Sons of Justice 7: Letting Go of the Pain (Siren Publishing LoveXtreme Forever)

by Dixie Lynn Dwyer

  “It’s over. We got to them in time.”

  Steve took Lauren’s hand and brought her back just a few feet to where they stood by the end of the bar and the wall. He pulled her into his arms and hugged her to him. When she hugged him back, and he felt her arms go around his waist, he breathed in her scent and caressed her back. He inhaled, taking in the scent of her shampoo, the feel of her in his arms, and knowing she was safe right here. It was overwhelming.

  “Are you sure you’re okay? That he didn’t hurt you?” He asked her, sounding fierce, and he heard it in his tone. She tightened but then caressed his back. He felt crazy and so jealous, protective and possessive.

  “I’m okay, Steve, really.” She pulled back, and he feared she would pull completely away. He needed this. Her in his arms, close, hugging him. It was crazy, and he cupped her cheek, and her eyes widened as he pressed his mouth to hers and kissed her.

  Her lips felt so soft, and her hold tightened. She resisted momentarily but then softened in his arms and kissed him back. He pressed her against the wall, his palm from one hand holding her to him as his other hand held her head, and he deepened the kiss then felt her pulling back. It was too much for her, but he wanted more. He knew some of her past and the fears she had, so he released her lips and held her gaze. They were both breathing heavy, and a tear escaped her eye. He squinted.

  “Not good? You didn’t feel it?” he asked her.

  “Too good, and I felt too much,” she said, voice cracking, and then she pressed her cheek to his chest, and he held her, caressed her back until he looked to the right and saw his team watching. Then he saw Thylane and Lauren’s sisters with tears in their eyes but smiling.

  * * * *

  Lauren’s heart was racing as she stared up at Steve, felt his palm sliding back and forth against her back and then lower to her ass. He cupped it, pulled her closer against his thick, hard body, and then moved it along her back some more. She felt stunned, but then Eddie was there. He reached out, stroked the tears from her cheek, and cupped her cheek and jaw. She held on to his gaze, shocked at what she was feeling. The same attraction she had for Steve and similar to what she felt for Mink.

  “You okay, sweetie?” Eddie asked in a similar hard tone like Steve had. She nodded and he gave a soft smile. “Good.” He brushed his thumb over her lower lip. “You’re safe with us. You stay right here, and we’ll watch over you.”

  She was shocked, and it must have shown because he stepped closer, tilted her chin upward, and stared at her lips. “I’ve always been the perpetrator of shock and awe, never the victim, until now.” He pressed his lips gently to hers.

  She closed her eyes, surprised by her body’s reaction and acceptance of their public display of protection, and then it hit her. She was at the Filing Station, and people were watching. He released her lips, obviously feeling her need to slow things down. As he released her lips, that strong, hard finger gently stroked her jaw. He gave her a wink.

  “Shock and awe indeed.” He stepped back, and her eyes locked onto Thylane’s. Finlin was holding her, and Pisces, Rusty, and Stack looked as serious as could be, and her sisters were smirking and raising their eyebrows up and down.

  She started to pull back, but Steve gripped her hipbone. “Don’t push us away and pretend you don’t feel this,” he snapped at her. He was hard, commanding, and obviously still on edge from the confrontation with the men. She eased her hand down his arm to his hand. She immediately saw the red knuckles, and then she glanced back toward where the fight had been and the fact that he had knocked out two guys with one punch.

  “Your hand.” She focused on it. He reached under her chin, stroked it as he directed her to look at him.

  “I’m fine. It was you I was concerned over.”

  “I’m okay. Really,” she said, but the emotion, the fears of his capabilities, never mind Eddie’s, ran havoc on her brain. One punch was all it took for him to knock two men out cold who were just as big as he was.

  “You’re shaking, baby.” He rubbed her arms. Eddie reached under her hair and the back of her head. She looked at him.

  “You’re safe now,” he said, trying to reassure her, but their possessive touches, where they held her, were so effective. Eddie said shock and awe, but she was the one feeling exactly like that.

  “My sisters and cousin,” she said to them and pressed away. They reluctantly released her, and Finlin and Thylane came closer.

  “Are you okay?” Thylane asked and hugged her.

  “I’m fine. It’s over.”

  Thylane gave her a wink.

  “And you’re okay with this? With Steve’s and Eddie’s reactions, and the fact that Panther and Mink are watching you with interest right now?” she whispered.

  Lauren glanced to the left, to where Panther and Mink were, and sure enough they didn’t look like they were paying attention to the other men talking to them. Instead they watched her.

  “I don’t know what happened. It was crazy, and I was worried about Steve doing something to really hurt those men.”

  “You calmed him down. It was amazing to see. He definitely cares about you.”

  “He’s a friend.”

  “Honey, I think the friend thing kind of went out the window the moment he kissed you and you made out with him against the wall by the bar and then let one of his other team members kiss you.” She chuckled.

  Lauren felt panicked. “What am I going to do?”

  “Let it ride, like we talked about the other night. Just let go a little and see where it leads. If they hurt you or screw up, my men will kick their asses,” Thylane said to her, and Lauren chuckled as her sisters stepped closer and started talking to her about what happened. It gave her the reprieve she needed but only for a short time, as Steve came up behind her, placed his hand on her hip, and joined the conversation. Then the rest of his team did, and they all talked about regular things until her sisters engaged in conversation with Thylane’s friends and Thylane hugged Rusty, who started kissing her and pulling her out of the conversation. Lauren was suddenly surrounded by four very large, commanding soldiers staring at her body, taking every opportunity to caress her skin and even flirt, sending her into a spiral of emotions.

  Her cousin, sister, and friends seemed to slip from the area, leaving Lauren no choice but to just wait and see what happened next.

  * * * *

  Panther watched his men engage Lauren. She was shy, young, too young he thought because he suddenly felt things he never had with any other woman. Desire, a possessiveness and protectiveness over her. She stood about five feet five, had a sexy, fit body with large breasts and a small, but round ass that stuck out just so from the dark jeans she wore. Steve’s hand was currently splayed over part of it as he whispered something to her. Simultaneously, Mink was bringing her hand to his lips and kissing her knuckles. It turned Panther on. Made his dick hard and his mind fast forward to taking her home with them, stripping her naked, and making her beg for all four of them to indulge in her.

  That wasn’t going to happen. He could read the woman already, and from what he knew about her past, she had trust issues. Perhaps that was why she and Steve got along and connected in the first place. Maybe he was jumping the gun assuming she might be interested in him, too. His stare was hard, and he took a slug from his beer as she pulled back, telling Steve things were moving too fast.

  He kept a hand on her hip and turned her toward them.

  He whispered into her ear, her gaze locked onto Panther’s.

  “Talk to my brothers. Let them get to know you, so you realize that we can all be trusted.”

  Panther half watched Steve’s palm slid along her belly and under her shirt to her skin. He focused on her mouth. Her lips parted, and she placed her hand over Steve’s.

  “Would you like a drink?” Panther asked her, and she nodded slowly.

  “What would you like?” Mink asked her.

  “Rum and Coke is fine. Thank you.” She went to mov
e.

  Steve kissed her head. “Stay. I like you close.”

  Panther reacted. He stepped closer to her, stared down into her aqua-blue eyes, and then touched her hair. She tightened up, her eyes widened, and she stared up at him.

  “How do you like living in Repose?” he asked. She licked her lips. She was stunning. A real head-turner.

  “It’s nice,” she replied.

  Mink handed her the drink, and Panther placed his hand on her hip.

  “You said earlier that this was your first time here. How do you like the Filling Station?” he asked her and stroked her hip.

  She was breathing funny, his touch along with Steve’s obviously affecting her. Plus Eddie moved closer on her other side. The four of them caged her in, and it added to the arousal Panther felt.

  “Well, considering what just happened a few minutes ago, I’m not sure.” She took a sip from her drink.

  “Don’t let a couple of assholes ruin your night. Just be certain that you don’t come here alone and that, if anyone bothers you, you make a lot of noise and bring attention to yourself,” Panther said to her.

  “I don’t think that would have made a difference. There were six of them, and they were as big as you guys are.”

  “Not quite, but yelling for help or screaming loudly would have brought attention to you.” He wondered if she had any kind of self-defense training.

  He eased his hand back.

  “You know any moves?” he asked.

  “What?” she replied.

  He took the beer Eddie offered, took a sip, and then swallowed. “Any self-defense moves? Any training?” he asked her.

  She slowly shook her head.

  He was concerned to say the least. Considering she had been a victim of a hostage situation he was surprised that she didn’t take, at minimum any martial arts classes.

  “I mentioned Lake Friedman and the gun range, maybe learning how to shoot,” Steve said, and she pressed forward away from him, and he released her.

  “I told you that I don’t like guns.”

  Panther squinted at her. “Well, you can get over that little fear and gain some tools to help maybe build up your confidence level.”

  She squinted at him and then exhaled.

  “What is this? What are you doing? I don’t need four military men bossing me around and telling me what I need.” She looked like she was going to walk away.

  Panther touched her hand and stepped closer. She froze and clenched her eyes closed as if she thought he might strike her. It shocked him, and his team. He didn’t think. He just reacted and pulled her into his arms and hugged her tight.

  “Jesus, Lauren. I’ve never struck a woman and never will. Don’t look at me like I would do that. Like my men would. Please don’t run off. Sit and talk with us. We would like your company,” he whispered into her ear.

  He inhaled her shampoo and closed his eyes a moment then opened them to see his team, his brothers’ intense stares watching him. Panther slid his palm along her lower back. She felt fragile, feminine, and that protectiveness came over him good and strong. She eased back and looked at him.

  “I’m making a mess of things. I don’t know what to say or do or how to react to the four of you. You scare me,” she admitted.

  His reaction shocked him. He felt hurt, on the defensive, concerned, and apparently determined to make her not fear them but like them. He caressed her hip and lower back, held her in place, and stared into her eyes as if trying to infuse the idea of safety and security in his arms alone.

  “Don’t be scared of us, of what we stand for or what we do for a living.”

  Steve pressed up against her back and kissed her bare shoulder. She turned to look at him but not all the way, indicating that she must like Panther holding her by her hips.

  “You’re not ruining anything. This is new for us, too. To all feel an attraction to a beautiful young woman like you.”

  “All?” she asked, and Eddie and Mink stared right at her.

  “There’s something going on here, and we plan on finding out exactly what,” Mink said, eyeing her body. Panther felt her tighten up again and then shiver.

  He ran his palm along her hip to her ass. “Easy now. Let’s get that drink and take a seat and talk some more. I want to hear about those apple pies you make that are out of this world,” he said, surprising himself at the ability to change the subject and entice her into staying. He didn’t want her to leave, nor did his team. This was one hell of a turn of events tonight.

  * * * *

  Lauren was relieved when her sisters, as well as Brazille, Thylane, and her men joined them. It took the pressure off of feeling like she was under a microscope with Steve, Panther, Eddie, and Mink. She thought that she was pretty damn untrusting, but these men took the cake. Some of Mink’s and Panther’s questions were borderline interrogations. It was odd though. As intimidated as she felt, there was this comfort, almost like she knew they were good men. She found it hard to digest, and she didn’t believe her own instincts, but since they asked questions, she asked her own, as well. Wasn’t she surprised to find out that Mink enjoyed baking and was supposedly good at it?

  “You should taste the brownies he makes. He gets fresh cocoa and organic ingredients to make them and a special ingredient,” Eddie told her as he stroked her shoulder. His arm was on the back of her chair.

  “Oh really? Sounds interesting,” Lauren said to Mink, shifting toward him.

  “What’s the secret ingredient?” Avana asked.

  Mink raised one eyebrow up at Avana and then gave her a very slick, flirty reply.

  “Oh, I can’t tell you. Then it wouldn’t be a secret ingredient.” They chuckled.

  “I bet our sister can figure out what it is by one taste,” Tiana added.

  “Oh yeah, she is really good at that,” Thylane said, and Lauren felt a little embarrassed as her cheeks blushed. What made it worse was now Mink leaned down and stroked her jaw, tilting her head up toward him so he could look her in the eyes.

  “Sounds like a challenge to me. You’ll have to come over tomorrow after I bake a batch and then figure out that secret ingredient.”

  He leaned down and lightly pressed his lips to hers. When he pulled back, he winked, and she felt overheated and a bit embarrassed as she looked at her sisters, who were smiling wide, and at Thylane, who was blushing, but then Pisces pulled her into his arms and kissed her neck.

  “You’ll have to let us all know how that pans out tomorrow,” Finlin said.

  “Yes, definitely,” Brazille added, as if condoning that this would happen and they thought it was a good idea.

  “We’ll give you our address. Plan on coming by for lunch, and the brownie taste test can be dessert.” Mink stroked her lower lip with his thumb before pulling back and taking a sip of beer.

  She didn’t decline. In fact she was speechless and wondered how she’d just wound up getting together with these men tomorrow, and alone at their house.

  The conversations continued around them, and she reached out to Mink as Eddie kissed her bare shoulder and Panther and Steve spoke with Finlin, Pisces, and Rusty. Stack was talking to Brazille about the agency she worked for.

  “Uhm, I didn’t say yes to tomorrow. I don’t think it’s a good idea. Me going to your house.”

  “Why not, baby?” Mink asked and cupped her cheek. She pressed her hand over it, and holy crap was she turned on big time.

  “I don’t really know you, any of you. We just met really.”

  “You’ve known Steve for a little while, and we’re trustworthy men.”

  “I don’t know that though, and I’m not really looking to—”

  He shook his head.

  “If you need to be friends first, like with Steve, then come over as a friend,” he suggested, and for some reason, that made it seem less stressful until she started staring at each of them and taking in their many sensual attributes.

  Tight, muscular asses in blue jeans, tatt
oos peeking out from short-sleeve shirts that were stretched to capacity because their arm muscles were so damn big and hard. They were lethal looking, and not even drop-dead gorgeous per se but more like sexual fantasies for any sane woman. Her mind went immediately to imagining them naked, and holy crap, she freaked. She thought about her own body and how hard she worked out running, doing crunches but not really weights. She thought about the scar under her breast, the cigar burn, and she felt the tears fill her eyes, and when she looked up, Panther was squinting at her and also Thylane.

  “You okay?” Thylane asked.

  She swallowed hard. “Fine,” she whispered, but she wasn’t fine. She was in a panic. What was she going to do about tomorrow, and how was she going to get through it without a panic attack?

  Chapter Five

  Panther got off the phone with Jed Holmes. His concern for their well-being had just gone up another notch as Jed indicated that there was evidence of some of Pachessa’s men being part of the shoot-out with police that occurred Thursday. Now that the investigators had finished at the crime scene, they found three men who were known to do jobs for both Pachessa and Lambert. One in particular had a brother who was seen in the town where one of the other agents who was involved in the investigation lived. The immediate concern was for that agent and his family. Sure enough, as the federal agents notified the agent, the men working for Pachessa made a move. They tried conducting a home invasion, but the agent and his family were trained and ready. Apparently this Agent Murdock had taught his wife and two daughters, thirteen and fifteen, how to shoot guns and how to hide if there was ever some sort of home invasion or attack. Agent Murdock, his wife, and two daughters shot and killed four men working for Pachessa and out to kill agent Murdock.