by Zoey Marcel
Jade giggled and pulled her hand away. “I’m engaged.”
He gave her a faux look of innocence. “What did I say?”
Boston patted his brother on the back and nodded sideways with his head. “Come on, all. The bull’s probably getting pissed off being in that pen.”
They followed him to a cramped pen where the bull stood motionless, snorting his vexation.
“He’s a beauty,” Doc praised. “What’s his name?”
“Nutcracker,” Orlando said with a mischievous smile. “We’re fine, but the poor bastard who helped this bull earn his name wasn’t.”
Jade tugged on Doc’s arm, feeling a wave of worry sweep over her. He had cancer and he wanted to ride an ornery bull named Nutcracker? “Doc, are you sure you want to do this? Maybe a tamer bull.”
Doc frowned. “If I go for a tame bull, I might as well be riding a fucking dairy cow. The point is to find a pissed-off son of a bitch with a bad attitude and then last eight seconds. I need to do this so I know how long I can stay on a bucking bull.”
“Why?”
“Because, gorgeous, we’re men and it’s what we do,” Boston explained with a flirtatious smile. “We have to prove ourselves as men.”
“Why do you have to? Aren’t bull riders generally younger men? Doc’s in his thirties. He’s too old,” she protested.
“There are some bull riders in their thirties,” Orlando informed her.
Doc approached the pen with a startling air of determination. “That’s it, darlin’. You just convinced me to prove my youth.”
“I didn’t mean you were a geezer. I just don’t want you to get hurt,” she said.
He brushed her cheek with a reassuring smile. “You said you’d help me cross this off my list.”
She sighed and nodded. “All right. Ride Nutcracker if you have to, just don’t let him do you any permanent damage.”
He kissed her forehead and spoke in a soft tone. “I don’t plan to.”
The feel of his gentle kiss lingered even after his lips retreated. She watched Doc climb over the fence, and Boston helped him get situated on the bull and wrapped his hand.
Orlando glanced at her and wiggled his eyebrows. “So your engagement, how serious is it?”
She smiled. “Pretty serious.”
He grinned. “Just checking.”
Boston handed him the stopwatch. “Start it when the gate opens. I need to be in there and get ready to shift if something goes wrong.” He changed his tune when he noticed Jade’s worried expression. “Not that anything will. Nutcracker’s harmless. We actually named him after the ballet, didn’t you know?”
She raised a skeptical brow when he grinned. “Sure you did. What do you mean by shift?”
Orlando patted her back. “We’re shape shifters, honey. The same as you. What kind are you?”
“A werewolf. How did you know?” Jade had thought there was something different about their scents, but she was still new to being a wolf shifter so she’d dismissed it.
“We’re jaguar shifters. We’ve got good noses,” Orlando explained.
Jade became startled when she recalled Ike’s ramblings about her friend Lorelei Presley being the mate to jaguars. Was she supposed to be with the Darks? How was that going to work if her arrival to Winchester would doom the town and wreak all sorts of paranormal havoc?
Jade watched as Boston opened the gate and the angry bull bolted out of it and started to buck, twist, and frolic violently, trying to get Doc off his back.
Boston jumped into the corral to act as a clown should Nutcracker turn lethal. The ride didn’t last very long before Doc was thrown off. Jade was surprised at the surreal, time-stopping blur that came over her when she saw him fly off the bull and hit the ground hard. Dust flew up into the air, creating a brown cloud that engulfed him.
She tried to leap over the fence, but Orlando grabbed her arm to stop her. “Whoa, easy there, girl. That’s hardly a good idea. Wait ’til Boston lets the darned thing out.”
Boston opened the chute and Nutcracker charged into it and then lumbered through the open other end and went back into the pasture with his bovine friends.
Jade climbed the fence and hopped down, hurrying over to Doc’s side. She saw his handkerchief had blood on it when he pulled it back from his mouth, but he put it away before the Dark brothers reached them.
“I’m all right, darlin’,” Doc murmured to her as she helped him to his feet.
“Do you need a doctor?” she whispered.
“That time has passed,” he muttered before calling out to Orlando. “Well, how did I do?”
“Three point two seconds. Not bad for your first time.”
“Do you feel like a man now?” she teased.
He grinned. “I do indeed. I appreciate you fellas setting that up for me.”
“Don’t mention it,” Boston replied.
“Yeah, especially not to our pa. He thinks we’re angels,” Orlando joked.
An older man snorted from behind. “Like hell I do.”
They turned to see a cowboy around sixty riding up with a younger cowboy.
“Howdy, Pa,” Orlando greeted him with a guilty chuckle.
His father folded his leather-gloved hands over the horn on the saddle. “What are you boys up to?”
“We’re reciting the catechism,” Boston quipped.
Orlando snickered.
The brown-haired cowboy on horseback, who looked to be in his thirties, smirked at this. “Does that mean you’re going to recite it for Pa later?”
Orlando’s eyes bugged out, and he threw a glare at the amused cowboy.
Boston wore a subtle smile, but it seemed forced and there was a touch of animosity in his blue eyes. “Don’t concern yourself, Remington.”
A blond cowboy rode up just then. “I don’t mean to interrupt your bull riding, but we could use your help in the pastures. A couple of cows got out.”
“We’ll be right there, Rafe.” Mr. Dark’s eyes narrowed when they fell on his two youngest-looking sons, and he tapped a gloved finger against the horn of his saddle. “Bull riding, eh? You do know I promised your mothers I’d keep you alive, don’t you?”
Orlando grinned. “We’re alive, Pa. Don’t you worry none.”
Mr. Dark shook his head. “Good to see you, Doc. I’m afraid I can’t talk right now.”
“That’s all right. Do you need a hand with the escapees?” Doc asked.
“No. I think we’ll manage. Ma’am.” Mr. Dark tipped his hat to Jade before riding away with his two oldest-looking sons, Remington and Rafe.
“Well, we should get going, too. Thank you again.” Doc waved to Boston and Orlando.
Jade was surprised when Doc’s hand reached for hers and their fingers clasped together when their hands joined. Hand-holding was such a sweet, intimate act, but she felt a dull ache in her throat when she remembered that he was dying.
She quickly shoved it from her mind and told herself he would live forever. If she faced the truth while walking with him and holding his hand she knew she’d break down and cry. Doc wouldn’t want that. He wanted her to be strong. She could pretend for him if that was what he needed from her.
* * * *
Doc took Jade shooting. She still had amnesia and couldn’t remember whether or not she’d ever used a gun before. Judging by her poor aim and her inability to hit a target to save her life, he’d guess she’d never touched a gun before today. But it didn’t matter. Showing her how to hold the gun properly and shoot was fun.
He’d never taken a woman shooting before, and he was glad she was the first one he got to share it with. She was probably the only woman he would ever get to share it with.
“Try to hit that target over there,” he told her.
She fired the gun and missed the target completely. “Do I get points for hitting a different target?”
He chortled. “Maybe if you’d actually hit the cactus, but you didn’t. You just grazed it.”
> “Guns aren’t my strength. What can I say?” Jade took in a deep breath of air, seeming content as she gazed off into the colorful horizon. “The sunset sure is beautiful.”
“It is indeed.”
It might have been, but he wasn’t looking at the sky at the moment. He couldn’t take his eyes off the punk-rocker-looking woman. The way the cool breeze of dusk rustled through the short black layers of her hair and the setting sun seemed to illuminate the strands of purple was breathtaking. Her blue eyes sparkled with the reflection of the divine fire blazing across the horizon. The billows of purple smoke in the sky added a subdued quality to the way the pumpkin orange seemed to cast a warm, inviting glow on her skin.
“Well, you went bull riding today and took a woman shooting,” she reminded him. “That’s two items crossed off your bucket list. What’s next?”
The cool breeze blew her iced-tea-and-suntan-lotion essence over to him, and he wanted to envelop the summer-scented woman in his arms and never let go. What was it about her?
“You forget spanking was one of the things, and I did that to you in the barn.” His lips curved up into a mischievous smile.
She got a big grin on her face. “Oh yeah, that’s right. What now, though?”
He caressed her cheek, enjoying the way she stared straight back into his eyes, bold and enthralled. “I was just wondering how you plan on helping me cross off the sexual aspects on my bucket list when you’re engaged. I reckoned you were abstaining from sex with us out of respect for Bane, but then you offered in the barn, so I didn’t know what to make of it.”
Her eyes lowered and she seemed awkward and uncertain. “Before Bane left he gave me permission to sleep with you and the Brooks brothers if I wanted to.”
Doc was surprised. He hadn’t pinned Bane as ever deviating from the path of monogamy for any reason, though the soldier had been nice enough to share Jade with him and Kellan Brooks before Bane left.
“I’m surprised you haven’t leaped at the opportunity,” Doc teased.
She appeared torn. “It’s not that I don’t find you all incredibly tempting. I do, it’s just I didn’t think it was fair to Bane.”
“If he gave you permission to, then you have nothing to feel bad about.”
“I know. I just didn’t want him to think I jumped into bed with everybody the second he left. I haven’t even slept with any of you since he’s been gone.”
“You don’t have to sleep with me if you don’t want to. I can always get someone else to help make those parts of the list a reality.”
The way her tone sharpened and turned frantic proved to be rather entertaining. “No. I said I would help you cross off your list, and I mean to do just that. Don’t even think about using someone else.”
Doc grinned at the cute way she blushed. “Jealous, are you?”
“No,” she said quickly. “I just don’t like someone else finishing what I started.”
He chuckled. “Well then, let’s cross off another item on the list, shall we?”
Her voice softened to a sultry purr. “Which one did you have in mind?”
“Making love to you with Sawyer and Kellan.” He couldn’t wait to try that one out. It had always been a fantasy of his.
When Bane Kennedy had shared Jade with him and Kellan the experience had been remarkably hot, but Doc wanted Sawyer and Stetson there as well. Stetson would never go for it, but Doc knew Sawyer and Kellan would in a heartbeat.
Jade’s features softened, as did her voice. “I thought you didn’t want us to fall in love with each other.”
Doc caught himself. “I don’t. It was just a figure of speech. We’ll all fuck you. Sound good?”
She nodded. “It does.”
He walked her back to the house and put the guns away in the cabinet. “Why don’t you go into my room and make yourself comfortable? We’ll be right there.”
She seemed nervous and excited, but she nodded. “Okay.”
He watched her head down the hall to his bedroom with no small degree of satisfaction. Her ass was asking to be fucked, and spanked, and licked. He could think of quite a few things he wanted to do with such a fine-looking ass.
He went into the kitchen and found Kellan putting dishes in the dishwasher. “Are you game for a little adventure, Kell?”
“What kind of adventure?” Kellan asked.
Doc shrugged. “Oh, you know, the fucking-Jade kind of thing.”
“Hell, yes! Just let me finish up here and wash my hands.”
“Jade told me Bane gave her permission to sleep with us, in case you were wondering.”
Kellan got a sheepish grin. “Um, yeah. I was just about to ask that.”
Doc chuckled. “Sure you were, Kell.”
He wandered into Sawyer’s room and found him grabbing his coat.
“Going somewhere?”
“I am,” Sawyer replied, taking a final peek at himself in the mirror, “and if Stetson has a problem with it he can kiss my anti-fuck-giving ass. The stock is taken care of, and I aim to enjoy a nice night on the town with the boys.”
“Does that include getting laid by a nice-looking woman?” Doc asked.
Sawyer wiggled his eyebrows with a naughty grin. “You know me so well, Doc. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“I was kind of hoping you’d stay in tonight.”
“Doc, it’s a Friday night and I’m in my prime. Now why in the hell would I want to do something like that?”
Doc kept a tight rein on the smile fighting to creep its way to the surface. He turned slowly. “Well, have it your way then. I reckon it’ll just have to be a double penetration tonight instead of a triple.”
Sawyer’s head jerked toward him with sudden interest. “How’s that?”
Doc pivoted to face him, trying to act nonchalant. “Oh, Jade’s just waiting in bed for me in my room, probably naked. Kellan and I are going to fuck her. We wanted you there with us, but if you already made plans—”
“Fuck my plans. I’ll cancel them.”
Doc let out a long sigh. “Oh, I don’t know. It’d be rude to cancel on your plans with friends.”
“Screw it. They’ll understand.” Sawyer pulled out his cell phone.
“You were going to get laid anyway, so what’s the difference?”
“The difference is that it’s Jade instead of some random slut.” Sawyer dialed some numbers and then put the phone to his ear.
His answer pleased Doc immensely. Sawyer liked Jade. That was good. Doc knew Kellan was in love with her, and he had a feeling that Jade loved him back. Doc didn’t have a chance in hell of living beyond a year, but he still found himself dreaming about her staying with them. If only he could get Stetson to come around. If only Bane was into sharing permanently.
“What are you going to tell whoever it was you were going to meet?” Doc inquired.
“It was Boston and Orlando Dark. Don’t worry, I’ll give a polite, tactful excuse for backing out on them.” Sawyer’s expression became more concentrated, as though someone on the other end had picked up. “Hey, Boston. It’s Sawyer. I ain’t coming tonight. We’ll shoot for another night. Something came up. No emergency. A hot piece of ass that happens to be attached to Jade.” He grinned. “Yeah, I figured you’d understand. I’ll catch you later.”
Doc smiled. “Yes, that was very polite and tactful, my friend.”
* * * *
“They want to have sex with me,” Jade spoke to her fiancé, Bane, through her cell phone. Her hands trembled and her quiet tone shook with nervousness.
She should have simply told Doc no rather than calling her fiancé to ask for permission. He already gave it before he left to track down the man trying to kill her, but somehow she needed to hear him tell her it was all right again.
There was a lingering pause on Bane’s end. His voice sounded controlled and possibly jealous. “Well, I’m not surprised. I already gave you permission to sleep with them before I left. Why are you asking me when you already kno
w the answer?”
“I felt bad.”
“Then don’t do it.”
An anvil of disappointment pressed down on her, crushing something hidden in her chest. “Okay.”
“You want to, don’t you?”
Her heart skipped a beat and she tried to calm herself. “I didn’t say that.”
“Jade, I know you. I can tell when you want or don’t want something. Just be honest with me. Do you want to fuck those other men?”
A stab of guilt pricked at her conscience over his choice of words. “I don’t know.”
“Sure you do. If you didn’t, then you would be able to give me a definite no.” He heaved a long sigh. “Jade, it’s fine. I know they’re your mates, too, but I can’t share you permanently. It would be selfish of me not to at least let you enjoy a little time with your intended ones, but that’s all it can be. Fuck them all you want, but when I come back there to get you, that’s it. Just you and me.”
“That’s very sweet of you, but—”
“Fuck them, Jade,” he growled.
The way he snapped at her made her sad and uncertain. “I don’t have to go all the way. I can stay in a hotel until you come back for me.”
“No. Stay with the Brookses and Doc. I want you to be safe.”
“Okay. How is the search coming?”
“I haven’t been able to find him. Whoever he is, he covers his tracks well. I’m going back to your old roommate’s house to see if she knows anything about him. I’ll be there soon.”
“That’s a good idea.” She heard a knock at the door. “I should go. I love you.”
“I love you, too, princess.” His soft tone sharpened suddenly. “Jade.”
“Yeah?”
“Do whatever you want with them, but don’t you dare bite them. You can screw your other mates if you have to, but I’m the only one who gets to be mated to you. Understand?”
“Yes, Bane. Good-bye.”
“Bye.”
She hung up after he did and quickly set the phone aside just as Doc, Sawyer, and Kellan barged in.
Kellan closed the door behind them with an eager grin on his face. “I thought you’d be undressed.”
