Belonging to Them (2 page)

“All men,” Sean injected. He shoved Patrick’s shoulder. “Stop being such a girl and just say it. Or I will, if you want.”

Patrick shot him a glare, sighed and refocused on Rayna. “Stay here for a week, free of room and board. We’ll fix your car. But in return, you’ll belong to us for that time.”

Her chin lowered and her head tilted slightly. “Excuse me?”

She couldn’t help the way her gaze flitted from one man’s hands to the next. Three sets of hands. Huge. Rough. Her heart pounded in her chest. What would they feel like running over her skin? Suddenly, her panties were damp, and her womb quivered in anticipation though she was sure she’d heard incorrectly.

“There aren’t any unattached women in Daly,” Patrick said. “Most of the women here are in ménages with two or more men—all committed. We’d surely be obliged if you’d stay with us and be ours for the next week. It will give you time to straighten out this mess that’s happened, and if you insist that it will make you feel better to pay us later for the car, you can. But this isn’t about money or services. It’s really about an incredibly beautiful woman who’s taken our fancy and who we’d like to get to know a whole lot better.”

“And fuck,” Sean muttered, and both Patrick and David shoved him.

Despite the outlandish proposal before her and her utter confusion, she had a hard time containing her smile at their antics. Momentarily. Then the weight of it hit her again, and she picked up with Sean’s simple version of things. “You want me to stay here, with you and…fuck you. All of you?”

Why on earth were her insides jumping in anticipation of the idea? What the hell was up with her? She should be running away as fast as she could—and running was all she could do since she was otherwise completely stuck here.

“Um…yes,” Patrick answered.

“And in return, in payment, you’ll fix my car.”

“No,” David said, speaking for the first time. His voice was so low it raked across her already turmoiled senses and caused her breath to catch. “No, you’d be our girl. Any guy worth anything would see to it that his girl’s car is fixed so she’s safe—he’d even do it himself if he could. And we can.”

“But no emotional entanglements to hang you up,” Patrick added. “Just fun. And pleasure. None of us are ready for permanent. You can drive away from here in a week with a bunch of memories and an experience none of your girlfriends can match.”

“I need to think,” she said.

“Here,” Patrick said, grabbing another coffee and pie voucher from the business card holder next to the cash register.

She shook her head. “I have some cash. I’ll get my own.”

“Yer a stubborn one, aren’t ye?” Patrick said, noticeably dropping into a deeper accent.

“Don’t you use that brogue with me,” she laughed, the mirth lightening the unease. She still had to think, but it was a relief to know she wasn’t as stunned by this as she’d felt at first blush. In fact, aroused was a far better descriptor than stunned to express how she felt at the moment.

Stepping outside, she let the warmth of the spring day settle into her while her mind rattled about in a muddle.

The O’Keefes wanted her to be their lover for the week…

This small town had a short supply of women…

She looked around, recalling what she knew of this area. Not a lot. That didn’t stop her tourism gene from kicking in like a defense mechanism. Back east in North Carolina, she’d been a tourism researcher and had helped tons of businesses and small towns like this one build their revenue through attraction. None had been as small as this one, but that didn’t make it completely unsalable.

Rather than going to the diner across the street, she walked toward the edge of town—away from the O’Keefes’ Victorian—and noted the town’s features.

Small. No, quaint. It was the proverbial one-road town—with no stoplight and no stop signs, but the speed limit on whatever road she’d been on had slowed to twenty-five coming into the stretch. She’d left Highway 212 a while ago and gotten promptly lost.
So…this is off the beaten path,
she mentally catalogued. The diner doubled as a grocery store. Well, less grocery than mercantile. She’d seen quite a mix of general merchandise and food. A bar sat next door.

On further inspection, she saw a few small roads branching from the main road, but there weren’t any buildings to be seen. She knew this area was big for ranching. The roads probably led to various spreads and probably branched off several times. Not for the first time, she thanked her stars that she hadn’t ended up broken down on one of those.

She made it to the end of the walkway and almost laughed at the lack of structures along the way. A house sat at the end of a small drive across from O’Keefe’s. A gas station-garage, a diner-grocery, a bar, a police station and a few other buildings she couldn’t identify. Definitely a tourism hub, she decided dryly. The bar pointed to there being more than the handful of people she’d seen. Most must work and live at the outlying ranches.

Turning, she crossed the street and headed back. The bell over the door to the restaurant chimed as she went inside. A optimistic number of tables filled the space. She did a quick count—four tables, four booths along the windows, eight stools along the counter. She took a seat in the booth where she’d sipped coffee earlier.

Resting her chin in her hand, she sighed and studied the gingham curtains lining the top of the window. In the reflection she saw a woman come from the kitchen and head for the table. “Welcome back,” the woman said in a cheery voice. “That was quick.”

“My car is a disaster,” Rayna replied. She shifted to look at the blonde woman who was about her age.

“Cars…they’re awful, huh.” She held out her hand. “I’m Leena. My guys and I own this place and the bar next door.”

Leena waited as if expecting some sort of reaction to “guys” but Rayna wasn’t surprised at this point. “Patrick mentioned a severe lack of women around here.”

“Severe doesn’t begin to cover it. Welcome to Daly. Population one-fifty-nine. Women, seven.”

“Holy Pete,” Rayna whispered.

Leena sat in the booth across from her and set down her order pad. “You look a little shell shocked, and I did hear you scream a little bit ago. You okay?”

“Well, I’m lost. My car’s dead. Really dead. My ex-fiancé has managed to get my cell phone turned off and freeze my bank account. And…” Rayna wasn’t sure if she should say, this being a small town and all, but since Leena obviously was involved with more than one man, Rayna supposed it wouldn’t appall her. “And Patrick just proposed something to me that I’m not sure I should entertain.”

“The O’Keefes are as good as men get,” Leena told her. “And don’t tell my guys I think so, but geez, they have that rough around the edges vibe that’s just
hot
.”

Rayna smiled. “I noticed that. I’m Rayna Halliday by the way. It’s the big and rough around the edged that caught my attention. And well…” She paused, again wondering if it was okay to speak the truth then decided it was entirely possible she’d never see anyone from this town again after this episode. “Well, I’ve always kinda wondered. What it would be like. You know?”

“I know, sweetie. I’m not going to try to influence you, because it has to be your decision, but I do hope to see you around again. I get a little lonely for girl talk—company in general.” She grinned and slid from the booth. “So…can I get you anything. Another coffee and pie?”

Rayna pressed a hand to her stomach. “Gosh, no. It was great, but I’m good for now. Do you have Diet Coke?”

“Sure thing, sweetie. I’ll bring it right over.” She looked up as three men came into the diner and slid into seats at the counter. They immediately zeroed in on Rayna and made no pretense about staring.

“New around here?” one asked.

“Please, God, say yes,” the youngest of the group, who looked in his early twenties, pleaded. “Say yes and unattached.”

Leena, who was now behind the counter, swatted the young man’s head with a handful of napkins. “Back off, junior. The O’Keefes’.”

“Dang,” he muttered then tilted his head at Rayna. “Welcome to Daly, ma’am.”

“Thank you,” she replied as the others echoed him.

“You even sound pretty,” he said. “You sure you want those O’Keefes?”

Rayna smiled and looked down at her table as Leena smacked him. So far, Daly was proving to be a nice place. Even discounting “The O’Keefes” and their proposition, the whole place gave her a sense of welcome she wasn’t sure she’d ever felt anywhere. Could she belong here? Patrick said just for fun and pleasure, but… If she wasn’t with them, was there something else for her here? Not a job. She’d have to find something in the city, but—

God Lord, what was she thinking. Three hours in town and she was considering making it home? Seriously. The place must have some sort of weird hoodoo magic entrancing visitors to stay.

Or maybe it was the lust inducing men.

She bit her lip and glanced out the window at the service station. Sean and David had rolled her car to a carport beside the building and now were cleaning something in one of the bays. Patrick was sweeping the front porch, his hands looking as if they could easily crack the handle of the broom.

What he didn’t understand was that he’d made up her mind with a single word. A word that echoed in the emptiness inside her. It was the one thing she’d always wanted. She hadn’t felt with her fiancé who’d made her feel inconsequential until she’d left or her family who’d treated her as insignificant and frankly somewhat stupid or at her job where she’d been considered highly competent but replaceable.

Belonging.

With the way Patrick, David and Sean looked at her… Could she chance that feeling then give it up? A hot prickly sensation crawled up her back and her stomach knotted as she considered saying no and heading into the city.

Leena brought her soft drink and Rayna sipped at it, still watching the men go about their business. A few cars came through and one or more of the O’Keefes would come out, pump gas, check the cars’ fluids and air levels—full service station, she noted, adding it to her list of the town’s features. As she observed, the sky started to cloud over, threatening rain. To her surprise, she saw a man leave the back room of the garage. It wasn’t any of the three men she’d been staring at. They were still tending various tasks.

This fourth man was as large as the other three, but she couldn’t tell more. He was huddled in a black hoodie, his face shrouded in shadows and his hands shoved into the pockets. He headed briskly toward the big Victorian, his gate marred by a pronounced limp.

My cousins, my brother and I are here most days. There’s four of us O’Keefes.

Holy Pete, there were four of them, not three. How had she missed that when Patrick had clearly said it? Rayna stared after the man. Something about him with his hobble and hunched shoulders drew her. Her heart jarred in her chest as if it had flipped right over at the sight of him.

“It’s going to start pouring. Coming?”

She jumped at the voice near her ear. She’d been so consumed in watching the fourth O’Keefe walking down the street that she hadn’t realized Patrick had entered the diner. A glance across the street showed the service station completely closed down.

“I need to pay for my drink,” she said as she stood, aware everyone was looking at them, including David and Sean who were now outside the window.

“On me,” Leena said. “See ya tomorrow, sweetie?”

Rayna looked up at Patrick. “Yeah, I think so.”

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath as he swallowed. A shiver ran through her as he leaned to her ear again. “I promise you won’t regret it.”

Cupping her head, he whispered his mouth across hers. He smelled of the garage—oil, rubber, cars—but his underlying scent of woods and pure man, tantalized her. The whole mixture set her senses afire, drawing her into a miasma of desire she’d never experienced. On a moan, she parted her lips and allowed him to enter. Mint. Oh Lord… Her arms circled his shoulders as he deepened the kiss, drawing her onto her toes and tight to his body.

“Fuck Trick,” one of the men groaned. “Do you hafta flaunt what the rest of us can’t have.”

“Get a room or something,” another heckled. “Leena, you get in that shipment of lube.”

She felt Patrick chuckle as he pulled from the kiss, still holding her in his iron embrace. “They’re all gonna have wet dreams about you tonight, sweetheart. But not me ‘cause I’m gonna have you wet and moaning on my cock.”

“Oh God…” she whispered.

“Too much?”

“No. Just nervous. I’ve never…”

Never what? Fucked three or four men in a session? Heck, two was beyond her experience, though truth be told, she’d often closed her eyes when her ex had used a vibrator on her and pretended there was a second guy there—one fucking her while the other sucked at her breasts. It had always turned her on and brought her to orgasm. She’d needed the fantasy. Frankly, he hadn’t been that good.

And now, she’d see her illicit thoughts turn to reality.

“It’ll be okay.” Patrick laced his fingers through hers and pulled her outside. Sean and David each kissed her quickly, deeply, and she was again assailed by the scents of the garage as well as their individual male odors. Overall, intoxicating and seductive mixes.