On My Own [Liberty, Wyoming 2] (Siren Publishing Menage Amour) Read online

  She jerked her head around when Royce growled. “You need to think really hard before you utter another word because you are so close to getting punished, and I don’t think you want that right now, right here, do you?”

  Although his voice softened, she knew he was still angry at her by the cold look in his eyes. She swallowed. She wanted so badly to keep fighting, but she didn’t know for sure what he would do. She didn’t know if he would do anything in front of Tommy and unintentionally upset him. She lowered her eyes to her lap, but her voice was still defiant. “Fine, we’ll talk about it later. Now can we go.” You bet they’d talk later because this punishment shit was stupid and not going to happen. She was a full-grown woman, not a child.

  “Watch your tone of voice. That alone can get you punished.”

  She rolled her eyes while his back was turned. Childish, yes, but it made her feel slightly better. He slid out of the booth and grasped her arm to pull her out after him, steadying her until she was stable. She moved away from him to get Tommy out and ready to leave. After taking Tommy’s hand, she walked toward the exit, calling good-bye to Carol. A heavy hand on her waist guided her toward a large black truck.

  “Wait, I want to take my car. You guys said last night I was driving out. You gave me directions. I won’t have a way back if I go with you.” She tried unsuccessfully to pull away from him, and stopped altogether when he growled.

  “I know we talked about you following me, but I changed my mind. I want the two of you with me. One of us will bring you back here. We want to take a look at your car to make sure it’s safe for you to drive.” His eyes narrowed at her when she tried to speak. “Isabel, that car looks like it’s about ready to fall apart. We’re going to have.”

  She shook her head, trying to pull away from him. “No, no, I need my car. Please!” She started visibly shaking, as she stood rigidly. “I won’t go unless I can take my car.”

  He frowned, worried at the panic in her face. “Honey, listen…”

  “Royce, please let me go. This was a mistake. I changed my mind. Please.”

  Royce grabbed her arms, holding her still when she continued to pull away from him. “Stop. You’re scaring Tommy!”

  She instantly stopped, looking around frantically for her son. She found him against Royce’s truck, holding his toys to his chest with tears in his eyes. Oh, god, what had she done? She glanced at Royce when he didn’t release her. “Let me go. I need to go to him,” she said through her teeth as she clenched them together.

  He released her slowly, and watched her slide to her knees in front of her son, holding him tightly and murmuring soothing words to him.

  After a few minutes, she stood and took her son’s hand. When she looked at him, he knew she was going to refuse to come with him. They needed to talk about what just happened, but more importantly, he needed to get her to the ranch where they would have privacy. Before she could say a word, he put his hands up. “All right, honey, take your car, and you can follow me to the house. Slowly.” Before she could refuse, he said, “I promise not to push you anymore.” And then under his breath, he added, “Right now.”

  She held tightly to Tommy’s hand. She was trying to calm herself down. Her heart still felt like it was going to jump out of her chest. Her loss of control scared her. She couldn’t do that again, and the fact she scared her son made her ashamed of herself and broke her heart.

  Isabel knew part of it was the burner phone. It was the only link to Mora, and to her life back in Dallas, she had unless she used a regular phone, but then, she hadn’t memorized the number to Mora’s burner phone either.

  She’d left it hidden in the car and only took it out when it was time to check in with Mora. Now she knew that was a wrong move and vowed to get it and keep it with her at all times. The car or her purse? She couldn’t decide which place was safer, but for the time being, with her made her feel better. The thought of someone else taking it made her want to panic.

  “Can we go to Royce’s home, Mommy?”

  She looked down at his hopeful expression. She tried giving him a reassuring smile. “Of course, sweetheart, but we’ll have to take our car.” She let go of his hand to find her keys in her purse. She took several breaths, trying to calm her shaking. She sighed when she found her keys. She took Tommy’s hand again and started toward her car. A hand on her arm stopped her.

  “I want you to follow me, Isabel. All right?” Royce scrutinized her expressions, carefully. He relaxed when she nodded. He let go of her arm and watched while she got Tommy into his car seat. He gritted his teeth. All his protective instincts pounded at him. The thought of her driving that car without Clay or him checking it out first was making his stomach tighten. He knew he couldn’t do anything about it now. He’d just watch her from his rearview mirror carefully, and drive slowly. The most important thing right now was to get her to the house and talk to Clay. Together they would figure out what to do next.

  Chapter Seven

  Isabel’s mind was racing. She tried concentrating on the road, but her mind kept wandering. She wanted desperately to turn around and head back to the protection of the apartment for the rest of the day. Better yet, just grab their stuff and head out of town. But she knew she wouldn’t get far. She had a strong suspicion they would come after her. That thought should have scared her. Instead, it melted some of the walls she’d built around herself, knowing there were people who cared about them.

  Isabel reminded herself this was the first place she’d felt she and Tommy were safe since her husband’s death, but it was also tying her emotions in knots. Isabel knew she and Tommy needed to stay here for a little while for the money she needed to keep running, but felt she’d be leaving an important part of herself behind when they did leave.

  When they turned onto a gravel driveway, her attention was drawn to a large, beautiful white house with black shutters. There was a wraparound porch with rocking chairs. She stopped next to Royce’s truck and got out, looking around.

  There was a large grove of trees to the right of the house. To the left and back in a fenced-in area, she saw several men, cows, and horses. Also, there was a huge white barn, another large building that housed the equipment, and a very long brown stable.

  Tears burned Isabel’s eyes. Never had she ever felt such an overwhelming sense of rightness, a feeling of coming home. She turned, taking in everything. Why in the heck did the colors seemed brighter here, and the bird’s harmony sweeter? The smells of the air, flowers, and animals wrapped around her, and calmed something in her. What a perfect place to live. Maybe someday Tommy and I will find something this wonderful.

  A hand on her shoulder jerked her back to the present. She looked up into Royce’s eyes and wondered at the swift spear of nerves in his eyes. She smiled to show him she wasn’t angry anymore. “Your home is beautiful, Royce. You’re very lucky.” She didn’t see the relief that crossed his face when she turned to get Tommy out of the car.

  He had to admit he had been anxious. He’d wanted her to love the ranch as much as they did, but from what he could gather they were both from a city so it could impact the way she felt about country living. Royce lifted Tommy into his arms, grabbed her hand, and led her up the porch steps and into the house. Royce turned when he heard her gasp. His stomach tightened. Isabel was staring into the living room and the stone fireplace on the far side.

  Isabel looked around in astonishment. “This is amazing.”

  Royce smiled, wrapping his free arm around her shoulders. “I’m glad you like it.”

  Isabel turned to him. “Tell me what you need me to do.” She had noticed, although clutter free, there was a thick layer of dust on every surface, and the wood floor needed a good mopping.

  He took her hand again. “I’ll give you a quick tour of the place, and you can decide where you want to start. It doesn’t matter to us. We are hoping you can come every day, or at least several times a week.”

  “I don’t think you’ll need me
that much. This house is large, but it won’t take me all week to clean it.” She made sure Tommy stayed with them as they made their way into the kitchen. She stopped suddenly. This is incredibly big but perfect. A big country table with ten chairs sat in front of a large bay window. On the other side of the kitchen was a six-burner stove, two ovens, one on top of the other, a white porcelain farm sink, and a large stainless-steel refrigerator/freezer, nearly twice the size of a normal one. The gray and tan granite counter wrapped around in a U-shape with an island in the middle. There were four stools that sat on the far edge of the island.

  “Let’s worry about that later.”

  Isabel’s awareness returned to Royce to find him gently smiling at her. “About what?”

  His smile grew when she looked confused. “About how many days we’ll need you.”

  Isabel nodded and looked around again as he led her through the rest of the house. “How old is this house?”

  “Clay and I built it when we decided to make a family here.”

  “I just wondered because everything in the house seems up to date, but the floors and woodwork have a look of a hundred-year-old house.” Isabel ran her fingers along the banister as they walked up the steps. “It is so beautiful.”

  “Thank you,” Royce replied as he opened the first door they came to and stepped back. “This room is the master bedroom.”

  She sensed that he seemed to pay more attention to her reaction when they came to the master bedroom. It was a very large room with the biggest four-poster bed she’d ever seen. The bathroom was also big and curiously had three sinks instead of the regular two.

  There were six other bedrooms. Two of them were used for Clay and Royce. She wondered why one of them didn’t use the beautiful master bedroom but didn’t ask.

  The rest of the tour went quickly. He took them back into the kitchen. He looked at the wall clock. “I’ll be leaving for a while, but I’ll be back. Clay said he might be home for lunch if he can, otherwise, don’t wait for him. There is food in the pantry and fridge.”

  “Oh, I thought we’d be gone before lunch.”

  He came to stand in front of her, grasping her slender shoulders in his hands. “We really wish you would stay until we’re both home. We want you and Tommy to rest today as much as possible—”

  She interrupted, “You’re not paying me to nap.”

  He wrapped his arms around her. “You and Tommy are still tired. You need to take it easy for a while. It would please us if made yourself at home here. We’ll talk later about what we need from you, and you can ask whatever questions you have then.”

  She looked undecided but finally nodded. “We’ll be here when you get back.”

  He smiled and bent to press a light kiss to her cheek. “Good. Now, there are a few more things I have to show you before I go.”

  He showed her where all the cleaning supplies were, and then pulled her and Tommy into the living room and over to a large trunk. He pulled open the lid to show them the toys inside. “Tommy, you are welcome to play with any of these toys.”

  Isabel felt tears gather in her eyes at the joy on her son’s face. He picked up a tractor and immediately started making motor sounds, pushing it on the floor around the couch. She looked up to see Royce staring at her. “Why do you have so many toys?”

  “We have a lot of friends with children, and we wanted to have something for them to play with when they came over.” He wasn’t about to tell her they had bought some new toys they thought Tommy would like.

  She smiled. “I can’t thank you enough for letting him play with them. We will be very careful.”

  He ran the back of his fingers down her cheek. “Don’t worry about that. These toys are pretty sturdy, and if one breaks, we can get another.” He bent and kissed her cheek, lingering to rub his chin against hers.

  He headed toward the door. “Bye, Tommy.” Royce grinned when Tommy raised an arm and waved without looking away from the tractor. He winked at Isabel and closed the door behind him.

  Isabel looked around, trying to decide where to start. After gathering supplies, she went to work on the dust in the living room, keeping an eye on Tommy, smiling at her son’s imaginative playfulness and happiness.

  Isabel turned to check to see if she missed something. She did. She missed this, missed just being domestic.

  When she checked on Tommy an hour and a half later, she noticed his movements had slowed and his eyes were getting droopy. After making him a quick snack of apples and milk, she laid him down on the couch with a pillow and blanket she found in one of the bedrooms. She lightly massaged his back and sang softly to him until he was asleep.

  As much as she wanted to lie down with him, she wanted to work in the kitchen before the guys got home.

  She was standing on a stool, wiping down the top of the refrigerator, and bit back a scream when hard arms came around her and a fierce voice startled her. “What the fuck do you think you’re doing, woman?”

  He placed her on her feet, turned her, and grasped her arms in his hard hands. He wanted to shake her at the same time he wanted to give her a spanking for scaring the shit out of him. To walk into the kitchen to see her on her tiptoes reaching to wipe a spot on the top of the refrigerator, on a stool, for God’s sake.

  She stared up at Clay with wide, fear-filled eyes, holding tight to his forearms.

  Tightening his hold, he demanded, “Answer me.”

  Isabel swept the hair off her face and looked at him, confused. “I-I’m cleaning,” she said as if he should already know.

  He pulled her into his arms, holding her tightly against his massive chest. “Do you know it stopped my heart seeing you up there? If you had fallen, you could have been really hurt.” He leaned back, grasped her chin, and lowered his head, touching his lips to hers. The kiss heated quickly, gaining strength. He pulled her in, slanting his head to take her deeper.

  Clay grasped her hips and lifted her, took a few steps to the counter, sat her on it, and then pushed in until he found his place in the notch of her thighs.

  They both groaned when he pressed his hard cock against her soft sweet core. He held her tighter, needing to be a part of her more than he wanted his next breath.

  His head jerked up when someone behind them cleared his throat. He turned to see his brother leaning against the doorframe, his arms crossed and a large smile on his face. “What’s going on?”

  Clay looked back at Isabel and smiled when he saw her eyes still closed, unaware that Royce had joined them, her face turned up for his kiss. Unable to resist, he took her lips again.

  Clay felt his brother at his side and lifted his head. He leaned back when Royce slid his fingers into her long hair, turned her head, and took her mouth. He thrust his tongue in, tasting as much of her as he could reach.

  With one hand holding on to Clay, Isabel reached for Royce and grasped his shirt, needing to have contact with both. He pulled away when she started mewing in need.

  Both men looked at her, their eyes smoldering. They wanted more than anything to strip her bare and spread her out on the nearest surface for all their enjoyment, needing to possess her, mark her as theirs, leaving no doubt she belonged to them. If they did that, they suspected she’d run. They needed a little more time for her to get her to trust them more.

  She slowly became aware of both men standing so close to her. She knew if they tried, they could do whatever they wanted to her at that moment. She had no strength or will to fight them right now.

  She was trying to get her breathing and pulse rate under control, vaguely listening to them talk, unable to hear over the beat of her heart, when she felt Royce tense up. She moved her head his way.

  Royce growled, “What the fuck?”

  She looked back and forth between the men, both looking equally angry. Clay had a nerve that pounded on his forehead, and Royce was gritting his teeth to keep from yelling.

  Royce was the first to talk. “What were you doing up on the stool, I
sabel?”

  She threw a frown at Clay, who gave her a narrow-eyed smirk and stepped to the side but kept an arm around her waist. She looked back at Royce, crossing her arms over her chest, raising her chin. “I was doing what you guys are paying me for.”

  Royce bent to get in her face, wanting her full attention. “First of all, cut the attitude, and secondly.” He pinched her chin when she tried to look away. “You will be punished if you take that kind of chance again. Do you understand me?”

  Isabel stiffened. Here we go again with the punishing crap. She wanted so much to get into right then but was afraid they were already too pissed, and her body was too primed for their touch. It would just end badly for her. She tossed her heavy ponytail over her shoulder and raised her chin. “Then how am I supposed to do the job you’re paying me to do?”

  Clay placed his hand heavily on her knee, squeezing gently but firm enough to get her attention. “Isabel, you’re not to place yourself in any kind of danger, at all! You can do the lighter work, but you wait until one of us gets home to help with anything else.”

  “You’re both being ridiculous. The stool is two feet off the ground. I doubt—”

  Royce plucked her off the counter and sat in one of the chairs before pulling her into his lap. “Now tell us again how ridiculous we’re being.”

  Isabel’s mouth opened then closed as she sat frozen on Royce’s lap. She stiffened when Clay pulled out a chair, sat facing her, and laid one hand on her leg.

  A smirk crossed Clay’s face. “Nothing to say, love?”

  Isabel gritted her teeth against the urge to kick him. She tried once and failed to push his hand off her knee and Royce’s arm off her lap.

  Royce chuckled when she growled her frustration. “Is there anything you want to say, love?”

  Isabel glared at him and pressed her lips tightly together, before crossing her arms over her chest.