Strands of Love

by N. J. Walters

  He changed the intensity of his fingers and mouth, soothing more than arousing. Darian sat back and Jace got a lovely view of her red, distended nipples. Her skin was glowing, her eyes half closed and a lock of hair was stuck to her forehead.

  She was absolutely beautiful and he could wait no longer to claim her.

  Jace spread his legs wide for support before lifting her into his arms. Her breasts were plastered against his chest and her hot, wet pussy pressed against his throbbing cock. They both moaned at the same time. Her eyes flew open and met his and she smiled.

  Jace lifted her until his cock head nudged against her pussy. She braced herself against his shoulders, her short nails biting into his skin as he slowly lowered her onto his thick shaft. His cock stretched her inner channel, which rippled around it and squeezed, drawing him deeper into her core.

  Jace clenched his teeth and tightened his hold on her waist. He didn’t want to come yet. He wanted to savor the feel of her slick pussy gripping his cock, holding him inside her, welcoming him home.

  She squirmed and he banded his arm around her waist to keep her immobile. “Not yet,” he managed to get out. “I want to feel your pussy squeezing my cock.”

  Sam made another one of those inarticulate sounds that tightened his sac. Her breathing was labored, her breath warm on his neck. “I have to move.”

  Darian moved in behind her and held her hips in his hands. Both men lifted her and slowly lowered her over Jace’s cock. The ache in his balls increased and his shaft throbbed. Jace captured her mouth and kissed her.

  Sam was floating in a sea of pleasure. She’d already had one orgasm thanks to Jace’s clever mouth and fingers. He was always intense, but seemed to be even more so tonight. She knew he felt the ticking of the clock as much as she did.

  Jace kissed her and she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him back with everything she had inside her. His tongue tangled with hers, dueling and retreating. She couldn’t let him go and followed until it was her tasting his mouth.

  Jace’s cock filled her, stretching her until it hurt, but in a deliciously good way. His hands grasped her waist as he moved her up and down his thick shaft. Then Darian was behind her, his cock pressed against her back, his hands on her hips as he helped lift her up and down his brother’s erection.

  Sandwiched between two men, two hard, aroused bodies sent her libido through the rooftop. Sam couldn’t get enough of them.

  She broke off her kiss with Jace and peppered his hard, stubbled jaw with butterfly kisses. Her nipples ached so she rubbed them against his taut, smooth chest. Her heart was pounding, but so was his. She could feel it thunder against her each time she pressed against him.

  Darian chose that moment to nip her nape, making her jump. The motion seated her even harder on Jace’s erection. Pleasure rocked her, intense and all consuming.

  Her skin was slick, her breasts heavy. Between her thighs, she could feel the pressure building again. “Harder,” she gasped.

  Both men quickened their pace, lifting and lowering her faster and harder, pushing Jace’s cock deeper and deeper. The telltale ripple rushed through her and then she was coming. Her pussy milked his cock and she heard Jace yell. His big body jerked against her and warmth flooded her as he found release.

  Darian was breathing heavily against her neck, his cock pressed hard against her back, rubbing her spine. He yelled her name and a hot splash hit her skin. Darian wrapped his arms around her, anchoring his hands on his brother’s shoulders.

  Another spasm rocked Sam. A second, smaller orgasm left her breathless and clinging to Jace. Not that she needed to hold on to anyone. Both brothers were wrapped so tight around her it was impossible to tell whose breath she felt on her shoulder.

  Jace cupped her face and kissed her. It was an impossibly sweet embrace that made her feel cherished and cared for. Even loved.

  “Thank you.” The low rumble of his voice sent another shiver down her spine. She shuddered, her pussy automatically clenching his cock. Jace gave a rough laugh and hugged her.

  Darian moved first. He climbed off the bed and she heard him walking away. Water ran in the distance and then he was back with a wet towel, washing the evidence of his orgasm from her back.

  When he was done, Darian lifted her off Jace, who was still surprisingly hard. He laid her on the bed and washed between her legs before tossing the damp towel onto the floor. “How do you feel?” Darian asked.

  “Mmm,” was the most she could manage.

  He smiled at her. “That good?”

  “Better.”

  Jace stretched out beside her and she rolled onto her side to study him. His shoulders were massive, his biceps thick even when he was at rest. These weren’t muscles built in a gym, but through hard work and training, which made them all the sexier to her.

  There was something about a man who wasn’t afraid of hard work, of sweating from the exertion of honest labor that really turned her crank.

  She flattened her palms against his chest. Muscles rippled beneath her fingers and his cock flexed against her belly. “You can’t be serious,” Sam said as she slid one hand down and gripped his thickening shaft.

  Jace shrugged his wide shoulders. “You have that effect on me.”

  Sam licked her lips, wanting to taste him. Now that the edge was gone there wasn’t such a sense of urgency. She wanted to play.

  She might never have another chance.

  The black cloud of the tapestry threatened to push aside her sensual pleasure, but she hung onto it, not wanting to ruin their final night together.

  She pushed against Jace’s chest and he rolled onto his back at her prompting. Sam rolled onto her knees between the two men and raised an eyebrow at Darian. He grinned at her and rolled onto his back.

  Had any woman ever had such incredible specimens of manhood laid out before her? The other tapestry women. The tapestry brides. The insidious whisper came from out of nowhere, but it was right. The other women who’d stayed in Javara probably experienced the same thing every night.

  But their men weren’t as sexy or fine as hers. They couldn’t be.

  Hers. They weren’t hers. Not unless she returned with them.

  Confusion and anger warred with sexual desire. For tonight, desire won and she wrapped a hand around Jace’s cock, then the other around Darian’s, loving the way the hot flesh jumped against her palm.

  “Harder,” Darian prompted.

  She shook her head and slowly slid her hand from the root all the way to the flared head. “I want to take my time and touch.” She stroked all the way back down to each man’s balls. “Taste.”

  She released Darian, leaned down and drew her tongue around the broad head of Jace’s cock. His entire body tensed, his abs tightening until she could have bounced a quarter on them.

  Pre-come seeped from the tip and she lapped it up, enjoying the musky flavor. Jace smelled all male—soap, warm flesh, sweat and sex. Totally yummy.

  Jace growled, the sound primal and arousing. She leaned down and rubbed one of her breasts over the rough hair of his thigh, making a little humming sound of pleasure at the contact. The vibration went through the head of Jace’s cock and he moaned.

  Thick fingers tunneled through her hair and he nudged her head downward. She laughed and obliged, opening her mouth and taking his shaft deep, stopping only when the head pressed against the back of her throat. She swallowed and Jace yelled her name.

  Sam felt more alive than she had in her life. Every second seemed longer. Every sense she possessed seemed heightened, from the perfume of sex that seemed to surround them, to the sound of Jace’s sigh of pleasure and the salty taste of him in her mouth.

  Her skin tingled and her pussy pulsed in time with Jace’s cock.

  A quick glance at Darian assured her he was enjoying the show. He had his large hand wrapped around his cock, pumping lazily as he watched her pleasure Jace with her mouth.

  Sam turned her attention back to Jace, wa
nting him to understand how special he was to her. She swallowed again, sucking the head hard to bring him maximum pleasure.

  She slid his cock almost all the way out of her mouth, circling the tip with her tongue before taking him deep. With her hand wrapped around the base, she controlled each stroke. She squeezed and sucked and licked, enjoying watching him squirm with pleasure.

  Jace’s hips arched upward on each down stroke. “More. Take all of me.” His tortured whisper almost broke her heart. He meant more than simply her taking more of his cock into her mouth. He wanted her to accept him and his home. He didn’t have to say it. She felt it in her bones and knew it in her heart.

  Sam blinked back tears, feeling suddenly emotional and vulnerable. But she didn’t stop. She used her free hand to cup Jace’s balls, rolling them carefully between her fingers.

  His big hands fisted in the sheets and she heard a rip as one of them gave way beneath his assault.

  “I’m coming.” She knew he was warning her, giving her time to pull away so he could come on his stomach instead of in her mouth.

  Sam took him deeper, sucking and swallowing around his shaft and cock head. She wanted to give him everything, wanted to give him what she’d never given another man. She’d never swallowed before, hadn’t wanted to and had always broken off before it had happened with her previous lovers. But not with Jace.

  “Sam. Sam. Sam.” He chanted her name over and over as she drove him closer to coming.

  His balls tightened and his cock rippled beneath her hand. Then he was coming in her mouth. She swallowed and kept swallowing until he was done. His heavy hand rested against her head and he sighed a deep sigh of contentment.

  Sam sucked him clean and sat up, wiping the edges of her mouth. Jace opened his mouth to speak, but closed it again and shook his head. She didn’t know what she’d been expecting. Certainly not a declaration of love, but something other than silence.

  She started to turn away, but he grabbed her and pulled her down until she was sprawled on top of him. He held her face as he kissed her, pouring everything he couldn’t or wouldn’t say into it. She wasn’t sure what it meant, but she knew her own heart was more than a little involved.

  How could she have fallen in love with a man who was going to leave her?

  Sam slowly sat up and moved off Jace, whose pale-blue eyes followed her as she reached for Darian.

  Two brothers. One intense and committed to his land and people. Loyal. The other just as loyal and committed but more lighthearted, less burdened. Similar, yet different in so many ways. Darian would always be the easier of the two to live with, the one to bend more to compromise. Not Jace. He would always be difficult and unbending. But his loyalty was unshakeable and so was his tenacity.

  How was it possible for her to love them both? Because there was no longer any denying that she did.

  Staring down at Jace, who still managed to look dangerous and sated at the same time and then over to Darian who waited patiently for her to come to him, she admitted the truth to herself.

  Love had finally come into her life, not once but twice. But it had come at a deep cost. Both men would go tomorrow. As much as she wanted one of them to stay, she couldn’t allow it. She wouldn’t be responsible for breaking up their family.

  Family. It was what she missed the most, what she wanted.

  What was she staying here for?

  The question shocked and surprised her, but before she could really think about it, Darian reached her for. Sam shook her head and wrapped her hand around his cock, wanting to give him the kind of pleasure she’d given Jace, a night of pleasure he’d never forget.

  Darian groaned as she slid her mouth over his cock, his fingers threading through her hair. Sam lost herself in the moment, more able to show her feelings than to voice them out loud.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Darian was a man torn between two worlds, between the people he loved the most in the world—his brother and Sam. He stood on the back porch and watched the sun rise and push back the darkness. The stars slipped away and dawn was ushered in.

  Today was the day. The tapestry would come and choices would have to be made.

  How could he choose?

  Sighing, he raked his fingers through his hair. There were no easy answers. If he stayed with Sam he’d never see his brother or mother again. If he went home with Jace he’d never see Sam again.

  He swept up his sword and stalked to the center of the yard. Training always calmed and centered him. He set his bare feet on the warm dirt and began a series of movements, exercises designed to strengthen his body and his skills. Darian easily fell into the rhythm of moving body and weapon together. It was familiar. Comforting.

  The early morning sun soon had him sweating, but he didn’t mind. He was becoming accustomed to the heat, just as he had become accustomed to having Sam in his bed.

  None of them had slept much last night. After Sam had given him a taste of heaven with her mouth, they’d taken turns making love to her again and again until she’d fallen into a fitful sleep. A twinge of guilt made him wince. They’d been all over her and she’d likely be sore today. Desperation had ridden him even as he’d ridden Sam.

  To his amazement, his cock stirred. After last night he’d figured the organ wouldn’t even twitch for several days. But all it took was a thought of Sam.

  Darian ignored the physical discomfort and focused on the moves of the exercises until all else slipped away. The blade cut through the air as his body sinuously twisted and turned. His movements started slow, but soon picked up speed. He kept his breathing even and deep. The exercises were as much about mental control as they were about physical development.

  He felt the ripple in the air, the way every cell of his body seemed to come to attention, and knew Sam had stepped outside. He lowered his weapon and turned to face her.

  “Wow, that’s incredible.”

  Darian inclined his head. “Thank you. We’ve both trained since we were children.”

  Several beads of sweat rolled down his chest and his fingers gripped the handle of his sword. He wished there was a foe to fight and vanquish. That would be easy. It was impossible to fight Sam’s memories and a lifetime of family expectations. He should know. He was battling with his own.

  He strode toward Sam, admiring the way she looked with her dark hair pulled back in the familiar loose braid. She was wearing pants and a shirt that clung to her breasts. Her skin smelled fresh, like soap and sunshine. He leaned down and nuzzled her neck, inhaling deeply.

  Sam laughed, but it was tinged with nervousness. Darian pulled back and caught her chin with his hand. “What is it?”

  She shrugged. “I’m worried about today.” Sam nibbled on her bottom lip and Darian groaned. All his peace and calm fled in an instant, replaced by lust and a tenderness that nearly dropped him to his knees.

  He kissed her, not with passion, but with love. Gently, he laved her abused bottom lip before deepening the caress. Other than his hand on her chin the only place they touched were their mouths, yet Darian’s body was on fire.

  It would always be this way. He knew it to the depths of his soul and accepted it.

  When he released her and stepped back, he’d made his decision. “I will stay with you.”

  Sam’s mouth dropped open. He could tell his pronouncement stunned her. Did she think they would both leave her here alone? Or perhaps she didn’t want him here. She might as well run his sword through his heart if that was the case.

  “Do you not want me to stay?” He squared his shoulders and watched her face. Confusion and hope warred there, but both were chased away by a deep sadness.

  Sam wrapped her arms around herself and shook her head. “As much as I want you to stay I can’t let you.”

  Now he was confused. “Why not?”

  Sam didn’t know how much more she could take before she collapsed in a heap of tears and regret. Her body ached from their sexual play last night. Both men had been
insatiable, taking her again and again. She was sore, but she didn’t regret last night. No woman could have felt more wanted and cared for then she did.

  Emotionally, she was a wreck. She’d left Jace in bed and come downstairs to find Darian. What a sight he’d made, wearing only his leather pants and the familiar bands on his arms, as he’d trained with his sword. Swinging the weapon as though it was as light as a feather, he’d moved through a series of intricate movements that reminded her somewhat of martial arts stances. It was a mesmerizing, deadly display of raw power and very, very hot.

  Sam had settled herself to the fact that both men were leaving today and now Darian had thrown this latest revelation at her. “Because, you can’t.” Great, that was totally articulate. She sighed and shook her head. “You can’t do that to your mother.” No way was she being responsible for breaking up a family.

  She’d give anything to have her family back. A deep well of pain and emptiness filled her. She desperately wanted a family and he was willing to give his up.

  Darian returned his sword to its protective sheath and propped it against the porch railing. “My mother will understand and she will have Jace. If I leave, you will be all alone.”

  His words sliced through her like a blade. Alone, as she’d been all these months.

  The door opened behind her and Jace joined them. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders, snuggling against her from behind. She leaned against his strength even as she berated herself for doing so. She couldn’t get used to depending on either of them.

  “What is wrong?” Jace’s deep voice rumbled through her. She loved the sound of it, the deepness, the hint of command.

  “Nothing,” she replied.

  “I told her I was staying,” Darian said at the same time.

  Jace tensed behind her but then he relaxed. “I expected as much.”