by Kate Stewart
“Because I said so.”
“That’s not a reason.” I didn’t see Lucas move until his hands closed around my waist. He lifted me from the couch and set me on my feet against his chest. I pushed against the hard plane of muscle, but he wouldn’t budge. “Let me the fuck go.”
I didn’t notice him turning our bodies until I felt another against my back. Unwillingly, I looked to Angel for help, but he seemed content with watching his brothers feel me up.
“When we get a woman alone, we close in on her just like this,” Z’s husky tone whispered.
“Most women like to be chased.” Lucas hands shifted as he spoke, moving from my waist to my sides, and then sliding up. “They want to be hunted.”
“It makes them feel special. Like we’d do anything to have them.”
“And it’s only been for one that it was true.”
“I’m sure she’s a lucky girl,” I returned sarcastically.
“We’ll see soon enough,” Z answered. His lips pressed against my nape.
The mind-blowing assault came again. This time, it was Lucas who pressed a hot kiss on my throat. “Yeah,” he growled low.
With their help, my robe fell from my body leaving me naked between two of my abductors. They stayed close, but their bodies weren’t fully pressed against mine. I didn’t trust their control, though because I couldn’t even trust my own. It was impossible not to find either man sexy, but they were not who my body truly burned for.
I felt him watching me even now. He kept as still and silent as a statue. His energy surrounded us and pulled at my ties, daring me to let go. In a weird twist of fate, he was the one that had bound me, and now it seemed he was the one desperate to free me.
Maybe I was the one truly in control.
Maybe I could play this game better than any of them could.
I ran my hands up Lucas’s chest to test that theory and watched his eyes flare with surprise. He stalled, so I played harder and rose to the tips of my toes. Lips parted, head slanted, I leaned in for a kiss.
“Enough.” Angel’s voice was thick with boredom, but when I gave him my eyes again, I found jealous eyes watching me in return. “I think she gets your point.”
Z and Lucas moved away immediately while I celebrated the victory in my head.
“Sit down.” He stabbed the cushion next to him and stared past me.
What a sore loser.
I picked up my robe and pulled it on. I could feel his eyes on me as I did. When I collapsed on the couch next to him, he finally relaxed again.
Z was searching through the movies again. His face was tight and so was the bulge in his sweats. Besides their hands and lips, their erections were the only part of them they had freely let me feel.
Lucas had taken a seat on the far end of the couch, and when my gaze traveled to his, I found he was already watching me. He nodded slowly as if he’d figured out my game. I stared back as he smirked and took a drink from his soda.
Z finally chose a movie and popped it into the DVD player. He didn’t choose the couch and instead, stretched out on the plush carpet, but not before removing his t-shirt and winking at me when it cleared his head.
I blushed and then peeked over at Angel scared that he might notice. His attention was also on Z, and the angry scowl made me look away. That did me no good since my gaze landed in his lap. My pussy wept at the subtle tent in his sweats and the thick length stretching along his thigh. His size made me curious.
In a perfect world if I could let him fuck me… would he even fit?
Suddenly, my pussy had a pulse.
It was shamelessly seeking out the feeling of him inside me even though I didn’t want it.
Right?
Thirty minutes into the movie, Z and Lucas were arguing the merits of purging. That was when I heard him cry. My body tensed along with everyone else in the room, Z and Lucas’s debate forgotten.
Instinctively, I rose to see to him until Angel’s grasp on my wrist reminded me that it wasn’t allowed.
“Let me go,” I gritted. “I need to see to him.”
“That’s not what we discussed.”
“You discussed. I wasn’t given a choice.”
“Sit down, Mian.” When I hesitated, he squeezed my wrist until I cried out. I didn’t give in, though. I couldn’t. Caylen’s cries grew more intense as we stared into each other’s eyes. His were screaming to obey, and mine were screaming to understand.
My knees buckled when I couldn’t take the sound of his distress any longer, and I collapsed to the floor with my knees pressed into my chest. Angel stood, so I braced for a fight. He surprised me when he stepped around me and left the room. Minutes later, Caylen’s cries could no longer be heard, but it didn’t lessen my urge to go to him. One quick glance at Lucas and Z told me they wouldn’t hesitate to stop me.
When Angel reappeared, the t-shirt he was wearing before was gone. “Where’s your shirt?”
“He threw up on it after I burped him.”
“You fed him?”
“Yeah.”
“You have experience feeding infants?”
“Doesn’t require a degree to figure out how to feed a baby.”
“But apparently you fed him too much if he threw up on you.”
“I fed him until he stopped reaching for the bottle, Mian. It’s not my fault his eyes are bigger than his stomach.”
“So now you’re calling my baby fat?”
“What I’m saying is that he has a healthy appetite and that his mother is a lunatic.”
“Oh, right. You kidnap a mother and child and keep them apart, yet I’m the lunatic.”
He had the nerve to shrug his shoulders. “Just calling it like I see it.”
I started to curse him out when I heard, “You two fight like you’re already married.” Z grinned from his position on the floor.
“Pardon?”
“Cut it,” Angel warned.
Z shrugged his shoulders and lay back down. The movie resumed, and everyone returned their attention to the screen, but my mind was still racing.
“Was he feeling okay?” I whispered. “Did he feel too warm or fussy?”
“He’s good, Mian. He was just hungry, and now he’s asleep.”
“You sure he’s asleep? Because he’s not like most babies. He won’t fall right to sleep. It—”
“I know.” Finally, he turned his full attention on me, and I was struck by the warm brown of his gaze. There was no trace of irritation in them, though his tone didn’t change when he said, “He didn’t fall asleep right away, so I rocked him, and that was it.”
“Oh… Thank you.”
He didn’t bother to reply and turned his attention back to the television.
“I think her baby did a Jedi mind trick on you,” Lucas said after a few moments of tense silence.
“What the fuck does that mean?”
“Well,” he shrugged with a grin, “he’s got you playing Daddy, and you’re none the wiser of who his father even is.”
Angel’s jaw clenched while Lucas and Z laughed at his expense. These were one of the moments when I believed it was wise to keep quiet. The last thing I wanted to do was discuss Caylen’s father.
The movie played, and I pretended not to notice Angel’s stare.
“So you’re a mother… How did that happen?” Angel had me brought to him the next day. I watched him sit confident and strong behind his father’s desk, unbroken by the decisions of our fathers.
“Oh, you know… the natural way. If you want to know the positions we used—”
“You still haven’t learned a damn thing, have you?”
“Such as?”
“Your mouth will get you in trouble.”
“Sorry. I’m not much of an actor.”
“You had no trouble pretending you wanted Lucas and Z’s cocks last night.”
I quirked an eyebrow and smirked. “Who said I was pretending?”
“Would you like to fuck them?�
�� he asked quietly. He was calling my bluff.
“I wouldn’t want you to be jealous.” I winked.
He stared at me for a beat and then closed his eyes. When he opened them again, I wasn’t prepared for the heat within them. “I’m going to ask you again, and this time, I want you to think about what comes from your mouth. If I don’t like it, I’m going to walk to the other side of this desk and do something to it. Are we clear?”
I nodded.
“How. Did. Caylen. Happen?”
“I went on a date with a college frat, decided to give it up on the first date, it didn’t go as well as I liked so I decided not to continue our relationship. Does that satisfy your question?”
“So he’s not involved in Caylen’s life?”
“Never told him about him,” I lied. Aaron could be the only person able to do something about our abduction. Anna would have already noticed I was missing. The police wouldn’t do much without signs of foul play. I knew Anna. She would become desperate enough to go to him. I thanked my lucky stars that I told her about him. I just hoped Caylen’s father was human enough to give a shit about his missing son. If Angel were to ever know about him, there was no doubt in my mind that Aaron would come face to face with him.
I hadn’t noticed Angel had moved until it was too late. He leaned against the desk in front of me. Angel in my personal space meant all I could breathe was him.
“I have a proposition for you.”
I did not like the sound of that, but I was curious. “Yes?”
“Despite how I feel about you, my brothers don’t feel the same. They like you.”
“I can’t say the same.”
“It’s not necessary that you do.”
I definitely didn’t like where this was going. “What is this proposition, Angel?”
“They want to fuck you, Mian.”
They hadn’t exactly been subtle about it considering their insinuations over the past week, but it still came as a shock to hear Angel admit it so freely. “What does that have to do with me?”
I had known his answer before he spoke it. “You’re going to let them.”
“No, Angel. I will not.” My virginity was stolen from me, and I promised myself that the next time would be because I wanted it. Sure, I thought Z and Lucas were hot, but they weren’t what I wanted.
I want freedom.
I swallowed down the guilt of the other half of the truth and stood up.
Angel didn’t make requests, but this… I closed my eyes and breathed deep. Not this.
“In a few more days, when I’m confident you aren’t sick, you can see your son.” I was already feeling the fight inside me wither to dust. “I know you can barely sleep from the cold. I know you want clothes that will cover your body. I know you want a towel to wrap around yourself when you step from a warm shower rather than the cold air. I know you want to be free…”
I sneered at him when he finished. “And if I fuck your brothers, you’re going to give me all that?”
“If you please them.”
“Fuck you.”
“I’m the only man in this house you’ll never have to worry about spreading your legs for.”
“What’s wrong? You can dish it, but you can’t take it?”
He reached out and took a strand of my hair between his fingers. “You have no idea how bad it can get for you if I take you.”
I almost did something insane by challenging him to try. I made a note to have my head examined when I made it back to Chicago.
“My father is going to kill you.”
A mocking grin spread his sexy lips. “Don’t tell me you actually believe your father can save you?” He laughed, and I wanted nothing more than to kill him myself. “I know you’re missing your father, and I’m a kind man when I want to be. I’ll be willing to play the part.” His gaze blackened as he snidely whispered, “All you have to do is call me daddy.”
I swung, but he caught my fist and yanked me forward. “You’ll never be anything to me but a dead man,” I hissed.
He smirked. He fucking smirked! “Until then, I’m the man with the only say.”
“Well, man… you have the misconception that you can loan my body out to your friends, and I’m just supposed to fuck on command.”
“The only misconception is how you refuse to accept the inevitable.”
“I’m not fucking your friends. You can’t just snap your fingers and expect me to open my legs.”
He gripped the lower half of my face. His hand covered my mouth entirely to keep me from screaming as he shoved me across the room until my back was against the wall. When we collided, an unlit candle resting on a scone crashed to the floor beside us.
“For now, and until I say otherwise, you belong to them, so when they command it, you smile and offer your pussy for fucking. Are we clear on that?”
I heard the door open. Angel’s grimace was now for whoever interrupted. “We need to talk,” Lucas explained. Angel didn’t respond. He lifted his chin and the door closed. He turned his head to face me again. I blinked hard when I realized his face was closer and continued getting even closer.
Then he completely turned my world upside down and set the pit of my stomach on fire.
He kissed my lips.
Softly.
And I swore my lips would never feel the same again.
“Let’s not have this conversation again.”
I’ve been skirting the edge of sanity since my talk with Angel that afternoon. I kept my eye on the door for hours, but no one came—not even to demand a cooked meal or to offer me one, for that matter. Maybe he decided to starve me until I gave in to his friends.
The rest of the day passed, and no one came. I decided to take a shower before bed. I used to love showers until Angel used it as a way to torture me. The water was freezing cold, and I couldn’t bear to spend more than two minutes inside. Stepping out into the equally cold air without a towel to dry myself or keep me covered also made me dread them.
But this time, I stepped inside of the private bath and found a towel waiting on top of the vanity. I longingly ran my fingers over the thick white cloth but was smart enough to know Angel had made his move. He thought he could pay me to slut for his friends with a towel. I lifted my fingers and entered the shower, and this time, I welcomed the cold spray. I just hoped it froze over my heart this time.
When I was done with my bath, I ignored the towel and stepped back into the room.
“Mian.”
I screamed my surprise, but it was quickly cut off by a strong hand lightly clamped over my lips. “Shh. It’s just me.” I recognized the playful sound of Z’s voice and tensed even more.
He finally let go of my face, and I sputtered, “Is that supposed to comfort me?”
“I’m sorry if I frightened you.”
“No, you’re not.”
“I am. I won’t argue with you,” he added when I started to tell him off. Instinct warned me that underneath the boyish smirks and mischievous eyes lurked someone who dominated as easily as he played.
“What are you doing in here?”
“I have a proposition for you.”
“Oh, great,” I replied sarcastically. “Another one.”
“You have a wicked sharp tongue, you know that?”
“I’m usually a delight. It’s the assholes and child abductors I have trouble holding back for.” He didn’t get angry like Angel or annoyed like Lucas. He laughed and nodded his head in agreement.
“I can understand the temptation.” The look in his eyes said he was talking about a different temptation. I needed to change the subject fast.
“What’s your proposition?”
“All business. I respect that.” He grinned, and I swear if I had panties, they’d melt.
“Zachariah.”
“No one calls me Zachariah.”
“I do.”
“You are a mother,” he whispered with admiration. I tapped my foot letting him know I was
becoming impatient. “I know you want him.” Before I could deny what we both knew was the truth, he added, “But you want to withstand him more.”
I struggled to find the denial that would make the most sense. The one that would sound the most believable when uttered.
“Yes.” I instantly regretted giving him even that much. I shouldn’t trust him since we both knew whose side he was on.
“I could help you.”
“Why would you do that?” How would he do that? He didn’t answer right away. Instead, he lifted me in his arms and carried me to the bed. “What are you doing?” I squeaked when he followed me down.
“Isn’t this where you were headed?” He leaned over my prone body. His hands were planted on each side of me, keeping me caged in. God, he smelled good. Like citrus and smoke.
“Yes, but without you.”
“Relax.”
“Get out and I will.”
“He kissed you, didn’t he?”
I wasn’t even surprised by the abrupt change of subject. “How do you know that?’
“Lucas said you two were pretty cozy this afternoon.” Damn, Lucas and his big mouth. “So?”
I nodded.
“Did you enjoy it?”
“Of course, I didn’t.”
“Don’t lie to me, Mian. I’ll know.”
“Why do you care? Did he send you in here to find out how good of a kisser he is? I’m nineteen, and even I find that completely juvenile.”
“What upsets you more? That he kissed you and left you wanting more, or that he didn’t come back for more?”
“You’re full of yourself.”
“I wish you were full of me right now.”
“God! You’re so—”
“Hot?”
“Looks don’t win over every girl. Sometimes a little chivalry is needed.”
“Let me get this straight.” I didn’t like how his hot gaze traveled from my eyes. Down they went until they settled between my thighs and rested. “The idea of Angel kissing you again while you are full of me,” he spread my thighs apart until I was bared completely for him, “doesn’t make you wet?”
“Z, don’t—”
“You need relief,” he guessed. “I could give that to you.” Without permission, he moved his fingers between my legs. I moved to close them, but he was too quick. His fingers settled over my lips, stroking, and teasing my arousal higher.