Something squeezed in my chest at the mere thought of possibly never seeing Nash again. I could already envision being back in Chicago, sitting alone in my apartment, waiting for my next assignment while longing to see his face and feel his touch again. The shower sex had been incredible. It was so intimate and connected.

And then I thought about how it felt to have moments with Caleb. How he seemed to be connected to my soul somehow. He’s eyes could read my thoughts. His body filled me with electricity.

Maybe I should just cut and run now, but I thought about Nash’s words. We work together.

As I got dressed, I contemplated whether I needed to spend the day by herself, or try to spend more time with Caleb. Maybe he could shed more light on our arrangement the same way Nash had.

Would it be harder to leave if I spent one more day with him?

I pulled my hair into a ponytail and slid on a pair of sandals. I walked over to the lodge.

It was early, and everything was quiet and still, with the exception of the grazing horses in the distance. Somewhere far off, I thought she heard children playing.

I stopped at the tree I had visited on my first day. I sat at the stump, relishing the fresh air that life in the city could never provide. Caleb and Nash weren’t the only things I was going to miss. I had never experienced such peace and tranquility before.

I thought about last night spending time at the brewery, meeting Caleb’s and Nash’s friends.

How was it possible for a self-defined city-girl to feel so connected to the little country town of Stonecreek Valley?

The more I thought about it, the more I just didn’t want to leave. All the beautiful and extravagant places I’d visited, no matter how luxurious, didn’t compare to what I’d found in Montana.

Part of me knew the decision had been made. Continued the walk to the lodge and ducked into the small phone room. I picked up the phone and dialed my boss’s number.

“Hey, Francis.”

“Hi, Claire. How’s it going? Enjoying the ranch? Look, before you say anything, I know the ranch probably wasn’t what you were excepting. I did wonder if you had agreed to it before fully realizing where you were being sent, but I’m trying to expand the reach of the magazine and trying to help it appeal to a larger variety of vacation-goers, you know? So, I hope you’ll be willing to give more places a try for now on. We can’t just keep doing spas and resorts. We’ve got to broaden our horizons. We need growth.”

“Of course,” I answered. “I think you’re right.”

“You do?” Francis said after a slight pause, clearly not expecting me to so readily agree with her. “Excellent. So, what are your thoughts about the ranch? I talked to the owner’s brother, and he’d been confident that you would enjoy it. Said it was a nice and peaceful place that allowed tourists to get close with nature.”

“Have you ever known me to be a nature girl, Francis?”

“Well, I—”

“It’s ok. I’m just teasing. Actually, I was calling to tell you that …that I need to stay longer. Maybe take some time off.”

“For what?” Francis asked after another pause. “I’ve got other places lined up for you. As a matter of fact, I was planning on giving you a call tomorrow once you were on your way back to Chicago to ask you about some other assignments, so that I could go ahead and book them for you.”

I sighed. “Can we hold off on those other assignments? Just for a couple days? I need some more time here.”

I held my breath, suddenly feeling nervous. Francis was a cool boss, and she was easy to talk to. In fact, under normal circumstances, I never felt hesitant about talking to her. However, this was my first time making such a request.

“Is anything wrong? Any reason you can’t leave yet?” Francis demanded.

Images of Caleb and Nash instantly drifted through my mind. My face flushed again at the thought of their kisses and their beautiful naked bodies.

“Things have actually been kind of busy here at the ranch. There’ve been a lot of activities to check out, and there will be some more over the next couple days. I don’t want to miss out on them so that I can write a more detailed review for you. You know. I want to be able to write about the whole experience without cutting anything short. If it’s all right with you, of course.”

“What kind of activities?” she asked.

I swallowed, wondering if Francis didn’t believe me and whether there was something in my voice that revealed I had made the mortal sin of mixing business with pleasure.

“Well, let’s see.” I could barely think. “There’s been a bonfire, horseback riding lessons, live entertainment. All sorts of things. They’ve been keeping me pretty busy out here. I’m not sure what the upcoming events are, but I did hear something about an outdoor camping adventure. I feel like I owe it to the ranch to stay for the remaining activities so that I can write the most accurate review, especially since they’ve been so accommodating to me.”

“Hmm,” Francis said. “Well, I guess you have a point. How much longer do you think you’ll need to stay?”

I stammered for a moment, not sure how to answer. I had no idea what other activities the ranch would offer, and realized I had probably just talked myself right into a corner. But I had to honor what I had with Nash and Caleb. I owed it to all three of us to stick around and figure this thing out.

“How about until the end of the week?” Francis eventually answered.

“Yes, that’s perfect.” At least it was a start.

“Ok. If there are any more problems, call and let me know. I’ll be looking forward to your review.”

“Thanks, Francis.”

I hung up the phone, my heart still pounding as I thought about the flimsy report currently saved on my laptop. There was hardly anything in it, and I had no idea how I was going to add to it. I hadn’t been participating in legit tourist activities. The majority of my stay thus far consisted of sexual acrobatics with Caleb and Nash.

I contemplated whether I could pretend I had actually taken horseback-riding lessons with a tourist group rather than alone with Nash, or whether I could attempt to describe my night out at the brewery through a tourism perspective.

Could I even pretend that I had worked in the barn, learning to organize hay with Caleb that day I had caught him working shirtless?

I would have a very thin line to walk. If I tried to write about the personal experiences I’d had with Caleb and Nash thus far from a tourist perspective, I ran the risk of using false advertisement, and something like that could put an end to my career. Worse, I was terrified I was going to inadvertently out our unusual relationship.

If there was ever a reason to not mix business with pleasure, I’d just had a front-row seat to learning it the hard way.

As I continued to sit in the lodge, the telephone seemed to mock me, as if it knew I had just used it to lie to my boss. I walked out of the room.

I headed back to the cabin.

Along the way, as I passed through the front lobby, I saw Caleb standing alone at the front desk, looking troubled. Pouring over a set of papers before him on the desk, he initially didn’t notice me.

My heart skipped a beat at the sight of him. When my footsteps hit the tiled floor, he finally glanced upward, his expression softening as our eyes met.

“Hi,” I greeted him, my lips curving into a smile. I wanted to walk right up to him and kiss him.

“Hey, Claire.”

My stomach swooned at the sound of him saying my name. He set the papers aside and rounded the desk to approach me, wrapping me into a hug with his strong arms. I all but melted in his embrace.

I could tell that something wasn’t right. Beneath his expression, I could see that he was worried about something. And as he looked down at me, I had to wonder if he could tell that I was feeling troubled too.

He stepped back and stared at me for a moment. “Is everything all right?” he asked. “How was your morning?”

“I spent some time with Nash. We had coffee. Now, I’m trying to focus on work.” I paused. “What about you? Everything all right?”

He nodded, but avoided my gaze. He rubbed a hand over the stubble growing at his chin. “Anything I can do for you? Anything else about the ranch you want to know about? Anything you’ve been dying to see or do?”

“I still need to finish writing the review, so if there’s anything else you can show me, I’d appreciate it.”

“What’s the verdict on when you have to have it finished?” he asked.

“Actually, I just talked to my boss,” I reported. “She’s letting me stay a couple days longer than originally scheduled, so I’ll be here for the rest of the week, if that’s all right.”

There was a long pause in which Caleb simply stared at me.

Caleb shook his head. “Claire, there’s nothing I’d love more than for you to stick around longer.”

He inched toward me, seeming to be reflecting on the same memories I had of our night together. Slowly, he reached forward and took my hand in his. I moved closer toward him, lifting my head back while he stooped down, a sexy smirk forming along his lips. “End of the week, huh?” he said. “I guess I’m going to have to think of some more things for us to do.”

“Do you have anything in mind for right now?” I teased.

Caleb bit his bottom lip and took a deep breath. “I can think of some things.”

My breath hitched in my throat, anticipating his kiss, but he stopped just shy of letting his lips meet mine. “Not here,” he said.

“I want you here,” I whispered. I needed every second. Every touch I could get while this week lasted. I couldn’t let him deny me that.

“But I’m in the lodge,” he argued.

I sashayed to the door and turned the deadbolt in the top lock.

My entire body prickled with nerves and anticipation. I was getting bolder and more daring.

“Fuck, I’m already hard,” he groaned.

“Take me on your desk,” I begged.

He kissed me until we were both breathless. I wrapped my hands around his neck, feeling the warmth radiate against my fingertips. He shirked my sundress up to my hips and lifted me from the floor. He planted me in the center of the mahogany surface. I leaned back and watched as he unzipped his pants and free his cock just enough.

“Ohh, Caleb,” I crooned as he pushed his thickness between my panties and my wet entrance.

“You’re so fucking perfect, Claire.” He pushed inside me, lowering my back to the desk. I tried to hold on to the sides as he pounded against me with solid strokes. He grunted, slamming into me.

I looked in his dark chocolate eyes as we both grew closer to climax.

“Touch yourself,” he commanded.

“What?” I whispered, barely able to speak. My voice was raspy and strained.

“Touch that sweet clit until you come all over me.”

I was shocked and turned on. Caleb wasn’t the dirty one. But alone, he wanted to push our limits and so did I.

I reached under my dress and slid my finger under the lace until I felt the bundle of nerves.

“Ohh shit,” I hissed.

“You’re so tight, even after we’ve fucked you from sun up to sun down.”

“I am,” I cried. “Ohh Caleb. It feels so good like this.”

“I want more than this. I need you on your knees.”

I nodded, as he pulled out of me. I climbed on his desk, wiggling my ass backward to him.

“And I need this tight little ass too.”

I swallowed. Holy shit. He was hot today. He plunged a finger inside my ass priming it as his cock filled my pussy.

I sucked in a big breath of air and then his cock was inside my backdoor hole.

“Oh God.”

“That’s it,” he growled. “I want all of you. I need all of you, Claire.”

He slid from my rosebud to my pussy, thrusting, pumping, taking and claiming, while I rode his steel shaft in ecstasy.

“You have me. You and Nash.”

“We do,” he groaned. “We do.”

I felt the explosion mounting as Caleb climbed on the desk behind me. He ripped the panties away and threw them on the floor. I was dripping sweat and panting his name. He howled as his come coated the inside of my ass before he aimed the last few shots inside my inner walls. I clenched and clung to his cock, sucking his essence to my core.

“Oh shit.” I breathed.

He kissed my back. “I think I got a little carried away. Are you ok, darlin’?”

I giggled. “I loved that. Does it have a name?” I carefully stepped off his desk.

“A name?”

“Yeah. Going from one to the other like that? It’s so sensual. I loved it.” I threw my hands around his neck as I felt his come on the inside of my thighs.

“I love doing it to you.” He nibbled at my lip. “I need to help you get cleaned up since I ruined these.” He held up the tattered panties.

I nodded. “Maybe I should hang out in your office until the sun goes down. Maybe we could talk,” I suggested.

“Talk?” He turned around suddenly.

“That was the wrong thing to say, wasn’t it?”

“No. We can talk. More of what we said in the truck?”

I nodded. “Yeah, but Nash and I had an extended conversation over coffee.”

“About?”

“All of this,” I explained. “The three of us.”

“And what did my brilliant step-brother have to say?” He straightened his crotch and zipped his jeans.

“Something about how this makes more sense than anything he’s done before.”

“He said that?”

“Yes.” I nodded. “What do you think?” I wanted to know how Caleb was processing this. Was it only sex to him? Because the sex was incredible. Our chemistry could stand on its own, but I knew there was more. Nash somehow completed the picture.

“Baby, this isn’t my area of expertise. It’s hard for me to say.”

“Try, please. I just asked my boss for an extension. Can you at least try?”

He paused. “You did that for us?”

“Yes. Can you give me something in return?”

He sat on the corner of his desk. “I want you to stay, Claire. I never want you to leave the ranch.”

I blinked. “Seriously?”

“Seriously.” He climbed down and pulled me toward him. “Don’t ever leave, city girl. Don’t leave us behind.”