by Sarah Blake
Blackwood Falls
Blackwood Falls
Two’s company, three’s a crowd? Not for Brax Mason and Conner Parker when they discover they have another mate who’s found passed out on their land.
Sarah Jane Hadley doesn’t know who the two men whose house she wakes in are, but her heart and soul tells her to trust them. When she explains she is on the run from not only the mob but her own father, she thinks they will kick her out, or worse. What she doesn’t expect is for them to turn into wolves and to tell her she is their mate.
When Sarah thinks she has finally found a home and is truly loved, her world is shattered when she overhears Brax and Conner talking. Not wanting to wait for them to tell her it is over, she runs. It doesn’t take long for Brax and Conner to realize Sarah has run and why. The question is can they find her before someone else does?
Genre: BDSM, Contemporary, Ménage a Trois/Quatre, Paranormal, Vampires/Werewolves
Length: 70,284 words
BLACKWOOD FALLS
Blackwood Falls
Sarah Blake
MENAGE AMOUR
Siren Publishing, Inc.
www.SirenPublishing.com
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A SIREN PUBLISHING BOOK
IMPRINT: Ménage Amour
BLACKWOOD FALLS
Copyright © 2014 by Sarah Blake
E-book ISBN: 978-1-62741-027-4
First E-book Publication: January 2014
Cover design by Harris Channing
All art and logo copyright © 2014 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
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Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright Page
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
About the Author
BLACKWOOD FALLS
Blackwood Falls
SARAH BLAKE
Copyright © 2014
Chapter One
Sarah looked at the clock on the back wall in Malloy’s bar and groaned. Only three hours into her shift and it felt like eight. She knew she shouldn’t have agreed to walk Mrs. Graham’s collie Jaffa after spending all day at her day job, cleaning the luxury apartments of Michigan’s rich. Mrs. Graham’s apartment was her last of the day, and by far the dirtiest as she was the only resident with children. Both girls were spoiled brats and Sarah had to bite her tongue every time she saw them. At thirteen and fifteen they should be able to put rubbish into the bin themselves, shouldn’t they? Sarah thought so but apparently Mrs. Graham didn’t, and had let them get away with it for years, letting “the help” do that sort of thing. The life of the rich, how wonderful. She sighed. Sarah thought to herself with a sigh. Normally she would have said no to walking Jaffa on a Wednesday, as she finished her cleaning job later than normal and her evening job at the bar started early, but she loved animals and Jaffa was one of her favorites out of all the pets in the apartment complex. She couldn’t let him go all day without getting out and stretching his legs for a little while, but she knew the two daughters couldn’t be relied on to do it. Sarah shook herself from her thoughts and got back to work clearing the glasses and wiping tables. It was slow at the moment, and she hoped it stayed this way and she would be able to leave early. After all the empty tables were cleared and wiped down, she made her way back behind the bar, trying to find something to do to take her mind off the spoiled brats living at the apartment complex. The worst part was that the main offenders were often the grownups. Causing a huge unnecessary mess for Sarah when they weren’t shopping or out “lunching” with friends. It made her feel sick to her stomach to think that is how she could have turned out and how her sister was. Before she moved out of the family home, there were only two suitable ways for her life to go, either marry a rich man that her father approved of like her sister did, or go to a university of his choosing and study a subject that would in the end benefit him and his pharmaceutical company in some way. Her father wasn’t interested in what Sarah wanted, to work with animals or become a vet. He told her to choose either one of the two options or leave the family home and forget about the family money. He said she either chooses one of the two options or she leave the family home and forget about the family money. She packed that night and had never looked back. That was almost five years ago now. She had only talked to her mother and sister a handful of times since then, her father even less. She only wished she could afford to go to university and study to become a vet, but with rent, gas and electric, and all the other bills, she simply couldn’t do it.
An hour later Sarah finished serving a group of five builders who had stopped by after a hard day’s work for a quick drink before going home when she heard the door to the bar open again. Looking up, Sarah almost dropped the towel she was holding when she came face-to-face with her father, the rich and powerful Carl Hadley, owner and CEO of Hadley’s Pharmaceuticals. He loo
ked so out of place, standing there in his dark gray designer suit and tie, polished leather shoes, and perfectly gelled hair, especially compared to the regulars who either worked in shops or as cleaners and such. She could see the disgust in his face while he took in the place and people. It might not have been a fancy place that charged and arm and a leg for a drink, but she loved Malloy’s. It was a warm, welcoming place with red and black leather booths along the walls and wooden tables with matching chairs on the main floor. Its bar was a dark wood, varnished till it was silky smooth. The walls displayed pictures of the local area of Michigan from the past. Sarah decided to get it over with and walked along the bar to stand in front of him and smiled as politely as she could. “Hello, father, what are you doing here?” she asked, cringing at how formal she sounded. She noticed his almost black hair had more gray in it than last time and he was slightly bigger around the waist.
“Sarah Jane, it’s good to see you again, how have you been?” he asked in what she guessed was the most polite voice he could manage. Then his words made their way through the shock of seeing him and into her mind. He is asking me how I am. Has he ever asked that before? Shocked again, she mumbled, “I’m good thanks.” She didn’t bother asking the same to him as she simply didn’t care. As he looked around once more, she couldn’t help herself from asking “what are you doing here?”
He looked taken aback at her bold tone, of her talking to him in such a way, but again she didn’t care. He waited until he finished looking around before returning his attention back to her and addressing her question. “I have been trying to contact you for a few days now, but I must have the wrong number. I’m here to let you know we are having a family dinner on Saturday night at Strafford’s Weathervane and you are to attend. The meal is at eight o’ clock. I will see you there.” And with that, he turned on his heels and walked out the door without waiting for a reply. Who the hell does he think he is? She then remembered it was her father she was talking about. He thought he was the most important person in the world and all his demands were to be met at once. She sighed to herself yet again and got back to work. She would think about what he had said when she got home.
* * * *
As the taxi made its way to the restaurant, Sarah wanted to laugh and kick herself at how many times she changed her mind, it was at least a hundred. All along she knew she would end up going. Not to see her family, but to find out what must be so important for her father to come and tell her to be there personally. She hadn’t been invited to a family event since the night she left, not even her parent’s thirtieth wedding anniversary party. She only knew about it because she came across an article about “the social event of the year” in a gossip column in the paper. All of Michigan’s rich and powerful were there and the event was a blast according to the paper. So, Sarah thought, this must be very important indeed for them to lower their standards and invite her. She couldn’t wait to find out what it was. She wanted to kick herself for spending two hundred dollars of her hard-earned money on a dress for the night. Why she had done it, she didn’t know, but she loved how the dress made her feel. The red, curvy skater dress with a deep V-back tucked in her waist and covered her large breasts without spoiling her hourglass figure. The length, just above her knees, made her legs look great if she did say so herself. The black, anklez six-inch-heeled boot also helped her legs appear slimmer. Her best friend Mia had loaned her the boots. After she had tried every shoe she had three times, she gave up and rang Mia. She described the dress and her friend had brought the boots over. Sarah wasn’t too sure at first, but after trying them on, she loved the whole outfit. She guessed in her mind how many times her mother or sister would comment on her appearance, asking what label the dress was and then almost having an aneurysm when she told them it wasn’t designer, even if it did cost her a fortune. Then they would bring up the latest diets that everyone was trying and ask if she was going to give them a go, to get rid of the extra pounds she’d had for years and never managed to shift. When it came to her body, Sarah hated having the extra weight. When with a man, she did everything she could to hide her body, even when going on dates. But when it came to her family, she just didn’t care because it was something that separated her from them. Her mother and sister were so skinny they looked ill, but that was apparently the only way to look. She gave a little chuckle to herself, guessing she would be asked those questions about twenty times, and that would be before the main course. Oh what a fun night this is going to be.
As the taxi pulled up outside the restaurant, she dug in her purse for the money while the valet opened her door and offered his hand to help her out. Walking into the restaurant felt like stepping into another world. Every single thing she saw screamed wealth at her and she instantly felt out of place. She gave the name of her party and waited to be shown to her table. She couldn’t even begin to imagine the price of the food here, and like most places like this, the courses were probably no bigger than two mouthfuls.
She spotted her mother first of all, leaning slightly over in her chair talking to a woman on the next table over. As usual she was the image of perfection, not a single hair out of place on her bleached-blonde head and not one strand of gray in sight. The black cocktail dress seemed tailored for her slim frame. Then she saw the slime bag that was her brother-in-law, Simon McDowell. As she made her approach to the table her sister Amanda spotted her and rose to her feet, a big smile planted on her face. “Sarah, oh my lord, you look simply stunning,” she said as she gave Sarah a half hug and two air kisses on her cheeks that all the women of her kind did. Sarah was simply stunned to hear the words coming out of Amanda’s mouth while being directed at her. “Your hair is gorgeous as well, you must show me how to do that.” She smiled again as she sat down. My hair is gorgeous? All she had done was brush it back into a simple fishtail braid from the base of her neck, and then placed it over her right shoulder. Amanda, as usual, was as perfect as their mother. In a green knee-length dress, to Sarah, she looked like she had been visiting the plastic surgery office a lot, if the bigger boobs, smaller nose, and completely wrinkle-free face were any indication. Amanda’s black hair was ruler-straight and not one strand strayed from the rest.
Then her mother was giving her the same air kisses and hug as her sister, also commenting on how wonderful she looked. Okay, what is going on here, who are you two, and where are my real mother and sister? She then turned to her seat but was stopped when Simon stood and opened his arms for a hug. She wanted to gag at the thought, but hugged him anyway to keep the peace. She was still desperate to know what this was all about. Her curiosity was doubled now with how they were acting. Finally sitting down, she noticed a stranger sitting at the table next to her father. From the moment she laid her eyes on him, she knew he was a slime ball. She turned to her father and nearly fell off her seat when he smiled at her. “Sarah, I’m glad you could make it, this is a business associate of mine, Anthony Delargo. Anthony, this is my youngest daughter, Sarah Jane”
“Sarah, it’s a pleasure to finally meet you, your father has told me a lot about you,” he said with a smile.
“Thank you, Mr. Delargo, it’s nice to meet you too,” she replied. He was staring at her intently which made her instantly uncomfortable. She guessed the warm welcome by her family and possibly the dinner were for his benefit, but she couldn’t for the life of her figure out why. She noticed he kept looking at her and she felt an instant dislike for him. After the appetizers starter, Sarah was relieved that her father started talking to Anthony about business and he no longer stared at her as if he could see her naked. She tried to keep the soup she had for just finished starter in her stomach as she noticed he kept sending her smiles. Yuck, what was it with men like him, that thought they were God’s gift but weren’t? She had to admit, the dark blue suit he wore was nice, neatly pressed, and well fitted, but the effect was lost when she looked at his brown hair which had so much gel it looked greasy. Going by his nose, he had either been in one
too many fights for it to be fixed or had a nose job gone wrong. Who knew with men these days? She couldn’t put her finger on anything specific, but something about him gave her the major creeps and she couldn’t wait till the meal was over with.
During the main meal, just as she was enjoying her chicken cacciatore, her sister turned to her and asked if she was dating anyone at the moment. Sarah swallowed her food and noticed that Anthony was staring intently again at her. “No Amanda, I’m single at the moment, why?” Again, she didn’t know why she was being so formal.
“Oh, I was just wondering. You’re getting older now. Are you not wanting to find a husband and settle down? It is the best thing in the world. I was a year younger than you are when Simon and I got married.”
She couldn’t help the next words out of her mouth, and she didn’t even try. “Amanda, you were twenty-seven when you got married, I’m only twenty-six.” Sarah knew Amanda wouldn’t feel bad about not remembering her age, but she still said it.
Throughout the rest of the meal, the small talk went on. Anthony kept trying to talk to Sarah and asking her questions. She tried to be polite and give enough words to her answers for her father not to mention how standoffish she was being, but she could not bring herself to give him more informative answers. The less information he knew about her the better. By the time she finished her dessert, she couldn’t take it anymore. She placed her spoon on her plate and startled the others at the table by standing quickly.
