An hour later, Laura finally closed the folder and tried to take a deep breath. It felt like the walls were closing in on her. Five years. She’d hidden for five years, and in an instant, it was all coming back to her. She’d been safe here, and now she had to wonder if he was going to find her again.

She stood and smoothed out her shirt. She made sure the file was in pristine order and turned on her heels to walk out of the quiet interrogation room. She was pretty sure it had never been used to actually interrogate anyone. Mostly Nate simply locked people up and let them go after he’d either calmed down or they had paid their legitimate fines. The citizens of Bliss had quickly gotten used to the sheriff’s temper. They knew if they were wrongly jailed there would be a nice free meal and a beer waiting for them at Trio. Laura had a sudden desire to be there. She could sit at the bar and joke with Callie and Zane while she sipped the chardonnay Zane kept behind the bar for her.

Why had this followed her home?

Laura stepped out of the door, looking for Joe. She knew he wanted to ask her some questions. She wasn’t looking forward to any of this.

A hard hand clamped down on her elbow, pulling her toward an open door.

Rafe sent her reeling into Nate Wright’s office. He closed the door behind her, the discipline of his action telling her exactly how pissed he was. He shut that door with a quiet intensity.

She wasn’t having it. He’d been the one to pull her back into this world. Cam had explained his part. He’d practically tackled her and begged her forgiveness. She believed him that he hadn’t sicced the feds on her, but Rafe was another matter. Rafe was the one who had always been devoted to the job. He’d been the true believer. At the time, she’d seen his devotion to justice as something intensely noble. She still did, but damn, if she didn’t wish he had been a little more devoted to her. She would have enjoyed the chance to decide for herself if she wanted to be a part of this again.

“What do you want, Rafe?” She was alone in a room with him. A tiny room. A room that suddenly seemed far too small for two people.

His face was set in tight lines, his jaw painfully stubborn. “I want a lot of things, bella. I doubt you’ll be willing to give them to me.”

There was no mistaking the hard edge of his tone—or the line of his erection. Rafe was angry, and it was doing something for him. The sad thing was it was doing something for her, too. “You can’t seriously think I want to be alone with you.”

Where was Cam when she needed him? Oh, yeah. She’d told him to leave her alone. Well, she’d gotten what she wanted. She’d claimed she needed time to think about the new facts and the case, but what she’d really needed was time away from both of them. Yet even as she had sat there staring down at proof that her worst nightmare was still at large and at work, she’d thought about them. When was she going to learn?

“I don’t care what you want at this moment.” His back was to the door, as though guarding it. She was suddenly extremely aware of how alone they were. “I’m going to talk to you, and you’re going to listen.”

“Well, it doesn’t seem like I have a choice.” She crossed her arms over her chest and hoped she was giving him her absolute most intimidating glare. He hadn’t been huge on giving her choices. Resentment started to bubble up. “What’s wrong, Rafe? Are you afraid if I’m given a choice and treated like an actual functioning adult that you’ll lose out? You’re probably right. If you weren’t standing in front of that door, I would be out of here.”

His lips curled up in a bitter imitation of a smile. “Yes, bella, you’ve made that plain to me. But I do take offense to the accusation that I’ve taken away your choices.”

She allowed her eyes to widen in suspicion. “What exactly did you mean to do by storming into Bliss the way you did? We have phones, you know. A simple phone call would have saved all of us time.”

“Would it? Because you would have answered and been so reasonable. If I am not treating you like an adult, bella, it’s because I haven’t known you to act like one.”

Her fists clenched. It was ridiculous. She was one of the most responsible people she knew. She always made the responsible choice. The craziest thing she’d ever done was sleeping with Rafe and Cam, and it was clear where that had led her. “Fuck you, Rafe.”

She started toward the door, rage riding her. She wasn’t a child. She didn’t have to stay here and listen to some lecture he seemed to need to get out of his system. He would move out of her way or she would see if she remembered anything from martial arts class.

Rafe had her pinned to the desk before she could take her next breath. Unlike her, it seemed Rafe had never stopped training.

He invaded her space, his big body holding her down. Though he’d slammed into her, his hands had come around and taken the brunt of hitting the desk. Even when he was being violent, he made sure she didn’t get hurt. “Very mature, bella. I should have expected that. Let me explain a few truths of the world to you. Mature people do not walk out of their hospital beds leaving everything they own and love behind.”

“I didn’t give a shit about my belongings, and I sure as hell didn’t love anyone.” She was lying, but she wasn’t about to admit it to him.

“I don’t believe that for a second,” Rafe replied, his voice low. He was between her legs, and his cock jutted up as though seeking her pussy. His hands gentled and smoothed back her hair. “You loved me. You loved Cam. But you were angry with both of us. You chose to punish us.”

“I chose to walk away from a life that didn’t work for me anymore.” She averted her eyes. It was another lie, but Rafe wasn’t completely correct, either. “What should I have done? I didn’t have a job. I was completely free to do as I chose.”

“What should you have done?” He repeated the question as though the answer should have been evident. “You should have stayed. You should have fought.”

But she’d been fighting so hard and against so damn many things. “You have no idea what he did to me.”

“I know what he did, bella. And I know you punished me by not allowing me to take care of you.” He was unwavering. Rafe was the rough one. If this had been Cam, Laura had no doubt he would already be whispering to her, trying to soften her. Rafe seemed to want her angry. “Ask yourself how you would have felt if Cam or I had simply vanished without explanation. Be honest, bella. You might not be honest with me, but be honest with yourself. If you loved someone and they disappeared without a trace, how would you feel?”

Betrayed. Angry. Panicked. Sad. So fucking sad. She’d felt every single one of those things along with an aching emptiness that she was sure had never really gone away. She’d told herself at the time that it was better to leave. They obviously didn’t really love her, so she was free to go. Was there any truth in what he was saying? Had she punished them?

“Keep silent.” Rafe’s fingers sank into her hair. “I can see it on your face, you understand. I also know that you’re questioning everything. You’re wondering if I ever loved you. But I’m not the one who walked away.”

This she could deal with. “No, you’re the one who threw me under a bus at the first given opportunity.”

“I can admit my mistakes, but I was still there, ready to talk it out. Cam and I called you over and over again. You wouldn’t answer the phone. We intended to explain everything to you that night, but it was too late.”

She shrugged. “Sorry I missed our meeting. I was busy being tortured.”

That was a direct hit. He actually eased up a bit. “And you think I don’t feel that every day of my life? If I hadn’t made the decision to go with Edward’s profile, you would never have been taken. But I won’t allow that to hold me back another second. You are going to listen to me. I’m putting aside this bullshit. You are going to go back to your cabin and very quietly pack a bag. Tell Joe that you’re tired or you’ve forgotten something. I’ll drive you.”

She knew exactly where he was going with this. “And I suppose once we have this bag I’m supposed to pack, we’ll keep right on driving.”

“Yes. I won’t allow you to be used in this fashion. I don’t care that you don’t believe me, but I never meant for you to get involved in this again. We’ll drive and call Cam. He can run interference for us and meet us when we find a place to stay.”

Tempting. So tempting. But she’d done that once, and the past had still caught up with her.

His hands caressed the line of her throat. His eyes had gone sleepy with desire. She wanted him. Bastard that he could be, she wanted him. The last hour had shaken her to her core. She wanted more than mere sex. She wanted to feel grounded and whole, and she wasn’t sure she could ever feel that way without the two of them in her life. But if she ran with them, she would pull them into her trouble. Rafe couldn’t leave the FBI. It had become his home. Cam wouldn’t be happy on the run, and that’s what they would be.

“You know I can’t do that,” she said as he pulled her legs up. She didn’t fight him as he wound her legs around his waist, his cock shoved against her pussy.

“I know you will do it, bella,” he replied, his voice deep in his throat. “I’ll make you do it.”

His hips slid against hers in an easy, smooth rhythm. She had no doubt of how he intended to impose his will on her. He would fuck her into submission if she let him. He was already pulling the light, flowing skirt up around her waist. His hands toyed with the edges of her panties. He would find out exactly how interested she was if he delved inside.

“You can’t,” she said, her voice tinged with regret. She wished she could give in. Rafe and Cam would take over, and she wouldn’t have to think. She could simply let them take care of her. But that wouldn’t solve her problems. It wouldn’t stop de Sade. “I have to see this through. Joe is expecting me back in that room in less than thirty minutes.”

They had more questions for her. Questions Rafe nor Cam could save her from.

“I’ll get you out of here,” Rafe promised. “You watch me.”

He lowered his mouth to hover over hers. She could feel his heat and smell the mint on his breath. He looked into her eyes, giving her no place to hide.

“I have to face him.”

She didn’t have a choice. Maybe she’d never had one. The man who’d ruined her body was here in Bliss. He was pretending to be something he wasn’t—upstanding and worthy of trust. Whether any of these men believed her, it didn’t matter, because she knew she was right, and now she was pretty sure that de Sade might have been closer than any of them ever imagined.

“I love you, bella. I won’t pretend. I love you. I’ll do anything to protect you.” The tip of his tongue came out, and he licked at her lips, igniting every nerve in her body. “I’ll even fight you if I have to. I’m just warning you. Now give me your tongue. If we only have thirty minutes, I intend to make the most of it.”

She knew she should fight. He really would try his damnedest to get her to do what he wanted, but she needed him. She let her mouth open and sighed as his tongue surged in, sliding over hers. He dominated. His weight held her down, pinning her against the desk. As his tongue played against hers, his fingers found their way under the band of her underwear and into the creamy folds of her pussy.

“You’re already ready for me,” he whispered against her mouth.

She didn’t have a response for that. She was always ready for him. She’d spent years aching for him.

He pulled the panties down her legs, giving up her mouth. His fingers followed the line of her legs as he dragged the silky underwear down. She started to kick off her shoes. She’d worn her canary-yellow, four-inch peep toes today.

“No,” Rafe said, gently pushing her hands away. “I love them.”

His hand went to the belt on his slacks, and he made quick work of them. He shoved them down and had his cock in hand in no time at all. He grimaced.

She quickly realized what was wrong. “No condom.”

“I’ll find one.”

“Stop,” she said. She took his hand and traced the long scar that went across her lower abdomen. “I’m perfectly clean, and you know what he did to me. We don’t have to worry about children.”

The Marquis de Sade had taken that from her when he’d shoved a knife through her womb. The only way she’d survived was to literally hold herself together. If she hadn’t been able to find her way to the street, she would have died.

He stopped, his hand warm on her stomach. He covered the scars there. “I would kill him for you if I could.”

She shook her head and started to push Rafe off of her.

“Don’t,” Rafe said roughly. He kissed her again, softer this time. “Don’t let him come into this.”

“Rafe, you don’t need to use a condom because he took that away from me. You need to think about this. I can’t have children because he thought it was a fun way to torture me. He comes between us.” And he would until the day he was caught. She’d been hiding for years, but she was ready to face him now. She wasn’t sure she was ready to face Rafe.

“I don’t give a damn about kids. I want them, but not more than I want you. You think Cam and I haven’t talked about this?” His cock still pressed against her, a sure sign that he wasn’t lying. He still wanted her. “I wasn’t interested in you for your womb. If you want to adopt, we can. If you want it to just be the three of us, then that’s my family.”

Tears pooled in her eyes. She couldn’t imagine him without kids. She couldn’t imagine him without a big family surrounding him.

“Please, bella. Don’t push me away. I won’t go.” He pressed inside her.

His cock started to fill her. She knew she would probably have to let him go, but not now. Not yet.

She let her hands find the flesh under his dress shirt. She reveled in the feel of him. His skin was warm underneath her hands. She could feel the leashed power in the muscles of his back as he carefully entered her.

“God, you feel so good. Nothing between us. Nothing.” Rafe started to thrust a bit more heavily. His cock filled her. He adjusted her hips and slid home with a groan.

So full. So full of him and it still wasn’t enough. She still needed Cam. Why? Why did she have to need them both? Why couldn’t she be normal?

She looked toward the door, wondering if Cam was out there. Would he be angry that she’d come in here with Rafe? Nate’s door had a pane of opaque glass. A brawny set of shoulders could be seen against it, the outline so familiar she nearly cried.

Rafe glanced toward the door, never letting up on the silky strokes of his cock. He looked back down, a frown on his face. “It was my turn to go first. Cam got to go first last night.”

A light joy took over. Cam was standing guard. He wasn’t sitting, sullenly angry with her for choosing Rafe over him. They weren’t fighting over her this time.

Rafe held himself tight in her pussy. He brought his hand up to touch her face. “We knew when we came after you that we were going to share. We won’t make that mistake again, bella. It’s you and me and Cam, though he is righteously pissed at me right now. He’s still a fair man. He knew it was my turn.”

They needed to talk about this whole “turns” thing. She wanted to be more than a body they passed between them. She loved it when the three of them were together.

Then she wasn’t thinking of anything but Rafe. He pressed her knees apart and began to thrust. Over and over he pushed that big cock inside her. She locked her legs around his waist.

He hissed, his expression turning slightly feral. “That’s right. That’s what I want. Dig those heels into my back. It won’t make me go easy on you. It will only make me fuck you harder.”

That hadn’t been her intention, but damn if she was going to tell him that. Rafe leaned over and suddenly every move he made hit two spots. His cock hit that magnificent place inside that started her moaning, and his pelvis rubbed her clit.

Laura struggled to contain the wail that wanted to come out of her. He felt so good, so right.

Rafe was relentless. He picked up the pace, making her shake as the orgasm threatened. “Give it to me. Tell me what I want to hear.”

She knew what he wanted, and she couldn’t hold it back. He was going to make her scream if she didn’t give him what he wanted.

“I don’t care if everyone out there hears you scream when you come.”

“I love you.” She did care if everyone heard her, and it was true. She loved him, but it wasn’t going to happen. He needed more than she could give him. He needed his career and his family, and he risked both if he became involved in a ménage. Cam had worked hard to get where he’d been, and he’d already given up so much for her. He’d given up his whole career. How could she ask them to give up their chances at a family, too? She would have to make that sacrifice. “I do love you.”

He leaned over and kissed her as he pressed down hard. The orgasm bloomed, racing through her system, connecting them in a way they had never been connected before. She felt a heated rush as Rafe released deep inside her. It had nowhere to go, but it still felt right. It still felt like something that should happen between them.

“I love you, bella.” There was a knock on the door, and Rafe’s face fell. “Impatient bastard. I wouldn’t bother cleaning up.”

He kissed her one last time and then zipped up. She scrambled to get up and off the desk, but the door closed again and Cam was all over her.

“Oh, baby, was he a greedy son of a bitch?” Cam sank his hands in her hair and turned her mouth up, locking his lips over hers. He ate at her lips, biting and licking softly. “He took two thirds of the time, but he only has half the cock.”

It had felt like a whole cock at the time—and then some. “Cam, we should talk about this.”

She was covered in Rafe’s release. Despite what Rafe said, she should clean up, and they really needed to talk. The morning had flown by, her emotions twisting and turning until she’d felt numb. Now her heart was racing and her head spinning. She needed to talk, to explain that she couldn’t do this with them. They had to see that it couldn’t work.

“I don’t think talking is going to help. I haven’t talked to Rafe except to tell him he’s an asshole and to agree that, given what happened last night, I should go second.” He rubbed their noses together, the touch so sweet it made her want to melt.

She had to stay strong. “I don’t want to talk about sex. We have to talk, seriously talk.”

He pulled up a bit. “I don’t know if I can talk seriously until I get inside you.”

“That’s not going to help.” She forced herself to say the words, but she was already twitching, her hips seeking him out.

“It’s going to help me a lot.” Cam let his hand run down her body toward her pussy. He’d already taken Rafe’s place between her legs. His eyes flared as he sank his fingers in. “Holy shit. He didn’t use a condom. Motherfucker. That’s not fair.” A slow smile spread across his face. “Damn. This should gross me out, right? Fuck, I’m turned on. I know I should be thinking about how some other dude’s jizz is all over your pussy, but all I can think about is the fact that this makes great lube.”

He pulled back and flipped her over in one neat turn. His finger pressed against her ass before she could think to breathe.

“Damn it, Cameron. I’m supposed to be mad at you,” she complained.

“You were supposed to be even madder at Rafe, but he got to ride you bareback. He’s the one who brought this shit down on our heads, but you let him fuck you. I deserve more. I’m the good one. Doesn’t the good one deserve more than the bad boy?”

She groaned as he pressed his well-lubed finger deep in her ass. His cock teased at the lips of her pussy.

“You’re both bastards.” It was so much easier to fight with Cam.

She practically heard the smile on his face. “Yes, but we’re your bastards.”

Laura groaned as his cock invaded. She would have sworn she couldn’t feel anything else, but her pussy lit up at Cam’s thrust.

“What if I don’t want you?” Even as she said the words, she lifted her ass up to take him more fully.

“I’d want to die, so I wouldn’t believe it,” Cam replied.

He gently spread her legs further so he could work his cock in. It was so deep at this angle. She felt absolutely helpless, yet that was all right with Cam. She felt her body softening under him, allowing him to take control. Her breasts were flattened against Nate’s desk. God, Nate was going to kill her for desecrating his desk. Nate took his job seriously. There was no way anything sexual had ever happened in his office. Well, it had now. She had to hope Nate had gone to lunch and wouldn’t guess what the feds had been doing to their very important witness.

Laura felt the dual penetration of Cam’s cock and his fingers.

“Besides, your pussy is sucking me in. Damn it, baby. You have to stop that. I don’t want this to end. I want to make it last.” Cam sounded slightly drunk. He pushed in and out of her pussy, never letting up on the slow, gliding motion. “I want to fuck you forever. You won’t have to deal with anything. You’ll only have to deal with this.”

It sounded perfect. It felt better than perfect. “We have to talk.”

Cam found a rhythm, his hips pumping his cock deep while his fingers rotated inside her. “I’m listening.”

She groaned as he added another finger to her asshole. “Damn it, Cam. I can’t leave here.”

“Is that his plan?” Cam steadied himself before he started up again. “I wouldn’t talk to him about anything but this. But I will, baby. I’m pissed right now, but we’ll work it out. And I wholeheartedly approve of getting you the hell out of here. We’ll hole up someplace quiet. No one has to know where we’re going.”

“I can’t.” She clawed at the desk. He was killing her with this never-ending slow fuck. He kept the rhythm perfectly tantalizing, but he withheld her orgasm. It was right there. She shouldn’t need another one so soon after the last, but the pleasure was there and she reached for it—only to have him pull back. “Damn it, Cameron. I’m not leaving. I’m going to face this.”

“Then I’ll face it with you,” he swore, and there wasn’t a smile in his voice this time. “I won’t ever leave you. Not until they haul me out in a body bag. If you run again, I’ll find you. I’ll track you down, and we’ll be right back here. I already talked to the sheriff. He says he could use another deputy. If you stay, I stay. I can’t promise what Rafe will do, baby, but I’m here, and I won’t let you shut me out. Never again.”

She moaned as Cam got serious. He plunged in and pulled out, cock and fingers working in perfect time. She wanted to argue with him. The body bag comment scared the hell out of her. If Cam stood in the killer’s way, that rash statement could prove true.

Then nothing mattered but the way he felt. He filled her. She closed her eyes and imagined they were both there, one in her pussy and the other claiming her asshole. Her men, working together. The three of them safe and whole.

She nearly sobbed as she came. Cam stiffened behind her, calling her name over and over as he pumped into her body. His fingers slipped from her ass, but his cock remained.

“I love you, baby,” he whispered.

“I love you, too.” And she would protect him. She would find a way to protect them both.

 

* * * *

 

He watched his pretty rabbit as she tried to sneak out of the sheriff’s office. The big asshole who had gone in there with her didn’t bother. He had that smile on his face, the one that idiot men had after they were done fucking.

Of course, the other one had that same self-satisfied “the world is mine because I got some” look on his face.

Only his rabbit had the sense to look embarrassed. Too bad she hadn’t had the sense to not be a whore.

He felt his fists clench on the file in his hand. He’d spent the morning coming up with some questions to pose to his girl. He’d always wanted to ask her how she’d liked their time together. Back when the wounds were fresh—god, he loved the fact that he’d made her bleed—he would have seemed monstrous to ask her what he really wanted to know, but now with so much at stake, he could have a freer hand. If anyone pushed back, he could merely state he needed to get deeper into the killer’s mind. Nothing had worked so far. The profile still wasn’t complete.

At least not the one he’d accepted. The one his lovely rabbit had compiled was so close to perfect that he’d been forced to bury it.

She walked by him, glancing up with a small, tight smile. She was beautiful. Perfect golden hair and legs that went for miles. She’d gotten a bit fat for his tastes, but there was still a loveliness to her that called out to him. She seemed so perfect from the outside. Smart. Elegant. Lovely. Of course, underneath it all she was just like the rest of them. Exactly like his mother and his dearly departed wife. Women were whores. They couldn’t help themselves. If a man offered them a cock, they took it.

And if Special Agent Kincaid and Briggs thought they were the only ones she was fucking, they were fooling themselves. She had obviously been with that obnoxious SEAL, and perhaps the deputy as well. The deputy had a mouth on him. He would love to shut that mouth, but it would have to wait.

Need clawed at his belly as his rabbit ducked away. Briggs tried getting close to her again, but she shook her head.

“I need some air, Cam.” She slipped outside.

“Give her a little time.” Kincaid stopped his former partner with a firm hand on his shoulder. “We know she’s not going anywhere.”

“Yeah, she made that clear.”

A very large man with scars covering some of his rough face walked in the door carrying two large bags with handles. “Food, anyone?”

Ah, the luncheon. It was coming from some bar. Yes, that would likely be lovely. He forced himself to smile and join in the general drivel about how good a burger would taste.

He needed something more than a piece of meat. His hunger was growing, and he was going to make a mistake if he didn’t do something about that. The last five years he’d been very careful, culling only what he needed to get by. He’d performed his rituals, but in a truncated way that never seemed to feed his beast. He would have to do it here, too. His rituals required time and space, neither of which he had, though a plan was forming in his brain. He’d listened in on the ants and their talk. He knew there was at least one private home that wouldn’t be occupied for a while. Something about aliens and taking cover. Once he knew where that space was, he could start planning.

But for tonight, a quick fix would have to do.

“Kincaid, Briggs!” The small-town sheriff barked like he had something important to say. The man stood in his office doorway with a ferocious frown on his face. “Seriously? I thought you were going to use my office to talk to her.”

Kincaid had the decency to flush, but Briggs was right back to grinning. “Words were said.”

“Yeah, I can imagine what was said. Hope, we’re going to need some Lysol,” the sheriff yelled. “And you, Briggs—get in here, and we’re going to have a serious lecture on respecting your new boss’s office. Why don’t you step in, too, Kincaid. I have a couple of things we can go over.”

He didn’t like the way that sounded. The last thing he wanted was that pesky sheriff nosing in where he didn’t belong.

He needed a distraction. Perhaps he could serve his needs in multiple ways. He could distract the sheriff, feed his need, and put a little fear into his rabbit.

All he needed was a few moments alone with a lovely lady. He had his pick in this town.