by Tara Rose
Dakota stopped in the act of bringing her spoon to her mouth. “What did they do to her?”
Bramwell’s expression grew dark and angry. “Nearly raped and killed her, but Jarrett and Colton found her in time. Dalton and Willoughby were executed, and we didn’t know this at the time, but Dalton had written down names and dates in a journal. His brother, Archer, another prince, took it from his room after Dalton was thrown into the dungeon, not realizing what it contained. He had never shared his brother’s treasonous views, but was only trying to protect the man’s memory.”
“What was in the journal?”
“Enough details that our king was able to ferret out every guard and Council member within this castle who sided with Enfield to try to undermine us from within.”
“But they are still searching the countryside for more,” said Kelton, “and some believe the threat inside the castle may still exist.”
A nasty shiver ran down Dakota’s spine. “How can any of you be certain who to trust?”
“We can’t.”
“Did other women from my world cross over in the past eighteen months besides Abigail and Chelsea?”
“Yes. Brenna crossed over about sixteen months ago and she, too, is with child. She was chosen by Jarrett’s brother, Jaxon, and by Colton’s brother, Parker. Her maid, Molly, was kidnapped and taken to a village near the Wastelands called Wexler, where many are sympathetic to no one, including our king.”
“The Wastelands lie beyond our southernmost borders,” said Bramwell. “They are where those who are banished are sent, and the people who live there would just as soon kill any member of the royal family as look at them. An apothecary named Alfred was from Wexler, and his cousin, Lawrence, was one of the servants loyal to Enfield. But I’m getting ahead of myself.”
“That’s all right. This is a complicated story, but also fascinating. I appreciate your telling it to me.”
They exchanged a cryptic glance again, and Bramwell gave her a sly smile. “You aren’t engaging us in all this talk to avoid having to deal with why you’re here, are you?”
She nearly dropped her spoon this time. Dakota studied them both for a few seconds, choosing her words. “Let me put it this way. I’d feel a lot more comfortable discussing my role here if I knew you a little better, and if I understood your history and politics.”
He gave her a big smile, which lit up his dark eyes. He really was gorgeous. They both were. This wouldn’t be easy to deal with because she kept picturing them naked. She was either more sexually deprived than she’d realized, or it was the atmosphere in here. It conjured up images of surreptitious, forbidden romance.
“That’s a very diplomatic answer.”
“Thank you.” She bit her lip as something occurred to her. “Should I call you both ‘Sire’ as your servants did?”
“They are our valets,” said Kelton, “and we won’t ask you to call us ‘Sire’ unless others are around, or we ask you to do so during sex or play.”
Heat rose to her face as his gaze raked over her body. Play, as in kinky sex? Was what he meant? They had told her the class of princes to whom they belonged enjoyed kinky sex, and lots of it.
Bramwell cleared his throat. “I suppose I’d better finish this story or she’ll never hear the rest of it. Three princes who were triplets, named Carleton, Channing, and Cheever, tried to claim Brenna when she ran away an hour after crossing over, but—”
“Wait a minute.” Dakota cut him off. “What do you mean they tried to claim her? I thought you said Jaxon and Parker had chosen her?”
Bramwell and Kelton both gave her a dark look, and Kelton scooted his chair closer. “Remember how we told you we don’t only choose the women from your world for sexual partners? In claiming them, we also pledge to protect and care for them. Brenna should never have been able to sneak away like that. She was trying to return to the hall of portraits even though she’d been told she couldn’t go home through one of them.”
“Because Jaxon and Parker hadn’t realized she’d done that,” said Bramwell, “the triplets had a right to challenge their claim. The triplets were not princes that any woman from your world would have wanted to be with.”
“What happened when they challenged the claim?” whispered Dakota.
Kelton and Bramwell exchanged a glance she couldn’t interpret, and then Kelton scooted his chair closer still to her. “Jaxon and Parker had to consummate their claim on her in front of a witness, or it would have gone to the Council to decide. At that time, no one knew how many of the Council members actually sided with the triplets and their loyalty to Enfield. Based on what we now know, it’s likely they would have given Brenna to the triplets.”
“Consummate their claim in front of a witness?” That was pretty much the only thing she’d heard. “You mean like in ancient England?”
Kelton grinned, and once again her body responded to the seductiveness of it. What power did these two possess that they could evoke such a reaction in her? She should be terrified right now, especially after learning of all the treachery going on.
“I don’t know about ancient England, but one of the guards stood in the room while they each had sex with her. He then had to return to the Council and assure them the deed had been done.”
“Wow.” She certainly didn’t want the same thing happening to her. It would be too humiliating. She was actually stuck here, in whatever this was, with these two seductive, charming, handsome men. She still couldn’t accept it as real, but all her senses told her it was. What the hell was she going to do?
Dakota tried to imagine what Mark and Jared would say right now, but the realization that she’d never see them again was too painful, so she asked Bramwell and Kelton to continue their story. She didn’t want them to see her upset and ask why. She couldn’t think about what her friends and family might do when they discovered her missing.
“Brenna’s maid, Molly, was kidnapped by the triplets when Molly refused their advances, and they tried to make it look like Brenna not only had a hand in it, but then was in contact with Molly. They also tried to implicate Jaxon and Parker in acts against the king, but their plot was discovered when guards were sent to Alfred’s home in Wexler. He was a former apothecary who had made poison for the triplets, and then went back to Wexler to live after he left the castle. Unfortunately, Molly had been poisoned by the triplets and was dead. The guards also learned that Alfred hadn’t lived in that home for years.”
“Oh, how sad. Why did this apothecary make poison for the triplets?”
“The triplets had poisoned women from your world that they’d chosen,” said Bramwell. “Three of them in five years.”
She swallowed hard. What a horrible fate. First they fall into another universe, and then three princes kill them. “Why?”
“Because they were evil men who used those women for nothing but their perverse pleasure. When the women they’d chosen became suspicious of their activities, or tried to run away, they got rid of them.”
“Those suspicions had been voiced by princes Roland and Denver, among others,” said Kelton, “but no one could ever prove it. Certain events came to be known once Molly’s body was found that made our king realize the triplets had done what they’d been accused of, and had conspired to try to frame Brenna, Jaxon, and Colton. The triplets were executed.”
“Are Brenna, Jaxon, and Colton all right?”
“Yes,” said Kelton, giving her his sexy grin again. “They’re fine. Brenna will bear her child in approximately five months.”
“After Brenna, was Chelsea was the next to cross over?”
“She crossed over fifteen months ago, and was chosen by princes Roland, the king’s nephew, Denver, and Archer, Dalton’s brother. She gave birth to twins five months ago. A boy and a girl whom they named Austin and Angela.”
“That’s so cute. Did anything happen to her before that?”
“Yes,” said Bramwell. “She was kidnapped when Lawrence, Denver’s valet a
nd her maid, Anne, tried to find the journal they knew that Archer had in his room. It turned out the two were secretly married and both still had ties and communication from Wexler. They were apprehended in a nearby village called Canfield, and both were killed by castle guards.”
“Why did they kidnap Chelsea?”
The two exchanged a worried glance, and then finally Kelton spoke. “There was a plot to kill all the women from your world once it was discovered they came here through the portraits. The same individuals wanted to burn the portraits and kill the artists, assuming no more could then be painted.”
She shook her head as shivers ran down her spine. “It seems to me that a lot of people are worried about those paintings.”
Bramwell surprised the hell out of her by placing an arm around her shoulder and pulling her close. “Don’t you worry, though. Kelton and I aren’t going to let anything happen to you. But we hope you can see now how important it is that you not try to go anywhere without one of us.”
She sighed out loud and glanced around. This couldn’t be real, but it was. His arm around her shoulder was real, as was the food she’d eaten and the tea she’d drunk. The sofa on which she sat was real. The guards and valets were real. She was here now, and they’d told her she couldn’t go back. If that was true, she had no other choice but to accept it.
She was meant to have sex with these two. Under different circumstances, Dakota would welcome such an erotic experience. She’d never had sex with two men at once, but she’d certainly fantasized about it often enough. She could do worse than these two, that was for sure. They were quite breathtaking up close like this.
While she was formulating questions in her mind about their expectations from her in bed, the doors opened again. River bowed. “Sire, your rooms are ready.”
Chapter Five
Dakota rose to follow Kelton and Bramwell into the hallway they’d been in earlier. Bramwell pointed toward a cluster of guards. “They will be here at all times. All of our suites are guarded now. You cannot come out here and go past them without one of us, so don’t even bother trying.”
She nodded. He’d already said as much in the other room when they had explained why she shouldn’t walk around unaccompanied. Based on what little they’d told her, she had no intentions of trying. Poison? Kidnapping? Near rape? No thank you. She’d take her chances with Kelton and Bramwell.
Kelton took her hand. “Back this way.” He led her into the sitting room, and both River and Houston sprinted ahead to open the first door on the left. Kelton’s hand was warm in hers, and she allowed herself to relax a bit as he gave her hand a tiny squeeze.
Houston opened the door. “This is Prince Kelton’s room.” Then he led them to the next door and opened it. “This is Miss Dakota’s room. I’m afraid, Sire, we’re still waiting on assignment of a maid for her.”
Had she heard Houston correctly? “A maid?”
“That can wait until morning,” said Bramwell. “We’ll help her with whatever she needs tonight.”
“Why do I need a maid?”
Houston opened the third door. “This is Prince Bramwell’s room, and that fourth door leads to our quarters.”
“Very good,” said Bramwell. “You may go and organize your quarters now. We’ll ring if we need anything.”
Dakota waited until the valets had left the room again. “I don’t need a maid.”
“Yes, you do,” said Kelton, giving her hand another squeeze. “The dresses and corsets are impossible to get in and out of by yourself.”
“Dresses and corsets?”
He grinned. “What did you think you’d wear?”
“I hadn’t really thought about it.”
“Then again, she can walk around naked,” said Bramwell, winking at her. “That would fine with me.”
“Same here,” said Kelton. He looked down into her eyes, and Dakota’s breath caught in her throat as she glimpsed the lust in the depths of his expression. Would it be so terrible to give herself to these two?
She had no reason to doubt what they’d told her. It was far too elaborate a story to have made up simply to seduce her. And if they had lied, the servants and guards were all in on it, too, which didn’t seem plausible. “I really can’t go back home, can I?”
He shook his head, and then he brushed a finger along her jawline and up to her lips. He caressed them, his fingertip soft and feathery. “No. You cannot. We chose you, Dakota. We want you to stay here with us.”
Kelton surprised the hell out of her by pulling her into his arms. She gasped as his rock-hard erection pressed against her abdomen. His arms were strong and comforting, and she was mesmerized, gazing into his beautiful blue eyes. “We want to make love to you. Let us do that. Accept us as your princes. We’ll protect you and care for you, and I promise you we will do everything in our power to make sure you enjoy our touch, and the feel of us inside you.”
“Oh, God…” His words, so softly spoken and seductive, reached into her soul. It had been so long since she’d had sex. Hell, it had been far too long since she’d been held or kissed.
Tears threatened, but not because of anything specific he’d said. She was so lonely, and so much had happened today. It would be easy to just let them do with her what they wanted. She could simply give in and allow them to take away all the stress, the worry, and the decision.
Bramwell sauntered toward her, slowly, his eyes also filled with desire. “You’re beautiful. We should have told you that earlier.” He touched her hair and the gesture sent desire coursing through her body. Images of what she’d seen in the painting assaulted her senses, and she wanted to be that woman and have these two do the same things to her as the men in the portrait had done.
“It’s the color of a wheat field,” he said. “And so soft.”
“And your eyes are like emeralds,” said Kelton. “I could get lost in them.”
Dakota had never heard a man say such things to her, and it melted her heart. She blinked back tears again and wrapped her arms around Kelton’s broad shoulders. “And you, Sire, have the most beautiful blue eyes I’ve ever seen. Both of you are simply gorgeous. But I have to tell you it’s been a while for me. I mean, having sex.”
“We would never hurt you,” said Bramwell. “And we are immune to your diseases so you needn’t worry about such things.”
“I don’t have any. STDs, I mean.” She could barely think right now. “And I’m on the pill, but I don’t have any with me, so…” Her voice trailed off. They’d mentioned a potion.
“We’ll make sure you have a bottle of potion by morning to begin taking,” said Kelton.
“Thank you.” She licked her lips. “Sounds like we’ve taken care of all the clinical details. So, now what?”
“Say ‘yes’ to us,” whispered Kelton. “One little word and it’s done. Because, although it is our birthright to take you, we both would prefer to hear your consent first.”
So they are gentlemen. She let out the breath she’d been holding as Bramwell brought a strand of her hair to his mouth and kissed it. How could any girl resist these two? “Yes.”
Kelton kissed her, gently at first, but when she moaned in the back of her throat and parted her lips, he slid his tongue inside and assaulted her mouth with an urgency and an expertise she’d never felt before. Holy fuck, this man can kiss! If Bramwell was equally skilled, she had nothing to worry about, and she likely wouldn’t be walking by morning.
Every happy thought Dakota had ever had rushed to the surface, and now, instead of fighting off tears, she had to force back a giggle or two. She’d never felt this surge of joy or perfect contentment in any man’s arms. Was this real? It had to be. No dream could be this vivid or detailed, or feel this incredible.
Kelton released the kiss and all she could do was stare at him. He gazed at her with an intense expression that should have frightened her, but it didn’t. She didn’t dare to do so much as breathe, in case he vanished and this did turn out to be her fev
ered imagination.
Bramwell pulled her out of Kelton’s embrace and into his own, and then he kissed her rough and deep. She clung to his waist as he shoved his tongue into her mouth, and moaned loudly when he tangled his fingers in her hair. If he hadn’t been holding onto her, she’d have fallen to the floor.
When he released her mouth, he smiled down at her with such tenderness that she wasn’t sure how to react. “Well, now. That was perfectly amazing.” He caressed her lips with his hand and she moaned softly. “You do know how to use your mouth.”
“I’d say you both do as well, Sire.”
“Thank you. We’re pleased you enjoyed it.” He took her hand. “Let’s go into your room and make sure your bed is adequate. We can’t have you sleeping on a mattress that is too soft or too firm.” She giggled at his words and he winked. “Not that I believe you’ll be sleeping much tonight.”
“I hope not.”
Kelton laughed softly. “Your wish is our command, my lady.”
Once inside her room, each man kissed her again. She had no time to take in the furnishings. Kelton captured her mouth in a deep kiss, and Bramwell slid down her jeans, taking her panties with them. She stepped out of them and shivered as he removed her slippers, licking each instep as he did. No one had ever done that, and she found it surprisingly erotic.
Kelton released her mouth and then pulled off her sweater. He reached around and unhooked her bra, his gaze never leaving hers, and then he removed it and tossed it onto the floor with her other clothes. He took her hands and stepped back, and Bramwell joined him in front of her.
“You’re stunning,” said Kelton. “Just as I knew you’d be.” His gaze was hungry and powerful, and she trembled from the tone in his voice. He sounded as though he wanted to devour her. She was no stranger to men telling her things she wanted to hear, but this wasn’t just something a guy said to get a girl into bed. There was nothing rehearsed or shallow about it. He meant it.