Theirs to Treasure (Beyond Monogamy Book 1) (16 page)

“You two couldn’t wait until after I talked to the new guards downstairs?” Cody bitched as he strolled toward the bed, stripping as he moved.

Aiden let her nipple slip from his lips, his mouth hovering just over it. “If you’d have taken much longer you’d have missed all the action.”

She reached out. “Join us.”

Cody pulled off his jeans and tossed them at the edge of the huge bed. He stood there a moment as her gaze traveled over his body. “Do you like what you see?” he teased, watching her devour him with her eyes.

“Oh, yes!” She nodded, wanting to run her hands over his chest. Where Aiden was toned, Cody was beyond that; his body was carved out of stone, every muscle well defined. All the hours lifting the hay and attending to the horses. Even working the land had left him with a warm golden tan all over his body, that neither of her other men could compare to. “Come to me.”

With a heated gaze, he joined them on the bed, nestling himself on the opposite side of her. With Aiden and Cody on either side of her, and Kain at her waist, she was surrounded by handsome naked men, making her a tiny bit self-conscious.

“I want you to lie back and enjoy. Let us do all the work,” Aiden whispered, his mouth on her earlobe, gently tugging it with his teeth.

“Don’t tease, I want each of you now.” She reached out, her hand landing firmly on Cody’s chest until he lowered closer into her. His shaft pressed tight against her thigh. They had her captive between their bodies, making her feel safe and wanted. In that moment all her fears were gone.

Kain slid on top of her, his bulky frame hovering above her as he stared down at her, desire burning in her eyes. He teased along the curves of her hips, the back of his hands brushing against the thighs of Aiden and Cody.

He blazed a hot, wet trail of kisses across her belly and stroked her thighs with his fingertips. With every touch, she arched her hips, demanding more. Nudging her legs farther apart, he delved inside her with his fingers and she met the teasing thrusts. A demanding moan tore through the air.

Passion drove fire through her. Their gazes stayed locked as he slipped lower on the bed. The trail of wicked kisses tingled over her thighs. He moved his fingers until his thumb was lightly teasing her bud before he replaced it with his mouth. Tiny nips and gentle licks flicked over her sweet spot until she wriggled beneath him. Her fingers locked in his hair, torn between pressing him closer and dragging him up.

“Kain!” She cried out, her legs twitching, her back arching as the release she needed surged forward. Her body felt torn between the three of them. While Kain worked his magic between her legs, Cody’s mouth had claimed one of her nipples, and Aiden nibbled from her ear down to her neck.

Just as her release neared, Kain pulled back, his fingers replacing his mouth. “Not yet, darling, not yet.” He continued to tease her with his thumb, forcing her to arch toward him, demanding more.

“I need you.”

“Soon,” Cody whispered, grazing over her hardened nipple with his teeth.

Aiden nibbled her lower lip and he pulled back enough to let her cries of frustration escape. He caressed every inch of her body, sending moans of ecstasy from her lips. For such a big man, he was incredibly tender, as though trying to memorize every curve of her body with his hands and mouth.

Heat soared through her blood, impatient and demanding. Her body always seemed to be on edge, needing their touches, and now she wanted them hard and fast. “I need one of you inside me. Now!”

Kain gently eased her legs open farther, giving him just enough room to position himself between them. He slipped on top of her, his bulky frame hovering above her as he stared down at her, desire burning in his eyes. His shaft teased along her entrance without entering as he watched her.

“Kain!” She reached up and grabbed his hips, determined to have him within her.

As if calling his name tore away the last shred of control he had, he drove into her with one powerful thrust. With it came a moan of both pleasure and pain. Even with the foreplay, she was still tight, her body wasn’t ready for hard and fast yet, but he’d get her there. He gave her no time to catch her breath before he began rocking in and out, slow enough not to hurt her.

Cody scooted along the bed and knelt before her, his hard length jutting toward her. She took him into her mouth, working her way to the base. She used her hand to cup the end of the hard shaft, moving her mouth up and down the length, slowly at the tip. Cody groaned and reached to cup the back of her head. He allowed her to set the pace.

Trapped in the tempo of Cody and Kain’s thrusts, she fought to find the perfect cadence to allow them to work together. Their rhythm quickly synced and she moaned, knowing they were being pleasured as one, rocking together in perfect harmony, as her ecstasy began to overwhelm her. While Aiden seemed content to wait his turn, he worked her nipple to ultimate hardness. Digging her nails into the backs of Cody’s thighs, she held on to him as every pump sent pulses exploding through her. She came apart at the seams, her inner muscles clenching around Kain as he continued to drive his shaft into her.

Rapture engulfed her and Cody cried out his release. She writhed beneath Kain and Aiden’s touches as she swallowed Cody’s juices. Cody slipped from her lips and leaned against the headboard, his eyes closed. She tugged his hand, still reeling. She turned to Aiden, expecting to find him waiting, as she could feel the cord that reined in Aiden’s desperation to touch her fraying. Instead, he shook his head. Before she could question it, Kain took hold of her hips, lifting her into the air to give him a deeper angle as he rocked deep within her.

With each pump his hips increased speed, driving the force deeper and faster. Finding a perfect rhythm, their bodies rocked back and forth, tension stretching her tighter as another climax began to climb upon her. He slammed home in a frenzy, shouting her name.

Without giving her time to recover, Aiden took Kain’s place. He slid between her legs, his hands on her hips. “Open your eyes, beautiful.”

As soon as she opened her eyes, he slid deep within her, and she moaned. He filled her slowly, inch by inch. Halfway in, he slid out before thrusting back in, filling her completely with his manhood. His strokes sparked feverish desire within her. She reached out to feel along the perfect contours of Kain’s chest where he lay beside her. With Aiden between her legs, Cody nibbled her neck, his hand cupping her breast until his thumb found her nipple, and Kain collapsed next to her regaining his breath.

Aiden set his own tempo, not to be outdone by Kain. Taking it slower, making each stroke count. She dug her fingers into his back, clawing at him as a second orgasm neared. Her body clenched around his erection, which seemed to spark the fire within him and sent him pushing deeper and faster into her. He claimed her nipple with his mouth, pulling the bud between his teeth and applying just the perfect amount of pain to make it pleasurable. As if knowing she was close to a climax Aiden sped his pace, slamming into her until their hips hit off each other.

“Aiden!” She cried out as her orgasm tore through her. She clawed at his back as she pulled herself tight against him, meeting his thrusts. He pumped twice more and shouted her name, his own climax finding him. Eternity stretched on until he collapsed between her and Cody.

Her breath slowly returned to normal and she lay cradled between them. Her hand draped over Aiden’s body so she could feel Cody. Everything went perfectly, and she almost suspected the men had choreographed how things would work, but she made a mental note to make sure they worked out something so it wasn’t always Cody on the outside. If there was one thing, she knew about living this lifestyle it was never to show favoritism and always communicate.

For now, she was where she belonged—in their arms—and everything else could wait until later.

They must have dozed sometime after the lovemaking because the next thing Paris knew she was blinking to the sun in her eyes and her cell phone was vibrating its way to the edge of the nightstand. She started to sit up but found her men cuddled against her, nearly pinning her to the bed. Now that she was awake, the heat from their bodies almost became overwhelming.

“Where do you think you’re going?” Aiden’s eyelids popped open and he watched her, his arm tight around her waist.

“My phone.” He grumbled something she wasn’t able to make out before he reached behind him, grabbed the phone, and handed it to her. “Thank you.”

“Is it Paul or Mathew?” He snuggled back against her, running his hand down her arm.

“No.” She stared at the phone screen. London’s name in bold letters left her unsure what she wanted to do. To call him back might only continue the fight, but she needed to know where he was, and eventually they had to work out their issues. Before she could make up her mind to return his call or just let it ride for the moment, her phone vibrated again, this time with a text message.

Coffee and scones. Join me. We need to talk.

“That could be a good step,” Aiden whispered.

“Or the last thing I want this morning.” She laid her head against his shoulder. “Either way I have to go take care of this.”

“I wouldn’t expect anything else from you.” He glanced toward the others. “If you can slip out from their arms, we can let them sleep.”

“You don’t have to come downstairs and deal with this. I don’t know what he has to say and if it’s…”

He leaned up on his elbow and shook his head. “Part of his anger is because of me. You shouldn’t have to deal with that alone. If you’d prefer Kain or Cody to go with you instead, I’ll wake them, but your brother is pissed about the situation. There are extra guards downstairs that Cody met with last night but I would still feel better if one of us were with you.”

She nodded because she’d prefer someone with her until she could judge London’s mood. “Okay, but if he just wants to talk…”

“The guards and I will go to another room to give you privacy.” He slipped out of the bed and held his hand out to her. “Come on, beautiful.”

She took his hand and gently eased out of the bed, doing her best not to wake Kain or Cody. “Why additional guards? The house is secure. We’ve never had anyone make it through the walls of the compound.”

“It’s not for the house, but when we go out.” He strolled over to the dresser and grabbed a fresh set of clothes out of his bag. “Beautiful, don’t look at me like that, it’s just a precaution. While you were in the bath last night, we found out Kings bought a ticket here a few days before we arrived. If Kings is pissed at Kain, for whatever happened, they’ll work it out, but we’re keeping you safe. No matter how pissed you might be about having the additional security guards.”

She shrugged and tugged on a pair of jeans. “What’s a few more guards, I’ve always had a security detail. My concern is, who are these guys? You can’t normally flip through the yellow pages until you find them. Plus, the family keeps additional guards on a call list for when things get rough. I could have called them in.”

“These are my men and they’re the best.” He tugged a royal blue sweater over his head and closed the distance between them. “Mathew also insisted Schwartz accompany you anytime you leave the house. He trusts this guy.”

“But you don’t? Even after you heard he saved my life.”

“I haven’t met him so I don’t know. He was off because you were in Wyoming with us, but he should be here in an hour.” He reached past her to grab his cell phone on the end table. “As for trusting him, I’ll be able to tell you in a moment.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” She fastened a black with white trim bra before she grabbed a warm green sweater, almost the colors of the leaves on the trees.

“I ran a check on him before you came out. Everything should be waiting for me.” He hit a few buttons on the phone, mumbling to himself.

“You know if you wanted to check out Schwartz’s past, I’d have shown you his file. We did the checks before we hired him.”

He nodded, still not looking up from his phone. “Did you know that Schwartz has a sister with a drug problem? He’s been raising his niece off and on for the last six months, but Friday the courts granted him permanent custody of the child.”

“What?”

“I’ll take that as a no.” He held out the phone to her. “See for yourself.”

She read the screen, scrolling down with her thumb to read the rest before looking up at him. “Why didn’t he tell me?”

“You’ll have to ask him.”

She handed the phone back to him, grabbed her brush off the vanity, and dragged it through her long locks. After she spent as long as she could getting the tangles out, she set the brush aside. “I guess I can’t put this off any longer.”

“You could go back to bed and forget about it.”

“No, London will wait there until I come down. He’s persistent.” With one last glance back to the bed and her sleeping men, she took a deep breath and strolled toward the door. She wasn’t sure why she was so apprehensive, but every hair on the back of her neck stood, making her completely uneasy.

In the hall, Aiden placed his hand on the small of her back. She didn’t think it was to guide her to the kitchen, but out of the need to touch. It had been something she had witnessed with her parents all her life; whenever they were together they’d share intimate touches every chance they got. Her men were the same way, but with three of them it seemed more important than ever so that they could each have their time with her.

“I had wondered if you’d come.” London sat at the kitchen table. Even though it had taken her a little longer, the scones and coffee sat untouched. “Though I hadn’t expected Aiden. I’ll grab another coffee cup and plate.”

“I’ll just take some coffee and meet with the new guards in the other room.” Aiden leaned down, placing his mouth next to her ear before whispering, “I’ll just be in around the corner if you need me.”

He grabbed the coffee London poured for him and stepped out, leaving Paris slightly stunned. She wasn’t sure why he left as quickly as he did; maybe it had something to do with the dark circle under London’s eyes, or his mellow attitude. Either way, Aiden must have believed there wouldn’t be any fighting or he wouldn’t have left so fast.

“London, what’s this about?”

“Come sit.” He poured them both coffee from the pot sitting in the middle of the table. “I thought we should talk.”

She stepped closer to the table, though hesitation slowed her. “What about?”

“I’ve been an ass. It took Dad to knock some sense into me. When Paul came to find me pacing the sidewalk outside the hospital I was sure he was going to rip me a new one. Instead what he said made me realize the crap I had been doing to you, the guys, our family, and everyone else around us.” He paused as she finally took the seat across from him. “I wanted you to know I’m sorry.”

“What did Dad say in order to get you to see the error of your attitude?”

“Oh, this and that, but I was already coming to the conclusion that I was being a jerk before he found me. Aiden’s past made me concerned for you, but if I just opened up my eyes I would have seen how much he cares for you.”

“The media made it seem worse than it was. For some of the events he needed escorts, so he’d have a friend or a friend of a friend accompany him. He truly doesn’t have a string of woman he’s left discarded.”

“Even if he did, it’s not as though it was going to change things for you. I might have been blind to it before, but I can see the love you have for him. The only way would have been to let you learn for yourself, and then I’d beat his ass for hurting my sister.” He broke off a piece of the scone and ate it. “I was stupid for how I acted before but I’ll make it up to you and your men. If I had known before you arrived with them—especially under the circumstances—I don’t think it would have ever gotten to this. Everything slammed at me at once; I didn’t know how to handle it. So I lashed out at you, Aiden, and the others.”

“I was going to tell you during that lunch that we planned. Ever since, things always came up and it never seemed the right time. I’ll admit that Dad came to me and asked me to go interview them for our service, but he told me to keep it quiet. Not only from you but from everyone. It wasn’t even to be in the computer system. When I realized they didn’t want or need my services any longer, that I was the woman for them, I didn’t know how to tell you.” She smirked at him over her coffee mug. “I had expected a different reaction from you, though.”

“My sister dating a man I’ve followed his whole career. Yeah, even I would have expected something different. Hopefully he won’t hold this against me.”

“Paris.” She turned to find Aiden in the doorway. “I hate to interrupt, but you need to see this.” He held up a stack of newspapers.”

“Oh no…please tell me it’s not bad.”

“Bad…well, I guess that could be a way to look at it. I’m thinking disastrous might be a better way to put it.” He placed the papers in front of her and the headline on the first one made her gasp. There on the front page was her being embraced by her men in the hospital hallway. Aiden and Cody on either side of her and Kain standing at her back. Whoever had taken the picture had been in the secure area, which the guards had been protecting. That could only mean a hospital staff member had taken the picture.

Aiden placed a hand on her shoulder. “The top half of every one of them reads the same:
Beyond Monogamy’s daughter to strike and claim
.”

“The others?” She couldn’t even look through the stack of papers. She thought when the news hit about her and her men that she’d be fine with it. After all, she was used to dealing with the media. Only this time it was different. It wasn’t the publicity because of her parents’ relationship, or the battle that went on for years to legalize this lifestyle, it was directed at her.

Aiden knelt beside her and took her hand into his. “It would seem as if Kings has decided to go after us in other ways. He went to the media with what happened, his false claims, even going as far as to say Kain was the one responsible for the murder of his mistress.”

“What? His wife confessed.”

“He tells the media that it was Kain who told his wife of the mistress and that’s what sent her there. It gets crazier the more you read the article but the tabloids loved it. If people didn’t pick it up for the sports attorney, former football player, or former baseball player they picked the papers up because of you and your family.”

“Shit, they must be rolling in dough.” London leaned forward, sifting through the papers.

“I’m sure they are, and I hate to tell you this but…the media is camped out at the gate. More are arriving every moment.” Aiden rubbed his thumb across her knuckles as she gaped in disbelief. “I’m sorry, beautiful, but we’re going to have a bumpy journey for a little while.”

“Which is about to get worse,” Kain announced from the doorway.

“How?” She wasn’t sure she even wanted to know but the question was asked before she could take it back.

“I told you I was the second chair lawyer on the trial. I just received word the other lawyer was killed last night, that’s why Kings was here.” Kain made his way over to the table, poured himself a cup of coffee, and took a long drink. “I just received the call about it a minute ago. There’s a video recording from the security camera and now they’ve issued a warrant for his arrest.”

“Revenge will make you do crazy things.” London polished off his scone before grabbing another and offering the box to Aiden and Kain who each took one.

“He gets out of prison for a murder he didn’t commit and goes out to commit murder.” She shook her head, unable to process it. “My God. He’ll end up in the same place he just got out of. It’s crazy. I would have thought he’d cherish life more, go after the people who put him there in a way that hurts their pocketbooks.” She pushed the rest of her scone away, unable to think of food any longer.

“It would have made sense since the wife took everything when she divorced him. Not that he needed much considering he was looking at spending the rest of his life in prison,” Kain agreed. “Until he gets caught, I think I need to keep distance between us. I won’t see any of you hurt because of me.”

“Out of the question.” Aiden rose from where he had knelt beside her. “We’re stronger together and I won’t have you off by yourself. I know you, you’ll try to be a one man army and bring him down yourself. Absolutely not.”

“He’s right.” She held her other hand out to Kain, who immediately took it. “You’re safer here than anywhere else. I won’t have you out there by yourself. Remember, we’re all together in this.”

“Paris is right, this house is safer than anywhere else for you.” London topped off his coffee. “If there’s a murderer out there gunning for you, it’s best you’re here.”

“That’s a change of attitude.” Aiden glanced toward London.

“Let’s just say I’ve seen the light.” He pushed the papers aside and looked at Kain, then to Aiden. “I think it’s time we come up with a game plan. After all, we are all on the same side. We want to keep Paris happy and safe. If one of you gets hurt it’s going to hurt her. So as my dads always drilled into our heads, no one goes anywhere without a guard. Got that?”