Cowboy Rescue [Men for Hire 1] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) (18 page)

He took her chin then leaned forward to press a light kiss on her mouth. She cringed then wiped his kiss away when he pulled back.

“Don’t worry, sweetheart. I don’t expect you to love me yet. For some, like me, it happens right away. But for others”—his face clouded over with disgust—“women like you who have fallen prey to men of lesser character, it takes time.” He brightened again. “I have no doubt I’ll win your heart.”

“You’re nuts.” She hadn’t wanted to upset him before, but maybe if she could get him really angry, it would throw him off-balance, leaving him more vulnerable when her men made their move.

He stood up fast, kicking the gun a couple of feet away in his hurry but leaving it on the floor. His eyes blazed with insanity as he shouted and pointed his finger at her. “Don’t say that. I am not crazy.”

“Who else called you crazy, King? Your parents? Sharron? Other women?” She kept her eyes on him and away from the gun. Maybe now she could get it before he could stop her.

“My parents? They were the insane ones. They’re the ones who took an intelligent young boy and forced him into a mental facility. ‘For your own good,’ they said. But I knew better. They wanted me gone, out of their home. I was a nuisance they’d never wanted.”

“And what did the doctors say, King? Did they say you were crazy, too?” She kept goading him, making him angrier than ever.

“Shut up! All of you are wrong! I’m the one who knows the best. My parents were assholes. All the women I’ve ever known were whores and bitches. Sharron was one of the worst, and she lied and said she loved me.”

She gasped as he swept the gun off the floor.
Please. Wherever you guys are right now, please help me.

“But you’re different. You have to be. I know you are.” King flailed the gun around as he paced back and forth. He dragged in deep breaths, closing his eyes and muttering as he tried to calm himself. “It’s okay. It’s all right. You don’t know any better.”

She kept quiet. She’d wanted him upset, but maybe she’d gone too far. She pulled her knees to her chest and tried to make her body a smaller target.

At last, he stopped, closed his eyes, and took in a long, shaky breath. “It’s okay.”

She trembled as he turned toward her and pointed the gun at her. “I forgive you. This time.”

Her attention was glued to the gun as he lowered his arm. “But don’t ever say that again. Do you understand me?”

She nodded several times, putting more emphasis on her agreement. “I won’t. I swear—”

The sound of the door cracking away from its frame stopped her. King spun around as Brad barreled into the shack first, with Mike and Jack on his heels.

Surprised, King dropped the gun then lurched for the table and grabbed the knife. Striking out, he raked the knife along Brad’s arm, then rolled toward her. Snatching her by the hair, he tugged her in front of her and held the knife at her throat.

“Get away, or I’ll cut her!”

Mike crouched in front of them, his gun aimed and ready to fire. Brad, blood oozing down his arm, brought his rifle to the ready while Jack remained in the doorway. He pointed his shotgun at King.

“Let her go, man. We don’t want to kill you.”

It was a lie. Mike wanted nothing better than to blow King to hell. She could see it in his eyes. She just hoped King couldn’t.

She fought the fear threatening to stiffen her body. In his haste to get to her, King had knocked his gun toward her. It had come to rest next to her, and she’d managed to put her leg over it after he’d pulled her to him.

She lifted her eyebrows, catching Mike’s attention, then dropped her gaze to her leg. Her fingers rested on the end of the gun.

His gaze shifted to her leg then back to King fast. When he shook his head, she wasn’t sure if it was meant for her or for King.

“Don’t do it, man. Let her go. Don’t make me blow you away.”

Her finger found the trigger, and Mike’s features tightened. Again, he shook his head, telling her not to do it. He didn’t want her to take the risk, but she knew she had to. The edge of the knife dug into her skin.

Closing her eyes, she said a prayer, then brought the gun up as fast as she could. Pointing it outward, she pressed the muzzle against King’s leg and pulled the trigger.

King cried out, jerking the knife from her throat and loosening his hold on her. She heard someone—
Brad?
—shout for her to fall down, and she did, throwing her body to the side. Shots rang out, producing a din of thundering booms in the small shack as she covered her head and kept her eyes closed.

Moments later, the roar of the gunfire was gone, replaced by an eerie silence.

“Maria, are you all right?”

Mike tugged her toward him and pulled her into his arms. She dared to open her eyes but didn’t look in the direction of King’s prone body.

“Brad? Jack?”

“They’re okay. Don’t worry. You’re safe now. King’s dead.”

* * * *

Getting back to Gabriel’s home was a mix of blurry images and low voices. Maria remembered riding a horse, her body held firmly against Brad’s as he took her home. Mike had stayed behind while Jack had ridden ahead to tell everyone what had happened.

Gabriel had ordered Brad to take her into the house and put her to bed. Brad had agreed and had taken her upstairs to her bedroom. But instead of putting her to bed, Jack had joined him and, together, they’d run a warm bath and placed her gently into the water.

She couldn’t remember much and kept drifting into a comforting darkness. But she could recall them soaping her body, their strokes as gentle as their voices. She sighed as they’d dried her off, then pulled one of her nightgowns over her body and placed her on the bed. Mike had joined them to pull the sheet over her and place a kiss on her cheek. Sleep had taken her then and kept her until the sheriff and state police had arrived the next morning.

She sat in one of the rockers on the front porch as Gabriel and her men spoke to Sheriff Tribek and an officer from the state police. They’d already questioned her and were once again asking the Granger brothers to go over what had happened. The police were bothered that the men had shot King so many times, but, at last, they’d let it drop. She still couldn’t get used to referring to him by his real name, Victor.

Mike, Brad, and Jack followed Gabriel to the porch as the authorities got into the cars and drove away. Gabriel had welcomed her back into his house, not once reprimanding her for charging off and putting her in a position where King could get at her.

Mike sat on the porch rail as Jack and Brad took the chairs on either side of her. They rocked, everyone keeping silent for a few minutes.

“We can’t begin to say how sorry we are that we let you down.”

She shook her head, denying Brad’s words. How many times had they apologized since bringing her back? “You didn’t. You saved me. You were my cowboys to the rescue.”

“He never should’ve gotten to you. We screwed up. Again.”

The anguish in Jack’s tone tore at her. “Stop. Let it go. I don’t want to think about it any longer. It’s finished.”

She dragged in a whiff of the morning air. Why did it smell so fresh there?

Another few minutes of silence came and went. But it wasn’t uncomfortable. Instead, she knew she was right where she belonged.

“You’re probably not up to it, but we’d like to take you riding.”

She gazed into Mike’s dark eyes. “Why?”

He seemed thrown by the question. “Because we have a surprise for you.”

A tingle of excitement leapt to life inside her to struggle past the memory of King. “A surprise? I think I could handle sitting on a horse. As long as the surprise is a good one.”

“We think you’ll like it.” Jack rose to his feet, forever the restless one. “Should we get the horses ready?”

“Yes.” For the first time since returning to Gabriel’s home, she smiled. “Let’s do this.”

* * * *

A half hour later and Maria thought she’d died and gone to Heaven. “What is this place?”

They sat, side by side, on top of their horses overlooking a small valley. Long, green grass swayed in the wind while tall trees bordered the land in a semicircle on the other side. The wind blew a refreshing breeze over her as she scanned the area.

“Is that a stream I hear?”

“You betcha. One of many on the ranch, but we think it’s the best one.” Brad’s expression was filled with bliss.

“Then tell me. Where are we?”

“We’re on the tip of Gabriel’s ranch on a section of land that we’ve claimed as our own. Thanks to Gabriel’s generosity.”

“And as payment for services rendered,” added Jack.

“That, too,” acknowledged Brad.

She looked at the land again, realization of what they were talking about hitting her. “Wait. Is this the place where you want to build your home?”

Pride swelled their chests as they surveyed their land. “It is.” Brad took the lead, putting his horse into a quick pace as he led them into the valley.

She followed, taking a place in between Jack and Mike, and thought that they’d stop and dismount once they were in the middle of the expanse. But Brad kept going until he came to the edge of the trees. She dismounted along with the men, wrapping her horse’s reins around a low-lying branch as they had done.

“Where are we going?”

Mike took her hand and started down a narrow path through the trees. “We’re taking you to your surprise.”

“You mean the land wasn’t the surprise?”

“That was just the first part.” He stopped, then pointed ahead of him. “Here’s the rest of it.”

Her heart picked up a faster pace as she took in the tranquil scene. A pretty stream, surrounded by wildflowers, flowed over rocks and boasted white caps in the deeper portion. Near the bank was a large bed with rose petals covering the white bedspread. Other flowers in vases surrounded the bed while a basket of food and three bottles of wine rested on a checkered blanket nearby.

“Holy cow.”

“I hope that means you like it.”

She gave him an incredulous look. “Of course I do. How did you get a bed down here?”

“We have our ways.”

Jack grinned as he took her other hand and led her toward the bed. “Let’s just say that a whole lot of men were willing to help out.”

He pulled her on top of the bed and started tugging off her T-shirt. The shirt had her face covered when she heard the sound of Jack getting hit then letting out a yelp.

“Did you ever think she might want to eat first, you horny lug?”

She went ahead and pulled her shirt off, happy with the fact that she wasn’t embarrassed to have her breasts free of a bra and out for them to see. Brad had hold of Jack’s arm, but she pulled him off.

“Actually, no. Food isn’t what I’m hungry for.”

“Hot damn.” Jack pushed Brad away and shoved her onto her back. He yanked at the skirt she wore, sending it sliding down her legs to reveal that she wasn’t wearing any panties either.

“Hot damn is right.” Brad crossed his arms and rid himself of his shirt. He started on his belt buckle and jeans while toeing off his boots.

Mike came up behind her, already in the buff. He grabbed her arms and tugged them together. “I wanted to try this stuff out.”

She looked above her at the red tape he wrapped around her wrists. “What about the cuffs?”

He paused, then kept on winding the tape around. “I forgot about them. Dang. Oh, well, next time.”

Next time? Were there any better words in the English language?

Once he finished getting her hands tied, he bent low. “I’m tying the end to the bedframe. But just know, darlin’, anytime you don’t like what we’re doing—”

“Mike?”

“Yeah?”

“I know. Now get busy.”

She laughed as Brad pulled on her legs and spread them apart. Mike tossed him the tape, and he tore two long strips from the roll before starting to bind her legs to the bed. Jack hopped off the bed, disrobed, giving her a nice look at his eight-pack abs, then dashed over to the picnic basket. He hurried back with a bunch of grapes in his hand.

“I don’t want to get all this going and then have you getting hungry.” Popping a grape into his mouth, he crawled onto the bed and kissed her.

Her giggle was muffled against his mouth as he slipped the grape, then his tongue into her mouth. She bit into the grape, sending the flavor around her mouth to mix with his taste. He moaned and cupped her breast.

“Little brother’s got a good idea, but I’ve got a better one.”

She felt Brad nestle between her legs then crushed his mouth to her pussy. She cried out as the juice from the grape and Jack mixed in her mouth.

Jack broke the kiss and trekked his tongue down her throat, along her collarbone, and down to her nipple. He flicked his tongue around her tit then added a nibble to give her a quick sting.

Mike reached under the bed then got on top next to her. He opened the bag he’d gotten. “I brought a few things to play with.”

He wiggled his eyebrows in a wicked way and brought out a vibrator. “I heard women like these things. Personally, I think they’re a poor substitute for a man.” He chuckled. “And from the look on your face for what my brothers are doing, I think you’ll probably agree. Still, let’s give it a try.”

Oh, hell, yeah.

She spread her legs wider and lifted her head, trying to see past Jack’s head. Brad lapped at her like a starving man. Mike was right. No toy could ever do the job like Brad could.

But that didn’t stop Mike from playing. He turned the vibrator on and let it hum against his palm. “Hmm, feels pretty good.” Bending over her, he stuck the toy between her folds and pressed the tip against her clit.

She cried out as Brad thrust his tongue into her pussy at the same moment. Jack held both her breasts, nibbling, sucking, and licking on them as the toy and Brad sent waves of burning need outward from her pussy.

Her mouth parted with a quiet cry as Mike stared at her. His eyes flamed with desire as he watched her enjoyment.

“Give me that thing.” Brad grabbed the vibrator away from Mike, then, without warning, plunged it into her pussy.