Lucy's Liberation [Elk Creek 2] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting)

by Gigi Moore

  The red brick structure stood out among most of the wooden buildings in town like a cultured pearl among a pile of child’s marbles. Embellished with an iron and lacework porch, it was reminiscent of the balconies in the French Quarter in New Orleans and his own home in Gramercy Park. It was as if the designer had plucked from his head a vision of The Benjamin residence in New York and recreated its simple façade elaborately adorned with ironwork to make him feel homesick.

  Now that he was in front of the store, Ki thought twice about barging in on Lucy.

  She had made it no secret she didn’t appreciate his visits to her places of business and he had been trying to give her space. Never mind that the other ladies’ men visited often.

  Lucy told him Maia and Sabrina were the owners of Healing Magick and she was just an employee who didn’t rank the same benefits. However, Ki saw the way the other women treated Lucy and it wasn’t like just a valued employee but a valued friend and family member, one they would go to great lengths to help and protect.

  Again, he felt an unfamiliar stab of envy at Lucy’s fortune to have friends she could turn to in her time of need. He admittedly had never experienced many times of need that his family’s wealth couldn’t remedy. He, however, didn’t believe he had one friend he counted on and trusted the way Lucy counted on and trusted the Malloys and Sabrina.

  Ki supposed there was something to be said for a small town—though by some western town standards, Elk Creek was relatively large and thriving—where everyone knew their neighbor and was willing to help when called upon.

  The Jewish community in New York was quite tight-knit as well, and about the only point of reference Ki had when it came to small town life as it existed in Elk Creek.

  He could see the appeal, but knew that he would die a slow and painful death if he had to stay here longer than six months. He wondered what Lucy would say if he suggested she come back to New York with him.

  He could just see her now, telling him that he’d lost his cotton-picking mind if he thought she was going to go gallivanting—her favorite word for his activities—across the country just because he asked her to.

  Ki smiled at her imagined response, still wondering how he could get around her defenses and that tough attitude of hers, especially when it came to her places of employment.

  Well, he wasn’t going to get anything done just standing out here and being a part of the scenery. As much as he didn’t want to risk losing her trust, he was going to have to broach some unpleasant topics with her—again.

  He’d backed off when he’d seen her reaction about his suggestion to leave Healing Magick. He didn’t even want to think how she would react if he brought up Winchester’s.

  Why any woman who didn’t have to would want to work in that establishment was beyond him. Ki suspected that Lucy in fact didn’t like working at Winchester’s the way she liked working at Healing Magick. He knew, however, that she’d dig in her heels just to be contrary and insist on continuing her employment at the saloon if he demanded she leave, which is what he wanted to do.

  “You plan on getting a wiggle on and going in or you just going to block the entrance there, pretty boy?”

  Ki shook off his distraction to turn and look at the woman standing behind him.

  He recognized her from his previous visits to the shop and Winchester’s and appreciated her unabashed fashion sense. Unlike the other ladies strolling down the streets clad in their chic day and walking suits, the saloon girl had no qualms about appearing in broad daylight in her work outfit of burgundy taffeta corset and black lace skirt.

  Ki doffed his hat. “Miss Morgan, how are you this fine morning?”

  She smiled and her violet eyes glittered.

  He noticed the very fine lines at the corners of her eyes as she fluttered her lashes and he realized that she wasn’t exactly anyone’s girl. Ki would put her in her thirties if she was a day, very well-preserved thirties, of course.

  She waved her black laced fan in front of her face and twirled her matching parasol. “Rebel, please, and it’s a mite sweltering in this sun, but I suspect I’ll survive. And you, Mr. Benjamin?”

  “Ki, please, and I’m well.”

  “I’m sure you’ll be a mite better once you go in and see your betrothed.” She grinned.

  Ki suspected that he and his proposal to Lucy were the subjects of much scuttlebutt and was prepared for whatever Rebel and the rest of her female cohorts inside had to dish out. He didn’t care what he had to brave to see Lucy.

  He pulled open the door and made a sweeping gesture with his hat. “After you, Rebel.”

  “Why thank you, Ki.”

  He watched her sashay her way by him into the store, appreciating the rear view. He did love a woman who was well put-together, actually valued the form of a well put-together man, too. He had come across a few of the latter to tempt him to indulge that side of his nature and felt no shame in it. Out of deference to his mother, however, and the society he lived in, he was very circumspect with that side of his life, much more so than he was with his women.

  “Well, look what the cat done dragged in,” Sabrina teased as Ki stepped up to the counter with his hat under one arm.

  He smiled, used to her banter by now and enjoying her rambunctious sense of humor and salty tongue. “And a fine day to you, Sabrina. Is my fiancée about?”

  Rebel leaned against the counter beside him grinning that catlike grin and making no move to browse or shop, if that was even her intention to begin with.

  Ki half-suspected she came in just to chitchat and gossip with the other women to pass the time of day more than anything else—small town life at its finest.

  Sabrina got a little twinkle in her eyes right before she responded with a vague wave behind her. “She’s in the storeroom taking inventory.”

  “Would it be a problem if I went back there?”

  “Not for me.”

  Ki smiled and headed in the direction Sabrina pointed, leaving a chorus of girlish giggles in his wake.

  Ki made it back to the room in question, opened the door and entered. He closed the door behind him before moving forward, calling Lucy’s name as he progressed into the cavernous space lined with well-stocked shelves of merchandise.

  “You, Mr. Benjamin are becoming a right pest.”

  Ki grinned as he turned the corner to see her standing on the fifth step of a ladder, jotting down information in a journal.

  He walked over to her, determined to knock down this wall of formality she insisted on erecting around him. He could barely get her to call him Hezekiah, much less Ki, and he knew that she insisted on addressing him as Mr. Benjamin to keep her emotional distance.

  She was a clever girl, but he was cleverer.

  “I beg to differ, Mrs. Peyton.”

  “Don’t call me that.”

  “I won’t call you Mrs. Peyton if you stop calling me Mr. Benjamin.”

  She sighed and shook her head as she began to descend the ladder.

  Ki saw her blunder a second before her foot missed the next-to-the-last rung and flew out from under her. She pitched backward and he shot out his arms to catch her before the back of her head would have cracked against the hardwood floor.

  “Good Lord!” She gasped.

  “A simple thank you will suffice.”

  She burst out laughing and he knew it was against her will when she instantly tried to squelch her amusement. “Thank you for saving my life or at least keeping my noggin from a good knocking.”

  “You’re more than welcome, but I do have a favor to ask.”

  “And since you just rescued me from a fate worse than me having a right bell-ringing I will be obligated to grant it, no doubt.”

  “No doubt.” Ki grinned. “I’d appreciate it if you would stop calling me Mr. Benjamin.”

  Her lashes fluttered as she ducked her head and her creamy-peach cheeks flushed red. “You can put me down now,” she whispered.

  “I’d actually
rather not.”

  She jerked up her head to look at him and his breath caught in his chest at the sight of her luminous, greenish-gray eyes staring at him.

  “Ki, I’m at work. Please put me down.”

  “Well, since you used my name, I suppose I can do no less than comply.”

  Grudgingly he loosened his hold on her, letting her slide down the front of his body until her feet finally made contact with the floor. He instantly missed the feel of her full, soft breasts pressed against his chest and knew that his cock was making an impression against the front of his trousers. He could feel the buttons digging into his hard, sensitive flesh.

  This young woman was going to be the death of him!

  Just as he thought this, Lucy bent to retrieve her journal and pencil. He looked at her inviting round ass and thought of all sorts of things he wanted to do to it. Spanking and mounting it were the most popular choices crowding his already-overactive imagination.

  “So, what brings you to the shop today?”

  Ki cleared his throat before responding. “Can’t I just want to spend time with you?”

  “Ki, our relationship isn’t like—”

  “Maia and Thayne’s?” He would have added Cade, but didn’t feel comfortable enough with her to admit that he knew what the rest of the town knew about that threesome. Secretly, he admired the two men and their woman for flouting convention to follow their hearts.

  “You know what I mean. Our relationship isn’t real.”

  “Of course it’s real. It’s as real as we make it.”

  She sighed and shook her head.

  He detested when she did that, exhibited that defeatist attitude that told him she’d been browbeaten too often to believe she could have what she wanted, what she deserved.

  Ki noticed the longing in her face whenever she watched Maia and Thayne together. The look wasn’t the look of a money-hungry fortune hunter as his mother believed her to be. It was the look of a woman hungry for affection and tenderness but afraid to go after them, even if they were right in front of her. “I won’t hurt you like my uncle did, Lucy.”

  “No, but you’re a smart man. I’m sure you’ll figure out a way to hurt me differently.”

  Ki frowned at the telling statement. Not for the first time, his heart ached for this woman-child he’d asked to be his wife. “It’s stuffy in here. Let me take you out to lunch.”

  “I have to finish this inventory.”

  “I can wait.”

  “I’m going to be a while.”

  “Lucy, you can’t put me off forever. We have an agreement.”

  “I know that. I would never go back on my word and I don’t plan to put you off forever.”

  No, just as long as you can get away with it. “When are you going to move out of Sabrina’s boarding house and into Uncle Rance’s with me? It’s half yours, or will be soon.”

  “I’ll move in once we’re married.”

  “Why not sooner? Get used to the idea of living with me.”

  “Living in sin, you mean.”

  Ki chuckled. He did love the spitfire Lucy more than the doormat Lucy. “If that’s what you’d like.”

  “Why do you visit so often, Ki? Do you think I’m going to change my mind?”

  “Is that what you think?”

  She shrugged. “Why else?”

  Did the woman not know how gorgeous she was? Of course compared to the ladies in town of more means with their silk and satin attire and fancy jewelry and makeup and fashionable shoes from back East Lucy might have seemed plain to the undiscriminating. Those women, however, didn’t have the most important thing Lucy possessed—natural, inner beauty.

  Standing in that storeroom with a smudge of dirt on her pert nose that Ki longed to wipe off, her head tilted back to stare him in the eyes, and cheeks flushed with irritation, Lucy was more beautiful than any fancy painted lady in several surrounding towns.

  Ki let his eyes roam over the bright cherry dress Lucy wore. The pretty but simple red calico in cotton garment with lace trim at the neckline and cuffs might have been demure if worn by a woman without the inviting sweet curves Lucy had. She couldn’t have been more fetching, more seductive, if she were one of Rebel’s co-workers in revealing corsets and short skirts.

  “What are you staring at?”

  The catch in her voice brought his attention back to the situation at hand but he did nothing to hide the bulge in his pants when he noticed Lucy’s glance home in on his crotch right before her eyes widened.

  “I think you should go now.”

  “Fine.” He stepped forward, placing his palms on the wall behind her on either side of her face before he bent his head to kiss her. He heard her sharp intake of breath right before his mouth made contact with hers and fireworks exploded inside his head. His face and the tip of his ears heated as he thrust his tongue between her parted lips and stroked her tongue.

  Ki’s hat and Lucy’s journal hit the floor almost simultaneously as Ki slid his hands from the wall to press against her back and draw her closer, but neither of them noticed.

  He heard Lucy moan deep in her throat, and the noise spurred him on as much as the feel of her hands burrowing through his hair. When she fisted a length of hair at his nape and whimpered against his mouth, it took everything in him to pull away.

  Ki opened his eyes to glance down at her, saw that her gaze was as stunned as he felt. He homed in on her kiss-swollen lips and his cock pulsed in his trousers, clamoring for release. Unable to fight it anymore, he raised a hand to her face and thumbed off the smudge of dirt before leaning in to give her nose a brief kiss.

  “I’ll see you later this evening.” He turned to go without waiting for her answer and could have sworn he heard her say, “Not if I see you first,” right before he reached the door.

  He had to love that spitfire Lucy.

  By the time Ki made it back out to the store’s main floor, Maia had joined Sabrina at the counter and she, Sabrina, and Rebel were all staring at him.

  He had adjusted himself and dusted off his hat after he’d picked it up off of the floor, so he didn’t think he looked too askew.

  “So, how’d it go with our Lucy?” Maia asked.

  “As well as could be expected.”

  The three women nodded as if in sympathy. He had already gotten the if-you-hurt-Lucy-we’ll-turn-you-into-a-eunuch speech at the end of his first visit, so knew where all the ladies stood as far as his and Lucy’s relationship was concerned. He respected their allegiance and was glad that Lucy had people in this town who cared about her so much.

  “A little word of advice,” Maia said.

  Ki perked up his ears and came closer to lean on the counter.

  “Rance really did a number on that kid. So it’s going to take some time before she can start trusting you.”

  “I appreciate your input.” He nodded. “So, have you changed your mind about selling me any of your paintings?”

  “Not yet, but…” She leaned close with a conspiratorial look lighting her dark eyes. “I do have a little something to tide you over though until I do…”

  Ki had a strange feeling he was about to be inveigled and would like it.

  Chapter 7

  When Lucy came out of the storeroom, it was to the sight and sounds of Maia and Sabrina arguing and Rebel standing by, watching like a referee.

  The two women rarely disagreed on anything to do with the business, so Lucy assumed it was something personal and that it was none of her business. She didn’t want to interrupt except that after Ki’s visit and being in such close quarters with him kissing her until the crotch of her bloomers was soaked, she needed to get out of the store for a breath of fresh air and to think.

  When Maia noticed her standing at the storeroom door she cut herself off mid-dispute and stared at Lucy as if she was a kid who had just been caught doing something she wasn’t supposed to be doing.

  Lucy immediately wondered what had transpired between the women
and Ki. She had after all, seen him in action and he had the magnetism to charm a nun out of her habit. She also knew how much all three ladies liked Ki and thought that his and Lucy’s impending marriage was a good thing for her. Maia, especially, liked telling her she needed to get back on the horse.

  And Lordy, isn’t Hezekiah Benjamin a nice piece of flesh I could be riding.

  That little exchange in the storeroom was definitely going to her head…or her pussy more than likely. Her mind hadn’t climbed out of the gutter since Ki had left. She’d had to go out back to the pump and splash her face with cold water before she came back in out to the main floor to face anyone, praying that there weren’t too many customers in the store.

  “Everything okay out here?” Lucy asked.

  “Fine and dandy,” Maia said.

  “If you don’t tell her, I will,” Sabrina grumbled.

  “Oooh, this is going to be good.” Rebel rubbed her hands together as if she was about to sit down to a nice juicy steak dinner.

  Lucy looked at all three women and the butterflies that had been doing battle in her belly until Ki left just a few minutes before, began waging again. “What’s going on?”

  “You made a sale!” Maia beamed.

  Lucy frowned. “What exactly did I sell?”

  Maia opened the register drawer, removed a twenty dollar bill and handed it to Lucy. “Aren’t you pleased as punch?”

  “Why don’t you tell her what you sold?”

  “It’s not as if I sold something you wanted to keep. I actually found it in the trash and…”

  Lucy shook her head and backed away. “You didn’t.”

  “I couldn’t stand to see a piece of art like that waste away like garbage. So I took it out of the trash and put it in a nice frame.”

  “You wouldn’t sell him any of your paintings, but you sold him my…garbage?”

  “It’s not garbage. And evidently Ki agreed, because he paid me for it. I think he would have paid even more had I asked. I probably could have named my price. That’s how much he liked your work.”

  “But it was mine.”

  “Finders keepers, losers weepers.”

  Lucy would have burst out laughing if she wasn’t so ready to break down crying.