Tangled up in You

Chapter 2

CHAPTER 2

" C razy woman," Jonah Laverty groused low, hoping the death grip on his steering wheel would manage to keep his four-wheel drive truck steady on the slick, winding, snowy mountain road. Alyssa had a good fifteen-minute head start, which might have usually made a difference.

But in this?

There was no way she could be going at any decent rate of speed...

Dammit, she’d better not be.

He gritted his teeth, while his burning gaze held steady on the road in front of him, looking out for any sign of her. Something wasn’t right. They should have caught up with her before now—head start or not. Because, yeah, he might have been going a little faster than would have normally been advisable.

But his speed was the least of his worries. The implications of why they hadn’t caught up with her sent a sharp pain piercing through his chest. At first, they’d followed the telltale signs of tire tracks. There’d only been one, and it hadn’t been hard to deduce they’d belonged to Alyssa’s car. That was before the snow had really started coming down. Now, whatever tracks might have been visible were covered.

The real possibility she’d gone off the road and they’d missed it scared the hell out of him.

"How many times are you going to say that?" Josh groused, his voice low and full of concern coming from the back seat, where he’d been tasked with keeping an eye out on the driver’s side of the road. "It’s not helping."

"That was number five," Jake, said, distractedly, while sitting forward in the front passenger seat and peering out the window on his side.

"Five, six, a hundred. I’ll say it as many times as I need to until we find her."

Who would have believed she’d sneak out of the bar like that? When she’d gotten up and taken her coat with her toward the bathrooms, Jake should have been clued in that wasn’t where she was going. Of course, honest woman that she was, she’d left a stack of bills under her glass to cover her drink, along with a generous tip.

But all three of them had been on the crowded bar floor. So, even with the dancing patrons and music, one of them should have noticed her little escape. But when it came down to it, Jonah blamed himself. He should have kept a closer eye on her. Her worry for Becca had pretty much radiated off her.

Along with a little shiver he’d spied shimmying over her body when they’d insisted she wasn’t going anywhere. That shiver had had nothing to do with the burst of cold air hitting her from the door opening, and everything to do with him and his brothers.

He’d seen it as she’d stared up at him.

God, how long had he wanted those pale green eyes on him, their depths filled with such expectation, while a flush filled her fair cheeks? That, or having her shoulder-length, burnished hair with golden highlights twisted around his fist as he and his brothers made her their own? He should have just given in and said fuck it and taken her in his arms right then and there.

Having his brothers surrounding her with him had only made the urge more intense, and had whetted his appetite for when they could get her alone.

Alyssa belonged to them.

And there went that pain again.

What if something had happened to her?

He flexed his cramping fingers on the steering wheel. Dammit, they shouldn’t have waited. They should have claimed her months ago when Josh and, especially, Jake had been insistent it was time. But no, Jonah had known best. He always did.

At least he’d thought so.

"We need to wait." He’d told his brothers that again just the previous week as he’d had his narrowed gaze on her leaving their bar with her date . "I don’t think she’s ready."

He wanted to bang his fists on the steering wheel at his own idiocy at not following their instincts, while ignoring his own that had been telling himself to shut the hell up and defer to his brothers for once.

She’d needed claiming.

Did that make them sound like a bunch of marauders? If it did, he didn’t care. Not when everything about Alyssa appealed to them. And not just how beautiful she was. Because, of course, they’d noticed she was gorgeous right off.

Who wouldn’t?

But there was so much more to their woman than that. They’d gotten to know her once she’d started coming to the bar—more and more, it seemed over the past several months. Sometimes alone after work, sometimes with friends, sometimes with a date. That last one—seeing her with different men more times than they’d been comfortable with—had them quickly realizing they didn’t want to see her with anyone but them.

And during all those sometimes, they’d found her to be funny, smart, quick-witted, tenderhearted, and so mouthwateringly sexy they’d known she was the one they’d been waiting for.

Had they always shared their women?

No.

It had taken Josh’s confession about five years before that had gotten them all to admit something it seemed they had each been struggling with.

"Guys," Josh had said one night after coming home from a date when they’d lived in Atlanta. "I need to talk to you." Then he’d pushed the bridge of his glasses up on his nose, before clearing his throat. "Things aren’t going well with Nikki."

Jake had grinned, then nudged his brother’s arm where they’d sat together on the couch in their den. "Need some help with that? All you have to do is ask." Then he’d laughed, sat back, and taken a swig of his beer.

"Well," Josh had said, then cleared his throat again as he’d frowned at Jake. "What if I did ask?"

Jake’s reaction might have been comical—the way his eyes had widened and cut toward his brother, with the beer bottle glued to his lips. But Jonah’s interest in what was coming next wasn’t laughable and had him sitting forward in his recliner across from his two younger brothers.

"Wh…wh…wha…what?" Jake had wheezed out while sputtering into his beer.

" Would you help?"

"You’re serious," Jonah had stated, his heart racing with an anticipation he hadn’t been able to admit, even to himself. At least not yet.

"Deadly."

"Why?"

Jonah had had to know why, almost like it was an answer he had been waiting on all his life, while Jake had seemed to have been rendered mute.

"Something’s…" Josh had clasped his hands, hanging them between his spread thighs. "It’s missing. Ya know?"

His first instinct was to say, of course not. But, instead, he’d murmured, "I know exactly what you mean."

Both brothers had sat at attention as Jonah had decided it was time to make his own confession.

"It’s been missing for me too."

"Okay," Jake had drawled out while setting the beer bottle on their coffee table, then eyeing both Jonah and Josh, before huffing out a laugh. "If we’re playing true confessions here, I have to say, something’s been missing for me too. But…" Color had filled his cheeks.

"But…" Josh had said. "You’re afraid to say what, right?"

"Yeah." Jake had stared hard at Josh. "But you’re not."

"No," Josh had stated, his certain gaze going to Jake, before landing on Jonah. "Not anymore." That’s when he’d said the four words that had changed their lives forever. "I need my brothers.

Nikki had reaped the benefits of their first joint effort in pleasuring a woman. And, at the time, it had been the most satisfying sexual experience of his life. Everything had fallen into place while they’d worked as one to wring one orgasm after another from her.

Nikki had been the first of many. And while they’d dated several women after her—sometimes for months at a time—none had felt like the one to them. When they’d decided to take the kind of business opportunity they’d been looking for when it came open in Parson’s Ridge, they’d figured that dream of forever wasn’t going to happen.

Until Alyssa.

She was everything they’d ever wanted, all rolled into a tall, lush body their hands itched to touch and cocks begged to fill.

A woman their hearts yearned to show how much they loved.

And they did love her.

They’d come to that realization almost a year ago. And as soon as they had her alone, they were going to make that fact perfectly clear to her.

But first, they had to find her.

Alyssa, you should have known better.

She’d grown up here and had to have realize it wasn’t a good idea to try and take this road in a damned blizzard. It wasn’t a drive he and his brothers had looked forward to. And that was after three years of driving the road each day and night and knowing every curve leading to their cabin, which was just five miles ahead at this point. That’s why they’d already made plans to hunker down in the small living quarters over the bar until it passed, and the road cleared. So, even they knew better.

For someone who wasn’t…

He didn’t want to think about it.

"When we find her," he muttered, "she’s going to look so good over my knee." He adjusted himself at the image of what her rounded, naked ass would look like all hot and rosy from his hand.

"Just so you know," Jake added. "I’ll be kissing it all better."

Where else would his brother be? Both of them, for that matter

"We’ll share that particular pleasure," Josh added. "And while we’re at it, we’ll kiss any other parts of her needing attention."

The idea of the three of them finally having their hands and mouths on Alyssa Stockton—having her body filled with all of them—had every drop of blood in his system rushing to his cock. Damned thing probably had a zipper impression up the ridge at this point that no amount of adjusting was going to help.

"Where is she?" Jake muttered, while Jonah frowned at the way his brother’s fingers dug into his truck’s dashboard. He’d probably leave some kind of mark. "Do you think she?—"

" No ," came from Josh. "We haven’t seen any sign that?—"

" Holy… " Jake’s eardrum shattering exclamation nearly deafened him. "Stop the truck."

Just as Jonah was about to ask what the hell all the yelling was about, he saw it. Taillights flickering, then going dark. A car was somewhere in the trees at the deep S-curve.

Alyssa.

He came this close to slamming on his brakes, but instinct took over. If he hit the brakes too hard, he’d end up alongside the other car. Or, worse yet, hitting it and sending it crashing down into the deep ravine below.

It was the longest thirty seconds of his life as he brought his truck to a standstill. That didn’t mean his brothers had waited for him to stop. They were out as soon as the truck was going slow enough—or maybe a little before. Whenever it was, he watched helplessly as they sprinted the best they could through the snow toward Alyssa’s Volvo, before he threw his truck in park, reached for and opened his glovebox, and grabbed the flashlight inside.

"…to hold on." Jonah caught the last of what Jake yelled as he jumped from his truck and ran at a hopping lope toward the accident. "So, don’t move. We’re coming to get you."

Shit!

The closer he got, the more he realized the situation was more dire than he’d feared.

"I d…d…don’t…" Her tear-tinged, stuttered words, came just as the car slid a little. His heart nearly froze. "Don’t do it," her panicked demand came at them from somewhere below. "You can’t risk… You can’t risk yourselves. Not… Not for me."

"We’ve got to get her. We’ve got to…" Josh’s own panic beat against Jonah as his brother ran his hands through his hair. His hazel eyes turned on him, the full moon showing the torment filling them visible through his glasses. "There’s not much holding her in place. What if we make it worse?"

" Worse would be doing nothing."

Jonah nodded at Jake’s words, while turning on the flashlight and moving around the end of the vehicle. Alyssa, Josh, and Jake needed him to keep calm. So that’s what he did as he made a quick assessment. What he saw wasn’t good.

Jake had been right. Very little held the car in its current, precarious position. More pressing yet, every few seconds, the vehicle made a scraping, groaning sound as it moved. By the time they could get a wench set up using their truck, it might be too late.

They had to get her.

"Alyssa," he called out, maneuvering himself down and parallel with her vehicle, using any tree limbs not holding the car in place as leverage.

"Jonah?"

"Yes, baby, it’s me."

"Don’t get near me. I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if…" Her words trailed off, followed by a laugh that wasn’t in the least humorous. "What am I saying? I’m not going to live."

" Yes , you are." He hadn’t intended for that to come out so harsh, but she wasn’t dying. And she had to believe that.

Behind him, his brothers followed the same path—Jake directly behind him, with Josh bringing up the rear and pulling his belt from his jeans. They’d probably read his mind. They did that sometimes. The only solution he could see—and it seemed that they could too—was for them to make themselves into a human rope, then pull her up together.

He glanced up to see Josh wrapping and fastening his belt around a sturdy tree, then twisting his wrist around the end. It was a good move. As always, his middle brother acted as their anchor.

The problem was the front car door. At the moment it was blocked by trees holding the car in place. That left?—

"The back door," Jake said as he grabbed hold of Josh’s free, outstretched hand.

"My thoughts exactly," Jonah answered, before calling out to Alyssa. "Listen to me, baby. I want you to slowly lay your seat back and undo your seatbelt."

"I don’t think I can."

"Yes, you can." He wasn’t about to let fear keep her from letting them save her. Another groan and metallic scraping wasn’t good. "Do what I say. Now ."

Silence followed his barked command for a few seconds as he held his breath and shone the flashlight through the windows. If she didn’t do what he said he’d?—

"You’re really bossy." Her groused words accompanied her seat going back little by little.

"Baby, you don’t know the half of it."

"You really don’t," Jake called out.

"Now," he said, ignoring his brother. "I’m going to open the back door, and I want you to reach out over your head when I do."

"Are you crazy?"

The car slid a little more.

"Oh, god, even if you are, hurry ."

He dropped the flashlight and slung his arm out toward Jake, their hands locking around each other’s wrists. Then he reached out with his other and held his breath as he cautiously took hold of the door handle and…

Locked.

"Alyssa, baby, unlock the car."

A loud, frustrated groan floated toward him as the click of the lock flipping sounded. This time when he gave the handle a hesitant tug, the door clicked open.

"Easy, Jonah," Jake murmured.

Jonah nodded as he took in and held a deep breath, then pulled the door open in little increments. It wasn’t easy an easy task, when what he really wanted to do was just sling the damn thing open and grab her. Only the fear of what could happen if he did, kept him from rocking the boat, so to speak.

The firm grip on his wrist tightened when the car slid a few inches.

"Damn it," Jake hissed, as Jonah maneuvered his body inside the opening. Alyssa had laid back almost prone with her arms stretched out over her head, wiggling her fingers.

"We good?" he called back to his brothers.

"We’ve got you," Josh grumbled as Jonah laid his arm over Alyssa’s hands, where she immediately grabbed tight to his jacketed forearm. "Just get her."

"Reach higher and fold your arms around mine. Then, don’t let go of me," he said to the top of her head. "Whatever happens. Okay?"

"You’re kidding, right?"

A quiver of excitement rushed through him as she did what he’d instructed. Oh, that sassy mouth of hers was about to be filled with…

What am I thinking? Now’s not the time for that.

"Just hold on and let me do all the work," he groused as the crook of her arms locked tight to his. When he was certain she was as secured as she could be, he pulled on her, while his brothers grunted with their own exertions. He had just cleared her from the front seat when the car did a whole groaning and shuddering thing.

Fuck!

" Pull ," he shouted.

And that’s what his brothers did, pulling both of them well out of the way of the car, with her feet barely clearing the door slamming shut. Jonah landed on his back in the snow, with one arm full of a trembling Alyssa and the other with his wrist still in Jake’s crushing grip as the car gave up its hold. The last he saw was the back end sliding out of sight, before dropping into the ravine below. The obscene crash—crunching metal and glass shattering—filled the quiet, night air broken only by their panting breaths

"Oh, god, oh, god, oh, god." Alyssa’s litany kept on as Jake released him and he finally was able to hold her with both arms, twisting fully onto his back, leaving them face to face, torso to torso, his hard, aching cock pressing into her core. "You saved my life. You?—"

"Are you hurt?" he grumbled. He had to touch some part of her that wasn’t covered in her coat. So, he stroked over her hair, then grabbed her by the back of the head.

"What? No. I mean, at least I don’t…" She wriggled her body atop his, nearly sending his eyes rolling back into his head as his brothers plopped down on either side of them, their own harsh breathing filling the air with smoke. "No, just?—"

"Good," he growled, tightening his grip in her hair and pulling her face to his.

And then he was taking her lips, swallowing her gasp, as beside him, his brothers pressed close, blanketing them. He had no idea what their hands and mouths were busy doing. It didn’t matter. As long as they were doing something.

And that something was with their woman.

Together.

Finally.