by Marla Monroe
Taylor Rizzoli was spending less time at her coffee shop, Rizzoli’s, and had advertised for more help. If Tessa could figure out a way to get home safely, she could probably get on there. But, as it was, she didn’t want to risk her life by walking at night.
After warming up some soup and making a grilled cheese sandwich to go with it, Tessa settled at the small bar and ate, letting her thoughts wander. She enjoyed working at Heavy Trinkets. The shop had so many different things that she wasn’t bored in the least. It handled everything from erotic romance books to custom leather clothes, cuffs, toys, and body jewelry. Steve even sold the specialized ropes that riggers and those who enjoyed shibari preferred.
Even though she didn’t want that sort of relationship with anyone, Tessa enjoyed reading about it. She just didn’t think she could ever trust someone enough to allow them to control any part of her life. Not after the nightmare she’d endured over five years ago. Some memories never fade. Unfortunately, it was usually the bad ones.
At twenty-one, nearly twenty-two years old, Tessa had met Paul in one of her college classes. He’d been sweet and kind, undeterred by her plus-size body or her shyness. Looking back, Tessa knew that was what had attracted him in the first place. She fit his victim profile perfectly. Being shy and uncomfortable with herself because of her body, Tessa was ripe for the picking, vulnerable and susceptible to the right words and actions. Someone like her ate up the attention he lavished on her at first.
Once he had her completely dependent on him emotionally, he went in for the kill, slowly and subtly chipping away at her self-esteem even more. He moved in with her, letting her take over all the bills, one at a time, then encouraging her to postpone the rest of her education while he finished his. Then he could support her while she completed her degree. Someone needed to work to pay their bills. Ha, his bills.
Tessa shook it all away, determined not to dwell on the past. Instead, she had a future ahead of her here in Perkins City. All she had to do was resist Tag and Zander. That was going to be easier said than done considering how her body reacted to them anytime they were around.
Aw hell. Who am I kidding? I think about them all the time, especially at night.
They were the objects of her fantasies no matter how hard she tried to substitute some random guy she’d seen or a movie star she liked. Like her monthly rent, they kept showing up despite her wishes otherwise, dominating her dreams until she was waking up wet with her fingers between the folds of her pussy.
Why was she so attracted to them in particular? Yes, they had great bodies, but Zander was bald and she’d never gone for bald men before. Plus, she was sure he had body piercings all over, something she’d never been attracted to in the past. Tag’s long black hair was attractive, but his facial features were hard and unyielding. She had a hard time seeing him as capable of being gentle. Yet his gruff ways and nasty talk excited her instead of sending her running in the opposite direction. Truth be told, Tessa had to make herself refuse their attentions and avoid them as much as possible.
It seemed the more she denied herself, the harder it became. Still, that part of herself that screamed in self-preservation warned that they would take over her life, consume her, and squash any dreams or aspirations she might have to better herself. They would want a submissive who looked to them for everything to the point that she would sink into nothingness, her individuality molded to their wishes.
Again she shook off those useless thoughts and washed up her dishes before heading to the bathroom for a shower. It was past time for her to be in bed so she could get up the next morning to get ready for work.
Please let the hot water actually work tonight.
When she turned on the water and adjusted it to suit her, the pipes moaned and rattled. Tessa held out her hand to test the temperature and sighed in relief. No cold shower tonight. She stepped in and quickly soaped her body, knowing that her good luck could change at any second. Sure enough, as soon as she had soaped her entire body, the pipes groaned and the water slowly began to lose heat. Tessa rushed to rinse off before she had to endure nothing but cold water. Just as she finished, an icy cascade replaced the lukewarm shower of before.
Tessa jumped out so fast she nearly fell, scraping her foot on the track that held the sliding shower door and banging her hip into the vanity in the process.
“Damn!” She held on to the vanity with an iron grip until she got past the pain to her hip and foot.
What more could possibly go wrong? No, she thought, don’t say that. You know it can always get worse. Tessa turned off the shower, wiped up the water she’d tracked on the floor, and realized her foot was bleeding. See, that was why she should never utter those treacherous words.
The cut didn’t seem to be very deep, but it was going to be sore for a few days. In the meantime, being on her feet wasn’t going to be fun. Tessa cleaned it and bandaged it, praying it didn’t become infected. Though she kept everything as clean as possible, it was hard to clean old crap that should have been replaced a long time ago.
Her bed consisted of a mattress on the floor, and her nightstand was a milk crate with a wind-up alarm clock. She set the alarm for six and quickly pulled on her nightshirt before slipping beneath the sheet. Since she couldn’t run the overhead ceiling fan without leaving on the light, Tessa had a box fan to stir the air. Though it wasn’t exactly hot in the apartment, it was stuffy.
With fall not too far off, the days remained hot, but the nights cooled off to a comfortable temperature that could get a little chilly at times. Tessa was thankful it would be a while before she had to worry about cold, wet weather again. Last year she’d been lucky and was able to get a ride to work sometimes with a lady who worked at the bank, but she hadn’t seen or heard from the woman in several months now. Tessa didn’t know if she was still around. Maybe her hours had changed or she had quit work. Either way, it meant a miserable walk to and from work if she didn’t find another ride.
She sighed. Why couldn’t she stop worrying so much over everything? She had a good job. Worrying over every little thing when she couldn’t do anything about it right then was only going to lead to a sleepless night and ulcers. With that thought, Tessa closed her eyes and willed herself to sleep. As if her mind had to have the last word, an image of herself pressed intimately between Tag and Zander, complete with that little gasp of breath that always hit her if one of them touched her, flashed across her mind as she drifted off.
Chapter Three
Friday morning started out well enough. Tessa managed to get to work almost twenty minutes early, and since Steve had shown up earlier than usual, she didn’t have to wait around for him to unlock the door for her. She’d even remembered to pack a lunch, which was something she often forgot these days. Something about restless nights didn’t go well with a clear head in the morning.
From there, the day seemed to go downhill. First, a woman bumped into one of the displays of butt plugs, knocking them everywhere. It took Tessa nearly an hour between taking care of customers and answering the phone to arrange the display back like it was. Then a busload of tourists swarmed the store while a leaking tire on the bus was repaired. While it meant some rather nice sales, the sheer number of people in the store at one time had been overwhelming. Even though Steve had come out to help, the two of them had been run ragged for nearly an hour until they moved on down the street.
She hesitated to hope the rest of the day proved to be quieter since that always backfired on her. Instead she stayed busy packaging some of Kelly’s jewelry to be shipped. Between customers, she was pleased to have gotten over half of the orders completed.
The bell over the door alerted her to another customer. She looked at the clock and figured it would be her last one before she took a quick lunch break. That’s when the rest of her day went to hell. When she turned around to greet the new customer, it was to find Zander standing at the counter smiling at her.
“Hi there, kitten. Is it time for your lun
ch break?” he asked.
“No,” she said at the same time Steve’s voice spoke up behind her.
“Yes,” he said.
She turned and frowned at her boss, making sure he could tell she didn’t want to go yet. It didn’t seem to do any good. He just smiled down at her and greeted Zander.
“I’m up here now, Tessa. You can go ahead and take your break while I’m here. Did you and Zander have plans?” Butter wouldn’t have melted in his mouth from the overly innocent expression he wore.
“No. We didn’t and still don’t,” she mumbled as she walked to the back to get her lunch and hopefully sneak out the back door.
To her surprise, Zander reached over her head and grabbed her sacked lunch off the shelf for her and handed it to her with a smile.
“You’re not supposed to be back here. Only employees can come back here,” she fussed.
“The boss let me through, so I guess it’s okay this once. Come on, kitten. I have a picnic spot all fixed up for us.” He didn’t wait for her to argue. Instead he ushered her out the back door.
Tessa figured it wouldn’t do her any good to complain or put up a fight. She’d just have to endure the impromptu lunch plans he’d made. Anyway, nothing could happen that she couldn’t fend off should they get out of hand. At least that’s what she told herself, anyway.
He led her around the buildings to Crossover Street and down a block to the local city park. She’d never really ventured out to the park before, always choosing to eat her lunch in the back of the store, so Tessa wasn’t sure what to expect. To her surprise, it had a walking track that curled in and around the various trees, bushes, and flowerbeds along with a section with a playground for children. It was even covered for the most part by some type of canvas to help keep the sun off the kids.
Zander led her around part of the walking track then veered onto the grass to walk around a fragrant hedge where a small alcove hid a private area complete with a picnic table. Tag stood waiting to one side, hands stuffed in the front pockets of his jeans as if he didn’t know what to do with them while he waited. A tablecloth covered the wooden table, and several boxes emitting mouthwatering aromas sat waiting for them.
“Have a seat, baby girl. What would you like to drink? We’ve got sweet tea, Diet Coke, and bottled water,” Tag said, indicating the cooler on the ground by the table.
Tessa moved on autopilot to the table to take a seat, completely unprepared for what they’d set up for her. Because she knew it was for her. They wouldn’t have done all of this for themselves. They’d even brought Diet Coke. How had they known that she loved the stuff when she rarely splurged on it?
“Um, Diet Coke please. What’s going on? Why did you go to all of this trouble?” she asked.
“For you, kitten.” Zander sat next to her, and Tag sat across the table after handing her the ice cold can of Diet Coke. “We wanted to spend a little time with you and figured this was a good start."
“I–I already told Tag I can’t do this. I’m not dating. Period.” Tessa could tell that it was going in one ear and out the other as the man next to her started opening boxes and pulling out food.
“We knew you’d already have your lunch packed, but we figured a little more wouldn’t hurt. You can have your pick of anything,” Tag said, indicating the boxes of food.
Tessa opened her bag and pulled out her peanut butter sandwich and the banana she’d brought. Looking in the various boxes, she found fried chicken and several ham and cheese sandwiches. There were also containers of potato salad and baked beans. Zander pulled out paper plates and handed one to each of them.
“Dig in, kitten. That sandwich isn’t enough to keep a busy woman satisfied,” he said.
Tag watched her with his serious dark eyes as if he didn’t want to miss a single thing she did. Neither of the men moved to load up their plates. She realized they were waiting on her to go first. Tessa gave in as her stomach begged her to take advantage of the feast set before her. She took a spoonful of the potato salad and another of the baked beans. Then she chose a chicken leg and started eating. Zander and Tag each grabbed sandwiches and dipped into the beans and potatoes. She couldn’t help but smile at how much they piled on their plates.
Zander caught her staring and grinned at her. “Hey! We’re growing boys. It takes a lot to keep us in top shape.”
“You’re hardly boys, Zander, and men don’t grow after about twenty-three,” she said.
“Ah, so you do see us as men,” Tag said. He gave her a knowing look that had heat rushing up her neck to burn her cheeks.
“I love seeing you blush, Tessa,” Zander told her. “I bet when you’re lost in passion you look just like that.”
Tessa quickly looked down at her plate and concentrated on eating. She needed to hurry to get back to work. That and get away from the two men who were intent in breaking down her defenses. Nothing more was said while they ate, but once she’d finished, Tessa started gathering up her mess to throw it in the garbage can she’d seen on the way.
“Whoa, kitten. No need to do that. We’ll take care of the trash and clean up. All you have to do is sit and relax for a few minutes,” Zander admonished her.
“I really appreciate the meal. It was thoughtful, and it is such a pretty day for a picnic, but I’ve got to get back. I only have thirty minutes for lunch.” She started to stand up once again, but Zander stopped her.
“Steve said you could take an hour today. I asked, so just sit down and let’s talk and enjoy how nice it is out here,” he said.
With that, he wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her close enough their bodies touched. Tessa knew it would do her no good to try and pull away. He was much stronger than she was, and though she didn’t worry that he’d hurt her, she knew he wouldn’t allow her to move off.
“W–what did you want to talk about?” she asked, looking up at Tag.
“How about another Diet Coke,” Tag said and bent over to retrieve another from the cooler at his feet. “We want to get to know you better. Where are you from originally?”
“Alabama, Hillsboro. It’s a small town outside of Decatur. I doubt if there are six hundred people there,” she told them.
“What about family? Do they know where you are?” Zander asked.
“There’s nobody left but my brother, Keifer, and he’s in the Marines. We keep in touch, but he’s rarely around. I never know where he’ll be next. I don’t think he does either.” Thinking about her older brother had her wishing he was home.
“You miss him.” Tag made it a statement.
“Yeah. Well, he’s my older brother, and we were close until he enlisted. It was probably for the best. After our parents died in a boating accident, we lived with my aunt in Chicago for a couple of years. The gangs there are tough. You can’t really say no without some kind of backlash. He was worried they’d take it out on me and Aunt Lacy, so when I was old enough to go to college, he enlisted to get away.”
“He sounds like he was very mature for his age to choose something that would give him a means to support himself instead of taking the easy way and easy money,” Tag said.
“He’s a good man. I just wish he’d call it done there and do something here where he’d be safe.” She didn’t often allow herself to think about how dangerous it was for him on a daily basis. She had more than she could handle worrying about the day-to-day crap in her life.
“Have you asked him to?” Zander asked.
“No. I hint that it would be nice to have him around and that I miss him, but I’m not going to guilt him into doing something he doesn’t want to do. That’s not fair to him. He’s got friends now that are like a family to him. Sometimes he sounds far away, but I think he feels strongly about what he does.”
Tag nodded and reached across the table to snag her hand before she could move it out of the way. He squeezed it then let it go.
“Sounds like both of you have good heads on your shoulders,” he said.
; “How did you end up here?” Zander asked.
Tessa was having a really hard time concentrating with Zander’s arm around her. His scent was getting to her. She wanted to lean into him and let him hold her for a few minutes, safe from the world and all the things she worried about. But that was folly. He was one of the very things that kept her up at night.
“Just where I ended up. I’ve been moving around for a few years. Didn’t want to live back home after Mom and Dad were gone, and Chicago isn’t for me. My aunt is living with her daughter in Skokie now anyway. I was never very close to Sandy. I just kept moving until I ended up here, and I like it. The people are nicer than a lot of places I’ve lived.” She closed her mouth, hating that she’d somehow dropped the fortress she’d built around her past and shared it with Tag and Zander of all people.
“We’re pretty pleased you like it here, too, kitten. I can promise you this. Nearly every man in this town would drop everything if you needed help. You can count on all of them to keep you safe. Don’t ever forget that,” Zander told her, a serious expression on his normally relaxed face.
“I won’t,” she promised without thinking.
Everything seemed to drift around her as she listened to the muted sounds of kids playing on the other side of the hedges. The picnic they’d prepared had caught her by surprise. No one had ever spent so much time trying to impress her or do anything special for her. They’d gone out of their way to create a little getaway where she could relax and not have to worry about anything. They’d even secured a longer lunch hour for her to spend there. How could she continue to resist their advances when they treated her like she was special? To them, maybe she really was.
It wasn’t like she couldn’t change her mind and walk away if they started making demands she wasn’t comfortable with. What could it hurt to just see where things led? She wanted them and wasn’t going to deny it to herself anymore. The problem became how to explore their attraction to each other without giving in to anything they wanted even when it wasn’t something she wanted. Falling in love happened whether a person wanted it to or not, but falling under someone’s spell could be prevented. At least she hoped it could be.
