That was the trick. Getting her comfortable being at the center of their ménage would change everything. Once she realized that they intended to worship the ground she walked on, the sex would be easy. She was beginning to see that no one in Bliss would look down on her for being involved with two men. Once Rachel realized she would be accepted, and that they loved her, she would understand that it was okay to love them both back. Max knew he and Rye could make it so good for her that she would wonder why she hadn’t had two men before. She wouldn’t want to go back.
A sense of contentment took root. He had a plan. He’d formulated it during the long hours he’d been forced to stay in bed. After he’d woken up in the hospital, he’d realized exactly what he wanted out of life. He wanted everything, and he wasn’t willing to compromise. He wanted Rachel to marry him and Rye. He wanted her to have their children. He wanted happily ever after for all three of them. He would have to be ruthless and purposeful to get what he wanted. Part of his plan was figuring out just what Rachel was running from. In all the discussions the three of them had indulged in over the last week, Rachel had been silent on the subject.
Max munched thoughtfully on his sausage as he watched his woman swaying to some music she heard in her head while she flipped pancakes for Rye’s breakfast.
Last night, while she’d slept peacefully in their big bed, he’d slipped away. He’d moved quietly through the house and out to her car. She’d been living in it. It only made sense that she kept her secrets there. After thoroughly going over every inch of the old Jeep, he’d found a seam in the floorboard. The items she kept in that little hidey-hole had just brought up more questions.
He’d found her pitiful stash of cash. She’d saved three hundred dollars from her tips, and there was a check she hadn’t cashed yet for another three hundred and fifty dollars. It was the sum of her wealth. Max’s heart seized at the thought of her having so little to her name.
Which wasn’t Rachel Swift. Elizabeth Courtney or Shannon Matthews was her real name. He’d found identification with both of those names in an envelope. Max wasn’t sure which one was actually her real name, but he intended to find out. He intended to discover just what had happened in her past to send her running. Then he would sit down with Rye and tell his brother what he wanted. He would tell Rye he wanted them to marry Rachel. Together they would take care of her problem. He just wanted to make sure it wasn’t anything that would compromise his brother’s position as an officer of the law. Once he was sure of that, he’d bring in Rye.
“Are you sure you didn’t find out the name of the hunter who accidently shot you?” Rachel asked suspiciously.
He shook his head. “No, baby.”
She didn’t look convinced. Max took a quick swallow of coffee and tried to look normal. She put Rye’s plate down. “Where did he go? I swear that man disappears four times a day. What is he doing in that room?”
Max choked on his laughter. He knew exactly what his brother was doing. “I have no idea.”
“Rye, breakfast is ready,” she shouted down the hall.
Max leaned back in his chair. He needed to get this plan going. His brother was going to go blind if he didn’t stop masturbating.
Chapter Ten
Stefan took the clothes Lana offered him. They were perfectly folded. Stefan inspected them and nodded shortly. It was her cue, and she did exactly what was expected of her. The lovely blonde sank to her knees gracefully and sat waiting. Her head was submissively down. Her hands were on her thighs facing upward. She could sit like that for hours. There was nothing quite like a well-trained sub, Stefan thought.
Stefan turned and walked to the small closet in the front hall of his guesthouse. He placed her clothes in the drawer he had designated as hers, and then shut the door. She wouldn’t see her designer suit, La Perla lingerie, and Jimmy Choos again until late Sunday evening. Until then, she would either remain naked or wear exactly what he selected for her. There would be no deviation from his requirements. She would not complain or suggest something different. Lana was close to perfect.
So why was his head so filled with someone else?
He looked over his sub. She was his match in every way. Lana was well educated. She maintained her lovely body with daily trips to the gym. She was roughly thirty-five, but Stef knew she already had regular appointments with a plastic surgeon. She was stunning and had no intention of being anything else. Most importantly, she knew who she was and what she wanted. It was what he absolutely required from any woman he “dated.”
Jennifer Waters was this woman’s opposite. The little painter could only be described as a hot mess. She was barely twenty-two and had no idea who she was. Her work showed great promise, but she needed years to temper her undisciplined ways. She had come to Bliss in the hopes that she could learn from him, but Stefan didn’t teach. Not art. He was renowned in the art world as an upcoming master, but he didn’t have any idea how to teach what he did.
He also didn’t know how to get a woman out of his head. She was far too young to be what he needed her to be. Lana was a much better choice. She was cultured and sophisticated. There was never a hair out of place or a nail chipped. Jen’s nails always had paint under them. Stefan could tell what colors were on her palette by looking at her nails. He was utterly fascinated with her hands.
“Up,” he said, eager to get his mind off troublesome subjects.
Lana rose with little effort. She stood calmly as he looked her over. She wasn’t waiting for his judgment. Stef had no doubt that she knew exactly how good she looked and how much he wanted her sexually. Stefan knew she was merely waiting for his next command.
“Present yourself to me,” he said quietly.
She walked to the middle of the austerely decorated room and leaned over the plush sofa. Her hands pressed against the arm. She placed her well-formed ass high in the air. Stefan sighed, satisfied with her obedience. He almost never needed to discipline Lana. Occasionally, she was late due to her job. That resulted in time spent over his lap or in the whipping chair, depending upon the degree of the infraction, but that was a rare occurrence. Lana didn’t play at this like so many others. She didn’t purposefully disobey to force him to discipline her. It was why she continued to be invited to his playroom. Stefan ran his hand down her straight spine and let his fingers drift to the cleft in her ass. He loved the sleek lines of her body. Her legs went on for days. She really was a work of art. He felt his interest rising just as he heard the car pulling up the drive.
Stefan looked out the bay window and saw the beige-and-white SUV pulling up. The driver slammed on the brakes and then proceeded to jam his door shut. Stef smiled. It was Rye. He had expected that Max would be the one to violently assault him, but he was happy to see Rye. It proved that Rachel was a smooth co-conspirator. He’d left the choice of which brother to tell of his offer to her, and she’d chosen correctly. Rye was the one she needed to break. Max would follow along.
“We have company,” Stef said, shoving his finger into her tight pussy anyway. She had been a very good girl. There was no reason to punish her because Rye was insanely jealous. It wouldn’t be the first time Rye had walked in on him having sex.
Stef smiled, thinking about their shared youth. Max and Rye hadn’t always just shared with each other. They’d enjoyed some of Stef’s games, too. Stef remembered a particularly hot night when the three of them had shared a woman. His thumb reached up to swirl around Lana’s clitoris. She moaned a bit. “Silent,” Stef said, reminding her. “I’ll let you know when you can make noise, darling.”