She glanced toward the bedroom on the other side of the bathroom. Her feet followed. Snooping was allowed, right? He’d snoop on her. It wasn’t like she was riffling through the dresser drawers. Still, her heart sped when her toes sank into the plush pale carpet.
Rachel couldn’t breathe. Everything was clean and fresh. The light wood furnishings looked like sculpted caramel. A four-poster bed more than rivaled the size of the one she’d placed in the other room. A creamy duvet laced with black velvet flower designs covered it, begging for someone to curl into the depths of its comfort. Everything was in harmony for the picture that hung on the far wall facing the bed—three lovers entwined. A simple painting she’d created years ago. It now hung in Ben’s room.
Emotion carried her forward. She brushed her fingers over the duvet, thinking of Ben lying here, looking at the painting. How could he not? Its placement was obvious. What did it mean?
Subtle warmth against her back told her Ben was behind her, setting her afire…melting her, as crazy as that sounded.
“Why?” She could barely get the word out. Couldn’t explain the question if her life depended on it.
“You ignored me. I had to have a part of you with me, here.” His breath tickled her neck. The low tones wiggled under her skin.
“You could have come to me.”
“I wanted you here.”
Yes, that said a lot. Made her heart race.
“Besides, I wanted no one to say I influenced your decision in any way.”
“My feeling as well.” Rachel cleared her throat. She should put some distance between them, though what she really wanted was to be sprawled in that bed with him for the rest of the day.
“It doesn’t explain why you ignored me. Why you handled your duties in absentia.”
Rachel glanced up at him, her body quivering at the gaze that bore into hers. “Because…I wanted you.” Just like she’d wanted Will.
Ben pulled in a sharp breath, took a step away, and motioned toward the bed. “My great-grandfather built this furniture from walnut trees that came from his grandfather’s land up north. I’ve always loved it. The only stuff in that awful house I liked. So I moved it in here.”
He curled his fingers lovingly around one poster. “He wanted a bed the whole family could share. Sadly, my grandfather was his only child. My great-grandmother died in the flu epidemic. My great-grandfather never remarried. He devoted his life to this land, died in those vineyards. My grandfather took the wealth and ran with it. Yes, he had a head for business, but he was also very good at spending what he made. My father was left with a mess.”
“And he lacked the skills and confidence to fix it.” Rachel knew that story well. During their brief arrangement, she’d done her best to help Roger hold his life together and couldn’t count the number of times he’d spent weeping in her arms. No discipline. No scene. Just someone to hold him while he cried. Ben didn’t need to know that. Some things would always be sacred. But the more he confessed and shared, the more Roger changed. He’d become volatile, uncontrollable, unreasonable…dangerous. She’d had no choice but to terminate the association.
“Very true. I hated visiting my father as a kid. I preferred to stay at home with my brothers and sisters. I had much more fun with my mom and stepdad than I ever did here. I hated my father’s weakness, his incompetence, that hideous house.” He jerked his head toward the main house.
“But not your great-grandfather’s legacy.” Ben had taken what his father and grandfather nearly destroyed and had rebuilt it to its former glory, and then some.
“No, not that. But I can’t say I much cared until…”
He caressed the post in long strokes Rachel felt in her very soul. Then he gave her a smile Rachel knew he didn’t feel.
“Breakfast’s ready. I’m starving. How about you?” He skidded his hand down her back until it came to rest right above the curve of her butt.
“Ravenous.” She leaned into his touch and watched his smile finally light his eyes.
“Ravenous Raven.” He chuckled. “I’ll have to remember that one.” He gently pushed her toward the door. “By the way, I’d like to take full credit for breakfast this morning, but Will had to get involved.”
“I thought I smelled fried potatoes and onions.”
“Those are mine,” he quickly confided. “Will made some sort of egg white, spinach scramble. I don’t know what the hell he expects to do with all those yolks.”
Rachel turned at the door and pressed her palm into his abs. “I’ll make a cake. It is your birthday, after all.”
That got his grin going full blast. “It is my birthday.” He dragged her up tight. “Any other ideas on how we can celebrate?”
“We can give Rachel a tour of the place.”
They jumped at the sound of Will’s voice behind them. He stood, hands on his hips, glowering. “The food’s getting cold. I can see the grease congealing on those nasty potatoes.”
“Oh good.” Rachel brushed by him. “Just the way I like ’em. And you can forget about the tour. I’ve got a cake to bake.”
“You at least have to look through the house.”
“No,” she and Ben said together.
“But it’s part of my grand plan,” he called out as he hurried to catch up.
“Which is?” Ben handed Rachel a plate as they reached the kitchen. The food was still in the pans, keeping warm on the stove. So much for Will’s excuse to get them in here.
“Bed-and-breakfast.”
Ben didn’t flinch or pause as he filled his plate. Maybe it was a discussion he’d heard before. Rachel couldn’t think of a worse plan, and though it was really none of her business, she couldn’t help throwing in her opinion.
“Those rooms are hideous. I can’t think of a worse place to spend the night, much less a vacation.”
“Then redecorate them. Make them theme rooms showcasing the historical eras in the Welsh line that led to the creation of all this.” Will waved his hand in the air.
Plate full, Rachel slipped onto one of the stools. “That’s not my call, now is it? This property has nothing to do with me.”
At the end of the bar, Will flipped open a laptop she hadn’t noticed. “This property has everything to do with you.”
Ben’s plate clattered as he set it on the bar across from her. He averted his gaze, focused on his food, and took his seat. “Clearly, you’ve gone to a lot of effort here. You have us cornered. Show us what you’ve got.”
Gleaming with delight, Will snatched a wireless keyboard and mouse from the top of the refrigerator and took the end seat.
He’d done his research, but Rachel expected no less from Will. He was methodical in his approach to business, a numbers man who knew all the pieces and how to shuffle them together. She tried to block it out. After all, this had nothing to do with her. Threads of the conversation, though, twirled through her head with whiplike intensity.
“This property has everything to do with you.”
“You’ve always had the advantage.”
“I can’t say I much cared until…”
“He’d be perfect for you.”
She glanced at Ben. Watched him assess the information Will presented.
“I see your reasoning.” Ben wrapped his hand around his mug and leaned back. “The house has historical significance, and I think that alone would lure people here. My concerns are the playroom—”
“Then we give tours of the house to the public, but the bedrooms are only for those in the community,” Will shot back. “They’d love the opportunity to stay the night and play at leisure. The current state of most of the bedrooms, though, doesn’t allow that.”
“And that’s a strong point to consider.”
Ben leaned forward, forearms on the bar, his fingers curled loosely around his cup. It felt like he’d crawled into her space, claimed her, though his attention was on Will.
“There’s a lot of work and expense involved. Who’s going to
oversee this? The three of us have full-time jobs.”
Oh God. Ben did see her as part of this. Rachel didn’t dare ask what he meant. Deep down, maybe she knew. Maybe she’d always known, and that’s why she’d kept her distance. Once near Ben, she wouldn’t have been able to resist him.
Tears obscured her vision. It made perfect sense. Food lodged in her throat. She gulped down coffee to clear it.
“There’s nothing the three of us can’t do together.” Will had all the answers today, didn’t he? He splayed his palms on the bar. “I want us together.”
Will’s feelings were on the table right next to his heart. He wasn’t talking a business relationship here, and they all knew that. She could barely breathe, barely think. One part of her felt cornered; the other part of her wanted more than her brain and body could process at the moment. How did Ben feel about Will’s grand plan?
Rachel shoved her plate to one side and leaned into the last space on the breakfast bar. Their fingers were inches away from each other. One touch would bind them.
“Will, Ben and I barely know each other.”
“That’s why I want you both to know where I want this to go from the outset. Are you open and agreeable or not?”
Rachel’s nerves ruffled at his tone. Her spine stiffened. “You do not take that—”
“I’m open and agreeable,” Ben cut in.
Rachel stared at him with a mixture of shock, outrage, and, surprisingly, relief that she didn’t have to take action for Will’s lapse. She knew the outcome wouldn’t be pretty. Will would have safe-worded her like he always did when he wanted his way, and Rachel would have left. Ben was in charge.
“You don’t know me.”
A smile lifted one corner of his mouth. He was back in her space, catching her breath, tugging at her heart, setting her body on high alert.
“You know as well as I do that you don’t need to know someone to want them. And I wanted you badly this last year. I still do. It frustrated the hell out of me that I couldn’t have you. Now I’m sitting here, hard as a goddamn rock, wondering why the hell we’re talking about all this when there’s a much better way to prove how much you mean to me…elsewhere.”
A great way to defuse a rough moment. A typical male move to hide behind sex. It worked for her.
“Then what the hell are we waiting for?” Rachel brushed her fingers up his arm and held her breath when the hairs lifted on goose bumps. “After all, you two did shave at my command. I’d hate to have your sacrifice go unrewarded.” She forced herself onto shaking legs, then crooked her finger at them as she walked backward into Ben’s room.
Neither wasted any time following. Their erections led the way.
“So tell me, Miss Moore…”
That name. God, Ben knew what it did to her.
“Have you ever been spanked like a naughty schoolgirl?”
Rachel stumbled over her feet. Ben snapped an arm around her to keep her from falling. He walked them, step by step, across the threshold, his gaze still holding her captive. To the side she could hear Will undressing, the whisper of clothing, the soft rasp of his zipper.
Ben hooked his fingers in the knot holding her halter top up. It was history in no time, her breasts bared for—
“Well, Miss Moore?”
Rachel wanted to tell him it was none of his business. His Miss Moore wouldn’t allow her to do it. He’d shifted control into his hands, and she’d let him have it, wanted him to have it.
“No,” she managed to say, though the word came out breathy.
“Were you a naughty schoolgirl, Miss Moore?”
Rachel wasn’t certain if this was part of the scene he was building or if he wanted the real truth. She opted for truth. College student, yes. Naughty? It wasn’t in her nature. There was too much at stake.
“No.” She whimpered when Ben skimmed his hand over her breast, puckering the nipple more than it already was.
“Ever been a naughty anything?” He pulled the zipper down, and the dress fell in a puddle around her ankles.
“P-possibly.”
“And spanked for it?”
God, they were going to do this now? “P-possibly.” She clenched her thighs against the ache growing in her pussy.
“If you aren’t sure, then I would think it wasn’t done right.”
“Maybe you should stop thinking and simply do.”
Ben chuckled. “As you wish, Miss Moore.” He shoved his hand inside her flimsy panties. One finger nudged her clit.
She cried out, rocking into the touch. Rachel tried to move more. The hand on her crotch and now the one rubbing her ass nailed her in place.
A muscle twitch was the only warning Rachel got before she found herself facedown over the foot of the bed, staring up at a naked Will and his glorious erection, her panties wrapped around her knees, Ben’s hand pressed into the small of her back.
“Tell me, Miss Moore, are we still too new?”
She watched Will stroke his cock, felt Ben’s hand rub hard circles on her ass. What other answer could she give when she wanted this so badly?
“No,” she gasped out, “we’re not.”
Ten quick hand spanks took her breath away, warmed her ass, and set fire to her already swollen clit.
“More?” He rubbed his hand over her buttocks. Will squeezed a stroke up his cock. A bead of precum moistened the tip. He wiped it onto his finger, then brought it to her lips. She licked it off, sucked the digit, and sighed when he pulled back to his original position.
Rachel wanted more all right, more of everything. “Is…is that the best you got?”
Her heart pounded with every step Ben took away from her. She shook when the closet door opened. Pressed her lips tight with the slide of leather he rubbed together as he returned to her side. Clutched the fresh bedsheets in a grip that threatened to shred them. Groaned and writhed with the twenty strokes Ben delivered…and he took his damn sweet time about it too.
“Ready to come, Miss Moore?” Hot breath tickled her ear while experienced fingers dived into her crack.
“God, yes.”
“Then let’s do it, baby.” Ben pulled her panties away, freeing her to take what was right before her.
Will clutched the base of his cock, holding it in place for her. She spied the condom package next to him. Rachel closed the distance inch by inch, savoring the moment, making Will wait though she could hardly stand it herself.
The mattress sagged with Ben’s weight when she finally straddled Will’s thighs. Will stretched his arms over his head, open and ready for her. She retrieved one condom and rolled it in place, reveling in his groan and the way he thrust into her fist.
Another wrapper tore. Her turn now. She swore her heartbeat threatened to crack a rib.
She glided over Will, traced the muscles in his forearms, then laced her fingers through his as her pussy closed over his cock. His eyes were closed, his jaw tight, hands holding on to her for dear life. Rachel didn’t move for fear of causing what he fought so hard to keep at bay.
Will let out a breath, and she knew he was good. She had to feel his lips under hers, the sweep of his tongue dancing with hers. Rachel nibbled her way from his earlobe to his mouth. His soft groans followed her every move. Lips touched. She started when Ben parted her buttocks, braced herself for the cold lube, then groaned when Ben licked his way up her spine.
Her hard nipples dug into Will’s chest. Will lifted his hips, pushing deep inside her. Slick, long fingers probed her anus, and Rachel writhed all the more. She sealed her lips over Will’s when Ben settled over them, lifted her hips, and spread her legs as far as she could. Ben brushed one hand over her ass. Will flashed his tongue around hers, distracting her from the pressure to come. And there would be pressure. Both were big men.
Ben was over them now, his body aligned, cockhead poised for entrance. He slid his hands down her arms until he reached her and Will’s entwined fingers. He curled his with theirs.
“You’r
e tense,” he said softly.
Rachel broke her kiss with Will. “We’re all tense.”
The men managed halfhearted chuckles. “No shit,” they said together.
“I don’t want to hurt you,” Ben said.
“Trust me to tell you if it does,” she whispered.
“I trust you,” he whispered back. “God, I am so close to coming all over your back.”
“Then you can imagine how I feel,” Will said.
No laugh with that one. Ben blew out a breath and pressed in. Rachel buried her face in Will’s neck. Will rolled her earlobe between his lips. It focused her, helped her relax. Inhale when Ben paused, exhale when he pushed deeper.
Will gasped out a garbled word. She knew that feeling. The intensity, the…everything. The three of them were trembling long before Ben reached the hilt. And when he finally hit balls-deep? Rachel’s head spun. She’d been in her share of ménage situations before. Filled? Yeah. But nothing like now. She felt like bursting from the fullness. Not in her body, but in her heart.
Emotion welled up. She didn’t know if she wanted to laugh or cry or sing…or all of that and more. Shuddered breaths rumbled through them—hers, Ben’s, Will’s.
Will moved first, the rasp of his cock over her clit and Ben’s dick tearing a simultaneous moan from them. Now she was the one close to coming. So close.
Ben pulled back when Will plunged in. Rachel’s mind blanked. Her body took over, sucking in the pleasure of being well and truly fucked by men who cared for her. In and out. Nice and slow. Never too much. Never too little. Heat built with the friction, taking her clit on the ride of its life. She prayed she could hold on for them, even while she strained for sweet release.
“God!” Will cried out and froze, cock deep and throbbing.
Ben plunged, equally still. “Come with us, Rach. Come with us now.”
Unleashed, Rachel rocked between them, riding toward the first peaks of orgasm. Reaching it with them was… If she lived a thousand years…
Maneater 3_Raven Page 9
