The Maddox men had to decide for themselves whether or not they could live with her ultimatum. In the meantime, she might as well get her affairs in order for a move to Austin. She figured the chances were slim the men would agree to her conditions.
The next morning, Molly started by cleaning out her closet, sorting through clothes she’d had since high school. She packed those away in a box for the women’s shelter, along with shoes, cowboy boots and the collection of stuffed animals she’d crammed onto a back shelf.
Her brothers had Isabella. Her father wouldn’t be home for another month and Jesse lived in NYC. It was time for Molly to move out of her home. She was a grown woman and needed to establish a life of her own.
Molly carried several boxes out to her car and ran them into town before she could change her mind. There were people who needed those things more than she needed to hang on to her past.
By the early afternoon, she’d had her share of dust and cobwebs. She needed the open spaces and fresh air she could only get by taking her horse out for a ride. Out in the barn, she mucked stalls, fed and watered the animals. Her brothers and Isabella had gone to Dallas for a horse auction and wouldn’t be back until late that night.
She had the place to herself. Normally, she loved the peace and quiet, but today, she’d never felt more alone. As she saddled Little Joe, her eyes burned with unshed tears. When she moved to Austin, she wouldn’t be able to ride every day. Her gelding would get lazy, and she’d miss him terribly.
Molly straightened her shoulders. “It’s for the best. I can’t live in the past. I can’t ask people to do things that aren’t in their nature. I have to move on.”
With her mind made up, she rode out across the pasture, letting her horse have his head, racing over the hills and straight to the valley the creek ran through.
Little Joe had a kind of homing beacon. He headed there every time.
Molly couldn’t deny him. She’d pushed Little Joe hard, and he probably needed a drink.
When the horse trotted to a halt, Molly sat for a moment, staring at the pool where she’d made love to Jake.
Those tears that had been threatening spilled over and fell down her cheeks. She dropped down out of her saddle and stood, staring at the creek.
Little Joe left her standing where she landed and walked to the edge of the water for a drink.
“Oh, Little Joe,” Molly said, her voice cracking. “I can’t leave. I love this place. I love you, and I love Jake and Tucker. It will kill me to leave everything behind.”
Molly never cried. With four older brothers, she didn’t dare, lest they call her a sissy. But alone on the ranch, with nobody to tease her and a sympathetic horse to console her, Molly couldn’t hold back the tears. She cried, softly at first. The more she thought about leaving the deeper her sorrow.
When she couldn’t cry anymore, she shucked her clothes and boots and dove into the water, letting it soothe her ravaged face and wrap around her like a caress. She swam back and forth across the pool, hoping to wear herself out, hoping that when she got back to the house, she’d fall into bed and sleep until her heart healed.
With her head in the water, all she could hear was the sound of her breathing. She was alone.
*
“There!” Jake pointed to a line of trees snaking through a valley. “That’s the creek where Molly and I made love.”
Tucker leaned forward, his heart in his throat, his pulse banging against his eardrums. He ignored the stab of jealousy that zinged through him at Jake’s words. He’d have to get used to sharing Molly, much as he didn’t want to. Hell, he’d rather share her than lose her.
It wasn’t lost on him that what they were about to do was illegal, if the woman wasn’t a willing participant. “You realize we could go to jail for this.”
“Only if she presses charges,” Jake responded, his voice crackling in the headset.
An animal detached itself from the trees, moving slowing, grazing in the grass. Tucker squinted. It had a saddle. “There’s her horse.”
“What did I tell you?” Jake grinned. “She’s right on schedule.”
“Molly is a creature of habit.” Tucker liked that about her along with a dozen other things he could name easily. “Unless that’s her brother’s horse.” How would they explain themselves if they ran into one of the O’Brien men? “Maybe we should reconsider.”
“The hell we are.” Jake maneuvered the yoke, sending the helicopter toward the earth. “I’m putting down.”
The closer they got the more Tucker realized it was too late to back out. He steeled his resolve and prepared to capture the woman of their dreams and whisk her away.
Jake set down the bird and shut down the engines. They’d talked about Jake staying with the craft and Tucker going after their prize, but nixed that idea. If Molly put up resistance, one man might not be enough to haul her from the creek into the helicopter without someone getting hurt. Jake and Tucker agreed. No one was to get hurt on this mission.
Jake pulled his headset off and set it aside. “Ready?”
“As ready as I’ll ever be,” Tucker said. “Let’s do this.” He dropped to the ground and hurried toward the creek, Jake jogging to keep up.
As he neared the creek, Tucker heard the sound of splashing water. Passing through the brush, he emerged onto a solid rock ledge overlooking a clear pool with a beautiful, naked woman floating on her back, her dark hair fanning around her shoulders. “Wow,” Tucker whispered.
“I know. That was what I thought when I first saw her here.” Jake pulled his T-shirt over his head and tossed it to the ground.
Tucker frowned. “What are you doing?”
Jake looked at him like he was a little dense. “I’m going in after her. We can’t grab her just standing here.” He shucked his boots and jeans in record time and dove into the water.
Not to be left out, Tucker followed suit, stripped and jumped in.
Jake reached her first.
Molly, startled by the intrusion, lost her rhythm, sank beneath the surface and came up coughing. “Jake! What the hell?”
Jake’s arms surrounded her and lifted her head above the water. “Come here.” He swam her toward the shore, stopping when he was waist-deep.
Molly got her feet under her and stood, the tips of her bare breasts bobbing on the surface. “You really have to stop sneaking up on me.”
Jake grinned. “We’ve reached a decision.”
Pushing her wet hair out of her face, Molly snorted. “And you had to come out here and scare the beejeezus out of me to tell me? You could have called or sent me a text.”
Tucker swam up to her other side and slipped his arm around her. “We couldn’t wait. And what we had to say needed to be delivered in person.”
Molly frowned, her eyes red-rimmed, puffy and suspiciously shiny. “Well, I’m not sure I’m ready to hear what you have to say. I need a little more time to prepare.”
“Darlin’, we’re here and the time is now.” Jake’s mouth quirked on the corners. He stared across at Tucker. “Ready?”
Molly’s gaze narrowed and she looked from Jake to Tucker and back to Jake. “Ready for what?”
“For Operation Molly,” Jake said.
Tucker nodded. “Let’s do this.” He bent and tossed Molly over his shoulder in a fireman’s carry and plowed through the water to the shore. “Get our clothes!”
“Put me down!” Molly demanded.
She pounded his back with her fists, the blows not nearly as hard as they could have been, giving Tucker hope she still cared about him. They’d have a lot of explaining to do. But that would have to wait until they were in the air and on the way to West Texas.
Barefooted, he charged up the creek bank and out into the pasture where the helicopter waited.
Jake jogged up beside him, wearing his boots and jeans and carrying a handful of clothes and boots. He passed Tucker, tossed what he had into the back and settled into the pilot’s seat.
Tucker dumped Molly on the backseat and climbed in on top of her. The engine hummed to life and the blades started rotating. They’d planned for Jake to fly. Tucker was to keep their hostage from jumping out before they left the ground.
“What are you doing?” Molly pressed her hands against his chest and shoved as hard as she could.
With Molly’s naked body rubbing against Tucker’s, his cock twitched and rocketed to attention. But she was wiggling to get free and nearly kneed him in the balls.
“Damn it, woman. Be still!” Tucker wrapped his arms around hers and wound his legs around her to keep her from kicking him. “Go!” he shouted to Jake.
The helicopter lifted off the ground and rose into the air.
Tucker remained on top of Molly until they were well above five hundred feet above the earth. Then he eased up, reached behind him and closed the door.
Molly sat up and pushed away from him, staring out the opposite window as they ascended and headed west. “What the hell are you doing?” She snatched at the clothing on the floor and rifled through. “You didn’t even get my clothes! What if this hunk of junk crashes? They’ll find our bodies naked. Holy shit! I’m being kidnapped!”
Tucker didn’t like the crazed look in Molly’s eyes or the way her voice rose with each word. “We’re not going to crash. Jake is the best helicopter pilot around, next to me. We know what we’re doing.”
“Seriously?” Molly crossed her arms over her chest and stared at Tucker like he’d grown horns. “You two know what you’re doing?” She grabbed for Jake’s white T-shirt with the Budweiser logo and pulled it over her head and down her torso. It was long enough to cover even her private parts, much to Tucker’s disappointment. Then she poked a finger at his chest. “Take me back to the Rocking O. Now.”
Tucker shook his head and reached for his headset. “Can’t until tomorrow night.”
Her lips thinned and she dragged in a deep breath, letting it out slowly. “You can. And. You will.”
Settling his headset over his ears, he plugged into the wall mount. “She’s mad and wants to go home.”
“You know the answer,” Jake reminded him.
Tucker gave her a thin smile. “Sorry, you’re going for a ride with us. You might as well get comfortable. It’ll be at least forty-five minutes before we get there.”
“This is ridiculous.” Flags of color flew in Molly’s cheeks. “Just where is there?”
“West Texas,” Tucker responded. “Our hunting cabin.”
“I have to work tonight.” Her eyes rounded. “And what will my brothers think when they get home to my horse wandering around with its saddle on and no sign of me? They’ll go ape-shit nuts and call out the police, the sheriff and the National Guard. You two are going to be in so much trouble.”
“I left a note with Audrey saying you’d be gone for the weekend, and I texted your brothers letting them know you would be with us and not to worry. Jackson Gray Wolf is on his way now to take care of your horse and the clothes we left behind.” Tucker was pretty proud they’d thought to take care of all the loose ends before launching this insane operation.
Now all they had to do was calm Molly enough to show her how much they cared about her, and that the three of them could make it work.
The only thing they hadn’t taken into consideration was how mad Molly would be over the kidnapping.
Tucker hoped she’d get over it soon. They had great plans, which included lubricating oils and edible underwear.
Chapter Eight
Molly maintained her angry countenance even though she was secretly thrilled by all the trouble the men had gone to in order to steal her away for a weekend. She couldn’t let them know just how sexy and erotic it was to be tossed naked into the back of Jake’s helicopter by the equally naked and incredibly muscled Tucker.
She was disappointed when he slipped into his jeans, shirt and boots, covering all that lovely tanned skin. Her pussy creamed, and she squirmed on the seat. Just how far were they taking her? She hoped they’d get there soon and that the bed would be big enough for the three of them.
Holly hell. Her insides burned with desire. She couldn’t wait for Jake and Tucker to show her just how they were going to convince her a threesome between them would work.
She fully expected the two men to squabble and argue over her. Molly couldn’t live with that. If they couldn’t come together amicably, she refused to be the woman who came between the brothers. It had to work. With hope blossoming in her chest, she fought to tamp it down. But it was hard when she was with the two men she loved, and they were willing to give her demands a try.
Still, Molly didn’t want to make it too easy on them. After all, they had kidnapped her.
The terrain below grew steadily more arid the farther west they flew. Finally, Jake slowed the craft and hovered over a small cabin in the middle of what looked like a desert. A dirt road led in from a paved highway a mile or two away. Wow, this was out in the back of beyond, even for a ranch girl like Molly. A thrill of excitement and trepidation trickled down the back of her neck as she pressed her nose to the window.
The cabin was a wooden structure, the boards graying. Whatever paint or stain had been applied had long since faded. It could have been an abandoned building for all she knew. Not her idea of a haven of lust. “This is it?” she commented. “You’re going to convince me to give you two a shot in a derelict building held together by rusty nails?”
Tucker pulled off his headset and chuckled. “Doesn’t look like much, but it’ll do.”
Jake tucked his headset into a flight bag. “It’s better on the inside. When we’re hunting we don’t particularly care about our sleeping arrangements as long as we’re dry and can heat a cup of coffee.”
Molly snorted. “Great. We’re sleeping on the floor with the scorpions.”
“No,” Tucker said. “There are two full-sized beds with real mattresses. We’re not that primitive.”
Jake climbed down from the helicopter and circled to the opposite side, opening the door for her.
Scooting her bare bottom to the edge, she leaned out. “Could I at least call my brothers and let them know I’m all right?”
Jake caught her around the middle and set her on the ground. “Sorry. No cell service for at least fifty miles around.”
She waved toward the helicopter. “Can’t you patch me in with your radio?”
Tucker shook his head. “The radio is for emergency purposes only. I don’t recommend it.”
“I have no clothes, no shoes and have been kidnapped by two insane criminals. You don’t think that’s an emergency?”
“We’ll take you home tomorrow,” Tucker said. “We promise.”
“What if I don’t want to be here?” She crossed her arms. “Isn’t what you’re doing wrongful imprisonment, or something like that? Are you going to do unspeakable things to me?” Her pussy clenched.
Jake’s eyes widened. “No. We won’t do anything you don’t want us to do. What do you take us for?”
“We’re not animals.” Tucker glanced across at Jake. “I told you this was a bad idea.”
Jake glared. “We’re in it now. Don’t go getting soft on me.”
Molly almost laughed at the worry in Tucker’s expression and the determination in Jake’s. She almost broke down and told them that she was okay with their so-called operation. Her insides fairly vibrated with excitement at the thought of what they had planned next. Hopefully, it was something to do with sex.
Molly took one step toward the cabin but got no farther before Tucker scooped her into his arms and carried her to the door. Jake beat him there and inserted a key into what appeared to be a fairly modern lock. He pushed the door open and stood back for Tucker to carry Molly through.
Surprisingly, it was clean, dust-free and smelled fresh, not at all what Molly would have expected from its outward appearance.
Jake glanced around. “I had Rosa come out and give the cabin a good cleaning
and airing this morning.”
Tucker set Molly on the ground and nodded. “Good thinking.”
“Okay, so it’s not a pigsty. What now?” Molly stood in Jake’s T-shirt, nipples hardened into beads making little points on the fabric. While she held back and continued to give the appearance of being angry, she was counting the minutes until they got down to what she looked forward to...S.E.X.
“I’ll get the supplies.” Tucker left the cabin.
Molly wandered around the one-room building that served as bedroom and kitchen all in one. Two full-sized beds were pushed up against the far side of the room with two feet of space between them and at the foot. A quick shove and the two beds could work as one big enough for three.
Her heart pounded and her belly tightened.
“Are you really mad at us?” Jake came up behind her and gripped her hips in his big hands, turning her to face him. “If you want us to take you back, we will.”
Seeing Jake, the womanizer and wilder one of the pair, so very serious and offering to take her home melted Molly’s resolve to hold back and make the men work for it. She raised her hands to his chest and stared up into blue eyes she could so easily fall into. Eyes the same color as his brother’s. “No. You two went to a lot of trouble. I’m interested to see if being with the two of you will work.”
Tucker entered the open door, carrying a large cardboard box. “Good, because I’d hate to see Jake go to jail for cooking up this crazy idea.” He set it on the table and stared at Molly and Jake. “If you’re going to kiss and make up, do it. I’ll wait my turn.”
Molly laughed and glanced up from beneath her lashes as Jake. “Well?”
“You don’t have to tell me twice.” His arms went around her and tightened as he bent to capture her lips, his tongue slipping past her teeth to tangle with hers.
All thoughts of leaving the cabin and going back to the Rocking O flew from Molly’s mind. The kiss was so hot. Her thigh automatically climbed up Jake’s, and she rubbed her pussy against his thickly muscled leg.
Every Which Way Page 18
