Night Intrigue [Night 2] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting)

by Leah Brooke

  He licked at her clit as the waves of heat and ecstasy washed over her, his tongue flattening and moving slower, dragging the pleasure out until she slumped weakly, every muscle in her body trembling in reaction.

  Releasing her, Ian kissed his way up her body, pausing to nuzzle her neck before nibbling at her bottom lip. Pushing her hair back from her face, he smiled down at her. “Told you you’d scream. Now we can start all over again.” He retraced his path back down her body, pausing to lick and nibble at her nipples until she writhed beneath him.

  Smiling weakly, she shook her head from side to side, reaching down to slide her fingers into his wet hair. “I can’t. I can’t.”

  Ian’s hands firmed, lifting her hips higher and holding her tightly as he licked her entire slit from her pussy to her clit. “Doesn’t look like you have much choice, does it, baby?”

  No matter how much she writhed and bucked, she couldn’t move her hips at all.

  She would have been seriously disappointed if she’d been able to.

  The woman inside her reveled at his strength, her inability to escape him and his hunger for her filling with a sense of femininity that she’d never thought herself capable of feeling.

  Understanding his motives made it even more arousing and warmed her all the way through.

  Using his mouth on her, he aroused her all over again, and the slow slide of his tongue over her slit ignited fires inside her that soon had her bucking beneath him again. “Iaaaan.”

  She kicked at him, reaching desperately for him to pull him closer.

  Chuckling softly, he eased back slightly, his eyes never leaving hers as he lowered her legs to rest on his thighs. “Yes, baby?” He ran his hands up her thighs and parted her folds, pressing her clit between his thumbs to caress it in a way that had her crying out and reaching for him again.

  “Damn it, Ian! Take me. Please.” Rocking her hips, she reached for him again, thrilling when he donned a condom and covered her body with his.

  Wrapping his arms around her, he lifted her with a hand at the nape of her neck and the other on her bottom, positioning the head of his cock at her pussy opening. “There’s nothing I like more than taking you.”

  Sucking in a breath at his quick thrust, Serena gripped his shoulders, lifting her face to press it against his neck. “Ian. Yes!” Held securely against him, she cried out at the force of his thrusts, his cock like hot steel inside her.

  “Damned right, yes!” He thrust again and again, his cock so thick that it forced her pussy walls to stretch to accommodate him. “You’re mine. Mine.” Pressing his finger against her puckered opening, he lifted his head to stare down at her. “All of you. So fucking hot. So tight.”

  Throwing her head back, she dug her fingertips into hard muscle, crying out when the tip of his finger pushed into her bottom hole. “Ian! Oh God!”

  His hand tightened at her nape, his breathing ragged as he held her face against his neck. “That clenching pussy’s driving me crazy. Your ass is clenching on my finger even harder. I feel your pleasure, and it adds to my own. Nothing feels as good as being inside you. That’s it. Come for me.”

  Serena barely heard him, her orgasm hitting her with a force that left her breathless. “Ian. So full. So tight. Oh God. So deep.”

  She knew she’d never get used to the pleasure, each time with him so familiar and yet so primitive.

  Desperation had her gripping Ian tighter, the sense of losing part of herself always leaving her shaken.

  Ian groaned and thrust deep, his big body trembling against hers. “Fuck.” Wrapping his arms around her, he rolled to his back, holding and caressing her as if knowing how much she needed it. Another groan came from deep inside his chest, his voice harsh. “Fucking you is gonna be the death of me.”

  Serena smiled against his chest, wondering how he knew that a light caress wouldn’t have steadied her the way his much firmer touch did. “That’s real romantic, Ian.”

  “When my cock’s inside you, I forget all those romantic words. Need takes over, and it’s too fucking violent for romance.”

  He rolled her to her back again, easing his cock from her with a rough groan. “I love you, Serena.” Braced on his elbows, he leaned over her, brushing her hair back from her face. His eyes held a glint of concern, but something more…almost hesitant, as if he worried that he’d been too rough with her. “I’m not an easy man to live with, and I doubt I’ll ever be, but I love you. I didn’t think I could ever love, and I’m not always comfortable with it. I can’t help but want to protect you. I’m sure at times it’ll be a pain in the ass.”

  Serena smiled, sitting up when he rose from the bed and started toward the bathroom. “You can be a bear sometimes.”

  Ian appeared a few minutes later, wearing a pair of sweatpants and a black T-shirt, looking decidedly furious and deliciously sexy. “Alastair’s on his way home. He’s following Jean Paul, who’s apparently on his way here. Get dressed.”

  Serena threw the covers back and jumped up, running into her closet for one of her sweat suits. “He’s coming here? You’re not serious! He’s actually coming to steal my necklace?”

  A muscle worked in Ian’s jaw. “He’s desperate, remember?”

  Not bothering with a bra or panties, Serena hurriedly dressed, shaking with nerves and adrenaline. “I hope this plan works. If it doesn’t, he’s going to sell more information to the wrong people.”

  Ian frowned. “My brother’s plan is a sore subject with me.” Smiling at her disgruntled huff, he ran a hand over her hair. “If all goes right, DuBois will have false information to sell. He’s going to be in a lot of trouble if it gets that far.” Gripping her arm, he led her from the room, his steps hurried. “Come on. I want to get downstairs.” Pausing when her stomach growled, he smiled. “You’re hungry too.”

  “The casserole’s probably cold.” Hurrying to keep up with him, she followed him down the stairs, her hand in his. “How can you eat at a time like this?”

  Ian paused at the bottom, his smile tight with anger. “You don’t really think he’s going to get in, do you? Besides, if he sees both Alastair and me, our cover’s blown.”

  Serena jumped at the sounds of the dogs barking, gasping and reaching for Ian. “Is that him?” She couldn’t believe she’d actually found herself in a world so different from the quiet solitude of her life on the beach in North Carolina.

  Ian laughed softly and led her to the table. “Yep. Alastair’s enjoying the sight of DuBois trying to get back over the fence before the dogs get him. He’s leaving. It’s late, so Alastair’s going to wait for DuBois to get out of sight, and then he’s coming in. Let’s eat. I’m starving.”

  His sudden good mood baffled her.

  “Ian, aren’t you worried that he got over the fence without setting off the alarm?”

  Ian poured her a glass of the sweet tea she preferred and opened a bottle of beer for himself. “The alarm wasn’t turned on, and since the front of the house is dark, he would assume that we were already asleep.” Bending low, he ran a finger under her chin and grinned. “Alastair said he fell for the dummy alarm and cut the wires to that. Now that he knows about the dogs, that should deter him from trying to come in again.”

  Shaking her head, Serena went to retrieve a serving spoon from the drawer. “I wish I could hear what you and Alastair thought sometimes.”

  Leaning back against the counter, Ian sipped his beer and watched her, his eyes hooded. “I’m glad you can’t.”

  Closing the drawer, she turned, irritated to see that he’d closed himself off from her. “I know. It would be very uncomfortable.” To break the tension, she grinned. “You have secrets from me.”

  His eyes sharpened, gleaming with suspicion. “Not the way you think. I don’t want you getting hurt.”

  Knowing that both Alastair and Ian worried that she’d be able to read their minds without them letting her in, she nodded. “I understand that, and no, I can’t read your thoughts unless you
blast them at me. I don’t know why, and I know that you and Alastair don’t believe that at times, but it’s true. I’m just starting to know your moods and understand you.” Turning away, she moved back to the table and took the lid from the casserole. “It’s still warm. We’d better eat before it gets cold.”

  Ian set his beer on the table and gripped her arm, turning her to face him. “Hey. What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing. I want to eat and go back to bed.” She hated that they worried about her reading their minds, but she didn’t know what she could do about it.

  She also understood their concern.

  She tried to imagine what it would be like to be around someone who could read her thoughts and knew she wouldn’t like it at all.

  If one day she found that she could read their minds, she’d have to tell them. She wouldn’t be able to keep something like that a secret from them.

  She just dreaded their reaction when she told them.

  For now, though, she had enough trouble trying to get Ian to understand how important it was for her to help them any way she could.

  Lifting her chin, Ian studied her features. “You know how proud I am of you, don’t you?”

  Serena pushed away and turned to serve the food. “Are you?”

  Ian gripped her arm and whirled her back. “Don’t turn away from me, damn it! Of course, I’m proud of you. You’re an accomplished artist, and you’ve handled your psychic gift with such bravery. I can’t imagine how you lived, forced to seclude yourself from other people the way you did.”

  Serena shrugged. “Thanks to you and Alastair, I’m not such a freak—as long as I’m with the two of you. I feel like I’m too dependent on you, and you won’t let me make it up to you.”

  Ian smiled and bent to touch his lips to her forehead. “We’re happy we can help you. There’s a connection between us that enables us to shield you.”

  “Yes, but it makes me too dependent on you. I have the chance to live while I’m with you, but you still insist on trying to keep me wrapped in cotton.” She gripped his arm, desperate to get through to him. “I can do things now that I could never do before. Let me do them, damn it!”

  Ian’s eyes narrowed, his jaw clenching. “Right now, I wish I could get into your head. Maybe I could rattle it around a little and get you to understand how much danger you’re in just by being with us. I won’t expose you to more.”

  Serena laughed humorlessly and turned away. “You’d go crazy if you were in my head. Alastair’s home. Let’s eat.”

  Ian gripped her arm and turned her back. “How do you know he’s home?”

  “I can feel him the way I can feel you. I don’t know why or how. I just can feel your presence and his. It’s almost like a part of me is always reaching out to you. I don’t know. It’s just there. I can’t read his mind. If I ever can, I’ll let you know. I wouldn’t keep that from you.”

  Even though telling them would end everything.

  Chapter Six

  Alastair stood at the French doors, staring out at Serena, disturbed by the distance she’d put between them since getting up.

  She had shadows in her eyes, and it was obvious that something bothered her, but she hadn’t wanted to discuss it. After bundling herself in her robe, she’d rushed out to the guesthouse she’d set up as an art room and gathered supplies. She’d set up a chair and her easel in the backyard several hours ago, seemingly lost in another world as she painted.

  Not wanting to bother her, he’d watched her from the kitchen, still irritated at the tension between her and Ian.

  He understood both of them and their points of view, and he wanted to shake both of them but knew that they had to work out their issues on their own.

  He hated seeing both of them so tense and so damned unhappy.

  Their relationship with Serena was still frighteningly new, new enough that each time an issue arose, it tied him up in knots.

  Even the dogs appeared to sense it.

  Rip lay at her feet, his head raised as he guarded her, not disturbing her intense concentration, while both King and Zeus wandered the yard, coming back periodically as if to check on her.

  She had to be getting tired.

  Whatever possessed her had her painting in hurried strokes of her brushes, not letting up for an instant.

  From previous experience, he knew her shoulders would be sore, but her focus appeared complete, and she didn’t seem to notice that she’d been in the same position for hours.

  Grim-faced, Ian strode into the room, his hair still damp from his recent shower. “She’s still out there?”

  Alastair nodded, glancing at the clock. “Over four hours now. I took her some tea, and she hasn’t even touched it. I fed the dogs and took a shower and kept looking out. I’ve been standing here for the last hour. She hasn’t even looked up. It looks as if she’s really caught up in something.”

  Ian poured himself a cup of coffee, frowning as he kept glancing out the window. “She’s going to be sore as hell. And hungry. She hasn’t eaten, and she barely picked at her food last night.”

  Noting Ian’s clenched jaw, Alastair turned to look back out at Serena. “When I took her a cup of that tea she likes, she didn’t even look up. I don’t even think she knew I was there.”

  Ian set his cup on the counter with more force than necessary and started for the French doors. “I’m not about to let her do this to herself.”

  Alastair stepped in front of his brother, blocking his way. “Just like you’re not going to let her use her gift to help us? She’s upset. Distracted. She’s obviously doing something she needs to do, and the best we can do is let her do it and be there when she needs us afterward.”

  Ian shoved at him, whirling back to watch Serena through the window over the sink again. “Damn it, Alastair! You know what she does to herself. You saw the way she was last night, and it’s not the first time. I can’t stand to see her like that. It gives her a fucking monstrous headache and drains her. She could barely lift her head.” Gripping the edge of the sink until his knuckles turned white, Ian stared out at her. “She needs our protection. She needs to be shielded so she can live a normal life, and that doesn’t include getting her involved in something that can hurt her.”

  Alastair fought with that same demon. “I struggle with it, too. I struggle to find a balance between what Serena wants and what’s good for her. She needs to live, Ian. She needs to be as independent as possible, and she needs to feel useful. You’re trying to wrap her in cotton and keep the world at bay for her.”

  Ian turned to glare at him. “And you don’t give a shit if she gets hurt?”

  Alastair gestured to where Serena still painted furiously. “She’s hurting now.”

  Turning away, Ian paced back and forth across the kitchen. “Fuck.” Pausing at the window, Ian stilled. “She stopped. She’s getting up. I think she’s done. Look at the way she’s moving. She’s got to be sore.”

  Alastair turned back to watch Serena pet Rip and say something to him that had the dog jumping up and prancing all around her.

  Opening the door, he shot a glance at his brother. “Don’t upset her.”

  “Don’t tell me how to handle Serena.”

  Gritting his teeth, Alastair went out to help her carry her things in, smiling gently at her as he searched her features. “Looks like you’ve been busy. Another painting for your show?” He carried the easel and chair in one hand and the paint and brushes she’d stuck in a cup with the other while she carried her cold tea and the painting she’d spent hours working on.

  Shaking her head, she frowned up at him. “No. Alastair, the strangest thing happened. You know how I get those dreams?”

  Alastair shot her a look, thinking about how many of those dreams turned out to be nightmares. “Yes. That’s how you knew you were going to meet us. Did you have another one, darling?”

  * * * *

  Serena nodded, wincing when her neck muscles protested. Now that she’d finish
ed painting the image she’d dreamed about, she realized she was starving. Lifting the painting for him to see, she winced again at the pull to her tight shoulders. “I saw this place. It’s the place where DuBois drops off the files. Another man comes to pick them up. I’ve never seen this place before, but I had to paint it. Do you recognize it?”

  She paused at the door that Ian held open, her heart in her throat at the sight of him.

  His hair, still damp from a recent shower, had been slicked back, emphasizing his handsome features.

  Dressed in jeans and a gray T-shirt that emphasized every corded muscle, he leaned back against the counter, his gaze steady on hers as he sipped his coffee.

  The frustration in them had her lifting her chin in defiance.

  She wouldn’t let him ruin the chance of helping them. If she had to find a way to go around him, she would, even if it meant talking to Jonathan.

  Ian frowned, setting his coffee cup aside, and reached out to take the painting, taking her other hand in his and leading her to the table. “What place? Sit. You need to eat something.”

  Serena jerked away, avoiding the chair. “I’ve been sitting for hours, and if I want something to eat, I can damned well get it myself.”

  Alastair set her things aside, rubbing her shoulders and meeting Ian’s gaze. “Let me see it again.”

  Ian set the wet painting on the counter, bracing it against the cabinets. “That’s Central Park.”

  Serena frowned and eyed the painting, aware of Ian’s sharp scrutiny. “I’ve been to Central Park, and I never saw this place.”

  Alastair nodded. “We didn’t get that far. It’s a big place. Where does he hide the information?”

  Moving closer to the painting, she pointed to a spot. “Under that rock. It’s not really a rock. It’s light enough to lift, but heavy enough not to blow over. I think it’s attached somewhere in the back, but I didn’t see that part. He put it there, but I don’t think anyone has ever noticed.” Frowning, she crossed her arms over her chair and leaned back against the counter. “How did I know that?”