by Leah Brooke
Her psychic abilities would be a huge bonus for them, one that would give them an edge they’d never had before.
Knowing what their enemies had planned in advance would enable them to outmaneuver them much more efficiently than ever, and it would also make their jobs safer.
In the meantime, he could get to know Serena better, and see if he could find the key to unlock the barriers she kept between herself and the rest of the world, and get inside.
He needed to breach those barriers and get as close to her as a man could possibly get to a woman.
According to what he’d read, she led a boring and lonely existence. If he could bring a little excitement into her life, maybe that would be enough of an incentive to get her to stay.
The life they led would provide plenty of excitement, but he had a feeling that it would be nothing compared to what happened between them.
In the meantime, they would do what they could to help her control her abilities, and give her the confidence to move forward.
It would help her exist in a world she couldn’t handle now, at the same time helping them to get the information they needed.
She was so fragile—so soft and pliant in his arms.
They could keep her safe and introduce her to another kind of life. They could set up the small guesthouse out back for her painting, and would also do what they could to arrange a show for her.
He could spend all day exploring her soft curves and never get enough.
They could protect her here. They could keep her safe, and if she became part of their cover, they wouldn’t have to deal with clinging dates when they had to make an appearance somewhere.
She didn’t have the sophistication of the women he usually dated.
The connection between them couldn’t be denied.
He couldn’t believe how strongly he’d felt her fear, the mind-numbing terror she’d experienced when running from the mall.
In the bedroom, he’d felt her arousal intertwining with his, an incredible feeling he wanted to explore.
He’d felt her pain, her fear, her passion. He couldn’t be anywhere around her without wanting her.
He’d never felt so protective, so possessive, so crazed when she’d been in danger, and his mind wouldn’t—couldn’t—even function until he’d yanked her out of the car and held her.
She’d already become vital to him.
He didn’t know how it had happened, or what elusive quality made her as important to him as breathing, but he had to face it.
Grimacing at the pressure of his cock pressing against his zipper, he straightened, stiffening when his brother came into the kitchen behind him.
“She coming down?”
“Yes. She knows we have to talk. She has some issues about sharing a room with you.”
“Tough.”
Alastair lifted a brow. “I don’t think that argument is going to work. I want to talk to you about something before she comes down.”
Ian took another sip of his water to ease his dry throat, turning to stare out the window above the sink, his mind racing with problems that would be encountered and plans to solve them, one of the main issues that of sharing her with his brother.
“The fact that we both want her?” After several seconds of tense silence, Ian turned, meeting his brother’s amused stare.
“You find something amusing about this? I’m not walking away from her. I’ll have her in my bed.”
Alastair inclined his head. “I think we both know that she’s something special, and we’ll both be sharing a bed with her. I’m sure there are going to be some problems we’ll have to face, but I have every intention of having her, too.”
Pausing, he sighed. “I never really considered having a woman live with us. With the way we live, and the secrets we keep, it’s always been impossible.”
Unsurprised that his brother’s thoughts so closely resembled his own, Ian nodded. “I know, but just because she knows about us, and could live with us this way, doesn’t mean we all live happily ever after. I want her, but that doesn’t mean I think there’s much of a chance of happily ever after.”
“I know that. But, don’t you think it’s a little strange that neither one of us can stop thinking about her? Don’t you think it’s a little odd that she’s attracted to both of us?”
Even though Ian had already figured that out, it didn’t improve his mood. “So what the hell do you want to talk about?”
Alastair took a seat at the table, facing the doorway.
“When we were at the mall, I did a little experiment with Serena that I think you’ll find interesting. It appears we’re in this together, and you should know how else we seem to be connected. It’s another edge we can use to keep her here.”
* * * *
Pleased with herself, Serena grinned and closed the closet door to the room she considered hers, at least for the duration of her captivity.
She had very little defense against them, and actually sharing a bedroom with either one of them would only make her more vulnerable.
She had to put some distance between them any way she could.
Moving her things into the spare bedroom had also given her a chance to calm down again, to recover from the impact Ian and Alastair had on her senses. They aroused her with barely a touch, but it was the constant pull to her emotions that worried her the most.
Each moment she spent with them made the pull even stronger.
She’d been so taken aback by their strong presence and masculine good looks that she hadn’t noticed little things about them, things that made them even more endearing.
The closer she got to them, the more she learned things that made it harder to build up any defenses at all against them.
Like the way Ian got hard and cold when he felt too much, and the way Alastair liked to tease her when she got scared or overwhelmed.
Alastair and Ian were very close. Their respect and love for each other couldn’t be mistaken.
Although she had no experience with relationships, they seemed much closer than most brothers, probably because they had only each other to rely on.
She’d never forgive herself if she caused a rift between them, but didn’t see how she could avoid it if they both kept trying to get her into bed.
They waited for her even now, and if she didn’t go down soon, one of them would probably come up to get her.
Glancing at the bed, she took a deep breath and blew it out, knowing she couldn’t delay it any longer.
She had to once again face her captors.
Rubbing her arms, she started from the room, determined to find out what kind of plan they had in mind for Carello, and tried to convince herself that she looked forward to finishing this so she could go back home again.
She walked down the hallway, once again awed by the sheer size of the house. The marble stairs felt cold on her feet, but she didn’t feel like going back upstairs to get one of the pairs of fuzzy socks she’d just bought.
They’d look as out of place here as she did. She’d bet that none of their girlfriends even owned fuzzy socks, and the women they knew probably wouldn’t be caught dead in her comfy orange sweater.
Reaching the bottom of the stairs, she turned, following the low conversation coming from the kitchen.
She paused in the doorway, hardly able to believe that the two unbelievably gorgeous men staring at her with almost identical looks of concern and need both wanted her.
“Obviously you were right about Anthony Carello. I’m surprised his man shot at me, though. I thought he wanted to kidnap me.”
Alastair came forward, pulling out a chair and gesturing her to sit in it. “He wasn’t shooting at you. He was shooting at me.”
To her surprise, Ian brought her a cup of tea. “I don’t know how you drink this stuff.”
Accepting the cup, she jolted at the brush of his fingers over hers and would have burned herself if not for his quick reflexes.
He jerked it ou
t of her reach, somehow not spilling a drop. “Careful.” With a hard look, he set the cup on the table and spun away, keeping his back to her as he stared out the kitchen window.
“My brother tells me that he had a little luck helping you with blocking out some of the thoughts from other people. He also tells me it only works if he holds on to you. I think we could work on that some more until you’re able to do it on your own.”
Glancing at Alastair, Serena reached for her tea, wondering at Ian’s tone. “Yes. It was nice to be able to be out and just hear silence for a change. Your brother also mentioned that he wanted to use me to get into other people’s heads—the same thing you’re both accusing Carello of wanting to do.”
Ian turned, leaning back against the counter, his eyes narrowed. “We’re willing to give you something in return, though. We’re willing to protect you, and we’re willing to help you get some kind of control over your abilities.”
Serena shrugged. “He would protect me, too, as long as I was working for him—as long as I’m useful.”
Ian’s eyes hardened, his body tense. “He’d make you a prisoner there.”
Raising a brow, Serena smiled meaningfully.
“Really? Imagine someone wanting to do that.”
Ian’s eyes flashed, and he moved like lightning, reaching her in three steps. Gripping her upper arms, he lifted her out of her chair with an ease that astounded her. “It’s not the same thing, damn it! We’ll help you and protect you. He’s a monster and needs to be locked away. No one else can get to him. That’s why we need to do this. We deal with people who operate in ways that make it difficult to catch them. Carello has dozens of cops on his payroll.”
He smiled sarcastically and set her back on her feet.
“I would think you’d welcome a little excitement in your life. Doesn’t it get boring to do nothing but walk on the beach and paint day after day?”
Uneasy now, Serena glanced at Alastair, who didn’t betray what he was thinking by even a bat of an eyelash.
“What do you know about my life?”
Ian leaned forward, running a finger down her cheek and getting in her face.
“I know everything there is to know about you, honey—everything I could possibly know without being inside you. Why the hell do you think I went to that reception? I knew you would be there. We know all about you.”
Stunned, Serena could only stare at him, shaken at how her privacy had been invaded. “What?” She dropped into the chair, her knees unable to support her. “You went there for me.”
“That’s right, baby.” Ian’s show of teeth could in no way be regarded as a smile. “We wanted to know why someone who seldom even left her house would come all the way to New York for the wedding of a cousin you haven’t seen or spoken to in years. You get tired of being bored, baby? You want a little excitement? Did Carello make you a deal that you don’t want us to know about?”
Serena shoved him hard, but didn’t even manage to make him flinch. “I already explained everything to you! I told you why I came here. It wasn’t to help Carello and it certainly isn’t to help you. I thought you believed me. Don’t you trust me?”
Ian shrugged off Alastair’s restraining hand and gripped her by the collar of her shirt, pulling her until her face was just an inch or two from his.
“Our lives depend on what you do with the knowledge you have. You’ve already become too important to us. How do I know you didn’t plan it that way? Why should I trust you? How the hell do I know that you’re not working for Carello? How do I know you’re not playing us both for fools?”
Serena gaped at him, hardly able to believe his arrogance. “You say you want me to trust you, but you don’t trust me! I didn’t ask to be put in this position. You’re the one who kidnapped me!”
Coming to her feet, she pushed his hand away and moved away from the table. Her chest heaving, she started from the room, pausing at the doorway. “By the way, what do you plan to do to me if I don’t go along with your little scheme to get Carello?”
Ian’s grin sent a chill through her.
“Right now, turning you over my knee and paddling your ass sounds very appealing.”
* * * *
Alastair met her halfway up the stairs. “Damn it, Serena, we’re not done here.” Turning her, he backed her against the wall, pressing his body against hers.
“We’re not done by a long shot.”
She watched, mesmerized by the passion swirling in his eyes as he lowered his head toward her. Reading the intention gleaming clearly in his eyes and warmed by the heat of his body against hers, Serena trembled helplessly in anticipation of his kiss, pressing her lips together in an effort to resist him.
Instead of the hard kiss she’d expected, he brushed his lips over hers in a seductive caress that sent her pulse tripping and had her eyes fluttering closed on a moan.
Warm and full, his lips moved over hers. Instead of demanding, his kiss cajoled, each brush of his lips urging her to part hers a little more.
She couldn’t resist the way he made her feel.
Desired. Cherished. Adored.
His hands moved up and down her back in firm strokes that brought her closer and closer to his chest until he’d plastered her against him.
Only when his tongue tangled with hers did she realize that she’d let him in, her resistance melting under the heat of his kiss.
It shocked her, thrilled her, the slide of his lips against hers much more potent and erotic than any kiss had a right to be. Lost in the heat of it, she gripped his shoulders, coming to her toes in an effort to get closer.
No matter how hot it got, it was never enough.
Alastair made love to her with a tenderness than melted her, as if he didn’t want to scare her, but the barely controlled tension in his big body couldn’t be disguised.
His hands closed on her waist, his fingers pressing into her skin. Lifting his head slightly, he groaned, his breathing ragged. “Every taste just makes me want you more.” He slid his hands to her breasts, moving his thumbs over her nipples.
Alastair took advantage of her gasp, pressing his lips against hers and forcing them wider, groaning when she opened eagerly. The slow, deliberate slide of his tongue against hers held a possessiveness that she couldn’t resist, a seductive demand that she met.
So dizzy she could barely stand, she welcomed the strong arms that came around her, thrilling when he lifted her high against his chest.
Wrapping her trembling legs around his waist, she followed where he led in an erotic dance that left her mind and senses reeling. The sheer size and strength of his body became even more apparent when he carried her up the curved staircase, the power in the arms holding her making her feel feminine and vulnerable.
She felt so small and helpless in his arms, but never safer.
She slid her hand into his long silky hair and snuggled closer, rocking her hips against him. She moaned in protest when he lifted his head, frantically pulling his hair to bring him back again.
“Alastair! Please. More. Don’t stop.”
He carried her into a room she hadn’t yet seen, kicking the door closed behind him with an abrupt movement that thrilled her. “I’ve never in my life wanted a woman as much as I want you.”
He strode to the bed and lowered her onto it with a gentleness that belied the tension emanating from him. His eyes, hooded and glittering, held hers as he followed her down and covered her body with his, the hunger in them making her pussy clench with need for him.
Everywhere he touched, he left a trail of heat, sizzling tremors below her skin that sent her senses soaring.
She couldn’t stop moving, writhing below him as his body pressed hers into the mattress. Lifting her hips, she gasped again at the feel of his hard cock pressing against her mound.
She wanted him inside her, wanted his heat to fill her. Now.
“Alastair, I never felt like this before.” Her lust for him became a living, breathing thing,
one that she could no longer control. Sharp talons of need clawed at her until she would do anything to appease it.
Every inch of her body tingled and came alive. She trembled helplessly against him, wanting nothing more than to give him everything she had to give—to take whatever he had to give her.
Nuzzling her jaw, he slid a hand to her waist, using the other to support his weight.
“Good. Let’s see if we can make it even better.”
She couldn’t even imagine anything better than this. Rubbing her slit against his cock, she moaned at the friction, her breath catching when his hand slid under her bottom and held her more firmly against him.
“You make me crazy to have you.”
He moved down her body, his mouth hot through her shirt, his openmouthed kiss to her nipple eliciting a cry from her. She couldn’t hold back. With another groan, he inched her shirt up and brushed his lips over her belly.
Losing any semblance of control, Serena couldn’t contain her moans and soft cries, her stomach muscles quivering beneath his lips and the slide of his wicked tongue. Her breath caught as he inched her shirt higher, her hands fisting in the material of the shirt covering his broad shoulders.
Another cry escaped, her breath hitching as his lips moved higher, her body trembling helplessly beneath his.
His large body between her legs kept them spread wide, and even though he kept most of his weight off of her, the weight of his chest against her upper thighs kept her from lifting against him the way she wanted to.
With a low whimper, she dug her heels into the mattress and arched toward him, driven by the need to get closer. Each touch of his lips, each brush of his fingertips made her nipples ache for attention.
Lifting his head, Alastair stared down at her as he slid her shirt higher, revealing her bra.
“You’ve got a body made for sin, darling.” He unsnapped the front closure of her bra, baring her breasts to his gaze. “God, I could just eat you alive.”
His elbows supported his weight as his hands pressed against the outer curve of her breasts, his tongue moving from the underside of one breast to the other, making her nipples tingle and driving her need to a fever pitch.
