STORY EXCERPT

Sitting at the long table in the back room of the sheriff’s station, Marshall finished his report and rose, taking his empty coffee cup to the sink and washing it out.

Setting it in the dish drainer to dry, he texted Carter.

How’s she doing?

At diner. She’s eating pancakes and pickles.

Marshall shivered at the thought of it and picked up the file he’d finished, carrying it out to the front where Mark Stevens worked. Don’t let her get sick.

As he placed the file on the dispatcher’s desk, a position Talia had filled until recently, he heard the ding of another text coming through.

Do YOU want to come over here and stop her?

Chuckling at the thought of trying to prevent his pregnant wife from eating something she craved, and knowing what an appetite she’d had once the morning sickness had ended, Marshall texted back.

Not a chance in hell.

Thought so.

Mark Stevens looked up from where he’d been entering information into the computer and picked up a file from his desk with a smile. “How’s Talia?”

Marshall looked up as Ace came through the front door. “She’s anxious to have the baby. She’s uncomfortable as hell but trying not to show it.”

Ace frowned. “She was due yesterday, wasn’t she?”

“Yes. If she doesn’t have the baby by next Wednesday, they’re going to induce her.”

Ace smiled. “Everyone’s waiting to fill in.”

Mark grinned, filed the folder, and returned to his desk. “We’re all aware that the little one has his own timetable and there’s no way you can predict that. We’re on standby.”

Marshall smiled, once again knowing he’d made the right decision in moving to Desire, a small town where everyone knew and helped each other in ways he’d never seen before. “Appreciate it.”

Mark picked up the folder Marshall had just placed there and opened it with a sigh. “Hopefully you and your brothers can do the same for me one day.”

Marshall blinked. It was the first time he’d heard Mark say anything about the desire to start a family. “Don’t be in a rush. Somehow, the right one just seems to come along, and when she does, you’ll know it. Hell, we knew Talia was right for us almost right away.”

Ace raised a brow. “And yet you three did your best to avoid her.”

“You know damn well we didn’t want to hurt her.” Amused, Marshall leaned against the counter. “I understand you avoided Hope for quite a while before you finally accepted your feelings for her.”

“I stayed away from her for the same reason. I didn’t want to hurt her. She was too young and sweet to put up with someone like me. I didn’t believe she knew what she was getting into. Turns out, she did. Never thought I’d tolerate a brat. Turns out a brat suits me just fine.” [DG1] Raising a brow, Ace smiled and sent a meaningful look at Marshall before turning his attention to Mark. “Just don’t let the right one get away.”

With his hands on his hips, Marshall faced Ace squarely. “You know why we kept Talia at a distance.”

“I know.” Ace inclined his head. “You blamed yourself for Emily’s suicide and were afraid the same thing would happen with Talia.”

Marshall blew out a breath, his stomach clenching at the memory. “I couldn’t go through that again.”

“Talia’s not that type, but you had to find that out for yourself.”

Marshall couldn’t help but smile. “We did. Just couldn’t resist her any longer.”

Ace removed his hat and leaned against the counter. “Yeah. I understand the feeling. By the way, I’m already taking applications for new deputies. The town’s growing, and everyone’s having families. After we finish building the new school, we’ve got acres and acres of land beyond that where the Jacksons and the Madisons are gonna build houses.”

He turned to Mark. “That’s Boone and Chase Jackson, and Sloane, Cole, and Brett Madison.”

Mark raised a hand. “Got it. Little by little, I’m learning everyone.” He grinned and opened a drawer, pointing to a folded piece of paper inside. “Talia made me a chart.”

Marshall smiled, his thoughts on his wife. “It won’t take long to learn who belongs to whom.”

Ace straightened. “How’s Talia doing?”

Ready to go back on patrol again, Marshall grimaced. “She’s at the diner eating pancakes and pickles.”

“Jesus!” Shaking his head, Ace slapped his hat on his head. “I thought it was bad when she had lemonade milkshakes. Just thinking about it curled my stomach.”

Chuckling, Marshall donned his own hat. “You have no idea what my brothers and I have watched her eat. She’s going for spicy chicken wings for lunch.”

Ace pushed the door open. “It’s a hell of a lot better than pancakes with pickles.”

ADULT EXCERPT

Chuckling, he dried between her thighs, his touch gentle. “You’re not gonna burst, but you are gonna come again. Let’s see if another orgasm convinces him to come out.”

Talia moaned when Joe closed in behind her and cupped her breasts, brushing his thumbs lightly over her nipples and sending warm ripples of pleasure through her. “Ooohh! That feels good.”

Carter spread her thighs and used his thumbs to part her folds where the sensations centered. “This should feel even better.”

Leaning heavily against Joe, Talia gripped his forearms and closed her eyes, dropping her head back against him. Crying out at the first swipe of Carter’s tongue through her slit, Talia found herself quickly lifted.

Nuzzling her neck, Joe wrapped his arms around her, just below her breasts while Carter pressed his hands against the backs of her thighs and lifted her, spreading her thighs and draping them over his shoulders to support her weight. “Got her?”

“Of course.” Joe ran his lips from her ear and down her neck again to her shoulder. “Always. Hmm. You smell delicious. Sweet.” He ran his hands over her breasts and abdomen. “Soft. Luscious.”

Curling her toes against the pleasure of having her nipples caressed and the slow slide of Carter’s tongue over her clit, Talia moaned harshly. “And you all smell so clean and feel so hard and masculine that sometimes it takes my breath away.”

With Carter taking most of her weight, Joe ran his hands lightly over her breasts again, the calluses on his palms creating a delicious friction that sent currents of pleasure to her slit where Carter used his mouth on her without mercy. “Good to know.”

Covering Joe’s hands with her own, she whimpered as the pleasure mounted. “How do you know just how to touch me?”

With his hands firming on her ass cheeks, Carter flicked his tongue over her already sensitized clit with a speed and gentleness that soon had her on the edge again. “It’s our mission in life.”

She moaned and cried out as the pleasure grew, finding herself on the edge of having another orgasm with a speed that left her breathless.

Joe slipped his hands over her breasts again, using his thumbs to lightly caress her nipples. “You have no idea just how much we love you, baby. Come. We love watching you and listening to your pleasure.”

When she tilted her neck to give him better access, he pressed his lips against her neck.

“Holding you while you come is like heaven.”

When her orgasm hit her, she stiffened and cried out, riding the wave of pleasure, secure in the knowledge that her husbands wouldn’t let her fall. Flames licked at her everywhere, leaving her clit pulsing with sensation. Bit by bit, her orgasm slowly released her from its grip, leaving her limp and smiling. “Hmm.”

Joe lifted her from Carter’s shoulders and against him, setting her on her feet while keeping an arm around her. “Better?”

Talia moaned again and moved against Joe, sliding a hand up Carter’s chest as he rose. “It’s always better when you touch me. When I’m with you. I have to admit that, as much as the three of you nag me, it feels good to have one of you near all the time.”

Carter smiled. “There’s no place we’d rather be.”

Turning her, Joe ran his hands down her arms and then to her abdomen, smiling when the baby kicked against his hand. “He’s busy in there. Are you sure it doesn’t hurt?”

“No.” She laid a hand over his. “At first, it felt really strange, but now I’m used to it. I just wish he didn’t kick me while I’m eating.”

Joe smiled and lifted her against him, and when she wrapped her legs around him, thrust into her pussy, smiling at her cry of pleasure. “Let’s see if we can convince our baby to come out.”

Carter leaned her back against his chest, caressing her breasts and abdomen while allowing Joe to press deeper. “Come again for us.”

Digging her heels into Joe’s tight ass, Talia reached back for Carter, delighted and more than a little shocked that Joe’s firm thrusts quickly had her on the edge again.

Filled with every stroke of his cock, Talia bucked her hips while the hard heat inside her went increasingly deeper. “Yes! Faster!”

“Fuck!” Joe groaned and tightened his hold on her thighs. “So fucking tight, Come, baby. Come!”

As if her body had no choice to obey him, Talia cried out as she went over, her pussy clenching incessantly on his cock.

Seconds later, Joe groaned harshly and thrust deep, his cock pulsing inside her and drawing out her orgasm until she thought it would never end.

When she opened her eyes, she saw Joe shake his head and open his own as if coming out of a trance. “Damn it. You’ve certainly gotten a workout this morning, haven’t you?”

Talia giggled as both men set her on her feet, both holding on to steady her. “It’s not the first time and it certainly won’t be the last.” Lifting her face for Joe’s kiss, she smiled when he obliged her. “If I don’t have this baby today, we can do this all over tonight.”

Carter groaned and ran a hand over her ass. “I don’t want to think about it. I’ll be hard all day.”

Talia looked back at him over her shoulder. “Poor baby.”

As Joe continued to rub her abdomen, where the baby continued to move, Talia’s stomach rumbled. Chuckling, he brushed his lips over hers. “Come on. Let’s get you dressed. It sounds like the two of you need something to eat. Hopefully, he’ll let you eat in peace.”