She turned to Colt then Marc, holding up the phone for them. Their mouths set in grim, flat lines. The creases around their eyes deepened and anger rolled off them in violent waves that sucked the air out of the cabin in mere seconds.
Their emotions jacked up her tension and she struggled to calm down and take a couple of deep breaths. Her chest rose and fell sharply but nothing she did to slow her breathing helped. Her head began to spin and silver spots danced in her vision.
A firm hand grasped the back of her neck and shoved her head between her knees.
“Breathe, Mia. Once through your nose, then out your mouth.”
She tied herself to the sound of Marc’s voice and did as he commanded. “Again. Nose, mouth.” She did it five more times before her panic attack released its tight grip. Marc helped her up and Colt handed her a glass filled halfway with amber-colored liquid. “Drink this. It’ll take the edge off.” He winked at her and she knew it was to make her shift focus. Marc slipped her phone from her fingers and handed it to Colt. Dios, would the surprises ever end?
“Gracias.” She tipped the glass in salute, then downed half the contents in one swallow. She raised the glass again and finished off the last of the liquid and welcomed the burn with every swallow.
“Easy, darling.”
“Or you could give me another.” She cocked her head to the side and shook her now empty glass between them.
“Maybe or you could talk to me. Tell me what’s going on in that pretty mind of yours.”
Oh, now he wants to talk. “Do you think they’ll have any luck finding the van we saw by my house?”
“I’m not holding my breath on that.” Marc pulled her hand into his and turned it over to trace the lines in her palm. The small touch created a wonderful sensation of calm to settle over her and ground her to the here and now. “We’ll find whoever is behind this, Mia. We’ll protect you. Trust us.” He raised his eyes and immediately she felt the clash of his dark stormy gaze with her own. Conflicting emotions ran across his face before he settled on one—sincerity.
Mia frowned. There was that word again. Trust. It was so hard for her to hear. But on the flip side, she couldn’t argue with what she saw. Both men had put their lives on the line for her tonight and they had damn near taken a bullet for it in the process.
Tiny droplets of poison from her past dripped into her mind and tainted her resolve. Like a snake set to strike, her subconscious coiled, ready to flood her veins with the venom from her screwed up past.
An alcoholic mother who’d abandoned her for the bottle and a father who’d died when a girl needed her papa the most taught her people rarely stuck around. No matter how much they told you they would never leave.
With only her sister to care for her, between school and work to support them, Mia was left on her own more often than not. And bless her sister, she didn’t blame her. She did the best she could, but what could a seventeen-year-old do with a twelve-year-old kid sister? There were times when neither of them thought they’d make it past the day.
And tonight brought it all back front and center, the chaos she worked so hard to rid her life of and the unstable home she had shed years ago. She loved her sister and would do anything for her. She knew her sister would do the same for her, but this was her life now. Her job, her own little world and someone was trying to tear it all away from her. She’d be damned if she let anyone take the little piece of happiness she’d claimed for herself. But she couldn’t do that from a thousand miles away.
A heavy weight of uncertainty pressed on her shoulders. “Since the cops are already in on this, maybe we should let them handle all this mess? They can put me in some kind of protection services until this mess gets sorted out. ” As soon as the words were out of her mouth she regretted them.
Marc gave her a hard glare that glued her where she sat. “Don’t go there, Mia. You know as well as I do that the cops can do very little about situations like yours. And any protection you need is right here. We haven’t let them harm a hair on your head, and that’s not about to change.”
Colt cleared his throat from beside her. “Besides, they wouldn’t give you protection. Not until a real threat against your life was proven beyond a doubt. By then you’d be dead. And like Marc said, that’s not gonna happen. Right now, as far as the cops are concerned, all they have is a burned house that could have been set by any number of things and a vandalized car.”
“And that’s not enough to go on,” Marc threw in. He stood and backed off a pace from where she sat next to Colt. He braced his feet apart and crossed his arms.
She inwardly rolled her eyes at his alpha positioning. “So I’m stuck here. Unable to do anything for myself?” She tried to swallow back the panic but her voice cracked and hitched on the last word.
“Is that how you feel, Mia?” Marc’s expression closed off. He rocked back on his heels and steadied his dark gaze on her.
“Stuck?” Colt spit the word out and it hung between them like a grenade ready to go off any second.
The blood drained from Mia’s face. She was pretty sure if she could see her reflection she’d be a pasty white instead of the caramel color she normally sported. She didn’t mean to sound ungrateful. They’d done so much for her already, but to have all control ripped from her grasp—it was like returning to her childhood where nothing was in her control.
Mia lowered her eyes to her knotted fingers. She retraced the path Marc had outlined with his thumb along the inside of her palm. Her skin was clammy despite the cool cabin. Her blood thundered in her ears and she inhaled to calm herself jittery nerves before speaking.
“Lo siento, really…I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it like that. It’s just that, running off to Mexico seems a little extreme.” How would they understand? They had no clue about her struggles or messed-up life and she didn’t think now was the time for a session of couch therapy.
Marc closed his eyes a moment and a calm settled over his features. He worked the muscles in his shoulder in a slow roll, and everything in her reacted with a jolt of unexpected need. It was pure torture and pleasure to watch the cotton of his T-shirt outline the body she wanted to get her hands up against.
“Mia,” He drew her name out with a lazy drawl and she raised her eyes from his mouth watering broad shoulders and well-formed pecs to meet his gaze. She bit her lower lip to hold back the smile that pulled at her mouth. Busted.
“Where we’re going Colt and I won’t have to worry about anyone finding you.” He sank to one knee in front of her and pinned her with a serious look, and all her humor dissipated.
“I’m more worried about why you’re trying to ditch us. Let us help you, Mia. How many times do we have to say it? We’re not going anywhere and we’re sure as hell not going to let anything happen to you.”
Marc and Colt locked their gazes on her in a combination of hellfire and molten lava with ribbons of worry tying them together.
A small gasp escaped her lips and she sat back in her chair. “You’re serious.” Both men rose to their full height, towering over her like two warriors in protection mode. Marc bent, flicked the seat belt she’d knotted in her hands to the side, palmed a wrist and hauled her to her feet.
“Oh, very much so, darling.”
“No doubts.”
Tucked into Marc’s embrace, Mia looked to him to elaborate, but he didn’t answer, just gave her his signature no comment stare so she let the heat burning in the golden specks of his eyes serve as her answer. Whether they lied or not.
“I think it’s about time we show you how serious we are, Mia.” Her lips parted and heat coiled low in her belly from Colt’s words. Could she give herself over to two men? Hell yeah, she could, but when this was all over, would she just as easily walk away?
Mia took a deep breath. Either way, after today—tonight—nothing would ever be the same again, just like Colt had said.
Her blood thundered in her ears and the butterflies switched up their cha cha cha to
a rowdy cheerleader number full of flips and cartwheels.
Marc anchored his fingers deep in her hair and tightened his grip. Her eyes closed and she groaned from the slight tug against her scalp. Her back bowed slightly, pushing her butt into Colt’s awaiting palms and her breasts into Marc’s solid chest.
Colt hissed. “God, I told you she had the perfect ass under all that garb she covers herself with.”
“I bet her breasts are just as perfect.”
“Wait.” She breathed out the word half hoping they didn’t hear her.
“Is that what you want, Mia?”
“Probably not.”
Marc chuckled and the friction against her hardened nipples sent an electric pulse through her body and straight to her core. “Let us know, Mia. We’re not going to force this, so tell us now so we can give you a little of what you want.”
What she wanted? The only thing she knew was that she felt good in the arms of both men. From there it was all about winging it.
Marc released her hair and she immediately felt the loss of his touch. The heat she was quickly becoming familiar with retreated and her heart fell. She opened her eyes to find him looking down at her. His rich golden gaze intense with need, but she also saw a level of weariness in his expression.
She glanced over her shoulder at Colt. He stroked an exposed area of skin right above the band of her sweatpants in small, lazy strokes. He settled his warm gaze on hers and a small sensual tilt to his lips worked like a balm to her nerves.
“Let us take care of you, sweetheart.”
She wanted to. Wanted to give herself over to all the pleasure she could handle from both sexy-as-sin Marines, but how did she do that without letting them close to her heart? Her head told her to take what they offered in skin and nothing more, but she knew deep down past the lust and desire she’d already fallen for them a long time ago.
“Let us love you just a little, Mia. We’ll take it slow and you can tell us to stop at any time.”
Her sister said she wore her heart on her sleeve. Tonight that couldn’t be truer. There was no way she could say no to them and they knew it, the damn smooth talkers.
She looked between them. With her best come-hither smile she turned and placed a hand against Colt’s chest. He palmed her ass and hauled her closer. Toned muscles rippled beneath her touch, but that wasn’t what caught most of her attention. His hardened shaft pressed into her lower abdomen. The rough material of his jeans created a delicious friction against the soft barrier of her sweatpants. She reached between them and rubbed her hand up his enclosed length, soliciting a husky groan from deep within his throat.
Empowered by his reaction, she took it a step further.
With a lightest of touches, Mia slipped her other hand beneath his dress shirt and scraped her nails along his chiseled abdomen in a slow, sensual tease.
Colt rocked on his heels and released a small groan. “God, woman, what do you do to me?” She wished she knew, because he had the same effect on her.
Colt wrapped his fingers around her arm and pulled her hand out from beneath his shirt to brush tender kisses along the inseam of her arm. His day-old stubble tickled a path up the super sensitive area of her extended arm, and she swallowed back a giggle.
“A beautiful sound.” Strong hands claimed her waist and pulled her back into the large captain chair backed up against the side of the cabin.
“Marc,” she gasped. His name resounded throughout the cabin, and she grabbed the soft cotton covering the wide chest she now rested against.
“Easy, Mia. I’ve got you.” Strong arms enveloped her in pure strength.
Mia stared into Marc’s eyes. With one deft movement he flipped her legs over the arm of the chair and then rested his hand on top of her right hip.
He stroked gently circles along her outer thigh, holding her gaze. If he could melt her insides with one look… Chills spilled across her skin and she shuddered from the rush of anticipation.
In an odd combination, his calming scent filled her nostrils and she inhaled to feed her addiction. Immediately her libido spiked and her core tensed.
Colt moved to where they sat and lowered into the chair beside her. He buried his fingers into her long locks and angled her back to where she looked up into his rich dark brown eyes. “I’m going to kiss you, sweetheart.” Her lips parted in anticipation. He looked between her lips and her eyes. “And I have a feeling this is only the start of something good. Are you ready?” His gravelly voice washed over her.
Mia nodded, afraid to speak.
In the next second his lips were on hers. He delved deep, his tongue coaxing hers to play with his. Ready to accept his seduction, she obeyed his direction.
A hand slipped inside the elastic band of her pants, pulling them down her thighs to expose her over-heated skin to the cool cabin air. Marc’s hand? She gasped into Colt’s mouth. Instead of backing off, Colt took the kiss deeper, pulling her closer, devouring her with only his mouth. A shudder raked through her body when the pad of a finger found her clitoris. Hot liquid pooled within the walls of her folds and slowly trickled down to wet her panties.
Marc hissed between clenched teeth. “So fucking wet already, darling.”
Heat cocooned them in a protective bubble she never wanted to leave. She clamped her thighs together, sealing Marc’s hand in place. Her breath came in short bursts. “Easy, Mia, we’ve got you.”
She broke Colt’s kiss and pulled back to look into Marc’s eyes. An intensity she’d never seen before held her spellbound. Her breath stilled. Heated promises filled the depths of his eyes. She’d wanted to see that look for so long.
Dios. She teetered on the edge, so close to stepping into the unknown with this man.
With both men, she corrected herself.
There’s no going back, chica. No going back…
Mia melted into Colt. “Damn, you’re so intoxicating,”he said.
“I was going to say the same thing about you.” Mia pushed up, wrapped her hand around Marc’s jaw and pulled him closer. She claimed his mouth in a hard fiery crush.
Their tongues clashed in a wild dance. Colt shifted and she broke her kiss, soliciting a throaty growl from Marc. Her chest rattled with barely restrained desire and she could see it affected him the same way.
She slipped her hand to Marc’s shoulder and down across his sculpted chest. Firm muscle flexed beneath her touch, and her inner girl melted just a little more. She continued her caress lower while sinking her left hand in Colt’s thick locks.
She tightened her grip much as he’d done to her, burning for another taste. Holding his gaze, she watched flames flare to life in his eyes. He closed the short distance and captured her parted lips, his kiss just as fevered as Marc’s.
Without breaking rhythm, she dipped a hand lower along Marc’s abdomen, tracing the outline of his jeans, then moved further south.
Marc gripped her hand just as she settled her palm over his hardened shaft. He pistoned his hips and held her hand against the rough material of his jeans. He pumped again.
Now she growled.
Her inner tigress purred from all the attention from her men.
It was dangerous to think of them as hers, but tonight she gave in to her fantasy.
She pulled back slowly but before she could move too far Colt nipped her lip. The pleasure-pain of the love bite shot electricity through her and straight to her core.
“We can’t do this here.” Both men grinned, and her heart picked up speed.
“There’s only the pilot this time, Mia. There was no time to notify the stewardess that usually accompanies us so you have nothing to worry about.”
Right. But she’d feel better if they were behind a closed door. If she was about sleep with two men, they’d better find a way to get her horizontal and fast. Marc’s head lowered, and she could read his intent in the way his gaze traced a path along her lips. Her body flushed. “Room.” She blurted out the single word, unable to form a co
mplete sentence this high on the drug that was her Marines.
Marc yanked her sweats over her thighs, pulled her over to straddle his legs and stood abruptly. “Wrap your legs around me.” She did as he commanded, bracing her arms around his neck in the process. Marc strode across the length of the cabin, Colt hot on their heels, his gaze steady on hers.
Dios, she’d forgotten. There was a bedroom on board. The last time she was here, she’d spent a good portion of their flight wondering if they ever used it for any feminine entertainment on their business trips.
She quickly shoved the unsavory thought aside, not wanting to think about that now any more than she did the first time she’d been here.
Colt cocked his head.
How did he do that? See the slightest shift in her thoughts? Sometimes the man was too perceptive for his own good. He’d obviously picked up on her thoughts. Was she that easy to read? Around these two she needed to work on her poker face.
Marc’s arms tightened around her waist a fraction. She bent her head and rubbed her nose along the shell of his ear all the while holding Colt’s attention. Marc cupped her ass. He pushed open a door as she sprinkled kisses along the tender flesh of his neck, stopping at the rim of his shirt. He angled his head slightly to give her better access and she retraced her path loving his masculine taste.
Colt stepped into the room, shut and locked the door. His muscles bunched in his jaw as he gritted his teeth.
Marc turned and she took in her new surroundings. A small built-in bed took up much of the room, leaving them just enough room to stand and open the door to a second private bathroom just off the side.
She lowered her legs and slowly glided down Marc’s hardened body. So much delicious male.
Colt stepped up behind her and snaked his arms around her. He slipped a hand beneath her borrowed T-shirt, grazing the sensitive skin of her midriff. She shuddered. His warm, expert fingers cupped her breasts through the silky material of her bra. He had such a gentle touch. She liked that about him.
Marc reached for the edge of her shirt, curling his fingers into the material. This is it, chica. Her lips parted and she straightened slightly so he could tug off the offending piece of cloth.
Sunrise For Three: A Military Erotic Romance (Sexy Siesta Series Book 3) Page 6