Butterfly Madness [Loving in Silver 3] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) (12 page)

Yes, she would paint any house she bought the colors Callie had chosen. It wouldn’t be this house, but she was certain Colt would be able to find her a house that would suit her needs and Callie’s dreams.

The front door to the house opened and Grayson came out, followed by Roarke and their two dogs. Chug was remarkably fast for a chubby, short-legged dog and was at the SUV’s door and waiting impatiently until she got out and let Martha and Barney out of the back. She tripped over his bulk, laughing when she landed on her butt in the grass.

“Come on, Chug,” Grayson growled, grabbing the dog’s heavy nylon collar. “Get off the lady.”

But Chug had other ideas. Now that Marley was on his level he was determined to give her some very enthusiastic kisses. Since he probably weighed more than half what she did it was simple for him to tumble her backward. He pinned her to the ground as he licked her face, his fat front paws on her shoulders even as Grayson tried scooping him up. Bailey, Martha, and Barney stood there barking excitedly and looking like they wanted to jump in.

“Darn dog. Come on.”

Finally getting ahold of Chug, Grayson pulled him away. Roarke was there to help her up, his hands under her armpits as he lifted her to her feet. Laughing, Marley began brushing her clothes off. There didn’t seem to be any damage, though she did have extra clothes at the gallery in case she needed a change during the day.

Roarke was taking advantage of the situation by brushing off her backside. “It looks good from here,” he said reassuringly. “Sorry about that. Chug loves people.”

“I can see that. He’s a real sweetheart.”

“Well, I’m sorry he knocked you down.”

“Don’t worry about it. I’m not fragile.”

As they moved toward the house, Roarke took her hand in his, their fingers entwining in a natural act of affection. It felt good and right and she wondered about that. Though she had been terribly intimate with both men, should she really feel so at ease with them? Wasn’t it too soon? She didn’t pull her hand away, but let him lead her up the winding stone sidewalk to the front porch. The dogs walked along behind, then split off as Bailey appeared to be showing them the place.

Marley turned around on the front porch to look down over the sweeping front lawn and the valley beyond the fence. It was a panoramic view of the mountains in the distance. They glowed softly in the morning light. When she saw the town in the valley, as picturesque as any she had seen with its carefully preserved buildings from a century past, she was awed.

“Wow, how beautiful,” she breathed, staring. “It’s perfect. The ascent was so gradual I didn’t realize your property was so much higher than the town.”

“Our property actually goes to the edge of town. There’s over five hundred acres with it. That’s why we have no close neighbors,” Grayson told her as he joined them on the porch. There was no sign of Chug. Obviously he was in the doghouse somewhere. “My great-grandparents built the house in 1901. Then my grandparents gave us the house five years ago. They bought a house in town, a little bungalow where they say they don’t rattle around so much. Want to come in to look around? Then we’ll show you where Martha and Barney can stay anytime you want to leave them here.”

Roarke led her into the house and Marley felt herself fall the rest of the way in love with the place. It was fantastic, with its polished woodwork, and the polished hardwood floors. The furniture was big, leather, and a dark red. It wasn’t the furniture of the period, though there were many such pieces throughout the house, but made for people to actually live with. The place certainly didn’t have the feel of a museum like the Redford mansion did. Everything in every room here was perfect. She wouldn’t change a thing. It all made one big, comfortable, welcoming home.

Marley never wanted to leave. She wanted to move in with two men she didn’t know, two sexual encounters notwithstanding. How messed up was that?

She went out with the men to inspect the fenced yard where her dogs would spend the day and was very pleased with what she saw. There was a six-foot-high fence around about a quarter acre. As they had told her, there was plenty of shade and raised platforms where she could put the beds she had brought with her.

Roarke and Grayson helped her carry the dog beds and other supplies from the SUV. Barney was off playing with Bailey. Martha was seated, her butt on the platform and her front feet on the concrete pad. She was staring toward the house and Marley turned to see Chug’s sad face peering out a back window.

“Are you going to let him out soon?”

“Yeah. We just wanted to keep him inside until you leave. He’s going to have to learn to calm down around you. He hasn’t been this bad since he was six months old. I think he knocked everybody in town down at least once,” Grayson said with a grimace. He set up the raised food and water dishes for the extra-tall dogs. It was necessary for the deep-chested breed, helping in digestion and to help prevent bloat. “I’ll check to make sure they have plenty of water during the day.”

“They’ve already eaten. I have to be careful they don’t do a lot of running after they’ve eaten. They can get bloated very easily.”

Roarke nodded. “Don’t worry. Grayson will take good care of them while I’m helping you at the gallery. As long as they don’t have any plans to dig their way out, they should be good in here.”

“The weather’s supposed to be fair all day.”

Marley nodded, grateful for their generosity. “I really appreciate this. Though they don’t really complain much, I know they get bored hanging out with me at the gallery. And I have a couple things to do today. I’m going to meet Colt. He has a couple of houses to show me. And I’m going with him to lunch at the hotel.”

Grayson frowned. “You don’t have to look at houses. Move in here with us. You can even have your own room.”

“That would last about one night, and then I’d be in bed with the both of you.” She shook her head, her dark hair swinging. “It’s too soon for me to do something so drastic. I still need some time. Okay?”

She knew the words coming out of her mouth didn’t match what was in her heart. Deep down she knew these were the guys for her. Instinct told her that and she had always been able to trust that part of her. It was her head which was being way too cautious. Darn, why did she have to think so much?

“Sure thing, baby,” Roarke reassured her, sliding an arm around her narrow waist and pulling her close. It felt good. “Just don’t go rushing to buy a house, either. Though, even if you did decide we’re the perfect men for you and moved in here with us, having a house to lease or rent in Silver is a very profitable venture. Rich outsiders come here and spend the whole winter. We have some great ski areas nearby. You can make a fortune renting the right house out.”

Smiling, she nodded and tried to step away. “I’ll remember that.” The strong arm around her had tightened, preventing her from moving from Roarke’s half embrace. Grayson moved in behind her as she was pulled flush against a hard body. She looked up into Roarke’s handsome face, knowing what was going to happen. “Are you going to kiss me?”

“I was planning on it. Then Grayson will kiss you. After that, we can go to the gallery. I’ll help out there until it’s time for you to go house hunting and have lunch with Colt.”

“You’re not jealous, are you?”

“No,” the men said in unison. “Colt’s our friend. He’d never poach.”

“But he does know how to tempt.”

“Have you been tempted, baby?” Grayson asked, his hands smoothing down over her hips. His hard cock was pressing against her back, making her shiver with pleasure. She remembered the feel and the taste of that hard piece of flesh very well. She wanted to taste it again. “Has Colt been bad?”

“He’s tried to tempt me. But I was strong.” And terrified, Marley added silently to herself. “And I think he’s very bad. There was a man and two women in his bed last night. Is that normal?”

“I don’t know what’s supposed to be normal. We all have our kinks in this town. You’ll get used to it. Roarke told me Nick Walker invited you out to his parents’ place for the party Saturday. Will you allow Roarke and me to escort you?”

She couldn’t avoid a date with these men. Now that they’d started asking, they would continue to do so until she was worn down. But did she really want to avoid a date? Even when she suspected she knew would happen after the party. She would end up back here with them, having hot, wild sex.

With her nipples hardening and her pussy quivering at the thought, Marley nodded. “I’d like that, thank you.”

The next few minutes were filled with kisses so hot she thought she should go up in flames. Roarke kissed her first, his tongue probing deep, their tongues dueling until she was a moaning mass of quivering flesh. When he released her Grayson was there to sweep her up against his much larger body. The man was built, all bulging muscle which made it easy for him to lift her up against him as his mouth devoured hers.

When he set her back down on her feet Marley could only stare up at him. “You should get a job doing that. It would pay much better than being sheriff does.”

Grayson laughed and tapped her on the tip of her nose. “Get out of here before Roarke and I forget we’re giving you time. We want nothing more than to take you back in the house and have our wicked way with you.”

“Yes, baby. You can’t even begin to imagine the dirty, nasty things we want to do to your gorgeous body.”

She might not have known what they wanted to do specifically, but after two nights of reading erotica, Marley had a pretty good idea what she wanted
them
to do to
her
.

After being called out on the good-bye kiss, when he knew he was going with her to the gallery, Roarke eagerly helped clean the floor in the gallery. It wasn’t an overly large space. She would have enough room on the walls to display at least fifty paintings.

The gallery would showcase her sister’s work, he discovered as they cleaned. It was the moment they had been waiting for and he wished Gray was there to hear it.

“How long has your sister been gone?” Roarke asked carefully as they finished sweeping the dust up from the hardwood floor.

Marley straightened, holding the dustpan, as she looked at him with sad blue-green eyes. “About six months. Cancer took her. She had just turned nineteen. We went to the beach for her birthday. She barely had the strength, but she wanted to go so bad I didn’t have the heart to turn her down. She died two days later.”

Tears began sparkle in those gorgeous eyes. “She never gave up hope. She was always so positive, even when the doctors told her there was very little chance the cancer would go back into remission as it had before.” Marley turned back to look at the gallery, at the bare walls on which the electrician was working hard to install the lights that would focus on each painting. “I’ve chosen to keep several paintings. At least I will for now. I know it’s terribly selfish, but I can’t let go just yet. The proceeds of everything I sell of hers will go to charities and research organizations Callie chose. Whatever the proceeds are, every penny will go where she wanted it.”

“It sounds like the two of you were very close.”

“Very.” Marley smiled. The sweet love and warmth in it touched his heart. “Even though I was ten years older, we had a special bond from the very beginning. I traveled a lot after I got out of college. I traveled all over the world several times a year. I’m a nature photographer,” she told him, smiling again. “I would take photos of all sorts of creatures for her then e-mail them to her. She would take it from there. She particularly liked to paint butterflies. I made a special point of finding everything from the smallest to the great, exotic beauties larger than your hand. Her paintings are hanging in private collections all over the world. Wait until you see them. The detail is extraordinary.”

“I can’t wait,” Roarke told her truthfully. “Your sister sounds as if she was a remarkable young woman. I’d like to see her work, but when Gray is here to appreciate it with me.” When he heard her sniffle and saw the tip of her nose turning red he reached for her. “Come here, baby.”

Holding Marley close and stroking her dark, silky hair, Roarke sought to soothe the pain she was obviously feeling. Her sister wasn’t long gone and he knew her pain must be very fresh still. No wonder she was hesitant to begin a relationship with Gray and him. Colt had been right. She did have some issues to deal with.

He smiled when he felt her hands slide into the back pockets of his jeans. She giggled, which was a bright, happy sound. “You have a nice ass,” she said, giving each firm mound a good squeeze, sending a jolt of lust through him. “I can’t wait to see it.”

“And I can’t wait to show it to you.” Roarke pulled back so he could see Marley’s face. There were still shadows in her bright eyes, but they were lessening as she got her grief back under control. “But we’ll wait. Take as long as you need to decide about Gray and me. Get to know us.”

“What I know so far is very promising. I have to admit, you’re two of the nicest men I’ve ever met and damned sexy, too.” The clearing of a throat reminded them that they weren’t alone. They looked to see the electrician grinning from ear to ear. “I’ll tell you the rest later.”

“Good idea. Now, let’s see how much of this floor we can get polished before you have to get ready to meet Colt.”