As if trust were the magical key, she was able to unclench on Lan’s cock and ease her body up a fraction. The pain was gone. Only pleasure flared through her as she sank back onto him.

“That’s it, darlin’,” Lan encouraged. “Take me.”

“You’re so sexy, Lea,” Cooper whispered. “Fuck, I’m already hard again.”

Alea tossed her head back and rocked her hips again with a whimpering moan. Now that the pain was gone, the sensations of Lan inside her weren’t merely okay. They were incredible. The friction of his thick, hard flesh sliding against her nerve endings, scraping gently at the sensitive end of her channel, then dragging pleasure from her as she rose back up… Wow. Lan gripped her and moaned. Coop whispered dirty little encouragements in her ear. It should have overwhelmed her, but no. They made her feel beautiful and free. All her anxiety melted away as she let go of everything except how good they felt. Why had she been so scared of them? They were perfect, and she needed this. She needed them.

“Tilt your hips, Lea,” Cooper instructed, positioning her just the way he wanted her. “Let his cock drag over the front wall of your cunt.”

Beneath her, Lan tensed and thrust up, brushing over some insane pleasure button buried deep in her pussy. She nearly screamed out his name.

“Exactly like that, baby.” Cooper let his teeth sink gently into her shoulder as he continued to rub gentle circles around her clit.

Her pussy was on fire. Orgasm bubbled and brewed, sharper than before. Deeper. She tightened on Lan and wailed, trying to absorb all the ecstasy about to crash over her. So close…

“Yes, Lea, yes.” Lan’s hips thrust up over and over again, a measured, insistent rhythm that got progressively faster.

The burn of his friction ignited her pleasure. Orgasm exploded inside her like a bomb, and she screamed, tossing her head back as she dug her nails into his shoulders. Lan’s whole body bucked under her, tensing as he came inside her. She felt the warm flood of his seed jet against her sensitive flesh, making her heart race and her body arch as pleasure rolled over her body once more.

Finally, their movements and heartbeats slowed. A deep sense of peace filled her as she cuddled against his chest, her ear right over the steady, strong rhythm of his heart. Tears of joy pricked at her eyes. She was almost grateful for them following her on this impromptu trip, for the plane crash. Without those events, she’d still be lost in her darkness, dreadfully unhappy with no idea how to pull herself out of her shell. Being isolated with them in a life-or-death struggle had forced her to examine what was truly important…think about what she genuinely wanted in life. Because the answer was simple.

Them.

“I love you, Lea,” Lan said, brushing her heavy hair away from her face and looking up at her with a soft smile of adoration.

Coop leaned around her and curled a finger around her chin, bringing her lips to his. “I do, too, Lea. That was incredible, baby.”

She let their beautiful words sink into her. For once, she believed them. Happiness was so bright inside her, she must be glowing with it. For this one perfect second, she felt worthy of them all.

“Well, this gives a whole new meaning to ‘showing her the pool.’” Dane’s voice cut through her languor. “Looks to me like you showed her every inch of your dick, too—right up her pussy.”

Dane. She hadn’t thought about the fact that he wasn’t here while the guys had drowned her in pleasure. But when she looked up, ready to hold out a hand and bring Dane close, the nasty fury on his face and the ice in his blue eyes stopped her cold.

“Dane, come on, man. What is your problem?” Cooper scowled.

“That fucker.” He pointed at Lan. “I’m going to rip you limb from limb.”

Lan sat up and lifted her off his cock, rolling to his feet in front of her as though determined to protect her. “Lea, why don’t you get dressed and go back to camp while we talk this out.”

“You didn’t wear a fucking condom?” Dane’s scream echoed through the trees. Startled birds flew from the treetops. Dane’s face went red. He clenched his fists.

Alea looked down and saw remnants of his semen and traces of her blood on his cock and her thighs. The sight of it seemed to enrage Dane, and suddenly she thought maybe she should be the one protecting Lan.

“No. They were in the pack the current took during my swim to shore, so we don’t have any,” Lan said calmly. “I explained that to Alea.”

“He was carrying so much…” she added.

“Let me get this straight, Lan. You ‘lost’ them,” Dane made air quotes, “so that you can knock her up and cut the rest of us out? Or is Cooper in on your plan, too, and I’m the only schmuck still standing here with his dick in his hand?”

Clearly, she should have waited until Dane was with them, but it had been spontaneous.

Cooper held up a hand and gave an awkward little smile. “Dude, if you’ll ratchet down the drama, we’re all going to get a turn at knocking her up. She knows we want to marry her and have a family. We’re just making sure it will be a shotgun wedding.”

“I don’t need your jokes right now, asshole.” Dane glowered, then turned that nasty stare on Lan. “So when were you going to tell me about this new plan? I’m betting never. Because, oh, you didn’t want the big bad Dom touching your pretty princess and scaring her away, right? That’s why you waited to fuck her until I was busy.”

Alea flinched at the ugly accusation. “It just happened. I—”

Lan held up his hand to her, and Coop pulled her back with a shake of his head.

“What are you saying to me?” Lan challenged, his voice going low and guttural.

She was a little surprised they didn’t start beating their chests like aggressive apes. Only minutes ago, she’d felt so languid, sated. Happy. Now all she felt was the weight of the moment. Everything she wanted, everything they all needed could be in jeopardy if she couldn’t pull them together.

“I’m saying you had no fucking right to deviate from the plan.” Dane was a good two inches taller than Lan and he seemed intent on proving it by looming over him. “We were all supposed to be here with her the first time. But I shouldn’t be surprised. You broke from the plan to bring her to the meeting with the Anders brothers, too. Think you’re the big smart man making all the decisions now?”

The last of her sated peace dissipated and fury replaced it. “Don’t talk to him like that! I belonged in that meeting, so he took me. I wanted him, and he gave me what I desired.”

Dane pinned her under an icy stare. He raked that cold gaze up and down her body until she shivered. “I’ll bet he did. Did he fuck you good? Is Coop going to back him up now?”

God, his snide tone made her feel cheap. She’d wanted to make love, and they had given her a special memory to treasure. She’d felt special. Now, she just felt like a bone the gentle lab and the rabid hound would fight over. And she felt more than vaguely guilty for something that wasn’t her fault.

“It wasn’t like that!” she insisted, feeling sick to her stomach. “You’re being a bully.”

“Shut the fuck up, Dane. Are you even thinking about her?” Cooper rose and dove into the fray.

“All I’ve done is think about her,” Dane shot back. “I’m the only goddamn one of us who thinks with his head at all. You two have done nothing but think with your dicks since the moment you saw her. You tongue-fucked her in a bathroom and couldn’t get the job done,” he sneered at Cooper, then shifted to Lan. “You took a virgin and a princess on the ground like any ol’ hook-up because your cock got hard. You were supposed to treat her right, but no. You just chucked her on the ground and sank your cock in, spewing all your swimmers in her unprotected womb. That’s a great first time for her.”

“I enjoyed it. It was a great first experience.” Or it had been until Dane had stomped in and made it sound crude with his destructive accusations.

“You weren’t here, so you don’t know shit.” Landon ignored her, too. “I took care of her.”

“Dane, you need to calm down, brother.” Cooper got in between the other two men, obviously ready to stop them if they threw down.

Lan took a step away, his gaze tangling with hers and now full of regret. “Lea, I’m sorry. Darlin’, let’s wash up. If Dane is determined to fight, he can do it with himself. But he’s right about one thing; I’m not taking care of you the way I should right now.”

When he tried to lead her away to the pool, Alea dug in her heels. It was obvious Dane had a serious problem with what they’d done. Maybe she hadn’t understood the “plan” well enough. Maybe they should have talked more first. They were damn sure going to talk now. “Dane, stop being a hothead. I’ll get dressed, and we can discuss this like rational adults.”

Dane looked down at her, his eyes cold. “I wouldn’t dream of interrupting your little party. I’ll just take myself off, so you can get back to fucking my friends.”

If he’d slapped her across the face, he couldn’t have hurt her more. Shame coursed through her, shoving out all the happiness she’d felt just minutes ago. Then Dane pivoted away and stalked back toward the beach like she didn’t mean a damn thing to him.

“I’m going to kill him.” Landon started to stomp after him.

Cooper put a hand on his friend’s shoulder. “You want to go and beat the shit out of Dane with your junk hanging out? Don’t, my brother. Dane fights dirty. He will not have a problem trying to pull your dick off.”

“You stay here. I’m going.” She looked around for the nearest garment and found Cooper’s shirt, then dragged it over her head. It wasn’t much but it would cover her long enough to give him a piece of her mind. “I am not letting him get away with that.”

Dane had talked and talked about taking it slow and easy. He’d assured her that the choice was hers, that when she was ready, they would all be here for her. Yeah. He’d really meant that bullshit.

“I am glad I’m not the one she’s mad at,” Lan said under his breath.

“She’s really pissed off.” Coop sounded proud.

Furious, actually. She didn’t have a thing to be ashamed of. Dane did. He wasn’t allowed to make her feel like a whore, then walk away. He’d tried so hard to convince her this relationship would work, but the first time he got angry, he pouted and threw a tantrum.

She took off after Dane, anger thrumming though her veins. She took a deep breath. He wanted a fight? He’d better brace himself for what he’d claimed to want all along—the real Alea al Mussad.

Chapter Ten

The minute Dane’s feet hit the beach he knew he should go back and apologize. Hadn’t the fight at the palace and Tal’s dressing down taught him anything? Everyone with a successful plural marriage had told him they had to behave like brothers. Brothers didn’t normally walk away from brothers. Well, his biological ones had, and he’d resented the fuck out of it.

Hadn’t he just done the same to Landon and Cooper? Yes, but they’d taken Alea without him. And he hadn’t really listened to what they’d said. He’d just lost his temper and his fucking mind.

Now he was arguing with himself. Awesome.

Dane planted his hands on his hips and forced himself to suck in a breath, clear his head. What exactly had happened? The whole way up the trail to the lagoon, he’d been hoping that this would be the day. Once he got to wherever Lan and Coop had claimed was paradise, that maybe they would kiss her a little, maybe seduce her out of her clothes. They’d talked about all being there, going slow with her. But he’d wanted to get inside her. He’d wanted to make love to her.

Then he’d discovered that Landon had beaten him to the punch.

When he’d crashed into the clearing to find her, so fucking gorgeous with her head thrown back, taking pleasure from Lan and Cooper, he’d felt dizzy with shock. He’d stood there and watched as she’d given herself to them, and his blood had boiled with betrayal. Terrible accusations had spewed from his mouth. On the way back to base camp, he’d cursed. This wasn’t her fault, or Coop and Lan’s.

It was his own.

While on top of him, Lan had allowed Alea the control she’d undoubtedly needed. His buddies could be gentle with Alea. They could treat her right. They didn’t have perverse needs.

They were better for her than he was.

Cooper and Landon hadn’t been kicked out of the military. Oh, Dane had been allowed to leave of his own accord, but everyone knew he’d been a hairsbreadth away from a court martial. Alea deserved an honorable lover, and he wasn’t that.

He didn’t have a family anymore. They’d all turned their backs on him. He didn’t have wealth or even much of a future. When he really thought about it, he didn’t have a whole fucking lot to offer her. He scrubbed a hand through his hair. He should have kept it together, but no, he’d said some terrible things because he’d felt so damn inadequate in that moment. He’d just known that she’d waited until he was gone and she was alone with Lan and Coop to make love.