Could it also be one strong enough to erase some of her bad memories from past encounters? If there was even a tiny sliver of a chance that could be true, she was going to take it.
Legend might have been testing her. But if so, she called his bluff.
Why? Because she could if she chose to and she hadn’t had that opportunity…well, ever.
Karolena had sacrificed everything for her autonomy. If that meant seizing a chance to screw the man who had the sexiest pair of legs this side of the Atlantic and his mountain of a partner before her deranged ex-husband found her and either killed her or forced her to return to a living hell, she was going to take it.
“Okay, fine. Let’s fuck.”
4
Karolena tried not to grimace when Tavish’s caresses faltered. He inhaled sharply. Had he expected Karolena to resist more? To be shy about her desires? Or was he as eager to get on with it as she was?
Either way, Legend was the voice of reason. Maybe in all things the partners did. “Make no mistake, I want this too. But tell us straight up. Should we be careful around you or do you need us to protect you?”
“Are you talking about using condoms?” Karolena tipped her head, arousal hazing her logic.
Tavish’s rich laughter broke out. “He wasn’t, but don’t worry, we’ve got those and use them every time.”
“Ah.” Of course they did. They played by the rules. Unlike her ex. And that was one reason she felt comfortable enough to even consider something so outrageous.
Rational thought dissipated the more Tavish touched her, but something in Legend’s warm eyes urged her to clarify. It was important to him. And so it should be to her if they were about to be intimate, if only for an afternoon quickie. “Whatdidyou mean?”
“I have a feeling you’re here for a reason. I just can’t figure out if it’s because you need our help or because you’re working with one of our enemies.”
“Like a competitor or something? No one sent me here.” Karolena could promise him that. She’d seen what Vladimir did to anyone suspected of snooping on him or his organization. Maybe the services the Shields provided were a little more serious than she’d realized or the clients a bit more complex than their small-town location would have led her to believe. “Unless it was fate or luck or karma, if you believe in any of those. I stand to gain a lot from my position here and I wouldn’t jeopardize it by breaking the non-disclosure agreement James had me sign or by…whatever it is we might be about to do.”
“Right.” Legend nodded, then grabbed a fistful of his heathered gray T-shirt from between his shoulder blades. Before she could so much as process the motion, he’d whipped his shirt off and exposed a massive swath of tanned skin and the black hair coating it from his chest to the thick trail that disappeared beneath the waistband of his jeans.
It wasn’t easy to think straight, never mind to talk. But she asked, “Just like that? You believe me?”
“In our line of work, there are a lot of times when you have to trust your gut. Please don’t make me regret listening to mine now.” Legend rubbed his ridged stomach as if it ached at the thought alone.
When had a man ever begged her for anything rather than threatening her if she so much as thought of betrayal? Karolena nodded. She had lied to these men plenty, but those falsehoods weren’t intended to harm them, nor could they. Unless Vladimir tracked her down…
She’d come clean to the Shields eventually. If they proved it was wise. But until then, she reached for Legend with one hand and Tavish with the other.
Tavish fused his fingers with hers, his thumb rubbing slow circles over the back of her hand.
“You sure?” Legend hesitated a fraction of an instant before he did the same. “To be clear, you don’t have to do this in order to stay safe or to keep your job. Fucking us is a bonus, not a condition of your employment.”
“Swear you won’t try to get me fired for screwing around on the clock?” Technically Karolena had finished her shift an hour ago, but she figured she owed time to account for the chaos she’d caused and then had to clean up.
Tavish grinned. “Pretty sure it’s standard procedure around these parts. Besides, if Jordan or James cared, we’d be getting ourselves in trouble too by ratting you out. I can promise you we love what we do far too much to risk it.”
Karolena swallowed hard, then nodded. So long as she wouldn’t gamble her role and the protection it afforded…she was going to do this one greedy thing. All for herself. “If I didn’t already want to sleep with you, promising I didn’t have to would have convinced me I should. Let’s just say it’s been a long time since I’ve done something like this. Simply because I want to. So make it worth it, okay?”
Tavish descended on her before she finished her request. Legend brushed the hair from her face to keep it out of her mouth. When Tavish moved in to kiss her, she turned her head, directing his lips to her jaw and the extra-sensitive crook of her neck instead.
Legend seemed a bit disappointed, but he didn’t encourage her to give more than she was comfortable with. Kissing was a familiarity she’d never shared with anyone. Not even Vladimir. He’d always skipped to the “good” parts. And now she found the thought of being face to face with someone impossibly personal.
Before she could get too into her head—and her memories—to enjoy what was about to go down, Karolena leaned so her forehead rested on Legend’s collarbone. She towered over most women and a good deal of men, but Tavish had a few inches on her and Legend beat them both by even more.
In another universe, she might have become a ballerina like the ones she’d adored going to see with her mother when she was a little girl, even if they’d sat in the highest seats in the theater. Whether it was due to genetics, stress, or because what she ate was one of the very few things she could control—or all of the above—she’d struggled to gain weight. She’d certainly never developed the womanly curves she’d wished for when she’d first realized Vladimir’s type wasn’t a stick figure.
Do not think of that monster now.
Legend’s warmth seeped into her and the steady thud of his heart grounded her.