Chapter Seven
She and Mikhail had sat outside until the sun had begun to descend. When the temperature had started to drop, he’d suggested they go inside. He’d taken her in and given her the tour of the house before showing her a big bedroom with a view out on the back of the property toward the surrounding trees, and what looked to be a lake or a wide river.
A knock on the door announced Gareth as he stuck his head around it. “Dinner’s on in ten minutes, if you’re interested.”
“Food?” That instantly perked Camilla up. Before the man could even close the door again, she was out in the hall and linking an arm with his. “So, what’s for dinner? I’m starving. Oh, Uncle should have told you guys that I eat. And I eat a lot. I really love food,” she admitted. “I know it doesn’t really look like it, but I do. I guess that because I’m always running around playing tag with the kids in the play yard, so I’m able to burn through the calories as I do. Oh, crap. Now I have to find something else to do, but if you even dare to mention the four a.m. runs, I might have to trip you and tell your team that you tripped over air.”
Gareth just stared at her like she’d lost her mind. Entirely possible, given how the last day and a bit had been. “There’s plenty of food, so don’t worry. We have a full gym in the basement next to the war room, armory, and weapons range. We also have a swimming pool, hot tub, and sauna down there. I’m sure you don’t need to be up for four a.m. runs to find a way to exercise. Plus, there’s always…” he trailed off with a slow grin.
Camilla just watched him, cocking her head as she frowned. “Always what?” When she realized what he’d inferred, she flushed. “Oh.” She grinned and, before she could think better of it, asked him, “And are you offering up your services?” However, the moment she said it, she slapped her hand over her mouth, eyes wide, and shook her head. Good lord love a duck, had she just propositioned this man?
Gareth threw his head back and laughed. When he’d calmed himself, he stepped in closer and lowered his head so his lips brushed her ear. “And if I was?” he asked her softly. “What would you say to that, Ms. Berry?”
“Depends upon when you might catch me,” she admitted. “Because I can’t seem to stop myself from saying whatever pops into my mind when you or Mikhail are around. Isn’t that just straight-up crazy?”
He chuckled and drew back. “Good to know.” He winked. “Come on, dinner’s up, and if we’re not there we might just end up starving. They’re like rabid animals when the food comes out.”
Camilla grinned. “Well, that would just suck, because then I would make you take me out to eat. Doesn’t matter to where, as long as we had lots of food.” She couldn’t get over how easily she had just blurted things out with these men. She was so screwed.
“You say that like it’s a bad thing.” He led her down the hall to the stairs. “But you won’t have to do that tonight. We have plenty of food and they’ll likely save you some, since Ares is still kicking around. He’s very protective of you,” he commented. “Very.”
“Well then, why in the world were you rushing me? Don’t you know that you’re never supposed to rush a woman?” she teased. She knew that there was no such rule, but it felt nice to be able to play around. She liked it, a lot.
“Yeah, but the look of panic on your face, for that brief second, was totally worth it,” he told her as they descended the stairs. “Don’t worry, the guys may give you grief, but they’re just trying to figure you out. That, and how the hell you managed to get Mikhail to actually let you stay. I know why, but I’m so not telling them.”
“Maybe you’ll tell me.” Camilla grinned and shrugged. “I think that it’s so that I can talk the ears off you guys so he’ll have blissful silence?” Yeah, that wasn’t it and she knew it. She didn’t know why Mikhail had allowed her to stay, but she was happy he had all the same.
“Keep dreaming, sweetheart.” Just outside the kitchen, where noise seemed to be the name of the game, Gareth tugged her to a stop. “I won’t tell you all of it, but I will say this: Only you had him agreeing to let you stay. And not because you clipped his family jewels. Although I will admit, that was funnier than anything I’ve seen in a while.”
She flushed in embarrassment. “Please don’t mention that again? I’m typically not that uncoordinated, but it seems like around you and him, I am. It sucks, too. I’m so not even kidding there. It’s terrible to know I’ve plowed you down, hit him, and slept on you. Yep, I’m so having a stellar day.”
“At least I got most of the good stuff,” he said with a laugh. “Though I’d work on not abusing him too much. He’s got a hair-trigger that even I’m not sure of what the limits are.” He led her into the kitchen and utter and complete chaos. The guys were busy getting food on the table in between filling their plates and trying to talk over one another.
“I didn’t mean to do it,” Camilla said again. “I really didn’t.” She took in the chaos and shook her head. “Oh, this is so not going to do.” She whistled with her fingers in her mouth—loudly. “Attention!” she shouted. “Come on, soldiers, you all know better than this. Work as a flipping unit instead of trying to mow each other down.”
Every set of eyes in the room pinned her in place. Then the chaos resumed even louder than before.
“It doesn’t work,” Ares said with a chuckle. “They actually have a method to the madness if you watch long enough. And not a single thing ever ends up on the floor, no matter how close you think it is to happening. Just look,” he advised before slipping through the insanity to the fridge.
“Good lord. I don’t get it.” She leaned her shoulder against Ares when he returned and watched. He was right. “How in the hell do they make this work?”
“Skill and years of practice,” he told her as he lifted the bottle of beer to his lips. Taking a long drink, Ares shrugged. “They’ve been through wars together, some of the toughest and hardest battles there were. Plus, they all survived my training and became a much tighter group. They all instinctively know where the others are. It’s a little creepy, but you get used to it. The noise level will die down once they have their plates filled.”
“Is that when we’ll get our food? Because I’m hungry. I really do want to have some food, if you wouldn’t mind, please?” When Mikhail looked up at her, Camilla couldn’t help herself from waggling her fingers at him in a wave.
All activity came to a stop again, but this time everyone looked at Mikhail. He looked at her and the guys were observing him. He came around the table and right to her, then held out a hand. He didn’t say anything, just towered over her with his hand out, palm up.
Camilla didn’t even hesitate. She placed her hand into his and grinned. Stepping away from her uncle, she was pulled in closer to Mikhail. “I’m starving. Are you going to block these boys so that I can get some food? I bet that you play football like nobody’s business, don’t you? I would like to see that—you in football pants.” As she jumped from one topic to another, the look on his face was almost … well, if she wasn’t mistaken, it was almost a grin.
“I’ve never played football,” he told her softly. He guided her around the table and let go of her hand long enough to pull out a chair for her in front of a very full plate. He looked to her and waited for her to sit down.
“Huh, maybe I can still get you to try on the pants? Thank you, Mikhail. For making sure that I have food and for humoring me.” She settled into the seat he offered her and took his hand in hers, squeezing it. “You’re a good man. Thank you for giving me a reason to smile in all of this chaos.”
“Eat,” he said as he settled into the chair next to her. Gareth took the seat on her other side, and the rest of the men settled. Ares got to sit at the head of the table as everyone began to dig into their meals. The only conversations now were grunted requests for the salt or pepper and more rolls.
Camilla ate along with them. She didn’t speak because she couldn’t with her mouth full. Finally, when her plate became empty, she said, “That seriously was delicious. Who cooked it? I mean, we weren’t outside for that long, were we?”
There were a couple of snorts from down the table. “We all cooked, and you were out there for almost two hours.” When she looked for the speaker, one of the guys with dark red hair tipped his chin. “Lincoln,” he supplied when she just stared at him. “It took a while to cook the meat, but we knew we had time.”
“Right. Well, it was very good. Thank you for cooking for us.” She laid a hand on Mikhail’s forearm and smiled. “It didn’t seem like two hours, but if you say so, I believe you.”
“It was.” Gareth nodded as he buttered another roll. “I figured Mikhail would have come screaming through the house by that point given how you like to beat on him.” Okay, so he wasn’t going to let that drop.
“Good heavens.” Camilla laughed. “You’re like the kids I teach, never letting anything go. Once you’ve found something to pick on, you keep harping on it. That’s too funny. You’re all like your own little family. It’s nice,” she said with a smirk. “I like it.” Even if she was the one being picked on, she didn’t mind, honestly.
“All right, who’s on dish duty?” Ares asked as he got to his feet. Everyone pointed at him. “Well, shit,” he muttered. “I knew I shouldn’t have asked that. Fine, but the lot of you need to get out of here.”
“Hell no,” someone else said. “You’ll cheat then. You have to do it the old-fashioned way, God of War. No using your powers.”
“What are they talking about?” Camilla asked. “We do dishes often, so why is now so different? You know how to make use of the dishwater and rinse dishes.” She laughed suddenly as she realized what was going on. “Oh, gotcha. You want to make them all go poof and clean into the cabinets, don’t you? Oh man, that is cheating. They’re right.”
“I do not cheat,” Ares said, his spine stiff and his entire demeanor offended. “I just don’t need all of you lollygaggers sitting around being assholes. No offense, Camilla, sweetie.”
Mikhail snorted at that. “I for one don’t have the urge to remain and watch him do the dishes. But someone should in order to make sure he does them.”
“Don’t worry, I’ve got it,” someone said with a deep Southern accent. “James, ma’am,” he said when she looked his way.
Camilla smiled at James and waved at him. “Hi there,” she said with a small, shy lift of her lips. “Thank you for sticking around and watching over my uncle to ensure that he does what he needs to do to clean up this mess.”
“No worries. Besides, he usually has some good story to tell while he’s working, so it’s not really any hardship at all,” James told her. Which was apparently enough for the others, because after they stacked the plates and put away the food, they all disappeared quickly. All except for Mikhail and Gareth, who stuck close to her.
“So.” Camilla placed her other hand on Gareth’s forearm. “Will you two go for a walk with me? I know it’s not a four-a.m. run or anything, but a walk would be lovely if you gentlemen are of a mind to.”
“I’m game,” Gareth said with a smile. “But you really should try one of the four-a.m. runs. It’s so quiet and calm at that time of day. Not another soul up and moving. It’s very serene and Zen, actually.”
“Yeah, no thanks. No one is up and moving at that time of the morning because they have more sense than that. I mean, come on. Seriously?” She shook her head. “And I beat whoever wakes me at that time of the morning with a rolling pin, so you might want to make sure to pass that along.” The grin on her face said more than her words did.
“I think there’s a couple we just shouldn’t tell,” James commented. “Personally, I think they damn well deserve a good beatin’ no matter the time of day, ma’am. I’d pay to see you lay a good rolling pin whoopin’ on their asses.”
“Well then, just don’t tell them. I’ll make sure to take the rolling pin to bed with me tonight. Besides, who needs four-a.m. runs when there is a full workout facility in your basement, or so I was told?” She slid a hot look to Gareth. Oh, she had been offered more than that and knew it.
“There is, but there’s nothing like all that fresh country air or the feel of the earth under your boots as you run,” James said. He pushed his chair back from the table and swung his legs up onto another one. “Now, get on with the lot of you. I have me a god to wrangle, and distractions aren’t helpful.”
Camilla snickered and rose from her seat. Looking to the two men that had been flanking her, she asked, “So, will you both come for a walk with me?” They hadn’t answered her, and now she felt a little nervous as to what they would say.
Mikhail just nodded and Gareth grinned as he offered her his arm. “I’m always willing to walk with a pretty lady,” he told her with a wiggle of his eyebrows. He was messing with her; the groans from Mikhail and James told her that.
She snickered and put her hand into his. “I guess that a-walking we will go. Make sure that the dishes get clean, Uncle. And please try not to trick James into doing them for you,” she called as they left the kitchen.
“As if I could,” Ares called after her.
Mikhail held the door open as she and Gareth stepped through. Once they were down on the path, Mikhail moved to her other side, his arms tucked at his back as he walked. Both he and Gareth were watchful of their surroundings as they moved, but given their relaxed posture, obviously they weren’t worried about anything out in the dark.
“So, whose property is this anyway?” Camilla asked finally when they were moving down what looked like might be a path. She liked the sound of the nighttime in full harmony with the Earth. The bugs sending out their mating calls, the animals as they scurried to and fro. It felt quite nice.
“Ours,” Mikhail answered her. “We all purchased the land and Ares did the rest to ensure it was never found again. It took some time to find, as we needed to arrange that no satellite ever traversed close enough to see it.”
“Which, in this day and age, was nearly impossible,” Gareth commented on her other side.
“That’s impressive,” she said with a smile. “Very impressive. I like it. I like that this place is tucked away and a slice of heaven.” She didn’t speak for several moments, and when she did, she asked, “What happens when I leave here? Do I forget you and this place?”
“If you leave here, you’ll have the memories of this place and all of us removed. They’ll be replaced with something else entirely so that there isn’t a blank spot,” Gareth told her. “If you stay…” He shrugged and shot her a look.
“And could I?” Camilla asked in a soft whisper. She couldn’t seem to help herself. “Stay, that is. Could I remain behind, or would the two of you want to strangle me before a week was up?” Not just them, but the other men as well.
“Of course you could stay. And for the record, strangling you isn’t on my list of things to do with and to you,” Gareth added. The look he shot her was heated and full of promises. Dark, hot, and interesting promises.
She licked her lips and watched him watching her. “So, what is on the list of things that you would like to do to me?” She needed to hear them voiced, had to know just what he was implying.
Gareth chuckled and leaned in closer, his lips against her ear. “It’s lengthy, but I’ll give you the highlights. All of it revolves around you being naked. Some involve you on your knees, others on your back, some sitting up, and all of them with my cock somewhere inside of you.”
A shiver raced over her body. “I love the way that you think.” Turning, she looked at Mikhail. “What about you, Mikhail? Do you have a list of things that you would like to do with me? I certainly hope so.”
He shot her a look. “Perhaps,” he said before falling silent again. Hm, apparently not big on sharing his thoughts on the matter. “I’d tell you, but I’ve seen how you get when you’re startled or thrown off balance. Since there’s no one else out here to assist if we’re all taken down, I think I’ll wait until you’re sitting.”
Camilla laughed. “I’m so sorry. I really and truly want to know just what it is that you have in your mind to do to me, with me.” She put a hand to his chest and nodded. “For now, we continue our walk?”
“Probably best.”
Gareth snickered but managed to mostly sober when she looked his way. “What? It’s funny, damn it. Especially since you tried to take him out,” he told her with a grin. “I only wish I’d had a video camera going right then.”
“Well, I’m very glad that you didn’t have one,” Camilla told him. “Because I don’t think I would have survived knowing I had harmed someone and it was caught on video. So no cameras, please.”
“You didn’t do all that much harm. He’s still upright and moving,” Gareth pointed out. “Though how, after that blow to his crotch, I’m still unsure of. I’d have been on the floor crying like a little girl, no offense, and suckling my thumb in misery.”
“I think Mikhail could remain up and moving no matter what. He’s solid as a rock. He’s wonderful like that,” she said with a delighted grin. “However, I think you could, too. Maybe I need to work on hitting you?”
“Uh, no, let’s say you did and I didn’t fall down with tears in my eyes,” Gareth suggested with a hopeful expression. “I really am good with you not clocking me anywhere, honestly.”
“Then don’t pick on Mikhail because of me doing that to him. We both know that’s what you were doing, too.” No heat stained her voice, and she was grinning. “So, we will all get along, right?” Camilla didn’t know why she felt drawn to these two men, but she was. She didn’t know much about them, but she somehow felt closer to them than the others in the team.
“Me? Picking on Mikhail? Never,” he scoffed with a wave.
Mikhail snorted. “Bullshit. You like getting in shots wherever you can. But then you’ve always been lacking and trying to compensate for that. Personally, me and the guys believe it’s Little Man Syndrome. And nothing to do with how tall he is.”
The look on Gareth’s face was priceless: totally stunned, yet horrified.
Camilla laughed. Ares had been right. Mikhail didn’t speak often, but when he did, it was something that you wanted to stop and listen to. The teasing had been delivered perfectly.
Mikhail just gave her and Gareth a mild look and continued walking. Gareth’s lips were moving, but nothing came out. Poor guy was speechless. “Come along, Camilla. We shouldn’t stay out too late. I know you were looking forward to this walk. Leave Stumpy to follow at his own pace if you must.”
Camilla grinned and moved along with Mikhail. “You know he’s stumped right now because those are the most words you’ve said to me since I got here. I enjoyed it. The look on his face was hilarious. Will you teach me how to deliver things like that?”
He shrugged. “It’s more of an art form than anything else. That, and listening for the perfect moment. You have to be quick so you don’t lose the opportunity or deliver too late. I’ll do what I can to instruct you, but you shouldn’t expect immediate results.”
“I think just learning from you will be enough. I might not be quick, but I think eventually I’ll pick it up. It just means many, many long hours alone with me. You teaching me how to deliver and me teaching you how to loosen up. I think we’ll get along famously.” She loved the idea of spending untold amounts of time with him. The opportunity to be alone with him, talking to him and learning from him would be cherished and it was something that she wanted in the most desperate of ways. She wanted to be alone with both men, wanted to take Gareth and Mikhail and lock the three of them behind doors for a solid month at least so that she could learn everything she possibly could about them and oddly she wanted to let them into her very soul.
That earned her a grunt and another look. This one was slightly suspicious, but he said nothing about her spending more time with him. He did take her hand as they walked, though. A good sign.
Camilla didn’t say anything else. She walked with Mikhail and then Gareth when he caught up with them and slid his hand into hers. She gave his hand a squeeze. Camilla felt a peace that warred with the situation that had brought her here to the farm. She felt—well, she felt as if she had finally come home.
She’d never had any luck in relationships before. Now, being here with Gareth and Mikhail, she felt like she’d been in a holding pattern all her life. She felt like she had been waiting for these two men to come into her life. Camilla felt like she had been born for them, and like they had been waiting for her.