Completely embarrassed, Cane turned her face into Duncan’s bare chest. “Oh God I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry.” She began to cry again and felt Duncan lift her in his arms and walk out of the room. She was aware of them walking down a hallway and then a door shutting behind them. She didn’t look up until she felt herself being laid in the center of a king-size bed. Duncan slid in on one side, and Logan, who she didn’t know followed them, slid into the other.
“You want to talk about it?” Duncan asked. They had both curled up on each side of her, and she felt nothing but comfort. She would have never have gotten this from Sam. He hated any show of weakness, and her waking up crying would have definitely been weak to him.
Because she was so quiet for so long, Logan spoke next. “Baby, you were screaming in your sleep and Ali couldn’t wake you. She was scared to death. I think it’s time to tell us everything so that we can help you.”
Cane knew that he was right. She had been holding this in too long, and it was starting to take its toll on her. Knowing that after the scene she just made, that she still had these two guys and their family willing to help her with no questions asked, gave her the courage to finally tell her story. Taking a deep breath, she began.
“Well, after being abandoned and growing up in foster and group homes, I realized that if I wanted to make something of my life, I had to depend on myself, so I worked hard in high school and earned a full scholarship to college. For the first time in my life, I was happy. According to the state I was officially an adult, and I was out on my own. I met Sam my freshman year. At the time I had never even received any attention from a boy, and I couldn’t believe that a junior was interested. From the time we met we were inseparable. By the spring of my sophomore year, he asked me to marry him and I told him no. I didn’t even have a specific reason for saying no, just instincts telling me not to.”
Cane swallowed back tears. If only she had listened to her instincts. Feeling a gentle squeeze from Duncan she continued. “We had a really big fight one night after he asked me to marry him again and I said no, and he threw me out of his apartment. I went back to my dorm room and cried all night. After a week, I was feeling better about not being with him and my roommate invited me to a party. Not wanting to be alone, I went. Not thinking, I did the stupidest thing and accepted a drink from a guy. I woke up naked in a bed next to a strange guy and didn’t remember anything that happened. I was terrified, and I went straight to Sam and told him what happened. I couldn’t believe how understanding he was about it and how angry he was that someone would do that to me. I began to think maybe my instincts were wrong about him, so I gave him another chance. He never asked me to marry him again, but he asked me to move in with him. We were happy for a while, and then he began to change. At first it was just little comments asking who I was with when I went out, telling me I smelled like other men, things like that. He eventually talked me into dropping out of school using my guilt about what happened at the party against me. He always found a way to throw it in my face. I was stupid to stay, but by that time I felt so low that I felt I deserved him.”
Cane could feel the fresh tears streaming down her cheeks. Logan pulled her face to his chest and rocked her.
“Oh, baby, you never deserved any of that.” He rocked her while Duncan ran his hands up and down her arms.
They remained quiet, and she began again. “About four years into the relationship—he had made detective by that time—he began pressuring me to have babies. I knew that I did not want any children with him early on, so I went and got birth control behind his back. I did not want any children to suffer like I had. After months of him trying to get me pregnant with no luck, he assumed that something was wrong with me and made an appointment for me to see a doctor. I knew he would go with me and find out about the birth control, so I told him I didn’t want kids. He became so angry when I told him that he slapped me across the face. That was the first time he hit me. He apologized the next morning with flowers and said it would never happen again, but it just got worse and worse. Over our eight-year relationship I had my right arm broken twice, my left broken three times, several broken ribs including one that punctured a lung, and way too many bruises to count.”
“Why didn’t you press charges against him?” Duncan asked.
“Because he would say that since he was a detective no cop would help me against him because they were honor bound to help their fellow officers first. I couldn’t leave him because I had no education, no money, and nowhere to go.” Logan rose up on his elbow and looked at her. She couldn’t look at either of them. She didn’t want to see the pity or disgust on their faces.
Logan grabbed her chin and turned her until she faced him. “What happened six months ago to make you leave?” He traced his finger over her shirt where her scar was. “Did he do this? Is this why you left?”
Cane’s stomach turned, and she felt like she was going to throw up. She didn’t want to remember that night, and she knew that when she told them what happened, they would not want anything to do with her. How could she tell him that he took her ability to have babies away? Their whole world centered on their family. Why wouldn’t they want kids? Shaking her head, she sat up and moved away from the both of them.
“I can’t tell you,” she whispered, her voice weak. “I don’t want you to hate me.”
“We could never hate you,” they both said in unison as they grabbed her and pulled her back down.
Seeing the truth in their eyes, she told them. “That night he went out with friends and came home drunk. I tried to pretend to be asleep, but he got very rough. I told him that I didn’t want to have sex, and he went crazy. He accused me of sleeping with someone else since I didn’t want him. I tried to explain that he was just being too rough, but he wasn’t listening. He pinned me to the bed and cuffed my arms to the headboard. I was begging him to let me go, but I could see in his eyes that he wasn’t sane at that point. He began saying that I must be pregnant already by this other man since I refused to have his baby. He left and came back with a sharp knife from the kitchen. I was terrified at that point and did the only thing I could think of. I told him that there was no way that I could be pregnant because I was on birth control and could prove it if he let me out of the cuffs. He agreed and let me up. I reached under the mattress on my side of the bed and pulled out the pill case. He just stared at me, and then he began screaming that he couldn’t believe I lied to him and hid it from him. At that point I knew I had to get away, so I ran. He caught me at the top of the stairs and knocked me down. He kicked me in the stomach several times and punched me in the face. Then he picked me up and threw me down the stairs. He later told me that while I was unconscious, he tried to cut the ‘baby’ that he knew I was carrying out of me. That’s where I got the scar from. Once he was satisfied that I wasn’t pregnant, he called an ambulance.”
“I woke up two days later in intensive care. He told the doctors that someone broke into the house and when he got home he found me lying at the bottom of the stairs, stabbed and bleeding. Of course they believed him. He is the golden boy of the force. I had a fractured skull, blown pupil, and several broken ribs. They also had to remove an ovary that ruptured when he kicked me, and I had severe scarring in my uterus where he stabbed me. Lying in that hospital bed in pain, I knew then that I had to leave or the next time I would die. I didn’t trust my instincts before, but I refused ignore them this time. I came up with a plan that took me six months to follow through with, and you know the rest. The worst part is that due to my injuries, there was too much scarring in my uterus and the doctors said that it would be nearly impossible for me to have babies. Even though I finally escaped him, he got the last laugh anyway.”
There, she did it. She told them of her ugly past. It felt good to finally get it off her chest, and she breathed a deep sigh of relief and wiped the tears away that had been freely flowing. Neither of the men said anything for a long time and a small flare of panic began
in the pit of her stomach. She knew they would hate her when she told them, she expected this. So why did it hurt so badly? Because I am falling in love with them. That thought made her breath catch and she jumped out of bed. She made it to the door before they reached her. Crying, she turned and collapsed to the floor. Two pair of strong arms surrounded her and lifted her back to the bed.
“Why are you doing this? Just let me go. You don’t want me.”
“Why would we not want you?” Duncan asked.
“Sam was a real bastard. We don’t blame you for anything that he did. He was the one wrong not you.”
“But didn’t you hear me? I can’t give you babies. Why would you want me?”
This time Logan spoke. “We don’t care about that. If we want kids when the time comes, we can adopt if that’s what you want.”
Cane’s breath caught. “You would do that for me?” Not speaking, they both nodded, and she could tell that it was the truth. Overcome with emotion and not able to speak, she wrapped an arm around each of their necks and hugged them. She stayed like that until she fell asleep.
* * * *
The phone rang at 2:00 a.m. Sam quickly snatched it and answered. He was so angry at the bitch for walking out on him five days ago that he was ready to kill someone. He couldn’t believe that she had made it this long without him or the best private detective finding her. He had even taken two weeks off from the force so that when he found her, he could give her his undivided attention. He couldn’t wait. His sleepless nights would be so worth it when he found her and made her pay.
“Hello.”
“Sam, this is Kevin. Sorry to call you so late, but I have great news. I think I found her.”
“What? Where?” Sam could feel his spirits lifting already.
“Well, it seems she is in a small town in Oregon called Pine Valley. The town is so small that it isn’t even on most maps.”
“Oregon? Damn, how did she get that far? How did you find her?”
“Well, it seems that she had some kind of accident or something. I tracked her when the doctor submitted a request to have her medical records sent.”
“That’s great, Kevin. I want you to go there and make sure she is still there. If she is, keep an eye on her and call me.”
“Okay, I will head out in the morning and call you when I get there.”
Hanging up, Sam smiled. Knowing that she wouldn’t be gone much longer, he closed his eyes and slept for the first time since she had left.
Chapter 8
Logan woke with the rays of the sun shining in his face. He could feel Cane curled up behind him. Smiling, he turned over slowly so that he didn’t wake her. He saw Duncan on the other side of Cane with his arm wrapped around her waist. He opened his eyes and stared at Logan. They look he gave let Logan know that he knew exactly how Duncan was feeling. Cane’s confession had been mind-blowing. He couldn’t figure out how she’d survived for so long. He absolutely wanted to kill Sam. If he ever saw him, he would, and he was sure Duncan felt the same way. Looking down, he wrapped his finger around a strand of her silky white hair and watched her sleep. She looked so peaceful, like nothing could touch her while she was between the two of them, and that’s exactly how he wanted it. He knew then that he would do everything in his power to protect her.
Not thinking, he whispered, “I think I’m falling in love with her, Duncan.”
“Me too, buddy, me too,” Duncan mumbled.
* * * *
Cane woke to kisses being trailed down each side of her face. Moaning, she opened her eyes to two of the most gorgeous men she had ever seen staring down at her.
“Good morning,” she said and meant it. She felt like she was starting her life over. This was day one and it was getting off to a great start. She knew that she made the right decision about telling them everything last night.
“Hey,” they both said at the same time.
“You guys really do everything together, don’t you,” she said, laughing, and winked at them. Logan and Duncan both looked at each other and then turned back to her with wicked grins on their faces.
“Let us show you what else we do together,” Logan said.
Duncan spoke next. “Yeah, we promise you will enjoy it.” Without waiting for her to answer, Logan leaned down and kissed her while Duncan’s hands explored her body.
Cane couldn’t focus. Never had her senses been overwhelmed like this. She had two sets of hands touching her everywhere and Logan’s tongue sensually exploring her mouth. When she felt a hand creep up the nightshirt that she borrowed from Ali rub up her stomach, she couldn’t hold back a moan. She had to tear her mouth away from Logan’s so that she could take a breath, but it didn’t last long because Duncan quickly attacked her mouth with his. Feeling like she would float away at any moment, Cane wrapped her arms around Duncan’s neck and held on tight. While Duncan devoured her mouth Logan lifted her shirt and began to trail kisses up her stomach and ribs while lifting the shirt higher as he went. Cane felt a shiver run up her body. Was it possible to feel like you were on fire and freezing at the same time? She felt Logan’s hand cup one breast while he kissed and licked the underside of the other. Arching her back, Cane tried to will him to move up and place his mouth on her nipple. Duncan released her mouth and began kissing down her face and neck. He nipped at her collarbone before lifting her arms and pulling her shirt completely off. Once he tossed it on the floor, he resumed his place at her neck and shoulder. Every time he nipped it, he soothed it with a lick of his tongue. Without ever being touched below the waist, Cane realized that she was on the verge of an orgasm. She felt moist heat on each nipple as both men decided to go for them at the same time causing her to scream as her orgasm hit. Her whole body tensed as she rode wave after wave of the most powerful orgasm she had ever had. Were those stars she was seeing? Damn, if the orgasm was this good and all they did was kiss and suck on her nipples, she couldn’t wait to see what it was like when they actually had sex.
A knock on the door snapped Cane out of the haze that she was in. She realized that she still gripped handfuls of their hair holding their heads to her breast and unclenched her hand.
“Is everything okay?” Ali yelled through the door. While Duncan got up and went to the door, Cane snatched the sheet up over her head. She heard what sounded like a chuckle coming from Logan as he lay next to her.
Oh God! I can’t believe I just did that with people in the house. What if Ali hadn’t knocked? I probably would have gone all the way with them.
She smiled. It would have been great, too. She felt a tug on the sheet, but she had it gripped so tight that it didn’t budge.
“What’s wrong?” Duncan asked.
“I’m so embarrassed. I can’t believe they heard me.” Both men laughed.
“Well, what did you expect? You screamed loud enough to wake the dead.” Cane threw the sheet off her head and glared at the two men who were still laughing. She couldn’t help but to laugh, too.
“Next time warn me that there are people in the house and I will try to be quieter.”
Both men stopped laughing immediately and gave her smoldering looks. Finally Logan spoke. “So there will be a next time?”
“Well, duh. You two can’t just give me the best orgasm of my life and not finish what you started.” Both men pounced on her and it was Cane’s turn to laugh. “Easy there, fellas, I’m not doing anything right now with your family right outside.”
She couldn’t believe that these two sexy men wanted her so badly. They both groaned as she rolled out of bed and put her sleep shirt back on. She left her clothes in Ali’s room and couldn’t help but to think about the night before as a blush slowly rose up her neck and face. “Your family probably thinks I’m crazy after last night.”
Duncan stood and wrapped his arm around her shoulder and guided her back to bed. Once he had her sandwiched in between him and Logan again, he spoke. “You had a nightmare, that’s all. No one will think you are crazy for
that. Of course you would have nightmares after what you went through, but don’t worry. Now that you are away from that madman, the nightmares will eventually stop.”
“How do you know that for sure?”
“We went through the same thing with Ali. After the accident, she would wake up screaming much like you did last night. At first it was almost a nightly thing, but they eventually tapered off. She still gets them, but they are rare now. We hope that one day she will stop having them all together, the same with you.”
Smiling, Cane placed a hand on both of their cheeks. “You guys are too good for me. I’m very lucky to have ended up in this town with you.”
How did she get so lucky to have found not only one, but two of the handsomest men that she had ever seen and they both seemed to want her? Last night she thought she was falling in love with them, but this morning she realized that was not true. She was already in love with them. The thought didn’t scare her as much as she thought it would. Yeah she ran last night but that was before she knew that these two men would accept her no matter what. Now, Cane could see herself waking up to these two men every morning and spending the rest of her life safe in their arms. Still holding both their cheeks, she leaned up and placed a gentle kiss on first Logan’s lips and then Duncan’s. At that moment her stomach growled, and she giggled.
“Come on, baby, let’s get you some breakfast,” Logan said as he stood and pulled her out of the bed. When she stood, he didn’t let her hand go. Instead, he pulled her to him until her body was flush against his then he leaned down and kissed her. He moved his lips against hers with featherlike touches running his tongue across the seam of hers. When she sighed and her lips parted, he slowly eased his tongue in and traced the inside of her mouth. Cane couldn’t hold back the moan in her throat or stop herself from rubbing her body against his. Logan reluctantly pulled back and looked down at her with a smile.
Davis, Keyonna - Nowhere to Hide [Pine Valley] (Siren Publishing Ménage and More) Page 6
