Always Her Cowboys Read online

  She could tell in his words and in his serious expression that he was feeling guilty for caving into her urgency of going out today. It was best to drop this subject and let this end right here and now. No use in dwelling on it. It would just send her into a panic attack and ruin the evening she had planned.

  “And nothing else matters that you are safe too,” she added.

  Good heavens, because of her stupidity, Brady could have been hurt.

  “Stop, JJ. Stop thinking about it,” Brady warned gently.

  Despite the seriousness of what might have happened, JJ couldn’t help but laugh at how Brady seemed to be able to read her mind.

  “Okay, you caught me! I’m stopping!” She threw her hands up in the air.

  She’d have to whip up something special for the guys tonight. Maybe some beer brownies as an apology for her impulsiveness where the tree was concerned. But when she’d heard on the radio that a huge storm was going to hit later in the day, she’d panicked and twisted Brady’s arm in taking her out before the storm arrived.

  “I’ll get supper warmed up. And don’t think that I’ve forgotten tonight is our night,” she said after she slid off her boots and struggled out of her suit pants.

  The sweet grin that touched Brady’s lips made her heart thump with lightning speed.

  “I’m looking forward to it, sweetness,” he replied.

  She had a feeling that he might kiss her, but Rafe shouted at them to open the door because the tree was coming in.

  “Get into the house before you catch cold,” Brady warned.

  JJ nodded and hurried out of the mudroom before she caught the blast of cold air as Brady rushed to let the guys in with the tree.

  Oh! Tonight, was going to be so much fun getting that tree trimmed and decorated. She could hardly wait!

  Chapter Two

  “JJ, you sure know how to pick a beautiful Christmas tree,” Rafe said with a chuckle from beside JJ as all four of them stood in front of the giant, plump tree.

  “She sure does,” Brady replied softly as he slid an arm around her waist and gave her an affectionate squeeze.

  “I swear this is the most beautiful tree I have ever seen,” JJ gushed as she admired the sparkling ornaments and Christmas lights.

  Dan laughed. “You say that ever year.”

  “And I mean it every year,” JJ said as happiness burst through her. “I love this time of the year. The snow sparkles beneath the sunshine and the property looks like a magical winter wonderland with Christmas trees everywhere.”

  The guys all smiled and nodded.

  This tree certainly was different than the ones she’d had when she’d been a kid. Back then it had just been her mom and herself. Despite her mother working two minimum wage jobs, they’d been poor. But her mom made sure they had a tree every year, even if it was a scraggly one. Often, she would get the last tree at the local tree lot and it was usually free in the last couple of hours before the lot people closed down for the season on Christmas Eve. But those trees, just like this one, had been real and smelled nice, not fake-scented like the plastic ones she hadn’t been able to stand looking at while she’d been in prison.

  If she stared hard enough at this tree, she could almost see her mother standing there, a tender smile on her face as she nodded her approval at picking such a lovely tree.

  “Merry Christmas, sweet pea,” she’d whisper and hug her warmly. Those earlier years of her life had been happy ones, and she always missed her mom, mostly though, around this time of the year.

  But thoughts of her not being alive couldn’t bring JJ down this evening. There was an unusual giddiness embracing her tonight. Maybe it had to do with the narrow escape from the nasty storm and how lucky they’d been for Brady to find his way back in the whiteout conditions. Or more than likely because after dinner they’d popped popcorn and strung it into long chains and placed them beside the Christmas lights on the tree branches.

  That had been followed with them hanging the fragile glass ornaments; angels, frosted pine cones and round ornaments with fancy designs that Brady’s sister, Jenna, had sent JJ’s first Christmas here.

  They’d hung all the ornaments and some silver tinsel and this year she’d added store bought candy canes, some cute pinecones she’d gathered this fall during her walks in the nearby forest, and she’d tied some puffy red and black plaid ribbons that she’d created herself with some fabric from an old tattered shirt of Dan’s to the tips of some of the branches.

  Before putting up the tree though, it had had to lose about three feet from the base in order not to hit the ceiling, but that had been taken care of before supper by Dan out in the mudroom.

  Now it was almost eleven o’clock. Outside, the wind howled, and icy blasts of snow pummeled the glass panes of the frosted windows, but it was toasty and delightful in here in the living room. The guys had taken turns stoking the fire in the nearby hearth and while they all had decorated the tree, they’d sung Christmas carols.

  “I know it’s a bit late, but how about that dessert I promised. I have beer brownies hidden in a cupboard,” she said after she noticed the guys had grown quiet.

  Reluctantly, she turned away from the beauty of the tree, but stopped short when Brady refused to loosen his grip around her waist.

  “You’re all the dessert we need tonight, Jennifer Jane,” Brady whispered.

  Oh, how sweet.

  “I’ve decided because of what happened today, that I’m making an exception to our one on one time together. Tonight, it will be all of us together. It will help everyone heal. But only if you agree.”

  Her breath caught at Brady’s lusty gaze and then she observed Rafe and then Dan. Their eyes sparkled with sexual arousal.

  Excitement snapped through her. Although she’d gained plenty of weight due to her growing baby, and her tummy was near to busting and her back ached most of the time now, she enjoyed these intimate moments with her cowboys. Loved that they still wanted her even when she looked like a giant whale.

  “What do you gentlemen have in mind?” she purred. Heat poured through her as Brady let go of her waist and all three men surrounded her.

  Rafe reached for the hem of her maternity top.

  “We’re anything but gentlemen, tonight,” Rafe whispered.

  “So, you’re going to ravage me, are you?” she teased.

  “Over and over,” he replied in a hoarse voice.

  Earlier, when it had grown hot in the living room because of the crackling fire, she’d gone upstairs to change out of her pants, long johns, heavy sweater, and layered tops, and then slipped into a white pair of maturity pants and a cute red maternity top with the words I’ve been a Naughty Girl scrawled across the baby bump area.

  As Rafe’s hot knuckles brushed against her bulging tummy, he smiled.

  “We’ve decided we’re going to make those words on your top come true,” he said thickly.

  JJ giggled. She liked the sound of that.

  His gaze held hers as she raised her arms and Rafe lifted off her top. He tossed it onto the nearby couch.

  Over the past few weeks her breasts had grown so heavy that she’d been forced to purchase a maternity bra on her last trip to the city and now Brady and Dan didn’t waste any time in helping her out of the garment. Her breasts spilled free and warm air splashed against her large sensitive nipples.

  Dan let out a slow whistle.

  “Beautiful, baby. Absolutely beautiful,” he whispered as he studied her bared breasts.

  Her pussy clenched, and her thighs trembled as Dan licked his lips and both he and Rafe moved closer. With her every breath, she inhaled their scents. They smelled of spruce and of passion.

  “We’re going to eat you up, sweetness,” Rafe muttered. His voice was husky, his brown eyes dark with sensuality.

  She gasped as their calloused hot hands cupped her breasts and both men’s heads lowered. She keened and jerked as their hot lips ensnared her nipples. Their tongues lapped, a
nd their mouths sucked until sensations cascaded over her and she was drowning in pleasure.

  “Kick off your slippers and spread your legs, baby,” Brady muttered from behind her. The gravely tone of his lust-thickened voice was like an aphrodisiac, turning her mindless and obedient.

  She did as he instructed, and trembled when he dipped his hands beneath the elastic waistband of her pants and panties. His fingers were hot as they scorched her flesh. He pulled her garments over her ass and hips and then lower. With Rafe and Dan both suckling her nipples, she was able to slap her hands upon their strong, muscular backs for support and managed to step out of the clothing.

  Then the heated length of Brady’s body pressed against her back and her backside. The unmistakable knot of his erection ground against her bottom making her crave for sex the old-fashioned way, but because of the baby she knew the three men wouldn’t make love to her by penetration. They had other naughty ways…

  Brady lifted her hair and kissed the nape of her neck with feather like touches and his warm hands smoothed over her sides, her hips and then her thighs, stoking the fires igniting inside of her. He sucked her left earlobe into his hot mouth, making her moan. His sensual lips sipped her flesh and the pleasure he created made her tremble and ache for more.

  She let her head drop back against Brady as he continued kissing her body. His mouth made love to the length of her neck, his lips touching her sensitive flesh with feather-like brushes. He splashed kisses across her shoulders and then along her upper back, making a delicious storm of desire rage within her.

  Rafe and Dan tugged at her nipples, their succulent mouths licking and teasing the tight peaks until she writhed and wiggled beneath the pleasure.

  “Brace yourself, sweetheart,” Brady suddenly warned as he gently pushed her away from him and closer to Dan and Rafe.

  Brady’s calloused hands sailed seductively along her sides and then settled over her full hips and she knew he’d dropped to his knees. She whimpered as she realized he was going down on her.

  Instinctively, she spread her legs and tensed with anticipation.

  A moment later, Brady’s warm breath blew against her pussy lips and she moaned as a finger slipped between her labia and dipped into her throbbing vagina.

  “You’re creaming up a storm, babe,” Brady whispered from below.

  His breathing was ragged, and she couldn’t think as he withdrew his finger and then sucked her throbbing labia into his mouth. She gasped as his teeth softly latched onto her flesh and then he tugged her pussy lips until she burned. The intimate pulling made her cry out in frustration. She wanted more. Needed more from him. She struggled to form her thoughts, to put them into words, but no sentences escaped her mouth.

  “Brady,” she managed to puff.

  Her breaths quickened as Dan and Rafe sweetly massaged her weighty breasts, their fingers kneading her flesh, their eager mouths sucking her nipples, hard and furious. She bucked and keened as sensations gathered through her.

  Her inner thighs quaked and trembled and she could do nothing but moan her joy as Brady let go of her labia and then slurped his hot tongue, strong and demanding, over her sensitive clit.

  Over and over. He licked and lapped, and sucked her throbbing flesh until she was a shivering mess and crying out from the waves of tremors rocking into her.

  Brady stroked and pulled and then lapped and licked some more. He made love to her pussy and Dan and Rafe made love to her breasts and nipples until the coiled need and pleasure buried deep within her burst.

  She lost her senses and soared out of her self-control. Her thoughts spiraled as wicked sensations, tight and sharp, snapped through her.

  She bucked and gyrated, gasping at the sultry vibrations that sizzled through her as if she were being electrified. Exquisite pleasure pummeled her. Ecstasy gripped her, and she spiraled inside of sparkling stars and rode the colorful bows of rainbows. She danced within the land of joy and unconditional love, the killing pleasure pouring through her with demon-like speed, sucking her into a pulsating center of wild uncontrollable frenzy of which there was no escape.

  The next few days flew by quickly. Before JJ knew it, the Christmas party she had planned was only an hour away and she was a nervous wreck. What had she been thinking arranging a party so close to her due date? Her back was aching, her breasts felt incredibly heavy and she waddled instead of walked as she made a last inspection of the bedrooms.

  Blue, Kaley and Kelly had been kind enough to offer to pick up Mitch, Daegen and Paul over at their ranch, via Blue’s bush plane. Blue had outfitted her plane with skiis for the winter, to continue her mail route into the most desolate areas of Northern Ontario where some people preferred to live.

  All JJ’s guests had said they would be leaving tonight after the party, but JJ had insisted the guys set up the cots and get the rooms ready just in case everyone decided to stay. Better to be safe than sorry, was her motto.

  As she entered Dan’s bedroom, she gazed out the nearest window and surveyed the ranch surroundings. She smiled as warmth and happiness bubbled through her. Although it was already dark outside, everything looked so Christmassy. White plumps of snow drenched the trees and the ground, and long icicles hung from the eaves of the barn, the outbuildings, and the wood-rail fencing around the corrals and bright red and green lights sparkled in the snow-covered boughs of the scraggly pine trees that straddled the cleared path leading down to the lake. From here she could even see the cute snowman that Brady had created a couple of days ago. To greet their guests, he’d said. She loved that about Brady. Every once in a while, he let his inner kid shine through and she knew instinctively he would be the best father.

  It had snowed off and on almost every day and night since the beginning of November and it was doing so now too. From here she could barely see the lake because of the darkness of late afternoon and the harried swirl of snowflakes that almost drowned out the silhouettes of the guys, who were busily clearing a runway on the frozen lake with the riding snow blowers. The men had also placed several gas lanterns on both sides of the runway so Blue could easily land her plane when she arrived.

  JJ had even invited Layla, her midwife, to the party, but she had called earlier this morning to cancel because she was off to deliver an earlier than expected baby a couple of hundred miles away.

  JJ tore her gaze away from the pretty scenery and returned to inspecting the room.

  Thankfully the guys had done a wonderful job putting clean sheets on all the spare beds and setting up some spare cots too or JJ would have been in trouble because she could barely bend due to a stiffness in her back. The smell of turkey baking in the oven made her mouth water and as she maneuvered her way down the stairs, she gasped as the baby suddenly decided to give her a good punch to her belly.

  Ow, that hurt. Despite the pain, JJ smiled and gazed down at her swollen tummy. A small fist was outlined against her top.

  “Sweetie, you need to settle down. It’s not your time yet,” JJ whispered and gently patted the baby’s tiny fist. The sweet lump disappeared, and JJ blew out a tense breath as she waited for the pain to decimate. It went away, and she wobbled the rest of the way down the stairs. The mouthwatering smell of turkey was stronger down here and she couldn’t wait until all their guests were here.

  Boy, but she was hungry! And in the way the baby was rolling around inside, she or he was hungry too.

  In the kitchen, JJ slipped on the oven mitts, opened the oven door, and stood back as a blast of hot herb-scented air blew against her face. She recognized the rosemary, basil, oregano, and sage Dan had planted and then picked and dried this autumn from their garden. The smells complimented each other very nicely, making her mouth water.

  She pulled out the grill with the giant roaster, lifted the lid and placed it upon her cutting board, grabbed the baster, and gave the turkey a generous final basting.

  Wow! The giant bird looked immaculate. Its skin glowed a golden brown and juices flowed and bub
bled. Her guests would enjoy this bird, for sure. When she finished the basting, JJ left the lid off and slid the turkey back into its place. A moment later, she gave the dinner table a final inspection.

  The theme was simple and traditional with the coloring red, white and gold, along with homemade evergreen and pine swags laden with long stem red candles. She’d set a red tablecloth and because they didn’t have any fancy dishes, she’d placed the plain white ones.

  She’d given the place settings some pizzazz with fancy folded green napkins and written in gold pen each guest’s name on a card, so he or she would know where to sit.

  Another swift kick within caused JJ to gasp from the pain. Baby was getting rowdy again. A bit of nervousness skittled through her at the thought that maybe the baby was coming early? And with Lana away on another call…maybe it had been a bad idea to have her firstborn here on the ranch? What in the world had she been thinking? What if something went wrong? What if something bad happened to the baby? What if—

  Reign it in, JJ. Reign it in. Layla said the baby might become more active closer to your due date and not to panic.

  JJ inhaled slowly and then exhaled. Okay, she was not going into labor tonight. And even if she did go into labor, Rafe had delivered Blue’s baby without much of a problem.

  Despite trying to talk herself down before anxiety took a firm hold, that inner nervousness persisted as she waddled into the hallway and to the first-floor bedroom where she’d lain out her Christmas clothing.

  JJ’s heart fluttered at the pretty dress she’d ordered online. It was a raspberry colored stretch jersey dress with a cute crossover V-neckline in front and back, allowing her to wear it off the shoulders or on. Tonight, she opted to wear it on the shoulders.

  As she slipped on her flat black shoes, another recent purchase, due to her slightly swelling feet, she heard the guys stomping up the back stairs and enter the mudroom.

  “Wow! Smells really good in here!” came Rafe’s shout as he entered the hallway.