STORY EXCERPT

Claire stared down into the small cup in her hand, wishing it were really this easy. The dim light of the empty grotto surrounding the legendary Fountain of Youth pressed in on her, feeling as though it were a weight on her soul. They had gotten to the historic park early this morning, before most of the tourists showed up. She and Christian were alone in the place heralded to contain the life-giving water that Ponce de Leon had searched for so many centuries ago when he had sailed to Florida.

“You seem lost in thought.” Christian’s voice pulled her out of her silent musings.

She smiled despite her melancholy mood. “I just…” She shook her head, embarrassed by the ridiculous thought. She held the cup up in salute. “Bottoms up.” The cool water slid down her throat. She stared back down into the empty cup and sadness swept over her. Even as she fought the rising tide of emotion, tears filled her eyes and she choked out a sob.

“Claire?” Christian moved closer to her and his fingers brushed her cheek. “Are you okay?”

Claire felt a single tear breach her eyelid and slide down her face. “I just wish…I know it’s silly.” She glanced over at the fountain where the clear spring water emerged from the rock. She sighed and her shoulders slumped. Well, if she was going to cry in front of him, she might as well tell him why. “I just kind of wish the legend was true. I mean, could you imagine not having to worry about dying? To just be able to live without being afraid all the time?”

She looked up into Christian’s face and was surprised by what she saw. Deep sorrow marred his features. He gently wiped the tear from her face with his thumb, his fingers still splayed across her cheek.

“Are you afraid, Claire?” His gaze held her captive.

She knew she shouldn’t, but she wanted nothing more than to tell him about her fear. She had been afraid for so long with no one to talk to.

She nodded. “Yes. He’s going to come after me. Mark—my husband. I knew I wouldn’t be able to run from him for long. I just wanted to be able to live a little before he finds me.”

Claire watched as a struggle seemed to take place behind Christian’s eyes. “What if he doesn’t find you?”

Claire shook her head. “He will. Soon.” She debated about whether she should say the one thing she was sure would send Christian running as far away from her as he could possibly get. “Mark is a professional assassin. He can find anyone.”

Shock registered across Christian’s face, just as she knew it would. But then, instead of fear and the flight reaction she had expected, Claire saw something else pass across Christian’s features. Steely determination settled in his eyes as he stared down at her. Claire got lost in the strong protectiveness of his gaze. She almost wanted to wrap herself up in it and never leave.

“Claire…” Christian hesitated. Claire thought she saw a battle raging behind his eyes. “If it were real, the legend…” He took a deep breath before continuing. “If you could live forever, would you really want to?”

Even knowing it was an impossibility, Claire thought about her answer before she spoke. “If I had someone to share it with, someone who really loved me, I might. And if I didn’t have to be afraid anymore, then yes, I think I would.” She stared into Christian’s eyes and felt the barriers she had built around herself begin to drop. She started talking, unable to stop herself. “I lost my parents in an accident years ago. I didn’t have any brothers or sisters and Mom and Dad’s deaths hit me really hard for a long time. My grandparents raised me after that, but they’re gone now, too.” Another tear slid down her cheek. “I’m just so tired of being alone.” Barely realizing what she was doing, she leaned into Christian.

An epic struggle seemed to rage behind Christian’s eyes. “But, what about children, Claire? Would you want to watch them grow old?”

Claire shrugged, knowing this conversation was all hypothetical, but still wanting to answer honestly. “I can’t have kids. We found out after we got married. Mark liked to remind me that I was broken.”

The war in Christian’s eyes reached a tortured peak, but then it was replaced by a look of absolute and utter surrender. Christian pulled her into his arms, his hands sliding up her back. His lips descended on hers in a crushing kiss. Unlike the gentle, smoldering kiss she’d shared with Stefan, this kiss felt different. It was born out of desperation and yearning.

ADULT EXCERPT

“This will not be just sex. We want to make love to you, Claire. Will you let us do that?”

Claire’s gaze travelled from one man to the other. She had known these men for such a short time, but she already knew there were no two people she could trust more than them. Sincerity shone in both sets of eyes, their desire to make her happy and keep her safe evident in their faces. She realized it really wasn’t just sex she wanted. She craved a connection with another human being, or in this case, two human beings. She needed it, more than she needed air. And she needed that connection to be with Christian and Stefan.

“Yes, please.” They were the only words she needed to say.

Christian lowered his lips back to hers. She greedily took his tongue into her mouth, moaning at the thought of being taken by these two men. But Christian pulled back and grinned down at her with a lusciously wicked turn of his lips. She protested at the loss of his mouth on hers, not understanding why he had stopped. Had he changed his mind?

Stefan chuckled and moved next to her, pressing his body against her side. Nuzzling her neck while Christian looked down at her with blazing heat, Stefan whispered into her ear. “We’re going to teach you how to be loved, honey. We’re going to show you that being controlled by a man does not have to be a bad thing. Can you surrender to us, love? Can you do whatever we tell you to do without questioning us, trusting us never to hurt you?”

After all Claire had been through with Mark, being manipulated and beaten, the last thing she should want to do was give up command of her body to two men. But, oh, how she wanted to give them that! She wanted to know what it would feel like to hand over all control without any fear.

She couldn’t bring herself to speak while Stefan’s mouth tickled her ear and Christian’s gaze turned her muscles into molten rubber. But she knew they didn’t need for her to speak, they just needed for her to relent. She simply nodded and willingly placed herself in their hands.

Christian raised up and moved his hands to her shorts. He worked to undo the button and zipper and then slowly slid the shorts down her legs, leaving her thin silk panties in place. Stefan unbuttoned her shirt, working each button with painstaking slowness. Each brush of his fingers against her skin sent tingles of energy straight to her clit. He pushed the shirt aside and then reached behind her and expertly unfastened the clasp of her bra. He pulled the intrusive garment from her and tossed the bra and shirt to the floor. The cool air sent delightful little shivers across Claire’s skin.

“Beautiful.” Stefan’s voice was low and raw. “You’re so beautiful, Claire.”

He lowered his head to her abdomen and feathered her skin with light kisses. Sizzling bolts of energy shot through her. Christian’s lips blazed a trail down to her navel and then his tongue dove inside. She cried out as the shallow intrusion sparked a path to her pussy. Stefan traced patterns around one nipple with his finger. His barely-there touch made her squirm and left her yearning for more. She arched her back to try to get more of the sweet and tortuous contact.

A heavy hand pressed down on her abdomen and she opened her eyes to see Christian looking at her with raised eyebrows and shaking his head. “Uh-uh. No moving until we tell you to move, baby.” His lips turned up in the wicked grin that seemed to make Claire’s insides melt. “Understood?”

She nodded and relaxed back into the bed, forcing her body to be still. It wasn’t going to be easy to subdue her eager body, but she was determined to learn all these men could teach her. Stefan resumed his maddening journey around one nipple and Christian lowered his head over her pussy. He blew on her core and the sensation through her thin panties almost made her arch her back again, but she gritted her teeth and forced her disobedient body to be still.

“Good girl.” She could hear the satisfaction in Christian’s voice, but she dared not look at him, for fear his grin would be her undoing.

Stefan leaned over and flicked the tip of her nipple with his tongue. She sucked in a breath, but refused to move, focusing her gaze on the thick curtains that formed a canopy over the bed. Stefan rewarded her effort to remain still by taking her straining nipple into his mouth and gently sucking on it. She groaned as the pull of his mouth echoed in her aching clit. His tongue and teeth played havoc on her resolve to behave herself as she’d promised.

Christian pressed light kisses onto each of her inner thighs, starting at one knee and working up to her pussy. Then he moved to the other knee and repeated the process. She squeezed her eyes shut, almost unable to keep her body under control any longer. Christian’s fingers traced along the lines of her panties and teased the edges of her folds through the material. The combined touch of the two men was achingly gentle, yet maddeningly intense. Just when Claire thought she might lose her mind, Christian pulled her by the legs to the edge of the bed. He let her legs dangle over the side and then he knelt next to the bed and slid her panties down her legs.

“Gods, you’re beautiful, baby.” She opened her eyes to see Christian gazing with awe at her exposed flesh. “So wet and pink.”