Arranged for Pleasure (2 page)

The next time Rafe came home, Liam returned with him, and they brought Adrian. Adrian was the type of man a woman craved. Ebony skin over a body built to incite lust in a woman’s veins. His voice deep and rich sent shivers down her spine. And the more she got to know him, the more she’d wanted him too, which proved she was a bad girl, undeserving of any of them.

Adrian tried to play it as the tough guy, only looking for a good time, a no-strings-attached affair. But they’d sat up late one night talking. He’d told her about losing his mom to cancer just before he’d joined the Army. He’d spoken with obvious love and pride about her, saying how pleased she’d be of the Ranger he’d become. And he’d confessed how losing her made him a little afraid of ever opening himself up again.

Still, they’d laughed over their future plans, and he’d admitted he’d like to have someone waiting for him, thinking of him, and praying he’d come home safe. But he’d shrugged his shoulders like it didn’t matter one way or another if it actually happened. It had been on the tip of her tongue to say she’d say a prayer for him, but the words wouldn’t come. How could she give him those words?

She wanted them all. Rafe, the first lover she’d known. The man who always made her feel loved. Liam, a warrior of worth, a man who would love a woman completely, holding nothing back from her. A man deserving of the same. And Adrian, a wounded soul, just as afraid of love as she was. He wanted, but was so afraid of rejection, he clung to the physical. How could she choose? Who did she deny? Who did she spend her life loving? The girl in her screamed Rafe’s name, but the woman wanted more, wanted them all.

And one night she’d had it. She’d blame it on the tequila, but it was a lie she couldn’t even tell herself.

“Come back to the house with me.”

“I can’t, Rafe.”

“Why? What are you afraid of? Are you afraid I’ll keep you to myself?”

Her eyes had widened, her heartbeat racing in her chest.

“I know you want Liam and Adrian. It’s okay, Kat. You can have us all.”

“What?”

“Shhhhh.” He’d crooned, pulling her close enough for her to feel his rock hard shaft against her lower stomach. “You don’t have to choose, Kat. You can have all three of us. Our hands, our mouths, our cocks. All worshipping you, bringing you pleasure like you’ve never known.”

She’d gone, too intrigued to walk away. They’d opened her eyes that night, shown her things she’d never dreamed possible, and spoiled her for every other man out there. Nothing had been the same since then. Especially sex. But she hadn’t known it might be possible to love more than one man back then. She’d been scared, terrified of what she’d done and how she felt. She wanted to stay, wanted to shut the world out and just stay with them. So, she’d run.

And now she couldn’t. They were here. She was here. And none of them could leave as long as the threat of a psychopath hung over her head. She wanted the choice of staying or going, and right now, she didn’t have it. Her eyes narrowed as she sat up and reached for her phone.

Charlie answered on the first ring.

“Call off the dogs, Charlie.”

“Hey, sis. Good to hear from you.”

She sighed. “I mean it, Charlie. Juliana’s boyfriend probably doesn’t even exist, except in her crazy, twisted brain.”

“I’m not taking chances with your life, Kat.”

“Charlie, please.”

“No.”

There was a scuffle on the other end, and her brother’s grunt of pain echoed over the line before another voice greeted her. “Hey, you. How are you?”

It was so good to hear from Tara. “I’m barely holding it together here.”

Tara sighed. “Hang tough, Kat. I’ve got a bad feeling about this guy. Like he’ll make Raymond and his crazy sister seem like a cakewalk.”

“It’s been two weeks, and he hasn’t shown his face yet.”

“He’s probably smart enough to know you have three very capable men watching over you.”

Kat snorted.

“I know it’s tough, Kat, but I have confidence in you.”

“I’m not going to last much longer without killing someone.”

“What are you so afraid of, Kat?”

“I’m not afraid of anything.”

“Bullshit! The Kat I know would be jumping in with both feet and making the most of the situation. Instead, it seems like you’re climbing the walls.”

“This is different, Tara.”

There was a beeping sound.

“Hang on a moment,” Tara said and with a click switched lines on her phone. After a minute, there was a double click and then another familiar voice spoke.

“Hey, Kat,” River greeted. “I was just calling to check on you.”

“Any reason you’re calling my brother instead of me?”

“Because she knows Charlie won’t lie to her,” Tara answered.

Kat sighed. “I’m not stupid, and you both know that.”

“Impulsive,” Tara stated.

“Adrenaline junkie,” River added.

“Fearless,” Tara tacked on.

“Okay, okay. Good grief, you guys. I’m not that bad!”

“Yes, you are,” River replied unrepentantly. “Christ, I can still hear you taunting Raymond when he was waving his gun around. My God, Kat, he could have killed you.” She gave a weary sigh. “I’m so sorry, guys. This is all my fault. I should have never dated Raymond. If it wasn’t for me bringing him into our lives, then we’d never be caught up in this nightmare with his loony sister.”

“We’re not starting that again,” Kat stated forcefully. “None of us knew how wacko Raymond was. He was a detective for God’s sake.”

“And no one even knew about his sister’s killing spree. Those were all unsolved murders. Raymond hid them from everyone,” Tara reminded.

“You’re right. I know you are, but I can’t help feeling guilty. He almost raped you, Tara.”

“And I shot and killed him, River.”

“Which is exactly why Juliana went after you when she was released to come home for his funeral.”

“We all feel guilty, River,” Kat admitted. “This will all be over soon. It has to be.”

“Just make sure you stay with the guys watching over you, Kat,” River admonished. “I don’t know what I’d do if I lost you!”

“That goes double for me,” Tara added.

“I will,” Kat agreed. She could hear voices coming toward her door. Just the thought had her pussy wet, her nipples beading into tight little points. “But this better end soon.”

Tara cleared her throat. “I remember someone telling me some words of wisdom not too long ago. Stop over thinking things, Kat. Relax. Like multiple orgasm relax.”

Laughter floated over the line from both her friends.

Kat hated having her words thrown back at her. “It’s not that simple, Tara.”

“It could be.”

And wasn’t that just how Kat had responded when Tara told her it wasn’t simple. Tara had been unsure of jumping into a sexual fling with Kat’s brother Charlie and his buddies Dasan and Sam. But now Tara was the happiest Kat had ever seen her.

“I believe you had words of wisdom for me too,” River chimed in, “when I was doubting my ability to hold a relationship with three men. Something along the lines of, ‘Be happy. Life can be too goddamn short sometimes. Make the most of every moment.’ So make the most of your time, Kat. None of us knows what tomorrow might hold.”

River was right. Kat found herself swallowing her smart-ass reply. It was hard to dispute her own words.

The bedroom door swung open, and her gaze clashed with Adrian’s. She saw a shield there, as if he refused to open up to her again. It hurt, knowing she’d put it there.

“Dinner’s here,” he said. His gaze roamed over her from head to toe like he couldn’t stop himself. Then he turned and walked away.

She didn’t want him to walk away. She didn’t want to fight the sexual tension that filled the air. She was tired of trying to ease the ache between her thighs with her fingers when there were three rock hard cocks more than willing to ease it for her.

“You’re right. It’s past time I dealt with certain things,” she responded to her friends on the phone.

“You mean things as in you, Rafe, and what happened that night?” Tara asked.

Kat caught her breath. She’d never said anything about that night. “What do you know about it?”

River laughed. “Poor, Kat. Don’t get drunk on a bottle of tequila if you don’t want to confess things.”

The tequila night, when they’d made their plans for the Angel Investigations agency they’d formed after graduating from the police academy. Man, it seemed like so long ago now. Apparently, it had also been the night she’d shared her deepest secrets.

“Now that you’re sober, maybe you’ll remember what I’m going to say,” Tara whispered. “You’re a bright, beautiful woman, Kat. If anyone can hold the attention and hearts of three men, it’s you. They won’t know what hit them.”

“I second that,” River contributed, “and it doesn’t make you a whore or a slut, Kat. Loving three men can be natural for some women. Look at me.” She was in a committed relationship with Luke, Rick, and Phil, the bodyguards she’d found while on the run from Raymond Marino.

“And me,” Tara reminded her. Tara was living on the ranch now with Charlie, Dasan, and Sam.

Something seemed to click in Kat’s mind, in her heart. She wouldn’t make any big decisions right now, not with circumstances so unique. But she would make the most of the situation. No more running. No more hiding. No more denying. She had always been a woman of action. It was time she remembered that. “I have to go, girls. Dinner is here, and I want to get it while it’s hot.”

River and Tara both laughed.

“Yeah, get it while it’s hot,” Tara said with a snicker.

“Hot is definitely best,” River agreed with a giggle.

“Love you guys.”

“Love you guys, too,” River said.

“Love you both,” Tara stated.

A voice murmured in the background.

“I need to go,” River said. “They guys just got in.”

“Have fun,” Kat said with a laugh.

“I intend to!” River vowed and disconnected.

“Kat?” Tara’s voice came across the line.

“Yes.”

“Take care of you.”

“I will. Take care of you.”

The phone disconnected and Kat tossed it aside. She stood up and walked over to glance in the full-length mirror on the wall. Dinner would have to wait. She was in sore need of a hot shower. She had plans for the rest of the night that involved being naked.

She stepped into the bathroom and opened the cabinet under the sink, pulling out an unopened box of condoms. She’d always been a firmer believer that a woman was just as responsible for taking care of protection as her partner was. Thankfully, the condoms weren’t expired because she planned to use quite a few of them.

Tonight, she was going to give in to her desires. Hopefully, the guys were still willing to do the same.

Chapter Two

Liam sat and watched as they all waited for Kat to join them. Rafe was torn up that she was so unhappy. Liam could see it every time Kat made one of her pithy remarks about being under house arrest. Liam didn’t give a shit how she felt as long as she was still alive to feel. He’d tie her down to the fucking bed if it meant he could keep her safe for the rest of her life.

He shuddered at the thought of the sick fuck who’d been a part of those photos getting his hands on her. Liam had seen them, seen the women’s eyes, the macabre sights of their necks slit from ear to ear. He’d seen them each lying in a pool of their own blood. The mere thought of something like that happening to Kat? It gave him more nightmares than anything he’d seen as a Ranger.

“Dinner’s getting cold,” Rafe stated, bringing Liam out of his grisly thoughts.

“Not much of an appetite,” Liam admitted.

“That’s too bad because I’m starving.”

Kat’s voice brought all their heads turning her way, but it was what she was wearing, or not wearing that had Liam’s dick spiking to attention. She had on a pair of tiny knit shorts, the kind a woman might wear to bed, and a ribbed tank top. Her breasts bounced, her tight nipples poking out through the fabric, highlighting the fact she wasn’t wearing a bra.

Liam let his gaze roam over her from the cascade of black curls surrounding her head and shoulders to her bright red toenails. She was a vision, one that had sexual desire beating a staccato rhythm in his chest. He could still recall the taste of her on his tongue, and he was greedy for seconds.

He saw Adrian swallow and wondered if his friend knew just how much emotion his eyes were sharing with anyone who bothered to look. Adrian might deny it, but he had feelings for Kat, and not just those involving his dick.

Rafe shifted in his seat, and Liam almost chuckled. The vixen had more than likely given all of them a hard-on. He only hoped she’d be willing to take care of them.

Kat moved around the island that separated kitchen from living room and filled a plate with honey teriyaki chicken bites. She slid back around and settled on the end of the couch, curling her feet up beside her. She ate with her fingers, stopping to lick and suck at the tips as she fed herself.

Liam swallowed, imaging those lips doing the same to the head of his cock. He could easily move in front of her, pull his cock out, and feed her every inch.

Damn
. Even his hands were shaking. She glanced up and their eyes clashed and held. He saw the knowledge in her gaze. The minx knew exactly what she was doing to them, and she was loving every minute of it.

“Careful there, kitten,” Liam drawled. “You might just bite off more than you can handle.”

Her eyes darted around the room, touching on Rafe, then Adrian before bouncing back to him. He stood up and felt his cock pulse and flex against the seam of his zipper when her eyes dropped and held there.

“I think we’re all aware of just what I can handle,” she purred. She dropped her plate on the end table beside her and stood. She stretched, bending and flexing that amazing body of hers before padding across the carpet and stopping mere inches from him.

Her hot little hands moved over his chest in a caress. Her nails sent shivers up his spine as she explored every ridge of muscle he had. She stopped at the band of his jeans, and holding his gaze, she popped the top button free.