Race to Destiny 4 (5 page)

Mia woke slowly and refused to open her eyes.  She was snuggled down into the most incredible warmth and she didn't want to leave it.  As she became more aware, she realized there was a large, male arm around her waist and a muscular, hairy leg between hers.  She froze and didn't know what to do, everything in her screamed to get away from that bed but she just couldn't seem to make herself move.  Shit, she remembered the night before, Eric and Striker coming into her room.  They were in the same bed as she was.  She silently thanked Roarke for that, but fuckity fuck fuck, what was she going to do? 

She thought about the night before and how the two men looked undressing.  They both were so well built and sexy, she just wished s
he could go back and kiss them like she had wanted to.  It would have made waking up frustrated so much better.  Mia would have been able to do what she wanted to right now, and that was to roll over and kiss them senseless as they woke up.  Her sub-conscious would know what to do with them.  Actually, not so much, but Mia would have at least been open to trying to find something with them, if she wasn’t on the run for her life.  For some reason she knew they were supposed to all three be together.

The arm around her shifted a little, the hand splaying on her stomach began to move in circles.  She tensed again and stopped breathing to keep herself immobile.  She had kept her eyes closed, trying to be in the moment, enjoy the feel of these two men on either side of her.  As she had her eyes closed, she saw flashing images of Roarke and his men, attacking her.  They were doing horrible things to her.  She squeezed her eyes
tighter, trying to block out those images, those memories.

"Stop thinking so hard
,” Striker's gruff voice came from behind her, tickling her ear.

Lips collided with her forehead as she heard Eric's voice say softly, encouragingly, "Just be in the moment."

She slowly opened her eyes, knowing that pretense wouldn't work anymore.  She had thought they were asleep, but it was obvious they were very much awake and waiting on her to wake.  As her eyes opened, they collided with Eric's green ones and she felt like she had fallen into them.  They seemed so full of understanding where Striker's deep brown eyes seemed to see too much, seemed to know what was going on inside of her.  She shivered as she felt Striker nuzzle her neck.

"Stop thinking about it all and like Eric said, be here
,” Striker ordered.

"How are you feeling this morning?
” Eric asked her.

She slowly licked her dry lips and saw that Eric's gaze followed the movement with heat in them.  "Okay."

Eric's face broke out in a wide smile as he said, "That's good.  Did you sleep well?"

She nodded instead of answering him because her breath had stalled in her throat as Striker's hand at her stomach had begun to move again.  It was slowly moving in circles, getting wider and wider until his thumb brushed under breast.  She went to try to wiggle out of their grasp
, she needed to get out of that bed.  When she went to move, two things happened, one, the arm around her began to tighten, two, the leg between hers shifted upward, and she involuntarily tightened both her thighs on it.

Eric groaned
, "You are killing me, Mia, wiggling like that.  You are gonna get a little more than you bargained for and I don’t want to scare the shit out of you this morning."

"Yes, your skin is so soft.  I can't stop myself from caressing it
,” Striker added.

"Please let me up.
”  Mia's eyes were wide as she looked at Eric.  "I...I need to get up."

Eric must have seen her begin to panic as he reached up and cupped her face in his hand.  "Breathe with me.  Remember how we did it before?  Come on."

"Let me feel you breathing with Eric, sweet.”  Striker firmed his hand on her stomach and she covered it with her own.

"That's it
, honey, breathe slowly.  You are safe with us.  Nothing happens that you don't want,” Eric assured her and kept breathing with her.

Slowly, Mia's panic went away.  She felt better with both men
, it frustrated and embarrassed her that this had happened again in front of the men.  She wanted to be strong, she wanted to be worthy of being able to see where a relationship with these two men would go, but she couldn't.  She kept having these attacks.

'She seems to be calmer
,’
Eric said to Striker.

'Her breathing is back to normal
, but she is still tense,’
Striker observed.

Eric met his eyes over her head. 
'At least she didn't bolt.'

'True.  Unfortunately, we need to get moving.  It's not safe here
,’
Striker told him.

Eric's eyes shifted back to Mia.  "Better?"

Mia nodded.  "Yes, thank you,” she whispered. 

Striker slowly rolled her over on to her back so he could look her in the eyes.  He stayed on his side so he wasn't leaning fully over, frightening her.  "Good morning
,” he said with a smile, trying to lighten things up.

"Good morning
,” she answered as she put her hands up against his chest, whether to hold him back or touch him, neither knew.

Striker looked deep into her eyes, keeping her attention solely on the moment.  "May we kiss you good morning, Mia?
” he asked softly.

Mia was so surprised that he asked instead of just taking, she could only nod her acquiescence and close her eyes, waiting.  Striker moved slowly, not wanting to scare her and cause her to change her mind.  He lightly brushed her lips with his, slowly adding pressure.  He slid his tongue along the seam of her lips, asking for permission to enter her mouth.

Mia felt his tongue along her lips and opened her mouth so he could plunder it.  He left no part of her mouth unexplored as he kissed her thoroughly.  He didn't grope her or try anything more than to kiss her.  She kept her hands on his chest and could feel Striker's muscles ripple as he breathed.  She marveled at how hard his body was but how gently he treated her.  She felt Eric at her other side and slowly slid one of her hands off Striker's chest to reach out to Eric.  His hand immediately clasped hers and she felt his lips touch her palm.

Mia brought up her other hand to cup Striker's cheek as the kiss continued.  Striker was slowly exploring every part of her mouth and taking his time doing it.  She had to admit that she was getting aroused, which surprised her and she knew they both would know it too.  Then just as she thought she could kiss him forever, Striker slowly released her lips, taking one last nip at her bottom lip as he moved away.

"Thank you for trusting me, Mia,” Striker said softly.  "That was incredible."

Mia shivered as Striker backed away and turned her toward Eric.  As she shifted, she looked into Eric's eyes and saw that he waited for her and would continue to wait until she was ready.  She smiled at him to let him know she was okay with him kissing her.  He continued to stay still, as if waiting for her to make the first move.  Mia reached up and cupped his cheek slowly.  He turned his head and kissed her palm.  She felt tingles run down her arm then further through her body.

She began to feel bold as she slowly slid her hand into his hair, weaving her fingers into his long, blonde locks.  She tugged slightly and saw the happiness shine in his eyes as he seemed to know that was as far as she could go.  He leaned down and took her mouth in a kiss of tenderness and caring.  He moved slowly, thoroughly seeming to enjoy being able to kiss her.  Then he touched her lips with his tongue and she immediately opened to him.  The kiss was different from that of Striker's, yet no less potent.  Eric took her softly where Striker was bolder.

As Eric pulled back slowly, he looked into her eyes and then kissed her again while keeping eye contact, saying, "That was just as I knew it would be.  Thank you."

Mia smiled, somehow feeling happiness spread inside her at their praise and thankfulness that she had let them kiss her.  She realized it was their first true kiss and she knew she didn't want it to be the last.  That thought shocked her as she lay there between these two potent men.  She had to get up and move before she had another attack, which she could feel coming on.

She did
n't want to ruin the moment they had just shared, so she sat up and scooted to the bottom of the bed.  She stood and calmly walked to the door of the bathroom, she didn't want to show her fear was coming back by running.  Once she had entered the bathroom and closed the door, she let the feelings wash over her as she leaned against the door.  She let a small smile come through as she fanned herself,
damn those men were hot.

When the bathroom door closed, both men got up and began to get dressed.  "I can't believe how far she has come
,” Eric said to Striker.

"She is doing much better than I thought she would at this point
,” Striker answered.

Eric nodded.  "I think we just need to slowly chip away at the wall and soon it will come crumbling down."

"I agree.  We just need to make sure we don't scare her into regression,” Striker said with a grimace.  "Which will more than likely happen against our wishes."

"Yeah
,” Eric said dejectedly.  "I guess we need to prepare for that."

Striker nodded.  "I am going to go check email one more time and then we need to head out.  We have to put some miles behind us today."

"Okay.  I am going to make sure everything is packed up and that Mia gets ready,” Eric answered as he finished getting dressed.

Mia quickly showered and then realized she had no clean clothes with her in the bathroom.  She rolled her eyes at her stupidity but had to quickly forgive herself due to
the lack of oxygen to the brain from the kisses she had received.  Once again, she wrapped a large bath towel around her body and then opened the door to the bedroom.  She quickly glanced around and saw no one was there.  Just as she stepped out and was debating on whether to call out or not, she saw a pile of clothes laid out on the bed.  She smiled at their thoughtfulness and began to dress.

Eric had joined Striker in the living area and had ordered breakfast for all of them.  It had just arrived when Mia stepped out from the bedroom, dressed and ready to go.

"You look very nice in those clothes.  Are you hungry?” Eric complimented her.

Mia blushed when she saw that she had both men's attention.  "Thank you, for the compliment and the clothes.  And yes, I am hungry."

"Good.  I ordered a little bit of everything.  Come, sit,” Eric told her.

When Mia made a move to join Eric at the small dining table, Striker stood to go to the table as well.  Mia
smiled shyly, looking from Striker to Eric as if weighing their thoughts.  Striker decided to make the first move and walked over to her, holding his arm out as if to escort her to the table.  She hesitated for a moment and then hooked her arm through his.  He smiled at her in approval and she beamed back, proud of the small win against fear.  They all sat at the table and began to eat breakfast, talking little as each was thinking of the trip ahead.  Mia silently prayed for their safety and hoped they could reach the Senate in time.  She also asked for the strength to hold her own desires at bay. 

She remembered a line
from a movie she watched a long time ago. 
“Relationships based on extreme circumstances never worked.”
Well that was a random sucky thought that passed through her head.

In Milliken, Colorado, the Alphas make a decision:

"What the fuck is going on over there?” Cami yelled to the room as she paced.  "I sent her there to keep her
safe
and now she is on the
run
.  And what about the cock sucker, Roarke, and his butt buddy, Diavolo, they have to be skulking around somewhere.  Why can’t we ever seem to find the assholes?  It’s not like they scream ‘scared insecure hiding asshats’."

"We are trying to find out more details but with both compounds just attacked, they are a bit busy at the moment, Cam
,” Quin said calmly.  He knew his wife was frustrated, they all were.  Setting up the Senate was a chore, and add the numerous members joining their Pack, it made it a little chaotic, well, more than it usually was.

Cami whirled on him and pointed her finger at him.  "Don't you dare try to placate me, mister?  We need to find her.  Who do we have over there right now?"

"I can make some calls.  We can try to find out,” Jaden said.  “But according to Orfeo, Striker and Eric are with her right now, they are moving toward home.”

"Oh really, and it is taken this long, she is probably terrified
.”  Cami stopped pacing again and looked at both her mates.  "I sent her there.  I did, damn it.  I thought she would be safe."

Quin
and Jaden both surrounded her immediately, holding her between them.  "You didn't know.  None of us did,” Jaden said to her.

"We will take care of this.  Keep her safe.  We just need to put our heads together and figure out how
,” Quin added, hoping to calm Cami down, he knew his mate, she was going to do something to piss him off in the state she was in.

"We have to keep her safe.  She is part of the Senate.  I promised her
,” Cami said, feeling her anger grow again.

"I know.  I will put in a call to Orfeo now and see if I can get an update
,” Quin assured her.

Cami nodded, kissed both of her mates, and began to walk to the doorway of the office.  "When you talk to him, tell him to expect me by tomorrow night.  It will take that long to get the kids situated and packed."

"I'm sorry, what?” Quin said, both he and Jaden looking confused.

Cami turned back to her men and said, "I said, let Orfeo know I will be there by tomorrow night.  That way I can
be there for Mia when she gets there."

"Are you out of your fucking mind?!  You are not going there, I forbid it!
” Quin thundered.

Jaden saw and felt Cami's reaction and all he could do was shake his head.  "Oh shit.  Here we go."

"Excuse me?” Cami said calmly.  "You what?  Please tell me you did not forbid me to do a damn thing.  'Cause I know that you are not that stupid after all this time."

Quin
was so angry he didn't see how calm Cami was and that alone should have scared him.  "You will not go over there now.  It is too dangerous."

Cami walked right up to her furious mate and said, "Oh I'm going and Jaden will go with me.  You can stay here and think about what you said.
  And sleep on the fucking couch even if we are gone, you are being an ass.”  She turned and walked back to the door.  "Now, I am going to go pack and then make arrangements for someone to stay with the kids."

She walked out of the office as
Quin was beginning to see the error of his ways and he looked at Jaden.  "Don't look at me like that, you fucked up all by yourself.  I was just happy to sit back and watch,” Jaden said as he walked over and kissed his mate.  "Sorry, but you lost that one big time.  I am going to go help her pack and make arrangements.  Call Orfeo and stay out of her way for a bit.  She may let you make love to us later if you try the whole, 'I am going to be all alone' thing.”  Jaden laughed as he followed his little mate out of the door.

As Cami headed down the hall, still pissed at
Quin, she almost ran headlong into Jo.  "Hey, what are you in a snit about?” Jo asked.

Cami huffed out a breath.  "Sorry,
Quin is up to forbidding me to doing shit again,” Cami told her, filling her in on what had happened.  "So I am going with Jaden over there to see if I can be of help and to ensure that Mia is okay."

"Lucky bitch
,” Jo said.  "I would give anything for Tey and I to get away.  It seems like forever since we had time to ourselves."

"Come with us!  Oh yeah, it will be fun!
” Cami said to Jo excitedly.  "You have said you want to work with Fredi and we can also see everyone else.  It will be a blast!"

Jo looked thoughtful for a moment and then broke out into a grin.  "Yeah, this could be fun!  I am going to go find Tey and see if we can make arrangements for the kids."

"Me too, make an arrangement that is.  Then go pack.  I want to leave in the morning,” Cami said as Jaden rounded the corner.

When
Jaden heard the tail end of the conversation, he put a hand to his head and said, "Oh Gods, this is going to get out of hand, isn't it?  Cami, don't go getting everyone riled up now."

Cami grinned at him.  "I'm not.  Jo has a legitimate reason for going.  She needs to work one
-on-one with Fredi now."

Jaden laughed.  "Fine.  Go.  Both of you.  Pack.
”  He wasn’t about to lose his chance at some one-on-one time with his mate.  Quin had his chance when the two of them had gone camping.  Jaden had volunteered to stay home with the kids, now it was his turn.

Cami kissed him hard on the lips as she and Jo went off arm in arm, talking about the trip. 
Jaden turned and made his way to his office.  He had some plans to make, he wanted to make his mate happy, but his first job was to keep her safe.

After Cami had talked to Blaine's mother, who agreed to babysit the children, she headed to
Jaden's office to talk to him about booking the tickets.  As she stepped into the doorway, she saw that Jaden had company.  Darien was there and they were deep in discussion, looking over some maps.

"What's going on?
” Cami asked them as she went up to join them.

"We were going over the potential ways to evacuate Mia.  It seems she is with two men, Eric and Striker, who are getting her out of England into France
,” Jaden explained.  "I want to send a private jet to them in a small town, get them out quick."

"We were trying to figure out which small town.  We have to contact Striker through an email address, so they won't be picked up anytime soon
,” Darien explained.

"Okay, so we have time to get there, right?
” Cami asked.

Jaden
smiled at her.  "Yes, we have time to get there."

"Good.  Blaine's mom agreed to come up and take care of the kiddies
and help Quin while we are gone.  Jo and Tey are packing, they will meet up with us at dinner,” Cami told him.

"I'm sure it will make you happy to know that Darien and Cloe are going as well.  Orfeo informed
Quin that it might be helpful to have another doctor on site for a while.  Darien is going to help organize security since he has the experience in dealing with the Rogues,” Jaden told her as he refolded the map.

Cami
’s face broke out into a smile.  "That's great.  The more the merrier.  What about Teagan?"

"He is setting up a new section of the clinic.  I am going to call for the plane now then we need to update
Quin on what we have found out and compare notes,” Darien said to them both.  "Jaden, meet you in Quin's office in fifteen?"

"Sounds good.  Thanks, Darien
,” Jaden said as he closed the office door behind him.  He walked over to Cami and grabbed her in his arms.  "We are finally alone.”  He waggled his eyebrows at her.

Cami giggled.  Sometimes her men still made her feel like a teenager.  "Now that you have me, what are you going to do to me?"

"Oh, you wait and see.”  Jaden bent her over his desk and proceeded to remind her of how much he loved and wanted her.

**
***

Orfeo hung up the phone with a sigh of relief.  He looked around at the other members of the Senate and said, "
Jaden, Cami, and a few others are coming to help out.  Cami is also very concerned for Mia and wants to be here to help support her."

"That's good.  We could use the help
,” Dante said.

Orfeo nodded.  "Cloe is coming with them
.  It will be good to have a doctor here full time until we find one."

"Has there been any word from Striker?
” Cat asked.

"Sadly, no.  We know we can leave word for him on the email for the compound, but only for important messages.  We don't know who is watching that as well
,” Orfeo explained.  "Quin and Jaden are arranging to transport them here by plane."

"That's good news too
,” Cat said looking at the other women.  "Let's go and get a bungalow ready for them.  We need to clean it and stock it."

The ladies all left the room but the men remained behind.  "We need to prepare for another attack.  It seems Roarke has a hard-on for getting Mia back in his clutches and will stop at nothing to get her."

Tripp stood and looked at Dante.  "Let's go meet with security and see about fortifying the outer walls.  Orfeo, you need to call your dad and update him."

Orfeo nodded.  "I will do that now and then I will join you."

"I am going to call a meeting of the heads of the clans here and update them,” Brin said.

"We will go and make sure supplies are stocked and the cameras are all repaired
,” Bane said as he and Marshall stood as well.

Orfeo stood and watched the other men leave.  He hoped there would
n't be another attack right now, but they needed to be prepared.  He was also grateful the Alphas were coming.  Orfeo knew more than anyone about Diavolo and they knew about Roarke.  Both had been exchanging information; however, it seemed this young woman, Mia, knew information that could help them all.  He turned to his phone and as he dialed his father's number, he prayed for Striker, Eric, and Mia and their safe arrival—for all their sakes.