Saint James, Elle - Unbridled and Undone [The Double Men Rider's Club] (Siren Publishing Menage Everlasting) (13 page)

“Like what, for example.”

“You know how much I love this house. Arthur hates it. He won’t live in it. In fact, he told me he’d bulldoze it the second we were married. So guess what? I’m not marrying him.” It was no secret that Arthur hated her home. He felt it was too small, too old, too cheap, and not fancy enough for the lifestyle he wanted to live. Likely, her father agreed with him on this point. It probably wouldn’t take him long to point it out.

Her father gestured to her home. “Is that all? Because this is just a possession. Is a house really more important than a person?” He didn’t give her a chance to respond before he added, “Tessa, a man wants to be king of his castle. He deserves to rule his personal domain, but I’m certain that Arthur would never do anything to make you unhappy. What else?”

“This is not a feudal world, Dad. The house may be a possession, but it’s important to me. I’m not convinced that he cares one whit about my happiness. And besides, we just aren’t compatible.”
“Your mother and I weren’t compatible at first, either, but we learned to make it work.”

“Well, I’m not interested in making a bad marriage work for the rest of my life. And anyway, I’ve found someone else.”
Actually, two men currently vie for attention in my heart.

Her father’s face morphed into what looked like concern. “Who is it? Do I know him?”

“No, Dad, you don’t know him. I just met him. He’s a part of the rancher’s conference.”

“What’s his name?”

“Dell Harper,” she uttered before her brain stopped her mouth. She regretted it as soon as his name came across her lips. Her father would likely hire private detectives to check Dell’s private life before the end of business today.

“How long have you known him? Less than a week?” Her father’s expression made her angry. She didn’t want to explain her feelings about loving two men.

“Maybe not long, but I like him better than anyone I’ve ever met before.”
Both of them.

“I want to meet him.”
 

“No.”

“Don’t sass me, girl. Bring him to the house on Friday night after the reading of your grandmother’s will. Dell Harper, that’s his name, right? Any man seriously wanting to date my daughter needs to speak to me.”

“I’m old enough to pick out my own dates. Dell only needs to please me.” Tessa was disconcerted that her father remembered his name so readily.

“Are you ashamed to bring him to meet your family?”

“No. Of course not.”
I should bring both of the men I’m falling in love with to endure dinner with my overbearing father.

That fantasy dissolved quickly.

“What does he do?”

“He’s a rancher from
Wyoming
.”

“
Wyoming
? He lives in another state?” His incredulous tone surprised her. She didn’t expect him to care about her whereabouts if he wasn’t getting his way about Arthur.

“What’s wrong with that?”

Her father sent his gaze to the grassy space between them. Her lawn was small, but she did her best to keep it nice. Water shortages sometimes threatened her postcard-sized lawn, but this year had been a little rainier than usual and helped make it look manicured when it wasn’t.

“If you marry someone out of state, what will happen to this house? The one you’ve treasured for as long as I can remember. And won’t consider marrying Arthur because he doesn’t like it.”

“It will still be
my
house regardless of where I reside or whom I live with.”

Her father’s head tilted to one side as if he begged to differ. “That may not be entirely true.”

Tessa stepped forward, closing the meager distance between them. “This is my property. Gamma told me before she died that she left it to me in the will.”

His sly smile disarmed her. He knew something. But he shrugged and didn’t explain further. “Your grandmother’s will is being read on Friday. Will you be at the lawyer’s office?”

“Yes. I’ve taken the afternoon off from work.”

“Then, I guess I’ll see you there. Unless you decide to come home for dinner in the next two nights, like you’re supposed to.”

“I’ll be spending my next two evenings elsewhere.” No need to tell him she’d be sleeping with not one but two men for the next two nights. “I’ll consider bringing my new friend to dinner on Friday night, but he may be busy with the conference. I’ll let you know.”

Her father brought his gaze up, and his expression indicated he was about to argue, but then he nodded slowly and backed away.

“Good. I hope he’s free. I’d like to meet the man who’s garnered my daughter’s attention.”

“No promises.”

He nodded slightly and glanced back at his car. She guessed they’d exhausted the scope of conversation and he was looking for a reason to depart as soon as possible.

Tessa stuck a thumb over one shoulder and pointed it at her door. “Well, I’ve got to get inside and clean up.”

Her father nodded and seemed relieved to depart. “Good-bye, Tessa.” He waved and climbed into his car. She was left with a good feeling after talking to her father for once. And he wanted to meet someone she liked instead of thrusting Arthur in her face again.

A sliver of hope from the sudden attitude change regarding her marrying Arthur crept into her soul. Now her only problem was if Dell or Zachary, or the both of them, would like to go to a stilted dinner at her father’s house.

Inwardly she sighed and wondered how she would even broach the subject with them. It wasn’t like they were interested in her beyond the amazing sexual experience this week. Invitations to family dinner often signified permanence in a relationship.

Tessa pondered the idea of charging on ahead into a permanent threesome. The naughty idea had been banging around in her mind since the first night she’d slept with them. After only a moment’s consideration, she decided she’d be very lucky if they wanted to continue a relationship with her. She did want to see what would happen with them. Perhaps she did have a future. One she could actually look forward to instead of merely moving forward and going through the motions.

First off, she’d need to find out if they truly wanted her. Then she could get the courage to ask if they wanted to meet her father. Then and only then would she consider inviting them over to her father’s house for dinner.

To that end, did she really want to subject either of them to her father? The short answer was,
Hell no!

Would it help her mend her relationship with her parent if he thought she was interested in someone else? Maybe. Was that a good reason to do it? No.

If the subject came up and they mentioned it first, then she’d admit her feelings. Otherwise, it was likely better to keep her mouth shut.

Don’t complicate it. Just enjoy the week.

Tessa had done some pretty amazing things since following two cowboys back to their room.

She was surprised that she looked forward to not only the mind-blowing sex but also the conversation. Her perception of cowboys and men who owned ranches had undergone a radical transformation since meeting Dell and Zachary.

Tessa had always been convinced that cowboys just rode around on horses, chasing cows and roping them to the ground when they weren’t whooping it up riding bulls at rodeos. She knew it was a prejudiced opinion.

Not only did they know everything there was to know about horses, cattle, and ranching, they were also confident, smart, and sexy. Most unusual of all, their predominant interest seemed to be in learning everything they could about her.

For every question she asked, they reciprocated with two or three about her life and what she thought. Every time she was with them, she was able to relax and be herself. There was no pretense or stilted conversation. If they weren’t sexually engaged, they were laughing or talking about everything and nothing.

They made it easy to share. Even after so little time with them, she looked forward to when they were together.

She hated to admit that these two sexy cowboys had worked their way into her soul. It would be very difficult for her when they left.

Her immediate plan was to enjoy the next two days and nights as much as she could. They weren’t leaving until Sunday. There was plenty of time to discuss a future, if one existed.

If she were honest with herself, and she tried to be, the thought of Dell and Zachary being out of her life next week or thereafter made her stomach clench in dread. She didn’t think anyone would ever make her as happy as she was right now.

Perhaps she needed to do some research on
Wyoming
and what else it might have to offer her besides two sexy cowboys who may or may not love her as much as she loved them.

                                         
* * * *

Zachary entered the crowded diner and checked his watch. He spotted Clayton Forrester, the DRMC’s security manager, in the third booth down on the right side next to a picture window.

Clay didn’t wave, but his serious stare caught Zachary’s attention the moment he stepped inside the door. Something was obviously weighing heavily on Clay’s mind.
 

He would have skipped this meeting and gone straight to his next one, but Clay rarely asked for time, advice, or any special meetings, so he squeezed this lunch request into his busy schedule. Hoping he had time to get a bite to eat, Zachary ignored the “wait to be seated” sign by the hostess station and hurried to Clay’s table.

In about twenty minutes, he’d have make a hasty exit. Depending on traffic in this city, he’d have to forego eating or he’d arrive late to his next important engagement. Conference week was always a busy one, and this year was no exception.

“What’s up, Clay?” Zachary asked before he was completely seated.

“I had a question about our agreement with the bar where Monday night’s event took place.”

“Shoot.”

“We had a no cameras and no security filming clause inserted, right?”

“You bet we did. Was someone filming?” Zachary didn’t remember anyone with camera.

“Not the show, but right after it was over, I noticed the security cameras in the room came on. I saw the lights flick on as soon as the curtain came down.”

Zachary thought it odd that the cameras would only come on after the live sex show. “How long did they film?”

Clay’s face shifted to amusement. “Until I forced my way into the security office and demanded they shut it off or live to regret it.”

Glancing at Clay’s oversized height and build, he figured anyone would have been intimidated. He then pondered the problems that might ensue if any film coverage of that night got out, but couldn’t think of anything problematic off the top of his head. The bar owner had more to lose than they did if any complaints came about.

“Do you think the bar personnel did it on purpose?” Visions of extortion danced in Zachary’s mind for a moment. “Maybe someone wanted a free show.” He picked up the water glass from his paper placemat and took a sip.

Clay shook his head. “It was probably an accident.” The tone of his voice said he wasn’t completely sure his statement was accurate.

Zachary shrugged and put his glass down. “They shouldn’t have done it, but since they turned it off upon request and said it was a mistake, there’s probably nothing we need to do.”

“Okay. Good.” He nodded slowly. “Mostly, I just wanted to let you know about the incident in case it comes up in the future.” Clay toyed with his utensils and looked over one shoulder as if searching for someone.

Zachary nodded and made a mental note to check the contract with the bar. “Next year we won’t have this problem.” The DRMC planned to purchase a place for next year’s event.

“Yeah, I know.” Clay focused his attention back to Zachary. “Once you narrow down the location choices, I’d be happy to fly out and check each building over for viability.”

“Thanks, Clay.” Zachary glanced at his watch again and wished he had time to get a bite to eat. “I’ll take you up on that as soon as we have a few places scoped out.”

As if by magic, a petite waitress carrying two large platters of steak and french fries arrived tableside and placed her burden in front of them. Clay thanked her. She winked at him and scurried away.

The scent of grilled beef wafting from the table made Zachary’s mouth water.

Clay picked up his knife and fork. “I hope you don’t mind, but I ordered something for you. Figured you were pressed for time today.”

“You’re a
 
lifesaver, Clay.” Zachary cut into his juicy steak, took a bite of heaven, and thought about his next meeting. At least now his stomach wouldn’t rumble at an inappropriate time during the reading of the will.

Chapter Nine

 
The Law Offices of Blair, Franklin, and Hodge had the exact stuffy, pompous décor Tessa expected the moment she saw the cold stone on the outside of the building. The gothic exterior matched perfectly with the darkly stained furniture, paneling on every square inch of wall, and forest green drapery. And they were all likely straight out of last century. Given the prestige of the law firm, they’d probably paid a shit load for it. Or perhaps it had been carried over and handed down from one generation to another without fail.