Embracing Desire

Chapter One

“This stops now, Walter.” Katie Crane’s hands tightened on the steering wheel.

“I’m not coming back to New York City. No matter what you or my father want.

” Lord why hadn’t she blocked Walter’s number?

Maybe out of guilt for leaving abruptly, but what did Walter expect?

The man was a hypocrite like her father.

“Quit being a bitch and listen to reason.”

Katie saw red. She wasn’t the villain in this.

“You’re a bastard.” She yanked off the Bluetooth earpiece and tossed it out the window of the moving car.

If only it was that easy to get rid of her ex and her father, life would be grand, and she wouldn’t have run away eight years ago with her father when he promised her the world.

Now she was going home to Felton’s Creek Washington. Warmth spread through her. She’d already talked with her grandmother who, bless her, never held it against her for leaving when her father arrived shortly after her eighteenth birthday.

Katie sighed. She’d thought she could finally have a relationship with her father, but it wasn’t to be. It was a shame it took her so long to realize it. And what about… She shook her head.

She was coming home for more than the two men she abandoned. This was for her. She missed the simpler life of Felton’s Creek. New York City was always bustling, and because she worked for her father’s firm, full of business dinners and parties. She shivered. No more.

Her mind turned to Ry and Jed. How would they react to her coming back? Gran had told her they were angry when she left but accepted it. She hoped so or this homecoming was going to be very uncomfortable.

She bit her lip. Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea. What if Ry and Jed didn’t want anything to do with her? Could she live with that?

After the past few years, yes, she could.

She was tired of playing it safe and listening to the wrong people.

Her home town might be small, but she could handle seeing them.

She’d made the right decision. It was time to go home to stay.

She missed Gran, and while talking to her, she’d found out Ry and Jed didn’t have anyone special in their lives.

Besides, after reporting her father to the government, he wasn’t going to be asking her back or coming after her. Her stomach churned. Walter calling her didn’t make sense.

A blinding blue light caught Katie’s eye. Oh crap. A large SUV with lights flashing filled her rearview mirror. Glancing at the speedometer confirmed she wasn’t speeding. The cruise control was engaged.

With a flick of her wrist, she turned her signal on and brought the car to a stop on the shoulder. Just what she needed, a ticket only ten miles from Felton’s Creek. She’d never live this down.

Katie kept her hands on the wheel while watching the vehicle in her rearview mirror. A tall, muscular man climbed out of the SUV. She caught a glimpse of dark hair before it was hidden beneath his hat. The moment he stepped up to her door, she lowered the window.

“Good afternoon, officer.” She was proud her voice was steady after the way Walter had badgered her.

Her gaze shifted to the officer’s face. Oh my.

His eyes were covered by reflective sunglasses, but those didn’t detract from a straight nose, sculptured cheekbones, and a stubborn chin.

All things she shouldn’t be noticing right now.

“Good afternoon, ma’am.” His smooth whiskey voice slid over her skin in a gentle caress. “May I see your driver’s license, proof of insurance, and registration please?”

“Of course.” Katie gathered the documents from the glove compartment and her purse and handed them to the officer. His hand touched hers, and Katie caught her breath.

There was something familiar about him. Something she couldn’t put her finger on.

When she left Felton’s Creek at eighteen, Ry’s father had been the sheriff.

But that was before he’d passed away in an accident.

Who was this new sheriff, and why was he familiar to her?

She pushed her confusing thoughts away. No sense in muddying the waters.

“You drove all the way from New York City?” His tone held censure.

“I did.” Her chin rose. She wasn’t a child anymore.

She was tired of men treating her like she was eighteen, a na?ve eighteen at that.

At twenty-six, she was a woman with her own mind and attitude.

As her father found out when she left New York City five days ago. “Why did you pull me over, officer?”

He grinned as if she amused him. “Littering.”

“Littering?” She’d never littered in her life.

“You threw your earpiece out the window, and it shattered on the road.”

Katie’s mouth dropped. He pulled her over because of her earpiece? She started to speak, but there was a screech, and his radio went off.

“Excuse me.” Long, sensual fingers pressed the radio on his shoulder. “What’s up, Betty?”

“There’s a problem at the Red Dog. They’re requesting your assistance.”

“Tell them I’ll be right there.” He glanced at her license quickly and handed it and her other paperwork back. “Duty calls. Please drive carefully, and don’t litter.”

Katie took her documents and watched him in the mirror as he sauntered back to his vehicle and climbed in.

A shiver of sensual excitement crawled up her spine.

What was it about him? Something familiar, yet not.

And damn if her heart wasn’t pounding, her hands shaking with excitement, and her pussy twitched. Not so good.

The SUV pulled out and around her vehicle before disappearing down the road. Katie shook off the sensual haze, put her things away, and pulled back onto the road, headed for home. The word wrapped her in a sense of warmth and security.

She never thought she’d miss her tiny home town as much as she had.

Eight years in New York City was enough.

But she’d missed more than the town. She’d missed her gran.

Gran would be thrilled she was home to stay.

She wondered how Ry and Jed looked today.

She bet they’d changed. How would they feel now that she’d come home to stay?

Because it was to stay. Right where she belonged.

* * * *

Ryland McKade strode over to the outdoor ring to see Jed, his best friend and lover, working with one of the horses.

What an interesting day it had been. Katie was back.

He grinned. She hadn’t recognized him when he pulled her over earlier.

He was sort of surprised, but then not. It had been eight years, and he’d changed a lot in those years.

Katie had changed too. The second he realized it was her, his heart stuttered. Part of him wanted to ask her why she’d stayed away so long; another wanted to yell at her for leaving, and another wanted to drag her out of the car and kiss her until neither of them could breathe.

“Be with you in a second, Ry,” Jed yelled, leading the horse to the barn.

Ry raised his hand to let Jed know he’d heard him.

How would Jed feel about Katie being back?

Katie’s leaving had left Jed floundering for a while.

He and Jed had become lovers after she’d left.

How would she feel about that? Ry ran his hands through his dark hair.

His stomach tumbled around, and his groin tightened.

Eight long years, and Katie looked almost the same. She’d cut her long, deep brown hair to her jawline, and he had to admit it looked good on her. Her green eyes had been filled with confusion when he’d pulled her over.

In their brief encounter, he noticed a confidence in her voice that hadn’t been there before. How her breasts rose and fell beneath her shirt when she looked him over.

“Hey, Ry, you’ll never guess who called me today.” Jed strode out of the barn.

“Who?” He watched Jed amble over and rested his foot on the lower rung of the fence.

“Miss Mazie.”

“Katie’s gran? Is she okay?” It didn’t matter that Katie had left him and Jed all those years ago, Miss Mazie was still part of their extended family.

“Miss Mazie, yes. Katie’s coming home.” Jed avoided eye contact.

“I know.” Ry placed his hand on Jed’s forearm, feeling the muscles tighten.

“How the hell did you find out?” Jed’s blue eyes widened.

The astonishment in Jed’s voice made Ry laugh. “I pulled Katie over ten miles outside of town.”

Jed frowned. “Katie was speeding?”

“Let’s walk.” Ry didn’t want to discuss this where Jed’s workers could overhear. They fell into step and strolled away from the barn, out toward the open pasture. “What did Miss Mazie say?”

“Just that Katie had called her, and she’d be home today.” Jed pushed his hat back and rubbed his forehead. “Miss Mazie always liked us.”

“Yeah.” Ry stared out at the land without really seeing it.

Katie was back, and his mind raced with the possibilities along with all the potential disasters.

Was she back to stay and ready to accept their lifestyle?

Or was this just a visit? Perhaps she was involved with someone, or she couldn’t accept them as they were.

“How did she look?” Jed asked, his tone eager.

“Beautiful.” Ry closed his eyes and pictured her again. “She cut her hair, but it suits her, and she’s filled out. She’s a woman now.”

“What did she say to you?”

Ry opened his eyes and laughed. “She didn’t recognize me.”

Jed chuckled. “That is surprising.” He sauntered over to the big oak tree and leaned against it. “What are we going to do?”

“I don’t know.” Katie had run right after her eighteenth birthday, two nights after he and Jed made love to her and explained what they wanted from her. They both wanted a relationship with her. A true committed poly relationship, along with some bondage and discipline.

“Miss Mazie invited us to a welcome home party for Katie tomorrow.”

Ry’s fingers clenched. Could he get involved with Katie again? Hell, who was he kidding? The woman still had him tied up in knots, and he didn’t mind it at all. “I won’t hide who I am from her, Jed.”

He’d learned to control the anger he had at her abandonment of him and Jed and channeled it into learning more and more about being an excellent Dominant.

“I’m not asking you to.” Jed placed a hand on Ry’s shoulder, squeezing gently. “Maybe keep your u?ber dominant side toned down a bit. You do tend to get a little overbearing.”

“She ran, Jed. I’m not sure I can handle her running again.”

“I understand. Katie leaving eight years ago hurt us both. But we did kind of spring the type of relationship we wanted on her.”

“What was I supposed to do?” Ry stepped away from Jed and kicked at the tree roots. “I’m a Dominant.”

“At that time, we only knew what our parents had taught us.” Jed ran his palms over his thighs. “But we were both too young to take on a relationship like that. I was twenty-one and you twenty-two.”

“I knew what I wanted.” Ry stared at Jed.

“You knew what you thought you wanted.” Jed shook his head. “The poly dynamic is a lot more than what our parents knew or had.”

Ry wanted to argue, but Jed was right. “Katie is a submissive; that I’m sure of.”

“I feel that as well, but I’m a switch. She needs to understand our relationship, and how she fits into it.”

“Yeah.”

“We can’t rush things, this time.” Jed placed his hand on Ry’s forearm.

“I know.” He sighed. “I’m worried.”

“About what?”

“What happened after she left.” Ry had been upset, more so than anyone thought.

He’d taken his motorcycle and ridden it into Seattle and went to a BDSM club.

One his father had told him to stay away from.

It wasn’t until he saw a sadistic Dominant scene with a submissive.

The man had left welts on the submissive’s body even after she safeworded and before anyone could stop him.

A part of Ry wanted to do that to a submissive, to whip out his anger. Luckily, he’d pulled himself back and walked out of the club. The image of the submissive stayed with him for years while he dealt with his anger. “I don’t want to hurt, Katie.”

“You lost control once, Ry. Once. And even then, you didn’t injure anyone but yourself. You would never hurt Katie, just like you would never hurt me.” Jed took Ry’s hand and placed it on his chest. “I’m more worried if Katie will accept the relationship between us.”

“Shit.” Not only did they have the past to deal with, but also the present and future. In all his dreams, he never thought it would be this hard or this frightening. “We have to show her it’s all about love and desire.”

“Not only for each other but for her as well.” Jed stepped closer to Ry. “She didn’t mind us each making love to her that night, and she’s always been receptive to a threesome with us. We were the ones who waited until she was eighteen.”

“Legal age.” Ry’s free hand crept around Jed’s neck. “I don’t think I’d be able to let her go this time.”

“Let’s hope we don’t have to.”

“We need a plan for tomorrow. She’ll need time. He tugged Jed closer. The scent of leather and horse helped to calm Ry’s nerves.

“Plan tonight,” Jed whispered before capturing Ry’s lips.

Katie was home, and Jed was in his arms. He would make this work.