Their Brazen Bride (Bridgewater Menage Book 8)

by Vanessa Vale

  I frowned. “Oh?”

  “Two men, two days,” she replied. “You get a two day honeymoon.” Laurel tilted her head toward Olivia. “She got three.”

  “I have three husbands,” Olivia countered, a smile turning up her full lips. “As Abigail has probably already discovered, the men are a needy bunch and require equal attention.”

  “Equal fucking,” Emma added.

  My mouth fell open.

  “Oh, don’t look like that,” Emma scolded. “The babies are too little to start babbling those words and, besides, it’s true.”

  Laurel laughed. “By the blush on your cheeks, you know it’s true,” she said to me.

  I couldn’t help but smile. “Yes, it’s true.”

  “Coffee?” Emma handed the baby to Olivia then turned to the stove.

  “Please.”

  I took a seat across from the others and squirmed a little, my bottom sore from the plug. It hadn’t hurt, but I was unused to it, the stretching of it. My pussy warmed as my mind turned to my men and their ardent attentions, the promised words they’d left for me.

  Tonight.

  “Did you get a plug yet?” Emma asked. “I ask because you are wriggling in the chair like a woman who’s received perhaps too much attention from her husbands.”

  “You are much too bold,” Laurel said, gently scolding Emma. “Give her at least a week before you pull the details from her.”

  Emma gave a casual shrug. “I was mortified when they first put a plug in me. It wasn’t the first night, but when we were finally here at the ranch. They only left it in a short time, a few minutes.”

  “Only—” I bit my lip at the question that slipped from my mouth.

  Laurel’s eyes grew big. “You mean they put one in you for longer?”

  I nodded. I couldn’t help the way my cheeks heated. I squirmed again.

  Olivia reached out and patted my hand. “But you enjoyed it?”

  I nodded again. She grinned.

  “They knew that. They know you. And when they fuck you together…” She sighed.

  So did the other ladies, almost dreamily.

  “Tonight,” I blurted out. I slapped my hand over my eyes.

  Laurel spoke up. “Your men have wanted you for some time. I’m sure you’ve made them quite happy. If they take you together tonight, they’ll know you’re ready, not just your body, but your mind.”

  “Your heart,” Laurel added.

  I dropped my hand and glanced at Emma. She nodded her agreement.

  I looked down at my mug. “Yes.” What else could I say, for I agreed with them.

  “So you’ve pined for them, too?” Emma asked.

  I nodded.

  “I’d never even laid eyes on Kane and Ian before my wedding,” Emma said.

  “I knew Cross, Simon, and Rhys only a few hours. Actually,” Olivia said, then paused, “I knew Simon and Rhys for a few hours. Cross I met just before I married.”

  “I’ve wanted them since I was fourteen,” I admitted. These ladies were being forthright. I was well and truly married, so there was no reason not to share. And they would be… no, they were, my friends.

  All three of them looked at me wistfully. Laurel’s baby banged on the table with her little fist, and we laughed.

  “I think they didn’t like the competition,” Laurel added. “The man from Butte. When they heard about him, they were done waiting.”

  They married me because of imaginary competition? I couldn’t help but smile at how possessive, and possibly jealous, my men were. I stood then, eager to get to them. “They are waiting for me in the stable.”

  “Don’t you want to eat?” Olivia asked.

  I grinned at them, realizing I didn’t have to be nervous with them. They were kind and generous and open, especially about being with two men. And because of this, I said, “They’re waiting.”

  Emma waggled her eyebrows. “Have fun!”

  I heard them laughing as I walked down the hall to the front door. They were laughing at me, but I didn’t mind, for once.

  I smiled as I walked across the open field to the stables, pleased with my husbands, pleased with my new friends, pleased that I was going to tell them about Mr. Grimsby, that there would be nothing between us in our marriage. And when they claimed me together, later, when I had one man in front of me, the other behind, I’d know we were finally one.

  The large door to the stable stood open to the warm, fresh air and so I walked in then paused, letting my eyes adjust to the dark interior.

  “This is a beautiful piece of horseflesh. I do wish to purchase her.”

  The voices came from the back of the building, and I walked in that direction.

  “You’ve seemed to acquire a nice piece of flesh of your own, Landry. A very good choice for a bride. The Carr ranch almost rivals Bridgewater.”

  I didn’t recognize the voice carrying from the back pen, but I knew they spoke of me. Was the new voice someone else who lived here at Bridgewater? There was a large group, and I had yet to meet them all.

  “Yes, I’m very pleased,” Tucker replied. My heart leapt at his candid response.

  The stranger laughed. “Getting your hands on all that land is a coup. Not many would look past her face.”

  I’d started to walk toward them, but the last froze me in place. It also chilled my heart.

  “With a body like hers, you can just cover up her face as you fuck her and think about all that land.”

  “Her brother’s land is vast.” Gabe. He didn’t deny the man’s horrible words. Didn’t disagree.

  I stumbled back a step, then another.

  They married me for my brother’s ranch? They were willing to fuck me as sacrifice until they could get their hands on it?

  Oh God. I put my hand over my mouth to keep the whimper from escaping. I wanted to vomit. What had I gotten myself into? I’d been right all along. The men couldn’t see past my scar. They’d lied. That was why Tucker had fucked me from behind the first time. He’d lied. Lied!

  I shouldn’t be surprised. I’d lied to them. It was only fair they did, too. Our marriage was based on lies. Built on them. Because of this, it was so unstable. I had planned to tell them about Mr. Grimsby, to get their help with the matter. Not now. I’d rather eat a bucket of nails than tell them. Now, I’d go on my own, save Tennessee then just… go. Somewhere.

  I couldn’t go to James. He’d send me back here, to my husbands. They hadn’t physically hurt me. While he might beat up Tucker and Gabe for their thoughts, James would tell me they were better than other men. They’d wanted me for the family ranch, not me. Who was I kidding? What man didn’t want something like the Carr ranch? I was just the price the Landrys had to pay. James had tried to protect me by sending me away to school, but it had only validated what I’d known all along. No one wanted me.

  Walking as quickly and quietly as I could, I dashed out of the stable. Once out in the fresh air, I ran. My lungs started to burn from the exertion, but I didn’t care. The pain smothered the agony of my breaking heart.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  Gabe

  My anger was barely leashed. My fists squeezed tight at my sides, I glared at the man who wanted to buy one of the horses. If the meeting hadn’t been longstanding, we would have postponed. He and his pompous, nasty attitude were keeping us from Abigail.

  “While her brother’s land is vast”— I repeated through a clenched jaw—“we married Abigail Carr because we love her. Speaking of her in such a way is disrespectful to our bride.”

  Kane took a step closer to Masters, the bastard who didn’t give a fuck about anything or anyone but a quick dollar. He’d wanted our horse to stud, but there was no fucking way we’d sell the animal to him now.

  The man’s bushy eyebrows went up. I knew he was married, but I had to wonder about the woman who’d put up with him for years and years. He was in his fifties, and I had to only hope his wife had died in her sleep, peacefully. God surely had some mercy.


  “Masters, you owe these men an apology,” Kane said, his tone sharp. “And their bride.” He wasn’t going to stand by and let him attack any one of the women, even if only verbally and not in her presence. Once a Bridgewater bride, she was protected by all.

  “There’s no fucking way he’s getting anywhere near Abigail.” Tucker shook his head. He was seething. “No, I don’t want an apology. I want a piece of flesh.”

  Before any of us could even blink, Tucker was across the stall and had punched Masters, the crack of bone on bone loud in the small space. The man went down like a rock, landing in the fresh hay. The horse became skittish, but I didn’t care if Masters was trampled. It would serve him fucking right.

  Tucker stood over the man, breathing hard. With a hand to his bleeding nose, Masters looked up at him

  “That’s my wife, you asshole. Now you’re going to get up and get the fuck off Bridgewater before I kill you. As James Carr said just the other day, there’s plenty of land to bury your body.”

  Tucker stepped back and Kane hoisted Masters to his feet. Gripping his arm, he dragged him out of the pen and then pushed him down the corridor. I heard Kane murmur something to Masters, but I was too angry to hear.

  “Ian!” Kane shouted.

  “Aye?” I didn’t know where the Scot had been, but he’d joined Kane quickly.

  “Masters needs escorting off Bridgewater.”

  We were left alone in the stable with only the sound of the horse breathing hard. I walked over slowly and stroked my hand down his quivering side to calm him.

  “Feel better, Tucker?” I asked, a little jealous he got to punch that asshole.

  He chuckled as he shook his head, hands on hips. “Immensely. No wonder Abigail’s been so shy. People are such… fuck. Such assholes.”

  “She’s not alone anymore,” I told him.

  He lifted his head and looked at me. “No, she’s not. I’ll beat up the entire town if I have to.”

  “I don’t doubt it. She’s not Clara.”

  I said his sister’s name, knowing it would stir up some old anger. Our parents hadn’t married yet when she’d been alive, but I knew enough about her, how Tucker felt for her. I’d known about his anger over what happened since I was twelve.

  His shoulders stiffened. “I couldn’t protect her, but I can protect Abigail.”

  “You were ten years old. You need to let it go.” I’d said this to him for years and years, but it didn’t make any difference.

  “It’ll never happen. My father was the cruelest of all. He waited for my mother to die then sent her away. He gave her away.”

  And then he’d married my mother, free of the burden of a different child. But he’d gained me in the marriage, and I’d always sided with Tucker. We’d become instant friends, allies, and his father had become my enemy, too. I’d hated the fucker and neither of us was sad to hear he’d died a few years ago.

  Tucker turned his back on me, put his hands on the top rail of the fence surrounding the pen.

  “Fuck Masters. No one here will see Abigail harmed. She has more than us. You know that,” I assured him. “She’s safe, but we need to show her she’s perfect just the way she is.”

  Tucker took a deep breath then turned. Leaned his hip against the fence.

  “Yes. And we will enjoy showing her. Let’s get our work done so when she comes, we can pull her into the tack room. You said she liked being taken there.”

  My cock hardened at the memory. “Mmm. We might have to use some of the leather straps. Perhaps she’d like to be tied down and at our mercy.”

  Abigail

  I was used to hearing taunts and jeers. I was used to being teased. Hurt. I’d built up a wall around my heart to protect it from the cruelty to which I was accustomed. But I was surprised at how quickly Tucker and Gabe had torn that wall down, had made me think my scar meant nothing. Now, knowing how they truly felt about me hurt more than all the harsh words of the past. Combined. But I knew how to rebuild the walls. I had to do it to leave Bridgewater behind. I couldn’t survive with the pain in my heart, and I couldn’t get away without hiding my upset.

  I needed a horse; I couldn’t walk to Butte. But I couldn’t get one from the stable. There was no way I was returning to where Gabe and Tucker were. I found Ann in the vegetable garden, pulling weeds. It was quite large, big enough to supply the ranch with food for the summer as well as enough to can for meals throughout the long winter. She smiled at me from beneath her straw hat.

  “What’s the matter?” she asked, standing and coming my way.

  I took a deep breath and pasted on a smile. Either she was very perceptive or I wasn’t as good at hiding my feelings as I used to be. Two days with Tucker and Gabe and I’d lost my touch. “I’m just tired. You can imagine, I’ve been well occupied.”

  She grinned then and adjusted her hat. She hadn’t been in the kitchen with the others to hear that conversation. “Yes. I can imagine. They aren’t too hard on you, are they? I know Emma’s men are quite dominant and, while she finds pleasure under their stern commands, I doubt you do. Tucker and Gabe are being… gentle?”

  I should have blushed, but I was too upset. “I won’t be sitting comfortably,” I admitted. It was a slight exaggeration but the truth nonetheless.

  She didn’t think the answer was abnormal. Between hers and the others, I’d gotten the impression sitting comfortably was not something the ladies of Bridgewater often felt.

  “I’m almost finished. Would you like to walk with me back to my house? We can chat there out of the sun.”

  I shook my head. “No, thank you. I was… um, wondering. May I borrow your horse?” I pointed to the animal tethered in the shade of a large cottonwood tree. “I need to return to my brother’s to collect a few things.”

  Her eyebrows went up beneath her hat. “Your men will let you go alone?”

  I gave a little shrug. “They are occupied in the stable with a man who seems to want to buy a horse I will only be gone for the day. I am quite safe riding to my brother’s from here.”

  “You just said you wouldn’t be sitting comfortably. Why would you wish to ride a horse?”

  I wished she wasn’t so astute. I cocked my head. “What they’ve done so far was all in practice,” I admitted. “I’m sure you understand. I want to go while they are busy as they have… plans for me tonight.” I bit my lip. “I think tomorrow I will be even more indisposed.”

  I could only imagine how my bottom would feel after Tucker and Gabe fucked it. Although my pussy hadn’t been sore losing my virginity, I was definitely tender. But, there, I would definitely be sore. It didn’t matter now. Neither would be fucking me… in any hole.

  Ann looked away. “Yes, I understand.”

  I was sure she did. If Tucker and Gabe wanted to claim my bottom, surely all of the other women had had the same done to them. It seemed taking their bride at the same time was the ultimate act of claiming for a Bridgewater man.

  “Thank you,” I murmured, walking toward the horse. I felt poorly deceiving her, lying to her. It seemed I was getting quite skilled at it. Ann went back to her work in the garden as I collected the horse’s reins and mounted. After quick stop at the Landry house, I would be gone.

  For good.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  Tucker

  “What the fuck do you mean you don’t know where she is?” James Carr shouted, almost knocking over a kitchen chair in his anger. He was much recovered from his cold, even after a day, and his fury was ruthless. And justified. He’d entrusted his sister to our care, and we’d lost her.

  Gabe ran a hand over the back of his neck. “She left the ranch. Said she was coming here. To collect her things.”

  “Well, she sure as fuck isn’t here. I thought you were going with her to Butte,” he countered.

  “We took her to Bridgewater and married her,” I replied. For the one usually so riled, I was quite calm. At least on the outside. Within, I wasn’t angry, but afrai
d. It was like Clara disappearing all over again. Yet James wouldn’t take Abigail to an institution to hide her from the world—

  Oh shit, in a way, he had. He’d sent her to school to hide her. Not because he was ashamed, but to keep her safe.

  And, now, we’d lost her.

  “If something happened to her on the way, we would have come upon her. She knows the route, and it isn’t overlong, so I doubt she became lost. There was no sign of her, so I have to think she didn’t intend to come this way.”

  “You’ve married my sister, and now she’s run off? What the hell did you do to her?”

  I had no intention of telling him any of the things we’d done with her. He certainly didn’t need to know she’d had no maidenhead, or at least it had been torn long before we filled her with our cocks. He didn’t know we’d put a plug in her ass, that she’d loved to suck my cock. And Gabe’s.

  “We believe she overheard something upsetting,” I replied. It was the only possibility. Knowing how sensitive she was, hearing Masters speak so poorly of her would have really bothered her. Enough to ride off, though? Why didn’t she stay and let us comfort her? If she heard the man’s words, then she knew I’d beaten him up, had him tossed off the ranch.

  James just stood there, hands on hips, waiting. Seething.

  When Abigail didn’t come to the stable as we’d expected, we went to Emma’s house for lunch, thinking she’d been waylaid by the women. But when they said she’d left to meet us, after all, we had to assume she’d heard the confrontation and begun to worry. It took two hours to learn from Ann she’d taken her horse and ridden to the Carr ranch. And so we’d followed her, but she was obviously not here.

  “Well?” he asked, impatient.

  Gabe told him about the incident with Masters. James shook his head, knowing full well how much of an asshole he was. But when we mentioned how he’d spoken so poorly of Abigail, how he’d disrespected her, he did knock over the chair in his anger.