Saint James, Elle - Unbridled and Untangled [The Double Rider Men's Club 8] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) (16 page)

Dalton almost hid the smile that shaped his lips, but failed.

Olivia looked at him with a heartbreaking expression. “I’m sorry. I wish it could work. But I truly don’t see how a future together would be possible.”

* * * *

Clay had enjoyed watching the evening’s performance. Foursomes in this club as a permanent way of life were a rare, but as a tempting change of pace, adding another to a trio for a little extra fun happened now and again. Nothing like a little different bit of spice to liven things up.

One of the women invited in, but not selected earlier by any of the others in the group, had spent the evening in his private box during the performance. They’d gratified each other orally, and repeatedly, which was the extent of his participation in a regular sex life these days. She hadn’t seemed unhappy by the arrangement, and the driving pain in the center of his skull, which had recently taken residence, had abated somewhere around the second or third round of
suck me dry, baby
. After she’d gone, he left the Stadium and headed to his security fortress.

He’d built a pretty nice cabin on the DRMC property, but didn’t stay in it very much. He preferred the quiet, hidden-away place where all his computers resided. One day, if he ever decided to pursue a permanent arrangement, the place would be ready with a fairly scant amount of his own personal history invested in it.

Clay had barely sat in his favorite chair when an unusual buzz sounded. He looked to the right at his console and frowned. It was a phone call from a private, blocked number. Interesting.

He pushed the button to answer on speakerphone.

“Yes.” Clay didn’t ever identify the club for any reason, and especially not from this public access line. This particular number traced to one in the local area for instances of danger to the property, like if a rampant batch of wildfires cropped up or something.

An arrogant-sounding male voice said, “Who
is
this?”

“You called me, who are you looking for?” Clay only barely refrained from calling him a prick.

There was silence at the end of the line. Clay hated assholes who called and if they got either a wrong number or an unexpected answer, they automatically sounded belligerent and wanted to know information they should already possess.

As if Clay would reveal his identity. Fuck that.

An indignant tone came through the line. “My name is Bradford Sterling Stanton the third.”

“Good for you. What do you want?”
Stanton?
Why did that name sound familiar? Clay reached over and grabbed his electronic tablet and punched up the list of women on the property tonight. Laurel and Olivia shared the same last name, Stanton. Was this the annoying brother Laurel had hung up on earlier?

“I traced an earlier cell phone call to your local area. I’m looking for Laurel Stanton, or her cousin, Olivia Stanton. I need to get in touch with either of them. It’s urgent.”

Urgent?
Probably not. Invasive, domineering elder sibling trying to find wayward sister and cousin and discover what they were doing because he felt it was his superior right? Probably.

“Have you seen either of them today?”

Clay glanced at the clock on the wall. Two past midnight. “Nope. I can honestly say I haven’t seen anyone by the name of Stanton today. Sorry.” He wasn’t really sorry, but felt it would help get Bradford Sterling the third off the phone faster if he pretended he was.

“I see. Sorry to bother you so late.” There was a click on the other end of the line.

“Uh-huh.” Clay pushed the button to hang up. Midnight here meant that it was two in the morning on the East Coast. Bradford really had a bug up his ass to be calling local numbers out here in the middle of the night. Clay hoped it wasn’t a true emergency like some sick or hurt family member.

He made a note to contact one or both of the Stanton cousins tomorrow. There was a farewell brunch planned. He didn’t know when Olivia or Laurel planned to leave for good, or if they’d be in attendance, but he’d make a point to find a way to let them know Bradford had been looking for them both.

If Bradford had gone to the trouble of tracing the cell call without cause, which was usually difficult, if not illegal, for the average citizen anyway, they should be made aware. It might be prudent for them to leave early so as not to be surprised by a local private investigator popping up at an inconvenient time or place.

Although, Clay did his best to thwart anyone he ever found on the DRMC property.

Chapter Ten

“I’m glad you’re going with us to the brunch,” Wade turned to her and said as he drove the three of them to the DRMC property in his big, fancy pickup truck.

She smiled. “Me too. And besides, my flight isn’t until later on.”

Wade’s mouth opened suddenly and then closed. He shook his head and put his gaze out the front windshield. He likely wanted to ask her where she was going. But she’d been very careful to keep her destination a secret. She’d also failed to reveal her last name, or even the state she lived in. It had been difficult, but she knew it was best.

Dalton was seated on her right. He held her hand and squeezed it quickly before bringing her fingers to his lips for a kiss.

Olivia had woken up early the morning after the decadent Stadium event with a smile on her face and a song in her heart. This trip had been a great idea. She owed Laurel a huge debt of gratitude. Her life would never be the same. She would have an amazing memory to carry with her from this day forward. Now she knew what
some
extraordinary men were capable of in bed. Her previous sexual experiences had never been as satisfying or as memorable as a single weekend with Dalton and Wade.

After the two rounds of amazing double-penetration sex last night, the three of them had retreated back to the local hotel and the fantasy room housing the platform bed.

Dalton and Wade had offered to take her to their private home at their ranch, but Olivia didn’t want to get any further attached to them than she already was. If she saw where they lived, it would pull her further into a sincere desire to stay behind that she refused to even acknowledge. Her libido was definitely at war with the practical part of her mind.

Each of them had made it clear they didn’t want this weekend to be the last time they saw each other. However, Olivia didn’t want to bring this life back East with her. It would complicate too many things in her world. Perhaps now she had a better appreciation for powerful men who tried to keep secret love affairs on the side.

While she didn’t have a husband, boyfriend, or significant other at home, after being with these two unexpectedly amazing men, Olivia certainly understood the lure of meeting secretly for illicit sex.

Wade turned into the driveway at the same place where they’d had the luncheon yesterday.

“I think we’re eating at the old bunk house,” Dalton remarked as Wade wheeled the truck through the now open area that only yesterday had held several open air canopy tents centered over picnic tables sporting red, checkered tablecloths.

They pulled up to a single-story, wooden building a little ways from the farmhouse. Directly inside the door, the scent of bacon, coffee, and other wonderful breakfast aromas commanded her attention. Olivia also took note of the large room filled with table and chairs. A well-stocked brunch buffet waited along the right side of the room.

Before she took a second step inside the room, Olivia saw Laurel speaking to the tall security man for the club. When she entered through the door, they had both turned in her direction. Laurel had a very anxious expression on her face. She waved Olivia over. Since Laurel rarely worried about anything, Olivia became concerned. “Be right back,” she said to her men.

Quickly walking over, Olivia asked, “What’s wrong?”

“Clay was just telling me that Bradford called here last night.”

“What?”
Crap
. “How could he possibly know we’re here?” Panic engulfed her entire being.

Bradford was Laurel’s older brother. As the only male heir of their generation, he had made it perfectly clear, albeit in subtle ways, that he wanted to share control of the family business. Or, more likely, he wanted to run the entire show himself.

Luckily, her grandfather disagreed.

Bradford may have changed his ways in the last couple of years, but after more than a decade of living like a wastrel, Olivia didn’t plan to let him run the family business into the ground like he had his own personal finances.

Clay responded, “I don’t think he knew who he was calling. He mentioned that he traced a cell phone call to the area. I suspect he was cold-calling local numbers in the area hoping to get lucky. I promise I didn’t tell him anything. But I thought you should know that he named both of you. He wanted to talk to either of you urgently.”

“I can’t believe he traced my cell phone. Isn’t that illegal?” Laurel asked.

Clay smiled and shrugged. “That depends on who he got to do it. Could be legit if he used a private investigator or has a friend in law enforcement. But likely not.”

Olivia sucked in a breath. “Do you think something happened to Grandfather?”

Laurel shook her head. “No. I think he’s just mad that we disappeared without consulting him. When I turned my phone on this morning, there were eleven messages from him. But none of them had any urgent reason for why I need to call back. He just wanted to know where the two of us were. Nosy bastard.”

“Maybe we should go back early.” Olivia didn’t really want to leave yet. She contemplated possibly taking a late flight back so she could spend the afternoon with Dalton and Wade.

“We can if you want.” Laurel didn’t look to happy about it. “But I hate to let him force our plans to change.”

“What had you intended to tell Bradford about where we were when you got home?”

Laurel grinned. “That we were at a private spa for the weekend. I’ll just mention the words ‘Brazilian butt wax’ or possibly ‘extreme bikini wax’ and either one of those phrases should shut him up.”

Clay half groaned and half laughed. “That would do it for me. Trust me, I’d walk away in a hurry. Speaking of walking away, I think I’ll take my cue and go now.”

“Thanks for letting us know about the call, Clay,” Olivia said.

“No problem. If you need a secure ride to the airport, let me know. I can make that happen.”

Laurel grabbed her arm as they walked toward the tables and said, “I was actually thinking of staying for a couple more days. The two guys I was with this weekend are participating in a rodeo in the coming week.”

“You’re making me go back alone? What should I tell Bradford about why you stayed?” Olivia didn’t relish facing Bradford alone.

“I don’t know. You can always refuse to tell him anything. It isn’t any of his business where we were or what we were doing.”

“True. But you know he’s like a terrier with a bone when he thinks a secret is being kept from him. He won’t stop gnawing until he’s scraped the entire outer layer to extract all possible flavor. Or secrets, as the case may be.”

“Tell him we were at the spa and that I found a man I liked and stayed behind. It’s sort of the truth, and best of all, he won’t have any problem believing it.”

Olivia sighed. “Fine.”

“What’s wrong?”

Olivia said, “Maybe I don’t want to leave, either. Maybe I’d like to be footloose and fancy-free for once.”

“Staid and stuffy Olivia wants to continue kicking up her heels with two men? That can’t be true. I barely believe you came with me as it is.”

Olivia laughed. “Well, you’ve opened my eyes to a whole new lifestyle.” She sent her gaze to Dalton and Wade. They were talking to the two men Laurel had been with. “I almost wish I didn’t have a big family company counting on me to rescue it from antiquity.”