Their Stolen Bride (Bridgewater Menage Series Book 7) by Vanessa Vale Page B

hoped to accomplish that today. Not now.
    Now I had to go to Butte to get my wife.
    “We took care of Benson’s men, sent one back to him alive with a message.”
    The heavy gallop of a horse came toward us.
    Parker jumped from his horse before it even stopped, searching the covered porch. “Mary’s in Butte?”
    “Shit, yes,” I muttered. The other men who stayed behind all knew she’d gone and one of them must have told Parker.
    “Fuck. Butte?” Parker shouted.
    “Mason was telling us she told him she was going to go train her ass and needed privacy. Next time he checked on her, she was gone.”
    Parker stilled, eyes wide. “That woman, when we find her, is going to find out all the ways we can train that ass.”
    He put his hat back on his head and walked over to his horse, grabbing the reins.
    “Quinn went after her. Once we knew she was gone, he followed. But it’s a big town and I can’t say if he’ll find her easily.”
    “Oh, we know where to find her,” I muttered. I took the steps two at a time and practically ran to the stable.

 
     
    CHAPTER ELEVEN
     
    MARY
     
    “Are you sure you should be doing this?” Miss Rose asked.
    I was once again in the kitchen of The Briar Rose sitting across from the woman who was more mother than madame. This time I wasn’t an innocent virgin, eager for some titillation. A week with Sully and Parker had stripped all innocence from me and I was glad for it. I loved everything I did with them, that they did to me, that they commanded I do to myself. I even liked the dratted ass plugs.
    “It’s my fault that Sully is in danger. He doesn’t want to be another target, whether it’s gossip or rumors or bullets. He just wants… quiet.”
    “It’s not your fault,” she countered as she stood to fill her mug from the coffeepot on the back of the stove. When she held the pot toward me, I shook my head. I was jittery enough as it was. Voices drifted from the floor above. It was early afternoon and while everyone was awake, no one moved too quickly. Nora had come down for a cup of coffee, said hello, then left. The butcher had delivered a box of stew meat for the evening meal, but otherwise, we had the kitchen to ourselves.
    “Benson would have gone after whatever man you married.”
    I frowned. “That doesn’t make it any better. Whomever I married—if it had been Parker instead—would have been Benson’s nemesis.”
    “You don’t think Sully can defend himself?”
    “I do.” Both my men could defend themselves, and me. “But while they went out there to protect me from those… goons Mr. Benson sent, it doesn’t solve the problem. He’ll just keep sending more until one of them gets lucky and kills Sully.”
    I felt sick just saying those words.
    Miss Rose reached across the table and took my hand. “You really love them, don’t you?”
    I laughed, but sadly. “I’ve known them a week. They kept me naked almost that entire time!”
    Miss Rose didn’t look horrified, only humored. “What’s wrong with that? It sounds romantic to me.”
    “Romantic? Do you have any idea what they did to me?”
    She smiled, shook her head. “Oh, I have some idea. I’m sure you can give Chloe some lessons now.”
    I tugged my hand away and folded both of them in my lap. “Yes, I suppose I could. But love? I’m not sure what I feel is that. I don’t want anything to happen to them. I don’t want anyone else to have them. I want to… please them.”
    Miss Rose laughed and lifted her coffee cup in the air as if to toast me. “Mary Sullivan, that’s love.”
    I looked up at her hopefully. It was love? This… need to take care of them, to give them what they wanted? They’d said it was their privilege to protect me and I understood that now. It was my job as their wife to protect them when I could. Knowing what I did about Mr. Benson could protect Sully. I wanted him. Needed him. Both of them. But love? “Really?”
    “Your mother, God rest her soul, would