Leah's Triplet Mates [The Cat Burglars 1] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting)
Page 8
The Alpha was still speaking. “The Lutterworths have been invited to spend a few days on Long Island with some friends of theirs. The friends will be flying directly there tomorrow, but the Lutterworths will want to go home and pack different clothing. However, I suspect they won’t be home long enough to notice much. You need to plan your venture for the night after tomorrow night. Clear?”
“Yes, sir.”
Hardy waited until Saxon’s cell phone was back in his pocket. “We’re all too tired to do anything tonight. Leah deserves our best efforts to please her, and tonight won’t be that. I suggest we all have a really early night and meet her at the bakery tomorrow. Tomorrow night must be for Leah. We have to get her alone. Then we have to plan not only the retrieval of the ceramic figurines and this book but also how to sell those stamp albums.”
Internally Hardy groaned. Stealing the items from Lutterworths was going to be easy compared with getting Leah into the dungeon and their bed. Her schedule was very full, and she lived with her family. And if they went with her to Detroit, they’d have to accept her sister as well.
Damn and double damn. This was going to be tricky.
* * * *
Leah was glad the shelter was very busy. She was so tired that if she’d had time to sit down likely she’d have fallen asleep instantly. A young woman had arrived with her thirteen-month-old daughter and a newborn girl, only a day old. When her husband had learned the new baby was a second girl, he’d thrown them all out of the house, with nothing. The new mother was still weak and exhausted from the labor and birth, so Leah took the toddler to watch her while her mom helped the young woman and Zoe and Maia ran the craft workshop without her.
The craft afternoons were fun. It was a chance for the women to forget their worries and experiment with paints, inks, glues, cardboard, and other craft materials. Leah was often amazed at how talented the women were, making items that were good enough to sell in the local craft store at their first attempt. One woman was an incredibly accomplished artist, and her sketches were selling really well.
Fortunately the tiny tot in her care was easy to entertain, playing happily with a set of plastic shapes that could be pushed inside a ball, and then falling asleep in Leah’s arms. Hiding her own yawns, Leah settled the little child into a crib and covered her with a blanket before heading out to the kitchen to help prepare the evening meal.
By the time they all got home and ate their own meal, Leah was more than ready to rest, but her sisters needed to be told about the stamp albums. She didn’t tell them about being kidnapped or about spending the night with the men.
“It took a lot longer than I’d expected, and I didn’t want to come home then in case Mom was already up. So I waited until the bakery opened and went directly there. Bram was there, too, buying bread rolls. I’m really tired now, though.”
“I’m sure you are, sweet. But I’m so glad you got the albums back. And I’m sure they’re worth something. Maybe not a whole lot, but more than just two hundred dollars,” said Zoe.
“We need to take a day and go to Detroit, and we need to do it fairly soon. Those utility bills need to be paid.”
Leah yawned.
Zoe patted her shoulder. “Go to bed, Leah. Maia and I will work out a day when we can organize a big cauldron of soup for the meal, and with the bread, it’ll mean you and she can be gone for the day. The volunteers can handle that alone as long as Mom and I help chop up the vegetables first. Not on Saturday. There’s too much preparation to do for Sundays. And not Monday because of having to rearrange all the furniture in the hall. But midweek. Tuesday or Thursday would be best. Male shower days.”
Leah nodded. That made sense. Her mom did most of the female shower supervision, so a Tuesday or Thursday would mean her mom was free to do more of the meal preparation. But it wasn’t going to be easy if two of them weren’t there.
She climbed into bed and wished for a moment that the three men would be around to help. It’d made such a difference having them available to sweep and wash dishes and shift the furniture. The pews were very heavy to move, and no matter how often the parking lot was swept, it always needed doing again a day or two later. If they were rich, they could buy a leaf blower, and then keeping it clean would be easy. She shrugged. There wasn’t enough money for the utility bills, never mind for a leaf blower.
She closed her eyes, meaning to think some more of the sex she’d had with the men, but the next thing she knew, her alarm was ringing and it was time to go and fetch the bread.
There was one car already parked outside the bakery when she arrived, and Leah’s heart beat faster with hope, even though she couldn’t believe the men would be here. When the car doors opened and they all climbed out, she burst into a happy grin. She shouldn’t want to see them, but somehow, she couldn’t prevent herself from smiling and feeling a burst of joy run through her entire body. Her nipples hardened as they crossed to her car. Bram opened her door, and Hardy held out a hand to help her climb out.
“Good morning, beautiful,” said Hardy.
She blushed at his words. “It’s nice to see you all again, too,” she said, hurrying inside. She collected the day-old bread, thanked the baker and his wife, and stared as Bram bought an armload of packages. Saxon helped her put the trash bag of bread into the trunk of her car, and they followed her back to the parsonage. There it was Hardy who carried the bag for her while Saxon held the doors for them and Bram placed his parcels on the table in the kitchen.
Her father looked up from the table where he was drinking coffee. “Good morning, Hardy, Bram, and Saxon. I’m so glad you’ve come to help. It’s the men’s day for showering, and it’s sometimes difficult for me to help everyone. Old Harry has to stay with their belongings, you know. They trust him and expect it to be him on duty, not one of the girls.”
Leah watched the men’s faces. Her father had named the men accurately. They were identical physically, but their personalities were different. Her father was an expert at understanding people and he’d picked up on the differences already. From her dad’s discussion with her mom yesterday, she was almost certain they’d guessed the men were panther shape-shifters as well. Or, if not panthers, shape-shifters anyway.
“I’m afraid we have somewhat of an ulterior motive. We hoped that, if we were able to help you today, Leah would get all her chores done early and we’d be able to take Leah out to dinner tonight,” said Saxon.
Leah turned and stared at them, surprised.
“Would you like to go, Leah?” asked her mom.
“I would, thank you,” she answered, looking at the men.
The edges of Saxon’s lips were tilting upward in a restrained smile, and Hardy looked pleased, but Bram had a huge grin on his face, making no attempt to mask his pleasure. It felt weird to be going out on a date with three men, but if her parents approved, she wasn’t going to say no. Besides, she longed for some more kisses. And other more intimate things as well.
* * * *
Saxon had never been particularly interested in learning cooking skills, but he was very interested in spending time with Leah and bringing up the issue of the stamp albums with her parents. So he sat at the table with the others, sharing their breakfast again, grateful for the cinnamon buns Bram had purchased to add to the meal.
Half a dozen giant pumpkins were set on the table, and he was handed a wickedly sharp knife. “Cut it in half then in half again. Keep doing that until the pieces are about the size of a cup, and then pass them to Maia to peel. I appreciate your help. I’ll go get the towels ready for the showers,” said Mrs. Crawford.
Saxon set to work carving the pumpkins. He hadn’t stopped to think about it before, but he supposed fifty men showering would mean fifty bath towels had to be laundered. And they did this six days a week. That was a hell of a lot of laundry.
“However do you get all the towels washed and dried every day in winter?” he asked.
“That was one of the first things we did. We
asked stores that sold towels to donate all the ones that weren’t first quality to us. Then we asked the local churches. You’d be surprised how many rich women don’t want brand-new unused pink towels in their eggshell blue bathrooms,” said Leah.
“Not all the towels are new though. We try to rotate them around so that the same people don’t get the thin old ones all the time,” added Maia.
“But how do wash and dry them all? You must be running a dryer twenty-four seven,” said Bram.
“Oh no. The electricity bill is already much too large to do that. Winter is easy because the house is heated and the towels dry hanging up on drying racks in the laundry room. Summer is easy as well. It’s the midseason that’s hard, when it’s not cold enough to turn on the heat but not really warm enough to dry the thick towels every day,” added Leah.
That’s right. They need the money from the sale of those stamp albums.
Time passed faster than he would have expected as he chopped the pumpkin and then chopped onions into slivers. Meanwhile, Hardy washed the utensils they’d used and the breakfast dishes, and Bram went off with the reverend to do prepare the hall for the meal. At least they didn’t have to move any furniture this time.
Saxon wanted to talk about the trip to Detroit, but there was never a suitable time, and he supposed it really should wait until after they’d retrieved the ceramic figurines and the book. Meanwhile, he did enjoy spending time with Leah, even though a lot of other people were constantly coming and going and they were all working hard.
It was hard to imagine how they managed to do this every day. He’d be looking for a rest after just two days of it. The pace was fast, and the work never-ending.
By the time the last homeless person left the hall after lunch, and the floor, benches, counters, and tables were all sparkling clean, Saxon was ready for a shower and a nap. And this time he’d had a proper night’s sleep before he’d started.
“We’ll come and collect you for dinner at seven tonight,” he said to Leah.
She gave him and his brothers the most amazing smile. “I’m looking forward to it. I haven’t been taken out to dinner in oh… quite a while.”
“We promise you a very pleasant evening,” said Hardy.
Leah blushed just the tiniest bit, and her smile grew even wider.
Saxon stood beside the loaner car and watched her walk back to the parsonage.
“Where did you book for tonight?” asked Bram.
“Huh?”
“We’re taking Leah to dinner. What restaurant have you booked us into?”
“I haven’t made a booking.”
“Well, fuck, man, you’d better do that right away. We’re going to look pretty stupid if we end up at McDonalds because everywhere else was fully booked,” said Hardy.
“Right. Yes.” Saxon slid into the backseat, pulled out his phone, and began Googling the local restaurants. He didn’t eat out all that often, but there were several he’d been to and really enjoyed.
“How about Sam’s Steakhouse at Hanson Mall? I know it’s a werewolf pack, but the steaks there are very good. It’s not right in our neighborhood, so hopefully, no one will have taken Leah there one hundred times already, and it’s not so far we won’t have time to visit the dungeon afterward before we take her home.”
The moment he said dungeon, his dick grew and stretched. Fuck yes. He wanted Leah so much. He craved the touch of her skin and her lips and ached to bury his dick deep in her cunt or her ass. But first he wanted to hold her in his arms and dance with her, and then he needed her to be tied up and teased until she was begging them to fuck her. This time, tonight, all three of them would fuck her, as long as she agreed. And she’d be much more likely to agree if she was burning with desire and a red-hot ass first.
“Sam’s Steakhouse is fine. There’s a dance floor there, and I want to dance with her,” said Hardy.
“I want to dance with her as well. But mostly I want her naked so I can kiss her all over. Jeez, my dick wants inside her so much,” said Bram.
Saxon knew exactly how they felt because it was what he wanted as well.
Chapter Six
Leah stared into her closet and pulled a face. She wanted to wear something pretty to go out on her date. She so seldom went anywhere that wasn’t to do with the ministry. But there were exactly two dresses sitting there in among her T-shirts and jeans. One was the dress she’d worn to her prom far more years ago than she cared to remember, and the other was a slinky spaghetti-strapped sundress, not at all appropriate for fall.
She pulled her prom dress out and looked at it sternly. It really was much too overdone for a dinner date. Also, it was too young for her. She was thirty-three, not eighteen anymore.
It’d have to be jeans again. But at least she had a pretty, almost new red silk shirt she could wear with them. Leah thrust the prom dress right to the back of her closet and took another look at the sundress. It was several different shades of blue in a big splashy design, with some red, bright pink, and purple among the pattern.
Red.
She stopped and pulled the sundress out. Then she took out her almost new red silk shirt and draped it over the sundress.
Hell yes. That would work.
Happily she changed into the sundress and slipped the shirt on over it like a jacket. The only pair of sandals she owned were black, which wasn’t quite right, but it could have been worse. And her purse was black as well so it was good enough.
She brushed her short brown hair, added a dash of red lipstick, and she was ready.
Leah arrived downstairs in the kitchen just as the three men appeared at the kitchen door. She wondered if they’d come to that door because that was the way they’d arrived each time from the bakery, or if they guessed her family rarely used the front door. The back door led to the church and the parking lot so that was the way they entered and exited all the time. Only strangers used the front door.
“You look beautiful,” said Bram, handing her a red rose.
“Thank you.”
“Have fuuun,” chorused her sisters.
Bram opened the passenger door of the car and helped her inside while Hardy climbed into the driver’s seat. Instead of starting the engine, he handed her a small parcel. “I have a gift for you, too, but I didn’t want you to open it in front of your family.”
She gave him a surprised look, murmured, “Thank you,” and opened the pink wrapping paper. Inside was a tiny pair of lace panties. She was surprised to see that were the correct size.
“Thank you,” she said again.
“Because I destroyed the ones you were wearing the other day, and I’m not sorry about it either. It was worth it.”
Leah giggled. “Does that mean you’ll destroy these as well?”
Saxon leaned over the back of the seat and breathed hot air against her neck. “If you stayed naked all the time, we wouldn’t need to undress you.”
She shook her head. “I don’t think so. I’d be arrested in five minutes.”
“Not if you were in our dungeon and our bed.” He licked a wet line up her neck, and Leah shivered with lust. Dammit, that was hot.
The food was great, but Leah was more interested in the men. One or another of them was constantly holding her hand, stoking her arm or her thigh, or gazing deeply into her eyes. She had no idea what they spoke about. What was far more important was the communication made without words. Her breasts were full and aching with the need to be touched. Her cunt felt so empty, and her entire body longed to be touched a hell of a lot more intimately.
Once the band began to play, Saxon took her hand and led her onto the dance floor. Saxon made no attempt to do any fancy steps. He pulled her into his arms, held her firmly, and mostly just swayed from side to side. She felt warm and safe wrapped up in him like that, but she was also very aware of the thick ridge of his cock pressing into her belly and her own pussy full of cream with the need to be possessed.
After a little while, Hardy stood behin
d her and tapped her shoulder. Saxon turned her around into Hardy’s arms. He moved a few steps this way and that as they danced, but he pressed his entire body against hers, just as Saxon had done, and the desire in her rose higher.
By the time Bram took his turn, Leah’s knees were weak and wobbly with need, and she rested her head on his shoulder, unable to do much more than that.
Saxon and Hardy joined them on the dance floor.
“Are you ready to come with us?” asked Saxon.
Leah just nodded. Her mouth was dry and her brain so filled with the haze of lust she could hardly formulate her thoughts.
For the first time, Saxon drove, and Hardy and Bram climbed into the backseat, with her pressed between them. Before she could query the arrangement, Hardy had pushed the red shirt up and lifted a breast out of her sundress. She gasped as his lips covered the nipple and he began to suck. Bram held her thigh and lifted her leg over his legs, widening her cunt and pushing her weight back on her ass. With his fingertips, he teased a line up the inside of her leg, petting and stroking the skin of her inner thigh until her body was begging for more. Her untouched breast ached with need, and her cunt was clenching with the desperate desire to be touched.
“Touch me, please,” she begged.
“Oh we plan to. We plan to touch every inch of you. But not until Saxon is beside us,” said Hardy.
Fuck! I suppose that’s only fair. But damn. I need them now.
Bram kept his fingers on her leg but leaned forward and kissed her lips. His were warm and soft, yet demanding. Gradually, he increased his demands until she opened her mouth and his tongue slid inside. The moment his tongue possessed her mouth, his fingers slipped under the elastic of her panties, and one digit penetrated her cunt. Her aching, needy pussy clenched on it, wanting a whole lot more than a single finger inside her, but he merely stroked gently in and out as his tongue did the same thing to her mouth.
For a moment she’d forgotten about Hardy, but both his hands were on her breasts now, teasing and pinching her nipples and palming the smooth globes. Instead of easing the desire rolling through her body, it made her only more hungry than ever.