by James Tate
He nodded, smiling. "Of course. They'll probably be at our wedding, after all."
I spluttered a laugh, then groaned. "Fuck, I almost forgot all about that."
"Rude," he murmured, his gaze turning playful. "This could be the happiest day of your life, you know."
I shivered, dread rolling over me. "I hope so," I whispered. "Because that will mean it ends with the reception hall painted red with the blood of our enemies."
Archer gave a small groan. "Fuck, baby girl. Keep talking dirty to me and I'll have to give Kody a run for his money on this countertop." His hands drifted to my ass and squeezed.
My hips rolled under his touch before I could even catch myself, but then I shook my head. "Tempting. Very fucking tempting, husband. But I need to go and deal with Steele's secrets now." I frowned. "Does it have anything to do with that night? When I met Rachel and you almost died at Damien's hands?"
He just shrugged. "Let him tell you. Talking about Rachel is really hard, but it's helping him heal. You're helping him heal, Kate."
"You're weirding me out with all these compliments, Arch," I muttered, awkward and uncomfortable under his praise.
A wicked smile crossed his lips. "I'll make up for it later if you come to my room." He stroked my wrists. "These would look so pretty cuffed to my headboard while I fuck your ass."
My pulse raced, this time from excitement. "Well, that's more like it. But you'll have to take a raincheck on that idea." I pushed him away with my hands flat on his hard chest. "Steele already said I needed to be naked before he spilled his secrets."
I hopped down off the island and left Archer grumbling to himself about why he hadn't thought of that rule first.
Truth be told, I was a bit disappointed he hadn't. Then again, like he’d said, we had our whole lives...
However long that turned out to be.
9
By the time I crept into Steele's room, he was already fast asleep. Fair enough, too. My "couple of minutes" with Archer had gone much longer than intended, and Steele was still recovering, no matter what he pretended.
I hesitated a moment beside his bed, then decided I'd had enough confessions and secrets for one day. Besides, he needed his sleep. So instead of waking him up, I fetched a glass of water from the bathroom and set it on his bedside table with some pain pills.
Silently, I slipped back out of his room and closed the door behind myself. It had been crazy tempting to slide under his blankets and curl up in his warmth, but I knew that wouldn't result in a restful sleep for either of us. So I headed back to my own bedroom instead.
I went to sleep alone, but I woke up to the warm glow of a building orgasm as a skillful set of lips caressed my bare pussy and a talented tongue found my pulsing clit.
A low moan rolled through me, and I arched my back, threading my fingers into his hair and silently pleading for more. He chuckled against my clit, making me shudder, then slid two fingers into my cunt.
"Fuck," I hissed as he brought me to the edge, my brain still fuzzed with sleep and my eyes still closed. But I didn't need to see to know who was waking me up in the most delicious way. "Kody..."
My thighs tightened around his head as he pushed me off the cliff, and I groaned through a soul-deep, toe-curling climax.
"Good morning, babe," he murmured when my body stopped trembling and my legs released his face.
I let out a low laugh as he nuzzled my inner thigh, then clambered up the bed to lie beside me. "Good morning is right," I whispered, my voice husky as I licked my lips. "What time is it?"
Propping his head up on his hand and lying on his side to face me, Kody gave me a satisfied smile. "Time to get up. You promised me an hour of training before my bookings today, remember?"
I groaned, dragging a pillow over my face like I could pretend to still be asleep. Maybe I was still asleep? It could be a dream, right? A shitty dream, if he was serious about dragging me from my post-orgasm bliss to work out in the gym.
"Come on, babe," Kody said with a laugh and pulled the pillow off my face. "If you work out hard, I'll spare a couple of minutes at the end to reward you." His smirk was all mischief, and my stomach fluttered in response. Damn him for being so gorgeous.
"Fine," I replied with a scowl.
He leaned over and kissed me, leaving the taste of my own pleasure on my lips like a promise for what was to come. "Five minutes. I'll meet you in the gym."
I mumbled something that probably passed for an affirmative, and he climbed out of my bed.
"Don't go back to sleep, MK," he warned me from my doorway. "Five minutes, or you'll be paying for it."
He left my room with a smirk, and I mumbled curses under my breath. I knew all too well he didn't mean that I'd be paying in a fun way. More like he'd kick up my training a notch until I ended the session a boneless heap of exhaustion.
In retaliation, I dressed in just a pair of booty shorts and a crop top. If Kody was going to make me suffer through an early morning workout—because he and Archer had been taking my training seriously since Steele was shot—then I'd damn well make him suffer as well.
After all, I'd already come once, while he was sporting one hell of a hard-on when he left my room.
Snickering to myself, I jogged down to the gym and strutted in while weaving my hair into twin braids. It was the only way to keep it out of my face during a workout.
"Oh, really?" Kody scoffed from the far side of the gym where he was selecting a playlist from his phone. "That's how you wanna play it, babe?"
I grinned. "You're damn right it is."
Finishing my braids, I tied them off with rubber bands from around my wrist, then proceeded to start warming up. Lots of bending and stretching was involved.
Kody just shook his head and grinned. "You're cruel, you know that? And here I was thinking you'd be in a good mood after a wakeup like that."
I bent over in front of him, touching my toes and waggling my butt way more than was strictly necessary. "I'm in a fantastic mood, Kodiak." I peered at him from between my knees. "Can't you tell?"
He groaned and ran a hand through his hair. "Alright, let's do this then."
I had to hand it to him, when he set his mind into trainer-mode, he didn't let anything distract him. I knew because I'd tried everything short of turning up naked. It was totally worth it, though. An hour of training with him in the gym was like foreplay on steroids.
By the time he’d announced we were done, I was sweaty and panting. Only part of that was due to how hard he'd made me work out. After my bruises from the car crash began fading, Kody and Archer sat down and worked out a training plan for me, and I had to admit, they knew what they were doing.
In just ten days—since they started training me—I already felt more confident in my strength, endurance, and ability to fight back if anyone attacked. I still had a long way to go before any of them would feel confident that I could defend myself without them around. Hell, I doubted that day would ever come, regardless of how highly skilled in mixed martial arts I became, but it was nice that I no longer felt like a weak little girl.
"Here," Kody said, tossing me a water bottle. I caught it and took a long drink, trying to calm my breathing. My face was hot, and little strands of hair stuck to the back of my neck. Gross. I needed a shower.
I sat down on the mat, stretching out my leg muscles while Kody went to collect his phone from the sound system. When he came back over to me, though, there was a small frown marring his brow.
"What is it?" I asked with dread. He was looking down at something on his phone and handed it over as he sat opposite me on the mat.
"No turning back now," he commented as I scanned the article. It was the online version of the Shadow Grove Gazette, and the article was one that Archer and I had answered pages and pages of questions for a week ago. It was our official engagement announcement, splashed all over the tabloid newspaper for all of Shadow Grove—and most of California, probably—to see and read about. There was
even a sickly sweet photo of the two of us that the reporter had taken.
"This feels so weird," I muttered, handing his phone back with a sigh. "We're announcing a fake engagement a solid year and a half after being actually married, all to lure my wannabe assassins into a trap where we can turn the tables and wipe the slate clean."
Kody didn't reply, just slipped his phone into his pocket and stretched his own hamstrings out.
"What?" I demanded after a moment of tense silence.
His gaze shot back up to mine, and he sighed. "Sorry, I'm..." He trailed off with a guilty smile. "I'm jealous as fuck. I know it's not a real wedding, but it feels like this plan is robbing us of that whole experience."
Surprise flickered through me. "Um, you think about that? About us getting married for real?"
Kody met my gaze unflinchingly, and the answer was undeniable without him ever saying a word.
Shit.
"When you know, you know, babe," he told me with a lopsided smile. Without waiting on me to say something back, he pushed up off the mat and held out a hand to me. "Come on; we've got twenty minutes before I need to go. Let's hit the steam room."
Now that was a plan I could get on board with. Twenty minutes with Kody in the steam room? Hell yes, that was a worthy reward for the torture he’d just put me through.
The steam room was attached to the indoor pool, and I eyed the water with longing as we passed by. Maybe I'd take a swim after the steam room; I wanted to make the most of the twenty minutes before Kody had to leave for his client.
We didn't bother grabbing towels, instead, stripping out of our work-out clothes right there outside the steam room and entering totally naked. Why not, right?
Except we weren't alone.
"Jesus fucking Christ," Kody exclaimed when someone moved in the fog.
A familiar laugh echoed back. "It's just me," Steele replied. "But you two should probably have checked first. What if Steinwick was in here?"
"Ew," I groaned. "Thanks for the visual." I made my way over to where he lay on the highest bench, a towel draped loosely over his waist and his skin still slick with chlorinated water. Steele had been swimming.
"Good morning, gorgeous," he greeted me, arms linked behind his head as he eyed me with open appreciation. "What happened to you last night?"
I wrinkled my nose, taking a seat on a bench lower than him but turned sideways so we could talk. Kody sat behind me, then settled his magic hands on my aching muscles.
"My chat with Archer turned into a whole thing," I admitted. "You were so peaceful when I came up I didn't want to disturb you."
"Hellcat, you can always disturb me." He gave me a sleepy sort of smile, his gaze skating down to my tits and lingering there. His chest was bare, the red line of his healing scar exposed. It was such a strange thing that an injury as life threatening as a bullet to the chest could be reduced to just a line of scarring.
I reached out and traced my fingernail gently beside it, reminding myself for the thousandth time that he was still here. My stalker hadn't succeeded in taking him away from me. From us.
Kody's hands on my shoulders slid lower, his thumbs finding a tight spot near my spine, and I moaned on reflex.
"Fuck," Steele breathed. "Do that again."
Kody let out a soft chuckle. "This?" he repeated the movement, kneading the tight knot in my back and dragging an even longer moan out of me. Holy crap. I had my own personal masseuse and had never even known it.
"Shit yeah," Steele murmured back. His eyes were locked on mine now, his gaze heated. "How is it that you can get me so goddamn hard with just one sound?"
"Probably because it's the same sound she makes when your dick enters her for the first time," Kody offered, his hands drifting around to cup my breasts. My nipples were already tight, and just the lightest brush of his thumbs sent a shudder of arousal rushing through me.
Steele watched with hunger, and I licked my lips.
"How hard does it make you, Max?" I dragged my fingers down his torso, dancing them across each of his defined abs until I reached his towel. His tented towel.
A sly smile curved his lips, and I caught a flash of his tongue stud between his teeth. Fuck, I loved his piercings. "Careful, Hellcat. You're playing with fire. I dreamed about your body all damn night."
"Didn't we all?" Kody agreed. One of his hands left my breast and dipped lower, sliding between my legs and finding my slick folds. I'd been wet from the moment he woke me up with his face between my thighs; I was practically gushing now. "Go on, Steele. Show her what she's doing to you."
With small nudges, Kody shifted my position until I was on my knees facing Steele as he lay on the higher bench. Steele sat up slowly and swung his legs around until his knees bracketed my body and his towel-draped waist was in front of my face.
Kody's hand was still between my legs, his fingers sliding up and down my wet cunt but only teasing, never giving me what I wanted. Fuck. Fuck. They were feeling evil this morning, I could already tell.
"I dunno," Steele murmured as he tugged his towel free and wrapped his hand around his hard length. "Maybe I wanna hear you beg for it, Hellcat."
Kody's fingers slipped inside me, and I let out a sound of protest.
"Max..." I groaned and glared up at him. He knew full fucking well how badly I wanted his cock in my mouth.
He just grinned back at me, though. "Ask nicely, gorgeous."
Kody snickered a laugh, his lips trailing over my back. The steam had us all slick with condensation and sweat, which only seemed to enhance his touch. He tweaked my nipple with the hand still on my breast, and I gasped.
"Max..." I started again, then stopped to arch into Kody's touch more. The two of them were messing with me, but I was one hundred percent on board for that ride.
"Yes?" Steele prompted, stroking his hand down his metal studded shaft, teasing me.
I gritted my teeth, despite the fact that I was quietly getting off on his game. Sometimes a girl just needed to be pushed, and Steele was definitely in the mood for that.
Dragging my tongue across my lips, I held his gaze as Kody's fingers pushed back into me. "Max, please?"
A smirk touched his lips, but I saw his breathing hitch. "Please what?"
Fuck it. He wanted to play that game? I was all in. "Please will you fuck my mouth while Kody takes my pussy? I want you to pull my hair and make my eyes water. Choke me on your dick and come down my throat." I batted my lashes and smiled sweetly. "Please?"
Steele's jaw dropped, his eyes wide.
Kody started laughing, then bit the side of my neck playfully. "Well shit, bro. When she asks that nicely..." His lips brushed my skin as he spoke, but my eyes were still locked on Steele's.
A wide grin spread across his face, and he shook his head. "It'd be rude to say no when you're so damn specific." He brought his free hand to my head and wound one of my braids around his fist to drag my face closer to his cock. "Open wide, gorgeous."
I did as he said. Kody shifted his own position behind me, his hands moving to my hips as he angled my body the way he wanted. Steele used his grip on my hair to hold me still as he rubbed the head of his cock on my tongue, giving me a moment of warning and letting me taste his salty pre-cum.
"You asked for it, Hellcat." He smirked, then filled my mouth with his dick. At the same time, Kody impaled me on his huge cock, not bothering to work his way in like he often did.
Fair enough, too. Nothing about my request had implied I wanted soft and gentle loving. I wanted rough, dirty fucking. And that's exactly what they were delivering.
For a second, I couldn't breathe. But it didn't take long for me to relax and take Steele deeper. Not that I had much choice. He was taking me at my word, fucking my mouth while Kody pounded my pussy from behind. The metal of Steele's piercings clicked against my teeth, but I just took that as a cue to push myself harder. To take him deeper.
Grunted curses slipped from both boys’ lips, but I was incapable of sound
. Caught between two of the three hottest specimens gracing this planet, I was just hanging on for the ride. My hands were braced on Steele's thighs, my knees on the edge of the bench, and my orgasm threatened an early appearance.
"Fucking shit," Steele growled, both hands now on my head as his hips bucked and his cock choked me, exactly like I'd asked him to do. "Holy fuck, Hellcat."
"Agreed," Kody grunted. He was huge, and he wasn't holding back. My pussy ached, throbbing around his thick shaft, and all I could think of was how all the stalking and murder attempts were worth it. I could deal with anything when I had sex like this in my life.
Steele's hands left my head as he leaned back, bracing himself on the bench as his hips bucked up to meet my lips. Kody was a true friend, though. He grabbed my head from behind, shoving my face down onto Steele's dick while he ravaged my cunt with hard, fast, punishing thrusts.
"Holy shit," Steele laughed, his breath coming in harsh pants. "Fuck me, I'm gonna lose it."
"Hold up," Kody replied, releasing my head. "Let me make our girl shatter." His fingers dragged down my spine, slick with moisture from the steam and sweat, then dipped into my ass. Fuck. All the way into my ass.
A strangled scream escaped around my mouthful, and Steele groaned.
"Bro..."
Kody chuckled. "Two seconds. Promise." He withdrew his finger, then plunged two back in.
My whole body tightened like a damn bowstring, and Kody's hips started moving again. He fucked me hard and fast with his thick cock and with two fingers in my ass while Steele matched his pace in my mouth. Seconds later, I exploded.
I came so damn hard I was seeing stars and my entire body went fuzzy with pins and needles. Steele joined me, his hot seed pumping down my throat as he slammed into my mouth.
There was a sharp slap of skin on skin, then Kody grunted his own climax on the tail end of my orgasm. My cunt was still tight, pulsing around his dick as he filled me up.
Steele eased out of my mouth, his gentle touch stroking my face as he leaned down to kiss me. His tongue explored every damn inch of my worn-out mouth, totally unconcerned by the taste of his own arousal as he kissed me stupid.