Butterfly Madness [Loving in Silver 3] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) (10 page)

“But I am,” Grayson insisted, rising from the chair at the kitchen table to help finish putting the food on the table. “Do you know you have the sexiest ass I’ve ever seen?” He leaned down and nipped Roarke’s neck. While he had showered, the other man had not, choosing to wear their combined scents for a while longer. It always turned him on. He inhaled against the warm skin, his mouth skimming over it. “Fuck, if you’re not the hottest lover I’ve ever had.”

“Would that be a male or female?”

“Male.”

“You’re safe,” Roarke teased, moaning as Grayson continued to nuzzle against his neck. His hands were now spread over the cotton-covered, washboard abs. They were like bricks. Like Grayson, Roarke had given up working on the Evans’ family ranch, where he made extra money during the summers, but working out had kept both their bodies fit in the years since. “Wait until you see Marley’s ass. It’s absolutely gorgeous.”

“Does it have butterflies on it?” he asked eagerly, hoarsely. He wanted to forget about supper and bend his lover over the kitchen counter, fucking him again until neither of them could stand. Then his stomach growled, protesting even as his cock pressed against Roarke’s tight ass.

Roarke laughed, wriggling out of his embrace and turning around. “Down, boy! Supper first, then you can take your butterfly madness out on me all you want, until we can convince Marley that we’re the men for her.”

Since the dogs knew they wouldn’t be receiving any goodies from the table, they waited for their evening walk by the back door. Chug was stretched out on his belly, his chubby chin resting on the skateboard, peering out the corner of his eye at his daddies. A sigh escaped him, even as Bailey decided she wanted to play, poking her buddy on a meaty haunch with her nose.

Forty-five torturous minutes later they were hopping up and waiting eagerly as Grayson closed the dishwasher and set it to begin the cycle. He grabbed Roarke’s hand as the man tried to get some last-minute cleaning done before they left. The man was something of a neat freak and could get way out of control if he wasn’t reined in.

Tugging him in the direction of the door, Grayson pulled him close and kissed him. “Forget the counters. They’re clean. You can do a touch-up before we go to bed.”

The dogs ran ahead of them as they headed toward the road. Chug even left his skateboard behind in exchange for a walk along the road. Both animals waited for leashes to be attached to their collars, and then whined when Grayson playfully delayed opening the gate.

“You are so mean,” Roarke complained, taking Chug’s leash. “Come on, tough guy. Let’s burn up some ground.”

Chug sneezed and burst through the gate, all but dragging Roarke after him. Once they were moving, he stayed beside the man. Grayson walked beside his lover as Bailey sniffed out all the scents she could find. By the excitement her body was showing there were obviously many of them.

The evening was warm and the sky was filled with colors as the sun began setting. They walked down the road and took one of the streets into town. Their walks usually lasted about an hour, sometimes longer, depending upon who they ran into. Talking with neighbors was a big thing in Silver. Sometimes they just walked by with a friendly wave, but more often than not they stopped and talked to whomever they encountered.

Grayson loved Silver and had never even considered leaving it behind. Some left for adventure, the military, to live where more was happening, or to further their education, but many of those same people returned. They were always welcomed back. Personally, he had left long enough to study and train for law enforcement, a lifelong dream of his. Roarke had gone with him, studying business. Though they had enjoyed their time away, they were more than ready to be home in Silver by the time they finished school.

The town had so much to offer, but its primary gift to the citizens was the way people were accepted for who they were. There were so many different kinds of relationships in Silver and always had been. Though not everyone jumped out of the closet if they were gay, some easing into the open more gradually, they knew beforehand that very few would judge. Those who did were outnumbered. Polyandrous relationships were the most common. One woman loving and living with two or more men was something only outsiders even blinked at.

While Roarke had only two parents, which was considered quite an oddity in the town, Grayson’s mother Julia had two husbands, Bill and Elliot. They had been best friends for years and when it came time for them to marry, they’d decided they wanted to share one woman. So far it seemed to be working. He grinned. His mom hadn’t killed either of her husbands yet, though she often claimed she was tempted.

“How did we end up here?” Roarke asked, breaking into his thoughts.

Grayson looked around and saw they were standing in front of the Redford mansion. It was both homey and imposing Queen Anne, with its many turrets, cantilevered gables, and chimneys, though it wasn’t strictly the American style, but a combination of two, the American and Australian, which the first Redford in Silver had admired during a trip to that country. When he had returned home he had designed the house with the two styles in mind, coming up with a unique and very beautiful home. Their own Queen Anne was strictly in the American style.

“Got me.” They had both been walking along, holding hands, each lost in their own thoughts. Their walks often were done in silence. Could they really have been so involved that they subconsciously traveled the route leading to their woman? “Should we knock? It’s still early.”

“Sure. Why not?”

“Ellen’s not going to let us in with the dogs.”

Roarke laughed. “Probably not. But Marley could come down.”

The problem was solved by Marley herself, as she came around the east end of the house with the dogs. They were running and playing while she laughed at their antics.

When she saw them, she stopped and stared. Then she was gathering her wits and moving toward them, a smile on her beautiful face. “Hi, guys. How are you this evening?”

She didn’t act like a woman who’d had a sexual encounter with each of them that day. Was that a good thing? Was she trying to pretend it never happened? Or was she good with what had taken place? He wished he knew. Neither he nor Roarke had much experience dealing with women who weren’t related to them and they didn’t count. He was stumped.

Ignoring the need to scratch his head, he smiled. “Hi, Marley. We were just out for a walk and ended up here. We were debating whether to knock or not.”

“Ellen wouldn’t have let the dogs in,” Roarke added. Chug had his face pressed against the wrought-iron bars, looking at the huge dogs with a lot of interest. His stubby tail and chunky hips wriggled excitedly. “We were hoping you could come down, and then there you were, saving us a scolding.”

She smiled again. “I’m glad I could save you. I’m sure they sterilize my room every day when we leave. It does seem to be terribly clean and freshened when we come back.” She began walking toward the gate. They followed her down along the sidewalk. “Since you aren’t brave enough to come in, we’ll come out. These guys want to go to the park again.” Grayson opened the gate, allowing her and the two dogs to exit. Then he was closing and securing it. “I’m afraid to let them play on the lawn. I don’t think I’ve seen one blade of grass out of place.”

“Not likely. Colt has probably given strict instructions on how it’s supposed to be groomed. He’s a stickler for those kinds of things.”

Marley was in the middle as they walked back down the sidewalk, toward the town center where the park was located. The streetlights had come on, illuminating their way. Martha and Barney walked ahead. He had never seen them on a leash. They were very well-behaved dogs.

“Is it true that he has a BDSM club?”

“It’s true, though only a part of it is devoted to BDSM. It’s more of a club for the sexually adventurous. Roarke and I go a couple times a month. Would you like to go with us some night?”

Gray held his breath and he knew with a glance over her head that Roarke was doing the same.

Marley felt the buzz of excitement along her skin. It wasn’t just from being close to the two handsome men. No, it was the idea of going to a sex club with them. After what had taken place between them earlier in the day, she knew she was very tempted. She had never before felt the myriad of sensations which had flooded her body both times. The book she began reading the previous night sure had unlocked some kind of need inside her. It was completely unfamiliar, but not completely unwelcome. She simply wasn’t certain how she was supposed to go on from here. Should she be bolder? Should she see where a relationship could possibly go with these men? If it was only sex, it would soon burn itself out. But if it wasn’t just about sex, though that part had been great, then she would be giving the whole relationship/future thing a chance.

Thinking of her sister, she knew Callie wouldn’t want her to be sad and miserable all the time, not like she had been all these past months. She just missed her sister so damned much! Since coming to Silver, however, that misery had eased somewhat. Perhaps it was because she was beginning to give their dreams some substance. They were forming, becoming tangible, and would soon be shared with others. Was that the reason she was not allowing herself to hope for more?

“Maybe,” Marley answered finally. “I’ll have to think about it.”

You wuss, she told herself, not looking at either man. She could feel their gazes on her and shifted uncomfortably. They were in the park by now and Barney and Martha, instead of running off, were waiting to see if the bulldog and retriever were going to be allowed to run with them. Barney woofed and put his big paw on the bulldog’s broad head. A second later the dog, obviously a young one, began mouthing it playfully.

“Can you let them loose?”

“Yeah. Bailey won’t leave me and Chug won’t leave her,” Grayson told her.

The men bent and released the dogs from their leashes. A moment later total doggie chaos was taking place in the center of Silver’s green space as the dogs got to know each other on neutral territory.

Marley started slightly when Grayson slid a muscular arm around her waist, guiding her toward the nearest bench. They waited until she was seated before sitting down on either side of her. Was this how it would always be? No one left out, always together. She didn’t know how these polyandrous relationships worked. Didn’t the men get jealous of each other? She had spent alone time with each. Roarke hadn’t seemed jealous. If anything, he had been very turned on to know she had been with Grayson. Hmmm, it was very interesting.

Since she still wanted more time to think, she steered the conversation away from anything personal. “How’s Ned doing?”

“He’s doing okay. I’ve seen him twice now. He’s in pain, but he should be out in a couple of weeks. He’ll go to stay with his daughter and his sons-in-law will take turns running the store until he can come back.”

“Does he have any idea who attacked him?”

“Not a clue. They were two men he said he’d never seen before. He actually had put up working cameras, but they weren’t placed where they could get the best shots. We’ve moved the cameras, so that shouldn’t be a problem from now on. We’ve sent out descriptions of the men, so hopefully we’ll get a hit soon. We can’t have such violent people running around.”

“Of course not,” Marley agreed solemnly. “Do you think it’s drug related?”

“Very well could be. A lot of crimes are. Every once in a while we’ll get someone trying to set up a meth lab in the area. There are plenty of remote places where these worthless assholes can cook their drugs. We put a stop to it as soon as we can. It’s not easy.”

“So Silver’s not as perfect as I was beginning to believe it was.”

“As much as I hate to admit it, Silver’s not perfect. We have problems here just like any other town. Maybe not as much, but they’re still here.”

When Grayson’s powerful arms slid behind her shoulders on the back of the bench, Marley suppressed a smile. They sat like that for several minutes, not talking, just watching as the dogs played, until Roarke claimed her hand, sliding his fingers between hers.

Okay, this was nice, Marley thought as she sat there. She was surprised she wasn’t feeling crowded by their advances, if what they were doing could really be described as such.

“How about coming home with us tonight? Barney and Martha can leave all the hair and drool they want in the house. We don’t mind.”

Marley laughed. “As fun as that invitation sounds, I think I’ll pass. We need to get to know each other better before I commit to anything else.”

“Okay,” the men said in unison, surprising her. She relaxed instantly and settled further back on the bench. Grayson’s arm moved over her shoulders. “We’re not going to rush you,” he said, kissing the top of her head. Okay, she had to admit that was nice, too.

“Thanks. I do appreciate that. I’ve just got a lot on my mind right now and I don’t want to make any decisions I’ll regret later.”

“We understand, though I hope you won’t say no to some chocolate once in a while.”

Marley blushed, but chuckled before replying. “I’ll never say no to chocolate. Well, I better get back. I have a hot bath calling my name.”

Rising from the bench, she turned to look at the men. They were so darned handsome, even in the weak glow of the lights strung up in several of the trees. If the charm of the town was sugar, it was no wonder everybody she had met so far seemed to ooze sweetness. Well, except for Ms. Jersey.