The Sextet Presents… By Male Order [In Days of Olde] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) by Elizabeth Raines Read Free Book Online Page B

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