Divine Grace (37 page)

They asked for a quiet corner table, and Rudy was able to accommodate them. They seated Grace so she wouldn’t feel so self-conscious. Jack sat next to her and held her hand. She wished she could show equal affection to all of them. Trying to see the humor in the situation, she imagined ways she could be sneaky with her affections with them in public.

“Grace is up to something, I think,” Ethan said softly as Adam and Jack looked on in confusion. “Let me guess. She’s thinking up ways right now to be sneaky in public.”

Jack looked over at her and chuckled, “I think Grace can do whatever she sets her mind to do. Far be it from me to curb her from showing affection to the two of you. I mean, it’s not like we have to worry about her crawling under the table and sucking one of your cocks or anything.”

“Oh, no.
That’s
for when we’re at Tessa’s,” she said enthusiastically, giggling at the smirks on their faces. “
Yum
.” Then she licked her lips and grinned.

Adam shifted in his seat and smiled at her, saying, “Now, Grace, there’s a difference between showing affection and teasing us.”

“I wasn’t teasing you. I was giving you a sneak preview of a
coming
attraction.” She giggled some more. Their mouths popped open for a second, and they
all
did a little shift in their seats.

“I’ve been meaning to give Tessa a call and make reservations.” Ethan smiled at her. “Would you like to go back sometime soon?”

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“Tessa’s was a major turning point in my life. I’d love to go back.” She squeezed Jack’s hand and looked at all of them. “I’m still reeling. That was quite a proposal.”

“We can’t wait for your ring to be ready. I hope you like the design.”

Jack rubbed her knuckles soothingly.

“I’m sure it’s beautiful. If the three of you designed it, I wouldn’t change a thing about it. Can he put an inscription inside of it?” she asked.

“Yes, I think he could. Is that something you would like, darlin’?” Jack asked. “Ethan said you might like that.”

“Very much. It just seems like a very romantic thing to do. Like wearing a love letter.” She hoped they didn’t think it was silly.

“Did you have something in mind that you wanted inscribed inside it?”

asked Ethan.

“No. No. I’d leave that up to you.”

“I’m glad you said something, darlin’. We want it to be perfect for you,”

Jack said as their waiter delivered their steaks. Grace thoroughly enjoyed her filet mignon and salad and did her best to behave herself during the meal.

Ethan turned to her and said, “Are you looking forward to dancing tonight?”

She reached out and placed her hand over his upper thigh and replied,

“Oh, yes, I’m—”
Dammit!
She looked down at her hand and looked up at him, then over at Jack and Adam before glancing at the tables nearby. She slowly withdrew her hand and finished her statement. “Yes, I’m really looking forward to it, Ethan.”
This is gonna take some getting used to. Good
going, dunce.

Ethan and the other men smiled at her, understanding in their eyes, but that only made her blush harder. She sighed and looked at her hands in her lap and tried to calm the fast pace of her heart. Now she was afraid to look around and see if anyone else had noticed. She sat back in her chair and breathed calmly. Jack reached out and took her hand, clasping her fingers in his, and smiled encouragingly at her. The rest of the meal was uneventful, but her lapse and resulting embarrassment tainted the celebratory occasion.

The waiter brought the check, Jack paid him, and they got up to leave.

She headed to the ladies’ room for a few minutes, and the three of them waited in the foyer for her.

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* * * *

Ethan muttered softly in disgust, “It’s bullshit that she has to stop herself from doing something loving for someone else that comes from a pure heart. There wasn’t a single person in that dining room that doesn’t have one type of skeleton or another in their closet, and they’re all still mostly decent people. She looked down like she was ashamed that she’d messed up already.”

Ethan hated seeing the embarrassed blush creep over her cheeks when she reached for him. What was even worse to him was that he knew she would eventually learn to curb those expressions publicly. It seemed a terrible loss to him. She could be as circumspect as a saint, but all anyone would have to do is take one look in her expressive eyes when she gazed at him or Adam and know the truth in an instant. The depth of her love for them glowed in her eyes.

“If you want my opinion,” Adam shoved his hands in his pockets,

“people get hot enough and need their AC fixed, they don’t really give a shit what circumstances surround my marriage. If they do, I don’t want their business. There’s plenty of holier than thou AC repairmen around. She’s a lady through and through, and she’d never shame us with her behavior.

Even at The Pony, where she can let her hair down, she acts like a lady, and she treats us like kings. I don’t want to see that get messed up.”

Jack nodded. “I saw her reach out for you, Ethan. She blushed like she’d done something wrong. It’s not right to expect it of her. If I lose a contract from someone who judges me over our marriage because they don’t understand, that’s something I can live with. I
can’t
live without her. We’ll tell her this afternoon when we show her the foals. But you do know there is a downside to this. People probably won’t say anything to her when she’s with us. They’ll wait until she’s alone and offer her their opinions then, when she’s
defenseless
.
Dammit
.”

Ethan growled softly. They were no closer to a solution over that issue than they were before they met her.

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She rejoined them a few seconds later, red-cheeked, furious, and looking ready to kick someone’s ass. She angrily wiped tears from her eyes, and as she made eye contact with them, her chin started to wobble. She reached with both arms for Adam, who immediately caught her and wrapped his arms around her protectively.

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Adam held her as she trembled violently in his arms. “Baby, what happened? What is it?” he asked quietly. Her body quaked, and she was trying hard to contain sobs.

Rudy came hurriedly into the foyer, which was thankfully empty by this point, wringing his hands. He spoke in a soft voice so no one would overhear.

“Miss Stuart, Miss Stuart, I am so,
so
sorry, I heard what happened. He is stupid,
ignorante
,
maleducado!
I will fire him.
Please
forgive me. I will fire him today. Please do not cry. If word gets out about this, no decent women will come to my restaurant.
Please
let me take care of this!” The poor man looked like he was about to cry. His words sank in, and Adam felt a dull rage begin to develop in his gut.

“Is there somewhere quiet we can talk, figure out what happened?”

Ethan asked. The restaurant had gotten very quiet even though they were not visible from the dining room.

“Of course.” Rudy nodded and pointed to a nearby doorway in the foyer. “My office is right here.” Rudy unlocked the door and held it open for them.

When the door was closed, Adam hugged Grace and then released her and looked into her flushed, tearstained face. The hurt in her eyes fanned the flames of rage that had ignited in his chest. “Can you tell me what happened, baby?”

“One of the busboys accosted me on the way into the r–restroom.”

“
What?
” All three men growled at once. Rudy hung his head and looked mortified.

Adam moved toward the door, ready to deal out some retribution, but Ethan stopped him. “Let her tell the whole story first before you go kicking

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someone’s ass. Then I’ll go with you and help. Go ahead, Grace.” Ethan folded his arms across his chest.

“He said one of the waiters saw me with y’all at The Dancing Pony, pointed me out to him, and told him that I was one of the girls that hangs out at the club that is interested in group sex and told him I participated in group sex in the bathroom that night with two other girls and the three of you. He followed me into the ladies’ room when I tried to get away from him. He pinned me against the wall and put his hands on me. He had a filthy mouth.”

“Now he’s dead,” Adam said.

Rudy cringed.

“He evidently mistook the
utter shock
on my face for eager interest and thought he’d see what my breasts felt like.”

“No,
now
he’s dead.” Ethan growled.

“I popped him one in the eye and flattened his balls with my knee. He said he heard I was nothing but a whore,
bad move
when you’re in
that
condition, and that I was just playing h–h–hard to get. I punched him in the nose when he wouldn’t let go.” She looked anguished for a second, as if she were in trouble, then burst into tears.

“Rudy,” Jack asked calmly, “are either of those men family?”

“No, Jack. What can I do to make amends? Please?”

“We want two minutes alone with both of them, the busboy
and
the waiter.”

“Are you going to—?”

“
No
, we’re not going to kill them, just
educate
them. I proposed to Grace today, and now her day is ruined because of their behavior.

Satisfaction is all I’m asking for. Nothing more.”

“Three against two?”

“No, only one of us will do the honors.” Adam hoped like fucking hell he got that duty as Jack continued, “Unless you have any other smarmy assholes working for you that need a lesson in manners to even it out. Two minutes, and it’s forgotten. If it’s okay with you, Grace?”

“Do I get to watch?”

Adam had to grin down at her. She was a bloodthirsty little thing! It was good to see her recovering, though. He was impressed she’d been able to defend herself so capably.

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Jack chuckled in amusement. “No, sweet thing. I want you to wait for us in the SUV. Rudy?”

“Again, Miss Stuart, I apologize for my
former
employees’ ignorance. I will fire them
both
. Congratulations on your engagement. Gentlemen, follow me. You may use the alley.”

Quietly, they followed Rudy down a hallway that led back to the kitchen. Jack caught Adam’s eye. “I want to talk to them first.”

Adam grinned evilly, crackled his knuckles, and nodded at Jack. “I’ll try not to break any bones.” Rudy pushed the door open to the kitchen.

* * * *

Grace walked out to Jack’s SUV and used the remote to unlock it. She started the ignition, turned up the AC as the June heat blasted her, and then climbed into the backseat to wait.

All in all, she was rather proud of herself. At first she had been so shocked she didn’t know what to say, almost slipping into Owen-mode, which was
avoid and escape
, but opted instead for Charity-mode, which was more of a
kick-butt-and-take-names
sort of maneuver. She really had moved on from Owen. It felt good.

What she really wanted now was a shower and clean clothes. She could still smell the busboy’s greasy food odor mixed with sweat on her clothes.

His hands must have been dirty or wet. She hoped they both needed to go to the hospital after her men finished with them. She wished she’d kicked him, too. Fucker. Then she burst out laughing. Her mindset had certainly changed in just two weeks.

A couple of minutes later, Adam climbed into the backseat of the SUV

with her, and shortly thereafter, Ethan and Jack climbed into the front seat.

Grace took Adam’s hand and gently inspected his split knuckles. “What happened?”

“Jack and Ethan let me have the honor of making them really, really sorry for molesting and upsetting you. You really did a number on that busboy, baby. I was proud when Rudy kicked him out the alley door with his buddy. The job was already half done, at least on him. His waiter friend was another story, but I fixed ’em up good.”

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She leaned in between the front seat to look at Ethan and Jack. They both shook their heads and pointed back at Adam with their thumbs. Jack said, “We just watched. Turns out those assholes were neither lovers nor fighters. But they
are
really sorry. Don’t worry, darlin’, Adam taught them a lesson but didn’t do any permanent harm.”

Ethan looked at her and smiled. “Rudy fired them, I banned them from The Pony, and I’m also banning Patricia and her friends. It’s because of their antics that this misunderstanding happened. I already called Ben, and he’s on it. We’re real proud that you defended yourself, Grace. We wish it hadn’t been necessary.”

“I won’t go around picking fights, but it sure felt good to stand up for myself.”

Jack said, “Rudy told me he’ll host our rehearsal dinner for free to thank us.”

“He doesn’t have to do that. I don’t even know how much that would cost. But it must be expensive.”

“Honor among gentlemen, darlin’. Those two would have eventually screwed up with the wrong person and caused Rudy even more trouble if we hadn’t called them on their bad behavior. It’s all good.”

“Thank you for defending my honor, sweethearts. Adam, I’ll clean and bandage your knuckles for you when we get home.”

“I’m going to swing by for your flowers real quick. You stay put, darlin’.” Jack pulled into the shop’s little parking lot.

Ethan popped the hatch on the SUV and got out to help him load the flowers. She waved at Martha and Rose but stayed in the SUV. The ladies would have taken one look at her red eyes and known something had happened and wanted full details. Right now, she just wanted to get home. A minute later, they were heading down the road to the ranch.

Sitting next to Adam, she picked at the fabric of her top and pulled it away from her skin. “I need to get these clothes off. I can still smell his greasy, sweaty odor on them. Ick,” she muttered in disgust.

“Take them off, then,” Adam said to her as Ethan’s head swiveled around to look at her and nodded encouragingly. She saw Jack’s eyes flick to her in the rearview mirror. “Seriously,” Adam continued, “the windows are tinted real dark, so no one would see you, and one of us will run in and
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get your robe and bring it out to you, so there is no chance anyone would see you naked but us.”

“It’s really just my shirt I wanted to change, but I would like to take a shower as well.” She snickered suggestively.

“Well,
see
? You’ll be ready to just walk right into the shower when we get home. Might as well be thorough,” Ethan added so helpfully.

Jack muttered. “Dammit, I’m driving here. You want me to wreck? Shit
,
go ahead
, honey.”

She carefully peeled the shirt over her head, avoiding her face and hair.

Adam sighed happily. “Now that’s better already.” Her breasts, encased in the pink lace bra, bobbed free when she released the back closure. The sensation inspired a sudden deep, hot ache in her pussy. Adam reached out to caress her breasts. “Damn, but you’re beautiful in
or
out of pink.”

“You say the nicest things, Adam.”

Then she slipped her shoes and socks off and left them on the floorboard. Next went the jeans, which left her in a pretty pink thong that matched the bra
. Thank you, June!

“Adam, I need help with the thong. I hurt my hand when I popped him in the nose. Could you help me? Please?” She was so enjoying this game.

Adam slid his big, warm hands up her thighs and over her hips, hooked his fingers in the elastic waist of the pink lace thong, and slowly pulled it off of her as she knelt on the seat next to him. She lay back so he could get it past her knees and off completely.

“Baby, are you wet?” Adam asked softly, palming her thigh open. She nodded, biting her lip.

“We’re still a few minutes away from the house, Adam, if you want to show her how much we love her,” Ethan said in his velvety, sexy voice. “I’ll bet she’d love it, wouldn’t you, Gracie?”

“Yes, I would.” She allowed her thigh to lay open on the seat, the other against the back of Ethan’s seat.

It would be an understatement to say that Adam dove in and went to town. She moaned and panted as he used his tongue, lips, and fingers. She was close to climax within a couple of minutes. Ethan caressed her thigh and whispered words of encouragement and inspiration to her and Adam both. Adam seemed to know she was getting close. When the moment was right, he gently sucked her clit just as Jack drove over the cattle guard. His

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stimulation, plus the abrupt vibration of the pipes over the road, sent her over. She moaned Adam’s name as she came.

“Beautiful,” Ethan whispered.

“She is somethin’ else,” she heard Jack say.

“Mmm, I could never get tired of this sweet honey of yours, Grace. Or the way you sound when we make you come,” Adam murmured as he kissed and licked her slit. “I love you so much.”

“I love you, too, Adam.”

He sat up as Jack pulled up to the steps. Ethan climbed out and returned a minute later with her blue robe. Adam helped her sit up and put it on, and she tied it at the waist and accepted Ethan’s hand when he helped her down from the SUV as she held the robe closed at the knee. She hurried in the house, followed by an amused Adam and Ethan, while Jack pulled around to park.

They inspected her hands, seeing that one of the knuckles of her right hand was a little red and swollen.

“Gracie has a mean jab, I bet.” Ethan kissed her red knuckle. “If it swells more or the pain gets worse, we may need to have it X-rayed, but I think it’s okay.”

Grace got the first aid kit from the pantry in the kitchen and tended to Adam’s split knuckles. Adam had a particularly deep cut on his right hand that looked like it might have been caused by a tooth. “Keep an eye on this one. It may get infected. His disgusting mouth was probably full of all kinds of bacteria.” She cleaned the wound out. He never even flinched.

“Are you going to be my nurse?” He grinned mischievously at her.

“Take good care of me?”

“Just call me Nurse Grace.”

Ethan came up behind her and palmed both cheeks of her behind.

“Mmm, Naughty Nurse Grace.” He nuzzled under her ear. She leaned into him and closed her eyes, smiling.

“Great, I have to go to two more service calls before my day is done.

Y’all are going to be here this afternoon, and I’ll know what you’re doing,”

Adam said, going for the pout.

“But Ethan will have to work tonight, and you and Jack will have me all to yourselves. When do you have to leave?” She grinned wickedly.

He looked at his watch. “Ten minutes. Why?”

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Grace turned to Ethan and kissed him. “Honey, can you spare me for a few minutes?”

“Sure, Gracie. I’ll be in my bedroom.” He kissed her again and left the kitchen.

Grace turned to Adam, took his least damaged hand, pulled him down the hall to her bedroom, and shut the door behind them. With the drapes drawn, the room was dim and cool. He wrapped his arms around her.

“Thanks for picking me, Grace,” Adam said as he nuzzled her throat.

“Jack and Ethan didn’t mind, but it meant an awful lot to me that when you were so hurt and upset it was me you reached for.”

She sighed happily in his arms. “Adam, I love all of you equally, but for different qualities you possess. I feel safe and protected with all of you, but you’re my dragon slayer.”

She left it at that and reached for his belt buckle. After she had it undone, she unbuttoned his jeans, reached inside the waistband of his boxers, and found him completely erect. He hissed and shuddered when her fingertips found the head of his cock. She worked his jeans and underwear down his thighs to his boots.

With her right hand, she grasped his cock and slowly stroked him. She slid her other hand up to his neck, pulling him to her for a deep kiss. His big, strong hands cradled the back of her head, his fingers threading into her hair.

The sweet romance quickly heated up, however, when she held his forearm, knelt in front of him, and guided him to sit on the edge of the mattress behind him.

He sat and propped himself up with his arms behind him, his massive shoulder muscles rippling. A look of anticipation crossed his tense facial features as he watched her lick her lips. She parted her lips over the head and gazed into his pale green eyes as the head of his cock pressed against her lips softly before sliding into her mouth.

His voice was a deep rumble in his chest. “Baby! Oh, those sweet lips, so warm.”

His breath left him in a rush. With a soft moan, his head fell back, and his abs flexed in the dim light of the room. She ran her tongue back and forth in soft, slow strokes on the underside of his cock from the ridge at the head, down the shaft to his balls, then back again in slow, torturous, lapping waves. She licked the tear that formed at the slit as she sucked his cock back

309

between her lips again. In up and down strokes, she worked him slowly to the back of her throat, enjoying the groans and gasps that came from his mouth. She hummed and giggled in response, which made him moan even more at the vibration.

“I love it when you do that!” He shifted on the edge of the bed and moved with her. He brought one hand forward and cupped her cheek, looking down at her with such tenderness she wanted to cry. She wasn’t doing this because Adam had given her a release in the SUV earlier. She was doing this because she loved and adored him and wanted him to go back to work with the knowledge that she hadn’t missed the opportunity to show him that love. “I’m a lucky man, honey. I’d do anything to make you happy.”

She replied with a soft, breathy sigh, and her other hand came up to grasp his wet shaft, sliding back and forth.

“Baby, I’m gonna come soon, mmm.” There was a new urgency in his tone. She kept a steady rhythm, slowly increasing the tempo as she listened to his breathing. She increased the suction a little each time he slid from her, leaving just the head between her lips, then allowed him to thrust back in.

She lovingly suckled and stroked him with her tongue and thanked him for being her dragon slayer.

His breath came in all-out panting as he began moving in concert with her. He begged her not to stop and then threaded his fingers gently into her hair.

“Baby, I’m gonna come. Get ready, Grace! I’m coming!” He gasped in great heaving waves as his seed shot forth from his cock into her mouth, and she swallowed. More and more came, and she took it all as he cried out her name. A rippling shudder shook his body, and a moan slipped from his lips.

“Angel,” he whispered.

She finished licking him as he lay back to rest a minute. She crawled on the bed and carefully laid her head on his chest under his jaw and listened to his heart rate gradually slow.

“You’re
my
angel,” she whispered to him, stroking her fingers through his dark chest hair. “I just love you.”

He stroked her hair from her cheek. “You do things like that to me and make it nearly impossible for me to leave. I’d like to curl up around you and
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stay that way for a whole day.” He turned to her, his fingers across her tailbone, tucking her into him.

“We’ll make time to do things like that, just the two of us, I promise,”

she said as he tried to sit up, sighed, and laughed softly. Finally, a minute later, he sat up successfully.

“I’m going to feel this in my legs for the rest of the afternoon,” he said as he rose and redressed.

“Shaky?”

“Yeah. But in a good way. I’ll look forward to tonight. I’d better go. I don’t want to run late.”

She walked him to the door and then got a drink of water. She made her way down the hall to Ethan’s bedroom. She hadn’t spent much time in their bedrooms. She liked his room on the east side of the house. It was a little dimmer than hers, the windows already in shadows. He lay on the bed as she walked in and closed the door. He was dressed only in his jeans, his chest and feet bare.