by Leah Brooke
Releasing her, he straightened in his seat and opened his door. “Now we’re going straight to the direct approach. You have ten minutes to pack up what you want to bring with you, and then we’re leaving.”
“I don’t want to stay there!” Waving a hand, she unbuckled her own seat belt. “Have you even thought about Mary?”
“When Mary leaves today, she’ll be on vacation until this is over.”
“And what if one of your men gets hurt?”
“The men here are a lot tougher than you give them credit for. Believe me, a man like Jimmy wouldn’t last long in a place like this. Get moving. We leave in ten minutes.”
* * * *
While Carson kept Casey busy packing her books, Sam stood at the doorway of the room Deanna shared with Casey and watched her gather her and Casey’s clothing and pack it into one of Don’s duffel bags.
He knew that Carson would be checking the soup cans to see if Deanna had taken the cash Don always kept there.
They didn’t want her to accidentally throw it away, but they also wanted to see if she would mention it to them.
Looking around, he saw that she’d spent as much time cleaning and straightening the room as she had with the rest of the house.
Everything had been organized, and the room now appeared feminine, neat and clean.
It even smelled sweet.
“Do you need any help?”
“No.” Pausing with several pairs of socks in her hand, Deanna straightened. “I really don’t think this is necessary.”
Hearing Carson making his way toward them, Sam stepped into the room and leaned back against the wall. “I do.”
Carson appeared in the doorway, nodding faintly, letting Sam know that she’d taken the money. “We’re ready. I’ll drive Casey up to the house in Deanna’s truck.”
Sam moved to the bed and zipped the bag Deanna had already packed, her silence making him suspicious. “We’ll be a few minutes behind you.”
Hearing the front door close behind Carson and Casey, Sam set the bag aside and rounded the bed to Deanna’s side. “You’re awfully quiet.”
She started to zip the bag, but her injured wrist prevented her from pulling the edges together. “You don’t seem to be listening to any of my concerns.”
Nudging her aside, he closed the bag himself and set it aside. “I listen to your concerns, but my main priority is keeping you and Casey safe. I know it’s hard for you to trust, but I can’t take the time to earn that with Jimmy on his way here. You and Casey will be watched at all times. Do what I say and Jimmy won’t get anywhere near either one of you.”
“You do realize that you’re asking me to trust you with our lives?”
“No.” He moved closer, urging her back against the bed. “We’re just taking over. Carson and I came to the realization that it would take too long to earn the trust we need from you in order to get you to do what we tell you and to keep you from running off with the money from the soup cans.”
Deanna’s blue eyes widened. “You knew about that?”
Sam sighed. “Of course we knew. Don trusted us. We just kept wondering if you would tell us about it.” He smiled, closing his hands on her waist. “We had to make sure you didn’t throw them out. Since we don’t have the time to earn your trust, we’ve decided to move you into our house with or without your consent.”
He kept his tone low and even with the intention of letting her know he was serious without scaring her. “And you’ll be watched.”
Lifting her chin, she smiled, her eyes dancing. “You’re kidnapping us?”
Relieved at the small show of trust, Sam held back a grin. “Something like that.”
“You know, of course, that almost all of my money is tied up in a trust.”
Easing her back onto the bed, Sam hid another smile when she parted her thighs to make a place for him. “I’ve heard a rumor to that effect. Lucky I don’t want your money.”
“It’s a lot of money.”
He ran his fingertips through her short, silky hair. “It is, but Carson and I have all we need. Well, almost.”
He couldn’t shake the suspicion that Deanna was the woman he and Carson had searched for their entire lives.
She arched into him, her eyes darkening. “How can I trust you?”
Sam smiled and touched his lips to hers, pleased with the progress they’d begun to make. “I think you already do. You didn’t object when Carson took Casey up to the house. You’re not scared to be alone with me—and the best part…”
He touched his lips to hers again, delving inside to slide his tongue along hers and swallow her moan of pleasure.
When her hands went to his shoulders and gripped him, he deepened his kiss, careful to keep most of his weight off of her. Sliding his hand to her breast, he gently caressed her, lifting his head to watch her face for any sign of fear or unease.
Instead, she moaned and tightened her grip, lifting against him and wrapping her legs around his hips. “Hmm. The best part?”
Unable to resist, he leaned to one side and lifted the hem of her sweater over her breasts. “The best part is that you trust me in this. You respond so sweetly. You are so damned beautiful.”
The sight of her small, rounded breasts spilling over the cups of her cotton bra was one of the sexiest things he’d ever seen.
Deanna sighed and shook her head, a small smile tugging at her soft lips. “What the hell is it about you and Carson that makes me do this?”
Delighted with her, Sam rolled to sit on the edge of the bed, pulling her to stand between his knees. “Oh? Do what?”
“I’ve had one lover in my life. One!” Standing stiffly, she wrapped her arms around herself. “I haven’t let Jimmy touch me that way in more than a year.”
She twisted her lips. “The one thing Jimmy fears is going to jail for rape.”
Sam slid his hands to her hips and pressed his lips against her belly. “I’d wondered.”
She shrugged. “I guess his short stints in jail had some effect on him. He’s absolutely terrified of going back.”
Sam hid his frown against her belly, the knowledge that Jimmy would be desperate now that the cops were after him making him even more determined to keep a close eye on both Deanna and Casey.
Sliding her sweater higher, he reached around her to unfasten her bra, letting his lips trail higher. “So what exactly do Carson and I make you do?”
Despite his teasing tone, Deanna sighed, frowning slightly even as she slid her hands to his hair. “You make me feel. You make me want again.”
The seriousness and vulnerability in her voice had him lifting his head and cradling her on his lap. Gripping her chin, he lifted her face to his. “Is that so bad?”
“It makes me feel a little out of control—something I can’t afford to do. I have Casey to think of. I can’t allow myself to lose control.”
The sincerity and sadness in her eyes ripped at something inside him and made him more determined to have her as his own.
Smiling, he cupped the back of her neck and eased her closer to brush his lips over hers. “I think you already do, and it scares you. I understand that.”
“You don’t.” Sucking in a breath when he slid his hand under the hem of her sweater, she gripped his shoulders. “You can’t. You’ve probably never been scared in your life.”
Bending her back over his arm, he caught the sight of Carson through the window, his best friend moving toward the back door. “You’d be wrong about that.” He slid his hand over her side, the memory of her bruises still infuriating. “The first time I saw you, I was scared down to my boots.”
Running his lips along her jaw, he slid his hand higher, caressing her soft skin as he slid his hand around her to unfasten her bra. “I want you, too, Deanna.” Lifting his head, he stared down at her, watching her expression. “I’m a man with healthy desires, but I have to admit that wanting you so badly is making me a little crazy.”
Her eyes widened
with surprise and almost immediately narrowed with suspicion. “Why would you say that? Why would I make you crazy? I feel like all I’ve done since I got here is do whatever the hell you and Carson want me to do. I hate that. I hate being dependent on someone else. It can take a bad turn in a hurry.”
Pushing her bra higher, Sam brushed his lips over hers before staring down at her again. “You didn’t say anything about going out today. I got back to the stable and looked over—a habit I’ve picked up since you got here—and the driveway was empty.”
Lifting her higher with a hand around the back of her neck, he cupped her breast, his stomach knotting at the memory. “You scared the hell out of me. I thought for sure you’d gone or that Jimmy had found you and taken you away. I was ready to start a search party when Mary ran out to tell me that Len was on the phone.”
He tapped her nipple, a warning that drew a gasp from her. “Disappear on me again and I’ll be real tempted to turn you over my knee.”
She stiffened, her eyes going wide. “I’m not surprised. You men always use violence to get your way.”
Cursing himself for scaring her, he lifted his head and slid his hand down to cup her bottom. “Baby, when I spank your bottom, it’ll be with the firm intention of making you see how serious I am about making sure you do what I tell you.”
Her eyes flared with anger, and she opened her mouth in what he suspected would be a tongue-lashing, but he shook his head, covering her lips with his finger. “No. Listen to me.”
With a sigh, he touched his lips to hers. “When I think about what you’ve been through, it makes me sick to my stomach. It makes me furious. It makes me feel helpless because I wasn’t there to stop it.”
Touched by the misery in his eyes, Deanna reached up to cup his jaw. “You couldn’t have done anything. You couldn’t have known.” Smiling faintly, she couldn’t hold back a moan when his hand covered her breast again. “Besides, I was married to him, and he didn’t take interference well.”
He leaned closer, the feel of his warm breath against her lips and hot hand on her breast sending currents of need to her slit. “Well, you’re not married to him anymore, are you?”
“Nope.” The feel of his thumb sliding over her nipple shocked another gasp from her.
Rubbing her thighs against the sharp pleasure, Deanna gripped his shoulders, letting her eyes flutter closed. “Sam! What are you doing?”
Sam smiled and closed his fingers on her nipple, making the pleasure even sharper. “It looks like I’m pleasuring you. What’s it look like to you, Carson?”
Sucking in a breath, Deanna opened her eyes, shocked at the sight of Carson crouched beside her. “Oh God!”
Sam’s eyes narrowed, the strokes to her nipple intensifying the throbbing in her clit. “I just intended to hold her for a bit, but she’s so damned sweet that I couldn’t resist.”
Although he spoke to Carson, his eyes never left hers. “I think she has the idea that we’re playing with her.”
“Playing with her sounds like fun to me.” Sliding a hand over her abdomen, Carson bent lower to nip at her bottom lip. “You said you wanted fun, baby.”
Carson took her mouth with his, swallowing the moan that escaped when Sam slid her sweatpants and panties off.
Sam groaned. “It’s my turn to have a taste.”
Trembling with the memory of the pleasure they could give her, Deanna arched when Sam gripped her thighs.
Parting them wide, placed them on his wide shoulders. “Now I get to feast.”
Carson slid a hand under her, keeping her back arched as he lifted her higher and closed his lips on her nipple.
The feel of Sam’s tongue on her clit startled another cry from her.
Her clit throbbed and burned beneath Sam’s tongue, the pleasure intensifying when Carson lowered his head and took her nipple into his mouth.
Her body remembered the pleasure, and faster than she’d expected, she found herself racing for release.
Her body gathered and bowed as the pleasure exploded, the wave of ecstasy that followed stealing her breath.
Carson lifted his head, stroking her damp nipple while staring into her eyes. “If you’re gonna be breathless, it’s gonna be from pleasure, not from fear.”
Sam raised his head with a groan, kissing her inner thighs before releasing her. “Delicious.”
Sam slid up her body, holding the back of her neck while sliding his other hand under her bottom. “I want you.”
Struck by the hunger in his eyes and filled with a sense of belonging, she curled into him, craving his warmth. “Yes.”
Carson stretched out beside her, running a hand over her hair. “Don’t look so surprised. We won’t always take you together.”
Between them, they stripped her out of her sweater and bra before Sam covered her body with his again, using his weight to press her to the mattress.
Trailing the backs of his fingers over her cheek, Carson stared into her eyes. “There’s no reason to be embarrassed.” His grin, filled with affection and hunger, warmed her heart. “Sometimes one of us will watch while the other takes you.”
He bent to touch his lips to hers, lifting his head to smile at her as he caressed her breast. “I want to watch you come while Sam takes you.”
“Then get the hell out of the way.” Sam covered her body again as Carson chuckled and moved aside.
Using his powerful thighs to spread hers wide, he slid a hand beneath her bottom and lifted her hips. “Nice and slow.”
With a groan, he thrust into her, filling her with his thick cock. “You scared the hell out of me today.”
Carson took her hand in his and lifted it to his lips while running his other over her leg. “The outside is healed, but now we’re going to work on the rest. Feel good, baby?”
Holding on to Sam with her free hand, Deanna found herself caught in his steady gaze, sucking in air while her body struggled to adjust to the size of his cock. “What rest? Oh!”
Sam slowly began to thrust, watching her face as he moved. “Let us worry about the rest. Let us worry about everything.”
Still embarrassed by her earlier panic attack, Deanna squeezed her eyes closed against the sight of Sam’s intense stare.
Sam continued to thrust slowly, each stroke taking his cock deeper. “No. Don’t close me out. Look at me.”
Sliding his other hand beneath her neck, he covered her mouth with his.
Deepening his kiss, he swallowed her moan, taking her mouth with a passion that reignited her own. Easing back slightly, he nibbled at her lips. “You don’t need to be afraid. There’s no need to stiffen against me. I won’t hurt you.”
Sliding his hand from beneath her neck, he braced himself on his elbow and tightened his hand on her bottom. “That’s it. Just let go and feel.”
Carson interlaced his fingers with hers and lifted her hand over her head. “Damn, she’s hot.”
Deanna dug her heels into Sam’s tight butt, breathless at the speed of his thrusts.
She cried out and arched into him, the sense of security she felt with them unleashing a passion inside her she didn’t recognize.
Bending slightly, Sam ran his lips over her temple. “You’re ours.”
Every thrust of his cock filled her completely, the friction against her inner walls taking her higher and higher again.
Opening her eyes, Deanna found herself caught in Sam’s gaze again as he slid his hand from under her and braced himself over her.
Carson pressed his lips to her upper arm, the hand on her thigh moving higher. “Ours.”
“That’s it. Let go. I’ve got you.” Sam’s thrusts came faster, tightening her hand on his shoulder while she gripped Carson’s hand with her other.
Unable to do anything except hold on, she gave in to the intensifying pleasure, the warm tingling sensations becoming stronger with every thrust. “Please. I can’t. It’s too much.”
Sam cursed and lifted himself to his knees, gripping her hip
s and thrusting hard and fast. “Fuck it. I can’t wait anymore.”
Deanna sucked in a breath when his thrusts suddenly came hard and fast, his shallower thrusts digging at a spot inside her that threw her into a tailspin.
The pleasure erupted in a flash of fire that surged through her, an incredible wave of heat that sucked the breath from her.
Carson loomed over her, running his hand lightly over her breast. “Christ, she’s beautiful.”
Sam thrust several more times and surged deep, a groan emanating from somewhere deep inside him. “Yeah. Shit. Move.”
With a groan, Sam slumped, still keeping most of his weight off of her as he gathered her close. “That’s my girl.” With his hand in her hair, he lifted her face to his, searching her eyes before lowering his head to kiss her.
He kissed her tenderly as if knowing she needed the tenderness before lifting his head to stare down at her again. “You are so incredibly adorable.”
Frowning, he wiped away a tear that escaped, his eyes narrowed in concern. “What’s wrong, baby? Did I hurt you?”
Smiling to ease the worry in his eyes, Deanna reached up to cup his jaw, feeling Carson’s gaze. “No. It’s just that you were—are—so tender.”
Although he smiled, his eyes held a hint of anger. “Sex can be rough and a little bit wild, but it should bring pleasure. Not pain.”
He slowly withdrew and bent to kiss her again. “I would never deliberately hurt you.”
As he rose, she sat up and, spotting her sweater, grabbed it and covered herself. “Even when you…finished, you didn’t crush me.”
“I’m a big man, and you’re a little thing. Well…” His tone and his expression as he shared a look with Carson had her stiffening.
“What? What’s wrong?”
Sam smiled and bent over to take her lips with his again. “Condom broke. Nothing to worry about. I’m safe, and the thought of making you pregnant doesn’t bother me in the least. Come on. Let’s get to the house. I’ll feel better once we get you settled in.”
Deanna glanced at Carson, who watched her steadily, slipping from the bed to gather her clothes. “It’s only temporary—just until we figure out what Jimmy’s up to.”