The Sinful 7 of Delite, Texas 3: Her Double Delite Warriors (2 page)

He took a slug of beer as his own thoughts consumed him for the time being and washed out the sounds of chatter from his biker buddies. Driving his Harley on cool fall nights helped him forget his past and the troubles that now plagued him and Michael.

He glanced at his military watch and worried about Michael. He was due back from another mission. Why they kept doing this shit he didn’t know. Was it the thrill and the adrenaline rush? Was it their lack of care for their own lives brought on by the years of torment and pain of their childhood? Who the fuck knew why they continued to risk their lives for government causes in foreign lands where they risked dying alone and never being remembered. Why was it so easy to give up a life he worked so hard to achieve? They were supposed to be retired. So how come every time the commander called with some sort of special favor, they jumped to respond?

“Hey, Chad, when is Michael’s plane arriving?” Mason asked. Mason was a Marine, too. He wasn’t active duty anymore just like Michael and Chad, but for the right price, he’d gather his former special unit. Sometimes it included Michael and Chad, and they would make a few bucks. Saving some idiot senator’s daughter from a spring break gone badly this past summer was an example of the kind of shit Mason and his crew were into. The jobs paid really well and kept Michael and Chad in tip-top shape.

“Maybe not for another few hours. I think I’m going to head out.”

“Are you kidding me? Who’s gonna watch your baby doll?” Mason teased as he took a sip of his beer. His green eyes held Chad’s, knowing that Chad had a thing for a certain Dixie Chix and so did Michael.

“Baby doll?” Chad questioned then downed the rest of his beer. He rose up and pulled some money from his wallet. He placed it on the bar and winked at Clara, one of the barmaids. She smiled and said good night.

“Yeah, your baby doll,” Mason repeated then nodded toward Alexa as she stood about a dozen feet away while three guys spoke with her. He felt his chest tighten. He could tell the cowboys were engaging in conversation and trying to make her smile. She was too sweet to play games or lead them on. If anything, she always seemed shy and nervous when men flirted with her. She wasn’t a player, and if he was smart and cared about her at all, he would walk away and not feel jealous about the other men. He was no good for a woman like Alexa. He had nothing to offer her, not even his heart because he didn’t really have one. At least it felt that way, and he knew his scars from his past would never heal.

He waited though, telling himself he was making sure that the three bozos didn’t make a move on her. He swallowed hard then felt the hand on his shoulder.

“She’s really sweet, Chad. Got a body made for sin but hides it like a treasure. You don’t see that too often anymore. You and Michael should just ask her out.”

Chad turned abruptly toward Mason, his anger getting the better of him. He thought he’d hid his emotions well. Apparently he hadn’t and it was Alexa’s fault. She did this to him. She made him come apart and forget to watch his back and remain ready for anything. She made him human instead of a soldier. He preferred being a soldier because as a soldier he didn’t feel.

“What the fuck are you talking about?”

Mason removed his hand and leaned back against the bar. He was just as tall as Chad and built similarly with wide, muscular shoulders and arms. They were both in amazing shape.

“I’m just saying that the two of you have been watching her for months. I know because I’ve been watching her sister Sally.”

Mason took a long slug of beer then nearly banged it down on the bar.

“Fuck, Chad. Don’t you ever get fucking lonely and tired of not feeling a fucking thing? I’ve been fucking around with women since I was old enough to know what to do with my dick, and add in the uniform and the way women go all crazy about it, and yeah, I’ve played the field my entire life. I’ve done this without making connections, without commitments except to the government and this great country of ours. We’re Marines for Christ’s sake. We’re not supposed to be weak, and we sure as shit are not supposed to feel anything, right?” Mason asked then drank the remainder of his beer and stared off into the distance.

“What the hell are you carrying on about?” Chad asked, even though he knew already. Mason and his brother Steven, a Marine and doctor, met Sally, Alexa’s sister, a few weeks back. Now they all frequented Dixie Chix more than ever and Sally ignored them, too.

“Forget it. I don’t know what the hell I’m thinking. I’m leaving in three days for an assignment.”

“What? Where at?”

Mason gave him a wink.

“Can’t say, dude. You know the rules.”

Chad glanced over toward Alexa, who was saying something to the guys and trying to walk away. As she turned, she looked up, her face red with embarrassment as one of the men gawked at her and checked her ass out. He wanted to shove his fist down the guy’s face and kill his friends. But then she looked up and locked gazes with him. Her hand went over her chest, and he knew his eyes bore into her. It wasn’t until she practically ran toward the other side of the room that he realized he had scared her.

“Jeeze, Chad, that’s no way to win a woman’s attention.”

“Fuck!” Chad stated then stormed off, leaving the dance hall and thinking that Alexa was better off without him. He was a coldhearted bastard. He didn’t know why Alexa remained on his mind constantly. He could get any woman he wanted. In fact he lost count of the number of women that had offered their beds to him tonight. But that wasn’t what he really wanted. As he strolled out of the dance hall, he realized that he wanted exactly what Mason wanted. He was tired of being alone and not having more. The problem was that his brother, Michael, didn’t seem to feel the same way about settling down, and he was also just as coldhearted as Chad himself. A woman like Alexa needed more than him or his brother, Michael, could offer.

* * * *

“Alexa, I’m ready to go now. I want to check out the new winter fashions at Stella’s Boutique. You said you wanted to go with me.” Sally stood in front of Alexa. Alexa was deep into her book. Just a few more chapters to go and the love story with its happily ever after would be finished. She loved getting lost in a book and imagining being one of the characters.

“I’ll meet you over there. I promise.” Alexa pulled her sweater tighter and wiggled her butt on the metal bench. It was late fall. The wind was picking up, but in the sun it seemed warmer. Now that the clouds were moving in, her days of reading in the small park in the center of town would come to an end very soon. She could go to the library. The Delite Library was filled with lots of great books in the romance section, and it was never really crowded. They also had those private little sections she could go hide in and get lost in a book for the day.

Sally shook her head and laughed. “You know men like that don’t exist, right, sis?”

Alexa ignored her sister and shooed her off, waving her hand as her eyes remained glued to the pages.

She tucked her foot under her bottom and was entranced in the scene where the tall dark stranger now known as Kyle and his cousin, Derek, insisted that they should fight over the love of Fantasia. Fantasia of course refused to come between the two cousins and decided it was best to call things off. Just as Fantasia was walking away, a car came zooming down the road and nearly hit her. Fantasia was lying on the blacktop, bruised but not seriously injured.

Alexa turned the page with one hand while she kept her other hand over her heart. She felt her pulse increase, and being so enthralled in the story, she hadn’t heard anything but her own thoughts. Tonight she would go back and highlight the pages that she loved most. Especially the love scenes and how romantic and in tune to the woman the men were. She also loved when the heroines were strong and empowered. She wished she had those qualities.

“Good book?” someone asked, and she nodded her head and mumbled a yes, not even bothering to look up to see who it was.

Then she felt the large figure behind her, and she hurriedly pressed the book to her chest in fear that someone might see what she was reading. She glanced up and gasped.
Michael Phillips? Oh God he is so good looking. When did he return from one of his secret assignments?
She had heard the gossip around the club about a large group of Marines and their assignments. Michael and Chad were part of the group.

He raised one eyebrow at her, his dimples so visible they were practically winking at her. He held her gaze. His big blue eyes sparkled as he crossed his arms in front of his massive chest. He was wearing a T-shirt. Was he crazy? It was very cold out here.

She swallowed hard.

“It must be, because you didn’t even hear me approach, Alexa. You need to be more careful and aware of what’s going on around you.”

She furrowed her eyebrows at him. Gosh, he was so uptight and bossy. Who did he think he was anyway?

She looked around them, realizing that they were practically alone. Only an older woman and man walking hand in hand were near the small lake in the center of the park. She pulled her sweater tighter against her chest.

“I don’t think I’m in any danger, Michael. I’m in the park in Delite. What could possibly happen?” she asked as she placed her bookmark then closed the book and tucked it into her small bag. She stood up and realized just how huge and tall Michael was.

“You look cold. The fall and winter can get pretty brutal around here. Don’t you own a warm jacket?” he scolded. She pulled her sweater around her, but she felt the chill. She wasn’t certain it all stemmed from the temperature. He sounded bossy, and was that her belly that quivered in approval of his tone? Yikes, she was definitely reading too many romance novels.

“I’m fine. What about you? You’re wearing a T-shirt.” She got lost in the sight of his massive chest of muscles and the way the cotton of the shirt stretched across them. The man was a work of art. Throw in the dark camo pants he was wearing and he looked edible. She swallowed and knew she needed to focus on reality. This man was not a character in a book. He was the real deal. And after the way Chad looked about to kill her last night, she knew they were dangerous men. She’d had enough of dangerous men. Plus she was twenty-three and still a virgin even though her uncle’s men tried to take that from her, too. She shivered.

“Come on, let’s get you inside where it’s warm. I’ll buy you a cup of coffee,” he stated then reached for her. She stepped away, afraid of him grabbing her, touching her, making contact with her, and she nearly fell over the bench.

She stumbled, dropped her bag, then quickly picked it up and used the bench as a barrier between them.

“I’m good really. Thanks anyway. Enjoy the park.” She practically yelled over her shoulder as she hurried away from him.

She crossed the distance between the park and the street quickly and hurried into Stella’s Boutique. She looked out of the front window and watched as Michael made his way to the café. Two women were walking down the street, and their faces lit up from seeing him. Of course they did. She had the same reaction. He was gorgeous.

“Found something you like?” Sally whispered next to her ear as she placed her arm around her shoulder.

Alexa jumped and gasped, and Sally chuckled.

“Busted!”

Sally looked at a rack filled with sweaters and long skirts near the window.

“What?” Alexa asked as she tried to ignore the feeling of being caught in the act drooling over Michael.

“I saw him talking to you. He was watching you for a few minutes while you were caught up in your romance novel,” Sally teased.

Alexa looked up from the rack of sweaters.

“He thought I was cold. He just said hello.”

“I bet he wanted to warm you up, Alexa.”

“Stop that, Sally. He did not.”

“Oh yes he did. I saw him reach for you, and then you nearly leaped the bench like a track star jumps over hurdles.”

Alexa felt her cheeks warm. How embarrassing.
I probably looked like such an idiot.

“Hey, don’t beat yourself up over it. I am sure that Michael will try hitting on you again.”

“He doesn’t like me like that. He’s older and a lot more experienced. He likes other types of women, like the two he’s talking to right now,” Alexa said as she looked out the window and watched Michael holding the door open for the two women. Now they would be having coffee with him, enjoying a conversation with him, and sitting close to him at those damn small tables in the café.

“Somebody’s jealous,” Sally sang then hummed as she moved on toward the middle of the store and a new rack of shorter skirts. They were beautiful but way too short for Alexa.

“I am not jealous. You can’t be jealous of something that isn’t yours.”

“Sure you can and who said he couldn’t be yours? You’re beautiful and he is definitely interested.”

“Well, I’m not interested in him or Chad.”

Sally gasped.

“Why you little minx. Two Marines? I think your erotic romance novels have gone to your head. You go, girl! I say hell yeah to a double-Delite.”

“Oh God, please stop talking so loudly.” Alexa lowered her head as she noticed a few other women in the store glancing at them. They had to have heard her sister’s remarks.