Dark Desire in Elk's Crossing [Sequel to Ecstasy in Elk's Crossing] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) Read online

  Sequel to Ecstasy in Elk’s Crossing

  Dark Desire in Elk’s Crossing

  Annika Sandstrum works as a translator for Norwegian oil baron Sven Borg. He’s too gorgeous for words, and being her boss, he’s definitely not dating material. When she travels to the US with him on business, she meets American cowboy businessman Joshua Riggs. Her will to resist fades and taboo passion explodes.

  Reason is telling Annika that an affair with her boss is a broken heart just waiting to happen, but when he turns on the charm, her will to resist vanishes. When Joshua adds his own special seduction to the mix, Annika finds herself embroiled in forbidden passion she never thought herself capable of.

  Annika agrees to the ménage a trois affair, but only if they can all agree to end it once all the business matters are settled. Can her love for two men be turned off as easily as a light switch? Will her heart be shattered, or has she found permanent love with two men?

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

  Length: 39,432 words

  DARK DESIRE IN ELK’S CROSSING

  Sequel to Ecstasy in Elk’s Crossing

  Robin Gideon

  MENAGE AMOUR

  Siren Publishing, Inc.

  www.SirenPublishing.com

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  A SIREN PUBLISHING BOOK

  IMPRINT: Ménage Amour

  DARK DESIRE IN ELK’S CROSSING

  Copyright © 2013 by Robin Gideon

  E-book ISBN: 978-1-62242-492-4

  First E-book Publication: March 2013

  Cover design by Harris Channing

  All cover art and logo copyright © 2013 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 Dark Desire in Elk’s Crossing by Robin Gideon from BookStrand.com or its official distributors, thank you. Also, thank you for not sharing your copy of this book.

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

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

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  DEDICATION

  This one’s for Nick Adams, with gratitude.

  DARK DESIRE IN ELK’S CROSSING

  Sequel to Ecstasy in Elk’s Crossing

  ROBIN GIDEON

  Copyright © 2013

  Chapter One

  In the skies over western North Dakota

  Annika Sandstrum looked down at the endless prairie crawling by beneath the Cessna single-engine airplane and wondered how anyone could live in such remote territory without going thoroughly and irretrievably insane. Though she held dual citizenship in Norway and the United States, the vast majority of her time was spent in Oslo, a bustling, modern, densely packed city on a fjord off the North Sea. True, the weather in Oslo often left something to be desired, but the cultural amenities of Norway’s most important city were arguably some of the finest in the world. When she wasn’t in Oslo, she was in New York City.

  Seated on the opposite side of the plane was her boss, Sven Borg. He was tall and blond and absolutely gorgeous, which easily justified Annika’s sexual attraction to him, though she was sensible enough to realize that only a very foolish woman would have an affair with a man she worked for. Having an affair with a coworker was terribly risky, but engaging in passion with a direct supervisor was a guarantee of heartache and worse. It was a professional train wreck just waiting to happen.

  I’m twenty-six years old, and I haven’t gotten laid in three years. Sheesh.

  When Sven turned and looked at Annika, she pretended to be looking out the small, oval window at his shoulder. It just wouldn’t do to have him know that she was appreciating his profile, visually caressing him when he was unaware of it.

  “It’s an amazing country,” Sven said, speaking his native tongue, Norwegian. “So flat and lush and green. No wonder they can feed half the world from this country.”

  “Cash crops, cattle, and dairy, and now they’ve discovered oil,” Annika replied, pleased to be thinking about business matters and not about her own lamentable, nonexistent love life. She did have a sex life, but it was all flying solo, so she figured that didn’t really count. “That’s why North Dakota has the lowest unemployment in the United States. There are less than a million people living in all of North Dakota, and yet they’re creating one new millionaire a week.”

  “Let’s hope things work out with Joshua Riggs.”

  Annika nodded. “He’s already a millionaire, but he’s a man who understands the value of oil. His grandfather started the ranch, his father made it much bigger, and even though he was just in his early twenties when he took over running the ranch, he’s increased its acreage almost yearly.”

  Sven flashed her a smile, and Annika felt another warm flush go through her, starting at her cheeks and ears before concentrating on her nipples and at the apex of her thighs. She turned sharply and looked out the window on her side of the airplane. Below, an enormous herd of cattle was idly munching on grass and hay. Annika tried very hard to think only about the cattle, but the dull, insistent throbbing in her pussy whispered of a libido neglected far too long, and the distinctly masculine allure of Sven, sitting so near, was much too emotionally invasive.

  Don’t be an idiot. Sven’s slept with more women than you’ve even met in your life. You’re a long-term girl, and he likes his relationships over and done with in a week, a month at the most.

 
The pilot turned in his seat and said to the two passengers, “We’ll be landing at Mr. Rigg’s private airfield in about thirty minutes.”

  “Thank you,” Annika said in unaccented English. Her mother had been as proud of her English as her father had been of her Norwegian.

  * * * *

  Sven looked out the window of the Cessna airplane and hoped the fact that his jaws were clenched tightly shut didn’t show. He was fighting against a part of his body that was usually his most faithful friend but was right now his most traitorous friend.

  It was Annika’s fault, he tried to tell himself, that his erection kept coming and going, tenting his slacks until he was able to concentrate on matters sufficiently mundane for his penis to behave properly and go back to sleep. After all, it wasn’t as though Annika was flaunting her charms and throwing herself at him. Quite the opposite, in fact, was true. Her clothes were always professionally appropriate, and if anything, even though her bosom was exceedingly generous, she never showed more than a hint of cleavage. Her skirts came to the top of the knee, neither going overboard in a dowdy fashion by covering the knee, nor being daring by showing a lot of leg.

  Who will I call first when I get back to Oslo? Karina? Greta? Elise?

  Sven had his pick of very attractive, very willing, very obliging lovers. Some were married and some were not. Sven made a point of never seducing a woman who was happily married. He took it as a point of honor, though this honor was rarely challenged since married women looking for sexual entertainment let Sven know with words and actions that they wanted him for stud services, and nothing else. Similar to North Dakota, the discovery of huge quantities of oil in Norway had turned many hardworking, middle-class people into the leisured, wealthy elite, with more money and time on their hands than they knew what to do with.

  While Annika peered out her window, Sven took the opportunity to look at her in profile. The slender, faintly upturned nose delighted him, as did the flawless, porcelain skin and honey-blonde hair she usually piled up and held with an ivory comb at the back of her head. Her lips were pink, and though she did not wear lipstick very often, she did apply lip gloss with a fair frequency, Sven had noted during the eight months she’d been working for him. He liked it when her mouth glistened, though the notion of kissing those moist lips never failed to awaken his cock from its slumber.

  His gaze went down to the curve of her breasts. He knew she never went without a brassiere, and the loose-fitting blouse of white silk, topped with a lightweight, yellow, single-breasted jacket, did a commendable job of containing and concealing her bosom.

  What I wouldn’t give to feast on those succulent—

  Sven forced his thoughts onto other matters so harshly it was almost violent. He flinched as though given an electrical shock, and it drew Annika’s attention.

  The pilot said, “We’ll be on the ground in just a couple minutes.”

  Sven gave Annika a friendly, thoroughly professional smile, looked out his side window, and tried with all his intellectual strength to not get a visual of Annika naked.

  * * * *

  When the Cessna came to a stop, the passenger-side door opened and the steps were kicked out. Joshua Riggs wondered just how different his life would be in a few days. His future, and the future of his homestead, the Sitting Mule Ranch, could change quite drastically with the arrival of the representatives of Norwegian Oil Enterprises.

  The first man to step out was towheaded, broad-shouldered, and much bigger than Joshua had expected him to be, and quintessentially Norwegian. His charcoal-gray business suit had been tailor-made to his powerful physique, but there wasn’t a person alive with enough skill with needle and thread to entirely hide the stark width of the man’s shoulders or the leanness of his hips.

  A blonde woman with pinned-up hair, subtle makeup, and a delicately turned ankle stepped out next. Even from fifty feet away, Joshua could tell that the closer he got to her, the better looking he’d find her.

  The pilot got out and walked around the rear of the plane. He gave Joshua a wave.

  “Thanks, Charlie,” Joshua called out, above the sound of the engine idling. “I’ll take care of their luggage. Put the plane away. We won’t be needing it for at least a couple days.”

  “Thanks, boss.”

  Joshua stepped forward, a genuine smile on his lips, his right hand extended. He had already spent several hours on the telephone with his two newest guests, though this was the first time they’d been face-to-face.

  “Sven, it’s good to finally be able to put a face to the voice,” Joshua said, shaking the man’s hand.

  It was a partial lie. Once there had been the possibility of going into business with Sven, Joshua had done a thorough search of the Norwegian’s background. He’d already seen a hundred pictures of Sven, and his associates.

  “It is good to meet you, my friend,” Sven said, his English coming out a bit stilted.

  Joshua watched as the big Norwegian glanced at Annika, as though silently asking her if he had pronounced the words properly in English or if he’d said anything embarrassing. She gave him a smile, and Sven smiled in apparent relief.

  “And you must be Annika,” Joshua said, extending his hand.

  When his fingers curled around Annika’s small hand, she chuckled softly. “I’m trusting you to let me have that hand back in the same condition it was given to you.”

  Joshua’s handshake was firm enough to not be condescending to a woman, but no so forceful he’d hurt her. At six foot one and weighing in at an even two hundred pounds of more or less solid muscle and bone, Joshua knew how to be careful with his strength, especially where a woman was concerned.

  “I can’t thank you enough for coming here in person instead of sending your people,” Joshua said as he picked up Annika’s suitcase by the handle. “I’m sure after all that traveling, you’re exhausted, hungry, and thirsty. Let’s go back to the ranch where you can freshen up. We won’t talk a bit of business until tomorrow morning, when everyone’s refreshed.”

  He liked the way Annika sighed with relief because it caused her breasts to rise and fall, trembling slightly inside her brassiere and blouse.

  Easy, cowboy. She’s another man’s associate and maybe his lover. Never mix business with pleasure.

  Joshua and Sven deposited all the luggage into the rear compartment of the Yukon, then Joshua opened the rear door for Annika. As she stepped up into the big SUV, the hem of her skirt rode high enough to show off part of a deliciously tapering thigh, and when she sat, her breasts again swayed tautly. Joshua caught the faintest hint of a delicate perfume that drew the attention but didn’t overpower.

  As Sven got into the passenger side in the front, Joshua walked around the vehicle, hoping like hell he wouldn’t get an erection while driving back to the Sitting Mule Ranch.

  * * * *

  Annika sat in the guest bedroom, looking around at the amenities. It was clear to her that the big ranch house was a working ranch, something never meant to be a quasi-hotel or bed-and-breakfast, but she couldn’t in the least fault the comfort she felt. The furniture was wood and leather, solid pieces meant to support and give comfort to sensible people who had worked all day in the barn, or in the fields, or in the kitchen. To her Scandinavian sensibilities, everything was oversized in an ostentatious manner, though she felt certain that when this part of the ranch house was built, the room was considered only what was essential, and nothing more.

  I’ve always imagined that this is what it would be like in Texas, not North Dakota.

  The bureau was made of cherrywood, and unless Annika was very much wrong in her assessment of its age and craftsmanship, it was handmade, several generations old, and made by a man who knew his business. She could picture one of Joshua’s relatives, or one of the cowboys working at the Sitting Mule Ranch, building the large, four-drawer bureau, perhaps in celebration of a newborn arrival.

  Standing at the side of the king-sized bed, Annika looked down at the
clothes that she had just removed from her hard-sided suitcase and spread out onto the mattress before putting them away for the duration of her business assignment here at the Sitting Mule Ranch. As always, she had neatly arranged panty and bra and, when applicable, garter belt, as matching units. It didn’t matter to her if not a soul in the world knew that her panties and bra weren’t a matching set. If Annika knew it, then she wouldn’t be happy. It would silently annoy her all day.

  But what to wear? Hmmm? The pink bra and panty set from Victoria’s Secret, or the nice lacy, black number from Bali? Both were very attractive and extremely flattering to her sumptuous curves. The thong panties in the Bali set were nearly nonexistent, the front panel see-through, and the closure for the brassiere was between the cups. That could come in handy.

  Stop thinking that way! Stop it right now!

  Turning sharply away from the bed, Annika strode across the room, completely naked, to the full-length mirror attached to the back of the bedroom door. She looked into the reflection of her own eyes, searching for the woman that was hidden inside.

  What’s going on?

  She closed her eyes and sighed softly, as though frustrated with another woman’s child, though her frustration was entirely directed toward herself. It had been so long since she had felt attractive, young, alive…sexual.

  Annika opened her eyes. This time, when she looked at the mirror, she did not look into the reflection of her own eyes. Rather, she gazed at her own hand, resting gently at her throat, and saw it as though looking at an object that was not, in fact, part of herself.