by Avery Gale
Everything she’d known about Texas, she’d learned from the movies, and it hadn’t taken her long to find out how uninformed she was. Her narrow view had expanded exponentially in the past year, and she’d come to love her adopted home. The vast state, three times larger than the UK, had such a varied topography, it was fun to explore. Colbie had spent every weekend for months traveling and swore she’d never seen the same thing twice.
“I’m not sure I’ve ever seen anyone drift away so easily.”
“It’s remarkable. I’m starting to understand the Wests’ concern for Tobi’s safety when she floats in and out of awareness.” The two of them might have been teasing, but she knew there was a lot of truth in their words.
“I guess this means I feel safe with the two of you.” Though I’m not sure why.
“Good save, Spitfire.” She gave him a cheesy grin, but didn’t think he’d been fooled by her attempt to redeem herself. There wasn’t any reason to deny her earlier lack of focus; she was cognizant enough to know how dangerous inattention could be. The stories she’d been told by the agents in charge of settling her in to the program had been terrifying. She had no desire to become one of their statistics.
“What the hell are you thinking about? You just went deathly pale.” Bode was suddenly standing right in front of her, his fingers tilting her chin up until their eyes met.
Taking a deep breath, this time she hesitated to answer. There was such a thing as too much personal information when she had no idea where they stood. As far as I know, they’re just babysitting. Don’t assume a man is interested just because he smiles at you, Guinevere. How many times did I hear my mother say that? And for fuck’s sake, stop talking to yourself.
Liam burst out laughing beside her and when she refocused on Bode, amusement lit his chocolate colored eyes. “We are not in any way interested in babysitting you. I’m not even going to start on all the reasons that’s inaccurate. Our interest in you started the minute you hit our radar, Storeen.”
Realizing she’d said the words aloud should have embarrassed her, but she pushed those feelings aside, she’d already made herself look like a ninny.
“What does that mean? I know I’ve heard that word before, but I can’t remember where.”
“Probably English Lit in college. It’s ancient Gaelic. Bode slips into it on the rare occasions his thinking veers from logic to emotion.” She could hear the amusement in Liam’s voice and to her surprise, Bode’s cheeks pinked ever so slightly.
“It means little treasure.”
She felt herself relax. If he was referring to her as a treasure, perhaps they weren’t just guarding her until she could be relocated.
“I really appreciate your habit of speaking your thoughts aloud. It’s a huge help to know what all those fleeting expressions mean.”
Colbie had never considered herself a pushover, but she could sense how easily these two could steamroll her. They wouldn’t do it with force. Their coercion would be wrapped in beautiful paper and tied with a shiny satin bow. Deciding she needed a few minutes out of their realm of influence, she took a small step back and straightened her spine.
“I need to take a shower before dinner. Can you show me to your guest room?”
Liam’s eyes narrowed almost imperceptibly, but she didn’t miss the shift. “I’ll show you to the room you’ll be using.” Something in his tone sounded… odd, but she shrugged and followed him down the hall. When she started to grab her bags, Bode shook his head and scooped them up, carrying them effortlessly down the hall. They passed several closed doors and she was beginning to wonder how many bedrooms the apartment could possibly have. As if reading her mind, Liam looked back over his shoulder and gave her a tight smile. “We’ll give you the nickel tour later. There are bedrooms, closets, and an office down this hall. The playroom and another large bathroom are on the other side of the living room.”
“A playroom? You don’t go to the club downstairs?”
“Kyle and Kent said they often played up here to avoid being interrupted with club business. And they didn’t like playing in public during Tobi’s pregnancy because they knew how self-conscious she was.”
“She’s very petite. I’ll bet carrying twins made her feel as round as she was tall.” She’d heard Tobi make that remark, but Colbie didn’t want to risk getting the other woman in trouble by revealing that. Tobi had also mentioned how frustrated her husbands got if she made disparaging remarks about herself. Colbie didn’t know the other woman well, but they’d chatted when Tobi brought her large SUV into the garage for repairs.
“Wait. Is this the master bedroom?” She wasn’t entirely sure why she’d bothered to ask because it was so obviously a master suite. The room was enormous with a triple-tiered ceiling with embossed tin lining the peak. Hidden track lighting along the tiers made the ceiling glow and the effect was spectacular. “This is amazing. I’ve never seen a ceiling like this.”
The bed was on a pedestal, making it the focal point of the room. The coverlet looked more like a feather tick with various blue and purple swirls that looked like a cross between Monet’s and Van Gogh’s starry night paintings.
“Yes, it’s the master. The bath is through that door and the closet is here.” Liam opened the door to a closet which was larger than the one in her parents’ home in London. She watched Bode set her bags on the padded bench in the center of the closet. Her mouth dropped open when he began unpacking her things. It wasn’t until that moment she wondered which one of the men from the Prairie Wind team had been tasked with packing for her. Thinking about someone touching her lingerie sent a wave of heat from her chest to her cheeks. “Do you see how much he is enjoying touching your pretty panties, Spitfire? I can assure you he’ll relish tearing them off you even more.”
She gasped, but didn’t respond.
“Personally, I think they are a waste of money, and I’ll prefer you go without, so I can run my fingers through the wet folds of your pussy and push you to the brink, no matter where we are. It will be fun to see if you can hold back your scream when you come during our first dinner party.” Liam was pressed against her back with one arm banded over her upper torso with his hand cupping the opposite shoulder. When did he move?
“Your heart is racing and your breathing just shifted, Spitfire. I think you like hearing my plans for you. And if mine elicit this response, I can’t wait to see how you react when you hear what Bode has up his sleeve.”
Her imagination kicked into high gear, and the lecherous grin on Bode’s face was tantamount to throwing gas on a fire. Desire spiraled from her core up her spine, then streaked back down to her sex like a bolt of lightning. Her skin started to tingle and everything around her dimmed.
“Breathe, Colbie.” Liam’s command was whispered against the sensitive shell of her ear before he bit down hard enough to startle her. She shuddered and sucked in several gulping breaths. When her vision cleared, Colbie found Bode standing directly in front of her.
“That’s something we’re going to work on, sweetness. We’re not into breath play. Gasping and screaming are perfectly acceptable, however.” The grin was back but this time it was accompanied by the molten look of pure, unveiled lust in his eyes.
Liam turned her and gave her ass a firm swat. “Take your shower and then we’ll eat. We’ll leave clothing for you on the bed. Wear it. Nothing more. Nothing less.” Right. Like less would be an option. Even the more moderate areas of the club Deacon had allowed her in had taught her a lot about the clothing optional concept touted on the Castle Masters website. She’d seen how little regard Doms had for clothing. They also seemed to be more than happy to relieve their subs of pieces if they offered any protest about what they were given to wear.
“Yes, Sir.” Her response had been automatic and when Bode arched his brow, she felt herself flush. “I watched Deacon take a piece of clothing from one of the subs in my training class every time she commented or frowned about the outfit he’d given her to
wear. As you can imagine, in no time at all, she was completely naked.”
“I’m glad you learned from her mistake. And don’t worry, since we’re eating lasagna, you’ll be reasonably covered. Neither of us wants to see you burned by hot sauce or pasta.”
“Thank you. I promise I won’t be long.” Stepping into the master bath was like walking into a magazine layout of the perfect personal spa. The bathtub looked more like a small pool, and she had a sudden flash of how much smaller it would seem if she was sandwiched between Liam and Bode. Both men were well over six-foot-tall, and their broad shoulders would quickly fill the space. Shaking off the vision of their naked bodies glistening with water as she slid between them, Colbie quickly stripped out of her clothes and stepped into the shower.
Geez. Get a grip and live in the moment because it’s entirely likely that’s all you’ll have.
Chapter Five
“THE ONLY THINGS in here worth saving are her panties and bras.” Bode surveyed the contents of Colbie’s clothing bag and shuddered. “Hell, even her work out clothes are little more than rags. Why the hell isn’t she using her trust fund money?” MI6 had convinced her parents to donate Colbie’s trust fund to fighting the sex trade and then immediately set it up in an account for her. The money laundering had been nothing short of genius, and the only person who’d been worried about it being traced back to her was Colbie.
“You know perfectly well why she isn’t using it.” Liam’s even tone was irritating simply because Bode knew he was right.
“I swear I’m going to take her shopping, then burn these in the middle of the damned driveway, just to make a statement.” He would, too. She was a beautiful woman who’d been thrust into a world she was ill-prepared for. In the process, she’d forgotten to nurture her feminine side. Bode didn’t intend to deny her the joy she found in working on motors, but he planned to show her the joy of embracing more than one side of her personality. Storming out of the room, he cast a glance over his shoulder.
“Check the food and I’ll get her one of my shirts, and then, I’m pulling everything back out of the closet and washing it. The smoke smell alone might set of the alarms.” He heard Liam’s snort of laughter as he stalked to his own room. He and his friend had each claimed a guest bedroom after the remodel, hoping that sometime soon they’d have Colbie between them in the master suite.
Returning a few seconds later, Bode started tossing her clothing into a small basket. He smiled when he heard her singing softly in the shower. He was surprised she’d left the bathroom door open; he wasn’t about to let the opportunity to observe her slip through his fingers. Her slender form was silhouetted in the steam-covered glass, but it wasn’t difficult for his imagination to fill in the blanks. Unconsciously rubbing his palms down the legs of his slacks, Bode’s palms were itching in anticipation.
Damn, he wished he could step inside to watch her hands sliding over her breasts. He’d encourage her to enjoy the sensuous feeling of her fingers pinching and pulling those tight nipples until they were drawn up into tight points. As her Dom that pleasure would belong to him—it would be his to share as he saw fit. But they weren’t there yet. Pushing himself away from the doorframe, he smiled when he recognized the song. Yes, sweetheart, if you say I have a beautiful body, I’ll definitely hold it against you. He draped his shirt over the foot of the bed, picked up the basket of stench-covered clothing, and sauntered out of the room, grinning ear to ear as anticipation thrummed through his body.
When he reentered kitchen, Liam’s eyes were glowing with the same eagerness Bode felt. “She’s going to be ours. I can feel it.”
“We’ll see. I hope so, but I’m trying to not get too far ahead of myself. I don’t think this is will be an easy transition for her. She isn’t going to open herself up easily. The program trainers did a great job of teaching her the importance of distance.” Bode understood the importance of the training she’d been given, but it was going to make reaching her on an emotional level more difficult.
“It won’t be easy, but nothing worthwhile ever is. We need to gain her trust. Remember, she thinks she is only here for her protection.”
“Which is bullshit since we’ve been plotting for months how to bring her into our lives.” This was the first time since he’d moved to the U.S. he felt things were finally beginning to fall in place. For the first few months, they’d been busy moving and training, so they’d been forced to stand by and let others watch over Colbie. It had been frustrating and hadn’t brought out the best in either of them. By the time they’d finished their training, he’d considered it a small miracle they hadn’t been fired. It wasn’t as if either of them needed the money—it was the principle of the thing, not to mention the satisfaction they found in making the world a safer place.
Bode felt her before he turned to find Colbie hesitantly stepping into the room. Her cheeks were still flushed from her shower, and her hair stuck up like red spikes. She looked more like a sprite than a full-grown woman. She’d obviously put on the shirt while still damp because portions of the fine cotton were nearly transparent. Hell, he might insist she always dress exactly like this every evening for dinner. Without saying anything, Bode held out his hand and was pleased when she walked to him without hesitation.
“You are temptation personified, Storeen. I know we said we would eat before discussing things, but I want to hear you say you’re interested.” He’d been intentionally vague. For now, he’d let her make her own interpretation. They could work out the details after they’d eaten, but his raging hunger for her needed to be addressed before they sat down to share a meal.
“Yes. I mean, yes, I’m interested in spending time with you, even if I don’t know exactly what you’re expecting. The biggest lesson I’ve learned is how quickly things can change. One moment in time can change the entire direction of your life. Everything you hold dear can be taken away from you in the blink of an eye, so it’s important to live in the moment.”
It troubled him to hear the sadness underlying her words. It was true—stepping into the police station that night had changed Colbie’s life in a lot of ways and so far, very few of those had been for the better. He knew she didn’t regret the decision, but that didn’t mean she didn’t miss her family and friends. If they were going to convince her they were serious, they’d need to fulfill her emotional needs as well as the physical. Helping her make friends would go a long way to make her feel more settled.
“That’s all we need right now, Spitfire. Let’s eat before it gets cold. The sooner we eat, the sooner we can talk.”
And the sooner we can get our hands on you. Liam might not have said the words out loud, but Bode knew his friend almost as well as he knew himself.
*
LIAM WATCHED THE INTERPLAY between Bode and Colbie, pleased at how quickly his friend was assuming the role of her Dom. For a man who’d just said he was going to hold back, Bode seemed to be rolling full steam ahead. When Liam had turned from the stove to see Colbie standing in the doorway, he’d been completely thunderstruck. Red spiked hair pointing haphazardly in every direction, freshly scrubbed face glowing from what had obviously been a long, hot shower, and the almost transparent shirt Bode had given her, combined to make Colbie the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen.
The red was too stark for her ivory skin tone, and he looked forward to seeing her natural blonde hair again. He’d talk to Tobi and arrange for a girls’ spa day. He was sure their little Spitfire expected to return to work, but that wasn’t going to happen. Kent was arranging for her to work part-time with the caretaker of the compound. Don Reynolds would be thrilled to have her help since he was currently overwhelmed with the number of projects Tobi managed to talk her husbands into.
Don and his wife, Patty, had been the previous owners of the property. When their vacation ranch business began to fold, they’d sold the large estate to the Wests and agreed to stay on as caretakers. Theirs was the largest cabin on the property, and they were
also members of the club. Tobi swore there wasn’t anything Don couldn’t fix and Patty accused her of inflating his ego. Liam admired the friendship the five of them had forged. Kent had told him remodeling the property had taken a full year, but he swore it had been worth every headache and challenge they’d encountered.
Working in the on-site garage would give Colbie something to keep her mind busy while they tracked down and dealt with whoever had managed to find her. The slave ring had been furious with the raid which cost them several million dollars. They’d vowed to make an example of the woman who’d dared to cross them. It was Liam and Bode’s job to make sure that didn’t happen.
Settling her between them at the bar, Liam tapped the inside of her knee. “Part of being interested means you’ll be exposed to new things, and one of those is being accessible.” She moved her legs apart just far enough for him to slide his hand between her thighs. Bode did the same, and they pulled outward until her knees were spread wide enough. “Hook your feet around the legs of your chair. Perfect. Now, keep your legs open, Spitfire, I assure you it will be worth the effort.”
Ordinarily, he’d place a towel on the chair and have her lift the shirt so she was even more exposed. But he’d intentionally left the shirt under her, knowing any trace of wetness from arousal would be easy to see when she stood. It might make him seem like a caveman, but he was looking forward to seeing the evidence of her desire. Knowing he could elicit a physical response from a woman was satisfying, but when that woman was Colbie, it was a fucking rush.
They ate in companionable silence, but midway through the meal, he felt her stiffen beside him. Suppressing his smile, Liam looked down to see Bode’s hand stroking the inside of Colbie’s thigh. Her fork was suspended in the air, halfway between her plate and her mouth, as a full-body shudder moved through her. The flush, which had faded from her cheeks while they ate, returned in a heated rush. Perfect.