Roped for Pleasure (5 page)

“Mhhmmmm,” Sam moaned. “Our girl sure knows how to suck a cock.”

She liked the sound of that. Their girl.

“I’m going to come,” Charlie panted as she hit another peak. Her pussy and anus clenched down like a vice on them, and she moaned around Sam’s shaft.

They all groaned. Charlie pumped faster, his cock jerking inside her just before she felt the first splash of cum. He cried out as he continued to pump, filling her pussy with his seed. Dasan grew taut behind her as he joined them, hot jets of cum spilling into her ass.

Sam pulled back, and she cried out as she rode out yet another orgasm.

“Not yet,” he panted, using one hand to squeeze the base of his dick as if staving off an orgasm.

“You’re amazing, Tara,” Dasan panted, leaning over her and placing a kiss on her shoulder. His cock was so deep, throbbing inside her.

“You’re pretty amazing yourself,” she whispered.

He shifted to stand once more. His fingers brushed her ass as he grasped his cock and tugged it free. She felt empty, incomplete without him inside her.

Charlie shifted beneath her, his cock pulling free. She felt bereft with him gone, as well, until Sam reached his hand out to her.

“My turn,” he murmured, tugging her off Charlie.

Her legs were a little weak, and she stumbled, but Sam scooped her up into his arms and carried her. They only went a few steps to the couch. He laid her on it and came over her, using his thighs to spread her legs wider. His cock nudged her pussy.

“Can you take more?” His eyes implored her. He held himself taut above her, leaving her no doubt he’d stop if she said no.

“I can take all you have to give,” she answered and meant it.

He thrust deep, holding still as she caught her breath. He made love to her; there was just no other way to describe it. She wrapped her fingers around his biceps and lifted her knees to grip his hips. Arching her head back into the cushion, she lifted her chest into his, reveling in the brush of his chest hair against her nipples.

They moaned together, moving as one at a slow, unhurried pace.

“I want to feel you come around my cock,” he whispered. He used one hand to brace him above her and slid the other to her clit, rubbing over it with small circles. “Come for me, Tara.”

She cried out, holding him tight as her body surged higher toward orgasm. She felt it building inside her with each touch, each stroke. Then he used his thumb and finger to pinch her clit, and she fell over the edge, freefalling into intense pleasure.

Sam released her clit and rode her fast and hard to his own finish. He groaned her name as he came inside her, his body rigid as he pressed deep and spilled his seed. She felt sated and worn, perhaps exhausted enough to fall into a dreamless sleep for the first time in too long.

Sam collapsed on top of her. She let her legs slide down the outside of his and wrapped her arms around his shoulders to hold him close. His breath was warm where he panted against her skin.

She’d learned one thing for sure. Once would never be enough with these three. She might not have forever, but she planned to make the most of right now. For as long as she could.

Chapter Five

Tara stepped out of the shower and reached for a towel. She gave herself credit for not jumping at the sight of Charlie leaning in the door with nothing but a zipped pair of jeans riding low on his hips. She’d expected one or all of them to follow her upstairs. None of them had been happy when she’d left with the flimsy excuse of needing a shower.

Not really an excuse. She
had
needed a shower. Charlie’s wet hair indicated he’d taken one, as well. But she wouldn’t be honest if she didn’t admit she’d needed a bit of emotional distance. One foray with them and she was already wishing for happily ever after. Not realistic at all. She glanced at Charlie again. It was unnerving the way he stared at her in silence.

“Are you just going to watch me?”

He shrugged his shoulders. “I like watching you.”

She smiled. “I like watching you too,” she admitted. She turned to the mirror above the sink, picking up her brush and running it through her hair.

Charlie stepped up behind her and took the brush from her fingers. He stroked it through her auburn strands a few times. She almost purred. It felt good to have someone brushing her hair.

“Are you okay, Tara? Really okay? You left pretty fast.”

She met his eyes in the mirror. “I’m okay, Charlie.”

He sighed, laid the brush aside and ran his hands up her arms to cup her shoulders. “Once isn’t enough,” he whispered. “It only made me want you more.”

She turned to face him. “I want you to, Charlie. But…I’m afraid.”

“Afraid of what?”

“Of when it ends. Your sister is one of my best friends. I don’t want any hard feelings between us.”

“Who says—?” He shook his head and cut off his own words. “Why don’t we just take things a day at a time? We’ll deal with stuff as it happens. But I give you my word on one thing, no matter what happens, you’ll always be welcome here. Always.”

“Thank you,” she whispered and leaned up to kiss him softly on the lips. She had little doubt he meant it.

Her phone rang in the other room. She pushed away from him and almost laughed when she entered her room. Sam was sprawled on her bed while Dasan sat in the chair, reading a book. She just shook her head and reached for her phone. She’d purposely ignored Charlie’s calls earlier. This one should be from Kat.

“Hey,” she said as she answered. “How was the flight?”

“Great. Good. Fine.” Kat brushed off her question. “We’ve got major problems here.”

“Are you okay? What’s going on?” Tara batted Charlie’s hand away as he tried to reach for the phone. All three of them could tell she was talking to Kat, and they were all on alert now.

“For starters, our office was broken into. Papers are everywhere. I can’t tell if anything is missing in this mess or not. It looks like someone threw a temper tantrum in here. Shit is dumped from our desks, filing cabinets, anywhere and everywhere they could find it. It’s going to take me a bit to sort through this.”

“Holy shit! Do you need me to help? I can get the next flight out.”

Sam was shaking his head. Dasan was glaring. Charlie just stood with his arms crossed over his chest, looking at her. She had little doubt she’d have a fight on her hands if she thought she was leaving without one or all of them in tow.

“No.” She heard Kat rustling through stuff. “They left a message for us on the front desk. The picture we hung up of the three of us at graduation… The glass frame is shattered. A red marker was used on it. We all have X’s on our heads.” Kat paused, and Tara felt her heartbeat increase.

“What is it, Kat?”

“You have a huge bull’s eye on you with the number one. You need to stay as far away as you can.”

Tara did her best to swallow the fear that tried to overtake her. They all had X’s on them. She might be the first target, but Kat was right there and probably easier to get. “Sounds like you need to get the hell out of there, as well. Holy shit, Kat. What kind of psycho are we dealing with?”

“I don’t know.” Kat sighed. “I’ve got the police involved here. Amazing how helpful they are now. Seems they’re eager to make sure there’s not a repeat of what we went through with Detective Marino. Lots of changes in the department here.”

“Good ones, I hope.”

“I hope so.” Kat continued, “Listen, I’m looking into stuff. Trying to contact all our clients and let them know about the break in. I have no idea yet if any of their information was taken or not. But it was compromised either way. They need to know that.”

“I have access on my laptop from here,” Tara told her. “I’ll start making calls in the morning.”

“Thanks. I gotta go for now. I need to call River and let her know what’s going on. She needs to keep an eye out too. We’re all going to need to be careful until we figure this out.”

“I don’t like you being there alone.”

“I doubt I will be for long,” Kat said with a laugh. “Just tell my brother not to go overboard. You’ll have to fill him in. This is much bigger than we thought.”

“God, what a mess.”

“Take care of you,” Kat said.

“Take care of you,” Tara responded and the phone clicked. What the hell was going on? Who was doing this to them? To her. And why?

Dasan clearing his throat interrupted her thoughts. “I know you’re independent. I know you’re capable. We all care about you. Kat may be Charlie’s sister by blood, but Sam and I think of her as our little sister too. Whatever’s going on, we deserve to know. Especially since you’re using words like ‘psycho’.”

Tara sighed heavily. Once upon a time, life had been simple, if not easy. There was a routine to her day. Get up, go to work, have dinner with the girls, then go to sleep and start all over again. There had been variations, events here and there. But it had all been normal. Then Detective Raymond Marino came into their lives, and it had all gone downhill.

According to Kat, he’d hit on her first, and she’d sent him sniffing in River’s direction. And that one decision would haunt Kat for the rest of her life. It might just haunt them all.

Tara sat back on the bed, pulling her towel snug around her and began talking. It all spilled out. Some the men guessed at after what happened with River. Tara could still see the sneer on Raymond’s face that day. But remembering that always took her back to a different day, and a touch that choked her with anger and a trace of fear. She shook those thoughts away. She wouldn’t discuss that.

“I’m glad you killed the son of a bitch,” Dasan grunted. “After what Charlie said…” He stopped before finishing, and she turned just in time to see Charlie shaking his head subtly.

“What? What did you say?” she asked the question quietly. She didn’t know how much of her nightmare they knew. She wasn’t sure she wanted to know.

“I don’t like secrets,” Charlie answered. “Secrets cause problems, wound friends, arm enemies. They rarely serve the purpose those keeping them believe. And the longer they remain the more power they gain.”

Tara met his gaze and felt the first tear spill from her eye.

“Don’t cry,” Sam begged and tugged her into his arms.

Dasan walked over and sat on the bed beside them. He reached out and ran his finger down her cheek. “Let her cry.”

Charlie sat down on the bed with them. It should have been crowded, but it wasn’t. It was comfortable, comforting, and at last, she let herself cry over that night.

“He can’t hurt you ever again,” Charlie reminded her.

She nodded her head. She knew that. But knowing didn’t stop the nightmares. If anything, they had increased since his death.

“Tell us about that night,” Dasan encouraged. “Maybe if you talk about it, it will help exorcise some of the demons.”

Maybe he was right. Maybe she needed to talk about it to heal from it. After all, that night was what had led to her shooting to kill. And her killing Raymond was what must have led to what they were dealing with now. Someone bent on revenge?

She drew a deep breath, squared her shoulders, and nodded. They might not be with her for the long haul, but they were here now. And whether she wanted to admit it or not, she needed them, if only for a little while.

“I’d been having trouble sleeping. River was gone. We weren’t sure where she was, if she was safe. We were desperate for word, but Detective Marino was watching our every move. So we limited where we looked, limited ourselves, and trusted River could keep herself safe. It was horrible. We felt powerless.”

“And the detective kept coming around? Thinking you knew more?” Sam coaxed her to keep speaking.

“Yes. He hounded us constantly. Everywhere we went, he was there. Or one of his trusted friends. Always watching.”

“Why didn’t you call?” Charlie’s voice was a bit hoarse with emotion.

Tara reached for him, taking his hand in hers and squeezing it. “You know your sister.” She shrugged her shoulders. “Fiercely independent. Not willing to ask for help from anyone.”

“You’re just like her,” Sam stated.

“I am. We all are. River, Kat, me. I think it’s one of the things that united us in the beginning.”

“What happened the night he broke in?” Dasan asked the question, pulling her back to what she wanted to forget but couldn’t.

“I took something to help me sleep. Kat was harping at me for being so tired. I was losing focus on our cases. I was distracted and so damn tired. I just wanted to sleep, to rest.” She shuddered, closing her eyes and finding herself in her bedroom again, tied down to her own bed. Blindfolded and unable to do a thing to save herself.

“No,” Sam said as he tapped her on the chin. Her eyes flew open. “Stay here with us. He doesn’t get to pull you back there.”

He was right. Detective Marino was dead. She needed to keep reminding herself of that fact.

“I was already tied down when I woke up.” She trembled, but this time kept her eyes open. She took strength in the three men with her. Raymond and that night were in her past. Dasan, Sam, and Charlie were her present. “He’d blindfolded me. The first thing I remember is the rough feel of his hands on my skin, my naked skin. I tried to slap him away, but my hands were bound and tied to the headboard. My legs…” she quivered and took a deep breath before continuing, “my legs were sprawled and tied to the posts at the foot of the bed.”

Tears filled her eyes again. Tears of rage and hatred. In that moment, she would have killed him again if given the chance.

“His hands were all over me. Touching, pinching, hurting. He liked my cries of pain, so I quit giving them to him. He kept asking me questions about River, where she was, why I was hiding her. ‘
Do you like my touch? Like a little pain to give you pleasure?’
he kept asking me. I could have lied, could have made up some story of where River was, but I knew it didn’t matter. He wasn’t planning on me leaving my bed. I don’t know if he meant to kill me or just keep me hidden. I feared for River more than I ever had before. He was completely demented, obsessed. The veneer he kept in place was finally crumbling, and you could just glimpse the madness inside.”