Claimed by Three (19 page)

“Yes, I’m fine. This wasn’t in any way similar to what they did to my vehicle. This seemed to resemble a prank more than anything else. Shiny rectangles of something light with words printed on them. All of them slurs against me.” She shrugged.

Paine hugged her after Cooper stepped back. “Definitely not what I expected. I’m glad you’re safe.”

“What kind of person does this? Why would they amp up to the level they did with my skimmer and then do something like this?” She threw up her arms and paced away from the three men gathered around her. Where was Kassius? She knew Teague probably wouldn’t get the message until after he left his meeting.

“I don’t know, Seph. We’ll find that out after the person is caught.” Cooper patted her shoulder once she’d stalked back within reach. “Don’t worry. Kassius, Teague, and Berenger will keep you safe.”

“You know who the pranks remind me of?” She couldn’t help voicing the thought aloud.

“Who?” Cooper tilted his head, interested.

“Lillie Malone. It’s juvenile enough to be her style.” She sighed. Of course, there was no proof.

“Sephanie, everyone knows Lillie can get focused on one thing. I’ll admit it can be hard to get rid of her if she wants something, but I don’t think she’d have the nerve to do something like this. Whoever it is, they’ll be caught.” Cooper looked down at her.

They were trying to reassure her. She wasn’t worried about this type of attack. The two different styles of attack seemed so different. It made her wonder. Had they been done by the same person? If it was the same man or woman doing this, were they sane?

When she thought about the juvenile vandalism done at her house and the slurs on the strips, she couldn’t be scared. It was hard to fear something like this. On the other hand, the thought of another attack like the second sent a chill down her spine. Regardless of one person or two, she did not want to go through anything similar to that again.

“Of course we’ll keep her safe. She’s moving in with us, starting today,” Berenger said. He didn’t look her way as he watched the police finishing up their investigation.

A surge of anger ran through her. He hadn’t bothered to ask her or talk to her about it. She knew he worried about her, but that didn’t excuse him from discussing this type of thing. Before she agreed to anything like that, she also needed to know on what scale he expected her to move in with them. Did he plan for her to live with them only until they caught this person, or was he thinking longer term?

“No.” She stared at his back and put her hands on her hips while she waited for him to acknowledge what she’d said.

Kassius came in the door from the kitchen and stopped. “Uh-oh, what’s up, and why is she glaring at Berenger that way? Are you all right, Sephanie?”

“I’m fine. Berenger was the only one close to the prank. They didn’t intend to hurt anyone with it.” She smiled at him and accepted his hug, but returned to glaring at Berenger, who turned to face them.

“Berenger said you would keep her safe and she was moving in with you. I think it’s the first she’s heard of it.” Cooper leaned against the counter and watched.

“Ah, well, he can dig himself out of that one. Teague’s on his way. He got word about the police being here, and they let him out of the meeting. He’ll have to return another day to complete it.” Kassius sat at the table and looked at Berenger.

Sephanie stared at Kassius, surprised. She’d expected him to come down squarely on Berenger’s side. They were partners, after all, but he seemed prepared to watch and enjoy the fireworks. As Berenger took a step forward, she turned her attention back to the man who’d uttered such a presumptuous statement. She needed to focus on him and make him see he couldn’t arrange her life.

Berenger’s head cocked to the side. “What are you going to do? Stay at your house and face the attacks on your own?”

“Now you’re being ridiculous.” She sighed heavily. The man had to know exactly why she objected to him saying she was moving in with them. He couldn’t be that blind.

“I’m ridiculous for wanting to make sure you’re safe?” Berenger crossed his arms over his chest.

“No, you’re being obstructive and unreasonable by going from one extreme to the other.” She threw up her hands and turned away from him.

“No walking away. We fight this out between the two of us now.” Berenger reached out and turned her back to face him.

“Damn it, Berenger, it’s called space. We don’t have to be in each other’s face.” She tried to get his fingers off her arm but couldn’t budge his light hold. “You’re making me furious.”

“Oh, it’s going to get worse.” Berenger smiled, but his tone hardened. “You’re moving in with us.”

“No, I’m not.” She glared at him and widened her stance. She wouldn’t back away and let him win. If she did, they’d take over, and there would be no regaining any control.

“You expect us to let you return to your house with someone out there who sabotaged your skimmer effectively enough to make it crash. What do you think they’ll do next?” Berenger’s voice rose, and he looked at her as if he couldn’t believe she’d suggest something like that.

“I didn’t say that. I never said I wanted to be alone. I said I wouldn’t move in with you. I will stay with you until I’m safe, but I’m not moving in.” She lifted her chin.

“You’ll stay with us. So you trust us enough to keep you safe, but you don’t trust us enough to move in with us. How does that make any sense?” Berenger exhaled heavily.

“Hey, Sephanie,” Teague said.

Sephanie turned and saw him sauntering in through the door to the kitchen. “Hi, Teague.”

“You look good, baby. The police said they’re finishing up and you can clean and lock up.” He strolled up and hugged her. “I’m glad you’re safe. What’s going on with you and Berenger?”

“They’re fighting.” Kassius chuckled. “At the moment, it’s the difference between staying with us and moving in with us.”

“All right.” Teague patted her shoulder. “I’ll be sitting over there when you’re finished.”

“I’ll have to get a repairman for the door before everything can be locked, and enter a message for the board so anyone who stops by will know we’ll reopen tomorrow.” She spun to walk over to the holo-comm on the counter.

“I’ll take care of that.” Cooper smiled and turned to do that. “I’ll also call Mom, Natalie, and Brand. They can help out here.”

Sephanie grimaced. She couldn’t argue the obvious truth. Until the attacker was caught, she couldn’t come back here. It was a bad idea. Causing her customers to be scared was not a wise business practice.

The person behind the second attack could decide to try again. She couldn’t let anyone else get hurt because they were near her. On top of that, there were others who could run the business for a short time. Her family certainly knew what they were doing. They’d all helped her in the first year she’d started the bakery.

“That’s a good idea. Julie and Cathy might be able to give breaks or relief in the afternoons if it’s needed. I’ll ask them later tonight.” Sephanie knew her friends would help her.

“Are you finished with your arrangements? If you are, it’s time to get your mind back on what’s important.” Berenger tilted his head and raised an eyebrow.

Chapter Seventeen

Sephanie rolled her eyes at him. Demanding man. The argument was important? She’d said she would stay with them. They could go into the details later.

“We will finish this.” Berenger’s eyes narrowed on her. “Why would you trust us enough to take care of you while you’re in danger but not move in with us?”

“I know you’ll take care of me and won’t let anyone harm me, but moving in with you and staying with you are about something completely different.” She sighed and wondered why he stubbornly insisted on hashing this out immediately.

“How are they different?” Berenger crossed his arms over his chest. “It seems to me if you trust us so much, it shouldn’t be a problem to move in with us.”

“It’s different because you’re trying to skip steps. We only started dating shortly before the attacks started.” She looked at him and waited for him to respond.

“Skip steps? You know you want to be with us, and we need to be with you. It’s where you belong.” He leaned closer. “So tell me what could be so bad about moving in with us.”

“I don’t know. What could be so bad about you skipping a couple of steps when you put a Duce back together?” She tapped her foot.

“That’s a bad comparison. If we make a wrong move, our relationship won’t be permanently damaged.” Berenger frowned.

“How can you be sure? If I move in with you without restrictions now and change my mind after the danger is over, all three of you would probably be hurt. The same goes for me. If I committed enough to move in and one or all of you changed your minds, it would hurt me.” She knew they wouldn’t intend to hurt her, but they might if they moved too quickly.

“We won’t change our minds.” Berenger straightened and ran his fingers through his hair.

“You don’t know much about me or how we’ll fit together as a group. That’s what dating is supposed to help us learn. I could have so many bad habits that after a few weeks with me, you’ll be happy to see me go.” She licked her lips.

Didn’t he know how hard it was to resist shouting yes? Yes, she would work to build their relationship and give it her best effort. With everything else around them going crazy, they should take their time with something this important.

Nervousness tightened her stomach when she thought about how much they didn’t know. Even though they thought they understood her, they’d only seen the surface. It would take time to learn the details and discover if they desired the real person. They might not like what they found.

“That isn’t going to happen.” Berenger took a deep breath. “Learning some unknown habit of yours won’t change what we need. We want you in our home, in our life.”

“How do you know that’s not partly sex and partly the desire to keep me safe?” She tried to stay calm and logical. Resisting wasn’t easy. The urge to agree and grab the chance to be with them pounded through her. She desired everything they did, but she had to be certain the outside stressors didn’t push them together before they were ready.

“I aim to keep you safe, but it’s not part of why I’d like you to move in with us. I want you with us because you are our woman. In spite of the fact you’re one of the most difficult women I’ve met.” Berenger leaned forward.

“I’ll stay with you until I’m safe, and then I expect dates. We’ll take all the proper steps so we can be sure the emotion of a dangerous situation isn’t a part of this. I have to be sure we’re right for one another. Then we’ll take the next step.” She glared at him. No matter how long he remained stubborn about it, she wouldn’t change her mind.

“You will marry us. You know it.” He leaned closer, looming over her.

She moved closer to him, until they were almost nose to nose. She didn’t need them to prove anything, because she knew her feelings were strong. All she wanted was time for a normal relationship with them before a commitment. “Not until I’m sure.”

“You’ll be certain, and you’ll agree to marry us without some elaborate dating period.” He cupped her neck. “Can all of you handle the rest of this?”

“Yes, we can,” Kassius agreed.

“Come on, Sephanie. We’re going home.” Berenger tugged her toward the back of the restaurant.

“You won’t change my mind with sex, Berenger.” She pulled back against his hold.

“I’m not trying to convince you with sex. The argument is over for now. We’ll have to convince you we know what we want. It’s time to make up in my favorite way.” Berenger pulled again, drawing her forward.

He took her to his blue skimmer parked in the spot she normally used, and lifted her into the seat. She sat and stared ahead, shocked. The sudden change from arguing to him declaring the disagreement over left her floundering. A confusing mix of anger and surprise swirled through her.

“How can it be over? We didn’t decide anything.” She stared at him as he settled into the pilot’s seat.

“Would you have given in and moved in with us?” He glanced over at her.

She shook her head. Not with so many people’s lives involved in their relationship.

“Then we can’t finish the argument, because I’m not going to change my mind either. We’ll prove living with us and marrying us is the best decision.” Berenger started the Duce and took it up to entry height.

She didn’t have to ask where he was going. There were only three choices. Her home, his business, or their home in the vineyard. Since he wouldn’t consider her home safe, she ruled that out immediately. His business was in the other direction, which left their home.

“And you changed your focus from arguing with me to having sex after we’d been quarreling for quite a while?” She had to question the sudden transition.

Because of light skimmer traffic, she didn’t worry about distracting him. It turned nonexistent once they left the city. She saw a smile cross his face.

“The focus didn’t switch. Watching you stand up to me and not back down made me so hard I ached to bend you over the table and fuck you right there.” He reached over and drew his hand over her thigh.

“I can tell you my brother being there would have been a mood killer for me.” She crossed her arms. “I might be into some kinky things, but that isn’t one of them.”

“To tell the truth, sex in front of relatives isn’t on my list of things that arouse me either.” Berenger chuckled. “Which is why I had to get you out of there.”

She smiled and relaxed back in her seat until he reached their home. He landed on the pad and immediately opened the cockpit. She’d expected him to take the skimmer around to the garage where they kept their vehicles.

“What about this? Shouldn’t it be put away?” She looked at him.

“After, baby. There are still people working in the area, and the vineyards surveillance system. We’ll know who it is if they tamper with it.” Berenger climbed out and then reached up for her.

She eased over and let him lift her out of the vehicle. He didn’t put her on her feet, but carried her straight to the house. She curved an arm around his strong shoulders. While she leaned into him, she dropped kisses along his neck to tempt him.