Loving Selene [The Clay Parish Boys 1] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour)

by Layle Black

  “Take a breath, cher, or you’ll pass out. I know you don’t want to give them the show they came here looking for.” The deep baritone voice rich with Cajun tones washed over her like smooth whiskey, packing a punch and then leaving a slow burn in its wake. Another deep male voice joined the other, this time a mirthless laugh underlying his words with the same Cajun accent.

  “Perhaps the little bird would rather pass out. It would give her an excuse to run. Then again she was always good at that.”

  She didn’t have to turn around to see who it was but did anyway because she just couldn’t help herself. She’d dreaded the moment she’d see Jac and Remy. Dreaded and somehow ached for it. “Hello, Jac…Hello, Remy.” She hoped that her voice sounded steady because inside she was trembling.

  * * * *

  Selene didn’t know what she expected when she saw them again. Secretly hoping they’d both developed beer guts and a taste for overalls. She couldn’t help but to scan the crowd behind them, searching for accompanying wives with squalling kids in tow but alas…not a single rug rat or spouse in sight. Her eyes moved over each man, taking in every devastating detail. She searched for changes that would make them less handsome, less desirable…less missed. Her eyes were drawn to a scar that etched along Remy’s cheek and ended just at the corner if his full lips. Selene’s stomach clenched to see the obvious touch of violence mar his face but instead of being repulsed she found him all the more compelling for it. The urge to embrace him and press her lips to the slightly raised flesh was a living need but she forced her attention to divert other parts of his anatomy and was no less distracted.

  . The years had only enhanced the feral beauty of both men, lending a hardness to them that had been absent all those years ago. Life had left its mark on them in ways that had her more curious than she wanted to be. Besides the scar etched along Remy’s face, his body was honed and hard.

  Her eyes wandered to Jac’s lithe form, which was still a work of art expressed in lean muscle and sensual allure that made him a stand out in any crowd. The once unruly curls of dark mahogany hair with that unusual hint of sunset had been cut and tamed in a severe style that looked almost military in its severity. Her fingers itched to run through the smooth waves of his hair just to see if it was as soft as it looked. The black suit he wore looked expensive and cut perfectly to fit his body like a glove. Intensity gleamed in the bright azure blue his eyes, which seemed all the more striking amidst his suntanned skin and dark features.

  “Perhaps a cat has finally run off with her tongue. Considering how quick her mouth was back then that poor feline must have the time of its life keeping up with it.” Remy’s towering form stood just behind Jac, the sensual curve of his lip lifting slightly in a smirk that had little do with humor.

  Where Jac was devastating, Remy was downright merciless and together they had her ready to run for cover. His dark hair gleamed under the overhead lights of the room with a blend of brown and raven black dancing together in waves. Unlike Jac Remy’s hair was grown out until it almost reached his shoulders. The style should have come off feminine but it in fact it did the exact opposite and made him appear savagely masculine. Jac seemed to maintain much of his fun loving mien but Remy just seemed…hard, almost cold. Although the men were both well over six feet, Remy had at least a good two inches on Jac’s towering frame. Selene noticed Remy had forgone a suit, instead sporting a tight black t-shirt and jeans with cowboy boots. His only concession to the dismal formality of the day was a black blazer and a brushed shine to his boots. The combination should have looked ridiculous but on him it was spectacularly sexy.

  “What are you two doing here?” Selene almost cringed the minute she spoke the words. Not only was that not the question to ask anyone at a funeral reception but her voice sounded like a shrew to boot. She quickly tried to recover from the first rate bitch intro. “I…I mean I wasn’t expecting you two here.”

  Jac smiled despite her bad attitude slip, his eyes remaining warm as summer. Remy on the other hand was not fooled for one moment, his black eyebrow arching in silent “what the fuck?”

  “I told you this wasn’t a good idea, Jac.” Remy’s tone was no more hospitable than hers had been and made Selene feel even worse. Jac visibly ignored him and instead stepped a little closer to Selene. He gently took her hand, his warm fingers enveloping hers. The impact of the light contact made her want to lean into him. The directness of his gaze spoke volumes, offering support and comfort in the midst of a cold lonely place. She found herself returning the gentle pressure of his fingers in turn in unspoken commiseration.

  “We wanted to pay our respects, Selene. Miss Felicity was a kind woman and we owed her a lot.” Selene frowned in confusion. As far as she knew her aunt knew very little about her childhood friends.

  “Owe her? I didn’t even know you two really knew her.” She tried to ignore the warm buzz that skittered up her arm. Jac’s physical effect on her was as potent as she remembered. She wondered if Remy would be just as distracting. That way is crazy land, she cautioned herself. Her life was hectic enough right now and the last thing she needed was a trip down memory lane and more disruptions and these two had the words “disruptive as hell” written all over them.

  “Yes…owe her. As in she did us a good turn once and we wanted to show our appreciation. Don’t people do that where you come from?” Remy spoke those words gently but she could hear the underlying antagonism in his voice.

  “Remy, I didn’t mean…” Selene was starting to feel her own hackles rise at Remy’s tone. As if she didn’t feel bad enough, she thought angrily. The only thing that stopped her from truly losing her temper was Jac’s calm no non-sense voice.

  “Don’t worry about him, Selene. He’s been having difficulty walking around with that giant stick up his ass. Chafe is a bitch, you know what I mean. He gets uncomfortable and tends to take it out on people.” Jac didn’t bother to hide the displeasure in his voice as he cast a withering look to his friend. Remy laughed derisively and turned to walk toward the refreshment tables. Selene immediately noticed a heavily pronounced limp as he moved. Each step seemed like agony. Despite her anger of only a moment ago, she felt her heart clench at the sight at Remy’s obvious pain.

  “It was the war.” She turned back to Jac, a somber look in eyes.

  “The war? I had no idea he was even in the military.” He could have died she thought with complete horror. He could have been taken from the earth and she would have never seen him again. Hell, she wouldn’t have even known about it. A sick feeling settled in the pit of her stomach and her own anger faded. One more person she’d have lost. Suddenly it all seemed too much for her. Selene barely noticed Jac’s arm coming around her as he guided her from the crowded room. She breathed a sigh of relief the moment they stepped out of the mortuary’s reception hall into the balmy outside breeze. The humid air was refreshing in comparison to the stagnant atmosphere inside.

  Jac led Selene to one of the many long benches lining along the front of the reception hall building. His arm remained around her as they walked and he silently cursed every step of the way. This was not the reunion he had hoped for. Granted it was not the ideal situation to reconnect with Selene but Remy’s less than stellar attitude was not helping either. Holding Selene this close had not been a part of the plan either. The sharp spike of physical attraction sent electrical charges right through him and settling between his legs.

  Jac knew seeing Selene again was bound to stir some feelings but he hadn’t been prepared for the raw intensity that nearly took him to his knees the first time he caught a good look at her when he and Remy had stood in the shadow of a copse of willow trees watching the funeral. How lonely she had looked standing by the open grave at the cemetery. So silent and forlorn that it took everything in him not to walk over to her and enfold her into his arms. Selene had a tendency to do that, make him want to protect her from all the bad things in the world. Then again she’d had that same ability as a k
id, that power to turn two wild self-absorbed hurting adolescents into protectors.

  Jac tried to push his personal desires aside but that proved almost impossible. One look in Remy’s direction earlier told him his friend had not fared any better and he’d been mad as hell about being forced to attend. Despite his closest friend’s show of resentment, Jac couldn’t regret coming to the funeral. Selene had blossomed into a stunning woman. All of the sensual promise she had exuded at eighteen had come into full flower in the grown woman that stood with him now. The lethal combination of gently rounded hips and voluptuous breasts were all wrapped in a conservative suit that was appropriate for the occasion but fulfilled another purpose of hiding all those curves. No chance in hell of doing that.

  The beautiful mane of wild long curls of mahogany that used to keep him mesmerized, was cut short and straightened into a silky bob that caught the light when she moved. Just another lure to make him want to reach out and wrap the silky strands around his fist. A small part of him mourned the wild curling mane she’d barely been able to control when she was younger but the shorter style seemed to suit her even better. The light brown depths of her eyes were molten pools of emotion to drown in but he would have had to been blind not to miss the wariness and grief that lurked in those depths. His first instinct had been to pull her into his arms and shield her from prying eyes. Small towns like Sparks thrived on gossip and the misfortune of others. Never mind the fact that Selene had made something of herself despite her circumstances.

  Selene fought the urge to curl into Jac’s arms. The sympathy in his eyes was like balm to her frayed nerves. Even when they were kids that seemed to be his role. The “comforter,” the make-you-feel-better one. How she needed that right now.

  “I still see you and Remy are as thick as thieves.” She tried to interject lightness in her comment of the obvious. She could still feel the sting of Remy’s offhanded brush off. What the fuck did she ever do to him? Besides show up, that is.

  Jac looked sheepish for a moment, his sun darkened fingers combing through the short sleekness of his hair.

  “Yeah…about that. Look, don’t pay attention to any of his bullshit. He’s had a tough time with this too and I’ll be honest and say he didn’t really want to come.”

  Selene frowned, disbelief plainly written on her face. “Why would he be having a hard time with this? He barely knew Aunt Felicity.” Selene didn’t even try to hold back the bitch tenor of her voice.

  “Selene, he actually knew her pretty well. After you left we both kind of looked after her. You know Denny didn’t give a shit besides anything but his bottle. After a while when she couldn’t get around much anymore Remy and I sort of took up the slack.” There was no accusation in Jac’s voice but Selene felt the harsh bite of guilt anyway. She hadn’t been there. Between school and landing the job of the century she hadn’t even thought of coming back to Sparks. She’d wanted to forget that part of her life.

  “When I spoke with her she always said she was doing okay…I didn’t know she was having problems.” Even to her own ears her explanation sounded lame as hell. So her aunt, the only one who really gave a shit about her, had been struggling and Selene had been…well, not there. The bitter sharpness of tears made her eyes sting.

  “No wonder Remy was pissed to see me. I would be too.” Her voice cracked with emotion and she turned away to look out over the half empty parking lot. Seeing so few real “friends” show up to bid her aunt farewell just made her lose it all the more. Selene had been the only real family her aunt had left. She ignored the feeling of warm tears sliding down her face as grief and guilt struck anew.

  “Everything is going to be fine.” Strong arms embraced her from behind and pulled her back against the muscular wall of Jac’s chest. His lips brushed along her cheek in a gesture of soothing comfort that made her crave the sweet contact all the more. Selene had made it a personal rule to never show weakness but that rule was negated when she felt Jac’s arms fold about her waist.

  “I didn’t tell you that to make you feel guilty or upset, baby girl.” Jac’s arms tightening about her, the warmth of his breath brushing along her neck. Hearing his old nickname for her in the deep rumble of his voice made her want to melt into him. When she was a kid being called baby anything rankled her but now…it made her feel protected, taken care of. She’d never really had the luxury of feeling that way except with Remy and Jac.

  “Believe me, your aunt did more for us than we could ever do for her. Kept us sane in a way. When you left, Remy and I lost it a little.” Jac didn’t mention the bar fights, the drinking or the desperate attempts to drown themselves in available women who bore any resemblance to Selene. It had been desperate and sick but then again…that’s exactly how they’d felt when their Selene left them.

  “It was good to have a purpose, someone to look after. When Remy joined the Marine Corp I spent more time with her and I like to think we were friends. Besides every now and then she would feed us information about you. That is if we asked really nice and not too often.”

  With a mental shake Selene forced herself to pull away from the inviting comfort of Jac’s embrace. Despite her grief, questions rolled around in her mind about the two men who had apparently done more for her aunt while she’d been away than she’d imagined. Considering her aunt had always expressed leeriness about them before and now finding out she’d struck up a friendship. Jac’s arms immediately dropped and he stepped back giving her space although he seemed reluctant. Her body missed the warmth immediately. She watched his hands flex as if he wanted to reach for her again and barely controlled the urge.

  “I had no idea you all had become so friendly but …thank you for all you did for her. “Selene folded her arms across her chest, feeling at a loss at where to put them. She felt like her body was betraying her whenever she came into close proximity of either Jac or Remy.

  Jac smiled in his carefree way but his gaze remained somber. “There’s no need to thank us for anything, baby girl. It was a pleasure. Believe me, no one could cook like Felicity. She made many a homemade meal that damn near had me proposing.”

  Selene couldn’t stop the guffaw of laughter. It felt good to laugh, even amidst the gloomy circumstances. Jac smiled broadly, his hand reaching out to slightly glance along her shoulder.

  “Look, Selene…I don’t know if you’re set for a car or not and your aunt’s place is a ways out of town. She moved into the assisted living facility in New Orleans but we kept her house just as she left it. I can make sure you have a ride down to her place whenever you need it. Every time we visited she wanted a report on how that old garden of hers was doing.” Selene felt a lump form at the back of her throat. Of course she needed to get to her aunt’s place. The house was filled with her furniture and other personal effects. Selene hadn’t even gone to the hospital to collect anything because the nursing staff had forwarded everything to Selene at the hotel the day before. Pain, sharp and jagged, pierced when she thought of going through the small non-descript cardboard box that arrived at her hotel.

  The items inside had been unremarkable to the average eye. Brush, comb, night gowns and even a small bottle of her aunt’s favorite perfume. Amongst all of that stuff had been a picture of Selene decked out in her cap and gown when she graduated from college. The moment she saw the picture Selene lost what little control she had and wept for hours curled up on her hotel bed. Now to find out the two men she’d actually been hoping to avoid her entire visit had taken care of Aunt Felicity’s place and visited her in the hospital. Selene wished the ground would open up and just swallow her.

  “Baby girl, don’t do that.” Jac placed his hand on her shoulder, his fingers gently squeezing. The gentle communication of sympathy making her eyes sting with the threat of tears. Her misery must be broadcasting across her face like an “eat at Joe’s” sign, she mused depressingly.

  “Your aunt knew you were working on building a good life well away from here and she was your numbe
r one cheerleader. Every time we chatted you came up at least once. She liked to fill us in on your latest escapade.” Selene laughed once more but this time it had nothing to do with being amused.

  “Escapades imply some kind of adventure, Jac. Trust and believe my life is not what you would call a constant adventure.”

  “I was fascinated every time your name came up.” Selene looked up into Jac’s eyes. Intensity of a different sort stared right back at her. Tension sizzled between them like a live wire and the air seemed to thicken with anticipation. All those memories from that summer long ago filtered through her mind like a cascade.

  “Am I interrupting?” Remy’s deep voice broke the flow of disjointed erotic thoughts running through Selene’s mind.

  Chapter 6

  Remy damned himself of all types of an asshole when he laid eyes on Selene. Jac had told him many things but had not mentioned how beautiful she’d become. Remy had been unprepared for his own reaction when he saw her and it had angered him. As a young girl she’d been a temptation almost more than any man could bear but now the word lethal came to mind. Desire had been swift and almost painful. He’d been thankful for length of his sports coat or t the good people of Sparks would have gotten an eyeful of how glad he was to see her. It was a funeral and he didn’t want to come off a complete bastard after all. It was bad enough every time the local folks saw a man from Clay they hid away their daughters. Sporting a massive erection at a somber event would not improve Clay’s reputation.