Adams, Eve - Trio [Gideon's Ring 1] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) (15 page)

Barrett grunted and spun around to start knocking on doors when the lights went out. “What the hell?”

“Don’t worry, the generator will kick in and bring the power back up.” Matt, always the optimist, spoke up.

“About that,” Wyatt slowly, reluctantly, stated. “The generator—well, it’s sort of gone. I had to sell it.”

“Wyatt, I swear to God I’m going to end you.” Barrett turned and clenched his fists to stop himself from wringing Wyatt’s fucking neck.

“I had to find some way to pay Strickler the rest of the money. We got almost fifty thousand for it. I sold it to
The Roadhouse
in Holston.”

God
damn
it. “That was a hundred-thousand-dollar generator, Wyatt.”

“Oh,” was all Wyatt said, finally understanding why the veins in Barrett’s temples were about to burst.

“Great, so we have a ranch full of guests, the power is now out, and we have no generator as a backup.” His eye started to twitch.

“Look at the bright side,” Matt chimed in.

Barrett clenched his teeth until he was sure a few cracked. “There is no bright side.”

“We’ll save money on the power bill.”

That was it. He didn’t care who he reached first. One of the Gideon brothers was going to lose his fucking head.

“Well, isn’t this cozy!”

The one man Barrett wanted to kill more than his brothers appeared in the doorway of the den. “Strickler, what the hell do you want?”

Strickler squinted into the darkness, giving him the appearance of a weasel, which fit him perfectly. Talk, dark, and not even close to handsome with his beady little eyes and an eagle nose, Richard Strickler compensated by dressing like a banker—which the Gideons no doubt paid for. Who wore thousand-dollar suits on a ranch?

“Barrett, always so pleasant to talk to you. I’m sure, even though I can barely see you, that you have a smile on your face.”

“Think again.”

Awkward silence thickened the room. Only then did Barrett smile.

“I came to talk to Wyatt.”

“I’m right here.”

“Good, if you can find your way out of this cave, we have a few more papers to sign before I can finalize the plans and get you your five-star rating. Maybe we can find a room with more light.”

Barrett went to the shelf that held the kerosene lantern. Each room had at least one. After striking a match from the box next to the lantern, he lit the mantle and cranked the fuel. The light spread across the room as he shook out the match.

“You’ll stay here.” He went to the other side of the room and lit the second lantern, grabbed it by the handle, and started toward the guest rooms. “And you’ll wait until I get back before you start in on feeding Wyatt any more of your bullshit.”

“Uh, why don’t Matt and I wake the guests.” Michael grabbed the lantern from Barrett, and together the twins hurried out of the room.

Barrett didn’t argue and instead turned to glare at Strickler. The man looked like he had something to hide. The way he shifted from foot to foot, never really meeting his gaze, told Barrett everything he needed to know.

He didn’t trust the son of a bitch any further than he could throw him.

“We’d hate to bore you with the details.” Wyatt gave a shitty attempt at a smile.

“It’s never stopped you before.”

His brother lost what little grin he’d summoned up.

Strickler took a step toward Wyatt as if banding together would make a shit bit of difference. “We were just going to go over some ideas for your new marketing strategy once you have your five-star rating.”

“Our old marketing strategy is fine.”

“Five stars,” Wyatt said and spread his hand, his fingers spiked out. “Barrett, you promised to hear him out.”

Strickler jumped in. “Think about it. With a five-star rating the ranch will attract a whole new level of clientele. You’ll be able to charge whatever you want.”

“We charge just fine.”

“This is fine. That is fine. You see? This is why you need me. You lack vision, Barrett. You can’t see the possibilities.”

“And you will lose your ability to see at all if you insult me again.”

Strickler visibly swallowed and stiffened.

“Let’s just take this down a notch.” Wyatt walked over to one of the chairs and sat. “Why not show him the mock-ups you showed me? Barrett, you’re gonna love this.”

He doubted it.

Strickler grabbed several thick folders from his briefcase and set them down on the table between them and opened the largest. Barrett spotted a spruced up version of the lodge and had to admit that it looked pretty damn good.

“With the new covered valet area out in front of the lodge, it keeps the weather off the guests. You brothers can take turns greeting everyone when they arrive.”

“We already greet them,” Barrett pointed out.

“The meet and greet doesn’t count.” Wyatt leaned forward and pointed at the ever-so-important five stars at the top of the flyer. “Guests have to be greeted within sixty seconds to qualify. I think we’ll have to hire valets.”

“They like the way we greet them now.”

“Would you just listen?”

Barrett had already made up his mind, but so his little brother
wouldn’t
pass out from anxiety, he gave him a curt nod and turned to Strickler. “Fine. What else?”

“We need to rip out the entire east wall and push it out about fifty feet to make room for a restaurant. We’ll also need to hire new kitchen staff.”

Some of the staff had been there since Barrett’s first memory. “No fucking way. This is the only job some of them have ever had. They’re family.”

Strickler shook his head. “It’s time to cut the umbilical cord. If you want the rating, we need top of the line. The staff you have now haven’t even gone to school for what they do.”

“They don’t need a degree to do a good job.”

“Maybe not, but they do to do a
great
job, and that’s what we need to get that five-star rating.”

Barrett stared at Wyatt. He could see adding a fresh layer of oil on the outer logs on the lodge, and God only knew how much the road leading into the ranch needed work. But replacing the staff was a deal breaker. “Are you buying into this bullshit?”

Wyatt blinked up at him, but said nothing.

Unbelievable. “This meeting is over. Strickler, pack your shit and get the hell out. You have until the close of business Monday to get us our money back.”

“Barrett, wait.”

He’d already spun around to leave the room. “Since none of my brothers have the balls to do it, I’ll do it. You’re fired.”

Strickler jumped up. “What? You can’t. We’re so close.”

“I told my brothers to fire your ass a long time ago. Instead, Wyatt chose to sell off our backup source of power to pay your outrageous fees. I’m done, Strickler. You have one hour. If you are still here
,
I will personally escort you off with the help of my shotgun.”

“Where is he supposed to go?” Wyatt hurried over to him. “Seriously, there’s like a foot of snow out there. The roads are all impassable until Gus plows them, and with as fast as it’s coming down out there, he won’t be able to keep up. Face it, we are all stuck here until the weather lifts.”

Strickler grinned and spiked his brow. The cocky son of a bitch then held out one of the thick folders. “Just look at the plans. I created a folder for each of you. Read through it. If you still want me gone after you read through everything, I’ll happily return your money and leave, no questions asked.”

Barrett shook his head. He had bigger things to worry about, like how he was going to keep an entire lodge full of guests fed, warm, and calm as they rode out the storm with no power. Grabbing the folder, he then spun on his booted heel and marched out of the room.

Michael and Matt had all the lanterns lining the halls lit and giving off a warm glow. He ran up the stairs and into his room before Wyatt—or worse, Strickler—followed him.

After lighting the lantern in his room, he tossed the folder on the bed so he could change into warmer clothes. They’d need wood if they wanted to keep everyone warm. An enormous fireplace graced the main floor facing the bar, but it wouldn’t do much to warm the upstairs. He’d have to dredge through the snow to all of the wall tents they used for glamour camping, or glamping as they called it in Montana, in the summertime and collect every last blanket he could find.

The twins had their hands full with the guests, and he needed Wyatt to stay with Strickler so the asshole didn’t talk to any of the guests. That left Barrett to gather everything.

Figures.

“This sucks,” he muttered, his mood vastly plummeting.

“So does waking up cold and alone.”

He whipped around and ignored the slam to his chest at seeing her again. Her liquid brown eyes. Her crazy red curls. That sweet, sexy smile. The sight made the burden weighing him down a little less.

“Hey, stranger.” Sarah waltzed into his room and glanced around. She had on the same thing she had on last night before he and Chris removed her clothes and took turns burying
themselves
inside that tight little body. She glanced at his clothes and frowned. “Going out to make a snowman and forgot to invite me?”

“I have to go get more blankets. The power is out.”

“Oh? So that must be why the lights are off. I thought it was just to set the mood.” She walked over and slowly sat down on the bed, releasing a long breath after settling in.

Barrett laughed as his chest swelled with something he didn’t even want to think about. “Still wearing the plug?”

She nodded and shot him a sly grin. “It’s not so bad. At least it isn’t vibrating.”

He reached into his pocket and pushed the remote to turn it on. He and Chris each had one. She arched and grabbed the bed. “Holy shit. You’ve got to s
–
stop doing t
–
that.”

“But I love to see that gleam in your eye as it heats you up.” He clicked it up a speed, causing her to let her head fall back.

“Oh, my God. You are so mean. Where’s Chris?”

“Out, but he’ll be back soon.”

He saw the disappointment in her pretty eyes
,
and it excited him. She wanted another threesome.

He’d just have to take care of that solo this time.

“Are you getting wet?”

“You have no idea.”

“I’m about to find out.” Barrett walked over, shut and locked his door, and then turned to her. “Pull your pants down. Let me see how much you want me.”

She
carried out his orders
without hesitation and spread her knees while the jeans kept her ankles confined. Drops of her sweet juices glistened on her curls and made Barrett’s mouth water.

He dropped to his knees between hers and ran his tongue along her slick cunt, drinking up her intoxicating fluid. He then spread the soft folds of her flesh and fixated on the ripe little clit just waiting for him.