Educating Casey [Cattleman's Club 5] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting)

by Jenny Penn

  Scanning the small dining room, Dylan’s gaze landed on the Hulk-sized He-Man trying to look as inconspicuous as possible in a booth tucked way in the back. It was a futile attempt. From his height to the amount of muscles padding his frame, the last thing GD would ever go was unnoticed.

  The same could be said of the blonde fatale seated at the bar, doing her dead-level best to ignore the big man glaring at her from the shadows. Years on the police force had honed his instincts, and Dylan could sense that he’d walked in on some kind of silent battle between the two, but he didn’t really care.

  What he did care about was back at the club being taken advantage of by his brother, who had really lightened up this week. For the first time ever, Josh appeared to be simply relaxing and enjoying the moment…sort of. Actually, he was still quite controlling, but that only made him a natural dominant. Casey, on the other hand, was not exactly an obedient submissive, but that just made things all the more entertaining.

  What was not entertaining was trying to hunt down the Davis brothers’ arsonist. In fact, that simple goal was turning into a nightmare. There were no witnesses, no evidence, and way too many rumors about people who might have motive while almost all of them turned out to have alibis. Those that didn’t turned out not to need them, which left Dylan exactly where he was six days ago—next to nothing.

  Fortunately, he could work with that because nothing meant at least one thing. There was somebody hiding something, and it was time to put the screws on the pressure points and find out who snapped first. GD didn’t look like the type to break easily, but Dylan knew that looks could be deceiving.

  The glint in the big man’s eyes as they settled on him didn’t lie, though. GD was neither dumb nor weak, and that was going to make Dylan’s task a whole lot harder. He sighed over that bit of misfortune as he sauntered up to the edge of GD’s booth. He didn’t take it personally. They eyed each other for a long moment, each taking the other’s measure, before GD finally broke the silence.

  “Lana wasn’t lying when she said you were a pretty boy.” Just like his body, GD’s tone held a depth that resonated with a sense of strength and a touch of amusement. He was testing Dylan, waiting to see how he took that comment.

  “And she told me that you were the best private investigator in these parts,” Dylan returned politely, knowing how often compliments actually did work…just not on GD.

  That earned him a snort and a smirk. “I bet she did because every woman knows I’m the best at all things.”

  He said that loud enough to assure the blonde at the bar heard him. As if Dylan had any doubt who he was talking to or what he was talking about, the pointed look GD shot the woman made it clear just who those words were intended for, not that the blonde appeared impressed. She sniffed dismissively and pointedly turned the page on the book she was reading.

  “Lana also mentioned that you were on a case,” Dylan commented, drawing GD’s gaze back to his as Dylan shot the blonde a pointed look. “I’m not interrupting, am I?”

  “Nothing important,” GD assured him, though Dylan suspected that was a lie. He let it go as the big man nodded toward the opposite side of the booth. “Have a seat and tell me what it is I can do for you.”

  “I’m looking into the Davis brothers’ barn fire,” Dylan began as he slid onto the vinyl cushion that crackled beneath him. “I understand I’m not the first person they turned to for answers.”

  “Nope.” GD’s eyes darted back to the blonde. “But they still haven’t got any answers, do they? That should tell you something, don’t you think?”

  “I certainly do,” Dylan drawled out slowly, sensing GD’s lack of attention was more an act for his benefit than the fatale, who had drawn more than one admirer’s attention.

  GD frowned at the man moving in on the blonde, appearing distracted, but his answers were sharp and quick when Dylan pressed him.

  “Still, I’d still like to take a peek at your notes—”

  “Don’t have any,” GD cut in before offering Dylan an overly sweet grin and pointing to his head. “It’s all up here.”

  “So then maybe you’d care to share?”

  “Sorry, man, there is nothing up there.” GD shrugged, his gaze cutting back over to the man the blonde had just shot down and eyeing him the way a dog did a rabbit. “After all, you’ve been all over the place interviewing everybody…you got anything?”

  “I got an almost completely redacted police report about a kid picked up with a gas tank not but a few miles away,” Dylan stated pointedly enough to have GD’s gaze shifting back toward him to give Dylan another once-over before the big man offered him another shrug.

  “Kid’s not guilty.”

  “Really?” Honestly caught off guard by the certainty in GD’s tone, he couldn’t help but come to the obvious conclusion. “If you know the kid’s not in on it, then you got to know who did set the fire.”

  “I have an opinion,” GD allowed. “But then so does everybody else in this town.”

  “Well then, it’s my opinion that it’s the kid.” It wasn’t really, but Dylan sensed that GD would try to protect the kid. That gave him leverage. Right then, Dylan needed some of that.

  “Look,” GD leaned across the table as he dropped his voice down low. “I’m not saying anything, but I did notice that you didn’t bother to interview Lana or those idiot brothers of hers.”

  “Lana’s brothers?” Dylan grimaced, hating even the thought of putting up with them. They were like Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum but in supersized, more violent-prone versions.

  “Yeah, Lana talked Chase into giving them some part-time work, and idiot that he is, he didn’t fire them when he changed over to his new bedmate.”

  Dylan didn’t need GD to tell him how the rest of the story went, or how it was going to end when Chase found out. After all, Chase was a little prone to violence himself.

  “What a mess,” he sighed.

  “You’re telling me,” GD grumbled as he heaved an aggrieved sigh and slouched back into his seat. “Ever since Patton came back to town, my life has been nothing but a headache. That girl causes more trouble than Pig-Pen did messes. It’s a good thing she’s a hell of a lot better-looking than that kid.”

  “Hell, she must be downright gorgeous to beat out Lana.” He knew it wasn’t right or fair, but Dylan was loyal, and he was Team Lana all the way.

  “You haven’t met Patton, have you?”

  “She never seems to come by the club.” And Dylan didn’t have much interest in leaving it.

  “Yeah, like those boys would let her anywhere near the club.” Just the idea seemed to make the other man pale. “The less Patton knows about the club, the safer we all are.”

  Dylan didn’t think any of them were particularly safe right then. When Chase found out about Lana’s brothers, there would be blood spilled and all kinds of accusations. This was the worst possible outcome, and he couldn’t very well rat out her brothers without giving her a warning.

  That’s how he came to find himself sitting a half-hour later in Lana’s office. She greeted him warmly enough, but her mood soured quickly as Dylan got to the point of his visit. He took his time, explaining how he’d gone through the whole list and interviewed everybody, but her brothers.

  Dylan hesitated then, letting that sink in before he pressed Lana just as he had GD. “They’re last on my list…and, from what I understand, without an alibi.”

  “I really don’t have any idea what he is talking about,” Lana assured him, but she wasn’t half the actor GD was, even if she was more motivated to hide her lies.

  “Lana—”

  “We’re talking about my brothers, Dylan,” Lana pleaded as she cut him off. “What would you do for Josh?”

  That was a low blow because they both knew there wasn’t anything he wouldn’t do for his brother. Still, before he could help Josh, he’d have needed the truth from him. That’s just what Dylan demanded of Lana.

  “Did they set the
fire?”

  “They say they didn’t.” Lana crossed her hands over her desk and met Dylan’s gaze. “And I believe them.”

  No she didn’t. Lana was lying, and Dylan bet if he told her about the kid she’d fold. After all, she might love her brothers, but she didn’t have it in her to sacrifice a child. The question was, did he?

  “Fine.” Dylan knew that what he was about to do would weigh on him for the rest of his life, but it would have no matter what he chose to do. “I’ll leave it alone.”

  “Thank you.” Lana offered him a sad smile. “You know, whatever they did or didn’t do, it was only because they loved me, and I would feel very guilty if they suffered because of that.”

  “I know.” Dylan rose out of his seat but hesitated to leave Lana looking so sad. “I’m sorry that Chase hurt you.”

  That had Lana’s gaze dropping almost immediately as she tried to hide the flash of hurt that his words sent through her eyes. “Don’t worry. I’ll recover.”

  “I hope that you do because he’s not worth this much pain.”

  “You don’t think so?” Lana forced a smile that looked as brittle as her tone sounded.

  “Not if he can’t see how amazing you are or hasn’t figured out how special. Only an idiot wouldn’t be able to see that,” Dylan smirked as he considered his own words. “And you know that I always did think Chase was a little slow when it came to things.”

  Lana wasn’t as amused by Dylan’s comments as he was, and he quickly left her to her brooding to go find the idiot himself. Dylan wanted this matter settled so he could return back to the cube and spend the last day with his firecracker uninterrupted by any other obligations.

  His search for Chase led him all over the club, and he happened to pass through the dining hall at the same time the sheriff was seated by himself, wolfing down a late lunch. Dylan figured it would only be polite to give the man a warning of what he intended to do.

  “Sheriff Alex Krane?” Dylan pulled up to a stop by the sheriff’s table and offered the man his hand. “I’m Dylan Andrews.”

  “Nice to meet you.” Alex shook his hand, returning the polite greeting before asking the obvious question. “Is there something I can do for you?”

  “You can tell me about the kid.”

  “Pardon me?” The sheriff’s brow lifted with polite confusion. “I seem to be lost here.”

  “I don’t think you are.” In fact Dylan knew he wasn’t. Alex might be the best actor of them all, but Dylan still knew a lie when he heard it. “In fact, I think you know exactly what I’m talking about.”

  Without waiting for an invite or bothering to ask, Dylan pulled out the seat opposite of the sheriff and sat down before he continued on. “I’m talking about the kid, the gas can, the Davis brothers’ barn fire. Any of that ring any bells?”

  “So you’re the detective that they brought in from out of town.” Alex smiled, neatly avoiding Dylan’s question, but he wouldn’t be put off so easily.

  “I’m also the man who knows about the kid and the fact that you didn’t run any investigation.”

  “I don’t know what you are talking about.”

  “You know, I’m getting really sick of everybody lying to me.” Dylan heaved a sigh and shook his head. “And it doesn’t even matter. You keep your secrets if you want. I’m just here to let you know that I’m telling the Davis brothers that you know who set the fire.”

  That was low. Dylan knew it, but that was the only way out that he could find. He owed Chase an answer. He couldn’t betray Lana. He wasn’t about to rat out a kid. The only thing that left for him to do was to force the sheriff to do his damn job.

  That Dylan had no trouble doing.

  “In fact, there’s Chase now. I think I’ll go have a word with him.”

  He shoved away from the table, aware that the sheriff did the same as he walked away. By the time he reached Chase, who had caught sight of him and turned in Dylan’s direction, Alex had disappeared, a fact that didn’t go unnoticed by Chase.

  “Where the hell is Alex running off to?” he asked by way of greeting, tracking the sheriff’s movements for a second before shifting his scowl in Dylan’s direction. “You didn’t happen to give him a lead, did you?”

  “He already has one,” Dylan retorted, knowing he was about to be a complete dick to two people while saving one heartbroken woman. “And yes, that means just what it sounds like. Your sheriff’s been holding out on you, man.”

  To his credit, Chase didn’t jump on that comment but seemed to weigh it silently in his head before offering up a response. “Maybe you better explain what you mean by that over a drink because something tells me I’m going to need one.”

  Dylan didn’t expect him to make it through the whole glass, but Chase shocked him. Instead of running off after the sheriff, he hesitated, looking more upset than pissed as he stared down into his glass.

  “Is something wrong?” Dylan sure as hell hoped not. He really didn’t want to waste much more time on the matter, especially not since he had such little time left before Casey’s vacation came to an end.

  “No,” Chase assured him before instantly contradicting himself. “It’s just that I suspected Lana’s brothers because…you know, of what happened with Patton and everything, and so I fired them.”

  Now it was Dylan’s turn to feel a little guilty and a little sympathy for Chase, which Dylan was certain his friend hadn’t gotten much of in the whole Lana mess. After all, Chase had ended up with the love of his life, and Lana had ended up alone.

  “Look, man, I don’t claim to know what is going on between you and Lana or…Patton.” Dylan damn near choked on that name, having to fight hard to say it without laughing, but he didn’t manage to pull it off, and Chase cut in to call him on it.

  “What?” Stiffening up indignantly in his seat, Chase’s scowl darkened dangerously. “Are you laughing at Patton’s name?”

  “No…yes, but seriously, your girl is named after a dude, and not an attractive one.” Not that Dylan knew what Patton looked like, but he knew what Lana did. “Whereas Lana is built to rock any man’s world.”

  “Trust me, so is Patton.”

  “If you say so.”

  “You don’t believe me?”

  “Of course I do.” Dylan smiled, knowing he sounded as if he was lying, even though he was being honest. He knew Chase well enough to know what his friend’s taste were, but that didn’t mean he didn’t enjoy watching the other man flush as he reached into his pocket for his phone.

  “Fine. I’ll prove it to you.” It took him a second before he found what he was looking for, and then Chase thrust the phone at Dylan. “That’s Patton.”

  “Wow, she’s—”

  Dylan had meant to say “pretty” in a condescending enough tone to make another lie out of his words, but he got distracted by the picture glowing on the screen in front of him. He recognized that smile, and it didn’t take him more than a second to figure out the rest. Patton wasn’t the only one who attracted trouble like Pig-Pen.

  Her best friend, Casey, was normally at her side.

  Chapter 20

  Josh massaged the flushed cheeks of Casey’s ass, running his fingers over the slowly fading lines of the henna tattoos as he watched her perfectly rounded rump bounce up and down. He hung his head over her sweat-slickened shoulder, allowing her to do the hard work. Casey did so without complaint. Instead, she panted with sexy grunts as she pumped herself up and down the thick length of his swollen cock, riding him toward a release that had her arching back as her fingers dug into his shoulders.

  Josh lifted his chin to capture the puckered tip of her breast as it rose upward in a tempting offer he couldn’t resist. Sucking her pebbled tit past the hard ridge of his teeth, he lashed her sensitive nub with his tongue as he caught her other breast up in his fist. Without mercy, he tormented her nipple, pinning it beneath his thumb and rolling it as his tongue matched the motion, twirling over the hardened peak of her othe
r breast.

  Casey cried out, her cunt pulsing around him with endless waves of heated cream as she fucked him harder and faster. Her motions quickly spun out of control, becoming frantic as Josh slid his other hand down the crease between her ass cheeks to tease the clenched muscles guarding her forbidden entrance.

  With her legs bent along his thighs, Casey’s knees dug deeper into his sides as she begged him for more, even though she was the one in command, the one riding him as she worked herself into a lather. All Josh had to do was sit back and enjoy. That’s just what he was doing, enjoying the show.

  Casey was putting on a good one. Crying and carrying on as her sleek body flexed and arched, her curves wiggling and shaking, she was his every fantasy come true and more. He’d never come close to even beginning to fathom how tight and wet her little cunt was or how strong a grip her sheath could have as it tried desperately to milk the seed from his thick shaft.

  Josh worked just as hard to deny the velvety flex of her rippling walls. Her pussy spasmed demandingly around him, and he knew he wouldn’t be able to hold back for long, especially not with the feel of Casey’s release raining down over his naked flesh. The heated waves of cream seared his sensitive flesh in direct violation of the Cattleman’s Club condom policy.

  The Cattlemen could kiss Josh’s ass. He, Casey, and Dylan had talked it over. They were all clean, and she was protected from pregnancy by a shot, so there had been no reason to deny themselves the satisfaction of feeling each other skin-to-skin. Wicked and forbidden, the sensation excited Josh every time.

  It was an erotic thrill that he’d never before indulged in. Not even with Maria. She’d been too afraid of ending up pregnant and having to interrupt her modeling career to have or deal with a baby. That had been fine with Josh. He hadn’t wanted a baby to interfere with his career.

  At least, he had thought he hadn’t, but the idea of Casey pregnant was enough to make his balls boil and explode with a release so intense he bit his lip without even realizing it. All he knew in that moment was ecstasy, both physical and emotional, at the very idea of his seed bathing Casey’s womb.