by Vanessa Vale
“Angel.”
I was in charge, took what I wanted, learned I wasn’t frigid at all. I was hot and bothered. Wild and passionate. His hand slipped between us, over my clit, over where we were joined, then went around behind me, found my back entrance.
I stilled. Gasped. “Bennett,” I breathed.
“Just a little play here. I don’t have any lube, and I don’t want to hurt you.”
His fingertip brushed softly, circled. “It doesn’t hurt.”
Far from it. God, it felt so good. I had no idea. Sizzling hot. Electrifying. It pushed me to the brink in a flash.
“Oh my god,” I gasped, beginning to ride him again. He kept his slick finger there, just pressing lightly. Nothing more, although the light touch had me wanting him to press in. To fill me.
“We’ll get some lube, Angel, and I’ll get in you here.” He tapped my bottom. “I promise.”
With a hand on his chest, I rode him. Sweat bloomed on my skin, my pussy getting wetter the more he touched me. The more I fucked him the way I liked. I’d been in charge, but with first-time ass play, I couldn’t hold back. It was too much. Too good. And when I came and cried out his name, I held his gaze, knew this was so much more than one day of being together. This was… everything.
10
JULIA
* * *
I woke up to an empty bed. In a haze of sleep, Bennett had whispered to me, telling me even though it was Sunday, he had to meet a client and when I got up, to come down to the barn. I’d been excited to see what he did, but after Bennett had his way with me twice during the night, I fell right back asleep.
An hour later, after showering and pouring myself a cup of coffee from the pot he’d left warm for me in the kitchen, I walked down to the barn.
For a city slicker, Bennett had bought a big piece of land. It was a pretty setting, with acres of slightly rolling hills. The mountains were in the distance and a stream meandered through with cottonwood trees lining the banks. I’d met Mr. and Mrs. Lansing, who’d previously owned the property, a few times growing up, friends of my grandparents. Mrs. Lansing died in her sleep a few years back and more recently, Mr. Lansing decided to sell and move to Oregon to be closer to his son. They’d grown alfalfa and kept a few animals, but nothing like the head of cattle the Duke ranch had. I wondered if Bennett had any intentions to grow crops, which I seemed to doubt, or perhaps lease the fields.
I turned and glanced back at the house. Two story, typical farmhouse with a gray metal roof, normal for this area to help the snow slide off. The place needed work, but had good bones. A good feel. The renovations he’d made so far were smart and well done. But I was curious to see how someone turned a barn that once housed a bunch of farm animals into a motorcycle shop. And I wanted to see Bennett. It was silly to say I missed him after only an hour or so, but I did.
Walking across the open field between his house and barn, I realized I loved him. It gave me pause because it was insane. I’d met him on Friday! Even crazier was that I loved Cash, too, even if I didn’t really like him at the moment. I wouldn’t have been so upset about what he’d said and done the day before otherwise.
How was it possible? Could a heart, which had been empty for so long, just fill right up? It wasn’t just the sex. Well, it was partially, but it was what sex with Cash and Bennett did to me.
They made me confident. They made me whole. I’d been going through the motions for months watching my friends and family find love. One right after the other, starting with Duke and Jed. Tucker and Colton had fallen next, followed by Gus and the guys, even Porter and the sheriff. I’d been happy for them, but seeing the action from the sidelines and not getting in on the game myself had been depressing. Sad. Even a little heartbreaking.
I kept on walking. Pondered.
I wouldn’t have given my heart to any guy—like I had any say in the matter—because Frank hadn’t gotten any part of me. He’d seen my body, touched it, been inside of me, but I hadn’t given myself to him.
The barn was huge, perhaps ten stalls long and a second story hay loft. The structure had a new coat of paint, new windows down the length to let light in. Animals hadn’t needed them, but it seemed Bennett did.
I opened the people-sized door to the left of the big sliding barn doors and went inside. The space was bright—along with the new windows, skylights had been added into the sloped roof—and clean. No animal smells. In fact, inside, it didn’t look much like a barn at all. Usually, the walls were just studs and exterior siding, no insulation, but drywall had been added throughout, probably insulated, too, and painted a bright white. The floor was concrete with a layer of gray sealant. The animal stalls were gone. Only one was saved in the back corner, but the walls went all the way up to the ceiling and had been turned into what looked like an office. From across the space I could see that glass was put in where the open upper half of the stall had been. I heard voices coming from within, but from this angle, couldn’t see Bennett or the client. Not wanting to disturb them, I took a moment to look around.
I took a sip of my coffee, noticed the space was a lot like Carter’s Auto Shop with its tools, parts, work counters and heavy machinery. Sturdy metal construction and chains, weird contraptions I didn’t even recognize were around the one open room. There were no cars like Cash had. Instead there were five motorcycles in various stages of completion, and a single ATV parked in the corner. It had a plow attachment on the front, and I assumed Bennett used it in the snowy months to clear paths.
Everything was immaculate and tidy. Just like Bennett himself. While his house was only partially completed, it was neat and well thought out.
The bike nearest me leaned on its kickstand, gleaming chrome and black from tire to tire. I knew nothing about motorcycles, but it was gorgeous. Pipes and handlebars all appeared custom. I was afraid to touch and get fingerprints on it. They were fancy—although I wouldn’t tell Bennett that. These were a work of art and no wonder he had a wait list, and from what Ava said, it included Colton. Based on the space he’d made here and the size of the property he’d purchased, he did exceptionally well.
I walked from bike to bike, seeing what Bennett intended for them. Amazed by his artistic eye and craftsmanship. My marketing mind went wild with the glossy brochures and slick web site that could be made to promote his work.
The exterior door opened behind me and I spun about, barely preventing my coffee from sloshing out of the mug.
Cash.
He looked around as if searching for someone. When he saw me, he stilled in the doorway and his tense shoulders relaxed. It was as if he was relieved to find me, as if he hadn’t expected to actually see me again.
He wore a plaid flannel shirt, untucked, jeans and boots. His dark hair was a wild tangle, his dark eyes bloodshot. “Julia,” he breathed, ducking his head.
I glanced over my shoulder toward the office. Setting my mug down on a nearby table, I headed toward Cash and the door. “He’s with a client. Let’s go outside.”
He pushed open the door, let me out first. The morning was cool, the sky clear. A new day, a fresh start. I felt… different this morning. Loved. A little less lost. What Bennett and I shared made me confident in myself. Not in my work. Not in my friendships or family. In myself. What we had, this ridiculously fast relationship-thing that had no word or term to describe it, reassured me. Made me feel whole.
Looking at Cash, who ran his hand over his beard, I recognized… the old me in him. He seemed unsure of himself, wary. I didn’t like that feeling. I recognized it easily enough, and I didn’t want him to be that way.
It was because of me he was troubled, and I wanted to help him with it, but Bennett had been right. He had to grovel. At least a little bit.
“I’m sorry,” he said, right from the start. He looked at me like a starving man. Desperate. He tucked his hands in his pockets as if he had to keep himself from grabbing me.
“For…”
“For yesterday. Not a
ll of yesterday. God, being with you, being inside you, watching you with Bennett, all of it was the best thing of my life. It’s the after I’m sorry about. The part where I walked out.”
I crossed my arms over my chest, tipped my chin up. “Did you walk out because you didn’t like having sex with me?”
His eyes widened as if I’d asked him if he wanted to start a farm raising monkeys. “What?” Then he looked bleak. “You thought that… because of me. Fuck, baby.” He closed the distance between us, cupped my face with his big hands. “It was too good. It scared the shit out of me. I’m… I’m not good for you.”
I turned my head, then pushed at his chest. He moved, only because he wanted to. He was too big for me to do so otherwise. “Don’t you think I should decide that, not you?”
I knew the guys in Raines were bossy and serious alphas, but it still pissed me off when they went too far. I’d heard Ava and Kaitlyn, even Parker and Jill grumble about it.
He shook his head. His eyes roved over my face as if taking me in, memorizing me. “You don’t know me, what I’ve done. I was trying to protect you.”
Yup, an alpha idiot.
I set a hand on his chest, felt how strong he was. How big. And yet, for all those pheromones and potent kisses, he was vulnerable, too.
Still, I shoved him again. “If you’d stayed, I’d have gotten to know you more.”
He took my wrist, held my hand against his chest.
“I know you here.” I tapped my hand against his heart. I had no idea how I could feel this way, so sure of him, but I did. Still… “You big idiot.”
He lowered his forehead to mine and just breathed. “I am an idiot. Baby, I have to tell you some things about me. Things that might make you change your mind about being with me. I… I left because it was the noble thing to do. But I’ve discovered I’m not that noble at all. Not with you.”
“I don’t need noble,” I practically shouted at him. “I need you.”
He stared at me. “Fuck, are you real?” he breathed.
“I can’t forgive you this easily. Bennett said you’re supposed to grovel,” I countered, letting him know he wasn’t off the hook.
He lifted his head slightly, and I saw his smile. He was so handsome, so… virile. I breathed him in. Mint, like toothpaste, and a scent that was all Cash. Leather. Maybe even a little bit of grease and orange soap. “Am I doing a good job?”
“It’s a start,” I replied, smiling in return. “This is all happening so fast… Don’t forget I thought you were strippers not even two days ago.”
He grinned.
“We can take some time to get to know each other. You can tell me about your past, about whatever it is that’s made you turn into a moron.”
“Moron? I’ll take it. Jackass, asshole. Big idiot. They all fit.” He paused, studied me. “You’ll give me time to make this right? Tell you everything?”
I lifted my hand to his cheek now. Felt the softness of his beard. “I’ve fallen for you,” I admitted. “Hard. Even after what you did yesterday. It hurt me, I won’t lie. That was my fault though, because I shouldn’t have let something so… short affect me this much.”
He wrapped his arms around me in a fierce hug, rested his cheek on the top of my head. “None of this is your fault. You gave your body… your heart, everything to me. I thought leaving was what was best when I should have treasured it. You.”
“I fell too fast,” I added. “What you did shouldn’t have hurt so much.”
“I fell for you, too. I’ve fallen and I can’t get up where you’re concerned.”
I laughed at the play on the old commercial from TV.
“As for hurting you, fuck. I’ll never be able to make that right. I walked out, realized how much being without you sucked. Wondered how a slip of thing with red hair could knock me on my ass in a day. But you did.”
He pulled back once again, but only enough to tip my chin up and lean down. His mouth an inch from mine, he stopped. Waited, as if he didn’t have the right to just take.
“Kiss me,” I whispered, eager to feel his lips on mine.
And he did.
Even with his arms around me, I fell. Again. He was gentle and tender, yet so big and powerful. Whatever the secret, we would get through it. Bennett knew it and wasn’t bothered by it. They were still friends. He wouldn’t have let Cash get near me if he were to hurt me.
I sank into the kiss. Let everything go. Just felt. His hand cupped the back of my head, the other at my lower back, fingers cupping my bottom.
“Julia Duke.”
I heard my name and pulled back. Cash loosened his hold on me, and we turned to see who had spoken.
My stomach dropped.
Holy fuck. Frank. What was he doing here?
They’d come out of the barn, and I hadn’t even heard. With Cash kissing me, a bomb could have gone off and I’d have missed it.
Even after all these months, he held the power over me to feel like shit. A slick grin spread across his face as if he knew he could still fuck with me. He was Bennett’s client. God, what were the chances? I’d avoided him at the grocery store, but had to run into him here. Bennett looked between us, curious.
How had I ever been interested in Frank? Standing beside Bennett, it was easy to compare them. Frank was several inches shorter. His hair was thinning. A slight paunch rounded his belly. He was pale and… weak looking.
But Bennett… Bennett.
My heart skipped a beat looking at Bennett. His sandy colored hair was neatly combed. He wore a charcoal gray V-neck sweater over a white t-shirt, jeans and leather boots. And I knew every inch of what was underneath.
And Cash beside me. His kiss… no, just his arms around me made me feel more than I ever had with Frank.
“You and Carter, huh?” he asked, slowly shaking his head. The look in his eyes showed… condescension. “Slumming for the mechanic isn’t going to fix you.”
I felt Cash’s fingers tighten against my hip.
God, Frank was an asshole. How did I ever think he was worthy of my time?
“What the fuck?” Bennett said, turning angrily toward Frank who held up his hands.
“I’m just telling the truth, before she keeps trying to fix a broken pussy.”
I swear I heard Cash growl. Bennett’s eyes narrowed and his jaw clenched. So did his fists. This wasn’t Bennett’s fight, it was mine.
I broke out of Cash’s hold, stomped over to Frank, poked him in the chest, just like I had Cash the other night. Instead of the sly smile Cash had given me, Frank just eyed me with derision.
“There’s nothing wrong with me, you little shit.”
He laughed. “Oh yeah, I think I know a fair amount about your problems. Maybe I can tell Carter about them, spare him the trouble of a bad lay.”
Bennett stepped closer, ready to grab Frank’s arm. I put mine out to stop him.
“My problem was being with a limp dick like you. You couldn’t have found my clit if you had a road map.”
For months, I’d been all twisted up over Frank. No, over his words. God. No longer.
“Please, you’re a frigid bitch and there’s no chance of you thawing out.”
“That’s it. You’re a dead man,” Cash said. I hadn’t been watching him, my focus solely on Frank. But his arm shot out from behind me and his fist connected with Frank’s face.
The sick crunch of bone couldn’t be missed. Blood poured from his nose as he bent forward.
“You fucker! You broke my nose.”
Bennett grabbed him, hauled him up by the scruff of his neck and practically carried him toward the car parked nearby. One I’d missed earlier. “Get off my property before I kill you and leave you to rot.”
“Oh, you’re into her, too,” he commented, stumbling. He glanced at me, his hand over his face, blood dripping off his chin. “Yeah, doubling your chances on making a guy happy. Smart. And one with a big wallet.”
Clearly, Frank didn’t realize his life w
as in danger.
“Wait!” I said, before Bennett dragged him toward the nearest ditch.
“You were cruel with your words, Frank,” I said, once Bennett hauled him around to face me. “Still are. I couldn’t see it before, but I can now. You’re shit in bed and take it out on the woman you’re with. As for me being with Cash and Bennett? I use them for their big dicks. Turns out, a small one like yours just doesn’t make me hot.”
Cash laughed and pulled me into his arms as Bennett hauled Frank to his car. He leaned down, spoke to him low enough I couldn’t hear, then shoved him in and watched him drive away.
“He won’t be bothering you anymore,” Bennett said, walking toward us.
I was all for girl power and taking care of myself, but it felt good to know I had protectors, guys who’d watch out for me… and not because I was a little sister.
I nodded, not wanting to talk about it. They were now aware I’d slept with Frank. Bennett knew a guy had messed with me, perhaps Cash even picked up on it as well the day before, but not who. I’d made a mistake being with Frank. God, if I could take that time back, I would, but I couldn’t change the past. Cash and Bennett weren’t virgins. They’d been with women before me. They couldn’t change that either. What mattered was now.
“Is it true, what you said?” Bennett asked.
I frowned. “Huh?”
“You’re using us for our big dicks?”
I grinned. “You two definitely know how to use them since you’re strippers and all.”
Cash grabbed me about the waist, tossed me over his shoulder. I shrieked, then laughed. I couldn’t help but eye his taut ass as he carried me toward the house.
“You want big dicks? We’ll give you big dicks.”
11
CASH
* * *
I wasn’t fucking Julia in Bennett’s shop. She deserved more comfort than a counter top. Again. Especially after the fucker who’d insulted our woman. I’d hate myself forever for how I’d rejected her. I’d meant to do the right thing, but it was obvious now I’d only poked at an old wound brought about by the douche canoe she’d dated. I didn’t want to linger on the thoughts of him touching her, but we all had lovers in our past.
