The Brothers Rule - Carolyn Faulkner Page 0,60

hers begat his as she clamped down hard around him, and he managed to keep his head enough to continue stroking that eager little clit of hers, sending her off into several more climaxes that he wished he had enough of a brain to count but that was well beyond him by that point.

Afterward, it was near her bedtime, so they simply cuddled in bed. But Jace could rarely keep his hands to himself, and he continued to bring her off every once in a while, so that her sensitivity to him remained high from his ministrations until just before he got things ready for her to go to sleep.

And he stayed with her until she was dead to the world before sneaking away quietly and going back out to talk with his brothers.

It was just the three of them in the den when he got there.

"Hey, do you guys have time for a quick huddle?"

They nodded and everyone sat close.

"She's all right?" Adam asked.

"She's fine. I wore her out, both ways."

"Yeah," Ryan agreed. "Just wait until I get a hold of her, myself."

Adam looked befuddled. "What'd she do?"

His brothers looked askance at him.

"She deliberately hid her feelings from us. That is not to be allowed, doofus."

Ryan smacked his older brother upside the head.

"Oh, of course. Sorry. Not thinking."

"Obviously," Jace commented, then he said, "I just wanted to say that I-I really think it would be best if Laurie did quit her job and stay home. I don't know about you guys, but I get the definite feeling that—aside from the business opportunity—she might well thrive under an atmosphere that's just a bit more restrictive, and staying home would allow us to provide that for her."

The others' eyebrows were at their hairlines.

"Oh?"

"Oh."

"Well, of course, you're in favor of her being home all the time." Adam sat back in his chair. "You're the one who's going to be home with her, technically."

Jace glared at him. "Your point, if you even have one, would be?"

"Then you're going to have her more, just out of sheer opportunity."

Ryan chimed in with an affronted, "Yeah! That's not right!"

Jace just grinned at them, leaning back in his own chair. He hadn't even thought of that angle, not that he was going to let them know that, allowing a self-satisfied grin to spread over his face. "Well, gentlemen, seniority has to have some sort of advantage—along with career choice. Either of you could have taken over the ranch, but you didn't want to do the work." He frowned again. "And along those lines, what do you think I'd be doing all day? Lolling around in bed with our wife? I don't think so."

His use of that word frankly startled his brothers.

"So, you think that's a good idea? One of us marrying her?"

Jace nodded. "I do, and it's going to surprise you guys to hear it, and as much as I don't like saying it one bit, it shouldn't be me. Either of you two has a better benefits package than I do. In fact, it should probably be Adam, considering everything he gets from both the PD and the Reserves. She'd be well taken care of—not that she wouldn't be, considering that she technically has two other husbands—if something should happen to you."

Ryan didn't look as if he was at all happy about that idea. "Hey, wait a minute—"

But Adam cut him off. "Is this a real objection, based on fact, not emotion—meaning you're putting what's best for Laurie ahead of what you want—or are you just reacting with your gonads?"

Ryan frowned fiercely but didn't say anything further.

Jace reached over and smacked his leg. "You're not alone in the way you're feeling, Ry. Not at all. I would cut off my arm to marry her and leave the two of you in the dust. But what we do, we do for her, because she does a shit ton for us—even leaving the sex out entirely."

They both nodded quietly, and everyone paused for a moment, going over what had been said.

"So, we should encourage her to quit and marry Adam?"

Jace drew a breath. "Well, we should encourage her to quit, and we know that she's going to resist that because she won't want to be a burden, which is ridiculous—we all know—but we can't belittle her feelings in that way. They're completely valid. We'll just have to acknowledge them but help her get to a place—and I really don't think she's far from there already—where she'll realize that