Her Husband's Army Buddy (McLeod Security Book 1)

by Doris O'Connor

  She was on the pill, so no harm done, and she didn’t want any barriers between herself and her men. Her men. That had such a lovely ring to it.

  Sandy fired off a text message—Phone me, we need to talk—poured herself a much-needed glass of wine, and ran a bath.

  One long soak later, Zane still hadn’t rung her, and Sandy scowled at the phone. Checking in on Sean showed him to still be sleeping. Peacefully, thank God. She wasn’t sure she’d want to go near him if he was caught up in one of his nightmares. Sean would never forgive himself if he hurt her again. Her hand went up to her throat, and she shuddered. No, that had been way too close to be ever repeated.

  She padded down to the kitchen and having tossed together a salad and grilled some steaks, picked at her food. She’d never liked eating on her own, and tonight was no exception. She covered up the remains, put them in the fridge, and settled down in the living room to get on with her school work. Those books wouldn’t mark themselves, after all.

  Chapter Eight

  Zane nodded to his replacement and rolled his shoulders. He’d been on this job for twelve hours straight and needed the break. In truth what he really needed was to go home to his wife and lose himself in the sweet delights of her body. He was well aware that he’d neglected her, had been somewhat of an ass in truth, and she deserved better. Much better. She had to be hurting as much as he was over Sean’s refusal to see either one of them.

  Knowing Sean, he felt it was the right thing to do. He would distance himself rather than put either Zane or Sandy in harm’s way, but fuck that shit.

  It wasn’t fair. Maybe Zane was just a selfish bastard, but he wanted both Sean and Sandy in his life. They could make this work, despite everything, if that blasted man would just let them help.

  He scowled up the swanky apartment building he’d been watching and waited until Zachary was in position to tap his earpiece.

  “They’ve been in there for hours. Knowing her she’ll come out just after midnight. Persuade her to go home, if you can. Her Daddy will blow his nut as it is, knowing she’s back with Montague.”

  “Sure thing, boss. Now go home. You look done in. The rest of us can handle this. And don’t worry. You can leave our spoiled heiress to me. Not averse to putting her over my knee and spanking some sense into her.”

  Zane gave a short laugh.

  “I pretend I didn’t hear that, Zach.”

  “Pretend away, but we both know that’s what she needs, and I’d be only too happy to oblige. She’s a spoiled bitch, but she’s damned hot.”

  “If you say so. I’m outta here.”

  Zane clicked off the communicator and switched his personal phone back on. He groaned under his breath when he saw the missed calls and message from Sandy.

  Trying to ring her back achieved nothing. Then again, she was probably asleep already. It was almost eleven PM after all.

  With a sigh, Zane started the engine, and made his way across town to his place. Traffic was light, and he breathed a sigh of relief when he pulled up on his driveway. Soft lighting came through the front windows. She hadn’t drawn the blinds, and he could see movement in the shadows. Too fucking tall to be Sandy and those moves belonged to a male.

  What the fuck?

  Zane reached for the Glock in the glove box and clicked the safety. He let himself in the house as silently as he could, cursing inwardly at her having not set the alarm. So help him, once he’d dealt with the intruder her ass would be so sore she wouldn’t be able to sit down for at least a week. He crept down the hall and swept the living room. Sandy was in there, fast asleep on the couch surrounded by her class papers. A least she was safe, but who the fuck was in his house? Whoever it was moved as silently as he did. Army training for sure, then.

  He brought his gun higher and spun around as he felt the slight air displacement warning him of approaching danger.

  “Jesus, stand down, Zane, it’s me. What the fuck?”

  Sean flattened himself against the wall, hands up in surrender as he looked straight down the barrel of Zane’s firearm. “Put that thing down before you hurt someone. Since when are you carrying at home?”

  Relief swamped him, and he lowered his gun slowly. Sean took it off him, made sure the safety was on, and then put it on the side table in the hall, before he gave Zane the full Dom glare.

  “What the fuck, man?”

  With the adrenaline still pumping through his system, Zane wasn’t sure whether he wanted to deck the man, or kiss him, especially as the sight of his bare chest proved rather distracting.

  “I could ask you the same. What the hell are you doing in my house and half naked to boot?” He ran his gaze over the other man’s physique and fought against the immediate pull of attraction, the need to wrap Sean up in a bear hug and never let him go. “And are those my joggers?” Belatedly he registered that little nugget of information, and his gaze swung back ‘round to the living room and his peacefully sleeping wife. At least she had clothes on…

  “What the hell has been going on, Sean?”

  He fixed his attention back on Sean and noticed the blanket at the guy’s feet.

  “Calm down and I’ll explain it. I was just going to cover her up to make sure she doesn’t get cold.” Sean bent down to snatch up the blanket he must have dropped when Zane confronted him, weapon in hand.

  Shit, I could have killed him.

  He scrubbed a hand over his face and shook his head. He was so fucking tired.

  “Don’t bother. I’ll take her up to our bedroom. She’ll be more comfortable there.”

  Sean nodded and sighed.

  “Yes, she would be. I’d have done that, but I didn’t want to disturb her, in case she woke up. She needs her sleep.”

  Zane swung back round to glare at Sean, even as his heart leaped in his chest at the care and concern he read in the other man’s voice. Plus, he was here. That had to mean something, right?

  “Why would she need her sleep? What did you do?”

  “Exactly what you’re imagining, Zane.” Sean ducked the punch Zane aimed his way, and in a move he shouldn’t have been able to make considering he was still recovering from his head injury, Sean twisted Zane’s arm back up his back and pushed him against the wall.

  “Enough, boy. Remember who the fuck I am and calm down.” The growled words in his ear had the desired effect, and Zane took a deep breath in.

  “All right, get the fuck off of me, so that I can see to my wife.”

  Sean swore softly and let go of him. Zane forced himself to not look at his buddy. He didn’t want to see the effect his words had on Sean, and he knew he wasn’t being fair. This was what he’d wanted, wasn’t it? Sean in their life and connecting with Sandy. Only he hadn’t been here to see it, and that bothered him more than it ought.

  They had to get this out in the open once he’d deposited his baby girl in their bed, where she ought to be.

  “I’m going to make us some coffee, and warm up the steaks she left in the fridge,” Sean said.

  Zane ignored him and picked up his sleeping wife. Sandy stirred slightly. Sleepy eyes sought his, and she smiled in recognition.

  “Zane?”

  “Shush, baby. Go back to sleep. Just taking you up to make sure you don’t get a crick in your neck.” Her hands went ‘round his neck, and she sighed and snuggled into his chest.

  “Love you.”

  That mumbled declaration soothed away the last remnants of the anxiety that churned his guts. He straightened up and turned only to find Sean in his way.

  “She does you know, love you, I mean. I would never get in the way of that, buddy.”

  There went another punch to his gut, because the way Sean looked at Sandy all snuggled up in Zane’s arms told its own story, and it made his heart beat faster. Sean looked like he cared, truly cared, and when their gazes connected, the raw emotion in the man’s eyes confirmed the truth.

  “I love her, too. I love both of you, buddy, but if you don’t want
me here, I’ll leave.” His voice cracked on the last few words, and he scrubbed a hand over his face in a move so achingly familiar it hurt to see.

  “Don’t talk fucking nonsense. Of course, I want you here. Now get out of my way so that I can put her down, and then we can talk, okay?”

  Sean didn’t move, however, searching Zane’s expression instead, and Zane sighed.

  “Sir, with all due respect.” Sean’s eyes heated, and his full lips kicked up in that sinful smirk he knew too well. The one which meant trouble and a very sore ass were in Zane’s immediate future. “Move, please.”

  Sean laughed and finally moved his large frame out of Zane’s way.

  “As you ask me so nicely, boy, I will. Don’t be too long. I’m fucking starving, and those steaks looks delicious.”

  Sean reached out to brush a strand of hair off Sandy’s face and then dropped a lingering kiss on her forehead. Witnessing that tenderness made Zane long to be alone with his Sir. As if he read his mind, Sean smiled, grasped the back of Zane’s neck, and slanted his lips over his, coaxing Zane to submit. When he kissed Sean back, time ceased to exist, as Zane lost himself in the tender, yet passionate onslaught on his senses. Eventually his screaming biceps reminded him that he still had Sandy in his arms, and he pulled away.

  “Fuck, I want you so much, but if I don’t put our girl down, I’ll drop her.”

  Sean laughed, his blue eyes twinkling in amusement, as he put his arms under Sandy too, to help support her weight.

  “I hope you’re not suggesting our girl is too heavy, boy.” He winked at Zane, and Zane loved the intonation his Sir had put on those two words. Not least, because she was now cushioned between them, like she ought to be. The three of them in this together “‘Cause, I gotta tell you, I love her curves.”

  “Hell, no, I love them, too.” He paused and took a deep breath in. “And I love you. I’m glad you’re here with us.”

  Sean sobered and nodded.

  “As am I, but we need to talk this through, and eat.” His stomach rumbled loudly at that moment, and they both laughed. It broke the tension of the moment.

  “Yes, agreed. Just give me a minute.”

  By the time Zane had carried his wife up the stairs and deposited her safely in the middle of their bed, the smell of food wafting up the stairs made his stomach growl, too.

  Seeing Sean in full domestic mode in his kitchen soothed that hollow space in his soul which had been there ever since that nurse at the hospital had told him Sean refused to see him. Sean grinned at him, when he looked up from setting the table.

  “There you are, tuck in. I’m starving, and I fucking love your wife’s cooking.”

  Zane had to agree, and silence fell between them as they ate. Bellies filled, they regarded each other over the intimate setting the small table provided.

  Sean reached across and took Zane’s hand in his and squeezed. A zap of electricity charged up Zane’s arm at the innocent contact, and the fine hair on his neck rose in response.

  “I missed you, Sir.” He inwardly grimaced at the hoarse tone of his voice but soldiered on. “When did they discharge you? And you are okay, right? Your head, I mean not the other thing. That will take time. I should fucking know.”

  The circular movement of Sean’s thumb on the back of Zane’s hand stopped abruptly, and he almost wished he hadn’t opened his mouth.

  Sean’s shoulders tightened, and the scar on his face stood out as he clenched his jaw.

  “That will never happen again.” Sean raised his gaze to Zane’s, and the pain in the other man’s eyes was hard to take. An echo of his own demons when he’d left the service. Some things you never forgot, no matter how much time had passed. He gave a tight nod to show his understanding. There was no need to belabor that point.

  “That’s why the spare bed was messed up, right?”

  It was Sean’s turn to nod.

  “Rhonda’s suggestion. Sleep is my trigger, and it’s just safer for everyone if I sleep on my own.”

  “For now, anyway.”

  A grim smile kicked up the corners of Sean’s sensuous mouth at Zane’s words.

  “For now. Look, I need to say this to get it off my chest.” He took Zane’s hands in both of his. “Sandy told me you blame yourself, and that you’ve been distant. I mean, what the fuck, man? If anyone is to blame. it’s me. No, let me speak.” He stopped the protest Zane was going to make with a shake of his head, and Zane slammed his mouth shut. “I should have taken myself off to the spare room that night, regardless of what you said. Regardless of how much I wanted to stay with both of you, and I didn’t want to hurt Sandy’s feelings. Turns out I hurt her far more by staying, but—”

  “Sandy forgave you for that almost instantly.” Zane did interrupt his buddy then, and Sean’s eyebrow rose, signaling his disapproval. Well to hell with that. If he earned himself a sore ass for that it was worth it. Besides, the thought of his Sir’s hand on his backside made him hard. It would be a relief to cede control for a few precious hours and to know that this man got him. “It took me marginally longer, and for what it’s worth, I’m sorry I caused that. I’m even more sorry, I froze like I did. Fuck, if Sandy hadn’t been there to help you, you could have bled out before…” He reached across the table to touch the bandage on the side of Sean’s head.

  Sean smiled.

  “You did what you had to do, and I’ve got a hard head. Takes a lot to crack my skull, and you came damn close, but the damage is mostly superficial. Hairline fracture if you must know and soft tissue damage, hence the bandage. I’d say you knocked some sense into me, but that would be lying.” He winked at Zane, and a weight lifted off Zane’s shoulders. “They kept me in mainly because I said I had no one to look after me. Didn’t want to burden you and Sandy. Still wouldn’t have had it not been for that Rottweiler you sent to see me.”

  Zane smirked and shook his head.

  “Quite an apt description for Rhonda when she’s in full Domme mood, I guess. She’d like that, I reckon, just don’t let Jack hear you say that. He’ll go for your throat. No one disses His Lady and gets away with it.”

  “Possessive, is he?” Sean asked.

  “Just a tad, but, then so is Rhonda. Aren’t we all over the people we love, whether that is one person or two.”

  Sean’s gaze heated at Zane’s answer, and he wished there wasn’t a damn table between them. Zane couldn’t stand the physical distance between them anymore. He wanted, needed to reconnect with Sean, just him and his Sir.

  “I guess we are. I want you, boy.” Sean’s voice dropped on those last few words, and Zane shot to his feet, rounded the table, and got to his knees in front of his Sir. He fixed his gaze on Sean’s bare feet and murmured his answer.

  “Then have me, Sir.”

  Sean’s sharp intake of breath was music to his ears, as were his Sir’s next words.

  “Be careful what you wish for, boy, because if we’re doing this, then know you’ve earned yourself a sore ass for having neglected our girl.”

  Sean grasped Zane’s chin and tilted his head up until their gazes met. Silent determination greeted Zane, as well as so much emotion it made Zane swallow hard to get rid of the lump in his throat.

  “I know, and I’m sorry, Sir. I won’t let that happen again. I was just…” He couldn’t bring himself to continue, but he should have known his Sir wouldn’t let him get away with that. The hold on his chin grew painful, and Sean positively glared at him.

  “You were just what? Say it out loud, boy. If this is going to work, all three of us we need to talk about everything that bothers us. You know that.”

  Zane shut his eyes and nodded.

  “You hurt my feelings when you cut yourself off.” The hold on his chin turned into a caress as Sean stroked his fingers along Zane’s jaw, and then kissed him. It was the briefest of touches, so gentle, he might have imagined it, had he not heard the whispered words.

  “I know, my love, and I’m sorry. It was a dic
k move on my part. I won’t cut you out like that again.”

  Sean opened his eyes and lost himself in his Sir’s gaze all over again.

  “Promise?” he asked, not at all ashamed at the tears he was fighting to not give into.

  “I promise, and you must promise me something, too.”

  “Anything, Sir.”

  “If I ever do that again, pull me up on it.”

  Zane didn’t even try to hold his emotions in this time, and he knew he didn’t have to. This was his Sir, and he could deal with his tears, just as he could deal with the burdens Sean carried with him.

  “I will, if you promise to do the same for me. We need to be our best for our girl.”

  Sean nodded, and swiped the tears off Zane’s face with his fingertips.

  “That we do, but right here and now I don’t want to talk about her. I want to redden my boy’s ass to wipe the slate clean and then fuck him senseless until neither one of us can move.”

  The words hung in the air between them, and Zane gave his consent.

  “God, yes, Sir.”

  How they made it up the stairs and into the spare room, Zane would never know. They left a trail of his clothes behind, as he frantically pulled them off, in between kisses, which turned ever more passionate. Teeth clashed, mouths devoured, but, finally, mercifully, he was naked, bent over the end of the bed, and ready to take whatever his Sir had in store.

  “Always so eager, my boy.”

  Sean’s guttural voice pitched his own need higher, and he rubbed his rock-hard dick along the edge of the bed to gain some much-needed relief.

  A red-hot strip of pain exploded across his butt cheeks, and Zane grunted. Fuck, that stung. Not that he had much time to process it, because another, just as hard strike happened, followed by several more in quick succession, which left him panting for breath.

  “That’s for trying to get yourself off without me, boy.” Sean’s hands dug into the painful welts he’d just laid across Zane’s ass, and Zane hissed through his teeth at the rough sensation.