Tempted by her Daddies: Chapter 17

Urgh.

She really didn’t want to wake up, but someone was shaking her.

“Nooo! Go away! Sleeping!”

Then she realized what she’d just said.

Fuck.

Rolling to her side, she put her arms over her face to protect herself as she landed on something hard. Glancing around, she saw a coffee table that she could likely fit under.

Sure, she should probably just take her licks. Delaying them would only make them worse. But her instincts screamed at her to get somewhere safe.

So she slid under the coffee table.

Don’t show fear.

Right. Because hiding under a coffee table was such a normal, well-adjusted way to act.

Well. Like she’d know what normal and well-adjusted was.

“Tamsyn? Hey, what are you doing under there, Little one?”

Wait.

That wasn’t what she’d been expecting. That sounded like . . .

Oh. My. God.

A groan of horror escaped her.

She was an idiot. She’d woken up and moved instinctively. How had she not realized where she was?

And how was she going to explain this?

“I didn’t mean to give you a fright,” Salem said carefully. “Can you come out from under there?”

Had she really fallen asleep?

But where . . . it started to come back to her.

Holy. Heck.

She’d fallen asleep on Alexei? That should have been impossible. She hadn’t thought she could ever fall asleep with someone else in the room . . . let alone on top of someone.

“I don’t think I can ever come out,” she groaned miserably.

“No?”

“Nooo. Just let me move under here, will you? Bring me some snacks and maybe a blanket. I’ll be fine. I’ll just live out my days down here . . . under the coffee table.”

“She’s not serious, is she?” Roman asked.

Oh no.

“She won’t,” Alexei said. “She’s just embarrassed. She’ll come out as soon as she needs to pee.”

Well. Great.

The whole flipping gang was here.

That was just awesome. They were going to think she was an absolute nut job.

“Oh good,” Roman replied. “I did wonder how she was going to pee.”

She groaned again.

Then two eyes appeared in front of her. They were attached to a face, thankfully.

A face that was filled with concern and no small amount of amusement.

“You can’t stay there forever, Little one,” Salem told her gently.

“I can and I will. There are ways around the toilet issue.”

“That’s true,” Roman said, joining them. “We could go buy you diapers.”

“What?” she squeaked.

“True,” Salem said, looking thoughtful. “That is a way to solve the issue.”

“No, it’s not!” she cried. “I’m coming out. Just give me a minute.”

“I’m afraid we can’t do that, Little one. Dinner is ready. Don’t raise your head.”

Huh?

Why did he say that?

Suddenly, she felt someone grasp hold of her legs and tug, they were careful not to touch her sore ankle. A cry escaped her as she was dragged across the carpet and out from under the coffee table.

She winced as she stared up at the light. Urgh.

“It’s too bright. Too bright.” She placed her arm over her eyes dramatically.

Alexei snorted. “Two minutes under the coffee table and suddenly she likes the dark.”

Actually, she didn’t like the dark.

And she also wasn’t fond of small spaces.

However, she’d trained herself to ignore her discomfort and carry on.

Still, living under a coffee table just really wasn’t a viable option for her.

As much as she might wish otherwise.

To her surprise, Salem drew her in close. Then he licked his thumb and reached out for her. She shied back. What was he doing?

“Easy,” he murmured. “Still half asleep, huh?”

Sure. That’s what was wrong.

Also, her instincts were kicking in.

Act normal.

Whatever that means.

“You’ve just got a bit of something here.” He wiped his thumb over the corner of her mouth.

“What was it?” She hadn’t eaten since breakfast. She would have noticed if she had something on her mouth before now, right?

“Probably dry drool,” Alexei said. “I’ve got some on my top.”

She swirled around to gape at the large man. Was he kidding her?

But, nope, there was a patch of something on his shirt that looked suspiciously like dried drool.

Oh. My. God.

She was so embarrassed right now.

“I drooled on you!” she cried, putting her hands over her face. “Excuse me, I’m going to go back to being a coffee table girl.”

Tamsyn attempted to slide back under the coffee table.

“Oh no, you don’t.” Salem grabbed her and drew her up against his chest. He held her with one arm under her bottom and her legs dangling free.

Yikes.

He was strong.

“Come on. Time for dinner.”

“I have to go wash my face, though.” She attempted to wriggle free.

To her shock, he slapped her ass. “Stay where you are. If you keep moving like that I might drop you.”

“You wouldn’t drop me,” she said.

“No, you’re right. I would never drop you.”

It sounded like a vow.

He carried her into a rather formal-looking dining room and set her down in a wooden chair that matched the long table. She quickly counted fourteen chairs.

Wow.

She wasn’t sure she’d ever sat in a dining room like this.

Large dishes covered in metal lids rested along the side table against the wall.

Roman sat on her left side as both Alexei and Salem got up to fill their plates. She guessed she’d wait until they were done. Alexei probably needed a lot of fuel for his big body.

But when Salem returned, he placed a full plate down.

Right in front of her.

“Um. What’s this?”

“Dinner,” he said.

First of all . . . this dinner looked amazing. There was some sort of beef stew filled with meat and vegetables, mashed potatoes, and garlic bread. The smell was divine.

“Thank you,” she said, feeling slightly awkward. She couldn’t remember the last time someone had served her food. It was probably so long ago she was too young to remember. “I really can’t eat this much, though.”

“Actually, those proportions are pretty on track for someone your size who needs to gain some weight,” Roman said, tapping on his phone. “Would you like me to show you my research?”

He turned the screen around on his phone. Had he . . . had he written a report on it?

“Why were you studying what someone should eat?” she asked. “Did your work ask you to write up a report?”

But that made no sense. Why would MI6 want to know about a woman’s nutritional needs?

Not that she was meant to know that they worked for MI6. Roman had simply told her he was in research. And that Salem and Alexei worked for the government.

“I don’t think we need to talk about this,” Salem said hastily.

“It was nothing to do with work,” Roman said absentmindedly. “I wanted to research how to help you.”

“Help . . . me?” She glanced down at herself. Did she look that bad? Sure, she had trouble sticking to a regular eating schedule. There wasn’t really time in her life to worry about proper nutrition. She ate when she could and she exercised a lot so she burned a lot of calories.

She could feel her shoulders hunching. Tamsyn had never really worried about her appearance. There was no room to worry about her looks when she was simply trying to survive.

But now she was wondering what they saw when they looked at her. Someone scrawny? Too thin? Ugly?

Oh God.

Did they think she was ugly?

“Hey, Tamsyn, look at me.” Salem placed his hand under her chin and tilted her face up. He gave her a firm look. “You are beautiful.”

Shit.

“Did I say that out loud?”

“Yes,” Alexei growled from across the table. He had a plate heaped high with food in front of him. “And I do not like it. You could never be ugly.”

“I’m sorry I made you feel that way, I didn’t mean to,” Roman said, sounding upset.

Shit.

She was messing this all up.

Turning to him, she reached out to grab his hand then stopped herself. “It’s all right. You didn’t do anything wrong.”

“I made you feel ugly.”

“No. Really. That was all me.” She shook her head. “It’s just . . . you really researched what I should be eating?”

“To make sure you’re healthy,” Salem said firmly. “No other reason. You are so beautiful and amazing. We just want you to be healthy too.”

“I never get sick,” she protested. “I really think I eat fine.”

“Then eat,” Alexei grumbled. “All of us should eat before this gets cold.”

She tried. She really did.

But she felt so self-conscious.

It was ridiculous.

Why should she care what they thought of her? She had never worried about it before.

Urgh.

Awakening emotions could be annoying. It came with all these other things to worry about.

So. Frustrating.

“Is the food all right?” Salem asked quietly.

“Oh yes, it’s really nice. I just don’t seem to be that hungry.”

And because her body was against her lately, her stomach chose that moment to gurgle.

Crap.

But Salem didn’t say anything. Instead, to her shock, he reached over and grabbed her fork. Then he used it to scoop up some meat and potatoes.

What was he doing?

Was he going to eat her food? Well. If he was hungry, he should go for it.

Only he held the fork up to her mouth. “Eat.”

“I can do it.”

“Eat the food, Tamsyn,” he said firmly. “Don’t think. Don’t worry. Just eat.”

To her surprise, her lips parted, and he placed the food in her mouth.

Oh man.

That was yummy.

Every time her brain started to interfere, he would hold up a forkful of food and she’d just eat.

Without thinking.

Alexei started to talk to Salem about his workouts. And Roman interjected with his own thoughts. And it all felt so incredibly normal.

Even with someone else feeding her.

When she was full, she drew back, shaking her head.

Salem glanced down at the plate. Two-thirds of the food was gone, which was more than she thought she’d be able to eat. Was he going to try and force her to eat more?

To tell her that she’d done a terrible job?

She tried not to tense up. To not show her feelings. But it was difficult.

However, he just nodded and grabbed her napkin with one hand and her chin with the other. Then he dabbed gently at her face.

He was cleaning her up.

And she was letting him.

Who was she? What had happened to Tamsyn, the sneaky spy? Who was this girl in her place?

This girl who let someone carry her around, feed her, and wipe her face.

“You did well, Little one,” he told her.

“Thank you.” She felt ridiculously proud of herself. All she’d done was eat some dinner.

All it took was a bit of praise from these guys and she turned into putty.

It was terrible.

And amazing.

Because if anyone could help her turn off her worries and thoughts and learn to relax and just feel it would be them.

But if she let go of that stronghold she had on her emotions, she wasn’t sure what would happen.

Part of her wished that her training had been successful in turning her into a machine. Then she’d have no fear of anything.

To be fair it had been partially successful.

For so long she’d been closed off from all feeling and emotion. But at some stage, something had started to change.

She didn’t fear dying or physical pain.

However, if one of these men were in danger, she didn’t know what she would do.

Glancing up, she saw Alexei and Roman were grabbing plates to carry them into the kitchen. She stood, but Salem shook his head at her as she grasped hold of her plate.

“Let them clear it. I want to show you where your room is.”

Her room.

In this grand house.

She didn’t see how that was even possible, but she nodded and took the hand he held out to her.

“Feeling a bit overwhelmed?” he asked as he led her up the stairs.

“Urgh, yes, I guess.”

Seemed silly to be overwhelmed by someone’s kindness and attention.

But they were two things that she hadn’t had in a long, long time.

At least, the good sort of attention.

“That’s all right. But you tell me if it all gets too much, okay? I don’t want this to be stressful.”

“All right.” She doubted that she would, but if it would help him feel better, she could agree.

He turned at the top of the stairs.

“Still,” he commanded.

She stopped moving and he stepped in front of her before gently wrapping his hand around her hair, tilting her head back. There was a slight tug on her scalp that stung but wasn’t exactly painful.

Although she definitely had a high pain tolerance.

But it did grab her attention. And, if she was honest, she felt a surge of heat go through her. Why did she like that? Was it the small sting?

No. She didn’t really associate pain with pleasure. It was more likely to be the dominance in that move. He wasn’t being a jerk. He wasn’t being rough. He wasn’t trying to scare her or harm her.

But it was so obvious that he was in charge. And she kind of loved that he could be so calm while being in control.

No yelling.

No intimidation.

Yeah. She was just turned on by Salem.

“I want you to listen to me carefully. Are you listening, Tamsyn?”

“Yes, Sir.”

Wow. That just came out of her without thought.

“That’s a good girl.” Reaching up with his free hand, he ran a finger across her lips. “You’re always such a good girl. I want you to remember that. And I’m proud of you for being so brave with us. But I also need you to remember that one of your rules is honesty. Yes?”

Uh-oh.

That was likely to be a problem.

Well. Things were only a problem if they were discovered, right?

And her truth could never be discovered.

“Yes,” she replied.

“So you need to be truthful with me. For this to work, you have to be able to communicate. And when I tell you something, I want you to remember that I expect you to obey me. I am not just saying something for the sake of it. So if you are overwhelmed, I am going to trust you to tell me that you are. Can you do that?”

Shoot.

“I will try,” she said, trying to be as honest as she could. “It’s not always easy for me to talk about how I’m feeling.”

“I understand it can be difficult, but the more you do it the easier it gets.”

“I really will try.”

“See? Such a brave girl.” He kissed her lightly.

A flush of pleasure filled her. “I’m really not.”

“I say you are. And what I say goes.” His lips quirked as he said that.

Although she wasn’t altogether sure that he was joking.

After letting go of her hair, he took her hand and led her along the hallway to one of the spare bedrooms.

She had been in this room briefly when she’d conducted a search of the house. As they stepped in, though, she pretended that she’d never seen it before.

“This is a pretty room.”

“Not really to your liking, though, is it?”

“Oh. Um. I like it.”

“You wouldn’t be lying to me, would you?” He raised an eyebrow at her.

“I think it’s called being polite.”

Drawing her close, he wrapped one arm around her waist and smacked her ass with his free hand.

“Hey! What was that for?”

It didn’t hurt. But it did surprise her.

“No lying. Not even to be polite. Do it again and you’ll be bare ass over my knee.”

Okay.

The boss really did mean business tonight.

“And just a warning that I won’t always go this easy on you.”

Wait.

This was him going easy?

Well. Hell.

That was slightly worrying.

“So . . . this style isn’t really you, is it?”

No. She would say not. The room was pretty but she wasn’t really into floral and pastels.

“I don’t really know my style, though,” she said. “And this isn’t actually my room so it doesn’t matter.”

“It does if we want you to be comfortable here, which we do. Of course, at any stage you can feel free to join one of us.”

She swallowed heavily at the heat in his eyes.

Join one of them?

All of them?

Yeah, her body wanted that. But her mind wasn’t quite there yet. He cupped the back of her head and drew her in as he leaned down to kiss her forehead.

It should have felt paternal.

But weirdly, it didn’t exactly. It felt like a warm blanket surrounding her. Safe and cared for.

This man was deadly.

They all were.

“You’ll work it out. We’d be happy to help. If you could decorate this however you liked, what do you think you would do?”

That felt . . . overwhelming.

She’d never had a choice like this. Even the clothes she wore were mostly chosen for her. What money she was given was to cover food and expenses. And it was barely anything.

“I don’t know.”

God. Was he going to think her a complete idiot?

What sort of person didn’t know how they’d like to decorate their bedroom?

“Well, at least you know what you don’t like. That’s a start.”

She guessed.

Talking hold of her hand, he led her into the attached bathroom. A small gasp of pleasure escaped her.

“Oh, this is nice.” The walls and floor were black marble tile with flecks of white and gold. There was a huge, white freestanding bath down one end and a large walk-in shower.

“I thought you might like it in here. Why don’t I run you a bath?”

“A bath?” she repeated.

Why would he want to do that?

“Yes, Little one. So you can relax. You still look tired.” Grasping her around the hips, he lifted her onto the counter. She had to force herself not to react. These guys moving her around like that wasn’t something she was used to.

Salem placed his hands on either side of her. “Stay there.”

She raised her eyebrows. “Yes, Sir.” She added a salute for good measure.

He narrowed his gaze at her and tapped her nose. “Alexei is rubbing off on you. Just remember, out of the three of us, I’m the disciplinarian.”

Yikes.

“And that’s not to say I don’t mind a bit of sass. At least when we’re not playing. When we’re deep in play and I am actually Sir, that won’t be tolerated. You’ve been warned.”

She had.

Multiple times.

But she was probably still going to test him. That was just who she was.

“I look forward to it,” he whispered in her ear as though he’d read her mind.

Holy heck.