Lila bit her lip, unable to deny the heat coursing through her at his words. What was wrong with her? She’d always known that the men of Haven took their responsibility towards their women seriously and that many women were spanked.
She’d never really thought about it much until she’d moved to college and realized how unique Haven was, and how safe she felt there. The women of Haven certainly weren’t downtrodden or submissive. They were some of the happiest, most content women she’d ever met.
There was no denying the surge of arousal she’d felt when Gavin’s hand landed on her butt. That take-charge attitude was something that always stirred her.
“You already spanked me,” she pointed out.
Gavin snorted in amusement. “You mean those few pats I gave you? That was just to calm you down and get your attention. However, I won’t spank you for what happened outside, this time. Next time, though, you will find yourself over one of our laps.”
“If you stay,” Colin said, “you’ll be agreeing to a relationship with all of us—and that includes accepting our discipline. We can’t change this part of ourselves, because we want nothing more than to keep you safe and healthy.”
“Couldn’t you just scold me?” she asked.
Gavin grinned. “Afraid not, baby girl, spankings work far better.”
“You know that as well as we do, Lila,” Trace pointed out, sounding far too reasonable. “Have you seen happier women than those who live in Haven?”
She shook her head. No, she hadn’t. And truthfully, her protests were more for show than anything else. Sure, she was a bit worried about how painful and humiliating a spanking might be but she also loved knowing that Trace, Colin and Gavin would do whatever they had to in order to keep her safe.
“I love you guys so much. I want nothing more than to see where this goes. I’ll stay. But if things don’t work out, if I decide I need to leave, then you have to let me go.”
The three of them stared at her before breaking into wide grins.
“You won’t regret this, Lila. I promise,” Colin swore to her as they all gathered for one long, glorious embrace.
She hoped not. She really did.
Chapter Four
Gavin walked down the stairs. Lila was lying down in her bedroom, obviously exhausted. This last week had taken a lot out of all of them.
He stilled as he came to the bottom of the steps and remembered what today had been all about. Clay was gone. His foster father had molded him into the man he was today and he would never forget him. He’d taken a lost, sullen teenage boy in and turned his life around.
“I love you, Dad,” he whispered, before continuing on to the kitchen where Colin and Trace were cleaning up the last of the mess.
“Lila resting?” Trace asked as he tidied up the large room.
“Yeah,” Gavin said tiredly. “She’s tuckered out. God, imagine thinking all these years that if she did something wrong she’d be kicked out.”
“It’s our fault,” Colin said, his eyes stricken. “I can’t believe she overheard us.”
Trace shook his head, his face filled with guilt. “We deserve to be horsewhipped.”
Gavin sighed and sat at the table. “You were kids, you didn’t mean it. You have to let it go. Holding onto the guilt isn’t helping anyone, least of all Lila.”
“You’ve changed your tune,” Colin said with surprise.
“What we do from now on is what counts,” Gavin replied. “We have to make sure that she knows how much we love her. That she feels secure enough to be herself.”
“Today is the closest I’ve ever seen her throw a temper tantrum,” Trace mused.
“Exactly,” Gavin replied. “And how weird is that when we’ve known her since she was seven? She was always so good. Too good. The more she acts out, the safer she will feel.”
“So we can expect a brat, huh?” Colin asked his face pensive. Gavin worried over how his youngest brother would handle this. He’d been hurt badly in the past and Gavin knew he still carried scars. He just hoped that Colin didn’t end up tarring this relationship with his past pain.
“Maybe. We need to stick together and show her that this can work. She still has her doubts and she’s going to have them until she learns that she is the most important thing in the world to us and we will never let her go.” Gavin intended to ensure that Lila was as safe as he could make her, he didn’t intend to allow any risk of harm to her.
*****
Lila sat at the kitchen table the next morning and stifled a yawn. She’d lain awake last night thinking about the last week.
She’d cried a few times as she’d remembered Clay. She’d even dreamed about him. It had felt so real. In her dream he’d hugged her and told her he was proud of her. Then he’d said that sometimes it was harder to go for what your heart really desired. But if she took that plunge she’d find happiness far beyond what she could have imagined.
“Do you need to call and quit your job?” Gavin asked her suddenly.
She glanced up at the three men sitting around the table. “Ahh, no.” They stared at her quizzically and she realized she had to give them more than that. “I lost it.”
Trace squeezed her hand in sympathy. “Cutbacks?” he asked.
She nodded, feeling embarrassed. Even though it hadn’t been through any fault of her own, she still felt ashamed that she’d lost her job. But she’d been the newest employee at the museum; it made sense that they would let her go first.
Gavin leaned back in his chair, watching her intently. She blushed under his perusal, her nipples stiffening beneath her loose t-shirt. Her need for them was growing with every minute.
She couldn’t stop imagining the three of them touching her, teasing her. Why had she made that no sex rule?
Lila licked her lips, staring over at Trace hungrily.
“Sweetheart, you keep staring at me like that and I won’t be able to control myself,” he told her huskily.
“Maybe you shouldn’t,” she replied. “Control yourself, that is. I’m starting to think I was a bit hasty about the whole no sex thing.”
Her men drew their breath in sharply, staring at her as her pussy clenched fiercely.
Gavin shook his head. “Ahh, baby, you don’t know how much I long to just pick you up, take you upstairs and keep you in bed for the next week or two. But, and I can’t believe I’m saying this, you were right to insist we take this slow. When we make love to you we will claim you and there will be no going back. So you need to be very sure. And I’m not sure you’re there yet.”
Damn him, why couldn’t he be just a normal man and jump at the chance of sex? She grinned wryly. “You’re right. But it’s so hard not to touch you guys.”
“No one said you couldn’t touch us,” Colin replied. “Just be gentle.” He reached down with a pained look to adjust himself. “What are you planning on doing today?” he asked.
“I think I’ll go for a ride,” she replied. She pushed her eggs around on her plate, not really feeling hungry.
“I don’t think so,” Gavin said as he finished off a huge plate of ham, eggs and potatoes. Gavin was an amazing cook, but Colin was the King of breakfasts.
“Why not?” she asked with a puzzled frown. She’d been for a few rides since she’d been back, riding her old horse, Sunshine. Clay had bought her Sunshine on her twelfth birthday. The boys nearly had a fit when they’d seen the size of him. Lila had fallen instantly in love with the grumpy horse. Sure, the stallion was far bigger than she was, but she was the more stubborn of the two. And she soon won the horse over.
It had taken a while for the guys to relax, though. Now that she thought about it, one of them had constantly followed her around every time she went for a ride for the first month. At the time she’d been annoyed, believing they didn’t think she was good enough to ride Sunshine. Now she realized they’d simply been scared.
“Because you’re all tuckered out,” Gavin told her, running his hand over her head.
Colin brushed his thumbs under her eyes. “You have dark circles under your eyes. Didn’t you sleep last night?”
She shrugged. “Not really. I kept having funny dreams.”
“Want to talk about them?” Trace asked with concern as he rose to place his plate in the dishwasher.
Lila shook her head. She just wasn’t comfortable sharing some things yet.
“I want you to get some rest today, baby.” Gavin ran his hand down her back.
“I’ll rest this afternoon. After I get back from my ride,” she said firmly, ignoring the three frowning faces that stared back at her. She wasn’t about to let them just take over her life and they needed to realize that.
“All right, but be back by lunch,” Gavin bossed. “Make sure you take some water with you as well, it’s a hot day out there and you’ll dehydrate. And take your phone.”
They’d been horrified that she’d lost her phone. Not that she’d been able to afford to keep paying for it, anyway. Gavin had gone out and bought her a new phone and, despite her protests, was paying the bill for it. She really needed to get a job. Especially if she was staying.
Lila barely refrained from rolling her eyes, but she couldn’t help the mocking salute. “Sir, yes, Sir.”
Gavin narrowed his eyes but she saw his lips twitched. “When did you become such a smart ass?”
“I learned it all from Colin,” she answered quickly.
Colin leaned back, holding his hands up in a placating gesture, although his eyes danced with amusement. “Hey, I have no idea what she’s talking about.”
Gavin just shook his head as he got up and placed his plate in the sink.
“Is there something wrong with your food?” Colin asked.
“Oh, no, sorry. It’s very nice. I’m just not hungry.”
“You need to eat something before you ride out, honey,” Trace said, kissing her on the forehead. As she raised her face up, he took her lips. Gently at first then he slipped his tongue in, teasing her, tasting her.
When he pulled back, she was dazed, shivering with excitement.
“Eat something. I’ll see you at lunch.” With a final caress of her shoulder, he left.
Gavin moved over to her and, lifting her to her feet, cuddled her close before leaning down to brush her lips with his, once, twice until she’d had enough of his teasing. Placing her hands behind his neck, something she could only do because he was already bent over, she pulled him down, kissing him soundly.
They separated and he chuckled. “Be good. Remember what I told you and I’ll see you at lunch.” With a pat to her bottom—did the man have an ass fixation or what? —he left.
“Are you all hanging around today?” she asked Colin as he cleared up the rest of breakfast. He was a bit of a neat freak. Unlike Gavin who made a hell of a mess, Colin liked to clean as he cooked.
“Nah, just Trace and Gavin. I’ve got to go do some rounds. I’ll be back early tonight.” Then he tugged her close and smacked her lips with his, running his hand up and down her back. “Behave. Eat something.”
Suddenly she had the house to herself and it was far too quiet. Yeah, a ride was exactly what she needed. Dumping her breakfast, she turned on the dishwasher on before climbing the stairs to her room. Exhaustion pulled her down, and the bed looked very tempting, but the sunshine and fresh air called to her more. Pulling on some stretch pants and a tank-top, she slathered on sunscreen and grabbed her phone, putting it in her back pocket.
Moving downstairs, she grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge and a small backpack from the hall cupboard. Sipping on the water, she moved out to the stables.
“Hey, Lila,” Ron greeted her. He was one of their older ranch hands; he’d been around as long as she could remember.
“Hey, Ron,” she called back.
“You taking Sunshine out?” he asked, coming towards her.
“Yep, thought I’d go for a short ride.”
Ron nodded. “I’ll saddle him for you,” he said, moving away before she could protest that she could take care of the task herself.
She was placing her water bottle and cell phone in her backpack when her phone beeped. Smiling as she saw Laken’s name on the display, she read the text then quickly shot off a reply.
Ron brought Sunshine out, distracting her. She placed her backpack down, resting her phone on a fence post as she patted Sunshine, crooning to him. He ate up the attention.
“Just a big baby. Except when it comes to riding him, then he’s strictly a one-woman horse,” Ron teased. “I’ll see you later, kid. Ride safely. Which direction you headed in?”
“Thought I’d head towards the lake,” she told him. “Sunshine and I like sitting by that old shack.”
He snorted. “Old shack, more like a few planks of wood held together by two rusty nails.”
“That’s the one,” she sung, grinning.
*****
About an hour later, Lila pulled Sunshine to a stop and let out a long sigh. This had always been her thinking spot. Clay had known about it but he’d never told the boys, although she wouldn’t be surprised if they knew.
Tethering Sunshine in the shade, she moved over to sit and look at the lake, drawing her bottle of water out. Taking a long drink, she wiped her forehead. It was a scorcher today. She’d taken the ride slowly, just enjoying the day.
Lying back, her mind immediately turned to her men. Her men. God, part of her still thought she was dreaming. She couldn’t believe that they returned her feelings.
Part of her wondered if it could last.
She’d never really believed in forever. Things always came to an end. Her father had abandoned her. Her mother had given her away.
The only one to keep her was Clay and now he’d even left her.
How the hell could she trust them to stick around?
You need to try.
The thought whispered through her head, but the voice sounded suspiciously like Clay’s. She didn’t believe in ghosts, but she figured if she would ever have a guardian angel it would be Clay.
This was right. She knew it was. They were going to be hers.
“Jeez Louise.” She rubbed her eyes, yawning tiredly. “Maybe just a little nap and then I’ll head back.”
Closing her eyes, she drifted off.
****
Gavin stood in the kitchen peering out the window with a frown. He glanced over at the clock. 1pm. She should have been back by now. He’d already made sandwiches for lunch.
Picking up his phone, he tried calling her. It rang then went to voicemail.
Where the hell was she? He’d give her another ten minutes then he was going looking for her and God help her when he found her.
Trace walked into the kitchen. “Lila’s still not home?” he asked with concern.
Gavin shook his head and grabbed up his phone. “I’m going to head out and look for her. She should have been home an hour ago.”
“Think she lost track of time?” Trace asked, following him out.
“I don’t know, but she’s not answering her phone.”
Gavin tried calling her again as he walked. He came to a stop as he heard a ring tone. Trace followed the sound over to a wooden post, picking up the silver phone that Gavin had bought her a few days. Two days and she’d already managed to misplace it.
“Goddammit, that girl is in trouble when I catch up with her,” he muttered.
“Gavin, Trace,” Ron called out in greeting.
“Hey, Ron, you haven’t seen Lila, have you?” Trace asked.
Ron frowned. “Not since I saddled Sunshine for her this morning. I thought she’d be back by now.”
“So did we,” Gavin said grimly. “Don’t know what direction she went in do you?” Looking for her was going to be like searching out a needle in a haystack.
“I can do you one better, I know where she went,” Ron said, surprising him. “She said she was headed for the lake, by that wreck of a shack.”
Her think
ing spot. They all knew about it and had always given her privacy when she went there.
“I’ll come with you,” Trace said quickly. “I’ll just run back and get some water.”
Worry churning in his gut, his instincts screaming at him to find her quick, Gavin saddled up his horse, while Ron did the same for Trace’s big beast.
*****
Lila rubbed her eyes tiredly, wondering why every bone in her body ached. When had her mattress grown so hard? Rolling over, she opened her eyes slightly. She must have forgotten to pull her drapes shut. Weird.
Forcing herself to fully wake up, she looked around, confused and a bit frightened.
“What the hell?” She must have fallen asleep outside. “Oh shit.” Frantically, she raised her wrist up to her still-blurry eyes, barely making out the hands on her watch face.
1:45pm. Oh, she was in so much trouble.
Hastily, she stood, her body swaying. Black circled her vision as her stomach protested the movement.
The world around her swirled sickeningly and suddenly the ground came up to meet her as she fainted dead away.
“Lila!” Trace yelled as he saw her stand then immediately drop to the ground. He forced his horse to go faster. Gavin did the same but his horse didn’t have the speed Trace’s did. Trace reached her first, jumping off his horse to run to where she lay so quiet and still.
“Oh God, honey, please be all right,” he begged as he frantically ran his hands over her, looking for injuries. They’d just gotten her back, she couldn’t leave them now. He only felt whole when Lila was around.
“What’s wrong with her?” Gavin barked as he came to his knees beside them, his hands joining Trace’s.
Trace felt his brother’s pain, knew he was just as terrified as Trace was. Gavin had led a hard life before Clay had brought him home. He’d been big for his age and older kids had constantly picked fights with him just to prove they could beat him.
So Gavin had grown up fighting. Where Trace and Colin had only experienced the one foster home, he’d been in and out of them since the age of eight when his father had been sent off to jail.
Lila's Loves Page 6
