Diane [The Town of Pearl 6] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) (9 page)

“My sister is going to be a lingerie model. There are people who want her to model in New York and Paris. She’s getting dressed for a big after-party with agents and bigwigs in the fashion industry. Holy crap.”

“Is she going to call Mark or his brothers?” Hank asked.

Melissa pulled her bottom lip between her teeth as all three of her husbands stared at her.

“Well…not exactly.”

“Well, Brenda, they called him in, just as you predicted. So now that he is involved, I can’t take any chances that he’ll try to destroy my operation. I have to take your old partner out.”

“No, Marzban, please. He won’t find you or cause any problems with the plan. You said you were going to close up shop and settle down with me,” Brenda stated, as she placed her palms against his chest and rubbed up and down along the material.

He reached up and placed his palm against her cheek. She turned into it and closed her eyes.

“My beautiful gem, I adore you. My promise to you will come to be true. But I can’t allow your government and your department to destroy everything I have worked for. There are multiple shipments that still need to get to our shores. I must apply some kind of pressure to keep Santos off my back. He seems to be the only one capable of destroying my agenda.”

“But Marzban, I gave up my life, my identity, everything for you. You promised that we would leave this all behind us soon, and yet, a year has passed and still you engage in the same activities. I can never return to the United States. I will always have to live in hiding.”

He gripped her shoulders and shook her hard. She knew she pushed him and that it wasn’t a smart thing to do with Marzban. But she didn’t want Mark to get hurt. He was a good man. This mission was the most intense and deepest undercover she had ever gone into. Marzban was one evil, manipulative Persian. He was the mastermind behind millions of dollars’ worth of military arms being smuggled out of the United States and into the Middle East. His partners, all affiliated with different countries including the United States, were into everything, from weapons of mass destruction to heroin. Marzban even had money invested in diamond mines and rare jewels. He was a collector, and now she was part of his collection.

“I will tell you when it is over and when the time has come for us to disappear. Your conversation with Santos provided some much needed information before you left. It made me realize how important he was to you.” Marzban moved one hand away from her shoulder and traced it along her cheek and then to her neck as he stared deeply into her eyes. He applied just the slightest amount of pressure to get his point across. He was a big man. Six feet tall, over two hundred pounds and an evil killer. Anyone who double-crossed him never lived to tell their tale of deceit.

She should have been more careful when she made that call, but she didn’t want mark thinking the worse of her. It was stupid, and it may have just caused more problems.

“You know what I think, Brenda?”

She shook her head and just listened. It was better to hear him out and just nod in agreement.

“I think that you and Santos were lovers.” He traced his finger along her jaw and abruptly gripped it.

“Oh.” She gasped. His fingers dug into her skin.

He gazed over her breasts and then back up into her eyes.

“And for that, he will die. I want you only thinking of me. No one else. Just me forever.”

“I do only think of you, Marzban.”

He squinted his eyes at her as if he truly didn’t believe her. The man had trust issues. Rightfully so. Everyone wanted what he had. They wanted his power, his connections, and his control.

“If he begins to investigate, and comes even remotely close to finding out what I have been planning, then I will begin to show him what I am capable of. Starting with that woman he mentioned on the phone to you.”

Brenda swallowed hard, her heart immediately racing with fear.

Oh God. I never should have spoken to Mark. I should have just left as planned. This is life as a government agent.

Once under deep cover, there was no turning back and no one to save me. Poor Diane. If Marzban took an interest or if he wanted to cause Mark pain and fear, then Diane was the perfect power tool to get exactly what he wanted.

Oh God, what have I done?

* * * *

Diane was exhausted as the limo dropped her off at her small house. The last thing she expected was to find a dark navy blue pickup truck parked outside of her house at eleven o’clock at night. But she knew it belonged to Lucas. Before the driver could help to carry her bags to the front door, Lucas, Drake, and Mark stepped out of the truck and assisted.

“What are you doing here?” she asked them. Only Drake responded. “We wanted to make sure you got home okay. You didn’t call us.”

All three men looked so serious and stern, it made her belly flutter. She knew she should have at least texted, but she didn’t know what their response would be to her little bout with modeling. They stared at her body, and she pulled the small sweater tighter against her chest. She figured they were imagining her in her lingerie. She was shocked that she felt excited and turned on. She obviously was losing her mind.

“You look exhausted. Let us carry your stuff inside,” Mark whispered as he reached out and caressed her cheek. She wanted to turn into his palm and close her eyes and absorb every ounce of comfort and protection it offered. But she didn’t as the driver cleared his throat and Lucas gave him a tip. They carried everything up to the house as she unlocked the door and they walked in. She was happy to be home. One look at her answer machine by the front table and she saw she had over a dozen messages. She had a lot on her mind, including the trip to New York and the possibility of doing a photo shoot for Monique next week. She couldn’t wait until Melissa found out.

The door closed behind her and she turned to see the three men standing around her luggage.

She pulled her bottom lip between her teeth and lowered her eyes. They were disappointed in her. They were angry, and that was not what she wanted.

Mark stepped in front of her and placed his hands on her hips.

“Well, it seems we have a lot to discuss, and since you failed to return any of our calls or texts with no consideration for our worry, we’re going to have to set some rules.”

She jerked her head up to look at him.

“Rules?” she asked as both Lucas and Drake moved closer. Lucas moved in behind her and placed his hands on her shoulders. She closed her eyes and felt the flow of warmth and security. She glanced at Drake.

“Rules, Diane,” Drake whispered.

“I don’t understand.”

“We’ll help you. But first, let’s sit and talk, shall we?” Mark asked as Lucas ran the palms of his hands down her back and over her ass as Mark took her hand and led her to the couch.

She felt herself shaking and was glad to sit before her legs gave out. These men were so charismatic and sexy. Plus, she had often fantasized about them coming to her house, demanding that she accept them as they seduced her and made love to her. She wanted that, but this seemed like bad timing. It also made her question why they were acting on these feelings now? Was it because they were jealous of other men wanting her? Was it because she pranced half-naked on national television and they wanted to be the ones to stake a claim first? Stupid questions went through her head.

Lucas sat on one side of her, Mark pulled over an ottoman and sat right in front of her, and Drake sat in the single chair with his hands on his long, thick thighs just staring at her.

She didn’t know what came over her, but before Mark could ask her a question, she poured her heart out.

“It wasn’t my fault. You see, Elvira and I were helping backstage and then one of the models I was assisting passed out. The next thing I know, the designer and the staff running the show are talking about what outfit I was going to wear, about bringing over makeup artists and doing my hair. I had all these people around me and it was total chaos.” She continued to tell them every detail and every time she looked at one of them, she saw either an expression of anger or something else. When she finally told them about the after-party, about turning down offers of modeling contracts and one-night stands, they seemed stunned, but she just kept talking and telling them everything. “So I had no choice when I said I would come to New York next week to try a photo shoot for a special edition catalogue for Monique. She said I could decide afterward if I wanted to do more. I told her I would think about Paris, but I didn’t think I could do that.”

“Paris?” Mark asked.

“New York?” Lucas asked.

They looked so intense, and she wasn’t sure what to do. Mark pulled her up off the couch and into his arms. He ran the palm of his hand under her hair to the base of her head and covered her mouth with his. He kissed her so deeply and so wildly, she melted in his arms.

* * * *

Mark didn’t know what came over him. With the way Diane rambled on about her excursion and how she was pushed into modeling lingerie onstage, her innocence, the crazy things that could have happened to her, and even that she was sitting here looking gorgeous as ever, it made him jealous as all hell. Whatever it was, he couldn’t hold back. He was so overwhelmed with emotion, with desire to kiss her, to hold her in his arms, and to know that she was here with him and his brothers, safe and sound.

When he felt her hands move up over his shoulders, he used his other hand to moved around her waist to her ass and lift her up and against him. She straddled his waist. He turned around and fell backward to the couch as she thrust her hips up and down on his lap. His hands were everywhere. Under her blouse then to the front of her blouse as he cupped one large breast. She moaned into his mouth and kissed him back, running her hands through his hair until they both parted their lips to breath.

“Oh God, Mark.”

She moaned and thrust downward.

He pressed his mouth against her tender neck. He nipped her skin and suckled against it as he began to undo the buttons to her blouse.

She grabbed his wrist and held his gaze. Lips swollen, eyes wide and wild, she looked incredible.

“You’re so fucking beautiful.” He went to kiss her again and she turned to look at Drake.

Mark glanced his way just as Drake reached for Diane, cupped her cheeks between his hands and kissed her deeply. She released Mark’s wrists and reached for Drake. Mark ran his palms up her camisole and straight to her breasts. He tweaked a nipple and she moaned and then pulled her mouth from Drake’s.

“God, I’ve wanted to kiss you for so long,” Drake admitted.

“This is crazy,” she replied and Mark gripped her hips and gave her a firm shake so she would look at him.

“We’ve been fighting this for far too long. This is why we wanted you to call us. Why we asked to meet and get together before you left for Dallas.”

Something changed in her eyes. A realization of some sort, and his gut went on alert instantly.

She pulled back and looked around the room until she locked gazes with Lucas. He looked downright wild.

Slowly she pressed her hands against Mark’s chest to push him away.

Mark scrunched his eyebrows together, instantly feeling insulted.

“What’s wrong?” he whispered.

“This isn’t right. You just want me now because of the lingerie and the show. You think I’ll sleep with you. I told you everything that happened and why. That wasn’t me. It was a stupid thing that happened.”

She pushed up and off of him and tried fixing her bra. He and his brothers watched her maneuver her camisole back into place while her blouse, buttons torn, fell to her elbows revealing her gorgeous skin and shoulders. He did that to her. Like some wild beast, he tore at her purple blouse.

“It’s not true. We wanted to talk to you since lunch that day. This has nothing to do with the lingerie show,” Drake stated, and thank goodness he did because Mark lost all ability to talk.

“Get out. I don’t want to talk to you. Please leave!” she exclaimed and then walked out of the room to the kitchen.

“Shit. What the hell just happened?” Mark asked.

“Your damn power trip and need for constant control. We should have told her the other day at lunch how we really felt. We should have just spoken to her about it now instead of attacking her,” Drake added.

“I couldn’t help it. She sounded so innocent and sweet, plus she’s gorgeous and I couldn’t get the images out of my head of her in the lingerie, men asking her out, people wanting her now. She’s ours.”

“Mark, she’s not like other women. She’s not as experienced and it sounded like she really did have a hard time with everything that happened,” Lucas said, and then headed toward the kitchen where Diane went. Mark looked at Drake.

“She is our woman. I didn’t like the idea of her being out of my sight. Not with everything else that has been going on.”

“Mark, she’s not Brenda. She’s not a missing agent. I know you feel like there is more you can do in regards to Brenda’s disappearance. You’re going to help find her by helping in the investigation. Diane is safe here in Pearl surrounded by all of us. These are our personal lives we’re talking about here. This is why we moved here. The change of pace, the desire to settle down, and when we met Diane we all knew that she was the one. It will work out, but we need to be patient. She’s scared, and she’s tired from everything that happened to her this weekend. The least we can do is be considerate and take our time. After all, living here in Pearl, retired from the military, we have all the time in the world. That was the whole point of moving here. Let’s go talk to her and ease things over.” Drake placed his hand on Mark’s shoulder. Mark ran his fingers through his hair.