Love Under Two Adventurers [The Lusty, Texas Collection] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting)

by Cara Covington

  So instead of pressing, she asked, “Are you all right?”

  “Yeah, but I’m drenched in sweat.”

  “So let’s shower.” She turned her head to look at Greg, who she knew was awake. Propped up on his right arm, he smiled at her.

  “Y’all get started. I’ll be right there.”

  “It’s not right, you guys letting me wake you up and disturb your sleep this way.”

  “Sure it is. Maybe, sometime down the road, it’ll be my turn.” Rebecca climbed over Cody and began to pull him from the bed. “You’ve both mentioned the chance of forever. Well, forever implies that at some point I’ll be pregnant. You gonna bitch at me if I wake you in the middle of the night?”

  “Do you want that?” Cody asked the question softly, and Rebecca wondered at her instincts, that she would say such a thing at such a time. “Do you want to have children?”

  “Yes. But not just any children. I want yours and I want Greg’s. Someday, if we get all the kinks sorted out and decide together that’s what we want to do.”

  “I’m pretty fucked up. You sure you want to take a chance, spreading my DNA to a new generation?”

  Oh, Cody, what are we going to do to make things better for you? “I’m very sure. And, babe, you’re not as fucked up as you think you are.”

  She led him into the bathroom, right over to the large shower. She turned the water on full, then set to work washing him. Only a few minutes passed and Greg joined them. They made quick work of getting clean. Once outside the shower enclosure, she and Greg both worked on drying Cody.

  “I’m not an invalid,” he groused.

  “Guy gets a couple of love slaves and he bitches about it,” Greg said. “What are ya gonna do?”

  “Dunno,” Rebecca said. “Sure beats the livin’ hell outta me.”

  Cody laughed. “Okay, I get it. I’ll stop bitching. Seriously.” He cupped Rebecca’s face. “I’m sorry. Having nightmares makes me bitchy.”

  “There’s that word again.” She stretched up and kissed him gently. “No apologies.”

  In just a few moments they all climbed back into bed. Greg had changed the sheets, because Cody really had been drenched in sweat.

  This time, Rebecca had her way and sandwiched Cody in the middle. Greg hauled the man into his arms, and she happily spooned him. She leaned over and kissed Greg lightly, then laid another soft buss on Cody’s cheek.

  She snuggled down, amazed when the sensation of dropping off came so quickly.

  * * * *

  Rebecca blinked, and tried to focus on her surroundings. She could smell bacon, and coffee, and her stomach rumbled.

  “He really likes cooking breakfast first thing in the morning,” Greg said softly.

  She felt herself being drawn into his arms. She wrapped herself around him, but for once, it wasn’t the arousal he always stirred within her taking center stage in her heart or in her thoughts.

  She knew it was just the two of them in the bed, and in the room. Still, she whispered, “What are we going to do to help him?”

  “I don’t know, baby.” Greg sounded as sad, and as bewildered, as she felt. “I do know we can’t ask him to seek professional help. Not now.”

  He meant not after hearing about what happened to him in his childhood. “No, we can’t. I guess all we can do is stay close. Watch over him. Maybe after a while, when he feels more secure, the nightmares will become less frequent.”

  “Maybe.” Greg’s agreement didn’t make her feel any better, because she heard the same doubt in his voice that she felt in her heart.

  “I haven’t pushed him at all,” Greg said. “I maybe should have. You did last night, a little, and it was the right thing to do.”

  “You were there. You went through the terror of not knowing what was happening to him. It must have put you right back to 2004, to the horror of those days.”

  “It did. I thought it was happening all over again. Then, when my friends told me that they’d found him, and were bringing him across the border into Turkey, all I wanted to do was take care of him.”

  She heard the catch in Greg’s voice, and held him tighter. “He was sick.”

  “They thought he might die from the infection.” He didn’t say anything more for a long moment. Rebecca waited. “Then, he got better. When he was discharged from the hospital, I decided that I needed to bring him here. It was safe here, and here, he could finish healing.”

  “He is healing, darling. And he will get over this. We just have to be there, let him see how we’re there for him. And maybe prod him a little here and there if we think it’ll work.”

  “Okay, that sounds like a plan. Rebecca.” He tilted her chin up and placed a gentle kiss on her lips. “I’m really glad you love him, too.”

  “So am I.” Her stomach growled again. “Let’s go downstairs and see what our man has prepared for us, shall we?”

  “Yeah, with Cody you don’t want to wait too long once you smell the bounty.”

  “What, does he threaten to feed it all to the dog?” Her Aunt Heather, Tracy’s mom, always used to do that. The fact that those Jessops didn’t have a dog never diminished the threat.

  Greg chuckled, clearly recalling the memory. “No, it’s worse, much worse. He’ll eat all the bacon and just give you a saucer of drippins to dip your toast in.”

  “Cody has a cruel streak, does he?”

  “It only comes out when food is involved,” Greg said.

  “In that case, we better get a move on.” Rebecca tossed aside the blankets and thought, for a moment, of just going downstairs, naked.

  At the last minute she changed her mind, and copped a pair of panties and one of Cody’s shirts—the thing practically hung to her knees—instead.

  She thanked herself just a few minutes later when Adam Kendall came to the door.

  Chapter 16

  Daddy used to say that a person should always be willing to try new experiences.

  Naomi smirked at the thought, because she had a pretty good idea of the kinds of new “experiences” her daddy had in mind, and they weren’t none of them to do with anything except fucking.

  She should know. She was one of his “new experiences.” Before he’d had her sent to that boarding school.

  Naomi pushed the thoughts of the past away. It was useless to dwell on those things anyway. Her memories should be dead and buried—as dead and buried as her parents.

  The bus pulled into the station, and she got off, adjusted her hat, and looked around while she waited for the driver to open the luggage compartment. Naomi shook her head as she realized the place didn’t really look all that different from the ones she’d been through during the last week or so. She guessed that these facilities looked the same all over the country.

  Not that she’d been all over the country, exactly, but she watched a lot of television, and some things were pretty hard to fake.

  See, daddy, I’m having a new experience. I’m in Texas! Naomi had never been to Texas before, but she’d watched reruns of Dallas all the time. She felt confident that she spoke the language, and would be able to fit right in.

  Trusty backpack in hand, she stepped out of the facility and onto the sidewalk and checked the street signs. She’d studied the map of Waco for the last hour on the bus. It had taken her several days to come this far, and she was exhausted. She’d traveled as unobtrusively as she could, all the way from Seattle. She hadn’t taken a plane or train—both of which would have been much faster modes of transportation. Faster, and the first places the authorities would check for her, probably.

  Naomi watched police and PI shows, and she was way too smart for that.

  She figured it might just be possible for the cops in Seattle to have tracked her to her original apartment. That would be unfortunate, but since she’d been smart enough to take everything she’d needed from there when she’d fled to her temporary home, including her new “identity,” it didn’t really matter. She never had to go back to
that apartment, and had left the house she’d been staying in after it way ahead of the police coming anywhere near her.

  On the off chance that they knew who she was, she’d made a crucial decision and had decided that the time had come to officially change her identity.

  Naomi Lake had ceased to exist the moment she got on the bus in Seattle.

  She’d guessed that if they were looking for her, they’d check out the airport and the train station. She doubted it would occur to them to stake out the bus station. Who the hell fled town and the cops in this day and age by hopping on a bus?

  Now that she’d arrived in Texas she could afford to take a couple of days to rest, and plan. It was only a few blocks, really, from where she was, at the corner of Eighth and Mary, over to the Hilton on University Parks Drive. It was a nice day, and the walk would do her good.

  She’d traveled cheap the whole trip, but this was where things changed. This was where she would really change. As she walked, she put herself into character. She’d paid for her fake driver’s license and social security card early last year, even before she’d met Brady Alexander.

  Planning. One never knows when one would have to have a brand-new start. She’d followed her father’s tenet on being prepared, and for once, she thought, the old bastard’s voice in her head had proven useful.

  Naomi had wished for a new start many times in her life. Now she was taking one, but she had to do one teeny tiny little thing first. There remained only one loose thread to tie off, and then she’d be free—free to live the way she’d always longed to live. She’d be free to finally meet her destiny!

  She just had to get rid of that faithless whore, Rebecca Jessop, first.

  Once that was done, her life could truly begin anew. As she walked along Mary Street, she reminded herself that she wasn’t Naomi anymore. Naomi had been a pathetic loser, a mousy mouse of a woman who’d never really fit in anywhere. She had a new name, and a whole a new identity now. She’d make it a triple blessing, and give herself a new personality, too.

  She was now Caroline Jeffries, from Sacramento, California. She’d taken her mother’s maiden name, and wasn’t that rich?

  After she’d gotten the fake ID—which had cost her a damn fortune—she’d applied for and obtained a credit card in that name, and had used it sparingly, always paying the bill on time. She’d been rewarded, of course, for her good management of the account with a higher spending limit. Now she had lots of money to play with, enough that she’d be able to back up her new image with a few choice accessories.

  She’d be sleek and new, right here in Texas. She’d get herself a new boyfriend before the month was out. Just see if she didn’t! She’d aim for a rich one this time, because momma had always said it was just as easy to fall in love with a rich man as it was a poor one.

  She knew there were rich oil men all over this state, just waiting for the right woman. She was bound and determined to be someone’s right woman.

  She would check into the Hilton, rest for a day or so. She’d eat well and go for a swim in the pool and sleep well. Then she’d rent a car and take a drive westward.

  Caroline Jeffries would make her way to that tiny little dot on the map and have a look around. She’d done some research online and hadn’t been able to find out much about the place at all. There was the mention of the Sheriff’s Department, but not much else. Probably not much more than a crossroads there, if that. Maybe a gas station and a greasy spoon diner. It shouldn’t be hard to find the woman.

  Rebecca Jessop was an artist, the kind of woman, her momma would say, that decent folk steered clear of. If there was much of a town there, in that Lusty, why then probably there’d be places to pick up the latest gossip. Funny name for a town. Probably a family name. She’d see how it went but she wouldn’t be the least surprised to discover that the good folks of Lusty considered that woman to be the scourge of their community! Who wanted an amoral artist in their midst? Decent folk certainly wouldn’t.

  Caroline knew all about decent folk, as her momma had pounded into her time and time again that she was to grow up and be decent folk.

  Not the same kind of pounding daddy gave me that’s for sure.

  No, it shouldn’t be too hard to find Rebecca Jessop at all. She’d never even know Naomi—oops, Caroline—was coming for her. She would never know what the hell had hit her.

  It’s what you deserve for stealing my man, you faithless whore.

  * * * *

  “Does the law always come a-calling this early in the morning?” Cody asked.

  Greg had gone to the door to let Adam in. Rebecca turned and gave him a smile. “You’ll have to get used to it. Adam and Matt are cousins, and we were all kind of close, growing up. On top of being family, they’re friends, and they both take their jobs seriously. Adam especially sees it as his sworn duty to protect everyone in town, which was why he was giving me such a hard time when we went to his office and told him about the crazy stalker chick.”

  Adam came into the kitchen and nodded at everyone. “Good, you’re up,” he said.

  Rebecca knew he’d spoken to her. “Just barely up, but not awake enough yet.”

  Adam skewered Cody with a direct stare. “Hell, man, give that woman some coffee, quick. None of us are safe until you do.”

  Cody chuckled, and she was reminded that he’d already had a thing or two to say about her morning caffeine-deprived grumpiness.

  “I’m on it. Would you like a cup, too, sheriff?”

  Adam put his hands on his hips and raised one eyebrow. “Yes, please. When do you think you can learn to call me Adam?”

  Cody shrugged. “I’ll work on it.”

  “Fair enough.” Then he turned his attention toward the stove, and Greg and Rebecca traded a look. Adam looked like a starving man eyeing manna from heaven.

  “Would you like some breakfast, too, Adam?” Rebecca asked.

  “I shouldn’t. Looks like Cody’s cooked for the two of you. That granola and yogurt Ginny gave me this morning was actually pretty good. I’m getting used to it.”

  Rebecca giggled.

  Greg said, “Does our sweet Ginny have you on a diet, there, Adam?”

  “Yeah, me and Jake both. She’s worried about our cholesterol levels. I tried to get your brother to tell her I’m healthy as a horse.” Adam pointed at Rebecca.

  “Oh, Robert would just have chortled and told you that a heart-healthy diet was a good thing, and good for you while he agreed as to the state of your health.” The look on Adam’s face told her she was right on the money.

  “Did he add, ‘for a man your age’?” Greg asked.

  “Yeah, the rotten bastard. And Ginny was right there, too!”

  Greg said, “I think Tamara has Morgan and Henry on a diet, too.”

  “She does,” Rebecca said. “You know what that means.”

  Adam sighed. “Yeah, it means I don’t even get a break at Sunday dinner. I knew Mother had to be behind this.”

  Cody laughed. “You’re breaking my heart, Adam. Man cannot live on yogurt and granola alone. Come, sit down and have some breakfast. I actually made more than I should have, because my mind wandered while I was cooking.”

  It didn’t take the sheriff long to make a decision. “Thanks, I appreciate it. Only…”

  “Not a word to Ginny, I promise.” Rebecca said. “You want me to pinky swear, like we used to when we were kids?”

  “Naw, I trust you.”

  While they’d been jabbering, Greg had set another place at the table and Cody had poured out the coffee. Soon, they were all sitting and eating.

  Cody had fried the side bacon so crisp it melted in her mouth. Rebecca only allowed herself one sausage patty, enjoying the bite of the spicy pork. Gus, at the grocery in Lusty, had a fine hand at making sausage.

  She wasn’t as disciplined when it came to Cody’s French toast. She didn’t know what all he put in the dipping batter, but it was the best French toast she’d ever eaten.


  They didn’t speak for a several long minutes except to compliment Cody on the food and make appreciative sounds.

  “Good thing you can cook,” Adam said to Cody. “This guy, here, can microwave a mean Lean Cuisine. But that’s about the extent of it.”

  Cody nodded. “Yeah, I know. Greg’s idea of cooking dinner is to pick up the phone and order in.”

  “Hey, it works, and there’re no pots and pans to scrub up afterward.” Then he frowned. “Of course, there’s no place to do that here at the cabin.”

  “Pizza Palace in Gatesville delivers to Lusty, and it’s pricey, but they take plastic.” Adam grinned.

  “Good to know,” Greg said.

  “I can cook, but not as well as Cody,” Rebecca said. Then she shrugged. “It’s never particularly bothered me that I didn’t excel at the traditional female tasks.” She figured her gift was her art, so that was what she’d developed. “It was always kind of depressing cooking for one, so I never tried to get really good at it. But I can cook.”

  Adam nodded. “Yeah, I remember what that’s like, cooking for one.” Then he smiled in such a way that Rebecca knew he was, these days, a very contented man, despite the recent diet.

  He set aside his plate and sat back to take a sip from his coffee.

  “I’m going to guess it wasn’t a sudden need for my man’s cooking or our conversational brilliance that brings you out here this morning, cousin,” Greg said.

  “It’s not, though I consider both a really great bonus.” He looked at Cody. “Thanks for the meal. It was very good.”

  “You’re welcome.”

  “Actually, there’re a couple of matters I need to discuss with y’all.” Adam took another sip of his coffee. “After you came in the other day, I reached out to Detective Dwyer of the Seattle PD. He assured me the investigation into the attempt on your life was ongoing and in fact, they were expecting a break in the case shortly. He called back last night.”

  Adam pulled his smart phone out of his pocket and worked it for a moment. Then he held it toward her and asked, “Is this the woman you’ve reported as having been following you?”