They made a significant contrast to Tomlinson, who was prettied up, all groomed and sparkly. Quinn spent about one second thinking the asshole was really a better suit for Gemini and then dismissed it. He was a cold bastard, just like this room.
Oh, it looked like it was meant to pass for formal-yet-warm. The seating was upholstered in rich fabrics. Tables and the back of the sofa were gleaming cherry, garnished with scrolls and generous curves that reminded him of historical mansions.
But the art was soulless—incongruous modern pieces that made Quinn think of the days of child labor and dangerous machinery. One of the tables held carved chunks of marble that tumbled together in an unfriendly, alien landscape.
None of it was Gemini, though he knew she’d lived here. In just a couple weeks she’d nested in her room in his apartment—prisms hanging in the window, scarves draped over lampshades, flowering plants. She’d made it a place to curl up with a book in the sunlight, or wrap a beautiful woman in your arms from dusk to dawn.
This was a place for entertaining friends who were valued for the advantages and influence they brought, for maneuvering deals and leveraging bargains.
He hated it.
And he hated the way Tomlinson held a possessive hand on Gemini’s hip and the way she looked at the floor rather than any of the three men who had come for her. The three men she loved.
She was dressed up, too—a subtly hot dress and fucking pearls. Kind of classy and fuck-me-a-little-dirty all at once.
The asshole’s ring was on her finger.
Tomlinson pushed her further into the room. He tilted his head toward Gemini. “Darling, would you introduce me to your friends?”
She turned her head away. “No.”
Asshole acted like he didn’t care. “Ah, well. Why don’t you tell them that you and I have reconciled and that they have no further business here?”
Gemini turned her head back, making eye contact with each of them for the first time. “He’s right. I’d like you to leave.”
She was far from convincing.
Accompanied by the lackey who’d opened the door to them, Clay and Jace and Quinn had come part way into the room. Gemini and Tomlinson stood under the archway to the dining room, half a room away. Clay stalked closer now, until Gemini had to tilt her head to look up at him.
“What are you doing here, Gemini?”
“I—” She had to clear her throat and start again. “I realized it was a mistake to leave here.”
“Remember when you swore to us that you were done with him?” Clay spoke harshly. “Remember when you promised you’d never look at us with tears in your eyes and beg us to understand?”
“I do beg you to understand.”
She didn’t have tears in her eyes. But she was pale and looked fragile as a hothouse flower.
“Because you’ve decided you want to be with this bastard again?”
“Yes.”
“Because you love him.”
“Yes.”
Clay leaned further over her, his shoulder edging Tomlinson out a little. “You’re a fucking liar, Gem.”
Quinn could see Tomlinson’s smarmy little glow. He thought he was going to win.
In fact, Quinn was pretty sure the man was about to get a face full of Clay’s fist. Thinking cooler heads should intervene, he stepped forward.
“Gemini,” he said gently. “We know you’re trying to protect us. And you know very well how that offends us.” He put a hand on Clay’s chest and pushed him back a bit. “Bryce,” he started, glancing at the two men who’d moved closer to their boss. “We found the meth you planted in our homes.” Gemini whimpered at that. “We dismantled the lab you set up in Jace’s cabin, and it’s gone now, too. We’re not going to let you hurt us, and we’re not going to let you have Gemini, either.”
Tomlinson scoffed. “You think you’ve seen the limits of my power? Of my anger? Do you really want to spend the rest of your short lives looking over your shoulder for me? You’ve come into my home. You’ve fucked my wife. Do you really think I’m done with you?”
“Yeah,” Clay said. “We do.” He palmed his cell phone and started scrolling to photos. “After Gem showed up in the Springs, I had a little chat with your girlfriend.” He held out the phone, watching Gemini as much as he did Tomlinson. “You know. Paula? The one you kept in that downtown condo you own? She’s gone now, too, isn’t she? Yeah, I helped her buy a plane ticket out of town.”
Quinn had seen the photos. They weren’t pretty. He put a hand out to steady Gemini as she got a look. She gave a little moan and looked up at Bryce with revulsion on her face.
“He was pissed you’d gotten away, Gem,” Clay said. “He took his frustration out on her. She said he especially liked to hit her in the face, because that was the one place he had to hold back from hitting you.”
Gemini looked like she was going to be sick. She leaned a little into Quinn, away from Bryce. Fuck, yeah.
“I’ve got her photos,” Clay went on. “And I’ve got her story recorded. I know she wasn’t the first woman you kept in that condo, and I expect the other women have stories, too. I really don’t think I’ll have any trouble finding them. Have you found a new victim already? I wouldn’t mind talking to her, too. Does she know what she’s got herself into yet? Does she have bruises on her face right now?”
Clay stepped to Gemini’s other side, took her hand, and pulled her over so she was tucked between him and Quinn, clearly separated from the bastard. “You can have whatever life you want, Tomlinson. If you can get these suckers in California to vote for you, have at it. But you can’t have Gem. And if you try for us again,” he wiggled the phone. “You’ll see these photos in every media outlet on the planet.”
Jace had stepped up close now, too, enclosing Gemini in the center of the triangle the three men formed. “Legal problems,” he clarified, “threats to our careers or our lives, even a bad paper cut. Anything happens to us we think might be connected to you, all of this goes public. We have copies made and stored. You won’t find them. We have you by the short and curlies, Tomlinson.”
Bryce ground his jaw. He had his arms crossed over his chest and his face was lined with anger. Quinn was a little afraid spit would fly when he spoke. “Take her,” he said. “She’s really less than adequate as a wife. I’m sure you’ll lose interest soon enough, too.” He looked like he was about to walk away, but he leaned in to get a look at Gemini. “Don’t come back.”
“As if,” Quinn said. He’d put his hand on Gemini’s shoulder. “Come on, Gem.”
“Wait.” Clay made sure Tomlinson knew he was included in the command. He took Gem’s hand and pulled the rings from her left ring finger.
The diamond had to be three carats or better. Quinn would have liked to fault the man for it, but hell, he figured Gemini would be wearing another very much like it before long. He totally got how there was nothing like a big rock on a woman’s finger to mark her as yours.
Clay apparently didn’t have the same sentiment—or maybe he did, but he had an objection to another man laying claim to his woman. He took the rings and walked over to the heavy table that held the marble sculpture pieces. He set the diamond down on a flat piece of marble. He picked up another that looked like a downtrodden alien woman, only squat, like a troll. Watching Tomlinson as he did it, he took the marble piece and smashed the diamond.
It shattered into something like stardust.
Tomlinson jerked like he’d been gut shot. Apparently, that had hurt.
Clay nodded his head toward the door, and, after one more stunned second, Quinn nudged Gemini in that direction. Jace came along. “I didn’t know you could do that,” he said in obvious surprise—or maybe awe. “I thought diamonds were stronger than anything.”
“Strong,” Clay said, “but fragile.”
* * * *
Both Quinn and Jace had a hand on her as they followed Clay out the front door. Gemini caught a glimpse of a strange car parked haphazard
ly in the circular drive before Quinn stopped at the foot of the steps and pulled her into his arms.
“Are you okay, baby? Did he hurt you?”
Even before she could answer, Jace took over. He hugged her hard, and Gemini just wanted to burrow there, safe and loved.
But then it was Clay’s turn, and he wasn’t into sweet, loving hugs. He held her firmly by her upper arms and inspected her. “Answer the question, Gemini. Did he hurt you? Because we can go back and kill him right now.”
“No,” she said. “He didn’t hurt me.” She looked into Clay’s eyes and answered the question they hadn’t asked, very glad she didn’t have to lie about it. “He didn’t touch me.”
She was in his arms, then, another hug that squeezed the breath out of her and made her feel safe and loved. The three men hovered around her. Even as she was in Clay’s arms, Quinn lifted her face for a kiss.
“Don’t ever do that again, Gem. Don’t ever leave us.”
She sighed, knowing they wouldn’t understand that she’d needed to go. “I was so afraid. For you,” she clarified. “There was a man with a gun in the bar.”
“We know,” Clay said. “But it’s our job to protect you, not the other way around.”
Gemini understood, but she knew she wouldn’t change what she’d done. They were too important to her to put at risk.
“Let’s go,” Jace said. “We have a balcony suite at the Citizen.” He took her hand and opened the back door of the car for her, then climbed behind her. She was entirely sure three pairs of eyes had enjoyed watching her ass in that tight dress. Clay got behind the wheel and started the car.
On the drive downtown, she heard from the three of them how they’d discovered and foiled Bryce’s plan to incriminate them as meth dealers. She asked about the woman, Paula, and Clay told her he’d learned that Bryce had always kept a woman in the downtown condo he owned. Every two or three years the woman would change, and Clay said he figured that was about as long as any woman would take what Bryce dished out.
“Did she truly say that?” Gemini asked. “That when I left, he beat her in the face? Because he couldn’t beat me that way?”
Clay didn’t answer until he pulled to a stop at a light and could turn to look at her. “It wasn’t just when you left. It was always true. Tomlinson didn’t hit you in the face because he didn’t want you to have visible marks. He didn’t have any scruples about it with the other women, though, and Paula said it was what always gave him the most pleasure.”
Gemini shuddered and let Jace pull her close. “Did you really get her away, Clay? Is she gone? Safe?”
“Yeah,” he said, looking at her in a way that let her know what he said was true.
“But he’ll just find another woman to replace her.”
Clay nodded. “Probably so. And one to replace you, too. We can’t control everything, Gem.”
Quinn spoke next. “I sure as hell hate to see him let off the hook. The bastard could be running this state in a few years.”
Clay looked at him and then at Jace and Gemini in the back seat. “We need him to have something to lose. To keep Gem safe, to keep us safe.”
The car behind him honked, but he let his words settle in before he drove on.
Everyone was quiet after that, and Gemini struggled with a debilitating burden of regret and responsibility. She just couldn’t explain, even to herself, how she’d ever come to be involved with a man like Bryce. She’d thought she loved him. That he loved her. She fought against despair and wasn’t sure she would win.
“Clay, is what you have—the photos, the recordings—is that enough to bring criminal charges against Bryce?”
Clay took a moment to answer. “Well, we don’t want to do that, right? But yeah, it is. Or would be, if any of the women agreed to testify.”
“It’s okay, sweetheart. He can’t hurt you anymore.” Jace held her close and kissed her temple. “Remember this is not your fault. It wasn’t from the beginning. He’s a master manipulator, and you were alone and vulnerable. You’d just lost Cap, and you didn’t have us. You’re stronger now. Nothing like that will happen to you again.”
Gemini nodded. She understood his meaning and appreciated his insight and assurance. But it was a new, sharp pain, a fresh wound, to know that her choices had made matters worse for another woman—women. It might not happen to her, but it would happen to others.
“It’s done. Stop thinking about it.”
She felt Jace’s lips again at her temple and then trailing down to her cheek.
“Think about this instead.” He took her lips in the softest, sweetest kiss. By the time Clay stopped the car at the portico to the hotel, Jace’s magic had worked. She was thinking only about the kiss, wallowing in the sweet pleasure of it, and wishing he’d do more with his warm, gentle hands than tenderly stroke her neck and arms.
It took long moments to realize the car had stopped. When Jace lifted his mouth, Gemini saw that Clay and Quinn watched intently from the front seat.
“Let’s get her inside,” Clay said.
They were men of action. Within minutes, Gemini found herself in a suite high above the city. Floor to ceiling windows on two sides opened to balconies. They could see both the dome of the capitol and the lighted spire of the cathedral. She had only a moment to enjoy the view before she was surrounded by three, large, handsome, predatory men.
“Do you need to eat?” Quinn asked. She shook her head as they closed in on her. “A shower?”
“No.”
They all touched her. Clay was behind her with his hands on her hips. Quinn had a hand caressing her neck and jaw, and Jace had her hand folded against his chest.
“You belong to all of us now.” Quinn touched her lips with his. “You get that, right?”
“Yes,” she said, closing her eyes as someone’s hand trailed down to cover her breast. “That’s what I want. I want all of you.”
She couldn’t argue with it. She would never be able to choose among them, would never be able to say no to any of them. She was sure of it. If they would have her, she would have them. “I love you all.”
“I love you,” Quinn said. He kissed her again and leaned in so his body pressed against hers. It was his hand on her breast, his thumb stroking to find her nipple.
“I love you, too,” Jace said. He tilted her head away from Quinn and gave her his own kiss. He opened her mouth with his and foraged with his tongue. He pressed into her, also, and found her other breast with his hand.
From behind, Clay’s fingers followed the slit in her dress, pushing it up until they slid between her legs. He stroked her, stimulating her ass and pussy. “Give me your mouth, babe,” he said into her hair. When she tilted up for him, he kissed her roughly. He was breathing hard when he lifted up, his gaze hot. “Love you, Gem.”
Someone’s fingers rubbed her from the front now, and she arched back, wallowing in the adoration of her three men. She stepped out of her dress as Clay unzipped it and they slid it off her shoulders and down her body. Then fingers and lips were at her breasts, seeking her nipples through the satin of her bra and drawing them to peaks. Clay reached around her to brush his fingers down the center of her silk undies.
“All of us, babe,” he said. “You can take all of us, right?”
“Yes,” she moaned. Clay’s rough fingers were inside her panties now, stroking over her clit, reaching lower to push into her wet pussy. “Yes, all of you. That’s exactly what I want.”
“Triple penetration,” Clay said. “I fucking want her ass.” His hands were behind her now, tugging her thong aside. He pushed his middle finger deep into her pussy, wetting himself with her desire. Then he slid his finger back and circled her anus. Spreading her moisture, he dipped in.
“Oh.”
Quinn unfastened her bra and drew it away. “Jesus, you’re beautiful, baby.” He cupped her breast in one hand and lifted it to his mouth. With his other hand, he worked her clit.
Moaning, she lifted
her arms to circle back around Clay’s neck, offering herself, letting the men take what they wanted.
Jace leaned in to kiss her and held her gaze to his. “I want her cunt.” Watching her squirm, he pinched her nipple. “I haven’t had her yet.” His eyes were hot. “Not since that first night.”
“You get her mouth, Quinn.” That was Clay, speaking as he ran his lips along the crook of her neck and took hold with his teeth. He had another finger in her ass now, fucking her deep.
“I can tell you, she fucking knows what to do with it,” Jace said.
“Let’s find out how she handles three cocks at once.”
“Fuck, yeah.”
One of the bedrooms had a four-poster king bed, and Gemini found herself there without knowing exactly how it happened. Her world was a blur of mouths and hands, heated breaths and rough words.
Clay and Quinn held her, touching and kissing her everywhere, while Jace stood back to undress. His suit coat and tie were already gone, but he unbuttoned his shirt as he watched his friends play with her. Then he kicked out of his shoes and slid down his slacks and briefs.
His cock was huge and pulsing, thrust up in need. “Bring her here,” he said. “Hold her for me.”
Clay and Quinn stepped close with her. Jace’s eyes were locked on her pussy. “Spread your feet, babe. Tilt her back, guys.”
Held in strong arms, Gemini leaned back. Jace put his hands on her, rubbing down her wet center with his thumbs, then circling around to grasp her hips. His fingers gripped her ass.
With a fierce gaze, he watched as his cock closed in on her opening. He dug in, stretching her with the full circumference of his big cock head. “Fuck, she’s tight,” he breathed. “I’m going to fucking love this.”
He thrust deep and up, lifting her so she was fully suspended on his cock. He held her hips as her legs dangled, the upper half of her body supported securely by Quinn and Clay.
“Jesus. Jesus, baby.”
He slammed into her, filling her cunt so full, his hard thrusts tugging at her clit and sending shockwaves up her body that jiggled her tits. He fucked her roughly, growling in pleasure. His eyes flared with satisfaction as he watched his cock bury itself in her cunt, then he looked at her, grinning at the way her tits bounced as he thrust into her, meeting her gaze as she arched in ecstasy.
Gemini Page 17