by Lori King
“Are you done yet?” the angry tone of her voice brought his eyes back up to hers, and he lifted his eyebrow at her question. “Are you done undressing me with your eyes? I’m really rather exhausted, and if this is how you honor your brother’s request then he’s not going to be particularly happy with you.”
“Down, duchess. Just because I’m admiring the packaging, doesn’t mean I’m going to tear the paper off. This whole evening has got you pretty rattled, huh?” he cocked his head as he watched sadness flash in her eyes.
“Not at all. Like I said, this is just the way it happens sometimes. I’m sure there is already a new project waiting for me in Austin.”
She collected the papers she had used in her presentation, piling them neatly and then sliding them into her laptop bag. The efficient bravado was like a dare to him. He wanted to see the fire in her eyes again. The desire, which boiled his blood and made him ache.
Instead, he held out his hand silently for her to take. He honestly didn’t think she would accept it, but pleasure coursed through him when she did so after only a brief hesitation. She might argue it, but on some level she wanted him.
*****
Claudia let Ryker lead her out of the meeting hall, only to find it was pouring rain outside when they reached the door. “Hang on. Where are your keys, love?” he asked, bringing her to a standstill when she would have pushed through the glass door into the rain.
She dug in her purse for her keys, and before she could protest he gallantly took them from her and darted out into the rain leaving her gaping after him. He brought her sexy Benz up to the front door as efficiently as her father’s personal valet might have, and then held the door open as she slid into the leather driver’s seat.
“I’ll be right behind you, duchess,” he said softly, before the door shut with a click, and he ran for his own car.
A shiver of desire went through her, and she couldn’t peel her eyes away from his denim covered ass. Even through the blurry wet window she could see the tight muscles bunching and releasing as he moved. God, he was beautiful, so like Mack, and yet so different. The two men were like the two antique bookends she had on her desk at home. Separate they were lovely, but together they were magnificent.
Dragging her attention back to the wheel, she made the drive home. Janet Jackson pumped through the stereo, singing about making love in the rain. The irony of those words wasn’t lost on her, and she snickered at how much it matched the unusual mood she was in. Her body ached to be held close and comforted, but her mind was rejecting the need for soothing. As a well-grounded, independent woman she shouldn’t need anyone to pat her on the back and reassure her she had done a good job in the light of her defeat. She also knew if she let Ryker get his hands on her, there was no way she was going to be able to stop it at a comforting snuggle—and it scared the hell out of her. She couldn’t do that to Mack. It wouldn’t be right.
Parking in her driveway, she felt a pang of regret as she remembered she would likely have to sell the pretty piece of property. It wasn’t like she needed a home in Stone River when she would be living and working in Austin. Even if it was exactly what she wanted to do.
Ryker met her at the front door, and again he took her keys from her to open the door. She frowned at him as he followed her into the living room. “I didn’t realize following me home included both valet and concierge services. Is there a turn down service as well?”
When his eyes snapped to hers, her whole mouth dried up. Fire lit their grayish-blue depths, and arrogance curved his lips up into a small smirk. “I can provide all kinds of services if you’re in need, sweet cheeks. Just give me the word.”
They were both holding their breath. She could see it in the tense lines of his big body, and feel it in her own chest. It was unspoken desire. A thirst for each other’s bodies that was really becoming unbearable.
“Claudia, I know you want me as much as I want you,” he said softly, stroking the back of his knuckle down her cheek.
Stiffening her spine, she nodded, “You’re right. I do want you, but I want Mack too, so how do you suppose it’s going to work? Do you plan on a ménage relationship with me, or are you two going to just pass me back and forth like a shared toy?”
He let out a hiss of irritation and took a step backward. Shoving his hand into his wet hair, and growling in frustration, “I don’t share well.”
“Yeah, I got that impression, so I guess we’re back to square one. As friends,” she said, putting her laptop bag down on the dining room table and releasing her hair from the tight twist at the nape of her neck. With the water in it, it was barely hanging on, the sudden relief to the muscles in her neck nearly made her weep with joy.
Before she could turn around, Ryker was behind her, pinning her against the table, with his hands tangled in her long locks, nails scratching at her scalp. His hot breath scorched the back of her ear as he spoke into it, “Friends isn’t going to work, Claudia, because I don’t have a fucking hard-on for my friends. I don’t lay awake at night wondering what my friend’s pussy tastes like, and what it would feel like to sink into her heat. So you can understand why I don’t think I can be friends with you.”
“Oh my God,” she moaned, trying desperately to grasp the lost tendrils of control she had been holding all evening.
“That’s right, duchess. I want you naked and spread on my bed waiting for me, begging for the pleasure only I can give you,” he hissed, nipping the soft lobe of her ear, and grinding his hard erection against her ass cheeks.
His words were so similar to Mack’s it froze her blood in her veins and she surged upward, shoving him backward and moving to the other side of the table before he could react. “Stop it. Right now. It’s not fair for you to make me choose, damn it. I didn’t come here to meet men. I came here to do my fucking job, and now my job is over. Clearly I need to get my shit together and go home before I lose myself into these mind games you and your brother are playing with me.”
“You would run away just because you want both of us?” He looked stunned and slightly deflated.
“I have to go home, Ryker. My job is in Austin.”
Staring at each other across the table, panting for air, and struggling with feelings neither one wanted to feel, Claudia could feel every cell in her body calling out to his, aching for him to climb over the imaginary divide and force her to accept the truth. She wasn’t going to leave Stone River with her heart intact. It was already too late for that.
“Well I guess you just put me in my place, didn’t you, duchess. Enjoy your wine and your bath. I’ll let Mack know you got home safe and sound.” He spun on his heel and disappeared out the front door without another word.
The moment the front door slammed shut, Claudia’s knees buckled and she collapsed into a chair. Her entire body was violently trembling as she fought back the wave of emotion that hit her. Regret, sadness, defeat, and loss all burned in her brain and in her heart. She had never felt so exposed and vulnerable as she did here in this tiny town. It was time to go home.
Pulling her cell phone from her purse, she hit the speed dial for the only person she ever shared her secrets with, and held her breath. When her mother’s voice came on the line, all of the tears she had been holding back burst free.
“Claudy? What’s wrong, honey? Did something happen?”
“I messed up, Mom. The project fell through,” she hiccupped into the phone.
Linda Schmidt was quiet for a moment, before asking, “Please tell me that you are not crying over a stupid business deal.”
“Mom, this was a really big deal, dad said—”
“Your dad says a lot of things, but you know his bark is worse than his bite. Are you really this worked up over a lost project, or is something else going on?” Leave it to her mother to nail the heart of the hurt.
“I think I fell in love.”
The sharp inhale on the other end of the line wasn’t encouraging. “I guess I’m still confused,
Claudy. Falling in love is something to be happy about, right?”
“If I tell you this, will you promise not to tell daddy?”
“What did you do?”
“Promise?”
“Fine, I promise. What is going on?”
“There are these two cowboys—”
“Two?” The shock in her mother’s voice made Claudia hesitate. Maybe telling her was a bad idea. “Claudia? Are you there?”
“I’m here. Yes, two. They are brothers, and in this strange little town it seems to be the norm for brothers to hook up with the same girl,” she explained, listening to the sharp inhale of her mother’s breath as she absorbed that bit before continuing, “but these two brothers don’t seem to want a ménage relationship. They both want to be with me, but they don’t want to be with me together. And I’m afraid I’ve fallen in love with both of them. I don’t know how to choose, or what to do, and now I’m going back to Austin to face dad—“
“Stop making your dad out to be some sort of demon. He loves you, Claudy. He isn’t going to skin you alive over anything.”
“Even if I end up in a relationship with two men?”
This time Linda’s hesitation was even more obvious, “I’ll be honest, it’s a shock, and it’s not going to be easy to accept. How does that even work? You can’t marry two different people, so why would you want to build a life with them?”
“Because I can’t pick which one of them that I could give up. They’ve gotten under my skin, and they are in my bones now, Mom. If they weren’t so against a permanent ménage I would try it.”
“Maybe you should listen to their reasons for not wanting this, Claudy. Think about how you would be ostracized for the family you have? Your children would have to grow up with two fathers in one home, and kids are mean these days. We sheltered you so much from reality by schooling you privately, but you have to understand that some things just aren’t done.”
“They are here, Mom. There are at least two other families with multiple partners.”
Linda sighed, “Oh, sweetie, you’re in a small town, not Austin. Just because that small number of people accept alternative lifestyles doesn’t mean the rest of the world will.”
“So I should walk away from them?”
“I didn’t say that. The only thing I’m worried about is your happiness. Keeping you safe and happy is all I’ve ever cared about, and believe it or not, that goes for your father too. He may be a hard-ass in business, and I know he wasn’t always there—” Linda’s voice cracked on the other end of the line, and Claudia felt her tears come harder, “but he did his best. If those two men love you enough to do their best for you, then I will support any relationship that keeps you happy.”
Relief poured through Claudia’s body, and she felt all of her muscles relaxing. “Thank you, Mom. I needed to know that. I think I’ll come home this weekend to clear things up at work. I’ll need time to plan for a new project, and sell my house here in Stone River if dad transfers me.”
“First you need to tell him about the men you’re seeing, Claudy. I’m sure he’ll let you stay in Stone River if that’s where you want to be.”
That was the problem. Claudia wasn’t really sure where she wanted to be. Between her feelings for Mack, and her unavoidable addiction to Ryker, she felt torn in two, but she did feel at home here in Stone River. Maybe just staying put for now was smart, at least until she figured out what she wanted out of her relationship with the Thompson brothers.
“I’ll talk to him this weekend. Thanks, Mom, I’ve missed talking to you.”
Linda laughed, “My phone number hasn’t changed, young lady. All you have to do is dial.”
“I promise I’ll do it more often. Love you, Mom.”
“I love you too, Claudy. See you this weekend.”
As the phone clicked off in her ear, Claudia finally stopped crying. Her mother was right. There was nothing more important than happiness. Sure there were hardships involved with a ménage, but there was no way she was going to be able to give up either brother, so she needed to bring them around to her way of thinking. If they couldn’t get with the program, then she was better off moving back to Austin.
*****
Ryker slammed into the cabin feeling hopeless, helpless, and horny. The only woman in more than a decade to make his dick impossibly hard and she wasn’t willing to give him a chance if he wouldn’t share her with his older brother. How much more fucked up could his life get?
Mack was standing in the kitchen in the dark, drinking one of his beers, and Ryker lashed out at him. “I thought you had shit to do at the ranch? Isn’t your boss going to be pissed you cut out early? Oh wait, that’s right, you have a whole fucking family of bosses. If you don’t like what one says, you can just ask another.”
Instead of punching him, Mack cocked his head and gave him a half smile. “So she didn’t let you seduce her?”
Ryker froze in his tracks. Staring back at his brother, he suddenly felt like a royal ass. “I seem to have a knack for being a dick. I’m sorry. And no, she didn’t let me seduce her. She won’t because she wants you too. Fuck! What kind of a mess are we involved in with her, Mack?”
Sighing heavily, Mack opened the fridge and retrieved two fresh beers, passing him one before he led the way into the living room. Ryker took his chair, while Mack sprawled on the couch and propped his booted foot up on the coffee table.
“You know this is the first time in nearly a year you have had something besides your former career to bitch about.”
Ryker choked on his beer, and sputtered for an answer. “I guess she’s a good distraction.”
“Damn right she is. The way I see it, she is too caught up in what’s wrong or right for you and me. Or maybe we’re the ones who aren’t prioritizing right.” Mack’s thoughtful look and odd choice of words left Ryker scratching at his beard in confusion.
“Spit it out, asshole. What are you trying to say?” he snapped at his older brother.
Mack shrugged, “I want her happy. I’ll do whatever it takes to keep her here and make her happy. What about you?”
His shock level had never been higher in his life, and he couldn’t formulate words to respond. When he rolled out of surgery and the doctor told him his career was over, he had felt a genuine physical loss in his life. It still burned in his soul. Then when the bank contacted him about his bouncing checks, and the funds management company his accountant worked for admitted all of his money had been transferred to an offshore account, he had been pissed. Shocked, but pissed. None of that compared to his astonishment over Mack’s question. He was offering to share his woman with Ryker, and at this moment Ryker wasn’t sure he could say the same.
“I don’t know if she would ever accept me the way she’s accepted you. She slept with you,” Ryker said, staring down at his hands.
“How do you know?” Mack asked.
Rolling his eyes, Ryker glared at him, “You came home strutting like a bull in mating season, brother. Don’t try to deny it.”
“Wouldn’t dream of it,” Mack said, shaking his head. “But I think you and I better figure out where we stand, because she’s on the verge of running, Ryk, and I don’t know if I’ll survive it. Losing my business brought me to a low place, but losing my woman and my brother in one blow would kill me.”
“You aren’t losing me, Mack. And besides, you could rebuild the business if you wanted to. Hell, I’ll help you. We can take some of my money from selling the house and we’ll buy one of those properties Schmidt’s going to be dumping cheap. We’ll turn it into a workshop, and you can create while I sell.”
“You know, it’s not a half bad idea,” Mack said, before shaking his head. “I’m not good in business though, Ryk, and it would be a hell of a risk. I also know you don’t want to be tied to Stone River forever.”
Ryker stared back at his brother in confusion, “It’s not Stone River that’s the problem, it’s the lack of direction. If I had a reason to
stay…”
His words drifted off, and he watched Mack absorb them in thoughtful silence. They both drank their beers as they mulled over the possibilities in front of them. Mack was absolutely right, there were a lot of risks involved with rebuilding the leather working business, but Ryker wanted to do this for his brother. If nothing else, it was a way to repay him for his kindness in the last year. Mack had put up with a lot of shit no one else would, and Ryker owed him.
“We could make it work, Mack. You have way too much talent to be working horses and mucking stalls for the rest of your life.”
Mack frowned back at him, “I don’t even know if I could sell a saddle anymore. People have forgotten my name by now. It was different when everyone in Texas knew who I was.”
“Let me do some research at least. If we can’t sell saddles here in po-dunk Stone River, Texas, home of the cowboy, then maybe you’re right about it being a bad investment,” Ryker agreed, holding his breath. Until this very moment he hadn’t realized how much he desperately wanted his older brother’s approval again.
Growing up, he and Mack had had an ideal childhood. They were the best of friends until high school when Ryker began taking football more seriously. By the time Ryker graduated, Mack had already left home and was apprenticing for another leather artist. It wasn’t the same tight knit relationship as before, but they still talked regularly. As the years passed, they drifted further apart, and before long, the only time they spoke was at Thanksgiving and Christmas. When their father died, Ryker had only been able to fly in for a two-day visit for the funeral because of his schedule. He had left Mack holding the reins of the family, even though he knew Mack was dealing with his business going bankrupt.
Since then their mother had deteriorated into Alzheimer’s and Mack was the one who made the effort to drive to Dallas once a month to see her. Each time Ryker made some excuse to skip the trip, because he wasn’t ready to face a stranger who didn’t recognize him. How many other ways had Mack taken control and handled things for him, so he could continue being selfish and immature? A deep sense of regret and acceptance filled his chest, as he realized just how much his older brother had sacrificed for him. Perhaps it was time to return the favor.
