by Tara Rose
Colton and Jarrett burst through the doors, and Colton simply charged, sword held out in front. Dalton stared at him as if he were a ghost, and then scrambled off Abigail. A castle guard that Colton didn’t know tried to stuff his cock back into his breeches, but fell backward and was surrounded by guards.
Dalton ran toward another door but he wasn’t fast enough. He tripped and fell, landing on his back. Before he could do so much as put up his hands, Colton shoved the sword tip against his throat. “You will die now. For daring to touch her you will die! Both of you!”
Colton heard his father’s voice telling him to let the guards handle it, and whirled around, confused. When had he arrived? “He put his hands on her. He ripped her clothing. He and this guard both. You know the penalty for that. Would you deny me my right?”
“Sedgewick, you know this is a lie.” Dalton’s voice was oily smooth. Did the man have no fear? There was a sword at his throat! “The girl seduced us.”
Colton pushed the point in far enough to draw blood. “Silence, you pig!”
“No one is to move until my father arrives,” said Jarrett. “He will sort this out, Sedgewick, not you.”
Colton nodded toward the guards who surrounded him. “Don’t let this pig move. Don’t even let him speak again.” Then he handed the sword to Seth and crossed the room. Jarrett had already untied her, but the front of her dress and corset were sliced open.
Colton took her into his arms as Jarrett pulled an afghan off a chair and wrapped it around her torso. “It’s all right. We have you now.”
He and Jarrett both held her, while the guards trained their weapons on Dalton and the other guard. “Can you try and tell us what happened?”
“Let’s wait for my father,” said Jarrett, quietly. “We obviously have conflicting stories.”
“Whatever she says, I believe her.”
“As do I.” Jarrett cut his gaze toward Dalton. “But we need a higher authority.”
Abigail stared into his eyes with so much love, he thought his heart would burst. She leaned her head on his shoulder and sighed. “Whatever happens, I want you both to know something.” She spoke so softly he’d barely heard her.
Jarrett leaned close to her. “Wait, Abigail. Wait for my father.”
“No,” she whispered. “This is meant only for your ears. Yours and Colton’s. Please.”
Colton’s pulse raced at the desperation in her voice. “Okay. What is it you have to tell us?”
“I love you,” she whispered. “I love you both so much. No matter what happens, I want you to know that.”
Colton let out the breath he was holding and pulled her closer. She clung to him tightly, and he could hardly think as her words sunk in. He and Jarrett exchanged a glance, and Colton knew that no matter what lies Dalton tried to tell the king about what had happened, the truth would come from Abigail. From this girl. From the woman he loved with his whole heart and soul.
Chapter Seventeen
Abigail clung to Jarrett and Colton as Atheron burst into the room, followed by several more guards. “What the hell is going on?”
She’d met Jarrett’s father the first week she’d arrived and had spoken to him a few times since then. He was an imposing man, but she’d also heard he was just and fair. Jarrett wrapped the afghan more tightly around her torn clothes, and then helped her stand.
“Father, Abigail wandered away from the ball and we found her in here, tied to the bed, with her clothing sliced open. Dalton and this guard had exposed themselves and were on top of her.”
The king glanced from Abigail, Jarrett, and Colton toward Dalton and Willoughby, then back again. His gaze softened as it rested on Abigail. “Are you hurt?”
She shook her head. “No, Your Majesty. They did not get that far.”
“She seduced us, Majesty!”
“Silence!”
Abigail flinched at the sound. An image of a lion roaring filled her head.
“I will hear her side of this first, and you will not speak unless I ask you a direct question.”
Abigail sighed out loud. She had to start from the beginning, despite the fact there were no less than two dozen men in this room. They had to hear the entire story or they wouldn’t understand. “Majesty, I assume you heard about the incident in the woods?”
“I did.”
He didn’t even react, for which she was grateful.
“Earlier tonight during a break at the ball, I didn’t want to wait in line for the…the facilities, so I asked Patricia where the nearest bathroom was. She gave me directions, I found it, and then as I was making my way back toward the ballroom, I spotted a room full of weapons. I only went inside to take a quick look, but then became intrigued with the way the rooms opened into one another.”
“That’s a lie,” said Willoughby. “She made a plan to meet us here.”
“If you or Dalton say one more word without my permission, I will execute you both in this room by my own hand.”
Abigail sighed again, but this time it was in relief. Atheron wouldn’t have said that if he didn’t believe she was telling the truth. “I wandered into one of the rooms and heard voices.” She glanced toward Dalton and Willoughby. “Their voices, only I didn’t know who they were at first. Now I know that the Council member is Dalton and the guard is named Willoughby. Dalton said he’d told Willoughby it was dangerous. He said the Council wouldn’t stop until they found him.”
Atheron narrowed his eyes, and then understanding dawned on his face. He turned toward Dalton. “It was you. You’re the leak.”
“Majesty,” said Sedgewick, “surely this can’t be true.”
Atheron held up a hand. “Let her finish.”
“Then Willoughby told Dalton the artists were here in the castle, and that they had made it easy for him.” She actually felt sorry for Sedgewick. He now looked torn. It must be terrible to find out someone you’d worked with had betrayed everyone.
“Then Dalton called him a fool and said he’d won their trust, but if he acted now without a clear plan in place, all their plans would be ruined.”
“Their plans?” asked Atheron. “He used that word?”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“Lies,” said Sedgewick. “These are lies!”
“Be quiet and let her finish.”
“Willoughby said Dalton had agreed to help him. Willoughby called him by name, and that’s when I realized who he was. Then I heard scuffling as if one of them had moved, and Dalton called Willoughby by name. He told him he’d gotten him into the castle as a guard but the rest was up to him. He said if he acted foolishly they’d be caught, and then they’d both die.”
Atheron and Sedgewick exchanged a glance, and now Sedgewick looked horrified.
“I knew I had to get out of the room without being seen or heard so I could find Jarrett and Colton and tell them what I’d heard. But it was dark in there and I ran into furniture and something fell off a table. Then they came into the room.”
She sucked in a deep breath as the memories of them running after her filled her mind. “I ran again, and smelled sage, but then they were behind me and the lights were on. When I turned to face them, Dalton recognized me and called me by name. Then Willoughby asked Dalton if I was the girl he’d seen in the woods.”
Atheron glanced toward Sedgewick again. “Do you need further confirmation?” He pointed toward Willoughby. “He is an Enfield spy. He was one of those who cut the wire on top of the wall that day, and heard my son, Colton, and this girl talking about the portraits and her having crossed over through one of them. And now he’s a guard in my castle. How do you think that happened without inside help from your Council?”
Sedgewick lowered his gaze and shook his head.
Atheron glanced toward Abigail again. “What happened then?”
“I told them I was going to tell Jarrett and Colton what I’d heard. Dalton said I’d never have the chance to repeat it to anyone, and then I ran. They caught up to me and knocked me to the
ground, and then Dalton…he whispered in my ear that I wasn’t going to tell anyone what I’d heard, but that I would be very sorry I had been eavesdropping.”
Jarrett drew her closer, and she leaned into his warm embrace. “I must have passed out, because when I came to I was tied to the bed and…and then they exposed themselves and climbed on top of me. Dalton tore my dress and corset with a knife.” She had to stop because she could hardly breathe now.
Atheron held up his hand. “I’ve heard enough.” He pointed toward Dalton and Willoughby. “Take those two to the dungeons.” Then he pointed toward Jarrett and Colton. “Bring her back to your rooms and I’ll meet you there presently. I need to take care of this business first.”
“Yes, Father.” Jarrett put his arm around her as they walked. Patricia was outside and started to apologize to Jarrett and Colton, but they shook their heads.
“This is not your fault,” said Colton. “Let us get Abigail back to our rooms.”
She concentrated on putting one foot in front of the other, but it seemed as if everyone who had been at the ball now lined the halls, whispering and pointing as they passed. This was far worse than the time in fifth grade when she’d had to give a speech in front of the entire school because she’d written a damn essay that had won a prize. She’d been certain that day she would throw up, and she felt the same way now.
When they finally reached their rooms, Jarrett and Colton helped her change clothes, and then when they went into the sitting room, Atheron was already waiting for them. They sat on the sofa with her, across from him, and he dismissed all the servants from the room.
He leaned forward and fixed his gaze on her. “Did you tell me everything they did to you, or did you hold back details? I need to know the truth.”
“I told you everything. The first time I screamed, Dalton was already on me, and he threatened to gag me if I did it again. Willoughby moved next to the bed and exposed himself and…and suggested he use his penis to gag me since I had enjoyed that so much in the woods.”
Colton stroked her back.
“And was that when Dalton sliced your clothes?”
“Yes. Then he exposed himself as well and told me I was going to swallow all of him.”
Jarrett rose and paced the room. “I want to be the one to kill him.”
“You both have a right to kill them.”
“Then you believe her?” asked Colton.
“Of course I do. I only wish your father had acted on your suspicions instead of waiting.”
“There have to be others,” said Jarrett. “Dalton did not do this alone.”
“We will ferret them out. In the meantime, I am going to ask all the princes to keep their girls with them at all times. None of them are to go anywhere, even with a servant. Is that understood?”
They both nodded, and then Atheron glanced toward her again. “I am sorry this happened to you, but grateful they did not have a chance to do more.”
“Thank you, Your Majesty. So am I.”
He rose. “I will leave you three now. Dalton and Willoughby will be executed at dawn. I will leave it to both of you to decide whether you want to carry out that act yourselves or have my personal guards do it. And you all may, of course, attend.”
Abigail shuddered at the thought. When he had gone, she asked Jarrett and Colton if they were really going to kill Dalton and Willoughby.
“I don’t know,” said Colton, pulling her close. “Right now, all I care about is your safety.”
Jarrett stroked her arm. “Did you mean what you said back there? That you love us?”
She gazed at each of them in turn. “Of course I did. I’ve felt that way for a while now but I was afraid to say anything. I wasn’t sure it was what you wanted.”
“Oh, Abigail.” Jarrett pulled her close. “We love you, too. We both do. We haven’t even discussed it, but there was no need to. It was so obvious to each of us.”
She gasped as the realization washed over her. “Really? It’s true? I’m not just your plaything like he said, am I?”
Colton wiped away her tears, and her pulse raced at the love in his beautiful eyes. “You are not a plaything. You are the girl we chose. And yes, it’s true. I love you, too. We both do. We want you with us for the rest of our lives. Only you.”
Abigail leaned into their strong embraces as they stroked her hair and back, drawing strength from their warmth and their love. It was the most unconventional fairy tale she could have imagined, but it was real, and right, and true.
Her princes loved her, and they had rescued her in time. They believed her story, and they had been willing protect her with their lives. She’d seen the weapons they carried into the room. They had been ready to kill for her or die, if it had come to that.
“So what happens now? I mean to those men? Will they really die?”
“Yes,” said Colton.
“And will you be able to find the others?”
“I sure hope so,” said Jarrett. He cupped her face. “But why are you worried about that right now? You’re here with us. No one can touch you ever again. You belong to us, Abigail. And we would die to protect you.”
“And we would kill to do so,” said Colton. “We chose you, and we have each claimed you.”
“I love you both so much.” Her heart soared as they each kissed her gently, and then held her close again.
“And we love you,” said Colton. “Anything you need, we’re here to give it to you.”
“Anything?”
Colton grinned. “I think you know that by now.”
“What if I asked to have a job? Something useful to do inside the castle?”
“Like what?” asked Jarrett.
“I don’t know. I have IT skills, though I don’t imagine they’re much use here.”
“Actually, they might be. Let us talk to my father and see what we can come up with?”
“Really?”
He pulled her close and kissed her. “Yes, really. We know how much that would mean to you, although it will shake things up quite a bit.”
Colton snorted. “I think she lives to do that.”
As the three laughed, and then Colton and Jarrett returned to holding her and kissing her again in turn, Abigail knew that no matter what happened, they would face it together. This was her home now, and these were her princes. And she intended to spend the rest of her life making sure they each knew how very much she loved them with her entire heart, her body, and her soul.
THE END
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Tara Rose loves to write about small towns and the quirky people that inhabit them. You’ll find engaging characters, budding romance, intrigue, and plenty of hot steamy ménage sex within the pages of her books. You never really know what goes on behind closed doors, but her books will take you there, and leave you panting for more.
When she isn’t writing, Tara spends time with her husband—her real-life hero. She loves to cook, collect antique pottery, and she will read just about anything. Tara also plays the cello, and loves decorating her house for Christmas.
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