Stormbound Page 3
“She’s wet,” Briant said. “And hot.”
Damn it, he’d been 100 percent wrong to think he could stand off to the side. Something that might turn into a growl if he didn’t clamp down on it rolled through Levi as he yanked Briant’s hand away and slid his own into the sweet space. Oh shit yes, her jeans’ crotch was damp, all right.
Suddenly angry, he withdrew. “What are you?” he demanded. “Some kind of damn tease?”
“Tease?” She glared. “You think I’m all hot and bothered so I can—so I can what?”
He didn’t know, didn’t know anything except he was no longer the man he’d been that morning. Grabbing her soft bare shoulders, he began propelling her backward. She stumbled, and he helped her regain her balance only to push again. “I was raised to respect women. I’d never, ever treat a woman like a whore.”
She stopped with a jolt. He tried to get her moving again only to realize they’d reached a wall. There was nowhere to go—and no stopping what was boiling up inside him.
He forced his knee between her legs. “I opened doors, said please and thank-you, sent flowers and chocolate, courted my wife. That’s it, I goddamn courted her, but it wasn’t enough. She whored herself to some bastard.”
“Levi, careful.”
Briant could go to hell. Levi wasn’t anywhere near blowing up.
Was he?
“Are you like she was?” he demanded of the level-eyed woman staring at him. “Laughing because a man’s walking around with a hard-on but you aren’t ready to put out?”
“Is that what you think?”
He could take anger or even fear on her part. He didn’t know how to handle her compassion. Dizzy, he ran his knuckles over the side of her neck.
“You aren’t talking to me,” she said. “A lot of stuff has been piling up inside you for too long. Today”—she looked confused—“for whatever reason, it’s all coming out.”
“Maybe.”
“No maybe to it.” Mimicking what he’d just done, she rubbed her knuckles against his neck with so much pressure, he wasn’t sure whether her intention was to caress or punish. “Finish what you were doing. I’m not going to stop you.”
Like she could. In case she’d forgotten, he outweighed her by a bunch. Of course Briant might decide to play white knight, or could he? Briant was a few feet away, his attention going from Narah to Levi and then back to her. Briant’s nostrils were flared, the lines between his eyes more prominent, his hands close to his crotch.
Forcing his mind, if not his body, off Narah, Levi glared at Briant. “I envy you.”
“Why?”
“You didn’t let yourself get tied down like I did. Your wife didn’t cheat on you.” Before he could decide whether he was done talking, Narah tightened her legs around his knee.
“What are you doing?” he demanded.
“Do you have to get into that now?”
Hell no. Who was he anyway? Surely not the divorcé he’d been this morning. That man had been replaced by someone who didn’t know the meaning of the word civilized. Right and wrong no longer mattered. A sexy woman was in his grasp and under his control. She wanted the same things he did—rough and wild. No boundaries.
“Damn it, I can’t think of anything except…” Her breathing picked up, causing her chest to rise and fall. Her bra was white and utilitarian without a bit of lace. Did she realize how insanely feminine she looked? More to the point, she couldn’t get away. He had her where he wanted her. Maybe where she wanted and needed to be.
“None of us are interested in anything except right now,” Briant said. “We need to acknowledge that and—hell, I’m not going to say it.”
Briant’s tone was changing, becoming quieter and more reflective. Wondering if Narah was aware of the change, Levi studied her. Her eyes were half-closed, her attention seemingly on his chest. He rubbed her upper arms, prompting her to let out a sigh.
Eager to test his sexual strength, Levi trailed his hand from her throat to her breasts. Her second sigh softened everything in him except for his cock. He couldn’t completely dismiss the inner voice demanding to know how she’d react when he reached for her bra and why he’d backed her against a wall, but the answer would have to wait until it stopped snowing.
“Answer me something, Narah,” he said. “Have you ever slept with Briant?”
Chapter Four
The wind kept attacking the lodge. Levi’s solid form stood between Narah and the window, but she didn’t need to see out to know it was snowing in earnest. New attic insulation was due to be helicoptered in within a few days. That would cut down on the draftiness, but until then, the woodstove had its work cut out, keeping things warm.
As far as she was concerned, the storm could go on forever.
“No,” she told the man who now dominated her world. “I’ve never slept with Briant.”
“Why not?”
Before today she would have insisted that having sex with Briant had never entered her mind, but maybe it had been there, only she hadn’t heard the message.
“You know something, Levi,” she said, “that’s none of your damn business.”
He slapped her. It was more of a tap than the real thing, yet she knew she’d gone too far. Fine. Let him deal with his impulse. “If you think you can intimidate me, you’re wrong. I’ve never backed down to any man, ever!”
“What do you think you have to prove?”
“I don’t have to prove anything.”
“Do you ever wish it was different?”
Were they going to spend the whole damn storm psychoanalyzing each other? Feeling heat on her throat, midriff, and bare arms, she found her answer. No, playing shrink wasn’t what any of them wanted.
“Let me go.” She waited until Levi did, then smiled. “There’s your answer. If I were passive, I would have stood there and let myself be manhandled.”
Both men nodded, making her wonder if their thoughts dovetailed. Noting the bulges straining their jeans, she acknowledged something else they had in common.
“How, then, do you explain the way you stood there and let Briant take off your sweatshirt?”
Even though she already had her answer, she delayed, running her hand over her throat as she did so. Her other hand went to her waist, fingers reaching under her waistband.
“Because I wanted this.” She indicated what she was doing. “I still do.”
“Define this.”
Eager to see how they’d react, she licked a forefinger and slid it over her bra’s top edge. “I’m turned on, sexually frustrated if you need it spelled out. I want and intend to do something about it.” Damn it, she could be more direct than something. “I want one cock and then the other in my pussy.”
Briant stared pointedly at her mouth. “Anywhere else?”
“Maybe.”
Levi gave a harsh chuckle. “What’s with the maybe?”
“I’m far from a pro.” She again licked her finger and teased her breast with it. “Maybe you can teach me some techniques.”
Hands steady, Levi reached for his jeans’ waistband and released the snap. “Hey, Briant, have you ever wondered why I’ve never exposed my penis to you?”
Briant started in on his shirt buttons. “You haven’t?”
“I’ve seen yours when you’re taking a leak. It blows mine out of the water.”
“Size doesn’t matter,” she reassured as Briant finished with the last button. She swallowed. “It’s all about performance.”
Levi snorted. “Which you know a great deal about, you who can take or leave sex.”
Had she said that? Just looking at where Levi’s hands rested made her blood threaten to boil. “That’s what I thought, until today.”
Briant’s shirt dangled from his fingers, slowly sweeping back and forth. His hug-what-needed-to-be-hugged white undershirt didn’t leave much to the imagination, and her libido was already in overdrive. Her pulse sent a clear message to what remained of her brain. Go get him.
Before she could command her muscles to move, however, she remembered Levi. His jeans were still in place. “I’m serious,” she said as she put an end to the scant distance between Levi and herself. “I’ve never measured a man’s cock, not that I’ve had that much opportunity. What matters is whether I want him. Him. The whole package.”
Explaining herself took too much concentration. Fighting the heat in her veins, she pushed Levi’s hands aside and unzipped him. She brushed her knuckles over his erection.
“Shit, Narah!”
“I like.” Making sure he watched what she was doing, she cupped what she could of him, then chuckled when he sucked in a breath. His clothes were still in the way, but she’d do something about that in a few minutes. In the meantime— “You’re hard where a woman wants a man to be hard, ready for action.”
Levi had let his arms dangle. Now he placed them on her shoulders and began a slow, smooth journey down her arms. She melted a bit. He’d again force her arms behind her and take charge, make her his possession.
Possession. Her body under a man’s control.
“What am I?” Briant asked. “An observer?”
Levi grunted. “For now, yeah, you are.”
But not for long. Briant wouldn’t stand for it. More than a little light-headed from anticipating how it might all play out, she tugged Levi’s jeans over his hips. Wondering when, not if, he’d take charge, she again ran her knuckles over his still-buried cock, followed by cradling him between sweaty palms.
Getting closer, aching for the feel of silken male beneath the clothes.
Her knees protested when she knelt. For a moment, she couldn’t remember what she was doing here and then started unlacing his boots. Levi planted his hands on the top of her head so she couldn’t move. Was he seeing himself as her master?
Master? Just rolling the word around in her mind made her even wetter.
Yes, he’d recently bought her at a slave auction. For the first few days, he’d kept her locked in a cage. He hadn’t spoken to or touched her, but every time he gazed in at his latest acquisition, his dominant nature had surrounded her until she longed to crawl to him and beg to be used.
Despite the erotic image of her breasts dangling as she slunk toward her master, she managed to remove Levi’s boots, socks, and jeans. Not trusting her strength, she held up her hands so he could help her stand. Mouth twisted to the side, he shook his head. “Sorry. I like seeing you like this.”
“So do I. Groveling at our feet.”
Startled, she swiveled toward Briant. How could such a large man move so silently? He was close enough she could reach out and touch him—maybe capture his cock.
If he allowed her to.
“Have women groveled at your feet before today?” She forced the question. “Played sex slave to your ego?”
Briant hooked his fingers over his waistband as if challenging her not to notice that his jeans were unzipped. She didn’t try. “I’ve done a little bondage play. Scarves around wrists and the wrists tied to a bedpost. Legs kept spread.”
At that, her mouth dried, and the veins in her temple pulsed. She could imagine herself held down like that, but she wouldn’t be secured with fragile scarves. Instead, chains and leather would encircle her wrists and ankles. Her limbs would be tightly stretched, her exposed pussy recently shaved, her nipples decorated with clamps and a chain dangling between her breasts.
“Oh,” was the only thing she could think to say. What if they could read her mind?
As Briant’s fingers slid closer to his cock, he locked his gaze with hers. “What is it, Narah? Submission turning you on?”
“Wouldn’t you like to know.” If you don’t already. Wondering if she had what it took to pull this off, she gave Levi’s cock a parting squeeze and knee-walked the short distance to Briant. Masculinity exuded from him to scramble her mind. Grabbing his jeans with numb fingers, she yanked down. The denim hung up on his hips. “Is this submissive enough for you?” She lightly raked her nails over the briefs protecting his cock.
Briant grabbed her ponytail. “Damn!”
“What’s wrong?”
Tightening his hold, he forced her to tilt her head back so she was looking up at him. Even as she wondered what a collar around her neck would feel like, she again raked him.
“Shit! Damn it,” he muttered. “I didn’t know we were fighting.”
Using her hair as reins, he turned her head to the side. Despite his fierce hold, she felt free. Liberated. “Call it what you want,” she said. “We both know I won’t win a real battle between us.”
“Is that what you want?” Levi asked. “For him to manhandle you?”
Oh hell yes! Chains and leashes. Whips so I’ll know my place. “Maybe.”
Grabbing her forearm, Levi drew her hand off Briant’s cock and positioned it near his. “You want it rough, don’t you?”
Yes, yes! At your mercy. Both of yours. Living to please you. My existence defined by obedience.
Levi’s hold on her wrist tightened. “You didn’t answer.”
“Do I need to?” The men in essence sandwiched her, but she didn’t object. Might never want anything different.
“We could force an admission from her,” Briant said and let go of her hair. “Get past the bullshit. Look at you, Narah. You’re on your knees with two cocks within reach. No way are you getting up until you tell us how you’d react to being dominated.”
Shaking in anticipation, she cupped her sweating palms around the male offerings. Their cocks twitched under her tentative touch and took her into fantasy. These were her new masters’ organs. She’d be punished or rewarded, depending on how she behaved. Whether she got to eat or sleep tonight depended on her slave skills.
“I’m tired,” she muttered as anticipation again snapped through her. “Tired of making decisions.”
“Then we’ll make them for you.” Leaning over, Briant untied his boots. “Which of us gets to do her first?”
“I do.”
Levi’s words sliced through the air. Before she could wrap her mind around the meaning behind them, he hauled her to her feet. “Off with the damn bra,” he commanded. “I want to see what I’m getting.”
Yes, Master. “You, ah, you don’t want to do it?”
She couldn’t fathom his expression. His eyes hadn’t looked like this before. They were different now. Darker and deeper. Something new emerging. “If I did,” he said, “the damn thing would already be in shreds. Do it!”
Or else, she finished for him. Not sure who she was, she reached behind her for the bra fastening.
She handed the so-practical garment to Levi, who grabbed it and flung it behind him. The woman she’d always believed she was asked what the hell she was doing. The one she’d just become slid her hands under her breasts and lifted them. “Do they please you?” Master.
“Yeah, they do.” Breathing deeply, Briant kicked off one boot and then the other.
“Me too,” Levi echoed. “Now give us a good look.”
Time seemed to pulse, to pause simply because Levi had said what she needed to hear. Not trusting her balance, she stood on widespread legs and thrust out her chest.
“Handle them,” Briant ordered. “Make those nipples really hard.”
She tried to lift her arms, only to discover they’d become numb. Desperate to do what Briant wanted her to, she repeatedly clenched her fingers until blood flow was restored. Her nipples tightened the instant she closed her fingers around them. Touching them was almost painful.
Briant stepped out of his jeans. “What are you feeling?”
“Everything.”
Closing in on her, Briant wrapped his jeans around her waist and pulled her toward him. Caught against his potent body, she pressed her palms over her breasts.
“Yeah,” he said, “I think you are, just like me.”
They were in this together. Slipping into the same fantasy, if that was what it was.
“Don’t leav
e me out of this,” Levi said. “I need it as much as you two do.”
Chapter Five
Levi’s ex had been a modest woman, and even considering her affair, he’d bet that hadn’t changed. In contrast, the creature standing half-naked in front of him didn’t seem to have a proverbial modest bone in her body. Before today, he wouldn’t have known what to do with someone like her.
But that was yesterday. Today he wanted. Today he would have.
“Here’s what’s going to happen,” he told Narah. “You’re getting rid of everything you have on. Now.”
She should tell him to go to hell, had every right to. Instead, she nodded and leaned forward. Her breasts dangled as she began untying her tennis shoes. Despite his need to cradle her breasts, he’d wait. Somehow.
The building they were in seemed to change. It was no longer a riverfront lodge. Instead, this was a castle, a dungeon, an impenetrable place where domineering men ruled. He was one of them, the woman before him a creature he’d captured or bought for his pleasure. She’d do what he required of her because she had no choice—and because she wanted the same thing.
Standing a foot away, Briant finished stripping. Looking at the other man’s naked body, Levi sensed they shared the same images and fantasies.
Because her hands shook, Narah fumbled while removing her shoes and socks. The task over with, she placed her hands over her belly and stared at him. Do it! he said with a nod. Finish stripping.
Smiling faintly, she hauled off her jeans as if she could hardly wait to get rid of them. In contrast to her earlier behavior, there was nothing hesitant about the way she yanked the denim and nylon down and stepped free. She sighed and again laced her fingers together.
“Demonstrate for us what your body’s capable of,” he commanded.
“What do you mean?”
“What do you have to offer?” the Dom he was becoming demanded. “You want us to believe we’re getting something worth having, but maybe it isn’t worth the effort.” He hefted his cock. “Giving this a workout takes a lot out of a man.”
Briant grunted. “That’s the way to tell her. Don’t let her get away with anything.”