The American Soldier Collection 3: Amazing Grace (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) (17 page)

“You can call me a domestic goddess. I’m that good.” As she turned to look into the freezer and reached for some packages of chicken cutlets, he swooped in fast, pulled her into his arms, and kissed her hard on the mouth.

His dominant, sexy action caused her entire body to warm up and she knew she would never be the same again. Sandman, Duke, and Big Jay had a part of her she could never get back and hopefully nothing would take them away from her.

* * * *

Grace had put on a green tank top and khaki shorts along with a pair of white sneakers. She pulled her hair back into a ponytail then applied a little lip gloss to her lips and some light makeup to her eyes. When she was satisfied with her appearance, she puttered around the house a bit and became bored. She hadn’t thought about work at all and hadn’t remained in contact with her boss about her scheduled trip to Milan in another two weeks, and she was panicking. She opened up her laptop, plugging the wire into the phone jack to take a look at her e-mails.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Duke asked her as he rushed across the room, grabbing the laptop out of her hands.

“Duke, what’s wrong with you? I was just checking my e-mail messages,” she replied, shocked by his abruptness and anger.

“Did you go online yet? Did you open up any e-mail’s?” He opened the laptop and saw the power wasn’t even on yet.

Duke looked at her in a dead stare. It gave her the chills to see him like this, so fierce and concerned. What was the big deal? Then he appeared as if he felt bad for raising his voice and overreacting.

“I’m sorry, Grace, but you can’t use your laptop. You can’t open your e-mails. Not on this house line. You need a secure line. We can’t take any chances. Remember, the killer is not stupid.”

Duke still showed the anger in his voice.

“You really think he could track me down like that? Through my e-mail?”

“Remember, he’s crazy, not stupid,” Duke replied then ran his fingers through his hair. He seemed extra uptight. She didn’t want to add to his anxiety. Whatever else was going on with him?

“You’re right, Duke. I’m sorry. I just didn’t think. It won’t happen again.” She stood up from the bed and tried to take the laptop away from him.

He held it there a moment and their eyes met.

“I believe that my brother told you it’s our way only,” he added in the same stern voice, wanting her to know how serious he was.

She let go of the laptop.

“Damn it, Duke, I said I’m sorry. I will have to check my e-mails and get in touch with my boss. I have a photo shoot in less than three weeks. I need the itinerary and I have a few other people I need to contact,” she told him as she stepped back.

“You’re not going to contact anyone, Grace, until we have a secure line. We’re not taking any unnecessary chances. Your life, your profession is officially on hold,” he told her with his face red with frustration. He was getting angrier with her.

“I have to contact my boss and the magazine I’ll be working for or I could lose this job,” she told him, not backing down from a fight. She wouldn’t allow anyone to talk to her this way. Attraction or not, she would stand her ground.

“If the killer finds out where you are or where you’re headed, then you won’t make the photo shoot because you’ll be dead,” Duke said in a strong, harsh voice as he looked into her eyes then lightly dropped her laptop down on the bed.

Grace turned away from him, taking a deep breath and wanting to punch the man behind her. God, he made her so mad. He really got under her skin. The way he just spoke to her, controlling her, she wasn’t used to that and she hated it as she released a long breath and tried to control her anger.

Duke called her name.

“Look at me, Grace.” She slowly turned toward the commanding voice.

“Why don’t you understand the danger you’re in? I know you know the details of these murders and what the killer did to his victims. God, I want to shake you, you’ve got me so angry.”

He pulled her closer and stared down into her eyes. Duke was ginormous. He was so much taller than her and big like his brothers. She swallowed hard. She knew that there was more to his upset. God, she had heard the details about the bodies, about what the killer had done. She swallowed hard. “I’m sorry, Duke. I feel so out of control of my life right now. I’m trying to hold on to what I have, in hopes that there’s a future for me, with my profession, with my family.”

“And what about us?” he asked, shocking her and sending her head in a whirlwind of emotions. She was going to respond but she didn’t have an answer. Instead he swept down covering her mouth with his as he lifted her up against his chest. She kissed him back, ran her fingers through his hair, absorbing his strength and his masculinity as he held her so easily against him.

That kiss grew deeper as she straddled his waist and he lowered her to the bed. His weight, the thickness of his body pressed her deep against the soft mattress and comforter.

Pulling from her mouth, he trailed kisses against her throat, eliciting moans of pleasure from her lips. God, he made her feel so wild and needy.

“Oh God, Duke, you’re so big and strong, I love the way you feel crushing me with your body. This is crazy.”

He lifted up, taking her comment to heart and taking off some of his weight. He rested on his left elbow and forearm. “Crazy? You got that right, Grace. You drive me crazy. You get under my skin and make me want things and need things I’ve never wanted or felt before.”

He was so damn serious, and before she could respond, he lifted up, undid her shorts, pulled them down her thighs and tossed them onto the rug. He divested her of her tank top and bra then pulled off his clothing so quickly she hadn’t had time to absorb every bit of beauty before her.

“You’re mine, always.” He spread her thighs, aligned his cock with her pussy, and shoved into her. She gripped his shoulders, felt his need, the desperation to consummate their affection, their bond as one. Their gazes locked and he gripped her hands then placed them above her head in a controlling and dominantly sexy fashion that had her creaming and moaning for more.

“Yes!” she said loudly, and he thrust into her. He was relentless in his strokes. Over and over again he somehow moved deeper, penetrating her as she felt like his cock hit her womb and scraped against her inner muscles.

“Oh God, Duke, it’s too much. I’m going to come.”

“Fucking come then. Spread that cream all over my cock, baby. I want every bit of your sweetness.” He lowered his head to her neck and shoulder, grabbed hold of her hips and ass, spread her cheeks, and thrust into her hard and fast. She was moaning and coming and shaking in excitement and overload.

“Duke!” She screamed his name and he thrust two more times before following suit, growling her name against her ear and neck as he exploded inside of her.

Duke kept kissing and licking her neck and ear, he lowered to her breasts then back up to her chin and lips while she continued to try and catch her breath.

“So perfect. Never like this, baby. Never like this.” He licked across her nipple, pulling the tip and making her jump.

“Hey,” she reprimanded. When they locked gazes, she saw a playful side of Duke she would love to bring out in him again and again.

“I could stay inside of you forever,” he whispered.

She was about to respond when his cell phone rang.

“Yeah?” he said into the phone as he slowly pulled out of her.

He grabbed his boxers and pants as he walked toward the doorway trying to listen to the call. Grace started to get dressed as she watched him. He gave a few noncommittal yesses and no’s then closed up the phone. He released a not so quiet sigh then turned to her. The smile on his face was forced.

“Sorry, baby, but I have to get back to work.” He walked over to her, lifted her up so she was standing on the bed, and helped her get her shorts on. When he held her hips and looked down into her eyes, he smiled.

“Stay off the laptop. I’ll have Big Jay set up a secure line and go over your e-mails with you.”

“Go over them with me? I may need some privacy.”

His expression once again was stern and that wall he kept up except when making love to her returned.

“No secrets. We need to be aware of everything and everyone in your life. Anything could become a potential threat.” He kissed her lips then picked her up, placed her feet on the rug and caressed her chin before leaving the room.

Grace stood there after he left and couldn’t help feeling as if she were in prison or perhaps were the one under surveillance and monitoring.

* * * *

Sometime later she recovered from the confrontation with Duke and headed downstairs to take some pictures. She figured doing something she enjoyed would help to stay positive and not get bored.

The men got caught up in some work and had given her a large yellow folder filled with hundreds of pictures of potential suspects. He told her to take her time looking at each one to see if any of them looked familiar. A couple of hours passed and she was unsuccessful. After a while she thought a lot of the pictures looked familiar. It was no use. She had looked at all of them and came up with squat. She washed her hands and face in the bathroom sink and applied some facial lotion. She felt rejuvenated and decided to go downstairs to start dinner.

There was a nice Bose radio in the kitchen and Grace turned it on.

The sounds of doo-wop and the old rock ’n’ roll music echoed through the kitchen and Grace hummed along to the sounds of Jackie Wilson and “Lonely Teardrops.”

Grace opened the maple cabinet to the right of the stove and found some pans to begin cooking. She located the spice cabinet and searched through the various McCormick and Napa Valley spices until she found all the ingredients she needed.

Apparently either the men really did know how to cook or someone cooked for them when they were up here at their cabin. She was surprised by the instant jealous emotion she felt thinking about Duke, Sandman, and Big Jay with another woman or women. God, could they have done this kind of thing before? She sure did jump into bed with them quickly. What would come of this situation? She called it a situation because she couldn’t call it a relationship. It was based on lust, sex, and five days alone in a house in the middle of the woods somewhere. Maybe they weren’t so deserted and alone. Sandman said that Big Jay went into town. Town couldn’t be far. She thought about why he went there. The refrigerator and freezer were well stocked along with the pantry. Could he have gone to see someone he knew? A woman perhaps.

That thought annoyed her a little but she had no right to be. Grace tried to ignore her own thoughts. She dipped the cutlets in egg mixed with Parmesan cheese then into a bowl of seasoned breadcrumbs. She understood this was a difficult situation for all of them. They didn’t really know her and she didn’t really know them. It was merely a week and these were not normal circumstances. Now here they were thrown into living together, fighting a natural and spontaneous chemistry that continued to build between them. Getting emotionally and sexually involved with them during such an extreme and dangerous time could be a huge mistake.

Throw in the entire ménage thing and what the hell was she thinking? A relationship like this one was only something she read about. Sure they existed but still, when she thought of having a potential future with a man, it was just that, with one man not three. In all honesty she had thought she would remain alone forever. So what did it matter? The end result would be her alone. They were men. They could move on. She on the other hand would be mortified, heartbroken, and damaged goods. What other man would want her after she’d slept with three men at once? Oh God, only another set of men who liked the same thing, sharing a woman. She felt like vomiting. She didn’t want other men. She wanted Duke, Sandman, and Big Jay. Her own thoughts angered her. She wanted to ignore her emotions and attraction and simply blame the confusion on the current stress in her life. Any of the events alone could lead someone so rational like herself to react irrationally. But she needed them now, wanted them so badly, and it both excited her and annoyed her. No one got under her skin the way they did.

By the time the last chicken cutlet was lightly fried and placed in the large glass baking dish Grace felt like she needed to put on the brakes and slow things down.

She smiled to herself as a bottle of white wine was presented to her from behind. Once again, one of the men snuck up on her undetected. It scared her, thrilled her, and made her smile up at Big Jay.

“I thought this might be good with the chicken. It smells great.” He placed the bottle down onto the counter. He kissed her cheek and then her neck as he wrapped his arms around her from behind. She read the label, “Meridian chardonnay,” until he turned her around.

In a flash he lifted her up, placed her onto the counter, and stepped between her thighs, pressing them open.

He kissed her harder on the mouth as he ran his hands up her shirt to cup her breasts, Big Jay was very dominant and always in charge. He released her lips.

“I want you. Couldn’t wait to see you, kiss you, and, ah hell.” He pulled her shirt up over her head, and then undid the button on her shorts. She lifted up and he removed her shorts and undergarments then his pants. She was turned on by his aggression and sex appeal as she ran her hands up his shirt and against his pectoral muscles. She pinched both nipples while holding his heated gaze before he lifted his shirt up over his head. A moment later he was pulling her ass and pussy over the edge of the counter.