by Amy Sumida
“We’re kissing now? Kissing is allowed? Since when is kissing allowed?” he really hoped he didn’t sound as childish to the others as he did to his own ears.
Ivory giggled – actually giggled; ‘Since now.”
That was all the confirmation he needed, surging from his own chair. He grabbed her around the waist and kissed her with all the pent-up passion he’d been bottling up since meeting her. He moaned because her lips were just as soft as he imagined, groaned because her tongue reached out to caress his, and growled because her unique flavour burst across his taste buds in an intoxicating mix of sweetness, freshness, and wildness. She tasted exactly the way she smelled. Her soft curves aligned perfectly with his hard frame and he had to fight his panther’s instinct to lay her across the table and have her for dessert.
Unfortunately, oxygen soon became a necessity and he pulled back, watching her parted lips and closed eyes with satisfaction. She ducked her head and cleared her throat, putting some space between them. Although she had been as into it has he was, she was now looking a little shy and uncomfortable. That wouldn’t do. Hoping to break the tension, he sat back down and picked up his spoon;
“Okay, it’s official. I want bacon and ice cream every meal from now on.”
His joke had the desired effect, causing a laugh to bubble in her chest and Vaughn to snort in appreciation.
They were just scraping the bottom of their bowls with their spoons when Seth walked in more than an hour before he was expecting. Ronan was surprised at how much he had enjoyed the salty and sweet treat – not that he would ever admit that to Vaughn. The man had been trying to get him to taste his weird concoction for years.
“There he is,” Ronan didn’t need to look up to see the smile on Ivory’s face. He could hear it in her voice and truly believed they had turned a corner with her this evening, “The third musketeer. We were just – what is it?”
He looked up sharply when Ivory’s tone changed from happy to guarded. Seth’s face was as serious as he had ever seen it. But there was also something else – rage, Ronan thought – standing from his seat. Seth was furious about something.
“A customer just walked up to me and handed me this envelope,” he held up a plain, familiar envelope between two fingers, “Said he found it stuck to the closed front door, saw it was addressed to Ivory and handed it in. He’s a local – didn’t seem to be lying,” he added, nodding in their direction to communicate that his panther hadn’t scented a lie. The good Samaritan wasn’t their guy.
“What does it say this time?” Ivory demanded, but Ronan could hear the nerves underneath her strong tone.
Seth hesitated and Ronan knew it must be bad. He stood next to Ivory, placing his hand on her right shoulder. Vaughn mirrored his actions on her left side. He gave a small nod, indicating Seth should show her. It was their job to protect her but not to shield her – no matter how much they wanted to. Seth handed the envelope over and Ivory opened it up, shrugging out of their grip. All Ronan had been able to make out was that there were multiple pieces of paper enclosed.
Ivory let out a thin whine, dropping the envelope and scattering its contents all over her beautiful mahogany table. She dashed from the room and he heard the slam of the bathroom door before obvious sounds of retching reached his ears. Bending down, he picked up the images and instantly felt his canines extend and his claws explode from his fingertips.
“I’m going to kill him. When we find this fucker, he’s dead,” he snarled.
~
Ivory had spent a good ten minutes emptying the contents of her stomach. Her delicious meal of spaghetti bolognese and her new favourite dessert hadn’t tasted so good coming back up. The men had knocked on the door, asking if she was okay and could they come in. She had managed to garble a bunch of unintelligible words and lock the main bathroom door, before sliding down onto the tile and allowing herself to have a decent crying jag. Blessedly, they had let her be but not before assuring her they were finding and removing the cameras.
The cameras. She firmed her jaw again when more tears threatened to spill. She had never felt so exposed or violated in her whole life. The envelope had held multiple photos of her in her own en-suite bathroom. She was naked in every one of them – in the shower, brushing her teeth, lathering body lotion over herself. That was violation enough but what had dinner rushing up her oesophagus had been what had been done to the photos. In each and every one, there had been scratches, cuts, hacks, or lewd scribbles over her breasts and genitals. Whoever was stalking her had metaphorically mutilated her. What had started out as someone wanting a harmless date, had now devolved into someone wanting to maim her sexually.
She was in a state of shock. Who could possibly hate her that much? Or, what was worse; who could believe they loved her that much? For this much sexual rage had to stem from that fine line between love and hate.
“Ivory …” Seth’s voice reached her ears through the wooden door despite the tentative quality of it.
She scrubbed shaking hands over her face, refusing to look in the mirror and see how much of a wreck she looked like; her fair skin did not react well to tears. She opened the door to find all three of them standing on the threshold. She couldn’t look them in the eye yet though. They had all seen those photos and she felt absolutely humiliated.
“How many did you find?” she asked, knowing there must have been more than one because the photos had portrayed her from multiple angles.
“Two in the en-suite; one in the shower cubicle, one above the sink. There was also one above your bed,” Vaughn sounded like he was chewing on gravel. His voice was so low and so gruff she could barely understand him.
Looking around she saw identical expressions of rage on Seth and Ronan’s faces as well. She figured when her three bodyguards got their hands on the sick fucker doing this, he would be a dead man within seconds.
“We’re so sorry, Ivory. We know it’s unforgivable of us but –”
“Wait, what are you talking about?” What could they possibly have to be sorry for?
“When we arrived, we swept your place for bugs and anything that gave off an electrical charge. There was no sign of anything like that. But they must have already been in place. The three cameras we found were small and sophisticated. They ran on a timer or an external remote rather than being turned on all the time. It’s why we missed them. But that’s no excuse. We are so sorry,” Ronan explained, looking like someone had kicked him in the nuts. He looked positively green.
“Stop, Ronan. This isn’t on you guys. I don’t want to hear that kind of crap. There’s one person who is to blame for all this. It’s that sick –” she broke off, her breath hitching, “He’s been in my house. How could I not have known? And did you see what he did to me? He cut into –” Her words dropped off again, as panic climbed up into her throat, cutting off her airways.
Immediately and as one, the three men surrounded her, closing in from all sides, a solid wall of warmth and muscles. She let herself just lean, knowing they would support her. The thought of some stranger watching her in her bedroom – in her shower – made her feel sick. She trembled a little and felt multiple sets of hands pat at her in comfort. Multiple voices murmured nonsense words in order to soothe. Thank goodness she had them, she thought. Thank goodness they were here to protect her and make her strong, and …
Ivory stiffened at her inner monologue as much as her fearful actions. Since when did she tremble? Since when did she need a man, let alone three, to make her strong? This man, this stranger, had made her weak – made her soft. Her mother had raised her to be a strong, independent woman. Sure, she had taught her to know her weaknesses, but also to never give in to them. She had told her to rise above her weaknesses, to fight them and to turn them into strengths. She had built her business from the ground up. She had renovated her home from installing the toilet to painting the ceilings.
She was capable. She was strong. She was a frigging witch, for god’s sake!
And she had allowed some nameless, faceless bastard to make her feel vulnerable – make her question herself like never before. Six months ago, if a pack of gorgeous men had invited her into their bed, she would have skipped into it singing Joy to the World. But now? She was over-thinking, making excuses, doubting herself. They knew she was keeping secrets but these men still trusted her, still wanted her. She was the one not trusting them. She was the one with the doubts and the insecurities. It made her hate her anonymous stalker even more. She had made a good start by flirting and allowing Vaughn and Ronan to kiss her senseless earlier, but she wanted more.
With her fear falling away and righteous anger taking its place, she decided it was time to stop being a puppet and turn her weakness into strength.
Chapter Fourteen
“It’s okay, Ivory. We won’t let anyone hurt you,” Ronan’s voice assured her. So, it was Ronan directly in front of her then. A comforting hand ran down her back and she recognised it by the size – that was Seth behind her. That meant the muscled arm wrapped tightly around her waist from the side must belong to Vaughn. Opening her eyes and peering up, she saw Ronan’s eyes were full of concern and anger … but also desire. It was always there, like a low simmer, bubbling away in the background. Well, it was time to bring that simmer to a boil.
She gave a hard tug on the fabric currently bunched in her hands and stole a kiss full of passion and want as soon as Ronan’s lips were within touching distance. She heard a moan – wanton and needy – and knew the aching sound had come from her. Ronan kissed her back feverishly as hands other than his own roamed up her sides before cupping her breasts. She pulled back, only so she could moan some more and push herself more fully into the large palms that were igniting her inner flames. Her head fell back, landing on Seth’s broad chest as he continued to shape and mold, plucking at her now-hard nipples every few seconds. She felt his lips against her neck and couldn’t contain the shiver that slid over her body when he tugged a sensitive earlobe into his mouth playfully.
Hands on her hips had her refocusing and she saw that Vaughn had now moved in front of her, eyes shining like emeralds. His head lowered to capture her mouth even as he shoved a muscled thigh between her legs, encouraging her to move. Yes, friction, she thought giddily, eagerly moving her hips in time with his urging hands. She had felt herself growing damp the second Ronan’s lips had touched her own. Now with Seth’s at her neck and Vaughn’s against hers as three sets of hands forged leisurely tracks over her body, she knew she could come from this alone. But she wanted more. She wanted flesh.
She slid her hands under Vaughn’s shirt, her palms heating immediately upon feeling the textured hardness of fine hairs over rigid muscle. She pushed the material upward only to be blocked when it bunched under his armpits, “Arms. Lift,” she demanded, and felt more than heard the rumble of laughter in Vaughn’s chest. All it served to do was draw her eyes back to the firm, tanned skin stretched so tightly over his abs, “Now, Vaughn,” she ordered again, when he failed to do as she bid.
Large hands captured her frenzied ones and she deigned to look up. Vaughn’s face was tight with passion … but also with control, “Ivory, wait,” he said and she had the absurd urge to growl at him. She didn’t want to wait. She had been waiting. She wanted her men and she wanted them now.
She shook her head, “More,” was all she said.
“Ivory, we don’t want to pressure you.”
The voice came from behind her and belonged to Seth, his hands shifting from her aching breasts to her hips. She whimpered in frustration, pushing herself harder against Vaughn’s thigh, “Yes, pressure. More pressure.”
But strong hands held her still, compounding her exasperation – but also fuelling her lust. Those hands were mighty strong. What she wouldn’t give to feel them holding her down, arms pinned above her head by one of them, ankles held in a similar fashion by another, as the last of them pounded into her, completely at their mercy.
“Holy fuck.”
“Jesus Christ.”
“Mercy.”
She glanced around, confused at the various expletives, as well as the multiple groans, “What?”
“Ivory, you basically just told us you wanted to be pinned down while we fucked you into oblivion,” Seth panted from behind her.
“Did I say that out loud?” she enquired, sheepishly. She felt a blush heat her cheeks even though she wasn’t really embarrassed. She may as well be up front.
“Yes!” all three men answered at once. Apparently, they were all a little on edge.
She shrugged, “Oops.”
“Oops. Ivory …” Ronan ran clearly agitated fingers through hair that was thick and lush. She wanted to do the same, “You’ve had a scare and you’re upset. We don’t want to take advantage of you,” he explained, cupping her face, “We want to take care of you.”
Take care of her? Nuh uh. What did they not understand about oblivion and fucking? She was taking her power back. Seeing the sincere but unsure looks on the men’s faces made her feel a little bit bad for them. Poor men. They had no idea what they were in for. She took three slow steps back, disentangling herself from six arms. She ran her fingers over the buttons of her shirt, before slipping them through their holes, slowly revealing the emerald green, lacy bra beneath. She may not have been able to walk around with her true face, and her work required practical clothing, but underneath it all, she indulged in an extensive array of luxurious lingerie. She loved seeing the bold colours against her skin and feeling the slide of satin or silk underneath her clothes. The matching set she had put on that morning was a new favourite. She had become rather partial to the colour green over the past week.
She allowed her shirt to fall from her shoulders, three sets of eyes following the movement and making her feel wanted, cherished. She moved her hands over her bare stomach, circling the jewel in her belly button, before unbuttoning and unzipping her black jeans. Her hands ran over her hips, pushing the denim down and she gave her butt a shimmy at the same time – more to get the material moving rather than to be enticing. Apparently, it had the same effect though, for all three men groaned and shifted restlessly. Shaking out her brown hair and wishing it was her natural white colour, she straightened so the trio could get a gander at the matching lace, low cut, boy-legs she wore. She loved the flattering way the little shorts cupped her butt, riding high on her thighs. She may hide her powers and face from the world, but her body of curves and pale skin was all hers – no magic added.
Eyeing Seth, Ronan, and Vaughn, she could see they were holding onto their control by a thread but also not wanting to make the first move either. Looks like they needed a little more encouragement, “So … who wants first dibs?”
She laughed at the stampede that followed; jostling bodies, pushing and shoving, good-natured swearing and teasing. Vaughn made it to her first – largely because he tripped Ronan and pushed Seth face first into the cushions on the lounge – picking her up and carting her into the bedroom. She slid down his body, the evidence of his arousal plain to feel. The bulge at the front of his jeans looked big and inviting and she decided to make him more comfortable by unzipping them carefully and peeling the denim back. His hardness sprang free immediately, long and thick. Looks like someone went commando. She reached out, wrapping her fingers around the solid length and his moan mingled with her own. He felt wonderful.
Despite her newfound boldness, she couldn’t help glancing in the direction where the camera had been hidden. Vaughn noticed her sudden stillness and the direction of her gaze, and he cupped her face with his hands, redirecting her stare;
“Hey. We found them all. He can’t see you, I promise.”
She raised her chin, hardening her eyes, “I don’t care if you didn’t find all the cameras. Fuck him. Let him watch. Let him see how a real man acts.”
Vaughn groaned, “Fuck! You’re amazing.”
He kissed her and kissed her until she began to hallucinate that he had multiple set
s of hands and they were divesting her of her lingerie. Wait, she wasn’t imagining anything. She really did have multiple sets of hands peeling off the lace, hot hands and lips trailing in their wake. She fought the urge to giggle like a school girl. She was really doing it. She was soon to have three new lovers in one fell swoop.
Ivory found herself completely naked in no time and passed from man to man as they ripped off their own clothes, flinging them carelessly around the room. She touched and tasted, gasping at the feeling of unyielding muscles under the satin smoothness of tanned skin. The men let her have her fill, as she cupped each of them in turn, learning their shapes and what made them beg. All too soon for her liking, she found her new favourite toys out of her reach as they crawled onto her bed. She knew they had been dying to try out the round mattress. She had been aching to see them atop of it as well.
The three of them sprawled on their backs, their hard dicks pointing to the ceiling, as they stroked themselves. She gulped; they looked like demi-gods. No, scrap that. They looked like gods – there was no demi about it. She sauntered over to the bed until her legs brushed against the mattress. She cupped her breasts offering the beaded peaks to the first open mouth she saw; Seth’s. Her head fell back on a gasp as his rough tongue stroked over her. She felt hyper-sensitive to his touch and when strong fingers played over her mound and dipped into her sheath, her knees buckled.
Seth lifted her easily, placing her on top of an already waiting Vaughn. She straddled his waist, flexing her fingers on his chest as he teased her wet entrance with the tip of his broad cock. She shivered in anticipation and moaned in bliss when Seth’s hands returned to her breasts from behind, plucking and tugging at her sensitive nipples. Seems Seth was a boob man. She moved her hips, trying to force Vaughn exactly where she wanted him but was unable to seat herself.
