2. Harper
HARPER
Agentle, warm breeze wafted over me, and the scent of flowers filled my nose as I rolled over in the most comfortable bed I’d ever been in.
The sheets felt like silk as they slid along my skin, making me moan in pleasure.
Not wanting to wake from this dream, I pulled my pillow over my head to block out the sunlight telling me I should wake up and get my day started.
A rough finger trailed up my leg, starting at the ankle, working its way up past my knee, which is when the finger changed to a whole hand that continued the journey up to my hip, where it stopped.
God, how could a dream this close to wakefulness be so delicious?
My mind must know I need a break from reality, and it’s fulfilling all my wild fantasies.
More than happy to indulge in this salacious dream, I shifted so the hand slid closer to the center, its fingers brushing the neatly trimmed hair covering my pussy.
Personally, I was one to keep a light coating to remind the men I was with that I was a woman and not some teen Barbie.
The hand didn’t move any further, almost as if it was hesitant to take the offering.
What could be sexier than a dream man who wanted to respect a woman?
So what was I to do other than make it abundantly clear he was welcome to delve into my riches.
Twisting so I was on my back, pushing the pillow off my face, I reached for the hand to place it right where I wanted it, only to open my eyes and freeze at what I saw.
Warm hazel-colored eyes looked deep into my soul, heat and desire written clearly in his expression.
Jaxson’s golden hair shimmered in the sunlight that came down from the skylight in the bedroom.
He was only wearing swim trunks with flamingos on them slung low on his hips to show off those muscles that guided you to the goods between his legs.
The bronze skin I remembered seemed to almost glisten with the slight sheen of sweat he had on his body.
This man was the living embodiment of a wet dream, and it was his hand I was holding cupped over my pussy.
“Babe, while I love the direction that this is going, I think you need to give me my hand back,” Jaxson spoke, breaking the silence.
Whipping my hand back, I shoved him with all my strength, knocking him to the floor with a grunt. He was only down for a moment before he popped back up, frowning at me. “What the hell, Harper?”
“Don’t you dare Harper me. Where the hell am I, and why the fuck am I naked?” I demanded, grabbing the cream silk sheet and pulling it up to cover myself.
“You’re at one of our safe houses,” Jaxon answered. “You’re not wearing any clothes because, as you can tell, this place is kind of on the warm side, and we thought it would be more comfortable for you to sleep in the nude. Don’t you do the same thing during the summers at home?”
My jaw dropped at that question because it made me feel the need to demand answers I wasn’t sure I really wanted to know.
At the mention of the location, I looked around the room and couldn’t help but be impressed.
This was no shack on the beach. This was an open-air villa with cream curtains everywhere, acting as walls that fluttered in the wind.
Even the massive bed I was in had sheer curtains wrapping around all sides, giving it an incredibly romantic feel.
It was almost as if I were in one of those movies where the woman got kidnapped by a billionaire and taken to his beach house.
Only they weren’t billionaires—they were assassins and killed people for a living.
I moved to get out of bed and remembered I wasn’t dressed. “Ah… is there a robe or something for me to wear?”
“Right, sorry about that.” Jaxson moved across the room to a wooden wardrobe and opened the doors showing it stuffed full of dresses. “We didn’t have a chance to stock it with this summer’s trends, but I’m sure you can find something that will work.”
Wrapping the sheet around myself like a toga, I shuffled to the wardrobe and randomly pulled a dress out. To my utter shock, it was one of mine, and now that I was looking more closely, all of them were. “What is this? Some kind of sick joke?”
“Why would it be a joke? We figured if you made them, then you must like them, so we always buy the latest collection and keep it at three of our safe houses we would have most likely brought you to. Was that a mistake? Do you not actually like what you design?” Jaxson questioned, rubbing the back of his neck.
“Why does she look so upset? She just woke up?” Magnus demanded as he stepped into the room.
It was odd to call it a room since there were no official walls, more like framed-out sections with the appropriate furniture indicating what room it should be.
I could look from where I was standing and see the living room, a bathroom, and what I thought was a library.
I’ve heard of open-concept living, but this was taking it to the extreme, yet somehow it totally worked.
Shaking my head, I turned to Magnus and shook the dress at him.
“Why is there a wardrobe filled with dresses I created in the last three years?” I demanded.
Magnus frowned, looking at Jaxson as if he would have the answer, but his brother just shrugged. “You don’t like them? Aren’t you the one who created them?”
“Ugh,” I groaned, throwing up my hands. “That is not the point, Magnus. What I want to know is why you have them here in this wardrobe in this secret house?”
“Is that a trick question?” Ghost asked as he leaned against the door jamb, cocking his head as he looked at me. “We keep them for you…”
They can’t be this dumb. They can’t be that good at killing people and getting away with it if they weren’t at least a little intelligent.
“Okay, that right there,” I said, pointing at Ghost. “Why in God’s name would you need to keep them for me when we just met? There is no logical reason for you to have them here because there is no way in hell you would know I was going to ever come to this place.”
That question seemed to make them finally understand why I was upset.
Ghost flashed me a smile and walked over with his hands in his shorts pockets.
“That’s simple enough to answer, angel. No matter how long it was going to take, you were always going to be ours.
Why wouldn’t we prepare for that moment? ”
“You make that statement sound so normal and not at all creepy as fuck,” I pointed out as I slowly started to back away from them. “How long have you been under the delusion that I was going to be yours?”
“This isn’t a delusion, Harper,” Magnus stated.
“We discovered you when we were looking into Dax. We’d been given a hit order on her, but when we got to know her, we tried to get her to leave Tricks and work with us.
Seems that wasn’t possible since she is Tricks.
While we were tracking her, she went out with you at a party, and we knew that you'd be ours the moment we saw you.”
“You don’t remember because you had far too many vodka tonics, but you did actually meet us,” Jaxson added.
“Yup,” Ghost interjected, nodding his head. “We even danced together, and you said I looked like what you thought an angel would. I told you that if anyone were an angel, it would be you, so that’s why the name kind of stuck for you.”
My mind whirled with all the information they were telling me. These men had been watching me for three years, and I had no idea. “Wait. Are you telling me that Dax knew about this and was okay with it?”
“No, actually, fuck no,” Jaxson answered with a burst of laughter. “That is the one and only time I’ve ever seen her mad enough to try and kill us. We asked if we could get an introduction to smooth things over before we made you ours, and she almost took off Ghost’s balls.”
Ghost cupped himself as if he remembered that moment once more.
“Not our smartest move. We knew she was hella protective over you. She even killed one of those assholes you went home with because she found out he put a date rape drug in your drink. I can’t say I blame her.
If I knew, I would have done the same thing. ”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa, what the fuck did you just say? When did this happen?” I demanded, trying to remember a time I’d been drugged before.
“Oh, that was three years ago while we were watching Dax. It was when we knew we couldn’t kill someone who was as crazy as we were,” Jaxson clarified. “Since then, we’ve made sure to have eyes on you if Dax isn’t with you, but you’ve elevated your crowd considerably since then.”
“Do I even want to know how you keep an eye on me?” I sighed, rubbing my forehead. “You know what, I think I need coffee before we get any further into this discussion.”
“Sure thing, I’ll go make some fresh coffee for you. We also have the special soy creamer you like,” Ghost said as he left the space.
I then looked at the other two. “Are you just going to stand there while I get dressed, or can I get some space?”
“Why would it matter if we leave? We’ve seen you naked already,” Magnus questioned, his gaze challenging. “I have to admit. The nipple piercings are much hotter in person. We’ve only seen them on the security cameras in your house.”
Jaxson stepped up and leaned in until he was almost kissing my cheek.
“Personally, I can’t wait to see the other hidden piercing you have.
I bet it will make tasting you all that much more enjoyable.
” I gasped as he nipped my ear and turned to leave, grabbing his brother’s arm.
“Come on, out… all of us. You’re the better cook, and she hasn’t eaten anything in twenty-four hours.
We’ll have plenty of time to explore her later. ”