Hearts Enchained Read online

  “Seriously? How did you manage that?” Clean clothes sounded lovely.

  Chelsea winked at her. “Benmonth and Annlyss took care of it for me.”

  “How?” Sorcha asked, heaving herself to her feet.

  “The den is designed to facilitate dragon comfort. If the blacks want something done, it gets done in a hurry.”

  “Cool. That must come in handy.”

  Sorcha wondered if Tengale would have done that for her if she’d asked. Probably not, considering her last words to him and Jaysada were to leave her the hell alone.

  Ten minutes later she was soaking neck-deep in Chelsea’s spacious bath in a room so cavernous it had its own echo. The Enforcers might be a special breed of bastard but they sure knew how to fit out their living quarters.

  The space was the size of her bedroom at Addestet House. The pale-gray marble that lined the walls, floors and ceilings of every room in the den were also present in the bathroom. But above her eye line the walls and domed ceiling exploded in a colorful mosaic of tile. The pattern ranged from delicate, to intricate, to bold, to abstract blocks of color. The design seemed to have no pattern to it yet it somehow meshed into a cohesive piece of art that lured the eye from one section to the next.

  And the bath itself was a dream. At least four-by-six, it was deep enough that Sorcha could stand in water up to her waist and it was tiled in shades of blue ranging from ice to indigo. Relaxing on the underwater bench, she grabbed a cloth, poured on a good dollop of liquid soap and proceeded to scrub Jax and Kae’s touch from her skin. If only her memory were as easy to wipe.

  Chapter Seven

  After she washed, Sorcha let the heat of the water take care of her body while she spent all of her concentration on keeping her mind empty. She’d have plenty of time to think when she got back to the dorm at Addestet House and all she wanted to do now was rest in a warm void of nothingness. Every time a thought pushed into her mind, she scooped it up and shoved it out of her head. And she was so relentless, so focused, she didn’t realize she wasn’t alone until she heard someone clear his throat.

  Her eyes popped open and she splashed water everywhere in a hasty attempt to cover her body. She glared at Kaelum, who was leaning against the marble bench-top, and completely ignored the door-lurking Jax.

  “What the hell do you think you’re doing? Get out.”

  “No.” Kaelum didn’t move.

  “How did you get in here? Where’s Chelsea?” And what the hell happened to Sorcha’s dragon protection?

  “Chelsea’s gone to fetch your clothes.”

  The bathroom might have been huge but Kae and Jax absorbed space like a black hole. All of a sudden there was way too much male in the room and she felt smurf-sized as she huddled in the foamy water.

  “Chelsea doesn’t know we’re here,” Kae said. “Neither do Ari and Tarkan.”

  She didn’t know whether to be grateful her humiliation wasn’t being shared with her friends or terrified that nobody knew she was so vulnerable and alone.

  “Well, you shouldn’t be in their home uninvited. You need to leave.” At least her voice wasn’t giving away how unnerved she was. It came out strong, steady and a little bit miffed.

  Kae shook his head at her demand. “We need to talk.”

  The four most ominous words in the English language. She wondered briefly if they had the same weight in Gemarran. Scrunching herself into a slithery ball, she tried to give Kae the evil eye. “We don’t need to do anything. You might want to talk but I need to be left alone, so you can hit the road and you can take that asshole with you.”

  “No.” Kae eased himself off the counter and glided forward, not taking his eyes from her face as he sat on the course of flat tiles that edged the tub. Like Jax, he wore dark-gray leathers and the close-fitting tunic and pants did all kinds of wonderful things for his body. He turned slightly, frowning at her. “Something important happened last night and we need to talk about it. We need to decide the best way to go forward.”

  “What’s all this ‘we’ bullshit?” She was getting pissed off now, her temper sparking and eroding her better sense. Keeping her arms crossed over her boobs, she straightened her spine and pulled her shoulders back. She didn’t want to cower in front of these two and it wasn’t as though they hadn’t already seen her naked. “There is no ‘we’. You both made that abundantly clear. Yes the sex was fantastic but you managed to kill whatever feel-good buzz I had going. I can’t be what you want and you can’t give me what I need, so let’s just call it quits.”

  “No.” Kae glanced up at Jax and motioned him forward. To Sorcha’s surprise the oversized Viking obeyed, planting his fine ass on the other end of the bath edge.

  “Our lives are complicated,” Jax said, his deep voice rumbling over her body and under her skin. “It’s going to take time to sort out where we stand and what we want from each other.” He took a long, slow look at Kae before he turned his attention back to her. “Kaelum wants to bring you into our bed. He seems to think that the three of us could be good together.”

  The Den Commander didn’t seem at all thrilled with that idea. She was almost afraid to ask. “And what do you want, Jax?”

  “I want Kae to be happy.”

  She wasn’t about to let him cop out like that. If she was going to be forced into a conversation she didn’t want, while sitting naked in a tub, the least he could do was man up.

  “You want Kae to be happy. But you don’t think the three of us would work.”

  His full, sensual lips pulled down at the edges. “Truthfully, I don’t know. It might or it might not.”

  “But?”

  “I’ve got too much to lose if it fucks up.”

  And she didn’t? If she totally lost her mind and actually considered tying herself to these two men she’d risk everything. Nobody would want her after she’d been with the Enforcers and if they kicked her to the curb the only place left for her to go was a bower house. Gemarran society was structured to keep a woman totally dependent on a man and Sorcha would have no way to protect herself.

  “So you’re willing to tolerate me in your bed because it makes Kae happy?” She’d have to be a lunatic to sign up for that kind of life.

  Jax stretched out his long arm and stroked her head, even though she’d squashed herself into a corner to get away from him. “I will welcome you into our bed, I will delight in having access to your body.” His hand slid down her shoulder and her whole body shuddered at his touch. “It’s having you in the rest of my life that’s going to cause problems.”

  She didn’t understand how he could turn her on so easily when he was pissing her off. It was demoralizing. He glided his hand down over her hip, not caring that his sleeve was now wet to the elbow, and pressed his hand flat to her abdomen. “Kae likes you, our dragons claim you and I want you. Isn’t that enough?”

  Forcing her knees together and keeping her arms crossed over her breasts, Sorcha clung to whatever vestige of self-preservation she had left. She had no doubt the Enforcers wanted her in their bed but if she gave in to them she’d be nothing more than a fuck toy, a bit of spice to add to their love life. She was more than a fucking condiment and it was about time she started acting like it.

  “As flattering as your offer isn’t, I’m going to decline.” She pushed at Jax’s arm one-handed. “I don’t want to be anyone’s risk, chew toy or science experiment. I deserve more than that and I deserve a hell of a lot better than what the two of you are offering.”

  Kae trailed his fingers in the water and pinned her with his golden eyes. “What if we offered more? What if we offered you a mating contract?”

  Jax watched Sorcha’s body coil to leap out of the bath and his hand shot out to stop her before she found her feet. Wrapping his hand around her throat, he collared her firmly enough to immobilize her but not hard enough to cause discomfort.

  “Get your fucking hands off me,” she spat.

  His cock surged, hard and tight. Her st
illness under his hand and the defiance in her eyes combined to drive him to a level of arousal so high he could hardly breathe.

  “Just relax,” he said. “Keep your ass planted where it is and I’ll let you go.”

  She glared at him. “I don’t want to keep my ass planted. I want to get out of the bath but not before you two fuck right off.”

  He stared down at her, privately admiring her courageous defiance. He was the biggest and strongest Enforcer in the den and he could beat any male in hand combat. He was head and shoulders taller than her and three times as wide. She was sitting in a bath stark naked while he was looming over her fully dressed and she still cursed him and ordered him out the door. All that while he had his hand wrapped around her throat. His need for her spiked sharp and hot, sending painful darts of arousal through every muscle in his body.

  He might not think she was a good idea, he might believe she was too much of a risk but that didn’t mean he didn’t want her. It didn’t mean he couldn’t admire her spirit or appreciate her self-respect. It certainly didn’t mean he wasn’t desperate to get back inside her.

  Jax kept his palm flush against her throat but allowed his fingers to trail up and down the silky skin of her neck. “We’ll leave soon.”

  They’d have to. Tengale and Jaysada had bought them some time with the other dragons, but it wouldn’t be long before Chelsea returned from her errand. And if Ari and Tarkan came back from training early no amount of excuses or explanations would save him or Kae from a well-deserved beat-down. Sorcha was a guest in Ari and Tarkan’s den so she was under their protection and should be accorded every respect.

  The trouble was, Jax liked having her wet and naked, looking up at him with those extraordinary green eyes.

  He eased his grip and slid his hand around to cup the back of her head, knowing he should let her go but unable to disconnect from her. “Kae made you an offer, little cat. Don’t you think you owe him the courtesy of an answer?”

  She wrapped both hands around his wrist and pulled with no effect. “That wasn’t an offer, it was a half-assed attempt to manipulate me. So no. I don’t owe him or you anything and you can take your offer and shove it up your—”

  He flexed his arm, jerking her toward him, and she glided through the water like a dream. Using her momentum, he continued the pull, lifting her up until he sealed his mouth over her parted lips. She might be angry and hurt, she might think she hated him but she wasn’t immune. Banding his arm around her waist, he lifted her to plaster her against his body. Then he waited, holding the kiss but not going any deeper. If she pushed at him, if she truly wanted him gone, he would release her and walk away right now regardless of how much he wanted her.

  But she didn’t push, she melted against him and licked into his mouth. Her touch was tentative, more like a request than a demand. Jax eased her fully out of the water and lifted her to straddle him, turning his body so Kae would have enough room to bracket her from behind.

  Kae wrapped around them both and pushed against Sorcha so she was pressed tight between them.

  Jax left Sorcha’s mouth to trail kisses down her neck, sucking and biting down one side while Kae took care of the other. She writhed between them, rubbing against them so she could feel their cocks pressing at her core and her ass. Jax absorbed the feel of her breasts against his chest, the silk of her skin under his tongue, the sexy little moans she breathed against his ear. The heat of her core driving down against his straining cock was driving him crazy.

  She burned like dragon-fire in his arms and when he felt Kae’s hand on her core Jax eased away. Leaning back against the wall, he watched his den-mate’s hand play with the most intimate part of her body. She pressed against Kae, arching her back and rocking her hips against his fingers. Jax was mesmerized and he let his eyes feast as he raised his hands to play with her breasts. Plump, soft, topped with pale-pink nipples that hardened under his touch.

  He kept his hands busy twisting, pulling and rolling her nipples as his eyes once again dropped to her core. Kae was working her hard; two fingers pumping inside her while his other hand rubbed her clit, using the pressure of his hands to control her. She responded so quickly and honestly it was impossible not to get swept along in her wake. And her scent. Her arousal was a drug so dangerous Jax would have been smarter to stay away from her.

  But if he’d stayed away he wouldn’t have shared this. He wouldn’t have held Sorcha on his lap while Kae drove her to orgasm with a speed and ruthlessness that she’d likely never encountered. It hit her hard, the ecstasy slamming into her and taking her over as she convulsed in their arms. She gave everything of herself in that moment, trusting them to keep her safe.

  Jax softened his touch, stroking his way down her skin until he laid his hands over Kae’s where they covered Sorcha’s hot, wet core. Leaning forward, Jax nuzzled her, cheek to cheek, savoring the tremors that rippled over her skin.

  He could get used to this. A soft, pliant woman in his arms and his hands linked firmly with Kae’s. Jax let himself fantasize, just for a moment, that they could have this with Sorcha and nothing else. That she would share their bed and leave them alone the rest of the time. He leaned down to press his face against her shoulder, licking and kissing her skin, enjoyed the warmth of her breath in his hair.

  “Oh my god, Sorcha!”

  And with that outcry, Chelsea jerked Sorcha back to reality and blew his fantasy to hell.

  Chapter Eight

  One moment Kaelum had a soft, satisfied woman in his arms and the next he was fighting to hold Sorcha so she didn’t hurt herself. Chelsea’s surprised cry from the doorway had sent Sorcha into a frenzy and she punched, kicked and screamed at them to release her. Acting on reflex, Kae wrapped his arms around her and slapped one hand over her mouth as he stood. She fought him but he had her arms pinned and her bare feet couldn’t do much damage to his legs.

  Keeping his grip firm, he turned to Chelsea. “We weren’t hurting her. We came in here to talk, that’s all.”

  Chelsea threw a towel at him so he could cover Sorcha’s wet, naked body. Chelsea put her hands on her hips. “That was you talking? Having her squashed between you while she’s stripped bare and you’re both fully dressed?”

  “Yes.” This wasn’t the time to mention he’d just been fingers deep in Sorcha and that he and Jax had made her come so hard she had almost blacked out.

  His armful had quietened down so he eased his grip and wrapped her tight enough in the towel that she couldn’t move. Once she was secured, he scooped her into his arms and resumed his seat on the edge of the bath.

  Sorcha held herself away from him but she didn’t fight. Her bright-green eyes no longer sparked, they were dulled by the resignation in every line of her body. “You’ve proved your point. Just let me go and get out.”

  He pulled her tighter. “What point, kitten? What do you think this was about?”

  “Hell if I know.” She dropped her head and turned away from him. “But whatever it is, I’ve had enough.”

  Kae looked over at Jax but he knew even before he made eye contact he’d get no support from that quarter. Jax shrugged and gave him the blank I-can’t-help-you look. Fucker.

  Tucking Sorcha tight, he looked up at Chelsea who was still in the doorway. “Can you give us a few moments? We won’t be long. We won’t touch Sorcha any more than I’m touching her now and she can call out if she needs you.”

  Chelsea gestured to the woman in his arms. “Whether I go or stay is entirely up to Sorcha.”

  He stroked his hand over Sorcha’s damp hair. “Just a few minutes, please.”

  Some of the tension eased out of her body but Sorcha was very far from relaxed. “Fine. Make it quick and make it count because after you walk out the door I don’t want to see either of you again.”

  Never going to happen. “All right,” he lied. “Whatever you need.”

  Jax raised an incredulous eyebrow but Kae ignored him, other than to heap the blame for this fi
asco on his lover’s very broad shoulders. As soon as Chelsea left them alone Kae took a deep breath, hoping he’d find the right words.

  “Last night was amazing. You were and are beautiful.” He rubbed his hand up and down her back. “The stuff Jax and I were trying to sort out was between us, about how and where we fit in the den, and it was in no way a reflection on you. We took you to our bed last night because you’re soft and sexy, you’re feminine and strong and we both want you more than any other woman we’ve ever met.”

  He lowered his head, rubbing his cheek against her bright-red hair. “There was no agenda last night and no ulterior motive. It was just three people who desired each other coming together to share a night of pleasure.” Raising his eyes, he stared at his den-mate. “What you overheard was Jax’s reaction to the intimacy we all shared. I don’t think any of us expected it to be so intense and it scared all three of us. Jax went into worry mode, you ran and I couldn’t hold us all together long enough to talk it out.”

  “I don’t want to talk,” Sorcha said. “I just want you and Jax to leave.”

  He was about to argue when Jaysada spoke to him. Time’s up. Ari and Tarkan are on their way back to their den.

  Kae’s shoulders bunched in frustration. He couldn’t catch a break and he was a long way from being ready to let Sorcha go. Cupping her chin, he lifted her head so he could see her face. “We’ll leave if that’s what you want.” Closing the distance, he lightly pressed his lips to hers, rubbing backward and forward, savoring her taste and texture. “Thank you for last night.” He traced his tongue over her lips, side to side, up and down, licking inside her lips but not daring to plunge into her mouth like he wanted to. “You gave us a beautiful gift and we appreciate it.”

  She was liquid and compliant in his arms and it took everything he had to lift his head from hers and lower her to the floor as he stood. She sagged against him as the towel fell unheeded to the floor.