Unbroken: Country Fever, Book 3 (25 page)

Oh my God.
She was about to get
it.
The big double P. Her thigh muscles jumped and her belly knotted. Could she handle both of them at once? Neither were undersized.

Christian smeared a lubed finger over her pucker. She cried out and pressed her ass back for more.

Yes, she was ready. Needy. If they both didn’t fill her up, she’d never be completed.

With a sobbing breath, she allowed Tucker to guide her over his cock. She stretched around him, pussy contracting wildly already. Her nipples ached for his warm hands even as her ass throbbed for Christian.

“Both of you. Please.”

Tucker tugged on her rope, positioning her hands behind his head. “Lean forward all the way, baby. Relax your muscles.”

She grunted as Christian probed her rosette with the head of his cock. He withdrew, and she felt more of the lube spread over her skin.

Tucker lifted a hand, and Christian’s appeared at her shoulder. They twined their fingers.

The simple sight was an erotic kickstart to the libido. With a shove, she impaled herself on the head of Christian’s cock.

He grunted. Tucker echoed the noise as she shifted restlessly on his shaft. Cream flooded over him. The cool breeze circulated over her fevered skin, drying the dew on her body.

Christian grasped the fabric of her dress around her waist and levered himself deeper into her body. She fell still as the rush of pain and pleasure assaulted her. Against her shoulder, her male lovers’ hands grappled as if trying to restrain each other.

Their raw power could crush her, yet she felt perfectly safe and precious within their holds.

“Bear down,” Christian growled. She did, and he entered her fully with a
pop.
Tucker strained, the chords on his tanned neck standing out.

“Jesus, man, I can feel you.”

“Ditto.” Christian sounded as if he’d just outrun a souped-up steamroller in a macabre construction crew 10k race. He ground his hips.

Tucker plunged upward, and both of them were filling her. Stretching her impossibly.

And oh, it felt so good.

She started to move. They let her set the pace, groaning and grunting as she fucked and squeezed them in unison. She lost herself to the notes of their lovemaking. In the back of her head, she provided the lyrics.

Joined. Mine. Need you both. Love you forever.

With a blinding burst, she came. Sharp waves slammed her, towed her under. She sputtered for air but could gain none as Christian pounded more roughly into her ass and Tucker took what he wanted. Their cocks slipped against each other through the thin barrier in her body.

As one, her men hit their peaks. Tucker’s face, lit with bliss, and Christian’s hot breath on her spine was all she needed.

She collapsed against Tucker, a boneless mass of twitching nerves. Just as she thought their experience couldn’t get any better, he said it.

“I fucking love you both…so damn much.”

The sweetest words she’d ever heard.

Tucker drew the steaming mug of coffee to his lips. When the delicious brew hit his tongue, he groaned. No one made coffee like Letty. A time or two early on when he was toying with Claire, he’d been invited into Letty’s small and efficient kitchen and given the aromatic nectar. Now with her as a permanent fixture in his home, he couldn’t regret sharing his space with Claire’s aunt.

“Mmm.”

“Good?” Letty cocked a brow at him. Her hair was loose around her shoulders today—she’d gotten up early, insisting upon fixing him breakfast, and hadn’t pinned her hair into the usual neat curls.

“Delicious. I don’t know how you make black sand and water taste so good, but you do.”

“Oh, I have a few years’ worth of practice.” Letty turned back to the ham slices she was frying.

Tucker appreciated every meal this woman put before him. It was nice to have someone take care of him. It had been too long since he’d grabbed more than a store-bought bagel or a bowl of cold cereal before hitting the ranch chores.

Letty finished frying the ham while Tucker sipped. When she set a plate of ham, biscuits and gravy before him, he shot her a grin.

“Don’t you turn your charms on me, young man. I see right through your act.”

His grin spread. “Yeah?” Holding his fork tines down and using his knife, he sliced off a square of ham.

Letty pulled a vacant chair away from the table and sank to it. Her wispy figure hit the chair. This morning, she looked worn.

Tucker studied her face, trying to detect pain or illness. If she were sick, he’d feel like a total shit since she’d gotten up early on his account. “Everything okay?”

She sighed and dragged her coffee mug across the table. But she didn’t lift it. “Oh, just that I’m sitting here with my niece’s boyfriend, while she’s still in bed with her other boyfriend.”

Tucker’s mouth quirked up higher on one side. He stuffed a bite of ham into his mouth. “Bother you, does it?”

“Not as much as it might,” Letty said in a quieter tone.

He laughed outright. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Not as much as it bothers Claire’s daddy.”

He sobered. “Well, he’s an ass.”

She didn’t say anything for a minute then finally nodded. Her white hair brushed her shoulders like fine, thick webs dangling from a strong but wiry oak. “I can’t deny he puts me on edge with the way he storms in and tries to take over Claire’s life. She’s a grown woman, has been since she was a child, if you really look at it.”

Tucker blinked at her until she explained.

“Claire’s momma was a loss early on. The girl had to grow up fast. I didn’t always have the care of her, you know. She had about a year alone with Jake, and he hauled her around on the rig with him.”

“What?” Shock sidled through his belly, low and slow. Damn good thing the man had taken off after a home-cooked meal and a night’s sleep on the couch. If he’d decided to hang around, Tucker would have no choice but to take Jake’s challenges to fight.

“That’s right. Claire was taking care of that man when he shoulda been caring for her. Wore on that girl heavy. You know she is a listener and will hardly say anything out of turn. But by the time I got ahold of her, she was a shadow of herself. Fought hard and long with Jake to let me take her. Jake pulled her into the middle of it and asked her outright if she preferred staying with him over me.”

“Unfair.” Tucker speared his ham with a
clack.
Too easily he pictured the vulnerable girl, torn between what she wanted for herself and what she thought her father needed—

Wait.
Tucker felt as if he’d just spent eight seconds on a bucking nightmare. He was as guilty of not providing the things Claire needed—deserved—as her father.

He set his fork down with a
clatter
and scrubbed a hand over his face. “I’m such an ass, Letty. How can I make it up to her?”

When he’d left Claire, he had just furthered the cycle her father had begun years before. Leaving her yearning for a relationship she felt was out of reach had probably abraded their relationship more than he knew. Mostly because Claire would never say.

“I have to make her tell me what she wants and needs. She has to demand it,” he cut in when Letty opened her mouth.

The woman gave a nod. Then she buried her nose in her mug and drank deeply. Somehow the scorching coffee didn’t affect her at all. She cradled her mug and smiled. “Knew you were a smart one.”

“And Christian?”

“He’s always been a quick study.”

“So he’s your favorite?”

Letty’s eyes gleamed with mirth. “Christian has his flaws. Loving Claire isn’t one of them.”

A hollow ache took up residence in Tucker’s gut. He didn’t want to be second. They should be on even playing ground. After all, he intended to take care of Claire in every way Christian did.

“What is his flaw?” Tucker asked, because he didn’t see it. The man drove him crazy with want and obviously did the same for the woman they shared.

Letty rose from the chair noiselessly. “Stubborn man doesn’t like my cookin’.”

Tucker tilted his head. Yeah, he could see that. Christian was a beer and dog kind of guy. Still, if his only downfall was his stupid pride wouldn’t let him accept Tucker’s money and he didn’t rave about Letty’s cooking, then Tucker needed to step up his game quite a bit.

He pushed his chair back and gathered up his empty plate and coffee cup. He took them to the sink. He’d best get on with his day if he intended to start making it up to Claire.

Maybe it was time to tame that wild part of himself that longed to run and run from his emotions. Claire—and Christian—deserved it.

Outside, he strode across the yard to the barn. Fog hung around the property in patches, giving the whole place a storybook feel. As he rolled the heavy wood door open, he thought about owning this fairy tale he’d started. Successful ranch, land he loved, and people to share his passions with. Heather hadn’t been part of his happily ever after, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t take another.

His boot heels thudded on the barn boards as he made his way from stall to stall. His horses were all in good health, though he kicked himself for not putting mare and stallion together so they could have a few new foals in the spring. He’d fucked up, but he didn’t intend to do it again.

The crunch of dirt under a heel made him glance up at the door. Silhouetted by the early light and fog was a tall figure that couldn’t be anyone besides Dale.

“What the hell you want this early?” Tucker asked, turning his attention back to the chestnut mare with the white star on her nose. The horse nuzzled his hand and he scratched her ears lovingly.

“Swinging by to see about that alpaca for Darcy. She’s whipped into a lather about showing it.”

“That so?” Claire would be heartbroken when she learned that the animal she’d spent weeks readying for the fair actually was slated to be shown by someone else.

Dale stepped into the barn. “I noticed last time we were here that the little gal of yours has the alpaca all ready for the show.”

“Because she plans to show it,” Tucker ground out.

“Oh, I see. So you’re going against your word again? Didn’t you promise to take care of Boomerang so my sister can win the blue ribbon?”

Darcy actually was excited to gain the notoriety of winning her favored category in the big county fair. Helping a girl who lived her life under her father’s and brother’s thumbs was important to Tucker. But Claire was more important.

“I heard there’s a beautiful alpaca up for auction next week. Why don’t we let Darcy show it?”

Dale strode closer. Occasionally he paused at a stall to hold his hand out to a horse, but none of them even sniffed his hand. Tucker’s horses knew good from bad.

“You plan to pay for a new alpaca for my sister?”

“Sure.” He could buy her a whole herd and still have plenty of money left to comfortably run his ranch and pamper his two lovers.

“That easy, huh?” Dale fondled a worn leather bridle hanging from a nail. He caressed it for a long minute then suddenly stretched the leather taut until it snapped in two.

Anger bubbled in Tucker’s chest. He faced his cousin, legs braced wide, ready to show him once and for all to keep his hands off his belongings. He eyed the broken leather in Dale’s hand. “What the fuck do you really want, Dale?”

“Well…” He dropped the bridle. “We each have something we want. What if you sign these papers and Darcy forgets about Boomerang?”

Tucker shook his head. Was the man flaming nuts? Tucker’s horses and water resources were much more important and valuable than a funny-looking, pink-anklet-wearing alpaca.

Claire will be devastated.

“No deal.”

He’d make it up to her. She would understand. But how did one floppy-tongued beast become a pawn?

“How about this?” Dale withdrew a packet of papers from his coat. So like his father in mannerisms, the sight made Tucker’s stomach lurch. Until now, he’d never considered Dale to be much of a threat, but now he was seeing him for what he was—manipulative and crazy enough to be dangerous.

“I’ll leave these papers for you.” He unfolded the trifold sheaf and with a violent
whack
, he impaled the sheets on the nail where the bridle had hung. Like a wanted poster on a tree, the papers stared Tucker down.

“You sign and we’ll talk about letting your little gal keep her pet. Don’t want to upset someone with a hot little ass like that—”

The heels of Tucker’s hands hit his cousin’s chest before he knew what he was doing. Dale stumbled back a few steps but didn’t fall. In fact, he didn’t even get mad, as Tucker hoped. He just started laughing.

“Found a weak spot in Tucker Langley’s armor, did I?” He guffawed. The hackles on Tucker’s neck rose. Dale continued, “Funny. Never thought I’d see that again after Heather.”

He dragged her name out until Tucker’s mind was ready to snap. Fury was a hot charcoal in his chest. Glowing bright with pain and rage.

“Get the hell off my property, Dale, and don’t come back.”