Enticing Their Mate (20 page)

Not wanting to put his full weight on her, Riley rolled over, taking her with him where she lay limp in his arms.

“Wow, that was incredible. I think you dissolved every bone in my body,” she said.

Riley looked into her sated eyes and smiled. “I don’t think I can move either.”

She patted his arm instead of lifting her head. A minute later, she emitted soft snores. If he hadn’t cared about messing the bed, he would have slept with his dick inside her.

The door opened and Jay entered. Riley placed a finger to his lips to indicate she was asleep.

“Did you rock her world?”
Jay telepathed.

“I hope so. She sure as hell did mine.”

“Did you claim her?”

He’d thought about it—had wanted to in fact, but he wasn’t sure it was fair to Sarah.
“Not yet.”

Jay’s lips firmed and he stomped into the bathroom. Well, hell.

*     *     *

Sarah awoke around four in the morning and found herself sandwiched between both men. Needing to clean up, she carefully slid off the end of the bed and headed into the bathroom. She hadn’t remembered Jay returning and wondered if he was okay with her making love with Riley and then falling asleep. As much as she wanted to wake him and kiss every inch of his body, she had to leave for work soon. The new clinic was almost an hour away and she needed to eat breakfast.

Today would be tense. Dr. Elkhart would be watching her every move since she wouldn’t have the freedom she had at the warehouse or even the old clinic. In a way, things would be better since she only had five women to care for.

The big question was how much should she reveal about the location of the other women to the remaining five. If she told them the truth, they’d ask too many questions, which might jeopardize any chance they had at being saved. It might be better to say the other five were being attended to in a different room.

Sarah sighed and glanced in the mirror. Bags had formed under her eyes and she’d lost weight from all the stress. If she could keep it together for another week, she’d be able to put this behind her.

Then what? Did she want to continue living like this, taking one job after another? Until she’d met Jay and Riley, she hadn’t realized how much she’d been missing. The sex had been wonderful and better than anything she could have imagined, but it was more than that. Never had she known two men who wanted to protect her and care for her like these men did. Her big debate was figuring out what drove them to want to be with her. Was it their animal instincts or their hearts?

S
arah was seriously dragging, more so as the end of her shift neared. Every time she checked on the women, Dr. Elkhart’s narrowed-eyed glares eroded her ability to concentrate, taking away most of her energy. He’d often sneak up on her, acting as if she was plotting a way to free the remaining women. She might have considered helping them escape if they’d been strong enough to move quickly.

While the corridor that led to the outside required an eye scan, the hallway to the front office wasn’t locked—at least during her shift. To her surprise, he’d told her the code to the keypad to get into the hallway. Perhaps it was because he needed a few things from the front.

One time when he’d asked her to retrieve a folder from the receptionist, Sarah had noticed two men seated in the waiting room who looked like they might be guards. Most likely they belonged to Statler’s new team. Connolly had said many of the new hires would be around to make certain no one attempted to steal the women. She bet they were also there to stop anyone from leaving.

Close to six o’clock, she was more than ready to leave. Dr. Elkhart had left her alone with the women off and on throughout the day as he tended other patients, but not knowing when he’d barge in kept her muscles bunched tight.

The door to the room opened, and she jumped. Damn nerves. It was Amy and Russ and her stomach squeezed tight. For a moment, she contemplated finding something she could use as a weapon against him, but then realized the futility of that thought. She’d never be able to beat him in a fight.

Wanting to exude an air of self-confidence, Sarah walked across the room and picked up her purse. As if the three of them were best friends, she’d sidled up to Amy. “Nancy is on some strong antibiotics and seems to be doing better, but can you check her temperature in an hour?”

“No problem.” Amy’s response was less than enthusiastic, but now wasn’t the right time to call her on it.

Sarah wanted to ask what Russ was doing there, but perhaps Dr. Elkhart had told him that he’d be gone for the night and someone needed to ensure the women’s safety. “See you tomorrow,” she said with as much cheer as she could muster.

“Yeah.” Amy’s tone came out cold, but she didn’t sound threatening.

The office in front was closed and no one was in the waiting room, but with the push of a button, Sarah was able to exit.

As soon as she stepped outside, she made a beeline to her car, needing some Riley and Jay time to help clear her head. Out of the corner of her eye she spotted two men and a wolf in the woods to the east of the clinic, and her pulse shot up. If she didn’t get a grip, she might cause some irrevocable harm to any chance the women had for freedom. Appearing jittery might cause one of the men to question her, and she wasn’t in the mood for that.

Perhaps the attack by those men on the van last night had affected her more than she’d realized, or else it was having Dr. Elkhart watch her every move that had worn her down.

Once in her car, Sarah locked her doors and headed out, constantly keeping an eye on her rear view mirror. She didn’t expect any trouble, but caution had always been her mantra.

When the dingy motel came into view, Sarah let out a breath and was doubly excited when she spotted Jay and Riley’s truck parked in front of the room. Jay had managed to secure a room key for her; once she parked, she let herself in. Both men jumped up from the table and smiled. What she wouldn’t give for some hugs now.

“Hey. Welcome home. You hungry?” Riley’s unusually friendly tone surprised her. He brushed back his damp hair and strode toward her.

“I’m starving.” She’d barely had time to eat lunch. While she was given forty-five minutes, the only place to offer fast service was fifteen-minutes from the clinic.

Riley wrapped her in a much-needed hug. “How would you like to go on a romantic boat ride to an island restaurant?”

Sarah leaned back and chuckled. “Who are you and what did you do with the old Riley?” Not that she didn’t enjoy this new side of him, but unless they were engaging in carnal pleasure, he was often gruff and distant.

Riley stroked her arms. “I’m the same as always, but Jay and I figured you probably had a tough day, what with being alone with Elkhart. We thought you could use some relaxing down time.”

That sounded like heaven. “I did have a rather tough day, and I figure it won’t be long before the women are freed. Regardless, your offer sounds fantastic.” She thought her unease had come from being cooped up in only one or two rooms for most of the day, but most likely it was because she missed having Riley around.

Jay came up behind her, placed his hands around her waist, and squeezed. “Go put on a pair of jeans and a warm top.”

“Mind if I take a quick shower?”

“Sure, but hurry.”

“I’ll be ready in two shakes.”

Sarah took her change of clothes into the bathroom. Knowing the men, if she dressed in front of them, they’d be spending the next few hours making love. As much as she wanted to delve into their wondrous bodies, she was hungry and needed to relax with them over dinner—anything to help her forget the stressful day even for a little while.

Once she cleaned up, they left. Riley helped her into the front seat then jumped in the back. “So where is this place?” she asked.

“Not quite an hour southeast of here.”

That would be from the clinic and far from the warehouse. Good. She twisted in her seat so she could speak with Riley. “What did you do today?”

“Several of us had the not-so-fun job of dismantling the warehouse since Statler didn’t want any evidence to indicate he’d been there.”

“That makes sense. What did you do with the supplies? And the stuff in his office?”

“We burned almost everything in back. The supplies we’ll deliver to the clinic tomorrow.”

She supposed that was a good solution. “Did you find anything of interest in his office?”

He shook his head. “No.”

Jay reached across the seat and squeezed her hand. “How about we forget that Paul Statler exists for one night and concentrate on us?”

“That’s a great idea.” Assuming she could do it.

During the rest of the drive, he and Riley discussed logistics and what they planned to do when the buyer arrived in a few days. So much for putting work on the back burner.

She crossed her legs. “What happens if the buyer decides the women are too thin or too sickly and refuses to purchase them?” she asked, fearing Statler would come after her if the deal fell through.

“We rescue them before Statler has a chance to regroup,” Riley said. “I don’t think Elkhart will give us any problem. He probably doesn’t care one way or the other about them. As long as he gets paid, he’ll be happy.”

“Let’s hope.” Exhausted, Sarah leaned back against the seat and closed her eyes. She must have lightly dozed because the engine died and a second later Riley shook her.

“We’re here,” he said.

A bit groggy, Sarah eased out of the truck. A pontoon boat was tied up at the end of a dock situated on a large lake. Several people were milling about, probably waiting to board.

“How did you find this place?” she asked.

Jay grinned. “I was doing a little search on what there was to do in this remote part of Canada, and other than hiking and fishing, I found squat, so I called Riley to see if he had any ideas.”

Riley stepped next to her. “One of the new guards was talking about the nice restaurant on this island.” He took her hand and led her over to the boat.

She couldn’t picture a Colter going to a classy restaurant like this. The men she’d run into all seemed like Neanderthals. Then again, Statler prided himself on being sophisticated.

While the sun was only now setting, she could make out some lights behind the trees and pointed to the west side of the island. “Is that the restaurant?”

“Yes,” they said in unison.

The ferryman motioned they climb aboard then collected their fares.

“Is there anything else on the island?”

“No, just the restaurant,” Jay said.

The trip across the lake was lovely, and the clear sky gave her hope they would have a starred-filled evening. Once they disembarked, with a man on either side of her, they headed inside. To her delight, Jay had made reservations, which meant they didn’t have to wait.

The dress code appeared casual despite the grand nature of the rustic building. Three fireplaces were blazing and the flickering lights from the flames bounced off the high-beamed ceiling.

“It’s amazing,” she said trying to take in the decor.

“I agree,” Jay said.

“This way, please.” The hostess guided them to the back of the restaurant where lit candles graced their booth that overlooked the other side of the island.

She slid in and let the men decide where they wanted to sit. Riley took the seat next to her and Jay sat across from her. Almost immediately their server approached and asked for their drink orders.

“We’ll have a bottle of your house red,” Jay said.

Sarah looked between both men. “Are we celebrating?”

Jay reached across the table and clasped her hand. “In a way. We’ve been feeling bad that we haven’t had a chance to court you.”

She chuckled. “Court me? Do people do that anymore?”

He leaned back in his seat, looking hot and sexy. “You know what I mean. I think we need to get to know each other better, and what better place than a romantic restaurant far from Mr. Statler?”

“Sounds good. If we’re here to learn about each other, how about we start with you?” Jay had given her snippets of Riley’s upbringing but hadn’t revealed anything about himself. “Tell me how you came to work for
him
.”

Jay looked off to the side, unfolded his napkin, and placed it on his lap. “Let me start by saying I didn’t have the best childhood.”

She didn’t know if he expected sympathy or wanted her to be a sounding board. Regardless, his harsh tone pained her. “I’m sorry.”

He nodded. “My dad was a prick and a criminal.”

She’d never heard such bitterness from Jay before. “What did your dad do?” She prayed he hadn’t killed anyone. Growing up as a murderer’s son would have been terribly traumatic.

“He cheated a lot of people by running a Ponzi scheme. Eventually, he was caught and tossed in jail. I felt betrayed and became withdrawn, angry, and a bit combative.” He glanced at Riley. “Some might claim I haven’t change.”

Riley held up a hand. “I’m not saying a word.”

“What happened to your dad?”

“He’s still rotting in jail, thank God. Mom hired the best lawyer money could buy, but even he couldn’t do much for the crooked son of a bitch.”