Sidney’s Triple Shot [Apache Crossing] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) (13 page)

“I hope they will say that we’re lucky men.” Noah’s words were so quiet she wasn’t sure she heard him. She turned her startled gaze his direction and blinked when she saw the hot intensity there. She had only seen that look on a man twice before, and both times it was with his brothers.

“I’m not staying in Apache Crossing,” she said firmly.

“This isn’t getting us anywhere, love. You are going to have to trust us a little bit, or we can’t help you,” Tyce said.

“I don’t need help, thank you. I will be fine.” She stood and started to move away from them into the living room, but Xavier’s hand gripped her wrist and pulled her back. He didn’t hurt her. He didn’t even force her to move closer to him, but he wouldn’t let her run away either.

“Like you didn’t need help last night? Sidney, stop being a fool. Someone set that fire intentionally. They broke out a window and threw a can of gasoline inside. Someone was trying to stop you from running, and scare you in the process.” Xavier’s grip was strong, but gentle, and she stared at him blankly.

“What?” she whispered. Her body began to tremble violently, and her knees grew weak.

“Who are you running from, Sidney? We really need to know, because I think they might have found you.” As Xavier’s words settled into her brain, she started to sway, and she could feel her palms sweating as panic hit her.

“Oh my God! Robert! No, he can’t have found me. Are they sure it couldn’t have been an accident?” She was in flight mode, and she jerked hard to get her arm away from Xavier. Shoving her hands into her blonde hair, she ducked her head and clenched her eyes shut. She tried to slow her breathing and her heart rate before she passed out. This was her worst nightmare. She had brought Robert into Apache Crossing, and if he found out that she was here with these three men it wouldn’t just be her ass getting kicked.

Just when she felt the room start to spin, Xavier scooped her into his arms and walked her back to the couch. He held her tightly against his chest as he settled onto the seat. She pressed her face into his collarbone and took deep, gasping breaths. Robert won’t have to kill me personally, because I’m going to die of fright before he even gets to me, she thought.

“Robert Wicks? Is that who you’re running from? Your boyfriend?” He spoke against her temple as he stroked her hair. She could sense that Noah and Tyce had followed and were standing nearby, watching them.

“Yes, he’s actually my ex-fiancé,” she mumbled against his throat. He smelled so good, and she loved the protected feeling of sitting in his lap. His huge arms were wrapped around her, holding her tightly.

“Ex-fiancé? Does he know he’s your ex?” Noah asked.

“Yes, he figured it out when I left and didn’t come back, but he hasn’t accepted it. He’s been following me since I left.” She looked up to gauge their reactions. They all looked so damn concerned. Why would they care? She just couldn’t understand why it would matter to them. “If he is here, I have to leave as soon as possible. I’m sorry. I’ll take a bus somewhere or find a ride.”

“You think we’re going to just sit back and let you hitchhike your way out of here when someone is chasing after you? Woman, are you insane?” Tyce bellowed, and she shrank back, slipping off of Xavier’s lap onto the couch beside him.

“I, umm…” Her whispered voice wobbled, and Tyce’s angry scowl changed quickly to a guilty grimace. He dropped to his knees in front of her and grabbed her by the shoulders.

“Fuck. I’m sorry, I’m not trying to scare you, love, but you are frustrating the hell out of me. We want you, Sidney. We want to keep you here and take care of you. We want to love you and protect you, but you have to trust us.” Tyce clenched his teeth, and his fingers pressed firmly into her shoulders, holding her in place.

“Why?” She was stunned.

“Why do you think you are so unlovable? What did he do to you?” Noah asked her. She looked over at him, calmly studying the sympathy in his eyes.

“I don’t think I’m ready to talk about it yet. I’m sorry.” She looked down at her fingers twisting in her lap. Her vision blurred with unshed tears.

Xavier sighed heavily next to her and reached out to take her hands, stopping her nervous fidgeting. “Sidney, look at me, honey.”

She lifted her head, expecting to see every manner of judgment in his eyes, but instead she saw reassurance and a flicker of something else.

“Okay, but we want you stay here for now. If this Wicks guy really is here and pissed off, then you are safer with us. You can have my bed, and I’ll take the couch for now. We’ll work out a schedule so that you are never alone. Maybe he will get the hint and give up,” Xavier said.

She sat gaping at him for several seconds. He still wanted her to stay here? With all three of them. In their home. In
his
bed. They wanted to help her and protect her. This was all just too much to take in. She had never had a man do so much to care for her while asking for nothing in return. She caught her breath. What if this was all a ploy to get her into bed? Why would they do something for nothing?

“I’m not sleeping with you,” she said firmly and then jumped when Xavier growled.

“I said you could have my bed, not my cock. Don’t get me wrong, I want you, but you will have to ask for it. I don’t force women, Sidney, so get that scared look off of your face. No one in this house expects sex in exchange for protection. If you truly believe that, then you don’t know us at all.” Anger glazed his blue eyes, and his jaw clenched tightly.

“I’m sorry, but that’s the point, isn’t it? I don’t know you, any of you. And you don’t know me. I could be a whore or a murderer, and you are letting me into your home. You could be a rapist or a bank robber, and you want me to trust
you
to protect me against someone that I
know
will kill me.” She was gasping for air now, and she couldn’t stop the trembling once it started. The shock on their faces said it all, and she swallowed a lump of regret at letting her fears slip.

“What makes you think he will kill you?” Noah’s eyebrow twitched and his lips formed a straight line of fury. “He has tried before,” she mumbled, looking away. Tears ran freely down her cheeks again, but when strong arms tried to hold her, she jerked away. “I’m sorry, please stop. I’m fine. I’m stronger than I look right now, believe me.”

“We’ve never doubted that for a second, love,” Tyce said. “You were strong enough to get yourself out of a bad situation. Now follow your instincts and trust us to take care of you.”

After several anxiously silent minutes, she took a deep breath and met each man’s eyes before speaking. “I will agree but only on a couple of conditions. One, you stop asking me to tell you more. I can’t talk about it yet. When I feel like I can, I will, but not until then. Two, no funny business. I’m not sleeping with any of you. I’m not a whore.”

“We know you’re not a whore, Sidney, but we can’t promise not to be attracted to you. We want you, and you want us, but no one will force you. I will only make a promise not to take what you won’t give willingly,” Xavier said in an icy-cold voice that made her shiver. Both Tyce and Noah wore angry expressions but nodded in agreement to her request.

“Agreed, but believe me, I won’t be giving anything. And three, if I need to leave, you let me go. I need to be able to make my own choices, and I couldn’t live with myself if my staying here caused one of you guys to get hurt.”

She waited nervously as they exchanged looks. They were silently communicating. She could tell they weren’t happy with that last condition and probably had no intention of letting her leave without argument any time soon.

Finally, Tyce and Noah both nodded silently.

“Fine, but you have to trust us and listen if we tell you to do something. We are all highly trained Marines, and we can handle ourselves, so don’t think that the latter will ever happen. It’s more likely that if that asshole shows his face, our fists will be the last thing he sees before St. Peter,” Xavier said quietly. She shivered at the intensity of his voice. He clearly meant what he said and would follow through with his threat. That meant that if she did something wrong, he could just as easily hurt her. She would have to be extra careful where he was concerned and not anger him.

“Come on, love, let’s get you some clean clothes and a bath. You look like you’re carrying the weight of the world on your shoulders right now, and you need a chance to relax.” Tyce took her hand and pulled her off of the couch.

He led her down a long hallway and into a large bedroom that was very masculine. A bed that was larger than an average king size dominated the center of the room, and an equally large chest of drawers set against one wall. The end tables matched the other furniture, and it was all made out of the same dark wood that the Triple Shot bar was made of. A crimson bedspread covered the mattress, and she wondered if she would need a lift to get up onto it. It was beautiful, and it reeked of Xavier’s strong personality.

The spicy scent of Xavier filled this room, and she breathed it in deeply, trying to embed it into her brain. For some reason it caused all of her muscles to relax, and she suddenly felt very tired. Feeling hands on her shoulders, she glanced back to see Xavier’s blue eyes lit with arousal as he watched her look around his bedroom. Her heartbeat echoed in her ears, and she could feel the moisture building between her legs. He smiled slowly, and she knew that somehow he felt it, too. He felt her desire as keenly as she did, and she could see it reflected in his sinful smile.

Choking slightly, she gasped for a breath and quickly moved further into the room and away from his overwhelming presence, inadvertently putting herself in Tyce’s path as he turned on his heel to direct her to where the bathroom was. She stumbled as she ran into his muscular chest, and he reflexively grabbed her elbows to steady her, pulling her hard against his front.

“Oh! I’m sorry, Tyce. I should have been watching where I was going. Are you okay?” She jumped backward, fumbling for balance and hanging her head guiltily and flinching away from the expected blow.

“I’m fine, but I’m not the one that just about fell on my ass. Though maybe I should have let you fall, then I could have kissed your bruises to make you feel better.” She was surprised to find that he was laughing at her, and his charm had her smiling back. How long had it been since a man laughed with her over her clumsiness instead of yelling at her?

“Please, stop it. You agreed. No funny business,” she said as she pulled away from him and stepped out from between the two brothers. Standing so close to both of them was like a powerful drug, and her body was tingling everywhere with awareness.

“Nope. I agreed not to force you into anything you didn’t want. You can’t expect me to ignore a beautiful woman or a perfect opportunity to touch her.” His wicked grin had her shaking her head and moving further into the room to put even more space between them. Noah had pushed his way into the room to stand shoulder to shoulder with Xavier, who crossed his arms while they watched her fidget.

“I’m not beautiful,” she huffed in frustration, and Tyce laughed. Xavier’s eyebrow arched mockingly, and Noah smirked, shaking his head at her.

“Did Wicks tell you that?” Noah asked.

“I’m not blind. I’ve looked in the mirror. No more questions. If you guys can’t keep the agreement, then please just let me leave.” She held her breath, willing them to just let her go. She wasn’t sure she could handle them like this twenty-four-seven.

“No way. You aren’t backing out, baby. Now, there are towels on the shelf in the bathroom, and my robe is hanging on the back of the door. You are going in there to take a bath right now, before I strip you down and bathe you myself.” Xavier’s quiet demand sent another rush of heat through her body. The image of his large, rough hands running over her wet body drowned out any argument she could have made. She dropped her eyes when he continued to hold her gaze steadily, and Tyce chuckled again.

“Perfect. Love, you are more perfect than you can imagine. Come on, Noah, we better go see if we can scrounge up some clothes for her to wear when she gets done.” Tyce and Noah left the room, and still she stood there with her eyes on the floor and her hands clenching and unclenching at her sides.

After a long pause of silence between them, Xavier sighed. “I’m not angry at you, Sidney.”

She lifted her eyes but quickly diverted them again at the frustration on his face. “Okay.”

“Baby, I just don’t want you to rush out of here and run away again. You can’t keep running forever. I want to protect you, and to do that I need you here, with me.”

She looked up into his blue eyes again, and tears filled her vision. “Okay.” When he didn’t say anything else, she moved slowly to the bathroom, while he continued to stand still watching her.

She wasn’t sure if he was waiting to pounce on her, or if he would just let her go, but she sighed with relief when she closed the door behind her and flipped the lock. Her wobbly knees buckled, and she slid to the floor where she sat shakily trying to catch her breath.

Between her physical attraction to the Dawson brothers and her fear of men, she wasn’t sure how long she could remain in their home. Ignoring the throb between her legs and the urge to run, she filled the tub and stripped her clothes off. She desperately needed a bath, and the large free-standing tub was too inviting to resist.

* * * *