Springer, Jan - Be My Dream Tonight [The Desperadoes 3] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) (18 page)

“And Eve,” he called out to her as she headed toward the door. She stopped and turned around.

“What?”

“Make sure you ditch that blanket, too.”

He heard that sensual quiver in her exhalation. She nodded firmly, grabbed the blanket tighter around her, and with her head held high in defiance, she walked out of the kitchen.

* * * *

Riley exhaled as moments later he heard Eve rummaging around in the living room. His cock and balls were so tight he was in painland here.

“Glad you mentioned her getting rid of that damned blanket, Kayne. I kept getting glimpses of her rigid red nipples. What the hell did you two do out there?”

“Yeah, what went on? You guys were gone a long time this morning,” Maddox complained as he helped himself to another scone.

Kayne grinned. “Took her twice down by the creek.”

Riley swore. Maddox shook his head and closed his eyes. “You are killing me, here,” he whispered.

“She mentioned remembering her wearing boots and a blanket, so I tried to bring back more memories.”

“Yeah, and having her show us how good she is with a gun isn’t going to help the situation here,” Maddox said as he shifted uneasily in his chair. “You know how hot we got when we were teaching her how to shoot.”

“Or is that the plan?” Riley fished. “To get us so hot that we have another sexfest today? ’Cause, to tell you the truth, I don’t think I can keep my hands off our pretty tease for too much longer.”

“She sure does look sweet in a blanket,” Mad replied dreamily.

Kayne chuckled, obviously enjoying their distress.

“This is purely business, gentlemen. Let’s see exactly how good she is with that gun first. No sex. We keep our minds on this job for now. Agreed?”

From beside Riley, Maddox swore softly beneath his breath. Riley bit his bottom lip with frustration before answering.

“It looks like we’re the ones getting tortured here and not Eve.”

“Don’t worry. Eve will get her sweet torture when we don’t react to that teasing way she’s been opening her blanket to us while we were trying to eat. Consider it her punishment for defying me.” Kayne’s nose flared with sensual anger, and the familiar sexual rush zapped through Riley’s bloodstream once again.

Torture her with no sex. Lousy plan, but hell, he could go along with it. Kayne’s business before pleasure plan was going to remind Eve exactly who was on top around here. And he meant that quite literally.

* * * *

Eve was getting pretty pissed off being forced to stand here out in the cold by the creek waiting for the men. How dare they not trust her with her rifle skills? Had she not proven herself that first night in camp when she’d shot at that seedling and the coin? And how dare Kayne be so commanding over her? He really knew how to push her buttons, didn’t he?

There was something else that really made her mad, too. Riley and Maddox barely put up a protest when Kayne said they were moving on tomorrow. They’d even appeared excited when she’d said no to Kayne and at a possible prospect of a verbal showdown between her and Kayne. She’d watched their bodies tense when she’d protested. It appeared as if the old Eve gave in way too easily to them. From here on out she would have to be strong and defiant against them.

But how could she when every time the three men looked at her, her knees melted and all she wanted to do was have them make love to her?

Eve cradled her rifle and winced at the soreness in her breasts. Yeah, she’d ditched the blanket as per Kayne’s request, but not because he’d instructed her to, but because she couldn’t very well keep her blanket wrapped around her shoulders and fire her rifle at the same time.

Besides, she figured she’d given Kayne, Mad, and Riley enough glimpses of her sore breasts and nipples at the breakfast table. In her ravenous appetite, she’d let go of the edges of the blankets on several occasions, and after catching them gazing at the opening and noticing their continued interest, she’d been turned on. Big-time. She realized she loved to tease them. Loved the intoxicating pleasure rush zipping through her veins every time she caught them looking.

Gosh, she hadn’t realized what a sexual being she truly was. Which reminded her of the flashback she’d had earlier when she’d smelled and touched Mad’s ointment. She’d remembered the men applying salve to various parts of her body. His salve being smeared to rope burns around her wrists and ankles.

She creamed at that memory now.

Obviously she enjoyed being tied down or tied up as she’d been tied to the tree when Kayne had taken her earlier. There were other times, too. She remembered them now. Salve being smeared over her sore ass cheeks after a good spanking. Or after rough lovemaking sessions when all three took turns taking her in the ass.

Eve blew out a tense breath as arousal spiraled through her. Her butt plug pulsed deep inside of her as she remembered the intoxicating pressure of having a cock impaling her back end before she’d been taken from them.

Oh my goodness. She was getting aroused again.

She shook her head and glared toward the cabin. Why weren’t they coming? She was getting herself all hot and bothered out here without any distractions. What was she anyway? Addicted to sex? A sex maniac?

Movement at the barn door caught her attention, and a moment later she breathed a sigh of relief when she saw the three men strolling into the yard.

Cripes! About time!

Her nipples were starting to get all tight and tender again. She would need to get her hands on some more of Mad’s salve. With a sudden bout of impatience she forced herself to wait until the three men joined her.

“What took you so long?” she snapped, no longer able to hide her irritation.

“We needed to tend to the horses and figure out if Trader Jack had a wagon around to bring back the gold with,” Maddox explained.

Kayne chimed in. “We found one. So now we’re here. Okay, give us a show with your shooting skills.”

Nervousness skittered along her pulse, and suddenly perspiration blossomed across her forehead as the three men watched her with eager expectation. Talk about pressure. Sheesh. What in the world did they want her to do?

Just shoot at anything
. C.J.’s voice echoed in her head as she remembered asking C.J. the same question when she’d first asked her friend to teach her how to shoot straight.
First shoot at a target close to you, and then when you master it, start shooting a little further away
. C.J. always made it a point to have ammunition on hand. Sometimes ammunition was stolen from houses. Sometimes they’d robbed people on the trails and roads. But it was survival of the fittest, and C.J. was aiming to make sure they survived any unexpected attacks by keeping them prepared with loads of ammunition. She’d thought it a waste of ammo when she’d point at something and miss, but with practice, she’d mastered her techniques.

So, that’s what she did this time, too. She started out slowly. Telling them what she was going to shoot at then she took aim and shot it. Trying as much as she could to ignore how intently they watched her movements, she pointed her weapon to targets further and further out, aiming at items that seemed impossible to strike. But she hit her objective every time.

After shooting for about fifteen minutes straight, she was exhausted, and her body was wound up tighter than she’d ever been before. Concentrating so intently on her targets, she’d forgotten she was being watched until Riley gently touched her elbow, snapping her out of her powerful attention.

“Okay, Eve. That’s enough,” he said softly.

Gosh, she felt as if she’d just written a series of exams at college already. She found herself smiling as she remembered the rows upon rows of desks in the auditorium. The intent silence as hundreds of students diligently worked on answering questions on their exams. She remembered the aching tension in her temples as she industriously worked on finishing her exam before the time was over.

God, she’d graduated from a college. She had a diploma in photography.

“Eve? Are you okay? You look kind of funny.” Maddox moved in front of her field of vision. His concerned look had her smiling even harder.

“I just remembered about my college days. More of my memory is coming back.”

“What else do you remember?” Kayne asked as he and Riley joined Maddox and crowded in around her.

She blinked at the intensity of their excitement. Felt it slip into her bloodstream and pump exhilaration through her veins like liquid fire.

“I remember you guys putting salve on me. Many times.”

Eagerness shone in their eyes. They wanted to know more. Suddenly she wanted to tell them more.

“Kayne, I remember our last time together on the side of the mountain near Stanley Glacier.” His mouth dropped open in surprise. She turned her attention to Riley. “I remember how you enjoy cooking in the kitchen and in the bedroom.” She winked at him and he laughed. “And Maddox, I remember how much you enjoy complaining when you need to make more salve to keep up with me.”

She shook her head as she remembered something else. Something that should have bothered her more than it did, but she realized it was something she’d dealt with emotionally and put to rest as best as she’d been able to do. It was her short time as a pleasure worker. It had been desperation that brought her to that pleasure house. She’d done things she hadn’t been proud of, but she’d done it to survive.

“I remember how we first met. All of us,” she admitted as emotions of both shame and defiance against that shame warred within her.

The three men grew silent. She definitely had their attention.

She turned to Kayne. “I understand why you didn’t want to talk about how we first met earlier. I guess it wasn’t as romantic as I had hoped.”

Kayne nodded, his expression serious. “We all dealt with life the best we could right after the Catastrophe, Eve. You already know we don’t fault you for anything back then. We do what we do in order to survive.”

“Hell, girl. Had you not been there we would never have met, right?” Riley chimed in. She could tell he was trying to spin the conversation away from this sensitive area, and she was glad for his concern over her feelings.

Unfortunately Kayne wasn’t going to let her off the hook that easily.

“You dealt with it. We dealt with it. We moved on. Are you okay with this? I mean if you need to talk about it, you know we’re here for you. We’re always here for you, Eve.”

Riley and Mad eagerly nodded.

“You can always depend on us, Eve,” Mad said in that soft horse-whisperer voice of his that soothed her nerves.

“Yeah, babe.” Riley smiled at her and warmth flooded her heart.

Gosh, these guys were so sweet. Now she knew why she’d fallen head-over-heels for all of them.

“Do you remember your time with Wolfe?” Kayne said slowly, and suddenly her bubble burst, instantly replaced by fear. Why was he so insistent on knowing? Why didn’t he leave that part of her memory alone? Suddenly the fear was wrapping around her like a blanket. She could hear the voices. Could see everything unfolding right there before her eyes. And she was helpless to stop it.

* * * *

“She’s already pregnant, Wolfe. On top of that, the conk on her head your man gave her when he kidnapped her has fucked up her memory. She doesn’t even remember who she is.”

Eve cringed as the woman named C.J. hurled the words at the big, ugly man she’d called Wolfe, but Eve detected the underlying pleasure in the tall, black-haired woman’s otherwise docile voice, which made Eve wonder if this woman was here against her will, too?

Wolfe’s pockmarked face went white with shock, and then anger flared in his beady black eyes. He was a very tall man, and he towered over both of them like a huge, menacing grizzly bear. He looked down at Eve as if she were some frog ready to be squashed beneath his meaty fist.

“Pregnant?” Wolfe’s eyes glittered in disappointment. “Which one in the Durango Gang is the father? Or do you know?” he asked Eve, his gaze snapping frigid ice that sent shivers lancing into her flesh.

Durango
Gang? She drew a blank and swallowed the bile threatening to churn up into her throat and choke her. She had to remain defiant. Although she was terrified, had a blinding headache, didn’t know what in the world had happened to her or what was going on, she had to show the bastard she wasn’t afraid of him.

Then to her surprise, he grinned, and the flash of even yellow teeth gave her the feeling she was staring at an evil hyena.

“I don’t eat newborns. I do, however, like eating babies that are close to term. How far along are you? Can’t be much, you’re barely showing, bitch.”

Eve tittered as a wave of shock snapped through her. He ate unborn children? Had she just been dropped into a nightmare? Or was this conversation seriously happening?

“She’s just three months along, Wolfe,” C.J. answered before Eve could tell him to go to hell.

Three months? Is that why she felt so ill? Morning sickness? Or was it due to the cracked skull she must be carrying around on her shoulders, because her head hurt like hell.

It had hurt the moment she’d wakened earlier in a part of this forlorn, damp cave to find a woman sitting beside her. In the glow of several lit torches, Eve noticed the dark-haired woman’s face was battered with black-and-blue bruises, and she rocked herself slowly back and forth as if trying to comfort herself. When the woman had seen Eve staring at her, she’d smiled in such a sweet way that warmth had sifted through her pain and wrapped itself around her.