THREE OF US

A Pearce Station Spinoff

by Ann Grech

Cover & Excerpt Reveal

Release Date: January 10, 2021

Cover Design: CT Cover Creations

Genre: MMF Bisexual Romance

Synopsis

Two cowboys walk onto a ranch. The girl falls for both. But they’re in love with each other, and she’s stuck in the friend zone. Sounds like a bad joke, right?

Welcome to my life…

But I think I was wrong; my two cowboys are just friends.

It’s been the three of us since the day we met. I’ve settled for friendship for over a decade, but I want more.

I’ve fantasized about getting between them, but they don’t think I’m that type of girl.

It’s about time these boys wake up and realize they’re in love with me.

And each other too.

Hold my beer while I sort this mess out.

Three of Us is a standalone book in the Pearce Station universe. You’ll meet new friends who become family and fall in love with Ally, Sam and Craig.

Add to your TBR list!

Excerpt

Sam stripped off his boots and socks, followed by his shirt. I tossed him two towels that he slung over the low hanging branch of a tree growing at a steep angle over the water, and looked away. I didn’t see him take off his jeans, but I heard them land next to me as he gingerly toed towards the edge. He slipped into the water silently, the ripples in the water the only evidence that he’d just entered it. Where Craig was a loud-mouthed cheeky bugger, Sam was always quieter. More introverted.

I turned to face them when I heard thrashing and watched as I kicked off my RM Williams boots, toed out of my socks and sat in bare feet. Craig was splashing Sam, while Sam shielded his face. Finally, Sam went under and within a moment, Craig went wide-eyed and was pulled under too. They broke the water together and laughed, Sam splashing Craig before shaking his hair out and treading water.

“Boys, try not to splash too much. The crocs tend to be drawn to you if you do.” I smiled sweetly at them. I expected that they’d swim to the shore like they were being chased, but they didn’t do that. Instead, the colour drained from Craig’s face and within a split second, he’d launched himself at Sam. There was no playful splashing this time though. Craig’s movements were short. Sharp. Urgent. He meant business. He thought I was serious. Both of them did. Within a split second, Craig had wrapped an arm around Sam and used powerful strokes to shift them to the edge. Craig was pushing Sam, getting him out first, looking over his shoulder, ready to shield Sam with his body.

I was already on my feet, scrambling to them. Running to the water’s edge to meet them. “I was joking. Shit, I’m sorry. It was a smart-arsed comment. I should have realized that… fuck. I’m sorry.”

“What?” Sam now stood before me, starkers and breathing hard. He gripped Craig’s hip and pushed him further up the bank, out of the way of the imaginary danger.

“I’m sorry. Scottie used to scare me, telling me there were crocs in the water. It became our inside joke. There aren’t any crocs. It’s perfectly safe. I wouldn’t have let you get in if there was any danger.” That immature, selfish princess I didn’t want to be? Well, I’d officially crossed the line. It wouldn’t have surprised me if they’d grabbed their towels and stormed off to the Landcruiser. Or if they left me there either. But I knew they wouldn’t, not out here and not in summer. Get lost and they’d be recovering a body. Scottie would have made that clear to them the first day they were here—he rehearsed his speech with every new person on the station—and he wasn’t wrong.

Sam and Craig shared a look. An intense stare that communicated so much more than words could say. Thank you. I love you. You protected me. I want you. It only lasted a millisecond, but it was as if the shroud over my eyes had been lifted. Everything slotted into place. I was right to wonder whether there was more between them. Their easy familiarity, their inseparability. Craig’s protectiveness and Sam’s innate way of looking for Craig whenever they were apart. I understood now why they’d never like me the same way I was hooked on them. They were in love with each other. It was clear that they worked hard to hide their affection from the world, and I resolved to never out them. The knowledge settled and I fell a little harder for them, not in that “I want a gay best mate” way, but because they’d made their relationship work. They were solid. Made for each other.

I squealed when strong arms wrapped around my waist and lifted me off my feet. I’d spaced out and Craig had pounced. I was being carried to the water’s edge. “No crocs?”

“Put me down,” I yelled, laughing. “Yes, there are crocs. They’ll eat us all if you throw me in.”

“Too bad, sweetheart.” Craig chuckled and fell backwards into the water, taking me with him. Fully clothed, my shirt and jeans would stick to me and take all day to dry off, but I didn’t have it in me to care. Cool water surrounded me, enveloping my senses. The harsh buzz of the cicadas was silenced and I relaxed in Craig’s arms, enjoying the water all around me. Sam pulled me to him a moment later, wrapping his arm around my waist and tugging me against him into deeper water. We broke the surface gently, Sam kicking to keep us above water.

“You had us going for a minute there.” He tried to act all serious, his eyes narrowed into slits, and his brow furrowed, but the grin he was failing to bite back almost had me chuckling. Almost.

“I’m sorry for scaring you.”

“S’all good.” He popped my forehead with a sweet kiss. “But we need to get you out of these wet clothes, or it’ll be an uncomfortable drive back.” I nodded mutely and he began to unbutton my shirt, exposing my bare breasts to him. I knew he wasn’t interested, I knew I wasn’t his type, but my heart hammered in my chest nevertheless. His fingers moved lower in the water to the bottom button, the shirt suddenly loose around me. When I felt Craig’s strong body behind me, reaching around to tug open my jeans, I nearly combusted on the spot. My nipples were hardened peaks, my clit sending shocks of electricity through my body as it rubbed against the denim, the heat of their bodies a shocking contrast to the cool water. Out here in the blistering summer I rarely wore underwear and I wasn’t sure if I wanted to be completely naked with them begging them to touch each other while I sorted myself out, or whether I wanted to run and hide myself so I didn’t risk exposing how much I’d grown to want them.

Sam spread my shirt open, his gaze only flicking down for the briefest of seconds as he pushed it off my shoulders. When Craig took over sliding my shirt down my arms and Sam gently ran his hands down my sides to my waist and lower to my hips, submerging himself so he could push my jeans down my legs, my core clenched and a shudder rocked through me. Jesus H Christ. I wanted to be between these two, not just watching them.

Giveaway

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About the Author

By day Ann Grech lives in the corporate world and can be found sitting behind a desk typing away at reports and papers or lecturing to a room full of students. She graduated with a PhD in 2016 and is now an over-qualified nerd. Glasses, briefcase, high heels and a pencil skirt, she’s got the librarian look nailed too. If only they knew! She swears like a sailor, so that’s got to be a hint. The other one was “the look” from her tattoo artist when she told him that she wanted her kids initials “B” and “J” tattooed on her foot. It took a second to register that it might be a bad idea.

She’s never entirely fit in and loves escaping into a book—whether it’s reading or writing one. But she’s found her tribe now and loves her MM book world family. She dislikes cooking, but loves eating, can’t figure out technology, but is addicted to it, and her guilty pleasure is Byron Bay Cookies. Oh and shoes. And lingerie. And maybe handbags too. Well, if we’re being honest, we’d probably have to add her library too given the state of her credit card every month (what can she say, she’s a bookworm at heart)!

She also publishes her raunchier short stories under her pen name, Olive Hiscock.

Connect with Ann

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