Cole, Kaliana - Tag and Release [Liberty Springs, Wyoming 3] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour)

by Kaliana Cole

  Spluttering and wiping water from his face, Brody came to his feet. He was covered with muddy water from head to toe. Casey could only imagine the state of Luke’s truck. She winced and looked in his direction, expecting him to be wild, but Luke was busy laughing his fine ass off. A quick flick of the bucket had him scampering to miss the deluge. It caught him down one shoulder, but he wasn’t anywhere as wet as Brody. It did wipe the ever-present smile off his face, though. So much for passing it off as an accident. She now had two Marshalls looking less than pleased with her. The water was more like dirt soup from where she had been digging around in it, and she could only imagine the horrible feel of it against her skin.

  “What the fuck was that for?” Brody could be heard even above the engine.

  She idled the machine down and lowered her window. “You looked a little hot.”

  “So did you yesterday, but I didn’t go throwing you in the spring.”

  Fuck! What was she supposed to say to that? She couldn’t believe Brody had known she was there.

  “Yeah, don’t go all red-faced now. You weren’t so embarrassed watching me jerk off yesterday, were you?”

  “Whoa! I’m missing something here. Who did what yesterday?” Luke was looking from one of them to the other as he walked toward them.

  “Casey came up to the spring yesterday. I was already there and her eyes were boring into me like hungry little lasers, so I rolled over and really gave her something to look at. She stayed for the show but bolted straight after. It’s a shame. I was up for an encore, and by then she was more than a little worked up herself.”

  Luke looked like he didn’t know whether to be jealous or pissed. “Casey just sat there and watched?”

  “She was hiding up by that boulder that sticks out. She didn’t make a move to leave until I had cum all over me.”

  “What was I supposed to do?” Casey was sick of them talking as if she wasn’t even there. She stepped down out of the machine, determined to sort this out. “I was told there would be a horse or a four-wheeler at the top if there was someone there. I didn’t want to have to talk to you. You just distracted me before I could leave.”

  Brody smirked a little. “Distracted? You sounded more than a little distracted, Casey. You sounded downright horny. I could hear you panting like a bitch in heat up there by that rock.”

  “You arrogant, conceited asshole.” Before she registered moving, her fist was in the air. She put her whole weight behind it. The power came all the way from her back foot, up her leg and through her shoulder. It was a mighty swing, but it never connected. Brody ducked back and seized her wrist, but he must have underestimated the strength behind the blow. The momentum turned them both in a full circle. Casey felt her foot slip and grabbed at Brody with her free hand for stability but it was too late. Cold, slimy, liquid mud met her ass as she fell. The last thing she saw before she went under was Brody’s black eyes open wide with shock.

  Brody’s body pinned her beneath the muddy water momentarily, but she was soon able to fight to the surface. It was about eight feet deep where she had just cleaned it, and she was forced to tread water. Brody bobbed up only a yard away, wiping muddy water from his face.

  Casey cursed herself. She had exhibited no more self-control than a two-year-old. She had actually swung at him in anger. That was unforgivable.

  “I’m sorry, Brody. I shouldn’t have tried to hit you. That was inexcusable.”

  “Don’t worry, it happens all the time.” They both turned to give Luke the look that comment deserved. He put his hands out innocently and backed away from the edge.

  Brody’s dark eyes came to rest on her, the sclera startlingly white in the mud-coated darkness of his face. “I was out of line, Case. I don’t know how to do this. I want you so fucking bad I can’t think straight. Why won’t you give us a chance?”

  Oh, fuck. The earnest, pained look on his face was one Casey couldn’t ignore. Before she knew it, the truth was spilling from her lips. “I’m not into self-punishment, Brody. You two would get tired of me starring in your little games and move on. If it was purely sex, I could do it, but you’re the one who is so damn adamant that it’s more.”

  “It is more. You know it, too, or you wouldn’t be running. At least start talking to us, Casey. Things have definitely turned to shit when the only way we can have a conversation is neck-deep in cold, muddy water.”

  A giggle escaped at the absurdity of the situation. Brody’s lips twitched before he chuckled as well. “Are you two gonna stay in there all afternoon, or do you want a hand out?” Luke was leaning against the boom of the digger, watching with amusement.

  Casey kicked over toward the bank, intent on climbing out, but the bank was too steep and slippery to get any purchase. Luke stepped closer and offered his hand. She had just taken a grip on his wrist when Brody brushed against her back. She shivered when his breath touched her ear. “I think he looks a little too dry.”

  “Reckon we ought to fix that?” Casey’s heart surged at having Brody no more than a wicked thought from her lips once more. Even covered in mud, he made her pulse race.

  “Go for it. I’ve got you.”

  Brody slid one arm around her waist below the water line for an anchor, bringing his body flush with her back. It took every bit of willpower to concentrate on the yank she gave Luke’s arm. He windmilled briefly before succumbing to the inevitable and plunging headlong into the dirty, cold water. He came up a few feet away with his blonde curls plastered to his head and his hat floating beside him. His smile was as startling a white as Brody’s eyes had been.

  “That wasn’t nice, sweetheart.” He drew closer. Casey tried to back away, but Brody still held her securely. Luke stopped right in front of her and she began to feel trapped and more than a little flustered. “What do you reckon, Brode? I vote we keep her right here until she promises to talk to us again.”

  “This much leverage, and that’s the best you can come up with?” Casey nearly laughed out loud at Brody’s disparaging tone, but the intensity in his eyes when he shifted to her side robbed her of breath. “Give us a chance, Case. Come over on Saturday and just spend some time with us. You think we’re only in this for the sex. Give us a chance to prove it’s not that at all.”

  “At all?” Luke looked incredulous. “Now, Brode, I can behave myself, but I’m not a fucking saint.”

  “For Christ’s sake, you can keep it in your pants for one day, can’t you?”

  It was too much for Casey. Laughter bubbled up and out. “All right! I’ll spend Saturday with you both. Just let me get out of this water before I drown myself laughing.” Two wet, muddy men assisted her from the filthy water.

  They lay on the bank looking like extras for some low-budget, B-grade monster flick, but Casey didn’t care. A spark of hope was kindling inside her, albeit warily, that everything wasn’t going to end in tears.

  Chapter 9

  “He did what?”

  “I kid you not. He turned his back and did paperwork all fucking night.” Marley took a sip of the vodka, lime, and soda from the glass sitting on the ledge of the hot tub. “To be truthful, I’m not quite sure if it was all night. I passed out around two.”

  Casey shook her head in disbelief. “You were butt-freakin’-naked and he didn’t so much as touch you?”

  “Touch? Casey, he didn’t even look once he got the cuffs on me. It was downright demoralizing.” She reached for the glass again. “God, this tastes good. I didn’t think I’d ever touch alcohol again after last night—keeping up with Bailey is bad news.”

  “You might want to steady up a bit. You could still have alcohol in your system from last night.”

  They’d had three or four drinks since Marley had turned up around five, but dusk had since fallen and the lighting around the tub glowed softly. Although Marley was on a par size-wise with Casey, she was already showing signs of intoxication.

  “I’ll be fine. I did remember one thing from last night that
I have to check out, though. I think Andy has got himself an admirer. A tiny little brunette was sitting outside the station when he took me in last night. She had calf-eyes for Andy, but she was shooting daggers at me.”

  “Sounds like jealousy.”

  Marley laughed ruefully. “I wish she had something to be jealous about, but nada, nothing once again. Anyway, enough of Andy. I gotta ask, why did you tell me to sit on this side of the tub?”

  “The Marshalls have a clear line of sight from their front porch straight into this shed. I’d thought I’d spare you having them ogling you.”

  “So you let them look at you instead?”

  “Nothing they haven’t seen before.”

  “Hmmm, that sounds like you don’t mean only through a pair of binoculars.”

  “Gun scope, actually. But don’t worry, they’ve taken them off the rifles.”

  “And you know this how?”

  “I took your advice the other week. The scopes were lying on the table on their porch.”

  “So you did it? Just turned them inside out and walked away?”

  “I’m not sure who turned who inside out, but I did walk away.” Casey knew a smile had reached her face. Brody and Luke had done more than turn her inside out.

  “That is so not fair. Everyone around here is getting laid but me. So are you going back for more, or have you washed your hands of them for good?”

  “I thought I was done with them, but they have blackmailed me into spending tomorrow with them. They tell me they’re trying to prove that it’s more than just sex.”

  “Back up there, girlfriend. This is Brody and Luke Marshall we’re talking about here?”

  “I know—it’s a bit out of character.”

  “A bit? Honey, Luke will flirt with anything with two X chromosomes, but Brody does sex and that’s it. If he’s suggesting spending a day with you that doesn’t involve getting it on, he’s got gold rings and church bells on his mind.”

  “No, he’s just at a loss because no one has walked away from him before,” Casey disagreed. “He is always the dumper, not the dumpee. Just as soon as I’m following him around, panting after him like every other woman they’ve nailed, he’ll say ‘so long’ and it will be game over. I’m not going to give him the chance to do that to me, Marley.”

  “So, you’re not going to get involved at all?”

  “Hey, I’m a red-blooded woman with needs, and those two scratch the itch better than any vibrator I’ve come across.” Casey leaned back in the tub and let her smile grow. “I’ll enjoy what they have to offer, but you can bet your sweet ass it’s gonna be on my terms.”

  * * * *

  “Shit, I wish I could lip-read. That’s one dick-twitchin’ grin she’s got going there.”

  Luke smiled to hear Brody so animated. For too long his brother had nursed his grudge against women. It was a relief he was seeing beyond the actions of one traitorous little bitch and living again. He put down his beer and lifted his own scope to take a look. Fuck! Brody wasn’t wrong. Between her up-to-no-good grin and the tiny black triangles of the string bikini that didn’t cover much more than her strawberry nipples, his own cock started to stir.

  The flicker of headlights down their seldom-used road drew his attention. The lights stopped in front of Casey’s house. “Hey, Brode, someone else must be coming to join them.”

  “As long as they don’t sit in my line of sight, I don’t care.”

  “Do you want another beer?”

  “Grab me one if you’re getting one. I don’t want it bad enough to move.”

  Luke wandered inside. He wasn’t gone more than five minutes but what he saw when he headed back out galvanized him to action. Flames were licking up at the front of Casey’s house. He tossed the beers on the table and grabbed for his boots. “Look at the fuckin’ house, Brode! We gotta get down there.”

  The scope hit the ground as Brody jumped up and went flying down the stairs at his side. They sprinted across the darkened field and jumped the creek beneath the cottonwoods. Luke heard a splash and his brother curse, but he kept going. By the time he vaulted over the fence and rounded the building it was well alight and so was the vehicle parked by it. He put up his arm to ward off the heat as he looked around for a faucet and hose. He spotted it as Brody came up, wringing wet and still cursing up a storm. Luke tossed him his phone, yelling over the crackle of the flames, “Call Andy. He can organize the fire crew.”

  He turned the water on and directed the spray at the house. Although the vehicle was too far gone to save, so far the building hadn’t sustained too much damage. The water pressure was piss-poor, but it was having some effect on the flames. Brody came back with a second hose and a stunned pair of near-naked women. The real danger was the burning car. The last thing he needed was for the gas tank to explode.

  Casey exploded into action, bolting back the way she had come. A minute later the big Kenworth came rumbling past and parked out on the road with the hiss of air brakes. She grabbed something out of one of the tool boxes, and Luke threw his hose at Brody so he could intercept her before she could get any closer to the flames. “What the fuck are you doing?”

  “Throwing this chain over that bull-bar. I’ll pull it out the way before it blows.”

  She was cool-headed, he’d give her that, but there was no way he was letting her get closer to a vehicle that might blow at any second clad in nothing but a few strategically placed scraps of fabric. Luke took the heavy tow chain from her and let out a length. The hook was big enough that it could hook over the tubular steel bar if he got a lucky shot. He whirled it a few times to get a feel for the weight and sent it sailing toward the burning vehicle along with a prayer of hope. It didn’t hook over the bar. It went one better, wrapping right around and hooking onto itself. He quickly joined the other end onto the second length of chain Casey had attached to the tow hitch on the Kenworth’s chassis. He held the join while the slack was taken up and then moved right back, drawing Marley back from danger.

  “That’s my car, Luke.”

  “I know. There’s no saving it, Marley, but we need to get it away before it blows up and takes the house with it.”

  Luke heard the wail of sirens above the roar of flames and engine. The cruiser slid onto the verge sideways with its blue lights flashing. Andy came barreling out of it like a bat out of hell, looking about wildly. His relief was patently visible when he spotted Marley safe and sound, but instead of going to her, he turned and grabbed the other hose from Brody.

  Luke felt Marley slump beside him. “He’ll wake up to himself one day, Marley.” He spotted her shivering in the mild night air and knew it was more than a little shock taking hold of her. He stripped his shirt off, “Here, stick this on. I need to go help. You stay back from that fire.”

  The Liberty Springs fire truck came in the drive at a rate of knots. Half-dressed volunteers sprang from it, pulling on coveralls and helmets even as they started pumps and unfurled hoses. Luke fell in beside Brody as he discarded the small garden hose and headed for the fire unit. They were both trained volunteers.

  It didn’t take long to get the house blaze under control with decent water pressure, but just as the volunteers were starting to relax, a loud explosion sent them scurrying for cover. Luke didn’t run for cover. He went hurtling straight for it with Brody at his heels. “Casey! Casey! Where the fuck is she?”

  He looked about frantically. The Kenworth was pulled up quite a distance away on the other side of the ball of flame that had once been Marley’s car, but Casey wasn’t with it. “Brode! She has got to be about here somewhere, start looking.”

  They plunged into the darkness on the side of the road, calling madly for Casey. Luke actually trod on her before he saw her. She was lying a good ten feet from the edge of the road. “Fuck! Sweetheart, are you all right? Brode, get over here. I found her.”

  Luke dropped to his knees, his hands cupping her face. “Open your eyes, Casey. Look at me, sweetheart.” H
er eyes fluttered as Brody dropped on the other side of her.

  “Thank God.” Brody put his hand up and yelled “We need a light over here.”

  Someone must have heard him because a spotlight on the truck was swiveled around to shine brightly upon them. Luke checked Casey over desperately. “Talk to me, sweetheart. Tell me what hurts.”

  “My ankle hurts, and my arm is fucking killing me,” she gritted out between clenched teeth. Brody lifted the arm she cradled gently, and they both winced. A nasty burn ran across the underside of her forearm, red and shiny. Luke felt a pang of sympathy—inch for inch, nothing hurts more than a burn.

  Brody ran his hand down her leg, examining her ankle. “I can’t see anything wrong with it.”

  “I think I trod on it,” Luke admitted. “We need to get her to the truck. They have first aid supplies for burns there.”

  He slid his hands beneath her and started to rise. “What are you doing? You can’t carry me!”

  “Sure I can.” Luke stood with her in his arms and made his way past the burning vehicle that the hoses were now directed upon. He felt guilty as hell for treading on her, but it was drowned out by the relief that she was alive. He hadn’t known what to think when the gas tank exploded.

  Marley came bustling over and took charge the moment they neared the truck. “Set her down there and get a blanket around her. Get me the water and ice from the truck.” Luke settled the blanket around Casey’s shoulders, glad to see Marley putting aside her own shock and letting her training take over. He grimaced when she tilted the arm up for inspection. It hadn’t looked as bad earlier. “You’re lucky, Casey, it’s not too bad. I bet it stings like a son of a bitch, but you won’t need to go to the hospital. Put it in this.”