by Lynn Stark
Loving in Silver 9
What Her Heart Desires
Ellen Reed has a satisfying life. She has a terrific family, a very good job, and isn’t actively looking for love. If it finds her, she’s okay with that. However, when Kane Driscoll, Chance Thorpe, and Chase Stroud enter her life, Ellen wonders what she really wants for her future. She could remain alone, or she could take a chance on the three men and the love they offer her. They have turned her life upside down and she sees a very different future than the one she had envisioned for years.
When Kane, Chance, and Chase meet Ellen, they know she is the woman for them. Smart, sexy, and beautiful, she’s perfect in their eyes. She is an incredible lover. They can easily imagine her being a part of their lives. The one snag that might prevent that is children. They want them, and Ellen has raised hers. Would they have to give Ellen up, to fulfill their dreams?
Genre: May-December, Ménage a Trois/Quatre, Rubenesque, Western/Cowboys
Length: 61,726 words
WHAT HER HEART DESIRES
Loving in Silver 9
Lynn Stark
MENAGE AMOUR
Siren Publishing, Inc.
www.SirenPublishing.com
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A SIREN PUBLISHING BOOK
IMPRINT: Ménage Amour
WHAT HER HEART DESIRES
Copyright © 2016 by Lynn Stark
E-book ISBN: 978-1-68295-096-8
First E-book Publication: March 2016
Cover design by Christine Kirchoff
All art and logo copyright © 2016 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.
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Siren Publishing, Inc.
www.SirenPublishing.com
Letter to Readers
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DEDICATION
To my crazy friends. You give me laughs and a lot of inspiration. Thank you for your friendship and support.
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright Page
Dedication
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
About the Author
WHAT HER HEART DESIRES
Loving in Silver 9
LYNN STARK
Copyright © 2016
Chapter One
Ellen glanced around the ballroom, excitement sweeping through her. Randall had done an excellent job of preparing for the Christmas Ball at Redford Manor. She thought it might just become an annual event. It should. Everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves. Most guests had been chosen by lottery, anyone wanting a chance to attend submitting their name. Although the ball was taking place in a beautifully grand ballroom designed and created a century before, that was where the fussiness ended. People were dressed in their best, whether it was an outfit off a rack from a discount store or from a haute couture designer.
The music, the dancing, was very exciting. It was all Ellen could do to prevent herself from swaying to the strains of the violin and cello. It was a seductive sound, touching something deep inside her. It was times like this she felt the loss of her husbands, Mitch and Jerry, the most. She had been a widow for ten years. Time had softened her pain, but it hadn’t left her completely.
“Are you the queen of the ball?” a deep, rich voice asked, capturing Ellen’s attention from a couple dancing enthusiastically at the edge of the dance floor. Her gaze shifted to two men now standing in front of her. She blinked as her gaze began at the center of a wide chest covered in a crisp white Western-style shirt, to go up and up until she met a pair of amused green eyes. “You must be, because you’re the most beautiful woman here.”
Ellen had heard it all over the years. Many men, and a few women, had tried to put the moves on her. She had always been immune to the obvious come-ons. Firstly because she hadn’t had any interest in sexual or romantic encounters, and secondly because Mitch and Jerry still held a part of her heart.
Determined not to let the handsome cowboy ruffle her feathers, Ellen gave him a polite smile, always cool on the outside while things were heating up on the inside. That caught her by surprise. It had been a long time since she had been attracted to this degree by a man. And there were two of them looking at her, telling Ellen with the expression in their eyes that they liked what they were seeing.
“Thank you, but I’m only one of many attractive women here,” Ellen responded smoothly, a little haughtily. It was a tone that normally took care of bold men.
But these two had balls. They weren’t just bold. They moved a few inches closer, bringing an intimacy to their grouping. It didn’t escape Ellen’s notice that the men touched each other. She felt the growing dampness between her legs. If they stood so close to her much longer, she knew her panties would be soaked with the juices of her unexpected arousal.
“Honey, you are in a class all your own,” the second cowboy told her, laser-blue eyes staring at her hard from beneath the brim of the black felt western hat he hadn’t removed at the door. “Would you honor me with a dance?”
“A nameless stranger? No, thank you.”
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The two men grinned, making them both more attractive, if that was even possible. Ellen wondered what the hell was wrong with her. She was normally immune to men, having had no interest in years.
“I’m Chance and my hunky partner’s name is Chase. No, we’re not brothers.”
They did share a similar coloring, dark brown hair, musculature, and height, but that was where the similarities ended. Chance’s face was slightly thinner with high cheekbones. He had blue eyes. Chase’s jaw was square and he had a slight cleft in his chin, and his eyes were green.
“I would hope not,” she murmured, beginning to become flustered, secretly excited by their boldness.
She mentally went over the guest list in her head and found their names. They had been placed there by her employer and friend, Colt Redford. Chance Thorpe and Chase Stroud. She looked them over carefully, attempting to do so surreptitiously. Anything more would appear as an invitation to the men.
How long had it been since she had been with a man? Ten years. Ten very lonely years. She had a decision to make. “I’m Ellen Reed. Now, if you would excuse me, I’m helping with the ball. I have to see that everything is as it should be.”
Ellen knew she had to get away. She couldn’t succumb to their devilish charms. It wasn’t that she believed she would be betraying her husbands. It was because she could tell the two cowboys were nowhere close to her in age. She would soon celebrate her forty-fifth birthday. She guessed the two men were in either their late twenties or early thirties. It didn’t matter which it was—they were too young for her. She had no desire to be gossiped about as a cougar, despite the bait being used to ensnare her.
Chuckling, Ellen was about to walk away when they moved as one to block her. “One dance each, lovely lady. Then, if you’re not completely captivated by us, we promise to never inopportune you again.”
Ellen had mixed feelings about that. One part of her wanted to run as fast as she could. The other part, mainly the one between her legs, wanted to be held in their strong arms, to be held close, as the music led them around the dance floor.
It had been so long.
Aching loneliness lifted its ugly head. Ellen nodded stiffly. She couldn’t ignore the beautiful, flashing white smiles bestowed upon her. They were charming men, she would give them that. Charming, handsome, young. So damn young.
She was foolish.
Chance took the hand Ellen held out, leading her to the dance floor. One second she was a woman noted for her strength and common sense, the next she felt like a giddy schoolgirl in the arms of the most popular boy.
The heat from Chance’s hand ran up her arm and straight to her nipples. The hand at her waist triggered the fantasies to begin. Ellen couldn’t stop them from entering her mind. She imagined Chance’s hand on her naked flesh, holding her close as he began to stroking her skin, exploring the hills and valleys of her body.
The brush of his powerful, muscular thighs caused Ellen to close her eyes. She trembled, her pussy clenching hard. Her fingers tightened on Chance’s. There was an answering return of pressure from his. He knew. But how could he not? Ellen asked herself, knowing she was lost and long before she had even danced with Chase. She wanted to be between them, under them. She wanted to fuck and be fucked. She wanted to fuck one man while sucking the other.
Moaning softly, Ellen didn’t resist when Chance pulled her body closer to his, molding them together. The rigid length of his cock pushed into her stomach. Ellen’s body responded involuntarily, nipples poking against the bodice of the gown she wore, her hips swaying, trying to meet his as they danced around the floor.
Dancing was all well and good, but Ellen knew she could find a better use of Chance’s energy.
“You want me,” Chance murmured close to Ellen’s ear.
“Yes.”
There was no point in denying it. She was lost to desire.
Despite the song coming to an end, Ellen wasn’t given an opportunity to even catch a breath before Chase was there to take her into his arms. She recognized the grin for what it was. It was wolfish, triumphant, and so damn sexy she felt it all the way to her toes.
“You’re beautiful,” Chase told her as he swept her around the dance floor as skillfully as Chance had done, light on his feet despite the shiny black boots he wore. “I want you. I want to feel your hot, tight pussy sucking my cock into it.”
If Ellen hadn’t been so turned on by his words, she might have laughed at the image it put in her head. She bit her lip to prevent herself from moaning again. She wondered how long she had to stay at the ball. Would anyone notice if she left? She wondered, too, if it would be unseemly for her to drag two men out of the room to find a place where they could fuck each other’s brains out for an hour or so.
When the dance ended, Chase guided her back to where his partner was standing. Chance’s gaze caressed her body, encased in a shimmering navy-blue gown. She had felt quite glamorous when she put it on. Now she was happy she had chosen it, instead of the ecru gown with the gauzy skirt. The blue gown hugged her from breast to thigh, showing off her mature curves. She was long past the willowy young-thing stage. Her body had spread in places, had lowered in others. She still considered her breasts very nice, her nipples closer to her ears than her knees.
Randall Dorchester, Redford Manor’s butler and curator, caught Ellen’s attention. His gaze moved from her to the two men she was with, a knowing smirk curving his lips. Heat rushed over her cheekbones. Ignoring the desire to stick her tongue out, Ellen lifted an eyebrow, which made Randall laugh outright.
“Are you flirting with someone other than us?” Chance asked, looking at Randall.
“No. Just planning someone’s demise.”
“Is there somewhere we can go for privacy?”
Ellen shook her head. Oh, he was bold. They both were and it sent an unfamiliar thrill through her. “I’m afraid I have to stay until the end. It’s one of my duties.”
“Duties?” Chase asked curiously.
“I’m the housekeeper here, but I play hostess as well. In fact, I have to go check on how the caterers are doing. So, if you will excuse me?”
When she would have stepped around him, Chase blocked her escape. “Not yet, darling. Before you leave us, you have to promise you’ll come back.”
Should she? Ellen was tempted to give the promise and then break it. This was her chance to get away from them. Although she felt no threat from them, they certainly didn’t give her the creeps, she didn’t truly know if she was ready to embark on the sexual adventure they obviously desired.
“Yes, I’ll come back.” The words were out before she could stop them or give the situation more consideration.
“Promise?”
Ellen nodded. “I promise.”
They looked pleased with her answer. Ellen gave them one more glance before turning and walking away. She almost stumbled, conscious of them watching her, and it seemed she couldn’t remember how to walk. Ellen decided to blame it on the impossibly high heels she was wearing and leave it at that.
Once she was away from the ballroom, Ellen took a deep breath and let it out. It did enter her mind to run as far and as fast as she could. The temptation was strong as a sense of self-preservation swept over her. The pulsing ache between her legs, however, was reminding her how long it had been since she had been with a lover.
There were things she needed to check on, however. That is what she would focus on. It would give her time to collect her scattered nerves. She went to the kitchen first and encountered controlled chaos. Some people were cooking, others were chopping and cutting, while others were attending to dozens of other tasks. It had been a long time since the kitchen had been used to its full potential. The long tables were covered with plates and other dishes, ready to receive the food she could smell cooking on the large stoves. The scents were enough to make her stomach rumble.
Ellen left the kitchen and walked through to the main dining room. The prepared table was covere
d in the finest linen, porcelain, silver, and crystal. The guests would probably be shocked to discover that presidents and kings had used the very same place settings during their visits to Redford Manor. Colt would never think that his guests tonight were any less worthy to use it.
Randall came in and smiled when he saw her. Ellen watched as he walked along the table, reaching out to adjust one of the hundreds of flowers in the low centerpieces along the table, or move a chair or spoon slightly into what he considered its proper place, as if he hadn’t already measured everything as it was put into place. She had watched him do it. The man took his job very seriously.
A half hour later, Ellen knew she had delayed her return to the ballroom as long as possible. Taking a deep breath, she walked through the throng of chattering guests standing in clusters outside the ballroom. Nerves made her hands tremble. She flexed her fingers, pasted a smile on her face, and walked toward the place where she had left Chance and Chase. As she did so she saw her employer, Colt Redford, dancing with one of the guests. The elderly woman appeared very pleased to be in the arms of her handsome host. Ellen imagined Colt would dance many times during the night. He was nothing if not polite and she knew it gave him great pleasure to make others happy.
Ellen nearly stumbled when she saw that there was a third man with Chance and Chase. And it was obvious he was with them, because the newcomer was touching both men in a familiar manner. Not in a way a casual friendship would deem appropriate, but something more proprietary, more intimate.
