Perfect Match [Ménage.com 2] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting)

by Peyton Elizabeth

  “Church? First off, I’m not getting married—ever! Second, it’s illegal to marry two men!” Elise shoved her feet inside her shoes. “And what’s wrong with e-mail and calling? As an author, I know firsthand how important words are. You can get to know a person really well by reading what they write.”

  Chad sat up and leaned back on his hands to enjoy the rest of the show. They were both on either side of him, neither one of them paying a lick of attention to the fact that he was even there. Who would have known Elise was a little spitfire? She and Dakota seemed pretty evenly matched, although that would change if Dakota ever had her over his knee.

  “Are you kidding me?” Dakota threw his hands up in exasperation. “I am not writing an e-mail to tell you how I feel! And I certainly am not going to take a coward’s way and tell you something when I can’t even see your face! We are falling in love with you!”

  All Chad heard were the birds and the water, as it slowly trickled its way over the tiny rocks imbedded in the dirt. He shook his head at the way Dakota had just declared their feelings for her and reached for his clothes. Pulling a tissue out of his jeans, he wrapped up his used condom to throw away later. Chad figured by the time he was dressed, they would be about ready to head into town.

  “You are not!” Elise turned and started to stomp her way back to the truck but quickly spun back around. “See? This is why I don’t like relationships! Men are too thickheaded to have a conversation, let alone to argue with. You won’t see reason when it’s right in front of your face!”

  Chad watched as Dakota followed her, arguing every step of the way. He finished getting dressed and grabbed the blanket off of the ground. Chad started to plan the rest of their day, knowing that he would have to be the one to instigate their makeup sex. And as he trailed behind them, an idea struck that would be the perfect place. Chad smiled as he continued to formulate his plan.

  Chapter Twelve

  “Cyn, I’m all right. Sheriff Whittington has been in touch with the police in Chicago. The stalker that went after Shea is still in lock-up, and everything points to his working alone. He’s a nut ball.”

  “Well, so is the one who’s after you.” Cyn’s voice sang through the little holes in Chad’s cell phone. “I mean, this asshole comes after you in a public place? Maybe I should head down there.”

  “Chad and Dakota are making sure I am safe. They haven’t left my side for days, although, I am going stir-crazy. They’ve pretty much contained me to either the apartment or the bar. And when I’m at the bar, one of them has to accompany me to the bathroom. It’s kind of annoying.”

  “I heard that!”

  Elise smiled when she heard Dakota’s voice coming from the other end of the bar. She stole a peek that way and saw that he had not taken his eyes off of the inventory that he was counting. These last five days had been heaven, with Elise truly giving them a chance at a relationship. She didn’t regret it. They had even spent Sunday with their parents, giving Elise a better look inside a ménage relationship and what made them tick. She had yet to figure it out, but the love and happiness that shone from their family was overwhelming.

  “Do you think this psycho has given up?”

  “I’m not sure,” Elise answered honestly, cracking open a peanut shell. It was early afternoon and the bar wasn’t open yet.

  She had her laptop in front of her and had been adding the finishing touches on her latest book. The information from the library had been a wonderful addition, and Elise knew it added to the flow of her story. Shea had finished her book and had already submitted it to their publisher. Elise would be able to e-mail her story by this evening.

  “Enough talk about my attacks. What about your manuscript? Are you almost done?”

  “No,” Cyn said, almost in a growl. “And don’t ask me why either, because I won’t answer you. Suffice it to say, I might be a day or two late on our deadline.”

  “Cyn, that’s not like you. What’s going on?”

  “Nothing of importance,” Cyn answered. Elise could hear men’s voices in the background. “Hey, I’ve got to run.”

  “Who’s there with you? I thought you were staying with your aunt?”

  “I am.”

  “Then who are the men I hear talking?”

  “They’re the ones I’m soliciting for our website,” Cyn answered, obviously trying to cover up the speaker portion of her phone. The muffled voices were coming in a little louder, and what they were saying proved they weren’t happy with her answer. “Bye!”

  Elise pulled the phone away from her ear and just stared at it. That was not the Cyn that she and Shea were used to. She sort of sounded scatterbrained. Cyn was the most poised woman they knew, and she should be with the name Cynthia Sherwood-Hightower. Elise shrugged, knowing that Cyn could take care of herself. Looking in the mirror above the bar and seeing Chad placing the chairs on the floor, she had her own problems to deal with, mainly talking two men into giving her what she wanted—a true threesome.

  Why they were adamant that she wasn’t quite ready, Elise didn’t know. She couldn’t understand their hesitation. What man turned down a woman who would take it up the ass and the pussy at the same time? After Chad had claimed her ass, he and Dakota took turns on who took her there and her pussy. Each night brought something new, with them even producing a small butt plug. But Elise knew that a tiny plug would not compare to the real thing. So what was the real reason for them holding back?

  Elliot said her car still wasn’t quite ready. Apparently, he had found something wrong with her transmission. Since she planned to stay a while longer and Doc Jones’s truck needed fixing first, Elise told him to put her car on the backburner. At least she knew it was safe in his garage, instead of parked outside the bar. They didn’t know who the man was who had attacked her yet, and since he had yet to make another move, her car was safer there than here.

  “Is Tracy due back tonight?”

  Elise looked up in the mirror again, seeing that Chad was speaking with Dakota. The day after her second attack, Tracy had called in, saying she had to go out of town for a sick relative. When Dakota brought up what she had told Elise, Tracy lied and said she’d never said anything like that. Dakota told her they would discuss it when she got back to town. Elise wasn’t looking forward to that conversation, but Tracy had flat-out called her a liar. That was something Elise wouldn’t take lying down.

  “No,” Dakota answered. “She arrives back into town tonight, but is not scheduled to work until tomorrow.”

  “I still can’t believe she called me a liar,” Elise interjected.

  “That’s why she’s being fired tomorrow night, before her shift begins,” Dakota said, finally putting down his clipboard. “No one questions the integrity of our woman.”

  The possession in his tone stunned Elise into silence. She didn’t doubt for a second that they would do whatever they needed to in order to keep her safe, and that included protecting her reputation. And as angry as she was that she had fallen for Tracy’s lie, she didn’t want the woman fired.

  “I don’t think you have to go that far, Dakota. I kind of feel bad for her.”

  “Bad for her? She’s spouting lies about us and hurting you in the process.” Dakota walked down to where she was sitting in the middle of the bar and leaned in over the countertop. “She’s not getting away with that, Elise.”

  Dakota lifted himself up on his arms, his muscles flexing under his weight. He wore his white Shooters T-shirt with a pair of faded blue jeans. He’d never looked sexier. He leaned in and captured her lips in his, swiping his tongue into her mouth. He tasted of the spearmint gum that he had been chewing a bit ago.

  “How about we not worry about Tracy right now,” Chad advised, coming up behind her. Placing his hands over her breasts, he lifted both as if he was weighing them. They immediately swelled, wanting more attention. “I know of a way we can pass the time before we open. What do you say?”

  * * * *

 
“I don’t think that could’ve gone any worse, do you?”

  Chad watched as Tracy stomped out of the bar, pushing two men aside as they tried to come through the door. It looked like the Davidson brothers were back in town. Chad hadn’t seen them for a few years but had heard their father’s health was dwindling. They probably came back to help, and Chad wondered if they were here to stay.

  “You know, I know we were raised never to call a woman names, but she’s a downright bitch,” Dakota stated, standing up and pushing the chair back with his legs.

  “I agree with you there, brother.” Chad followed his actions and stood up. Looking over to see Elise still at the bar typing away, he couldn’t help but marvel at how she could write when the place was hopping. “Did you see her face when we demanded that she apologize to Elise? I thought she was going to stroke out!”

  “I didn’t like the way she was looking over at her,” Dakota said, starting to walk toward the bar. “Elise was oblivious to everything but her laptop, but did you see the disgusted looks Tracy was throwing her way?”

  Chad went to follow behind, wanting to tell Elise that Tracy had been fired and they would never have to deal with her again, when all hell broke loose. Chad heard the thud of a fist hitting flesh and the hoorahs of the men surrounding the pool table area. Dakota and Chad rushed over, wanting to stop whatever fight that had ensued.

  Dale Vaughn was on top of Tim Nelson, getting his punches in where he could. Tim was a scrawny male, no more than five feet, five inches. He usually stayed out of others’ way, not wanting to cause trouble. Dale, on the other hand, was an instigator and an alcoholic who had a tendency to get into trouble.

  As Chad and Dakota started shoving their way past the spectators, Russ Davidson grabbed Dale up by the neck. Tim lay on the ground, holding his bleeding nose. Taking Dale’s wrist, Russ twisted his arm behind his back and up toward his shoulder blade. Dale’s face contorted with pain.

  “Fuck, man! Let go! This ain’t your business, you hear?”

  Russ was at least six feet four inches and packed enough muscle to rival that of any professional linebacker. Even back in high school, no one messed with the Davidson brothers. But seeing him now, against every other man in the bar, Chad couldn’t believe his ears when Dale continued his rant. He was either blind or stupid.

  “Just because you came back to town to find Emma fucking the Braxton brothers doesn’t give you the right to harass other people. Mind your own damn business.”

  Before Chad, Dakota, or Russ’s brother, Cameron, could do anything, Russ shoved Dale over the top of the pool table. Grabbing his greasy hair, Russ lifted Dale’s head off the green felt and shoved his arm a little higher. Dale squealed in pain.

  “You mention Emma’s name one more time, you little pissant, and I swear I will cut your balls off and shove them down your throat,” Russ said in a threatening tone that was more of a promise.

  “Russ, let him go. He’s not worth it,” Cam said, slapping his brother on the shoulder.

  Dakota moved around them to help Tim into a standing position. Someone must have gotten napkins to help with the bleeding, because they were shoved into Tim’s hands. Dakota pulled up a chair and made Tim sit down.

  “Russ, thanks for stopping the fight, but we’ll take it from here. I’m sure Brent has already phoned the sheriff’s office and Luke will be over shortly. Glad to have you two back in town.”

  “That’s one of us, because I sure as shit wish we had stayed away,” Russ said, stepping back from Dale. Without another word, Russ walked off toward the front door.

  “Sorry about that,” Cam said. “A lot of personal stuff going on, if you know what I mean.”

  “For the record, Elliot and Mitch haven’t gone near Emma, no matter what the gossip mill is saying.”

  Cam just nodded his head, although Chad wasn’t too sure it was in agreement. As Cam went to follow Russ toward the door, it swung open to reveal Elliot. Chad looked over at Dakota, figuring they were about to have another mess to clean up. Russ and Cam stopped a few feet from the door, while Elliot came to a standstill as well. The bar got quiet, and everyone turned to stare, waiting for a showdown.

  No one got what they wanted, though, because Russ and Cam started moving again. This time, they passed Elliot without a word and exited the bar. Chad and Dakota were probably the only ones who gave sighs of relief. That was one less thing to worry about. Chad turned back to Dale, who was now standing upright, holding his wrist.

  “Did you see that? That was assault! I’m pressing charges when Sheriff Whittington gets here. Everyone saw what that asshole did to me!”

  “No one saw a thing, Dale. But everyone did see that you swung at Tim first and broke his nose. I’m sure the sheriff or Deputy Foster will consider that an offense that will get you a night in jail.”

  “That’s bullshit, and you know it! Besides, Tim was talking shit about Tracy. No one gets to badmouth my family!”

  Dale was Tracy’s cousin, and after tonight, Chad could definitely see the family resemblance. They were both too stupid for their own good. He didn’t believe for a second that Tim had said one word against Tracy, but the way this evening was going, anything was possible.

  “And here I thought you would actually make it for a full month without getting in trouble, Dale.”

  Chad turned to see Luke standing behind them in uniform. Since Luke was here in an official capacity and would take over, Chad walked over to where Dakota was talking with Tim. His nose had stopped bleeding, and Tim was in the midst of saying that he wasn’t sure what had set off Dale.

  “I swear, all I said was that it looked like Tracy was upset when she left here a few minutes ago. I turned and Dale swung at me.”

  A few murmurs of agreement went around the area. Chad took a glass of water that had been sitting on one of the tables and wet another napkin. Although Tim’s nose had stopped bleeding, dried blood surrounded the area.

  “Here. Wipe off what you can, and then we’ll get you to Doc Jones.”

  “Tim, you have every right to press charges. What’s it going to be?” Luke asked, leaving Dale standing beside the pool table looking smug.

  “Nah, Deputy. It’s a waste of time, and you know it. He’ll get a slap on the wrist. It’s not worth the hassle of having to deal with him later.”

  “So you’re going to let him get away with breaking your nose?” Luke shook his head. “Tim, I’m advising you to press charges. He’ll think he has run of this town if people keep letting him get away with this shit.”

  “Let someone else do it,” Tim said, shaking his head. “I’m not pressing charges.”

  Luke just shook his head, but walked over to Dale. They spoke in low tones, although Chad could hear Luke enough to know that he was warning Dale off starting bar fights. Dale just nodded his head and smiled. Chad would discuss it with Dakota, but it was time to ban Dale from the bar. They didn’t need trouble like that, especially now that Tracy had been fired.

  Chad looked over to where Elise was, wondering what she was thinking of all this. His heart stopped. She wasn’t at her laptop, which was still sitting open. Thinking she had wanted to see what had been going on, Chad looked at the surrounding people. No blue-eyed blondes stood around the pool tables. Trying to control the panic that was trying to take over, Chad started searching every inch of the bar with his eyes.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “Elise is gone.”

  Chapter Nine

  “This is such a setup,” Elise muttered under her breath, dipping her fry in ketchup as if it were Dakota’s head being dunked under water.

  “What’s a setup, girl?”

  Elise looked up from where she sat on a barstool to see the double-D waitress from yesterday. Looking at her nametag, which was certainly sticking out for everyone to see on her little black shirt, she saw that her name was Tracy. Elise gave a fake smile, not wanting to appear impolite.

  “Sorry, I was just talking to myself.�
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  “No worries. I do it all the time.” Tracy cracked her gum and gave her back a smile. “Can I get you another refill on the water? Are you sure you don’t want a beer or something?”

  “No, I’m fine, thank you.”

  “So how long are you in town for? I saw that your car was over at the Braxton brothers’ garage. Have an accident or something?”

  “I’m not sure. As for my car, something is wrong with the engine, although it should be up and running soon.” Elise took a bite of the soggy fry. She had definitely been dipping it for too long. “Hey, are you into the lifestyle?”

  “I came to Triple because of the lifestyle,” Tracy said, with another pop from her chewing gum.

  “Well, here,” Elise said, wiping her hands on a napkin before handing over the flyer she had made that afternoon. “This is a website that caters to ménages. Please check it out, and if you’re interested, we would love to have you sign up. Who knows? Maybe you can find the two men you’ve been looking for.”

  Elise was grateful she had the flyers made up. That was one less thing she had to worry about. After refusing to argue with Dakota any more, they had come into town and checked in at the sheriff’s office. Sheriff Whittington had no news on the man who had attacked her but advised against leaving town on her own. He went on about making herself a target by being by herself on the road. Seeing the sheriff had brought back those feelings of helplessness that she had had during the attack, and she agreed to give him a few more days to see if he could make an arrest.

  After the sheriff’s office, they made a pit stop at Elliot and Mitch’s garage. Chad had tried to keep the conversation light, but she and Dakota refused to speak with each other. When Dakota could see things rationally, that is when she would talk to him. Until then, he’d see just how stubborn she could be. Things went from bad to worse, though, when Elliot told her that the part they needed for her car would take another day or two before it arrived. When she said she could just borrow Chad’s truck to go and pick up the part if he was too busy to do it himself, Elliot said it was being shipped from out of state.