Tuck strode into the kitchen where Shane was sitting at the table and checking Arianna’s homework. Their daughter looked up at him with worry in those big, blue eyes she’d inherited from her mother. “Is Paige going to be okay, Papa?”
He gave her a reassuring smile. “She’s going to be fine, sweetheart. She’s just taking a nap. Nothing to worry about.”
“I didn’t make her sick, did I?”
“Nope, not at all. You had a stomach bug; Paige has a . . . um . . . headache. She’ll feel better when she wakes up.” While Shane had been talking to the sheriff, Tuck had picked Paige up in his arms and carried her to her room, despite her protests because of his foot. Honestly, any pain that was there hadn’t even registered in his brain as he’d snuggled her close to his chest. After laying her down on the middle of her bed, he’d pulled off her sneakers and kicked off his boots, then climbed in next to her. He’d spooned her from behind, and a thrill had coursed through him when she hadn’t objected. He’d slowly caressed her arm and leg, urging her to fall asleep for a bit. It hadn’t taken long for her body to go lax as slumber overtook her with assistance from the whiskey. He hadn’t been able to get up right away after that. Now that he’d had her in his arms and had tasted her luscious lips, there was no turning back for him. Shane had been right—Paige was going to be theirs. It felt right.
A half hour later, he’d eased from her bed, picked up his boots, and quietly left the room. As he’d passed through the family room on the way to the kitchen, he’d paused at an array of photos in small frames in the bookshelves, focusing on his favorite one of Sarah. Her eyes had been sparkling as she’d been laughing at something silly when he’d taken the candid shot of her, early in her pregnancy. The vow she’d demanded of them floated through his mind. It was time—he was certain she’d sent them someone who could love them both, knowing it didn’t mean they loved her any less. His heart expanded in his chest—it wasn’t pushing his wife out; it was making room for someone new. Taking a deep breath, he’d let it out slowly, then murmured, “Thank you for sending Paige to us, sweetheart. She’s beautiful in every way; just like you. You knew I wasn’t ready until now, didn’t you? Thanks for not giving up on me. I’ll thank Shane later for the same thing. He deserves to hear it too.”
As Tuck got himself a glass of water, Shane handed Arianna back her homework. “You got them all right, Ari. Good girl. What do you say we give Paige a break tonight and get takeout after your dentist appointment? You and I can run over to Bar None and get some mac and cheese for you and lasagna or something for us. Okay?”
“Yay!”
“Sh, Ari, not so loud, Paige is sleeping,” Tuck reminded her. “Go change out of your school clothes. Your shirt is dirty.”
She glanced down at the red stain on her belly, then shrugged. “I spilled my juice on it at lunch.”
“That’s okay, it happens. Just go change and brush your teeth, then Daddy’ll take you to your appointment.”
After their daughter skipped out of the room, Tuck leaned against the refrigerator and eyed Shane. “Glad you remembered the dentist was this afternoon because I forgot. What did Chief Hughes say?”
“He showed up with Lane.” Officer Lane Myers was a childhood friend of Shane’s, who’d returned to the town they’d grown up in, after twelve years and four tours overseas with the Marines and joined the eight-man police department. “On their way here, they passed the three vans, heading into town.”
“Making good on their threats to talk to others. The good thing is Paige has made some friends since she’s been here. On the flip side, there’re more than a few people who are going to be slinging bullshit just to get their faces on TV.”
Shane nodded. “Yup. Lane and the chief said they’ll do their best to run them out of town, but legally, nothing can be done unless they commit a crime. Before I go to Bar None, I’m going to stop by the station and sign a formal complaint that’s being prepared for me. Lane’s going to round up the reporters, identify them, and tell them, in no uncertain terms, that if they step foot on our property again, they’ll be charged with trespassing and harassment. He’s also going to see if he can find out how they knew Paige was here. Hopefully, when they realize they’re not going to gain access to her, they’ll go back under whatever rock they crawled out from.”
“I’ll assign one or two of the hands to work with Seth out front, to make sure no one gets close to the house. I also think one of us should be here at all times for the next few days, just in case.”
“I’m ready, Daddy.” Arianna ran back into the kitchen, wearing a clean shirt, then spun around and headed for the front door. “Let’s go.”
Getting to his feet, Shane made sure he had his keys, wallet, and cell. As he strode past Tuck, he paused and whispered, “I can still taste both of you on my tongue.”
Heat flared in Tuck’s eyes as his cock swelled. Shane winked at him, then laughed as he left the room, knowing full well he’d just given his husband a hard-on with the only relief in sight coming from his own hand. At least, until later. Having Paige in their bed tonight was not going to happen. It was far too soon, and she’d still be upset over the reporters. When she came to them, they wanted what would happen between them to be drama and stress free. But as soon as he got his husband alone later, Shane was going to be the bottom this time if Tuck had his way.
Her eyes still closed, Paige stretched the kinks out of her entire body. She didn’t even remember falling asleep and wished she could say the same about what’d transpired earlier. The reporters, not what’d happened in the office with Shane and Tucker. Nope, that she never wanted to forget. Was it wrong to want two men at the same time? Years ago, she might have said yes, but the books she’d read had eased her into accepting the subject—although, that was only fiction. She found ménage romances enjoyable and hot as hell. However, this was real life and it involved her.
She thought back to the conversations she’d had with some of the residents of Hazard Falls since she’d moved there. A few people obviously found the Wilson men distasteful and perverted, and probably thought she was already sharing their bed if the turned-up noses she’d encountered were any indication. Meanwhile, others, like the men and women who worked at Red River or were friends with the couple, were more than comfortable with their relationship and the one they’d had with Sarah. Paige couldn’t deny she was attracted to both men, but could she handle a three-way romance? Part of her was scared to try, while the other part of her, the one that hadn’t had sex in over a year and a half, was screaming for her to take a chance. What if it didn’t work out, though? There was no way she could stay at the ranch, working for them, if a romantic relationship between them failed. Arianna would be heartbroken if Paige left, and vice-versa.
Sitting up, Paige removed the lightweight quilt Tucker must have laid over her before he’d left her sleeping. She’d been surprised when he’d climbed into bed with her but had been too upset over the reporters to think more about it. Then he’d put his arms around her, and she’d felt things she hadn’t felt in a long time—safe and cared for. She’d relaxed into his embrace and had drifted off within minutes.
Paige glanced at the clock on her nightstand and realized it was past time to start dinner. After a quick trip to the bathroom, she removed her jeans and pulled on a more comfortable pair of yoga pants. She then shoved her feet into her black, fuzzy slippers, instead of her sneakers, and padded out to the family room. No one was there, but she heard someone in the kitchen. The smell of something baking, and maybe even burning a little, made her stomach growl. When she entered the room, Tucker glanced over his shoulder as he pulled an aluminum sheet filled with chocolate chip cookies out of the oven. “Hey.” His eyes roamed her body, warming her from head to toe and back again before he gestured to the cookies now cooling on the stove. “They’re not from scratch like yours, but I found a container of the spoon-and-drop kind in the fridge.”
She gave him a sheepish smile. “Well, that’s what I use when I make mine. I kind of fibbed when I said I make them from scratch. I can cook a lot of things, but baked goods aren’t my forte. My cookies always come out too dry and cake-like.”
Shaking his head, he chuckled. “Now I don’t feel so bad—well, actually I still do. At least you don’t burn them around the edges.” He set the tray on the stove, then tossed the oven mitt he’d been using on the counter and strode toward her. “How do you feel?”
“Better. Where’s Shane and Ari?”
“The dentist, then they’re stopping at Bar None to bring home dinner.”
Paige’s gaze shot to the calendar they kept on the refrigerator. “Oh, no! I forgot all about her dentist appointment.”
Clasping her shoulders, Tucker got her attention. “Relax. We’ve got it covered. After what happened this afternoon, I forgot all about it too. Shane was the one who remembered. It happens. No big deal. Okay?”
She paused, then nodded, grateful Tucker wasn’t mad at her. “Okay. Did you just say they were getting dinner too?”
“Yup. You have the rest of the day off.”
“I’m sorry about the reporters—”
Catching her off guard, Tucker pulled her close and lifted her chin, so she was looking up at him. “No one’s blaming you, Paige, so stop saying you’re sorry. It’s not like we didn’t know about the shit storm you got caught up in thanks to your ex-husband. We’re not letting you go because of a little bump in the road. Shane and I have been the talk of the town many times before. The gossipers go crazy for a bit, then set their sights on fresher meat. You know how small-town rumor mills go. But . . . if you want to leave . . . if you think Shane and I can’t protect you—”
“No! I—I don’t want to leave. For . . . for the first time in years,” she glanced away and then quickly returned her gaze back to him, “I feel . . . well, I feel like I really belong. I liked California, but, honestly, I never felt like I fit in there. Here, I do.”
As his body relaxed in obvious relief at her words, the corners of Tucker’s mouth curved upward. “Good. Because we feel like you fit in here too.”
Lowering his head, he kissed her, and Paige melted into his arms. His tongue teased her as he backed her up against the pantry door, until there was no room between their bodies. Tucker held her head at the angle he wanted so he could devour her. When he ground his erection against her lower abdomen, she moaned and lifted her knee to his hip in a desperate attempt to climb him. Tucker reached down and cupped her ass, then dragged her up his length until she could wrap her legs around his slender hips. Her hands clutched the hair at the back of his head. When his cock pushed and rubbed against her clit, Paige gasped. “Oh, God, yes!”
Leaving her mouth, Tucker kissed along her jawline until he reached her ear. “Damn, Paige, you feel so good. You don’t know how much I want to take you into my bed and make you scream my name as I fuck your sweet pussy—”
“Yes!”
He chuckled. “You’re not ready for that, baby—not yet. Besides, the first time I take you, Shane will be there too.”
Paige froze, and Tucker pulled back, so he could see her face. She stared at him in complete mortification, her cheeks turning beet red, and his eyes narrowed. “What’s the matter, sweetheart?”
“I—” How did she say that she’d been so wrapped up in a near-sex-induced fog that she hadn’t even thought of Shane? It wasn’t that she didn’t want him too, she just—
Tucker kissed her forehead, interrupting her thoughts, then said, “Hey, it’s okay. It happens. I’m kind of glad I can get you so revved up that everything else disappears from your mind—even Shane. There’ll be times when it’s just you and me or just you and him—hell, even me and him. We’ll want our alone time with you as much as we’ll want all three of us together. That’s how this works. This is why I don’t think you’re ready just yet. Okay?”
Her heart pounding, Paige nodded slowly, trying to mentally shift gears. She’d been so close to begging him to take her right there. “Okay.”
When she tried to put her legs down, he tightened his hold on her, keeping them up. “Uh-uh, sweetheart. Just because I’m not taking you to bed right now, doesn’t mean I’m not going to give you a taste of what’s to come.”
Using his trim hips, strong thighs, and one hand to hold her in place, he brought his other hand up and cupped her breast, thumbing her nipple through her light T-shirt and barely-there bra. Paige’s eyelids fluttered shut as she savored his touch. He plucked the peak, then ran his hand down her abdomen. Her head fell back against the pantry door with a thud when she realized his intent. His thumb found her clit through the thin, cotton barrier and brushed over it, causing her to buck against him. With slow, purposeful circles, he slowly drove her to the brink of insanity. Her hands clutched his broad, muscular shoulders, clenching and releasing in time to his sensual ministrations. A climax began to build within her. She panted and squirmed, wanting more. Wanting it all. One of her slippers fell off her foot and plopped onto the floor—she didn’t even notice.
“Please . . . oh, please, Tucker.”
He increased the pressure against her clit. “That’s it, baby. Damn, you’re beautiful. Cum for me, Paige. That’s it. Let it go.”
Using his thumb and forefinger, he pinched her sensitive bud and sent her flying. Her scream was cut off by his mouth slamming down on hers, and his fingers rubbed hard, drawing out her release. Her legs shook, but she was safe in his arms. As the orgasm began to ebb, Tucker brought his hand back around to cup her ass and hold her tightly against his rigid cock. He nuzzled her neck, giving her a chance to draw in gulps of air to her oxygen-deprived lungs.
When Tucker lifted his head, Paige’s eyes opened in narrow slits. He was grinning like a schoolboy who’d just gotten his first car or blowjob—she couldn’t decide which. Either way, it was sexy as hell.
He let her slide her legs down, and after her feet touched the floor, he waited until he was certain she could stand on her own. Squatting down, he grabbed her fleece slipper, then curved his hand around her calf and lifted her foot so he could slide it on. He looked up at her and winked. “A perfect fit, Cinderella.”
In post-orgasmic bliss, Paige had a sappy, satisfied smile on her face. If this was what one Prince Charming did to her without ever taking off a stitch of her clothing, what would happen when the second one joined them and they stripped her naked?