TheUnexpected (3 page)

The bar was full, as she suspected it might be. She hadn’t seen Perry’s or Sean’s trucks outside but that didn’t mean they weren’t here. It was Friday night and
on
Fridays they normally stopped up to
Ackerman’s
for beers and pool. It had been one week since the night in the hotel. A week she’d spent two towns over, in a tiny motel, thinking hard about her life and where she’d been and where she was headed.

Smoke filtered her way as she entered and she pushed through the bodies, trying to get further into the bar. Once she did Jesse began looking around for signs of her men.

My men.

The idea still tickled her belly. She didn’t care. They made her happy. They made her feel whole again after feeling broken for so many years. She spotted one of the bar’s owners. He was pouring a glass of whiskey for someone. He noticed her and looked to his twin brother—the other owner. Jesse knew what they were thinking and what they’d do. They’d contact Perry and Sean to tell them she was here. The men all got along well and the twins also had rumors swirl about them and their like of sharing women.

She made her way through the bar and headed for the restrooms. She needed time to think. She knew it wouldn’t be long before her men were there, demanding answers. Perry would be so cross with her that he’d yell for weeks on end. He’d never raise a hand to her. She understood that deep in her soul. Neither would Sean.
O
f the two, Perry was certainly more of the alpha male figure. Not that Sean lacked in any way. He just didn’t have the same temper and stubborn streak Perry did.

My men
, she repeated in her head as she entered the restroom and looked herself over in the mirror. She splashed a bit of cool water on her face and took several deep, long, shuddering breaths. With her nerves happy for the time being, Jesse opened the door and left the restroom. She made it several paces before four men she recognized as ranch hands at a local ranch blocked her path. The one in the center, Bill, tipped his hat to her, sneering a touch. “You’re alone tonight? What happen to Perry, huh? Did he share you with his butt-buddy and they tire of you?”

A knot formed in the pit of her stomach. She tried to push past the men but they grabbed hold of her.

Bill lowered his face, putting it close to hers. “We heard about you all bein’ up at the hotel together. We heard ‘dem boys made you scream for them.” His gaze slipped over her in a way that left fear racing through her. He looked at her the way her mother’s boyfriends had in the past. Dirty. Sleazy. Wrong. “Now that the boys are done with you, what do you say to being fucked by men? How does sharing our dicks sound, pretty lil’ lady?”

Jesse’s mouth opened and closed. No sound fell from her lips as fear continued to hold her in its grips.

Bill laughed as did his friends. “We can take turns fucking that mouth of hers and then we can line up and fuck her cunt. She likes that. Likes to be shared by men. Don’t you, pretty whore?”

“Get your fucking hands off our woman!” Perry’s voice was like a godsend in the middle of the rowdy bar.

Jesse breathed a sigh of relief right up until Bill moved enough for her to get a view of Perry and Sean. Both of them looked ready to kill. Bill’s friends thought better than to push either of them and scattered to the winds. Bill stood his ground, pushing his chest out. “What are you gonna do? We all know you two shared her. That you fucked her. We all know after you two do that to a woman, you’re done with ‘em. She’s fair game, boys.”

“Like fucking hell she is,” threatened Perry. “That lil’ woman behind you is ours. We don’t share what’s ours.”

Sean lowered his gaze on Bill. “Wrong move, thinking you could touch her or speak to her like that.” He looked past Bill, at Jesse. “You all right, baby?”

She nodded.

He put his hand out for her to come to him. She tried and the minute she did, Bill grabbed hold of her arm so tight that she whimpered. Perry and Sean charged in. Everything was a blur. One second Bill was near her and the next, he was on the center of the bar floor with Sean and Perry above him, taking turns beating the hell out of him.

The Ackerman twins rushed in, pulling Perry and Sean from Bill. “We know,” they said. “Take your woman and go make love to her. We’ll handle cleaning up this mess.”

Perry didn’t seem to want to stop. Sean came for her and she put her hand out toward Perry. “Per,” she said in a hushed manner.

His anger seemed to snap, vanishing instantly. He came straight for her and yanked her into a tight embrace. He smoothed the back of her hair as she began to cry. “Hush, none of that, sweet thing. We’re here. We won’t let anyone hurt you again.”

“I know.”

“Then why are you cryin’?” he questioned.

She stared between the men. “Because I missed you both so much. Take me home. Make love to me.”

“Both of us?” asked Sean.

She reached for him. “Yes.
Both
of you. I want my men with me. I want you both.”

“For tonight or for good?” The uncertainty in Sean’s gaze moved her.

She pulled him closer and touched both their chests. “Figure out which one of you is making me their wife and quick. We need to get this show on the road. I want to start my new life with my husbands as soon as possible.”

They shared a look and then lifted her between them, smashing her with their large bodies as they laughed.

The Untold

The Unspoken

The Unforgettable