Van, Becca - Double E Ranch [Slick Rock 2] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) (7 page)

Felicity couldn’t believe what he had just stated. He had said she was their woman. Did that mean she was going to be available to all three of them when they wanted to fuck? She jumped from the bed, grabbed her shirt, and pulled it over her head. She stood glaring at the three men looking at her expectantly.

“Are you out of your fucking mind?” Felicity yelled. “How dare you tell me what I can and can’t do. How dare you think I’ll be a quick roll in the hay for you to relieve an itch. Who the hell do you think you are? I don’t answer to you or anyone else. God, your ego is so big it’s a wonder your head hasn’t exploded.”

Felicity let her eyes rake over the three men staring at her from the bed as she stopped her ranting. She watched as their eyes changed from astonishment to anger in the blink of her eye. Uh-oh. She was in deep shit. She spun on her heels, slammed into the bathroom, and locked the door. She covered her mouth as a hysterical giggle threatened to erupt. The look on Tom’s face as she slammed and locked the door before he could reach her was not pleasant. In fact, it was downright furious. She was contemplating if it would be in her best interests to pack up her car and steal away in the night. The thought of leaving the Double E Ranch, but more importantly the three men living in the ranch house, sent a shard of pain piercing through her heart.

In spite of everything, she knew she was falling in love with them.
Oh no, please no.
She didn’t want to be in love with those three men. They would break her heart. She knew there was no way in hell she would survive having her heart shattered by them. She was going to have to leave. She sat down on the closed toilet lid in defeat. She was going to miss them so much. She had no idea when they had crept in under her skin and taken her heart into the palm of their hands. Maybe she could get Jack to help her. He was such a nice man. They had become good friends practically from the first day she had arrived on the Double E Ranch. Yeah, Jack would help her sneak out.

Felicity had heard the three men stomp out of her bedroom, but she was cautious and peeked through a gap in the door before exiting the bathroom. She began to pack up her stuff and hid what she could in the closets and bathroom. If everything went according to plan, maybe she wouldn’t need to ask Jack for help after all. The more she thought about it, the more she was determined to leave in the early hours of the morning. It was better if she didn’t talk to Jack since he was the ranch foreman. Even though she liked him and he seemed to like her, because he was in charge of the ranch hands, he might get it into his head to let his bosses know what she was up to.

Once Felicity had everything organized, she slid into bed, hoping to catch a couple of hours sleep before she could sneak her belongings to her car. Not that she had much stuff, but someone would definitely notice her forays in and out of the house with her couple of boxes and case of clothing. If she encountered anyone, she would act as if nothing was wrong. She would have to figure out what to tell them about her being up and about in the early hours, if she got caught. But she didn’t think she would have any problems. She planned to be well and truly on her way by 3:00 a.m. It should be a piece of cake.

Then why the hell did she feel so miserable?

* * * *

“Do you have any idea what the hell that was about?” Luke asked as he sat on the living room sofa drinking coffee.

“No. Has she said anything to you, Billy?” Tom asked.

“Nope. I mean, what the hell? It looked like she was so full of pain, like her heart was breaking, with her crying so much. I wish she would open up and talk to us. God, who knew it would be so hard to start courting a woman?” Billy asked.

“She’s only really been seen talking to Jack. Maybe we should call him over from the bunkhouse, see if he knows anything about her,” Tom queried.

“I’ll go get him,” Billy stated.

Luke watched as his friend’s long legs ate up the distance to the back door rapidly. He wasn’t surprised when Billy was back ten minutes later, Jack at his side. The two men took seats and looked at him then Tom.

“Thanks for coming over, Jack. We have a few questions to ask you regarding Felicity. Does she talk to you much besides ranch business?” Tom asked.

Luke saw Jack relax back into his seat, and knew the man had been concerned over being asked up to the house. Luke and his friends began trying to pump Jack for information about Felicity. He admired the way Jack took his time to think over his thoughts before he began to speak.

“I know her parents died when she was just a toddler. I asked her about them one day, and she said she couldn’t remember her parents and went on to explain why. She didn’t tell me how they died though.”

“Can you remember anything else?” Luke asked, leaning forward, waiting for a reply.

“I think she said an elderly maiden aunt raised her, but she didn’t go into any detail. Oh, she’s been on her own since she was seventeen. That I do remember. I thought it was way too young for a female to have to be alone. Can I enquire why all the questions?” Jack asked curiously.

“We want to claim her as ours. We laid down the law to her tonight, and she got upset. Her tears were nearly more than we could bear. Then she had the audacity to yell at us and lock herself in the bathroom,” Billy stated. Luke watched in amazement as Jack threw his head back and burst out laughing.

“I’m sorry. I know it probably doesn’t seem funny to you, but I just had a picture of that tiny woman going at you then storming off in a temper. She’s such a feisty little thing. She can be so cool and controlled, but when her temper gets the better of her, boy, she nearly singes you with her fire.”

“Hmm, I think you’ve hit on something there, Jack. Thanks for coming over and talking to us,” Luke said then shook Jack’s hand. Tom and Billy rose to their feet, thanking him and shaking Jack’s hand as well. Luke watched the foreman leave, the man still chuckling every now and then, shaking his head, until he was gone, exiting the back door, closing it behind him.

“You know, what Jack said makes sense. I think our little Flick has been hurt badly in the past. She has built walls so high around herself, trying to keep people out. She is so full of passion, but I don’t think she even knows it. I have a feeling she’s buried her true self and has no idea who she is inside. I think we need to break down those walls she’s built up as protection. We are going to have to be there when those walls come tumbling down. There is no way in hell I’m letting another man near her when her true self begins to show,” Luke stated.

Luke had decided Flick was an apt nickname for their woman, as she was always flicking her ponytail back off her shoulders and because he knew she liked it. Every time he called her Flick, she’d smile and toss back her bound hair again. He sometimes saw sadness in her eyes, too, and wondered why. He wanted to ask her, but he wanted her to come to him and tell him why she was sad at times.

“I think you may be right, Luke. Those tears are a testament that we’re getting to her. I believe she honestly doesn’t know what she’s feeling. But how the hell do we break down those walls?” Tom asked.

“I think we’ve already taken the first step to doing that. She broke down for no apparent reason, and then she used anger to keep us at arm’s length when you told her our rules. She was trying to gather those walls back up around her heart,” Billy stated.

“When did you get to be so wise, little bro?” Tom asked with a grin.

“You’d be surprised what I’ve learned from women over the years,” Billy said with a chuckle.

“I’ve got a sinking feeling in my gut, and since my gut instincts have never let me down before, we need to keep an eye on Felicity. I think she’s gonna try and leave. I can’t tell you why I think that, it’s just intuition,” Luke said.

“I think I need to have a look at the car we have under the carport,” Tom said.

Luke looked at his friend as he rose to his feet and tried to figure out what Tom was going to do. He finally realized Tom wanted to make sure Felicity’s car was safe for her to drive. Luke and his friends whispered to each other as they worked on Felicity’s car. They made sure it was safe for her in case she wanted to go to town, with their permission, of course. Luke wanted to replace her old car with a brand new one, but knew Felicity would put up a fuss. He wondered how the old, rusted-out vehicle was still able to start. When he and his friends had done as much as they could, they crept back inside, washed up, and went to bed.

Chapter Six

Felicity was glad her internal alarm clock was still right on time. Her eyes popped open at 2:30 a.m., and instead of being groggy with sleep, she was wide awake. She rose from the bed, dressed quickly, went to the bathroom and brushed her teeth and hair. She collected the last of her belongings, shoved them in her bag, and crept to her bedroom door. She listened carefully, making sure everyone was asleep. She could hear quiet snores coming from the two bedrooms next to hers, and she sighed in relief. She was going to have to be extremely quiet. She frowned, trying to remember if any of the timber floorboards creaked or groaned as she walked over them. She gave a mental shrug, as she had no idea. Since she hadn’t planned on sneaking out until tonight, she hadn’t taken any notice. Oh well, not much she could do about that now.

Felicity opened the bedroom door wide, walked back to the closet, retrieved the two small boxes of belongings, and then quietly crept down the long hallway. She was glad she had a pair of sneakers, as they were much quieter than boots. She was very careful to walk on the balls of her feet, not wanting to land too heavily with her heels. She leaned the two boxes against the timber doorframe of the back entrance then eased the exit open. Shit. She’d forgotten about the screen door. She placed her boxes on the floor, eased the door open, letting her breath rush out when the door didn’t squeak, and reached up, using the O-ring to keep the screen door propped wide. She crept to the other end of the house along the gravel drive, but when able, she moved off the gravel to walk on the grass. She wanted to keep her footsteps light and muffled as much as possible. She eased the back door of her car open, placed the boxes on the far side of the seat, and then crept back into the house. She retrieved her small suitcase and purse and made sure she had her keys ready in her hand.

The stab of pain to her heart caught her unawares, and she had to bite the bottom lip of her mouth hard enough to draw blood so she wouldn’t cry out. She took one last look around the bedroom, straightened her spine, and pushed her shoulders back, heading to the back door. She pulled the back door closed behind her, turning the knob so the latch wouldn’t click into place loudly. She froze when she heard a squeak inside. When she heard no other sound, she put the noise down to the timber structure of the house cooling and shrinking in the early hours. She placed her case onto the decking, reached up, and released the O-ring. She eased the screen door back into the doorjamb then slowly released the handle back into place.

Felicity picked her case up and walked down the steps, lightly along the gravel drive and grass. She eased her case into the backseat and closed the back car door, easing it into place with a quiet snick. She got into the driver’s seat, threw her purse onto the passenger seat, and put the key into the ignition. She released the handbrake, shifted the stick into reverse, took a deep breath, and turned the key in the ignition. Nothing happened. She turned the key and tried again, and again and again.

Felicity was biting her lip, with tears tracking down her cheeks, when the driver’s side door was hauled open. She didn’t have time to blink or take another breath before large, firm hands were hauling her out of her car. Felicity screamed with fear and shock as she was slung over a broad male shoulder. Her scream of fright was cut off when she realized who had her. She knew she was in trouble now. She had tried to leave, and in their eyes, she had broken the rules of their contract. She knew their brand of punishment was going to have her screaming in pleasure. She squirmed and squeezed her legs together, trying to relieve the ache in her pussy. A large hand came down on her ass, hard. The smack was enough to get her uncooperative lungs to fill with the precious oxygen she needed. She took a few big gulps of air then slumped in relief over the hard male shoulder. She felt dampness on her cheeks and realized she’d been crying as she fought to get air into her lungs. She knew deep down she was using her anger as a defense mechanism, but wasn’t willing to reason out the cause of it just yet. She turned her head and knew it was Luke carrying her. “Where are you taking me?” Felicity asked as Luke carried her through the back door. He didn’t even acknowledge she had spoken, just kept right on walking.

“Who do you think you are? I am going to report you to your superiors for kidnapping. Don’t think I won’t. You can’t watch me twenty-four hours a day. Just you wait, you bastard. I am going to hand you your balls on a platter. I’ve been waiting for this. You have no idea how much,” Felicity goaded as she slapped his back. When that didn’t get a reaction, she grabbed onto his belt, pulled herself lower down his back, opened her mouth wide, and bit his ass, hard. She gave a satisfied smirk when he yelped in pain. She couldn’t wait for her punishment. She was so turned on, and she knew Luke, Tom, and Billy would never lose control around her and hurt her.