by Marla Monroe
“Not really. That happens in any country where there is unrest. South America is known for its kidnap-for-ransom trade.”
“Why don’t we hear about it on the news all the time?” Cassius asked.
“They manage to keep it from being broadcasted all over the world. The government controls most TV and radio stations there. Foreign correspondents are warned not to break their rules,” she explained.
“Weren’t you afraid they would stop you from publishing your pictures and story?” Merrick asked.
“No. They actually encourage that sort of story as it takes the pressure off of the drug and kidnapping stories and it brings more money into their country in aide to help stop the plundering of the land.”
She realized the men had each thrown a leg over one of hers and had her spread wide beneath the sheets. She could feel their fingers lightly brushing up and down the inside of her thighs. It sent shivers across her skin, making tiny goose bumps erupt along her arms.
“I’d gotten my equipment sorted out and found a guide, Rubi, and his younger brother, Erik, to take me to the more remote villages along the Amazon. I wasn’t going to keep to the river all the way, but would stop at some of the main towns along its banks to replenish our food stores.”
“How old was Erik?” Cassius asked.
She blinked, trying to remember the boy. His eyes had been dark but cheerful. She tried to think and finally shook her head.
“I’m not sure. I think about fourteen. His brother Rubi was twenty. They spoke really good English and enjoyed talking about rock bands. I was surprised that they were so informed about what was popular in the US right then.”
Erik’s eyes flashed in her memory again, but this time they were wide with terror. She gasped.
“What’s wrong?” Merrick asked.
“Something happened while we were out there. Something happened to Rubi and Erick.”
Chapter Ten
“Do you remember what it was?” Cassius asked, smoothing his hand down her cheek.
“No. Just, it was terrible. Why can’t I remember? I need to remember,” she said, her voice choked with tears.
“You will. Don’t push it. Let’s go back to when you left Macapa and went to Boca do Jari. Do you remember anything about there?” Merrick asked.
“Not much. We stopped there for one night and moved on down the river. I was wanting to get deeper into the rainforest as soon as possible so I would have more time with the native peoples there.” She closed her eyes and remembered how Erik was hoping they would meet up with a friend he’d made on another trip.
“Erik had made a friend from another trip and hoped we would run across him or his people. They were descendants from the Tapajos, who’d been an agricultural society before the Europeans had settled the area. For some reason, that seems important. We found him, but something was wrong.” She shook her head on the pillow. “I remember the trek through the rainforest to get to Almeirim, nothing out of the ordinary happened there, but I don’t remember much after that.” River shrugged.
“Turk said you showed up in Santarem and Parintins before you disappeared after Manaus on the twenty-ninth,” Merrick said.
“Where were you when you caught up with Erik’s friend?” Cassius asked her.
Without thinking about it, River answered. “Santarem. He and his family were there talking to the local authorities about something. I can’t remember what it was, but Erik’s friend was very upset.”
She rubbed her eyes. Her head was starting to hurt now. Merrick seemed to pick up on it and called a halt to their walk down memory lane.
“That’s enough for now. It’s time to get some sleep, kitten.”
“I don’t know if I can go to sleep now. I keep thinking about how Erik was so worried about his friend,” she admitted.
“I’ve got the perfect idea on how to help you relax again,” Cassius said.
Before she knew what he was going to do, he’d shoved the covers down far enough that he could get to her breasts. Cassius slowly circled her nipple with the tip of his tongue then sucked it into his hot, wet mouth. River moaned and threaded her fingers through his hair, massaging his scalp in the same rhythm he used to draw on her nipple. The fingers of his other hand played with her other breast, making sure both were being cared for.
Cool air hit her thighs as Merrick slipped between her legs, fanning the covers over his back as he situated himself there. His soft growl let her know he was glad to be there. Then his fingers spread her pussy lips, and he blew on the exposed flesh there. The contrast of his hot mouth there moments later had her groaning louder than before. It felt so good. He felt so good.
Between Cassius loving her breasts and nipples and Merrick licking her pussy, River had no doubt she was going to go insane with pleasure. Her body tingled all over and heat burned just under her skin. She didn’t want the feeling to stop, but she ached to come. As much as she wanted to reach Merrick’s head to pull on his hair, she couldn’t move or she’d dislodge Cassius at her breasts. Frustration bubbled as she squirmed between the two men, so wrapped up in how they were making her feel that she no longer noticed if her ribs complained at her movement.
“Please, Cassius. Do something. Merrick. I need you in side of me. Please,” she begged.
“I’m afraid we’ll hurt you if we make love to you now, kitten. Just a few more days,” Merrick said, his lips brushing her clit as his hot breath heated her even more.
He ran the tip of his tongue all around the little nub, teasing and tormenting it so that she would have bucked had he not held her thighs firmly in place. When he sucked on the tight bundle of nerves, River swore her eyes crossed. She needed him to take her. Her cunt ached to be filled and Merrick had the cock that could do it.
“Fuck me, Merrick! Now!” she screamed.
“I guess she told you,” Cassius chuckled. “I bet the entire gang heard it.”
“Oh, no. I’ll kill you, Merrick, if you don’t now,” she said groaning. “It’s your fault, yours and Cassius’s, for getting me this way.”
Merrick nipped her clit and sent another series of shocks through her system. “I’m scared I’ll hurt you, kitten.”
“I’ll hold her and watch her, Merrick. Take her, man. She needs it. Then, when you’re finished with her, she can suck my dick for convincing you to fuck her.” He grinned down at her and winked.
“Anything, Cassius,” she said, beyond caring now. She was burning up with need and Merrick lay between her legs, taunting her with his nearness.
“Don’t let her hurt herself. This is a bad idea,” Merrick fussed then gave her pussy one last lingering lick before crawling up her body until his lips met hers and his thick cock pressed against her slit, careful not to put pressure on her chest.
Merrick thrust his tongue inside her, rubbing along hers before tracing every part of her mouth. He sucked on hers, sharing her taste, and telling her what he planned to be doing with his dick in a few short moments. It was almost more than she could take.
Finally he pulled back and stared into her eyes. She could see the uncertainty there, and it worried her that he wasn’t sure that he wanted to make love to her. She started to push him off of her, but he settled her fears when he spoke.
“I want you so badly my cock throbs every time I’m near you, but I’m scared I’m going to hurt you, River. Your ribs are still healing. It’s not just one or two, but a lot of them,” he said in a hoarse voice.
“You won’t hurt me. We’ll be careful, Merrick, but I need you. Please don’t say no,” she whispered.
Merrick held above her for several long seconds before closing his eyes and groaning. “Cassius, get behind her and keep her as still as you can. If she moves around too much, stop me. I mean it. If I hurt her, it would kill me.”
“Condom! Um, they said—use a condom, Merrick, just to be safe,” she said, feeling sick inside again.
“Got it covered, kitten. I’ll take care of you,” Merrick
said.
“We’ll always protect you, sweetness,” Cassius assured her.
River felt the unease retreat some, but it wasn’t until Cassius licked his lips looking at her breasts that she regained the urgency to have them make love to her.
Cassius pulled the pillow from behind River’s head and positioned himself behind her so that her head rested on his lap, his hot cock rested, tantalizing and tempting, next to her cheek. He waggled his eyebrows down at her with a broad smile.
“It wouldn’t hurt my feelings one bit if you decided to give him a lick now and then.”
River burst out laughing then did just that, enjoying the sight of Cassius’s eyes rolling back.
“Don’t get so caught up in your own pleasure that you forget to take care of her,” Merrick ground out.
“I won’t.” Then he winked at her.
* * * *
Merrick gritted his teeth as he sat back on his heels, stroking his cock. He wanted inside of her to the point of feeling a little bit crazy. The need to make her his—his and his brother’s—was a blinding force in his heart and soul. She belonged to them and with them, but he didn’t want to harm her. He tended to be a bit rough and wasn’t sure he could tone it down enough to take her. Cassius could though. He looked up to see his brother squeezing his eyes shut as River licked and sucked on the side of his dick that she could reach with her head turned.
“Cassius, maybe it would be better if you took care of her. I might be too rough this time,” he finally said, backing up.
“I’m happy right where I am. You’ve got it, Merrick,” his brother’s voice rasped out.
“You won’t hurt me. I know you won’t,” River assured him in a breathless voice. “Stop making me wait. It’s just cruel, Merrick.”
His jaw ached from clenching it, the stress of remaining in control already wearing on him. He slowly returned to his place between her spread legs and thought about how hot and wet she would be when he sank inside of her. Already his rod was leaking cum at the slit, the spongy head purple with tension. Merrick held it steady with one hand tight around the shaft and pressed it tightly against her pussy until he began to breach her slit.
“Ah, hell, kitten. You’re so fucking tight,” he managed to get out. She was squeezing him and he hadn’t even made it halfway inside of her cunt.
He fought against the urge to bury himself inside her in one fast shove. He wasn’t about to risk hurting her. She was tight, and despite the condom, Merrick could still feel how hot and wet she was. He pulled back and then pushed forward again, gaining ground but still lacking a few inches. He wasn’t sure how he was supposed to last long enough to do her any good with the way she felt surrounding him. His dick fit snugly inside her tight vaginal walls, and all he could think was that she had one sweet pussy.
Once again, he pulled back and thrust forward, filling her with his cock so that his balls bounced against her ass. He didn’t move for a few seconds, struggling to control the need to blow his load immediately. She felt too damn good.
“Fuck, River. I’m so damn close already. Be still and stop squeezing your pussy around me. I’m already on edge here,” he snarled, tapping her ass lightly with one hand.
“Fuck me, Merrick. I’m so close!” Her voice sounded as desperate as he felt. He looked up at his brother.
“I’ve got her, man. If you don’t hurry though, she’s going to thrash out of my arms,” he said with an amused grin on his face.
Cassius held her shoulders to keep her from moving around too much. She was licking his dick like a piece of peppermint, one hand holding it in place. When he pulled back and slammed into her, her eyes widened before she closed them and smiled, releasing Cassius’s shaft. His brother could wait until he’d finished now. He wasn’t going to be able to hold back any longer. His need to come was burning like acid in his balls.
Merrick thrust into her over and over, building his orgasm higher and higher with each trip inside her hot tight cunt. His balls boiled with the need to come. His brother watched her breasts as they jostled every time he fucked her. She was busty and squeezable soft. He loved touching them, too. He loved the feel of her ass more and couldn’t wait until she was healed so he could sink into her hot dark hole and squeeze those rounded globes.
In and out, he seesawed back and forth, sure that each trip inside of her would be the last. When he felt fire race down his spine to ignite his balls, Cassius reached between them and rubbed back and forth over River’s clit. She exploded around him, pulling him down with her climax, milking the cum from him in hard contractions that almost hurt they felt so damn good.
Merrick roared as he filled the condom with his cum. Cassius kept her still but did nothing to stop her scream as she came apart in his arms with a second climax. It felt fucking good to be where he was right then. He wanted to stay there forever.
Reality in the form of his brother burst his bubble with a chuckle.
“Never heard anyone else get that loud before. Better ditch the wrapper before you leak, man.” Cassius was stroking River’s face with his fingers. Her face had a silly grin on it that had him feeling a moment of pride that he’d put it there.
“I’ll be right back to wipe her down so she isn’t sticky with sweat.” Merrick left his brother to watch over their woman while he handled the condom and warmed a cloth.
When he returned less than a minute later, Cassius was threading his fingers through River’s hair and massaging her scalp while she dozed. He grinned. His poor brother wasn’t getting any tonight. She needed her rest. He caught Cassius’s gaze.
“I’m cool. If it gets too bad, I’ll just rub one out in the bathroom. She’s tired. She needed that, Merrick.” He smiled and continued rubbing her head while Merrick cleaned her body.
Once he had her clean and dry, they repositioned her and pulled the covers over them. He worried that he would hurt her ribs in the night, but they’d managed fine the night before, so he tried not to agonize over it anymore. Still, he refrained from wrapping his body over her like he wanted to do. Spooning would have to wait. He chuckled softly.
“What is it?” Cassius asked.
“I’m over here wishing I could spoon with her. Never thought I’d be thinking something sissy like that. What the hell happened to us?” he asked.
Cassius sighed. “It’s called love, Merrick. You love her. Nothing’s sissy or icky with someone you love.”
“When did that happen?” he asked, not doubting his brother one bit.
“I’m not sure, but we’re both head over heels in love with her. She’s ours, Merrick.”
“Now how do we convince her to stay with us?” Merrick asked.
“I don’t know, but if it comes down to it, I’ll follow her wherever she goes. Maybe we can convince her to make this her home base so we don’t have to leave it entirely,” Cassius suggested.
“That’s a good idea. We need to talk to Dom about buying some of the gang’s land and building a house. That’s what they set it up for. We can afford to buy our part so the others will have more money in the gang account when they get ready to build.” He and his brother had made enough money over the years playing the stock market and selling some computer programs they’d built that they didn’t have to work at all if they didn’t want to.
He smiled. At the time, he’d figured the money was a waste just sitting there doing nothing when they didn’t need it. Now he was glad he’d listened to Cassius about keeping it well invested and safe. They had a reason to want it there. It would provide anything and everything their woman wanted or needed. They could finance some of her trips if she needed them to. And her kind of trips were worthwhile and meant something outside of simply going shopping. She made him proud with what she did. He and Cassius had pored over her work when they’d had time.
River had produced many documentaries and picture reports concerning the little known tragedies and human needs in the world. On her list of things to do that was on her websit
e, she had plans for traveling around the US next and documenting the horrors and beauties of their nation next. He hoped that was really what she wanted to do. They could travel with her and help. Keep her safe.
“I have a feeling that Erik and his brother didn’t make it,” Cassius said out of the blue.
He sighed. “Yeah. I figured that, too. More than likely, she saw them murdered and that’s why they’re hunting her. But why when she left the country unless they were Americans. What if it ends up being someone we can’t expose? What are we going to do, Cassius?”
“We disappear with her. We can make that happen if it comes down to it.”
Merrick knew they could, but didn’t want to. She would be miserable unable to do what she enjoyed. Then being alive was better than being dead. He sure as hell wasn’t going to let that happen. Another worry occurred to him. If they figured out what was going on and it turned out that she had evidence of something big, would she agree to keep it all a secret to take the pressure off of her? Somehow, he didn’t think she would. She wasn’t wired that way. He sighed and rubbed his hands over his face before turning to look at her again.
She had a peaceful expression on her face now. He could barely see her with the dim light in the room. Still, she was beautiful. He’d do anything to keep her alive and make her happy. He just prayed that he could.
Chapter Eleven
River sighed and stared at the TV, bored out of her mind. She’d been cooped up in the clubhouse for three days now. She was tired of staring at the walls, the TV, and the endless parade of women who came and went cleaning, cooking, and taking care of the men. She couldn’t help but wonder how many of them Merrick and Cassius had slept with. She hadn’t broached the subject knowing it wasn’t fair of her to ask when they hadn’t known each other back then. Still, it ate at her.
She pulled the phone the guys had gotten her out of her pocket and tried her parents again. She wished she could at least remember what country they were in, but they were always going somewhere, just like her. Their machine picked up again. She left another message telling them she was fine and just wanted to check in with them. She didn’t dare leave any clues as to where she was in case someone looking for her could check their messages. At this point, paranoia was her best friend.
