Detective Brice leaned forward. “Miss Powers, were you sexually involved with any of the Vance brothers?”
“What?”
“Don’t answer that,” Gabe said, stepping closer to the table. “That has nothing to do with your investigation.”
Heather placed her hand on Gabe’s arm. “Give me a little credit here.” She swung her gaze back to the detective. “No. I was not sexually involved with any of the Vance brothers, but that’s what alarmed me most. When I was allowed on the computer, they instructed me to buy ‘something sexy’ for an upcoming celebration, a ceremony.”
“And you think this ceremony was some sort of sexual ritual?”
“According to Jims, it would’ve been a sacrifice. What that might have entailed, I have no way of knowing.”
“Neither do we,” Detective Brice said. “The brothers aren’t talking.”
“There’s a book of family secrets,” Heather said. “It was supposed to be in the well.”
“We have it. Everything in that book points to wicked rituals and family secrets dating back as far as the 1800s.”
“I’m sorry I couldn’t be more help.”
He narrowed his gaze. “Miss Powers, from what I’ve seen here so far, you’re lucky to be alive. If you decide to pursue the career you mentioned, I would suggest you approach your research more cautiously.”
“In my line of work, you have to insert yourself in the communities you want to write about. That’s the only way you’ll ever be able to convey a believable story based on facts.”
“In my line of work, we try to keep criminals at an arm’s length. I suggest you do the same.” He stood. “Miss Powers, if you’re writing fiction, make up your story as you go along. Don’t ‘insert yourself’ as you say into the supernatural community. There’s a lot of evil in this world. You don’t look like a woman who needs to go prowling around for secret societies.”
“You never know, Detective.” She swung her gaze at Gabe. “I’ve always been inspired by the mysterious.”
“There’s a difference between mysterious and evil. What you found here is the latter. When you go home tonight, you’d better get down on your knees. You have a lot to be thankful for here, mainly your life.”
“I’ll remember that,” she said, moistening her lips and staring at Gabe’s crotch. “And when I’m on my knees tonight, I’ll remember what you said.”
“Uh-huh,” he grumbled, scowling at Gabe. “I don’t much care for you, Reynolds, but I’ll say this—you’re one lucky man.”
Chapter Nine
“I don’t understand why I had to ride back with you.” Heather could’ve been making out in the backseat, but no. Her brother had insisted on driving her back to Trouble. “We can talk about what happened later.”
“I’m not interested in discussing what happened at the Vance place, Heather. We need to talk about Gabe, Curt, and Justin.
“What about them?”
“I think you know.”
She looked out the window, loving the simple freedoms of riding through town with the windows rolled down. Her hair blew around her face and she laughed out loud. “I’m so happy.”
“I’m glad,” Bradley said, glancing at her. “Mom and Dad only wanted the best for you.”
She stilled then as she thought of the recent past. “I wanted to be there. I didn’t know about Momma until Jims brought me my phone. The week after I arrived there, Toms took my cell and laptop.”
“Jims told me,” Bradley said, his eyes watering. Bradley and their mother were close. Heather had always been Daddy’s little girl but her father had passed away the year before.
“Nothing would’ve stopped me from being there, Bradley,” she said, turning to face him. “Please believe me.”
“I do,” he said, seemingly honest. He cleared his throat then and added, “I heard you say you were enrolled at UCLA?”
“Yes,” she replied, proud to tell him. “I partied my way through UT, as you know. Once I left here, I decided to make something out of my life. I wanted to act…that was disastrous. I lost the ability to speak whenever the cameras were rolling. Then I met up with a team of writers, they wrote for a show called No Stranger to Strange. Have you heard of it?”
“I don’t think so,” Bradley admitted.
“Anyway, there were three of them. Even though they were screenwriters, they’d each written a few novels. They inspired me and I decided I’d found my calling. Even made a few good grades while I was there.”
“Did you now?”
“Yes I did.”
“I’m impressed,” he said.
“Thank you.” She pushed her hair out of her face and rolled up the window so she could tell Bradley her truths. “I dropped out for a while, but I wasn’t strung out, Bradley. I had a good time—if you could even call it that—drank, smoked pot, tried coke, the typical.”
“That’s typical?”
“Considering the colleges I’ve attended? Yes.” She sighed. “It didn’t take long to figure out that lifestyle wasn’t for me and never will be.”
“I’m glad to hear it.”
“I still made bad choices,” she said. “If you guys hadn’t found me, I…well, I don’t want to think about it.”
Bradley reached across the seat and gripped her wrist. “Then don’t.” He then took a weighted breath and said, “Heather, we need to talk about Trouble. It’s a haven for abused women. We keep our own safe. I want you to live there. I can keep an eye on you and…well, I think there are a few fellas who may want to keep a real close eye on you also.”
“I know,” she said, giddy.
“How do you feel about that?”
“About?” She wasn’t letting him off that easy. If he wanted to pry in her personal life, he’d have to spit it out.
“There’s no easy way for a brother to say this but Gabe, Curt, and Justin are interested in you.”
“Just interested?” She looked out the window and tried to hide her smile. “I think there’s more than a smidgen of interest in play there.”
“Any idea of how you’re going to handle the situation?”
“This coming from my brother who shares his woman with three other men?”
“It’s not an easy arrangement.”
“You’ve made it work. Besides, Ellie has four men in her bed. I just want three.”
“Too much information.”
“You started this,” she reminded him.
“You need to know something before you make a decision. The way some of us choose to live in Trouble is frowned upon in other communities.”
“I can see that.”
“Heather, I just want you to be sure before you make any life-altering decisions. It’s…difficult…to, um…go back once you’ve experienced certain things.”
She laughed and patted his cheek. “Listen at you, big brother.” She shook her head and put her hands over her ears. “Actually, I’ve heard enough. You’re my brother. I don’t want to think about you having sex, let alone tag-teaming Ellie.”
“Any more than I want to think about you with those three lugs,” he said, pulling through Trouble’s gates and waggling his fingers at the windshield.
“They’re already standing outside waiting on me.” She grinned at Bradley. “Man oh man, they sure look anxious, huh?”
“Really?”
“You were the one who wanted to ride back with me.”
“I just wanted to say, ‘Be careful’ and… I love ya, kid. That’s all. I want you to be happy.”
“I will be.” She opened her door. “I’ve known Gabe for four years. I’ve known Curt just as long. Justin and I grew up together. It’s not like I’m going to bed with men I don’t know.”
“So you’ve already made up your mind?” He didn’t seem okay with that, but then again, Bradley was her brother.
“My mind was made up when I came back to Tennessee,” she admitted. “The only reason I didn’t make my way to Trouble first was
because I knew Gabe would want to stop me and I was determined to find a story.”
“Well, now you have one.”
“Yes, I do,” she said, exiting the vehicle and leaning in the window. “But I’ve decided to reconsider genres.”
He released a burdened breath. “Thank God.”
“I know, right?” She pushed away from the car and called out, “I’ve decided to write adult romances and base them on real life experiences!”
Chapter Ten
Ellie met Bradley and Allister at the gate. Heather hung back and watched them together as Gabe, Justin, and Curt went inside the guard house to find a key for her new home.
It was interesting to observe Ellie with her brother and Allister, not at all strange like she had first thought. Ellie seemed perfectly happy and seemingly divided her time and attention between the two men, but she could tell she sort of favored Allister. There was just a different look in her eyes when she spoke to him, a more intimate connection between the two. She wondered if her brother knew and if he did, she wondered if it bothered him.
Before she thought too much about it, Ellie rushed over and threw her arms around her. “I’m so glad you’re okay!”
“Thank you,” Heather said, pulling away to look at her. She wasn’t what Heather had expected. She’d seen Ellie at a distance once at a ballgame, but they’d never been introduced. The way Bradley had always talked about Ellie, she’d expected a cheerleader-type, one with a little too much bounce in her step and too much air in her brain. She immediately felt guilty for stereotyping. She had, after all, cheered her own way through high school.
“You look like you need some rest,” Ellie said, patting her arm. “Want me to show you to your room?”
Heather shook her head and smiled at the three men walking toward them. “I think they have that covered.”
“Oh.” Ellie looked at Bradley and grinned. “You didn’t mention your sister already had friends here.”
“She does,” Allister grumbled, pointing at Gabe. “She starts out in the dorms like everyone else.”
“I know,” Gabe said, holding up a key on a lanyard while stuffing another one in his pocket.
As he walked by Allister and Bradley, her brother snatched the lanyard out of his pocket. “That means she plays by the rules and you do too.”
“Policy,” Draegan said, toting weapons across the parking lot. “And while these three are trying to figure out how to avoid policies, I could use some help here.”
Bradley dangled the key in front of Gabe. “One step ahead of you, buddy.”
“You must have a death wish.”
“No, just want everyone to enjoy playing by the rules. We had to when Ellie first arrived here, and you should do the same. Distance makes the heart grow fonder.”
“Don’t I know it.” Gabe grabbed Heather’s hand and guided her to the car. “We’ll be in the dorms if you need us.” He tossed a key at Curt. “Meet us there.”
Curt grinned. “This is where I’m supposed to tell you I’m working tonight. Right?”
“Ah, damn. I hate that.” Gabe’s eyes flickered with mischief.
“Don’t let him fool you,” Draegan said. “I picked up his shift.”
“That was nice of you,” Heather said, meaning it. She wanted to spend time with all three of them and consider her options. Her stomach fluttered and her pulse raced.
There wasn’t a lot to consider. In fact, her mind was already made up.
* * * *
They surrounded her almost immediately, an ensemble of pure wicked pleasure. Carnal intent drove them forward and they joined her on the bed as if they’d each been invited, summonsed there for a particular purpose—although at the moment, she couldn’t swear lust was the driving factor. The expressions on their faces suggested something far more desirous than lust itself lingered at the forefront of each man’s mind.
She shuddered as the excitement and energy whipped around her. Years ago, she’d wondered about this. It had then become a fantasy. She’d been very much aware of the potential promise of an event much like this. In many ways, that was why she’d gone to the Vance farm first. The excitement and anticipation had made this moment all the more satisfying.
This was the kind of pleasure-filled moment that ruined a woman for any other sexual conquest. These were the kind of men who guaranteed pleasure, the kind of gratification a woman wouldn’t soon forget.
Her nipples peaked. Her mouth was moist. Good Lord, she had three six-packs of fine male forms right within her reach.
“Take the dress off.” Gabe’s voice was hard, direct, but his eyes softened as he watched her. Right after she’d arrived in her room, she’d mentioned dinner and they’d agreed they could eat. She’d dressed for a night out, but they’d wanted to dine in.
Apparently, they wanted dessert first.
Justin and Curt guided Heather to bed. Curt slipped his hands up her hips, pinching the material as he dragged her little black dress to her waist and then over her chest. He bunched it at her neck and then slipped it over her head. Holding up her hair, he planted tender kisses on her nape.
Gabe backed away and observed, seemingly lost in his own ideas of how to carry out the illicit rendezvous in progress. Light tremors washed over her as she thought of the coming activities. As she thought of the enjoyment, the pure exquisite satisfaction they could bring, she also questioned her readiness and not in the physical sense.
Her body was prepared. Her pussy wept, her juices slowly gathering at her intimate lips. Her mind, however, churned with questions and they were on the very tip of her tongue, yet she hadn’t bothered asking them. A part of her wanted to be their inexperienced little woman, the woman they could savor and teach, perhaps even school in a new dimension of sheer eroticism.
Her inner vixen fought that need, desperate to show these men how much she wanted them, how much she needed them. More importantly, she wanted to assure them of one very important fact.
She could handle them.
Curt bracketed his arm around her waist and brought her to him. He traced the fullness of her breasts, nuzzling one and then the other, tracing her hardened nipples with his tongue and fingers. “Look how sexy you are. How beautiful you are.”
She shivered then as she looked down, watching Curt as he devoured one nipple and then the next. Her back arched. Her lower half shot forward, rocking against him in pure carnal hunger, desperate for his fingers, for a probing touch.
Curt was considered the catch among them. He’d been a lady’s man in his younger years. Two years older than Heather, Curt had taken her to his senior prom. And their after-prom hours had been the moments that mattered. After a little wine, a lot of laughs, and skinny dipping in the hotel’s indoor pool, they’d ended up fucking the early morning hours away.
He’d been her first. And he’d made quite an impression, just as he made an impression now.
“Relax, baby,” he whispered, kissing her stomach.
She closed her eyes and imagined the way they’d all take her together. The men shifted beside her and manly hands cupped her bottom, lifting her up, supporting her. Justin. It was Justin now who reached around her hips and played with her clit, toyed with her until she moaned aloud.
“Pretty woman,” Justin crooned, dipping his hand down.
At that point, she couldn’t stand the suspense. She opened her eyes and gazed down, sighing as two hands worked at pleasing her, caressing her still lower.
Justin’s fingers were probing then. Her head fell back against his shoulder and she tried to loosen up. Curving her arm around his neck, she played with the hairs on his nape, raking her fingers over his skin before rocking on the balls of her feet, forcing him to catch and hold her, ground her.
Curt looked up and that lustful expression made his eyes heavy, darker even. His tongue darted out, circling her nipple over and over again. She sighed, wanting more now, needing so much more than any of them could give her one on one. As if Cu
rt were in tune with her every last desire, he went to his knees.
“Oh God, yes.” Her breath caught in her lungs as his tongue whipped around her mound, moving lower with each new circular rotation. Her body was on fire and the heat surrounding her threatened to consume her, threatened to suffocate her with the mere promise of passion.
She gasped then and her eyes went wide. Curt reached around her and grabbed her ass, encouraging the arch of her body, forcing her to give him leverage, the kind of leverage that left her weak in the knees.
His face was at her pussy. His tongue danced between her lips. He fed from her then, twisting and twirling his tongue deep inside her passage.
She whimpered, moaning as she rocked against his face, desperate for relief but also longing for a more personal connection, too.
Her eyes met Gabe’s. As if he knew precisely what she was thinking, he stood and undressed, shucking his jeans before crawling up the bed.
“So much pleasure,” she breathed, bracketing her arm around Justin’s neck now.
“Tell me about it,” Justin crooned, cupping her breast and teasing her nipple with his thumb.
She rested her free hand on Curt’s head, guiding him back to her pussy, pushing his face against her bare mound and eager then to find that first orgasm. As if they had planned and orchestrated the slow onset of torturous satisfaction, they lowered her to the bed and gathered around.
Justin was at her left. Gabe sat at her right. Curt went to his knees, but quickly spread her once more, situating himself between her thighs.
His tongue stirred pure heat and ravenous passion then. He gave her long licks, stroking and pampering her with his tongue.
“Oh God. I can’t take it.” Her hips fired off the bed, pumping then for a quick finish.
Curt slapped her pussy and the wallop alarmed her, but only for a minute. An incredible flood of extraordinary heat hammered inside her channel as her pussy vibrated against the tongue feeding on her pleasure. While feasting as a man, Curt drove her higher as a woman, pushing her to that orgasmic high.
Heap of Trouble [Trouble, Tennessee 2] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) Page 8
