and waiting.
"Oh! Oh!..." Ecstasy swamped her, a tidal wave of pleasure so pure and sharp she felt as if she might drown in it. Wave after wave crashed in on her, rushing through her. She screamed and pushed and shivered as the orgasm kept coming, relentless and rich.
Encased in a bubble of unreality, she heard Brian swear, felt him thrust hard once, then again. Then he held himself still and deep. He cried out as if he, too, had never known such passion, as if he, too, wondered how he could survive such a barrage of bliss.
"I'm dead." Carrie collapsed against Chase. Sense of the world around her returned. She heard Chase's heart thunder under her head, felt her lungs struggle for breath.
Brian's cock was still inside of her. She grinned. "That was a wild ride."
Brian chuffed out a laugh, his moist, warm breath bathing the back of her neck. "God, woman, I love you."
"I love you, too. I love you both." She stroked her left hand down Chase's body from his neck to his chest. Then she patted his chest. "Just give me five, cowboy. You're next."
"You're a real tiger, aren't you, sugar?"
Carrie smiled. "Grrr."
She loved the soft sound of their smug male chuckles. Sighing with contentment, she nuzzled her face against Chase's chest.
"Easy, darlin'. Hold still. I'll be right back." He eased out of her body, and she shivered with the sudden loss.
"'Kay." Carrie didn't think she'd ever been in a place of such total satiation. Moments later the bed dipped, and she felt Brian behind her again. He used a warm, damp cloth to clean the lube from her body.
Then he snuggled down beside her, spooned her, and kissed her shoulder.
"You can take me on, sugar, just as soon as you have a little rest."
One of the things she loved about these men was their penchant for taking care of her, even when she didn't need it.
"I don't need a rest." She wished those words had come out just a bit stronger. She'd prove to them how much stamina she had, too.
Just as soon as she figured out how to open her eyes.
Chapter 18
"I feel a little guilty." Carrie looked up from the work counter. She'd directed her comment to the man who sat in the corner of the kitchen, thumbing through a novel.
Matthew Benedict met her gaze. "You have no cause, whatsoever, to feel guilty."
"But you're here, watching over me, on the off chance that SOB will figure out I work here and come after me. All of the men are taking turns coming into the restaurant, posing as customers, so that there're always at least two of them here." She shook a knife at him as if it were her finger and he a recalcitrant child. "And don't think I don't know that y'all have been patrolling by the ranch every couple of hours all night long." Carrie blew out a breath, ruffling her hair. "It's already been two weeks and there's been no sign whatsoever of Lockwood. How long can y'all keep this up?"
"We can keep it up as long as it takes." Matthew picked up his coffee cup and took a sip, but the entire time his gaze never left hers. It was a little disconcerting.
"Aunt Abby would kick my ass seven ways from Sunday if anything happened to you. That is, if there was enough left of it after my mother got through with me."
Behind her, Kelsey snickered. "Not to mention the fact that the men of this town are feeling the need to redeem their collective manhood."
"That has nothing to do with anything." Matt sounded authoritative. Then he shrugged. "Okay, I'm willing to admit that might be a nice side benefit of this situation, but I can assure you the possibility never entered our consideration."
Carrie looked over her shoulder. Kelsey was just finishing up getting the turkeys ready to put in the oven in anticipation of the Thursday night special. She gave Carrie a wide smile. "You will notice he never protested the need for that redemption."
Carrie shook her head. "This must be an inside joke, because I don't get it."
"Well, the women of Lusty have been slaying the dragons, lately, leaving the men feeling all defensive and unmanly. Isn't that right, Tracy?"
The other woman looked up from the chocolate cakes she was frosting. She winked at Carrie, and then raised her voice just slightly. "Yeah, the next thing you know they're going to be walking around asking each other if