Saving Grace

by Avery Gale

  “How did you know?” Her eyes had gone impossibly wide and she seemed so genuinely shocked that he’d known what she was experiencing that he couldn’t hold back his smile.

  “There are a lot of reasons for that to happen, but those are topics for another day. Right now, Jax and I are more interested in how your focus is being centered on your body’s needs. If you’ll put yourself in our hands, we’ll take you to the heights you’ve been reading about in the novels you’ve enjoyed.” He gave her mind a few seconds to absorb what he’d said before continuing. She’d quickly see some of the same principles in tantric sex as what she had been learning during the yoga training Tobi had been doing with her.

  While Micah had been talking to her, Jax had been applying gentle pressure to various energy pulse points and they had both been noting her responses. Seeing her relax into a touch or flinch from it, told them a lot about what would enhance her sexual pleasure and what would pull her back from the edge. Learning all of her responses would make things better for all of them.

  *****

  Gracie tried to will her mind into silence, but it didn’t seem to be working. Micah and Jax’s touches were lighting her up with sensation, but there seemed to be a part of her that just couldn’t let go. Micah’s lips pressed against her ear and then he spoke, “You’re thinking again, love. We will get you out of your head, one way or another. I think that you have just had to be on guard for so many years that you’ve forgotten how to just let go. Am I right?”

  “Y-yes, that is exactly right.” She knew her words had been airy and soft, but his answering growl assured her Micah hadn’t missed them.

  Jax leaned over her and whispered softly against the opposite ear, “We’ll get you there, Cariña, don’t worry. It’s going to be our pleasure to teach you about the freedom you’ll find in submission.”

  Micah was holding her face in his cupped hands with his thumbs brushing softly against her kiss-swollen lips. “Have you noticed how much happier Tobi seems now?” When she nodded, he continued, “A large part of that is the fact she is secure in her Masters’ love. She knows that no matter what happens, they will have her back. She’ll never fall so hard or fast that they won’t be there to catch her.” Gracie had never considered Tobi’s happiness was anything other than mind-blowing sex, but now had to admit Micah’s theory was probably much more likely.

  Jax gave her ass a firm swat, “Cariña, stop analyzing everything and just feel. We’re going to push you, more than you’ll be expecting so I want to remind you of the stoplight system for safe words. We’ll be checking in with you periodically, but I want to remind you that it is your obligation to tell us if you are frightened or getting near the end of what you can take. You’ve been given the word yellow for a reason. Don’t hesitate to use it if you need to.”

  “Y-yes, Sir.” Feeling her entire body tremble between them, she was grateful Jax had picked her up and moved her to the bed, even though she’d been surprised when he’d set her feet down on the soft throw rug to the side of the large bed rather than laying her on top.

  “Bend over the edge of the bed and spread your feet apart. We’re going to help silence your mind, love.” She felt Micah’s hand press gently, but firmly, between her shoulder blades. When her warm nipples touched the cool sheets she hissed and instinctively tried to stand back up, but his palm kept her flat. Before she’d even had a chance to fully register the cold she felt a stinging swat to her left ass cheek. “Don’t worry, love, you won’t be cold for long, I promise you.”

  Before he’d even finished speaking she felt the heat of his palm again, but this time he’d spanked her on the other side. Even though she’d flinched from the pain, it hadn’t hurt as much as surprised her. But the quick bite shifted so quickly into a warmth that spread to her pussy, it was almost startling. She felt her pussy flood with moisture and she realized she’d unconsciously moved her legs back together. The next swat was stronger and then Micah leaned over her and asked, “Why did you move, love?”

  Oh God, I don’t want to ‘fess up to this, damn! They will think I have no control at all. Hell, they’ll probably pack me up and move me themselves. She heard Micah’s growl of frustration just before he landed four more heavy-handed swats to her now pulsing backside. “As much as I love seeing my handprint on your luscious ass, I would much prefer to keep this an erotic spanking, love. Answer the question, don’t edit your response. Your job is to simply answer immediately and with complete honesty. You will never be punished for being honest when we’ve asked you about your thoughts or feelings. You will, however, be punished for lying. And make no mistake, love, editing is lying.”

  “Umm, okay. Well, I was embarrassed because…well, my pussy got really wet and I…oh damn it all to donuts. I was afraid you’d be really turned off if my arousal started running down the inside of my leg.” Even she’d been able to hear the tremble in her voice so there was no doubt both men had heard it as well.

  Micah swatted her twice as Jax leaned down and kissed her cheek. “Cariña, that's where you are one hundred percent wrong and this is why we have insisted you be completely candid with us. Because misunderstandings like this will mushroom and drive a wedge between us. I think you’ll agree that isn’t what any of us want. What you need to know is that seeing your honey in shiny rivulets down your silky thighs tells us you are responding to what we’re doing. It’s a measure of how well we’re doing our job and a huge turn on.” Gracie let out a sigh as the reality of Jax’s words settled into her soul. That little bit of information had a profound effect on her ability to relax.

  Jax stopped and rubbed his hands over her ass cheeks in loving caresses that held the heat into her skin giving her a whole new round of arousal. “Your skin turns the most amazing rose color. It’s hot beneath my hands and I can smell your sweet cream. It’s like a siren’s call to a Dom, love.” Gracie felt his fingers slipping through her folds and each time he grazed them over her clit she moaned into the mattress. Feeling her mind starting to float away from her body was the oddest thing ever, but somehow she knew she was chasing something that was going to blind her with pleasure so she just let herself go.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Jen walked along the beach with her sandals dangling from her fingers enjoying the afternoon sun’s warmth atop her shoulders. The waves teased her relentlessly in their attempts to wash over her cotton-candy pink painted toes. She’d been lost in her thought as she considered her plans for her last two weeks in Costa Rica when she heard the unmistakable sound of scooters coming up behind her. Glancing over her shoulder, she spotted two men much too large to be riding the tiny motorcycles as they gunned the small engines, spinning what Texan’s referred to as “cat’s asses” and sending huge arches of sand over one another.

  Shaking her head at their antics, she couldn’t help watching as the two boys in men’s bodies whooped and hollered as they entertained everyone on the beach. Even from this distance it was easy to see they were brothers. Both looked to be well over six feet tall with dark hair, but it was their body language that was the most telling. Jen had just finished her studies in linguistics and applied communication, but it was her emphasis on non-verbal communication that was often the most valuable. Well…it was valuable when she wasn’t too lost in her own thoughts to pay attention to what was happening around her.

  Even though watching them had slowed her progress down the beach, the two men on the scooters hadn’t seemed to “catch up” with her and she wondered briefly who they were performing for. She scanned the beach and saw the attention of every woman on the beach was focused on them so there was no telling who they’d set eyes on. She shook her head and couldn’t hold back her laughter. They were so obviously having a great time their joy was contagious.

  Both men were sporting haircuts similar to what Elza’s brother, Jax, always had every time he’d been home on leave, so Jen wondered if they weren’t perhaps American soldiers enjoying a few days downtime to blow o
ff steam. Even though she could hear their laughter she couldn’t make out what they were saying, but she was willing to bet that it was the same trash talking banter she’d heard Jax and his friends exchange at the McDonald’s Austin mansion.

  Since the men didn’t appear to be moving her way, Jen turned and headed up the bank toward the sidewalk that would lead her back to the hotel she’d called home for the past few weeks. Concerned that she suddenly seemed to be attracting a lot of attention, Jen started to slip her sandals back off again in case she needed to run when a woman approached her and asked her name. The bluntness of the woman’s question caused Jen to stutter and she barely caught herself before she blurted out her entire name. The elderly woman must have noticed her reluctance to answer because the older woman’s expression softened. She amended her question inquiring if Jen was the young American woman who had gone missing, concerned that she might be in need of help. What the hell?

  It had seemed to take forever to make her way back to the hotel because she’d been stopped so many times by well-meaning strangers offering to escort her to the authorities. The mile long jaunt had become a blur of stares and personal questions that often bordered on inappropriate. One thing Jen did notice was the fact she seemed to be seeing a couple of the same faces time and again. Two men dressed in dark suits seemed to be locals and were staying parallel with her on the other side of the street and she could hear the scooters from the beach about a half a block behind her. Deciding it was time to find out what was going on, Jen picked up her pace and was nearly running by the time she reached the hotel’s enormous lobby. The smooth marble was cool beneath her bare feet and the change was just enough to jar her thoughts back in to line. She needed to find out what was going on. Information was always power and right now it seemed as if everybody had gotten a memo she’d missed.

  Jen squinted at her phone’s screen trying to read the new reports from U.S. news agencies before the hotel’s WiFi had booted her again. Damn but their internet connection sucked on its best days and today certainly wasn’t one of those. She hadn’t been aware of the young woman’s disappearance until all those well-meaning strangers stopped on the street this afternoon. It had been obvious from their various accents most of them had been Americans worried about the fellow citizen who seemed to have just vanished into thin air.

  When her phone had finally connected again, she saw her various inboxes full of messages. Jen had started wandering all around the hotel trying to find a strong enough signal to maintain the web connection she’d need to find out what the hell was going on. When she read the panicked texts from Elza and Jax, she planned to send them both messages assuring them she was fine and safely out of harm’s way sitting in the hotel’s inner courtyard as soon as she got a handle on what was going on.

  Once she’d finally settled at the edge of the hotel bar and begun reading the sketchy reports, the hair on the back of her neck stood up and she had the most eerie feeling that she was being watched. Jen wasn’t by nature paranoid, but the chill that raced up her spine when she’d spotted the men watching her had since turned her blood to ice.

  It was easy to see why Jen had attracted so much attention from passersby, the pictures of missing student, Danielle Brandt, sent a new wave of chills through her. Holy fucking hell, she looks enough like me to be my twin. The woman had been staying at the same hotel where Jen was staying only added to the strange feeling of foreboding Jen was feeling. Shaking her head in wonder, it was easy to see why she’d been stopped twice just walking through hotel’s large lobby.

  Jen fired off a text to Elza assuring her sweet friend that she was fine and assuring her she wouldn’t hesitate to contact Elza’s older brother, Jax, if she needed anything. She smiled when her phone vibrated in her hand almost immediately. Jen wasn’t surprised to see Jax’s number on the screen and even though she was tempted to let his call go to voice mail since she was in a public place, she didn’t doubt for a minute he’d dispatch people to reel her in if he didn’t hear for himself that she was safe.

  “Hi, Jax, what’s up?” Jen tried to keep her voice light because if Jax got even the faintest whiff of her fear there would be no containing his imagination.

  “Where are you?” Typical Jax, cut right to the chase.

  “Well, I’m fine, Jax. Thanks for asking. Oh yes indeed, Costa Rica is lovely this time of year. You really should make an effort to visit. And the accommodations are—” His growl cut her off and she knew she was pushing him, but old habits die hard. She’d always liked Elza’s older brother, but damn she’d just told him where she was in her text message.

  Not long after she’d been hired as a “peer helper” for Elza, the McDonald family discovered she didn’t have a family of her own and they’d quickly “adopted” her as their own. Her job assignment had been simple, she was supposed to help Elza adjust to college life. Smiling to herself, Jen thought back on how that single semester work-study gig had managed to stretch to a full five years at the McDonalds’ insistence. Because Elza was profoundly deaf, she couldn’t make out her brother’s snarky tone, so Jen had considered it her duty to play the bratty younger sister anytime he’d attempted his high-handed big brother as guardian games.

  Jax’s frustration was easy to hear in his voice, “Knock it off, Jen, where are you? Right at this very minute, I want your exact location.” Even by Jax’s standards this was over the top. “Jen? I want an answer. Where are you? Stop stalling.”

  Damn, what crawled up his ass? I don’t hear from him for months and all of the sudden he wants to go all macho-brother on me?

  Glancing up, she noted that the two “suits” who had been standing across the bar’s courtyard had moved to a table not far from where she was sitting. They seemed to be shifting in their seats as if they’d become uncomfortable that she’d noticed them. Of course the asshats were sitting in the Costa Rican sun dressed entirely in black, so it was possible they were just fighting off heat stroke. Idiots. But their continued sidelong glances in her direction made Jen think that probably wasn’t entirely the problem. It certainly wasn’t hard to see they were listening intently to her end of the conversation and she started mentally replaying everything she’d said wondering what might have made them so jumpy. When she looked at them pointedly, they quickly resumed their attempts to appear nonchalant. She didn’t doubt their body language had been well-rehearsed and was intended to make their prey feel at ease. She had a news flash for them…it wasn’t working.

  “I’m at sitting at a small table at the edge of the hotel bar. The WiFi signal is stronger here than in my room. Why? What’s this about?” She and Jax had always been cordial, but he’d rarely phoned her. Most of their communication had been via either email or text messaging, but the urgency and annoyance were easy to hear in his voice.

  “It’s not something I want to discuss with you over the phone, but I’m sending a couple of friends to escort you back to Texas. They’ll—”

  “What? Hey, Jax, hold up for a minute.” She didn’t like interrupting him, but he really was going to have to explain what this was all about and give her some damned compelling reasons to cut her trip short, because she hadn’t planned to leave until later this month. She still had two weeks of time off and she fully intended to enjoy it. “I am assuming this has to do with the other young woman who is missing. I can see why you’d be worried since she was staying at the same hotel and from what I can see in her pictures, we do resemble one another. And I really do appreciate that you are worried about me, but I’ll be fine.” Jen suddenly had a flash of herself talking to a brick wall and could only hope it hadn’t been a moment of prophecy.

  *****

  Sam McCall slid onto one of the tall stools and set what looked like a small gym bag in front of him. His younger brother, Sage, had done the same just a few minutes earlier. The bags both held some of the most sensitive listening devices currently available. Sage had directed his toward the beautiful woman sitting across the small pati
o from them. Jennifer Keating was a looker that was for sure. But Jax had warned them to tread carefully. He’d said the little blonde might look like sugar and spice, but she was actually whip smart and well versed in various forms of self-defense. They’d both laughed until he’d told them Jax had mentioned that he’d helped train her himself.

  Sam looked her way and smiled, she certainly didn’t appear pleased with whomever she was speaking to on the phone. Sam cocked his eyebrow at Sage in question and listened as his brother gave him a quick run-down. Seemed their lovely target was arguing with none other than Jax himself. Jax was a former teammate and the man they were currently helping. I could tell her how futile that is if she’d just ask me. Shaking his head, Sam thought back on their time working alongside Jax, and couldn’t hold back his grin. Jax might look like a big teddy bear and appear easy going, but the man had a will of pure tempered steel. If Jax had decided the little blonde hottie was going back to Texas, then she was definitely going to be heading that way, one way or another.

  Sam directed his bag in a different direction and listened to the two asshats who had been following her since she’d left her hotel several hours earlier. They hadn’t seemed to be an immediate threat so he and Sage had decided to just observe. Considering the fact everybody seemed to judiciously ignore two men who appeared to have dressed hoping for a part in the next Men in Black movie, Sam figured they were likely the hired muscle of whoever was the flavor of the month as the local kingpin. Christ, don’t these guys know they’d be at least a bit more effective if they tried to blend in? Not to mention they might stave off heat stroke.