by Lara Jones
Clay turned her in his arms and pressed his hand against her head, tucking it up under his chin. “It’ll be okay.”
Isabel shook her head and wiped the tears from her face. “It will never be okay again.”
Royce rubbed her back. “It won’t be the normal you’re used to having, but we will make a whole new life together that can be just as wonderful.”
Isabel reached out for Royce’s hand. “You’re right. I’m just feeling so lost right now.”
“That’s understandable, Isabel,” Liam said across the table. “Both Dylan and I are working with the authorities in Dallas.” He held up a hand when fear raced across her features. “No, wait. Allister is being watched twenty-four seven. There is no way he can get to you without a hell of a lot of law enforcement people on him. He’s going down.”
Was it possible that this would be over, and soon? “I’m just afraid to hope. It’s been so long since I haven’t felt the need to look over my shoulder.”
“I can imagine. Let your men take care of you both.” Dylan stood. “We’ll keep you guys informed if something happens. Thank you again for the wonderful meal, Isabel.”
Liam stood on the sidewalk and watched the door close behind them before turning to his best friend. He recognized the look on Dylan’s face because he saw the same on his every morning in the mirror. “We’ll find her, Dylan.”
Dylan shook his head. “I’m not so sure about that.” He stood and walked toward his truck. “I’ll let you know when I hear anything. I’m heading to the office for a bit. See you at home later.”
Liam stopped him before the door opened. “Don’t give up, Dylan. Your brothers found Isabel, right? We’ll find someone too.”
“Yeah,” he said but didn’t stop or look back until he got to his truck. “Isabel’s a good woman. Hell, any woman that would run with her child for three months to protect him gets my admiration. Not many people have the guts or strength to do that.”
“You’re right about that. Hey, Dylan, why don’t we go into town to Riley’s Bar tomorrow night and hang with some of the guys?”
Dylan rubbed the stubble on his face thoughtfully. “Yeah, I could do that. Let’s talk tomorrow afternoon.”
“You got it. See ya.” Liam watched as Dylan drove off. He looked closer to giving up on their dream of finding a woman. Liam wouldn’t let that happen. They’d been talking and planning this since they were twelve, and nothing since had changed their minds, until now. Dylan thought to give up on their dream and had even talked about moving away because the pain of waiting for a woman to come along was too painful when he saw all the ménage couples around town.
Liam prayed that someday soon they’d meet theirs. But she had to come soon before Dylan walked away for good.
Chapter Twenty
Clay and Royce stood just inside the bedroom doorway and watched as Isabel rubbed lotion over her legs as she sat on the bed. Their eyes followed every movement of her hands.
Isabel turned and watched as the men stepped on either side of the bed and started undressing. “Wh…what are you doing?”
“We’re getting ready for bed,” Clay said as his fingers went to his zipper.
“But you can’t sleep in here.”
Royce sat and pulled off his boots and socks. “Why not?”
“I…I don’t think it’s proper.”
Clay pulled back the blanket and slid in before he propped himself up on his bent elbows, his hand supporting his head. “Why?”
Isabel moved over when Clay slid in on his side, but she was quickly moved to the middle when Royce lay down. “What if Tommy sees us?”
“Even if he did, he wouldn’t understand what it really meant for the three of us in bed together, and frankly he’s going to have to get used to it because it’s going to happen every night for the rest of our lives.”
Isabel glared at Royce. “Don’t I get a say in this?”
“No,” Clay said simply while Royce just smiled and slowly shook his head.
Isabel bit her lip to hold back from blasting them both. Her hot fury at their arrogance made her say things she might not have normally said. “You’re assholes, and I don’t think I want to stay with men who don’t respect me…” She squealed when Royce abruptly slid her down and pinned her to the bed.
“We’re going to get a few things straight right now,” Royce said as he let her squirm a bit before he controlled her movements with his legs on either side of hers, tugging her arms over her head and pressing them against the mattress. “Hold her hands, Clay.”
“Gladly.”
Isabel growled in frustration. “Dammit, get the hell off me, you jackass.”
Clay and Royce looked at each other with raised brows.
“She just doesn’t know when to stop.” Royce laughed. “When you’re ready to calm down and listen, we’ll talk.”
Isabel bowed her body, trying to dislodge him enough to escape, but he just pressed down harder and used his hips to open a spot between her legs big enough for his big body.
Isabel froze when his erection pressed against her pussy, making a groan tear from her throat before she could prevent it. Her anger spiked again when both men laughed. “Get the fuck off of me.”
Royce pushed himself up and pulled her over his lap before she could take a full breath. “That’s enough.” He whipped up her nightgown, pulling it over her head, and then tore the panties from her hips, leaving her naked. “Clay, you might want to shut the door because I’m guessing she’s not going to like what happens next, and we don’t want to wake Tommy up.”
Isabel used the floor to try to push herself. She yelped and froze when a hand came down on her ass, hard. “What the fu—”
Clay kneeled by her head and pushed her hair out of her face. “Stop, sweetheart.”
“No. You both can’t treat me like thi—” Royce’s hand landed again. “Goddammit, that hurts.”
Clay grinned at Royce over her head. God, she was going to be so much fun. He cleared his throat. “Isabel…”
Isabel lifted her head. “What?” she bellowed.
Royce grinned at her disgruntled tone. A laugh just about burst from him when his brother had a hard time keeping a straight face. “Do you want to spend the night fighting, or do you want us to spend it with us loving you and making you feel good?”
She screamed and started to try to wiggle free again. “Neither, you bastards. Now, let me up.”
“We will as soon as you calm down and listen to us.” Hell, this was more fun than he thought it would be. They would need to get her royally pissed at them every so often. She was highly entertaining when she was ready to kill them.
“WHAT?” she screeched. “I don’t have to listen to you. Let me up.”
Royce coughed to cover his chuckle.
Clay shook his head and sighed dramatically. “We’ll wait. You’re not ready to listen.”
“You…you ass, bastard, shit head…owwww. You fuck wads. Shit, shit, stop, goddammit.”
One smack after another rained down on her ass as she cussed them out and fought against their hold. After only a few minutes, Isabel’s energy ran out, and she lay limply over Royce’s naked lap. At that moment she wished she could reach his dick so she could bite it or she was big enough to kick both of their asses, but she knew at this time she’d have to give in to them. “Stop, stop. Please stop. I’ll be good. I promise,” she gritted out between clenched teeth. Royce stopped.
Clay caught all her hair, held it away from her face, and gently wiped off some of the sweat that had formed on her forehead from her struggle. “Are you ready to listen?”
She nodded and cringed when Royce’s hand slipped over her ass, making the already tender skin unbearably hot.
“First and the most important. You will never threaten to leave us ever again.”
Isabel shivered at the cold hardness of Royce’s voice. He’d never used that tone of voice with her before, and she didn’t like it. Her threat had hit them harder
then she thought it would.
Royce sighed. “I’m waiting, Isabel.”
“Okay.”
“Okay, what?”
“I won’t threaten to leave you guys.”
Royce’s hand slid from her butt to her lower back. “That’s a good start. Now there are a few things we need to get clear. We don’t like it when you roll your eyes or ignore us when we want your attention.”
Isabel turned her head away and rolled her eyes. “Okay, I’ll try harder.”
Her tone was mundane and sarcastic, but he let it slide for now. “You’ll more than try.”
She flung her head up to blast at them when a hand slid between her legs, and a long, broad finger slid through her juices and up into her pussy, taking her by surprise. “Ahhhh,” she panted. Hot coils of pleasure tightened deep inside her until that was all she could focus on. They held her still when she tried to move on the finger slowly pumping in and out of her. “Please.”
“We’re not done yet,” Clay said against her shoulder.
Isabel growled. “Fine. Get on with it.” She stopped moving when the men froze and stayed silent for a long moment. She waited, but they didn’t move. Even the finger inside of her stayed still, further frustrating her and making her level of anger increase.
“Clay, get the plug. The spanking doesn’t seem to be getting through to her.”
Isabel twisted, trying to follow Clay’s movements. “What the hell? What’s a plug? What are you going to do to me? Royce, tell me.”
Clay came back and handed Royce something she’d only caught a glimpse of.
The finger inside her started to move again, leaving her breathless and calming her to an extent, but she still felt the anger spin inside of her.
“Isabel, I need you to take deep breaths for me.”
Isabel tried to lever herself up to see what Royce had. “Why? What are you going to do? You’re not going to hurt me, will you?”
Clay snorted. “That doesn’t need to be answered because you already know the answer.”
“Then wha…wait, what are you doing?” She stilled as the finger in her pussy moved up and pierced her bottom. Just the very tip of his finger, but it was enough to get her attention.
“Relax, Isabel,” Royce said and put firm but gentle pressure, pushing his finger past the tight ring of muscles in her asshole.
Everything seemed to drain from her. All she could do was concentrate on the feeling Royce was giving her. She held her breath as his finger started to slowly pull out, gather more of her moisture, and then push in again.
“Damn, she’s tight. We’re going to have to spend time stretching her before she can take both of us.”
“Let me feel her.” Clay’s tone was heavy with desire.
Isabel gasped as one finger left and another pushed steadily into her. She made an incoherent sound of panic.
“I can’t wait to push my cock into her ass.” Clay moved his finger more rapidly, gathering her cream before plunging back in.
“Move, Clay, and help me hold her so we can get the plug in.”
“Awww,” Isabel groaned when the finger left her. She tensed when something else started to press into her. “That’s not a finger.”
Clay laughed. “No, that’s the plug. A very small plug.”
Isabel tensed as the pressure grew. “Stop, it burns.”
“It’s going to. Relax, Isabel. Breathe. I’m just about through the ring.”
“Awwww. Oh my God.”
“Here we go. One more push and then it’s in, and this is the smallest plug they had.”
“Oh, God.” Isabel could do nothing but lie, quivering and helpless to keep the fight going, over Royce’s lap.
Royce lifted her and laid her back in the middle of the bed. “Here comes Clay.”
“Where did he go?” She couldn’t figure out why her words were slurred and it took such effort to move her limbs.
“To wash up. The same thing I’m going to do once you’re snuggled up to Clay.”
Clay pulled her against his side and wrapped an arm around her waist and kissed the top of her head.
Isabel whimpered when Royce moved in behind her, making the plug shift inside of her. “Why are you doing this?”
“We learned a lot about you tonight, and this was the way we decided to deal with you because the spanking wasn’t working.”
“Yes, it did. It hurt like a son of a bitch.”
Royce’s hand slid over her stinging ass. “Watch it, baby. You need to stop cussing. Your mouth is too pretty to use the words you are.”
A spike of irritation raced through her, and she tried to turn to Royce but stopped suddenly when he used the palm of his hand to press against the plug in her ass.
“See. Just putting a little plug in your ass helps to settle you down,” Clay said.
“Little? Are you kidding me?”
Royce chuckled. “It really was the smallest plug they had.”
Isabel gritted her teeth. “If it’s so small, why don’t you guys put it up to you—”
Royce’s palm slid up her stomach and landed on her breast. His grip got a little tighter as the words spewed from her mouth. “Careful, sweetheart. We have bigger plugs we can use on you. You think it burns now, just wait.”
Isabel looked from one to the other. “What if I told you it hurt?”
“I’d say bullshit.”
“How would you know if it hurts me or not?”
“Because I could feel the cream sliding from your pussy the whole time I was pushing it in. You like having your ass stuffed. I can’t wait to see how you take our cocks.”
“That’s just wrong,” she groused, then winced when the plug shifted inside of her as she moved.
Clay turned her head toward him. “No, it’s not. It’s damn hot. Both Royce and I are going to spend a lot of time in your ass, and it makes it so much better when we know you love it too.”
“You can’t say I love it.”
“What your body is telling us, you certainly do.” Clay chuckled when she frowned at him.
“Look at me, Isabel.” Royce waited until he had her full attention. “There are other rules, but we’ve said enough for tonight except for this. Your and Tommy’s safety is our main concern. You are not to leave the ranch unless Clay or I am with you.”
“Just until Allister is put away, right?”
“If that makes you feel better thinking that, then yes.”
“Royce, I’ll try to be better, but you have to come to term with the fact I’m a grown woman that has her own mind, and I’m not always going to be this obedient person you’re insisting on.”
They both snorted. “I’m counting on it,” Royce rasped out.
Emotions bombarded her senses, and an apprehensive thought caught inside her head that she needed the answer to. “If there is something about my personality you guys don’t like, tell me now because I don’t want to be with anyone who wants to change me.”
Royce cupped Isabel’s cheek with his hand. “Sweetheart, there is nothing about you we want to change. We love everything. We love you.”
Love? Oh, lord. Could they love her already? Hell, the way she felt about them was just as strong. “But you are trying to change me,” she sniffed.
Clay sat up enough to see her face. “No, we’re trying to protect you and love you the best way we can. We grew up with a mother and two fathers, and everything we’re doing, we learned from them. They love the ground my mother walks on and would die for her. That’s the way it is with you.”
“I bet your fathers never did to your mother what you did to me tonight.”
Both men laughed.
“You’d lose. My mother was always getting into trouble of some sort. Hell, they got so mad at her one time, they didn’t let her leave the bed for a few days.”
Clay laughed. “And if I remember correctly, she came out of their bedroom as happy as I’ve ever seen her but trying to act angry.”
Royce s
norted. “Well, the dads gave her attention the whole time. One or both were in bed with her.” Royce sunk his hand into her hair. “Our dads always told us that when a woman was acting out, it was a bid for our attention.”
Isabel snorted and wrinkled her nose. “I wouldn’t say that. I actually think it’s chauvinistic.”
“We watched it for the last thirty-four years, and I haven’t seen a happier triad relationship, so they’re doing something right.” Clay pulled her leg up over his lap and smiled when she groaned when the plug shifted inside of her.
“How long does this have to stay in?”
The thought of being inside her made his gut clench in pain. “All night.”
Isabel gasped and turned to Royce. “How am I going to be able to sleep if I’m already tense from our fight?”
Royce moved her until she was on her back. “I can help you out with that.” His eyes caught and held hers, and he moved down the bed and then between her legs.
Isabel bowed off the bed at his tongue’s first swipe through her folds.
“Hold her, Clay.” He took one more look at her before he dropped his head. He ate at her like he was starving and didn’t stop until she had come several times and was drifting off.
Both men gathered her close between them and drifted off themselves to the sound of her deep, blissful breaths, despite the agony they were feeling.
Chapter Twenty-One
The weeks turned into a month and then another month. Summer ended, and the crisp fall air crept in.
Royce, Clay, and Isabel fell into a routine that kept them busy and at the same time gave them time for each other.
Tommy was spending a lot of time at the Collins Ranch where Sara, the nanny turned wife to the Collins’ brothers, had a small group of preschool children. Sara had taught for years and had seen a need for a preschool in the community. It had grown from just two kids to nine and from two mornings a week to four.
Liam and Dylan stopped by late one day with news that Allister had been arrested, and the judge had set no bail so the bastard would rot while he waited for his trial and would likely spend the rest of his life in prison. The trial was due to start in the next few months.
