by Tara Rose
“I think you do, too. In fact, you’re easily the handsomest men I’ve ever met. I mean that. No joking around.”
Jarrett gave her that look, and it wasn’t the first time she’d noticed the tenderness in his gaze. “The feeling is mutual. We happen to think you’re a beautiful woman, inside and out.”
Her feelings for both men had warmed considerably over the past two weeks, but she never allowed herself to pass the point of labeling them affection or at most fondness. She wouldn’t let herself get carried away. That wasn’t what this was. “Thank you, Sire.”
But at times like this, when he or Colton looked at her with what she swore was love in their eyes, she could almost let herself believe that it was possible one day. That they’d fall in love with her, and she would allow the same thing to happen for each of them. It might be crazy, but there it was.
She had them with her all the time now, but she was lonely inside. Lonely for someone to shower with love and to hear “I love you.” For all the problems that Clive had, she knew he had loved her.
Jarrett glanced around. “I’ve never had sex this far out in the woods.”
A shiver ran down her spine at his words. The possibility of being seen would make their always intense sex even more exciting. “What if we’re caught?”
Jarrett snorted. “So what? It’s not like we’re not allowed to do this.”
They were so charming and charismatic, and she couldn’t deny the physical attraction. It had always been there, even if in the beginning she’d gone along with it, not absolutely certain she wanted to have sex with them. But she no longer felt that way. Now, it was all she wanted to do. But was hot, frequent sex enough to sustain this? Would they grow tired of her one day?
“We’re close to the wall,” said Colton, brushing his hand up her arm. “Maybe someone from Enfield will spy on us?”
“Don’t joke about that,” said Jarrett, his voice dark.
“Then maybe we should move?” she asked.
Jarrett glanced around. “I don’t hear a thing.”
“Me either,” said Colton. “I think we’re safe.”
“Aren’t you two still on guard duty along that wall?” she asked.
Colton shook his head. “Our time was up the night you crossed over through that painting.”
Jarrett turned her around and lifted up her dress. “Bend over and hang onto the tree.”
“Oh God…” She did as he said, and then tried to keep quiet as they slid their hands between her legs and teased her wet pussy through her tights. “Now I really wish I had on no underwear.”
Colton smacked her ass, and she moaned. “We told you never to do that.”
“It wasn’t a threat, Sire. Merely an observation.”
He chuckled, and then he slid the tights down to her ankles. “Problem solved.”
Jarrett was directly behind her, and he took his dick out of his breeches and sank it into her pussy from behind. Colton groped her breasts through the front of her dress, and Abigail tried to keep from screaming in pleasure. She’d never been taken like this, in the woods or anyplace else. It was so raw and animalistic, and she absolutely loved it.
“You’re mine,” said Jarrett, his voice gruff and deep. “You belong to me. I chose you. Colton and I both chose you.” He smacked her bare ass several times, and it was so forceful that the sound echoed off the trees. “Tell me you love this.”
She dug her nails into the tree bark to keep from crying out. “I love this, Sire.” The pain mixed with pleasure was intoxicating. She had to have it now, every single day.
He continued spanking her ass hard as he fucked her mercilessly. “Tell me you want me to fuck you raw. Say it.”
“Fuck me raw, Sire.”
“I will fuck you raw, you beautiful girl. I will fuck you until you beg me to stop.”
“Yes, Sire. Yes. Please! Fuck me until I beg you to stop.”
Jarrett groaned loudly as he continued thrusting in and out. “Yes. That’s it, my beautiful girl. This is what I want.”
She closed her eyes and let the emotions wash over her, absorbing their dark energy. These two were the sexiest men in any world. They had to be. Abigail couldn’t imagine how anything could get better than this. Each time they pushed her limits like this, she wanted more. The further into their perversions she sank, the farther she wanted to go.
When Jarrett withdrew, he hadn’t yet come. Colton took his place, fucking her rough and deep. “Oh, Abigail…your pussy is so wet. Listen to that.” He was right. She could hear the moistness as he thrust in and out. “I love fucking you. I’ve loved fucking you from that very first day. The day after you crossed over. Tell me you love this, too. I want to hear you say it.”
“I love it, Sire.”
“Hang on, baby. I’m not going to stop anytime soon. This feels so fucking good.”
Her hands dug further into the tree bark, and she no longer cared if anyone saw them. When the orgasm crashed over her, Colton fucked her until the contractions stopped, and then he pulled out.
They each took two more turns, and Abigail was out of her mind with desire when she came again. The second one was more explosive than the first, and she imagined that was because they were outside, and anyone could be watching them by now. But she didn’t care. She wanted them to keep going for as long as they could, and the hell with whoever could see them.
She belonged to them. Tears spilled over her lashes as the endorphins raced through her body at that thought. They had chosen her, and claimed her as their own, and she was theirs. They would cherish her and protect her with their lives. She knew that now. She finally understood that in a way she never had before this moment.
There was no place else she wanted to be. These two were every fantasy she’d had, plus a few she hadn’t realized were there, lurking underneath the surface of her consciousness, just waiting for the right men to free them. She’d never felt so alive, so alluring, or so uninhibited in her entire life. And she loved it. She craved this. Nothing else would ever do now, for the rest of her life.
She thought the guys were going to keep taking turns because neither one had come yet, but instead they pulled up her tights and carried her to a nearby fallen log. Jarrett told her to sit down, and then they took turns fucking her in the mouth, holding her head with both hands so she had no choice but to take their entire cocks into her mouth.
Abigail was used to this now. She’d learned how to relax her throat muscles so she didn’t gag, and they loved it because when they made her give them a blow job, they didn’t hold back. It was so raw and decadent, and that was part of why she loved it so much. Each time they did this, they claimed her all over again.
When they each finally came, she swallowed every drop of their cum, and then they held her for long moments and stroked her hair and back. She wished they were in her bed only because it would be comfortable, and now she was sleepy. She loved this part, too. When they held her afterward and whispered how much they’d enjoyed her. Her need to please them was so strong every day, and they never failed to let her know that she had done so.
When they finally stood and brushed the twigs and dirt off her skirt and their clothes, Jarrett stopped suddenly and turned his head toward the west. “What was that?”
Colton was still brushing off her skirt. “Probably a guard.”
“I don’t think so.” Colton stopped, and he and Abigail followed Jarrett’s gaze. “I heard running.”
Icy fear shot through her veins as shouts reached their ears. Colton and Jarrett both glanced toward her, as if trying to decide what to do. They whirled around at the sound of footsteps behind them, and by the time Abigail was able to focus on the figure that came out of the trees, both men had their pistols drawn.
It was one of their own guards. She knew the uniform by now.
“Sire.” The guard eyed them both after bowing slightly, until they put their pistols away. He frowned as he cut his gaze toward Abigail. “Pardon me, Sire, but you want to g
et her back to the castle. Two spies from Enfield cut the wire at the top of the wall and we gave chase.”
“What?” asked Jarrett. “Where?”
The guard looked embarrassed. “Begging your pardon again, Sire, but near where you three were…where you and Prince Colton were with the girl.”
Abigail glanced from Jarrett to Colton, and back again. She didn’t know if it was proper to address a guard or not, but she did so anyway. “Did they hear what we said?”
The guard cleared his throat. “Miss, I would imagine they did, since I was keeping a respectable distance myself, but I heard every word.”
“Did you catch them?” asked Jarrett. “The spies.”
“No, Sire. They went back over the wall. The wire is being repaired now.”
He and Colton exchanged a dark glance. “Thank you. We’ll send extra guards to this area as soon as we reach the castle. Has anyone there been alerted yet?”
“Yes, Sire. We sent someone before I came to speak with you.”
When the guard left, Jarrett took her arm and they made their way to the castle. She waited until they were closer to it to ask, although she already knew the answer. “If they heard what we said, they know I crossed over.”
“Yes,” said Jarrett.
“But they won’t know what that means, will they?”
He and Colton exchanged a worried glance.
“They’re aware of the existence of the portraits,” said Colton. “That’s what all the secret Council business has been about. They know about the portraits, and they know what they do. They’ve already tried to steal the ones that were recently made.”
She stopped walking. “But you said they didn’t know.”
“They do now.”
“Why would they want them?”
“Don’t you remember what we told you about the curse?” asked Jarrett.
“Yes, but that was so long ago. Do they really still care?”
“Yes, they do. You don’t understand these people. They will stop at nothing to see us ruined. They found out about the portraits, although we aren’t yet sure how. The artists who make them are now living at the castle because someone tried to break into their house.”
“And the portraits they were working on are safe, too,” said Colton.
“But now they have concrete confirmation of what they do,” said Jarrett. “Because if they heard us, they know it’s true. Women from another world cross over into ours through those paintings. And they also know one of those women is you. Because if they were that close, they saw you as well as heard you.”
Chapter Fifteen
Jarrett hated keeping Abigail a virtual prisoner inside the castle. She spent a great deal of time gazing out windows and walking along the balcony that faced north. They’d decided that was safe for her to do as long as one of them was with her. The only way she’d be seen on the balcony was from a ship on the lake, and one would never get that close unless it belonged to someone in Ashdown.
But she hated not being able to walk in the woods any longer, and Jarrett and Colton hated the fact that they’d been careless and reckless that day. They never should have made love to her outside that far from the castle. Their parents were angry with them, and the Council was in an uproar over it.
Jarrett had expressed the opinion to his parents, Colton’s parents, and the Council that the more pressing issues were how someone from Enfield had learned about the portraits and the artists who painted them, and how they’d been able to cut the wire without being seen or heard.
They were becoming far too bold in their attempts, and he urged the Council to strengthen their relationship with Wythmail, in order to ensure they had an ally. He and Colton discussed this over the next few weeks, but they kept it from Abigail. If she asked a direct question they answered it, but they had agreed it would be pointless to frighten her with speculation.
They helped her pass the time by teaching her their card games, and she was indeed good at them. More than once she’d beaten one of them on her own merits. They also made sure she had plenty to keep her busy inside the castle. They attended musical performances with her and allowed her to spend time with other women so she had someone else to talk to besides them.
The Spring Solstice Ball was in a few days, and that kept them busy with preparations. Abigail was very excited about it and had told them about her coming-out ball, which she had to explain to them. They’d never heard of such a thing, and she told them they weren’t very common anymore, but her parents had been in favor of holding on to traditions.
“Who will be at this ball?” she asked, as Patricia made adjustments to the gown that Abigail would wear. It was yellow, one of the traditional colors the women wore for this ball, and Jarrett thought the color was perfect with her dark hair.
“Everyone,” he said. “Even the peasants attend these functions.”
“Thank you for this. For taking me.”
Jarrett’s heart soared at the look in her beautiful eyes. He was so in love with her. “You are very welcome.” Never had he imagined he’d feel this way. He couldn’t even pinpoint the exact moment it had happened, but he knew it was real. And when he glimpsed love on her face, or heard it in her voice as he did now, hope built once more.
But he was afraid to tell her. Because if he was wrong and she didn’t feel the same way, and she voiced that out loud, or he saw that truth on her face once he confessed his love, he’d be crushed and nothing would help him recover. No. He had to hold this truth in his heart, at least for now.
He hadn’t even told Colton, although he knew his friend felt the same way. It was so obvious in the way he spoke to her, and in every tender gesture. Even now, as he held her hand to help her step out of the gown so Patricia could make the final adjustments to it, his love for Abigail came off him in waves and filled the room.
Did she see it? Was she aware of how deeply their affection for her ran? Or did she still view them as her captors? The men who had taken her away from her home and away from everything she’d known?
When she gave her body so willingly to them, was she really wishing she was somewhere else? Back in her own world, making love instead to a man from that world? Would she ever truly belong to them, or did they have her only on borrowed time?
As she changed back into the dress she would wear to dinner soon, Jarrett told Patricia she could leave. Then he finished lacing up the dress for her and moved her hair aside to kiss her neck. “I can’t wait to dance with you at the ball.”
“What kind of dancing? I don’t want to look like a fool.”
He smiled. “Do you know how to waltz?”
“Yes, of course. Although it’s been years since I’ve danced one.”
“Then you won’t look like a fool.”
“We can practice, if you like,” said Colton. “Later. After dinner.”
She gazed at each of them in turn with pure joy on her face, and Jarrett had to work hard to bite back the words. They were right there, ready to spill out.
“Really? Oh, I would love that. Thank you, Sire. Both of you. Thank you so much.”
As they escorted her to the Great Hall for dinner, Jarrett had no idea what was going to happen with the complications from Enfield or the people of Wythmail. Their Council had finally agreed that it was time to cement their allegiance with that kingdom, but they were moving so slowly that Jarrett and Colton both feared Enfield would form an alliance with them before Ashdown knew what had happened.
But Jarrett knew one thing was an absolute certainty. He was crazy in love with Abigail.
* * * *
Colton escorted Abigail out on the floor for their first dance. He and Jarrett had drawn straws to determine who would dance with her first at the ball, and Colton pumped his fist in the air when he drew the longer one. Abigail had taught them both that gesture recently, and Colton loved using it because it helped him connect with her world. It was something familiar that she understood and identified with.
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br /> He guided her around the floor effortlessly. She might not have done this in years, but her natural ability was there regardless. Just to see her smile and laugh in his arms sent his heart soaring. He was so in love with her that it physically hurt most days. He longed to tell her, but felt she needed more time to adjust to her new life.
He could only imagine how she felt about being here now, after what had happened in the woods. Just when she’d begun to settle in and seemed to have accepted her place, they’d been spotted and heard by Enfield spies. That had been foolish behavior on his and Jarrett’s parts, and they both knew that. But in their defense, neither man was able to resist her for any reasonable period of time.
She was in their blood now. Part of their day-to-day lives, as well as part of their very souls. They’d chosen her, but not only as their sex partner. It might have started out that way, but it went far beyond that now. He wanted to tell Abigail he loved her, but not without Jarrett saying it as well. They should make such an important move together.
It was essential that in all their dealings with her, they presented a unified front. It was not only their duty as princes of this land, but as her protectors. They’d chosen her, and with that privilege came great responsibility where she was concerned. Not only had they chosen to keep her, but to guard her with their very lives if necessary. That wasn’t something they’d ever fully explained to her. They should do so, and sooner rather than later. She needed to understand the commitment they’d taken on, especially now with the threat from Enfield.
When it was Jarrett’s turn to dance with Abigail, Colton took a seat and asked for drinks for all three of them, and then he watched Jarrett twirl her around the floor. He’d spent much of his adult years waiting for the perfect woman, and had wondered if he’d ever find her. Now she was here, dancing and laughing with his best friend.
She should know that. He needed to tell her. He wanted her to know that she was not only the woman of his dreams, but the one he intended to spend the rest of his life with. The one he intended to make so happy that one day she’d have no regrets about having crossed over into this world.
