A Fresh Start for Tori [Slick Rock 11] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) Read online

  Slick Rock 11

  A Fresh Start for Tori

  Tori Springer is in limbo with no job and finally decides to close the lease on her apartment and look up her longtime friend Felicity Morten. Even though Tori knows about the polyamorous relationships in Slick Rock she isn’t interested in a relationship with any man. That is until she meets Luther, Jeremiah, and Bryant Katz. The attraction between the four is instant, but Tori’s learned not to trust any man and keeps pushing them away.

  Luther, Jeremiah, and Bryant think Tori could be their “One” and are determined to court her into their lives as well as their beds. But it’s hard to woo a woman when the men are trying to set up their own ranch and she and her new business partner are setting up a new shop.

  Just when they think Tori will become theirs, unexpected danger is lurking in the wings. Will Tori finally admit her feelings to the three Katz brothers, or will her stubbornness ruin everything?

  Genre: Contemporary, Ménage a Trois/Quatre, Western/Cowboys

  Length: 46,918 words

  A FRESH START FOR TORI

  Slick Rock 11

  Becca Van

  MENAGE EVERLASTING

  Siren Publishing, Inc.

  www.SirenPublishing.com

  ABOUT THE E-BOOK YOU HAVE PURCHASED: Your non-refundable purchase of this e-book allows you to only ONE LEGAL copy for your own personal reading on your own personal computer or device. You do not have resell or distribution rights without the prior written permission of both the publisher and the copyright owner of this book. This book cannot be copied in any format, sold, or otherwise transferred from your computer to another through upload to a file sharing peer to peer program, for free or for a fee, or as a prize in any contest. Such action is illegal and in violation of the U.S. Copyright Law. Distribution of this e-book, in whole or in part, online, offline, in print or in any way or any other method currently known or yet to be invented, is forbidden. If you do not want this book anymore, you must delete it from your computer.

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  A SIREN PUBLISHING BOOK

  IMPRINT: Ménage Everlasting

  A FRESH START FOR TORI

  Copyright © 2014 by Becca Van

  E-book ISBN: 978-1-62741-548-4

  First E-book Publication: May 2014

  Cover design by Les Byerley

  All art and logo copyright © 2014 by Siren Publishing, Inc.

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: This literary work may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic or photographic reproduction, in whole or in part, without express written permission.

  All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.

  PUBLISHER

  Siren Publishing, Inc.

  www.SirenPublishing.com

  Letter to Readers

  Dear Readers,

  If you have purchased this copy of A Fresh Start for Tori by Becca Van from BookStrand.com or its official distributors, thank you. Also, thank you for not sharing your copy of this book.

  Regarding E-book Piracy

  This book is copyrighted intellectual property. No other individual or group has resale rights, auction rights, membership rights, sharing rights, or any kind of rights to sell or to give away a copy of this book.

  The author and the publisher work very hard to bring our paying readers high-quality reading entertainment.

  This is Becca Van’s livelihood. It’s fair and simple. Please respect Ms. Van’s right to earn a living from her work.

  Amanda Hilton, Publisher

  www.SirenPublishing.com

  www.BookStrand.com

  DEDICATION

  Dear Readers,

  I would like to thank you all sincerely for your continued support and hope you all enjoy reading about Tori and her men in Slick Rock, as well as catching up with some of the other characters.

  Sometimes it’s really hard to take the step and plunge back into life after being hurt but life is full of risks and if we never took chances we may never know how much we could be missing out on.

  Wishing you all health, love and happiness.

  Becca xxoo.

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright Page

  Dedication

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  About the Author

  A FRESH START FOR TORI

  Slick Rock 11

  BECCA VAN

  Copyright © 2014

  Chapter One

  “How’s Rachel doing?” Luther Katz asked Ty Osborn as he leaned on the bar. His brothers, Jeremiah and Bryant, were on either side of him sipping on beers and listening to the conversation.

  “Not so good.” Ty frowned. “She’s suffering badly with morning sickness.”

  “I’m sure you and your brothers are taking good care of her,” Bryant said.

  “Yeah, but the worst part is, other than making sure she eats when she can and that she stays hydrated, we can’t do much else.”

  “I’ll bet that’s not true,” Jeremiah piped up. “From what I saw the other night you guys make sure she rests when she’s tired and won’t let her lift a finger.”

  “She’d run herself ragged if we didn’t watch her.” Ty grinned. “She can be so damn feisty sometimes.”

  “Lucky bastard.” Luther smiled.

  “So what are your plans now that you’ve retired?” Ty asked.

  “We’re not sure yet. But we intend to settle in this town.” Luther took a slug from his beer.

  “You do?” Ty looked up from wiping the bar.

  “Yep, we like the idea of sharing and when you e-mailed and told us about Rachel we talked about coming here after we got out of the Marines.”

  “You grew up on a ranch, didn’t you?” Ty asked.

  “That we did,” Bryant replied.

  “Have you thought about getting back to the land? There’s always room for another cattle ranch,” Ty said.

  “We’ve thought about it, but we’re not sure we could handle the slower pace,” Jeremiah said.

  “Why don’t you see if you can hire onto one of the other ranches around here so you can decide?” Ty suggested.

  Luther perked up at that suggestion and looked at his brothers. They both glanced at him and gave him a nod. “Can you introduce us to someone?”

  “Sure.” Ty nodded then scanned the patrons of the Slick Rock Hotel from behind the bar.

  He nodded toward three big men at a table on the far side of the room and the two women with them. “That’s Tom and Billy Eagle and Sheriff Luke Sun-Walker from the Double E Ranch. Tom and Billy own and run the ranch and Luke helps out on his days off from being Sheriff, as well as their wife, Felicity. Flick, as her men call her, is one of the best cowhands around, or she was until she got pregnant.”

  Luther eyed the blac
k-haired beauty but then his eyes slid to the woman with long brown hair and his breath caught in his throat. He could only see her profile but from what he could see she was absolutely breathtaking. His cock twitched in his pants and he pushed off the bar and stood up straight. He’d never reacted that way to a woman before and he hoped like hell he wasn’t looking at the other men’s wife.

  “Which one is Felicity?” Luther asked and heard the huskiness in his own voice. He just hoped Ty hadn’t heard it, especially if he was ogling a woman that was off-limits.

  “Flick has the black hair,” Ty answered.

  Luther glanced at his brothers and saw that they were looking as entranced as he was at the stunning brown-haired woman. Maybe working on the Double E Ranch looked better and better. He wanted to get to know the brown-haired beauty and hopefully go on a date with her, but first things first.

  * * * *

  Tori Springer had been in Slick Rock, Colorado, for a week and loved the small rural town so much she didn’t want to leave. She was currently staying in the guest room on the Double E Ranch, visiting her good friend Felicity.

  She hadn’t seen Felicity in what felt like forever and after losing her job decided it was a prime opportunity to catch up with her friend. When she’d first heard that Felicity was in a ménage relationship with three men, Tori had been shocked, but the more Felicity told her over the phone the more envious she became. She would love to have one or more men showering her in love and affection. She’d watched the way Tom and Billy Eagle and Luke Sun-Walker interacted with Felicity, and often had to look away because of the love they shared. She wasn’t really jealous of her friend, just…a little envious.

  The two guys she’d gone out with had turned out to be jerks and she’d begun to think that all men were the same, selfish and egotistical. But not Felicity’s men. She’d also seen other ménage trios and quartets interacting when she’d been out and about with Flick, as Felicity was affectionately called by her men, and wondered if there was something in the water or if the men of this town had just been brought up to protect, cherish, and take care of their women.

  And the way those three big masculine men helped look after their two-year-old toddler, Carly Rose, was precious. Those men treated their daughter like a princess and she had her daddies wrapped around her little finger.

  Tonight she, Flick, and Flick’s husbands were going out for dinner to the local hotel and little Carly was being looked after by a sitter. Even though Tori was looking forward to a night out she was also a little nervous. There seemed to be more men than women in this town and they were all so big, muscular, and handsome. And although she loved looking at eye candy as much as the next woman, she didn’t want to get involved with another man. Not that anyone had asked her. She wasn’t full of herself, but she’d been told time and again that she was passably pretty. But she was done with men. She’d only broken up with her last boyfriend a month ago, and although she’d figured out she hadn’t been in love with him, her pride had taken a battering. The asshole had been two-timing her and she’d found out through a mutual acquaintance. After kicking Rick to the curbside she’d vowed to steer clear of the opposite sex.

  She glanced out the side window as Tom drove them all toward Slick Rock and took in the beautiful countryside. After living in a bigger town the appeal of the small country town was getting to her more and more. She’d even gone for a horse ride the other day, and even though she was a novice she loved it so much she wanted to learn to ride properly. She’d grown up with Felicity on the outskirts of Nampa, Idaho, and they hadn’t been the best of buddies back then, but they had kept in touch. Felicity’s grandma hadn’t let her have people over to their ranch, and poor Flick never got to go anywhere other than school and home. She’d felt sympathetic toward her due to her harsh upbringing, but Felicity didn’t need her sympathy anymore. Her friend was happy, content, and in love. She sighed at the thought of having a man of her own but then remembered her resolution to steer clear of anything with a penis, at least of the human variety.

  Tori looked up when Tom slowed the truck and then parked in the parking lot outside the hotel. The place looked almost brand new or like it had recently been refurbished. She hoped they had a jukebox or a band playing later. Tori loved to dance and hadn’t been out in such a long time. She’d spent most of her time working and hardly had a social life. Not that she went out a lot, but it was good to let her hair down now and then, and at the moment she had a hankering to let off some steam.

  She had so many decisions to make and no clue in which direction she was going to take. Although she was pretty sure that she was in Slick Rock to stay. Lucky for her she didn’t have many material things and when she’d ended the lease on her apartment in Nampa she’d sold what little furniture she’d had to the next tenant. Then she’d packed her small SUV with a few boxes and a couple of suitcases and headed here. Now she needed a place of her own and a job. She’d been a travel consultant before she’d been released due to the GFC. People weren’t spending their money on things such as holidays or any other luxuries because of the economic downturn, but concentrated on surviving until the economy picked up again. Things were starting to turn around now, but it had been too little too late for her to keep her job.

  She’d liked seeing how excited some people got as she helped them plan out their itinerary for their vacations. She loved seeing people happy, period. She got a kick out of seeing others joyful and that made her feel good inside.

  Tori had thought of starting her own travel agency but didn’t have the capital to do that. She doubted that this small town had a travel agent and hadn’t thought to ask Felicity but planned to before the night was over. If there was an agent here maybe she could put in her resume and work there, but she wasn’t holding her breath. Other than that she wasn’t qualified for anything else, besides waitressing and working in a bar. She’d done that while she’d been going through college, much to her mother and stepfather’s horror, and figured she wouldn’t have any trouble doing it again. It would be like riding a bike. Once a girl learned she never forgot.

  Tori smiled at Billy as he held the door open for her and then clasped her hand and helped her from the truck. That was another thing that astounded her. All the men of Slick Rock seemed to have nice manners and were courteous almost to a fault. Even the ranch hands on the Double E Ranch were chivalrous and that surprised her. Sure, she’d heard a few of them cussing but if any of the hands saw her they apologized immediately. None of the men in Nampa had given a shit about who was around when they let loose with swear words, not even children. And to her that was bad. It was okay to curse, but Tori didn’t think it was right to blaspheme in front of the elderly or kids. Sometimes she thought she’d been brought up in the wrong era. She would have loved to have been around when the Wild West was alive and, well, where men were men and women were…women.

  That didn’t mean she didn’t think that women weren’t as capable as men, but respect from the opposite sex seemed to be more prevalent back then. Now no one seemed to give a damn about anyone else. Men and women included. Everyone was out for him or herself and didn’t care who they hurt or trod on to get where they were going.

  Tori felt more relaxed in the town of Slick Rock than she’d ever been, because she wasn’t scared about being mugged or attacked in broad daylight. She had a feeling the men of this town would step right in if a woman was in danger, and that made her feel safe.

  “Tori, are you coming?” Flick asked.

  She gave Felicity a sheepish smile and followed her friend and her men inside. Billy walked behind her and again she had that sense of security. She really loved this town, or at least what she’d seen so far, and the people were so friendly. She hadn’t encountered any of that in Nampa.

  Billy helped to seat her across from Flick and then he took the seat to her left. Felicity was on her right and Tom and Luke were on Felicity’s right.

  “What would you like to drink, Tori?�
� Luke asked as he stood up again.

  “White wine please.”

  Luke nodded, took the others’ drink orders, and headed toward the bar with a smile. Just after he came back and handed the drinks out the waitress came over with the menus and handed them out. After glancing at the list, Tori decided on a chicken salad. The men talked about the ranch and Tori listened avidly. She loved seeing cowboys working with the animals. She loved watching them riding, roping and branding, because again it made her think of the Wild West.

  After they’d finished their meal, Tori glanced around the large room. She saw the other ménage couples, but when she caught a few unaccompanied men looking at her she glanced away quickly.

  “Who’s that talking to Tyson at the bar?” Felicity asked her men, and Tori turned her head to look.

  Her breath caught when she saw three very big, strong men leaning on the bar talking to the owner, Tyson.

  “They must be their friends from the Marines,” Luke said. “Damon told me they were coming to town and were going to check out the place. He thinks they want to settle in the country now that they’ve retired from service.”

  Tori couldn’t help but look them up and down. She could see their faces in the mirror behind the bar and from what she could see they were all Adonises. Two of them had dark brown hair and the other had light brown hair. They looked to be tall even though they were slouching against the bar. When she saw the man near the end of the bar start to turn around she whipped her head back around and looked down at her nearly empty plate. For some reason she felt like he was looking at her. A shiver wracked the length of her spine and goose bumps broke out over her skin. The fact that she was reacting to a stranger, a man she’d never met before, worried her, because she’d never reacted this way to any man before, not even either of her exes.