Until Forever [Merricks, Montana 5] (Siren Publishing Ménage and More) Page 9

  “Tell me about Merricks,” he demanded. “Tell me about the ménages.”

  Cody hands lifted until they rested on top of Troy’s, and Troy sighed as Cody leaned back against his larger frame.

  “You are going to love it here,” Cody told him. “The diner we are going to is owned by a woman called Ethel and her husbands, Frank and John. You should try the burgers. Their burgers are amazing.”

  “I like burgers,” Troy said, chuckling at Cody’s boyish enthusiasm.

  “Emily owns the bakery,” Cody went on. “She is in a D/s relationship with Wolf and his partner, Hawk. Wolf owns the BDSM club, and Hawk runs the bar there.”

  “I have met Emily and Wolf,” Troy said. “They told me where to find you.”

  Sam looked up from the till at them and frowned.

  “I will need to have words with my BFF,” she said. “She needs to be more cautious. What was Wolf thinking?”

  “Don’t get upset, Sam,” Troy told her. “They were very closed off until I explained the situation to them and in great detail. They made sure I wasn’t a loony before they told me to come here.”

  “Good,” Sam replied. “They didn’t know you, and you could have meant Cody harm. Can you please turn the Open sign to Closed?”

  “I’ll do it,” Cody said and bounded toward the front door. “Who would be after me anyway?”

  Troy instantly missed his warmth and gestured him back once he had completed his task.

  “No one, I should hope,” Sam said. “But you can never be too careful.”

  Troy smiled. Sam seemed to have a good head on her shoulders, and he liked an intelligent woman. He knew she wasn’t being paranoid but cautious about Cody’s wellbeing.

  Troy tugged Cody back into his arms, and Cody snuggled back into his embrace.

  “What else?” Troy asked. “I saw a Bar and Grill on the way into town.”

  “That’s Stephie’s Bar and Grill,” Sam said. “It’s owned by two brothers. Stephie had passed, but they never changed the name in her memory.”

  “They have great food too,” Cody added. “And you can dance there. We could go dancing later.”

  “All this talk of food is making me hungry,” Troy said. “So far we have talked about the diner, the bakery, and Stephie’s. I only just ate a croissant and a donut not that long ago.”

  “You are a big man,” Cody said, turning in his arms and placing small kisses along his neck. “You need a lot of calories.”

  Troy groaned and moved his arms down to grab Cody’s full butt cheeks. He let Cody play and nibble at his neck, trying to rub himself on Troy’s hip. He would let the man get all hot and bothered and then make him stop. Cody should know better than to try anything like that. How many times had he had to punish him for topping from the bottom?

  Troy smiled as he thought about all the naughty things that Cody had done to get his attention. He couldn’t wait to share his stories with Sam. He had a lot to tell the young Domme. Cody soon wouldn’t be able to pull any of his antics with her either.

  “Enough,” Troy said. “I can feel what you are doing, and it won’t work. You aren’t allowed to come, so stop trying to hump my leg.”

  He moved Cody back and laughed at the man’s pouting. Cody was cute when he wasn’t getting his own way.

  “Fine,” Cody said, resigned. “I’ll go and make sure the back door is locked and the lights in the storeroom and break room are off.”

  Sam smiled as she slid the till draw shut and placed her money into a bank bag.

  “Thanks, Cody,” she said. “I just need to run this upstairs to the safe, and then we can go.”

  Sam flounced out of the room, and Troy was once again left standing in the boutique alone. Only this time he didn’t feel the dread and pain of potentially losing his lover. He felt relief and hope. Hope that the three of them would make this relationship work and have a future together.

  Whether they settled in Seattle or Minneapolis or Merricks, he didn’t care. As long as he had Cody and now Sam at his side, he could live anywhere. Maybe he should check what the mechanic was like while he was in town.

  He had a gut feeling that Merricks would soon become his new home. Not many places accepted relationships like the one he was about to start, and this place was filled with them.

  Chapter Eight

  Cody walked from the boutique, his heart light and his cock hard. He couldn’t believe the change in Troy. He had gone from a distant, hard man who was totally unwilling to commit to devoted, enthusiastic, and open-minded. Cody liked the change, but he was a little hesitant.

  Everything had changed so fast that it had Cody’s head spinning, and though he trusted Troy, he didn’t want to leap into the deep end just yet. He was going to dip his toes in and make sure he didn’t get burned before he let his heart get too involved.

  Crap, what was he saying? His heart was already way too involved. It had been involved since before he left Minneapolis. Now that Troy had come after him, his heart was doing fist pumps, and nothing his brain told his heart was going to get it to change its decision. He was simply in love with the big man, and the fact that he was willing to let Sam into their relationship just made Cody love him more.

  “Grab a jacket, babe,” Troy told him. “It’s cold. You too, Sam. That little cardigan won’t keep you warm.”

  “I can keep her warm enough,” Cody said cheekily. When Troy just stared at them both, Cody grabbed Sam’s hand and led her back into the boutique. “I left my jacket in the break room.”

  “I have one in my car,” Sam said. “I have lived here for a while, and I know how cold it can get, but thank you for your concern, Troy.”

  “Hang on,” Cody said. He quickly made his way to the back of the store and flicked the lights back on in the break room. He scanned the room until he spotted his discarded jacket over the back of the couch.

  Cody grabbed it up, opened it, and swung it onto his shoulders. As he flicked it around to grab with his other hand, something small fell from the pocket and clattered onto the ground.

  Bending down and picking up the object, Cody saw that it was the thumb drive for the computer containing his music. He had put it in his jacket pocket at some stage on his drive here. He had been wearing the jacket on and off since he had left Minneapolis and had forgotten about it.

  Cody put it back into his pocket and walked back out of the room, flicking the light off as he went. He made his way back to Troy and Sam, and they once again all walked from the boutique.

  The trio walked toward Sam’s Mustang, and Cody watched Troy’s mouth drop open. He had had a similar reaction when he had first seen the red car.

  “That’s a 1969 Ford Mustang,” Troy said. “You drive this? It’s yours?”

  Cody laughed at Troy. Sam was different than most women. She liked cars and knew how to fix them. She was also feminine and girly. It was a combination that Cody knew Troy would love.

  “Yes,” Sam said. “I bought it cheap and restored it on my days off. It took me over two years to get it back to this condition. I had to totally rebuild the engine and then remove the rust from the body. I had the leather seats custom-made though.”

  Cody could tell she was talking Troy’s language. Troy looked shocked before. Now he wore a satisfied look of a man who had just met his match.

  “Do you know how many nails I broke fixing that thing?”

  Now he was back to looking shocked. Cody smiled. Sam could say something totally amazing and intelligent and then follow it up with the ditsiest comment. It just endeared her to him more. Sam was Sam, and he didn’t want her to change. If she wanted to crap on about politics and world news in one breath and hair and nails in the next, he was more than happy to listen.

  “Let’s go,” Cody said. “Troy can drool over your car at the diner.”

  “Can I drive it sometime?” Troy asked.

  It was the first time that Cody had ever seen Troy look hesitant. He looked like a kid who desperatel
y wanted something but was worried it would be taken away. Not even when he had told Cody that he wanted him back had Troy looked so unsure of himself.

  “You can drive now,” Sam said and chucked Troy the keys.

  His face lit up, and he didn’t waste any time making his way around the Mustang and jumping into the driver’s seat. Cody got into the back, and Sam took the passenger seat.

  Sam directed Troy to the diner, the trip taking less than a minute before they all piled back out of the car again. Troy looked as though he was ready to pout when he looked back at the car as they made their way into the diner.

  “You can drive it again later,” Sam said. “I don’t mind.”

  Troy grabbed Sam and leaned down, planting a whooping kiss to her lips before letting her go again. Sam looked flushed and shocked while Troy laughed and made his way to a booth. Cody had never seen the man so playful. If all it took was a Mustang to get the man out of his moods, Cody would have invested in one pronto.

  Sam and Cody followed Troy to the table, and Cody slid into the seat opposite Troy. He didn’t move all the way over, making Sam take the empty seat next to Troy. He was trying to push them together and wasn’t going to make excuses for his actions. He wasn’t being manipulative or shady. He was openly encouraging them to spend time together.

  “Troy,” Sam said, picking up her menu and looking at it. He wasn’t sure why. The woman knew it like the back of her hand. “I feel like I know you already. Cody has talked a lot about you.”

  “All good things,” Cody added quickly.

  Troy also picked up his menu and looked it over as he answered.

  “Not much else to tell,” Troy said. “I would like to know more about you. Where did you grow up, or have you always lived in Merricks?”

  “No,” she replied. “I moved to Merricks about eight years ago. I used to live with my grandma in a small town in North Carolina. I came to Merricks with a guy. When the relationship ended, he left town, and I stayed.”

  “Why anyone would leave you is beyond me,” Cody said. “I think you’re great.”

  Sam laughed at Cody, smiling. Damn, the woman could light up a room when she was happy. He looked over at Troy to try and determine if he was seeing the same thing in Sam that he was. Cody huffed at Troy, who was still looking at the menu.

  “Thank you, sweetness,” she said. “I feel the same about you.”

  That had Troy’s head snapping up. Cody saw Sam look at Troy and cringe.

  “Sorry,” she told him. “I didn’t mean it like that.”

  “I know,” Troy replied. “You don’t seem the nasty type.”

  Cody rushed to repair Sam’s foot-in-mouth moment. She wouldn’t have meant it the way it sounded. but Cody didn’t want anything to upset the friendly atmosphere.

  “Oh, she isn’t,” he said. “Sam would never say anything nasty. She is kind to everyone and generous. Everybody loves her. She has a heart of gold. She—”

  Sam chuckled at him, making him slam his mouth shut. He was going overboard. Troy was staring at him as though he had two heads or something.

  “You need to relax,” Sam said. “As much as I love your defense of me and pointing out all my great virtues, you can’t push this. Troy and I will get to know each other in our own time.”

  Troy placed his menu down and reached across the table to take Cody’s hand in his.

  “She is right,” Troy said. “We will discover whether or not we like each other soon enough. Nothing you say will change that.”

  “I know,” Cody told them. “I just want this to work so badly.”

  “So do we,” Troy said. “So you need to trust in the fact that Sam and I are going to do everything we can to give this a shot.”

  A waitress walked up and stopped any further talk. They placed their orders and watched her walk away. Cody needed to calm down. He was on edge. This was worse than any first date that he had ever been on. Troy was right. He needed to trust them and leave them to set the pace. They had only just met, and he already knew both of them.

  It was easier said than done. He was usually happy to go with the flow, but now he just wanted to control the night and make sure that they interacted properly. Troy was the tall, dark, and silent type, making it hard to get to know him. Sam was bubbly and confident, but she had always struggled when it came to men. That was what she had said anyway.

  They needed him to keep the conversation flowing and on the right path. If he didn’t, they might sit here and talk about cars all night. Cody dreaded the thought. He had no interest in cars at all, other than whether or not they got him from point A to point B.

  He needed coffee. Most people would want alcohol. He was sure that coffee had the same effect on him. It calmed him down and let him get on with his day.

  “So are we going dancing after this?” Cody asked.

  “I don’t mind,” Sam said. “It’s up to Troy.”

  Cody looked at Troy encouragingly.

  “I would be honored to take you both dancing,” Troy replied.

  Excellent, Cody thought. He could get them grinding together on the dance floor and then back to Sam’s for a nightcap. One thing would lead to another and bam. They would all fall into bed and make love.

  Cody smiled to himself. He had a plan. He liked plans. Right now his cock liked his plan too. Sam had an amazing body, and she would look great out on the dance floor. Troy wouldn’t be able to resist.

  “Cody,” Troy said, “I can see you plotting. I told you to leave everything to us.”

  “I am,” Cody said. Well, he sort off was.

  “Now you are lying,” Sam said. “After we go dancing, I think Cody is in for a little bit of punishment.”

  “I agree,” Troy said. “See, Cody, we are getting along already.”

  Cody smiled but didn’t say anything. If it took a red butt to make them bond, he was willing to sacrifice.

  The waitress bought over their food, and they tucked in. He groaned as the flavor of the beef he’d ordered hit his tongue, all thoughts of dancing and making love forgotten as he ate. He also forgot about the little thumb drive still sitting in his jacket pocket.

  * * * *

  Sam followed her men into Stephie’s Bar and Grill and took a look around. She wasn’t sure if it was too early in the relationship to call Troy and Cody her men, but that was how she had started to see them.

  At some stage through dinner, with all Cody’s antics trying to push her and Troy together, Sam had decided to let them in. Cody had already worked his way under her skin. Troy, with all his hard edges and gruff personality, was no less likeable, and she saw something in him that made her want to try things that she had never been willing to do with other men before.

  Sam moved farther into the room and took Troy’s and Cody’s hands in hers. The place was packed, which wasn’t unusual, but it seemed every one of her friends was here tonight.

  Sam wasn’t ready to share her men with her friends, but it didn’t look as though she would have a choice as Emily waved her over. She was sitting at a table on Hawk’s lap with Wolf beside her. Next to Wolf were Cole and Trace Jackson. They owned and ran a horse stud. Then there was the sheriff, Blake Hammond and his brother, James. Sitting between them was their woman, Sarah.

  “Hey, Sam,” Emily said when she approached her friends’ table. “What’s going on?”

  “Hi, Emily,” she replied. “Hello everybody else too. This is Cody and Troy.” Sam went on to introduce everyone at the table, and the men shook hands.

  “So, you found him then,” Wolf said to Troy.

  Sam let out a small squeal as Troy found a vacant seat and pulled her onto his lap before replying to Wolf’s question.

  “Thank you,” Troy said to Wolf. “He was at the boutique where you suggested. We have decided to take a different path than I had planned, but so far, so good.”

  Sam looked at Cody, who stood behind their chair. He was smiling, satisfaction in his blue eyes, so Sam settl
ed on Troy’s lap and made herself comfortable. If it made them happy to have her sitting on Troy’s lap, then she would do it. She found that she liked pleasing them.

  “Busy night,” Sam said to Emily, who was still perched on Hawk’s lap. “Seems like the whole town is in the bar.”

  “Kate is here too,” Emily told her. “She was with her men on the dance floor. Maybe we could find her and grab a drink? Let’s leave the men to their talk.” Emily turned to Sarah. “What do you say Sarah? You in?”

  Sarah looked at James before answering.

  “Go on, darlin’,” he said. “Have your fun.”

  Sarah stood and looked over at Sam with a raised brow.

  “Sure,” Sam replied. “You collect Kate, and I will grab some drinks from the bar.” Sam turned to Troy and Cody. “You don’t mind, do you?”

  “No,” Troy answered. “We will be fine. Besides, I think that your friends’ men will want to grill us.”

  “What? Why?” she asked, jumping from his lap.

  “To make sure they are good enough for you,” Hawk answered.

  She swung around to look at him and scowled.

  “Don’t get your back up,” Wolf said. “We know that you are more than capable of looking after yourself, but you are Emily’s best friend, and if you get hurt, so does she.”

  “That makes you our responsibility, whether you like it or not, Little Domme,” Hawk added.

  Sam growled. She hated when he called her that. Hawk had started doing it at the club after she started taking classes, and now it seemed he would continue outside the club as well.

  “Stop calling me that,” Sam said. “I’m not—”

  “I would watch your next words carefully, Samantha,” Troy said from behind her. “You may not be my submissive, but I will still spank your ass for talking bad about yourself.”

  “I like him,” Cole said. “About time someone stood up to you, Sam.”

  Sam snorted.

  “When do you not stand up to me?” she asked. “You guys have all been bossing me around since I came to town.”