BLURB: [Ménage Amour: Erotic Historical Fantasy Ménage a Trois Romance, M/F/M, bondage, flogging, spanking, HEA]
Chambermaid Blair Lorring thought taking the satchel of jewelry she found in an alley was her ticket to freedom, but now she’s hiding out at an exclusive resort, with a mob boss chasing her. When she’s caught with an expensive necklace belonging to a guest, two of the resort’s mysterious owners make her pay off the debt in their beds.
Leo Fallon and Andras Neville are Nephilim who’ve been imprisoned on Earth for fifteen years, and unless they fall in love with a mortal woman, they’re destined to live out eternity indulging in their favorite vices with no permanent satisfaction. Secretly, each man longs for true love.
When they seduce Blair, hope begins to build. But will she believe their story and accept them on such terms? Or will the men chasing her ruin their business and kill Blair?
STORY EXCERPT: Blair wiped the tears from her face and stood on shaky legs. She had to finish her duties. Men were shitheels. They all lied, they all hurt women, and they were all crooks. But she couldn’t lose this job. Fox Lake was only fifty miles from Chicago, but she felt safe here. This resort was exclusive and protected. Its owners worked hard to keep it that way, and from the moment she’d walked through the front doors, tired, hungry, and scared, she’d felt a sense of peace envelope her. Frankie and her father wouldn’t find her here as long as she kept her wits about her.
Blair forgot all about the necklace until she’d finished her work for the day and returned to her modest room in the staff wing of the resort. She fished it out of her pocket, alarm spreading through her. The right thing to do would be to march straight back to Mrs. Stanton’s room and explain. But explain what? That she’d dropped it into her pocket and forgotten about it because she’d been frightened by a slamming door and a newspaper headline?
She banged her fist on the dresser top and fought back fresh tears. How did the daughter of a bookie who had unknowingly stolen jewelry from his gangster boss move on and live a straight life? Was it even possible?
She had to put the necklace back in Mrs. Stanton’s room as soon as possible. Maybe she’d be eating dinner by now or somewhere else in the resort? The guests were always milling about in the evenings, taking advantage of the many activities. If Blair waited until morning, it might be too late. The last thing she needed was trouble.
But how would she get the passkeys again? All the chambermaids turned them in when they put their cleaning supplies away at the end of the day. What possible excuse could she give for needing hers back again?
No matter what story she told, it would arouse suspicion, and that’s the last thing Blair needed. She was on the run from Frankie and her father. She didn’t need speculation that drew attention to her, and she didn’t want anyone to question her activities.
She was stuck. There was no way to return the necklace until morning, unless she found one of the owners and explained. As soon as the thought took shape, she dismissed the idea. She’d already lied to them about why she was here. She needed this job.
Blair opened the top drawer and dug underneath her bras and panties, stuffing the necklace between them. The lingerie wasn’t even hers. She’d shown up here with nothing but the clothes on her back. The owners had offered her a job and shown her around the place. Then they’d brought her to this room where she found it stocked with clothes and toiletries. Blair had never asked how or why.
There were a lot of odd things about this place, Blair noticed, but she wasn’t one to look a gift horse in the mouth. Tomorrow she’d put the necklace back in Mrs. Stanton’s room and put this entire incident behind her.
* * * *
Leonard Fallon perched on the edge of Andras Neville’s desk and shuffled through clippings from the Chicago Tribune over the past month. “It’s definitely Blair.” He studied the grainy photograph under the headline Daughter of Local Bookie Wanted for Theft. Fillipone Involved? There was no doubt the pretty face staring back at him belonged to the newest chambermaid they’d hired.
“We didn’t check her background,” said Andras, shrugging.
From across the room, Zach Neville lifted his gaze from the mountain of balance sheets on his desk. “I remember you both telling me not to worry about her past. Just hire her, you said.”
Andras stood and stretched. “You’re right. I take full blame for this. But what was I supposed to do? She walked here from Chicago. Just walked through the woods and followed the lights outside.” He glanced at Leo. “You saw her. She looked like she hadn’t slept for weeks.”
“She’s being hunted by Frankie Fillipone,” said Leo. “Her own father has accused her of stealing from him and his clients.” They’d managed to stay in business for fifteen years by catering to goons like Frankie. It kept the gumshoes from becoming too curious about them and brought in a steady stream of guests. If Frankie was looking for this dame and got wind of her working here, it could jeopardize the resort.
“Her father is a crook and works for Frankie. He’ll say what Frankie tells him to say.”
“Andras, you don’t know that.” Leo picked up the news clippings. “We’ll give her a chance to explain, but if it turns out she is involved with Frankie, we’ll have to let her go.”
“You’d turn a beautiful girl away? Just like that?”
Leo shook his head. “We have a resort full of great-looking dames. What if she’s a moll?”
“Why would she be here then?”
“Frankie could have sent her to keep an eye on things. She had a vague story as it was. I’ll bet you a sawbuck there’s more to this than either Blair or the newspapers are saying.” Leo hadn’t believed one word of Blair’s story that her parents were dead and she’d been living on the streets. The news stories proved his instincts had been right. He’d never admit this to Andras, but from the moment he’d laid eyes on her all he wanted to do was shelter and protect her. She looked like the kind of girl who’d never been treated right. And she had the prettiest blue eyes he’d ever seen.
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