Chapter 19
SHELBY
CHAPTER NINETEEN
No one is in the living room when we return to the house.
I say good night to Luke and Dom before heading toward my room, Cam and Mav trailing behind me.
“Shelby, if you don’t want us in here, we understand,” Mav says.
Stopping at my door, I turn to face them both. “No, I want you both in here. But to warn you, I expect to have a nightmare after telling everyone my story.”
“I told you the first day I’m here for you,” Cam says.
“Thank you. I’m beat.” The guys and I undress, and I crawl up and into the middle of the bed to lie down. Cam and Mav move to either side of me, Cam being the big spoon to my little.
Mav presses himself along the front of me, pulling my leg over his hip. The guys link their hands over my waist, wrapping me in their warmth.
It doesn’t take long before I drift off to sleep.
The dark, moldy basement looms around me. I’m naked and chained up. Goose bumps run along my skin when footsteps echo from the stairwell. Evan walks out of the dark corner.
“Do you think you could escape me that easily?” Blood drips down from his neck.
No! This can’t be happening. I shake my head. “I killed you. I killed you and got out of the house Roger was holding me in.”
I ball my hands into fists to hide their shaking.
He stalks toward me, making me back up against the wall, coming to a stop within a foot of me. “True. But you will never be rid of me. Every time someone touches you, every time you sleep, every time you have sex, you will think of me. I’ll always be here.”
Evan’s face splits into a bloody grin as he reaches out his hand, resting it on my cheek.
“No!” I scream. “Don’t touch me. Leave me alone.” I push away the image, my hands not touching anything.
Still lost in the haze of my nightmare, I bolt upright and scramble away.
“You’re safe, gorgeous,” Cam says.
My eyes drift toward where he sits, my vision blurring the image of Cam seated against the headboard with the memory of him lying in the basement. “But I freed you. You escaped. And why is Mav here? He wasn’t here.”
Whimpering, I wrap my arms around myself and rock back and forth.
“She’s still caught in her nightmare,” Mav whispers. “You’re safe. Here with us. You’re not in the basement anymore, Shelby. You got Cam out. He’s safe. Look at Cam, Shelby.”
I blink a few times, clearing the fog from my head. Cam’s not dirty or flushed with fever like he was in the basement.
The image of the basement fades from my vision.
I shiver, the slimy feel of Evan’s hands still coating my skin. “Make him go away.”
Both guys freeze.
“Who?” Concern laces through Cam’s voice.
My body shakes. “Evan. He said I’ll never be rid of him. That I’ll remember him every time someone touches me, every time I have sex.” Bile rides its way up my throat, but I choke it and a sob down. “I want to make him go away.”
“Okay, beautiful,” Cam says. “Tell us what we can do?”
Mav slides closer to me but doesn’t touch me yet. Neither of them has. “How can we help, princess?”
“Make love to me,” I plead.
Cam shakes his head. “Oh, Shelby, I don’t know if we should.”
“He took something from me that I enjoy. I want to take it back. It’s time for me to take my life back, Cam.” I reach out and slip my hand under Cam’s shirt. I run my hand over his chest, then pinch his nipple.
“Augh,” he moans.
“Now, are you two going to help me or not?” A bit of desperate anger leaks through now that I’ve made up my mind.
Cam and Mav stare at each other. “If you’re sure, we’re here for you.”
Cam moves away from the headboard toward where I still sit at the end of the bed. He reaches out, cupping the cheek Evan touched in my dream. I sigh as his touch erases Evan’s.
Mav lies back on the bed, arms spread out wide. “I’m yours to use.”
I snort. “You’re a dork. A cute one, but still a dork.”
Cam places his other hand on my face, turning me toward him. “You can tell us at any time to stop. Do you need a safe word?”
I nod. “Burnout.”
Cam crooks his finger at Mav. “Come here.”
Mav sits up and moves to his knees as Cam grabs the back of his neck and slams their mouths together. Mav moans, wrapping his arms around Cam.
Turned on by their kissing, my body heats.
When they break the kiss, their eyes are blown.
Cam holds one arm out, and I crawl over to them. He slides my shirt off, and Mav hums his approval.
Both kiss my neck, working their way down my collarbone and across my chest, meeting in the middle above the swell of my breast. They kiss each other again, then each of them takes one of my breasts in their mouth, licking and sucking, alternating soft and sharp bites on my pebbled nipples, making me gasp.
Mav pops off my breast and lies down on the bed again. “You’re in control, baby. Let Cam do his thing first.”
Mav grins salaciously, winking at me.
Cam bites my nipple one last time as he pulls off. I grab his head and pull him into a fiery kiss. When I pull away, he reaches over to the side table, opens the drawer, and removes a tube of lube.
I quirk my eyebrow.
“I like to be prepared.” Cam smirks.
Cam moves between Mav’s legs. He lubes his fingers, pushing one into Mav. When Cam adds another finger, Mav’s eyes roll back in his head. I can’t help myself. I lean over and take Mav’s dick in my mouth.
“Aww, Christ, you’re trying to kill me,” Mav groans out.
Cam continues to move his finger in and out of Mav while I run my tongue up and down his shaft.
“Stop, or I’m going to come,” he moans.
I pop off his dick. “We wouldn’t want that, now, would we?”
Cam pulls out his fingers and lubes up his dick. Lining himself up, he pushes into Mav.
Cam grits his teeth, a moan tumbling free. “You feel so good, Mav.”
“Shit,” Mav pants. “Shelby, you can watch if you don’t want to do this.”
Crawling forward, I nip at his chest. “Hell, no, you two have me horny as hell.”
I straddle Mav, my back pressed against Cam’s chest. I ease myself down, taking him in until my ass cheeks rest right where Cam holds himself inside Mav. I rise, then grind down on him, taking my time building up the speed.
When I get going, that’s when Cam starts. Cam and I move together. As I drop on Mav’s cock, Cam rocks forward, slamming into Mav. Then, I move up to the tip, while Cam withdraws again.
Mav drops his head back, and his eyes flutter closed. He reaches up with one hand and kneads my breast. Every so often, pinching it, making me moan.
How does Mav survive both of us? I’m going nuts. His cock slides in and out of me as I ride him, and Cam’s hips slap my ass, my clit grinding against Mav with each of my downward strokes.
Cam’s hand rests on my hip, pulling me back. Mav grips the sheets with both hands.
“I’m not going to last.” His dick swells, the sensation making me arch my back, shifting to take him deeper.
His right hand releases the sheets, then he grips my other hip. He rocks me back and forth. At the same time, Cam slips his hand down my hip to between Mav and me, flicking my clit.
“Ahh!” I cry out.
“Whatever you’re doing, keep doing it.” Mav groans. “She’s squeezing me so tight.”
Mav flexes, and Cam picks up speed. Our tempo increases, and our movements stay in sync as best we can. All three of us are close.
I’m not sure who comes first. Heat blasts its way down my spine to my clit, my pussy pulsing, gripping and milking Mav, who grunts, thrusting his hips up faster, prolonging my orgasms as he chases his own.
I call out both of their names as pleasure continues to rock through me. Mav comes with a final thrust and a growl, his heat splashing against my inner walls, making me cry out again.
Cam’s cry of pure pleasure joins mine, his hips stuttering as he grinds out his last few thrusts, emptying himself into Mav.
I collapse on Mav’s chest. Cam catches himself as he falls forward, so as not to crush us, and places a gentle kiss against the base of my neck. I lay my cheek on Mav’s sweat-coated chest.
We catch our breaths, the room full with the sound of our breathing and the smell of sex.
Once I can breathe, I shift, so I hover over Mav. I lean down and take his lips with mine. “Fucking amazing. Thank you.”
I glance back at Cam’s smiling face, where he still holds his weight over us. “Thank you.” I peck Cam’s lips.
Mav’s dick twitches inside me. “Holy shit, keep kissing me like that, and I’ll be hard again in a minute.”
He chuckles, the movement making my inside twitch in a mini-orgasm aftershock. He must clench down on Cam because he groans.
Reluctantly, Cam pulls out of him and falls to the side.
I laugh as I roll off him, flopping to his other side, my body thrumming with energy. “Damn, I needed that.”
“You good?” Cam checks.
I grin at both of them. “I’m great!”
The next morning, I find us tangled in sheets and body parts. I glance around the bed, plotting my escape. I shift, pulling out an arm here, sliding out my leg there, trying to leave without waking them.
“Hmm, where are you going?” Mav mumbles.
“I have to pee,” I whisper, since Cam is still sleeping like the dead.
“Fine, you may go.” He waves his hand, dismissing me in a haughty manner that makes me chuckle and shake my head before he releases my last limb so I can crawl out of bed.
He cuddles with Cam. What a night they gave me.
After showering, Cam and Mav are still sound asleep.
“Come on, sleepy heads.” I shake Cam’s shoulder. “We have a lot to see today.”
“Hmm, no, you wore us out last night.” Cam whines.
“Are you complaining?” I raise an eyebrow, hands on my naked hips.
Mav pops one eye open. “Hell, no… Oh, hello.”
“Go get ready.” I smack Mav’s ass before I dance back out of the way and dart into the closet.
Right as the door latches, there’s a thud.
“Ouch,” Mav says.
I guess he tried to follow me in here. I chuckle to myself.
Grabbing some comfortable clothes, I dress for the day.
When I come back out, Cam and Mav are in the shower, groaning. I laugh as I walk down the hallway to the kitchen.
The rest of the crew is sitting around the counter.
“Morning,” I say happily.
“You look like you enjoyed your night?” Cin snickers.
I look down my nose at her. “As a matter of fact, I did. But I won’t ever tell you why.”
I grab a bowl, spoon, and cereal.
Cin’s eyes light up. “Don’t take this wrong, but you’re more like your old self.”
“I feel more like my old self,” I say. “Last night, I realized I was letting Roger and Evan take things from me by continuing to be scared. So, I decided it was time to claim some of myself back. I worked on getting healthy and regaining my strength. Since I’ve been here, I run most mornings. I’ve been gaining weight but want to work on my karate again.”
Cin tips her head to the side, her gaze taking all of me in. “Well, you have some of your color back and are regaining some weight. Whatever you’re doing is working.”
After Cam and Mav join us and grab their breakfast, I take a steady breath. “I’ve been thinking about coming home with you.” I glance up at everyone. “I think it’s time.”
“If that’s what you want, my dad will be happy to see you,” Nick encourages. “I’m sure your mom will as well.”
“Dad wants me to go back to staying at his house in town when I come home.” Cin frowns. “He doesn’t want me staying at Nick’s place for some reason.”
I snort. “That won’t last for long.” I turn to Luke. “I was hoping to work with you on my karate after school.”
“I’d love to,” Luke says.
Smiling my appreciation, I place my bowl in the sink. “We still have three days left here.”
“What do you want to do?” Luke rinses off his bowl.
“Let’s go see Pearl Harbor!” I exclaim excitedly.
We split up into two cars to drive over to Waikiki, where we purchase tickets for the USS Arizona Memorial and the USS Missouri Battleship tour. The day is perfect with clear skies and a nice breeze.
The tours are so interesting.
As we stand on the memorial’s dock, I gaze out across the water. In a way, I understand what those sailors felt like, trapped in that ship’s darkness. I shake off the despair because I won’t let it take over my life.
I release those thoughts and enjoy the memorial.
Family members of the ship’s fallen heroes and other tourists meander through the site. A small child tosses a lei into the water, and I silently thank the ghosts left behind.
Later, we head over to the luau Paige booked.
We’re given a fragrant lei before being led to a private table—my mouth waters from the smoky scents from the pit where the kalua pig is roasting.
The evening begins with kahiko dancing. Then, the food is brought out to this enormous buffet. I grab some of everything: kalua pig, poi, poke, lomi salmon, purple sweet potatoes, and so much more. It’s delicious.
As we eat, the performances continue.
Several men come out carrying sticks they light on fire. They spin them around, tossing them to each other, and use them to battle each other.
The fire dance mesmerizes me.
Next, a kind older lady and a few others in hula dress come out. “I need some volunteers.”
She walks along the tables, grabbing a small boy, a teenage girl, and an older couple.
Mav bounces in his seat.
I laugh. “Mav, calm down.”
She reaches our table and glances over our group before her eyes land on Mav, and she points at him. “You.”
He stands and runs past the teacher to the stage. She chuckles as her skirt flutters in the breeze Mav created as he blew by her.
Cam pulls out his phone. “I got to record this.”
He makes his way closer to the dancers.
The instructor discusses hand and hip movements and how each move tells a story. She and the others demonstrate a few moves before they have the volunteers repeat them.
“Perfect,” she says. “Now, you must look the part.”
The instructor’s assistants come back out carrying a pile of outfits. The male assistants strap the grass calf socks to the little boy’s legs, covering them from his thighs to the ground. They do the same for the older gentleman. Then, the ladies give a hula skirt to the older lady and teenage girl. Mav watches, then frowns.
“Hmm, we don’t have enough lavalavas,” she says. “Oh well, this will work.”
She straps a hula skirt around Mav’s waist and a fake coconut bra around his chest, which is not traditional, making it even more hilarious. She finishes his ensemble by plopping a crown of flowers on his head.
As Mav sticks out his chest and prances around, I laugh so hard tears roll down my cheeks. Cam gasps for air and holds his stomach from his laughter. I’m sure we’ll become seasick watching the video.
Luke falls off his chair when Mav scowls over at us before he shrugs and continues.
Instead of performing the male part of the hula, Mav tries the ladies’ part. He exaggerates every sway of his hip and flip of his hand, and the instructor can’t take it as she laughs.
When the dance ends, she walks over to Mav, brushes a kiss on his cheek, and says something in Hawaiian before repeating it in English.
Mav blushes before walking over to us, still in his hula skirt and coconut bra.
By the end of the luau, we’re exhausted.
We return to the cars, and I lean on Dom’s shoulder.
We pile into the car, and as we drive home, I struggle to stay awake, all the delicious food and excitement catching up with me.
As we enter the house, we split off to go to our separate rooms.
I reach out and grab Dom’s hand. “Will you stay with me tonight?” I ask him before I remember his reaction to that question last night, and uncertainty fills me. “I mean, if you’re okay with that. If not, that’s fine. You don’t have to.”
“I’d love to, Firefly,” he says.
We walk into my room, and once I finish undressing, I crawl into bed. Dom changes, and my insides flutter with arousal.
Dom climbs in bed, flicking off the lamp on the nightstand and grabbing my hand. “Good night.”
I lie next to him for a few minutes, disappointed as I listen to his breathing deepen. Finally, after a little while, I drift off to sleep.
I wake up in the morning to something hard pressed against my ass. During the night, Dom made himself into the big spoon, and I curl up in his arms. As I do, a wicked thought pops into my head.
I move out of his arms, and he rolls onto his back, one arm thrown over his head, the other resting on his stomach. I move down his body and take his hard dick out of the hole in his boxers. I lick from the base of his cock to the tip, causing it to twitch in my soft grip. Taking the tip in my mouth, I run my tongue around his cock head, then sink down his shaft, taking him to the back of my throat.
Dom moans and thrusts up, making me gag a bit. The sheet lifts, and Dom peeks under it.
“What are you doing?” he asks, a note of strain in his voice.
I take his dick out of my mouth. “If you don’t know what I’m doing, then I’m doing it wrong.”
Dom’s brow wrinkles. “Oh, you’re not doing it wrong. I’m wondering why?”
“Because I want to.” My heart stutters. “Do you not want this?”
Dom’s gaze softens. “No.”
I go to move away, but he slips his hand down my cheek, halting my movement.
“That’s not it at all, Firefly. I don’t want you doing something that might make you uncomfortable or cause flashbacks.”
Loving him more, I smirk before I take him back in my mouth. Dom drops his head back to his pillow, a groan rumbling up through his chest, imitating the grizzly bear I nicknamed him after.
I alternate between sucking and running my tongue up and down his cock. He takes my hair in his grip and begins thrusting in my mouth, fucking my face. I loosen my jaw and relax my throat, allowing him to slip in deeper.
“Shelby,” Dom moans my name, his pace picking up.
His cock swells, and he spills himself down my throat.
I crawl up his chest, wiping the corner of my mouth. “Good morning, Grizzly.”
“Yep, it sure is.” He stretches.
I chuckle as I lie down and rest my head on his chest.
He pulls me close to him. “Are you sure you’re ready to come home?”
I lift my head, the insecure part of me worried he doesn’t want me around. “Do you not want me to come home?”
“It’s not that,” Dom says. “It’s…” He takes a deep breath. “You’re safe here. If you come back home, he can reach to you.” His forehead creases with worry.
I sit up and straddle his waist before I reach forward and smooth my fingers across his brow. “I hate to tell you, Dom. He’ll find me here. I’m not going to be safe until he’s dead.”
“So, you want him dead?” Dom asks.
I snort. “Jail didn’t keep me safe from him, did it? He escaped. If he did it once, he can do it again.”
Dom rubs his chin. “Do you think you can kill him? I don’t mean, do you think you have the physical ability. I mean mentally. Do you think you’ll be able to face and kill him?”
I frown. “When I killed Evan, I didn’t think about it. I refused to let him rape me.”
I shake my head. “But if you’re asking me if I had the time to think about it, if I wouldn’t have done it… Yes, I’d still kill him. He wanted to rape me. He hurt me, and he helped hold me in that basement. Killing him meant I could escape. If I injured him, he’d have come after me or called Roger to let him know. And Roger would have found me before Nick did. I did the right thing.”
Understanding fills Dom’s eyes.
“Besides, I’m not the only one on Roger’s list. I got away, Nick destroyed his income, and you guys beat his hypnosis. He’s going to be pissed the fuck off. He’ll be gunning for us and everyone we love.”
Dom nods in agreement, shifting to sit up against the headboard. “I’ll call Frank and tell him to assign guards for everyone.”
He wraps his hand around the back of my neck, pulling my forehead against his. “But, Firefly, I need you to promise that you won’t put yourself in danger when you come home.”
I bite my lower lip. “I can’t do that. I won’t lie to you.” My forehead rocks back and forth along with his. “If I can reach Roger, I’ll take the risk to kill him.”
I sit back from him but still on his lap.
“Are you kidding me?” His anger jolts through me, and I roll off him to sit on the bed.
Dom stands to pace the room. “What is going to be different this time? Huh? Shelby, tell me. You couldn’t take him out the last time!”
I push off the bed, grab clothes from my closet, and dress. “I don’t know. I should’ve fought more.”
Dom glares at me before he grabs his clothes off the floor.
“That’s great,” he sneers at me, reminding me of how he was when he was hypnotized. “Go ahead and let him take you again. That’s going to work perfectly. If you’re going to go right back to him, then why did we bother remembering you in the first place?”
He storms out the door, slamming it behind him.
Hurt and anger swirl together in the pit of my stomach. Oh no, he can’t talk to me like that! I stomp after him, slamming the door again because I can.
“What the hell is all the yelling about?” Cam asks from behind us as we head toward the living room.
Dom turns to scowl at Cam. “I asked our girlfriend not to do something stupid when she returns home, but she’s determined to throw herself into danger,” Dom growls. “Why did I bother letting you in? I mean, hell, you went with him alone last time. You weren’t drugged like Cam or Hannah.”
“No!” I shout, drawing more attention as everyone filters out of their rooms to the living room. “You don’t get to say crap like that! When you were hypnotized, the way you treated me, the way you spoke to me, was one constant beat down after another. My mental well-being was chipped at one snarky comment after another long before Roger locked me in that basement.”
Dom reels back like I slapped him.
“And when he hid me after Cam and Hannah were gone, I was abused almost every day.”
Cam tries to interrupt. “Um, guys?—”
“You’re right. I did go with Roger alone, and you know the reason why. And yeah, Roger beat me last time. After everything I went through, I was too weak to fight him anymore. So yeah, he hypnotized me. You’re right. That was my fault.”
Again, Dom’s face contorts when I throw his words back at him.
My hands ball into fists. “But I got myself out. I escaped from him and that basement. And I’ve been fighting for myself, for you and the rest of the guys ever since. I begged Nick and Frank to help you. Not for me, but for you. I knew what it was like to be forced to do things against my will, and I wouldn’t wish that on my worst enemy. So never question why you ‘bothered to remember me,’ because I never asked you to!”
Hurt flashes across Dom’s face, but he crossed a line this time.
My breath heaves from my chest at this point. “So, what do you want me to do? Thanks to Louis, you can’t be hypnotized again. But I guess you’re worried I still can be, and I’m so weak I’ll fall under his control again. So, what? I’m to hide until the big bad Dom takes care of him?”
Dom’s anger deflates a little, but he doesn’t back down. “It would be better than seeking him out.”
“He could take you again,” Cin says to no one, worry coating her voice.
Dom throws his hands up. “That’s what I said!”
I cross my arms, huffing. “I never said I’d do that. I won’t sit back and hide. If the opportunity comes where I can rid the world of that evil bastard, I will take it.”
At that last statement, everyone yells their opinion back and forth.
I stand, numbness creeping over me again.
Dom states again and again that I need to hide myself away because I’m too vulnerable to Roger’s will. He doesn’t trust me, after all.
Nick glances over at me, his eyes widening as he sees me shut down and retreat into myself again. “Shut up!”
Shocked silence races across the room.
“Would you stop for a second? Look at her.” Nick gestures my way, and seven sets of eyes turn toward me. “Do you understand what you’re doing to her? Doubting her? Dom, think about what you’re saying and how it’s being perceived. If you weren’t one of my best friends, and if I didn’t know you well enough to understand that what you’re saying comes from a place of fear for her, not from a lack of trust, I’d be knocking your ass out for talking to Shelby like that.”
Dom’s eyes widen as he realizes how his words sounded. He turns to take a step toward me, but I step back, causing him to freeze in place.
“Dom.” Nick’s eyes never leave me. “There’s a major difference this time. She has us. None of you are under his hypnosis and can’t be hypnotized again. The last time, no one knew if he was alive or what we were dealing with. This yelling isn’t doing a damn thing.”
He steps in front of Dom, pulling his fist back and letting it fly right into Dom’s chin. “Okay, I lied. That’s for saying what you did. She went with him because of Cam and Hannah.”
Dom doesn’t retaliate and nods solemnly.
“Nick’s right. We need to help her in any way possible. We might not like it, but it’s what we have to do.” Luke grimaces.
“Thank you, Luke,” I say. “I’m going to change and go for a run.”
Dom reaches out his hand again, but I skirt around him and back to my room. I pull on my shorts and grab my music.
I go out to the deck, stretch, then run.
Dom wants to protect me, but he needs to understand that I can’t sit on the sidelines and let them put their lives in danger while I’m safe, wrapped in a bubble. He wasn’t wrong to ask what was different this time.
I thought a lot about this. When I met Roger, I was young and inexperienced. I’ve grown since then. I’ve met four wonderful, caring, pain in the ass guys who I love and would do anything for. I’ll ask Louis to make sure I can’t be hypnotized anymore. That will be one less thing I need to worry about. Then maybe we can talk Mom and Peter into a cruise.
Whatever I do, as long as we stand together, we stand a better chance.