by Leah Brooke
Grant shared a look with Quinn, and then eyed Barrett, who only had a drink when he was upset about something.
Barrett met Kendra’s gaze. “I talked to him. He’s already got plans drawn up for his resort. He says that everyone has a price, and although he respects us for holding out for more, he absolutely, positively won’t go above eleven million.”
Mason handed Barrett the glass of whiskey on his way back to his chair. “Don’t these people know how to take no for an answer?” He moved toward Kendra, brushing a hand over her hair before lowering himself into the chair on the opposite side of the fireplace to sip his own drink, his gaze lingering on Kendra.
Barrett stretched his legs out in front of him, his gaze softening as it settled on her. “Don’t worry about it. We’ll get it all sorted out.” He took a small sip of his whiskey, his jaw clenching. “In the meantime, one of us needs to stay with her at all times.”
“Absolutely.” Grant rubbed Kendra’s back, the exhaustion in her eyes tugging at him.
She looked like she wanted to cry, or scream, and only willpower kept her from doing either. Looking at each of them, she shook her head, her eyes clouded with disbelief. “I can’t believe this is happening. Things like this just don’t happen. Whoever’s doing this wouldn’t really hurt me, would they? It doesn’t make any sense. What could they gain by hurting me?”
Grant noticed with no small sense of pride and possessiveness that the more he rubbed her back, the more she relaxed, slumping more and more against him. “We have no idea what they’re thinking, and we’re not willing to take the chance that they might hurt you. Are you?”
“No.” She yawned, seeming surprised by it and stiffened. “I hate this.”
By unspoken agreement, all four men stopped speaking as the movie continued, each of them more interested in watching Kendra than the Western.
As the minutes went by and her eyelids got heavier, Quinn kept turning the volume down in small increments.
Grant eased his arm around her as her eyes closed and she slumped completely against him. He waited, not daring to move, smiling faintly when her breathing evened out.
Still rubbing her feet, Quinn turned the volume down again until the sound became nothing but a low background noise and turned to Barrett. “Okay. So tell us the rest.”
Staring at Kendra, Barrett sighed. “He’s a ruthless son of a bitch. He’s one of those people who thinks he can get whatever he wants just by throwing money at it.”
Grant didn’t realize that he’d tightened his hold on Kendra until she moaned slightly, frowning in her sleep as she squirmed on his lap. Forcing himself to relax his hold, he laid a hand on her uninjured thigh, struggling to come to grips with his growing feelings for her.
She was everything he’d ever wanted in a woman.
Staring down at her nestled against his chest, he felt another surge of possessiveness, and fury that someone dared to threaten her. “I could kill whoever shot at her. I don’t know what I’d do if anything happened to her. I never wanted to care about a woman again, but I just can’t help it.”
“Same goes. I’ve fallen in love with her, something I swore I’d never let happen again. It’s confusing enough without all this trouble.” Barrett’s jaw clenched. “There’s more.” Getting to his feet, he moved to the window, looking out into the darkness. “When I hung up from that asshole, I called Sid. He’s been trying to get in touch with Edelson to ask him some questions. Seems Edelson’s disappeared.”
Quinn’s eyes narrowed. “I don’t like that at all. We don’t know if he’s dead somewhere or if he’s on his way here. There’s too many unknowns.”
Mason glanced at Kendra, his gaze softening as it moved over her. “And all of this came out of nowhere. I don’t like the arrogance of these people. How the hell do they think we’re going to be able to get us to sell if we don’t want to sell?”
Grant stilled. Looking at the others, he saw the same sense of dawning alarm in their eyes. “They’re going to try to use her to get to us, aren’t they?”
“Fuck.” Mason jumped to his feet, wincing when Kendra whimpered in her sleep. “Threatening her, they got us to show our hands. They wanted to see if we’d protect her. They wanted to see what she means to us.”
Quinn nodded, sliding his hand protectively up Kendra’s leg. “I agree. They’ll give us time to get more attached to her, and then when we let our guard down, they’ll strike.”
Grant didn’t even want to think about someone getting their hands on her. “And we don’t know how much time they’ll give us, so we can’t let our guard down for a minute.”
“We’ve already seen that they’re impatient.” Turning from the window, Barrett moved back to the chair. “How the hell would they know that we have a soft spot for her?”
Looking down into Kendra’s sleeping face, Grant took her hand in his, studying her slender fingers. “On the day my divorce was final, I promised myself that I’d never get emotionally involved with another woman again. This one sucked me in somehow. What the hell is it about her?”
Mason smiled, shaking his head. “She’s sexy as hell, but cute at the same time. Sweet. I don’t know. I want to fuck her senseless, and put her in my pocket to keep her safe. I haven’t been able to sleep since she got here.”
Quinn got to his feet, his movements brusque as he turned away from her and went to the window. “We’ve been alone here too long. We’ve never had a woman in the house before.” He waved his hand in the air. “Hell, we rescued her, so of course we feel responsible for her.”
Grant wondered if Quinn realized how vehemently he objected, or how, at the first hint of caring about her, he’d quickly distanced himself.
He glanced at Barrett, who said nothing, but the hunger in eyes spoke volumes.
Gathering her in his arms, Grant got to his feet, holding her protectively against his chest. Narrowing his gaze, he started toward the stairs, needing to be alone with Kendra in his arms. “She’s worn out. I’m taking her to bed.”
They cared about her. Every one of them wanted her in his bed, even Quinn.
Grant had seen the look in Quinn’s eyes when he’d held her. He’d seen the way Quinn couldn’t seem to keep his hands off of her.
Quinn had probably never rubbed a woman’s feet in his life.
She’d gotten to each of them, and it would be interesting to see how long his friend would be able to hold out against her.
Chapter Eleven
Kendra sighed in bliss at the delicious warmth and stretched, feeling better than she had in a long time.
“Sorry, honey. I didn’t mean to wake you.”
She stilled at Grant’s low rumble, smiling at the memory of falling asleep in his arms.
Still smiling, she forced her eyes open and blinked, struggling to see him in the dark room. Seeing only his silhouette outlined by the light from the connecting bathroom, she sat up. “What’s going on?”
She kept her voice, husky with sleep at just above a whisper, not wanting to the others to hear.
Grant moved closer, the bed shifted as he knelt on the edge of it and leaned toward her. “Nothing, honey. It’s time for me to get up. I wanted you to sleep in.”
Kendra’s breath caught at the slide of his hand over her cheek and into her hair, her nipples beading at the feel of his warm breath against her lips. With a moan, she gripped his shoulders as he swept her arms supporting her aside and tumbled her to her back. A moan escaped at the feel of warm skin beneath her palms, and the hard muscle underneath it that bunched and shifted as he moved over her and covered her body with his.
Grant touched his lips to hers, nibbling gently. “Damn, honey, you feel so good. Warm with sleep. I’ve been breathing in the scent of you and holding your softness against me all night long. You make me want things I never thought I’d want again, Kendra. You make me crazy to have you.”
Touched by his admission, and smiling at the warm wave of desire that flowed through her, K
He tasted of mint, and smelled of warm, clean male, a scent that sent her senses even higher.
Self-conscious, she pushed against him, breaking off their kiss. “Wait. I haven’t brushed my teeth.”
Grant groaned, shoving the covers aside and sliding his hand to her bottom, his other clenching on the back of her neck. “You’re delicious.” He brushed his lips against hers again, the hunger in his touch, his voice, and in his kiss added fuel to the fire he’d already started inside her. “You taste like woman.”
Now that he’d uncovered her, Kendra remembered that she wore only one of Grant’s large cotton T-shirts and her panties. Sliding her hands into his hair, she arched against him, sucking in a breath at the friction against her nipples. “You feel so good, Grant. God, you make me feel so sexy.”
Mortified that she’d actually blurted that, she buried her burning face against his shoulder when he chuckled.
“Good. You are sexy. Sexy as hell. Every time I look at you, my cock gets hard, and all I can think about is being inside you.”
Sipping at her lips, Grant slid his hand to her belly, his fingers sliding over her skin and working their way higher. “Very sexy. That combination of sweetness and attitude drives me crazy.”
“I’m not sweet. Oh, God. Grant.” Her stomach muscles clenched under his touch, quivering as he slid his hand higher to cup her breast. Her nipples ached with the need to be touched, so much so that the lightest brush of his thumb over her left one made her cry out and jolt.
She tried to squeeze her thighs together against the rush of heat to her slit, but Grant didn’t allow it, using his own knees to push hers wide as he lifted his weight off of her and straightened.
He pulled the T-shirt over her head, tossing it aside with a growl before covering her body with his again and taking her mouth with a firm possessiveness that left her reeling.
Kendra melted under his touch, desire making her body languorous and trembling under his hands. The tingling in her nipples had her rubbing against him, moaning into his mouth as he cupped her breast again and worked his thumb back and forth over her nipple.
“Oh. Oh. Oh.” Every stroke of his thumb sent an answering jolt of need to her system, one that had her writhing against him, the feel of his hard cock against her thigh driving her wild.
Struggling to rid him of the towel and to push her slit against his cock, she whimpered in distress when he grabbed her hands and pressed them to the mattress on either side of her head and broke off their kiss, his low growl exciting her more.
“I’m trying not to hurt your thigh, damn it. Be still.”
“I don’t want to be still. I want you.”
“Christ, I want you, too. Easy.” With another groan, he lowered his head to her breast. “The last thing I want to do is hurt you.”
Kendra cried out at the feel of his teeth scraping over her nipple. “You’re killing me. I don’t give a shit about my thigh. Oh, God.” The feel of his hot mouth on her nipple made her jolt, the sharp stab of pleasure much more than she’d expected. “Graaaant!” Threading her hands through his hair, she held him to her. “I can’t believe this is happening. Oh, God, that feels so good. Tell me I’m not dreaming.”
The change in herself stunned her as the demands of her body made her even more aggressive.
The knock at the door startled her. “Is she okay?” Barrett’s deep baritone came from the other side of the door.
Grant lifted his head, staring down at Kendra. “Come see for yourself.”
Kendra’s pulse leapt, the sound of the door opening and closing again sending her arousal soaring.
Wrapping her legs around Grant’s thighs, she cried out at the sharp tug to her nipple, her eyes flying open when the bed dipped on her left.
Releasing her nipple, Grant lifted his head, smiling down at her, his handsome features tight with need. “As you can see, she’s fine.” Rising to his knees, he unhooked her legs from around his thighs, and used his legs to spread hers wide. Slipping his thumbs into the material at the sides of her damp cotton panties, he smiled again and tugged, the sound of ripping as he tore them from her thrilling her. Tossing the material aside, he ran a hand over her belly and mound. “She’s better than fine. She’s perfect. Her nipples are amazingly sensitive. She responds to everything.”
“Is that a fact?” Barrett’s deep voice came from somewhere above her head as a hot callused hand cupped her breast, kneading gently. “Firm and soft, too.”
Each time one of them touched her, the pleasure made her dizzy.
Their hands had a different feel to them, a different rhythm, and the combination sent her senses soaring.
The fingers of one of Barrett’s hands sank into her hair, holding her steady while the other worked magic on her nipple.
Writhing at the pleasure, she couldn’t hold back her moans at the feel of Grant’s hands moving over her thighs and hips.
Expecting him to cover her body with his again, Kendra reached for him, her breath catching when he chuckled and slid lower, lifting her thighs over his wide shoulders and spreading her folds. “I’ve been lying next to you all night thinking about doing this.”
She barely had time to absorb his words before he touched the tip of his tongue to her slit. Crying out at the sharp pleasure, Kendra bucked against him.
She’d never felt anything so incredible. The hot friction of his tongue against her swollen and aching clit was like nothing she’d ever experienced, and made her body shake with pleasure so extreme, it scared her. Her clit seemed to swell even more under his tongue, the hot tingling radiating from it making her entire body bow.
She no longer controlled her own body. Everything centered at the tongue at her clit, the brush of a callused thumb back and forth over her nipple making the pleasure even more intense.
“Grant! Oh, God.” Her thighs trembled under his hands, a fine sheen of perspiration coating her skin at the rush of heat that washed over her.
His hands tightened on her hips, keeping her from writhing the ways he wanted to, and with a growl, he lifted his head. “Be still.”
Crying out again when he began to suck her clit, Kendra gripped the bedding and thrashed her head from side to side, losing herself in the pleasure. “I can’t. Oh, God, I can’t.”
The tingling grew hotter and sharper, the pressure inside her building. “It’s so good. So—oh!” The rush of pleasure stunned her, the strong swell of it taking over her body completely.
Hot waves of it washed over her, making it difficult to breathe, her entire body controlled by the friction against her clit.
She wanted it to go on forever. “Oh, God! It’s so good. So good.”
Barrett’s deep voice rumbled over her. “Beautiful.” He bent to touch his mouth to her nipple, kissing it and running his tongue over it. “She’s made for coming, isn’t she?”
Lifting his head, he touched his lips to hers. “We’re just going to have to make sure you come often, aren’t we, baby?”
As the pleasure crested and began to fade, the friction against her clit became unbearable. “No. No more. Too much.”
With a deep groan, Grant lifted his head and slid up her body, gathering her close as Barrett moved away. “So fucking incredible. So real. So sweet.”
Kendra wrapped her legs around him, her pussy clenching and her thighs coated with her juices. “I can’t stop shaking.” Her body jolted when his cock brushed over her clit. “Grant. Oh, God.”
Bracing himself on his elbows, Grant eased himself over her, running his fingertips through her hair, just as the door opened and closed again. “Easy, honey.”
Pressing her heels against his muscular thighs, she lifted into him. “I don’t want to be easy. God, I’ve never felt this way before. I’m tingling everywhere.”
Grant scraped his teeth over her bottom lip. “Let’s see if we can make you tingle some more.”
Sucking in a breath at the feel of his cock pressing against her pussy opening, Kendra stiffened at the heat and thickness as it began to enter her. “Oh, God. It’s so big. So hot.”
The muscles in Grant’s arms bunched as they tightened around her, his callused hand creating a delicious friction as it slid beneath her. Lifting her bottom into his shallow thrusts, he groaned her name. “Christ, the things you say, Kendra. You’re so tight, honey. So wet. So fucking sweet. You feel so good. You make me feel so damned good.”
Thrilled at the feel of his body tensing against hers, Kendra ran her hands over every inch of hard muscle she could reach. “I’m not sweet. I’ve never been sweet. I don’t want to go slow. I want to come again. Yes. More. Harder.”
With every thrust, she clenched on him, her breath coming out in ragged moans as his cock stretched her pussy, forcing her to accommodate his steely thickness.
Grant’s growl seemed to vibrate over her skin, increasing the awareness in her pussy, clit and nipples. “Tough, are you? Christ, woman, you’re killing me.”
His thrusts came faster, and so deep, his cock hammering into her, and giving her the hot friction she needed to go over.
Crying out, she gripped him tightly as warm ripples of pleasure washed over her, her body shaking so hard she had trouble keeping her grip on his shoulders. “Oh! Oh, God. So good.”
Grant groaned, thrusting deep and stilling above her, his big body trembling as he came, his hard cock pulsing inside her. “Fuck, woman. You’re gonna kill me.”
His voice, so raw and deep, made her smile, the intimacy in it filling her with a wonderful sense of belonging.
Holding him to her to absorb the feeling, she smiled when his arms tightened around her.
Smiling, he brushed his lips against hers before touching them to her hair. “It sure as hell was.”
With another groan, he withdrew, rolling to her side with a sigh and lifting her injured thigh over his. “It would have been more amazing if I could have taken the time with you I wanted to. I was just too hungry for you, honey.”
-->