by Morgan Fox
James scowled. He knew exactly what was missing from his life. Love and the companionship with a woman he could spend every waking moment with. Damn it, he hated when Clay did this to him. Hated that he got him thinking about all the things he’d missed out on over the years living alone and focusing strictly on his career, leaving no room for anything else.
Delilah had opened Clay’s eyes to a new world, and he clearly wanted him to join in on the love parade.
Clay’s cell phone rang, and he answered it and stalked toward his truck. His brooding shoulders slumped forward as he listened to the voice on the other end. From his body language, James knew whatever was being said couldn’t be good.
Slowly he walked up beside him. Clay had just closed his cell phone and tossed it onto the front seat of his truck.
“What’s going on?” he asked.
Clay rested his hands on his hips. “The nineteen-year-old kid that torched this place was just shot dead.” He hung his head. “He resisted arrest and pulled a gun. He died on scene.”
James felt sick. He never liked hearing this sort of news. In all his days as on officer, he’d never fired his weapon, never shot anyone. The thought gave him chills. Taking a human life was serious and something he didn’t want to experience.
“What do you want me to do now?”
Clay sighed. “I want you to go get Gracie and take her home. You need to keep her safe while we track down Bullet and his gang.”
“Are you sure? I—”
“Seriously? Are you about to question me?” Clay scowled. His brows drew together tightly at the bridge of his nose. “In fact, why don’t you take a few days off? Enjoy the weekend.” He slapped him on the shoulder.
James frowned. “Are you sending me home because you think I’m too close to Gracie?” He scoffed. “Because that’s ridiculous.”
Clay leaned forward, pressing his hands against the side of his truck. The intense stare made James step back. “I really don’t feel like being your mommy, so take your ass home, and I don’t want to see you again until Monday.” He raised his finger as James tried to speak, but the action quickly cut him off. “I don’t want to hear it. Now go.”
James stood with his hands on his hips, his chest rising and falling with exaggerated breaths. He watched as Clay moved to speak to the fire chief, not even glancing back to see that he was leaving. He swallowed and wanted to rebel, but then another part of him was grateful because he wanted desperately to collect Gracie and steal her away to his place where they could be alone.
* * * *
Stone spotted James in the midst of all the fire trucks, police, and spectators. He stalked up to him and thumped him on the forehead. His tactics were always so warm and fuzzy.
Squinting, James blinked, a deep, heavy scowl on his face. “What the hell was that for?” he barked, glancing around to see if anyone was close enough to hear him. “What are you doing here?”
“Oh, are you surprised to see me, Deputy Ryan?” With his index finger, Stone pointed against James’s chest. “Dude, I wasn’t about to spend one more night in that hospital just because you suggested it to the doctor.”
James frowned. “I did not,” he spit out.
“Yes. You. Did,” he countered.
James squared his shoulders. “Look, I only wondered if they were planning to keep you for one more night of observation. It wasn’t like the doctor would keep you in the hospital just because I mentioned it. He’d already planned to keep you anyway, dumbass.”
Stone arched his brow. “So you did tell him to keep me.”
“I only agreed with him after he said it,” James said, trying to clarify his actions.
Stone knew all too well what game James was playing. For a stuffy cop, he sure did have some manipulative skills. “You wanted me out of the way so you could have Gracie all to yourself for a few days. Didn’t you?”
James stared at him. His silence was the answer he needed.
“You’re hoping she lets you between her legs,” he said, growling. Standing straight up, towering just a little higher than James, he felt warmth flare up around his neck and face. His need to peacock alarmed him. The urge to whip out his dick and piss on her, showing his claim to her, was overpowering. “I don’t know how to tell you this, Deputy,” he said with a snicker, “but that ship has sailed. Gracie and I—”
James swallowed hard. “I’m well aware of what you and Gracie did,” he muttered through clenched teeth. “Do you think we could talk about this some other time? Right now I’m sort of working.”
“Sure, why not. Maybe next time we talk we can do it in front of Gracie, and she can watch as I put my foot in your ass for being a dick.”
James’s mouth opened, forming a small O. “What’s your problem?”
Stone’s eyes narrowed into thin slits. “Have you ever been played? Treated like you were someone’s bitch?”
A ghost from the past flashed over his face. “No,” he snapped.
He knew James was lying, but it didn’t really matter.
“Well, then aren’t I the lucky one?” he said with a throaty laugh. “You were trying to play me at the hospital. I bet you only asked me to stay with you because you wanted Gracie close by and figured she’d be more likely to stay with you if I was there.”
James breathed like a bull, hard exhales through his nose while his mouth pressed firmly closed.
“Where is Gracie now? I think it’s time I removed her from your custody, Deputy.” He looked around James, searching for her, but she wasn’t there. Where was she? “I’m sure you understand.”
For the first time since he’d seen James, he saw a fire burning within him that made him wonder if he’d pushed a little too hard. Then, as James’s fist collided with his jaw, he knew he had.
Stone staggered to his feet, rubbing his chin. He knew he shouldn’t hit an officer, but James had struck him first, so he figured all bets were off. Besides, it wasn’t like Clay would put either of them in jail.
Stone landed a left hook across James’s face, sending him slamming against the truck at his back. Then as he turned, Stone rammed his shoulder in his midsection. A gust of air shot from his throat. Stone immediately did a quick leg sweep and sent James falling flat on his back. A second later, James retaliated with a kick to Stone’s chest, followed by another one to his face.
Stone’s entire body shuddered from the sting of his prior injuries, but adrenaline fueled his body to a point he could ignore the breath-robbing pain.
“What’s wrong with you?” James asked, charging after him.
Stone was back on his feet in seconds, pouncing on James like a predatory cat. On the ground, they wrestled, punching and kneeing each other whenever the opportunity presented itself. They weren’t going for blood, just a little ass kicking.
Something hard clocked Stone on the head, stunning him momentarily. Flipping to his side, he glanced up and saw Clay hovering over him with his fists clenched looking seriously pissed off.
“What the fuck are you two doing?” Clay roared, pulling them apart and tossing them both like ragdolls in opposite directions. “If you don’t settle down, I’m throwing both your asses in jail.” He glanced from James back to Stone. “Now explain yourselves.”
Pointing at James, Stone yelled, “He’s a dick.”
“Yes, and you’re an asshole, so in my book that makes you both even,” Clay murmured angrily. “I don’t care who started it or how it happened, but work it out. If Gracie wants James, then she wants him,” he told Stone then looked at James. “If she wants Stone, then she wants Stone, but you both best deal with it and stop acting like jealous idiots.” He huffed out a breath. “Damn, I’m glad Delilah didn’t make me and Hunter act this way.”
Then it hit him what Clay had just said, and even though he heard the words, they weren’t making much sense. Stone narrowed his eyes. “Wait, what?”
James dusted off his shirt and pants and stepped up to extend his hand to Stone to
help him stand. Stone took it. “Clay’s married to Delilah, but then again so is Hunter. They’ve got this unique…relationship.”
Stone quickly formulated that Hunter was the third wheel in his marriage, but that didn’t seem like something Clay would allow. “You’re letting that kid nail your wife?”
“Hey,” James said. “I’m the same age.”
Stone arched his brow. “Exactly.”
Clay picked up his cowboy hat that must have fallen off while he was racing over to break up their fight. He dusted it off and placed it on his head. “Look, if you two can figure out how to play nice together, maybe you can figure out a way to put Gracie’s feelings and needs above your own. Stop cockfighting and start listening to her. She may very well need you both.” Lowering his voice, he added, “Dumbasses.”
“You’re letting him nail your wife?” Stone couldn’t wrap his head around it. The strong, mighty Clay Garrett was sharing a woman with a much younger man, and he seemed happy about it. How was that even possible?
Clay glared at him. “Would it make you feel better if I said yes?”
Stone shook his head hard. “No. How can you do that?”
Clay licked his lips. “It’s not hard if you take a moment to realize you can either be a part of the woman you love’s life or you lose everything.”
Stone ran a stiff hand over his bristly hair. In all his thirty-two years on Earth, he never pictured sharing the woman he cared about, loved, with another man. Now, studying Clay and knowing how happy he was with his wife, he wondered if a situation like that could truly work. A quick glance over at James, he wasn’t so sure.
“How do you get past the jealousy?” Stone asked, his heart in his throat.
Clay placed his hands on both their shoulders, a gesture that reminded Stone of the friendship they once shared. “You work through it together. Look, I’m not here to give you relationship classes, but I can give you a little advice. My suggestion to you both is to go to Gracie, talk with her, and find out what she wants. She might not want either of you two clowns. The girl has had a rough start to her life, and for all you know you both are smothering her. Let her tell you what she needs, then if you think you can handle her answer…deal with it.”
Nodding, Stone glanced toward James, his gut twisted at what he and James would discover once they confronted Gracie. He’d just met her several days ago and had feelings for her he’d never experienced before. The idea of losing that connection was nerve-racking. She had looked past his scars and into his soul. Now it was time he did that for her, too.
Chapter Nine
James kept kissing her, and it was starting to feel normal, as if it was something they’d always done together and without it she’d simply stop breathing. Her heart beat to a rhythm she didn’t recognize, fast and hard, but steady. As her thoughts raced to the repeated moments where she’d found herself lost in James’s kisses and Stone’s passions, her belly swirled with nervous energy.
Sex and intimacy had always required a monetary transaction, but with these two men her heart and mind agreed that it was nothing like that. With them, it was something so incredibly different. Each time she stared into Stone’s eyes she felt strong and secure, with James she felt adored and cherished, but with both she felt cared for, protected.
She smiled as thoughts of them sent tingling warmth throughout her body. An experience she was growing most accustomed to.
“You okay?” Delilah asked, stepping out of the shadows.
Gracie nodded slowly. “Yes, I think so.”
“I couldn’t help but notice how upset you were when you arrived.”
Gracie grimaced. “I’m sorry about that. I was having a bit of a temper tantrum.”
Delilah grinned and laughed softly. “That’s okay. I have them all the time.” She sat beside her on the cot in the back room where James had told her she could rest. “Just ask Clay or Hunter. I’m sure they’d give you all the details.”
“Clay or Hunter? I was under the impression you were married to Clay?”
“I am, but I’m also married to Hunter.” She propped her hands up, deflecting Gracie’s next question. “I know it sounds confusing, but technically I’m married to Clay, but my heart belongs to both men. I’m lucky enough to have them both as husbands in our own private way.”
Gracie’s brow rose up on her forehead, dipping underneath her hair. “Wow. I’m sitting here struggling with the idea of dating two men, and you’ve actually married two.”
Delilah giggled. “I know. It sounds like it might be challenging, and at times it is, but then there are times when I realize just how lucky I am to have two men who love me. We figured out a way for all of us to be a family.”
“I have to ask, but do they…you know,” Gracie asked squeamishly.
“No, they don’t have a physical relationship with each other, just me. I sort of like being the center of attention. It’s hot when you see two sexy men worshiping every ounce of your body, caring for your every need.”
Gracie’s belly rolled. This wouldn’t be her first time having sex with two men at once, but it would be the first time she was in love with them. Stunned by her realization, she broke out into a cool sweat. Her pulse thudded hard at her temples.
“You look like you’ve just seen a ghost,” Delilah pointed out.
In many ways Gracie had seen a ghost. A shadow of a life she’d never experienced confronted by one that was dark and violent. How would she ever be able to let go of her past to enjoy the moments of a future? If James and Stone did care for her and there was even a remote chance they wanted a relationship with her, could she even do it? Would her mind ever find clarity from chaos? She wasn’t sure, and that awareness sank to the pit of her stomach.
“Are you in love with them?”
“Who?”
“The men you are thinking about,” Delilah said, an infectious warmth radiating from her.
Swallowing hard, she hadn’t thought about the way she felt about Stone and James until now. Did she love them? She identified the feelings in her heart as desire and longing, but what exactly was she longing for? Was it the way they touched her, adored and cared for her? Was it the alarming affection that shined out at her each time Stone and James gazed into her eyes? Or was it the way her heart exploded in her chest each time she heard them speak to her, comforting her with a protectiveness that left her breathless?
Holy crap! She was in love with them. How had that happened? Of all the things in her life, she never pictured herself happy in love. Was she worth it? Her life had been hard, sure, and she deserved a fresh start, but did that come with the love of two men? She couldn’t bring herself to believe so. She needed to get out of here. She needed to clear her head.
She hastily rose to her feet and stalked toward the front of the station, her eyes fixed on the door. She had to escape, had to find a way out of this town and back where she belonged.
The moment she stepped around the front counter she collided head on with James. Eyes wide, she froze in place, staring up at him as he narrowed his gaze on her.
“Going somewhere?” James asked, holding her by her shoulders.
She couldn’t breathe. Her heart and stomach flipped simultaneously, causing her knees to buckle out from under her. James caught her.
“Are you okay?” he blurted out, holding her up close against his chest. “Let’s go sit down in Clay’s office.”
He helped her into the chair and closed the door behind them, giving them plenty of privacy. She twisted her hands together in her lap and swallowed to moisten her dry throat. The loud scraping of a chair being pulled up alongside her turned her nerves to a jittery mess.
“What’s going on, Gracie? Where were you running off to?”
She shook her head. “I wasn’t running anywhere.” Lie! Why couldn’t she just be honest with him?
“Sure,” he said, seeing right through her avoidance. “Did you think you were just going to leave and no one would not
ice?”
“I wasn’t running away,” she said, locking onto his gaze. “I was leaving town.”
James glared at her, his jaw flexing as he pressed his lips tightly closed. Then he asked, “Why would you want to leave town? Whatever happened to your fresh start?”
She couldn’t look at him anymore. Her heart was causing her tongue to trip, making her want to tell him how she felt about him, but what good would that do. She needed an out, not another reason to stay.
“James, I don’t belong here, and as long as I hang around, Bullet and his crew are going to keep harassing this town.”
“You don’t know that,” James protested.
“I do. You didn’t live in my neighborhood. You don’t know these guys like I do.”
“Why would you want to put yourself in harm’s way? Do you want them to hurt you?”
Appalled by the notion, she gasped. “No, of course not, but I’m also not worth your time. If I leave, they’ll follow me, and your town will be peaceful once again.”
“That’s crap, Gracie, and you know it. What’s the real reason?”
She hung her head, her mind diving back to her childhood. “The sweetest thing my mother ever said to me was, ‘Sweetheart, don’t forget to use a condom.’ I can still hear her concerning words of comfort, telling me to keep my pussy cleaned as good-paying men don’t want to fuck a nasty snatch.” She choked on her emotions, glancing away from James.
“I’m sorry, Gracie,” James muttered, his voice tight. The shock of her words was etched across his face.
His words were laced with sincerity, and she wished they weren’t. Being with someone who cared for her was a suffocating experience. If things between them had just been sex, like it had been with Stone, then she’d have no problem being with him. However, sex with James would be so much more than just a physical joining. She just couldn’t seem to handle what was happening between them. The connection they shared left her drenched in strange and unsettling emotions. Nothing in her life had ever prepared her to allow a man into her heart. She’d always kept her distance from anything that might show her vulnerability.
