Page 13 of Katie 3 (Desires #6)

Chapter twelve

Katie

I t rains most of the way to the lake house.

Carter drives, one hand on the wheel, the other locked around mine like he thinks I might vanish if he lets go for a second.

Brad sits in the back, sunglasses on even though the sky is dark and moody.

None of us speak much. They won’t tell me much, but I can guess what’s going on.

It was only a matter of time before they would come get Brad.

We stop twice—once for gas, once so Carter can make me eat something. A Clif bar, dry and crumbling in my mouth. He watches every bite. I meet his stare and pretend it isn’t hard to keep anything down.

As we wind up the drive, dark thoughts threaten me. Carter parks and kills the engine. He gets out and opens my door before I can move.

“Come on, let’s get inside,” he says, voice soft, almost pleading. I think both of us would do anything to avoid talking about the mess we’re in. Brad thumps up the steps behind us, then disappears into the master suite without a word.

I put my bag down as Carter hovers beside me. “We’ll be okay,” he says. “You’ll see.”

“Will we?”

He edges closer, his lips ghosting over my skin. “Yeah, we will. And even if nothing else, you’ll be okay. That’s the only thing that matters.”

I want to ask him if he truly believes that, or if he’s just echoing what Henry said. But I don’t. I just let him hold me and try not to think about what comes next.

“I’m going to my room,” I whisper and draw away from his touch. My ribs tense and the urge to sob almost wins. The fear settles. The trial is going to happen. I’m sure of it. And I’ll be put on the stand. They can’t ask what they want to ask—I can’t betray Brad.

I linger with that thought in the hallway outside the bedrooms. I turn the knob of the guest room, the one I’ve always claimed as mine, the one between Carter’s and Brad’s.

“You’re not sleeping there,” Carter says, stopping me before I can slip inside the room.

I turn, heart skipping, and he’s right there, arms crossed, blue eyes teasingly watching me.

“Why not?” I ask.

He doesn’t bother with a reason, just tips his head down the hall. “Come on. You’re with us this week. Not alone.”

A smile tugs on my lips and a flutter inside my stomach warms me as he steers me toward the master suite.

Light from the big window spills across the hardwood floor as Brad sits shirtless on the bed, flipping through his phone like the coming events won’t happen at all.

He glances up as we enter, then tosses the phone aside and sits up.

Carter’s hand stays on my back, warm and insistent. “We’re staying together. All of us.”

I look between them, waiting and wondering if this is truly happening. They’ve always given me space, space I never wanted. Or is Carter doing this with the knowledge Brad might go to…? I shake my head, erasing the heavy thought.

“You okay?” Brad asks, voice almost gentle.

“Of course not!” My throat is thick; tears threaten to spill.

Brad reaches for my hand, his palm rough, familiar. “One way or another, we’ll be fine.”

“Fine?” I scoff. “How can it be fine?”

“Let us take care of you. We’ll help you forget,” Brad teases.

“For a little while,” Carter adds.

I step away from their touch, needing the space. They can’t lure me in and expect me to forget what’s about to happen.

“That won’t fix anything,” I snap. “What if I say the wrong thing? What if…” I bite down on the rest, but my body is already shaking.

“Katie,” Carter says, soft but with that steel behind it. “You survived worse than this.” It isn’t true, but I want to believe it.

They’re both staring at me, and I know what they’re thinking: distraction is a kindness. Or at least a last resort. I’m supposed to be grateful, or want it, but all I want is to not think about tomorrow, or the potential trial, or the way my life has slipped out of my hands.

“I can’t just let it go.” My voice cracks and Brad closes the distance. His arms trails around my waist. A soft smile rests on his full lips as he circles me until his bare chest is pressed against my back.

“You don’t have to. But you also don’t have to do it alone.” He kisses my neck, gentle and slow. His hand comes up and cups my jaw, turning me so I’m forced to see him over my shoulder. “Let us help.”

“I don’t want to forget,” I say, but already my legs are a little weaker. He grins, that sly, wicked look.

“Who said anything about forgetting?” Carter’s hand finds mine, thumb stroking my wrist. “We’ll remind you what’s real.”

I’m torn, but as their feather-light touches dance over my skin, I dare to let myself fall.

“Good girl,” Brad whispers in my ear as he guides me to the bed. His hands turn rough and greedy as they grip my hips and haul me onto the bed. Carter’s fingers are soft, teasing at the nape of my neck, then tracing my spine as he kneels on the mattress behind me.

“You need to relax,” Carter murmurs, and the words are like hypnotism. My breath comes softer now, shivering out as Brad’s hands run up my thighs, under the hem of my shirt, until he finds my bare skin.

“She’s still tense,” Brad says, voice low and hungry. He glances back at Carter, then grins.

“Did you bring the stuff?” Carter asks.

“Of course,” Brad says.

“What are you talking about?” I ask, but Brad has already let go, moving to his bag, rummaging through it and gathering what he needs as he glances at me with a look that’s so intense it nearly burns.

“Trust us?” Brad teases.

I peek at Carter and he whispers, “You’ll like it.”

Brad lifts the blindfold, cuffs and collar. My cheeks heat as I think about the first time he strapped his belt around my neck.

Carter inches closer as my breath hitches. He nudges his chest to my back and gives me a deliberate push of his cock through his jeans. My skin prickles as I gasp.

Carter wraps his hands around my waist, heat burning through the thin cotton of my shirt.

“Arms up,” Carter says, and I lift them, trembling. Brad strips the shirt, then runs his tongue across my collarbone, biting hard enough to mark me. My hands flutter, lost, and Carter catches them, cuffing my wrists together with the soft black bands.

The collar is next. Brad slides it around my throat, the leather warm from his hands. He fastens it at the front, tugs it until I gasp.

My mouth is dry, my pulse so loud in my ears that I barely hear Carter’s voice. “Breathe, doll.” He kisses my shoulder, then trails his tongue up to my ear. “You look perfect like this. Not going anywhere.”

Brad grins. “You’re blushing, Katie. You like being owned, don’t you?”

I shake my head but the heat between my thighs gives me away. Carter slips a hand down, between my legs, and finds me soaked. He presses hard on my clit, just once, enough to make me moan.

“She loves it,” he says to Brad.

The blindfold is last. Carter runs a finger over it, then covers my eyes, and the world goes dark. I can’t see, but I feel everything—Carter’s hands, Brad’s lips on my skin, the warm breath and the cold snap of leather. I’m shivering, helpless, but I never want to leave this place.

They’re quiet for a moment, their hands moving over me, mapping my skin, squeezing and stroking and teasing.

Brad’s hands are rough, urgent, as he spreads my thighs and buries his face between them. The sound of his hunger, the ragged intake of breath, the way he groans as he licks me, makes me arch and writhe.

Carter’s touch is softer, slower, exploring every inch of me, my throat, my breasts. When he pinches my nipple, I arch so hard I nearly sob. They take turns, wordless, playing me like an instrument, making me shudder and cry out and beg for more.

“She’s dripping,” Brad says, his voice muffled by my body. “Goddamn, did you miss us that much?”

I can’t answer. I can only whimper as his tongue works me over, flicking and teasing until my toes curl and my head throws back against Carter’s chest. He clamps a hand around my throat, squeezing just enough that I float.

My orgasm is sudden, lightning-bright, and I moan into the dark, shaking apart as Brad doesn’t stop, not even when I scream.

“Shh,” Carter whispers, mouth at my ear. “We’re only getting started.”

Brad moves and a finger slides inside me, gentle and deep. He adds another, then a third, and suddenly I’m squirming, rocking on his hand, the stretch and heat making every nerve catch fire.

Carter cradles my head, stroking my hair, and murmurs, “Take it, doll. Take everything.”

They don’t let up, not for a second. Brad’s hands are everywhere, greedy and rough, alternating between fucking me with his fingers and spanking my ass, sharp little slaps that sting and then pulse with heat.

Carter runs his hands up my sides, over my ribs, thumbs my nipples until I’m a whimpering mess.

I want to beg them to stop but the words die as Brad’s mouth joins his fingers, tongue lapping at me as his fingers pound inside. My legs shake, my wrists pull against the cuffs, but there’s no escape, not even when Carter holds me tight and whispers, “You can take more. You want this, don’t you?”

I nod, frantic, and he kisses my shoulder and Brad’s touches fade.

“Good girl. Now show us what a perfect slut you are,” he says as he guides me forward on my hands and knees.

Carter’s weight keeps me from backing away as Brad lifts my hips.

I hear the sound of his pants unzipping, the slap of skin as he strokes himself, and then he’s inside, so sudden and deep, I scream.

“Let them hear you, Katie,” Carter whispers as he pins me with his hands. “Let everyone know you belong to us.”