Their Bridgewater Brides Omnibus: Books 1 - 11

Chapter 9

9

ANN

When I ran away from my father the other day, it had been an attempt to avoid marrying Mr. Atherton. It was my final act of defiance before I was forced into that loveless marriage. Little did I know that within two hours, I would indeed be married. Married to the two men who had piqued my interest on deck. Attraction was one thing, but immediate marriage was another. Since then, I'd been well and truly f****d. They'd taught me first that word and it had stuck, for it wasn't fumbling under the covers in the dark. In fact, they'd never once allowed me to hide my body in the dark, unless it had been to sleep after they'd filled me with their seed. Then, I was naked and between them.

I was married to two men. They hadn't left me alone once. One of them had always been with me, seeing to my needs, whether it be hunger or desire or a bath or sleep. Just as they'd said, I felt cherished and while I didn't love them yet, I knew—bone deep—that they would never hurt me. I was truly the center of their world.

Unfortunately, our world had only been the four walls of Andrew's cabin. Walking down the hall for the first time in two days prompted me that my father waited, but this time, I had Andrew and Robert flanking me. Nervous, I knew that they would protect me.

The deck was crowded with passengers disembarking and porters wheeling baggage. With a hand at my elbow, Andrew guided me toward the steep ramp that led to solid ground. New York. For a brief moment, I thought that we could get away without gaining my father's attention. That was not to be.

"Ann."

It wasn't my name that had me cringing, for Robert and Andrew had said it often enough with their rough growls of pleasure. It was the sharp tone.

My feet stopped working and Andrew's hand on my arm tugged me forward a step before he stopped, too. Robert was a few feet away. As I turned, I tucked a curl behind my ear that had come loose from the breeze off the water.

My father looked as mean and miserable as always, but with two days' reprieve, I saw now that he was not just protective as I used to believe, but self-serving. He'd been just biding his time with me until I could fulfill a purpose for him. That had been to marry Mr. Atherton, and I'd failed him in that.

"Hello, Father."

Andrew pulled me behind him and I had to peek around his shoulder to see my father.

He barely gave Andrew a glance. He didn't notice Robert at all.

He looked frustrated that his access to me was impeded. "The hansom is waiting."

My heart beat in my chest so hard I assumed he could see it. "I'm not going with you."

"You heard Ann. She's not going with you," Andrew repeated.

He looked to Andrew then with blatant hatred. "We will talk about your behavior when we get home. You've had your two days to run wild. I've spun it so that Mr. Atherton is more eager than ever to have you."

"Spun what, Father?" I had an idea, but I wanted him to say it aloud.

"That your true nature came to light before the marriage and he does not need to treat you as… gently as before."

I felt Andrew's hand tighten on my elbow as he pushed me back further. He widened his stance as I watched Robert's fists clench at his sides. "What are you insinuating, sir?"

In his dress uniform, Andrew looked so serious and foreboding, especially when a man spoke dishonorably about me.

My father took two steps toward us so our conversation wasn't overheard. Robert moved closer, blocking me from any chance of my father touching me. This was the first time someone had protected me. Their ferocity was obvious to those skirting around us to disembark. Just as they'd promised, I felt protected and cherished.

"That she had two days to f**k some randy soldiers."

Robert took a step toward my father, anger radiating from his body. I now knew how fierce he'd look in battle. My father cowed and took a step backward.

I tugged at Andrew's arm, trying to get around him to confront my father. His words were… cruel, and insinuated that Andrew was not honorable. He had more honor than my father had in his little finger.

Worried, I glanced up at Andrew. He was grinning. "That's true," he replied.

My father's face turned a mottled red. His interest in the business arrangement with Mr. Atherton must have outweighed his self-preservation, for he reached for me.

"You will get off this ship and in the hansom. Now," he hissed.

Andrew put his arm up to block him, not that there was any chance he'd reach me, and Robert grabbed my father by the lapels of his coat and walked him over to the railing.

"You can walk down the ramp by yourself or I can help you off the ship a much faster way," Robert said, pushing his shoulders back so my father was tilted slightly over the side.

"I'm her father," he blustered. "She has no choice but to obey me."

"I'm her husband and she has to obey me," Andrew countered.

I'd never seen my father so stunned in my life. He was always in control, always the one with the power. In that moment, he had none. His plans for me were gone. I was gone. I clenched down on the plug in my bottom. While uncomfortable and a tad ridiculous, it was a reminder that I belonged to Andrew and Robert. It reminded me that they had put it there, that they cared about me and cherished me and would protect me from this man.

"You married him?" My father's words hissed out of closed lips. Robert let him go and he leaned against the rail, this time for support. Perhaps his defeat was finally becoming apparent.

I nodded. "The captain on ship performed the ceremony two days ago."

"Is everything all right here?" The man who'd barged into the cabin while the men were… oh God. He was here, standing at military attention and looking at my father as if he were the enemy he needed to run through with a bayonet. Beside him were three other men, equally large, equally dangerous looking. None wore uniforms, but I knew just from their bearing that they'd served.

Robert remained directly beside my father, ready to toss him over the edge if he so much as breathed the wrong way. I had not just Andrew and Robert, but four other men to fight my battle for me.

"This is Ann's father," Andrew said. "The man who put bruises on my bride."

The line of men stood even taller, even more imposing. One of them clenched their fists, another took a step toward Father and he slid sideways down the railing, eyes wide with fear.

"He was offering his best wishes on my marriage and saying goodbye," I said, my chin up. I was exhilarated that I could stand up to the man who'd controlled my life. I would not cower any longer, so I came out from behind Andrew, who settled his large hand on my shoulder. I knew it to be a casual gesture, but if there was any kind of danger, he'd have me behind him before I could blink.

I knew he and Robert wished bodily harm on my father for hurting me, but he would not do it here. Not in uniform, and not where attention could be drawn.

"You hurt her?" Robert asked, his voice cold. He'd seen the bruises, so he knew the answer, but that didn't mean he wouldn't taunt and put the fear of God into my father. "Should we kill him here or take him somewhere else to do it?"

"There are too many witnesses here, boys." Kane crossed his arms over his chest. "Let's find somewhere else. Quieter."

"Yes, quieter," Robert agreed.

Father's jowls wobbled and in one last bit of bluster, he pointed at Robert, then Andrew. "This isn't over."

"It is over," Andrew repeated. "She's mine now. Leave. You didn't want her anyway."

"I wanted her for Atherton." Desperation coated his words. I wondered if his business arrangement would fall through without me.

"And I just want her," Andrew said, his words breaking through all my anger, all the years of disappointment of never being enough for my father.

With one final glance, my father turned on his heel and walked away, the crowd quickly swallowing him up. I knew I would never see him again.

I wilted into Andrew and he put his arm around me. Robert came to stand beside us and stroked a knuckle over my cheek. "Are you all right?" he asked, his voice soft.

Nodding, I looked up at them both.

"Do ye want us to kill him, lass?" The red-haired man looked to me with a gleeful eagerness. I couldn't help but smile.

"No. With all of you about, I doubt he'll bother me again."

Andrew and Robert glanced at each other, then nodded. "Bridgewater."

I frowned at Robert's single word.

"You'll join us then?" Kane asked.

"We will. Ann's right. At Bridgewater, we can all protect her."

"Bridgewater?" I asked.

"We are going to the Montana Territory to buy land and start a ranch. A large ranch where we can live in peace." Kane glanced at the red-haired man. "Like Andrew and Robert, Ian and I hope to find our bride."

Kane and the red-haired man planned to share a bride!

"We, too, will share a bride. In time." One of the others, dark and with a beard, pointed to the last man, who nodded.

Andrew's hand slid down my back in a reassuring gesture, then lower still, to pat my bottom where the plug was lodged. "Soon, sweetheart, Robert and I will share you," he whispered in my ear. "Completely."

Robert looked deeply into my eyes and asked the only question that mattered. "We told you about moving west to ranch. We want to join these men in the Montana Territory. Will you like a quiet life with two ranchers?"

Did I want a new life? Did I want to go to the Montana Territory with two husbands and a band of men looking for brides willing to accept their unconventional customs?

Did I want Andrew and Robert forever?

Yes. Yes, I did. I wanted everything they were offering. I wanted Robert's unabashed dominance. I wanted his powerful hands on my body, his strength, his intensity. I wanted Andrew's calm demeanor. I wanted his focused attentions. I wanted his eagerness and desperation. For me. I wanted everything they were.

"Yes."

With that one word, I rid myself of my old life and, as we stepped from the boat, it was the beginning of our journey to Bridgewater.

THEIR KIDNAPPED BRIDE