by Robyn Reigns
“Does it still hurt so much that you can barely stand to live?”
“I haven’t thought of hurting myself for some time now if that’s what you mean” Olivia thoughtlessly rubbed her fingers against her ever-present wristbands. “I haven’t even tried offing myself since that last time, Verd. You can rest easy.” She sighed and picked up her pacing where she left off and decided to change the subject. “You really care about both men, don’t you? I bet you even love them already.”
Verdria sighed and a goofy smile spread across her face. “Yeah, Liv, I think I love them.” The smile dropped from her face as her thoughts deepened. “Wait. No. I know I love them. My God, Liv, I think that’s the first time I said it out loud. It was thinking about them, pretending I was in their arms feeling their love and protection. That was how I survived. Even now, after remembering everything that sick pig did. The thought of Owen and Ryker brings a peace and calmness. I think they’re going to be my saving grace.”
“I don’t know your two men very well. So, I don’t know if they deserve you yet.” Sighing with worry and pacing nonstop, Olivia wished she could have sheltered her friend. It wasn’t fair that this sweet caring woman was tainted. All she could hope was that the experience would eventually make Verdria a stronger person. “I truly hope those two are worthy of you. If you love them as much as it sounds like, they’ll probably be the key to helping you cope. Mind you, nothing will be able to make you forget, but if your men love you, they’ll be able to hold you and walk you through the pain.”
“What about you, Liv? Who helps you through the nightmares now? Why won’t you let a man into your life?”
“I have Simon.” She giggled. Her own response amused herself. “He’s more than enough man for my life. I’m happy on my own, Verd. Trusting you and Simon is more than enough for me.”
Olivia noticed the sadness overtake her friend. Needing to quell the emotion she reaffirmed her response. “Seriously. I’m not lying, Verd. I don’t think I’ll be able to let anyone get closer to me than you and Simon do. I’m happiest this way.”
“Thanks, Liv.” Verdria quietly hugged her friend. They were able to convey their love and caring for each other through the simple gesture.
“For what, Verd? I haven’t done anything that you haven’t done for me?”
“You know what you did. You helped me fight my way back to reality.”
“I’ll always be here for you, love. Even to just talk.” Olivia finished the hug and was the first to pull away. “However, I think if those two blokes are really meant to be yours, their shoulders and arms are sturdier than mine. I think they’ll do well to heal you much better than I ever could.”
“I hope you’re right, Liv. It means following my heart. You know that’s always failed me.”
Olivia smiled sadly at her friend. “You better make your way to them and let them know you’re okay. My gut tells me they may walk in here any minute to make sure I haven’t sent you further into some psychotic breakdown.” The two girls giggled as they left the den in search of the men.
Chapter 12
The past few weeks while being home from the hospital, Ryker and Owen were unbelievable. Their understanding seemed to know no bounds, and it shocked Verdria to no end. In fact, they had been so concerned about her they had still been treating her like a fragile piece of spun glass. They feared leaving her on her own, especially while she was still healing physically. Everywhere she turned, at least one of them was always within sight. They continuously watched over her, barely letting her lift a finger. They had been so worried about her injuries and causing relapses of flashbacks they even stopped touching her sexually. But they were always sure to show affection. She was lucky they were letting her get dressed and leave the bedroom.
She truly despised looking at her body in the mirror. Her torso was still covered in stitches from front to back. The pink, healing skin and scabbing made her look like one big wound. The bruising was so bad it only just reached the yellow and purple stages. No wonder the men feared touching her. Her heart tugged and her soul ached as she remembered how they found her inspecting her body when she first got back from the hospital. They found her staring at her body in front of a full-length mirror in the bathroom that first morning back. There was no way she could hide the tears and disgust she felt while examining all the healing slices and nicks. The one she hated the most was the thick line running down off-center of the left side of her chest and curving near the edge of her left breast. It was almost as if Monty had started to incise toward her heart. She remembered him saying, “If you won’t submit to me, then I’ll just have to kill you. Somehow, I’ll have your heart forever.”
That was also when the rescue team arrived. Apparently when they got there Ryker shot Monty in the shoulder and a second bullet from one of the mercenaries shattered his knee. She knew her men wanted to give him an eye for an eye and make him suffer just as much as she did. But, she was glad they didn’t dirty their hands with that man’s blood more than they had to. Thank God Monty was turned over to the local law enforcement. Sheriff Tucker was sure that a fair trial would be underway. The town sheriff never even batted an eye when he found out the twins went over his head and took on Monty and his goons on their own. He even assured her that the man would be imprisoned for so long he would never see the light of day again. In fact when Monty’s influential parents discovered his actions they pretty much cut him off dry, as if trying to lock those pesky family skeletons away in the closet.
Before her mind could linger more on that day, Owen and Ryker had found her, and made their way over to her. Both embraced her from all sides, sandwiching her between their bodies. Their warmth, strength, and support flowed into her through their firm, solid hold. They both swept soft, gentle kisses over her tear-stained cheeks to her neck and shoulders. Fingers gently traced over and near some of the wounds turning to scars. Two sets of identical eyes caught hers in the mirror. Her heart overflowed with the love she finally admitted feeling for these two men, especially when she saw that their eyes never once filled with disgust. Instead, they reflected pain, love, and acceptance. So lost was she in their eyes she couldn’t remember if it was one or both that spoke. “You don’t even realize how beautiful you are? Do you, Verdria?” She felt soft, warm kisses placed over the healing injuries. Each touch, each caress helped to heal her and give her back small pieces of her broken and shattered soul. But it was their words and their expressive eyes that made her feel whole, safe, and complete. “These wounds and scars will always be a part of you now. But never, ever think they will make you less beautiful in our eyes. If anything, they will be a forever painful reminder for us that we failed you. We are so sorry that we failed you.” The voice broke and cracked. Pain, sadness, harsh inadequacies were the driving forces behind their words. “We were supposed to protect you. This should never have happened.”
Verdria would never understand her two men. Here she was thankful that her messed-up life didn’t bring harm to the two men she loved, and they were blaming themselves for something that wasn’t even their fault. She nearly broke down crying all over again when she saw tears collecting in the corners of both sets of eyes. Shocked and speechless, she never imagined seeing both of her strong muscular men cry. “We are so sorry, Verdria. Will you ever be able to forgive us?”
Never would she be able to forget that moment. Their selflessness where she was concerned knew no bounds. Her voice cracked as she tried to speak through the lump that formed in her throat. “There is nothing to forgive. Never ever think this was your fault.”
“We will work on not blaming ourselves only if you promise not to let what that man did to you hamper what we have or what we can have together. Remember, the past is in the past. We’ll all need to work together to move on.” Time seemed to stand still during that moment. She didn’t even know how long they all stood there in an embrace, sharing strength and support. It was during this moment she felt like her men caught her bef
ore she fell, hit bottom, and shattered into even smaller pieces.
The only thing helping her move on was her men. Their blind love and support knew no bounds. Their touches and kisses gave comfort. They were like pillars. She was surprised that after her experience with Monty the twins’ touches and simple affections toward her did not disgust or frighten her. If anything, their need to go slow with and treat her like an abused animal was starting to become frustrating. The need to make love with her men was growing quite strong again.
Now that she finally admitted to herself that she loved them and had decided to follow her heart, she figured the only thing she could do was go for the plunge. Thank God today should be her last doctor’s appointment. This time the doctor better give her the go ahead to freely perform physical activities. Verdria couldn’t think of a better way to admit her love aloud and directly to her men. She decided she wanted to tell them when they were both inside her.
The twins were so sweet, but they were definitely going to drive her nuts with their fears of hurting her. Hopefully the doctor’s visit will be enough to get her more than affectionate touches from her men. She was getting so sexually frustrated being around them, if they weren’t practically up her ass every day, she would have been using trusty old Big Blue. Her men were so stubborn. She could feel their hard cocks pressing against her sometimes in the middle of the night. They were probably just as sexually frustrated as her. It made her both laugh and wince to think they probably had blue balls. As she continued secretly smiling, she knew tonight would be the night she and her men would make their final connection together and truly become one.
Finally cleaned up and dressed, she made her way down to the kitchen to help her guys prepare breakfast. Like usual, both men were working in tandem. It still amazed her how they could work so closely together without needing words. She caught her breath as she watched them side by side, the skintight T-shirts pulled against their large, broad shoulders and biceps. As she got closer, she could see their gorgeous hard asses outlined by tight faded denim. Her mouth started watering, and not for the delicious smelling food they were working on together.
When both men realized she was in the room, they stopped what they were doing as they looked at her. Her body heated when both men gazed upon her with hungry eyes. Ryker prompted her over to them, and she could feel her skin flush even more as her pussy clenched from the erotic way Ryker licked his lips upon her approach. Each brother greeted her with a simple kiss on the cheek. She shivered and trembled as each lingered to breathe in her scent and feel her soft, creamy skin beneath their lips. Everyone said their good mornings as the sexual tension slowly rose to near combustible. “What time was that doctor’s appointment?” Ryker asked, his voice husky with unwavering need.
“Not soon enough.” Verdria smiled with a sigh as she leaned into Ryker’s neck and nuzzled, enjoying his manly sent. “I have plans for us tonight.” She moved to cuddle Owen next. They both smelled of leather and horses mingled with their own manly musk. Verdria swallowed down her need, getting control of her desire. She smiled deeply when she glanced down at their crotches and saw the large denim bulges grow bigger right under her very eyes. Knowing her men wanted her just as badly as she wanted them made her bold. She could imagine unbuttoning and unzipping both sets of faded blue jeans to get to her men’s glorious cocks. All she could think about was tasting both of their large, hard, silky cocks as pre-cum collected at the heads. Having them take turns fucking her mouth would give her pleasure above and beyond.
Verdria was about to run her hand over Owen’s crotch and unbutton his zipper when they were interrupted by a set of voices. Simon came barreling into the kitchen followed on his heels by Olivia. The moment was completely killed by the cheery interruption of Simon’s English accent. “Morning, love.” He moved in and swooped Verdria into a big hard hug. After he set her down, he moved on. “Morning, Ryker and Owen.” As he greeted everyone, he took in the scene before him. “Please don’t tell me you’re not letting her cook anything in the kitchen. I hope it’s fully insured if you do.”
Olivia greeted everyone as she entered the kitchen behind her brother. Her lips turned up into a smile at Simon’s words. “Which time were you remembering, Simon?” Her devilish grin made Verdria cringe. “The time with the can of beans or the time the kitchen nearly caught fire?”
Verdria blew a raspberry toward her friends and rolled her eyes. “I already warned both of them about how the kitchen and I don’t mix well. I even told them they’d be taking their lives into their own hands.” She shrugged as waves of embarrassment made her cheeks flush even pinker.
* * * *
Owen smothered a laugh. Leave it to the English brats to ruin the moment. But his woman looked adorable all rosy pink from her combined embarrassment of being caught nearly in his and Ryker’s pants, and because of her friends making fun. He tried to hide his amusement just thinking about the kind of trouble his innocent girl could cause. “Do Ry and I even want to know?”
“Verdria excels at everything, except for anything that has to do with a kitchen or cooking. The first week she lived with Simon and I, she attempted to make a can of beans. Only she never opened the can. Simon walked in just in time.” Olivia’s smile was infectious as she told the story.
He had to bite he tongue as he watched an exasperated Verdria shrug and roll her eyes. “Well, it’s not my fault the food company doesn’t know how to properly label cans. It said for best results boil the can of beans on the hob. Nowhere on the label did it say to open the can first.”
“Yeah, I guess you couldn’t read between the lines.” Simon’s amusement couldn’t be contained as his laughter filled the room. “When I walked in on her, the can of beans already exploded. She was still cleaning beans in the kitchen a week later from the mess she made. It was so funny. They went everywhere. I think Verd’s eyebrows got singed.”
Ryker’s voice overflowed with laughter. “You’re telling me that our woman can do a C-section on a cow with barely any experience but she couldn’t cook a can of vegetables without trying to follow instructions on a label.”
Simon sheepishly nodded his head. “Liv and I figured we should tell you guys what you’d be getting into by keeping Verdria around. She makes up for her lack of kitchen abilities with her loving and giving nature.” He gave the men a big smile as he placed his arm around Verdria’s shoulders.
Her annoyance was clearly visible with Simon, as she shrugged his arm off her shoulders. “Well, you kids can make fun of me all you want. I have to leave for my doctor’s appointment in about an hour. I needed to talk to Robin about a few things. So, you guys can go ahead and continue to talk about my lack of domestic abilities.”
Owen knew there was no point in arguing for her to stay. He was getting to know his woman very well. This, for some reason, was a sensitive subject and he knew she wanted to get away from Simon before he pissed her off more in front of everyone. Ryker must have come to the same conclusion because he let her leave without much fuss. “We’ll pick you up on the way out. Don’t think for a second Owen and I are going to let you go all alone. Quit rolling your eyes, baby. They may stick that way.” Ryker laughingly got the last words in as Verdria made her departure with a peeved expression thrown over her shoulder.
“Nice, Liv, you win. You were right. We got her to leave in under ten minutes by bringing up the bean story.” Simon smiled at his sister “I guess this means I’m buying dinner tonight.”
“I told you if you brought up the time she snogged Ian Kurnin in that London pub she would want to stay and fight. I’m glad you went with a cooking incident. She never wants to hang around and talk about her kitchen failures.”
Owen started to get annoyed and then angry as he listened to the two ramble on. “Why did the two of you do that to Verdria? Don’t you think it was callous and cruel?”
“Once she gets over her little huff she’ll realize me and Liv were just funning.” Simon shrugged his shoul
ders as if indifferent. “It was the best way we could think of to get her away from you blokes for a few minutes, considering you’re up each other’s bums nonstop.”
Still trying to hold a lid on his anger Owen caught the Brit’s eye. “Now that she’s gone what did you need to tell me and Ry?”
“Oh, not much.” He was nonchalant with both words and actions. Owen wasn’t going to be able to suppress his ire soon, especially because his irritation with the red-headed man continued to grow. He was about to interrupt but Simon’s explanation halted him. “Liv and I decided to move here to the valley. We want to be near Verd and keep an eye on the two of you. If we said that in front of her she would be well pissed off.”
The anger he was trying to clamp down gradually started to recede when he realized the hellions were just watching their friend’s back. “I’m sure Ryker agrees when I say we’ll be glad to have you guys move out here.”
He was interrupted as Olivia caught his and Ryker’s eye. Her gaze was serious and intent filled. Never before has she addressed either him or his brother. “Verd is the only person Simon and I have to call family. I’ve watched you with her over these past few weeks.” She put her hand up, stopping Ryker from interrupting her. “I can see the love you both have for her shining through your eyes.” She started pacing along the confines of the kitchen, as if trying to work off nervous energy. “You both have been amazing with her. Why do you think she started healing so quickly?” She shook her head and held her hand up, preventing his or Ryker’s response. “I can see the trust and love she has for the two of you. I know you both fiercely lover her. But, if either of you hurt her in any way, you will not only answer to Simon but me as well.”