The Cowboys Ride Again Read online

  “Hey, you don’t need to justify his actions to me. I’m well aware of them. Levi’s always been there for me. Whenever I needed refuge, he took me in. Whenever I needed a loan, he gave me his last dime.”

  “And you always paid him back?”

  “Yeah, I did. I’d take a bullet for that man.”

  Natalie didn’t respond. Guilt flowed through her. She was the disloyal one. She lusted for Levi’s rugged, good-looking friend, yet she still loved Levi with all her heart. How could a woman lust for two men? It was unnatural, deviant even. Oh, lord, if her father wasn’t disgusted with her now, could she even imagine what he and her society-conscious mother would do if she had two lovers, and it leaked to the press?

  Natalie shook her head. First, she didn’t have two lovers. She hadn’t yet stepped over that line yet, but she wanted to, though wanting and doing were two very different things. Second, what she did with her life wasn’t any of her father’s business. Her incessant concern about his reactions had to stop. This wasn’t about her father. It was about her and Levi and Trace and what they wanted.

  Conflicted, Natalie put the horse back in his stall, checked the other horses, and headed back to the house. Trace followed her.

  * * * *

  “You up for breakfast? I make a mean omelet.” Trace poured himself another cup of coffee and filled a cup for Natalie. He avoided her gaze because his need was too raw, too obvious. Her kindness toward the animals wound him in a knot of dangerous emotions.

  “Thanks, I’d love some. It’s cold out there.” She sat down at the counter and wrapped her delicate hands around the warm cup.

  “Typical Montana spring.”

  She nodded. “We’re lucky we don’t have snow.”

  Trace placed his little dog in her bed and gave her a pat. Clarence, the evil cat, eyed the little morsel from his perch on a barstool. He paused to glare at the cat. Natalie watched him with knowing eyes.

  “You really love that little dog, don’t you?”

  He nodded. How did a man explain that this little bundle of fur gave him the only unconditional love he’d ever experienced with a female and expected nothing in return?

  She smiled back.

  “Beautiful place you two have here.” His wistful tone drew a sympathetic glance from her. She reached out and patted his hand. He stared into those sky-blue eyes and drowned in their warmth. Her gentle touch turned his insides out. Women used him for sex or money—when he had any. They never showed him the compassion Natalie had shown in a few short minutes. Something unspoken passed between them, an acknowledgement of their mutual attraction. Yet, this went deeper. Natalie touched something inside. Her spirited yet gentle nature spiked tenderness in him, something he never allowed himself to feel. Lust he could handle. Fondness, even love, he’d never understood or succumbed to. Now was not the time to start.

  Uncomfortable with the direction his thoughts headed, he busied himself in the kitchen. Natalie helped him by placing the ingredients he needed for his omelets on the counter. She dropped the cheese package on the floor, and they both bent down to pick it up at the same time. Their bodies touched, faces close together. For a moment suspended in time, Trace battled his instincts to kiss her. Her soft luscious lips parted involuntarily and invited his mouth to mate with hers. Sexual electricity arced between them, snapping and crackling with intensity. Damn, he wanted her. Bad. Worse than he’d ever wanted any woman.

  Levi wouldn’t mind. He was certain of that. Yet, he didn’t want to do anything behind Levi’s back. Kissing her now would be a betrayal of trust between all three of them. Whatever happened needed to be with all three present. His buddy insisted they take their time until she begged for it. Damn, he hated waiting.

  Straightening, he broke the spell. Natalie, flushed and nervous, jumped back. She wrung her hands together and stared at the floor. He almost smiled. If she only knew. In time she would.

  “Hey, what’s going on in here?” Levi strode into the room, shirtless, his sweatpants slung low on his hips. Natalie gave a guilty start and busied herself making another pot of coffee.

  “I’m making breakfast. Nat’s been helping me.”

  Levi’s knowing gaze slid from one to the other. Trace shrugged one shoulder. Levi’s barely perceptible nod indicated he understood.

  “I’m going to take a quick shower before breakfast.” Natalie didn’t wait for a response. She fled from the room. Trace chuckled.

  “What’s that all about?” Levi rested his ass on the barstool next to the cat.

  “She almost kissed me.” No use dancing around the obvious attraction between them.

  “Hmm. I see. She’s conflicted.”

  “Are you okay with it?”

  Levi nodded. “I’m more than okay with it. I’d love nothing more than to watch you fuck Natalie while she deep throats me.” His gray eyes met his friend’s, free of jealousy and full of expectation.

  “Fuck, I didn’t need that mental image. I’m gonna need a cold shower or a self-induced hand job.” Trace adjusted his package confined in his tight blue jeans.

  “Tell me about it.” Levi stared out the window.

  “What the hell? You could grab her and haul her cute ass off to bed.”

  “Yeah, I could. Maybe I will. We had incredible sex last night. Best we’ve had in months.”

  “Damn, I’d love to join you.”

  “You will. I want her to beg for it. This needs to be her idea to a point so there’s no regrets, no guilt.”

  “She doesn’t understand how three people can have a viable relationship with each other and be mature enough to get beyond the jealousy.” Trace flipped the omelet onto a plate and started another.

  “And we do understand it? We aren’t exactly the best examples. Face it, buddy, we’re all flying in the dark without instruments here.”

  “Yeah, you’re right. Sounded good, didn’t it?” Trace snorted.

  “Thanks a lot.”

  Trace looked up. “Levi?”

  “Yeah?”

  “I think I’m falling for her, but I’ve never been good at telling the difference between lust and love. I know that sounds crazy. I mean I’ve only known her a short time. I never believed in love at first sight, yet there’s something I can’t explain.”

  Levi nodded, as he appeared to digest that information.

  “Are you okay with that?”

  “Nat deserves nothing less. If it was someone other than you, I’d tear the asshole from limb to limb. I know Natalie loves me. I know she’s attracted to you. She has a big heart and enough love to go around.”

  “You’re a damn good friend, Levi. I love you like a brother.”

  “Yeah, man, I know. Me, too. Nat will come around. This may be the start of something we’ve always dreamed of and never thought would happen.”

  “Yeah, it could be. We’ll take it slow so we don’t scare her.”

  “We’ve got all the time in the world. None of us are going anywhere.”

  * * * *

  Natalie’s characters weren’t cooperating.

  Somehow, a second hero had insinuated himself into her story, and he refused to leave. The main hero, who looked incredibly like Levi, and the heroine welcomed him with open arms. Too open. The three of them wanted a ménage. Even worse, the other guy resembled Trace. This particular book wasn’t supposed to be a ménage, but tell that to her characters. They wouldn’t take no for an answer. Stuck in a one-room cabin in a snow storm, they’d taken up a game of strip poker.

  Her frantic fingers flew over the keyboard of their own will until she finally took control and called a halt to the scene. She’d left the characters in their underwear and panting for more.

  With a frustrated sigh, Natalie shut down her laptop. Standing up, she paced from one end of the den to the other. She paused to look out the window.

  And what about her? Wasn’t she panting for more? Several days ago she’d almost kissed Trace, Levi’s best friend. For the next w
eek, she holed up in the den with the claim of a deadline looming over her. Instead of relief, her characters kept pushing her into acting out the fantasies her body desired.

  Maybe she should let her characters have their way? And what about Levi and Trace?

  She’d picked up strange vibes from the two men ever since Trace showed up a few weeks ago. Almost as if they encouraged a relationship with both of them. In her dreams, she fantasized about both men taking her in different ways. She loved Levi, a lot. Yet, Trace attracted her. She couldn’t deny the chemistry between them, the same chemistry she had with Levi. Was it possible for a woman to have chemistry with two men? She’d always considered such special feelings to be exclusive between one man and one woman. But two men?

  When Trace looked at her with those smoldering dark eyes, her juices flowed, her pussy itched for action, and her nipples puckered. All signs of a horny woman. Levi turned her on, too. Between the two men, she lived in a perpetual state of desire. She ached for both men to take her, dreamed about it. Her subconscious got in the game and attempted to force her to write about it.

  What woman in her right mind would want to deal with two men at the same time? One man was more than enough trouble.

  Yet, lusting after Trace and a forbidden threesome turned her on. Her unresolved feelings for Trace transferred into hot sex with Levi, hotter than she’d ever imagined. She didn’t know if she was coming or going, though she’d done a lot of coming lately.

  Natalie almost laughed. Her bizarre situation scared the crap out of her and excited her. Unable to second guess where Trace and Levi were coming from, she decided to go with the flow. See where it took her. If they forced her to make a choice, she’d choose Levi, of course.

  If they didn’t, she’d choose something she couldn’t even wrap her mind around, not yet.

  But maybe sooner than later.

  Chapter 4

  “She’s caving.” Trace leaned back and regarded his friend. Helping himself to Levi’s twenty-year-old Scotch, he sipped the fine whiskey. It went down smooth and warm, relaxing him, easing some of the day’s tension.

  “I know. My Nat struggles with her sense of right and wrong, but she wants this.”

  “I been here almost a month. The sexual tension between us grows exponentially every day. I swear that little thing undresses me with her eyes every time she sees me. My cock is screaming for some action, and my hand is getting damn tired of providing an inadequate replacement.”

  Levi, the evil bastard, threw back his head and laughed.

  “Asshole. You’re getting laid every night. I can hear the two of you banging on that huge bed. It’s torture. I’m hornier than a three-peckered billy goat.”

  “Hang in there, my friend. It won’t be much longer.”

  “I hope so, because it isn’t just my body involved at this point. I’m really attached to her.”

  “Nat has a way of doing that to a man.”

  “She’s done it to me.” Trace hated admitting to any kind of emotional weakness, but Natalie touched him in ways far beyond sexual.

  “We’ll give her a nudge. Let’s lead her down a one-way road and see where she ends up.”

  “How do you propose we do that?” Trace leaned forward, interested and ready for action.

  “We’ll need a blindfold.”

  * * * *

  Natalie dried the last dish and put it away. From behind her, someone snatched the dish towel out of her hand, placed it over her eyes, and tied it behind her head. She smiled. Ready and willing.

  Levi, the horny little devil, wanted to play.

  She giggled as he pressed his rock-hard erection back and forth against her ass and pushed her hips against the counter. His hand slipped between her legs. He rubbed back and forth through her jeans, and she pressed her crotch against those magic fingers of his. He sucked on her neck, little nibbles sure to leave telltale marks, but she didn’t give a shit. His stubble abraded her sensitive skin and heightened her senses.

  A warning sounded in her brain, far off and feeble. Something didn’t feel right. The cock rubbing against her ass seemed a little too low for a man of Levi’s height. But it felt so good, so hot, so sexy. She ignored the obvious and went into author mode, letting her imagination take flight. She didn’t want him to stop, regardless of who was behind her.

  “Levi?”

  He growled in her ear and sucked her ear lobe. Moaning, she tilted her head back to give him easy access to her neck. His free hand snaked around to her front and under her baggy T-shirt. The calloused pads of unfamiliar fingers slid upward, the sweet friction caused her to shudder. He caressed a hard nipple through her flimsy bra, eliciting more moans of ecstasy from her.

  “Trace?”

  Another growl. Her heart thumped in her chest.

  “Are you both here?”

  A chuckle reached her ears but nothing else to indicate who was in the room. She’d show them.

  Feeling naughty and bold, Natalie reached down and grabbed the hand between her legs. It didn’t feel like Levi’s hand. Two could play this game. She guided it to the waistband of her jeans. Wetness pooled between her legs at the thought of one man watching while the other touched her.

  Behind her, the man made no sound except for a grunt of satisfaction. She unfastened the top button on her jeans and pulled down the zipper, giving him access to her most intimate spot. He didn’t need a second invitation. His hand dived down her pants, under her soaked panties. His index finger probed her slit, making her even wetter.

  She arched her hips and pushed his hand deeper, begging for more. His finger slid easily inside her, deeper and deeper until he’d buried it to his knuckle. His other hand pinched her nipple, tugged on her nipple ring. He added a second finger to the first, stretching her wider. She leaned her back against his chest as he pumped his fingers in and out of her pussy. His thumb traced urgent circles on her clit. She cried out, willing herself not to come so easily. She rode his hand, urging him to thrust harder, faster, wilder. Helpless, she reached behind and fumbled for his erection. He groaned in her ear as she stroked him through his jeans.

  Turning her head, Natalie tasted his mouth. Their tongues met, entwined, mated. He tasted so very different from Levi.

  The imposter behind her worked his fingers in and out of her pussy like a man on a sexual mission. She lost herself in his touch and shattered like an egg on concrete.

  Breathing heavily, she floated back to reality. A man’s fingers still rested inside her pussy. He held her tight against him. Her cunt ached for something more than fingers. She melted against him and shut her eyes. His chest heaved as he gulped in ragged breaths. He wanted more, too.

  “Shall we fly a little higher, darling?” a voice drawled in her ear and yanked her back to earth.

  She pulled away from him and ripped off the blindfold. He grinned at her, way too pleased with himself. Several feet away in the cheap seats, Levi watched from a barstool and rubbed his huge erection through his jeans. His gray eyes burned into hers

  She rounded on Levi. “You think this is funny? You tried to trick me, both of you. Well, guess what, cowboy, I knew it wasn’t you from the start.”

  A smug smile graced Levi’s handsome face. “You knew it, and you encouraged it, didn’t you?”

  “Yes, I did. I wanted it.” She locked gazes with Levi, then Trace, challenging them.

  “You’ve been wanting it since you first laid eyes on me.” Trace took his time zipping up his jeans.

  “So have you, mister. And you, Levi, you want it, too. Did you enjoy watching another man make me come?”

  Levi’s smug smile dropped off his face, and he gulped and nodded sheepishly. Natalie laughed. She had them where she wanted them.

  “So we’re all in agreement. You name the time and place, and I’ll be there. And, cowboys, be ready for the ride of your lives. Hope you can handle it.”

  Their mouths dropped open. She zipped up her pants, pulled down her shirt, and sash
ayed from the room before she lost her nerve and changed her mind. The heat of their gazes burnt a hole in her back.

  * * * *

  Levi tipped the crystal tumbler to his lips, tasted the gold liquid on his tongue, and let it slide down his throat. Damn, there was nothing better than good Scotch.

  Trace walked in, poured himself a drink, and plopped into the overstuffed leather chair next to him.

  “Damn, that went well, didn’t it?” Levi poured himself another shot.

  “Fuck, I had her so hot and bothered she just about climbed on my dick in the kitchen and rode me hard. And you said she needed time to warm up to the idea. She’s so warm; she’s melting the polar ice caps.”

  “Hell, yeah. I get a major boner thinking of watching you fuck her pretty little brains out. Then the little vamp turned the tables on us and stole control.”

  “I love a woman in control.” Trace stretched lazily in the chair.

  “She wants it. My little Nat wants a threesome. Who’d have figured.”

  “You’re still okay with it, right?”

  “Hell, yeah. I asked you to help me put a little spice back in our love life, and you have.”

  “Damn, we’re putting spice in my love life, too.” Trace grinned. “In fact, fuck the spice. It’s more like a five-alarm hot sauce.”

  “Yeah, well, hope you can take heat because your hot sauce is getting hotter tomorrow night.”

  * * * *

  Natalie heard Levi crawl into bed next to her. The mattress sagged under his weight. He pulled her naked backside against his bare chest and positioned her butt against his hips. She’d been lying here for what seemed like hours, waiting for Levi to come to bed. After her earlier boldness, doubts started to seep into her brain. She needed assurance.

  She tried to turn in his arms, but he held her fast, not letting her face him. “Levi?”

  “Yeah, baby.”

  “Just because I want Trace doesn’t mean I don’t want you. You are okay with this, right?”

  “I’m more than okay with it.” He toyed with her nipples. “It’s a little strange, but my sexual appetites have never been normal.” He spoke softly into her ear, blowing her hair away from her neck.