Acres, Natalie - Sex Club [Cowboy Sex 5] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) (52 page)

“Or his fingers inside you, apparently,” Graham said slowly.

“I told you to watch yourself,” Bailey grumbled. “You wouldn’t listen.”

“I only pay attention to one thing when I’m around Ansley,” Tristan said, cupping her face.

“And what is it that you’re listening to now, exactly?” she asked, breathing in his masculine scent, that expensive cologne he wore.

“My heart,” he replied, staring into her eyes. “Ansley, marry Graham. Commit to me. Be submissive to Bailey, and be Elliott’s sister-in-law with benefits. Be ours. All ours. We’ll make you happy. You know we will.”

“Why do I have the feeling you didn’t invite my fathers over here just for their blessings?”

“We’re out of time, guys.” Elliott cleared his throat. “Tell her everything.”

Tristan took a sudden leap of faith and said, “Ansley, we’ve been made.”

“What?” she asked, not understanding the term.

“That dirty cop I told you about reported back to New York within a few minutes of interrogating Bailey,” Tristan explained. “We may have an hour or four or five. We don’t know. The mob bosses will send someone soon, if they don’t already have guys nearby.”

“Oh my God,” she cried out, covering her mouth.

“We have to leave, Ansley. And it’s not just for a few hours. This time we will disappear for a while. Once we’re settled somewhere, Graham and Elliott will come and go. Sometimes you can return here with them. Most of the time, you’ll have to stay out of sight. If you go with us, it’s a new life you’re choosing, and you have to be sure about this, baby,” Tristan said. “We’re certain of our commitments and the future vows we’ll make to you.”

“But what about you?” she asked, turning toward Graham and Elliott. “You can’t just walk away from everything you have because of the choices I’ve made.”

“These are decisions we’re all making,” Elliott explained. “No one is forcing us to leave here, Ansley. We want to be with you. We want to make you happy, but yes, we’ll each make our share of sacrifices. In the end, we think you’re worth the trouble.”

She felt a smile tug at her lips, and her heart struck a fluttering beat. Still, while flattery was nice, she hated to tell them this. She wasn’t jumping up and down for joy right then.

“Besides, we’re about as rich as the next fella,” Graham said. “It ain’t like we’re hurtin’ for money, Ansley. After we settled Mom’s estate, we saw pretty quickly we could do whatever we want for the rest of our lives.”

“That’s right,” Elliott assured her.

“Maybe you can, but I can’t. I have a job here. I’m relied upon. I can’t just walk out on Kimberly and Patience.”

About that time, Kimberly entered from the side hallway. She was dressed in her robe, swinging a bottle of water from her hip. “Why not?” she demanded, her eyes filled with tears. “If I had an opportunity like this, four guys who were crazy about me, I’d leave you.”

Ansley clucked, shook her head, and quickly said, “No, you wouldn’t.”

“Yes, I would.”

“You wouldn’t,” Ansley stated firmly.

“I did.”

“When?”

“Bermuda ring a bell? You asked me not to go, and I went anyway. I needed that trip. At the time, leaving was important to my well-being, my sanity and happiness. I didn’t care what you said, and regardless of how much you begged me to stay, I went and felt good about my decision. Skipping the country was what I wanted to do.”

“We both know what that trip was about. We discussed this earlier.”

They stared at one another. Kimberly was grasping here. Ansley knew her all too well. Kimberly wanted her happy, that was a fact, but she didn’t want her to go. Not really. They were sisters, twins.

“Okay, I’ll just say it. I loved Jason. You hated him. At one time, and thank God this didn’t happen, but it could have, I would’ve left town with him. I would’ve run away with him. I wouldn’t have considered your feelings, Ansley. I would’ve thought about my own.”

“Thank you, future sister-in-law,” Graham said. “I’m starting to like you a little better all the time.”

Kimberly shot him a wink.

“Hey now,” Ansley said. “No flirting with your future brother-in-law.”

“I feel a ‘yes’ coming on now,” Graham said.

Ansley narrowed her gaze on Graham. “I wouldn’t expect to hear an ‘I do’ in the near future. I don’t know what I want yet.”

The entire room fell silent, and she immediately wished she could eat those words. Why was she so apprehensive and indecisive? Of course, she knew the answer. She loved her home. She didn’t want to leave her family.

“Ansley, go,” Kimberly encouraged her, pasting a smile upon her face. “I want you to be happy. They’ll make you feel like you’re on top of the world. I know they will.”

“You’d better believe it,” Tristan promised.

“Every hour, every day,” Elliott said.

“Until you can’t stand the sight of me,” Graham added.

“And you know this already in your heart,” Bailey said.

Ansley studied her sister. “I don’t know how to live without my family.”

“You’ll have a new family,” Kimberly said, squeezing her hand. “You’ll have your own children and lovers who’ll cherish you and be good to you.”

“How do you know?”

“Do you doubt that?” Tristan asked, interrupting the conversation between sisters. His furrowed brow and tightened jaw suggested Ansley had struck a nerve.

“No,” Ansley replied.

“Then what’s the problem?” Tristan asked.

Ansley jerked as Bailey rose with his gift in hand. She wasn’t even interested in their tokens of love or commitment, what she was concerned about was what she’d leave behind in order to gain the love she’d always desired.

“You have this once-in-a-lifetime chance to be truly happy, Ansley. Seize it. Live it.” Kimberly hugged her. “All I’m saying is? Go. God knows, if I were in your shoes, I’d leave, and I’d go tonight.”

“I know,” Ansley said quietly. “But I’m not you.”

* * * *

An hour later, they emerged from the office. Tristan felt as if he’d been in the delivery room watching the birth of his firstborn child.

Kane, Evan, and Braden had returned to the club. Peyton was with them, too. She watched him with suspicious eyes as he made his way to greet her. “It’s nice to see you again.”

She acted as if she planned to give them a cold shoulder, but unexpectedly, she embraced them. “Welcome to the family.”

Somewhat relieved, Tristan replied, “I don’t know what to say.” All things considered, he really didn’t have a clue. Obviously the Cartwells had gathered ’round thinking they were about to send their little girl off into the sunset, or sunrise, given the hour of the morning.

Mother and daughter locked eyes, and Peyton said, “Men, if you’ll excuse us. I’d like a word with my daughter.”

Tears streamed down Ansley’s face. She studied the clock on the wall. “You don’t have to say anything, Mom.”

Tristan thinned his lips. His heart pounded. His wrist ticked with a rapid, and somewhat unsteady, pulse. He silently prayed Ansley would soon change her mind.

She’d turned them all down in the office, citing she couldn’t say good-bye to her family. Now here they were, facing her parents who thought she’d soon depart with them. Apprehension lingered in her eyes. Pain loitered there as well.

Oh God, this was killing him!

Moments from now, Tristan and Bailey would head for the airport to catch a chartered flight to Miami. From there, they would board the Cartwell yacht and stay at sea for most of the summer. They’d go alone or with three others, depending on the final decision Ansley reached.

Bailey approached him. Under his breath, he said, “Tristan, Ansley still doesn’t know what she’s going to do.”

Tristan detected the heartache in his brother’s voice. He shared his sibling’s despair, too. “Could this be any more difficult?”

Tristan and Bailey stood there in silence. Finally, Tristan said, “We need to change plans. We can’t take the Cartwell yacht. That’s their boat, and obviously their daughter doesn’t want to set sail with us.”

Bailey tilted his head toward Peyton and Ansley. In that moment, Tristan could’ve sworn the pendulum stopped. It was as if they were transformed into another place and time, as if they were looking at one another and already living their future together.

“Wait a minute,” Tristan said quietly. “Maybe she does.”

“She does what?” Bailey asked, apparently forgetting what he’d said.

“Ansley wants to go. She may not want to acknowledge it, but I know her better than she knows herself.”

He faced Graham and Elliott. “Are you two sure about this?”

“We’re with her,” Elliott said, tilting his head toward Ansley. “Whatever she wants to do.”

“What have you decided, kiddo?” Evan asked, loosely placing his arm around her shoulder.

Ansley’s gaze darted around the room. Kimberly walked out of the kitchen. The
swoosh-swoosh-swoosh
sound of the galley’s door echoed throughout the room.

Kimberly shot Ansley a sweet, and quite understanding, smile. “Make the choice you can live with, Ansley.”

“She’s right, sweetie,” Peyton said. “No one can decide for you.”

Kane cleared his throat. “It won’t hurt my feelings if you stay right here with your family where you belong.”

“Kane!” Peyton bit out. “This isn’t about you.”

“It’d be the first time something wasn’t about him,” Evan teased.

“Your mother is right about this,” Braden said. “Ansley, you have to follow your heart, your dreams, and your desires. We can’t live your life for you.”

During the parental interrogation, Tristan had decided he liked Braden. He was levelheaded, smart, and loved his daughters with a rare unconditional love. He was willing to do whatever it took to help them make a clean break from Asheville. Additionally, he promised to work on things while they were away so that maybe in the near future they could return to the area and stay there.

While Kane pulled teeth to find out as much about their past as he could, Braden devised a plan for keeping in touch, a way they could frequently touch base. He also devised a quick emergency plan in the event Ansley was needed at home.

Braden’s plans weren’t perfect, but they were doable, especially since the Killian brothers would come and go at will, assuming it would be safe for them. There wasn’t any way to know until after they returned home the first time.

Assuming no one from the mob connected Bailey and Tristan with Graham or Elliott, they probably wouldn’t have a problem revisiting the area whenever they wanted. Hopefully, Ansley would have the freedom to do the same, but until their first attempt, none of them had guarantees they would ever be able to assume their former lives.

“Ansley, what do you want to do, honey?” Graham asked, stepping forward.

“What do you want to do?” she asked in a lowered voice.

Graham’s eyes were visibly filled with tears. He turned to Elliott, who immediately nodded.

“All right then,” Graham said, taking her hand in his. Without a word exchanged between them, they faced the Cartwells. “We’ll be leaving with Tristan and Bailey.”