by Kris Norris
“Lelin was insane. But I was more nervous about him dying and losing whatever was locked up in that skull of his than anything else. Guy wasn’t much of a fighter.”
Jake’s expression tightened, his lips narrowing into a thin line. He glanced at the other men then back to her. He scrubbed a hand down his face. “Are you really going to make me ask?”
She matched his expression. “Does the answer really matter? You were all there. You saw my reaction. If that changes things—”
“Changes things?” Jake gained his feet, marching over to her. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”
She rose, not giving an inch when he loomed dangerously close to her. “It means that if you can’t handle that fire scares the shit out me then there’s not much I can do about it, can I?”
He scrunched his face up. “Jesus, Harper, is that what you think? That we’re ashamed you’re afraid of something? Fuck! We’re all afraid of something. Quite honestly, it’s actually a relief to know you’re not quite the stone-cold operative you show to everyone. That there’s a part of you that’s actually vulnerable.” He shoved his hands in his pockets. “This isn’t about the fact you’re scared. It’s that there’re demons eating you up inside you won’t share with us. That you think to do so would make you weak.”
She didn’t miss the pain in his voice or the desolate look in his eyes. She glanced at the other men, noting similar expressions. Something snapped inside her and she took a step back, not sure she could be that close and still remain strong.
“It does make me weak. A liability. God, Jake. If you hadn’t been there…” She choked back a sob. “I wouldn’t have been able to do it. Crawl under that damn beam. No way. I looked at those flames and I swear they looked right back.”
A shiver slithered across her skin, beading it with bumps. Jake lunged for her, grabbing her around the waist and pulling her tight to his chest. She tried to shove him back, beating her hands on his chest until the dam simply broke. She sobbed twice, not fighting him when he lifted her up, carrying her back to the center. Sully and Cogan gathered around them, their hands soft against her back. Jake made a gentle rocking motion, much like she’d done in the hallway, only this time it wasn’t out of fear. It soothed her, made her feel safe.
They made her feel safe.
“Easy, love.”
Jake’s voice smoothed over her, the raspy tone like a physical caress. Tears dampened her cheeks and she tried not to cringe when Cogan leaned in, brushing some of them away. His thumb lingered on her cheek, the warmth in it making her cry more. None of the men spoke. They just sat around her, taking turns stroking her back. She closed her eyes, feeling more raw, more naked than when she’d been splayed over Sully’s lap, ass bare, legs spread wide. This went deeper than anything physical. They’d gotten her to reveal her soul, and she wasn’t convinced she’d be able to hide it again.
Harper clenched her jaw, wishing her body would stop shaking when Jake dropped a kiss on the top of her head. She fisted his shirt, torn between wanting to stay in his arms or having the floor open up and swallow her. She hadn’t cried since…
Her chin quivered, and she knew she didn’t have the strength to push them away. To hide anything from them, and all they had to do was ask.
She released a shaky breath. If she’d had any doubts that she loved them, they’d been shattered. Even huddled in Jake’s arms, Cogan and Sully rubbing her back and arms with tears dotting her cheeks, she didn’t feel weak like she’d feared. She felt complete. Broken but somehow rebuilt. Improved.
Cogan cupped her jaw, patiently waiting until she raised her gaze to him. God, how she must look. Eyes puffy and rimmed red. Tears still clinging to her skin. Not exactly the image she pictured of herself.
He gave her a sexy smile. “Better?”
She took a shaky breath, hoping they ignored the way her hands were still white-knuckled around Jake’s shirt. “If utter humiliation is your definition of better then yeah, I’m great.”
He scowled. “Why would you feel humiliated? It’s just us.”
She scoffed. “Just you? Right. Just the three men that mean more to me than anything. Why wouldn’t I want you to see me like this.”
“Like what, sweetheart? Human?”
Her jaw trembled again, and she had to clench it to stave off another round of tears. He sounded so sincere. So completely baffled by her feelings.
Sully shook his head. “See, that’s the problem with badass partners, boys. They forget that sometimes, us alpha types want to be the big strong Neanderthal that protects them. Occupational hazard I guess.”
“It’s not that I don’t want you three to protect me, it’s just… My deepest fear—the one thing that breaks through all my training. That turns me into that eight-year-old little girl hiding in the darkness again —is what you guys are best at. Down there…” She forced herself to swallow. “I’ve never seen men display more bravery, more courage under fire, literally, than you three. And I’ve never been so proud and so damn scared in my life.”
Jake chuckled, shuffling her slightly until her head rested in the crook of his shoulder as her back pressed into his chest. “Don’t you think we feel the same about you? Shit, you go through infected like they’re puppets. You killed one with DVDs and a damn shank you made from a VHS tape! That’s not something you see everyday, trust me. Even Barrett and Rhys aren’t that savvy. And I can assure you there isn’t a day that goes by those bastards don’t get to me.”
“Jake’s right, darling. We’re all afraid of something.” Sully mimicked Cogan’s stunning smile. “And zombies and fire warrant respect. I’d be more concerned if you weren’t cautious of at least one of them.”
“Cautious? That wasn’t caution, baby, that was debilitating fear.” She shivered as the images replayed in her head, but not the ones from today. She looked up at them, glancing at Jake over her shoulder. “I remember everything about that day. The heat, the smell, the color. The way the flames seemed to breathe or how they roared as they crept through the rooms, consuming everything.”
Cogan brushed her hair back from her face. “Who did you lose in the fire?”
She cocked her head off to the side. “Everyone.”
“Your parents?”
She nodded. “My older brother, Scott. God, I’m not sure I even remember what he looked like. Just that he was a giant pain in the ass. Always finding a way to get me to do his chores for him.”
“You grow up in foster care?”
“No, though I’m not sure if I might have been better off. A friend of my father’s took me in when they couldn’t find any relatives willing to. He and his wife worked in the Embassy.” She snorted. “It wasn’t because they loved kids. They didn’t have any of their own. It was more of a political move. Taking in an orphan. A victim of a brutal tragedy. It looked good. Got them noticed in the right circles. Life with them was very…clinical. I spent an unhealthy amount of time inside that place. Somewhere along the line, they discovered I had a knack for languages. They got me recruited by MI6. I just didn’t stay on the path they’d set in motion very long.”
Cogan reached for one of her hands, giving it a squeeze. “Sully’s house burned down when he was a kid, too. But his family was lucky. They weren’t home. But just seeing the damage…knowing they’d lost every memory. It’s something none of us have ever forgotten. And I’m sure it’s the underlying reason why we chose this vocation.”
She traced her fingers along his jaw, the stubble-rough skin tickling her skin. “I’m pretty damn sure it was born into you, not chosen. Not when it’s in your blood. And it’s definitely in your guys’ blood.” She dropped her hand. “I guess I just feel bad that the one thing that frightens me is what calls to you.”
Sully laughed. “Oh, darling. Our love for you doesn’t hinge on whether you love roasting marshmallows. Honestly, it’s nice to have something we might actually be better at than you.”
She punched him in the chest,
thankful he’d lightened the mood. “Jackass.” She sighed. “I just want you boys to know I’ve got your back.”
“You do. And when it comes to battling our way through flames, we’ve got yours. Can’t make it any clearer than that.”
She smiled. An easy one that felt right. “Guess you can’t.”
Jake gave her a hug. “Come on. You should rest. We can take turns holding you if you need us to.”
She stopped the man from standing, holding his gaze before glancing at the others. “I need you to do more than just hold me tonight.”
“Harper…”
“Are you boys really going to make me beg? After I cried in your arms?”
Sully shrugged. “Wouldn’t be right to turn the lady down.”
Cogan laughed. “No. I imagine it wouldn’t.”
Both men rose, slowly stripping out of their clothes. Harper sat in Jake’s lap, watching them unveil inch by glorious inch of male perfection. Braided muscles and sun-kissed skin accompanied by large erect shafts jutting out proudly from their groins. She studied every nuance of them, memorizing the angles and planes. Curves and dips. She reached for them when they returned, going to their knees in front of her. She palmed their jaws, her hands still trembling slightly.
Cogan placed his fingers over hers, stilling them. “We’ll take it slow tonight. Give you whatever you need. All you have to do is let us love you.”
A new wash of tears faded down her cheek as she smiled at them. “Don’t have any other choice. Couldn’t stop loving you guys if I tried.”
The muscle in Cogan’s temple flexed a moment before he leaned in, claiming her mouth in a slow, wet kiss. It was gentle, coaxing, as if he was showing what he had to offer but allowing her to choose how far she wanted to take it. He’d promised her slow, and his kiss was obviously just the beginning.
Harper responded in kind, her emotions still too raw to intensify it. She knew the occasional shiver trembled through her, and she needed the sensuous contact as a counter-measure. A way of expending the fear and adrenaline without losing the warm feeling coiling low in her belly. She’d never loved like this. Never allowed it to be more emotional than physical, and she wasn’t about to pass up the opportunity. They meant too much to her.
Cogan dropped a kiss on the tip of her nose once they’d parted, keeping his mouth close. She teased him with soft pecks of her lips over his, smiling when he chuckled against her flesh, deepening the next pass. His fingers stroked across her shoulder and up her neck, settling at the back of her head, her hair bunched in his fist. She tangled her tongue with his, savoring the spicy taste of him when another set of hands landed on her waist.
She hummed into his mouth, lifting her hips when the top of her pants flicked open. The fabric slid down her body, tugged free before Cogan finally released her, easing back as his gaze fell to her lap. The muscle fluttered again, and she could see the cost of his restraint. How his arms tensed at his sides, his cock pulsing with need, the head glistening with pre-cum. His chest heaved with anticipation and though she knew he wouldn’t cross the line, there was no denying his hunger.
His finger scored a path down her chest, between her breasts and across her ribs, circling her bellybutton before pausing on the top of her mound. A guttural moan rumbled free as he dipped just the tip into her slit, the sound morphing into a hum of approval.
“Fuck, sweetheart. You’re always so damn wet for us.” Cogan raised his finger to his mouth, sucking her juice off his skin. “I could lick you for hours. Days if you’d let me.” He made another pass, groaning louder when he slipped the digit slipped inside her passage. “So tight. So damn tight.”
Jake grabbed the hem of her shirt, yanking the material up and over her head. He seemed slightly less controlled than Cogan had been, his raspy breath grazing her skin. “Do you know how beautiful you are? God, Harper. You’re perfection.” He leaned in, suckling on her earlobe. “And you’re ours. Make no mistake. We won’t let you go. Couldn’t.”
She twisted to look at him, wanting him to see she was serious. “Good. ‘Cause I don’t want to go anywhere you three won’t follow.”
He smiled, pressing his mouth to hers, slipping his tongue inside when she sighed. His kiss was slightly harder, though noticeably more gentle than any previous encounter. He seemed to be holding true to Cogan’s claim to take her slow. To love her.
She’d argue that they’d done nothing but love her since the start, but if they wanted to show her a different side of them—a romantic, sensuous side that made her toes curl more than the rough sex—she wasn’t about to let them in on her secret. At least not yet.
Jake nuzzled her neck as he worked the clip on her bra, finally snapping it open. The sides fell apart, baring her breasts to the cool night air. Her nipples puckered against her skin, and Sully didn’t waste any time leaning in to capture one peaked bud between his teeth. He tugged on it, not hard, but just enough to make her gasp and arch her chest forward, silently offering him more. He accepted, cupping the mounded flesh as he slipped the nub inside his mouth.
Jake reached for the other side, holding it out to Sully when the man pulled back. Sully gave her a wicked grin, mouthing her other breast while rolling her wet nipple between his fingers. The stimulation made her pussy cream and Cogan groaned, lowering his head between her thighs.
“God, you smell so good.” He lapped at her folds, the tip of his tongue flicking across her clit. “Oh yeah, sweetheart. Make your clit pulse against my tongue again.”
Her body responded of its own accord, the riot of sensations spiraling her upwards. She anchored her fingers in Sully and Cogan’s hair, holding both their heads where she needed them most. Both men chuckled, the tiny vibrations only spiking her arousal.
Sully tsked as he eased away. “We said slow, darling. You might as well get comfy in Jake’s arms because we keep our promises.”
Cogan punctuated the statement by moving his attention lower, spearing his tongue inside her passage instead of focusing on her aching clit. The loss of contact allowed her body to recover, bringing her back down.
She huffed, knowing they planned on repeating the process over and over until she begged for release. Until the slow and gentle loving became a plea for hard and fast. For their complete loss of control. But after her emotional display, she had a feeling nothing she said, nothing she screamed, would sway them. They were men on a mission and surrender didn’t seem to be part of their plan.
She sucked in a breath, glancing at Jake. “If you three insist on torturing me, at least let me taste you.”
Jake outright laughed. “Love, if this is your idea of torture then you’re going to be in for a lifetime of suffering.”
She growled as Cogan pinched her clit then retreated, sending a jolt of lust through her veins only to have it fizzle out.
Her attention returned to Jake. “You can take me anyway you want. Soft, hard, slow, fast. I love everything you boys do to me, but please let me taste you.”
Jake shook his head, but shuffled her over in his lap. He accepted a blanket Sully handed him, all three men spreading it out on the floor before Jake slid her ass onto it, gaining his feet behind her. The hiss of a zipper and the rustle of fabric sounded behind her a moment before Jake’s luscious cock bobbed into view.
His hands threaded through her hair as he gently held it back. “I want to see every second of your mouth on me. But know this. I won’t be satisfied until I’ve come inside your ass tonight.”
Her breath hitched at his words. She gave him a nod, knowing anything she tried to say would come out as a ‘oh god yes’ then wrapped her fingers around his length, bringing the head to her lips. She lapped at the crown, humming as his spicy essence slid across her tongue. His grip tightened, and she took the hint, opening her mouth and taking him deep inside.
“Ah, Harper. God, I love the way you do that.”
His voice sounded hoarse, and she knew he’d scream her name with that same husky tone. She mov
ed up and down his shaft, enjoying the feel of him in her mouth. She wasn’t trying to make him come, keeping the pressure lighter than usual. She wanted to play. To tease him with the same agonizing patience Sully and Cogan were showing her. Even now they only touched and licked enough to keep her wanting. Keep her pussy creaming and her nipples taut. But just when she thought she’d get closer to her release, they shifted gears. Sully nipped and licked at her skin, leaving her sensitive nipples alone while Cogan gave her fleeting passes of his finger inside her sex. Neither was enough to do more than drive her mad, and Jake would get the brunt of her frustration. She sucked on him then released, mouthing his sac, kissing the length of his cock before licking it. Every touch, every pass designed to keep him in the same perpetual state of arousal she was trapped in.
Jake flexed his fingers in her hair, a distinct sign his nerves were wearing thin. Shit, so were hers, but Sully and Cogan didn’t seem to care that they’d left her hanging on a ledge with no way down but to fall.
Sully leaned in, brushing his mouth across her ear. “Are you teasing him to get back at us? Dangerous game, darling.”
She eased Jake’s cock out of her mouth, earning her an irritated huff, as she winked at Sully. “I’m merely loving him.”
“Wench.” Sully kissed her lips. “Fine. Make Jake come and we’ll grant you the same privilege.”
She tilted her head. “Promise?”
“Cross my heart. Hope to make you scream.”
“Deal.”
She glanced up at Jake. His gaze was pinned on her, the skin over his cheekbones flushed and taut. He looked perfectly desperate. She winked at him, taking him inside her mouth again, only this time she worked him with the sole purpose of making him scream. His shaft thickened as she increased her pace, and she raised her free hand to her lips, covering one finger in saliva before easing it back behind his sac until she reached his ass. Though she’d never touched a man that way, she’d heard what anal penetration did to them. How hitting their prostrate gland made their eyes roll back and their cocks explode. And with her release hanging in the balance, she wasn’t about to play fair.