Valentine Cowboys

by Cat Johnson

  “Melody.” Dakota cleared his throat after his voice came out sounding a little hoarse.

  “Yeah.” She swung her gaze to him, looking pissed off, at what he wasn’t sure. At him for being a dick? At herself for her rant, which didn’t get a rise out of him?

  “If you still want both Justus and me, like you say, then I’m up for it. But here’s the thing—it’s going to be with both of us, or nothing at all, and it’s not going to end at just a kiss. We’re men. We’re not ten years old any more. The decision is yours.” Dakota folded his arms. He glanced at Justus and saw he’d gone pale. “Right, bud?”

  Justus stared wide-eyed at Dakota. He visibly swallowed and then opened his mouth but it took a few seconds for any sound to come out. “Uh, right.”

  He didn’t sound all that sure of his answer, and he looked even more uncertain than he sounded, but Justus had said the word and that was good enough for Dakota.

  Dakota turned back to Melody, surprised she was still here. “Well?”

  She treated them to a crooked grin and shook her head. “You two don’t have the balls to really do what you’re suggesting.”

  “Oh, no?” Dakota’s eyebrows shot up beneath the brim of his hat. No one said that to him and got away with it. “Try us.”

  “Fine. Let’s go.” Melody tipped her mug and downed the remains of her beer. She turned toward the door, and then glanced over her shoulder at them. “You coming or are you too afraid?”

  Oh, they’d be coming all right, in more ways than one. “Now, now. Don’t be so impatient. Just finishing my beer, darlin’. Can’t let good alcohol go to waste.” Dakota glanced at Justus, clutching the mug like a lifeline. “Finish that and let’s go.”

  “Are you sure about this?”

  “Hell yeah, I’m sure. She’s bluffing.” Dakota kept his voice low and hid his mouth behind his big glass beer mug.

  “You think?” Justus sent him a shocked look.

  “Yup.” In Dakota’s experience, girls like Melody were big talkers and master manipulators, but when push came to shove, they were not doers.

  “And what if she’s not bluffing?”

  Dakota didn’t think that was an issue at all, but now that Justus mentioned it, his cock was starting to wake up just at the idea. “Then we’ll have a hell of a night to look back on when we’re old and married.”

  Justus’s eyes remained opened wide. Finally he glanced at Melody, standing by the door and looking impatient, and let out a long, slow breath. “Okay. Let’s go.”

  Dakota grinned and downed the last sip of beer.

  Beer mugs abandoned on the table, the two grabbed their jackets off the back of their chairs and headed for the door. As they got near, Melody cocked one brow. “So, where we going to do this? If we do this at all.”

  Dakota ignored her final dig. “Well, you’re staying with family, so it’ll have to be our place, I guess.”

  “At the Maverick’s?” Justus’s tone of voice had risen so high, it actually squeaked.

  “Sure, why not? Blue’s still away. Mrs. Jones is in the main house and she’ll be asleep by now anyway. We’ve got the whole bunkhouse to ourselves.”

  “I don’t know.” Justus shook his head, still looking doubtful.

  “Me either.”

  Dakota spun to Melody when she voiced her own doubt. He cocked a brow. “Oh really? Having second thoughts, are you?”

  “The only thing I’m having second thoughts about is being in a vehicle with either of you driving after all the beer you drank. The Maverick place is far from here.”

  He frowned. “Not that far. And we had two beers each over the last two hours. We’re both fine to drive. If you’re that worried, then you can drive.”

  She was making excuses to get out of this, but Dakota wasn’t going to let her off the hook that easily. As Justus watched speechless, which was probably for the better, Dakota dug the keys out of his jeans pocket. He held them out to her.

  She eyed the keychain dangling before her for a second and then shook her head. “No, it’s fine. If you really only had two, you can drive. That one beer I drank went to my head already anyway.”

  Ah-ha. So now she was pretending to be drunk from one beer. That way she could use that as an excuse for backing out of taking on both him and Justus at once. Clever girl, but not smarter than Dakota. He knew all the tricks girls used and he wasn’t going to let her play him, or Justus, ever again.

  Dakota pulled the keys back into his palm. “Okay. I’ll drive. Let’s go.”

  “What about her car?” Justus asked as Dakota pushed open the front door and held it for Melody to walk through.

  ”We’ll bring her back here to her car later.” Not that Dakota thought they’d even get out of the parking lot before she backed out of this. He eyed her. “Okay?”

  “Fine with me.”

  Wow, she was sticking it out longer than he thought she would. That’s fine. He’d take care of this once and for all as soon as they were in the privacy of his truck. Once she was sandwiched between them in the front seat, she’d run away fast enough. Dakota clicked open the locks on the truck. “Hop on up, darlin’.”

  With a backward glance at both of them, she reached for the handle to hoist herself inside. Dakota decided to help her, or perhaps unnerve her. Either way, he planted both palms on her nicely shaped ass cheeks and gave her a boost. She shot him a frown over her shoulder. He grinned back and rounded to the other side of the truck.

  Once the three of them were seated, he in the driver’s seat, Melody in the middle and Justus next to her, Dakota turned to them both. “So before we head to our place, I think we need to get one thing out of the way.”

  “What’s that?” Justus glanced at him with the same expression of mixed misery and fear he’d worn since Dakota had suggested this in the bar.

  “That kiss. Or rather kisses. They’ve been a long time coming. Melody’s been waiting for this for twelve years. You first, Justus.”

  “Me?” His eyes flew wide again. He glanced from Dakota to Melody.

  “Yup,” Dakota said.

  “You okay with that?” Justus glanced at Melody.

  “Fine.” Her voice held a bravado Dakota would bet his paycheck was fake, but she turned in her seat toward Justus.

  Stubborn to the end. Dakota shook his head, begrudgingly impressed with her ability to hang in there through his every challenge so far. “Go on, Justus. Kiss her. I’m waiting for my turn next.”

  With a glance at Dakota, Justus drew in a visibly shaky breath and then leaned in toward Melody. While Dakota waited for her to call it off, their lips touched, then more than their lips as Justus cupped her face in his hands. She didn’t pull away, but then again, Justus had always been the less aggressive of the two of them. Dakota had always been more likely to take a girl home from the bar and try to fuck her, while Justus was the type to ask a girl for her number and then take her out to dinner before he’d even kiss her. Justus had only ever slept with two girls in his life, and both of them he was dating seriously at the time.

  It would have to be Dakota to force Melody’s hand and scare her off, not Justus. He probably wasn’t even using any tongue for this kiss. Dakota could remedy that, as soon as Justus finally finished up already.

  As he watched, Justus angled his head and moved his hands into her hair. Maybe he was getting more into this than Dakota thought he would. That was fine. He could wait. Or hell, maybe he shouldn’t wait. Wasn’t that the point of a threesome—all three of them together?

  Dakota leaned forward and slid his hands around her waist. She was tiny around the middle in comparison to her well-rounded hips and butt, not to mention her tits, which even though she had a jacket on the whole time, he had seen were nice. He felt her breathing as her stomach rose and fell beneath his touch.

  He moved higher to cup the bottom of her breasts and felt her draw in a sharp breath. Yup, he’d surprised her. Good. Time to up the game a bit more. As Justus continued
to work her mouth, Dakota slid his right hand down, over the crotch in her jeans until he was cupping her pussy through the denim. Waiting for her to slap his hand away, he began to rub. Only she didn’t slap him. Hell, she kissed Justus harder as Dakota felt her breathing increase.

  He moved his left hand up and bit and felt her nipple, hard and peaked beneath her shirt. His cock grew. He wrote it off as the normal reaction of a healthy male to having a girl’s tit and pussy beneath his hands, even if she had acted like a bitch and a tease to him.

  Justus finally pulled back, just when Dakota was beginning to doubt he ever would. She turned her head and glanced over her shoulder at Dakota. He slammed his lips into hers, spinning her body as he did. As Justus sat by, wide-eyed, Dakota pressed Melody back against the seat. He angled his mouth over hers and plunged his tongue between her lips.

  As her beer-scented mouth opened to him, he began to stop hoping she’d back out of this. Kissing her felt so good right now, he could only imagine how great the rest of her would feel. In between fantasizing what he’d like to do to her, Dakota remembered Justus was still there.

  Dakota pulled back from Melody’s mouth. Beneath the beams of the overhead parking lot light, he saw her eyes were heavily lidded when she looked at him. She was into this. He swallowed hard. He could definitely be into it if she was. He glanced at Justus. He was breathing pretty heavy himself.

  “You want us to let you out so you can get into your own car and go back to your grandparents?” He’d give her one last chance. After all, as much as he would like to fuck her right now, he wasn’t the kind of man to take what wasn’t offered.

  Melody shook her head. “I don’t want to get out.”

  There was still a niggling in the back of Dakota’s mind. A lack of trust long ago instilled in him from this girl. What if she did cry date rape? They didn’t really know her anymore. She’d left when they were ten, and she’d been away from here for a long time. They couldn’t, at least they shouldn’t, bring her back to the ranch and involve the Mavericks and their job in a possible mess. He glanced at Justus. He’d agree to whatever Dakota decided. He knew that.

  “Kiss Justus again.” Dakota ran his hand between Melody and the seat and gave her a little nudge in Justus’s direction.

  Justus frowned at him. “I thought we were heading to the ranch.”

  Dakota shook his head. “Not yet. We’re fine here for now.” The lot wasn’t lit too well. The truck was parked along the edge facing the woods. No one would see them in the dark interior. He glanced at Melody. “Go on, darlin’.”

  She leaned forward and Justus wasted no time meeting her lips. Then Dakota reached around and undid the button and zipper of her jeans. Her stomach muscles jumped at his touch. He’d make more of her jump, if she wanted and didn’t stop him. He slid his hand down, inside her panties.

  Feeling the smooth, hair-free skin nearly made Dakota groan. He loved when a woman was clean-shaven. Loved to bury his face between her thighs and tongue her to orgasm, but that wasn’t going to happen here and now so instead, Dakota slipped a fingertip between her lower lips and located her clit.

  Justus pulled back from her lips and glanced down. He stared at the spot where Dakota’s hand disappeared inside Melody’s pants, before he raised his gaze to her face. Her eyes were squeezed shut as she leaned her head against Dakota’s chest.

  He dipped one finger inside her, drawing out the dampness that proved she really did want them—or at least her body did. He wasn’t sure what exactly was going on in her mind, but she sure wasn’t running away from this. He went back to rubbing her clit. In response her hips tipped forward and pressed harder against his finger.

  He dragged his gaze away from the pleasure he saw on her face in the dim light of the truck, to glance at Justus, motionless in front of them. “Justus.”

  His friend glanced up at him, looking kind of dazed. “Yeah?”

  “Your turn.” Dakota pulled his hand out of Melody’s jeans.

  Justus swallowed hard, but did as Dakota had told him to. He took his turn, turning his hand to press it against her belly, and then sliding it down, fingers first, into the front of her open jeans.

  The angle would be more awkward for Justus but he’d have to deal with it, because Dakota was enjoying the feel of Melody leaning against him, panting from his touch. In fact, he had no intention of standing by and just watching the way Justus had. There was plenty he could do.

  Dakota slid his hand beneath her shirt, then went one better and slipped beneath the smooth fabric of her bra to roll her nipple between his fingers. Her breath caught in her throat, making him smile. He moved his mouth to her neck and, after brushing her hair to the side, latched on to the skin of her throat. She tilted her head, allowing him more access. He took advantage of it by drawing her earlobe between his lips.

  Justus was breathing heavier now, and working Melody so hard, he was rocking her body in time with his arm movements. It wouldn’t be long now, judging by the tiny sounds of pleasure escaping her. Images, ideas, began to careen into Dakota’s brain. He wanted her jeans off her. He wanted to brace her naked body against his, hold her knees back and her thighs wide and watch Justus fuck her, with his fingers, his tongue, his dick, maybe all three, one at a time. As long as it was good and hard, and had Melody writhing, screaming, and begging for more as she pressed against him.

  Dakota’s dick almost throbbed just from the thought. He’d never been into watching, at least he’d never known he was, but the way he was feeling now…yeah, he wanted to watch Justus fuck her and then do it himself. He wanted it bad.

  She started to come, shaking, pushing back harder against Dakota and thrusting her hips forward at Justus. Dakota squeezed her tit harder and held her more tightly against him with his other arm.

  Melody cried and writhed under both of their scrutiny, until finally her cries slowed. Justus eased up and stopped working her as both cowboys sat dazed. She turned and reached for both of their belt buckles at the same time, one with each hand.

  Dakota was ready to burst. He’d love to open his jeans and push Melody’s mouth down over him, then watch her do the same to Justus, but he didn’t.

  “I think we need to take this slow.” Dakota was so horny, it was hard to believe he’d gotten those words to actually come out of his mouth.

  Still breathing heavily, Melody laughed. “Slow?”

  “Yeah, I know, things happened, and it sounds…strange, but that’s what I think is best. You have some thinking to do.”

  “Thinking about what?”

  “About if you’re ready for this, with us, both of us.”

  “What did we just do? This was with both of you.”

  Dakota laughed. “This is nothing. Some touching. Some kissing. You know what I’m talking about. If we go any further…well, it’s going to be a lot further. I don’t need you suddenly deciding to be with one of us and dumping the other one. You need to make sure you want this, both of us. And if you wake up tomorrow morning and decide you’re embarrassed about fucking us both, and decide we forced you somehow… Well, I’m not going to pay the price because you have regrets. Neither is Justus.”

  “You still don’t trust me, do you?” She stared up at him and he tried not to notice how swollen her lips looked from the kisses.

  “Nope.” Dakota shook his head.

  “Not even after all this.” A frown creased her brow.

  “Especially not after all this.”

  Dakota’s big brother was in the military now. He had a friend who was sitting in the brig because a girl had sex with him and then cried rape afterward when her boyfriend found out she’d cheated. Dakota may not be a college graduate, but he was smart enough to learn from other people’s mistakes—especially if it kept him out of trouble.

  He shouldn’t have let things go this far. His only excuse was he honestly had thought she’d back out before they did anything at all. Well that, and he was horny as hell, so maybe his dick had been do
ing some of the thinking for a little while.

  “You do realize, if I don’t get this job, I’m gone again next week.” Melody’s statement hung in the air, taunting Dakota. Telling him it was dumb to waste time. It could be now or never with this girl.

  He could just say what the hell and fuck her since there was a good chance they might never see her again after next week. If she got a job across the country, she might never come back to this little town. “But what if you do get the job right here in our old school? Then what?”

  She shrugged. “Then I’ll move in with my grandparents and work until I get on my feet financially, then I’ll get my own place.”

  Dakota shook his head. “Where you’re going to live isn’t what I’m worried about. If we go all the way with this, and then you get this job, I’m having trouble believing you’d be okay living in a town with both of us, knowing we all had sex together.”

  More importantly, would Dakota be able to see her—at the bar, walking down the street, sitting in a pew in church—and not get hard as a rock from the memories? Doubtful. He’d never forget the sound of when Justus made her come, or the feel of her flesh beneath his fingers and her mouth beneath his.

  “All right. I’ll go home and consider everything on one condition. Whatever I decide, you two have to live with.”

  “Meaning what?” Dakota narrowed his eyes at her. “Because if you decide you want just me or just Justus, that’s not going to happen. It’s all or nothing. I told you that. He and I agreed no woman would ever get in the way of our friendship.” And that decision had been thanks to the very woman seated between them now, not so coincidentally.

  “That’s right,” Justus agreed.

  Melody let out a huff of air. “I understand that. What I meant was if I call you tomorrow and tell you I want both of you, then that’s what’s going to happen. If I don’t call it means I don’t want either of you and you never contact me again. If we do run into each other, this, tonight, is never mentioned. You don’t talk about it at all, ever. Not to me and definitely not to any of your buddies.”