by Avery Gale
“Wait! Did he say a tracking device? Do you mean they know where I am at all times? Oh my God, don’t they have to get my permission to do that?” She felt just like she had the first time she’d been seasick, but this time it was as if she’d just been tossed overboard. Damn, I didn’t even know I was still on the flippin’ boat and now I’m fighting the waves—again. When is this nightmare ever going to end?
Mitch held on to her hand when she’d tried to pull back. “Stay with me here, Bree, we knew about the device when you came through the front gate. We have very sophisticated detection equipment and we’ve been jamming the signal since you got here, but that doesn’t mean they don’t know where you are. They would have had you up until you passed through the main gate.” He gave her hand a squeeze before he placed it in Ethan’s outstretched one before he stood and moved back.
Bree felt like she had fallen through Alice’s looking glass again and suddenly the room felt very hot and things started to spin. She startled when Mitch Grayson was instantly back kneeling in front of her speaking in soft tones, “Breathe with me, sweetie, come on, let’s slow it down.” He gently turned her so she was facing Ethan. “No! Focus on making your breathing match Ethan’s.” She felt Ethan put her hand on his chest. He was giving her a point of focus and she recognized that it was his voice that replaced Mitch’s.
* * * *
Alex Lamont watched as Ethan and Jamie worked to get Bree settled. He hadn’t read the entire report yet, but what he’d read had turned his stomach. The small woman in front of him had endured things no human should ever experience. To have it happen to any woman was enough to make him insane and he could see by the strained looks on the other men’s faces around the room each of them were right there with him. Mia Marshall had been sitting off to the side thumbing through a copy of the file when he saw her freeze and look up to her husband and silently signal for him to look at what she’d found. Alex walked to where they stood looking down at the names of several Middle Eastern terrorist organizations that they had dealt with since leaving the Special Forces. He had known her parents weren’t the missionaries they had pretended to be, but he was surprised they were involved at this level.
He and Zach had put together a crack team of former operatives who worked as private contractors for various governments. They had run across these names more than once and in his mind the game had just shifted from Little League to the World Series. These people were not easily dispatched, hell, Uncle Sam had been tracking most of these individuals for several years.
Alex loved the fact they could pick and choose their missions, the business was lucrative business, and perfect for the adrenaline junkies most of them freely admitted to being. Each member of their team was involved in deciding which assignments they would take on and which ones to walk away from because they were nothing more than suicide missions. They all considered their change of employment a win-win situation. The names of the groups listed in the file were all on all of Uncle Sam’s watch lists and for a moment he wondered exactly who Bree Hart/Sabrina Gillette might be bringing to their door.
Zach had stepped up alongside him and voiced the question they’d all been thinking but hadn’t spoken aloud. “Why? Why would they go after a small-time doctor who was working in remote clinics around the Congo? How’d she get on their radar? And why is our government tracking her?”
Mitch Grayson was their computer and communications specialist and he’d put the file together in a matter of hours. When he moved into their circle he nodded to the door as Ethan and Jamie made their way out of the room with Bree between them. “They’re taking her upstairs, she really doesn’t have any information to share. From what I’ve learned she was targeted because of her parents, but that’s a long story. I can tell you she didn’t know anything about what her parents were involved in and she hasn’t been in contact with them since learning about their deceptions. I’ve got a call in to Doc, he’ll be here in the morning. For tonight, Ethan and Jamie will be able to distract her, I think.” He smiled and they all shared a chuckle, knowing just how the two Doms would distract the beauty they had so obviously claimed as their own.
Chapter 11
Bree didn’t remember walking back up the stairs to her room, she had felt the strength and anger radiating off both Ethan and Jamie, but she somehow understood that their frustration wasn’t directed at her. Just as they closed and locked the door she turned to them and with conviction she was sure surprised them, said, “Take it out. Take it out right now.” When both men gaped at her in astonishment she added, “I can’t do it myself because of where it is. But I can direct you. Do you have a medical kit? I know Catherine said one of her sons was a medic in the Special Forces, maybe he has one. Can you please get that kit? I’ll make sure it has everything we’ll need.” When they neither one moved she put her hands on her hips and gave them a questioning look.
Ethan seemed to recover first, and he’d taken in her “Why aren’t you moving?” stance before he looked at Jamie and grinned. “Welcome back, Bree. Now, why don’t you tell us what Sabrina Gillette did in the Congo. Personally, I’m guessing it was medical, what do you think, Master Jamie?” She knew he had deliberately used the title of Master just to set the tone. She might be a submissive, but she wasn’t an idiot.
“Sabrina Gillette was a physician, a pediatrician to be specific, but she treated all ages just because she didn’t have the backbone to say no to anyone needing help.” Bree felt the tears fill her eyes before she added, “Sabrina loved practicing medicine. It was all she had ever wanted to do and she feels lost without it. She entered college early—very early, not because she was particularly gifted. No, it was more that she studied all the time because there was nothing else to do in all those remote locations.” She knew it sounded odd speaking about herself in the third person, but really that was how she felt. It was as if she’d been a whole other person before she’d been captured and tortured by terrorists who assumed she knew all about her parents’ “real” occupation. Frack! She hadn’t planned to tell these men so much and she damned well hadn’t wanted to cry. Her parents had drilled it into her as long as she could remember, “Crying is for babies and weaklings, Gillettes are neither of those things.”
She had never understood how missionaries could be so cold and demanding of their only child, but she sure understood it now. They hadn’t been the evangelical angels she’d always considered them to be. Once she’d learned they were actually agents who had worked undercover her entire life, things had started to fall into place. Of course by the time she’d been given all of this valuable information, she’d already endured unimaginable torture at the hands of a band of lunatics who had refused to believe she wasn’t either directly involved or at least harboring information about the activities of the people she had only known as devoted servants of God.
They had tried to convince her, but she had refused to take the word of the men who had held her captive. She’d been so sure they’d mistaken her family for another. It wasn’t until she was recovering in a military hospital that she’d learned the truth. Oh yeah you’re a freaking child genius alright…all those years and all those clues and did you flipping figure it out? Christ Almighty, did you even question it? Hell, no! What an idiot!
A sharp slap to her right ass cheek brought Bree’s attention back to the men standing in front of her. Ethan’s expression looked like he might turn into one of those cartoon characters whose face goes red and steam whistles out of their ears. And Jamie’s beautiful Caribbean-blue eyes had turned a stormy grey that reminded her of the Atlantic Ocean during hurricane season. Without thinking she spat out, “Hey, what was that for?” She was rubbing her hand over her stinging ass and glaring at them both.
Jamie grabbed her wrist before she’d even seen him move. “Keep your hands at your sides. And that was to bring you back, where did you go? And I’ll remind you yet again to answer honestly. We will punish you for lying and we will know, I promise y
ou that.”
Bree was edging toward pissed off but managed to rein in most of the snark before she said, “Well, I was just thinking about everything and sometimes those memories are a bit overwhelming as I’m sure you can imagine. Now, are you going for that med kit or do I need to do it?” She felt herself slipping back into doctor mode and damned if that didn’t feel just about forty-two shades of fine. She had missed practicing medicine more than she had ever thought possible. Oh, for sure they could keep the long hours and rotten conditions but helping people in need was just about the most perfect job and she really couldn’t imagine doing anything else.
Ethan took a step forward and was so close she could feel his body heat through the dress they’d given her to wear. Well, if you really wanted to call the wisp of fabric that was “just this side of transparent” and held together by a bit of decorative cord just above her breasts a dress. When she started to take a step back it sounded as if he growled and she froze. “Don’t you dare move.” She wondered what she’d done to make them so angry, but then she remembered they were supposed to be teaching her how to be a sub and evidently they didn’t appreciate her zoning out during class, so to speak.
Quickly deciding that perhaps she needed to do some damage control she dropped her gaze to the floor and whispered, “I’m sorry, Sirs. I get lost in the memories and I space out sometimes. The counselors said it will get better…eventually. I try to not let everything swamp me…but to be honest, I’m freaking out about having that thing inside me.” She shuddered but went on, “I should probably just move on. I’m worried about bringing trouble here, there are children living in this house. Catherine Lamont’s my friend and you are all her family and friends. If anything happened to any of you I’d never forgive myself.” She felt the trembling begin deep inside herself but was powerless to suppress it. “I’d like to get the device out before I leave though. If you’ll get the kit, I’m sure we can make a small incision and remove it…Please, will you help me do that?”
Ethan stepped forward and placed his hands on either side of her face, using his thumbs to wipe away tears she hadn’t even realized were falling. “No, love, not just now. I know you are upset about the chip, but taking it out tonight is not an option. We’ll have Doc Woods come up tomorrow and he and Zach can remove it. We’ll keep you here so our jamming equipment is effective. We don’t want the device destroyed.” She looked at him questioningly and he smiled. “We’ll play with whoever is tracking you a bit before we snatch them up.”
* * * *
Ethan watched Bree’s expression go a bit unfocused when she felt Jamie step up behind her and run his hands around to cup her breasts then gently roll her beaded nipples between his thumb and middle finger. Jamie spoke softly, close to her ear. “Besides, we want to play with you tonight. And if you are hurt or groggy from meds, we can’t play with you, chère.” Ethan relaxed as he watched Bree lean her head back to rest on Jamie’s chest. Her face flushed when she appeared to have realized she’d actually moaned out loud.
Reaching forward, Ethan swept his fingers under the shoulder straps of Bree’s dress and slowly moved them over so they drifted off her small shoulders. He watched the material fall to the floor like a gentle breeze. He deliberately let his gaze sweep slowly down her body and then raise once again to look directly into her eyes before he said, “You are stunning. You quite simply take my breath away, love.” He slowly traced her delectable curves with his hands and watched her shiver and chill bumps race over her lightly tanned skin. She was so responsive to his touch and watching her eyes dilate with her arousal was all the encouragement he needed to continue.
For the first time since he had first discovered the joys of dominance in the bedroom, Ethan felt as if he was auditioning. There wasn’t any other way to describe the insecurity he felt as he took in the gorgeous woman standing before him completely bare to his gaze. When he looked over her head at Creed, Ethan could tell his friend was trying to get his feet under him again also. She had scars which he assumed she’d gotten at the hands of the crazies who’d captured her, but those marks didn’t detract from her ethereal appearance.
Moving his hands down her rib cage, Ethan knelt on one knee and pressed a kiss to her flat belly. Speaking as much to himself as to her, he said, “You are too thin, love. We will have to see what we can do about that.” He felt her stiffen and knew she probably already felt she was too heavy. It never ceased to amaze him how many women were under the mistaken impression that all men preferred stick figures to real women with real curves. “I know you don’t believe me now, but you will soon. Both of your Masters love the curves that are the hallmark of a real woman. We want to be able to feel all the softness that you have to offer, and to be able to make passionate love to you without fear of breaking you.”
Jamie had wrapped his arms around Bree and Ethan knew he was gauging her every reaction, cataloging each muscle twitch and change in respiration. They used their different styles as Doms to bring the maximum pleasure to the woman between them. Ethan mentally smiled to himself thinking how often he wondered if the Cajun-French lothario could bring a woman to orgasm by simply talking to her. Flicking his gaze upward he saw Bree leaned back into Creed, her eyes half-lidded with lust as she let their touch light her skin on fire. Ethan gave Jamie a quick signal that he knew Bree wouldn’t catch telling him it was time to begin. The flush of her skin and the trembling of her muscles was a “go” signal for them to move ahead.
Ethan watched as Jamie steadily increased the pressure on Bree’s tightly peaked nipples as he rolled them between his fingers. He watched Jamie lean forward and speak so close to her ear that the wisps of his breath would be teasing the sensitive flesh. “You are a dream come true in so many, many ways. I have wished a thousand times that I’d had one more chance to look into your beautiful eyes before I’d watched them wheel you away. I spoke to you in my dreams and prayed that the angels had welcomed you home when I was told you hadn’t survived.”
They both felt the shiver that raced through her before Jamie continued what could only be described as verbal seduction. “I was convinced that God had turned his back on me because of the enormous karma debt soldiers incur. But now? Now I know my grand-mère was right and God’s infinite capacity for forgiveness is surpassed only by his grace in giving us things we don’t really deserve, because that is the only way I can explain him giving me a second chance with you.”
Ethan was thrilled to feel Bree tilt her pelvis forward and then back again so that her ass pressed closer to Jamie’s erection. Even though the temptation was nearly too much to resist, he was overjoyed that her body’s natural responses were kicking in. When she had admitted earlier that she had no real previous sexual experience, he had worried she would have trouble responding to the typical Ds triggers. But he was thrilled to see that her body seemed to know exactly what it needed even if her mind was having trouble keeping up. Ethan knew Jamie was slipping dangerously closer to the role of lover than that of Dom. Ethan was grateful to see his friend had recognized the need for him to step in. Watching as Jamie nuzzled her ear, running his tongue around the outside of its tender shell before whispering, “Chère, you are an answered prayer and I can’t wait to show you all the ways we can enjoy one another.”
When Ethan saw Jamie step back he stood up and stepped close again. He wanted to shout for joy when Bree immediately leaned toward him. Her willingness to accept them both equally from the beginning was beyond anything he’d ever have hoped to find in any woman. Most of the women they had shared had seemed to crave the dominance but it often seemed that they preferred playing with Creed and merely tolerated him because they saw the two men as the package deal they were. The fact that Bree seemed to respond to them both equally was another reason to believe they had finally found the woman they could spend the rest of their lives loving.
Running his hands over her shoulders and then trailing them slowly down her arms, he encircled her tiny wrists in his la
rge hands and slowly moved them together at the small of her back. When he grasped them both with one hand, essentially binding them, he felt her begin to shake. Before she could tumble into fear he leaned forward and sucked a peaked nipple into his mouth. Using his tongue to press the tender flesh against the roof of his mouth before slowly moving toward her other breast, he spoke against her heated flesh. “I want you to know how pleased we are that you are letting your body speak for you, love. The way your breasts are all but reaching out for my attention when your arms are behind your back is beautiful. And the fact that you have given me your trust by letting me hold you in this position is an amazing gift indeed.”
Ethan knew he was playing a bit outside the regular parameters of a Ds scene, but the importance of easing their frightened little sub in to their world overrode any concern he had for following protocol. When he felt her breathing become little more than small panting breaths, he used his tongue to paint her other nipple and then blew a small puff of air on it and watched as it drew up even tighter. Speaking to her again, he started letting the steel return to his voice. “Bree, I want you to spread your legs apart. Make sure they are a bit more than shoulder width and turn your feet slightly to the outside.” He watched as she immediately did exactly as he’d asked and even though he could tell she was felt slightly unbalanced by the position, she didn’t move to make herself more comfortable. Ethan saw Jamie step up behind her again and he was glad to know the sweet woman in front of him would be able to just let herself float in the sensations without worrying she was going to fall over backward. He’d known when he’d given her the instructions it would be an uncomfortable pose and he was thrilled that she had trusted they wouldn’t let her fall. He’d learned years ago that trust was built one small step at a time and he was grateful Bree’s ability to trust hadn’t been completely decimated by all she had endured.