Brooke nodded. Her glossy golden brown hair shook. “Max was brooding. He always does that. Then Rye finds a girl, and Max comes back.”
“Well, Max found a girl this time, and he’s not sharing,” Stefan said with a shrug.
Brooke’s mouth dropped open. “You’ve got to be kidding me. Did you see the way Rye looked at her? He couldn’t keep his hands off her. And Max won’t share?” Cold blue eyes turned to Rachel. “Or is it someone else? What’s wrong, city girl? Are we country folk too sexually liberated for you?”
There was something about her mocking tone that just set Rachel on edge. Deep inside, Rachel knew that one of the reasons she’d survived on the run for so long was the complete suppression of her personality. She’d become an automaton on the run. She’d become sweet and passive. She’d tried to be completely unthreatening. It was a reaction, she supposed. Tommy had always said that her forceful personality was the very thing that made him want to break her to his will. It hadn’t been hard to act sweet. She was sweet, for the most part. But now Brooke Harper was pushing all the buttons that brought out her alpha self. Rachel took a firm hold on her inner bitch and tried to be patient.
“Max is the only one who asked me out.” Rachel could feel her face flushing.
“Max believes you could never handle a ménage relationship,” Stefan said. To Rachel’s ears, it was said with an air of superiority.
“She’s obviously just some pretty girl who wants to play around with Max.” Brooke turned to Stefan, dismissing her entirely. “She isn’t even smart enough to go for Rye. Rye would buy her stuff and treat her like a princess. She’s the idiot who goes after Max.” Brooke glanced back at Rachel. “Let me tell you, sister, the first time you piss Max off, you’ll go running back home to your uptight mama.”
And just like that, her inner bitch won. Rachel watched as Brooke actually leaned back a little. “First of all, I am not your sister, and if I was, I would put you on your ass right now. You are a rude little girl who has no right to talk to people the way you just spoke to me. You don’t even know me, but you’re judging me, aren’t you? Your brothers would be ashamed of the way you just spoke to me. I haven’t done anything except spend time with Max. I care about your brother, and I care about Rye, too. He’s a good man who doesn’t need his bratty little sister running around behind his back causing him grief.”
Brooke opened her mouth to speak, but Stefan quickly covered it with his hand. “No, sweetheart, she’s summed you up nicely. Please continue with your tirade, Ms. Swift. I am utterly fascinated. She called you sexually stifled. Please address this accusation.”
“Screw you, Talbot,” Rachel said heatedly. He seemed amused, and she didn’t like being an object of entertainment for him. “I am just as sexually liberated as the next woman. I don’t care that Max and Rye like to share. I wish to hell they would. That shower scene this morning would have ended more pleasantly.”
Rachel felt her face go red. She shouldn’t have mentioned that.
“Shower scene?” Brooke’s prior distaste had been replaced with an almost expectant look of curiosity.
Stefan smiled like the Cheshire Cat. “Did you hop in with the wrong brother, sweetheart? How close did Rye get to the promised land before his conscience took over?”
Rachel sighed and sat back down. Her anger deflated as she thought about how lonely Rye had looked this morning. “It was a mistake. We quickly corrected it. Max and I are together. I’m going to honor what he wants.” Even if it kills me.
Brooke sat forward and looked Rachel directly in the eyes. “I know my brothers. They won’t be truly happy unless they’re in a ménage. They need each other in ways the rest of us can’t understand. Our parents were gone by the time I was seven. Rye and Max raised me. They’re halves of a whole. They can try to find a woman and live on their own, but I think they’ll be miserable. Do you want them to be miserable? If you can’t handle it, then I think you should leave.”
Rachel leaned in and didn’t flinch. She had been planning to leave. She knew she was in far too deep with the brothers after this morning. Seeing Max lying on the ground had nearly torn out her heart. Before she had thought she couldn’t afford to fall in love with one man, much less two. Now she realized there was no way she could walk away. She’d fallen into their trap and couldn’t get out. There was no choice. She would have to work to make it all right. “I’m not going anywhere, Brooke. Get used to it. Did this little talk work on their other girlfriends?”
Brooke shrugged. “Usually.”
Stefan shook his index finger at her. “One of these days, Brooke, you are going to find yourself a man who can handle you. I live for that day.”
Brooke smiled smugly. “I’m sure you do. You’ll grow old waiting for it to happen. Besides, if my little talk with Rachel here doesn’t work, then I’m sure once she gets a load of Max’s temper, she’ll head out, and my brothers can find someone suitable. I’m already looking. I have a few prospects at my school I think they’ll like.”
Rachel stood back up and leaned over the younger woman. If she was staying, then it was time to stake her claim. “You bring those women around my men, honey, and don’t expect them to come back in one piece. As for Max’s temper, I’ve had a full dose of it. Guess what? I wasn’t impressed. Our little fight ended with him apologizing nicely and playing my slave for the evening. I can handle Max, and I can certainly handle Rye. If you want to stay on my good side, I suggest you keep your friends away from my men. If you don’t…well, I’m ready for a fight if you are.”
Brooke looked at Stefan. “Is she serious? Did she really fight with Max and win?”
“She put Max on his ass in front of most of the population of Bliss,” Stefan replied with a silky smile. “The truth of the matter is I wholeheartedly approve of her. She’s perfect for them. She just has to make them see that she can handle what they need.”
“Is there a video? Because I would really like to see Max beg.” A brilliant smile crossed Brooke’s face. It made her look younger. She popped up from her seat and suddenly looked like the young girl she was. “I’m so excited.” She threw her arms around Rachel. “I’ll start designing your dress immediately. It’s going to be perfect.”
“My dress?” Rachel was a little stunned at how fast Brooke had changed from overly protective sister to welcoming potential sister-in-law.
Brooke gestured up and down her body, indicating her very chic clothes. “I’m a designer. Mostly sportswear and lingerie, but I have an amazing wedding dress in mind for you. Sorry about the whole bad-girl routine. You have no idea how many women just use my brothers for sex.”
“It’s been terrible for them,” Stefan interjected wryly.
“Now that I know you’re the one,” Brooke said, ignoring the artist, “I can be excited.”
It was time to slow things down. Brooke wasn’t the one who had to confront the problems with this scenario. “Look, I’m crazy about Max, and I really think I could love Rye, too, but they’ve been adamant about wanting a regular, ordinary relationship. I just can’t tell them I’m keeping them both and set a date.”
Brooke looked slightly perplexed. “Why not? That’s the way life is. You say what you want, and then you go get it.”
Stefan sighed and shook his head. “She’s exceptionally young and sheltered. Rachel is right. If she tells them she wants the ménage all of a sudden, they will both be suspicious. She needs to get them to see that it can work.”
“How do I do that?” Rachel was really interested in the answer to that question.
Stefan sat back, his hands steepling in front of his chest. He was such a decadent-looking thing. “I think I have a plan.”