Special Cowboy Menage Collection

by Morgan Ashbury

  “Come on, darlin’. Take a chance,” James finished.

  A shiver coursed down her spine. It wouldn’t be the first time she’d done something totally impulsive. But it sure as hell would be the most interesting. And hell, when it came right down to it, either way the cards fell, how could she possibly lose? She was an unattached adult woman with a growing itch and time on her hands.

  She answered them both, but directed her words to the one she sensed was in control. “All right, Ace. Cut the cards.”

  Chapter Four

  Jonathan wasn’t much of a card player. Usually. He and James enjoyed a division of responsibilities. He took the lead on the ranch while James was in charge at the casino. He supposed, really, that of the two of them and in most things, James had always been the leader, and he the follower.

  That had never bothered him. What most people never got about them is that they weren’t so much copies of each other as they were mirror images. James was more outgoing, easier with people, and smoother with the words. Jonathan was quieter by nature, but a bit more able to tune into other’s emotions.

  He and his twin made a damn good team, and Tabitha Lambert suited them both.

  The sound of cards being shuffled called his attention back to the present. They were in one of the private card rooms located just off the main gaming floor. The table was kidney shaped, with a well for the dealer, a tray to hold plenty of chips, and room for seven players.

  Whether by design or just fate, they sat with Tabitha between them. James would receive the first card, and he himself the last.

  “Just player’s chips,” James said to the young man who stood as dealer. “We’re not playing for money. And since we’re only going to play one hand, we’ll suspend the usual blind open and raise.”

  “Just one hand, Sir?” Curiosity lit the dealer’s face, but he didn’t press beyond the one question.

  James shot him a huge smile. “Just the one, Billy.” Trust James to know the young man’s name. “And don’t worry, you’ll get the going rate.”

  Dealers pulled out of rotation on the floor to deal in the private rooms got a special tip. If he knew his brother, Billy was going to make out very well for the few minutes he’d be working in here.

  “Thank you, Sir. Cut?” He offered the deck to James, but his brother passed the honor to Tabitha.

  Tabitha placed the colored marker card about a third of the way into the deck. Billy then shuffled and dealt.

  Jonathan waited until his brother and Tabitha looked at their cards first. Neither gave a clue as to what they’d been dealt. One day he would love to watch an honest-to-God poker game between his twin and the engaging Ms. Lambert. He’d bet they’d match each other, bluff for bluff.

  Jonathan looked at the two cards he’d been dealt. A pair of sixes. Gold or garbage, James would say, depending upon the flop.

  “I’ll open. Ten.” James set the chips in the center of the table.

  “And five more.” Tabitha’s voice was cool.

  “Hell, I didn’t even do anything and already it’s costing me more,” Jonathan said that with a smile tugging at his mouth.

  “Everything costs, Jonathan.”

  Tabitha’s tone was kind, and when she looked at him, he gave her a wink. “True. But some things cost more than they should have had to, darlin’. That is going to change.”

  An expression of calculation replaced the complacency she’d worn. Good. He might not be as slick as Ace over there, but he was a force to be reckoned with.

  He tossed his fifteen chips into the center. Jonathan added the five he’d been raised.

  “The flop,” Billy announced as he dealt three cards and turned them face up in the designated area on the table close to the chips.

  The six of diamonds, Ace of diamonds, and ten of clubs stared back at him.

  Most people couldn’t read his brother at the poker table, but Jonathan wasn’t most people. James was awfully pleased with the flop.

  And Tabitha—unless he was mistaken—was not.

  “Another ten.”

  “Call.”

  Jonathan nodded, and tossed his ten into the pot. Without seeming to, he watched Tabitha. She looked at her hole cards, then shot side-ways glances to first James, and then him.

  “The turn card,” Billy announced as he dealt one more card face up. The Ace of clubs, which gave him a full house, sixes over Aces. James looked pretty pleased with the card, too.

  “Fifty,” he announced, moving that many chips into the pot.

  Tabitha looked at him, then turned and looked at Jonathan.

  She closed her eyes, then sighed. “The river card isn’t going to change the outcome of this game. I fold.” She tossed her two cards face down toward Billy.

  Quick as a wink he scooped them. Jonathan nodded, then repeated Tabitha’s move.

  He had no problem letting his brother stand as the outright winner of this particular game.

  James likewise gave his cards to the dealer, and got to his feet. He held Tabitha’s chair, then looked at him. Jonathan caught his unspoken message and nodded.

  “We’ll help you get your things,” James said quietly.

  Jonathan smiled. The cards might be in the hands of the dealer, but the game was definitely on.

  * * * *

  Phyllis Demeter looked up from her conversation with one of the croupiers to watch as the Kellers escorted that blonde out of the private gaming room and across the lobby.

  “Excuse me, Peter.” She left her employee and followed after the small procession, planning to corner James once the tart—whoever she was—had left.

  The appearance of the woman earlier had disturbed Phyllis. James—at least she was reasonably certain it had been James she’d been speaking to—had left her cold, practically in mid-sentence when she’d arrived. Then Phyllis discovered that after being holed up with her in one of the meeting rooms, both brothers had taken her into one of the private gaming rooms. She’d seen to it that Billy had covered the action there, and knew she’d get a report from him later.

  But for now, she meant to pick up where she left off with James. He was wearing a tie, and the other one was not, so the man she’d been speaking to had to have been James.

  Wish they’d both wear their damned name badges all the damn time. Then at least she could be certain which one was James and which Jonathan.

  It was James she wanted, of course. James was the one with the smarts, as far as she could tell. He also seemed to enjoy the city more than his brother did. Oh, if she had a cowboy kind of fantasy she might think about giving Jonathan a ride. But he was a rancher, and Phyllis considered herself an avowed urbanite.

  How those two brothers got along so well was totally beyond her.

  Just as Phyllis crossed in front of the front desk, she realized the Kellers were leaving. As she watched, one of them stroked his hand down the blonde’s back in what looked like an intimate gesture. The other took her hand and walked with her in one direction while the brother who had petted her went in another.

  Well, what the hell?

  “Ms. Demeter, may I help you?”

  Phyllis turned and gave one of her best smiles to the young man assigned to the concierge desk. His name was Kevin, and he’d been with the casino only a few months. A recent college graduate, he was fresh faced and eager as a young puppy to please. And she’d bet he knew who was who and what was what. She’d noticed he paid attention to his surroundings.

  “Good afternoon, Kevin. No, unfortunately, there’s nothing you can do to help. I was hoping to catch Mr. Keller before he left. Nothing urgent. Unless…you don’t happen to know who that young woman was with them? She looked awfully familiar, but I simply can’t come up with a name. It must be middle age setting in.”

  “You’re still young, Ms. Demeter. Actually, I believe the woman is an agent for the Bureau of Land Management. Earlier, Jasmine said she had to courier documents for her over to the BLM office in Carson City.”r />
  Ranch business. “That’s it. Thank you, Kevin.”

  “Any time, Ms. Demeter.”

  Phyllis turned away, a sense of relief settling over her. Not personal, then. She dismissed the gestures she’d witnessed. She’d noticed in the past two years that the Kellers were both what she would call “touchy-feely” kind of men. Not with their staff, of course, but with friends and relatives.

  That thought caused a frown to crease her brow. Maybe the blonde bimbo was more to one of them than just a professional contact. The relief that had so recently settled over her fizzled.

  It would be wise, she mused, to find out just who that woman really was and what her connection was to the Kellers. Phyllis had a plan, and it was well past time for her to put that plan into action.

  She made good money managing this casino. It was by far the largest establishment she’d run in her career to date. She did a hell of a good job too, if she did say so herself. But she wanted more out of life than to be a casino manager—an employee. She wanted to be the owner. And the best way to do that, she’d decided when she’d celebrated her thirty-fifth birthday two months ago, was to marry the boss.

  She was an intelligent, confident woman. James Keller wasn’t bad to look at. Neither, when it came right down to it, was she.

  Phyllis knew how to use her femininity when she had to, and she’d never met a man who could resist her when she’d set her mind on having him.

  She’d have James Keller well in hand before the year was out. So she’d make some phone calls and see what she could find out about that female who worked for the government.

  One thing was certain: no blonde bimbo was going to mess things up for her.

  * * * *

  Tabitha pulled her car into the garage. The electric door slowly closed as she turned off the engine. Inside, she was shaking with need. She refused to think about what she had just done, what she had just agreed to do.

  The man beside her reached over and stroked her arm. “We need to go in so you can let Jonathan in the front door.”

  “Yes.” Her shaking intensified as she left the car and entered the house, James Keller close on her heels. Tabitha nearly smiled, thinking she was even hornier right at this moment than she’d been the day before on her mad rush to her assignation with Sol.

  What she was about to do—willingly, even eagerly—was going to be a hell of a lot more satisfying than playing with her dildo in the shower.

  As she opened the front door to admit the man who stood there waiting, one thought zipped across her mind. My God, I haven’t even kissed either one of them yet.

  Jonathan proved how tuned in to her he was at that moment. He stepped forward, dropped something he’d been carrying, and cupped her face in both his hands. “There you are, Tabby-cat.”

  His words brushed her lips just before his mouth settled on hers. Oh my God. His flavor flooded her senses, a tidal wave of ambrosia that snaked through her blood to the pit of her belly. Heat swamped her body as a million hormones were released to run amok through her system. Pleasure and arousal became one when Jonathan swirled his tongue against her lips, when she opened to him. Velvet strokes stoked the fire of her passion. Her tongue danced with his, as eager to drink him as he seemed to be to drink her. Tabitha’s nipples hardened, and her panties caught the moisture dripping from her sex.

  Her knees weakened, and she would have slumped to the floor if James hadn’t pressed his body against her back just then. He slipped his arm around her waist, his hot palm open and pressed against her blouse.

  The twin sources of heat sent a delicious vibration humming in her blood. Jonathan weaned his mouth from hers, and she whimpered at the loss.

  Then strong male arms turned her around and a second set of masculine lips claimed hers. Spicy and rich, James’s kiss tasted as potent as his brother’s and proved just as flammable. Her arms wound around his neck as her mouth opened, eager to take his essence in. Hot and wet, James’s tongue stroked and delved in a rhythm that was heavy, slow, and deep. Trusting the arms that came around her from behind, she let herself be supported by one man as she kissed another, surrounded by the heat of them both. Their scent went straight to her head, a primitive recognition that demanded she open herself completely to their possession.

  Jonathan’s left hand held her up while his right caressed her breasts through the fabric of her blouse.

  “You’re so hot for us Tabby-cat,” James purred the same pet-name Jonathan had given her. He reached a hand down and pressed it against her clothing, right at the apex of her thighs.

  Tabitha couldn’t hold back her cry of need, she couldn’t help but roll her hips forward, wanting more than that teasingly light touch.

  “Did you bring the condoms out of the truck?” James asked of his brother.

  “Got the box and our stuff right here, James.”

  Tabitha hadn’t noticed that he’d brought a black travel bag in with him. But she’d heard a thunk just before his lips had taken hers. He must have dropped it as soon as he’d set foot in the door.

  “We want to stay the night, darlin’. Our first night together, here where there’ll be just the three of us. Hope you’ve got a good sized bed.”

  “This is moving so fast,” she said, a moment’s hesitation licking at her nerves.

  “You can say no at any time, Tabitha. Bet or no bet, you know that, right?”

  Damn them for putting the ball and the responsibility firmly in her hands. A part of her wanted them to just sweep her away. Wasn’t that how she came to be exactly where she was standing?

  But she was a woman who owned her decisions, always. She had no way of knowing how this was going to play out, or where she would be at the end of it all. But for now, her body craved both these virile men.

  There was no reason not to take what was being offered. No. That sounded wimpy as hell. She would be honest with herself, and these men with whom, somehow, she had connected on a very basic level almost instantly.

  “I don’t want to say no. I’ve never taken two lovers at the same time—never thought I ever would, though I can’t deny a fantasy or two. I don’t want to say no,” she repeated, making sure her gaze met each of theirs. “I want you both. I want you both every single way I can have you.”

  “Well then.” Jonathan gave her a hug at the same time he bent down and nuzzled her ear. James reached forward and began to undo the buttons of her blouse.

  “We’ve never shared a woman before, either. But it feels right. You feel right.” James’s words reverberated in the pit of her belly where they fluttered and aroused.

  “Let’s move our party to the bedroom,” Jonathan suggested. He slid his arm from around her, allowing her the freedom to stand on her own two feet, and to lead.

  “It’s this way.”

  Chapter Five

  Tabitha had closed her bedroom drapes this morning against the midday sun. The house came with central air, but she liked the additional implied coolness of the semi-darkened room. She heard their footsteps behind her and stopped when she reached the bed. Turning, she faced them. Enough light remained she could see both men were aroused. Twin cocks tented the front of well fitting pants.

  Tabitha had never considered herself a voluptuary. She’d never been ashamed of her body, but neither had she enjoyed a lot of lovers. There had been a couple of men before her husband, and not a single one since. She’d never been an exhibitionist, either, and sex in the last year—before her divorce—had become pedantic and disappointing. In short, she’d considered herself at best mediocre in the bedroom.

  Jonathan and James were looking at her as if she was the hottest sex goddess of all time.

  She couldn’t begin to describe the feelings coursing through her as she finished the job James had begun of opening her blouse. Slowly, she tugged the garment from the waistband of her skirt. Two pairs of eyes watched avidly as she let the blouse fall from her shoulders to the floor.

  “Let me now, darlin’,�
�� James said. “After all, I started undressing you. And I always finish what I start.”

  One step, then another, and he stood before her, his gaze riveted on hers. The heat from his body, close yet not even touching, seared her. She drew in a shaky breath as he ran a feather-light touch down her chest. He dipped a finger under the edge of her bra, teasing her right nipple. The explosion of heat in her womb and a second release of moisture between her legs made her whimper.

  “You’re so sensitive to our touch. I watched you melt when Jonathan touched you, and now you’re melting for me. What an incredible turn on.”

  She felt like she was two women. One stood transfixed, aroused, ready to combust as James reached behind her with one hand and flicked open the hooks on her bra. The other could see the effect watching her with his brother was having on Jonathan. Knowing that she had both these men in thrall made her feel her power as a woman in a way she never had before.

  “Please,” she couldn’t take the craving and not having, not for one second more. Her bra hit the floor, and she reached for James’s hands and gave him her breasts.

  “Yes.” She sighed her pleasure. He has magic hands. Just the caress of his fingers on her flesh had her close to rapture. She wanted more, wanted it all and growled in frustration when he teased and tantalized, when his fingers grazed, his hands cupped, then released.

  “You need to learn some patience, Tabby-cat.”

  Tabitha had closed her eyes to better enjoy the sensations shivering through her. At the sound of Jonathan’s voice, its nearness, she opened them to find him standing before her. James had moved a bit to her right to make room for his brother.

  Jonathan reached behind her, his hand caressing her naked back and coming to rest at the edge of her skirt. One twist of his fingers and she felt the button on her skirt give way. Moments later the garment pooled on the floor around her ankles. Twin hisses told her the men liked her stockings and garters, and her very tiny thong.