Riding Ripley

By Virginia Nelson

For years, Zachary has ruthlessly rejected his desires, but with every passing day, it becomes harder to deny he craves Stephen’s forbidden touch. Now, for the first time in memory, triads have been forming, pulling together two men and one woman to form a sacred bond. Finally Zachary dares to hope that his future may be a happy one.

Ripley has watched Zachary suffer for far too long, trapped on the sidelines between a man he dares not want and a woman he believes out of his league. Enough is enough. Denial is fine when it heightens desire, but Ripley is ready to take matters into her own hands. She’s going to ensure that, at the end of the day, she’s got both men she’s always wanted, by her side and in her bed.

• Language: English
• Publisher: After Glows Publishing
• Release date: Feb 13, 2018
• ISBN: 9781948121408

Virginia Nelson

Virginia Nelson likes knights in rusted and dinged up armor, heroes that snarl instead of croon, and heroines who can't remember to say the right thing even with an author writing their dialogue. Her books are full of snark, sex, and random acts of ineptitude--not always in that order.

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Introduction

Bond of Three, Book 3

For years, Zachary has ruthlessly rejected his desires, but with every passing day, it becomes harder to deny he craves Stephen’s forbidden touch. Now, for the first time in memory, triads have been forming, pulling together two men and one woman to form a sacred bond. Finally Zachary dares to hope that his future may be a happy one.

Ripley has watched Zachary suffer for far too long, trapped on the sidelines between a man he dares not want and a woman he believes out of his league. Enough is enough. Denial is fine when it heightens desire, but Ripley is ready to take matters into her own hands. She’s going to ensure that, at the end of the day, she’s got both men she’s always wanted, by her side and in her bed.

1

Something about the way a man’s body moved as he hefted stone just flat-out did it for Zachary. Scratch that. Something about the way Stephen’s muscles seemed to dance just under his darkly tanned skin, slicked with the faintest sheen of sweat, made Zachary horny as hell. For years, he’d tried to banish the thoughts of Stephen, sure he was somehow dysfunctional or damaged because of the desires. Not that self-deprecation stopped him from fantasizing about situations involving Stephen.

He’s going to notice you staring. Ripley peered over the top of her sunglasses to appraise the view Zachary had just been appreciating. Not that I blame you because, hot damn, that man is sex on a stick.

Schooling his features to hide his lust, or so he hoped, Zachary turned away from the men repairing the south wall and faced Ripley. As usual, the Seer was half-naked, which offered an almost equal punch of unwanted lust. He’d often joked that if it were warm enough to strut around naked, she’d probably do it. Her response was unfailingly, Who wouldn’t? The string bikini she wore revealed far more than it hid, the flowers bright against her creamy, white skin, and he reached for her arm—a theoretically neutral place to touch her, though the contact zinged awareness through him.

Come on, we’re supposed to check on Fiona. Tugging her, he ignored her small grunt of dissatisfaction and simply led her down the hallway and away from the window overlooking the courtyard where the men worked.

"Her royal uptightness is fine, I’m sure. No doubt she’s surrounded by a bevy