
Pine Valley
Nowhere to Hide
After suffering years in an abusive relationship with her detective boyfriend, Sam, Cane Parker has finally had enough. She finally escapes after six months of planning and ends up in the small town of Pine Valley, Oregon.
Sheriff Duncan Matthews and Deputy Logan Summers are best friends who share everything, including women. They are looking for the perfect woman to settle down with, and when they meet Cane, they know she is the one. Unfortunately, Cane doesn't trust anyone in law enforcement.
Duncan and Logan know they are going to have to work to convince her that she belongs with them, all the while protecting her from a madman who will stop at nothing to get her back.
Note: Extreme explicit violence committed by the villain against the heroine.
Genre: Contemporary, Ménage a Trois/Quatre, Romantic SuspenseLength: 53,799 words
NOWHERE TO HIDE
Pine Valley
Keyonna Davis
MENAGE AND MORE
Siren Publishing, Inc.
www.SirenPublishing.com
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A SIREN PUBLISHING BOOK
IMPRINT: Ménage and More
Copyright © 2011 by Keyonna Davis
E-book ISBN: 1-61034-556-8
First E-book Publication: July 2011
Cover design by Jinger Heaston
All cover art and logo copyright © 2011 by Siren Publishing, Inc.
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All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.
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www.SirenPublishing.com
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DEDICATION
To my mom and brother who never got tired of hearing, "Read this and tell me what you think."
Pine Valley
KEYONNA DAVIS
Copyright © 2011
Prologue
Cane Parker lay in bed pretending to be asleep. She had been lying there for four hours watching the clock trying to get her nerves up to do what she had to do. She knew if she didn't make her move soon she would die. Finally, after what seemed an eternity, she heard the soft snoring and deep, even breaths coming from the other side of the bed. Just stick with the plan, she told herself repeatedly, trying to will herself into motion.
As slow as she could, Cane eased the blankets back and slid from the bed. She had been planning this for six months just waiting until the time was right. Tonight was as good a time as any because he was starting to get suspicious of the money that was missing from their bank account. She had no choice but to take a little at a time so that he wouldn't notice. She wasn't allowed to remove money without Sam's permission. She wasn't allowed to do anything without his permission, or she would be punished. That was why Cane was up at three in the morning trying to sneak out of the bedroom. Slowly, she made her way to the door. As she reached for the knob, she noticed her hands were shaking, and then she realized her whole body was trembling and she was covered in sweat just from the short walk from the bed to the door.
Taking a deep breath, Cane whispered to herself, "Get a grip. You have been planning this for six months. Everything is in place. All you have to do is stick with the plan and you are free."
After a few more quick breaths she slowly turned the knob and eased the door open only to freeze when it made a loud creaking noise. Cane stood there with her heart beating like it was about to jump out of her chest, her breath coming in short, fast pants. She was afraid to turn around and find him standing behind her, so she stood frozen in place like a statue and listened. The only thing she could hear was the sound of her own heartbeat and the blood thundering in her ears.
"It's now or never," she told herself and turned her head. Sam was still in the same position, so she let out a deep sigh of relief and slipped out the door, closing it as quietly as possible behind her.
Having a little more courage now that she wasn't in the same room with him, Cane quickly ran down the stairs and opened the front coat closet. Everything was just as she left it. She had already packed a bag with her clothes, and she had an extra set folded neatly on top. She got dressed as fast as she could and put her shoes on. Once finished, she grabbed her duffle bag and a small backpack that had the cash that she had been slowly stashing for six months, a few bottles of water, snack bars, and her ID. Finally, she grabbed an old ball cap and slipped it on. She made sure she had all of her hair tucked under the cap pulling the brim low over her eyes. This was the most important part of her plan because her unusual hair and eye color could be easily spotted. Having never met her parents, Cane didn't know which she got her features from, but doctors told her at a young age that they were genetic. She was born with one eye that was a rich amber color that at times was so bright it looked like it was glowing, and the other eye so light gray that at times it looked like it had no color at all, only a pupil. To top off the unusual eyes, her hair had no color at all. It was pure white and straight as an arrow. Cane liked to think she was unique and actually loved her features. Add those to her caramel-colored skin and slim, curvy body and five-foot-five-inch height, at twenty-six years old, she wasn't bad to look at. At least that was one thing Sam had never had a problem with, her looks. He loved to show her off to his friends and make them jealous.
Without looking back, Cane walked out the front door. She turned left and headed toward town. Every sound and shadow had her jumping, but she didn't turn back. She walked about five miles and tried to pace herself, but couldn't help picking up speed when she saw the bus station in the distance. By the time she got there, she was out of breath and sweating. She walked up to the ticket counter where a small woman who looked like she was bored out of her mind sat.
"What time does the next bus leave?" Cane asked.
"We have one about to leave just as soon as the driver comes out of the restroom," said the woman whose name tag said Claire.
"Oh, please, I need to be on that bus!" Cane shouted a little too loud.
Claire frowned at her. "Don't you even want to know where it is going?" Taking deep breaths to fight off the panic that was slowly rising and trying not to the let the tears flow that suddenly filled her eyes, Cane just shook her head. After what seemed like forever, the clerk finally narrowed her eyes, gave her a look of understanding, and started to process her ticket. When time came to pay, Cane had to dig awkwardly in her backpack without opening it all the way to get the cash out. She didn't want anyone to see that she was carrying over $25,000 dollars in cash. She only had $100 bills, so she just slid one out without looking and handed it to the woman. Just as she was getting her change and ticket, the driver came out of the bathroom. Claire yelled to him that he had one more and then turned to Cane, whispered, "Be safe," and winked. Giving Claire what she knew was a weak smile, Cane grabbed her belongings and boarded the bus. She released a breath that she didn't realize she was holding once the bus slowly pulled out of the terminal. After glancing at the watch of the woman sitting across from her, she realized that it was only 4:45 a.m. What felt like a lifetime since she eased out of bed and left Sam for good had only taken an hour and forty-five minutes. The first part of her plan went off smoothly, but Cane knew she wasn't out of danger yet. She couldn't let her guard down.
The second part of the plan was to just keep traveling and get as far away from Raleigh, North Carolina as possible. Whenever the bus pulled into a terminal, Cane quickly got off and went to the ticket counter to purchase a ticket on the bus leaving the terminal the fastest. She never asked where the bus was headed because she figured that if she didn't know where she was going, then there was no way Sam would know, which meant he could never find her. She had been traveling for three days now and only once did she get on a bus that was headed back in the direction she came. After a tense couple of hours, and the loss of all her fingernails from nervous biting, the bus arrived at a terminal and she was able to get on another one. Now the bus was pulling into a small town that looked like it wouldn't even be listed on a map. The bus came to a stop on the curb next to what looked like a small grocery store. Having been the only person on the bus for the last hour, the driver stood and looked at her.
He gave her a smile and said, "Ma'am, this is the last stop. I am sorry, but you have to get off here."
Feeling her heart in her throat and butterflies in her stomach, Cane quickly gathered her belongings and headed toward the front of the bus. After stepping off, she asked the driver when the next bus would leave. Again the driver smiled at her and told her that the bus only came to this town once a week on Thursdays and because this was the last stop on the route, if she wanted to go somewhere else she had to go back to the terminal they left four hours ago and get on another bus.
Cane knew that she could never go back the way she came, so she smiled, thanked the driver, and walked away. Looking around the town, she realized that her plan had worked out better than she had ever hoped. She decided that she would stay here for the night and use the time to decide what she wanted to do. She desperately wanted food and a shower, and it didn't have to be in that order.
She went into the small grocery store, since it was the closest, so she could ask where the nearest hotel and place to eat were. After giving Cane a dirty look when she asked what city she was in, the clerk told her that she was in the small town of Pine Valley, Oregon. Cane checked into the only hotel in town, which was a bed-and-breakfast. Once in her room, she sat on the side of the bed and tried to come up with a new plan. She couldn't help but to smile when she realized that she was finally free. She felt like a ton of weight had been lifted off her body and she was floating on air. It had been almost eight years since she had felt like this, and it was enough to bring tears to her eyes. There was no way that Sam would ever find her here in the middle of nowhere, but she decided that she would not unpack her few belongings just in case she had to leave quickly. She paid for the room for the entire week and figured if she didn't like the town, she could just hop on the bus when it came and head out again. Listening to her stomach growl from only having water and energy bars for the last few days, Cane decided to eat at the diner, which was the only restaurant in town, and then have a look around.
Chapter 1
Detective Sam Donaldson sat at his desk at the precinct staring at his computer. He couldn't believe the bitch left him. After everything he did for her---he even stayed with her after her "indiscretion" in college---and she still left him like eight years meant nothing to her. Yeah, he lost his temper every now and then, but it was nothing she didn't deserve or ask for. All he asked was that she did what he told her to do, and if she didn't, then there were consequences. How hard was that to understand? She didn't have to work. All she had to do was stay at home, keep the house clean, and have dinner waiting for him when he arrived. Being a detective was hard, stressful work, and when he arrived home, he wanted to relax with his feet up. He didn't want to wonder what Cane had been doing all day that she couldn't have dinner waiting for him or why there was dust or dirt somewhere. Oh yeah, she was going to pay when he found her. All she had to do was make a mistake and he would have her back. He hadn't been able to figure out where the missing money from his bank account went, but now he knew. He had been watching her for the past two months when he realized that someone was taking the money, but he never saw her buy anything, so he started looking for someone else to blame. He couldn't help but to laugh at himself for letting his guard down, but that wouldn't happen again. Once he found her he would make her regret ever leaving him and she would never think of leaving again.
Picking up the phone, Sam put a call in to Kevin Rollins, a friend and the best private investigator in the state. He met him through the police department when Kevin did a few jobs for them. After a couple rings, Kevin picked up. "Rollins Investigation Inc."
"Hey, Kevin, this is Sam. I have a problem and I need your help."
After taking a quick shower and changing her clothes, Cane walked out of the bed-and-breakfast and made her way to the diner that she saw down the street. She couldn't help but to notice the stares from the few people that she passed and figured they didn't get very many visitors to this small town, or it could be her eyes and hair, she thought with a smile. Looking around as she walked, she couldn't help but to notice the beauty of the place. The town was surrounded by pine trees for miles with mountains on all sides. Laughing to herself, Cane said, "I see where the town gets its name from."
The town itself only had the diner, the small grocery store that also served as the post office and bus station, and a small sheriff's station that had a single gas pump out back that served as the filling station. There was only one doctor in the town that still made house calls and worked out of a small room in his house that was located at the end of the road into town. The closest town was Carlton, sixty miles away, and Cane couldn't be happier. There was no way Sam would find her here All she had to do was lay low until he gave up looking for her and then she would be home free.
Walking into the diner, she was greeted by the waitress that looked like she couldn't be older than sixteen She was only about five foot three with long black curly hair that went down to the small of her back. She also had the brightest, biggest green eyes that Cane had ever seen. She was gorgeous, but the way she stood slightly hunched over with a shy smile on her face not meeting Cane's eyes told Cane that the girl didn't know how beautiful she was. She followed the waitress to a small table in the corner, and Cane sat facing the door. When the waitress started to speak, she spoke so softly that Cane had to strain just to hear. She quickly went over the specials, and Cane ordered the beef stew, because she was about to starve and knew that it was already made, with a large glass of lemonade. The waitress returned with the lemonade, sitting it on the table.
She looked down at Cane smiling and said, "Hi, my name is Alice, but everybody calls me Ali."
Cane took a sip of lemonade and said, "I'm Cane, nice to meet you." Ali smiled, shook her hand, and left to go in the back. Cane looked around the diner noticing that she was the only one there. She frowned, thinking it was odd since it was only six thirty in the evening. When Ali came back out with her stew, she sat it on the table and just stood there smiling. Cane took a bite of the stew and moaned. It was the first meal she had in three days, and it was absolutely delicious.
"Wow," she said, "this is the best beef stew that I have ever had."
Ali's eyes lit up, and she grinned from ear to ear. "Thank you, it was my mom's recipe. I don't think it tastes as good as when she used to make it, but I followed it step-by-step."
"You made this?" Cane asked shocked. She saw the blood start at Ali's neck, creeping up until her cheeks and ears were bright red.
She looked away and said, "Yeah, I have been cooking since I was about twelve. This was my parents' diner. My brothers and I took over when they died last year." Ali was still looking away, but slid the chair out on the other side of the table and sat.
"Oh, I'm so sorry about your parents," Cane said. Not knowing what else to say, she started to eat again. Ali smiled, but it didn't reach her eyes, and stood again. She walked over to the door and flipped the closed sign.
She looked back at Cane and said, "It's a good thing you came along when you did because it's closing time. With this being a small town most people choose to eat dinner at home with their families, so we close early." She came back over to the table and sat down again. Ali watched Cane quietly as she ate. Growing a little uncomfortable from the attention, Cane looked up and asked, "Do I need to leave so you can finish closing?"
"No," Ali said quickly, "we don't get many visitors here, and I'm not really popular with the few girls my age, so I am enjoying talking to you." Cane smiled and couldn't help but to think back to when she was Ali's age. She didn't have any friends either. All the girls her age wouldn't talk to her because they were either jealous or afraid of her because of her looks. She mainly stayed to herself. Knowing how Ali felt, she decided that she would try to come in each day while she was in town and talk to her. Not only did it benefit Ali, but Cane as well. It was nice to have a conversation with someone other than Sam, also one that wasn't all about what a disappointment Cane was or how she screwed up something, like forgetting to put the top on the toothpaste or not putting enough salt in something she cooked for dinner. Snap out of it, Cane thought to herself. No more pity parties, you are free now.
Looking up at Ali, she smiled. Just then the door opened and in walked the handsomest man Cane had ever seen in her life. Her breath caught, and her mouth went completely dry. She tried to swallow past the lump in her throat, but it was no use when he turned and looked at her. He had the same bright green eyes and black curly hair that Ali had, only his hair was cropped short, coming a little past his ears and to his collar in the back. His hair looked like he had been running his hands through it all day but still managed to look good. His nose looked like it should be on some Greek statue somewhere, not too long or broad, just perfect. Cane moved her eyes on down his face and stopped when she got to the most gorgeous set of lips that she had ever seen. They were both full and pink. The bottom lip looked liked it was just waiting for someone to bite and suck on it. Cane didn't realize that she had her mouth hanging open and was licking her lips until she saw his mouth go up into a small, crooked smile. Snapping her eyes up, she realized that he had been watching her the whole time, and by the way he was looking at her, he knew what she must have been thinking. Her heart felt like it was about to jump out of her chest it was beating so hard. Sam never had this kind of effect on her, and she was with him for eight years. She only laid eyes on this man and her body started to go crazy.
It's just the stress and relief of escaping Sam, she told herself. She just needed some rest. She smiled at the man and looked away. Ali walked over to him and hugged him.
"You ready to go yet, squirt?" he asked.
Ali smiled, shuffled from foot to foot, and said, "No, I'm sorry. I kind of got distracted talking to Cane, but I was almost finished before she came in. It won't take me but about ten minutes to get done." With that she turned and walked through the double doors into the kitchen leaving Cane alone with the gorgeous stranger. She noticed that he was tall about six foot three, and he was huge. His shoulders were broad, and he was wearing a black T-shirt that looked like it was molded to his body. Cane could see muscles from his chest right down to what looked like twelve-pack abs. They certainly weren't a six-pack. She couldn't help but to wonder what he looked like under that shirt. Going lower, she could see that he was wearing faded jeans that fit low on his hips. She liked the fact that from what she could see through his jeans that his thighs and legs were just as muscular as his top half. She hated to see guys like Sam that went to the gym daily and worked on nothing but their upper body so that they came out not able to put their arms down due to so many muscles but looked like they were walking on toothpicks.
No more thinking about Sam, she told herself, he is out of your life and you never have to see or think about him again.
Suddenly feeling uncomfortable alone with a guy so big, Cane quickly stood, pulled some money out of her pocket, and laid it on the table. She turned behind her and grabbed her backpack off the back of the chair. When she turned back, he was standing next to her table smiling. He held out his hand and said, "Hi. I'm Duncan Matthews, Ali's brother."
Cane grabbed his hand quickly and mumbled, "I'm Cane." She tried to let go of his hand, but he held on tight and just stared at her. His hand was huge and covered hers completely, but he didn't hurt her. After another tug he slowly opened his hand and let hers go. Without saying another word Cane eased past him and walked as fast as she could out the door. She didn't stop or look back until she got to her room and locked her door. Leaning against the door, she tried to slow her breathing and fight off the panic attack that was about to consume her.
"He is not Sam," she chanted over and over again in a soft whisper.
When Duncan grabbed her hand and wouldn't let go, shear panic just came over Cane and she couldn't get out of the diner quick enough. She walked over to the bathroom and splashed some cold water on her face. She looked in the mirror and noticed the dark circles under her eyes. "You just need sleep, that's all," she said to her reflection and began getting ready for bed.
Once in the bed, Cane had enough time to realize that this would be the first time that she slept alone since her sophomore year in college six years ago. Cane had a feeling that if she stayed in this town long enough, she just might not mind sharing a bed with Duncan Matthews. Shaking her head at the random thought, she drifted off to sleep.
Duncan couldn't believe his eyes. He couldn't help thinking about Cane. She was the prettiest woman he had ever seen in his entire life. Hell, pretty wasn't even the right word for what she was. He had never seen anything like her in his twenty-eight years. The only word he could use to describe her was unique. Her eyes were like nothing he had ever seen before. They seemed to hypnotize him and draw him in. When she was looking at him, it felt like she was looking through him right down to his soul. Her hair was as white as sugar and hung down her back in a ponytail. Her skin looked like the creamiest caramel that he had ever seen, and he knew that if he were to touch her, she would be as soft as silk. He wasn't able to see much of the rest of her body because of the way she ran out of there so fast, but from what he saw she was slim with nice breasts that were not too big but not small either. They looked like the perfect handful, or mouthful for that matter, he thought to himself with a smile. At a loss for words, he just stood there like an idiot with a grip on her hand when he introduced himself. He knew he wasn't squeezing her hand too hard, but it was odd the way her eyes got as round as saucers and she started to shake all over. He didn't have time to figure out what was wrong because she bolted out the door as soon as he let her hand go. It was as if she was scared to death of him, and he wondered why. He didn't have time to think too much about it because Ali came out from the back at that moment.
"Awww, did Cane leave already?" she asked.
Duncan nodded his head yes and asked, "Are you ready to go, squirt?"
"I have told you guys not to call me that," she said frowning as she went to clear the bowl and glass that Cane used. After locking up, they jumped into Duncan's truck and headed home. They drove in silence for a little while before Duncan cleared his throat. He wanted to know what his sister knew about Cane, but he didn't know how to ask without letting his sister know that he was interested in her.
"So," he said clearing his throat again, "what did you and Cane talk about?" He saw a huge grin spread across his sister's face and couldn't help when his grin matched hers. It was rare thing this past year to see his sister smile, and he was glad to see it.
She turned in her seat a little to face him and said, "I really like her. We didn't talk much, and I mainly did all the talking, but there was something about her that made me want to sit down and talk to her. She made me feel comfortable just being around her, like we could have been best friends if she was my age." Ali smiled again and sat quietly.
After a couple more minutes when Duncan realized that his sister wasn't going to say any more, he asked, "Did Cane say how long she was going to be in town?"
"A week," was all Ali said, and he knew that he wasn't going to get any more information from her. Okay, so he had a week to get to know Cane. Duncan smiled and thought about his best friend Logan. He couldn't wait for him to get back in town tomorrow so he could see Cane. Duncan knew that Logan would be just as speechless as he was when he saw her. Hopefully, he, Cane, and Logan would be having a lot of fun together this week.
Chapter 2
How had he found her so quickly? Cane was gasping for breath as she ran through the forest. She felt like she had been running for hours. Her lungs were on fire, but even with the pain in her legs and side, she had to keep going. If he caught her this time, she knew he would kill her. Cane kept running afraid to look back. She was barefoot, and with each step she took, she could feel sticks and leaves jabbing into the soles of her feet leaving them bloody and raw. She could hardly see where she was going. The forest was so dense and there was a thick layer of fog coating everything. Suddenly Cane could see what looked like a light coming from a small cabin up ahead. She turned and began running for it. Somehow she knew if she could just make it there she would be safe. Even though her legs felt like they had tuned to jelly hours ago, Cane began to run faster. She was covered in sweat and her heart beat against her ribs. She could see the front porch of the cabin now. The light she saw was coming from the open front door. She could also see someone standing in the door but couldn't tell who it was because they were silhouetted by the light coming from behind. Just a few more steps, she thought as she closed in on the cabin. Just as she began to leap onto the porch with her arm stretched out in front of her, she felt an arm snake around her waist from behind and snatch her out of the air. The breath was forced out of her lungs and she couldn't scream. She reached again for the figure standing in the doorway just as he stepped out onto the porch reaching for her. All at once she recognized him as the man she met in the diner, Duncan, just as she also heard Sam whisper in her ear, "Caught you."
Suddenly, Cane was jolted from her sleep. She was covered in sweat and the covers were tangled around her legs. Her heart felt like it was about to jump out of her chest, and she was out of breath like she had truly been running in the forest. She felt tears running down her cheeks and didn't even realize she was crying. Taking a deep breath, she untangled the covers and stood.
"It was just a dream," she told herself, "just a really scary dream." Cane glanced at the clock on the nightstand and saw that it was 7:15 a.m. Knowing that she would never get back to sleep, she decided to take a hot bath to try and relax. She could feel the tension rolling through her body and knew that she needed the bath, if only to relax her muscles. Her body was one big ball of stress and had been for the past six months ever since she decided it was time to put her plan into action. Walking into the bathroom, she turned on the faucets. The bed and breakfast she was staying at was an old Victorian-style house that looked like it hadn't been remodeled or changed since it had been built, including the old claw-foot tub that sat in the middle of the room. Cane actually couldn't wait to sink down into it. The room quickly began to fill with steam, and Cane removed the T-shirt she slept in and frowned at it. She had no choice but to sleep in the shirt because she didn't own any nightclothes. Sam never allowed her to wear anything to bed. He always said that any woman of his should always be ready and available whenever he decided that he was ready for sex.
Shaking her head to clear unwanted memories, Cane looked around the room and saw a basket sitting on the counter that held small soaps and shampoo bottles. Walking over to it, she saw that it also held a small bottle of lavender bubble bath. Quickly taking the top off, she poured the entire bottle into the tub. She brushed her teeth while she waited for the tub to fill. When she was done, she turned the water off and slowly slid into the scalding water. She knew that the water was a little too hot and that her skin would be a nice shade of red when she got out, but she didn't care. She needed this really bad. After rolling up a towel and tucking it behind her neck, Cane lay back and closed her eyes, with a deep sigh. She could slowly feel her body begin to relax. She couldn't help but to think about the dream she had. She understood why she would be dreaming about Sam. After all, the man had done nothing but torture her for the past eight years. "That's not completely true," she mumbled. The first year she met him was one of the best years of her life. She was a freshman in college and he was a junior. It was the first time in her life that she felt accepted and loved. He made her feel like she was the most precious thing in the world. It wasn't until her sophomore year that everything began to change.
Cane lay in the tub and tried to will herself not to think about Sam and that night seven years ago. Trying to focus her mind on something else, with a smile she thought about Duncan. Remembering her reaction to him the night before, she realized that she had never had that kind of reaction to anyone before, not even Sam. He was absolutely gorgeous, and he had literally taken her breath away. Cane wondered why she dreamed about him and why in her dream she knew that there would not have been a safer place in the world at that moment than in his arms. Wishful thinking, she thought. Still, there was something about him. Lying in the tub she thought about Duncan's eyes and his very muscular body. She couldn't help but to notice that her nipples were standing at attention and she was beginning to feel that familiar tingle that started in the pit of her stomach and worked its way down between her thighs. It had been so long since she felt any kind of arousal that she was kind of shocked that a man that she had only seen once and knew nothing about could do this to her.
"You have completely lost it," she said. "The last thing you need right now is a distraction." Knowing that Sam would do everything in his power to find her, Cane decided that the best thing to do was to keep to herself so that she could focus on staying hidden still, but that didn't mean that she couldn't think about Duncan. Soaping her hand up, she slowly traced a finger around one of her nipples. She sucked in a breath of air as her nipple tightened and went rock hard, sending tingling sensations down between her legs. What would it be like to make love to someone who was gentle and actually cared about her? Someone who would put her needs first and make sure that she enjoyed herself instead of getting themselves off as fast as possible and then rolling over to go to sleep? Another picture of Duncan popped into her head. She bet that Duncan would be a wonderful lover. Keeping a picture of Duncan in her mind, she imagined that it was his fingers instead of hers circling her nipples, pinching, and pulling on them. Moaning, Cane continued to play with one nipple while the other hand slowly slid down her stomach to the smooth skin between her legs. She imagined Duncan whispering all kinds of erotic things in her ear as his fingers slowly penetrated her and stoked in and out while his thumb slowly circled her button. Lifting her hips, Cane ground against her hand and quickly brought herself to a shattering climax. Breathlessly, she sank back down into the tub and laughed. She thought she needed a hot bath to help her relax, but the way she was laying limp in the tub, she realized that a nice strong orgasm did the job even better. Quickly washing, she got out of the tub and dried herself off. She used her favorite lotion that smelled like vanilla and honey and threw on a pair of old comfortable jeans and a T-shirt. Her breasts were small and perky enough to go without a bra, so she didn't put one on. With nothing else to do, she flopped on the bed, grabbed the remote, and began flipping channels.
Chapter 3
"What do you mean you still have no idea where she is?" Sam said with a growl into the phone. He was beyond irritated. He had no sleep last night, and it was all Cane's fault. How could she do this to him? To be honest the thought that she would ever leave him never crossed his mind. After all, he was the only person in her life that ever accepted her, and that was not an easy thing to do. It took him a while to get past the freaky eyes and hair, but when he did, he was able to see that she could be the perfect woman with a little help and training. He spent eight damn years training her to be what he wanted, and this was how she repaid him. Sam slammed his fist on his desk, drawing looks from several guys in the precinct. He didn't care. He just wanted her back, and her wanted her to pay. By the time he was done with her, the bitch would never think of leaving him again. He realized that Kevin was still talking and started to listen again. "I was able to track her to the bus station, but after that it's like she just disappeared," he said.
"I am paying you good money to find her. I don't want to hear she just disappeared. Find her," Sam snapped. After giving a few more details about his search, Kevin agreed to check back in later and hung up. Sam smiled to himself. There is no way she could have gotten far. It was only a matter of time before Kevin found her, and then she would be right back where she belonged. This time he would not make the same mistake twice. He would make sure that there was no escape.
By noon, Cane was bored out of her mind. She had flipped channels for about an hour until she lost interest and noticed a bookshelf in the corner. After picking out a book, she sat in the chair and tried to read. Realizing she had been staring at the same page for about twenty minutes, she lay on the bed and took a quick nap. Now she had nothing to do. If she was at home right now, she would be cleaning and cooking. Listening to her stomach growl, she decided she would go down to the diner and grab lunch. Maybe Ali would be there again. At least she would be able to talk to someone other than herself, which was a weird habit that she suddenly picked up. Slipping on her shoes and grabbing her backpack, she left the room.
Again she suffered through the stares as she walked to the diner. Looking around the town, she noticed that even in the middle of the day there weren't many people about. As she walked into the diner, it seemed that all conversation stopped and all eyes turned in her direction. Cane saw that the table in the back that she sat at last night was empty, so she quickly walked over and sat facing the door again. She felt as if all the eyes in the room followed her to the table. After what seemed like an eternity, conversation began to pick up and people turned away from her. The diner looked like ones that she had seen on TV. Red booths lined the windows with a few tables in the middle. There was a long counter with stools along the edge. The appliances behind the counter where made of stainless steel and chrome. The floors were black and white tile. There was no sign of Ali anywhere, so Cane just sat patiently waiting on someone to come over and take her order.
Lost in thought, Cane didn't notice when someone came up to the table and stopped. Glancing up, the first thing she noticed was the standard sheriff's department uniform. Khaki pants, khaki button-down shirt, and brown tie. The panic and terror that suddenly overcame Cane was too much. She could feel the blood drain from her face and her breath leave her lungs. White spots started to blur her vision until all she saw was darkness.
"What the hell happened?" Duncan yelled at Logan.
"I don't know," Logan said. "I recognized her from your description when I walked into the diner, so I walked over to introduce myself. She looked like she was miles away and didn't even notice me walk up. When she finally did, her eyes never even made it to my face. She took one look at my uniform and began to hyperventilate and passed right out."
"That doesn't make sense," Duncan said. "Why would she just pass out like that? She didn't look or act sick last night."
"The only thing that I can think of is that she is either hiding something or running from something and the sight of my uniform scared her," Logan said.
Looking at Duncan, he asked, "Did she say anything to Ali last night about what she was doing in town?"
"No, Ali said she did most of the talking and the only thing she knew about Cane was her name and that she was staying at the bed and breakfast for the week. She did act strange though. I shook her hand, and she acted like she was scared to death of me. She started trembling and practically ran from the diner." Duncan answered. "What do you think, Doc?" Duncan turned to ask Dr. Barnes.
"Well, I can't find a medical reason for her to just pass out like that. She is a very healthy girl."
"What do you mean 'medical reason'?" Logan asked. "Would there be any other reason besides that?"
"I'm not sure, but I think her body shut down to protect herself from an overload of stress and fear."
"Stress and fear?" It was Duncan who interrupted this time. "But Logan just walked up to her and didn't even say anything. And last night all I did was walk up to her and shake her hand. Why would she be afraid of that?"
"Well, I won't know for sure until I see her medical records, but based on my exam of her and all the scars that I saw on her body, I would say that this young lady has had a very hard life. I am willing to bet my license that most of the scars were intentionally inflicted, and I'm guessing by a man. That is probably the reason why she is so scared of the both of you and not Ali," Dr. Barnes said with a grim look.
Logan began to pace the room. After about the fifth pass, he turned to Duncan and said, "Maybe we should run a check on her and see if anything comes up in the system." He walked over to the table to where her backpack had been placed and picked it up. When he began to unzip it, Duncan jumped up and grabbed it.
"What are you doing?" he asked.
Logan just rolled his eyes and said, "Easy, big guy, I'm just checking to see if she has ID so that I can check her out."
"She hasn't done anything wrong, and we are not going through..." Before Duncan could get the rest of the word out, Logan snatched the bag back and unzipped it.
"What the fuck!" he yelled. Too curious, Duncan snatched the bag and looked inside.
Cane slowly came to. She could hear voices, but she couldn't make out what they were saying. She felt like she was deep in a hole somewhere and was trying to climb out. Slowly opening her eyes and looking around, Cane saw that she was lying on a couch in what looked like an office. She tried to sit up but gave up when it felt like someone was banging drums inside her head. Moaning, she rolled over and tried to look around. She heard footsteps come from behind her and three men came into the room. One of them was Duncan, and he was dressed in the same sheriff's department uniform she saw earlier. Meeting his eyes, her voice barely a whisper she said, "You're a cop."
"I am the sheriff here. This is my deputy and best friend Logan Summers, and this is Dr. Barnes. You are in his office because you passed out at the diner."
Not knowing what to say and feeling sick to her stomach, Cane just stared at the floor. She saw that her shoes had been removed and bent to put them back on. A hand landed on her shoulder, and she stiffened. She looked up and saw that it was the doctor, and he was looking at her the way all doctors do when they are examining a patient. Feeling anxious to get out of there, Cane shrugged his hand off her shoulder and quickly stood.
The doctor frowned and asked, "Can you tell us why you passed out?"
Giving what she hoped was a smile and trying to act like nothing happened, Cane just shrugged and said, "I guess I just went a little too long between meals." The looks that all three men gave told her that they didn't believe a word she was saying. "Really, I'm fine," she said. "I just need to put a little something in my stomach and I will be good as new."
Giving them a smile that she knew was all teeth and didn't reach her eyes, she looked around the room for her bag. She wanted to get as far away from the cops as possible. She spotted her bag sitting on the desk behind Duncan and Logan and walked over to get it. Just as she grabbed the bag, Duncan put his hand over hers. When she looked up at him, she thought she saw concern in his eyes, but it was gone in an instant.
"Are you sure you are all right?" he asked. Cane nodded and stepped back with her bag.
"I will be fine once I get something to eat," she said.
"Good." This time it was Logan speaking. "We will take you back to the diner so you can eat, and then we need to talk." The look he gave her was like he was daring her to say no. Cane couldn't say anything due to the lump in her throat, so she just nodded and turned toward the door.
Chapter 4
What had she gotten herself into? Cane thought as she walked back to the diner in between Duncan and Logan. What could they possibly want to talk to her about? She thought she gave a good enough excuse on why she passed out, and this was only her second day in town, so what could it be? Could this have something to do with Sam? Could he have issued a missing persons report or something like that already? Surely reports like that weren't sent nationwide. Cane tried to tell herself that she was just overreacting, but she couldn't stop her palms from sweating or her mouth from going dry. This day was getting worse and worse. She was starting to think she should have never left the room.
Deep in thought, Cane didn't even realize that they had made it back to the diner. On autopilot she walked over to the same table that she had been sitting in earlier that day and sat again facing the door. Duncan and Logan both pulled out chairs and sat across from her. She looked everywhere but at them. Finally, the silence was too overwhelming, so she took a deep breath and met their eyes. She glanced at Duncan first and noticed that his face was blank. Showing no expression or emotion, he just sat and stared at her. She looked over at Logan next and saw that he was the complete opposite of Duncan. The expression on his face showed that he was not happy. His mouth was set in a thin line, his eyes had thin frown lines between them, and his arms were crossed over his chest. What could have happened between now and this morning when she first saw him? Obviously something did, and the way he was looking at her made her scared to find out. She knew that look all too well. Usually when she got that look from Sam, it meant that she did something that was not up to his standards, and it was usually followed by a slap across the face or some other form of pain.
Taking a deep breath, she worked up her courage and attempted to place an innocent expression on her face, although she didn't think it worked, and asked, "Okay, boys, what is it you wanted to talk to me about?" They both looked at each other as if trying to decide where to begin or who should start. Finally, Logan leaned over and placed his hand on the top of hers, and his face softened. She saw compassion and understanding in his eyes and realized that he was absolutely beautiful. She had gotten so worked up when she saw him standing there in his uniform that she didn't notice. His eyes were amber and so bright that they looked like they had a golden glow behind them. His hair was blond with sun-bleached highlights that showed that he spent a lot of time outdoors. He looked to be about the same height as Duncan but not as muscular. Where Duncan was broad, Logan had the build of a swimmer, long and lean, and his muscles were more compact.
"Good lord, do they breed nothing but gorgeous people in this town?" Slapping a hand over her mouth, Cane couldn't believe she said that out loud. Both of the guys looked at each other as if they were communicating silently and looked back at her with huge grins.
Again Logan reached for her hand and held it. "Thanks for the compliment, but that's not why we are here. Is there something we need to talk about? Do you need help? It's okay to talk us. We can help you if you need it."
Oh no, she couldn't talk to them. The last thing she wanted was to see the look of pity directed toward her, and worse, they were cops. What was to stop them from calling Sam and telling him where she was. Isn't that something cops did? The whole sacred "brotherhood" thing and all. Aware that they were waiting for her answer, Cane tried to come up with something that was close to the truth but without giving away who she was or why she was in this town. She opened her mouth to say something, but before she could get any words out, she heard a loud squeal come from behind the counter. She looked up to see Ali walking quickly to the table.
"Oh my God, Cane. I heard about what happened earlier. I'm so glad you are okay. You are all right aren't you? Well, of course you are, look at you. You look great. Are you planning on staying for lunch? You should..."
"Squirt, enough," Duncan said, holding up his hand to stop her. Cane couldn't help but to smile. Even though she was ten years older than Ali, she felt like they could be really good friends. She realized that she had never had anyone to worry over her, and she had to fight back the tears that seemed to come from nowhere.
"Are you okay?" Ali asked, concerned.
"I'm fine, it's just...just, well, thank you for being concerned about me. I have never had anyone care about me like that." Seeing the look of shock on Ali's face made Cane realize that she had said too much. She could feel her blood rushing to her face and knew that her cheeks and ears would be bright red. She could feel all three of their eyes on her as she stared down at her hands waiting for someone to ask why and dreading having to answer the question.
Ali cleared her throat and patted Cane on the shoulder. "Well, you don't have to worry about that now. You have me." When Cane looked up Ali winked and with a huge smile whispered, "Us girls have to stick together," and walked away.
Realizing that her mouth was hanging open, Cane quickly closed it and turned to look at the two men at the table. It seemed that she wasn't the only one shocked about what just happened. Both men were watching Ali with the same opened-mouth expression on their faces.
"What just happened? That is the most I have heard your sister speak since the accident," Logan said.
Duncan just said, "It's Cane."
"What? Me? What did I do?" Cane asked, scared that she did something wrong.
Duncan smiled, "There is something about you that has made her come out of this depression that she has been in since our parents died. Since meeting you last night, she has talked more and smiled more in the one day than she has this whole past year."
Not knowing what to say, Cane just smiled. What was it about these people that made her feel safe? For the first time in her life she felt like she had been accepted with no strings attached. She felt safe and realized that after only one day this place felt more like a home than any place she had ever been. When she was only six days old, she had been abandoned at a local hospital and grew up in foster care and group homes. It seemed that no one wanted the "weird" girl with the strange eyes and hair. Determined to go to college and knowing the only way was to get a scholarship, Cane studied her ass off in high school and was valedictorian. It wasn't hard because she never had any friends or went to parties like the rest of the kids. When she got to college she finally felt like she belonged. Everyone was so different and unique that it wasn't hard to "blend" in. Having never had anything of her own, she decided to major in business hoping one day she would own something that was all hers. That's how she met Sam. He was a teacher's assistant for her accounting professor and asked her to stay after class one day. Thinking that she did something wrong, Cane was shocked when he asked her out on a date instead. Never receiving attention from a boy, she quickly agreed, and the rest was history.
"We saw the money in your bag," Logan said, snapping her out of her thoughts.
"You went through my things?" was all she could think to say.
"We had no choice. We didn't know what was wrong with you when you passed out, so we had to look to make sure you weren't on any medications or having an allergic reaction or something like that," Duncan said quickly trying to calm her. Cane noticed that he was the "good, passive cop" and Logan was the "aggressive, bad cop" in their partnership. She wondered if they were like this outside of work as well, maybe in the bedroom. What the hell? Where did that come from? No way should she be thinking like this. It was bad enough being attracted to the both of them, but they were cops. She swore that she would never date another cop after Sam. Looking at the two of them, she saw nothing that told her she couldn't trust them. In fact her instincts were screaming for her to tell them what was going on so they could help her. It would be nice to have the police on my side for a change and to have someone else looking over my shoulder for once.
Sighing, she said, "I will tell you everything, but not here and not till I get something to eat." Both men quickly agreed and they waved Ali back over to take their order. Cane immediately regretted speaking, but she gave her word, so she would go through with this.
Duncan couldn't take his eyes off of Cane. She was so beautiful. After he got home last night, he immediately called Logan to tell him about her. "I think she is the One," he had said.
Duncan thought Logan had hung up from the silence on the other end, but then his friend said, "How can you be sure? You only spoke to her for about five minutes."
"I just know I have never felt this way about a girl before. You will see when you meet her tomorrow." After hanging up with Logan, Duncan lay in bed picturing Ali in his mind. To him, she was perfect, and he hoped Logan would feel that same way. He and Logan were best friends and had been since kindergarten. They were inseparable from day one. When Logan's mother died when he was eleven, his father couldn't take it and began to drink a lot. On the nights that he got a little too drunk, he liked to smack Logan around, so he would sneak out and come to Duncan's. Eventually his father got worse and Duncan's parents moved Logan in permanently. From that point on they shared everything, so when they got to college, it was only logical to share women. He really hoped that Cane could accept them both because he wanted her so badly it scared him. He was already possessive of her. When he got the call from Logan this morning saying she passed out at the diner and they were headed to Dr. Barnes's office, Duncan couldn't seem to make his legs move fast enough. The whole way there he prayed that she wasn't truly sick. When he got there and saw her lying on the couch with her face so pale it was almost gray, he had to stop himself from rushing over to hold her. He noticed that Logan had the same look on his face. He could tell by looking at Logan that he felt the same way about her. Now sitting here across the table from her watching her eat, he couldn't believe how lucky he and Logan were. She was their woman. She just didn't know it yet. That thought made him smile. Looking over, he caught Logan's eye and knew that he was thinking the same thing.
It was the longest and most uncomfortable lunch she had ever had. She felt the eyes of the two men watching her the whole time. Even worse, it seemed that word had made it around about the strange new woman in town. It seemed the whole town had come to the diner to get a good look at her. Cane kept her head down and ate as quickly as she could. When she finished, she excused herself to the restroom. She walked over to the sink and splashed cold water on her face. Taking a deep breath, she looked in the mirror. Her reflection didn't make her feel any better. She looked tired and worn-down and felt like she could sleep for days. Hearing the door open, she turned to see Ali come in.
"Are you okay?" she asked.
"Yeah, just tired and a little stressed."
"Well, don't let my brother or Logan try to intimidate you. They can both be a little overwhelming until you get to know them." Smiling, she continued, "They really like you. I have never seen them look at another woman the way they do you. Just be opened-minded and give them a chance please."
"What do you mean give them a chance?" Cane asked, frowning. She didn't understand what Ali was telling her.
Ali sighed and sat on the bench that lined the wall. "You are going to hear about this eventually since this is a small town and people like to talk. Duncan and Logan share everything including women."
Swallowing and not believing what she was hearing, Cane asked, "You mean share as in at the same time?"
"Yes. They don't know that I know, so please don't tell them I told you, but I hear the rumors just like everybody else. Anyway, it doesn't bother me as long as they are happy." Smiling, she said, "I like you, Cane. I don't know what it is about you, but I feel like we could be sisters. I think you would be great for the both of them." With that she turned and left.
Great for the both of them? Could she ever see herself with two guys, at the same time? She was definitely attracted to the both of them, but sharing? How could she even think of handling two guys when she made such a mess of her relationship with only one? Dazed by what Ali had just shared with her, Cane left the bathroom and walked over to the table. Duncan and Logan both stood and Logan held out her bag. Damn, how could she have forgotten to take that with her? She was slipping. These people were causing her to let her guard down and that wasn't good. She knew that Sam wouldn't give up this soon. Maybe she needed to try and get out of town sooner than Thursday. She had six more days, and at the rate she was going, she would never leave if she stayed that long. Maybe one of the guys could give her a ride to the nearest town. Why did the thought of leaving cause her chest to hurt?
Following the guys out of the diner, they turned toward the sheriff's station down the block. Logan held the door open for her and she entered. The station was one big room. Looking around, she saw two desks, a counter with a coffeepot and Styrofoam cups on it, and a cell in the far corner with a small cot in it. Duncan pulled out a chair that sat in front of his desk and motioned for her to sit. He went around to the other side and sat. Logan sat on the corner of the desk with his arms crossed over his chest. "Okay, we are listening," was all he said.
Taking a deep breath, and meeting both their gazes, she began, "Well, the short version is that I have been in an abusive relationship for the past eight years and after the last 'incident' six months ago left me in the hospital for eleven days, I finally decided that enough was enough. While I laid in the hospital bed I planned my escape. The money you saw in my bag is all that I have in the world. It took me six months just to stash that. I had to take a little at a time so he wouldn't notice it missing and become suspicious. Four days ago, he asked me about the money. I denied that I knew anything about it, but I could tell he didn't believe me. I left that night and basically hopped from bus to bus for three days with no specific destination, and this is where I ended up." Taking a deep breath, she sat back and waited for their reactions, which didn't take long to come.
"Shit!" Logan yelled and leaped up from the desk, causing Cane to flinch and throw her hands up to guard her face. It was an involuntary reaction that she couldn't help. "Oh, God, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you, but you must know that I...we would never lay a hand on you. You are safe with us." Logan reached over and gently placed his hand on her arm lowered it away from her face. "You can trust us." Cane looked up at him and then over at Duncan, he was sitting back in the chair not saying a word, but the look on his face spoke volumes. He looked angry like he was ready to kill someone. Cane noticed her hands were trembling, so she clasped them tightly in her lap. She hated to show any sign of weakness.
She couldn't help but to ask, "Are you guys angry with me?" Immediately Duncan's face softened, and he came around to her side of the desk. Both guys leaned against the desk in front of her.
"Why would we be mad at you? Like Logan said, we would never hurt you and you can trust us. We will help you."
"Yes, but Sam is a detective. You can't help me. Doesn't that go against your police code? You look out for each other, right? That's why I never told anyone what he was doing to me. He said no one would believe me because he was on the force and you guys always stuck together." Cane didn't even realize that she was crying until she felt the tears streaming down her cheek. Both men reached for her at the same and pulled her into a hug. She stiffened until she realized that they weren't trying to cause her any harm and slowly began to relax. It felt good to just be held. She felt completely safe in both of their arms, like nothing could touch her. She felt one hand rubbing her back and one on her hair. It was calming and soothing. She felt like she could stay like this forever.
Logan was to first to speak. "Is that why you passed out this morning when you saw me in uniform?" Cane just nodded. "Whoever this Sam is, he is a real bastard. We don't take up for people like that. He could be the president and we would never condone what he did." After suffering years of abuse from Sam, Cane was an expert at reading people. She learned what mood Sam was in based on the look in his eyes. The sincerity that she saw in Logan and Duncan's eyes told Cane that they were telling the truth. They were nothing like Sam. These two men would never turn her over to him. She could trust them to protect her and keep her safe. Feeling like a ten-ton weight had been lifted from her shoulders, Cane couldn't help but to cry. She sobbed for what seemed like hours, and the whole time they both never let her go. She knew then that she had made the right decision in telling them the truth even if she didn't tell them the whole story. The stress finally caught up with Cane, and she slowly drifted off to sleep in their arms.
Chapter 5
Logan and Duncan rocked Cane until they realized she was asleep. Duncan picked her up and gently laid her on the cot in the holding cell, placing her bag next to her. He left the door to the cell open in case she woke up. He didn't want her to wake up and panic, thinking they were locking her up. Walking back over to his desk he sat down and sighed heavily. He watched as Logan paced the room and could tell that he was about ready to hunt this Sam guy down and beat the shit out of him. He couldn't blame him. Knowing about Logan's past, he felt the same way.
"I knew that she was hiding something," Logan said, "but I never suspected this. It's a good thing we didn't run a search on her. The bastard is probably watching for that so that he can find her."
"Where do we go from here?" Duncan asked. "Her confession doesn't change how I feel about her. And I know you feel the same way, so I think the most important thing is to show her that she can trust us. At this point, she is looking for a reason to jump on the next bus out of town, and we can't let that happen."
"You're right," said Logan, running his fingers through his hair and sitting down. As if he had been reading Duncan's mind, Logan said, "I wish I could find the little shit and beat the hell out of him. What do you think he did to her to put her in the hospital for eleven days?"
"Whatever it was it had to be horrible, and with him being a detective on the force she probably felt like she couldn't press charges." Both men sat silently, both thinking of the hell that Cane had suffered for eight years at the hands of a man that was supposed to protect rather than torture her.
"No! Please don't. I'm sorry. It won't happen again!" Cane screamed. She tried to run, but she was cuffed to a bed.
"You bitch! How dare you try to run from me? I gave you everything and this is how you repay me?" Cane could hear Sam screaming, but she couldn't see where he was in the room. It sounded like his voice was coming from all around her.
"Please, Sam, just let me go. You made your point. I will never leave you again."
Stepping out of the shadows, Sam walked over to the bed with a huge grin on his face. "Oh, I have no doubt, baby, that by the time I am done with you, the thought of leaving me will never cross your mind again." Cane began to scream and felt hands on her shoulders shaking her. Someone was yelling her name, and she opened her eyes and sat straight up. Logan was staring at her with a worried look on his face. Cane lay back down and took a deep breath. Rubbing her face with trembling hands she softly chanted to herself that it was just a dream. Shivering she realized that she was covered in sweat. Logan must have noticed because he grabbed the blanket folded up at the end of the cot and covered her with it.
"You want to talk about it?"
"I dreamed he found me," Cane said. "It was awful. He had me handcuffed to a bed and he had this crazy look in his eyes. He couldn't believe that I would ever leave him and he was going to make me pay. Oh God, Logan! What if he finds me? What am I going to do?" Fresh tears began to fall, and Logan wrapped her in his arms and rubbed her back in small circles.
"Shh... It's okay, baby, don't worry. Duncan and I will protect you, I promise. Nothing bad will happen to you here." Logan gently sat Cane away from him and lifted her face to his so that he could look her in the eyes. "Your plan was great, and it worked perfectly. How can he find you if you didn't even know where you were going until you got here?"
"I guess you are right, but you don't know Sam. He will try his best to find me."
"Well, if he does happen to show up here, then Duncan and I will handle him."
Feeling better, Cane pulled back to look at Logan. "Thank you for being here. All my life I have never had anyone to depend on but myself. It's nice to have someone in my corner for a change."
Logan didn't respond. Instead, he reached up and tucked a stray hair behind her ear. He left his hand against her cheek and stared into her eyes, and then he slowly leaned down and kissed her. Caught off guard, Cane didn't have time to react. Suddenly his lips were on hers. They were warm and silky soft. He moved them against hers as his tongue slid out and rubbed her top lip. Moaning, she opened her mouth and he took it as an invitation to take the kiss even further. His tongue entered her mouth slowly as if waiting for her to protest. He traced the roof and sides of her mouth and then rubbed her tongue with his. His taste was sweet and his kiss was so gentle that it made Cane light-headed. Sam had never kissed her like this. He liked to dominate her mouth, and it became quite painful at times when he became too rough. Logan didn't compare to Sam at all. This was the best kiss she had ever had in her life. He moved his tongue out of her mouth, and Cane followed it with hers. She traced his lips as he sucked her bottom lip in his mouth. Bringing her hands up to the back of his head, she ran them through his soft hair.
"Am I interrupting something?" Cane jumped and looked over to see Duncan leaning against the cell door smiling with a wicked look in his eyes.
"Don't let me stop you," he said. "I was enjoying the show." Staring at him, Cane didn't see or hear any hint of jealousy in him. Wow, it must be true. They really do share women, she thought.
"I think I need to be heading to my room," she said as she stood.
"I don't think you need to be alone right now after the dream you just had," Logan said.
"It was just a bad dream. I have them all the time, and it's no big deal."
Logan was about to say something, but Duncan cut him off. "Ali asked me to invite you to dinner tonight. Maybe you can go for a little bit. It will make us all happy and you don't have to be alone at least for a little while." Biting her lip, Cane looked at both men and nodded. They smiled and turned and walked out of the cell. Grabbing her bag from the bed, she followed them out. "Do you need to get anything from your room before we go?" Duncan asked.
"I would like to go freshen up and grab a jacket."
"Good. I will drive you while Logan finishes things up here and we will meet him at the house." He and Logan looked at each other and something passed between them. Smiling, Logan turned away. Duncan placed a hand on the small of her back and led her out. What have I gotten myself into?
Walking Cane back to her room, Duncan kept his hand on the small of her back. He had no intentions of removing it since she wasn't complaining. Her body was so warm, and walking this close, he smelled her scent, something flowery and delicious. His mouth watered. He wanted what Logan had, he wanted to kiss her. Quietly, they walked the couple blocks to the bed-and-breakfast. Following her to her room, he stepped inside and closed the door. Once inside Cane seemed to get nervous. He noticed that she was wringing her hands and fidgeting and wouldn't look at him. Walking over, he cupped his hand under her chin and turned her face toward him.
"Hey, are you okay?"
At first he didn't think she would answer, but after a minute or two, she sighed. "I just don't want you to think that what happened with me and Logan earlier is something that I do all the time. I don't know what happened, I mean, one minute I was crying and the next we were kissing and...well, anyway I have never done that with anyone other than Sam."
Still cupping her chin, Duncan smiled. "I don't think that at all. Logan wants you and so do I."
He could see when Cane actually heard what he said, her eyes widened and she inhaled deeply. He was shocked at what she said next. "So it's true then?"
"Is what true?" She tried to look away, but Duncan held onto her chin. "Is what true?"
"Um, that you and Logan like to share women." Not wanting to scare her off but wanting her to trust him, he finally nodded his head.
"I can't believe that you have only been in town for a day and already someone was eager to spread gossip to you."
"Please don't be mad. She didn't tell me for that reason. She said that she could tell you both liked me and that I would be good for you." Duncan looked at her and frowned.
"Who told you that?" Biting her lip, he could tell that Cane didn't want to answer him.
"I'm scared to tell you. I don't want to get her in trouble. She didn't mean any harm by it." Duncan couldn't believe what he was hearing. Did she really think that he was like that, that he would get angry over something like this? He could see the beat of Cane's heart through the vein on the side of her neck. From how fast it was beating and her fast shallow breaths, he could tell that she was scared to death at the moment.
"Hey, it's okay. I'm not mad, and I promise not to get angry at whoever told you. We were going to tell you anyway so it's no big deal."
Watching him closely, she took a deep breath and said, "It was Ali."
"My baby sister Ali? She is sixteen. What the hell does she know about this? How did she even find out?"
Backing away from him, Cane said, "You promised you wouldn't get mad, and she found out the same way you thought I did, town gossips."
Holding his hands out as if he was trying to calm a scared animal, Duncan walked slowly to her. "I'm not mad, sweetheart. I could never be mad at her. I'm just upset that she found out that way. She shouldn't even be thinking of things like this at her age."
Reaching out, he gently grabbed Cane by the shoulders and pulled her to him. She stiffened at first, but then relaxed and molded her body to his. We fit perfectly, Duncan thought. He planted a kiss on her forehead and slowly trailed them down the side of her face. When he reached her jaw, he made his way over to her chin. Feeling a slight shiver coming from her, he covered her mouth with his. Groaning, he tried to pull her closer and his tongue trailed along the seam of her lips trying to coax her to open up and let him in. When her lips parted, he plunged his tongue in took over her mouth. The kiss went from slow to fast in a heartbeat as she began to suck on his tongue. Wrapping a hand around her hair, he tilted her head and started kissing down the side of her throat causing her to moan and clench her fingers in his shirt. Kissing back up the other side of her throat, he stopped when he got to the corner of her mouth and kissed it.
Both breathing heavily, he rested his forehead against hers and said, "Ali will be upset if we're late." Looking at him with glazed eyes, Cane nodded and went into the bathroom. Damn! That was incredible, Duncan thought. He had never been that turned on just kissing. Adjusting the erection that was pressed painfully against his zipper, he smiled. If he hadn't stopped when he did, he would have come in his pants like some thirteen-year-old boy. Wouldn't that have been embarrassing? Although he was upset that Ali knew about him and Logan, he was going to have to thank her for telling Cane and saving them the trouble. And, from Cane's reaction to kissing him and Logan, he didn't think she was opposed to the idea. Now the only thing they had to worry about was keeping her in town long enough to make it happen, because he knew now there was no way they could rush things.
Chapter 6
What the hell was she doing? Kissing two guys and completely attracted to them both? She was twenty-six years old, and in that time she only ever kissed one guy, and here she was kissing two guys in one day not even an hour apart. What was next? Pausing from her pacing in the bathroom, Cane looked at her reflection. She knew what was next. They both made that very clear. The question was did she want it to happen? A part of her was scared to death, but another part was saying go for it. Why shouldn't she have some fun? Hadn't she suffered enough at the hands of a psycho? She certainly enjoyed kissing the both of them. They kissed the complete opposite of their personalities. That shocked Cane. Logan seemed to come across as the dominant, aggressive type, but his kiss was slow and sweet and gentle like he had all the time in the world. Duncan on the other hand, was the complete opposite. He came across as the calm, gentle one, but his kisses weren't anything like that. He was aggressive and passionate but nothing like Sam who was way too dominating. She felt like he was trying to crawl into her skin. They both made her feel things that she had never felt before, and it scared her. Deciding not to think about it and let whatever happens happen, she freshened up and returned to the room.
Duncan was sitting in the chair by the bookshelf and stood when she came in. "I'm ready. Just let me grab my bag and a jacket."
"You know you shouldn't carry that bag around with all that money. This is a small town, but crime still occurs here."
"I know, but it is all I have. I don't want something to happen to it."
"I have a small closet safe at home you can borrow. I will bring it when I bring you back tonight."
"Are you sure?"
"Of course, sweetheart." Smiling, Cane walked out the door. That was the second time he called her that and Logan called her baby earlier. She could get used to this. It was certainly better than being called bitch, whore, or slut.
They made it to Duncan's truck in no time and began the drive to his house. "So? How do you like the town so far?"
"It's great," Cane said, and truly meant it. "Even though it's small and secluded, everyone seems very friendly. I know I have only been here for a little over a day, but I have never really had a home, and I feel like I could have that here. I just don't want to get to ahead of myself until I know that Sam has given up trying to find me." Something told her that wouldn't be anytime soon, but she pushed that negative comment away. Placing his hand on top of hers, Duncan just smiled.
"I hope you are comfortable tonight, because the rest of my family will be there."
"Oh, who else will be there?" Cane asked, not sure she was ready to meet the rest of his family.
"Well, Ali and Logan of course, and my older brother Chase and my younger brother Riley." Cane smiled and nodded her head. She turned and stared out the window. Hopefully his other brothers would like her. She never wanted to be accepted more by this family than anyone in her entire life, and she was scared of the unexpected feelings. As if reading her mind, Duncan squeezed her hand that he was still holding. "Don't worry," he said smiling, "they will think you are great. Of course Ali, Logan, and I already do and so will the other two."
They drove the rest of the way in comfortable silence. It took about ten minutes to get the Matthews' house, and Cane could feel the butterflies in her stomach growing bigger the closer they got. The house sat at the end of a driveway that seemed a mile long. The house was beautiful. It was a very large log cabin-style house that looked like it sprouted out of the forest that lined the back of it. It had two stories and a wraparound front porch with rocking chairs and a swing. "Wow, this is beautiful."
"Thank you. My dad built it for my mom. He knew she wanted a large family, so he said she needed a house large enough to put us all in, so this is what he came up with. When they died, we didn't want to sell it, so we all still live here, including Logan."
"Logan lives here, too?" she asked.
"Yeah, he moved in when he was eleven after his mom died. His dad couldn't handle it, and my mom took him in since he was here most of the time anyway."
Cane couldn't believe it. "Your mom must have been a really great woman to take in a child that wasn't hers when she already had four of her own to raise." Duncan didn't say anything, but the sad look in his eyes told her that he still wasn't over losing his parents. They were sitting in the truck outside the house and he was still holding her hand.
Taking a deep breath, she asked, "Ali said your parents died last year in an accident. Will you tell me what happened?"
Duncan was quiet for a while and finally said, "They were killed in a car accident driving home from Carlton. It was raining and the tractor-trailer in front of them lost control after trying to change lanes. My dad couldn't stop in time, and their car slid under the trailer. The doctors say they died instantly, so there was no pain. Ali was in the car also. She barely escaped with her life. When the car slammed into the guardrail, it went through the back door and impaled her in the back. She feels guilty that she lived and they died since they wouldn't have gone if she hadn't asked for new shoes." Turning her hand over so that their palms were touching, Cane laced her fingers through his and squeezed.
"You, your brothers and sister, and Logan are very lucky. Even though your parents are gone, you grew up knowing that you were loved and that they would have done anything for you. I would love to know what just one day of that feels like. I never knew my parents. I was dropped off at a hospital when I was six days old. The nurse that found me named me Cane. I was told it was because of my hair being the color of sugar. My parents didn't even care enough to give me a name, and no one has wanted me since, so don't focus on the fact that they are gone, only think about all the times that you had them here when you really needed them." Duncan reached over and wiped a tear away that had run down her cheek and then leaned over and kissed the same spot.
"You have no idea how damn special you are," he said. Cane gasped at Duncan's statement. She couldn't hold back the flood of emotions that followed it. Never in her life had anyone told her that she was special, not even Sam. He grinned at her and opened the door to get out. Here goes nothing, she thought, and got out as well.
The inside of the house was more beautiful than the outside. There was a warm and cozy feel to the place. In the living room there was a large plush leather sofa and two matching chairs facing a fireplace, and the hardwood floors were covered with thick throw rugs everywhere. Cane could hear talking coming from the kitchen as she followed Duncan. Walking into the kitchen, her mouth fell open when she saw that the kitchen basically took up the whole back of the house and was dominated by a long wooden table that looked like it could seat about twenty people. The whole back wall was nothing but glass overlooking the patio, pool, and forest behind.
Whispering in her ear, Duncan said, "The kitchen is the place that it seems like everyone in our family always ended up, so since we spent so much time there, Dad said that logically this should be the most important and biggest room in the house."
"It's great!" Cane said in awe.
Ali came over and hugged her. "I didn't think you would ever get here, but I'm so glad you came. This will be so fun!"
Grabbing Cane's hand, she began to lead her to the table where everyone else was already seated. "Of course you already know Logan, but this is our oldest brother, Chase, and this is our other brother, Riley." Both men stood and greeted her. They both were just as gorgeous as Ali and Duncan. Good looks must run in the family, Cane thought as she waved and smiled at each man. Chase was just as tall as Duncan only he was a lot broader. He looked like he had muscles on top of muscles. Both men had the same green eyes that the whole family had. Riley was the shortest of all the Matthews brothers. He looked like he was around six feet. He wore his coal black hair pulled back in a ponytail, where Chase wore his in a military buzz cut style.
Still holding her hand, Ali said, "I hope you are hungry because we are having steak and potatoes and salad."
"You girls are having salad. We men are having meat and potatoes," Chase said laughing. Smiling and instantly feeling comfortable, Cane took the empty chair next to Logan, and Duncan sat on the other side of her.
Dinner was great. Not only was the food delicious, but the conversation was excellent. The wine had been flowing freely all through dinner and she was feeling very relaxed. Cane had never laughed so hard in all her life. All through dinner Chase and Riley told the most embarrassing stories about Duncan and Logan and all the trouble they got into growing up. Cane had never felt this accepted so easily in all her life. I could fall in love with this family. Looking at Duncan and then Logan, she thought, especially these two men. That particular thought scared her, but she pushed it away to think about at another time. She wasn't going to let it ruin her night.
"Let's go for a swim," Ali said while starting to clear the table. Everyone agreed and left the room to get changed into their suits. Cane sat at the table biting her bottom lip. What excuse could she use to get out of this? It wasn't that she didn't like to swim. She just didn't want anyone to see the nasty ten-inch jagged scar across the bottom of her stomach, courtesy of Sam, and ask questions. It was a story that she did not want to tell.
"Is something wrong?" It was Logan looking at her with concern in his eyes.
"I...I don't have a suit," she said, hoping that was a good enough excuse.
"Don't worry. I'm sure Ali has something you can borrow."
"Oh yeah, I don't mind. You can take your pick. I have a ton of suits."
Damn! That didn't work. Not wanting to ruin the night, she just nodded and followed Ali to the bedroom. She knew that unless Ali had a one piece, the scar would show, but she gave in.
Ali's bedroom looked like any other sixteen-year-old girl's room. Hot pinks and purples everywhere. She had two twin beds in the room with matching comforters and posters of whatever teen singing sensation that was hot at the moment all over the walls. Ali was happily laying out every suit she owned on the bed, which seemed like hundreds of them.
"Um...you don't happen to have a one-piece, do you?"
"No, sorry," she said, looking a bit guilty.
"It's okay," Cane said. "If I had a body like yours, I would never wear a one-piece either." If it was possible, Ali's grin lit up the room. She ducked her head as if not used to getting compliments and started sorting through the suits on her bed. Sighing, Cane began to look over what she had to offer. She ended up picking the least skimpy suit there, which wasn't saying much. It was white with small blue stars all over. Both pieces tied, so Cane could adjust it to fit since she was smaller than Ali on the top, but a little curvier on the bottom. Ali used the connecting bathroom first and changed. When she came out, Cane reluctantly went in. You can do this, you can do this, you can do this...maybe if she said it enough it would be true. Once the suit was on, Cane had to admit that if it wasn't for the scar that was still an angry red color peeking out of her bottoms, the suit would be sexy. Being that Ali was their baby sister and seeing how protective they were of her, Cane couldn't believe the Matthews boys and Logan would let Ali wear something like this. Well, here goes nothing. You can't hide in here all night, she thought as she walked out of the bathroom. Ali was sitting on the bed and from the look on her face, Cane knew that she saw the scar. Unconsciously, she put her hands over it and turned away.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to stare. Can I ask what happened?"
"I don't like to talk about it," Cane said, trying to hold back the tears threatening to fall.
"It's okay, I don't like to talk about mine either." Cane turned back around to look at Ali, who just smiled and turned her back. Cane couldn't help the gasp that slipped out. Ali had a jagged scar going down the right side of her back from shoulder to hip that made her scar look like a paper cut. She turned back and squeezed Cane's hand.
"Is that why you asked for a one-piece?" Not able to speak, Cane just nodded.
"It's okay, I promise. The boys know how sensitive I am about my scar, so they won't say anything about yours. Come on, let's go before they come looking for us." If she can do it, then why can't I? Summing up all her courage Cane walked out to the pool.
Finally, Duncan thought when he saw Cane and Ali coming out the door. He never understood what took women so long to get ready. How hard was it to put a swimsuit on? The guys had been in the pool a whole twenty minutes waiting on them. Getting out of the pool he began to walk over to them, but he caught Ali's eye. She gave a small shake of her head and turned to head toward Riley and Chase who were sitting on the edge of the pool talking and drinking beers. What was that all ab...Before he could finish the thought he saw what Ali was trying to tell him. Because of the way Cane was looking at him as if she was ashamed, he immediately knew that the scar that he was seeing was a gift from her ex. By the time he reached her, he so was consumed with rage that his whole body was trembling. If he ever met this Sam, he knew that it would take an act of God not to kill him. Evidently Cane saw the anger boiling off of him because she came to a complete stop and her eyes went wide. The look of fear on her face immediately calmed him down. He smiled and saw that she took a deep breath and began walking toward him again. If I reacted this way seeing that scar, Logan is going to blow a gasket, he thought. Reaching her, he rubbed his hand down her shoulder and felt her shiver.
"Would you like a beer?"
Cane frowned. "Ewww, gross. No thanks, but I would like a glass of wine please." Winking at her, he turned and walked toward the house. Just as he reached the door, Logan came out. Duncan grabbed him and forced them back through the door.
"What the hell, Duncan?"
"Just calm down, I have to tell you something about Cane." Logan immediately went on alert. "Listen, I just wanted to give you fair warning. Cane has a nasty scar on her stomach. From the way she was acting, I would guarantee it that bastard Sam gave it to her."
"Son of a bitch!" Logan yelled.
"This is exactly why I came and told you rather than let you see for yourself. Just don't make a scene. From what I can see, she is very self-conscious about it." Logan nodded stiffly and walked out the door. Knowing Logan wouldn't let his anger show, Duncan poured Cane a glass of wine and grabbed a beer for himself and returned to the pool.
This night couldn't get any better, Cane thought. When she first came out in her bathing suit and Duncan saw her scar, she was shocked to see the anger in his face, and it scared her. When he rubbed her arm, the caress was soft and gentle, and she immediately calmed down. No one said anything about her scar. In fact they all acted like it wasn't there. Forget thinking that she could fall in love with this family, hell, she was already halfway in love with them. Splashing around and wrestling with all the guys in the pool, she had never had so much fun or laughed as much in all her life.
Now lying in the lounge chair wrapped in Duncan's fluffy bathrobe, Cane was feeling the effects of the four glasses of wine that she had. "I think it's time for me to head to the room. I don't think I can keep my eyes open much longer."
"Awwww, do you have to go?" Ali whined.
Cane laughed. "I bet that whine gets you whatever you want out of these boys, don't it." Ali just giggled.
It was Logan to speak up this time. "I think we all have had a little too much to drink tonight. You may have to stay, Cane." Not wanting to risk anyone's safety by trying to drive her home, she agreed to stay.
"Oh this is going to be so fun! You can sleep in my room. I have never had anyone stay over before!" Ali was clapping her hands and jumping up and down like a five-year-old.
"Well, that makes two of us," Cane said. "I have never slept over with anyone before, so I think we should make the best of our first time."
"Oh, we so have to stay up late and eat all kinds of junk, and...Ohhh we definitely have to talk about boys," Ali said with glee. The last statement caused a lot of chokes and coughs from the guys, and Cane couldn't help but to giggle herself. Ali was rubbing off on her. Ali kissed her brothers and Logan on the cheek and skipped off to the kitchen.
Standing, Cane said, "Well, I should go help her. Thank you guys for dinner. I have never had so much fun."
Duncan and Logan both rose at the same time and each kissed her cheek. Feeling her face heat up, she told them all good night and went into the house.
Chapter 7
"Can I ask you a question?" Ali whispered. It was three in the morning and after eating popcorn, chocolate, and ice cream, she and Cane had finally gotten in the bed. They did all the things that girls were supposed to do while at a sleepover. They gave each other makeovers, manicures, and did each other's hair. Now they had been lying in bed for the past thirty minutes talking about random things, favorite movies, who they thought the cutest actors were.
"Sure, you can ask me anything," Cane said, already half-asleep.
"Do you really like my brother and Logan?"
That question was not what Cane expected. Thinking about it, she answered, "Yes. I know it has only been two days, but I think I could really fall in love with them. With all of you really, you all have made me feel so welcomed like I have known you for years."
"Good," was all Ali said, but Cane could hear the happiness in her voice. For the first time in eight years, Cane realized that she was happy, too. With that thought, she drifted off to sleep.
"Wake up! Cane wake up!"
Cane slowly came awake to Duncan shouting and shaking her. She could hear a loud sobbing sound and realized that it was her. She was half-seated in his lap with her head on his shoulder. Logan was behind her with his hands rubbing circles on her back. Coming to her senses, she looked around the room and saw Ali sitting up in her bed with a terrified look on her face. She looked like she had been crying, and Chase was sitting with his arm around her. Riley was leaning against the door.
Oh no! What have I done! They are all going to think I am crazy now. So much for fitting in with this family, Cane thought.
Completely embarrassed, Cane turned her face into Duncan's bare chest. "Oh God I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry." She began to cry again and felt Duncan lift her in his arms and walk out of the room. She was aware of them walking down a hallway and then a door shutting behind them. She didn't look up until she felt herself being laid in the center of a king-size bed. Duncan slid in on one side, and Logan, who she didn't know followed them, slid into the other.
"You want to talk about it?" Duncan asked. They had both curled up on each side of her, and she felt nothing but comfort. She would have never have gotten this from Sam. He hated any show of weakness, and her waking up crying would have definitely been weak to him.
Because she was so quiet for so long, Logan spoke next. "Baby, you were screaming in your sleep and Ali couldn't wake you. She was scared to death. I think it's time to tell us everything so that we can help you."
Cane knew that he was right. She had been holding this in too long, and it was starting to take its toll on her. Knowing that after the scene she just made, that she still had these two guys and their family willing to help her with no questions asked, gave her the courage to finally tell her story. Taking a deep breath, she began.
"Well, after being abandoned and growing up in foster and group homes, I realized that if I wanted to make something of my life, I had to depend on myself, so I worked hard in high school and earned a full scholarship to college. For the first time in my life, I was happy. According to the state I was officially an adult, and I was out on my own. I met Sam my freshman year. At the time I had never even received any attention from a boy, and I couldn't believe that a junior was interested. From the time we met we were inseparable. By the spring of my sophomore year, he asked me to marry him and I told him no. I didn't even have a specific reason for saying no, just instincts telling me not to."
Cane swallowed back tears. If only she had listened to her instincts. Feeling a gentle squeeze from Duncan she continued. "We had a really big fight one night after he asked me to marry him again and I said no, and he threw me out of his apartment. I went back to my dorm room and cried all night. After a week, I was feeling better about not being with him and my roommate invited me to a party. Not wanting to be alone, I went. Not thinking, I did the stupidest thing and accepted a drink from a guy. I woke up naked in a bed next to a strange guy and didn't remember anything that happened. I was terrified, and I went straight to Sam and told him what happened. I couldn't believe how understanding he was about it and how angry he was that someone would do that to me. I began to think maybe my instincts were wrong about him, so I gave him another chance. He never asked me to marry him again, but he asked me to move in with him. We were happy for a while, and then he began to change. At first it was just little comments asking who I was with when I went out, telling me I smelled like other men, things like that. He eventually talked me into dropping out of school using my guilt about what happened at the party against me. He always found a way to throw it in my face. I was stupid to stay, but by that time I felt so low that I felt I deserved him."
Cane could feel the fresh tears streaming down her cheeks. Logan pulled her face to his chest and rocked her.
"Oh, baby, you never deserved any of that." He rocked her while Duncan ran his hands up and down her arms.
They remained quiet, and she began again. "About four years into the relationship---he had made detective by that time---he began pressuring me to have babies. I knew that I did not want any children with him early on, so I went and got birth control behind his back. I did not want any children to suffer like I had. After months of him trying to get me pregnant with no luck, he assumed that something was wrong with me and made an appointment for me to see a doctor. I knew he would go with me and find out about the birth control, so I told him I didn't want kids. He became so angry when I told him that he slapped me across the face. That was the first time he hit me. He apologized the next morning with flowers and said it would never happen again, but it just got worse and worse. Over our eight-year relationship I had my right arm broken twice, my left broken three times, several broken ribs including one that punctured a lung, and way too many bruises to count."
"Why didn't you press charges against him?" Duncan asked.
"Because he would say that since he was a detective no cop would help me against him because they were honor bound to help their fellow officers first. I couldn't leave him because I had no education, no money, and nowhere to go." Logan rose up on his elbow and looked at her. She couldn't look at either of them. She didn't want to see the pity or disgust on their faces.
Logan grabbed her chin and turned her until she faced him. "What happened six months ago to make you leave?" He traced his finger over her shirt where her scar was. "Did he do this? Is this why you left?"
Cane's stomach turned, and she felt like she was going to throw up. She didn't want to remember that night, and she knew that when she told them what happened, they would not want anything to do with her. How could she tell him that he took her ability to have babies away? Their whole world centered on their family. Why wouldn't they want kids? Shaking her head, she sat up and moved away from the both of them.
"I can't tell you," she whispered, her voice weak. "I don't want you to hate me."
"We could never hate you," they both said in unison as they grabbed her and pulled her back down.
Seeing the truth in their eyes, she told them. "That night he went out with friends and came home drunk. I tried to pretend to be asleep, but he got very rough. I told him that I didn't want to have sex, and he went crazy. He accused me of sleeping with someone else since I didn't want him. I tried to explain that he was just being too rough, but he wasn't listening. He pinned me to the bed and cuffed my arms to the headboard. I was begging him to let me go, but I could see in his eyes that he wasn't sane at that point. He began saying that I must be pregnant already by this other man since I refused to have his baby. He left and came back with a sharp knife from the kitchen. I was terrified at that point and did the only thing I could think of. I told him that there was no way that I could be pregnant because I was on birth control and could prove it if he let me out of the cuffs. He agreed and let me up. I reached under the mattress on my side of the bed and pulled out the pill case. He just stared at me, and then he began screaming that he couldn't believe I lied to him and hid it from him. At that point I knew I had to get away, so I ran. He caught me at the top of the stairs and knocked me down. He kicked me in the stomach several times and punched me in the face. Then he picked me up and threw me down the stairs. He later told me that while I was unconscious, he tried to cut the 'baby' that he knew I was carrying out of me. That's where I got the scar from. Once he was satisfied that I wasn't pregnant, he called an ambulance."
"I woke up two days later in intensive care. He told the doctors that someone broke into the house and when he got home he found me lying at the bottom of the stairs, stabbed and bleeding. Of course they believed him. He is the golden boy of the force. I had a fractured skull, blown pupil, and several broken ribs. They also had to remove an ovary that ruptured when he kicked me, and I had severe scarring in my uterus where he stabbed me. Lying in that hospital bed in pain, I knew then that I had to leave or the next time I would die. I didn't trust my instincts before, but I refused ignore them this time. I came up with a plan that took me six months to follow through with, and you know the rest. The worst part is that due to my injuries, there was too much scarring in my uterus and the doctors said that it would be nearly impossible for me to have babies. Even though I finally escaped him, he got the last laugh anyway."
There, she did it. She told them of her ugly past. It felt good to finally get it off her chest, and she breathed a deep sigh of relief and wiped the tears away that had been freely flowing. Neither of the men said anything for a long time and a small flare of panic began in the pit of her stomach. She knew they would hate her when she told them, she expected this. So why did it hurt so badly? Because I am falling in love with them. That thought made her breath catch and she jumped out of bed. She made it to the door before they reached her. Crying, she turned and collapsed to the floor. Two pair of strong arms surrounded her and lifted her back to the bed.
"Why are you doing this? Just let me go. You don't want me."
"Why would we not want you?" Duncan asked.
"Sam was a real bastard. We don't blame you for anything that he did. He was the one wrong not you."
"But didn't you hear me? I can't give you babies. Why would you want me?"
This time Logan spoke. "We don't care about that. If we want kids when the time comes, we can adopt if that's what you want."
Cane's breath caught. "You would do that for me?" Not speaking, they both nodded, and she could tell that it was the truth. Overcome with emotion and not able to speak, she wrapped an arm around each of their necks and hugged them. She stayed like that until she fell asleep.
The phone rang at 2:00 a.m. Sam quickly snatched it and answered. He was so angry at the bitch for walking out on him five days ago that he was ready to kill someone. He couldn't believe that she had made it this long without him or the best private detective finding her. He had even taken two weeks off from the force so that when he found her, he could give her his undivided attention. He couldn't wait. His sleepless nights would be so worth it when he found her and made her pay.
"Hello."
"Sam, this is Kevin. Sorry to call you so late, but I have great news. I think I found her."
"What? Where?" Sam could feel his spirits lifting already.
"Well, it seems she is in a small town in Oregon called Pine Valley. The town is so small that it isn't even on most maps."
"Oregon? Damn, how did she get that far? How did you find her?"
"Well, it seems that she had some kind of accident or something. I tracked her when the doctor submitted a request to have her medical records sent."
"That's great, Kevin. I want you to go there and make sure she is still there. If she is, keep an eye on her and call me."
"Okay, I will head out in the morning and call you when I get there."
Hanging up, Sam smiled. Knowing that she wouldn't be gone much longer, he closed his eyes and slept for the first time since she had left.
Chapter 8
Logan woke with the rays of the sun shining in his face. He could feel Cane curled up behind him. Smiling, he turned over slowly so that he didn't wake her. He saw Duncan on the other side of Cane with his arm wrapped around her waist. He opened his eyes and stared at Logan. They look he gave let Logan know that he knew exactly how Duncan was feeling. Cane's confession had been mind-blowing. He couldn't figure out how she'd survived for so long. He absolutely wanted to kill Sam. If he ever saw him, he would, and he was sure Duncan felt the same way. Looking down, he wrapped his finger around a strand of her silky white hair and watched her sleep. She looked so peaceful, like nothing could touch her while she was between the two of them, and that's exactly how he wanted it. He knew then that he would do everything in his power to protect her.
Not thinking, he whispered, "I think I'm falling in love with her, Duncan."
"Me too, buddy, me too," Duncan mumbled.
Cane woke to kisses being trailed down each side of her face. Moaning, she opened her eyes to two of the most gorgeous men she had ever seen staring down at her.
"Good morning," she said and meant it. She felt like she was starting her life over. This was day one and it was getting off to a great start. She knew that she made the right decision about telling them everything last night.
"Hey," they both said at the same time.
"You guys really do everything together, don't you," she said, laughing, and winked at them. Logan and Duncan both looked at each other and then turned back to her with wicked grins on their faces.
"Let us show you what else we do together," Logan said.
Duncan spoke next. "Yeah, we promise you will enjoy it." Without waiting for her to answer, Logan leaned down and kissed her while Duncan's hands explored her body.
Cane couldn't focus. Never had her senses been overwhelmed like this. She had two sets of hands touching her everywhere and Logan's tongue sensually exploring her mouth. When she felt a hand creep up the nightshirt that she borrowed from Ali rub up her stomach, she couldn't hold back a moan. She had to tear her mouth away from Logan's so that she could take a breath, but it didn't last long because Duncan quickly attacked her mouth with his. Feeling like she would float away at any moment, Cane wrapped her arms around Duncan's neck and held on tight. While Duncan devoured her mouth Logan lifted her shirt and began to trail kisses up her stomach and ribs while lifting the shirt higher as he went. Cane felt a shiver run up her body. Was it possible to feel like you were on fire and freezing at the same time? She felt Logan's hand cup one breast while he kissed and licked the underside of the other. Arching her back, Cane tried to will him to move up and place his mouth on her nipple. Duncan released her mouth and began kissing down her face and neck. He nipped at her collarbone before lifting her arms and pulling her shirt completely off. Once he tossed it on the floor, he resumed his place at her neck and shoulder. Every time he nipped it, he soothed it with a lick of his tongue. Without ever being touched below the waist, Cane realized that she was on the verge of an orgasm. She felt moist heat on each nipple as both men decided to go for them at the same time causing her to scream as her orgasm hit. Her whole body tensed as she rode wave after wave of the most powerful orgasm she had ever had. Were those stars she was seeing? Damn, if the orgasm was this good and all they did was kiss and suck on her nipples, she couldn't wait to see what it was like when they actually had sex.
A knock on the door snapped Cane out of the haze that she was in. She realized that she still gripped handfuls of their hair holding their heads to her breast and unclenched her hand.
"Is everything okay?" Ali yelled through the door. While Duncan got up and went to the door, Cane snatched the sheet up over her head. She heard what sounded like a chuckle coming from Logan as he lay next to her.
Oh God! I can't believe I just did that with people in the house. What if Ali hadn't knocked? I probably would have gone all the way with them.
She smiled. It would have been great, too. She felt a tug on the sheet, but she had it gripped so tight that it didn't budge.
"What's wrong?" Duncan asked.
"I'm so embarrassed. I can't believe they heard me." Both men laughed.
"Well, what did you expect? You screamed loud enough to wake the dead." Cane threw the sheet off her head and glared at the two men who were still laughing. She couldn't help but to laugh, too.
"Next time warn me that there are people in the house and I will try to be quieter."
Both men stopped laughing immediately and gave her smoldering looks. Finally Logan spoke. "So there will be a next time?"
"Well, duh. You two can't just give me the best orgasm of my life and not finish what you started." Both men pounced on her and it was Cane's turn to laugh. "Easy there, fellas, I'm not doing anything right now with your family right outside."
She couldn't believe that these two sexy men wanted her so badly. They both groaned as she rolled out of bed and put her sleep shirt back on. She left her clothes in Ali's room and couldn't help but to think about the night before as a blush slowly rose up her neck and face. "Your family probably thinks I'm crazy after last night."
Duncan stood and wrapped his arm around her shoulder and guided her back to bed. Once he had her sandwiched in between him and Logan again, he spoke. "You had a nightmare, that's all. No one will think you are crazy for that. Of course you would have nightmares after what you went through, but don't worry. Now that you are away from that madman, the nightmares will eventually stop."
"How do you know that for sure?"
"We went through the same thing with Ali. After the accident, she would wake up screaming much like you did last night. At first it was almost a nightly thing, but they eventually tapered off. She still gets them, but they are rare now. We hope that one day she will stop having them all together, the same with you."
Smiling, Cane placed a hand on both of their cheeks. "You guys are too good for me. I'm very lucky to have ended up in this town with you."
How did she get so lucky to have found not only one, but two of the handsomest men that she had ever seen and they both seemed to want her? Last night she thought she was falling in love with them, but this morning she realized that was not true. She was already in love with them. The thought didn't scare her as much as she thought it would. Yeah she ran last night but that was before she knew that these two men would accept her no matter what. Now, Cane could see herself waking up to these two men every morning and spending the rest of her life safe in their arms. Still holding both their cheeks, she leaned up and placed a gentle kiss on first Logan's lips and then Duncan's. At that moment her stomach growled, and she giggled.
"Come on, baby, let's get you some breakfast," Logan said as he stood and pulled her out of the bed. When she stood, he didn't let her hand go. Instead, he pulled her to him until her body was flush against his then he leaned down and kissed her. He moved his lips against hers with featherlike touches running his tongue across the seam of hers. When she sighed and her lips parted, he slowly eased his tongue in and traced the inside of her mouth. Cane couldn't hold back the moan in her throat or stop herself from rubbing her body against his. Logan reluctantly pulled back and looked down at her with a smile.
"That was the best good morning kiss that I have ever had," he said and turned toward the bathroom. Looking down at the bed, Cane sucked in a deep breath when she saw Duncan. He was still lying on the bed watching her. The look on his face told her that he was fighting for control, but it didn't scare her. Cane knew that he would never hurt her in any way. The look that she saw was pure lust. She reached her hand out to him and Duncan took it raising himself off the bed.
He brought his other hand up and cupped her cheek. "That was some kiss," he said. "You wouldn't want me to feel left out, would you?"
Cane couldn't help but to grin back at him. She felt her heart fill with joy because she knew at that moment she never had to be afraid of this relationship not working because her two men would never be jealous of each other.
"No, we wouldn't want that to happen."
Taking her answer as permission, Duncan covered her mouth with his. He easily took control of the kiss wrapping his hand in her hair. He tilted her head to the side to get a better angle and plunged his tongue into her mouth. Cane clamped her lips on his tongue and began to suck on it and he thrust it in and out, causing a growl to come from him.
When he pulled back, they were both panting for breath, and Duncan leaned down placing his mouth beside her ear and whispered, "I'm going to have to agree with Logan about that being the best good morning kiss ever."
With that, he swirled his tongue in her ear and nipped her lobe before turning and heading into the bathroom that Logan had just exited. Feeling a shiver go down her spine and her knees go week, Cane sat on the side of the bed. She felt the heat between her legs and knew that her panties would be soaking wet. Taking a few deep breaths and gaining her composure, she exited the room and went to Ali's room to find her clothes and take a shower.
Cane left Ali's room fully dressed after showering. She could hear voices coming down the hall and headed toward the kitchen. The whole family was already seated around the table when she got there. Cane went directly to the seat between Duncan and Logan where she'd sat last night. She was embarrassed about what happened last night, and she didn't know if the two men had filled the rest of the family in on her background. She really liked this family and didn't want them to think differently of her or pity her. She wanted to put the past behind her and move on with her life. She felt like she was starting over and was determined that this time she was going to do it right. Finally glancing around the table, she saw that no one was really paying attention to her. They were going on like nothing happened last night and that Cane was a regular member of the family. She couldn't help but to breathe a deep sigh of relief and smile. Filling her plate, she began to dig into her breakfast.
While Cane was in the shower, Duncan and Logan took the time to fill the rest of the family in on what happened to Cane and why she was really in town. Chase, Riley, and Ali were all worried about her after the nightmare that she had the night before. It made Duncan feel good that his family liked Cane enough to be concerned about her. When he told them about Cane and how she had to run away to get away from an abusive relationship, both his brothers had the same reaction that he and Logan had. They looked like they wanted to kill the guy if they ever met him. Ali didn't say anything, but Duncan could see the concern in her eyes. He couldn't help but to think that she and Cane were so much alike. He knew that they would be good for each other and could help each other heal.
When Cane came into the kitchen, Duncan saw that she was nervous. He immediately wanted to go hug her and tell her it would be okay, but he knew that was not what she needed at the moment. He knew that she had to see for herself that his family did not care about her past and would not judge her. It made him feel good that she immediately came and sat between him and Logan, knowing that they would protect her from anything. Duncan held his breath as he watched Cane. When she finally looked up and saw that no one was judging her and began to relax, he let out the breath and relaxed himself. She belonged here with them and he decided at that moment that he would do whatever possible to make her see that and to convince her to stay. He looked over her head at Logan and watched as he finally relaxed the tension in his shoulders. Logan looked up at him and smiled and nodded his head. Having been best friends and together for so long, Duncan did not need words to know exactly what Logan was trying to tell him. He felt the same way as Duncan. Cane was right where she belonged.
Breakfast was an interesting experience for Cane. She could tell that the rest of the family knew her situation, but from what she saw no one judged her for it. Not once did she see pity, only concern, and that quickly went away as well. Cane learned about each of the Matthews as she ate. She found out that not only was the house huge but it sat on 300 acres of land. Chase worked the land and raised cattle and a few horses.
No wonder he is so huge, Cane thought. No doubt working on a farm would be hard work and produce the kind of muscles that he had. He was also retired from them military, but she wasn't sure what branch. He changed the subject quickly when it was brought up, and Cane didn't push to find out any more about his past. She learned that Riley was in college and was only home for summer break. He was about to head back to school in a few weeks to study accounting. According to him, someone had to manage the family business of the farm and the diner, and also it seemed that their father came from a rich family and left all the money to the Matthews children.
"Why pay someone to manage our money when we could do it ourselves?" Riley asked. Cane had to admit he had a point. After spending almost eight years having to ask someone else for money and having to explain why she wanted it, she knew exactly how he felt about not wanting someone else managing his money. It was ironic that Logan and Duncan were in law enforcement since they caused the majority of the trouble in town when they were growing up.
Ali was another story. It turned out that she was pretty much a genius. She was so smart that the school in town couldn't keep up with her, so her mom had to homeschool her. At the age of fourteen, she completed high school. Since she was too young to go to college, she started working in the diner with her mom. She decided that she loved cooking so much that she wants to go to culinary school so that she could come back and work at the diner and create new menus instead of the standard hamburgers and fries. The way Ali talked about working at the diner and cooking, Cane could tell that it was her passion and wished that she had something to feel that way about in her life. Even when she was in college, she didn't know what she wanted to do other than own her own business. She decided that she had time to make up her mind while she went through her standard classes, but dropping out at Sam's insistence after he graduated, she never had a chance to make up her mind. The only thing that she had ever been good at was cooking and cleaning and even then it was never up to Sam's standards. Maybe once she knew that she was truly safe she would sit down and think of what she wanted to do with the rest of her life.
Cane was amazed at the Matthews family. They all knew exactly what they wanted out of life and went for it. They all looked out for each other and made sure that they were all happy. Even their parents' tragic death didn't tear them apart. In fact it seemed, if it was possible, it made them all closer, including Logan. The family moved as a well-oiled machine. Cane was amazed when Riley and Chase stood up and started to clear the table and she tried to help, they refused.
Wow, she thought, Sam would have never offered to do the dishes. That was always her job. According to him, men earned money and women stayed home and took care of the house. Cane wouldn't have minded to stay home and take care of things if it had been her choice and not something she was forced to do. Pushing the memories of Sam out of her mind, Cane focused her attention back on Duncan and Logan. They were both dressed in their work uniforms. Her eyes trailed them from head to toe, and she couldn't stop the shiver that went down her spine. Damn, these men were sexy. How did she get so lucky? As if they felt her watching them, they both turned and looked at her at the same time. She saw desire, lust, and something else that she couldn't quite name in their eyes. Feeling a little overwhelmed, she turned away.
I'm losing my heart to these guys.
Chapter 9
It had been two hours since he and Logan had dropped Cane off at her room, and Duncan couldn't stop thinking about her. He tried to get work done, but it seemed that his thoughts kept straying toward her. Last night had been fun having her with him and his family. Waking up with her wrapped in his and Logan's arms had been the best feeling in the world. For the first time he felt complete and he knew that Logan felt the same way. The fact that Cane didn't go running and screaming when she found out that he and Logan liked to share women said something about her, but the way she responded to the two of them when they kissed her this morning told them everything they needed to know. She was meant for them. Now all they had to do was make sure she was safe and eliminate the threat to her. He had no doubt in his mind that Cane would not hesitate to run again if she thought there was a possibility that she may be found by Sam.
"We can't let her run again, Logan."
"I know. What are we going to do? I don't think I can give her up."
"I feel the same way." Sighing, Duncan rubbed his hands over his face and stood up to pace the room. Before he could say anything else, the door to the sheriff's station opened and Dr. Barnes walked in with a folder in his arm.
"Hey, Doc, what can we do for you today?"
"Well, Duncan, I know I'm not supposed to show you this, but I felt you needed to see it." Curious, both he and Logan walked over to the desk and looked at the folder that Dr. Barnes had opened on it. It was Cane's medical records. Looking them over, Duncan felt his stomach roll like he was going to be sick. Cane obviously sugarcoated her injuries when she told them about her past. He didn't know how she survived the hell that bastard put her through. Looking over at Logan, he saw that he was barely holding back his anger. He knew that Logan knew exactly what Cane went through because he went through the same thing with his father.
"Shit!" Logan yelled. "How did you get this info?"
Not understanding what the problem was, Dr. Barnes frowned and said, "I saw her ID when you guys went through her bag the other day at the office. I submitted it online to have her medical records sent because I was worried about her. Based on her records, I had a good reason to be worried."
"Damn, can anyone have access to the website that you used to access these records?" Duncan asked.
"Well, in theory, no," Dr. Barnes said, "but anyone with a login ID and password can log on. Why all the questions? What's going on?" Although Duncan knew he shouldn't be mad at the doc, he couldn't help the anger in his voice.
"She is on the run from an abusive boyfriend, and you may have just told him exactly where she is."
"We have to warn her," Logan yelled as he started for the door. Duncan didn't say anything, just followed Logan out of the station.
Sighing, Cane sat the book down that she was attempting to read. There was no point in trying to read it when she couldn't concentrate. She had been staring at the same page for about fifteen minutes now. Her mind only wanted to think about one thing. Well two things, she thought, laughing. Duncan and Logan, the two men had somehow worked their way past her defenses, and she wasn't sure how she felt about it. Strike that, she knew exactly how she felt. She was in love with the both of them. That was the scary part. Cane was not so naive to think that she was out of danger, and she knew that it was only a matter of time before Sam used his resources to find her. Cane didn't even want to think of what he would do when he found her. Maybe she should leave now. He couldn't find her if she just kept moving. But then she would have to leave the two men that she had come to love in just a short amount of time. The thought of leaving them made her heart hurt and it hard to breathe. What was she going to do? She couldn't leave them, but she couldn't put them or the rest of their family in danger either.
You have certainly gotten yourself in deep this time, she thought. Deciding that she needed some fresh air, Cane went to the small safe that Duncan insisted that she have and took out a little cash. Ali was working at the diner, maybe she would go see if she needed a little help. Cane was not used to just sitting around doing nothing, and it was starting to get to her.
As she walked down the street, Cane looked at her surroundings. Could she see herself living in this town? Never being a fan of big crowds, she liked the fact that it was small and not very many people lived in it. Not really paying attention to where she was going, Cane didn't hear when someone came up behind her and grabbed her arm. Screaming, she turned and swung with her fist connecting with someone's face.
"Cane! Cane!" Gasping for breath, she realized that Duncan was yelling at her.
"It's just us, sweetheart, calm down."
"Oh God, I'm so sorry, but you can't sneak up behind me like that."
"Damn, baby," Logan said, rubbing his jaw and smiling. "You can really hit."
Cane's heart was racing, and she couldn't hold back the tears that started flowing. Would Logan hit her back for punching him? Sam certainly would have, even if it were an accident. When she reached up to wipe away the tears, she noticed that her hands were trembling. Not wanting them to see her like that, she turned and walked away. Before she could take a few steps they grabbed her and both pulled her into a hug.
"We are sorry, baby. We didn't try to sneak up on you," Logan said. "We yelled your name a few times, but you didn't answer us."
"I guess I was just lost in thought and didn't hear you."
It felt good sandwiched in between them. She felt safe and comforted. She couldn't believe that they were holding her like this out on the street where everyone could see. She tried to move, but they held her tight and didn't budge.
"Um, guys? People are starting to stare."
"Let them look," Logan said. "We don't care what people think."
It shouldn't have, but that comment made her feel like she was the most precious thing in the world to them.
"Sweetheart, why were you out wandering around by yourself?"
"I got bored and decided to go for a walk and then see if Ali needed any help at the diner. Why were you guys looking for me?"
"Come on," Duncan said, "let's go back to your room. We need to talk."
We need to talk? What was going on? The serious look on their faces told her this wasn't going to be a good conversation. Afraid her voice would give away the chaos going on in her head, she just nodded and followed them back to the room. Once they were inside, Cane sat on the bed and stared at the two men waiting for them to tell her the bad news that she was sure was coming. Duncan sat next to her and grabbed her hand while Logan paced the room like an angry wild animal ready to break out of his cage.
"Whatever it is, just tell me please. I can handle it."
After a few more minutes of silence, it was Logan that finally spoke. "We may have a problem. Dr. Barnes submitted a request to have your medical records sent. Now he assures us that the site he used online is secure, but anyone with a login ID and a password can access the requests and see where those files were sent."
For a second, Cane thought she might pass out. It seemed as though her lungs had stopped working and she couldn't draw in a breath.
Oh God! I knew it was a mistake to stay here. I need to leave as soon as possible. He could already be here or on his way.
She couldn't stop all the thoughts from running through her head. Jumping up from the bed, Cane ran to the closet. She grabbed her suitcase and backpack.
"What are you doing?" Duncan asked.
"I've got to leave as soon as possible. He could be here at any moment," she yelled. Knowing that she might have to leave at a moment's notice, she never unpacked, so she was ready to leave in no time at all. Before she could make it to the door, Logan grabbed her arm. Worried about where she would go and what she needed to do next, Cane couldn't help but to let out a gasp and to flinch when she felt a firm hand grasp her wrist. She was used to a slap or a punch following whenever Sam grabbed her like that. Even though she hadn't known these two men long, she knew that they were nothing like Sam and would never hurt her. Looking up, she saw the frown on Logan's face as he blocked the door. Duncan stood up and walked over with his hands raised as if any sudden movements would scare her away. He slowly placed his hand on her back and began to rub small circles.
"You know that we would never hurt you, Cane. Let us protect you. We won't allow that bastard to harm you ever again," he said. Logan nodded his head in agreement and cupped her cheek.
What were these men doing to her? They gentle way they touched and held her made her feel safe. She wanted to stay in their arms forever, but she would never allow this family to be harmed because of her. She knew Sam and how ruthless he could be. He had a lot of friends and connections and wasn't afraid to use them. Cane had no choice. She had to leave. She would never forgive herself if anything happened to them.
"I have to leave as soon as possible. He will kill me, and he will kill you if you get in his way. I can't let that happen."
"Damnit, Cane!" Logan yelled as he walked away. "Let us help you. You can't run for the rest of your life. We don't want you to leave." Duncan, who was still rubbing her back, spoke next. "Give us a chance to help you. Logan is right, we don't want to lose you. I know it has only been a few days, but we think we could really have something special with you if you would only give us a chance. If you don't feel safe here anymore, then stay with us."
"I couldn't..." Cane's words were cut off by Logan grabbing her shoulders and spinning her around. With a growl, his lips came down over hers. Logan put all of his emotions into the kiss. It was rough and intense and was over before it got started good.
Pulling back from her with a stern look on his face, he panted, "We won't take no for an answer."
With that he turned and stormed out of the room. As fear snaked down her spine, Cane turned to look at Duncan. His face was almost apologetic as he drew her in for a hug.
"You have to give Logan a little time right now. He is dealing with his own demons. He saw your medical file." Cane knew that she hadn't told the guys the majority of what she suffered over the years because the injuries were too extensive to count.
"Logan suffered a lot of what you went through with his father, and he is having a hard time dealing with it right now. Please let us help you. If you don't feel comfortable staying in the room with us, you can always bunk with Ali. She loves having you around."
Could she really take a chance and depend on someone else for a change? Looking into Duncan's eyes, Cane saw the truth of his words and the belief that he could truly keep her safe.
Taking a deep breath she nodded her head. "Okay, I will stay with you."
Logan was leaning against the sheriff's SUV when they came out of the bed-and-breakfast. His arms were crossed against his broad chest, and he had a haunted look on his face. Cane hated that she was the cause for that look. She didn't want him remembering the awful past. She walked straight to him and hugged him. Immediately she was engulfed in his warmth as it flowed through her body getting rid of the icy chill that overcame her when she heard that Sam may know where she was.
"I have agreed to stay with you guys and let you help me," she said into his chest. Damn he smelled good. He smelled like fresh soap and something she could only describe as pure man. Releasing her, Logan opened the door and helped her in to the SUV.
"I'm glad you changed your mind about leaving," he whispered in her ear as she was climbing in. Cane couldn't hold back the shivers that went down her spine as she felt his breath on her ear.
What have I just agreed to? I should be headed out of town right now. The first sign of trouble, I'm out of here.
Duncan and Logan took Cane straight to their house. Logan carried her bags and put them in Duncan's room where she slept the night before. She wanted to protest and tell him to put them in Ali's room, but the truth was she wanted to sleep between the two guys again. They kept her safe and warm all night and kept the nightmares away.
"Have you eaten lunch yet?" Duncan asked.
"No, that's where I was headed earlier when you stopped me."
"How about I fix us all a sandwich while you find us something to watch on TV." Smiling, Cane nodded and walked out of the kitchen. Logan was already sitting on one end of the couch when she got there so she sat on the other end and curled her legs under her. Obviously not satisfied with the seating arrangement, Logan reached over and picked her up as if she didn't weigh anything at all and tucked her by his side. He put his arm around her shoulder and pressed her head against his chest.
Amused, Cane looked over at him and smiled. "Happy now?"
A grunt was his only answer as he began flipping channels with the remote. It didn't take long for Duncan to bring lunch out and they ate in silence as they watched one of those daily talk shows where some girl was desperate find the father of her child.
So far so good, Cane thought to herself.
Chapter 10
Whistling, Sam packed a few changes of clothes in a duffle bag. The only thing that would make him happier right now was if he already had Cane back. It wouldn't be long now. All he was waiting on was a call from Kevin confirming that she was still in the small town in Oregon. Once he received the call, he would be on his way. He already had a private plane on loan to him from a good friend waiting at the airport on standby. Yep, nothing was going to stand in his way of getting her back. Smiling, he threw a few scarves in the bag. He would need them to hold her still for what he had planned for her. Oh yeah, this is going to be so much fun! She would never think of leaving him again if she survived what he had planned for her. She made a fool of him when she ran. He had to spend his hard-earned money tracking her down, but he already thought of a way she could repay him. A few of the guys down at the precinct had been harassing him for years to sleep with her and he denied them, but now it was time for Cane to earn her keep. She would repay him by entertaining his friends. Hopefully they would still want her with her new look. He wanted her to look in the mirror everyday and see the mistake she made by ever thinking that she could get away from him. Yes, things would be different when he got her home where she belonged.
Cane hadn't realized that she had fallen asleep until she felt strong arms lift her off the couch. She wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her face into the rock-hard chest of whoever was carrying her. They moved down the hall and into the bedroom. She opened her eyes when she was placed on the bed. Duncan smiled down at her as she saw Logan enter the room and shut the door.
"I'm sorry I fell asleep. I must have been more tired than I thought."
"It's okay," Duncan said as he slid in next to her. Logan slid into the other side and snuggled into her back while Duncan wrapped his arms around her from the front.
"Go back to sleep. We will stay here with you, no one is here but us," Logan whispered in her ear.
Yeah right, how am I supposed to sleep with them so close?
Cane felt like her body was hypersensitive. Her skin tingled in the places where their bodies touched hers. She was aware of Logan behind her and could feel the large bulge of his erection pressed against her lower back. She could feel his warm breath on her ear and couldn't hold back the shiver that went down her entire body. Duncan was rubbing his hand in small circles on her hip and thigh.
Wiggling her hips, Cane had to fight to hold back a smile when she heard Logan hiss. She wanted them. Lord help her, she wanted the both of them. She wanted it hard and fast and gentle and slow. She wanted it all, and she knew that these two guys could give her what she needed. Staring into Duncan's eyes she reached up and cupped his cheek. Using her thumb she ran it along his bottom lip and gasped when he sucked it into his mouth. She could see the heat in his eyes as he watched her while rolling his tongue across the pad of her thumb. Cane felt the heat rising in her body as Logan rubbed his hands all over her back and hips. His caress was firm but gentle as he massaged her back. She let out a soft cry when he began to nibble on the lobe of her ear and trail hot kisses down her neck.
God what are they doing to me? Can I survive this?
Duncan released her thumb from his mouth and leaned down to kiss the front of her neck. She felt his teeth graze the hollow of her throat as his hands slowly lifted her T-shirt and trailed up her stomach coming to rest just underneath her breast.
"Oh. Yes."
Was that my voice? Cane thought. It sounded hoarse and weak. Logan began rubbing his hips against her back in a slow rocking motion as his hand wrapped around to the button of her jeans. Cane stiffened and grabbed Logan's hand.
"What's wrong, baby?" Logan asked as he rolled her over on her back. Embarrassed by her reaction and not wanting to tell them the reason why she stopped them, Cane looked away as she tried to blink back the tears that threatened to fall. Grabbing her chin and turning her face back to him, Logan wiped away the tear that slid down her cheek.
"We don't have to do this if you are not ready. We will wait as long as you want." She saw the sincerity in his eyes and it gave her the courage to tell them what she was feeling. "I um... I want to do this. It's just that I'm scared. I have never been with anyone other than Sam and..."
"And what, Cane?"
"Well, I've never liked it. Sam was always too rough, and if I ever told him he was hurting me, he would smack me around and tell me that I was a prude and didn't know what sex was. Eventually I stopped telling him and just tried to stay as still as possible until he finished. I would always end up with bruises and bite marks or handprints somewhere on my body. When I'm with you guys, even just kissing is better than anything I have ever had sexually. I want to please you, but I just don't know how."
She took a deep breath and closed her eyes trying to stop the tears. She was afraid to look at them. How could they want her after what she allowed to be done to her body? She was sure they had more experienced girls in the past, how could she compare? She might as well still be a virgin as far as what she knew about sex. She could never please one man let alone two.
This woman doesn't know how beautiful she is, Logan thought. He was steaming mad. He could feel the rage boiling inside at the thought of someone hurting Cane. How could anyone treat another human being that way? This Sam guy was a real bastard, and Logan wished he had ten minutes alone in a room with him. Hell, he would even settle for five. Now, staring down at Cane lying on the bed with her eyes closed, he could see the pain of the past written all over her face. He knew he was already falling in love with her, but when she was explaining why she was scared to have sex something inside of him changed. He felt his heart swell and knew instantly that he was not falling, but already in love with her and would do everything in his power to try and undo the damage that Sam caused. He took a deep breath to calm himself down because he didn't want Cane to think he was mad at her for any reason. He looked over at Duncan and saw the same look on his face. He was holding one of Cane's hands and lightly rubbing her knuckles with his thumb. He looked up when he felt Logan watching him and slowly shook his head. He saw Duncan take a deep breath as well and knew that he was dealing with his own emotions at the moment. Looking back down at her, Logan cupped her cheek and rubbed.
"Cane, look at us. We don't care about your lack of experience or what happened in the past. We only want you happy. If you don't want to do something or if anything makes you uncomfortable all you have to do is tell us. We won't force anything on you that you don't want."
"Besides," Logan said, smiling, "there is no right or wrong way to do this. Just do whatever comes natural and have fun."
"Do you want us to stop, Cane?" Duncan asked. Staring down at her, he waited for her to answer. He would do whatever she asked and it didn't bother him one bit. Somehow this small woman came out of nowhere and wrapped him and Logan around her little finger, and he planned to hold on never let go. She was theirs, he knew it and Logan knew it, the only thing left was to make her see it. Duncan had been scared to death earlier to tell her about the medical records. He had a feeling she would run and he had no idea how he was going to make her trust them enough to stay and let them protect her. He turned his attention back to her when he heard her take a deep breath and let it out.
"I...I don't want you to stop, but I'm scared. Sam hasn't touched me since before the accident six months ago...just go slow please." Without saying another word, Duncan leaned down and took possession of her lips again. He wrapped his hands around the silky strands of her hair and tightened his grip using it to tilt her head back at a better angle. Releasing her lips, he began to trail kisses along her jaw down to her collarbone where he bit down gently. The moan that tore through Cane's throat gave him all the encouragement he needed to continue. Duncan felt like his cock was going to explode. At this point, his jeans were so tight that they felt like they were cutting off his circulation. He wanted nothing more than to drop his pants and ram his cock home into her tight, silky heat, but he wouldn't. Never in a million years would he ever be like Sam. This was for her. He had to show her that not all men were alike and that she could get pleasure from sex. She deserved it, and he was determined that she would get it, no matter how many orgasms it took to prove it before he was allowed to come.
Continuing his kisses across her chest, he stopped at the hollow of her throat and licked. He felt her swallow under his tongue and felt the moan as it vibrated in her throat. Releasing his grip on her hair he rose up and looked at her. She was truly beautiful with her head thrown back, eyes closed, and her mouth open. She was panting, and with each breath she took, her breast rose and fell. Duncan felt the zing of arousal shoot up his spine as he almost came just watching her. Grunting, he looked over at Logan as he ran his hands from Cane's stomach down to her hips and back. Logan placed his hands on her stomach and slowly lifted her shirt again. He helped her rise as he lifted the T-shirt over her head then he leaned over and ran his tongue across her stomach along the waistband of her jeans. Duncan watched as Cane's hips lifted involuntarily at the action. Logan continued licking up her stomach and stopped at her belly button and dipped his tongue inside.
"Oh god, Logan!" Cane yelled, breathless.
"You like that, baby?" Logan whispered as he did it again.
Something about Cane's whimpers and moans did something to Duncan. He had never felt like this with any woman before. He felt like his blood was boiling and he was about to explode. Her skin smelled so good. It tasted even better, so sweet, he couldn't get enough. A cry tore from Cane's lips, and she wrapped her hands in Logan's hair as he continued to lick higher just stopping underneath her breast.
"I take that as a yes." He chuckled. Duncan watched as Logan raised and looked at him. He knew exactly what Logan was thinking and they each clamped their mouth on a nipple at the same time. Although Cane was still wearing a bra, Duncan could feel her nipple tighten and become rock hard. She was lost in passion now as she moaned uncontrollably and arched her back pushing her breast even further into their mouths. Reaching up, Duncan flicked the front clasp of her bra and easily lifted his side away as Logan did his. Once they helped her out of it, they both attacked her breast again. Duncan licked and nipped his way back to her nipple and gently bit down. He then licked it with his tongue to soothe it. He paused for a heartbeat to see what Cane's reaction to him biting her was. He didn't want her to think he was trying to hurt her, that's the last thing he would ever do. He just wanted to show her that sex could be enjoyable, not just for him, but for her as well. When Cane continued to moan and writhe underneath him and Logan, he knew it was safe to continue. Logan released the breast that he was working on and started working his way back down her body. Duncan sucked her nipple back into his mouth and reached over to massage the other breast. He squeezed and pinched her nipple between his thumb and forefinger. He continued with his mouth on one breast and his hand on the other switching constantly to give each the same attention.
The sound of a zipper had Duncan raising his head. He looked down to see Logan with his hands at Cane's waist about to remove her jeans.
Logan looked up at her and spoke. "Cane?"
When she raised her head and looked at them, Duncan saw her arousal written on her face. Her cheeks were flushed, her eyes were glazed over, and she was panting for breath like she had just run a marathon.
Wow, if she is this turned on by a little heavy petting, I can't wait to see the sexy look on her face when we actually make love to her.
He tore his eyes away from her when Logan spoke again. "Do you want this, Cane? We won't do this unless you are sure you want this. We will only go as far as you feel comfortable with."
Please say yes! Please.
Duncan didn't know what he would do if she stopped now. Of course he would stop if she asked, but the ice-cold shower that he would have to take to stifle the inferno burning in his balls right now did not sound appealing in the least bit. Waiting on pins and needles, he watched the emotions roll across Cane's face as she tried to make her decision.
Did she want to stop? Hell no! Cane thought her body would probably rebel against her if she stopped them now. Never had she been aroused this much. The care they took with her body to make sure they didn't hurt her showed her that they would never do anything against her will or anything that she didn't like. Even when Duncan bit her nipple, she felt nothing but pleasure from it. Staring at the both of them now as they watched and waited for her answer, she saw nothing but lust and something else she was scared to believe was love on their faces. What she didn't see was the sick, demented look that Sam got on his face when he was about to use her body for pleasure.
Letting out the breath that she didn't even realize that she was holding, Cane swallowed and whispered, "Yes, I want you to continue. I want you to make me forget all about Sam and what he did to me."
The look that crossed both men's faces had Cane gasping. She saw pure, unadulterated need. The look was carnal and set her on fire. They wanted this as much as she did. Logan resumed unzipping her pants as Duncan watched. Once they were unzipped, Cane lifted her hips to help him remove them. His fingernails slowly scraped down her legs as he pulled her jeans and panties off. She let out a moan as the cool air blew against the wetness between her thighs. A little embarrassed by the amount of fluid between her legs, Cane brought her knees up and clamped them shut.
"No, sweetheart," Duncan whispered in her ear as Logan eased her knees apart.
"That's it, baby," Logan said. "Let us see that gorgeous pussy."
Cane took a deep breath and relaxed her legs letting them fall open against the bed.
"Damn, baby, you are so wet, and you smell so good. I have to taste you." Logan didn't wait for an answer. He leaned down and with one long, slow swipe he licked her from the bottom to the top.
"Oh. My. God!" Cane cried as she almost shot off the bed. The only thing keeping her from flying was Duncan's hands pinning her waist down. "
"Easy, sweetheart," Duncan crooned. "Let Logan make you feel good.
Feel good? This was better than just good. Why haven't I done this before?
The feeling of Logan licking her was indescribable. Cane was thankful she had Duncan by her side as an anchor or she would surely be in outer space somewhere by now. As Logan licked and nibbled, Duncan whispered exotic words in her ear. Never had Cane felt like this. She wanted to explode, but she didn't want the erotic torture to end. Logan continued his assault on her nether lips as he nibbled and then sucked. He moved all around her pussy but never touched her clit. She could feel the orgasm building and knew that it would be the biggest one of her life, but she needed more to push her over the edge.
"Please..."
"Please what?" Duncan asked. "Tell us what you need, Cane."
"I...I don't know...just please..." Cane whispered breathlessly.
"Is this what you want?" Logan asked as he thrust a finger deep inside and clamped his mouth over her clit at the same time. Her scream was muffled by Duncan as he thrust his tongue in her mouth and pinched her nipples. The sensations to her body were too much, and Cane gripped the sheets as an orgasm was ripped from her body.
Logan continued to lick and suck at her pussy until the spasms slowly stopped. Cane couldn't move. All she could do was pant for breath as her lungs worked overtime. Her thoughts were incoherent. All she knew was for a short moment, she thought she saw stars and nearly blacked out.
Pleasure that good should be outlawed, she thought with a smile.
"What is the smile for?" she heard Logan ask.
Opening her eyes, she saw both men watching her intently. "Where have you guys been all my life?" Both men laughed. "I'm serious," Cane said as she rose up on her elbows. "That was the best thing that has ever happened to me. I have never felt anything that great."
This time Duncan spoke. "We are glad you liked it, but trust us, it gets better."
Better than that? Highly unlikely, but Cane was willing to find out.
Holy shit! Duncan had never been this turned on in his life. Watching Logan eat Cane out almost made him come in his pants. She was so beautiful. When she came, the look on her face was like a work of art, a masterpiece. Nothing could be more beautiful, and she was theirs. Duncan knew that he could never let her go. He wanted to taste her like Logan had, but he would save it for another time because this would happen again, that he was sure of. Duncan stood and began to remove his clothes. If he didn't get out of his jeans, he would have a permanent zipper imprint on his cock. Logan began to remove his clothes as well as Cane looked back and forth between them. He could feel her eyes caressing his body with each piece of clothing he removed. Her eyes grew wide and almost bulged out when he and Logan removed their pants and underwear at the same time.
Chapter 11
Oh No! Those are never going to fit.
Neither of the guys was small by any means. Duncan was a little bit longer than Logan, but Logan was thicker. Cane didn't think she could wrap her fingers completely around either of them, but her mouth watered just thinking of trying.
"Um...guys." She swallowed the lump that was growing in her throat as both men climbed back into bed.
"What's wrong, baby?" Logan asked. Cane felt her heart swell every time he called her that. She knew he as well as Duncan were sincere and meant it when they called her pet names.
"I like it when you call me baby, and I like it when Duncan calls me sweetheart. No one has called me anything like that before."
There was a look of disbelief on both the guy's faces before Logan asked, "No one has ever called you a pet name before?"
"Well, if you call bitch, slut, whore, or just plain old 'hey, you' pet names, then I have been called them all."
Neither Duncan nor Logan said anything, but Cane could see flashes of anger cross their faces before they quickly disappeared again.
Why did I say that?I had to ruin the moment because I can't keep my mouth shut around these guys. What is it about these guys that make me want to tell them everything about me?
Using a finger under her chin to turn her face toward him, Duncan looked deep into her eyes.
"You will never hear us call you anything like that. Ever."
Cane knew he meant it and opened her mouth to speak, but was quickly silenced by Duncan when he thrust his tongue into her mouth. All thought was pushed away as Cane focused on Duncan's kiss and Logan's hands as they roamed her body. Hands, mouths, and bodies all began to intertwine to the point where Cane couldn't tell where one began and the other ended. Duncan trailed kisses down her jaw and neck as Logan massaged her breast. Easing her legs opened, Duncan crawled between them and nudged his erection against the top of her sex. Cane could feel the heat coming from his hard cock as he slid it along her slick folds teasing her clit with each stroke. She could feel herself growing wetter and needed Duncan inside her. As if reading her mind, Duncan eased his hips back, positioned the tip of his cock at her opening, and slowly slid inside. Cane could feel every inch of him sliding deeper as her muscles gripped and tried to suck him in ever more. Sex had never felt this good, and he hadn't even entered her fully yet, but she was on the verge of an orgasm already. Of course it didn't help that Logan was torturing her nipples with small nips with his teeth and pinches with his fingers. Once Duncan had his cock fully embedded in her he stilled and looked down at her. Cane saw the look of panic in his eyes right before he frowned and began to pull out. She gripped his hips with her legs to keep him from moving.
"What's wrong? I know I'm not that experienced, but if I did something wrong just tell me."
"Damn! I'm so sorry, Cane. I wasn't thinking. You didn't do anything wrong. It was me. I forgot to put on a condom."
Breathing a sigh of relief that she didn't do anything wrong, Cane was able to smile up at Duncan. She felt the bed shift as Logan began to get out of the bed. She grabbed his arm.
"Wait, don't go."
Both men looked at her and waited for her to finish. She hesitated not knowing how they would take what she was about to say.
"It's okay. I mean, we don't have to use anything. I haven't been with Sam since before the accident, and the doctors ran all kinds of tests while I was in the hospital, so I'm clean. You already know I can't get pregnant, so it's okay."
Cane nibbled on her bottom lip as Duncan and Logan looked at each other. She knew they were talking it over even though neither of them spoke. She was aware of Duncan still buried inside her and had to resist the urge to lift her hips against him. She couldn't help the involuntary flex of her inner muscles as they squeezed his cock. Duncan groaned, and it seemed the decision was made as he slowly pulled out and eased back in again as Logan spoke.
"We're clean, too, baby. We get tested regularly, and we have never had sex without a condom before."
Cane knew that Logan was saying something important, but ignored it. She felt that she would lose her mind from Duncan's slow torture and lifted her hips against him to give him the hint that she wanted it harder. Duncan groaned and grabbed her hips to still her.
"Cane, baby, please... my control is hanging on by a thin thread."
The sound of his deep, gravelly voice almost sent Cane over the edge. She could tell that he was holding back for her sake.
Reaching up she placed her hand over his on her hip and whispered, "It's okay, you won't break me, Duncan."
With that statement, Duncan's control snapped and began to pump into her forcefully. Cane could feel the heat between her legs begin to build and could do nothing but hang on for the ride. Crossing her legs behind his back and wrapping her arms around his neck, she closed her eyes and held on as the world receded around her and the only thing she could focus on was the rise of her hips as they lifted to meet Duncan's thrusts. In the back of her mind she could hear loud moaning cries and realized it was her. Her eyes flew open when she felt a hand snake between her and Duncan and start to massage her clit. Logan was staring down at her smiling as he pinched and rolled her clit between his fingers. Unable to hold on any longer, she tilted over the edge into orgasm as she screamed and bucked against Duncan's cock and Logan's hand. Faintly she heard Duncan yell as he slammed into her one last time and came. Not giving Cane time to come down from the high she was feeling, Duncan moved out of the way, and Logan slammed into her.
"I'm sorry, baby, but watching you and Duncan was too much. I won't last long."
Logan slammed into Cane without mercy. She could almost feel his cock lengthen and thicken, signaling that he was about to come. His thrusts became erratic, and he panted and groaned. Throwing his head back, he moaned loudly as he shot his seed deep into her womb. Cane could feel his cock pulse with each spurt of his cum and screamed as an unexpected orgasm swept over her.
Lights sparkled behind her eyelids as Cane tried to catch her breath. She felt Logan collapse on her and wrapped her arms around him enjoying his solid weight on her. She was aware of him pulling out and rolling to the side taking her with him. She felt Duncan's warmth on her back and he slid in close and wrapped his arm around her.
"Are you okay?" Cane didn't have the strength to answer Duncan. She just grunted and hoped he understood what that meant.
"Sweetheart, are you okay? We didn't hurt you, did we?"
She opened her eyes to see both men starting down at her with concern on their faces. Holding back tears she smiled. In that instant, she knew that she wanted to be with these men for the rest of her life no matter what anyone thought of their relationship. The fact that they were so concerned about her happiness was more than anyone had ever shown her in her entire life.
"I'm more than okay," she said as she placed a palm on each of their cheeks. "I have never felt anything as good in my entire life." She felt a strong urge to tell them she loved them, but didn't want to ruin the moment if they didn't feel the same way, so she just continued to smile and stare up at them. She felt both men relax when they realized that she was okay. Fully sated, Cane closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep. She was vaguely aware of the guys kissing her and saying something about cooking dinner as they moved out of the bed, but she couldn't find the strength to open her eyes. She heard soft laughing and the door closing as sleep took her again.
Chapter 12
Sam had been staring at the TV when his cell finally rang.
Snatching it from the coffee table, he flipped it open and yelled, "Kevin, it's about damn time you called. You should have been in that town over three hours ago, what the hell were you doing?"
There was silence on the other end of the line, but Sam couldn't feel bad for yelling. The bastard should have called sooner.
Sighing, he knew Kevin could be just as stubborn as he was, so he apologized. "Look, I'm sorry for yelling, I'm just ready to get out there so I can get her back. Did you at least find her?"
"Yes, I found her. She was just checking out of the bed-and-breakfast when I arrived. I don't know if she knew I was coming, but something spooked her, so I followed her to see where she would go. She is now staying at the house of the local sheriff and his deputy."
Kevin paused and took a breath. Sam could tell he wanted to say more, and tried his best to hold on to what little patience he had left. He was seriously going to punish the bitch when he got a hold of her for turning his life upside down.
"There's more," Kevin said, turning Sam's attention away from all the ways he could punish Cane. "I think she is involved with at least one of them."
Growling, Sam stood and yelled, "At least? What the fuck do you mean at least?"
"Well, I can't be for sure, but the way they both touched her and guarded over her, it seemed like she was involved with both of them."
Not giving Kevin a chance to finish explaining, Sam snapped, "Keep an eye on her. I'm on my way!"
Slamming his phone shut, Sam began to pace the room to try and calm down. He always knew she was a slut, but two men at once? She was his and no one else's and he would make her see that once he finally got his hands on her. Feeling slightly calmer, Sam gathered his bags and left the house. He called and let his friend know to get the jet ready because he was on his way. Soon he would see Cane, and he couldn't wait to see look on her face when he showed up in town.
"What are we going to do, Logan?" Duncan asked as he entered the kitchen after having a shower.
"About what?"
"You saw how fast she wanted to run today when we told her about the medical records. What are we going to do to keep her safe so that she stays with us? We can't watch her twenty-four-seven. Hell, he may even be on the way here as we speak." Rubbing his hands across his face, Logan sat down at the table.
"What if we made Riley her personal bodyguard? He has been complaining all summer that there isn't anything to do around here and how nothing exciting ever happens. I bet he would jump at the chance to do it."
"I know he would go for it," Duncan said, "but do you think Cane will?"
"What will I go for?" Cane asked as she leaned against the doorframe, causing both men to jump.
Logan was the first one out of his chair followed by Duncan as they crossed the room stopping in front of her.
"Hey, baby. How are you feeling? You aren't sore or anything, are you?" Logan asked as he leaned down to kiss her.
"No, I'm good. What are you guys talking about?"
Duncan leaned down and kissed her as well and led her to the table. As he sat down, he said, "We were talking about how to keep you safe just in case. We decided to ask Riley to be your personal bodyguard when neither of us can be with you." He expected Cane to protest, but she didn't say anything. She just sat there staring at them.
Fighting to hold back tears, Cane just sat and looked at her men. Never in her life had she felt this special. They just gave her the best sex of her life, and now they were sitting here trying to come up with a way to protect her.
"I don't want anything to happen to anyone because of me. I don't deserve all of this, you two have given me enough already."
"That's nonsense," Logan said.
"Yeah, I agree with Logan. We want you here with us and we want you safe. Nothing is more important than that."
Sighing, Cane spoke. "I have a feeling that you two are not going to take no for an answer, are you?"
"You know us already," Logan said, smiling.
"Okay, I will let Riley be my bodyguard, but only until school starts. I won't have him missing school because of me."
"It's a deal," Duncan said as he kissed her on the cheek.
"Come on, Logan, we better get dinner fixed or Ali is going to kill us." Cane laughed at that and shook her head. She could imagine the tiny Ali bossing four big, strong men around.
Cane sat at the table and watched as Duncan and Logan made dinner. Even though the men were so big, they moved gracefully around the kitchen. She could tell that they probably cooked dinner together a million times by the way they knew what the other needed without asking. They had been friends for so long that now they didn't even have to speak to know what the other was thinking. They even finished each other's sentences sometimes. She giggled.
They're like an old married couple, she thought. She wondered if they would ever be like that with her. Cane had no doubt that she loved them and wanted to spend the rest of her life with them, but did they feel the same way about her? She definitely saw lust and what she thought was love in their eyes when they had made love to her, but she couldn't be for sure. Wiggling in her seat, her body still tingled from the way they worshipped it. Never had she felt like her body was going to come apart before. She never had an orgasm before with Sam, and she always blamed herself thinking something was wrong with her. Now she knew that wasn't the case. Duncan and Logan managed to give her several mind-blowing orgasms. Cane could feel her cheeks flush as she felt her body become aroused just thinking about earlier. How can I want them again so soon after the best sex of my life?
Before she could think about it anymore, she heard Ali's voice as she came through the front door. "Cane, you're here! I was wondering what happened to you when you didn't come into the diner today."
Ali immediately came over and hugged Cane. What is it with this family? She felt welcomed since the first day she met them.
"I have been here with Duncan and Logan. I was planning on coming in, but I got sidetracked." Ali looked at Duncan and then Logan and turned back to her with a knowing look. Cane could feel the blood rushing to her cheeks and all the way down her neck as she blushed. Ali laughed and then winked and smiled at her as she left the room.
Chase and Riley arrived shortly after Ali, and they all sat down to dinner. Cane laughed and talked and enjoyed conversing with the whole family. She realized that she wasn't nervous but actually comfortable with this family. She felt accepted and knew that they never judged her for any reason. For the first time in her life, Cane felt like she belonged and it was the best feeling in the world. Duncan and Logan explained Cane's situation and the need for Riley to be her bodyguard for a little while just as a precaution. Of course Riley quickly agreed, no questions asked. Looking at Riley and seeing the genuine smile on his face assured her that he truly didn't mind taking the job, so starting early the next morning once Duncan and Logan left for work, Cane officially had a bodyguard. Once that issue was cleared up, the guys also explained that Cane would be living with them. They didn't explain sleeping arrangements, but I think they all knew that she would be with Duncan and Logan. Ali seemed the most excited about this and showed it by bouncing in her seat and clapping when they told her. The rest of dinner flowed by easily and Cane helped Ali clear the table and do the dishes since her guys cooked. Her guys? Yes, they were her guys and she had no plans of letting them go. The thought should have sent her running since she had only known them for a few days, but the thought of leaving them scared her even more.
Once the kitchen was clean, everyone headed their own separate ways as Cane followed Logan and Duncan out on the back patio. The sun was just starting to set.
"Would you like to go for a walk?" Logan asked.
"Isn't it about to get dark? We won't be able to see where we are going. What if we get lost?"
Duncan laughed. "Relax, sweetheart, we grew up here remember. We know these trails like the back of our hands. The majority of the trails were made by me and Logan when we were boys."
Still not convinced, Cane bit her bottom lip. "If it makes you feel better"---Logan winked---"you can hold the flashlight."
"It's a deal." Cane knew that she would never be able to say no to these guys. Grabbing the flashlight that Logan held out, she turned it on and stepped off the patio. Logan grabbed her free hand and Duncan placed his hand on the small of her back as they began walking. Cane felt the hair on the back of her neck stand up and a shiver run up her back. Stopping, she turned and scanned the trees.
"What's wrong? Cane?" Both guys spoke at the same time. Cane scanned again but didn't see anything or anyone.
You are getting paranoid, girl. Who would be following you in the woods? No one knows you're here.
Shaking her head, she smiled up at the guys. "It's nothing, let's go."
The walk was great. The guys showed her all of their favorite spots and a few hiding places that they made when they were up to no good. They hiked and talked for about two hours and then headed back to the house. Cane was exhausted by the time they made it back and collapsed on the bed. She felt hands on her legs and looked up to see Logan removing her shoes.
"Come on, baby. Duncan is running you a hot bath. It will make you feel better." He helped her up from the bed and removed the rest of her clothes, then carried her to the bathroom. Logan lowered her slowly into the hot bath as Cane sighed. The hot water and bubbles felt so good. She could already feel her muscles starting to relax. Both men knelt beside the tub and began to wash her. Logan washed her hair as Duncan washed her body. Once they had her clean, they lifted her out of the tub and dried her with a fluffy towel.
I could get used to this.
"You guys are too good to me. You don't have to do this."
"We know we don't," Logan said.
"But we want to," Duncan finished.
With that, they picked her up and carried her to the bed. Once they laid her down, they both stripped and climbed in on each side of her. Curling up against the both of them, Cane sighed. She felt safe when she was between the two of them, but she couldn't shake the feeling of being watched that she felt earlier in the woods.
Chapter 13
Cane opened her eyes as the warm sun slowly drifted across the room. She realized that she was curled up alone in the middle of Duncan's king-size bed. Raising her head, she looked around the room and listened. She didn't see or hear anyone. The clock next to the bed showed 10:00 a.m. Cane couldn't believe she slept that late. She must have been really tired to not even hear the guys get up and go to work. Rolling out of the bed, she made her way to the bathroom and noticed a note taped to the mirror. Taking it down, she smiled as she began to read:
Cane,
Sorry to not wake you this morning to tell you bye, but we figured you were really tired after yesterday and decided to let you sleep. Stay with Riley today and let him keep you safe. He will be happy to do whatever you want so don't be afraid to ask. We will try to get home early today, but if not we should be home no later than six. Stay safe.
Love,
Duncan and Logan
Cane couldn't help the tears that were streaming down her face. She knew she shouldn't read too much into the word love on the bottom of the page, but she couldn't help it. Did they really mean it? Surely they wouldn't have written it if they didn't. Laying the note down, Cane showered and got her clothes on. Once she was dressed, she folded the note and put it in her pocket. She knew she was being silly, but she felt like the guys were close to her with the note so she wanted to keep it close. Pulling her hair into a ponytail, Cane left the room. She followed the smells into the kitchen to find Riley sitting at the table.
"Well, hey, sleepyhead. It's about time you woke up. I was about to die of boredom out here." The smile told Cane he was joking and she smiled back.
"So what are we doing today?" She had no intentions of leaving the house today. She had made her mind up last night that she would not put Riley in unnecessary danger, but seeing the excited look on his face, she couldn't make him sit there all day.
"I didn't have anything planned," Cane said. "I tell you what, you decide. I haven't been shown around town yet, so why don't you show me and you can take me to all your favorite places." Riley looked a little uncomfortable for a moment, but then shook his head in agreement.
"Okay, we can do that, but there really isn't anything that exciting in this town. I usually hang out at the library and do schoolwork."
"We can do that if you want. I haven't read a new book in a while. Maybe I could check something out." Nodding, Riley left the room to get ready as Cane ate breakfast.
Cane knew that the library would be small, but not this small. Just like the doctor's office, the library was located in the living room of a small house on the main street. Riley led the way in and walked up to the woman behind a small desk. The librarian looked around twenty-four. She had fiery red hair that was pulled back in a ponytail and gray eyes. Cane saw her face brighten as she looked up and saw Riley.
What is this? Cane thought.
Looking at Riley, she saw the same expression on his face. Clearing his throat, he smiled and introduced her.
"Hi, Jessica, this is Cane. She is a friend of the family and is staying with Duncan and Logan for a while." Jessica smiled shyly at Cane and nodded her head.
"I'm going to study a while. Will you show Cane around and help her find a book to read?"
"Yes, Riley, anything for you." She spoke so low that Cane had to strain to hear her. Riley seemed to be just as shy around her and turned quickly and walked away. Jessica watched as he sat at a small table in the corner. The way she looked at him told Cane that she really wanted to be with him. Did she look at Duncan and Logan that way? Probably. Looking at Jessica, she noticed that the other girl was really pretty but shy. She dressed in what seemed like the standard librarian uniform---long skirt, cardigan, and sensible shoes. She obviously liked Riley, and from the looks he gave her, he liked her, too. Wonder why they don't just admit their feelings for each other? Cane decided that she would ask Ali later. If anyone would know what was going on it would be her.
"So, what do you like to read?" Jessica asked.
"Just point me in the direction of the romance section please."
Jessica's face lit up with a huge smile. "I know just the books you should read." Cane followed Jessica to a small shelf that looked hidden behind a larger one. There were about twenty books on the shelf all by the same author, someone named J. Red.
"These are the best I have, but I warn you, they get a little steamy."
"The steamier, the better," Cane whispered and laughed. Jessica winked and walked back to the counter when the bell over the door jingled leaving Cane to pick out a book. There were some interesting titles there, and Cane started to read the description on the back of each one. After about the third book, Cane felt the same feeling come over her that she felt in the woods the night before. Someone was watching her. Looking around, she saw Riley still sitting at the table and Jessica behind the desk. She didn't see anyone else, but she couldn't shake the feeling. Deciding to move closer to Riley, she grabbed the book that she decided to read and walked around the shelf. She ran right into a man that was just standing there and began to fall backward. He reached out to grab her, but she caught her balance and jerked away before he could touch her. Murmuring "Sorry," she ran over to Riley who was already out of his seat.
"Cane, what's wrong? Are you okay?"
Swallowing nervously, Cane nodded. "I think I just overreacted." Her heart was pounding, and she was panting for breath. She realized that she had a light sheen of sweat on her forehead and palms. Looking around, Cane didn't see the man anywhere in sight.
"Come on, let's get you out of here."
Not answering, Cane waited as Riley gathered all his things and followed him out. Once out on the street, Cane noticed as Riley scanned the area and then turned to her.
"What happened in there?" Feeling kind of silly for panicking, she looked down at the ground and resisted the urge to shuffle her feet.
"Um... I felt like someone was watching me, and I guess I panicked. I started to move closer to you when I ran into that guy who was just standing there. It just freaked me out."
"Have you ever seen him before?"
"No, never."
"I've never seen him before either. He isn't from around here. Maybe we should let Duncan and Logan know so they can keep an eye out for him."
"No, please don't. He didn't do anything wrong. It's just me. They will worry for no reason."
Riley looked like he wanted to argue, but finally he nodded. "Okay, but if you get anymore feelings, promise me you will let me know."
Smiling, Cane agreed, "Okay, I promise."
"Come on," he said putting his arm around her shoulder. "Let's go for a walk to calm you down then we will meet Duncan and Logan for lunch at the diner."
Sam was in a car headed to the small town that Cane thought she was hiding in. He had to fly to the closest airport, which was actually a small landing strip about an hour away. Kevin had a car waiting there for him, so now he was on his way. After a week of being without her, he was finally going to get her back. Smiling, Sam's thoughts were cut off by his cell phone ringing.
"Hello."
"Sam, Kevin here. How far away are you?"
"I will be there in about an hour. Why?" He could hear the hesitation in Kevin's voice and knew this call wasn't going to be good.
Feeling his anger that seemed to have never gone away since Cane left, he growled into the phone. "I swear I will kill you if you lost track of her. What the hell is going on?"
"No! No! Calm down. I haven't lost her. In fact, I just got a little up close and personal when I literally bumped into her a few minutes ago. I just called to give you a heads-up." Sam took a deep breath and tried to calm down. He noticed that he was gripping the steering wheel hard enough to turn his knuckles white and loosened his grip.
"I called you for two reasons actually. Number one, it seems I was mistaken when I told you she seemed to be involved with two guys. It's actually three. The guy that she was with today was completely different from the other two who she is definitely involved with based on the body language I saw when they went for a walk in the woods last night. All three of them seem to be very protective of her and have no problem with touching her or invading her personal space."
That fucking whore! I always knew she was a slut, but I never would have guessed this.
Trying to not let his emotions show in his voice, he asked, "What is the other reason you called?"
"To let you know she has her guard up. She knows she is being watched. She felt me last night in the woods and also today in the library. How do you want me to play this?"
"Just watch her until I get there then your job will be over. I have your payment in cash with me, and you can return home."
"Okay. Call me when you get into town, and I will let you know where we are."
Kevin hung up, and Sam couldn't help but to smile. So she was paranoid and expecting him. Always being one to turn any situation to his advantage, he thought of ways to use this against her. He wanted to torture her before he took her home. After all she deserved a little payback since she had been torturing him for nearly a week by leaving him. Yeah, maybe he would play with her for a little while before revealing himself. He still had another week off from work, plenty of time for him to drive her crazy and make her regret her mistake of running. Smiling and feeling his anger fade a little bit, Sam stepped on the gas. The sooner he got there, the sooner he could put his plan into action.
The rest of Cane's afternoon went by uneventfully. After her walk with Riley, she had lunch at the diner. Logan and Duncan ended up having to go out on a call, so they weren't able to make it. Once lunch was over, Cane decided that she wanted to go home. Home? When did the Matthew's house become her home? The thought didn't make her feel uncomfortable. In fact she felt a sense of belonging and for the first time in her life, she had somewhere to call her own, even if five other people lived there. She couldn't shake the feeling that she was being watched and felt safer at home. Riley didn't ask questions, he just took her straight home. Once there, he suggested a movie, and Cane agreed. Trying to get her mind off the weird feelings she was having and not really paying attention to the movie, Cane decided to ask Riley about Jessica.
"So how long have you liked Jessica?"
Catching him off guard with the question, Riley choked on his drink. Cane gave him a knowing smirk as she patted him on the back. His reaction was all the answer she needed to know that he really did like her.
"How do you know I like her?"
"I saw it on your face when we walked in the library today." Riley was quiet for so long that Cane didn't think he would answer until he took a deep breath.
"I'm in love with her, but she doesn't even know I exist." Cane didn't say a word, so he continued, "I have wanted her since the third grade, but she was always so shy. In high school, she turned down every guy that asked her out, so I never bothered thinking I never had a chance. Once I left to go to college I figured that I would forget about her, but I haven't been able to. I go to that library every day and pretend to study just to be in the same room with her, but she never even says anything to me beyond hi and bye. Pathetic, huh?"
Turning toward Riley, Cane put both palms on his cheeks. "You are not pathetic. From what I saw, Jessica looks at you the same way you look at her. I could see it in her eyes that she liked you. Her face lit up when she saw you come through the door."
"She has never shown any interest in me."
"Maybe she is shy and you are going about this the wrong way. Maybe she is waiting for you to take charge and ask her out."
"You really think?"
Cane could hear the hope in his voice and prayed that she wasn't wrong about this. "Sure, and besides, what is the harm in asking her out? If she turns you down then at least you have your answer and can move on with your life."
"Have an answer to what?" Riley and Cane both turned to see Logan leaning against the doorway.
"Hey, bro," Riley said, standing. "It's nothing. Cane was just helping me with a little problem I'm having. Are you home for the day because I need to go out for a bit?"
Logan wasn't buying Riley's excuse, but Cane was glad he didn't push him for the truth.
"Yeah, go do whatever you need to do. I'm off and Duncan will be here once he finishes up with the paperwork from the call we got earlier."
Riley kissed Cane on the cheek and whispered, "Thanks," and walked out of the room.
"What was that all about?" Logan asked as he walked over to her.
Not wanting to upset Logan, but not wanting to tell Riley's secret, Cane took a deep breath and said, "I'm sure he will tell you when the time is right."
Without saying another word, Logan wrapped her in his arms and kissed her. Cane felt her body instantly relax as it molded to Logan's. All thoughts of Riley and Jessica flew out of her head as he nibbled her bottom lip and licked his tongue across the crease. Cane parted her lips and was instantly rewarded when Logan eased his tongue in her mouth. The kiss was slow and gentle, but when they parted, it left both of them out of breath.
Logan was the first to speak. "Damn, I missed you."
Wrapping her arms around his neck, Cane pulled his head down to hers and kissed him again. "I missed you, too," she said between kisses.
She kissed his eyes, his nose, and began trailing kisses down his jaw. He smelled so good, like outdoors and musk. Pure man. Once she got to his neck, she bit it slightly causing him to groan. The next thing she knew, the world tilted as Logan suddenly picked her up and threw her over his shoulder. Cane let out a loud squeal and wrapped her arms around his waist to keep from falling.
Laughing as he walked down the hall, she yelled, "You are such a caveman," and bit him on his butt. She was rewarded with a grunt from him as he smacked her bottom. She laughed again as he suddenly threw her on the bed.
"At least I didn't knock you over the head and drag you by your hair to the bed," Logan said, laughing.
Looking around, Cane noticed that they weren't in Duncan's room. This must be Logan's room. The bed was just as big as Duncan's and was covered in lots of pillows. Everything in the room was either chocolate or cream in color.
"You like it?"
"Yes, but I never pictured you to go for such rich elegant colors. I figured you to be more of a rugged flannel guy."
"I deal with that all day out at work. When I come home, I want to relax and be comfortable." The bed was really comfortable. Feeling bold, Cane rose up on her knees and pulled Logan down on the bed. She started kissing him again as she worked the buttons on his shirt. With each button that opened, she kissed and licked the skin that appeared. Once the shirt was fully unbuttoned, she helped him sit up and removed it. Straddling his lap, she began kissing his chest again. She licked one nipple and caused him to gasp. Feeling good about his reaction, she continued to lick. She sucked the nipple into her mouth and bit down gently. Logan groaned, and she felt him put his hands on the back of her head. Smiling, she moved over to the other nipple and gave it the same attention. She then trailed kisses down his chest stopping at his belly button. When she dipped her tongue inside, she felt Logan's stomach muscles flex. Once she reached his belt, she sat up and looked him. Logan's eyes were glazed over and he was breathing heavily. Cane nibbled her bottom lip nervously. Did she have the guts to do what she wanted to do?
As if sensing her indecision, Logan sat up. "Hey, you don't have to do that. We can do whatever feels comfortable to you."
"I want to. It's just that...well...I was told that I was no good at it. I haven't done it very often. Sam was always too rough and the last time he made me do it was about four years ago, he cut off my air supply and held my head so I couldn't move. I panicked and bit him. I received a broken jaw, but he never asked me to suck him again."
"That bastard wouldn't have gotten what he deserved even if you had bitten his cock off. I won't force you to do anything you don't want to do."
"I want to."
"Okay, I will lie here then and try my best not to move if that helps. Just, no teeth," he said with a huge grin. Instantly Cane felt comforted. I can do this. Nodding, Cane pushed gently on his shoulder and eased him back down on the bed.
Returning to his belt, Cane unbuckled it with trembling fingers. After a few tries, she managed to get his pants unbuttoned and unzipped. She lowered his pants and boxer briefs together as Logan lifted his hips to help. She was rewarded with his large, swollen cock that lay fully erect against his belly. She reached out and ran her finger down then underside tracing the vein that ran there. Once she reached the base, she wrapped her hand around him and gently squeezed. She felt Logan's thighs tense as he moaned.
She looked up. "I'm sorry. Did I hurt you?"
"No, it feels good. Keep going."
Gaining a little more courage, she leaned down and swiped her tongue across the head of his cock licking the small bead of pre-cum. She instantly fell in love with his taste, slightly salty and sweet. She moaned as she swallowed and sucked him into her mouth. Using her hand she pumped up and down as she licked and sucked. Soon she could hear Logan moaning, and she felt him ease his hands in her hair, Cane froze.
"Sorry, baby, just reflexes. You are driving me crazy. Your hot mouth feels so good on my cock. I'm trying my best not to lose control."
Spurred on by his words, Cane continued. It made her feel good that she was able to make him lose control like this. She didn't feel threatened and knew he would never hurt her like Sam. Cane increased her efforts wanting to see how far she could push him. Still squeezing the base of his cock, she used her other hand to lightly massage and roll his balls. Using her mouth, she sucked as she flicked her tongue under the sensitive tip. She could feel his cock throbbing and swelling.
"Oh God, baby, I'm gonna come!"
Releasing his cock from her mouth, she pumped him twice more and watched as he shot his cum on her chin and chest. She continued to pump him until he wrapped his hand over hers and held it.
"No more. Damn baby, you are going to kill me."
"Was that okay?" Cane couldn't keep the fear that it was bad out of her voice.
Rising up, Logan grabbed her and quickly flipped her on her back. Once he was on top of her, he kissed her deeply. "Baby, anything you do to me will be good because I love you."
He loves me. Gasping for breath, Cane couldn't hold back the tears as they began to flow. I'm turning into such a crybaby. I have cried more in the few days that I have been here than in the past eight years combined.
"Do you really mean that?" she asked.
"Baby, I wouldn't say it if I didn't mean it. I know it hasn't been that long, but I love you. I know in my heart that you were meant for me and Duncan. I would die if you left or if anything happened to you. You belong here with us." Cane wrapped her arms around Logan's neck and buried her face in his chest and sobbed.
"Shh, baby, don't cry. I didn't mean to upset you."
Sniffing, Cane looked up at him and gave him a watery smile. "I'm not upset, Logan. I'm happy. I have never been this happy in all my life. I love you, Logan. I love you and Duncan with all my heart. You are right, this is where I belong. Of all the possible places I could have ended up when I got on that bus, I am glad I ended up here."
Hugging her, Logan whispered, "Me too, baby. Me too."
Duncan finally arrived home from work. He ended up getting a call right when he was about to lock up and head home. Mrs. Jessup called scared because she thought she saw a strange man lurking in the woods behind her house. She was eighty-two years old and lost her husband last year, so Duncan took the call. It turned out to be nothing like he figured, but he stayed for dinner to keep her company knowing she was a lonely old woman. Now it was eleven p.m., and he was tired and the only thing he wanted to do was take a shower and curl up around Cane and sleep. He missed her. He didn't think there was a minute of the day that went by that he didn't think about her. Getting out of the SUV, he quickly climbed the steps and entered the house. He found Cane in the living room curled up on the couch with Ali watching a movie. They were eating popcorn and laughing. Duncan leaned against the door and watched them. It was amazing how much they were both alike. They both had scars from their past both mentally and physically, but seeing them together laughing like they had been best friends for years made Duncan's heart melt. He already knew he loved Cane, but this just was just icing on the cake. She belonged here and he had no plans of letting her go. Easing back out of the room so that he wouldn't disturb them, Duncan turned and headed toward his room to take a shower.
Duncan found Logan sitting on his bed when he went into his room. "Hey, Logan, what's up?" Frowning when he didn't immediately answer, Duncan sat beside him and patted him on the back. "What's going on, Logan? Did something happen today with Cane?"
"I told her I loved her."
"Wow. Did she say it back?" Logan just nodded his head. Still not understanding what the problem was, Duncan remained quiet.
When it became clear that Logan wasn't going to say any more, Duncan spoke, "Okaaaay, you are going to have to help me out here buddy because I'm not seeing the problem here."
"I'm scared. I don't want to lose her. The only other person I have ever said those words to was my mom and she left me. What if Cane does the same thing? I don't think I could handle it."
Duncan was shocked. He had never seen Logan like this. He was the one who never showed his feelings, always keeping them hidden. Duncan knew the reasons why Logan never showed emotions had a lot to do with his mom dying and then his dad beating him, but he never pushed Logan to open up. For him to be about to have a nervous breakdown over one small woman was a lot to take in.
"Listen, Logan, Cane loves us, and we love her. We are meant to be together, and it will all work out. We will keep her safe and here with us where she belongs. I have never been in this situation before either so we will just have to take it on day at a time."
"You're right. I'm just panicking for no reason." Logan sighed and changed the subject. "How is Mrs. Jessup doing?"
Duncan laughed. "Don't even get me started, she swears that there was a man walking in her woods, but I think she was lonely and just wanted company."
"I'm glad you got the call and not me. I had a great afternoon with Cane." Logan wiggled his eyebrows up and down and grinned. Duncan laughed and headed to the shower.
Turning the shower on and making the water as hot as he could stand it, Duncan climbed in. Groaning, he leaned his head against the tiles and let the water spray down his back. Standing there with his eyes closed, he heard the shower door open. Cane wrapped her arms around him and placed a small kiss on his back.
"Hey, sweetheart, I missed you today."
"You sound tired," she said.
"I was tired, but I feel better now that I am here with you."
Kissing his back again, Cane began to massage his chest. One hand rubbed small circles on his stomach while the other inched closer to his nipple. Her finger circled his nipple a few times causing it to harden.
"God, sweetheart, that feels so good." She pinched and pulled his nipple and the other hand slipped down to his cock. Already hard, she wrapped her hand around it and began to pump. Duncan couldn't hold back the moan that ripped itself from his throat as Cane tortured his nipple with one hand and his cock with the other. His hips began to move involuntarily, and he threw his head back. He felt his balls draw up and used all his control not to come.
"Enough."
Grabbing her hands, he turned quickly and pinned her against the shower wall. Grabbing her butt cheeks, he lifted her and wrapped her legs around his waist. Without saying a word, he thrust into her burying himself deep with one shove. Cane screamed, and Duncan stilled.
"I'm sorry, sweetheart. I don't know what I was thinking. Did I hurt you?"
He began to pull out but Cane tightened her legs around him. "You didn't hurt me. I like you like this, out of control. I want it hard and fast. Can you do that for me, Duncan?"
God I love this woman.
Using all his power, Duncan kept from coming from the words she spoke. He pulled out and slammed into her again, drawing another moan from her. All thoughts went out the window as he thrust into her again over and over. When he thought he couldn't hold back any longer, he felt Cane's hot pussy tighten and pulse around his cock. As she screamed through her orgasm, he picked up the pace thrusting hard and deep to draw it out. Finally, he couldn't hold back anymore and yelled as he came. He continued to thrust as he pumped spurt after spurt of cum into her. Resting his forehead against Cane's, Duncan looked into her eyes.
"I love you, Cane. God, sweetheart, I love you."
"I love you, too, Duncan. You have no idea how much I love the two of you."
Chapter 14
Sam couldn't believe what he was seeing. Kevin was right. The little slut was sleeping with three men. He had been there for six days, and he saw her in town with all three of them. She spent her days with one guy and her nights with the two officers.
Where did I go wrong with her? I gave her everything she ever wanted and this is how she repays me.
So far she didn't have a clue he was in town. After the little incident of the old woman spotting him in her yard as he surveyed the town, he hadn't had any more problems. He would wait it out one more day and watch her. He knew her routine now, and he would have her. Maybe he would get the nice little girl at the diner that Cane had been hanging around as well. Cane owed him for the hassle of having to track her down so maybe he would use her friend as part of the payment.
Smiling, he watched from behind his newspaper as the young girl that ran the diner busied herself behind the counter. She couldn't have been older than eighteen. She was a nice, sweet, young thing. Probably still a virgin. Sam adjusted the seat of his pants as his cock began to swell. What he wouldn't give to be between her thighs right now. He would show her how a real man took a woman. He knew she was young, but maybe that's where he went wrong with Cane. He waited too late, and she was beyond training. He tried his best, but he could tell as he watched her over the years that he would eventually have to kill her.
Maybe that is what he should do now, he thought.
Yeah. Suddenly he smiled, a plan forming in his head. He would get his revenge on Cane, and after he was done with her, he would kill her and take her friend. She was young, and if she was still a virgin, then she would be that much easier to train.
"Can I get you anything else, Mr. Robinson?"
Looking up, he noticed the young girl's breast.
Soon, Ali, he thought.
"No, darling, you have been great."
Reaching out he rubbed the back of her hand that rested on the table. He watched as the blood rushed to her cheeks as she blushed and ducked her head.
Oh yeah. I am going to have fun with her.
Every day, he came into the diner, and he always made it a point of touching her or flirting with her some kind of way. She always blushed, but she never turned away from him. She was ready for him, and she would be his very soon. Leaving a nice tip and winking at her, Sam left the diner and headed back to his room knowing that his erection was not going to go away until he did something about it. He knew he wouldn't last long with thoughts of the innocent little Ali and her delectable body running through his head.
It had been six wonderful days since the guys told her they loved her and she said it in return. Cane laid in bed her body still tingling from the sex they had before they left for work. Never in her life had she felt this satisfied with sex.
Must be love, she thought with a grin. Rolling out of bed, she groaned. Her muscles were well used and sore due to the guys' constant need for her. Well, she couldn't blame it all on them. She did attack them a few times, too. After brushing her teeth, Cane turned the shower on and stepped in. She couldn't believe how her life had turned out in just two short weeks since she arrived here. Thursday had come and half the day had gone by before Cane even realized that it was the day the bus was supposed to come. Cane smiled, knowing there was no way she would be on that bus now. She could never hurt her two guys by leaving them and she didn't want to leave. She loved it here. It was home. She knew she was safe and loved here and it felt good to feel that way for a change. Who knew that as she lay in a hospital bed over six months ago and planned her escape that she would end up here? She was only looking for freedom, but her courage to escape was rewarded with so much more.
Once she had showered and had her clothes on, Cane left the room to find Riley. He was in his usual spot at the kitchen table eating breakfast.
"Morning, Riley."
"Morning, lazy, I thought you would never get out of bed."
"Hey, don't blame me, blame your brothers. They are the ones that keep me up all night long," Cane said, laughing.
"Don't remind me. I'm buying all three of you gags for Christmas."
Cane felt heat rush to her cheeks. "Are we that loud?" Riley snorted but didn't answer.
Thinking of a quick subject change, Cane asked, "So, how are things going with you and your little librarian?"
"I haven't approached her yet, but I'm working on it. I found out something interesting about her the other day, and I'm trying to figure out how to use it to my advantage."
"Just be careful and make sure it isn't something that is going to hurt her or ruin your chances with her."
"Trust me, I have loved her since the third grade, and I have waited this long. I have no plans of messing this up."
"What are we doing today?" Riley asked as he stood to clear his dishes.
"Well, I didn't have anything planned. Maybe we could go for a hike and then have lunch at the diner?"
"Sounds good to me. I have plans tomorrow evening, so do you mind hanging out with Ali at the diner for about an hour until Duncan and Logan get off?"
"Not a problem, I know you have better things to do than babysit me. I will be fine with Ali. Besides, it's a public place. Nothing will happen there."
"Are you still getting the feeling that someone is watching you?"
"I got it yesterday while we were in town, but it quickly went away. I haven't felt it since," Cane replied.
Grunting, Riley narrowed his eyes at her. "I still think we should tell Duncan and Logan about this."
"Hey, it's no big deal. You said it yourself that you haven't seen anyone strange in town. Ali also hasn't noticed anyone acting weird and she would be the first to know since she works at the only restaurant in town. They would have to eat sometime." Nodding, Riley crossed his arm and walked out to go get ready.
Sitting down to the table, Cane thought back over the past three days. She hadn't been honest fully with Riley, but she knew he would tell the guys, and she didn't want to worry anyone. She felt someone watching her at all times. The only peace she felt was when she was with Duncan and Logan. Even when she stepped out on the back patio she felt watched. When she was in town, she tried to see if she saw anyone that looked like they didn't belong, but having only been here two weeks, she didn't know enough people to know who belonged here and who didn't. You are just being paranoid, she tried to tell herself, but knew to trust her instincts, and they were telling her that something was wrong. Pushing the feelings away, Cane told herself that she was safe as long as she was with someone. Vowing to herself that she wouldn't go off on her own, she followed Riley out the door.
After their hike, they went to the diner to meet Duncan and Logan for lunch. Cane noticed the stares when they both gave her a long kiss and hug, but she didn't care. These were her men, and she wasn't going to let town gossip or anything else make her hide again. Once they settled at the same back table that they always sat at, Ali came over and hugged Cane.
"Hey, kiddo, it looks like I will be hanging here tomorrow night till the guys get off. Someone has a hot date."
She winked and smiled at Riley to let him know she was joking and saw the blush on his cheeks. Duncan and Logan saw it, too, and couldn't help tease him about it.
"You finally decided to ask her out?" Ali asked. Riley's eyes widened, but he just nodded his head. Of course then the other guys wanted to know who it was that he was going out with and spent the rest of lunch questioning, or should she say interrogating him to find out who his date was.
Cane was glad that their attention was on Riley and not on her because they didn't see the shiver that ran up her spine or notice the goose bumps on her arms. That feeling was back. Someone was watching her and it wasn't just her imagination. She trusted her gut this far, and now it was telling her to run because danger was coming her way. Looking around the diner, she saw only familiar faces except for a guy she couldn't see behind the newspaper he held.
"Ali, who is that guy behind the newspaper?"
Ali turned to look and then smiled. "Oh, that's just Mr. Robinson, he has been in town for a few weeks. He is harmless. He comes in here every day for lunch."
Breathing a sigh of relief, Cane sat back. If he came in here every day, then surely she would have noticed him at some point. She trusted Ali's opinion since she was here every day and knew all the people in town and all the gossip.
"Cane, baby, will you be okay staying here tomorrow night until we get off? Or would you like to come to the station and hang out?"
Turning her attention back to the guys, she answered Logan, "Don't be silly, of course I will be okay here with Ali. We can have a little girl talk."
Knowing that would receive a groan from all three men, Cane smiled and winked at Ali. They'd had "girl talk" a few times over the last week, and Cane had been shocked to hear some of the things that Ali knew about from working at the diner. She knew and heard things that no sixteen-year-old girl should know. She knew all about Logan and Duncan sharing women, and she also knew about Riley being in love with Jessica. The more the guys tried to shelter her, the more the town seemed determined to tell her everything. Looking up again, she noticed that the guy with the newspaper was gone. Damn, she wanted to get a look his face. She still couldn't shake the feeling of being watched.
Duncan watched Cane as she rubbed her arms and looked around the diner. It was like she was looking for something or someone, and she seemed scared of what she was going to find.
"Cane, sweetheart, is something wrong?" Cane jumped and bit her bottom lip. Duncan knew that look, she was nervous about something.
"It's happening again, isn't it?" Riley asked.
"What's happening?"
"What the hell is going on?" Duncan and Logan both asked at the same time.
"It's nothing guys, calm down. It's just...well...I have been getting this feeling that someone has been watching me."
"What!" Logan yelled, jumping from his seat. "In the back, now."
He didn't wait to see if anyone was following him, just stormed off to the kitchen. Duncan grabbed Cane's arm and pulled her to the back as Riley followed.
"What's going on guys?" Ali asked as she trailed behind them.
Duncan was pissed, and he knew Logan was angry as well. He took deep breaths to try and calm down because he didn't want to scare Cane. Looking at her, he saw that her face was pale and she was trembling. She was scared to death, and it was their fault. Letting her go, he watched as she wrapped her arms around her and backed away from them wide-eyed. Turning away from her, he took his anger out on Riley.
"What the hell is going on, Riley? Why didn't you tell us about any of this?"
"Look, she made me promise not to tell you guys because she didn't want you all to worry if it was nothing. She promised that if it happened again, she would tell you." Looking over at Logan, he saw that he was about to explode.
"Let us have some time alone with Cane please." Riley didn't say anything else. He grabbed Ali's arm and ushered her out of the kitchen.
Duncan was hurt that Cane would keep something this important from them. This was her safety they were talking about. Did she not think that he and Logan could keep her safe? He looked over at Logan and he just shook his head, he knew that the man was too angry and hurt just like him to say anything right now. Holding his hands out in front of him to show Cane that he meant her no harm, Duncan walked over to her. He felt like he was trying to calm a wild animal that was trapped and wrong move could cause her to run.
"Cane, look, we are just angry that you didn't tell us about this. We want to keep you safe, and we can't do that if you hide things like this from us."
Reaching out he gently grabbed her arm and pulled her to him. He felt her instantly relax and wrap her arms around him.
"I'm sorry we scared you, but will you tell us what's been going on?"
What have I done? I should have told them. Now Duncan is mad at me and Logan hates me. He can't even look at me.
Biting her bottom lip, Cane let Duncan go and stepped back.
"Okay, I will tell you what has been going on, but can we go home and talk please?"
"I will go tell Riley and Ali that we are leaving," Logan said and walked out without looking at her.
"He hates me now, doesn't he? He can't even look at me." Cane could feel the tears coming and didn't bother to hold them back. "I'm so sorry. I know I messed up, but I didn't want to worry you over me just being paranoid."
"Oh, sweetheart," Duncan said as he wrapped his arms around her again, "Logan is upset, we both are, but he does not hate you. He loves you just like I do. Come on, let's go home and talk."
Cane followed Duncan out to the SUV where Logan was already inside. The ride to the house was silent and Cane wondered how she was going to make it up to her guys. She knew they were going to be mad when that found out that she was hiding this from them, but she never expected them to get this angry. She knew that they would never hurt her, but the way Logan reacted scared her to death. For a moment all she saw was Sam right before he took a swing at her. She hated feeling like this, and she only had herself to blame. She hated Sam for a long time and blamed him for how her life turned out, but she realized that because of her need to be accepted, she allowed everything that happened to her. Now, because of that same need, she may have messed up the best thing that ever happened to her.
Logan still wasn't talking to her. When they arrived at the house, he didn't even wait for her to get out of the car. He just stomped into the house and slammed the door.
"Can I have a minute alone?" Cane asked Duncan.
"I'm not leaving you out here alone, sweetheart."
"Please, Duncan, I promise I won't get out of the car, just... please, I need to be alone just for a little bit."
"Okay, but I am going to be checking on you through the window." Duncan shut the door and headed into the house.
Once he was inside, Cane put her head in her hands. "Oh God, what have I done? What is wrong with me?" she moaned. She tried to hold back the tears, but couldn't. She didn't want to have to leave again. She liked it here and liked being with Duncan and Logan. Leave it up to her to ruin a good thing.
Cane didn't know how long she sat with her head in her hands before she heard the door open. She knew that it was Logan without bothering to look up. He didn't say anything as he climbed in and shut the door. When he reached for her, Cane couldn't stop her body from flinching. After hearing Logan sigh and pull his hand back, she looked up at him. "I'm sorry, I know you wouldn't hurt me. I just couldn't help it. It's going to take me a while to stop doing that."
Reaching for her again, Logan pulled her into his lap. "Listen, baby, I'm sorry I scared you and got so angry, but please know that no matter how angry or upset I get, I will never put my hands on you. I love you too much to do that. I'm angry because you kept something this important from us. You know that you are in danger. How can we protect you if we don't know what's going on?"
"I didn't want you to think I was crazy or paranoid. I never saw anyone that looked suspicious, so I never said anything. I promise I will tell you everything next time, just...please don't hate me." The last of it was said in a whisper as Cane laid her head on Logan's shoulder.
"Baby, I could never hate you. We had a fight, that's all, and I'm sure we will have many more. I will always love you no matter what."
Cane felt pure joy at Logan's words. She felt a huge weight lifting off her shoulders knowing that he didn't hate her or want her gone.
"You know what having our first fight means, don't you?" Cane asked as she rose up to stare into Logan's eyes. He didn't answer, just raised one eyebrow and looked at her. Leaning down, Cane kissed him putting all the love and desire she felt for him into it. When they were both breathless, she pulled away and leaned down to whisper into his ear. "It means that we get to have our first makeup sex." Without giving Logan a chance to respond, Cane opened the door and ran to the house laughing.
She almost made it to the porch before she felt strong arms wrap around her waist. Giggling, she was thrown over Logan's shoulder.
"Caught you, which means I get to have my wicked way with you." Carrying her to Duncan's room, he dumped her on the bed.
"It's about time you two kissed and made up. I have been sitting here waiting forever," Duncan said as he leaned against the headboard. Cane noticed that he was completely naked and hard as steel. So happy and relieved that they still wanted to be with her, she wanted both of them as close to her as she could possibly get them. Coming up on her knees, she began to remove her clothes.
"I love both of you guys so much that I want both of you at the same time."
She could see the shock on both guys faces as they looked at each other. Once she finished stripping, Cane bent over and took Duncan's huge erection into her mouth. She swirled her tongue around the tip as she gripped the base with her hand. She was rewarded with a rough moan as she continued to suck. She felt Logan as he climbed on the bed behind her and ran his hands up and down the backs of her thighs. Cane felt Duncan's hands on the back of her head and tensed a little, but relaxed knowing that Duncan was not Sam and would never do anything to her that she didn't want him to do.
Cane moaned around Duncan's cock when she felt Logan's warm moist tongue between her thighs. He licked her lips and around the outer edge of her entrance moving closer and closer to her clit. Cane's senses were in overdrive as Logan licked and Duncan pumped slowly into her mouth. She could feel her climax moving closer to the surface, and when Logan latched on to her clit and sucked, she came apart. She could feel her body trembling from the powerful orgasm as her knees went weak and threatened to give out. Finally, coming back down to reality, she released Duncan and rolled over on her back.
"Cane, are you sure you want to do this?" Putting her hand on Logan's cheek, she looked up at him and smiled.
"I have never been more sure. I need this more than I need air to breathe. For you guys I am willing to try anything once. You have never hurt me before, and I know you will be gentle with me now, so go for it." Her guys looked at each other and without another word, they came to some kind of silent agreement.
Duncan lay on his back and pulled Cane on top of him so that she was straddling his hips. Once she was on top she lifted so that she could guide Duncan's cock into her. Slowly, she eased down until he was completely inside, and she rested once again at his hips. She felt Logan as he placed a hand between her shoulder blades and gently push her down until she lay on Duncan's chest. Cane had never had anal sex before, and she felt a shiver of what was a mix of anticipation and fear go up her spine.
"It's okay, baby. I will go nice and slow so I won't hurt you, but I promise you will love it and by the time we are done with you, we will have you screaming our names at the top of your lungs." Cane couldn't help but moan at Logan's words. If it was possible, her temperature shot up even higher and she already felt like she was boiling. She tensed when she felt Logan's fingers at her rear entrance covered in cold lube.
"Just relax, Cane. It will be much easier."
Staring into Duncan's eyes, Cane took a deep breath and relaxed all her muscles. She felt one finger enter her, and there was a little pain, but nothing she couldn't handle. The pain quickly gave way to a new sensation that was pure pleasure judging by the moan that escaped her. As Logan slowly worked his finger in and out of her bottom, Cane tried her best not to move when all she wanted to do was start sliding up and down Duncan's cock.
"Don't move, sweetheart. You are doing so well, but I don't think I will last if you move right now before Logan has a chance to get inside you."
"I can't help it, Duncan. I need to do something please..."
Cane didn't even know what she was asking. All she knew was the sensations that were building felt like they were going to tear her apart and at this point she didn't know if that was a good thing or a bad thing. Duncan must have seen the fear in her eyes because he grabbed her head and pulled her down into a kiss that made all thoughts fly out the window. He had one hand on her hip to keep her still while the other held the back of her head. Cane could feel all the emotion that he put into the kiss, and she sent it right back to him. Soon one finger led to two, and then Cane felt the head of Logan's cock as he gently pressed it against her rear entrance. She stiffened, but Logan's hands rubbing on her back and him whispering in her ear immediately calmed her down. Slowly, he entered her as the little bit of pain quickly turned into a lot of pleasure. Once he was fully inside her, he stilled so that her body could adjust to the both of them filling her. The sensations were unbelievable, and Cane couldn't sit still any longer.
"Guys, please, I need to move."
Without another word, they began to move in coordinated strokes. She was never empty, as one pushed in, the other pulled out. The strokes were slow and long but that's not what Cane needed. She was about to lose control and wanted her guys right alongside her when it happened.
"Harder."
The one word seemed to set something off inside them because that was all it took for them to pump harder and faster. Cane felt like she was about to fly apart. She heard screaming and realized that it was her and hoped that they were alone in the house. The orgasm hit her without warning and was so intense that it left her breathless. She felt her muscles clamp down and distantly heard the shouts of the two guys as they rode out their orgasms as well. She lost track of time and reality as she soared through the best orgasm of her life. How could she ever go back to just one guy at a time after that? There was no way she could ever leave them. She was still collapsed on Duncan when she felt the cool rag Logan used to clean her up. She tried to move, but all her limbs seemed to ignore her. She felt Duncan roll her to the side as he laid her down and got out of bed. The next thing she knew she was surrounded on each side by her men, and vaguely remembered hearing one of them ask her was she okay. Her only reply was "Umm,soooo gooood." The last thing she heard was them laughing as she drifted off into oblivion.
Chapter 15
Duncan rolled over in bed and looked at Cane. She was beautiful and didn't even know it. After what they did last night, he knew he would spend the rest of his life showing her just how beautiful she really was. He knew Logan shared the same feelings. Hell, just watching her sleep was causing him to go rock hard. Rolling out of bed, he groaned and headed for a cold shower. He wanted Cane again but knew after what they did last night, she would be very sore, and he didn't want to hurt her. He would rather cut off his own arm before he would ever think of hurting her. That thought started him thinking about that bastard Sam. Duncan hated just sitting around waiting for something to happen. He wished he could go find the bastard and handle the problem once and for all. He hated seeing Cane scared, and now that she felt like she was being watched, he was even more worried for her. There could be a possibility that Sam had found her and was already in the area, but he asked around and no one had seen anyone strange lurking in town. Cutting off the water, Duncan quickly dried off and dressed. As he opened the door, he saw Logan sitting on the side of the bed grumbling. Good, he wanted to talk to Logan before Cane woke up anyway.
"We need to talk. Get dressed and meet me in the kitchen." Logan's grunt was the only sound he made as he entered the bathroom and shut the door.
About twenty minutes later Logan walked into the kitchen and went straight to the coffeepot. Duncan waited until he sat down at the table to begin speaking.
Knowing no easier way to say what he had to say, he just blurted it out. "I think we should marry Cane!"
The only reaction out of Logan was a raised eyebrow and a slight grin, so Duncan continued, "I know we haven't known her long, but we both love her, and I know you don't want to let her go just like I don't. I know we both can't marry her, but one of us can officially marry her, and then we can have a private ceremony later on for just the three of us. I want you to be the one to officially marry her, and since I am licensed to perform the ceremony, I figured I could do it."
That got a reaction out of Logan. "You mean you would let me be the one to marry her?"
"Sure, why wouldn't I? We both love her just the same, and as long as I know that she is mine, ours, then I am happy."
Duncan knew what this meant to Logan. He knew that although his family took Logan in and treated him like a part of the family, Logan still never really felt like he truly had something that was his. Duncan was telling the truth about Cane, as long as he knew that she was theirs, then he was happy.
Logan reached across the table and put his hand on Duncan's shoulder. "Thank you for this. Okay, let's do this. Let's make her ours."
Riley and Chase stumbled into the kitchen just as Duncan and Logan began to make plans.
Stopping, Chase asked, "What are you two doing up so early, and why do you have those goofy grins on your faces?"
"We are going to ask Cane to marry us tonight," Logan said as his grin spread wider.
"That's great," Riley said. "I really like her. We have had a lot of fun together while I have been guarding her. She is an awesome woman."
Duncan felt his chest swell with pride. His woman was awesome. He loved that his family was so accepting of his and Logan's relationship with Cane. He knew that there would be a few problems from nosy gossips in town, but he didn't care. Cane was theirs and that was all that mattered. The rest they could work out later.
"You know," Chase said. "When Ali hears about this, she is going to freak." They all laughed and quickly set in to make plans.
Last night had to be a dream, Cane thought as she slowly blinked her eyes open. She didn't know what time it was or how long she had slept. She tried to roll out of bed but stopped when she felt a small twinge of pain in her muscles. Definitely not a dream. Last night was one of the best nights of her life. She thought she was crazy to suggest that she wanted both of them at the same time, but she was glad that she suggested it. The sensation of having both of them inside of her was indescribable. After the first time, they woke her up twice more through the night and made love to her slowly and passionately. She was quite sore, but it was well worth it.
After her shower, Cane went into the kitchen and found Riley sitting in his usual spot. She was sad to see that the guys had already left for work.
"Morning, Riley."
"Morning, Cane. I'm guessing you slept well after all of last night's activities?" he asked, smiling. Blushing, Cane turned toward the coffeepot without answering.
When she gained her composure, she turned back to him and said, "So, what are we doing today?"
Riley smiled at the change of subject. "I figured we could just hang out by the pool today and then later on I have something to do so I and going to leave you at the diner with Ali until Duncan and Logan get off work. You should only have to wait about an hour and you should be safe at the diner."
"That's not a problem," Cane said, "but would this mysterious something you have to do be a date with Jessica?"
"I wish," he snorted. "I try to talk to her, but she is so shy she just blushes and heads the other way. I'm working on it though. Let's just say that the research I'm doing tonight will bring me one step closer though."
Research? Cane shrugged it off, hoping that Riley knew what he was doing.
Spending the day relaxing by the pool felt great on Cane's tired and sore muscles. By lunch, she could actually move without feeling any pain. They decided to fix sandwiches at the house for lunch since she would be going to the diner later. It was easy to talk to Riley, and she told him how she felt about Duncan and Logan and how much she had grown to love not only them but the whole family. The whole time she talked about them, Riley gave her these little smirks like he knew something that she didn't, but she brushed them off and kept going. She told him her fears of having an unconventional relationship in a small town and he listened and gave comforting words of wisdom. She realized that he was so much like Duncan. They were both compassionate and cared deeply. She listened as he told her about Jessica and how much he was in love with her even though she wouldn't give him the time of day. How innocent he used to think she was until he found out some information about her that told him different. Somehow he had information that Jessica was the author of the erotic romance novels that Cane had been reading. If that was true, then Jessica was not innocent at all. Those stories got steamy enough to cause Cane to blush sometimes.
"If she is really J. Red Riley, then she has a hell of an imagination. I have read just about all the books, and let me tell you, they were enough to make me have to go hunt down Duncan or Logan when I got finished."
"I tried to check one out the other day, but she freaked when I asked her for one and told me they were all reserved, and I couldn't have one."
Cane laughed. "I have several in the room if you would like to read one."
"Really, that would be great. I was going to drive down to Carlton tonight to see if their library had any to check out. You will save me a lot of trouble."
"No problem. If it's okay with you, I would still like to go to the diner and hang out with Ali until the guys get off. I haven't been able to spend any time with her these past couple days."
"That is fine. It will give me a little time to read the 'research' you are going to give me," Riley said with a wink. Cane couldn't help but laugh.
After showering, Cane left with Riley and headed to the diner. As usual Ali was excited to see her and gave her a huge hug.
"I came to hang out with you while Riley goes and handles some personal business."
Looking over at Riley she winked and laughed as he left. Before leaving he gave her his cell phone and told her how to get in touch with him and Duncan and Logan if she needed. He was headed back to the house to get started reading so he could be reached at the home number. It was only an hour until closing, and there were only a few customers eating, so Cane went into the kitchen to help Ali clean up.
"So," Ali began, "I hear the guys have a special evening planned for you."
Special evening?
"How did you hear about this?"
Ali laughed. "I hear everything, but talk is the guys paid a visit to a few stores in town to get all the supplies they needed for tonight."
Wow. Cane had never been surprised before and couldn't wait to see what they had planned. Heading back out to the dining room to help clear tables, her hair on the back of her neck began to stand up. She got the feeling that she was being watched again and looked around. There was a customer walking out the door, but Cane didn't see his face and the only other person there was Dr. Barnes. She waved as he looked up and smiled at him.
"Good evening, Cane. How are you enjoying your stay in our town?"
"I love it here so much that I am thinking about living here permanently. The town is so beautiful and everyone is so nice and friendly. I can't think of a better place to live."
He gave a knowing smile. "Duncan and Logan are treating you well I take it?"
Blushing, all she could say was "Yes."
Dr. Barnes smiled again as he laid his money on the table and walked out. Following him, Cane locked the door and looked out. She still had the feeling that someone was watching her, but didn't see anyone out.
It's time, Sam thought as he watched Cane lock the door to the diner. He was standing in between two buildings where he could see everything going on but she couldn't see him. He thought she almost saw him when she came out of the kitchen, but he was able to make it out the door in time. He didn't want her to see him until the time was right. He had been waiting and watching her for almost two weeks now, and tonight was the first night that she wasn't with one of her men. She was such a whore and not ashamed of it. Slutting around town with three men. But luckily she had him. He would show her the error of her ways right before he punished her. And once he was done, he would kill her and take beautiful Ali for his own. She wasn't corrupt like Cane, and he would enjoy training her.
Whistling to himself, he walked to the back to the diner. He knew Ali's routine. He had about fifteen more minutes before she opened the back door to take out the trash. He would have them then, and no one would be around to stop him. Laughing to himself, he put his hands in his pockets and leaned against the wall to wait. He already had the perfect place picked out to take them, and Duncan and Logan were busy with the distraction he set up about an hour ago, so they would not be interrupted anytime soon. Just then the back door opened and Ali walked out. Showtime, he thought as he pushed himself off the wall he was leaning on. Ali never even knew what hit her. He knocked her out using the butt of his gun and quickly loaded her into the bed of the truck he had waiting around the corner. Returning to the diner, he let himself in the back door.
"Hello, Cane, did you miss me?" The look on her face when she turned and saw him standing there was priceless. "Ah, sweetie, don't look so shocked to see me. There was nowhere you could have hidden to keep me from finding you. I told you that you were mine and I would never let you go. What makes you think I wouldn't come after you?"
Walking toward her, he saw her hand inch toward a knife on the counter. Quickly snatching it away from her, he shook his head.
"Cane, Cane, Cane, you have been a bad girl, haven't you? I have been watching you slut around town with not one but three guys. For that you will be punished, but first we are going to have some fun."
"Where is Ali?" Cane asked.
"Oh, she is already in the truck waiting on us, so you and I are going to walk out of here nice and slow and join her. If you try anything, I will shoot you and take her away, and you and your little boyfriends will never see her again." Not giving her time to say anything, Sam grabbed her wrist and tugged her to the truck.
"Were you able to get in touch with Riley?" Duncan asked Logan.
"Yeah, I called him at home. He gave Cane his cell phone in case she needed us. He is headed to pick the girls up now."
"Good. I don't want them waiting around with some crazy person in the area. What kind of sick bastard shoots a whole herd of cattle?" Logan didn't answer, just stood there shaking his head. The whole field they stood in looked like a scene out of a movie. There was blood everywhere and dead or dying cattle scattered.
"I don't understand how anyone could shoot twenty-eight animals and not be seen."
Duncan ran his hands through his hair. It was going to be a long night, and their plans for Cane were ruined. He was glad that they didn't say anything about it to her because he couldn't stand to see her disappointed.
Running his fingers through his hair again, Duncan sighed, "Come on. Let's get this over with so we can get home. There is something about this that just doesn't feel right to me."
Duncan could feel the hair on the back of his neck standing and tingling. His instincts were telling him something was wrong. He just wished he could figure out what.
Chapter 16
Cane sat in the truck with Ali cradled in her lap. She was trying not to panic for Ali's sake. Ali was breathing but unconscious, which was good but also a bad thing. The girl had already been traumatized by her parents' death. She didn't need to experience any of Sam's cruelty also. It was also bad that she was unconscious because it meant that Cane had to go along with whatever Sam had planned. She was not about to escape and leave Ali behind, and there was no way she could carry her, so she just rode quietly and tried to pay attention to where they were going. She risked a glance at Sam. He had one hand on the steering wheel and the other firmly gripped on the gun that was currently pointed at her. "Don't be getting any ideas of escaping," he told her. "I have plans for you and me tonight."
"Why are you doing this to me, Sam? Why can't you just let me go? You don't love me, so why?"
Sam didn't answer her. He just laughed and kept on driving.
Looking down Cane slid the cell phone that Riley had given her from under her leg. She had been checking it for the past few minutes, hoping that she would get some reception soon. No such luck, still nothing. She tried to keep the panic and worry down, but she knew the further away from town they got, the harder it would be for Duncan and Logan to find them. She had a feeling that it was going to be up to her to get them out of this situation even if it meant sacrificing herself to keep Ali safe.
After another twenty minutes of driving Sam turned onto a narrow dirt road and followed it into the woods. After about a mile Cane saw what looked like an old, run-down cabin. It looked like it hadn't been used in several years. Cane checked the cell phone one more time and still no reception. Finally the panic overtook her. She could feel her whole body trembling as her chest tightened. She couldn't breathe, let alone think of a way to get her and Ali out of this situation. "Okay," Sam said as he turned off the engine and turned toward her, "we are going to do this nice and slow. I'm going to carry our sweet little girl here while you lead the way. If you even look like you are about to try something stupid, I promise I will shoot her."
"I will do whatever you want, just please don't hurt her. She has nothing to do with this."
"Whether or not I hurt her, Cane, is all up to you. Now get out of the truck nice and slow and walk toward the front door." Knowing that she had no choice, Cane did exactly what Sam said. She knew that she would never do anything to cause him to hurt Ali, because she was innocent in all of this.
The inside of the cabin was covered in dust, proving that it hadn't been used in years. There was no furniture that she could see anywhere. "Grab the flashlight off the counter over there and turn it on." Moving slowly, Cane made her way across the room and found the flashlight. She turned it on and looked at Sam. He was carrying Ali in his arms and had the gun pointed toward her face.
"Please don't do this, Sam." She was trying to hold back the tears that were threatening to fall. She knew Sam saw crying as weakness, and she did not want to give him anything else to be angry about.
Ignoring her comment, Sam just pointed with his gun. "Walk into the other room and sit on the floor in the corner." Using the flashlight, Cane did as she was told and went into what looked like a bedroom. The only furniture in the room was an old twin-size bed with a bare mattress on it. Sitting on the floor, she watched as Sam gently laid Ali down on the bed. He kissed her on the cheek and brushed her hair out of her face. Cane could feel her stomach turning. This was how he was with me when we first met, she thought. There was no way she would let him do anything to Ali even if she had to sacrifice herself to stop him. "Now, I have to go unload a few supplies from the truck and make sure no one followed us. You be a good girl until I come back and then we can play a little bit." Winking at her, he turned and went out the door shutting it behind him. She didn't move until she heard the front door shut, then she ran and checked the door. It was locked and the only window in the room was too high up and too small to fit through. Pulling out the cell phone out of her pocket, she checked it again. Sill no reception. She held it up and moved to different areas of the room, praying for at least one bar so that she could call Duncan and let him know where they were. Cane jumped and had to fight to hold back her scream when she heard Ali moan. Rushing to her side, she picked up Ali's hand and squeezed it.
"Ali, please be okay. Wake up." Ali opened her eyes and looked around the room. "Cane? What happened? Where are we?"
"Shhh, it's all right. It was Sam. He hit you over the head and kidnapped us." Cane could see the terrified look in Ali's eyes and could tell that she was about to panic. Stopping her before she could start, Cane grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her to get her to focus. "Listen to me, Ali, I am going to try and get us out of here, but you have to listen to me and do everything I say." Ali nodded but didn't say anything. "I know Sam and I know how he thinks, so I will keep him distracted and keep his attention on me. While he is focused on me, I need you to keep trying to call Duncan." She gave Ali Riley's phone and explained the route that Sam drove to get them to the cabin. Ali seemed to know where they were, and that made Cane feel a little better to know that that would save time in finding them instead of having to search. "Ali, I want you to promise me that no matter what happens or what Sam does to me, you will not interfere. You have to pretend to be knocked out. As long as you are unconscious he will not bother you." Ali began to protest, but Cane cut her off. "Promise me, Ali, no matter what you see you will not make a sound and you will keep trying to call for help. I know how Sam thinks and how to keep him distracted. I have lived with him for eight years. I can handle this, but I couldn't live with myself if he laid one finger on you. Just keep your eyes closed, and promise that no matter what you hear, you will not interfere. Please."
"Okay, I promise, Cane."
"Good girl, now lie back down and keep trying that phone. No matter what he does to me don't let him know that you are awake." Cane hugged Ali and helped her lay back down like she was before Sam left. Suddenly she heard a loud motor cut on just before the lights did. Generator, she thought, and had just enough time to run back to the corner and sit when she heard the knob on the door rattle. I can do this. Taking a deep breath to calm herself, she watched Sam enter the room with a smile on his face. Based on the crazy gleam in his eyes, Cane knew she was in trouble and prayed that Duncan and Logan found them in time to keep Ali safe.
Duncan stood shaking his head. He still couldn't believe that some psycho would do something like this. Running his hands over his face, he sighed. He was tired and stressed, and just wanted to go home and curl up and wrap himself around Cane and sleep. Looking over at Logan, he saw that Logan looked like he felt, tired and run-down. He turned when he heard a truck coming up the drive, but he couldn't see who it was because of the headlights blinding him. When the truck stopped, he saw Riley jump out, and he knew immediately something was wrong. He could feel his heart threatening to jump out of his chest as he ran over, "Riley, where are the girls?"
"I went to the diner to pick them up, and they were gone. All the lights were still on and the back door was wide open, but they weren't there."
Duncan was at a loss for words, he couldn't think, couldn't breathe. He knew he couldn't live if anything happened to his sister or Cane. "Why didn't you call instead of wasting time driving all the way out here to tell us?"
"I gave Cane my cell so that she could call you if she needed anything. The phone at the diner was not working because someone cut the phone line outside."
Damn, Duncan tried to keep himself from panicking. He needed to think. He knew that he had to be the rational one because the look on Logan's face said that all he was thinking of was killing whoever put their hands on Cane and Ali. He had his cell phone up to his ear, and Duncan knew that he was calling Riley's cell. "Okay, my gut has been telling me something was wrong all night and this is it. I have a feeling Sam is in town and has Ali and Cane. I think he shot the cattle as a distraction so that we would be occupied when he took them. He must have been watching for a while now and knew when to strike."
"Damn," Logan said as he hung up his phone, "just keeps going straight to voicemail."
"That could either mean that the phone is turned off or there is no service where they are. Let's head back to the diner and see if we can find some clues or witnesses. Logan, give the phone to Riley so he can keep trying to call and you take my phone and call in a few guys in town. We may need the help searching. Have them all meet us at the diner." Once orders were given, all the men went into action. Duncan and Logan jumped into the sheriff's SUV, and Riley got into his truck to follow.
Halfway to the diner, Riley called Duncan's cell phone. Logan put it in speakerphone so that Duncan could listen, too. "Guys, I just got a call from Ali. She was whispering, so I could barely hear her. She says that Sam knocked her out when she went to take the trash out and took them to an old cabin. Based on the directions that Cane gave, she thinks that they are in the old hunter's cabin up by Ridge Top Mountain about thirty minutes away."
"Did she say how Cane was?" Logan asked.
"She says that Cane made her promise to pretend that she was still passed out not to move no matter what she heard or saw. She says that Cane told her that Sam would not bother her as long as she was out." Riley got quiet, and Duncan knew there was more that he wasn't saying.
"What else did she say Riley?"
"Ali didn't say anything else, but I could hear Sam shouting in the background, and I could hear Cane screaming. He is torturing her, and I think she is letting him so that he doesn't hurt Ali."
"Damn it!" Logan yelled as he punched the dashboard.
"Riley, listen to me," Duncan said, trying to stay as calm as possible. "I need you to go to the diner and meet the guys there and have them follow you out to the cabin. We are headed that way now. Also, call an ambulance and tell them to start heading that way as well." Riley agreed and hung up. Duncan prayed that they would get there in time to save Cane. He knew she was sacrificing herself to save Ali. He just prayed that they wouldn't be too late to save them both. "Everything is going to be all right," he said out loud. Logan just grunted. Everything is going to be all right. Duncan kept repeating it to himself, hoping that if he said it enough times, he would eventually believe it.
"Cane, Cane, Cane! You have been a very naughty girl, haven't you?" Sam said as he locked the door and strolled across the room. "I see my baby girl is still asleep. That's good. That gives us time to play." He smiled when he saw the terrified look in Cane's eyes. Good, let her be scared, he thought. She deserves everything that is about to happen to her.
"Sam, please let us go."
"Shut up!" Sam yelled as he smacked her across the face. "Now see, look what you made me do. You are always finding a way to get me pissed off. Why can't you be a good girl like my sweet innocent angel over there? Why do you always make me hit you?" Sam was fighting not to lose his temper and was losing the battle. He looked at Cane, and all he saw was a slut huddled in the corner crying. God, I hate criers. Only the weak cry. His daddy taught him that lesson a long time ago as beat him every tear out of him. "Now the way I see it, you owe me. You leave me in the middle of the night without a word, you steal money from me, and then you make me hunt you down all the way across the country. When I get here, what do I find? You slutting around with not one but three guys. I always knew you were a whore, Cane, but three guys? Did you really think that you could get away from me and they would protect you?"
"Sam, please. Don't do this."
"I said shut up, you bitch!" Sam yelled as he kicked her. Sam heard the loud snap and Cane's scream and realized that he broke her arm when she reached out to block his kick. "Oh, poor thing. You may want to have that looked at. It sounded like a nasty break." He stood and watched as she cradled her arm. "Did you really think you could leave me? You can never get away from me, Cane, you are mine. Even in college you tried to leave me and I stopped you then."
"What are you talking about, Sam? I came back to you after what happened."
Sam laughed. "Oh yes, after what happened. You mean the fact that you fucked another man?"
"That's not what happened, and you know it. He drugged me."
"Oh trust me, I know what happened. I saw the whole thing." Sam laughed at the look on Cane's face. This is going better than I thought it would. Sam had no plans of telling Cane what happened that night in college and how he got her back, but what the hell. It's not like she was leaving the room alive anyway.
"What do you mean you saw?"
"You really didn't think I would let you walk away from me did you? I made sure you would come back to me. Where do you think the guy got the drugs from? I paid him to drug you and make it look like he raped you. I watched the whole thing, and when you passed out, I watched him carry you to his room."
"No! Oh God, you are a sick bastard, why would you do that to me?"
Sam couldn't help but to laugh. This was all so amusing. "Poor pathetic Cane, always whining 'why me?' It's simple. I asked you to marry me and you refused. You are mine, and I decide when I am through with you. If I can't have you, then no one will."
"So I wasn't raped?"
"Yeah, well, you see, I paid the guy to make it look like he had sex with you, but he took it upon himself to actually rape you, so I made him pay for that mistake with his life."
"You are crazy!"
"Oh no, little slut," Sam said as he smacked her again. "I am just a man who always gets what he wants. Now take off your clothes so that we can play before my princess wakes up."
Chapter 17
Cane felt the room spin as she tried to stand. She was trying her best not to lose her supper but the pain in her arm was almost unbearable. She knew it was broken when she heard the sickly crunch as she put it out to block him from kicking her in the ribs, but she couldn't help it. She would rather have a broken arm than broken ribs that could lead to all kinds of other internal injuries. As she made it to her feet, she slowly began to remove her clothes. She caught a glimpse of Ali, and it looked like she was talking on the phone.
Okay, she thought, I can do this. Ali is talking to Duncan now and telling him where we are, so all I have to do is stall Sam as long as possible until help comes.
"Hurry up!" Sam screamed as he punched her in the jaw. Cane felt her head snap back and saw stars as her vision became fuzzy causing her to drop to one knee. Blinking rapidly, she fought to keep herself from passing out. She had to stay awake so that his attention stayed on him and not Ali. Moving as fast as she could one-handed and fighting nausea, she removed all of her clothes. Cradling her arm, she stood there naked and trembling, waiting for whatever sick torture he had in mind. Sam turned his back and walked over to the duffle bag lying by the door that he brought in earlier. Cane dared a quick glance at Ali, who she saw was silently crying but held up the cell phone and gave a quick thumbs-up.
Thank God, Cane thought. Help is on the way. I just have to hold on a little longer.
When Sam turned back around, Cane knew that she was in trouble. As she looked at the handcuffs in his hand, she began to cry.
"Sam, please, I will do whatever you want. Just don't use the handcuffs. My arm is broken, and I don't think I can take it."
Sam smiled at her and shook his head. "It is what you deserve, Cane. You walked out on me, so now you have to suffer the consequences."
Cane couldn't hold back the scream as he grabbed her broken arm and twisted it behind her back. The pain was excruciating and caused her stomach to heave several times, though nothing came up. She had to fight the blackness creeping around the edges of her vision. She had to stay awake in order to keep Sam's attention on her and not Ali. Once he had the cuff on her wrist, he pulled her other wrist back and cuffed it. When he let her arms go, Cane's knees buckled and she dropped to the floor sobbing from the pain. She knew that Sam would punish her for crying, but she couldn't stop herself. When darkness threatened her vision this time, Cane had to fight with all her might to keep from passing out.
"Don't you dare pass out on me, Cane, or I promise I will kill you. The night is just getting started, and we haven't even got to the fun stuff yet," Sam whispered in her ear.
Guys, please hurry up. I may not be able to hold out until you get here.
She felt Sam kick her in her thigh, and she fell forward with a grunt. She gritted her teeth and breathed in deeply.
She had to try twice to get her voice to work. "Sam, why are you doing this? You're killing me," she whispered.
"That's the point, Cane," Sam said as he grabbed a handful of her hair and pulled so that her face was even with his. "Now that I have found my sweet Ali over there, I don't need you anymore. You still deserve to be punished for walking out on me and stealing my money though. Once I finish giving you your punishment, then I am going to kill you, and Ali and I are going to go away together. The way I see it, I started too late trying to train you, and it didn't work, but Ali over there is innocent and young enough to be trained. She will make the perfect wife for me, unlike you who are nothing but a whore."
Cane was at a loss for words. In all the years that she had been with Sam, she had never seen him like this. Looking at him now, she could see that his eyes were glazed over.
Oh God, she thought, he has lost it.
Cane knew that Sam was truly crazy, and the thought scared her more than anything. She knew what torture a sane Sam was capable of, but now he had truly gone off the deep end, and there was no telling what he was going to do.
"Don't you have anything to say, Cane? Why so quiet?" Sam's voice was light and playful, like he was having a normal conversation with a friend and not in the middle of torturing a person. Pulling her back up to her knees, Sam slapped her again, splitting her lip, and punched her in the stomach. "Answer me, damn it!" he yelled.
"What do you want me to say, Sam?" Cane gasped trying to suck air back into her lungs. "I'm not sorry that I left you. I couldn't take the beatings anymore. Please just let us go. You don't love me, and you can find someone else to make you happy."
"I told you that you are mine, and I will never let you go. I will kill you before I do that," he yelled as he gripped her hair so hard that Cane could feel each individual strand as they were ripped from her scalp.
He threw her back to the floor and began pacing the room. She could hear his ragged breaths and realized that he was trying to calm himself down. She knew the routine. If he got too excited, then he would lose control and the torture would be over too quick for him, but by keeping himself calm, he could torture her for as long as he wanted.
Please hurry, guys, she thought again and kept repeating it over and over in her head as she lay on her good side and curled up into a ball trying to stay conscious.
She watched Sam as he paced and stopped by the bed that Ali was on. She held her breath as he leaned down and gently rubbed the lump that had formed on her head where he knocked her out.
"I didn't mean to hit her that hard," he said as he stroked her hair. "I just didn't want her to scream. I would never hurt her. She is different from you. She is pure and innocent and doesn't deserve to be disciplined like I had to do with you. I have been watching her for a while now, and she is perfect for me."
He let go of Ali's hair and began pacing again, and Cane let out a sigh of relief that he had moved away from Ali. Without another word, Sam turned and walked out the door, closing it behind him. Cane heard the click of the lock and his footsteps as he walked across the cabin and out the front door. Taking a deep breath, Cane lay her head down and closed her eyes.
"Cane," Ali whispered as she knelt down to her. Cane opened her eyes to see Ali with tears trailing down her face. Her hands were trembling as she reached out to touch Cane, but she stopped like she was scared to hurt her. "Cane, the guys are on the way. They will be here soon. Please hold on and we will get you out of here."
Cane didn't have the strength to lift her head, so she just smiled and whispered, "It will be okay. Just stay in the bed and keep pretending that you are unconscious so that he will leave you alone." Cane watched as Ali pulled a bobby pin out of her hair and began to fiddle with the handcuffs. She gritted her teeth to hold back a scream as pain shot up her injured arm.
Gasping for breath, she whispered, "What are you doing, Ali?"
"I'm trying to open the cuffs. Sorry if I hurt you, but they make it look so easy in the movies. Please let me help you, Cane. You don't have to do this by yourself. Let me take some of the attention for a little while," Ali sobbed.
"No! I couldn't live with myself if he laid a hand on you. This is my fault for bringing him into your life. I will handle him, and the guys will be here soon. What I need you to do is to try and call Duncan again to see how far away they are."
Cane tried to smile to convince Ali, but she was sure it came off as nothing more than a small tilt of her lips. She was in pain, and it took all her strength just to stay conscious.
Taking a deep breath she whispered again, "Promise me, Ali, I can't do this unless I know you are safe. Duncan and Logan will take care of me, you will see."
Closing her eyes again, she lay there and tried not to focus on the pain that was radiating up her arm while Ali worked the handcuffs and cried quietly. She truly believed that Duncan and Logan would find them. She just hoped that they were not too late.
Cane was not sure how long she dozed when she heard the bed squeak and opened her eyes to see Ali climbing back in. She heard footsteps across the floor, but they didn't come toward the room. She heard the refrigerator door open and then water running. Soon she could smell something cooking. Sam has truly lost his mind, she thought. Maybe he needs to keep his strength up. Torture must be hard work.
Cane couldn't help but to giggle at that thought, earning her a strange look from Ali as she held the phone to her ear.
Hell, maybe I am losing my mind, too, she thought as she passed out again.
"Faster, Duncan, damn it!" Logan yelled. It was the hundredth time he yelled it, and it was driving Duncan insane. He was trying to stay calm. Hell, one of them had to be, and it certainly wasn't Logan.
Taking a deep breath, he said, "I'm going as fast as I can, Logan. We are about ten minutes out, so look in the back and make sure we have everything we need."
Duncan knew he had everything because he checked his supplies every morning, but giving Logan something to do seemed to help. He glanced in the rearview mirror and watched Logan until he heard his cell phone ringing. He answered it, not bothering to see who was calling and hit the speaker button so he could keep both hands on the wheel.
"Duncan," Ali sobbed. He could barely hear her as she tried to whisper.
"Squirt. Are you okay, baby? We are coming. We should be there in about ten minutes."
"Duncan, you have to hurry. I'm scared for Cane. He beat her and broke her arm. He says he is going to kill her."
Duncan felt his heart pounding in his chest. He couldn't lose Cane. He would kill that bastard Sam when he got his hands on him for what he did to Cane.
"Ali, honey, where is he now?" Logan asked as he climbed back in the front seat.
"I think he is in the kitchen cooking."
"Okay, that's good, Where are you and Cane?"
"He locked us in the bedroom. I'm on the bed, and he had Cane handcuffed on the floor. I was able to pick the lock on the cuffs after she finally passed out from the pain, but she told me to call you before she passed out. You guys have to hurry. I'm so scared. He says he is going to kill Cane and then take me to be his wife because he thinks he can train me like he couldn't train her."
"Son of a bitch. Ali, just hang on. We will be there soon, We're at the turnoff now," Duncan yelled.
"Okay, but, Duncan, hurry please. She made me promise to pretend to be unconscious so that he would focus on her, but I don't know how long I can lay here and listen to him beat her. I don't even think she knows that she doesn't have the handcuffs on anymore."
"We know, baby, just hold on five more minutes, and we will be there. Ali, did you hear me?" Duncan could hear her breathing, but she wasn't saying anything. "Ali! Answer me," he yelled.
"He's coming. I gotta go," she whispered and hung up.
Duncan gripped the steering wheel until his knuckles turned white. He was trying to keep the pure rage that he was feeling from taking over. He knew that he had to stay sane if he was going to help his sister and Cane. "I'm going to kill him, Logan."
"Not if I get to him first."
Whistling, Sam finished putting the food on the plates. It was time to get to know his future wife. He smiled. He liked the sound of "his wife." He would have made Cane his wife, but she turned him down, and then after her little indiscretion in college he never had the urge to marry her again. Now that he had Ali, he didn't need Cane anymore. Things were looking better and better. Who says you can't have your cake and eat it, too, he thought as he walked to the room. Walking over to Cane, he kicked her in the thigh and then pulled her up by her hair, enjoying the scream he got from her.
"Wake up, Cane, there is no time for sleeping right now. Trust me you will have plenty of time for that later." He laughed at his own joke. No doubt she would have time for that after he had his fun and killed her.
"Here, I brought you dinner. You need to eat to keep your strength up." He laughed, sitting the plate down in front of her. He knew she wouldn't be able to eat with her hands cuffed behind her back, but it would be fun to watch her try.
"Sam, please, why are you doing this? Just let us go and I promise I won't tell anybody about this. You just go on and live your life, and I will live mine." Sam couldn't stop himself when he slapped her across the face.
Damn, that felt good, he thought.
"Shut up, Cane. You had your chance, and you chose to run away. Now, you have to suffer the consequences." He squatted down and wiped the trickle of blood off Cane's cheek where he opened it up with his hit. "Playtime is over, Cane. I have found your replacement, and you are no longer needed. Now," he sighed as he stood up, "eat up. Even prisoners on death row get a last meal, so consider this yours."
Sam walked over to the bed where Ali was laying. He had a nice romantic candlelight dinner planned for her. She should have woken up by now, and he was getting a little worried. She looked like an angel, he thought as he looked down at her. Reaching out, he stroked her cheek, bent down to kiss it, and felt her flinch.
"Ali, sweetheart, wake up for me," he said in her ear.
"Leave her alone, Sam, she has nothing to do with this," Cane yelled at him. He ignored her and watched as Ali's body tensed.
"Ali, honey, I know you are awake. You don't have to be scared of me. I would never do anything to hurt you."
He watched, but Ali didn't move. He knew she was awake, and he could see her whole body trembling. Why was she so scared of him? Didn't she know that he would never hurt her?
"Sam, don't touch her. She has nothing to do with this."
Sam could feel the rage as it coursed through his body. Turning, he stomped over to Cane and saw as her eyes widened.
Yeah, you should be scared, he thought.
"You bitch! What have you done?" he yelled as he grabbed her by the shoulders and hauled her up. He let her scream wash over him and fuel his fury. He pulled out the gun that he had been carrying and pointed it at her. He wanted her torture to last longer, but he couldn't let her fill his angel's head with her lies any longer.
"Sam! Don't!" Cane sobbed.
She knew he hated tears and crying, but she couldn't stop them. She didn't want to die, not like this. She had never seen Sam like this and knew that he was serious about killing her. She could see Ali sitting up on the bed with tears in her eyes and knew that she had to do something to stall Sam until the guys arrived. She wasn't sure how much time had passed while she was out, but she knew that they had to be close. Shifting to keep his attention on her caused fire to shoot up her arm, but she also realized that at some point Ali was able to get the handcuffs open. As long as Sam didn't realize they were gone then she would have the element of surprise, and that could be the one thing that kept her and Ali alive.
Just keep him talking and distracted, she thought to herself.
"Sam, you don't have to do this, just leave Ali out of this, and I will do whatever you want. I will even go back with you, and you can do whatever you want with me. I promise, let's just get in the truck right now and go."
She tried to stop the sobs before they came out, but she couldn't. She was scared to death. She never thought Sam would go this far.
"Shut up, you whore!" Sam yelled in her face. "I should have killed you a long time ago, but I didn't because I loved you. Now you have turned Ali against me. She is scared to even look at me, and it's all your fault," he screamed as he pointed the gun at her.
Cane didn't have time to think. She had just enough time to lunge at Sam and push his hand away before the gun went off. She could hear Ali screaming in the background, but it sounded like she was about a mile away. She barely heard wood breaking and the other voice shouting as she struggled to get the gun away from Sam, knocking them both over in the process. She thought she heard Duncan calling her name, but she couldn't answer him because she had to use all her strength to keep Sam from shooting her. She closed her eyes as a fist flew at her face, but opened them again when she heard another gunshot.
Oh God, no, she thought, he shot me.
But she couldn't see through the blackness that was creeping at the edge of her vision. Closing her eyes again, she could swear that she could hear Duncan and Logan screaming her name, but she didn't have the strength to open them again to see if they were really there. She smiled, thinking that at least she got to hear their voices again before she died, and let the blackness wash over her.
Duncan felt numb all over as he watched the paramedics load Cane into the ambulance.
They were too late, he thought. Now she was hurt because they didn't protect her.
If only they could have gotten there five minutes sooner, then they could have kept Cane from having to shoot the bastard. She was able to shoot him as they struggled over the gun, but it wasn't enough for Duncan. He wanted to kill him with his bare hands for what he did to Cane. Looking over, he watched as a second set of paramedics loaded the body bag with Sam's body in it. Duncan knew there would be questions, but they could wait. His top priority was to make sure Cane woke up at the hospital with them at her side. He knew that he wouldn't have survived if he had lost her. Looking over at his best friend, he knew that Logan wouldn't have survived either. They both loved her more than life itself. Once the ambulance was loaded with Cane and Ali, who they made go to the hospital as well to have her head checked out, Duncan followed on autopilot. The whole way he prayed that Cane forgive them for not keeping her safe like they promised.
"She is tough," Logan said, more to convince himself than anyone else as they stood in the emergency waiting room. "She survived eight years with him. She will pull through this, and we will be there to help her." Duncan couldn't answer past the lump in his throat. He felt tears in his eyes and couldn't stop them as they trailed down his face. He hadn't even cried when his parents died, but he couldn't seem to stop himself now.
"Come on, Duncan, you have to hold it together," Logan said as he pulled him into a hug. "You are supposed to be the strong one and keep me sane."
Duncan could hear Logan's voice crack and knew that he was on the verge of losing it, too. He dried his face and took a deep breath. He just wished someone would let him know how Cane was doing. They had been here over an hour, and all the nurses would tell them is that the doctor would give them an update when he was able to. The waiting and not knowing was the hardest part. They promised to protect her, and they failed. He wondered if Cane would ever forgive them for not being there when she needed them.
About two hours later, Dr. Barnes walked through the door and Duncan held his breath.
"Dr. Barnes, how is Cane? Is she going to be okay?"
"I won't lie to you guys," he said, eyeing him and Logan. "There was a lot of damage to her arm. The bone was broken in several places, which took several screws and pins to repair. She made it through surgery, and we put a cast on her arm, but she is not out of the woods yet. It is going to take time and a lot of physical therapy for her to fully recover."
He patted Duncan on the back and shook Logan's hand. "She is going to be in a lot of pain, so we are going to keep her sedated for as long as possible to keep her comfortable and help her heal. I'm sorry you had to go through this, but I will stay here overnight and watch over her."
"When can we see her?" Logan asked.
"She is still in recovery right now, but when they put her in a room you can go in and sit with her. If you want, you can go see Ali until then. She is okay, just a small concussion, but we will keep her overnight for observation. I am going to put Cane in the same room to make it easier for you."
"Thank you, Doc. We really appreciate everything." Duncan couldn't help but to feel a little relieved. She made it through surgery, and he and Logan would do everything possible to make sure Cane completely healed from this.
Ali was sitting up in the bed when Duncan and Logan entered followed by Riley and Chase. "Hey, Squirt, how are you feeling?" Duncan asked as he hugged her. Ali didn't answer until she was done being hugged by all the guys.
"I'm okay, but how is Cane? Is she going to be okay?" Duncan explained everything that Dr. Barnes told them and also let her know that she would be sharing her room with Cane.
"Ali," Logan said as he rubbed her leg, "we need to know what happened. Do you feel like telling us?"
"I feel so guilty," she cried as tears bean to stream down her face. "It's all my fault. I wasn't paying attention when I took the trash out at the diner and he hit me over the head with something. She went with him to protect me and she let him beat her so that he wouldn't turn on me. She made me promise not to move and I just lay there and listened to him hitting and kicking her. I should have helped."
"Listen to me, Ali," Duncan said as he sat on the bed and held her face. "None of this is your fault. It is all Sam's. He was crazy and you are not to blame for that. Cane did what she had to do to protect you. She knew Sam better than any of us and I don't think she could have lived with the guilt if she allowed him to lay a hand on you. Please don't blame yourself, Cane wouldn't want that." He hugged Ali and allowed her to cry out all her tears. Buy the time she was done crying the medicine that the doctor had given her kicked in and Duncan laid her back on the bed so she could sleep.
After another hour of pacing, they finally wheeled Cane into the room. Duncan was afraid to touch her. She was bruised all over and bandaged. She had a cast on her left arm and wires and tubes everywhere. Duncan reached out to touch her and didn't even realize that his hands were shaking really bad. He stood on one side of the bed while Logan stood on the other. The only place that didn't seem bruised was her hair so he stroked it and leaned down to whisper in her ear.
"Cane, don't worry, Logan and I are going to take good care of you. You are safe now." Logan also rubbed her hair and leaned in to whisper, "We will be here when you wake up, baby." They both kissed her and stroked her hair as they settled in for the long night ahead.
Chapter 18
The steady beeping was driving Cane crazy. She wished Duncan would turn his alarm clock off. How could he sleep with the thing beeping like that? Why did her body hurt so much? Cane felt like somebody hit her body over and over with a sledgehammer, and her arm didn't feel much better. She tried to clear her head, and suddenly the memories of what happened with Sam all came rushing back. Oh no, where was she? Had the guys found her? Where were Ali and Sam? She opened her eyes but had to immediately shut them again because the light was blinding. How long had she been out? Lifting her hand to shield her eyes, she groaned. That small action seemed to take all of her strength. She jumped and groaned again when she felt a hand in her hair.
"Shhh, it's okay, sweetheart. You are safe now."
She knew that voice and opened her eyes again. She saw Duncan and Logan standing over her with smiles on their faces looking like they hadn't slept in days. "Hey, baby," Logan said. "We were so worried about you." Cane thought she could see tears in Logan's eyes, but it could have been the tears swimming in her own affecting her view. She knew she was safe and relaxed.
"Where is Ali?" she croaked.
"She is at home. They let her go the day before yesterday." Duncan said as he rubbed her leg.
"Day before yesterday? How long was I out and what happened to Sam?"
"You have been out for three days, and don't worry." Logan smiled. "Sam will never hurt you again. You shot him while you both struggled for the gun."
Duncan frowned. "You scared us half to death, sweetheart. When you passed out right after the gun went off, we thought he had shot you. I swear I didn't breathe again until we realized you were just unconscious."
Cane lay on the bed and stared at her two men. It was finally over. She was free and she didn't know what to do first.
"Are you hurting? Do you need some medicine, sweetheart?" Cane looked at Duncan and smiled. "I hurt all over, but I don't want to go back to sleep."
"Baby, you need something for the pain. We will be here when you wake up. We aren't going anywhere."
"Yeah," Duncan said. "You need to take the medicine so you can get better. The sooner you are better, the sooner you can get out of here and we can marry you."
Marry me? They want to marry me even after everything that happened?
She never thought she would hear her guys' voices again let alone those two words. Cane was lost in thought and didn't realize that Logan had gone to get the doctor. Dr. Barnes came in and examined her and gave her something for the pain. Pretty soon she was sound asleep again.
"Okay, sweetheart," Duncan said as he swept in the room two days later. "I have the car waiting out front, and as soon as Dr. Barnes checks you out one last time we are out of here." Cane couldn't be happier. She was past ready to go home. She was tired of all the poking and prodding by the nurses. True to their word, the guys had not left her side the entire time she was in the hospital, and she knew they were just as ready to go home as she was. She had been feeling nauseous all morning but she didn't say anything because she didn't want the guys to panic and make her stay another day. She assumed it was all the pain medication that they were pumping into her that was making her stomach upset. Dr. Barnes came into the room just as Logan finished helping her get dressed.
He walked over and helped Cane sit on the bed. "How are you feeling, Cane?"
"I'm good, Doc, just ready to get out of here and actually get some sleep without it being interrupted." She smiled to show him that she meant it as a joke.
"I went over all the tests we ran yesterday, and everything looks as good as can be expected at this point, so I see no problem with you going home today." Cane sighed in relief, but the way the doctor was looking she felt he wasn't finished.
"I'm happy to be going home, Doc, but I have a feeling there are some stipulations to me going home today."
Dr. Barnes laughed. "You are a very smart young lady, Cane. Actually there is only one stipulation. I want you on strict bed rest until I see you again in two weeks. The only reason you should be out of bed is to use the bathroom and to shower."
How could she stay in the bed for two weeks? Cane opened her mouth to object, but Dr. Barnes cut her off. "I have my reason for the bed rest, Cane. One of the tests we ran when you first got here in the emergency room was a pregnancy test. It was positive, Cane. You are pregnant."
"What?" Cane gasped as Logan and Duncan both froze. "That's not possible. They told me that I couldn't have children." Cane didn't know what to think. She wanted to jump up and down and shout, but she was scared to get her hopes up. She was told that she could never have kids after what Sam did to her.
"I read your file, Cane, and I know what happened, but nowhere does it say that you can't have kids, just that it would be extremely hard to get pregnant with all the scarring. You are pregnant, trust me, and if you don't mind, I would like to do an ultrasound to make sure everything is okay and see how far along you are." Stunned, Cane nodded her head and agreed to the ultrasound. She needed to see proof that she was pregnant before she could get emotional.
Once Dr. Barnes left the room to get the machine for the test, Cane looked at Duncan and Logan. They looked just as shocked as she was. Would they still want to marry her if she was pregnant? They had both asked her to marry them the day before and both given her an engagement ring and explained that she would legally be marrying Logan, but they would have their own private ceremony where she would marry Duncan as well. Cane happily said yes, knowing that she wanted to spend the rest of her life with these guys. Because her left arm was in a cast and her fingers were swollen, she wasn't able to wear the rings yet, but the guys had been sweet enough to put them on a chain so that she could wear them around her neck. They explained that they were going to ask her to marry them the night she was kidnapped by Sam and how they had a whole romantic evening all planned out, but assured her that when she was able to wear the rings, they would plan a special evening and propose to her properly. Cane couldn't wait.
No one said anything when Dr. Barnes wheeled the ultrasound machine into the room, and Cane could feel herself holding her breath. Letting it out, she breathed in deep again trying to calm herself. Dr. Barnes lifted her shirt and squirted cold gel on her belly.
"Now keep in mind that it is probably too soon for you to be able to see anything specific like fingers and toes, that sort of thing, but we should be able to definitely tell if you are pregnant." The doctor turned the machine on, and Cane lay patiently and stared at the gray-and-black screen as he rubbed the wand all over her belly. After about three minutes of him repositioning the wand, he finally looked up and smiled.
Pointing to the screen with two fingers, he said, "Congratulations, Momma, there are your babies."
"Babies? You mean I really am pregnant, with two of them?" Dr. Barnes just nodded and smiled and started to clean her belly with a paper towel.
"Now that you believe me, will you do as I say and stay on strict bed rest until we know how this pregnancy is going to go?" Swallowing past the lump in her throat and trying to clear her head, Cane agreed to the doctor's orders and thanked him as he left the room.
Not thinking clearly, she just blurted out, "Well, that explains why my stomach has been so upset this morning."
Without warning both guys were on her. "What do you mean your stomach was upset. Why didn't you tell us?" Logan asked. At the same time Duncan said, "Maybe you need to stay one more day." They were both rubbing on her and petting her, and Cane knew that it was just as much for their comfort as it was for hers. They hadn't stopped touching her in some kind of way since she woke up the first day.
"No, we are going home, and we are all getting in the bed and going to sleep. We all need the rest. I am okay to go home, but what I want to know is, are you both okay with me being pregnant. I mean, what do we do? How will we know whose babies they are? Do we want to know? What will they call you?"
"Cane, baby, calm down. It's okay, we are happy about the babies," Logan said, and Duncan nodded his head and smiled. "We will both be their fathers, and they will call us both Dad. We don't want to know whose they are because we will both love them. As far as we are concerned, these babies are both of ours."
They both hugged her, and she knew that everything would be okay. She didn't know what she did to deserve these guys, but she loved them both more than anything and couldn't wait to get home to curl up with them.
"I love you guys, and I can't explain how happy I am about the babies. I never thought I would be able to have kids, and now you have given me two of them. I couldn't ask for anything more."
"I could think of a few things," Duncan said with a sexy grin. "But first, let's get you home and get you healed so I can show you all the things I'm thinking of." He winked as Logan laughed.
Life can't get any better than this, Cane thought as Logan scooped her up in his arms and carried her out of the hospital.
Epilogue
Cane was so nervous she couldn't stop shaking. She was getting married to two men today. She wasn't having cold feet or second thoughts because she knew without a doubt that she wanted to spend the rest of her life with these two men, but she just couldn't help but to be nervous. It had been three months since she had been kidnapped by Sam, and she was still healing. Also, she was three and a half months pregnant with twins, and she felt like a whale. She let Ali plan the wedding because she still felt guilty for letting Cane take a beating to keep her safe. Cane tried to explain over and over that there was no reason for Ali to feel guilty, but the girl wouldn't listen, so Cane was hoping that letting her plan the wedding went a long way in easing that guilt. She had to admit that Ali did a really good job with everything. They were having it in the backyard, and she had a white tent set up with white lights underneath and dozens of bloodred roses everywhere. It was simple but beautiful. The dress Ali picked out for her fit perfectly, even though it looked like she was carrying a beach ball underneath, but she wasn't complaining. After being on bed rest for three months, Dr. Barnes finally said that she was past the danger zone and could get out of the bed as long as she didn't push herself. Of course that was not a problem because Logan and Duncan never let her lift a finger. After the first few weeks from the hospital, she had to fight just to be able to go to the bathroom alone. There was only so much a girl could take, and using the bathroom in private was the one thing that Cane refused to compromise on.
"Are you ready?" Ali squealed, snapping Cane out of her thoughts.
Cane took a deep breath. "I am as ready as I will ever be."
She lined up behind Ali who was her maid of honor with Jessica, the librarian, in front of her as her bridesmaid. Cane and Jessica had become really close in the three months that she was on bed rest, because she had nothing to do but read. Jessica brought her books twice a week and stayed to visit while she was there. She shared her secret with Cane that she was in fact J. Red the romance writer. Of course Cane already knew this from Riley, but she played along like it was new news to her. She watched as Riley escorted Jessica down the aisle with a huge grin on his face and couldn't help but smile herself. Jessica was a lucky woman and didn't even know it yet because Riley had his sights set on her, and he wasn't giving up without a fight. Chase escorted Ali down the aisle and then it was Cane's turn. As she walked down, she spotted Duncan and Logan, and they took her breath away. They were both gorgeous in their classic black tuxedoes with bloodred bowties and cummerbunds to match the roses.
She and Logan were already officially married, having signed the marriage license and taken their vows in front of Duncan earlier in private. So as of this morning she was Mrs. Cane Matthews-Summer. She applied to have her name legally changed to Matthews as soon as she got home from the hospital. She wanted to be able to take both of their last names since she was marrying both of them. Now they were having a small, private ceremony between them to bond the three of them together. They invited only a handful of people who knew about their relationship. They each took turns exchanging rings saying their own vows and Cane had to stop twice to keep from crying through hers. There weren't enough words to express how much she loved them and how much her life had changed since they walked into it, but she was determined to show them every day for the rest of her life and she would start by convincing them to lift the no-sex ban that they imposed since she was placed on bed rest. Fighting not to smile, Cane watched her men as they received hugs and congratulations from their guests.
Oh yeah, she thought. They have no idea what they were in store for tonight, and she couldn't wait to see the looks on their faces when they saw what she had planned. She had a feeling that life could only get better from here.
THE END
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
I was born and raised in Nashville, Tennessee and have a degree in mortuary science. I am a single mother of a very active young son and was blessed to be able to take off work and become a stay at home mom when he was born. When I am not driving him to soccer, karate or one of the many activities that he participates in, you can find me curled up reading a romance novel, watching a movie, or writing. I have been writing short stories since I was in elementary school, but only recently decided to try and have one of my full length novels published. Submitting one of my stories to be published is a goal that I thought I would never have the guts to achieve, but now that I have, I hope there are many more to come.
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