Seducing Serena Read online

  There should have been evidence of her breathing, mist coming from her nostrils, her halfopen mouth, but there was nothing. Goose bumps rippled across his skin. He pounded against the window even harder, hoping she was just ignoring him. When he still got no response, he reached for the door handle. Locked.

  “Ash, Damen, try the other doors. She isn’t waking up.” Brady knew the men could hear the worry in his voice because they didn’t hesitate before taking action, checking every door and window for a way in. No way were the three of them going to lose her when they finally had her within their grasp again.

  Although Serena was on her own and vulnerable, with goddess knows how many people after her, she knew enough to lock every door and seal every window as though that was not the way she wanted to die. The way she wanted to leave this life was of her own choice and apparently freezing to death was her chosen method. Brady sensed it and knew she was still alive, though barely. Unfortunately, the safety precautions she’d taken weren’t making it easy for them to help her either.

  Brady’s hands trembled and his knees quaked in fear. She wasn’t going to make it much longer, especially in the frigid temperatures. If they didn’t get her out of her car and warmed up soon, she might never regain consciousness. Just a little over an hour had lapsed since she’d driven away from their home and in that time she’d either passed out from exhaustion or cold, perhaps both. Either way she needed help and she needed it now.

  Unwilling to wait any longer to give her the aid she needed, Brady turned to Asher and Damen.

  “We need to break the lock. Now!”

  Ash ran to the back end of the Rover to fetch the crowbar they usually carried in the trunk. He returned within seconds and wedged it between the door and car frame, but it wouldn’t budge. In desperation, he swung it at the side window, shattered the glass, punched it out with his gloved hand and reached inside to unlock the door.

  Serena didn’t stir.

  Brady climbed into the car with more speed than caution. All that mattered to him was finding out if she were still alive. What if they were already too late? His heart stuttered in his chest.

  They just couldn’t be.

  He searched for the pulse in her neck. All three men held their breath. Tears spilled from the corners of Damen’s eyes. Ash kneeled next to the car, his hands together as if in prayer. Brady thought his heart would shatter as grief ravaged his soul. How could they have lost her? “She’s alive,” Brady said, his voice cracking with emotion. “But if we don’t get her warm soon, she’ll not make it.”

  From the other side of the car, Asher’s gaze met Damen’s. “Then let’s take our mate home.”

  Brady turned his head toward Ash who’d patiently stood behind him as he checked on Serena. “Ash, get the blankets out of the back of the Rover and the cozy one I took from her room, lay them on the seat and turn the heater up full blast. As soon as we get her in the car, we need to strip her bare and wrap her up. Body heat and a warm blanket around her will go a long way toward making sure she doesn’t end up with hypothermia.”

  “You got it.”

  As Ash rushed to the Land Rover to crank up the heat and dig out the emergency blankets, Brady returned his attention to their unconscious mate. “I want her to wake up sandwiched between us in our bed. She won’t be able to run if we’re with her and body heat is what she needs right now.”

  “It’s going to be a long night,” Damen muttered.

  He couldn’t agree more.

  ———

  Serena woke feeling blessedly warm. How long had it been since she’d woken so completely comfortable? From the tip of her nose to the bottom of her feet, she felt oh so languorous and toasty.

  But even as warm as she was, nothing beat the feeling of safety that flooded her. For the first time in years, she woke without fear. Every morning since she’d turned seventeen—seven endless years—an impending sense of doom had haunted her. In fact, she couldn’t remember the last time she had felt this safe—something she never thought to experience again.

  Even the part of her soul that seemed to always search for something, appeared oddly quiet and content today, as though whatever it had looked for in the hundreds of towns she passed through, was finally within reach.

  In fact, if she didn’t know better, she would think she lay snuggled on a feather mattress between the Turner boys. But like every other morning, she knew she would open her eyes and be alone. Only in her most erotic fantasies did she share her bed with the three young men who held her heart, young men who would be real men now, fully matured.

  Sighing, Serena snuggled deeper into her purring pillow. By the time she realized pillows couldn’t purr, the unmistakable ridge of a rockhard erection pressed against her belly.

  Oh, shit. Oh, shit. Oh, shit. Where was she? Terror seized her. Bile churned in her tummy. Her muscles tensed as she prepared to flee. Before she could move, could even open her eyes to look for an avenue of escape, a wave of soothing calm washed over her.

  “Easy, sweetness. Everything is all right now, Rena. It’s me, Damen, and you’re safe.”

  “Damen?” She snorted, recognizing his voice immediately, deeper, sexier, it was unmistakable, even after a seven-year absence. Maybe if she didn’t open her eyes, she could pretend that they hadn’t found her, that even now they were blissfully unaware of her and the danger her presence here would bring them. Then she could pretend this was only one of the many erotic dreams involving them she’d experienced over the years.

  “I’ll never be safe and neither will anyone who gets near me.” No matter that she’d wanted to return here every moment of every day since she walked out on the Turners. But she couldn’t tell them, couldn’t let on how much she still loved and missed them or they’d never let her go. No matter how much she wanted to, she couldn’t stay—

  couldn’t chance that the people who were after her would find out about her men and hunt them down to get to her.

  Knowing that now wasn’t the time to dwell on her past, Serena confronted her present instead, opening her eyes for the first time since she woke.

  “Why am I here, Damen?”

  Her breath caught when she got her first good look at him. It had been so long since she’d seen him or his adopted brothers. When she’d left home, Damen’s black hair had been military short because of its tendency to curl. Now the thick mass of raven curls were long enough to be tightly drawn back into a ponytail. His blues eyes were still as deep and mesmerizing as they’d always been. But, his face… His face looked leaner, harder, although still classically beautiful, even with the bump on his nose proving it had been broken at least once since she’d left home. He had full rich brows and lips that made a person want to nibble on them for an hour or two. Add the dimple on his right cheek and the strong chin, and he was definitely drool-worthy. No wonder she spent so much time fantasizing about him when she’d been younger.

  “You’re here because this is your home, has always been your home and will always be your home. By the Goddess, girl, you’d have died last night had we not come in time.”

  But that’s what I wanted. I didn’t want to be saved.

  She whipped her head toward the newcomer’s voice. Leaning against the doorframe, wearing nothing but a pair of half-zipped, well-worn jeans and a naughty smile, was Asher Turner. He, too, hadn’t changed much in the seven years she’d been gone. Still as gorgeous as ever, he stood well over six feet tall and had the most brilliant green eyes she’d ever seen in her life. She remembered his green eyes so well but it was almost as if their brilliance had heightened with maturity. With his blonde hair, muscular torso and a perpetual tan, he looked like a surfer, though he’d probably never been to a beach in his life. Altogether, Ash was one yummy man.

  Too bad none of the Turner men could see that she wasn’t a child any longer. Even at seventeen, she’d been an adult for many years. If only she could have stayed in this place with these men.

  Her life migh
t have turned out different. If only…

  She swallowed past the lump in her throat, willing herself not to cry. “Where is Brady?”

  Feeling self-conscious, she looked down, only then noticing they’d put her to bed naked. “And where the hell are my clothes?”

  Asher shrugged as he made his way toward the bed. Damen ran his hand through her hair. Pulling a strand to his face, he inhaled her scent, distractedly mumbling an answer to her question.

  “He’s fixing breakfast for you.” Ash stopped at the foot of the bed.

  His eyes glittered with passion, something she’d never thought she’d live to see. Her gaze lowered to his zipper where a telltale bulge pressed prominently against his jeans. Her heart thumped against her chest. Her arms trembled.

  Oh, Goddess. This couldn’t be happening. Not now, when it’s still too dangerous to stay with them.

  “And after you eat your breakfast, we’re going to bathe you and spend the rest of the day making love to you, showing you exactly how we feel.”

  Chapter Three

  “I can’t eat another bite.” Serena pushed the tray away, eyeing the delicious fruit dish, but she’d gone without food for so long, her stomach had shrunk. “Thank you, Brady. That was the best food I’ve had in years.”

  “Something puzzles me, sweetness.”

  “What’s that?”

  “You had access to our joint account. Why didn’t you use any of that money to survive?

  Heaven knows, there’s enough there to last us all several lifetimes. Why starve yourself? Look at you. There’s nothing left but skin and bones.”

  “Brady, it didn’t feel right to use the family fortune. I ran away. I had no right to it.”

  “Of course you have a right to it. I shared it fairly with the three of you. Now come here and let me give you a hug.”

  Ash had already removed the tray. She sat up, hugging the blankets close to her body and moved toward Brady. When he gathered her into his arms, very carefully as if afraid she’d break, she felt secure, safe. But that safety wouldn’t last. She needed to get out of there as fast as she could, lure danger away from the mansion and the three men she cared most for in the world.

  Her thoughts were wiped away when Brady scooped her into his arms, blankets and all. “And now off to the Jacuzzi with you, young lady.”

  “Jacuzzi?”

  “Yes, we had one installed a few years ago. It’s wonderful.”

  Serena looked beyond Brady’s shoulder and smiled at Ash and Damen who followed close behind. “It feels so good to be home. So right,” she said softly.

  “And it is right. This is where you belong. We’ll protect you,” Damen said.

  “Yes, Ma’am,” Ash agreed.

  Serena gasped at the beautiful spa the men had built. The Jacuzzi was in-ground. Wisps of steam curled lazily upward to the vaulted windowed ceiling. Tropical plants were scattered all over.

  The tiled floor resembled fine white beach sand. It was almost as if they’d been transported to the tropics, to a natural heated pool.

  Brady set her down and the blankets fell to the ground. He bent and scooped them up, tossing them into a corner.

  Automatically, her arm flung across her breasts, her other hand hiding her pubic area.

  “Serena, we’ve seen you naked tons of times.

  You’ve grown bashful suddenly? Remember skinny dipping in the creek?” Ash said, laughing loudly.

  “I was a little younger then. I’ve changed.”

  “Baby, I don’t see much of a change except you’re too thin. We need to put a little meat on those bones of yours, fill your breasts out to what they used to be.”

  “See, you’re picking on me already.”

  “Aw, honey, they’re not picking on you,” Brady said while he forced her arms away from her body.

  She saw his gaze raking her from head to toe and felt the heat rise to her face. Yes, they’d gone skinny dipping in the past, but now everything was different. Her feelings were different. How?

  She’d yearned for them all these years, fantasized about them, they had consumed her dreams. And during those years, she’d realized she loved them.

  I love you. I love each one of you. A shiver ran down her spine.

  “Into the water, sister.” Ash used his old endearment.

  He’d often called her sister, in memory of the sister he’d lost along with his parents. Though if they had any idea how unsisterly she felt about them, they wouldn’t call her that out loud—they wouldn’t even think it. What she wanted to do with them—to them—would be a sin if they were blood kin.

  Without further preamble, Brady took off his jeans, picked her up and walked into the Jacuzzi with her. The warm bubbling water enveloped her. He sat her down on one of the benches and knelt in front of her. Ash and Damen took their pants off and sat on each side of her. She couldn’t help but admire their bodies. They’d always been nicely built, but now they were men, men who had filled out, had become more muscular. Even their cocks had increased in size she noticed, at the same time experiencing a sudden surge of excitement, a tingling between her legs at the thought of touching those cocks. Her gaze caught a shadow on Damen’s arm. Peering closer, she saw a tattoo of a wolf with some kind of weapon over it. That was something new. He didn’t have a tattoo when she’d left. Closing her eyes briefly, she pictured them naked as she’d just seen them and imagined what size their cocks would be if erect and felt her heart hammer her ribs. Brady left her for a moment and quickly returned with three containers.

  “Ash, you shampoo her hair. Damen, you massage her with this oil after I wash her.”

  “I can wash myself,” Serena said firmly.

  “No. We want to spoil you, pamper you. Now be quiet and just enjoy.”

  And she did. Brady’s touch was so gentle, so loving and caring as he washed her face, her neck, then her shoulders and arms. Next he washed her chest. Was it her imagination or did he spend more time washing her breasts than any other area? She felt her breasts swell. Her nipples began to ache as he soaped them and rubbed them with his thumbs. By now they’d be hard as little rocks, she knew. By the devilish glint in his eyes, he knew it, too. Next he washed her belly, her bellybutton, then pulling her forward, he washed her back and bottom, his fingers rubbing up and down the crack of her ass.

  By now she was on fire, her heart thundering, craving more of his touch. Without realizing, she spread her legs and sighed when his fingers parted her folds, slipping inside as he washed between them. His thumb rested on her clit, for a moment sending shards of sharp pleasure zipping through her body. She was ready to burst. All he had to do was insert a finger and she’d come. But he didn’t and she was too proud to beg.

  At the same time Ash scrubbed her scalp until it tingled, Brady moved on to wash her legs and feet.

  When they were done and she was completely rinsed off, they languished in the water for a while, silently, just enjoying being with each other, until Brady said, “If we stay in here any longer, we’ll turn into prunes.”

  Damen stood and lifted Serena out of the water.

  “And now the massage. I took a course, you know.”

  “I can’t wait,” Serena murmured.

  He carried her to a special bench tucked away behind a three panel decorative room divider and laid her on her tummy. She felt him pour oil on her back, on her buttocks and his hands started to knead and massage. Slowly, all tension left her body. Her arms were folded under her head and she looked sideways at the man administering to her. His cock was hard as steel. Wow, had it ever grown from what she remembered from seven years ago. It pulsed gently against his stomach, a glistening drop of precum ready to dribble down.

  She was so tempted to reach out or to dip her head forward and taste that heavenly nectar.

  Damen spread her legs and his hands were on her thighs, her buttocks, then between her ass cheeks as he rubbed oil on that area. She almost squirmed, felt like begging him to take her right
there and then. But she constrained herself. He turned her over on her back. Behind her, Ash pulled her up so that her head was just outside the massage table. She glanced up. His cock was just above her face, tempting her. Oh, my stars, I can’t stand this. Look at it! It, too, stood to attention. As big, if not bigger than Damen’s, it had a much bigger head and she was so close she could see the veins throbbing beneath the fragile, velvety skin.

  Ash started to dry her hair with the hair dryer while brushing it in long luxurious strokes. Oh, she could handle this on a daily basis. With Ash tending her hair and Damen’s hands all over her breasts, her belly, her nipples, and finally her thighs and her feminine folds, yes, maybe if she stayed this could become a daily routine. What am I thinking of? I can enjoy this for the moment, but I can’t stay here. It’s too dangerous.

  Why, my darling?

  That was Brady’s voice inside her head. Okay, now she was going crazy as well. Willing her thoughts to stop, she gave herself over to the moment and concentrated instead on the fingers that were massaging her netherlips, touching her clit and her anal passage. She closed her mind to everything but the feeling of contentment running through her and let her thoughts drift as her body relaxed beneath their soothing touch.

  ———

  The next morning she woke up in their arms.

  Brady behind her, Ash in front of her, Damen behind Brady, his arm casually flung across both their bodies. She stretched and yawned. For the first time in years, she’d had a full night’s rest, a sleep without nightmares. Serena turned her head to gaze into Brady’s eyes. She saw the love that shone there, the way he gazed at her spoke volumes. And I love him. And I love Ash and Damen.

  I love all of them the same, each for their own qualities, one no more than the other and none any less than the other. It wasn’t the love of a teenager feeling a first crush either, but the full passion of a woman recognizing her mates in a soul deep way.