As soon as we dropped Claire off at her cabin, I put on some new clothes and headed to the kitchen. I found Rosa sipping coffee and reading the newspaper.

“Good morning, sugar,” she said. “You’re up early.”

“Yeah. Couldn’t sleep,” I lied, leaning down to kiss her cheek. “Fresh coffee?”

“Yep,” she answered. “Just made it no more than ten minutes ago.”

“Awesome. I think I’ll take some to Claire.”

Rosa looked startled. “Really? You’re taking her coffee and not Caleb?

“Yep.” I didn’t need to explain to her what was going on, although I knew she felt some kind of maternal instinct when it came to us.

“But what about your brother? I think he’s taken to her.”

I poured the coffee into a cup and twisted on the lid.

“I like her too. Ok? Not that big a deal.” I strolled through the kitchen.

“But those two seem to have something,” she argued.

“Rosa,” I warned.

“What? You get all the pretty girls. Why not let Caleb have one? Just one? Be a good brother.”

“It’s not like that. It’s a little more complicated.”

She took a sip of coffee. “Why don’t you uncomplicated it for me?”

I couldn’t believe I was doing this. There was a good chance Caleb would kill me for opening my mouth.

“Because we’re both into her. Ok? Does that clear it up?”

“Not at all.” She folded her arms. “Is this some new age hippy-dippy relationship thing you read online?”

I groaned. “Come on, Rosa. Just let things be. We’re all happy. Ok?”

“All?” Her eyebrows rose.

Shit. I said too much.

“Giving her room service, I see,” Rosa finally said.

“Just being a good host.” I needed to defuse this before she asked more questions.

“Mmmhmm.”

“You don’t believe me, do you?”

“Not one bit. I also can’t believe you won’t give your brother just one chance with a woman when you know you have the girls in Stonecreek Valley eating out of your hand. I know you’re a better man than that.”

I puffed up my chest. “Because she’s different. We both need her. I’m not giving her up and neither is he.”

“Good God. You aren’t saying what I think you’re saying.”

“I don’t know what you think I’m saying.” I tried to back out of the kitchen. Yep. Caleb was definitely going to kill me for this.

“That you two like the same girl. You cannot fight over a woman. I won’t allow it.”

I grinned. “Well, then you don’t have to worry. No fighting here.” I hopped through the kitchen doors before she could grill me any further. I might have just dodged a bullet.

I hustled to the distant cabin and knocked on the door.

“You can come in,” Claire called through the door.

“Where’s my brother?” I asked, looking for Caleb.

“He said he had to check his emails,” she answered. “He’s in his office.”

“Good. That gives me some time to have you all to myself.”

I delivered the coffee into her hands.

“That smells divine.” She lifted it to her nose.

“Yep. I made that divine coffee just for you.”

She batted her eyelashes at me. “Thank you.”

“So what’s on your agenda for today?” I asked.

“First, I have to take a shower. I slept outside overnight. In a truck.” She giggled.

“And then?”

“And then, I’m going to call my boss about extending my stay.” She sipped the coffee. “I think I want to stay as long as she’ll let me, Nash. Maybe I should see if I can cash in some time off.”

I sat next to her on the bed. “I think you should do that.”

She bit her lip. “All of this is so crazy. So ludicrous. But if feels right. Like I’m supposed to be here. After that horrendous start to my trip and how terrible I was to Caleb.” She lowered her eyes. “I want to take some time off and stay at the ranch with both of you.”

My heart swelled at the words. “Then do it. Stay and be with us.”

“But then what?”

“What do you mean?”

She sighed. “So I take a few weeks. Then what happens? It’s not like I can stay indefinitely. There is no Internet. There is no cell service. I can’t work remotely. I don’t see how things can go beyond a few weeks. And that just makes me think I shouldn’t even ask. I shouldn’t even put my heart in this position.”

“Your heart?” I was feeling it too, but I wasn’t ready to admit that to anyone.

“I know. I sound stupid. But I don’t take what we’ve done lightly. Ok? You might think that’s crazy because you’ve slept with a hundred women, but to me it’s more than that. It’s something intimate and special.” She held up her hand. “I’m not saying I want anything from you. I know what this is. I know exactly what it is. It’s sex. It’s the wildest most incredible sex of my life, but I’m not mistaking it for me.”

I grabbed her wrists and pulled her to me. “Shut up, Claire.”

“What?”

I kissed her hard, pulling her under me. The coffee rolled onto the floor. “You should mistake it for more,” I groaned.

“What?” she whispered.

I peeled the shirt over her head. I wiggled the pajama pants off her hips. “It is more than sex.”

I lifted her from the bed and carried her to the bathroom where I turned the shower to the hot setting.

I lowered her feet to the floor while I got undressed and stepped inside.

“What are you saying, Nash? What are you telling me?” Her eyes darted back and forth.

“I’m saying this is a lot more than sex.” I lifted her leg against my hip and hooked her heel against my ass.

I nestled my cock at her entrance and began to thrust inside her.

“Oh my God.” She clawed at my back. “Oh you feel so good.”

“It’s not just sex,” I whispered in her ear. I slammed into her, driving home. Finding a safe place. Burying myself over and over until we both had gone mad with lust.

Her knees buckled and I shot my release inside her.

“Oh Nash,” she whimpered. “That was amazing.”

I kissed her, taking the time to explore her mouth. “When you make that call today to your boss, I want you to know it’s not about sex. It’s about this. It’s about the connection we have. It’s about the connection you have to Caleb. The three of us have something together real. I know I’m supposed to be the fun one, right? But listen to me, baby. I’m fucking serious right now. We want you to stay at the ranch, because we want you. We need you here with us. This works. We work with you between us.”

“I can’t think right now, Nash. You’re still inside me,” she whispered.

My cock twitched at her words. “I’m not done,” I promised.

I spun her around, spreading her legs. I tipped her over and slid inside her entrance.

“Oh God.” Her hands slapped at the tiles on the wall. “Don’t stop. Please.”

I pumped in and out, feeling the sexual energy surge in my balls. I was going to come again. This time harder and deeper. I pounded until my spine clenched and I howled until I emptied my release deep in her walls.

Claire panted and clutched. “Oh shit, I’m coming too.” She had found a new way of bringing herself to climax that was hot as hell. She twisted her nipples while I strummed her clit. Within seconds she was convulsing around me and I watched in awe as she pleasured herself into two epic orgasms.

The shower sputtered behind us and I turned her to face me. I kissed her swollen lips.

“The sex makes it hard to think,” she admitted.

“I know it does.” I handed her the soap. “I know Caleb is the logical one around here, and I know this has to be what he’s thinking. The reason the sex works, is because we work. Otherwise we couldn’t do what we do together.”

Claire bit her lip. “I kind of believe that too.”

I laughed. “Let me get your back.” I took the soap from her and lathered her skin until she was clean and smelled like the Montana rain.

I turned off the shower and wrapped her in a towel.

“I have work to do today,” I explained.

“Me too.” She wrinkled her nose. “I have an article to write.”

“Then why don’t the three of us meet up after you talk to your boss?”

She nodded. “Sounds perfect.”

I kissed her. “See you around, city girl.”