Monroe, Marla - The Bikers' Babe [The Dirty Dozen 2] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) (5 page)

“I’m just sorry it happened after we promised to keep you safe,” Cole said.

“It wasn’t your fault, Cole. I shouldn’t have gone out by myself.”

“Still. Enjoy your shower.” He backed out of the room and closed the bedroom door.

Tina dropped her pack with her stuff on the bed and peeled out of her clothes. When she walked into the bathroom, she nearly passed out. It was beyond decadent, with a Jacuzzi made for three and a walk-in shower with multiple showerheads and a bench in the back of the stall.

She turned on the shower and adjusted the water to just above warm and walked in. She hissed at the feel of the water hitting her sore knees. Knowing they needed it, she scrubbed them carefully with soap and rinsed them again. Then she settled down to soak up the warmth of the water into her stiff muscles.

When the water began to cool down, she turned it off and grabbed a towel to dry off. She dug through her bag and pulled out a pair of shorts and a fresh T-shirt. She wasn’t ready to be alone yet, so she made her way to the living room and found Cole relaxing in a recliner.

He stood up. “How are you feeling? Hungry?”

“I’m better, thanks. I’m not sure I can eat anything or not. My throat is sore.”

Zack walked in. “I’ll scramble you an egg. We’re having omelets anyway.”

“I don’t want you to go to any trouble for me.”

“It’s no trouble. How about something to drink?” Zack walked over and hugged her.

She realized she needed that, and hugged him back. He kissed her forehead and pushed her toward where Cole was back in the lounge chair.

“Sit with Cole while I fix the food.”

“I can sit on the couch.” She started to walk over that way, but Cole was up and pulling her back into his arms.

“Sit with me. I think you could use a hug.” He wrapped her in his arms.

Tina had to admit, it felt better to be in his arms than to sit by herself. She was still a little shaky from the incident. How long would it take for her to regain her self-confidence? She was used to riding alone. She didn’t want to give that up.

“You’re thinking awful hard,” Cole said.

“Just thinking about how I’m going to feel about riding from now on. I don’t want to give up my bike, but…” she let it hang.

“I understand. It really is dangerous for a woman to travel alone nowadays. Especially on a bike.”

“I’ve had self-defense training, but it didn’t really prepare me for an actual attack. I got away, but I almost didn’t.”

“Don’t worry about it right now. You’ve got time to think about it later. Let yourself get past this first.”

Zack reappeared. “Dinner is ready.”

Cole helped Tina to her feet and they walked to the kitchen where three places were set at the bar. Zack pointed to her plate in the middle where he spooned a generous helping of scrambled eggs on her plate. Then he served their omelets with bacon and toast.

“There’s plenty of bacon and toast if you want to try any of it, but I was afraid it would hurt your throat.” Zack handed her the salt and pepper first.

“Thanks, I think I’ll stick with the eggs. They’re perfect.” Tina smiled at him when he took a seat next to her.

With Cole on the other side of her, she felt safe. Cocooned between the two men seemed to settle her jittery nerves. She wouldn’t always have them, though. She needed to not rely on them.

“What got you into riding?” Zack asked.

“My dad used to ride with a weekend club and sometimes I would ride with him. When I got old enough, I got my own bike and joined them on occasion when I wasn’t in school. Then I rode from job to job once I got out of nursing school.”

“What does he think about you riding alone like you do?” Cole asked.

“He’s dead. I lost him about three years ago.”

“I’m sorry. I know that had to have been tough.” Zack kissed her temple.

“It was, but he’d been sick for several years, so it was a blessing in the end. I stayed with him until he died. Then I decided to ride. I didn’t want any ties for a while.”

“So you don’t have a single place you go to when you’re between jobs sometimes?" Cole asked.

“Not right now. I sold the house we’d lived in. It wasn’t where I would want to live anyway. When I figure out where I want to put down roots, I’ll find something there.”

“Good idea. That’s basically what we did.” Cole finished up his omelet.

“What made you such good friends?” she asked, even more curious about why they shared.

“We served together in the army,” Zack supplied. “You get really close to your buddies when you live through some of the situations we did.”

“I can understand that. If I stayed in one place very long, I’d get attached to my fellow nurses in the emergency rooms where I usually work.” She let the rest of her curiosity alone.

“Do you want some more eggs, Tina?” Zack asked.

“No thanks, that was plenty. They were great.”

“How about watching a movie before bed?” Cole asked.

“Sounds like a good idea.” Tina needed something to distract her from her inner thoughts.

Cole and Zack led her away from the kitchen and the dishes she had wanted to wash. They situated her between them on the couch and turned on the TV. “Hope you like action movies. That’s about all we have,” Cole confessed.

“I actually do. What are we going to watch?”

“Thought
Die Hard with a Vengeance
would be a good one.”

“I love Bruce Willis in those films,” she said.

They settled down and watched the movie. She was well aware of Cole’s hand on her thigh and Zack’s arm around her shoulders. They were obviously staking a claim on her. She wasn’t sure how she felt about that. She had only just met them the day before, but they’d been honest about their intentions from the beginning and hadn’t pushed her.

Tina realized she wanted them to a little bit. She didn’t want to make the decision, but she would have to. They weren’t going to make it for her.

Once the movie was over with, Cole used the remote to turn it off and the news popped on. They were discussing the serial killer and her near miss. Her name hadn’t been released, thank goodness. How they’d managed that, she didn’t know.

“They still don’t have any leads other than the description you gave them. It was a pretty damn good one.” Zack squeezed her shoulders. “I’m surprised they didn’t want you to work with a sketch artist.”

“I hadn’t thought about that,” she admitted. “I guess they still might ask me to. They know I’m staying with you two.”

“I think it’s time for bed.” Cole stood up and turned off the TV. “Would you like us to sleep with you? Just for company?”

“I–I really don’t want to sleep alone, but I’m not ready for anything else yet.”

“We wouldn’t expect you to be after having barely escaped a killer.” Cole pulled her to her feet and into his arms. He hugged her tight and kissed the top of her head.

Zack walked ahead of them to the bedroom where he turned back the sheets to the king-size bed. Cole reached down and pulled her T-shirt up, looking her in the eyes the entire time he was pulling it up and over her head. Then he knelt at her feet and pulled her shorts down so she could step out of them. When he kissed her pelvis, she shuddered.

Zack walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her chest where he kissed her neck and shoulder. Then he led her over to the bed and helped her climb into it.

The men stripped down and climbed into bed nude. They huddled up close to her and warmed her with their body heat. She realized she’d felt cold inside until they added their heat and their presence to hers. It helped to thaw her inside. She snuggled between them and was soon asleep.

* * * *

Zack felt it the minute she slipped into sleep. Her body relaxed all over and her breathing evened out and deepened. He glanced over her head at Cole. His friend smiled.

“She’s comfortable with us now, I think. As soon as she seems to be over the attack, we can push her a little bit more. I think she’s ready now, anyway. She wasn’t uncomfortable being nude with us.” Cole’s smile turned into a grin.

“She’s not just someone to play around with, Cole. I don’t know about you, but I’m serious about her.”

“I am, too. I want to bury myself so deep inside her I can’t tell where one of us ends and the other begins. I want to hear her scream our names and feel her squeeze my dick when she comes. Most of all, I want to see her eyes when she climaxes.”

“Then we’re agreed? She’s someone we could settle down with?” Zack asked.

“Yeah. Hell, yeah. I can see spending the rest of my life making her happy.” Cole’s eyes turned serious. “She’s going to be hard to convince, though.”

“I know. It’s a challenge. Since when have we ever stepped back from a challenge? And when was the last time we lost?” he asked reminding Cole they were virtually unbeatable in most things.

“What do you suggest?” Cole asked.

“I think we ought to make her come in the morning then see what she wants to do tomorrow. Show her some of the sights around town. Help her make up her mind to stay for a while.” Zack ran a finger across her cheek.

He wasn’t surprised that she didn’t move. She had been exhausted and needed to sleep. He was glad she’d allowed them to sleep with her. Not that he’d likely get much sleep again. He was hard as a rock. He was sure Cole was in the same boat. If she didn’t welcome them in her body soon, they would both die of need.

He listened to her breathing and relaxed at the gentle snore that she made. It sounded more and more like something he wanted to hear for the rest of his life. Somehow he had to figure out how to make her want to stay. They’d love her into wanting to stay. Maybe they could hook her on them so she couldn’t bear the thought of losing them. He grinned at that.

No doubt, that was wishful thinking, but he could wish, and he would. Deep down, he knew she was the one for them.

He knew she was curious why they shared between them. The fact was, all of them shared their women. They’d gotten into it back in one of the countries they’d been sent to in the army. They’d learned that you could bring so much more pleasure to a woman between two men. And by sharing a wife, it assured that one of them was always around to take care of her. She would never have to worry for anything. It wasn’t something you could easily explain, but if it came down to it, they would try.

For now, he would hold her and assure her that they were there for her. His dick was sitting on ready, though. He grinned. He hadn’t been this interested in a woman in a long time, and never to the point of obsession. He settled down and took advantage of holding her from behind by snugging his cock against her ass. Then he sighed and went to sleep.

Chapter Five

Tina woke disoriented and surrounded by male flesh. She froze and panic set in before she remembered where she was.

“You okay?” Cole’s voice whispered against her ear on her right side.

“Yeah, forgot where I was at first.”

“You’re safe, Tina.” Zack’s voice whispered in her other ear.

“Sorry, I just panicked for a minute. I’m okay now. I didn’t mean to wake you.”

“We’ve been awake for a little while. We didn’t want to wake you up by moving,” Cole told her.

“Oh, well, you can move now.”