A Man's World 3: Roxy's Flight Instructors (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting)
Page 3
Roxy drew in a sharp breath at her brother’s answer and then felt heat tingeing her cheeks when all four men glanced her way. She was thankful when Dusty spoke and their eyes skittered away from her.
“Figured you were law,” Dusty said.
“Do you and Roxy live locally?” Stefan asked. “Are you sharing a place?”
Roxy was about to answer but Andrew beat her to it. “Yes, we live locally but we have our own places.” He met each of their eyes with a hard stare. “That doesn’t mean I don’t visit my sister to check up on her.”
Dusty nodded and locked gazes with her. “Roxanne is the best damn pilot we’ve ever seen. She aces all her academic and practical tests with a hundred percent each and every time.”
“That isn’t a surprise. Roxy breezed through school like it was a walk in the park.” Drew smiled at her. “My little sister is very intelligent.”
“That she is,” Booker said.
Roxy was glad when the waitress came out with their food and everyone started eating. Although she was confident in every aspect of her life except for her femininity, she hated being the center of attention. That was one of the reasons she hadn’t reported Captain “Dickhead” Miller for his derogatory sexist comments. If she had reported him for his misogynistic comments she would have had to face the Internal Affairs panel and she couldn’t stand the thought of having to prove what an asshole he was or having to talk to a large group of people. The thought made her feel nauseous. She was fine talking to passengers over the PA system while onboard a plane, but she never would have been able to do it face-to-face. Just imagining seeing hundreds of faces staring at her was enough to make her heart race, her palms sweat, and her breathing escalate.
“Are you okay, baby?”
Roxy jumped when Dusty whispered his question close to her ear and then she shivered as his breath caressed her skin. She gulped as she tried to get her simmering libido under control and squirmed in her seat when her nipples hardened and began to ache. But that wasn’t the only reaction her body gave off to his and Booker’s closeness. Her pussy was wet and her undies were soaked. Her clit was throbbing and when she inhaled deeply, their clean fresh scents mixed with their colognes assailed her olfactory senses. A groan of need bubbled up in her chest and if she hadn’t swallowed it may have bubbled up out of her mouth.
It took her a moment to remember what the question was and when she did she nodded without looking at him.
“Roxy, are you feeling all right? You look a little flushed. Are you coming down with something?” Drew asked as he frowned at her.
Roxy wished the seat beneath her ass would disappear and the floor beneath her would open up to swallow her whole. Her face felt like it was on fire and although she wanted to lift her gaze and see if everyone was looking at her, she kept her face lowered and shook her head.
She startled and almost jumped when a large warm hand landed on her jean-clad thigh and seemed to burn a hole right through the thick denim. A squeak escaped her mouth when another hand landed on her other thigh and a thumb stroked her skin over the material.
Roxy cleared her throat before she spoke, hoping it wouldn’t come out sounding squeaky or husky when she met her brother’s gaze. “I’m fine.”
“You are more than fine, darlin’,” Booker whispered for her ears alone.
She was so damn hot she felt sweat trickle down between her breasts and hoped her deodorant was working. The last thing she needed or wanted was for the two men sitting next to her to smell her body odor, if she had any, and realize that they affected her as much as they did. She began to wonder if they saw how attracted to them she was. None of them had ever touched her before, not like they were right then, and even though she liked it, a hell of a lot, they were still her trainers. She wasn’t sure what company protocol was on employees dating other employees because she’d never been interested in anyone before the Milan brothers. But now that her training was nearly up and they seemed to be showing an interest in her, maybe it was time to find out.
The last thing she wanted or needed to do was jeopardize her job by breaking any rules. But then she began to wonder if they were really interested in her of if they were just being protective because of “Captain Dickhead.”
Maybe they saw her like a little sister and wanted to shield her from any unpleasantness. Tears burned the back of her eyes. The thought that they saw her that way cut her to the quick. She already had one overprotective brother and didn’t need three more.
Damn she hated feeling like this. An ache formed over her chest and a lump of emotion lodged in her throat, making it harder to breathe and swallow.
She was glad that the men were talking and seemed to be ignoring her and was even gladder when Booker and Dusty removed their hands from her legs. She picked up her wine glass and drained half of it in one go and then concentrated on trying to eat her food, but spent most of the time pushing the food around her plate.
Roxy needed to get away from them for a few moments so she could calm down her raucous nerves and wayward lust.
She nudged Dusty’s arm with her elbow but looked away from his gaze after meeting his eyes for a couple of seconds. Every time she looked into their eyes she felt like she was drowning in them and didn’t want to make more of an idiot out of herself than she already had.
“Can you let me out, please? I need the ladies room.”
Stefan and Dusty slid out of the booth and she followed. She stood up and hurried away. Hopefully by the time she returned she would have her self, mind, and body back under control.
Chapter Three
Booker watched the sway of Roxy’s hips and her tight little ass as she hurried away. His cock was so damn hard and uncomfortable being strangled in his pants while sitting down. He’d been studying her surreptitiously and had seen how hard her nipples were against her shirt. She’d even wriggled in her seat a couple of times as if she was turned on and he’d felt her tense when he’d put his hand on her thigh. And when he breathed in deeply he swore he’d smelt her desire.
He glanced at Dusty as he took his seat and saw the heat in his brother’s gaze, and when he looked at Stefan he could see how much he wanted Roxy, too. He just hoped that Roxy’s brother hadn’t picked up on their attraction. He raised his eyes to find Drew watching them all intently and he figured they hadn’t put anything over the man at all. He should have realized an agent would see more than anyone else.
“You are all attracted to Roxy,” Drew stated as he settled back in his seat and crossed his arms over his chest. Booker’s gaze was drawn to the holster beneath his left arm and the gun nestled within. Although he was a little unnerved by the other man’s stare when their gazes connected he held that stare without flinching or looking away.
Andrew met each Milan’s stare once more before he glanced toward the back of the room where Roxy had disappeared. “Which one of you is trying to get her to go out?”
Dusty grabbed his beer and took a couple of sips before placing it back on the table and looking directly into Drew’s eyes. “All of us.”
Booker watched as the man clenched his teeth, making the muscles in either side of his jaw twitch. He exhaled loudly and then asked incredulously, “Are you serious?”
“Deadly,” Stefan answered before glancing around the room and nodded his head toward the other two ménage relationships sitting at their respective tables eating, drinking, and laughing. “Do you come here often?”
“Not as often as I’d like,” Drew replied.
“See those three men and the blonde woman at that table over there?” Dusty asked.
“Yeah. What about them?”
“They are all together and they’re all detectives,” Stefan said. “I’ve never seen a woman or men as happy as they are.”
“Don’t forget the other table on your six near the front of the room,” Booker said. “Those four have been together for about a year now and they treat their woman like she is the most precious person in
the world.”
“So you want to get into my sister’s pants? Am I just supposed to step aside and allow you to do that? What do you take me for?” Drew snapped.
“We want her in our lives permanently,” Dusty snarled right back as he leaned forward and glared at Andrew. “You sister is the smartest, sweetest, sexiest woman we have ever met. Yes, we want her in our bed but we want way more than that, too. We want the picket fence, the 2.5 kids and everything else we can get with her.”
“You’re in love with her?” Drew asked.
“We don’t know her well enough to say yes for sure,” Booker answered honestly, not willing to lie to the man out to protect his sister. He admired Andrew for that even if he was a little pissed with him right now. “All I can tell you is that I can’t get her out of my head. I think about her all the time. I actually ache right here.” Booker placed his hand over his heart. “Every time she leaves work. I don’t want her out of my sight and I want to punch the shit out of anyone who touches or hurts her.”
“That’s the way I feel, too,” Dusty said.
“Me, too,” Stefan said.
Drew’s arms uncurled from across his chest and he leaned is elbows on the table. “Have you told her any of this?”
“No,” Dusty answered.
“Why not?” Drew sipped his beer.
“For a start she has tunnel vision right now,” Dusty said. “Her concentration is on getting her license and she doesn’t see anything else. Tomorrow she is going to be flying with ‘Captain Dickhead,’ her words not mine, to New York and back. By the time she gets back home she will have earned more than enough hours to pilot her own plane instead of having to sit in the copilot’s seat.”
“It will be our job to test her and approve or disprove her license after the test is complete. One of us will be in the copilot’s seat when she flies and it’s our job to assess her competency,” Stefan explained.
“And will she get her license?” Drew asked.
“Unless something drastically wrong happens, without a doubt,” Booker answered.
“Tell me about ‘Captain Dickhead,’” Drew demanded.
Booker wondered why Roxy’s brother wasn’t asking them more about what they wanted with her but when he met the man’s gaze he realized he was still trying to process what they wanted with his little sister, so he started to explain how Captain Miller treated her and his brothers pitched in every now and then.
Roxy came back to the table just as they finished up. When Stefan and Dusty went to move to let her back in she held her hand out palm up to halt them. “I need to get going. I have a flight early in the morning.” She looked at Booker. “Can you pass me my purse, please?”
Booker handed it over if a little grudgingly. He didn’t want her to leave but since she was, he wanted to follow her out and follow her home. But he didn’t think she’d appreciate that right now. Her cheeks were still a little flushed and she wouldn’t hold his or his brothers’ gazes for long. Drew rose to his feet and hugged her. He looked at them and mouthed at them to stay put and then walked Roxy to the door. She tugged away from his hold and moved to the payment counter and when she pulled her wallet from her purse Drew scowled at her and spoke to her. He couldn’t hear what the man said but whatever it was annoyed Roxy. She turned her back on him and ignored him. After handing some cash over, she hugged her brother, kissed him on the cheek, and walked out.
“She just paid for our dinner?” Dusty asked.
“Shit!” Booker clenched his fists.
“Damn she’s a piece of work. Why would she do that? She could have at least let her brother pick up the tab.”
Drew sat down and grinned. “She hates being a burden.”
“She could never be that,” Stefan said between clenched teeth.
“No, she couldn’t, but she likes being independent and hates being beholden to anyone.”
“Does that include you?” Booker asked Drew.
“Especially me.” Drew smiled.
“Why?” Dusty snapped.
“Our mother died when we were young. I was six and she was barely a year old. Our old man couldn’t cope without our mom and dumped us on our nana’s doorstep. Our grandmother wasn’t overly affectionate and we had to learn to do for ourselves.
“We both learnt not to ask for anything because the answer was always no.”
“Damn that must have been hard,” Stefan said.
“It was harder on Roxy. She is such a kind, loving person but she was taught to bottle everything up inside. I often used to hear her crying herself to sleep. It killed me not to go to her and hug her.”
“Why didn’t you?” Booker asked in a near snarl.
“I did a couple of times but our grandmother caught me. She was a bit of a religious fanatic and when she found me in bed holding my sister while she cried she had the biggest hissy fit I’ve ever seen from an adult. She ranted and raved about how unclean we were and that we were sinners who would never make it to heaven. We never got one kind word or action from that old bat. She was too worried about what the neighbors and the people of her church group thought to ever consider that we might need love and affection.”
“Fucking bitch.” Dusty practically spit the words out.
Drew nodded. “You have no idea.”
“How long did you both live with her?”
“I left right out of high school and joined the SEALs. I didn’t want to leave Roxanne alone with that battle-axe but she knew I wanted to join up and encouraged me to. I served for five years and when I retired the CIA approached me. I’ve been with them for twelve years now.”
“Was Roxy okay?” Stefan asked.
“I called her often and wrote to her and she said she was. I took her on holidays once. I think that was when she decided she wanted to be a pilot.” Drew took a sip of his beer and then ran his fingers through his hair. “There wasn’t much I could do since I wasn’t there and couldn’t see her. I was thankful that she finished high school a year early and she won a scholarship to the local college. She packed up her stuff and moved into a dorm and worked at nights to pay for any extras she wanted.”
“Is your nana still alive?”
“Nope. She died about five years ago, but Roxy is so sweet. She visited our nana every week come rain, hail, or shine. It didn’t matter that all she got from the old bat was verbal abuse. When I suggested she stop seeing her after a particularly upsetting visit she nearly tore out my jugular. She told me it didn’t matter that she was a mean old bitch, and that she was family and deserved our respect no matter what.”
“Yeah, I can see her doing and thinking that. I wanted her to file a report on Miller but she wouldn’t do it,” Dusty said.
“No.” Drew sighed and raked his fingers through his hair. “She wouldn’t want anything to hamper getting her license.”
Booker nodded his agreement.
“I worry about her. She’s so career oriented and doesn’t take any time out to play.”
“We can change that,” Dusty said.
Andrew met each of their eyes. “Just make damn sure you don’t hurt her. I’ll rip you all apart with my bare hands if you do.”
“We won’t,” Booker said. “That’s the last thing we want to do.”
His brothers nodded their agreement.
* * * *
Drew relaxed when he saw the sincerity in the Milan brothers’ eyes. At first he’d been pissed off that they all wanted a relationship with his sister, but they had answered his questions honestly and his respect for them grew. It helped that they were all fit and also retired military.
He’d worried that his job would fall over into his private life and one of the criminals he was trying to put away would figure out who he was and find out he had a sister. He was scared of inadvertently putting Roxy in danger and lately that fear had coalesced into downright terror.
He’d been working on infiltrating a cyber-terrorist group and he had achieved breaking into their group but
he had a feeling deep down that his cover had been blown. He checked his PC regularly for any hacking and even though everything seemed fine, he wasn’t sure that was true.
He was always careful to cover his tracks when he hacked into someone’s system but there were so many smart geeks out in the world discovering ways to hide their presence whenever they followed a thread. Drew always made sure he covered his tracks and left no hint of his presence but if someone was really smart he could be located without him ever being aware of it. It didn’t matter how much security he had on his system or how careful he was, there was always someone out there better than he was.
If the Milan men were able to court Roxy into their lives and someone found out who he was and went after his sister, hopefully they would be around to protect her. The thought of her getting hurt or even killed because of his job made him feel sick to his stomach.
Drew had taught Roxanne how to protect herself. She knew karate and could shoot a gun if she ever needed to but she hated to think that anyone would ever be mean enough to hurt her. She wasn’t naïve but she didn’t like to think the worst of anyone. He worried about her constantly because she was his sister, his only living relative, and he loved her so much. He just wished she would be more alert and not take everyone at face value.
Although he envied her ability to do so. He would love to walk around and not have to worry about looking over his shoulder all the time, but he loved his work and wouldn’t give it up for anyone. Not even Roxy.
“What are you thinking about?” Booker asked. “You look like you just swallowed a lump of lead.”
Since these three men had been honest with him he decided to offer the same courtesy and he told them.
Dusty, Booker and Stefan tensed, and they all leaned forward.
“You think she’s in danger?” Stefan asked.
“I don’t know,” Drew replied and scrubbed a hand over his face. “But I’ve had this feeling that someone’s watching me.”
“Fuck!” Booker scowled.