Theirs To Protect: a Reverse Harem Romance Read online

  She’d always been curious about sex and this seemed like as good a place to lose her V-card as any. It wasn’t like there would be any dudes around in Nomansland. The name of the place was kind of a giveaway—it wasn’t somewhere a girl could find a lot of action.

  Plus, after getting to know the guys over the past month, she couldn’t really imagine doing it with anyone else.

  So yeah, she figured, she’d sleep with them. Then sneak out.

  But she was such an idiot. She’d been in no way prepared for what had happened tonight.

  She’d touched herself before. Uh, hello? Locked in an underground bunker for eight years. Whenever Uncle Dale and Charlie left, fantasizing and getting herself off were high on her agenda.

  So she thought she knew what sex would be like. At least a little bit.

  But having a man’s mouth on her sex? Sucking on her clit?

  And then their cocks. Oh God, the cocks.

  Her cheeks flushed even remembering it. Her pussy throbbed. She’d be sore for days but it was worth it. Every sordid, amazing, filthy moment of it.

  Midway through sex with Clark, she decided that if all she’d walk out of here with was memories, she was damn well gonna make some spectacular ones.

  But now that was over.

  It was over and now it was time to go.

  She lifted her leg, closed her eyes, and took a giant step in the direction she hoped wouldn’t end up on Mateo’s bicep.

  And her foot landed on wood.

  She didn’t even give herself a moment to breathe out in relief. Because any of them could wake up at any second. And if they realized she was gone and she was still in town, she’d be fucked.

  And not in the fun way she had been all evening.

  She held her breath while she slowly tiptoed across the rest of the room in the direction she thought the door was.

  Annnnnnnnd ran headfirst into a wall. Owwww.

  She managed not to stumble backwards and fall on her ass, but only barely. She rubbed at her head with one hand while feeling around for the doorknob with the other.

  She searched for way too long and almost knocked a damn picture frame off the wall before finally finding the damn thing.

  Then, of course, the door squeaked on its hinges so loud she was sure it would wake the whole room. But after a several seconds of tense silence, everyone’s snores continued on as normal.

  She hurried as quickly as she dared down the stairs. Ha. Wouldn’t that be just her luck. Dad and Charlie died to protect her and then she goes and does herself in by being stupid enough to run down a pitch-black staircase.

  She clutched the rail and forced herself to slow down. But only until she got to the bottom of the stairs. Then she ran to the kitchen and pulled out a pair of clothes she’d stowed in the back of a rarely used cabinet, along with a small backpack with a flashlight and some worst-case-scenario supplies—on the motorcycle she should make it to the coast in a day, but if she’d learned anything, it was to prepare for the unexpected. She’d packed some food and a change of clothes. Along with Nix’s dart gun. There was a night guard she’d need to sneak up on and tranq. Her heart sped up just thinking about. But not nearly as much as when she pulled out the last item in the backpack…

  The real gun she’d stolen from the Commander’s house this morning when she was there to get ready for the wedding.

  She pulled it out and looked at it. There was just enough moonlight coming in from the windows to see it’s outline in the dark.

  Audrey had been about to take a shower at Sophia’s this morning but the well pump had been acting up, something it did from time to time, apparently. Sophia went out to fiddle with it and Audrey took a chance. There was always one door was locked when she’d stayed there, but she’d never dared trying to pick it when the Commander was home. He was gone this morning, though. So Audrey, heart in her throat, ran over and used a couple bobby pins to pop the lock.

  And it opened to the motherload.

  It was the Commander’s personal armory. There were guns of every shape, size, and model. Antique guns and ones that looked so sophisticated they must have been manufactured the year the bombs dropped.

  Audrey wasn’t ambitious. She picked one of the small ones that was out of the way in the corner. She made sure it was loaded. And then she got the hell out of there. She’d just buried it in her pile of clothes and pulled on a bathrobe when Sophia came back in, smiling and saying the pump was all fixed.

  Audrey blew out a breath at remembering the close call. Then she pulled her clothes and shoes on as fast as humanly possible, checked the safety on the gun, and shoved it in the back of her jeans. She yanked her shirt over it and pulled on the backpack, then jogged over to the back door. She slipped out as quietly as she could, pulling the door shut behind her.

  She was breathing hard as she looked out at the still, quiet back yard. Well, it was far from quiet, actually. The locusts were making a damn racket.

  But that was good. She could use all the noise cover she could get.

  Not that she should be standing around wasting any time. Right. The plan. Stick to the plan. She hurried across the back lawn to the fence, pressing her hand to her jeans pocket as she went. Good, Mateo’s key was still there.

  She’d stolen it off him last night after he got home. It was too easy. He was so sweet. He always wore his keys on a carabiner attached to his belt. All she had to do was sit down with him on the couch when he was reading last night. She curled up beside him and asked him to read to her.

  Her tummy clenched a little at how she’d deceived him.

  But then she gave a mirthless laugh. Pretty sure realizing she’d stolen his key was nothing to what they’d all feel tomorrow morning when they woke up to find her gone.

  It seemed so glaringly obvious now, but she really hadn’t thought about how her leaving like this after their night together would be a—

  She swallowed hard and clenched her jaw. Why the hell was she second-guessing herself now? She was so close.

  She shook her head and hopped up to grab the top of the wooden fence at the corner. Climbing it was more awkward than she’d imagined. But she finally managed to shimmy over. And toppled less than gracefully over the other side.

  She immediately got up and dusted herself off.

  No time to stop and think. Just keep moving. Stick to the plan.

  After double-checking the gun was still in place, she started moving. She stuck to the fence line because the land dropped off pretty steeply behind the neighborhood to a gulch.

  Thankfully it was just shy of a full moon, so she could see fairly well in spite of a little bit of tree cover.

  She only paused when she came to the last of the continuous fences. There was a small open area she’d have to cross before she got to the woods beside the road she could follow all the way to Mateo’s workshop.

  Okay. She took a deep breath in and out. She could do this. Almost there.

  From sneaking into Nix’s home office, she’d seen the guard schedule and knew there was a shift change of the perimeter guards after midnight. According to her calculations, there was an abandoned road out of town that no one would be watching between 12:10 and 12:25. She glanced down at her watch—ironically, a wedding present from Sophia.

  She ignored her twisting stomach. In less than half an hour and she’d be speeding out of town.

  All of this would be behind her.

  Suddenly she felt short of breath. She’d never see any of them again. Ever. She spun around and looked back the way she’d come.

  Betrayal.

  The word landed like a heavy weight right in her gut. That’s what her leaving after their night together was.

  It was betrayal.

  She squeezed her eyes shut against the flood of feelings she’d been trying to suppress ever since she’d pulled away from Nix’s sleeping embrace.

  There was just no other way.

  She didn’t know it would feel so— She
pressed her fist against her stomach, feeling like she was going to throw up. Nix watched her like a hawk. If she could have escaped earlier, done it any other way, she would have. But after one week, then two, it was obvious that even if she could have found a vehicle earlier, Nix never let his guard down. Not for a second.

  So she’d come up with this plan. She’d give him what he wanted. And do the only thing she could think of to finally get him to let his guard down—convince him he’d won. She’d marry them. Sleep with them. And then—

  But she hadn’t known what it would be like.

  In the church… she’d made vows.

  And then consecrated those vows with their bodies.

  She was betraying them.

  Maybe she hadn’t realized it when she made the plan. But now? She knew now.

  She dragged a hand through her hair and looked back down the fence line again. And had a thought so insane she immediately started shaking head to toe.

  What if she didn’t leave?

  What if…

  What if she stayed?

  She bent over, hands on her knees. God, what was she even thinking? This had always been the plan. Earn their trust, do whatever it took so they’d get complacent and then she’d run…

  She had three days till the window closed on the Nomansland rendezvous. With the motorcycle from Mateo’s shop, she could make it there in time.

  It was a no-brainer.

  But then Mateo’s face flashed through her mind. He’d looked so terrified and at the same time full of awe when he repeated the vows after the pastor. Like he didn’t believe he deserved to be so lucky.

  And for all Clark’s bravado, he was so gentle with her as he took her virginity. All of them were tender, going as slow as she needed, doing everything they could to bring her as much pleasure as possible.

  And Danny’s boyish enthusiasm. God, she couldn’t help but smile remembering the look on his face when he’d managed to have sex with her on the second try. Like it was his life’s crowning achievement.

  And Graham and…

  … and Nix.

  Her chest clenched at the thought of Nix.

  Their lovemaking had been hard and raw and he was the reason she’d been moving so stiff. But there had been something in his eyes as he took her. An emotion so intense she didn’t even know how to describe it. She’d felt it too. And it scared the living shit out of her.

  She squeezed her eyes shut and leaned her forehead against the last fence of the neighborhood.

  Was she running because it was the right thing to do?

  Or because she was afraid?

  The last time she’d asked for a sign, she thought it was so clear. The motorcycle had been right there. It meant Charlie wanted her to go, right?

  Or was she just grasping at straws? Charlie was dead. A motorcycle was just a motorcycle. And maybe living her life afraid wasn’t much better than not having a life to live at all.

  Maybe what she really owed Charlie was to make the most out of this one precious life she had.

  And here, what her clan—her husbands—offered her, maybe it was everything.

  She turned to look back in the direction of the house.

  Her house.

  Their house.

  Her heart started hammering a million miles a minute, blood rushing in her ears.

  God, could she really do this?

  Could she stay?

  There was still time to go back and slip into bed before anyone knew she’d even gone. She could be theirs for real.

  Forever.

  Till death them did part.

  She took a breath in and for the first time since Charlie died, it was like she could finally fill her lungs completely.

  She felt so light inside she thought she might lift right up off the ground.

  God, was this what hope felt like?

  She couldn’t remember the last time she’d felt anything like it.

  She smiled, a tear spilling down her cheek as she turned back in the direction of their house.

  She was going home.

  “—told you what I’d do if it happened again.”

  Audrey startled at the sound of voices and jerked back from the fence she’d been leaning against.

  “I know, but if you’ll just listen I can explain.”

  Wait. Audrey frowned and leaned close to the fence again. She knew that voice. It was Camila.

  Didn’t Camila live with her clan at the house at the end of the row? This must be her house. Audrey leaned in close and looked through a small crack between the slats at Camila’s back yard.

  Just in time to see one of her husbands punch her so hard in the stomach she was knocked to the ground.

  Audrey’s hand slapped over her mouth to stifle her cry of shock.

  She wanted to jump the fence and tackle the bastard but Camila held the hand not cradling her stomach up in supplication and the man backed off. Not before throwing a steaming pot onto the grass beside Camila.

  Camila flinched and pulled back but some of whatever was in the pot must have gotten on her because she let out another small cry of pain.

  And then the man slammed back into the house, leaving Camila weeping in the back yard.

  Son of a bitch!

  Audrey dropped the small backpack and grabbed the top of the fence, pulling herself up and then over.

  Camila was so distraught she didn’t even notice Audrey running up to her.

  “Hey,” Audrey whispered.

  Camila shrieked and Audrey clapped a hand over her mouth. Camila’s eyes were wide with terror before she finally realized it was Audrey. The moon provided enough light to make out each other’s features.

  “Audrey, what are you doing here?” Camila asked, then she threw a worried glance in the direction of her house. “You can’t be here. You need to go.”

  Audrey’s jaw locked. “Because he beats you? I thought you and Sophia said this was a place where men worship the women in their care.”

  Camila’s head whipped back to Audrey. “They do.” Her voice was hard. “Compared to what’s out there?” She jerked a hand out wide. “A few bruises are nothing.”

  “That’s bullshit,” Audrey said through clenched teeth. Her first impulse was to grab Camila and take her back home. Nix would smash this bastard’s face in as soon as he heard.

  But then her eyes flipped up to the door Camila’s husband had disappeared through.

  Because he’d been familiar. Audrey frowned and then her brain finally made the connection. Jeffries. His name was Jeffries.

  And he was Nix’s second in command at the Security Squadron.

  Thinking back, he’d even been there that first day Nix had picked her up in the field. His predatory gaze had been one of the things that had set her running away from Nix’s little group in the first place.

  Dammit, who was Nix gonna believe? Her and Camila or his trusted second in command.

  You, dummy.

  Except how would she explain why she’d been out here? I was just taking a stroll behind the neighborhood fence in the middle of the night?

  And didn’t this prove she’d been right to be skeptical of this place all along. God, for a brief few seconds there, she’d wanted to believe in it all. That Nix and the other guys wanted her. That those vows they made in the church were real. That it all meant something.

  But this place wasn’t the utopia they tried to pretend it was. She’d only been here three weeks and already the ugly truth was exposing itself.

  And Camila was in danger. Her other husbands had to know about the abuse. It wasn’t like the bruises wouldn’t be apparent on her naked body.

  Audrey believed that none of her own husbands would ever hurt her. But that didn’t mean that everyone in this town treated their women right. She had proof right in front of her that they didn’t.

  Audrey held out her hand to Camila. “Come on. I can get you out of here. There’s a place where women are safe and free from men. I’ll tak
e you there. But we have to go now.”

  Camila’s eyes darted fearfully down to the hand Audrey held extended toward her. She kept glancing back and forth between the house and Audrey’s outheld hand, clearly waffling on what to do.

  “Come on, Camila,” Audrey said urgently. “How long have you lived here? And has it ever changed or gotten better.”

  That got Camila’s attention. She focused on Audrey and her bottom lip quivered. She still held one hand against her stomach where Jeffries had hit her. Her eyes flashed and after another moment of hesitation, she gave the smallest nod Audrey had ever seen.

  “All right. I’ll come with you.”

  Audrey expelled all the breath she hadn’t even realized she’d been holding.

  “Come on. I’ve got a motorcycle waiting,” Audrey said. “And everything else we need.” She glanced down at her watch. 11:55. “We have to hurry though. There’s a short window when our way out of town will be unguarded.”

  Camila nodded, a little more confidently this time. “All right. Let me just go get some clothes and I have some bread we can—”

  But Audrey was already shaking her head. “It’s too late already as it is. Plus, he’s inside. No. We go right now.”

  “I’m in my nightgown,” Camila objected. “If we run into men on the road, you think me being in a nightgown isn’t going to get us raped and killed? Plus, Jeff was just leaving for work. He’ll be gone by now. He’s on the midnight to eight a.m. shift. Everyone else is asleep.”

  Audrey glanced toward the house nervously. But Camila was right. Riding around in that pink lace nightgown would get them killed or captured before they made it out of the damn territory. And Camila was bigger than her—she wouldn’t fit in Audrey’s clothes.

  “Fine, but quick,” Audrey said. “Just get dressed and then get back here as quick as possible okay? I’ve got everything else we’ll need.”

  Camila nodded rapidly, head like one of those old bobble-head dolls. Charlie used to collect them from abandoned cars when he and Uncle Dale went out on raids.

  The next second, Camila was hurried back into the house.

  Audrey paced for a couple seconds, then jogged to the back of the yard, getting in position to boost Camila up and over the fence. Her heart was racing so fast, she could hear blood rushing in her ears. Even if this went perfectly, they wouldn’t have much time to spare.