by Becca Van
“Hi,” Gabe replied and snagged a beer from the fridge before Gary asked for it.
“Thanks.” Gary slugged half the bottle back before taking a breath.
“Rough day?” Gabe watched as Joni took a round of drinks out to a large group of men and although she smiled and laughed, not one ounce of humor touched her eyes.
“You could say that?”
“Want to talk about it?”
“Just got an escaped mental patient alert.”
“Shit! How did that happen? What were they institutionalized for?”
“Murder.”
“Fuck! How the hell did he escape?”
“One of the fucking staff left the delivery door unlocked. It was the patient’s exercise time and they must have noticed the door hadn’t clicked in. The only way he could have gotten out was in the back of one of those small freezer trucks.”
“Don’t they get searched before being let out?”
“No. A mental hospital’s not like a prison.”
“Maybe it should be.”
“Yeah.”
“And the person who left the door unlocked?”
“Fired.”
“Just as well.”
“There’s a problem, Gabe.” Gary scrubbed his hand over his face and then looked over his shoulder.
A knot of dread formed in Gabe’s chest when he saw Gary was looking at Joni. When he turned back he motioned to Tom and Nic to come closer.
“What’s going on?” Tom asked and listened as Gary quickly explained.
“So, I’m sure you’ve got every available cop out looking for this crazy,” Nic said.
Gary nodded. “Don’t let Joni go home.”
Gabe straightened, clenched his teeth and fists, and waited for Gary’s next words.
“The escaped patient is Joni’s father.”
“What?” Tom whispered and clutched the edge of the bar.
“Are you fucking kidding me?” Nic asked.
Gabe swallowed hard and drew in a deep breath. “Who’d he murder?”
“Her mother.”
Gabe’s ears started ringing and when he started seeing black spots realized he’d stopped breathing. All his dominant and protective instincts came roaring to life. There was no fucking way Joni was leaving his sight ever again. All this pussy footing around her because she was scared of her feelings was coming to an end. Right now! He wasn’t letting her run anymore. He was going to make her face them head on and by the time he’d finished with her she was going to be screaming all of their names.
Once he had his emotions back under tight control he looked at Gary.
“Tell us all of it.”
* * * *
Joni joked and laughed along with the group of guys she served but ever since she’d gone back home after spending the night in Gabe’s, Nic’s, and Tom’s home, she’d felt hollow inside. It didn’t seem to matter that she saw them every afternoon or night at work, nor that she spoke to them often.
There was a huge hole in her heart and she suspected it was because of them. It wasn’t like the loss of her mother. It was totally different and she didn’t know how to handle it. She glanced toward the bar and tensed when she saw Detective Gary Wade talking to all three of her employers.
That was another thing she couldn’t understand. Why did they keep coming in to work when there was more than enough staff to cover the work hours?
Whatever Gary was telling them couldn’t be good. Tom’s face seemed to drain of color and then he was leaning on the edge of the bar. Nic looked like he was ready to punch someone and Gabe looked so tense and stood almost statue-still, she wondered if he was about to snap.
When she heard a whistle, she hurried over to the far table and began to collect some of the empty glasses littering the table. Normally, Joni would be working behind the bar but one of the casuals she’d hired had called in sick, so she was taking up the slack.
She couldn’t believe how many people were now coming to the Three Comrades since Brent had added a little more sophistication to the specials menu. Even though she’d suggested that Tom, Nic, and Gabe didn’t need to come in anymore they didn’t listen and although she tried telling herself their presence had nothing to do with her, she was lying to herself. She sighed when she realized she’d just answered her earlier question to herself. Of course she knew why they hung around. She’d been lying to herself for the last couple of weeks and had almost made herself believe her own lies. She turned away from them and continued gathering dirty dishes.
After filling her tray with glasses she decided to put them in the kitchen dishwasher. The one behind the bar was fast but small, plus she wanted to avoid her employers as much as possible.
She’d emptied the clean dishes from it earlier and put them away, ready to be used for the quick wash cycle just in case. This was her third trip with a load full of dirty glasses and she figured two to three more and the machine would be full.
Joni closed the door after placing the last dirty glass in and nearly squealed when she slammed into a hard body when she turned. She’d been so intent on what she was doing and lost in thought she hadn’t heard anyone follow her into the kitchen.
She took two steps back and bit her lip when she bumped into the counter and looked into Gabe’s smoldering green eyes. He didn’t give her a chance to speak or move and didn’t say a word, but the next thing she knew she was in his arms and he was kissing her for all he was worth.
His mouth slanted over hers and his tongue pushed in to rub and dance with her own. Joni knew she should push him away, but she just couldn’t find the energy to do it. Instead she moaned and clung to him as her legs turned to rubber and arousal exploded out from her core, setting all her nerve endings on fire. How long they kissed, she didn’t know, nor care. All that mattered was he never stop.
When he finally broke the kiss she could only stare at him as she licked her lips and savored the taste of him on her tongue.
“This stops right now, Joni. We’re not letting you run anymore, honey. You belong with and to us and we’re not letting you deny it anymore.”
Joni shook her head and sidestepped, all the while keeping her eyes on Gabe. She felt another presence beside her just before hands landed on her shoulders and turned her around.
She stared into Tom’s hazel eyes unable to make herself look away and gasped when, as she watched his pupils dilate, his nostrils flared as he took a deep breath. “Gabe’s right, love. You’re ours.”
Tom wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her close and then he was kissing her. He tasted just as good as Gabe and Nic, but they all tasted different. Gabe was forceful and spicy, where Nic was zesty and convincing, but Tom was sweet and coaxing. It didn’t seem to matter which of them kissed her, she couldn’t stop herself from responding.
Each time one of them touched her, she found it harder and harder to ignore them and no matter how hard she tried to keep her desire for them under wraps it wasn’t working.
And then she didn’t want to anymore.
She was tired of fighting her feelings for them. Tired of keeping people at an arm’s length. Tired of being alone, but if she opened herself up too much she would probably end up all alone once more.
Joni groaned and twirled her tongue around Tom’s, savoring his wonderful taste on her buds and decided she would let whatever happened next, happen, but she would keep her heart out of the equation. There was no way she was setting herself up to be hurt ever again.
Tom slowed the voraciousness of the kiss down until he was sipping at her lips, until finally he lifted his mouth from hers. It didn’t matter that her heart went all a flutter when any of them looked at her with desire. She was going to keep things on a physical level, and hopefully, when they walked away from her, her heart would still be intact.
* * * *
Nic watched Joni as they all pitched in to clean up. He could tell from the way she snuck glances at Tom and Gabe and the color rushing into her cheeks that somethin
g significant had happened. He’d seen his friends follow her into the kitchen, and when Joni rushed out after a good ten minutes had passed, her face was so pink she looked like she’d caught the sun.
She’d glanced over at him and caught him watching, so he’d smiled and winked at her trying to make her feel comfortable, but he wasn’t sure he’d achieved that task when she looked away without responding and began collecting more dirty glasses.
She was currently on the far side of the room, wiping down tables and putting the cleaned chairs up so that when the cleaning staff came in all they needed to do was sweep, or vacuum and wash the tile floor.
“So, what happened?” He nodded toward Joni and then faced Tom and Gabe.
“We kissed,” Tom said.
“Both of you?”
“Yeah.” Gabe grinned and ran his fingers through his hair.
“And?” Nic waited because he knew there was more to tell.
“We told her she was ours and we weren’t letting her run anymore,” Tom answered.
Nic crossed his arms over his chest and raised an eyebrow in query. Although he probably looked cool, calm, and collected, he was far from it. His heart was beating so fast it felt like it was up in his throat, and even though he held his breath he wanted to gasp in lungfuls of air.
“She didn’t say anything,” Gabe explained.
“Shit!” Nic exhaled loudly and gripped the edge of the bar.
“But she didn’t say no,” Tom said.
“And her body language was acquiescent.”
“That doesn’t mean she agrees.” Nic sighed with frustration and, when he saw movement from the corner of his eye and noticed Joni was walking toward them, he gave a slight shake of his head.
“All finished.” Joni skirted the end of the bar and went to the small room off the other end where she placed the bucket and cleaning products. Nic wanted to grab her when she came back out and hoist her over his shoulder, rush her out to their truck, and take her home with them, but he needed to make sure she was on board with everything they wanted with her.
He moved to the side of the door and when she came out he reached out for her wrist and was thankful she didn’t flinch. Little by little, over the last week or so, he and his friends had touched her often, getting her used to having them close and familiarizing her with their contact.
“Are you ready to come home with us, Joni?” Nic asked and once more found himself holding his breath. God, I hate feeling so unsure around you, baby. Especially when I’m used to feeling confident, but I know you are the only woman who has ever meant so much to me, to us.
Joni licked her lips nervously and glanced over to Gabe and Tom, before looking down at where his hand was looped gently around her wrist. He shifted his hold on her and caressed the soft sensitive skin of her inner wrist and watched as the pulse at the base of her neck leapt and beat rapidly. He glanced down at her shirt to see her hard nipples poking at the material and when he perused down farther, taking in her flared yet slim hips and her shapely legs, he nearly groaned when she shifted and pressed her thighs together.
Nic couldn’t stand it another minute. He needed to feel her in his arms, to have her tongue in his mouth, her naked body beneath him as he surged his aching cock into her tight, wet cunt.
He released her wrist and waited for her to meet his gaze before snagging an arm around her waist and pulling her up against him.
“I want you, baby.” Nic didn’t give her a chance to reply. He quickly lowered his head and started kissing her hungrily. She responded without hesitation, moaning into his mouth as he pressed his tongue into and along hers. He drank her in and was ecstatic when she melted against him, her peaked nipples pressing into his chest making his hard cock twitch in his pants as it engorged to capacity.
When he felt her hips wiggle and her stomach press harder into his dick, he knew he had to stop before he picked her up, placed her on the bar, and took her right there. Their woman deserved a comfortable bed and silk sheets, because even though she was turning him on until he felt like he was on fire, he knew from her kisses and her unrestrained responses that she wasn’t very experienced and that only made him want her more.
There was no pretentiousness in her, no feminine wiles. With Joni, what you saw was what you got, which he loved, but he also knew there was so much more to her that they had yet to discover. And if he had anything to say in the matter, he would know her from the inside out, very, very soon. But first he needed to hear the words from those sexy lips.
Nic slowed the kiss and finally lifted his head to look into her passion-hazed eyes. Her lips were red and swollen from his kisses and she looked a little dazed, as if she couldn’t quite comprehend what was happening and that made him wonder if she was less experienced than he’d first thought. Made him wonder if she was actually untouched, but he wasn’t about to ask her if she was a virgin since it could embarrass her and send her running.
“We all want to make love with you, Joni. Will you come home with us and let us show you how good it could be between us?”
Chapter Nine
The lust coursing through her body couldn’t be denied. She’d spent the last couple of weeks trying to hide the way she felt whenever she was near Nic, Gabe, and Tom.
Yes, she could end up getting hurt, but she just couldn’t make herself walk away. She’d managed to survive her ex after he beat the hell out of her, so surely this would be much easier to deal with once things fell apart, because she knew without a shadow of a doubt these three men would never harm her physically or intentionally.
Her self-confidence as an alluring, sexual woman had taken a pounding and because she felt safe with these men she wanted to know if she could have sex and actually feel something. Was she so distrustful that her heart was frozen without any hope of thawing?
There was only one way to find out.
Joni took a deep breath, licked her dry lips, and finally answered, “Yes.”
Everything seemed to happen so fast after that, yet she felt like she moved in slow motion. She was ushered out the back door and found herself sitting in the passenger seat of her own car with Nic sitting beside her in the driver’s seat. She couldn’t even remember passing her keys over.
Nic must have seen how anxious she was, because he reached over, taking her hand in his, and glanced at her before looking back at the road. “Take a deep breath, baby. Everything is going to be fine. I promise.”
“I don’t know…” She paused because she wasn’t sure how to put her roiling thoughts into words that would be comprehensible.
“Breathe with me, Joni,” Nic said before taking a deep breath, holding it for a few seconds, and then exhaling. “Good. Again.”
Joni inhaled and exhaled each time Nic did and found herself relaxing into her seat as her heart rate slowed.
“There you go,” he said quietly and it took her a few moments to notice he was no longer driving and they were actually parked in the driveway of his and his friend’s home. “Stay right there, baby. I’ll come around and help you out.”
Normally, she would have opened her own door, but her legs were feeling a bit weak and shaky, and she needed a little more time to get herself together. Her car door opened and before she could blink she was being led inside. She’d expected Nic to lead her straight to one of the bedrooms but he guided her into the kitchen where Gabe and Tom were already.
“Come and sit down, sweetheart.” Gabe clasped her hand and tugged her over to the table where he pulled a chair out for her. Tom came over and placed a full wineglass on the table in front of her and Nic grabbed three bottles of beer and brought them over.
“We need to set up some rules, Joni.” Tom sipped from his beer.
“Rules? What rules?”
“We want to do a scene with you,” Gabe said.
“Um…”
“Just listen and if you have any questions at the end we will answer them. Okay?” Nic asked.
Joni nodded.
“You have all the tendencies of a submissive and we want to explore that with you,” Tom said. “But never, ever think we will hurt you.”
“There’s a difference between being hit to erotic pain,” Gabe began. “Having your bottom smacked brings all the blood to the surface and besides making your skin pink, which we all love, it can enhance pleasure exponentially.”
“You will always have a safe word,” Nic said. “If you are unsure and begin to get frightened we want you to say the word ‘yellow.’ We will pause with whatever we are doing and talk things over with you, but you will have to be open and honest with us. And believe me, we will definitely know if you are lying. We’ve all had a hell of a lot of experience reading body language and can see a lie from a mile away.”
“Can you do that, Joni?” Tom asked. “Can you open yourself up to us?”
Joni’s first instinct was to nod but she wasn’t really sure that was true. “I don’t know.”
Gabe shoved his chair back, rose to his feet, and walked around to her side of the table. He pulled her seat back and then scooped her up before sitting where she’d been and plonked her ass on his lap. He tugged on her braid, tilting her head back, and smiled down at her.
“Thank you for answering truthfully.” Gabe lowered his head and kissed her lightly on the lips. “I think that’s the first time you’ve ever been totally honest with us.”
Joni’s heart filled with warmth. She couldn’t believe that a little bit of praise made her feel so good and wanted more of it.
“You like being praised, don’t you, baby?” Nic asked, but the smile on his face let her know he already knew the answer, so she nodded.
“Good.” Tom clasped her hand. “In BDSM it is a Dominant’s job to free his sub from all the constrictions she places on herself.”
“What do you mean?” Joni took a sip of wine and sighed as the moisture coated her dry mouth and throat.
“You may think you can’t handle something, but it’s a Dom’s job to push a sub’s boundaries,” Nic explained.