Chapter Eleven #2
And Nick had taken his punishments, had even begged him for them.
He’d also heard Nick whisper Jenna’s name like a prayer between his gasps of arousal.
The memory twisted something deep inside him.
Maybe a tinge of jealousy, a lot of curiosity, longing.
They were all tangled together in a way he didn’t dare examine too closely.
It should have pissed him off that Nick was thinking of Jenna while he’d been fucking him now that they were out of prison.
But he wasn’t upset. Instead, the idea of Nick wanting Jenna made his cock twitch in his jeans.
The two horses whinnied softly, their breath steaming in the cool air as they reached the pasture gate.
Nick leaned over and unhooked the latch.
His shoulder pressed against Axel’s shoulder, the heat of him seeping through the thin fabric of their shirts.
Axel didn’t move, just enjoyed the touch of Nick.
“You’re thinking about Jenna aren’t you? Thinking about her curled up snug with that damned dog you brought back,” Axel teased.
Truth was, he had nothing against the dog. He just enjoyed taunting Nick.
Nick pulled open the latch on the gate and the metal creaked in protest.
“I’m thinking about you, Axel. You need to make sure you stay on Jenna’s good side.
She was pretty upset and worried when you took off the way you did yesterday.
You gotta realize, many years have passed.
She may not be the same woman as when you guys were younger.
Remember what Cyn and that guard said about the first seventy-two hours being our most dangerous of re-offending.
You need to think before you act. You could have set off the ankle alarm had you not come to your senses before it went off. ”
Irritation snapped through him. Axel couldn’t believe Nick was tossing what Cyn and the guard had said in his face and niggling about what happened yesterday. The reminder scraped against new and old wounds. The fear of losing freedom, the fear of losing Jenna, the fear of losing Nick.
“Let’s not mention guards or prisons. Jenna is the same. She wouldn’t send us back,” he said.
Or would she? The words came out too fast, too sharp and the flicker of uncertainty that followed made his stomach tighten.
“Just proceed with caution, please. I don’t want my ass back in prison. We might not get so lucky next time.”
“There won’t be a next time, Nick.”
The horses shifted restlessly as they waited for Nick to push open the gate, but neither man paid them any mind.
“You want Jenna, don’t you. The fantasies we had were just supposed to be fantasies and now that you’re here, you want her.” Axel said, knowing the truth.
Nick’s throat worked as he swallowed.
“Yeah, now that I met her, I want her. I want both of you.”
The confession hit Axel like a blow. It wasn’t painful but it was staggering in its honesty.
It cracked something open inside him he’d been trying to keep sealed.
Being on the other side of the prison walls had changed the dynamics.
They weren’t in fantasy land anymore. He’d spent years preparing for the idea that he would most likely never see Jenna again, convincing himself she was better off without him.
But now? Now he had Nick. A man who for some crazy unknown reason calmed Axel. He was all solid muscle with a quiet need to be loved.
And now he also had Jenna. That kiss they’d shared had solidified what he’d seen in her eyes. She still loved him.
She still belonged to him in ways he didn’t deserve.
But he wanted her and he wanted Nick.
He inhaled slowly at the next thought.
He wanted to see Nick’s hands on her, touching her, pleasuring her. He wanted to hear her cry out for both of them as she came. The thought sent a strange heat through him. This time no jealousy, no fear, but a wild, impossible longing he didn’t have a name for.
“What are you thinking?” Nick asked.
He almost told him exactly what he was thinking. That he wanted to watch Nick make love to her. But reality stopped him.
Jenna had been a prison wet dream to keep them going. She was a widow now. Grieving. Nick was right, he needed to keep his hands off her and respect her grief.
“I’m thinking we need to get our asses in gear and get the rest of the horses out before it gets dark,” he snapped.
Nick nodded, opened the gate, and pushed past Axel, leading his horse into the pasture. Axel followed.
Prison life had made them both hard in some ways. They’d learned to keep their emotions in check and not show them. They’d learned to ask permission before doing anything. But now being out here, being free, he could feel the restraints already loosening.
Axel followed Nick, closing the gate behind them.
They let the horses go and watched as the two trotted off, their manes tossing in the morning breeze, already forgetting their human handlers.
“Let’s get back to the barn,” Axel said as he turned and opened the gate. Nick was close behind him and to Axel’s surprise Nick gave him a sharp smack to his ass.
The playful sting broke the tension, pulling a reluctant smile from Axel’s lips as they headed toward the barn.
“Remember tonight, you’re mine again,” Nick said.
“I owe you a smack on the ass,” Axel replied with chuckle.
Nick laughed, low and rough.
The sun was already higher now and their second day of life on Bear Valley Ranch was stretching out before them.
It was a day full of work, full of possibilities. For the first time in years, the future didn’t feel like a threat. It felt like a door cracking open.
And for the first time in a long time, Axel let himself believe that maybe, just maybe, Nick, Jenna and himself could have it all.
The thought frightened him. It also thrilled him as it felt dangerously and achingly possible.
* * * * *
Jenna swore she’d never slept better. Before going to bed, she’d masturbated in the shower fantasizing about being sandwiched between Axel and Nick.
Throughout the night and into the morning, she’d found herself attempting to wake up several times, only to be drawn back into a deep naughty sleep that was filled with sexual fantasies of Nick and Axel making love to her.
Oh wow, the orgasms. The screams. The arousal.
It was only when the inviting aroma of freshly brewed coffee and the smell of sizzling bacon and eggs drifted into her room that she seriously began to rouse.
Then those wonderful dreams faded away leaving her pussy clenching with need and her ass throbbing at the idea of having men’s shafts buried there.
Arousal coursed through her and she finally managed to open her eyes, half expecting to find Axel and Nick standing at the foot of their bed, naked. Each man stroking his long, thick erection, waiting to take her again.
Jenna moaned and then fully awoke as shock snapped through her like a live wire.
The guys were in the house! She could hear them speaking in low tones. Had they heard her? Had she made noises in her sleep? How long had they been in the house?
She blinked at the illuminated alarm clock on her nightstand.
It was nine thirty! Seriously? She couldn’t wrap her head around why it was so late.
Normally, she was an early riser. Despite how tired, she was usually able to wake up without any help from an alarm.
She truly had been exhausted.
Another whiff of bacon and eggs drifted into her room, and she noticed a faint unease in her stomach.
Oh darn it! Her morning sickness wasn’t gone yet.
Maybe if she just lay still for a while, the feeling would fade? It did that sometimes.
Jenna sighed and gazed up at the ceiling and inhaled deep, slow breaths, trying to ignore the nausea, all the while listening to the hushed tones of Nick and Axel’s voices drifting down the hall into her room.
Before going to bed, she’d left her door open so Daisy could come and go if needed. Clearly, Daisy had already left; she was no longer curled beside her on the bed where Jenna had last seen her.
She could hear the men discussing plans to fix the roof. Heard that the necessary supplies were arriving that afternoon, which meant Axel or Nick must have already called the hardware store and put in the order.
She’d told them last night to only order what was truly necessary as she didn’t want to spend too much money. Because of her past experiences with Tim’s spending sprees, she’d grown very cautious with her money. Not that there was much left in the bank.
The first thing she was going to do was sell Tim’s truck. He’d paid over one hundred thousand cash dollars for it. Cash.
She’d been livid when she’d seen the price, almost lost it when she’d seen the hit to their bank account and demanded he return the truck, but then the very next day he’d gotten sick and everything had happened so fast.
At least Axel was taking her seriously whereas Tim had tried to make her out to be a worry wart over nothing.
She’d told Axel and Nick she’d heard odd noises during the windstorm the other night and Axel had suggested those sounds were probably loose shingles flapping in the wind and that she was fortunate not to have had any leaks during yesterday’s storm.
He’d warned her too that he’d seen the ranch house shingles were curling which meant they were past their usefulness and it was time for a new roof.
There had been numerous other things on Axel’s list, for instance topping up the insulation in the attic, getting a sump well and pump put into the basement to help ease the water that always pooled on the ground floor, and other things. But she was glad they were going to attend to the roof first.
She wondered how long the guys had been up. Had one of them gone over to Sam’s place to tend to the animals yet? How much longer before the nausea got the best of her.
The very last thing she wanted was to pass out or get sick again. Even more daunting was the thought of explaining to Axel that she was pregnant.
How was she going to break that news to him? How would he react, knowing she carried another man’s child?
Her queasiness only grew more noticeable with those thoughts.
Okay, it was best to get up and face the day.
With a groan, Jenna pushed herself from the warmth of her bed, walked to the window, and pulled back the curtains.
Warm sunlight poured in, blinding her for a moment and then she smiled at the sight of the horses grazing contentedly in the pasture.
It felt good to see that the morning chores were underway.
She felt good about this room too. It was going to be perfect for her baby. She’d have a rocking chair right here by the window and watch the horses while nursing.
Since her stomach had no intention of allowing her to eat breakfast, she quickly decided what she would do with her morning instead of eating or tending the horses.