“Well, why don’t I give you a call when Lois has your order done and then you can stop by? Maybe bring the guys and Grace to meet Lois and we can have some beers and sit by the fire?”
“That sounds great. Hopefully I can get away for a couple of hours. Thanks again, and see you later, Lois,” he said to her and she said good-bye and watched him walk away.
Ford explained to her about his position as an investigator and a little bit about Grace, the woman he and his brothers married.
“How does that work? The whole married thing?” she asked before she thought better.
“Forget I asked that. It doesn’t matter,” she said and started walking. He gripped her hand and pulled her back and then placed his arms around her waist, holding her in place.
“You ask any questions you want to. We want you to feel comfortable and know that this is real. Okay?” he asked. She nodded her head.
“Good.” He leaned forward and kissed her lips softly until they heard someone clear her throat. He pulled back and he nodded toward an older woman. “Afternoon, Miss Landers.’
“Sheriff,” she said, sounding like she was scolding him for kissing Lois in public. Lois chuckled and so did Ford.
He took her hand and led her back to the truck.
“So, the way it works is that legally you’re married to one of us, but we are all married and committed to you. The paperwork is just a formality, but our commitment doesn’t need an approval or documentation.”
She looked around the town as they headed out in the truck.
She could see all the multiple relationships and knew the town was filled with ménage couples.
“But is it really equal, or could the ones who don’t have that marriage certificate change their minds and move on one day? What makes them stay and commit to share the woman?” she asked.
“Honey, they want to be in the relationship. All the men involved make the commitment to love their woman and provide for her always. There are rarely cases where the relationships fall apart.”
“What about abuse? I mean if one of the men abuses the woman or hurts her, do the others stand by him? Or what if they’re all abusive or she wants to leave because she’s scared? Then what?”
He reached over and pulled her closer. She slid along the seat and wound up against his side. Ford placed his palm between her legs and against her thigh. near her knee.
“Salvation is a very special town in case you haven’t realized that yet. As the sheriff, it’s my job to make sure that all the women and children are protected. When a man or group of men want to claim guardianship and responsibility of a woman, it’s my job to ensure that the woman wants them, too, that they will be a good fit and truly love her as she loves them. It’s a big responsibility, yet fate seems to make it all work out just fine. Kind of like the first time I met you. There was something about you that caused a reaction in me, and then to learn that same sensation happened to my brothers just validated that you would be ours.”
“What did you feel, Ford? What was it that you noticed first?” she asked him, placing her hand on his chest and then caressing his shoulder. He squeezed her thigh and ran it up a little farther, making her belly quiver and her pussy spasm with desire. She was getting more and more comfortable with the men and their hands touching her and how good it felt.
“It was your gorgeous blue eyes and the fear and sadness that I saw in them. It was how Kenny clung to you and you held that sweater so tight against your chest. It made me want to show you that you didn’t need to be scared and that I was there to help you. I didn’t think of which single men in town would be right for you or be your guardians—I thought that I wanted to be there for you and Kenny. That was a first for me.”
She laid her head against his shoulder as he continued to drive, and she thought about his words.
“You’re the sheriff and a good-looking older man. Your brothers are, too. I can see how other women look at you in town and react to you, to them on the farm. Why would you want someone like me?” she asked him.
She felt his hand slide back and forth between her legs and pull her closer to him.
“Because you’re beautiful and sexy, and you make me want to possess you and protect you in every way. The only thing I ask in return is that you care back. That you let down your guard with us and learn to accept our care, our love, and learn to love us, too.”
Tears stung her eyes as she squeezed his arm tightly and snuggled up closer against him. When she felt his hand move farther up her inner thigh, she panicked as the heat, the realization that these men made her want to be theirs in every way, consumed her every thought. By the time he pulled the truck up into his driveway and turned off the engine, she could hardly move. His palm was so hot against her skin and his finger stroked under the material of her shorts, higher and higher. He turned slightly and whispered to her.
“Look at me, beautiful,” he said and she tilted up, turned slightly in the seat to reach his lips, and she kissed him. He stroked his tongue into hers and they dueled slowly, sensually. When his fingers brushed her groin and then her panties, she pulled from his lips only for him to hold her firmly.
“Don’t pull away. I want you to get used to my touch. To know that I will never harm you but will be gentle and loving. I want to kiss every inch of you, baby, and make you come in my arms and beg for more of me.”
“Oh, God, Ford.”
“You don’t know what love is. You don’t know the right way a man takes a woman and makes her his possession, his treasure, his everything, but damn, you’re going to know. My brothers and I are going to love every inch of you. We’re going to take away every bad memory and touch your ex ever placed upon you.” He stroked her panties against her pussy and she parted her lips and felt her breathing increase. Back and forth, he swiped his fingers over her sensitive mound as he held her gaze, his dark eyes filled with lust, control, and a power she wanted to suck into her body and have.
“We’re going to unload this truck and head inside. Spend the afternoon just being together and learning more and more about one another. But first I need a little more of this.”
He pressed his lips to hers and kissed her deeply. She lifted up and hugged his shoulders as he explored her hips and ass with his hands and pressed her close. She’d never felt so amazing and so comfortable that she thought she could actually let Ford make love to her. Thank God someone else pulled up into the driveway.