“He told me I belonged to him, and that he took care of what was his. I told him I wasn’t a possession. I belonged to no one but myself. He kept repeating I was his, and he’d take care of me. He stalked me around the room. I think it was more for intimidation, looking back at it now. And it worked. I’ve never been so scared. I told him I was done, that our relationship wasn’t working for me anymore. I headed to the bedroom to grab my bags and leave. He followed. Shut the door and flipped the lock, closing us in together. I jerked open the closet and…my bags were gone. All my stuff was back where it had been before I packed. Clothes on hangers, shoes on the floor. I didn’t have to look to know my lingerie was back in the dresser drawers. He reached for his belt, unfastened it and began to pull it off. I was terrified that he meant to beat me with it. But that wasn’t his weapon of choice.”
“Fuck!” Luke exclaimed.
“God damn.” Rick bit off the words.
“Did he rape you?” Phil asked softly.
She was back in that night, feeling the terror wash over her skin. Not knowing what was coming, what he planned. It had crippled her, cutting her voice off and locking her limbs in place. She could run to the rescue of anyone…except herself.
“No…” She shook her head. “I wasn’t worthy of him that night. He was disgusted with me. I needed to learn to be a good girl, to listen to him and obey. My behavior would have to be punished. I had to learn what he’d tolerate and what he wouldn’t. I didn’t know what he planned for sure. To spank me, to rape me, to beat me? It didn’t matter. I had to stop him if I could.”
“I crossed the room toward him telling him I was sorry and begging him to forgive me.” She couldn’t disguise the disgust at her actions from her voice.
“When I reached him, I crooned how much I loved him, how strong and sexy he was, how no man could ever compare to him. I unbuttoned his shirt, marveled at his chest and abs. I know how he feels about cleanliness, so I told him I loved the smell of his sweat. He kissed me, tossed me on the bed and told me to get ready for him while he took a quick shower. Told me to put on the red outfit he loved so much.”
She could still see the smug certainty in his eyes. He’d never once doubted she’d still be there when he got out.
“As soon as I heard the shower turn on, I left. I snuck out like a thief and ran to Tara’s house. But he found me. Threatened me. Followed me every time I tried to leave her house. Had others follow us when he couldn’t.”
“Did you call the cops?” Phil asked.
“Yes, for all the good it did me. You see, Raymond is the cops. His brother-in-law is the mayor. His brother is the chief of police. It didn’t matter what I said. Raymond was only trying to show me how much he loved and missed me, and why didn’t I go back and be a good girl. Everything would be fine.”
“My God, I didn’t know places like that still existed in America.” Rick shuddered.
“Corruption is everywhere,” Phil stated. “I’m guessing it was a smaller to mid-size town.” They all looked at him. “Easier to control you that way. And you came here, to a large city. Easier to get lost in.”
“But he’s found me,” she whispered.
“Lucky for you, he has no power here,” Phil said.
“And we do,” Rick added.
River shook her head. “I can’t ask you to help me.”
“Good thing you’re not then,” Rick grunted.
“We’re going to help you because it’s the right thing to do,” Luke said. “But I’d be lying if I let you believe that was the only reason.”
“Luke.” Phil and Rick both said his name, warning clear in their tones.
“What? I won’t pretend we haven’t all four been playing the game since we first met months ago. Flirting is putting it mildly. We’ve all wanted to get you naked and lose ourselves inside you.”
“I…what?” She was pretty sure she was doing a good job of looking like a fish with her mouth opening and shutting.
“Are you telling me you don’t want us as much as we want you?” Luke purred, rising and walking over to her. “I’m not saying we won’t help you, or that our help depends on anything that may or may not occur between us. I’m simply putting the truth out there. We want you. You want us.”
“How does that even make sense?” she asked. “You can’t mean to share me?”
“Why not?” Rick asked.
“That…I…What?” River’s head was spinning again, but it wasn’t the stuff of her nightmares this time. No, this time it was her fantasies. “Why would you want to share?”
“We’ve always been attracted to the same type of women,” Phil said with a shrug.
“We used to compete for them,” Rick added with a grin. “Until we met a woman who dared us to share her.”
“Wasn’t so keen on that myself at first,” Luke added. “But I have to admit, it was pretty intense.”
“I think we were all a little uneasy at first,” Phil admitted. “But we weren’t her first rodeo. She knew exactly what she wanted us to do.”
“Incredible,” Rick purred.
“Watching her face, seeing how much pleasure it gave her to have all three of us at once,” Phil murmured, then shook his head. “There’s no way to describe it.”
“You have to experience it,” Luke whispered. “Imagine the three of us, naked, yours to command. Unlimited orgasms.”
“When one of us comes, there’s another to take his place.” Rick’s eyes twinkled as he imparted that piece of news.
“I think we’ve got her a little shook up,” Phil commented.
“At least she’s not stuck in the past anymore,” Luke grunted.
No, she was definitely in the here and now. She’d let Raymond chase her for six months. Maybe it was time to take a stand. Maybe these three men could help her make this all end. This wasn’t a small town, and Raymond shouldn’t have any power over her here. In fact, he might be as powerless as she’d been back home.
She couldn’t deny she wanted them, all of them. It surprised and intrigued her that they felt the same, didn’t bat an eye at the thought of her being with all of them. After listening to them talk about sharing a woman, she was eager to judge for herself.
Was she willing to walk away from this opportunity? With their help and protection, Raymond would finally be firmly in her past. She’d be able to go home again. But not before she gave herself permission to take them up on the offer they were dangling in front of her.
“What do you have in mind?” she whispered the question. Suddenly, her future had all types of possibilities.
Chapter Three
“I want to ask you a question first,” Phil said. “How did you know it was this Raymond who broke in when you haven’t even seen the apartment yet?”
“He sent me a postcard.” She crossed to her purse and dug out the wadded card she’d shoved inside yesterday.
God, she’d spent the entire night passed out on their couch. She needed a shower. Good thing it was the weekend and she was off.
Phil took the card from her. The only sign of his anger was the white of his knuckles as he passed it on to Rick. She wondered how all that tight control would play out in the bedroom.
“When did you get this?” Luke asked.
“Yesterday, before I came up to find the apartment door ajar.”
“About that…” Luke shook his head and gave a weary sigh. “If it was this Raymond who broke in, he was very specific on his task. He shredded all your underwear. I noticed you have a taste for cotton.”
“I like comfort,” she said with a shrug. “He shredded it all?”
“He replaced it,” Phil added.
“With lacy red things.” Luke sighed.
She shuddered. The bastard. Thanks to him, she’d never wear anything with red lace again. She hated it, absolutely hated it.
“I’m guessing the pictures we saw in your bedroom weren’t put there by you then,” Luke stated.
“What pictures? I didn’t have any pictures out.”
“There are several framed photos of you with a man. Tall, dark, about my size.” Phil was right. Raymond was similar in size to him. They both had those linebacker shoulders and the dark good looks. But that was where the similarity stopped. Raymond would never laugh and joke about sharing her with his buddies. Raymond wouldn’t let her see him dripping with sweat after a hard workout. Phil was nothing like Raymond.
“I need to go down there. Take a look. See if anything is missing.”
“We’ll go with you,” Rick offered.
“You don’t think he’d be back do you?”
“From what you’ve said, he doesn’t sound all that sane where you’re concerned.” Phil took her hand again and guided her to the door. “While you’re at the apartment, why don’t you throw a bag together. I don’t want to take any risks with you staying there.”
“Pack only what you need. We don’t want it to look like you’ve left. Just that you’re not home if and when he does show up.” Rick moved toward her, softly trailing his fingers down her cheek. “We have the upper hand right now. We want to keep it.”
“Where will I stay?” She was pretty sure she knew the answer to that, but she preferred to take the guessing aspect out of it.
“Here. With us,” Luke said with a wicked grin that had carnal thoughts exploding in her mind. “My bedroom. Phil’s. Rick’s. Or if you absolutely have to, we have a spare room. Maybe you should try them all out to see which one feels best.”
Heat pooled in her pussy at his implication. “And if I choose the guest room first?”
“Well, you can’t blame us if we do our best to change your mind?” Luke wiggled his brows at her. She bit her lip to hold back a smile.
Focus
. She had to focus on the task at hand and quit letting Luke distract her. He was great at that. One thing was certain. She wasn’t scared anymore. Hell, she found it hard to remember that Raymond was here. And that was why she needed to step back. She needed to make sure she wasn’t making a similar mistake again. It would be a hell of a lot harder running from three men than it was from one.
She was a trained police officer, despite the fact she’d never worn the badge. She had a gun and knew how to use it. She was trained at hand-to-hand combat. But when it came right down to it, when it was her safety threatened, she froze. Terror locked her up. She’d hoped the training she’d received would change that, but it really hadn’t. She’d made it through the academy with only her closest friends knowing the truth.
She often wondered if Kat hadn’t come up with the private investigator idea as a way to shield River and keep them all together. Kat’s protective instincts were ingrained as deep as any male’s. She missed her friends.
Phil tugged at her hand, bringing her back to reality. “The guest room is fine. No one but the three of us has access to the penthouse. He’s been inside the building. It stands that he can get in again. But he can’t get up here.”
River nodded. “I’m not sure why you’re helping me.” Luke laughed, and she rolled her eyes. “Okay, I know why you’re helping me,” she said to Luke. “But I want to say, thank you. I—”
“Shh…” Phil put his finger to her lips then shocked her by replacing it with his lips. Soft, just the press of lips. There and then gone. “You’re safe with us.”
“As safe as you want to be,” Luke added under his breath, though, she was sure he wanted her to hear it.
Luke was right. For months, they’d played the dance around one another. Flirting with the possibility of more. A casual rub of flesh, the stroke of fingers over exposed skin. Laughter and innuendo. They’d all been party to it. She’d been flirting with the idea of choosing one of them to help pass the time while she was here. Flirting then discarding the idea each time it entered her head.
She thought it was because of her fear of a repeat of Raymond. But was it? Suddenly, it seemed like she was allowing her fear of him to control her life, keeping her running even while she stood still. Running from the possibility of being vulnerable with another man, of opening herself up to the possibilities sex might lead to. Or of simply experiencing sex for the sake of sex with no fear of the outcome.
He’d done more than make her run with his obsession. He’d changed who she was. He’d quieted the girl she was, the one who embraced life with arms wide open. The one who took risks and let the chips fall where they may. The girl unafraid to be with a sexy man if she wanted to. She’d let Raymond have far more control than she realized. To stop him, to take a stand and quit running, she needed to reclaim that girl.
The guys joked with each other as they rode the elevator down to her floor. She laughed and made token responses, but she wasn’t really paying attention. She was waking up in a sense, and it made her angry. Angry to realize how easily she’d let Raymond manipulate her, even when he was no longer with her.
“River,” Phil called her name, prompting her back to the here and now.
They stood in front of her door. They’d closed and locked it when they’d left yesterday, and she used her key. Stepping inside, she took note of the bland, empty walls. She’d made no attempt to hang the few things she’d brought with her. It wasn’t home. It was a place to lay low, to hide.
“We left it as we found it,” Phil said.
“In case you changed your mind about calling the police,” Luke added, “which I really think you should do.”
“I can’t prove he was here. At this point, it would be my word against his. If they could even find him.”
“She’s right. We have to catch him breaking in,” Rick said.
“I’ll go check the bedroom and put a bag together.” She moved away, leaving them in the living room.
“Let me take a look first.” Luke shifted around her and disappeared into her bedroom. After a few minutes, he reappeared. “All clear.”
“Try not to touch the wreckage he left behind,” Rick warned. “Just in case.”
River nodded. She stepped into the room and shut the door behind her. Her eyes widened. Every scrap of underwear she had was shredded and discarded in a pile on the floor. The drawer she’d kept them in had been ripped out of the dresser and lay broken on the floor, as well. Her closet was flung open. He’d moved her dresses to the center of her closet, so they were the first things her eyes landed on.
Unable to avoid it any longer, she let her eyes land on the bed. A shudder wracked through her. He’d laid the red nightie he favored her in on her bed. It was the same one he’d wanted her to put on the night she’d left his apartment. Her fingers itched to rip the material from the bed and shred it as he’d done with her things. She wanted to yell and scream, throw a full-fledged tantrum.