It was. It was a flirtatious challenge to both of them. A test to see who would fracture, how far she could push, what needed to be done to achieve her prize. That prize being one, or both, of them taking her body beneath them to slate their lust.
‘That could get dangerous,’ Nick murmured. It was easy for her to push two men who were becoming familiar in the safety of an underground bunker, but what if that was no longer the case? What if something happened and they were forced into the open, into a world that would take that challenge and destroy it along with all the innocence and tenderness it represented?
It was a harrowing truth of the new environment they lived in. That type of behavior needed to stop, and needed to stop now.
Euan huffed. ‘I know.’
Nick paused. ‘You gonna fix it?’
Euan didn’t shift his focus from the mouth of the dark hallway. ‘I’m gonna fix it,’ he vowed.
‘Soon?’ Nick’s question was laced with uneasiness.
Euan let his feature ease and turned to Nick. ‘Soon.’
Chapter 19
The day was glorious, the morning air crisp as the summer weather moved into autumn. The leaves on the trees were already beginning to change their colours. Crimson, gold and green caught the sun’s rays with delight as the wind enticed them to dance.
Euan scanned his surroundings, watching the breeze blow through the dense thicket of trees, rustling the leaves and playing havoc with the light that penetrated their thick canopy, ignoring the beauty of the day.
Nick was leveling out a parcel of land to build a rabbit hutch. They’d come out together, intending to complete the job as quickly as possible. Euan held the pickaxe tightly in his fists until his knuckles turned white.
‘It’s too close,’ Nick murmured quietly.
Euan turned to see Nick watching him, his features hard as he too regarded their surroundings with a keen eye.
Euan nodded. ‘I know.’
Both were silent as their internal thoughts raged. Euan couldn’t help but wish for an army and an arsenal behind him to destroy Nirvana and everything that it cultivated.
‘You want to go back there, don’t you?’ Nick questioned.
At first, Euan was surprised. Had he been so transparent? But as he searched Nick’s face, he realised the man was voicing his own thoughts as much as recognising Euan’s. ‘Probably as much as you do. Maybe more.’
Nick shifted, kicking a mound of dirt at his feet. ‘I want to burn that place to the ground. Kill everyone who lives there.’
Euan frowned as Nick turned from the trees to resume his task, forcing the shovel into the earth with excessive force. That statement was uncharacteristic and it had Euan’s gut tightening. Was this a different side to the mask? Had Nick’s coping mechanisms shifted from nightmares into aggression and self-destructive behavior?
While pondering, Euan moved his gaze from Nick back to the homestead. What he saw had the fission of fear that glowed under the surface of his skin combust into a raging inferno. Instinct honed from years in the ring as well as battling for survival had the fight or flight impulse perfected. His senses sharpened, his awareness of his surroundings grew. He was not an animal, unable to control his baser desires. He was a shrewd man, a man who was going to turn a woman’s ass pink.
The little minx skipped down the path from the back entrance of the house towards them. Her captivating smile beamed, her crystal-blue eyes were bright. In a world where only the cruel and ruthless survived, Kira wore a pink sundress, strappy sandals and a fucking necklace that matched her fucking outfit.
She was beautiful, radiant. A goddess to be worshipped and adored.
She was also in very big trouble.
Nick hissed in disbelief at his side. Euan had to swallow the several curse words that threatened to erupt from his throat.
Habit made him reach for his now loaded Glock. ‘I want you to scan those trees. You see anything that moves, anything at all, even a fucking bird, you shoot it. Understand?’
‘Yeah,’ Nick replied, pulling the rifle from his back and turning sharp green eyes to the forest.
He breathed through the burn of fear that wreaked havoc inside his stomach. ‘I don’t know how long I’ll be, so I need you to keep this area safe. Just in case. You get me?’
The young man turned to Euan, his features a mask of intensity, his body rigid with suppressed anger and outrage. He knew how dangerous and stupid Kira’s stunt was.
‘I get you. Now go and get her out of here,’ he demanded.
Euan didn’t reply, just holstered his weapon, stalked past Nick and headed towards Kira.
His voice was an ominous growl when he reached hearing distance of her. ‘Turn around.’
She stopped in her tracks, her smile falling from her face as her eyes quickly became wary. ‘What’s wrong?’ she asked with innocent bewilderment.
Euan had lost all semblance of patience. ‘Turn. The fuck. Around.’
She blinked at the anger behind his tone and swallowed. ‘Euan?’
‘Not gonna say it again.’
She saw the look of menace etched in every feature of his face and body and immediately did as she was told. He watched as the hem of her dress flicked up to tease him with the backs of her knees as she turned. He was unable to hold in the growl as he marched her back into the house.
The drapes in every room had been pulled closed for security purposes at Euan’s request, but he still took extra precautions as they entered the bunker from its secret entrance in the main bedroom.
After they were securely inside, Euan preceded Kira into the underground living room and took a seat on the couch, his back straight and knees together.
‘Come here,’ he ordered, his tone giving no quarter to disobedience.
She stood by the kitchen cabinetry, a vision of feminine beauty. Her pert breasts were held high by a bra that Euan had not had the pleasure of seeing before, the pink lace peeking above the hemline of the V-neckline of her dress. She’d brushed her wild hair and parted it down the left-hand side, creating a captivating temptation. Her posture was inflexible, her face showed her uncertainty, and her hands were held in fists at her sides.
‘You’re scaring me,’ she whispered when his fierce gaze did not falter from her direction.
‘Good,’ he rumbled. ‘You should be scared. Now come here.’
‘No.’ Kira’s voice had dropped to a murmur, her gaze shifting from unsettled to fearful.
‘If I have to come to you, things are going to be a lot worse for you, sweetheart.’
It took time, but he controlled his fear that had manifested into rage by the thinnest of threads. Slowly, she began to take small steps in his direction. Her hands remained clasped tightly at her sides, her breath erratic as her pulse fluttered like a terrified bird at her throat.
She was so beautiful—and so defenseless. The hemline of that little pink dress sat just above her knees. She wore sandals, hardly capable of even taking her across the lawn in safety, let alone if she had to run for her life. The thin straps of her dress showed off her delicate collarbone and long neck. It hurt Euan to look at her, much less contemplate something evil touching such artistry.
She needed to understand how important it was to look after herself, and the consequences if she didn’t.
As she approached, Euan split his thighs, pointing to the ground between them. ‘Stand here.’
‘Please, Euan,’ she begged.
‘Not listening.’
After a few more hesitant steps, she finally stood trembling between his legs.
‘Now kneel,’ he ordered unreservedly.
She instantly froze, every muscle rigid. ‘What?’ she breathed.
‘You heard me.’
Slowly, she slid down to her knees. Even sitting, he still towered over her, and she was forced to tip her face up to hold his unwavering gaze.
He held her pure and naive cobalt gaze for a number of heartbeats. The blue was so brill
iant, her lashes so golden, her hair so fine. When she licked her lips in nervousness, he forced himself to gentle his tone.
‘Do you know how precious you are?’
Kira just stared up at him in astonished bewilderment, her confusion evident in every line of her body.
When she didn’t interrupt, he continued. ‘I hadn’t seen a woman in two years, until just before we met you.’
Kira blinked. ‘I—’
‘Just listen,’ he demanded. ‘The last woman we saw was tortured so cruelly, she decided to take her own life. In front of us.’
Kira jerked back in horror. Euan continued regardless.
‘She was skin and bone, used up until she felt that putting a bullet in her brain was her only option.’
‘Euan—’ Kira pleaded.
‘I’ve seen bodies of men, swinging from trees naked, because their clothes were too valuable to be left on corpses. I’ve seen men kill each other, eat each other, because it was easier than hunting for food. I’ve seen children—’
‘Stop,’ she begged, eyes shining. ‘Why are you telling me this?’
Euan breathed through the burn that the memories caused. ‘Because sweetheart, what you are defies everything that we’ve seen, everything that we’ve experienced, suffered. Your presence is a miracle, and I need you to understand that and stop acting so stupidly. So damn selfishly.’
Kira baulked. ‘Selfishly?’
‘You put Nick in danger with this stunt. Me in danger. You don’t think either of us would die to protect you?’ Euan’s tone was cutting. ‘Nick is up there right now with a gun in his hand, unprotected and exposed.’
‘Oh, no,’ she breathed, making a slight movement to pull herself from between his knees, but Euan reached out and cupped her cheek, halting her movements.
‘I know what you’re trying to do,’ he told her, his voice softening. ‘When it’s down here, I might even encourage it. But up there, you need use your head.’
Kira hiccuped. ‘I’m sorry. I didn’t think.’
Euan let the muscles around his eyes ease. ‘It’s okay. But you gotta be aware of your surroundings. Be vigilant, be armed, be prepared to run.’ He hooked his finger in the pink lace shoulder strap of her bra. ‘And no more of this, yeah?’
Kira’s cheeks turned pink and she nodded.
Euan sat back and scrubbed his face with his hands. Kira still knelt compliantly between his knees. The realisation of what he desired settled inside of him. He wanted them. Both Nick and Kira.
He didn’t deserve it. He didn’t fully understand it, but he wanted it all.
In that moment, while the unsettling possibilities spun before his mind’s eye, he decided he’d just about do anything to have it.
‘Close your eyes,’ he quietly commanded.
Kira shook her head and blinked, confused.
‘Close them sweetheart, please.’
Her brow creased, but when she finally hid those expressive crystals from his view, he eased forward gradually, watching every nuance as her features flinched and twisted in her blind uncertainty.
As her fluctuating breaths tickled the sensitive skin of his lips, he halted. ‘Don’t move. Not your head, not your lips and not your eyes. Do you understand?’
‘Euan …?’
‘Do you understand?’
Kira paused before finally replying with a soft ‘yes.’
He closed the whisper of space between them and pressed his lips against hers, her soft, lush mouth moulding to his. He lingered, letting the sensitive skin revel in the delicacy of her. When her lips parted in a silent gasp, Euan took advantage and allowed his tongue find the open seam of her mouth. He licked the secret insides of her lips, teasingly stroked the tip of his tongue against hers, retreated when she tried to follow him. He moved his lips so they nibbled on the pliable flesh until Kira moaned quietly—but no less passionately—inside his mouth. He consumed the noise with unchecked abandon. Her scent, her taste overwhelmed him. He was gloriously enveloped in her essence, and he struggled to hold himself back.
She was a burning blaze of conflicting emotions and he could feel every single one fight for supremacy. She was fearful and afraid of his intentions, awash with desire and need from his kiss, trembling and shifting in her craving to take more. And she was restraining herself to adhere to his demands. Exquisite.
Euan broke the kiss but did not pull back from her glossy lips. Before she could open her eyes or follow his retreating temptation, he spoke. ‘You do anything other than what I tell you, I’ll stop. Do you understand?’
‘No,’ she breathed against his own slick lips.
Defiant little minx. She was panting, her eyelashes fanning gold on her cheeks. He waited patiently for her answer.
‘Yes,’ she finally answered on a breath.
Euan pressed forward once again. This time, he didn’t tease her with soft touches and hints—he devoured her, consumed her, surrounded her with the overwhelming emotions that wrangled and tumbled inside his heart.
Just as he’d ordered, she stayed pliant. When he brought his large palms up to grab her hair, she moaned with rampant abandon that burned down his spine and centred in his cock. Her arms were immobile at her sides, far from listless, trembling with the ferocity of her desire to meet his demands head on.
Euan did not hold back, his kiss ferocious. He bit, laved, sucked, delved and licked. And he revelled in her pliancy, something he never got from Nick.
The thought of Nick forced Euan to pull from Kira’s enticing softness. ‘Did you like that?’ he breathed into her lips.
Kira eyes remained closed. Her panting breaths were erratic. Her neck was arched to accommodate their height differences. Her cheeks flushed pink when she smiled and nodded.
‘You’re so clever,’ he told her after a pause. ‘Too clever to do what you did today.’
She opened her eyes. Midnight cobalt captured and held his gaze.
‘But, it worked?’ she asked with trepidation.
Euan moved forward until their foreheads met. ‘Yeah, sweetheart, your little ploy worked.’
Kira bit her lip. He wanted to pull it from her teeth and do it for her. ‘So, you’re not… restricted?’ Hesitation laced her voice.
He shook his head against hers, their noses brushing as their breath mingled. ‘It’s complicated,’ he told her honestly. ‘But neither of us, under the circumstances, are exclusive to each other. Or to our own sex,’ he confessed.
Her brow creased, so he continued to explain.
‘I didn’t lie when I said I care for Nicky very much. What I’m saying is I like him not for his dick, but for who he is.’ He paused, swallowed. ‘The same way I like, and care, for you. Feel me?’
Her reply was breathless. ‘You like me?’
Euan chuckled. If only she knew about the cramped erection in his pants. ‘Yeah, sweetheart. I like you.’
‘And Nick?’ she asked nervously.
His smile spread to his eyes. ‘Oh, yeah.’
‘Thank goodness.’ She sighed and relaxed against him.
He’d had enough talking. He wanted those lips.
‘Kiss me, Kira,’ he ordered.
Her mouth stretched into a small, teasing smile. ‘Only if I can kiss you back.’
A growl escaped as he tilted her face until their lips collided in a visceral melding of the explosive realisation that had come with their conversation.
The gods had opened the gates to Olympus and Euan found himself walking towards divinity.
Kira moved her hands from her sides and lifted them to the back of his head. He groaned and continued to feed upon her lips with relish, absorbing her cries of desperation.
When she broke the kiss and gasped audibly, her head thrown back in wild abandon, he took the opportunity to trail his lips down the delicate line of her throat. Christ, she was perfect.
‘Fuck, sweetheart,’ he growled as he curled one hand in her hair to hold her to his will, the other cupping and squ
eezing one tight little cheek.
‘Euan …’ she moaned.
Reluctantly, he pulled her back from his embrace with the hand still in her hair. ‘Soon, sweetheart. Fucking soon. But we gotta go help Nick first, yeah?’
The lust immediately bled out from her eyes. ‘Nick ...’
‘Yeah.’ He held her while she tried to get back on her feet, her knees almost giving way from the overwhelming sensations still swirling within her. ‘Get dressed and armed, then we’ll head on up.’
‘Okay,’ she replied without delay, watching as he pulled his large body up from the couch and adjusted the painful package beneath the fly of his jeans, all while trying not to fall to his knees.
Chapter 20
‘There can’t be that many Draw Four cards left in the pack,’ Nick groused. ‘You’re cheating.’
Kira giggled, the enticing girlish sound reverberating off the beige steel walls to create a tornado of glorious perfection around them. ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about,’ she beamed devilishly. ‘You’re just a sore loser.’
‘I’ll give you sore loser,’ Nick warned wickedly. Before either Kira or Euan could prepare, he pounced, diving over the coffee table to wrestle Kira to the carpet.
Her squeal was Euan’s only warning before he was crash tackled by two bodies. Uno cards flew in all directions. His outburst of annoyance was thwarted as Kira wriggled and squirmed on top of him in an attempt to escape from Nick’s tickling fingers.
Euan wrapped his hands around her middle, his large palms almost encapsulating her tiny waist, and trapped her to him. Her shriek as Nick took advantage of her confinement had both men smiling maliciously.
Their grins of merriment fell quickly from their lips when an electronic crackle began to vibrate ominously through the room.
They all stilled.
Euan was the first to move, rolling until his larger body protectively covered Kira on the floor then lifting his head to catch Nick’s urgent gaze. ‘What is that?’ he demanded.
‘Lightening,’ Kira huffed in exasperation, trying to extradite herself from under Euan’s heavy weight.
True Refuge Page 15
