Claimed by Three (16 page)

“Now that we know you’re in physical danger, you’re going to have to adjust to having someone with you everywhere you go.” He felt her tense beneath his hands.

She looked back at him and narrowed her eyes. Red washed over her cheeks. “I’ll still go to work and see my friends and family.”

“Be reasonable. You’re in danger. It will only continue while this person is out there.” Kassius tried to make her see their desire to protect her wasn’t arbitrary.

“And what if he’s not caught? How long do you think you three can continue to shadow me? Teague will be called back to duty eventually.” She shot a scowl over her shoulder.

“We’ll work something out like your brother did. We won’t leave you unprotected.” He kept his voice calm. He hadn’t expected her to argue after what had happened.

“I’m not letting some bastard who can’t show his face change my life.” She folded her arms across her chest.

Kassius inwardly cursed. Her brother had said she’d been difficult when he, Lawson, and Paine had tried to get her to move out of her home. The memory came too late to save him from stepping into trouble. As he took a deep breath, he decided the only thing for it was to admit the truth.

“I know we’re not certain what the vandal will do next. You’ve been the target of two attacks now. Admittedly one of them wasn’t violent. I need for you to be safe. For me. You may not be worried, but I am.” He smoothed his hands over her shoulders.

“I’m worried too.” Her shoulders sagged. “I don’t understand why someone would do this. Is it about you three or me? If it’s me, there’s only one person I can think of with a desire to harm me. The officer I spoke to didn’t think my suspicions had any credence.”

“Who do you think it is?” Kassius tensed.

“Lillie Malone.” Sephanie stared at him as she said the name.

Kassius shook his head. “I don’t think—”

“I know you don’t believe she has a negative thought in her head. No male does.” Sephanie faced front again, but not before he saw the sheen of tears in her eyes. “If it’s not her, I have no idea.”

“I don’t know either, baby. We’ll discover why.” He began to massage again, hoping to make her feel better. “Until then, will you please let us watch over you?”

“I need to work. I also want to be able to talk to and see my friends and family. If I’m locked up in a room, the person behind this wins.” She twisted so she could look at him. “I don’t want that.”

He fell harder for her in that moment. That focus and courage were part of what had attracted him in the beginning. She was so determined. All he wanted to do was wrap her up and keep the danger away from her. They could only guess at the reason behind the attacks. Keeping her safe would be difficult.

“We’ll try to make sure you can continue your life in a way close to normal.” He exhaled slowly. He knew there might come a point when they couldn’t give her the freedom she wanted.

“That’s all I can ask.” She gave a small nod.

“Now, are you still all right? Are you feeling any pain?” He put his arm around her back.

“No pain, and my muscles feel wonderful. Your hands are a definite plus in this relationship.” She swiveled so she was leaning against his arm and the back of the couch. Her legs hung over one of his.

“You can have access to these anytime you want when you commit to us.” He grinned at her.

“Well, you’re persistent.” She shook her head at him. “Our relationship is doing great. We’re not going to rush it. Believe me, I want what you do. I need to make sure we build something strong enough to last. This is important to me.”

“We’re going to last. I know it. We’re right for one another.” Kassius urged her to relax against him. After this day, he’d be happy to have her cuddled up next to him all night.

“It certainly feels right.” She nestled against him.

“We’ll be there for you. If you feel frustrated, we’ll be happy to help you work that feeling right out.” He skated his palm up her body in a slow, sensuous stroke. “If you need to be held or feel lonely, we’ll happily hold or be with you.”

“How about some of that holding me now? I don’t doubt you, and there’s nothing for you to prove. I know you’re good men. I want all of us to be certain and for there not to be danger coming at us.” She leaned against him and rested her cheek on his chest.

“Relax. I want you right here. Everything else can wait.” Kassius dropped a kiss on top of her head. She was with them. For now, that was enough.

Chapter Fourteen

Sephanie took a deep breath of damp morning air. The rich smell of the earth mixed with the essence of sweet, ripe fruit. Somehow, in spite of her determination to go to work, she found herself dressed in serviceable pants and shirt, walking among the groves and vineyards with Kassius and Teague this morning.

The deciding factor hadn’t been any reasoned argument. They hadn’t tried logic. Once she’d begun to get ready for work, they’d told her it was too soon. After that hadn’t worked, they’d pulled her back into bed. Both men had teased and aroused her until she’d agreed to stay home today.

She shook her head. It was the sex. Plus, she wanted to be with them. She’d go back to work tomorrow. Today was for her and her men. Well, two of her men until Berenger returned from work.

“Don’t lag, baby. The work will take longer if you daydream.” Kassius captured her hand and squeezed it gently to draw her attention.

“I didn’t think I’d signed up to be a laborer for you when I agreed to stay with you.” She peered over at him with a forced frown. “And didn’t you say just this morning I was recovering?”

“We’re going on your word, baby. You said you felt good. Everyone who comes here regularly gets pulled into the harvest eventually.” Teague smiled as he patted her shoulder. “Don’t worry. I’m sure Kassius will only expect you to fill one or two crates this time. And remember, be gentle with the fruit and the trees.”

“You’ll enjoy it.” Kassius smiled. “You’ll get to spend time with us.”

She’d definitely appreciate that bonus. She walked with them to the grove that was ready for picking. It was surprising how little automation Kassius used in the harvesting of some of the more delicate fruit. Most of the people gathering the fruit today worked in the distillery and winery.

They arrived at the spot where the empty, shallow crates were stacked. Kassius handed her one and picked up one for him. He guided her over to an empty platform on wheels. She looked with interest at it. It could be raised so fruit at the tops of the trees could be picked.

“Time to get to work, baby.” Kassius stepped up onto the platform with her.

He began picking the envia plums. She reached up, pulled one from the tree, and put it in her box. It was easy work. She could see how they might be able to get to know one another while doing it. At first, he didn’t say anything.

“Are you sure you can’t think of any reason someone would come after you?” Kassius glanced at her while he put an envia plum in one of the indentions inside the crate.

“Kassius, we’ve been over this. I haven’t dated anyone seriously in a while, and none of my employees or even ex-employees would tamper with my skimmer. Or know how to do it.” She turned and glared at him.

How many more times would they ask her before they realized she had no idea who’d caused the crash, much less why? She’d thought about it most of the day yesterday. Other than Lillie, she couldn’t think of any possible suspects. She didn’t understand the motive behind the sabotage. She hadn’t done anything to anyone.

Aside from the little altercation in her shop with Lillie, Kassius, Berenger, and Teague were the only people she knew of who’d had any problem with her recently, and that was because they’d thought she was avoiding them. She knew they hadn’t sabotaged her skimmer. Hadn’t even brought the possibility into the conversation. They wouldn’t solve any problem they had with her that way.

“All right.” He held up his hands. “I wondered if maybe you’d thought of anything new.”

“No, this doesn’t make sense.” She plucked another plum and placed it in the carrier. “From what Cooper said, it might not be about me. This could be someone trying to get to you or him by hurting me.”

“That’s being looked into as well. I want to know why and the bastard caught.” Kassius’s eyes hardened and he tensed, but he gently put the fruit into the crate.

“The land here has been in your family for years?” She glanced over at him. She thought she’d heard it had come to him through his mother or grandmother at one point.

“Yes, my mom actually inherited it from my Great-Grandpa Calder. She handed it over to Cale. He’s marriage partner with my other father, Samuel. Cale handed it to me.” He smiled. “I’d been coming here for years to help out with the harvest and some of the wine- and liqueur-making process. I knew it was something I could do for the rest of my life and never get tired of it.”

“I can tell. You look so relaxed here.” She kept working beside him. The satisfaction was obvious in the easy smile on his face and the pride in his words. She understood that. She felt the same way about her bakery.

“I am, but that’s partly because you’re right beside me.” He reached out and brushed her hair back behind her ear.

“Kassius!” Someone’s voice broke into the moment, and Kassius frowned when he turned to them. She peeked around him, but she didn’t recognize the man standing on the ground. She went back to picking the envia plums.

“I’ll be back, Sephanie. Teague’s right over there if you need anything.” Kassius pointed to her left.

She turned and saw Teague standing on a similar platform, busily filling crates. He worked at a steady pace, far faster than she and Kassius had accomplished. Then again, they’d been talking.

“I’ll see you soon, and I’ll try to get some of this fruit in the crate while you’re gone.” She turned back to Kassius and smiled.

In spite of their caution, she didn’t think she was in too much danger. Messing with her Duce seemed a rather complicated and uncertain way of harming her. Also a way of possibly getting in trouble for harming someone else. She didn’t understand why someone would hate her enough to plan for a failure such as that. Maybe they’d wanted to disable the skimmer.

She went back to work. In short order, she had the crate filled with envia plums. She put it beside her feet and looked around for another crate. She was surprised to see Teague standing beside the platform.

“You finished with that?” He smiled up at her but didn’t glance at the box of fruit.

“Yes,” she said with a nod. She tried to decipher what he was planning.

A smile curved his lips, and his eyes held a distinct glint of anticipation. He wasn’t there to fetch another crate for her. So what did he think they could do in the middle of the orchard?

“Come down.” Teague walked around to the open side of the platform and held out his hand to her.

“We still have crates to fill.” She tilted her head and watched his face after she offered that bit of resistance.

“We’re taking a break.” He narrowed his eyes at her, and his voice hardened. “Come here.”

“We barely started working.” She put a hand on her hip. “It’s not time to take a break.”

“Come here.” His voice lowered, and he leaned closer. “Or before I fuck you, I’ll redden that ass.”

That wasn’t much of a threat, but it did give her incentive to go along with him, at least until they arrived at wherever they were going. She still had a few qualms about where he planned to have sex, but she trusted him.

She grinned as anticipation and a rush of desire burst through her. Her mind eagerly supplied images of some interesting ideas. There were too many people around for them to fuck in the orchards, but they could always use the hallway of their house or a work building. She knew there were also storehouses around the property.

She stepped forward and placed her palm in his. His other arm swept around her, and he lowered her to the ground. He released her but kept hold of her hand while he led her through the trees. She didn’t know where he would go other than back toward the house. She hadn’t explored the grounds yet.

Teague began guiding her away from the path to their home and hurried her along one of the fences that bordered the orchards and vineyards. At first she didn’t see anything, but while they walked out of another grove, she saw a large gray building. This had to be one of the buildings where Kassius kept equipment.

Teague led her through a sturdy door on the end. She stopped once she entered. A huge blue piece of machinery sat right in front of her. She gawked at the machine. She’d never seen anything similar to it and didn’t know what it did.

Teague tugged her forward. She stumbled but went along. There were a few other machines in the large building, but Teague went to a door on one wall. He opened it and escorted her inside. Shelves lined the storage and supply closet. On one side of the room, she saw a worktable and a set of gray shelves above the workbench.

“Yes, that’s where I want you.” Teague guided her over to the shelves. “See this?”

He reached past her and grabbed the shelf. His hand slid into one of the boxes that separated the shelf into a grid. The particular part of the shelf he grabbed had no divider on the interior, only a wooden strip down the front. He pulled on it. The shelf didn’t move at all. He turned and smiled at her.

“I see it. What’s so special about it?” She raised a brow. Her mind readily supplied her with the possibility of him tying her to that after she’d noticed it had no divider. It sent a surge of desire through her, but she wouldn’t let him know that yet.

“Special, not much. I’m showing you it will hold you when I fuck you hard, but since you still have an attitude, we’ll start off with a spanking. Take off your shirt.” He turned to face her and let his gaze sweep over her body.

A thrill of anticipation shot through her. Her inner muscles clenched. The knot of need low in her belly intensified. She lifted her hands and worked her fingers under the seal. Slowly, she separated it until the light purple shirt hung open, teasing him with a thin strip of her flesh and occasional glimpses of the slopes of her breasts.