Chapter Two
Safely ensconced in Bernhard’s arms, Bianca snuggled closer into his hard frame. The fog was by now so thick, she couldn’t see a hand in front of her eyes. Yet, Bernhard’s steps were sure and steady, as though it was the brightest of days, and not close to approaching two AM on a freezing cold night. She’d never admit it to anyone, but a small part of her had always been frightened of the dark, never more so than in the mists of a New Year.
New Year’s Eve and the celebrations that came with it—all that bright hope for a new future—would forever be tainted by that fateful ride home on such a night years ago, when her life had changed forever.
It was one of the many reasons why she’d jumped at the chance to spend this evening at the orphanage, the children’s innocent enthusiasm a perfect distraction from the more sinister undertones this evening would always hold for her.
Surely if there were monsters of the dark out there, now would be the perfect time and place to make an appearance. The mere thought sent a shiver down her body, and Bernhard’s hold on her tightened.
“We’re almost there,” Bernhard said.
“How can you tell? I can’t see a thing in this pea soup.” The fog seemed like an impenetrable wall to Bianca.
“Oh, we can see all right.” This time Archie’s voice came from somewhere up ahead of them. “I still say we should have taken the car. She’ll be half frozen by the time we get her home.” He chuckled. “Of course, that means we’ll just have to warm her up.”
Heat stained Bianca’s cheeks, and Bernhard’s grip on her grew painful. The deep rumble from his chest vibrated through her. Oh, she was doomed, but how sexy was that?
“I told you, brother, I’m not taking any chances with her. We may be able to see where we’re going. Other car drivers will not. Humans are far too careless in their metal tins.”
Wasn’t that the truth? Bianca’s leg ached in agreement, a permanent reminder just how careless people were in their cars. She sniffed indelicately and tried to hold back the never far away tears as memories of the dark day that had claimed her parents threatened to overwhelm her.
“Come on, little one, don’t cry. What the fuck are you doing to her, Bernhard? Perhaps I should take over.” Archie materialized next to them, his dark brows drawn together in a frown, all signs of his earlier teasing gone. He glared at his brother, and Bernhard growled again. That was the only way to describe the toe-curling noise he made.
One that shot straight to her pussy. She squirmed to hide her body’s reaction, and both men inhaled sharply, almost as though they could smell the wetness seeping onto her thighs. Damn those non-existent knickers and her overactive hormones. There they were, doing her a favor, and she was acting like some wanton hussy.
Bianca thought of herself as a level-headed person, but tonight her emotions seemed to be yo-yoing all over the damn place, and the sudden tension between the brothers was not helping. She put one hand on Archie’s chest, and marveled at the band of steel abdominals tensing under her fingertips.
“He didn’t do anything, bar give himself a bad back carting me around.”
Both men grumbled their denial at that.
“You weigh little more than a feather, my pretty.” Bernhard shifted her higher up his body as if to prove a point, and his mesmerizing eyes darkened when she gave him a tentative smile. His shirt had ridden up with the movement, and Bianca’s curiosity got the better of her. The strip of pale flesh she could just about see called to her, and she snuck her hand under his shirt. She encountered rock hard, curiously cool abdominals. Bernhard sucked in a breath as she traced the contours of those peaks and valleys. A woman could spend hours just doing that. And from the little contact she’d had with Archie his abs were just as drool-worthy as his brother’s.
“So, if it’s not Bernhard upsetting you, then what’s the matter, little one?” He stood unmovable in front of them, arms crossed, waiting for her answer.
“Answer my brother, so I can get you home.” Bernhard’s tone was harsh, but his hold on her gentled and he nuzzled the side of her neck. His hot breath sent delicious tingles of awareness along her skin. Bianca leaned further into him, and she sensed his smile, as he dropped a kiss on her neck and withdrew.
“Fine, Jesus. Who made you so bossy?” Bianca knew she was pouting, but she couldn’t help it. This was her dream, wasn’t it? You’d think she would get her way without having to bare her soul. And surely this damn fog shouldn’t be seeping into her very bones and making her dress all clammy. No doubt her unruly hair was also turning into a mass of corkscrews as she watched her breath steam in front of her.
“Do we have to have this conversation out here? You said we were almost at my house. I promise I’ll tell you whatever you want to know, and I … I don’t like this fog.” She mumbled the last few words, lest they think her silly.
“Wise words from our girl, brother.” One of Bernhard’s rare smiles lit up his face, and Bianca forgot to object to his possessive words. “Shut your eyes for me, and I’ll have you home in no time.” When she hesitated, his eyes narrowed, and his pupils dilated, drawing her into the oceanic depths of his gaze. Her eyes fluttered shut of their own accord.
“Good girl.” The whispered encouragement gave her a warm glow inside her chest and instantly the world tilted. A rush of freezing air later, her feet gingerly touched the ground on her tiny porch, and she blinked in the small circle of light that managed to penetrate the ever-thickening fog.
“Give your keys to Archie.” Bernhard’s voice brooked no argument.
She fumbled in the pocket of her dress and pulled out her front door key. Archie took it off her with a wicked grin, and a click and groan of squeaky hinges later, the warmth of her hallway called her. She breathed a sigh of relief and stepped inside her home. It was only halfway up the stairs to her flat that she realized the brothers weren’t behind her. The door stood open, the grey mists swirling over the threshold, but there was no sign of her possessive protectors.
“You have to invite us in, little one.”
Archie’s deep baritone wrapped itself around her senses, and she grabbed the handrail for support. Now this was just plain silly. It’s not as though this was The Vampire Diaries, for pity’s sake. She giggled at the thought, but dutifully uttered the required words.
“Archie, Bernhard, will you please come—oh!” They were standing in front of her even before she’d finished speaking and she swallowed nervously. How did they do that? They both held out a hand each, and Bianca placed hers inside theirs. A jolt of awareness made her gasp, and the men smiled.
“Lead the way, little one.”
Archie rubbed his thumb over the back of her hand before he released her. Bernhard linked his fingers with hers and stood next to her, as though he knew her legs were about to give way. Her bad leg throbbed, and she suppressed a groan. Instantly Archie’s hands settled on her hips, and Bernhard pulled her up the last few remaining steep steps, whilst his brother pushed gently from behind. In no time at all she was sitting on her battered, but comfy couch, with her old gas fire spitting out what meager heat it could in front of her. She’d lost the protection of the jacket, and Bernhard’s large hands were massaging her shoulders. Archie sat at her feet, and his long, dexterous fingers expertly loosened her leg brace. She was so lost in the sensations both men’s hands on her body created she didn’t even think to object when he slid the ugly contraption off her leg. It was only when he traced the scars left over from the numerous operations that she flinched and tried to cover up. Archie wouldn’t let her, however, and Bernhard cupped her chin to make her look at him.
“Tell us about it. What happened to you?”
She twisted her hands together and didn’t look at them. Bernhard ran his thumb along the seam of her mouth, and Archie trailed his hand higher up her leg until he reached the soft skin of her inner thigh. Bianca squirmed to get away from those questing digits. She was wet. He would notice. Sure enough, Archie’s smile turned wicked, and he drew slow circles up towards her soaked thong. Her clit clenched in anticipation of his touch, and more of her juices trickled down the inside of her thigh. By the time he withdrew his hand, his long fingers glistened with her arousal, and her stomach flip-flopped wildly when he raised those digits to his mouth and slowly licked them clean.
Bernhard cleared his throat and swore under his breath. He turned her head again to make her look at him, and the heat in his gaze took her breath away.
“We can’t help you, if you don’t tell us what happened.” His voice had dropped an octave and wrapped itself around her like a soothing blanket.
“Trust us, little one.” Archie rose from his position on the floor and the settee dipped as he sat on her other side. They were so close to her their thighs were touching hers, and Bianca took strength from the contact. She hated talking about the accident, but she had promised them.
“I can’t see how you could possibly help. This,” she gestured to her leg and balled her hands into fists. “This is as good as it gets. As to what happened, it was an accident. I was four. We were coming back from a New Year’s Eve party, and it was early in the morning. I’d fallen asleep, and I woke up to my mum screaming. Everything went blank after that. I woke up in the hospital days later, and I couldn’t move my legs. They said a drunk lorry driver had lost control and run my dad’s car off the road.”
Both men growled low in their throats, and Bernhard took hold of her hands. Archie got up and paced the room. Tension rolled off his impressive shoulders. When he turned to look at her, the fury in his face took her breath away.
“Carry on. What happened next?” Bernhard pitched his voice very low and Bianca’s stomach dropped in response.
“Dad had been killed instantly. Mum and I had been pinned down in the car, and they had to cut us out. Mum died on the way to the hospital. I’d been in a coma for a few days and was not expected to make it.” Tears streamed down her face in remembrance of those dark times, and she closed her eyes when Bernhard kissed those tears away. His breath felt cold on her wet cheeks, and the settee dipped again. Archie’s hands settled on her leg.
“Yet you did make it, little one.”
She nodded.
“I was paralyzed, but over time I regained feeling. It took years, and countless operations, but eventually I walked again.”
Archie’s hands dug into her bad leg, and she couldn’t help her flinch of pain.
“I’m sorry. How much does it hurt?” Archie asked.
“It’s not too bad. The fog doesn’t help.”
“Neither does running yourself ragged helping out at the orphanage.” Bernhard sounded almost angry, and she shrank away from the intense expression on his face.
“I do not run myself ragged, and besides, I love those kids. They have no one. I know only too well what that feels like.” Her voice was far too wobbly, and Bianca resolutely blinked the last few tears lingering on her eyelashes away. She didn’t want the brothers’ pity, damn it.
Not that the hungry way their gazes devoured her spoke of pity right now. Her flesh heated under their quiet regard. Her breath hitched, her heart galloped, and she sat like a rabbit caught in the headlights of an oncoming car, waiting for their next move.
An unspoken communication seemed to be going on between the two men, and Bianca melted a little inside when Bernhard smiled again. Oh, he really looked good enough to eat when he smiled.
“You have us now, my pretty.”
“Yes, little one.”
She turned her head to see Archie looking at her with the same steely determination that she’d seen in his brother’s face.
“You don’t have to sweet talk me, you know. I’m a safe bet.”
Archie laughed, and Bernhard swore.
“Are you now, little one? Well, in that case it would be most ungentlemanly of us to keep the lady waiting, would it not, Bernhard?”
“No one has ever accused us of not acting like gentlemen, brother, that’s for sure, but we should take this to the bedroom.” He rose as he spoke, and then it was Archie’s turn to scoop her up as though she weighed less than a feather. She clung to his shoulders, only letting go long enough to point in the direction of her bedroom when Bernhard asked where it was. He led the way, and Archie followed. Every step pitched the butterflies in her stomach into a frenzied orgy of excitement. By the time Archie lowered her onto the well-loved bedspread covering her bed, she was shivering in anticipation.
Bernhard claimed her mouth in a breathtaking kiss, and Archie trailed open-mouthed kisses along her leg. He nipped a path along the jagged scars with his teeth. His kisses left a delicious tingle in their wake that completely obliterated any leftover pains in that leg. Bernhard took the kiss deeper. He drank from her mouth as though it was the sweetest nectar. Their tongues dueled together in an ever more passionate dance, whilst his hands roamed her body and slowly pulled the dress off her shoulders until her breasts were exposed in their lacy bra. He broke the kiss and ran his knuckles over her nipples. Hard little nubs of sensitivity, they chafed against their confines, and Bianca moaned when Archie reached up and pulled down the bra cups.
“Beautiful.” His breath danced across her quivering abdomen, and she arched her spine. Bernhard took a nipple between his teeth and bit down gently. The sensation shot straight to her clit, and Bianca thrust her hips up at Archie in a silent plea. He smiled, and, reading her correctly, he slid the dress further off her body until she was just in her thong. He blew across the wet fabric barely covering her mound, and Bianca bucked as her clit swelled in response. She moaned and panted her arousal. The needy sounds coming from her seemed alien to her. Who was this person begging for them to take her, to not stop, to please, please fuck her?
Bernhard released her nipples with one last gentle scrape of his teeth and worked his way back up to her mouth. He caught her scream of surprise in his kiss as Archie pulled her thong off and latched onto that swollen bundle of nerves between her thighs. He pushed two fingers deep into her channel at the same time and curled them just right to have her climbing the rungs of sexual bliss in seconds. Bernhard’s tongue in her mouth mirrored Archie’s thrusting fingers, and Bianca gave herself up to the ever-increasing spirals of bliss traveling from her pussy outwards. Just as she hovered on the precipice of her orgasm Archie bit down on her clit, and Bianca screamed at the sharp pain. Pain that changed to white-hot shards of arousal rushing through her veins as Archie started to suck. She was dimly aware of Bernhard’s muttered curse in her ear, followed by another sharp pain to her neck that sent her tumbling into wave after wave of the most intense set of orgasms ever.