Unconventional Read online

  Hours later I’d be laying in bed afterward, fantasizing about fucking him. Dragging my fingers over my swollen clit with an all-too familiar rhythm and pressure, while imagining all the dirty things I’d let him do to me, if he were really, actually there.

  It was no better with Noah or Chase, either. Though they weren’t taking payment in the form of panty-drenching makeout sessions, they’d ramped up our mutual daily flirting. The lemonades became beers somewhere around quitting time, with the guys often working several hours afterward just to hang out with me.

  Greetings and departures now involved hugs, and long, lingering looks. Most of the time I was just as guilty. Many of the looks came from me, ogling and admiring their hard, filth-smeared bodies. Talking and laughing and flirting until our faces drew so close together, I could swear one or both of them were going to kiss me.

  I walked away each time feeling warm and flustered. Wondering if taking things further would still be the horrible idea I’d always told myself it would be, back when we had a more employer-employee relationship.

  But was it even like that anymore? I was no longer paying them. Not in anything other than kisses and hugs and lemonade.

  No, they were just normal guys now. Hardworking men who’d been loyal to my uncle — and now to me — thankfully committed to helping me out.

  The days wore on, with the weather growing even hotter. Julian continued his rebuilding of the curtain wall. Noah and Chase kept fleshing out the framing necessary to keep one of the towers from collapsing. And me? I kept on watching them. Kept on admiring their shirtless, powerful bodies beneath the summer sun, kept on bringing them snacks and refreshments more often than ever before.

  The flirting continued, and now it was laced with innuendo. I couldn’t stop myself. Couldn’t keep from going to see them, even when I was bringing them nothing. And each night, Julian. Taking me to the edge. Kissing me until my panties were soaked through, and then leaving me just seconds before I was ready to tear off my clothes and throw myself at him.

  Each night seemed warmer than the last. I was sleeping without sheets or blankets. Writhing hotly in my soft bed, plunging my fingers between my legs and screaming along with every explosive climax.

  It was Saturday when I made my decision. I threw on my shortest and sexiest sundress, the one that bounced high around mid-thigh. This time I’d encourage Julian to go all the way. I’d drag his hand between my legs if I had to, and show him I wasn’t wearing anything beneath…

  Knock knock.

  The sound came around the same time it always did. It was very late when I answered it. Almost dark…

  “Why hello, handsom—”

  My voice died in my throat. Julian was standing there like always, leaning with one big beautiful arm against the ancient door frame.

  Only this time he wasn’t alone.

  “Oh. Hi.”

  Noah and Chase stood just behind him, both sweating through their second or third shirts of the day. All three men were streaked with dirt and grime from a hard day’s work. The two in the back however, stood with their arms crossed.

  “So the Wonder Twins here…” Julian began, jerking a thumb over his shoulder, “noticed me leaving this place after you and I had dinner the other night.”

  His eyes flared as he emphasized the word ‘dinner’. It conveyed a message I went instantly along with.

  “You mean the bunch of stale leftovers we shared?” I laughed, trying my hardest not to sound nervous. “While we talked about the inspection dates?”

  “Yeah. That.”

  I kept my eyes on Julian, trying to look friendly and amiable. In the background though, I saw Noah and Chase shift uncomfortably.

  “What about it?” I asked innocently.

  “Well, they might be feeling a little slighted,” said Julian.

  “Or a lot slighted,” added Chase from behind him. He rubbed thoughtfully at his stubbled chin. “Especially if, you know, he’s getting supper and we’re not.”

  I looked from Chase, to Noah, then back to Julian. Though my heart was racing, I somehow managed to summon up my most confident smile.

  “So… this is a jealousy thing, is that it?”

  Julian grunted a sardonic laugh. He turned to look at the other two, who seemed only mildly embarrassed.

  “It’s more of a ‘we want in’ thing,” said Noah. “I mean, if Thor here gets to eat, why wouldn’t—”

  “And that’s it?” I interjected, still holding my own. “That’s all this is? You guys want dinner also?”

  Noah and Chase glanced at each other and nodded slowly. Both were smiling now. Julian’s look, I noticed, was also humorous.

  “Alright then,” I declared, setting my hands on my hips. “Come back tomorrow night, and I’ll cook for all three of you.”

  Seven

  MADISON

  I was in way over my head. Not because of the cooking thing — I could do that part in my sleep — but because I’d agreed to make dinner for three very breathtaking alpha warriors. Men who had conquered the brute force and finer intricacies of rebuilding my seven-hundred year old castle, while flaunting their shirtless bodies before my muscle-obsessed, sex-deprived body.

  It had been ridiculously hard getting to sleep last night. Going upstairs and pulling my sundress over my head, when I would’ve much rather that act be performed by someone else. Julian had been forced to go straight home without our nightly makeout session. And the way Noah and Chase had eyed me, sweeping my body from head to toe, I knew they had their own designs on what was under — or not under — my tiny little dress.

  They didn’t work this day because I’d outright refused. I warned that any one of them caught doing a single ounce of labor would void his invitation for dinner. I already felt guilty over the sheer amount of work they’d been putting in lately. It was possible they just wanted to get done, but even more likely they were competing with each other. Either way, all three of them needed a day off very badly.

  When the knock finally came at the door, it was fifteen minutes early. I opened to find all three men in my doorway again, in pretty much the same positions they’d stood in last night.

  But this time, dressed much, much differently.

  Julian wore a plain black T-shirt and a pair of tight, faded blue jeans. The latter were shredded in places that were neither strategic or for show; they were simply places where he’d worn them for so long, the fabric had finally given way.

  Noah surprised me with a crisp button-down shirt, and the closest shave I’d ever seen on him. Chase looked similarly clean. Both men kissed me on the cheek on the way through the door, and I was handed a small bouquet of flowers wrapped in cellophane along with a large bottle of red wine.

  Julian came in behind them, holding a sprig of beautiful wildflowers that looked suspiciously like the ones growing next to my driveway. He slipped a very possessive arm around my waist as he moved in to kiss me hello. His mouth came dangerously close to mine too, something that didn’t exactly go unnoticed by the others.

  He’s marking his territory…

  The thought both shocked and thrilled me at the same time. As I closed the door behind them, my stomach erupted with butterflies.

  “This is unbelievable,” I said aloud.

  My guests turned to look back at me, all of them with puzzling expressions. “Unbelievable?”

  “Just look at the three of you!” I practically shouted. “You’re all so clean! So showered and fresh, your hair combed, your faces not covered in dirt...”

  You’re wearing shirts for once, my mind continued, silently. Unfortunately for me…

  I pushed through the foyer, leading them into my beautiful, state-of-the-art kitchen that didn’t seem to belong in the castle at all. This part of the keep had been my uncle’s doing. In traveling the world he’d developed a taste for certain exotic foods, as well as a talent — or so he said, anyway — for cooking them.

  “Wow,” said Chase, spinning in a
slow circle. “I never would’ve imagined this.”

  “Me neither,” I admitted. “Yet here it is.”

  I sat them down at the big farmhouse table, crafted by uncle Travis from salvaged wood from the castle grounds. The planks looked old and smooth and worn with time.

  “Beer or wine?”

  “Depends,” said Chase. “What are we havin—”

  “Beer,” Julian interjected, helping himself to the fridge.

  I watched as he slipped one big hand over the bottle and twisted the cap off. He tilted his head back and drank just as lustily as he did every day, out in the dusty work zone near the curtain wall.

  “I’ll have wine,” I smiled at Noah, who flashed me a very sexy return grin. “Glasses are right over there.”

  If my uncle had been alive, we’d be having poached salmon in lemon caper sauce, with buttered asparagus and some kind of sauteed leeks. As it was, I’d grilled up some sirloin. Partly because it was simple, and went well with the homemade french fries I was serving. But also because these were meat and potatoes men, who looked like they would appreciate a good steak.

  We drank. We ate. We drank a little more. The meal was good if not great, but I noticed with satisfaction that all three of the guys cleaned their plates. Throughout dinner we talked about everything and nothing. Mostly about what was going on with the castle, and how best to wrap up whatever projects were needed to pass the final inspections.

  We’d been finished for nearly an hour when I sent Noah down to the pantry, for another bottle of wine. The four of us were happy, sated, and laughing. In other words, we were feeling no pain.

  “So you’re a princess, apparently,” Chase said.

  It was a statement more than a question. I looked back at him, confused.

  “Well you live in a castle,” he stated, flashing his most disarming smile. His impossibly white teeth were big and straight and model-perfect.

  “Maybe I’m a queen,” I teased, tracing my wine glass with one finger.

  “If so, you’ll need a king.”

  The words came from Julian, who was leaning casually back in his chair. All cleaned up like this he looked absolutely amazing. He already had a small row of empties lined up before him.

  “I’m afraid I don’t have much time for a king.”

  I ended the sentence with a halfhearted chuckle. Julian’s expression however, was still fixed on mine. He wasn’t having any of it.

  “There’s always time,” he said flatly, tipping his latest bottle against his beautiful lips. “Otherwise…” he gestured grandly with one arm. “What’s this all for?”

  There was a measure of silence as Noah returned. I heard the popping sound of him pulling the cork on a new bottle, and pouring three glasses. But my eyes never left Julian’s.

  “I should probably thank you guys again,” I said genuinely, “for helping me out of this mess. If it weren’t for you, I’d already be back in the States.”

  Noah slid a new glass of Merlot into my hand. As he did, his fingers lingered on mine.

  “In any case,” I said, raising my arm in a toast. “you’re saving my ass.”

  “Well it’s too cute an ass not to save,” offered Noah.

  “I’ll second that,” Chase said.

  I blushed as the guys all raised their own drinks, toasting me back. We sipped in silence for a few seconds, then I let out a long, contented sigh.

  “Leave it to me to come all the way to Scotland,” I laughed, “only to hire an entire crew of Americans.”

  “Technically your uncle hired us,” Noah pointed out.

  “Yeah, but I kept you on because you reminded me of home.”

  The guys laughed and we toasted again. It was Julian who got up first. He set down his latest empty and crossed back to the fridge.

  “Sorry there’s no dessert,” I said in a half-hearted apology. “I guess we should’ve figured out who was bringing it. I could make coffee though. Or—”

  “I see dessert.”

  I glanced back at Julian, wondering what he could’ve possibly found in the fridge that would qualify. But the fridge was closed. And he was looking directly at me.

  Our eyes met, and I could see a rising fire and passion behind those stormy grey orbs. It was the same look I saw every night, wrapped in his arms. The look of purpose he always gave me, just before he left.

  Only now… he was crossing the kitchen. Moving in my direction.

  Oh wow…

  I wanted to say something. Had to say something! But I was lost in those eyes. Completely immersed in the intensity of his gaze, helpless to do anything but—

  In a flash of power and movement, Julian pulled me straight to my feet. He lifted me effortlessly with his two big arms, and set me down on the table.

  “Oh!”

  In the same fluid movement, he pushed forward, grabbing my face. Both hands went to my cheeks. They gripped me firmly, yet somehow tenderly…

  Oh my God…

  And then he was kissing me.

  Eight

  MADISON

  Holy fucking shit…

  Julian stood at the edge of the table, kissing me hard and fast. Kissing me with every bit as much passion as he always had, while nudging my thighs apart and pushing forward until our bodies were finally touching.

  I— I should—

  I was at a complete loss. A total disadvantage. I wanted to stop and keep going at the same time. I wanted to protest that we weren’t alone, but the very fact we weren’t alone was actually making things ten times hotter than they had any right to be.

  What the fuck, Madison?

  I didn’t know. I had no honest answer for what was going on. All I knew was that I could no longer deny my feelings for him. That the sexual tension between not just Julian but all three of the men in my kitchen, had reached a breaking point, and something had to give.

  That something was apparently me.

  God…

  The decision I made wasn’t a decision at all. My arms slid over his shoulders as I began kissing him back. My tongue sought his, dueling hotly as I moaned into his mouth.

  Holy…

  I was grinding my breasts against his strong, powerful chest. Kissing him shamelessly in front of the others, as Julian let go of my face and ran ten thick fingers through my long blonde hair.

  Holy shit.

  Vaguely I was aware of his hands on my body. They glided down my sides, then slid deftly under my dress. I lifted my ass from the table, helping him to pull it up…

  Madison!

  And then he was unbuttoning. Unzipping those tight, beautiful jeans and sliding them down over his strong, masculine legs. I could see a magnificent bulge, filling his dark red boxers. A bulge I’d only felt sliding against me as we kissed, fully clothed.

  But not like this. Never like th—

  Oh. My. God.

  The hands reaching down right now were mine, moving with a mind all their own. They hooked into the elastic waistband. Rolled his boxers deliberately downward, to release the thick, beautiful cock that sprang gloriously free.

  HOLY—

  I wrapped my hand around it instinctively, without hesitation. I could barely get my fingers around its thickness. Julian was kissing my neck now, dragging his tongue downward, over my shoulder. He pulled me tighter against him, then yanked the thin strip of my thong to one side, to make room for what he was about to do.

  I was lost in lust. Choking on my own arousal.

  And then his hand moved to join mine, taking control. I watched, trance-like, as he gripped his manhood by the base and began rubbing it up and down through my soaked, glistening slit. He pushed forward, and the table skidded beneath us. Grabbing me by the waist and lifting me towards him, he tried again…

  This time the head of his cock pushed past my aching, eager folds.

  Ohhhhh…

  It was like being reborn. Being deflowered all over again, after so many long months and years of being alone…

&nb
sp; My hands wound back over his shoulders, to claw him tightly against me. My eyes bored into his as he slid inside. I saw the same levels of lust and intensity there, that same unmistakable look that said there was no going back. He pushed even further, filling me all the way to the womb with his hard, throbbing cock.

  And then we were fucking.

  Really, seriously fucking.

  “Oh my GOD…”

  I was crying out with happiness. Screaming into Julian’s shoulder, as he took me all the way to the hilt. Every thrust was pure, unadulterated joy. Each time he bottomed out, screwing our bodies so tightly and intimately together, I could feel his hard, rippled stomach brush against mine.

  The table rocked back and forth on its big legs, made from the very timbers that had once defended this place. I didn’t care if it shattered into a thousand pieces. The pounding he was giving me was merciless, and without any regard for anything else. Julian was taking what he wanted. Not giving a damn about anything other than owning my body. Possessing me in deep, carnal ways no man ever, ever had.

  I clawed at his back, begging him not to stop. Maybe even begging him to go deeper. It was impossible to say. I was on the verge of blacking out from the euphoria. Grunting and cursing and spreading myself wide for him, right on the dining room table where we’d just had supper.

  Supper…

  A fresh wave of panic struck me as I realized where I was. I couldn’t believe what was happening! My eyes fluttered open and I saw Noah and Chase, on either side of the table.

  They were just standing there, watching us. Staring at us…

  That’s when I felt it: another hand on my face. Another palm, turning me gently to one side. Tilting my gaze away from Julian, who’d slowed down a bit, but was still drilling away between my legs.

  What the—

  And then suddenly Noah was kissing me too…

  Nine

  CHASE

  It was crazy, how fast everything happened. How quickly things had gone from dinner and drinks to something like this.