Dalton, Tymber - Hernando Heat (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) (6 page)

She squeezed his arm. “No, it’s not easy, no matter how much time you had together. And you’re right that people don’t understand.”

She pretended not to see him brush his hand across his face, wiping at his eyes. “Like I said, please don’t take it personal.”

After gently squeezing his arm again, she released it. “I won’t. As long as you promise to talk to me if you need an understanding ear.”

He nodded. “I promise. Thank you.”

* * * *

She hadn’t left Brooksville since her arrival the year before, so she wasn’t familiar with the road they traveled. Despite night falling, the large moon provided plenty of light. As they turned onto a private lane, Joe pointed out their house in the distance. Around them, in fenced pastures, she saw clusters of the herd, illuminated by moonlight.

Struggling not to think back to her past with Paul, she forced a light tone. “How many head do you have, Joe?”

“Nearly five hundred. Like I said, we don’t expect you to do any farm chores like that. Just in the house. I pay one of my stable hands to milk and collect eggs, things like that. So all we need you for is things in the house.”

“I appreciate it, but I can do chores like that, too, if you need me. We had a spread of our own. I’m used to farm work.”

“No, ma’am. That’s not our deal.” She caught another faint smile from him. “I don’t go back on my word.” He pulled the team up in front of the house. She loved the large, airy wraparound porch. Unlike many of the small, squat, one- and two-story homes in town, this house spread out a little, designed to catch any breeze wafting across the pastures to help keep it cool during hot Florida summers.

Mason hitched his horse to a rail near the front porch and walked over to help unload the wagon. He untied the ropes securing her things and carted the first trunk inside. Joe climbed down from the wagon before her. Instead of waiting for him to help her, she decided to climb down on her own. Unfortunately, her foot tangled in her skirt hem, and she felt her balance tip the wrong way. She let out a startled cry as she started to fall, but she didn’t hit the ground. Instead, she landed in Joe’s strong arms.

Instinctively, her arms grabbed for his neck as he caught her. When their eyes locked she realized maybe she had an even bigger problem than she realized. Lightning raced through her as his worried face studied her.

“Are you all right, ma’am?”

She nodded. More to break the admittedly pleasant tension than anything, she said, “If you don’t start calling me Katie, I’m going to swat you.”

The next smile he gave her didn’t look as sad. “Sorry, Katie.” He gently set her on her feet.

Mason reappeared. “What happened?”

“Joe saved me from myself,” she said, her gaze still focused on Joe. “I tripped trying to get out of the wagon by myself.”

Wearing a wistful look, Joe turned back to the wagon. “Let’s get you settled.”

An hour later, the men had her things moved inside what now was her room. A large, airy guest room on the northeast corner of the house, it would stay cooler during the summer, she imagined. The cousin’s rooms lay across the hall from hers, and she fought another rush of heat to her face as she remembered the feel of Joe’s strong arms around her.

No, it’d be safer to keep her emotional distance from both men. It would prove far too easy for her to fall for either of them. And having been a married woman, she knew darn well the significance of the hard bulge she’d brushed up against while briefly in Joe’s arms.

She also knew why Mason had frequently adjusted his trousers that evening while he helped her pack, even though she suspected he thought he hid that from her.

Both men were attracted to her. Fair enough, because she felt the same.

She just prayed it wouldn’t cause a problem, because for the first time since Paul’s death, she felt reasonably safe.

As she blew out her lamp and settled into her new, comfortable bed, she suspected sleep would be a long time coming.

* * * *

Sometime in the middle of the night, Katie heard a soft squeak as the bedroom door opened. When she looked, in the moonlight she spotted Joe and Mason standing there.

Both bare-chested.

She swallowed hard and ignored all her brain’s warnings about common sense and decency as she wordlessly held out a hand to them, welcoming them into her bed.

Without a sound, both men slowly walked over to stand beside her bed. As one, they unfastened their trousers and let them drop to the floor. They stepped out of them and climbed into bed with her.

Joe took the sheet from her and gently drew it down her body. Mason leaned in and kissed her, his stubble slightly scratchy against her cheek. She felt Joe’s fingers undoing the buttons on her nightgown, parting the light fabric and exposing her breasts.

Her heart raced faster as he leaned in and took her left nipple into his mouth. His tongue flicked against it, rapidly turning it into an achingly hard and throbbing point. Mason sat up and moved down, taking her other nipple between his lips and giving it similar treatment.

She closed her eyes and moaned as Joe guided her own hand between her legs, encouraging her with his hand to rub her clit with her fingers. She felt wanton, and yet it felt so right and better than anything she could have ever dreamed of.

As the men settled in and sucked on her nipples, she quickly shed any last reserve and started rubbing her clit, plunging her fingers into her drenched pussy and gathering her own juices to lubricate her now frantic actions.

As the men continued to suck, she felt her first orgasm since before Paul died bubbling beneath the surface, blossoming, taking her breath away.

The men didn’t stop, their hot, wet mouths helping to pull her orgasm up and out of her until she gasped for air—

And awoke to find her hand working frantically between her legs, and that she was alone in bed.

Gasping and sweating, she sat up and looked around, heat filling her face. She closed her eyes and collapsed back onto the bed.

A dream. Just a dream.

She started to laugh and had to pull the pillow over her face to stifle her near-hysterical giggles that soon turned into sobs. The dream had felt so right despite having two men servicing her.

What am I going to do?

How would she ever survive living with both of them without succumbing to at least one of them?

And how would she ever choose between them, if they were both interested in her?

* * * *

Joe lay awake, staring at the ceiling. This time his thoughts turned to the attractive woman sleeping just steps away across the hall. Not that he could do anything about it. Mason had already made his intentions more than clear. Joe hadn’t anticipated how good it would feel holding her, even though it had been innocent and totally unplanned.

He just hoped she didn’t feel how hard his cock strained against his trousers as he let her down. She smelled good, felt perfect in his arms.

At least Mason would be happy. She would be good for him.

Eventually, he drifted to sleep, although he was tortured by dreams of Laura…and of Katie. The next morning he awoke before dawn to the sound of noises in the kitchen. He pulled on trousers and yanked his suspenders up as he went to investigate. He found Katie, already dressed and ready to start her day, rummaging through the kitchen.

“What are you looking for?”

Apparently she hadn’t heard him, because she let out a startled cry as she jumped and turned, a hand pressed to her chest. “You scared the deuce out of me!” Her face looked red and flushed.

“Sorry. Can I help you find something?”

“Yes, thank you. I was looking for tea.”

“We don’t have any. We’ve got coffee.”

“Ah. Okay. I’ll make that then.”

He showed her where it was and realized she had assembled a bowl of batter. “What’s that?”

“You like hotcakes, I hope?”

He smiled. “I certainly do. Unless Mason’s the one handling the spatula. His hotcakes are lacking a certain…”

“Flavor?”

“Edibility.”

“Hey,” Mason grumpily complained as he entered the kitchen. “That’s not true. It’s only the first five or six that aren’t edible. After that, you can get them down if you chew them long enough and use plenty of syrup.” He yawned, scratched himself, and then seemed to remember there was a lady present. His face reddened. “Sorry, Katie. ’Scuse me.”

Joe fought back the jealous twinge he felt at Mason’s arrival. Joe knew he had no claim on her. Not that Mason had an official claim by any stretch of the imagination, but he loved his cousin, and the last thing he wanted to do was move in when Mason had already stated his interest.

Katie laughed, apparently amused by their exchange. “Well, I’ve never had complaints about my hotcakes before, so hopefully they’ll be up to your standards.”

“I’m sure they will,” Joe assured her.

Joe left them in the kitchen and returned to his room to freshen up and dress. Mason apparently had the same idea, because he heard his cousin return to his room a brief moment later.

Good, he’s not alone with her.

Joe cringed at the thought. He couldn’t allow himself to go there. No, not at all. But now that he realized the seed was planted, he couldn’t bear to dig it up.

* * * *

Katie let out a relieved breath when both men returned to their rooms. After her dream, she’d spent a restless night, albeit in a comfortable bed, but her thoughts turning to one or the other man just across the hall from her room.

Or to both.

Katie felt her face redden and quickly steered her imagination away from that. She relaxed as she cooked, something she enjoyed and hadn’t done much of for the past year.

No, don’t think about that.

One of the first things she’d unpacked had been Paul’s picture. Set up on the shelf in her room, next to his mantle clock, she fought the urge to cry. It didn’t matter what he said before he died, she didn’t know how to give her heart to someone else. And now she had two eligible men literally underfoot to choose from, if she wanted.

The men emerged from their rooms, fully dressed this time, and tucked into their meals with appreciative noises and frequently repeated thanks. Mason offered her a playful wink. “If the rest of your cooking is even half this good, you’ll have the two of us fighting to keep you here. You realize that, right?”

Her face warmed. “You barely know me,” she mumbled as she turned to the sink to wash her own plate. “You may be tired of me by next week.”

“Nope,” Joe spoke up. “Not very likely. Heck, your hotcakes are a darn sight better than the best thing Mason’s ever attempted.”

“You’re not much better,” Mason shot back. “Who ever heard of trying to mash raw potatoes?”

She burst out laughing and turned from the sink. “What?
Raw
potatoes?”

It was Joe’s turn to blush. “It was the first time I ever tried making them,” he mumbled. “How was I supposed to know you cook them first?”

He looked so miserable she decided muffle her amusement. But the thought kept her smiling up until Mason’s next comment broke into her thoughts. “I’m ready to head to town whenever you are, Katie. They’ve already got the buggy hitched.”