Chapter Eleven
The last time Matt had felt that acute type of terror was the moment he’d watched a wall collapse on his cousin and was helpless to stop it. When Eric reached his arm into that small hole he thought his heart might stop. A part of him had already believed she was gone and he didn’t want to think about what he might have done if he’d found her lifeless body.
If she wasn’t so goddamn small they wouldn’t have been able to get her out of the opening he’d managed to hack between the floor supports. What shocked him was as soon as she cleared the hole she moved in the direction of the dining room. He’d thought she was disoriented until he heard her yell something about getting proof.
“Let it burn,” Eric snarled from behind his mask and tossed her up over his shoulder. The two of them hauled ass out of there before the flames ate away at their chance for survival. Matt felt the same way. He didn’t give a good goddamn about the feud or his family history. It had ruined too many lives over the past century and he wasn’t going to allow it to ruin his future.
Sanctuary didn’t have a separate EMS truck, but they kept a paramedic on call and he arrived moments after they got out of the house. Eric carried Jocelyn straight over to the paramedic. She was coughing so hard she struggled to catch a breath and looked so damn tiny. She was covered in dirt and soot and tear tracks marked her cheeks.
Matt pulled off his mask and turned back to the house. The roof had collapsed in on the second floor, as smoke was billowing out everywhere. Snow swirled around them but the ground around the house was bare as the heat melted everything.
“Let him look at you, Jocelyn,” Eric snapped out behind him and Matt turned in time to see the paramedic placing an oxygen mask over her face. Her eyes were wide and he could see how badly she was shaking even though a blanket was now wrapped around her. Eric knelt on the ground in front of her, his hands on her thighs. The paramedic cleaned and bandaged a cut on her arm. “She should really go to the hospital as a precaution.”
She immediately started to shake her head, but he glared down at her. She was their woman, and they were going to make certain she was perfectly fine despite what he was sure was an excuse formulating in her brain. “We’ll take her.”
“There isn’t much left to be done here now.” Eric looked up at him. “You tell the chief we’re going in?”
“I’ll be back in a moment.”
It didn’t take long to ask for clearance from the fire chief. Now that they were certain there wasn’t anyone else in the building they were going to let it burn itself out and make sure that nothing else ignited from it.
Matt jogged back over to the paramedic’s truck and hopped in the front seat. Eric sat in the back with Jocelyn wrapped up in a blanket, in his lap. He could still see the terror on his cousin’s expression but there was a relief there as well.
“I knew you wouldn’t freeze up,” he said softly. He’d had every faith in Eric’s ability, but it was his cousin who needed to learn that he was still a capable firefighter.
Eric looked up at him and a small smile curled the corner of his mouth. “Thanks, man. I don’t ever want to be in that position again.”
Matt knew Eric meant being in the position to save the woman they loved from a burning building and he felt the same way.
They arrived at the hospital, and Jocelyn’s unconscious body was whisked away while he and Eric were forced to sit in a waiting room and pace. After what felt like an eternity, the nurse came out and told them that other than a bit of smoke inhalation, Jocelyn was fine and they could see her now.
Jocelyn’s gaze met his for a moment before dropping. He knew they’d been rough on her at the Bandit but both he and Eric had known a fight was about to break out and had wanted to protect her. He watched as she averted looking at Eric and kept the blanket pulled tightly around her.
“Why did you go to the house, Jocelyn?”
She flinched at her name and another tear slipped down her cheek. “I thought I could find out the truth.” Her voice was rough and sounded painful. “I’m so sorry for saying what I did at the bar. I should have been more professional and not let my emotions rule my mouth like that.”
“Do you honestly think we give a goddamn over what a few McLeans say about us?” Eric responded.
“You told me to leave.” Her wide pain-filled eyes flicked back and forth between them. “You were pissed.”
“Darlin’, a fight was about to break out. We didn’t want you to get hurt.” Eric sat down on the side of the gurney, scooped her up, and sat her in his lap.
A series of harsh coughs robbed Jocelyn of her voice and scared the hell out of him. “Don’t talk anymore, beautiful.” Matt rubbed her shoulder and pressed a kiss against her smoke-scented hair. “You’re coming home with us and we’ll work all this out later on.”
* * * *
April 30th
Jocelyn picked at her dinner and finally gave up, pushing her plate away from her. She didn’t have any kind of appetite and the tension was starting to get to her. Both Eric and Matt insisted that she come home with them last night, after insisting that she go to the hospital to be checked out. She was released for minor smoke inhalation, but other than a scrape on her hand she hadn’t suffered any major injuries.
“Jocelyn, you need to eat more.” Matt pushed her plate closer to her and went back to eating his own dinner.
She clenched her jaw and glared at him and then looked over at Eric who appeared to be looking for the meaning of life in the bottom of his coffee cup. “I’m a grown woman. I know when I’m hungry and when I’m not.” She pushed the plate away from her again. “I appreciate you saving my life and making certain that I wasn’t injured but I’m perfectly fine. In fact, I had better get going. There are a few more things I need to find out before I finish my work here.”
“You mean the historical investigation in old families in this area, or two specifically?” Eric’s tone was completely devoid of emotion and she winced internally. There hadn’t been a single mention of what had been said at the Bandit yesterday and it felt like a giant elephant in the room. She had wanted to bring it up and get it out into the open but as soon as she mentioned it, one of the guys would change the subject.
“So now you want to talk about it?” She stood up with every intention of telling them to kiss her ass and march right back to Minnie’s. I might not have any right to carry on in such a dramatic fashion but it would sure be easier than explaining. It would also be easier than facing the two men she had betrayed by not telling them the truth from the beginning. She’d walked—no, run—full tilt into a conflict of interest and lost her heart along the way.
Eric reached out and grabbed her hand before she stepped away from her chair. “Sit down and talk to us.”
“What do you want me to say?” Jocelyn held on to Eric’s hand as she sank back down into her seat. She didn’t want to lose the connection to him and was afraid if she let go he might never reach out to her again. “I was invited here to investigate the origins to the feud that had brewed between the Baldwins and McLeans. Not to prove one of you right and the other wrong, but to simply find out the truth so all of this nonsense can come to an end.”
“Who hired you?”
“I can’t say. I promised to keep that a secret, it doesn’t matter anyways. Nothing that I bring forward now is going to stand up in a court of law.”
“Why not?”
“You heard what they said in the bar yesterday.” Jocelyn fought the urge to jump up and pace across the floor. “I compromised my investigation and reputation by getting involved with the both of you. Anything I bring forward now will have to be ironclad and waterproof and the best chance I had literally went up in smoke.”
“What had you found out so far?”
“I never should have opened my mouth. I don’t know why I did.”
“Because, you were trying to defend us.” Eric rubbed the back of her hand with his thumb. “Don’t you think we k
now that?”
“Fat lot of good it does, the damn town thinks you were trying to fuck me into it.”
Matt smacked his hand down on the table, making her jump. “Jocelyn, we’ve lived with this feud all our lives. Every year someone finds something to point a finger at the other family. There isn’t a single thing that happens in this town that doesn’t get blamed on the feud. In fact, I’d be willing to bet there are some of my family already blaming the McLeans for burning down that house.”
“The point Matt is trying to make is we don’t give a damn what other people say. They are going to talk no matter what the truth is. What is important is our future and where we go from here.”
Jocelyn had spent so much of her life trying to live up to others’ expectations. She couldn’t imagine not giving a damn about what was said of her. “But, what if they wrongly accuse your family?”
“What if is it true?” Matt countered. “What if there was a complete asshole in our family tree that started this whole feud. Would that change your opinion of us?”
“No, of course not. But what if—”
“We don’t care, Jocelyn.” Eric stood up and pulled her to her feet. “What we do care about is you.”
“That sounds very romantic, and I appreciate the sentiment, but it’s not realistic.” Jocelyn was trying desperately to hide behind logic and facts and protect her heart. In the short time she’d known these men they had made a place in her heart, and she was certain she’d ruined any chances with them by her outburst in the bar yesterday.
“Jocelyn, you’re not trying to tell me you’re not a romantic are you?” Matt looked far too amused as he spoke to her.
“Of course I’m not,” she automatically responded, despite the small voice in her head that agreed with him.
“So when Arwen gives Aragon her Evening Star necklace…”
“When you snuggled in my arms and looked over the lake with me…”
Jocelyn knew exactly what the two of them were getting at. It was something she’d been denying for a while. “What have the two of you done to me?”
Eric laughed and pulled her into his arms. “Nothing that wasn’t already there, darlin’. It’s just taken you a bit of time to see the truth.”
“That I’ve turned into one of those sappy, unrealistic romantics?” Jocelyn tried, but couldn’t keep the disgust from her tone.
Matt laughed with Eric as he got up and crowded her between his cousin and himself. “Your secret is safe with us, beautiful. We want to make your every fantasy come true, even the ones you might not be ready to voice out loud.”
“Like what?” They might have an idea what she desired but could they really see into her soul?
“Oh, darlin’.” Eric nuzzled the base of her neck as he spoke. “I’m about five seconds away from tossing you over my shoulder and taking you to a club that caters to your desires. They have a spanking bench there I would love to see you bent over.”
One simple sentence and Jocelyn felt her pussy come to life as moisture flooded her panties. A spanking bench? “You mean where anyone could watch?” The words shot out her mouth before she had a chance to stop them. It was one thing to play exhibitionist in a fantasy and a completely different thing to do it in real life.
“Not just anyone. Matt likes to show off but I’m more selfish than that.” Eric cupped her breasts through her blouse. Her breasts felt like they swelled under his touch, aching for the need to feel a direct caress.
“Imagine being in a shadowed corner, Jocelyn,” Matt whispered in her ear. “Restrained on a spanking bench, your ass and pussy exposed for anyone who walked by to see.”
She could easily visualize that, but part of her rebelled at being on display. Her body was disgusting and who would want to look at it anyways? She craved their toughness but there were times like this when she couldn’t ignore the inner voice that nagged at her self-confidence.
“Remember what we said to you.” Eric’s voice penetrated the negative spin her thoughts had taken. “No one else matters. We think you are perfect.”
Jocelyn thought of the words they had drawn on her skin. “Ours” had been written over her heart and it was one of her favorite memories.
“There are members of a club we belong to that would love to touch you.” Matt ran his hands over her ass. “But, all they would be allowed to do is watch as you lose yourself to us.”
Jocelyn closed her eyes and leaned back against his body. They belong to a club? The idea turned her on as much as it scared the hell out of her. Her body throbbed with need and she arched up into Eric’s touch.
“But, before you can come, darlin’, you need to be punished.”
Eric’s voice had chilled, and she felt a shiver dance down her spine as her pussy flooded with moisture. What is wrong with me? “What the hell for?” she asked.
“You stayed in a burning building and risked your life for a stupid bit of information.”
“It was information that might have cleared the Baldwin name,” she countered. Didn’t he understand? She might have had all the answers at her fingertips and she’d literally thrown it all away.
“Or it could have incriminated us further.” Matt’s hands were resting on her hips supporting her. She hadn’t realized that she was resting her entire weight back against him. His comment made her pause. She’d never considered the possibility that the information she found would have been negative. She’d been so sure that she could exonerate the family of any wrongdoing.
“It doesn’t matter either way,” Eric cut in. “I thought I was going to lose my mind when I saw your goddamn car next to a burning building. If Matt hadn’t remembered the cold cellar I would have torn the place apart with my bare hands.”
“I didn’t know it was burning. I took a mask with me this time and didn’t notice the smoke. I found an old carpet bag and I thought it might hold the proof I needed to solve this feud. I simply wasn’t paying attention to my surroundings. It wasn’t until I went to go back upstairs that I realized I couldn’t see anything and I panicked.” The fear worked its way from her memories. She remembered thinking that she’d been in the cellar much longer than she planned or maybe the old lightbulbs had burned out. A shiver ran along the back of her arms, chilling her, making her breathe quicker. “I went back into the cellar because I was trying to remember how to get out of the house and then I didn’t know where the fire was and I didn’t want to run directly into it.”
Matt slid his hands from her hips to around her waist as Eric slid his up and around her neck. His fingers rested on her spine, and he lifted her chin gently with his thumbs. “Never ever risk your life for something so stupid again.”
“It’s not stupid, Eric.” Didn’t he understand? “Finding out the truth is the only thing I’m good at. It’s what I do.”
“You are worth so much more than a bunch of historical papers. I don’t care if you had a scroll from the ancient libraries of Alexandria in your hand. If it means a choice of your life or the truth, I want you to live. We need you.”
Tears gathered in her eyes as she looked up at the sincerity in Eric’s face. She could see the fear in his eyes and thought about what he must have been feeling at that moment. “I’m so sorry I scared you both.”
Eric eased the hold on her jaw and she turned and looked up at Matt. “We’ll get over it” He pressed a kiss against her temple. “Right after Eric makes certain you remember never to do that again.”
That sent her gaze straight back to Eric who looked far too smug for her liking. Her heart pounded in fear and anticipation. She wanted to feel his hand on her but she didn’t want to go to a club. Not yet anyways. “Do we have to do this publically?”
“Not yet, darlin’.”
Matt helped her regain her balance and straighten up as Eric took her hand. “But, I wouldn’t make Matt angry anytime soon.”
She glanced up at Matt who was looking at her like a man who hadn’t eaten in a week. “I can’t wait till yo
u’re ready for that. But, there’s no rush. We can give you what you need right here.”
Eric led her back to his bedroom where he’d set up a strange piece of furniture. It looked a cross between a narrow picnic table and a sawhorse with two padded ledges on each side. “What’s that?”
Matt caught the hem of her T-shirt and pulled it over her head. Her sight might have been blocked for a moment but she could hear Eric’s slightly sinister chuckle just fine. As Eric explained Matt quickly divested her of every stitch of clothing until she was standing completely naked between them.
“Something I’ve been saving for the right woman.” Eric pressed a light kiss against her forehead. Jocelyn tilted her face up for a proper kiss but he shook his head. “Not till you’ve taken your punishment.”
He moved and Matt led her to what she figured was a spanking bench. Her nerves were starting to get to her regarding this whole punishment thing. She could hear what sounded like Eric getting undressed behind her but Matt’s big body blocked her view.
“I’m not sure about this?”
“Getting nervous, beautiful?” Matt whispered. “Don’t you worry. You say red and Eric will stop immediately. You liked it when he spanked you before, right?”
She nodded but stared at the red leather and black wood. Her pussy was wet, and she felt like an electrical switch had been flipped on her nerves. The more she stared at the bench the more nervous and excited she got.
“This is simply going a step farther.”
Matt was right. She loved the feel of their hand on her ass and knew they would never let anything permanently hurt her. She liked the idea she would be the only woman on here, but that didn’t go far to quash all her nerves.
Trust in Sanctuary [Sanctuary, Montana 4] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) Page 17