by Ellie Jean
Regretful, but necessary, I gradually ease my mouth from Phoebe’s, watching her pink swollen lips be licked by her tongue, tasting me. Glazed eyes scan my face.
“Hell, I could eat you completely.”
Deep red cheeks radiate making this woman glow more. “That blush doesn’t help the cause either.” Laughing, I rub my thumbs over her cheekbones and heat pours from her skin into mine. Her smile increases.
“Come on, before I decide to act on my words, we better go and meet the guys.”
“Okay.” It’s small but there’s no disgust or worry in her tone. And I notice that her stutter has gone. Shaking my head, I wonder if it’s ‘cause she’s more comfortable around me now?
Bringing Phoebe here, the first girl to be brought to my apartment and straight into the mix of the guys and girls without any prior warning, what could go wrong?
Hell, I’m cringing thinking about the possibilities of how they will react.
“I hope you’re ready to meet my crazy ass friends.”
I’m not sure this is something you can be ready for. They’re all an energy on their own, but together a tornado.
No words can prepare you.
“The fuck I’m leaving! He’s my brother, I need to know how you propose to get him back.”
Walking to the side of Ocean, we enter a room after going up the elevator many floors. This building is huge and modern. Three men and one woman sit at the table watching a dark-haired beauty pace back and forth, throwing daggers and yelling at one male in particular.
“Emerald, you know how this goes. ‘Cause it’s Kyle, we have to be extra vigilant and prepared. You and Lace need to take your asses back up to the room and wait ’til we work out the plan. It won’t take long and then we can fill you both in on it.”
“Hey,” Ocean interrupts, all eyes go to me. “This is Bluebell.”
A gorgeous pregnant woman, with long mauve-colored hair stands and approaches. “Hi, I’m Lace. Nice to meet you.” She smirks at Ocean and then resumes hugging me, her large stomach getting in the way, but she manages like a pro. “Where’s this one been hiding you?”
“We’ve been at his cabin.” Trying to keep my anxiety from kicking in, I take a breath and steady myself.
Her eyebrows raise, there’s noise from the men and the ball kicker who was angry moments ago, strolls over and hugs Ocean, whispering something in his ear, then moves to me, wrapping her arms around me. “You’re the florist from the hospital, aren’t you?”
“Yeah, that’s me.”
“You’re good. The arrangements I received made by you were gorgeous.” Sounding friendlier than seconds ago, my shoulders sag a little and my teeth aren’t as clenched.
“Thank you. I try and do unique displays for my customers. Happy you liked them.”
“So, I thought the cabin was an alone trip for you?” Redirecting her gaze on Ocean, her brown eyes pierce him. “I’m Emerald, by the way.” Her head swivels back to me for a second.
“That was the plan, but it came to a screaming halt.” A smirk lights up his face looking at me. I remember almost getting squashed by his beast. “But I’ll fill you in later. First things first. We need to get Kyle back, unharmed.”
Scanning the surroundings, the men are broad, muscly, good looking, and all adorning tattoos. Danger, control, and power emanate from all of them. You wouldn’t want to meet them in a dark alley, they’re scaring the bejesus out of me in daylight.
“Wildcat, time to get your butt out of here. We’re wasting time.” The chair scrapes on the floor, weakening my knees. Tall and imposing, his lethal voice catches me off guard. Ocean takes my hand.
“You’ve got twenty minutes, or I’ll sort this shit myself.” Lace stands with her, boldly staring at the men. Subdued grins on the men almost make me laugh, but I hold it in. These women are as fierce as the men.
“Don’t give me ultimatums. You know they don’t work out for you, Wildcat.”
Shrugging her shoulders, she turns her back.
“Do you mind taking Bluebell with you?” Ocean squeezes my hand and watches me carefully. I nod in acceptance, my stomach revolving like a washing machine but the pain has subsided from earlier. I need to let him get his work done.
“Of course. Come on, we have our own plans to organize.” She takes my hand from Ocean’s. Hers is warm and inviting but I feel callouses on her skin.
“Leave it to us, honey bunny. You know we’ll get Kyle back.”
A jolt at my side and her hand’s gone, but there’s commotion at the table. Emerald’s jumped on the hugest guy and is trying to strangle him with both her hands.
“You just had to, didn’t you T.” Lace is beside me laughing at the craziness. I can’t take my eyes off either of them.
The man’s large hands wrap around her waist trying to pull her off. His eyes bulge a little and Emerald’s hair swooshes, trying to keep a grip on his tree-trunk neck.
This is new.
“Shouldn’t you help him?” I ask Ocean but keep watching the mismatched showdown. A chair is kicked out the way with Emerald’s legs swinging out.
“Nope. Tanner knows better than to use sweet names on Emerald. It only ends with his ass being kicked.”
“Fuck, you two, can we get on with business?” The guy who was being yelled at when we walked in, ventures toward the couple. “Wildcat, this isn’t helping your brother.”
In an instant, her hands release leaving some red marks on his neck but there’s a grin on the guy’s face.
Very odd.
His hands slide around her small waist and her back sags against his front. Her hair’s everywhere. “Come on, my little Wildcat. We need to get this sorted. Every minute wasted is a problem for your brother.” His voice is calm and exact. “I know it’s hard but let me fix this. Go with the girls and I’ll be up soon.”
Pain radiates from her face. The guy plants a kiss on her lips making me turn my head because it’s that intimate, I feel I’m intruding. Ocean walks back and leans in. “Welcome to my friends.” He kisses my ear and I smile.
“Come on, let’s go and let them figure this shit out.” Lace takes Emerald’s hand and as they walk past me, Emerald takes mine, trying for a smile at the same time. I walk with them out to the elevator, my head swirling, wondering what the hell is going to happen next.
“Welcome to The Savage Shadows, Bluebell.”
My eyebrows raise and I start to giggle. The absurdity of watching a grown lady take on a burly monster is pure madness.
Lace and Emerald look at me, their lips turning up and they start to laugh.
All three of us stand waiting, our laughing getting louder and more hysterical.
Emerald stops for a second. “You’re gonna fit in fine.”
“How long have you two been together?” Both ladies look like they’ve stumbled across the Holy Grail, their eyes wide and smiles even wider.
Lace knocks on a door and there’s instant shuffling inside. Opening the door is a stunning woman with a short blonde bob, styled to perfection, who has her hands wrapped around a little bundle. “Any news?” Her voice wavers.
Lace strolls in, taking the baby from her. “None yet. Emerald’s given them twenty minutes to sort their shit out.”
Holding out my hand, I introduce myself. “Hi, I’m Bluebell, Ocean’s friend.”
“Friend?” She smiles and pulls me in for a hug then releases me. These girls sure know how to welcome a stranger. I can’t remember the last time I hugged someone besides Ocean, let alone three strangers in the space of five minutes.
“Did someone say, my brother’s got a girlfriend?” A chirpy voice radiates to me and within a second a stunning girl with flowing orange hair rushes out to ogle me.
“No, Melody. A friend who is a girl,” Lace corrects her sarcastically and they both laugh.
“Yeah, we just met.” Following Crystal, we enter a large living space, with an open floor plan, attached to an extensive kitchen.
&
nbsp; “But she was at his cabin with him.” Emerald sits down on a plush black lounge while Crystal goes to the kitchen grabbing a pitcher of water and glasses. All of them eye each other, raising their eyebrows.
“Our men don’t bring friends here, Bluebell,” Lace interjects kindly, rocking the sleeping bundle in her arms.
“I’ve never known my brother to bring any friends here. Men or women.”
My heart thuds against my chest, an electrified buzz covers my skin.
“Actually, we knew one another when we were kids, but our paths crossed again the other day.” Pouring myself a glass of water, I drink it down fast then pour three other glasses. I’m not really a drinker but a large shot of whisky would go down well about now.
“I don’t remember Ocean hanging around with any girls when we were young. We spent a lot of time together. He only talked about one girl.” Closing her eyes, she squishes her nose up and draws her face into a frown as though it’s hurting her to think. “Her name was Phillipa. No. Hang on. Fiona, Pippa maybe?” Shaking her head, she laughs. “It will come to me in a minute. But he had it bad for that girl. His teenage heart was stolen by her, unable to be replaced.”
Everyone sighs and I nod, accepting that I was forgotten because another normal girl came along.
“He’s really just helping me sort out a family problem.”
“That’s their specialty at the moment.” Crystal looks at Emerald with sad eyes. “Our guys will get Kyle back.”
“I know but I hate waiting.”
“Well, at least your brother’s not trying to kill you like mine is.” My mouth opens and it blurts out. I don’t know any of these women and yet I spill my darkest fear out to them.
Heads snap to mine and I nod. “Ocean’s helping me with it.” My voice is quiet, as if I speak the words out loud, he will find me again.
“You got the right men on your team. We won’t be letting anyone get their hands on you either. You’re one of us now. You must mean something special to Ocean, Bluebell. This place is their sanctuary. No one gets past the front door without background checks and knowing every tiny detail about you.”
“Phoebe. Her name was Phoebe,” Melody shouts and the baby stirs but remains asleep. “Whoops, sorry. I forgot there’s now a baby around. But he was head over heels for that girl. Broken and rebelling after our sudden trip away, he couldn’t forgive Mom and Dad for sending us away and he couldn’t forgive himself for not letting Phoebe know why he never returned to see her. Every now and then he will bring her name up in our conversations. Honestly, I don’t know if he will get over her ever. There was something special between those two.”
“Really?” I answer both the questions swarming my head but act as though I’m thinking only about the statement Crystal dropped. Bright fireworks explode in my body, my smile widens ridiculously, absorbing Melody’s words. I can’t say anything yet to her until I fully understand what she is saying.
“As I said, we only met the other day at the hospital. He’d bought a few arrangements from me previously. What can I say, I noticed him, ‘cause who wouldn’t.” Wiping my face, I keep going, glossing over how I’m making a fool of myself. “But he nearly ran me over in the parking lot when I was running from my brother who just killed a guy.” Slapping my hand over my mouth, I’m shocked at myself.
“Girl, are you for real?” Crystal leans her arms on her knees, piercing me with her shiny blue eyes. “Where you hurt?”
I nod my head. “My ankle is banged up, my shoulder took the brunt of it, that’s why Ocean made me get in his car in the first place. He wanted to make sure I was okay because I could hardly walk. I feel pretty good today, but I’m still so embarrassed that I nearly ran straight into his car.”
“My brother, the one who thinks he can fix everything and everyone.” A small smile takes over her face possibly thinking about something he did for her one time.
“And before we got here, my brother found my place and tried to hurt me. Thank gosh Ocean came in and saved me, again.” Colton may have got a kick in, sending him to the floor momentarily but listening to Ocean take command of the situation and now seeing his dominant mates, I have no doubt, if I want him dead, he will arrange it.
“Our men won’t mess around if we are in danger. Our families come first and foremost.”
“I can see that.” Talking to these women is strangely welcoming. I’m no one to them, but I’ve been accepted into their close-knit family without hesitation. It’s nice talking to a group of women. Unsure with what’s happening between Ocean and me, I hope I get to know them a lot more. “So, who’s the gorgeous baby?”
Crystal’s eyes light up and the four of them start talking about Jayce and how Tanner’s been coping with him. It’s over the top, exuberant, and comical. Sitting back listening to everything is calming.
“He did what?” Emerald’s got tears coming from her eyes, the rest of us can’t stop giggling.
“Tanner thought it would be a good idea to put apple puree in the bottle and mix it with the formula.”
“But he’s not supposed to have anything but milk at this stage.” Lace composes herself for a second.
“He’s convinced Jayce is exceptional, above average and more advanced than any other baby.” Laughing again, I can’t hold back. It’s pure ridiculousness.
“He’s only a few weeks old.” Melody wipes her eyes.
“Yep. See girls, this is what happens to our authoritative men when faced with a tiny bundle. They become stupid. Tanner sits with him flashing him cards with letters on them and he can’t talk or hold his head up or open his eyes for very long. It’s insanity at its best.”
“He’s an idiot.” Emerald doesn’t hold back and the other two nod. “Actually, speaking about stupidity, Slate asked me to marry him yesterday. He knows how I feel about getting married, but he wanted to make it official. We’re already committed to us, we don’t need the huge fanfare.”
Lace’s and Crystal’s eyes protrude out of their head in astonishment, before jumping off their seats and almost tackling Emerald. Lace manages to almost choke her with her spare arm around Emerald’s neck.
“Why are we only hearing about this now?” Crystal’s body language is telling me she’s mad.
“We had a few terms to work out.”
I mouth congratulations to Emerald, like Melody does as Lace resumes her seat and Crystal skips to the kitchen. The baby hasn’t stirred once.
“He wanted a traditional wedding, didn’t he?” Pulling down champagne glasses and a bottle of Moet, Crystal returns.
“He wanted it for me, not for him, worried I’d regret a small one like I want.”
Wine gets poured in all five glasses.
“He should know you better by now. So, what details did you sort out.”
“It will be small, our families only. We will gather at the site of my favorite racing site. Kyle will give me away.” Her voice turns somber speaking about her brother. “Oh, I won’t be wearing a dress.”
“Of course you won’t,” Crystal speaks first. “That all sounds reasonable. He didn’t fight you on the dress?”
“I didn’t tell him that point. He will assume it though.”
Everyone nods in agreement except me. I’m unsure why she wouldn’t wear a dress, but I’m not going to ask about why she wouldn’t want a sweeping dress behind her when she weds the man of her dreams.
Jayce starts to wake and Lace pops him into Crystal’s arms. “Did he at least get you a ring?”
“Yeah, it’s perfect. A vintage round cut diamond set back in a cushion setting, surrounded by small cut diamonds doesn’t stick out at all, so I should be able to wear it at work but with the commotion of the morning I didn’t put it back on as it needs a resize to fit perfectly.”
“I can’t wait to see it.” Lace grabs a champagne glass, handing one to the other girls and me. “Let’s make a toast.” Holding it high, we all copy. “Congratulations on this wonderful news. Here’s to y
ou and Slate.”
“Are you both allowed to be drinking?” Emerald eyes Lace and Crystal.
“Of course, for this we are.”
We tip our glasses back, the cool liquid sliding down my throat very nicely.
A bang comes from the front door making our heads turn.
Four men head toward us. Tanner takes the baby from Crystal.
“Angel, you shouldn’t be drinking. It’s not good for the baby.” Caden tries to take the glass from her hand.
“Neither is your erratic driving but I still get in the car with you.” Taking another sip, she isn’t worried about his menacing look.
Tanner pipes up, “You didn’t, did you? You’re still breastfeeding Jayce occasionally.”
“You’ll never know, muscles.” Grinning at Emerald and Melody, she turns to Tanner giving him a ‘dare you to say more’ look.
Ocean leans down. “Are you having a good time with the girls? I see you met my flamboyant sister.” Dark brown eyes delve into mine and I gulp down a breath, trying to steady my words. Smoke wafts off him, mixed with his cologne, overtaking my senses completely. Talking to Ocean has been simple since the revelation I knew him when I was a child. I don’t know why but speaking like a normal person is a huge step forward for me around a man.
“Yep, I am, and your sister is amazing. She told me a few things about you too.” I try to sound innocent. The men surround their women, and it is evident how much love is present in this room.
“Melody, you better not have told her anything embarrassing about me.” Ocean pecks her on the cheek and returns to stand by me.
“If you want something embarrassing, just ask any of us guys, we have heaps we can divulge.” Tanner looks up from Jayce and grins.