“Oh God, Conan, you guys need to slow down. We aren’t an item. Oh God,” she said and tried lifting up. Conan helped her, but when she attempted to slide off his lap, Conan held her in place. He shook his head and cupped her cheek as she fixed her top and her skirt that was riding nearly to her waist and exposing those tan, luscious thighs of hers. Axel could see the definition in them. The woman was perfection.
“We’re going to change that. Get to know one another. Freddie and Birdie, too,” he told her and stroked her lower lip.
She gasped and shook her head. “No, I can’t do this. I don’t date and definitely won’t be some kind of game for you guys to play.” She slid off his lap, fixed herself, and grabbed the towel. She looked downright scared, and Axel felt his gut clench.
“You aren’t a game.”
“Please just drive me home. Please,” she said, and Axel saw the tears in her eyes. He locked gazes with Conan and nodded, and Conan exhaled and put the truck in drive and headed to her house as she gave directions.
C.C. had been so distracted by these men and the situation that she didn’t even text her cousin to let her know what happened and that she was on her way home. At this rate she was going to have to move quickly, shower, get ready for Harper’s as she tried to find a ride. Conan pulled up along the private road right past the Hillsdale ranch. “You’re staying with the Hillsdale’s?” Conan asked.
“No, we’re renting a cottage on the place.”
“We?” Axel asked as she pointed to the little white house, with the small fenced-in yard. It was small, but it was theirs. He pulled into the driveway, and immediately the outside lights went on. Her cousin would be panicking at not recognizing the truck.
“Thanks for everything,” she said and then Conan turned off the ignition.
“You’re not going to invite us in?” he asked and looked her over.
“No. I need to get ready for work, and find a ride to and from.”
“We’ll do it. When do you need to be at Harper’s?” Axel commanded. She glanced at him.
“Axel, no. This was a mistake.”
Conan gripped her hand and brought it to his lips. He kissed her knuckles. “Not a mistake. A beginning. When do you need us to come back to get you?”
She shook her head. “I’ll find a ride. Really, please, I don’t want to engage in any kind of game or whatever. Please,” she said to him, and he squinted his eyes at her.
“This isn’t over.”
He opened his door, and she glanced at Axel. “Thank you.” She slid to the seat and ran to the door. Conan got back in as the rain continued to come down. She opened the door and saw Elsie there, holding the gun and shaking. Aiden was crying, and it hit C.C. hard. Elsie and Aiden were her responsibility, her priority, and nothing she could want for herself could ever be put first.
“It’s okay. It was Conan and Axel, friends of Cherise’s men. My damn car got a flat right at the beginning of town.”
“Oh God,” Elsie said and exhaled, lowered the gun, and C.C. took it from her hands and gave her a smile.
“It’s okay, and I’m glad you got the gun and were ready for anything. Where did Aiden go?” she asked, and then she saw him by the hallway crying.
Her heart sank, and she felt the tears reach her eyes. He was scared. Would always be fearful because of what he went through. “Come here, baby. Everything is okay,” she told him and he ran to her, wrapped his little arms so tight around her neck she nearly lost her breath. She lifted him up and held him. “You are so brave. I was fine, and Mommy was ready in case there was danger, but there wasn’t.”
“Who was in the truck?” he asked her and pulled back and wiped his eyes.
“Two men who are friends with Cherise and her men. Remember Cherise? I told you all about her and her men who are soldiers.”
“Soldiers are dangerous,” he said.
“Not all soldiers are, and the two that dropped me off helped me when the car broke down. I can’t believe it. I just made the appointment on the way into Central Valley.”
“You were lucky they came along. You know them well?” her cousin asked and looked at her with sadness in her eyes. Her cousin wanted her to date, to get out and have a fun life, but C.C. couldn’t do that. Plus there was no time for anything serious. She worked all the time. That was her life, and she would continue to put them first.
“Oh God, Teddy,” she said and then lowered down to her backpack as Aiden slid from her hold. She handed him the bear. He squeezed it tight.
“Oh, Teddy, I’m so sorry I left you,” he said and she smiled, and knew that was why she risked driving in the storm. It would have been fine if the damn tire wasn’t damaged.
“Well, I need to call around for a ride to work and one home. Freddie will take care of the car. The lug nuts were rusted, so it will need to be towed.”
“Yikes. Will that cost a lot?”
“I hope not,” C.C. said as she headed to her bedroom. Her sister slowly followed, using the cane as Aiden ran to his room to play with Teddy. As she grabbed her things for a shower and then started texting Leeann and Harper, Elsie stood in the doorway. “Leeann can give me a ride,” she said and then started to pull off her wet top.
“The men who drove you home, you know them well?” Elsie asked, and C.C. could barely look her cousin in the eyes. She was feeling too much right now. She had never been kissed like that before. Conan and Axel were a lot older, more experienced with women. They more than likely had women throwing themselves at them. She noticed how often women approached them at Harper’s. Axel and Conan were even harder and fiercer looking than Birdie and Freddie.
“Yes, I told you that they’re friends with Cherise’s men. They served together. Those are the men that helped to find Cherise and rescue her.”
“Jesus, C.C., they’re soldiers, like Bennet was.”
C.C. was shocked at the feeling of hurt that hit her and also her reaction on the defensive. “They are not Bennet. That’s for shit sure,” she said, and then her cousin took a deep breath and exhaled.
“You like them?”
“No.”
“C.C., it’s natural for you to be attracted to men, and I’ve wanted you to have a life aside from this.” Elsie waved her hand around them as if encasing this house, her, and Aiden and the life they had.
“I love you guys and you both come first. I’m not interested in them, or in dating anyone. Not after all I went through, too.”
“You deserve to be happy. Just don’t take a chance on soldiers. Especially ones with the abilities like Cherise’s men. Plus older, more experienced men know what to say and do to make you let down your guard,” Elsie said to her.
“I know that. I know what men are capable of whether they are soldiers or not,” C.C. said and held her sister’s gaze. Elsie’s ex-boyfriend Dylan wasn’t a soldier. He was a man, a capable, manipulative man who had used his looks and charms to take over Elsie’s life. He’d been in control of her every move, just like Bennet had been in control of C.C.’s life and all she did. Axel and Conan, plus Birdie and Freddie, were way bigger then Bennet and Dylan, way more capable, plus they seemed dark more often than anything else. Their attitudes, instant reprimanding for her being alone were indicators of what control they would want. She couldn’t fall for the lust, the desire to not feel lonely and in need. It would be her demise.
“Don’t worry, Elsie, I don’t plan on getting involved with any men, not even for fun. Now I need to get ready for work. Leeann will be here shortly. It’s going to be a long night. Tomorrow we’ll spend some time together, maybe bring Aiden to the park after I visit Cherise.”
“Okay,” Elsie said, but C.C. saw the sadness and the concern in her eyes. Elsie was fragile still, and she and Aiden needed C.C. to protect them and take care of them. No lustful desires for a couple of hot, sexy guys should make her forget her responsibilities. Even for a night of pleasure.
She shook her head. Like she would be a one-night stand just
to get some action, to feel their hands and mouths touching her, arousing her?
“Shit,” she exclaimed as she turned the shower on, making it lean a little more toward the cold side. She needed it, and to wake up and remember what men like these were capable of. Murder, rape, abuse, the list went on. She and her cousin had gone down that road before, and it nearly cost them their lives. Never again. C.C. had to stand her ground.
“What happened?” Freddie asked, eyes narrowed at Conan and Axel as they got into the house and explained what took them so long.
“She could have gotten hurt, taken, or some creeps could have stopped and took advantage of her. She knew the tire was damaged and drove anyway?” Birdie added.
“Calm down, we were the ones who came along after seeing her at the PT center,” Conan said and took a seat.
“Well, what the hell happened? You’re all wet,” Freddie asked.
“She was out of her vehicle trying to change the tire. The lug nuts were rusted, so we grabbed her things and got into the truck.”
“She was trying to change it herself in that pouring rain?” Birdie asked. Conan nodded and looked at Axel who was definitely in a state. He looked fierce, serious, and was breathing funny.
“What happened?” Birdie asked.
“She was in between us, we were reprimanding her about her safety, and her top was soaked, her breasts are huge, and the cleavage so deep, plus her blonde hair was wet and those stunning hazel-green eyes looked scared and intimidated. It was too fucking much.” Conan ran his fingers through his hair.
“Her top was wet and you could see all that?” Birdie asked.
“She was soaked through. The scent of her shampoo filled the inside of the truck,” Axel added.
“I kissed her. I couldn’t resist, and she kissed me back.”
“Holy fuck, Conan,” Freddie said to him.
“It was incredible. She tasted so good, felt so feminine and petite in my arms. Man, she needs looking after. She tries to act tough, but I swear she was shaking and feeling what we felt,” Conan told them.
“You kissed her, too, Axel?” Freddie asked him.
Axel nodded.
They were all quiet.
“This is happening,” Birdie stated.
“Maybe not. She wasn’t too keen on continuing to see where this goes. She refused to let us come back to drive her to Harper’s for work. She dismissed it as a mistake.”
“Why, Conan? It sounded perfect to me.”
“It was perfect, and she kissed us back, but she was scared, intimidated, and more than likely by our sizes, our attitudes, and capabilities,” Conan told them.
“When we dropped her off there was someone there, a woman I think. It was hard to see when the door opened and then rain was still coming down.”
“We should go to Harper’s tonight and talk to her,” Freddie said.
“At minimum to make sure that she has a ride home,” Conan said and held Axel’s gaze.
Freddie looked at all of them. “Do we want to pursue this? Pursue C.C.?”
“I’m not sure it will work out. She’s young, fragile, breakable.”
“What?” Freddie asked.
“He means her body compared to our sizes and what we would crave and desire in the bedroom. Hell, even out of the bedroom. We’re strong, hard men, seasoned in all areas. She seems innocent, less experienced, and she’s young,” Conan added.
“But the attraction is there, and for all of us. How can we ignore it, and not take a chance?” Freddie asked.
“We may not have that chance to take,” Conan said.
“She was that scared and resistant, and felt she made a mistake by letting you two kiss her?” Birdie asked.
They both nodded their heads.
“Something isn’t right. I think talking to her, taking our time getting to know her, and letting her get to know us might work. It will be torture going slow, but we aren’t savages. We’re men, ready to settle down with a woman, with the right woman, and the only way to find her is by spending time with her and seeing where it leads. Let’s not go there tonight. Give it a few days, and when we see her next time, we’ll go slow,” Freddie said, but he couldn’t help but to feel excited about the possibility with C.C. The woman was gorgeous, sexy, and apparently broke down Conan and Axel’s walls of resistance about relationships and women. That in itself made C.C. special already.
Chapter 3
Landon picked up C.C. at her house to bring her by Cherise’s before he would bring her to Freddy’s for her car. She was nervous and hoped that Landon didn’t know his friends Conan and Axel had kissed her.
“You must have been pretty scared to have gotten caught in the storm like that.”
“I got pretty soaked trying to change the tire. If the lug nuts weren’t rusted I would have been fine. Cold and wet, but fine,” she said with confidence she hoped sounded strong. Landon was a big man, too, and quite intimidating, but friendly.
“It was good that Conan and Axel were heading back from Central Valley, and not someone that you didn’t know. You need to take precautions, C.C. You’re young and perhaps unaware of the potential dangers lurking out there and the people who could take advantage of a sweet, young woman like you on your own. You could have called one of us immediately.”
“I’m fine, and not unaware of the dangers out there. Believe me, Landon.” She stared forward as he drove his truck and headed toward his ranch.
“I’m glad it was our friends, that’s all. I want to make sure that you’re safe. Cherise was very concerned, and so I’m offering our help to you if you ever are in a jam. You know you can trust us,” he said to her, and she gave him a smile.
“I know that, Landon. Cherise loves you and you guys love her. I’m just used to taking care of myself, and for the record, I could have changed that tire.”
“I don’t doubt it. I know a capable woman when I see one. Just be more careful. So you know, too, Birdie called over to Freddy and asked him to check over the entire car and make sure nothing else needed to be done.”
She swung her head to the left to look at him just as they got to the long dirt driveway. “He did what? Why would he do that? It is none of his business.”
Landon held her gaze after he placed the truck in park. “Honey, it seems that him and his team care about your wellbeing. You’re a single, young woman, and the men of Cherry Hill look out for the women and children.”
“Well, that’s just great. What kind of bill am I going to get for that?” she asked and opened up the door to get out. She slammed it closed and felt heart head begin to pound.
“Hey, Freddy won’t charge you extra. He knows you from Harper’s and wants to be sure that your vehicle is safe. He saw the car seat in the back of the trunk, too,” he said, and she swallowed hard and shook her head.
“Fine, I guess it’s a done deal now, so I’ll see what it costs when I get there.”
“Hey, stranger!” C.C. heard Cherise call to her from the side kitchen door as she stepped out onto the walkway.
C.C. smiled. “Look at you. You look great.” C.C. went over to hug Cherise. She had tears in her eyes. She had been so worried about her best friend, the woman who really took C.C. under her wing when she first arrived in town.
“You look fine. I told my men and I told Birdie that you’re a tough one.”
Some Kind of Wonderful Page 5