Something Sinful This Way Comes [McQueen Was My Valley 1] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) (13 page)

Xandra whipped the flat package from her friend’s hand. “Oh, just
give
it to me, Cass! These two officers are risking life and limb—and barely getting any sleep—protecting me from that moron that we’re now convinced was sent by my ex.”

Cass gaped. “Slippery Fish?” Of course she had never met Javier, but had heard most of the humorous and pithy anecdotes about him from Xandra during their sunset evenings sipping wine on Xandra’s terrace.

Julian finally woke up enough to guffaw. “Slippery Fish?” He brushed his long brunet hair back from his forehead as he passed the women, apparently returning to the lone bedroom. “Is that the name of your goofball?”

“Yeah,” Cass told Julian. “Isn’t that a laugh riot? Such a gentleman. He used to rape Xandra so violently he caused scar tissue deep inside her.”

Xandra frowned. “Cass!” she scolded her blabbermouth friend.

Julian paused in the hallway, pausing in the middle of lazily scratching his bicep. He frowned, too. “Really?” he asked Xandra.

She knew she had to downplay it. “It’s nothing. You know how some men are. They just get overly carried away when they’re drunk.” She forced a giggle. “Just rough play, you know.” Then she shot Cass a
shut the hell up
glare.

Julian came forward, not taking his eyes from hers. He whisked the package from her hand. “Yeah. Right. Just rough play. I’ll take this to Nathan.”

Xandra grabbed Cass by the arm and nearly gave her whiplash yanking her into the kitchen. The light was on the coffeepot, so Xandra took a cup from a cupboard and sloshed coffee into it. She shoved it at her erstwhile friend. “What are you
thinking
of, my dear? It’s already bad enough I’m harassing these two considerate, thoughtful, kindhearted men with the fact that my ex is a cray-cray stalker intent on mangling my entire photo collection!”

Cass wiggled her eyebrows again, nursing the coffee cup. “Kindhearted men,” she repeated meaningfully. “Half-
naked
kindhearted men.”

“Oh, stop it! You know how I feel about dating. Don’t want to do it.”

Cass’s leering was making Xandra feel ill. Times like this she wished she drank coffee, too. “You don’t have to be ‘dating’ to be sleeping in the same bed. I saw you walk out of there. Wearing the jacket that belongs to that cop with the impeccably hot ass. Yeah. Uh-huh. I know he’s in there. And this cabin has only one bedroom.”

Xandra stalked to the refrigerator door and yanked it open, just for something to do. Of course, there was only a jar of mayonnaise and a plastic one of mustard, left by the previous guests. “Impeccably hot ass, of course I agree. But Cass, they’re just protecting me.
Handling
me, Nathan calls it. They’re my handlers.” She spun about to face her friend. “And you can just swallow that ‘handler’ joke right now, Cass.”

Cass was obviously trying to keep her mouth zipped. “But…but…”

Xandra sighed. “Out with it, Cass.”

Cass’s words came out in a whoosh. “But you’re sleeping in the same bed! With two men!”

Xandra didn’t know what to say at first. “Well. Yes.”

“Well, share the wealth, gal!”

Xandra shrugged. “What can I say, Cass? I sort of…I sort of like them
both
.”

Cass threw up her hand. “There you have it! I suppose you’re taking
both
of them to the gala tonight?”

Xandra frowned. “Gala? What gala?”

“Bev emailed out the brochures last night. You probably haven’t seen it yet. It’s a semi-formal dance, silent and live auctions, you know, for charity. Heifer International.”

“Oh, dear Lord. I suppose I should go, as the owner.”

“I’ll say you should! And like I said, spread the wealth. Which one are you—oh, good morning, Officer Horowitz.”

Apparently now it was Nathan’s turn to walk shirtless through the kitchen, and take over from Xandra the duty of staring into the opened refrigerator. He was beautiful as he hunched over the opened door, the unflattering fridge light doing nothing to dispel it. His intelligent iceberg eyes glittered as he focused on the mayo jar. Cass wasn’t even trying to avert her eyes from his wonderfully developed chest.

“Thanks, Cass, for the package.” Nathan finally slammed the door and faced the women. “Xandra, I’m going to your suite to place the ears in the back of that last picture you told me about. You stay here with Julian—I’ll only be gone a few minutes. I’ll make sure
someone
in the security office is physically eyeballing that hallway and suite screen every minute of the day. Then you’re coming with us out to Sam’s Steeple for safekeeping.”

Cass gaped. “Wanda’s brother’s steeple? What’re you doing out there?”

“Climbing it.” Nathan started opening cabinets, looking for the one that held coffee cups.

Xandra wanted to tell her best friend to close her jaw. “Let me check my email, find that brochure for tomorrow night.”

Cass followed her back into the dining room, where Julian had placed her laptop on the table but no one had turned it on yet. “So? Which fella are you taking to the gala?”

Xandra sighed, waiting for her computer to boot up. “Shit. A week ago if you’d of told me I’d have this dilemma, I would’ve said you were reading too many romance novels. There just aren’t that many good men around.” She felt free to whisper, since Nathan had taken his coffee back into the bedroom. “But now, I suppose I’ll ask Nathan if he wants to go with me. He was considerate enough to give me a mind-blowing orgasm last night. Should I ask Julian if he’ll escort you? There’s safety in numbers.”

“Oh,
swoon
!” said Cass, and she really did swoon, having to prop herself up on the edge of the dining table. “I would
kill
to be seen in public with that dashing—you’ve got to admit, he’s dashing, right? That’s the word you’d use for Sergeant Longtree. He’s exotic, and has those high cheekbones. He’s almost more beautiful than a woman, wouldn’t you—
what’s wrong
?”

Xandra must have gasped loudly. The rest of the room faded away, and it felt like her brain was bleeding. Her heart literally thudded in her chest.

It’s that video again.

Months ago, unbeknownst to her, Javier had installed a nanny cam in their bedroom in Charleston. He paid a few perverted friends of his to monitor the proceedings, probably checking to see if she was cheating on him during the many nights, weeks, he was out of town. She had only found out because the idiotic pervs in question had accidentally left it up on their screen when she’d walked through a little-used room in their house.

It was one of the reasons she’d finally found the guts to leave Javier. Not only was he a cruel, insensitive asshole who normally disregarded her feelings, he was spying on her, and letting his goons ogle her at her most vulnerable.

So here she was, in all her mortifying glory. Plunging a dildo into her pussy. As though she’d
known
a camera was pointed directly at her lady parts.

Xandra cringed back from the laptop. The accompanying instant message was titled ATTENTION BITCH, and the sender was a not-very-well-disguised Javier at a free account, naming himself Mistress of Your Domain.
Stupid shit. He should’ve called himself Master.
Javier had typed,

Bitch,

You know what I’m looking for. Hand it over, or this thing goes viral and ruins your new clean reputation.

Cass came around her side of the table and gasped loudly, too. “Holy shit,” she whispered. She leaned closer to read the text. She pointed at it in horror. “Is this…”

“My ex again.” Xandra sighed.

“But you
don’t
know what he wants!” Cass protested.

“He obviously doesn’t know that.”

“Well,
tell
him!”

“I think I may have to.”

Nathan came sailing from the bedroom just then, looking spiffy and professional as he whipped his windbreaker on over his customary black T-shirt and shoulder holster. Xandra noticed too late. Of course Nathan stopped in his tracks when she slammed her laptop shut.

He frowned and made a beeline for her. “All right. What now?”

Xandra knew she’d have to tell him. He was a black ops commando. He could figure out she had closed her laptop on some porn. “Javier. He’s making some threats.” She didn’t try to stop Nathan from lifting the lid.

Cass stuttered, “I’ve never met the guy obviously, but I don’t think he’s kidding about—”

Both Cass and Xandra jumped about a foot when Nathan slammed the laptop closed again. Xandra had never seen his intelligent, arctic eyes this fiery before.

He waggled an angry finger in her face. “All right, that’s fucking it,” he roared. Xandra knew he was pissed at Javier, not at her, but still, it was terrifying to finally view the full force of his commando rage. “I’m going right now to place that device and when I get back I’m calling that ass-munching shitbag. All right?”

He didn’t wait for Xandra to acquiesce. Instead he bellowed, “Julian! Get the fuck out here
now!
”

A shirtless Julian skittered out into the hallway, his pistol in one hand, disposable razor in the other. “What the fuck?”

“Look at Xandra’s computer,” Nathan commanded as he strode for the door. He jabbed his forefinger at Julian now. “Be ready to leave when I get back in ten minutes.”

Julian wore no holster, so he put the razor on the breakfast bar and took his pistol to the laptop, as though it might shoot back at him. Xandra was surprised when he briefly viewed the incriminating photo of her masturbating, and his only response was to sigh deeply.

“You don’t seem surprised,” Xandra said.

Julian closed his eyes with patience. “I’m not. I saw this last night, when you asked me to unplug your laptop. I assumed you were…texting some self-portrait to another guy.” He opened his eyes and sighed apologetically. “I’m sorry, Xandra. I should be more aware of the criminal proclivities of people. Nathan is more attuned to that.”

Xandra shuddered. “I’m glad he’s attuned. But I’ve never seen him that angry.”

“Yeah.” Cass sounded like she shuddered, too. “What sort of policeman is he, anyway?”

“The scary kind,” said Julian.

Nathan had told them he estimated the climb to the top of Sam’s Steeple would take an hour. The ascent from the back was a fairly easy approach, a slow rise that brought one to the sheer drop off the face. But Nathan was clearly the superior athlete as he nearly jogged up the red sandstone grade. Nathan easily found new access points, swiftly switching back and disappearing between the spires and pinnacles. He had such an obvious lust for climbing. Like a little boy, he used running and jumping as a means to escape. Julian wanted to teach him he had nothing to escape from. Not out here.

So Julian and Xandra fell to the rear. Soon they paused on a little shelf that jutted out over Prism Canyon. Xandra was panting and red-faced, and Julian imagined that as the trophy wife of a mob boss she wasn’t too accustomed to hiking steeples.

“I’ve heard why they call it Bird in Hand,” Julian said conversationally, referring to the small town that was closest to the lodge. At Bird in Hand, people could purchase potato chips, gas, camping supplies, and corny Navajo crafts. “Because two fellows can get into the same bush.”

“Ha-ha. Very funny.” Xandra panted some more. “But I’ve heard the same thing.”

Julian laughed. He truly enjoyed Xandra’s relaxed good-naturedness, and knew he was falling in love with her, too. Their encounter last night had cemented this for Julian. Clearly, though, it was more comfortable for Nathan to be the filling in their sandwich. Julian wasn’t sure how Nathan would handle it if Julian dared touch Xandra. After witnessing his rage earlier today, Julian wasn’t sure he even wanted to attempt touching Xandra.

When Nathan had returned from placing the listening device in the photo frame, he had demanded from Xandra the cell number of the “Slippery Fish.” Probably because he used Xandra’s cell to call, Javier had answered. It was an impressive piece of theater, Nathan’s steely, acidic interrogation of the douche bag. Of course Javier had admitted nothing and denied any knowledge of sending any stalker to Xandra’s lodge, but it was good to let Javier know that they knew. And immediately Nathan had placed another call to a coworker at Joint Base Charleston, probably to put a watch on Javier, if it’d help, which it probably wouldn’t.

Shoving his baton up Nathan’s shapely ass had been a thrill unlike any Julian had ever experienced. He had fucked his fair share of men, to be sure. What else was there to do between shifts out in the lonely desert? The men he encountered tended to be athletic—men camping, fishing, hunting. Julian could tell within five minutes whether they’d be amenable to a fast, hot encounter with an authority figure. Most of his fucks wanted to play up the fact that he wore a badge. On their knees, loudly begging to be punished, squirming with submission. It was amazing how quickly these manly fellows turned into utter bottoms when confronted with a guy with a pistol and a baton.