23
TAYLOR
BENEATH A STARRY SKY
When we return from the bar, I’m tipsy, with a heart that feels swollen and ripe with love. Molly won’t be back until the morning, so we’re all alone for the first time in a while. Jesse unlocks the front door, but Maverick takes my hand, and we sway and stumble our way around the back of the house. After his performance, he drank a few too many shots of whiskey, so now we’re both unsteady on our feet.
“Where’s that porch swing,” he mumbles, squinting as though he’s lost the thread of where we are. Clint laughs behind us, and I turn to find him and Jesse following. As the designated driver, Jesse’s the only one currently walking straight. The porch swing is only big enough to seat three of us, so Jesse stands, leaning against a wooden post and staring out over the starlit ranch.
Maverick drapes his arm around my shoulder, pressing a lingering kiss to the top of my head and inhaling deeply.
“I’ve never seen a night sky quite like this before. It’s beautiful,” I say softly. The vastness of the glitter-speckled darkness stretching uninterrupted is staggering to me. My tiny window back at my dad’s house was crowded by the neighbors’ house, and the light pollution always gave the night sky a greenish, yellow tinge.
“If you’re lucky, you might see a shooting star,” Jesse says.
“Why you over there?” Maverick slurs. He pulls a chair closer. “Here. Sit.”
Jesse acquiesces, lowering himself into the seat that seems too small for his large frame. He folds his bulky arms across his chest and stretches his long legs in front of him, crossed at the ankle. In the low light, the angular planes of his face seem harsh but I’ve been with him for long enough to know what kind of man he is: hard on the outside but deeply caring and protective on the inside.
“We should get a telescope,” Clint suggests. “I bet you can see planets on a clear night.” He rests his hand on my knee, and I cover it with my own. The reserved man he was when I came to Twin Springs ranch has gradually been left behind. He’s affectionate now, even in front of his friends. So much has changed between us all, and although I’ve settled in, I’m still getting used to what it feels like to be so connected to three handsome men.
Maverick snorts, squeezing me a little tighter. “Move over, Neil deGrasse Tyson.”
“It’s called being interested in the world,” Clint grumbles.
“All I’m interested in is the beautiful woman sitting next to me who makes my life worth living.”
“Move over Casanova,” Jesse grunts.
“Nothing wrong with being romantic.”
“Thank you for the romance,” I say, squeezing Maverick’s thigh. “And I’d like to look through a telescope,” I say, fixing Clint with a smile. “Looking outside of the world seems like a fine idea.”
“See.” Clint twists to eye his friends. “My wife gets it.”
“She’s not just your wife,” Jesse practically growls.
“Paper doesn’t mean shit,” Maverick grumbles. “It’s where you put your dick that counts.”
“Jesus,” Clint grumbles. “What happened to the man who belted out songs filled with love?”
“He’s here.” Maverick squeezes me tighter, pressing another kiss to the top of my head. “She knows she’s my sun, moon, and stars, the ground I walk on, the air I breathe, the hope I strive for…” He seems to momentarily lose his thread.
“Maverick’s always loopy when he’s drunk,” Clint informs me.
“I happen to think he’s cute.”
“Like a little puppy,” Jesse mocks.
Maverick clasps my hand and presses it to his dick. “Nothing little about this puppy.”
“Jesus,” Clint huffs again, but he watches Maverick slide my hand up and down his thickening length, watches me stroke my thumb across the head to make his buddy groan, even though the contact is through two layers of fabric.
Jesse’s watching too, and I expect him to tell us to get a room or maybe get up and walk away, but he doesn’t. There’s a white fire in his eyes, a flickering flame of desire.
So far, I’ve only been with my cowboys separately, and I thought that would always be the way, but maybe they want something different now. Would it be called an orgy if it’s between lovers? I blush at the thought, but between my legs, the ache only intensifies, knowing how many eyes are on me.
Maverick’s free hand strokes from my knee over my thigh before resting where it meets my hip. Heat blooms between my legs, making my eyelids lower. He leans closer, whispering in my ear. “You know what’s great about this ranch.” His lips brush my neck. “There’s no one for miles around. Just us, the balmy air, a million stars, hundreds of dopey animals, and three men’s dirty intentions.”
He kisses my throat, and my breath catches. They’ve all seen me naked. They’ve all been inside me. But that was when we were alone in the bedroom. What Maverick’s doing now feels very different.
“Maverick.” Clint’s voice holds a warning tone, but his hand on my knee shifts higher. Is he testing me to see how far I’ll be willing to go?
Maverick’s hand slides over my belly and beneath the fabric of my silver blouse, cupping my breast and squeezing. Jesse makes a low noise in his throat, like a bear warning a hunter who has stumbled into his territory. My skin erupts in goosebumps, but deeper, where desire and longing rest, everything stirs.
Sex with each of them has been so much better than I ever imagined it could be. Even though they’re different, they’ve all taken time to make me feel good and wiped away what came before with their care. So much pleasure hasn’t satisfied me, though. It’s only made me hungrier, imagining more, craving more.
There’s no one around for miles.
The vast expanse of their land is spread out in front of us. Behind us, the home they’ve welcomed me into rests reassuringly, and in the middle of these men, I’m anchored but also awakened.
Clint’s hand shifts, my soft moan conveying something to him. Does he understand that having them both touch me is like plummeting into the unknown? But so much of my time with them has been this way, and everything has worked out perfectly so far.
Every step we’ve taken together has been about letting go and moving forward. Maybe this will be, too.
Maverick’s mouth on mine is teasing at first, a brush of tender flesh over tender flesh with a whisper. “Is this okay? Together?”
One word used to communicate such a huge question.
Together.
These men do almost everything together. Their work lives, their family lives, and their futures are all so intertwined. This step should be a big one for them, but with everything else forcing them together, maybe this is just the next logical step for us all.
Discovering sex can be pleasurable has been such a major realization for me. The memory of the man my father allowed into my bed at night feels distant, like a landscape viewed through darkness or fog. The feelings that came with it of shame and fear have slipped underwater in my mind. They’re still lurking but not close enough to break the surface.
I want these men. I want them to make me feel beautiful, sexy, and free. I want them to blow away the clouds of my past, erase it all, and replace the memories with new ones. I want to be what they need.
“Yes,” I whisper.
Clint makes a pained sound, but I know he wants this too from the way his hand shifts higher, cupping my pussy over my pants and underwear. When he presses against my sex, I tilt my hips, seeking more contact.
Maverick’s fingers tug at my nipple, pinching and rolling, and the connection of bright pleasure lights me up between my thighs.
“Take off her blouse.” Jesse’s order cuts through the quiet, harsh enough to make me jump. Maverick makes quick work of getting me undressed, flicking the front clasp of my bra so that my breasts spill free. His mouth is hot against my nipple as Clint unzips my jeans, shimmying them over my hips. I’m already wet, and the night air licks coolly against my pretty panties. At least tonight, I don’t have to be self-conscious of my underwear. The shy, cautious, scared girl I was is gone thanks to these men.
“Touch her,” Jesse orders. He’s closer now, leaning in for a better view. My face flushes hot as Maverick eases my panties to one side and runs his thick finger through my slickness. I moan as Clint sucks my other nipple, and I have to grip the cushion beneath me to keep some form of control. Maverick’s finger circles my clit, then slides lower, pushing inside me.
The rasp of a tongue replaces his finger, and when I look down, Jesse’s kneeling between my legs, flicking my clit with harsh, rhythmic strokes that make my toes curl. Maverick pumps into me, and Clint nips at my nipple, and between the three of them, they form an unholy alliance of pleasure that tears through me, rendering me rigid, then relaxed and totally satiated.
“That’s it,” Jesse says, drawing back and licking his lips. “Good girl. Now it’s our turn.”
I’m too lost in sensation to wonder what that might mean. Jesse’s jeans are already open, and his cock is free, standing hard and slick in the circle of his fist. He pulls me from the seat into his lap but then shifts my position so my back is to his chest. He covers the ground with my jeans and his shirt, so my knees don’t get ruined, then he angles my hips and eases my pussy onto his waiting erection. My eyes meet Clint’s as he palms his dick, watching my shocked expression morph into bliss. Jesse’s so thick from this angle, with his hand on my spine, he sits deep enough to make my toes curl.
“That’s it, princess,” he says as I roll my hips. “Take Maverick into your mouth. Taste him.”
Maverick shifts closer, happy to listen to instructions. His thumb grazes my bottom lip slowly, over and over, until I open my mouth to suck it. Our eyes stay glued as he replaces his thumb with the head of his dick. He tastes good, and his scent flips a dark switch, forcing me to take him deeper than is comfortable. He wraps my hand around Clint’s waiting cock. “That’s it. Stroke his dick… make it nice and tight… make him feel it. Mmmm…. good girl. Look at you taking us all.” His words lick fire between my thighs, making everything tighter and more swollen. I become lost in the push and pull, the feel of Jesse’s fingers biting my hips, Maverick’s hand on the back of my head, and Clint’s fingers wrapped around mine, guiding his preferred rhythm.
“Damn, look at you,” Maverick says as he rests his hand on the back of my head.
“Look at the way she moves,” Clint says. “Look at those hips and thighs.”
I float in the pleasure that inflates between my legs as Jesse finds my clit with the rough pad of his thumb. More, I think. I need more.
More of these men I’ve come to love so deeply I’d do anything for them. More of the connection we have. More of the bright and brilliant feelings they inspire in me.
“That’s it. Give it to Daddy. Let me feel you.” Jesse strums my body like Maverick fingers his guitar strings. On the first taste of Maverick coming in my throat, I experience pleasure that feels so violent that I lose control of my limbs.
Jesse holds me upright, anchoring me to his chest. Maverick stares down at me as he cups his dick, his eyes bleary and hair mussed, a sly and contented smile making him handsome enough to steal more of my breath.
“Clint’s turn,” Jesse tells me, lifting me until his cock slips free and I’m left empty.
“Maybe we should take this inside,” Clint says. He doesn’t wait for agreement but carries me like I weigh less than a baby elk towards the door and waits for Jesse to open up. We don’t make it up the stairs to the bedrooms. Clint decides on the den, dropping to his knees and laying me on the rug. He grabs a throw pillow and lifts my head, positioning it for my comfort, then he spreads my legs wide and enters me quickly enough to make my teeth clink. “Goddamn,” he growls through gritted teeth, pounding into me with punishing hips. His hand clasps my throat, holding me tightly so he can angle my mouth to kiss him. My head spins with every blissful slide of his root over my clit, his brutal fingers on my nipples, the building need in him that thickens his cock inside me.
Maverick sits in one of the armchairs, watching with a spaced-out expression. Jesse kneels next to me, palming his cock. “Taste me,” he orders. I lick the end of his dick and then open to take more of him.
Clint groans, the image too arousing for him to maintain control. He releases inside me in a rush of frantic hips and desperate groans, a towering man brought to his knees by my body.
When Clint rolls from me, collapsing onto his back on the rug, Jesse’s there, kissing the inside of my thighs, spreading my legs wide, his attention like a laser on my sex. “He filled you, princess. Do you want me to fill you too?”
“Yes,” I gasp. “Please.”
He rolls me onto my front, bracketing my thighs with his knees, pushing my legs together. Taking a pillow, he shoves it under my hips, angling me in the way he wants. It’s a new position that speaks of domination, and when he grabs my wrists and holds them both at the base of my spine, his power over me only increases.
I moan when he penetrates me, but my sound is overshadowed by Jesse’s long groan.
“You’re so wet,” he says. “Dripping.”
He presses my legs even tighter together, hammering into me with an intensity that I can barely handle. There’s no way I can orgasm like this, but I’m wrung out, and the feeling of being a vessel that Jesse can use to achieve his release is deeply satisfying.
For the first time in my life, being controlled feels good. These men gave me the chance to fly free, but I decided to stay. Now, I can let go and rest in the safety of their care. Jesse comes, gripping the back of my neck, hammering against my ass, groaning like a trapped bear.
“Fuck,” Maverick mutters.
My eyes meet Clint’s across the rug, and he touches my face tenderly. Jesse presses kisses between my shoulder blades, and Maverick, who has dropped to his knees next to us, strokes my hair away from my face.
“Holy shit.” Jesse’s still shifting inside me with languid strokes. I’m boneless and weak but vital and strong. It was me alone who brought all these big, strong men to their knees. Any doubts I ever had about being at the center of their world have been blasted away.
“You’re ours,” Jesse whispers. “Ours forever.”
“Ours,” Clint agrees, shifting so he can kiss me. He meets my gaze with a fierce intensity that makes me want to cry.
“Ours,” Maverick says, linking his fingers with mine and pressing a soft kiss to my knuckles.
“I love you,” I tell them all through a throat so tight with emotion that it sounds squeaky. I’m covered with more kisses as each of my cowboys moves closer.
“We love you, too,” Jesse says, kissing the tip of my nose.
“I think this is one of those times when you gotta let us speak for ourselves, man,” Maverick says with a smile in his voice.
“Yeah, Jesse. I might not be the world’s best conversationalist but this woman’s my wife. I’m capable of telling her I love her without your help.” Clint strokes my face. “I love you, baby.”
“Yeah, muffin. I love you. You know that, right?” Trust Maverick to check that I’ve absorbed his words.
“I know,” I say, losing the battle against my joyful tears.
This journey of life sure is a crazy one, but I’m certain of one thing. All the bad times have swept me into the place I was always meant to be. Three rugged cowboys have lassoed my heart and shown me how to let down deep roots that will keep me grounded next to them. And no matter what else life throws at us, we’ll face it together, forever.