N. Walters - Strands of Love

Sam blinked. It was disconcerting to have two large men kneeling at her feet. One of them was naked and the other was fully dressed. A candle flared and was placed on the table, adding more light to the room.

Darian lifted her injured foot, holding it to the light. “You didn’t break the skin.” The robe slipped open, exposing her entire leg. She clutched the material tight, making sure she didn’t show more skin than she wanted to.

Now that the moment was passed, she was feeling foolish. She pulled her foot from Darian’s grasp, or at least tried to. He wasn’t letting it go. “I only stubbed my toe. It barely hurts at all anymore.”

She pulled her foot away again and this time he released her. “Ah, I think I’ll just go to the bathroom now.” Sam stood, grabbed the candle and fled to the other room as fast as her dignity allowed.

Two sets of pale-blue eyes watched her. She could feel their gazes on her. As she shut the door behind her, she wondered once again why Jace was here. He’d been standing in the shadows watching them sleep. It was kinda creepy and sad at the same time.

Sam set the candle down on the wooden vanity and used the facilities before washing up with the now-cold water in the basin. What was she going to do? She couldn’t stay in the bathroom all night. Although sleeping in the round tub sounded a lot better than returning to face her two handsome kidnappers.

Jace watched Sam walk to the bathroom, frowning when he noticed she was limping slightly. “She’s favoring her foot.”

Darian nodded. “It is not broken, only bruised.” His brother faced him. “Why didn’t you join us in bed?”

Tension invaded Jace’s entire body. His cock was thick and heavy after watching Sam sleep in his brother’s arms. He hadn’t been there long, having worked until late before retiring to his own room to bathe and sleep. But sleep had evaded him so he’d come to Darian’s room, knowing he’d find them both here. He’d noted the covered trays still filled with food sitting on the table.

“Why didn’t Sam eat?”

Darian sighed and raked his fingers through his hair. “She was too tired.” He paused for a moment. “After.”

A muscle quivered beneath Jace’s left eye and his jaw tightened. “You didn’t feed her first.” Jace was angry that his brother had already taken Sam. He found her clothes scattered around the room and the fact she’d been wearing Darian’s robe had confirmed his suspicions. Darian had seen Sam naked, stroked her soft skin, tasted her sweet cream and felt her pussy clench around his cock.

It could have been him. But stubborn pride had kept him away. That and his promise he wouldn’t force himself on her. How had Darian gotten past her guardedness so quickly? He wanted to hate his brother, but didn’t. He envied him instead even as he was glad his brother had found a way to entice Sam into his bed. If one of them could bind her physically to him through sex, maybe she might be willing to stay.

“I gave my pledge to her.” Darian’s low confession sounded like a shout. Jace’s chest actually hurt.

“And?” he asked.

Darian shook his head. “She did not accept.” He stared back at the door Sam had gone through a few minutes before. “I’m not sure she believed I was in earnest.”

Some of the tension bled from Jace. There was still a chance for him to claim Sam. As soon as he thought it, he felt disloyal to his brother. If Darian had claimed her, he would be happy for him, for all of them.

“You called her Samantha?” Jace liked the name. It was feminine, yet strong.

“When she met Mother, she called herself that name, but she says that everyone calls her Sam.” Darian’s patience was obviously at an end because he stalked over the door to the bathing chamber and knocked. “Sam?”

The door slowly opened and she stood there, candle in hand. Her black hair flowed around her shoulders and she looked small enveloped in Darian’s oversized robe. It practically swallowed her whole. Her toes curled into the stone and Jace knew her feet were probably cold.

She sidled by Darian and came back to the fire, setting the candle carefully on the table. Standing on the fur rug, she faced them both. “So what happens now?”

Jace could sense her nervousness, see it in the way she twisted the belt of the robe between her hands. He knew he should leave, allow her to be at ease, but he could not.

“I told you I would not force myself on you.” Jace walked toward her, not stopping until he was standing right in front of her. She didn’t back away, but tilted back her head to look at him.

Pride and longing filled him. He cupped the back of her head in his large hand, leaned down and kissed her. Her lips parted on a surprised gasp and he took advantage, sliding his tongue into her mouth. He groaned when he got his first taste of Sam, no Samantha. He liked that name much better. He lost himself in her sweet warmth, almost yelling his triumph when he felt her fingers digging into his shoulders.

He eased back and stared into her dark eyes, easily reading her arousal and confusion. “Invite me to your bed,” he commanded. He needed her to want him, to offer him what she’d shared with his brother. “Samantha.” He whispered her name, stroking the sides of her face with his thumbs. “Give yourself to me.”

A deep shudder went through Sam. She felt as though a wildcat, a golden lion or maybe a tiger, was stalking her. Dangerous and deadly, yet enticing as hell. Jace was weaving a sensual spell around her that was almost too tempting to ignore. But she’d slept with Darian. She couldn’t turn around and do the same with Jace.

She glanced at Darian, a very naked and aroused Darian, looking for something—anger, reassurance. Some idea how he was feeling. He simply smiled at her. “It is your choice, Sam. We both want you. We told you that.” Darian came to stand beside her and nodded toward his brother. “It is your choice.”

“But it’s wrong,” she blurted out. Really, what kind of woman was she to want two men?

It was Jace who answered her. “In Javara it is normal for a woman to have two men in her bed, sometimes three. There is nothing wrong or shameful in that.” He slipped his hands inside the neck of the robe. The fabric parted, exposing the tops of her breasts. “Let me touch you.” His fingers danced over the mounds, sliding slower until he was almost touching her nipples. “Pleasure you.” His lips brushed against her forehead. “Taste you.”

Sam couldn’t think, couldn’t reason. Not with two, hot sexy men staring at her with unrestrained lust gleaming in their eyes. This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, something to remember when she was back on the farm, toiling away alone under the hot sun.

A pang of regret and loneliness almost brought her to her knees, but she stiffened them. She was a Calloway and would not falter now that her decision was made. “You’ll let me go home?” For some unknown reason, she trusted them to keep their word. Some might call her crazy, and maybe they were right, but that didn’t change the way she felt.

Both men stiffened. Darian appeared sad and Jace angry.

Way to kill the mood.

“Yes, we will let you go when the tapestry returns.” Jace pushed the plackets of the robe wide, exposing her breasts to both their views. “But if you are going to leave, I plan on making the most of the time I have with you.”

Her breasts felt heavy and swollen and she couldn’t suppress a moan of pleasure when Jace cupped them in his hands, tracing the puckered nipples with his thumbs. “So lovely.”

Another pair of strong arms came around her from behind. Darian untied the belt to the robe before easing it from her body. The heat from the men and the fire drove back the night chill and it wasn’t long until she felt hot.