STORY EXCERPT

Marshall parked and got out, the music coming from inside the bar and the number of cars parked outside reminding him that it was ladies’ night.

He walked through the front door, finding the place as crowded as he’d expected and, to his shock, the woman he couldn’t stop thinking about.

Wearing a light blue dress and a pair of cowboy boots, with her long hair loose, she drew him like a beacon.

Stiffening at the sight of the man lowering himself onto the bar stool next to her, Marshall started forward, his stomach tightening with anger.

John Dalton, one of the owners of the bar, approached her with what appeared to be a glass of whiskey, his lips twitching when he saw Marshall. He set the glass in front of her, looking slightly relieved. “Hello, Marshall. Beer?”

Inclining his head, Marshall moved to stand behind the man sitting next to Talia. “You’re in my seat. Beat it.”

The other man, one he didn’t recognize, stiffened and turned to look up at Marshall over his shoulder, his features tight with anger.

One look at Marshall seemed to change his mind, the anger being replaced with deference.

Grabbing his hat, he slid from the stool without a word and went to join the crowd.

Looking around with fresh eyes, Marshall saw that Talia had gained the attention of several men in the bar, attention she didn’t appear to notice as she sat watching John, Michael, and one of their newest bartenders fixing drinks.

The wave of possessiveness staggered him, the idea of another man touching her filling him with a jealousy and anger he had no right to feel.

Pushing it aside, he lowered himself to the bar stool next to her, pleased that it put him in the position of being between her and everyone else.

John slid a mug of beer down the bar to him. “How’s it going, Marshall?”

Marshall set his hat on the bar and glanced at Talia, irritated that, after all the times she’d flirted with him, she wouldn’t look at him. “That remains to be seen.” Eyeing the shot of whiskey and mug of beer in front of Talia, Marshall leaned toward her, speaking just loud enough to be heard over the music. “Who’s your friend?”

Talia shrugged and took a sip of her beer, staring straight ahead. “He said his name was Bob. When you were a U.S. Marshal, did they call you Marshal Marshall?”

“Cute. No. Not if they wanted to keep their teeth.” Looking up, he met John’s gaze. “How many shots has she had?”

Talia reached for a pretzel. “None of your business.”

John smiled and refilled the pretzel and peanut bowls. “That’s her second.” Raising his voice to be heard over the music and conversation, he smiled at Marshall. “She walked here so she won’t be driving drunk. I think almost every man in here has had a turn on that stool tonight offering to give her a ride home.”

Talia tossed back her whiskey with barely a grimace, pushing the glass forward in a silent request for a refill before reaching for another pretzel. “Jeez, John. Why don’t you tell him my life story?”

John glanced at the glass with a frown. “Just telling Marshall that he doesn’t have to worry about you driving drunk. You’re sure in a mood tonight, aren’t you?”

Talia finished her pretzel and wrapped her hand around the handle of her beer mug. “I’m fine, John. It’s Friday night. The drinks are cheap, and I can sleep in tomorrow morning.”

Closing her eyes, she blew out a breath. “Shit. No, I can’t.”

Marshall reached for a handful of peanuts. “Problem?”

She glanced at her watch and took another sip of beer, meeting John’s gaze and gesturing toward her shot glass. “No. John, can I have one more?”

Marshall’s palms itched to connect with her well-rounded ass, a phenomenon that had never happened with Emily. “Don’t you think you’ve had enough?”

Her lips twitched as she reached for another pretzel. “If I thought that, I wouldn’t have ordered another.”

He reached for a couple of the pretzels, inadvertently brushing his hand against hers. “Any particular reason you felt the need to drink tonight?”

She yanked her hand back, proof that she’d felt the jolt of awareness as strongly as he had. She took another sip of beer and smiled her thanks when John came over to refill her glass again. “If I felt the need to drink, I wouldn’t be here. I just wanted a distraction.”

“Oh?” He couldn’t help but wonder if her conversations with Joe and Carter had anything to do with her mood. “Want to talk about it?”

Talia tossed back her whiskey and finished her beer. “No.” Sliding from the stool, she reached into her pocket. “Hold on to your hat, Deputy. As soon as I leave, the women who’ve been watching you ever since you came through the door are gonna be all over you.”

Reaching out, he wrapped a hand around her forearm, unable to resist touching her again. “I’ve got your tab.”

Tossing bills on the bar, Talia laughed and jerked away from him. “No thanks. Men only buy drinks for women if they’re expecting something in return. You’ve already made it clear that you don’t want anything from me. Happy hunting.”

Stunned that the woman who’d flirted shamelessly with him for the last several months would walk away from him without a backward glance, Marshall cursed at the realization that he and his brothers’ distance had already hurt her. Getting to his feet, he threw several more bills on the bar.

John approached, raising a brow. “You going after her?”

“Damned right I’m going after her.”

John inclined his head and smiled. “It’s about damned time.”

ADULT EXCERPT

Joe got to his knees close to her legs, running a hand up her thigh, his smile filled with erotic intent. “It’s our job to give you pleasure. Are you up for a little play?”

Talia’s breath caught again at the sharp surge of heat that went through her at the sight of him squeezing lube onto his finger from a small bottle. “Dear God!”

Burying her face against Marshall’s chest, she gripped his T-shirt and nervously waited, her puckered opening burning with awareness.

Trembling, she jolted when Joe’s hand took the place of Marshall’s on her thigh and the feel of cool lube touched her opening, a place no one had ever touched before. “Oh!”

With a hand in her hair, Marshall tilted her head back, his fingers delving between her folds again. “Easy. Just a little.”

Joe circled her forbidden opening with his finger, heightening the awareness and making her bottom clench. “I know, Marshall.” He ran his hand over her thigh, pressing lightly at her puckered opening. “She did a lot of teasing. Let’s see if she’s as daring as she let on.”

Talia tightened her muscles in an effort to remain still, crying out in shock and erotic pleasure when Joe pushed his fingertip into her bottom. “Oh!”

“Yeah.” Joe’s voice came out much harsher than before, a grittiness to it that excited her even more. “She’s drenched.”

He slid his finger free and gripped her hips, forcing her to her belly and lifting her hips high. “I’ve been waiting a long time to take you.”

Holding her hips firmly, Joe thrust into her pussy, holding himself still as he ran his hands up and down her sides. “Easy, baby. I won’t go any deeper until you’re ready.”

Talia moaned and pushed back against him, the fullness in her pussy, the tingling in her swollen clit, and the awareness in her exposed bottom hole demanding more.

Everywhere.

Throwing her head back, Talia became lost in the pleasure, which heightened even more when Marshall slid a hand under her and caressed her nipple. “Damn it! I’m ready. Marshall didn’t tease me like this.” She leaned into Marshall, loving the feel of his solidness against her.

Chuckling softly, Joe withdrew until only the head of his cock remained inside her and lightly slapped her ass. “Don’t even try to pit one of us against the other.”

Bristling, she squeezed her eyes closed, so close to coming she could taste it. “I don’t take orders from you. Faster!”

Joe flattened his hand on her ass, pressing his thumb against her puckered opening and into her. “I don’t take orders from you, either.”

He thrust his cock and his thumb deeper, holding his thumb still inside her while fucking her slow and deep. “That’s it. That’s our girl.”

Consumed with lust, Talia gripped the pillow with one hand and Marshall with the other, her entire body shaking as she teetered on the edge. “Please.”

Her clit burned hotly and felt as if it had doubled in size. Her pussy and ass clenched on his cock and his thumb, her entire body shaking as a fine sheen of perspiration covered her. “I need to come. Please.” Her toes curled, the orgasm she desperately needed just out of reach.

Releasing her grip on the pillow, she slid her hand lower to caress her clit and give herself the relief she needed.

Marshall grabbed her hand before it reached its destination. “No. No pleasuring yourself. You wanted us to be your lovers, so the pleasure you get comes from us. Do you need your clit caressed, baby?”

Talia pulled against his hold, his knowing tone igniting her temper. “If Joe’s not going to make me come, I’ll do it myself!”

Joe shifted the angle of his thrusts and slowed, moving his thumb inside her bottom. “I want you to come like this.”

Before he finished speaking, Marshall gripped both of her wrists in one large hand, lifting them over her head. “Give me her ass. I want to feel her clamp down when she comes.”

Talia cried out, Marshall’s nonchalant demand for access to her ass stunning her.

Unable to resist, she opened her eyes to see Marshall, his face close to her and his eyes glittering with a heat and possessiveness unlike anything she’d ever seen before. “Marshall?”

Releasing her wrists, he cupped her jaw, keeping her face tilted toward his. “Right here, baby. Come for us.”

Joe slipped his thumb from her ass and began to thrust faster and deeper while Marshall flattened a hand on her bottom cheeks and with a firm thrust, pushed his finger past her puckered opening and into her ass, sending her over in a wave of pleasure that had her spinning out of control.

Marshall held her close as if understanding her need for support, kissing her in soft fluttering kisses as if wanting to taste her passion.

Trembling as the wave crested and slowly began to recede, she kissed Marshall back, inwardly admonishing herself for being so fanciful.

His next words, though, fulfilled a fantasy and warmed something cold and empty inside of her. “You taste so sweet.”

Fighting against the wave of emotion clogging her throat, Talia cried out again when Joe surged deep, his hands tightening on her hips with a groan. “Fuck!”

Fisting a hand in her hair, Marshall pulled her head back and lifted his to stare into her eyes as he moved the finger he held in her bottom. “I have a feeling that, if we’re not careful, we’re going to be in big trouble.”

Swallowing heavily, Talia realized that he spoke the truth about her as well. “Then I guess we’d better be careful.”