Claiming His Mountain Bride

by Madison Faye

  Julia.

  Julia who’d fallen into all three of our lives in different ways and hooked us bad.

  “We feel the same about her as you do, Luke,” Micah said. “Look, man, I know you saw her first and all, but c’mon.” He shook his head. “You can’t blame us.”

  “I know,” Luke growled, picking his glass back up and sipping it deeply. “Fuck,” he muttered.

  “This is a problem,” I nodded.

  We’d shared girls bodies before, but nothing like this. Nothing where it meant anything close to what this meant. This was different and we knew it.

  Luke glanced up at Micah, and then at me. “The other issue here is the Club. I know none of us want to talk about that little detail, but it’s unavoidable.”

  “Agreed,” Micah nodded.

  “She saw my Club tattoo the other day, I know it. She didn’t say anything, but I saw the way her eyes went wide when she did, which means she’s seen both of yours and is putting it together.”

  Almost subconsciously, my hand reached across my chest and rubbed my shoulder, where the ink I’d received upon membership to the Triple Crown Club lived.

  “Fuck it,” I shook my head, my jaw tight. “Fuck it, let her see.”

  Luke shot daggers at me with his eyes.

  “No, not a chance. We’re not bringing her to that place?”

  “And why not?” I shot back.

  “Because.”

  “Vic has a point, brother,” Micah growled. “Let her see. It’s a part of who we are, and showing her rather than letting her make her own assumptions is a better idea.”

  “She can use her imagination.”

  Micah narrowed his eyes at Luke.

  “You know you can’t keep her, Luke.”

  Luke growled into his drink.

  “We feel the same fucking way as you man,” I said quietly, meeting my friend’s eye. “How you felt, when you found out it was her we’d been with that night without you there? Well, guess fucking what, it’s what we’ve been feeling after hearing about your day with her. Look, this is why we’re here, okay? This can not change who we are as friends, that I think we can agree on.”

  Luke nodded without hesitation.

  “Absolutely. Look, I don’t want this to come between us.” He met my eye, before looking at Micah. “I just…”

  He trailed off, and the room went quiet.

  “What if she was all of ours,” Micah said in the silence. “Look, there was something there between the three of us that first night, and clearly, there’s something between you and her too.” He shrugged. “It’s not like we’ve never shared before.”

  “This is different,” I said slowly, looking at Luke. “I’ll grant that. Sharing more than just a night with a passing fancy is new territory for us. But, we’re close as brothers, and we all want the other two to be happy, right?”

  They nodded.

  “So maybe it’d be something she’d be into.”

  “Unless it totally freaks her out.”

  Luke and I both chuckled at Micah’s words.

  “Unless that,” I muttered, raising my glass in a mock toast before looking at Luke.

  “The two of us are already there, brother.” I glanced at Micah to see him nodding in agreement. “But you…” I shrugged. “Could you?”

  Luke met my eye, his face rigid.

  “For her? Absolutely. With you two, yeah, of course.”

  I glanced at Micah, and he nodded. “It’s her decision, but yes, sharing her heart with you two I could do.”

  They both turned to me, and I nodded. “Yes, of course.”

  We grinned at each other, taking deep breaths before clinking glasses across the table.

  “So,” Luke took a sip of his drink. “Now what?”

  I nodded slowly. “Now, I say we bring her to the Club and let her see for herself.”

  Luke whistled. “It might freak her out.”

  “It might, but it also might give her an idea. Let her see what being with all three of us will mean.”

  Micah nodded slowly. “Think she’s ready?”

  “Yes,” Luke answered instantly before glancing warily at both of us.

  “The question is, are we?”

  10

  Micah

  She was speechless for a minute — a full fucking minute — after Luke finished speaking.

  Fuck I’d missed being around her. I hadn’t seen her since that night with Vic, and almost a week later, not being near her had been giving me fucking headaches and kept me from sleeping. She was like air I’d learned to breathe, and without her, I was gasping for more.

  We were in Luke’s office — her sitting in a chair across from the three of us on one of his sofas. A few days go, being here in the room where Luke had claimed her would have brought up all sorts of shit inside of me. But now, the three of us had buried that ax. We’d come to the only logical conclusion when it came to all three of us and our obsession with Julia.

  She’d be all of ours, or no ones, and that choice would be hers.

  So, now, being in this room and glancing at my friend’s desk where he’d made her come and scream for more didn’t fill me with confusion and jealousy.

  Fuck, it made me hard.

  “All three of you.”

  They were appropriate first words after three guys tell you they all want to be with you, together, equally. The three of us nodded.

  “Yes,” Luke said quietly. “Look, I understand this sounds insane, and I understand if you’re worried, or freaked out. But we all felt something with you. Something we weren’t looking for and something we’re not even sure what to do with. But I know being away from you, and not being with you isn’t something any of us are prepared to do.”

  “I know you felt what we’re talking about, Julia,” Victor said, his voice low and tense as he sat forward on his seat. “I know you felt it with Micah and I, and I know you felt it again with Luke.”

  Her face flushed, and I watched as her eyes darted from one to the next, to the next.

  “How would this work?”

  She wasn’t saying no.

  “However you want it to work,” I said. “Honestly, this is new territory or us too. But I swear, we’ll do everything in our considerable power to make this work, if you choose to.”

  Julia smiled at me, and fuck did I want to close the distance between us, kiss her fiercely and claim her right here and now.

  But she had to say yes first. Again, we’d decided it would be all or nothing. She’d have all three of us, or none.

  “Can I ask a question first?”

  We nodded.

  “What are your tattoos?”

  The three of us froze, glancing at each other.

  “The crowns, I mean.” She shrugged. “Look, if this…well, whatever this could be is going to be a thing, I don’t want to step into it with shadows hanging over it. I mean the scales are already way slanted. You’re princes, for God’s sake, and I’m just—”

  “Our everything,” Vic said quietly.

  Julia blushed, biting back her grin.

  I could have fucking hugged Vic.

  I glanced at my friends, both of them nodding at me, before I turned back to Julia.

  Fuck it. Cards on the table time.

  “There’s a club.”

  I watched her cheeks turn red as her eyes went wide. Clearly, she’d heard the rumor.

  “Julia, if we tell you this…” I shook my head. “This is the biggest secret we have.”

  “It’s okay, really,” she said softly. “Look, forget it, you don’t—”

  “We want to, actually. I— we want you to know everything, and this is something you should know.”

  Julia nodded, her eyes locked on mine.

  “It’s called the Triple Crown Club, and I’m betting by your look that you’ve heard the rumors.”

  She nodded again.

  “They aren’t rumors,” Luke growled.

  I sighed. “
I don’t know how it started, but it’s been around for awhile now. It’s a place without a place — the location changes all the time with only members being in the know as to where it is. It’s a place for the rich, wealthy royal elite to play, with an emphasis on…” I glanced at my three friends before turning back to her, seeing her waiting with bated breath.

  “Sharing,” I growled.

  Julia swallowed, her teeth raking over her bottom lip.

  “Three crowns,” Vic said, his voice steely.

  “One beauty,” Luke finished.

  Her eyes went wide, and she slowly nodded as the heat bloomed through her cheeks and down her neck.

  “You’re members.”

  We nodded.

  “Oh,” she looked down. “So, you’ve been there, together, with…”

  She trailed off, her brow furrowing as she looked away.

  Fuck.

  The three of us were up and over to her in half a second, all three of us pulling her into us. I kissed her first, soothing that worry in her face with my lips, before I pulled away. Vic was next, his hand cupping her jaw as he kissed her deeply. Luke paused, his eyes searching hers before he moved in, claiming her mouth as well.

  “It’s been empty,” I growled. “Us being members. It’s been meaningless, to the point where we don’t know why we joined.”

  “We won’t lie to you,” Vic said, his hand moving to hers. “Sharing is something that comes naturally to us.” He grinned. “I think you saw that the other night with Micah and me.”

  Her cheeks burned hot, and something fierce burned in her eyes as she glanced up at him and then me.

  “But the ‘one night’ thing isn’t for us. It never has been. The whole ‘no names, no faces’ shit is just…”

  He shook his head before he looked up into her face.

  “I like knowing your name, Julia,” he said quietly. “I like knowing your face, and I fucking like you knowing ours.”

  He leaned in and kissed her again, Luke moving in to kiss her neck before taking his turn with her lips. I went after, savoring her tongue and feeling the hint of her moan set something alive inside of me.

  “We want to bring you there.”

  She drew back at my words, but I took her hand in mine, lacing my fingers with hers.

  “We want to show you what it is, so you know that part of us.”

  Her eyes went wide. “You can do that?”

  “We can. Though the female guests are usually chosen and invited by members anonymously, no one has to know that we’ve, well, that we’ve had this discussion.”

  She paused for a moment, eyes darting between us again like she was taking this in. And again, it was a lot to take in.

  “Okay,” she finally said, slowly. “Yes to going to this club, you guys just better never leave my side when we’re there.”

  “Not a fucking chance we would” Luke growled.

  “And for the main question,” she bit her lip and turned to me, and this time it was her that closed the distance and kissed me first. She moved to Luke, and then Vic, doing the same. I watched her face flush more and more, and her breath come more and more halting before she finally pulled back.

  “I know it’s all of you or none of you, and I…” She blushed. “I felt it too. I felt it with all of you, and having to pick one — as if I was going to be the one picking a Prince — has been eating at me.”

  “So that’s a yes,” Vic growled.

  She swallowed. “That’s a big probably for now, if that’s okay?” Her brow worried. “Can I see what this all means, at the club, and tell you afterwards? Look, I get if that’s a big annoying thing, it’s just that there’s so many emotions going through my head right now, and it’s all so confusing to feel what I feel for each of you at the same time, so I just—”

  “Julia.”

  I stopped her worries with a grin.

  “Yes, you can tell us what you think after the club.”

  She let out her breath, her shoulders relaxing as she smiled at me and then my friends.

  “Thank you,” she said quietly. Her eyes sparked as she grinned wickedly.

  “So…when does this club meet next?”

  This time, it was our turn to grin.

  “Tonight,” Luke purred. “I hear you’re good with masks.”

  She blushed, biting her lip again, and I felt every muscle in my body coil with anticipation.

  Tonight, she was going to peek behind the curtain. Tonight, she was going to really see what being shared by three of us would entail.

  Tonight, we’d show her what she’d be missing if she denied us, and something told me, she’d be begging for more before the night was up.

  11

  Julia

  “You’ve been acting strange.”

  I glanced up into the mirror after my shower to see Emma lingering in the doorway to the bathroom

  “Have I?”

  She arched a brow at me, but I just shrugged.

  “You know, just new work stuff. Jumping in and all that.”

  “New work stuff responsible for that bruise in the shape of a thumb on your thigh and what is clearly a hickey on your neck?”

  I blushed. “No, of course not.”

  She smirked at me. “C’mon, you’ve got some hot office romance going on and you can’t tell me, your oldest dearest friend?”

  “It’s—” I shook my head. “I can’t really talk about it.”

  Because I’m screwing the Crown Prince of North Revania.

  She grinned wickedly. “Ooo, a supervisor or something?”

  I rolled my eyes.

  “So, we’re going to ignore those bruises, and the fact that you’ve been walking around here like you’re glowing, which makes me think you’re having some amazing sex. Plus, you're getting all dolled up to go out.”

  “It’s just a work—”

  “A work thing, yeah,” she said sarcastically, eyeing the outfit I had hanging up on the hook across the room. “A work thing where you wear a super hot little black dress that I’ve never seen before but looks insanely expensive?”

  It was. Luke, Micah, and Victor had had it delivered before Emma got home that day. That along with the box of insanely sexy black lace and gold lingerie. I was buzzing with excitement, though also with a nervous energy. To be honest, I was a little scared of what I’d see and what I’d learn going to the club that night, but also so excited in this forbidden way.

  I mean, I was going to a secret, exclusive sex club with three gorgeous, dominant, amazing men — all of whom wanted me, all of whom I wanted, and all of whom were actual honest-to-goodness royalty.

  Not exactly a normal Thursday night for me, and Emma could tell something was up.

  “You’re just…” she bit her lip, shaking her head. “You’re just full of surprises these days aren’t you?”

  I swallowed. “It’s really just a work thing,” I said quickly.

  I mean, it wasn’t exactly a lie.

  “Very mysterious.”

  “Emma,” I laughed, trying to deflect her. “Look, it’s just a thing, okay? Some people from work invited me out, and it’s kind of a fancy place.”

  Lying to Emma wasn’t something I’d ever done. In fact, most of the time, I think we told each other entirely too much about our lives. But this felt different. This felt…secretive. Not to mention, as much as she was my best friend, Emma was a reporter. And if this whole thing with Luke, Victor, and Micah was going to be this big secret, seeing as who they were and what this was, then telling her didn’t really feel like the best move.

  Nothing on her, it just felt weird to tell a secret that big to a person whose career was all about writing the truth and publishing it to millions of people.

  “Fine,” she said with a roll of her eyes. “Fine, I yield. I’ll stop. I have to go out anyways.”

  “Oh?”

  She shrugged, wagging her brows. “You’re not the only one with a hot date tonight, you know.”
/>   “Well, well!” I beamed at her. “And do I get to pester you for details now?”

  “Nope! I’m giving you a taste of your own medicine.”

  We laughed, and she gave me a quick hug.

  “Have fun tonight, girl.” She arched a brow. “And you’d better eventually tell me about what you’re up to.”

  “I know, and I will.”

  “Good.”

  She turned, and I was just turning back to start my makeup when she poked her head back in.

  “Hey, you ever find out if your boss is sporting one of those sex club tattoos?”

  She squealed out a laugh and I chucked a washcloth at her as she skipped out of the room.

  * * *

  Emma had already taken off for her own mysterious date by the time I finished getting ready. I sat in our living room, nervously waiting for the town car the guys had told me would be picking me up. A limo with the three most recognizable and important men in the three kingdoms showing up at our apartment building wasn’t exactly subtle, so the car would take me to Luke’s palace, and from there, we’d go to the club.

  The Triple Crown Club.

  The dark, twisted, forbidden place of fantasy, and I was about to dive right in.

  The knock on the door brought a gasp to my lips.

  Must be the driver.

  It was time. I smoothed my dress as I stood, taking a deep breath before I strode for the door.

  “Hi, thanks for—”

  I gasped loudly as I jumped back a step.

  It wasn’t the driver.

  It was Dan, the ex I’d left right before Emma and I moved in together. Dan who I’d caught cheating for the tenth time and finally left. Dan who’d treated me like shit for two years before I’d finally found a spine.

  He’d barely even tried to contact me after I’d left, which suited me just fine. Life was just better without him. And God, now, with Luke, Victor, and Micah, life was amazingly better. And the last thing I needed on the night I was going to figure out what the four of us were and where I stood with that was Dan showing up at my front door.

  “What do you want?” I hissed, keeping my hands firmly on the door and the door frame, ready to slam it in his face.