by Becca Van
* * * *
Mason was concerned for her health and frowned as he held her to him, running a hand over her head and down her back. The sound of his brother’s roar of fury made his head snap around toward him. He was about to tell Chip to shut the fuck up because he didn’t want Pip upset when she was already feeling poorly.
“What the fuck?” Chip roared, staring at the deck.
Mason followed his brother’s line of sight until his gaze landed on the garbage strewn on Pip’s deck. The sight that met his eyes made the fury build from his toes up to the top of his head. He had never felt such rage in his life. He closed his eyes and opened them again, hoping the sight was a figment of his imagination. Unfortunately, it was all too real. There were two charred rats lying on the deck, with small photos of Pippa’s parents tied to the rodents’ faces. But what made his rage boil to a nearly uncontrollable level was the sight of Pip’s photo attached to the dead animal, its throat slit and dried blood coating its white fur. The sound of Randy’s voice coming from around the side of the house made him turn his head in the other direction.
* * * *
“Mason, you need to see…” Randy said as he walked around the corner of the house. The sight of Pip shaking against his brother’s chest as she leaned on him for support halted him in mid sentence. He moved his eyes to Mason’s, surprised to see barely suppressed fury on his brother’s face. He slid his eyes over to where Chip was staring in disbelief and followed his gaze. The sight stunned him. God knows how long he stood staring at the horror before his eyes. When he finally comprehended he was actually seeing what he thought, a roar of rage built up in his throat until the sound erupted with fury from his mouth. He saw Pip flinch from the corner of his eye and physically struggled to tamp down his fury. He watched Mason pick Pip up into his arms and carry her around to the front of her house. Randy knew Mason was about to get another shock. The roar that he heard from around the corner was no surprise to him, but it obviously was to Chip.
He knew his brother had just found the photos of her parents hanging outside the kitchen window. He watched Chip bolt and waited until his brother vented his anger. It didn’t take long, and Randy knew without a doubt their woman was about to move house. There was no way in hell she was staying here alone anymore. She was going to live with them until he and his brothers could work out what the hell was going on. He picked up Pip’s purse and keys, which had been strewn on the gravel, then headed around to the front door.
The sight of Pippa’s small body trembling in Mason’s arms as his brother cradled her on his lap made the fury build up in Randy all over again. The fact that their woman was being terrorized was inconceivable. Who the hell would do such a thing?
Randy walked over to Mason and Pip, cupped her chin with his palm, and studied her face carefully. The sight of her sheet-white face and pinpoint pupils made him want to kill someone. He tamped down his fury and stroked his fingers over her silky, soft cheek.
“We need to get her into the shower, Mason. The warm water will help warm her up and stop her shaking. She’s in shock,” Randy stated.
“She needs some of her tea first, with lots of sugar,” Chip said, and Randy saw him place a cup of steaming-hot liquid on the table in front of Pip. “Pip, you need to drink your tea, sugar. You’re in shock, and the sugar in the tea will help.”
Randy saw Mason bend to the side and down a little so he could see Pip’s white face. She was staring at his brothers with a blank expression. He swore under his breath and watched as Mason picked up the mug of tea, cradled the back of Pip’s head, and held the tea to her lips. He gave a sigh of relief as she sipped the hot liquid automatically. His brother kept the mug close and fed her the tea until half the contents of the mug disappeared. Some of the whiteness left her face, and he knew the sugar was doing its job. He waited as Mason placed an arm beneath Pippa’s knees and one behind her shoulders to support her small, delicate body then stood. His brother moved down the hall toward the bathroom, he and Chip close at Mason’s heels.
Mason held Pip while he and Chip stripped the clothes from her body. He gestured to Chip to remove his clothes and get in the shower so he could pass Pip over to him. He and Mason watched as Chip held her head cradled against his chest as he went to work with his free hand and washed Pippa’s body. Once his brother had washed her thoroughly, he wrapped a muscular arm around her waist, tipped her head back, and looked down into her still-too-white face.
Randy didn’t like the blank look Pip gave Chip. His brother turned the faucets off, picked her small, wet, naked body up, and stepped out of the shower.
“Mason, go pack a bag,” Chip commanded.
“Was just thinking the same thing,” Randy replied. Mason left the bathroom, leaving Pip in the capable hands of him and his brother.
Randy stepped in and enveloped Pip in a large towel. He pulled another towel from the cupboard and wrapped it around her wet head and hair then removed the towel covering her body. He tried to keep his libido under control as he dried Pippa’s curvy little body, but his cock had a mind of its own. He’d gotten hard the moment they had her naked, and his throbbing cock was demanding release. He ignored it. He knew his brothers were in the same boat. It was just plain obvious how hard Pip had made Chip.
Randy and his brothers had her clean, packed up, and in their vehicle before she could protest. The drive to their house took less than five minutes. They had her sitting on their sofa, a glass of brandy in her hand, before she began to come back to herself.
Pip’s hands were shaking so much she could barely raise the glass to her lips. Randy, seeing her dilemma, scooped her up from the sofa, sat down, and placed her in his lap. He took the glass from her nerveless hands and held it to her lips, crooning nonsensical, soothing noises until he had an empty glass in his hand. He placed the tumbler on the side table, wrapped his arms around her tiny body, and held her close. He didn’t speak, just reveled in the feel of her in his arms. Her shaking gradually subsided until she slumped against him, totally boneless.
Randy sat with Pip snuggled up on his lap, just content to hold her until she woke up again. Mason and Chip had gone back over to Pip’s house when she first fell asleep, intent on collecting the evidence from the person who had left the sick, fucked-up message for their woman. He knew they would be back soon and get a meal prepared for dinner if Pip hadn’t woken by the time they returned. He was not surprised to hear the sound of Mason’s vehicle stopping in the driveway as he completed that thought. He just hoped Mason and Chip wouldn’t be too noisy and wake Pip from her much-needed nap. He heard the sound of feet coming in the back door just as Pip began to whimper in her sleep. He gently tilted her back over his arm so he could see her face. He noted the dark, smudged skin beneath her eyes and wanted to curse the person who had been the cause of her insomnia and stress. He could see her eyeballs moving rapidly beneath the delicate skin of her eyelids and knew she was in the deep cycle of REM sleep.
Randy looked up when Mason and Chip moved over to where he cradled Pip. He knew the look of concern and tenderness on their faces was mirrored on his own. The sound of Pippa’s heart-wrenching scream and sobs as she dreamed had all three Sage brothers tensing. He wanted to kill with his bare hands but knew he was going to have to keep his fury under wraps so he and his brothers could tend their woman. Randy pulled Pip in tighter against his body as Mason and Chip sat down on the sofa on either side of them. Randy began to gently rock Pip in a soothing motion, with Mason and Randy smoothing their hands down her back and arms, trying to gently bring her out of her nightmare. It took him and his brothers at least five minutes to get Pip to wake up, and the sight of her struggling with terror and pain was nearly more than he could stand. He sighed in relief when she finally opened her moisture-filled eyes.
“Oh God. I’m sorry…” Pip began.
“Don’t even think to be sorry for being human, baby. You have nothing to be sorry for,” Mason stated as he rubbed Pip’s back, his pal
m making soothing circles.
Randy pulled Pip into his body as she closed her eyes and snuggled back up against his chest.
“What the hell is going on, darlin’?” Chip asked from beside her.
“I don’t know. I just don’t know,” Pip said quietly.
* * * *
Mason had had enough. He wanted some answers, and he wanted them now. He scooped Pip up from Randy’s lap and hauled her onto his own until she was straddling his thighs, face to chest with him. He placed a hand into her hair and gently tugged so she was looking him in the eye.
“I’m not letting you move until you tell me what’s going on, baby. So you may as well start explaining now,” Mason bit out.
“But that’s just it. I don’t know what’s going on. Yesterday when I got home from work, I found the photos of my parents hanging from the eaves of the house. I put it down to some of the local kids playing some kind of practical joke.”
“Fuck, Pip. I should put you over my knee for not calling us when you found that. And I know as well as you, no damn kid would have done something like that. Tell me the rest. Now.”
“The phone call I got last night was scary. He said he’d waited a long time for me to come back home and he was going to make me pay for what my parents had done to his family. He said he wanted me and I would beg to die before he was finished with me,” Pip finished on a sob.
Mason clenched his jaw, holding in his fury and helplessness at not knowing who was threatening their woman. He slid a hand down to her ass and pulled her until her crotch was aligned with his then wrapped his arms around her body to hold her close. When he was once more in control and not in danger of losing his temper, he released the tight hold he had on her and leaned down until their eyes met.
“And then you came home to that horror left on your doorstep this afternoon. I really want to tan your ass right now, baby. I can’t believe you left the safety of our home last night after getting a threatening phone call. I can’t believe you would be so stupid. You need to learn to lean on us, Pip. From now on, you’re staying here. At least that way we’ll know you’re safe,” Mason stated.
“No,” Pippa replied, pushing against Mason’s shoulders.
“What do you mean, no?” he asked.
“I mean no. I am not staying here with you. I am going to go home and live my life the way I see fit. There is no way in hell I’m going to be answering to you, your brothers, or anyone else,” Pip spat out furiously.
“I know we can’t make you stay, but we are going to do everything within our power to keep you safe,” Mason said in a quiet, calm voice.
“Let me up,” Pip demanded as she continued to push against his shoulders. “I am not going to let some sick asshole run me out of my own home. There is no way I am going to move in here. I don’t belong to you, and I don’t belong to your brothers. I am my own person. I don’t belong to anyone.”
“Please, Pip. We are only trying to keep you safe, sugar. We want to be with you, Pip, and we can see by the look in your eyes that you have feelings for us, too. You just need time to get used to it,” Chip stated unequivocally from beside her.
“I can’t believe you three. What are we, back in the Dark Ages? What gives you the right to tell me what to do? How to live my own life?” Pip hissed from between clenched teeth.
“This does,” Mason stated and slammed his mouth down onto hers.
Chapter Seven
Pippa whimpered at the aggressive way Mason brought his lips down on hers. She didn’t want this, didn’t need this complication. She didn’t want her world turned upside down by the Sage brothers. Did she? Yet she couldn’t prevent the moan that escaped from her mouth to be swallowed down into Mason’s as his lips slid over hers. He thrust his tongue between her lips and teeth, tangling it with hers, demanding a response. Then all of a sudden, his aggression changed and his mouth began to coax, rather than demand. Pip knew she was lost. If he had kept the kiss aggressive, she may have had a chance of being able to pull back from him, but now she was so intent on the feelings coursing through her, she didn’t want to stop.
Pippa was so lost in the carnality of the kiss, she didn’t even realize Mason had picked her up and was striding down the hallway to the bedroom. He took her down onto the bed, him on his back with Pip lying supine over his big, hard body as he continued to devour her mouth. When she finally became aware of the fact she was laying on top of Mason, she pulled her mouth from his, her breathing ragged as she tried to separate their bodies.
“We know you want this as much as we do, Pip. We’ve waited for you long enough and so have you,” he gasped out, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her tight into his body.
“Mason, I don’t know if I can do this. Please, try to understand, we have been apart for years. I don’t know you anymore, and you don’t know me.”
“Yes, we know you, Pip, and if you’re honest with yourself, you know us, too. We’re not letting you out of sight again. You’re ours,” Mason rumbled then gently grabbed a handful of her hair and pulled her head back down to his.
She didn’t understand why she was fighting her attraction to them. He moved between aggression and coaxing, drowning her in the heat of desire. And when she felt two other pairs of hands tugging at her clothes, she knew she wanted them to love her and didn’t protest. By the time Mason pulled his mouth from hers, her shirt and bra had been removed from her upper body. Randy and Chip were in the process of pulling her jeans and panties over her feet, leaving her totally naked to their avid gazes. Pippa gasped as her world went topsy-turvy, and she wound up on her back on the bed, Mason’s large body looming over her.
“You are so sexy, baby. You try so hard to hold yourself back from the world, but you forget we know you, squirt. We know you are full of the passion you try to hide from yourself,” Mason declared.
“You think we don’t know you’re full of fire, don’t ya, sugar? Well, from now on, it’s going to be our pleasure to tap into that passion. You need to listen up, sugar. We have rules, and if you don’t abide by our rules, you will be punished,” Randy avowed firmly.
“If you are in danger or are threatened in any way, you will call us. If you don’t, one of us will tan your ass until it’s pink. If you get any more messages left at your home, or any more phone calls and you don’t tell us, we will spank your bottom. If you need help of any kind or just need someone to talk to, you will come to one of us or you will be punished. Do I make myself clear?” Chip bit out.
“Fuck you.” Pip whimpered with pleasure at the thought of being spanked.
“Oh, we intend to, baby. This is your first and last warning. You won’t be cussing anymore either, because if you do, I will put you over my knee,” Mason pronounced in a steely voice.
Pip couldn’t believe they had the audacity to tell her how she would live her life, but she was also afraid they could be right. She did have feelings for them, but she didn’t want to. So she decided not to say anything at all. The thought of them spanking her and then making love to her made her so hot. She wanted their mouths and hands touching all over her body. So she stubbornly closed her eyes and kept her lips clamped tightly together. It took all her self-control not to open her eyes when Mason moved up off of her. Then the mattress was dipping on either side of her, and she knew Randy and Chip were right beside her.
“Please,” Pip whimpered.
“Please what, baby?” Mason asked.
“Please touch me?” she sobbed with desperation.
Pippa felt large, warm hands smooth up over her shins and thighs. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly, hoping they didn’t hear her breathing for control. When she felt a large hand on one of her nipples, pinching it into a taut peak, she couldn’t contain the slight mewling sound. Then a hot, wet mouth was latching onto her other nipple, making goose bumps erupt all over her skin. Teeth gently scraped over the turgid peak, and she couldn’t contain the sob escaping her lips.
Pip felt M
ason’s hands smooth down over her legs and then back up the inside of her thighs until they were mere inches away from her throbbing pussy. Then his fingers were gently sliding through her dewy, wet folds. His fingers skirted around the small bundle of nerves, the place she ached most to be touched. It took all of her willpower not to arch her body up into his touch and beg him to relieve her ache. She thought she may have dreamed the butterfly-soft touch that finally wisped over her throbbing clit, but then she sobbed out loud as he tapped the pad of his finger onto the small nub, sending her into the stratosphere. She had never experienced the pleasure these three men were bestowing on her until the night nearly three weeks ago. She didn’t know if she would be able to survive any more pleasure, and she knew they had only just begun. They weren’t even naked yet, for goodness’ sake.
“Oh yeah, baby. I love it when you come for me. I can’t wait to get a taste of that cream flowing from your sexy little cunt,” Mason murmured just before he bent his head. Pip tried to keep her thighs together but was fighting a losing battle. She wanted, needed their touch, but she also wanted them to work for her affection. He wrapped his arms around her legs and pried her thighs up and apart, spreading her wide for his own viewing pleasure. She knew her cheeks must already be tinged pink from her recent orgasm, but to see the heated look in Mason’s eyes when she finally opened hers was beyond her comprehension. The raw hunger she saw as he stared at her pussy made her cheeks burn even brighter. Then she watched as he bent his head down to her wet cunt and licked her from ass to clit.
* * * *
Mason growled in the back of his throat at the first taste of their woman’s pussy. He couldn’t get enough of her taste. He wanted her creaming into his mouth. He flicked his tongue over her sensitive clit and relished the way she bucked her hips up into his mouth. He reveled in the knowledge she was offering herself to him. He was totally unaware of anything but the pleasure he was bestowing on her. He set about sending her to the edge of the cliff over and over again, before allowing her to fall over the edge once more. He licked, laved, nibbled, and flicked through her folds and over her protruding little clit again and again. He raised his eyelids to see Chip lean down and devour her mouth with his, while Randy pinched one nipple between his finger and thumb while suckling on the other. When Pip mewled in the back of her throat and arched her body into his touch, Mason’s cock began to throb, begging to be released from the confines of the tight denim. Mason slowly began to penetrate her pussy with the tip of his index finger, all the while sucking and nibbling on her clitoris. When he was in her body up to the second knuckle, he slowly searched out that special magic spot all women had hidden away internally. When he hit on his mark, he growled out his satisfaction and placed his free hand low on her abdomen over her pubis. He splayed his fingers wide and gently pushed down on her pubic bone as he slid his digit back and forth, the pad of his index finger massaging the spongy, distended flesh inside her body. He crooked his finger, all the while massaging her sensitive clit with the tip of his tongue. The feel of her internal walls clenching and releasing around his digit was enough to make him want to rip his jeans off his body and plunge his hard cock into her hot, wet core. But he tightened the leash on his own desires as he set about sending her into orbit again.
