“I have to get going. I’m sure you can handle the door when I’m gone. The dinner is on the stove. Just take the foil off and heat it in the microwave for fifteen seconds. That should do it. The sweet tea is in the fridge.”
“You’ll be here for breakfast tomorrow?”
“Why? Are you looking forward to it?” she teased.
“No. I was just wondering if you were going to make the eggs the way I like them instead of overcooked and maybe some bacon. What the hell does a man have to do around the house to get fucking bacon?” Soldier boy was back to giving her shit. He really didn’t care for her at all.
“Bacon it is and watery eggs to boot. Wonderful for the cholesterol level, darling. Good night,” she said with a Texas accent, then headed out the door.
* * * *
“You should have seen the job she did over there, Pete. My God, the place was sparkling, and Bryant looked really good,” Abigail stated as they sat on the porch outside of their house.
“He let you in okay?” Frank asked.
“Hell no. It was Lena who let us in, and she told him we were there to visit her. You should have heard the way she was talking to Bryant. He gave her shit and she gave it right back. It’s no wonder she’s still there,” Will stated. Pete and Frank chuckled.
“She sure has done a lot for us and for Bryant. I just wish she would open up about her past. Maybe getting together with Anna and Stacy might help?”
“That sounds like a nice idea. You should invite them over for lunch on Sunday. We’ll show the men around the ranch and start working out details for the Fourth of July festivities,” Frank stated.
“Great. I’ll go call them,” Abigail said then headed out.
* * * *
The bar was crowded. There were so many people it was difficult to get from table to table without getting bumped into. There was some kind of pre-bachelor party going on along with the regular bachelor party Rocky had called her in for. Stella, the other waitress, told Lena that the actual bachelor party to the pre-party was taking place in Vegas tomorrow night. By the looks of the bachelor and his friends, the unlucky girl marrying him was in for it. That guy had his hands up every skirt in the joint. The whole honky-tonk-style bar was beginning to grow on her and even the country music. She was drawn into the twang in certain people’s voices, and she was starting to feel a lot more comfortable. Although the bar bordered between Pearl and the next town, people traveled to get to Rocky’s from all over. Meeting new people was a definite plus and helped move her shift along. As she looked around toward the bachelor again, she couldn’t help but chuckle at his numerous attempts to reach under one woman’s skirt.
Lena laughed as she watched what was going on.
“What’s so damn funny?” Sissy, one of the other waitresses, asked.
“Just checking out the scene. I feel sorry for the bride.”
“Yeah well, what’s really crazy is that the bride’s ex-boyfriend is that big guy over there with his three buddies sulking at the bar.”
“Oh my God, does he look pissed.”
“That’s Bill. He’s a mean son of a bitch when he gets drunk. Stay clear of him.”
“You don’t have to tell me twice,” Lena said then walked over to another table of men looking to buy a few drinks.
As the night went on, it seemed as if her shift would never end. At this rate she would be there until closing.
As she stood by the bar humming along to a country tune, hoping that the last stragglers would head out, she heard the commotion going on behind her. As she leaned against the bar, she didn’t even turn around to look. The groom and the ex-boyfriend were having it out. They were cursing and carrying on, and Rocky had already told the bartender, Jeff, to call the police.
Lena shook her head. This was getting old fast. In a matter of a few seconds, she heard the stools fall to the floor then someone yell “fight.” As she turned to see what was happening, the fist hit her cheekbone, knocking her to the ground.
* * * *
She sat in Rocky’s office with a bag of ice against her cheek.
Rocky placed a hand on her shoulder as Wyatt looked at her.
“That’s going to be really bad by morning,” Wyatt stated.
“It is morning, Wyatt,” Rocky said.
“Do you want me to call Kenny?”
She shook her head.
“Right now, all I want to do is go home and sleep. I have to be up by seven, and it’s already four o’clock.”
“I’m real sorry this happened to you, Lena. Those animals were so drunk and crazy.”
“They’ll be spending a few nights in jail for the damage they did and, of course, assault charges. I’m glad you gave your statement this time. Now how about I give you a ride home?” Wyatt offered.
She was supposed to get a ride home from Sissy, but she left over an hour ago.
As they drove in Wyatt’s sheriff’s truck, he told her about him and his brothers and their woman Anna.
“Abigail had mentioned her and Stacy to me. I guess Stacy is your cousin’s girlfriend, right?” she asked, trying to remember what Abigail had told her and also remain focused on the conversation despite the pain she felt.
“That’s right. They’re looking forward to lunch on Sunday and meeting you.”
Lena smiled.
“This town is very nice and so are the people, for the most part,” Lena teased.
“Don’t let Rocky’s patrons make you think the worse of this town. A lot of those people don’t even live in Pearl. They live a few towns over.”
“Well, wherever they’re from I wish they would stop trying to bother me. I’m just trying to make a living.”
Wyatt was silent a moment.
“I understand that you have a past that makes you feel untrusting or fearful to reveal too much about yourself. I know you say that you don’t know your social security number and you lied about your last name being Spright. You don’t need to do that with me or any of the other deputies in town. We’re not out to hurt people. We’re out to help them.”
Lena took a deep breath and felt the instant anxiety in her chest.
“I don’t want any trouble. I don’t feel you need to know anything about me, including my social security number or last name to resolve any of this situation.”
Wyatt exhaled then gave her a look that made her turn away from him. It was too intense.
“I think you’re going to like talking with Anna and Stacy. As a matter of fact, you may even become good friends.”
She remained quiet for the last few minutes of the ride.
* * * *
It took a few minutes for Lena to adjust her eyes. Was it morning already? Her cheek and her head throbbed beneath the pillow. She should really turn over and lie on the opposite side. She moaned from the pain, and as she looked at the clock on the bedside table, she saw that it was after seven in the morning. Soldier boy was going to be pissed off about the lack of bacon and watery eggs. She was a no–show, and it didn’t sit right with her at all.
It took her forever to doze off as her mind thought about the life she had. She was so tired. Tired of getting knocked around and being a nobody. Her heart began to ache, and that was when she heard the floor creak. Someone was in her home.
She blinked her eyes numerous times and saw the tall, bulky figure taking up her entire doorway. It looked like soldier boy, but why would he be in her home? He was a loner. He kept to himself and only stepped outside his door at night. It was wishful thinking on her part. She had been fantasizing about Bryant, Quinn, Blake, and Kenny for weeks now. They wanted to know why she wouldn’t sleep with them and take their relationship to the next level. Truth was that she was scared out of her mind. She just passed her twenty-first birthday, and she knew nothing about relationships, sex, or men. And the Joneses were superior men. Cowboys with great big attitudes.
“I’ve been waiting over an hour for my bacon and eggs, Detroit.”
Her ey
es widened, and she moaned as she moved. Sure as shit, Bryant was in her house.
“Bryant?” she whispered. He took a few steps toward her, and she used the pillow to cover her bruised cheekbone. Her eye felt a bit swollen now, too. What was he going to do when he saw it, she wondered?
“How did you get in?” she asked him, and he moved closer.
“I’m a Marine, baby.”
Oh God, why did that sentence make her belly tighten and her pussy awaken?
“I’m tired, Bryant. I had a late night at Rocky’s.” Every word made her head hurt and her cheek throb.
He stood over her now, and she wondered if he was going to make her get up and cook him his fucking bacon and eggs.
“Why did Wyatt drive you home this morning?”
Her eyes focused in on him. It might as well have been Kenny asking such law-enforcement-type questions. God, when Kenny, Blake, and Quinn found out, she was surely going to get an earful. Damn and maybe that spanking they told her about for disobeying.
She swallowed hard.
“Well, Lena, I asked you a question.”
“I don’t have to tell you anything. How do you know anyway?”
“I was up early this morning. I heard the truck and saw him drop you off.”
He sat down on the bed, his thigh hit her thigh, and she realized that the sheets were all messed up and to the other side of the queen-size bed.
He looked her over, and she rolled another few inches into the pillow to hide the injury.
“I also saw you holding something against your cheek, Lena.”
His tone had changed. Was he really concerned over her, or did he just want to make sure she wasn’t playing hookie to avoid making him his breakfast? He was such a demanding, militant type. He wanted what he wanted when he wanted it or else.
He reached for her cheek and caressed her skin.
What the hell is he doing?
She was shaking from the connection she felt when he touched her skin and what this could possibly be all about. In a panic, she turned away from his deep, prying eyes. “You need to go, Bryant. I’m tired.”
“What the hell happened?” When she turned to look at his eyes, she realized that he had seen the bruising. He looked so angry and disgusted.
He grabbed her shoulders and squeezed.
“Who the fuck did this to you?”
“Please, Bryant, it’s not a big deal.”
“Not a big deal? Let me see.” He released her shoulders to gently turn her cheek toward him. He looked as if he were clenching his teeth or biting the inside of his mouth as he turned red with anger.
He stood up and paced back and forth by the side of the bed. “Tell me who did it. I want to fucking know who hit you.”
“It was an accident, Bryant. There was a fight at the bar and I turned to look and caught some big dude’s right hook that was meant for the guy standing next to me.”
“Are you fucking kidding me? Did you ice it?” he asked, moving back toward the bed.
She turned onto her side.
“I will later, once I get some more sleep.”
She felt his hand on her shoulder. Then he gently caressed her chin below where the bruising was.
“Does it hurt?” he asked in a more calming tone. Her head was throbbing and she was so very tired.
“Yes. Please just go, Bryant. I’m sorry I can’t cook your breakfast today. I’ll stop by to make lunch, all right?” she asked with her eyes closed.
* * * *
Bryant was so enraged right now he wanted to hit something. How could this happen to Lena? She was such a sweet, young woman just trying to work to save money. What the fuck kind of asshole could hit a woman like that. Accident my fucking ass.
He knew something was wrong the moment he saw Wyatt’s truck and Lena got out. It was after four in the morning. He hadn’t slept as usual because of the nightmares. He was looking forward to seeing her today just like the past few weeks.
He worried about her, but who was he to tell her what to do?
As he watched her begin to fall back to sleep, he absorbed the sight of her body. The way her hips curved, the roundness of her ass and her long, toned thighs. The tank she wore barely covered her breasts or her upper body. She might as well have been sleeping in nothing at all.
He swallowed hard. He was so attracted to her, but she was too young, and he was too fucked up to have her. Plus, his brothers wanted her, too, and he wasn’t even talking to them anymore.
She looked so fragile and small lying there with her cheek all swollen. Even her eye was swollen. He would make her see his father when she awoke to make certain that the bruising would heal and that there wasn’t any other damage.
She looked over her shoulder and stared at him.
“You’re creeping me out, Bryant. I can’t fall asleep with you watching me.”
He didn’t think. He just focused on her beauty and the fact that she sounded so sad and lonely. He got onto the bed, and when she didn’t protest or scream for him to get out, he placed his hand on her hip and adjusted his position so her back was against his front.
“What are you doing?” she whispered.
He smoothed his hand over the skin on her belly. It felt smooth and taut. His upper arm brushed against her large breasts that were free beneath the scanty tank she wore.
He got more comfortable and held her against him. Her ass fit perfectly against his cock that now poked against the seam of her ass.
She snuggled closer, and he inhaled the scent of her perfume and the smell of soap on her skin. She felt so good in his arms as he closed his eyes, and for the first time in years, he wished for things he could never have, like Lena.
* * * *
She awoke aroused and completely aware of the large, warm hand that cupped her breast. The big, muscular body she was wedged against, and ultimately the hard cock at her lower back, were what truly awoke her senses. He stayed with me and held me the entire time.
Lena tried not to shift, and in trying to be still, Bryant adjusted his body behind her.
She had to stop the moan that nearly escaped her mouth. He was such a sexy man, and his personality and take-control attitude completely made her putty in his hands. She felt her nipples harden and apparently so did Bryant.
He gently rubbed his thumb along her breast while still cupping it under her tank top.
“Comfortable?” she whispered in such a sexy, deep, voice it shocked her.
“Quite,” he replied, squeezing her breast gently and making her other breast jealous for his touch.
She moved again, adjusting her hips as her pussy felt damp.
“Quit squirming, Detroit. I haven’t been this close to a woman in years,” he admitted, and she felt the tightness in her chest and her belly quiver. Slowly she rolled toward him, and he adjusted his hold on her. He wedged his thigh between her thighs and hip as he lay halfway over her. Bryant cupped her face between his hands and looked at her bruise.
“We should ice this.”
“Okay, later,” she whispered, and he stared at her lips. Her breathing became shallow rather instantly, and she wondered why he hadn’t kissed her yet. He did have her breast in his hand and now his cock lay hard against her belly.
“How old are you?” he asked her, and it surprised her as she squinted her eyes.
“Why?”
“’Cause you look so young, yet you have the body of a porn star.”
She chuckled and he adjusted his body over hers.
“What’s so funny?”
“A porn star, huh? Is that the best line you’ve got? How old are you?”
“I asked you first, and for a petite young woman, you do have the body of a porn star. That wasn’t a line, darling,” he teased as he rubbed his thumb along her left breast and nipple making it tingle straight to her mound. She tilted her head back and closed her eyes.
Lena felt his warm breath against her neck then his tongue as he licked her skin. When Bryan
t reached her chin, he nibbled gently with his teeth, causing her to moan then raise her left thigh and try to rub it along his thigh.
“I don’t want to hurt your bruise.” He shifted upward to kiss her on the mouth. When he released her lips, she lifted her mouth toward him to make him come back and kiss her more when she felt the twinge of pain in her cheek and eye.
“Damn it, Lena. You’re hurting.”
“It’s fine,” she stated, feeling annoyed. She was used to pain. Pain was a rather common thing in her life.
Before he responded, they both heard the sounds of trucks pulling up outside and then the sound of heavy footsteps.
“Your men are here for you,” he stated with a bit of an attitude then slowly got up off the bed.
Her heart immediately sank as she tried to look at him, but her head really hurt.
“I’ll get the door and the ice.”
He adjusted his pants and slightly limped out of the room.
How was she supposed to handle all these feelings? It wasn’t right to feel this way about four men at once. Maybe it was because she never met such perfect men before and she was being crazy?
“What are you doing here?” she heard Kenny ask and then heard the other footsteps.
“Is she okay, Bryant?” Quinn asked him.
“I’m getting more ice.”
Lena looked at the clock with one good eye and one blurry eye. It was nearly swollen shut and black and blue. She just knew it.
“Lena!”
Kenny came storming into her bedroom followed by Blake and then Quinn. Three huge-ass cowboys were crammed into her tiny bedroom. What a sight.
She held up her hand.
“I’m fine. There’s no need to freak,” she whispered as she cuddled into the pillow. They saw her face, and the yelling started.
“Holy shit, that looks fucking terrible!” Kenny yelled.
“Jesus, Lena, how the hell did that happen?” Blake asked.
“Son of a bitch, that looks bad,” Quinn added as they gathered around the bed.
It was Kenny who knelt on her bed and touched her chin, tilting it up toward his face. She kept her eyes closed.
Lena's Happily Ever After [The Town of Pearl 3] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) Page 10
