Claimed By her Daddies by Laylah Roberts

7

So today had been interesting.

It had started with her making a batch of vegemite and cheese cupcakes. They weren’t too bad until you added a lemon cheesecake frosting. Then they became kind of gross. But that was her mood.

She was stressed.

Then she’d dealt with Satan’s bride. Gone bouncing with her bestie. Hurt her head. Ended up in hospital with Dr. Hottie. The princes.

Then there was now.

She was lying back on the cloud bed, where Matek had carried her and was currently wrapped around her. He’d pulled up her pajama top until it was bunched under her loose breasts and had his face pressed to her tummy.

Just a bit lower and his face would be in her pussy.

Don’t react. Don’t react.

Yeah, right. How could she not react? She had a hot guy in bed with her, pressed to her half-naked body.

And not just any hot guy. One of the guys she had a crush on. She was lying back on a pile of pillows and running her fingers through his hair. She didn’t know what the heck was going on, but she wanted to soothe him. Needed to.

And it seemed to be working. Well, he hadn’t said anything yet, but at least he wasn’t hulking out.

The door opened and she managed to slowly turn her head to see Kassim walk in, followed by Aric and Tavi.

They all stopped as they took in the sight of them.

She attempted to pull up the blankets to cover herself more, but Matek was lying on them. Kassim took pity on her and found another duvet in the closet, placing it over her and Matek. She sent him a grateful smile.

“Is he asleep?” Tavi asked. “With his face on your stomach?”

“Wish I was asleep with my head on her belly,” Aric commented. “Or between her legs.”

She gaped at him.

“Aric,” Kassim growled while Tavi slapped the back of Aric’s head.

“What? Like we weren’t all thinking it.”

She blushed.

“I’ve never seen him like this,” Kassim said, coming closer. “Usually when he gets into a rage, I’m the only one that has a chance of getting through to him. But he was too far gone to even know who I was.” He stared down at her. “You got through to him, though.” There was amazement and something else on his face.

Something that felt like possession. But that was crazy, right?

“Does this happen often?” she asked, worried for Matek if that was the case.

“No,” Aric said, coming to sit on the bed next to her, facing her. “Just when someone he cares about is threatened.”

What did that mean?

“One of you was threatened?” she asked.

“Not us,” Tavi said.

Kassim shot him a look. What was that about? Someone else was threatened? Who could that be? Oh, please don’t let it be Satan’s bride. She didn’t know if she could stand to know that Matek cared about that bitch.

Then again, would he have his face pressed to her bare tummy if he did?

She yawned. How could she be tired again? This was ridiculous.

“Is he all right? Is he too heavy for you?” Kassim asked. “We could attempt to move him.”

“No,” she snapped. “He’s fine.”

Kassim’s eyebrows rose.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to snap at you, sir. I’m just tired and my head hurts.”

Good one, Pippa.

Kassim just nodded, though. Then he took in the room tiredly. “One of us should stay here with Matek and Pippa to make certain he is all right.”

“I’ll look after him,” she told him.

Poor Kassim, he looked so tired. Had he even gotten any sleep?

Kassim sent her a warm smile. “I’m sure you will. But who will look after you?”

She blushed. His tone of voice was soft and velvety. Intimate.

Quit it.

“I’m fine.”

“Well, to make sure you are definitely fine, someone will stay with you as well.”

Why don’t you all stay?

She bit her lip to stop herself from saying that, though. Of course, they didn’t all want to stay.

“I’ll stay,” Aric and Tavi said together. They glared at each other.

“You stayed with her all night,” Tavi said. “It’s my turn.”

“She’s not some toy,” Aric told him.

Kassim sighed and pinched the top of his nose.

“Sir? Are you all right? Do you have a headache? I should have some painkillers from the hospital around here somewhere.” If she could get up, she’d find them for him.

He gave her a surprised look then the tension seemed to seep out of him. “Thank you, Miss Jones. But all I need is some sleep. But do you need anything? Medication?”

“I’ll check what her medication says.” Aric searched through a paper bag that had come with them from the hospital. “Here they are. There are oral tablets and suppositories.”

She gaped at him. “There are not suppositories in there!”

“Oh, there totally are. I’d be happy to help.”

Her cheeks blushed bright red. “Aric!”

After deciding that it wasn’t time for more medication, Kassim and Tavi left her with Matek and Aric once more. Tavi kissed her forehead, while Kassim just stared at her. She thought there might have been a spark of interest in his eyes, but she was pretty certain it was wishful thinking. Especially when he didn’t touch her.

Hopefully, they were all off to get some sleep, Kassim especially.

“I don’t know why I’m so tired,” she complained, her eyes growing heavy.

“Hospitals aren’t restful places,” Aric told her as he drew over an armchair. “And you were woken up several times by the nurse. Plus, you’re healing.” He yawned.

“You should try to sleep,” she told him. But how could he do that comfortably in that chair? She glanced around at the huge, comfy bed. “Come lie down.” She patted the other side of the mattress.

Aric raised his eyebrows. “You sure?”

“I trust you to behave yourself.”

“Silly you,” he teased as he walked around and climbed in next to her.

“Well, I know I’m irresistible,” she murmured.

“You are definitely that, poppet.”

* * *

When she woke up,there was a face inches from hers. Unique, pale blue eyes gazed down at her intently.

“Good morning, Matek,” she said in a calmer voice than she thought she’d manage considering her heart was pounding.

Grunt.

Okay. He wasn’t feeling talkative.

Umm, when is he feeling talkative?

“Are you feeling all right?” She wished he would back off a bit. She still hadn’t had a chance to brush her teeth. And she really needed to pee. Desperately.

Outside the wind whistled, seemed that storm was settling in.

A nod.

“Did you sleep all right?”

Another grunt.

Amusement filled her. It wasn’t every day you found yourself waking up to a giant in your face, grunting his answers.

“Right, you might need to give me a way of interpreting that. Is it one grunt for yes, two for no? Or is there some other way to decipher your meaning?”

He sighed. “Yes.”

Right. Well, that was better than the grunting, she guessed.

“That’s good. I’m glad.” Should she ask him about what happened earlier? But she didn’t want to embarrass him.

Although it could be good if he eased back a bit and gave her some space.

“Well, I’m just going to go use the bathroom.” She attempted to slide away from him, but he put his arm over her, blocking her way.

Where had Aric disappeared to anyway?

“Matek, I need to use the bathroom.” She could feel herself blushing.

Curse you, pale skin.

The door opened before he could say anything and she turned her head with a wince, eyebrows rising as Aric walked in, carrying a tray. Tavi was behind him.

“You’re awake,” Aric said cheerfully. “Tavi, she’s awake.”

“I can see that,” Tavi said dryly, watching her carefully. His gaze moved to Matek. “You gonna ease up? Give her a bit of space?”

Yes, please.

“No.”

“Matek, you can’t loom over her like some crazy person,” Aric said as he walked over. “You’re gonna make her think you’re not all there. I mean, you aren’t all there, but don’t let the pretty girl see that.”

Aric thought she was pretty?

Don’t read too much into it. He probably thought mannequins were pretty. The man flirted with everyone.

“I really need to use the bathroom, Matek.”

Like she was about to have an accident, if he didn’t let her leave.

“Take you.”

What? Oh crap, yep. He was carrying her into the bathroom. Fine. If it meant she got to pee, she would take it.

He carefully sat her down. On the toilet. Well, this wasn’t embarrassing or anything.

She stared up at him.

He stared down at her.

Um. Right. “Matek, can you leave please?”

“No.”

She sighed. “You can’t watch me pee.”

“Why not?”

“Because I need privacy to go. My bladder is shy. It doesn’t like to pee in front of other people.”

Matek just grunted.

Did that mean he’d leave? Nope. He simply turned around.

“Matek! I still can’t pee like this!”

“Not watching.”

“You can still hear me.”

Matek sighed. A big, long, drawn-out affair. Sheesh. She didn’t think it was too much to ask to pee on her own.

“Aric, Matek won’t let me pee in private,” she called out.

Yeah, she was tattling. But she wasn’t peeing with him standing right there.

“Matek, you’re letting the crazy seep out,” Aric told him.

He muttered something but walked towards the door. Then he stopped at the doorway and turned to point at her. “No walking.”

Good. Lord.

How had this become her life?

After peeing, she washed her hands and face. She really needed to brush her teeth. Urgh. She also wanted a shower.

A knock on the door made her startle then groan as it rocked her head, making it throb. Matek stormed into the bathroom.

“No walking.”

“I wasn’t walking.”

“You’re in pain.”

Because you startled me.

She didn’t say that out loud though. She didn’t want him to feel bad. At least her head wasn’t as sore as last night.

Gently, he lifted her, carrying her into the bedroom.

“Why’d you guys bring me back to the palace?” she asked as Matek set her down on the bed then fluffed the pillows behind her.

She wasn’t gonna lie, she was digging the attention. No one ever fussed over her when she was ill.

“I would have been fine in the cottage on my own.”

“You’re just out of the hospital,” Aric told her with a frown. “You were only allowed to come home if you had someone to watch over you.”

“Doctors just say that to cover their own asses. I’m fine. Although breakfast in bed is a bonus.”

“You like?” Matek asked.

“Um, I think so? I’ve never had it before.”

“You’ve never had breakfast in bed before?” Tavi asked as he crawled over to her other side.

“No. Is that weird?” she asked as they all looked at each other.

“You like it, we do it every day,” Matek said.

Well, at least he was no longer talking in grunts. Even if he was talking crazy.

“Yeah, right,” she said as Aric settled the tray on her lap. “You’re going to wait on me hand and foot, huh?” she joked.

“Yes,” Matek told her seriously.

She eyed him in shock. “Did you drink crazy juice again this morning?” A weird feeling came over her. There was something she was missing. She looked around the room. This seemed an awfully nice room, even for the guest room in a palace. “What’s going on? Why did you bring me back here? Why are you all hovering over me and bringing me breakfast?”

“We can’t look after you when you’re sick?” Tavi asked.

“I’m not sick. My big feet tripped over each other and I hit my head. I’ll be fine by tomorrow. The three of you on the other hand . . .”

“We’re fine. We just want to look after you. Here, eat.”

“Why?” she asked suspiciously.

“Because we’ve drugged it and we’re going to lock you up in our lair and keep you there for ten thousand years,” Aric said with a fake evil laugh.

“Ha-ha,” she said, slapping Tavi’s hand as he reached for a piece of bacon.

“Hey,” he protested. “Ouch.”

“Don’t touch my bacon.”

“I knew you liked bacon, but I didn’t know you would get violent over it.”

She sniffed. Violent, she’d give him violent . . .

“Eat, Poppet,” Aric urged.

“No coffee?” she asked, trying not to pout.

“Caffeine is a stimulant,” Tavi explained.

“Yeah, exactly. I need it to stimulate me. This bed is amazing to sleep in though. Too bad I couldn’t fit it in my cottage.” Then she’d be in heaven. “It’s okay, I’ll go grab myself some coffee.”

Matek shook his head. “Tavi, get.”

“I’m not getting her coffee.” Tavi frowned. “Caffeine isn’t good for her when she has a concussion.”

She growled. “Says who?” Who would dare make such a statement? She’d kill them. Slowly. She’d take away something they loved. Threaten them. See how they liked them apples.

They all stared at her.

Okay, oops. Did she say some of that? Maybe her crazy was leaking out.

“Did Jameson say I couldn’t have caffeine?” she asked.

“Well, no,” Tavi admitted. “But—”

“Then I want coffee.” She crossed her arms over her chest and glared at him. Tavi leaned in, his mouth close to her ear.

“Keep glaring at me like that, little one, and I’ll be forced to wipe the scowl off your face.”

“Oh yeah, how?”

“By kissing you.”

She gaped at him. Because that part wasn’t said quietly. No, he said it loudly. And he actually smiled.

“W-what?” Had he really said that or was she hallucinating?

“I said I would kiss the scowl off your face. Of course, if you were feeling better, I’d likely spank you.”

Matek grumbled at him.

“She needs it, Matek,” Tavi told him.

“I do not.”

“You do. You love it when I bare your little ass and slap my hand against it. Makes you go all hot, your pussy creams and these cries come from your mouth that make my dick go hard. Well, even harder than it was before I started.”

He didn’t.

He really didn’t.

She let out a strangled noise because he really, really didn’t just say that.

Her cheeks flushed. Her breathing grew fast. And then she launched herself at him.

Okay, in her mind she launched herself at him, and pummeled him to a bloody pulp. In reality, she glared at him then lifted the breakfast tray onto his lap before sliding herself off the bed.

“Pippa? Pippa, where are you going?” Tavi asked.

“Stay there all of you. Do not follow me.” She stomped out of the room. Her head thumped with each movement. She seethed as she moved down the passage. She wasn’t watching where she was going, though, so when she slammed into a solid wall, she found herself falling backward with a cry.

Two large hands grabbed her upper arms, halting her fall.

“Pippa?” Kassim’s calm, cool voice soothed over her frayed edges.

“Pippa, come back here,” Tavi commanded.

He could take his demands and shove them.

“Poppet, wait!” Aric called out. “You shouldn’t be out of bed.”

“Pippa. Here,” Matek commanded.

“Pippa?” Kassim asked. “Is everything all right?”

“No,” she whispered. “Can you get me out of here? I need some space.”

“Of course.”

To her shock, he lifted her up into his arms. She buried her face into his chest. Yes, he was her boss. But right then, he was her hero too.

“Kassim, let me have her,” Tavi demanded.

She tightened her hold on him.

“That doesn’t appear to be what she wants,” Kassim said coolly.

“Kassim, I need to talk to her.” There was a desperation in Tavi’s voice that made her feel guilty. But why should she feel guilty? He’d been telling them about her desires, the noises she made . . . she’d been humiliated.

How dare he? Sure, maybe she liked the danger of nearly being caught. But it didn’t mean she wanted other people to know the details. Especially not Matek and Aric.

Is that true, though? Do you object to them knowing? Or is it that you wish they had personal experience?

She didn’t know. Her feelings for them were almost crushing her. They were confusing her. She knew that she could never be anything to them.

And it felt like Tavi was toying with her. With her feelings for him.

It felt mean. When she knew Tavi wasn’t mean.

She just couldn’t figure out what was going on.

“Give her a moment,” Kassim ordered. “All of you. Matek, you too.”

They all made protesting noises, but when Kassim turned away it didn’t sound like they were following. She sighed with relief. Kassim held her close, keeping her safe.

God, it was a nice feeling. She wished she could just sink into the safety of his arms forever. But she had to stand on her own.

Always on her own.

“You can put me down.”

“I could.”

But he didn’t.

“I want to go home, to my cottage.”

“That’s not happening,” he told her. He stopped to open a door. She turned her head, looking around as he carried her into a bedroom.

It was rather stark and plain. Just a bed and a sitting area with a couple of chairs and a wooden coffee table. Extremely tidy. Didn’t take many guesses to surmise that this was Kassim’s bedroom.

But why bring her in here?

Maybe because it’s the one place that the others wouldn’t attempt to infiltrate?

To her surprise, instead of setting her down, he sat in one of the armchairs with her on his lap.

It was nice.

But weird. She stiffened. She shouldn’t enjoy this. Right?

Right.

Except she really wanted to. She wanted to push her face into his neck and breathe him in. Just rest her eyes. Because she was so tired.

“Relax, Miss Jones.”

“Sorry, sir.”

“You can call me Kassim,” his voice was soft. More relaxed than she’d ever heard it sound before.

But that isn’t your relationship with him, is it?

“You can call me Pippa.”

He brushed the hair from her face. “I think I’d rather call you tamiya.”

Tamiya? But didn’t that mean . . .

“It closely translates to ‘my sweetheart,’ ” he told her. “But if you would rather I didn’t, then that is fine.”

Oh shoot. He was sounding all stiff and formal again.

“No, no, it’s not that. It’s just. Why would you want to call me tamiya?”

His sweetheart.

Holy hotness, Batman.

“Truth is, I’ve wanted to call you that for a long time. But I haven’t been brave enough.”

“You? Not brave?” She leaned back to look up at him. “But you’re always brave.”

His face was soft. There was something there, in his eyes. Something that she couldn’t dare to believe in, because if she did and she was wrong . . .

Lord, she wished she’d done her hair, put on some make-up.

Brushed her teeth.

Why hadn’t she brushed her teeth!

There was a loud booming noise and before she could stop herself, she whimpered and buried her face back into his chest.

“What’s wrong?”

Damn, his voice was so sweet she couldn’t believe this was the same man.

“The noise scared me.”

Whoops. That was her Little voice.

“You don’t need to be scared of anything when I’m around, tamiya. I’ll protect you from anything that would harm you.”

Wow. That sounded almost like he was making a vow. A promise. There was no way he could promise that. But it was tempting to believe in him. If anyone was capable of keeping her safe, it would be this man.

And his brothers.

Oh, Lord. She was in trouble. Her feelings for them all were something she couldn’t control.

“Do storms frighten you?”

“Not really. I usually like watching the lightning. I just don’t like if it gets really dark or the power goes out. I had a bad experience once.”

“What happened?”

“I woke up and there was a storm. I got up to watch it, the lightning was so pretty. But the thunder was really loud and it was scaring me so I tried to turn on the lights. But they didn’t work.”

“My poor girl. Did you go find your parents?”

“My mum died when I was four. And my dad, he didn’t like to be bothered when he was sleeping.”

He tightened his arms around her. “What?”

She shrugged. “It was okay. I mean, it wasn’t like there were real monsters in the room. I knew monsters didn’t exist. I was a big girl. I cuddled up under the blankets with Cranky and sung songs to myself until I fell back asleep. I’m just always worried with every storm that there will be a power outage. And now, I don’t really like the dark that much.”

She hoped he didn’t think she was a coward.

“A lot of people don’t like the dark. There’s no shame in that,” he reassured her. “How old were you?”

“Nearly six.”

He took in a sharp breath.

“Oh, am I too heavy for you?” She blushed. Silly girl.You can’t stay on his lap just because you like the feel of him holding you.

“Stay where you are,” he commanded in a firm voice, tightening his hold on her.

She froze.

“Sorry, tamiya,” he added. “I didn’t mean to sound so stern. But you could never be too heavy for me.”

“I’m not small,” she said, remembering all the times that Satan’s bride had made remarks about her weight or clothes.

He cupped the side of her face, tilting her head back slightly. “I don’t want to hear any of that nonsense, understand? You’re beautiful. Curvy and sweet.”

She blushed. Was he complimenting her? Kassim?

“I . . . I . . .”

His lips curled up in a smile. “Have I rendered you speechless?”

She gulped.

He ran a finger down her cheek. Holy. Shit.

“I’ve been a coward.”

“You’re not a coward,” she defended.

“I’m afraid when it comes to you I have been or I would have declared how I feel for you sooner.”

Declared his feelings for her? Did that mean . . .

“How you feel for me?” she asked. Maybe she was still dreaming? Or was she still unconscious? Heck, that would be a more believable explanation than anything that had happened.

He closed his eyes for a moment, looking pained. “My timing isn’t ideal. You’re supposed to be staying quiet. You’re not supposed to be storming out of rooms because my brothers obviously did something to upset you. And I really shouldn’t be talking to you about this right now.”

“I’d say now is as good a time as any,” she said in a croaky sounding voice. “Does this have anything to do with why I’m sitting on your lap right now?”

He huffed out a laugh. “Yes, it does. It means that I want you close so I can hold onto you in case you try to run away from me.”

“I’m not sure I’m brave enough to run away from you, sir.”

“I think you’re brave enough to do anything.” He cupped the side of her face and her breath left her in a whoosh. “Miss Jones, I have feelings for you.”

“What sort of feelings? Do I annoy you? Amuse you? Do you want to throw something at my head or do you want—”

“To kiss you.” He leaned down and pressed his lips to hers. It was soft and fleeting and oh so delicious.

She let out a murmur of protest when he withdrew.

“More,” she demanded.

He smiled and it lightened his whole face, made those worry lines disappear. He looked younger, freer.

“Soon,” he promised. “Once we’ve talked and you’re fully recovered.”

“I’m feeling fine.” And she wanted to kiss him.

Right. You want to kiss him with your morning breath.

“But I can wait,” she added hastily.

He raised his eyebrows. “Hmm, maybe I wasn’t doing it right then.”

“You were, believe me. But, I, um . . . what does this mean? I mean, you wanting me. Can you do that?”

“What? Want you?” His eyebrows rose, making her feel silly. “I believe that all parts of me work properly.”

She blushed. Urgh. “I don’t mean like that.” Sheesh, she could feel that all his parts were working just fine because they were currently pressed against her ass. And holy hotness, Batman, she had a feeling his parts were going to be very, very impressive.

“Is that what this is? Sex? You want to fuck me? I don’t think that would be a good idea.”

He gave her a stern look. “Do you really think that if it was just about sex that I would bring you into my bedroom, sit you on my knee and tell you I have feelings for you?”

“Well, no, but I’m trying to understand what’s going on.”

“I’m doing it again. You know, I consider myself a good communicator. Except when it comes to you, it seems.”

“Sir, please,” she begged.

“I want you in my life, so do my brothers. As our woman, as our wife.”

She stared up at him. Then she burst into nervous giggles. But he didn’t join her. Nope, his face remained ultra-serious.

“Not precisely the reaction I was expecting from my proposal.”

“That wasn’t a proposal,” she blurted out.

“Hmm. No, Aric would tell me that I am not being romantic enough. That I can’t treat this like business. That would be simpler.”

“It would be simpler if you could make proposing to me a business deal?” she asked in a strangled voice.

“Yes. Because then I would know what to say to make you understand that this isn’t a joke. I want you. They want you.”

“But if it’s just sex—”

“It’s not just sex, woman,” he growled.

She froze. She’d never heard that tone of voice from him. Mr. Cool, Calm and Collected sounded almost frustrated.

And very dominant.

A shiver ran through her. Fuck, dominant men just did it for her. That’s why she’d fallen for her ex-fiance, Gary. He’d seemed dominant. Unfortunately, he was just a jerk.

“But why me? I don’t understand.”

He gave her a thoughtful look. “You don’t see your own worth? I didn’t think of this scenario. You always seem so confident and put together that it didn’t occur to me that you’d . . .”

“Be insecure about some stuff? Yeah, well, I’m the daughter of a plumber. He was the best damn plumber in Auckland, but I’m not royalty.”

“So? We don’t need to marry royalty.”

“Yeah, but I’m like so far from royalty it’s not funny! I can’t even eat something without spilling it down my front.”

“Hmm, so you need a bib. I see.” He nodded, totally mocking her, the asshole. Where was this sense of humor coming from? And she wasn’t finding it funny!

“Right, because that will work when you’re having some fancy party and I trip over my feet, crash into some important dignitary and make him go splat.”

“So you need to wear flats, always hold one of our hands, and stay away from anyone who would go splat. I’m certain that will be easy.”

“You’re not listening to me, Kassim.”

“No, you have lots of silly reasons for not wanting to be with us and there is only one thing that you could tell me that would make me back off.”

“I’m not Escanaian,” she said desperately. She knew what he needed to hear to back off. Only she didn’t want to say it.

Because it would be a total lie.

“Neither is my mother. She’s from England. My fathers’ met her at University and brought her back here with them. It caused some major issues, since her father was a duke and wasn’t impressed at his own daughter being captured. Even by three wealthy princes.”

“Oh my God.”

“The international media went insane. They still do when my parents go out in public overseas. I think that’s why they decided on an early retirement to one of our islands. We don’t become kings until their death, but essentially my brothers and I run Escana.”

“But your mum was the daughter of a duke. I’m the daughter of a plumber. There’s a big difference.”

“Nobody cares where you came from or what your family did. They only care that you are a good person. That you love us and that we love you. Escana is not like England.”

It still didn’t mean that she would make a good princess. Let alone a wife. To all of them.

“Your brothers, they . . . I mean . . . they want me too?” Well, she kind of had an idea that they liked her. But not . . . nothing that serious.

“We’ve been wooing you for the last few months.”

She gaped up at him. “What?”

“Obviously we weren’t doing a very good job since you had no clue.”

“Wooing me?”

“Yes. And it’s my fault that you didn’t realize what we were doing. The others would have told you. Well, Aric and Tavi, anyway. Not sure Matek would have acted any other way than he has been.”

“The following me around?”

Mind. Blown.

“Yes, it’s his way of protecting you, I guess. He just wants to make sure that you’re safe. He’s not doing it to scare you.”

“It doesn’t scare me. I mean, it took some getting used to. But it’s not like he follows me into the bathroom or anything. Well, he didn’t before this morning.”

“Matek followed you into the bathroom?” Kassim asked, looking shocked.

“Um, well, more like he carried me into the bathroom and then didn’t want to leave.”

“And that is why you were angry? Understandable.”

“Actually, no, that wasn’t it,” she told him.

He raised his eyebrows in surprise.

“I’m not worried about Matek’s overprotectiveness. I would like to know why he hulked out this morning, though.”

“Ahh, that was the reason you were trying to get away from them? I know that was frightening, and I was worried he might have hurt you as he wasn’t himself. Instead, you were able to calm him down. Quite remarkable.”

“Well, thanks, but that wasn’t the reason I needed to get away from them either.”

“Then what was it?”

“Umm. Well.” She rubbed at her temple, but not because of her concussion. More that she was trying to organize her thoughts.

They wanted her. Not just for sex. They’d been wooing her.

All of them.

They wanted her to be theirs.

Holy. Shit.

“But we haven’t even dated or anything.”

“You know that is not how relationships here work, Miss Jones.”

Miss Jones, huh? Only he didn’t say that like he usually did. There was a sexy feel to the formal title. Which sounded crazy, but damn, how many times had she fantasized about him bending her over his desk in the office and spanking her ass because he’d found a mistake in her work?

Then ordering her to her knees and . . .

“Miss Jones? Miss Jones?” he queried as another boom of thunder sounded. Were they getting closer together?

“Um, yes?”

“Are you focused on what I am saying?”

Not. At. All.

“Absolutely, sir.”

Oh, there was definite heat in his gaze. Had he had the same fantasies? Did he get off on her calling him sir? Was he actually a Dom?

Okay, if her mind kept exploding then she would have no brain left.

“Then would you care to repeat back what I said.” It wasn’t a question.

“Umm, there is no point in repeating it,” she said. “You already said it once, after all.”

“Really? And what do you have to say about what I just said?”

“I say, yes.” It was a longshot but maybe yes was the answer? Shoot, she should have asked for a multiple-choice option. She rocked multiple choice.

“There is no multiple-choice option for you, tamiya,” he told her in a silky-smooth voice that put her on high alert.

Abort. Abort.

You’re in big, big trouble.

“It’s all or nothing. You don’t get to choose.”

Her breathing quickened. She had a feeling they weren’t talking about the same thing.

“And I’m surprised you’d say yes.”

“What?”

“That you’d say yes to marrying us all tomorrow. I’m surprised, but also very pleased.”

“But I . . . I . . . I didn’t know . . . I mean . . . slime balls!”

“Slime balls? That’s cute.”

“I’m not cute.”

“You’re very cute with your cute nose, your cute freckles, your cute hair and your very cute giggle. What isn’t cute is not listening when I am speaking to you. Then lying and saying that you were listening.”

“So you didn’t ask me to marry you all tomorrow?” She slumped against him in relief. Although there was a fair amount of disappointment in there too. And who could blame her? Marrying them would be a fairytale come to life. But was it really realistic? She hadn’t been able to please one man, how could she please four? How would it all work?

“No, I didn’t. And you weren’t listening.”

“Sorry.” She dropped her gaze as another boom of thunder sounded. To her surprise, there was no anxiety bubbling in her stomach. She guessed she really did trust him to take care of her.

“That’s all right. I understand it might be hard to take this all in. Especially right now. My timing isn’t good.”

Oh, that was more understanding than she’d expected to get from him.

“But lying about listening, that’s very bad.”

Ooh, was it? A shiver ran through her.

No, wait. She shouldn’t find that sexy. Should she?

Batman, help me.

Why did he never come to her rescue?

Rude.

“Bad?”

“Yes. Lying is never allowed.”

“Sorry, sir,” she said. She kept her eyes on her hands.

“Look at me,” he commanded.

She moved her gaze to his.

“I know this might seem rushed to you. But we’ve been thinking of you as ours for months. We’ve been trying to find ways to court you, not very successfully. At least for some of us.” He grimaced. “So I don’t want you to think this is some whim. Or something I’ve just thought of. Or that it’s just about sex.”

“Okay, I’m just trying to catch up.” And figure out what they saw in her.

“And you are not Escanaian. You need to date us in order to believe in our feelings for you. All right, we will do that.”

“Do . . . do what?”

“What we just talked about. Dating.”

“We’re going to date?” she asked.

They’d gone from him having feelings to a proposal to dating?

“But I’m your personal assistant.”

“That means you cannot date me?”

Was that amusement in his face?

“It would be unprofessional,” she said primly. What was wrong with her? Why was she fighting this so hard? She wanted him. Wanted all of them.

But what if she couldn’t live up to their expectations?

She was scared.

And what if you get everything you desire? You won’t know without taking a chance.

You can’t be a coward all the time.

“Simple fix. You’re fired.”

“What?” Panic started to strangle her.

“You’re fired. You are no longer my personal assistant.” He smiled at her. Actually smiled at her. The bastard.

“B-but you can’t just fire me. What will I do? I don’t have enough savings to last more than a few months. There aren’t that many jobs here I can do.” Panic had her nearly in tears and pain slashed at her head.

“Ow, ow, ow.”

“Tamiya, I didn’t mean that to upset you. You’re fired because you don’t need that job.”

“But I do need it. You don’t get it. You’ve never been on your own, with no back-up, you’ve never had your bank account go into the negative and wondered where you would find money for next month’s rent. I don’t have anyone to help me.”

“You do. That’s what you don’t realize. You have us.”

“And if this doesn’t work out. Then what?” She winced, taking shallow breaths.

“Your head is hurting you.”

“Y-yes.”

“We shouldn’t be talking of this. Listen to me, you can also remain as my assistant, all right?”

“P-promise?”

“I promise,” he soothed. “But not for the next week or so, yes? While you get better.”

“But you need me.”

“We are going to England soon anyway. You are owed vacation time. You’ll let us look after you, pamper you.”

“Will you fire me if you decide you don’t want me?”

“Your job is safe no matter what. Never again will you be concerned with making rent.” He said it like it was a promise. She started breathing easier. Kassim didn’t say things he didn’t mean. She knew that.

He wanted her. He thought this could work. Even though she still thought she was dreaming, she wanted to believe.

But what about the others? She needed to talk to them as well. She was starting to feel like she’d overreacted to what Tavi said earlier. If they were all interested in her. Seriously interested, then she got why he said that in front of his brothers.

Gently, he massaged her neck. “Everything will be all right, tamiya. You will come to England with us. After my meeting in London, we’re all going to our country estate. There, we can date you, convince you that this can work.”

She really wished it could work. More than anything.

“And you’re sure you all want this?”

“We do,” he confirmed.

“And it’s not just about sex?”

“Definitely not. We want you for our wife, Pippa.”

“There’s one other thing. I’m a Little,” she blurted out, then she tensed, waiting for his reply.

“I know.”

“So then you . . . wait, what? You know? How do you know? I’m usually pretty careful about keeping that quiet. I wouldn’t want to do anything to embarrass you.”

“Embarrass me?” He gave her a shocked look.

“When I took this job, your old assistant told me that I would be a face of the royal family and to always behave appropriately. That I couldn’t do anything to embarrass you. And I know that you take your job very seriously.”

“That doesn’t mean I would ever be embarrassed by you. By your needs. You’ve been suppressing your Little side because of me?”

He sounded horrified.

“Well, yes. But, I mean, I’m not ever going to be comfortable with people seeing me like that. Even with Vivi, I still hold back. I’m . . . I’m a lot younger than she is, I think.”

“Really?”

“I mean, not all the time. I like watching cartoons, especially Batman. I used to watch that with my Dad. I like playing with toy cars and trucks. I think crocodiles are cool. And I love coloring in. But sometimes, especially when I’m anxious, I . . .”

He brushed back her hair. “You what?”

“I like to suck on a pacifier,” she blurted out, bracing herself for his reaction. “And I like to wear onesies with drop-seats.”

“Well, drop-seats do make it easier to go to the bathroom. And to spank you.”

She gaped up at him. “Wait, are you saying . . . are you a Daddy Dom?”

“I’ve been a Dom for years. I’ve always been discreet about it, though. As have my brothers. I never thought I would find someone special who would be my Little. I was willing to forgo that part of myself. Now, I don’t need to.”

Because of her, he meant? Holy heck.

“And the others are Daddy Doms too?”

“Yes, Aric sometimes acts more like a Little.”

She had to smile. “He has another side to him as well, though. I’ve seen him acting rather, um, dominant.”

“Have you? It’s not a side he shows often. Aric is the easygoing one, but you’re right, he can actually be dominant when he needs to be. We can work out what you need from us and vice versa later, once we’ve started dating and you’re more comfortable with us.”

“You’re really okay with that?”

“Tamiya, why wouldn’t I be? Do you use a bottle?”

“I haven’t but I . . .”

“You’d like to.”

“Yes,” she whispered.

“Good girl for telling me. That was brave.”

“I wish I was braver. I have a book filled with pictures of places I’d like to go and I’m too scared to visit any of them.”

He gently rubbed her neck. Oh man, that felt so good. She could feel herself falling into sleep.

“You seem pretty fearless to me. You moved here on your own. A strange country with no family.”

“That was more out of necessity than anything. After my mum died, it was just me and my dad. He died of a heart attack when I was twenty. I miss him a lot.”

“He raised an amazing daughter.”

“You’re turning on the charm today.”

“Since my previous attempts to woo you have failed, I thought I would try something else.”

“I don’t need you to change who you are for me. I don’t need any of this stuff, either. I just need you. And . . .”

“My brothers?”

“Yes. Although I’m mad at Tavi.”

“What did he do?”

The question was so soft that she nearly missed the hint of menace in it.

“He told the others about our . . . um . . . our . . . ”

“Your rendezvous with him?”

“You know?”

“Yes. I was not impressed when he told us.”

She stiffened.

“But not because of anything you were doing,” he soothed.

“You’re not mad I was doing that with him? I don’t even know how it happened. It just started and it was like I was under some sort of spell. He’d order me to do something and it was like I couldn’t say no.”

“You felt like you could not refuse?” he asked. “Like you had no freewill?”

“No, I knew I could say no.”

“Good. Have you ever had a relationship with a Dom?”

“No. I only found out about age play when I moved here and it just spoke to me on so many levels. After my mum died when I was five, I grew up pretty quick. My dad worked a lot and he didn’t have time to raise me. Most of the toys I had were old ones of his. And I . . . I guess I kind of took over running the household.”

“From the time you were five?” he asked, aghast.

“I went to school. But yeah, I learned pretty early on how to use the microwave to heat up pre-packaged meals. And how to work the vacuum cleaner and make the beds.”

He muttered something under his breath. “You will never have a microwave meal or use a vacuum cleaner again.”

“I didn’t have a bad life. My father loved me. He was just busy. I know he loved my mother a lot. He was likely trying to get over her death as best he could.”

“By neglecting you?”

“It wasn’t like that.” She worried at her lower lip.

“Shh. Okay, I will stop talking about your father.” He released her lip from her teeth. “So you were angry with Tavi because he told Aric and Matek about the two of you being together?”

“Not exactly. It’s just he said something about the noises I make and how wet I got and it was . . . it was embarrassing. I didn’t know the way you all felt. And it made me feel like I was just, just a plaything or something. I overreacted. I was over-sensitive.”

She could feel the way he had stiffened. “No, I don’t believe you were. In fact, I will be having words with Tavi about this.”

“Don’t,” she begged. “I did overreact. He probably didn’t mean to make me feel embarrassed. My ex-fiancé was screwing one of my closest friends behind my back for the entire time we were dating and all our friends knew. And afterward, one of my so-called friends told me that he was always complaining about what a wet fish I was in the bedroom. That he could barely get it up for me. And I was completely humiliated. I know Tavi wasn’t saying anything bad about me. And it wasn’t like he was talking about me behind my back. I just . . . I don’t know. I’m not thinking properly at the moment. I’ll talk to him.”

He sighed. “All right. You should be back in bed.”

But she didn’t want to move.

“Can I watch the storm for a while, Sir?”

This time the Sir was more than just a title for her boss. She wondered if he could tell? But his gaze often heated when she called him that, so maybe she’d been calling him sir all along because she’d recognized him as her Dominant?

Oh Lord. She was going to make her head hurt if she started to think like that.

“All right, you may watch the storm for a short while, provided you eat and take your medication.”

“My tummy doesn’t feel like eating.”

“Okay. How about a protein drink?”

“All right. I think I could handle that.”

He rose and set her down where he’d been sitting. Then he grabbed the other chair and carried it to the window.

“Oh, I could have done that, Sir.” She got to her feet.

After putting it down, he turned to give her a firm look. “Do I look like I need your help, Miss Jones? Do I appear infirm? Do you think because I’m a prince that I can’t carry a chair?”

“Umm, no, Sir. That’s not what I think at all.” He was very nicely muscled. And she didn’t think she’d ever seen him look sexier, despite how tired he appeared to be. His dark hair was slightly mussed and his silver-gray eyes were warm with heat and desire.

He was the only one with those eyes. Aric and Tavi had gorgeous brown eyes while Matek’s were light blue.

“Good. Because the day I need you to carry something for me will never come.”

Wow, this caveman side of him was a really good look.

“Yes, Sir. I promise I won’t ask if you need help carrying anything in future.”

“See that you don’t. You may sit here.”

So bossy. But she didn’t argue, moving over to sit in front of the window just as lightning flashed in the distance. Oh, that was so pretty.

“Can I open the window?” she asked.

“No.”

Bummer. She pouted.

“I don’t want you to get a chill.”

That was sweet. “I won’t get a chill. I feel fine. I like to feel the breeze.”

He sighed. “All right. But you have to have a blanket over you.” A blanket was tucked around her and she smiled up at him.

“Thank you, Sir.”

“You are welcome.” He opened the window slightly before disappearing out of the room.

He wasn’t gone long, just a minute or so. Then a small table was placed next to her. On it was a pre-packaged protein drink with a straw and a bottle of water. He undid the bottle of water and held it to her.

“I’m going to get some of my work and bring it back in here. Will you be all right while I’m gone?”

She nodded. “The thunder is dying off. I’ll be fine.”

“All right. I want you to drink all of that protein drink and water then you will be going back to bed, understand?”

“Yes, Sir.”

“Good girl. I’ll also get your medication from the other room. Is there anything else you want?”

“Um, can you get me Cranky? My crocodile?”

“Of course. I’ll be back soon. Stay there.”

She wasn’t planning on going anywhere.