“It’s the truth,” Blade said.
“Bullshit.” Beau snapped back at Blade.
Blade was silent a moment and Beau ran his fingers through his hair then faced the commander.
“Why are we arguing over this? I know we’ve shared some of the same women and even took a few together, but we never discussed making a lifetime commitment to one woman like this before. Where the fuck did this come from?” Beau asked.
“It came from living in Pearl and seeing all our friends filled with happiness. It’s that content feeling they talk about having since finding the perfect woman and sharing her, caring for her, protecting her as one team, one unit, one family,” Cason told them.
“But it wouldn’t be like that if Blade and I aren’t involved with this,” Beau said.
“Beau, you’re going to join us as her guardians. Nothing should be holding you back,” Blade told him.
“Nothing? Really? Well, I guess you don’t know me as well as I thought, Blade. I can’t offer Cora anything but heartache. I’m older, hard, and I expect a lot from a woman in bed. She’s been abused. I like it rough and so do you. She can’t handle men like us. We’ll only frighten her more,” Beau said and then stood up and pushed the folder toward Blade.
“I think we might be exactly what she needs,” Cason said as he stood too.
“You need to talk with Asher and Avery and confirm their commitment. Cason can set up the meeting with Brock and his team for the four of you to discuss guardianship. In the meantime you may want to ease into letting on to Cora about this.”
“We need to discuss things with Asher and Avery first. I’ll take care of that as soon as Cora leaves today.” Blade nodded his head as Cason left the room, closing the door behind him.
“What the fuck are you thinking?” Beau challenged Blade.
“The conversation is over for now. I have a phone call to make. I’ll meet you all for lunch in a few minutes,” Blade told Beau.
“Sure you will.” Beau was definitely angry, but he’d get over it. If he were honest with himself he would admit that he had feelings for Cora just like the rest of the team. Sure, Beau had hang-ups. He felt broken. Join the club. But he still had a heart. It showed in his eyes even though he tried so hard not to.
Blade walked over to his desk. He paused a moment as he stared around the room. The place never looked so good and organized. He inhaled in appreciation of Cora’s organizational skills as well as her decoration and functionality abilities. That was when he smelled the scent of her appealing perfume mingled in with men’s cologne and wooden furniture. That scent brought thoughts of Cora. She had become part of this office, and now was becoming part of his team’s lives.
His chest tightened, and an ache, a longing, feelings of failure, distrust battled inside of him as his conscience told him Cora was special, different than Eileen. But then came that fear, plain and simple. He couldn’t give them what was necessary in a ménage relationship even if he tried to. Someone would screw up and it would be him. His fears from the past despite how strong and lethal he was as a commander wouldn’t survive that kind of pain with an already broken heart.
He cleared his head as anger overruled everything else. Eileen popped into his head once again.
“You’re never there for me, Blade. The military comes first and I’m lonely.”
“I’m a commander of a team of great men. They need me to survive out there. You haven’t a clue, Eileen. I’ll be back in a month tops.”
“I’m pregnant, Blade.”
Even now, thinking about her words, he felt the shock, the excitement, and the fear that instantly hit his system. He would make a great father. He was going to have a baby with Eileen. What was he going to tell his team? They would be happy for him. Of course they would. They would understand. He would find a new commander for them. He had to make some changes for Eileen and the baby.
“Oh God, baby, that’s great. Why didn’t you tell me when I first got here? We could have gone out and celebrated.”
Her expression changed. She was practically shaking. Maybe this was why she was so distant in bed this week. When they made love, she seemed standoffish, unaffectionate, but she claimed she wasn’t feeling well.
“I’m sorry, Blade, but the baby isn’t yours.”
Blade slammed his fist down on the desk as the weakness, the shock felt like it hit him again, even now, five years later.
She had betrayed him, made love with him while she was pregnant from some other man. He forced the memories from his mind just as he had done before. He could never trust a woman again. He could never allow himself to give his heart and soul to a woman ever. Not after Eileen. Not after what little family he had left betrayed him entirely.
All he had to count on was his team. Four great men he shared the battlefield with. Four men he would give his life to save. Four men he wanted happiness for as he had continuously seen in towns like Pearl, Salvation, and Tranquility.
He would help them achieve happiness, even if it killed him.
* * * *
Liam was giggling after he finished up from lunch as Avery talked to him about fishes and swimming. The kids were both adorable and very respectful children. Even while they waited patiently while their mom made them lunch, they sat quietly, talked to Avery about their favorite television shows, and said please and thank you.
“So is it okay for them to go swimming in the pool for a little while?” Asher asked Cora as she finished her lunch. She looked up at him, her beautiful brown eyes focused on his lips and then along his jaw before landing on his eyes. Asher didn’t know what hit him, but he felt desire like never before. It wasn’t lust. He had his share of women and could get a bed partner anytime he wanted. No, this was something different. Something he never felt before until Cora.
“I don’t want to impose. This is your day off. All of you, and we’ve stayed long enough.”
He narrowed his eyes and looked down at her. She was so petite and feminine. He would love to feel her sitting on his lap. He could protect her there in his arms. He could taste those plump lips of hers too.
“Avery and I invited you. The others don’t mind either. Beau and Cason even joined us and are having fun with the kids. You’re not imposing.”
She lowered her eyes to her hands and then looked at the kids who were smiling and looking at Beau’s tattoos on his arm. They were asking about the military signs and the designs that led further up his sleeve along his hip and back.
“They don’t really know how to swim. They’ve only gone in the lake by the shelter with Arabella and I, and sometimes Smith, Rex, Brock, and Reno,” she told him.
He reached over and touched her hand and he felt her stiffen up, so he quickly pulled away. She looked frightened, and that didn’t sit well with him at all.
“We’ll go in with them. We’re all great swimmers,” Asher said to her.
“You brought your bathing suit didn’t you, Cora?” Avery asked her as the kids got up from their chairs and came to her all excited about going in the big swimming pool and the hot tub. She laughed and ran her hands through Liam’s shaggy brown hair then took Julia’s hand and brought her closer to her.
“I think we’ve stayed long enough.”
“No, Mommy, please. We never was in a hot tub,” Liam said in such an adorable voice. The kids were beautiful and looked so much like Cora. Asher assumed the dirty-blond hair came from their father, but everything else about them was Cora.
“Yeah, come on, Mommy, let them have some fun,” Cason chimed in, joking as he smiled down at Cora, who shook her head, smiling.
“This isn’t fair, you all ganging up on me,” she said with a smile.
That thought made Asher’s mind wonder into a completely dirty direction, causing his cock to harden against his jeans. If he was going to go in the pool with her and the kids, he needed to tame this suddenly aroused state he got in with thoughts of Cora.
“Okay then, let’s show you to
the cabana where you can change,” Avery told the kids, and Liam grabbed Avery’s hand and Julia walked over to Beau to take his. The shocked expression on Beau’s face was priceless.
* * * *
Cora helped the kids to get ready. They were so excited. Liam was hopping around as he held on to Cora’s shoulders while she assisted him into his swim trunks.
“This house is so cool. Your bosses are nice, Mommy, and they got big muscles, tattoos, they were soldiers too like Daddy. This ca-banana is awesome. I could live in this.” He carried on about the cabana and the men nonstop.
“It’s called a cabana, honey, and you’re right, it is big enough for you to live in, but you’re still coming home with me, munchkin,” she teased as she kissed his belly, and he giggled, stepping back to let Cora help Julia with her flip-flops. Julia wore a cute purple bathing suit that Arabella had picked up, and Liam’s bathing suit was royal blue with sharks all over it.
“Wait for Mommy,” Cora said. She was glad that she had worn the plain black bikini under the sundress so she didn’t have to make Liam and Julia wait on her. Although she was hoping that they didn’t go swimming because she was pretty self-conscious about her body and exposing it to anyone. She had a faint scar along her hip near the intricate vine-and-floral tattoo that ran from her hip bone to her groin. It was a work of art created by a well-known tattoo artist in Chicago. Anthony had wanted her to get his name tattooed on her, but she convinced him to let her pick out the tattoo instead. The tattoo artist, Lee, had done an amazing job.
The bikini was the only bathing suit she had, but since the guys mentioned swimming in the pool with the kids and the fact that her children weren’t great swimmers, she knew she would have to wear a bathing suit and join them. So she did what any woman in this situation would do. She shaved, tidied areas up, and hoped for the best. Not that she really cared. Her kids were her life now, and nothing else mattered so much.
She made them stand still and sprayed them with sunblock before they exited the cabana. When they walked out, Cora paused at the sight. Avery, Asher, and Cason were all in the pool leaning against the side in the shallow end. Cora swallowed hard. They were the sexiest men she had ever laid eyes on. Their muscles had muscles, they were ripped, shredded, in total excellent condition, and tattoos were on each of them. She felt her heart pounding in her chest. Her belly went tight, and she wondered if she would have a panic attack, when Cason stepped from the pool and sat on the steps. Beau leaned against the side of the pool just watching her with that intense stare of his.
Avery and Asher helped the kids.
“Cora, are you okay?” Cason asked her, with an expression that told her he knew she was checking out their bodies and liked what she saw. They had to know, and that kind of annoyed her. Were they so arrogant?
“I’m fine,” she said as she stepped forward, forcing confidence into her shaking limbs.
“Are you going swimming in that?” Cason asked her.
She looked at him and then toward Avery and Asher, who had already taken the kids’ hands and were teaching them to swim. Both men watched her.
“Of course not. I was just testing the water,” she replied with quick thinking.
She could feel their eyes upon her, and it did a number on her nerves. She was actually shaking as she began to lift the hem of the dress up and over her head.
She folded it, her back toward the pool, and hoped she didn’t look as terrible in the suit as she felt. She was self-conscious about her body, but the martial arts training she still engaged in at the shelter helped firm up major places.
She turned around and the four men were watching her. She panicked, the need for cover greater than anything else, and she dove into the pool. She came up close to Liam, pulling him into her arms as he giggled then hugged her neck.
“Mommy’s swimming. Yeah,” he cheered.
* * * *
Cason thought his heart was going to rip through his chest it was pounding so hard. Was this even normal? To have a reaction to a woman’s body like this?
He knew it was a first as he absorbed Cora from the moment she removed her sundress and he saw her amazing body. She hid her assets well, and he was intrigued as he caught sight of her full breasts, curvy hips, and muscular body. She was in amazing shape, and the tattoo along her hip that disappeared under her bikini gained his immediate interest. He’d like to see all of it. Explore every inch with his fingers, his mouth. He could even imagine licking her skin and flicking that belly ring she had as well. Her youthfulness showed in the glow of her skin, and it made him feel old, yet completely interested.
He moved closer, absorbed the way the water dripped between her luscious breasts, and he couldn’t help but stare. Thank God Asher and Avery were keeping her and the kids busy, but one look at Beau and where his eyes went and he knew his buddy was liking what he was seeing too.
The kids were laughing and splashing around in the shallow end Cora helped Liam to swim while Asher was next to Julia as she made her way toward the deep end.
“Be careful, Julia. You can’t touch the bottom standing up. I don’t want you going too deeply,” her mom told her as Liam swam to Avery and hugged his neck. Avery chuckled. Julia looked shocked as her eyes went from Avery to Cason. Cason smiled as he swam closer to Cora and Julia.
“I think Liam’s taking a liking to Avery and Asher,” he said, bumping her, as he couldn’t resist getting close to Cora.
Liam pulled from her arms and jumped into Cason’s. “You throw me,” he said.
Cason chuckled, but Cora seemed embarrassed.
“Throw you? Why would I do that?” Cason asked as Liam smiled, the water dripping from his dirty-blond hair. His brown eyes sparkled.
“It’s fun. Reno and Rex do it in the lake. Not too far or high please,” Liam said and then closed his eyes and let his arms hang. Cason and Cora chuckled, and he whispered to Cora, asking if it was okay. Her big brown eyes sparkled, and again his eyes roamed over her breasts. She was just so sexy.
“One, two three,” Cason counted and then lifted Liam up and tossed him only a little ways in front of him and not too high. He kicked and swam, a huge smile on his face. “Again, again,” he cheered, and of course there was no resisting this adorable kid’s pleas.
* * * *
Cora was watching how great the guys were with Liam and Julia. It almost seemed so normal in a way. She had to remind herself that they were just being kind, and she should really get the kids out of the pool so the men could enjoy the rest of the day and whatever plans they had. The thought they could be involved with a woman or have dates jumped into her mind and gave her an instant sick feeling. But as quickly as that thought came, so did her pessimistic, and realistic, mind.
This was not some fairy-tale fantasy here. The reality was that she could never take a chance on any man again, and especially men like these guys. She could see herself falling into her old ways, being submissive to their strong personalities and demands. They were hard men, perhaps even faking their kindness toward the kids like other men she had come across in town. No one wanted a single mom with kids, never mind all her emotional baggage and hang-ups.
The second she felt the hand on her waist under the water she gasped and jumped to the side.
“Whoa, I didn’t mean to scare you. You had this lost look in your eyes and you looked sad. Are you okay?” Avery asked her.
She nodded her head.
“Sorry, I think it’s time to go,” Cora whispered.
Julia and Liam both cheered a “no” as they swam toward her. They wrapped themselves around her nearly bringing her under the water.
“We need to. Remember what I told you, that these men are my bosses and they were just being kind to let us come here today. Now I don’t expect you two to give me a hard time or to take advantage of Cason, Avery, Asher, and Beau’s kindness. It’s Saturday, their day off, and besides, we need to get ready for dinner tonight at Aunt Arabella’s.”
“O
kay, Mommy.”
“We’re sorry,” Julia said toward Avery, Asher, Cason, and Beau. Beau had that same angry expression on his face.
“You can come over anytime to swim,” he said, but there was still no emotion in his eyes, only in the tone of his voice. She felt badly for him. She almost felt a connection to him in that way. She was always trying to put on a smile or pretend that things were better, that she wasn’t scared, but the truth was that she was scared. Of a lot of things, and being around men like this, allowing them close to her family, wasn’t being smart.
“Let’s go,” she said.
Avery and Asher helped Julia and Liam out of the pool and gave them towels to dry off. As Cora headed toward the stairs, Cason touched her hand to stop her. Beau and Cason were standing close, towering over her in the shallow end by the stairs. She gripped the railing.
“We don’t mind the kids and you coming over and going swimming. We don’t get to use this pool nearly as much as we should.”
She held his gaze. Those blue eyes of Cason’s were so appealing. But she felt that bit of anxiety having Cason and Beau, of all men, so close to her. Especially while wearing such little clothing.
“I appreciate that.”
“So you’ll come over again, and go swimming, I mean?” Cason pushed. Now he was using his thumb to brush along her hand between her pointer and thumb. She pulled away.
“I’ll see, Cason. Maybe,” she said, feeling herself get more anxious. She turned to head up the step and out of the pool to the patio and spotted Blade standing there holding a towel and looking her over.
She stared at him as he seemed to assess her body in the bikini she wore.
“Here, this is for you,” he said, holding the towel open. She reached for it, and he stepped back, widening the towel, indicating for her to turn and step into it as he wrapped her snugly. She gulped, that sense of anxiety getting stronger, but one look at Liam and Julia giggling as they sat on the lounge chair snuggled together and wrapped in fluffy towels and she turned into the open towel. Blade’s arms wrapped around her from behind. She felt his big, hard body against hers, and she gripped the towel and went to step forward. He stopped her.
Soldiers of Pearl 2: Healing Souls (Siren Publishing LoveXtreme Forever) Page 8
