Have a Little Faith

by Dixie Lynn Dwyer

  She placed one hand over Hunt’s and the other over Worin’s thumb as he smoothed it along her tattoo. “I like daisies. I should go get those beers for you guys and move it along. It’s so busy tonight,” she said and stepped from their caresses and felt unnerved and aroused once again. She smiled at them as Worin held her gaze with that serious, hard expression of his.

  * * * *

  “Damn, she looks incredible, and did you feel a sensation when we were both touching her?” Hunt asked Worin.

  He nodded. “We’ve been feeling that and making sure we keep feeling it as we take every opportunity we can to touch her together. Jesus, she looks hot tonight. Her ass in those shorts is both pissing me off and turning me on,” Louis said and then looked around the place. It really was busy. A few minutes later she returned just as three women walked by and flirted. Louis and the team blew them off and Faith worried her bottom lip as she placed the beers down. Louis immediately slid his arm around her waist as she placed the last beer down in front of him. She had to place her hand on his shoulder so she didn’t lose her balance.

  He held her gaze. “We want to spend some time with you outside of Harper’s. What do you say to lunch or dinner tomorrow? You’re off, right?” he asked and squeezed her hip.

  She stared down into his eyes and her gorgeous hazel green eyes sparkled. “I might have plans with Candice for lunch.”

  He squinted. “I thought you weren’t happy with her and argued after that night here.”

  She swallowed hard and it was like she thought about that night and what was revealed to them. He pulled her closer and her lips parted. He slid his palm a little lower, nearly to her ass.

  “Louis.” She gripped his shoulder, her dainty, small hands barely squeezing through his hard muscles.

  “We want to spend time with you.”

  “Maybe later in the day then. I’m trying to make an effort to forgive Candice and understand what’s going on in her life. I‘m afraid she’s making some mistakes and I’m hoping to talk to her and maybe give some advice.”

  “You made plans with her already?” he asked.

  She nodded. “Lunch in Benter.”

  “Then do dinner with us later in the day,” Voight said and she turned to look at him and Louis slid his palm along her ass and hip to where her shorts ended and her thigh was. He caressed it and used his thumb to trail underneath the material of her shorts.

  “Okay, but I usually don’t eat out a lot.”

  “You can have dinner at our place. We’ll grill some chicken and steaks, and whatever you like,” Hunt told her.

  “Okay,” she said.

  Louis pulled her closer to him. “Seal it with a kiss, baby,” he said, not only shocking her but himself.

  “Louis?”

  “Give me some sugar, darling,” he teased and winked.

  Her face went flush and then she lowered toward his lips and kissed him softly. Louis thought he might lose his mind. Her lips were soft, sweet and he smiled. “It’s a date. You call us when you’re finished up with Candice and on your way to our place.” She nodded and walked away.

  They all watched her.

  “Holy fuck, my heart is racing,” Hunt admitted.

  “Mine, too,” Voight said. “That was smooth, Louis. Really smooth, and the seal it with a kiss thing? Jesus.” Voight shook his head and then took a sip from his bottle of Heineken.

  Louis licked his lower lip. “She tastes incredible. She’s so damn sweet,” he said to them and then looked and felt serious.

  “What’s wrong?” Worin asked him. Louis didn’t say a word for a few seconds.

  “We don’t deserve her. She’s young, gorgeous, less experienced in a whole lot of ways,” he said and looked at Voight.

  “We can’t deny what we’re feeling, or this attraction. Hell, we’ve been coming out to Harper’s the last two weeks just to see her and talk. Everyone else we blow off,” Voight said and they chuckled. Louis looked for Faith, but then he saw the Sheriff, Athena, Chase, Fox, and Culter arrive along with a few other men and women they all knew. They headed right for them once people greeted the Sheriff and his woman hello, and then they pulled up two other tables.

  “What’s going on?” Kane asked as Athena sat in the chair and smiled and said hello. She had two other friends, women with her that Louis and them didn’t know. Before long they were all talking, and two of the women were having a conversation with him and Voight when Faith dropped off a round of beers and took everyone’s orders. He saw her glance toward the two women, but she was so busy she excused herself and kept working her rear off all night.

  * * * *

  Faith couldn’t believe the jealous feelings she had as she watched two women, Gale and Sally, flirt with Louis and Voight. She knew both women from town and they were definitely on the prowl. Worin looked uncomfortable and Hunt just as much as the crowd around them grew bigger. She tried not to feel jealous. It wasn’t like they were her men or made some kind of commitment to her. They just asked her out for tomorrow night. She was on edge and still annoyed at the men who felt they had a right to touch her hair, never mind her ass. She didn’t mind when Louis, Voight, Worin or Hunt touched her, or caressed her back as she stopped by their table. In fact, she was basically making excuses to go by there every chance she got. They were all pretty much taking up her section, but there was one table to the side she took over for Candice because they complained about Candice not paying attention to them. One glance toward the bar and she saw Candice texting on her cell phone. Well, she would be the one complaining about crappy tips at the end of the night.

  Faith kept hustling, and working hard, and as she looked toward the table after dropping off another round of beers, she saw Sally laughing, then she leaned her head against Voight’s shoulder, completely flirting with him. That was when she felt her anger and jealousy surge to the surface and exactly when she felt a hand on her ass and fingers squeeze. She turned and punched the guy, hitting him right in the nose. He fell back onto the floor and his friends laughed hysterically and carried on about how he was following her around all night and squeezing her ass but she didn’t know it was him.

  “What the hell is going on?” Ade yelled from behind the bar.

  She caught everyone’s attention, and turned to see that Voight, Louis, Hunt, and Worin were standing up by their table and her hand was throbbing. She growled low and pointed at the guy who had a bloody nose from her strike. “Keep your hands to yourself. Touch me again and I’ll press charges. The Sheriff is right over there,” she said and then started to head by the bar.

  “Faith, are you okay? How is your hand?” Ade asked but she was fuming mad still, her knuckles ached and she felt ready to cry and didn’t know why.

  “Fine,” she yelled out and then headed to the ladies’ bathroom. She looked into the mirror as the tears fell. Then she felt her body shaking, her hands, too.

  She hated confrontations. Never got into fights or even arguments but damn, had she been fired up and annoyed all night. Then add in feeling jealous of Sally flirting with her men. As she remembered the scene she felt her jaw drop. She didn’t want to admit that she thought of Louis and the team as her men. She couldn’t believe that would happen to her. She ran cold water over her aching hand and could see the knuckles swelling up.

  The door opened and she jumped, still feeling on edge. There stood Athena, Sally, and Gale. “Are you okay? You have four very angry and concerned soldiers out there ready to pounce,” Athena said.

  Sally and Gale looked at her and her hand. “That was some punch. They’re taking the guy to the medi center,” Sally said to her.

  She didn’t want to look at these two women. Didn’t want to show jealousy and annoyance because they were older, closer to Hunt, Worin, Louis and Voight’s ages. “Good. He was grabbing my ass all night and I kept missing him because it was so crowded.”

  “Hey, you need ice for your hand. Are you okay? You’re shaking,” Athena asked with conc
ern.

  “I’ll be fine,” she replied and fixed her eye makeup

  “You look great. Louis, Voight, Hunt, and Worin are worried about you. You’re lucky to have them,” Gale said to her.

  “What do you mean, have them? They aren’t mine,” she said, squinting and still with a tone that said Beware…one pissed off woman is in the room.

  “Well, they think you belong to them. Kane had to stop Worin from beating the shit out of that guy,” Sally said to her.

  “Oh God, he better not. He doesn’t need that kind of aggravation,” she said and quickly dried her hands and then looked at her makeup before heading to the door.

  “They care about you. A lot, and my men say they’re shocked about that because Worin and Hunt especially went through some serious bad things while serving. Did you know they were considered MIA and then declared dead?”

  “What?” she asked Athena.

  “Yup, my brothers, Voight and Louis moved heaven and earth to locate them and to try and confirm they were actually dead. They didn’t believe it. They found them where they were held prisoner and they went to rescue them. Completely off the radar, with no help from the government, just from friends. Their bond is strong,” Athena said to her.

  “That’s incredible. I think you’re going to have to calm Worin and Hunt down before they lose it out there,” Sally said and then smiled before she walked out of the room with Gale.

  “You okay? I mean, I know that they’re older, more experienced, and can be hard around the edges and give attitudes, but they are good, loyal men. They wouldn’t cheat on you or pretend to like you. Too old for that bullshit,” Athena said to her, with her arms crossed as she leaned against the doorway.

  “I don’t really know them.”

  “You like them though?”

  “I do, but I’m not sure that I’m staying in Cherry Hill much longer. I think it’s time for some changes, Athena.”

  Athena looked surprised.

  “Wait, your brother and cousin own the therapy ranch. Warriors Way, right?”

  “Yes. My aunts are there, too. They’re the only family I have and things have changed so much around here. I think I might move back there.”

  “Well, an hour isn’t too far from here That’s a big decision to make. Just make sure you don’t make it based on guys like the one who grabbed your ass,” she said and chuckled. “I can’t believe you broke his nose. A tiny little thing like you,” Athena said and shook her head and laughed. “You go, girl.”

  Faith chuckled and then they headed out of the bathroom together. All four men were there and Athena looked back, winked and as she passed by the men she gave Louis’s arm a squeeze. “She’ll be okay, but needs some ice.”

  “Are you all right? What the hell happened?” Worin asked her. He placed his hands on her hips and she grabbed on to his arms and cringed at her hand.

  “Fuck, you need ice, baby, it’s swelling up,” Voight said, taking her hand into his.

  Worin cupped her cheek and she stared up at him. She couldn’t help the tears that hit her eyes. “You’re not okay. You’re shaking,” he said to her.

  She reached up with her good hand and cupped Worin’s cheek. They stared at one another and then he lowered down and kissed her. When he pulled her completely into his arms, crushing her to his body, she let go and gave in to the desires. She felt his large palm squeeze her ass and fingers, slide under the material and she didn’t care as he plunged his tongue deeper in exploration. She moaned into his mouth and then heard Louis say, “Share,” and then Worin slowly released her lips. She licked her bottom lip and he looked fierce. “God damn, woman, you sure are a good kisser.”

  She blushed but then Hunt pulled her into his arms. “I need to see for myself,” he said and cupped her cheek and kissed her next. He was just as thorough as Worin as he plunged his tongue into her mouth and squeezed her ass, nearly lifting her off the floor. When he had his fill and they were panting for breath, Louis grabbed her next and hugged her tight. He suckled against her neck, trailed his mouth to her chin and jaw and then to her lips as she held on to his waist. He kissed her tenderly, then deeply, eliciting another moan from her lips. When he released her, he winked.

  “Sweeter than pie, that’s what you are, sugar,” he said.

  Voight took her good hand and brought her to him. He lifted her injured one to his lips and gently kissed the sore knuckles. “You need ice, slugger,” he said and then reached up, cupped her cheek and jaw and drew her closer for a kiss. She closed her eyes and boy, was it incredible. She felt the same, deep, needy desires for all four men as they kissed her, but then she remembered she was at work. She had tables to tend to.

  As she pulled back she exhaled. “I wish I didn’t have to go back to work but I do.”

  “Not before you ice that,” Louis commanded.

  Voight wrapped his arm around her waist and accompanied her back into the main area and bar where everyone started clapping for her and Ade had a bag of ice ready for her hand. “Come on, tough girl. Ice it or you won’t be able to work,” Ade said.

  “We’ll be fine and I’m helping to cover her tables,” Candice said and then texted on her phone. She didn’t even ask Faith if she was okay.

  “You can’t take care of your own tables tonight, Candice,” Ade snapped at her and eyed over the cell phone.

  The guys laughed but Candice didn’t. “Whatever.” She walked away. This definitely was out of character for Candice. Could Lance and his friend really have that much of an influence on her? Faith was concerned, and she would make a point of discussing things with Candice tomorrow. She hoped she could make Candice see that she was worth so much more.

  Voight placed the ice on her hand as Worin kept a hand on her shoulder and kissed her neck. “Ice it in between. We’ll keep the bag at our table where you can come by and do it in between working,” he said to her.

  “I’ll be fine. Let me get back to work.”

  Louis took her hand. “You be sure to come over and ice it in between. Understood?” he asked and she nodded, but before she walked away he cupped her cheek, stroked her jaw and kissed her softly on the lips. “We’ll be here, watching over you.” She nodded, then looked at Ade, who winked and smiled wide. Louis’s move and his team’s would take her off the singles market big time and quickly. Funny thing was, she didn’t mind at all. Especially not after the hot kisses they just shared, and the desire to want more.

  * * * *

  Faith was exhausted, and by the time she left work she was feeling achy, tired and her hand really felt terrible. She promised Candice she would meet her for lunch, even though she really didn’t want to. That was Faith though, she was always trying to make things right, to keep the peace if she could. She would look at it as a distraction before she headed over to meet Louis, Voight, Worin, and Hunt for dinner at their place. She was relieved to learn that the gathering turned into a barbecue with Kane, Athena, Culter, Chase, and Fox, as well as Charlie and her men, the sheriff from Central Valley, Titus Mullen, and his brothers, Corey who owned a dojo in Central Valley as well as Aleck and Mavis, retired Marines. She was looking forward to talking to Charlie about Warriors Way and perhaps ideas of funding and branching out the services. With that thought as she headed to her car, she spotted Hunt along with the others, all gathered near their pickup truck. She squinted.

  “We’ll follow you home. Make sure you’re okay,” he said.

  She nodded, feeling at a loss for words. She loved that they cared so much and were truly concerned and then she wondered if they expected more fooling around. She had been working all night, and needed to get showered and hit her bed. That got her thinking about the potential relationship with them and having sex with them. She gulped and got into her car and headed home.

  Their truck was big and loud and didn’t go unnoticed, kind of like each of the men. Their seasoned expressions, fine lines by their eyes, over tanned skin along their faces, those thick yet well-trimmed bea
rds all made them stand out. Made them appear lethal, capable and intimidating. She didn’t feel unsafe with them though. Her gut didn’t clench and indicate to be cautious or to not trust them. Hell no, she liked them close and she had a feeling her idea about leaving Cherry Hill was going to be tested by exactly what went down in the next few weeks.

  As she pulled along the dirt roadway leading to her cottage, she saw how pitch black it was outside around it, nothing but fields and woods on the back side, the one porch light she left on remained on, and of course one inside to make it look like someone was home. She turned off the ignition and got out of her car. They were out of their truck and looking around.

  “It’s pretty damn dark out here.” Worin sounded so snappy as he said that.

  “It’s three o’clock, Worin. What do you expect?”

  She headed to her door and began to unlock it, but then paused and turned around to face them. It was a sight. Four tall, stocky men all standing around her, towering over her and the doorway. They were a force to reckon with and looked gigantic compared to her, never mind her small cottage and the seemingly tiny doorway they surely would need to duck slightly to go inside.

  “I appreciate you following me home.”

  “Open up and invite us in so we can look at that hand and make plans for tomorrow,” Voight said to her.

  “We did make plans for—”

  One look and raise of the eyebrows from Louis and Hunt and she turned the knob and entered the house. They filtered in, only slightly ducking. Obviously her mind and body were completely turned on by their sizes and looks that she thought them even bigger, grander than they were.

  “This is nice,” Voight said but his eyes were glued to her. She placed her backpack onto the counter and then kicked off her shoes. She sighed as she held on to the counter and felt her feet aching. When Louis placed his hand on her shoulder and caressed her back, she turned to look up at him.