With Cherry on Top [Loving in Silver 2] (Siren Publishing Ménage and More) (15 page)

“We’ll be bringing breakfast to you in a little while. Unless you have to make a trip to the bathroom, you are
not
to get out of that bed until nine o’clock.” He pointed at the decorative clock on the wall. “We want you to rest. That’s all you need to do.”

“But I want to make breakfast for you,” Cherry pouted, though she was secretly loving the idea of her men pampering both her and Gracie.

“Not today, maybe not even tomorrow. It’s our treat for you two having to put up with our sorry, horny asses.”

They disappeared, one after another, before Cherry could think of a response to that. Sliding an arm around Gracie, she snuggled down against the pillows. As she stared at the ceiling, she knew she could get use to the pampering by their men. It wasn’t the same as being taken care of by her family. This was different. It was a different kind of love.

“I feel like such a slut,” Gracie told her, winding their legs together. A small hand moved down over her stomach to the soft mound of her sex. A slender finger slid between the folds to find the creamy center. “All I want to do is have sex over and over again, and the more the better.”

“If that makes you a slut, then I’m one, too.” Cherry laughed, bending to press a kiss to the other woman’s smooth forehead where her bangs had parted. “They were made for sex.”

“They’re all hot. Do you think we can have babies soon? I really want one.”

Cherry really wanted one, too, but not yet and not until she got over the fear. It was a dream and had been for a long time. Though the doctors had decreed there was no reason why she shouldn’t be able to have as many children as she liked, she was plagued by uncertainty. What if she had problems conceiving? What if something went wrong? Those were the two biggest worries. As much as she wanted to believe the doctors, and rationally she knew that all her fears were ones most all women dealt with at one time or another, she just couldn’t let them go yet.

Maybe she should call Tad and talk to him about it. Her therapist and friend was the voice of reason. They had been talking since she had been in the hospital, about a week after she had come out of the coma. She hadn’t talked at all, since she had lost the ability to speak at that time, but she had listened to his soothing voice as he talked to her about things he knew must be going through her mind. During all these conversations her family had been there with her. They all but set up camp in her room. There was always someone there with her. And when she learned that her men had come to be with her?
Wow
was all she could think at the time. Tears had stung her eyes, burning down her cheeks the first time she realized there was always at least one of them holding a hand and talking to her. The other one was usually held by her mother, father, or one of her many siblings.

Family. Cherry had really lucked out with hers. They were all loving, caring, and supportive in equal measures.

And her men? They were practically perfect.

Was she going to blow this with irrational, unfounded fears? Cherry asked herself, pushing back the wave of panic she was feeling.

Gracie picked up on it. She lifted up so she could look down at her. Her delicate black brows were drawn close in a frown of concern. “What’s wrong? Your heart is going a mile a minute and you feel like you’re ready to jump out of bed.” A soft hand began stroking her. Gracie nuzzled her neck. “Don’t worry. I’ll take care of you.
We’ll
take care of you. Are you afraid to have a baby?” Cherry nodded emphatically, words beyond her at that moment. She didn’t want to freak out and have a full-blown panic attack. That would certainly startle her sweet little lover. “Yes, I suppose after all you’ve been through, it would be another big hurdle to get over. Is there any reason why you can’t have a baby?”

Drawing in a deep, shuddering breath, Cherry shook her head. “No. The doctors say everything is good in that department. I’ll probably just have more pain in my legs and back than most women would, because of my injuries.”

“But your baby-making parts are good?”

“Yes. That’s what they tell me. They’re about the only things which didn’t get hurt when those bastards ran over me.”

“That’s a good sign,” Gracie insisted, snuggling close again.

They lay like that in the bed, their heads touching, their hands linked, until the men came in with their breakfast. Four curious gazes looked them over. Frowns dipped their brows.

“Is something wrong?”

Cherry didn’t want to worry the men. She shook her head as she sat up. “No. Gracie helped me with an issue I was having.” She smiled. “It’s better now.”

“Really?” Gracie asked anxiously, sitting up beside her and scooting over so they had room for the lap trays.

“Yes, baby. You actually helped a lot.”

“Well, I hope you’ll feel ready to share soon,” Collin said firmly. “We want to know you’re happy here, Cherry. We know you still have problems, but we’ll help you with them.”

“That’s what we’re here for. We’re not just pretty.”

“Or studs,” Jake threw in.

“Asshole, shut up,” Mick growled. He pushed the youngest brother toward the door. “Get going and let our dads know we’ll be there shortly.”

Jake headed for the door before he swiftly doubled back, dodging bodies, to make his way to the bed. He crawled across it to kiss each of his women, and then scrambled out of the way when Mick started growling again. She suspected it would take some time for Mick to get over the prank. She also suspected they had been enduring a lifetime of Jake’s goofiness.

“See ya later!” Jake saluted both women before disappearing out the door.

Mick kissed them good-bye before following, obviously feeling the need to motivate his playful brother a little more. Cody went next. He was more creative in his farewell, kissing each of the women’s nipples, grinning when he straightened. He rubbed the obvious swell in his jeans before grabbing his hat back up from where he had tossed it on the bed and shoving it on his head as he left the room.

Collin sat down in an armchair, watching the women eat, seeming to enjoy the chatter between the two, and accepting the praise for how good the breakfast was.

* * * *

As soon as Cody left the garage he noticed something didn’t seem quite right. Having needed to get a new pair of gloves out of the storage cupboard, he’d come out to the garage. He then left through the side door into the parking area. He tipped his head as he stared in the direction where the vehicles were parked. Though it was still early, there was enough light now to see that one was sitting at an odd angle. It was their new SUV, the one they had purchased just a few weeks before, in anticipation of Cherry coming to live with them when they learned she was visiting her sister. It was also the one their women had taken to town the day before. Walking around it, he swore up a blue streak.

“Fuck! What the hell?” The two tires on the driver’s side had been slashed. Pulling his phone out of his pocket, he called Mick. He looked around the surrounding pastures. Cattle grazing, green pastures, some wildflowers, and birds. “Hey,” he said when Mick answered. “Get back to the house. Someone slashed our fucking tires.”

As soon as he ended the call he punched out another number. The dispatcher at the sheriff’s office picked up on the second ring. He briefly told her what happened and she assured him an officer would be there as soon as possible.

Cody wasn’t surprised when the older Preston men showed up with their sons. They all stared at the tires, then off in the direction of the road, as if clues to the identity of the vandal or vandals would be revealed to them.

“Damn strange they only slashed the two tires. And why did they choose this one?” Daddy Joe asked, looking over the collection. The SUV was obviously the newest, but Cherry’s rental was there, as was a newer pickup and their boys’ old pickup.

“Maybe it’s because it’s the newest one?” Daddy Ron suggested, rubbing the back of his neck. “But so is the rental. I’ve never been able to figure out why people do the things they do. But this is just plain stupid.”

Daddy Matt sighed. “Well, we better look around and make sure everything else is okay. Damn, like we didn’t have enough to do already. We need to get those calves separated today.”

“We need to talk to Cherry and Gracie. See if anything happened in town yesterday.”

“Do that. We’ll look around the house, then down by the road, then we’ll go look around up by our house and the barns.” Daddy Joe’s tone was brisk. It was a sure sign he was pissed. He was usually very laid back. “You guys talk to the sheriff. Come along as soon as you can.”

Cody nodded. “Sure thing, Dad. It shouldn’t take too long.”

His brothers lingered a moment, their expressions ones of anger. None of them could remember the last time someone had messed around on the ranch. Neighbors around Silver looked out for one another. If someone had seen something suspicious, they would have gotten a call, giving them a heads up.

They went into the house to talk to Cherry. What they found made them hesitate. Both women were fast asleep, curled around one another. It was an image they would cherish always. Too bad they had to spoil the women’s rest. They all shared guilt over being so demanding sexually. But, hell, their women seemed to do everything in their power to encourage sex and more sex. Were they going to turn it down? Hell no!

When Mick touched Cherry’s bare shoulder, she turned toward him, blinking her eyes sleepily. “What’s up?”

“Someone slashed the tires on the SUV. We’re wondering if something happened in town yesterday.”

She sat up, pushing the heavy fall of her blonde hair away from her face. Four pairs of eyes fixed on her full breasts. They were beautiful, mouthwatering mounds of creamy flesh. Gracie remained sleeping, snorting a little as she rolled onto her stomach, her arms above her head. They all smiled at the cute sound, admiring those parts of her petite body which were exposed above the edge of the sheet. Cody’s cock perked right up. He loved those twin dimples above her shapely ass.

“I wouldn’t really call it trouble, but we did meet up with a couple of guys who seem to think Gracie was theirs.”

All the men tensed. “Who were they? Did she tell you their names?”

Cherry nodded. “Yes, they’re Ed and DJ Marks. They were pretty creepy. They showed up at the grocery while we were shopping. They weren’t happy that she didn’t want anything to do with them. She’s already turned them down. They just don’t seem to want to accept it. It all seemed very, very stalkerish.”

The men agreed. But Cody knew that his brothers were angry that neither of the women had mentioned the incident. It didn’t matter how minor it had seemed at the time.

“You can’t keep things from us,” Collin stated in a firm voice. “If anything like this happens again, we need to know. We have to keep you safe.”

That statement brought a frown to Cherry’s brow. “We didn’t intentionally keep anything from you. And, as far as keeping us safe, I appreciate the sentiment. But I’m not a helpless female. I’ll go over to Peaches’s today and get the rest of my stuff. I have my pistols with me. When we go into town, I’ll be carrying.”

Gracie chose that moment to wake up. Evidently she had heard enough to know what was going on. She rolled over, looking worried. “What about when I go to work? You can’t be babysitting me.”

“Work?” Jake and Mick demanded at the same time. “Why are you going to be working? You don’t have to work. You’re ours to take care of.”

That seemed to totally perplex both women. They looked completely lost. “Why shouldn’t I work? I like to work.”

“Yes, why shouldn’t she work? What if I want to work when I’m feeling up to it? And I’m feeling better each and every day. What then? Are you going to go all Victorian on me and demand I stay home barefoot and pregnant?”

Okay, so they hadn’t learned much the last time they had seen Cherry angry. She didn’t raise her voice. She didn’t need to. Her feelings were loud and clear. There was no way they were going to boss or bully either one of these women. They were going to have to change tactics.

“No one is saying neither of you can work. It’s just we thought you would have enough doing around here…” he began, only to be cut off.

“Being barefoot and pregnant,” Cherry scoffed, tossing back the sheet. She was on her feet and pushing past them to go to the dresser she had chosen for herself. “Not happening.”

Cody took the opportunity to tune out his male brain to admire her beautiful ass. He knew his brothers were likely doing the same. He hoped he didn’t give himself away by drooling.

Gracie got his attention. She wasn’t going to be outdone. Though Cody would never let her know it, he thought she looked absolutely adorable as she scowled at the men in the room. “Cooking and cleaning. Nice
wifely
things.”

“Good little women who work hard to take care of their men. Give them a nice home-cooked meal after they’ve been out working so hard all day. Bring them their pipe, their slippers, and their beer.”

“Whoa, back up.”

Cherry straightened, turning slowly to look at Mick. Oh, he was so glad he wasn’t his brother at that moment as brown eyes zeroed in on him. “What? Now I’m equated to a horse?”

“No. Calm down. We just want you safe.”