Page 2 of Seducing Serena

They exchanged damp towels for the boxers, sweatpants, and socks they normally slept in when on duty. Clean t-shirts were laid out at the foot of each man’s bed, ready to be pulled on as they ran to the truck where their turnout pants and boots were set up to be jumped into before they climbed into the truck.

“I think we should wait until we’re at the Ranch. Then we can seduce her into our bed, and our lives, without an alarm going off to interfere,” Ford said, just before the loud bell sounded, calling them to duty once more.

CHAPTER2

Noah looked around as Ford drove through the front gate of Rawhide Ranch, though there was not much to see in the dark. Weather delays had caused them to miss their connecting flight so they were arriving at the Ranch at midnight instead of the middle of the afternoon as originally planned.

He only hoped their room was ready, though at that moment, he would be happy to sleep on the floor in the lobby. He’d slept on floors or in a chair when traveling on loan to other stations. When in the woods fighting forest fires, he’d even slept on the ground. When tired enough, sleep would come wherever there was enough room to stretch out and close his eyes.

Not a fan of flying, he had not been able to sleep on the plane like Ford. His life partner was now wide awake and able to drive while Noah felt fuzzyheaded. Excitement at being at Rawhide Ranch kept him from dozing off even after they were in the rental car on their way from the airport.

“Oooo, so pretty,” Serena said from the back seat as the car slowed to a stop in front of the Ranch’s main building. She’d slept on the drive from the airport, waking only when they stopped to check in at the front gate.

Exterior lights still glowed, allowing him to look around the immediate area and the three-story building. A wide porch ran the width of the front, with lush and verdant flowerbeds in front of it. There appeared to be several paths splitting off from main drive.

As a naturally curious person, as well as a firefighter, Noah looked forward to exploring to see where all the paths led. But that would wait until morning. Right now he wanted to lie down and sleep, preferably with both Serena and Ford in his arms.

With a tired sigh, Noah climbed out of the front seat and stretched fully before opening the car’s back door. Holding out a hand, he smiled as Serena accepted it, allowing him to help her out.

It had taken them some time over the past year, but they’d finally convinced Serena that she needed to wait until one of them helped her out of the car, whether she was in the front seat or back. At least when they were off duty.

At work, she would pop out of her ambulance and be helping victims long before either of them could reach her from their trucks. Which was understandable, so they allowed it. Otherwise they would hear snide comments about favoritism from the rest of the crew, and that was the last thing either he or Ford wanted. Though there were no rules against dating coworkers, it was easier to keep their relationship quiet than deal with the comments and looks the others would give them. Especially since they both wanted to be involved with her.

When Serena went to the trunk for her suitcase, he smacked her ass, earning a frown from her and a smirk from Ford.

“You don’t carry bags,” he told her, yet again. It had been an ongoing argument since loading the car up that morning. “You are our princess and we do the heavy lifting.”

When she opened her mouth to argue, Ford stepped in. “You can open the door for us, but we’ll schlep the bags, honey.”

Serena huffed a sigh but nodded as she turned away from the trunk. “Fine, just don’t complain to me if you throw out your backs.”

That earned her ass another swat, this time from Ford.

“Watch the attitude,” he warned, his voice soft and even deeper than before.

Noah watched as Serena’s stiff body melted at the other man’s sharp order. “Yes, Sir,” she whispered.

“From now until we leave, those will be my favorite words,” Noah said as he grabbed the two bags from the trunk that Ford had left for him. He closed the trunk and followed the others up the stairs to the porch.

They’d limited themselves to one bag each. The fourth bag was the toy bag he and Ford had put together from their expansive toy collection. After approval of their application to visit the Ranch, they’d received a passcode that allowed them access to the Ranch’s exclusive guests’ website. From looking over the site numerous times over the past month, Noah knew Rawhide Ranch might have all the things they’d brought with them available to borrow or purchase, but they preferred to use toys they already owned and were comfortable with.

As they ascended the stairs, Noah looked around the softly lit porch. He already planned to spend some time sitting out here, hopefully with Serena curled up on his lap as they shared a drink and pastry from the cafe just off the lobby.

* * *

The closer they got to checking in, the more Serena felt her submissive side surging forward. While she refused to admit to either Ford or Noah, she really was looking forward to letting go and allowing them to have full rein over her for the next seven days. Making decisions was always challenging, but lately she had acknowledged to herself that sometimes being a strong, independent woman working in a male-dominated field sucked.

When things got too heavy on her shoulders, she would convince one or the other of these men to take her to the club and help her relax. Now, for the next seven days, she would be under their full control. Though Ford and Noah had been a couple since long before her moving into the house, she liked to think that maybe they would see her as more than just their submissive plaything. Someday.

At the top of the stairs, she tried to pull the door open. Only it didn’t open. Checking the small sign above the knob she confirmed it was a pull door. Since it was just after midnight, she was not totally surprised it didn’t open. Pulling on the other door yielded the same result.

Looking over her shoulder at her two best friends, she found them blurry figures due to tears filling her eyes. The exhaustion she had been feeling for the past couple weeks was now drowning her.

“They won’t open,” she whispered, her voice hoarse.

Ford set down his bags and pulled her into his arms. “It’s okay, honey. Take a deep breath.”

She buried her face into his chest and took a breath, relaxing as the scent of orange, clove and man that she always associated with Ford filled her lungs.

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