Theirs To Claim (Predatory Desires Book 1) (41 page)

“Damn, Noah,” Gabriel grumbled, not used to being tickled unawares by his friend just yet. “A little warning next time.”

Emily couldn’t help but laugh over the look on Gabriel’s face. He narrowed his eyes at her and she felt his cock twitch deep within her pussy. Noah echoed her laughter, not put out by Gabriel’s disgruntled bluster in the slightest. She felt his cock stir within her ass as well, and she knew their passion was about to be rekindled.

“So, you didn’t answer my question,” Noah breathed against her ear as he began to slowly glide in and out of her body again. “Is our wedding date anytime soon?”

Gabriel’s sensuous pace came to life once more on the heels of Noah’s movements, and soon she was clinging to him as they took her back to the highest peak.

“
Em
?” Noah said, his tone one of warning now. He surged into her body a little more powerfully than before and she gasped. “When, baby?”

“Answer him, Emily,” Gabriel said firmly and pushed up into the tight clasp of her pussy. “We’re not patient men. You know that.”

“I do,” she smiled and let her head fall back against Noah’s shoulder. Noah’s hand slid up her abdomen until it collided with her breast. He pinched her nipple and she groaned. “Soon, I promise,” Emily panted.

“Soon, is too vague,” Noah protested. “Don’t make us wait too long.”

“I won’t. I just need a little more time to heal. Inside,” she broke off and fused her lips to Gabriel’s as she began to come again, desperate for their friends not to hear them.

Mollified by her answer, Noah and Gabriel gave over to their own release. They came into the warmth of her body a second time and tried to reclaim their breath with her still in their arms. No one wanted to move away, so they remained just as they were, talking softly and caressing, until the smell of breakfast cooking down the hall called them from the warmth of the bed.

CHAPTER 41

Emily rode into the kitchen on Noah’s back and playfully nipped at his neck, trying to distract him. She loved the way he shivered under her tender assault, his muscles tensing up as he tried to walk in a straight line and not bump into the wall. When she chuckled, he growled softly at her, but Emily only answered him with a light lick to the shell of his ear.

“That’s it!” Noah huffed and turned around, headed back to the bedroom.

Gabriel watched them go and shook his head. If anything, he was humored by their inability to refrain from giving in to the incredible passion both men felt for Emily, not jealous in the slightest. He knew firsthand what his best friend was feeling, for Gabriel did too, every time he merely looked at Emily. If he had his druthers, he’d keep Emily naked in bed with him twenty-four-seven and say to hell with the rest of the world.

When he entered the kitchen he saw his teammates and Tara all accounted for, and smelled something delicious cooking in the oven. Gabriel headed for the coffee machine, smiling at Lawton and Garrett who were seated side by side at the island, pouring over a newspaper article together. Once he had his mug in hand, Gabriel leaned across the granite surface opposite them and arched an eyebrow in question.

“Where’s Emily?” Lawton asked.

“With Noah,” Gabriel replied. He took a sip of his coffee and nodded his head in the direction of the paper. “Anything of interest?”

“Yeah. Unfortunately,” Garrett sighed and pursed his lips.

“Tell me,” Gabriel prompted them.

“It would seem that Eric has made the front page of your local rag, yet again,” Lawton supplied. “They’re featuring a bio of his early years in the community and analyzing all the ways in which his life went so far off the rails. Becca’s too, now that she’s been arrested as an accomplice. But in one part of the article, they’ve quoted none other than Miss Heather as saying she always knew Eric would seek Emily out, because she was all he ever talked about.”

“Lies. All of it,” Gabriel grumbled in disgust. “Throw that trash out. I don’t want Em to see it. She had a breakthrough this morning, and this isn’t what she needs to see right now. It won’t help a thing.”

“A breakthrough?” Tara asked. She leaned against the counter next to Gabriel and angled her head at him.

“Yes,” he smiled and bumped Tara’s shoulder with his own. “She finally asked to see a counselor. For
us
to see one,” he amended, “so the three of us could really start to heal and move forward.”

“Well, hallelujah!” Tara sighed. “Gabriel, you know I’m stubborn. And though Emily might seem mild mannered and far easier to get along with than me, once she digs in, she’s more tenacious than a pit bull. Makes me pale in comparison. You and Noah don’t go easy on her. Make her talk it all through. Hell, bully her if you have to, but don’t let her keep it all locked up inside.”

Gabriel smirked at her and Tara looked around to see every other man in the room staring at her with thinly veiled amusement. She pressed her lips together and cast a sarcastic glare of her own at Lawton.

“What? Why are you looking at me like that?” he asked. Lawton leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms over his broad chest.

“Because you happen to be right across from me. But you all need to hush. You know I’m right,” she huffed.

“Oh, you always are, Miss Tara,” Ross smiled.

“Be quiet, you. That charm doesn’t work on me.”

“Thank, God,” Braden mumbled, only to have Ross scowl at him.

Tara rolled her eyes at all of them and walked over to the oven to check the breakfast casseroles she was baking. “Gabriel, go get Emily and Noah. The food’s almost ready.”

Gabriel barked out his laughter and shook his head at her. “Not a chance in hell, Tara! They’ll eat whenever they’re ready. Just serve it up for the rest of us, if you don’t mind.”

Laughter sounded throughout the kitchen, both from Gabriel’s reluctance to get in the middle of something private and from Tara’s uncharacteristic blunder.

“Well, hell,” she muttered and turned away as her cheeks flamed a bright shade of pink.

Everyone had just taken their seat at the dining table, when Noah and Emily joined the gathering. She wrapped her arms around Gabriel’s neck and gave him a quick peck on the lips before she took the chair Noah was holding back for her between the two of them. After a blessing, they ate and the men started talking about when they might return to their respective homes before their next assignment from the Bureau began.

Emily listened to their dialog, but said nothing as she ate and occasionally glanced Tara’s way. She honestly did not want to be separated from Gabriel or Noah at present, and the thought of them leaving her for months, anytime in the near future, made her food churn furiously in her stomach. She quietly placed her fork to the side of her plate, all traces of her appetite gone.

She propped her elbows on the table and rested her lips against her fisted hands, determined not to ask such a thing of them. Their careers saved so many lives, and Emily knew she would never be the reason they didn’t fulfill their duty or calling. No, she would support them always, even if she currently felt too raw to watch them walk away from her.

Yes, she conceded, sleeping alone at night would be a challenge, and she was glad now that she’d told Noah and Gabriel that morning she needed to see a counselor. Perhaps this person could help her work her way through her fears, so normal day to day tasks didn’t seem quite so daunting.

“Emily, look at me, honey,” Gabriel whispered in her ear.

She did as he asked and turned her eyes his way. He frowned immediately, and she knew then that she hadn’t schooled her countenance as well as she’d hoped she had. Ignoring the others, he cupped her face with one hand and arched an eyebrow in question.

Emily opened her mouth to offer him a standard platitude. Something along the lines of
I’m fine
or
it’s nothing
. But Noah’s phone began to ring, and she was saved from having to utter a falsehood to Gabriel. She leaned away from him and turned to see a frown on Noah’s face now. He motioned for everyone to stop talking, and they did without further prompting.

“And they want to do this
when
?” Noah asked, not even trying to hide his anger with whomever he was talking to. “No, sir, I honestly don’t know. Let me talk with Emily and Gabe and we’ll call you right back. Okay.”

Noah placed his cell on the table and stared at it for a few moments while he gathered his composure and leashed his temper. Finally, he ran a hand through his hair in agitation and looked to Emily first and then on to Gabriel.

“That was Hollington. He’s here in Whitford Falls today to handle some business, but also to see about a request from Sheriff Strauss, it would seem. Apparently, Strauss, Jasper, and Andrew have asked that Hollington facilitate a brief meeting between them and Em. And us,” he added with a look of incredulity. “He says there’s no pressure to agree, and it’s completely our choice.”

“Abso-fucking-lutely not,” Gabriel swore, his expression dark as he issued the swift denial.

“I vote yes,” Emily said calmly.

All eyes turned towards her and she nodded slowly, while she prayed for strength.

“Em, there is no reason in hell why they need access to you. What could agreeing to such a meeting accomplish?” Gabriel asked, with a shake of his head.

“I’m with Gabe here, Emily,” Noah chimed in. “This is asking too much, too soon. It’s not even been three weeks yet. No, baby.”

“Yes,” she said again. “And I won’t let you shut the door on me this time, without hearing me out.”

“That’s not what we’re trying to do here, Emily,” Gabriel said and took her hand in his, lacing their fingers together. “Not at all. We’re trying to protect you from harm, and seeing those men will most certainly do just that. Cause you emotional stress that you don’t need right now.”

“Okay,” she sighed, and they thought they’d won her over, convinced her to back off. But they were wrong. “Let me try this again. I vote we talk with them. I’m going to explain why, and you are both going to listen to me. Then, after I’ve said what’s on my mind and heart,
we
– meaning the three of us – can discuss this. Like adults,” she added firmly.

Garrett smothered a smile with his hand while he watched Gabriel’s chest rise and fall heavily as he drew in a steadying breath. Noah did the same before leaning closer to take Emily’s other hand in his. Tara had been right, Garrett thought. Emily could be stubborn as hell, too. She just had a certain finesse about the way she commanded the two, much larger men on either side of her.

“First,” Emily began succinctly, “I don’t believe Hollington would allow anyone or anything to come through our door that would hurt us. He’s got far too much experience and natural instinct in your line of work, to throw us to the wolves. I believe he’d protect the two of you with his life, and by extension, me as well.”

“Second, we are not the only victims in this case. And if you really stop and think for just a moment, you’ll agree with me. Imagine if you learned one of the guys in this room was stalking or hurting an innocent. Think of how betrayed you’d feel, how utterly devastated and in disbelief you’d be. It would make you question all of the others within your unit, because you’d wonder what else you’d missed. Your faith would be greatly shaken and rightly so.”

“That’s how I’m sure Strauss and his other deputies feel. They were betrayed by one of their own. A man they knew, respected, and talked openly with. They’re hurting too, guys, just as you’d be if the tables were reversed.”

“And thirdly,” Emily sighed, looking from one to the other, “
I
need this meeting for healing, closure, and forgiveness. I need to tell them that I don’t blame them, so they can sleep at night and me too. Holding them responsible for the decisions Eric made serves no purpose. It only eats me and them up inside, and that kind of anger can do irreparable harm if I hold on to it.”

“I am better than the actions of that one, lost man. And so, too, are they. Why would it be wrong for me, for
us
, to talk with them? I’ve known those men my whole life, and I know that they need to forgive themselves and find closure just as much as I do.”

“Why do you need to forgive yourself, Emily?” Gabriel asked hoarsely.

“I think, Gabriel, all victims do. Whether I like the term or not, that’s what I am. And for me, I know that had I not gone downstairs alone, Eric would not have taken me in that moment. My actions gave him an advantage.”

“Does that mean that he wouldn’t have stormed the house later and hurt someone else in his bid to get me? We’ll never know. But what we do know is that my lapse in judgment cost me dearly. Cost us,” she amended, “because I know you all went through hell to find me. That’s why this morning I said I thought it was time I saw a counselor with you by my side.”

“Because, when I wake up from each and every nightmare I’ve had since escaping, I’ve remembered that one moment when Eric had me pinned beneath him on the bed. I thought - this is all your fault Emily, because Noah and Gabriel specifically told you not to go anywhere alone – and now look at where you are. I knew that I had to be smart and get away from him somehow, because no one else was there at the time to do it for me. And after fighting him, I knew he was far stronger and more powerful than me.”

“Right or wrong, that’s how I felt that night, and it’s still what I’m struggling with today. And honestly, I think Strauss and his men are as well. And I think you and Noah are, too. We all need to heal a whole lot more. And maybe, just maybe, this meeting will be a step in that direction.”

Emily released their hands and lifted her napkin to her face. Slowly, she cleaned away the tears that had trailed over her cheeks. Then, she leaned back in her chair and looked from Noah to Gabriel.

“Now, tell me what you think,” she encouraged them quietly.

“I think, Emily,” Noah struggled to say, “that you are far braver than you give yourself credit for. And, maybe, even more so than me. If I put my own anger at those men to the side, I can agree with each and every point you just made. Except one,” he qualified.

Noah leaned in closer and cupped her face in his palms, so he could stare directly into her eyes. “You are not, in any way, at fault for what Eric did to you. And through counseling, and from my own lips, we’ll get you to a place where you believe that. Yes, I support your healing in every way. And if you think meeting with these guys will help you in that endeavor, you’ll have my wholehearted support.”

“That’s my vote,” he whispered and lightly settled his lips on hers. When he drew away, Noah released his hold on her face so she could turn and look at Gabriel.

Gabe said nothing initially; rather he threaded one of his palms into her hair and began a light massage against Emily’s scalp. He seemed to struggle as Noah had to form a coherent word, but finally he managed to wet his lips and speak.

“Em, everything within me, everything that makes me the man who’s going to marry you and who’s your best friend, is screaming not to let you do this. My instincts, where you’re concerned, demand that I shelter you and protect you from all harm. And that part of me is going to have a very hard time letting them through our front door. Because they didn’t shelter you well enough when they had the chance, or see the signs…” Gabriel broke off and clenched his teeth together.