Their Reluctant Bride (Bridgewater Menage Series Book 6) by Vanessa Vale

gentle, sweetheart, but I’ll never hurt you.”
    “I know.”
    Just like that, my cock hardened, my body relaxed and settled into the mindset of a man who had a woman who needed to be controlled. Who liked it. Who came because of it. Who needed it.
    I flicked my gaze to Tyler and he just gave me a small nod. Emily wasn’t leaving me. She wanted me just the way I was.
    “You’ve been such a good girl, I think you deserve a treat.”
    I grinned when I saw her mouth fall open and her nipples tighten beneath her dress.
     
     
     

CHAPTER EIGHT
     
    EMILY
     
    “Treat?” I asked.
    Xander had made my emotions so topsy-turvy that my brain was muddled. When Ralph had been dragged inside I thought my heart had stopped. He was insane to come to the Bridgewater Ranch and push me for money. He could have been shot and buried where no one would ever find the body. Xander and Tyler had protected me, paid the man and gotten rid of him all within a matter of a few short minutes.
    I’d wanted them to protect me from Ralph but hadn’t expected them to pay him off. Panic was replaced by relief when I knew he wouldn’t be coming after me anymore. I was free of him once and for all.
    But then Xander had accused me of awful things. I’d even thought he had wanted repayment in the form of… of fucking. I’d assumed then that he was no better than Ralph or Frank. So I’d dutifully bent over the desk as I’d assumed he’d want to take me. The look on his face when I’d done so was a mixture of anger and horror.
    Then, hearing about his past, the reason for his abrupt and hard demeanor had my heart aching for him. What he’d gone through must have been awful for him, a man so desperate for control. I understood now why he wanted it when we were together, when he’d told me the other day he wanted me to submit.
    I wasn’t submitting to him like I had with Frank, with nothing in return. I was giving myself to Xander and he took that as a gift and cherished it.
    I’d said I didn’t love them. I didn’t, but after Xander’s confession, I knew it would happen given time. But would they ever love me? Xander spoke of hating liars. I was one. I hadn’t told them about killing Frank. Keeping that secret was like keeping a lie, for they would never know the kind of woman they married. I was the lie. While I hadn’t tried to pin my crime on an innocent person, I’d definitely gotten away with it.
    “A treat, sweetheart,” Xander repeated. His voice, while still commanding, had lost the hard edge. He was still full of intent, but it had shifted. “Not a candy or anything, although I’ll find it very sweet.”
    I frowned, not sure what he meant.
    “Hold up your skirt for me. More. More.”
    I lifted the fabric so the bottoms of my legs were exposed. First my ankles, then my calves, then higher and higher until I knew to what he spoke.
    I felt Tyler at my back as his hands cupped my breasts. Only for a moment did he squeeze and fondle them, for he moved them to work the buttons down my dress so that my breasts were revealed to their gazes, so he could play with them without the dress in the way.
    Xander dropped to his knees before me when I held the fabric up around my waist, just as it had been only the day before. Instead of the unforgiving hard door at my back, I had Tyler, all rippling muscle and hot skin. Xander pushed my thighs apart, kissed the soft skin there on one side, then the other. The rasp of his beard made my skin tingle, a sharp contrast to his soft lips. He glanced up at me, his dark eyes filled with arousal and a hint of pleading. “I won’t be gentle in this, Emily, but I will pleasure you.”
    Through my instant haze of arousal, I saw the kiss for what it had been. Gentle. Xander didn’t see it or even know he had it in him.
    When his fingers slid inside of me as his mouth latched onto my clit, I knew he would pleasure me as he’d said. There was no question. In fact, he didn’t tease, didn’t start off