by Vanessa Vale
“Jules,” Duke warned. “You just met him Friday.”
“And you saw Kaitlyn getting a lap dance from a stripper and knew she was yours.” I pointed at Tucker who was—smartly—remaining quiet by filling his mouth with a cherry danish. “He saw Ava and stalked her like a lunatic for a month. Why is it wrong for me to be sure like both of you?”
He sighed. “Because you’re my baby sister and no one will be good enough for you.” He gave Bennett a look over my shoulder, one that said hurt her and die.
“I love Cash,” I repeated and I heard a sniffle, realized someone was crying, perhaps my mother. I wasn’t sure if it was because I’d shacked up with a guy she considered a rapist or because I’d finally said I loved someone. “He didn’t do it. I don’t know why I’m even standing here talking to you when he’s all alone out there.”
I turned, saw Bennett. Paused. “You knew about this. It’s the reason he moved here, why you followed. Isn’t it?”
He nodded. While I could tell he was beyond pissed at Duke, he looked at me with warm affection, a gentleness that made me see how much he cared about me. I loved him, too. God, did I.
“I couldn’t stay in Miami after what happened, Angel,” he murmured, his voice soft. “Too jaded.”
He’d told me Cash had been caught up in something in Miami, but it was Cash’s story to share. He wouldn’t stay best friends with a rapist.
“He didn’t do it,” Liam said, then took a sip of his coffee.
Everyone turned to face him.
“What?” he added, then shrugged. “They were giving you a ride home from the party on Friday. You think I wouldn’t look into them, Julia?”
He might be my future cousin-in-law, but I rolled my eyes at the sheriff’s blatant problem with boundaries.
“He was arrested for rape,” he continued. “By a former girlfriend who turned out to be bipolar, off her meds and ridiculously pissed for being dumped. Seems her daddy was a fancy lawyer and got the book thrown at Cash. Considered him a threat, and he spent a week in jail.”
I thought of Cash, innocent and in jail for a crime that went against his principles, his honor. He must have wanted to climb the walls. No wonder he moved here to start over.
“A friend put investigators on it, got Cash before a judge and the case was dropped,” Liam continued, looking to Bennett.
Bennett. I grabbed his hand, knew he was the one who’d helped Cash.
“The woman recanted, Cash was cleared, but the mess stuck.” Liam gazed pointedly at Duke.
“Of course, he didn’t do it,” Mom said, wiping her nose with a napkin. She tilted her head, smiled at me. “His uncle’s on the city council. I knew about the whole thing before Cash even moved here.”
“Why didn’t you say something?” Duke asked, his shoulders relaxing. A little.
She narrowed her eyes, clearly not happy with him. “Because he did nothing wrong. Young man, have you told Kaitlyn about the time you stole the numbers off of Mr. Schumacker’s mailbox? That Sheriff Gruber caught you red-handed? I have to wonder if she will want to marry a hardened criminal like you.”
Liam laughed, then covered it with another sip of coffee.
“Ma, I was eight,” Duke grumbled.
“But it was a crime you actually committed, unlike this mess with Cash,” she countered.
Oh my god. Duke was a moron, my mother knew everything, like usual, and Liam had done a background check on the men I loved. They were family and weren’t going anywhere. But Cash…
“I have to go after him,” I said, handing off the lemon danish to my mother before hurrying to the front door. I didn’t care that everyone was in my house, that I was supposed to play hostess. I didn’t care about anything but finding Cash. I had to get to him, to tell him I believed him. Trusted him. I reached my hand out to Bennett, not wanting to leave him behind. The three of us were a unit. We were together. Hopefully, with more time than just a weekend, we’d be a family of our own. Who knew I’d go from longing for a relationship of my own on Friday to having one of my dreams on Sunday?
“Come on.”
He smiled, took my hand and let me pull him down the walkway to his truck. To find Cash.
13
CASH
* * *
The shop was only half a mile from Julia’s house, so the walk wasn’t very long. My truck was at Bennett’s, but it didn’t matter. I needed to do something, so I’d work off my frustration on fixing a bad alternator. I cut through neighborhoods and took in the small, well-kept homes. Some had toys in the yard, one had a tire swing. Family homes. Something I’d never have. I’d thought—no, dreamed—of having it all with Julia, but like I’d told her, I wasn’t good for her.
There was no question she wanted the picket fence and minivan. Hopefully, Bennett would be the one to give it to her. If there was any guy who was worthy of her, it was he. No one else.
It would kill me to watch see them together around town, to see what I couldn’t have. Tasted… but nothing more. Marked with my name, but that would fade. Could I handle it? Doubtful. It felt like my insides were being ripped from my body even now. Just picturing Julia in my mind, her sassy smile, that fiery, silky hair, the sound of her laugh… fuck, the sound of her coming. Her taste. Her scent. The feel of her pussy fitting my dick like a glove. I was ruined for any other woman. I wanted Julia Duke. My mind, my dick, my heart.
As if I’d conjured her, there she was in front of the shop. I stopped, stared.
She stood with Bennett, his arm wrapped around her waist, her eyes scanning the area. When she saw me, she tensed, then, even from a distance, I watched as her tense shoulders relaxed.
What the hell were they doing here? I walked toward them, and Julia ran toward me and to my complete surprise, jumped up in my arms. I was glad I had solid footing, because while she was so small, she knocked me back a step. Her arms went around my neck, her legs about my waist. It took me a second of shock before I wrapped one arm around her waist, the other under her ass to support her.
“I’m sorry,” she said, breathing deeply. Her cheeks were flushed, her eyes wild as they roved over my face.
What? “Why?”
“For Duke.”
“He’s just watching out for you. He’s a good brother.”
“He’s a dumbass,” she countered.
The corner of my mouth tipped up at her aggravated tone. “I won’t argue with that, but, baby, he’s right. I’m no good for you.”
“You didn’t rape that woman.” She wasn’t asking.
I shook my head. “No.”
“Then why do you think you’re bad for me? You’ve done nothing wrong.”
“Duke’s not the only one who’s going to think the worst.”
“So what?”
“So what?” I repeated, raising my hand so I could stroke her hair back from her face. Her skin was silky soft beneath my rough palm, reminding me of how precious and untarnished she was. “I don’t want any of that to touch you.”
“I love you.”
She said those three little words as plain as could be. My breath caught. My heart skipped a beat.
“I do and if you tell me I’m wrong, that I shouldn’t, I’m going to throat punch you.”
I couldn’t help but smile at that. “Throat punch me, huh?”
She grinned. “Yup.”
Bennett walked over, stood behind Julia’s back, set a hand on her shoulder. Angling her head, she looked to him. “I love you, too. Both of you.”
“Angel,” Bennett breathed. I saw the look on his face, knew he felt the same as me. Having this woman say it, mean it, was the greatest gift ever.
“My entire life, I will probably say I don’t deserve you. But you have my heart,” I said.
Tears filled Julia’s eyes, and one slid down her cheek, but she smiled brilliantly. “Who knew I’d fall hard for two strippers?” she asked, slipping her hand from around my neck to wipe it away.
“Maybe we need to
buy some nut huggers,” Bennett prompted.
She laughed, which was exactly what he’d intended. That sound made me happy. Made me whole. Having her in my arms, the feel of her, the scent… fuck. It was everything. And I was never letting go. I’d even put on a pair of neon nut huggers, just for her.
But there was one thing…
“What about your family?” The Dukes were tight.
She frowned. “What about them?”
“Baby, I don’t want to get between any of you.”
“Liam had you and Bennett checked out. He wouldn’t have let me get near you if he thought you were dangerous. You’d have been driven out of town. My mom said your uncle told her why you moved back, what had happened. She’s known all along.”
I wasn’t surprised the sheriff had done his due diligence. I was thankful he and the other men, either Dukes themselves or claiming a woman with one, were so protective of their women.
As for Mrs. Duke, I hadn’t met, but I knew of her. Knew she was a formidable woman, not one to be messed with. Seemed she passed on all those traits to her daughter as neither woman was flighty or meek.
“What about Duke?”
“He’s Kaitlyn’s problem,” she replied easily.
“So you don’t care if he hates me?”
“When I tell him I want you and Bennett for your big dicks, he’ll come around.”
JULIA
* * *
“I can’t believe we came here because you have lube,” I said, standing in Cash’s small living room.
Bennett had driven us to Cash’s house—I had to wonder if I’d ever get my truck back—because his bed was too far away. My house had my entire family in it. While Duke would have to get used to me being with Bennett and Cash, I didn’t think the way to do that was to fuck them both while he was still in my house.
Also, Cash had lube, which the two of them said was a requirement for what they planned to do to me. I rubbed my thighs together in anticipation. I had never considered ass play before. But with Bennett’s introduction to it the night before, I craved more of those intense, overwhelming sensations.
“Yesterday morning, before we picked you up, I picked some up at the store,” he explained.
“You were sure of yourself,” I commented.
Cash grinned, then winked. “Hopeful.”
“Angel, are you sore?” Bennett asked. “We’ve been at you non-stop since Friday.”
“We were in you just a little while ago,” Cash added, his gaze heating as he spoke.
Was I sore? I’d had more sex in the past two days than I’d had the past two years. My pussy felt well-used, deliciously so, but not sore.
“No, I’m fine. I don’t care that it’s only been two hours. I want you again.”
Looking at them as they slowly approached, I swallowed hard, feeling like prey and they were the predators.
Cash scooped me up, tossed me over his shoulder and carried me into his bedroom. When I was dropped on the bed, I eyed them both as they stood side-by-side, arms crossed at the foot of the bed. This time was going to be different. More.
“I’ve fallen for you, baby,” Cash said. “Hard. Hell, I’m in love with you. I think I fell for you the moment you realized we weren’t strippers, that you’d stuck your pretty foot in your mouth.”
“Cash—” I began, but he cut me off.
“Who knew my life could be turned upside down by a red-haired vixen?” he continued. “We might have our names written on your pussy, but yours is carved into my heart.”
Oh shit. Who knew this brash, dark, sullen and moody man could be so romantic?
“I love you,” Bennett said, his pale eyes squarely on mine. I didn’t doubt those three words from his lips either. I’d felt them in the way he’d comforted me the day before, the way he’d pleasured me. Stood up for me with Frank. Protected me from my family, even though it hadn’t been necessary.
“We’re marrying you,” Cash added, and Bennett nodded his agreement.
I gasped. Marriage? But—
“Someday,” Bennett clarified.
Cash grinned wickedly, leaned down and grabbed my ankle, slowly pulled me closer. “That’s right. We’ll give you a happily ever after, but let’s work on keeping you happy for now.”
“We’ll take it slow,” Bennett added.
I slid slowly across the bed in Cash’s hold. “We’re going to take things nice and slow.”
I gulped and my nipples hardened. I had a feeling I wasn’t going to see anything but this bed for a while.
They stripped me bare, one on either side of me as their hands unbuttoned, roved, caressed. Their lips brushed over the skin revealed, the fingertips sliding over sensitive spots. My dropped my clothes onto the floor where they’d stay.
By the time I was naked, I was ridiculously aroused. I felt like the center of their world. Nothing beyond Cash’s bedroom existed. I was sitting on the edge of the bed as they stood, looking their fill.
“Lie back, baby,” Cash murmured, unbuttoning his shirt. “I want to see if my name on your pussy needs a touch up.”
Oh god. While I was content being naked with them, the idea of lying back and parting my thighs so they could look at the very center of me was a little overwhelming. Suddenly, I felt shy.
Cash must have seen it, for he leaned down, kissed me. “You’re so beautiful. Show me,” he whispered.
I breathed in his clean scent, reveled in his soft smile. I fell back onto the soft blanket, raised my knees up toward my chest.
“Wider,” Bennett said. When I complied, his jaw clenched. He could see everything. Open as I was, they could see my back entrance, my pussy and my clit. How wet I was, how my juices probably coated their names.
Cash and Bennett both dropped to their knees in front of me, each taking hold of one of my ankles, holding me wide. “Tomorrow, Angel. We’ll fix our names tomorrow.”
Cash grunted, his eyes squarely on my pussy. “A permanent marker is going to stay beside the bed.”
Bennett leaned forward, licked me from my puckered opening all the way to my clit. I bucked and they held me still with sure grips on my ankles.
“Bennett!” I cried, squirming. The feel of his tongue was like a bolt of lightning. Hot, sizzling and intense. “I… I’m all wet.”
He lifted his head, grinned. The evidence of just how wet I was coated his lips. “Sweeter than any danish.”
I rolled my eyes, even though I was so needy. “But… but even though I showered, Cash’s cum is still sliding from me.”
Cash groaned, then grinned. “Your panties were ruined.”
“Angel, you think a little cum’s going to stop me from putting my mouth on you?”
“But…” I didn’t want to say that it was Cash’s, that I’d assumed Bennett wouldn’t want to go there.
“I’m not interested in Cash. I don’t find him all that cute.” He smiled and Cash rolled his eyes. “But it makes me hard finding your pussy all coated in cum. Mine or his. That means we’re taking care of you. Giving you what you need.”
When his hand cupped me, started to spread all my wetness all around, I closed my eyes and gave over. His fingers slid inside me, slowly fucked me, taking the time to rub over my g-spot, press, then move back out. Around my clit and over the side that made me sooo hot. Lower. In. Out.
I heard the sound of a lid pop open, then a cold, slick finger at my bottom.
I gasped and looked down my body. Bennett was playing with my pussy and Cash’s finger was circling my back entrance. The extra sensation was so intense I cried out.
“Easy,” Cash murmured. “Nice and slow.”
“She likes a little pressure. Just the tip inside,” Bennett told him, as if he were sharing how I liked my coffee.
“We always give you more than just the tip, don’t we, baby?” Cash asked, adding pressure so his finger slipped inside.
With Bennett stroking my clit as Cash slowly fucked my ass, going a little deeper each time, I
came, startling me.
I wasn’t used to the stretch of something in my bottom, but the slight bite of pain merged with the bliss of a light stroke on my clit was incredible.
I was a sweaty, boneless mess when they moved their hands away from my pussy and ass, when they lowered my legs. I didn’t say a word when I was lifted and placed in the center of the bed.
“No napping,” Cash said. “We’re not done with you yet.”
I blinked my eyes open as the bed shifted and I found Cash, naked and with his hard dick pointed straight at me, crawling closer. “Your ass is too tight to fuck, baby. We’ll get in you at the same time. Soon. But not now.”
Even through my orgasm-induced haze, I was a little glad. I wasn’t sure if I was prepared—mentally—for that.
Bennett crawled up the bed and lay on top of me, his weight supported by his forearms. He stroked my sweaty hair back from my face, and I looked into his fathomless blue eyes.
“There you are, Angel.”
I felt his dick pressing into my thigh. Shifting my hips, I adjusted so he was settled so his hips pressed into mine.
“Ready for more?”
I arched my back, pressed my breasts up and into his chest. “Yes, please. More.”
With a hand on my hip, he rolled us so I was on top. He grinned up at me. “Now Cash can get in on this, too.”
A hand slid down my back. Cash. Lower and lower it went until it spanned my lower back. A thumb settled between my cheeks and pressed against my back entrance. It was coated in lube and with a gentle push, it slid right in. From the angle of entry, it hooked into me and the feel of this kind of penetration had me gasping. Bigger, deeper.
Bennett took the opportunity to kiss me, his tongue slipping into my mouth. His dick pushed into my pussy, opening me up. God, they were so big. With things in both my holes, the pleasure was intense. I was so sensitive, my clit rubbing against Bennett’s lower belly. Back arching, I gave over. Now I knew why double penetration was so good. Why Kaitlyn, Ava, Parker and Jill all looked so well-satisfied. Why they were always looking so lovey-dovey at their men. Why they kept telling me how great it was and I covered my ears so I didn’t have to hear about my brothers’ and cousin’s sex lives.
