Mary's Men (11 page)

“Oh yeah.” She nipped his ear. “Harder.”

He took the challenge and tipped her hips forward, holding her in suspension at the edge of the table. It didn’t give her space or leverage to meet his thrusts, but every plunge put him deeper and quickly turned her moans to screams. He kept a tight hold on her as she shivered and flailed in orgasm. She pounded his shoulders, but he continued the hard, fast rhythm she’d demanded. The momentum combined with her clenching pussy and biting nails expedited his finish.

“Fuck.” Hot cum flooded from him, making the condom slippery. He pulled out quickly and it fell to the floor. His cock twitched, the last of his finish shooting onto her thigh in white droplets.

She ran her finger over the cum and brought it to her lips. She sucked her fingertip. If he’d had anything left, it would have exploded at the sight alone. She grinned and ran her fingers through his hair. “That was awesome.”

“I’ll show you awesome,” Paul said, and easily lifted Mary from the table.

She giggled and held onto his shoulders, waving at Thomas a moment before Paul tossed her bouncing on the bed.

Thomas pulled on his boxers and started to clean up the dishes, but stopped when he caught sight of her face. Mary’s expression turned from anticipation to something akin to embarrassment as Paul kissed her shoulder and moved his hand between her legs. Thomas had seen the expression before, but couldn’t place it and had forgotten to ask what caused it. She bit her lip. He left the kitchen and took his place stretched on the bed beside her.

“What’s going on, Mar?” Thomas asked, though he gave Paul space as Paul had done with him earlier.

“It’s um, hmm.” Her smile, so intense and goofy, didn’t give him much of an answer.

Paul grinned between kissing her neck. “She’s putty in my hands. There’s this spot I find and she gets wiggly. She can’t help it. I guess these old calloused ranch fingers are good for something more than lifting hay bales.”

Watching as Mary held back then finally gave over to a lightning-fast orgasm gave Thomas an idea. Their one attempt at double penetration hadn’t gone beyond start and with honest observation he could see they’d approached things the wrong way. Too much would surely overwhelm her, which had happened.

Paul leaned down and gave Mary a smacking kiss on the lips. “I gotta go, sweet stuff.”

She hugged him tight. “No, you have to stay with me so I can return that favor.”

He kissed her again, lingering so long Thomas thought his brother would blow off whatever called him away. Thomas grabbed his t-shirt and pulled it on, giving them a measure of privacy for a goodbye, though his mind circled on how to make a better sexual experience that included all three of them, and eventually four.

Chapter 12

She hid. Mary wasn’t too proud to admit it. She was hiding out in the cabin, letting the dust settle in town after what she knew had to be big gossip. One week married and the new Paraby wife’s reputation lay in tatters.

If she’d known more people in town, she might have gone to see their reaction, but all she knew were the grocery store people. They seemed nice enough. She held onto hope they didn’t listen to idle gossip and if they did, they didn’t care.

She looked away from the backsplash of the kitchen she’d painted a rosy pink. It popped against the slight red tone in the surrounding wood of the cabin. She’d broke into her emergency money to send a little along with Thomas with the paint color request. He’d done well and the added color warmed the house up to a home.

But no matter how homey, she couldn’t hide forever. Three days without seeing anyone except Thomas and Paul—while doing good things for her heart and their relationships—already frayed her nerves. It couldn’t be healthy for her mind either. She cleaned her brushes, satisfied she’d at least made quality use of her self-imposed solitude.

Thomas entered as she tossed the used rags in the trash. She smiled at him, but his lips pulled in a tight line, his cheeks sunk into his face, pale.

“Oh no, what’s wrong?” She wiped her hands again and hurried to him. “Are you sick?”

He shook his head and hugged her so hard her heart jumped. People only hugged that hard after something horrible happened. Her mind scattered to possible explanations, every terrifying, heartbreaking nightmare ever.

“What’s wrong?” she whispered, terrified to hear the answer.

“I spoke to my mother. She’s on her way out.”

She could think of a thousand scenarios worse than his mother coming. The pure relief of it made her sag against him.

“She knows, Mary. She stopped at my office and raised hell for an hour. I told her the truth—all of it. It’s like she didn’t hear me. My boss fired me and then Mom got in her car screaming about coming here to kick you out. I don’t know how I beat her here.”

Mary looked at the door. She couldn’t believe Helen was actually coming and had cost Thomas the job he enjoyed. The sound of approaching wheels against gravel stopped short outside. Thomas froze, but Mary jumped into action. She sprinted for the door, locked it, and killed the lights.

“She’ll see the truck,” Thomas protested.

Her mind ran at full speed. “Shh. Pull the curtains over there and hide under the table.”

“I’m a grown man, I don’t—”

“You want to fight with your mother alone right now? You know it would be better with Paul. Hide.”

She shuffled under the table they’d defiled only days before and grabbed his hand, pulling him down. He groaned, but came along. The knocking was followed by a yelling that bordered on shrieking so fierce Mary couldn’t make out the words.

Thomas didn’t make eye contact, but Mary tried to be practical.

“She’s super pissed,” she whispered. “What did you tell her exactly?”

“This is stupid.”

“So go answer the door,” she said. “She sounds rational and willing to discuss things like a loving adult.”

He pressed his forehead to the floor. “I hate this. She came in horrified that I’d been seduced by you or some shit. I told her the truth—you are Paul’s wife and my wife and have been from the start. Cut and dry. She flipped out. My boss… I have to find a new job now.”

She appreciated his honesty, but hated he’d gotten trapped in a mess. “I know you’ll find another one. Anyone would be lucky to have you in their office.”

“Not if they have to deal with my mother scolding me for sharing a wife with my brother. Hell, when I mentioned Duane she really went nuts.”

Mary winced. “She didn’t take that well either?”

“She flipped out, quoted the Bible and all this…junk.” He laughed, though it didn’t sound happy. “And she quoted it incorrectly. It was all wrong, but there was no talking to her. I can’t believe I’m nearly thirty and hiding from my mother.”

“Oh, come on, you never snuck girls into your room growing up?” Mary knew full well how pitiful the situation looked. She hated acting like a coward, but she refused to slam into a bad situation and make it worse. She sidled up to Thomas and bumped hips with him. “Come on, you can tell me.”

“We had a system. If I wanted a girl over, Paul kept Mom busy and vice versa.”

“Ahh, so you were naughty boys. What about when you wanted a girl at the same time?”

“We waited until we were out of the house for that.” Thomas finally smiled. “You know, I’ve been thinking about sex. Paul and I are going to try this new thing.”

“Thomas! You open this door right now!” Helen’s voice rang through the door.

She ignored it. “Tell me about your plans.”

He raised his eyebrow and she thought he might be too distracted by the yelling, but she hoped he’d take the lifeline she offered. She loved him, and if they couldn’t win just yet, they would eventually.

“So, Paul’s fingers gave me the idea.”

Her cheeks lit on fire at the thought of the things Paul could do with just his pinky. “Um, okay.”

“Is it all only vaginal or does Paul go anal sometimes too?”

His conversational tone made her wonder if she could really handle a straightforward talk about sex. The twinkle in Thomas’s eye told her he’d put the earlier unpleasantness out of mind. She wanted that to continue, so she set aside her shyness.

“Um, mostly vaginal, but sometimes, um, he turns his fingers the other way and strokes back more and it feels different.”

Thomas nodded. “What do you think would happen if I tried anal with you again—just me, not double—while Paul worked with his hands?”

Her body shivered. Anal sex alone had been fine, just as vaginal was the bee’s knees. Combining the two as they had overwhelmed too much. She saw the merits of the plan and couldn’t wait to try.

“When will Paul be home?” she asked.

He grinned. “That’s my girl. I’ll talk to him about it tonight. We’ll get it figured out, then give it a try after you’ve had a nice long shower and you’ve spent the afternoon thinking about it.”

Nothing else would reach her mind, not with her pussy already clenching and dripping just thinking about Paul and Thomas—the two finally working together for pleasure.

Tires on gravel brought her out of her sexy fantasy.

Thomas blew out a big breath. His cheeks tinged red. “I, ah, forgot she was there a minute.”

“Well, forget again. We can’t do anything about her right now.” She used those words as a balm to her heart, knowing full well when they did address their mother it would hurt in more ways than one. “Come and look at the kitchen. It turned out really nice.”

* * * *

Paul pulled another gray hair from his temple. He moved away from the window and collapsed into his chair. After a day full of running numbers and talking to his accountant they’d finally finished paperwork on his end. Now they had to wait for final approval. The files Mary put together had met the accountant’s checklist. If it fit the county’s…worrying would only make his gut ache.

He closed his office door and grabbed his hat from its peg. The door to the stables opened and one of his newer hands walked in. Amory had been with him for six months, but ranching for years. He seemed all right so far, but Paul hadn’t spoken much with his help since the Walter incident. His neighbor was a huge gossip, so he knew full well the word ambled across the county. From the smirk on Amory’s face, Paul figured he’d heard.

“Where you off to, Amory?” Paul asked.

“Need to fill up the truck to head to Geneva,” he said. “You doing all right, boss?”

“Doing fine, thanks.” He unlocked his office to grab cash.

“Been hearing things with you and the new misses aren’t going so great.”

“I never took you for a gossip, Amory.”

He grabbed a ten dollar bill from the cash tin and made a note on the expense report. He needed to get the totals to Mary soon so she could do the spreadsheets.

“Well, I reckon I’m not, but when it’s loud enough, everyone hears. You and Thomas all right? I never thought a woman could get between the two of you.”

Paul held out the cash and keys to the ranch truck. “The Geneva load is already in the truck. Get it up there first thing tomorrow.”

“Thanks. I’ll get it taken care of. I like being here,” Amory said. “It’s a good place. I’ve learned over the years to mind my business and be real discreet, if you know what I mean.”

Paul refused to even think about what the jackass meant. “Get the bails out first thing, got it?”

Amory tipped his hat. “Whatever you want, boss.”

What he wanted included a steak, a beer, and to watch a football game on the couch without his pants and to forget about the land deal. He needed a vacation. He headed for the house, the evening dark closing in quickly, but he didn’t worry. He’d made the walk thousands of times. The wild animals left him alone, and as long as they stayed out of his yard, he left them be as well.

He considered taking a break in the forest before going back to the house. He loved Mary, even loved Thomas, but didn’t really want to see anyone at the moment. Forward motion made him feel in control. Waiting made him crazy. He’d thought patience came with age, but if it did, he wasn’t old enough. He ran his hand over the scruff of his chin.

Waiting for Duane to come back added another layer of stress Paul didn’t want to think about, but it kept cropping up because they hadn’t heard from him in a while. Mary mentioned sending letters over the spring as she’d corresponded with him and Thomas, but she hadn’t heard back much.

Duane sent Paul and Thomas the occasional note, every one telling them he had no intention of joining with Mary. The dumbass was wrong. He would, but it might take some of the fighting Mary hated so much. Paul’s head started to pound, so he walked faster. His attempt to hide and delay his problems had done exactly jack shit.

The truck waited in the clearing near the cabin. He’d have to give Thomas a ride in the morning so he could use the truck since the ranch one was occupied. They needed another damn vehicle. The bare bulb over the door flickered on as he approached and he had to smile. For the crap that piled up, coming home to a warm cabin where someone waited beat out the glumness circling his mind.

The door opened before he could reach for the knob. Mary leaned against the doorframe with a sensual smile in a tiny blue nightgown.

“Hey, handsome.”

Thoughts of beer, steak, and pants-free football watching flew away without remorse.

“I need you to march to the shower and get right back. Can you do that for me?”

He spun on his heels and backtracked to the bathroom. He bypassed waiting for the warm water and used the gravity shower instead, soaping up and rinsing off in minutes. He didn’t know how long the burst of energy would last, but he wanted it for Mary. Nothing cleared his mind like her.

Mary waited at the door, half hanging out from the doorway as he returned, towel slung over his hips. The late summer sun set over the trees, but kept the air plenty warm for comfort. Her naughty grin turned up the heat even more.

Her hair hung in wet curls, like she’d showered as well. She held up her arms, but instead of picking her up, he grabbed the edge of her nighty and pulled it over her head. She giggled and put her hands on her bare hips.