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  "And the power to make us feel like there is no other woman in the world for either of us," Cory put in as he shifted from the coffee table to the edge of the sofa. "We've been going through the motions since Paula was killed. Dating, maybe thinking ourselves in a relationship that might go somewhere, only to realize it isn't what we wanted."

  "Searching for the right woman to make us happy again," Ford took over the conversational ball once more. "Not necessarily the same woman. Hell, I don't think either of us has looked twice at the same woman since."

  "Until you." Cory put a gentle hand on her knee.

  "Until you," Ford repeated and let out a soft chuckle. "And who's to say we both would’ve looked at you if we hadn't met you at different times, in different circumstances? I know this seems odd to you." He smiled, but it held only a small percentage of the sex-personified wattage she was accustomed to seeing in his smiles. "I know some people may look at us funny or talk about us when they find out the three of us are involved."

  "I don't care about that." She didn't. Really, she could care less what other people thought of her relationship with these men. They loved her, and everything they were saying, the looks she saw in their eyes, wiped away all doubts she'd built about that. They loved her. Not Paula. Not some other woman. Her.

  "Do you love us, Rayne?"

  God, the hope and fear that swirled in Ford’s eyes as he waited for her to answer made her feel on top of the world. His hand was still on her chin and she curled her fingers around his wrist. "I do." She reached with her other hand and cupped the side of Cory's face. "Both of you."

  "I do, huh?" Ford smiled. This time, the playfulness and sexy as hell arrogance that drove her wild was back in hormone soaring force. "Well, that sounded like marrying words to me. Guess you'll have to move in with us now."

  Rayne caught her breath. Marrying words? Move in with them?

  Cory chuckled. "He's serious about that. Well, at least the moving in part."

  "I was serious about the marrying part, too, numbskull."

  "Stop it, you'll terrify her."

  Rayne was laughing now. The byplay between them so comical, she couldn't help herself. Damn, it hurt to laugh. Her ribs protested every spirit-lifting sound. "Stop it. I can't laugh. It hurts."

  They instantly sobered.

  "Oh, baby, we're sorry." Cory covered her midsection with his large hand. "Does it hurt too badly?"

  "Only when I laugh, or take a deep breath, or move the wrong way, or, Oh, hell, yes it hurts badly, but I can handle it. Living with the two of you, however…"

  "Will give us all the time in the world to handle you," Ford finished for her, a mischievous glint in his eyes.

  They were okay. She was okay. The relief that flooded her at that realization nearly made her lightheaded. God, but she loved these men and she didn't give a shit what anyone thought about it. They belonged to her.

  "I've got a pretty good idea how you can start handling me," she told them. "I wasn't kidding when I said it hurt. It would really help if you could kiss it and make it better."

  "Oh, baby." Ford all but growled the words.

  "Are you sure you're up for that, sweetheart?" Cory asked, the ever present concern etched all over his face.

  Rayne let her hand graze down his cheek, the side of his neck, his chest, all the way down to his cock. She covered the bulge with her hand, gave it a light squeeze, and moaned. He wasn't fully hard yet, but it wouldn't take long to get him there. "Mmm, feels like you're up for it."

  Ford laughed. "She got you there, man."

  Rayne bit her lip and smiled wickedly. "Literally."

  Chapter Thirteen

  Cory picked her up and carried her to Ford's room where he laid her gently in the middle of the bed. They undressed her together, Ford removing her shoes, socks, and pants while Cory unbuttoned her shirt and took off her bra. Only when she was left wearing nothing but a pair of black lace thongs did they stop, both sitting back on their heels as they peered down at her.

  She squirmed, not from the embarrassment of having them look at her nearly naked and practically on display for them. No, it was the bruises, the bandage wrapped around her midsection to aid in the heeling of her ribs, the strip of medical tape stretched across her broken nose that made her flush. She must look a fright! And yet, as she gazed up at them, meeting first Cory's eyes and then Ford's, she saw only compassion, a hint of remorse, and pure unadulterated desire.

  "You're sure you feel okay for this?" Ford asked from his position at her left hip. "Because we could just stretch out beside you and take a nap. We don't have to make love right now. We could just hold you, stay with you, be with you."

  God, when he said things like that, it made her misty. He wasn't lying, either. She saw that despite the desire boiling in his eyes. He would be perfectly happy, if not satisfied, to simply hold her.

  "I'm fine." She pushed herself to her elbows, wincing slightly at the pain in her ribs. "A little sore, a little stiff, and beyond ready to forget all about it for, oh say, four or five hours."

  Cory barked a laugh. "Four or five hours?"

  Rayne angled her head and lifted one brow. "What? Can't go that long, handsome?"

  Cory looked at Ford. "Is she challenging us?"

  "I do believe she is." Ford grinned. "Remember there, sweetheart, you have two of us to please. One can keep going while the other recovers if necessary."

  "Promises, promises." Rayne drew her bottom lip between her teeth, let her gaze slide down Ford's body and settle on the straining material of his jeans over his erection.

  Cory shook his head, still laughing. "I was worried about you. You didn't seem yourself. You haven't since, but you’re back now, the Rayne we know and love is here again."

  She knew what he meant and she nodded. She had been acting differently these last couple of days. Getting the shit beat out of her had little to do with her mood change. It was learning about Paula that had done it. But now she knew she didn't need to worry about the other woman or the impact her long ago relationship with Ford and Cory would have on her own relationship with the men she loved. "You better believe she's back."

  "Before we get started, I have something I want to give you."

  "You have something I want to take, too, but isn't it all a part of getting started?"

  Cory beamed at her even as he backed off the bed. He walked to the dresser, returning to the bed seconds later with a medium sized box. "There you go with those double entendres again."

  "You said it. Is that for me?" She eyed the box wrapped in green paper and printed with tiny graphics of digital cameras. "Have I told you how much I really love getting presents? Call me a girl, but getting a surprise gift really does it for me."

  "Girl," Ford obliged playfully. "And it's not diamonds or pearls, so don't get too excited."

  "Darn." Rayne feigned a pout and grabbed for the box. "It's not diamonds or pearls and it's too light to be a Porsche."

  "It could be a Hot Wheels Porsche." Cory shrugged.

  "That's the only Porsche she'll ever own," Ford said. "The woman speeds in a freaking Saturn. No way is she getting anything with as much speed behind it as a Porsche."

  Rayne giggled, mostly because she knew Ford was trying to make a joke. As for speeding, her days of doing that ended the moment she heard the horror story he'd lived through. She doubted she’d ever break the speed limit again, but she didn't tell him that for fear of ruining the light bantering mood they'd fallen into. Instead, she opened the present.

  Her jaw dropped and her eyes widened as the paper fell away. "It's better than diamonds or pearls or even a Porsche." She gasped as she pulled the Cannon EOS-1D Mark III from the box. "Jesus, it cost nearly as much as one, too!"

  "Tell us about it," Ford mumbled, but he was grinning from ear to ear.

  "It's a good one, then?" Cory asked. "We researched the hell out of it on the Internet and Ford talked with a couple of the photographers that work for the department."


  "It's awesome! It's better than the one Foul Smell took from me."

  "There's a new computer in Cory's room, too. Top of the line scanner, printer, all the software you can ever dream for digital imaging, at least that's what Max said about it."

  Rayne stared at both of them in utter disbelief now. They'd bought her a new camera and a computer! And not just any camera and computer, but the best they could find. "Guys, this stuff cost a fortune."

  "A small one," Cory admitted. “We figured if we were going to get you to move in here, we'd sweeten the pot with some things you couldn't resist."

  "What I can't resist is you." She caught his shirt in her hand and pulled him to her, brushing a tender kiss to his lips. Then she reached for Ford. He came to her, capturing her mouth in a kiss more forceful and hungry, but no less loving. “What am I supposed to do about my house?”

  “We’ll fix it up and then rent it out,” Cory suggested.

  “Okay.”

  Ford leaned back. “Okay. Hell, that was easy.”

  “It’s really the only option.” Rayne shrugged. “Fix it and rent it or sell it. Both of you work for the city of Silver Springs, you can’t live in Billings without transferring and there’s no sense in that. I’ll move in here. Now that we’ve settled that, get undressed. Both of you. I've got to try out my new camera."

  "I knew it was a bad idea to give it to her when she's naked," Ford mumbled even as he pulled his t-shirt over his head.

  "It wouldn't have made a difference. The woman is hell with a camera." Cory slid off the bed and started taking off his clothes.

  Rayne removed the camera from its protective packaging and had it operational in record time. Ford reached for the fastening of his jeans. She held up the camera, lined the shot, and snapped the picture. His head was down and he glanced up at her from beneath long, blond lashes. The look in his eyes was so damn sexy, she nearly purred. Her nipples tightened and her panties grew wet and sticky.

  "For my eyes only," she told him and forgetting the pain in her ribs, shifted until she sat on her knees. "I promise."

  "At least yours won't be plastered in the pages of a calendar sold to every hot blooded female in the South," Cory told him.

  "Who says we’re stopping in the South? But I hope every hot blooded female around does buy one. That would be fabulous for the cause. And, don't worry, honey, no way would I plaster any of the pictures I'm about to take of you in the calendar."

  Nor would she ever allow anyone to see them but herself. For her eyes only wasn't merely a promise she made to Ford. It was a fact etched in stone. The mere idea of anyone feasting their eyes on her men in the compromising positions she had in mind made her so jealous, she felt dizzy with it.

  She caught them as they removed first their pants and then their briefs. Ford actually got into the whole thing, posing in ways a male model might, bowing out his chest and flexing muscles that made her swoon behind the camera. She struggled not to drool.

  "Stand closer. I want to get the two of you together."

  Cory moved to stand beside Ford. For a moment, she flashed back to the first time these men made love to her, the way they'd stood just like this at the foot of the bed and undressed for her. Only, it wasn't just like this, she realized as she watched them. Whether by instinct or thought, Cory's arm snaked around Ford's waist as he stepped next to the other man. She took the picture, but her mind stumbled over the sight of them standing there naked and touching. It was such a turn-on to see them that way. Who would have ever thought? Except, even while her juices stirred, her body ached to be between them, to be a part of that closeness.

  "Are you about ready to put down that thing now?" Ford asked, one sexy brow arching as he angled his head.

  "Almost." She wasn't quite ready to end the growing ache to be with them, wasn't quite ready for them to step away from one another. It made her wonder… "Will you kiss him?"

  Ford looked at Cory. They stared at each other for about three heartbeats before Cory shrugged.

  "Why the hell not?"

  "Tongues?" Ford shot her a glance and Rayne realized the question was meant for her.

  "If you don't mind," she said primly. "Yes, please." God, her heart was racing! Her stomach felt like a swarm of excited butterflies had taken flight. She watched them as they watched each other and the sexual tension that drifted in the air was almost palpable.

  Ford moved first, his hand cupping the side of Cory's face in his palm. Rayne knew exactly what that felt like. He often touched her that way, but seeing Ford touching Cory, seeing the heat boiling in Ford's eyes even as an echoing heat melted in Cory's, took her breath away.

  She couldn't say who moved then. The progression of their faces as they closed the distance between them seemed equal in part. Their lips met, a soft peck at first, a tender caress that made Rayne's lips tingle in imagined feel. Then their mouths opened and tongues accepted invitations.

  Cory's head tilted into Ford's hand, changing the angle of the kiss and taking it deeper. Ford's free hand curled around Cory's bicep as both of Cory's arms tightened around Ford's waist.

  Rayne caught it all on digital film until she heard herself make a groan of satisfaction and realized she'd put the camera down. It was amazing seeing them this way, these two men that she loved with more heart than she knew she possessed. It was more amazing still to know they loved her equally, even enough to push aside inhibitions to experiment and explore their sexuality this way.

  Cory pulled back first, his shoulders rising and falling in ragged breaths. He didn't look at Rayne. In that moment, it became obvious both men only had eyes for each other. "That was…"

  "Yeah, not bad." Ford turned to her and the look in his eyes made her light headed and breathless.

  Cory looked at her, too. "But it's even better when our third party is involved."

  "My thoughts exactly."

  They let go of one another then and advanced on her. She actually heard herself let out an undignified squeak as they pounced like horny tigers on either side of her on the bed.

  "Let us know if we hurt you, okay," Ford told her as his hand dipped beneath the hairs at her nape and fisted.

  Rayne swallowed, suddenly unable to speak around the desire lodged in her throat. Lucky for her, she didn't have to say a word. Cory moved in, capturing her mouth in a kiss more sweetly demanding than how he usually kissed her, and she forgot all about the pain that remained from her split lip. He tasted of needs and man, of Ford and arousal. It was a mind altering kiss, a soul touching kiss, and she gave herself to it mind, body, heart. Then he was changing the angle, pulling back slightly as Ford joined them, his tongue meeting theirs and ramping the heat factor to an all new high.

  They lay her back slowly, neither breaking the kiss. Hands, she couldn't tell whose, covered her breast, slid carefully over her midsection, her stomach, closed over her pussy through the thin lace of her panties. Fingers dipped beneath the lace, tracing the outer edge of her sodden pussy lips before slipping between the folds to press at her aching opening.

  Rayne lifted her hips, attempting to draw those fingers inside her, but met only a resistance that threatened to drive her mad. The hand on her breast flexed, squeezing and weighing, the fingers catching her nipple in a pressured but delicious pinch. She gasped and moaned, all the while kissing both her men, tasting them, loving them. Somehow, they'd managed to position themselves in such a way that her hands became useless to her. Both arms circled around the men's bodies, giving her only the ability to touch their backs but nothing else.

  The fingers on her nipple rolled and tweaked. The fingers pressing at her opening drove inside. She cried out, the sound muffled by their tongues. Her nails dug into flesh and echoing moans of male satisfaction filled the room.

  "I can't wait to be inside you, Rayne." Ford's voice was strained with arousal and need as he pulled back and then lightly licked her chin and neck. At first, she thought she knew exactly what he meant. She couldn
't wait to have him inside her. But then he added, "I'll go crazy waiting for Cory to finish with you before I can take you."

  He couldn't wait as in he didn't want to be second tonight. Okay, now she understood.

  "I don't think I can either." Cory's voice sounded as tight and labored as Ford's had been. "I need you too bad, baby."

  "Don’t make us decide who goes first and who suffers, Rayne." Ford nipped her earlobe. "Don't make either of us suffer tonight."

  The fingers in her pussy pumped, the rhythm changing from teasingly slow to drilling fast and she couldn't think, couldn't make sense of his request. "But how?"

  "Take us both at the same time." Cory's mouth moved from her lips to her neck and then to her breast. He sucked her nipple between his teeth and bit, just hard enough to have her writhing and panting as the stimulating tremors rained through her body to settle where the fingers in her channel continued the alternating tease and drill.

  "Let us take you at the same time." Ford bit her neck, her shoulder and the fingers withdrew from her pussy quickly enough to have her crying out at their retreat.

  Rayne opened her eyes to find them both looking down at her. She understood now what they were asking. They wanted to make love to her together, to be inside her together. Ford had promised her he would take her in the ass one day. One look into his whisky eyes and she knew that one day was today.

  Rayne nodded.

  Cory pulled back, stretching out beside her even as Ford moved to the foot of the bed.

  When Cory reached for her, she carefully straddled his waist, putting her hands on either side of his broad shoulders for balance, her back arched and ass in the air.

  "Christ, now's the time when I needed that camera," Ford breathed behind her. His hands framed her hips, slid down her thighs and then over her butt cheeks. His fingers kneaded the flesh, pulling her cheeks apart. "You look amazing this way, baby. Your ass is perfect, firm and beautiful and, damn, you're going to be tight. I just know it."