Monroe, Marla - Desire for Two (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) (9 page)

“That good, huh?” she teased.

“You’ll see,” Clay said with a smirk.

They finished their desserts and walked back to their rooms on the opposite side of the street. The guys pointed out various shops before stopping in front of one in particular. It advertised adult novelties.

“Come on. I want to get you something,” Clay said.

“Clay?” Elliot seemed unsure.

“She’ll love it,” Clay assured him.

Desire wasn’t too sure about that. What could they possibly want to get her in there that she would enjoy? Knowing the two of them, it would be something she had no intention of trying.

With a little prodding and a lot of assurance they wouldn’t embarrass her, Desire followed them in as they pulled her along by the hands. Inside there was every kind of toy a sexually open person would ever want, but discreetly displayed. She tried not to gawk at the many items, some of which she had never even heard of. Clay pulled her back towards the back of the store where there were various items of clothing, from leather bustiers to lace thongs and edible panties.

“Here we go.” Clay pulled out a pair of garters that were pale pink.

“I agree,” Elliot said. “They are perfect for her.”

“Um, guys, I don’t think that’s appropriate to buy for me. Really, I don’t.” Desire looked around to see if anyone was watching them.

“Of course it is. As our lover you deserve pretty things. This would look lovely against your pale skin and those black lace panties I saw in your suitcase.” Elliot smiled at her.

Desire felt her face heat with embarrassment. How could they do this to her in public? Didn’t they realize people would talk?

“Hey, baby. What’s wrong?” Clay asked, handing the garter belt to Elliot.

“Don’t you realize that people will assume we’re seeing each other if you buy something intimate like that?”

“What’s the big deal?” Elliot asked. “Are you ashamed of us?”

Chapter Eleven

“No! No, I’m not ashamed of either of you. But I’m supposed to be your assistant, not your, your whatever this is between us.”

“Relationship? We have a relationship, Desire. As far as the town knows, you’re our girlfriend. That’s how we think of you, anyway. Obviously we need to work on you if you don’t know that,” Elliot said.

“If I help you design your house and I’m your girlfriend, they are all going to get the idea that we’re more to each other and that might hurt your parents.”

“Don’t worry about our parents. They know the truth about us. Just relax and be yourself. Enjoy being here with us. Don’t let worry about what others think screw up a perfectly good time away from the office,” Clay told her.

“If you’re sure your parents won’t be upset when nothing comes of this.”

“Like Clay said,” Elliot began, “Mom and the dads know what to expect.”

Desire sighed and nodded her head. “Okay. But you really don’t have to buy me anything.”

“I know,” Clay said. “But I want to.” He took the pale pink garter and added a pair of black stockings with a pink bow at the ankle and carried them to the cash register.

When Desire approached, she realized the woman wore a collar with a leash attached to it. It was being held by a dark-haired man with tattoos and a leather vest sitting behind her. He grinned and stood up to shake Clay’s and Elliot’s hands.

“Man, it’s good to see you two here again. Everyone has missed you two.”

“What has Missy done to deserve the leash this time?” Elliot asked with a chuckle.

“Missy?”

“I went with Sandy to the male strip club over in Carlton Saturday night.”

“Do Sandy’s husbands know about that little trip?” Clay asked, rubbing his hands together.

“Sorry, they know,” the man said. “Don’t know what her punishment was.”

“I’ll find out,” Clay assured him.

“Oh, you’re getting the garters and stockings!” Missy exclaimed. “They are my favorites. I picked them out.”

“They are pretty,” Desire said with a strained smile.

Clay pulled out his wallet and paid Missy, accepting his change in return. The young woman carefully wrapped up their purchase and placed it in a plain brown bag. It even said “plain brown bag” on the outside. She rolled her eyes at that.

“Let me guess. That’s the name of your store,” she surmised.

“That’s right.” Missy smiled at her. “Hope to see you around.”

“Oh, Elliot. I almost forgot. I delivered that package to your room this morning. It’s in the drawer.” She winked at Desire, giving her a bad feeling.

She turned a stern face to Elliot, but he gave her an innocent smile. She was sure he was up to something. Whatever this store had packaged for him would be something she wasn’t going to be happy about. She was sure of it.

“We better go now,” Elliot said.

“Right, we want to show you the land before it gets dark,” Clay added.

They walked back to the truck where Clay helped her in this time and Elliot drove. They wound their way through town and then outside of town about five miles. Then they began to climb a small mountain where there were lush trees and green vines everywhere. As they leveled off, she could see where an area had been cut into the mountain. The ground hadn’t been cleared yet of grass or small bushes, but it was clearly the spot where the men were going to build their new home.

“What do you think?” Elliot asked.

“It’s beautiful up here. Can we get out?”

“Of course,” Clay said and jumped down from the truck. He reached in and helped her down.

Desire walked around the area, getting a feel for it, then looked out over the treetops below them to see a small mountain lake and the town off to the right. They weren’t so far up that things looked comical, but far enough to enjoy the view. She turned back around and pictured a house there. She could almost see it in perfect detail. She knew what she would do if it were her home. She’d make the master bedroom face the view, with a balcony outside French doors.

She could see the kitchen in back facing the trees where a flower garden would add color for looking out the window over the sink. The dining room and den would also face the spectacular view out over the mountain on the bottom floor. Yes, she could picture it perfectly. She sighed. If it were her house, that was.

“What are you thinking, Desire?” Elliot asked.

“You looked all excited then you got the saddest expression on your face,” Clay added.

“Nothing. I think this is going to make a wonderful place for a house. I’ll enjoy helping you figure out what to build.”

“Great. So, what do you think? Driveway curling around the front or going to the back?” Elliot asked.

“Oh, don’t mess up the front view with it out front. Put it in the back close to the kitchen so it will be easy to get to and unload groceries,” she said almost immediately. Then she thought about how that sounded and bit her lower lip.

“I mean if you really want my opinion, that is.”

“We expect your opinions, Desire. We’re counting on you to make this a perfect place to raise a family.” Elliot wrapped his arms around her and pulled her in for a kiss.

Clay moved in behind her and turned her head toward him for his kiss next. Desire felt odd kissing both of them and talking about designing a house for raising kids when she wouldn’t be around for it. In fact, she felt kind of sad.

Who was she kidding? She already cared too much about them. It was going to kill her when they tired of her and moved on. More than likely, they were ready to settle down with some lucky woman and start that family right away. Hell, they might even already have a bride in mind and be just using her as a last fling.

Desire stiffened in their arms and pushed away from them.

“I think we should be going now. It’s getting dark.”

The two men looked at each other before shrugging. She watched them exchange some sort of brotherly expression then look at her again and smile.

“Let’s get you back to the motel so you can rest. I’m sure this has been a long day for you. Dinner at the house will be around seven, and there will be all the kids there.” Elliot ushered her back toward the truck with a hand at her back.

“What kids?” she asked.

“There are four of us. You’ve met Sandy, but you haven’t met James, yet. Plus, Sandy has a set of triplets, and James has two little girls a year apart,” Clay told her.

“Good, Lord. That will be a houseful.”

“Mom and the dads love it. They want more grandkids, but Sandy said three was enough for her and James hasn’t convinced his wife, Sarah, to have another one yet.”

“So, that leaves us,” Clay told her.

“Well, I’m sure you’ll find someone to settle down with soon, and you can start adding to the bunch.” It hurt her to say it, but she managed to get it out without breaking down into tears.

“We hope so, and soon,” Elliot said.

Desire sighed as they pulled out of the clearing and back on the gravel road that led back to the main road headed into town. She needed to level with herself. She’d somehow managed to fall in love with them somewhere along the way. Even if they were interested in someone like her, she wasn’t sure she could live with two men. She hadn’t been raised as if it were the norm. It went against everything she knew. But of course, she wasn’t their type anyway.

“You sure are quiet,” Clay said, running his hand through her hair.

It sent a chill down her spine as he did it.

“Just thinking about all the work I need to get done tomorrow.”

“Well, stop thinking about tomorrow and think about tonight.” Elliot ran his hand up her dress to her panties before she could close her legs. “I’m going to eat that pretty pussy tonight for dessert.”

“I’m going to fuck that hot mouth of yours tonight,” Clay added.

She tried to control the tears threatening to fall and expose her. Like it or not, she cared that some other woman might live in the house she helped build with the two men who were quickly becoming more important to her by the day.

Chapter Twelve

Clay couldn’t stop thinking about the look on Desire’s face earlier in the truck. She’d seemed sad there for a few minutes. He didn’t like that. He didn’t want her unhappy. What was wrong?

Elliot walked back through the connecting door from her room and closed it.

“She’s going to take a short nap before tonight,” Elliot said.

“Did you notice how quiet she was all the way back? And she looked sad for a few minutes earlier, too.”

“Yeah. Something is going through that head of hers. What do you think is wrong?” Elliot asked.

“I don’t know, but we’ve got to figure it out. I don’t want her unhappy, Elliot. Maybe she’s just tired. It has been a long day, and we did keep her up late last night.”

“I hope that’s all it is.” Elliot took one of the chairs and crossed his heel over his knee.

Clay took the other one and stretched his legs out in front of him. They sat there for a few minutes, each lost in thought.

“She liked the house site,” Clay said.

“Yeah, and she was thinking about how to situate it on the lot.” Elliot clasped his hands behind his head.