by Anna Lewis
***
Solace noticed the cabin in the distance before either twin said anything, and she secretly hoped that they were looking for a different cabin. As soon as Cam perked up and started walking faster she knew that the rustic, tiny cabin tucked into the tree line was exactly the place they’d been looking for. She groaned inwardly, but she tried not to let her disappointment show. She was thinking luxury, with a balcony or at the very least some solar power.
But this cabin looked like four walls and a roof, and Solace wasn’t sure she could survive even a day in it.
When they got to the cabin Ethan ducked inside to check the place out before they all went in together. Solace watched him go, half wondering, half dreading the reason why.
“He’s making sure that there aren’t animals that have made this place their home,” Cam offered, sending a shudder down Solace’s spine.
“I was afraid of that,” she said. “I would have preferred not knowing.”
“We wouldn’t let them hurt you,” Cam promised, putting an arm around her playfully.
“That’s reassuring.”
“Don’t sound so enthusiastic,” Cam teased.
Ethan came out and nodded, and Cam gestured to the open front door.
“Ladies first,” he said with a smile.
“Of course,” Solace countered, then walked into the dark cabin and took a deep breath.
Despite being closed up for a long while, the one room cabin smelled fresh and airy, the breeze that cut through the center of the cabin swirling the still air around enough to make the warmth bearable.
They were high enough on the mountain that it wasn’t nearly as hot as it would have been on a desert hike, and the dense trees provided enough shade to cool the cabin even more.
Cam went to help Ethan remove some plastic containers from a corner of the room, but when Solace offered to help, they both waved her off.
“It will only take us a minute and you look dead on your feet.”
She started to argue, but thought better of it. They were right; she was absolutely exhausted and the longer she stood there, the more tired she became.
So, she watched as they pulled out a few blankets, moved the plastic cover from the mattress of the king-sized bed in the corner of the room, then went to work fixing the bed up. In no time, the bed was set up and ready to be used, and Solace didn’t wait to step forward and start kicking off her shoes.
When she realized that Cam was doing the same, she stopped.
“I’m not sharing a bed with you two,” she said, her mind racing.
She couldn’t share a bed with them. Not because she didn’t want to, but because she wanted to so badly. It was one thing to keep her self-control from a distance, but being sandwiched between them sounded like heaven and she didn’t know if she could fight that.
“You won’t be sharing a bed with two of us,” Cam said. “Ethan is taking first watch, and once I’ve had some rest, we’ll switch.”
“Is there another bed? You know, when you said that your friend had a cabin, this isn’t what I envisioned. And where is your friend who owns this place?”
“Dead,” Ethan said bluntly.
Solace immediately wished she hadn’t asked.
“Dead?” she heard herself asking even though she hadn’t meant to say the words out loud.
Cam shot Ethan a look and Ethan shrugged.
“Cam, we can’t keep the truth from her. She deserves to know what kind of danger she’s in.”
“I don’t understand,” Solace said in almost a whimper. “Why am I in danger?”
“Stirling died protecting us. He kept our secret and it cost him his life,” Cam finally said, his expression pinching with the grief that was all too fresh.
“That bounty hunter is not a good man,” Ethan continued. “He has no problem killing anyone and anything that stands in his way. Even if we release you somewhere that should be safe, if he finds you, he will torture you until you give up our whereabouts.”
“What if you and Cam don’t tell me where you are?”
“Then you’ll die and he won’t get any information. But he will try to work it out of you until your dying breath.”
“That’s horrifying. He can’t do that. I have rights and I—”
“Your rights mean nothing to the dragon slayers,” Cam said gently. “Garrett doesn’t care if you are the president’s daughter. If you get between him and his money, you’re as good as dead.”
“But I wouldn’t be stopping him.”
“You don’t understand,” Ethan said tersely. “To him, you already did. The minute that you chose to save our lives rather than tell him where we were and let him sneak up on us, you became the enemy. No matter what, even if he gets the bounty before he finds you, he’s going to kill you. We were trapped in that hotel and we would have been easy to take down in that moment. You got in the way.”
“You’re welcome,” she said, the anger boiling up. “If I had known that I was signing my own death warrant I wouldn’t have tried to save you.”
“Is that true?” Ethan shot back. “Because if it is, then you’re free to leave. I’m not going to watch my back just because you might give us up.”
Solace was trembling, but not with fear. Containing her anger was almost impossible, but she swallowed the urge to lash out. She glared at Ethan, the tension between them palpable.
“If you think I would knowingly send someone to be killed then you obviously have no respect for me. You think what you will about me, but keep your opinion to yourself. There are more important things in life than money and looking out for number one. If you don’t believe me, that’s your problem. But I knew he was a bounty hunter when I turned him away, and even after all this, I would do it again in a heartbeat.”
Without another word, she turned and marched to the bed, getting in and making herself comfortable before throwing a pillow over her head. There was no movement for a few tense moments, then she heard Ethan’s footsteps leaving hastily.
Her body remained stiff, knowing that Cam wasn’t going to walk away and there would be no reprieve. She waited, still rigid, her body on the very edge of the bed so she didn’t have to touch him.
The bed shifted beneath his weight and she felt his hand on her back through the thin quilt that she’d pulled tightly around herself though she wasn’t cold.
“I’m sorry he went off like that,” Cam said. “We should have prepared you better before we just laid it all out there. But the truth is, he’s right. No matter what, you’ll always be in danger. The only way we can protect you is if you stay with us.”
“I can’t stay with you forever.”
“I know that, and Ethan knows that. That’s part of why he’s so stressed out. We could take you to the mountains where no bounty hunter can travel and hide you away, but we know that’s not something you’ll go for.”
“Why didn’t you just go there to begin with?”
“It’s complicated.” She felt him lay down beside her, his arm still on her back. “I wish I could tell you everything, but we just can’t. The less you know, the better. We are trying our best to protect you.”
“I just don’t understand why you were in my hotel. Of all the hotels to be in, why mine?”
“Because it was remote enough that we could land in a dark area and get dressed without risking someone stumbling upon us and sounding the alarm.”
She nodded even though he couldn’t see her under the pillow.
“I guess that makes sense. But I still don’t understand why you wouldn’t just go to the mountains and stay there.”
“Would you live your life tucked away in some remote location and never venture out again?”
“No. But eventually this man is going to give up, right?”
“Doubtful. The bounty is pretty high.”
“How high?”
She pulled the pillow off her head and looked into his green eyes. He smiled at her, brushing a curl out of her
face and tucking it behind her ear. She shivered under his touch and for an instant, the only thought she had was of him leaning in and kissing her tenderly. She closed her eyes, willing the thought away and wishing that he would just kiss her all at once. When he didn’t kiss her, she opened her eyes and saw that he was lost in thought and looking across the room at nothing in particular.
“It was just a million dollars. But right before I got in the shower we found out that it had jumped to ten million. Someone wants us dead, and bad.”
“Ten million for you two? That’s so much money. What in the world did you do?”
Cam shook his head and a sad little smile tugged at his lips.
“Not ten million for two of us,” he corrected, ignoring her other question. “Ten million apiece.”
***
Solace lay in bed for a while, not moving, but not sleeping either. There was so much going through her head that she couldn’t calm down enough to sleep. She was in danger. Not the danger she flirted with every now and then, but real, actual danger.
She scoffed at herself. Who was she kidding? The closest she ever got to danger was paying her phone bill a day late.
“Can’t sleep?” a tired voice said from behind her, the warm air tickling her ear.
She nearly jumped out of her skin.
“I thought you were asleep,” she said quickly to cover up her startled reaction.
“I was, but I’m having a hard time staying asleep.”
“Why?”
“Because I can feel the tension dripping off you.” His hand slipped over her chest and settled on her collarbone. “And your heart has been rapid every now and then, and I can hear it.”
“You can hear my heartbeat?”
“Dragons have exceptional hearing. If it was any better, I’d be able to hear your thoughts.”
Oh boy, she thought, then went rigid, not sure he was being honest when he said that he couldn’t read her mind. What if he could?
“You have to stop thinking about what’s going on right now and just let your mind relax.”
“I’m not thinking about all this.”
“You must be, because I can feel your heart racing right now, too. It’s been happening off and on all day. You can’t let the fear get into your head like that.”
It’s not fear, she thought, but she kept that to herself. It was better if she thought her reactions to him were her thinking about their situation and panicking. The less he knew about her true thoughts and feelings the better.
He didn’t need to know that even now, scared out of her wits, lost in the damn woods and wishing that she had called in sick to work the night before, when he was there beside her, all she could think about was how it would feel for them to lie together with nothing between them.
She almost thought she was imagining it when he moved closer and wrapped an arm around her in the dark cabin.
She opened her mouth to protest, but his mouth was by her ear, quieting her protests.
“I’m just going to hold you,” he said. “I’m a little afraid you’re going to disappear into the woods as soon as I fall asleep and I just want to hold you.”
“I won’t leave,” she said.
“I know you won’t, but I’ve been wanting to hold you since I first laid eyes on you in the hotel and I think you need to be held as much as I need to hold you. We’re going to protect you, I promise. You just have to trust us.”
“I do,” she said.
“I know that’s not completely true, but I don’t blame you. It takes time to build trust and it would have been better if we didn’t start out by dragging you out a third-story window.”
Solace laughed.
“I don’t know. That’s definitely the most exciting first date I’ve ever had.”
She cringed when she said it, but it was too late to take it back.
“First date?” Cam chuckled.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean it that way.”
“No, I like it. Much better than calling it a kidnapping.”
He chuckled, and with her back against his chest like it was, she felt the vibration of the deep sound throughout her body. His body was warm against her, his arms so strong around her.
She leaned into him and he snuggled his chin into her neck.
“This feels good,” he said. “Much better than trying not to touch you in my sleep.”
“I appreciate the effort,” she said. “But you’re right, this is much better and I’m finally feeling like I can sleep.”
That wasn’t entirely true, but Solace wasn’t about to spoil the moment. Yes, she’d been fantasizing about this moment. But for now, this was more than good enough.
His arm grew heavy and his breathing slowed. She wiggled into the mattress to get more comfortable and his arm tightened around her, but he didn’t wake up.
His slow heavy breathing calmed her, and within minutes, she felt her eyelids getting heavier. She fought sleep, but in the end her exhaustion and the man beside her won over and she fell into a deep sleep.
She knew she was dreaming when strong arms pulled her closer so that her ass was pressed against his manhood. She ignored the little voice in her head that denied physical sensations that were so strong that even knowing she was dreaming didn’t stop them from feeling real.
Her body reacted to his touch, and when he kissed the back of her neck, she let out a soft moan of pleasure.
The door creaked as it opened, a wash of unbelievably bright light flooding through the door. She could see his silhouette outlined, and she held her breath in anticipation of Ethan joining them as Cam’s hands wandered over her body.
It’s just a dream. There’s no harm in making love to a dream, she thought to herself and for once, her inner voice was silent. She welcomed Ethan with open arms. The shyer of the twins, Solace knew that he would never be as forward as Cam, and as he slipped in between the sheets without a word, she answered his silence with gentle touches and a deep, passionate kiss.
They moved together, writhing in pleasure, their naked bodies a tangle with no ending and no beginning. A strong hand moved her leg back and she sighed then gasped when a rigid cock slid inside her. The two of them held her, overwhelming her senses with their touch and their kisses so that she could only focus on the pleasure.
When her body stiffened then began to tremble, she called out to them both. Their strong arms guided her through the waves of passion as she rode her orgasm to the end. She let out her breath in a loud whoosh, then laughed when the tremors and muscles twitches started. She closed her eyes, still laughing, the smile on her face wide and satisfied.
The twins slid out of the bed, but before she could open her eyes to ask where they were going, she felt the bed give beneath the weight on the edge and she reached out to touch the twin that had come to sit before her.
When her hand connected with a denim clad leg her eyes flew open in shock.
“Did you have a good nap?” Garrett asked. “I almost want to know what you were dreaming about before I kill you.”
Solace froze, eyes darting back and forth, trying to find the twins but they were nowhere to be seen.
“They left you here, sweet cheeks. They left and saved their own skin. Now, if you’ll tell me where they went, we can help each other out,” Garrett said, pulling a long hunting knife out of his sleeve and showing it to her. “This can be quick or this can be painful. Your choice.”
“I don’t know where they are,” she repeated.
“Painful it is,” he said, lunging forward, his laughter filling the empty room. “I was kind of hoping that would be your choice.”
***
Solace sat straight up in bed, letting out a scream then echoed off the rafters and filled her ears, shaking her out of the last bit of dreamer’s fog. She tugged at the thin quilt that was wrapped around her body, and when she felt a hand come from behind to grab her, she threw her elbow back and connected with ribs, rolled out of the bed and hit the ground on he
r rear, using her hands and feet to propel herself backward until she hit the wall.
The door was flung open and Solace turned, expecting to see more bounty hunters piling in. But it was Ethan, his face filled with fear. Solace stopped and looked at the bed, surprised to see Cam holding his chest where she’d hit him and climbing out of the bed using his free hand.
“It was just a dream,” she said, choking on a sob and burying her head in her arms as she pulled her knees to her chest. “It was a dream.”
Cam and Ethan were by her side, but neither of them touched her. They let her wake up and process everything she’d thought was real, giving her space to climb out of the well of terror she seemed to have fallen into.
She took deep breaths, trying to calm her breathing and find her center. She was shaking violently, but she didn’t care. She would worry about feeling embarrassed later.
“It felt so real,” she said when she could finally breathe again. “It was so real.”
“What was?” Ethan asked gently.
She looked up at him, and a flash of him naked and in her arms, gave her pause. She wasn’t about to tell them about the rest of the dream, but the bounty hunter had felt so real she could smell his rancid breath. There was no way she could just shake that off and forget about it.
She stood, pacing and trying to figure out where to start and how to explain how she’d felt. It didn’t feel like any dream she’d ever had, and that scared her more than anything.
She finally decided just to start from when she woke up and skip the rest. If they wanted clarification they could ask for it.
“I was sleeping and the bounty hunter came. Garrett. He burst through the door and he was just here, telling me that you two had left me here to make your escape and save your own skin.”
A look passed between the two brothers, but she didn’t care if they thought she was being dramatic.
“I told him I didn’t know where you were,” she continued. “But he didn’t believe me. He came after me with the knife, but I tried to get away. I could still hear him laughing when I woke up.” She turned to Cam. “I’m really sorry that I hit you. I thought you were Garrett, holding me back and about to cut my throat. I was just so scared.”