Chapter Three

Josh stopped as they reached the truck, and he realized Nicole wasn't as close as she'd been before.

It was almost one in the morning, but The Barn was still rocking behind them. Neon lights split the darkness, and the thump of music formed a soundtrack.

They'd danced and talked and had a couple of drinks, but not so much he couldn't try to seduce the gorgeous woman. She'd had two margaritas and then switched to water. He and Grim had done the same but with beers. He didn't want a drunken hookup with her.

But he did want her. Like crazy want her. Like he hadn't felt in a long time. He knew damn well it was too soon, but he would make it work.

Except she looked worried now.

"Hey, you okay?" He stopped, giving her some space.

"She's worried, and probably rightfully so." Grim leaned against the truck with a sigh. "Nicole, nothing has to happen. We can take you home and drop you off. All I ask is you let me see you safely home. We probably should have sent you with Olivia."

Their sister had left half an hour before with her friends. She'd offered Nicole a ride, but the gorgeous dark-haired woman had wanted to stay.

Had she changed her mind?

It could be damn hard to be a woman in the world. "Do you have a friend you can call?"

She grimaced. "I have the number to a cab."

Josh snorted. "No, you have the number to Gwen Stapleton, who is surely asleep by this point. And honestly, she shouldn't be driving, much less pretending to be an Uber." He needed to make her comfortable. The night had been even more amazing than he'd thought it could be. Nicole hadn't preferred one over the other. She'd spent time dancing with both of them, and when she'd gotten looks, she'd simply ignored them all. When she'd been slow dancing with Grim and Josh had moved in behind her, she hadn't seemed surprised. She'd matched her movements to theirs, and he'd known this could work.

But not if she was afraid of them. Hanging out in a public place was one thing. Being alone with them was another.

"Darlin', if you're worried, we can walk right back in there and find someone to drive you home that you feel more comfortable with," Grim offered.

She bit her bottom lip, and then her head was shaking. "Who would that be? The only people I know in this town are Christa and the other waitresses, but I don't know them well enough to ask them to pick me up."

"I know Christa," Josh assured her. "She's my momma's best friend, and she will come get you. I would be all right with Christa taking you home."

"Our concern is that you get there safely. That's all," Grim assured her.

One hand went to her hip, and her sass was back. "Oh, really? So you two weren't going to try anything?"

Josh held his hands up as though to show he was harmless. "Nothing at all, if you tell me no."

Her lips formed a straight line. "And if I'm not capable of telling you no tonight?"

His cock kind of jumped in his jeans. That was what he'd been looking for. "You know what we want, right?"

She nodded slowly. "You both want me. You want to take turns."

"Not at all. There won't be any turn taking. Both of us will be with you the whole way," he vowed.

"Except we won't, because if she's not capable of saying no, it's my responsibility to do it for her," Grim reminded him.

Sometimes Josh thought Grim had been around Dad too much. He took the Dom role seriously, while Josh had spent his life being raised by subs and watching how they all interacted. He didn't like to think of his parents that way, but it was true, and sometimes a sub liked to play with words. "Nicole, he's worried you mean you think you've had too much to drink. He often takes things literally. Or he's worried you're scared of us."

Her expression softened, and suddenly she moved closer to Grim, getting in his space. Her hands came up to cup his cheeks. "I didn't mean it that way."

Oh, she was perfect for them. He'd known there was a deeply submissive streak in this woman. She hid it well. She'd likely learned not to let that part of herself out or someone would take advantage of her. Josh intended to show her how safe she was with them. Safe to be herself. Safe to submit and indulge and find the pleasure and joy that could come from serving her Masters.

Grim practically melted. "I don't want you to be afraid of me. I know I'm a big guy, but I wouldn't hurt you. I take consent seriously. This is not something where you say yes once and then we do whatever we want to you."

She bit her bottom lip. "And if that doesn't sound so bad?"

"It's too early." Josh needed to make things plain. "We don't know you well enough to play those games. Grim's right. If you want to spend the night with us, you need to understand that it only goes as far as you want. Any no from you will be honored by the two of us. All we want is the chance to spend some time with you."

It was a little lie. He already wanted more. She was sweet and smart and made him laugh. She was good with Grim.

Her head turned slightly, though she didn't move away from Grim. "It's just sex for me."

Now she was the one who was lying. She clearly wasn't a woman who seduced men on the regular.

"Is it because there are two of us?" Grim asked quietly.

"No," she whispered as though the thought hurt her.

"Because you wouldn't be the first woman who wanted nothing more than sex from us. Mostly they want to date Josh and they let me sneak into bed," Grim admitted.

"I would never do that to you," Nicole declared. "No, that's not the problem. I have to leave pretty soon. I have a job waiting for me. As soon as my car is fixed, I need to head on out."

Ah, there it was. Yep. Pops was right, and she was probably in trouble. But it was way too early to push her. He needed to get a feel for the situation. If she was in money trouble, he could easily fix that. If she had some asshole stalking her, well, that would be fun to fix. He was the right mix of his dads. He could ruin an asshole both mentally and physically. "How long do you think you're staying here in Willow Fork?"

"A week," she murmured. "Two, tops."

He let his hands find her hips. "How about you spend that time with us? When we're not working, of course. I work my dads' ranch, and Grim here is a vet because there was zero way I was going to that many classes."

"Yeah, so says the business major." Grim seemed to have calmed, and his hands were stroking over her hair. "But he's right. When we're not working, I would love to spend some time with you. It doesn't have to mean we're getting engaged or anything. It's nothing more than spending time with a beautiful woman."

One of her hands came back, and her fingertips brushed over Josh's jawline. "It's been a long time for me and the idea of…spending time with you…I think I would regret not doing it, but I am going to leave."

He was sure she thought she was going to. But if he had a couple of weeks to build some trust with her, she might come around to his way of thinking. "Then let me kiss you."

Grim turned her so she was facing Josh, his big hands holding her against his body. "Kiss Josh. You're going to find we're bossy when it comes to this, but I do not want you to forget you're in control."

Her breath hitched, and he could see the creamy swell of her breasts against the V-neck of her shirt. "You have more than one kink, don't you?"

Josh felt his lips curl. "Oh, my darlin', you have no idea."

He had zero shame when it came to his sexuality. His sister might complain about their parents' deep belief in sex positivity, but Josh reveled in it. It was freedom to be who he was, and that was a Dom.

He moved in, his hand cupping her cheek as he looked down at her. "Bossy doesn't begin to cover it, but Grim's right. All you need to say tonight is no and everything stops."

He didn't want her to say no. He wasn't going to give her a single reason to stop this train now that he'd gotten it rolling. He could be fairly vanilla, and then introduce her to more interesting play later.

It wasn't like they hadn't been quietly topping her all night, and she'd reacted beautifully. When some cowboy Josh didn't know had asked her to dance, she'd shaken her head and stepped back between them as though they were protection. They were. She needed to learn to trust that instinct.

It started with pleasure and continued with proving to her that when they said something, she could count on them.

But mostly pleasure.

"I'm not saying no now," she said, her chin coming up.

Oh, he liked the fact that she could challenge him. "I'm glad, but the choice is yours. I don't intend to make it hard for you. I intend to make this the easiest choice you'll ever make."

He lowered his mouth to hers and let their lips brush.

"This is where I've wanted to be since the minute I laid eyes on you, girl," he whispered.

Her breath hitched again, and he could feel her breasts against his chest, though she was held in place by Grim. It seemed to do something for her.

He kissed her again. Soft and sweet, and then he let his tongue run over her lower lip. His body started to sing, every muscle and inch of skin coming alive.

He'd been right about her. So fucking right.

Her tongue came out tentatively, and he let himself feast on her mouth. She tasted like sunshine and sin, a heady mix that made his brain fritz and got him so hard he couldn't breathe.

He broke off the kiss because as much as he never wanted to stop, he also wanted to watch her with his best friend.

Begin as you mean to go.

"Now kiss Grim, and then we're getting in the truck. You want to go to your place or ours?"

She frowned. "Mine is a dump, but I think I would feel better there."

So they would be spending the night in the sleaziest motel in the county when they had a perfectly lovely house all to themselves.

He would work on the problem. "Your place, it is."

Grim released her. It was Josh's turn to get his hands on her. He caught her wrists and drew her back against his chest. The motion made her breasts swell and pushed her toward Grim.

"Kiss the hell out of him, sweetheart, because I'm taking you in the back with me and getting warmed up," Josh promised.

Grim growled. "I knew we should have taken your truck."

"That's what you get for being way too much of a control freak." He was perfectly fine with that right now since it gave him the opportunity to spend some time with their sub.

Grim's head shook, but then he leaned over and kissed Nicole.

She didn't know it yet but that was exactly what she was—their sweet submissive.

* * * *

Nicole couldn't think straight as Josh climbed into the cab behind her.

What the hell was she doing? It was stupid. They were out of her league and she was in so much trouble, but she hadn't been thinking about the fact that there were police after her and her husband's whole family wanted her dead when she'd been kissing them.

Them. She'd kissed both Josh and Grim. She'd spent the nicest couple of hours with them, and that was all. She didn't want the good time to end, though she knew in the morning it would.

And she would have some memories to sustain her.

"Come here," Josh ordered.

He was right about the bossy part. The trouble was she kind of liked it.

It had been so odd to feel comfortable around two men she'd met only hours before. Maybe it had been the buffer of having Olivia with them most of the night. Nicole shied away from men. She certainly didn't jump into bed with them. A man had accosted her earlier in the night, asking her to dance. He'd asked politely, but she'd felt a leer in his eyes and she'd instinctively stepped back between Grim and Josh, and the fear that had flared melted away.

She's only dancing with us tonight, buddy.

Josh had said the words and Grim seemed to get taller, and the man had quickly walked away.

She found herself on Josh's lap in the comfy cab. It was a nice truck. She would bet Grim had spent everything he had on it since he was a rural veterinarian. Despite the advanced degree, he wouldn't make a ton of money in a place like this.

And Josh helped around his father's ranch.

They weren't some rich boys out for a good time. They were like her. Their families didn't have money and power that could crush her.

"You're worried again." Josh whispered the accusation in her ear.

She wasn't worrying any more tonight. She was taking her two hot cowboys back to her room and letting go of everything else. All that mattered was these two men tonight.

And if she spent more time with them, then that was all right, too. She'd meant what she said. She didn't give a flying fuck what the people of the town thought of her as long as she could keep her job. Since it appeared her employer was well acquainted with threesomes, she thought she was pretty safe.

A week. She could keep them for a week. Maybe two. Not long enough to fall for them. She'd been honest about leaving, and as long as they were getting the sex they wanted, they wouldn't ask for more.

"I don't worry when you kiss me," she offered.

"Then let's get you relaxed again." Josh's mouth covered hers and heat flared.

The minute these men got their hands on her, she went up in flames. She felt her nipples tighten as his tongue delved deep, mastering her own.

She wasn't na?ve. These men were into some kinky things, but hadn't she always wanted to explore more? Her sex life seemed dull and dreary, and then any sex she'd had was merely to keep her husband placated while she planned to get away.

This wasn't part of a plan. This was something new and different. Something for her. Something that made her feel free even as they'd restrained her.

They'd held her, offering her up to each other, and she'd gotten hot and wet at the thought.

Her damn pussy was making the decisions for now, and she couldn't help it. They weren't hearing a no from her tonight.

She could feel the hard line of his erection under her ass. Damn but he felt big. What would it feel like when that hard cock was stroking inside her? It wasn't like she'd never had sex. She'd had plenty, but she'd done it for the wrong reasons. She'd done it to keep her boyfriend or to hide her plans.

She was having sex for one reason tonight. She wanted it. She wanted them.

"You're going to kill me, darlin'," Josh said with a sigh.

"What's she doing? I'm going to need a play by play. It's a good twenty minutes back into town," Grim groused.

"She's wriggling on my lap, making my dick so hard I can't breathe," Josh explained.

"I didn't mean to." She wasn't sure why she said the words so quickly.

His arms tightened around her, and she felt the most delicious nip to her earlobe. "Now that is a lie, and you need to understand there's no place for lying here. Lying will prove to me you're a bad, bad girl."

His fingers were slipping under the waistband of her jeans. She was the one who couldn't breathe. "I'm sorry."

Another nip. "Don't be sorry. Be honest. Were you trying to get my dick hard?"

"Yes," she admitted with a gasp as those callused fingers made their way down. Was he going to touch her right here in the truck as they moved down the highway? She'd expected a kiss, but she found her legs spreading, making it easier for him. "I like the way you feel, Joshua."

He growled against her ear. "That's what I want to hear. There is no need for you to hide here, girl. There's zero place for shame between us. You want something, I'll consider it. You should understand I don't have a lot of boundaries when it comes to sex."

"He was raised by the happiest perverts ever," Grim said with a chuckle. "So he means that."

She wondered what it would have been like to be raised in a family like Josh's. They would have been hard working and likely not had a ton of money, but they would have had each other. Ranching was hard work, and having two husbands to count on had probably been wonderful for Abigail Barnes, though she would have worked hard, too.

Would hard work be okay if you loved the people you worked with? Worked for?

Micah hadn't worked a day in his life. She was done with rich boys, and Josh and Grim seemed to be from a completely different world. Her husband certainly wouldn't have taken time to ensure her pleasure.

"Stop it," Josh whispered. "Whatever you're thinking about, stop. You stay here in the moment with me. There's nothing outside the cab of this truck. There's nothing to worry about because all that matters is here and now."

Here and now seemed pretty nice. She let the thoughts fly away and concentrated on the feel of Josh's hand skimming over her skin, the way his breath felt against her ear, the low, deep tone of his voice.

"Spread your legs for me."

Up ahead Grim groaned but kept his eyes resolutely on the road.

She did as Josh commanded because there was no way that had been a question. But it was okay because she believed him when he told her all he needed was a no to stop everything. She was in control. She was never in control. Her life felt like a runaway roller coaster that kept plunging downward. There had been no choices to be made that didn't send her deeper and deeper into despair.

But this, oh this felt like joy.

"Hold still," Josh whispered. "Do you want me to touch you?"

He was touching her, but she did want it to continue. "Yes."

"Yes, Josh or yes, Sir."

Now she knew exactly what his kink was, and her heart rate ticked up. She'd never once had a lover who wanted to… What did they call it? Play. She'd never played. She'd had two whole lovers in her life, and one had been okay and one had been utterly thoughtless. "Yes, Josh. I want you to touch me."

"Do you want me to rub your little clit and get that sweet pussy all hot and wet?"

She feared she was already there, and he was about to find out. Still, there was only one answer because she rather thought he wouldn't be turned off by how wet she could get.

She shivered as she felt his tongue caress the shell of her ear, and he gave her another nip. Damn, that felt good. What the hell was this man doing to her that she would throw all good sense overboard? She'd always considered herself a woman who couldn't be manipulated with sex, but Josh was proving her wrong. "Yes. I do, Josh. I want you to touch my clit."

She wanted it more than she could have imagined. Her brain was fuzz, and her body was fully in control now.

She gasped as one big finger slid over her clitoris, and her vision went hazy.

"Tell me, Josh. I'm the one driving and not getting my hands on her. You owe me a detailed description," Grim groused.

"Don't let him fool you, baby." Josh's words rumbled over her skin. "He loves this part."

"Not as much as I'm going to love getting my hands on you," Grim vowed.

But he wasn't watching them through the rearview and he wasn't driving like mad because he wanted his turn.

Grim was controlled. Grim was cautious. He wouldn't put them at risk.

Would he be as controlled and focused when he was inside her?

The idea sent a shudder through her even as Josh stroked over her clit, and she could feel him press two fingers against her, opening her labia.

"She's soaking wet, brother," Josh said in a low tone. "I could fuck her right now, she's so ready. Not that I'm going to. I'm going to get her panting for us."

She kind of already was, but Josh proved he could take her higher. The pad of one finger circled her clit while she felt another delve inside her.

"She's trying to move against me," Josh said. "This pretty lady wants to steal an orgasm. Should we let her?"

"Nicole, you be still," Grim commanded. "You're going to take what Josh gives you and not make a move or a sound until I let you know it's okay. Do you understand me?"

"And if I don't?" Nicole asked.

"Brat," Josh said, but it was with a chuckle.

"Well, for starters he'll stop doing what he's doing and we'll start talking about the concept of discipline," Grim offered.

That got her attention. "Discipline?"

Grim's eyes stayed on the road. "Yes, Nicole. Discipline."

"He means he wants to spank your pretty ass, baby." Josh seemed to understand she needed a translator.

Spanking? "I don't know how I feel about that."

"Then you should mind," Josh replied.

She went still. "You like to spank women?"

Grim hesitated for a moment, letting Josh start to work his magic again. She shouldn't be having this conversation while her brain seemed to have relocated to her pussy.

"Only if it works for you," Grim admitted. "For some women…some people…it's not just women...they find a certain amount of pleasure in spanking. If it's done right, it can be a good experience. Some people need it as a release emotionally. Some for sexual pleasure."

It took everything she had to concentrate on the conversation. "But you don't."

"No," Grim agreed. "I get something from a woman like you trusting me enough to let me take her there. There being what we would call sub space."

"The professor is in the house," Josh whispered. "Grim, can we save the lectures for another time? Baby, stay still until Grim tells you to move and then you can go wild. This is a way to bring him in, to have all three of us involved. No one is spanking your pretty butt without permission, but I think you'll find we're both good at it. Now stay still. Be a sweet girl and listen to Grim's orders."

What would it feel like to be placed over Grim's lap, her ass exposed? It didn't scare her the way it should because she'd watched how disciplined these men were. They hadn't drank too much. They'd protected her all night, ensuring she always had what she needed. When she'd wanted a water, Josh had gone to get it. When she'd wanted to dance, Grim had done it, though she could tell it wasn't something he did naturally. Him swaying awkwardly with her had been the sweetest thing.

Josh's thumb pressed down, and it took everything she had not to rub against it. She wanted to. The orgasm was right there.

But she stayed still, the frustration oddly satisfying because she didn't think for a second Josh would deny her as long as she played the game.

It was a game where they all could win.

"She's trying so hard," Josh said. "I can feel her practically vibrating with need."

She wanted to cry out because she was on the edge, but she kind of believed him when he said Grim would give her a lecture on the spanking stuff, and she wanted the orgasm.

But a good cry would be a release, too. How long had it been since she'd been able to cry? Every day was about survival, about making it to the next. Somewhere along the way she'd lost the ability to sit down and wring all of the negative emotions out of her.

Probably because the negative emotions—fear and shame and anxiety—were the only ones she'd felt in forever.

"Take it, Nic. Have all you want," Grim offered.

And she was off the leash. She pumped against Josh's hand, rubbing with abandon. The orgasm was almost immediate. The wild sensation ran through her like a flash fire, burning away all the bad crap that had been in her brain and leaving only pleasure, only the feeling of warmth and satisfaction. She cried out, riding the wave for everything it was worth.

All the while, Josh held her. His strong arms kept her close, and he kissed her neck as he worked to give her everything she needed.

She finally went still, slumping back in his arms, her body pulsing with afterglow.

And all the man had done was put his hand down her panties.

"That was perfect," Grim said from the front seat.

They weren't moving any more, and Nicole vaguely realized they'd made it to her craptastic motel. Why had she decided to take them here? At the time it seemed better, safer, but now she was pretty sure she would have gone wherever they wanted her to go.

It would be okay. It wasn't like they were pampered rich boys. They wouldn't judge.

And the ride had been perfect.

Grim shut off the engine and opened the back door, reaching in for her.

He picked her up like she weighed nothing, and she realized she was ready for even more perfection.