Potential Match [Ménage.com 6] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) (6 page)

They said their good-byes, and Bryn disconnected the call. Her eyes were glued to the scenery. It was downright peaceful. Their ranch seemed to be in sections, with wooden corrals dividing the land in squares. Horses were grazing, while some picked up their heads as if to ask who was invading their territory. Their coats of fur, some dark brown and some white, shined in the sun. Their tails beat at the flies that were bothering them. There were a few ranch hands milling about, which had Bryn wondering exactly how big their spread was.

Looking up ahead, Bryn was startled to see a large, white two-story farmhouse with a wraparound porch. Hanging plants gave the house some color as their healthy green leaves draped over the pots. The windows had elegant white lace curtains hanging in the windows that made Bryn feel as if the house contained a woman’s touch. She lowered her brow as the thought sent a few pangs of jealousy firing through her system. Bryn huffed as she slowed to a stop behind Des. It wasn’t as if she had the right to be jealous. What was her problem?

“Bryn, can you get Duke inside while I talk to our foreman?” Des asked her as she stepped out of the car.

“Sure,” Bryn replied, closing her door and walking to where Des stood near the tailgate of Duke’s truck. She was hesitant to request the favor she needed, but decided to ask anyway. “I hope this isn’t too forward, but would you mind if I took a shower before heading to Tucson? We never got a chance to clean up, and I really just want to wash off what happened and change into a new set of clothes.”

“Of course,” Des responded, lifting a hand up and brushing away a strand of hair that had come loose from her hair tie. His touch took her by surprise, and she couldn’t help but close her eyes at the warmth of his fingers. “Bryn, please rethink your decision. You’re in danger, and we have the means to protect you. But if you leave, you’re opening yourself up to a lunatic and basically saying that we mean nothing to you.”

“Des, we just met,” Bryn said a little desperately, needing him to understand why she had made the choice to leave. She opened her eyes. “It’s not right that this guy might target you for protecting someone you barely know.”

“Is that how you see us? Two men you barely know?” Duke asked angrily, causing her to take a step back from Des. Bryn had been so wrapped up in Des’s touch that she hadn’t known Duke had gotten out of the truck. Though his movements were a little stiff, his presence was still very intimidating. “In the two weeks that we communicated through e-mail, we know more about you than any other woman we’ve been with. Is that sad? Hell, yes! But during those exchanges, we saw in you something that we’ve been missing—a woman who is honest, compassionate, and downright intelligent. But maybe we’re wrong about that last part, because if she doesn’t realize that she’s got two men who would gladly give their lives for her, she can’t be too bright. So you go right ahead and travel to Tucson. Don’t let us keep you.”

Bryn watched as Duke stormed off, heading for one of the corrals instead of the house. She hadn’t meant to make him angry. Couldn’t he see things from her perspective? They were in danger because of her.

“Duke—”

“Let him go, Bryn,” Des said in warning.

“But he shouldn’t be out here. He’s recovering from a knife wound, which is my fault, I might add,” Bryn said angrily. “He should be inside, resting.”

“Bryn, go take your shower,” Des said in a resigned tone. She missed his touch and remembered what it was like to be held in his arms last night. She wanted that feeling to continue. “We’ll be in shortly to see you off.”

Why were they making her feel guilty over a decision she knew to be right? Des walked away, following in Duke’s footsteps and leaving her standing by the vehicles. She put a hand on her forehead, trying to keep the sun out of her eyes as she watched both of them walking away. Bryn took a deep breath. She would take a shower and, before she left, try one more time to get them to see things her way.

Duke stood outside the bathroom, hearing Bryn move around as she finished getting dressed. He was tired, his shoulder hurt like hell, and there wasn’t a damn thing he could do about the ache in his heart at the thought of Bryn leaving. Hell, both of his shoulders now hurt. Not once during their e-mail exchange had she come across as hardheaded. In other circumstances, Duke would have found that to be somewhat endearing—but not in this situation. If their relationship were at the next level, Duke wouldn’t have thought twice about tying her to the bed and loving her until she changed her mind. Of course, there was also the paddle or flogger in his nightstand—they could do wonders to change her mind, too. As it was, there wasn’t a damn thing he could do about her decision to leave.

Duke rested his head against the doorframe. Exhaustion was setting in, and he knew that his body was ready to collapse. Fuck it, he thought. If he spoke with Bryn now, he might make it to where she would never come back. It was better to let Des say good-bye to her. He’d heard the water shut off in Des’s bathroom, so his brother would be dressed in plenty of time before she left. He stood straight and backed away from the door. He had only taken two steps when the bathroom door swung open.

Bryn stood there, with her brown hair swept to the side in that sensual wave he loved. She wore another pair of jeans, but this time with a lightweight white blouse that seemed to float around her elbows. Her brown eyes darkened, and her tongue slipped out to wet her lips. His dick hardened, despite the pain his upper body was experiencing. Duke’s breathing became labored as he held himself back from closing the distance between them and taking her the way he wanted. It had become a primal need.

“Be safe, Bryn,” Duke said.

He turned on the soles of his cowboy boots and made the way to his room down the hallway without turning back around to look at her one more time. Duke was proud of himself as he closed the door. He immediately reached behind him and grabbed a handful of material. Bringing the T-shirt over his head, Duke threw it on the ground. Not caring where it landed, he made his way to his bed. Sitting down on the mattress, Duke worked off his cowboy boots and let them hit the floor with a thud.

A small knock sounded through the room, and Duke closed his eyes, knowing it was Bryn. Why couldn’t she just leave like she said she was going to? Why prolong his agony? For a brief second, Duke remained silent in hopes that she would just leave and make this easy on him. Then he heard her soft voice through the thick wooden door.

“Duke, may I please come in?”

If he’d had the strength, Duke would have gotten off of the bed and walked to the door to address her. As it was, he was so exhausted that Duke didn’t think he’d make it that far. He yelled out for her to enter. The door slowly opened, and Bryn stood in the doorway looking uncertain.

“What do you need, Bryn?” Duke asked, hoping that he didn’t look as defeated as he sounded.

“What I need from you is a little understanding,” Bryn snapped, her previous hesitation disappearing like a cloud of smoke. Her brown eyes snapped with anger as she stepped inside the room. Duke was amazed by how quickly her moods could change. “For crying out loud, Duke, give me a break! I was attacked last night, and almost abducted and killed by some psychopath. I then had to watch as you were stabbed and taken to the hospital. If I stay, I know that I will be endangering you and Des. He said that to me, Duke. That isn’t something I take lightly. I have never been attracted to a man the way I am to you and Des, and I’m not just talking physically—although that is certainly a check in the plus category. I want to see where this leads between the three of us, but for God’s sake, I’d like to be alive to experience it!”

The more that Bryn talked, the closer she came to where he sat on the bed. When she went to take a deep breath, Duke used that to his advantage. He had never actually witnessed someone talk as fast as she did when she became nervous or mad, but it was the cutest damn thing he’d ever seen. Reaching for her, Duke snagged her wrist and yanked. She stumbled into him, and he couldn’t suppress the grunt of pain. Before Bryn could say anything, Duke had already tangled his fingers in her hair and pulled her head down to his.

“Then why waste time?” Duke whispered, right before he pulled her lips down to his.

* * * *

Bryn hadn’t been able to stand the look of defeat that had been in Duke’s eyes as he had turned away from her in the hallway, so she had found herself knocking on his bedroom door. Initially, when he’d yelled out that she could come in, Bryn had almost changed her mind. A part of her knew that if she entered his bedroom, she might not be leaving for Tucson. She couldn’t help herself, though, and opened the door.

At first, Bryn had been uncertain of what to say. When he’d asked her what she needed, as if she were bothering him, something inside of her had snapped. Duke made it seem like he believed this was easy for her. Yes, he was the one who had been stabbed, but didn’t he comprehend the amount of guilt she felt over that? Her anger got the best of her, and she wouldn’t have been able to reiterate anything of what she had just said. Right now, she didn’t care. All she wanted to do was finish what Duke started.

Duke’s kiss shattered any preconception she might have had that he and Des were similar in the lovemaking department. He possessed her. Weak or not, the man had the ability to make her do anything he wanted. Bryn wrapped her arms around his shoulders, careful of his injury. His tongue invaded every recess of her mouth, while his lips remained fused with hers.

Duke groaned. Bryn pulled away, out of breath, wondering what had happened as his hands dropped to his lap. His eyes were closed tightly, indicating he was in pain. That was when she realized that her fingers had tightened on his shoulder. So much for avoiding his injury, Bryn thought as she pulled her hands away.

“I’m sorry, Duke. I didn’t mean to—”

“Hey,” Duke said, cutting off what she’d been about to say. He had reached back up, cupping the back of her head. “I don’t want to stop. Lie down with me while I get some of my strength back.”

“I can do better than that,” Bryn whispered. She reached up and took ahold of his wrist. Bringing it down, she then used her right hand to lightly push him back until he was lying prone on the brown comforter. Making sure his head was on the pillow, Bryn went to work on the button of his jeans. “Let’s make you more comfortable.”

“Bryn, you need to be sure about this,” Duke said, his warning coming across loud and clear. “If we continue, don’t think I’m going to be letting you breeze out of this house as if nothing happened last night. Des is more likely to give you what you want. I’ll give you what I think you need.”

Bryn almost replied that his little speech was one of the most chauvinistic thing she’d ever heard, but when she looked up into his green eyes, the sincerity shining through made her bite her tongue. Bryn would let him think she’d concede to his wishes, but the more she was in their presence, the more convinced she was that she needed to protect them.

“You just lie back and let me take care of you,” Bryn said, pulling his zipper down. Once she’d helped him out of his jeans, she dug inside one of the front pockets for the bottle of pain pills she knew to be inside. Quickly walking to the bathroom that was connected to his bedroom, she grabbed an empty cup that had been sitting on the vanity and filled it with water. Returning to Duke, she handed him both the glass and little white pill. “Take this.”

“I’m not—”

“If you want to continue what we started, you will take this pain pill,” Bryn ordered, still holding the items in the air. Duke finally relented. Throwing the pill into his mouth, Duke took a big gulp of water. When his eyes widened and he started to choke, Bryn panicked. “Oh my, God! Are you chok—humpf!”

Bryn landed on the floor in a heap. Turning over, she found herself staring into the eyes of an enthusiastic yellow Labrador who looked as if he had found a new toy. Before Bryn could put her hands out to stop him, Spur’s front paws landed on her shoulders, pinning her against the floor. His wet tongue landed on her jaw and worked its way up to her temple, leaving a trail of drool.

“Spur, out,” Duke yelled. Spur lifted his head and cocked it to one side. “Out!”

Spur didn’t look the least bit fazed and, with one more slobbery kiss, bounded out of the room. Bryn looked up to see Duke leaning over the bed with amusement in his eyes. They both burst out laughing.

“Sorry about that. Spur gets excited when he meets new people.”

“I can see that,” Bryn said as she got to her knees. This position put her face inches from Duke’s. “I look forward to getting to know him, but right now, I’d rather concentrate on his owner.”

“His owner would like that very much,” Duke murmured, reaching for her.

“Uh-uh,” Bryn said, shaking her head. She got to her feet and slowly climbed on the bed, in between his legs. “Look at me as if I were a nurse taking care of you.”

“Bryn, I’m not one to lie back and let you have your way with me,” Duke said, trying to reach for her but coming up unsuccessful. His shoulder prevented him from extending his left arm. Bryn giggled. “I’m not joking around, Bryn. I’m in charge in the bedroom.”

“Looks like for just this once, that isn’t so,” Bryn said. She could see that he was getting agitated, and that wasn’t how she wanted this afternoon to go. Decided to take another route, because Bryn knew it was only a matter of time before the painkillers kicked in, she placed her hand on his ankle and slowly brought her fingers up on the inside of his leg. “I want to taste you, Duke, and then you can have your wicked way with me. Will you please let me do this for you?”