Cameron, Paige - Commando Cowboys Seduce Their Woman [Wyoming Warriors 3] (Siren Publishing Everlasting Polyromance) (11 page)

Could he turn his back on her and let her go? He’d always wanted children. He loved his nieces and nephews. Adoption, unless done inside the community, didn’t happen. There were too many questions and complications to try adopting from outside the ranch. And children were seldom available here to adopt. Thank goodness. Because the only ones would have had to lose all their parents as his friend Ethan did.

Her scent wafted across the table, curling around him. She glanced at him.

“You aren’t eating. Don’t you like the food?” she asked.

“It’s delicious. I don’t have much of an appetite tonight.”

She gave him a puzzled look and went back to asking Sahale questions about Montlief. His gaze went to her mouth.

When he’d kissed her she’d tasted like honey. Her skin was like warm silk under his hands. His cock had jumped to attention. The hunger to touch her, taste her, and sink into her pussy was stronger than he’d ever felt before. She was going to be theirs. He had to have her.

He recalled the first time he’d seen her. She’d been dressed in a business suit of slacks, jacket, and white shirt. He’d only glanced in her direction. Her plain brown hair had been arranged in a tight bun. Then he’d caught her scent. He took a closer look and saw the woman hiding under her disguise.

Her full breasts were almost completely hidden under a too-large blouse. She wore loose slacks not meant to fit. The overhead light in the room where Morgan lay had shone on gold and red strands glistening in her hair. He’d told her they’d meet again, and he’d meant it.

He hadn’t been able to shut Ellen out of his mind. She wasn’t the type of woman he’d envisioned for himself and Sahale. Her softness was buried under walls of defense.

She’d amused him with her struggle with Sahale earlier. Sahale had been right. She was trying to rebuild the walls Sahale had cracked on their trip.

Jack wouldn’t, couldn’t deny her now. Whatever came, they’d handle it together. If they didn’t have children, he’d still have a family with her and Sahale. A sense of peace came over him as soon as he made his decision.

Now all he had to do was repair the damage his question had done. Not an easy task.

Chapter Eight

“We’ll have coffee and pie later,” Sahale said. He and Jack cleared the table, motioning to her to relax.

She watched them quickly put the dishes in the dishwasher and the food in the refrigerator. They moved with an economy of motion. Their tall, lean bodies would raise any woman’s blood pressure as they did hers. When Jack leaned down to put something in the bottom of the fridge, she couldn’t keep from admiring his butt, shown off in his tight jeans. A coffee-colored shirt enhanced his sherry-colored brown eyes. His indecision had hurt her, but not enough to take away the attraction she had toward him.

He glanced her way and winked when he caught her staring. Heat rushed to her face. Sahale had stepped out of the kitchen. Soft music began to play in the background. Jack stalked toward her. His expression had her starting to come out of her chair and run. He took hold of her shoulder and kept her in the chair. Leaning close, he held her gaze. “I’ve decided you are mine and Sahale’s. You aren’t going anywhere.” His words slid along her skin, prickling her nerves.

“You can’t stop me.” She bluffed, hoping he didn’t hear the uncertainty in her voice.

“Try me,” he purred. His face came closer. Sparks of gold flashed in his eyes.

She’d been mistaken to think he was easier to handle, not as strong as Sahale. He hid it well. She sensed an uncompromising core deep inside him. Once he’d made up his mind, she feared he’d be an immovable object. Ridiculous, he was only a man.

“Get back.” She pushed at his chest. He didn’t move an inch.

“Ask nicely.” His gaze went to her mouth.

In spite of her control that she clung to like a life raft, desire swirled in her blood. Her pussy clenched tight.

“Go to hell!” As soon as she said the words, she knew she’d pushed too hard.

Jack picked her up in his arms and took the stairs to the right two at a time.

“Put me down,” she said firmly.

“I will, in a minute.” He didn’t slow his steps.

Upstairs, he went down a short corridor and kicked the door open on the right side. A large bed sat in the center of the back wall. Without missing a beat, he strode across the room and put her onto the soft mattress. His body followed. He caught her legs between his and held her arms close. “Now we’re going to talk.”

Although her body was racing with heat and desire and her heart pounded, she made herself take control and say, “Let me up from here.”

“I’ll let you go, if you really want me to.” He waited a moment, and then he kissed her. He raised his head.

“Are you frightened of me?”

“A little.”

“Don’t be. I won’t hurt you, ever.” A hard smile crossed his face. “You thought I’d be easy to control. A pussycat compared to my friend, Sahale. Right?”

“The two of you are different.”

“Yes, we are some, but in many ways we’re alike. We’ve been best friends for years.”

He spoke softly and his warm body held her snug. The anger she’d used as a protection against her feelings for him was draining away. She’d never felt so vulnerable, and that wasn’t an emotion she tolerated well.

She started to twist and pull to free herself, but she stopped. His warm, lean, hard body mesmerized her. Her eyes raked over his tanned face, his muscled arms holding her close and down to his long legs holding hers tight.

“I'll let you go in a moment. I just want you to understand. We’ll take care of you, protect you, love you, but we won’t be handled, controlled, or stand for walls between us.”

“I’m not yours to protect. I can take care of myself.”

“Really. Sahale rescued you and your dog. Everyone needs help and maybe even protection sometime in their life. I need you to stay still long enough to listen. To really hear what I’m saying.” His voice had softened again. “I made a mess of it downstairs when I asked that question. But watching you during the meal and considering everything, I know you’re the one for us. Whether we ever have children or not. But you have to try and let go of that iron control you use as a shield against everyone. We all have to, especially if we’re going to love.”

“Love is a farce played on people’s dreams.”

“That’s not love. This is love.” He lowered his head and his lips caressed her mouth with incredible tenderness. When she opened to let him in, his tongue licked and tasted every spot. His hands brushed across her breasts like a whisper of breath. Her nipples peaked tight, wanting more of his touch.

He slid his mouth along her neck, to the juncture of neck and shoulder. He kissed the spot where her heart pounded, and then he sat back and stared at her breasts. His hands cupped both through her silky blouse. His thumbs raked across the sensitive points. She moaned and moved restlessly, wanting more.

Jack separated the edges of her blouse and breathed deep. He kissed her skin. “You smell like country roses in bloom in the summer.” His eyes sparkled with light. “You taste like the sweetest strawberry just picked from the vine, warm from the sun. You’re warm because you want me. Admit it.”

She tried to regain her control, to deny what he said. “I won’t admit anything.”

“Ah, there goes that damnable control. It frightens the hell out of you to think of not hiding behind it.” He sat back and studied her. “Sahale got inside those walls. He surprised you before you knew what was happening. You think this time you can keep them up and still get what you want. Love doesn’t work that way. It isn’t a game or a challenge.”

* * * *

Jack kissed her pouting mouth and slid off the bed. His cock hurt so bad he thought he’d explode, but he had to follow through. “There, you’re free to go. I’m sorry if I came across as a bit of a brute. I didn’t mean to.”

Turning his back, he walked into his bathroom, shut the door, and leaned against it. He fought the part of him that wanted to go in and take her. But not on her terms. Not with her walls up and her control in place. She had to want him bad enough to let them go. Later their relationship would be a two-way street, but right now she saw it as only one way, hers.

“That’s it?” she yelled.

He grinned at the frustration he heard in her voice. He waited. With his heightened hearing, he heard her getting off the bed and mumbling to herself. He knew when she stopped at the other side of the door. He heard her breathing. It took all his control to stay in place and not open the door, take her to bed and plunge his cock into her pussy. Her scent seeped around the crevices, taunting him. Finally, she left the room.

First a very cold shower, and then he’d dress and join her and Sahale downstairs.

* * * *

“Take me home,” Ellen said to Sahale. Her body shook with the hunger Jack had built inside her. She ached from her frustrated desire. Sahale didn’t question her. He led her to the truck.

“Could we walk back? The air is cool and inviting.”

“Sure. It will give me time to talk with you about tomorrow.” He explained about Mitch’s request.

“He thinks, like you, that I have an important forgotten memory?”

“Yes. We suspect your father-in-law—”

“Ex.”

Sahale grinned at her correction. “We think he’s involved in the gun sales and women sold overseas. I expect Morgan and Sara have told you about the group we’ve been trying to bring down.”

“Yes, they explained that much after what happened to Morgan.”

“Your ex-father-in-law may be the top boss we’ve been after. You can help us.”

“I'd be surprised if he was that involved with such illegal trafficking. But I’d agree to do anything to bring that arrogant, hateful man down. I’ll go with you to your grandmother’s house. What does she do?”

“She helps you go into a deep trance and talks to you to help you search your memories. It’s a gift few have. She has it.”

“Do you?”

“Yes, but Mitch wanted her this time.”

“All right. As long as I feel comfortable after I meet her, I agree.”

“Good. You’re going to love her, and she you. Do you want to talk about what happened back there?” He motioned back toward his house. “I disappeared hoping to give you and Jack a chance to get to know each other better.”

“Oh, he knows me, or thinks he does. He’s arrogant and thinks his way is the only way. I don’t agree. This threesome thing will never work.”

They’d turned down her street. She heard his snort. She whirled and saw the grin he was struggling not to show.

“You are just as bad.” She poked her finger into his hard, muscled chest. “Go home. I can find my way.”

“Go ahead, but I’m waiting here until I see you go in and your light goes on.”

She whirled and stomped along the dirt road, up her walkway, and into the house. Just before she closed the door, she heard him.

“Eight o’clock, tomorrow morning.”

She slammed the door shut and flipped the switch for the light. She was exhausted. Her emotions kept fluctuating between arousal and anger. In the bathroom, she turned on the water for the tub, making it warm.

A bottle of white wine cooled in her refrigerator. She’d added it to her purchases at the last minute. She poured a glass and took it and the bottle back to the bathroom. The tub was full. Her goblet sat fine on the curve at the end of the tub. She sat the bottle on the floor.