Chapter Ten

Liam sat in the home office as he rubbed his eyes. The time was approaching four in the evening and they’d found little that was useful.

Erik groaned from his spot at the side of the room, seated on the couch. Lines were etched between Erik’s eyebrows, the only real signs of discomfort.

Not that it was a surprise. No one got shot and went on without any pain.

Liam pulled a bottle of ibuprofen out of the desk, then tossed it over.

Erik hissed when he tried to lift the arm in a sling and the bottle landed in his lap. “Asshole,” he muttered before holding the pills in the hand with the sling, then pinched the top and opened it. He dry-swallowed at least two pills.

“How could he be this far off the map?” Liam shut the drawer especially hard. “We’ve tracked down gangsters and fucking special ops with less trouble than this.”

They’d tracked the phone number he’d called from, but it had been a dead end of fake names. The name she knew, Gregory Dice, had no information, no background, nothing. Clearly, another fake.

A knock on the door brought their gazes up. There would only be one person who would knock. Torrin would just walk in and they’d canceled cleaning services for the day. Until they had a better handle on the situation, they’d rather not risk people coming and going.

“Come in,” Liam called.

Sure enough, Ashley walked in, dressed in jeans and a sweater, her hair damp and braided back. She’d slept late in Torrin’s room, well past the time he’d come out.

Torrin, for his part, had only offered a blank look before telling them they’d work from home that day.

Still, it felt like a win. The pink on her cheeks said she hadn’t minded her night in his bed.

“Hey, sweet. How are you feeling?”

She tugged at the sweater sleeve. “Good. You should have woken me up, though.”

“You needed the sleep.”

She shuffled her foot against the ground, then cast a quick look Erik’s way.

Ah, that’s the problem, then.

“He’s fine,” Liam assured her.

At that, Erik lifted an eyebrow as though he’d just caught up. “Were you worried about me?”

“You got hurt because of me.”

Erik shook his head and held his good hand out to her. He waited until she took it before he pulled her closer and into his lap. It probably jostled his shoulder, but he showed no sign of it. “I was hurt because someone shot me.”

“The only reason you were there was because of me, and the only reason they shot you was because of me.”

“Did you hold the gun? Pull the trigger? No? Then it wasn’t your fault.” He wrapped his good arm around her and had her lean against his uninjured side.

Despite it having to have hurt, Erik appeared entirely content having Ashley in his lap.

And Ashley? She seemed uneasy but cautiously optimistic, as though she enjoyed the position but couldn’t quite silence all her nerves.

“What are we supposed to do now?”

Liam answered her question. “I’ll be honest, sweet, we haven’t found much so far. Thankfully, we can work from home for a few days until we hire extra security.”

“And I’m supposed to just stay trapped here forever?”

Erik leaned forward and nipped her shoulder. “You will behave yourself for as long as you need to, yes. However, it shouldn’t be forever. We’ll take care of it.”

“Would it be so bad to be trapped here with us?” Liam asked.

Ashley bit her bottom lip as if thinking about it. “Maybe. You are rather bossy.”

“Yes, but you like that. Don’t forget we can smell how wet you get when we order you around. If you want to lie about it, we’ll just have to have you walk around naked, then we can check whenever you deny it.” Liam grinned at the thought of Ashley nude, at how he would be able to reach between her curvy thighs and press his thick fingers into her tight heat.

He let his groan escape and echo in the room, not bothering to hide any of it from her.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she said, the lie as obvious as any of hers were.

“Really? Should we check now, then? Because I wouldn’t mind a nice examination.”

She sucked in a breath that was part embarrassment and part excitement.

Except, before he could act on it, a phone rang. He frowned for a moment, not recognizing the tone.

It was the fear on her face that let him know what it was. He rose and snatched her phone, the one she’d left at the bus station that they’d picked up, and tossed it to her. Erik reached around her and pressed the answer button, then put it on speaker.

The click of Torrin’s cane came through the hallway just before the alpha appeared. He must have heard the ring and suspected the same.

“H-hello?” She stumbled over the greeting.

“My darling,” came out a voice so calm it nearly drew a shudder through Liam. “Have you not learned your lesson about getting others involved?”

“I didn’t get anyone involved.”

He released a soft tsk through the line. “I assume the three are there, listening, are they not? Come on, we’re gentlemen. Let us speak, man to man.”

Torrin picked up the phone, always willing to be the face of the trio, or in this case, the voice. “This is Gregory Dice, correct?”

Gregory hummed softly. “Yes. And this is Torrin Kansas, no doubt. Your bodyguards are with you often, but I doubt they speak for you.”

Torrin’s hand tightened on the cane, his knuckles blanching. “Yes. I’m giving you one chance to walk away from this. Ashley is under my protection.”

“She is mine.” Gregory said it with no doubt in his voice, with the same certainty as though he were saying the sky was blue or that the earth circled the sun. “I don’t care if your bodyguards have taken a liking to her. I don’t care if you wish to keep her. I have chased her for a long time and no one, least of all you, will keep her from me.”

“You have no idea who you are dealing with,” Torrin threatened. “Trust me when I say I can make things very unpleasant for you.”

A pause, then a chuckle. “I was about to say the same to you. Since this is going nowhere, I suppose I’ll speak to Ashley once more. You can hear me, dear, right?”

Ashley trembled in Erik’s lap so hard, her teeth almost chattered. “I’m here.”

“Very good. Don’t worry. You’ll be back with me soon, safe and sound, and I will remind you why you belong there. You can’t escape me, love, not ever.”

The line went dead, and that shaking grew in Ashley. Liam was over to the couch a heartbeat later, catching her hand. He’d heard the insanity in Gregory’s voice, had gotten a taste of the sort of obsession he had.

He wouldn’t let it go, not ever. That disease was too deep inside the man for him to ever let her live any sort of life. As long as he breathed, she’d never be free.

Liam met Erik’s gaze over her head, a question there.

Erik nodded back to Liam’s unvoiced question.

If Gregory would never let her go, the solution was obvious.

They’d track down and kill Gregory.

* * * *

Ashley expected being stuck inside to bother her more than it did. After so many years of feeling as though someone were following her, as if she couldn’t ever let her guard down, she’d thought going through that same fear in an enclosed space would eat at her.

Instead, she found an odd sort of freedom in it. Maybe it was the alphas that helped her relax, that helped her to feel as though the walls of the apartment were a fortress rather than a cage.

The men worked, though it seemed there was usually one who was ‘taking a break’ to keep her company.

Not that she needed company. Liam had set her up in the office off her bedroom with everything she needed to do her job as well. She called clients, scheduled meetings—though none for at least a week—and passed the day without thinking much about Gregory.

There was freedom in that.

It wasn’t that he wasn’t a threat—he was—but for the first time, she had something other than him to think about.

She thought about Torrin’s story, about the mate he’d lost. She thought about the three of them, about the life they must have had before her. They’d hinted at a less than happy childhood, but they’d grown into smart, successful businessmen.

Still, she couldn’t shake the feeling they weren’t being entirely honest.

You’re just paranoid because of Gregory. Stop it.

But…the way Erik and Liam moved, the way they watched things, the ease they’d had taking down the men who had attacked her, with exchanging fire with whoever had shot Erik—it all screamed there was more to them than she’d realized.

They’d said they were bodyguards. So, they would be comfortable with those sorts of things.

Guilt clawed at her for even questioning them. They’d taken her in, helped her, had kept helping her even after one of them had been wounded and all were in danger.

Hadn’t they proven themselves?

“Hey there, sweet.” Liam looked up from his laptop when Ashley entered his office.

Torrin was in his own office and Erik had gone to the lobby to check in on the workers they’d hired to install extra cameras. Erik didn’t seem to trust people to do their jobs without him overseeing.

Ashley held up her offering, which won her a smile from Liam.

She handed over the cup of coffee, made the way he seemed to like it. She’d watched him drink it into the late hours, and almost smiled at how she’d already started to memorize their preferences and differences.

Liam was the one who liked sweet drinks, so he poured an ungodly amount of sugar into his. Erik enjoyed his black, whereas Torrin liked a bit of heavy cream but no sugar. Ashley had filed all those details away.

Liam sipped the hot liquid, then closed his eyes and let out a moan that reminded her of other, much less appropriate things. “Thanks. It’s perfect.”

The praise made her breath catch. Why was she so susceptible to that? One little compliment and she melted like butter for them.

Like it even takes that.

Fair. She had to be the sluttiest virgin who had ever lived.

Liam caught her by sliding two fingers into the front of her skirt and tugging softly until she stood just between his thighs. His gaze was hungry, and she doubted it mattered what he wanted—she was on board.

He took another sip of the coffee before he set it on the table beside the couch. “You know, one of these times I’ll need to get you in a bed. Gotten you off in your office, in the living room, but never in a bed.”

She recalled Torrin from the night before, how soft and warm his bed had been, how his scent had wrapped around her as he’d reached between her thighs and—

“Have I told you how much I love that your face is an open book? Anything that crosses your mind dances right across your features, too. Makes me want to play strip poker with you.”

Ashley chuckled at the joke. “Yeah, I was never really the poker type.”

“Not surprised. What type were you? Before the running, before just surviving, what were you like?”

Ashley tried to think back, feeling like it was almost another lifetime ago, like it had been a different girl. “I was happy. I did well in school, had everything set up to go off to college.”

“Yeah? What were you going to study?” Liam pulled her forward more until she crawled into his lap, straddling him with her knees on each side of his body.

What were we talking about? “Business,” she said after having to think far too hard for the answer. “I was going to get a business administration degree.”

“Not a surprise. You’re already damn good at it. Not sure I’ve ever seen our clients sing anyone’s praises quite so high. I mean, you had Hardwitch happy, and he’s never been happy since Erik broke his thumbs.”

Ashley laughed at the stupid joke. Leave it Liam to always try to humor her.

He spoke again, quickly, as if trying to wipe away the joke. Afraid I’ll take it seriously? “What else, sweet? Were you an AV nerd sort of girl? Couldn’t have been drama, not with how easy you are to read.”

Ashley shifted, unsure she wanted to say the next part. As she’d grown older and tried to be taken seriously, some things seemed…childish. The alphas were tough, full-grown adults with real lives. Still, they’d already gone over her not lying worth anything, so she dropped her gaze and muttered her answer. “I was a cheerleader.”

Silence met her for a heartbeat, before his dark chuckle ended it. “Oh, sweet, why’d you have to go and say that? It probably isn’t right at all, but now I can’t think of you in anything but one of those cute little cheerleader skirts.” He set his large, strong hands on her hips and pulled her down against him. His hard cock stroked her, stealing her breath.

Ashley went on instinct, tired of waiting for things, and leaned forward. She took a kiss, wanting it more than she cared about looking stupid.

Liam offered it, seemed to offer anything. Even as they kissed, he kept the hold on her waist and rocked her down against him, a reminder of everything he wanted—everything she wanted right then.

She wasn’t afraid—hell, she wasn’t even nervous. He could have lifted her skirt and she’d have happily let him slide into her.

Sure enough, he moved one of his hands to her knee, to where the skirt had ridden up, then slipped it up her thigh. His fingers teased her, drawing goosebumps where they trailed along the soft, sensitive inside of her leg.

Liam broke the kiss only so he could move his talented lips to her neck. He drove her crazy with the stroking of his tongue over her pulse and along her collarbone.

Though all of that paled from where her attention was mostly focused, which was how near his fingers were to her bare cunt.

He let out a feral sound when he brushed naked skin. “No underwear?”

Her skin flushed, but Ashley still answered his unasked question, feeling like she wanted to deny it had been some plan. “I didn’t have anything nice, and I was sick of you all seeing my plain cotton ones.”

Liam barked out a laugh before dragging his tongue up the side of her throat. “You could wear a paper bag and I’m pretty sure I’d still get hard just looking. Besides, I’ve got a thing for those cute little panties of yours, the ones with the silly cartoons on them.” He slid his fingers up the center of her pussy, the action enough for her hands to fly to his shoulders and grip tight. “Now, Ashley, you think I could slide into your tight cunt? I bet it’ll squeeze around my fingers so well.”

He made her breathless. Every word he spoke, filthy and direct, made her hotter. She’d only dealt with boys before, with people who used euphemisms. She’d never had a man who was willing to tell her exactly what he wanted.

And even better? One willing to ask.

Ashley brushed her forehead to his, an oddly intimate caress. “Yes, please.”

She trusted him. Trusted him not to hurt her, to only bring her pleasure, to take her somewhere she’d never been before.

He licked along her bottom lip, the action as drugging as the praise he offered, then pulled his hand away.

Before she could ask him, or worry that he’d changed his mind, Liam licked his fingers in a slow and unbelievably sexy motion. He quirked his lip up into a smirk. “I would usually have to do that to help, but you’re drenched, sweet, absolutely dripping.”

“So why?”

“Because I haven’t gotten to taste you, yet. Figured it was my turn.”

She tried to look away from the intensity of his dark eyes.

“Keep looking at me.” He didn’t hold the same snap that Torrin did in his tone, yet she still followed him, her cunt squeezing around nothing. “I want to see those eyes when I get my fingers inside you. You’ve got the prettiest eyes, Ashley, the most expressive. I want to see it all.” As he spoke, he lowered his hand beneath her skirt again. He went to her pussy, pressing softly at first, until he sank one thick finger into her.

The unfamiliar stretch of her body made her squirm, made her dig her fingers into his shoulders.

“Easy,” he coaxed. “You have a body made for this. Trust me.”

Ashley tried, but when he moved his hand, when he teased the walls of her cunt with his careful finger, she gasped. Her body squeezed, but he only waited. She relaxed after a moment, and he took that chance to sink deeper then retreat. He didn’t stop, only pausing when she tightened down, and before long, his finger was buried all the way inside her, his hand pressed against her pussy on the outside, as deep as he could get.

“I knew you’d feel perfect,” he said. No doubt he’d meant his voice to come across as soft and reassuring, but instead it sounded rough and wild, as if he was walking some difficult line himself.

Ashley sought his lips again, to distract herself with them. Liam gave what she wanted before he started to thrust that finger into her. He withdrew then plunged deep, and each time he did, she wanted more.

She’d always assumed she’d want gentle, sweet sex, except when he touched her the way no one else had, she wanted more, deeper, rougher.

She’d have sworn Liam was a mind reader, because he chuckled against her lips and gave her what she wanted. He didn’t just tease her—he fucked her with that finger, until he withdrew once and two pressed against her.

Ashley didn’t have time to worry, not when he plunged his two thick fingers into her.

He brought his other hand to his own pants. It took a moment to shove her skirt out of the way, but he undid the button of his jeans and managed to free his cock.

Ashley rose up, ready for him to shove into her, wanting it more than she had wanted anything else in her life.

Liam let out that dark laugh again. “Eager, huh? Your sweet little cunt isn’t quite ready, but I’ll be damned if I don’t get to come, too. Shift a bit, hmm? I want a good look.”

She rose up again, this time grasping her long skirt and pulling it so it bunched at her waist. Her cheeks felt as though they were on fire, but the lust in Liam’s eyes said he was taking in the view.

And Ashley did, too.

Liam’s cock rested so close, and he plunged his fingers deep into her. Of course, the size of his cock gave her a moment of pause she hadn’t had before. He was right—two fingers weren’t nearly the same girth or length.

“Don’t worry,” he assured her as he went about stroking his cock with rough motions and fucking into her with his fingers. He did them in time, as if he were imagining it was his dick inside her. “We’ll train you up plenty before you take us. Hell, the work we’ll need to do to get your ass ready—”

Her gaze shot up to his at that, and it seemed to cut off his words.

He laughed, hard. That felt strange, the way they could be in the middle of something so passionate, yet he still laughed, still had fun… It made it feel like something they were doing as two people, not just animalistic lust.

“How exactly did you think fucking two alphas would go? Don’t look so shocked, sweet, but you do have three perfectly good holes once they get trained up.”

Again, the way he spoke so easily made her jealous, since she’d never been able to talk about sex like that. Still, the idea of anal sex made her wince. What if she hated it? What if she couldn’t do it? They weren’t exactly small, from what she’d seen.

Liam curled his fingers inside her, rubbing against a spot that knocked aside the conversation. Not that he seemed willing to let it go. “Never met an omega who didn’t end up loving having her ass fucked, and I doubt you’ll be the first. Stop worrying, because I want to see that beautiful cunt of yours come, then I’m going to paint it with my cum.”

And Ashley gasped as the orgasm washed over her, his words pulling it from her so fast, it surprised her. Somehow, being filled made it better, though he pulled out too quickly. He flipped them, setting her ass on the couch and crouching above her.

She had a spark of fear, just for a moment, that he’d press into her anyway, even though he’d said he wouldn’t.

A stupid fear, she realized, when he only stroked his cock over her spread legs, then came with a rough growl. His warm seed struck her cunt, and even that against her clit felt overwhelming.

He had a hand on the couch beside her, his body so close she slipped her arms around the back of his neck, clinging to him.

When his hand slowed, when the tension melted from him, Liam brushed his lips against hers. He moved his hand from his cock to her, gathering the cum that sat on her skin and rubbing it into her, pressing some deep inside her. Each touch sparked lust, but he didn’t seem to be trying for that.

Not that he ever had to try. None of the alphas ever had to look seductive, to do anything except be there, and Ashley seemed turned on.

“That was…” Nerves got the best of her. It was what? What was the right thing to say?

Liam seemed to understand her hesitation, because he only let out that same laugh she already knew so well. “It was amazing.”

When he pulled back, Ashley stood, noting that she felt a bit less sticky than she’d expected. Still, Liam must have thought it wasn’t a good enough solution, because he grabbed a rag from the bathroom and used it to wipe off any residual cum.

“I should shower,” she said, his scent still strong enough to cloud her mind. She rose, her skirt falling down. Being covered helped her to form sentences that at least meant something.

Liam swatted her ass playfully. “Not a chance. I like you smelling like me, sweet. Now, go on, you’ve distracted me for long enough.”

“I can’t go around them smelling like you.”

Liam’s dark eyebrow lifted, a mocking curl of his lips. “Why not? I’m pretty sure they know we’re involved. Besides, I figure it’s a little like sending a lamb into a wolf’s den with a steak tied around them.”

“Don’t lambs in that case get mauled?”

“Absolutely. But I think you’ll enjoy the mauling you get, so run along, little lamb.”

Ashley left at the gentle pushing of Liam’s hands, his words echoing in her ears.

That was exactly how she felt with them, like a prey animal, so why exactly did she feel safe?

I should know better.