Story Excerpt

Cassandra Venitia parked her car after returning from Ellen, Sahale, and Jack’s wedding. Her insides still quivered from the sight of Lang and hearing his beautiful voice. For ten years she’d pushed the thought of the two men she’d left behind down deep inside her. Since she’d been home she’d gone out of her way to visit her mother on the ranch when she thought Lang Connor and Nick Kenric would be working. Until today, she’d managed to avoid seeing them.

She climbed the back stairs of the wooden building to her apartment. The first floor was her shop. She’d rented the space when she moved back to Lovettville, Wyoming. Entering her small apartment, she went to the cubbyhole kitchen and put on the teakettle. Her mother had given her some of Nanna’s teas during her last visit. Nanna, Lang and Sahale’s grandmother, created teas for various ailments. This particular one was supposed to have a calming effect. The way Cassandra’s insides felt right now, she definitely needed to relax.

She slipped out of her dress and heels and put on a faded pair of jeans and a T-shirt, leaving off her bra. Might as well be comfortable. Her friend, Cindy, enjoyed working in the shop and didn’t expect her back for at least another hour or so.

The teakettle whistled. Cassandra poured the hot water into the small china teapot and left it to steep for a few minutes. She walked across her living room and stared at the small town and in the distance to the snow-covered mountains. Just looking out at the natural beauty made her feel better.

After living in crowded metropolitan areas, Cassandra had been ready to return home. Funny, when she’d lived here, she had never thought of it as her home, had in fact rejected the ranch and the town.

Her tea was ready. She poured a cup and sipped the sweet liquid. The warmth spread into the cold parts of her body. When the doorbell rang, she jumped.

Who could be at her door? She never had company. She tiptoed cautiously across the room. She didn’t have a peephole. Keeping the chain lock in place, she cracked the door open.

“You rushed away from the reception and didn’t give me a chance to say hello.” Nick, sunlight shining on his golden-brown hair, leaned his tall body against her doorframe. “Aren’t you going to ask me inside?”

“I didn’t see you at the wedding.”

“No, you were too busy looking for Lang and trying to decide how to get out of there before he joined the group at the reception.”

“How do you know what I was thinking?” She frowned at him.

“Honey, I always could read you like a book, except for that last time. We didn’t expect to not see you again for ten years. Can I come in to talk?” he asked again.

She started to tell him no, to say she wasn’t feeling well. But she’d never been a coward. There was no need to start now. She shut the door and unfastened the chain, then opened the door to him.

“Come in. Do you want a cup of tea?”

Nick strolled to the kitchen and sniffed her cup. “Ah, one of Nanna’s famous brews. I think I’ll pass. I don’t guess you’d have a beer in that tiny box.” He nodded to her refrigerator.

“It is small.” She smiled. “No beer, but I do have an open bottle of wine.”

“No thanks, I’ll pass.” He strolled around her living room, looking at the paintings on the walls and the view outside. “Nice little place, Cassie. Not what I’d expected, nor is your shop.”

Inside, Cassandra’s nerves were jumping and her heartbeat tripped double time. His particular scent filled the air, and he was even more handsome than she remembered. The ten years had refined the young man’s looks. His shoulders were broader, tight abs were defined under his blue T-shirt, and snug jeans hugged lean hips and long legs. She wet her dry lips and caught a flash of lust flaring briefly in his summer-blue eyes.

“When did you visit my shop?” she finally managed to ask.

“One day last week. You were out.”

“It must have been the day I took my mother to the city for her treatment.”

Nick’s eyes darkened. “How is she?”

“Not good. The treatments for her cancer aren’t working as well as we’d hoped.”

“I’m sorry, Cassie.” Nick stepped toward her. She backed away.

No one had called her Cassie in years. She hadn’t allowed it. The name reminded her too much of the way it sounded when Nick or Lang said “Cassie” in their deep, husky voices.

“How is Lang?” she asked.

“Lang doesn’t change. He’s the immovable object, calm, cool, able to deal with any emergency.”

“It always surprised me that you two were such good friends,” Cassie said. “He had all the patience in the world and you had very little.” Seeing Nick reminded her of their uniqueness and how she’d admired and loved them. At least in the way an eighteen-year-old loved. She’d been full of angst, lots of emotion, and incredible lows and highs. She’d walked away from the feelings and the men.

Nick sprawled on her sofa. “Sit down, Cassie.”

“Is that an order?”

“Still have that chip on your shoulder?”

She grinned reluctantly. “No.” She sat in the chair across from him.

“Why did you leave? We waited for a message.”

His eyes pierced into her. She looked down at her hands. “You didn’t look for me.”

“Yes, we did.”

Cassie glanced up and saw the truth in his facial expression, one of regret and sadness.

“But you didn’t contact me.”

“We searched to make sure for ourselves and your parents that you were all right. But it was always your choice to come back, not ours to bring you.”

Adult Excerpt

Cassie stared up at him. “I can’t.”

“Sure you can. See how easy it is?” He lifted her into his arms. “You put your arms around my neck and your head on my shoulder, and I’ll take care of you.”

“I’m too tired to fight.”

“Good, because you’d lose.” He grinned. “I fight to win.”

Her head sank onto his wide, strong shoulder as her arms curled around his neck. He smelled of pine, and the outdoors, and his own special essence. She took a deep breath and, without thinking, kissed his neck.

The rumble of his laughter vibrated against her chest. Through all the tiredness and stress of the day, the desire for him still rose, flooding her system with warmth. Gently, he sat her in the passenger seat of his truck.

“I’ll have you home in a moment.” Walking briskly around the front of the truck, he got in and drove toward the cabin. She’d been there once long ago.

She saw lights in the windows and smoke curling out of the cabin’s chimney as they got closer, a welcoming sight that beckoned to a feeling buried deep.

Nick carried her to the door. Lang stood in the entryway. “Take her on to bed. I’ll bring her tea.”

“I can walk,” Cassie protested.

“Let us look after you.” Nick’s soft voice had her under his spell. She didn’t want to move, just stay cuddled up against his warm body and feel safe.

He sat Cassie on her feet and pulled the spread back on the king-size bed. She glanced around at the room. “Your bedroom?”

“What gave it away? All the pictures of towering buildings and unusual bridges?” His hands touched the top button of her blouse. “I’ll help you undress. Lang will get the water adjusted and you can soak in the tub before going to sleep.”

Lang set the teacup on the bedside table. “Take a sip of this while your bathwater is running.”

“Sit,” Nick instructed and handed her the cup.

“I really am a big girl. I can take care of myself.” But I don’t want to. I want to let them baby me and hold me close. I want to stop thinking for just one night and only feel.

“Are you going to sleep sitting up?” Nick raised her head and looked into her eyes. He held the cup in front of her.

“Sorry. My thoughts took me away for a minute.” She sipped the sweet, hot tea.

“Water’s ready.” Lang walked to her, set the cup to the side, and pulled her up. He finished unbuttoning her blouse before she got the energy to protest. Nick unfastened her bra, and both were thrown to the side.

Shivers of desire brushed across her skin, puckering her nipples. Lang’s gray eyes darkened. He lowered his head and took the nearest nipple into his mouth. His tongue swirled around the tip.

“Ah.” The sound barely escaped her lips. Her legs went weak, and Nick’s arm pulled her against his hard frame.

“Do you want us to continue, babe?” Nick asked. “We can stop, let you bathe, and put you in bed.”

Surrounded by their scent, the heat from their bodies radiating against her skin, all her mind could comprehend was her desire, the feeling of safety, the overwhelming need swamping her.

“Hold me, take me.” The words whispered out through her tight throat. “I’m starving.”

Nick chuckled against her back. “I don’t think she means food.” He spoke above her head to Lang. Lang had raised his head, waiting for her answer. Now, he undid her skirt and tossed her scrap of panties to the floor. Picking her up, he laid her on the bed.

Cassie watched as he and Nick undressed. Lang covered his large cock with a condom. The anticipation of pleasure hummed through her blood. Each one went to the opposite side of the bed and joined her.

Lang turned her to face him. He kissed her face all over before finally running his tongue across her lips. She opened her mouth, and his tongue went inside to caress and taste and brush along the edge of her teeth. Behind her, Nick wrapped his arm around her body, and his hand closed on her breast. His thumb grazed across the pebbled nipple while he kissed her neck and across her shoulders.

Her whole body was on fire. Her pussy clenched with the hunger to be filled by one of their hard cocks. Moisture seeped from her pussy. They turned her on her back, and as Lang moved downward, Nick straddled her upper body. She took his cock into her mouth, licking the salty drop from the top and taking him in deep. Her tongue licked all around. She heard him groan and her body trembled with her hunger for them both.

Lang pulled her legs wide and spread her folds, exposing her most private area to his view. He licked across her nub and down her folds to the opening to her pussy. “You taste incredible.” His tongue flicked just inside her opening, and she raised her hips in response. The fire building inside had her sucking and licking Nick’s cock harder.

Nick reached behind and pinched her nipple just as Lang swept his tongue deeper inside her pussy. Spasms of pleasure began to tremble in her muscles. She moved her head faster, up and down Nick’s cock, and tasted his salty release. He groaned and moved away as Lang plunged in, stretching her inner walls. Her powerful orgasm hit her with a jolt of euphoria, almost painful in its intensity.

Her inner muscles held Lang tight and rippled around his cock. He moved in and out furiously. Leaning down, he bit gently on her nipple as another surge of pleasure spilled through her. She screamed as it swept her away.