Playing for Satisfaction [Satisfaction Texas 4] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) Read online

  “Wow. What else has happened here since I’ve been gone?”

  Ellie started laughing and once she started, she didn’t seem to be able to stop. Bram and Ren exchanged glances and then they each tentatively put a hand on her back and patted it lightly. It didn’t have the planned effect and just seemed to make her laugh harder.

  Chapter 8

  Ellie took a sip of water and then another and eventually the laughter subsided. She looked at the men who were sitting in front of her. Dear sweet acerbic Ren who had been so kind and patient with her, whom she had come to love. And impatient, irascible, frustrating Bram, who she knew she’d never stopped loving, no matter how badly he’d hurt her or how much time had passed.

  She’d spent over two hours on the phone last night, or rather early this morning, with Candy and Jules trying to figure out just what she wanted.

  “Damn it. I love them both, but Bram was the past. He broke my heart when he’d filed those papers without even talking to me. Hell, maybe he thought he was doing what I wanted but does that even matter? I’m with Ren now.”

  “Do you love Ren?” Candy asked getting straight to the point.

  “Yes.”

  “Do you love Bram?”

  “Yes.” Ellie hated to admit it, but she did. “Are you sure you just own a diner. You sound a lot like an attorney.”

  “She’s been playing with Tait and Aaron too long. She’s starting to sound just like them.” Jules teased.

  “I told you both. I’ve broken up with Tait and Aaron. I just haven’t told them yet.” Candy sighed. “But this intervention isn’t about me. It’s about Ellie, and here’s my advice. Why make a hasty decision? You don’t have to right now. You don’t even have to choose between them. You can choose both or just or neither. But do it on your own timetable. Don’t let them rush you.”

  “The power is yours,” Jules agreed. “Don’t let them rush you or take the decision out of your hands. Once you let them do that, they’ll walk all over you. They are Doms, so you have to set firm limits. Maybe even switch it up a little, so to speak.”

  “Have I told you lately just how much your friendship means to me? You’ve given me so much to consider. I’m going to take a long hot bath and do some serious thinking.”

  * * * *

  As she lay in her bubble-filled tub, she had considered their counsel. It was good advice, Ellie was a submissive, Candy and Jules both reminded her, not a slave. Her Dom’s control extended only to sex and sexual situations and that was only if she chose to accept them in that role. Even if she did, their control did not extend beyond the bedroom or the playroom unless she let it.

  She had to remind herself of that, she realized, otherwise the two of them would walk all over her. Or at least Bram would. Ren had been sweet and patient, waiting months for her to renegotiate their limits and put sex on the table. Maybe too patient? She had no idea what his feelings were for her, she realized. She thought he had feelings for her. She definitely had feelings for him as more than just a Dom and a sub. Was she just a playmate to him?

  She didn’t think so, but she couldn’t be absolutely sure. Bram, however, she was sure about. Unlike Ren, he was very vocal about his feelings and he’d declared his love a week after they’d met. Of course, that was almost four years ago. And he’d been the one to end things between them. Besides, he was a handsome and virile man. Obviously there had been women since her. No way had Bram been more or less celibate the way she had. It just wasn’t possible. But if he’d been with other women, why had he come back for her?

  She shook her head. Men were a mystery to her sometimes. Who knew why they did anything? Like now.

  She studied them both across the table as they all started to eat and Ren continued to update Bram about the people in the town. As mayor, Ren knew everyone and soon had Bram laughing as he told story after story about what had happened to folks they’d grown up with.

  “And you remember Owen Firth? He’s in jail. Assault. Attempted murder. He’s not talking, but word is that he was working for some oil outfit. Tried to poison the creek on the Double S so Murphy Smith would have to sell out to the oil company or at least sell them drilling rights in order to save his ranch. He sabotaged Murphy’s car. Hell, he even hired a hit man, or rather he thought he did. Instead, it was an undercover agent who came here to find out who hired him.”

  “Who was it?”

  Ren shrugged. “He’s not talking. The whole thing got Murphy thinking though. Since the oilmen won’t leave him alone, he and Jules, who owns the mineral rights in the part of the ranch where there’s the highest chance of finding oil, have decided to talk to a few of the big companies. Maybe find someone who can be trusted to treat the land right. It’ll be a win-win that way. They’ll bring jobs to the area, and they’ll get a steady income. Running a ranch is an unpredictable venture. Some regular oil money would give them a nice cushion, particularly since they’ve got a baby on the way.”

  Ellie was stunned. Wait until she told Candy. Jess was pretty damned closed-mouthed, but it seemed like one or both of her husbands weren’t so tight-lipped. Men!

  “Wait! I thought Murphy and you didn’t get along. Hell, he even named his dog after you. You two suddenly tight?”

  “He named his dog after you?” Bram gave a hoot of laughter.

  “Yup. Ren’s a Border collie. Nice dog and due to give birth any day now.”

  “He named his female dog after you?” Bram was heaving with laughter name. Ellie found herself giggling, too. Eventually even Ren joined in.

  “You know, Ellie, I know you just lost Clyde, but you might want to talk to Jess about the pups. Ren’s a great dog, even if I wish we didn’t share a name, smart and sweet. And Murphy’s probably even smarter than she is and so damned good natured.”

  “Wait. Murphy’s sweet and good natured? I thought you two didn’t get along. And what does that have to do with the pups anyway? I’m confused.”

  “Yes, Bram. You usually are. But in this case with reason. Jess has a dog named Murphy, so named before she came to Satisfaction. I’ve heard it caused no end of confusion at first. Hell, I still get a kick out of calling his name when the dog’s nearby. I yell Murphy and they both turn around.”

  Ellie grinned. Ren was usually so serious. This mischievous side of him was one she rarely got to see. She liked it.

  “I won’t press about the pups, but maybe you should think about it. And you, Bram. You really ought to talk to Murphy,” Ren said encouragingly. “Even if you don’t end up doing anything about the oil, he might be able to help you with the purchase of the Baldwin place.”

  “Purchase of the Baldwin place?” Ellie parroted. So much was happening so quickly she was starting to feel like she’d gone down the rabbit hole. Just call me Alice.

  “Yup. I’m looking to become a gentleman farmer. I’d like to buy ten thousand acres or so and maybe run a small herd of cattle. Maybe raise some chickens. Hogs. A few kids. Of the human variety, not baby goats,” he clarified. “I’d like four or five. What about you, Ren?”

  She was in another dimension or something. She’d come here worried about this meeting, wondering just how they were going to figure things out, and all the two of them seemed to want to do was discuss the merits of the juice they’d been served and talk about mutual acquaintances. And now Bram was moving to Satisfaction and wanted to settle down and start a family. Did that mean he had someone else? Or did he mean with her? Her head was hurting trying to figure things out.

  Finally she couldn’t take it any longer and the words just burst out.

  “Oh, my god. And they say women gossip! You two take the cake.”

  Their identical expressions of outrage set off another round of laughter. She couldn’t help it. They were just so darned cute with that cross look on their faces.

  “What’s so funny?” demanded Ren.

  “I think she’s laughing at us!” suggested Bram. “Not cool to laugh at your Doms, Angel. You know we’ll just take it out on your ass later,” he added smugly.

  That stopped her laughing abruptly.

  “Excuse me? I believe we came here to talk.”

  “We’ve already talked and come to a few decisions.”

  “Don’t I get to give some input? After all, I am a part of this, aren’t I?”

  “Yes, I supposed she is, Ren. What do you think? Do you think we should ask for her input?”

  “If you insist. But I don’t want her to start thinking we don’t expect her submission.”

  “You are so right.” Bram grinned and turned to Ellie. “We’ll tell you all about it later and maybe, if you are good, we’ll let you give us your thoughts on the matter.” Bram look at her and grinned and Ellie realized that they were just yanking her chain. “But first, I’m starved and this looks amazing!” He reached out for the serving spoon and Ellie watched him scoop a big helping of the omelet onto a plate followed by a couple of pancakes and a hash brown dish that caused her own mouth to water.

  He set the plate down in front of her before picking up another and filling it to the brim as Ren filled another one. Then the two men started eating. They ate like there was an imminent famine. Ellie ate, too. The food was too good to ignore, but she couldn’t stop worrying about what Bram and Ren were up to. So she ate and waited.

  * * * *

  Ren patted his mouth with the napkin. They’d gone through the entire tray of food and there were only a couple of stray pieces of melon left. He snagged one and popped it in his mouth and chewed slowly, anything to delay their conversation.

  Candy came over and refilled their coffee cups and then left the carafe. He turned as she did and saw her wink and give Ellie a thumbs-up. Clearly he and Bram weren’t the only ones who’d been talking. br />
  He looked at his cousin. He’d love to talk to Ellie alone, but he’d reluctantly agreed with Bram. This first conversation had to be done together so they could lay all their cards on the table. He’d been going to tell Ellie he wanted their relationship both in and out of the playroom to be exclusive. He also wanted them to be able to spend the night together cuddling.

  He had even purchased her a permanent collar for her to wear outside of the playroom. They had a temporary leather one that he put around her neck during play sessions, but this would be one she could wear permanently including at her day job. It looked like a necklace and pendant, but once it was attached, there was no way to remove it except with a hacksaw. It would symbolize their commitment. He’d special ordered it and it was sitting in his dresser drawer waiting for the right time to ask her, which now might be never.

  He looked over at his cousin. Bram wore his heart on his sleeve, and he always had. Ren knew he’d been devastated when he’d left for the Middle East without his Angel. He’d never called Ellie by name, though. He’d just lamented losing his Angel. How ironic that she was now with Ren.

  Now with Bram back in the picture, Ren was torn.

  Ren knew all about their history because he had run up a long distance bill in the hundreds of dollars listening to Bram lament his loss. He’d talked about how wonderful his Angel was and how he’d told her all about his cousin and how he wanted to be able to share her with him.

  “You’ll love her, Ren. You just wait. She’s the perfect woman. Smart and beautiful and kind and kinky.”

  Ren had grinned. “So, when do I get to meet this paragon? And…” he hesitated, “are you sure she wants to be shared?”

  “Positive. I’ve already told her about my tight-ass cousin and she’s dying to meet you,” he had teased. “It’s like everything I’ve ever wanted, ever dreamed, is all in sight.”

  But then the rings had arrived and Bram announced he was filing for an annulment and that he was never going to say her name again.

  Ren sipped his coffee. How ironic that he was the one who had encouraged Bram to give it another try. He knew his cousin still pined over his Angel, even if he never said anything.

  Once he’d returned to El Paso, he’d been working eighteen-hour days to get his new company off the ground. Ren had been impressed by Bram’s ideas and had given him every penny he had or could borrow.

  “I don’t want your money, cuz. And I really don’t want you to go into debt for my dream. What if it fails?”

  “Tough, Bram. I believe in you. You won’t fail. Besides, if you do, I could use some help in the mail room. You can come and work for me.”

  “Well, if I needed any additional motivation…”

  The first working prototype had been demoed six weeks ago and it was an even bigger success than either of them had ever imagined. Bram should have been over the moon now that all of his dreams were coming true but he was still hung up on his ex and only getting closure would allow him to move on and be truly happy again. It had taken Ren months to wear Bram down. During that time, Angel Energy had taken off. He had four patents pending and a line outside his office door of folks who were interested in licensing the technology for extracting oil in a more environmentally friendly way.

  Ren and Bram had talked about it and in the end, his cousin had decided to sell the patents to a big yet responsible manufacturer.

  “Are you sure? Angel Energy is your dream.”

  “It was. But it just isn’t as satisfying as I thought it would be. Without my Angel, the company, the money, it’s meaningless. I can’t believe I threw it all away. Besides, I never wanted to be rich. I just wanted enough to buy some land and maybe set up a small working ranch. With my Angel. And a parcel of kids.”

  “She sent you back the rings. What were you supposed to do?”

  “Head back to Texas and beat some sense into her. Instead, I reacted in anger and filed for the damned annulment. For all I know, she’s now married with kids.”

  “Maybe she isn’t? Maybe she’s feeling the same as you.”

  “Maybe she isn’t.”

  “Only one way to find out, Bram. See her one more time. One way or another, you’ll get your closure.”

  In the end, although Bram had been offered a royalty for use, he preferred to sell outright. He decided that regardless of what happened with his Angel, he would buy some property near Satisfaction and set up a working ranch.

  Ren grinned. Bram didn’t look like it, but he was worth probably ten million right now, and when the patents finally came through and the sale was finalized, he’d be worth fifteen or twenty times that. Ren wouldn’t get as much, but he’d easily end up with fifteen or twenty million. In other words, they’d both be rich, but money was nothing without the one you loved. Ren understood this. By the time Bram sold his patents, Ren was with in love Ellie.

  But Bram continued to be miserable without his Angel though he’d finally come around to giving it one more try. Ren had no idea that he was pushing his cousin toward Ellie. How fucking ironic was that? He loved them both and there was a good chance that he’d arranged things to get his own heart broken.

  Suddenly he wanted something stronger than coffee.

  “Let’s continue this over at The Whips and Spurs. We can have a drink in the saloon and then afterward, we can go into the club to play if we feel like it. It should be pretty quiet now.”

  Chapter 9

  Ellie regretted agreeing to go to the club almost immediately. Her first thoughts had been that it was an opportunity to delay the discussion, so she’d quickly said yes, and had just as quickly bemoaned it as they’d piled into Ren’s SUV. She’d been squished between the two of them and immediately she’d felt her panties dampen and her nipples tighten.

  The feel of being pressed between their two big hard bodies turned her on which was the last thing she wanted. She wanted to keep a cool, calm, collected head, but all she could think about now was sex. With both of them. Now. She had to get control of herself. They were just going to talk. That’s all. Talk. No sex. No playing. No going down on her knees and pleasing both her men. No experiencing what Bram had taunted her about years ago. No finding out what it would be like to have both of them in her body at the same time, riding her hard, pulling orgasm after orgasm out of her. Nope. They were just going to talk and she was going to lay down the law and draw a line in the sand and take a stand.

  Hell, who was she kidding? Her panties weren’t damp. They were dripping wet.

  She decided to try to make conversation.

  “So, Bram, I’m surprised you are letting Ren drive you around. I remember you saying you hated being driven.”

  “You remember correctly, but he won’t let me drive.”

  “My SUV. I drive. Besides, you said your truck would be ready today, didn’t you? You can wait a few more hours. Or maybe I can drop you off at the garage and you can wait there while Tanner finishes with it.”

  “Nice try, Ren. As it happens, I’ve arranged for Darcy to pick it up. I’ll just text him and ask him to meet us at the Whips and Spurs instead of the diner.”

  “Darcy?”

  “Yes, you remember him, don’t you, Ellie? He was the one who introduced us.”

  “I do. He was a great kid. How’s he doing?”

  “Great. Did his four-year degree in three, and how he’s working on his master’s in theoretical physics. He’s so damned bright. The whole family is so proud of him.”

  “Wow! I’m impressed. I can’t wait to see him.”

  “He just replied. He’ll be at the saloon in half an hour or so. He says to say hi and he can’t wait to see his favorite teacher again.”

  After that, they rode in silence. Ellie tried to relax but then Bram’s hand was on her right knee and he was massaging it, his hand slowly moving higher and higher on her thigh as he did so. She swallowed hard. He was making her squirm, but in a good way.

  She might have been able to manage if it wasn’t for the hand on her left knee that was also squeezing and caressing her. Ren’s eyes were on the road, but his hand was quickly moving north. She lay back and enjoyed the twin sensations. She wasn’t sure if she was happy or sorry she had decided to wear jeans.