Free Forever Changed by Jambrea Jo Jones Page B

Abi turned and stormed into the house.
    It was his fault that time. He shouldn’t have sniped at Abi. He was taking out his mood on her. The foal should have been here already and he’d been up all night with the mother. He was supposed to go out to the south pasture with Dan to fix a few fences. They had some trail rides coming up with a few greenhorns and they wanted everything safe and up to code. It was a small spread, but Dan had a couple of other hands helping him out.
    Abi was the housekeeper on the Grey Ranch. She’d been there longer than he had. She’d grown up on the ranch, her mother was the housekeeper before her. Eric didn’t spend as much time with Dan as she did. Especially not in the evenings when the old man took to drinking more than he should.
    They each had their stressors that were added on to the fact that they couldn’t seem to keep their relationship in the ‘on’ position. Right now they were ‘off’, but he was trying to get back into her good graces. Sometimes they were just too alike for their own good.
    The front door creaked open. He was hoping to sneak in, but she’d hear him. I should fix that door.
    “Abi, don’t be that way.”
    “What way was I being, Eric? Aren’t you needed in the barn? I thought Cally was in labor, which is why you’re here and not out riding with Danny.”
    “She isn’t, not yet. We’re keeping an eye on her, but I have a bit of time.” That wasn’t completely true, but Phil was in the barn and he knew that Eric had gone to the house to check on lunch. If anything happened, Phil would come get him.
    “Lunch won’t be ready for a few more minutes, so get out of my hair.”
    “I thought you liked me in your hair.”
    “Just because Tommy Grey got you all hot and bothered doesn’t mean you can come in here and try to sex me up, Eric.”
    “That… I didn’t… Abi!” Eric sputtered. He thought he’d kept his lustful thoughts closed off, but Abi knew him too well.
    “Please. I saw you looking at him.”
    “I saw you looking too. Hell, you jumped him!” Eric threw his hands in the air. “Plus, I was already in here trying to ‘sex you up’ before Tommy ever pulled up.”
    “I don’t know why you keep coming back to this. We both know we don’t work. We’ve tried. Something is missing. Things will go smoothly for a while and then… We fall apart.”
    Eric moved closer and she took a step back. Abi was right—they would be fine for a few months then something would blow up and they’d be on the outs again. He loved her, but they both thought something was missing. Could it be another person?
    They’d talked about adding someone to the mix, but that always ended in another fight. He imagined adding Tom to the mix might be nice. He’d be jacking off to the image of the three of them together for weeks to come.
    Abi appeared to be lost in thought so she wasn’t paying attention when he trapped her against the counter. He was hot and bothered, but it wasn’t all about sex. He loved Abi with all his heart. Their balance was just off and he hoped to God they could find it again. He leaned down and brushed his lips against hers. She tasted so sweet and he would never get enough of her. He didn’t want to. Would adding a third really be the trick to keeping them together for the long haul? He’d never seen it done before and he didn’t even know anything about Tom except that he was in the military and was Dan’s son.
    He guided his hands down her body over her hips and squeezed her closer. She moaned, letting him have access to her mouth. He nibbled on her lips before sliding his tongue inside her wet heat. Eric wanted her right then. He’d take her on the kitchen counter if she’d let him, but she would never let herself go enough for them to fool around where she worked. He was surprised she’d let it go as far as it had.
    Eric deepened the kiss and pulled her as close as he could with clothes between them. She jumped up and he