Tiny Dancer [Divine Creek Ranch 13] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) (12 page)

“What did you do?”

“I abided by his rules. I made a home for myself there and subsisted on the allowance he provided as best I could. I dressed like an adult and lied about my age and my circumstances to any of my neighbors who thought to ask.” She spoke in a monotone, not meeting his gaze, distancing herself from the experience. “I think I was in shock, and by the time he left, I realized I hadn’t gotten any of the answers to all of the questions I needed to ask. I called his lawyer a few days later, just to see if I could talk with him on the phone.” Fresh tears sprang from her eyes and coursed down her flushed cheeks.

“And?”

“The lawyer was very kind to me but told me, ‘Camilla, don’t go there. Just accept what he’s offered.’”

“He left you.”

Seeming to not hear Ben’s comment, she continued, “I got a part-time job, lived frugally, and saved my money. On the day of my eighteenth birthday I moved out of that apartment and into my college dorm room. I threw away every means I had of contacting him and got on with my life. Being out completely on my own meant I had to work, which meant it took longer for me to graduate. I found the job at the Dollhouse, which helped me financially, so I could graduate debt-free. You can piece together the rest of the story.”

“He left you.”

Still not meeting his eyes, she braced her hands on her knees and looked at the floor. Her shoulders were stiff as she gulped. “He told me all that, handed me the keys to the apartment—”

Hating himself for it but knowing she needed to get past it, Ben murmured, “He left you,” and stroked her arms. He glanced at Quinten and was nearly taken back by the anguish he saw in his friend’s eyes. Quinten’s hand shook as he reached out to caress her, to comfort her.

A small sob escaped. “He left me there. I never saw him again. He left me there. Alone. My mom had been dead
three days
and he
left
me there.”

She crumpled and would’ve fallen out of the barstool if he hadn’t caught her. He wrapped her up in his arms and let her cry. Her sobs broke his heart.

He wasn’t prepared for it when Camilla looked up at him sharply and hammered his chest with her little fist.

“You made me say that. Made me relive that! You
bastard
!” Her voice cracked as she beat his chest one more time, and then she fell apart. With the way her body was wracked with sobs and she trembled in his arms, Ben really did feel like a bastard. Knowing they couldn’t move forward unless it was together, unified, Ben looked to Quinten, and he drew near and cuddled her, too.

As she quieted, Ben walked to the sofa and sat down with her. Quinten joined them and drew her little feet into his lap and started rubbing them, gently massaging her delicate arches, caressing and kissing her toes, stroking her insteps until she gradually looked up at both of them.

“I was scared to show you how I feel because I don’t think I can handle…”—her voice caught in her throat and she swallowed before continuing—“being left by anyone else. If I keep everyone at arm’s length, then I’m safe.”

That’s not safe. That’s alone.
That simply wasn’t acceptable to him.
Never again
. His own throat constricted as he tried to form the words he needed to say. He was grateful when Quinten stroked her calf and spoke up first.

“You’re not alone anymore, baby,” Quinten murmured. Ben could see the adoration in his eyes. “I love the fire in your eyes and in your heart, and while you could keep me at arm’s length for a time with your rules, you couldn’t stop me from lovin’ you.”

Ben tucked a lock of hair over her shoulder and looked into her beautiful eyes. His favorite shade of green. “He’s right, sugar. I know you’re probably a little ticked with me right now but…you’re all I can think about these days.” He looked around the living room and nearby kitchen. “I thought about you with each improvement we made to this house, wondering whether or not you’d like it. I know you’re concerned about getting involved with men you work with, but I’ve got a good feeling about us—this.” He gestured between the three of them. “I’m willing to take a chance that this’ll work. I was worried for a while that the fact I loved you was obvious, but I guess I hid it better than I thought. I love you, sugar.”

Camilla seemed to struggle with what she wanted to say for a few moments before she finally took both of their hands as though she needed a lifeline.

“Have either of you ever been involved with someone you worked with?” With a sigh, Ben shook his head negatively and so did Quinten. He wanted once again to kick the ass of every man who had damaged her ability to trust.

“I’m lucky that I didn’t lose my job in that fiasco at the Dollhouse, but Jake was an understanding boss. Everything is different now, and it’s even more important that I have no entanglements that wind up hurting me professionally. I’m going to be looking for financial backing, and any hint at unprofessional conduct could ruin my chances. Please try to understand how torn I am.”

Quinten smiled at her, and Ben let him have the moment as he turned her chin so she gazed directly at him. “All we’re asking for is a chance, baby. We’ve always maintained professionalism in The Pony. That won’t change. We’d never do anything that would harm your chances of achieving your dreams. If we fail—and I don’t think we will—we’ll fail privately.” Ben watched as she stared into Quinten’s eyes and then looked into his.

Please, sugar.

She licked her lips and then whispered, “I love you too. I love you so much it makes my heart ache. I watch you at work and want you so much I can hardly speak or think.”

Relief flooded him and he heaved a sigh and squeezed her. “Damn, it’s good to hear you say that, sugar.” She looked down at her hands and he said, “How come you don’t look as happy about that as I feel?”

“Saying it doesn’t mean I’m no longer scared. It just means now you know what scares me.” She looked at his chest and then curled against him, settling her head in the spot made just for her between his pectoral and his collarbone. “I wish I was less complicated to love.”

“Not complicated for two patient men,” Ben said as he squeezed her gently and kissed the top of her head.

Quinten lifted her hand to his lips and his eyelids slid closed as he pressed a kiss to her knuckles. “I’ve waited two years to hear you say those words, baby.”

Camilla gazed from one to the other of them and then reached out and pinched Quinten’s bicep. Hard, judging by his yelp.

“Ow! Why did you do that?”

“I needed to make sure I’m not dreaming. I would’ve pinched myself, but that would’ve hurt, and”—a mischievous grin curved her lips—“I’m not into pain. So both of you really love me?”

“Not if you keep pinchin’ me!” Quinten pooched out his lip but smiled at her when she rubbed his arm. “It scared the shit out of me when those three guys came into the club the first time.”

“Why? I told you I never—”

“I know what
you
told me, but I think you’re oblivious to how
they
feel, or felt, about you.”

Camilla scoffed and rolled her eyes. Ben tilted her chin, and she immediately turned her attention to him. “We know love when we see it.”

“But I told them no, from the beginning.”

Quinten chuckled. “You told me no, too. Remember? Just because I didn’t pursue you doesn’t mean I didn’t feel it.”

“Oh. Well…you should’ve seen the way the bears got showered with attention at the Dollhouse. I don’t think they were lacking.”

“Sex, maybe. But what they feel for you is special, much as it pisses me off to say it.”

Camilla wiped stray tears from her cheeks. “Feeling possessive?”

“You’re damn right,” Ben muttered, and then he took advantage of her proximity on his lap, perched on his swelling cock, and kissed her.

Arousal that had been simmering inside him burst into full-blown lust as she leaned toward him and tightened her arms around his neck. He swallowed the soft moan that escaped her lips, and he wallowed in her sensual fragrance, a mix of his bodywash and her own feminine scent, tinged with a hint of her arousal.

He couldn’t stop running his hands all over her luscious form. The curve of her spine, her softly rounded hip, and firm thigh. She groaned ecstatically, and he glanced over to find Quinten sucking on her toes one at a time, a half smile on his face as he watched the two of them kissing. The moment felt perfect. Right. But he needed her to know something first.

Freeing her lips, Ben stroked her face and got her attention as Quinten released her toes from their erotic stimulation. It was good to know she liked that.

“Sugar, there’s some things you need to know.” She nodded breathlessly. “We’re not perfect. We may—no, we
will
—screw up from time to time, but we want to be there for you. It breaks my heart that your father abandoned you when you needed him. I’d like to hunt him down for doing that to you. I’d never leave you like that.”

She put out a hand to his lips. “Don’t make promises.”

Quinten stroked her calf and grasped her other hand. “It’s a promise you’ll just have to accept whether you want it or not, baby. We’ll never leave you like that.”

Ben said, “One other thing. We don’t know much about Dominance and submission, but we have people we can go to, if we need to. If that’s something you need in the future—”

Camilla shook her head and frowned. “It’s all tied up with those feelings about Brandon. When I think about it, I become sad. I don’t think I need it anymore.” She didn’t look certain or resigned to that fact. Her sad expression led Ben to believe it would be worth his time to talk to Ethan and Joseph Hazelle about giving her whatever she needed, whether she realized she needed it or not.

“So does this mean you’ll lighten up about the costumes?” Camilla asked as she looked from him to Quinten. She frowned darkly when he squinted at her, and Quinten’s jaw went rigid.

“Oh, crap. You’ll be even worse, won’t you? How am I supposed to ever have my own club, and run it my own way, if you two are going to be so bossy?” Her tone lacked heat, regardless of what words she uttered, and Ben was a little surprised when he actually saw relief in her smile. “All right. Once Halloween is past, I’ll either retire them or retool them, so less of me is showing.”

Ben grinned and replied, “We promise to make up whatever you lose in tips, sugar. And you’ll be great at running your own club. I’ll bet I can even guess who you want working security for you.”

“You betcha. You know they’d be great at it.”

“Just as soon as they know you’ve been claimed.”

“
Claimed?
” Camilla said the word as though it tasted bad in her mouth and gasped when Quinten scooped her into his arms and laid a kiss on her that made her little toes curl up.

He broke the kiss to say, “Exactly. Claimed.”

Her resistance quickly fled as he settled her securely in his lap over his monster hard-on, which matched Ben’s, and she kissed him back unreservedly. Ben’s desire crested as he watched Camilla give in to Quinten.

He was grateful that he and Quinten had that honest conversation over a year ago, when Ben had begun to pick up on the way Quinten watched Camilla when she was unaware. It was back then that they’d discovered that they had something in common with other men in Divine. The idea of sharing Camilla was appealing to both of them.

Ben recalled words Quinten had once softly uttered a few months back while the three of them were getting slammed with customers on a Saturday night. She’d been in her element, chatting, mixing drinks, greeting customers, smiling, and bringing a light to the room that was completely unique to her.

Quinten had nudged him with his elbow as they’d stood side by side at the cash register and said, “If she was any more beautiful, I think I’d be blinded.”

Reclining in Quinten’s arms now, Camilla’s cheeks were rosy with passion, her parted lips moist from their kiss. Her eyelids flickered open, and she smiled at him and Quinten. Her stormy eyes were dazed with arousal that made his cock burn and his balls ache with the need to be inside her.

Yes, to claim her, with Quinten, was exactly what he wanted to do. Not just for tonight, either. Forever.

He rose from the couch, careful of the painfully stiff erection he was sporting, and pushed the coffee table away from the sofa. He slid it under the picture window that looked out over the moonlit expanse of their acreage, for it was
theirs
as far as he was concerned. With the table out of the way, the expanse of the thick area rug was theirs to play on, too. He slipped out of the living room and retrieved condoms from where he’d placed them earlier that afternoon in one of the special cabinets in the master bedroom.

He froze as he re-entered the room, drinking in the glorious sight of her pulling the T-shirt over her head and he caught sight of the prettiest breasts he’d ever seen. Being the horndog that he was, Quinten wrapped his arms around her and latched on, hungrily sucking at her nipples and lapping at the perfect, flushed swells. Ben gulped and realized he’d been about to start drooling. The tenderness in Camilla’s smile as she stroked her fingers through Quinten’s hair and moaned with pleasure splintered his soul. She looked straight at Ben and beckoned to him.