“Or would you prefer to skip ahead to dessert?” Garrett’s eyes seemed to twinkle as he spoke. She nodded, though she realized belatedly that she may have agreed to more than she had intended. Or perhaps that was only wishful thinking. She doubted extreme awkwardness did much to rouse a man’s loins.
Both brothers began to stand and exit the booth. She slid out following Dalton, and she took his hand when he offered it. It practically engulfed hers in its masculine firmness. It made her heart still. Then a pool of water dripped down her lap and into her shoes.
Madeline had never felt more embarrassed in her entire life. Being drenched did nothing to cool her down, and if anything, the incident inflamed her body even more. Turned on and mortified?
It was time to make a hasty retreat. Dalton tried to lead her to the booth next to the one they sat at, but, as much as it pained her to do so, she pulled away.
* * * *
When her little hand slipped out of his, Dalton felt like a piece of him had been ripped away. It had just felt so incredibly right, as if it belonged there. He tried to take it again, but the way Madeline’s brow furrowed made him think she needed her space. And who was he to stop her? He had no claim to her, and frankly, trying to start a relationship with Madeline wouldn’t have been the honorable thing to do anyway. He wouldn’t be able to do the auburn-haired beauty justice. She deserved to be lavished with attention, to be pleasured from dusk until dawn and then back again. To be loved. He decided he couldn’t provide that for her right now, and Madeline should have nothing but the absolute best.
She looked up at him with her chocolate-brown eyes, and he wondered if perhaps his decision had been made a little too hastily. Perhaps he could at least try? Damn how this woman made him second-guess himself and completely lose all ability to think rationally.
“Thank you for everything and your offer to help with my organization. I’m sorry I’ve made a mess of dinner, but I really must be leaving.” She gestured down at her wet dress and the small puddle that she had formed around her shoes.
“Nonsense. As you can see, we’ve all gotten a bit wet.” Garrett smiled again, and Dalton had the sudden urge to backhand him in the face.
“I completely understand. Your car will be waiting for you up front.” Dalton looked at Alfred, and the man nodded and left.
“Thank you.”
“And if you’re not doing anything next week, the five families will be having our annual meeting and brunch in Male Order. It would be a perfect networking opportunity.” Garrett grasped her hand and put his other hand on her lower back, dangerously close to her ass, guiding her to the front of the restaurant. “We’d be more than happy to introduce you, and I assure you, your center won’t ever need help with funding again.” His brother turned and looked at him. “Isn’t that right, Dalton?”
Dalton cleared his throat. “Yes, absolutely. Our secretary, Lori, has all of your contact information, and she will be in touch with you shortly to set everything up.”
“That sounds like a great idea.”
As they walked through the front entrance, Dalton heard the distinct sputtering of an ancient motor and the unmistakable squeal of brake pads in desperate need of a change.
A white AMC Gremlin with a red racing stripe across the side pulled up, and Dalton was dismayed to see Madeline head straight toward it. The thing looked like a death trap on wheels.
“And we’ll send a car for you.” Dalton held his hand up to stymie any potential objections. “No arguments. Lori will call you.”
“Okay, thank you both. I look forward to hearing from Lori.” Madeline looked at him and then his brother before she gave a little wave and then disappeared inside her car and drove away.
“Well, I’m gonna have to get a change of pants.” Garrett chuckled as he slapped Dalton in the back.
Dalton pushed him off and headed back to the restaurant. “You are so juvenile. Could you have laid it on any thicker?” Dalton quickly cut his eyes at his brother, realizing how his question sounded. “Don’t answer that.”
Garrett held his hands up. “What? I’m just having a little fun. And it’s not like you’ll be making any moves on her. You’re Mr. Serious all of a sudden.”
“Well somebody has to be. And besides, Madeline’s not the kind of girl you just have a little fun with, so watch it.”
“What do you care?”
Dalton stopped walking for a moment, not knowing exactly how to answer. “I don’t.”
“Yeah, right. I know you too well. I think you might like her. Underneath this grouchy exterior, methinks the pretty lady has gotten to your soft squishy parts.”
“You’re full of shit and don’t have a clue what you’re talking about.” But truthfully, Garrett was pretty much right on the money. She had gotten to him.
* * * *
The moment Madeline got in her car, she cranked the air conditioning as cold as it could go. Even though her clothes were soaked, her body still seemed bathed in heat that she didn’t think would ever dissipate. She fanned herself with her left hand and was absentmindedly reaching for the scarf around her neck when she realized she wasn’t wearing it anymore.
Damn it, I left it at the restaurant!
That was her favorite little scarf. She wore it for luck and kicked herself for using it as a damn rag to sop up her embarrassment. Generally, she never had a problem with nerves, but when butterflies did appear in her stomach, they tended to quickly turn into seagulls that overtook her entire body, pecking away at any last vestige of sanity and decorum she could hold on to.
Those men just did something to her, something she had never felt before, something she couldn’t even fully comprehend. She could imagine them doing all manner of dangerous and erotic things to her body, every inch of it, imagine it so vividly it almost seemed like a memory of actual events. Almost. Though every part of her rational self screamed at her to stay away from these men for so many reasons, her body would have none of it. Her sensual self, the part that wanted and needed, the half of her that craved love and passion, yearned for it, screamed even louder. Her mind raced with thoughts of them, thoughts of both their tongues exploring her every crevice, lapping at her womanly fluids, penetrating her, and satisfying her.
Her body demanded attention so loudly she almost turned the car around. But then the cloud of gray smoke coming from the engine cut her dirty thoughts short. Madeline pulled over and then popped the hood. She didn’t know much about auto maintenance, and although her Gremlin sounded like a jalopy, it had actually been pretty reliable. Of course it would choose the moment she was in the middle of nowhere at night to break down. It was too dark to see. With the overhead light on, she started fumbling in her purse for her phone to call a towing company when two headlights blinded her as a car pulled up behind hers. A vision of a poor, helpless woman on the side of the road being hacked to pieces by a “helpful” stranger popped into her mind. She clutched her cell phone like a weapon, prepared to bludgeon him to death with the slim, useless device.
The brightness of the headlights prevented her from seeing the person who walked toward her, but as he entered the circle of light around her, she recognized him, and her racing heartbeat began to slow.
“Hey, Madeline, right? Yeah, I thought it was you. Small world,” he said cheerily. She had met him that morning at Ellis Enterprises. What was his name? She got out of her car to greet him, and the man extended his hand. “I’m Vincent, from earlier today. Do you remember me?”
She cringed to herself when his clammy palm made contact, pressing into her skin. She resisted the urge to wipe her hand against the side of her dress. “Oh, yes, of course, Vincent. It is a small world.”
“You having car trouble?”
“Seems like it. She’s usually so reliable, but I guess when you have a car this old, it’s bound to die eventually. I was just about to call a tow truck when you arrived.”
“Don’t I have perfect timing? I happen to be pretty handy arou
nd cars. Why don’t I have a quick look at it? Just let me run to my car to grab a flashlight.” He jogged back to his car and popped the trunk and rummaged around.
Madeline realized she had been holding her breath the entire time. He seemed friendly enough, but something about him struck her as odd. She couldn’t quite put her finger on it and decided to ignore it. She’d had a whirlwind of a day.
Vincent fiddled around, shining his flashlight everywhere. “Ah, this is the problem. The cap to your oil reservoir is unscrewed a little. That just made the oil bubble over and smoke. It’s no big deal.”
“Thanks for your help, Vincent. I really appreciate it.”
“Don’t mention it. As an employee of Ellis Enterprises , it’s my duty to do what I can to protect what’s in the company’s best interest, and the Ellises seem to have taken a shine to you.”
“Oh?” Madeline didn’t know what else to say. It didn’t seem like this man’s business, but he seemed to have good intentions.
Vincent held his hands up. “Sorry if I crossed the line there. But between you and me—and this is just water cooler gossip, now—the two of them are quite the playboys, if you know what I mean.” Vincent looked uncomfortable for a moment, as if he wanted to say more but couldn’t. Against her better judgment, Madeline prodded him.
“It seems like you want to say something else. What is it you’re not telling me?”
“Word is, they share their women. You know, one girl with both of them. At the same time.” Vincent shook his head. “I shouldn’t have said anything. It’s none of my business. It’s just that…you seem like a nice girl. I’d just be careful not to get too close to them.”
Madeline’s cheeks burned. “Thanks for the advice, but I think I can manage well enough on my own. Nothing’s going on between us anyway. It’s just business. I’m only trying to get them to help fund my non-profit. That’s it. Nothing more.”
Vincent grinned. “Right. Anyway,” Vincent gestured to her car, “do you have a rag or something?”
Madeline thought back to her abandoned scarf and shook her head.
“That’s too bad, me neither. The oil that’s still there is going to continue to smoke until you wipe it down when you get home. Do you have far to go?”
“I live in Dallas, so not too far.”
“Not too far? That’s at least half an hour, isn’t it?”
“Not quite, but I’m sure I’ll manage.”
“I don’t know. That distance with all the smoke blocking your view is pretty risky, especially at night. Who knows what crazies are out there, right?” Vincent smiled, showing every tooth in his mouth. A strange glint flashed in his eyes. “I’ll follow you home and make sure you get there all right.” He closed the hood of her car.
“I wouldn’t want to trouble you and make you go out of your way.”
“It’s no trouble at all, really. Like I said, I’m only doing my duty as an Ellis employee.” Vincent put his hand on her upper arm and led her into the driver’s seat. The contact felt more personal than Madeline would have liked, but she decided the best option was to just go ahead without saying anything. The sooner this was over with, the better. Besides, she suddenly had more on her mind now.
“Go on. I’ll follow you.”
Madeline nodded, closed the door, started her car, and pulled out of the shoulder, watching Vincent do the same behind her. As she drove home, all she could think about were the same four words repeating in her mind on loop.
They share their women.
She didn’t know whether to believe it or not, but it did make her pause. Everything in her brain told her to stay far, far away from these men, to do everything in her power to maintain a strictly professional relationship with them. It would be best for her and, most importantly, her non-profit. But a teeny, tiny niggling part of her raged for these men, to consume them as they consumed her. The prospect of two men frightened her, but also sent her insides reeling at the possibilities.
Chapter Four
A few nights later, Madeline made her usual walk-through of the center, making sure books, crayons, and action figures were in their proper places, before turning off all the lights and locking the place up for the night. Assuring herself that the door was, in fact, locked, she gathered her purse close to her body and started walking down the dimly lit sidewalk. Her steps echoed off the cement and the walls of the buildings she passed, making her feel oddly isolated even though cars and people passed her. She checked her watch and picked up her pace. She needed to make it to the bus stop or she would have to wait for another half hour in the dark. Well, it was not completely dark, but she hated the idea of being all alone at night while she waited. She had taken her car to a mechanic that morning and learned it needed its oil changed, and she hadn’t had time to pick it up before the shop closed at five.
Perhaps it was her imagination, but she felt someone watching her, and the beginnings of nervousness tingled down her spine. She pulled her cell phone out of her purse, then tightened her grip on her shoulder strap. Just one more block to the bus stop. Just one more. She’d come to an intersection and looked to her left when a shiny black sports car squealed to a stop in front of her.
“Holy Jesus!” Panic flooded her, and she turned to hurry the other way.
“Madeline, wait.”
She stopped mid-step and pivoted around none too gracefully. Taking a close look at the car and its driver, Madeline realized that Garrett Ellis sat behind the steering wheel of an Aston Martin, and he looked like temptation incarnate.
“Why are you walking by yourself at night?”
Madeline’s lips pursed, and she felt herself taking up her kids-you-need-to-behave stance—hands on hips and toe tapping. “Some people don’t have chauffeurs. Or cars that work.”
“Yeah, I’m starting to get that. You want a ride?” he asked nonchalantly, as if corporate tycoons always showed up in rough neighborhoods at night.
“A ride? Mr. Ellis, what are you doing here?” It had been three days since she saw him last Friday at Hester’s.
He shrugged a shoulder. “Well, I wanted to catch you earlier, but I got held up. But I thought, hey, why not see if she’s still there? I’m on my way back to my place.” He wiggled his eyebrows. “And I have a present for you.”
“A present?” She crossed her arms over her chest, not knowing exactly how to respond.
“Come on. Get your nose out of the air. You know you’re curious.”
The way he said it made chills shoot down her body. “Can’t it wait till tomorrow?”
“Presents should never be put off until tomorrow.”
“I really do have to get home, Mr. Ellis,” she hedged.
“Garrett, please. It’ll just take a few minutes. I promise. Scout’s honor.”
Madeline took in his impish grin and decided that a man like Garrett Ellis would never have been a nice, sweet, honorable little boy scout. No, Garrett Ellis would have been seducing those guys’ sisters under the bleachers at football games. And she somehow doubted that anything with him would take just a few minutes. It would be more like long, unending, gasping hours of hands and mouths everywhere as his cock—
She shook herself out of her fantasy. Oh, what the hell.
“Fine,” she conceded.
He reached over to open the passenger-side door and looked up at her with a smile. “Hop on.”
She halted. “You mean ‘in.’ Hop in.”
“Nah.” He grinned. “I meant on.”
“Right.” She took a deep, fortifying breath and slid onto the passenger seat. The leather was so buttery soft and smooth that she wanted to run her fingers all over it and imagine it was Garrett’s skin, but she stopped herself. Having him so close that she could feel his body heat was more than enough to put her on sensual overload.
Madeline sat perched in her seat the entire ride to his house. At least, she thought it was a house. “Where are we going, exactly?”
“My condo. Dalton an
d I share it, but he has his own private abode in town that we share, too.”
There it was again. That word. Share. It seemed she could not get away from it when it came to the Ellis brothers, no matter how hard she tried. And why, though the idea shocked her, did she find it so appealing? She had never entertained such fantasies before she met Dalton and Garrett, and she doubted that if they ever showed any sincere sexual interest in her that she would live up to their expectations, and yet…
And yet she’d found herself thinking and dreaming about it when she took her morning shower, when she was alone in her room, or really anytime she had a moment of peace.
She glanced at him from under her lashes. “You, um, share a lot of things, don’t you?”
He turned to her, his eyes narrowed just a fraction, curiosity and something else written across his features. “Yes. Dalton and I share quite a few things. We think having a monopoly on something is pretty boring and selfish, especially between brothers. Don’t you?”
Madeline did not know what to think. She just gave him a smile and faced the front, tension working its way into her back while Garrett’s warm, masculine scent drifted over to her and made her pussy ache with the need to be filled. She shifted in her seat and pulled her skirt lower over her thighs as though it could mask her body’s reaction to him.
Garrett’s mouth curled into a smile. “You okay?”
“Fine.” Her voice was tight and high-pitched, and she sat up straighter in the seat. They flew past parked cars, skyscrapers, and people at an alarming speed. “Just fine.”
He looked like he held back a grin. “If you say so.” The car finally slowed and turned. “We’re here.”
A glass high-rise of luxury condos reached to the night sky in front of her. The windows of the top five floors were larger than the others, and Madeline guessed those were the penthouses. She could not stop staring. The building practically screamed that middle-class nobodies like her did not belong there.
Garrett pulled into the garage and drove toward a spot that sat open with other luxury cars surrounding it.
Mitchell, Ava and Holiday, Sydney - A Bride for Two Tycoons [Male Order, Texas 1] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) Page 8
