Energy shot through her. She swayed against him, melting at the soft touch of his lips and the almost cautious way he cupped her face. Tension was vibrating through him, a driving need that terrified her and thrilled her all at once. She was sure she knew what he wanted, but she knew only the shape of it, only that he wanted this same thing that made her shiver even while her blood felt like it was on fire.

She’d given up on sex and relationships long ago. She never quite understood what was so good about it to begin with, and none of her boyfriends had shown the patience to wait for her to feel ready. When she watched romantic comedies or read books, it was with a bemused sort of disbelief. No one ever really felt like that. Not really. Right?

Well, she felt it now. Every single word of those books had come true. She could not have stopped if the roof had caved in. She could not have pulled herself away. She wanted…everything. For the first time, she truly wanted it, and she wanted to laugh, too, at her own absurdity: she’d known this man for so little time, and he had kidnapped her. What made him a better choice than any one of her other boyfriends? What earthly reason did she have to trust him?

The answer came to her at once, defying her attempts to wish it away: of all of them, he had the power to take anything he wanted from her, and he hadn’t. He had come here to reassure her. He had left her here and gone away when he could have demanded her compliance.

And the rest…the connection she had felt since the first moment she looked into his eyes. That, she could not explain. She would have dismissed it entirely except that it consumed her. She was aching with it. She had felt the touch of his hands on her skin and the heat of him, and now she could not get enough.

He had more resolve than she did. He drew back, breath coming raggedly.

“We can’t do this.”

She would ask why, but she knew what he would say. “Yes, we can.” He had kissed her, but she had more than returned the kiss by now.

“No. We…we can’t. I can’t.” He stood, backed away. “I…”

“Stay,” she whispered, too lost in desire for any pride. When he did not move, she stood as well. The pajamas she’d found in the dresser felt ridiculous now, little shorts and a camisole, nothing she would have worn herself.

“I have to go.”

Neither of them heard the footsteps on the carpet until Liam was already at the door.

“What’s going on?”

Cameron swore, and Lily tried not to sway. She was already liquid with desire, and the man’s voice only stoked it, making her want—

No. No, she couldn’t want that.

…Could she?

“What did you do?” Liam asked Cameron when neither of them answered. His tone was accusing…and curious. Almost yearning.

“It just happened,” Cameron whispered.

“It didn’t just—”

“I was crying,” Lily said, making both men jump. They were drawn together, close as lovers, and it was like they had forgotten she was here. “He came to make sure I knew I was safe.”

Liam shot Cameron a look.

“You would have done the same if you heard it,” Cameron muttered.

Liam did not respond to that.

“And then what happened?” He asked, his voice dripping menace and heat at the same time.

“I missed her,” Cameron said, almost lazily. When Liam turned his head sharply, there was a moment of understanding between them.

What she expected, Lily did not know. She did not expect for Liam to come into the room, shutting the door behind him with a soft click, and she did not expect his gaze on her face, on her body.

“Come here.”

She could not resist the command: she went to him as if in a dream, sliding into his arms, knowing what he wanted before he said it. This was the electricity she’d felt between them in James’s house, in the study. She’d known his desire, and her own, and all she knew now was that he wanted her. There was not a thought in her mind beyond him—the scent of him, the heat of him, the feel of his body against hers. She stood on tip toe to kiss him and he bent to take her in his arms, one hand sliding down to cup her ass.

When she moaned against his lips, he shuddered. His hand went to the back of her head, holding her in place as his tongue thrust into her mouth. She would have fallen if it were not for his other arm around her back. She could feel him rock-hard, and with daring she hadn’t known she possessed, she slid one hand down to glide over the fabric of his pants. He stiffened, his arms tightening, his assault on her mouth at once confident and desperate. He needed her. He would stop at nothing to have her.

The thought gave her a rush of pleasure, heady and unfamiliar. Other men had wanted to bed her, she knew that. But they had wanted the act. Another woman might have been as good for them. Now, here: Liam wanted her. He wanted to bed her so that he could possess her. He wanted to thrust into her and feel her against him, her, Lily and no one else. The act was far, far less intimate than the fact that he intended to conquer her. She knew it, she could feel it in her bones. And she wanted him so much she was aching.

He broke the kiss at last and she swayed against him.

“Cameron.” His voice was rough with desire, and Lily only now remembered what had happened a few moments before. Shame suffused her. Kissing Cameron, and then Liam. Wanting Liam as wantonly as she had, when only moments before she had been begging Cameron to stay. What would they think of her?

But Cameron was behind her, his body pressing her closer to Liam while his hand tangled in her hair and drew her head back. When she felt his lips at her throat she whimpered. She could feel his hardness, too, pressing against the curve of her ass, and arched her back to press against him. A growl told her what he thought of that, and one hand grabbed her hip to draw her even closer.

His mouth was on hers now, no less possessive than Liam’s, and they held her immobile for their hands to drag lightly across her skin, fingers circling the sensitive skin of her nipple, drawing the camisole up. There were lips on her throat, hands drawing her forward to press against Liam’s cock, and back to feel Cameron once more. She was fumbling with Liam’s belt, desperate to wrap her fingers around him. What this was, she did not know, could not understand. She only knew that this was the first time in years that she had felt complete…and that she had felt like a woman.

When Cameron’s fingers slipped inside her shorts, she gasped. He pulled her away from Liam, lifting her effortlessly, and laid her down on the bed. A light touch guided her hips up as the shorts came down over her legs; he threw them to one side, and his hands urged her to part her thighs for him.

A weight on the bed told her that Liam had joined them. His fingers turned Lily’s face to his and his lips had just met hers when Cameron slid two fingers inside her. She would have cried out except for Liam’s mouth on hers, and his groan at the sound of her pleasure. The fingers withdrew, and thrust again, and then Cameron parted her legs and she felt the touch of his tongue on her clit.

She was going to faint from pleasure. She had forgotten which way was up. All she could feel was Cameron’s fingers sliding into her, how slick she was for him, and his tongue moving on her skin. She could feel Liam’s fingers pinch lightly around her nipple, and she arched her back, pressing her breast into his hand. A moment later, she felt something more, more pressure, stretching her, and pain—jarring.

Cameron drew away at once, his fingers leaving her, and she tried to remember words, any words at all, to ask what had happened.

“What is it?” Liam was looking down at her, worry clear in his voice.

“It…hurt.”

Liam’s look was quick, sharp, and Cameron only nodded.

“What?” Lily asked them. “What is it?”

“You’re…” Cameron gave a sigh, clearly trying to steady himself. “You’re a virgin.”

Shame crashed down on her. She pulled away from Liam, from them both, wishing she knew where her shorts were.

“I’m not…I don’t just…”

“We know.” Liam’s voice was softer than she had ever heard it. “But we shouldn’t have done this. And we definitely shouldn’t do it now.”

“Why not?” Lily whispered, her voice breaking. “You want to. I want to.”

“You deserve more for your first time than a dark room and…” Cameron looked away, and Lily remembered all of it: that she was their prisoner, that she’d been left to die, that…

She turned away, lying down on the bed and hunching her shoulders.

“Just go.”