Delicate Beauty

by Nikki Bolvair

  My heart pounded as my blood ran cold when I saw that my team and I only had fourteen minutes to get out of there alive. I forgot the ache in my arm and scooted myself to the nearest wall, using it to lift myself up and proceeded to bring my arms from my back and around to my front.

  With my hands in front, I reached up and pulled the gag off to whistle out and see if any of my team members were alert yet. Groans and curses sounded, and I knew that they, too, were getting the idea that we’d been set up, royally.

  My team followed my route with the gag, then we used our mouths for the ropes at our hands. We were soon free. The man in the chair never moved.

  I quickly reached him, afraid he was actually dead and felt for a pulse. Relief flooded through me when I found one. It seemed the man was just knocked out. I bent down and whispered, “Sir. Sir, can you hear me?”

  Nothing.

  “Dallon,” I whispered and received a grunt in response. “Can you tell if we're alone here?”

  “We're alone,” came the gruff answer.

  I looked toward my brother and nodded. “All right guys. Everyone out except for Dallon and me.”

  “No, we're staying,” Triton protested.

  “I need you guys out. I need to know that if we blow up, someone will protect the girls. That one of you will find Myter and give him hell. Do I make myself clear?” My voice came out strong and sure. This is what we did. This is what we'd prepared for. Nobody here wanted to die, but someone had to stay behind and try to save the man we came to rescue.

  Triton gave me a long look, then nodded. “You heard my brother. Team out!”

  As my team left, Dallon and I hurried to dismantle the timer on the bomb. I lay down on my belly and surveyed the colored wires coming out of the device. We had five minutes left. Time went fast when on an adrenaline high.

  Studying at the wires, I turned to Dallon. “Which one?”

  He ran his hand through his hair and sat back on his hunches. “I don't know, Trist. They all have current going through them, and I can't tell which one is the diffuser.”

  “It's the red wire, son,” a soft reply came from the man in the chair.

  A sense of relief washed through me, and my head shot up to meet a pair of violet eyes.

  “How do you know?” I demanded, my hand frozen over the white wire, the one typically used to disable a bomb.

  “He did it to confuse you in case you got this far. Trust me, son. It’s the red wire. I don't want to die today.”

  “We have two minutes left, Trist.”

  I took the man's advice, carefully reached for the red wire, and pulled.

  The breath I held whooshed out when the timer turned off. Relief filled my body as I carefully stripped the bomb from the leg of the chair, and Dallon pulled Trisha's father out of the room.

  I dismantled the whole bomb by taking the powder away from the igniter and emptying it in the toilet, where I flushed it away. Then I took the timer wires out and beat the crap out of it.

  My heart pounded hard in my chest as I realized how many minutes I’d been away from being dust. I drug my hand through my hair and stomped out of that house. Myter was going to die. I didn’t know how the hell he got in there and how the hell he was able to overpower us, but the one thing I did know for sure was he wasn't acting alone.

  I made a promise to myself and my team as I walked away from the house: I would never underestimate Myter again. When I get done with him, Myter would be six feet underground with no one missing him. As would Bane and Nero. When I caught up to them, there were good as dead.

  Failure and Rescue

  Triton

  After being debriefed by General Ammon, we left Trish's father at the base and my brother, Garret, Dallon, and I went back to the farmhouse to get our girls.

  When we entered the panic room, the last thing we expected to find was Samuel holding an ice pack to his eye. It put me on instant alert.

  “Where are the girls?” I demanded, worried they’d somehow gotten out.

  Samuel glared at us as and nodded toward a closed door in the back of the space.

  My eyebrows dipped. “Why haven't they come out?”

  “Whoa,” Garrett said, noticing Samuel’s injured state. “What the hell happened to you, dude?”

  Samuel’s eye puffed up like someone hit him.

  My eyes narrowed while taking him in. He looked more like he got jumped. He also sported a swollen jaw and a cut lip. “What did happen to you?”

  “Your women,” he growled as he sat carefully on the couch. “They tried to escape and knocked me out, then tried to dismantle the security system.”

  “Forget going soft,” Dallon growled as he headed to the door our women hid behind. “Melissa's getting spanked and not the erotic kind.”

  He tried the knob, but found it locked.

  “You don't want to go in there,” Samuel said, with the ghost of a smile.

  “Are they sleeping?” Tristan asked, walking over to the door to knock. “Beautiful, it's Tristan.”

  “Yes?” Trisha's high-pitched voice floated through the door.

  “Why don't you come out here?”

  “We're good in here,” she called back.

  I glanced back toward Garrett and Dallon. They came forward, and Garrett called out, “Sweetness?”

  “Yes?” Melissa answered back hesitantly.

  “Are you going to come out here and greet me?”

  “No. No, I'm not.”

  Dallon called out next. “Do we have to come in there to...”

  “No!” The two women inside the room screeched.

  We turned back to Samuel, who had a huge, wide grin on his face while he held up what looked to be women's clothes.

  “They're both kind of naked in there, guys. I had to prevent them from getting away somehow and give the two of them something else to worry about. So, I had them strip and took out every article of clothing and fabric that they could possibly use as clothing.”

  “So, they're completely and utterly naked?” I asked him, trying to clarify.

  “Not a stitch,” he told us, his grin widening

  The crotch of my jeans expanded at the thought of Trisha deliciously naked in there. Imagining her naked ass underneath my hands, making it bright red, and her wet pussy on me caused me to groan. That girl was going to be the end of me and my brother.

  I turned back to the door, and in my most authoritative voice, I demanded softly, “Open the door, Trisha. Now.”

  Busted

  Trisha

  We were busted. It took some time to find the computer mainframe, then we had to get the panel off. What we didn't expect was for Samuel to come up behind me and knock me out the same way I did him with a finger to the neck. After that, I woke up naked and bound to a chair in the bedroom with Melissa behind me in the same position.

  “Am I naked?” I groaned as I came to.

  “Yeah. I'm sorry,” Melissa whispered back from behind me.

  “Why?”

  “The asshole had me undress you, then myself, and tied us up. He told me it was for our own good. That our guys would kill him if we got hurt. He said he was sorry and that you threw a mean punch, but if you told any of the guys, he'd deny it. Stripping us was his way of making us more vulnerable.”

  My brows dipped. “Are you fuck'n serious? Why didn't you fight back?”

  “He told me the guys were already on their way here, and if I didn't do what he said, he'd knock me out. So, I balked,” she told me frustrated. “Sorry.”

  “Really?” I questioned, confused. She could have gotten away.

  “Yeah,” Melissa sighed. “I have to pick and choose my battles.”

  I shook my head dismissing her crazy reasoning.

  “So, my father?” I was worried about what the end result was with him.

  “He’s safe at the base,” she reassured me. “He’s being checked over and questioned
.”

  The fight left my body and relief replaced it. Tears gathered in my eyes as the ropes around us loosened. While we talked, Melissa had gotten us untied. She came over to me, pulling me to a stand. Even though we were naked, she wrapped her arms around me and let me cry on her shoulder.

  After a few moments, I regained my composure.

  Now, I worried about what was to come as a result of trying to escape Samuel. I drew away from my naked friend and tried not to feel awkward in our situation.

  In the outer room, the main door opened and murmurs sounded. I went to the bedroom door and locked it. I could feel them. They were alive, and we were so screwed. They spoke to Samuel. No doubt, he threw us under the bus.

  Now, they were here, demanding we open the door.

  Someone pounded once again.

  “Open the door, Trisha,” Triton's voice commanded. “Now.”

  His voice gave me the chills, or maybe, it was the lack of clothing. Either way, my nipples tightened close against my body. I bit my lip and glanced toward Melissa, who shook her head.

  “No, thank you,” I replied as I put a hand on the door frame, craving to touch them but worried about what was to come if I stepped outside my safe place. They threatened to spank me once, and I had no doubt they would follow through with it.

  “How's my father?” I asked, changing the subject.

  “He's fine. Beauty, we cheated death, and all we want to do is hold you, make love to you, and be grateful that we can still do that.” My heart pounded at Triton’s confession. “Now, open this door so we can hold you.”

  They almost died? I quickly unlocked and opened the door and saw my guys looking worn and sexy-dangerous in black fatigues. Bad ass. I threw myself at the twins, trying to reassure myself they were both fine.

  Melissa was a little more reserved, but Dallon and Garrett didn't wait for her. Those two went into the room as I came out and shut the door behind me.

  The twins quickly dressed me in a pair of sweats and a large T-shirt, then ushered me out of the safe room. Before we left, Triton turned to Samuel.

  “I wouldn't hang around down here.” He nodded toward the bedroom. “I think they're going to be a while.”

  They took me out of the safe room, which was in a barn on a fuck’n farm, and lead me inside the farmhouse and up some stairs to a back room. The bed in there looked normal, until I spotted the rings and ties.

  I turned around when Triton shut the door behind him and gave me an intense look as he flicked the lock. He wanted me to know he was in charge. That something was going to happen. My guys were wound so tight already, not only with the fear of possibly dying but also with the fear of losing me. Tristan closed the shutters, and Triton flipped the light switch. For a second, the room was dark until another light came on. A low hue of purple filled the room and a bench, along with a large black duffle, appeared in front of me.

  Triton let go of the duffle bag and walked toward me. Tristan stood off to the side, peeling off his clothing until only a hard-muscled chest and black fatigue pants stayed with the button open and zipper halfway down.

  Triton took my face in his hands and kissed me softly. Pulling back, he stared into my eyes. “Tristan is running on a high, Beauty. He could have died tonight. He and Dallon stayed back and sacrificed themselves to defuse the bomb.”

  I pulled away from him. “A bomb?”

  I could have lost him. I could have lost all of them.

  “Beautiful, we need something from you. We need some control back. Solid ground. We need to be in charge.”

  Unsure of what they asked for, but with a small inkling, I nodded.

  “Words, Trisha. Give us your word.”

  “Okay.”

  “Pick a word. One word to tell us you’ve had enough and to stop. Something simple.” His voice was on edge, and now, my nerves were too. My brain and my sex drive weren't talking today because his words made me wet.

  I licked my lips and breathed out, “Bananas.”

  He chuckled, and his eyes crinkled as a smile tugged at his lips. “Why Bananas?”

  I pursed my lips and replied seriously, “I'm allergic to them.”

  His smile sobered, and he nodded. “Bananas it is then. We'll need to remember that.”

  Tristan walked over to me, and his brother moved out of the way to let him have his time. He brought one hand up to my exposed collarbone where the baggy shirt I wore hung loose and trailed his fingertips lightly across it. Back and forth, each time moving the fabric of the shirt on the one side lower until one of my shoulders slid free and bared the rise of my breast. His hand finally stilled on my exposed shoulder with his other hand cupping around my neck.

  If I didn't know him, if I hadn't known how special and cherished I was to the two of them, I would have thought he was going to strangle me. But I did know him, and I understood. Even though the pressure on my neck was light, he was military and able to eliminate an opponent with his bare hands. He could kill me if he wanted to, but he only wanted my attention.

  No.

  He demanded it.

  I stared at his grim mouth and waited for him to take control. He needed this, and in a way, I did, too.

  His thumb caressed up my throat to my chin and applied the slightest pressure so my eyes met his hard ones. They softened briefly before I saw them glisten. Was he tearing up?

  They went hard again as he spoke, “You tried to escape. You fought Samuel knowing you were safe and then tried to escape again. Are you done running yet, Beautiful?”

  “I had reasons,” I told him, a little put off. “Good reasons for running. Melissa told me about my father at the base, and we were going to save him.”

  His lips twitched. “And the very first time you ran?”

  With all of my special training, I resorted to a pout. “That doesn't count.”

  He dropped a kiss on my lips, then pulled back to whisper, “Yes, it does. It's time for you to strip. Let's get those punishments out of the way, and then we can love you.”

  My eyes went wide. “You're really going to spank me?”

  He grinned as tension left his body, and he nodded. “Yes, but I'll make sure you enjoy the end result.”

  I shuddered, both scared and aroused as to what was in store for me.

  They told me to strip, which I did. Then, they had me lay across the padded bench. My nipples hardened as my chest touched the cool leather surface. I shifted to get comfortable for my, um...spanking.

  “Lift your hips,” one of the twins commanded.

  When I did, a pillow slid underneath, ultimately raising my ass up in the air.

  “What's your safe word, Beautiful?”

  I squirmed when I felt hands rub my ass. “Bananas.”

  “Good.”

  The hands left me, and I squeezed my eyes shut, waiting for the sting. I felt him before he spoke, his lips at my ear as he whispered the softly spoken words, “Do you realize what we would go through to make sure you're safe, Beautiful? To keep you?”

  Tristan’s voice was dangerously low, and it sent tantalizing shivers throughout my body. Did he even realize what his voice did to me? It made me remember the sensual commands he issued to me not so long ago.

  Fingertips traced my shoulders as he went on, not waiting for an answer. “Anything. We would do anything to make sure you’re safe. If you put yourself in harm’s way, you will be punished.”

  Fingertips traced my shoulder blades and then my lower back. Another set of hands worked on my feet with slight pressure, massaging, and working their way up.

  “You ran from us,” one twin spoke.

  “Then you hitchhiked,” the other twin struggled out.

  They both went back and forth stating what I had done to put myself in dangerous situations, all the while relaxing me with gentle massages. A hand reached the sore muscles in my lower back, and I groaned at how good it felt.

  “Ran again.”<
br />
  I was sure since their attentions were soft and relaxed, not matching their tone, that they weren’t going to deliver a punishment.

  “Then tried to escape by fighting one of our team members and possibly hurting yourself.” His voice became deeper, more dangerous, and dark. I tensed. I was wrong.

  “I counted five, but I'm sure there were more that we’re missing.”

  I heard a grunt.

  “Five, Beautiful. Count each one. Ready?”

  Was I ready? No. But I wasn't going to tell them that. At least I didn’t plan to, but my mouth spoke before I could stop it. Dang my stubbornness. “I don't think anyone's ever ready for—”

  Smack.

  The sting bloomed in my right ass cheek as I sucked in a breath. “Damn it! That hurt!”

  “Beautiful?” came the warning growl.

  “Dammit, yes. Let's just get this over with.”

  “Trisha.” A hand rubbed the sting on my ass cheek.

  “Fine, fine, okay. Dang.” I shifted, trying to get whichever one was doing that to quit.

  Smack. I grimaced. “One.”

  Smack, on my left. “Two.”

  Smack, my voice became higher. “Three!”

  Smack. I was a FBI agent! I was better than this! “Four!”

  Smack. A tear fell. “Five. I'm sorry,” I sniffed. “I'm so sorry.” Damn my girly hormones.

  Hands rubbed my ass, making me restless, and the burn hurt. But then, the heat spread into something more. I shifted my head to the side, and a hand brushed back the wisps hair from my face before soft lips touched mine, giving me the comfort I needed.

  While the burn on my ass bloomed into heat and arousal, hands massaged and kneaded my cheeks, pulling them apart before a sole finger brushed against my most feminine parts. I moaned into the kiss as the finger slowly made its way inside my folds, teasing. Moisture flooded my channel as I became aroused.

  I pulled back from his lips, gazing into the eyes of Triton, “Please.”

  That night was the most intense night of my life. If anyone had told me I could get horny after a spanking, I would have told them they had gone batshit crazy...well, yeah. That about sums up my life in a nutshell.