Chapter 3
Chapter Three
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T IERNEY
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O f course, I knew they were going to bring up that rather unfortunate incident. I wasn’t trying to kill them.
They’d come for a barbecue to our house. We were on the beach. The mare I’d been riding went berserk. I lost control of her, and out of all the guests at the barbecue, Mariella, the mare, made a beeline straight for Colter, Nolan, and Jace, who had been standing there with drinks in their hands, minding their own business. So yes, it looked as if I wanted to run them over with my horse on purpose.
But I was, in fact, screaming like a mad person because Mariella was also heading directly toward a small cliff.
Lucky for me, Colter commandeered Clementine’s horse. Nolan and Jace jumped on Haley’s horse and came after me. Colter blocked Mariella’s mad gallop, and as soon as Jace got close enough to me, Nolan jumped in behind me and took control of Mariella.
They sold Mariella to my dad knowing she was the sweetest, kindest equine soul to ever grace the earth, so I must have done something to spook the mare, to have her react that way. I didn’t. I still don’t know what happened.
They’ve looked at me funny ever since, no matter how much I tried to apologize and thank them for saving my life. In gratitude, I sent them gifts: rare editions of the classics Colter likes, rare baseball cards for Nolan, and uncut versions of popular movies for Jace. I bought them personalized thermoses, designer gloves, and tickets to see plays that were already sold out everywhere else. I offered them my time for anything they wanted me to do. I more than made up for it, I think.
“I kind of knew you were going to bring that up, but I never come unprepared.” I reach into my pink Chanel handbag and retrieve a pink cookie tin.
“I baked you these. My signature choc-chip cookies, designed to melt your heart and all your inhibitions. Also, this might interest you.” I remove an envelope from my bag and slide it across the desk.
Colter opens the envelope. I can see them inhaling the air because, of course, my stationery smells like me.
He pulls out a single sheet of pink paper. I know the words written on them. I wrote them myself, and the signature at the bottom is unmistakably authentic; even they can’t deny it.
“How did you do this?” Nolan asks, a heavy frown making him narrow his eyes at me.
“Well, you see, Jeffrey Greenward is... was a client of mine. As is the case with most of our clients, he’d given up on love, but Sweetpea and I made him see the true love of his life was right under his nose—his secretary, Rose Ellen. He took the plunge, and now he’s so happy in love; he told me there is nothing in the world he wouldn’t do for me. So I asked him for this. Say yes, and the land is yours.”
I lean back in the very uncomfortable chair, cross my legs again, and swing my foot clad in my six-inch heels.
Game, set, and sex.
I always do my homework. And I do it really hard and extremely well. I knew it wasn’t going to be a walk in the park getting them to agree to become my sexperiments . But I wanted them, which meant I had to pull out all the stops and be hella creative in the process.
From little snippets of talk I’ve heard from various different people, apparently, the owners of The Lone River Ranch have done everything in their power to buy an additional couple of thousand acres off Jeffrey Greenward for going on over eighteen months already.
Jeff had no intention of selling Lone River the land they needed to expand their business. Now all they have to do is say yes to me, and the land is theirs. Easy.
“Jeff said he was adding on another five million dollars to your offer, and I said that’s fine. You have more money than god anyway.”
My leg swings more vigorously now as I patiently wait for their answer.
They land their intense gazes on me. My breath does a funny thing, and I shift in the chair.
“And you want all three of us?” Nolan asks.
“Yes. I have a lot to get through, so when I tire one of you out, at least there are two more I can call on. Also, for variety. Think of it as three cocks, one Tierney. I’ll be logging a lot of experience and starting with a body count of three. Once I learn everything there is to know from you three, I’ll experiment more, of course... what was that?” I say, leaning forward.
I didn’t quite catch what they were muttering under their breaths, but it definitely sounded like the fuck you will or something like that, which makes no sense, so I probably misheard.
“Nothing,” Jace says. See, I imagined that.
“I’m on the pill,” I say and dig into my bag for another envelope, which I pass along. “These are my health records, although I’m a virgin, so it might be moot. No need to see yours. All you have to do is tell me you’re clean. I trust you.”
“Are you generally this trusting of the male population?” Colter asks, seeming vexed.
“No, silly. I’m not stupid. My dad knows you, and he doesn’t associate with men who don’t live by their word.” I say confidently. “You keep trying to find holes in my proposition when the only hole you should be looking for is the one between my legs.”
Slam dunk. Since I anticipated everything, I even came up with appropriate punchlines.
“What else do you have for me? Hit me.”
“We’re clean,” Jace says begrudgingly. I smile slowly.
“Good. Can we shake on a hundred hours of your time?”
“Fifty hours,” Colter says, and I can tell he isn’t going to back down.
“Fine. Fifty hours. You. You. You. And me. Amorous congress. We start at The Four Seasons. Tomorrow. 7 pm. Dress code: naked.”
I rise from my chair and hold out my hand. They don’t reciprocate, so I do it myself. I shake each of their hands. I hope they plan to actually touch me when the time comes.
“It’s nice doing horizontal business with you, gentlemen.”
I take myself back to my car, and when I’m completely off their land, I pull to the side of the road and have a meltdown.
I force huge gulps of air into my lungs, open my window, then close it and put on the air-con. I unbutton my blouse, and still I’m too hot. My nipples are so sore, I hold them in my hands, and my panties are so wet, I need a shower. I’m shaking from head to foot as my body just comes apart.
Did I really just proposition Colter James, Nolan Spears, and Jace Hamilton into having sex with me like some sort of virgin siren?
Fifty hours’ worth of it too.