The Unbreakable Trio (6 page)

A life without Claire wasn’t a life he wanted to contemplate.

He pushed her hair out of the way from her neck and stared at the delicate column of flesh.

His mind was going crazy with everything that had happened. He laid a gentle kiss, then another.

Shane heard her suck in her breath, but she didn’t stop him. Her pulse jumped at the base of her throat, and he kissed the rapid beat.

He kissed up her neck and pulled away long enough to stare into her eyes, which were opened wide.

“Shane?” she whispered. He didn’t want to hear her refusal or anything to make him stop what he was doing.

Her fingers dug into the muscles of her arms. He slammed his lips down and kissed her completely. Shane explored her lips, which were the fullest lips he’d ever tasted. Granted, he hadn’t seen many. The only lips he wanted were hers.

She moaned, and he pushed one hand into her hair and held her head in place while the other wandered her body. He started from her shoulder and worked over her collarbone, down until he cupped one of her large tits.

Shane was on fire. In his mind he knew he should stop. Claire deserved better than a bruised man with a ruined soul, but he couldn’t. He wanted her so badly.

“Shane,” she whispered again as she pulled away. His hand stayed around her breast, the fullness making his cock throb with arousal. “You don’t want to do this.”

“I do.”

Without further permission, he pushed her onto the bed and lay on top of her. Finally, he had her underneath him.

“I want you so much,” he said, and lifted the hem of her shirt to expose one of those breasts to his lips.

Shane didn’t know what was happening. The rage from moments ago and lust coursing through him was making him act differently.

Claire responded to his kisses and moaned as he touched her body.

Somewhere in between he’d gotten the signals crossed. Shane wasn’t asking for permission. He was taking what he wanted without any thought to Claire. In those moments where reality and fantasy merged, Shane lost himself.

Shane stared at his bed and replayed the scene in his mind. While in the moment, he hadn’t remembered much. It was like a freeze frame. Claire was nearly naked in her bedroom. She responded to his kisses, and then he went to hell.

At some point during his attack—which is how he viewed the night, as an attack on the woman he loved—he’d taken his clothes off. Even now, he didn’t know what had happened, and only when he was about to sink inside her body, a voice rang through his mind.

Get off her, you fucker. Look at her. She doesn’t want this. She isn’t ready. Get off. Or are you going to be like your father?

The words had broken through his mind, and he’d stared down at Claire. She lay on her back, her arms trapped beneath his hard grip.

Had she wanted him? Shane didn’t think so.

Disgusted with himself, he’d dressed and gotten out of there. Never again had he gone to her bedroom window. Tonight had been a mistake, and he wouldn’t let it happen again. Wanting her had never changed. He kept his distance and slept with other girls, forever wishing he hadn’t blown his only chance with the girl he loved.

Telling Liam would have been a big mistake. He was like a brother, but private stuff like that, he didn’t tell anyone.

Claire must really hate him. From the way he attacked her back then, and now he had molested her on the porch. Shaking his head, he ran himself a bath.

The best choice for him was to pretend it didn’t happen.

Shane didn’t know how he was going to get over the love and desire he felt for her. Every second he spent with her was a second more he wanted her completely.

More than sex—even though the sex would be fantastic—he wanted a family. To be with Liam and Claire, the only two people in the world he could trust.

He ignored the tears as he climbed into the hot water. As the years had passed, he’d learned to cry in silence.

Silence was the only way he could deal with the pain.

For the next few days, nothing happened. Claire and Shane avoided each other. Neither spoke unless they had to, and for the most part, no one noticed a difference.

Liam was still attentive, but every time he left the room, Shane suddenly had some work he needed to finish off.

The annual summer dance was happening on Friday. Claire had never been to one. For years she hadn’t had any dates or been old enough to attend, and now everything had changed. She was old enough to go and had two men to go with. She’d been delighted when Liam and Shane had asked if she’d go as their date.

“You want me to be your date?” she asked.

Liam looked behind him and nudged Shane in the arm. “Are we asking the wrong Claire Martin? Do we need to go and find another one?”

Laughing, she punched him in the arm. “Stop your jokes. They’re not funny.”

“Yes, they are. Anyway. Are you going to go with us?”

She glanced at Shane and saw him smiling. He didn’t look closed off, and deciding to take a chance in life, she agreed.

In no time at all, Friday had come, and Claire was nervous. The ranch hands had left early, and she’d been able to take a long leisurely bath and prepare herself.

Claire pulled a pale-yellow dress over her head. With the heat of summer, she settled on one with thin straps and a modest top which showed a small amount of cleavage. The hem settled at her knees. Modest and sensual. She finished with sandals with a small heel and left her brown hair to tumble down her shoulder. In the fresh air, she found her normally dull locks looked full and glossy, which was something no hair care products could achieve.

“Are you ready? We want to get into town tonight!” Liam called from her door.

Glancing at her reflection one last time, she sent up a prayer and went to open the door. “How do I look?” she asked.

Liam stared at her for a few seconds. With every passing second, her hopes died. She’d tried to look her best. “Should I change?”

“Don’t you dare. You look good enough to eat.”

Loving the compliment, Claire gave a twirl and accepted his arm. He wore jeans and a checkered shirt. The dance they were going to was taking place at the local bar. Cowboys, ranchers, and most of the townsfolk would be in attendance. She was excited. Tonight would be her first dance with a date. She hadn’t attended prom but rather stayed with her friends at Liam’s house.

Shane wore the same as Liam, only he had a black cowboy hat on his head.

“Don’t you think she looks stunning?” Liam asked as they walked down the steps.

“Beautiful,” she heard Shane whisper. As the days had worn on, Shane had begun to spend more time with her. The tension was still there between them. At least he didn’t disappear every time she walked into a room.

“Who’s driving tonight?” she asked. Shane took her arm and led her out to the truck.

“I’m the driver for this evening, ma’am.” He helped her up into her seat and went around to the driver’s side.

“Hey, what about me?” Liam complained as he hurled his body up next to hers. She chuckled when Shane shot him a glare.

The truck started up, and they were on the road. The windows were rolled down and the breeze drifted through the car, sending her hair all over the place. When it hit Liam in the face, he grabbed her hair in a fist, placed his arm over her shoulder, and held it. “That should keep it in one place.”

Claire laughed as tingles erupted along her skin. His fist pulled small strands of her hair, sending an electric bolt of heat straight to her clit. How could the small bite of pain create such blissful pleasure?

Shane tapped her leg. He didn’t move his hand. She glanced down where his hand rested on her thigh. His darker, sun-tanned skin was in complete contrast to her pale thighs. She wanted him to move further up and curl around to the inside.

Living with her friends was turning her into a sex maniac. Every thought and touch from Liam and Shane left her thinking of hot summer nights surrounded by their bodies as they shared her.

How could she think of being with
both
of her friends? In no time at all, Shane pulled the truck alongside the row of parked cars.

“Oh, boy,” she said. The parking lot was busy. Music playing loudly caught her ears from the back of the parking lot. “It’s really busy.”

“Of course it is. This is the one time of the year the folks of Long Mead can let loose and party. Come on. You’ve never been, and it’s up to me and Shane to show you a good time.” Liam took her hand and led her past the rows of cars. Some couples hadn’t made it inside to the excitement. Claire blushed when she passed a car, sure she saw a woman sucking a man’s cock.

Shane chuckled from behind her. “The heat does things to people.”

Would the heat do that to them?

As they got closer, the music got louder. She didn’t recognize the tune, and when the guy opened the doors, she understood why. The music playing was coming from a band. Couples danced in the center of the room. A large bar lay at the left side of the room. Pool tables were dotted around the room. There were a few spare tables that were free.

“Where will we sit?” she shouted to be heard. Shane took her other hand and led her through the maze of bodies. He stopped close to the dance floor at a table with four other men.

“Hi, guys. Can we join you?”

“Shane.” They all got up and embraced him. Claire sent Liam a questioning look, and he shrugged his shoulders. There would be no information from him.

“Claire, I’d like to introduce you to the Walker family. This here is Gary, Scott, Roy, and Jesse. They’re all the Walker brothers.”

Claire took each of their hands and blushed as each brother raised her hand to his lips for a kiss.

“Pleasure to meet the girl Shane is constantly going on about,” Gary said as he pulled on her arm until she landed in his lap.

“Good stuff, I hope.”

Liam and Shane took seats on either side. Gary wrapped his arms around her body. A palm rested on her thigh.

“Always good stuff,” Gary confirmed. The brothers around the table looked nervous, and she saw the glances they kept taking toward the dance floor.

“Is she still evading your interest?” Shane asked.

Claire figured her men would tell her about who they were referring to later and relaxed on the guy’s lap. She glanced out at the dance floor, and she couldn’t see anything unusual. Shane rested his hand on her knee.

The immediate response in her body shocked her. She sat on another man’s lap with his hands on her body with no response. With a simple touch from Shane, she wanted to rub her naked body all over him.

“She came with someone else. We’re here to make sure the guy isn’t a total douche bag,” Gary told Shane.

“I’ll leave you guys to your woman.” Shane took her hand and led her over to the bar.

Liam came up close behind her and ordered for the three of them.

“What was that all about?” she asked.

“You see that woman with the red hair with the sheriff? Well, she lives in the spare house in the back that is owned by the Walker brothers. They consider her their woman, but she’s avoiding them at every turn.”

Their woman?

“Do you mean all four men want the same woman?”

Liam chuckled and handed her a drink. “What’s the matter? Turning you on to think of four men at the same time?”

“No. I mean it must be wonderful to have four men lusting after you. I guess it can be overwhelming.” Claire thought about her own situation with Liam and Shane.

If those brothers could openly lust after one woman, then what was wrong with her own desire for two men?

“Enough talk about foursomes and more. Dance with me,” Liam said, and offered her his hand.

* * * *

Shane drank down his water and watched his friends on the dance floor. The plan to seduce Claire had long since deserted him. They didn’t need her at the ranch, really.

In truth, Shane didn’t want to seduce Claire into being with them. He wanted her to be there because she wanted to be. Seducing her, to him, sounded like forcing her.

It was a strange way of looking at things, but it was how he saw it.

Liam had his hands all over her, and he saw Claire lapping up the attention. Smiling, he glanced around the room. Many of the townsfolk wouldn’t be surprised to see them all together. The famous trio of Long Mead.

The morbid thoughts of his past were threatening to overcome him. Taking a sip of his water, he moved out to the dance floor. The summer dance was about having fun. For one night. he’d forget about his mistake and enjoy the heat and fun of his friends. For too long, he’d been serious. It was time for him to loosen up.

As he passed women, they placed hands on his chest, trying to get him to dance with them.

“Sorry, ladies, I’m taken.” It felt good to say the words.

Liam whispered in Claire’s ear and twirled her around. Her eyes opened wide, and then her entire face lit up with a smile.