by K. C. Crowne
Her smile grew wider, and this time, it felt genuine. She pulled me into another embrace.
“My boys,” she said, patting my cheek gently. “I wouldn't know what to do without all of you.”
“We'd be lost without you too,” I said, staring deep into her green eyes. “Completely lost.”
I pushed her hair back behind her ear, and she licked her lips. Her sweet mouth was just begging to be kissed and I had to physically stop myself from leaning forward and giving her what I was imagining she wanted. Or, maybe I was just projecting.
“Hey, lovebirds, break it up before the rest of us get jealous over here,” Jason said, stopping me before I could do something stupid.
Mallory turned and wrapped her arms around him too.
“No one has any reason to be jealous,” she said. She kissed his cheek before letting him go. “You know I love all you guys.”
We did. That was part of the problem. She loved us all, and we loved her. Problem was, we loved each other like brothers too, so there'd be no winning. Even if once of us managed to win her over and got to be with her, we'd likely lose our brothers. There was no easy way to deal with that.
It was painful as hell knowing that the woman of your dreams would never be yours. But, losing what constituted a second family to attain the woman of your dreams, would be even more painful.
Which was why we'd never get to be together. None of us. The risks were just too great. Mallory would likely find someone else eventually, a nice guy from outside the group, and we just had to hope he'd be cool enough with us to not cause any problems. She hadn't really dated anyone, so we hadn't had to deal with that yet.
But, it was going to come one day. I knew it. We all knew it. It was a matter of when, not if.
“Should someone stay with them?” I asked, motioning toward the door that separated the two rooms.
Jason shook his head as he sat down and kicked off his shoes. He let out a long sigh and laid back on the bed. It had been a long day for all of us and we were all feeling it.
“Nah, they said they wanted to be alone. I think they should be fine. Nobody knows where we're at, and the kidnappers are in contact with them. They seem to think Chris will come to them. They're likely safe for now,” he said. “Still, I told them not to open the front door to anyone that isn't one of us, and to not leave the room. They were going straight to bed.”
“We should be able to hear if anything happens over there,” I added.
“Exactly. We're right next door and they know it,” he said. “That's about the only thing helping them keep it all together at this point.”
“I guess that means all of us are getting crammed in this one room, huh?” Mallory said, grinning and laughing.
It took me a second to realize what was so funny – there was only one bed in the room. A king-sized bed, sure, but it was the only one. It appeared that some of us might be sleeping on the floor or in one of the uncomfortable chairs.
“I'll take the floor,” Seth said.
“No way, you saved Mal's life today,” Jason said.
“Hey now,” Mallory said. “No one saved me. I took care of myself. I was ready to throw down.”
“Sorry,” Jason said, chuckling to himself. “You ran from dangerous men with guns, you deserve the bed. Better?”
“Much,” Mallory said. “But I have an even better idea.”
“What's that?” I asked.
She gave me a soft smile.
9
Mallory
“I'm so glad you're all comfortable enough to share a bed,” I said, resting my head on Jason's chest while Seth curled up behind me. Because of the odd number of people, Liam actually laid above us, sideways, across the bed.
“I’m just glad we all fit,” Seth said. “You’re the only small one in the group Mal.”
Jason's heart was beating hard in his chest, and the sound of it was soothing. We might have just experienced one of the scariest days of our lives – maybe even more so than some of the shit we dealt with overseas. What made it worse was that we still had no idea where Chris was. Nor did we have any idea where his sister was being held after being kidnapped by Santiago's guys.
Things were bad, very bad, but in that moment, feeling their hands on my body, feeling them all pressed so close to me, soothed me in ways nothing else could.
These were my boys. My men. They'd had my back all throughout our time in the Corps, and I knew I could depend on them to protect me at all costs. Not that I needed to be protected, but still, it was comforting to know that they would step in if things got too hairy. It was comforting to know that they would take a bullet for me if I needed them to. Just as I would for them.
These guys were everything to me – though, Chris' absence was felt deeply by all of us. My heart, just as I was sure their hearts, were heavy knowing that one of my guys – our guys – was out there, somewhere, and that he was in trouble.
What I couldn't understand, what I couldn't wrap my brain around, was the fact that he was in trouble and he didn't come to us. None of us knew why he'd shut us out when he needed us the most. We would have done everything we could to protect him had he just asked for it.
He knew that, and yet he'd gone off on his own anyway. Something about it stunk to high heaven and hurt my heart in more ways than I could count.
I felt somebody running their fingers through my hair and smiled, relishing the chills it sent through my body. I wasn't sure whose hand nor did I care, and I closed my eyes, resting my head against the thick, strong chest of one of the men I loved most in this world.
Seth's body was pressed against my back and he had his arms wrapped around me. I wiggled my ass as I scooched backward to get closer to him. I needed that closeness more than anything else in that moment. I wanted to be close to them, to remind myself I still had them. That they were real. Solid. That they weren't going anywhere. To show them how I really felt.
I'd never had the chance to tell him Chris I felt about him. I'd never looked him in the eye and told him how his smile lit up the room every time he entered. I never told him how I loved his bear hugs. How I loved him.
Life was so short, so precarious, and fragile, and you really only had so many minutes to tell those people closest to you exactly how you felt about them. That's a lesson that has been really highlighted for me by Chris' disappearance. If there was one thing I'd been learning because of this fiasco, it's that I never wanted those I cared about to go a single day without knowing exactly how I felt about them.
I turned my head to look into Jason's eyes.
“I love you,” I said to him.
His breath caught in his throat, but he gave me a gentle smile and said, “I love you too, Mallory.”
I kissed his chest gently before looking up at Liam. He stared down at me with his bright, blue eyes. So hopeful, so sweet, so full of life.
“And I love you too,” I told him, grabbing his hand and brushing my lips against the back of his knuckles.
“I love you too, Mal,” he said. “I hope you know that.”
“I do,” I said as my heart swelled and tears welled in my eyes. “God, I really do.”
I flipped myself around so that I was facing Seth. Thinking about how I could have lost him back at the IHS building made the tears to roll down my cheeks even faster. Before I could even say it though, he beat me to it.
“I love you, Mallory,” he said. “Always have, always will.”
I brushed my lips against his cheek, whispering the words back to him.
“I love you, Seth,” I whispered.
My hands were flat against his chest, then I balled them up, and pulled him even closer to me. Our lips met before I knew what was happening. I didn't know who started it, but in that moment, I didn't care. All that mattered to me was the white-hot burst of energy that sizzled through my body as our lips met and his tongue swirled with mine.
I kissed him passionately, our tongues dancing in each other's mouths as
he played with my hair. Someone was rubbing my back, probably Jason, as I made out with Seth. I always feared turning these men against each other. Feared that if I loved one differently than the others, it would ultimately drive a wedge between us all. In that moment though, I knew that nothing could tear us apart.
“Life is too short to deny ourselves love,” I said. “Right?”
No one answered me. Seth kissed me again, cupping my face in his hands and literally stealing my breath away with his mouth. Jason's body pressed harder against me, and I shuddered as his lips brushed the back of my neck. I trembled as I pressed my body against his, and it felt like every nerve ending inside of me was alive and on fire. Liam ran his hands through my hair, and I whimpered gently, the rush of sensations coursing through me almost overwhelming.
“God, I need you – all of you,” I murmured.
I wrapped my legs around Seth, feeling the bulge in his boxers pressed against me. Jason's erection was now rubbing against my ass, touching off an explosion of feeling inside of me. I slipped my hand down Seth's boxer shorts and grasped his cock tight, bringing a moan from his lips.
His eyes rolled back into his head for a moment as I stroked him, swirling my fingers through the precum that had accumulated at the head of his cock. I'd never seen any of them naked before, much less touched them like that. It was all new to me, but it felt amazing. Seth was longer and thicker than I'd thought, as was Jason, judging by the feeling of his cock pressed against my ass.
Liam moved from his spot above us to the end of the bed down by our feet. I wasn't even aware of what was happening until his hands slowly moved up my thighs, the feeling of his fingertips brushing my skin sending a shudder through me. He parted my thighs as I continued making out with Seth. Liam kissed his way up my thighs as I groaned, spreading my legs a little wider to give him better access to the warm, wet center of me.
I was wearing a pair of loose shorts, which he yanked down my legs, slipping them off of me without uttering a word. Once I was bare, he dove between my thighs, nibbling the flesh on my inner thighs until he reached my mound.
His tongue flicked against my clit, as I bit down on Seth's lower lip to stop myself from crying out. My hand tightened around Seth's cock as Jason continued grinding against me, sliding the tip of his tongue down the back of my neck. Jason cupped my chin, pulling my mouth away from Seth and turned it toward him instead. He kissed me long and hard, and I fell into that kiss completely, letting go of everything that had been rocketing through my mind – all of the fears and insecurities. I cleared it out completely as I surrendered to the pleasure and lost myself in what was happening in the moment.
As if working together, the boys moved me onto my back. I spread my legs a little wider, opening myself up for Liam. Jason continued kissing me, holding my face in his hands. I gripped Seth's cock tighter, jerking him off harder, and Jason remained beside me, kissing my neck and teasing my nipple through my thin night shirt. Pleasure coursed through my body as Liam brought me to orgasm. Jason's mouth against mine silenced my screams of pleasure, and I thrashed wildly on the bed, relishing the feeling of being held down by my boys.
I pulled Liam up by his hair, and when I spoke, my voice was low, yet demanding. The need and wanton desire flooding my veins was searing and I wanted to have the fires quenched by all three of my men.
“Take off your pants” in a breathy voice.
He did exactly as he was told, quickly slipping out of his boxers. I didn't even get a chance to see him fully nude before Seth grabbed my face and started kissing me. Jason moved down my neck, dotting kisses along my collar bone. I moaned softly as Liam fell against me, his erection pressing against the wet, hot center of me.
I spread my legs, wrapping them around his waist, and gripped him tightly. He moved his hips and that first thrust of his glorious cock driving into me was pure heaven, and I whimpered, shuddering as he buried himself deep inside of me. My entire body tensed up around him, clutching him tightly against me. I gripped his waist hard with my thighs and dug my nails into his shoulders, drawing a sharp hiss from him.
My mouth was still occupied by Seth, but I had my hands free to touch Liam as he fucked me. I ran them down his chest, scratching his flesh gently as he moved himself in and out of my body.
Seth and Jason worked together to remove my shirt, pulling it up and then off over my head. With my breasts bared, they each took one into their mouths, sucking gently on my stiff nipples. With my mouth free, I could no longer contain the moans as the men ravished my body. I'd never felt anything like it before and I felt like my body was one big live wire.
I moaned loudly as the three of them touched me all over. Even louder as I reveled in the feeling of their hands on my skin as Liam continued thrusting his rock-hard cock deeper and deeper inside of me, his face twisting up into a look of pure bliss.
I knew he was close, and I wanted to make him feel every bit as good as I was feeling in that moment. I tightened my kegal muscles around his cock, squeezing him and then releasing, matching the rhythm of his movements.
“Jesus, Mallory,” he groaned. “I'm already so close, you're not making it any easier for me to hold off.”
“Come inside me,” I begged. “Please, Liam – come inside me. I want to feel you explode inside of me.”
He clenched his eyes shut for a second, and he slowed his pace as if trying hard to not lose control. I wanted him to lose control though. I wanted him to absolutely lose control.
The mere thought of him coming inside of me, along with my pussy squeezed around his hard cock, brought me right to the edge. I cried out as he thrust deep and hard into me.
“I'm going to come – come with me, please, Liam,” I moaned. “Come with me.”
My words became garbled as I drew in a sharp breath. My soft groans though, quickly turned to screams of pleasure which Seth quickly muffled by kissing me. Liam thrust his cock into me one more time, deeper and harder than before, as he held onto my hips. He grunted as he buried himself deep inside of me, and I knew he was coming inside of me.
We came together, our bodies trembling and shaking as we united as one in pleasure. If it weren't for Seth and Jason holding me down, I might have flailed about harder on the bed, but they kept me in place, and kept me quiet until Liam collapsed on top of me, breathing hard. I reveled in the feel of his body pressed hard against mine and his warm, sticky seed inside of me.
Seth moved away, allowing Liam to press his mouth to mine. It was a soft, gentle kiss. The kind of kiss that was shared between lovers. Sweat glistened on his forehead as he stared into my eyes.
“I love you,” he said.
“I love you too.”
I ran my hands through his hair and just nestled myself against him, relishing the feel of his cock still inside of me. I knew I had two other horny men to satisfy, and I wanted to make sure no one felt left out. But, I was suddenly tired. So very tired. Having gone through everything we'd gone through today, my body was worn out and exhausted.
Liam slid his now deflated cock out of me with a satisfied sigh and laid down above us on the bed once more. I turned to Seth, kissing him as I reached down and started to stroke his cock again. As I jerked him off, Jason went back to grinding himself against my ass as he kissed my neck.
Seth held my face in his hands and whispered to me. “If you're tired, go to sleep, Mallory,” he said gently. “We'll be here in the morning. We're not going anywhere.”
“But – ”
“No but,” Jason said from behind as he nibbled my ear. “It's okay. We just want to take care of you. That's all that matters to us.”
“We have all the time in the world. You need to rest,” Seth said softly.
It seemed so crazy, that in the middle of all of this, with Chris missing and Samantha taken, that we'd even indulge in making love to each other. It was a need though – and not just physical. The fragility of life had never been clearer to me than it had been made recently.
&
nbsp; The love and life-affirming feel of being surrounded by my men lifted me up and made my heart swell in ways it never had before. Being with my boys made me feel whole. Well – almost whole. There was one boy who was still missing. I knew though, that we were going to get him back, and when we did, our family would be completely whole again once more.
Seth was right though. It had been a long day, and we had plenty of time. With their arms wrapped around me, feeling nothing but the purest of loves coming from them all, I fell asleep within minutes, feeling safer or more cared for than I'd ever felt in my entire life.
10
Seth
Mallory walked down the stairs with my sisters, her smile radiating from across the room and lighting up something inside of me. She fit right in with Elizabeth and Lauren. They'd only met hours before, and yet, they were already giggling like the best of friends.
Even though Elizabeth was a little bit older and more reserved and much more traditional than Mallory, the two of them seemed to hit it off almost instantly, surprisingly enough. Lauren was younger than me – only eighteen at the time – but she looked up to Mallory.
Mal was a good role model for her. I wanted Lauren to be like her – strong, to not cave into the pressures of our traditional family. I wanted her to be comfortable in her own skin, and unafraid to be herself in a family that expected you to conform. It's one of the reasons I asked Mallory to accompany me to Elizabeth's wedding, as my guest. I thought it would be good for Lauren to see an independent minded, woman of real substance and strength.
Seeing her in a strappy little dress was a real nice bonus for me.
The sage green sundress had a white bow around the waist, perfectly framing and accentuating her petite figure. The straps were barely there at all, allowing everyone to see her toned arms. She had a very fit body, as well as some guns on her for a woman, and everyone was taking notice. Men gawked at her with lust in their eyes, some simply admired her like a fine piece of art, and some of the women openly sneered at her. I was proud to have her on my arm for the evening.