She looked back to see if Shadow and Raven were following them but they’d silently moved back into the darkened corners of the hallway.
“Did you knock me out?” The words slipped out before she could stop them. Derechos narrowed his eyes and his features darkened despite the brightness ahead of them. “No, we would never do that. Our days here are longer than yours. Our day is approximately forty-eight of your hours and we have sunlight for most of that time.
“You’re kidding me.”
“No, Destiny and Hope—they came from Earth as well—tend to have a nap in the afternoon. They’ve found that helps.”
“There are other women here?”
“We’ll introduce you to them.” Storm stroked his fingers along her waist and she felt her pussy quiver in response. “But I don’t want you to think that you have to ask them any of your questions. Derechos and I will answer everything you need to know.”
Everything I need to know, or everything I want to know? Those were two entirely different things. Rationally she knew she should be fighting them but at the moment she wasn’t entirely certain what was real and what wasn’t. Like, if I manage to get myself back through that mirror, would it take me home or kill me?
They reached the end of the hall, and past the arched stone entrance was an amazing sight. There were trees for as far as Dawn could see. Dark, lush greens she hadn’t seen since she’d gone to Guatemala on a vacation years ago. It looked like she was surveying part of the Amazon rain forest. Only, even from this distance she could see that some of the trees and leaves were completely different than anything she’d witnessed before.
Below her lay a long, steep staircase made of blocks. She gripped ahold of both men’s shirts when she saw how far up they were. Her stomach rolled and she could feel a nervous tremor dance along her spine. Both men stepped back away from the edge and brought her with them.
“You’re afraid of heights?”
She looked up at Derechos and nodded in sharp, panicked movements. She’d had an irrational fear of heights for as long as she could remember.
“Why didn’t you say so?”
“Why would I need to?”
Her feet were swept out from underneath her and she grabbed handfuls of the soft cotton shirt Derechos was wearing. She took a deep breath to scream out her terror when she felt herself pulled tight against his chest.
Storm put his hand against the back of her head. “Put your face here and close your eyes.” He encouraged her to tuck her face into Derechos’s neck. It had been so long since she’d been this close to a man her thoughts quickly slipped from fear to something much more enticing. He didn’t wear any heavy cologne or aftershave. His skin was warm and he smelled faintly like soap but there was an almost cedar and spice smell that over powered it. It was a unique smell and she really liked it. She remembered the way this man moved when he danced and her body’s reaction. Psycho kidnappers, remember? But her body didn’t seem to care at the moment. His natural scent wrapped around her and she thought about when she was a teenager and always wanted to wear her boyfriend’s jacket because it smelled like him.
Those pleasant thoughts disappeared the moment he moved closer to the edge. A stray thought that perhaps he was going to throw her over the edge ripped through her, leaving an icy trail along her spine. She gripped his shirt again and his arms tightened, holding her firmly against his chest. She felt like she was at the crest of a large roller-coaster about to plunge down the other side.
Derechos made a soothing noise and she felt Storm’s large hand against her spine, rubbing small circles as he stepped in front of them, trapping her. She felt much more secure between the two of them instead of balanced precariously on the edge of a steep fall.
“Hold on tight and keep those eyes closed, Dawn.” Storm’s hand continued to rub circles between her shoulder blades. “We’ll have you at the bottom in no time.”
There was no hesitation when Derechos started to go down the stairs. The rhythmic steps bounced her slightly but he never loosened his grip on her, holding her close to his body. After a minute, she opened her eyes ever so slightly and peered through her lashes from under Derecho’s chin. She didn’t look down but did look out to the side as the treetops came into view and then towered over them. She hadn’t realized how large the plants were from the top of the stairs.
As they got closer to the bottom, she opened her eyes a bit more and loosed her grip on the handfuls of fabric. The fear abated, leaving behind the embarrassment that often followed an irrational reaction.
“We’re almost there, a few more steps,” Derechos said but didn’t loosen the hold he had her in. It was reassuring to be held so tightly and that helped to soothe her fears. He reached the bottom and walked a few more steps before she felt his grip loosen a bit.
She lifted her face and turned to look behind him. Storm was a few steps behind them and he smiled at her, but behind him rose a massive stone structure. The staircase ran up the center of this side, out of the shadows of the trees and all the way up to the summit, where she could see a small arched entrance. “Holy shit, is that a Mayan temple?”
“Our ancestors were the people you know as Mayans, but we are as different from them as you are from your ancestors who lived a few thousand years ago,” Storm replied.
Derechos paused and lowered her legs to the ground, sliding her body down the front of his. A large erection pressed against her tummy as he lowered her, heating her body. She wasn’t certain if he did it on purpose or not because he smiled down at her as if there wasn’t anything wrong. A mischievous glimmer behind his smile made her think he did that intentionally. She stepped away from him and he let her. She still wasn’t certain about what she was going to do. The staircase stretched up and she knew damn well she wouldn’t be able to climb that high without passing out or throwing up.
Her body’s reaction to this entire situation was making her head spin. She should be freaking out but seemed to be walking a fine line between fear and arousal and couldn’t formulate a response to either. Storm stood next to Derechos and she noticed a few similarities between the two of them. Brothers maybe? Neither of them spoke. They simply looked at her and that made her nervous.
“Now what?” she snapped at them. “Is this where I’m supposed to run and you hunt me down?”
Storm’s eyebrow twitched and the flash of interest she saw in his expression sent a thread of awareness straight to her cunt. How many times had she imagined that very thing as she played with herself? Being hunted down and ravished always sent her careening into an explosive orgasm. But this isn’t a fantasy.
“As tempting as that sounds, neither Derechos nor I are up to full strength and I have a feeling we would need to be to keep up with you.” Storm exchanged a potent look with Derechos before holding out his hand to her. “How does a hot bath and a warm bed sound?”
“We swear we’ll keep you safe and no harm will come to you,” Derechos added.
Dawn felt like she was dancing on the edge of a massive decision, much more important than a simple bath, as she contemplated their offer. Her hand slipped into Storm’s before she realized she’d made the decision. They walked with her down a rough walkway around the temple to an almost-hidden doorway.
She hesitated leaving what felt like the safety of the sunlight to go inside where she was relying on the word of two strangers that she would be safe. Both men stopped when she did and waited silently as she mentally debated the intelligence of following them. If they wanted to kill me they could have done it a number of times by now. She took a step forward and would have sworn she could feel the relief that washed over the men beside her.
They preceded her through the entrance and she followed them down a long, brightly lit hallway that opened up into a larger entrance. Large skylights let in natural sunlight and highlighted what looked like cream-and-gold marble that lined the floors. The wall looked to be made from a cream-colored stone but was soft to the touch. “Wh
at is this place?”
“Our home, all the Midnighters live here with their Atans.”
“What exactly is a Midnighter? Are you a group of male dancers and what’s an Atan?” The number of questions flooding Dawn’s thoughts multiplied the longer they walked. She wasn’t used to not being in control or having control of her life. Leaving decisions up to other people usually ended up with her in trouble in one way or another.
She’d spent years partying with her supposed friends but the one time she went along with the crowd she ended up at the police station being charged with DUI and having to call her father to bail her out. When she sobered up and realized her stupidity she thanked god she hadn’t hurt anyone but herself and she figured she deserved that. It wasn’t her father that showed up at the police station but her grandfather. Seeing the disappointment on his face made her feel worse than she ever had in her life.
“Dawn?”
The feeling of fingers gently stroking her cheek snapped her out of her memories. She reached up and pressed her hand against her tingling skin. Why did she have such strong physical reactions every time they touched her? “Sorry, I got lost in my thoughts for a moment.”
“You’re tired and emotional. A good soak is what you need and then some sleep.” Derechos placed his hand at the small of her back as they walked. Storm laced his fingers with hers, pressing their palms together. “We’ll answer all your questions, but let us take care of you first. All right?”
“Where are we going?”
Storm’s laugh echoed in the large hall. “You have a question for every breath you take.” He pointed at a pair of large doors at the end of the hall. “The bathing pools are through those doors and that is where we’re taking you.”
“But I don’t have a bathing suit.”
He shrugged. “You don’t need one. These are private pools, only for Midnighters and their Atans. The Raxka used to come in here but they often avoid this room now.” There was enough amusement in his voice that Dawn got the impression there was a story behind that statement. She also wanted to ask what Raxka were but clenched her lips on that question.
“This is a place we come to relax and realign our energy with that of our world,” Derechos explained as he opened the oversized door. Considering how tall and broad both these men were, she shouldn’t be surprised by the size of their doorways. Storm entered the room first with Dawn, with Derechos following behind.
Given the little they’d said, Dawn expected to see a large hot tub of sorts but the sheer size of the pool in front of her amazed her. It looked like a natural pond in the middle of a building. Large plants with oversized flowers surrounded the back edge. There were two walls of floor-to-ceiling windows that let in the sunlight and sparkled on the water. She couldn’t tell how deep the water was or see any ladder or stairs to get into it. Maybe it was like a wading pool?
A rustle of material behind her caught her attention and she turned in time to see Derechos pull his shirt over his head and drop it to the floor. His broad chest made her mouth dry and every memory of the way his body moved slammed into her thoughts, heating her blood and chasing away any questions that tried to squeeze though. He slowly unbuttoned his jeans and lowered the zipper. His jeans slipped precariously low on his hips and her entire focus narrowed to the man in front of her.
He stepped closer to her and began unbuttoning her shirt, exposing the T-shirt she wore underneath. “You changed after you left the club tonight.”
“You saw me?” She hadn’t realized that. He’d looked in her direction a couple of times but she’d assumed he wouldn’t have been able to see past the lights.
“I felt you the moment you decided to come to us.” He slipped her cotton shirt from her shoulders. “We tried to stay away, to keep you safe. Knowing you were there watching me was an erotic addition.”
“What do you mean keep me safe?” She felt Storm’s large presence move close behind her but she couldn’t tear her gaze away from the small path of dark hair that peeked from where the denim parted.
“I watched you as Derechos danced.” Storm bent and whispered next to her ear. He slid his hands around her hips and reached for her waistband. “I could feel the way your body reacted to him.” His fingers stroked the bared skin between her tank top and her pants. “You were almost panting with need and I wanted to claim you right then and there but you ran away.”
Dawn remembered exactly how she’d felt watching Derechos on the stage, very similar to the way she was feeling at the moment, only now was more intense. “I didn’t run away. There was an emergency.” She wrapped her fingers around Storm’s hands as he flicked open the button on her jeans. “What are you doing?”
“We’re getting you ready for the bath.”
Derechos reached up and slid her tank top up over her belly. She let go of Storm’s hand and grasped his. “I can undress if you look away.” Her heart was pounding wildly in her chest as she stood here in an impossible situation in a place so far from home. These two men were her only anchors and she couldn’t deny the wildness she was feeling. Right or wrong, would one more crazy decision hurt?
“But I really don’t want to do that. Let us take care of you.”
When you make a decision, ask yourself if it will hurt you or anyone else. If the answer is no, than do what you can to enjoy the entire experience. Her grandfather’s advice rang in her ears. It was the only thing he said to her when he picked her up from the police station and then took her back to the ranch. She’d done nothing but chores for weeks after that but had never forgotten what he’d said.
She took a deep breath and let go of their hands and lifted her arms. Derechos’s smile lit up his face. His eyes sparkled as he slowly lifted her shirt and pulled it over her head. Her hair got caught up with the material, baring the back of her neck, and she felt Storm press a warm kiss against the sensitive skin. His fingers stroked her skin as she felt him lower her zipper. Her jeans slipped lower as Storm wrapped his hands around her hips and slid them down, taking her panties with them.
Derechos tossed her T-shirt behind him but didn’t release her hands. Holding them over her head, he blatantly watched her pants lower. She tugged on his grip and his dark gaze flicked up to her. His eyes were the color of rich, dark chocolate, although at the moment they looked black. He shook his head slightly. “Keep your arms up. I don’t want you to try to hide yourself. Do you understand how exquisite you are?”
She could feel her cheeks grow warm at his words. There’d been a time when she’d worried far too much about what she wore and how she looked. Lately, her concerns revolved around the ranch and making her grandfather’s memory proud, but at this moment she wanted to look sexy and desirable. There was something about these men, something that called to her soul. She needed to feel their hands on her skin and rub herself against them. She didn’t understand why but at the moment they were her world.
Derechos’s words seemed completely honest and she felt like she could lose herself in his dark gaze. He tipped his face forward and captured her lips in a blistering kiss. She pressed her fingers together and concentrated on keeping her balance when her knees threatened to buckle. A tongue traced her spine where it dipped slightly above her ass. Storm slowly slid his hands up her legs, caressing the backs of her knees and running his thumbs along the muscle of her inner thigh. Her pussy clenched and tingled in anticipation of his touch but at the last moment he slid his hands apart and over her thighs.
She moaned and angled her hips back, begging for his touch but instead Storm tightened his hands on her hips and lightly ran his tongue along the cleft that divided her ass. Gripping her hands together against the back of her head, she fought the urge to touch herself.
Derechos cupped her breasts in his hands, startling her. She hadn’t felt him undo her bra but her nipples were tight nubbins and pressing against his palms. “Let’s get you into the tub, Dawn.”
That was the last thing she wanted at the moment. Her body
felt hot and achy and she needed to feel more than some simple petting. Looking down, she saw Derechos’s hard cock jutting out from his body. Springy black curls surrounded the thick base, and her mouth watered as she wondered how deep she could suck him into her throat.
Storm stood up behind her guiding her arms down and sliding the straps of her bra off at the same time. She felt his thick erection against her back, a hot promise that she hungered for. “You’re living, breathing temptation, Dawn. We wanted to care for you and help you adjust but right now all I can think about is plunging my cock deep inside you and watch as you ride me like you rode your horse.”
Dawn’s stallion was a gentle soul who did whatever was asked of him. These two would be like riding a bucking bronco, all wild power between her legs. Her pussy flooded with her juices and she wanted nothing more than for one of them to take her. Thoughts like that chased away any bit of exhaustion she might have felt before.
Derechos picked her up high against his chest and she wrapped her legs around his waist. The dusting of black hair that ran down the center of his chest tickled her breasts. She rolled her hips, grinding her pussy against the ridges of his stomach muscles. He muttered a curse and anchored her against his body so she couldn’t move. His cock bounced against her as he turned and stepped into the water.
That bit of movement sent another wave of sensation through her pussy, melting her core further. Anticipation simmered in her like heat waves over the desert horizon. She looked over his shoulder at Storm. His eyes weren’t as dark as his brother’s but there was a dark amber rim around his iris that almost looked like it glowed in this light.
His face had similar strong angles, but where his lower lip wasn’t as full as Derechos’s, he had a sweet little cleft in his chin. His chest hair was light enough to tickle and she wanted to run her palms over his nipples, better yet her tongue. She wasn’t a prude and had met men who shared before, but hadn’t had the opportunity to fulfill this particular fantasy. As Derechos lowered them into the water, Storm’s cock came level with her face. He was every bit as thick as his brother with a nice upward curve to his length. Her mouth watered and she held Storm’s gaze, running her tongue over her lower lip.
Corralling Dawn [Midnighter Seductions 3] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) Page 4