Dare to Love Read online

  “Listen, Mercedes, we’re taking care of everything. Warner, Kurt, and I along with some close friends who do investigative work for a living are going to find these guys and get them. You don’t need to worry about anything anymore because we’re going to watch over you,” Taylor said and reached out and caressed her cheek.

  “I can take care of myself,” she replied and stood up from the table. She didn’t want them babying her. Now they thought she was weak.

  She headed to the garbage and Kurt grabbed her wrist, stopping her.

  “You need to eat.”

  She held his gaze. “I’m not hungry.”

  “You need to try and eat,” he told her slowly and with conviction.

  She stared at him and leaned a little closer. “I’m. Not. Hungry.” She emphasized each word and pulled from his hold and walked toward the garbage. But when she turned around Kurt was standing there. He stepped toward her and she took a retreating step back. Her ass hit the counter.

  Kurt stared down into her eyes. God, he was so good looking. She wanted so many things yet feared so many things. She’d never known men like this. Why did she feel like running, but also like letting go and letting them take whatever they wanted from her? It was ludicrous, irresponsible, and yet exciting, enticing, and she wanted to feel more.

  * * * *

  Kurt couldn’t hold back. He’d waited so long to touch Mercedes, to kiss her and hold her in his arms, and the fact that he almost lost her overwhelmed him. He pressed closer, placed his hand on her hip and then reached up to cup her face and her hair. He tilted her head up toward him.

  “Mercedes, I know you’re scared. Hell, you scared the hell out of me last night. We could have lost you, and that isn’t sitting right with any of us. Don’t push us away because of that fear, or because you think we just suddenly grew feelings for you. We didn’t.” He looked at her expression and the way she appeared timid and accepting. He lowered his mouth closer to hers to test the water and see if she would let him kiss her. Just as his lips were about to kiss her, she closed her eyes and he felt relieved as he pressed his lips fully to hers.

  He pulled her closer as he held her snugger against the island. She opened her mouth to his invasion and he explored her, pulling a moan from her, too. His cock hardened and he knew she felt it as she began to stop the kiss from continuing. She was sweet, sensual, and had a hell of a body. He slowly released her lips then cupped her cheeks between his hands.

  “I’ve waited for a long time to do that. It was worth the wait,” he said and she just stared at him. He released her cheeks and caressed her shoulders then her arms.

  “You should really try to eat something.” She shook her head.

  Kurt took her hand and when they turned around Taylor was there staring at them and Warner looked upset.

  Kurt wrapped his arm around Mercedes’s waist, sensing that she wanted to pull away and try to leave and avoid Warner. His brother was intimidating to say the least but he needed to make his feelings known to Mercedes, or this wouldn’t work and she wouldn’t trust them.

  Warner stepped closer.

  * * * *

  Warner didn’t know why he reacted the way he did to seeing his brother Kurt kiss Mercedes like that. But it affected him, aroused him, had him practically hanging up on Gemini. He stepped closer, looking her over in the shorts and see-through T-shirt. Did she even know it was see-through? Probably not. She was classy, a lady, a woman who deserved everything including men who could cater to her every need and love her. Was he capable of love? Did he already love her, and that was why he was so fucking scared right now? He didn’t know, but looking her over, seeing her eyes glisten with arousal, had him making his next move.

  He was right in front of her, looking down at her petite frame, her big hazel eyes that just held his as she breathed unsteadily.

  He reached out and took a strand of her lovely brown-red hair in his hands and let the silky strands pass through his fingers. He inhaled, smelling her shampoo and loving the scent of her. She looked so youthful, so special and gorgeous he felt unworthy to even touch her never mind want to possess her. But he couldn’t resist. He needed to taste her, too, and to let her know that these feelings were strong and authentic.

  He let his eyes roam over her body, her abundant breasts, her flat, firm waist and belly, and then her bare thighs. His cock hardened. He was so much bigger, they all were, and he could hurt her when all he wanted to do was take care of her and make her theirs.

  “This isn’t a game. We don’t play games. Not when it comes to you and how we feel. I’m the reason why you were almost abducted last night.” Her eyes widened.

  “No, Warner. Why would you say that, or think that?” she asked him.

  “If I hadn’t been halfway across the world on some stupid job, running away from you and the feelings I have for you, then you would have been where you belong. In our bed, being our woman.”

  Her eyes widened and he couldn’t say anymore. He had to taste her. He pulled her closer, his brother released her, and he swept his mouth over hers, kissing her deeply. When she ran her hands up against his chest, he deepened the kiss, lifted her up, and placed her onto the kitchen island. He caressed her everywhere his hands could reach. Over her back, under her ass, then back up to her back. He could wrap his arms fully around her and still have room because she was petite in comparison. He pressed closer, widening her thighs and getting a full taste of her. They were both kissing, trying to gain control of that kiss when he trailed his lips past her mouth to her neck and suckled hard.

  “Oh God, Warner. Warner,” she said his name, gripped his shirt at his shoulder with those delicate, small hands of hers that couldn’t fight him off if she tried, and he thought about her attackers, the strikes she took, and how they tried to take her from him and his brothers. He grabbed her hips and pulled them forward as he thrust his body forward so she could feel how fucking hard she got him.

  “Oh God,” she moaned and he covered her mouth and kissed her again, stroked his tongue deeper, and then reached under her shirt and cupped her breast. She rocked her hips forward and he continued to massage her breast. They were firm, large, and felt like he imagined they would feel. Amazing. When he slowly began to release her lips he saw the expression on her face. Her lips were swollen, her face flushed, and her shirt dipped low enough to see the cleavage of her breasts and how well-endowed she was.

  “You’re going to be our woman. Hell, you already are, baby,” he said and then he pulled his hand from under her shirt as Taylor stood by them. Taylor didn’t hesitate. He reached out, cupped her cheeks, and kissed her fully on the mouth. That kiss grew wild, deeper in no time at all and when he pulled back Kurt was standing on the other side of her.

  “What the hell just happened?” she whispered, staring at them.

  Warner held her gaze with a firm one.

  “You just got claimed, baby. It’s official.”

  Chapter 5

  “Have you found anything out at all?” Jeff asked Randall. Randall was one of the major players in the field and had done a lot of the online communications with buyers.

  “One of the guys who intervened is a local deputy in Chance, where your little precious item lives. The other guy doesn’t have shit on him, at least I wasn’t able to find anything. He has like no record, just the fact that he is alive and lives in Chance, too,” Randall said.

  “Wonderful. Who the fuck would have expected cops to be hanging out there,” Jeff said.

  “You pushed her too soon. It would have been worth the effort to make another date or plans for a get-together,” Damien said.

  “You know as damn well as I do that time is of the essence. She wasn’t attracted to either of us. She was so shy, reluctant to open up, and that just made her more appealing. I’m telling you, she’s special. We don’t have a lot of time to find these women, put them up for sale, and then grab them,” Jeff countered.

  “But still, she was sweet, shy, n
ot experienced with men. It was obvious and you should have moved slower, seduced her better.”

  “Says you, Damien, who barely said a word to her. You could have helped.”

  “It doesn’t matter how you screwed up, what matters is fixing it and getting our hands on her,” Randall said to them.

  “How the hell can we do that when our faces are plastered all over the news reports and every cop out there is looking for us?” Jeff asked.

  “You have no choice. We need her,” Randall replied.

  “No, we don’t. There were plenty of other women around there. Send in Carlos, Mickey D., or even Largo. They’ll find some more product and we’ll be good to go.”

  “Have you seen the numbers on the website? Have you even checked the live trending numbers on this woman?” Randall asked them.

  “No,” Damien said.

  Randall walked over to the desk, typed some keys, and then turned the screen so they could see it.

  Jeff was shocked. There were pictures of Mercedes. Ones they had taken and ones that were altered placing her in a string bikini. She was listed as a little southern virgin along with a description of her measurements, age, and height. But what caught his attention besides the curves of her body that were pretty damn accurate except her breast size. They were bigger in person. He stared at the screen. Could see the questions being asked, the bids being placed, and the scale that showed the final number and sale price for Mercedes was moving up on the screen.

  “Six hundred thousand dollars?” Damien asked, sounding shocked.

  Randall smiled.

  “And rising as we speak.”

  “What are we going to do? They’ll be cops all over her now, and we’re screwed as is. We can’t go anywhere,” Damien said to Randall.

  “We need to come up with some kind of plan to get this woman into our possession, or a lot of men are going to be pissed off, including the boss. He knows the deal. He knows that the two of you can’t actually do the job this time. You both need to come up with a way to grab her. This one is taking a lot of attention away from the others we have listed. The boss believes that this bidding war will go over a million dollars. So think of something,” Randall told them and Jeff stared at the screen.

  How the hell was he going to get his hands on Mercedes? Who could he send in, and how could they get away with it?

  * * * *

  Mercedes wondered when they would leave. It was getting late. She was tired and had aches and pains and she wanted rest so that she could go back to work tomorrow. She needed the money.

  She looked at Warner as he worked on the laptop communicating with whomever he knew that was working the case. Kurt was on his I-pad and texting things every so often, and Luke sat right next to her, flipping through the channels on the television set.

  Her eyelids were getting heavy as she tried staying awake and wondering what it would be like to have the three of them with her like this all the time. She would never be alone. If she needed a hug, a conversation, anything at all, one of them would be there. Was that the way this worked?

  She closed her eyes and thought about the others. Her friends spoke of different aspects to ménage relationships so often, and Mercedes paid attention. Despite the fact that she didn’t ever want to rely on someone or feel she had to.

  God, I’m so tired.

  * * * *

  Taylor watched Mercedes sleeping. She looked so beautiful. He only wished she didn’t have the bruises on her cheek and her jaw. Her feet were curled up underneath her and her hands under her cheek as she slept against the throw pillow. Her home was neat and she had very little items around. He often wondered what her place might look like. What her bedroom looked like. What she slept in, if anything at all.

  He felt his dick harden beneath his pants and he shifted. He reached over and caressed her thigh. She scrunched up her face and made a sound like she was afraid or uncomfortable and then she jerked. Her eyes popped open. She looked around the room and locked gazes with him.

  “You’re okay,” Taylor told her.

  “I know,” she said, sounding kind of snappy.

  She sat up, ran her fingers through her hair, and then swallowed hard.

  “I’m sorry, but I’m tired. I need to go to bed. So, I guess I’ll see you tomorrow maybe?” she asked as she stood up.

  “We’re not leaving you,” Kurt told her.

  She looked at him as Taylor took her hand then stood up.

  “I’ll walk you to bed.

  “You don’t have to stay. I’ll need to get up early for work tomorrow,” she told them.

  “You can take another day. Max won’t mind,” Warner told her.

  “But I mind. I don’t miss work. I need the money, so it’s not your decision, it’s mine,” She said and headed toward her bedroom.

  As she got to her room and was about to close the door, Warner was there. He pressed the door open. His large palm against the white wooden door looked huge. Hell, he was huge all over.

  He stepped forward into her room and she stepped back until her calves touched the edge of the bed.

  “It is my business. It became my business the moment we decided to make you our woman. It’s even more so my business, because some assholes tried to take you,” he said and then pulled her close. She gasped as she felt his hand at her lower back then his other hand move under her hair by her neck and cup her head. He tilted her head up toward him.

  “We’re not leaving you. As we discussed earlier, things are going to change because you are our woman. You want us, like we want you, right, Mercedes?” he asked her and she didn’t hesitate. She nodded her head. His brown eyes roamed over the cleavage of her chest. Then to her lips right before he kissed her.

  That kiss grew deeper very quickly. Then she felt herself being lowered over the bed and her back hit the comforter with ease as Warner held her.

  He explored her mouth as he spread her thighs with his one leg and then maneuvered his fingers to her waist. He pressed his fingers under the elastic waistband and she wanted to feel his touch so badly she ached down there, more than her cheek and jaw ached.

  She knew if she let him touch her there, stroke her pussy and make her come, that she would want more. She would want to have sex for the very first time and she was just too insecure and scared.

  But Warner, Taylor, and Kurt did things to her. They touched her heart and made her want them. She wanted all they were willing to give and for however long.

  She gripped his wrist as she pulled from his mouth.

  “Please don’t, Warner. I’m not ready,” she said to him. His expression was dark, and he looked older, experienced, and she wondered if she should let him touch her down there so that he wouldn’t know how inexperienced she was.

  “This body is going to belong to my brothers and I. We will never hurt you or do something to you to scare you or make you feel bad.”

  “I know that. I understand. But everything you’re telling me is new. I need slow, Warner,” she told him, even though her body wanted fast. It wanted her to beg for sex, for mercy. For whatever a woman begs for when a man plays her pussy strings like an instrument.

  He stared at her, running his palm from her belly to her breast. He rubbed his thumb back and forth over her nipple. Despite wearing a bra she felt it harden and she parted her lips.

  “Your body knows, Mercedes. You’re so responsive to my touch. Don’t fight it no matter what your fears are, we’ll work through them,” he said and lowered his lips to hers and kissed her gingerly. She hadn’t expected the pinch to her nipple, or the flow of cream that had her lifting her pelvis up against his waist.

  He pulled back and stared into her eyes.

  “I can’t wait to explore this body. To watch my fingers, my lips, my cock arouse you and make you come.” She started breathing heavier and she licked her lower lip only for Warner to kiss her again and pull that lower lip into his mouth then release it. He was so experienced, so capable.

&nb
sp; “Oh God, Warner. I’ve never heard you talk so much,” she said as she tried to gain some control of her libido.

  “You bring it out in me,” he replied and then kissed her jaw, her neck and then her shoulder.

  “You travel a lot for work. How can you be with me so much?” she asked him.

  He held her gaze and caressed the hair from her cheek.

  “Things are changing, Mercedes. For me, too, and for my brothers. We’re going to make sure that you’re safe, that you’re provided for, and that you never feel alone or unloved,” he said and then kissed the corner of her mouth. God, she wanted to believe it. She wanted to buy into the whole thing but she was scared.

  “You can’t make promises like that.”

  He rose up slightly and held her gaze.

  “What I say is true. I’m a man of my word,” he said.

  Every instinct told her that he was being honest. But she had concerns, reservations, anxiety about opening up her heart and getting hurt.

  “You’re doing a lot of thinking, but you’re not talking. Explain to us what your fears are and we’ll work through them,” Warner said.

  Taylor and Kurt sat down on the bed. Kurt caressed her hair and held her gaze.

  “I can’t,” she whispered. Kurt’s expression changed. He looked hurt, maybe a little angry. These men were out of her league, older, set in their ways, and dominant. Did she really want to open herself up to them?

  When she thought about their kisses she believed she did.

  “Maybe if you tell me more about the three of you?” she suggested.

  “And you’ll tell us more about you?” Warner asked, adjusting his body so little of his weight was on her as he lay with his thigh over her thigh and between her legs.

  “Okay,” she said.

  “What would you like to know?” Kurt asked her.

  Suddenly all her questions were at her lips.