“Looks like everything’s coming along great.” Grant curled his arm around Kate’s waist and pulled her to his side. She went easily, loving the feel of his body against hers.
“Do you have your speech done yet?” Gale used her toe to adjust the position of one bale of hay to fall in line beside the others.
“Yes, Mom.” He rolled his eyes. Kate could imagine how much hell he’d given Gale with finishing his homework. No doubt he was to blame for at least some of the grey hairs sprinkled through Gale’s bun. “It’s all done. I’ll be at that altar on the big day, waiting for my girl to walk my way.” He gestured toward the archway before them, ready for her and Daniel to stand beneath and commit themselves to each other for life.
Kate glanced down at the silver bracelet collar on her wrist. Grant already owned her in a way Daniel never could. In a way that could never be erased. And her heart sped up at the thought of him performing the ceremony that would give Daniel and her the same kind of tie—in a more legal way.
“Good.” Gale smiled at her son before returning to the arranging flowers around the aisle.
“So this is what a country wedding looks like?” Grant inspected the scene, scratching his chin lazily.
“Yes.” Thanks to way too many Internet searches, Kate had found every tip and trick in the book to organize a beautiful and appropriate wedding for her new home, all within their budget. Between Gale and her, they’d turned this quiet field into a beautiful place. Her new home.
“You think your mother will sit on a bale of hay?” Grant gestured to the stacks Gale continued to decorate with ribbons and daisies, Kate’s favorite flower.
“Hey, my mother may not like the country, but she understands the need to stay on theme.” She smiled up at Grant.
He grinned back at her and her stomach fluttered. She’d never understand how this man could affect her so much, not that she had any complaints.
“Did you need me for something?” Kate winked at Grant behind his mother’s back. God, she hoped so. One look at Grant had her whole body aching to be with him again. If they could just find a few minutes alone.
Before coming home with Daniel for Christmas and deciding not to leave, she’d never realized how much fun it was sneaking around. Searching for time alone, for a place they could be loud and free. Not that Kate had any delusions they were fooling Gale. She was too pragmatic not to realize that when they wandered off to the barn for hours, it had nothing to do with the horses.
Grant swallowed and his eyes narrowed. Not enough that most people would notice, but Kate definitely did. She knew that telltale stare, and her entire body buzzed with the idea.
“Yes, I did need your help at the house. If you can spare the bride…” Grant directed toward his mother.
“We’re almost done here. You two go ahead and do what you need to do.” Gale raised an eyebrow at them, but she didn’t say anything. Gale was amazing. She never judged them.
Kate wished her own mother could be like that. Even if it was only for the wedding. But to set her heart on that would only lead to disappointment.
Chapter Two
“Looks like everything’s coming along.” Grant looked over his shoulder at the decorated bales of hay and flowered archway. The spot where in two days Kate would marry his brother Daniel.
“Yes, I think we should be all set in plenty of time, assuming there are no complications.”
“Like your parents?”
She nodded. Even at the mention of her parents, Kate’s shoulders dipped, her chest fell and her eyes clouded. He hated to think anyone could make Kate feel so unworthy. No one had the right to make his pet feel less than. He imagined seeing her parents in person would only make the affect more pronounced.
In the six months Kate had been back in his life, Grant had learned a lot more about Kate’s relationship with her parents. They didn’t sound like bad people. He could never be too upset with them. They’d done at least one great thing, raising this amazing woman he and his brother both loved. But he couldn’t say he was looking forward to their visit.
He tightened his arm around her waist, holding her a little closer. She was so small and fragile against him. His to protect. “I’m sure it will be amazing.” Just like her.
She nodded. “I hope so.” Her eyes sparkled and she smiled up at him. God, her smile could set him off kilter. She was so damn beautiful, it dazzled him.
They broke apart to walk up the narrow footpath to the small foreman’s house—the place that would soon be home for all three of them. Which couldn’t come soon enough, as far as Grant was concerned. He was sick of sneaking around, trying to find somewhere to fool around where his mother couldn’t run into them or overhear them.
Not that he thought they were all that successful. It had only taken a few sideways looks from his mother to realize her hearing was just as good as it had always been.
Already he was looking forward to having a space to explore, so he could do whatever he wanted to his feisty pet—command Kate to cook him breakfast naked or spend the night kneeling at his feet while he played with her pretty tits. His cock hardened in his pants. It had been so long since he’d completely controlled Kate. Only a few more days and he’d be able to dominate her all he wanted. He swallowed down a moan.
“So what did you need from me? Besides saving me from your mother’s meddling.”
Grant smiled. He’d been doing that a lot more since Kate had reappeared in his life. If his friends in Dallas could see him now. The big, scary Dom smiling like a fool because a pretty girl was in his life—and his bed.
“You noticed that, did you?”
Her pretty blue eyes stared into his so sweetly his chest tightened. “Yup.”
He nodded. “Ma can be like that. She only pesters because she cares.” He placed his hand on the small of her back, negotiating her around the trail and up the steps into their little house.
“I know. She’s sweet.” There was a note of hesitancy in her voice. His hand traveled up to her neck. He gripped her nape tight, silently demanding she release her secrets. A sub doesn’t have the choice to keep anything from her Master. For her safety and security, Kate needed to tell him all. How could he take care of her if he didn’t know what she needed?
Her muscles relaxed beneath his hold. She let out a little whimper at the touch, and his chest expanded with pride. The power he held over her coiled in his stomach, racing though his veins, thick and strong. Kate’s submission always hit him that hard. No other sub had possessed such control over him. It was scary and amazing at the same time. And he’d do anything for her, to earn that obedience.
“Your mother thinks I should tell my parent’s about you and Daniel. About what the three of us mean to each other.”
“And you don’t think that’s a good idea?”
She shook her head. “My parents aren’t like your mom. They aren’t supportive. They won’t understand the way Gale does.” Her words were edged with pain. It hurt him just to hear it. He cupped her cheek, rubbing his thumb across her cheekbone, hoping to soothe away some of the ache.
“If you don’t think your parents can handle knowing what’s going on between the three of us, don’t tell them. You know your parents better than we do.”
She pinched her bottom lip between her teeth. He wanted to reach down and nibble on that lip too. She always tasted so sweet and responded so easily beneath him. It was amazing he didn’t spend his whole day exploring her mouth.
“I don’t want you or Daniel to think I’m embarrassed of you or our relationship.”
“You don’t ever have to worry about that, pet. Danny and I know your relationship to your parents is tenuous.” He reached for her hand, twining his fingers with hers as they walked through the door into the small house. “We both love you. We want you to be happy. If not telling you parents about the three of us is what you think is best, we support you.”
They walked through the empty living room to the small, open kitchen where he’d spent a majority of his time upgrading the place. It wasn’t a designer kitchen, but it was fresh and clean and would serve their purposes. He had no intention of any of them spending a lot of time in the kitchen. They had more important things to do in other rooms of the house.
“But before that I need you to pick the paint color for the living room.” He’d laid out the samples across the counter, along with the flooring and fabric swatches from the curtains she’d already picked out.
She smiled up at him and his heart pounded in his chest. All he wanted in the world was to make Kate happy.
He slid the three paint samples in front of her, all varying shades of beige to
brighten up the room
—whatever that meant. “The guys are coming to paint tomorrow after we take your parents on a tour of the grounds so they can show them the place before the wedding. And I’ll get the tile installed tonight.” All the ranch hands had been very understanding about their relationship, treating the three of them like any other couple. Offering to help, celebrating the wedding and their moving into the old foreman’s house, as if there was nothing different about their arrangement.
Kate looked down pensively at the three samples, pursing her lips and rubbing her chin in great thought. It was adorable, especially since he couldn’t tell the difference between the three paint samples to save his life.
“This one.” She pointed to the center square.
Grant stared down at the sample, bursting out laughing. “That one? Really?”
“Yeah, what?”
“The color you picked is called Divine Pleasure.” He chuckled harder, the laugher almost overtaking him. Only Kate would pick that color.
She looked up, crooking her eyebrow at him. The corner of her lips turned up in a sexy grin. “Sounds like the right color for us.”
He wrapped an arm around her, pulling her to his chest and kissing her temple. She really was the cutest thing in the world. “I couldn’t agree more.”
She leaned up, planting a kiss on his lips. It was quick, brief and not enough. There was never enough when it came to Kate.
“Mom said we could take the old couch from the living room and the table from the barn for the dining room. It’s not very much, but it will due for now.”
They’d pooled their money together to fix up the little cabin. It had taken every penny they had to repair and refurbish the place, leaving nothing for furniture.
“As long as we have three seats, we’ll be fine. We don’t need anything else.” She leaned her head against his shoulder and he felt like he grew two feet.
These gentle, quiet moments were more than he’d ever expected to have with her. A year ago, he didn’t believe he deserved any of this. Certainly not someone as amazing as Kate.
The last few months taught him quite a bit about the little woman pressed against him. She could be just as fierce and demanding as he was, even if she was submissive to him in most rooms of the house. She always got what she wanted. Whether she wanted a spanking that made her too sore to sit or he and his brother kneeling at her feet, ready and willing to cater to her every whim.
But most of all, she’d taught him that despite his dark tendencies and his urge to bring pain to those around him, he deserved love. And she gave it to him without reservation.
“You really think this will all be done before the wedding?” She gazed around the living room. The flooring wasn’t installed yet. The walls were still the salmon-pink color the pervious foreman’s wife had liked, making the place look cold and bare.
“Not everything. I won’t get to the tiles in the guest bathroom, and I don’t think all the furniture will be moved in, but the important things will be complete.” Even if he had to work all day and night to complete it. He wouldn’t let her down.
“And the bed will be here, right?” She batted those pretty eyes that always made him melt up at him. The wicked gleam he loved so much filled her gaze. Damn he loved this woman.
“Absolutely.” Even if he had to pluck the geese himself. He wasn’t going to miss out on the wedding night he and Danny had planned for her—not for anything in the world.
“Maybe I should check it out. Make sure everything’s set up the way I want it.” She motioned toward the bedroom just beyond the dining room with the tip of her head.
Grant narrowed his eyes, denying her with a shake. She was determined. He enjoyed when she used that determination to all their advantage, as she had in creating this unusual relationship. But it was fucking annoying when she levelled it against him.
“You know the rules. You can’t go in the bedroom until the wedding night. We have to save something till then. Unless you want to hold off on
other
activities until the wedding night.” He lifted an eyebrow at her, sure she wasn’t interested in holding off on their extracurricular activities any more than he was.
“Of course not.” She shook her head.
“But I don’t see how a little peek could hurt.” She grinned up at him. “If I’m a really good girl.”
Grant swallowed, his whole body flashing to red alert.
Damn it, why does she have to make it all so hard
? Though it wouldn’t be so much fun if she didn’t put up a fight. Weak-willed women were never his thing. “No.”
“And what if I just made a run for it?”
Grant took a threatening step toward her, placing himself between her and the door. He glared up at her, almost daring her to make a move. His whole body vibrated, hoping she’d push him. With all the wedding prep lately, they hadn’t shared in a really good romp in too long. Given how tight her shoulders looked, she could use the stress relief.
He crossed his arms over his chest, spreading his legs a little wider. “You’ll have to give it a try to know for sure, but I think you have an idea.”
Chapter Three
“What are you going to do, pet?” He growled. He clenched his hands together, holding tight to his control as the defiant tilt of her chin threated to rip it right out of his fingertips.
Kate glared up at him, her eyes darkening at the hint of challenge he layered into his tone. She loved a good skirmish. It was one of the many things he loved about her. She sucked her bottom lip between her teeth, nibbling on the flesh, debating what to do next, not that he believed she’d leave the room alone for a second. She’d been trying to get into that room since the instant Daniel had told her it was off limits.