Total pages in book: 248
Estimated words: 236036 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1180(@200wpm)___ 944(@250wpm)___ 787(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 236036 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1180(@200wpm)___ 944(@250wpm)___ 787(@300wpm)
Chapter Four
Marci
Despite the betrayal of my well-meaning friends, I actually end up having a good time. I love the town I grew up in, despite all its faults, and showing it off to two very gorgeous companions is no hardship.
We started with Dutch burgers at the park, got ice cream at the creamery, did a walking tour of main street where I pointed out all the newer shops and older abandoned businesses, talking about our hopes for rebuilding the area. I showed them Sadie’s matchmaking office and her husband’s pride and joy, The Rose Center.
And then, we end up ten miles out of town at the beach.
The air is salty, and the waves lap at our toes as we stroll along barefoot. Tripp keeps looking up at the shore then out to the tide, and Levi stops every few minutes to inspect an agate or pick up a shell. The whole time we talk about their lives on the rodeo circuit, why they’re looking to settle down, and why I’d chosen to stay in Blue River, even when everything was falling apart. At the end of it all, we hike up to a lookout point and sit watching the sunset.
Here I am, forty-five years old, and it’s the most romantic date I've ever had. And I’m not even sure if it’s really a date.
Somewhere during the course of the evening, my protests had shifted and now, I really, really want it to be a date. Sitting back from the edge of the ledge at the place the local kids had dubbed make-out point, I look out at the gold-streaked sky, and when Tripp and Levi sit on either side of me, each putting an arm around my shoulders, I just let it happen. I don’t fight it.
Instead, I lay my head on Trip’s shoulder and let out a happy sigh. But as soon as I do, familiar doubts come rushing back. “Is this what you guys do in every town you visit, find an easy mark and woo her with the promise of a future, right before you move along to the next town and woman?”
“An easy mark?” Tripp actually sounds insulted. “Marci, what—”
Before he can finish, Levi shakes his head. “I swear to you, we never do this.”
“We don’t need to find a woman to seduce to have a good time. We do have each other, ya know. And yeah, on occasion, we have hooked up with a woman in some of the towns we’ve visited. But, they know what it is going in. We’re very up front. And most of them don’t mind. They just want to experience a threesome with two men. It’s a mutually beneficial arrangement.” He stops, looks at me sadly, and shakes his head. “But even so, it’s been a while. We decided last year we were no longer satisfied just having that itch scratched, that we needed something real. And this is the first time we’ve even considered it. Because we know we’re ready.”
“Marci, we’re ready for you. You’re the one we’ve been waiting for. I feel it in my bones.”
“You don’t even know me!” I gasp as Tripp’s hand travels up from my waist, slides along my side, cups my breast, then comes to rest on my collarbone. It moves up, cradling my throat with just the tiniest bit of pressure.
“Sometimes you just know.”
“I still think it doesn’t make any sense,” I grumble. “Have you guys seen yourselves? You could have literally any woman. And especially one your own age. You don’t have to settle.”
A growl rips from Trip’s throat and he’s on me, laying me out on the blanket as he covers my body with his. His legs straddle my hips, pinning me to the ground. “That’s enough of that, babygirl.” The pressure at my throat increases. “You are the one we want. We knew it the minute we laid eyes on you and no amount of self-deprecation is going to convince us otherwise. It may end up giving you a hot bottom, though.”
My breath hitches. My brain shorts out. “A hot bottom?” I squeak. “What… what do you mean?” I’m pretty sure I know, but my brain just doesn’t want to believe it.
“It means,” Levi supplies, leaning over so that his face is in front of mine, “that if you keep talking bad about yourself, we’ll spank you.”
Not I will.
Not Tripp will.
We will.
And suddenly I can’t get the thought of being spanked by both of them out of my head. Never mind that I’ve never been spanked a day in my life, despite being raised in a generation where doing so was still acceptable.
And despite having always been a good girl, I can’t help but push. “I’m not talking bad about myself.” I meet their gazes head on. “I’m just stating facts.” It’s mostly true, but I know what they mean. I see where the line is. And yet, I barrel straight over it. “I’m a frumpy old woman, and the two of you could do so much better. And younger.”