Her Three Liberators [The Hot Millionaires #6] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) (3 page)

Brad, still grouching and grumbling, resumed his seat. “We need to figure out how we’re going to play this,” Daniel said calmly. “One of the reasons why I’ve kept quiet about being ill is that I didn’t want press speculation to adversely affect our share price.”

“You can think about that at a time like this?” Harry asked incredulously.

“When better?” Daniel retorted. “My legacy to the world is Malone Enterprises. I’ve worked my nuts off to make a success of our business interests and I’m damned if they’ll die with me.”

“They won’t,” Jonny said curtly, taking his cue from Daniel. His father didn’t want this to get too personal. Jonny would ensure he got his wish or die right alongside him trying. “What do you have in mind?”

“I want you boys to base yourselves here for the foreseeable future.”

“No problem,” Jonny said without hesitation.

“I can function anywhere with an Internet connection,” Harry said. “In fact, Daniel, that new app I’m working on—I’d appreciate some input from you. I’ve kinda dug a hole for myself with the coding.”

Jonny flashed his brother an appreciative smile. “There you go, Daniel, something to get your teeth into.”

“I can hang about, too,” Brad said, finally catching on. “I hate to tell you this, but I have so many good people in place that the winery almost runs itself. I just interfere, get in the way, and ask awkward questions to make myself look important.”

Jonny didn’t believe a word of it. The winery had flourished under Brad’s care.

“Okay, then,” Daniel said, his voice weak and reedy, like talking for so long had tired him. “This is now officially the headquarters of Malone Enterprises.”

“When wasn’t it?” Harry asked with a rueful grin.

“We’ll put out a press release saying that I’m pulling back from the business and handing over control to the three of you. You’ll take over as CEO, Jonny.”

Jonny nodded. “Fair enough.”

Harry and Brad nodded as well. “No change there, then,” Harry said with another of his trademark grins.

“We’ll let the world get used to that idea and see that things continue to run smoothly before I say anything about getting sick.”

“That makes sense,” Brad agreed.

“There’s one other thing,” Daniel said, his bland demeanour giving way to a far lighter expression. Even some of his old spirit returned to his eyes, Jonny noticed, wondering what was coming next. “The horse stud.”

“We’ll keep that going.”

“Oh, I know you will. It isn’t that. It’s more that I have a new member of staff whose welfare is important to me.”

“What’s her name?” Harry asked, rolling his eyes at his brothers.

“Steffi Darwin. She’s English and came over with the new stallion.”

“Why?” Jonny asked.

“Her uncle and aunt owned the horse and she was brought up by them after her own parents died in an accident. She threw herself wholeheartedly into her uncle’s breeding program and actually helped deliver Marius. It was a breech birth and they almost lost him.” Daniel lifted his bony shoulders. “She’s had a special relationship with the stallion ever since and I figured it would make the journey across the pond less stressful for the horse if she travelled with him.”

“Why did she sell the horse if she’s so attached to him?”

“Her aunt died some years ago. Her uncle went more recently and his son inherited. The business wasn’t going well and he needed to sell the stallion to pay death duties.”

“Why take a stallion from a stud that wasn’t performing?” Harry asked.

“Nothing wrong with the stallion, just the son’s business acumen.”

“Ah, I see.” Jonny rubbed the back of his neck. “Why is this Steffi creature still here?”

“She kinda fits,” Daniel said, smiling. “When I got sick, she was a tower of strength. She did all sorts of stuff for me without asking and now she acts as my PA. She’s highly efficient and has made herself indispensable. Truth to tell, I’m inordinately fond of her. She’s the daughter I never had.”

Jonny’s bullshit antennae sprang to attention. He ground his jaw, mindful of the fact that he and his brothers were constant targets for fortune seekers, as was Daniel. Could this Brit have taken advantage of Daniel’s condition? He always was a sucker for a pretty face and Jonny didn’t need to ask if Steffi Darwin qualified in that respect.

“What do you want us to do about her?” he asked, careful not to let the true nature of his thoughts show. Daniel had always been able to read him like a best seller.

“The poor child is devastated about my condition.”
I’ll just bet she is!
“She’s probably also worried that she’ll be parted from Marius when I’m no longer around.”

“You want us to keep her on?” Brad asked.

“You must make up your own minds about that. All I’m asking you to do right now is to show her a good time while you’re here.”

“Come again,” said three voices in unison.

“I want to see her have some fun before I turn my toes up,” Daniel said calmly. “She’s barely set foot off Porlock since she arrived two years ago and that can’t be healthy.”

“Why?” Brad asked. “If she’s young, presumably she wants to meet other young people.”

“She’s twenty-eight so you would think so, but the reason she’s sticking around here is Marius. We’ve had a number of cancellations.”

“He’s not up to the job, to coin a phrase?” Brad asked.

“Oh, he is. It’s early days, but all the mares he’s covered so far have produced perfect foals.”

Harry shrugged. “Then why the cancellations?”

“No idea. Steffi took it personally and was determined to find out. I don’t know how far she got because I got sick and her priorities changed.”

“And you want us to make her feel better about herself?” Harry asked. “Surely that’s a matter for her to decide.”

“No, Harry, it’s up to you three to turn on the charm.” He paused, fixing each of them with a determined expression. “Is that too much to ask?”

“Not at all,” Jonny answered for them all. “What exactly do you want us to do with her?”

Daniel chuckled. “I don’t think you need any advice from me in that respect. I’ve seen the press coverage of your various romantic entanglements.”

Brad gulped. “You want us to…er, date her?”

“Call it what you like.” He grinned at his sons. “You look as though you’ve just been condemned to a life of servitude. Has it occurred to you that you might actually have some fun yourselves? Steffi has a few hang-ups. You might enjoy the challenge of liberating her from them.”

Jonny and Brad looked at one another, both probably wondering if their father knew of their predilection for sharing women whenever they happened to be together. It wouldn’t surprise him if he did. Daniel didn’t make suggestions without considering all the angles first. Jonny doubted whether his illness had yet blunted his intelligence to the extent that he’d broken that habit. The question was, did he know that all three of them were also sexual Dominants? If so, was that what he really wanted for his precious Steffi?
Beware what you wish for, Daniel. We’re big, bad, and dangerous, and we hunt as a pack.

“Are you sure this is a good idea, Daniel?” he asked mildly. “We don’t take prisoners and she could get hurt in the fallout.”

“Oh, I know precisely what you do, Jonny. All three of you are chips off the old block. Ask your mothers if you don’t believe me.”

“Talking of our mothers,” Brad said. “Do they know? About you, I mean.”

“No, and I’d prefer to keep it that way for the time being.”

All three of them nodded, knowing very well that Daniel’s secret would no longer remain that way once they found out. They’d be devastated because they all still adored the old bastard. The desire to help him would make them incautious. Jonny could see that Daniel was beyond help and had accepted the fact. The only thing they could do for him now was to honour his wishes and do the same.

“I suppose Steffi resembles the rear end of the horse she’s so fond of,” Harry said, shuddering.

“You’ll find out for yourselves in a couple of hours,” Daniel said. “We’ve all having dinner together and I shall come down for the occasion. But now, you’ll have to excuse me. I get tired easily and need to rest.”

* * * *

They were here. Steffi had seen their car careening up the drive fast enough to frighten the horses in the paddocks closest to it. Typical, she thought sourly, determined not to like them because they resembled Daniel—she knew that much from the pictures she’d seen of them. But they weren’t him, just pale imitations, and it would make the prospect of losing his friendship that much harder to bear each time she looked at any one of them.

Daniel had insisted she present herself for dinner
en
familia
.
God alone knew why. She had assumed he’d want time alone with the boys since they had plenty to discuss. Still, she couldn’t refuse Daniel anything.

“They won’t be here for long,” she told Marius, patting his sleek neck and sneaking him a mint. “Then we’ll be able to get along again just fine without them.”

Time got away from her, just like it always did when she pottered about in the horse barn, helping with grooming, feeding, and whatever else needed to be done. She glanced at her watch and swore.

“Damn,” she said no one in particular. “Late again.”

She bestowed a hasty kiss on Marius’s soft muzzle and made a dash for the house.

“What to wear?” she muttered to herself when she reached her room.

It was a problem she hadn’t once had to grapple with since arriving on Porlock. Casual was the order of the day hereabouts and she never wore anything except jeans in winter and shorts in warmer weather. Daniel hadn’t suggested any deviation from that uniform, but her instincts told her this was an occasion upon which to make a bit of an effort. Not that she could ever match up to any of the babes Daniel’s sons dated. Nor was she trying to. She was doing this for herself.

Steffi took a quick shower, scrubbing the smell of horse from her body and shampooing her hair vigorously. She stepped out of the stall, wrapped herself in a large, fluffy towel, and wiped the steam from the mirror so that she could study herself dispassionately, trying to see herself as others would. Her wild chestnut hair was wrapped in a towel as well, but she didn’t need to see it to know that no matter how carefully she dried it, it would soon develop a mind of its own and revert to the natural corkscrew curls she so hated that tumbled halfway down her back. She’d tried cutting it short, but the curls then just stuck out from her head like she’d had an electric shock. So, long it was and that’s the way it would stay.

Large, angry, and disillusioned eyes stared back at her from the mirror as she considered the hand life had dealt her. Everyone she’d ever cared about seemed to be taken from her. She had to be some sort of Jonas, being punished for crimes committed in a previous life. Her parents, her uncle and aunt, her best friend at school who’d died in a car crash, and now Daniel. Even Marius because she wouldn’t be able to stay here after Daniel died, even if she was asked to, which seemed unlikely. She knew from bitter experience that the memories would be too raw and the only way to get through it would be to run away and hide from a cruel world that had done her few favours.

It was so unfair, and it hurt like hell. Shards of hazel agate glistened in the mirror, her eyes as always reflecting her pain. She’d never get close to anyone ever again, she vowed, her lower lip wobbling with self-pity—pity for Daniel and pity for everyone she’d loved and lost. That way she would never again experience the agonies, the gut-churning emptiness she was feeling right now.

Steffi turned away from the mirror, no longer caring what she wore. She pulled a simple sheath dress from her closet. She hadn’t worn it once since coming to America and held it against her to see if it still appealed. A pale shade of turquoise, it complimented her eyes and was a cheerful alternative to the endless supply of denim she’d been wearing since forever. Suddenly enthusiastic for the scheme, Steffi sought out suitable underwear and then pulled the dress over her head. It used to be a little too tight, but she’d obviously lost weight, and it now fit her like a second skin, not a bulge or wrinkle to spoil its line. It fell to a couple of inches above her knees, which was a bonus. Steffi was no beauty, but she
did
have decent legs so she might as well show them off.

“Well,” she told her reflection. “I might not be model material, but at least I have curves in all in the right places. That’s more than can be said for those stick insects that inhabit the catwalk.”

She found a pair of strappy, black sandals with four-inch heels and thrust her feet into them, elevating her height to a confidence-giving five eleven. She wondered if she would remember how to walk in them after months of wearing flat paddock boots. Knowing her, she’d make a grand entrance by falling flat on her face.

“It’s like riding a bike,” she told herself as she practiced walking as elegantly as she could across the room.

She had no intention of being late and making Daniel’s sons think she’d gone to any special effort. She didn’t bother with makeup, other than a dash of lip gloss and a splash of Chanel No. 5.