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Free and wild and brave and settled in the forest. It’s so good to be back out among the trees.
“Heather wouldn’t have done this. You out of all of them have to know that. You know what she was like.”
“She was a dick, and I could never tell if it was intentional or not. There’s a reason the other three hate her, Dom—they
Beau almost shot me.
Beau grasps my shoulder and spins me around to face him. “What in Satan’s holy asshole are you doing here?”
“I almost shot you. I could have killed you. In what idiotic corner of your brain did you think sneaking up on two trained, armed Rangers was a good idea?”
“The hunters that were chasing you are part of a larger group that seems to be heading to Bristlebrook. Our northern cameras went down, that wasn’t a lie, but we think they were taken
out. We’re heading up to intercept them. We haven’t spotted any other hunters in proximity—the rest seem to be camped elsewhere, and we have them under surveillance—but it’s possible there are others we haven’t seen. Your little knife won’t do much against them.”
“I need to . . . ” Run. I need to run. “I’ll go. I’ll leave, and then they won’t come to Bristlebrook. They’ll leave you alone. I’ll . . . I didn’t mean for this to—” My tongue feels thick and clumsy in my mouth. “I never meant to put you in danger.”
You panicking was the reason we decided not to overshare.
“That stupid little girl,” Jasper hisses. “She’s gone after Dominic and Beaumont.”
“It seems Dom was right. Eden is in dire need of discipline.” Icy stalactites drip from his words.
“She’s going to get herself killed.”
“When you last saw me out here, I’d been running for days under threat of my life.”
“Enough, fuck, darlin’, stop fighting me. Easy now.”
Blood and mud splatter his clothes, but the blood doesn’t seem to be coming from him. He’s less injured than I am.
He tucks the little knife behind his belt and lifts his hands.
“Come on now, let’s get cleaned up, have something to eat. You’ll feel better with something on your stomach.”
I never should have left Bristlebrook.
“Eden, sometimes we use kink as a way of processing things. To help get feelings out in the open.”
“Eden, Dom and I . . . we want to help you. Will you let us do that?”
“Are you still mad at me?” I whisper.
“Do you trust us?” he asks again. “To make you feel better? You can stop it at any time.”
“I trust you with everything,” I tell him.
“Strip.” A shiver of warning runs down my spine. The way they’re standing, one at my front, one behind, feels deliberate. I’m reminded of the way a wolf sends a runner to chase down prey into the jaws of his brother. A frisson of nervous energy tingles over my skin.
I’ll clean up when we get home?” Why did that come out like a question? Beau’s brows lift up, and I try my best not to notice, but he’s, well, he’s really hard now.
“You should do what he says, hmm?”
“Why do you need to know my safeword?”
“Submit, little librarian. No matter where you run, we’ll chase you down.”
“Stay still. This isn’t about you. You’re ours to suck and fuck and play with however we want.”
“You’re doing so well, darlin’. Keep fucking his thigh, just like that.”
“Such a good little murderess.”
“You did kill him, right? Pretty, bloodthirsty girl.”
“Why did you kill him?” Dom asks in a low voice.
“Because I didn’t want to kill him!” I yell, and my voice breaks on the shout. I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I beg the boy in my head.
“I know,” Beau whispers. “I know, Eden. We’ve got you.”
“I didn’t want to do it. I don’t want to hurt anyone.”
“You very well might have saved my life, doing what you did.”
“Like you were defending yourself,” he interrupts. “Like you were defending us. You saved your own life, and mine, and the only reason he’s dead is because he tried to hurt us.”
“Dom and me, we killed eight between us out there. You hatin’ on us as much as you’re hatin’ on yourself right now?”
“I just realized it was a trap,” I explain in a rush. “They could have stayed hidden and not touched the cameras, so there was probably more
of them, and you were going to walk into the middle of it, and I just couldn’t let you—” Beau lets out a snort behind me and bends to nip at my earlobe. “’Course it was a trap, you little idiot. It’s always a trap.”
Two dicks. What do I even do with two? However it works, I’m ready to try.
I want these men, these kind, selfless, brave men who protected me and gave me a home for the first time in my life. These men can use me in any way they want. And I’m going to enjoy the hell out of it. “I think we still deserve our prize, don’t you, Beau?”
“I—I can be good. I’ll be good, sir. Please, I want— I need—”
I’m a shivering, sobbing mess when I come to, and Beau has curled me up so I’m nestled limply against his chest as we lie together on the pallet. The chafe of his chest hair against me makes me shiver happily, and I don’t want to move.
I’m good, sir. Perfect. I’m perfectly perfect.”
For the first time since we met, Dom is afraid.
“It means this trap wasn’t meant for us.” Dom looks away and slings his rifle over his shoulder. “It means Bristlebrook is under attack.”
No matter what constraints I put on myself, hearing charming, chattery Lucien become tongue-tied around me is one of my most secret delights. One that makes my dick stir and thicken instantly, every time.
