A Summer in Paradise Read online

  Well, she was tired of running. If escaping to Scotland didn’t help, she didn’t know what else she would do.

  Turning, Pearl searched the airport for Glenn’s face. She hoped he wasn’t here. Even if he wasn’t able to figure out what flight she was on, he would bribe someone to tell him where she went.

  Heat still burned her middle and Pearl wondered if all this worry was giving her an ulcer.

  A flash of blond hair caught her attention and she looked away, her heart pounding. Was it him, or was she just paranoid? When she gathered her courage to look again, her stomach knotted at the familiar face.

  He’d found her again! Pearl could almost feel her shoulders slump with defeat though she knew they didn’t. Her back was straight and she stood tall. Never again would Glenn make her feel inadequate.

  Why hadn’t Duncan and Jarrod mated her? Why hadn’t she stayed in Paradise where Glenn couldn’t get to her so easily?

  She was an idiot, plain and simple. She wasn’t any better than one of those women in books that she just loved to hate. She was just too stupid to live.

  Pearl turned to Gemma, grabbed her hand and started pulling her toward the door. I’ve made a huge mistake, Gem.”

  “That’s a fucking understatement.”

  Closing her eyes, Pearl turned toward the voice she both loved and dreaded to hear. “Duncan!” Opening her eyes, she leaned to the side to peer around him. “Where’s Jarrod?”

  “Parking the car.” Duncan took her arm and pulled her away from Gemma and her mates. “Where the hell do you think you’re going?”

  “I, uh, um…” she paused to lick her lips. “I’m going to Scotland for a job.”

  “Scotland!” Duncan ran his fingers through his dark hair. “What about us? What did you plan to do about us?”

  “I planned to miss you.” A lot. She crossed her arms and glared at him. “Did you think one night would turn into forever? Can it turn into forever?” She lowered her voice. “Do you want forever, because I can’t stay here and settle for less.” She shook her head. “I won’t settle for less.” How could she settle for less when forever was what she’d wanted all along? Pearl almost laughed at that. How could she settle for less and how could she ask for more? They barely knew each other.

  Lowering her crossed arms to cover her belly, Pearl closed her eyes. The pain she felt all morning seemed to intensify when Jarrod showed up. What was it about these two that caused her insides to go through a meltdown every time she was near them?

  “Why did you just run out on us in the middle of the night?”

  Pearl watched Jarrod, unsure of how to answer his question. Heat suffused her face, her entire body. She wasn’t sure if it was from shame that she’d slunk out of the cabin while they were sleeping or if it was that strange burning sensation that seared her insides ever since she saw her two men at the lake.

  What was it about these two that drew her to them and why didn’t they frighten her when they spoke so freely of spanking her?

  The two of them crowded close.

  “If you think we’re just going to stand by and watch you leave, you’re out of your mind, woman.” Jarrod stood close, his body nearly pressing against hers as he glared down at her.

  The mixture of anger and pain on his face made Pearl want to cry. She glanced around the airport and noticed Glenn staring at her with something akin to hatred in his eyes. The look gave her goose bumps. She rubbed her arms, trying to dispel the feeling of doom.

  “I think we might have to do this the human way,” Duncan said as he knelt on the floor, reached up and took her hand.

  Jarrod knelt down beside him. “I think you’re right, though I’m not sure this is the place. Won’t people think it strange that we’re both on our knees?”

  Pearl wanted to laugh and cry at the same time. Each of them took a hand in one of their larger ones and looked up into her eyes.

  “Pearl June Alexander, will you marry us?”

  Tears filled Pearls eyes as she stared down at them. She wanted to say yes, scream yes, but she needed to tell them about her problem with Glenn first. What if they thought she agreed to marry them for their protection?

  While that was at least half truth, she hadn’t really decided to spend the summer in Paradise just so these men would protect her from Glenn. She had wanted to see her sister and, to tell the truth, she wanted to see them and maybe touch them before she went to Scotland to start her new life.

  What did it matter that she’d slept with them? Other than the fact that she’d come here hoping to connect with them on some small level, she hadn’t planned it and she certainly hadn’t planned for them to think she belonged to them.

  “I’m not sure I can. I’m not sure you’ll want me after I tell you what I have to say.” How would they react to the fact that Camulus’s men raped her? What would they do when they found out her taste in men was horrible? Glenn was proof enough of that.

  “What she has to say, gentlemen is that she belongs to me.”

  Pearl felt the blood drain from her face as Glenn stepped up and grabbed her elbow, pulling her off balance until she fell into him.

  “You see? She can’t keep her hands off me,” he said with a grin as she grabbed at his shirt to keep from falling on her ass.

  “Don’t flatter yourself, Glenn.” Pearl glared at him. “It was a reflex. I wouldn’t willingly touch you with a ten foot cattle prod.”

  She jerked her arm away from him and stalked out of the airport, with Gemma and her mates flanking her. She had to get out of here and get away from Glenn before he did something stupid like try to hit her and managed to hit Gem instead.

  There was no doubt in Pearl’s mind that Gemma’s mates would trounce him into the ground with the least provocation. Neither of them looked too happy.

  No matter what, she had to get their group away from innocent bystanders. Any one of these four men could lose control of their animal side any minute. Then there would be hell to pay.

  “What were you going to say, Pearl?” Jarrod trotted up next to her while Duncan stayed back with Glenn. She had no idea what passed between them, but whatever it was, Glenn got agitated.

  “Fuck off, mister! The bitch is mine.” Glenn practically snarled the words.

  Pearl wanted to curl up in a little ball and die. Glenn had always been over the top. Now he was worse. What made the idiot think he had a snowflake’s chance in hell against these four guys?

  Chapter Nineteen

  Be careful, Duncan, Jarrod warned. That’s the asshole who attacked Pearl last night.

  Are you sure?

  I’m sure all right. There’s no mistaking that rancid odor about him or that greasy blond hair.

  Duncan looked at the other man and growled. They had just exited through the double doors when Glenn made a grab for Pearl.

  “Don’t touch her, you son-of-a-bitch.” Duncan made a grab for the other man who had more balls than brains.

  “Fuck off! She’s mine. She’s been mine for some time now. Just because she decided to leave Chicago, doesn’t mean a fucking thing.”

  “Yes, it does.” Duncan grinned. “It means she came back home. It also means that she opened herself up to a relationship with us…again.”

  “Bullshit!” He clenched his fists at his sides.

  Duncan looked around, most likely to see if anyone was watching, then grabbed the man by the throat and growled. “We know what you are, you piece of shit. Just leave before you find you’ve bitten off a lot more than you can chew.”

  Glenn glared at them all for a minute, then turned to go. “I’ll go for now, but I’ll be back. Count on it.”

  Didn’t the man understand that just one of them could end his life with little more than a whim? Jarrod shook his head. Maybe it was a good thing that Pearl’s ex didn’t have a clue they were shifters. It would give them the element of surprise at their next meeting and he had no doubt there would be a next time.

  After Glenn left, bo
th Jarrod and Duncan turned back to Pearl. Again, they both got down on their knees, took one of her hands and kissed it. “Marry us, Pearl.”

  “Yes,” Duncan agreed with a nod. “Marry us. You won’t regret it. We’ll make sure of that.”

  Jarrod looked up into Pearl’s eyes. Tears rolled down her cheeks as she looked at them and shook her head. “I—I can’t.”

  His guts twisted into a knot as he saw regret on her face. “Why?” He looked at Duncan, then down at himself. “What’s wrong with us?”

  Pearl fell to her knees and cupped each one of their cheeks. “It’s not you.” She shook her head. “I promise. It’s not you.” She bowed her head. “I can’t trust myself, my judgment. I don’t make good choices.”

  “Nonsense, Pearl. Look at you.” Duncan waved his hand in the direction of Paradise. “You had the good sense to leave Paradise when you did. You left before anyone had a chance to use you the way they used women then.”

  “No!” She shook her head and covered her ears as though she couldn’t bear to hear what more Duncan had to say. “You’re wrong. I didn’t leave in time. Not for me. I left in time for Crystal and I thank God every day for that, but I didn’t leave in time for me.”

  She wrapped her arms around her middle and hunched over as though the pain of remembrance was just too great to bear.

  “I didn’t make Gemma come with me.” Her words became little more than hiccups as she continued to try to explain. “I tried to get her to come with me, but she wouldn’t leave and I was too much of a coward to stay.”

  Jarrod felt his beast surging forward, trying to break free as she bared her soul to them. How could this brave woman sit here and blame herself for the things that happened to her as a child? How could she accept the responsibility for not forcing her older sister to leave with her?

  He growled with the voice of his jaguar while Duncan did the same. “Who touched you, Pearl?” Fur sprouted along his arms as he stood in the shadow of the building. People came and went from the building, none of them noticing him as he stood there almost more animal than man.

  “It—it doesn’t matter now.” She shook her head without meeting his gaze. “All that matters is that you two know that I’m defective. I don’t have the least bit of survival instinct.” She laughed, mirthlessly. “If I did, I would never have even said hello, to that jerk, Glenn.”

  She didn’t add that she wouldn’t have spied on two shifters sunbathing at the lake when she knew what other shifters would do to her. She didn’t have to. Her shame and sorrow were written on her face.

  “I’m so ashamed. I should have—”

  “You should have what, Pearl?” Jarrod moved quickly, gathering her into his arms. “You should have known they were out of their minds? You should have left your loved ones sooner?” He shook his head. “What should you have done, Pearl?” His eyes burned and a lump formed in his throat.

  He couldn’t bear to think of what she’d gone through. What she endured during those dark times. He held her to him, wishing he had been there for her—wishing they both had been there for her.

  Instead, they had been off fighting the war that would one day free her and everyone else in Paradise. Jarrod held her close, her face pressed against his chest. He inhaled deeply, taking in her sweet scent.

  This is what he and Duncan fought for. This is what they were willing to die for. They still were willing to die for Pearl. Closing his eyes, he held her tight and willed her to see reason.

  Chapter Twenty

  Pearl leaned into Jarrod. God knew she wanted to stay with them, but could she trust that feeling? For years she’d made the wrong decisions about where to live, whom to trust.

  Even now she second guessed herself. She wasn’t certain that her move to Scotland was the right thing to do. Hell, she could get over there, be thousands of miles from home and find out her boss was more of an animal than the people of Paradise ever thought of being.

  What decision was the right one? She closed her eyes and searched her heart. Maybe that was what was wrong with her choices. She always tried to use her head. She chose to date Glenn because her head told her it was the sensible thing to do when all along, her heart had wanted Duncan and Jarrod.

  Could she do it? Could she take the leap and tell them okay? Could she trust them to not hurt her even though they spoke of spanking her? Would she ever have the strength to leave them if they ever hit her in anger?

  Just the thought of leaving made her feel bad. How could she leave them again, especially after last night?

  “Don’t leave us, Pearl. We need you.” Duncan said as he gently pulled her from Jarrod’s embrace and drew her into his arms.

  “Yes, baby. We do.”

  How could she turn them down, especially when she didn’t want to? She’d spent years dreaming of these two, hoping for just one more day with them and now they offered her the fairy tale. Her only fear was that it was too good to be true.

  “Please, Pearl, give us a few more days. Stay till the end of the summer. Can’t you spend one summer in Paradise to be sure that a life with us isn’t what you want?”

  Pearl sighed. She couldn’t make them beg her like this. She didn’t want that from them. She pulled away, shaking her head. “Stop it. Just stop it. I can’t bear to see you two like this.” She had to tell them the truth.

  Standing, she paced away from them, her arms crossed. “Ever since Gemma told me things were different in Paradise, I’ve dreamed of returning.” She looked at each of them in turn. Her face burned with embarrassment at what she was about to say. “I—I hoped that I could come home and be with you two.”

  She smiled at them. “Even if I tell you no, I won’t marry you, how can I mean it?”

  They both rushed to her and gathered her in their arms. “You won’t regret it, baby. I swear,” Duncan whispered in her ear.

  “No, you won’t regret it, if those two are anything like my two men,” Gemma added. She looked up at them and grinned. “They’re bossy as hell, but they’re worth the effort to try and train them.”

  “Train us?” Merrick’s brows rose as both of Gemma’s mates crowded her. “You train us?”

  Gemmas cheeks grew rosy and she shrugged. “I try.”

  Merrick cupped her face in his hand while Matt wrapped his arms around her from behind, his big hands cradling her stomach.

  Matt nuzzled her neck with a chuckle. “That’s okay, baby. Whatever it is you’re doing, keep it up. We like it.”

  Duncan moved to take Pearl’s hand. “Shall we go?” he asked looking around at the few curious onlookers who had gathered. “We’re drawing a crowd.”

  Pearl could see why. While having multiple mates was becoming the norm in Paradise, four men loving on two women was an oddity in the human world.

  “Yes,” Pearl agreed, her fingers tightening around his. “I think it’s time we all went home.”

  “I believe it is,” her two men said at the same time.

  They led her to the parking garage and helped her into the front seat of their car. “Move over, baby. I need to sit next to you.”

  Pearl slid to the center of the seat with a smile. “I didn’t even know they made cars with bench seats anymore.” She fastened her seatbelt and looked through the windshield, her entire body already going up in flames with the thought of what they would do to her when they made it home.

  She worried her bottom lip, wondering if they would spank her. Cream soaked her panties at the thought. She felt her face heat. Getting a spanking shouldn’t turn her on, should it?

  Jarrod slid into the driver’s seat after a few quiet words with Duncan. When Duncan slid in beside her, Pearl’s womb clenched at the thought that her two men flanked her and there was no escape. Not that she was thinking about escape.

  Starting the car, Jarrod put it in gear and drove out through the empty space in front of them. Duncan wrapped his arm around her shoulders and drew her close. A strange buzzing in her ears made her wonder
if they spoke to each other using the telepathy she knew their people sometimes employed and wondered if they felt as though they had something they needed to hide from her.

  She bit her lip as she stared out at the passing scenery. It was a good thing the airport was on the edge of town. She wasn’t sure she would have survived a winding drive through town before they got out on the open road and sped back toward Paradise. Her nerves were already shot, with wondering what kind of punishment the men would come up with. The bad part was that she had about six hours to worry about it.

  Duncan drew her close, tucking her under his arm. “Try to get some sleep, sweetheart. We know you haven’t had any.”

  The words, you’re going to need it, hung in the air between them and Pearl swallowed thickly.

  “Okay.” She leaned against him and closed her eyes. It took a while before she finally relaxed against him and knew no more…for a little while at least.

  Pearl didn’t know how long she’d been asleep when she felt a warm mouth tugging on her right breast. Groggy, she opened her eyes to see Duncan’s head bent over her torso as he expertly suckled her nipple.

  Her clit throbbed, pulsing with every long pull of his mouth on her flesh and she groaned.

  “She’s awake,” Jarrod said from her left side. “Perhaps it’s time to show her one of the types of punishment she can expect for doing something stupid.”

  Duncan raised his head, his eyes glittering with some undefined emotion as he agreed, “You’re right, Jerry. I think it’s time I showed her that some punishments can be worse than the spanking she fears so much.” He stared down at her, a mixture of love, tenderness and anger in his eyes.

  Without warning, he grabbed the hem of her shirt and dragged it up over her head. “Lean forward so I can unclasp your bra.”

  Pearl stared at him wide-eyed for a moment before she shook her head. “No.”