Double Dose (Research & Desire) Page 11

  She rolled her eyes. How absurd was it that she was in a situation where she’d been hauled around enough to recognize her kidnappers by the feel of their shoulders against her midsection? With a resigned sigh, she relaxed, allowing A to carry her through the pitch-dark space and up the ladder.

  Once they were outside, she wiggled and squirmed. Ari just held her more firmly, until she blurted, “Lauren will throw things.”

  It was his turn to sigh, but he set her on her feet, holding her shoulders until she’d caught her balance. She didn’t think she’d ever get used to the head rush that came after hanging upside down. Ari took her hand, and Benjy immediately grabbed her other one. The two proceeded to haul her through the trees as if she were a recalcitrant toddler.

  When they arrived back at the lodge, Daphne was puffing, pulling as much thin air into her starving lungs as she could. They entered the dining area through the main doors.

  As Ari had mentioned, everyone else was waiting for them, including a pale Claire. Daphne wasn’t sure if the other woman’s lack of color was from morning sickness or from oh-my-God-I’m-having-a-baby-in-this-crazy-situation anxiety.

  “Where’d you guys end up hiding?” Darwin asked. Although he appeared relaxed, his chair was snugged up as close as it could be to Tom’s. He’d tossed his arm casually around Tom’s shoulders, but Darwin’s fist clutched a handful of the other man’s shirt, as if his hold alone could keep Tom safe.

  With a shrug, Daphne pulled out one of the empty chairs and sat. “An underground room somewhere out there.” She gestured in the general direction of the trees.

  “Descriptive.” Darwin turned to Ari and gave him a questioning look.

  “Bunker Six.” Ari took a seat next to Daphne—right next to Daphne—as Benjy pulled a chair close to her other side. She squirmed a little, discomforted by the fact that she couldn’t move at all without rubbing her arms against theirs.

  Her attention was jerked away from her hot male bookends when Ed shoved his chair back with a screech of wood on tile. He stood up and began to pace.

  “The next nine months will be fun,” Ari muttered, leaning back in his chair and stretching his legs in front of him. As he settled into his new position, he pressed his arm fully against hers and left it there. Despite the multiple layers of clothing between their upper arms, the touch made her skin prickle and burn. Benjy tossed an arm over her shoulders, and she had to bite the inside of her cheek to hold in a groan as she realized just how long and arousing the meeting was going to be.

  “So you’re knocked up?” Calvin asked.

  Lauren smacked him on the arm and then shook out her hand as if it stung. “Rude.”

  With a roll of his eyes, Cal rephrased his question. “So, you’re impregnated?”

  “Not better.”

  “Growing crotch fruit?” Darwin jumped in.

  Lauren moved her glare from Cal to Darwin. “Yuck. So wrong.”

  To Daphne’s surprise, Tom was next to speak. “Eating for two?”

  Lauren just sighed.

  With a smile fighting to break free, Darwin tossed out a few more. “Adding a leaf to the family tree? Cooking a bun in the oven? Harboring a fugitive?”

  Claire, who’d been watching the interchange, her head turning back and forth between people as if she were watching a convoluted tennis match, came to her feet. “Stop! Yes, I’m pregnant. At least, I’m pretty sure. We’re going to have to order some sticks for me to pee on before I can say I’m a hundred percent sure, but I’m at about a ninety-three percent certainty right now. Maybe ninety-four.”

  The teasing mood in the room vanished into silence. Daphne looked at Ed, grim-faced and pacing, and then back at Claire.

  “Congratulations,” she said, making herself jump at the loudness of her own voice.

  Claire blinked at her. “Thanks?”

  “It’s not the most optimum time,” Ari grumbled.

  Daphne ignored him and plowed on. “But a baby is exciting. You shouldn’t let worries about what might happen kill your happiness about this. I mean, there could be worse circumstances in which to be pregnant. You could be sixteen, with an abusive boyfriend and strict parents who kick you out of the house when they find out you’re having a baby, so you end up broke and homeless and selling your body to guys who get off on doing pregnant women. Or it could be like that movie where the woman has a disease and knows she’ll most likely die if she goes through the entire pregnancy. Or...um...something else bad...” Everyone was staring at her, and her words faltered to a halt.

  “She’s right,” Lauren said after a few moments of dreadfully awkward silence. “We know hiding out like this is just a temporary solution. The baby is just more motivation to figure out something permanent.”

  “As long as that ‘something permanent’ isn’t a fucking baby growing up in the lab,” Cal growled.

  The mention of the lab brought Daphne’s thoughts back to their time in Bunker Six. “What was the alarm?”

  “A prop plane flew over,” Cal said. “Didn’t appear to be a threat, but the south boundary motion alarms were triggered less than a minute later.”

  “Those fucking mule deer again?” Ari asked.

  Cal nodded. “Figured everyone should get out of sight while I checked it out, though. Especially since...” His eyes cut briefly to Claire. “Anyway, I couldn’t locate B or Daph, so I sounded the audible. Figured you’d hear it and take cover in one of the bunkers.”

  Rubbing his hand over his head, Darwin gave a snort of laughter that was completely empty of amusement. “Because we weren’t paranoid enough before, now we can toss a baby into the mix.”

  “Not really helping,” Tom said dryly, although he tangled his fingers with Darwin’s. “How about we discuss the plan to bring down those lab assholes?”

  * * *

  It was late. They’d gone around and around, throwing out ideas and almost as quickly pointing out the fatal flaws in plan after plan. No one had been up to cooking a real dinner, so they just scavenged for leftovers and picked at the cold food. Two bites in, Claire had turned what was becoming a familiar shade of green and hurried out of the main lodge, followed closely by Ed.

  When they’d finally decided to break for the night, everyone was frustrated and cranky. They headed for their cabins with a few muted “good nights” and a handful of grunts.

  As Daphne walked toward the door with her cabinmates, Darwin called after them.

  “You need to bring her back.” His voice was serious, with none of his usual underlying humor, as he looked back and forth between Ari and B. “However this goes down, it’s going to be a shit storm—one she didn’t choose to be standing in.”

  Chapter Eight

  The trip back to their cabin was silent. Daphne tipped her head back and almost lost her balance. The sheer enormity of the night sky, covered by countless stars, made her dizzy. Ari caught her as she wobbled and swept her up in his arms. She didn’t protest as he carried her cradled to his chest but just watched the stars with her head resting against his shoulder.

  In the cabin, he didn’t put her down until he’d carried her up the twisting stairs and to the bed. Benjy followed them, shedding his outerwear as he went. Ari laid her on the bed crossways. He was oddly careful with her, in contrast to the times he’d tossed her onto the mattress. Unsure of how to handle this new tenderness, she eyed him uncertainly as he pulled off her boots and tossed them aside.

  Benjy had stripped to his black boxer briefs. As Ari yanked off his own clothes, B grabbed her hands and tugged her to a sitting position. His hands were gentle, confusing her even more. She was used to his mocking smirk, his teasing, but the two men were acting so serious and kind.

  This distracted her so much that she didn’t even notice she was down to her bra until she shivered. Looking do
wn at her almost-naked top half, she swallowed and crossed her arms over her breasts. Ignoring her embarrassment, Benjy nudged her until she was flat on her back again. He unfastened her jeans and had them pulled down to her thighs before she realized what was happening. Her panties were being dragged off right along with her pants, and that was a more urgent issue than covering her bra.

  “Wait!” she gasped, sitting abruptly, but the lace edge of her underwear eluded her grasp. He was too quick, sweeping her panties and jeans over her feet. “Benjy!”

  A hint of his usual sideways grin was back as he threw her clothes behind him. Her bra loosened, and it took her a couple of critical seconds to figure out that Ari, kneeling on the bed behind her, had unhooked it. Instead of trying to fumble with refastening her bra, she grabbed the end of the quilt and flipped it over her naked body.

  “What are you guys doing?” she demanded, clutching the covering to her.

  “Getting you ready for bed.” Ari was attempting an innocent expression, but it didn’t work on him. A wicked gleam in his eyes spoiled the effect.

  “I don’t need your help, thanks.” She straightened her spine, clinging to whatever dignity she could while naked and hiding under a quilt.

  Benjy peeled his boxer briefs down his legs in a single smooth movement, before stepping out of them and kicking them aside.

  With a quiet, yet truly humiliating scream, she yanked the covers over her head. It was too late though—the sight of his impressive erection was burned forever into her brain. She was pretty sure it was impressive, although she had very little experience with hard penises. In fact, her past involvement with the male reproductive organ had been limited to a contraband Playgirl magazine passed around in sixth grade and unwanted glimpses of cell phone pictures from an uninhibited roommate in college who liked to overshare.

  “Want your T-shirt?” Ari sounded amused, damn him.

  She stuck her arm out of the quilt and felt soft fabric pressed into her hand. It took some awkward wiggling that left her red-faced and panting, but she managed to finally don the oversized shirt. Once she had it on, Daphne sat still for a few seconds, debating her next move.

  “What’s wrong?” Ari asked.

  “I have to brush my teeth.” And pee.

  “Then do it.”

  She shook her head, her hair rubbing against the quilt. Static made strands cling to her cheeks.

  He must’ve seen the motion because he asked, “Why not?”

  The amusement in his voice told her he knew perfectly well why not, so she remained quiet. Her silence lasted a second and a half, until he yanked the quilt off her. She quickly grabbed for the blanket but came up with nothing. Ari was grinning at her, a full-on, teeth-showing grin that almost made her forget about B’s nakedness—until she realized that both men were now in full-Monty mode.

  Muttering under her breath, she fixed her eyes on the floor and climbed off the bed, carefully keeping her gaze away from any groin areas. She was just a few steps away from the bathroom when a wide hand brushed over her head. The touch made her gaze dart to Benjy before she could stop herself. He smoothed the static-charged strands again as she focused on his chest—his broad, muscled, perfect chest.

  Giving her head a shake to break the hot-man spell, she stepped away from B. His hand wrapped around her head like a five-fingered skullcap, holding her still as he brushed his lips against her cheek. Her breath went shaky, and she looked at his face, shocked at his tender expression. New emotions flowed through her, making her knees soften and her heart race and her brain scream for her to find an exit.

  Swallowing hard, she slipped away from Benjy’s hold and dashed for the bathroom.

  * * *

  She didn’t want to leave the bathroom. She’d completed her nightly routine, and now there was nothing left but walking out of the little room. Chewing the corner of her lower lip, she stared at the door, torn between the backup plan of sleeping in the bathtub and facing the naked men awaiting her in the bedroom.

  The knob began to turn, and she whipped up her head, not wanting a penis to be at her eye level when whichever naked man opened the door.

  Ari walked in and immediately picked her up, ending her mental debate about leaving the bathroom.

  As they approached the bed, Daphne risked a look at Benjy and saw that he was in bed and covered up to his waist. Her relief was soured by disappointment, but she hastily shoved away that inappropriate feeling.

  After he deposited her on the bed, Ari returned to the bathroom. He didn’t close the door, and the sounds of his activities made her blush and stare at the ceiling. A finger stroked her cheek, bringing her attention away from the sound of A’s pee hitting the water in the toilet.

  Benjy kissed the tip of her nose and then slid his lips across her cheek to her ear. He played there for a long time, using his teeth and tongue, until she was gasping and squeezing her thighs together.

  The bed shifted as Ari stretched out his bulk on her other side. With a final, biting kiss, B pulled away and headed for his turn in the bathroom. Daphne didn’t have time to listen for any embarrassing sounds, since Ari immediately wrapped a bulky arm around her waist and pulled her toward him. He turned her so her back was tucked against his chest and her ass pressed against his erection, with only the thin material of her sleep shirt separating their skin. He burrowed his face into the space between her shoulder and chin.

  “I don’t want you to go,” he said in a growly whisper, his warm, damp breath brushing her neck. If his mouth hadn’t been so close to her ear, she wouldn’t have been able to hear him.

  Daphne opened her mouth to promise she’d never leave them—never leave the warm cocoon of this bed, in fact—when a flicker of sanity made her close her mouth without saying anything. Despite the torrent of feelings the guys’ touches created in her, of lust and hope and a bud of something new and amazing and terrifying, this wasn’t reality. She needed to go home, to look at the last couple of weeks objectively, away from the naked, gorgeous bodies and their brain-dissolving touches.

  “I have to go,” she whispered. Benjy slid back into bed and lay facing her, watching her with serious eyes. “I can come back but I can’t just stay gone. Food is rotting in my refrigerator. My purse is still at work in my desk drawer, and my car’s in the parking garage next to the office—unless they figured it was abandoned and it’s been towed. I haven’t checked my mail or my email for weeks. I have to deal with things.”

  Ari’s arm tightened around her middle, squeezing out her air. When she patted his arm, as if tapping out in a fight, he eased his hold a little, although he kept her snug against his body.

  Stroking Daphne’s hair away from her face, B kissed her temple. She let her eyes close, amazed by how many erogenous zones she actually had and how Benjy seemed to know exactly where they were. He took a shortcut to her mouth this time, surprising her with the pressure of his lips on hers. Her quick inhale parted her lips, and he took advantage immediately, taking over her mouth with his tongue.

  She moaned, pressing into the kiss as her lower half pushed back, grinding her ass into Ari’s lap. His answering grunt was breathless. Her brain was mostly preoccupied by the feel of Benjy’s kiss, but she vaguely recognized the feel of a rough-skinned hand stroking along her hip, dragging up her T-shirt until A’s erection was skin-to-skin with her ass.

  When he adjusted his cock so it slid between her thighs, her whole body jolted, jerking her mouth away from Benjy’s. She jackknifed to a sitting position, a little shocked that the men released her so easily. Looking back and forth between their startled faces, she felt her face blushing a hot, dark red.

  “Sorry,” she said. “I didn’t... I mean, I haven’t...” Taking a deep breath, she forced out the humiliating words in a muddled rush. “I’ve never done it before. Sex, I mean.”

  The men both sta
red at her in silence for a few seconds as she smoothed the quilt over her lap so she wouldn’t have to look at them.

  “You were engaged,” Ari finally said.

  She nodded.

  “But you two never fucked?”

  Her blush deepened at the word. She didn’t care if someone swore, but it was different when Cal used “fuck” as an adjective or an exclamation or a noun. Ari using it as a verb, especially when she was performing the action—or wasn’t performing it—was a little mortifying. At his impatient look, she realized that she hadn’t answered his question and shook her head.

  Ari frowned. “How’d he keep his hands off you?”

  Now her embarrassment was tinged with pleasure from hearing that Ari found her irresistible. “He had another girlfriend the whole time we were together. I don’t think he was ever really attracted to me.”

  “Idiot,” Ari snorted. From Benjy’s expression, he agreed with that assessment of Brett. Ari snagged her around the waist and tugged her flat onto her back. The movement made her shirt ride up, exposing her to the waist. She wiggled and clutched at the hem, but Benjy’s face was suddenly in the way of lowering the shirt. He kissed her stomach, his tongue dipping into her bellybutton, and her hands went numb.

  Ari easily pulled the fabric from her loosened grip and slid her shirt to bunch under her arms, exposing her breasts. His mouth closed around a rigid nipple, and she arched under his touch. It felt so good that it almost hurt. Suddenly, all the euphemisms in the romance novels she’d guiltily devoured as a teenager made sense—the lightning, the melting, the...throbbing.

  As Ari kept a steady sucking pressure on her nipple, Benjy left her bellybutton and proceeded downward toward her pussy. Her muscles were so tense, she was practically vibrating. B rested his hands on her thighs, gently massaging and stroking. When Ari closed his teeth around the tip of her breast, making her moan and twist with pleasurable pain, Benjy used her distraction to ease her legs apart and wedge his body between them.