Claiming Lainey [Cowboy Mates, Psychic Connections 3] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) Read online

  Cowboy Mates, Psychic Connections 3

  Claiming Lainey

  Society doesn’t allow for three people to love each other. Lainey Markham knows this and is heartbroken. She has loved Tim Hughes and Spence McKade since she was a child and refuses to choose one man over the other. They call her their bridge. When she touches both of them, everything feels right, but she denies what is meant to be so her men won’t be hurt.

  Spence and Tim have finally come to the realization that Lainey is their destined mate. They are determined that it’s about time Lainey realizes it, too. She is the woman who will be their friend, their lover, and the mother of their children. The hell with what society says. They will pursue her with purpose and will not give up until she is committed to them, living in their home, sleeping in their bed, and carrying their babies.

  Note: This book contains double vaginal penetration.

  Note: While Claiming Lainey is a stand-alone title, it is suggested that the previous titles in this series be read first for continuity.

  Genre: Contemporary, Ménage a Trois/Quatre, Paranormal, Western/Cowboys

  Length: 129,536 words

  CLAIMING LAINEY

  Cowboy Mates, Psychic Connections 3

  Lynnette Bernard

  MENAGE AMOUR

  Siren Publishing, Inc.

  www.SirenPublishing.com

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  A SIREN PUBLISHING BOOK

  IMPRINT: Ménage Amour

  CLAIMING LAINEY

  Copyright © 2013 by Lynnette Bernard

  E-book ISBN: 978-1-62740-453-2

  First E-book Publication: September 2013

  Cover design by Christine Kirchoff

  All cover art and logo copyright © 2013 by Siren Publishing, Inc.

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: This literary work may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic or photographic reproduction, in whole or in part, without express written permission.

  All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.

  PUBLISHER

  Siren Publishing, Inc.

  www.SirenPublishing.com

  Letter to Readers

  Dear Readers,

  If you have purchased this copy of Claiming Lainey by Lynnette Bernard from BookStrand.com or its official distributors, thank you. Also, thank you for not sharing your copy of this book.

  Regarding E-book Piracy

  This book is copyrighted intellectual property. No other individual or group has resale rights, auction rights, membership rights, sharing rights, or any kind of rights to sell or to give away a copy of this book.

  The author and the publisher work very hard to bring our paying readers high-quality reading entertainment.

  This is Lynnette Bernard’s livelihood. It’s fair and simple. Please respect Ms. Bernard’s right to earn a living from her work.

  Amanda Hilton, Publisher

  www.SirenPublishing.com

  www.BookStrand.com

  DEDICATION

  This book is dedicated to my grandparents.

  My grandfather was an amazing man who gave me a lifetime of wonderful memories. He gave me my first pencil box for school when I entered first grade, carefully inscribing my name in it with perfect lettering. He pulled my first loose tooth. He told me jokes that made me chuckle because they made him laugh. When I had my children, he was the one who told me I did a good job. He made me feel loved and accepted no matter what.

  My grandmother was an awesome woman who was my special friend. We would talk for hours about life and love. She told me there were other fish in the sea when I was heartbroken by unkind and uncaring men. She made me laugh when all I wanted to do was cry. She gave me good advice and unconditional love.

  I was very blessed to have had them both in my life for as long as I did. I miss them both every day, but their love and support will always whisper in my mind and in my heart.

  I will love you for always, Gram and Gramp.

  A very special thank you to DelAnne for being such a kind person and a caring woman, and for allowing me to borrow her name for this novel. I hope I have done your name proud, DelAnne.

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright Page

  Dedication

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Epilogue

  About the Author

  CLAIMING LAINEY

  Cowboy Mates, Psychic Connections 3

  LYNNETTE BERNARD

  Copyright © 2013

  Prologue

  Colorado Territory

  1863

  An Indian brave fell in love with the daughter of a white settler. Their love was deep and pure, and they both knew that they had found their true mate. The young woman’s father captured the young brave and was determined to kill him for daring to fall in love with his daughter and taking her innocence. He beat and whipped the young brave while his true love was forced to watch. The father had every intention of killing his own daughter, too. He was not going to allow her to live and give birth to the brave’s child. But the daughter would not allow her mate to die alone. She ran to him, wrapped her arms around him, and tried to protect him from her father’s whip, receiving many lashes in her attempt to shield the man that she loved.

  Two young brothers who worked for the young woman’s father saw his cruelty and stepped forward to stop it. Putting their bodies between the couple and the girl’s father, they received
several lashes of the whip themselves before they were able to overpower the crazed man. By that time, more of the ranch hands had come forward to help.

  The two brothers hitched up a buckboard and took the couple to their parents’ ranch—the McKade Ranch. Their parents welcomed the ranch hands, and they took in the couple, taking care of their wounds and making them a part of their family. When their child was born, he was welcomed with love.

  Because of that unselfish act of compassion and caring, the Great Spirit blessed the land and the people. From that moment on, each person was gifted with a mark of golden, entwined links that appeared on the nape of their neck when their true mate was found and the mating was accepted by both mates. Since that time, every man had been taught the blessing to whisper as they held their destined mate in their arms.

  This blessing had been passed down through the generations and had been engrained in the culture of the land. To find your true mate and to be marked with the mating mark was truly a miracle—one that every person hoped would be gifted to them.

  Chapter 1

  “He’s hurting Timmy!” Lainey cried out as she ran toward the Hughes Ranch.

  Her sister Becca and their best friends Gracie, Melanie, and Madison ran beside her. Lainey knew real fear as she realized that she wasn’t going to be able to help. She was just twelve years old and on the small size. She would never be able to pull Mr. Hughes away from Timmy.

  “Go get help!” she screamed to the other girls as she climbed over the post fencing that separated them from the area of open field where Timmy was working near the barn.

  The four other girls turned and ran in the opposite direction, heading toward the one family who would do whatever they could to help them—the McKade family. Lainey ran like the devil was after her, her dark hair flying in the wind as she headed toward the evil that was Timmy’s father.

  “Stop!” she screamed as she neared, cringing as she saw Mr. Hughes bring down his belt onto Timmy’s back again.

  Even though she was crying she was determined to remain strong as she barreled forward and threw herself at Mr. Hughes. Her weight made him stumble slightly, but he never stopped bringing the heavy belt down onto Timmy’s back.

  “Get out of the way, girl,” he demanded.

  “No!” Lainey yelled, wrapping her arms around Timmy’s back and bending her small body to drape over him.

  “Lainey, no,” Timmy told her firmly, reaching around and pulling her off his back to tuck her against his large chest and encircle her in his arms. “He’ll hurt you.”

  Lainey pushed against Timmy in frustration, unable to get him to loosen his hold on her. She felt him grunt against her in pain as the belt came down onto his back one more time.

  “Stop!” Lainey screamed. “You’re an evil man!”

  She wrapped her arms around Timmy and hugged him tightly, determined to protect him somehow. She screamed out in pain when the belt came down onto his back one more time and the heavy buckle connected with her right arm, ripping open her shirt and the delicate skin of her upper arm at the same time.

  “Lainey?” Tim questioned as he felt her body jerk against his.

  “I’m okay,” she whispered, biting at her bottom lip to try to keep from crying out in pain. She knew Timmy would lose control if he saw that she was injured.

  Timmy was a huge guy for being just seventeen, but he was the gentlest man she had ever known except for Spence McKade. Both men had always looked out for her and her twin sister Becca. They never made her feel like a tagalong whenever she followed them as they worked their ranches.

  Spence often told her she was their bridge. It made her smile even though she didn’t understand what that meant. She just knew that when she was with the two of them, she felt right. They were her best friends despite her being five years younger than they were.

  Another fall of the belt made Timmy grunt, but he pulled Lainey closer against him, standing slowly as he made sure to protect her from any further injury. Lainey clung to him, refusing to let go.

  “Timmy, please don’t let him hurt you anymore,” she begged him, her blue eyes filling with tears as she kissed his chest lightly. “Please.”

  “It’s okay, honey,” Timmy assured her even as another strike was delivered across his already raw back. “Enough!”

  His angry voice filled the open field as the sound of horses approaching pulled his attention. When he saw his friends bearing down on them riding their horses, he knew his father had no choice but to back off. He wouldn’t be able to continue his abuse with the McKade family present. His best friend Spence McKade, Spence’s older brother Deuce, and Deuce’s best friend John Blackstone were coming to stop the madness. All of them, along with the rest of the McKade family, were his army.

  Standing tall, he turned and faced the man who had made his childhood hell. His father’s face was filled with rage as he saw the men that raced toward them.

  “You’ve brought enough trouble on me, boy,” Jenkins Hughes told him calmly. Raising his arm, he began a downward plunge, ready to teach his son a final lesson, when his arm was wrenched back and he was spun around.

  “Leave Tim alone!” Spence yelled, pulling the belt from his hand and throwing it to the ground. “You will never hurt him again.”

  Pushing Tim’s father away from him, Spence walked over to Tim and Lainey, surrounding them with his massive arms. Tim leaned into him tiredly, holding Lainey between them protectively.

  “Don’t let him hurt Lainey again, Spence,” he said quietly.

  “He hurt you, Lainey?”

  “I’m okay, Spence,” she assured him. “Timmy is the one he hurt.”

  “No. Spence,” Timmy pushed out through gritted teeth. “She’s hurt.”

  Spence eased back just enough to take a good look at both Tim and Lainey. He saw the blood that was seeping through the back of Tim’s shirt. It made him sick to his stomach. Turning his attention to Lainey, he looked her over quickly, freezing when he saw the blood on her right sleeve where there was a tear in the material and a long gash on her arm was revealed. Rage filled him, and he turned away from his two friends to face Tim’s father.

  “You bastard! You’ve hurt Lainey in your abusive tirade,” he yelled at Jenkins Hughes, growling as he stepped toward him with his fists clenched. “And you’ve hurt Tim for the last time.”

  As he stepped forward, Jenkins Hughes reached for the dropped belt and raised it one more time. He brought it down with enough force to slice across the front of Spence’s shirt, the buckle catching him on his jaw, just below his left ear. Despite the power of his strike, Spence didn’t even feel it. His anger had brought him too far into the realm of madness. He stepped toward the man and reached out with the intention of surrounding his neck with his hands and choking the life out of him.

  Before he could carry through, Jenkins was pulled away and slammed down to the ground. Spence stopped in complete shock as he saw the big man go down like a paper doll. Looking up at the reason, he smiled as he saw his older brother Deuce holding Jenkins face down on the ground by the back of his neck.

  “You will never raise a hand in violence to anyone again, Hughes,” Deuce told him calmly. “Tim, get whatever personal belongings you want to take from your room. You’ll be coming back to live with my family.”

  “You can’t take him,” Jenkins called angrily, trying his damnedest to get out of Deuce’s hold, but it was useless. He couldn’t remove himself from Deuce’s steel grip. “He’s my son.”

  “Too bad that didn’t matter to you every time you beat him, Hughes,” Deuce told him with complete disgust in his voice. “Get your things, Tim. You won’t be coming back here.”

  Tim straightened slowly, carefully releasing his precious cargo into Spence’s waiting arms. Once he was sure Lainey was safe, he turned and walked into the ranch house that he shared with his parents.

  His mother stood silently just inside the front door, quiet as always. She was a small woman, thin
to the point of unhealthy, but Tim understood why. She had been ruled by her husband’s brute force for years. Her brown eyes looked perpetually sad and tired. They used to look warm and inviting but, for many years now, they just looked cold.

  He turned away from her and slowly made his way up the stairs to his bedroom. Taking out his large, black gym bag, he opened the drawers of his bureau, pulled out every piece of clothing within it, and quickly stuffed all of it into his bag. Going to the closet, he removed his five work shirts, his one dress shirt, and his two sweatshirts, quickly folding them and placing them into the bag. All that remained was his heavy winter coat which he pulled from the hanger and threw onto the bed to land beside the gym bag.

  Looking around the room, he realized that there wasn’t much else. His backpack filled with school books was on the floor next to his bed. He grabbed for the straps and hefted it onto the bed. Those would be coming with him. He was going to finish high school and figure out a way to go to college. He was not going to be like his father. He was going to be a good man—an educated man. He was going to treat people with respect, and he was going to love and support his friends. Some day, if the Great Spirit found him worthy, he hoped to be blessed with a loving relationship with his destined mate.

  Turning, he went back to the bureau and took every item that rested on top of it. He picked up the small wooden box that held his special treasures. Each item inside of it held an important memory, but the pink, polished rock that Lainey had found in the nearby stream in the west pasture on McKade land and had given to him was of the most value to him. He looked down at the treasure box, realizing that it looked miniature in his large hand, and he sighed sadly. His size had scared everyone he had ever met—especially women.