Giddy Up (5 page)

“It’s weird, but I’m not even
thinking of strapping her down in my teepee. I want her at my side
and to make her happy.”

“Welcome to the club.” They walked
into the barn to find out what still needed doing to get the Big W
ready for change.

“Are you ready?” Sakura slipped
into Molly’s room and checked to see how far along her friend was
in getting dressed. With two men waiting for her, she would’ve
expected to be the one who changed a multitude of times, not the
other way around. However, it was her friend who fussed. Of course,
she knew why. The foreman, Jon Black, caught Molly’s
attention.

All through lunch at the diner, her
friend hadn’t been able to look away from the man and he hadn’t hid
his pleasure from being with her, either. Neither one of them had
offered much to the conversation. Nor had it seemed as if they’d
spoken much to each other, but there’d been many deep glances
passing between them.

She was sure whatever they shared
was mutual. When they had some free time to themselves, Sakura
would ask her friend for details.

“Yes, I’m ready. Come on, let’s go.
You know I don’t like being late.” Molly picked up a cardigan
sweater and put it on as they left the house.

The main house wasn’t far away. It
sat on a slight rise, surrounded by large trees. They followed a
simple brick path running through the trees toward the main
house.

From what she could see of the
exterior of the main house, they’d created an excellent mixture of
traditional and modern elements. They’d made the house fit even
better within its natural surroundings, which was quite a
feat.

The structure looked old in style
with an element of romance coming from the deep, wrap-around porch.
It was a symmetrical building, and in the center was a large,
carved wood front door painted red. The brightness was eye catching
and oddly sat well with the tan and white wood cladding and large
stone chimney.

“Isn’t it beautiful here? I wasn’t
expecting such intensity of color and light, and the air is crisp
and clean.” Sakura shared her awe of where they’d found themselves
after days of driving. They were a long way from Japan in landscape
and culture, but she was drawn to her surroundings.

“None of the travel books we
brought with us do the state justice. I’m not a camping type of
person, but I bet spending nights beneath the stars would be an
incredible experience.”

“I read somewhere Montana is called
the Place of Big Sky or something like that, and they were right.
Everything appeared clear and bright while the sun was shining, and
even now at dusk it’s beautiful. I can’t wait to see it when the
moon and stars are spread across the darkness.” She wasn’t into
stargazing, although it may be because back home there wasn’t much
to see. Maybe there was out in the rural areas, but not
Osaka.

As they started up the stairs
leading to the porch, the front door opened and Matt met them with
a grin.

“Good evening, ladies. You settle
in all right?”

Sakura took what he said as genuine
politeness. The hug and kiss he gave her ensured she knew she
mattered more to him than as a mere friend.

“Montana, the Big W, it’s all
incredibly inspiring and big, really big. We were excited about the
adventure and it’s much more than either of us imagined.” She put
her hand on his shoulder in a bid to get closer to him as he
further tightened his arms around her and held her close. Right
then, being held in his arms was where she wanted to be
most.

“You two have done what many
Americans never get a chance to do, drive around and see their
country up close. The land around here is beautiful and hardly
developed compared to other sections of the country. It should give
you a good glimpse of something different from what you’ve seen
already.”

He waved them on ahead. “Go on
inside. To the left is the living room where we’re relaxing with a
drink before dinner. What would you two like? We have everything,
including but not limited to water, soda, wine or beer.”

“I’ll have some water,” Sakura
requested with a smile. Even though he hadn’t touched her
intimately, seeing him made her feel good. The brief touch
confirmed yet again that she’d made the right decision in coming to
the U.S. They made their way to the others and felt at
ease.

Except for Molly, Sakura preferred
to keep a slight distance from people she worked with. She didn’t
want to do that while at the Big W Ranch. There were no formalities
here, no cultural rules to remember and exist under, and she hoped
none appeared. As far as she was concerned, the days were for
business, after that was something else. Something much more
personal.

Dinner turned out to be a group
effort and they ate outside on a patio beneath the expansive
darkening sky.

Jon made a green salad, Ted handled
the steaks, and Matt was in charge of grilling the asparagus once
the steaks had been removed. While she’d read about the American
fascination with barbecuing, neither she nor Molly had ever tried
it before. After listening to them talk and seeing the seriously
extensive setup, they were interested to see how it was done and
how the end product tasted.

By the time the meal was finished
she knew why it was a national fascination. The meal was delicious
and filling. Once they’d finished eating, a chill started to settle
over them and they cleared the table. Moving inside, they settled
in the living room and started to talk shop.

“We’ll have another barbecue
tomorrow with the ranch hands that are here. Later you can then
meet the group currently out moving the last of the herd to the
eastern pasture. It will leave the northern field free for the
newborns after they’ve been double tagged.” Ted was hands on with
the ranch itself and had even sent her a map of the ranch, with the
various sections labeled.

“Sounds good. Tomorrow morning
Molly and I can take a look at the equipment, see what we’re
waiting for, and start making a game plan on setting it all up.
Have you settled on where you want to place it?” She leaned her
head back against the couch and snuggled in for comfort, relaxing
further into the discussion.

“We’ve enclosed the space in the
barn to cut it off from the activity while still being in the midst
of it all. We figured proximity was best and decided to go with a
dedicated generator which kicks on automatically. There’s one for
the house already and it shouldn’t be a big deal to get one for the
barn office.” Ted sat beside her and drank his beer.

“Yes, makes sense. I’m going to
suggest we add a dedicated station to your office here at the
house. As a sort of back-up source in case the other goes
down.”

“I like the idea of another
terminal outside of the barn. Don’t forget how harsh winters can
get here.” Matt added a dose of reality to the discussion before
settling down, and brought her feet to his lap. “Would it be a
mirror version of the other or would we need to set up a backup
program?”

“If we set it up right, then yes,
working on one station would be like working on the other with a
dedicated backup being done on the inside office unit.” Sakura had
built the plan for the Big W from the ground up. It meant she could
talk details without needing to dive too deeply into work mode. It
was a good thing because she wasn’t in the mood to do much
thinking.

“Everyone, I’m going to head back
to the house and get some sleep.” Molly stood up and looked at
Matt, Ted, and Jon in turn. “Thank you for such a wonderful dinner.
It was a great introduction to the barbequing phenomenon. I look
forward to returning the kindness and cooking a typical English
Sunday roast and all fixings for you gentlemen.”

“I’ll walk you back,” Jon quietly
offered and moved to stand next to her.

“That’s all right, I can find my
way back.”

“It’s not a problem.”

“Oh, okay.” She smiled up at the
big man standing at her side. With a light touch to her back, he
followed her to the front door. “Good night, everyone. See you in
the morning.”

“Night,” was everything the tall
dark haired escort muttered before they were gone.

Silence fell with the snick of the
door closing until Sakura couldn’t hold back what she was thinking
any longer.

“Is it me, or do those two have a
thing for each other? I’ve known Molly for over five years. She’s
never smiled at a man like she just did, nor would she have allowed
one to walk her home.”

“There’s definitely heat between
them. We’ve known Jon since we were kids. Even when he and I were
in the Marines, stationed everywhere from the jungles of Columbia
to the bazaars of the Middle East, he never went after a woman.
They always followed him, but he’s definitely following Molly.” Ted
spoke in a matter of fact way as he put his glass on the table
behind the couch.

“You were in the military? I didn’t
know, I—” She was shocked at how much she didn’t know about the men
she was growing to care about.

“It’s all right, Sakura. There’s
plenty of time to get to know each other better. We aren’t going to
rush into anything.”

“You’re right.” The idea she could
have lost him before she ever met him struck her hard. They’d
talked on the phone, lengthy calls, but she wanted to experience
getting to know him in person, not be given a list noting down
every detail of their lives. She didn’t want him or Matt to get to
know her that way, either. They’d talk and discover each other in a
natural way. “I take it she’s safe with him?”

“Safe, absolutely, but seduced is
something else.” Ted rubbed his chin over the top of her
head.

Sakura knew she’d been relaxed in
both the company and conversation, but hadn’t realized how
much.

At some point she’d moved to rest
against Ted rather than the couch. He hadn’t touched her, but her
hand was on his thigh, unconsciously stroking the softened jeans
and hard leg beneath. Looking at Matt, she wondered how he was
taking her being close to his brother. She found him sitting at the
other end of the couch, watching them with a gentle smile on his
face as he rubbed her feet.

She remembered what he’d told her,
what it meant if she came to the Big W Ranch. Matt and Ted would
both be her lovers. Two incredibly sexy men were there to please
her as she would them. The picture he’d painted seemed hot and a
bit naughty, and appealed to her greatly.

For months she’d prepared for the
visit, but hadn’t known what to expect. She hadn’t any idea how
things would progress. They’d simply been themselves and she’d
found them attractive. Without trying, they enticed her to want to
spend time with them in and out of bed.

It had been too long since she’d
spent the night with Matt, and there’d been no relief since for the
passion he’d set blazing inside her mind and body. Instead, the
need burned brighter, and left her constantly thinking of the
release she knew she’d find in their arms. It was a scary step to
make, and one she wanted to do.

Tilting her head to the side and
back, she looked at Ted, then at his lips. It was a hint, brazen,
but a clue that she wanted his kiss and he gave her one plus a bit
more. He gently placed his lips against hers and left them simply
touching. Their connection sparked and she gave him an invitation
to take what he wanted.

His tongue made a subtle sweep of
the seam between her lips. She inhaled sharply and slipped her
tongue out to meet his. They twisted and tangled around each other.
It was utterly delightful, and she swept swiftly into a new realm
full of wonder when his hands smoothed over her belly and up to cup
her breasts.

Inhaling sharply, she wanted them
to do something, but they simply held her fleshy mounds. She waited
for the thumbs to stroke across the tips or maybe for him to push
the two together, but nothing. After waiting with held breath, she
slowly relaxed into his touch and figured he was simply curious
about how they’d feel.

With a breath followed by another,
she realized Matt ran his hand over her foot, past her ankle to
encase her calf. He massaged the muscle and, without breaking their
kiss, her eyes rose to meet his. The man was smiling and she wanted
to say something, but hadn’t any idea what. Words trickled through,
but before she could put them together Ted pinched her
nipples.

Gasping, Sakura accepted she was
lost and broke the kiss. He rolled the hard tips between his
fingers and then released them. The palms of his hands covered her
breasts. It might have been soothing, but she was too excited by
the subtle circular motion they made. That almost not there touch
had her fighting to not thrust her chest up to meet his
hands.

An intense passion raced through
her body, one she hadn’t experienced since the last time she spent
time with a Wilson brother. Questions roved through her head
without any of them coming out.

Despite her fuzzy headedness, being
with the two men actually left her feeling calm. They weren’t
pushing her to do anything she wasn’t ready for, which made her
feel even more at ease in their company.