Chapter 50
CHAPTER 50
NORTH CAROLINA
B ryson’s face was a mask of confidence, but his palms were slick and his stomach churned. Then she appeared.
Adria stood in the doorway, steam still clinging to her skin. Damp tendrils framing her face, her cheeks freshly pink from the heat. Her hair was wild, boots laced, blouse untucked—half put together, entirely devastating.
Bryson’s breath caught in his throat as he didn’t think she could get more beautiful.
Panic nipped at his heels. This was a terrible idea .
She scanned the space, eyes sweeping over them—one, two, three—until they landed on him.
Bryson braced for anger. Or worse, indifference.
Instead, her cheeks flushed deeper, and he caught the smallest clench of her thighs.
His heart skipped.
That look—that reaction —it unlocked something inside him. His pulse roaring to life. She wanted them.
She wanted him .
Each step they took brought them closer, the three of them moving as one. Seth and Kaydon flanked him, grounding him. Their silent strength wrapped around his nerves and turned fear into purpose.
The air was thick, humming with tension. Lust. Power.
They stalked toward her, and Adria—just for a moment—stepped back.
Surprise flashing in her eyes, but she caught herself before retreating further. Her spine straightened, chin lifted.
She would not give up another inch. Not without a fight.
And god, did that make him want her more.
Good girl.
Bryson liked that she could hold her own. Even when facing him and his two brothers, she was not only willing, but fully able to stand toe to toe.
It was a feat few people managed.
His hands itched to be around her. To feel her skin, to bury his face in her hair, to smell that sweet lavender scent.
He gave her his best cocky smile.
“Hey, beautiful,” he said, tipping his head before bringing his gaze to meet hers.
Her fiery eyes found his, and he hoped that she was able to see the desire he felt for her.
All three of them had decided that they wanted to leave her in the best position possible after their sale. And the only way to do that was to convince her to sell them to Vega.
Here goes nothing.
Stepping into her, Bryson felt her energy—wild, sharp, magnetic—flood into him. It collided with his own, crashing like opposing tides and pulling them into a shared current. In Adria’s world, you were either giving or taking. There was no middle ground.
He and his brothers had come here to breach that barrier. To show her they could be trusted. That she didn’t have to face the storm alone.
Bryson’s hands slipped around her waist, fingers digging into the plush curve of her hips. The soft gasp that spilled from her lips nearly undid him.
Before she could stop him, he swept her up into his arms.
In the year he’d been here, he could count on one hand how many times he’d touched her. And it was always on her terms, when he was restrained, bound, at her mercy.
But now?
Now he held her freely. And it suffocated him—this need, this ache that had grown like a wildfire inside him.
He carried her to the desk and set her down gently. She hadn’t stopped him. Not yet. The hard press of his cock begged for more as he nudged her knees apart, needing her to feel just how much he wanted this—wanted her.
“What are you—” she started, but he was already reaching for her, fingers weaving through her damp hair, curling at the base of her skull.
He pulled, just enough to tilt her mouth to his. Her breath caught. He heard it, felt it—and that sound seared into him. Their first kiss had been soft, cautious. The second had been raw, full of abandon.
If she let him do it again, Bryson knew it would be something new, something consuming that he wouldn’t be able to stop.
He leaned in, lips grazing hers, pausing— asking.
The air snapped like static.
Then—a paperweight arced toward his face. He ducked, but didn’t dodge the follow-up. Her fist cracked against his cheek, and blood bloomed on his lip.
He staggered back, grin fading .
She leapt from the desk, heading for the door. But Kaydon and Seth were already there, blocking the exit.
Adria’s hands balled into fists, fury radiating off her in waves. “Are you fucking crazy?”
Her hand flew to her watch.
One touch, and Eric would come. One press, and it would all be over.
“Do it,” Bryson challenged, chest heaving. “Call Eric. Have him drag us back to our rooms.”
Kaydon stepped forward, voice low, thick with something dangerous . “Or don’t… and play with us a little.”
There was something new in Kaydon’s eyes. Something animal. Possessive. Bryson’s cock twitched, aching at the thought of watching Kaydon and Adria together. Raw. Unrestrained.
Seth’s voice cut through the tension, softer, but no less intense. “Do you think we’d hurt you?”
The pain in his voice was impossible to miss.
As she faltered.
Just for a second. And Bryson moved.
She was fast, but he was faster. He grabbed her wrist, twisting her, Bryson slid her phone from her back pocket.
Adria fought him, struggled hard, but then he stilled, and held it out to her.
An offering.
“Quit threatening,” he said. “Just call him. Get it over with.”
His voice was steady, but inside, Bryson was unraveling. If she couldn’t trust them. Not even enough to be alone in a room, then it was all for nothing. They couldn’t protect her, couldn’t help her, couldn’t stay .
She stared at the phone, chest rising and falling. Indecision dancing in her eyes.
But beneath it…
Curiosity.
Yes .
There it was.
Bryson’s heart pounded in his chest. He moved to phase two. Slowly, deliberately, he raised the phone to her face, unlocking it with her stunned expression still trained on him.
Her voice was low, rough with emotion and something else—something dangerous.
“What do you want?”
Taking a step forward, Bryson pulled up the app, showing her his vitals. Like he suspected, his heart rate was off the charts. Grabbing her hand, she flinched, but allowed him to guide it.
Bringing her hand to his chest, he placed it over his heart.“You don’t need an app to know what’s going on inside me. You can feel for yourself.”
His heart pounded against her hand.
Kaydon said, “And you don’t need to call Eric, because we would all die before allowing anyone to hurt you.”
They let the statement hang in the air. When she didn’t pull away, Bryson pressed the release button for his cuff.
This part needed to be fast.
Grabbing her wrist, he held her firmly. With his cuff released, he tossed Kaydon the phone and removed her watch while simultaneously slapping his cuff on her wrist.
She tried to twist away but was too late. The monitor was snugly stuck to her.
“Ha ha, very funny, give me my phone,” she said, curiosity gone.
Kaydon took a step back, and Seth moved in front of him, arms crossed.
“You’re pretty strong, but I don’t think you could actually take all three of us,” Seth said.
“I’ll scream for Eric,” Adria said .
“Go ahead, he’s in the kitchen, got the music on pretty loud too,” Kaydon said, giving her a wicked smirk.
She brought herself to her full height, squaring her shoulders. Bryson inched towards her.
“We just want to talk,” he said, holding his hands up.
“Oh man, she likes you,” Kaydon said, looking at her bio markers on the phone.
Warmth spread into Bryson, and he advanced further, positioning his hands on each side of her, effectively caging her in place. Her breasts pressed against him, and the intoxicating fragrance of her scent filled the air, igniting his senses.
Kaydon said, “She likes that.”
Adria scowled, but Bryson could feel her nipples peaking under him. He squirmed uneasily as a pulsating sensation intensified below his waist, straining against the confines of his zipper. His body craved her so much at this point, he wasn’t sure if he would ever find relief.
“You three shouldn’t mess with things you don’t understand. Fear and arousal have similar biological signatures,” Adria said.
“We know,” the three of them said in unison.
Bryson watched her, his primal instinct kicking in.
They were pushing her limits. Anything pushed to its limit was dangerous, and Adria was always dangerous. His cock liked the idea; wild Adria was his favorite version of her.
The phone was Seth’s idea; it was a way to keep track of her fight-or-flight response. They needed to push her, but everyone had an edge, and they didn’t want to push her past hers.
Hovering in front of her, Bryson waited. Still. Watchful.
Adria didn’t move .
She was so still that for a moment, panic twisted in his gut. Had they already pushed her too far?
Freeze was a trauma response he recognized all too well.
He flicked his eyes to Kaydon, hoping for a sign, a signal, but Kaydon looked just as stunned, his brow furrowed in concern.
Then, without warning, her fist shot up.
Bryson barely dodged the punch.
He wasn’t as lucky with her knee.
Pain exploded through his groin as her leg landed between his legs.
Adrenaline hit him like a drug. He grit his teeth, pushing past the white-hot agony as she bolted for the door. Reacting on instinct, he caught her, arms locking around her body, wrists gripped tight.
She thrashed in his hold, fire incarnate. Seth hovered in the doorway, torn between stepping in and holding back.
Bryson dragged her into the bedroom.
She screamed, but only for a second, before Bryson’s hand clamped over her mouth.
And that was his next mistake.
Pain flared as she bit down, her teeth tearing into his flesh with all the fury she couldn’t voice. Hot blood welled between them, dripping down his wrist. His cock throbbed with the pressure of her against him.
Her body was like fire against his, and his body responded to their proximity. That, along with the blood dripping down his palm, threatened to pull him along for a ride.
Focus. Fucking focus.
With one hand out of commission, he struggled to subdue her. But he didn’t let go.
Bryson pushed her back, lowering her onto the mattress, using his weight, he pressed his body into hers, breathing shallow and quick.
The room pulsed with electric tension.
She bucked under him, face wild and eyes fierce.
“Yellow,” Kaydon said over his shoulder.
That snapped Bryson out of his arousal fog, and he ground out, “Seth, help me.”
Seth was there in an instant.
“Cover her mouth,” Bryson said, and Seth complied.
Bryson sat low on her legs, pinning her, his bloody palms over her wrists.
“Fuck, she’s biting me,” Seth whined.
“No shit, deal with it,” Bryson growled.
Seth was small, but he was tougher than most, tougher than he and Kaydon. Toughness wasn’t just a physical thing. Nine times out of ten it was mental fortitude, and when push came to shove, Seth rose to any challenge thrown at him.
“High yellow,” Kaydon said urgently into the room.
“R egina mea , focus!” Bryson tried calling for her attention.
“We will not hurt you. You know that. Make your body believe it,” Bryson said to the wild eyes beneath him.
She said something into Seth’s hand, probably a slew of insults laced with her traditional sailor profanity. But it meant she heard him.
He glanced back at Kaydon, who shook his head. She was still too far on the edge. Bringing his pointer finger to her wrist, Bryson felt her pulse. Her heart was beating wildly.
“Adria, we are not going to hurt you. Make your body believe it,” Bryson said again.
Her eyes were like ice as she focused on him. More muffled words came from under Seth’s hand.But, her pulse slowed under his fingers, her breathing becoming less erratic, and her eyes cleared.
He kissed the inside of her wrist.
“Good girl.”
“Okay, yeah, fuck, keep talking to her like that,” Kaydon shuffled around the room behind him.
Adria blushed a beautiful shade of red and bucked her body under him.
“You’re gonna turn me on even more, gorgeous, you keep moving like that.”
Bryson pressed his arousal into her and growled in her ear.
Sitting up, he said, “Kaydon.”
Kaydon responded quickly,“I don’t think?—”
“Now, Kaydon,” he demanded.