As they exited the house, they saw Ricky and Brody. They were shaking their heads.
“What’s going on?” Murphy asked.
“Oh, they’re all pretty drunk,” Ricky stated, laughing.
Waylon watched as some people went skinny-dipping and others stripped down to their panties and bras. He searched for Amelia and found her immediately. He and his brothers moved closer. The moonlight illuminated the water and the short beach around it. Clothes were spread about, and there were more girls than guys.
Amelia had her arms crossed and was standing there wearing a sexy red dress, that accentuated her every curve. The high heels showed off her defined calves and thighs. She looked sexy.
“Come on, Amelia! Just pull it off and jump in. We’re all naked,” Regan yelled and everyone cheered. A few guys, including Galen, were in the water, too. It pissed him off that they stopped to see Amelia undress.
“Those fuckers are watching her,” Murphy stated.
“The hell they’re not.” Waylon began to walk toward Amelia to stop her. She moved her hands to the hem of her dress and slowly began to wiggle free. Inch by inch she pulled the tight red material up over her perfectly round ass then over her head. Waylon froze in place.
She wore black thong bikini panties and a black lace strapless bra.
He couldn’t move. He was in awe of her body. Was that a tattoo on her hip?
“Hot damn, woman!” someone yelled and then the others all started. He was too late. They all saw Amelia.
She raised her arms, accentuating her breasts as they pushed forward. Her belly dipped inward, her hips more defined in the moonlight, as she adjusted her hair atop of her head.
She kicked off her high heels, and ran into the water.
Everyone screamed and cheered.
Waylon was totally pissed off.
His brothers joined him. They watched and waited, as each wild partier got out of the water. One by one, they shook and shivered, realizing that they didn’t have any towels.
Galen lifted Regan up into his arms and carried her off to his truck. Velma and her friends grabbed their clothes and headed toward the fire they’d built near the bunkhouse closer to the main house. The others gathered around followed.
“Come on, Amelia. Join us,” some guys yelled to her and she shook her head.
“I’m going to go change.”
“We can help you,” one guy and his two buddies offered and Waylon looked at Murphy.
“We got her,” Murphy stated firmly and the three men immediately turned around and ran to catch up with the others.
Amelia looked up and appeared shocked to see them.
Ricky held her dress.
“What would you have done if those men followed you back to the cottage?” Waylon reprimanded her.
She shivered then stared straight up at him. As she went to place her hands on her hips, she teetered slightly and he knew she had been drinking. Her breasts moved with the motion and his dick grew even harder than it was from her earlier striptease.
“Give me my dress, Ricky.”
“No,” Ricky said.
“The shoes and dress are Regan’s. I borrowed them,” she slurred.
“Let’s get you inside and dried off,” Brody stated.
“No. I can do it myself. Although Waylon doesn’t think I can take care of myself.” She began to walk and nearly tripped. Waylon grabbed her hips to steady her. Her skin was ice cold. If they didn’t get her warmed up, she would have a serious cold by morning.
“Come on. Let’s walk together.”
“No. I’m not falling for your seductive charms. Not any of you. If I wanted company in my bed tonight, then I would have gone home with Paul and Will when they asked me to,” she blurted out then began to walk.
Waylon heard his brothers curse, and he was instantly pissed off as he lowered his shoulder and lifted Amelia up off of the ground. She bounced on top of his shoulder as he turned and headed toward her cottage.
“Put me down, Waylon.”
He ignored her and her complaints of dizziness as she slapped his ass, his thighs, and bare back. He hadn’t even bothered to put a shirt on, just his jeans as he and his brothers headed outside.
They got to her cottage and he opened the door. It was unlocked.
“You left your door unlocked. Those men could have—”
Murphy slammed the door closed behind them.
Waylon slowly lowered Amelia’s feet to the floor. She swayed a moment and he bent down to keep his hands on her hips to steady her. She was only about five feet four inches tall. Now standing here, bare foot and practically naked, she appeared so feminine and petite surrounded by him and his brothers. They were all over six feet tall and muscular.
He stared at the cleavage of her large breasts, then her firm, taut belly, and of course the sexy tattoo. It was a floral design on a vine over her hip bone. It dipped toward her panties and he felt the tinge of jealousy for the tattoo artist that worked so close to her pussy. It was weird.
As he stared at the design, he noticed the darker center to one of the flowers, but then Amelia moved her hands to push his off of her.
“I can stand on my own, Waylon. I’m not that drunk,” she slurred and then turned and nearly fell. Murphy was right behind her, holding a towel to wrap her in.
He covered her and she snuggled into the warm towel as Murphy lifted her up and against him.
“What are you doing?” she asked in a panic.
“Taking you to bed.”
“You’re going to take advantage of me aren’t you? It figures. All you soldiers are alike,” she stated, and Waylon looked at Ricky and Brody. They all wondered what she meant.
“We’re not all alike and we’re not going to take advantage of you. Now, I’m going to hold the towel and you’re going to take off these wet things.”
She stared up at him, as if he were lying.
“I promise, we won’t look.” He set her down and arranged the towel in front of her like a curtain. He turned his head. “At least not tonight.”
She growled as she took off her wet panties and bra.
Waylon swallowed hard. This was torture. He wanted her, she didn’t want them, and knowing that other guys tried to seduce her into bed tonight angered him.
Murphy wrapped the towel around her.
“Okay, you can all leave now. I’m fine.” She sat down on the bed.
“Are you sure? You don’t feel sick or dizzy?” Murphy asked.
“No. What do you think I’m like fifteen and it’s the first time I had a few too many drinks? Please just go. I can take care of myself.” They were about to leave when she stood up and leaned forward to get something from the drawer. She bumped into the table, knocked over the lamp, and the towel fell from her body.
Thank God Murphy moved into action. Waylon and his brothers couldn’t move.
They watched as Murphy lifted her up and placed her in bed. He pulled the sheets and covers up to her chest then sat on the side of her.
“Now, no more moving around or you could get hurt. We’re leaving now. We’ll talk tomorrow.”
She pulled the covers tighter and nodded her head.
“Sorry. I guess I might have had a few too many shots. It’s been forever since I loosened up.” She closed her eyes and leaned into the pillow.
Murphy caressed her hair from her cheek and sat there staring at her.
“I’ll be fine. You can go,” she whispered, sounding as if she were already beginning to doze off.
“Are you sure? One of us could stay.”
“I’m okay. I don’t let men I don’t know stay with me. That’s why I said no to Paul and Will,” she said, waving her hand in the air then dropping it back to the bed. Waylon could see the swell of her breast from where she lay. The covers were nearly to her areola.
He watched as she adjusted her head and sighed.
“Is that the only reason why you said no to them?” Murphy asked as he contin
ued to caress her hair and cheek.
She shook her head against the pillow.
“Then why else?” he asked her.
“’Cause of the Haas brothers,” she mumbled and then fell to sleep.
Waylon felt his stomach tighten.
They walked out of the bedroom.
* * * *
“I don’t think we should leave her alone tonight,” Murphy stated.
“I’ll stay. She could get up and fall or something during the night. I don’t feel right leaving her,” Waylon said.
“I understand. I don’t think she’ll remember what she said when the morning comes,” Murphy added.
“Sure as shit will deny it entirely,” Ricky said then chuckled.
“She said no to them. She was thinking about us. It doesn’t matter if she’ll remember admitting that. She said it and that gives me hope,” Brody said then walked out of the house.
“I’ll come over first thing in the morning. We’ll make some breakfast,” Ricky said then exited the house next.
Murphy stared at Waylon.
“You sure that you don’t want me to stay? She may be pretty pissed off come morning.”
“I couldn’t sleep now if I tried. Come over in the morning.”
“Okay,” Murphy said then walked out.
Waylon locked the door then walked over toward her bedroom again.
He stared at her as she slept.
He felt the struggle within himself, the fight to not get involved with her or any woman and the need to feel. He was a coldhearted bastard. He knew that. He took his anger, his frustration, and emotions out in the ring. Right now, he wanted to hit something. It was how he dealt with the memories of his past. The way he blurred the images in his head of all the bodies, the loss, the danger of being Special Forces. That hollow feeling in the pit of his stomach never left him. Since the time he and Brody were orphaned and left to fend for themselves, there was that emptiness. He tried so hard to fill it with obsession of the job, being the best he could be in Special Forces, and even now in the ring.
Over the years he and Brody talked about that emptiness, and strived to fill it with all the wrong things. No woman, no bonds between comrades could fill it. It was always there. Always lingering as a reminder of his inadequacies. His parents hadn’t even wanted him and Brody. Thank God for the dads and Mom.
He shook his head, wondering why the hell all these thoughts were hitting him right now. He walked away from her and toward the large, long sofa. He would never fit on it. He would be sore by morning, but he wasn’t leaving her. He couldn’t get himself to shut her out. He didn’t know why, but he hoped that he could get to the bottom of this and find out why Amelia was so adamant about him and his brothers.
He had another week before his next fight in Dallas. He needed to train, starting Monday.
He pulled out his cell phone and looked over his calendar. A picture of him from one of the fights in Vegas appeared in an e-mail from his trainer.
He stared at the picture, and the fierce expression. He looked like a monster, a man of steel. In the ring he felt free. In the ring nothing else mattered and as he fought his opponent, that hollow feeling slightly filled. It wasn’t totally gone, but it mended temporarily as he fought to exhaustion.
Yeah, in the ring, I’m numb to everything.
Chapter 8
Amelia lay in bed staring at the ceiling. Considering that she was feeling pretty good last night, she didn’t have a huge headache. She wondered why she was naked in bed, then sort of remembered Murphy talking with her after Waylon carried her half naked from the lake.
Her cheeks warmed with embarrassment.
She slowly got up and pulled on a pair of boy short panties and a camisole. She walked to the bathroom, washed her face, brushed her teeth, and pulled her hair from the confines of some crazy updo. She remembered pulling her hair up to avoid getting wet when she jumped into the lake in her panties and bra.
She’d shown off her body to a bunch of strangers. She’d definitely had a few too many.
She decided that coffee would help clear her head before she took a shower. She walked through the hallway and into the kitchen, halting as she saw the large, shirtless man standing there.
She gasped and Waylon turned around to face her.
He looked her over and widened his eyes.
“Morning.”
“Uhm, what are you doing here?”
He turned on the pot of coffee then walked closer. The man had a gorgeous chest. It was lightly dusted with hair that led down to his jeans. He was so defined. She gulped in appreciation of his sculptured body. He was a boxer and had a rigorous workout routine. She knew enough about that from Mano.
The thought placed a heap of fear into her gut as she turned to look away.
“You were kind of out of it last night. My brothers and I were worried that you could hurt yourself during the night,” he said then looked at her from head to toe. Instantly her nipples hardened, and she realized she shouldn’t be standing here half naked.
He looked her over again. “You make it a habit of walking around in your panties?”
“No, I don’t. But then, this is my place, isn’t it?” she asked with attitude then walked around the island, away from him, and reached up to grab two mugs for the coffee.
“I appreciate you staying. It wasn’t necessary.”
“I thought otherwise.” They held one another’s gaze.
“I don’t need a babysitter, Waylon.”
“You did last night.”
“Really?”
“Sure did. You stripped down to your thong panties and bra that covered hardly anything in front of a bunch of drunk cowboys. You’re lucky we were there.”
She slammed her hand down on the counter then stalked toward him.
“Get out, Waylon. I don’t sleep around.”
There was a knock at the door, but before she could move, Waylon grabbed a hold of her camisole and pulled her toward him. He lifted her up, placed her onto the counter, and pressed his body between her thighs. She grabbed onto his shoulders, and now was almost face-to-face. He still towered over her.
His hand moved behind her head as he gripped her hard.
“You need looking after. You’re not going to flaunt this sexy body all over town.”
“I can do whatever I want to do,” she retorted and he ground his teeth before he pulled her closer and kissed her hard on the mouth.
In a matter of seconds he was shoving his tongue between her teeth, and they were battling for control of the kiss.
He made love to her mouth like no one ever had before. He was relentless in his strokes, combined with the exploration of his hands.
She grabbed onto his shoulders, raised her knees, and pressed them against his ribs. His hand grabbed her ass und squeezed her toward him. She ran the palms of her hands up and over his biceps, his shoulder and neck, feeling the power and the muscles beneath her fingers.
In the distance she heard the door close and she knew his brothers were there and her pussy clenched then released her arousal. She moaned into Waylon’s mouth and tried to pull back. He wouldn’t allow it. He held her head and face between both hands and continued to kiss her until she could hardly breathe. When he finally released her lips, they were both panting for air.
He stared at her with frustration in his eyes. “You drive me fucking crazy.”
“You started it.”
“I finished it.”
She tried to push him away and get down off the counter, but he wouldn’t allow it. He held her by her hips. He maneuvered his fingers beneath her boy shorts and caressed her inner groin with his thick, hard thumbs.
She gasped.
“Someone feeling sassy this morning?”
She turned to see Murphy and Ricky. Her heart raced. Then she wondered where Brody was. She sought him out, too. What the hell?
“Your brother thinks I need a babysitter,” she stated with attitude, but never
took her gaze from Waylon’s.
“You sure did last night,” Ricky said.
Waylon raised his eyebrows to her as if saying, “I told you so.”
She tried again, unsuccessfully, to get down.
Waylon pulled her harder against him and off the counter. He was carrying her to her room.
“What are you doing? Where are you taking me?”
He didn’t answer as she struggled between being fully aroused by the man’s audacity and dominance and being resistant to what might happen. She couldn’t get involved with them. But maybe I could have a little fun with them. No! No, don’t be so foolish. You already have feelings for them, you idiot.
“Waylon, let me down.”
She squealed as he dropped her to the bed. She bounced, but before she could get control of her position, he knelt onto the bed between her legs and pulled her underneath him. He hung over her. One hand pressed against the comforter and her left ear and the other by her waist. His knee was wedged snug against her crotch and his foot was on the floor for support.
He stared down into her eyes and she remained perfectly still. His expression was priceless. Holy fuck, he’s lethally hot.
* * * *
Waylon stared at the sexy minx before him. Her camisole was pushed all the way up, her breasts peeking out from the sides of the flimsy material. He stared at her body, her luscious, sexy, curvy figure and practically growled with possessiveness. He’d never felt so carnal over a woman. It was like she stirred some sort of beast within him. Her scent, her body, her complete femininity aroused every sense in his body.
He moved a hand along her hip bone making her jerk slightly. But she didn’t move away. She remained still.
He trailed one finger along the tattoo.
“When did you get this?” he asked as she parted her wet lips and took an uneasy breath.
“Last year.”
“It’s beautiful, like you.”
He used his finger to follow the lines of the vine choosing an upward motion until his fingers brushed against the large swell of her breast.
“Waylon?”
“Shhh, not a word, Amelia. I’m so angry with you right now, and your damn hard-as-stone attitude. The thought of you stripping last night in front of those drunk cowboys makes me feel jealous and angry.”
The American Soldier Collection 5: The Greatest Fight of All (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) Page 9