Hers to Choose (Cannon Cousins) (4 page)

But her whole situation
bothered him. What if some violent bastard scheduled a hunting trip and then
took advantage of her? Hurt her, seriously. The idea made his head pound.

What the hell? Why did
she matter to him? He just met her.

Still, he had to admit a
tiny wave of relief at Dan’s response. He enjoyed it. That had to be worth all
this trouble. Maybe he’d stumbled onto the solution.

“No, Dan, I think, she’s
at your service, and that means whatever the two of you want it to mean.”

***

With pork chops frying, Bryn slid a
fork into the scalloped potatoes and pulled the bubbling pan from the oven before
glancing at the clock for the twentieth time. Apple pie cooled on the side
table as she reviewed her list for the third time. But her thoughts kept
slipping back to Alex, how he looked,
the
warmth she
felt when he looked at her, his smile. What the hell was wrong with her,
anyway? Men, any man including Alex, were not to be trusted, or depended on, or
otherwise allowed to take up any space in her heart or mind.

With a firm set to her
mouth, she checked off the last of her list and loaded the food. She got to the
cabin at five until six with a tiny hint of daylight still hovering in the
clear sky. She inhaled the cool air as she parked. She loved this land so much.
Everything about it made her excited. Someday, if she could salvage her
situation and keep the place, she wanted to improve the fences and run a few
cattle, maybe get a horse or two, fix up the old barn, do some remodeling on
the house. Those were things her dad had always talked about. He would have
done it, if he’d lived longer. As it was, granddad outlived him, and didn’t
have money for any of it.

The horrible reality, the
truth that haunted her in the middle of the night, was that she would
eventually be forced to sell the farm. Whatever money she earned from the
Cannons would only delay the inevitable. She’d avoid her former employer Brent
Thompson like the plague, but still—if she couldn’t come up with some fulltime
income and didn’t sell, the bank would take it. Then she’d have nothing.

Even the loan officer had
advised her to sell instead of allowing foreclosure. That day she went home and
cried. And that wasn’t the only time. She was so tired of crying.

The cabin was dark, so
she lit the lanterns and looked around, instantly reminded of her spanking. All
day she had enjoyed repeated surges of wetness in her panties as her scorched
buttocks moved around in her jeans. The play submission stuff she had done with
her former husband and royal jackass Ethan faded to insignificance compared to
what she had experienced that morning with Dan. Yes, Ethan wanted to control
everything about their lives, even deciding what she would wear. It seemed like
a compliment at first; he knew a lot more about the world than she did. But
Ethan dominated her with this kind of grim disregard, not this exciting stern
attitude. Only a couple of the serious
doms
at Wade’s
dungeon had made her feel this way. Just looking at Dan caused her to shiver in
delirious anticipation.

Muttering to herself and
slinging dishes into a stack, she didn’t hear the door open until it slammed
shut.

“Oh!” She turned to see
Alex standing there with a dark expression on his face. God, he truly did
something to her. He hadn’t shaven and his bristly shadow made him look much
less friendly than the day before. Somehow the stubble made his eyes a darker
shade of blue. Why did fate always have such a twisted sense of humor? Why
wasn’t it Alex who needed to work out some personal crisis on her hungry ass?
But then again, thank god he didn’t. She couldn’t let herself get attached, and
Alex was way too tempting.

“Miss McClure.”

“Yes! I have your dinner,
on time, and—I hope—plenty for you to feel satisfied.”

“
Mmm
.
Pork chops?
Pie?
I’m getting spoiled.” His smile
shifted. “I understand you received some discipline from Dan this morning.”

Heat surged between her
thighs as she thought about Dan’s spanking. Did they talk about this stuff?
What exactly had Dan told him? “Yes,” she managed stiffly.

“I appreciate you putting
yourself at his service.”

“My
pleasure.
Absolutely.”
He had stepped closer and was watching her
intently, so much that she wanted to move back. Intensity exuded from him. What
the hell was he mad about?

“Would
you mind if I, uh, looked…at what he did?”

“What?” She flushed. Did he
somehow guess how much she wanted to give herself to him? She licked her lips
as she turned and shoved her jeans down, bending slightly as her nipples
tightened into painful knots.

He picked up the lantern
and held it behind her. “Jesus.”

Maybe it was the heat
from the lantern, or maybe it was the ridiculous surge of pleasure swelling in
her crotch, but “hot” hardly described how she felt. She thought for a minute
he was actually going to touch her.
Please touch me.
If he would put his
hand on her ass, shove a finger into her pussy, she would probably have an
orgasm on the spot.

“I can see red patches,”
he said in a quiet voice.

She felt her legs
quivering. Was he seeing how ready she was? Shit, this was so embarrassing.

He stepped away and
lowered the lantern as she quickly pulled up her clothes. “I hope you don’t
mind.”

“No, Mr. Cannon,” she
stammered. “I, uh, I want you to be pleased.” Biting her tongue, she made
herself shut up before she said what she had on her mind.

She couldn’t get her coat
on fast enough. “If there is nothing else...” she paused at the door.

“No, that’s all. But
please bring extra breakfast. Six eggs each, more sausage.”

“Yes sir, anything else?”

He gave a brief smile and
leaned slightly toward her before his face changed expressions and he turned
back to the table. She hesitated, trying to figure out how to deal with this
strange intimacy that kept popping up between them. Dan, she reminded herself.
This is about Dan.

***

Alex eased into a chair and listened to
the four-wheeler fade into the distance. The sight of her soft ass only inches
away—damnation. His cock throbbed. The red spots where Dan’s paddle struck her
called out for his caress. It had taken every bit of his strength to step back.
This clever plan to save Dan showed every sign of blowing up in his face.

He had to get control
over this,
this whatever
the hell it was he was
feeling for Bryn. He had no idea what to expect, no experience, no guidelines.
Maybe he should have stayed at Wade’s dungeon to learn a few things. What right
did he have to touch her, or look at her, for Christ’s sake? She only agreed to
submit to Dan. He rubbed his forehead.

Too
many hours at his desk, too many weeks of worry over Dan.
How long had it been since he bedded
any of the several women he kept on a loose string? Or, he snorted to himself,
who kept him on a string. Lust had its powers, and this was a perfect example
of it.

He exhaled as some of the
day’s tension left his body. At least Dan had participated. For that he was
intensely relieved.

***

The next morning neither man returned
from the woods while Bryn set out their breakfast. The eggs and sausages
nestled in iron skillets, and after waiting awhile, she left them on the stove.
At the henhouse, she refilled the feeder and water trough, gathered the eggs,
and watched the copper-red hens stroll around the dim, hay-covered floor with
their friendly chicken chatter. She brought in a fresh batch of kindling for
her stove and refilled the cat’s water bowl before setting to work on the
German chocolate cake she had planned. That would last them a couple of days.
Tonight the dinner would be pot roast, so she seared the big hunk of meat and
set it to simmer with garlic and onion. Then she hauled out a packet of yeast
and worked up batter for dinner rolls.

Mildly confident they
would pay for the rest of the two weeks, she tried to relax. While the dough
was rising under its clean white tea towel, she compiled a comprehensive
shopping list for the next day that would carry them through the rest of their
stay. Later, with the roast cooked fork tender and nestled in its savory broth
between big peppery slabs of potatoes and carrots, she pulled the pan of golden
rolls out of the oven, brushed butter over the tops, and tucked them into foil.
The cake had turned out beautifully, even the last layer of thick icing with
its coconut and chopped nuts. Her mouth watered.

A surge of happiness
filled her throat. This is what she loved more than anything, creating pleasure
with food, attending to others’ comfort. Yes, she had enjoyed college and all
the things she learned. She took deep pride in her bookkeeping jobs and the pay
she earned. None of that gave her the satisfaction she felt now with this
scrumptious meal on its way to two hungry men. Maybe she was a throwback, like
Steph
laughingly accused her. She didn’t care. Better to be
honest about who you are and what you want, she always retorted.

She arrived at the cabin
at five-thirty with plenty of time to clear away their breakfast and lunch mess
and set the table nicely for dinner. The place reeked of man scent and wood
smoke. Heat rose up her neck as she glanced at the bunk bed. She considered
stripping naked and kneeling to wait for them, but Dan had never asked for
that.

She focused on the food.
The cake looked glorious—she pushed it over to the back of the table and placed
the big platter of succulent roast nearby.
Hot rolls, butter,
two kinds of tea.
Creamy slaw.

The door swung open and
Dan stepped inside. “Miss McClure,” he acknowledged.

“Sir.”
Her breath caught in her throat.

His pale blue eyes looked
truly menacing. His biceps bulged in the thin undershirt as he pulled off the
heavy jacket. What if he did something besides spank her? She couldn’t imagine
what that might be, but her heart skipped a beat as he loomed toward her. She
resisted the urge to kneel and instead fussed with the table setting.

Alex arrived a few
minutes later. Her gaze lodged on his big gun, the orange vest bulging with
extra shells, then his hands as he shucked off the leather gloves. What was it
about this guy?

They stood so close she
could smell the woods on their clothes and feel the energy radiating off their
bodies. For a split second she could think of nothing but how much she wanted
them to take her right there on the floor, one after the other, and fuck her
brainless.

“Please, eat while it’s
still warm,” she said, gesturing at the food.

“We’ll do that. It looks
fantastic,” Alex continued, spearing a hunk of the roast. “Hand me some of that
slaw, Dan.”

 “So, Miss McClure,”
Dan began, dishing out portions of food to his plate. “From what I saw at
Wade’s place, subs were mostly naked. Do I have to tell you?”

Her mouth flew open as
heat flushed up her neck. She could tell from his tone of voice it was a kind
of challenge. She glanced at Alex. He’d stopped eating but he didn’t meet her
eyes.

“Uh, yes sir, you have to
tell me what you require.”

He gave a kind of laugh
and held her in his stare for a few seconds. She knew he must be hungry, but he
wasn’t eating.

“For now, let’s have it
from the waist up.” His pale eyes narrowed slightly before he looked down and
began eating.

People had whispered
about her large breasts since junior high school. Brent Thompson wasn’t the
only man who couldn’t keep his eyes away. Ethan had obsessed over them,
insisted she go braless when they went out so he could watch other men looking
at her. That had been one of his things about her discipline at the dungeon,
and she had learned to accept the stares.

Well, she considered,
starting to slowly unbutton the plaid flannel, it wasn’t like she had a choice.
Nobody around here would know. And, she reminded herself as she yanked the
shirt off her arms, this wasn’t as bad as selling herself on a street corner,
an option she had seriously considered before landing on the brilliant idea of
hunting rights.
Before Wade hooked her up with Alex.

She fully understood
Dan’s intent: humiliation, plain and simple. Intimidation and humiliation,
which in his eyes meant she would be more submissive to his every demand. And
wasn’t that what she signed up for?

She tossed the bra to the
side, allowing her breasts to sway out in front of her, her nipples in hard
knots, which only made it worse. Now she was not only humiliated by them seeing
her
bare
chested, but also by seeing unmistakable
evidence of her arousal. Alex said neither of them knew much about kink. Maybe
Dan was some kind of natural.

She was more turned on
than ever.

She kept her eyes down
while they looked at her. If this didn’t signal her complete acquiescence to
their demands, she didn’t know what would. Hopefully they wouldn’t see it as a
challenge. A hot wave of embarrassment crept up her neck.