Dark Desire in Elk's Crossing [Sequel to Ecstasy in Elk's Crossing] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) (9 page)

Don’t make this out to be more than what it is. The sex is just sex, and it stops when you go back to Oslo.

Annika tried to tell herself that she was entirely satisfied with the arrangement, but in her heart she knew she wasn’t. Sven had been a fascination for her from the very beginning, and though she had known Joshua only a short while, there was no doubt in her mind that over time, she’d find him more interesting, not less.

Be happy with what you have. A short-term affair with two men who have their pick of women, and they both have picked you. A brief, glorious, multiorgasmic ménage à trois affair with two of the world’s most gorgeous men isn’t something to mourn.

Annika looked at the clock on the bedside table. She was surprised to find that it was an old-fashioned key-wound clock, not an electric one. It seemed someone had wound the key and set the time prior to her arrival. Either Joshua or his household staff had been awfully considerate. The clock’s hands let her know that it was nearly ten o’clock. Annika smiled again. She had plenty of time to take yet another shower, dress for the day, then go down to meet her men—the fact that she now had men in the
plural
made her clitoris tingle—shortly before noon.

Annika loved it when she had a leisurely morning. They were rare in her high-octane world of international oil exploration.

* * * *

Annika took a long time before deciding on her outfit for the day. Usually she was quite decisive, never taking more than a minute or two to make her sartorial decision. But on this morning, with memories of all the hot loving she’d experienced the previous evening, nothing she had packed seemed to be just right for the day. All her outfits were a bit too professional, and she was in the mood to show a little thigh and possibly even more than a little cleavage.

She finally decided on a navy-blue and brilliant-red skirt suit, with the red pumps with four-inch stiletto heels. The skirt and jacket were blue, and she left an additional button on the red blouse unfastened to let the men see a little of her breasts. The attention her breasts had received the previous evening by both men had been a source of considerable pleasure during the hours of lovemaking.

“You look stunning,” Joshua said when Annika entered the dining room. “But you’re dressed all wrong for the day.”

Annika didn’t want to admit it, but when Joshua had said she was dressed wrong, it seemed as though the floor had dropped out from beneath her for a couple seconds. The extent to which she wanted to please Joshua and Sven, and receive their praise, surprised her.

Where has all your independence gone?

Both men, she noted, were in jeans. Joshua wore cowboy boots that had seen a lot of mileage, and Sven wore New Balance athletic shoes.

“We’re going to inspect where you’ll be putting the oil well. It’s smack in the middle of a pasture, so we’ll drive the pickup there pulling the horse wagon, then ride to the site,” Joshua explained. “I’ve already saddled the horses. We’re going to stop and have lunch first.”

Annika felt a sense of relief upon learning that her clothes weren’t somehow disappointing.

“I’ve never ridden a horse,” she said.

Sven said, “Neither have I. Joshua assures me he’s selected horses for us that are thoroughly trained and won’t suddenly run away with us on their backs.”

In record time, Annika switched to jeans and a blue, cotton blouse, though she was a little disappointed that the men wouldn’t see her in the pretty garter belt with the matching panties and bra.

The saloon where Joshua brought them to have lunch had just been built, though it looked like something that could be used in a Western movie. The chairs and tables were solid pine, heavy and knotty and not overly processed though highly lacquered. The entire place, both inside and out, looked like a large log cabin.

“Hello, Joshua,” the owner said. She was a woman in her late twenties, blonde and voluptuous. “Are these the guests you were expecting from Norway?”

“It’s them, Katie.”

Joshua smiled warmly, and Annika couldn’t help but feel a twinge of jealousy and wonder whether there had ever been anything more than friendship between the two.

“Katie, I’d like you to meet Annika and Sven. Katie here owns the Mountain View Saloon. She just opened it up again a couple months ago. First place burned to the ground.”

Katie said, “I’ll get you a booth and some menus.”

When they were seated, Annika was glad that she sat on one side, and Joshua and Sven on the other. It was easier to look at them across the table. Seeing them together, broad-shouldered and side by side, she kept marveling at the bounty that was hers to enjoy…but only for as long as they stayed in Elk’s Crossing.

The lunch special for the day was sirloin steaks, mashed potatoes, and mixed vegetables. Annika and her men agreed it sounded like an excellent choice. As Katie walked away with their orders, four big men with powerful physiques and auburn hair stepped into the saloon. Even from across the room, it was easy to see that the men were brothers. When Katie saw them, she smiled brightly then seemed to tamp down her enthusiasm. Annika wondered why.

“Are all the men in this part of the country so big?” Annika asked Joshua.

“Those are the McGowan brothers. They own the Circle-Square-Circle Ranch out of town.” Joshua gave them a small wave in greeting. “Good men, all of them. Hard workers. They’ve got a well-run ranch and mind their own business.”

Annika watched as Katie gave the McGowans menus. Did the owner of the Mountain View Saloon bend over just a little more than necessary, giving the eldest brother an intentional glimpse down her blouse? And when she walked around the table, did she lightly trace the tip of her forefinger along the shoulders of another brother?

Like a charge of electricity going through her, a shiver went up Annika’s spine. Unless her feminine instincts were very much incorrect, Katie was subtly flirting with all four of the brothers.

Her suspicions made her heart suddenly accelerate. Was Katie having an affair with more than one of the brothers?

The meal was delicious, but Annika could hardly pay any attention to her food with her brain buzzing with the possible implications of Katie’s love life.

Annika was almost finished with her lunch when she watched Katie step up to the McGowan table to refill their water glasses. The eldest McGowan, quite surreptitiously, slipped his hand between Katie’s knees and ran his fingertips up the inside of her leg, from her knee upward to disappear beneath the hem of her skirt. The fact that Katie blushed a little, but didn’t react in the least bit negatively, told Annika that the two were lovers. When Katie stepped around the table, her full breast brushed against the back of another brother’s head. Katie wanted it to either go unnoticed or appear to be an accident, but Annika knew better.

She had her confirmation, all the evidence she needed to believe beyond suspicion that Katie was having an ongoing affair with all four of the men.

My God, I’ve got two big men as lovers. What in hell would I do with four? Sven and Joshua fucked me so long and hard last night that I’m sore. Where the hell can I get some lubricant in a minuscule town like Elk’s Crossing?

A couple minutes later, Katie took away the dishes. Joshua and Sven said they’d like to enjoy a final cup of coffee before leaving, and Annika was grateful for that. She had something important to do, and she strongly suspected she had a compatriot with the saloon owner.

“Katie, can I talk to you a moment?” Annika asked.

She watched as Katie gave her the once over then said in a low voice, “I’m guessing you mean privately.” She nodded her head. “Let me step behind the bar. We can talk there and nobody’ll think twice about it.”

They moved to the end of the bar. The waitresses remained busy with customers, which Annika was grateful for.

“Now what can I help you with?” Katie asked, rubbing the bar in front of Annika with a towel.

“Is there a drugstore within walking distance? One that I can get to quickly.

“Elk’s Crossing doesn’t have a lot of people, but it’s spread out all over the place. There’s not much near the Mountain View Saloon except trees and mountain to the west and prairie to the east. What do you need? Maybe I can help.”

Annika felt a warm blush of embarrassment turn her pale cheeks pink.

Katie said, “Whatever it is, you can tell me.”

Swallowing the lump in her throat, Annika took a deep breath for courage and said, “I need some K-Y Jelly.”

Katie reacted to this news with a quick smile and a brief lifting of the slender eyebrows. She said, “You don’t want to buy that in town. The busybodies at the drugstore will make sure every wagging tongue hears about it before nightfall.” She patted the back of Annika’s hand briefly. “Stay here. I’ll be right back.” She disappeared into the back room.

Alone, Annika was thankful that she’d listened to her own instincts and spoke with Katie. Had she gone to the drugstore and bought the lubricant, she wouldn’t have known how foolish her decision was until after it was too late to do anything about it. When she turned on the barstool to look at Joshua and Sven, she found them casually talking, with Sven using hand gestures as he described something.

If Katie’s having an affair with the McGowan brothers, she’ll know how to keep a secret.
It was a comforting thought for Annika.

When Katie returned, she surreptitiously slipped a small, plastic bottle into the front pocket of Annika’s jeans.

“You’ll like this,” she said. “It’s a different brand, but it works wonderfully. Just make sure you use enough of it. I get it through the Internet to keep Elk’s Crossing gossip to a minimum.”

“I wish I was staying longer in Elk’s Crossing. I think you and I could become real friends.” She hesitated a moment and let her gaze flick over to the McGowan brothers. “I get the feeling we’ve got something in common.”

This time it was Annika’s turn to watch a blush creep up Katie’s cheeks. “You guessed?”

“It was a hunch. When the biggest of them slipped a hand up the inside of your leg and all you did was give him a little smile, I figured they were something more than just loyal customers.”

“Oh, God, don’t tell anyone. The people in Elk’s Crossing would absolutely freak out if they found out.”

“My lips are sealed. Your secret’s safe with me. And thanks for whatever it is you’ve put in my pocket. I owe you a favor.”

Joshua was glad now that he hadn’t bothered to get a four-door Silverado pickup. With only a two-door pickup, Annika was forced to sit between himself and Sven. Joshua liked the fact that Annika’s denim-clad thigh was pressed against his as they drove to the eastern range where Norwegian Oil Enterprises was tentatively scheduled to put three oil wells—provided Joshua gave his approval after reviewing the final plans. Since the drilling would take place on private, not public, land, all the necessary permits had already been approved months earlier.

It was a twenty-mile drive, mostly on gravel roads, to the eastern range where more than six hundred head of Angus cattle were munching on thick, green grass, with their diet supplemented with hay and vitamin-enriched salt licks.

Though Joshua didn’t like admitting it to himself, he was doing everything he could to make his land look as flattering as possible for Sven, and even more importantly, for Annika. He wanted her to have a favorable opinion of his skills as a cattleman. For a man who generally didn’t much care what anyone thought of him one way or another, Joshua wanted Annika’s respect much more than he’d considered possible.

“That’s all my land in that direction,” he said, pointing to the south, where he kept a two-hundred-head herd of Holstein cattle. “But that’s not the site your geologists want to put the oil wells. That’s up here another couple miles. We’ll pull onto the turnoff, get the horses out of the trailer, and ride from there.”

“You’re sure the horses are well-trained?” Annika asked.

Joshua caught the undercurrent of fear in Annika’s tone. He gave her a smile and patted her thigh. It was the first time he’d touched her that day, and he liked the fact that she didn’t flinch or try to move away.

“All of my riding stock are trained from the tips of their ears right down to their well-shod hooves. Don’t worry, Old Buck isn’t going to run off with you on his back.”

“Buck? Does he buck?” Now the fear wasn’t an undercurrent, it was thick as molasses.

“No, it’s just a name. I bought another horse whose name was also ‘Buck’ so one of them had to be ‘Old’ and one ‘Young’. Nothing for you to concern yourself with.” He chuckled softly. “Unless, of course, you tried to ride Young Buck, which would be a big mistake. I don’t ride him. I just use him for stud.”

He turned off the gravel road, drove another mile through prairie, then pulled the pickup to a stop in front of a gate. The prairie seemed to stretch on forever, and there wasn’t a cow to be seen.

Joshua got the horses out of the trailer, adjusted the saddle a little for the length of Annika’s legs, then helped her up into it. He could tell that she was quite nervous, and he made a promise to himself to not do anything that would heighten her unease.

She moved about a bit in the saddle, trying to get comfortable, and when she did, he watched the way her breasts bounced and swayed inside her blouse and bra. His libido reacted, as it always did to Annika, and he felt an immediate swelling in his groin.

* * * *

Joshua said this beast is well-trained, and that there’s nothing to worry about, so stop worrying, damn it!

The thought did not prompt an immediate end to Annika’s concerns regarding Old Buck for several reasons. The first was that he didn’t seem all that old, and the second was that he was long-legged, so it seemed to Annika that she was sitting a mile off the ground. When she initially got into the saddle, the gelding had pranced a couple steps to the side, and though Annika had never before ridden a horse and didn’t know anything about them, it seemed to her that the animal’s movements were motivated by a resentment of having her on its back. A city girl through and through, she was certain that couldn’t be a good thing.