by Leah Brooke
With one eye on the road and the other in the rearview mirror, he helped her settle, his eyes filled with concern.
“Are you all right?”
Serena nodded, shaking everywhere. Voices screamed in her head again, so many that she could no longer distinguish one from another. “I think so. Are they following us?”
Alastair smiled coldly. “Yes, but we’ll be fine. Are you sure you’re not hurt anywhere?”
Serena shook her head, fisting her hands together in an effort to get them to stop shaking. “If you hadn’t let go of my hand, I would never have known they were there.”
Alastair’s face hardened, making him appear as cold and sinister as the other men. “It was my fault. I should have known not to take you out, but I figured they wouldn’t find you in the damned mall. I would have sensed them eventually, but your radar’s a hell of a lot better than mine.”
Smiling, he patted her hand. “You did good, baby. Your gift gave us the time we needed to get away before they got too close.”
Staring out the window, Serena took a shuddering breath. “I need to get home. I can’t see them coming when you’re doing that thing you do, and I can’t let my guard down here. There’s too many people. My head hurts already.”
She pushed her fisted hands against her eyes to hold back the tears, hardly able to breathe as she began to drown under the swell of voices. The pain grew steadily, making her shake even harder. “I can’t take it. It’s like they’re hammering in my head. I can’t be here. I need to go home.”
“No!” Alastair’s voice lashed out like a whip. He took a deep breath, and blew it out forcefully. “No. If you were home, you could see them coming, but you’d have no way to protect yourself. Ian and I can protect you here. We’re just going to have to do something about your focus—find a way to get rid of all the interference and teach you to concentrate on only what you need to see.”
His hand cupped the back of her head, pulling her closer, his eyes dark with emotion.
“I have no idea how you’ve lived all these years with this. It’s a wonder you’re not crazy by now. What’s it like, honey?”
Serena pretended to ignore the endearment, trying to convince herself that she didn’t get a warm glow from it, but failed miserably. Just his touch had calmed most of the noise, making it easier to breathe. She hated being so dependent, but until she learned how to shut out the voices on her own, she needed them.
She needed them to teach her. Knowing it was possible made her more determined to try. The glimpse of a normal life tantalized her, and she would do anything to have more of it.
Moving away from him, she stared out the front window, trying to block out the thoughts of the people in the cars all around them, but she couldn’t seem to get a grip on the mental blanket she scrambled for.
“It’s like a hundred—sometimes it feels like a thousand—people talking to me all at once. Some are loud, some quieter, but they’re all there. It’s just bits and pieces. Some of it doesn’t make sense—like if you were thinking of something and didn’t remember the answer and it suddenly came to you. Random, sometimes cruel, sometimes silly thoughts that just keep coming. Damn it. I can’t stop them on my own.”
Alarmed that the last came out as a sob, she snapped her mouth closed and stared straight ahead. “It’s easier just to avoid them. When I can’t, they get so bad, I sometimes think I am going to go crazy.”
Alastair reached for her hand, cutting off the noise. “We’re going to try some exercises at home and see what we can do about helping you cut some of that off.”
Serena turned to him and frowned. “What would you know about it? How do you know how to do that anyway?”
Alastair sighed. “You know that Ian and I can talk to each other in our heads. We figured out that we could do it when we were kids. It’s automatic now.”
Intrigued, she turned to him, wiping away a tear. “Really? Can you read each other’s minds?”
With another glance in the rearview mirror, Alastair cut across traffic, releasing her hand only long enough to make a sharp turn before gripping it again. “Not exactly. We were talking about it last night, wondering what kind of abilities you have, and we realized that we both have that…blanket for want of a better word. We’re used to protecting ourselves, and can talk to each other when we want to, or shut each other out when it suits us.”
With an apologetic smile, he released her hand and used both hands on the wheel. “Sorry. Touch me if it helps. Can you read everyone’s mind? Do they have to be around you?”
Serena sighed and turned to look at him, sucking in a breath when he nearly sideswiped a taxi, weaving in and out of traffic with a nonchalance that spoke of years of experience. Pressing a hand to her churning stomach, she tried to keep her eyes open, but couldn’t. “It’s so hard to explain. It took me a long time to figure out that the noise I heard whenever I was around people came from them. It’s their thoughts, but it’s so loud and jumbled that I’ve never been able to make sense of it. I try to close them out so I never pay attention to who I can hear, and who I can’t. I’ve never really been able to focus on one person, except the time I was alone with someone and touching them—until that man in the parking lot. Alastair, watch out! Sometimes, I don’t have to be there. I can see someone on television and know something about them, or something that’s going to happen to them, but not everyone. Slow down. You’re not going to make that light. And then there are the dreams…” Inwardly wincing that she’d given so much away, she turned back to stare out the front window, stiffening with a gasp, and holding on for dear life when he ran the light.
Alastair touched her hand again, his eyes hardening when he glanced into the rearview mirror.
“You said something about that before. What kind of dreams?”
Shrugging, she gathered the bags that had fallen to the floor. “Sometimes I see things that are going to happen in the future. Are we close to the house?”
“Yes, a few minutes more. Don’t try to change the subject.” He turned another corner without slowing down, squealing tires as he weaved in and out of traffic. “You’re embarrassed whenever you talk about your dreams. You said you dreamed about meeting us. You know more than you’re telling me, don’t you?”
Serena’s face burned. “No.”
Alastair frowned as he turned the next corner and hit the gas, roaring down the street she recognized from the night before. “You’re not a good liar.”
Plastered back in her seat, Serena turned her head only long enough to glare at him, her breath catching at how fast they approached the large gate.
“Are they still following us?”
“No, and I have no idea why. Do you?” He raced through it and down the long drive, slamming on the brakes just in time to avoid hitting the garage before turning to her.
Serena blinked, finally able to draw a deep breath. “I thought you were the expert on this kind of thing. How would I know why they stopped following us?”
A movement out of the corner of her eye caught her attention and she turned in her seat, shaken by the fierce look on Ian’s face as he ran down the front steps and flung the door open.
Gripping her shoulders, he pulled her from the car, seemingly oblivious to the shards of glass as he crushed her against him.
“Thank God! Are you okay? Let me see you. Are you hurt anywhere? Hell, we’ve got to get all of this glass off of you.”
He rushed her inside and to a bedroom different from the one she’d slept in the night before.
“This isn’t my room.”
“No, it’s mine. Let’s get these clothes off.”
He started stripping her, yanking her shirt over her head and tossing it aside before she could stop him.
“Stop it.” She slapped at him, feeling clumsy next to his smooth movements. “I want to go to my own room. I can take my own clothes off.” She tried to cover herself, but Ian brushed her hands aside to run his over her.
�
��What’s wrong with you?”
“I’ve been out of my mind, worrying about you ever since you ran from the mall.”
Serena blinked at the storm in his eyes. “How did you know that—oh!”
“Yeah—oh! My brother and I know when the other’s in trouble.”
Alastair came into the room, tossing her purchases on the bed and rushing toward her. “Is she okay?” He knelt at her feet, unbalancing her when he lifted her foot to remove her shoes and socks.
Grabbing on to Ian for support, she sucked in a breath at the feel of their hands on her skin.
She knew their touch wasn’t meant to be seductive, but it seduced her all the same.
Ian pushed the hair back from her face, searching her features.
“You’re shaking like a leaf.” He ran his hand down her back, undoing her bra with a quick flick of his fingers and frowning when she gasped and caught it before it could fall.
“Hell, you’re scared of us, too. There’s no reason to be.” Placing his hand over hers, he smiled, a tender smile so out of character it made her stomach clench.
“We won’t hurt you. We’ve just got to get all of this glass off of you and make sure you’re all right.”
His smile suddenly made sense. He would do whatever he had to do in order to get the result he wanted, in this case, to calm her.
The need to protect herself had become too ingrained over the years for her to give in easily.
Pushing out of Ian’s arms, she stumbled away from them. “No.”
Holding her bra up with one hand, she held her other out as though that would keep them away. She wanted them both too much to trust her judgment. It would be way too easy to fall into the arms of either one of them.
Their eyes followed her, the sexual tension building by the minute. She’d never been on the receiving end of the kind of attention they gave her, and she knew she couldn’t hold out much longer.
“I’m fine. I can do this myself. Please, don’t touch me.”
Her visions while awake.
Their apparent ability to close out the noise.
Her newfound ability to focus on one person’s thoughts.
Something was happening between them—something so strong it scared her.
Something she didn’t understand.
Alastair came to his feet, shooting a look at his brother before taking a step closer.
“You know we won’t hurt you. You said so yourself. We’re certainly not going to attack you after what just happened.”
Ian took a step closer, keeping even with Alastair. “You’re a beautiful woman, Serena, but that doesn’t mean we’re so overcome with lust that we’d take you against your will. Believe me, baby, when I take you, it’s going to be because you want it so bad you can’t say no.”
Shaking her head, Serena took another step back. “No. We can’t be lovers. I have to go home.”
Alastair smiled and moved in. “That dream you mentioned before, the one you don’t want to talk about—it was about more than just meeting us, wasn’t it?”
Sliding a hand over her hair, he wrapped the other around her waist, turning her toward him. Moving his thumb over her naked skin, he fisted a hand in her hair, pulling her head back until she faced him.
His voice took on a seductive quality, one that made her nipples bead even tighter. “You saw us in that dream, didn’t you?” Bending his head, he touched his lips to her shoulder, the feel of his hot kiss on her skin making her heart race. “What did you see in that dream, darling?”
A moan escaped before she could prevent it as Ian moved in behind her, his hands settling high on either side of her waist, his fingertips touching the underside of her breasts. “Did you dream about us, Serena?”
“Yes.” Letting her eyes close, she dropped her head back against Ian’s chest with a whimper. “I don’t know which one of you makes love to me in my dreams. It’s driving me crazy.”
Alastair took her hand in his and lifted it to his lips, letting her bra fall to the floor and baring her breasts, making them swell and warm, her nipples tingling with the need to be touched.
Running a finger down her neck to her chest, he brushed his lips over her cheek, his voice so low she could just make out his words. “I know it’s going to be hard to accept, darling, but both of us have every intention of becoming your lovers. Did you dream about us making love to you?”
She shivered as Ian’s hands moved higher, his thumbs stroking the delicate underside of her breasts. Another moan escaped, the sensations sending a thrill of desire through her veins and making her more aware of her body than ever before.
Each stroke of their fingers, each glide of their massive palms over her skin created an answering pull to her nipples, and amazingly, to her clit. Need clawed at her, a hunger she’d only felt in her dreams.
She wanted more and more of it, starving to be touched everywhere. She’d entered a world of decadent pleasure, and she never wanted to leave.
“Answer me, Serena. Did you dream we were lovers?”
Wrapped in a web of seduction, she cried out her pleasure when Ian’s hot hands moved higher to cup her breasts.
“Yes. God, yes. So many dreams.”
Ian rolled her nipples between his thumbs and forefingers, making her cry out at the hot surge of lust that went through her, the slight pain making her pussy clench in anticipation.
“You don’t have to be psychic to know that.”
Alastair groaned, touching his lips to hers as he reached for the fastening of her jeans.
“You sure as hell don’t. Christ, Ian, seeing you hold her this way, seeing the passion on her face…Hell. This is incredible. Open your eyes, darling.”
It took considerable effort, but Serena forced her eyes open, meeting Alastair’s intense stare. She couldn’t help but wonder at the slightly stunned look in his eyes.
“What’s happening between us? What are you doing to me?” She ached everywhere with a need like none she’d ever experienced before.
Alastair glanced up at his brother and took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. Meeting her eyes again, he slid his hands over her hips and pushed her jeans down.
“Loving you—something I have a feeling Ian and I are going to do often. Right now, though, we’ve got to get you into the shower and get this glass off of you. Let’s do it while we still can.”
Chapter Five
Serena walked out of the bathroom, coming to an abrupt halt when she saw both Alastair and Ian waiting for her.
Alastair turned from the closet.
“Are you all right? Any cuts or bruises?”
Serena gritted her teeth, still shaken. “You should know. You saw me naked.”
Alastair grinned. “An image that’s going to keep me awake at night. We need to talk.”
“I want to get dressed, and I want to go home. I don’t think your plan is working.”
Ian rose from the bed and strolled toward her, his eyes hard with need and frustration. “No. You’re not going anywhere. Get dressed and come downstairs. Hesitate and I’ll finish what I started, and you’ll be naked and under me for hours.”
Raising a brow at his arrogance, Serena smiled coldly. “I don’t take orders.”
“Learn.”
He walked out without another word, leaving her alone with Alastair, who came forward and took her in his arms despite her effort to pull away.
“You’ll have to excuse my brother. He’s not very happy that he’s so attracted to you. We’ve never had the pleasure of holding a woman at the same time, and it shook him. You’re so vulnerable, and so incredibly responsive.”
Running his hands up and down her back, he gathered her close. “And it was a pleasure—one that I never expected.”
Serena pushed out of his arms, relieved and disappointed that he let her. “Where are my things?”
Ian and Alastair had her jumbled up inside, she didn’t even know herself anymore.
“Ian put your things
in the closet, where they belong.”
Serena pulled her robe tighter, intensely aware of Alastair’s gaze moving over her.
“I’m not staying here.” Still shaking with desire, she couldn’t forget the feel of their hands on her body, or stop craving more. She wanted them badly, both of them, and didn’t know how the hell she would be able to live with that if she stayed.
With a smile, Alastair started from the room. “That’s something we’ll discuss downstairs. Why don’t you get dressed and come down? We have to try to figure out a way to set a trap for Carello, and see how we can use those powers of yours to help us, and dressed like that, you’re a little too distracting.”
* * * *
Ian downed the glass of water and slammed the glass on the table with more force than necessary, still shaken at how right it had felt to hold Serena in his arms.
She was delicious. Soft. Pliant. Trembling with desire.
Beautiful. Responsive, and so damned sweet.
He wanted her with a passion that still made his hands shake.
She fit so perfectly against him, her soft curves and petite frame just begging for his touch. Her breasts filled his hands as if they’d been made just for him, her sweet smell making his cock so hard it hurt.
His brother wanted her, too.
Shaking his head, he refilled the glass again, wondering how the hell they would ever manage to pull something like this off.
Women had come and gone in his life, and in his brother’s, the need for secrecy preventing either one of them to ever even think about getting serious about any of them.
Serena changed everything. She made the impossible not only possible, but something he now craved. He didn’t just want a woman in his life. He wanted her.
They could make it work. She could belong to both of them, and the home he and his brother had made would be their sanctuary in an entirely new way.
So many things about their lives would be better. More.
Real.
Because of her.
It could be a real home, a place the three of them could relax and build a life with no deception. But, it meant honesty and trust would be more important than ever.
