TheSurrenderofLacyMorgan (4 page)

Once, she’d forgotten that lesson, giving her heart and
trust only to have them used against her. Tragedy had ensued. Her life
irrevocably changed.

Although neither of her current captors had hit her yet, she
knew it was only a matter of time before they did. As she followed Quinn
through the dark countryside, fear added to her shaking.

They rounded a corner to find the glow of a fire. The small
clearing in the woods lay next to a riverbank. On a spit near the edge of the
campfire roasted two hares. Dakota rose from tending their dinner to greet
them. “Took you long enough.”

“Stop bellyaching. I’ll set up camp tomorrow.” Quinn gave
the reins to him as he dismounted, then walked around to reach for her. He
untied her hands then grasped her by the waist to lift her down.

“Trust me, before this is over you’ll be very happy to
submit to me.”

Quinn’s words rang in her ears. She knew she should fight
him. Her honor demanded it, but her body and spirit had taken all they could
handle today. She had the feeling she’d need what little strength she had left
just to get through the night.

As he lifted her off the horse, he let her slide down his
body until her feet reached the ground. She felt every hard muscle and flat
plane of his body, which only heightened the trembling still racing through her
muscles. Each place that came in contact with him burned with need.

What in the world was wrong with her? Only one man had ever
made her feel this way. Despite her vow never to let a man use her again, both
Quinn and Dakota had aroused something deep inside her. Was she no better than
her mother, just as Devil claimed?

“You’re trembling.” Quinn’s deep voice rumbled like liquid
honey over her frayed nerves. He held her against him, gently rubbing up and
down her arms with his big hands.

She wanted to give in to the tenderness he was suddenly
showing her. She wanted to collapse against him.

“I’m not using you as bait, kitten. More like a gift.”

His earlier threat brought her renewed strength. She
stiffened her spine and pulled back from his grip. Not enough to make him
angry, but enough for him to know she wasn’t a coward.

“I’m not going to let you take me back to Devil, no matter
how badly you beat me.”

Now she’d find out how he really acted when challenged. Men
always lost control, always used brute force to get their way. With a deep
breath, she closed her eyes tight and waited for him to strike her.

“Dammit.” He bit out the curse. “Open your eyes.”

God, he was worse than Devil. He wanted to see the pain in
her eyes when he hit her. She slowly forced her shoulders to relax and opened
her eyes.

“I’m not going to beat you.”

“You’re not?” Relief poured through her, followed quickly by
suspicion. He was lying. All men lied.

“I won’t lift a hand to hurt you and you’ll still tell me
what I need to know.” He released one arm and led her past the fire to a nearby
tree. A blanket was spread beneath it. “Sit.”

He held her elbow while she sank to her knees, then wiggled
onto her bottom on the blanket.

“Hold out your hands.”

Good. At last he planned to untie her. Probably only long
enough to let her eat.

She lifted her bound hands.

Instead of untying them, he lifted her arms up by the
leather thong and hooked it over a low-hanging branch behind her head.

“What are you doing?” She wiggled to try to break free. The
leather held her in place.

“Keeping you right where I want you,” Quinn said, reaching
down and grasping her by the chin. “Stop moving before you injure yourself.”

She shot him a look of hatred. “You bastard!” She strained
her body to try to pull the leather free. Her efforts succeeded only in
tightening the leather so it dug into her wrists and hands.

“Enough,” he ordered after a minute or two of watching her.
He slid his hand down her neck to rest over her collar once more. “Right now,
Dakota and I are going to eat dinner. The sooner you calm down and stop
struggling, the sooner we’ll feed you.” He squatted at her side, bringing his
face within inches of hers. “And I suggest you do so before we eat all the
rabbit. Understand?”

The aroma of the seared rabbit made her mouth water and her
stomach rumble. Days might pass before she ate again, so she ceased her
struggles and nodded.

He sent that half-dimpled smile her way once more. “Good.”
He let his fingers slide down to the buttons on her shirt. “I think I’d like to
see some beauty while I eat, wouldn’t you, Dakota?”

“Two things always make me hungry,” Dakota said from the
fire. “Good food and a beautiful woman.”

“And our pet is lovely.”

“Then I definitely want to see all of her.”

She bit her lips to keep from cursing them. As soon as she
had the chance, she’d shoot them both for treating her like some plaything.

Quinn unbuttoned her shirt until it hung open, then untied
the ribbon holding the camisole together. Heat and anger flooded Lacy’s body as
more and more of her skin was exposed. When he pushed the flaps to the side,
revealing her breasts completely, her nipples hardened from both embarrassment and
the cool night air.

Both men rose and stepped back, staring at her naked upper
body. And finally she understood. They didn’t intend to beat the information
from her. They planned to seduce her for it.

Stunned by the knowledge and aware she had little defense
against their plans, Lacy froze in position. Her arms stretched high over her
head forced her to arch her back, which in turn thrust out her breasts, as if
she offered them to Quinn’s and Dakota’s view.

For a moment she thought all they planned to do was stare at
her. Their eyes grew heavy lidded and their gazes took on a darker interest.
Her body heated from the intense lusty looks both men gave her. She slowly
lowered her gaze in an effort to gain some control over the sizzle coursing
over her already frayed nerves.

Big mistake.

While their eyes suggested their lust for her, the
distinctly large bulges in their pants confirmed her fears. Once she gave them
the information, rape was in her future.

She just prayed they weren’t as barbaric as Devil and his
men when they brutalized their captive women.

“Let’s eat,” Quinn announced in a husky voice.

Oh God! They meant to eat her?

“No, please.” The words slipped out of her mouth as her gaze
shot back up to their faces, only to see they’d turned their attention away
from her to the roasting hares.

Dakota glanced over his shoulder. “You haven’t tasted my
cooking, Lacy. Do not refuse so easily what you haven’t tried.”

His words seemed to imply something more than reprimanding
her for refusing the food. If she explained her plea, she’d only put ideas in
their heads. Perhaps for now it was best to remain silent until an opportunity
to escape came her way.

While Quinn unsaddled their horses and set the saddles on
the other side of her blanket, Dakota sliced pieces of meat onto plates for
them. He handed one to his partner, then came over to sit next to her. At the
sight and smell of the food, her stomach growled and she swallowed the saliva
in her mouth.

He slipped a piece of the succulent meat into his mouth,
juices dripping down his fingers. “Mmm. It is very good.” Then he lifted a
piece and held it in front of her lips. “Open and taste.”

So hungry she thought she’d die if she didn’t eat, Lacy
obeyed. He slipped the food between her lips. As she pulled the meat loose, she
suckled in some of the juices from his fingertips. She closed her eyes and
enjoyed the flavors of the rabbit and the man.

“Very good, darlin’,” Quinn said as he sat on her other
side.

Her eyes popped open. As she chewed she stared into his blue
gaze, seeing the small lines crinkling around the edges of his eyelids.

“Would you like another bite?” He held another piece of meat
just out of her reach, a small bit of juice dripping onto her breast.

She nodded.

“Tell me where Devil really hides out.”

“I already did. He’s at the Hole-in-the-Wall.”

“Kitten, I know you lied. If you want to eat, you’re going
to have to tell us the truth.”

“I can’t.”

“Too bad,” he said, then ate the meat instead of feeding
her.

She slumped slightly, putting pressure on her arms and
shoulders. Quickly, she straightened to relieve the pain, only to thrust her
breasts forward once more.

“If you tell us where to find Devil, we’ll untie you and let
you eat your fill,” Dakota said, holding another piece of meat so she couldn’t
reach it. More juices fell onto the breast nearest him.

“I can’t go back there,” she pleaded and watched him suck
the meat into his mouth.

They continued this special torture until they’d consumed
almost all the rabbit. Each time she refused to give them the location of
Devil’s hideout. Each time, they covered more of her breasts with the warm
juice from the rabbit, then withheld the food from her.

When the last hunk of meat lay on Quinn’s plate, Dakota
scooted in close, his long hair stroking her neck and shoulders as he nibbled
on her ear. “Pet, tell us what we need to know. Just a direction. A place to
start. We do not want to starve such a beautiful woman as you.”

Heat coursed over her body with each word he whispered to
her. She cursed herself for a fool. Her body responded to the words and
attention, just as it had once before on that fateful night. The night she’d
found out she could be a whore for the right man.

“It’s been months and he might have moved,” she said,
praying they wouldn’t push for more.

“But you know his favorite place to hole up, don’t you?”

She nodded.

“It’s not east near the Hole-in-the-Wall. So which direction
is it?”

“West,” she whispered. Shame filled her. Weak.

“Very good.” Quinn tore the meat in half, then slipped it
between her lips. He stroked his thumb over her lip as she chewed. Then he
lifted the last piece to her lips. “That wasn’t so hard, was it?”

“No.” She opened her mouth, waiting for him to feed her.

“Due west? Northwest? Southwest?”

“South. Southwest.”

“Good girl.” He laid the meat on her tongue.

She resisted the urge to bite his fingers.

Beside her Dakota shifted once more. She turned to see him
holding a canteen. She swallowed the last of her food, then leaned toward him.
He held the canteen steady to let her drink her fill.

“Seems we made quite a mess with the rabbit,” Quinn said
from her other side, then lowered his head to lick a path down her chest and
over her breast.

She let out a gasp and shifted, trying to get away, only to
come in contact with Dakota’s hard body.

“Don’t fight us,” Dakota whispered before claiming her lips
in a deep, sensual kiss. His tongue stroked her, his lips pressing firmer with
each movement of his head.

Just as he pulled back and she gained the slightest control
of her senses, Quinn’s mouth latched on to her nipple.

“Oh God,” she moaned.

Dakota slid his tongue across her other breast, until he too
latched on to a nipple. Their double assault on her body sent her ability to
resist flying out into the night sky. Despite the cool night air kissing her
skin, fire leapt along the paths their tongues took.

Held captive. Unable to resist or escape. Every fiber of her
being seared by their mouths and tongues as they suckled and licked away all
the juices they’d dripped on her breasts.

“Mmm…so good,” Quinn murmured against her nipple, sending
another new sensation shooting through her body.

Dakota’s hand fell to the exposed skin of her thigh.

“Open for me, sweetness,” he whispered, then slipped his
tongue around her nipple.

When she didn’t obey quickly enough, Quinn pinched her
nipple. “Open. Now.”

With what little control she had left, she fought to keep
her legs closed in front of her. Another pinch of pain, this time from both
nipples as Dakota joined in her tender punishment.

“Trust us, Lacy,” he said. His other hand slid higher on her
thigh.

She turned her head to stare into his dark sensual eyes.
“Please, no more.”

Then Quinn’s firm hand gripped her other thigh, making her
turn her attention to him. An intensity she’d never seen before held her
captive to his steely blue gaze.

“Obey us. Open your thighs.”

She couldn’t. Didn’t they understand? If she gave in and let
them use her for their own pleasure, it would confirm she was her mother’s
daughter—a whore.

He increased the pressure on her thigh but didn’t force them
apart, at the same time nibbling up her neck to her ear. “It’s your reward,
darlin’.”

“Reward?” Her voice sounded deep and whispery to her own
ears. She closed her eyes, trying to find some control.

“Mmm, yes,” he whispered in her ear, then took nips at the
column of her neck and across her shoulders. “You didn’t lie to us again. You
deserve to be rewarded.”

What lunacy was this? Her mind couldn’t focus on the
details. Dakota’s fingers were sliding upward in small circles. Both men
pinched and tugged on her nipples in turns. The heat between her thighs was
driving her crazy.

“Come on, kitten, open those thighs for us.” This whispered
request from Quinn did the trick.

Her thighs seemed to respond despite her resolve, parting
just enough to let their fingers glide up to her hot mound. As they separated
her tender folds she moaned—half from frustration and half from need.

Fingers, she wasn’t sure which man’s, dipped in and stroked
across her heat. She moaned again.

“Mmm, listen to her purr,” Dakota said.

“Taste her. She’s exquisite.”

Lacy opened her eyes to watch Dakota slide two glistening
fingers into his mouth. Pure lust crossed his features, as if her essence was
some exotic confection he’d never sampled before.