"You, sweetheart. I've got all night to learn what you like best."
CHAPTER 20
Feeling drowsy and entirely satisfied, Mari woke to find herself wrapped in Ken's arms. His body was tight up against hers, his erection pressed against her buttocks. She couldn't believe he could possibly be hard again and ready, but the thought excited her. He had ridden her throughout the night, over and over, his voice growling rough orders in her ear, his hands every bit as demanding as his mouth and body, as if he could never get enough of her. She didn't want him to ever get enough. Before she could move, stroke her palm over his tempting hard-on, his soft laughter tickled her ear.
"Get the hell out of here, Briony. You're such a brat. We're sleeping."
"You've been sleeping for hours. I want to meet my sister."
Mari's heart pounded, but she couldn't look up, didn't dare. Her mouth went dry and her stomach rolled.
"Jack! Damn it. I'm naked in here and this is just wrong. Your woman has no sense of propriety."
"Stop being a baby. I'm just looking at my sister, not you, so don't flatter yourself."
Ken laughed and the sound ripped through Mari like a tidal wave, knotting her stomach with something all too close to jealousy. She recognized the emotion although she'd never experienced it before. Ken didn't laugh that often, but she could hear the easy affection in his voice. He genuinely cared for Briony, and Ken didn't care for that many people. It had never occurred to Mari that she might be jealous of another woman--especially when that woman was her pregnant sister.
Ashamed, she took a deep breath to calm herself. Life was happening too fast for her. She had wanted to see Briony her entire life, yet now, faced with the reality, she was frightened. Mari forced herself to look up, to smile, to pretend her heart wasn't thudding in her chest and that one wrong word, one look of disappointment wouldn't crush her--destroy her.
Briony was short, with platinum and gold hair. She wore it a little longer than Mari, a little softer style. It framed her face and called attention to her large, dark eyes. She had an obviously rounded tummy, but the rest of her remained slim. Mari stared at her sister, astonished at how much they looked alike, yet how different at the same time. Briony was everything she was not. Soft. Feminine. It really showed. Even her body was subtly different, and it had nothing to do with the pregnancy. She had softer curves, where Mari's muscles were small, but defined.
Briony seemed to be having trouble looking at her, keeping her concentration on Ken. "You're so lazy. Get out of bed, Ken. I waited and waited."
He threw a pillow at Briony. "You didn't wait long enough. And look at you! Your tummy is bigger than a beach ball."
Briony threw the pillow back at him. "That's not what a pregnant woman wants to hear. Get up and bring my sister out to me now!" Her gaze shifted to Mari, tears swimming in her eyes. She choked back a sob and turned and ran from the room.
Ken shifted Mari so she was facing him, her breasts pressed tightly against his chest, his thigh flung carelessly over hers, pinning her beneath him. "You're trembling, sweetheart. You didn't say a word to her and she said nothing to you. Talk to me."
She shook her head. "She's perfect. You know she is. She's so feminine."
Ken bit back his first reaction and bent his head to her breasts. His teeth tugged and teased, tongue sliding over her creamy flesh. "You're the most beautiful woman I've ever seen, Mari. Surely you can't think she won't like you?"
She shivered and cradled his head to her. He made her feel beautiful and wanted. Staying in bed with him seemed her only recourse. "I've never been so scared of meeting anyone in my life."
His mouth burrowed between her breasts, blazed a trail of fire up her throat and chin to the corner of her lips. "You'll do fine. Take a quick shower and we'll go together. I'll be right there with you."
Her body was deliciously sore. She stretched languidly, sliding against him, skin to skin, loving the feel of him against her. He gave her the courage she needed to take ahold of life, and this was her most important day. Briony had been so important to her. Mari had made her into a fantasy. Everything she had ever wanted to be--everything she wanted to have, to do--Mari had imagined it all for Briony. Mari had nothing but a stark, cold, much disciplined life, and she wanted the world for Briony.
Her arms slipped around Ken and she held him to her ferociously. She felt almost desperate, wanting to fit into his world but knowing she didn't. Briony fit. Seeing her just made that clearer. Mari was a soldier. It was her way of life. Ken didn't see her as a soldier; he saw her as soft and gentle, and the reality was so very far from that image.
Ultimately, Briony was a stranger to her. If Briony couldn't accept her with all of her shortcomings, it was going to hurt, but it would be okay. Her sisters were the women who had been forged in fire, just as she had been. They knew discipline and duty and what it was like to be held prisoner, vulnerable and helpless. They knew her. They understood her, and they loved her. They were willing to risk everything with her. She belonged with them.
Choking on tears, heart aching, she kissed Ken, nibbled at his lips and licked the scar that split his mouth into two soft segments. She'd fallen in love with that scar. "Come with me to the shower."
Ken made love to her, taking his time, with the water spraying down on them, doing his best to be as gentle as he could as he held her in his arms. It didn't seem possible to have her with him in his home, that life could really be so good. In the end, no matter how he tried, the only way for him to be stimulated enough to gain relief was rough penetration. He heard the sound of their flesh meeting, like the slap of a hand, his body pounding into hers when she was already sore from a long night of his demands.
His fingers dug into her hips, taking her to the floor where there was no give, where the penetration was deep and her tight sheath gripped him the way he needed. The rougher he was, the more swollen and tight she became and the more pleasure he felt. He looked down at her, the water pouring over them, his fingerprints standing out on her soft skin, and he hated his body, hated who he was.
She wanted him, her body responded to everything he gave her, pushing her ability to accept pleasure and pain mingled together in order to accommodate his lusts, but how could she ever love him when he was so depraved and driven? When a monster lurked inside of him, one she'd caught glimpses of. Mari was not a stupid woman, and she had lived her entire lifetime with violence. She knew he was capable of making her life hell, and in spite of loving her with his body--worshiping her--he could feel her moving away from him. He turned up toward the spray, letting it pour over his face and wash away the burn of tears.
Mari said nothing as he helped her from the floor, but he noticed she looked as if she had been crying too. She pressed a kiss to his chest and stepped out of the shower to dry off. Ken stayed for a longer time, wishing the water could make him clean again. He watched it run into the drain and wished the small stream could take his sins with it.
Briony waited in the kitchen, pacing restlessly in front of Jack. He swung around as Mari and Ken entered, frowning a little in reprimand.
About damn time. She's going to have a nervous breakdown.
Ken flicked his brother a quick warning glance. So is Mari. She's terrified. Don't say anything to upset her.
Jack flashed him a small grin. Papa bear is getting all growly over his little cub. All the same he positioned his body so he could protect Briony should there be need.
Ken kept his hand on the nape of Mari's neck, wanting to give her support. He could feel the tremors running through her slender body. The woman had enough courage for ten people, but facing her twin for the first time in years was traumatic.
"Briony," Ken said softly. "Jack and I promised you we'd bring your sister to you and we have. This is Marigold--Mari."
Briony's eyes filled with tears. "I'm sorry. I can't stop crying. I'm sure it's the pregnancy. I'm so happy you've come at last."
Mari simply stared at her, drank
her in, could barely believe they were in the same room. "Look at you. You look so happy."
"I am happy." Briony wiped at the flowing tears. "Whitney did something to my memory, and I couldn't think about my past without feeling pain. I couldn't remember anything, but as soon as I did, I tried to find you." She took two steps closer but stopped again, afraid of rejection.
Mari took a step toward her. "Whitney did that to anyone leaving the compound. He liked to tell me he knew where you were, and what he could do to you if I didn't cooperate."
Briony ducked her head. "I'm sorry. It must have been terrible for you."
"No," Mari said quickly. "It wasn't. Not really." She took another step toward her sister. "I didn't know any other way of life, and as a child, it was rather exciting. I missed you every single day."
A fresh flood of tears turned Briony's face bright red. Jack started across the room, but Mari got there first. She gathered her sister into her arms and held her. Jack stilled, halfway to his wife, his throat working convulsively. If there was one thing he couldn't take, it was Briony's tears.
Ken handed him a cup of coffee, and they sat at the kitchen table while their women went off together, arms around each other, into the great room.
Jack scrubbed his hand over his face. "Briony's killing me with her tears. I'm hoping Mari can get her to stop."
Ken flashed him a small grin. "You're looking a little pale, bro. What are you going to do when she goes into labor?"
"I'm contemplating shooting myself." He tapped the table restlessly. "What about you? How are things going?"
The grin faded, and for a moment Jack glimpsed pain sliding into the shadows in Ken's eyes. "She isn't going to stay."
"You sure?"
"Why would she? She's got everything going for her. I'm not exactly normal. And unlike Briony, she isn't going to be accepting of me telling her what to do all time."
Jack nearly snorted coffee through his nose. "Is that what you think? Briony pretty much tells me how it's going to be, except maybe in the bedroom, and even then, she likes what I do to her or she wouldn't be doing it. Don't kid yourself, bro, my woman makes up the rules and yours will too."
"Maybe." Ken couldn't very well tell his brother just what it took to feel with his skin sliced to pieces--although maybe Jack already had guessed. More than once he'd repaired damage when Ken had been unable to feel the blade of a saw slicing through his hand until it was too late. He didn't want to go there and see pity in Jack's eyes. "You hear anything about the senator?"
"He's being guarded at an undisclosed location. No one is saying how badly he's hurt. Nothing on the news. Not a single thing about him being shot and nothing in the media about Whitney's laboratory. The general sent in a team, but the place is abandoned and all data appears to be destroyed. Of course they'll take weeks to comb through everything. Whitney's moved on." Jack frowned. "Logan radioed last night to warn us that Sean was last seen getting off a plane in Montana. He's heading here. You know he is."
Ken nodded. "I was certain he'd follow her, but I didn't think he'd come so quickly. Take the women and get out of here, Jack. I'll deal with him."
Jack grunted. "Like that's going to happen. I've already called Logan. He'll be here in an hour, and he'll protect the women. I'm going to be backing you up just the way we always do it."
"Sean isn't going to stop until he has her or he's dead. Whatever Whitney does to these men makes them believe they're entitled to the women. They don't care whether the woman wants them or not; she's a possession."
"We'll get him." Jack's fingers drummed against the tabletop. "You realize Whitney isn't alone in this? Senator Freeman's father is involved, and Mari dropped the name of a banker. She's seen at least two of the others, and that means the other women probably have as well."
"Which increases the risk to them. Whitney and the others are going to want them back for many reasons. I should have realized when Mari didn't really talk about them or let me see what they looked like when she was thinking about them, that they planned to strike out on their own."
"You can't really blame them for not trusting anyone," Jack said.
"No, but I'm a little upset with Mari. If she'd warned me, I could have tried to persuade them that there was help out there for them." He kept his face averted from his brother. Mari was thinking of leaving him. She was going to join her sisters and follow through with their original plan. He was desperate to cage her--but how?
"She trusted you with her life, just not with the other women's."
"She did at that," Ken agreed, and stared out the window as he sipped at his coffee.
An hour later, Logan arrived, grim-faced and angry.
"I spotted Sean, or what I'm fairly sure was him," he said. "He ducked into the trees and he's too careful to make the same mistake twice. I didn't have a clear identification so I couldn't take him out."
"How close is he?"
"Close, Ken. He's moving fast. Tell me what you want and I'll get it done."
"You're going to stay and protect Mari and Briony. Jack's going to climb the mountain and let Sean get a real good look at him. Hopefully he'll think it's me. I'll try to look like Mari and go for a little walk, lead him away from the house to the spring that runs along the bluff. I'm guessing he'll make his try for Mari. If not, he'll go after Jack. Either way, Jack will be waiting or I will."
"And I babysit."
"You've got the most important job, Logan," Jack said, coming up behind them. "Anything happens to Briony and I'm no good to anyone anymore."
"I feel the same way about Mari," Ken added. "If he gets by us, you have to kill him. No matter what, he has to die."
Logan nodded and glanced at the two women as they entered the room.
"Why the grim faces?" Briony asked.
Jack took her hand and tugged until her smaller body was up against his. "You're going to have go down into the tunnel, Bri. We have a nasty visitor and we can't take any chances. Get your emergency pack and go with Mari and Logan."
Mari frowned and shook her head. "It's Sean, isn't it? He's found us."
"That's right, honey, and you've got to get moving," Ken said. "Go with your sister and Logan. We'll take care of this."
"What? You think I'm going to go hide while you and your brother put your lives on the line for me? Think again," Mari snapped, her dark eyes flashing. She looked furious. "Sean is my responsibility, not yours."
"Like hell. Get in the damned tunnel, Mari, where I don't have to worry about you while I take care of this bastard."
"I'm going to stay with you."
Strobes went off in the house. A soft alarm buzzed. Jack and Ken sent Logan a quick, hard look. "An hour?" Jack said.
"I don't have time for this," Ken snapped, his voice icy cold. "You'll do what I say. This is about safety, and when it comes to safety, you get in line, no arguments."
"No one controls me. No one. Whitney couldn't control me and I'll be damned if you do. I'm not hiding while you take the risks."
Ken stepped closer to her, his eyes glacier-cold. "You'll do exactly what I say when I say it, Mari. I'm not fucking around here. I'm not about to let you get shot so that you can prove a point. This isn't about freedom or whatever else you think it is. Sean wants you any way he can have you. He's got to go through me to get to you. If I fail, and Jack fails and Logan fails, you're welcome to blow him away."
Mari's face paled and she took a step back.
"Don't you dare look at me like you're afraid I'll hit you!" Ken caught her arm and jerked her toward him.
Mari's hands came up in a defensive fighting position. "Get off of me."
"That was really sensitive of you," Jack declared. "Sheesh, Ken, can you be any dumber?"
Ken ignored his brother and pulled Mari tight against his body. "Last night I was so deep inside you we were sharing the same skin. And today you're going to look at me like I'm some kind of fucking monster." He looked down at his fingers biting deep into her a
rm, abruptly let go, and looked to his brother for help.
Jack took great care not to glance at Briony. Baby, you're the brains of the outfit. Do something fast.
Without hesitation, Briony made a small sound of distress. Instantly everyone looked at her. She wrapped her arms protectively around her large stomach. "Jack. I'm so afraid. Last time . . ." She trailed off.
Instinctively Mari went to her. "Sean isn't going to get close to you. There's no way that will happen."
"They came last time, Mari, with helicopters, and we barely escaped. I can't climb the cliff now. I can't run. The doctor put me on bed rest because I've had a few contractions. I can't fight this time."
"Mari's a damn good soldier, Briony," Ken said. "She's a hell of a shot and I've seen her fight. She isn't about to allow anyone to get near you."
Mari shot him a quelling look, but smiled with reassurance at her sister. "I won't let anything happen to you or the babies. I promise. Why don't you lead the way to the tunnel?"
"Mari . . ." Ken had no idea what he was going to say, but he didn't want to leave it like this. She was wavering about her decision to stay with him, and ever since he'd brought her into the house she'd been different.
"Go. Get it done. I need another gun and a couple of clips of ammo, just to be on the safe side."
"I can show you where everything is," Briony said, slipping her hand into Mari's.
Ken shook his head and followed Jack out of the house, checking his rifle and guns automatically as they cached weapons throughout the yard.
"Keep your mind on what's going on here," Jack said. "Otherwise you're a dead man. She's not going anywhere."
"How would you know?"
"I see the way she looks at you. Any fool can see."
"She isn't like Briony, Jack. No matter how you cut it, in the bedroom or out of it, I'm going to be rough on her. Sooner or later she's going to hightail it out of here fast. I don't know what the hell I'll do then." And he didn't. He couldn't think about her leaving him because he knew she was contemplating just that. His mind went numb--blank.
"Ken." Jack put his hand on his brother's shoulder. "Sean is a trained killer. This isn't going to be easy. You have to keep your mind on what you're doing. Why don't you let me switch places with you? He won't know the difference."