While Steven and Matthew walked Adam out, Kelsey made her way upstairs with the monitor. Benny was sound asleep, one of the toys Heather had collected and given them—a blue walrus—clutched tight in his arm, his thumb in his mouth. She set up the monitor, ensured it was working, then left him to his slumber.
In the master bedroom, she set one of the receivers on the dresser and turned it up. She could hear the ticking of the clock on the wall in Benny’s room. Good.
Alone, the quiet of the evening settling around her, Kelsey walked out onto the balcony. The residual shakes from her crying jag seemed to be gone. Stepping close to the railing, she caught just a slight breeze and inhaled deeply. The air smelled of approaching rain, fresh and clean, as if moisture had already scrubbed the air, making it new again.
In some ways, she felt new again, too.
Kelsey didn’t hear a sound, but she knew when Steven and Matthew were standing behind her.
“You said you love me.”
She turned then and faced them. To their credit, they stood solemnly and took her scrutiny.
“We did,” Matthew said.
“I don’t know how I feel about that.”
“We know,” Steven said. “You don’t have to know how you feel about it, Kelsey. Not right now.”
“All you have to do,” Matthew said, “is let us love you.”
Kelsey trembled inside, a different feeling from the one she’d just gotten over. These men reached something in her she’d thought to keep hidden forever. They made her feel when she’d convinced herself she was perfectly happy with numbness. She didn’t think she was ready for that. She didn’t think she really had a choice in the matter.
She’d stayed numb because she’d been afraid. Now, she thought that maybe, just maybe, the brothers Benedict could keep her safe so she wouldn’t have to be afraid anymore.
It was, she thought, time to begin emerging from her self-imposed cocoon. “I’m not really sure I know how to do that, either. I’m not sure I know how to let you love me.”
Steven and Matthew traded a look. Then they both held out a hand to her. “Let us show you,” Steven said.
Kelsey hesitated for one moment. Then she stepped forward and took their hands.
Chapter 13
They led her into the bedroom, to the side of the bed they’d already stripped of blankets. Matthew cupped her face and kissed her, his tongue brushing her bottom lip, then sliding into her mouth. Hot, bold, he tasted her completely, a sipping, sucking kiss that made her feel as if he drank her. He stepped back, stroked a finger down her face, and gave her the most tender smile she’d ever seen. He walked over to the bedside table, took a long match out of the drawer, and struck it.
Steven turned her to him and ran his hands down her arms. “You are so very perfect for us. I’d feared we’d never find you.”
Kelsey felt overwhelmed by his declaration. What did they want from her? She opened her mouth to ask that, but Steven gently placed his finger on her lips.
“No. Don’t say anything. Just accept what we feel for you, what we give you, however we give it to you, as a gift.”
Another macho male. Before the thought could rile her, he slipped his arms around her and laid his mouth on hers.
Instantly carnal, his kiss ignited the embers that seemed to lie banked within her, just waiting for one of these men to set them ablaze.
With slow, lazy strokes, Steven’s tongue seduced her. Kelsey felt her muscles weaken and anchored her arms around him. The action brought her closer to his body, and the sensation of his denim-covered erection pressing against her set off tingles in her belly.
Steven broke the kiss gently, then locked his gaze with hers as he began to undo the buttons of her white blouse.
Matthew pressed himself against her back. He’d turned off the lights so that the room, bathed in the glimmer of candles, took on an even more intimate ambience.
“Will you let me take that pretty ass of yours tonight, sweetheart?”
Just the suggestion of anal play made her shiver and burn. Her cunt released moisture, and arousal began its upward spiral, setting every nerve ending in her body ablaze.
“Yes. Anything. Everything.” Never had she believed she could feel the heat and desire these men made her feel. Every touch melted her resolve to stay aloof. Every kiss melted her bones, making her feel as if, any moment now, she would become a puddle at their feet.
Steven removed her blouse while Matthew opened her bra. Sliding the lacy garment from her body, Matthew bent and nipped her shoulder, then kissed the small sting away.
Steven petted her from her collar bone to her navel, his work-roughened hands arousing her nipples into hard, eager peaks. Matthew nibbled where her neck met her shoulder, and she let her head fall back where it was cradled on his shoulder, giving him freer access. She felt his fingers at the fastening of her skirt. The garment loosened and then fell.