A New Beginning [Liberty, Wyoming] (Siren Publishing Menage Amour) Read online

  Grant turned to Jake, whispering so the girls couldn’t hear. “What the hell, man?” He shook his head and pushed back his chair, and glared at his brother. “She might or might not be the best thing that has ever happened to this family, if you’d just give her a chance. Our daughter needs a woman in her life, and by God, I need a warm woman in mine.”

  Grant shook off the frustration. “If you can’t be nice to her then stay the hell away from her.” He turned and walked briskly toward the door when Jake’s voice stopped him.

  Jake stood, and placed his hands on top of the table, clenching his teeth, anger radiating off him. “I don’t understand how you can accept another woman so easily after what Christy did.”

  Grant bit out harshly. “Because she isn’t Christy.” Grant took a deep breath and ran his hand across the back of his head. “I’m not saying I’m going to fall in love with her, but there are definitely some strong vibes going on between us, and I know you feel them, too. Let her settle in, get to know her. We have a month. If she doesn’t work out, we’ll let her go. But I want you to try to be nice to her.” Grant eyed his brother. “Okay?”

  “Fine,” Jake gritted out between his teeth and walked out.

  Grant shook his head and went to get more work done before he joined the girls.

  Chapter 4

  Sara rested in her bed later that night, and stared up at the shadows from the moonlight coming in through the window that danced across the ceiling. She wanted, no needed, so badly to fall asleep. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d been this tired. If only her mind would let her. Her head was throbbing again with the headache she started the day with, and never quite got rid of. A load of thoughts bounced around.

  She couldn’t decide if staying was the best idea. The way the men made her feel was confusing and scary. She had never felt this level of emotion with one man, much less two and never at the same time. Being close to them or even hearing their voices made her breath catch in her throat and her body soften and grow moist. She was puzzled. She thought Jake’s mistrust of her would push her away or lessen her feelings toward him, but they didn’t. Her feelings for them grew at an alarming rate. She kept reminding herself she’d just met them, but it wasn’t having the desired effect.

  Her hands tightened on the soft blue blanket that covered her. She kept telling herself they were so far out of her league. Besides the wealth, they were the most handsome, most masculine men, she’d ever met.

  She knew she wasn’t ugly. But she was a small, slightly overweight, middle-aged woman, who might be considered pretty, most days, but she would never come close to the women they were probably used to.

  It would probably never happen or if it did, it would end up being a disaster. She’d never be enough for them, never be able to make them happy. Besides, it should feel wrong, being attracted to two men at once. But somehow it didn’t. It just felt right, like it was meant to be, like this is where she was supposed to be. This situation could end up hurting her tremendously if she didn’t come to grips with reality.

  She had loved her late husband. He had given her three wonderful boys that were her life, but the love they’d had never was passionate. He didn’t like to touch unless they were having sex and when he was done he would roll over and go to sleep, always leaving her unsatisfied and cold.

  She was a woman who loved to touch and loved being touched. It had been all right when the kids were home because she had them to love and to cuddle. When they left, it had left an enormous empty space in her life.

  She had been devastated when her husband had died but also a little relieved. She didn’t have to pretend that everything was okay anymore. She could finally think of herself, find out what made her happy. Fulfill herself and some of her dreams.

  One dream had always been to live on a ranch. When a friend told her about this job, she thought this was her chance. Maybe her only chance. So far, she loved what she had seen of the ranch. She was already halfway in love with Callie, and afraid she could love the brothers just as easily.

  Sara decided she needed to try to make this work, but she would do her best to keep this arrangement professional. She didn’t want to do anything to jeopardize it.

  In the early morning hours, her eyes finally grew heavy and her breath deepened as she fell into sleep.

  Chapter 5

  Sara became a little more comfortable as the days passed. Callie and she got along very well and she was pleased with the routine she set up for her. She found kids thrived when they had a schedule that included building the mind and body. Sara was there when Callie woke in the morning. After dressing in the outfit she let Callie pick out herself, they went down to breakfast. Some of the outfits made Sara smile. One such outfit was lime-green, polka dot shorts with a long-sleeved red, lacy button-down shirt. She wore purple tights with it, and of course her pink cowgirl boots.

  At first the men were appalled until she explained the purpose of letting her dress herself. Grant had laughed. Jake shook his head and walked off, grumbling something beneath his breath.

  Most mornings, Grant usually sat with them and read the paper while they ate. Sara learned a lot about the family and the ranch on those mornings.

  Grant became more fascinated with Sara as the days went by. He anticipated seeing her every morning, his breath always catching at the first sight of her. He liked that Sara usually wore feminine clothes. A lot of long skirts in light colors, and shirts with lace, or the rounded delicate collars. She never wore anything tight or form-fitting, but he could see her curves when she bent a certain way or sat on the floor.

  He had yet to see her long, dark hair loose. She always wore it in a tight bun on top of her head, driving him to pull the pins and stab his fingers into the flowing tresses so he could hold her head at the angle he needed to kiss her the way he demanded.

  Jake was the opposite of Grant. While Grant took every opportunity to seek her out, they usually didn’t see Jake until dinner a lot of the time. Sara tried not to let her disappointment show. She was amazed that his dislike affected her so much.

  Sara would sense him, and actually feel his presence. She was always surprised when he just stared at her, but always, his presence sent an electric current through her.

  Sara put Jake out of her mind, made herself relax, and finally started to get less anxious and started really enjoying herself.

  Gina, the cook, still treated her like an interloper, like Sara was there to cause trouble, but she did her best to ignore the woman, hoping with time, when she got to know Sara better she’d come to like her.

  Sara hadn’t had a good night’s sleep since she had been on the ranch. Going to bed aroused every night didn’t help. The sensations that coursed through her when she was around the men were getting stronger every day and seemed to linger longer.

  Grant took every opportunity to touch her in some way. He always had his hand on her when they walked, either curved around her waist or holding her hand. He would bend to say something to her, putting his mouth close to her ear so his breath slid over her skin.

  Grant would smile knowingly, his eyes grew dark, and his body hardened with desire when his touches sent shivers of heat through her body or make her breath catch in her throat.

  Even Jake who still treated her with distrust, found ways to touch her. Placing a hand on her back when he stopped to talk with Callie during the day, or stood close to her and let her feel his body’s heat.

  The touching always made her body instantly ready for their penetration. Her nipples would harden to such tight points it hurt, her clit would swell and become extremely sensitive, and her panties became drenched with her wet heat.

  It was embarrassing. Sara had never changed her panties so many times during the day and found she had to wash out several pairs at night so she didn’t run out.

  No matter how casual the touches seemed most of the time, they all felt very intimate to her and seemed to go to the very core of her soul. To Gra
nt rubbing her back and neck or holding her hand or Jake pressing his body against hers while passing her in the hallway. Neither men took it further than that, which relieved her, but also frustrated her at the same time.

  Keeping busy with Callie helped. Callie and Sara would do puzzles, counting, and the alphabet. Sara wanted to make sure Callie was ready for kindergarten in the fall. Sara would include Tommy, the housekeeper’s son, in the learning program she set up, and it made it more fun for both children. Isabel, Tommy’s mom, was incredibly grateful.

  Isabel worked hard and long hours. Although she was able to keep Tommy with her all the time, she told Sara she still felt she wasn’t doing enough for him. They were both such sweet people, Sara wanted to do anything to help them and maybe bring them a measure of happiness.

  Sara wondered about Isabel’s situation. She spooked easily and always had the bruised eyes of sleepless nights. Sometimes Sara would see an overwhelming sadness in Isabel’s eyes, that the burn of tears would fill Sara’s throat.

  She made notes on both children’s progress, and what they needed to work on, falling back on her years as a preschool teacher. Both were incredibly smart, adorable, loving children and it was a joy to be with them.

  Callie went down for her nap, a couple of hours after lunch every day. During that time, Sara usually read, tried to nap, or sneak into the barn and pet the horses. She hadn’t gotten the guts up to ask to ride yet but it soothed her just to be around the beautiful animals. There was one, especially, that she really took a shine to. She didn’t know his name so she called him Buddy. She always smiled thinking about him. He had such tremendous spirit it seemed you could see the different emotions he was feeling at any time. He seemed to enjoy Sara’s presence and the carrots she brought him. He would always nuzzle her chest, bumping her hands, looking for the special treat. He made her laugh and fall a little more in love with him.

  This day, Sara laughed at Buddy’s antics. He acted like he was flirting with her and she couldn’t help but be charmed by him. Buddy stayed very still when she hugged him and whispered loving words to him.

  A startled squeak rushed from her throat when a hard arm came around her middle, under her breasts, and pressed her back up against a large, hot, hard body. She knew right away who held her by his musky manly smell. Her heart rate increased and strong uncontrollable shivers raced down her body.

  A husky voice close against her ear said, “What the hell are you doing, woman?” Jake’s warm breath so close to her ear made her softly moan.

  Sara stood frozen, unable to make a sound. The riot of feelings going through her body was sending her into a mass of tremors, almost melting her at his feet. All she could do was concentrate on her breathing, and holding on to the arm under her breasts, digging her nails into his forearms. He placed his other hand on her lower stomach, rubbing lightly. His hands sent a river of heat down to her core, making her pussy spasm painfully.

  Sara’s head fell back against his chest, her breaths coming in short, harsh, puffs of air. Her nipples were so hard they hurt, demanding more than anything for Jake’s mouth to suckle them. Moisture was leaking at an alarming rate, drenching her panties.

  “Answer me.”

  “I-I-I’m just petting…” Sara gasped for air when his hand moved lower, down her curved stomach, closer and closer to her pubic hair. If he touched her a little lower, she was afraid she would come right there, in his arms, in the middle of the barn.

  When she didn’t continue, Jake shook her and growled deep in his throat.

  “I’m just petting the horses,” she stammered breathlessly.

  “This is my horse. Did you know that?”

  Sara shook her head. “No. No, I didn’t.” He spun her around, making her lose her balance and fall into him. She would have fallen to the ground, had he not gripped her shoulders to steady her. “I don’t want you around him. He’s a stud and very unpredictable. You could very easily end up hurt.”

  “But I’ve been to see Buddy several times, and he’s always been gentle with me.” Her voice was breathless.

  He squinted at her and growled menacingly. “Have you gone into his stall?”

  “No, I swear. I wouldn’t do that without permission.” She shook her head, and held on to the arms that held her up. Tears were gathering at the corners of her eyes, and she swallowed several times to help keep them from falling.

  After a time, Jake believed she was telling the truth, because he set her away from him and stepped back, putting space between them.

  Jake ran a shaky hand through his hair. Jesus, if he held on to her another second he would strip her, and be inside her before she could take a breath. He didn’t think he would be able to stop himself if he didn’t back off now. The fact that he didn’t care if someone came around scared him, but the thought of someone besides Grant or him seeing her naked made a scalding fury race through him. He’d never wanted a woman with this volatile intensity before and it was making him crazy and unstable.

  His mouth cocked up on one side. “Buddy, huh?”

  Sara shrugged one delicate shoulder. Her gaze unconsciously moved down his body, and her eyes widened at the bulge, his jeans couldn’t hide. Her body shuddered, and her eyes jerked back to the magnificent horse. “I-I-I didn’t know his name…”

  “His name is Greystone but the way the knucklehead is acting with you, you could call him anything. I’ve never seen him so affectionate with anyone. He usually doesn’t let anyone touch him but me and Leroy.”

  Jake crossed his arms over his chest and didn’t try to hide his erection from her. He wanted her to know things were changing between them. He was getting tired of fighting his feelings, no matter how much they unnerved him. Every day that passed, became harder to stay away from her. He wanted her and he knew from her body language, she wanted him just as bad, but was fighting it like he was. That was about to end. He was just about ready to claim her.

  She leaned against the wall, her legs unable to carry her weight. She crossed her arms over her breasts, trying to still her trembling and at the same time hide her erect nipples from him. Her mouth watered with the need to taste him. His smell, musky, a little sweat and horse, were making her hands shake.

  His gaze traveled down her body then came up to bore into her eyes. “What are you doing out here, baby?” he demanded.

  She swallowed hard and licked her lips. “I come out here sometimes when Callie’s down for a nap.”

  Jake watched her expressive face, finding a sadness and stress he didn’t like seeing at all. “Why?” he asked softly.

  She looked at Jake, and then down at the ground, and shrugged. “Being around the animals soothes me,” she said simply.

  Jake understood that he was partly to blame, but he wanted to be the one to soothe her. He took a step toward her, crowding her against the wall, and cupped her chin, raising it so he could see her face. “Why do you need to be soothed?” He knew the answer but wanting her to admit it.

  Ignoring his question and trying to pull her chin from his hand, when he didn’t let go, she gave up and whispered. “I really should get back to the house.” She tried to step to the side only to have him press his hard-muscled body against her, pinning her to the wall outside the stall. Her body jerked against his. They both gasped. He bent his knees and pressed his erection against the junction of her legs, her hands pushed against his chest. “Please, Jake.” Tears came to her eyes. “Please don’t play with me.”

  “I’m not fucking playing with you,” he told her softly, gruffly, looking intently at her. “Now tell me why you need soothed?” His hands moved over her, up and down her sides, then around to slide over her ass.

  “Because…” She grabbed hold of his shirt with both hands. “A lot of things here are messing with my emotions in one way or another.”

  “Like?”

  “You. You’re like this sometimes, touching me and doing crazy things to my body and other times you act like you can’t stand the
sight of me. Your brother is always touching me, which keeps me in a constant state of arousal. Gina hates me for some unknown reason and totally ignores me. And, God, your daughter…” She stopped, and swallowed, trying to keep the tears that burned her eyes from falling.

  “What about my daughter?” he asked calmly, and gripped her chin tightly. He wrapped his other arm around her back, pulling her tighter against him, and pressed his erection harder against her mound, making them both moan again.

  She looked helplessly at Jake and swallowed again. “I’m afraid I love her so much already, that if this doesn’t work out and I have to leave, I’ll never recover from losing her.” Sara bowed her head, leaning it against his chest and let the tears fall.

  “Oh, damn woman.” He wrapped his arms around her and cradled the back of her head with his hand. “Baby, I’m sorry.” Jake looked up at the ceiling. His chest grew tight at seeing her cry. Knowing he was partly the cause, made him feel like a bastard. When her body shook because she cried so hard, he pulled her harder against him. “I’ll try to do better, okay? It just hard for me to trust women and the way you make me feel is more intense, stronger than I’ve ever felt. It scares the living hell out of me, but doesn’t prevent me from thinking of anything but losing myself in your body.”

  Her gaze jerked up to his and her breath stopped at his confession. He wanted her? The thought made her heartbeat spasm in her chest. Her feeling of elation sank when she realized he still mistrusted her. She’d been told a little about their ex-wife, but hated that he thought she was like her at all. She didn’t want to let go of her control and let him in, only to have him push her away time and again. She didn’t know how much she could take of the extreme emotions he induced in her.

  The fact she’d lost control in front of him, humiliated her. Hurt and mad at herself, now she struggled to get herself under control. Sara took several deep breaths. “Look, Jake, I’m sorry I cried all over you.” She squeezed her arms between them, and gently pushed against his chest. When he stepped back, she looked down, not wanting to meet his eyes and wiped the tears from her face with her fingers. “I think I’m just overly tired.” She looked up at him and tried to smile but failed, her lips visibly trembled.