Isabella's Submission [Fate Harbor 4] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour)

by Caitlyn O'Leary

  “I’m fine, Caleb, I can get up.” The faintness of Isabella’s voice, and Leif’s tightening arms belied that statement. Caleb tamped down the rage, at the situation, even a little at the woman. Didn’t she understand it was unacceptable that for her to neglect herself?

  “Stay here,” he ground out. He looked over at Leif. Thank God he wasn’t responding as his normal fucking Dom self. In fact, Leif looked downright fucking tender. Caleb stormed out to the kitchen, found a fucking plate, and then gripped the counter and counted to ten. Then he counted to ten again. He realized he was scared. It was the damn driving. Bella could have been killed. There was no way she should have been out on the streets, behind the wheel of a car. Hell, actuarial tables used by insurance companies proved that driving tired was as bad or worse than driving drunk. He would be lost without her. Caleb counted to ten once more, and then rifled through the refrigerator to locate the fettuccine alfredo. He hoped the cream and noodles would be bland enough for her stomach. He found some ginger ale, and poured a glass.

  When he got back to the room, Bella looked shell shocked. He remembered what she had said about being unable to sleep after one of her dreams. “Sweetheart, why don’t you lie against the pillows and have something to eat?” He watched her clutch Leif tighter.

  “Okay.” Fuck, she didn’t even realize what she was doing.

  “You got her?” Caleb sat down, and put the plate on his lap and the glass on the nightstand. He wound some of the noodles around the fork and lifted it to her colorless lips.

  “I can feed myself.”

  “No you fucking can’t.” Shit, he needed to dial it down. Leif gave him a dark look. Caleb took a deep breath. “Please, Bella, for me.” She looked at him, and he didn’t know how, but once again she seemed to really see him. She opened her mouth and he sighed in relief as she took the forkful of pasta. He waited until she swallowed, and then brought the ginger ale to her lips. They continued that pattern for long minutes as Leif stroked her hair. A third of the way through the plate she shook her head. Caleb put the plate down on the nightstand and gave Leif a pleading look.

  Caleb reached for Isabella, as Leif gently transferred her to his arms. She felt so fragile, but her grip was strong. “Please cry, Bella. Please, cry for your parents.” He rocked her back and forth, and she clung to his arms but not a tear was shed. After a while, they finally tucked her back into bed, and enfolded her between the two of them, offering comfort. After an hour, it was obvious that she was not going to go to sleep. She just lay there staring up at the ceiling, her body stiff, her breathing labored.

  “Isabella, can you try to relax, baby? Just try.” Caleb didn’t remember ever hearing Leif sound so helpless—desperate, yes, but helpless no. Leif had never lost hope, even when the Veterans Administration doctors were worried he might lose his leg. Some massage might help to relax her. Caleb went into her bathroom, and found some baby oil. He knew she had some, he had smelled it on her legs after she had shaved them. He immediately grew hard at the memory and felt like a pervert.

  He grabbed some towels and tossed them into the dryer on high. Leif had picked up on his massage idea, and had Isabella on her stomach. Caleb put the warmed towels over her bottom and legs, and warmed the baby oil in his hands. Then he straddled her, and began the pleasurable task of massaging her back. Leif was at her head, massaging her scalp. Eventually, Caleb felt her muscles give way infinitesimally. She still wasn’t nearly relaxed enough to go to sleep, but it was a start.

  He slid downward, and drew the towel off her ass, starting to massage her rigid buttocks. God, there wasn’t a part of her that wasn’t taut as a tightrope. He worked those large muscles just as he had her back, and he watched Leif move downward to her neck. As Leif moved down, so did Caleb, and then he caught just the slightest scent of Bella’s arousal. He moved back further, and pulled off the towel covering her legs. He slid his hands up her lithe legs, up and up, to her thighs. He’d always thought that her thighs held the perfect plumpness to make him sweat. He made his touches light, not the strong strokes of a massage, rather the soft strokes meant to arouse. He pushed into her succulent flesh, and saw the glistening pink treasure.

  “Caleb!” It was Leif’s command voice. Caleb looked up and gave him a hard, accusatory look in return.

  “And the massage was working?” Caleb countered.

  “I hear you. I’m here.” Isabella twisted her torso to look up at Leif, lifting her head to see Caleb, as well. “I just can’t sleep.” She reached out, she was always reaching out, always trying to soothe, give comfort. Caleb clasped her hand, twining his fingers through hers. “Before, I couldn’t sleep without you, and now I can’t sleep because of the dream,” she said in the saddest voice imaginable.

  “Baby, you have to sleep.”

  “I can’t. Please don’t be mad at me. I just couldn’t stand that.” Leif stroked her hair.

  “We’re not mad. Do you have anything you can take?”

  “No, I’ll eventually fall asleep.”

  “Isabella, this can’t continue.” Caleb heard the genuine worry in Leif’s voice, and he was right there with him. Caleb watched as Leif started moving out of the bed. He wanted to find an all-night pharmacy to get Bella some over-the-counter sleep aids. Caleb took a long look at the woman lying there. She so obviously needed help and it was their job to provide it. As Leif got out of bed, he shifted her so that she was no longer twisted, and they continued looking at one another. Maybe there was another way to help her.

  “Bella?”

  “Yes,” she breathed out, raising her knee then letting it fall to the side. He heard Leif stop dressing. He looked to Leif, and Leif nodded. Once again they were on the same page.

  “Bella, what are you saying yes to?”

  “I want to make love with you and Leif.” She reached out to him again. How could he do anything but take her hand?

  “Sweetheart, would you let us make love to you?” He watched her brow scrunch in confusion.

  “You always do.” The small bed shifted as Leif sat down near her head. Her other hand reached toward his erect penis. Leif intercepted it, and tangled their fingers together, bringing her hand to his lips.

  “No, baby, it’s you. You’re the one who’s always loving us, every damn time you turn this into lovemaking.” Leif was right. Even at its most carnal, with Isabella it was always making love. Caleb took the hand he was holding and gave it over to Leif’s care. Leif smiled at Caleb, positioning himself near the headboard while holding her arms over her head.

  Caleb slid down a little in her small bed, lifting the leg that wasn’t bent over his left shoulder, so she was open to him. As he looked at the well of her vagina, he was amazed that this small opening could welcome him so sweetly.

  “Caleb, please, be inside me. I’ve missed you, I need you.” He looked up, and saw that her head was lifted and she was looking down at him. God, he needed her, but he needed to comfort her more. He hoped to provide her with something that would allow her to rest. He ran his fingers down the seam of her slit, then up and down, up and down. It was fascinating to see the bud of her clit peek out more and more with each pass, until finally it became a shiny, engorged morsel that he couldn’t resist. He brushed his tongue over the bud and she bucked up. They continued this slow silent dance while Leif held her, stroking her hair and whispering how beautiful she looked in her passion.

  At Isabella’s first moan, Caleb brought his fingers into play, parting the delicate folds of her pussy. Even then, he was determined to seduce her with gentleness, and he used just the pads of his fingertips to stroke over sensitive flesh. For long minutes she continued to writhe, to twist, attempting to lure and pull him in deeper, but tonight was about tenderness. With deliberate care, he brought her fervor up, her moans coming faster. He glanced up her glistening body, seeing that her head was thrust back, her neck a beautiful arch. Leif nodded at his timing and Caleb sucked her clit into his mouth, laving it with his tongue, and re
veled in her scream of release.

  * * * *

  Leif watched in relief as Isabella passed out. God, he was exhausted, and all he wanted to do was sleep beside her. First, however, he wanted to have a plan. He carefully positioned Isabella, so that she was sleeping on her side, the way she liked. Caleb covered her with the comforter. Leif tipped his chin and they pulled on their jeans. Caleb followed him out to the kitchen and they took the containers of leftovers over to the couch. They ate in silence.

  “Ideas?”

  “Kidnap her and tie her to our bed for the next forty years.” Leif nodded. He’d considered the exact same plan. It had merit. He wanted a beer, but hadn’t seen any in Isabella’s fridge. They’d brought wine, but who really wanted wine at a time like this?

  “She could have died!” Leif sliced his hand across his throat demanding silence. Caleb ran his hand over his bald head.

  “Like I don’t know that?” Leif yelled back in a harsh whisper. “Like I’m not beating myself up for not realizing she shouldn’t have been on the road or that we should have seen just how bad off she was today at school, and driven her home?” Fuck, they’d failed her. There was their woman lying in the room next door with more grit than was good for her, hanging on by her fingertips, and they had missed it.

  “You know she loves us. She knows it, too. I don’t understand why she needed to move into this apartment. She needs to be with us.” Caleb was right, Leif thought.

  There was something off about her explanation that she needed time to be sure. This was a woman who dropped everything to chase after the Velarde family across the state. She routinely trusted her gut, making snap judgments on who to trust and who not to trust, when it came to law enforcement. Something was definitely off with her excuse, but Leif just couldn’t figure out why she was making it. Isabella had a bedrock sense of honesty, not just with others, but with herself as well. The fact that despite her lack of sexual experience, she’d been willing to explore her submissive nature was a perfect example of that.

  “I don’t know what psychobabble you’re thinking, Leif, but I know you’re on the right track. Keep going.” Leif threw his friend an annoyed look. He hated when Caleb did that. He’d spent a year in counseling after his injury and Caleb always made it sound like he’d gotten a degree in psychology.

  “Caleb, I just know there’s something deeper than this need for more time. I know she believes that’s what she needs. She’s not purposefully lying to us. But I think there’s some underlying issue that even she doesn’t recognize, that keeps her from committing.”

  “Well, fuck, how do we overcome an obstacle like that?” They both put their food down, having lost their appetite at the same time.

  “Was there any beer in the fridge?” Caleb finally asked.

  “Nope.” Leif watched as Caleb got up to look anyway. He came back with a water glass full of wine and just stared at it.

  “Who really wants to drink wine, anyway?” Caleb asked hypothetically.

  “Not me.”

  They both grabbed up the containers from the coffee table and cleaned up the kitchen. Caleb poured his wine down the sink. Leif looked over at his friend as they padded silently back to the bedroom. “I don’t know what the problem is, but the outcome is, she will no longer stay alone. If she doesn’t want to stay with us, fine. We’ll stay here. But there is no more of this horseshit about us being apart.” Caleb gave a tired thumbs-up. Leif understood. They needed to resolve the situation, not just put a bandage on it, but right now a bandage was all they had.

  Chapter 17

  She woke up. She actually woke up. Isabella gave a grateful smile, realizing that for the first time in forever she was waking up, which meant that she had slept. She took a deep breath, and realized she was breathing in Caleb, another reason to be grateful. She burrowed her nose into the crook of his neck and basked in the warmth of his body. She felt Leif pressed up behind her. The moment was perfect. She tried not to alter her breathing, not wanting to wake either of them. She wanted to freeze this moment and make it last forever. She especially didn’t want to think about last night. Well, maybe there were one or two things that she didn’t mind remembering. Her body tingled.

  She yawned. Caleb tilted her chin up and gave her a sweet kiss. “Good morning, beautiful.”

  “Good morning, Caleb.” She knew she was blushing. How could she not? She felt Leif’s lips on the side of her neck. She yawned again.

  “Let’s get you some breakfast and a nap.” She turned her head around to look at Leif in disbelief.

  “A nap? I just woke up.”

  “Baby, it’s just after six in the morning. You really didn’t sleep very long. You’re already yawning. Let’s get you fed and back to sleep.” Isabella tried to stop herself from yawning again, but she just couldn’t prevent it. She glared at Caleb when he chuckled.

  “I’m starving, so I definitely agree to breakfast, but I’m not going back to bed.” She lifted the comforter and stared at Caleb. “Well, aren’t you going to get out of my way?”

  “Now, why would I do that, when I could have a warm, naked woman climb over me instead?” Isabella looked at his body, receiving the message that he was naked and aroused. The blushing tide that had finally gone out of her face, rushed back in afresh. She looked over to Leif, who was now leaning against a bunched-up pillow.

  “Are you going to move?”

  “I’m with Caleb. I want you to crawl over me, baby.” Well, at least her yawning had stopped. The only way out of this situation was down. She started to crawl toward the foot of the bed and stopped at the sound of two loud, indrawn breaths. She looked over her shoulder to see Caleb and Leif staring at her, and realized the view she was providing. She practically dove off the end of the bed and ran to the bathroom, slamming the door shut.

  By the time she emerged from the shower, she felt like she could face them again without blushing. Unfortunately, she didn’t think she could face them without yawning. How could she be this tired after getting her first good night’s sleep in over a week? It made no sense. Maybe she would feel better after breakfast.

  When she got to the small dining room, there was French toast, yogurt and orange juice waiting for her. She envied the men, who looked positively refreshed, while she felt like something the cat dragged home. When she said as much, it was Leif who answered.

  “Isabella, do you care to explain why you took such chances?” She looked up from her plate in surprise. He sounded really angry, and he looked even angrier than he sounded.

  “I beg your pardon?” His eyes were like shards of ice. When she turned to Caleb for some sort of explanation, he seemed equally angry. She put down her fork and folded her hands in her lap. After first meeting these men, she would have hidden under the table if they had confronted her with this level of anger. It was obvious they were irate with her, but Leif’s complaint was that she had taken some kind of risk. That meant she’d done something that frightened him. Since she hadn’t taken any chances with her safety, however, she just had to figure out what she’d done that they had misunderstood.

  “Leif asked you why you took chances with your life. You knew you were overtired to the point that you couldn’t see straight, and you still chose to drive. You risked your life. What were you thinking?”

  His words reverberated through her head. She heard them repeat, and then repeat again. It was like she was hearing them through a tunnel. It was funny she couldn’t really see Caleb anymore. It was like he was really far away.

  “Breathe, Bella.”

  “Put her head between her legs.” She felt a hand running up and down her back, up and down.

  “You’ve got to breathe, Bella. Please, for me. In and out.” She took in a great big gulp of air, and started coughing. “Good girl. Again.” She shoved his arm away and tried to get out of the chair. She would have fallen, but huge arms grabbed her up and held her.

  “Let me go!” She wanted to scream, but she couldn’t ge
t enough breath. She didn’t deserve to be held. “Get the fuck out of here! Don’t touch me!” She batted at the arms holding her. She was crying so hard she couldn’t even tell if she was striking at Leif or Caleb and she didn’t care. She needed them away, she needed to get away. She flailed but couldn’t break their hold, finally realizing that both of them held her. This time, she was able to get enough air to scream at them.

  “Madre de Dios! Just fucking leave already. You’re going to leave me. Just do it now!” She struggled to break their hold, but no matter how she twisted and turned, they didn’t let go.

  “Bella, please stop! You’re going to hurt yourself.” She could finally tell whose hands were whose. Caleb had one arm around her waist and a hand on her head, crushing her against his chest. She didn’t know how she’d gotten on the couch, but she was on Leif’s lap. Even as he held her legs and stroked them, she kicked at him.

  At last, she just gave up. They were too strong. There was no point. She’d just wait them out. They’d get tired.

  “Isabella, are you okay? Can you tell us what happened?”

  “Can I get up?”

  “Why don’t you stay here for a little bit, baby? We want to hold you.” His voice was so kind, but it was a lie. How could he want to hold her, after what she’d done? They were right. She shouldn’t have been out on the road. She could have killed someone. They just needed to leave.

  “I’d really prefer it if you would let me up,” she said it in her most neutral voice.

  “Okay, Bella—”

  “No. You’ll stay right where you are, until you tell us what you’re thinking.”

  She didn’t answer. She wasn’t going to answer Leif. There was no point.

  “Leif, she wants up.”

  “Caleb, you heard her. She thinks we’re going to leave her. She told us to just fucking leave, already. I want to find out where the hell that came from. She’s not getting up until I get to the bottom of that.”