Her Three Liberators [The Hot Millionaires #6] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting)

by Zara Chase

  “Sounds like he deserved it,” Harry said.

  “When Uncle Jack died, Richard received a real wake-up call. He assumed he’d inherit everything, but that wasn’t the case. I’d loaned the money my parents left for me in trust to Uncle Jack several years previously so the stud could expand. I assumed Richard knew that but it seemed he didn’t. I offered to take Marius and leave him with everything else, but he didn’t want it that way. I think he realized how valuable I’d become to the stud and he wanted me to stay.”

  “The bastard wanted to have his cake and eat it, too,” Harry said on a growl.

  “Something like that. Anyway, I knew I couldn’t stay and Richard was too arrogant to back down. He said in that case he’d have to sell Marius, assuming that I’d cave in and stay rather than see the horse go.”

  “But Daniel bought him and you got to stay with the horse,” Harry said with an engaging smile. “You won.”

  “I took no pleasure in getting the better of him, if that’s what you mean. The stud had to be wound up after Marius went.” Steffi sighed. “Richard had sold his prime asset and could no longer compete. Besides, his heart wasn’t in it, and he kind of drifted into playing poker for a time, blaming me for the downturn in his circumstances.”

  “So how is he putting potential clients off on this side of the pond?” Jonny asked.

  “I’ve no idea. He has no contacts here, which is why it never occurred to me that it could be him. How would he know which mares Marius was due to cover?”

  “Technology,” Harry said. “I’m betting he’s hacked into the stud’s systems somehow.”

  “He wouldn’t know how.” Steffi shook her head emphatically. “He’s not clever enough.”

  “Perhaps not, but there are plenty of people for hire who are.”

  “I never thought of that.” Steffi plucked at her lower lip. “I suppose it’s possible. I can’t think of anyone else with a grudge to bear. I kinda thought it might have been one of Daniel’s business rivals.”

  “Unlikely.”

  “I’m gonna head back and see if I can trace the hacker, if he exists,” Harry said, the light in his eye indicating that he relished the challenge.

  Jonny’s cell phone rang. He pulled it from his pocket and had a brief conversation, obviously with Daniel.

  “I’m needed in the meeting with the lawyers,” he said to Harry. “I’ll come back with you.”

  Before Steffi could say that she’d come, too, both men had mounted up and cantered away. She was left alone with Brad, his hand still resting possessively on her shoulder.

  Chapter Six

  “We ought to get back as well.”

  Steffi tried to stand up, but both of Brad’s hands were now on her shoulders, not exerting any pressure but preventing her from moving without making it into some kind of big deal. She didn’t try to fight him off, instead subsiding back into her place against the rock.

  “What’s the rush?”

  “Daniel might need me.”

  “Daniel’s with his lawyers and Jonny. Besides, he has plenty of people to look after him.”

  “Even so.”

  She glanced over her shoulder at him, her face clouded with uncertainty. Brad suspected that she was experiencing insecurities about her position at Porlock and needed to feel…well, needed. That was hardly surprising given Daniel’s condition and the problems with Marius, to say nothing of the arrival of the three of them. He’d been told more than once that they could be pretty intimidating when they hunted as a pack. He’d be the first to admit that they were so comfortable with one another that they could come across as overpowering. They had never felt any need to compete for Daniel’s attention because he treated them equally. He had encouraged each of them to aspire to perfection in whatever they undertook, imbuing them with the confidence to succeed.

  Brad was perfectly willing to put that facet of his makeup to good use and overpower Ms. Darwin with a campaign of coercive charm. But he needed to gain her trust first.

  “Relax, sweetheart. Your shoulders have got more knots in them than a maritime museum.”

  He sank his fingers firmly into her flesh and kneaded. She resisted him at first and he could tell she was poised for flight. Brad hadn’t believed Jonny when he ruefully admitted that he hadn’t gotten far with her the night before. He and Harry had laughed themselves silly over their sophisticated brother’s rare lapse, both convinced that they’d be more successful.

  He should have known better. Jonny was usually right about most things, and already Brad could tell that he’d been spot-on when he said she needed careful nurturing. Daniel, the wily old fox, must have picked up on her deep-seated inhibitions, too, accounting for his bizarre requirement for them to seduce her. Something or someone had screwed with her head, and she was now unwilling to place her faith in any human being, preferring the company of equines. As Jonny had so succinctly put it, it would be easy for three men with their experience to win her round. Maybe so, but Brad didn’t just want her body. He wanted her complete trust. For some obscure reason over which he had no control, it was vitally important to him.

  He wondered what the hell was wrong with him. “Love ’em and leave ’em” had always been his mantra. He hadn’t found a woman yet whom he was prepared to lose any sleep over. He tried to tell himself that situation had only changed because it was so important to Daniel, but knew he was deluding himself. He and Harry had laughed when Jonny had said there was something about her that made it worth going that extra mile for. Two minutes alone with her and already Brad agreed with him. She was feisty, intelligent, and cared deeply about Daniel—attributes which Brad admired. She was also totally unaware of her sensuality, which appealed to Brad because it made her so different from the self-obsessed women he usually mixed with. Vulnerability clung to her like a cloak, filling Brad with a fierce determination to protect her, no matter what. He was drawn to her like a magnet, and was astonished to discover that far from running for the hills in an effort to escape anything smacking of commitment, he was perfectly content with that situation. It felt absolutely right.

  Steffi groaned as he dug his fingers into a particularly knotty area. “Hmm, that feels good.” She rolled her head in circles, eyes closed, her breath expelled in short, appreciative gasps. “Where did you learn to do that?”

  Brad chuckled. “Trust me, babe, you don’t want to know.”

  She muttered something unintelligible. Brad thought he caught the words arrogant and egotistical in there somewhere, which made him smile. Apparently, she’d accused Jonny of being arrogant, and it seemed she’d already categorized Brad right there alongside him.

  “Jonny tells me that you don’t want to play with us,” Brad said softly.

  Her eyes flew open. She’d kind of slid down the rock she’d been leaning against, placing half her weight on his thigh as he sat beside her and massaged those slender shoulders of hers. She now jerked upright so fast that her elbow landed in his groin.

  “Ouch! Shit, that hurt.”

  “Sorry,” she said sweetly. “Hope I didn’t damage anything important.”

  Brad had thought her gesture was reflective—an accident. Her innocent expression made him wonder and increased his interest in her. She might have ghosts that needed exorcising, but she sure as hell had spirit, too.

  “Kiss it better and I’ll forgive you.”

  “Not a chance.”

  He replaced one of his hands on her shoulder and grinned at her. “Care to take a bet on that?”

  “You’re as bad as your brother.” She tossed her head. “No, the three of you are as bad as each other. You think that you’re invincible and that all women will collapse in a grateful heap at your feet the moment you deign to look at them.”

  “Not our feet, exactly.”

  “Oh, for God’s sake!”

  She tried to shake his hand off and stand up, but Brad wasn’t ready to let her go.

  “What are you afraid of, Steffi?” he
asked softly, running the fingers of his other hand gently down the side of her face and looking intently into her eyes. “We don’t bite. Well…that’s not strictly true, but we won’t do anything you won’t enjoy.”

  “Too right you won’t because I refuse to be your latest plaything. I realize you don’t like to refuse Daniel anything and that you’re stuck at Porlock with no other form of entertainment.” She glowered at him. “Get over yourself.”

  The haunted look in her eye socked Brad in the gut with far greater force than her elbow had just managed. He’d do just about anything to get to the bottom of her insecurities and make her feel better about herself, including not laying a finger on her if it absolutely came to it. Hopefully, such drastic self-restraint wouldn’t become necessary.

  “Who is he?” he asked, running one finger along her upper lip and slipping its tip into her mouth.

  “Who’s who?” She tapped his finger away from her face like a bothersome fly.

  “The bastard who hurt you so badly that you’re afraid to let anyone else get close?”

  “You see,” she said, finally struggling to her feet and swirling to face him. “You’re doing it again. Just because I don’t fall into your arms, there has to be some tragedy in my life that’s turned me off men for good.”

  He was still sprawled on the ground and felt at a disadvantage, having her towering over him as she protested a little too vehemently.

  “I didn’t say that.” He stood as well, the calmness of his tone appearing to take the edge off her anger.

  “Perhaps I prefer women,” she said with a playful smile that drew his attention to her highly kissable lips and kept it there.

  “No, you don’t.”

  “What makes you so sure? I know you’re a self-appointed expert on women in general, but even you—”

  “This,” he said, provoked beyond his admittedly limited endurance.

  Before she had time to assess his intentions, he pulled her into his arms and held her there. The feel of her soft breasts pressed against the hard planes of his chest sent his mind on a sensual detour. He squashed the various options that swamped his brain. Acting out his impulses with this skittish, contrary, highly desirable female was out of the question. If he scared her off, his brothers would never forgive him. They were all up for the challenge of bringing her to heel, and that achievement required deviation from their usual methods. Guile, making Ms. Darwin aware of her sensuous nature and what she was missing out on by suppressing it, was the order of the day.

  He heard the air leave her lungs in an extravagant whoosh as her body collided with his and actually felt a fine tremor run through her as he held her against him. The next move was hers. He’d caught her by surprise, but, gratifyingly, she didn’t put up a fight. Her eyes flared, wide and wary, but there was curiosity in them, right along with the swirling passion that turned them the colour of burnished amber. Something changed inside Brad as he held both her body and her gaze captive. Hell if he knew what it was because he’d never experienced anything remotely like it before. All he knew was that if he didn’t at least manage to kiss her without scaring her off, then he’d give up women for good.

  He dropped his head and bestowed an experimental, teasingly light kiss on her lips. The shudders passing through her body intensified and her eyes fluttered to a close. Taking that for a green light, he moved in for the kill. His lips firmed against hers, practised and persuasive. She shifted against him, causing renewed agony to his genitalia that had nothing to do with an elbow to the scrotum. He continued to tickle the corner of her mouth with his tongue, waiting to see how she would react. Her arms wormed their way round his neck and euphoria streaked through him when her lips parted and she started to kiss him back like she meant business. Brad’s tongue, velvety and sensuous, commenced a journey of discovery inside her mouth, savouring the heat of it. His hands roamed possessively as he did so, holding her firmly against his erection as he rubbed it against her gut.

  Steffi was a full participant in that kiss, enjoying it every bit as much as he was, but if he didn’t stop it now, then he wouldn’t be able to hold back. She wasn’t ready for more. Besides, the three of them had decided that a little gentle persuasion was permitted but she had to be the one to come to them when she was ready for the full deal.

  Brad tore his lips from hers and released his iron hold on her body. She almost stumbled without his support and he quickly grabbed her arm before she fell.

  “That’s why I know you don’t prefer women,” he said, trying not to sound as smugly satisfied as he felt.

  She looked tousled, confused, annoyed, and good enough to devour whole. Hell, he wanted her like there was no tomorrow!

  “I hope you’re satisfied,” she said, not looking at him.

  “Not nearly, but I’m working on it.”

  “It’s a good job Porlock’s so large. I shouldn’t have any trouble avoiding the three of you until you decide to leave.”

  Brad rested one shoulder against her rock and sent her a scorching gaze. “Baby, just so you know, none of us will force you into anything you don’t want to do.”

  “How kind,” she said with a sarcastic smile.

  “Even so, I guarantee that before the week’s out you’ll come to us, and if you ask nicely enough,” he said, winking at her, “we just might give you what you need.”

  She opened her mouth to speak but only managed an outraged splutter. She treated him to a blistering glower and tried again. “You really are a piece of work,” she said scathingly. “My advice is not to hold your breath.”

  She whistled to Hamlet, mounted up, and cantered away before he managed to catch his own horse. Brad watched her go, envy flowing through his veins. Envy for Hamlet, that is, because he was precisely where Brad most wanted to be—held firmly between Steffi’s toned thighs.

  * * * *

  Steffi rode back to Porlock in a towering rage, her anger directed more toward herself than Brad. She’d known as soon as the other two left them alone that he’d try it on. She’d thought she’d been ready for him and was immune to his charm. So, what did she do? Kissed him right back like a grateful virgin noticed by an attractive man for the first time. Geez, she was a screwball!

  She took Hamlet back to the yard and then slammed her way into the house without even bothering to check on Marius. That had to be a first. She had stuff to do for Daniel but didn’t want to intrude on his meeting if it was still going on or bump into any of his sons until her volatile temper had cooled.

  How could she have been such an idiot as to let Brad get under her skin? It was bad enough that she’d allowed Jonny as close as she had. She compared the two of them in her mind, looking for faults to justify her determination not to like them. Damn it, she couldn’t find a single one.

  “There must be something,” she said aloud. “No one’s that perfect.”

  Brad’s eyes were a lighter shade of blue than Jonny’s. He had vertical laughter lines at the side of his mouth and the cutest damned cleft that she’d ever seen in a man’s chin. But that was no reason to fall victim to his reptilian charm. Okay, so he was clever, he made her laugh, and didn’t take himself too seriously. None of the brothers appeared to. Had she not known that Daniel had ordered them to play with her, she might have been tempted to let herself go for once. But she did know and was damned if she’d be treated like a charity case in need of a mercy fuck.

  Even if she was.

  The internal phone in her bedroom rang. Assuming it was Daniel in need of her, she picked it up.

  “We’ve got something that might interest you,” Harry’s voice said.

  Yeah, I’ve noticed.

  “I’ll be right down.”

  She pulled a brush through her tangled hair and tied it back, noticing from her reflection that her lips looked red and swollen from Brad’s kiss.

  “Damn, that’s all I need.”

  She dabbed on a spot of lip gloss in a futile attempt to hide the evidence an
d went down to Daniel’s old office on the ground floor.

  “One crack about my swollen lips,” she muttered in a mutinous undertone, “and I’ll really let them have it.”

  Harry was camped out in front of Daniel’s computer screens. The other two brothers were also there, making it feel as though the walls of the spacious room were closing in on her. There just wasn’t enough space, even in such a huge house as this, for three such hulking, great bodies in one room. It felt as though they were putting pressure on her, even though none of them were within arm’s length.

  “Your e-mail hasn’t been hacked,” Harry said, his fingers flying over the keyboard, his gaze not leaving the screen in front of him.

  He was wearing a pair of horn-rimmed eyeglasses as he abstractedly pushed the hair away from his face, continuing to tap keys and peer at the information he brought up. Steffi had no idea eyewear could be so sexy. One point for the geeks, she thought, almost grinning at the thought.

  “Oh,” she said, when she realized all three of them were now looking directly at her, expecting her to answer. “Then what—”

  “I just spoke to the Standish household,” Jonny said, grinning at her. “Unfortunately, their lovely daughter wasn’t at home—”

  “Or wouldn’t take your call,” Brad suggested with a smug grin.

  “Can’t blame her for that,” Harry agreed.

  “My thoughts exactly,” Steffi said languidly.

  Jonny shrugged. “I spoke to the manager of the stud. I know him slightly. Anyway, the family was excited about sending their mare to Marius, but then they started to hear rumours—”

  “Rumours about what?” Steffi asked, her head shooting up defiantly. “There’s absolutely nothing wrong with Marius.”

  “They received an e-mail from an organization calling themselves The Hanoverian Society.”

  “The what?” Steffi frowned. “Never heard of them.”

  “That’s probably because they don’t seem to exist,” Harry said, pressing more keys. “They sent the e-mail to me at Jonny’s request.”