“You feel really good in my arms, baby. Really good.” He stared at her lips.
“I’m not your type, Romano, nor your team’s type.” She pulled back, and he slowly let her put some space between them.
“What do you mean our type?” Rossi asked in a harsh tone before Romano could.
She looked at him.
“Easy.”
Tat and Basile chuckled as she started to move past them, Ricci took her hand.
“We don’t look for easy women.”
“No need to when they find you. Just wait until they hear you just got back from a mission.”
It was crazy, but a woman and her friends walked by that Greco had been talking to earlier and they said something to them.
“The competition is over, how about that drink?” she asked.
Merica rolled her eyes and then gave Romano a wink.
“There ya go.” She walked away, and the other women pushed their way between them. Greco, Ricci, Romano, and Rossi watched Merica head through the crowd. Somehow they’d insulted her and made her feel like all they wanted from her was sex.
Hell, she was hot. How could he not think with his dick as he watched her?
Ricci wondered as he listened to Romano get rid of the women, but it was too late. Merica was now with her friends and talking to a group of guys.
* * * *
“Hey, what were you doing over there with those guys?” Talia asked her as they stood by the bar drinking and taking in the sounds of the band. A group of cowboys Talia knew were flirting and buying them all drinks.
“It was crazy. There was a situation at the bar, and they came over to pull me into their protective embraces.” She rolled her eyes.
“Holy crap. They are fierce looking, Mercia. I would avoid them big time.”
“Oh, that’s my plan of action, especially since they completely started hitting on me and telling me how they wanted to talk and they just got back from a mission.”
“I heard about that from Lauren,” Avana said.
“They are scary men though. I mean they bark, they don’t talk. I heard them when they came to see Lauren before they left for that mission. She was still out of it, but Mink, Panther, Eddie, and Steve were grateful for their help in getting to Lauren and having the contacts they had.”
Merica glanced back that way toward them and was shocked to see Rossi and Ricci heading her way. She turned away from them and took a sip from her drink.
“They’re coming over,” Avana said to her.
“What do I do?” Merica asked.
“Be yourself, and if they’re full of shit, you’ll know it.” Talia winked.
Aggressive, commanding men intimidated her. Merica knew that. It stemmed from her father’s commanding personality and disciplinary ways but also her experiences with men, with sex, with watching her mom get involved with Rodge and how controlling he was. He was a big guy, too, and he hurt her, was abusive to her, but her mom wouldn’t admit that or leave him. Then there was her Aunt May, who had been involved in an abusive relationship with a soldier. Enough warning for her to stay on guard with all men and especially military ones. Merica would never let a man abuse her, but it was almost like she wouldn’t even date a guy who she thought could really hurt her. She tended to not even date, but when she flirted, it was with men she felt she could overpower if need be. They were safe. Men like these weren’t safe at all.
The other guys who had been talking to Avana, Tiana, Marianna, and Talia started asking them if they wanted to dance or if they needed more drinks.
“How about you, Merica? Can I get you another one?” Kyle asked her. He was a very nice guy. Worked as an accountant for a firm in town, but he’d recently broken up with his longtime girlfriend, and something told Merica he was just trying to make his ex jealous, as he kept glancing toward the dance floor. His ex was currently wrapped up in another cowboy’s arms and looking right at Kyle, too.
“I’m good, Kyle. So how is work going? Keeping you busy?” she asked, taking another sip of her drink she was halfway finished with, but as he spoke to her and stepped closer, she glanced away and saw Ricci and Rossi coming over. Just then Kyle stroked her jaw, making her turn to look at him.
“I don’t know why I ever dated a woman like Cora. She never understood how hard work is and how demanding. I can’t always be going out drinking and dancing, you know?” he said, moving toward her as if he would kiss her. She stepped back.
“I think you still love her, Kyle.”
He squinted at her and then whispered into her ear. “You’re a good woman, Merica. You were there for me when I needed a friend.”
She remembered the night she was working behind the bar and he was down in the dumps and depressed. She started to cheer him up and talk to him about work, accounting, and how important of a job it was and how difficult it is to juggle responsibilities with partying.
She pressed her free hand to his chest and pushed him back gently.
“Welcome to adulthood is what I told you. Maybe Cora just felt a little left out with all your volunteer work, too.”
He stepped back, and his eyes widened as he looked straight up, and as she turned, she felt the hand go to her waist and then Rossi was pulling her against him as Ricci basically dismissed Kyle with a stare-down. Merica just acted polite, introduced them to Kyle as the others came closer, and they all started talking, but the others had conversations that led them talking to the men. Kyle got the hint to take a hike, leaving her once again pinned by a table by two very charismatic, seasoned soldiers who definitely had an effect on her body.
She placed her hand on Rossi’s arm that wrapped her up. She was so much smaller than him. Instantly, she felt protected and turned on by his hold, too. His one arm wasn’t even totally around her waist, but his grip was firm on her hip, and then his mouth was next to her ear. His body pressed against her ass.
“Smart man to walk away when he did.”
She shivered, felt aroused, concerned, and then Ricci spoke up, stepping in front of her. Ricci, with his crew-cut brown hair and light green eyes, was filled with muscles and currently looking pretty freaking serious. She retreated against Rossi, who took complete advantage of that move and kissed her neck. She gasped and stepped forward, only for Ricci to caress her hair.
“He isn’t your type at all, baby,” Ricci said to her in that deep, hard tone of his. My God, she had never in her entire life met any men who were so hardcore from head to toe, from voices to personalities to damn actions. None that were as good looking and rugged either. She was having palpitations. She could handle this. Definitely.
“Not for nothing, but how do you even know what my type is?”
Rossi moved from behind her but didn’t let her go. Instead he eased his palm along her hip and then licked his lower lip as he eyed her over. She placed her hands on her hips and gave him a sassy look. There was no way she was going to let these two run the show no matter how intimidated she was of them and all those darn muscles.
“You’re even more beautiful riled up,” Ricci said.
She opened her mouth then closed it because she was shocked by his flirty comment.
“I’m not riled up. I just don’t appreciate pompous men thinking they know what I like and don’t like.”
“He was no good for you. Too boring and plain. You’re a sexy, voluptuous woman and need big, strong, capable men who can protect you and do it for you.” Ricci winked at her as he took her hand and brought it to his lips, kissing the top. Her entire body heated up. She needed to recover quickly. He was good. Damn good.
“Hmm, how often that line work for ya, Ricci?” She pulled her hand away. She turned away from them to take her drink, but it was empty.
Ricci pressed up on her other side and gave her shoulder a nudge. She glanced at him.
“I don’t use lines. You’re a beautiful woman, Merica.” He gazed over her lips then back into her eyes. He reached up and stroked her long brown hair aw
ay from her shoulder.
“Talk to us. We want to get to know you.”
She turned around, her back against the table, and looked at both men.
Ricci with those dark tattoos on his forearm, the crew-cut dark hair, and the well-trimmed short beard. It made him look rugged, sexy, but also wild. It was a contrast to those light green eyes of Rossi’s and his clean-shaven face. She thought of Romano and Greco. Both sported tattoos along their arms and maybe elsewhere. Their hair was short on the sides but a bit longer on the top. Romano looked lethal, scary, forceful, and older. Like way older than her, and Greco was thick with solid muscles, clean shaven and very mysterious. She glanced toward where they were earlier, but they weren’t there. She felt a little disappointed, but then Ricci and Rossi were pushing for more conversation.
“Talk to us, baby.” Rossi looked at her with hunger in his eyes.
“You’re wasting your time. I don’t care about you being away on some mission. Or that you’re looking to ease some aches. I’m not like that, and you should know it.” She went to move, but Rossi stepped in her way, placed his hands on her hips, and gave her a squeeze.
“Honey, if we wanted easy, we wouldn’t have had to come into the place. We could’ve just stood outside,” he said, all cocky.
That smirk she hadn’t seen before brought out a small dimple in his left cheek. These men were experienced with women, and she didn’t know why she was still standing here.
“Oh brother,” she replied, and then he chuckled. Rossi? Chuckling? What in God’s name. She squinted at him.
His hand eased from her hip to her back. Drawing her closer, he pressed her up against the table as he held her close. Too close, as she lost her balance and gripped onto him.
“Damn woman, what do you think we are? A bunch of male sluts?” he asked.
Ricci chuckled. “Set her straight, Rossi. We’re not losing her now,” Ricci said, surprising her, and she wondered what he meant, but with Rossi so close and his hands on her, she couldn’t move. It was a task to breathe without moaning. These men were hot, sexy, older, and carrying. She could feel the gun on his hip under his shirt.
She shrugged in response to the male slut comment.
“Nice, Merica, but we aren’t,” Ricci added.
“I don’t know. You kind of have ‘player’ written all over you.”
“Me?” Rossi asked, releasing his hand from her hip to point at his chest. He was so big her nose barely reached his chin, and she was wearing pretty high heels.
Rossi slid his palm lower and brushed it over her ass as he shook his head.
“We have got to set you straight, woman. Ricci, order another round. We’re going to get to know Merica, and she’s going to get to know us, not gossip about us.”
Ricci ordered drinks, and Rossi reached up and stroked her jaw.
She lowered her eyes. “Rossi.”
“No. You feel it. You have questions. You want to learn more, and so do we.”
Ricci handed her another drink.
The feel of his hand sliding along her jaw and then his thumb brushing her lower lip was a total turn-on. She couldn’t believe how aroused she was. Everything about these men was a turn-on. Even their large, muscular hands, the military watches they sported on their wrists, and the way their tattoos stood out, as well as their dominant personalities. When she re-crossed her legs after taking a seat on the stool, both men moved closer.
Before long she eased up and actually enjoyed their conversation as she took a seat on the chair by the high bar table and both men remained close. Rossi stroked her knee as he sat on a stool next to her, and Ricci was on her other side, blocking out anyone trying to ease in between their conversation.
“So besides bookkeeping for a couple of places, you mentioned product reviews? On what type of stuff? How does that work?” Ricci asked her.
It was hard to concentrate with Rossi stroking her knee, tickling her skin, and Ricci bringing her hand to his lips and kissing her knuckles before placing that hand on his thigh. She gulped.
“There are people who come in, are paid for their opinions on products that we help represent for marketing. Either they have tried the products, or we’ve given them some to try and they come back with feedback as consumers. We’ve done everything from laundry detergent to speaker systems.”
“Speaker systems?” Rossi asked.
“Yes, like wireless Bluetooth speakers, surround sound systems, a bunch of high-tech equipment.”
“Sounds kind of cool, but how do you know if the people are telling the truth?”
“They sign a form, and it’s not like they can make a living out of being reviewers. Companies like this one I’ve worked for since college don’t usually allow the same people to continuously do reviews. They like new blood. It pays a $150 for two hours of their time, too.”
“One hundred and fifty dollars for reviewing a product for two hours? Holy crap,” Ricci stated, and she laughed, starting to feel more relaxed and comfortable with Ricci and Rossi. That was until Greco and Romano joined them, too.
She was shaking. They were just so compelling. Dark hair, features so muscular and defined like they were chiseled from stone. Their eyes, somewhat the same, seemed a little distant and cold except for the glimpses of brightness she saw when they told a story or complimented her. It was like they were all in tune to the attraction they felt. She thought about this. About flirting and seeing where it led. Then the panicking started the moment Romano asked if she had any family. The man had leader written all over him. Firm jaw, complex personality, hard tone, seasoned facial expressions, and his entire demeanor intimidated her big time.
“I have a mom, but I’m not real close to her. And you guys?”
“We have one another and some cousins, each of us from our families,” Greco told her, staring at her like he couldn’t take his eyes off of her. She felt self-conscious, like she was being examined under a microscope or something, yet her body reacted in a positive way besides a nervous, scared way. As Rossi and Ricci continued to caress her skin, hold her hand, and truly pay attention to her, Greco and Roman watched, and it was both unnerving and arousing. So this was what her friends felt for their men when they first started considering a ménage. Oh God, was she considering a ménage? She shook that thought from her head then locked gazes with Romano and anticipated some sort of order or demand. In her mind she imagined him being a disciplinarian, a boss in everything he did and to everyone around him. Unbutton your top, Merica, slip off your panties, and open wide for our viewing. Holy God.
Her nipples hardened, her breasts felt full, and her belly quivered deep inside, making her feel almost giddy to be having four sexy, older men focusing completely on her. She didn’t know what to do, and when Romano spoke up about having a brother, she almost didn’t pay attention.
“His name is Cardesso, but people call him Hook. He lives with us, too.”
Her jaw dropped. She felt a flush of heat.
“Umh, really? I…I met him. Today, well, yesterday but then again today at the gym.”
Romano squinted his eyes at her.
“He spoke to you?”
“You train there?” Rossi asked in an accusatory tone. Like he probably thought she was a regular, flaunting her body, looking to land soldiers.
“No, I don’t train there. I work there. I’ve known Flick for years, and I’m doing some bookkeeping for him while the regular bookkeeper is dealing with health issues.” She didn’t know why she was freaking out. Nothing had happened between her and Hook. Well, aside from him flirting, helping to ice an injury he’d caused, and, well, his flirting and how scary he was and the effect it had on her with that beard of his, the plethora of tattoos all over Hook’s body, and the muscles. She’d seen him shirtless for the fight, and Jesus, he appeared made out of stone. She glanced at Romano, who was squinting at her, and she had a rush of thoughts. Were there problems between the brothers? She heard that Hook didn’t talk to many people
and was anti-social. Kerry had called her earlier to ask how things went today. Now here these guys were, totally flirting, and either they were looking for sex or they wanted to stake a claim, and she wouldn’t do either. These guys did the same thing to her. Oh God, she couldn’t do this.
“I think I’m going to go talk with my friends.”
“Wait, what happened? Did Hook hurt you? Bother you or scare you or something?” Romano asked, definitely looking angry with that scowl on his face.
“No. No of course not. He was fine.”
Merica was completely overwhelmed right now talking to these men. She tried to focus on what they were talking about and asking her, but she kept thinking about what she knew or had heard about the men. Very little actually, but she did hear about them living off the compound and that they had a lot of connections and worked alone. One night at The Station she’d heard some guys, soldiers with SoJ, mention Romano and that the man was distrusting, hardcore, and that he and his team were mean and kept to themselves. That they were called into specialized missions that were super dangerous. Perhaps some of it was over exaggerated because those soldiers were flirting with a few of her friends, but she remembered how serious the guys had been as they described Romano’s, Greco’s, Ricci’s, and Rossi’s personalities. Those men were feared, and so her instincts weren’t off at all. Now here she was once again surrounded by them, in the darkness of a corner by the bar, as music played and her friends ditched her.
On top of it, Romano was Hook’s brother. Were they all crazy, mean, hard men who just thought they could intimidate her into sleeping with them? Oh God, she was aroused by the idea. This wasn’t good. This was how situations started and how men staked a claim to women. No, she was too scared to date one man, never mind more than one.
She downed the rest of her drink and felt it. She needed to slow down and not panic. How could she not, though, as they all sat here eating her up with their eyes?
She was feeling a little buzz from the drinks they kept getting her, and she needed to stop drinking, or she wouldn’t be able to drive home. Not that it would be a big deal to leave her car here, but getting it before work tomorrow might not work well.
Sons of Justice 9: Fighting Chance (Siren Publishing LoveXtreme Forever) Page 5
