Briar's Cowboys (12 page)

“Working. What
kind
of job?” Jax demanded again.

“Bartending. It’s what I know and I’m pretty sure there aren’t any more random photography or anthropology jobs in Wyoming than there were in Chicago.”

“Why?”

“No, it’s my turn. Why did you leave?”

“Yes, Jax,” Cannon grumbled. “Why did I have to sleep in that lumpy-ass bed last night?” He glared at his foreman then turned the same look on her. “You’ve gotta do something about the mattress in the bunkhouse.”

Well, that answered
where
they’d been. She stared at Jax, waiting for his reply, but he didn’t say a word. Emotions tumbled through his eyes though he kept the rest of his face impassive.
Stubborn, prideful man.
He didn’t want to say he’d been unsure of her and the others had taken his lead. One glance at Ram showed he shared his partner’s feelings. Hawk and Cannon were just disgruntled overall, and she suspected that was mostly from being displaced to the bunkhouse.

Inhaling deeply, she took pity on Jax. If they were going to make this relationship work, they’d each have to bend—sometimes even when it should be the other person, but wasn’t that how lasting bonds formed? Each person had to be willing to give quarter from time to time or else they’d be emotionless, resentful bricks of ice playing at sex. Without intimacy and trust, the rest didn’t matter.

“You realize the only reason I took a job is to stay here, right?” she said. “I want to be in Daly, I want to be at the Last Chance and I want to be with you. I didn’t want you to fight me working—”

“But there’s no need,” Jax interrupted. “We—”

“No,” she stopped him. “You’re already working for no pay. If you’re paying utilities and food, that blows the whole room and board theory right to hell. Let me do this.”

“Sweetheart,” Ram tried, stepping around Jax. “We just want…”

“The little woman at home?” she asked. She kept the words light, not wanting anyone to think she was angry. “I can do this. I’m a good bartender and I can handle myself. I can contribute to the ranch this way.”

“Briar, baby,” Jax whispered, softening. He stepped up next to Ram and she found herself in the center of a three-way embrace. His lips pressed to the top of her head. “You do contribute. You’re doing all the office work, feeding us… You own the damn ranch, and that means we have a place to work.”

“It’s not enough—”

“It’s plenty,” Ram said. He turned her face to his and kissed her. “I missed you last night.”

“I was here. Where were you?” she countered, still just a touch miffed.

“Wishing I was
in
you,” Ram growled.

She glanced at the clock then took his hand and led him toward the stairs. “I have time before I need to leave and since I’m the boss, I say you have time, too.”

“What about us?” Cannon said, bounding after them.

“Of course, you two need to come.”

They were halfway up the steps when she realized Jax hadn’t joined them. He still stood in the foyer.

“I’ll be right there,” she told the three men with her. Turning, she headed back downstairs.

“Jax…” she said quietly.

He looked up and she saw the indecision in his eyes. Was he that unsure of her?

“What is it?” she asked.

Jax shook his head. “I let my stupid hang-ups from the past make this into something bigger than it is. And since the team listens to me, I dragged them right along with me.”

“I wasn’t exactly forthcoming about where I was.”

“No…” His eyes narrowed on her, regaining their fire. “Don’t do that again.”

“I won’t. I was miserable for the couple days I was keeping the secret, stupid as it was, but I just knew you four would protest—that wasn’t as bad as I’d built up in my head.” She shrugged it off then took his hand. “So are you going to tell me your hang-up?”

He shook his head, the action more self-depreciation than denial. “I told you my step-mom taught me about the ranch office stuff, right? She’s basically been my mom since I was eight. My real mother…she got bored with country life. She hated it. More and more she’d take off to the city and my dad and her would have awful fights when she came home reeking of booze and smoke. Then one day, she just never came back. Hooked up with some guy and forgot about me and my father.”

Tears burned in her eyes though she fought to hold them back. He didn’t need a crying woman on his hands. “I’m so sorry.” She bit her lip, shaking her head and thinking of the little boy who’d been deserted by the woman he’d most loved in the world.

Cupping his face, she brought him down to kiss her. “I’m so, so sorry,” she repeated against his lips. “I’m not her. I promise I’m
not
like her. I want to stay here forever. That’s why I’m trying so hard to keep my piece of Daly. When I commit to something—or someone—I see it through, even if it has a bitter ending. I don’t just give up. And for the record, I’m committed to you. And Ram. And to a lesser degree, Cannon and Hawk. I’m not gonna up and disappear.”

“Briar,” he growled, yanking her tight to him and kissing her hard. His lips pushed hers apart, and his tongue delved inside, reclaiming her and perhaps reassuring himself that she really was his.

She inhaled deeply, absorbing his scent. He’d been working hard today and she liked the way he smelled, so dominant and rugged. His rough hands slid down her arms, bared below her T-shirt, and a shiver snaked down her spine. Lifting her arms around his neck, she pressed closer. The light stubble on his cheeks softly abraded her jaw as he kissed her throat. He pulled aside the obstruction of her collar as he reached it then nipped along her shoulder.

“We could just take it off,” she whispered, pulling at the hem. She needed more of his touch on her bare skin, and the clothing only frustrated her. Immediately, his hands moved to join hers. In a moment, the garment was on the foyer floor. Sun filtered through the stained glass dome over their heads, dappling their bodies with the dancing colors caught on the streams of light.

She moaned as he kissed a trail down the slope of her breast. His hot, moist breath taunted her nipple through her bra and she arched into him, silently begging him to latch onto the needy tip and draw hard. He cupped the mound, lifting it as he squeezed gently before enveloping the hardened nub with his lips.

“Jax,” she whispered as she buried her fingers in his soft hair. “How could I ever get bored with this? All you have to do is look at me and I get melty inside. I just want you guys. Nothing else…no one else.”

As he drew harder, sensation tugged at her womb, spiraling the tension tighter until she shook against him. Her panties were damp and as her cream flooded her pussy, she knew the crotch of her jeans just might be soon, too.

He lifted her against him and she wrapped her legs around his waist, rubbing her apex against his cock. The solid girth pulled a groan from her.

“We should really go upstairs before they come back down,” he whispered against her ear as he rolled his hips into her.

“That wouldn’t be a bad thing.”

“Except. I have plans for your sweet body and this foyer won’t accommodate them—that’s a different plan, for a different day.”

Holding her tightly, he climbed the stairs, each step up, bumping their groins together. At the landing, he set her on her feet and took her hand. Lifting it to his lips, he kissed it then guided her down the hallway to the master bedroom.

The other men were naked. Hawk lounged against the pillows, with Cannon between his thighs and resting against his chest. Cannon’s hand slowly jacked up and down his partner’s cock. Ram stood at the end of the bed, two scarves in his hands. Briar looked from the silk cloths to Ram’s determined face then up to Jax.

“Take off your bra then go stand at the foot of the bed,” Jax said. “Put your hands on the foot rail.”

Oh my…
she thought, realizing, they meant to tie her there. The position would cause her to have to bend slightly and stick her ass out. Biting her lip, excitement flooding her, she followed the instruction. Her fingers curled around the thick, polished metal as her blood raced past her ears and she felt her body flush.

Ram quickly tied her hands to the rail just inches apart then moved behind her. Reaching around her waist he found the button of her jeans and flicked it open. Rather than push down the pants, however, he slid his hands down her smooth belly and beneath her panties.

“You’re so wet,” he murmured as his fingers parted her, shoving between her slick folds.

“I want you,” she replied.

“Do you? We thought maybe you could watch. Oh, you liked that. I can feel your sweet pussy clenching my fingers. Do you want to see Hawk fuck Cannon?”

She sucked in a breath, surprised by just how much she really did want to see that.

“Yes,” she breathed.

“And Jax…you want to see him fuck me?”

Did she? She really wanted Jax and Ram to fuck
her
. But she couldn’t deny them their desires, and she really did want to see Jax taking Ram and the look on Ram’s face when it happened.

“Yes,” she answered, nodding her head. “Please.”

“While we were waiting, I found something of yours.” He held out his palm where she could see it, and she realized “found” was used loosely. He and Jax knew where her toys were and had even used them on her during the past couple weeks. Right now, Ram held a small bullet that fit right against her clit. He pushed it into place within her folds then clicked on the controller and selected a setting. Briar’s eyes rolled back at the strong pulsing that beset her clit, sending shockwaves into her core. With her hands tied and the men on the bed, she’d be helpless to do anything but take the overwhelming vibrations.

Ram pushed the controller into her pants’ pocket and patted her ass.

“Enjoy, baby,” he told her.

“No,” she whispered, sure she wouldn’t be able to take it as the sweet stirrings of pleasure that would lead to a powerful orgasm swept through her. Ignoring her protest, he circled to the side of the bed and Cannon and Hawk climbed off the other side. Jax, now naked, moved behind Ram and flattened his hand on the man’s back then forcefully shoved him forward. Ram landed on his forearms, grinning. Cannon landed the same way, a moment later.

A shiver coursed through Briar as she realized they were in almost the same position as she was, bent over with their asses pushed outward. Only they had two hot men moving behind them; Briar had the relentless buzzing against her clit. Her thighs shook as fire seemed to course through her, burning her nerve endings as her body prepared for release.

Through a sensual haze, she watched the men before her. Cannon and Ram were each groaning, the guttural sounds adding to her arousal, as their partners kissed, licked and nipped the men before them. She watched Jax lube his fingers then press them to Ram’s ass. Immediately, her gaze flew to Ram’s face. Seeing the agonized pleasure on his features, she almost felt it herself. The muscles in her ass flexed, and her pussy clamped in the egg vibrating relentlessly inside her.

Her cry split the air as a burst of lightning shot through her, and her knees started to buckle. Ram and Cannon’s yells echoed her as their men drove inside. The bed shook…their bodies shook as Jax and Hawk fucked Cannon and Ram hard enough that she felt each jolt.

Her fingers tightened on the rail as she let herself sink into the sensations…the sounds. Cannon and Ram’s grunts and cries edged on desperate as their lovers pounded inside them. Jax had splayed his hand on Ram’s back, holding him down, while Hawk’s fingers were knotted in Cannon’s hair, keeping him upright and at Hawk’s command.

Cannon groaned, his body shaking as his release took him. A scarlet flush stained his chest and up his neck as cum sprayed across her bedspread. She didn’t care. More than anything she wanted to suck his cock into her mouth and take all of it.

Ram reached up and closed a hand around one of her hands as he drew closer. Jax never slowed. From the corner of her eye, she saw Hawk pulling from Cannon. As Hawk discarded his protection, Cannon crawled over to her. Grabbing her face on either side, he kissed her hard, pushing his tongue into her mouth. His hand snaked down her body to one of her nipples. She cried into his mouth as he circled, slowly, so slowly. His callused fingertips rolled the rigid nub before suddenly he pinched it.

Briar screamed into his mouth as her body seemed to explode into wave after wave of blinding sensation. Cream flooded her pussy. Her legs buckled, but before she fell, a powerful arm curled below her waist, holding her in place. The man’s free hand, shoved down her jeans and panties, but the egg stayed lodged against her folds. He adjusted her position to align with his cock. A hand slid down to hold the vibe in place, while his thick cock pressed into her.

Her walls immediately clenched around him, her stimulation and arousal too great. She screamed into Cannon’s mouth as Hawk—it could only be Hawk—powered through her tender tissues, forcing them open for his invasion, taking no excuse for him to be gentle or slow. She didn’t want it. She wanted him to fuck her as hard as he’d fucked Cannon.

Hawk seemed to know it. His hips slammed into hers, his cock driving deep then retreating only to push forward just as hard, just as deep once more. Cannon worked her breasts. His nimble fingers stroked and pulled and pinched. Constant, ever-tightening reaction yanked at her core. They took no mercy as they used her body, willing captive to them and anything they wanted.

She wailed into Cannon’s mouth as another climax hit, and Ram’s fingers tightened around her, signaling his own release only to be echoed by his feral grunts as he came on her bed. Peripherally, she saw Jax pull free then he left her sight. Afterward the noise of foil ripping sounded beside her and she knew what he was doing. Hawk pulling free confirmed it a few moments later, but not before he growled and drove forward one last time, holding as his release poured from him.

Jax was there immediately, plowing through her convulsing passage. She didn’t know how much more she could take. The vibe kept her constantly on edge and each man took great care to be sure it stayed firmly in place. The hard cocks sawing over her g-spot sent gray swirls swimming across her vision. She sagged weakly in their grips as the mind-evaporating orgasms rolled over and over.