Strands of Love

Chapter Six

Sam wasn’t quite sure what woke her, but when she opened her eyes it was dark. She blinked several times and eventually her eyes adjusted so she could make out some of the shapes in the room. Nothing looked familiar.

Reality came slamming back at her with the force of a freight train. She’d been taken from her home by two gorgeous men, men who thought they came from another world. Sure, she’d seen a tapestry floating in midair, but that was simply the wind blowing debris around her yard. Had to be. Right? Because the alternative was too mind-blowing for her to even consider.

The fire had died down in the hearth, but she could still see the faint glow of the embers. All was quiet, except for the heavy breathing of the man sleeping peacefully next to her.

She swallowed down the lump of rising panic in her throat. She was safe. She certainly hadn’t been harmed. If anything, they were going out of their way to make her feel welcome.

That was all fine and good, but she had to get home. She had crops in the field and a loan payment she had to figure out how to come up with. As tempting as it was to stay curled up in bed next to Darian, she had to move. Maybe she could find a telephone and call Tim to let him know she was okay.

Of course, the lack of plumbing facilities didn’t exactly give her hope of finding a phone that actually worked.

Moving slowly, she slid out from under Darian’s arm. He grunted in his sleep, but didn’t wake. Sam eased her legs over the side of the bed. Thankfully, she was still wearing the robe she’d found in the bathroom. The belt had come untied, so she quickly tightened it. She’d need a candle or lantern if she was going to wander around the castle. If she was remembering correctly, there was one on the table by the fireplace.

The stone floor was cold beneath her feet and she shivered. She’d taken one step when a deep, male voice spoke. “Going somewhere?”

Sam shrieked and jumped about a foot in the air. Heart racing, she faced the corner of the room where the voice had come from. The sound of her scream hadn’t even died when a naked Darian stood in front of her, a large sword gleaming in his hand. Where had he gotten the weapon? She certainly didn’t remember seeing it in bed with them.

Darian lowered his sword and sighed. “Should have known it was you.” He stored the sword back in a sheath built into the side of the bed before turning to her. “Are you all right, Samantha?”

She noted he was using her full name instead of the shortened version and wondered why. Her heart was still racing, but it no longer felt as though it was going to pop out of her chest. “Yeah, I’m okay.”

Movement from the dark corner caught her eye and then the darkness seemed to release Jace. There wasn’t much light coming in through the two thin windows, but it was enough for her to know it was him.

“Where were you going?” Jace repeated.

No way was she going to admit she’d planned on searching for a phone. She wasn’t stupid. “If you must know, the bathroom.” She started off in that direction, figuring a minute or two to herself couldn’t hurt. Why was Jace here?

She’d barely rounded the end of the bed when she stubbed her toe on the corner of the trunk that sat there. She’d forgotten about it. “Ouch.” She grabbed her toe and hopped around on one foot, swallowing the curse words she really wanted to say.

Large arms plucked her off her feet. “Are you hurt?” Darian asked. “Stoke the fire,” he commanded his brother. Darian carried her to one of the two chairs flanking the hearth and seconds later light filled the room. Jace added wood to the embers as they flared into flames.

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.

Sam licked her lips and put her hands on Jace’s chest. He was a little taller than his brother, a little wider, his features more rugged. There was no denying his strength. It was evident in every thick muscle in his arms and legs, the width of his shoulders and broadness of his chest. She traced the lines that delineated his abs, absorbing his heat and measuring his strength.

Jace moved suddenly, reminding her that he might be big and muscular, but he was also very fast. He scooped her into his arms and carried her to the bed. He dumped her on the mattress and stood back watching her as he shucked his boots, vest and pants. When he was as naked as she was, he loomed over her, his expression dark and grim.

“Ask me?”

She realized then how much she’d hurt his pride earlier. In spite of her unspoken invitation, he would not take her to bed until she invited him. He was aroused, his cock hard and ready, the thick veins that ran through his shaft pulsing in need, but he made no move toward her.

“Be sure,” he added. “Once you say yes, I will not leave your bed while you are here.”

Sam glanced toward Darian, who was still standing naked by the fire. He slowly nodded.

She looked back at Jace and noted the pain in his gaze, the hurt, the expectation that even now she might reject him. She held out her hand. “Come to me.”

If she was expecting him to jump into bed with her immediately, she was sadly mistaken. He put his hands on her thighs and shoved them wide. His fingers tightened and he gave a low growl of pleasure as he leaned inward. “I have to taste your pussy.”

Sam had never met two men more earthy and plainspoken when it came to sex than Darian and Jace. She’d also never known two men who seemed to enjoy going down on a woman like they did.

Jace ate her as though he was a starving man and she was a banquet. He tasted and teased, nipped and stroked. His tongue flicked the hard kernel of nerves at the apex of her thighs and she came halfway off the bed, her back arching into his touch. She almost came, but he stopped just before it could happen.

She moaned, grabbed his hair and tried to pull him back where she wanted him. His low laugh of pleasure sent a shiver of desire rocketing through her. His tongue probed the opening of her slick channel, pressing inside. “Jace.” She cried his name, wanting more of him.

She reached for him, wanting to stroke his cock, to learn his shape and size, but he kept just out of reach. Frustrated, she started to sit up, but the other side of the bed depressed and she fell back.

Then she was lifted slightly, her shoulders supported by strong arms and a flat stomach. Darian was behind her, his thick shaft digging into her spine. He cupped her breasts and teased her nipples.

Sam’s gaze flew back to Jace, wondering how he would react to Darian joining them in bed. He gave her a reassuring nod before diving between her spread thighs once again.

The two men surrounded her. With Darian behind her and Jace between her spread thighs, she was totally vulnerable. They could do anything they wanted to her and she wouldn’t be able to stop them. She had a feeling no one in the castle would lift a finger to help her either. Jace and Darian were obviously in charge here.

She should have been frightened out of her mind. Instead, she’d never felt safer in her entire life.

Sam gave up thinking and reasoning. She shoved worry aside, losing herself in the heat the two men generated. She reached one hand behind her head and touched Darian’s face. He nuzzled his cheek against her palm. She stretched out her other hand toward Jace, pleased when he lifted his face into her touch.

His lips were wet from her cream and the sensual sight sent a shudder of longing throughout her body. “Jace.”

He licked his lips before kissing her inner thigh. “Hmm.”

“Don’t wait.” She needed him and she needed him now.

His entire body tensed as he knelt on the edge of the bed and lifted her thighs over his. His balls hung heavy between his legs and the top of his cock was damp. She wanted to touch him, to feel him pulsing between her palms, but there was no time.

Later, she promised herself. Later, she would touch both of them, returning the pleasure they’d given her.

Jace fitted the head of his cock to Sam’s slick opening and pushed his way inside. Her pussy was snug and he took his time, not wanting to hurt her by going too fast. He clenched his fists, shoving them into the bedding on either side of her waist to keep from ramming into her.

He met Darian’s gaze and relaxed slightly when his brother nodded. She’d taken Darian earlier so she could take him too. He leaned forward, pushing his cock inward, sucking much needed air into his lungs, as her vaginal muscles rippled around him. He was breathing as though he’d run ten miles by the time he was fully seated.

Sam reached for him and he leaned forward, pleased when she yanked his head down so she could kiss him. Her tongue teased his, rubbing it and then pulling back so he would chase it into her mouth.

His balls were tight against his body and he knew he was running out of time. Sam had to come before he did. He needed her pleasure, needed her to know he’d always put her first.

Jace tucked his hands beneath her, cupping the firm mounds of her ass. Then he began to move. Slowly at first, he rocked in and out of her. When she moaned into his mouth, he sat back and began to move faster.

Darian stilled cupped her breasts and played with her nipples. They looked so pretty, a lovely shade of pink. Jace leaned down and lapped at one of the puckered tips before sucking the nipple into his mouth.

Sam’s pussy clutched wildly at his shaft and, for a moment, Jace wasn’t sure he could hold back. Somehow he managed to keep from coming, but it was a close thing. He released her nipple and began to thrust heavily, loving the way her channel squeezed him on every stroke.

“Come for me.” It was part plea, part command. Jace reached between their joined bodies and found her clit, stroking it with his thumb.

Sam’s head jerked back against Darian’s chest. Her mouth opened and she screamed Jace’s name as she came. Her pussy spasmed and Jace couldn’t hold out any longer. He yelled, coming hard and long, emptying his seed into Sam. Maybe it was wrong of him, but he longed to give her a child, wanted that more than anything.

He collapsed and his cock drove even deeper. Burying his face between her breasts, Jace struggled for breath and composure. Somehow, someway, this woman had taken his heart. And she was still determined to leave.

He tightened his arms around her, wondering how he was ever going to let her go.