Heal Me [Club of Dominance 5] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting)

by Becca Van

  “We could invite her out to the ranch. You know Mom. She can get anyone talking without even trying hard.”

  “You know that’s not such a bad idea.” Nathan scrubbed a hand over his face. “I don’t think she’ll accept an invitation from us right now, but if we word Mom up, we can get her to come into the clinic and to invite her over for a meal.”

  “So how do we handle her reaction?”

  “Pretend like it never happened. At least for now. Further down the track we can start pushing.”

  “Okay.”

  Nathan looked at the ladies’ bathroom door when it opened and when Kara came out, he was pleased to see that she had a little more color in her face.

  “Thank God,” Nix muttered. “Let’s get her back to the clinic so she can be more comfortable.”

  “Are you ready to go?” Nathan asked as he once more stood and moved toward Kara so that Nix had room to stand up, too. But he also wanted his brother to be able to pay for their meal, because he had just remembered that Kara had been out of work for nearly four weeks. Was that why she’d tried to stall about going to the diner with them? Because she didn’t have any money?

  Fuck! He was going to have to word Nixon up. At least they hadn’t told her how much she would make an hour. They would be able to give her more than she’d earned. He wondered if she would realize that they had overpaid her when they handed the cash over. Probably. After spending the morning with her showing her the ropes and seeing how quickly she’d picked up on how to use the software and what they wanted, he knew she was smart.

  But damn it, there was no way he wasn’t giving her extra. God knows how she’d survived without money for so long. At least now she would get a regular income and even if it was only one meal a day, Nathan was going to make sure she ate lunch with him and Nix whenever she could.

  Kara nodded and then moved around him heading toward the counter but he caught up with her, took her elbow in his hand, and guided her out the door. He was glad she didn’t argue with him overpaying for lunch and then he started back toward the clinic knowing it wouldn’t take Nix long to catch up with them.

  She was so quiet with her head down as she walked along he wondered what she was thinking about and, even though he didn’t have the right to ask, he wanted to. But after already fucking up big time by asking about her parents, he kept his mouth shut.

  They were back at the office way too quickly and she went back to the desk and computer. With a sigh, he and Nix headed for the hall and their exam rooms.

  “Thank you both for lunch.”

  Nathan turned at the same time Nix did and they nearly knocked into each other. The corners of Kara’s mouth tilted up but it didn’t turn into a full-blown smile. At least she didn’t look so damn terrified and pale anymore.

  “You’re welcome, Kara.”

  “No problem, honey,” Nixon said before he and Nathan gave her a last lingering look at headed to their offices.

  * * * *

  Kara had been working for the Charleston brothers for three days and when Nixon handed her an envelope and told her it was her pay, she hoped she didn’t look as relieved as she felt. But then she remembered that she’d filled out the form with her bank account details as well as her social security number and her other personal information. She was about to ask him why he was handing her cash in an envelope, but when she looked up it was to find him already disappearing back into his office.

  After a quick glance at the two patients in the waiting room and seeing they weren’t paying her any notice since they were reading magazines, she opened the envelope. Tears pricked the back of her eyes and she had to blink so the moisture wouldn’t fall. There was way too much money inside for only three days’ pay and she wondered if they’d paid her in advance. She wanted to go and ask Nixon and Nathan what was going on, but didn’t want to make a scene with other people still in the clinic.

  The minutes ticked by slowly but finally it was time to close down her computer and head home, but first she needed to talk with her employers. After flipping over the closed sign and making sure the front door was locked, she did a final check in the waiting room and made sure everything was back where it was supposed to be, then she took a deep breath and headed toward the closed office doors.

  Kara was more comfortable with Nate and Nix and even though she had tried to keep herself distant from them, they hadn’t let her. Each and every day they took her with them to the diner where they had lunch and no matter how hard she tried to refuse, they wouldn’t take no for an answer. Of course she should have expected that since they were Doms, but she wasn’t their submissive and she still found herself going along with whatever they wanted, albeit after putting up a token of resistance.

  She heard voices coming from Nix’s closed office and realized both men were in there talking and hesitated over knocking. She didn’t want to disturb them if they were still working, but she needed to know why she had been paid so much money. She closed her eyes a moment and breathed in deeply as she gathered her courage and opened her eyes again, just before she knocked on the door.

  “Come in,” Nix said.

  Kara opened the door and hesitated in the doorway, but then moved further into the room when Nixon made a “come here” motion.

  “What’s up, honey?”

  That was another thing she couldn’t quite get used to. Both Nixon and Nathan called her honey and baby, and even though she was sure they weren’t even aware of what they were calling her it made her feel warm inside. But she wouldn’t make more out of it than was there, because she suspected that they used endearments with all women.

  Nathan looked at her expectantly and when she glanced at Nixon she saw the same expression on his face. Kara pulled the envelope out of her slacks pocket and then held it out toward Nixon.

  “You’ve paid me too much.”

  “How do you figure?” Nixon frowned.

  “You gave me five hundred dollars. I’ve only been working here for three days.”

  Nathan rose to his feet and took a couple of steps toward her. “You don’t think you’ve earned that money?”

  “Not this much.” Kara bit her lip and tried to get her brain into gear. Whenever she was close to them, her brain was in such turmoil. Their handsome faces and tall muscular bodies went straight to her pussy and she had a hard time keeping her thoughts straight.

  “Kara, have you not worked hard and gotten all our files up to date? Have you not made sure our schedules with the hospital and our patients were e-mailed to our phones so that if we needed to look they would be there at the touch of a finger?”

  Kara nodded but remained silent. When she saw that they were both watching her so intently she lowered her eyes to the floor.

  Nathan gripped her chin between his thumb and finger and kept holding her until she met his gaze, and even then he didn’t release her.

  “If it hadn’t been for you, our phone and electricity would have been cut off. That was inexcusable of us, but you have this office running like a well-oiled machine. Don’t you think such a good employee should be rewarded?”

  “You’ve already rewarded me.”

  “When?” Nathan asked at the same time Nixon asked, “How?”

  “You’ve been taking me to the diner every day and buying me lunch.”

  “That was a common courtesy, baby. What sort of assholes would we be if we left you here all alone?” Nathan frowned at her.

  “I don’t mind…”

  “But we do,” Nixon said emphatically.

  Kara didn’t know how to reply to that and just stood there probably looking like an idiot.

  “That’s settled then,” Nixon said as he rose to his feet.

  When he stretched his arms above his head his shirt pulled tight across his chest and she couldn’t help but notice the way his muscles rippled under the cotton fabric. When she realized she was gawking, she quickly lowered her eyes and hoped that he and Nate hadn’t noticed. But when she ra
ised her gaze again, she met Nate’s green speculative look.

  And then she saw the hunger in his eyes and decided it was time to get going. “Thank you,” she said before spinning on her heels and hurrying back to her desk for her purse. She grabbed her keys, slung her purse over her shoulder, and rushed toward the back door and the parking lot. Kara had her hand on the door handle but jumped when a hand landed on her shoulder. She turned to look over her shoulder to find Nix right behind her and Nathan standing a few feet away.

  “Our mother has invited us home for a meal since we don’t have to work this weekend,” Nixon said.

  Kara frowned because she didn’t know why he was telling her their plans. It had nothing to do with her. “That’s nice.”

  Nixon smiled at her and her breath stuttered in her throat. It was bad enough being around such handsome, sexy men all the time let alone when they smiled at her. She hoped the desire that wracked her body didn’t show on her face. She tried to keep her expression stoic and hoped they couldn’t see how much they affected her.

  “Yes, it is. Our mother is a very nice lady.”

  Kara nodded and turned the handle.

  “She wants to meet you, Kara. We’ll pick you up at 11:00 a.m.”

  “Oh but…”

  “No buts,” Nathan said in a firm voice. “We like to keep our mom happy.”

  Again Kara found herself tongue tied, so she nodded. She sighed with relief when Nixon let go of her shoulder, opened the door and hurried out.

  She would call one of them in the morning and make excuses why she couldn’t go to their mother’s house with them. The more time she spent with them the more she was relaxing around them, and that wasn’t a good thing.

  If they ever found out what happened—Kara shook her head—she couldn’t let them find out. She didn’t think she would be able to stand seeing horror and pity in their eyes.

  No it was best that she come up with some excuse to cry off. That was the only thing she could think of.

  Chapter Five

  “She’s going to try and cancel.” Nixon looked at Nathan after Kara had left.

  “Yeah, I know.”

  “I don’t know how much longer I can wait, Nate.”

  “You and me both.” Nate sighed in frustration.

  “Do you think we could get Emma to help us? Maybe we could ask Mom to invite Emma, Gary, Tank, and Jack to lunch tomorrow, too.”

  “No. I don’t think that’s a good idea. We need her to be more comfortable in our presence first. I think Mom will be great with her though. Women are always more open with their own sex than they are with men.”

  “So what do we do when she tries to call?” Nix asked.

  “Let it go to voicemail of course.”

  “And if she just sends a text instead?”

  “If she does that I am going to put her over my knee and spank that delectable little ass.”

  Nixon hid his smile. Nathan was getting just as impatient as he was. He couldn’t wait for tomorrow because he could see Nathan doing just what he’d threatened. There was no way he or his brother were going to let Kara beg off, even if he had to throw her over his shoulder kicking and screaming. She was going to be at their parents’ ranch for lunch tomorrow and maybe after that they could go for a ride, find a quiet spot, and introduce her into a little more of their kinkier sides.

  Nixon rubbed his hands together with anticipation and smiled at Nate. He just hoped their plan to ignore any phone calls or texts from Kara worked. If she wasn’t at home when they went to pick her up, there would be hell to pay.

  * * * *

  Nixon stared at his phone when it started ringing at ten o’clock Saturday morning. He didn’t have to look at the screen to know it was Kara. He ignored it of course and waited until it rang out before he pulled his cell from his pocket. Yep, it had been her all right, but she hadn’t left a message, thank God.

  Not five minutes later Nate’s cell started ringing. Nathan looked at him from his seat next to Nixon on the verandah and took another sip of his coffee. His brother didn’t seem to care that his phone was ringing but Nixon could see the corners of his mouth were a little tighter with tension. When the ringing stopped he too looked at his screen and nodded to him.

  “Did she leave a message?”

  “No.”

  Just as Nathan finished answering, Nixon’s and Nathan’s cells beeped indicating incoming text messages. Nixon placed his mug on the table between him and his brother and they opened the message.

  I’m really sorry to have to cancel, but something has come up. I hope you enjoy the day with your mom. Kara.

  “Fuck!”

  “Do you think she’s still at home?” Nixon asked.

  Nathan glanced at the time on his cell. It was only five after ten. “I hope so. We need to get going now before she leaves.”

  “She only lives fifteen minutes away, Nate.”

  “That’s fifteen minutes too far. It will only take her thirty seconds to leave her apartment, get into her car, and drive away.”

  Nixon pushed to his feet, locked the front door of the house, and followed Nate to his truck. His brother was right, fifteen minutes was way too far and too long.

  Nixon knew when he’d seen Kara’s address on her paperwork that she lived in the rougher part of Tigard, but when he saw how dilapidated the place was he cringed. If he had his way he and Nate would pack her stuff up and move her into the master bedroom at their place but he was sure that would only make Kara distance herself even more. But he was pleased to see that her car was in the parking space outside her apartment.

  “Let’s go get our woman,” Nate said in a determined voice and got out of the truck with Nixon following. Nate didn’t pause to take a breath but knocked on her door.

  Nixon heard Kara’s light footsteps and then the door swung open. At first she looked surprised to see them and then she looked scared. She opened and closed her mouth a couple of times before snapping it shut with an audible click and her face went from pale to bright red.

  When she stepped back at first, Nixon thought she was going to try and close the door. He figured that Nate assumed the same thing because his brother placed his palm on the wood and then gently pushed it inward and he walked inside.

  Nixon could see Kara backing up and he wondered if she was scared of them. That thought made him frown and he tuned in to his inner Dom and studied her body language. Although she looked nervous, she didn’t look scared, but when her legs hit the back of the small sofa and she sunk down onto it, she did cross her arms in a defensive move.

  “What are you doing here?”

  “We told you we’d pick you up,” Nathan said.

  Kara licked her lips nervously. “You’re early.”

  “And why do you think that is?” Nixon asked.

  She nibbled on her lower lip, looked at him then his brother, and back to him before her eyes skittered away. “How do I know?”

  Nathan moved closer and then sat on the sofa next to her. Nixon sat on the arm on her other side.

  “Maybe because you were trying to cancel. Maybe because we knew if we waited for 11:00 a.m. to arrive, you would have made sure not to be here?”

  “Look, I don’t know what you want from me.”

  Nixon decided it was his turn to take charge. He tugged on her ponytail and didn’t let go when she turned to face him.

  “Now that is an outright lie, honey.”

  “It’s n…”

  “Yes it is.” Nate slung his arm around Kara’s shoulders but when she went to turn her head, Nixon wouldn’t let her.

  “Nate’s right. We already told you what we wanted from you. What are you so scared of?”

  “I’m not scared of anything.” Kara thrust her chin forward but the look of stark terror in her eyes was his undoing.

  Nixon released her hair and gave Nathan a slight shake of his head when she looked away. He and his brother needed to give her some space right at this moment, but the
re was no way in hell they were backing off. And he was beginning to rethink about getting Wade and Warrick to look into Kara’s past. He wanted to know what the hell was going on.

  “Are you ready to go, Kara?” Nate asked.

  “I just need a few minutes…” She scurried away like a scared rabbit.

  Nixon glanced about her tiny apartment. Her bedroom was right off the small living room and when he looked around he noticed she had no photos or personal effects at all. In fact, there were only the bare necessities. Most women would have put out some family photos and some knickknacks as well as a couple of cushions or a colorful throw rug, but there was nothing. Nothing to show of her years growing up at all.

  “Why did you…”

  “Her eyes were full of terror.”

  “What?”

  “Shh,” Nixon whispered. “I don’t know what’s going on. I don’t think she’s scared of us, but she is scared of something.”

  “Damn. Do you think this is going to work?”

  “Do you want to walk away?” Nixon asked.

  “Hell no.”

  “Then we make it work,” Nixon said. “Do you think she’s in trouble?”

  “Shit. I hadn’t even thought about that.”

  “Look around, Nate, and tell me what you see.”

  Nixon watched his brother study the room and when he finally met Nixon’s eyes, Nate was frowning. “Nothing.”

  “Exactly.”

  “Do you think we should get Wade…” Nate didn’t finish his question because the door to Kara’s bedroom opened and she walked out, but Nixon nodded his head and sighed with relief, glad that his brother was on the same page as he was.

  Hopefully he and his brother could get to the bottom of the fear and terror in her eyes and then they would know what step to take next.

  At least Nixon hoped that they would.

  * * * *

  Kara couldn’t believe that Nathan and Nixon were here, in her apartment. She’d been so shocked to see them on her doorstep she hadn’t been able to speak. She’d probably look like a real idiot, like a fish out of water as she opened and closed her mouth without actually saying anything.