Harbor, page 16
“That’s good. I guess.” Keanu didn’t sound convinced. “How long did you live like that?”
“Seven years.”
There was a collective gasp.
“I read The Diary of Anne Frank a few times and felt blessed. At least I didn’t have to share my space with a boy.” Maya smiled at the ridiculous comparison.
“Did you never leave?”
“I did. My mom took me to the roof at night when no one was watching sometimes. And she was smart. She educated me. Every night when she came home, she would check my school work. We also exercised together. I was a strong kid by the time I was ten. Stronger than my mom. She knew that what was happening in the world was very scary and wanted me to be prepared for anything.”
“You were so young,” Advic muttered, his brows furrowed.
Maya shrugged. “I didn’t know any different.”
“You didn’t have any friends or interaction with other people?” Keanu asked.
“I had a few. There were several other people in the building also hiding children. My mother developed trust with them and sometimes I met up with two or three other girls close to my age. They didn’t let us stay in one apartment together alone during the day because it would be too risky, but in the evenings and late at night, we would get together in one of our apartments. We learned at a young age to play quietly.”
“So what happened when you were twelve?” Dario asked.
“There was a raid in the area. The Republic was looking for unregistered girls. They were going door to door. The apartment manager opened every door for them. He probably knew girls were hidden in the building, but he didn’t have a choice. They would have shot him and taken the keys if he hadn’t complied.”
Advic nodded. “I’ve heard of those raids. Did they find you?”
Maya shook her head. “No. My mother heard about it and raced home to get me out of there. She took me down the back stairs to the underground parking garage and put me on the floor in the back seat of the car. We were just about to leave when another mom called and begged my mom to take her daughter too. She couldn’t get home fast enough. My mom left me in the car and raced back upstairs. I assume she was at the other girl’s apartment when the building imploded.”
“Jesus. A bomb?” Dario asked.
“Probably. The entire building was just rubble. No survivors. I’m not sure they ever even uncovered all the bodies.”
“Except you. You survived in that car,” Keanu pointed out.
Maya smiled. “Yes. And I was prepared. I had a backpack. My mother always kept two of them by the door in case we needed to escape. I had mine and hers in the back seat. Water. Food. Knives. First-aid kits.”
“How long were you buried, hon?” Keanu asked, his voice soft.
“Ten days. Sometimes I heard people calling out for survivors, but I stayed very quiet. Maybe that wasn’t the best plan, but I didn’t know who to trust. I wasn’t even injured. I was trapped inside the car though, on the floor. The roof had caved in.”
“In the dark…” Dario added.
“Yeah.” Maya shuddered. “To this day I get nervous in small dark places.”
“Understandable.”
She drew in a breath. “I knew someone was going to find me eventually. They were getting closer every day, digging through the rubble. By that time, they were simply trying to pull out the bodies. I was too tired and weak to care who found me.”
“I guess someone did,” Advic commented.
“Yes. I got lucky. A man unearthed the car, cupped his hands, and leaned in to look in the window. I was staring up at him, squinting as the bright light hit my eyes, trembling. His eyes went wide with shock, and then he looked around, returned his gaze to me, and held a finger to his lips.”
“My God. I hate that you went through that, but thank goodness there are still good people in the world.”
“I hid for several more hours, not daring to move much, and he came back for me at dusk. He and two other men. They pried the door open, pulled me to safety, and took me to one of their homes. No one ever knew a child was rescued from that building.”
“Amazing.” Dario reached over and set a hand on Maya’s shoulder.
“I stayed with those kind people for six years. They had a farm outside of town. Two other kids. A girl and a boy. I was able to breathe fresh air and run and play and not have to keep so quiet all the time. I hated that I lost my mom. It was the worst time of my life up to that point, but in the long run, I think they saved me in more ways than one.”
“Where did you go when you were eighteen?” Keanu asked.
“I got antsy and knew I needed to do something to help people, so I left. For the next few years, I slowly moved West, hooking up with various people and trying to find my way until I met up with The Wanderers and went to join them. I knew I wanted to spend my life rescuing people the way that family saved me. I wasn’t doing anyone any good hiding on that farm. I had a fire in me.”
Advic smiled. “You still do. It burns brightly. Do you see that family anymore?”
Maya shook her head. “No. I never saw them again. It makes me sad sometimes, but they lived in Indiana. When I came West, I didn’t have a way to stay in touch with them.”
“You’re an amazing woman, Maya,” Dario stated. “When I think of how much you’ve been through and how strong you are…”
She glanced at the ground and dragged her toe around in the dirt. “Not amazing enough to avoid a debilitating panic attack simply from being in the dark in a bunker.”
“It makes perfect sense now that we understand better,” Dario argued. “It should have occurred to me you needed to come up above ground to breathe. I wasn’t thinking. I’m sorry.”
She shrugged. “Not your fault. I’m okay now.” She leaned back and drew in a deep breath. “Ahhh. Oxygen. Sunlight. Open space. Glorious.”
After a few moments, she lowered her gaze to each of theirs. “We can go back inside now. Sorry about the meltdown. I’m clearly not in any condition to travel several miles on foot yet.” She rose to her feet and brushed the dirt off her ass before picking up her pack.
All three men were still sitting on the ground, staring at her with wide eyes.
She chuckled. “Seriously. I’m fine.”
They all stood, looking skeptical as they led her back to the bunker.
Chapter 28
Maya slept in Keanu’s bed that night. Mostly because that was the one he led her to when he declared she needed to get off her feet. It had been late, but they’d been treating a young boy who’d broken his arm.
When Keanu finally joined her in the middle of the night, he simply spooned her from behind and kissed her neck. It felt good being held. Very good. But she didn’t let herself think too hard about it. She tried to ignore the yearning for more.
The next day was busy too. Two different patients came in. Maya was learning that there was usually a steady flow of patients on a normal week, but sometimes it was feast or famine.
Before that day, Maya hadn’t known shit about nursing moms, but she’d learned fast when a woman came in with a colicky baby who was losing weight and couldn’t quite get the hang of nursing. The woman had one of her partners with her, an adorable doting father even if he was obviously not the biological father of the baby.
The mom hadn’t wanted to come. She hadn’t wanted to bother the doctors with a problem she felt she should be able to figure out on her own. In addition, she was leery about letting any of the doctors help her with her breasts.
Cue Maya. After a quick lesson from Dario about how to coax the baby into latching on and how to get the mother to relax to allow her milk to letdown, Maya was suddenly a lactation consultant.
Dario set his hands on her shoulders from behind after the couple left with the baby and leaned in to kiss her neck. “Thanks for saving the day again.”
She rolled her eyes. “You could have managed without me. I just made that woman’s experience slightly less embarrassing.”
“And that was important,” Dario pointed out.
Their other patient came in soon after with a giant gash that needed stitches. Maya didn’t spend much time in the room during that one. Maybe it was the amount of blood that made her squeamish. Or maybe it was the reminder that she’d come in with a similar wound not so long ago.
When they all sat down at the table to eat dinner, the three men were quiet.
Maya looked at them one at a time. “You don’t have to tiptoe around me, you know. I’m okay.”
They all paused, setting their forks down, wiping their lips. Tiptoeing.
She sat back. “I think I liked it better when all of you were vying for my attention, spending every hour trying to convince me to have sex with you. Somehow you broke down my celibacy walls and showed me something I’ve only ever dreamed of.”
No one moved or blinked. She was pretty sure they were holding their collective breaths.
“But…” She held up a finger. “No one has actually had sex with me. Now everything feels more awkward than it did before you made my head spin and introduced me to orgasms. I’m left to assume when my head spun around backward yesterday, you all decided to back off from the crazy lady, and that’s far more awkward.”
Dario flinched first, shaking his head. “No. Not even close. None of us blame you for what happened yesterday. It was a perfectly normal reaction to a stressful situation. Nothing about our feelings for you has changed. The reason we’ve backed off is that we felt like we pressured you, and the last thing we want is for you to regret your time with us or ever look back and wish you hadn’t had sex with us.”
She glanced at each man, trying to read their expressions to see if they were telling her the truth. She saw nothing but compassion on their faces. And…lust? Advic gripped the edge of the table so hard his knuckles were white. Keanu had his hands fisted together, resting his chin on them. Dario rubbed his hands against his thighs.
They all looked like they were in the starting blocks for a race, waiting for the gun to go off.
She narrowed her gaze. “Who are you worried about exactly? Me or yourselves?” It was time to be bold. Maya was back. Fierce and determined. Something had changed inside her. She wasn’t sure when it happened, but maybe it was a collection of events.
She’d been nervous and shy and embarrassed before they’d shown her how passionate she could be. Afterward, she’d felt a vulnerability she hadn’t expected and didn’t know what to do with. It was at that point she’d been overcome with claustrophobia and a panic attack.
The way they’d handled her so gently when she’d run out of here yesterday hellbent on getting away from them brought her to her knees.
They were good men. The best. She would never feel this strongly about anyone again in her life. The chemistry between them was explosive. She desperately wanted to finish what they’d started. It would put a smile on her face every time she thought of them. She wouldn’t have to wonder what if.
She stood, determined to put a period on this once and for all. Leaning forward to set her palms on the table, she cleared her throat. “I will understand if you’ve decided you don’t want to continue what we started. It makes sense. I’ve made it perfectly clear I’m not going to stay. I can’t. We have different paths. If it’ll hurt too badly to take things further than we already have, say the word and I’ll shut up.”
The collective gasp might have been comical under any other circumstance.
Maya held up a finger. “But, if you’re waiting for me to make a decision, I’ve made mine. I want a repeat performance. I want all four of us naked and sweaty and panting. All at the same time. I want all three of you inside me. I want you to erase anything that’s ever happened to me and replace it with a memory that will make my pussy weep for the rest of my life. I don’t want gentle and sweet and timid. You’ve proven you can deliver that. Show me rough and hot and wild and mind-blowing.”
They all three flinched and then stood so fast two of the three chairs fell over backward.
“Are you sure, sweetheart?” Dario asked.
“Never surer.” She stood, reached for the hem of her shirt, and drew it over her head. Taking a step back, she wiggled her leggings and panties off next. She knew she was shocking them speechless, and it made her do a mental fist pump as if she wielded some sort of power.
In a way, she supposed she did. After all, the reason they’d backed off was out of concern for her feelings. She did hold the power because she was the one who could declare once and for all that this was happening. Now. Tonight.
For about a second, none of them moved, and she worried they had no interest in taking her up on her offer, which would have been rather mortifying considering she was now naked before them.
But then they all moved. Shirts came off. Jeans unzipped. Clothes flew.
As they stalked toward her, she held up a hand. “Just so we’re clear, I’m still leaving as soon as it’s possible. Any thoughts of talking me into staying will be met with disappointment.” She needed to be firm, make sure they didn’t have any delusions.
It was quite probable Maya was setting herself up for heartache. She could already tell it was going to hurt when she walked away, but no matter what, she would never have regrets. She would always have this amazing memory. If she was lucky, she could close her eyes at night, think about amazing sex with these three gorgeous, caring men, and replace the nightmares.
Dario reached her first, his hand coming to her cheek to tip her head back. “We’ve got you, sweetheart.” His lips descended on hers before she could respond. Not gently to match his soft words and easy touch. Nope. He kissed her like she was leaving in two minutes and would be gone for a decade. Consumed her. His lips angled to one side as his tongue slid into her mouth.
Her legs nearly buckled as she lost herself in the kiss, and maybe they would have if someone hadn’t grabbed her hips from behind and held on to her. She wasn’t sure which one of them was behind her, but the other one slid his hands up her torso, cupped her breasts, and then leaned down to suck one of her nipples.
Dario didn’t let up long enough for her to get her bearings, but when she threaded her hands in the hair of the man at her breast, she knew it was Advic.
Keanu’s palms slid around from her hips to her thighs, molding to her skin, his thumbs teasing her inches from her pussy.
She moaned into Dario’s mouth, her brain no longer firing anything that made sense. Kissing any one of them was always explosive, but when all three touched her at the same time, she turned into gelatin.
Lust consumed her. Her clit throbbed between her legs. No one was touching her there.
Advic switched nipples and sucked hard enough for her to come up on her toes, whimpering now, already so aroused she might self-combust.
When Dario finally released her lips, he trailed kisses to her ear. “This what you want, sweetheart? All of us?”
“Yes,” she breathed. “Yes…” Two weeks ago she wouldn’t have believed this was possible. She hadn’t been able to trust anyone and hadn’t expected to ever in her life. But they’d taught her to feel again, to let herself go, to turn over her most vulnerable side to them.
They hadn’t consummated this relationship in the traditional sense, but they had definitely replaced her nightmares with new memories she would carry with her always.
Two weeks ago she wouldn’t have been able to handle having all of them surrounding her like this. It would’ve overwhelmed her and made her feel pressured.
Two weeks ago she’d believed the only kind of sex she would ever enjoy—if that were even possible—would have to be on her terms, with her in control at all times. And they’d done that. It had been amazing. It had built up the trust between them. And now she wanted more. Now she wanted them to take her further. She didn’t need gentle anymore.
She released Advic’s head to slide her hands down on top of Keanu’s. “Please…” She parted her legs and pushed his hands in that direction. “Touch me.”
Advic released her nipple with a pop and surprised her when he bent down, set his shoulder against her belly, and lifted her off the floor to toss her over his shoulder.
She squealed, an odd sound that was extremely feminine and contradictory to any noise she’d ever made. Her badass fighting side was not here in this room today. This Maya was sexy and wanton.
When Advic tossed her unceremoniously onto his bed, she giggled.
All three men were smiling as they crawled toward her, Advic from the end of the bed, Keanu on her right, Dario on her left. They prowled toward her on hands and knees like leopards coming for their prey.
She scooted backward, not so much to get away from them but to give everyone more space. Apparently, she went too far though, because she gasped when Advic grabbed her good ankle and gave a quick yank, causing her to fall onto her back as he parted her thighs. Before she could process his intent, his mouth was on her pussy.
She arched her hips off the bed as her eyes rolled back. She couldn’t breathe. It felt so fucking good when one of them sucked her like that. All her blood raced to her clit and she needed to come in seconds.
She squirmed in desperation, but Advic held her thighs firmly, not letting her escape his lips while keeping her from arching again. When his tongue stabbed into her pussy, she cried out.
Keanu’s lips landed on her neck, nibbling along her jawline until he reached her ear. “Tell us if it’s too much and we’ll back off.”
She shook her head, hardly able to respond. Too much? It could never be too much.
Dario’s palm surrounded her breast, his thumb finding her nipple and rubbing it, drawing her attention to how damn sensitive her erect buds were. When he pinched her nipple between his thumb and forefinger, she whimpered. “Jesus.”
“So gorgeous, hon,” Keanu whispered. He slid his hand down her torso and reached between her thighs. His fingers joined Advic’s tongue, sliding into her wet heat several times before he moved lower and circled her tight anal muscles.
