Unconventional Read online

  “Dinner with dessert,” Chase added, jumping in.

  Julian went on as if he hadn’t been interrupted. “We’ll work till’ sundown, and then we’ll eat,” he said. “In that respect, you’re paying us something.”

  I nodded numbly. “Okay.”

  “The rest…” said Julian, crossing the room. He closed the distance, his body drawing ever nearer to mine. “Well, the rest is unorthodox. Unconventional.”

  I could smell him now. His musk. His strength.

  “Try me,” I said.

  Julian brought one arm down, sliding it behind me. He grabbed me possessively, squeezing one of my ass cheeks in his giant palm.

  My stomach did a slow, sexy roll. I practically melted.

  “From now until we’re done,” he growled, low and throatily. “This right here is ours.”

  Fifteen

  MADISON

  It was as if time stopped. Like I was the only one who could move, and everyone else in the kitchen was left frozen, staring at me.

  “This belongs to us,” Julian went on, sliding his hand to the other cheek. “All of us. Me… him… him, too.”

  He nodded vaguely in the direction of Chase and Noah. His palm felt like liquid fire, sliding over my body. His touch was electric.

  I swallowed harder than I ever had in my life.

  “Yes.”

  I couldn’t believe I’d said it! That the word had come out of my own mouth. Yet the silence that came afterward stretched on. The three men were standing there, watching. Waiting…

  “Say the whole thing,” said Julian sternly. “We need to hear it from your lips.”

  A warm, sexy feeling began rising in the pit of my stomach. I thought of Sunday night, of the heat of their bodies against mine. The smell of their skin, surrounding me. The feel of them inside me…

  “This ass is yours,” I murmured softly, placing my hand over his. I squeezed it gently. “It belongs to you. All of you.”

  Saying the words sent shivers of excitement rocketing up and down my body. They should’ve been dirty and forbidden and wrong. But they felt so, so right.

  “We can have it at any time,” Julian continued evenly. “That’s our arrangement. And we’re going to take it, Madison. Whenever we want. Wherever we want…”

  His piercing grey eyes blazed into mine, leaving me totally helpless. I got lost staring up at the hard line of his jaw. The slow, steady pulse of his thick, beautiful neck.

  “You can take it…” I breathed, repeating his words. “All of you. Any time that you want it.”

  A flood of excitement gushed between my legs, in anticipation of everything I’d said. I’d just agreed to something incredible. Something frightening and wild and totally unlike me. But also… something I knew in my heart could be breathtakingly amazing.

  Julian leaned down a bit, brushing my hair aside. I got even more shivers as his stubble scraped my neck, his lips brushing against my ear.

  “You can say no if you want to,” he whispered. “That’s totally okay.”

  Slowly I shook my head.

  “You have to want this,” he murmured. “Or it doesn—”

  “I want this,” I whispered huskily.

  Now his lips did brush my ear, in the sexiest, most electric way. He stood tall again. His mouth curled into a half-smile of approval.

  “I want this,” I said again more loudly, looking at the others. “Here. Let me show you…”

  I broke free of Julian’s grasp, and sauntered over to Chase. He was standing at the edge of the table. Staring back at me, as if seeing a mirage and trying to figure out if it were real.

  “How’s this?” I asked, grabbing his face in both hands and closing my mouth over his.

  Our kiss was slow, sensual… like we were the only two people in the room. I ran my fingers through Chase’s soft dark hair. Teased the tip of his tongue with mine, just outside our mouths, so everyone could see.

  When I let go of his face I left him breathless, leaning forward, wanting more. Instead, I spun around and sat right down in Noah’s lap. I brought my lips to his, kissing him every bit as hungrily as I had just done to his friend.

  Fuck…

  My head spun. My brain reeled with lust and hunger and the recklessness of my depravity, yet there were no conflicting emotions. No feelings of regret or remorse, and in fact, just the opposite.

  You really do want this.

  I did. Totally. Utterly. Completely. Partially because my night with the guys had been so amazing, but also because I trusted them. They cared about me. Worked hard for me. Most of all they’d helped me, when no one else would.

  And they were all so totally. Fucking. Hot.

  Noah’s hands wandered my body as we continued making out. I could feel him growing hard, beneath me. His body stiffening in excitement…

  I broke the kiss before it went any further and got back to my feet. Staring back at Julian for approval, I found his expression now held a sly hint of arousal.

  “Do you believe me now?” I asked sweetly, folding my arms. When he didn’t answer, I walked over and pressed my body to his. “Or do you need more… convincing?”

  Even standing on my toes, I couldn’t reach Julian’s mouth. Luckily I didn’t have to. He swept me up and smashed his lips to mine, completing my little triangle. His kisses were rougher, and more insistent. Needier even, if that were such a thing.

  But God, oh so sweet and delicious…

  “Good enough,” he said, when we’d finally finished. He set me down, but not before running one hand lovingly against the side of my face. “Tomorrow then.”

  He exited as he always did, by turning around and not looking back. I still had a lump in my throat, watching him go. Still felt the tingles, where his hands had just been on my body.

  I turned to the others, wondering what was next. I was half-hoping they’d throw me over a shoulder and carry me upstairs. Make love to me for the rest of the night, and well into the morning.

  Instead Noah rose, and caught the truck keys his partner tossed him mid-air.

  “Chase and I have a thing tomorrow,” he said, in his sexy Brooklyn accent. “Something we have to take care of. But we’ll be here the next day, I promise.”

  “You don’t have to promise anything,” I said appreciatively.

  He smiled, which only made me want to kiss him all over again. A shared look told me that if I did, we wouldn’t stop there.

  “Anyway, don’t do too much work without us,” quipped Noah. He winked, then kissed me once more before heading out. Chase kissed me also, a longer, more lingering goodbye kiss that spoke the promise of something more, the next time we got together.

  The door closed and silence reigned. The kitchen was once again unfortunately empty…

  Except for me.

  Sixteen

  MADISON

  I was sleepless again, but this time for better reasons. Instead of being up late, running through a thousand different things in my mind, all I could fixate on was one singular thing.

  Being with the guys again.

  And not just being with them either, but being there for them. Pretty much, as Julian had put it, at their sexual beck and call.

  What we’d done together so far had been beyond my wildest dreams, but this was different. The idea of having all three of them, and not having to choose. Of being able to be taken, at any time, by any one or more of them…

  I had to admit, I found the whole thing unspeakably fucking hot.

  My restlessness stemmed from the fact that not one of them had touched me. That my three gorgeous laborers had laid out such a sexy and unconventional arrangement, and then disappeared into the night.

  I wanted to take care of myself. It would’ve been so easy. But something told me it would be worth it to wait. To give every ounce of my pent-up sexual energy over to whichever lucky bastard happened to make the first move.

  I got up, went downstairs, and poured myself a mug of warm, malted milk. E
urope had some things over America for sure, and this was definitely one of them.

  I considered tossing back a shot of ZzzQuil too, but I decided against it. My thoughts were all pleasant ones. I could let myself drift off, thinking about all the wonderful things the guys would do to me. Or maybe all the things I’d do — or even wear — for them, starting with Julian…

  Visions of the big mason filled my mind, his body all naked and hard and swollen. I couldn’t wait to have him again. To just drop to my knees before him, or spread my legs for his thick, rigid—

  OH!

  I’d walked passed my now not-so-favorite window, and as always, glanced out. What I’d seen through my peripheral vision had started my heart pounding…

  Something was out in the field again.

  And this time, it was moving.

  My heart leapt into my throat. I set down the warm ceramic mug and crept over to the window again. Very slowly, very carefully… I peeked out.

  The man, or figure, or whatever it was, was out there again. Only now, it was a little bit closer.

  What the fuck, Madison!

  My first instinct was to scream. My second, to slide my hand over my own mouth. But I did neither of those things. Instead, I sat back a bit and reminded myself to be strong.

  Who is that?

  The figure wasn’t far from the treeline. It was the size of a man, but the color of dusk. It looked two-toned in the moonlight, half in shadow, half in light.

  And it was moving. No… not stepping. Not gliding, either.

  It’s… shambling.

  That was it. The figure out in the field moved with a jerky — but somehow rhythmic — back and forth motion. Almost like it was dragging something… but not quite.

  You could shout.

  I definitely could. I had quite the pair of lungs when I needed them. Still, I imagined two possibilities to that outcome. The first, would be scaring the figure away. Watching it run off, back into trees it had come from, and not accomplishing anything.

  The second…

  The second was much worse. Because I imagined yelling at the shambling thing in my field, and having it look up…

  … and then start running toward me.

  Just the thought of that scenario set my whole body trembling with fear. I dropped back from the window and pressed my back to the wall, my heart racing so fast I thought it might burst.

  Get a weapon.

  It was my next thought, but a useless one. I had no weapon.

  Any sort of weapon.

  I crossed to the other side of the room. The smooth brass handle of the fireplace poker felt cold as I closed my palm around it, but at least it was something.

  It didn’t make me feel any better. But it didn’t make me feel worse either, so I kept it.

  Call somebody.

  This was my last resort of course. I could call the police, tell them I saw a trespasser. Or I could call one or more of the guys. Get them over here, to find out what was—

  Somewhere in the process of deciding what to do, I’d crept back to the window. I looked out again… and the figure was gone.

  This time I didn’t know where it went. It could’ve made the treeline. It could’ve slipped past me to the east or west, out of sight, out of view…

  Or it could be breaking into the keep right now.

  I’d locked the front door. I knew I did. Yet the more I thought about it, the less sure I was.

  Should I run down and check it?

  FUCK that.

  Peering out the window one last time, I ran to my bedroom door and bolted it shut. It was something I’d never done under ordinary circumstances, as evidenced by how hard it was to move the rusty bolt.

  But these weren’t ordinary circumstances.

  I sat there five whole minutes, then ten. Waiting. Listening intently, for any sounds of movement on any of the floors below.

  But nothing.

  Finally I crawled into bed, safe in the knowledge that if I did fall asleep, I was a pretty light sleeper. If anything moved, anywhere out in the hallway, I would know it well before it got to my door.

  I kept the fireplace poker in bed with me just in case, though.

  Seventeen

  JULIAN

  “Sleep with me tonight.”

  Her arms were crossed, her hair swept back into a tight ponytail. The way she said it, I couldn’t tell if it were a statement or a request.

  “Why? What’s going on?”

  “I saw someone last night,” she said. “Here. At the castle. Out in the field.”

  She pointed, and I followed her arm. What she was saying was troubling.

  “Who was it?”

  “I don’t know,” said Madison. “They were far enough away that I couldn’t really tell. But they were moving really weird. Like… shifting, or something.”

  “Are you sure it was a person?”

  Her pretty-little eyebrows knit together, creating a crease right between her eyes. They were still blonde, but darker in color than the rest of her hair.

  “Could it have been an animal?” I pressed.

  She shook her head. “I don’t think so.”

  “Well did it have two legs or four?”

  Madison’s expression appeared even more perplexed now. She looked down for a moment before answering.

  “For some reason… I think it had three.”

  I slid my trowel into my belt and wiped the sweat from my eyes. It was already hot, and it was still very early.

  “Maybe it was a wounded deer,” I guessed. “You said it was moving strangely.”

  “Yes. But still…”

  Her words trailed off, allowing me to get a good view of her. She was stunning. As beautiful today as she was every day, although her eyes seemed a little heavy from lack of sleep.

  “What are you doing today?” I asked abruptly.

  Her entire demeanor changed. The troubled look disappeared, as she pulled an errant lock of hair back over one ear. Then she smiled… and my whole world got brighter.

  “Nothing much,” she said, trying to sound cheerful. “A couple of small errands, that’s all. Why?”

  “Here,” I said, “take this.”

  I handed her my measuring tape, and a thick piece of chalk. She juggled both items, totally confused.

  “Wait, what is—”

  “I’m conscripting you,” I said. “You’re my assistant today.”

  She chuckled, turning the measuring tape over in her hand a few times. “I am?”

  “Uh huh. Head on over to the courtyard,” I pointed. “Start at one end, and look for any paver or cobble that’s sticking up more than twelve millimeters. When you find one, put an ‘X’ on it with that chalk.”

  Madison looked from one tool to the other, then up at me. “Millimeters?”

  “I know, it was an adjustment for me too. Use half an inch, then. Same thing.”

  “Alright,” she said, nodding definitively. “I can do that. But—”

  “Madison, I’ve got mortar drying in the sun. If I don’t get back to the east wall—”

  “Okay, okay…”

  She turned to go, and I watched her leave. Tight blue jeans. A heart-shaped ass you could really sink your teeth into… or even better, something else.

  “And yes,” I called after her. “In answer to your question.”

  She turned around quickly, her ponytail whipping in a yellow blur. “What question?”

  “Yes, I’ll sleep with you tonight.”

  Her whole face brightened, even as it crossed with relief. She blew me a quick kiss over her shoulder, and bounced away swinging my measuring tape.

  Damn she’s gorgeous.

  Forty paces later I was back at the wall. Always — for two years now — the wall. It was a job, at least. A way to pay the bills, and save a little each month toward getting the family the hell out of the situation they were in.

  And now…

  Now it wasn’t even that. At least temporarily
. Maybe once the property was securely in Madison’s hands for good, she’d find a way to compensate. But for the moment at least…

  My phone buzzed, and I swiped the answer button. A gap-toothed face appeared on the screen, covered in freckles.

  “Hey kiddo.”

  Jenna’s auburn hair was in two tight braids today. Probably hastily woven by Ariana, before leaving for her tutor.

  “Hiiii Juuuulian!”

  My sister’s sing-song voice was loud and clear, even from half a world away. She was making a face into the phone’s camera. Stretching her mouth with two fingers, and sticking her tongue out.

  “I saw that one already,” I quipped. “You need some new material.”

  Almost immediately she switched, this time poking her cheeks in with both thumbs.

  “Much better, fish-face.”

  She giggled musically, and for a few seconds of pure happiness I forgot all about my mortar mixture. Or the wall. Or the guy who may or may not be stalking the farm fields, outside of Westgate Castle.

  “Shouldn’t you be leaving soon?” I asked, checking the time. “Or is it still breakfast?”

  “Breakfast’s over, but Antonio’s still eating cereal,” my sister said. “Right Antonio?”

  She turned the phone, and there was my little brother. Shit, he was so big! Yet was so little when I’d left Colorado, and ended up here.

  “Wait… Antonio, NO!”

  My other sister’s voice came too late, as Antonio flung a spoonful of cereal right at the phone. Milk splattered the camera lens. He laughed merrily as Jenna wiped it up.

  “Is that Julian?” I heard Ariana say. “Give me that!”

  The screen spun crazily for half a minute, as a laughing Antonio sprinted wildly through the house with it. Eventually my other sister’s face came into view, looking perturbed and annoyed.

  “Julian, is everything okay?” she asked.

  God, every time I saw her she looked even bigger! How old was she now? Fourteen? Fifteen?

  “Everything’s fine,” I reassured her. “Why?”

  Ariana glanced over her shoulder for a moment, before continuing in a slightly lower tone. “Because this week’s check didn’t come.”