Double Rugged Trouble: Rancher MFM Menage: Stonecreek Valley Page 7

  “Of course. I’ll do it, if you need to go check on the crew, Ace.”

  He stood and started passing out our clothes. They were all in a heap.

  “Yeah. That would be a big help. And then we’ll both be there tonight when your shift ends.”

  Jade stopped. “You two are serious about that?”

  “Are you serious about us not letting Cookie know what happened?”

  “I am.”

  “Then, we will be there as soon as you leave the diner. I don’t know who those dicks were, but until we know they’ve left Stonecreek, I’m not taking a chance.”

  “Me either,” Ace echoed.

  “You-you think they’re still here?” Her beautiful face went three shades whiter.

  “No. No.” I put an arm around her shoulder. “I’m sure they left as soon as they woke up out of their drunken stupors. But let’s be careful, ok?”

  “Ok,” she whispered.

  I hated she was scared, but at least I knew she would be safe.

  It was settled. We had made Jade ours today. It wasn’t just the fucking. It wasn’t filling her from end to end with our come. It was all the stuff in between. It was the look in her eyes. It was the way she called our names. It was how she gave her virginity to us as a fucking special gift. I’d never forget it. Never forget how it felt pushing into her hole. Oh shit. I had to stop thinking about it now. I needed to climb back on the horse and it was a hell of a lot easier doing that when my dick wasn’t as hard as a rock.

  I struggled to stand, before I helped Jade to her feet. I kissed her on the head.

  “I think I told you this, but you’re incredible.”

  “You two make me feel incredible,” she answered.

  Ace helped her into the exercise pants and the T-shirt that was knotted up.

  “Good. That’s what we’re here for.”

  We took the jagged trail back to the horses. They were waiting for us where the path had narrowed too much for them to pass.

  “Up you go.” I hoisted Jade into the saddle before climbing on my horse. We turned and led the horses out to the pasture where we could follow the fence line back to the stables.

  One of the stable hands met us and took the reins. We handed the horses over and walked to the ranch.

  “Let’s get you home.” I pressed my hand to Jade’s lower back. It fit there. Come to think of it. My hands fit perfectly all over her body.

  Ace left us at the gate. “See you two later.”

  We were exhausted and I wasn’t sure how it would feel to be alone with Jade. The ride to her place was quiet. I turned the music up on the radio.

  “Turn here,” she instructed me.

  “I don’t think I’ve been out here.”

  She sighed. “I have a few neighbors, but not many. It’s pretty quiet.”

  “That’s the best part of Stonecreek Valley. I’ve always thought that.”

  “I guess I’ll eventually get used to the quiet and the slow pace.” Her eyes darted out the window. “It’s been less than a week.”

  “Is that all?” I chuckled. “Maybe you should give this town a chance.”

  I settled my hand on her knee. “I know I like having you around.”

  She smiled. “I like being around you, Dalton.”

  “Then why don’t you pack a bag tonight?” I suggested.

  “What do you mean?”

  I took another turn when she pointed to an upcoming road.

  “Just that Ace and I are going to be running out late to pick you up. Why not throw a few things in a bag and stay with us?”

  “For how long?”

  I shrugged. The truth was I wanted to tell her to get her shit and just move into the ranch, but I realized that seemed quick. We’d already moved a thousand miles ahead of where we probably should be at this point, but that girl was mine. And Ace’s. She belonged with us.

  “I don’t know. A few nights at least. Make it a week.”

  “A week?” She lifted the sunglasses on her head. Her blue eyes sparkled.

  “Two weeks?”

  She giggled. “That’s crazy.”

  “Is it?”

  “Do you have any idea what it takes for a girl to spend the night?”

  I cocked my head toward her. “Enlighten me, darlin’.”

  “Well for one I need a hairdryer. All my makeup. A flat iron and a curling iron.”

  We didn’t have any of that. I wasn’t sure what those different types of irons did.

  She continued to rattle off her packing list. “And then there’s my shampoo and body wash, and—”

  “I’ll help you pack it.”

  “What?” Jade’s jaw dropped.

  “You heard me.” I pulled into her driveway. “All of it. Every damn thing you need.” I turned off the ignition and faced her.

  “But, I need my art supplies and a place to paint. I have to paint. You don’t understand. I’m only a waitress because I need the money. I’m an artist, Dalton.”

  I brushed her blond locks back. “We have plenty of room. You can paint anywhere you want. Bring all of it. I’ll pack you up today.”

  “You can’t be serious.”

  I knew I didn’t have to talk to Ace. If he had been the one dropping her off instead of me he would have said the same thing. We couldn’t let her live out here on her own. It wasn’t safe. She needed us. And fuck it. We needed her too.

  I ran the pad of my thumb over her lips. Lips that I had fucked. Lips that I had kissed. Lips that had covered my body. Lips that I wanted to kiss tonight and tomorrow morning when I woke up next to her naked body.

  Jade sighed. “When you do things like that it makes it almost impossible to tell you no. Almost.” I heard the playfulness in her voice, but I wasn’t joking about this.

  The only way we could protect her was to move her into the ranch. She could have all the space she needed. We’d set her up with her own studio space.

  “Then don’t say no. Get your bags packed and move in with us.”

  “Can I think about it?”

  I pressed my mouth to hers. The kiss grew hot quickly. My arms wrapped around her waist, drawing her to my lap. She panted as she dipped her tongue inside my mouth.

  “How can we still want each other so badly?” she asked.

  “I don’t know. And I don’t think I fucking care.” I tangled my hands in the back of her hair and brought her to me again. Jade rocked her hips into me and I groaned.

  I’d had my share of women. More in college than I’d had lately. But that was life in Stonecreek Valley. A few beers at Drew’s Brews and I’d take a pretty girl back to her place for a good fuck. Sometimes that fuck turned into another. But I swore I’d never fucked as much as I had in the past twenty-four hours. And I wanted this woman again.

  I cupped Jade’s breasts as I kissed her throat and below her collarbone. As she leaned away, her back hit the steering wheel and the horn blared.

  “Oh shit.” She jumped straight out of my lap.

  I laughed. “I guess we can get carried away pretty quickly.”

  She nodded. “I need to take a shower. I have to change for work.”

  I took a look at the clock on the dash. I didn’t want to make her late. I knew she valued her job at the diner. I respected that. She was trying to put her life back together. I wasn’t about to get in the way.

  “Come on. I’ll help you pack while you shower.”

  Jade jumped from the passenger side and I followed her up the front walkway.

  “I want to think about it, Dalton. This is a huge decision.”

  She fiddled with the keys. I looked around. The house needed a lot of work. The shutters were chipping paint and half the gutters were cracked. There was a missing floorboard on the porch and the railing was falling off the stairs.

  I scratched the back of my head. “All right. I get it.”

  She pushed the door open and turned on the light. There were boxes everywhere. She hadn’t unpacked much.
I kept my mouth shut. It would be easy for Ace and me to throw these boxes in the back of our trucks and move her to the ranch.

  But like all the things that had happened between us today, she needed to come to us with it. It had to be on her time. On her terms.

  “My Jeep is still downtown,” she explained. “If you two are going to be shuttling me to work for a few nights what should I do with it?”

  “Jeep girl, huh?”

  She nodded. “I can fit some of my larger canvases in the back. It’s perfect for me.”

  “Do you have the keys?”

  “They’re in my bag.”

  “Ok, let Ace and me handle it. We can drive it here for you, but I’m not opposed to keeping it at the ranch. It will fit in our garage.”

  “Nice try.” She wagged a finger at me. “I’m not moving in with you two after a day.”

  “Fine. Then after two days.” I chuckled.

  Jade sashayed along the hall. “I’ll be quick. I just need to change and then you can drive me to work.”

  “Take your time, darlin’. Take your time.”

  17

  Jade

  I kept eyeing each customer who walked in the diner. Every time the bell over the door jingled, I jumped. No one seemed to notice. Neither the customers nor the staff. Dalton had dropped me off five minutes early. He kept his promise. He walked me inside and didn’t say a word to Cookie about what happened last night.

  I knew a fight like that would have made major gossip headlines in this town. Since no one mentioned it, I knew word hadn’t gotten out. I was grateful for that at least.

  Dalton didn’t want to seem to leave, but Cookie pestered him about getting his haircut and backed out quickly. I wanted to interject. I liked his hair. It was a little long in the front. Just long enough I could feather my fingers through it.

  “Hon? You ok over there?” Reva asked.

  “Huh?”

  “You have a two top over there.” Reva pointed to the corner booth. “High school kids.”

  “Right. The booth.” I grabbed two menus and headed toward the customers, forgetting to thank Reva for snapping me out of my Dalton daydream. The truth was it went from Ace to Dalton and back to Ace. I couldn’t stop thinking about either of them.

  What distracted me the most was Dalton’s offer to move me into their ranch. He seemed sincere. But I was afraid to tell them the biggest fear holding me back. My ex.

  Barton had pulled one over on me. I was still mortified. Crushed. Embarrassed. Ace and Dalton didn’t know me well. Sure we had shared something incredible and intimate. But it wasn’t as if I could unleash all this past hurt and heartache on them. Would they even understand? I shook my head and cleaned another table. Just thinking about what I had gone through with Barton made my stomach turn sour.

  Eventually Reva’s shift ended and she left me for the evening.

  “Good luck tonight, hon.”

  “Thanks. I think I’ll be fine.” She didn’t know I had two extremely hot bodyguards on call. “I’ll see you Tuesday.”

  “Cookie already gave you some days off?” she asked.

  “She said she likes to work the Sunday and Monday shifts,” I replied. I didn’t know if that was a good or bad sign for my new position.

  “That’s true.” Reva slung her purse over her shoulder. “She has a bit of a social circle that comes in those two days. I’m not surprised she wanted to keep those for herself. The after church crowd is always generous.” She cracked a smile.

  I made a mental note of that. Maybe I could count on having Sundays and Mondays off from work. It wasn’t the full weekend, but it would definitely be nice to be able to make plans. I could devote two full days to painting and creating.

  “See you then.” I smiled as she walked out the alley door.

  I turned around to watch the cook work. Saturday night with Vincent. The old cook liked to hum while he flipped burgers.

  “It’s just you and me Vincent. You and me.” I grinned.

  “Seems so.” He tossed a burger in the air.

  I walked into the dining room when I heard the bell ding.

  “Hi. Table for four?” I asked.

  The rest of the night had an easy pace. Vincent and I never fell into the weeds like we did Friday. By the time I reached to flip off the neon open sign, I realized just how comfortable I had been in the diner. There were no sleazy customers. No one was rude. No one was difficult. I hadn’t had to return a single order to the kitchen. I felt a sliver of satisfaction. It was a good shift. And I had a pocket full of cash to prove just how satisfied my tables were with my customer service. I patted the waitress apron lightly.

  I began the end of the night duties. I refilled the ketchup bottles and stacked the salts and peppers. I wiped down all the tables and rolled the silver. The only thing left was to check on Vincent and see if he needed any help before I clocked out.

  I had a moment of déjà vu when I saw the old man struggling with the gigantic trash bag.

  “Wait. Wait.” I rushed over to him. “You’re going to throw your back out or slip on the floor,” I lectured.

  “I used to be able to do this every night with no problem.”

  “Well.” I looked at him. I wanted to say something that wouldn’t undercut his masculinity. I didn’t need to be his age to know getting old was no fun. A man’s pride was still there no matter what the age.

  “I could use a little bit of a work out.” I lifted the bag up and down as if I were doing repetitions for bicep curls. “One. Two. Three.”

  He shook his head. “You expect me to believe that?”

  I switched arms. “How am I doing?” I lifted the bag five times before I put it down. “I’m trying to tone up more.”

  He shrugged. “I don’t get young people. Is that the new-fangled thing? Trash workouts?”

  I giggled. “It is for me. I’ll just throw this out back and I’m gone for the night.”

  He hung his apron on the hook. “You did good, kid. I’ll see you next shift.”

  “Sure thing, Vincent. Enjoy the rest of your weekend.”

  At least I knew now that Vincent didn’t use the alley exit. That would have been helpful information to have last night. I also knew he turned off all the lights on his way out of the kitchen. I was making mental checklists of all the things that would have prevented the attack. I would never be in that situation again. I swore to myself with or without Ace and Dalton, I would not be someone else’s victim.

  I left the trash by the door. I retrieved my phone. Sure enough I had two texts.

  I’m here, baby.

  Outside waiting on you, darlin’.

  I didn’t know if there were words that could describe how much joy those two simple texts brought me. My heart thumped wildly in my chest and I bit my lip, keeping myself from squealing. I pulled on the screen door and there they were.

  Two hunking sex gods.

  “Hey there.” Ace tipped his hat.

  Dalton moved in front of him and lifted the bag off the floor. He picked it up as if it were a sack of cotton. I gawked. It had been a struggle for me to do reps with that smelly thing.

  “Hi.” I knew I blushed. I knew had that smitten kitten look all over my face.

  “Ready to go?” Dalton tossed the trash away and turned toward me.

  I locked up the diner. “I’m ready.”

  “Have you given any more thought to my offer?”

  “We’re going to talk about this now?” My eyes bulged.

  We stood in the alley.

  Ace intervened. “We have to caravan this Jeep back to your place, unless you let me drive straight to the ranch.” He folded his arms. His biceps bulged. I remembered what they looked like wrapped around my waist. How I had looked down at his strong hands while he fed me his cock.

  My core twitched at the memory. My pussy ached and my juices already began to soak my panties. Holy shit. These guys had gotten to me.

  “Maybe we shouldn’t talk
here where someone could hear us,” I whispered.

  Ace laughed. “That’s what you’re worried about?”

  I nodded. “Aren’t you? I’m not exactly sure I could take the stigma right now.”

  Dalton’s eyes landed on mine. “What do you want to do with the Jeep for tonight? We’ll park her exactly where you want her.”

  “Thank you.” I exhaled. I didn’t want to start our night off together with a fight. “Can we drive it to my house?”

  “Sure thing, darlin’. Sure thing.”

  “Thank you.”

  I fished in my bag for my keys. “Here they are!” I pulled them out triumphantly.

  Ace snatched them from my fingers. “I’ll drive the Jeep. You hop in the truck with Dalt.”

  “Thank you for understanding,” I whispered to Dalton when I slid into the cab with him. “I just need a little time.”

  “I mentioned it to Ace when I got back to the ranch.”

  “And what did he say about our conversation?” It already seemed as if there was an unspoken understanding that there would be no secrets between the three of us. At least that’s how I wanted it to be. If I was going to be so open and share my body, everything had to be shared equally.

  “He said to give you time.”

  “Oh he did, did he?” I couldn’t help the smirk on my lips.

  Dalton’s hand slid to my thigh. “Because he knows you belong with us.”

  “Oh.” My heart thudded and I swallowed hard.

  “You just need a time to figure out that’s where you belong to.”

  I closed my eyes as the truck drove out of downtown. I wanted to believe him so badly. I wanted it to be true.

  He squeezed my leg, and I knew he was right.

  18

  Ace

  Tonight was different. When the three of us walked through the doors of the ranch I had a strange feeling it was the beginning of what this would look like. What life as a trio would be like. I’d never considered it before. It was too soon for anyone to speak those words, but it felt as if this was a possibility. As if we could live as a threesome. How fucking crazy was that?