by DJ Michaels
Dev didn’t move but Rye knew he was on high alert. “What happened?”
She sighed, and Rye felt it all the way to his soul. “I was looking at the stalls and a guy grabbed my wrist. He called me Lady Willersby and he wore the colors of House Lockmehdyhn. I had this moment of panic. Everything just stopped, and when it started again I was running. I heard him shout and I thought he was giving chase, so I ran faster. I just ran.”
Rye slipped his arm around her waist and squeezed. “Next time you run, you need to run to us, not from us.”
Dev grunted his agreement. “And for the sake of everyone’s sanity, next time you’re in trouble, call for Fellescend or Zenbaylan.”
She flinched and then went utterly still. “Bloody hell. They’re going to kill me, aren’t they?”
Rye nipped at her shoulder. “They’ll have to stand in line. You ever scare us like that again and I’ll…”
“You’ll what?” He heard the hint of a smile in her voice.
“I don’t know. Something bad. So be scared—be very scared.”
She snorted and pulled his arm tighter around her waist. “Mmm. Non-specific, generic threats. Very intimidating.”
He nipped her again, harder this time. It was difficult to threaten a woman who had been traumatized and was desperately trying to heal, especially when that woman owned him, body and soul.
He rubbed his cheek against the warmth of her shoulder. “Are you ready to go home now?”
“Yes.”
Rye braced to let her up, but she didn’t move. “Tansy?”
“I think I need a bit longer. Is that okay?”
Dev snuggled her tighter. “Take all the time you need, honey. We’re not going anywhere without you.”
Late that afternoon, Willersby Lockmehdyhn finished up the last of his paperwork and laid his pen down with precise care. He rang for his secretary, leaned back in the chair and congratulated himself on a good day’s work.
Donas entered on almost silent feet and collected the outgoing files and correspondence. But instead of quietly exiting, he came to stand in front of Willersby’s large desk.
“Yes?”
“Your pardon, my lord, but Tam is still waiting to see you.”
Tam was little more than a footman, ordinarily someone who would never be allowed entrance into Willersby’s study. However, the boy showed an enormous amount of promise, and he was being groomed for much bigger and better things. Tam had even spent some time in Allsgate as part of Willersby’s personal entourage. Willersby had long recognized the value of personal encounters with younger staff. While he’d made Tam wait half the day—he was just a footman, after all—Willersby was prepared to give the young man the benefit of the doubt. This time.
“Bring him in.”
“Yes, my lord.”
The lad entered, livery immaculate and not a hair out of place despite the fact he’d been lingering in the hallway all afternoon.
Willersby gave him a sharp nod. “Tam.”
“My lord.” The boy’s bow was smooth and just a little deeper than it needed to be.
“Donas said you insisted on seeing me personally and in private.” The warning was unspoken but understood. If Tam’s reasons were insufficient for this breach in protocol, he and every member of his family would be looking for a new job by morning.
Tam jerked and nervously cleared his throat. “It’s not that I insisted, my lord. It’s more that I thought this information was too important for any ears but your own.”
“Go on.”
The boy moved forward a half step and dropped his voice to a whisper. “It’s Lady Willersby, sir. I saw her in the market today…”
That was as much as Willersby heard before his head started buzzing. Tam was still talking, but Willersby could hear nothing over the roar of fury that gripped him right down to his bones. The whore was still alive, brazen enough and stupid enough to step out into the open. And by doing so she’d put a target on her back.
“Stop talking,” Willersby said to the boy. The air was coming into his lungs hard and uneven, and it took him a few moments to get himself under control. Once he’d smoothed out his breathing, he concentrated on his heartbeat, slowing it down to a more normal rhythm. As soon as he’d regained command of his body, he began to clear his mind, letting go of the clutter and freeing himself to give Tam his full attention.
“So you saw Lady Willersby, tried to speak to her, and then she ran. What happened next?”
“I followed her, my lord. When she looked at me she had such a strange look in her eyes that I was worried for her safety. I wasn’t aware she’d left the Residence and I couldn’t imagine what she’d been doing out on her own at the market. But she’s quick.”
Willersby was intimately acquainted with his mistress’s physique, and he had no doubt she could run, but Tam was young and fit.
“Did you catch her?”
“Almost.” The boy grimaced. “She got a head start on me but she left a wake in the crowd easy enough to follow. I was gaining on her when two Enforcers came out of nowhere and cut in front of me. They were chasing her too, and their size made them easy to follow. When I finally tracked them down—”
The boy cut himself off in mid-sentence, flushed red and sealed his lips together.
“Finish that thought.” Willersby made his voice hard enough to cut.
Tam squirmed where he stood. “I’m sorry, my lord. When I found them, all three were sitting on the ground and Lady Willersby was wedged firmly between the Enforcers. They were…comforting her, and she wasn’t protesting.”
So, the whore had found herself new protectors. How futile of her, and how unfortunate for the Enforcers in question.
“Describe the dragon riders.”
“I don’t need to, sir. I know who they are.”
Willersby let his eyes go hard and cold, pinning the boy where he stood. “Tell me.”
“Den Captain Devonelle Sharmanchere and Enforcer Ryderich Myrinmahr.”
Willersby allowed his fists to unclench as he relaxed back into his chair. Now he knew where to find his missing whore and who he’d have to kill to get her back. It wouldn’t be long before his reputation and status were completely restored.
Chapter Ten
After the panic and upheaval of the previous day, Tansy had braced herself for a relapse, but it seemed her Enforcers were better at coping with her triggers than she was. On their return from the market, they fed her and spent the afternoon teaching her one of their incomprehensible board games. They kept an eye on her but didn’t treat her with kid gloves, and the very normalcy of their actions allowed her to regain some stability. They talked about their childhoods, shared stories from their respective service—hers in the army and theirs as Enforcers—and at no point did they examine more recent events.
When the evening grew late, it seemed the most natural thing in the world to follow Dev and Rye to their room and crawl into bed with them. And she slept, not like a traumatized woman, but like a woman who knew she was safe and very much cared for.
Waking up pressed skin to skin with her Enforcers was glorious, surrounded as she was by heat and muscle. It was a situation she could get used to, and she would have been happy to stay exactly where she was if her bladder hadn’t been ready to burst. Moving as quietly as she could, she eased her way out of the covers and began to crawl down the bed. She wasn’t quite home free when a big, possessive hand slid around her ankle.
“Going somewhere?” Dev’s voice was soft and sleepy.
“Just to the bathroom.”
He grunted. “You plan on coming back?”
“Yes.” Truthfully, it hadn’t occurred to her to run. She remained still, allowing Dev to restrain her with nothing but his hand on her ankle, showing him how much she trusted him. And ignoring the fact that she was naked with her ass in the air.
He squeezed and released. “Hurry up.”
Grinning at his imperious tone, she scrambled off the
bed and hurried into the bathroom. She was only gone a few minutes, but her men put the time to good use. When she walked back into the bedroom, the curtains were open to the light, the covers on the bed were gone, and Dev and Rye were sprawled on the sheets in all their naked glory.
Tansy walked to the end of the bed and looked her fill. Both men were big, and they took up an awful lot of bed. Broad shoulders, deep chests, flat stomachs, bulging arm and leg muscles. And cocks big enough and aroused enough to leave her in no doubt of how much they wanted her. Her pussy clenched in need as she let her eyes wander down, then up, and down again.
Her mouth watered, her soul yearned, and in that moment she thought maybe she was brave enough to make a choice. Climbing onto the bottom of the bed, she crawled her way up until she could kneel between them, thigh to hip. Reaching out, she laid a hand on each abdomen, her hands looking pale and dainty against the stark masculinity of their copper-tinted skin.
And then her body locked. As much as she wanted to stroke that skin, as desperate as she was to rub herself all over them, she couldn’t seem to make her herself move.
“Tansy.” Rye’s voice was soft but there was a thread of command in it. “Look at me.”
She lifted her eyes, and the moment he caught her in that now-familiar lavender stare, her anxiety began to ease.
“We want to make love with you, Tansy, here and now.” He made no move to touch her. “But if you don’t want that, you can leave this bed and we’ll go on as we have before, taking care of you, protecting you. You are ours, and nothing will change that.”
“But you want more,” she whispered. She was desperate to give them what they needed—what she needed. If only her will was stronger than her memories.
Dev eased up on his elbows, his dark-purple hair sliding over his shoulders to pool on the sheets. “Yes, we want more. And so do you.”
She didn’t just want more, she wanted everything. “But what if I can’t?”
He smiled and rolled toward her, covering her thigh with his calloused hand. “It’s not a ‘now or never’ proposition, Tansy. It’s ‘now or later’.”
Rye sat up, placed her hand firmly on his cock and pulled her in to the security of his arms. “Let us love you, honey. Dev and I can give back what was taken from you, and you can give Dev and me something we never thought we’d have.” He leaned in for a soft, slow kiss. “You are ours, we are yours. Let’s make it official.”
Sinking against the irresistible warmth of his body, she gave him one more out. “Are you sure?”
“Yes.” He nipped at her mouth. “Are you?”
Yes, she was sure she wanted this, wanted them. What she wasn’t sure about was whether or not her mind and body could stay with them in the here and now. “I’m scared I’ll flip out again.”
Dev moved closer and trailed his hot mouth up her neck. “If you flip out, we’ll hold you until you come back to us. We’ll do it as often as it takes, for as long as it takes.” He took her spare hand and wrapped it around his erection. “We’re in this together, all three of us.”
She squeezed and had the satisfaction of feeling them both tense up. “Not just three of us,” she said. “Fellescend and Zenbaylan make five.”
Dev lifted his head and stared at her, his eyes arctic blue. “Don’t ever mention their names while we’re naked. They’ll take it as permission to get into our heads while we’re fucking.”
Tansy snorted. “Not keen on getting bedroom tips from the black-and-scalies?”
“I don’t need tips from them or anyone else.” Then he moved so fast his body blurred.
One moment Tansy was on her knees, teasing, the next she was flat on her back with one hundred and thirty kilos of hot, sexy muscle covering her like a blanket. She gasped out a laugh and held her hand out to Rye. “Help me.”
He rolled over, pressing himself tight to her and Dev. “Right now I’m on his side. You don’t get to tease an Enforcer without consequences.”
Tansy pretended to frown, which took some serious concentration when Dev was laving her neck with insistent kisses. “Consequences?”
“Yep.” Rye slid a hand between her and Dev, forcing his way up to cup her breast. “Consequences of the orgasmic kind.”
Rye pinched her nipple and she felt the pleasure right down to her core. “Somehow that doesn’t put me off.”
Dev laughed and licked his way along her jaw. “That’s because you’re our kick-ass warrior.”
Yes, she was. She was a fighter, and she’d do whatever she had to do to keep these men in her bed. Then Dev took her mouth and she couldn’t do anything but feel.
Rye’s head was about to explode, or maybe it was his heart. The abundance of smooth, naked skin, Tansy’s breast firm and ripe in his hand, and the scent of her and Dev’s arousal were combining to ravage his control. And that was before Dev started kissing her as though he’d die without her.
Rye had always been more participant than observer, but watching the two people he cared about most in the world pleasuring each other was one of the most erotic experiences of his life. Tansy had both arms locked around Dev’s neck, pulling him closer, using her hold as leverage to arch against his body. The beauty of them fed his already wild desire.
Then a large, warm hand gripped his cock, and Rye was so surprised it seemed the whole world held its breath. Dev usually treated him with rough affection, but never in their entire time together had there been a hint of sexual interest in his touch. As Dev’s strong fist squeezed Rye’s cock, pulling with long, firm strokes, the pleasure was so intense he didn’t care whose hand was on him.
Just when it bordered on too much, Dev released him, and Rye shuddered in response. As his denmate kissed his way down Tansy’s chest, he cupped Rye’s neck and drew his mouth to her opposite breast. They latched on to her nipples at the same time, licking and sucking as she writhed under them.
Tansy’s scent was soft and sweet, much lighter than he would have expected from a woman with so much grit and courage. Rye had expected the hard steel of her personality to come out in her scent, but as he breathed her in all he could smell was light.
Rolling her nipple over his tongue, he used his hand to plump and squeeze her breast. Moaning, she fisted his hair, encouraging him to use his teeth to put an edge on her pleasure. Sliding his leg between hers, he pressed up, pinning her body and putting direct pressure on her core. She felt so small and delicate under him, and he was amazed so much strength could be stored in such a slender frame. He pressed his leg even higher and Tansy jerked, crying out and clutching tight as she rode his thigh.
Dev kissed his way over to where Rye was working her breast, and when his denmate’s lips touched his, Rye rolled his head a little, sharing his prize. Meeting Dev’s lips and tongue with his own, he licked, kissed and sucked Tansy’s velvety nipple.
Dev’s lips were soft, which was a surprise, but his tongue was all demand and that was no revelation at all. What shocked Rye to the core was Dev coming at him with the same intensity he showed Tansy. Dev’s free hand stroked over Rye as often as it stroked over their woman, and when Dev left her breast to work his way down her body, Rye moved aside to give him room.
The moment Dev settled between Tansy’s thighs he took a long, sensual breath and pressed his mouth to her core. He put one hand on her abdomen to hold her down and slid the other hand over her thigh to fist Rye’s cock. Rye arched into the grip and blindly searched for Tansy’s mouth with his own. Sealing his lips to hers, he took her harder than he probably should have, thrusting his tongue fast and deep, not just tasting her but consuming everything she was.
Edging closer, he lay over her, pressing his chest to her breasts, dominating her mouth while Dev dominated her core. She was close—Rye could feel the tremors taking over her body, and the knowledge burned in him like dragon fire. In an instinctive move to keep them all connected, he fisted one hand in Tansy’s hair to keep her close, and he fisted the other in Dev’s hair, pressing him a
gainst their woman. She came for them in long, shuddering moans that vibrated into Rye’s mouth in an echo of her pleasure.
She hadn’t quite come down when Dev nipped her thigh. “You good, honey?”
“Yes.” Amazingly enough, her smile was shy. Rye suspected the pink on her cheeks wasn’t entirely due to the orgasm they’d just given her.
Dev rubbed his face against her thigh. “I want to go again. Are you up for it?”
“Yes, but let me move down the bed a bit.” At Dev’s cocked eyebrow, her smile went from shy to sensual. “I want to suck Rye off while you go down on me.”
Rye would have protested—probably—but he’d momentarily swallowed his tongue. It took two attempts before he got the words out. “Are you sure? If that’s a trigger—”
“No, it’s not a trigger,” Tansy said. “Being too free was what got me into trouble last time. I think if you just hold me close, I’ll be okay.”
Fuck, she was killing him. He wanted to do right by her, but the thought of her hot little mouth on his cock while he held her fast and tight was too much for his good intentions.
“How do you want me?” And yes, his voice sounded as though he was being strangled. Every nerve he had screamed in need, and he was clinging to his control by the tips of his fingers.
Tansy frowned a little, her gaze flicking from him to Dev, to the bed, and back again. He didn’t even want to think about the positional gymnastics she was imagining. Thankfully she came up with something simple and easy.
Her brown eyes held nothing but certainty when she locked her gaze to his. “Lie on your side, but put your leg over me so I can feel your weight.” She glanced down at Dev. “Can you work with that?”
Dev’s smile was pure menace. “If it means getting my mouth on you, I can work with whatever you give me.”
Tansy laughed and scooted down the bed. Dev slid off the edge until he was kneeling on the floor, and Rye moved up until he had to curve his shoulders against the headboard. Once Tansy was ready, she slid her hand under his thigh and lifted it so it lay across her breasts, then she gripped the base of his cock with both hands.