Going All In (12 page)

She sank down onto one of the rockers. “Play for me,” she begged.

His fingers stuttered over the strings for a moment, clumsy at first, and then he strummed the first chords of Montana Memories, a song she’d written specifically for the Donovan brothers. Did he know? Had he guessed?

She wrapped herself in the beauty of the music, allowing it to give her comfort when nothing else had. When the last note died and the skies began to lighten in preparation for sunrise, she sought his gaze and asked the question burning a hole in her mind.

“Why?”

His brow furrowed. “Why what?”

“Why did you come after me? Why did you bring me back here? Why…do you and Greer act as though I mean something to you…more than being your brother’s widow?”

He sucked in his breath and carefully laid the guitar aside. His hands wiped along the tops of his legs and then gripped the area just above his knees. He looked…nervous. That puzzled her. Taggert was brash, temperamental, outspoken, opinionated, but she’d never seen him nervous.

“We made a mistake,” he said in a raw voice. “One that’s cost us a lot. One we’ll regret making the rest of our lives.”

“We?”

“Greer and I, but he’s not here, so I can only speak for me. I made a mistake, Emmy. I pushed you away. I was surprised, even a little appalled that you claimed to love all of us, that you wanted to be with us. I was angry—jealous—and so I sent you away.”

She stared at him in shock. Had he changed his mind? Now? After four years?

“Don’t you see, Emmy? If I hadn’t sent you away, you could have been with us. You would have never turned to Sean the way you did and the two of you wouldn’t have left here. You would have been happy and wouldn’t have spent so much time avoiding us. You and Sean would have stayed here and not in a hotel in town, and you damn sure wouldn’t have been walking back to the hotel from the café the night Sean was killed.”

Oh God, it hurt. She couldn’t breathe. She wanted to deny that he was at fault, but she couldn’t find the words. Her mind screamed no, no, no in a never-ending litany, but instead of saying it, she got up and walked back into the house, leaving Taggert calling after her.

She walked past the living room, through the kitchen to the back door with no destination in mind. She let herself out, shivering when her bare feet made contact with the cold ground.

She went in the opposite direction of the stables, through the gate and down the worn pathway to the pond. The water looked dark and forbidding in the faint light, and she hurried on until she topped the slight rise beyond.

She came to a stumbling halt by the large oak tree that sheltered the headstones beneath. Some of them old, dating back a hundred years, and one much newer.

It wasn’t necessary for the sun to shed its light over the engraving. She knew it by heart. Sean Donovan, beloved brother and husband.

Pain. Unrelenting pain. A tiny crack formed in the thick ice protecting her. Spreading rapidly, splintering in all directions. Unstoppable.

Panic swelled in her chest. A garbled noise caught in her throat. She couldn’t breathe and oh God, it hurt. She needed help. She was going to explode. Something was terribly wrong. She was losing control and felt her insides straining against unbearable pressure.

She tried to take a breath and then another. Her eyes flooded with tears and sobs piled up deep inside her chest. The agony was unbearable. She was going to break. Maybe she was having a heart attack. How could it hurt so much?

A horrible noise echoed across the hillside, startling her, and then shockingly, she realized the sound came from her, from the very bowels of hell.

Another followed, and she fell to her knees as finally, she shattered.

Tough…or tender? If she plays her cards right, she won’t have to choose.

Unbridled

© 2009 Delilah Devlin

Lone Star Lovers, Book 1

Dani Standifer arrives home at her West Texas family ranch a day early, ready to pick up where she left off with Rowe Ayers, her high school sweetheart. However, when she opens the door to their line-shack trysting place, it’s clear she waited a day too long. Rowe’s with someone else—another man.

And not just any other man—Justin Cruz, the bad boy with whom she shared one wild encounter, years ago.

Justin’s waited a long time for this moment. He knows his reputation, but since he seduced Rowe, he’s been a one-man cowboy—waiting for Dani to return and become the delicious fulfillment of his and Rowe’s needs. If she’s up to the challenge.

To her own surprise, Dani finds she’s more than ready to have both men in her life—as soon as she and Rowe teach Justin a lesson or two about love.

Their small town may not be ready for their kind of relationship. And Dani’s brother Cutter’s mile-deep grudge against Justin throws in a complication that could break the foundation the three of them have built…

Warning: Hold on for the rodeo of your life with rough ridin’ male-on-male action, blazing hot m/m/f scenes, and melt-your-panties lovin’ as each of these sexy cowboys gives it the way they know best to turn their woman inside out.

Enjoy the following excerpt for Unbridled:

“Jesus Christ.” Rowe bent to grab his blue jeans from the floor, then held them in front of his gleaming cock.

“A little late now,” Justin said. “I think she’s already jumped to the correct conclusion.”

Rowe’s fist clenched around his jeans, then he dropped them to the floor and straightened his shoulders. A look of resignation entered his face; a silent plea for understanding glittered in his pale eyes as he returned her stare.

“I didn’t know you were gay,” Dani blurted out, ignoring Justin’s smirk.

Rowe’s crimson face tightened. “I’m…it’s complicated.”

“You’re naked, obviously aroused. What could be more simple?” she asked, trying to gather anger around her, but mostly feeling confused. How could she not have known?

“She’s got it almost right,” Justin murmured.

“Shut up,” Rowe bit out.

“Yeah, what’d I miss?” Dani snarled at Justin, hating him at this moment for rubbing her nose in her own naiveté.

“The fact I knew you were comin’,” he said, his voice dropping to a sexy purr. “This is your homecomin’ present, baby.”

“Justin, you bastard!” Rowe said heatedly.

The larger, more rugged man shrugged. “She needed to know. She has choices to make here.”

“I would have broken the news more gently.”

“Doesn’t look like she needs you to sugarcoat it.” Justin’s gaze pinned her. “She’s not exactly looking ready to bolt or puke. Fact is, the thought of it, of watching us, turns her on.”

“Does not,” Dani denied hotly, heat filling her face.

“Your nipples always poke holes in your shirt?”

“You’re a jerk.” And yet, she barely resisted the urge to cross her arms over her breasts. She tilted her chin in defiance while heat crept deeper into her cheeks. She met his narrowed gaze, while images flashed through her mind. Since she knew what both men looked like naked, she couldn’t help the raw, nasty pictures that flashed one after the other.

And yes, they aroused her.

“Prove me wrong,” Justin murmured. “Leave now.”

Dani shot Rowe a hot glare. “You gonna let him talk to me like that?”

Rowe’s jaw flexed, but he didn’t offer any response.

“He doesn’t let me do anything,” Justin said slowly. “He obeys me. In all things—here, at least. Rowan, your cock’s flagging.” Justin’s gaze dropped, drawing all their glances to Rowe’s sex, which pulsed and lifted again.

Rowe groaned.

“Get it ready for me,” Justin growled.

Rowe’s eyes closed briefly, then a look Dani had never seen slid across Rowe’s face—something vulnerable and needy. “Justin, not now.”

“Not now, what?” Justin said, his voice dead even.

“Please,” Rowan whispered, his strong jaw flexing.

“Uh-unh.” Justin shook his head. “You’ve carried around this picture of your innocent little sweetheart for years. But I don’t think you really know her at all.”

“And you think you do?” Dani bit out, hoping like hell the bastard wasn’t getting ready to drop the other shoe that she’d succumbed to his bad boy charm herself. Rowe didn’t deserve finding out that the two people he’d taken as lovers had a history of their own.

“The things you asked him to do, Dani,” Justin said, his tone dropping to a raspy rumble. “The sexy little spankings, the special bonds you left underneath the bed… It’s not in him to do that to you, but he did because he cares.”

Dani’s jaw dropped and her embarrassment caused her to tremble. “Rowe, you told him about that?”

Again, a muscle flexed along Rowe’s square jaw. “I wasn’t gossiping. It just slipped out. He found your things and asked. He’s a friend.”

“Friend?” Justin straightened away from the doorframe. “I’m a little more than that, aren’t I? You don’t keep any secrets from me.”

But Rowe had kept one big goddamn secret from her. Dani’s shoulders slumped.

“Don’t take it so hard, Dani,” Justin said, all traces of mockery gone now. “He loves you…almost as much as he loves me. But every time he was with you, every time he spanked that pretty little ass of yours, he was denying his own nature. Rowe’s submissive. Just like you. He’s just finally figured out he’s not finicky about which gender offers him the kind of sex he craves.”

“How the hell did you figure that out?” she bit out. “I’ve known him all my life.”

“Because I watched him…with you. When you dared him into spanking you, he didn’t get off on the act. He only got hard when you told him what it did to you, what it made you feel.”

Her mouth suddenly went dry. The thought of Justin’s dark, hungry glance raking her body as he watched her with Rowe caused another distressing wash of arousal to dampen her panties. She licked her lips. “You watched us?”

“Sometimes,” he said softly. “You weren’t as careful as you thought. Had to run interference a time or two with your big brother.”

“Cutter knows?” she asked, her voice rising. “About Rowe and me?”

“He suspects. But he never got close enough to the cabin to ever know for sure. You have me to thank. And if I happened to catch a glimpse or two of your…sessions…well, I think I earned the right.”

“Pervert!”

“Who’s the pervert? Me for watching, or you for wanting his hands to leave your ass pink?” He lifted his chin toward Rowe. “Or him for needing the same damn thing from another man?”

“I don’t believe you. Not about Rowe. This…” she said, gazing at the mattress in the middle of the floor, “…is just him experimenting a little. But I’m back now.” Her gaze locked with Rowe’s, pleading with him. “It doesn’t mean anything. Not to us.”

Rowe’s glance fell away from hers, and her stomach dropped. What he had with Justin was important. Special enough that he hadn’t bothered dressing because Justin didn’t want him to.

“Dani, I never wanted to hurt you.” Rowe’s tone was low, aching.

Like the lump filling the back of her throat.

“Tell yourself whatever lies you need to stay in happy land, Dani. But we’re about to get busy.” Justin opened his belt and stripped back one side then locked gazes with her. “Now’s your chance. You can run out the door. You don’t have to see anything that might traumatize you.”

Why was Justin being so cruel? He’d won. He didn’t have to rub her nose in this mess. “I’m not a scared little virgin,” she said, her voice shaking.

“But you’re also not faithful to your boyfriend here either, are you?”

Dani stared at Justin’s hard face through shimmering tears. “Justin…don’t.”

“He can’t fulfill you,” he said softly. “Not those dirty needs that keep you restless even after he’s fucked you.”

“Shut up,” she said, tears filling her eyes.

Justin pulled apart the snaps of his shirt, letting it fall open to expose the dark fur of his broad, muscular chest. Then he unsnapped the top button of his pants. “Last warning…”

She stood rooted, unable to move as he scraped his zipper down.

“Rowe, take out my dick,” he said, never looking away from her. “Now.”

“Fuck.” Rowe’s tone was agonized, but his cock bobbed eagerly between his legs. “Dani, get out.”

But she couldn’t. Part of her died a little in that moment. But another part, one only Justin had ever touched, caught fire.

“Rowe, don’t disappoint me,” Justin said, his gaze never leaving Dani’s.

Rowe’s naked feet dragged across the floor. His expression was taut, his cheeks a brighter red than they’d been moments ago.

Justin firmed his jaw. “Can’t turn back now. She knows. Let her see what it’s like. If she hates you afterward, she isn’t worth cryin’ over.”

Dani narrowed her eyes, knowing he expected her to bolt. She braced apart her feet and lifted her chin higher, even while she questioned whether she really could do this—watch the only two men she’d ever known intimately have sex.

Rowe didn’t glance her way, but his chest rose sharply. Then he slipped his hand inside Justin’s pants and slowly drew out his cock. His fingers clasped the shaft gingerly, but his thumb rubbed slowly over the smooth cap. Justin’s cock thickened.

“Push down my pants,” Justin said, his voice tighter than it had been before.

Both of Rowe’s hands slid over Justin’s narrow hips and shoved down the faded jeans.

Dani hated to admit it, even to herself, but watching Rowe do such an intimate thing to another man, knowing how the scrape of his rough palms felt on her own bottom, caused her sex to melt.

“Get on your knees and take me in your mouth,” Justin rasped.

Rowe groaned, and Dani understood the feeling. Shame and arousal roiled together. Her own body was hot, moisture seeping into the crotch of the lacy undies she’d worn just for Rowe.

Rowe knelt, his hand shaking as he gripped Justin’s cock and brought it to his mouth.

Justin cupped the back of Rowe’s head with one hand, his fingers threading through Rowe’s honey brown hair with surprising tenderness. For long moments, he stared as the other man’s lips closed around the tip of his cock and sucked.

Rowe’s cheeks hollowed, his eyes closed tightly, but his hesitation ended there. Surrendering, he groaned and opened wide his jaws, gliding along the thick, veined shaft.