Turning to the men, Tia sniffed and grabbed a tissue from her pocket. Wiping away the tears she smiled at them, saying, “I really appreciate all this, guys, but it’s just too much. This house is way too big for just the two of us and with that kitchen in there you could be renting out for a pretty penny.”
Dan was the first to step forward and look at her with open desire on his handsome face. “Oh, baby, this house is just perfect for all of us.”
“This is our home, Tia. You and Shay are going to live here with us,” Ryder said.
Tia backed away from them with a look of absolute panic on her face. She continued until she smacked into a hard body, Sam. As she bent her head back to see him he brought his mouth down over hers. Awkward as the kiss was, it felt wonderful.
He quickly turned her in his arms and continued kissing her, his tongue demanding entrance into the warm recesses of her mouth as he enveloped her in his arms.
Pushing against Sam’s chest, Tia tried to break the away from the lips that were turning her bones to jelly. She felt Sam let her go, because there was no way that she would have been able to break the almost bear-like hold that he had on her.
“What the hell is going on here?” she squeaked, actually surprised that she could get anything out at all. “We can’t live here with the three of you! That’s insane. I’ve come here to start a new job and Simone told me that accommodations would be taken care of. She can’t have meant for me to live with her three brothers!”
Oh god, what had she gotten them into? She knew it was too good to be true. What the hell was she going to do now?
Panic started to set in as she shoved away from Sam and headed toward Shay. “Shay honey, come on, let’s go. It seems there’s been some kind of mistake.” Grabbing her daughter’s hand she looked at the three handsome men standing on the veranda with smiles on their faces.
“But, Mom, this is a great place. You love to swim and look at the size of the pool.” Her daughter was tugging on her hand, trying to get her to slow her pace.
Just as they got to the veranda, Ryder stepped in front of Tia while Dan took Shay’s hand and said with a smile and wink toward her Mom, “C’mon, honey, let me show you to your new home. It’s on the second floor and there’s lots of room for you and your mom.”
* * * *
Tia let go of her daughter’s hand, not wanting her to see how pissed she was with the triplets. And damn was she pissed. Once she knew that Shay was out of earshot, she rounded on the two remaining men. “How dare you! Who do you think you are that you can boldly bribe my daughter into going along with you?”
Tia watched as Sam leisurely walked behind her as Ryder came toward her. “We are the new men in your life, baby, so get used to it,” he said.
“I don’t fucking think so,” Tia yelled at him, jabbing her finger into his very muscular chest. “I don’t need a man in my life, let alone three! I can take care of myself and my daughter without a man’s help.”
Sam wrapped his arm around her waist from behind and nuzzled her neck, his words whispering in her ear, “We know how strong you are, sweetheart, and we aren’t looking for just a fling.”
Ryder raised his hand and stroked her cheek, smiling as he brought his lips to hers for a gentle kiss. “We want you, baby, all of you. You felt the attraction from the first time you met us. You can’t deny it. We saw it in your eyes.”
* * * *
Tia was having difficulty maintaining her anger as Sam’s hands caressed her arms and shoulders as his lips slid down along neck.
Tia couldn’t believe how quickly her body and heart were responding to the three men. She’d never felt so out of control before and it scared the shit out of her. Ryder, Sam, and Dan seemed to be able to override her common sense. One touch from any of them and her body went into complete meltdown. It was so unlike her.
Tia was always a cautious person. It had taken longer for James to convince her to marry him. But look how that turned out.
Maybe she needed to be swept off her feet like this, quickly, forcefully. No, she had a daughter to think about and a new life to build.
“It’s not possible. Shay…” She lost all thought as Ryder pulled her against his chest, lifting her by the ass so that she had to wrap her legs around him and setting her down on the nearby picnic table.
“Shay will be just fine, honey. The twins will be here in a couple of weeks so she’ll have them to hang out with as well as all the other friends that she’s gonna make. She’s a great kid and smart as a whip, so you know she’ll be fine.”
Looking into Ryder’s eyes, Tia so wanted to just grab him by the hair and ravage his mouth, among other things. Her instant desire for the three men scared the crap out of her, and living with all three of them in the same house would not be helpful.
Dragging in a ragged breath, Tia whispered, “I can’t do this, Ryder. I have a daughter to raise and a new job…” She let her voice trail off. Sam turned her head to the side so that he could look into her eyes.
* * * *
She had the most beautiful and expressive dark-blue eyes he’d ever seen. He wanted nothing more that to take her right there on the picnic table. His dominant side wanted her to submit to them and let them take care of her and Shay.
Sam had known he was dominant in the bedroom since college, but as the years went on he realized that he liked being dominant in all aspects of his life and with his woman. He’d only had one long-term Dom/sub relationship, and that had ended badly when he found out she had only been after him and his brothers because of their wealth and status. Camille was a gold digger and nothing more.
Had she not gone to the bank to try a get a huge line of credit in his name he might have settled for her and even offered marriage. When the bank manager had called him to ask him to come and sign the paperwork he had felt betrayed. How could he have been so wrong?
When he confronted her about it she laughed and said that she wasn’t really into his lifestyle at all and that she figured if she had to put up with his bullshit then she should at least be well compensated for it.
She was packed and gone in an hour.
Tia was the first woman since then that had really brought out that dominant side of him again. He wanted to wrap her and Shay in cotton and hide them away where they would never be hurt by anything ever again. He knew she was nothing like Camille. In fact, she seemed just the opposite. She was self-reliant, confident, and even after everything that bastard of a husband had put her through she still was able to trust Simone enough to give this job a chance.
“Baby girl, since the moment we laid eyes on you we have wanted you. Simone knew there was something about you that would call to us.” Sam gently moved Ryder out from between her legs and took his place.
Cupping both hands on her cheeks, he gently leaned in to kiss her. His lips tender and sweet yet just as arousing.
“Ryder, Dan, and I have always known that someday we’d find that one woman to share our lives with. It’s the way we were raised. All of us are dominant men both in and out of the bedroom, but we’re not looking for a wimpy pushover who will do our bidding. It will take an exceptionally strong woman to handle three alpha males.” He smiled as his thumbs caressed along her jawline. “We think that you’re that woman. Simone saw the strength in you right away.”
Tia’s heart was racing. With Sam and Ryder this close she was having a very hard time focusing on the things that had made her so angry to begin with. All she could think about was that Sam’s lips looked so damn kissable and that Ryder’s were as well.
Ryder caressed her back as he said, “All of us think that you and Shay will be safer here with us than on your own. At least for a while. Simone doesn’t think that your ex-husband is going to be as easy to get rid of as you think. Even though he signed his legal rights to Shay over to you, she only thinks he did it because his girlfriend pressured him to. If things don’t work out for him the way he wants them to then she thinks he’ll come look
ing for both of you. He’s the type of man that thinks that you are his property, and he won’t let go that easily.”
Sam kissed her cheek, sliding his mouth down her neck as he pushed her T-shirt aside to expose the skin at her shoulder. He continued kissing across the top of her shoulder and then back up her neck until finally resting on her lips.
Tia moaned into his mouth as his tongue stroked hers. Sam’s kiss was devastating to her senses. It threw her body into complete overload very quickly. She brought her arms up so she could spear her fingers through his soft, golden hair and hold him closer to her. She felt Ryder start to pull her T-shirt completely from her jeans, and she gasped when his hand touched her skin.
* * * *
Lifting his lips from hers, Sam was more shaken than he’d ever been by a woman. Her body responded so well to their touches, their kisses. It was like she had been made for them alone.
Yet, at the same time she pushed his control to the limits. They were Doms, for god’s sake, and not just Doms, but ones that owned a BDSM club and that prided themselves on their self-control. So much so that gave biannual seminars and classes on the lifestyle. How could this little slip of a woman almost bring him to his knees with just a kiss?
“Tia, baby, there is nothing I want more right now than to sink my cock into your tight little body but we aren’t going to rush you on this.” Sam’s breathing was heavy and labored. “We need to get you settled in upstairs and then we can talk some more, okay?”
* * * *
Just as he said that, Dan came back outside. “Shay’s upstairs playing on the Wii, so she’s all safe and sound.” He walked right over to Tia and pulled her into an embrace and kissed her deeply. Dan’s kiss wasn’t meant to be gentle like Ryder’s and Sam’s had been. His was demanding and overpowering. He wanted her body to feel in complete chaos. Stepping back, he looked into her eyes but spoke to his brothers. “So how’s our woman doing? She gonna be a good girl and do as she’s told?”
The moment the words were out of his mouth he regretted them because both his brothers groaned and Tia’s face went from relaxed to furious.
“I don’t do what anyone else tells me to do, mister.” She smiled sweetly at all of them, yet the men knew that underneath that adorable grin she was trying to figure a way out of this. “I had years of a bad marriage and have no plans on getting involved with one man, let alone three. If Simone thinks that staying here with you for a while is a good thing, then I trust her enough to go along with it. But only until I can find a secure apartment to move into. Once I do, then Shay and I will move there and be just fine on our own.” Pushing hard against all three men, she walked into the house, “Now if someone would please show me to the way to my daughter or do I have to roam through the place calling out her name until I find her?”
* * * *
They all looked at her with smirks on their gorgeous faces. She would have a hell of a fight on her hands if she thought that they would allow her to live anywhere but with them until they could check more into her ex-husband. And even then she wasn’t going to be going anywhere. They had found her, after years of hoping and waiting, they had finally found her, and she was not going to get away from them now.
“Sure, honey,” Ryder took her arm and started leading her toward the stairs. “Sam and Dan will go and finish getting the rest of your stuff from the truck and I’ll show you where you’ll be sleeping.” When they got about halfway up the staircase, he turned her toward him and with a quick, hard kiss on her lips that left her stunned he whispered, “At least where you’ll be sleeping for the time being anyway.” Leaving her to mull that thought over he walked up the stairs ahead of her with a smile that could light up the town on his face.
Tia turned to look at the two other men as they, too, walked away with shit-eating grins on their faces. Damn, these men were going to be a lot harder to ignore than she had hoped. All three of them were incredibly arrogant, pig-headed, and downright bossy but they were also sexy, kind, and could make her panties wet just by looking at her. Shit, she just hoped her job would keep her busy enough so that she wouldn’t see them around the house too much.
* * * *
Ryder took her down to the end of the long hallway. Tia was amazed at the size of the place. There had to be at least ten bedrooms. She hoped they didn’t expect her to clean the house for them. She inwardly laughed.
Opening the door at the very end he gestured for her to enter. She could hear her daughter laughing and calling someone a doofus as she went in. Tia was happy to see Shay standing in front of a huge TV monitor playing a baseball game, but not so happy at the strange men that sat on opposite chairs playing with her.
Shay looked over when she heard the door open and ran toward her. “Mom, these guys have no idea how to play Mario baseball. They think it’s just like regular, but they weren’t prepared for all the special pitches I can throw at them. And do you see the size of that TV?” She quickly ran back, picked up the controller, and restarted the game.
“Ryder, who are those men with my daughter?” she asked. She knew that she should’ve been more upset seeing her young daughter playing videos alone with two men but she knew from the bottom of her soul that the triplets would never put Shay’s life in danger, in any way, shape, or form. She trusted them in that at least.
Pulling her back against his body, he leaned down and whispered in her ear, “That is Jacob and Teaghen Evans, and they work for us. They are Shay’s bodyguards until further notice. And when we’re not around they are your bodyguards as well.”
“I don’t need a bodyguard, Ryder. James is a thousand miles away and he’s washed his hands of us,” she protested.
“That may be, baby, but until my brothers and I have a chance to check a couple of things out you both are going to have some protection. Now come and meet the boys so that you don’t scare them with that mean look on your face.” He laughed, and with his hands on her hips he moved her toward the two men.
“Jake, T-bone…I’d like you to meet Tia, Shay’s mom. She doesn’t think that having you around is necessary, so you’re going to have to keep a close eye on her when at least one of us isn’t with her. She might try to give you the slip or something.” He laughed and kissed her cheek as she swatted at him.
“Happy to meet you, Tia,” Jake said as he stood to shake her hand. Stunned at the sheer size of the man, she was openly gawking at him until Teaghen stepped up and took her other hand. He was only slightly smaller in stature than Jake. Both men were drop-dead gorgeous and they knew it.
“Don’t you worry about a thing, pretty lady,” Teaghen drawled. “We’ll take real good care of you and your little one. We know how precious you are to the triplets, so we’ll be watching you real close like.”
Ryder cleared his throat and glared at the two men. They both quickly dropped her hands and sat back down to play the game.
“Mom, these guys are my bodyguards. Can you believe it?” She smiled. “I feel like a princess.”
Ryder bent down and kissed the top of her head. “You are our princess, sugar, and your momma’s our queen and we protect what belongs to us.” Tia couldn’t remember the last time she’d seen Shay smile so big and seem so carefree.
“I like the sound of belonging to you, Sam, and Dan.” Shay smiled shyly.
* * * *
Out of the mouths of babes was all Ryder could think when he smiled back at her.
Sam and Dan brought up the rest of the suitcases and set them in Tia’s bedroom. Ryder wondered what she was going to say when she saw the bed. He knew that both Sam and Dan waited anxiously in the bedroom for them.
Leaving Shay with Jacob and T-bone, Ryder took her hand and led her toward the bedroom, “C’mon. I want to show you something.”
Sam’s and Dan’s voices could be heard clearly as they entered the bedroom. Tia stopped so quickly that Ryder almost tripped over her. By the look on her face he could see that she was gazing at the two men standing by the beau
tiful rock-faced fireplace. The room was massive. She must have realized that she was still holding Ryder’s hand because she quickly let go and moved farther into the room. Watching Tia’s eyes blink repeatedly, all three brothers couldn’t help but smile at as she stood, mouth agape, staring at what was probably the largest bed she’d ever seen. “Oh, no way, guys,” she said. “This is way too much. The bed alone could sleep all of us.” Stopping suddenly when she realized what she had just said, she tried to ignore it knowing that, from the feel of her face, she was blushing like a schoolgirl.
“See guys I knew she was a very smart lady!” Sam smiled, walking toward her slowly. “Yes, baby, the bed is meant for all of us when you’re ready, you, me, Ryder, and Dan. We knew the first time we met you that you would be perfect for us. We can wait for as long as you need…I hope!”
“I told you all I can’t do that. I have Shay to think about, and I don’t want her getting attached to all three of you and then when you get tired of us she gets hurt. I just can’t do that to her. She’s been through way too much already. She’s already starting to get attached to you and we’ve only just arrived.”
* * * *
They all came to stand around her, close but not touching. They looked down at her as if she was the most precious thing in the world to them and that both frightened and excited her.
“Baby, when you’re ready to trust us we’ll be here. A child like Shay instinctually knows who to trust and who not to. That’s why she is so relaxed with us.” Ryder turned to see Dan nodding his head in agreement.
“Shay knows that we would all die before seeing either of you hurt. And she can feel how much we adore you and want to protect you both.” Dan seemed to be a man of few words, but when he spoke he said a mouthful.
Bailey, Debbie - For Tia's Pleasure [Men of Kinsey 2] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) Page 4