Blind Acceptance

by Missy Martine

  David leaned forward and licked her shoulder. “Are you worn out? Too tired for me, love?”

  The timbre of his voice sent chills over her body, fanning the flames of a desire she’d thought had been satiated. Her heartbeat quickened as she pulled back, carefully separating her body from Eric’s. Leaning forward, she traced Eric’s mouth with her tongue and then plunged it inside his mouth, tracing the edges of his teeth.

  Eric growled, his hands closing bruisingly around her arms. “I love you, Laynee,” he whispered. “Go and take care of your other mate.”

  Puzzled at his choice of words, Laynee raised her leg and fell to the bed beside Eric.

  * * * *

  Recovering quickly, Laynee jumped up and moved toward David. He couldn’t hold back the moan as she moved her body slowly up his, her nipples skimming his flesh, leaving a trail of fire in their wake. He stared up at her plump and luscious breasts dangling above his face and licked his lips. He reached out and traced them with the tips of his fingers, smiling when she arched and they went hard-tipped at once. Impatient, David threw his arms around her waist and rolled across the floor until her body lay beneath his on the soft carpet. The flames from the fireplace left ghostly shadows across her sweat-glistened skin.

  Laynee squealed and laughed. “What are you trying to do?”

  David growled. “You’re mine, Laynee. I need to have you under me.”

  “Ohhh, possessive much?” She grinned.

  “Baby, you have no idea.” He pulled her legs apart and climbed between them, humming as he rimmed the opening of her vagina with his tongue and without warning, thrust it up inside her. Laynee cried out, her nails biting into his scalp, as she ground her pussy against his face.

  David glanced up as Eric moved onto the bed. As he watched, his brother took one of the leaves from the ivy plant and gently stroked across one of her nipples. When she arched her back, Eric winked at David, and then pulled the nipple into his mouth.

  David leaned forward and lapped gently between her feminine folds, catching her clit. He nipped and sucked at the tender flesh until he couldn’t take it anymore. The smell of his mate’s arousal was driving him to finish the mating. Rising up, his leg became insistent, coaxing hers to move further apart, to admit his hips between her smooth thighs. He bit back a groan as one of her soft hands cupped his balls and squeezed.

  “Better leave that off, love.” David groaned. “I’m too close to the edge for you to play.”

  “Then take me, David, now,” Laynee begged.

  David teased the large head of his cock around her vaginal lips, over her clit, and finally positioned himself at her opening. He began to rock slowly moving his large member into her hot passage. He looped his arms around her legs and pulled them up higher to give him better leverage. Her nails bit into his shoulders and she called his name as he sheathed himself into her heat.

  She moved her legs around his muscular thighs, bringing him into even closer contact. When Eric moved back, she reached up and touched David’s face. “You’re beautiful,” she whispered. “From your thick eyebrows down to your firm mouth and stubborn chin.”

  David laughed breathlessly. “I’m not beautiful, woman. But you are.” He leaned down to press his cheek against hers. “You feel so good,” he moaned near her ear.

  Leaning back, he pulled her knees up around his hips, and she locked her feet in the small of his back. She shuddered and screamed as he rode her, slamming his thick shaft in and out over and over again.

  “Please,” Laynee begged. “I need to…please.”

  David reached down and let his work-roughened finger rub over her clit, once, twice, and then bam… Laynee jerked, and then cried out, her pussy contracting around his cock, pulling him with her. David roared, spilling his seed into the latex shield. His bear grieved that they’d not marked their mate.

  Bracing most of his weight on his arms, David relaxed heavily onto her damp skin. She lifted her mouth to his, relaxing under his weight, kissing him so hungrily she moaned. After a few feverish seconds, he forced himself to lift away from her body. David groaned and pulled out of her pussy, his sheathed cock glistening with her juices. He cradled one hand at the back of her head and pulled her against his mouth to give her a tender kiss, then moved back to dispose of his condom. He went into the bathroom and returned with a damp towel. Eric was curled up next to their mate, his hand cupped around her breast.

  David climbed on the bed and gently pulled Laynee’s legs apart. Her hand came down to stop him, but he kissed her knuckles. “Let me take care of you, love.” He smiled when she made a fist and then relaxed her fingers, moving her hand up to her stomach. He quickly cleaned between her thighs and then curled up next to her, cradling her other breast in his hand. He leaned close to her ear. “I love you, Laynee,” he whispered. She bit her lip and then gave him a little smile. It was enough for his bear, for now. We’ve got to find a way to tell her what we are so we can take her back to Glacier with us.

  * * * *

  “Are you sure about this, Remus?” Laynee asked. She’d gone very pale as Remus explained everything Macon had uncovered about her father.

  “Yes, we’re positive. The only thing we don’t have yet is whatever physical proof this Jeremy Poole has to blackmail your father with. There’s no mistake that he’s been embezzling money from Westport Investments. Up until this year, it looked like the amounts were pretty small and not really noticeable unless they called for an independent audit. Plus, he was robbing Peter to pay Paul a lot of the time. He was in a unique position to know which accounts were being scrutinized at any given time, so he could transfer money into them from another account until the auditors were satisfied. Something, probably Mr. Poole’s discovery, has made him careless in taking out more than he could easily cover. No matter which way this goes, your father is heading for a stiff prison term, and possibly Mr. Poole will be joining him.”

  “My grandfather really left everything to me?”

  “Yes,” Remus said. “That’s a matter of public record since his will has been through probate. He died two days after your twenty-first birthday. I can only guess why he notified your father instead of you. He was your legal guardian up until your birthday, and I’m guessing he misrepresented your birth date to your grandfather’s attorney, trying to become trustee of the estate. When that didn’t work he had to come up with another plan. The only way he could hang on to the money was to get you out of the picture permanently.”

  David hated the way Laynee was drawing into herself. She’d pulled away from him and Eric and now sat with her arms around her stomach, her eyes down, almost as if she wasn’t listening to the conversation.

  Remus looked up at a knock at the door. “Come in, Macon.”

  Laynee’s head came up and her brows furrowed. David knew that Remus had scented the young man, but Laynee had no way of knowing how he’d known it was him.

  “We’re having a meeting, Macon. Can it wait?” asked Remus.

  “No, I’m sorry, but this is about Miss Laynee’s problem.”

  Laynee turned toward Macon. “What’s wrong?”

  Macon glanced at Remus and relaxed when he nodded. “As you know, I left people in place to watch the situation. This morning, Mr. Conners consulted an attorney. Although the police have not given up on the search for Miss Laynee, her father wanted to know the procedure for getting her declared legally dead so he could obtain a death certificate.”

  Laynee frowned. “Why would he do that? What’s the big hurry in getting me declared dead?”

  Remus sighed. “Because once you’re officially dead, he’ll inherit all your worldly goods if you don’t have a will in place. That means he could legally access your grandfather’s estate.”

  “That no good, son of a—”

  Remus chuckled. “We’re not gonna let it go that far, I promise you. Do you have a will?”

  She shook her head. “Not that I’m aware of, but Father had me sign a bunch of
papers before he took me out of school. He said it was insurance stuff that was necessary if I was coming to live with him.” She shrugged. “I had no reason not to trust him, so I signed everything he put in front of me.”

  “We need to talk to Zyne,” Remus said. “If he tricked her into signing a power of attorney, he could access the money now.”

  “Who’s Zyne?” Laynee asked.

  David laid his hand on her arm. “He’s Lyssa’s brother. You remember her. She was the one we were all looking for yesterday.”

  Laynee nodded. “Oh, yeah, the one that doesn’t feel sad anymore.”

  Remus frowned. “What do you mean, she’s not sad anymore?”

  Laynee blushed a rosy pink and gripped her fingers into the chair cushion so tight her knuckles turned white. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said anything.”

  “No, that’s okay,” Remus, said. “I’m just wondering what you meant. I’ve been pretty worried about Lyssa for a long time.”

  Laynee sighed. “Okay, but you’re gonna think I’m crazy. Sometimes, when I touch people, I can pick up on their emotions. I can’t read their thoughts or anything like that. I just get a sense of their well-being.”

  “And you felt something from Lyssa?” Remus asked.

  “I first had contact with her at your banquet night before last. She was full of pain and very unhappy with her life.” Laynee shrugged. “Then, yesterday, she no longer felt that way.”

  “How did she feel yesterday?” asked Remus.

  “Happy, almost relieved and a little fearful.”

  Remus drummed his fingers on his desk. “Interesting!”

  “What can I do to make sure he doesn’t go in and drain Grandfather’s accounts? Don’t get me wrong, I’m not greedy, but I hate to see Grandfather’s estate used to keep my father out of jail.”

  Remus nodded. “I’ll send for Zyne and have him check into it right away. The most important thing we can do now is make sure the police know you are alive and well.”

  “Could she be in trouble for staying away this long?” asked David.

  “We’ll have to come up with a convincing story to tell them. It needs to be one that keeps you boys out of trouble as well.”

  Macon looked up. “Have them take her to the cabin at the north end of Devil’s Canyon. It’s been deserted for years, but it’s still weather-tight. They can say she did wander off, just like her daddy said, and that Eric and David found her. She was sick, from the drugs, so she could have wandered and not been aware of what she was doing. She didn’t have any identification on her, and they needed to get her out of the weather, so they took her there. They’ve been there the past couple of days just getting to know one another. Being how she’s been living on her own so long, she never stopped to think that her daddy might be worried, and they had no way of seeing the news up there with no electricity or radio.”

  Laynee giggled. “You should write for television.”

  Remus laughed. “It’s a little far-fetched, but the police will probably buy it. Only her father and Mr. Poole will know the truth, at least I’m assuming you’re gonna leave out the part about drugging her and leaving out the raw meat.”

  “Did you ever find out what they drugged me with?”

  David was glad to see her accepting everything so calmly. It had to be devastating for her to learn just how evil her father was.

  “Tehran, our family doctor, tested the contents of the soda can Eric brought back and said it had traces of Seconal.”

  “What is it?” asked David.

  “He described it to me as a drug used mainly to calm patients before surgery. It’s a barbiturate hypnotic that can cause drowsiness, vivid dreams, twitching hands or fingers, and sometimes hallucinations.”

  “How could her father get a hold of something like that?” David asked.

  “I don’t know. You have to have a prescription to buy it legally, and I’m guessing that’s not the way he went.” Remus glanced at Laynee and scowled. “If he’d given her too much, he could have killed her outright.”

  “I wonder why he didn’t just kill her with an overdose.” Macon winced and looked at Laynee. “Sorry, Miss Laynee, I didn’t mean that the way it sounded.”

  “No apology needed, Macon. I can tell you why. He was hoping the animals would finish me off and leave just enough to identify the body.”

  “Why do you say that?” Eric asked.

  “Because they wouldn’t have done an autopsy if only part of me was left. There was less chance of some eager pathologist discovering the drug in my system. I can tell you that I’ve had some pretty vivid dreams since I’ve been with you, and I’m not totally sure about the hallucinations. I seem to remember some huge dog that saved me, but that’s all mixed up with David finding me, so I’m not sure what’s real or not anymore.”

  Eric cleared his throat. “Well, it doesn’t matter. What matters is that we found you and you’re safe. Your father is gonna have to accept we’re part of your life now, if he wants to stick around.”

  “So what’s our next move?” Laynee asked.

  Macon stood. “I recommend the three of you pack up some supplies and get out to the cabin and make it looked lived-in. It was in pretty good condition last week, just a little dust here and there. I left the woodpile stacked so you won’t have to do anything but light a fire.” He turned to Remus. “Then, tomorrow, they should find a way to contact the local highway patrol and take things from there. As soon as they’re found I recommend a trip to the bank to let them know you’re back to handling your own affairs if they’ve been presented with a power of attorney. In fact, when you’re ready for that phase, you might want to get Zyne to represent you.”

  Remus chuckled. “Sounds like Macon covered everything.”

  David looked at Laynee. “Well, love, what do you say we go and take care of business?”

  * * * *

  Laynee moved forward slowly, trying to avoid the knobby roots hidden beneath the brush on the narrow, forest path.

  “Laynee, are you sure you won’t let me carry you?” asked David.

  She scowled. “I’m not helpless, David. As long as we go slowly, I’m perfectly safe. Maddie’s cane is all I need to navigate a safe route as long as Eric leads the way.”

  “Don’t worry, guys,” Eric said. “It’s not much further.”

  Laynee inhaled the flowery scent in the air and continued on, delighting in the sound of her feet sliding through the leaves. This was a grand adventure, having been locked safely away in the school her entire life. A shiver curled through the hairs at the back of her neck and then cascaded down the length of her spine. A strange, masculine scent lingered in the air as the temperature dropped, the brightness of the sun fading as a cloud most likely blocked it momentarily.

  “Are you okay?” asked David.

  Laynee stopped for a moment and didn’t say a word. She felt like they were being watched, but could offer no proof. Slowly, she nodded. “I’m fine. Let’s just go. I’m anxious to be off this trail.” The breeze ruffled her clothes as the sun broke through, bathing her body in heat.

  Eric stopped on the trail in front of her. “There it is. Laynee, it’s a small, one-room cabin that I guess hunters used to use. It has a wood-burning stove for heat, and a couple of cots for sleeping.”

  David touched her arm. “Eric and I have sleeping bags along with food in our packs, so we should be fine. I don’t expect us to be here more than one night.”

  “Watch your step,” Eric said. “There’s a wooden ledge that leads up to the cabin’s door.”

  She felt the edge with her cane and took a step up. The door sounded as if it scraped across the floor as Eric went inside.

  “We’ve got a broken pane in the front window,” said Eric.

  Laynee moved inside a few steps and stopped to listen. The scritch she could hear made her think of tree branches scraping at the windows. “Does this place have window shutters?”

  “Yeah, how’d yo
u know?” asked David.

  “I can hear them rattling in the wind outside.”

  “Damn,” Eric groaned. “The wind is scattering leaves through the broken pan. I’m gonna need to cover it up and find a broom.”

  Laynee heard something scrape across the floor and then felt a puff of air on the back of her neck. David whispered in her ear. “Come and sit down, pretty lady. We can have everything ready pretty quickly.”

  She let him lead her to a chair. She started to sit and ran her finger through the thick dust on the seat.

  David grabbed her arm. “Wait a minute. I’m sorry. Let me get a rag, and I’ll clean that off.” He moved away and quickly came back. She felt him moving around. “There you go, no more dust.”

  She laughed and sank down onto the hard seat of the chair. “Is there anything I can help with?”

  David pressed a kiss on her head. “Not yet. We wanna get everything situated, and then we’ll go exploring.”

  “I don’t suppose this place has a bathroom with hot and cold running water.”

  Eric laughed. “Sorry. There’s a latrine out back and a water pump. If you want a bath, there’s a metal tub that we can fill with water.”

  She shuddered. “No, thanks. If we’re only gonna be here one night, then I’ll just wait until tomorrow.” She listened to the men moving around for a few minutes. “Where are we going when we leave here?” The room got deathly quiet. She couldn’t even hear the sound of the squirrels anymore.

  David cleared his throat. “We were gonna talk to you about that tonight.”

  “So talk to me while you work. You must have some suggestions.”

  “We want you to come home with us,” Eric blurted out.

  Laynee felt her heart race inside her chest. “Home with you?”

  David touched her shoulder. “Yeah, to our place in Glacier. We’ve got a nice little house there, plenty of room for the three of us. It’s beautiful country, Laynee. The summers are mild, and the winters wicked, but there’s nowhere else like it in the States. We wanna share it with you.”