Broken Surrender (5 page)

She shivered as he sat down, and he frowned,
“Want me to grab your sweater?”

To his surprise, she shook her head, “Nah,
with you next to me I doubt I’ll be cold very long. You’re like a
blast furnace.”

Laughing, he draped his arm over the back of
the small seat and waved her closer, “Feel free to use me however
you’d like, ma’am. It’s all part of the service.”

Although she didn’t snuggle up the way he’d
have liked, she did extinguish the gap between them, and tucked one
foot underneath herself, getting comfortable. “It’s beautiful out
here.” She murmured, her head falling back on his arm as she stared
up at the stars that were just appearing overhead. “It’s not like
being in the city. I haven’t seen the stars since I moved out here.
I’m usually asleep by now.”

“Not much of a night owl, huh?” he
asked.

“I guess the military ruined me. I’m awake
at first light, but I start drifting off earlier than everyone
else.” Her eyes tracked Silas across the yard, and Jeremy felt a
bit guilty for flirting with her. What if Silas decided he didn’t
want to share? Or worse yet, what if she decided she didn’t?

After a few minutes Silas made his way over
to where they were, and smiled at the two of them. “You guys look
cozy. Room for one more?”

Sarah laughed and shook her head, “Sorry
Sarge, this is a two seater.”

Nodding his head, Silas dropped to sit in
front of her, pressing his back against her shins. For just a
moment Jeremy thought she might protest, but to his surprise she
took several deep breaths and actually spread her legs, letting him
rest between her knees. He wondered if it was just Silas who made
her nervous. She hadn’t seemed as uncomfortable a moment ago, but
now her muscles were taut, and she looked like a bunny ready to
bounce away at a moment’s notice. He wanted her to relax again.

“So Sarah, tell me about yourself,” he
prompted, and turned to face Sarah more, easing over so that she
either had to slide with him, or move away to keep her balance.
Indecision wrinkled her brow for just a moment, and then she
shifted her weight slightly to accommodate him and leaned her
shoulder against his chest. It was exactly what he’d hoped for, and
he was afraid to breathe in case he upset her balance and she drew
away.

“There’s not too much to tell. I grew up as
a Navy brat, so I barely stayed in one place more than a year. I
enlisted in the Army right out of high school with the intention of
making it a career,” she explained.

“Why’d you get out?” He knew full well that
she’d been injured because Silas had filled him in, but he wanted
to hear it from her. Instantly, she froze up and grew tense
again.

“It wasn’t by choice. I was injured and the
military deemed me unfit.” Her words were curt but filled with
emotion. Clearly this was a sore subject.

“You look pretty fit to me,” Jeremy said,
“Yoga or Pilates?”

Her eyes widened, and then she smiled,
“Yoga. How’d you know?”

He shrugged, “I like to stay fit. All the
ladies at the gym in town seem to do one or the other. It was a
lucky guess.”

“I tried Pilates, but it put too much strain
on my back, and I find myself tiring out too quickly to use the
weights until I rebuild the muscle I lost. So that left yoga. One
of the military docs suggested it for pain management.” She paused
and then added, “I’m a runner too, or I was.”

“Yeah? I run every morning when the sun
rises.” Jeremy sensed an opening he wanted to jump through. “From
our place to the Keegan ranch is almost exactly five miles, so I
run there and back. You should join me.”

“I’m not sure I could do ten miles yet,” she
said with a laugh, “and certainly not every day, but thanks.”

“You could start smaller than that. I’m sure
Jer would cut back his run for a bit to accommodate you,” Silas
interjected. Jeremy had almost forgotten he was there, so the added
encouragement warmed him. It confirmed to him that his brother
sensed the same possibilities he did with the beautiful Sarah
Bryant.

“Absolutely. We can go at your pace until
you’re running farther and longer than you ever thought you could,”
Jeremy encouraged.

“I’ll think about it. Thanks.” It wasn’t
exactly an agreement, but at least she didn’t tell him to go fuck
off.

“How’d you end up in the Army having been
raised Navy?” Silas asked. He turned slightly, and rested his arm
on her thigh. She stared at the physical connection for a moment
and then blinked before answering.

“Uh, I guess I was rebelling. My dad—aka
Senior Chief Brian Bryant—about had a shit fit when I told him, but
he swallowed it. I think he was just thankful I was enlisting in
the military one way or another.” Her small, feminine giggle made
his cock twitch. “I wish I’d planned ahead though. I think I could
have won that funny videos show with a tape of his face when I told
him.”

“I’ll bet he was pissed,” Silas said
laughing with her. “Army versus Navy in the same household. Good
grief.”

“It made for some interesting holiday
visits, but he loves me, so he supported—” She stopped abruptly and
stuttered slightly, and Jeremy looked up at her with concern. When
she fidgeted, he realized his brother was rubbing lazy figure
eights on the top of her thigh with his fingertips as if he hadn’t
a care in the world. It clearly unsettled her, but when she finally
lifted her eyes, Jeremy could see it wasn’t because it made her
uncomfortable. She was turned on.

“Tell me about your parents,” he coaxed,
trying to distract her from Silas’s touch. She would need to become
more comfortable with them if they were going to have a
relationship, but she didn’t need to know that yet.

“Mom stayed home because it didn’t do her
much good to find a job when we were always moving, and Dad was
always working. I don’t have any siblings, and I never even had a
pet growing up. I’m kind of a loner.” She winced at the term.

“Nah, I can’t see you as a loner.” Silas
argued, “Maybe a bit shy, but I’ve seen you arm wrestling in the
middle of a pack of bored soldiers. You can hold your own.”

She laughed, and explained the story to
Jeremy who was fascinated by this tough woman with a sweet,
vulnerable side. Most of the time, he had the urge to coddle and
protect her, but the more he learned about her, the more he
realized that she could protect herself.

Her body arched, and she reached behind her
to rub at her back muscles, grimacing. Jeremy and Silas exchanged a
glance and Silas stood. “Up with you.”

She frowned up at him and wrinkled her nose,
“What?”

“Up. I’ll sit down, and you can sit in front
of me. Then I can rub your back,” Silas directed. When she
hesitated, he frowned and planted his hands on his hips. She’d
quickly get to know that look in a relationship with Si. He didn’t
like to be questioned; in fact, he preferred unequivocal surrender
from his lovers. How would this tough chick feel about that?

“I’m fine, just a little stiff is all,” she
protested, looking to Jeremy for back-up.

He shook his head and chuckled. “Uh uh,
don’t look at me. If he hadn’t offered, I would have.”

She stood up and took a step to the side as
if to escape. “I’ll just walk around for a few minutes, and it will
help, okay?”

Silas’s eyes narrowed, and he shook his
head, “No it’s not okay. You’re in pain, and walking around could
cause the muscles to spasm again. It’s better to relax them rather
than use them in this case. Let me help you, Sarah.”

Her eyes darted from Silas to Jeremy and
back. She looked so torn about letting Si touch her that Jeremy
grew uncomfortable. “Back off, Si. If she doesn’t want—”

“No, wait. I’m sorry. I’m just not a touchy
feely kind of person. I’ve tried some massage therapy and it only
makes the pain worse. No one seems to get the pressure just
right.”

Silas looked satisfied with her explanation.
“Finally. The truth. At least let me try. If it’s not working or it
hurts more, just say the word and we’ll say our goodbyes and get
you home so that you can rest. Okay?”

She nodded and waited while he took her seat
next to Jeremy. The situation was comical as Silas spread his legs
and gestured to the tiny triangle of bench between them. Sarah’s
eyes widened and then narrowed.

“Have you seen the size of my backside?
There is no way this is gonna work,” she said, shaking her
head.

Jeremy heard his own growl echoed by Silas
as they both turned on her.

“What?” she snapped.

“Your backside is perfection, woman,” Silas
insisted before Jeremy could. “Now, sit here or you can sit on my
lap, but you’re going to sit either way.”

Grumbling under her breath about bossy
Sergeants, she turned and eased down between Silas’s spread thighs.
The two fidgeted and adjusted for several moments trying to get
comfortable as Jeremy looked on and tried not to laugh. Finally,
Silas huffed, and lifted her up slamming his legs shut beneath her
and planting her on top of them.

“Better?” she snarled, sitting ramrod
straight, and probably doing further damage to the tight muscles of
her back.

“Not yet.” Jeremy said, reaching for her
legs, and tugging them up over onto his lap so that she spun on
Silas’s. Both she and Silas let out noises of distress, but Jeremy
had a feeling his brother’s had more to do with the pressure
building in his balls than the weight of the woman on his lap. Once
her calves were across his thighs, he patted her knee and said,
“Now it’s perfect. Relax and Si can put his magic fingers to
work.”

“This is ridiculous,” she argued. “He can’t
rub my back with me sideways. Now he’s only got one hand that can
even reach my back, and—”

“You talk too much,” Jeremy said, earning a
nasty glare from her.

“Well, excuse me. You two are bossier than
my father.”

“Only when you’re putting yourself at risk.
I’d bet if we called him, he’d agree with us.” Silas was doing his
best to show her what he could do with only one hand. Jeremy could
see the muscles of his brother’s arm flex as he rubbed at the
muscles on either side of Sarah’s spine, and he envied his
brother.

Sarah grew quiet, and stared into the fire
refusing to look at either one of them. Whether it was because she
was angry, or turned on, Jeremy wasn’t exactly sure, but he didn’t
want to push her too much harder. Just getting her this close was a
damn miracle.

The longer Silas worked on her back muscles,
the more relaxed she became. Eventually, her body was draped
against Silas’s chest, her head on his shoulder, and his hand still
moving steadily behind her. When the fireflies finally stopped
blinking for the night and the fire had dimmed down to a dull
flicker, Jeremy realized she’d fallen asleep.

“Whoa. I didn’t think she’d trust anyone
enough to do that,” Silas said, staring down at her.

“Me either,” Jeremy admitted. “I’m glad she
does though. This—she—feels right.”

Silas lifted his head and examined him for a
moment and then nodded. “Yeah, it does. Are you sure you’re up for
this though? I mean, despite how easy they all make it look”—he
gestured with a nod to the snuggling groups around them—“it goes
against the grain. We’d be taking on a lot, and putting her in a
bad place if someone ever decides to go against us.”

“We’ll protect her.” Jeremy said
defensively. The urge to wrap her in his arms and put himself
physically between her and his brother’s words was strong. “I’m not
sure I could forget about her now. There’s something about
her…”

“I know.” Silas agreed. “It’s like a perfect
rosebud you want to pick so the rain won’t damage its petals, but
you know picking it will kill it. She might not want to be with two
men.”

“Then we’ll convince her.” Determination
filled his chest, and when he met Silas’s eyes he saw it reflected
there. They were of one mind, and they held their future in their
hands. Together they would work to create a relationship so
appealing she’d never want to say no.

Sarah had no idea how she’d slept so soundly
that Silas and Jeremy were able to bring her home without waking
her, but she was grateful to them both. It was Jeremy fishing in
her jeans pocket for her keys that woke her as Silas held her just
outside the front door of her apartment. The two men smiled at her
sweetly as she blinked away the fog of sleep.

“You brought me home?” she asked.

“Of course. Did you think we were going to
kidnap you?” Silas teased. “Not that it wasn’t a consideration, but
Jeremy here thought you’d appreciate it more if we let you decide
when your first night in our bed was.”

She gasped and stared at him in shock as
Jeremy let out a loud curse and shoved the door open. “Geez, Si.
You’ve sure got a way with words.”

“In your bed?” she murmured. The overhead
light clicked on, and she blinked hard to adjust to the brightness
before she realized that she was still in Silas’s arms. “Let me
down, please?”

He looked reluctant, but he did as she
asked, lowering her feet to the floor. “I was just teasing,
Sarah.”

She took a couple of steps away from him
before she realized that she was pretty much trapped between the
two of them. Defiance washed over her and she planted her feet and
crossed her arms. “I assumed as much. If you were serious you’d be
facing one hell of an ass kicking, Sarge.”

Both men grinned back at her, obviously
doubting her abilities. One of these days she’d prove them both
wrong.

“We’ll leave you to get some rest, but
Sarah...” Silas paused and waited until she looked over at him,
“take it easy. And if you need anything, call me.”

Jeremy began looking around her apartment,
and she frowned at him, “What are you doing?”