by Zoey Marcel
Her heart pattered in her chest with hope. He called her Mellie, a nickname she’d come to associate with affection since the O’Neil men were the only ones who’d ever called her by it.
“I would never cheat on you or your brothers.”
“I know you wouldn’t. You’re loyal and genuinely sweet. Tasha was none of those things.” He watched the road while he drove and gently took her hand in his. “I’m glad I know you. You’re the only truly good woman I’ve ever known.”
She gave his hand a caring squeeze. “Thank you. That really means a lot coming from you.”
He caressed the top of her hand with his thumb and became reflective again, only this time he seemed bothered by something.
“What is it?”
“I’ve done a lot of things I’m not proud of, but I’m not ashamed of most of them either.”
Something about his unapologetic attitude was as enticing as it was humbling.
“The things I did deliberately—being brutally honest, sarcastic to the point of disrespect, fucking all the women I could get my hands—I don’t regret any of those things.”
She rolled her eyes a little and pulled her hand away.
Lovely.
He continued, staring off into the rainy night as if he was looking at something, yet nothing at all. “But the things I didn’t plan for—killing Greyson’s fiancée in that car accident and the one-night stand with Dominic’s little sister years ago—I regret those things more than I can stand.”
Mellie almost reached for him, but she wanted more details before she comforted the love-spreading Romeo. “Is that why Dominic is mad at you—because you slept with his sister?”
Emmett nodded. “I never meant for that to happen. Danielle was eighteen at the time and kept flaunting herself at me. I finally caved. She knew who she was getting into bed with. It was supposed to be a one-night stand, but she got attached. I didn’t know she was a virgin.”
“How could you not know?”
“She had no hymen and the pain she experienced was minimal. She must have broken it herself with toys. Dominic found out. McKenna Downs is too small a town to have any secrets for long. I didn’t know that Danielle had been saving herself for marriage. She had a thing for me back then. I guess she thought that after sleeping with her, I would propose to her. Dominic hasn’t spoken to me since, excluding earlier when he came to inform us about the victim.”
“Does Danielle still live in McKenna Downs?” Mellie hoped the answer was no. She hated the thought of him having been another woman’s first. She half wished she’d given her virginity to him. Then again, a little jealousy of her past boyfriends would do the ladies’ man some good.
“No. She moved away.”
Thank God.
“Did you ever say you were sorry?”
“It’s been years. I’m sure she’s moved on by now.”
She better have.
“I meant Dominic.”
“I did, but the fight got ugly. The words didn’t come out as eloquently as I would have liked. I had too much pride back then and he was too upset to hear any kind of apology.”
“Maybe he would now.”
Emmett said nothing.
“You never know.”
“How do you adequately apologize for something like that?”
“It’s better than not saying anything.”
“I’m not sure it is.”
A breach in conversation ensued.
“I lost my best friend and then my brother, both to women.” He shook his head. “It’s always a woman.”
“Do you have other friends?”
“No. Men were always competition in my pursuit of women. I didn’t want anyone getting in the way of what I wanted.” His voice saddened. “Dominic was my one friend and I lost him.”
“I think you should apologize and try to restore the friendship.”
“I already explained to him that I made it clear to Danielle that it was only supposed to be for one night.”
“Well, good heavens, it’s no wonder you don’t have any man friends. You can’t have a one-night stand with your best friend’s little sister and then say ‘she should have known better.’ That’s one of the no-nos between friends.” She glanced at him seriously. “You should have said no. I know she flaunted herself at you, and it was silly of her to assume that you would marry her given your reputation, but she was so young. I remember at that age I had these fairytale ideas about love and happy endings. My first boyfriend hurt me pretty badly, but for different reasons.”
Emmett glanced at her and grappled for her hand, face possessive and angry. “Where does he live?”
Mellie smiled, glad he was jealous. “We’re talking about you right now. I know you men probably think apologizing makes you look weak, but that’s a lonely way to live. A stubborn man keeps his pride, but a humble man keeps his friends.”
He didn’t say anything, but his softening features suggested traces of humility and his silence hinted at consideration.
* * * *
Emmett sat at the dining room table toying with his keys. He knew what he had to do, where he had to go. Knowing what to say was another matter entirely. There were no words.
While Hunter, Jake, and Diego stood around the kitchen talking among themselves, Emmett sat lost in thoughts of her. Mellie gave him a soothing calmness he couldn’t remember Tasha or any other woman giving him. It was a deep knowing, a mature realization accompanied by an all-consuming fire that somehow burned hotter than the fleeting sparks he’d experienced with the women in his past. It was different, better, real.
The younger man he used to be never would have suspected that peace and lust could coincide any more than he could have been convinced that the calming warmth of summer could dwell in the heart of a tempest. She was all things tranquil and wild. The charm of Melanie’s smile could make him her servant as readily as the innocence in her eyes riled his dominance and kindled instinctual protectiveness toward her.
“I’m going to bareback her next time I get my cock up her,” he announced, half to himself.
All conversation ceased and three heads turned to face him.
Jake smirked. “Well, that was random.”
Hunter smiled. “I already did. It was an amazing experience.”
Diego shook his head, amusement lighting his face. “We were discussing when to tell Melanie about the town curse.”
Jake rolled his eyes. “That’s a load of bull. I don’t believe that superstitious crap for a second and you guys shouldn’t either. Emmett, tell them they’re crazy.”
“You might be onto something.”
“Exactly.” Jake’s head jerked. “What? You’re the skeptic. Now you’re on their side?”
“I’m not on anyone’s side. I don’t believe in all that superstitious hogwash.” Emmett’s focus drifted to the keys he turned in his hand. “But Melanie’s life isn’t something to gamble with.”
“It doesn’t have to be that way,” Hunter insisted. “She loves us.”
Greyson walked in and scowled. “Are you boneheads still trying to make that plural marriage bullshit work?”
“It’s not bullshit,” Jake defended. “It’s real.”
Greyson scoffed and grabbed a bottle of beer from the fridge.
“Starting rather early today, aren’t you, brother dearest?” Emmett sassed.
“Don’t concern yourself.” Greyson popped the top and then took a swig.
“You don’t have to join us if you’re not inclined to do so,” Hunter said. “We’ve already made our minds up about Mellie.”
Greyson exhaled with subtlety, still acting skeptical. “When are you clueless fuckers going to get it in your heads that our father isn’t coming back? For all we know he’s dead.”
“This isn’t about our dad,” Jake snapped. “God rest his soul.”
Emmett shook his head and rolled his eyes a little. “You idiots, he lives twenty miles outside of town.”
His brothers’ heads flew up and Jake rubbernecked to look at him. “What?”
“I ran into the old man the other night and got his phone number from our uncle.”
“Why didn’t he stop by to say hi?” Jake asked.
“You know why,” Emmett replied as he dialed the number on his cell phone.
Greyson looked to be fuming. “Tell him to get his ass out here.”
The phone rang on the other end and the old boy picked up. “Hello?”
“Give it up, old man. The secret’s out.”
Herschel sighed. “Well, I reckoned it was only a matter of time. I’ll be right over.”
* * * *
Emmett sat with a smile on his face when Herschel O’Neil walked in and Greyson laid into him.
Melanie came into the kitchen looking confused. “What’s going on?”
Emmett pulled her onto his lap. “You’re just in time, love. We’re having a little family reunion.”
“Is that your father?”
“It is. Can you tell how happy Greyson is to have him back?”
Greyson hadn’t shut up since the old man walked in the door. “You’ve got some nerve showing up here after all these years. No one knew where the hell you were or if you were even still alive. What the hell do you have to say for yourself, Herschel?”
Mellie grimaced. “Why did he call him by his name?”
Emmett pulled her closer and rested his chin on her shoulder after she’d whispered to him. “Our father always encouraged us to express ourselves and speak our minds. Jake calls him Dad, and Hunter refers to him as Pops. Greyson has always called him Herschel.”
“What do you call him?”
“Depends on my mood. Old man usually. He likes it.”
“What did you call your mother?”
He smiled fondly at the memory of his authoritative mother. “We called her Mother otherwise she’d smack us upside the head.”
Mellie grinned. “She wasn’t for freedom of expression?”
“No.” Emmett dragged the word out. “She was for respect, and slapping in its absence.”
They tuned back into the one-sided conversation Greyson was having at his father. “What have you been doing all this time?”
Herschel smiled. “It’s good to see you, too, son.” He turned toward the table. “Is this the special lady?”
“Jesus,” Greyson muttered, turning away in aggravation.
Melanie got up and shook the older cowboy’s extended hand. He kissed it properly like a gentleman would have with a lady long ago.
“It’s good to meet you, Mr. O’Neil.”
“Please, my dear, call me Herschel or father, seeing as we’ll be family soon enough.”
She smiled. “Thank you, Herschel.”
“You’re a good one. I can tell just by looking at you. Emmett had light in his eyes and a certain spring in his step when I saw him the other night.”
Greyson glared at him. “Anger will do that to a man. All of us are furious with you.”
Once Herschel let go of Mellie’s hand Jake approached their father and shook his hand. “Good to have you back.”
“Good to be back,” Herschel agreed. “Hunter.”
“Pops.” Hunter pulled their father into a firm hug. “I missed you.”
“I missed you, too. I suppose it’s been a while since I heard one of your sermons or any for that matter,” Herschel admitted.
“Try years,” Greyson growled. “I’m not finished with you, Herschel.”
“Greyson, calm yourself and propose to this sweet girl already.”
Melanie tensed, seeming uneasy.
Greyson’s eyes fell on her. Emmett knew enough about lust to see the spark of desire that flickered in his eldest brother’s eyes.
Greyson looked back at his father. “No one is getting married. You’re back now. You can stay or leave, but you’re not forcing anyone’s hand to share a wife to get your stubborn ass back.”
Emmett’s eyes darted to Mellie and he knew what she was thinking. Her eyes turned bleak and she looked crushed. While Greyson chewed their father out, she slipped away. Emmett went after her.
The overcast sky promised coming rain and the low rumble of thunder in the distance sang of the approaching storm.
“Mellie!”
She ignored him and kept walking. He followed her into an endless sea of grass, quickening his pace.
“Melanie, stop! It’s not what you think.”
She finally did stop for him, but her back was to him. He stopped in his tracks and gauged her body language.
“It’s exactly what I think.” She whirled around to face him with tears streaking down her cheeks. “You don’t love me. It was all a plot to get your father to come back into your life. How could you use me like that? I get hurt far too easily and you took advantage of me. Oh god.” She put her hand over her closed eyes. “Are Hunter and Jake in on this, too? Do none of you feel anything for me?”
Emmett stepped closer. “We all do, Melanie. Just give me a chance to explain.”
She looked up at him, blinking back the tears. “Why me? You could have married any woman and come to an understanding. If not for love, she could have had your money and all of you could get your dad back. It’s not that way for me. It was real.”
His heart broke for her when she started to cry harder, this time audibly. “Melanie, my brothers love you very much. Not Greyson obviously, but you know Hunter and Jake enough to know that they love you. They would never hurt you or deceive you. You must know that.”
She whimpered and nodded. “They really seemed like they did. I can believe their sincerity, but I don’t for a second believe yours. You’re too logical and womanizing to give a damn about settling down. You loved Tasha and you’d rather it was her here with you instead of me.”
“That’s not true. You’re worlds better than she was, in every way.”
Mellie sobbed. “You didn’t tell me that about your father, the ultimatum. That is the reason you went along with your brothers’ idea to marry me, isn’t it? So you could get him back?”
Emmett gave a slow nod. “Yes, that was the original reason. I would do anything for my brothers, but that reason fell by the wayside. You changed everything.”
“I don’t believe you. You’re just saying that to get me to marry all of you so he’ll stay.”
“Damn it, woman, listen to me.” He stepped closer, but there was still a few feet between them and neither stood close enough to touch. “I’m something of an ass. I admit it. I’m also a womanizer and a first-class smart-ass. I’m not going to apologize for what I am. I can only promise you that I don’t want to be the man I was before I knew you. I didn’t think a woman like you existed. When a man lives without hope and thinks he has no future, he spends his life not giving a damn.”
She sniffled and just listened.
“If you need proof of my feelings, then elope with me. I’ll leave the ranch and family behind and have you all to myself.”
Her mouth fell open. “You would do that?”
“I told you I was an ass. I want you more than I want the old man back in my life, and yes, more than I want to see my brothers happy.”
She appeared as moved as she was stunned.
“I don’t believe in a good many things. I’ve always required evidence as a prerequisite to belief. It’s why I don’t believe in God, or unicorns, or Santa Claus, but there is one thing I believe in and that’s you.”
She stopped crying and just listened without looking at him.
He took another step toward her. “Mellie, look at me.”
She met his gaze with sodden eyes.
“In your heart you know that I love you.” He saw hope in her eyes and it restored his. That look said “I’ll stay.” He took a meager step closer. “I told you I would sooner see you cry than lie to you.”
The reminder put the light back in her saturated eyes. “You called me love in the dining room and the other nig
ht after we left the hotel together with Jake.”
“I meant it.”
Melanie gave him a feeble but genuine smile at last. “It meant a lot to me.”
He gradually closed the tall, golden distance between them. “Do you believe in me, Mellie?”
She gazed up at him adoringly when he stood in front of her and gently wiped away her tears. “Yes, Emmett. I believe in you with all my heart.”
He pulled her against his body and held her tight for a good long minute. “I thought I lost you.”
She squeezed him tight. “You’ll never lose me. If you guys truly love me, I’m here to stay.”
God, he hoped that was true. He’d be lost without her. He didn’t know how to be the man he was before because that person no longer appealed to him. She was all he wanted and she’d given him a reason to better himself.
He pulled back slowly and drank in her innocence and intoxicating beauty. She made him drunk with longing as he leaned in and captured her mouth with his. The kiss was tender and indulgent. Their lips and tongues seemed to take on minds of their own as they cuddled affectionately and then ravished one another in a perverted fuck.
It started to rain, but the pattering drops felt cleansing and refreshing on their skin as they shed their clothes while making out. Bare flesh touched nude skin, firm muscles and soft curves converging into one carnal being. The couple tumbled to the grass together, becoming ensconced in a sea of gold that swayed gently like waves rocking over their bodies each time the wind blew.
They went to their knees and fondled each other slowly while the rain fell soft on their naked bodies. Emmett got a delicious thrill when he felt Mellie’s body rise up against him as he kissed her deeply. Her fingers splayed in his damp hair, and she lost her breath when their genitals touched.
He rolled back with ease and took her with him.
“Straddle my face,” he said gently.
She turned her back to him and then lowered her warm pussy down to his awaiting lips. Her strangled gasp when he kissed her there was precious to him. Hell, her cunt was sacred. That was a new feeling.
