by Brynn Paulin
Rage clenched in Jamie’s stomach, deeper than any anger he’d felt toward the suicide bomber who’d changed his life. He was on the same page with Sean, and he was sure Patrick and David felt the same.
“Guys like him trip up,” Patrick said. He looked at Jamie. “You called Joe?” he asked, referring to the sheriff.
“Yeah, I called him right away.” Jamie grinned at Rayna. “He wants your friend to get the names of the other women he’s harassed. Do you have a picture?”
“No, but it’s on the web. Some award he won.”
“Joe wants it. He used to be FBI. If there’s dirt to be found on your friend, Antonio, he’ll find it. Joe loves small town life, but trust me, something like this gets his blood going. I think he’d like a little more action, but he’s not willing to go back to the city.”
She gave him a small smile. “I’ll call Kelsey and see what she can get. She seems to know everything that happens at that bank. That’s why I wanted her to help me with this.”
Getting up, she went into the front hallway to call.
“What now?” David asked.
“We keep her safe. That shit’s not gonna take long to surface,” Jamie said.
“Probably tomorrow,” Patrick said. “I wish I had time to call Sim, but he wouldn’t get here fast enough.”
Jamie wished the same. Before taking over the garage, his brother had done a stint in the Navy, and had been a SEAL for years before he retired. He personified the laid-back life, but Jamie knew he kept up his skills. If it wasn’t illegal, Patrick could take down Antonio and bury him in the backyard before anyone was the wiser.
Sim, his ex-dive partner who now a wrote books and magazine articles on military history, was planning a move to Daly, but not for a few months.
Rayna returned and handed him a piece of paper with two names on it as well as a web address. “This what he wanted,” she said. “I hope he finds something.”
They all did. Jamie handed the paper to Patrick. “We’re going upstairs,” he said.
“Can we join you after I take care of this?” Patrick asked. He grinned. “A little diversion?”
Jamie looked at Rayna, and she nodded. “I really want to feel you holding me,” she said. “All of you. Surrounding me.”
Mostly, she wanted Jamie but the more arms she had around her the better. She was pretty sure she was falling in love with him, but she cared deeply about the others. She could be with any one of them and be happy. And that amazed her. She’d attained a soul mate and three new best friends in the space of days. She couldn’t imagine what it would be like without them in her life—an all too certain possibility for the near future. She’d leave in a few days, if not sooner. She didn’t want Antonio coming near any of them.
She bit her lip as she climbed the stairs, Jamie close behind her. Kelsey had told her that he account was cleared up. Rayna had access to her money and could use her credit cards once more. Patrick had reported earlier that her car was running, barely; it still needed major repairs, but it might it down the road.
By the time, she reached the top of the stairs, a plan had formed in her head. She had tonight with the O’Keefes, but before the sun rose, she’d leave Patrick a check for the work he’d done, write them a note and head for the next city—hopefully she could find it. Once there, she’d get a rental and head for her grandmother’s. Antonio wouldn’t find her there. Without his bank connections, it would be like a needle in a haystack—or worse. The United States was a big place, and she’d never told him much about her family who didn’t quite approve of her taking off for the east coast.
Turning, she faced Jamie, who stood a step down from her. She’d never realized how tall her was. Inches separated their mouths, and she closed the distance. Her lips covered his. Her arms wrapped his shoulders. Slowly, she explored his mouth, tasting the man she wanted forever. She breathed him in, memorized the feel of his tongue against hers. Such longing filled her that she had to squeeze shut her eyes to keep her tears from falling.
As tender need warmed her, she stepped back, her eyes still closed, her arms still around him, her lips still claiming. Jamie moved up beside her and shuffled her toward the bedroom. He pulled off her robe halfway there. By the time they were through the doorway, she’d wrestled off his shirt and had his pants open. At the bed, he shoved down his jeans then sat and pulled them off the rest of the way.
Her eyes now open, she knelt, her gaze on his prosthetic. She thumped it with her knuckles. “Wanna take this off?”
“No. I don’t know how much moving I’ll do.”
“Fair enough.” She smiled. “As long as it’s not because you’re embarrassed for me to see it.”
“Nope.”
“Good. I’d hate to have to smack you up,” she joked, then sobered. It wasn’t funny in light of her problem.
“Ray, it’s okay,” he reassured her, no doubt guessing her thoughts from her expression.
Unable to say anything, she leaned forward and took his erection into her mouth. A low moan rattled through her at the feel of his smooth skin between her lips. Her stomach sucked in, reacting to the instant arousal that spiked to her pussy. Slowly, she took more of him, taking his iron-like shaft as deep into her throat as she could before releasing some suction and moving back toward the head. Her tongue lashed over the head, pressing into the slit that offered her his tantalizing pre-cum.
As if the secretion was an aphrodisiac, her nipples grew tight. Her skin tingled, needing more. Cream flooded her cunt and leaked to her thighs while tiny vibrations trembled through her.
She traced his length with her tongue, descending the shaft once more, faster this time. Jamie groaned, his fingers lacing into her hair as she worked him. Groaning, he leaned back on one hand and gave her leeway to do as she would. She almost grinned. She would have anyway.
More of his pre-cum flooded her tongue, and she knew he must be close to release. She grasped his cock and worked up and down with more speed. Suddenly, she jerked as she felt lips on her back. With great effort, she didn’t let the kisses distract her from her effort as they traveled her spine. Peripherally, she saw Sean and David come to either side of her. They kissed her shoulders as each reached beneath her to fondle her breasts. They squeezed and pulled, drawing low moans as she kept at Jamie.
She squeaked as Patrick, who continued kissing her back, moved his hand between her thighs to find her clit. Her rhythm on Jamie faltered as she tried to concentrate despite the illicit sensations running through her. Regaining her pace—barely—she redoubled her efforts until Jamie jolted then cried out. His cum flooded her mouth, and she swallowed quickly to get all she could.
He wiped his thumb over her lip as she looked up at him. “Come up here,” he said then caught her under the arms. She quickly climbed onto the bed while he scooted to recline against the headboard. He drew her to lie between his legs, her back pressed to his chest. “I want to hold you while they each fuck you,” he told her. “I want to feel you move with them. I want to share each tremor that runs through your body. I want to capture your screams in my mouth.”
She almost came just then. She kissed him wildly, needing him to know how hot he made her. She heard the rip of foil then felt one of the men climb between her thighs. Turning, she watched David probe her folds with his cock. She lifted into him, showing him she wanted him. Biting her lip as she smiled, she stared into his blue eyes.
“Yes…David,” she moaned as he pushed inside. She reached for him, drawing him forward. She arched into him. Her shoulders slid against Jamie’s pecs. David sucked a nipple into his mouth while Jamie cupped her other breast and manipulated the peak.
“Darling, you feel so good,” David growled.
She undulated against him, loving the feel of his deep thrusts.
“Oh yeah, fuck him,” Jamie murmured in her ear. “Do you know how hot it makes me to feel you taking him?”
A barrage of tremors pulsed through her at his words.
> “Come, Rayna,” he whispered. “Let me feel you shake as you clench him.”
As if ignited by his command, she exploded into climax, screaming as she gushed around David. Her heels dug into the bed as she shoved into him. He grunted, finding his release. She was still convulsing as he moved to the side and his partner thrust into her hard.
“Sean! Oh God!” she gasped. Jamie’s knees lifted beside her hips and she felt his renewed arousal pressing into her back.
Sean fucked her as hard as David had, driving her to two more orgasms before he to poured into his condom. David leaned up and kissed Sean as he came. She turned her head, twisting and kissing Jamie.
“Jamie,” Patrick said. “Together?”
“Oh yeah,” Jamie replied. His mouth feathered over hers and he nipped at her bottom lip.
Sean and David left the bed. Patrick lay down beside Jamie, and Jamie turned Rayna to straddle his brother. Her cunt slid down Patrick’s wide cock and she moaned as he invaded her over-sensitized passage. Jamie moved behind her and kissed her spine as his brother had earlier. She lurched as his cool fingers rubbed over her anus. Looking over her shoulder, she saw him hand a tube back to Sean. His fingertips pressed against her.
With little choked cries, she rode Patrick while Jamie slipped a finger into her. Over and over, he thrust until he finally added a second digit then a third. She sighed when he abandoned his stroking and Patrick slipped free of her, leaving her bereft. She wanted more, so much more.
She startled when Jamie’s cock pushed to her back passage then groaned as his tip entered her. Together… This is what they’d meant. When Jamie was fully seated, stretching her as she’d never been stretched before, Patrick again entered her pussy. Her eyes went wide at the shocking sensation of two men inside her at once. She felt as if they were united, one erotic beast bent on pleasure. Her cries echoed in the room as they started to move, one in and one out in a practiced rhythm that blurred her vision.
Jamie banded his arm around her belly, holding her tight to him. Sean and David returned to the bed. They bent in and sucked her breasts. Their hands massaged up and down her thighs. Patrick bucked upward, his hands on her hips. This is what she’d asked for. All of them holding her. All of them surrounding her.
Suddenly, her body exploded out of control, lava flowing through her, her limbs shaking with the fire moving down her veins. She couldn’t move, so the men moved her, prolonging her orgasms until she wilted with the exertion, wrung out by the numerous climaxes. Her brain was mush as she hung limply in Jamie’s arms. She was only vaguely aware of Patrick’s cry as he came, followed almost immediately by Jamie’s heat filling her rectum.
She fell forward into the pillows beside Patrick. She couldn’t move as each of the men kissed her neck, then left the room—each of the men but Jamie. He sat on the edge of the bed. She heard a clunk then he laid down and pulled her into his arms. She smiled into his chest, weakly kissing his chest.
“I love you, Jamie,” she murmured.
His arms tightened. “God, I love you Rayna. I’m so happy you came to me.”
Yeah, she thought. She was glad she’d come to him, too.
* * * *
Jamie was sound asleep when Rayna got up. Regretfully, she glanced at her luggage. There was no taking it with her. Her clothes from earlier lay atop the suitcases and she grabbed them as she passed. She dressed on the way down the stairs. In the dining room, she found her purse.
Quickly, she wrote a note and made out a check for the car repair—at least what she suspected it had cost. She replaced her checkbook, pulled out her keys then shoved them in her pocket. Slinging her bag over her shoulder, she headed for the front door. Once there, she slipped on her shoes.
Sorrow filled her as she paused. Her heart hurt as if it were being gouged from her chest. Why couldn’t Antonio just leave her be? Why did she have to find the O’Keefes now when her life was in such shambles? She’d never forget them or this. And Jamie… He was emblazoned on her soul forever. It didn’t matter that she’d been in a ménage with him and three other men—there would never be another man for her, whatever the circumstance.
With tears flowing down her cheeks, she stepped outside into the utter stillness of Daly Wyoming. The bar had closed a few hours ago, and all the cowboys had made their ways home. Silence and peace followed and now reigned over the night. The stars shown overhead in a spectacular display she’d never seen elsewhere.
This place was perfect. She would have loved to call it home.
She didn’t want to leave. She wanted to stay forever. Glancing up at the house, she reminded herself why she was going. To protect the man she loved and the men for whom she held great affection. She’d rather have forever alone than have any of them hurt. That was the way it had to be.
Chapter Seven
Dread filled Jamie as he woke and discovered Rayna’s side of the bed cold. He was downstairs in minutes. His stomach sank when he saw the note and the check on the table. She was gone. He knew that before reading whatever she’d scrawled on the page. His sorrow soon turned to fury when he read the note—the impersonal note of thanks, with an apology for leaving so quickly then the added sentiment that it was for the best.
Best? The best for whom? he wondered. How could she just leave? How could she go without even saying goodbye to him? And the danger…
God, if anything happened to her, he didn’t know what he’d do.
He was still standing there clutching the note when Patrick came downstairs. “What is—Good lord, man. Underwear? The windows are wide open.” He grabbed an afghan off the couch and handed it to Jamie who was still in a stupor.
“She left in the middle of the night,” Jamie told his brother.
Had everything she’d said been a lie? No. No, she was doing this to protect him. Jamie knew that as clearly as he knew he had to follow her wherever she’d gone. He couldn’t just let her go. But how would he find her?
However he had to.
Determined, he went upstairs to get dressed. When he returned, the sheriff was in the front hall talking to Patrick while Sean and David stood nearby, listening and drinking coffee.
“Jay, you’re not gonna believe this,” Patrick said.
“What? Is Rayna still here?”
Sadness filled Patrick’s eyes as he shook his head. “It’s this Antonio guy. That’s not even his real name. Joe’s been running stuff, and I guess the jerk’s real name is Mick. He’s wanted for murder and a host of other things.”
Jamie’s blood ran cold. Murder? Dear lord, he could have killed Ryana—
God, he can’t touch her now. Please don’t let him find her.
“Have you seen anything suspicious?” Joe asked.
They all told him no. After they’d promised to contact him if Mick/Antonio showed up or anything strange happened, Joe left to patrol the town and check out the ranches as he did every morning.
Jamie went into the kitchen to get some coffee. Patrick followed.
“What are you thinking?” Patrick asked.
Jamie just looked at him for a few minutes, then poured the brew into his mug. “I’m thinking I’m an idiot. That she couldn’t feel anything for me then take off like this. And I’m thinking she must love me like she said, and that’s why she took off. And I’m desperately trying to figure out how I’m going to find her.”
“Maybe Joe’s contacts…”
He hadn’t thought of that. If Joe could find out this Antonio guy was a murderer, surely he could find out where Rayna’s family lived. A smile had just curled his lips when a pounding rattled the front door.
“Where is she!” an unfamiliar, male voice bellowed.
He and Patrick looked at one another. “Call 9-1-1,” Jamie said, already heading out of the kitchen. This man wasn’t leaving this house unless he was in handcuffs.
“What do you want?” he asked coldly as he glared at the man by the front door. Antonio had a weaselly look about him, slick and underha
nded, but perhaps that was just Jamie’s impression of the man because he hated him on sight. Well, before then truthfully. Any man who’d hit a woman—
“I want my fiancée, scarface,” Antonio sneered.
Jamie let the insult slide as he stepped into line with his cousins to block the way. “She’s not your fiancée.”
“Like hell she’s not!”
“What planet are you from, man?” Sean asked. “She broke up with your ass when you kicked the shit outta her. Truthfully, I think she shoulda cut off your dick, but she’s too sweet for that. I wouldn’t count on that kindness from us.”
“Oh, so you’re tough guys? A bunch of fags, the lot of you, and one of you is a cripple.” He stepped toward Jamie as Patrick joined the line.
“I wouldn’t, man,” he warned quietly.
“What the hell is your problem?” Antonio demanded. “Just send my bitch down here to me, and we’ll be out of your face.”
Jamie almost cold-cocked him right then and there. His hand clenched into a fist. A few more minutes and Joe would be here to collect this piece of shit.
“She is not ‘your bitch’,” Jamie growled. “She’s ours. Our woman. You got that! She belongs to us now, and you can just go to hell.”
“Why you—” He never got any further than that as he lunged at Jamie. Jamie’s fist planted in Antonio’s nose a second before he was shoved backward by the felon. Jamie reeled, but David caught him just before a sickening crack echoed through the room, followed by Antonio’s screech.
“I warned you not to,” Patrick rasped. He held the offensive man in a relentless grip, his fingers biting into the arm he’d just broken. Behind them, Joe and Rayna filled the doorway.
“Geez, O’Keefe,” Joe sighed, taking custody of the injured man. Jamie only had eyes for Rayna.
She’d come back.
She’d come back. Rayna had made it to Gillette, sobbing the whole way. By the time she’d gotten there, she was sure she’d made a mistake. Jamie said he could protect her, that she would be safe. He’d asked her to trust him. She loved him; shouldn’t she believe him?
