The Sextet Presents… By Male Order [In Days of Olde] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) (6 page)

“When hell freezes over.”

Her answer restored Alec’s hope. “Well then, let’s go home.”

Thomas picked up the first leather-bound book and brushed his fingers over the title.

The Legends of King Arthur and His Knights

The tome had been his favorite from the moment he spent his precious coins to buy it. He’d read it at least a hundred times and still enjoyed each and every word, savoring the story as though it were new.

A glance inside the crate brought a smile to his lips. All of his books were with him thanks to Father Kincaid. Now, he felt whole again.

Hope shut the door to the stove and smoothed her hands down her apron. Whatever she was baking smelled heavenly. The woman could make a feast of shoe leather. Her eyes locked on his book. “You enjoy reading?”

“Oh, heavens, yes. It’s my favorite thing in the world.”

Her hand stretched out as if she’d touch the book, but she quickly drew it back. The hunger in her eyes brought a smile to his face. “Would you like to read this? It’s my favorite.”

“You would let me read it?”

“Of course. I had no idea you enjoyed books. There aren’t any here that I can see.”

“Billy wouldn’t—” She shook her head. “I’d love to borrow it. I’ll take very good care of it.”

Thomas lifted her wrist and put the book in her hand. “I know you will.”

Alec came in through the screen door, wiping his boots on the rough hemp rug Hope kept just inside the door. She kept a clean house, and both men knew to take care whenever they came inside, which was becoming more and more frequent. When they’d returned from town, she’d insisted Thomas bring his crate inside to open it. No doubt her curiosity prompted the invitation.

“Ah, Thomas. Ye must be very happy now.” Alec put a hand on his shoulder and brushed a kiss over his lips.

A blush heated Thomas’s cheeks, and he gave Alec a censuring glare. He’d tried to get Alec to be more discreet in front of Hope, fearing she’d send them away if she ever saw them being overly affectionate again. How many women had seen two men fucking?

Thomas was conflicted. He’d always believed Alec was the love of his life and that all they’d ever need was each other. Then Hope had come into their lives. The passionate interlude she’d interrupted had been more intense than any he’d experienced, and he believed that was because Hope had paid witness to Alec loving him. Having an audience—especially
her
—was downright intoxicating.

He was troubled. He shouldn’t be falling for another person, not when he had Alec. It seemed…
unnatural
to love two people at the same time, no matter how much Alec acted as though it were the usual. Yet the more time Thomas spent with Hope, the more she wiggled her way into his heart. Everything about her called to his romantic nature. Her kindness. Her beauty. But above all her pure heart. And those feelings did nothing to lessen Thomas’s love for Alec.

“Why the frown?” Alec asked. “Ye have your books back. All should be well in your world.”

“Thomas doesn’t want you to kiss him in front of me,” Hope replied, sending more heat to Thomas’s face. She smiled in response. “Oh, my dearest Thomas. I have embarrassed you. You look as though you’ve been in the sun far too long.” She laid a cool hand against the side of his face. “Please don’t feel ashamed. I understand that you and Alec are…
together
. It doesn’t matter to me.”

Thomas stared at her, resisting the urge to turn his face and kiss her palm. Her touch was infinitely gentle, and her acceptance was more than he’d ever hoped for—except perhaps to have her love them as well.

This woman was most assuredly one of a kind.

“It…it doesn’t?” Thomas asked.

“Truly it doesn’t.” She gave him a caress as soft as silk before pulling her hand back and cradling the book to her bosom. “Thank you for letting me read your book.”

“You’re welcome to read
all
of them. May I keep them inside the house? I’d hate to think of them coming to some harm in the barn.”

“Of course! We can store them in the empty bureau in the second bedroom.”

Alec drew closer to Hope and reached for the book she held, letting the back of his knuckles brush against her breasts.

Thomas knew it was deliberate and wasn’t at all surprised by Alec’s forwardness. Alec was convinced Hope was attracted to them both, and he meant to pursue her despite Thomas’s hesitation.

Hope gasped but didn’t stop Alec from taking the book, nor did she push his hands away.

Alec’s grin was luminous. “Ah, King Arthur. Such a wonderful tale. Do you know it, Hope?”

“Yes. My father used to tell me the story.”

“Three people—all in love with each other.” Alec clucked his tongue. “A shame Arthur, Lancelot, and Guinevere couldnae come up with a better solution than they did. Such clever people, too. A shame that the story ended in tragedy instead of bliss.”

“What would you suggest instead? That three people become involved?” she asked before dropping her gaze to the floor. “Pray forgive me. That was far too forward a question.”

Alec kissed her flushed cheek. “Nae forward at all, lass. I would suggest that since they loved each other so much, they
share
that love instead of
deny
it.”

“Alec…that’s enough.” Thomas growled low in his throat. It was one thing to flirt and compliment, but to suggest something so bold to a woman as sheltered as Hope was courting disaster.

Hope sat down in her rocking chair. Her gaze kept shifting between the two men. “You believe that Arthur and Lancelot were in love like you and Thomas? I had supposed they both loved Guinevere, not…not each other.”

Alec lifted her hand as he bowed low and kissed her knuckles. “M’lady, they
did
love Guinevere with a passion few ever know. But…”

Hope quirked a brow as she gracefully withdrew her slender hand. “But what?”

Alec went to Thomas and stood before him, their eyes locked in an intense stare. Thomas knew that wicked look well—it was the same one Alec gave him whenever he wanted to make love. “Yes, Alec. But
what?
”

Quick as a cat, Alec pulled Thomas into his embrace and kissed him soundly. Still holding him, Alec glanced over his shoulder at Hope. “But Arthur and Lancelot shared feelings too. Look at the loyalty, the desire that was always there but unspoken.”

Hope opened her mouth before she froze, the chair squeaking to a stop. “Do you smell that?”

The acrid smoke odor hit Thomas the moment her question slipped out. “The stove?”

“Nay.” Alec was already running for the door. “Fire!”

* * * *

Hope ran outside, chasing the men and searching desperately for the fire. It had been such a dry summer, and she’d kept barrels of water ready in case of something setting off a brush fire near her home. Her eyes caught the flames burning the dead grass behind the barn. “The barn!”

She grabbed a burlap potato sack, dunked it in one of the barrels, and ran toward the fire, Alec and Thomas mimicking her actions and following close on her heels.

They beat at the spreading flames with the wet sacks, and she put herself between the fire and her barn. There was no way she’d let those flames past her. About the time she thought they had everything under control, Alec suddenly tackled her to the ground. Thomas knelt at her side as the two of them smothered her burning skirt.

“Stay back! Damn you!” Alec ordered as he got to his feet.

“But—”

“Get back!” Thomas snapped as he and Alec worked on containing the fire.

Feeling like a child who’d been scolded for being naughty, Hope made herself useful by keeping the men supplied with wet sacks. Soon the fire was out, leaving behind a large black, smoking section of what had been wild grass. While the men rested and drank water, she poured basins of water over any spot that still had tendrils of smoke rising from it.

Convinced the danger was over, she went to where the men leaned against the fence. About to thank them, she was taken aback when Thomas threw his glass down and whirled on her. “What were you thinking?”

She’d never heard that type of anger in his voice before. Thomas had always been calm and collected, even restrained, from the moment she’d first met him. “What are you talking about?”

“You could have been killed, you daft woman!”

Before she could reply to his insulting statement, he pulled her roughly into his arms and dropped his mouth to cover hers.

This was no gentle kiss, but one full of too many emotions for her to even begin to comprehend. He framed her face with his hands as his tongue swept into her mouth, stroking and caressing until she had no choice but to kiss him back, her tongue quickly becoming every bit as wild as his.

She never wanted the kiss to end, loving how every part of her came alive in response. Without breaking the kiss, he drew her into his arms, settled his hands on her backside, and pulled her up against his erection.

A new fire kindled in her core and fanned to every limb. Unable to stop herself, she undulated her hips, rubbing against the stiff member and wishing their clothing could magically disappear.

Thomas ended the kiss, and she sagged against him, clinging to his vest to hold herself upright.

Alec’s soft chuckle made her mouth twitch with a smile. “’Twould seem our Thomas has been hiding a bit of desire behind that calm façade.”

Steadying herself, she raised her hand to touch her lips. She wished Thomas would kiss her again even as she wondered if Alec was as good a kisser.

Such shameful thoughts—but she couldn’t stop them. Her own desires were now entwined with the erotic scene she’d witnessed between the men. God help her, she wanted them both. She wanted them to love her like Billy never had, both with their bodies and with their hearts.

But that could never be. Tears blurred her vision. She needed to escape before she embarrassed herself further. “I’m going to the lake to wash.”

She ran away like a coward.

Alec knew they’d frightened her, but he also knew something much more important. “She wants us.”

Thomas shook his head. “I shouldn’t have touched her. I was just so worried we’d lost her.”

“Och, aye, ye should have. Did you nae see her face after you kissed her? Hope might be a widow, but the woman has never been properly bedded. Nor
loved
, I’d wager.”

“You’d win that bet, my love,” Thomas replied. “Her bastard of a husband sorely mistreated her. That much is crystal clear.”

“So the question begs…what do we do about the Widow Adams?”

“I’ve stayed awake nights thinking about that very dilemma.”

“And what did you conclude?”

“We can’t stay here forever, Alec. This isn’t where we belong. We’re not farmhands. I’m a teacher. I need to be in a city where I can find employment.”

Alec nodded. “’Tis not the life I wanted either. I’m a builder. But what about Hope? Is her heart tied to this land?”

“I just don’t know,” Thomas replied. “Sometimes she seems to love this farm, but often, I see something else in her eyes—a need for something more. We truly know so little about her. I had no idea she loved to read. Why aren’t there any books? They were the most important things I wanted Father Kincaid to send to me.”

“Perhaps her late husband forbade her from having them.”

“I hadn’t thought of that.” Thomas frowned. “Her life with that man must have been hell on earth. Remember how she flinched anytime one of us drew close to her when we first arrived?”

“Aye. Do ye think he raised a hand to her?” By all that was holy, if Billy Adams were somehow resurrected, Alec would have loved to put him right back in his grave.

“I’d say he did a lot more than raise a hand.”

Alec looked the direction of the lake, thinking perhaps Hope’s response to Thomas’s kiss was the sign he’d been waiting for. “She’s in need of a champion.” He smiled at Thomas, hoping his lover understood. “Or perhaps
two
champions.”

“You make it sound like such a logical solution. The woman is a widow, and I can understand her…appetites causing her to search for a lover. But
two?
” Thomas shook his head. “No polite woman would even consider it.”

“But our Hope is most definitely considering it. I’m sure of it.”

“Alec…”

“Answer me this, Thomas. Do ye wish to stay here forever?”

“No, of course not.”

“Then what do we risk by taking this path? What is the worst that can happen should we let Hope know that we both have feelings for her?”

“Who said I have feelings for her?”

Alec snorted a laugh. “I would say your reaction to her skirts catching fire spoke volumes. So what say you, Arthur? Shall we see if our Guinevere needs some assistance washing?”

Thomas thought it over for a good long while. Then a slow smile spread over his face. “Lead the way, Lancelot.”

Hope floated on her back, staring up at the darkening sky. She really should have been dragging herself out of the lake, but the evening air was still hot, and the water was refreshing.

Then she was honest with herself and admitted the real reason she wanted to stay in the lake was to avoid seeing Alec and Thomas. Their talk of Arthur, Lancelot, and Guinevere had been downright wicked and almost more than she could bear. Coupled with the passionate kiss Thomas had given her, tales of three people in love—three people sharing the act of love—made her want things she could never have.

Passion was so foreign to her she felt a bit overwhelmed by her own reaction to the men and their teasing. Billy had been only concerned with his own pleasure. He’d even told her that women never enjoyed mating. But her body responded to the two men who worked for her in a way she couldn’t control, a way it had never responded to Billy.