by Mia Ashlinn
“It is me,” she sneered. “You can fucking take me or leave me.”
Drew’s eyes narrowed. “Then I guess we’ll leave you, Shannon,” he countered. “We want to be with you. Hell, I think we’re in love with you, but you aren’t ready to be involved with us, and I’m not sure you ever will be.” He stared right through her. “I suggest you get out of here. A bar is no place for little girls.”
“Little girl? Little girl? Little girl?” Shannon sputtered, her voice rising with each word.
“Yes,” Jared retorted. “You apparently are still a little girl. Now, you need to go home and get that trashy dress off your body.”
“There is not a damn thing wrong with this dress,” she practically yelled then moved closer, rubbing her body against Randy’s. “I think I look sexy.”
“Stop that,” Randy growled as he pushed her away.
“You are beautiful and sexy,” Jared conceded.
“But not when you look no better than a whore,” Drew finished for his brother.
Shannon gasped, tears welling in her eyes before brimming over and running down her cheeks. “I–I–I’m sorry. This was a mistake,” she rambled. “It was just a stupid dare, anyway.”
“A what?” Drew barked. “This was some goddamn game?”
“Y–y–yes,” she stammered. “Jaycee and Katie-Anne dared me to dress up and come in here so I could seduce the first man I saw.”
Randy cursed, “Son of a bitch.”
“You came in here to seduce the first man you saw?” Jared asked incredulously. “What would you have done if we hadn’t been here?”
“I don’t know,” she cried. “I really don’t know.”
“Well, I hope you won your little game, Shannon,” Drew announced, “because you just lost my interest.”
Not waiting a second longer, Shannon turned on her heel and ran out the door.
* * * *
With a blink, Shannon returned to the present, her memories receding into the back of her mind. She dabbed her eyes with the fancy napkin like both of her friends were doing, only her tears stemmed from her painful past and not the amusing present.
Eyeing her with too-perceptive eyes, Jaycee and Katie-Anne’s laughter dwindled, and they grew quiet. Endless minutes ticked by before Katie-Anne finally broke the tense silence with a question. She asked curiously, “J, my dear, why are we in Serenity’s fanciest restaurant? Don’t get me wrong. Their food is divine, but we haven’t exactly eaten somewhere like this in, hell, I don’t know how long.”
Jaycee’s youthful face lit up. She clapped her hands together, apparently forgetting they were in an elegant establishment where the noise level was kept at a whisper. “We’re planning our girlie getaway for my bachelorette party.”
Groaning, Katie-Anne covered her turquoise eyes. “Oh, hell.”
Duh! Shannon slapped her forehead with the palm of her hand, like she should have known that Jaycee had something up her sleeve.
Katie-Anne peeked between her fingers and inquired, “Do we have to? I know you, Jaycee Elizabeth. There is going to be hell to pay when we get back. My brother is going to kill me.”
Shannon snorted. “He won’t kill you. It’ll be me!” Shuddering theatrically, she tacked on, “If he doesn’t, Cade will. Shit, with my luck, they’ll both come after me.”
“Come on. Don’t be wimps,” Jaycee half whined, half encouraged. “It’ll be fun. I’ve already gotten the green light.”
“Of course, you did,” Katie-Anne said skeptically between sips of her citrus soda.
Shannon had no doubt that Gray and Cade had given Jaycee the go ahead. “No, Katie-Anne. I’m willing to lay money on the table that they agreed. They just want to punish her—again.”
Jaycee nodded with enthusiasm. “Yep. They love to have an excuse to punish me, not that they ever need one.” She giggled mischievously. “But I will admit that it’s a lot of fun getting in trouble, just the same.”
Katie-Anne grunted, her sips turning into gulps as she downed more Chinotto Neri.
Shannon snickered. “My friend, they know you. Don’t underestimate your fiancés. We will not be going anywhere without some kind of supervision.”
Jaycee’s excitement drained away, and she cursed, “Fuck. You’re right.” But before the bat of an eyelash, her impish euphoria returned in full force.
Shannon regarded Jaycee nervously. That look never boded well for her or Katie-Anne.
“Well, we’ll just have to be sneaky.” Jaycee sounded completely convinced that they could ditch the bulldogs Gray and Cade would inevitably set on them.
Oh, boy. Shannon glanced at Katie-Anne with beseeching eyes. To her chagrin, Katie-Anne shook her head sadly, apparently aware that they would never get Jaycee to back down.
Movement from Jared and Drew’s table in the corner of her eye snagged her attention for the hundredth time. Without thought of the consequences, her head swiveled to gawk. Both of her men stood up to their full six-feet-plus heights respectfully. Drew pulled out Mary’s chair for her so she could get up. In turn, she smiled up at him, rose to her tiptoes, and kissed his cheek.
Crazy cunt. The green-eyed monster reared his hideous head. Stalking across the room to tear the horrid woman into tiny pieces appealed to her enraged senses. How dare that wench touch her men.
Someone grabbed Shannon’s glass and pulled it out of her hand, wrenching her out of the malicious haze blanketing her brain.
Katie-Anne sat the glass down gently. “Shan, honey, you’re about to snap the stem in half. Calm down.”
Shannon turned her animosity on her reprimanding friend and snapped venomously, “Fine, let’s talk about Shane Jacobs and Landon Tolliver. Last I heard, Leila Schillings is going after one of your men since she gave up on Gray and Cade. The whore had to find a little fresh meat, and apparently, Shane is her new filet mignon. How about them apples, sister?”
“Now, who’s being the bitch, Shannon?” Katie-Anne’s calmly asked question amazed Shannon. She had no clue how her friend could act uncaring when the bane of their existence relentlessly pursued one of the men she loved.
If it wasn’t for the pain swirling in Katie-Anne’s exotic eyes, Shannon would actually believe the woman didn’t give a damn. The tightness and deepening of the blue-green gave her away.
“Well, Katie-Anne,” Shannon sneered. “Don’t presume to tell me how to act when the men that I love are with another woman in front of my fucking face.”
“Calm down,” Jaycee urged softly, sounding hesitant as though she were approaching two wounded animals. “No point in turning on each other.”
“I am not turning on anyone,” Katie-Anne denied arrogantly. “I’m just telling the truth. She is the one who pushed them out of her life, and they moved on. She needs to follow their example and get over it.”
“You don’t know what the hell I did or didn’t do.”
“Then, tell us, Shan.” Jaycee’s compelling tone nearly undid her, but how could she tell them the entire truth? How could she explain Uncle Pauley? What about what had happened two months ago with her men?
God, they weren’t her damn men. She’d made sure of that.
Chapter 2
Early September, two months ago…
Nestled deep in his arms, Shannon allowed Drew to carry her inside of the apartment she shared with Katie-Anne. The feelings he evoked just by holding her were not wholly physical. Love and contentment flooded her mind and soul while her heart belted out some sappy love song that would make most men’s dicks wither and send them running for the hills.
Drew hypnotized Shannon with his scent, his warmth, and his deep, even breathing. She kept her eyes trained on his handsome face as she memorized it. She admired the long, lean lines and the stubble on his chin while imagining what his short, thick, dirty-blond hair would feel like between her fingers.
His clear blue eyes met hers, and he watched her openly worshiping him. An uncontrollable tremor shook her body, making h
er want to curse. She didn’t want them to know how much they affected her nor did she want them to know of her lack of experience. How embarrassing would it be if they knew that not only was she a virgin, but she was also completely untouched?
Panic welled inside of her. What if I’m the worst kisser ever? What if I don’t know what to do when they fuck me? What if I disappoint them? The what-if scenarios ran rampant in her mind, terrorizing her.
The softest of kisses against her forehead brought her back to her senses and back to the moment. Reality crashed in on her, renewing her will to fight.
She squirmed in Drew’s arms, trying to force him to loosen his grip on her. If she could just get him to let her go, she could push him away. Maybe, if she was lucky, this time it would stick, and they would be safe from her, protected from her horrific past and her oppressive future.
“Munchkin, that isn’t going to work. I’ve got you, and I don’t plan to let you go,” Drew whispered, his lips touching her temple as he kissed her a second time. The airy quality of the kiss was exactly how she imagined the wings of an angel brushing against skin would feel.
Instead of ceasing her movements, she wiggled with fierce desperation, amplifying her force and intensity. “Damn it, Drew. Stop this insanity! Let me the fuck go. We can’t do this.”
The need to cry tore her apart, but she wouldn’t give in to it. No tears for me. I’m too strong for that. I have to be.
Over Drew’s shoulder, she saw Jared and Randy, who had followed them inside, moving closer.
As usual, Randy looked amused at her predicament. His lips quirked, drawing attention to his deliciously sexy facial hair and distracting her. His scruff was longer than both of his brothers, but not much more than a five-o’clock shadow.
She wondered what the rough bristles would feel like against her lips and, even better, her flesh. Her nipples tightened, begging for the coarse whiskers to graze the sensitized skin. Do not go there. Don’t even think about it.
Trying to regain control of her spiraling hormones, Shannon focused her attention on Jared. He had a placid expression on his face, but his sky-colored eyes shone with his arousal.
Stalking through the living room, the men were on a direct path to her bedroom, and she knew she had to stop them before they got too much further. “No!”
Startled, Drew stopped abruptly, and Randy rammed into him from behind with an “Ooph.”
“What, munchkin?” Drew’s tender, worried tone made her feel so defenseless, so powerless. How could she respond to that? She felt like a heel throwing out the love of three great men, the men she loved with all her heart.
“I don’t fucking want this. I don’t want you. When are you going to get it through your thick skulls that I’m not your woman? I will never be yours, and you will never be mine. Damn it, let me go!”
Drew dropped her to the ground so suddenly that she staggered before her self-preservation kicked in. Regaining her balance, she could see all of the men had circled around her, making her feel tiny, which was a feat for a voluptuous woman like herself. With their larger-than-life bodies and formidable strength, they always had the power to make her feel pint-sized.
“Prove it,” Randy decreed authoritatively, his jaw like granite.
Taken aback by his command, she inquired testily, “Excuse me?”
Randy’s clenched jaw ticked. “Prove it.”
“Are you crazy?” She suspected that she knew the answer, but her lack of control demanded she ask anyway. He owed her the words.
Putting his hands deep inside of his pockets, Randy rocked back on his heels. “Nope.”
The oaf is enjoying this.
Shannon huffed, “Can you answer me in a full sentence?”
“Nope,” Randy replied again.
Shannon bit back the snappy retort in her mind. Why don’t you stick a piece of straw in your mouth and whistle some obnoxious tune, Randy?
Drew piped up. “Can you stop asking questions you already know the answer to?” His condescending tone only ratcheted her animosity higher. God, she wanted to throttle the three of them, starting with Randy. Then, she would move to Drew before finishing things off with Jared.
Jared. Crap, he hadn’t said anything yet. She was fucked, and she wasn’t so sure that was a bad thing. Holy guacamole! Where did that thought come from? You can’t think about those kinds of things. Run!
Instead of following her gut instinct, Shannon stood her ground. “Nope,” she snarled at him.
Drew, apparently, didn’t appreciate her irreverence. He stepped forward aggressively with equal parts threat and danger. Instead of fear, she felt exhilarated, and her body immediately responded, begging her to give into the temptation of what they were offering.
Jared’s hand shot out, slapping Drew’s chest and stopping him instantly. “Shannon. Randy gave you an order.”
She fisted her hands at her side to keep from beating the living daylights out of the men and screeched, “Order? What the fuck is wrong with all of you?” The yearning to break their sexy faces, along with everything in sight, churned inside of her. “Now I know you have lost your minds!”
“Nope,” Randy said.
The word barely had time to register before she charged at Randy, “I’m going to fucking kill you.”
She didn’t make it far before Jared grabbed her from behind. He jerked her into his arms, lowering his head, and whispered “wimp” into her ear sensually.
A powerful shudder crashed through her system as he licked the shell of her ear and gifted the sensitive tissue with a sweep of his warm, velvety tongue. She squeaked, “Excuse me,” in spite of the lump forming in the back of her throat.
Drew groaned. “Are we back to that?”
Shannon growled her frustration as Jared’s arms tightened around her, probably to stop her from launching herself at Drew. The need to shed blood clouded her rationality. If Jared loosened his hold even for a millisecond, she would unsheathe her claws and pounce.
“Come on, baby doll,” Randy cajoled. “If you truly don’t want us, you can show us right here and right now.”
Jared shook his head, jarring her body. “No, Randy. She’s too scared.”
She cursed and slammed her foot down on top of Jared’s boot. But he merely laughed at her attempted assault. For the first time in memory, Shannon wished that she had worn a pair of stilettos. The image of crushing a hole in his favorite boots brought a smile to her face.
“If you can prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that you have no desire to be with us, we’ll leave you alone permanently,” Drew proposed.
His offer gave her what she wanted most—freedom. Then why the hell did her chest ache at the prospect of being without their attention? Damn, I’m being selfish. It’s not safe for them. I have to protect them.
“Hell no, I won’t,” Randy disagreed, shaking his head vehemently.
A menacing glower from Drew silenced Randy. “She can’t do it, little brother,” Drew stated with as much conviction as cockiness.
“Mighty sure of yourself, aren’t you?” Shannon taunted Drew furiously, refusing to give in.
“No, munchkin. We just know you.” Overt hunger filled Drew’s face as he searched her body. His piercing azure eyes devoured her, turning her upside down and inside out. A spark lit inside of her, and she locked her legs to keep from jumping him. “And your body.”
Her traitorous body responded, making demands that she couldn’t follow through with. The ache between her legs grew, taunting her with the forbidden.
She just needed them to fuck her—Jared in her pussy, Drew in her ass, and Randy in her mouth. The sexual trinity would bring her to the orgasm of her life. If she behaved, maybe, they would bring her to multiple orgasms of her life.
Mentally, she snorted.
Who was she kidding? These three giants were sex on a stick. They could convert an angel to demon, bring a saint to sin, and drive a sane person to the brink of insanity. Pulling one earth-shaki
ng orgasm after another out of her would be a piece of cake.
A vast flood of moisture inundated her pussy, her juices trickling from between her pussy lips and saturating her satiny panties. Instinctually, she shied away from the sticky wetness, but it didn’t work. Her every movement intensified the gnawing inside of her core.
Drew pointed at her proudly erect nipples and said, “See, Randy.”
“Fine,” she snapped. “I’ll show you just how much I don’t want you.” I hope. “Do you like your crow grilled or fried?” Just in case you need to know, I like mine atop a salad with ranch dressing.
Jared spun her in his arms. “Princess, before this goes any farther, I want to know the truth. Are you really a virgin?”
Drew and Randy shouted simultaneously. Randy’s “What the fuck?” and Drew’s “Holy shit!” sounded harmonious—in a twisted kind of way.
Shannon refused to give them the satisfaction of the truth. “What makes you think that?”
Jared arched his eyebrow at her, his dare for her to lie implicit.
Realizing where he had gotten his embarrassing information, she gritted her teeth and muttered under her breath, “Jaycee. I’m going to fucking kill you.”
“Answer me,” Jared commanded in a masterful voice.
Confession seemed almost as pointless as a denial, so she chose the least revealing. She closed her eyes and mumbled, “Uh-uh.” Damn, I suck at lying.
“That is a yes, big brother,” Drew said cockily, stating what was obvious to anyone with eyes and ears.
“My god,” Jared breathed, sounding way too awestruck. “She is a virgin.”
Her eyes flew open. “You say that like I have the plague or something.”
“Nah, baby doll,” Randy disagreed, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively. “You have something all right, but it isn’t the plague.”
“Save me from idiots,” she grumbled.
Drew moved close behind her, trapping her between himself and Jared. With his breath tickling the side of her neck, he commented immodestly, “There’s no saving you now, munchkin.”