7. Harper
HARPER
How could they sit there, thinking there was nothing wrong with the fact they had followed every move of my life for the past three years.
Oh, right, that would be two years since they put the tracking device inside me.
I couldn’t stop pacing—my body filled with this energy from my anger and shock at what I’d just learned.
Did Dax know about this? No, there is no way she could have. She would have told me. Dax might be crazy in her own way, but having that done without my knowledge would absolutely not be okay with her.
Looking out at the rice fields that went for miles in either direction made it so tempting to just run for it.
So what if I didn’t know where I was? I’d figure it out eventually.
Sure, I couldn’t run away from them, not really, I knew that, but I needed to get to a phone.
Then I could call Dax and have her tell them to send me back.
I’m sure I’d be safe enough with Tilly and her two husbands.
The more I thought about what they’d done, the more I wanted to scream. Here I was, stuck in an unknown foreign country with three men who were not only amazing assassins but also fucking stalkers.
Deep breaths, girl, just take some deep breaths and remember your breathing.
Yoga.
Maybe that’s what I needed to do—some yoga, center myself after all that’s happened to me. It’s only been four days since I was attacked in my home. Anyone in their right mind would need some time to come to terms with that.
The first thing I did after Jaxon left me was lay prone on my back and look up at the stars that filled the evening sky.
While I wasn’t an avid star gazer, I could definitely tell these were different than what I saw back home.
For starters, they were so much brighter without all the city lights blocking them or the overcast haze from the clouds.
Slowly, I took a deep breath in until my lungs couldn’t possibly take in any more, then I let it out, squeezing every ounce of air out.
I did this a few more times, feeling my body start to calm down, my anger subsiding as my muscles relaxed into the grass.
When I felt ready to move, I rolled over and began one of my favorite flow sequences, letting the familiar rhythm and pull of my muscles keep me centered.
As I reached the point to either do the sequence again or stop, I stood and took a few more deep breaths, taking in the scent of the world around me.
Jasmine was the most prominent, and when I opened my eyes, I found a row of bushes full of the little night-blooming flowers.
“Funny they would have the mood-boosting aphrodisiac flower bordering one side of their yard.” I mused to myself as I let my fingers drift over them.
“What did that one teacher say… a scent to spiritualize intimacy in relationships bringing it to a transcending physical love. Seems like I’ll need that in bulk if I’m going to survive these next few days. ”
Turning, I looked back at the house and found the guys in the kitchen cleaning up after dinner.
My stomach growled at the reminder, but I wasn’t going to go back in there.
Magnus would see it as a win or approval for what they did, and I would never hear the end of it.
No, I was going to stand my ground and make a point that this was fucked up.
The other part of me had so many questions, though.
How did they get the doctor to do what they wanted?
When did they get my phone to clone it?
How did I not know they were the ones ordering my clothes? Only a handful of people or companies ordered all the items in a collection.
Finally, did they think I would find this endearing?
Did I find it endearing?
I sat down on one of the loungers and flopped back, looking up at the sky.
This was the same question I kept coming back to time and time again.
They claim to be in love with me, to have this sense I’m meant to be with them.
Each time one of them said it, the conviction in their voices was utterly convincing.
Either they were telling the truth or deserved an Oscar for their performance.
This wasn’t a movie. People didn’t just fall in love at first sight, certainly not three hot-as-fuck triplets to the same woman.
Rolling on my side, I started to chew on my thumbnail.
It’s been years since I’d fallen back on that habit, but I had bigger things to worry about.
My mind raced, playing over the last three years, trying to figure out if I’d ever seen them.
I tried to remember the party they talked about where Ghost danced with me, but there was nothing.
For three years they stayed hidden. How many women can say they’ve had someone waiting for her to notice them for that long?
Besides the part where they stalked me and killed people for a living, everything they’ve done since I got here was to make me happy and comfortable.
Magnus might be a bastard, as Ghost called him, but every time he set a rule or pushed me, it was for my benefit.
Jaxson had a lot of feelings inside him that he kept under the surface due to their job, would be my guess.
Yet, when I caught a glimpse through the cracks, they came out as words every woman hoped to hear or a look that told me I was everything to him.
Even when I was pushing him away, he begged me to stay so that I was safe.
Ghost was as sweet and fun-loving as his namesake Casper, the little friendly ghost. When he’d told me it was his birth name back in LA, I didn’t understand why he didn’t use it more?
I suppose it’s not the best name for an assassin.
Anyway, while Ghost wouldn’t push the same way Magnus did, he knew how to find other ways to convince me to do things and not realize it until it was too late.
I had every right to be upset about the invasion of my privacy, but did that mean I should cut them out of my life?
How was it this hard to come to terms with when I’d only known them for a day?
Could it be all those romance books I’d read all my life had it right?
That the morally gray man who swept the sheltered innocent woman away was how it should always be?
Hell, if I decided to write about my own story, I’d have a best-seller.
Maybe I should switch careers. Dax’s life could fill multiple books.
Then there was Tilly and her two husbands—I had material for days.
Seemed like the triplets were already getting me to think about changes I could make in my life I’d never have thought of before.
As ideas floated around in my head of what my life could be like if I didn’t walk away, I drifted off into a fitful sleep, not wanting to give up on the world my dreams were showing.
“I think you’ve had enough time to be mad at us, gorgeous,” a voice whispered as arms scooped me up.
The mind was an amazing thing to create such a realistic feeling of warmth and safety from being cradled against someone who would kill a person over a scratch.
“That really made an impression on you, didn’t it,” the same voice commented with a chuckle.
“All men should treat their women as the most precious thing to them. They should always feel safe, treasured, and confident of their place in the world. We have some work to do to get you there, but I can already see the bud starting to open. A little more time with us, and soon you’ll see yourself like we do…
the most beautiful flower ever to bloom in the darkness. ”
I couldn’t help but snort. This had to be a dream. No one talked like that except in romance books written by women. The arms settled me on something incredibly soft and silky, which smelled of the spiciness only men could produce.
“If men were smart, they would read those books and learn a thing or two,” a new voice interjected. “I’ve learned more from those than anything else, and so far, things seem to be going in our favor.”
Heat on my back alerted me to a body curling around me, brushing their fingers through my hair, then starting to massage my scalp. A moan of pleasure escaped me at the touch, melting further against the body.
“Doll, I might need to switch your nickname to kitten. You’re all but purring for us right now,” a third voice breathed the words along my skin as fingers tugged at the straps holding my bikini top.
“Let’s get you more comfortable. Then you can sleep.
We’ll figure things out in the morning when you’re coherent and understand what’s going on. ”
I pouted at his words, not wanting to do as I was told. “No, sleeping means this is over, and you three are too perfect to be real.”
“Oh, this is far from over, doll. We haven’t even begun,” the third voice growled, trailing a finger over my breast until he flicked my nipple.
“The one who is perfect here is you, but we’ll be more than happy to remind you of that in the morning.
Now sleep, and when you wake up, your dreams might become a reality. ”
Fingers glided over my skin, softly tracing every curve and dip along my body, sending little sparks of pleasure through my nerve endings. It would seem that my dream was coming back for a replay, only this time, it skipped to the best part.
Something that felt almost like a feather floated across my nipple, making me arch my back as I tried to seek out a firmer touch.
The feather swirled once, twice, three times before floating over to the other side and repeating the same thing, making my breath come out in harsh pants as I felt them harden at the attention.
The one reason I’d gotten my nipples pierced is that they were a direct link to my clit, and I’ve been known to achieve an orgasm if I have a partner who knew what they were doing.
Like any dream man worth his title, he absolutely knew what he was doing.