by Becca Van
He had been going to make his move tonight but decided to wait a little longer. If they became complacent, it would make his job easier when it came time to take her. Plus, with six men living in that house and from seeing how feisty the bitch was, he didn’t want to get caught.
He’d have to think of a way to distract all the men. He smiled and rubbed his hands together as he stayed to the shadows and walked back to where he’d hidden his rental car.
He couldn’t wait to fuck that bitch, and when he’d satisfied his lust, he was going to fuck Noble over, too.
Chapter Eleven
Tristan glared at Trick as he sat on the edge of the single bed in the other guest room. Trent was lying on the other bed, looking relaxed with his hands behind his head, but from the way his brother’s biceps were flexing and the muscle ticking in his jaw, he was anything but.
“What the fuck are we going to do now?” Trent asked as he pushed up from the bed and swung his legs over the side.
“We give her the time she needs to calm down,” Trick said before scrubbing a hand over his face.
“She’s pissed and she has every right to be.” Tristan stated the obvious, but he was angry, too. He and his brothers should have been cuddled up with their woman in her bed, and if he hadn’t let Trick talk him into keeping information from Sabrina, they would have been.
“I can’t understand why she’s so angry.” Trick started to pace in between the beds. “I was only trying to protect her. She’s been so uptight, and for once she was relaxed. I just wanted her to stay that way.”
“She thinks we don’t trust her.”
“What?” Trick snapped. “Why the hell would she think that?”
“For an older brother, you can be really dumb where women are concerned,” Trent snarled. “We kept vital information from her. Yes, it was with the best intentions, but she is an independent woman.”
“It’s not really about trust,” Tristan said. “She’s pissed because we were treating her like a child. Which she’s not.”
“I know that.” Trick sighed and then stopped to stare out the window.
Tristan hated that they were close to her but so far away. She was two doors down because the bedroom between them had been made into an office. He wanted to be in the room beside hers if they couldn’t be in her room, but that wasn’t an option. At least not tonight.
“Let’s just give her the space she needs tonight and hopefully after a good night’s sleep she’ll be more receptive to listening,” Tristan said. “You are going to have to apologize and explain to her why you kept Noble’s arrest from her. And we’ll apologize, too.” He met Trent’s eyes, and his brother nodded.
“Where are you going to sleep?” Trent asked Trick since he and Tristan had already taken dibs on the two single beds.
“The couch.” Trick turned away from the window and headed for the door but stopped when Tristan started talking.
“We make her breakfast in bed and then say we’re sorry.”
“Agreed,” Trick replied before he disappeared out to the living room.
Tristan shucked his jeans and socks but kept his T-shirt on. It was a cool night, and since the single beds were too small for his large frame, he was going to need all the warmth he could get. The Heritage men had set this room up for when their nieces came to stay, and even though he would be sleeping on pink sheets and under a princess quilt cover, he was just thankful he had somewhere to lay his head for the night. Tomorrow they would do everything they could to right their wrong with Sabrina.
* * * *
Sabrina’s nose twitched when something tickled it. She rubbed it with her fingers and started drifting back down to a deeper sleep, but something tickled her nose again. This time she swatted her hand out, trying to knock what she thought was a pesky fly away, but her hand connected with flesh. She gasped as her eyes snapped open and blinked when she saw Trick’s shocked expression with his hand against his cheek.
She was horrified when she realized she’d slapped him in the face and quickly pushed up until she was sitting against the headboard with a pillow shoved behind her back. “Oh my god. I’m so sorry.”
A chuckle near the foot of the bed drew her attention, and she spotted Tristan and Trent standing there watching her.
“That’s some great reflexes you have, baby.” Trent grinned and then moved around the bed to place the breakfast tray on the bedside table.
The aroma of coffee, bacon, and eggs permeated the air, and saliva filled her mouth and her stomach started growling. Although she wanted to reach for the tray and dive right in to appease her empty belly, she was worried she had hurt Trick. He was still sitting on the edge of the bed with his hand against his cheek and a stunned look on his face.
“Are you okay? Did I hurt you?”
Trick lowered his hand, and she felt guilty and embarrassed to see his cheek was a little pink. Thank God she hadn’t put all her force behind it, otherwise he would be sporting her handprint on his skin.
“I’m fine. Consider that payback for yesterday,” he said in a quiet voice.
“Payback?” she asked. “What do you mean?”
Trick drew in a deep breath before exhaling on a sigh. “I am really sorry for not telling you about Luke’s phone call. I should have told you straight away and I should never have ordered my brothers to keep a secret from you either.”
Sabrina studied him and could see that he meant every contrite word he’d spoken, but she wanted to know why he hadn’t told her. “Why didn’t you?”
“It wasn’t because I don’t trust you or didn’t think you couldn’t handle the information or was treating you like a child. It was…I…” He reached out and took her hand in his. “You were a little more relaxed than you’d been since we’d met you and I didn’t want to make you tense again. You were smiling more and I love seeing you that way. You seemed so happy. Although my reasons for not telling you were meant to protect you, I should have informed you right away.”
“Yes, you should have. I know that just because Noble has been arrested doesn’t mean I’m safe, and yes, I enjoyed getting out in the sunshine and was feeling better, but I just need to know what’s going on. This is all because of me, and of course I’ve been tense and scared, but I’m stronger than you seem to think I am, Trick. I appreciate that you were looking out for me though.”
“I love you, honey. Please forgive me?”
“I do.” Sabrina brought his hand to her mouth and kissed his knuckles. “I love you, too.” She looked at Tristan and Trent. “I love all of you, but you can’t keep me in the dark.”
“We won’t.” Tristan sat on the other side of the bed and placed his hand on her thigh over the quilt. “I love you, too, darlin’.”
Tristan reached for the breakfast tray and put it on her lap. “We brought you breakfast as a peace offering. I love you so much, Sab. I don’t ever want to spend another night away from you. I missed snuggling up next to you and holding you.”
“I missed that, too. Just all of you promise to tell me as soon as more information comes to light.”
“We promise,” Trick said before he leaned over and placed a light kiss on her lips.
Trent picked up her coffee mug and handed it to her. She took a few sips before eating breakfast.
“What’s happening today?” she asked when she was finished.
“Tristan and I are going to help do the chores. Trent is going to spend the day with you.”
“Did you have anything planned today, baby?” Trent asked.
“Well, since Hank, David, and Barry have been putting up with us I thought I’d do some baking for them.”
“You like baking?” Trent’s face lit up, and he rubbed his hands together.
“Yeah, I love to cook.”
“You’re a fantastic cook, honey,” Trick said.
“Thanks.”
“Hank and his brothers said they want to keep you around because they’ve never eaten so well,” Tristan
said with a mock scowl.
“Come on, Tristan,” Trick said before kissing her on the forehead and getting to his feet. “We’d better get out there. We have downed fences to fix.”
“Okay.” Tristan stood up shoved Trick out of the way and then kissed her lips. “Have a good day, darlin’.”
“You, too.”
Trent took the tray from her lap. “Go and shower, baby. I’ll have another cup of coffee ready for when you come out.”
Sabrina watched his delectable ass until he was gone. She was glad they’d cleared the air. She’d had trouble sleeping last night and had berated herself for acting so harsh with them. She’d gotten used to having them sleep with her and had missed them a lot, but for a relationship to work between three men and one woman, she had to set some boundaries. And trying to make decisions for her and keeping pertinent information to themselves wasn’t one as far as she was concerned. She felt lighthearted and happy after taking a stand and the air had been cleared, and just hoped that they would want to take the next step in their relationship when it was safe to like she wanted to.
She had an urge deep down inside to have their babies. The Wendall men were sweet, loving, and protective. She could see herself spending the rest of her life with them.
After she’d showered and dressed, she headed to the kitchen. Trent had the dishwasher going and was pouring coffee into mugs.
She sat down next to him at the table.
“What are you going to make, baby?”
“Apple pie, chocolate cake, and maybe some cookies.”
“I love apple pie. If there are enough ingredients and you feel up to it, you’d better make two or maybe three. I know damn well that if you bake as good as you cook there won’t be any pie left by the end of the night.”
“Yeah, okay. The way you all eat, I can see I had better make at least four if there are enough ingredients.”
Trent flexed his arm, making his bicep bulge. “We’re growing boys.”
Sabrina laughed when he chuckled.
“You never mention your parents, baby. Why is that?” Trent must have seen something in her face, because the next thing she knew, he was picking her up and plonking her into his lap.
“I don’t have any.”
“What happened to them, Sab?”
“I have no idea. All I was ever told was that I was found in a basket on the steps of the orphanage when I was around a week old. There were never any papers or a note with what little I had. Apparently the authorities put out bulletins on the local news and radio stations asking for anyone who had witnessed me being dumped to come forward, but no one ever did.”
“I’m sorry, baby. That must have been hard.”
“No,” Sabrina sighed. “The hardest thing was when all the other kids got adopted but no one ever seemed to want me.” She swallowed around the lump in her throat as the emotion of rejection swamped her, but she had vowed at the age of fifteen she was never going to shed another tear over parents she’d never known, ever again. And she wouldn’t be crying over strangers who didn’t want to adopt her either.
From that moment on, she’d concentrated on her studies with every intention of going to college and getting her degree so she would have a good life. Funny how that all seemed so unimportant when you had a target on your back. Being in danger made her realize what was important. Material things and money weren’t necessary in the scheme of things. Although, having cash did make life easier, but what was important to her was love. And now that she had it, she wasn’t going to let anything or anyone stand in her way.
An epiphany hit her upside the head. There was no way in hell she was leaving to live her life on the run. She didn’t want her men, or anyone else for that matter, getting hurt because of her, but they had to be able to make their own choices just like she did. It would kill her if they ended up injured, but running in the hope they would be safe was cowardly. It took strength to stay and make a stand. If they were in danger, she needed to be here so she could help to protect her men, too. Even if she had to throw herself in front of a bullet to do so.
Trent hugged her tight and rested his head on top of hers, before rubbing his cheek against her own. “We want you, baby. Don’t ever doubt that. You mean everything to me and my brothers.”
Sabrina shifted until she was straddling him and wrapped her arms around his neck. “I love you, too, Trent.” How long they stayed like that, she had no idea and didn’t really care. She loved being in his, Tristan’s, or Trick’s arms. Her heart was filled with joy. She had found men worthy of living her life with and who found her worthy, too. She wasn’t about to jeopardize what they had by taking off. It would break her heart, and she was sure theirs, too. She couldn’t do that to them, and she didn’t want to do that to herself either.
She intended to hold on with both hands.
Sabrina finally released Trent, and they got to work baking. By the time they started on making sandwiches for lunch, there were four apple pies cooling on the counter, a frosted chocolate cake in the fridge, and a jar’s worth of Anzac cookies that had extra golden syrup in them.
She caught Trent snatching two cookies off the cooling rack, and before she could tell him off, he shoved both cookies into his mouth at once. She laughed so hard when she’d seen his bulging cheeks and the way he was having trouble trying to chew with his too-full mouth, and he ended up laughing, too. He sprayed crumbs everywhere and then had started to choke when he inhaled. It was difficult to thump him on the back when she was laughing so hard she was crying and having trouble breathing herself.
“Serves you right.” Sabrina chuckled as she wiped the tears from her face. “You shouldn’t have put so much in your mouth.”
When Trent swallowed what was in his mouth and got his breath back, he gave her a forlorn puppy dog look. “I thought you’d get mad at me for stealing the cookies and didn’t want you taking them back.”
“No. I was going to give you some on a plate and make you some coffee to go with them, but since you couldn’t wait, too late.”
“Aw, come on, Sab. I love dunking cookies in coffee,” he said as he pulled her into his arms and hugged her.
“Nope. You’re going to have to wait until after dinner tonight.”
“You are a hard woman, Sabrina Brown.” Trent winked at her to let her know he was teasing.
She withdrew from his arms, grabbed the cloth, threw it at him, and pointed at the cookie crumbs. “You’d better clean up your mess so we can start on making sandwiches for lunch. The others are going to be here soon.”
“Taskmaster,” Trent muttered under his breath but turned to clean up his mess. When he turned his back on her, she pinched him on the ass. He looked at her back over his shoulder. “Promise?”
Sabrina laughed, shook her head, and went to get the ingredients from the fridge for the sandwiches.
Just as she and Trent put everything on the table, the men came in.
“Something smells good enough to eat,” Hank said as he sniffed loudly. His eyes zeroed in on the four pies cooling.
“Is that apple pie I smell?” Barry asked as he sauntered in behind Hank.
“I smell cookies.” David inhaled deeply.
“Yes. Trent and I made apple pies, chocolate chip and Anzac cookies, and chocolate cake, but none of you get any until you’ve had lunch. The pies are for dessert tonight.”
Hank shifted direction and headed over to her. The next thing she knew she was swept from her feet and being spun in a circle. She shrieked and clutched at his shoulders.
“Get your hands off our woman,” Trick yelled, and for a moment she thought he was angry, until she saw he was smiling.
Hank placed her back on her feet and hugged her. “Nope, don’t think I will. I think my brothers and I are going to keep her.”
“Not going to happen.” Trent moved in behind her and pulled her away from Hank and into his arms.
“Get your own damn woman,” Tristan said and then winked at
her when she glanced at him.
“Okay, fun’s over,” Sabrina said and pointed to the table. “Sit. Eat.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Hank kissed her on the forehead before doing as she’d told him to.
“Thanks, Sabby.” David kissed her cheek and sat down.
“If these guys ever piss you off, you come to us, sweetie. There will always be a bed in this house for you,” David said with a stoic expression on his face, but the gleam in his eye belied his tone.
Once the men had eaten their fill and devoured the chocolate cake, the men went back to work. Sabrina and Trent cleaned up, and after starting a beef-and-vegetable stew, he guided her to the living room and they snuggled on the sofa.
It felt so nice being in his arms, and since he was spooning her from behind, his breath was wafting over the skin of her neck and ear. Just those little puffs of breath were enough to make her desire for him kick in. Her areolae began to contract, and her nipples peaked. Her pussy started to moisten, and her clit began to throb.
She wanted to turn over and ravish him but didn’t want to break their contented mood, so she stayed still. But when she felt the bulge against her ass and lower back growing, she decided there was no more perfect time to love him.
They had the whole house to themselves.
Chapter Twelve
Trent hadn’t realized he could be so lighthearted until Sabrina had come into their lives. He’d enjoyed playing around with her while he’d helped her bake. He didn’t really have a clue what he was doing, but he been directed by her guidance and loved every minute being with her.
Most of all, he relished having her in his arms. Her natural womanly scent, the aroma of her bodywash and her warm skin, was amazing. She shifted in his arms, and although he tried to stop his twitching cock from growing, it was a losing battle. When she moved again and the muscles in her thighs and ass tensed, he realized she was just as turned on as he was.
“Do you want me, baby?” he whispered against her ear and felt her shiver.
“Yes.”
