Sometimes though, she felt old, like life had dragged her down so much, that there wasn’t any possibility or chance of a future with happiness. Negativity ruled her mind, but motivation to not give up and give in kept her going. Perhaps these people of Pearl knew better than most. Maybe, the love of many was just as powerful if not more so than the love of one.
She never had a boyfriend and lost her virginity to a decent guy she left when she left home. He had his own family issues, but hers were a lot worse. She never regretted sleeping with Tye, but after being touched by Kenny, Quinn, and Blake, she knew that she hadn’t a clue about sex.
Every time she witnessed someone having sex, it was meaningless, and there wasn’t any love or true affection involved. The woman never looked happy. She also realized that she’d never had an orgasm. If Tye had given her one, then she would have stuck around just to enjoy the benefits of them. The way her body tightened and shook from their touch, their words, and their obvious desire to have her made her explode. As a matter of fact, just thinking about their bodies and potentially seeing them naked and having sex with them made her feel hungry. There must be something in the water.
She had no one to talk to about this, and that kind of sucked. She thought about Ariel and damned herself for it. Ariel didn’t know shit about love. She was having sex and letting those guys touch her and do things to her as if she were a whore and had no care for the effects on her body or the disregard they showed toward her after she allowed it the first time around. She saw the bruises on Ariel’s body as well as some burn marks. She might as well have been a whore for allowing them to do such things to her. The only difference was that she wasn’t getting paid for it. Or at least with cash. Troy and Bills and their gangbangers would buy her things and treat her to drinks when they went to clubs. Troy also paid for the trailer.
She swallowed hard. Thank God she never did any of those things. Even when she was starving and hadn’t eaten anything for nearly a week, she wouldn’t give in. She’d rather rummage through the garbage cans for food than accept any handouts from men like Triumph.
Lena walked outside along the pathway, absorbing the clean country air and sunny day and heard the glass crack beneath her sneakers. Immediately she recalled the scene that had unfolded during the night in the thunder and lightning storm. Her heart ached for Bryant. He looked so sad and had obviously felt that life wasn’t worth living as he asked God to take him. She swallowed hard. No one should feel so lonely. She understood what it was like to be alone and desperate for most things people took for granted like food and affection. She looked up at the small house where Bryant hid. The guys didn’t want her working at Rocky’s, but her last few nights were next week. She would quit after if Doc still wanted to hire her to take care of Bryant’s house. What the hell did she have to lose? She had dealt with gangbangers, pimps, and crooks. She should be able to handle an angry soldier.
* * * *
Bryant woke up to the sounds of banging pans and the sensation of a cool breeze filtering through the house. It felt good and he wondered if he were dead. He opened his eyes, feeling the pain in his head from drinking too much last night. Across the room, standing up on a step stool was a beautiful angel. The sun silhouetted her body, and he thought he had died and gone to heaven.
Her body was curvy and perfect. Long, tanned legs, short shorts, and a flat belly peeked out from under the black T-shirt she wore. Her breasts were large and her chin firm as she focused on cleaning the top of the cabinets.
“What the fuck?” he yelled as he realized that he wasn’t staring at an angel. There was a sexy, hot, young woman in his house, and he recognized her as the neighbor from next door. Fuck!
* * * *
Lena nearly fell of the small step-ladder. She wondered when the drunken Marine was going to arise for the day. His place reeked of stale food, sweat, and vomit. After opening all the windows in the house then staring at the man for a bit, she decided to jump right into cleaning. She would focus on getting the house together and see how he responded.
“Whoever you are, you’re in the wrong fucking place.” He growled at her.
“Nope. I’m in the right place, Bryant. I’m your new maid and cook,” she stated. He lifted his head up a bit too quickly as he grabbed it to steady himself.
“The fuck you are. Get out!” he yelled fiercely. The sight of his chiseled muscles on his chest and intense tattoos were intimidating, but she was determined to make some money and ditch the job at Rocky’s.
“I don’t think so. You should take a shower. I cleaned up the bathrooms already and brought over some clean towels until I can get all of yours washed and dried.” She walked back over to the stool and began to clean. She could hear him struggling to get up off the chair then limp into the kitchen.
“Get the fuck down now, woman!” he yelled as he kicked one of the kitchen chairs, causing it to hit the step-ladder, making her grab onto the rim at the top of the cabinets.
“What the hell! Are you trying to kill me?” she yelled back, and he raised his eyes at her. His gruff beard made him look older.
“While you’re taking a shower, you should shave. You look like crap,” she stated. He jerked his body toward her as if he would attack, and she stiffened. This time the step ladder really wobbled, but she used her thigh muscles to hold it in place.
“Get out of my house, woman I don’t need a fucking maid.”
“Well, I need a job and your fathers are paying me well to clean up this pigsty you call a home. You got a problem with that then take it up with them,” she calmly stated back and hoped that her voice didn’t sound as shaky as it felt. He was ripped with protruding muscles and was taller than she had thought. Remaining higher than him on the step ladder helped to maintain her confidence. His body was perfect, and the look in his eyes told her he had a dark side. She wondered if she really could handle this.
Bryant slid his arm across the table making all the magazines and plates crash to the floor before he turned around and exited the room.
* * * *
“Get her out of my fucking house now! I don’t want a fucking maid. I don’t want a cook either. I am taking care of myself!” he yelled into the phone as he paced the living room best he could with a limp. Every so often he glanced up toward the kitchen and the black-haired beauty that invaded his home. Of course, instead of some old hag of a housekeeper, his fathers had to hire some twenty-something-year-old model. “She probably doesn’t even know how to cook. Didn’t you say she was living on the streets?” he blurted out, and the woman, Lena, swung her head toward him as she climbed down the ladder. She placed her hands on her hips and gave him the evil eye. Son of a bitch, my dick is instantly hard. She is fucking beautiful and better off staying away from the likes of me.
“I really don’t give a shit about her sob story. With tits and an ass like hers she should be stripping or working in a bar.” He stared at the woman, and she gasped. He began to wonder why he was insulting her to his father. They would force this issue. They were stubborn and the only way to resolve this was to get rid of the woman himself.
“Forget about it. It’s your waste of fucking money,” he stated then slammed the phone down onto the receiver.
He tried to take a series of deep breaths, and as he did, he smelled the unpleasant odor coming from all around him. He glanced at the mess, absorbing what the woman called a pigsty. She was right, but he still didn’t need her here. Not looking the way she did and not with him being less of a man.
“They care about you, you know. You didn’t have to be such an asshole over the phone,” she called after him as she wrung out the mop she was using to mop the floor and the mess he made in his fit of rage.
“Did I fucking ask you a question?” He took a few wobbly steps toward her, and he saw her flinch even though she stood her ground. He had a deep, strong voice that most people stepped down from to avoid confrontation with. She wouldn’t be any different.
She we
nt back to mopping up the floor.
* * * *
“Hey, Dad, have you seen Lena at all today?” Quinn asked as he and Blake joined their parents for supper.
His fathers all looked to Abigail and then back at Doc.
“What’s wrong?” Quinn asked.
“Where the hell is she?” Blake demanded to know.
“Calm down. She’s fine. In fact she’s more than fine and a hell of a lot tougher than even I gave her credit for,” Doc stated.
Abigail touched Quinn’s arm. “She took the job we offered her.”
Quinn still had no idea what his mother was talking about.
“She’s over at Bryant’s house. She’s going to take care of the house and the meals.”
“What?” Quinn and Blake yelled as they stood up.
His mother was taken aback at their response. Quinn knew that she wished they could all be close like they had been two years ago, but they weren’t. Bryant had changed and not for the better. He was a rotten, coldhearted bastard.
“There’s no need to flip out, son,” Will began to say, and Quinn looked at Blake and locked gazes.
“We’re going over there right now to get her. I hope he hasn’t hurt her,” Blake stated, sounding concerned.
“You men stop right there!” Frank yelled, and even Abigail widened her eyes in surprise. Frank was the quiet one who had a hell of a temper if riled up, but that wasn’t often. He had a commanding way about him. Quinn was surprised at his outburst.
He and Blake looked at their dad Frank.
“Sit your butts back down and enjoy the dinner that your mother worked so hard to cook for you. Lena is a strong young woman. She’s been at Bryant’s since seven o’clock this morning and will be there until the evening after supper. So don’t even think about getting in the way. You can see her afterward if she wants to see you.”
“Oh, she will see us, all right. She needs protection. Didn’t you hear about what happened at Rocky’s last night?” Quinn responded.
“What happened at Rocky’s?” Abigail asked, and Doc held up his hand for the conversation to stop.
“A few drunk patrons decided to harass a young woman coming out of work.”
“Do you mean Lena?” Abigail asked.
Doc nodded his head and they heard their mother gasp and their fathers’ mumbled curses under their breaths.
“You didn’t tell me about this, Pete,” Abigail stated, sounding angry.
“I also didn’t tell you about the two men who came to see me today. One with a broken nose and another with a serious black eye. He also had bruising along his groin and another area he was concerned over, if you know what I mean,” Doc stated.
“Lena did that to them?” Blake asked, sounding proud as he looked at Quinn, who shook his head in shock.
“That she did. She defended herself. She’s used to having to do that, apparently, and not that she should be used to men being aggressive,” Doc said then raised his eyebrows at them as if insinuating that his sons were coming on too strong to Lena.
“We would never hurt Lena, Dad,” Quinn stated.
“Watch your aggressive and controlling ways around her. She’s not some woman you can mess around with then toss to the side when you’ve had your fun.”
“Dad! She means more than that to us,” Blake stated.
“Kenny feels the same way, too?” Abigail asked then smiled.
“Yes, he does. We’ll eat dinner but then we’re going to get Lena,” Quinn told them as he and his brother sat back down at the dinner table.
* * * *
Lena walked out the front door and took a deep breath. She had survived the first day with soldier boy. She had left his dinner on the counter for him to eat. She had a feeling he would attack the chicken cutlets and pasta salad the moment she left the house. She didn’t want to go overboard the first night, but tomorrow she would make some nice Cornish hens for him to eat with sweet potatoes and fresh corn. A trip to the store wasn’t necessary. Doc and his brothers had stocked up the freezer out back, and she took out the hens before she left.
She walked around the large tree that separated the two houses. Her cottage sat a few yards away, and she immediately noticed the truck sitting out front. It was big and black with tinted windows. Blake.
After the eventful morning a couple of days ago, she wasn’t sure she was ready to be alone with Blake, Kenny, or Quinn. She definitely couldn’t handle being alone with all three of them. Besides that, she was hungry and tired. Soldier boy’s house was a mess.
As she approached the cottage, she saw Blake and Quinn sitting on the patio.
“There she is. We’ve been waiting for you,” Quinn stated, and both men rose from their chairs to greet her.
“You didn’t say you were dropping by. I wasn’t expecting company,” she replied as she ignored them and climbed the stairs.
Blake got to her first as she unlocked her front door.
“You okay, baby?” he asked as he caressed her arm. She felt the tingling sensation straight to her soul. These men were powerful.
“I’m tired, but I survived.” She opened the front door.
“Can we come in?” Quinn asked.
“I think you should stay outside. Let me grab a drink and a granola bar,” she told them, and they looked at her as if she were crazy.
She grabbed a bottle of water and the granola bar then walked back onto the front porch.
“Want to sit for a while?” Quinn asked, and she nodded her head. They walked toward the patio, and she took a seat on one of the cushioned chairs they had brought for her. Quinn sat to the side of her while Blake sat directly in front of her.
“So, how did it go?” Blake asked her. She looked at him and had a feeling that he was forcing the question. They disliked their brother Bryant and his treatment of them. It was understandable.
“What do you mean?” She took a sip of water.
“Bryant? How was it?” Quinn asked.
“Did he say anything or do anything to hurt you?” Blake asked as he moved his chair closer to her and held her legs between his legs. He caressed her thighs, and she locked gazes with him. Blake’s blue eyes held a seriousness she was getting used to recognizing. He was concerned.
“He’s a bit rough around the edges. but it wasn’t terrible.”
“Did he try anything?” Quinn asked.
“Quinn, he’s your brother, and no he didn’t try anything aside from a few insulting comments and his failed attempts to get rid of me.”
“If he upset you, you don’t have to go back. Matter of fact, we would prefer if you didn’t,” Blake told her as he inched closer so now his hands rubbed farther up her thighs.
“I’m a big girl, Blake. He needs the help. The place was a mess, and he hasn’t been eating well. I think this will do him good.”
Blake shook his head.
“We don’t want you there. We don’t know what he’s capable of,” Quinn stated.
They were being bossy again, and she wasn’t in the mood. She stood up, and Blake held her hips so she couldn’t move.
“Blake, I’m tired and I’m really not in the mood for your whole bossing-around attitude.”
“Bossing-around attitude? Listen, we were worried about you all day. Before we knew that you were at Bryant’s, we thought you left town.”
She could tell Blake was truly upset. She touched his cheek.
“There’s no other place for me to go right now. Not without money, anyway,” she added. He stood up and pulled her against him.
“You can’t leave us. We won’t let you go, Lena,” Blake stated. His hold was firm around her waist, and her heart rejoiced in hope that he really wanted her but she still had that feeling of foreboding inside.
“You feel the attraction we all share, Lena. You came in our arms remember?” he whispered then lowered his mouth to hers. He kissed her deeply, and instantly she was under Blake’s spell. The feel of his hands caressing her lower back whil
e he explored her mouth with his tongue was pure pleasure. When she felt Quinn’s hands on her shoulders massaging the tight muscles, she relaxed even more. Blake released her lips but continued to kiss along her neck as Quinn tilted her head sideways so he could kiss her next.
It was overwhelming.
Quinn nibbled on her bottom lip before he released her lips and caressed his thumb over her lower lip. Blake stared down at her.
“So sweet and beautiful. Give this a chance, Lena, we promise we won’t hurt you.”
“What exactly are you asking for?” she asked them.
“Invite us inside, Lena, and we’ll show you how amazing this can be between us,” Blake whispered as he rubbed his thumbs back and forth across her hip bones.
She took a deep breath. As much as her body craved more of their touch, she just wasn’t ready for such a move. She took both Blake’s hand and Quinn’s hand up to her lips. She held them there and gently kissed Blake’s hand on the knuckle and then Quinn’s hand while they stepped closer to her. The feel of two large, masculine bodies so close to her gave her a feeling of safety and security.
“You make me want so much. I’m just not ready for that move yet. Please understand. This is all new to me. Everything I’ve done since arriving here has been a step toward a new life. A better life than what I had.”
Blake reached up and touched her cheek as she released their other hands. She felt Quinn wrap his arms around her midsection from behind and lay his head on her shoulder.
“We’ll wait for you, Lena. You are meant for us,” Blake stated.
Chapter 7
Lena blew off working at Rocky’s this week and told him she would be there to work next Friday for a bachelor party. He promised her that Derrick and his buddies weren’t allowed in there when she was working. She was fine with that. They were drunk anyway when the incident happened. Working there two nights a week on Fridays and Saturdays would be easy to handle along with her new responsibilities with soldier boy.
Lena's Happily Ever After [The Town of Pearl 3] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) Page 8
