We started to lean towards each other, my heart beating rapidly, when a door slammed somewhere in the house and a man’s voice yelled out.
“Hawk? Where are you, man?”
Shane jumped back like he got caught with his hand in the proverbial cookie jar and turned away. Striding to the door he stopped and said with his back still to me, “You should hurry up and finish. You’re not that strong yet, and should still get as much rest as possible.”
“How long have I been out?” I asked just to keep him there a little longer. Grabbing a fluffy white towel off the towel bar I wrapped myself up in it feeling vulnerable for the first time.
“You’ve been here for nine days.”
Shock flooded my system, rendering me speechless as he walked out. Nine days! Brit must be going out of her damn mind, not knowing what happened to me.
Hell, I don’t even know exactly what the fuck happened to me.
I stood in front of the bathroom mirror and willed myself to wipe away the steam and finally look at myself.
My arm was shaking as I wiped away the moisture, I covered my mouth to contain my small shriek. Even with the shower I barely resemble anything human. My skin was pale, my eyes dull and listless. Even the bags under my eyes had their own luggage. My hair was nothing but a tangled wet mass that fell around my face, my once healthy looking lips were now the same color as my skin. I half expected to start sparkling in the sunlight.
I dropped the towel to get a better look at myself, what I saw did not encourage me. I had lost more weight than I thought. My once flat and toned stomach looked slightly hollowed out and I could see my ribs just starting to poke out. I looked like one of those starving Ethiopian children I saw on the TV commercials. My heart always clenched at those, I already sponsored 3 children.
I rolled my eyes at myself. Dramatic much? Your stomach will look normal after you eat, ninny. Stop whining, you have it better than those kids.
Well, just standing here looking at yourself isn’t going to change it, Lex. So get some clothes on and get to work, girlie. I could hear my Grams voice in my head.
Grams was the one constant in my life, she was always there if I needed her. I missed her something fierce. She had passed away in her sleep while on a vacation with her beau's, as she called them. Grams always had more than one guy around, I chuckled to myself as I remembered Gram’s second rule. Find a man, or men, that you don’t get tired of and make sure they are good in the sack. Nothing like a man who doesn’t know how to please a woman, Lexi girl.
She was a force to be reckoned with that was for sure. I used to strive to be like her, I don’t know when I had lost that drive and passion for life that she had and decided to fit into the mold of society.
I’m done with that now. I will live my life as I choose, I don’t give shit what society thinks.
I shook myself out of my thoughts and looked around for a brush. I found one in the top drawer, along with hair ties. Hmmm… either they went and got this stuff while I was dead to the world or this is where they house their lady friends. Or this could be one of their girlfriends rooms. A wave of jealousy hit me hard, thinking about either Connor, Colter, Thorne, or Shane having a girlfriend. Which was just irrational since I had no claim on any of them. Hell, I barely know them, there was no reason for that feeling.
“Get a grip, Lexi. As if any of those insanely hot men would want you.” I snatched up the brush and dragged it through my hair. Yelping when the brush tangled and pulled my hair. Fuck, It felt like I had ripped some out. Great just what I needed on top of everything else. To go bald.
My legs were shaking along with my arms as I braced myself on the sink. What I thought at first was just nerves from seeing myself for the first time, I was starting to think was my body telling me I needed to sit my ass down. First, I needed to brush my teeth, I could feel the fur growing on them. Talk about ick factor. I opened the brush drawer again and pulled out a brand new toothbrush.
Afterwards, I sighed and made my way slowly back to the bed. Just as I sat down there was a light knock at the door. I panicked looking around for something to cover myself with. Great, I left the fucking towel on the bathroom floor!
I dove under the covers and pulled them up to my chin just as the door creaked open and Thorne poked his head in. “How’s my patient today? Feeling any better?”
I blushed and winced as I recalled how crazy I acted before, “Yes. Thank you, I am feeling a bit better. Still shaky and weak, but at least my chest no longer burns when I breathe. But I still have coughing fits.” I shrugged as he came farther into the room carrying a couple of bags.
My eyes widened when he started pulling out clothes, just as Colter and Connor walked into the room. Was the room getting smaller, or was that just my imagination?
“There she is! Back from the dead!” Cried Connor, jumping onto the bed and making me bounce a little. I was very grateful for the death grip I had on the covers, otherwise they would have gotten a good show.
Why am I suddenly nervous about them seeing me naked when I wasn’t nervous at all with Shane not that long ago? Of course he did piss me off, I have no shame when I’m pissed.
The thought of them having girlfriends was still in the forefront of my mind. I had never wanted to be a homewrecker. That wasn’t my style.
I cleared my throat nervously, telling myself to not overdo it on the words as I didn’t have Brit here to save me from myself.
“Fancy meeting you here, Connor, Colter. Though, I guess It’s not really a surprise as I’m guessing you live here. How did you find me? What happened? Why are you pulling clothes from the bags? I’m sorry for the way I acted before, Thorne but waking up in a strange house surrounded by beautiful men would be a shock to anyone, I suppose. I can’t believe I just called you beautiful. Men are supposed to be handsome right? Or sexy, but not beautiful. Why that is I don’t know. I didn’t make up the rules, it’s just the way it is. I suppose it could be because all of you guys are supposed to be macho and need to have only macho terms applied to you. But I’ve imposed on your girlfriends space long enough, I’m sure she’s mad that I’m in her room. Let alone, naked and alone with all of...” Connor reached over and placed his hand over my mouth, smirking at me.
I sent him a grateful glance; his smooth deep voice washed over me until his words finally registered. “See, I told you she does this. It’s really quite cute the way she rambles when she’s nervous. And did you say naked, ” He waggled his eyebrows at me, a sly, sexy grin spreading across his face. Narrowing my eyes I nipped his hand. He pulled it back quickly, chuckling, “Now is that anyway to treat someone who just saved you from spilling all of your secrets?”
I huffed and moved to cross my arms over my chest. It wasn’t until the blankets started to slide that I remembered I was naked as the day I was born. I scrambled to put them back over me again.
“Dammit.” I refused to look at any of them. Looking at them was dangerous. To my libido and my heart.
“Here, Lexi. I picked up some things for you after my shift today. I went by the tags on the clothes you were wearing when they brought you in. I’m sorry those are trashed, but Shane did manage to retrieve your bag from the cliff.” My eyes snapped up to Thorne as he showed me the items in the bags. There were pants, t-shirts, tank tops, and even a sweater, socks, underwear and a bra. My cheeks heated at the thought of sexy Thorne picking out my undergarments for me.
“Th--Thank you.” I stuttered out.
Colter spoke up for the first time since he walked into the room, “And none of us have girlfriends. So you’re not imposing. This is the guest bedroom.”
I nodded my head rapidly, looking like a damn bobblehead. “Oh. Okay, Thank you again.” The smell of bacon and coffee reached my nose, sniffing deeply, my stomach let out a loud rumble.
The guys all chuckled and moved to go to the door, “We’ll leave and let you get dressed. Afterwards if you’re up for it, you can come to the kitchen for some breakfa
st. But take it easy, if you don’t think you can make it then holler and one of us will bring it to you. Okay?” Thorne said stopping by the door and leveling me with an intense stare.
I nodded my head, rendered speechless looking at his handsome face once again. I had never been dumbfounded by a good looking man before but there I was losing my wits over not one, but four.
What the hell is wrong with me?
You’ve been asking that a lot lately. Do we need to have a talk?
No, I’m fine.
Uh-huh, sure you are.
Oh shut the hell up, inner me. You’re not helping!
They left shutting the door with a small click. I let the blanket drop and swung my legs over the side of the bed. Picking through the clothes I saw he had almost bought me an entire wardrobe. I snagged a pair of red boy shorts with hearts on them and smiled, imagining Thorne picking these out. My traitorous brain wandered into the territory of him taking them off. Heat pooled between my thighs.
If I wasn’t feeling so weak from lack of movement and food I would've laid back on the bed and touched myself while imaging Thorne’s hands on my body. Maybe Connor and Colter would join in. I couldn’t see Shane joining in on that but maybe I could change his mind. So they could blow mine...
I was starting to feel dizzy again and decided I had better just hurry the hell up and stop daydreaming. My stomach rumbled again in agreement.
Slipping on the panties, I grabbed a pair of leggings that were black with little orange pumpkins on them and shook my head smiling. They were exactly what I would have picked. It was a little scary that he seemed to know my style so well already.
I slipped on the red bra that matched the panties, then a tank top. I looked at the tunic style sweater and laughed. It was a light orange and had the words I am Pumpkin Spice, in big, bold black letters on it.
After I was dressed, I sat on the bed and tried again to work the brush through my hair. My arms were too weak to even be held up for that long. Sighing, I abandoned the task telling myself I would try again after I ate something. Maybe then I would get some strength back. Instead I took one of the hair ties from the bathroom and gathered my hair up into a messy sort of bun. Well, Lex, that’s as good as it’s gonna get. Now for food.
I slowly made my way to the door, I looked left and right, I was in the middle of the hallway. I turn left following my nose and the light at the end of the tunnel. I chuckled to myself, I cracked myself up sometimes.
Thirteen
I heard the men laughing at something as I got closer to the heavenly smells coming from what I assumed was the kitchen.
They all stopped as soon as they saw me, I instantly missed the sound of their carefree laughter. I could feel my body flush as I got four appreciative male looks. I had never had this much male attention in my life. Let alone from four hotties.
I smiled weakly and shuffled forward to the island that had tall chairs on one side. Colter jumped to attention, sliding a hand under my elbow to help give me a boost onto the chair.
I shoot him a grin, “Thanks. I really needed that.”
I looked around, ignoring them looking at me, and took in the kitchen. It was bigger than my kitchen but not by much. I was shocked at how nice it was, I would have expected a bachelor's kitchen to look different. The countertops were white quartz and complement the dark cherry wood of the cabinets. The stove, fridge and microwave were all black, the floor was a lighter shade than the cabinets. There was even a nice backsplash running the length of the room and a huge bay window with black and white curtains thrown open. It looked beautiful, but the scene outside the window took my breath away. The back was sun dabbled through the trees surrounding the lawn and back deck. My fingers itched to grab my camera and start taking pictures.
A wave of despair slammed into me at the thought of my camera, it was no doubt damaged beyond repair. Tears gathered in my eyes as I twisted my hands together, looking down at the bar. Roxy had given me that camera when I was sixteen. I blinked rapidly to stop the tears from falling, it was stupid to cry over a camera, but the fact that it was the last thing I had from Roxy was almost too much to bare.
I jumped with a gasp as a hand landed on my shoulder, a plate with scrambled eggs, a piece of toast and bacon are slid in front of me. “Hey, are you okay, Lexi? You know you’re safe here. Right? We would never do anything to hurt you. Unless you’re into that sort of thing.” Shane’s voice next to my ear sent shivers down my spine. I had never had this reaction to anyone and now I was having a reaction to four. I didn't know what to do about it so I did what I do best, faked it.
“I know, it’s not that. I’m fine.” I choose to ignore the last part of what he said, keeping my eyes down until I could get the tears under control.
My lips twitched when I heard Connor whisper loudly to one of the guys, “Dude. When a woman says she’s fine, she’s not.”
“Shut up, moron.” Colter told his brother, I giggled at the light smacking sound I heard.
“Ow! What the fuck, Colt?”
“Stop being an idiot and I wouldn’t have to knock some sense into you.”
Their brotherly banter had me laughing even as grief swept through me. I missed Roxy so much, even after all these years. I shook my head to clear away the cobwebs, wiped my eyes and smirked at Shane, “Are they always like this?”
“Always. How they’re able to run a successful construction and security company is beyond me.” Luckily for me, even though his eyes flicked back and forth looking deep into mine, he didn’t say anything about my red, glassy eyes.
I spun around in my chair to face the twins; I couldn’t handle the scrutiny of Shane’s gaze. “You guys run a construction company? Who gave you the reins?”
Colter looked mildly offended while Connor grinned at me, “We did sweetheart. We not only run it; we own it.” They all chuckled as my mouth fell open in shock. I didn't take them for businessmen. Should never judge a book by its cover, Lex. You know that.
“Huh. Not what I expected.” I spun back around to face Thorne remembering his words from earlier. “And you Thorne? What do you do?”
Thorne winked at me, “What do you think I do?”
Sweet baby Jesus, his winks could level an entire village of women to their knees. I blinked dumbfounded at him for a moment, “Well you said you picked up the clothes after your shift---and you have medical knowledge as you nursed me back to health--” I tapped the tip of my finger against my lips, pretending to think on it for a moment. Really I just wanted to see his reaction to that move. He didn’t disappoint, a thrill shot through me as his eyes followed my finger hungrily. Heat once again pooled between my thighs and my core clenched. “Doctor?” I immediately shook my head at that, “No, that doesn’t fit.”
“What do you mean it doesn’t fit?” He narrowed his eyes and stalked forward.
“A tame doctor? That doesn’t fit with what I see. Unless you’re an ER doctor.”
Thorne shook his head and brushed the back of his hand down my cheek, gripping my neck lightly. “Guess again. What is it that you see, Lexi?” He whispered.
My entire body was shaking from the need to lean closer to him. I gave in as I reply breathlessly, “You’re a man of action, I would say an EMT, or fireman.”
He made a non-committal sound in the back of his throat and leaned closer. We were centimeters apart if I puckered my lips I would touch his. My nipples tightened as his minty breath washed over me. I took a deep breath staring into his eyes. He smelled so good. I remembered the smell of the t-shirt I was wearing; he smelled the same. Like spices and freshness.
Made sense I would be wearing his shirt. He was a mountain of a man; his shirts would be the only ones that would fall to mid-thigh on me.
His breathing was just as labored as mine, he leaned even closer, my eyes closed of their own accord… and I was gripped by a damn coughing fit again. I yanked away from him covering my mouth with my elbow. In my haste I accidently hit him in the fac
e. My eyes widened, before they slid shut as I started coughing. This one was bad and seemed to go on forever, Thorne was rubbing my back and telling me it would be alright. After the fit was over I was spent, I felt so sleepy and tired. I never even ate my breakfast. I had forgotten all about it, too busy teasing the guys.
Now I was way too exhausted to eat. Colter pressed a glass of water into my hand, I looked up at him sheepishly as I had totally spaced and forgotten the others were there while I was making eyes at Thorne.
“I’m so sorry!” I glanced at all of them and ducked my head as I took a drink.
What must the guys think of me? My body flushed in embarrassment, they probably thought I was a total slut or a cock tease. Standing naked in front of Shane not that long ago then almost kissing his friend while he watched. I hastily gulped some water, leaning back in the chair and closing my eyes, chastising myself again.
Get it the fuck together, Lexi! Not everyone has Grams way of thinking, remember? You can’t just go around panting after every eligible bachelor out there to add to your harem.
My mind drifted as I sat there breathing heavily with my eyes closed. Until the age of ten I grew up thinking it was normal for a woman to have multiple partners who all knew about each other and were okay with it. Hell, they were happy about it and lived as one big happy family.
I used to think that my mom just hadn’t found her other guys yet. Then one day at school I asked my friend how many dads she had; she had looked at me like I was nuts.
I went home crying to Roxy that day, the girl had called Grams a slutty sinner and said she would be punished by God. I had punched her for it and told her to shut her mouth and to never speak of my Grams again. Luckily I was a good student and never made trouble, it also helped that a couple of teachers had heard the whole thing.
Because of that the principal didn’t send me home or suspend me, however I did get detention for a week. Mom and Dad were pissed and had to explain to me that Gram’s relationship with multiple men was strange in our society. That a lot of people felt it was wrong and unnatural and that their relationship with only one guy and one girl was the norm.
Lexi's Justice Page 10