Capturing Their Flame [Stone Passions 1] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) Read online

  She couldn’t stay here. Not with those two in the same town. She didn’t fool herself that fear pushed her to leave because they’d find her. No, she’d go to them if enough time passed. She wanted them.

  She’d dreamed of being with them. That hunger grew as days passed. She wouldn’t stay with someone who saw her as a body and nothing else. Isaac, she didn’t know what he felt for her. Neil though, he’d been clear the last time he’d been with her. She’d been basking in pleasure. He walked away from her after sex as if he’d done nothing important.

  She stood and gathered the clothes and belongings she’d gathered. She’d have to start over. It might take some time, but she could make the life she’d begun to build here. She had some money, but not much. Later today, she would travel by bus out of the city.

  “Are you sure you can’t stay here?” Jessica asked.

  Naomi stared at her friend. Jessica wouldn’t understand the whole situation. Naomi had told her friend that she’d had a big blow out with her family and her parents had withdrawn funding from school. Jessica understood that. Her parents had thrown her out when she turned eighteen.

  “No, if I get back in school I need a job and a fresh start. And I won’t be able to afford the private university.” Naomi smiled as she lied through her teeth. “I’ve got a job lined up. I just need to get there.”

  “You call me when you get there.” Jessica said. “If it doesn’t pan out, call and I might be able to help you find one here.”

  “I will call you and everything will be fine.” Naomi didn’t doubt that she’d land on her feet. She’d survive.

  Neil and Isaac would hunt her, but she didn’t know how long they’d continue. She’d like it if they wanted her for her, but they sought her for what she was. Their mate.

  She hitched her backpack over her shoulder and picked up her purse. She couldn’t forget that. It had all her money, as well as her ID in it. She’d need that to begin a new life.

  “I’ll miss you, girl. Keep in touch.” Jessica hugged her.

  Naomi hugged her friend. “I’ll miss you and I will.”

  She left the apartment building and began walking. Luckily, she had a bus pass she’d used when she hadn’t wanted to chance searching for parking. That would get her to the bus line that left the city.

  She stopped at the bus stop and checked the time on her new phone. One of those cheap pay as you go phones from a big box store, it would suit for a while. She had about fifteen minutes before the bus arrived. She took off her backpack and sat down.

  She hadn’t expected to get away easily. Every step away from that busy building she’d expected to hear footsteps pounding the sidewalk behind her. When there had been no shouts, she’d been relieved, but also a little disappointed. She hadn’t wanted to leave, but the hurt had driven her to take it when she’d discovered no one waited in the hallway.

  Someone walked up to the bench from the other side, but she didn’t bother looking over at them. She looked down the street for the bus. Hopefully, it came early today.

  “You should pay more attention to the surroundings, especially when you hear someone approaching you,” Neil said.

  Shock caused her to snap her head around to face him, even as she stiffened and tensed to jolt to her feet. A hand on her leg stopped her from rising. Neil sat there. He looked too calm. She’d expected yelling if they found her. His reaction sent confusion rioting through her.

  “Why did Isaac send you to get me?” She tried to keep her voice even.

  “Isaac didn’t send me, baby.” He smiled. “I came because I wanted to. You can’t run out whenever your feelings are hurt. You belong with us.”

  “My feelings weren’t hurt.” She shook her head, denying it. Although, he was partially right. She had left because of what he’d said. Not so much because it hurt, but because she’d had serious doubt that he’d ever feel any more for her.

  “No? The fact that I walked out after we had sex without saying anything to you didn’t hurt?” Neil raised a brow.

  She shook her head. “We don’t belong together.”

  “I believe we’ve done this before, sweetheart. You do belong with us and if you keep this up, I’ll make you scream it. We won’t let you run away from us. No matter what your reasons. You’re our woman and we keep what’s ours.” Neil chuckled.

  “You don’t get the only say in that decision.” She glared at him.

  “Isaac feels the same way.” Neil’s fingers tightened on her thigh.

  “I meant about me, you dense Gargoyle.” She clenched her teeth as her frustration rose.

  “Naomi, we’ve got enough determination and strength to keep you. When you’re upset, we expect you to talk with us.” He patted her thigh. “Isaac’s coming with the car. Do not make me pick you up and put you inside.”

  “Why should I make things easy for you?” She tried to lift his hand away from her leg, but couldn’t budge it.

  “Because you have some punishment coming for making us search for you for two days. And it will go easier for you if you don’t ramp up our anger before we get you home. Two nights without you has done more than enough to make us crazy.” Neil’s eyes darkened.

  The slight scrape of nails on her leg reminded her that she didn’t deal with humans. She didn’t care.

  “You can go suck on your anger, because you aren’t doing anything to me.” She wouldn’t apologize or take any punishment.

  He laughed. Her hands clenched. The soft and low sound infuriated her. She could tell by the look in his eyes that her words had made no impression on him.

  A car pulled up beside them. Neil pulled her to her feet. She didn’t fight him as he guided her to the car. She climbed in the back and waited as he followed her in.

  Although she’d love to land a few good hits, struggling wouldn’t do any good. They had the strength to haul her into the car. While she might manage to draw a little attention to them, she wouldn’t do it. If she thought she faced any danger with them, she wouldn’t go easily.

  “Who did you stay with?” Isaac asked from the front seat.

  She saw him look at her using the rearview mirror to get a glimpse of her. She sighed at the tense expression in his eyes. Yeah, he wasn’t happy with her either. Not that she expected him to be thrilled about it. He’d probably thought she’d be waiting for him when he’d walked back into that office. Her escape had to piss him off.

  “My friend. She was the only one I knew that didn’t live within the Branal territory.” She couldn’t go back there. Technically, she could go through it, but she wouldn’t be under their protection.

  “Are you ready to be honest about why you ran?” Isaac asked.

  “She lied when we waited on the bench. I’d say she’s not ready yet. She denied everything.” Neil put his hand on her leg.

  “How do you think you know why I ran?” She turned to stare at Neil since Isaac couldn’t make eye contact with her.

  “We talk to each other. You’re important to us. Isaac knew that you were upset about something the day you ran.” Neil squeezed her leg before drawing his hand up her thigh. “I’d rather you wore a skirt.”

  “Yeah, I dressed with comfort in mind, not erotic play.” She shook her head.

  “You should always keep play options in mind when it comes to how you dress.” Isaac’s voice dropped to a sexy rumble.

  “Back onto the subject we were discussing, are you ready to talk about leaving?” Neil asked.

  “Why don’t you two tell me why you think I left?” She wouldn’t start blurting things out.

  “I didn’t say anything to you when we had sex. You thought that’s all it was, a bodily urge. It wasn’t. I made love to my woman. I left because if I lingered any longer, then I would have taken you again.” Neil put a hand on her cheek, turning her to face him.

  “It’s always more than a bodily urge with you. The tie between us might be physical, but the emotions are there. I don’t know if you can feel them or
if you fight them. They’re there, if you look.” Isaac’s voice rang with certainty. “We’re keeping you. We’ll work to make you see that what’s between us will grow with time.”

  She blinked at him, stunned at the intensity in his voice. She never expected them to claim feelings for her.

  “Don’t think that we won’t make sure that you remember not to try to run away from us again.” Neil’s fingers stroked along her jaw.

  “I never want to go through the fear and wondering if you had a safe place to sleep at night. We had no idea where you’d go.” Isaac shook his head. “For that feeling alone, you’ll bear the flat of my hand on your butt.”

  “Won’t happen.” She shook her head, pulling it free of Neil’s hand. “How did you find me if you didn’t know where I’d go?”

  “Your credit card and ATM card. When you used them, we got the first clue to your location. The rest was simple tracking.” Isaac drove them toward the compound.

  “I used those yesterday. Did you just get here?” She glanced over at Neil. She didn’t think they’d wait.

  “We tracked you to this building and knew you were in it, but we couldn’t go in there and pull you out without drawing attention. We had no idea what floor or what apartment you hid in. So, we waited and watched. We knew that you’d have to come out of there some time.” Neil slipped his palm over hers, before clasping it gently.

  “We didn’t expect you to walk out alone this morning. We thought you’d stick with whoever you were with. You’d decided to leave, didn’t you?” Isaac asked.

  She didn’t know if it she should answer that, but she didn’t want to lie to them. “I knew that you’d find me if I stayed here.”

  “I was happy that we didn’t have to get you away from witnesses, but I don’t like that you thought you could walk away because we had problems.” Isaac shook his head.

  “I didn’t think there was a solution.” She bit her lip. Their words began to have an effect. They seemed sincere when they said more than sex existed between them.

  “There’s always a solution. You have to look for it and work at it.” Neil released her hand and once again drew his palm over her thigh.

  “Why don’t you get to work, Neil,” Isaac suggested.

  Neil chuckled. “More than happy to.”

  He turned as far as the belt would allow. “Two nights and I can’t wait to get my hands on you, again. Riding in a car with you and knowing we’ve got a few minutes to go before we get home is torture.”

  “Ah, did you miss fucking me? After you finish, you can walk away again.” She narrowed her eyes on him. She brought it up intentionally, because she had no idea what he planned to do.

  “We figured out that bothered you, baby, and I told you I couldn’t touch you again without ending up in bed or on the floor with you. I should have said good-bye, even though it all started with a good-bye kiss.” Neil leaned in and pressed a kiss to her cheek.

  His hand stroked up her thigh, sliding inward as he went. He drew his fingers higher until the pressed against the lips of her pussy. A tingle hummed within her from that light touch. He increased the pressure as his hand moved up and down.

  “Widen your thighs, baby, like you did when we were in the parking garage.” Neil’s fingers pressed the fabric of her jeans and panties between the lips of her pussy.

  “We can’t do this now.” She shook her head and fought not to give him exactly what he wanted.

  “Parking garage?” Isaac asked.

  “Yes, we can. Spread them, baby.” Neil rubbed his fingers in slow circles, drawing out the torment. “One day after lunch, I had to touch her. I don’t have an office, but I knew that I could at least give her the pleasure she needed. I stroked her until she came against my hand and then licked that sweet cream right off my hand. It was worth the pain I suffered throughout the rest of the day.”

  “Now, that sounds delicious. I don’t know if I’d have been able to resist pulling her into the back seat and making that car rock.” Isaac chuckled.

  “Nowhere private enough to do that,” Neil said. He rubbed his fingers back and forth. “Believe me the idea did occur to me, but I wouldn’t risk others seeing her.”

  She spread her thighs, unable to resist the lure of pleasure. They better not leave her hanging. That better not be their idea of punishment. Because she could provide her own orgasm. She could take care of it and would.

  He didn’t unbutton her pants or try to take off her shirt. His fingers continued to drift back and forth in a maddeningly slow caress. Her hips began to lift into his fingers. She clutched at his hand, trying to pull it harder against her. She needed more than that light stroke.

  “Damn it. Don’t think you can tease me and I’ll sit around frustrated.” She glared at Neil.

  “We won’t leave you frustrated, baby. We’re warming you up before we get to the other part.” Neil kept swirling his fingers around her clit. “You’re nice and wet for us.”

  “With what you’re doing, I’d be surprised if I wasn’t wet. Damn, I want you.” She wriggled in the seat.

  “As you’re supposed to do. We missed you while you were gone. Hopefully, you’ll remember where you belong after we finish.” Isaac turned the car into the driveway.

  Neil pulled his hand away. “Now, we get to the important part of the evening.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  What important part of the evening? With the way her body hummed with arousal, she could tell them her opinion on the order of events. Sex. She wanted it now. They could come back to whatever they intended to prove to her.

  “Come on. You’re back where you belong. Believe me that we won’t be making the same mistakes again, either of them.” Isaac caught up to them near the door into the house. He’d parked the car in the garage in record time.

  “You won’t make the mistake of trying to leave again either, baby. We’ll show you and you’ll tell us what we need to hear.” Neil slipped an arm around.

  His firm grip made her think they believed she might try to slip away from him right now. She flicked a glance up at him, trying to judge his mood. She couldn’t miss the arousal in his eyes. Other than that, she didn’t know what he planned. It made her a little nervous.

  “We’ll rip those clothes off you.” Isaac swept his eyes over her.

  “I can take them off for you. I can do it slowly.” She licked her lips.

  The intensity in his eyes gave her a little pause. The man before her seemed to be a different Isaac than she’d dealt with before. Even the possessiveness in his office when she’d told him that she didn’t belong with them paled in comparison to this.

  “No, we’ll rip those away. They offend me. Those are the clothes you planned to wear to leave us.” Isaac shook his head as he led the way into the bedroom. Their quiet determination concerned her. She wouldn’t be able to talk them out of whatever they planned.

  Once in the bedroom, he turned and waited as Neil guided her into the room. Neil closed the door. She heard the quiet snick of the lock. She looked back at it, but made no effort to run to it. She had a feeling that would break whatever control they did have. She didn’t want to see what they looked like out of control.

  “Walk over to Isaac. You’ll admit exactly why you ran. We want you to acknowledge it.” Neil’s hand pressed against her back and applied the slightest pressure.

  “I thought you two were sure that you knew the reason.” She licked her lips, but took a couple of steps toward Isaac.

  Neil didn’t let her stop once she began walking forward. The guiding push of his hand urged her over to Isaac. Neil stopped when she stood barely a foot away from the other man. She looked up at Isaac. The arousal had faded enough that she was a little uncomfortable under his stare because more than hunger lurked in it.

  “We do know, but we’ll hear it from you. We’re not making the same mistake, but you also won’t make the error of thinking like that, again. We want you to acknowledge your thoughts. Before we
get to that though, we’re getting rid of your clothes.” Neil paced around to her side. He gripped the front of her shirt and ripped it open.

  She blinked at the sudden move. Although they’d said they’d rip her clothes off, she hadn’t prepared for him to do it. She gasped and stood there with her shirt gaping.

  “Stay calm, baby, because if you run, we’ll catch you before you get to the door.” Isaac’s hand moved her jeans.

  He ripped the new denims down the side. Fuck, that took strength. She’d realized they were strong, but other than the fight, she hadn’t seen anything to indicate the extent of that strength. Since she hadn’t seen any other fight outside of television, she hadn’t been sure how his hits differed from those delivered by a Branal or human.

  “Breathe and don’t be impressed by that. He used his claws on the material at the top to get a starting point.” Neil moved in behind her and whispered in her ear. He pulled off the remains of her shirt.

  His hands stroked over her shoulders and back. The sudden looseness of the fabric of her bra surprised her. Since she hadn’t felt the slight pull before it released, he’d either torn it or cut it with his claws.

  “Exactly how sharp are your claws?” She licked her lips.

  She’d never seen them up close. If they were sharp, she should be a little concerned. Sometimes those things did come out during sex.

  “Sharp enough to slice through normal flesh. Yours though is quickly becoming a different matter. It’s one of the first changes within a Branal when she mates with a Gargoyle. You’ll be able to stand the press of our claws without being hurt by them.” Isaac knelt and pulled her pants down.

  She glanced down and watched as he took her tennis shoes off before he tugged the remains of her pants off. His fingers trailed over her calves. The tips moved in circles as he drew them upward. This time when the claw came out, she saw it. A flash of black curved nail sliced through the material of her panties. Once he took those off, she stood naked in front of him, wondering what they had planned now.