She closed her lips and made no move to cover herself even when there was a knock on the door.
“Come in.” Stefan added a second finger and picked up the pace. “Hold off until I give you leave.”
Rye stalked through the door. “What the hell do you think you’re doing, Stef?”
“Well, right now, I’m playing.” He felt the heat of her pussy. She was ripe and wet. Lana was extremely responsive. Her body had been trained to receive pleasure, so she expected it. Stefan could feel the willpower it took for her to stand and allow him to pleasure her. It took discipline to do it. He admired discipline.
“Could you stop playing and talk to me for a minute?” Rye’s question came out in an irritated hiss.
It didn’t concern Stefan. He had an obligation. “No, you’ll have to talk to me like this or wait until I’ve seen to my submissive.” Stefan pressed his fingers into her clenching cunt and rotated. He knew exactly which spot to hit.
“Fuck this, Stef,” Rye growled. “I have a serious problem with you.”
He wasn’t going to wait patiently. “Our guest is going to prove irritating, dear,” Stefan said to his sub. “Perhaps you should come, and then we can pay him proper attention. Consider yourself off the leash.”
Lana pushed back against his hand, fucking his fingers. She moaned loudly as he hit the perfect spot, and she went flying. A pretty blush covered her skin. She let her head fall forward and groaned as she extracted maximum satisfaction from her orgasm. When Stefan was sure she was done, he removed his fingers from her body, then turned to Rye.
“How may I help you today, Rye?” Stefan knew exactly what Rye took exception to, but he found himself anticipating the coming confrontation. He pulled a handkerchief out of his slacks pocket and gracefully wiped his hand. Lana silently sank to her knees, assuming the proper submissive position at his side. He let his hand find her hair to acknowledge her good behavior.
Rye did not look impressed. Stefan knew that most men wouldn’t be able to take their eyes off the lovely sub, but Rye was different. “What the fuck do you mean by offering to take Rachel in?”
“Such language.” Stefan laughed as he walked to the bar. He poured himself a couple of fingers of Scotch. It was ridiculously expensive, but he always had the best. “I merely offered the lovely Rachel a place to stay. I was being neighborly. She mentioned she was going to need a new home soon.”
“She doesn’t need anything from you.” Rye paced the room, seemingly unable to stand still.
Stefan looked his best friend over. They had grown up together. Stefan’s father was an eccentric millionaire who took a liking to Bliss and moved his son there. Stefan had stayed on with an army of servants even after his father had returned to his jet-setting lifestyle and the family mansion in Dallas. Rye and Max had been a big reason he chose to stay in the town. They were the brothers he’d never had. Callie was as close as a sister. They, and everyone else in the offbeat town, were his family.
He wondered if Rye had any idea how much he looked like an angry bull at the moment. His normally happy-go-lucky friend was like a predatory animal circling an opponent. Stefan was suddenly very happy Rachel had made the right choice. Rye was the reasonable one. If she’d told Max, Stefan knew he would probably already be on his ass. Max wouldn’t have asked questions. He would have done exactly what he had done since they were children. He would fight first and ask questions never. Max was pure pit bull.
“She apparently needs a place to stay,” Stefan remarked negligently. “Luckily, I have this place. I think she’ll find it very comfortable.”
Rye’s jaw looked like it was made of granite. Stefan knew his friend was holding on tightly to his rage. “Are you planning on training her?” He indicated the woman at Stef’s side. “You getting rid of that one so you can move Rachel in? Do you really think Rachel is so weak-willed that she’ll be your little slave?”
Now Stefan felt his own anger building. “First of all, there is nothing weak-willed about Lana. She is my guest, and I would prefer you treat her with respect.” He looked down at his part-time submissive. “You have my permission to speak, sweetheart. Tell our intensely rude guest who you are and what you do for a living.”
Lana’s head came up. Stef could see Rye flush with embarrassment. He knew Rye hadn’t meant to be rude, but the mistake would be corrected nonetheless.
“My name is Lana O’Malley. I’m the owner and CEO of True Line International. I’m worth roughly a billion dollars, depending on how the market goes. I enjoy my time with the master. It’s how I relax. I make no apologies for my sexual desires, whoever you are. If you have a problem with it, I really don’t care.”
“I am sorry,” Rye said sincerely. “I don’t judge. As perverse as I’ve been on occasion, I really shouldn’t. I’m just pissed off that your master here seems to think he can swoop in and take my girl.”
Stefan raised a single eyebrow. “Your girl?”
“Max’s girl.” Rye corrected himself, sounding sheepish. He suddenly seemed fascinated with his boots.
“Then I have to ask, why Maxwell isn’t here defending the lady?” Stefan walked to his friend and put an arm around his shoulder. “You really need to figure this out. I can see it’s killing you. Why are the two of you denying your natures? We promised each other a long time ago that we wouldn’t pretend.” Stef remembered the day well. Callie had been there, too, and the four of them had sworn to be true to themselves no matter what.
“Max loves her.” Rye’s hoarse voice matched the weary look in his eyes. “She loves him. I can’t screw it up for him.”
“You love her, too. You have to know Max wouldn’t want you left out.”
Rye shook his head stubbornly. “I don’t think Rachel would want that. She’s a normal girl.”
Stef sighed. “There’s no such thing. If someone looks ‘normal,’ they’re either hiding their kinks well or utterly denying who they are. I don’t think Rachel is into denial. Have you asked her? Have you been honest about what the two of you need?”
Rye ran a frustrated hand through his hair, and every muscle in his body seemed bunched and tense. “Just stay out of it, Stef. It’s none of your business. If I see you trying to tempt Rachel away from Max, I’ll take care of it, and you won’t like how I do it. Do you understand?”
Stefan put up his hands. He had no intention of staying out of it, but he wasn’t going to argue with Rye. It was time to bring it down a notch. “Absolutely. Will I see you at the picnic tomorrow?”
Tomorrow was the Founder’s Day gathering. It was the biggest event Bliss held. Stefan had plans for the brothers. He and Rachel had been plotting for almost a week.
“Yes.” Rye seemed to make a conscious effort to calm down. Stefan knew that Rye usually attended, but Max stayed away from crowds. They tended to annoy him. “Rachel says we have to go. All of us. She’s helping Stella out at her booth, but she’s made it plain we’re to put in an appearance. She wants Max to clean up his image or some nonsense.”
Stef doubted there would be any image building for Maxwell beyond the fit he would throw when he realized what was happening. “I’ll see you then.”
Rye walked out, but Stefan was satisfied that he looked more contemplative than when he had walked in. His friend would think about what they had talked about all day. Rye would be ripe for the plucking when tomorrow came around. Stefan looked down at Lana.
“What do you think, dear?” She was a highly intelligent woman whose opinion he valued.
Lana’s stared at the door that Rye had walked out of. “He’s in love with her. She’s an idiot if she doesn’t want them. His brother is a twin, right? I have friends who will take them, if she’s too much of a prude.”