The Barter System (40 page)

By the time they were
pulling into the line to disembark, Riya was asking questions like she’d been
part of the board for years.  As she bent to gather her voluminous skirts so
she’d be ready to get out, the men shared a look over her head.  She was
exactly what they’d been waiting for.

The door opened and Max
climbed out, reaching back for her hand.  Flashbulbs were exploding everywhere
but Riya wasn’t unfamiliar with the press.  She plastered a cool smile on her
face and went where she was led.  Her hands were pulled through an elbow of
each man.  They entered together, both men keeping her close. 

Stopping at coat check, she
checked her wrap and purse before heading into the ballroom.  She looked at
both of them pointedly and said, “No alcohol.  I’ve probably spilled my guts
enough for one day.”  They chuckled and Max pulled her to the dance floor while
Micah made the rounds of the charity board.  “You two are very close, aren’t
you?”

Max considered her question
thoughtfully as he danced her smoothly around the floor, “We work as one
person, on equal footing.  We cover for each other, I watch his businesses, and
he watches mine.  When one of us is dating, we respect…boundaries, if there are
any.  If there aren’t, we test the waters, see what a partner wants.” 

He looked at her, loving the
way her eyes sparkled as they danced.  “We’ve had relationships on our own. 
The problem is we work a lot and have many obligations.  Every relationship we
have alone eventually fails due to neglect which results in unintentional hurt
feelings.  The relationships we share last a little longer.  It isn’t just the
sex.  It’s the attention, remembering the small stuff, paying attention to the
details women secretly want you,
need you
, to notice.  Men are ignorant
with women.  One man alone has a fifty-fifty chance of not making an ass of
himself.  Two men have better odds.”

“And this doesn’t cause a
problem between the two of you?  There’s no jealousy?  None at all?”  She was
genuinely interested, curious on multiple levels.

Max sensed it and loved her
honesty.  “Micah and I grew up together in the same orphanage in London.  We
were starved and beaten but we lived through it.  When you worry about sharing
one piece of bread or a single thin blanket, petty jealousy just never
develops.  We built our fortunes together.  We share space and support one
another in everything possible.  Each of us compliments the other in a way
uncommon for straight men…
interesting
face.” 

He brushed his lips over her
temple with a grin, “Yes, Riya, we’re completely straight, more like brothers
than anything else.  I’ve never considered him sexually in any capacity except
how he can add to the sexual experience of the woman we’re sharing.  Thinking
of him sexually grosses me out.  However, I hope it doesn’t have the same effect
on you.”  His look was suddenly predatory and she felt her nipples tighten in
response. 

“What if I’m terrible at
this?  I’ve barely had experience being with one man at a time, I could be a
huge disappointment.”  Her self-conscious smile clenched something in his chest
and Max tightened his arms around her.

“Riya, you’re already much
more than either of us hoped for.  You amaze me.  You’re confident yet seem to
have no clue how others see you.  By the way, you are dancing beautifully in
four-inch heels.  Where have you been all my life?” 

He laughed and dipped her,
dropping a chaste kiss on her lips.  When he lifted her back up, Micah stood
beside them.  Max spun her into his friend’s arms and bowed slightly, releasing
her hand with a kiss.

He left the dance floor to
mingle while Micah pulled her snugly to him and danced her around the room. 
“The old-world charm or masculine beauty by themselves could melt me into a
puddle.  You are both so…
much
…individually.  Both of you together, I
fear overdose.”  She laughed with a small shake of her head.

Micah leaned closer and said
hungrily, “Possibly, but what better way for a woman to go?  Having her every
wish granted by two men intent on nothing but her pleasure?  I think you have a
high tolerance for pleasure, Riya, but I doubt you’ve been pushed as far to the
edge as we can take you.” 

He nuzzled her neck, his
warm breath and delicious accent at her ear.  “I’d like to see just what we can
make you feel, if we can make you scream in ecstasy.  And I think you’re woman
enough to handle it.”

“Oh my god, I hope so,” she
sighed absently then gasped when she realized she’d voiced her thought out
loud.  Micah clenched her tighter to his body with a low growl. 

“You are such a surprise.  I
cannot wait to see you naked with your hair spread around you as we make you
come again and again,” he murmured.  As he watched, she tugged her full lower
lip between her straight white teeth. 

His eyes moved up from her
mouth to capture her gaze.  “Right now, we need to get you some food.  Max said
you forget to eat.  I would have paddled your gorgeous ass for that.” 

She blushed hotly as he
moved to lead her from the floor.  His hand held hers and he lifted it to plant
a kiss over her knuckles, voice low so only she could hear him.  “What I want
to know, and what you’re going to tell me, sweet Riya, is if that blush is
embarrassment…or excitement?”  They were standing utterly still at the edge of
the tables.

Riya’s eyes flashed, greener
than they’d been earlier and she matched her volume to his.  “Both, I think.  When
you said it, I had the most interesting reaction.”

“God, I adore an honest
woman.”  He put her hand through his arm and led her over to where Max was
standing with a group of four other men.  At their approach, the group turned
and eyed her appreciatively.  “Max, I believe we need to feed our lovely Riya.”

The other men openly
appraised her from head to toe and she could see the approval in their eyes. 
“Riya, these are friends from a private club Micah and I belong to.  Gentlemen,
this is Riya O’Connell.  She’s here for research over the next couple of weeks
but we’re hoping to keep her forever.  We’ll have to work very hard to convince
her.  Try not to scare her away.”  Micah and Max moved so she was between
them. 

With an inclination of his
head, the first man said, “Riya, lovely to meet you.  You are even more
stunning than our friends described.  I’m Galen Wray.  This is my friend, David
Robinson.”  He was very tall and blond.  Deceptively surfer boy wearing a five
thousand dollar suit.  The other man was slightly shorter and thicker with
muscle.  They both shook her hand.

“Riya, we’ve heard so much
about you and have been anxious to meet you.  I’m Robert Fitzgerald and this is
my friend, Daniel Pratton.”  He was slightly older and very distinguished with
his salt and pepper hair. 

Riya could swear she knew
Robert’s name from somewhere. 

Daniel had dark hair with a
red undertone.  He was smiling more than all the others and the moment he was
introduced reached out to take her hand, shaking it vigorously. 

“I’m a
huge
fan.  I
find your work extremely brave and forward-thinking.  I was threatened with
death and dismemberment if I brought it up.”  He glanced pointedly at the men
on either side of her and ignored their glares.  “I don’t know if you realize,
but you have quite the name in our…circle.  It’s how we found out about your
latest project.” 

“Really?  I have a name? 
No, I had no idea,” she laughed lightly with a confused tilt to her head.  “I
don’t get out much.”

As the youngest man of the
group, his enthusiasm was obvious.  Riya noticed the other men seemed suddenly
nervous.  Focusing, she heard Daniel say, “You’ve had the blog for years,
started it your freshman year of college, right?”  At her stunned nod, he
continued excitedly, “I’m a subscriber as I’m sure every man standing here is. 
You’ve provided some of the most well-written and intelligent commentary about
the female mind and their individual sexuality.”

She looked truly
off-balance.  “People…men…
you
read my
blog
?”

All the men burst out
laughing.  “Read it?  In our circle, we often consider it the bible.  On nights
we meet for drinks, our women always have at least two or three entries to
discuss,” Robert told her candidly.   

Galen added, “What started
as a kiss-off to your high school boyfriend, an utter ass by the way, has
morphed into smart and sassy writing we look forward to every week.”

Riya shook her head, “You’ve
been reading it that long?  Wow.”  Suddenly she remembered some of the entries
she’d written, thinking she was totally anonymous.  It was suddenly an effort
to swallow.  “I think…water, please.”

A glass appeared in her hand
from Micah as the discussion continued around her.  “Don’t get us started on
the erotica,” David said, sighing.  “Your first jaunt into bedside reading lit
up our house for weeks.”

This time, her blush was
flaming.  She drank the water quickly and asked for more.  Eventually she
managed to cough out, “Wh…what erotica?”

With a huge smile, Daniel
answered happily, “The erotica that Robert’s company publishes, of course.  We
all send big checks for top twenty editions.  There is quite the bidding war
with every new book.” 

Daniel was star-struck and
babbling; Max wanted him to
be
struck.  But the young man carried on,
“Micah and Max have outbid us nine times out of ten.  They’re still trying to
get Galen’s first-off-the-press copy of your sixth book,
Toy with Me
.  I
thought there was going to be bloodshed over that one.”

Riya was staring at Daniel,
and a nervous laugh escaped despite her best intentions.  Her eyes were wide,
her lips slightly parted. 

Robert cleared his throat
carefully, “Miss O’Connell, please don’t be distressed.  You’re still very much
an anonymous author.  This group of reprobates, pushed by our wives I should warn
you, searched the web for links to locate you.  Once they had irrefutable
evidence, I could no longer deny it without threat of divorce or worse.  Your
pen name is safe with all of us.  We have strict confidentiality rules within
the club and we take them very seriously.” 

He gave Daniel a glare that
caused the younger man to roll his eyes.  “Though we’re very excited to meet
you in person, we did not intend to take you by surprise or in any way make you
uncomfortable.  You manage to keep a lower profile than any author I’ve ever
met.  Impressive.” 

Cheerfully ignoring the
daggers being glared at him by the others, Daniel leaned toward her and
whispered, “Watch this.”  A beautiful blond walked up arm in arm with an Asian
woman of incomparable beauty.  “Ladies,” he said softly, “We’ve just met the
most fascinating woman.  This is Riya O’Connell…you would know her as Charlize
Rojas.  She’s here with the M’s.”

Both women went completely
still before throwing themselves at her.  Grabbing her on either side, intent
on shoving Max and Micah out of the way if they didn’t move, they were
positively worshipful as the blond said, “Well aren’t you even more stunningly
beautiful than that one picture on your website?  Oh my God, she’s
here
!”
she said happily to Galen and David. 

“Why did you keep this from
us?” the Asian woman scolded before saying to Riya, “Max and Micah are greedy
and hateful, to be sure.  Don’t let that count against them, however.  Other
than their hatefulness in keeping you from your loyal following, they are
generally excellent men.”

The men swooped in to save
her, Robert introducing the women, “Riya, this blond woman trying to yank your
arm off is Blythe.  She is Galen and David’s wife.  The lovely black-haired
beauty about to climb you is Melody, wife to Daniel and me.” 

He gave Daniel and Melody
serious looks and they tried to rein in their excitement.  “Though this small
group may seem overwhelming, had we had time to arrange a book-signing, you’d
be swarmed with much more exuberance by hundreds and we’d have to arrange heavy
security.”

Riya rubbed her temple in
confusion, “But…I’m not anyone special at all.  I never leave my house or
anything.”