Emma’s tongue if she could have seen them, but with her temper, more likely the flat of her hand.
Ty got his own beer and leant against the side of the truck, giving Em time and space to gather her wits. She unscrewed her lethal-looking beverage and downed half of it in one go. Ty popped the top of his and tipped the bottle in salute. “Cheers.”
The returned salute from his younger brothers was dripping with satisfaction. They knew there was a chance for them to live as they wished. They knew this woman was the one that could hold them together. The curl of their lips as they had scented her arousal had said louder than words that they wanted her, that they, too, knew she was the one.
Emma leaned against the feed bins, apparently not trusting her shaking legs to hold her up unassisted.
Ty grinned when she turned to look in the offending bin that had got her in the predicament in the first place. “I’ll get Pete to come over and put a false floor in those bins for you tomorrow. It will give the old man something to do. He only told me yesterday that he’s getting bored with retirement. It will do him good.”
* * * *
Em caught the brief look the younger Whelans shared but could find no reason for their amusement. She had met Pete Walker before and knew he was a former farrier, long since retired. She also knew Ty had done his apprenticeship under his tutelage. Why they would find his presence here reason for raised eyebrows was beyond her.
At the moment all she really cared about was regaining control of her traitorous body before any of the brothers decided to claim their kisses. It was so bloody juvenile and so damned clichéd it made her nauseous. So why was her heart pounding with anticipation?
Her body burned with the ghosts of their touch. She could still feel the heat of Colby’s chest against her arm, the sure grip of Zach’s hand where he had wrapped her waist, his big hand making her feel tiny.
But both paled in comparison to the marks left by the man who hadn’t even touched her. Ty’s mercurial eyes had burned more deeply, searing her very soul.
This troubled her more than anything, for while the younger brothers only affected her body, that man had the power to hurt her deeply. Already she felt her heart opening to him, allowing him closer than she had allowed anybody else.
She remembered her manners. “Thanks, Ty, I would appreciate that.”
She noticed he tossed another beer to each of his brothers before offering the last bottle to her. The small smile saying he knew damn well she wouldn’t be touching anything with alcohol in it for a long time. The thought crossed her mind to say yes just to see him go without but her stomach rebelled at the mere contemplation of tasting the beer.
“It is all yours,” she assured him.
Colby noticed the byplay. “I heard you woke a little seedy this morning. Maybe that is the reason for your ungrateful behavior this afternoon. You know, you really shouldn’t drink if you get nasty.”
“I am just fine when I drink, Colby. It is the next day I have trouble with.”
“Damn! Sounds like we should have been there then.”
“I can assure you, Colby, I am no more accommodating tipsy than I am sober. I just talk a hell of a lot more.”
“I bet you swear a hell of a lot more, too,” Ty interjected.
“Ladies only swear when provoked, and you lot are enough to rouse a saint to swear.” Em’s voice slipped into a haughty, schoolteacher attitude, bringing a smile from all three men. “Well, you and that bitch of a horse,” she amended.
“You wouldn’t believe how much the boys at the Kat enjoy the updates on their sponsored animal.” Zach grinned. “Connor and Callum just love the fact that Tammy makes your life a living hell. They think it is sweet justice for not dropping in to the club for a visit. You know you are the only legal-age resident in the valley who hasn’t been through those doors?”
“I doubt your aunt goes in there.” Em couldn’t help but defend herself.
“Beth is in there every Friday night without fail. It is just another club, like every other bar when you walk in, Em. If you want some other action you have to head to one of the back rooms. It’s just beer and dancing in the front,” Zach assured her. “You should come this Friday, we’ll be...”
Ty choked on his beer. The coughing fit interrupted his brother.
“We’ll be there,” Zach finished very deliberately.
Ty recovered with amazing speed, glancing at his watch. “Best we be getting home. We had better let Em get up to the house before dark. I doubt she would accept an escort, as much as we would be happy to oblige.”
Colby stood first, dropping his empty bottles into a bin. Em bravely held her ground as he sauntered over, glee dancing in his pale blue eyes. “Time to collect my Good Samaritan reward for the day.” He stopped in front of Em.
“I thought you were supposed to be a knight in shining armor?” she teased.
“Whatever you want, Em. I don’t care what you call me as long as I get my kiss.” His grin was infectious. It was hard to take the man seriously. Way too much boyish enthusiasm leaked out for that. She couldn’t help but smile as he raised her chin with his finger.
Her lips were still smiling as his kiss ghosted over them. A gentle caress, like a whisper of silk. His warm breath touched her a moment before he laid an open-mouth kiss on her bottom lip, sucking at the plump flesh briefly before stepping back, not giving her a chance to reciprocate. “See you later, Em.” His smile was pure sin as he headed for the truck.
“Mmm, my turn, I believe.” Zach stepped up against her, his hand going once more to her waist, gray eyes laughing. “One little kiss, so many possibilities.”
His gaze swept the column of her neck, sending the pulse fluttering beneath her jaw before coming to rest at the base. He moved his head slowly, giving her time to pull away. The brush of his mouth was a revelation of tactile contrasts. The grazing stubble of beard deliciously juxtaposed with the slide of satiny lips. Her eyes fell closed as pleasure swamped her. She caught herself before she begged for a harder touch, wanting to feel his teeth against the tender flesh of her neck.
Her eyes flew open to find Ty watching closely, his dark gray eyes approaching ebony once more. Rather than dampening her desire, knowing he watched only heightened the intensity.
Her head lolled to the side, affording Zach even greater access, but with a gentle nip, he pulled away. He looked down into her hazy eyes, his smile heating. “For that response, gorgeous, I would rescue you anytime.” His smile was evaluating as he went to join Colby in the truck.
Ty waited until they pulled away before approaching Em. She watched him draw near, her knuckles turning white as she gripped the edge of the feed bin behind her.
Before she could protest he scooped her up and deposited her on the lid, bringing her up to his height. “That’s better. Now I won’t break my back bending to reach you.” He smiled at her. “Still nervous, darlin’?”
Em could only nod, his proximity stealing what little remained of her acumen. He nudged her knees apart with his hips until he rested between them. The bin stopped the contact from becoming any more intimate.
“You shouldn’t be. I would never do anything to you that you didn’t want.”
“That is what has me worried,” Em admitted. “I don’t like that I can’t control my body around you.”
“Or Zach and Colb?”
“Or those two idiots,” she admitted, face burning hotly.
His hands rested lightly on the sides of her thighs, stroking soothingly. “You have no idea how long I have wanted to hear you say that. Give us a chance, Em. Let us show you how good it can be. You will own us lock, stock, and barrel, darlin’. There is nothing we wouldn’t do for you.”
“Except leave me alone?”
“That is no longer an option, Em. The moment you
held my gaze, heat sparkling in those whiskey eyes of yours while my brother ran his teeth down your neck, you sealed your fate. It is just a matter of time, and whether you surrender gracefully or do this the hard way.”
“Surrender is not in my vocabulary, Ty.”
“That is so good to hear, darlin’. The hard way is so much more fun.” Heat radiated from every word, dripping with carnal intent. Emma squirmed, unaccustomed to the level of arousal assaulting her senses. “Tell me, Em, has anyone ever made you this wet before?”
Emma spluttered as she struggled to refute his claim.
“Don’t deny it, darlin’. Your sweet perfume is on the air, and it’s going to my head quicker than any liquor ever has. Now answer the question.” His gaze held her prisoner, daring her to be bold.
“No, no one has, Ty, and that is what scares me most. I am not that type of woman. I never respond like this. I write about crap that I know nothing about.”
He slipped his hands upward to rest on her hips. “Oh, I think you know plenty about it, Em. You just haven’t found anyone man enough to bring out this side of you. And believe me, honey, all three of us are man enough to do whatever you desire.”
“I am scared you will be disappointed, Ty.” She blurted out the truth before she could reconsider.
“Disappointed? Darlin’, nothing you could do would disappoint me except not give this a chance to work. The only thing I insist on is honesty. I don’t want you pretending or just going along with things because we want it. You are in control. We might push your boundaries a little, but we would never do anything that would harm you.
“Has that got you worried, that we might want to do things that you haven’t had any experience with?”
She nodded. “I am not very experienced at all, Ty,” she admitted, glad for the failing light that concealed her shame.
“You have had sex, right?” His tone said he was hoping to hell she said yes.
“A while ago.”
“Did you come?”
“No,” she whispered.
“Oral sex?”
She shook her head. “I have never even seen a naked man in daylight, not in the flesh, anyway.” The Internet was such an excellent research tool.
He slid his hand around to caress the firm globe of her ass. “I suppose then that no man has ever known the pleasure of this ass?”
* * * *
Ty caught her cry of outraged denial with his mouth. He unleashed every bit of seductive technique he had ever perfected on her poor, unsuspecting mouth.
Her untutored response rocked him as she licked into his mouth, the hot spear of her tongue shocking him with its blatantly carnal caress. He pulled her closer, feeling the clasp of her legs as her thighs wrapped him, her hot centre instinctively rocking against the steely erection tenting his jeans.
Her nipples rasped against his bare chest even through the layers of fabric she wore. Her palms came to rest hesitantly on his shoulders. He groaned encouragingly as her hands greedily explored his bared skin, kneading and stroking the bunched muscles of his arms and shoulders.
His hand massaged her ass, encouraging her grinding rhythm against his tortured flesh. Her mewls and gasps were the sweetest sounds to ever fall on his ears. She was dynamite in his arms. Burning hot, coiled so tight, so ripe to explode.
He lifted her a little, angling his hips so that he knew her jeans pressed against her clit with every sultry roll of her hips. He hadn’t felt this close to coming in his pants since he was fifteen, and even then he would have had the good sense to retreat and finish himself off properly.
But he could only grit his teeth and endure. Nothing was more important at that moment than seeing her come apart in his arms. Not his own needs, not the zipper print being permanently embossed into his aching cock, nothing but her pleasure.
He tore his mouth away from the sweet nectar of hers, his stubbled chin dragging along her jaw to attack her neck. Her head rolled to the side as she ground even harder against him, exposing the vulnerable line of her throat to his ravening mouth. He bit lightly to gauge her response. The ensuing moan emboldening him. He raked his teeth the length of her throat to nip at the base. Her cries grew more frenzied as he bit along her shoulder, nosing her shirt aside.
“Come for me, darlin’.” He growled against her skin.
Ty bit down hard and ground his cock furiously against the swollen, tender flesh of her pussy. Emma’s head fell back as pleasure held her in its sway, an orgasm of immense proportions tearing through her. Ty lifted his head, watched the pleasure play over her features. Satisfaction surged through him as she experienced the first non-self-induced orgasm of her life right there in his arms.
He held her close as her breathing settled, enjoying the feel of a sated woman in his arms, this sated woman. She fit so well. He had thought her too small to feel right, too delicate. He was a full foot taller than her, and probably outweighed her two to one, but no other woman had ever felt so right.
Eventually she lifted her head from where she had buried her face in the bend of his neck. Her eyes were heavy as she sought his for answers in the gathering dusk. He knew the satisfaction he felt did not quite mask the need still burning within.
“Well, to throw your own words back at you, Ty. That was some kiss.” She wiggled slightly against the bulge that had not diminished in any way. “But I seem to have gotten the better part of the deal.”
“As you should.” He kissed her forehead as he lowered her to the ground. Unable to resist one last little bit of self-torture, he slid her the whole way down over his tumescent flesh. He kept his hands on her hips until he was sure she could stand unsupported. “Come on, I’ll walk you up to the house.”
His hand stayed solicitously at the small of her back until she stood at the front door, illuminated by the movement-activated security lights. He debated on kissing her once more, but he had already used up his quota for the day and his cock was getting ready to override his brain and demand some satisfaction.
Instead he turned her towards the door and patted her nicely rounded rear. “Get inside and lock the door, Em, before I do something we will both regret. I’ll catch up with you on the weekend.”
“Good night, Ty.” She spoke softly as she closed the door.
Ty waited until he heard the turn of the lock before he moved away. That she lived behind fortified walls told him that she had good reason to keep her doors locked tight. Until she was his to protect, he felt a need to make sure she continued to take her safety seriously.
But that need was a distant second at the moment, he thought wryly, adjusting his cock behind its denim prison. He wasn’t sure if the wet spot was from his pre-cum or her juices soaking through, and he didn’t really care. Emma Duncan was all but his.
Sticky jeans and an aching cock were a small price to pay.
Chapter 4
Pete Walker arrived just after lunch the next day. Beth had buzzed him through the gate before telling Em she had better drag herself away from the keyboard and go and see him.
Em left reluctantly. Finally an idea was playing out for her. The story of Kenneth, eldest brother of the newly invented Dougal clan, was coming together. Her stories were always character driven, but usually predominantly from the heroine’s perspective. This was proving to be driven by the domineering, conceited laird who was taking up residence in Em’s headspace.
Twice she had caught her telltale fingers typing “Ty” instead of “Kenneth.” Her subconscious was relaying covert messages to the offending digits without getting clearance from a higher authority. Although the only functioning higher authority at the moment was her libido, and that was a recipe for disaster.
Pete was waiting for her at the barn. She didn’t know how old Pete was, but the gray hair did not match his lean and hard body. While the weathered face put him near sixty, the spring in his step and the twinkle in his blue eyes had her thinking not a day over forty-five.
He held a tape measure in
one hand and offered the other in greeting. Every time she met him, he shook her hand. While he showed his appreciation of her form with a look and a wink, he never overstepped the bounds of decency. His grip was hard and warm; this man knew just how to shake hands, his grasp firm without being too tight. There was nothing worse than a man who shook a woman’s hand as if he were afraid of breaking it.
“Howdy, Emma. The lad tells me you need some new bottoms in these bins, something about suiting the depth to your reach?” His smile told her that Ty had been forthcoming about the details of her little sojourn in the chaff bin, but he was too much of a gentleman to mention it.
“That would be much appreciated, Pete. I didn’t know you did any carpentry. I had been considering calling one of the Marshalls over to fix it, but Ty said you would do it.”
Pete laughed, his blue eyes dancing. “As if that boy would let either of those Marshall brothers within sight of you. Ty thinks I am too old and decrepit to be any threat.”
“There is nothing decrepit about you, Pete,” Emma assured him.
“Well, don’t go telling him that, love, or I will never be allowed to set foot on the place again.” His eyes swept over the telltale redness on her pale throat. “Those boys are so damn protective of you it ain’t funny. And that was before they had just cause.”
Emma flushed as she realized she had neglected to cover the obvious beard rash Ty had left on her tender skin. “I’m not theirs yet, Pete. Nor am I likely to be if they don’t give up their high-handed ways.
“Can you believe they want me to go to the Kat on Friday night?”
“I bet it wasn’t Ty that asked you there then.”
“No, it was Zach, why?”
“And I thought it would have been Colby. He’s usually the one who opens his mouth without saddling his brains.”
