STORY EXCERPT

His handsome features, so beloved, softened as he trailed his fingers over her hair. “I’m sorry, baby. I sure as hell didn’t mean to scare you. Keeping her hand in his, he turned away, leading her into the living room. “I’ve been pretty scared myself. Give me a minute. I have no fucking idea how to begin.”

Nat allowed him to pull her down to the sofa, but instead of snuggling against him the way she normally did, she slid to the opposite end and turned toward him, needing to see his face. “Well, you’re going to have to figure it out. You’re pissing me off.”

Jake didn’t smile the way she’d expected, and even more alarming, his eyes didn’t light with anticipation the way they usually did when she confronted him with her temper.

Instead, he sighed. “I know, and I’m sorry for it. I haven’t given you what you need from me these last few months, have I, baby?”

His lips twisted. “My only excuse is that I’m scared, Nat.” Holding her gaze, he sighed. “I’m scared to death of losing you.”

“That could never happen. I can’t imagine not loving you.” Too nervous to sit still, she started to get up, cursing when Jake grabbed her arm and pulled her to land heavily against him.

Overcoming her struggles with frustrating ease, Jake pulled her onto his lap. “You’re not going anywhere. Let me finish, damn it!”

“Then finish!” Nat’s temper dissolved at the anguish on her husband’s face. “I’m sorry. Tell me, Jake. Please.”

“Don’t you think I’m trying?” He scrubbed a hand over his face in a rare sign of frustration. “I’m probably going to screw this up, but you’re staying right where you are until I get it all out.”

“Fine. Just do it.” Shaken by her usually controlled husband’s demeanor, Nat waited, her nerves stretching to the breaking point as she watched his inner struggle.

Jake sighed again, his sharp gaze holding hers. “Hoyt’s retiring.”

A gasp escaped before she could prevent it, and it took every ounce of willpower she possessed to show only mild interest.

At least she hoped she only showed mild interest.

The jolt to her system made her heart pound furiously and affected her breathing. She fought to hide it, ashamed of herself for still having feelings for the man who’d been out of her life for years. “Is that who all those private calls and text messages have been from? What the hell does that have to do with us?”

Hoyt.

Her first lover.

Her son’s father.

The man who’d held a piece of her heart ever since he’d first captured it.

The image of the way he’d looked the last time she saw him rose in her mind—her stomach fluttering when she remembered the pain and resignation in his eyes.

Jake’s eyes sharpened. “There it is.”

Running a hand over her hair, he lifted her face to his, tightening his hold when she would have pulled away. “You would never have said anything about it, but it’s there. It hasn’t dimmed at all, has it, baby?”

Ashamed of herself, she averted her gaze, fighting the surge of panic that made her stomach roll. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Nothing mattered except what she had with Jake. Nothing could ever be allowed to come between them.

His lips thinned. “You know Hoyt and I have always been close. We’ve spoken on and off over the last several years, but much more in the last few months.”

Nat frowned, fighting not to show any emotion as she struggled to understand where this was going. “Oh?”

Jake rubbed his hand up and down her back, the way he did when she was upset about something. Lifting her chin, he regarded her steadily, his hand still moving in a slow rhythm as if he worked to loosen the tight muscles in her back she hadn’t wanted him to know about. “He used to come and visit every chance he got, but he stopped coming a few years ago.” His eyes sharpened on hers. “You’ve never mentioned it—never asked about it. That’s not like you. The more I thought about it, the more it shook me. You want to tell me why you never mentioned it?”

Sitting on his lap, she found it difficult to avoid his gaze—a maneuver she recognized well. Spinning her wedding ring around her finger, Nat shrugged, trying not to think about those visits from Hoyt—visits that had been both heaven and hell for her. “I figured he stopped coming by because he got busy. I assumed he had a girlfriend.”

She’d lost a lot of sleep thinking about Hoyt in the arms of another woman, something that both shamed and infuriated her.

He used to visit every chance he got and especially made a point to visit at the holidays whenever possible. Over the last three years, he hadn’t spent his vacation time with them, and had missed every holiday.

Holidays had been hell for her because she’d imagined him spending them with another woman.

Leaning forward, Jake took her left hand in his, staring down at it as he ran his thumb back and forth over her wedding band. “No. He doesn’t have a girlfriend.” Lifting his gaze to hers, he lifted a brow. “I think you know why he stopped coming around. The fact that you haven’t discussed it with me has given me quite a few sleepless nights.”

Her stomach fluttered, nerves making her too restless to sit still. Yanking her hand out of his, she jumped to her feet. “I have no idea why he stopped coming around. Hey!”

Jake tumbled her to the sofa, covering her body with his, and lying full length over her. “Be still.” Using his weight to press her to the cushions, he ran his fingers through her hair, his eyes hard and cool. “We’re not done here.”

ADULT EXCERPT

Hoyt slid his finger over her clit again, sending another wave of exquisite pleasure through her that she struggled to hide. “I don’t have a hell of a lot of patience with walking on eggshells. You tell me to kiss your ass, Natalie, and I’m going to assume you mean it literally. You get sassy, and I’m going to assume you’re in need of some attention. Are we clear?”

Turned on by his uncompromising manner, Nat clenched her jaw, fisting her hands at her sides as he moved his finger again.

The combination of his attitude, the heat from his slaps, and the slow strokes of his finger over her clit had warning tingles sizzling in her clit and driving her wild.

She felt so exposed, and for the first time in her life, could feel the gaze of two men on her naked flesh.

She couldn’t believe Hoyt had actually spanked her, and realized that she’d grossly underestimated him.

It made her wonder just how deep his dominant nature ran.

Sucking in a breath when his finger moved again, she squeezed her eyes closed, fighting with every ounce of willpower she possessed to keep from coming.

Every slow, deliberate glide of his finger over her clit threatened her control, forcing her to keep her head down so he couldn’t see her face.

If she came now, especially in front of Jake, it would embarrass the hell out of her, and Hoyt would become even more arrogant.

God, it felt so good.

The forearm against her back slid lower, and another sharp slap landed. “I asked if we were clear.”

That cold steel in his tone did things to her that made her insides flutter and had her lifting her ass for more. “I’m not one of your men.”

Hoyt laughed, obviously enjoying himself. “No, you’re not.” His finger slipped into her pussy. “You’re my woman, something I’ve been dreaming about for a long time.” Moving his finger of his other hand slowly up and down the crease of her ass, he loosened his hold, his tone deepening. “Jake, what was she like when you took her ass for the first time?”

Jake sighed and came to kneel beside her, smiling down at her as he ran a hand over her back. The heat in his eyes told her that he remembered that night as well as she did and even now, replayed it in his mind. “It took a long time to work up to that. Didn’t it, baby? She was scared, but I could tell that she enjoyed the attention there. I sat right where you’re sitting now, with her draped over my lap the way she’s draped over yours.”

Jake’s lips twitched. “She’d been daring me for days, saying and doing things to piss me off, and to see how far she could push me. I could see that she enjoyed it, so I let it go for several days, curious to see how far she’d go.”

Nat blinked up at him. She hadn’t known that he’d figured out what she’d been doing. Snorting inelegantly, she shook her head. “I did no such thing.”

Hoyt’s finger pushed deeper into her pussy as he pressed a threatening thumb against her puckered opening, the threat sending a thrill of alarm through her. “She’s quite a liar, isn’t she?”

Jake patted her ass cheek as Hoyt withdrew his finger from her pussy and started to stroke her clit again. “She gets that way, and temperamental when she needs attention. I’m afraid over the last few months, I’ve been distracted, and haven’t given her the attention she needs from me.”

Nat inwardly cringed at the apology in his eyes, and tried to get up, but both Jake and Hoyt tightened their hands on her back. “That’s bullshit. I didn’t need that kind of attention. I just knew that something was wrong and you wouldn’t tell me. Oh, God!” Sucking in a breath as Hoyt pressed his finger deep into her pussy again, Nat tightened her hands into fists on the carpet, her pulse tripping as Jake pulled her jeans and panties off and tossed them aside. “And I don’t lie.”

Brushing his finger over her forbidden opening, Hoyt groaned. “Damn, her ass is gorgeous. She’s squirming like crazy and I’m only touching her. I’ll bet she goes wild when she’s breached.”

Jake slid a hand over Nat’s hair as he stood. “I’ll get the lube and you can see for yourself.”

Nat stilled, shaking by the intense rush of arousal. “What?”

Jake frowned down at her, his eyes gleaming. “You got yourself into this.”

Pressing his arm at her back, Hoyt spread his fingers over her bottom and parted her cheeks wide, exposing her puckered opening. “Do you have any idea how many times I’ve imagined having you this way?”

His touch, more confident than it had been in the past, thrilled her, her ass and pussy clenching as sensation layered over sensation. “I know it’ll take time, but I’ll have your trust.”

Jake came into the room and knelt beside her, handing the tube of lube to Hoyt. “That ass is mine, and I can share it as I choose.”

Stunned by Jake’s steely tone, colder and firmer than she’d heard in months, Nat gasped at the surge of heat and whipped her head around to stare at him. “Jake!”

A dark brow went up, his eyes moving over her, gleaming with pride and possessiveness. “You gave yourself to me a long time ago, my little sub. That ass is mine. I own it, which means that I can share it. Just because I haven’t in the past, doesn’t mean that I can’t. You want to use your safe word?” Reaching out, he cupped her breast, unerringly finding her nipple. “You’ve never used it before. You gonna use it now?”