STORY EXCERPT

Boyd MacCloud walked into the quiet farmhouse. His stepmother and dad had gone to town. His boots clicked loudly on the wood floors as he headed to the bedroom where Sondra Hook was staying. He stopped at the door and looked in. Sondra was packing her suitcases.

“Where are you going?”

She looked up at him with her large brown eyes. “I can’t keep staying here with your parents. It’s time for me to go home and find a job and a new apartment.”

Her soft voice warmed his body like soft sunlight on a spring day. “I thought you were offered the position at our bank in town.”

“I was offered the job, but I can’t see myself settling in Triple Dare County.”

Boyd stepped farther into the room. “We discussed your staying and giving Reardon, me, and you a chance to get to know each other better.”

Sondra looked at the floor. When she glanced back up there were tears in her eyes. “I can’t picture myself in a threesome marriage. It’s so foreign to my nature.”

“If you stay in town, you’ll meet many such couples and some regular twosome couples. It would give you an opportunity to see how well it all works. Do you care about Reardon and me?”

Tears ran down her face as she nodded yes. Boyd wrapped his arms around her. He brushed his hand across her dark-brown hair and kissed the top of her head.

“You won’t be happy if you go away. You know it. I have an idea. Let me talk with Reardon and then we’ll both come and see you. You can wait one more day before you leave.”

“All right, but I doubt I’ll change my mind.”

“Go out to dinner with us tonight. We’ll make it special.”

Her wobbly grin made his heart ache. “Give us a chance. We’ll plan on dinner at seven. You and I will drive into town to meet Reardon.” He closed her case, took it off the bed, and set it in the corner. “See you this evening.”

He took long strides out of the house before she could change her mind and call him back. He flipped his cell open and dialed Reardon as he headed toward his truck.

“Hi,” Kel Reardon answered. “What’s up?”

“We have a problem regarding Sondra. I’m driving into town. Meet with me for lunch. I have an idea we need to discuss before presenting it to her.”

“Sure. I’ll meet you at Sister’s Cafe.”

Boyd thought about his idea. Did he want to go that far to convince a woman to marry him and Kel? His dad made a mistake in his first marriage. It wasn’t a threesome, but Boyd’s mom hated the countryside. Maybe he and Kel should let Sondra go, and look for another wife. Still, both of them had been drawn to her from the start. He got in his truck and headed to town.

Thinking about Sondra brought a smile to his face. She was a little thing, barely five foot four to his six foot one height. Everything about her was dainty. Her soft voice, big brown eyes that caught at a man’s heart, and her touch on his arm made his whole body come to attention. No, he couldn’t just give up, not yet. He parked his car in front of the local diner and went inside.

Kel waved from a back booth. Boyd slid into the seat opposite him.

“I thought we’d have a little more privacy here in the corner. What’s happened with Sondra?”

Boyd gave him a brief sketch of what occurred earlier. “She doesn’t believe she wants a threesome marriage. I suggested she take the job at the bank and get to know the local people. She’d see how they act and treat each other. But she didn’t agree.”

Candy, a tall, thin, blonde waitress, came to the table to get their order. “No crime this morning, Sheriff?” She blinked her eyes at Kel. “What’s the world coming to with all this peace and quiet?”

“I’m a good sheriff. The bad guys ride right on past Triple Dare County.”

She grinned. “I like your confidence, Sheriff. What can I get for you two handsome cowboys?”

They ordered and watched as she walked off. “Candy’s got a thing for you, Sheriff, better watch your step.” Boyd grinned at Kel.

“She’s wanting marriage, but she’s not the one for me. What’s this plan you mentioned to keep Sondra in town?”

“We’ll offer to date her separately.”

“What?” Kel frowned.

“I know. It sounds crazy, but if she dates us one at a time for a certain period, then at the end she can decide on one of us or both.”

“You’d be willing to do that? If she chose me, then you could see us at parties and around town and be satisfied?”

“No, but I’m counting on her not being able to choose between us and deciding to take us both.”

ADULT EXCERPT

“It’s nice. I like it.” Sondra had turned all around to examine the tiny cabin.

“I came out here last night after you and Tim went to bed. I wanted to be alone to think.” Boyd had walked up behind her. She drew in a breath of his manly scent.

“Did you come to any conclusions?” she asked, turning to face him.

“A few. I guess I made an ass of myself at dinner and afterward.”

“You guess?” Sondra raised an eyebrow.

He grinned. “All right, I did.” He bent his head where their foreheads touched. “I was hoping I hadn’t ruined things and that you’d stay. But I have trouble admitting that.”

She didn’t ask why.

“Tim told you about Kelly Ann?”

“He did.”

“Sometimes Dad talks too much, but I love him.”

“It explained your problem with trusting me.”

Boyd stepped back. “Please don’t make a big deal or deep psychological problem out of what happened years ago. I was young and foolish, end of story.”

Sondra let it go. He wasn’t ready to talk, and she wasn’t sure she wanted to hear about his first love. She put her arms around his neck. “Are we going to talk all afternoon? We have to be back and dressed for dinner at six.”

Boyd picked her up in his arms and strode to the bed. “Then let’s not waste any time.” He sat on the bed and held her on his lap. His fingers started undoing the buttons to her shirt. His lips followed his fingers and kissed her lightly as each new spot of skin was uncovered. He pushed her shirt off her shoulders and threw her unfastened bra to the side.

“You smell like the honeysuckle blooming on the back fence behind the house. The other night I had my window open and with every breath I thought of you.”

She nuzzled her nose into his neck. “The same thing happened to me. You smell of pine and the outdoors.”

“You mean I smell like cattle and manure.”

Sondra giggled. “No, never.” When she stopped giggling and took a deep breath Boyd’s mouth covered her breast, and he ran his teeth across her puckered nipple.

“Sweet, sweet, sweet,” he murmured. Then he pulled back and looked at her.

Her shyness had her hands going up to cover her breasts. He pulled them away. “You’re beautiful. You should flaunt them.”

“I’m average, and I’m a bit uncomfortable with the curtains open. Can we close them?”

“Sure, but one of these days you’ll be daring and let me keep them open. The cool breeze feels good blowing across us.”

“I don’t know how daring I’ll get. We’ll see.”

He walked around the room, closing the curtains. They still billowed a little from the brisk air. “And you are not average to Kel and me.” He sat on the bed and held her arms behind her back then took turns kissing her breasts and nipping at her sensitive nipples.

A shot of electricity went straight up her spine. Her pussy clenched and unclenched, wanting to feel his hard cock inside her. She was wet and ready.

“Not so fast, darlin’. I’ve waited since the moment I saw you for this, and I’m not going to be rushed.” He straightened and took off his boots. Then he removed the rest of his clothes and sheathed his cock. When he turned to her, he finished undressing her and began to leisurely explore her body.

Boyd kissed her belly button and then softly kissed her abdomen. His kisses circled her private area before he pulled her legs wide open and uncovered her pink, satin lower lips. Taking a deep breath of her essence, he groaned in anticipation.

But he didn’t kiss her there, not yet. First, he brushed his mouth across the inside of her thighs. Then he slid down and massaged her feet.

“Keep your legs open,” he commanded as she started to close them. “I want to see your beautiful pussy.”

She’d never been so vulnerable or so excited. A sweet weakness flowed through her veins, making her body sink into the mattress. Part of her wanted to pull the sheet around her and hide, but the other side wanted to throw her arms open and cheerfully, with a whole heart, accept everything he had to offer.

Her few previous sexual experiences had been nothing like this. Suddenly, he moved to her pussy, uncovered her clit, and sucked. She screamed out his name as desire beat against the inner walls of her pussy.

“Take me!”

“My pleasure, darlin’.”