Carnal Compromise (20 page)

“Oh holy crap,” she cried when the sizzle of an oncoming orgasm singed her nerve endings. “Oh, oh, oh…” For a long, long moment she hung there, her heart pounding, her breathing tortured, reaching, reaching...

And the sizzle subsided, leaving her empty even as Joe and Brent filled her again.

She whined pitifully. “No!”

They both paused, releasing her stinging nipples.

“What happened?” Joe asked.

“It backed up,” she said, near tears. “I don’t know if I can come with both of you in me. It feels like…you know, like when your jaw gets so hyper-extended by a huge jawbreaker that you can’t bite down.”

A laugh gusted against her breast. “You’re just full of helpful little analogies,” Brent told her.

“And you sure do know how to flatter a man, honey,” Joe added with a grin. Then he pulled back. “You finish her. I’ll hold her.”

Brent put a hand on his arm. “Wait. Ariel, you were really wound up tight. Over-wound, maybe?”

“Maybe.”

“Can you try doing what you did with Joe that first night?”

She bit her lip. “I don’t know if I can relax that much, but I’ll try. No more teeth, though, okay? That might have been a little bit too much.”

“Let’s try alternating this time, too,” Joe said with a questioning look at Brent, who nodded.

AJ was intrigued. How had Brent wound up in charge of this little adventure?

The boys didn’t give her time to consider the matter. They settled her back into her original position and Joe pulled her head up for a long, leisurely kiss. Both of them started to move in her again, slowly, easily, but this time moving opposite of each other. As Joe was pushing in, Brent was pulling out, and it wasn’t long before the constant stimulation ratcheted her excitement back up to nail-biting levels.

“Don’t work for it,” Brent murmured, hugging her close. “Let us bring it to you.”

Nodding, she took a deep breath and closed her eyes, willing her muscles into slackness. The men’s teeter-totter thrusting slowly intensified, and she reveled in the sound of their rough breathing, the clutch of their hard hands on her hips and waist, and the tangy scent of sweat sealing their skin to hers. The more they tensed, the more she sank into the progression of their lust, rising with them to heights that might have frightened her if they were anyone else.

When Joe’s rhythm grew a little jerky and his panting became gasping, Brent said, “Fuck her, Joe.”

He halted deep inside her, tugging her backward ’til she was half on top of him, her head resting on his shoulder, and Joe followed at once. Rising over her, he plastered his mouth against hers and drove into her without any finesse at all, grunting and gasping, and clearly beyond waiting for her to finish.

His loss of control was all it took. AJ sighed and paradise seeped into every fiber of her body at once.

Joe dropped his head onto her breast with a whimper. “Thank you, Jesus.”

His orgasm seemed every bit as frantic as hers was serene, and she wrapped her arms around his head, stroking his sweat-damp hair and gentling him until he sagged against her.

Brent laid a hand on his shoulder. “Roll back, Joe.”

Joe obeyed at once, sliding out of her as he fell back onto the mattress with a gusty sigh. He looked for all the world like he’d already gone to sleep.

Keeping his arm tight around her waist, Brent rolled her onto her stomach and settled his knees between her boneless legs.

“I’m almost there,” he told her, rising onto his elbows.

While he fucked her, licking and sucking at her neck and ears, AJ lay there with her arms folded beside her ribs, her fists tucked loosely beneath her chin, and gloried in his earthy possession. When he finally shuddered and crammed himself deep, and deeper still, chills rose on her skin. She could actually feel the heat of his come jetting inside her aching bottom.

Anal slut.

Yeah, so? There were worse things.

“Okay, we’re going to have to do that again,” he mumbled against her neck.

AJ smiled. Yes, they definitely were.

“And you,” he added, lifting himself off her. She opened her eyes in time to see him plant a hard kiss on Joe’s lips. Joe didn’t even have time to open his own eyes before it was over, but he jerked like he’d been zapped by a cattle prod.

“What about me?” he asked, looking poised to jump off the bed if Brent made one more move his way. AJ smothered a smile. Boy, Brent had really turned the tables on
him
in the last couple of days.

“Nothin’,” Brent said carelessly, settling back down on her other side. “I just wanted to make sure you were still kicking. That kind of stress can’t be too good for a man your age.”

Relaxing, Joe slanted a look at him. “You just wait ’til I catch up on my beauty sleep, boy. I’ll show you what’s good for a man my age.”

Brent snuggled into AJ with a sigh. “I can’t wait.”

Chapter Sixteen

The next morning the sun shone brightly in the pale blue South Dakota sky and a stiff breeze was blowing from the north, so they decided to head back to Iowa right after breakfast. AJ found the leisurely gathering, filled with significant glances, secretive smiles and long, pregnant silences as enchantingly uncomfortable as last night had been.

The way everyone kept looking at her, she could almost believe she belonged with this adventurous and affectionate group. But thinking like that was dangerous, so she kept her responses to their flirting light and inconsequential.

While Brent and Joe loaded their bags in the pickup, Mandy pulled AJ into the kitchen to help prepare a care package for the road.

“I wish you guys didn’t have to go,” Mandy complained, her face arranged in what AJ could only describe as a pout. “And not just because Hake’s going to spank me every night until you and I follow through on our teasing.”

AJ gaped at her. “Oh my God!”

Mandy nodded as she smeared mayo on a slice of bread. “Yup. He’s…
displeased
because I got to have my way with you and he didn’t.”

Speechless, AJ just stared, and Mandy burst out laughing. “It’s okay, Ariel. He’s just using it as another excuse to discipline me, and this one has a nice edge of truth to it, which makes it really exciting. We’re having a lot of fun with it.”

“Whew!” AJ finally smiled. “You had me worried there.”

“Don’t be. Hake really likes you.” She finished the sandwich and slipped it into a zippered bag. “That’s why he didn’t insist we follow through last night, and why he wouldn’t let Joe anywhere near him. He thought the relationship between the three of you was too unstable to test it that way just yet, and he didn’t want to be the one to blow it apart.”

AJ blinked at her. “Really?”

“I know! I couldn’t believe it either,” Mandy declared, getting out two more slices of bread. “Usually he’s oblivious to emotional undercurrents and I have to forcibly steer him around social landmines, but this time he totally got the jump on me. Kind of embarrassing, if you want to know the truth. My head was already in orgy space and determined to stay there.”

“I’m sorry,” AJ said. “You were deprived, too.”

“Don’t be. Seriously, I’d feel terrible if we’d led you into something that wound up being more painful than enjoyable. I like you a lot. So does Hake,” she added, zipping up another sandwich. Then she turned and leaned her hip against the counter. “In fact, if things don’t work out the way you’d like with Brent and Joe, we want you to think about coming here.”

AJ stared at her. “Um…coming here?”

“Hake’s been thinking about looking for a hand,” Mandy explained as she picked up another piece of bread to dress. “He healed up pretty well after the accident, but climbing the bins and getting in and out of the equipment isn’t as easy as it used to be, and the cold weather bothers him. If he had a hand to help out with the cattle and haying and hauling and harvest, he might pick up some more land. We would both love for that hand to be you.”

Then she laid down the butter knife and gave her a significant look. “I hope it goes without saying that there’d be no strings attached. Any sexual activity would be optional and negotiated completely separately.”

“But you don’t even know me,” AJ said, flattered as hell and yet oddly uncomfortable at the idea.

“We know enough,” Mandy replied decisively. “But it’s just something to keep in mind, okay? The last thing I want is to torpedo anything between you and the guys.”

AJ hoped her smile wasn’t as blue as it felt. “I doubt that could happen.”

When they finally left the kitchen, all the men were standing in the entryway speculating about field conditions in the coming days. After the three of them shook hands and she and Mandy hugged, they switched so that Mandy could hug and kiss Brent and Joe.

She hugged Hake without even thinking about it and was startled when he turned and pinned her against the entry wall. She looked over his shoulder at Mandy, who just smiled at her.

“Don’t make me regret letting you off the hook this time,” he murmured against her ear. “I will be very disappointed if you don’t come back, beautiful Ariel.” He sucked on her lobe before adding, “
Very
disappointed.”

She tried to swallow the dryness in her mouth. “I may not have any control over that.”

“You know you do,” he said, leaning back just far enough to give her a chiding look. Keeping his voice low, he continued. “I hope everything works out between you and the guys—you seem really good for both of them. But if not, don’t be afraid to come knocking on our door.”

She nodded once. “All right.”

“You trying to jack our girl?” Brent demanded, scowling at them in a mock threat.

Hake looked intrigued. “Could I?”

“Not a chance. You’ve got your own girl. This one goes with us.”

“Can’t blame a man for trying,” Hake told him, kissing her on the temple before setting her free.

“Or a woman,” Mandy added. She kissed AJ firmly on the lips and said, “See you next time, Ariel.”

Three days later, Brent whistled along with the radio as he drove up and down the empty cornfield, baling stalks for Uncle Stu. He hadn’t felt this relaxed in years. Taking AJ along to Hake and Mandy’s had been his best idea ever. They’d loved her. Hell, he might even love her. And he had a feeling she might love him, too.

When they’d said their goodbyes, Mandy had dragged AJ into the kitchen, and when they hadn’t come right back out with a bag of goodies for the road, he’d strolled over to the swinging door, shamelessly hoping to catch them in a little more girl-on-girl action.

Instead, he’d heard Mandy offering AJ a job
if things didn’t work out between them
and bristled. Things damn well
would
work out between them. Ariel Jane Pender was the best thing that had ever happened to him. To him and Joe both. He wasn’t about to let Hake have her when the man already had a wife he adored.

Then Ariel had said she didn’t think their relationship could be torpedoed and he’d relaxed instantly, relieved and almost dizzy with happiness. He’d made Joe take the drive back while he snuggled her in his arms, and after they’d all had a leisurely, non-demanding bout of sex in deference to her recent deflowering, she’d spent the night—and both of the following nights—in his arms. It was something he was growing accustomed to, something he was starting to need, and for once, he felt like just letting it happen. He deserved a little happiness with a woman like her.

Even Joe seemed more relaxed, and Brent breathed a bit easier knowing he wasn’t going to walk away anytime too soon. There was still an underlying pulse of unfinished business between them but he was too content at the moment to rock the boat.

The buzzer went off and he rolled to a stop, flipping the lever to dump the plastic-wrapped round bale out behind him. Tomorrow he’d use the grapple fork to line up all the bales at the edge of the field, but for now, he throttled back up after the baler had closed and continued down the rows, thinking about Ariel again and what it would take to convince her to stay around after the season ended.

When his cell phone rang, he flipped it open with a smile. “What’s up, Timmy-boy?”

“Jesus God, help me, Brent!” Tim’s sobs sent cold chills down his spine.

“What happened?”

“Seth got caught in the header. Oh God, you need to call an ambulance and get over here.”

“Jesus. Is he free of the machine?” He immediately turned off the baler and steered the tractor at top speed toward the bins, where his pickup was parked.

“Yeah, I got him out, but his leg is fucking shredded and he’s bleeding all over the place.”

The silence in the background told him Seth had probably passed out. Or worse.

“Keep pressure on it if you can. You know how to do that, right? And get his head down and cover him up with something—your coat, anything. Keep him as warm as you can, right?”

Tim sobbed again. “Okay, I will. I am. Oh thank God, here comes AJ.”

“Tell her to call 9-1-1 so they can tell you if you need to be doing anything else. Got it, Tim?”

“Got it.”

“Good. I’m on my way.”

During the endless drive across the field, he called Greg Hunnicutt and let him know they’d be the only team running the rest of the day. Joe was just driving in with a couple of full wagons and Brent flagged him urgently as he drove by. When he reached the end rows, he powered down, burst through the door and cleared the ladder without touching it.

Joe was right behind him, and once in the pickup, they tore through the end rows at a bone-jarring pace.

“What happened?”

“Dietz got caught in the fucking corn head.”

Joe swore. “That little bastard. How many times have you warned him about clearing clogs without turning off the rotor?”

“Not enough, apparently.”

They fishtailed onto the gravel road and headed south. When he blew through a stop sign, Joe snapped, “It won’t help anyone if you kill us getting there.”

Ignoring him, Brent floored it, and two minutes later they pulled into the field. He headed straight for the combines and tractors gathered near the east end, bumping over the rows and praying he didn’t tear out a brake line on the stalks.