Erik sat back in the leather chair on board the Citation that would take them back to Belize and studied Melinda as she slept on the sofa. Her skirt bunched around the top of her thighs and he couldn’t help but admire her long legs. He’d always thought Melinda was a looker ever since he’d met her at one of her brother’s parties.
Her combination of black hair and gray eyes had caught his attention. Her intelligence and drive had kept it. At her brother’s parties, he’d often sought her out just to talk. He enjoyed her company. But she’d changed when she’d started dating that weasel who’d broken her heart. He’d kept a tight rein on her. Too tight as far as Erik was concerned. He’d even brought those concerns to Marcus, who’d agreed with him. Unfortunately, Marcus hadn’t been able to get through to her and had for a time, only succeeded in pushing her away.
He never did see what she saw in Clark. He and Jon read right through him from the start, but he must’ve been one hell of a con to put one over on Melinda.
With a sigh, he stood and walked over to the couch. Staring down at her, he wondered how she could’ve let a man rob her of her confidence, her trust. He’d never been in love, so maybe that was why he didn’t understand. He and Jon would help her, though. She would get all that back and then some. By the time she left their company, she would be the seductive tigress he knew she could be.
He used the tip of his finger to brush her hair away from her cheek. The strand fell against the others, curling softly on the end. She had naturally curly hair. Instead of tight curls, it formed soft, loose curls. He lifted her hair, letting the strands wrap around his hand like a silken scarf. He’d make sure no other man ever did this to her again.
The pilot, Gary, stuck his head out the cockpit door. “The trip should take us a total of six hours.”
Erik straightened and let her hair fall from around his hand as he turned to face Gary. “Give me about thirty minutes to get her positioned.”
Gary nodded and glanced toward Melinda with curiosity. It wasn’t the first time he’d seen them bring a woman with them, although it might be the first time he would hear her cursing them to oblivion. Erik was sure Melinda would be pissed the second she woke up.
“If you need any help, just let me know,” Gary said, his lips lifting in a mischievous grin.
Erik smiled back, but shook his head. “Not this time.”
“Ah,” Gary acknowledged with a nod. “Let me know if you change your mind,” he added as he turned back into the cockpit, leaving Erik alone with Melinda once again.
He looked back down at her sleeping form. Letting his gaze travel the length of her slim figure, he frowned slightly. He remembered her as being much curvier. She’d lost weight.
Jon climbed the stairs and stepped into the cabin, drawing Erik’s attention away from the sleeping beauty on his couch.
“I put her suitcase in the luggage compartment, along with her purse and cell phone.”
“Good,” Erik replied.
Jon glanced at him, then Melinda. “She looks so peaceful. I almost hate to disturb her.”
Erik nodded. “I was just thinking the same thing. I have a feeling peaceful is the last thing she will be once she wakes up.”
Jon snickered. “I thought you liked it when they fought you.”
“Sometimes,” Erik replied softly. “I like fire, and from what I remember, Melinda has lots of fire, but…”
Jon studied him intently and Erik looked away, not sure he was ready for Jon to know just how much he liked Melinda. It wouldn’t be a good thing at all for him to develop feelings for her. He never had in the past with other women, so he wasn’t sure why he even thought he might this time. But the thought was there, deep inside, that Melinda would be different. Much different.
“Do you want her on the bed?” Jon asked.
Erik was relieved Jon hadn’t pressed him and glanced back toward the bedroom. He pursed his lips in thought. “No,” he replied. “Let’s remove her clothes and put her in the recliner.”
Jon looked at the chair Erik referred to with a frown. “You sure she’ll be comfortable in that thing?”
Erik shrugged one shoulder. “We’ll recline it. She should be waking soon, so let’s get her settled. I want her bound as well.”
Jon’s lips twitched slightly as he opened a cabinet door and pulled out four silk bindings. “Don’t want her throwing things at us?”
“Not on the plane,” Erik said, his own lips twitching at the mental image of Melinda in a fit of rage. He liked women with a temper.
* * * *
Melinda stared in stunned silence at a pair of deep blue eyes. It was the only thing she could see through the slit in his mask. But it was enough. She knew those eyes. Those beautiful blue eyes were attached to an even more beautiful man.
Her heart raced. Marcus had sent him? Erik Duvall?
He was one of her brother’s friends. He and Jon owned a consulting business. On top of that, he was supposed to be some sort of stock-market guru, which is apparently where he’d earned most of his money. She’d met him several times but she’d always considered him and Jon off-limits because of their friendship with her brother.
Why did he have to send him?
“Erik,” she whispered.
“Yes?” he drawled, his deep, sexy timbre sending shivers of wicked delight up her spine.
With a gasp, she opened her eyes and stared at the very man she’d apparently been dreaming about standing just a few feet away. His shirt was partially open, exposing a smooth, tan, muscular chest. She moved her gaze upward, past his shoulder-length black hair, strong chin covered with a day’s growth of whiskers, full, kissable lips, and the prettiest pair of blue eyes she’d ever seen surrounded by thick, black lashes just like his hair.
She swallowed, forcing herself to scowl as opposed to stare like a virgin who’d never seen a man. Her stomach felt queasy and her head pounded behind her eyes, so appearing displeased was an easy feat at the moment. She’d kill her brother for this.
She tried to lift her hand, but couldn’t. She froze, the heat of a blush moving over her entire body as the realization she was naked and splayed out in front of him like a buffet hit her full force.
“Oh my God,” she whispered.
“You talk in your sleep, did you know that?” he asked, tilting his head to the side in the most adorable manner.
His eyes crinkled in amusement, and her scowl deepened as she tried to cover her embarrassment. Jon moved to stand behind him, and Melinda rolled her eyes. Of course he would be there. Erik never kidnapped women without Jon.
Jon could easily be described as Erik’s spitting image. She often wondered if they were related, but Marcus had confirmed they were not. They just looked a lot alike. About the only difference was Jon had shorter hair—much shorter. And his eyes weren’t quite as vivid as Erik’s.
“Do the two of you go to the bathroom together as well?” she snapped, voicing her thoughts out loud without really meaning to.
Erik chuckled while Jon raised an eyebrow. “Excuse me?” Jon asked with amusement.
“I was just…never mind,” she grumbled. “Could you at least cover me up?”
“No,” they replied in unison.
“Of course not. Wouldn’t want your slaves to have even the tiniest bit of modesty,” she replied with sarcasm.
Jon snorted, while Erik just grinned.
They found her amusing. That didn’t make her feel better.
She glanced around, trying to ignore the fact that Erik’s gaze on her body made her flesh tingle. She noticed the narrow room, the oblong windows, and groaned.
“We’re on a plane?” she asked. “Where are we going?”
“Does it matter?” Erik asked, his voice so deep and sexy she wanted to melt into a puddle.
“I suppose not,” she snarled. Lifting her bound hands, she curled her lip in disgust, belaying the fact that disgust was the last thing she felt. What she truly felt was excitement. “It’s not like I can go anywhere.”
“Oh, you’ll be going somewhere,” Erik murmured.
Try as she might, Melinda couldn’t stop her gaze from taking in his powerful torso, his lean waist. God, he looked good. Especially in that crisp white shirt that accentuated his dark tan and vivid blue eyes.
She glanced over at Jon who stood slightly to the side. He wore a soft blue shirt that made his eyes look darker than usual. Jon was no less attractive, but he lacked the dangerous look of Erik. Jon was more soft-spoken, more patient. Erik was wild, raw. She imagined he would like his sex a little on the rough side.
Would the softer side of Jon and the rougher side of Erik balance each other out?
She felt her nipples begin to harden as she imagined what being with the two of them would be like. It had been so long since she’d had sex. It had been even longer since she’d had good sex.
Sex with her ex, Clark, had been pleasurable, but not earth shattering. Sex with these two would be earth shattering.
Erik’s gaze dropped to her breasts and his lips lifted in a soft, knowing grin that made Melinda blush in shame. He could tell this turned her on—the way they looked at her, the bindings, the uncertainty of what came next. It all made her crazy and they could tell.
Jon slid the back of his fingers up the inside of her thigh, slowly brushing them over her flesh. Melinda shivered as his eyes met hers through his lashes.
“I know you’re not cold,” Jon murmured.
Melinda swallowed as his fingers came ever closer to the throbbing apex of her thighs. He didn’t touch her. Instead, his hands slid back down her leg toward her knee. Her skin warmed and her pussy began to feel achy. She glanced down at herself and almost cringed at her splayed thighs. The footrest of the recliner was up and her ankles were bound on either side of it, leaving her thighs spread wide.
She couldn’t move, couldn’t do anything but lie there while they did as they pleased. A split-second image of Erik’s head buried between her thighs flashed through her head and she had to bite her lip to keep from moaning out loud.
“She’s very responsive,” Jon murmured as he feathered the back of his fingers over her labia.
Her stomach muscles quivered in response as she fought the desire to lift her hips toward his touch. She should be angry with them. She should be. Unfortunately, anger was the last thing she felt at the moment.