Gale, Avery - Katarina's Return [The ShadowDance Club 1] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) (16 page)

Kat licked her lips just before she slid them around the mushroom-shaped head and began to take Zach to the back of her throat. When she triggered her gag reflex, Zach whispered, “Breath through your nose, kitten, it will help you avoid gagging, but please remember, taking a cock to the back of your throat is a learned skill. You’ll get it, take your time, this isn’t a race.” With his words of encouragement, Zach could see the muscles in her shoulders relax, looking up, Zach saw Alex’s knowing look.

* * * *

Alex gripped Katarina’s hips and began to slowly lift and then lower her onto his length. He wanted to build up slowly, knowing it was going to take concentration on both his and Zach’s part to be sure they all came at the same time. He could tell by the look on his brother’s face that Kat’s oral skills were quickly moving him to the point of no return.

“Oh my God, Alex, our woman is a natural with her sweet mouth. She is taking me in farther with each stroke, and when she seals those sweet lips and around me…” Zach was getting so close. “Kitten, if you don’t want to swallow, you need to let go, now!” Kat sucked harder and moved him deeper, it was obvious she wasn’t going to shy away from letting him fill her mouth with his seed. “Alex, I’m not gonna last, push her over right now. Oh fuck, kitten, holy shit your mouth is pure magic.”

Alex was holding Kat and pumping into her with short, sharp stokes, then he reached around and pinched her clit and said, “Katarina, come now” just as he saw his brother stiffen, knowing he was pulsing into her mouth; Alex felt like an electric shock had rocketed down his spine, squeezing and setting fire to his balls, never had he come so suddenly or so fiercely. He knew Katarina had come immediately at his command, her passion and responsiveness were as close to perfect as he’d ever seen in any submissive. Adding that to the fact she was theirs made him realize he would need to spend every day thanking the powers above for the treasure that was their sweet Katarina.

Chapter 24

Lying out next to the pool, enjoying what was likely one of the last few days of summer, Kat was floating in that foggy place between sleep and wakefulness when she heard Selita’s rapid chatter coming from inside the house. Selita’s excited words started to soak through the haze…
telephone…visitor…biggest client…Miss McKay
… Okay, now Selita had Kat’s attention. Bringing herself upright, Kat started to pull on the shirt she’d borrowed from Zach earlier. Sure, Alex and Zach had bought her beautiful new clothing, including a sheer lace beach cover-up, but she preferred to wrap herself in something that smelled like one of them, and they never seemed to tire of seeing her in one their shirts, particularly when they knew she wasn’t wearing anything underneath it.

As Kat entered the house, she heard Selita tell Alex, “He act like I don’t know Katarina’s name, calling her Miss McKay, he treat me like a common servant, he does not know that I’m a part of this family. He talked like he a big shot, trying to put the sheep over my face, I tell you. He tell me to ‘convey’ a message to Miss McKay that her biggest client will be paying her a visit soon, he too large for his branches if you asking me.” Kat was lost in thought as she remembered all the times she and Jenna had laughed at the way Selita could mess up American slang and expressions. They long ago decided it was more challenging to just listen and try to figure out what expression she was butchering; even if they had ever been able to get a word in, where would be the fun in correcting her? Realizing she hadn’t really been listening, Kat started to focus and suddenly realized Selita had said the caller had said he was her biggest client.

“I tell him to wait on the line and I bring Katarina inside to take his call, but he say, ‘No, just be sure you give her the message,’ and he still won’t say his name. I’m sorry, Alex, I called you from your office right away, because it just don’t seem right to me.”

Alex assured Selita she had indeed done exactly the right thing, then he turned to Katarina as she stood in the doorway listening. “Who was your largest client, love?” Kat knew by the expression on Alex’s face that he’d seen all the blood had drained from her face that the call had been from Cal Robertson. He moved quickly to wrap his arm around her shoulder as he led her to a chair in front of the fireplace and sat beside her. He brushed her long blonde curls back over her shoulder and waited until she looked up at this face. “Katarina, do you know who made that call?”

“Cal” was all Kat was able to say around the lump in her throat. There hadn’t been any incidents in so long, Kat had been thinking he’d found another obsession and she’d actually be able to get her life back. In a soft whisper she added, “Why would he come here? Why me? Why does he want me? Why warn me? I don’t understand.”

If Alex hadn’t been watching her, he wasn’t sure he would have even heard her, and the fear in her small voice made him see red. How dare that bastard frighten Katarina in her own home. She should always be able to feel safe here, and this was the second time her security had been shattered while in his care, and he was getting damned tired of it.

Through the haze, Kat saw Alex reaching for his phone, he quickly alerted Zach and their security team, and in less than a minute the room started to fill with men. Kat felt numb. She just couldn’t believe it was happening again, would she ever be free of the nightmare that was Cal Robertson? How had she gotten in so deep so fast? Sometimes her ability to screw up was truly humbling. As the security staff started discussing strategy and possible scenarios, Kat just tried to make herself as small and invisible as possible, if there was ever a time to test the ostrich theory, it was now.

Zach had taken their best marksmen, Jantz and Creed, out to scout locations overlooking various access roads to the house. They had both returned stateside recently, and after deciding they’d had enough of Uncle Sam’s “See the World” travel itinerary, had joined their former teammates at ShadowDance. Ethan Jantz and James Creed were probably the best snipers the US Special Forces had seen in a generation, and Alex was grateful they’d be using those skills to protect Katarina. He’d been deep in discussions with Colt and Grayson when he looked over to see Katarina sitting in the very corner of the sofa with her legs pulled up to her chest, her arms wrapped tightly around her knees, and her little bare toes curled under her feet, excusing himself, he moved to her side. “Are you all right, love?” When Alex saw how pale she was, he knew she was close to crashing despite her slow nod. “Well, let’s get you upstairs and into a nice warm bubble bath, shall we?” His brother and their entire security staff were all working to make sure she would be safe, but right now he knew his first responsibility was to care for the emotionally fragile woman who held his heart in the palm of her hand. Easing her into his arms, he stood, nodded to Colt, and headed up the stairs. He’d make sure she was properly pampered and resting before he would return to his office, and until then, he knew Zach and Colt were more than capable of managing all the details.

* * * *

Kat felt as if she’d fallen through Alice’s looking glass, it was as if she could see everything that was happening around her, but all the sounds were muted and dull. She’d known, when Alex inquired about how she was doing, her slow nod hadn’t convinced him she was all right. And if she was honest with herself, she wasn’t sure she would ever be okay again. Perhaps if she could just disappear, then Cal would give up and leave all the people she cared about alone. She felt so terribly guilty for having brought all this trouble to their door. If anything happened to any of the Lamonts, Selita, or any of their friends, she was sure she’d never be able to forgive herself.

After Alex helped her out of the warm bubbles she soaked in, he gently dried her, and carried her to bed. He stayed beside her until he thought she’d fallen asleep, and then he softly kissed her forehead before returning downstairs. Before he left the room, she heard him remove the pistol they’d spent so many hours insisting she learn how to handle from the nightstand drawer, laying it where she could reach it easily. It had become a nightly ritual. They’d made sure she put the gun within reach each every night before retiring to their own rooms.

They still didn’t sleep through the night in the suite with her, saying they would do that when she was ready to make a permanent commitment to the relationship. She knew there would never be any other man in her life. She had loved both Alex and Zach since she’d been little more than a young girl. But she also knew she’d made some pretty significant mistakes recently, so she had asked for a little time so they could all be sure of what they wanted. She had planned to tell them she was ready this coming weekend. They were planning to finally take her to The Club, and she’d planned to surprise them with her decision that evening.

Now as Kat lay awake looking out the French doors leading to the deck outside the suite, she weighed the pros and cons of staying versus just slipping into the night in an attempt to protect the people who had been the closest thing to an extended family she’d ever known. She didn’t see how her weekend plans could ever come together, and she’d have to walk away from Alex and Zach yet again.

It seemed like fate was working against her ever getting to go to The Club, and that just plain pissed her off. Even though they had taken her through while the cleaning crews had been working, she’d yet to see any of the equipment in use or gotten to feel the surge of energy that always surrounded people surrendering to the pulse of music, dancing, and sex. Sighing, Kat rolled back over when she thought she heard a floorboard creak and found herself looking up into the very angry face of Cal Robertson.

Chapter 25

“Not one sound, bitch.” Cal’s voice sent shards of ice through Kat’s veins. She was frozen in place, too afraid to do anything but breathe. She knew that either Alex or Zach would be in to check on her any minute, they wouldn’t leave her alone for long, not with the threat she’d received and how poorly she’d responded. If she could just reach the gun, she’d shoot the bastard herself. Even though she had never considered herself a violent person, she would gladly kill him before she let him hurt her men.

Cal spoke to her in that same arrogant tone he’d used that last night, the night he’d whipped her to within an inch of consciousness. “You didn’t really think you could get away from me, did you, Kat? That I wouldn’t find you and finish what I’d started? And now, you’ve been letting two strangers fuck you, what a slut you have become, my disobedient little slave. I own you, Kat, don’t ever forget that, you don’t eat or drink without my permission, fuck, you don’t even breathe unless I allow it. I warned you repeatedly. You are mine.”

Cal was moving closer to the enormous bed, God, she was so grateful for its size, the time it took him to come closer to her bought her some time to think. With each step he took forward, Kat instinctively moved closer to the opposite edge, hoping Cal wouldn’t realize he was putting her closer to the pistol.

“Stop moving away from me, you should know better than to try and avoid my hand. I’ll be punishing you for escaping from the club in Vegas and for opening those beautiful thighs for anyone but me.” As he stepped closer, she could smell the liquor on his breath. Even though they hadn’t spent a lot of time together, it had been easy to see Cal was a mean drunk, hell, he was mean when he was sober, and when he started drinking he became almost demonic. Kat had seen him burn the forearms of employees with red-tipped cigars because they delivered a drink or meal too slowly. One night when she’d been headed down the stairs in his mansion, she’d watched from the shadows in horror as he’d sliced open the throat of a man who’d worked for him for over a decade as the man’s horrified wife looked on; the man’s crime? He’d delayed making a delivery so he could attend his young daughter’s piano recital. After the man had crumpled in a heap to the floor, Cal had handed the wife off to his staff for their entertainment. Kat had known she was in over her head, but that night had shown her that risking escape was the only choice she had. The next morning Cal had sensed the change in her and hadn’t let her out of his sight and had taken her to his favorite dungeon club that very night. She was sure he had planned to kill her during the scene, and the opportunity she’d had to get away from him had been pure providence.

So as he stood in front of her now, telling her all the ways he was going to hurt her, she didn’t doubt for a single second he would follow through. “If you call out to your new fuck buddies, I’ll take great pleasure in killing them both while you watch. I’ll kill anyone who comes after you after I’ve taken you away from this God-awful place. Honestly, Kat, a ranch? How very hillbilly of you, I had been willing to give you everything, all you had to do was cooperate and keep your mouth shut. But no, you had to make me out a fool by escaping in the middle of a club session, didn’t you? Just a short bathroom break, you begged. Then you slipped out through the night. I know who helped you, you know, and she paid for that transgression. I hear she is recovering at the University Hospital, when she’s healed, I’ll take her again. No one disrespects me without eventually paying for it with their life, something you’d do well to remember, you worthless cunt.” Kat saw him raise his hand but didn’t even see him move before pain exploded in the side of her face. The next thought she had was that she had landed on her hands and knees on the floor in front of the nightstand, having been spun to face the opposite direction by his blow. It took a few seconds for her to realize she’d been hit so hard she’d actually been knocked off the bed. “Get up, you stupid whore, we’re leaving now.”