Van, Becca - The Love of Three [Elite Dragons 3] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) (3 page)

“What the hell happened?” Stedman snarled when he stood over her looking down at her cut hand.

Alicia was still fighting the sting, so she just shook her head.

“She had an accident with a knife while cutting up vegetables,” Wolf replied.

Stedman gently picked her up and then sat down with her on his lap, all the time being careful not to jostle her injured hand.

“You’re as pale as a ghost. Are you sure you’re all right?”

Alicia nodded. The pain in her hand was now blessedly numb, and instead of feeling woozy, her blood began to heat. She could feel the muscles in Stedman’s thighs flexing beneath her legs and ass, which under normal circumstances would have sent her libido into meltdown.

Bronsin sat down in the chair next to her and Stedman while Ward continued to stand over them.

Wolf looked up at Ward. “You’re in my light.”

“Sorry.” Ward moved away but hovered close by.

“Are you ready now, honey?”

Alicia nodded again.

“All right, but let me know if you can still feel anything. Okay?”

Once again she nodded.

Wolf worked quickly and efficiently, but he was very gentle with her. By the time he had stitched up her injury and bandaged her hand, Alicia was exhausted.

“All done,” Wolf pronounced. “Keep that hand out of water, and come and see me if you experience too much pain or any seepage. Here are a couple of painkillers. You are to take those when the numbness starts to wear off.”

“Thanks, Wolf,” she said quietly and began to push off Stedman’s lap.

“Where do you think you’re going?” Stedman wrapped his arm around her waist to prevent her from moving.

“I need to lie down for a while.”

“You’re not feeling so hot, are you, darlin’?” Bronsin asked.

Alicia bit her lip and shook her head. Tears pricked the backs of her eyes, but she had no idea why. Maybe she was suffering a bit of shock and that was why she felt so tired. She shifted on Stedman’s lap, trying to get comfortable, and froze when she felt something hard pressing against her hip. Just as she was about to look up at him, he moved.

Stedman rose to his feet, taking her with him. “Wrap your arm around my neck, baby. I’ll get you back home, where you can lie down.”

She did as she was told and rested her cheek against his shoulder. Closing her eyes, she inhaled his musky, masculine scent and his lemony aftershave.
God, Alicia, you have got it bad, girl. What the hell am I going to do now? Not once in the three months I’ve been here have they shown any sign of returning my attraction
,
but I felt his hard-on. Was that for me, or was it an involuntary reaction to having my ass sitting snuggly against him?

Stedman carried her up the steps and into the house. Ward was holding the door wide for his brother. Two sets of footsteps followed behind, and she knew Ward and Bronsin were bringing up the rear. Her mind was flitting from one thing to another, and she thought it was unusual to actually hear the men walking. Usually they startled her because she never heard them coming before they spoke. Maybe they were too worried about her to move with their usual stealth. A smile drifted across her face but then was replaced with a frown when Stedman placed her on the large bed she slept in. Alicia had liked being in his arms, and now that he let her go, she felt cold and almost bereft. It felt as if she had been surrounded by his love and comfort, and when he withdrew, she felt almost empty inside.

“Okay, baby, let’s get you more comfortable.” Stedman removed one of her shoes, and Ward took off the other. Bronsin moved up beside her and sat on the edge of the mattress.

“Let me help you get your sweater off, darlin’.”

“No. I’m okay.” Alicia didn’t want him taking her top off. She was only wearing a bra beneath the layer of material.

“Alicia, you’re not going to be comfortable trying to sleep in that sweater,” Stedman said. “Now you let Bronsin help you get it off.”

“Arrogant, bossy…” She’d never admit it, but her heart thundered at the thought of them seeing her without her clothes on.

Stedman looked down at her without blanching at the insult. “Yes, I am.

He was more than that. As the eldest of the three men, Stedman was arrogant, bossy, and sexy as hell. He stood at around six foot two or three, and even though he was muscular, he wasn’t overly developed like a body builder. His hair was black as sin and his eyes were a deep, dark brown.

She had to stop admiring him when he continued, “But you’re going to do as you’re told.”

With careful maneuvering, Ward helped Alicia get her injured hand out of the sweater, and then he pulled it off. Cool air hit her body, causing her nipples to pucker beneath the lace of her bra.

She glanced up at him, nervous that he’d see her reaction. Ward topped Stedman by a couple of inches and had dark-brown hair and hazel-colored eyes. His build was similar to his older brother’s and similarly breathtaking.

Also, nothing slipped by him. She’d have sworn she caught him smiling as he turned to put aside her sweater.

A shadow moved over her, and she looked all the way up at Bronsin. Standing at around six foot six, maybe even seven, he was the tallest out of all three of them and was built like a weightlifter.

He swooped down and tugged the waistband of her jeans. “These, too, darlin’.”

His amber-colored eyes met hers as he pulled the jeans down over her hips, leaving her matching panties behind. She thought she heard a groan, but when she looked up the three men tending to her had blank expressions on their faces.

You didn’t really expect them to try and jump your bones when they saw you in your underwear, did you, girl? Get real, Alicia. They’re not interested.
Not only were these three men sex gods, but they were so much older than she was. They were in their early to mid-thirties, and she was only twenty-four. Standing beneath their scrutiny, she felt her youth and inexperience more than ever.

She was lifted again and then placed under the cool cotton sheet. They pulled up the covers, and she rolled onto her side.

Bronsin kissed her temple. “Get some sleep, darlin’. Hopefully you’ll feel better when you wake up.”

Ward came and kissed her cheek. “Just yell out if you need anything, honey.”

Stedman knelt on the bed behind her and stroked her hair. “Just rest, baby. We’ll be here to help you after you’ve rested.”

The three men left the room, but this time she didn’t hear them move. Their presence was gone and the door snicked softly into place as it was closed.

Tears leaked out from beneath her closed eyelids. She was glad they had left. The last thing she needed was for them to see her crying. It wasn’t her injury that made her weep.

It was the fact that she had deep feelings for those three men and they didn’t seem to feel anything.

Chapter Three

“Fuck! Did you see all that blood?” Ward got mugs from the kitchen cabinet and set them out. He had just put on a pot of coffee, and Bronsin had gone over to the main house to get them some food. There was no way in hell he or his brothers were leaving Alicia alone in the house now that she was injured.

“Yeah, she was hurting pretty bad, too. Her face was so white I was scared she was going to pass out.”

“She’s gonna need our help with everything. That was her right hand, and we all know that’s her dominant hand.”

“Yeah, but you know how independent she is. We are going to have to stay around her or she’s gonna try and do everything on her own.”

“We’ll take it in turns staying with her. I don’t want her left alone for a minute. She could end up pulling those stitches if she’s not careful.”

Bronsin kicked the back door, demanding entry. Stedman held it open since his brother’s arms were full of containers of food.

“Martha sent over enough food for all of us. I’ll put Alicia’s in the fridge. She might want something to eat when she wakes up.”

Ward filled Bronsin in on their plan about one of them staying with Alicia at all times until the sutures were removed. Once he had finished eating, Ward went to check on Alicia. She was sleeping. Her face was turned away from him, but he could tell by her deep, even breathing. Walking stealthily, he moved around to the other side of the bed and stood looking down at her. The color was back in her face, and he sighed with relief. Kneeling down on the floor, he gently brushed her hair back and silently cursed when he saw tear tracks on her cheeks. She shouldn’t have been in any pain, at least not yet. Wolf had given her a local anesthetic to numb her hand while he cleaned and sewed up the injury.

He soothed her when she whimpered by lightly caressing her forehead.
How the hell are we going to keep you here with us, little one? Please stay so we can show you how much you mean to us.

Ward stayed with her until his knees began to ache. Sighing with frustration that he and his brothers hadn’t tried to woo Alicia earlier, he finally stood and left the room and headed to the kitchen. He hated that Alicia was hurt, but there was nothing he could do about it.

Bronsin and Stedman had left to help the hired hands with the horses. There were so many of them that needed to be exercised, and all of the team members helped out. When they weren’t on a mission this was what they did to keep themselves occupied. It was also a cover used by the Elite Dragons team so the general public didn’t know the black ops team lived amongst them. The twelve men had earned the respect and trust of their bosses years ago. The Healys, the Tiltmans, and the Garmans had all agreed with their leaders, Coulter, Trace, and Corbin Thornell, when they had suggested they set up the stud farm.

Now that they were semiretired they spent more and more time with their horses. They raised a lot of different breeds. They supplied other ranches with mustangs, and they also sold Arabians to the racing world. The mixed breeds of Palominos, mustangs, and Arabians were the horses they loved to ride. These mounts were large enough to handle such big men but were also bred for stamina and strength. Each member of the Elite Dragons could live very comfortably on what they had earned while in the forces as well as what they had brought in from their stud business. If they wanted they could all just laze around for the rest of their lives. But that wasn’t in any of their makeup. Each man was so used to being busy they would go stir-crazy if they didn’t have anything to do.

Alicia was also used to working for a living, Ward reflected, and they really needed to find her something to keep her occupied once she healed up or she was going to leave from pure and utter boredom.

Bronsin and Stedman stepped in through the back door. They stopped to remove their shoes and headed for the coffee.

“What are we going to do about something for Alicia to do around here?” Ward asked his brothers.

“I’ve been thinking about that.” Stedman took a sip of his coffee.

“Once her hand is better, she could start working with the horses full-time. We can offer her a salary if she wants one.”

“You think Coulter will allow it?”

Stedman shrugged. “No one objects to having her around.”

Ward was grateful for that. If his teammates had given any sign of Alicia not being welcome, he’d have to have words with them. “Besides, she’s damn good at it.” He sighed. “She even
looks
good doing it.”

“She is so fucking sexy. And the fact that she has no idea of how appealing she is only makes her more gorgeous.”

“Yeah, she is,” Ward agreed with Stedman. “That curvy little body of hers could tempt a saint to sin.”