Eventually Lainie realized hands stroked her. Words were murmured to her. She also realized she still had both of them inside her. She attempted to speak but her mouth was beyond dry and only a tiny squeak sounded.
Hank pulled out first. After Kyle slipped from her body, he helped her to her knees. She fell face-first on the bed, spent.
“Sugar? You all right?”
Lainie rolled over to see that both men had ditched the condoms. Hank wore a pair of plaid boxer shorts; Kyle wore just his skin.
Both wore identical grins. Cocky grins.
“Smug bastards,” she muttered.
“Now, is that any way to speak to the studs who just rocked your world? At the same time?” Kyle asked.
“Hell, we even rocked the camper,” Hank said.
They high-fived each other.
“This is a first for me, but you guys act like you’ve never double-teamed a woman before.”
They both froze.
Her gaze flicked between their telling faces. “You haven’t?”
Hank looked at Kyle and he shrugged. “Nope. It’s a first for us too.”
“It is? Why didn’t you tell me?”
“When we came up with the idea to share you, we weren’t exactly sure how that was gonna work. And when you agreed to travel with us, we wanted you to trust us. Admitting we were a quart low on threesome expertise wasn’t the way to win your trust, so we figured we’d wing it.”
“You honestly thought I’d be upset that you haven’t done this before?” She laughed, but inside, she was strangely touched. “That couldn’t be farther from the truth. Thank you, guys.”
“Our pleasure.” Kyle crawled next to her.
“Ditto for me.” Hank flopped on her other side. “Let’s try to get some sleep. Dawn’s creeping up.”
Covers were distributed. Bodies were situated. Lainie tossed and turned because she could not get comfortable.
Kyle sighed. “This ain’t working for me. Too damn many people in this bed. I’ll sleep in the bunk.” And he was gone.
Hank attempted to drag Lainie into his arms, but she wiggled away. “No offense, but I am not a friendly sleeper.”
A long pause ensued. Then, “Would it be different if I’d left instead of Kyle?”
“No. The night I slept in your bed at the ranch, did we wake twined around each other? No. Not the first night we were together in the camper either. Last night, when I was with Kyle? Same thing. Ask him. I stayed on my side of the bed. I’m just not cuddly. I like my own space.” She smooched his nose. “Stop worrying that I’ve been cuddling with Kyle and not you. Go to sleep.”
She woke up completely out of it. No idea what day it was. No idea where she was. She ventured out of the bedroom and found Hank sitting at the dinette.
He smiled. “We drank all the coffee but I can make another pot if you like.”
“What time is it?”
“Noon. Kyle’s already checked in.”
“Noon! Why’d you let me sleep that long?”
“No reason for you to get up. Plus you drove last night.” Hank sipped from a bottle of water. “Hope I didn’t overstep my bounds, but while you were sleeping I checked out the medical facilities for you.”
Hank’s thoughtfulness gave her a warm feeling. “What’d you find out?”
“Staffed by volunteers. Two EMTs from the local ambulance service and two doctors on call.”
“They just told you this?”
A sheepish look entered his eyes. “Nah. Told them I might’ve pulled a muscle in my neck. I chatted them up while they checked me out.”
She was immediately behind him. “Let me see.”
“Lainie—”
“Why didn’t you say anything to me about this before?”
“Because I don’t expect you to be my nursemaid.”
Count to ten and don’t yell at him. “Hank. That’s what I do, who I am, and part of why you and I ended up together. Part of why you like me and why you hate me.”
He chuckled.
“Look, I won’t think you’re weak or stupid—besides the fact that you like to tangle with bulls—if you let me check your injuries.” She ran the back of her knuckles across the rugged planes of his face. “Besides making me feel useful, I like to do it, okay?”
“Okay.” Hank removed his shirt and draped it across the back of the chair. He swiveled his head side to side, showing her the limited range of motion in his neck. “Don’t know when it happened. Might’ve been a combination of bullfighting and sleeping in the truck cab. It’s sore as hell.”
She traced the inflamed area with the tips of her fingers. “Have you iced it this morning?”
“Nope.”
“Taken ibuprofen or . . . something else?” She’d watched cowboys wander into sports med looking for a doctor to write them a prescription for “cowboy candy.” Lots of guys were addicted to painkillers due to constant pain from their bone-jarring profession.
“Nothin’.”
“Will you let me rub it to see if I can work the kinks out?”
“Yes, please.”
Lainie smiled. Now she was on solid ground again after feeling like she’d been adrift.
Hank stretched out over the table and made groans and soft grunts while she worked him over. It amused her that his noises were similar to when they were having sex.