Rough and Ready [Men for Hire 4] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) (20 page)

He’d remained quiet, his huge eyes stuck on her, until she’d spoken. His face scrunched up, and as though her voice had taken him out of a trance, he began to wail.

“Mommy! Mommy! I want my mommy!”

She could move only one arm and with that, she stroked his face, trying to soothe him. “It’s okay, sweetie. I’m sure your mommy’s going to come for you real soon.”

Please, let someone come.

She dragged in a breath then coughed. They were alive and they’d get out from under the debris. Once Cindy and others realized they were missing, they’d send help.

“Baby, let’s play a game, okay? It’s the opposite of the Quiet Game. It’s called the Noisy Game. You have to be as loud as you can. Whoever yells the loudest wins. Okay?”

But Johnny had decided to sullen up. He shook his head and clung tighter to the squirming puppy.

“Come on, baby. It’ll be fun.” She smiled, trying to coax him into joining her. “I’ll go first, okay? But you can start yelling any time you want.”

His lower lip trembled again. She didn’t want him to cry. Crying wasn’t as loud as yelling.

“Here I go. Ready?” She drew in as large a breath as she could with the weight on her back and let out a yell. “Hey! Someone! We’re in the barn! Hey!”

She didn’t use the word help. She thought that might frighten Johnny even more. “Come on. You’re a big boy. I bet you can yell really loud.”

She smiled and shouted again. “Hey! We’re in the barn! Johnny and I are in the barn!”

Johnny opened his mouth and started mimicking her. “Hey! We in da barn. Johnny in da barn!”

“That’s it, baby. Keep on yelling. You’re a good yeller.”

Even the puppy got into the act and starting yelping.

As they continued to call out for help, Alex tried to crane her neck around toward the slice of light filtering through the boards above her. “Hey! We’re in the barn. Find us!”

Please. Someone find us.

She closed her eyes, went deep within herself, and gathered another burst of strength. They’d made it through the storm and they’d make it through getting buried under debris. She’d make damn sure of it.

“That’s it, Johnny. Keep yelling. Your mommy’s coming.”

At least she hoped so. If something had happened to his mommy, she’d never forgive herself for telling him a lie.

“Hey! Anyone! We’re in the barn!”

She’d just opened her mouth to shout again when she heard Jeff’s voice.

“Alex! Keep calling. We’re here. Keep letting us know where you are.”

Relief, as sweet as sugar, filled her. Jeff was here. She knew Kane wouldn’t be far away.

“I’m here! With Johnny! Please hurry!” She could hear them moving around her. The noise of them clearing things away was music to her ears.

She caressed Johnny’s cheek again. “See, baby? They’re coming. We have to keep shouting.”

Together, she and the little boy called at the top of their lungs. A minute later, sunlight cut a path through the darkness, blinding her.

“They’re here. Kane, help me.”

She closed her eyes against the light and put a soft smile on her face. “We’re going to be okay, Johnny. Just hang on to your puppy.”

The warmth of the sun against her back didn’t feel half as good as Jeff and Kane gently lifting her up.

Kane scanned her body, checking for injuries, then gave her to Jeff. He turned back to the crying Johnny and pulled the boy and his puppy out of the hole their bodies had formed in the pile of rubble.

Cradled in Jeff’s arms, Alex leaned her head against his chest. “I thought you’d never come.”

“We’ll always come for you, baby. You can count on it.”

“Johnny! Oh, my precious baby!”

Weariness overtook Alex, and she didn’t even try to lift her head to see who had shouted. She was only vaguely aware of a blonde woman and a man rushing past them toward Johnny.

“Is Cindy all right?”

“Yeah. She’s fine. Now hush, Alex, and let us take care of you.”

She couldn’t think of anything better. Closing her eyes, she let the feel of Jeff’s arms around her comfort her as she drifted off.

* * * *

“They’re here.” Daisy stood at the door to Alex’s bedroom. “Are you ready to see them?”

Daisy’s gaze drifted to the suitcase that sat nearby. “I don’t guess you’ve changed your mind about leaving, have you?”

Alex put her back to the window. “No. I’m still going. Besides, I need to get a new car as soon as possible and return the rental.”

In such a short time, she’d grown to love Daisy and the small town. But her heart couldn’t take living around Jeff and Kane, knowing that they didn’t love her enough to share her.

Daisy crossed her arms. “Don’t you get it? We need you here. It’s more than that. We want you here. You’re one of us now. You’ve even gone through the worst kind of initiation. How can you leave now?”

“If you’re talking about the tornado, that’s one hell of an initiation. Couldn’t we have just gotten drunk and run naked down the middle of town like they do in regular initiations?”

The tornado that had come through Destiny had been more devastating than the previous one that had brought her to town. Laying down a path of destruction a mile wide, the storm had claimed livestock as well as five of the town’s residents. Three of them belonged to a neighboring family of the Mason’s who hadn’t had a cellar for shelter.

“Hey, I’m always up for a hot toddy.”

After getting checked out by the local doctor, Alex had refused to return to Tulsa and had worked tirelessly for the past week, helping to coordinate relief efforts. Although she’d longed to see Kane and Jeff, she’d put them off, saying that she was either too tired or too busy to meet with them. The truth was that she couldn’t experience the pain of leaving them again.

Still, before she left, she had to thank them. She couldn’t put it off any longer. “Could you ask them to come up now?”

“Sure.” Daisy paused, started to say something else, and instead pulled her in for a quick hug. “Damn, girl, I’m going to miss you. Who am I going to drink hot toddies with?”

Alex wiped away a tear, determined not to cry. “I’ll come back and visit.” She smiled. “If only for the toddy.”

Daisy pointed a finger at her and narrowed her eyes. With her voice cracking, she admonished her. “You’d damn well better.”

“I promise.” Yet even as Alex made the sign of a cross over her chest, she wondered if she would keep her promise. Coming back to Destiny would be harder than she thought she could stand.

“Okay, then. I’ll send them up.” Then Daisy pivoted and walked down the hallway.

Alex rubbed her sweaty hands on her jeans. She’d never been this nervous before. Not even while buried with Johnny. She closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths.

Just let me get through this.

“Alex?”

She opened her eyes to find Kane and Jeff, looking as sexy as ever in tight T-shirts, faded jeans, and boots, their huge bodies blocking the doorway. Their hats were in their hands, reminding her of how men had acted in a bygone era when manners were more prevalent.

To her surprise, Kane stepped aside to let Jeff enter first. She smiled, her heart thudding in her chest. But when they started toward her, hunger showing in their eyes, she stopped them.

“No. Don’t come any closer. This is going to be hard enough.”

They did as she asked, but their obvious disappointment stabbed at her. If only they could share her, everything would be all right. Better than all right. But they’d had an ongoing rivalry for far too long to want to tame it. Even for her.

“You’re looking well.”

Jeff laughed. “Kane’s right about that, but he’s wrong, too. You look amazing. As beautiful as ever.”

Kane shot Jeff a look, but kept quiet. She figured he showed good restraint not to say something back at Jeff. He glanced at the suitcase. “So you’re really leaving?”

“No, Alex, don’t.”

She bit her lower lip to keep from crying. “I have to. But I needed to thank you before I left.” She clasped her hands, trying to keep them from shaking. “That’s why I asked you to come here. I wanted to thank you for saving me. For saving Johnny and me.”

Kane’s dark eyes flashed at her, as always sending a flash of desire straight to her pussy. How would she live without that? No man could ever measure up to either Kane or Jeff, much less the two of them together.

“You don’t have to thank us, Alex.” Jeff skimmed his fingers along the rim of his hat. “We’d do anything for you.”

“If we’d lost you in that twister…” Kane’s throat moved up and down as he struggled through the emotion of his words.

She fought back her own feelings along with the tears. Leaving them was the hardest thing she’d ever do. “Still, I do thank you. Not only for that day, but for everything else.”

“If you want to thank us, you’d stay.”

She closed her eyes for a moment, unable to stand the look of need on Jeff’s face. “I can’t. It’s just too hard being around both of you.”

They were in front of her when she opened her eyes again. The heat from their bodies, the urgent desire that flashed through her, made her wobble on her feet. She stepped back, out of their attempt to hold her.

“Alex, we have to tell you something.” Kane tossed his hat to the side.

Jeff did the same as they moved even closer, cornering her against the wall. Each of them took one arm and held her there.

“Please, don’t make this any harder than it is,” she pleaded. “You made your decision and I’ve made mine.”

“Alex, I love you. We love you,” added Jeff. “But would you please shut up? We’ve got something important to tell you.”

She dropped her gaze to her arms. “If you turn me loose, I will.”

They let go of her and she immediately regretted it. But it was for the best.

“You kind of caught us off guard when you came out to the ranch.”

“Kane’s right. Not that it’s any excuse.” Jeff’s quick smile was back, warming her soul as well as her pussy. “As soon as you drove away, we knew what a couple of idiots we are.”

“I don’t understand.” A flicker of hope erupted inside her, and she fought to keep it at bay. Every time she’d trusted a man and given into hope, they’d let her down. She didn’t know if she could stand it if the men she truly loved did the same thing.

“We want you, Alex.” Kane glanced at Jeff, who confirmed it with a nod. “Both of us do.”

“I know that, but I can’t choose between you. Please, just let me go back to Tulsa and—”

Jeff pressed his fingers against her lips. “Be quiet and listen. Go on, Kane. You’re doing great.”

Did he just compliment Kane? She darted her gaze between them.

“Both of us love you. And we know you love us, too. Am I right?”

Although Jeff had removed his hand, she still kept silent. Instead, she nodded.

“Will you get to the punch line, man?”

Kane glared at Jeff. “I thought I was doing great.”

There it is. The old rivalry coming back out.

“Yeah, well, you’d do better if you’d quit stalling and spit it out.”

“Fine. Alex, it’s this way,” started Kane.

But Jeff was too impatient to wait. “We want to share you, Alex. Just like you wanted.”

“You do?” She sucked in a slow breath and had to ask again. “Are you sure?”

Kane let out a sigh. “Yeah. We are. We realized it the moment you left. Hell, I guess he’s not such a bad guy. I could do worse for a partner.”

“You could?” She was too dumbfounded to think straight. Was it really happening? Were they going to be together? The three of them?

“Yeah, and I figure Kane’s not so bad after all.” That didn’t keep Jeff from giving Kane the familiar shit-eating grin. “We do work well together.”

“And I do like watching him have you, too,” added Kane.

She had to make sure. Maybe she’d hit her head during the tornado and was dreaming. “Is this for real? And you’re talking about for more than right now? Or will you two get into a fight and change your minds?”

“It won’t happen, baby.” Jeff cupped her chin. “Trust us on this.”

She did. They’d taken away her fears more than once, but now they were taking them away for good. “I do. I really do trust you. Both of you.”

“That’s our girl.” Jeff leaned in and gave her a sweet kiss.

She wanted more of what she’d had before. Being in charge all week with helping others was great, but with the men, she wanted to give up that control. “Your bad girl, right?”

His fingertips against her nipples made her dizzy with desire. “Yeah, that’s right. You’re our bad girl.”

“Our dirty bad girl,” added Kane. He cupped her breast and squeezed. “How about we seal this agreement with a threesome? Maybe you should choose a safe word in case we get too rough. You know, just to be safe.”

She grinned. “Yes, Master. I know I won’t need it, but I’d like to anyway.”

“Master, huh?” Kane nodded, considering the word. “Where’d that come from?”

She shrugged. “An erotic romance novel I’m reading. I thought I’d give it try. Is that okay?”

“Yeah. I like it. So what’s the safe word?” The corner of Jeff’s mouth twitched upward.

“Twister.”

She loved that they laughed at her choice.

Jeff’s gaze followed Kane’s to check out the bed. “Twister it is. Now it’s time you realize how it’s going to be having the both of us, baby.” Jeff reached around and spanked her on the butt. “On your knees, woman.”

“Yes, Master Jeff.”

“Damn. I really like the sound of that.” Kane gave her one of his rare smiles.

“Master Kane, there’s one thing I promised to do the last time. And I keep my promises.”

Judging from their expressions, they had no idea what she was doing when she went to her knees.

“Whoa, darlin’. I already like this promise.” Kane slipped his fingers through her hair.

She grabbed the heel and toe of his boot then looked up at him. He kept his body steady by putting both hands on her head as she tugged first one then the other boot off. Next went his socks. She swept her tongue over the arch of his foot, then leaned forward to press her breasts against his legs.

He groaned. “Damn, who knew taking off boots could be so fucking hot.”