by Becca Van
Dante shoved one of Mica’s hands away as he raised his mouth from hers, and she cried out when he laved his tongue over one of her nipples before drawing it into his mouth.
She had the barest warning when she felt Jalen’s warm breath on the inside of her thigh. His cool, soft hair brushed against her sensitive skin, leaving goosebumps in its wake. He kissed her inner thigh, and then she moaned when he licked up through her pussy from bottom to top.
His tongue felt so good lapping all over her wet, sensitive tissues, and she couldn’t seem to stop herself from rocking her hips.
“Yeah, baby,” Jalen said after lifting his head enough to talk. “That’s it, Kat. Let go of all that control.”
Kat tensed, but before she could tell them to stop, Jalen once more slithered his tongue up through her folds. Instead of taking the return journey like he had last time, this time he began to lightly flutter the tip of his tongue over her clit.
She bucked as warm bliss centered in her pussy and womb.
Jalen wrapped his arms around her upper thighs, tugged her closer to him, pulling her upper body down lower, and spread her legs wider.
Then he began to consume her.
“Oh!” Kat cried out and shook with desire. When Jalen rimmed her drenched pussy entrance with the tip of his finger, she held her breath. Air burst from her lungs when he dipped into her creamy well. She reflexively clenched around him and moaned as nerve endings sparked to life even more.
She had never felt anything so sublimely wonderful and had a feeling that what she was feeling was just the tip of the iceberg.
Jalen circled her clit with his tongue as he stroked his finger in and out of her pussy, getting deeper and deeper, until she felt his knuckles against her labia. Mica cupped her chin, tilting her head up as he leaned down, and then he was kissing her. Dante sucked on one nipple while caressing his hand back and forth low on her belly. Each time one of his fingers brushed against her trimmed pubes, her pussy seemed to get even more sensitive.
She whimpered when Jalen added another finger to her entrance and thrust them in and out. A plethora of pressure invaded her limbs, her muscles, until she was so taut she was shaking.
Mica broke the kiss, lapping and nipping at her neck. Whenever he scraped his teeth over her skin she couldn’t stop herself from shuddering in response. Dante suckled harder on her nipple causing a painful glory so strong, she couldn’t stop herself from trying to push her breast further into his mouth when she arched.
Heat seared her bare back from Mica’s naked chest, and the hair on his body prickled her flesh in a good way, making her aware of his masculinity.
More of her cream dripped from her pussy, and the coil inside spiraled tighter and tighter. Kat sobbed as more pleasure assailed her with each kiss, lick, and caress.
Jalen twisted his fingers inside of her and pumped them in and out of her pussy harder and faster. She felt so out of control, and while she tried to reel back in the desperation storming over her, it was a fight she couldn’t win. When Jalen crooked his fingers and rubbed over a hot spot inside her, all was lost.
Kat cried out as she went careening over the knife’s edge and into the chasm of ecstasy. Her whole body shook and quivered. Her pussy clamped down on Jalen’s shunting fingers before releasing and clenching down again. Juices flowed from her pussy as a medley of colorful lights flashed in front of her eyes.
She was shocked by the intense rapture washing over and through her, and finally when the last contraction faded, she slumped against Mica, stunned, as she tried to get her breath back.
Tears of gratitude burned her eyes, but she pushed them away.
She’d never thought to experience such passion in her life, and while she was grateful to the three Donnybrook men for showing her sex wasn’t all about pain and abuse, she’d vowed to never get involved with any man.
A vow she had no intention of relenting on.
Even though the thought of pushing them away hurt her beyond belief, Kat was determined to live the rest of her life the way she saw fit. She’d been under the control of her dictator of a father and his controlling henchmen, and though it was tempting to see where the attraction with Jalen, Dante, and Mica went, she was going to hold fast.
Kat was twenty-seven years old and had only been free to live the way she wanted to for a little over twelve months. Being under the thumb of one man had been bad enough. Being under the dominion of three would be even worse.
Although having another PTSD episode scared her, she wasn’t going to hang around any longer than necessary. At the first opportunity that arose, Kat would be out of here so fast, the three brothers’ heads would spin.
* * * *
Dante ran his hands soothingly over Kat as she came down from her climax. He’d always thought of her as the sexiest woman alive but seeing her come had proven it. She’d looked so fucking shocked as she’d tipped over the edge, and he was glad that he and his brothers had been given the chance to show her that making love wasn’t something to be frightened of.
He frowned when he ran his fingers up and down her side, feeling three, no, at least five round scars on her body. When he glanced at her face and saw that she had her eyes closed and a dreamy smile on her face, he decided to investigate. Shifting onto his knees on the floor beside Jalen, he leaned closer and stared at the round scars. He shook his head when he saw what the scars were and clenched his jaw as anger filled him. Meeting Jalen’s gaze briefly, he looked at Kat again to make sure she still had her eyes closed and pointed to her side.
Jalen frowned, but when Dante pointed again, his brother leaned closer. Jalen made an angry rumbling sound deep in his chest when he realized what had been done to their woman.
Kat had been burned by a cigarette, and not just once or twice but five fucking times.
Rage like he’d never known lodged deep in his gut, and though Dante tried to regulate his breathing to dispel his wrath, it wasn’t happening. “Who the fuck burned you?” Dante cursed himself for blurting out his thoughts when Kat opened her eyes. All emotion was erased from her gaze and her face.
Before any of them could stop her, she scrambled from Mica’s lap, skirted around him and Jalen, and rose. She hurried passed Jalen, but when his brother tried to stop her by reaching for her wrist, she slapped his hand away.
Dante sucked in a breath when she turned her back to them and started gathering up her clothes. While the lines were faint, her back had white scars across it from her shoulders to just above her ass. It looked as if she’d been whipped.
Before he could ask her anymore questions and upset her further, she raced from the living room toward the bedrooms, slamming the door behind her.
“Do you think someone whipped her?” Mica asked.
Jalen dropped onto the cushion beside Mica with a sigh, but since Dante was still too angry to sit still he began to pace.
“It fucking looked as if she’d been whipped,” Dante snarled.
“Did you see the cigarette burns on her side?” Jalen asked through clenched teeth.
“They were kinda hard to miss,” Mica said. “I didn’t want her to think those scars detracted from her beauty or that we’d be turned off by them. You should have kept your fucking mouth shut, Dante.”
Dante scrubbed a hand over his face. “I know, and I’ll apologize. I was just so fucking furious the words were out before I thought about what I was saying.”
Dante hoped that he hadn’t fucked everything up. If he had, his brothers would never forgive him, and he didn’t think he’d ever be able to forgive himself, either.
Chapter Five
Kat stood under the hot water and scrubbed her body so hard she felt as if she was removing her skin. Even though she’d tried to push the thoughts from her mind, Dante had brought the bad memories to the surface.
The day after Rosita told her and Niki their mother had died, her father, who’d been in his office, had opened the door as she’d been walking past. He’d grab
bed her wrist and dragged her into the room, slamming and locking the door behind him, ignoring her protests and her struggles to get free.
He hadn’t stopped pulling her until he was close to the small sofa, and he’d jerked her forward, flinging her onto it. She’d landed on the cushions on her side and was so shocked by his manhandling, she’d stayed statue still, staring up at him with astonishment. When he’d moved toward his desk and started to punch in the numbers on the wall safe, she’d begun to get scared. He reeked of alcohol and was muttering to himself, but every second word had been profanities.
Before she’d been able to get over the alarm coursing through her, her father had turned around, and when she’d seen the small whip in his hand, she’d started shaking with terror.
Kat had finally managed to get her distress under control enough to race toward the door. Before she’d taken more than four steps, the bastard had been on her.
Her father had hauled her back to the sofa, shoved her down onto her knees with her chest pressed against the side of the cushion, and ripped her shirt down the middle of her back. She tried again and again to get away from him, but she’d only been ten years old, and she hadn’t stood a chance. The asshole had pressed his knee into the middle of her back, pinning her down, and then he’d torn her T-shirt into strips. She’d fought him as much as she could when he’d pulled her hands behind her head and tied her wrists together, then he’d tied more strips of material around her elbows and secured her arms in place. Kat kicked out at him, almost laughing hysterically with satisfaction when he’d grunted with pain, but her actions had caused her to be punished. He’d gripped a chunk of her hair, holding her face turned toward him, causing pain to rip up into her neck. Then he’d slapped her hard across the face. She’d cried out as heat and pain burned her skin, and she’d started to cry. That had been the first time he’d hit her.
A scream of agony had exploded from between her parted lips as the first lash of the whip connected with her back. Again and again, he’d brought the thin strip of leather down onto her tender skin until she felt as if her whole back was on fire. Kat had been sure he’d ripped her flesh to shreds.
She’d lost count of how many times he’d flayed her back. When he’d finally stopped hitting her, her face had been wet from her tears and snot had been dripping from her nose. He panted and mumbled to himself, but she was in too much pain to make any sense of what he was saying.
The scent of smoke had reached her nose, and just as she realized he’d been smoking a cigarette, she’d sagged with relief. Too tired and too hurt to move, she pressed her wet face against the soft cushion of the sofa as she’d tried to stop crying.
“Worthless fucking bitch,” Kat heard him say as he stepped closer to her again. Once more, he’d gripped her hair, pulling more than a few strands out by the roots. She’d tried to turn her head to get him to let go, but she was so tired and in agony and had no strength left to fight him.
“Teach you to fucking cheat on me, you slut,” her father slurred.
Kat screamed as he pressed the burning tip of his cigarette into her side just above her hip. Again and again, he’d burned her until she was in agony. She’d become dizzy and had felt sick to her stomach. If it hadn’t been for one of his goons knocking on the door, Kat wasn’t sure he would have stopped until he’d killed her.
Her father had casually walked to his desk, stubbed the cigarette out after taking a drag on it, and sauntered to the office door as if he hadn’t had a care in the world. She’d been thankful to whoever had called him away, leaving her trussed up and faint with pain.
Rosita had found her, and after untying her and covering her chest with her apron, the housekeeper had carried her to her own bedroom where she’d laid Kat down on the big bed on her stomach and tended her wounds.
She’d stayed in Rosita’s room day and night for a full week.
Kat wasn’t even sure if Niki knew what had happened to her, and she’d never asked. Since the day of her mother’s death, their father had separated them into different bedrooms. Although Kat had missed not being able to talk and play with Niki, she’d hoped that her sister had been out of the line of fire of her father’s drunken wrath.
How mistaken she’d been.
Kat blinked and looked down at her arm when she registered that it hurt. She’d scrubbed her skin so hard, she’d abraded it and drawn blood. Even though she’d been crying as she remembered the hateful things her father had done to her, she raised her face to the warm water to wash the salt from her skin.
With a weary sigh, she turned the shower off, stepped out, and dried off. After dressing, she combed her hair and tried to decide what to do.
She couldn’t stay here any longer, and though it was difficult to ignore the ache in her chest, she pushed it away.
She didn’t want anyone looking at her with pity, let alone Jalen, Dante, and Mica. It was time to get back to her own apartment and her lonely life where she could control every aspect, make all her own decisions and choices.
Kat didn’t even know if her purse and apartment keys were here or still at the library, but she would worry about how to get into her home when she got there. Right now, it was imperative for her to get away from the three domineering, sexy men. They’d shaken her up and made her feel things she didn’t want to feel.
The only way she could deal with any of this was to put more distance between them.
As far as Kat was concerned, they needed to look elsewhere for a relationship. She wasn’t relationship material.
So why did the thought of leaving them and never seeing them again cause her heart to hurt?
* * * *
“How long do you think we should give her to settle down?” Mica asked.
Jalen sighed. He wasn’t sure about anything right now. Kat had rattled him more than any other person ever had. He felt as if he was second-guessing himself. Unsure of what to do and what to say. He’d never felt so clueless or out of control in his life.
He was tempted to go to her and find out what had happened, but he had a feeling he already knew. His gut was telling him that his instincts were right on the money. Kat’s father had been an abusive alcoholic asshole, had hit both his daughters and kept them locked up in his house for most of their lives. Seeing those lines on her back and the burn scars on her side had him so filled with fury, he was having a hard time controlling his temper.
The last thing he wanted to do was frighten their woman by letting her see his anger.
He paced behind the sofa, growling and panting as he tried to get his fury under wraps. When he glanced at his watch, he realized it was almost time for him and Dante to head into work for their shift.
If he’d had any vacation time up his sleeve he would have applied for time off without a qualm so he could spend time with Kat. Thankfully, Sheriff Luke Sun-Walker, their boss, had rearranged their work schedule so that one of them could be with her at all times. He was slightly envious that Mica was going to be here at home with their woman while he and Dante were out on patrol.
Normally, Jalen jumped at the chance to be busy, but right now he wished he and his brothers had held off applying for deputy positions. If they had, they could have spent as much time with Kat as they wanted without feeling guilty by not upholding their obligations. He and his brothers had quite a large nest egg of cash even after buying their house. They’d pooled their money while serving in the Marines and had hardly spent a penny of their hard-earned greenback. However, since they were used to being in the thick of things and working their asses off while fighting the enemy, none of them were used to being idle.
Having nothing to do for weeks on end would have driven Jalen crazy. He’d been searching for a job in and around Slick Rock after Dante and Mica had agreed to the move and had thought being a deputy was perfect for them. His brothers had concurred and they’d all filled out the online application and sent them off. The emails of acceptance had been in their inbox the next day.
/> Jalen, Mica, and Dante had been happy to be moving with a job lined up, and after packing up their stuff, they had loaded their trucks and headed toward Colorado.
That had been nearly three months ago. He loved Slick Rock and not just because he and his brothers would be able to live their lives the way they wanted to by sharing one woman between them without them or their other half being disparaged for their life choices. He really liked the small-town communal camaraderie. Everyone was so friendly, and the men were all very protective. They had the same values and morals that he and his brothers had.
“We need to get ready for work,” Jalen sighed.
“Yeah.” Dante rubbed the back of his neck, gazing toward the bedrooms, a wistful expression on his face. “Make sure she fucking eats something before going to bed. She’s lost too much fucking weight.”
“I’ll try.” Mica nodded.
“I want you to try and talk her into seeing someone about the PTSD. We all know how much talking about our experiences and what we saw helped.”
“Again, I’ll try,” Mica said.
Jalen and Dante headed toward their rooms to get changed into their uniforms.
“Do you think Niki knows what was done to her?” Dante asked.
“I don’t know.”
“Maybe we can call her men when we’re on break,” Dante suggested.
“Yeah, or if we’re lucky, they’ll be in the diner when we get our meal break.”
“I hope they are.” Dante glanced once more at the closed bedroom door at the end of the hall, then met Jalen’s gaze and nodded before entering his room.
Jalen walked into his bedroom and closed the door. He leaned against it for a moment, then straightened and prepared for work.
* * * *
Kat had peeked out the bedroom window when she heard the front door close. She’d watched Jalen and Dante walk toward their truck and couldn’t help ogling their sexy bodies over. She loved seeing them in uniform, but it would have been even better if they’d been kitted out with a weapons belt and gun in the holster. What was it about a man in uniform that was so sexy? She had no idea. Frowning when she realized that Mica hadn’t left for work, she wondered if he had a rostered day off. Since she’d been hoping to leave when the three Donnybrook brothers left for their shifts, she was going to have to get inventive.