Submission to Desire [Desire, Oklahoma 7] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting)

by Leah Brooke

  Royce had ordered her to meet him in the park at exactly noon, the promise in his eyes filling her with anticipation. She looked forward to spending some time alone with him, hoping to regain some of the closeness she’d had with him before.

  The bond she and King had formed gave her back some of the confidence she’d lost, and made her feel more like herself. She’d love to have that with Royce, and to close some of the distance between them.

  Walking around town for several hours had cleared her head and given her time to think.

  She belonged here. Even if things didn’t work out between her, Royce, and King, she belonged here. She felt good here. Safe. Happy.

  Normal.

  She had to admit that most of it had to do with Royce and King.

  They made her feel good about herself—made her feel as though her desires were the most natural thing in the world.

  She’d needed that, and hadn’t even realized how much.

  Pausing, she looked at her reflection in the window of one of the stores, a little surprised at what she saw.

  Her eyes actually had a sparkle in them, one that she hadn’t had in a long time.

  She found herself smiling more and more as she walked around town. Thankful for the comfortable boots Royce had provided, she made her way up and down the streets, shocked at the number of people who actually addressed her by name.

  To her surprise, she spotted a few of the women she’d seen paraded naked through the club, all wearing collars like hers and all in the company of men.

  The couples looked happy and so involved with each other, some appearing to have that bond that Royce and King had talked about, but it didn’t compare to the closeness between the residents of Desire and their spouses.

  It didn’t take long before she began playing a game with herself, trying to distinguish the people taking the seminars at the club from those who actually lived in Desire.

  It proved too easy because she found her gaze drawn repeatedly to the collars the women wore, collars exactly like the one around her own neck.

  She found herself touching it repeatedly, annoyed with herself at being comforted by a cold piece of metal.

  Looking at her cell phone, she saw that she only had about five minutes to make her way back to the park.

  She’d been so deep in thought that she’d lost track of time and walked farther away from the park than she’d thought.

  Quickening her steps, she turned at the corner, hoping that Royce wouldn’t think she’d stood him up, or that she didn’t care enough to be on time.

  She passed another woman from the club, the one who’d fallen against King. Surprised to see her alone, Brenna met the other woman’s eyes, shaken by the sadness reflected there.

  Thinking about the distaste in the eyes of the man who called himself her Master, Brenna suddenly felt sorry for her.

  She didn’t know what she’d do if Royce or King ever looked at her that way.

  She didn’t even want to think about them being so dissatisfied with her that they put her up on the auction block after all.

  She wouldn’t allow herself to be auctioned, but would be devastated if they tried.

  She’d brought up the auction several times, giving them the opportunity to deny they would be putting her up there, but they’d never dismissed it and claimed to want her for themselves.

  Left in limbo, she avoided telling them that she’d fallen in love with them, not willing to make a fool of herself yet again.

  The only times she’d hinted at it, they’d brushed it off, telling her it was just the sex.

  She didn’t know how to convince them otherwise, but she knew she had to find a way before the auction.

  Perhaps when she met with Royce, she could get him to listen to her.

  Royce!

  She stopped suddenly, and looked around, cursing when she realized she’d gone too far down the street and missed the block where she should have turned.

  She’d been so caught up in her thoughts, she hadn’t paid attention.

  Seeing that she’d just passed one of the alleyways that ran between the old buildings, and that extended from one block to the next, she hurried toward it.

  She was late, and Royce would be worried, but if she cut through the alley, she would be just down the street from the entrance to the park, and he would see her.

  Rushing into the alley, she couldn’t help but smile at what Royce would do to her for being late, and wondering if it would have anything to do with unzipping all the zippers she wore.

  Running now, she almost ran over the man who stepped into the entrance at the other end, smiling an apology and skirting to the side to go past him.

  To her shock, he grabbed her arm, just as another man, one she hadn’t heard, closed in behind him.

  Both had dark blond hair, which they wore too long, and both wore jeans and T-shirts. Both were strangers to her, and both men had a hard gleam in their eyes that spelled trouble.

  “Whoa! Where are you going in such a rush? Anxious to get back to the club for a whipping?”

  Brenna tried to yank her arm free, kicking at him to make her escape.

  “Let go of me, asshole!”

  The man behind her wrapped a hand around her throat and squeezed, pushing against the collar.

  “We’ve been looking for a way to get to you ever since you pissed Donner off again. I can’t believe you made it so easy. This necklace means they own you, doesn’t it?” He pulled at it, almost choking her as he tried to wrestle it from her neck.

  “Stop!” She kicked at the man in front of her to get free, but she couldn’t budge him. As she struggled, she called out, hoping to get someone’s attention, but the man in front of her blocked her view and would prevent anyone looking down the alley from seeing her.

  To her relief, the collar finally broke.

  Gasping for air, she winced as the man behind her threw what was left of the choker against the brick building.

  The man in front of her grinned. “Hey, Avery, I guess this means she don’t belong to them no more. Maybe we should take her out to the house and give her the kind of rough stuff she likes.”

  Brenna didn’t bother to hide her disgust. “You wouldn’t know what a woman wants.” She screamed for help, her scream cut off by Avery’s hand slapped across her mouth.

  Fighting back nausea, she fought furiously, kicking the man standing in front of her in the balls, filled with satisfaction when he groaned and doubled.

  Avery wrapped an arm around her waist from behind, cursing when she managed to kick him.

  “She is a little wildcat, ain’t she. Donner was right. This one’s gotta lot of fire in her. We can’t take her to the house, though. Someone’ll see us. We’re just gonna hafta take her right here.”

  Despite her struggles, he managed to pull her farther back into the alley, and behind one of the buildings, out of sight of the street on either side.

  God, they were going to rape her!

  “Hey, Avery, look at all those zippers.”

  Avery laughed against her ear, filling her with revulsion. “Yeah. Gonna find some nice surprises inside.”

  Brenna cried out when he threw her to the ground, scrambling back to put as much distance as possible between them. A shed behind the building kept her from escaping, and she backed against it, searching the ground for something to use as a weapon.

  Suddenly, a weapon appeared.

  Royce stood behind both men, his face tight with fury. Like an avenging angel, he grabbed the man behind Avery, catching him off guard.

  “You son of a bitch!”

  As he landed a punch, right in the middle of the man’s face, Avery turned.

  Afraid he would go after Royce, Brenna jumped on his back and started pulling his hair.

  “You piece of shit! You thought you were going to hurt me?”

  Royce ducked a punch and delivered another, his eyes wild as they met hers.

  “Brenna, run! Get out
of here!”

  Ignoring him, Brenna held on to Avery for dear life, crying out when he slammed her back against the brick building.

  “Bastard!”

  Avery grabbed at her hair, but had to let go when she went for his eyes.

  “You bitch! You’ll get what’s coming to you.”

  Royce continued to fight with the other man, calling out repeatedly for Brenna to let go and make a run for it.

  Each time he started toward her, the other man went at him again, but Royce kept coming.

  He even managed to get in a few blows of his own, punching Avery in the stomach several times.

  “Damn it, Brenna. I can’t hit him with you on his back. Get the fuck off of him!”

  “Move the hell out of my way!”

  King burst into the small space, his size making it even smaller. Cursing a blue streak, he went after Avery.

  As soon as Avery saw King, he went wild. “Get your bitch off of me!”

  Brenna wrapped an arm around his neck and punched the side of his face.

  “You son of a bitch! You’re tough when there’s two of you and you’re picking on someone smaller. Why don’t you try to be tough now?”

  Royce ducked another punch and returned it, knocking the wind out of the other man before whirling toward King.

  “Don’t hit him! You’ll hit Brenna.”

  Brenna’s heart leapt at the rage on King’s face. Avery stilled, and suddenly turned his back to King, so King couldn’t hit him.

  Fearing that Avery would hit her, Brenna didn’t dare let go. Holding on to him, she did everything she could to keep him from going after Royce and King.

  “Hit him! Beat the crap out of him.”

  “Damn it, Red! Move!”

  King tried to grab the back of her clothes, but the leather fit so tightly that he couldn’t.

  The alley, already cramped, was now even more so. Even if she let go of Avery, there was nowhere for her to go to get out of the way, especially when other men started crowding the alley.

  She kept beating at Avery, his head, his shoulders and going for his face, as much as she could, but she didn’t have the strength or the leverage to do a lot of damage.

  “Son of a bitch! Not so tough now, are you?”

  One of the deputies, Rafe, came forward just as Royce again hit the man he’d been fighting with knocking him unconscious.

  “Damn it. Get her the hell out of here.”

  King made another grab at her. “What the fuck do you think I’m doing? Damn it, Red, let go!”

  Royce lifted the unconscious man by the collar and passed him off to someone standing on the other side.

  “I got him, Royce. Just get your woman out of there.”

  Avery spent the entire time cursing and screaming, issuing vile threats and calling her, and them, names that just seemed to infuriate the crowd yelling from each side of the alley.

  Enraged now as King hit him over and over, Avery swung around as much as the small space allowed, hitting her back against the brick building and knocking the breath from her.

  King growled, grabbing for her and yanking her against him. He whipped around, shielding her body with his own, as he put his big body between hers and Avery’s.

  Royce started forward for Avery, but King shoved her at Royce and knocked him aside.

  “He’s mine.”

  Held securely against Royce, she watched as King turned and lunged at Avery.

  After only one punch, it became obvious that the other man didn’t have a chance.

  Rafe called out to King, and struggled to get between the two men, but he didn’t have enough room.

  “Damn it, King. Move. Stop it. He’s out cold.”

  King shrugged the deputy sheriff off, his rage apparent.

  “He touched my woman.”

  Royce held her gently, his hands moving over her, and Brenna knew he checked for injuries.

  She couldn’t take her eyes from King, scared he would kill the other man.

  “Royce, you have to stop him.”

  “Fuck him. He hurt you. Baby, I know your back must hurt, but are you hurt anywhere else?”

  His gentleness in the middle of all the chaos around them had her blinking up at him as he led her from the alley, the crowd moving out to make room for them.

  “Royce, we have to stop him.” She tried to resist, pushing against Royce to get back to King, but Royce kept going, his hands firm but gentle as he led her to the street.

  “Damn it. Clay, help me get him off of him!”

  King cursed soundly, and Brenna breathed a sigh of relief when she heard his deep voice getting closer.

  “Red? Where the hell are you?”

  Royce called back over his shoulder. “I’ve got her. Come on. Let’s get her to the doctor’s.”

  Brenna tugged out of his hold, aware of the number of people who’d gathered around them. Felling ridiculous in the outfit she wore, she leaned against Royce.

  “I’m fine. I actually think the leather protected me. I’m just a little sore. Can we please just go back to the club? I just want to soak in the tub.”

  Rafe came out of the alley, sweaty and dirty, his eyes hard and furious, gentling when they met hers.

  “I’ll be over to get a report as soon as I deal with these two. You okay?”

  Royce held her close, his hands tender as they moved over her hair. “I don’t know yet. We’re taking her back to the club. We’ll be there unless she needs to see Dr. Hansen.”

  Brenna eased back to look over Royce and King, wincing at the cuts and scratches on both of them, and the red mark on Royce’s cheek and eye.

  “Maybe we should go to the doctor’s. Both of you look like hell.”

  “We’re fine. Where are you hurt?”

  Before she could answer, Royce answered for her. “Her back. Thank God she was wearing that. The leather probably protected her from being scratched up. She wants a bath. We can check her over then, and get cleaned up before Rafe shows up.”

  Several people called out to see if they needed a ride, but King assured them that he’d brought the truck and they were fine.

  Over her objections, Royce picked her up and carried her to the truck, settling her on his lap as he slid into the passenger seat.

  A muscle worked in King’s jaw as he started the engine. Turning to her, he tightened his hands on the steering wheel.

  “Why the hell were you in that alley?”

  Trying to put some distance between her and Royce in case he had bruised or cracked ribs, Brenna winced at the cut on Royce’s lip.

  “I got distracted and walked too far. I was going to be late meeting Royce, so I thought if I took a shortcut through the alley—”

  Royce cursed and pulled her closer. “Stop backing away from me. So, you went through the alley when you knew damned well whoever wrote that note was on the loose.”

  He glanced in King’s direction, wrapping his arms more tightly around Brenna.

  “Who the hell thought the Sikes brothers would attack her?”

  Brenna sat up, careful not to hurt Royce. “But they were the ones who wrote the note. I thought you knew that.”

  King whipped his head around. “What?”

  Royce tipped her face to his. “Are you sure? How do you know that?”

  “He admitted it. He said that they’d been trying to get to me ever since I pissed Donner off and that Donner was right about me.”

  Royce’s eyes hardened. “Right about what?”

  Thinking about the sight she must have been, hanging on for dear life to Avery Sikes’s back, Brenna slapped a hand over her mouth as a giggle escaped.

  “He called me a wildcat. I guess I cemented that opinion of me when I jumped on his back.”

  King glared at her. “I don’t see anything funny about it.”

  “So, how did you know I was in trouble?”

  Royce sighed. “Heard the scuffle and King was already on his way when the collar broke. It s
ets off an alarm.”

  Brenna lifted her gaze to Royce’s, smiling at the glint of amusement in his eyes.

  “You really knocked him out, didn’t you? I didn’t know you could fight like that. Very impressive.”

  The amusement deepened. “So, do you think you’re going to get away with what you did by batting those beautiful eyes at me and flattering me?”

  Brenna leaned into him, rubbing her cheek against his shoulder. “Is it working?”

  King shook his head. “When I think of you being slammed up against the building over and over…I couldn’t even hit him. I was scared to death of hitting you. Christ, if I had hit you, I wouldn’t be able to live with myself.”

  Brenna smiled, leaning heavily against Royce and reaching for King’s hand.

  “My heroes.”

  King squeezed her hand and glanced at Royce. “Hell, we’re in trouble.”

  * * * *

  “What the hell? Red!”

  Brenna grimaced at King’s bellow coming from the bedroom. She’d soaked in the tub while Royce and King took their showers, and had totally relaxed as Royce tenderly washed her.

  Stiffening, she sat up with a groan. “Shit. I forgot.”

  Royce frowned and looked up from where he’d been checking her legs for any sign of injury.

  “Forgot what, darling?”

  King appeared in the doorway, holding the envelope she’d stuck in her drawer in one hand, and waving the note in the other.

  “You want to tell me what the hell you thought you were doing—hiding this from us.”

  Brenna blew out a breath and sank back into the water. She’d been so relaxed under Royce’s expert hands that when King left the room to get her something comfortable for her to wear, she’d forgotten all about the note. He and Royce usually dealt with her lacier lingerie, and avoided the cotton drawer, but when he went to gather clothes for her to wear to talk to Rafe, who sat waiting downstairs, she should have known he’d get her most comfortable things.

  Royce stilled. “Is that another note?”

  He leaned forward to read the note King held out, meeting King’s eyes briefly before scowling down at her.

  “You kept this from us?”

  She’d expected his anger, but not the hurt she saw in his eyes.

  Alarmed, she got to her knees, putting a hand on his naked knee.