STORY EXCERPT

Hot. Holy. Hell.

Charlotta had never before felt such potent attraction to a man—and she’d just experienced it toward two of them at the same time. Her hand and arm still sizzled from the one-two electric shocks of shaking hands with the brothers Benedict. As she led them toward her office near the end of the corridor on the first floor, she tried to put out of her mind the twin embarrassing facts that her nipples were puckering and her panties were damp.

This is so not the professional image I like to convey.

Once she reached her open office door, she stood back inviting the men to enter first. She’d originally planned for them to have their meeting in the more comfortable seating area comprised of a love seat and two chairs around a small table located against one wall. She reconsidered now.

Charlotta freely admitted to herself that the only thing that made her stick to her original plan was her own stubborn pride. It wasn’t Jesse and Barry Benedict’s fault that she seemed to be having an extremely physical reaction to them.

You are such a liar. That’s not the only reason. You want to sit as close to them as possible.

Charlotta hated that her inner voice was such a nag—and that it was almost always right. As the gentlemen made themselves comfortable on the love seat, she mentally sighed. She did want to sit as close to them as decently possible. She had never had this kind of a reaction before. It had been several months since she’d felt any kind of sensual stirrings, period. What was wrong with being open, at least a little, to the possibilities? These men were going to be volunteers in a program she helped oversee, not clients. In short, there was no moral reason she couldn’t...what?

Jump their bones and fuck their brains out.

She told her inner voice to shut the hell up. Who asked you anyway?

“Can I get you anything to drink? I have sweet tea and water, or I can brew us a pot of coffee, if you like.”

“Water’s good, thanks,” Jesse said.

“For me, too, please. We’re acclimating to the near constant consumption of sweet tea.” Barry met her gaze. His smile seemed easy and natural.

Charlotta retrieved three bottles of water from her small office fridge. She set theirs on the table before them and then sat across from them in the chair closest to Jesse. “I understand you’ve only been in Texas for a couple of months. What prompted your relocation? Was it employment related?”

“No, ma’am,” Jesse said. “It was personal. Our brothers settled in the area about a year ago, and we offered to come and help them get their ranch up and running.”

“We also have a sister who lives a couple of hours away from us, in a town called Divine,” Barry said.

“Divine?” It was all Charlotta could do not to shout the name of the town.

“Have you heard of it?” Jesse asked.

Charlotta felt blindsided, hearing that name and being asked that question, especially after having talked to Camilla earlier today. She made it a rule to keep her past in the past. She had only to think back to her broken engagement to understand why that was such a good idea.

Still, there was something about the genuine interest in those two sets of Benedict eyes—one grey, the other deep brown. Oh, what the hell.

“One of my best friends lives in Divine.”

“It’s a small world,” Barry said.

She wondered if either of them was going to ask if maybe her friend, or she, for that matter, knew their sister. But neither man asked.

We’re not playing getting to know you here, for goodness sake. I’m supposed to be interviewing them. Focus, Shar. Focus!

As she did, she realized the conversation had naturally veered close to the question she needed to ask. “I spoke with Dr. Wainwright. She was very impressed with not only your horsemanship, but your ability to communicate with and relate to some of her clients. She was understandably disappointed that you had to leave. So I need to ask you, is this something we have to worry about in the near future? Do you think you might leave the area, and the program, within a few months?”

“No, ma’am.” Jesse’s question was quick. A little too quick? She didn’t know him well enough to say.

“I’m not ma’am. I’m Charlotta.”

“That’s a pretty name,” Barry said. She met his gaze and he blushed.

“Thank you.”

“You don’t have to worry about us pulling up stakes, Charlotta.” Jesse sat forward, resting his forearms on his legs. “We didn’t leave Montana on a whim. Also, we’ve recently bought property—actually the property that lies between our brother’s spread and that of our cousins’. We’re going to be amalgamating our ranching operations, and that’s going to take us years to fully develop. We’re here for the long haul.”

“You have cousins here, then, too? As well as your brothers and a sister?” Charlotta knew that family tended to stick together. Their having family in the area suggested they would have more reason to sink down roots.

Jesse laughed. It was Barry who answered. “We have cousins, aunts, uncles...though in actual fact they are all mostly cousins to one degree or another. Our grandfather was born and raised in Benedict County—in a small town called Lusty. That’s where we’ve moved to. I guess you could say, in some ways, we’ve actually come home.”

Hell. They were a part of those Benedicts. She was Texas born and bred. To her the name Benedict—especially the Benedicts from Benedict County—was synonymous with wealth. They were cut from the same cloth as Roger Brown and his family. She’d heard of Lusty, too, of course. One day when she’d visited Camilla they’d talked about the Parks’ ménage marriage, the logistics and the many—according to Camilla—benefits. Then Camilla had told her that not only were there several such unions in and around Divine, but there was a small town not far away where ménages not only flourished, they were considered normal.

But until this moment she’d never, in her mind, connected the Benedicts of Central Texas to the town of Lusty. Hmm, maybe they’re not quite like Roger Brown and his pompous parents after all.

ADULT EXCERPT

Charlotta reached out and stroked her hand over the yummy chest just inches from her breasts. “Can we stop talking now?”

Neither man answered her. Instead, Jesse stepped forward and lifted her into his arms. He carried her to the bed and followed her down. Lying half on her, his arms beneath her shoulders, his fingers lightly combing her hair, he stole her breath from her body and every lucid thought from her mind.

“Yes, baby, we can stop talking now.” Jesse smiled, and then laid that smile against her lips.

Hot, carnal, his kiss drove them deep down to depths she’d never plumbed. His taste, so manly and his scent, so woodsy, flooded her senses until she was steeped in him.

The slide of his lips against hers, the movement of his tongue as he stroked hers, as he tasted every bit of her mouth, fueled her fires, making her crave more, and still more. Charlotta took and gave, as she reveled in the absolute sensuality of the moment. Jesse moved subtly against her and the hair on his chest made already hard nipples harder still.

He lifted his lips from hers and covered her face with tiny little kisses, licks, and sucks that thrilled her. The bed dipped and she felt another body beside her, pressing close. When Jesse kissed his way down her body toward her breasts, Barry tilted her face toward his.

No words were needed. Barry covered her mouth with his, and Charlotta sucked his tongue in, stroking and caressing and savoring. For the briefest moment, she imagined she had the flavor of both men, and the combination caused immediate addiction.

Her body went on sensory overload as one lover kissed her and the other suckled, as four firm masculine hands caressed and cupped, as fingers brushed and stroked and delved.

Charlotta wanted to play, too. She couldn’t do much more than run her fingers through Jesse’s hair, but Barry had angled himself over her on her left. She reached down and fisted Barry’s cock, gently squeezing the velvety flesh, rubbing her thumb over the tiny eye, and spreading his pre-cum over the head.

Barry broke their kiss, sucked in a breath, and then thrust his hot, hard flesh into her hand. “Princess, that feels damn good.”

“Mm, yes, it does.” She treated him to a slow pumping, and on the down stroke managed to stretch her fingers to tease his balls.

Jesse inserted his fingers into her pussy and Charlotta moaned, arching her hips and pressing herself into his strokes. 

“You’re so wet, baby,” Jesse whispered his words against her breast, then lifted his head and met her gaze. “Do you want me?”

“Yes. Yes, I want you. I want you both!”

“You’ll have us both, Shar. I promise.” Barry covered her hand with his then deftly removed his cock from her grasp. Before she could ask what he was doing, he moved away just a little—and Jesse settled himself on top of her, spreading her legs wider with his own.

“Mmm.” She slid her arms around his neck and wrapped her legs around his hips. Just that small action pulled him closer, caused her pussy lips to open just enough that his hot cock could nestle against her slit.

The heat of his penis touching her clit nearly made her come right there. The scent of their sex mingled together rose up, an aphrodisiac to her already triggered libido. Unable to resist the urge, she clenched her pelvic floor muscles, and moaned in pleasure when Jesse responded by flexing his cock.

Jesse nuzzled her neck, kissed her ear, and then laid his lips on hers. As he did, he began to rock against her, spreading her juices, the slippery glide another layer of enticement.

Shar gave herself to the moment, to the taste of his kiss and the scent of his sweat, to the sensation of his flesh on hers and then yes, yes, in hers.

Jesse entered her in one strong stroke, surging into her until he could go no further. He shivered. “My God, Charlotta. You feel so good. I’ve never...I can’t believe how hot, how...ah, fuck, yeah.”