Freedom to Trust [Freedom, Colorado 2] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting)

by Melody Snow Monroe

  “Mark, that’s amazing. You really made this?” Zane asked.

  He shrugged. “It’s not done.”

  “You should sell this, man. I’m telling you. You could make a fortune.” Zane sounded in awe.

  “He’s eleven, guys. Come Monday, he’ll be enrolling school, remember? There will time enough for him to enjoy his fame after he graduates.”

  Garth looked up at her. “Have you seen this?”

  Mark looked up at her with such hopeful eyes she never could say no. “Show me.” Not only was she honored Mark was willing to share his pride and joy, being included in the group warmed her soul.

  She set down the drinks then sat on the sofa arm. Zane wrapped an arm around her waist presumably so she wouldn’t fall. Being held so tightly in the past might have made her nervous, but not this time. For a change, her internal radar wasn’t going crazy. In fact, the opposite was happening. These men were true caregivers, and she enjoyed the closeness. Even better, they didn’t seem the type to pressure a woman into doing something she didn’t want to do—at least Garth didn’t. Despite his need to help others, Zane had an edge to him she found attractive, and her heartbeat slowed.

  After Mark showed them his game, he yawned several times and seemed to have a hard time keeping his eyes open. “Why don’t you take a shower and crawl into bed?”

  She expected to hear the usual whine children always gave, but instead he shut down the computer and stashed it in his backpack.

  His gaze bounced between the two men. “When I finish the game, you want to see it again?”

  “You bet, buddy.” Garth ruffled his hair and this time received a grin.

  Mark seemed happier than when she’d bought him the dog. “You want me to send in Jackpot when he comes home?”

  His eyes widened as if he’d almost forgotten about his new best friend. “Sure. Do you think I need to walk him?”

  All three of them laughed. “I bet he got enough exercise for the day,” Garth said.

  As soon as Mark disappeared down the hall, she texted Dani to see what was taking her so long. The second she pressed “send,” the doorbell rang. She waved the phone. “I get a psychic point.”

  “You sure do.” Zane grinned at her, and this time not only did her heart skip a beat but her pussy tingled.

  She’d never reacted so quickly to any two men in her life. She jumped up, rushed across the living room, and pulled open the door. Jackpot dashed in. He didn’t stop to lick or jump. In fact, he acted as if she didn’t exist. He made a beeline down the hall toward Mark’s room. “Hi, to you, too.”

  Dani peeked her head in then leaned back. She mouthed, “Way to go!”

  “Thanks for keeping him. I’ll call you tomorrow about the case.” She winked to let her know they’d be talking about a lot more than those two casino owners.

  When Nikki turned around, she thought the men might be putting on their jackets. Instead, Garth had the remote in his hand and had turned on the TV.

  Garth nodded to the set. “Hope you don’t mind if we hang out for a bit.”

  “No.” In all honesty, she didn’t want to be alone. Her thoughts were so jumbled she needed more time with them to see if she could sort out her confusing emotions.

  Hearing stories about their heroics from their sister and watching them interact with so many friends when they came to the bar had caught her interest. By nature, she didn’t easily share her feelings with people. To outsiders she might appear to be an extrovert, but by nature she was quite the opposite. She admired anyone who could easily draw out the best in a person.

  Zane patted the seat between them. “Come sit with us.”

  There was a perfectly good chair next to the sofa, but it didn’t have the best angle for the TV. Excuses, excuses. You want to be cocooned between these two hunky men.

  She plopped down between them, and when both of their thighs pressed against hers, she felt tiny. Immediately, her mind raced to what it would be like to make love with them at the same time. After listening to Dani go on and on about how amazing it was to have one man adore her breasts while the other drove her pussy wild, Nikki let her imagination go crazy. She’d had a lot of sex in her thirty-four years, but never with two men at once. She imagined that these two would be slow and gentle. They’d built the tension to a peak, then keep it at a simmer until they took her.

  “—preference?”

  She had to stop daydreaming. “Sorry. No. Anything you want.”

  They smiled and she knew she’d just agreed to some man movie. She must have groaned because Zane handed her the remote. “You choose then. Anything you want. We know you like to take control.”

  “What does that mean?”

  Zane held her gaze. “Just what it sounds like. You want to have the final say, or at least a say, in everything that happens to you.”

  He made it sound like she was odd. “Don’t you?”

  Zane shrugged. “It’s different with us. Men are built to be the aggressors.”

  Her blood pressure shot up. “Are you saying I’m not feminine because I, too, want the situation to be under control?” He’d hit a raw nerve. She’d been accused more than once of not acting like a girl. When the source of the ribbing came from her three older sisters, it hurt more. She didn’t wait for him to answer. “Do you have any idea what it’s like to go undercover and have to worry about every word that comes out of your mouth? That if I make one slip, the shit could hit the fan and I’d be dead, or worse, fired?” Her breaths were coming out too fast.

  “Whoa. Didn’t mean to stir up the beehive.” Garth placed a hand on her leg and she jumped.

  She was running on cop instinct right now.

  “How about you tell us all about it?” She wished he hadn’t sounded so interested.

  She’d not even told Dani the whole story about how she’d basically been booted off the force for her actions. It was too embarrassing. “You wouldn’t want to hear it.”

  Garth turned her toward him. She tried to tilt her head, but he gently grabbed her chin and held it tight. Normally, she would be squirming to get out of his grasp, but there was something almost primal in the way he was looking at her that made her still. The whole department debacle had been eating away at her for months now. Maybe telling them would make them realize she wasn’t worth their time.

  “Fine. I’ll tell you.”

  Garth let go and she leaned back. Zane handed her her drink. She drank from the bottle and exhaled. Zane muted the TV.

  “There was a man who I’ll call Mr. X. He ran a prostitution ring in Denver. We knew he was guilty, but we couldn’t prove it.”

  “So the department sent you undercover,” Zane said.

  “Yes. I wasn’t there as a prostitute, but as a person to bring the girls to this man.”

  Garth squeezed her leg. “I’m glad you didn’t have to sleep with the scum to get the information you needed.”

  She was, too. “Anyway, I got to know the girls quite well. They eventually trusted me enough to tell me things Mr. X made them do, how he got paid, and other important pieces of information.” She sipped more from her bottle. “I was so close to getting all of the proof I needed to bring down his entire operation, when I was near this bar one night and ran into Gwen, one of Mr. X’s women. Some asshole was assaulting her in the alley. Sure, I yelled for him to stop, but he ignored me. As I cop, I could have pulled my gun and shot him. But as Mr. X’s liaison, I was under strict orders from the department to maintain my cover. The man tore off Gwen’s top and had even dropped trou when I knew I couldn’t let it go down. The man would have raped Gwen if I hadn’t stopped him.”

  “I hope you shot the bastard,” Garth said.

  The loud blast and smell of gunpowder entered her dreams most nights. “I did.”

  “Good, so what was the problem?”

  He didn’t get it. “The cops came and one of the newbies who didn’t know I was working undercover, called me ‘detective.’ One thing l
ed to another. Gwen screamed that I was a snitch, and the next thing I knew I was being hauled in front of Internal Affairs.”

  “But you did the right thing, babe.”

  Her chuckle came out rueful. “I tried telling that to my boss, but he said that stunt cost them any hope of finding evidence against Mr. X. Because of me, he’ll be free to add more women to his stable.”

  “You wanted to help the woman. Your conscious drove you more than some rule.”

  He made it sound so innocent, like she should have been lauded instead of being condemned, when in fact she’d ruined months of prep work. “Gwen might have been considered small potatoes to the department, but to me she was a human being who didn’t deserve to be raped, no matter if she had sex several times a night for pay.”

  Zane moved closer. “I can’t believe they let you go.”

  She searched his words for pity or disgust but found none. “I broke the rules. They had to discipline me, but ultimately I chose to leave.” Her decision had taken weeks. “I’m not cut out to do what others tell me unless I believe it’s the right thing.”

  “Amen. I say, Denver’s loss is Freedom’s gain.”

  He couldn’t have said anything nicer. For some reason her mind stopped functioning the moment Zane leaned close and kissed her. She didn’t push him away. Instead, she moved closer and drank him in.

  From behind, Garth clasped his hands on her waist and held her still. She should have been embarrassed kissing one man in front of another, but she wasn’t. They were so at ease with each other that she believed she could say or do anything and they wouldn’t balk.

  Zane broke the kiss. “I’ve been wanting to kiss you for weeks.”

  Really? “Weeks? You barely said anything to me at the bar.” Usually she was good at spotting pick-up lines, but he sounded sincere.

  “Yes, weeks.” He grinned and she actually felt herself swoon, and if there was one thing she never did, it was swoon. “I have a confession,” Zane said.

  “What?”

  “I made Ashley tell me all about you. She’s quite a fan of yours.”

  She liked Ashley a lot. “I like her, too. She’s gentle but aggressive if that’s possible.”

  Zane laughed. “Don’t we know it. She has quite a stubborn streak, but there’s no one more loyal than my sister. If she vouches for you, then it’s good enough for us.”

  She had no idea all of this subterfuge had been going behind her back. “Why didn’t you come over and join us for our happy hour?”

  “Ashley said you were the cautious type, and that you wouldn’t have gone out with us if we’d asked you the first time we met you, so we decided to let you get used to our presence.”

  Never had anyone gone to such lengths to know her. “I’m impressed.”

  “When we want something, we have infinite patience.”

  Garth twisted her around. “My turn. All this talk makes me want you more.”

  Her head swelled. Garth clasped her face and kissed her. Only his wasn’t the overly polite one Zane gave her. Garth went in for the full-blown-all-in kiss. He ran his tongue over her lips begging for entrance. Completely taken by him, she opened her mouth, and when their tongues touched, her pussy went wild. She’d never been an instant lust type of girl, but these men brought out something in her. Since Garth seemed to be waiting for her to explore his mouth, she took advantage of his generosity and darted her tongue in his mouth. The tang of sweet beer mixed with tart tomato sauce stimulated her taste buds. When she swirled her tongue around his, he groaned.

  Only then did she realize that Zane had placed his hand high on her thigh. He kneaded her leg, inching his way closer to her pussy. These men weren’t just here to kiss her tonight. They were testing her to see if they could convince her to make love with them.

  You want this.

  She’d held herself distant from people for too long and yearned to find true love, but her heart had been splintered many times by men who couldn’t handle what she believed in and how she acted. Blood pounded in her ears and Nikki pulled back.

  Garth’s eyelids were half closed and his breaths were coming out fast, too. This hadn’t been an ordinary kiss for him either. She stood and moved away from the sofa to collect her thoughts. To her surprise, neither man said anything.

  She turned around and faced them. They lifted their gaze and held it steady. A small smile spread across Garth’s face, as if he was enjoying her conflicting emotions. He wrapped his hands behind his head and spread out his legs while Zane crossed an ankle over his knee. Both looked like they belonged in her house.

  Her throat suddenly turned dry. “I’m not very good at this.”

  “At what, babe?” Garth lowered his arms.

  Good question. “At letting go.”

  He smiled. “That’s okay. You’re a control freak who’s afraid to trust. We get that, but we want the chance to change your mind.”

  Did he have to shoot right to the point? “I might be willing to let you try to change my mind.” No guarantees they’d succeed, but she was tired of having to make all the decisions in her life. It would be nice to share some of life’s burdens with someone else—or with two someones.

  Zane leaned forward. “Hell, babe. If you need to be the one to take off our clothes and suck our cocks, we’ll give you all the control you need.” He grinned. “That is, the first time.”

  Her heart pounded so hard, she had a difficult time catching her breath. Was she ready to do this?

  Chapter Six

  “Well, sugar?” Garth hoped he sounded upbeat, because on the inside he was dying.

  He’d used every ounce of control to stop at the kiss. His hands ached to stroke her luscious breasts, and he yearned to sink his cock into her tight ass. It wasn’t just that she was hot. Larger women turned him on, but it was the way her desperation poured out of her when she thought something bad had happened to Mark that convinced him she was the woman for them. The road would be winding and rough at times, but if they could get her to trust them, they’d have a beautiful relationship. The biggest hurdle was Zane’s need to make her his submissive. Nikki would balk at that.

  She waved her hands. “Take off your clothes then.”

  Garth laughed. “That’s not how it works. You have to undress us.”

  To prove he wasn’t going to help, he once more placed his hands behind his head. Zane stretched his arms out along the back of the sofa and smiled.

  She looked down the hallway. “We can’t have sex in the living room. Mark could come out at any moment.”

  Why hadn’t he thought of that? Because he’d never had a kid around. “How about taking this to your bedroom then?”

  She shook her head. “It’s next to Mark’s room.”

  The house only looked to be a two-bedroom. “Can’t you be quiet?” Her mouth opened just as he expected it would. He held up his hand. “You could always wear a gag.” His comment was meant to shock, but it also was a way to test her comfort zone with their lifestyle.

  Her chin notched up and her jaw tightened. “I can control myself.”

  Damn. He hadn’t meant to piss her off. Some of her sexual tension seemed to have diffused, though his hadn’t. Her feistiness turned him on even more. Garth grabbed his crotch to adjust his balls, and her gaze shot straight to his hand. Good. There was interest.

  He stood. “How about you show us your bedroom?”

  “It’s a mess.”

  Was that an excuse or the truth?

  Zane stood and stepped forward. He held out his hand. “We don’t judge, babe.”

  To his delight, she placed her hand in his brother’s and led him down the hall. Garth trailed behind and let his imagination run wild. They hurried past Mark’s room and into the next one. When he entered, he stopped. She wasn’t kidding. Not only wasn’t the bed made, but her clothes were strewn on top as if she’d tried on a dozen outfits before going to the casino. He catalogued her need to look good.

  “See? I
t’s a mess.”

  Garth stepped behind her. “I don’t see anything. Would you feel better if we turned off the lights and went all braille?”

  She laughed and the sound rumbled down to his gut and made him even harder, if that was possible.

  “Sounds wonderful.”

  The relief told him another interesting fact about her. She was self conscious about her body. He didn’t know why, but that didn’t matter right now. He added another checkbox to his list of things to do. He and Zane would need to make sure she learned to love herself.

  Zane stepped over to the entryway and flipped off the lights. He then closed the door and pressed in the lock. They’d probably be okay even if he left it ajar, since the attached bath sat next to Mark’s room, but Zane would want to rule out any chance of Mark wandering in for a good-night hug. “All set.”

  The drapes hung open, letting in a bit of moonlight, and it was enough to see Nikki standing at attention with her hands behind her back. His heart ached for her.

  “Come here, sugar, and let Uncle Garth relax you.”

  He held his breath not sure how she’d respond. He’d broken many a colt on his daddy’s ranch. To him, Nikki was just as raw and scared as any wild animal. She might have been a tough cop, but as a woman, she was totally fragile, and they needed to treat her with care.

  * * * *

  Maybe this wasn’t a good idea. Nikki always knew the man she slept with for a long time before jumping in the sack, but these twins pulled her in a new direction, one she was powerless to resist.

  Her feet seemed to move on their own as she walked right into Garth’s arms. As if on autopilot, she drew her arms around his neck. He tugged her shirt from her pants and slid his hands up her back. His warmth and care convinced her she wouldn’t be stopping him any time soon. When he massaged her shoulder blades, she moaned. His kiss this time came out gentle as if he was afraid she’d bolt.

  She leaned back. “I thought you said I could take off your clothes.”

  He lowered his head and nibbled her neck. “You go right ahead. Don’t let anything we do stop you.”