Passion, Victoria 5: Nikki's Awakening (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting)

by Becca Van

  No, telling her right now wasn’t the time. Colt and his brothers would have to wait until she was willing to open up with them and in return they would do the same. Until then they would continue to court her and hope they would eventually get through to her.

  Colt went to his room and grabbed a clean shirt from his tallboy and pulled it on. He walked down the hallway, through the living room, and into the kitchen. His breath hitched when he saw Nikki sitting at the dining table across from the kitchen, her eyes on the wood surface while gripping the mug of coffee with both hands. Bear was already at the stove making breakfast. She looked so damn right in their house and he knew there was no way he could let her get away. He was already in love with her and couldn’t envisage his life without her in it, but he and his brothers needed to get to her heart and soul and he didn’t know how they were going to achieve that.

  She looked up when Bear set a plate in front of her and when she saw him watching her, she quickly looked away again.

  “Thank you,” Nikki said in a quiet, hesitant voice.

  Bear leaned down and kissed the top of her head and walked back toward the kitchen. Nikki watched Bear walk away and Colt figured she had forgotten he was there. She was looking at his brother with such sadness and longing it almost broke his heart.

  Oh yeah, she wasn’t scared that they would hurt her in the physical sense. They’d already proven time and again they wouldn’t hurt her. They’d helped her out the day she’d sprained her ankle. They’d rescued her from those arseholes when they’d attacked her and made sure she wasn’t injured too badly. She wasn’t hugging herself like she usually did around people and her shoulders were no longer hunched up.

  He’d never forget those first two times they had talked to her at the Four Passion club when they’d been new to town. He’d known from the first that she was special but she hadn’t even remembered their first names. Colt figured that giving her a little time to become comfortable around him and his brothers would be all she needed, but he’d been wrong. The more she got to know them, the more she pushed them away. She’d been so open and honest and fun, but the moment Bear had touched her that fateful day in the coffee shop and told her she was theirs she’d clammed up.

  Nikki Sprite was scared of getting hurt emotionally, but how the hell were they going to convince her that would never happen, at least not with intent?

  Colt wasn’t naïve enough to think there wouldn’t be arguments if she allowed him and his brothers into her life, but was in a quandary on how to get through to her that they wanted a lifetime with her without pushing her away. If he and his brothers told her they were already falling in love with her, she would bolt.

  Colt headed for the coffee pot and after pouring himself a cup carried it and the plate Bear handed him to the table. He sat down next to Nikki and watched her take a few bites of food and then she proceeded to push the food around her plate.

  Bear brought his own coffee and breakfast over and sat down on her other side. Tony entered the kitchen and headed for the sink to wash up.

  Damn it! There go her shoulders again. Is she afraid of being surrounded by us?

  “I’ve fixed your car, little one. One of the wires had come loose.”

  “Thank you.” The tension in Nikki’s scrunched shoulders eased. “I’ll go get my bag and then I need head out.”

  Tony sat at the table with his food and when Nikki went to get up, he pointed at her plate. “Eat your breakfast first, honey. It’s not even eight yet so there’s no rush.”

  “I’m not very hungry.”

  “But you’ll eat anyway,” Tony said in a firm voice.

  Colt nearly laughed when Nikki glared at Tony. The staring match only lasted for about thirty seconds and then she looked down at her plate and with a sigh took another forkful of food. He loved seeing that fire in her eyes. It reminded him of last night when they had all made love to her together. Colt wanted to see her passion and knew they had only tapped into some of it.

  What would it be like when she really let go and trusted them with everything she had?

  Chapter Five

  Nikki had been back at the gallery for a couple of hours and was trying to do the dreaded paperwork but often found herself staring off into space as last night flashed through her mind. She still couldn’t believe she’d had sex with three men, not that she had a problem with a ménage relationship but as far as she was concerned she didn’t want to be with one man let alone three.

  So why did I agree to going to bed with them?

  She pictured the men in her mind and her body instantly responded. They had been so gentle and loving with her and now that she’d had a taste of what good sex could be, she wanted more, but she couldn’t let that happen again. If she did, she would lose her heart to them and she would be setting herself up to get hurt, again. How the hell was she supposed to keep them at an arm’s length when she was attracted to all three of them and her body now craved their touch?

  “Are you okay, Nikki?” She jumped when James spoke. He was right next to her desk and she hadn’t even heard him moving.

  “Yeah, I’m fine. Just trying to get through this stuff.” Nikki indicated her computer screen and then forced herself to get back to work.

  “You know if you want me to do that, I could handle it,” James said.

  “I know,” she sighed, “but you know I’m a control freak.”

  “Ain’t that the truth,” James muttered and then smiled at her.

  “Okay, Mr. Smarty Pants, why don’t you contact that artist from Bendigo and set up a meeting? Tasha has more paintings to show and since the other artist is unknown I thought I’d do a combined showing.”

  “That’s a great idea, Nikki.” James grinned at her and hurried across the room. “I’m on it.”

  Nikki didn’t have any doubt that James would set everything up. He had proven to be an invaluable employee as well as a wonderful artist. She couldn’t wait to showcase his work, too. She planned to display Tasha’s, and the Bendigo artist, Andrew Reyna, as well as some of James’s work, all at once. Their styles were individual and so different but Nikki had a feeling that by showing their work together she would bring in a huge profits for all of them. Not that the money was the driving factor, although having it helped, but she wanted to give Tasha, James, and Andrew the recognition they deserved.

  Nikki had been working steadily for over an hour when the hairs on her nape stood on end. Fear skittered up and down her spine and she glanced about the room. She sighed with relief when she saw James dusting down the artwork but the feeling of being watched wouldn’t dissipate. She looked toward the window but all she saw was a man walking away toward the center of town. Does he look familiar?

  No. Stop it, Nikki, you’re letting your imagination run away with you.

  Bob had been sent to jail after assaulting her and even though he had done his time, she knew he would come looking for her. He’d managed to send her a letter through one of his fellow inmates before he’d been up for trial. He’d threatened to come and get her if she testified against him but she hadn’t let that stop her. He wouldn’t be able to follow up on his threat while behind bars and she had already been planning to move.

  What Nikki didn’t realize was that his sentence would be so short. Since it was the first time he’d been arrested and had spent all his time in jail leading up to the trial, he’d only ended up having to serve a total of twelve months with another twelve months suspended sentence. And then she began to pant as anxiety assailed her. She’d been in Passion just over twelve months and she realized that Bob had probably already been released from prison. She breathed deeply a few times to get her panic under control and relaxed again, because there was no way Bob could know where she was.

  Bob had been such a controlling bastard and hadn’t wanted her to work but she had put her foot down. Even her mother had been on Bob’s side, telling her that her place was in the home and the kitchen and taking care of the child
ren once they came along. Such antiquated thinking had only made her more determined to have what she wanted even if she couldn’t paint. She’d won in the end, or so she thought, but then he assaulted her and put her in the hospital. And now that she’d realized her dream, she wasn’t about to let anyone take it away from her.

  Admittedly her mother had been horrified over what Bob had done to her, but their relationship had always been rocky and her mum was too busy with her new rich husband to care what Nikki was doing. In a way she was glad to be away from her mother and her elderly husband. Neither of them understood her and she didn’t think they ever would.

  All thoughts of Bob disappeared a moment later.

  When the door to the gallery opened, she looked toward the door and her breath hitched in her throat. Tony walked toward her with such an amazing, loose-limbed gait but when she met his gaze, the hunger she saw had her body responding in kind. She leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms over her chest, hoping he didn’t see the way her nipples had hardened. As she exhaled, she crossed her legs and shivered when her pussy clenched and cream wept onto her panties. She hated the way her heart stuttered with excitement and trepidation at seeing him again. It had only been five hours since she’d left their house and she shouldn’t have cared one way or another if she ever saw him or his brothers again.

  Tony stopped in front of her desk and then placed a take-out bag onto the glass surface. Delicious scents assailed her nostrils and her stomach growled. She tried to break the connection of their gazes but she felt as if she was tethered to him with a string. He moved around her desk and pulled on the arm of her chair, rolling her legs out from beneath it, and then he turned her to the side so she was facing him directly. She didn’t like being so close to him. She could smell his clean fresh, male scent as well as the light, spicy cologne he wore and she couldn’t help but to inhale deeper.

  He leaned down, placing both of his hands on the arms of her chair, effectively caging her in, and even though she wanted to push against his chest to get him to back off—also because removing her arms from across her chest would be tell-tale—she wanted him close, too.

  God you are a mess, girl. You can’t even make up your own mind.

  “What are you doing?” Nikki snapped and scowled up at him. “What do you want?”

  “You don’t really want to hear the answer to those questions right now, honey.” He leaned down until his head was only inches from hers and she could feel his breath puffing against her lips. Nikki tried to contain the shudder that ripped through her but he saw it. His eyes grew hotter, his nostrils flared, and his pupils dilated. Tony moved the last couple of inches until his lips brushed against hers. She wanted to reach up, grab hold of his hair, and press her mouth tighter to his.

  The bell on the door drew her from the sensual haze he seemed to have wrapped around her and she sighed with relief as he straightened up and moved away. Using her feet, she rolled her chair over the wood floor and back in behind her desk. Nikki felt more protected from his masculinity now that she had the piece of furniture between them.

  She glanced toward the door and nearly groaned out loud when she saw Colt and Bear walking toward her. Nikki was entranced watching the two big men moving closer. For such a big man, Bear moved with the grace of a feline. His gait was smooth, his body seemed to flow, and his muscles rippled. His quadriceps bunched and released and she could just imagine watching them, his hamstrings and his perfectly sculpted beefy arse flexing as he fucked her.

  And Colt’s gait was just as mesmerizing. She loved the way his pecs undulated beneath the tight cotton of his T-shirt with the movement of his arms and the way his long legs ate up the ground with seemingly no effort at all. In fact, she loved watching all three of them when they were walking. It was like watching poetry in motion.

  Bear came to her side of the desk, leaned down, and placed a hard but chaste kiss on her lips but instead of moving away again he rested his bum on the edge of the desk right next to her.

  Colt moved to her other side and squatted down on her right. He reached up and gripped the ponytail at the back of her neck to hold her still and studied her face. “You look tense, sugar. Why?”

  “I have a mountain of paperwork to get through.”

  Colt’s hazel eyes narrowed. “You’re lying.”

  “No. I. Am. Not.” Nikki replied through clenched teeth.

  “What I meant was that you aren’t tense because of the paperwork. Tell me what’s upset you, Nikki.”

  Shit a brick! How the hell does he do that?

  “Just what I said, Colt.” Nikki tried to inject sincerity into her voice and hoped he wouldn’t realize she was hedging around his question.

  Colt released her ponytail and rose to his feet. “Tony bought lunch for everyone and we aren’t leaving until you’ve eaten a decent meal.” He turned his back on her. “James, come and eat.”

  The five of them sat around Nikki’s desk eating the chicken sub salad sandwiches Tony had brought. She listened as Bear, Colt, and Tony asked about James’s schooling and art. It surprised her that they gave James their undivided attention when he spoke and felt a little more of the ice encasing her heart chip away. She hadn’t expected them to be interested in anyone but themselves. Every time she turned around, they were proving her wrong. Yes, they were arrogant domineering men, but they also had good hearts. They were caring and gentle and she was forced to revise her way of thinking. They weren’t selfish and just out for a good time after all. They had depths to them that she was only now just seeing.

  You’re lying again, Nikki. You see more than you’re willing to admit.

  After they’d finished eating and helped James clear the mess away, her employee disappeared into the back to work on his latest painting. She loved that he could use her studio to work but was apprehensive about being alone with the three men. Nikki was so out of her depth, she felt like she was adrift at sea and in danger of drowning. Her life had been so regimented and controlled that she didn’t know how to handle the sensations she was feeling.

  Tony scooted his chair in close to the front of her desk. So close that his knees bumped against hers. Bear and Colt shifted their seats closer, until she was surrounded on all sides.

  “I’ll bet if I run my fingers along your sweet little pussy I’ll find you dripping with cream won’t I, little girl?” Tony asked.

  Nikki didn’t bother to answer. There was no way she was going to let them know how much they got to her. The only defense she had was to keep her desire held tight inside. She knew if she gave them an inch they would take a mile and totally consume her. She lowered her head and looked at her computer, but felt the heat creeping up her cheeks.

  “Do you think we don’t see the way your body reacts to us, baby?” Bear whispered against her ear. “You can deny it all you want, Nikki, but your body doesn’t lie.”

  Colt stroked a finger down her cheek and then caressed his way down to her neck to her nape. His fingers never stopped moving over her skin and her breathing escalated. Her pussy clenched and her clit began to ache. She squeezed her legs together and bit her lips to hold back her moan of need. “Do you think we don’t know when you’re trying to hide how hard your nipples are?”

  Tony’s quiet deep cadence drew her gaze. “Do you think we don’t see the way you’re squeezing your legs together?”

  The ache in her pussy got worse and her nipples ached even more. She wanted to yell at them to back off but if she did, wouldn’t that be letting them know they were right? Just when she didn’t think she could stand it anymore, they moved back and stood up. After taking their chairs back to the far wall, they came back and stood in front of her desk.

  “Have dinner with us,” Tony said.

  Nikki wanted to refuse them but she also wanted to be with them more than anyone ever before. Maybe it would be a good idea if she went out with them on a date, got to know them a little better. She didn’t have to end up in bed with them again. S
he was strong enough to control her sexual urges. Wasn’t she?

  She gave Tony a nod and when the stoic expression on each of their faces changed and they smiled smiles that seemed to light up their whole faces and made them look even more handsome, she knew she was doomed.

  “You close up at six?” Colt asked.

  “Yes.”

  “Good. Does seven suit you?” Bear slid his hands into the back pocket of his jeans.

  That action drew her eyes to the crotch of his pants. She could see the outline of his big semi-flaccid cock because his jeans were now pulled tighter over his genitals. When she realized where she was looking, she blushed and glanced away. She had to clear her throat before she could answer. “Seven is fine.”

  “See you then, little girl.” Tony gave her a mock salute and all three turned and walked away. None of them looked back until they were at the door and they all looked back over their shoulders toward her. They grinned when they caught her looking at their arses.

  The rest of the day went quickly. Nikki was finally able to concentrate on her paperwork and sighed when she had everything caught up. She stood up and stretched, groaning with satisfaction when her vertebrae cracked and her tense muscles eased slightly. When she glanced at the clock and realized it was six thirty she nearly shrieked. She only had half an hour to shower and dress before the Spencer brothers would arrive to pick her up. She vaguely remembered James coming in and telling her he was leaving, but she had no idea what the time had been.

  After making sure the phone was switched over to the one upstairs, the doors were locked and most of the lights were turned off, she hurried up to her apartment. She showered in record time and after blow drying her hair rushed to her closet. Since she had no idea where they were going, she had no idea what to wear. Then she decided it didn’t matter. She was going to be comfortable. She wasn’t going to dress for them. She was going to please herself. Grabbing her best pair of jeans and her favorite silky sky blue shirt, she placed them on the bed and rummaged through her underwear drawer and withdrew her black lace bra and matching G-string. She had just finished pulling on her ankle-length high-heeled black boots when the front door buzzer was pushed. With a last glance in her bedroom mirror she grabbed her purse and went downstairs.