Special Cowboy Menage Collection

by Morgan Ashbury

  He hit her cervix and she cried out, the slight pain somehow heightening every sensation, until she could only reach for more.

  “You’re both hot, and getting hotter. I can feel it on my hand. Hot and hard and juicy.”

  She caught the marvel in Lucas’ voice, his groan of desire. He stood close enough, right beside her. Nearly frantic, needing to give as well as take, she turned her head, stuck out her tongue, and teased his cock.

  He pushed his hips forward and her lips captured him, her mouth greedy for his taste.

  “Mm, yes. Yes. Suck me, sweetheart.”

  Thought ended. Only sensation existed, only arousal, and a driving, burning need for completion. When the first tendrils of her climax sparked to life, Maddy moaned, and sucked on Lucas’ cock even more enthusiastically as she tilted her hips just that little bit more.

  The starburst of orgasm ignited over her, and as she gave herself to it, Lucas moved his other hand and a soft-hard knob pressed against her anus. Slow, steady, the plug opened her rosebud and began to slide inside her.

  The sensation of the double penetration pushed her off the cliff, the pulsing within both sets of lips signaling both men were right there with her. Together they came with a fiery passion she hoped would never end.

  Chapter Nine

  It was a strange sensation, standing quietly while two strangers examined her child, preparing to pass judgment on her.

  A lump formed in Maddy’s throat. She’d sold a few horses so far, but none of them had been as special to her as Arabella. Suck it up. This is what the horse breeding business is all about. Plus, these were the Lassiters. This family had already made a name for itself as trainers and breeders of champion cutting horses. Claiming them as clients would be huge.

  Maddy had been under the impression that the championship trainers were a husband and wife team. Husband had come along, and stood next to her as the team—his wife and his brother—examined the mare.

  “She’s a Morgan,” Rafe Lassiter said, his manner relaxed as he leaned against the paddock railing next to her.

  Maddy turned her attention to him and responded to his easy smile. “She is, and it comes down from both sides. Her dam is Annabel, bred out of the Chamberlain Bay Ranch of Texas. She traces her Morgan blood lines back to Woodbury, one of the original Justin Morgan sons. Her sire is Desperate Wager, owned by the Kinsmores.”

  “Outside of Boulder,” Rafe said, returning his focus on his wife.

  “Yes. Her dam has the stronger Morgan links. Her sire is more Quarter Horse, and with a trace of Arabian thrown in for good measure.”

  Arabella chose that moment to nod her head and put her face into Mrs. Lassiter’s hands. Maddy felt that lump burning and swallowed it back. It looked like her little girl had already taken to the woman.

  “Your wife has a way with horses. She’s already got a reputation as a champion trainer. Is she a whisperer?”

  “Not by training, just by nature. Hard to believe my Becca sat her first horse only three years ago.”

  Three years? “I’m speechless.”

  Rafe’s grin flashed. “Most people are. Travis and I were more or less born to the saddle. Becca was born for it.”

  The two Lassiters in the paddock examining Arabella stood back, speaking quietly.

  The woman—Becca—turned away and approached.

  “She’s a beauty.”

  “She is.” Maddy felt what she imagined to be maternal pride swelling inside her. This was the reason she’d gone into the horse business. She looked at Arabella and knew this horse had been destined to make her mark. She imagined that in the hands of a proven trainer like Rebecca Lassiter, Arabella would become the champion she deserved to be. Time, now, to help make that happen.

  “She’s got tremendous spirit in her; I can tell you right now she’d much rather run than work.”

  Rebecca Lassiter laughed. “Well, so would I, come to that.”

  Her brother-in-law joined them. Travis Lassiter seemed the quiet sort. The Lassiter men had obviously been blessed with superior genes. If Maddy wasn’t already involved she’d consider flirting with him.

  “She’s only had minimal training?” he asked.

  “I’ve introduced her to halter and lead, but not saddle.”

  “She’s beautiful. Her dam is Annabel? I nearly bought that horse three years ago. I had just begun to put together our training program, then.”

  “Horse people. Small world.” Maddy smiled. She found herself liking all three Lassiters.

  “It is indeed,” Travis agreed. “So much so that I have to ask, is that Knight Shadow you have over in the other paddock?”

  “You have a good eye, Mr. Lassiter. He’s standing stud for three of my ladies.”

  “We’d be interested in the results of that. You have good stock, Ms. Dalton, and from what I’ve seen a good hand for breeding. We’ve got our own program, but we’re interested in keeping variety in the blood lines.”

  That was high praise coming from someone as well established as Travis Lassiter. They knew the price she wanted for Arabella, had known it before taking the trouble to come and look at the horse. Now, though it did tug at her heart, Maddy closed the deal.

  “Would you care for some coffee?” They’d have to go up to the house anyway and do the paper work.

  “I’d love some,” Rebecca said, pre-empting the men.

  Maddy could see Travis had more interest in his surroundings and her breeding program than in a cup of coffee. She looked over toward the foaling barn. Chase had come out of it and would be on his way to saddling up and joining Charlie and Pat in the middle pasture. She raised her hand to get his attention.

  His ready smile got her insides fluttering. He joined them, nodding and shaking hands as she introduced him to her guests.

  “Do you have time to show Travis around? He and his sister-in-law just bought Arabella for their cutting business. He noticed Shadow visiting us and is interested in our program.”

  “Be glad to, Maddy.”

  “Appreciate the kindness, Ms. Dalton.”

  “Maddy, please. Come on up to the house when you’re done. I had our cook throw together some snacks, and the coffee is fresh.”

  * * * *

  Chase didn’t say anything for a long moment, instead waiting for Maddy and the others to get out of earshot. He’d recognized the man as he’d approached, of course. Not knowing the entire context of his presence, he’d kept the recognition off his face. He tried to think of a good first line, but Travis beat him to the punch.

  “I just finished agreeing with Maddy that it was a small world, and damned if that isn’t an understatement. Are you on assignment here?”

  Chase smiled. “No. I was about to ask you the same thing until Maddy explained. This is home for me. I only worked for the government for a couple of years. While it seemed an interesting career move at the time, I discovered it wasn’t the career for me. I never connected you to the Lassiters Maddy mentioned. Are you still on the job?”

  “Resigned when my dad died so I could come home and help my brothers run the ranch. Missed the open range. Then I got elected sheriff in Barstow a couple years ago.”

  “Once a lawman, always a lawman—and this way, you get to have both worlds.”

  “More or less. Does your woman know you did some undercover work for Uncle Sam?”

  It didn’t surprise Chase that Travis had picked up on the vibes between him and Maddy. Travis Lassiter was one of the sharpest men he’d ever met. So sharp, that Travis gave him a look that said he knew where Chase was coming from completely. That kind of awareness on the part of others had never been a threat to Chase. “Haven’t mentioned it yet. I may end up having to, though, as I asked a friend who also happens to be a former colleague for a favor.”

  “Oh yeah? Trouble?”

  “You want that tour? I can fill you in as we walk.”

  “Sure, might as well.”

  Chase gave Travis many of the sam
e details he’d shared with Philip, because in his opinion you could never have too much potential back-up. He and Lucas had both asked Maddy last night what was bothering her. She’d waved off their concerns, denying anything was amiss. They both knew something had to be because she never once mentioned Marsh’s visit yesterday afternoon.

  He understood her need to be in control of her life, even appreciated to some extent that the need had driven her to be so circumspect. From what Lucas had told him, she’d had to carry too heavy a load all by herself for far too long. There’d been times in the past when she’d depended on her father to do certain things only to have him let her down. Or worse, the man had on occasion created new problems that had nearly had disastrous consequences. In short, in his later years her father had been a huge burden on her ability to cope with the day-to-day running of the ranch. She’d learned that things got done quicker and better if she just did them herself.

  Maddy needed to learn that she could lean on Chase and Luc a little. She needed to understand they would never let her down. That would take time. But he didn’t think it wise to let her get away with lying to them.

  “You’ve met the man. How did you read him?” Lassiter asked, speaking of Marsh.

  “Pure bully. He wants something, that’s a given. I’m hoping there’s something somewhere we can use as leverage to get him to back off and leave her alone.”

  “Well, if he’s a bully he likely has a string of victims behind him.”

  “Yeah, that’s what I’m thinking.”

  Chase introduced Travis to the three mares that comprised the latest phase of Maddy’s breeding program. Francesca was already likely pregnant and the other two mares had been scheduled to be serviced in the next few days. Both Moon Dancer and Selestial had strong bloodlines that showed in their straight clean legs, and beautiful confirmation. Moon Dancer was a glistening chestnut, Selestial a dazzling black.

  “Her dad made his name as a cattleman, but Maddy’s heart is with her horses. We’re still maintaining a cattle operation, but she believes diversification is the key to survival.”

  “Well, she’s got you in her corner. What did they call you on Wall Street? Mr. Magic? I do know you’re a genius at financial structure and planning, which is what made you so valuable for that undercover Op with Treasury.”

  Chase shook his head. If he didn’t know better, he’d say Travis Lassiter was flirting with him. But he did know better because Travis was as straight as they came, so he just laughed. “Maddy knows I have an MBA and that I worked in New York, but that’s the extent of it.”

  “Well, my lips are sealed. Reckon we’d best head up to the house. If you like, I can put out my own feelers with regard to Kevin Marsh. See what I come up with.”

  “Appreciate that. He might just be a persistent little prick who needs nothing more than to be put in his place. But something about him raised my hackles.”

  “Never discount instincts,” Lassiter advised as they headed toward the ranch house.

  “Words to live by,” Chase agreed.

  * * * *

  Something was bothering her men. That thought penetrated Maddy’s consciousness as she watched Chase and Lucas play at eating their dinner.

  She’d been so flushed with her success that afternoon—the money she’d gotten for Arabella had been a hefty amount—that she’d actually cooked dinner in her kitchen for the three of them.

  It wasn’t something she’d likely do too often. Especially with Chase around because he was a much better cook than she. But Maddy had wanted a small celebration with the two people who meant the most to her. So she’d told Bill she needed to have a meeting with Luc and Chase and to not bother holding dinner for them. He’d grumbled, of course, but then he always did. There’d been times in the last few months especially when she had needed to sit with her foreman and discuss ranch business. Because they were short handed, dinner had proven the best time of day to do that.

  Maddy looked up from her food, her eyes moving from Luc to Chase. Something was definitely off with them. She didn’t think they’d had a fight, or anything like that. They didn’t seem to have any problem between them.

  Considering all she had on her mind at the moment—parting with a horse she’d raised since birth and Kevin Marsh’s ugly ultimatum never from her thoughts—she thought it a testament to her feelings for the both of them that she noticed their moods.

  Her first and only instinct was to do whatever she could to fix whatever troubled them.

  Was that love?

  The few men she’d dated in the past had left her thoughts the moment they left her sight. She had her life, her responsibilities and her work, and anything else had always been secondary. She controlled her own life, and really had never given a good deep damn for anyone or anything else.

  Until now.

  Now she thought of these two men often—Lucas with his quiet, strong manner and Chase with his sometimes brash boldness. They represented a contrast in personalities, no doubt about it. And each of them fed a need in her. Each of them, in his way, completed her.

  Chase made her laugh, dared the hidden child in her to play, to reach and touch and feel. Lucas comforted and nurtured that part of her that felt battered by life and the world in general. In them, with them, she felt connected and included in a way she never had with anyone before.

  Oh God, she was in love with them both!

  “You want to tell us what’s been up your ass for the last couple of days?”

  That question from Chase startled her, made her blink. His voice held an edge that spoke of having reached a limit of some sort. “Excuse me?”

  “You heard the question. We’re not hearing the answer.” Lucas sounded equally miffed. Maddy felt totally confused.

  “Me? I was just wondering what was bothering the two of you!”

  “What’s bothering us is what’s bothering you. Chase said it. You’ve been upset since we came back from Gunnison the other day. Care to tell us why?”

  Maddy felt her heart thud in her chest. She thought she’d been better at hiding her emotions than that. The hair on the back of her neck began to bristle. She wasn’t used to having anyone question her in the way these two seemed determined to. She might love them but that didn’t give them the right to ride roughshod over her. She was entitled to some privacy, wasn’t she?

  Still, the feelings she had for them did temper her response. “It’s nothing, really,” she lied. “Marsh paid me another visit, and I let it get to me. He’s just one of those people—he can push my buttons and get under my skin faster than anyone I’ve ever met. I guess I’ve just got to develop a thicker skin.”

  “I see.”

  And in those two words Lucas conveyed a wealth of disappointment that made Maddy’s chest hurt. He leveled a look at her and she wanted to crawl under the table. He looked away from her and said, only, “Chase?”

  The younger man pushed back from the table and left the kitchen. She didn’t even have time to wonder where he went when he returned, a brown envelop in his hands.

  Everything inside Maddy froze with fear and shame. Recognizing the envelop Kevin had given her she slowly got to her feet. “You had no right to invade my privacy!”

  Chase simply raised one eyebrow. “This afternoon, you asked me to put the file on Arabella in your office while you showed the Lassiters out. When the drawer to the filing cabinet closed, this fell off the top, and the photograph slid out. I fully intended to simply slide it back inside. Until I caught a glimpse of it. I know a surveillance photograph when I see one. And I know a drug deal in progress when I see one. And, being the clever person that I am I put two and two together and figured out that Marsh gave you this the other day. You want to tell us what the hell is going on here?”

  Maddy didn’t think she imagined the derisive tone in Chase’s voice. She looked from him to Lucas, and felt her belly clutch. In the face of their disapproval, everything inside her froze. It looked and felt as if they
were standing in judgment of her.

  “You think I deal drugs?” The outrage exploded from her, drowning out the pain of their expressions, chasing every other emotion away.

  “Do we look stupid? We know you don’t deal drugs. What we’re waiting to hear is what this is all about.”

  Lucas didn’t even look at the photo, which meant Chase must have told him about it. They’d been discussing her personal business behind her back, and they had no right to do that.

  “It’s none of your business.” The words came easily, the attitude a comfortable friend. She was in a mess and had no idea what the hell to do about it, but she didn’t expect—couldn’t expect—anyone to get her out of it but herself. And she sure as hell didn’t want anyone telling her what to do as if she was some sort of brainless twit who couldn’t even manage her own life. She sure as hell didn’t want these men throwing their testosterone-laden weight around as if her having taken them to her bed gave them the right to run her life.

  “The hell it isn’t our business!” Lucas got to his feet and she didn’t think she’d ever seen him so angry. “You are our business, lady, everything about you is our business. Don’t you know that by now?”

  “Just because we have sex doesn’t give you the right to run my life!”

  “Is that all we are to you, Maddy, really? A couple of cocks that you can use when the urge strikes, and nothing more? People you can fuck when you’re horny but be kept in their place otherwise?”

  Outrage wasn’t only hers, she could see that now. The look of it on Chase as he stood yelling at her cut right through her, to her very heart. Knee-jerk. She let her temper and her ego get in the way of her brain. Chase’s words shamed her.

  “No! I’ve never thought that. You don’t understand! This doesn’t have anything to do with you—with us. This is personal. This is something I have to handle alone.”

  “You’re the one who doesn’t understand, Maddy. You don’t understand anything at all. But you know where you can find us when you figure it out. Come on, Chase. We’re out of here.”