Peaches 'n' Cream

by Lynn Stark

  Stopping in the middle of the hallway, Logan turned his gaze on Ryan. The smile he gave the younger man was almost dangerous. “I think you and I should go check the playroom, make sure everything is okay before we leave.”

  Ryan swallowed hard, dropping his gaze. Damien moved closer, sliding an arm around his waist. “You know you want to.”

  “Yeah, maybe.” His voice was thin, uncertain, but did have a note of excitement in it.

  Damien kissed his ear. Logan smiled at the tender gesture.

  “You’ve wanted to go to Colt’s club. You can’t go without Logan. You have to be collared.

  You told me you want him to fuck you in front of everybody. If you can’t go to the playroom with him here, how are you going to go to a BDSM club?” They waited for Ryan to decide. They had a lot of things to do before they could leave for Nevada, but everything could wait until they had sorted this out. Damien pulled him close, kissing him.

  “Do you know how much I want to see you tied up?” He laughed huskily. Logan smiled and nodded. “If Logan agrees, you can suck my cock while he fucks that fine ass of yours.” Shaking his head and pulling away, Ryan laughed. “You’re such a perv.”

  “Yeah, well, that makes four of us in this house. What do you say? Want to go play?”

  “What are you guys up to?” Their woman was calling to them from downstairs. They shifted restlessly.

  “We’re up to no good, baby. Ryan’s trying to decide whether he wants Logan to tie him up and fuck him.”

  “Can I watch?”

  “There’s a perv for you.”

  120

  The men laughed. Then each grabbed a bag and carried them downstairs. They would leave before first light the next morning. Plans for the playroom were put on hold when they got a call from the barn. One of the horses was down with colic.

  At the clinic the following morning, a cheerful doctor examined the bleary-eyed Peaches.

  She gave her the thumbs-up, telling her everything looked very good. She could travel, but she was to get more rest from now on. Peaches told her that wasn’t a problem, since she seemed to want to sleep most of time. And she was to limit her stress.

  Logan, Ryan, and Damien listened to all the instructions, nodding solemnly when the doctor directed very pointed instructions to them. Logan just managed not to flush with embarrassment. Nearly everyone in Silver had their quirks, their dirty little secrets, their twisted desires, but he had always kept his life very private. Why was the doctor looking at him like that? There was no possible way she could know what he and Peaches did in his playroom.

  Yet, maybe she knew enough about him that she had guessed and was gently warning him not to be too rough.

  Feeling duly chastised, they left the office behind their woman. She was practically glowing, her beautiful face wreathed in a smile. As he looked at it, he knew that they had put it there. She was happy with them. She was happy about the baby. Relief coursed through his body. He wanted her to be happy with them, so she would never regret putting her faith in them.

  “I have to make a side trip,” Peaches told them as they approached the restrooms.

  They made their own side trip, only to be interrupted by a muffled crash through the wall.

  Peaches put her elbow in the woman’s face. Her head snapped back from the sharp impact, the rest of her following as Peaches spun and put her foot in her gut. Falling hard against the trash container, the woman was curled there, panting in obvious pain, her arm over her stomach. She looked up with an unreadable expression in her dark eyes. When she reached in-to the pocket of her smock, Peaches held her breath. A small caliber pistol was pointed in her direction. She cursed the fact that her own pistol was locked in a box in a safe at home. As she was deciding her next best move, the door flew open and hit the woman with a satisfying crack. She was glad the very powerful Logan had come in first.

  It only took a moment for him to remove the pistol and to check for other weapons. He didn’t find one. Hauling the young woman to her feet, he held her close as he scowled down at her. Then, with a powerful hand tightly gripping her upper arm, he dragged her out of the women’s restroom.

  Ryan and Damien were all over Peaches then, their hands running over her until they were satisfied she was unhurt. “Are you okay, baby? What happened?”

  “She was in here scrubbing the floor when I came in. We smiled at one another. It was nice and friendly.” She shrugged. “When I came out, she was behind me. It wasn’t much of a fight and it didn’t last long.”

  “Lucky we heard it. The bitch was going to shoot you.” 121

  Peaches contributed the trembling in her body to the new rush of adrenaline. She was normally cool and calm under such circumstances. However, there was a difference this time.

  She was carrying a precious life inside her. Not only did she have to care for herself, but for her baby, their baby, as well. Nothing was more important than protecting their child.

  Ryan hugged her close, pressing his lips to her ear as he stroked her body. “From now on, we’re not letting you out of our sight.”

  Damien peeled her out of Ryan’s arms. He hugged her and then released her to move her toward the door. He paused when he reached it, turning to look down at her. “I imagine the sheriff will be here soon. When he’s through with us, we’ll go to the hotel. You’re going to rest.” He pushed the curls back off her face.

  She smiled up at him as she pressed herself against his big, strong body. Her nipples perked up with an interest that was never far away. She always wanted her men. It was as if her switch was stuck in the “on” position. She didn’t mind in the least.

  “I want to talk to her.” Peaches frowned. “She didn’t look very old. And she looked as scared as I felt. Something’s not right. I’ve been around a lot of the women connected to gangs. She doesn’t seem to have the right attitude.” It took a while, but Peaches convinced the sheriff to let her speak to the woman. She was guided to an interrogation room, where the woman was sitting with her wrists cuffed and wearing a neon-orange jumpsuit. It was obvious she had been crying. There were salty trails down her cheeks and the tip of her nose was pink.

  “What’s your name?”

  “Carmen.”

  Peaches nodded. “Carmen, I want to know why you did it. I’ve seen a lot of girls who’ve been tangled up with a gang, whether it was by choice or not. You don’t seem quite hard enough. You must have been convinced to try to kill me. Why? How?” Carmen looked away. Her fingers were tangled together. “I can’t tell you anything,” she whispered thinly, her fear obvious. “You know that.” She wasn’t going to listen to any of that crap. And it was crap. “You can make choices here. Do you have family? Are your mother and father still living?” she asked impatiently.

  The dark head shook. She looked on the verge of tears again. “They’re all gone. I do have a son. He’s a year old.”

  “Where is he?” Hearing that, Peaches suspected what had happened. She just wanted to hear it from Carmen.

  “They have him. They told me they would kill him if I didn’t come here and kill you.” She snorted. “I don’t know how they expected me to do it. The two guys they sent up here couldn’t do it. One ran when you killed the other. They sent me after that. I came here and got a job. I was surprised when I saw you today. What were the chances of that happening?”

  “Why did they pick you?”

  “They said I’d fit in. I talked nice and I didn’t have a record. If anyone ran a background check on me, it would come back clean.”

  Sitting back, Peaches studied the other woman long and hard. She wasn’t as young as she had first thought. Carmen was probably close to twenty-five. “Did you do well in school?” Carmen nodded. “I was fourth in my class. I was supposed to go to college, but my mother got sick. I took care of her until she died, so Papa could work. Then my father got sick. He 122

  died just last year.” Lifting her hands, she rubbed them over her face. The handcuffs rat
tled.

  She sighed as she lowered her hands. “I was working two jobs after my papa died. I wanted a better life for my son. I was working to get us to a better place. A nice apartment somewhere where there were nice schools, where he could play outside without me having to worry about drive-by shootings and drugs sold on every corner. Anthony’s father was killed in a drive-by shooting. He had gotten in a fight with a gang member when he caught the man trying to steal his car.”

  It had been a big dream on Carmen’s part. And a very good dream to have for her son.

  Peaches believed her. She also admired her for her dedication to making her son’s life a good one.

  “You have to give me details. I want you to trust me with this. Tell me everything you know about the people who took your son and sent you here.” They stared at one another. Carmen’s fingers curled so tightly into fists her knuckles turned white. The stress she was feeling was almost palatable, as was the stark fear in her huge, dark eyes.

  The door opened a moment later. The sheriff and his administrative assistant came in.

  They sat down beside Peaches and began to ask questions and take notes. An hour later, they were all leaving the room.

  “You can get my son?” Carmen asked in a small voice. There was so much pain in her eyes. However, there was hope, too.

  “We’re going to try. I know a lot of people.” Peaches reached out to squeeze her arm.

  “We’ll go to your room and get the picture of your son. It’ll be sent to the right people.”

  Chapter Seventeen

  The right people managed to track down Carmen’s son within three days. In that time, Peaches went to court. She wanted to smack the smug expression off the face of the man who had robbed the convenience store where she had worked. She held his gaze as she gave her account of what had happened that night. Her voice was firm, confident, as she gave clear details. By the time she finished, she saw a flicker of doubt in his eyes. Oh yeah, he was feeling the pressure, she thought. She allowed a satisfied little smile to curve her mouth. His world was truly beginning to crumble. Up until then, he had obviously believed he would go free.

  As Peaches left the building, she did not need to look around to see what had been done to protect her. The police presence was obvious. They were positioned along the street. She was ushered quickly into a waiting SUV, followed by her three men.

  Peaches smiled at them as they each reached for her. She finally ended up on Logan’s lap, his powerful arms holding her close to his massive chest. Lowering her head, she rested it against his shoulder.

  “You okay, baby?” he asked huskily, stroking her hair, then the side of her face. The callused tips of his fingers felt wonderful. She yawned, her jaw stretching as she covered it quickly.

  “I’m fine. A little tired. I can’t believe that creep’s asshole lawyer tried to blame me for the alleged robbery. What? I made them do it?” She sighed. “Well, it should be over soon.

  There’s no way a jury can do anything but convict him. Then his buddies will go down with him.”

  It would happen in the not-so-distant future. Peaches was sure of it. Then she would be free of this terrible business. She was very tired of people out there trying to kill her. Getting on with her life, with her men and their baby, was all she wanted to focus on, which included their upcoming wedding.

  “It’ll be a long time before any of them get out of prison,” Logan said with satisfaction.

  “But I’ve heard you can never be certain how a jury thinks.”

  “That’s true enough. Still, I have faith that the evidence was solid and backed up by my testimony.”

  “Then there’s his buddy, the one who got away that night we met. I’m sure he’ll go down like a sinking ship when it’s his turn in court.” Ryan said this with grim satisfaction.

  The idea of returning to testify again wasn’t a pleasant one. They all wanted this to be over so they could put it behind them. The next phase of their lives looked very promising.

  Still, it was a relief to be finished with this phase. She wouldn’t worry about future visits to the courtroom until the time came.

  There was a wedding to plan and baby names to pick out. The ugliness brought into their lives, and the lives of others by these violent, conscienceless people, had no place in their future. When it was over, they would leave it in the past where it belonged.

  Damien leaned over to kiss her softly on the mouth. He stroked the blonde curls away from her face as he smiled reassuringly at her. “It’s almost over, baby. They can’t hurt you now.” They had just arrived at her parents’ house when the news came that a low-ranking member of a rival gang had killed the suspect in the first robbery after he returned to the prison. The attacker had just taken a man’s life and a giant leap up his gang’s ladder.

  Peaches couldn’t feel anything but relief. She couldn’t, however, find it in her to be sorry the man was dead. He had lived a life which had altered the lives of many others. None of it 124

  had been good. Unfortunately he would be replaced by someone equally vicious and the violent legacy would continue.

  Her men hugged her, their own relief evident in the strength of their arms around her.

  She then went to her parents, accepting their hugs. Her sisters and brothers were there, as well, as were the spouses of the married siblings. Relief overwhelmed what had been a tense reunion, everyone filled with worry. Of course, she would still have to be cautious, but the greatest threat had been eliminated. With this great change in the gang, there would be a shifting in power. The new leader would have better things to worry about than her. He would have to keep his position by whatever means necessary. They would also likely focus on retali-ation against the gang responsible for their leader’s death.

  John Mallory stood beside the fireplace, a glass of beer in his hand. He was staring hard at the men flanking his daughter. Peaches knew he was still rather unsettled by the idea of one of his little girls being in such an unconventional relationship, but he had yet to say anything.

  It was only a matter of time. She could see it in the set of his jaw.

  “Don’t worry, honey,” Olivia Malloy said, grabbing her daughter’s hand to pull her toward the kitchen. “Let them have it out now. Then it’ll all be behind them.” Peaches threw one more worried glance over her shoulder to the room full of men, before the door closed and she was in the kitchen with her mother, sisters, and sisters-in-law. “I don’t know if that was such a good idea. Daddy doesn’t look very happy.”

  “Can you blame him? It has been twenty-five years, and he still can’t believe his sister is married to more than one man. Now, are the four of you planning on getting married soon?” Nodding, Peaches sat down at the huge kitchen table. A glass of wine was placed in front of her. She pushed it away with her fingertips and waited for the significance to sink in.

  “Sorry. I can’t drink this.”

  There was a long silence. All eyes were on her. “Are you pregnant, Peachy?” Cherry asked, almost vibrating with excitement. Peaches nodded and grinned. Cherry jumped up from her chair to run around the table to grab her sister. They hugged tightly as she lost her hearing in her right ear. Her sister was squealing with excitement. “Oh, that’s just so exciting!

  When are you due? When is the wedding? Have you started planning it yet? Are you excited?

  Oh, I have to come to Silver to help you.”

  The other women in the room were just as excited. Her mother couldn’t stop hugging her, which was a very nice thing. It reassured her that she had made the right choice. They spent the next hour discussing the wedding. They were all in awe of her plans for the wedding’s theme. She smiled with pleasure and swore them all to absolute secrecy.

  As Peaches spent time with them, she had to force herself to keep her focus on what was happening in the kitchen. No way was she going to wonder about what her father would have to say to her men, though she knew Ryan would probably recount the entire conv
ersation for her. Sighing, hoping her father could accept the men, she watched as her mother began making lists of people who would want to come to her wedding.

  125

  They left her parents’ house shortly after supper. Though the gang leader was now dead, the police gave them an escort back to their hotel. Once they were in their room, all the ten-sion of the day seemed to leave them.

  Peaches threw her tired body down on the long leather couch by the fireplace. Flames danced cheerfully. She thought it would be a great place to make love to her men. Later. Right now, she wanted details. “Okay, give. What did my dad have to say?”

  “Other than if we make you unhappy, he’ll make us disappear forever? Nothing,” Logan drawled, sitting down beside her.

  Laughing, Peaches crawled up onto his lap. Powerful arms wrapped around her, pulling her close. Ryan moved in behind her to nibble on her neck. Damien was unbuttoning her blouse, exposing her lace-covered breasts. Lowering his head, he kissed the skin in the valley between her breasts. Logan’s hand was pulling down the zipper of her skirt.

  “What are you guys doing?” Peaches asked with yet another laugh. Her men made her feel so good. Oh, they had their moments when going their separate ways in the house was the best option. They had to cool off before they met again to discuss some things. Logan was very bossy. Now that she was pregnant, she could only see that bossiness increasing. He had a protective streak as wide as his dominant streak. “Did I tell you Cherry will be coming up to stay?

  She’s going to help me plan the wedding.”

  “And go see those idiots,” Logan growled.

  Shaking her head, she stroked a hand down his chest as she lifted her hips to wiggle out of the skirt. It slid down her thighs. Logan’s huge hand slid between them. She had a very hard time concentrating on the subject. “They’re not idiots. The Preston brothers are very nice men,” she said breathlessly.