Claimed by Three (32 page)

“We know you wouldn’t.”

Kassius smiled. “We’ll talk to you later, baby.”

* * * *

Kassius strode into the bar. He looked around for Sephanie but didn’t see her immediately. He’d gotten her location from Cooper. She’d agreed to begin dating them again. Although he’d hoped to avoid it, he had to talk to her during her night out with her friends.

Kassius, Berenger, and Teague intended to give her all the time she needed to work through the anger. Weeks or months, if necessary. They’d been talking about their plans for courting her. Kassius could see only one way to regain her trust and prove they would make her a full part of their life. Once the idea was in his head, he knew he couldn’t wait until morning or whenever they could catch her to tell her about it.

The three men split up and began moving through the patrons to find Sephanie or her friends. He hadn’t guessed the women would come here after she’d said a night out with her friends. He’d thought they would take her to a restaurant and maybe go to a spa afterward. She might be angry at them, but he knew Sephanie wasn’t looking for a man or other men. He trusted her.

He found the black-topped bar but didn’t see her there, and made his way to the tables near the edge of the dance floor. He saw Berenger standing and headed to him. Berenger wouldn’t have stopped unless he’d found Sephanie.

Kassius finally spotted their gorgeous woman sitting at a table, but she didn’t look happy. Sephanie wore a low-cut blue dress that showed off her full breasts. She scowled up at Berenger, and her arms folded across her chest.

Kassius didn’t blame her for being angry. She probably thought they would try to convince her to go home with them. Although he’d love to do that, he knew she had to make that decision. He arrived at the table at the same time Teague joined Berenger.

“What is this, Kassius? Berenger wouldn’t say anything except you had to talk to me. I told you I’d talk with you, and if you’d asked, I would have agreed to a date tomorrow.” She leaned forward and braced her hands on the table.

“I asked him to let me tell you. Go easy on him.” Kassius tried a smile. Maybe it would relax her.

“You track me down while I’m out with my friends and think I should go easy on any of you.” She tapped a finger on the table, and one brow arched.

Kassius kept his mouth straight with effort at the expectant expression. He wanted to kiss her. “We didn’t track you down to interrupt your date with your friends or to take you away from them.”

“Then why did you find me?” She exhaled heavily and watched him suspiciously.

“We were talking together tonight. You don’t think we trust you and that you’re not a full part of our lives. We know the trust is going to take time, but the only way we’re going to be able to show you that you’re a full part of our lives is if you’re with us.” He took a seat on the opposite side of the table.

She tilted her head and stared at him. “And you three think you can stick to the no-sex rule if I’m in the same house?”

“We’ll give you all the time you need.” Teague put a hand on Kassius’s shoulder.

“We just want you to think about it. You don’t have to give us an answer.” Kassius rose to his feet.

“You’ll hear from us soon.” Berenger stood.

Although Kassius didn’t want to simply walk out, he did. This was her night with her friends. He wasn’t going to ruin it.

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Sephanie opened her eyes when the scent of berry tea teased her awake. She felt the corners of her lips pull up once she saw Berenger standing beside the bed. This had become familiar over the past few days.

She’d taken a night to think over their request. Her first impulse was to say yes right there in the bar, but she’d held back. She’d needed to think. To weigh their words. She could come to trust them without moving in with them, but to see that they’d make her a full part of their lives, she would need to be with them.

She’d accepted and moved in the next afternoon. She hadn’t regretted it.

Berenger held a mug of berry tea. She slowly sat up and looked around for Kassius and Teague. They weren’t there. Not yet. She had no doubt they would be there soon with breakfast.

Her three men had pampered her relentlessly over the past three days. Breakfast in bed, massages, and long talks. They’d talked about the plans they’d made to ensure that, even if danger threatened her again, she wouldn’t be going anywhere without at least one of them. If one of them also happened to be hurt, she’d get to see him in person.

They hadn’t pressed for sex. The carnal drought was going to end soon, even if she had to seduce them. She loved the attention and felt treasured, but she missed the feel of their hard bodies.

“Hey, baby, it’s nice to see your gorgeous eyes open.” Kassius strode into the room. He wore only a pair of pants.

“Morning, Kassius.” She stretched and swept her gaze over the tray he carried. Fresh fruit and a cup of
fola
, a milled-grain porridge. Yum! “Where’s Teague?”

“Right here. I was bringing you some fresh juice.” Teague strolled into the room. “Sit back and eat.”

She scooted back and waited as Kassius put the tray over her lap. Berenger put the tea down on the tray. Kassius went around the bed and eased onto the corner of it. She took the juice from Teague but caught the intense focus of Kassius’s gaze on her. Maybe she wasn’t the only one who was more than ready to get this relationship back to normal. Perhaps they were waiting on some kind of signal from her.

She ate the food, but the weight of their stares did keep her attention squarely on her three men. As she looked at Kassius, she tilted her head. The jaw on his muscle twitched. He was nervous.

“I think you three want to talk about something.” She swirled her spoon in the fola.

Berenger took the few steps necessary to her side and lifted the tray. After he’d put it safely out of the way, he turned back to her. He knelt by the side of the bed. His hands clasped around one of hers.

“Baby, you know we’re sorry we sent you away without telling you everything. It’s never going to happen again.” His fingers tightened.

Sephanie bit her lip. She did know that. Their attentiveness and the way they acted proved that to her. They truly valued her.

“We love you. We want to make our life with you.” Teague strode over to stand beside Berenger.

Tears burned her eyes. If someone didn’t lighten the mood, she was going to start crying. She didn’t want to cry. She wanted to hug and laugh with them. Maybe talk about the future.

She took a deep breath. “I don’t know. Do I get breakfast in bed at least once a month if I say yes?”

Berenger stared at her for a moment before a grin pulled his lips upward. “I don’t know about once a month. Are you sure you’ll be worth the effort?”

“I’m definitely worth that and a fully-body massage every two weeks.” She lifted her chin.

“Baby, anytime you want me to massage that body, all you’ve got to do is ask.” Teague chuckled. “I wouldn’t mind a little reciprocation.”

“I’ll be more than happy to get my hands on you.” She tried to keep the innuendo out of her words, but it definitely ran through her mind. She’d love to do more than massage them.

Kassius laughed. “We’ll find plenty of ways and moments to pamper you, baby. Are you ready to forgive us? To move our lives forward?”

“I do forgive you.” She didn’t want to bring it up, but she wanted to savor the fun and romance before saying,
Let’s get married now
. “Can we have a few more dates, though, before we talk about the serious stuff?”

“If you forgive us, we can do that for a while,” Berenger suggested.

“I always enjoy going out with you.” She squeezed Berenger’s hand as she leaned forward to kiss him.

* * * *

Sephanie strolled through the orchard, inhaling the sweet scent of ripe berries floating on the breeze. She let the warmth and peace of the groves soak into her. After a hectic afternoon, it felt good to come home. Kassius’s house was that and so much more.

If only she could find her men. Dates, quiet nights talking—she’d enjoyed the past few weeks. She longed to do more than live with them.

She searched the house first, but Kassius, Berenger, and Teague weren’t there. That left the fields. It was harvesttime, berries in this case.

Kassius would be overseeing the process, with Teague helping. Berenger could be in any of the workshops, checking the machinery. She was tempted to poke her head into the shops to look for Berenger but decided to focus on the two men whose location she knew. After she managed to get her hands on them, she could go after the other man.

A few afternoons of lazy sex with her three men had quickly spoiled her. When she returned home after work, she always wanted them. She’d have loved to find one of them in the house. Even though the walk and the quiet were welcome, she yearned to see her men and wrap her arms around them. More to the point, she ached to press her body against them and peel them out of their clothes. She sighed. First she had to find them.

She strolled out of the trees and swept her gaze over the field. A large machine slowly made its way between rows of berries, harvesting the ripe fruit. She saw a small group of men in one corner and one man standing at the end of the row that was being harvested. The sight of a golden head among the group of men decided it for her. She ambled along the fence around the edge of the field.

When she drew closer, she saw Teague clearly. The wind tousled his black hair. Her fingers itched to run through it as she kissed him. Her steps quickened. After one of the men of the group moved, she got a glimpse of Kassius. He must have seen her, because he waved.

The group broke up, and Kassius and Teague made their way to her. Teague managed to edge in front of Kassius. He took her in his arms and pressed teasing kisses on her lips and cheek. She hugged him back, enjoying the heat and hardness of his body, but she wished she could strip him out of his work clothes. His touches left her aching for more and clinging to him.

The moment Teague stepped back, Kassius hauled her into his arms. His mouth slashed over hers for a hard, possessive kiss. She tightened her grip on his shoulders and rocked her hips against his. His palms smoothed down to her buttocks and held her tight. The ridge of his cock rubbed against her pussy as he slowly rolled his hips forward.

He nipped her lips when he eased back. She hummed with pleasure and held on to him. This was exactly where she wanted to be. They had to find some privacy.

“Hello, Sephanie,” Kassius said. He nuzzled her neck, and his hands swept upward from her ass over her back.

“Hi, Kassius.” She snuggled into him and enjoyed the slow strokes. “How was your day?”

“All right until later in the day. We need to talk to you.” He stepped back. “Let’s go find Berenger. I know he was looking forward to holding you.”

“Something wrong?” She glanced up at him as she curled her fingers around his.

“No, but we want a little privacy.” Teague moved up on her other side and slid his arm around her waist.

Sephanie frowned. She didn’t understand their hesitation. No one could hear them. They had all the privacy necessary.

She shot a look at Teague but strolled along with them. They must have known exactly where Berenger was working, because they didn’t check the two small sheds they passed on the way. A big gray building loomed in front of them. She saw two huge double doors standing open and two pieces of machinery outside.

“This is the main equipment shed. We had to pull the berry harvester from it earlier, which is why the other machines are outside. They’ll be returned to the shed after the harvester is put back in its spot.” Teague must have noticed her staring.

“Is Berenger here? Or is this where we get privacy?” She tilted her head and watched him. She still didn’t understand why explaining about their day required privacy.

“Berenger’s here, and we get privacy.” Kassius stepped forward, towing her along. “It works out perfectly.”

“There are big open double doors. How does that offer seclusion?” She tugged at her hand.

“They won’t be open for long, Sephanie.” Teague’s arm slipped free of hers, and he strode away from them when they entered.

He headed off to the right while Kassius guided her deeper into the barn. She heard a whir and realized Teague must be closing the big panels. Although she was curious, she didn’t look back. She hoped they could find Berenger and discover why Kassius was being so secretive. There wasn’t much time to worry about that. She spotted Berenger’s legs sticking out from under a yellow machine with a bucket on the right side.

“Berenger, Sephanie’s home.” Kassius didn’t stop at the machine.

He guided her back to a worktable along one wall. A single stool sat in front of the cluttered table. Kassius picked her up and placed her on the seat. A nervous lump lodged in her throat at the same time his palm settled on her leg as if to hold her in place. She eyed him, feeling like she was about to be interrogated.

Teague joined them and leaned a hip against the table while they waited for Berenger. His easy smile reassured her that whatever had Kassius so focused, it wasn’t anything bad. She relaxed and put her hand on Kassius’s.

Berenger strode over to meet them. He wiped his hands on a cloth. A big smile curved his lips. He walked straight to the chair, leaned down, and kissed her. She wrapped her arms around him and sank into the sweet touch. She didn’t know if she’d ever get enough of their kisses.

When he pulled back, she clung to him. He gently tugged her arms from him and stepped to the side. Kassius moved in front of her. He stood with his feet braced apart, as if he was prepared for a fight.

“So what’s on your minds, and why do we have to be in a building to talk about it?” She glanced up at Kassius through her lashes. Her sense of humor took over once she noticed he seemed nervous. She couldn’t believe the big man was anxious about talking to her. They were all so confident usually.

Kassius smiled. “Because we always want to touch you, and touching you often leads to you losing clothes.”