Lady Laugherty's Loves

Olivia Ragland never assumed she
would be presented with the opportunity to love two men, not at the
very same time.  In fact, she has all the man she could ever
want in her husband, Avery Ragland, Lord Laugherty.  He’s
charismatic, handsome, and a wonderful lover. But when his best
friend is invited to a house party they throw, the two launch a
sensual assault that no woman could possibly withstand.

Avery and Ellis have shared women in
the past, and have a pressing desire to share this one for a
lifetime. The only catch -- they have to convince Olivia that she
can overcome the restrictions that come with
respectability.

Lady Laugherty’s
Loves

Laurel Bennett

Copyright Laurel Bennett
2011

Published by Night Shift Publishing –
Smashwords Edition

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hard work of this author.

The characters and events portrayed in
this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or
dead, is purely coincidental and not intended by the
author.

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By Laurel Bennett

One

There were two of them.  Yes, two
of them.  Two of the most debauched and talked-about gentlemen
in all of Britain. And they were staying under her roof.  When
Olivia Ragland had volunteered to host the weeklong house-party at
her estate in Hampshire, she’d known one of them would be there.
She was married to him, after all. But not that he had invited his
cousin and best friend to attend as a guest.

Neither Olivia nor Avery had seen
Ellis in more than two years, not since he’d left for his tour of
the continent. Or his “whore-mongering journey through America” as
her husband liked to refer to his cousin’s trip. They’d only been
married for a few weeks when Ellis had announced he was departing.
But she knew Avery missed him terribly. They’d grown up together
almost like brothers, after all.

The coach rumbled to a stop with a
jingle of tack and the door flew open before the tiger could even
dismount. Ellis tumbled out, landing solidly on his feet just
before he flew at Avery.  Avery grunted as Ellis wrapped him
in a crushing hug. Ellis’ arrival had been all Avery could talk
about for weeks.  

They had very similar builds, the same
sun-kissed skin, and similar full lips. But that was where their
similarities stopped. Ellis’ father had unexpectedly passed away
when he was a boy, so he and his mother had gone to live with his
uncle, Avery’s’ father. Ellis had been raised with almost every
privilege Avery had, aside from the fact that he had no title like
Avery’s. Nor a huge inheritance to call his own.  But Avery’s
father was a generous sort, and Ellis hadn’t done without anything
else. Their upbringing was reflected in the way they moved and the
way they spoke. But Avery had a sparkle in his eye that Ellis
lacked. And Ellis’ brown eyes were in direct opposition of Avery’s
blue ones. 

When they finally released one
another, Ellis cocked his head to the side and regarded her with a
quirky grin. “Hello, Olivia,” he said quietly. Her belly fluttered
involuntarily. Oh, dear.

Then he held his arms out to her as
well. He’d never been one for formalities. He'd always preferred a
masculine, back-thwacking hug to a handshake with her husband. But
she’d never been so improperly propositioned before. And not before
servants, of all things. Yet when Avery gave her a small push at
the middle of her back, she found herself falling right into Ellis’
arms.

His hand snaked around her waist and
pressed her to him, scandalously close. Olivia placed her hands on
his chest and pushed. Yet he held her firmly within his
grasp.  “You feel like heaven,” he said quietly in her ear.
Then he gave her one final squeeze and leaned back to look down at
her. She opened her mouth to scold him soundly, but he tipped her
chin up with one finger and placed a quick kiss on her lips. Then
he released her.

“How was your trip?” she heard her
husband ask as they turned toward the manor.

Olivia was stunned. So stunned that
her feet refused to take a single step. All she could do was stand
there and gape like a complete ninny.

Avery turned back toward her. “Are you
coming, Olivia?”

Obviously, he didn’t see anything
wrong with his best friend’s display of affection. There wasn’t a
scowl on his face. He didn’t stand up for her honor. In fact, he
looked more light-hearted than he had in months.

“I’ll be along in a moment,” she
finally croaked. “I need to see to something.”  And figure out
how to take a full breath. Or any breath at all.

As they ambled inside, Olivia fought
to direct the servants with Ellis’ trunks.

“You can put them in her ladyship’s
room,” her husband called out from the doorway.

“My room?” Olivia asked. Granted, she
rarely used it. But still…

“We’ve a full house planned, Olivia.
And I can’t think of anyone I’d trust to have the room adjoining
ours.” He made a final motion to the servants which put them in
action.

Olivia approached them both and tugged
on her husband’s sleeve. “May I borrow you for a few moments, while
Ellis settles in?” He narrowed his eyes at her. “I’d like to
discuss the seating arrangements with you for dinner.”

“Oh, whatever you decide is fine with
me,” he said, quite effectively dismissing her, just before he bent
and kissed her softly. “I want to show Ellis the stables before it
gets dark.”

“You mean you want to boast over your
most recently purchased piece of horse flesh,” Ellis
teased.

“That, too,” Avery chuckled as they
walked away together.

Olivia escaped as quickly as she could
and ran for the master’s chambers. She shoved the door shut and
leaned heavily against it. Good Lord. Her husband’s best friend had
kissed her and held her scandalously close. And her husband didn’t
seem perturbed by it at all.

***

“You should be ashamed,” Avery said to
Ellis as they wandered toward the stables.  There was no new
horseflesh, not a single equine specimen that could make Avery
dismiss his houseguests and his wife to head for the stables. Yet
the very thought of Ellis’ lips against Olivia’s had him scurrying
for a quiet place where they could talk.

Ellis chuckled. “I feared she would
slap me there for a moment.”

“She would never do that. She’s much
too proper.”

“So, you brought me here to share your
proper English wife?” Ellis clucked at him.

“Only if she’s willing.” He’d never
ask her to do anything she didn’t want to do. But he did want to
see what unfolded if the situation came up. “I have missed you,” he
admitted. “It hasn’t been the same without you.”

“Yes, but then you had to go and fall
in love. And marry. The best friend of the groom doesn’t typically
get to share the wedding night. No matter how much he might want
to.”

“Do you think you could love her?” He
had to know. He’d not whore Olivia out. Nor would he ask her to put
herself into a temporary situation that could rock the very
foundation of their marriage.

“I think I fell in love with her the
around the same time you did.  But you had the advantage of a
title to offer her, and I had none.”

Avery had always assumed that to be
the case, yet he’d always been afraid to ask. He didn’t want to
ruin either relationship. He and Avery had both been presented to
Olivia at her come-out. And she’d shown both of them her favor.
Yet, in the end, it was Avery she’d gravitated toward. He was damn
glad of it, but there was something missing in their relationship.
He had a feeling that something was his best friend.

***

Ellis’ blood was still pumping hard
within his veins, not to mention his cock. When he’d pulled Olivia
to him and smelled her sweet scent, he’d fought with himself not to
scare her by kissing her soundly. He could still feel the round
fullness of her breasts against his chest, her lips on
his.

“Explain to me what you’d like to see
come of all this?” He needed to know exactly where he stood. Would
he always be a third? Would it always be Olivia and Avery, while
Ellis was invited into their bed on occasion?

Avery shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe
nothing. It’s up to her.”

He nodded slowly. He’d take the chance
that something wonderful would come of it.

“She’s probably up in her room, making
sure it’s presentable for you,” Avery hinted with a gleam in his
eye.

“So how do you want to approach this?”
He really didn’t want to muck it all up.

“I say we do what comes
naturally.”  He shrugged again. 

“Will you be offended if I
approach her alone to see where I stand?”
Please say no.

“Why would I be?” Avery’s eyebrows
drew together.

Apparently, his cousin wanted this
threesome to be a real relationship. As long as they were all on
the same page…

“I believe I’ll go and check on my
accommodations.”

A smile broke across Avery’s
face.  “One of the servants can show you to your new quarters.
For the time being.”

“You hope,” Ellis mumbled as he
started back toward the house.  Avery obviously hoped he’d be
sharing his bed with his wife in the very near future.

One of the servants did, indeed, show
him the way to her rooms. He could hear the sound of her humming
through the crack in the door.  Ellis knocked lightly as he
pushed the door open. She was a vision of loveliness, sitting in
front of her vanity. She barely looked over her shoulder as she
talked to him.

“You and I need to have a word,
Avery.”  She thought he was Avery?  Oh, this did not bode
well for the relationship.

“About?” he asked, forcing his voice
to take on the lightheartedness that usually coated Avery’s words
like syrup, as he crossed the room and sat down on the edge of the
bed.  He avoided looking at her as he tugged off his boots and
lay back on the bed, scooted toward the headboard, and proceeded to
stare at the ceiling with his arms beneath his head. But he knew
well what she looked like.  Dark brown hair with just enough
curl he could wrap it around his finger.  Chestnut eyes he
could drown in.

“Ellis,” she said quietly as she stood
up and began to bustle nervously about the room. Was that a tinkle
of response in her voice? It was much too soon to tell. But she
wanted to talk about him?  Dear God.

He rolled over on his elbow to face
her. It would be best for her if she realized he wasn’t Avery right
away. Otherwise, she’d probably hold a grudge. Most women
did.

“He kissed me.”  Ellis didn’t
have worry about her looking in his direction. She was fidgeting
about the room.

“You mean that little peck on your
lips outside?”

She flushed scarlet. “No, I mean that
most inappropriate kiss on the lips, albeit brief, that happened in
front of God and everyone.”

“I wouldn’t call
them
everyone
. And
it’s not as though he stuck his tongue down your throat.” He tried
to sound casual, but it was nearly impossible. Now all he could
think about was sliding his tongue in her mouth. He imagined she
tasted like perfection.

“It was inappropriate!” she
cried as she picked up her perfume bottle and slung it across the
room at him. He caught it in the air and raised it to his
nose.  So,
that
was the lovely scent that surrounded her.