It looked amazing. He even built the wood structures with seating around the more detailed pumpkins so parents could take pictures of their children next to them. Once visitors entered the fields, the only light was from the candles inside of the jack-o’-lanterns.
Once they finished up, Mr. O’Brian offered them a beer as they sat on the back of one of the hayride trucks as people began to arrive. It wasn’t until it was dark and he was preparing to leave with his brothers that he spotted Lucia.
At first he wasn’t sure it was her, but then noticed the black coat, her long brown hair, and the backpack she carried. She was smiling as she stood by the entrance admiring Lucifer’s work.
“What are you looking at?” Maxwell asked, taking another slug from his bottle of beer then tossing it into the garbage.
Salvatore nodded toward Lucia, and his brothers all looked, too.
“Lucia,” Lucifer called out as he headed toward her. She turned, and her expression indicated she was shocked to see him there, and then her eyes darted toward Salvatore and their brothers Maxwell and Gabriele.
“You came to check out the display?” Lucifer asked, putting his hands in his pockets, looking a bit nervous. That was so unlike Lucifer. But then again, Salvatore could feel his own heartbeat racing as he slid off the back of the truck and greeted her next.
“Who did you come here with?” he thought to ask. His gut tightened just thinking she was here with some guy. But she was all alone, and the others that had walked through the entrance along with her were already moving along the pathway.
“No one.”
That bothered him. She must have walked here. Maxwell moved closer.
“Hi, I’m their brother Maxwell. This is Gabriele.” Maxwell introduced them as Salvatore’s mind spun with concern. She shook their hands hello, and he could tell his brothers found her attractive, too. Maxwell looked her body over, and Gabriele smiled. He barely smiled anymore.
“It’s nice to meet you,” she said then jumped, placing her hand over her chest as Brutas barked at her. He wagged his tail and approached.
“Oh God, he’s a big dog,” she said and lowered her hand palm upward for Brutas to sniff.
“Be nice, Brutas,” Salvatore said as the dog licked her hand.
She chuckled, and his heart pounded inside. He couldn’t be attracted to her like this. She deserved better. He fucked up once and nearly killed a woman. He couldn’t be trusted to have a relationship with one. But his brothers could. She was special. It didn’t take being a brain surgeon to realize that.
“He’s very big. His head is huge,” she said, and then petted Brutas. The dog pressed against her and the guys shot looks at Salvatore.
“You walked here alone?” Lucifer asked, and she pulled her bottom lip between her teeth.
“It’s not that far. I really wanted to see this after everyone described it at Francine’s the other day.”
“It’s cold out,” Salvatore barked at her.
“I have a nice warm coat now, Salvatore. No worries,” she said and then looked toward the pathway.
“One of us should give you a ride back,” Maxwell told her sternly.
“That’s not necessary, but thank you. I should get moving.” She started to walk away.
“We’ll walk with you. We were going to check out the display anyway,” Gabriele told her as he pushed off the back of the truck and approached. She looked so worried, but they didn’t give her a chance to turn them down. They started walking, and Brutas placed himself between her and Salvatore.
* * * *
Gabriele was surprised at how beautiful Lucia was. He knew she was petite and had long brown hair, but those big doe eyes and those pretty little lips were very appealing. There was this instant need to protect her and remain by her side when he found out she walked here alone. As Maxwell and the brothers discussed the other night, it could be dangerous.
“What is that over there?” she asked, pointing to the display that was supposed to look like a Tyrannosaurus surrounded by skeletons of other dinosaurs, all made out of carved pumpkins.
“I think that’s a T. rex. Look at how they made the tail.” He pointed.
“I’ve never seen anything like this before.”
“They don’t carve pumpkins for Halloween where you came from?” Maxwell asked. Leave it to their investigator brother to find a way to interrogate the woman.
She swung around to look at Maxwell, her hair whipping over her shoulders and the jacket.
Suddenly and without warning, her perfume and the scent of her shampoo enticed him.
“I didn’t say that. There just wasn’t anything like this,” she said, avoiding giving any indication of where she was from. He caught the hint of a more Southern accent in her Texas twang, but couldn’t be certain.
Maxwell took the opportunity to lean closer to her as she stood by the fence along with other visitors. She really seemed to be enjoying the displays.
The wind picked up a little, and people gasped as leaves blew around. It seemed the nights were getting a lot colder faster. Lucia pulled her jacket tighter, and then Lucifer blocked the wind and held her by the sides of her arms.
“Damn, it’s getting windy,” Lucifer whispered.
He stared down into Lucia’s eyes, and Maxwell noticed her body language. She tightened up, looking ready to bolt.
“Are you warm enough?” Lucifer asked, and he reached up and cupped her cheek. Lucia looked down and turned. “Lucia?” Lucifer questioned her reaction to his touch.
“We should keep walking,” she said.
He held her shoulder on the right side and kept his left hand on her upper arm on the left side.
“Hey, I’m just making sure that you’re warm. You know, looking out for you.”
“I don’t need looking out for.”
“Maybe I think otherwise,” he replied.
“I’m not your concern.”
“Maybe we’re making you our concern,” Lucifer told her, and even Gabriele was shocked. But his brother was right on target. There was a shared attraction here, but Gabriele’s gut warned him that Lucia might not be so willing to accept them. This was a huge step, something they rarely talked about lately, only years ago. What had changed? Where were all these emotions coming from?
“We?” she replied.
“Yes. You shouldn’t be walking out at night alone and through the woods,” he countered.
“I can take care of myself.”
“I don’t think you can.”
“Excuse me?,” she replied.
“I think you need looking after. I think you also need a ride home.”
“That’s not happening. I’ll walk, thank you.”
“Not alone you won’t,” Salvatore added.
“We’ll drive you in the truck. It’s safer with us.” Gabriele even added his remarks.
“I don’t even know you, what makes you think I would go with you, or that you have the right to make me?” she asked, raising her voice.
“Calm down. No one here is going to hurt you,” Lucifer told her.
“Yeah, I’ve heard that before. Thanks but no thanks. Leave me alone,” she said and pushed by him and continued walking.
“We can’t let her walk all the way back to the Anderses’ place alone,” Lucifer told his brothers.
“Then we’ll follow her,” Salvatore stated.
“Oh yeah, that will go over well. She’ll think we’re stalkers. Didn’t you see how fearful she was? Seems she didn’t like being touched,” Maxwell added.
“Yeah, we all noticed that. She’s got her guard up. Let’s see if we can ease her fears a little so maybe she’ll at least let us follow her home,” Gabriele suggested then started walking away to catch up with her.
“There’s a lot for us to discuss tonight, once we know Lucia is home safe and sound,” Maxwell told them.
“Agreed,” Lucifer said.
“Count me out. I’ll ensure she gets home safely, but you k
now I can’t be part of this. She may know about Lindsey already,” Salvatore said.
“Fuck that. Lindsey was years ago. You’re a different man and you hadn’t hurt her. Besides, we haven’t discussed this entirely as a family. We’ll need to do that tonight, to know where we all stand. I don’t really even know her, but I’m definitely attracted to her,” Maxwell admitted.
“Come on, let’s catch up with them,” Lucifer said, and they followed him.
* * * *
Lucia felt on edge. Her belly quivered, her breasts felt swollen, and for some crazy reason other body parts seemed on alert. It was disconcerting to say the least. How could she be attracted to these men? And she was attracted to all four of them. Was there something in the water? Had she been sprayed with some sort of invisible trick gas that made her interested in four brothers at the same time? This wasn’t something she was used to or had knowledge of until coming here. The entire ménage thing had never even occurred to her before, and why should it?
She hadn’t been given a choice here. Who were they to tell her that she wasn’t walking home? They told her it was dangerous and that they were concerned. Really? Why? What gave them the right?
She had to put a halt to this immediately. She wasn’t like most women. She had been assaulted, drugged, and raped. She woke up in a hospital with a concussion only to find out days later, as she gained back her memory, exactly what had happened. She couldn’t handle another man, any man being close to her. She feared intimacy. She was broken in so many ways. Her innocence, her control and power as an individual, as a woman, and as a human being had been stolen from her. She wasn’t normal. She was scared, and all she wanted to do was run.
“Lucia.”
She heard her name, the strong male voice, and she turned around to see Gabriele.
The name of an angel, how ironic. He wasn’t her angel. He wasn’t one to protect her, watch over her, and make her heal from the pain and the fear. So what was he? Who was he?
“What do you want with me? Why are you guys doing this? What is this about?” She confronted him, and he stared down into her eyes, his expression going from firm to compassionate in a blink of her eye.
“We want to get to know you. We want to look out for you to ensure that you’re safe, and as to what is this about? I think it’s about this town and what it stands for. As men of the town, we watch over and protect all women and children.”
“Protect them from what?”
Gabriele looked uncomfortable as he glanced toward his approaching brothers.
“Any danger.”
“The town isn’t dangerous,” she said as the others gathered around her. She felt the shield of masculinity momentarily sideswipe her. She was so hurt, so fragmented inside, she couldn’t even comprehend the feelings erupting inside of her.
She felt Gabriele’s hand touch her hand. She tightened up, and he gave a light squeeze. “You’re scared, and that’s not our intention. We were just showing concern for you walking home in the dark.”
“For walking in the woods all alone,” Salvatore added.
“As safe as Pearl is overall, there are still ways that bad people can infiltrate it. The woods are not regularly patrolled,” Maxwell told her next.
She looked at them. She tried to be understanding toward this rule of Pearl. If she weren’t so scared to trust what they were saying, she would find the idea of the men watching over and protecting women and children to be noble and amazing. It would impress her if she could only stop focusing on her attraction combined with her fears.
She never got counseling. She never told another person after confiding in the woman who was supposed to be her mother, her rock, and now here she was fighting to be strong. Strong enough to take care of herself, even though this town had these men conditioned to be protectors. Stronger than she felt, especially at night when she was all alone in bed wishing she had someone she could trust that could hold her and tell her that everything was going to be okay.
But she was all alone in this godforsaken world, and this too-good-to-be-true town with its ideal fantasy-type rules and circumstances that were so foreign to her. These men were older, very attractive, and could pick and choose what woman they wanted to have sex with, date, or make theirs for however long. Were they interested in her because she was the new stranger to town? The woman who knew nothing of their pasts, or of their true agenda?
Her anger grew almost as strong as her fears of accepting their word as reality and truth.
She held on to the fence and stared at the abundant amount of pumpkins carved, lit, and glowing in the dark fall night. The crisp air stung her Southern cheeks as the wind picked up again and had her shivering despite the coat she wore. That was another example of the caring, giving, and compassionate ways of this town. The way the women reached out to help even when there was no sound of a scream, a needy plea. Anna and Diane knew she needed a coat. They were giving, understanding, and she didn’t feel like a loser but instead like she could still have her pride as she made the monetary donation.
She needed to learn more about the rules of Pearl, and about what made this town tick. But she couldn’t let these four men explain. The trust wasn’t there. She didn’t trust anyone, and that was the reality of being a victim of violence, an object never loved, and only being a tool, a possession to obtain a fortune.
“Lucia?” She heard Salvatore’s voice, and she ignored him as she shifted her backpack and pulled it toward her so she could open up the front zipper. Glancing at him as he stood there, arms crossed, expression appraising, guarded, dark in a way with his big rottweiler next to him, she pulled out the flashlight, zipped her bag, and placed it back into position. The others joined them as she lifted the hood to her jacket a littler snugger against her neck to block the wind.
“What do you think you’re doing?” Lucifer asked her. She glanced at all four men, big, muscular, extremely attractive, and older, and she felt the tightness in her chest. She thought it was intimidation or fear, but then she spoke and the emotion became clear.
“I don’t need watching over. I’m leaving now. Don’t follow me, don’t talk to me, please, just leave me alone and play your games, your power trips with some other woman. I don’t need it.” She turned and headed away, as guilt—guilt—consumed her and her gut instincts told her she was out of her mind.
* * * *
Lucifer looked at Salvatore then Gabriele and Maxwell. Maxwell nodded toward Lucia and the direction she was going en route to the exit from the display.
He didn’t need to say it. They all were in agreement, even Salvatore, who started following her with Brutas by his side.
Lucifer nodded and joined Salvatore in the evening walk, as guards to a young woman who seemed quite special indeed. So special that she snagged the attention of four hardened men. Brothers, who believed their destinies, their futures, involved loneliness reminiscent of their own indiscretions. He couldn’t speak for his brothers’ emotions or feelings, but Lucifer felt this change in him. There was an emotion, an effect, a reaction, all caused by Lucia. It intrigued him, and made his mind wonder over possibilities of what may come of it.
* * * *
Lucia was practically shaking. She was trying so hard to ignore the feelings and reactions going through her. She was touched, aroused, intrigued by the four men, two of whom were escorting her home despite her telling them off. That giddy eruption of arousal was what really pissed her off. How could she be so stupid? How could she allow these men, strangers, to affect her like this just because of their good looks, their maturity, and of course their muscles? They were gorgeous, big men. No one would dare try anything with them. Her own bodyguards. She wished she had met them in South Carolina. Perhaps they would have been able to stop Derek.
She shook the thoughts from her head. They weren’t her bodyguards, and they didn’t really care about her or want to get to know her. They were appeasing rules of this town. Rules that put women and children first, a
nd they were treating her like some naïve child. The anger boiled up inside of her as she abruptly turned and faced them by the entrance to the long, deep woods before another field and the Anderses’ home.
“Why are you following me?” she demanded to know.
“We’re just out for an evening walk, Ma’am. We walk every night,” Salvatore replied.
She looked him over. Standing there in his dark jeans, cowboy boots, and thick, hunter-green flannel that enhanced his size and his muscles. She felt her pussy actually spasm. She quickly looked at Lucifer, one hand on his hip, the other on Brutas’s head petting the large dog. His dark-brown eyes bored into hers, making her feel like a child being reprimanded for asking a stupid question. He, too, was dressed in jeans, boots, and a flannel jacket. His was brown with tan, and he looked just as good as Salvatore. She gulped.
She felt the cold nose against her hand as Brutas nudged it and whined.
She looked at the dog, bent down, and held his huge face between her hands as she spoke to him.
“Are they telling the truth, Brutas? Do they take you for a walk every night?” she asked, and Brutas licked her from chin to forehead.
She laughed as she released him, petted his head, and stood up.
She saw the smirk on Lucifer’s face before she turned around and continued walking.
Their trek through the woods in the dark with her holding the small flashlight was a bit scary. She would probably be freaking out if it weren’t for the big dog and the two huge-ass men accompanying her. For a moment she feared the fact that she was letting her guard down and letting these men she barely knew accompany her home. But something deep inside of her, a sense, and a knowing instinct made those thoughts disappear. They trekked through the tougher terrain, slipping here and there on loose rocks and wet leaves. A few times one of them grabbed her arm before she fully lost her balance, and then she heard them mumble.
Suddenly Salvatore pulled her back behind him as Lucifer took position behind her and Brutas growled low.
Just One Kiss: A Holiday Story [The Town of Pearl 8] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) Page 7
