Saving Treasure (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) (6 page)

His flavor exploded in her mouth, and she relished his arms tightening around her. She responded to him before the kiss ended. James slid his face down the side of hers. She heard him breathing in deep as he pressed more into her.

Treasure’s eyes met Chad’s. He leaned down and kissed her lips gently, lightly teasing the seam with his tongue before barely slipping it through to taste her.

The two kisses were different from one another, but they both melted the last of her composure. Treasure had managed to stay calm and rational while dealing with an abusive roommate who had decided to take over her free will. She had been surviving and planning to get away from Larson for what felt like ages even though it was just a matter of a couple of months and not years. The tears that she had held at bay began to leak from the corners of her eyes even as she kissed the man kissing her.

The tears held no shame. Instead, they were freeing in a way that she needed.

James began kissing the tear tracks along her cheek, sucking each off of her face while easily stroking her back, arm, and leg. Chad had one hand planted firmly on her abdomen while the other cupped the back of her head, tangling in her hair.

Treasure stroked one hand along James’s muscular leg under her own, and the other hand slid up Chad’s chest and gripped his strong shoulder.

The kiss finally broke, and Treasure was gasping for breath.

She looked from one man to the other quizzically. This was not something that she really knew how to respond to. She had been kissed by guys before, but she had never been kissed by different guys on the same day. And she definitely had never been kissed by one guy while another guy was holding her. It made her wetter and achy.

She kept looking from one man to the other, trying to determine how they were going to respond and how often they did something like this. She wanted to ask questions, but she couldn’t quite make her mouth work with her brain.

She knew James sensed her discomfort and tried to relax her. “We’ll worry about it later. Tomorrow, we are going to deal with taking care of the paperwork side of keeping this creep away from you, taking care of your car, and getting you settled.”

“Getting me settled? What do you mean?” she asked, not really sure if she could believe what she thought he might be proposing.

“Exactly what I said. You can’t keep running, and you’ll at least be safe here. We can make sure of that easily enough. You need time to heal. You also can’t keep running forever. I don’t know what it is exactly, but I need to make sure you are safe,” he stated plainly.

Chad spoke softly next to her ear, and she knew he was trying to lull her into doing whatever they wanted. If only he knew that all he had to do was keep touching and kissing her, she would do whatever he asked. Whereas James’s voice was deep and raspy, Chad’s was husky and rough. “Nobody can run forever, and you’ll need other people on your side. Don’t you have any family anywhere?”

The bluster that Treasure was planning on building and letting loose deflated as she shook her head. “It was just Daddy and me, but he passed on a couple of years ago.”

“I’m sorry, but don’t you think he would want you to admit it when you needed help? Wouldn’t he want you to be safe? What kind of men would he think we were if we didn’t do everything we could to help you get away from this? I know you love your daddy just by the tone in your voice. For you to love him like that, he had to be a great man, so you will let us help you, in his place,” Chad stated. She knew he was trying to make her see the point they were making, and he was doing a damn-good job, too.

Treasure’s brows puckered as she thought about the points that were being highlighted for her. She already knew all of this. She just didn’t know these men, despite the fact that she felt safe with them. She reflected on the fact that she had never felt this at home with Larson or even any of her roommates before him.

“If I stay, I will insist on being useful around here. I have always done my part and paid my own way,” she stated stubbornly. This was a point on which she refused to budge. “We also need to discuss…We need to make a few things clear.”

She waited while James and Chad both studied her. She knew they had expected to have to work harder at convincing her. She loved that she had both relaxed them and put them on their guard.

“I’m going to find a place of my own. I’ll just need a couple of days.” She took a deep breath.

James shook his head. “You need someone for right now. Stay here. You’ll need time to find a place, and you’ll need to get your car fixed. You should stay longer.” She wasn’t sure what was happening with these two men. There was something in the air, an unasked question for which she didn’t have an answer.

James continued as his arms tightened around her, claiming her.

“You can stay here. We’ll help you get on your feet again.” All she could do was nod and accept for that moment.

Her eyes roamed over James again as she admired his dark looks. Both he and Chad were tall. James had at least two inches on Chad in height. Chad’s skin was fair while James’s was tanned. James had hair that touched the collar of his shirt while Chad’s hair was shorter even with its shagginess.

Her eyes were riveted to Chad’s eyes. They weren’t blue, and they weren’t gray. They were a mixture of the two. They lent to his mischievous look.

James had full lips, but Chad’s were fuller. James had a sexy cleft in his chin that begged her to lick it.

Her core clenched again in insistence as it woke up.

Sex was something that she hadn’t been exposed to a lot. She had only had two partners previously, and both had occurred after she moved away from her daddy. Constantly moving around meant that she hadn’t formed a lot of deeper relationships with others until she went to college. During college, she was worried about disappointing Daddy. He also managed to scare away many guys she had been interested in during his time. She couldn’t help but to wonder what her daddy would think of these two.

James continued to just hold her close. She felt so safe there. Chad’s hands played with the skin he exposed. She knew in that moment that these two men would be in her life. She wasn’t ready to acknowledge in what capacity. She was barely wrapping her head around how perfect they felt and how complete she felt in this moment.

For right now, she just wanted to savor being held.

Treasure stood nervously in the exam room at the doctor’s office. She was a little thankful that it was a nice room, and the office had a comfy vibe to it. The walls weren’t the standard white or even a cream.

She had insisted on a shower before they left. When she had stepped out, Chad had been lounging in the TV area that was directly outside that bathroom. He had looked her up and down appreciatively.

He didn’t stand or try to come any closer, but his bright eyes definitely told her that he was flirting with her. He just gently told her to finish getting ready. She knew, somehow, that there was not a way she could talk either man out of going to the police or the doctor.

It was for the best, she told herself.

Now, they paced around the room, studying the blue walls that were covered in a lovely mural. Each area of the hospital had a different mural with different base colors. This room had a nice forest scene that wrapped around the three walls and outlined the windows in the fourth wall. This clinic was the most calming place she had ever seen. It could accommodate anyone between the cradle and the grave.

She jumped when the door opened, and a man who was probably in his late thirties entered. She studied him as he looked through a standard folder that was rather empty.

“Treasure, right?” he asked while looking through his lashes, glancing between her and the folder. She had no other response other than nodding. “I’m Dr. Jacoby. I don’t have your complete medical file yet, so you need fill out a few pieces of paper to help us. It seems that you have traveled quite a bit. So tell me, what seems to be the problem exactly?” he inquired.

“I was in a wreck, but none of the bruises that are a problem are from the wreck. I can show you the one from it, though. I left a roommate when I came here, and he liked to get a little on the physical side. James said that I need to have these bruises checked out and documented.” Treasure looked at him speculatively. She wasn’t sure how this was going to work. She was kind of scared to dredge up any problems from Taos here. She was also scared that she would wind up hurt because of this decision.

She tamped down on the irrationality with reassurances as to what her daddy would tell her to do right now.

“Okay. Let’s look at these bruises, and then I will use a camera to take the pictures that will be needed. Do you want me to call a nurse to stay in here, or do you have anybody you want in here?” He placed the file on the counter along the wall next to the door.

Treasure shook her head before changing her mind and nodding. “James, um, Calloway, with Chad Hardin, is in the waiting room. May they come and stay in here with me?” she asked nervous.

The doctor smiled then stuck his head out of the door and called a nurse over, who must have been in the hallway. He passed on her request politely, and they waited while he asked about allergies and any prescriptions she had had before as well as other questions to validate what he did have in that folder. He had to fill in gaps here and there.

James stepped quietly through the door and stood in the middle of the room. Treasure held out her hand to him and gently tugged him to stand right next to her. “I want you in here. He is about to check out my bruises and then take pictures of them,” she said as she looked up at him. Chad, dressed in his scrubs, slipped in and stood to the side as she spoke.

She felt a little odd lifting her shirt, but she complied and breathed a sigh of relief as the doctor remained completely professionally. She never met James’s eyes, but she felt his comforting presence. He stood close to her, his presence making her feel protected.

Chad got down on eye level with her, telling stories about some of his and James’s escapades when they were younger. It lightened the mood. Her body relaxed, and she was more able to follow the doctor’s instructions.

Dr. Jacoby only asked a question here and there about where each bruise came from. He laughed good-naturedly at Chad’s antics. Treasure never heard James say anything, but he continued to keep his hand on hers throughout the exam.

She knew an X-ray of her ribs was necessary, and by the time the doctor had finished, he had documented each and every bruise, the cracked ribs, and even took her description of what had happened.

He handed her a stack of papers in a file to take with her, instructing her that these were a copy of what had to go to the police when she filed her complaint. He even told her, with a gentle smile, that he would have an officer waiting for her to file the report.

She and James stepped into the waiting room, one of his arms wound around her shoulder and the file in his other hand. She looked into James’s eyes and knew he was waiting for her reaction. Chad kissed her forehead then her lips before heading to work.

Now, she had to go to the police. That was something she really didn’t want to do. She would have to tell them everything. Her nerves became a knot in her stomach as they walked to his truck. He scooped her up and placed her carefully into the passenger seat, even gently fastening her seatbelt.

“We’re dropping off your prescription before we head to the station,” James said carefully, weighing each word. “Stay with us until those ribs are healed.”

She took his hand in hers. “I’ll be fine. You heard the doctor. In a few weeks, I’ll be good as new.” His fingers looped through hers, pulling her hand into his embrace instead of hers holding his.

“Please.” The one word echoed between them once it slipped from James.

She wanted to accept it with all her heart. She wanted to curl into him and Chad and stay there. They brought forth a feeling she hadn’t felt in a long time. She just couldn’t quite pinpoint what that was. Whatever it was, it was addictive and wonderful.

It was her brain that was the problem.

Treasure sighed as she sank into the soft couch that was in the upstairs TV area. She had just finished cleaning up despite James’s protests that she didn’t need to do so at that precise moment. She smiled as she thought of all the ploys he had tried to just get her to lie down. He had cajoled, threatened her bottom, picked her up and made her lie down, all the while being gentle and following her as she cleaned what she wanted. It was rather endearing.

She really felt the need to be useful and to give something back. For the doctor to see her as late as he did, she knew someone had to have called in a favor.

She closed her eyes to rest for a little bit before getting back up and finishing with what she had deemed as her chores. She didn’t notice the passage of time as she dozed, curled into the couch, until weight made the cushions behind her dip.

Her eyes snapped open and turned to meet a pair of mischievous blue-gray eyes.

“Hello, sleepy eyes. Imagine finding you like this again. How are your ribs feeling?” Chad began teasing the back of her arm, stroking the bare skin lightly as he waited for her answer.