Back at the Ranch

by Em Ashcroft

  * * * *

  Renaud pulled out first. Thea felt it like a loss, but then Blade gently but firmly lifted her off him and tucked her into his side. To her surprise, she discovered her cheeks were wet. Smiling at her, Blade kissed first one eyelid, then the other, and drew his thumbs under them, clearing her vision.

  “Oh my God.”

  “Yeah.” Behind her, Renaud snuggled in, curving his arm around her waist and cupping one of her breasts. “Thank you, bébé, for the most mind-blowing experience of my life.”

  Blade kissed her, closing his eyes, softly caressing her lips with his before drawing back. “Stay with us.”

  For a minute, she thought he meant…forever. But Blade had been insistent on the completion date to their fun. A shame they only had two more days, but they could do a lot in two days. No, less than that. This was Sunday, already. Did he want a long-term relationship?

  “There’s no need for you to rush off on Tuesday, is there? And we still need to get the mess of the wedding sorted out. We can’t stop this now.”

  She could have sworn that Renaud muttered, “Or ever,” but she couldn’t be sure she’d heard right because his lips were resting against her neck.

  “I’ll have a lot to sort out at home,” she said, but she had to admit that what they said made sense.

  “I’ll come with you,” Renaud said. “You’re going to need our help, and I’m going to need you.”

  Need? Really? She snorted weakly. “You two are sexy shape-shifters with your pick of all the bridesmaids that swan into this place. I can’t see that you’ll want me to stick around for much longer. Come on, let’s be sensible about this.” Sensible? With the two sexiest men she’d ever met wrapped around her like a second skin?

  “Think about it,” Blade said. “I’m not done here. Neither are you.”

  In a convulsive move, Renaud rolled over and swept back the sheets. “Too fucking right we’re not done. I’ll go pour a bath. I’ll call you when it’s ready. Any preferences for bath oil?”

  Chapter Ten

  Pampered, caressed, and having slept far too long, Thea found herself alone the next morning, but that was okay. The two men had left for work, each kissing her and telling her to stay in bed and rest. She was to ring down when she wanted to eat, under strict orders not to do a thing for herself.

  They’d bathed her carefully, ensuring their lovemaking wouldn’t make her sore. She’d expected that it would, but she felt fine when she stretched and sat up to see what the view from the broad windows looked like.

  Renaud had assured her the glass was one-way, so she felt safe to let the covers fall from her body. She wouldn’t have noticed after her first look.

  Green fields stretched in all directions, a few early bluebonnets making dots of blue. Soon they’d drift over the landscape, as Texan as sweet tea. Trees stood proud, and beyond them, the mountains reared in glorious blue-purple. The sky was blue, fluffy clouds drifting lazily across it. The perfect landscape to start a perfect day. Well, nearly perfect. She still had to worry about Chester, but she was determined he wasn’t going to ruin her mood. Not today.

  They’d set everything in motion. They couldn’t do any more until Chester was apprehended. She couldn’t get in touch with the bank until Monday, but she’d done what she could online, and she’d call them first thing tomorrow.

  Which gave her today.

  Wow. Last night she’d experienced something she’d never even dreamed would happen to her. When Blade had asked her to be brave, it hadn’t taken much courage. The men had supported her, told her how wonderful she was, and shown her a new world. She hadn’t realized such highs existed. They’d taken her to the stars last night and then treated her like a princess. Anyone would think they weren’t the injured parties in all this.

  And that fucking. To have both men inside her at the same time—nothing was that good. They’d spoiled her for other men. She’d never have that kind of experience again. She stroked her hands over the sheets, where Blade and Renaud had slept, holding her, their bodies always in contact.

  She got another shock when she glanced at the clock. Fuck, it was noon. She never slept that late. But if she’d ever had reason to, it was last night.

  As she sat up, the door opened and Blade came in. He came straight over to the bed, took her in his arms, and kissed her. He was dressed for business, a black suit and pale blue shirt with a darker blue tie. “Gotta go, baby, but not for long.”

  “Oh. I guess I should be getting back downstairs.”

  He grinned. “Don’t worry, we’re not going far. Renaud’s holding the fort, but we have another wedding today. Much quieter than yours, but the guests are pretty damn impressive, so we need to put in an appearance.”

  “That’s fast. Don’t you give your staff time off?” After a big affair, her staff could always expect a day off, to compensate for their work. Or at least, they used to. She had no idea if she had a business to go back to. No, she couldn’t think like that. Defeatism had no place in her life.

  “Usually, yes, but this was arranged fast, and it’s not an offer we can turn down.” Leaning close, he whispered the names of the bride and groom in her ear.

  Her eyes widened, and she blinked. “Wow.”

  “We’ve set another suite aside for the ceremony and the celebrations. They’ve asked for the utmost discretion.”

  And the guys were trusting her to keep their secret? For all they knew, she could call the press now and let them know what was going on. She could probably go a long way to restoring her company with the money she’d get for the scoop.

  “Are they leaving after?”

  He nodded. “Sorry, sweetheart, you can’t get to meet them.”

  A shocked laugh burst out of her. “I wouldn’t know what to say. I’ve met a few famous people, but not like that. And they chose Goldclaw Ranch?”

  “Uh-huh. But we can’t tell anybody until they do. That’s the deal. Once they come clean and announce it, then we can. They want a honeymoon first.”

  That sounded reasonable. But it gave her time to get the news out. Not that she would do that. “I won’t tell anyone.”

  “I know.” He kissed her again. “Can I have your things moved up here?”

  Cautiously she nodded. “Until Tuesday.”

  “Sure,” he said easily. “But we both want you here until then.” Straightening, he strolled to the door. “Gotta go. There’s a key card for you on the nightstand, and you remember the code, don’t you?”

  “Yes. Thanks.” Considering how they guarded their privacy, she was taken aback by the casual way he gave her a key. When they’d come in yesterday, Blade had made no secret of the code he punched into the little keyboard by the door. Of course they could change it every week, for all she knew.

  Their trust warmed her, and she valued her time with them even more. Maybe they could continue something, at that. She wanted to carry on dealing with the ranch, sending customers their way, so she might even be back. If, that was, she could get the company moving again.

  If not, she had her first dream to fall back on. Going back to university and getting a doctorate in library science and archive work. She’d had that dream for so long she’d gotten used to it being just that—a dream. She had her undergraduate degree, and before her sister had asked for her help in the business, she’d planned to go on to the doctoral course.

  Every move had taken her further away from her dream, except for her nest egg. She’d scrimped and saved, and now she had thirty thousand dollars put aside in her personal bank account. So close. Her dream was to finance her degree, maybe get a scholarship to boost it, and survive on what she had saved.

  During her first degree, she’d worked two jobs. The effort of that, and working hard at her grades, had nearly killed her, but when she came out with first class honors, it had all been worthwhile.

  By the time she’d showered and dressed, the rest of her luggage had arrived. The housekeeper, who had come in to c
lean up, commented on the lack of cases. “Once I got rid of the evil bridesmaid dress,” she said, smiling, “I had an amazing amount of space. I didn’t bring much else.”

  “The bride brought a ton of stuff,” the woman said, shoving a strand of her gray hair back in the bun at the back of her head. She was dressed for work today, in neat navy slacks and a matching T-shirt, but her figure was good, and the gray hair was on purpose, not by accident. It looked great on her.

  “Oh, she’s going on her honeymoon tomorrow.” Thea halted. What would her sister do about that? She didn’t have a groom any more, and she’d surely want to be on hand in case the groom showed up. Or they brought him back. She’d call her, once her phone had charged up. So eager to get to bed last night, she hadn’t done her usual nighttime routines, and as a result, her phone was dead this morning. No matter, the housekeeper had brought her laptop case, which had all the chargers, so she could plug everything in and get to work.

  The first thing she wanted to do was transfer the money Renaud had lent her for the dresses at Renata’s. She really wanted to pay that back, and a couple of hundred bucks wouldn’t make much of a dent in her savings.

  While the housekeeper got on with her work, Thea made coffee then took that and a couple of slices of toast into the living area, where she set up her laptop.

  Propping her feet on the big squishy footstool, she got to work. She’d check the business account then do the money transfer. She didn’t know Renaud’s personal account number, but if she put it in the main account with a note of what it was, he could pick it up from there.

  She bit into the toast and chewed as she lifted the computer onto her lap and logged on.

  A few minutes later, she was into her bank account and staring, bug-eyed in horror.

  With a shaking hand, she clicked Refresh, but that made no difference. Tears started in her eyes.

  The door clicked as someone came in. Renaud had returned. Gazing at her in horror, he headed toward her, grabbing a box of tissues on the way. “What’s wrong?”

  “It’s gone.”

  “What’s gone?”

  “My money! There’s nothing left in my account—my private account.” Staring at the page, she scrolled down and then back up, but she knew it was useless. She’d done that several times already. Then refreshed, logged out of her bank account and back in again. None of it had made any difference.

  “I’m overdrawn five thousand dollars. I don’t understand, I’ve been so careful. I was saving to go back to school.” Before she could babble, she clamped her mouth shut.

  Nudging her over, he occupied half the chair she sat on. “The first thing you have to do is cancel everything and tell the bank what’s happened. Do you have the cards associated with the account?”

  Handing him the laptop, she bent down. Instead of groping in her purse, Thea tipped it out on the floor, finding her wallet. She handed him her cards. Her hands were shaking.

  Renaud got on his phone, dialing the emergency contact number on the card.

  “My checkbook is in the safe in our room.” She glanced at the horrific balance on the screen. She’d never seen so much red.

  Silently, Renaud handed her his phone.

  Ten minutes later, she gave it back to him. “They said they’d look into it.”

  “They’ll do more than that.” Renaud dialed another number. “Hey, Blade? How are things going?” Putting the phone on speaker, he laid it on the table.

  “The ceremony’s starting in thirty minutes. Where are you? You should be here.”

  “Thea’s personal bank account has been cleaned out. She’s talked to the bank and put a freeze on it, but they’re not being helpful. I’ll talk to them.”

  Her mind had begun to work again. She’d trusted Chester, fool that she was. She didn’t go into that account often. He could have stolen her cards, had them cloned, even added his phone once he’d broken in. Maybe just used her laptop to gain access.

  Did that mean the bank would say she was negligent?

  “You’ve got to go,” Thea said. “We can’t do anything else here.”

  “Oh yes we can.” He took her shaking hands. “I don’t want to leave you here. Come downstairs with me.”

  How could she do that? In jeans and a top? “I’d spoil the pictures.”

  “But I don’t want you on your own. How long will it take you to get ready?”

  “For a royal wedding?” She gave a harsh laugh.

  Putting the laptop aside, he pulled her to her feet. “Come on.”

  Numbly, she followed him upstairs, back to his bedroom. “Here.” Opening his closet, he revealed the dresses she’d bought at Renata’s. In her shock she’d almost forgotten them.

  “They need to go back. I can’t pay for them.”

  “Fuck that,” he said roughly. He pulled the first dress off the rail. “This would work.”

  As she took it from him, she sighed. The gown had a white underdress that fitted close to her body, with a silk gauze overdress printed in shades of blue and green, which floated around her. It reached to just above her knees. And she could wear the shoes she’d had at the ball.

  But could she do this? Simple makeup, brush her hair, maybe oil it a little to make it shine, and she could make it work. One part of her mind couldn’t believe she was thinking this. The other was taken aback by the opportunity.

  Whereas her lover—one of her lovers—was standing next to her, hands on hips, his jacket roughly pushed back. “Either you get ready and come with me, or neither of us makes an appearance. Your choice.”

  That left her no choice at all. She couldn’t let him upset the VIPs by not turning up at the wedding. As she knew, word would get around and they’d lose business. She couldn’t let them do that.

  After making her promise she’d get ready, Renaud left her to make his phone calls.

  Half an hour later, almost to the second, she found herself walking into a suite of rooms that was as discreet as her sister’s non-wedding had been blatant and out-there.

  Shame filled her, realizing that this was what they should have done. Bouquets of flowers were positioned at the end of each row of chairs, in the room set out as a chapel. A priest stood at the end before a long table draped with a pure white cloth, a crucifix, and several gleaming silver vessels set out behind him.

  While Thea had been brought up Catholic, she hadn’t attended church for a very long time. But this felt right. “It’s consecrated?” she murmured to Renaud.

  He nodded and patted her hand. “Let’s find a seat.”

  It was as if they were honored guests, not the organizers. That, as well, showed class. Everything that was missing from Ladonna’s wedding. Blade moved down two spaces to allow Thea to sit and then Renaud. He took her hand and held it tightly. The chapel was packed, but as they sat, the lighting changed and the hum of soft conversation fell away, so she had no time to talk to him.

  The bride walked up the aisle on the arm of her father. She wore a stunningly beautiful white gown, and her veil covered her face, but not her happiness. Her tiara was undoubtedly real diamonds, as was the necklace discreetly twinkling around her neck. Her blonde hair was curled carefully behind her head.

  For a brief moment Thea imagined herself there, dressed in a lovely gown, walking with sheer happiness to marry the man she loved.

  Pardon, the men. Now Thea understood the need for discretion.

  As the bride approached the altar, two men gazed at her, their hearts in their eyes. She knew who they were, of course. What she hadn’t realized was that the prince and his best friend were shape-shifters. When Renaud had told her, he’d only mentioned the prince, not his breed partner. In his position, the prince had to be careful. Politics in his country were at a critical level. But the heart knew what it needed, and his, obviously, needed this woman and his breed partner.

  While she admired such a bold move, she didn’t know if she could do it. Would she risk her future for the men who sat on eith
er side of her?

  Yes.

  Oh fuck, that couldn’t be true. She wouldn’t, wasn’t falling in love, was she?

  Oh yes she was.

  She’d never forget them. Despite the troubles she’d suffered, she had something good to take home with her. Even if it was only a memory.

  The wedding, simple and heartfelt, brought her to tears. The way the men looked at the lady between them set up such a longing inside her she had to push it away hastily in case the men sitting on either side of her noticed. Their presences remained in her head, still and resting, but they were there. And she welcomed it, something she’d never thought she’d say.

  She’d never seen a shape-shifter wedding before, the only way two men could marry one woman legally.

  The trio held a small reception rather than a formal dinner because, or so Blade told her, they wanted to slip away quietly later that afternoon. They were honeymooning in a secret destination. Only their security detail knew. They were kind enough to ask Blade, Renaud, and Thea to attend. If not for the men, Thea would have been happy to stand at the back and watch the proceedings. But she found herself being introduced to a prince.

  Extraordinarily handsome, and today very happy, he shook her hand while she was still wondering if she should drop into a curtsy or something. “If this is the new face of your wedding business, I can promise you more custom.” While she was still blushing, he turned to Renaud and Blade. “Seriously, though, we’re very happy. We need for this to remain discreet for another month at least, and then we’ll make a public announcement.”

  “No problem,” Blade said. “When you want to leave, we have a helicopter waiting.”

  The prince lost a little of his shiny smile. “Yes. Unfortunately we can’t leave together. It will have to be the other two first to distract any paparazzi, then me, darting out with my head down. We want time to ourselves before we announce that I’m a shape-shifter and we are a married trio.” The smile returned. “After that? It’s all gravy.”

  “Your colloquial English is excellent,” Renaud remarked.