by Avery Gale
The ShadowDance Club 6
Red Clouds Dancing
Layla Lang has landed the job of her dreams. Thanks to her friendship, with Tori Bartell’s recommendation she’s been hired by Alex and Zach Lamont as the new manager of the motel associated with The ShadowDance Club. Layla knows moving from Texas to Colorado is her chance to build a new life.
As a teen Layla witnessed her uncle beat a man to death. Her testimony sent him to prison and cost her everything. Unknown to Layla, he has been released on a technicality and plans on seeking his revenge.
Brothers Cash, Collin, and Clay Red Cloud had almost given up finding a woman to share—until they meet Climax’s newest citizen. The blonde bombshell captivates everyone she meets and she is perfect for each of them despite the wide differences in their personalities and varied preferences in women. Now they just need to keep her safe long enough to convince her.
Note: There is no sexual relationship or touching for titillation between or among siblings.
Genre: BDSM, Contemporary, Ménage a Trois/Quatre
Length: 64,875 words
RED CLOUDS DANCING
The ShadowDance Club 6
Avery Gale
MENAGE AMOUR
Siren Publishing, Inc.
www.SirenPublishing.com
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A SIREN PUBLISHING BOOK
IMPRINT: Ménage Amour
RED CLOUDS DANCING
Copyright © 2013 by Avery Gale
E-book ISBN: 978-1-62242-985-1
First E-book Publication: May 2013
Cover design by Harris Channing
All cover art and logo copyright © 2013 by Siren Publishing, Inc.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: This literary work may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic or photographic reproduction, in whole or in part, without express written permission.
All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.
PUBLISHER
Siren Publishing, Inc.
www.SirenPublishing.com
Letter to Readers
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DEDICATION
For my friend Leila…your courage and “run to the roar” approach to life were both more inspiration to me than you will ever know.
RED CLOUDS DANCING
The ShadowDance Club 6
AVERY GALE
Copyright © 2013
Chapter 1
Two months ago
Cash Red Cloud looked around the small tavern and sighed. Recently he had started noticing that there were a lot of new people moving in to the small town he’d always considered his home. There were numerous people in the small local bar that he didn’t recognize and he wasn’t quite sure why that unsettled him, but it did. It wasn’t that he minded the little community’s growth. In fact, he was all for it, but he’d always known every person in town and it unnerved him to find himself suddenly surrounded by strangers. Perhaps it was time to start thinking about a new line of work, something that would keep him home more. He loved working as a black ops contractor for the Lamonts, but he was starting to feel as if it was time to give up on the dream of finding a woman for him and his brothers to share. He’d always admired his parents’ polyamorous relationship, but maybe it was time to look for something more traditional.
Taking another look around he had to smile, he and his brothers and sister had always laughed about knowing everyone in town. Sure there were times when it was a royal pain in the ass to have everyone up in your business, but it was also great to know that there were a lot of people who had your back when things were tough as well. Each of his siblings had left Climax shortly after graduating from high school and now it looked like they would all be moving home within a few months. He was heading to Houston first thing in the morning to help his two younger brothers get things together for their move home. He also wanted to check on his youngest brother who was currently setting some kind of record for most impatient patient in Methodist Hospital’s Neurological Institute.
Clay Red Cloud was the youngest of the Red Cloud sons and a champion bull rider in the Professional Bull Riders Association or at least he had been until he’d drawn Cyclone Charlie last weekend at an exhibition in his current hometown of Houston. Cash had watched the broadcast and seen Clay take a nasty header into the fence. His concussion hadn’t been particularly life threatening, but it was just that he’d had one too many as far as the PBRA’s docs were concerned and they’d pulled his clearance for the foreseeable future.
Bringing his thoughts back to the moment, Cash glanced around again, and wondered why no one had seen fit to build a nice place with a decent-sized dance floor. And if the rumors he was hearing were true, this place would be closing soon. He looked at his empty glass and smiled when the pretty blonde waitress asked him if he was ready for something stronger. Shaking his head he figured the three glasses of tea he’d downed would be enough to keep him up most of the night, no reason to caffeinate any more of his brain cells. Hell, he might as well hit the road tonight, because God knew he wasn’t going to get any sleep anyway.
Even though he didn’t drink he’d always loved going to dances. He loved any kind of dancing that involved holding a woman in his arms and he always had. He loved the feeling of a woman’s pillowy softness pressed up against him as he moved her around a dance floor that is more than six steps from side to side. For the past few months, Cash had been thinking about that old barn next to the large vacant lot he’d heard was earmarked as the site his bosses, Alex and Zach
, had chosen for a new motel. He knew they had looked for a manager that would be a good fit in the free-thinking town of Climax. They’d said they were willing to financially back the project, but didn’t want to operate it themselves. Cash had heard them talking a few days ago about a woman that Trace Bartell’s new wife, Tori, had recommended. And since he’d noticed construction seemed to be starting, he had assumed that lead must look like it would work out. He knew his bosses wouldn’t have started the project if they didn’t have someone hired because they were devoted to their family. Laughing to himself he remembered hearing them say more than once that their toddler triplets were easier to manage than their wife.
Sliding off his stool, he decided to head home to throw a few things in a bag and head south. The middle Red Cloud brother, Collin, was probably ready to kill Clay by now. The two younger Red Cloud brothers only got along to share a home because Collin had been able to buy something large enough that they rarely crossed paths. Col had just turned thirty and had decided he missed mountain living and was headed back to Climax. Cash shook his head. The damned kid had more money than anybody needed. Collin had decided that computer programming was a lot more interesting than college and had dropped out his junior year to write games. Cash had thought his parents were going to come apart at the seams, but it didn’t take long for them to understand their middle son had known exactly what he was doing.
Collin had become a millionaire by the time he was twenty-five and Cash shuddered to think what he was worth now. But despite his fortune and the fact that he was what Cash considered, almost scary smart, he also tended to be something of a loner. Cash wasn’t sure the kid had ever even been on a real date after leaving college. Collin had been staying at the hospital with Clay, but during their last phone call, Cash knew it was just a matter of time before Collin tossed his younger brother out of the nearest (and probably highest) window.
Then a couple of weeks ago he’d talked to Alex and Zach who agreed that turning the barn into a bar and dance club would be a great added attraction for Climax and offered to help Cash in any way they could, including giving him a lifetime lease on the property for a dollar a year. They’d toured the old barn and seen that it could be easily be. Red Clouds Dancing would be a great name for the place, his ancestors had been warriors and clouds play predominantly in Navajo legends. Cash had always been immensely proud of his heritage so honoring it in the name of his new endeavor seemed only fitting.
* * * *
Layla Lang knew that supervising the building of a motel that was supposed to look like a cross between a medieval castle and a chalet was going to be a labor of tortured love but she planned to throw herself into the task. When her friend Tori had called her a few days ago, she had been thrilled at the prospect of a job in her chosen field. And the chance at a job that would allow her to be in on the project from the start was a dream come true.
The video interview she’d had a few days later had been short and sweet. Basically, Alex and Zach Lamont had outlined their vision, asked her if she would be interested and then thrown out numbers for a salary and benefits package, including stock shares. She had been shocked at their generosity and told them so. When they had turned to each other and started discussing temporary housing options for her, she’d interrupted and asked if she had the job. Zach had chuckled and asked, “Layla, did Tori tell you anything about us? Did she mention that we’re, well—determined, forthright, pushy—”
“Dominant,” Alex had finished for him.
“Well, not really, no. She mentioned that this motel would be loosely connected with the ShadowDance Club, but she said she wanted me to meet you and form my own opinion. And well, she might have mentioned that I’d have to have my head up my ass to pass up this opportunity.” Tori smiled and shook her head at the memory of their conversation. Tori Paulson, now Tori Bartell, had mentioned that her husband was a Dom, but her sweet friend had sworn she’d never been happier and considering Tori’s history of abuse at the hands of a stalker, that was saying a lot. When Tori had mentioned The Club in the same conversation Layla had wondered what a dance club had to do with Tori’s sex life, but she wasn’t about to mention that to the two men filling her computer monitor that’s for sure.
Layla had planned to research the Lamonts and the community of Climax, but she’d been so overwhelmed with finals and graduation paperwork she simply hadn’t had the time.
“I’m going to cut to the chase, Layla.” Alex Lamont’s voice startled her back to the moment. “The job was yours the minute Tori Bartell recommended you. We like Tori and we have a great amount of respect for her professional opinion as well.”
She watched as he nodded to his brother and then Zach addressed her. “Layla, we’d like you to move to Climax at your earliest convenience. We’ll send you expense money for moving. Should you get here and not like it for some reason, we’ll pay your expenses to move again.” He laughed and she was sure it was because she was gaping at him. “Don’t look so surprised, I just promised you something I know I’m not going to have to deliver, because I’m sure you’re going to fit in perfectly and love our small community.”
Zach’s words had made her laugh and they’d gotten right back to the business end of their discussion. She liked the fact that they weren’t pushovers by any means but they had both listened intently, made suggestions for making her move easier—including vetoing her idea to do it all herself to save them money. They’d very smoothly maneuvered her until they’d won every point of the discussion and each one had been to her benefit. It was almost as if she’d gained a couple of “Big Brothers” rather than bosses by the time they’d ended the conversation.
She’d been so excited when she’d called Tori and told her she’d be seeing her in a couple of weeks that she’d barely been able to sit in her chair. Tori had been wonderful to work with at the law firm despite all she’d been going through at the time. Most of the attorneys and their administrative staffs had treated Layla like she was about a half a step above pond scum, but Tori had always been pleasant and hadn’t seemed to even consider the disparity in their positions. When Layla had told Tori about her interview, she’d been just as excited as Layla. Then Tori had assured her that she would indeed love Climax and her wonderful, though slightly insane, new friends.
Now it was only three days until graduation and Layla was putting the last of her measly personal belongings in a small box since this was her last day at the law office. Sure, having everything packed three hours before she could make her escape might be a little pathetic, but she didn’t care, she could hardly wait to walk out the door for the last time. Just as she folded the box closed she noticed a huge black pickup pull up in front of the building’s floor-to-ceiling front windows. It wasn’t that pickups were anything unusual in Texas, but they weren’t all that commonly found parked in front of prestigious law firms in downtown Houston at two in the afternoon either. Layla found her attention diverted to the gorgeous cowboy walking around the truck’s front end and in through the front doors. He was amazingly tall and his hair gleamed black in the sunshine. His aviator glasses and his broad shoulders gave him an air of danger. As if he’d heard her assessment he seemed to zero in on her with a radar-like accuracy.
By the time he was standing directly in front of the large reception desk where she was working, every nerve ending in her body felt like it had been electrified. “Hello, my name is Cash Red Cloud. Are you Layla Lang?” The man’s voice was like rich dark chocolate, smooth as silk and probably not safe in large quantities. Despite his height he was well muscled and his Native American heritage was easy to see. His skin was the color of caramel and his short hair so black it glistened under the lobby’s bright lights. Suddenly she realized he was smiling at her and still waiting for her reply to his question.
“Oh, yes, I’m Layla. Can I help you?” She’d been surprised when he’d known her name, hell, half the firm’s employees probably couldn’t tell you her full name.
“Well, yes as a matter of fact it is. I just finished packing up my desk. Today is my last day here.” She’d answered him, but she was sure he’d be able to hear the questions in her tone.
“So I’ve been told.” He smiled at her and she could tell he was enjoying her confusion. “I’m sorry, sweetheart, I shouldn’t be messing with you, but you are absolutely gorgeous with that puzzled expression. We have some mutual friends, Alex and Zach Lamont. And when they found out I was going to be in town to help my brothers pack they asked me to pick you up and deliver you to a very special place where their wife, Kat, and your friend, Tori, are sending you as a gift. So—since I have no desire to be on Kat’s bad side and I also know better than to piss off the local attorney let’s get you loaded up and off to your fun afternoon.”
“But I don’t get off work until five o’clock. I can’t just leave early. I’ll get into trouble.” Even as the words were crossing her lips she knew how absurd they sounded. Hell, it wasn’t as if they could fire her or anything, but still, she had never been one to shirk on her duties and she didn’t want that shadow following her, no matter how far she was going to be from “Prick, Dick and Ass-ociates Law Firm.”
Pulling out his phone, she watched as he typed in a short message and then just smiled at her. Almost immediately the desk phone rang. She answered and listened as Mrs. Rich in H.R. told her she was free to leave at any time and actually thanked her for her dedication and assured her that she’d be paid for the entire day. The woman who had never even actually spoken to her in the two years she’d worked there also promised they would be forwarding digital copies of various letters of recommendation to her new e-mail account. I have a new e-mail account?