Bedding The Wrong Brother (Dalton Brothers Novels) Read Free Page A

“Of those people who are very satisfied with their sex lives, ninety percent are also very satisfied with their marriage or committed relationship overall.  The less sexually satisfied people reported being, the less satisfied they were with their marriage or partnership.” 
    It sounded so simple, she thought.  Keep a man satisfied and he’d be less likely to stray, right?  Continually blow a man’s mind in bed, and he’d be yours for life.  In that way, men weren’t unlike the bugs Melina studied—give them what they wanted and they’d give back to you. 
    With Max as her teacher, she’d learn to keep a man sexually satisfied.  And she was an excellent student.  She’d just never given that particular skill her total focus.  Once she did, how hard could it be?
    She shakily laid her hand on Grace’s. 
    She’d never have Rhys.  Maybe being with Max was the next best thing.  One thing was for sure, though.  Given the parameters that Lucy had set, none of them was backing out of this challenge. 
    ***
    “So, when do you leave for Sacramento?” Rhys called to Max.  He tried to sound nonchalant, focusing his attention on lifting the supple, feminine leg and placing the delicate ankle in the leather restraint.  He refused to look at Max, instead tugging the leather to make sure the restraint held firm.  Then he did the same thing with the woman’s other leg, ending with a playful growl that caused her to giggle. 
    Satisfied that she was now fully restrained, he continued to play his part, absently dragging his fingertips up the inside of her gently curved calf and then her soft, pale thigh, continuing the journey over a lush hip, nipped waist, generous breast and upraised arm until he grasped the single restraint that bound her two fragile wrists together.  Max still hadn’t answered.
    Standing directly in front of the bound woman, his feet braced apart, his chest just brushing her magnificent breasts, he turned to look at his brother.  “Max?”   
    His brother wasn’t paying any attention to him.  Instead, he was staring at the floor, his brows flexed.  Rhys sighed, released the leather restraint that was suspended from the contraption on a chain, and smiled at Laura.  “Give me a second?”
    Laura chewed her gum and winked.  “I’m not going anywhere.”
    Rhys marveled at the huskiness of her voice.  Although she was dressed in a modest leotard and tights rather than the skimpy sequined outfit she wore during a performance, everything from her voice to her polished toes was a walking wet dream.  It wasn’t necessarily an act, either.  Even when she was lecturing her teenage son about doing his homework, she still managed to sound like a sex phone operator.  Striding toward Max, who leaned against the stage left wall, Rhys rolled his shoulders and tried to suppress his impatience.
    It figured that the moment their dream was within reach, Max would get into one of his brooding moods.  Normally, Rhys could tolerate and compensate for Max’s moods, just like Max did for him, but with the recent back-to-back rehearsals combined with the time he was spending working the kinks out of the Dalton Brother’s newest stage trick—the most spectacular one to date—his tolerance was spent.  Next week’s show had to go off without a hitch.  Add to this stress the fact that Melina’s birthday was coming up?  Exhausted didn’t even begin to describe how he was feeling.
    “Max?  Max!”
    Max blinked and straightened, his far-away gaze focusing on Rhys and then on Laura, who still hung in the customized apparatus behind them.  He raked a hand through his already disheveled hair and jerked his chin at Rhys.  “Did you need me to test out those restraints now?” 
    Rhys smiled tightly.  “I’m sure Laura can wait until her hands go numb if you need a few more minutes in la-la land.”
    Shaking his head, Max strode to Laura.  “Sorry about that, babe.  I was just