Josh said, “She’s probably nervous. She’s not late yet.”
“What if she sets eyes on us and runs?”
“She won’t.” Lucas frowned at him and was about to speak, but Josh cut him off. “Does she strike you as uptight or unreasonable?”
“Of course not.”
“Is your main focus making her happy? Satisfying her?”
“You know it is,” Lucas said with a nod.
“The choices are all hers. She may not see it the same way in the beginning, but that’s the reality for this fantasy weekend. If she knows taking care of her is our only goal, then she’ll stay—with us.”
“I’m getting hard just thinking about it,” Lucas murmured.
Josh rolled his eyes. Leave it to his oversexed brother to think with his dick. Not that he could blame him. If they played their cards right, she could be spending the evening, and maybe the night, with them both. His own shaft tingled at the possibility.
Josh’s heart rate jumped as he recalled her expressive tone when she’d told her friends about her lumberjack fantasy at the Dancing Pony the previous weekend while they stood behind her out of sight. In the same breath she’d sworn off ménages permanently. He wanted to give her what she wouldn’t acknowledge as a need.
When she’d talked to them later at Rudy’s, she’d claimed to want to play the field. She was doing her best to protect herself after being hurt, and he didn’t blame her, but he and Lucas weren’t like the men she’d known before.
The anticipation, love, and, eventually, the devastation he’d watched her experience every time that asshole had contacted her while they were renovating the Emporium replayed in his memory. The secretive way she’d smile when she answered the phone. The hope and excitement in her eyes when she hung up and the hurt and loneliness emanating from her were always markers he’d been in town again. Yet, despite her sadness, she still managed to make her customers smile.
“She deserves better, and we can give it to her,” Josh whispered as Joseph entered the room and greeted the crowd. Then Josh caught sight of the curvy blonde who’d appeared under the wide, arched opening into the expansive, paneled study.
Uncertainty clouded Violet’s pretty face, and she wrung her hands together. She kept her focus on Joseph, as though she was afraid to meet anyone else’s eyes. When she wasn’t in her element at the Emporium, she found it uncomfortable to be around strangers in social settings. Knowing this made him want to take hold of her hand so she’d know she wasn’t alone. He’d do just about anything to put the sparkle back in her warm brown eyes right then.
He listened to Joseph as he explained the parameters for the group, but the sensation that his inner compass was pointing toward her, just as it had been since meeting her, was undeniable.
As Joseph finished his instructions and made concluding remarks, Josh caught Lucas’s eye and gestured with a slight tilt of his head at Violet, who’d moved farther back until she stood outside the arch.
Lucas nodded, and they began inching around the crowd. He had no intention of allowing her to retreat. There were lots of people here for different reasons. To role-play, to make use of the dungeon for darker fantasies, to swing with their friends, or to indulge in voyeurism and exhibitionism. As far as he and Lucas were concerned, pleasing her was their only interest, and they couldn’t do that if she hid in her room the whole time.
Her eyes widened as they closed the last few feet between them, and her mouth fell open, making him want a kiss her, after putting her over his knee for lying to him about the weekend. The spanking wouldn’t be much of a punishment, though, since he’d known all along about her subterfuge. Earning her trust came first.
“You’re here,” she said before closing her mouth and scrunching her eyes closed. “Sorry—stating the obvious. Why are you here? Are you working?” Pure mortification showed on her features at this thought, and she looked ready to flee.
“No, baby girl. We’re here to play.”
She gulped again, and it alarmed him when her expression changed, and not in a good way. She scanned the crowd as she whispered to herself, “I knew this was a bad idea. I knew it.”
“Whoa,” Josh said, catching her clammy hand as she turned toward the grand staircase. “Where do you think you’re going?”
“Upstairs to pack. This was a huge mistake. There’s lots of gorgeous women here, so you go…have fun.”
She tugged at her hand, but he didn’t release it. The hurt in her eyes told him more than all her bravado the previous weekend ever could. The assembly dispersed into smaller groups, conversing with each other as they waited for the announcement that dinner was served.
“Please don’t go,” Lucas cajoled as he took her other hand.
Josh wasn’t about to let her hand go. Not now. “It’s not what you’re thinking, baby girl. Please don’t go.”
“I don’t want to be here anymore.” She looked ready to run.
Determined to stop her flight response to their news, Josh stroked her cheek, giving her a chance to calm again. “We’re here because you’re here.”
“Me?”
Josh nodded. “We got the same invitation from Joseph.”
“You did?” Her tone carried regret as she looked between the two of them. “I’m sorry for not being honest with you about what I was doing this weekend. And I’m not unhappy you’re here. It’s just that this is supposed to be an anonymous weekend, you know?”
Josh smiled. “What happens at Hazelle House stays at Hazelle House?”
“Something like that.”
With each of them holding one of her hands, Josh said, “That’s what we agreed to, Violet. Far as we’re concerned, this weekend is totally off the record. We won’t breathe a word to anyone in Divine. Did you think we were here to swing or play with strangers?”
Her nod and the beautiful pink staining her cheeks told him a lot. “I’m only dipping my toe in the water this weekend, and I don’t think I could watch you…with others.” The realization looked as if it surprised her, going by the way she cast her gaze around the expansive central entry. “Of course, if you wanted to, you have every right. I’d just…”
“If you leave, we leave,” Lucas said, gesturing at the door. “But if you stay, you’re our only focus all weekend long.”
With big eyes, she looked between them. “Even knowing what I told you last weekend? No strings attached?” Her hand trembled in his as she spoke.
Lucas glanced at Josh, and then he nodded, even though Josh knew the true answer was a resounding “hell no!” She wasn’t ready to make such a leap yet. It was up to them to convince her. Even more importantly, he noticed she didn’t specifically rule out a ménage fantasy.
Chapter Four
Violet sat with Josh and Lucas at a table for three in the dining room. She’d still been in shock Josh and Lucas were there when another weekend attendee walked up and invited her to sit with him and his friends, two other men who were all watching her intently. She smiled and turned him down politely, feeling a bit like a field mouse who had just turned down a hawk on becoming its next meal. Josh had shot the men a glare before guiding her to a table with Lucas flanking her other side.
Her upper arms and back tingled, and when she glanced around, it was to discover she’d somehow drawn the attention of other men in the room, and that sense of being in over her head increased. She felt naked despite the fact she’d dressed conservatively, and she held on securely to Josh’s hand, now so very grateful they were there, despite the disturbing discovery. The attendees were by no means a pack of ravening wolves out to make her their next meal, but she knew if she’d truly been alone, she would’ve been making a hasty exit.
Lucas held her chair out for her with a wide smile on his handsome face, and she sat down, wondering if she would come to regret this weekend.
Josh’s and Lucas’s warm gazes reminded her of the way they’d sometimes flirt with her while they’d been working on the Emporium. And
She cleared her throat and blinked then blushed when she realized they were watching her with avid interest, even as other women in the room were ogling them.
Lucas winked at Josh. “Wonder what she’s thinking about.”
Unsettled by the flare of possessiveness she felt at the thought of women approaching them, she said, “Never you mind, Lucas Abbott. How’s your dad?”
Chitchat? Really? Anything was better than imagining them playing with the other women in the room.
Josh smirked as if he was on to her. “He’s good.”
“Was he put out with the two of you for taking off for a weekend?”
“No. He’s more likely to get on us for not having a social life. Says he and Mom are getting old and want to know where the grandchildren are going to come from if we don’t find us a sweet woman.”
“Woman? Don’t you mean women?”
Lucas grinned at her. “He doesn’t care as long as he and Mom get grandchildren to spoil. They’re pretty progressive about their views.”
She would’ve thought the elder Mr. Abbott was more conservative about such things, but she hadn’t had as much contact with him as she had with a few of the Abbott brothers. Then she imagined Josh and Lucas as fathers. They’d be wonderful. Involved, teaching their boys how to swing a hammer and throw a ball and their little girls how to ride a horse on their family ranch. But the thought of them married and settled was more disturbing than she wanted to admit. She glanced up and saw them watching her expectantly.
“I’m sorry, what?”
“How about you?” Josh asked. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you take a day off the whole time I’ve known you.”
“I haven’t. That’s the way it is when you’re a retail store owner. Have to keep an eye on my business.”
Lucas’s warm gaze smoldered like green fire as he murmured, “You’d better make this rare weekend off count, then, hadn’t you?”
She shrugged and quietly thanked the waiter who placed her plate in front of her.
She’d been trying to catch Joseph’s eye since discovering Josh and Lucas were there, curious as to what he was up to. He was currently standing in the doorway chatting with one of the organizers of the weekend.
As if he could feel her stare, he looked over at her. The trace of a smile ghosted over his lips, and he had the audacity to wink at her.
Josh’s warm hand on top of hers drew her attention back to him. “Don’t be mad at Joseph. If you’d known we were planning to come this weekend, would you still have made the trip?”
She looked at her hand, covered by his, and then up into his hooded gaze. “It’s not that simple.”
“I can make it simpler for you. We wouldn’t be here if you weren’t here. So whatever thought is making you look so twisted up, just stop. We aren’t here to have anonymous sex or to double-team a masked and gagged sub in the dungeon…”
Did he just say that?
“We’re here for you.”
She imagined herself tied down and at their mercy and went liquid, her nipples tightening until they were nearly painful. Worse still, her face went fiery hot as she realized they’d be able to see her reaction because of the thin lacy-cupped bra and solid color dress she wore.
Lucas cleared his throat, and merriment sparkled in his eyes as if he knew the direction of her thoughts. To give her heart a chance to calm down a little, she took a bite of her steak and then observed the groups at the other tables. Some were like theirs, with small groups of two or three at a table. Others were larger, with even numbers of men and women.
Many of the people appeared to be old friends while others seemed nervous like her. A full-figured brunette happened to make eye contact with her from across the room. She looked even more tense than Violet felt, sitting there with her hands clasped in her lap. A striking man with silver sideburns sat beside her, speaking softly to her, his attention resting fully on her.
As Violet watched, he speared a bite of steak with his fork and offered it to her. She looked up at him and shook her head but eventually took the bite he offered. She shook her head more vehemently when he offered a bite-sized chunk of the delicious French bread that had been served with the meal. He stroked her cheek and dipped down to whisper in her ear. She blushed, and the vulnerability showed in her eyes as she parted her lips and took the bite from him.
Feeling like a voyeur, Violet turned her attention to her meal and softly asked, “What were you hoping would happen this weekend, if I showed up?”
Josh chuckled. “If you read the invitation, then you know that, besides providing the venue for the weekend, Joseph was taking suggestions for fantasy encounters.”
“And…”
“We’d rather surprise you, baby girl. But I can tell you our short-term goal tonight is to convince you to trust us. To put us in charge of your pleasure. Nothing will happen this weekend that you don’t want. It’s all consensual, and you’re the one in control.”
Huh, then can someone please tell me why I’ve never felt more out of control? Her inner devil looked up from her belly-up position and shrugged. She could relate. Every time he called her baby girl her temperature spiked a little.
“What were you planning to do after the meal?” Lucas asked as he speared a chunk of iceberg lettuce from his salad.
Glancing around, she shrugged. “Go back to my room, I suppose.”
Lucas tucked her hair back over her shoulder, leaned forward, and nuzzled her cheek. He softly asked, “Stay down here with us? We’d like to explore the grounds before it’s fully dark…see what Joseph has set up outside.”
Josh laced his fingers between hers. “And then maybe see what’s going on inside in the common rooms. Have dessert?” Why did the way he said those words make an ache bloom between her thighs and shameless need bubble up in her core?
Her gaze was captured by the woman she’d been observing earlier. Her cheeks were suffused with color, and Violet could immediately see the reason as the man slipped her wrap from her shoulder and laid gentle kisses on her skin. The brunette cast nervous eyes around, but no one seemed to take notice. Their eyes met across the room, and her eyes clearly asked, What do I do?
“What do you want to do?” Lucas asked, startling her a little.
She glanced back at the bemused woman and smiled, receiving a smile in response before the brunette turned her gaze on the silver-haired man.
“I don’t have to go upstairs now. I could spend time with you.”
“Both of us,” Josh murmured. It wasn’t a question.
“Yes.”
She knew she didn’t have the heart for no-strings-attached hookups. Bodie Cox had provided all the proof she needed of how dangerous those were to her heart. But Josh and Lucas were different. When they looked at her, she felt like the center of their attention. That feeling was going to get addictive, but she couldn’t find it in her to put on the brakes. She wanted what she saw in their eyes, wanted to explore this attraction. If it didn’t work out, when the fantasy weekend was over, they could walk away.
Right.
* * * *
Lucas glanced around the room as the guests wandered out, some still negotiating while others appeared ready to find a nearby play surface, horizontal or otherwise.
Her hand felt delicate in his big paw as he and Josh led her through the lounge to the French doors looking out over the back of the mansion. The lighting had been dimmed, and music with a sensual rhythm played. Couches and love seats had been set up into groups, with screens and tall plants giving the illusion of privacy, and several couples and groups had already found comfortable spots to talk quietly, setting the scenes to come.
His cock thickened at the thought of having such a conversation with her, exploring her limits. She gazed out the windows in the doors, seeming oblivious to the room surrounding her, and then she glanced at him and turned the knob.
The “backyard” was broken up into several gathering areas, with outdoor lounging furniture interspersed throughout, among potted trees and shrubs. The pool was an enormous affair surrounded by bedding platforms. Torches were lit and placed throughout the outdoor living spaces, providing flickering, golden mood lighting at a safe distance from the beds and the sheer drapes hanging from them. The drapes were tied back for now but could be loosened and closed, giving the illusion of privacy, along with the tantalizing prospect that voyeurism was as welcome as exhibition.
If attendees wanted total privacy for their lovemaking, there were spaces set aside for that as well as the privacy of their own bedrooms if they so desired. Several couples were already out there. The atmosphere was a sensual one, and no one seemed in the mood to rush. Alluring music filtered out through hidden speakers.
Lucas caught her watching the couple from the dining room again, smiling as he noted her interest. He had a feeling she identified with the pretty brunette, who looked as much like a fish out of water as Violet seemed to. The brunette’s man had eyes for her only as he slid one shoulder of her open-necked blouse down and kissed her there before he pulled her gently into his lap.
Violet looked up at them and then down at their joined hands. Josh tugged her close to him and nuzzled her collarbone above the round neckline of her dress. Lucas moved in behind her, wrapped her long hair around his hand, and moved it so he could kiss the other side of her throat. Her breathing turned into panting, and she shuddered, unintentionally rubbing her warm, luscious derriere against his tingling cock. Her sudden intake of breath told him she’d noticed the way she affected him.
“Come with us for a little walk,” Lucas murmured, and they tugged her down to the steps leading into the garden and the thickly wooded park behind the mansion. The sun had already set, and the growing shadows might ease her self-consciousness.
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