As gently as he could he tried to wake Sarah up, but she was well and truly out. Grayson checked her pulse. It was steady and strong. He pulled his cell from his jeans pocket and called the dispatch for an ambulance. He then called Blake and filled him in, followed by his brothers. They had to find Kate, but he couldn’t leave Sarah until the ambulance and her men arrived.
He stayed by her side, softly reassuring her, despite the fact she probably couldn’t hear him, until he heard the sirens approach. The ambulance screeched to a halt, with Blake in his squad car directly behind it. Blake rushed over, and Grayson had to pull him back so the paramedics could attend to her.
“Fuck, Grayson,” Blake bellowed. “What the fuck happened? Where is Kate?”
“Calm down, Blake,” he replied. “Going off the rails won’t help her. She is in good hands. They will get her to the hospital and check her out. I need to go look for Kate. Are you going to be all right and let them do their job?”
“She is my world, Grayson. I can’t live without her.”
“She will be fine. The quicker they can get her to a hospital the better.”
Grayson looked up as a dark SUV approached. He watched as James got out and rushed over to them. Kate slowly peeled herself from the passenger seat, and he noticed her stiff gait as she slowly walked over.
“What’s happening?” James asked. “How is she? Kate said she couldn’t wake her up.” James’s voice was frantic, and Grayson couldn’t help but feel for the two men. He grabbed onto Kate as she walked over and pulled her into his arms. He needed to hold her and make sure she was all right, just as much as he thought she needed the comfort of being held.
“The paramedics are working on her now. I’m going over for an update,” Blake told them and walked off, James on his heels.
“Are you all right, baby?” he asked. “What happened? How did you crash?”
Kate looked up at him, her big green eyes filled with tears. She had a gash on her forehead and a lump rising on her temple. She needed to be checked out by the paramedics as well.
“We went shopping,” she cried. “On the way back, Sarah noticed this white pickup following us. I thought she was just being paranoid. But then it started ramming us, and then we spun and crashed. I hit my head on the side window, and when I woke, there was no sign of them and Sarah was out cold.”
“Why did you walk off?” he asked. “Why didn’t you call for help?”
“I tried,” she answered and held up a smashed cell phone as evidence. “Sarah cell was destroyed and mine was still in the box without the little card thingy. I thought it would be quicker to track someone down. James found me walking down the road. I didn’t want to leave her. I didn’t, but I didn’t know what else to do.”
“It’s all right, baby. You did the right thing.” Grayson pulled her back into his arms and rubbed his hands up and down her back. He wasn’t sure who he was trying to comfort. All he knew was that he needed to hold her in his arms.
Grayson watched as his brothers pulled up in one of the “U-SEC” vehicles and rush over to their side. Their faces were grim, their worry evident. They cared for Kate just as much as he did, and this little scare was going to take a while to get over.
“Is she okay?” Brock asked. “Let me hold her.”
“No way, brother,” Pierson cut in. “I want to hold her.”
“Back up, the both of you,” He snapped. “She doesn’t need you fighting over her.” The brothers backed off, and Kate snuggled into his embrace as she looked over at Brock and Pierson. She probably wasn’t used to having this much attention, and he didn’t want to add to her worries.
Brock started to gently stroke her back, and Pierson her head, as she cried against his chest. Grayson could feel her agony as they waited to hear news on her sister.
It wasn’t long before James strolled over. The paramedics had Sarah out of the car and lying on the ambulance stretcher. They were checking her vitals and assessing her injuries.
“What’s the news?” Brock asked, when James reached their side.
“They are waiting for the air ambulance to take her to Helena and treat her at the hospital there. They won’t know more until then.”
“Will she be okay?” Kate asked. “Why won’t she wake up?”
“The paramedics say it could be a number of reasons she is unconscious. That’s why they need to get her to the hospital ASAP. Her vitals are all good, though, so they aren’t too stressed. It’s killing me not knowing.”
“She is a strong woman,” Pierson added. “She will pull through.”
“I know she is. But it’s damned hard to watch her laid out on that stretcher and not be able to do a thing about it.” James walked off back toward Sarah before turning back. “Watch out for Kate for me.” It was a statement rather than a question.
“With our lives,” Grayson replied.
It wasn’t long before Grayson heard the approaching helicopter. It landed in an adjacent field and the onboard paramedics rushed over to the stretcher. They all watched in shock, as Sarah was loaded onto the helicopter and her men jumped in beside her. The propeller kicked up dust as it flared to life once more and slowly lifted into the sky, taking off and roaring into the distance.
Grayson hugged Kate tight as tears fell once more. She was naturally worried about her sister and would want to go to Helena at the first chance she got. He needed to get her injuries checked out first, and then they could decide on their next move.
“Come on, baby,” he told her. “Let get the paramedics to check out your head, and then we will take you home.”
“I want to go to the hospital, and I need to call my parents,” she replied.
“We will discuss it after you have been looked at.” He didn’t wait to argue, he just pulled her toward the waiting paramedics.
After cleaning the cut on her head, the paramedics gave her the all clear and told her to get some rest. They would have to wake her every hour, as she might have a slight concussion caused by the bump on her temple. Kate was allowed to take pain meds if she had a headache, otherwise she would be fine.
All three men sighed in relief when the paramedics said they could take her home. They left, saying it would be best to have her checked out tomorrow at the doc’s, but she was in general good health.
Grayson walked Kate over to their SUV and gently helped her up into the seat. With one last look at the wreck, he jumped in beside her and pulled her back into his arms. Pierson got into the driver’s seat and Brock the front passenger. They slowly made their way back to the Hammond ranch to contemplate their next move.
He gritted his teeth at the thought that someone had tried to injure his woman, and she was his woman. His and his brothers’. She might not know it yet, but they were keeping her. Kate would just damned well have to get used to the idea. When he found the fucker that had tried to hurt them, he would kill him with his bare hands. Nobody touched what was his. The thought that they could have lost her today made him sick, and he knew his brothers would be feeling the same way.
When they got back to the Hammond ranch, she could pack up a few clothes and he’d move her in with them. She needed to be looked after, and with Sarah in the hospital, James and Blake had enough on their hands. She was now his and his brothers’ responsibility, and he took his responsibilities very seriously.
Kate would kick up a fuss and throw one of her hissy fits, but that was too damned bad. She would learn who was boss soon enough, and that was him and his brothers. She could yell and scream and carry on all she wanted, but she was coming home with them, and that was where she was staying.
He’d just have to marry her. Yeah, that what he’d do. Being the eldest, he got to be the lucky one that got to marry her legally. She would be married every bit as much to his brothers, but on paper it would be him.
By god, he had found the one. She was a feisty little thing, but he’d tame her. Grayson smiled to himself as he contemplated their future. She wouldn’t e
ven know what hit her. It was time to turn up the charm. It would help get her mind off her sister and bind them more together. Yep, it was decided.
* * * *
Nothing was decided. Kate didn’t know who they thought they were, but she wasn’t going to stay with them and she wasn’t going to bow down to their whim, just because they thought they needed to protect her.
They had arrived back at the Hammond’s ranch, and the three brothers had escorted her inside. Kate had started to throw some clothes in a bag to wear whilst she was in Helena, when Grayson had informed her that she was to stay with them. Ha, who did he think he was? He wasn’t her father or brother, and he certainly wasn’t her husband.
Kate stomped around the apartment, grabbing items she needed as she went. She was fuming, and she wanted to wipe the smug look off the Carter brothers’ faces. Her sister was in the hospital and she needed to be by her side. Her parents had already left, so she couldn’t hitch a ride with them. She didn’t understand why they wanted to delay. It was only a couple of hours drive, and it wasn’t late yet. Yes, it was getting dark, but the bloody car had headlights.
“What!” she snapped. “Stop staring at me. We need to get going and we need to leave now.”
Kate’s chest was rising and falling, her anger making her breathe hard. Grayson approached her and stood inches away, looking down at her from his great height. She felt a shiver creep down her spine at his proximity.
“Oh,” Brock said. “You’re in trouble now, little darling.”
“What are you talking about?” Kate replied. “I just want to get to my sister and make sure she is all right.” Grayson placed a hand under her chin and lifted her face up toward his. She shivered again at the angry look on his face.
“I have been patient with you, little girl.” Grayson’s voice was deep and stern. “As I have already explained, we will go into the hospital tomorrow after you have had a good night’s sleep. James has put you under my protection, and I don’t like my orders to be questioned.”
“I wasn’t questioning them. I was—”
“Silence!” he roared. “I understand you want to check on your sister. Blake and James have our numbers and are going to contact us with regular updates. You were in that crash, too, and need rest and recovery before you go gallivanting across the state.”
“I’m fine. I feel fine. I…” Kate’s voice trailed off as she watched Grayson’s eyes darken with her words. He was in full barbarian mode, and nothing she said was going to get through to him. She shut her mouth and waited for him to continue.
“As I was saying. You will stay with us tonight and we will leave tomorrow. You can’t stay by yourself. It isn’t safe. Whoever was driving that truck tried to kill you and Sarah. We will not leave you alone until they are found and taken care of.”
“I don’t need looking after. I am perfectly capable of looking after myself.” This wasn’t the 1800s. Women were more than capable of protecting themselves. She didn’t need a man, or in this case three men, following her around for protection. “You can just come back tomorrow and pick me up.” Grayson’s sigh could be heard clear across the room.
“That’s not the way we do things in Merricks, little girl,” he told her. “The men watch out for the woman.”
“That’s silly—”
“I can see that we are going to have to address the subject of your behavior and your consequential punishment now rather than later.”
Kate’s head snapped up to his at his words. Punishment? Behavior? What? She looked over to Brock and Pierson to gauge their reaction. They were both nodding their heads in the affirmative and smiling at her.
“What are you talking about?” she asked. Kate kept looking back and forth between the men when no one answered her question. Finally when she couldn’t take the silence anymore, Grayson answered.
“We were going to wait until tomorrow to administer punishment for your bratty behavior. However, you have failed to treat my brothers and me with the respect we deserve as your Doms and protectors, you have stomped around this apartment making demands. So we will take care of it now.”
Pierson and Brock moved closer as Grayson made his speech. They had slowly removed their shirts and were standing quietly at her side. She couldn’t help but look them over and admire their naked muscled chests, and all the while her mouth flapped open and shut as she tried to digest Grayson’s words.
“For disrespectful behavior, you will receive ten swats on your bare behind from each of us and a further ten swats for making demands and actions unbecoming of our woman.”
“Kate,” Pierson said. “Do you understand what is expected of you?”
“I…” Kate had to swallow and try again. “You want to spank me? Seriously?”
Kate was finding it hard to think. She was turned on and frightened all at the same time. Her pussy gushed and her nipples hardened. She had always wanted to be spanked by her loving and caring man. A dominant man that put her needs first even when that was correcting her unruly behavior. Not that she was ever going to admit that to the Carter brothers.
Sarah had told her all about how James and Blake spanked her and how good it felt and the amazing orgasms she received afterward. But that didn’t mean she was letting Grayson or the other two anywhere near her bare ass.
Kate didn’t think she had done anything wrong. They couldn’t just decide that they were her Doms and protectors. James had said something to her about being under a man’s protection whilst in the town, and she had heard him ask Grayson to watch over her whilst they were gone. But she didn’t think that involved punishment when she didn’t follow orders or act the way they wanted.
“I’m sorry. That isn’t happening. You are not my Doms, and your hands are getting nowhere near my ass.” Kate looked at the smug smiles that each brother wore at her words. She was starting to get frustrated again. They weren’t listening to her.
“Yes, we are, Kate,” Brock said. “We can see how much the idea of submitting to us turns you on.”
“That’s right, little darling,” Pierson added. “Your nipples are like little pebbles poking through your shirt.” He moved closer to her, his breath hot in her ear. He nibbled on her lobe before saying, “I bet if I was to put my hand down you jeans and into your panties, I’d find your little pussy hot and wet and waiting for our touch.”
Kate’s breath quickened, and her juices gushed once more. How could they know that?
“How do you know that?” she asked and then slapped a hand over her mouth. She hadn’t meant to say that out loud. Pierson chuckled as he nibbled his way down her neck, moving his body to stand behind her.
“Don’t worry, baby,” Brock put in. “The idea has us turned on as well.”
“Submit to us, little darling,” Pierson said. “You won’t regret it. We’ll take good care of you.”
Kate sighed as Pierson continued to place nippy kisses along her neck. She watched as Grayson moved away from her and Brock moved closer to take his place.
Brock tilted her face up toward his as he lowered his head and took her lips with his. The kiss, whilst gentle, demanded she submit to his masterful mouth, and she moaned. He deepened the kiss, and it stole the remainder of her breath. All thoughts fled as she gave herself over to Brock.
Kate felt Pierson’s hand move to cup her breast through her T-shirt, and she leaned back into his embrace. He rolled her firm nipples in between his thumb and finger and she moaned into Brock’s mouth as he continued to kiss her.
Pierson let go of her breast and she felt cool air hit her stomach as he lifted her T-shirt. Brock broke the kiss, as Pierson tugged it over her head. It tangled in her arms, and Pierson used it to restrain her hands behind her back. Kate sucked in a breath when she discovered his intentions.
“Calm down, little baby,” he told her. “No one will hurt you or do anything you don’t enjoy.”
“Do you know the color system, Kate?” Brock asked her. Her eyes focused on his face
at his question. Color system? Oh, yes. She remembered.
“Green for go, yellow to slow, and red to stop,” she replied. Her heart missed a beat at the men’s smiles of approval.
“Good,” Grayson said over Brock’s shoulder. “Let’s get your punishment out of the way, and then we can have some fun.”
“Not that punishing you won’t be fun,” Brock added. She opened her mouth to let a sarcastic comment fly, when Brock placed his fingers over her lips.
“Uh, uh, uh,” Brock told her. “Let’s start as we mean to go on. Shall we? That means no more snippy comments.”
“I don’t snip,” she replied.
“Yes, baby. You do,” Brock said. Kate felt ridiculous. Here she was standing with her T-shirt tying her hands behind her back, and she was trying to be indignant. Kate sighed. What was the use in fighting anymore? She wanted this badly. She wanted to experience domination and submission for real, and not just in her fantasy. Grayson, Pierson, and Brock were willing to show her.
The Carter brothers were the sexiest, most dominant men she had ever met, and they wanted her. For the moment, at least. Why shouldn’t she grasp this opportunity whilst it presented itself? She could go back to be the dull, respectable schoolteacher tomorrow.
Kate did the first thing that came to her mind. She knew she was supposed to do this naked, but she did have her hands tied behind her back. She slowly lowered her head and got to her knees on the floor. Kate put her butt on her heels and spread her thighs in the slave position she had read about.
“I am yours to do with as you please, Masters.”
Chapter Nine
Fire Me Up [Merricks, Montana 2] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) Page 8
