Four Flames for Angela

After settling Angela in her room, the four brothers headed down the stairs. Rock went to the liquor cabinet and pulled out a bottle of whiskey. “Anyone else want a shot?” His brothers nodded, and he poured one for each of them.

They talked quietly for a while, not wanting to disturb their guests. “It feels good to have her and Todd in our home,” River said, looking up the stairs as if he could picture Angie and Todd in their beds.

“Yes, it does. She’s a little younger than I thought she would be,” Rock said, voicing the concern they all had.

“She’s very mature for her age,” Sawyer said. “Not many girls her age would give up their life to take care of a young boy. They must have

a very special bond.”

“Anyone can see how much they love each other.” Hunter poured them each another shot.

“They are both so easy to love.” Rock held out his glass. They all clinked glasses together and finished the shot.

“I never thought our woman would already be part of a family. But I’m okay with that. Really okay,” River said, filling their glasses one more time.

“Now to convince her she’s the one for us.” Sawyer held up their glasses for one more toast. They put their glasses in the kitchen and made sure everything was locked up before heading up the stairs.

Rock and River stopped to check on their guests before heading off to the other side of the house. Todd was sleeping soundly, but when Rock opened Angie’s door, she rolled over and looked at him.

“What’s the matter? Can’t sleep?” he asked softly, walking into the dark room. It was a cloudless night, and the light from the moon shone brightly. “Do you want me to close the curtains? Is the light too much?”

He walked over to the window and started to darken the room.

“No. It’s okay. I have a hard time sleeping in new places. I wish I had thought to bring something to read.” Angie stopped him closing the blinds and lifted herself up in the bed.

“Come with me. We have a library downstairs, and I’m sure you can find something to you’d like.” Rock reached for her hand and pulled her from the bed. As she stood up, he pulled her against his chest and held her tight a minute. “Come on.”

She followed him without thinking of reaching for her robe. He led her down the stairs to the back of the house.

“We have a little bit of everything in here.” Rock turned on a light, and the room had bookshelves along three walls. The other wall was all window.

Angie walked over to one of the bookshelves and started looking at the choices. “You’ve got quite a selection here.”

“These are some my sisters donated. You might like one of these,” Rock said, pointing to some of the books.

Angie put the book she’d been looking at back and walked over to Rock. He was holding a book by her favorite author in his hands. “Oh, I love her writing!” she said, taking the book from him.

She opened it and started reading. “I haven’t read this one.”

Rock guided her over to a large comfortable chair in the room. “This reclines and has all the features of the chairs in the great room. You’re welcome to read down here or take the book back to your room.”

“Okay,” Angie answered absently, already engaged in reading. She didn’t even notice when Rock placed a soft blanket over her and left the room.

Angie read the book by her favorite ménage author. As she was reading she realized it was about a single woman and four men and wondered if Rock had handed her that one on purpose.

She kept reading putting herself in place of the heroine and wondering if she was ready for a relationship with four alpha men.

* * * *

Rock laid the blanket over Angie and headed up the stairs. She had been so engrossed in the book she was reading she hadn’t even noticed him leave the room. He was glad he’d been able to provide that escape for her. He’d have to remember to thank his sisters for suggesting they add some of their books to the library.

He wished he could have provided a different kind of escape, but even after the afternoon they had spent, he felt it was still too soon.

They’d tried to provide everything their future wife would want in their home. They knew there would be things she would want to pick out for herself and would be happy to help her when the time was right.

Could Angie really be the one for them? She was a little younger than they’d expected her to be, a little over ten years younger than him and River. Would that be too much? The age difference, the fact that she would be shared by the four of them. It might be a lot to handle for any woman. They might never find what they were looking for.

It had been a dream of theirs for many years to share a woman. A dream they thought might never come true. Then they found out that another set of three brothers were dating the same woman, and it was working well for them. Maybe there was some hope. They’d heard rumors about various towns across the country where multiple men and one woman was the norm, but hadn’t seen it for themselves until they met the Wild brothers. One night they sat talking and had learned about the men and how they were all dating the same woman.