Shelter (The Wanderers Book 4) Page 3

  He sighed. Of course she hadn’t. She was too worried about getting caught. And he couldn’t blame her. Women in his fucked-up world weren’t expected to enjoy sex. They were expected to lie down and take it.

  But Braylon knew better. Guys talked. He’d heard everything there was to know about sex at his parents’ country club by the time he was twelve. He’d seen porn. He’d also gone out of his way to educate himself so he could help Haley.

  “Okay, well, in another dimension than the one we currently live in, women have…things. Shit…” He scrubbed a hand down his face. “Dildos.” He needed to pull his shit together and spit it out. “Toys that resemble a man’s erection.”

  Her eyes widened. “Toys?”

  He nodded. “Yep. Sex toys. Women use them to make themselves feel good when they’re alone.”

  Her breath hitched. “What’s your point here, Bray?”

  “You need to stretch out your vagina, baby. If you don’t, no one is going to believe we’ve had sex.” There. He’d said it.

  She gasped. Not surprising. “With what?”

  “I stuck a dildo between your mattresses.”

  Yes, her eyes could get wider. She licked her lips.

  “You need to get it, push it inside you, and stretch yourself.” He flopped down onto his back and stared at the ceiling. “Fuck.” How the fucking hell was this where his life was? Why was he fucking explaining to his damn wife how to make it look like they’d had sex six months after their wedding?

  Her fingers stroked his arm. “Okay. I’ll do it.” Her voice was soft, but she was strong. Just like he knew she could be. He’d simply shocked her. Once she wrapped her head around what needed to be done, she could do it.

  He turned his head toward her, grabbed her hand, and brought her palm to his lips, kissing the tender skin.

  “Is it going to hurt?”

  “Yes.” No sense sugar-coating it. “At first. But do it anyway. Breathe through it. Try not to make any noise. Bite down on something or press your face into your pillow or something. The pain will only last a moment.”

  She nodded, looking stronger. “Okay.”

  “You’re so brave.”

  She shook her head. “I don’t feel brave. I hate this. My stomach is in knots.”

  “I know, but you can do this, baby. I’ll make sure a doctor inseminates you. Someone professional. Not my damn mother.”

  Her eyes shot wide again. “For the love of all that is holy, please, Bray. If you have even one shred of power here, use it for this.”

  “I will, baby.” He cupped her face, rolling onto his side to face her again. “Do what I’m asking you to do. Tonight. Now. As soon as I leave the room. Do it again tomorrow and the next day. Do it as often as you can before…”

  She nodded. “Okay.”

  “And, Hales…”

  “What?”

  “I’m going to warn Storm so he doesn’t burst into the room in case you make noise. Plus, he can make excuses for you if someone else hears.”

  She cringed. “I hate that. Storm? Really?”

  Braylon held his breath for a moment and released it. He held her gaze. Did she not realize Storm cared for her at least as much as Braylon did? And Riggs? Did she know about him too? Braylon wasn’t the only person in this fucked-up world protecting her. Making sure she remained safe.

  Haley had three men at her back. Braylon was lucky enough to get to spend the most time with her because he was presumably the one having sex with her, but she was never alone.

  For the first month, Braylon tried to ignore the way Riggs and Storm looked at Haley. He’d selfishly wanted her for himself, even though he didn’t own her any more than any other man on earth.

  It was about five weeks after their marriage that he and Riggs nearly came to blows one day. They’d been in the basement gym working out when Riggs casually asked how Haley was doing. Braylon had lost his temper and lashed out, telling Riggs it was none of his business.

  Riggs had held up both hands in surrender and said nothing, returning to his weights as if nothing had happened.

  After a few minutes of silent fuming, Braylon had pulled his shit together and faced his best friend in the world. “She’s pretty special,” he’d commented.

  “I know.” Riggs had held his gaze.

  “I don’t own her,” Braylon had admitted.

  Riggs had nodded. “I know that too.”

  “I haven’t…” Braylon had swallowed. “I mean, we haven’t…”

  “I figured.” Riggs smirked. “You’re not an asshole. And neither am I, so remember that.”

  Braylon had nodded, glancing at the door to make sure no one was eavesdropping. “If I ever figure out how to get out of this living hell, you with me? Us?”

  “You know I am.”

  “Good.”

  “We taking anyone else with us?” Riggs had asked casually.

  Braylon had sighed. “Yeah. Can’t leave him behind.” Storm would be with them too. Hell, they would need him. Braylon and Riggs could spend five hours a day in this gym and they wouldn’t have the street skills, life experiences, and enormous physique Storm had.

  “Does he know?”

  “Not yet.” Braylon had returned to his weights, but two days later, he’d confronted Storm, and ever since then the plan had been slowly coming together.

  Braylon was fucking lucky. He had two good men on his side. They would both do anything for Haley. Anything. They would protect her with their lives.

  They were undoubtedly jealous of the time Braylon got to spend with Haley. It was unavoidable. But they also knew Haley remained untouched, and that kept tempers from flaring.

  Braylon stared at his sweet wife now, wondering if she had a clue two other men wanted her as badly as he did. He reached for her hand and held it, stroking her knuckles. He wouldn’t bring up that subject tonight. She had enough to worry about, but he met her gaze and said, “Storm will protect you with his life, baby. You know that, right?”

  “Yes,” she whispered.

  “He can’t do that if he’s uninformed.”

  “Okay.” She glanced down. “Does Riggs know all this too?”

  “Yes, baby.” He watched her closely.

  She didn’t flinch. She simply sighed. “I guess I should have known.”

  “I don’t want you to feel like I tell them every detail about us, but…”

  She rolled her eyes and cocked her head to one side. “But you do. Tell them everything, I mean.”

  “Not everything. They aren’t privy to every damn conversation we have. But they have a right to know the important things.”

  “And the fact that you and I haven’t had sex is important?”

  “Yes,” he stated bluntly.

  “I’m not even going to ask why because I have too much to worry about right now, but be prepared to explain your reasoning further another day.”

  “Okay.”

  “Now, get out of here before you get caught in bed with your wife.” She gave him a small smile. “I have this sex toy I need to familiarize myself with before I go to sleep.”

  He groaned. The thought of her lying here, legs spread open, dildo pressed inside her… Fuck. It made him want to scream.

  And worse? Poor Storm was going to have to stand outside this room, much closer to her than Braylon would be after he left. The man would undoubtedly acquire an extra sense in an effort to strain to hear even the slightest noise coming from this room.

  Fuck. Now Braylon’s cock was hard. He needed to get out of here fast. He slid off the side of the bed, grabbed Haley’s hand again, and kissed her palm. He’d been more intimate with her tonight than any previous encounter. And still, he was leaving her.

  Leaving the woman he was in love with to familiarize herself with a damn dildo because he hadn’t been inside her himself. Again—fucked up. There were no words for the level of fucked up his life was.

  And the shocking part of all this was that he knew it and wanted out of this situation more than he wanted his next breath. He wanted to get the fuck out of this house, this city, this state. And he wanted to take the people he held dearest with him.

  Haley, Riggs, and Storm.

  They would escape. He promised himself he would ensure it. But there was no way he could make that happen before the fucking doctor tried to get his wife pregnant with another man’s damn sperm.

  CHAPTER 4

  Storm stood rigid in the hallway outside Haley’s room. He did this every night, guarding her. Some nights were more stressful than others, especially the nights Braylon visited his wife. His friend had been in there too long. Luckily, no one had come looking for him.

  It was late. At this time of night, they all took bigger risks. It was rare for Lorena, Bray’s mother, to be up at this hour, and Storm had never known William, Bray’s father, to be seen after ten pm. The man liked his beauty rest.

  Storm covered for Braylon often. If he got caught, God only knew what would happen to him. But Bray was one of his best friends, and he’d do anything for the man.

  In an unexpected twist of events, Storm had a fucking soft spot for Haley. Riggs did too. It was impossible not to adore her. She was sunshine and all that was good in this post-apocalyptic universe.

  She wasn’t sunny tonight though. He’d seen her face at the dinner table when she’d learned of her fate. He’d watched her closely, his heart pounding, forcing himself to act like it didn’t matter. For outward appearances, Storm needed to appear to have no interest whatsoever in what happened to Haley. It wasn’t his job. His job was to guard her.

  Storm was a big man, and blessed because of it. When he first came to this estate, he’d been nine years old. His father had been hired as the groundskeeper. Riggs and Bray had been seven and spent most of their time with their tutor, Marian.

  With all the insane things happening in the world and even within this household, Lorena Hanson wanted Braylon to be well-educated. So, she’d hired a tutor two years before Storm’s arrival. Three important things fell into place.

  One, the tutor was a woman, nearly unheard of since women weren’t permitted to be educated in The Republic. Marian had a master’s degree in education. She’d been educated before the world had flipped on its axis, and she’d come highly recommended, so the Hansons had permitted her to move in to teach the boys.

  Two, Marian had a daughter. She was five years younger than the boys, a baby when Marian arrived. Marian and Lorena struck up a deal. Instead of Marian receiving a salary for her work, she was given room and board and permitted to keep her child with her until puberty, also unheard of among the aristocracy. Marian was damn lucky. So was Harmony. Although that was debatable since the poor child had been taken from her mother at twelve and never seen again.

  Three, Storm had been invited to join Riggs and Braylon when they did their lessons. A godsend. Storm’s father sat down with him that first night, looked him in the eyes, and made it perfectly clear that getting educated was a gift few people of his class had available to them in this day and age.

  Storm had understood the importance of his father’s words and made it his mission to catch up with the other boys, working his ass off late at night until he too could read and write and do math at the same level as them. If he ever got out of this hellhole, at least he would have a useful education that might get him out of a bind someday.

  Storm stared at the door, hoping Braylon would emerge soon before someone else wandered by. Lorena hated that Braylon appeared to have befriended his wife. It annoyed her immensely. She sure wouldn’t approve of him consoling his wife on the night they’d all found out Haley would be impregnated by the man being held prisoner in the basement.

  Jesus.

  Storm rubbed his temples. Lorena was unpredictable. She often made no sense. The same woman who bought Marian twelve precious years with her daughter and allowed Storm to receive an education alongside her own son also ran this estate like a ruthless matriarch.

  Storm was smart enough to know that most homes in this enormous, wealthy, heavily guarded, gated community were not run by women. They were ruled by men. No matter what age their wives were, the women were expected to keep a low profile and stick to sewing and cooking to entertain themselves.

  Not this house. William Hanson had no interest in running a household. He gladly let his wife do whatever she wanted and paid little attention—not just to her decisions but the woman herself.

  From Storm’s perspective, Lorena had a God complex and simply enjoyed the power. She was probably jealous of the fact that Braylon had befriended his wife since she’d undoubtedly never known kindness from William, or it had been so long she didn’t remember.

  Lorena also spouted nonsense about Braylon being weak and too tender-hearted, and she took every opportunity to torment Haley to punish her son. It was vile and unnecessary, and made Storm want to punch a wall most days.

  He didn’t though. They were all playing a game. A very important game that wouldn’t end until they managed to come up with a way to escape this estate and never come back.

  Years had ticked by while Storm, Braylon, and Riggs plotted their escape. They hadn’t considered how much more difficult and precarious their situation would be with the addition of Haley.

  They hadn’t planned on liking her or falling in love with her. She added a new level of danger to their plans. They would never leave her behind.

  Storm pursed his lips, thinking back on the moment he’d stepped into the kitchen last night as a man was being forced down the basement stairs. The man was about Braylon’s size, but Storm hadn’t known more than that yet. The guy had been wearing a black hood.

  The idea that he’d been brought here to impregnate Haley was bone-chilling. Storm’s heart was still pounding at the thought of anyone touching Haley for any reason.

  Hell, it was difficult to stand guard outside Haley’s door while Bray spent time with her. He never stayed more than twenty minutes. At nineteen minutes, Storm always gave one soft knock on the door to remind him to get out.

  It was barbaric. Bray’s job was to get his wife pregnant. According to science, that shouldn’t take him more than twenty minutes. He wasn’t supposed to linger and ensure Haley enjoyed herself. Her job was to carry the heir. Nothing else. Pleasure wasn’t on the docket.

  Too much time had gone by tonight, far more than twenty minutes, but circumstances were different today. Bray had a job to do in there and he wouldn’t leave until he’d ensured Haley understood what her part was and calmed her down.

  Finally, the door opened. Bray silently stepped into the corridor, shutting the door as softly as humanly possible.

  Storm blew out a breath and glanced both ways down the quiet hallway. “You took too long,” he hissed, relieved.

  Bray ran a shaking hand through his hair. He looked like he was on the verge of either punching a matching hole in the wall with Storm or perhaps crying. “Fuck you,” he muttered.

  Neither of them was angry with the other. They were simply stressed and furious with the situation.

  Storm forced himself to calm down as he glanced at the door. “How’d it go?” he whispered.

  “About how you’d expect.”

  “Will she do it?”

  Bray sighed. “I don’t know. She said she would.” He spun around, his hands on his head. They were taking a risk standing here talking, but not as high as if Bray was caught inside the room.

  Storm could come up with a dozen reasons why he might be chatting with Bray late at night. Explaining why his friend was consorting with his wife would be more difficult.

  Now that they all understood Lorena’s game plan and timetable it made more sense why she’d recently stopped encouraging Bray to visit his wife’s room. Lorena assumed Bray was infertile and she couldn’t see any reason for Bray to continue having sex with his wife if it wasn’t producing an heir.

  “I hate this,” Bray hissed as quietly as possible. “I fucking hate it.” He pointed at the door. “That’s my goddamn wife. I married her. I don’t care that I didn’t know her that day. She’s mine now to care for and I’m breaking her heart.”

  Storm swallowed hard. In some respects, he got the better deal when it came to Haley. He rarely left her side. He didn’t get nearly as much alone time as Bray, but he got the pleasure of watching her, staring at her.

  Bray’s words made him flinch. It was true Haley had been brought into this home to provide an heir for the Hanson family, but Storm knew she was just as much his as Bray’s. Bray knew it too.

  Hell, she belonged to Riggs also. Riggs even got alone time with Haley. Sometimes as much as he wanted. Why? The reason made Storm growl deep in his throat. He understood why. Because Lorena didn’t give a fuck who impregnated Haley as long as someone did.

  Alas, Bray’s crazy mother had no idea that no one was having sex with Haley. No one had even touched her.

  Storm was beyond aware of the reason he didn’t have the same privilege as Bray and Riggs. In many households, the bodyguard for the young wife had just as much access to the woman as her own husband.

  Storm had one unfortunate characteristic that kept him from being granted such liberties. He was black. Oddly enough, no one in this post-apocalyptic world cared much about skin color. What they cared about was appearances. Lorena wanted the world to believe her own son was capable of providing an heir. If the actual father was Riggs—or apparently the poor bastard in the basement—so be it. But eyebrows would rise if the baby was clearly not Bray’s. It would put a stain on their reputation.

  Bray stared at the door. “Can you just…?”

  Storm nodded. “I’ve got this. Go to bed. Get some sleep.”

  “Why should I be granted sleep? Haley certainly won’t be sleeping,” Bray pointed out.

  Storm cringed. He was well-aware. He couldn’t imagine what was going through Haley’s mind right now. No, that wasn’t true. He could totally imagine. That’s what was tearing him up inside.

  He set a hand on Bray’s shoulder. “I’ll check on her in a bit,” he reassured his friend. It was the only thing he could do.