by Becca Van
Some of those missions had had impossible odds, and definitely not in their favor, but they came out unscathed. At least physically. Mentally was a whole different story.
All three of them had PTSD, and while the incidents were becoming few and far between, they were becoming less intense as well, thank fuck.
Rocky shrugged as if to say so what, but deep down he was worried. Not about him and his brothers, but about Carly. He didn’t want her leaving because he was thoughtless, but he also knew he couldn’t be that cold soldier he’d learned to be. He was still trying to find himself now that he was out of the military. Working on the land and with the animals had helped some, but he still wasn’t as settled in as he should have been.
Bull and Ridge were so calm, cool, and collected most of the time. On rare occasions, one or the other would call out in their sleep as the dreams took hold, and he did the same. They relied on each other to pull them out of the nightmarish, remembered horrors. Sometimes they came out swinging. Just the thought of hurting Carly had him sucking in a breath of horror. They were going to have to warn her to never sneak up on them while they were sleeping.
Rocky watched his brothers move to their bedrooms before moving to his own. He didn’t close the door to his room all the way. Though he’d attuned himself to waking when he heard any out of place noise, he was tired after a long, hard day and an even more exhausting night. Hearing what Carly had been up against had drained him emotionally, and he was worried that he’d fall into a deep sleep and not hear her if she called out.
Normally he slept in the buff, but as he removed his clothes after placing his gun on the bedside table, he decided to leave his boxers on. He didn’t want to embarrass or make Carly uncomfortable by seeing him in the nude.
There was such an innocent air about her he wondered if she had any sexual experience at all. As he climbed into bed and turned the lamp off, he stacked his hands behind his head and tried to remember how old she was.
Shaun had been the same age as Rocky, and if he remembered correctly, there had been eight years’ difference between brother and sister. Rocky was thirty-five, which would make Carly twenty-five.
Ridge was the oldest, at thirty-six, and Bull was fourteen months younger than Rocky, at thirty-three.
Rocky hoped Carly didn’t think they were too old for her, but he pushed those thoughts away as he rolled over onto his side. He hated that she was in danger, but until he and his brothers found out the rest of her story and spoke to the sheriffs, there wasn’t much they could do.
The one thing that kept niggling to the forefront of his mind was that he hoped Carly found him and his brothers attractive. If she didn’t, he wasn’t sure what they were going to do.
* * * *
Bull had just begun to let sleep take him when he heard an unfamiliar noise which had him immediately on alert. He shoved the covers aside and, as he rolled out of bed, snagged the gun from his bedside table and gained his feet. Moving stealthily was second nature to him, and he had his door open seconds later. He didn’t rush out, in case someone had managed to infiltrate the ranch house, but took the time to peek around the door jamb and scan the shadows, aware of his brothers doing the same. When he saw nothing, he moved out into the hallway and nodded at Ridge and Rocky as they moved quietly down the hall. Checking the whole house to make sure no one had broken in was paramount now that Carly was here, though they would have done the same thing even if she wasn’t. No one was going to get the drop on them or steal their property.
Ridge and Rocky disappeared from sight as they searched the house. Bull frowned and his heartbeat kicked up a gear when he heard a noise coming from the bedroom Carly was sleeping in. Fear skittered up his spine, trying to take over, but he ruthlessly pushed the emotion down deep and drew on all his Marine training, becoming the cold-hearted, analytical soldier he’d once been.
Bull paused in the partially open doorway of Carly’s room, using his senses to ascertain whether there was someone in her room intent on hurting her, but his gut told him the house was secure. He was just pondering over what he’d heard and drawn him from his room when he heard Carly mumble Shaun’s name.
He pushed the door open and stepped into the room just as she said her brother’s name again. This time louder.
“Shaun. Oh, God. No! Shaun! Shaun! Shaun!”
Bull’s heart lurched with pain and grief as Shaun’s young face flashed before his eyes, but the tortured sound of Carly’s anguish nearly brought him to his knees. He hurried over to the bed and climbed up onto the mattress just as she began to curl her body into the fetal position and rock as she sobbed her heart out.
Bull’s eyes stung with tears of his own, and he tried to blink them back, but a tear welled from each eye and tracked down his cheeks. He shoved the covers aside, climbed on the bed behind Carly, and pulled her into his arms. The sobs shaking her body were so deep and guttural, as if her heart was breaking, and he had no doubt that it probably was and had.
Bull pulled her back against his chest and made shushing sounds. He held her, and when she gasped, he knew that she had finally awakened. He glanced toward the door when Ridge and Rocky entered the room and knew from the concerned looks on their faces that they’d heard her crying.
Ridge placed his gun on the bedside table and then crawled up next to Carly. Rocky got up on the end near her feet and caressed her leg over the quilt covering her lower body.
“I’m sorry,” Carly sobbed.
Ridge brushed the hair away from her face and then cupped her cheek, wiping the moisture away with his thumb. “You have nothing to be sorry for, darlin’.”
“Don’t ever feel guilty for grieving for your brother, baby.” Bull kissed her neck, his body tensing momentarily when he felt her shiver. When he felt his cock begin to twitch and tighten, he eased his groin away from her ass. The last thing she needed or probably wanted was to know he was getting horny when she was so upset.
“I miss him so much.” Carly gulped back another sob.
“We do, too, sweetheart.” Rocky rubbed his hand up to her knee and back down to her ankle.
“What am I going to do?” she whispered and blinked slowly.
“You’ll stay here with us.” Bull leaned further over her so she could meet his gaze. His breath hitched when he saw the pain in her gorgeous, bloodshot, hazel eyes. “You’ll stay so we can protect you.”
“I don’t want to put—”
“Darlin’, we’re trained Marines. No one is going to get through us to hurt you.” Ridge threaded his fingers with Carly’s, lifted her hand to his mouth, and kissed the back of it.
Bull’s heart flipped with elation when he felt her shiver, but he pushed the excitement down. He wasn’t sure if Carly was shivering because of an adrenaline crash after her dreams or if she was reacting to him and his brothers.
He wanted to tell her that they were attracted to her and that they wanted a relationship with her, but now was so not the time. She needed comfort and nurturing, but most of all, she needed to eat and put back on the weight she’d lost and rest.
“They were trained soldiers, too, but he managed to kill each and every one of them.”
“Who did he kill, baby?” Bull asked, already knowing the answer but hoping that by telling them what had happened some of the fear she lived with would wane.
“Glen Winsome, Troy Stanton, and Matt Hewitt.” Her breath hitched on the last name.
Bull tightened his arm around her waist and curled his bigger body around her petite frame, hoping that by encasing her he would make her feel safer. He could feel her trembling, and she was panting.
“He burned their homes down.” Carly began sobbing again.
Ridge moved closer to her, pushed his arm under her neck, and shoulders and tugged her half on top of him. Bull scooted closer, caressing up and down her side, trying to give her the comfort she so desperately needed.
Her tears finally slowed, and she drew in a deep, ragged breath. “If
I hadn’t gone to the shop, I would have died, too. He’s killed so many people, including the young police officer that was guarding my hospital room.” She covered her mouth as more tears trickled down her face. “He’s not going to stop until he has what he wants. He’s crazy, obsessed, and I’m so fucking scared.”
Bull had to draw in a deep breath of his own and get ahold of the fury racing through his blood. He didn’t want to frighten or upset Carly by letting her see his rage.
“We’ll protect you, sweetheart,” Rocky said in a gravelly voice.
“I know you will, but who’ll protect you?”
“We don’t need protecting, baby. We can look after ourselves.”
“That’s what Matt said, but now he’s dead. I feel so guilty.” Carly sobbed. “If that bastard wasn’t so obsessed with me, the policeman, my brother, and his friends would still be alive.”
“You don’t know that for sure, darlin’. As you said, the man is off his tree. He could have been tipped over the edge for any number of reasons. Least of all you.” Ridge kissed her forehead.
“Try telling that to the policeman’s widow and baby.”
“What?” Rocky shifted to his knees and crawled closer to Carly. “She blames you.”
Carly shook her head. “No. I don’t know. I’ve never met the woman.”
“You can’t let that guilt eat you up, baby,” Bull said quietly. “You aren’t responsible for what he’s done.”
“Logically, I know that, and I try to tell myself every single day that what Scott Gold did was out of my control, but I never manage to believe it.”
“Start believing it, sweetheart.” Rocky placed his hand on Carly’s thigh. “You’re letting that fucker win by feeling so consumed with guilt. You need to place the blame at his feet. Nothing you did or could have done would have changed what’s happened. You need to let the guilt go.”
“I know.” Carly sighed and then covered her mouth when she yawned.
Bull hoped that she would fall asleep again real soon and wasn’t plagued by the horrific nightmares again. She was so exhausted she looked almost gaunt. He wanted to see her smile and hear her laugh again. He had a feeling it was a long time since she’d done either of those things.
If they were lucky enough to have a relationship with her, he was going to work hard each and every day to make both of those small things happen.
He couldn’t believe that she was back in their lives and hoped like hell they could keep her there.
Chapter Five
Carly was so tired she felt ill, but she loved being surrounded by Ridge, Bull and Rocky. They were so big and warm, and they were also familiar. They’d all grown into tall, brawny, handsome men and her heart fluttered each time she looked at their handsome faces or into their stunning, blue eyes.
She’d had such a big crush on them when she was little, but the feelings that were developing now that they were renewing the acquaintance made those juvenile feelings pale in comparison.
She wished that they’d been able to stay in touch, but circumstances had denied such yearnings. They’d been neighbors when they lived on the outskirts of Great Falls in Montana. The Atkins brothers had moved away when they joined the military, one by one, and so had Shaun. When her mom had died after her battle with cancer, Shaun had taken personal leave to grieve and be there for her. Her father had barely managed to look her or her brother in the eye the day he’d gone back on tour. Shaun had been her rock in such an uncertain and pain-filled time and now he was gone, too.
Maybe he’d sent her to the Atkins men knowing they would look after her. She sighed as her heavy eyelids closed and prayed that her brother was happy up in Heaven with her mom and dad.
When the mattress dipped near her thigh, her eyes snapped open and her deep, even breathing escalated. Rocky was getting off the bed, and that was the first time she noticed that he and his brothers were only wearing their underwear. Her heart raced in her chest, and she licked suddenly dry lips. “Where are you going?”
Rocky turned to face her and she gulped when she saw the delineation and each striation of his washboard abs. He looked so damn sexy with his black hair, blue eyes, and bronzed skin. The Atkins had Native American ancestry in their blood and she’d thought they’d been stunning as boys. As men they took her breath away and her body felt hot and achy. Her nipples began to harden, and she shivered when her sex grew moist. A pulsing hunger started in her clit and deep inside her womb.
For the first time in her life, Carly wanted a man, men to touch her body, and the urge to blurt out her needs was a compulsion almost too strong to ignore. However, these three men had treated her like a little sister when they’d been growing up and she had no doubt that was how they still saw her.
“What’s wrong, sweetheart?” Rocky turned his body toward the door, and he looked kind of angry. His muscles were tense, his jaw clenched, and his hands were in fists. She could see each ripple and flex as his muscles moved under his skin.
“I don’t want to be alone.”
“We’ll stay with you, baby.” Bull kissed her cheek.
“I wish I could sleep with you, too, sweetheart, but there’s not enough room.” Rocky sighed with what sounded like disappointment. “If you want to be held tomorrow night, then I’m your man.” He smiled and winked at her before stalking from the room.
Carly watched the way his butt cheeks moved and flexed. There was no wiggle or jiggle because there wasn’t an ounce of fat on the man, on any of them. Their bodies were honed with bulging muscles after being in the Marines and no doubt kept that way by hard work dealing with chores on the ranch.
She sighed again, and as her eyes closed, she wished she could be more than an adopted sister. They probably had hordes of women knocking down their door. Why would they think of her any other way than what she’d been to them as a kid when they undoubtedly had their pick of women?
Carly wasn’t tall or beautiful. She was five foot five, with brown hair and hazel eyes. Boring. The Atkins men would be drawn to tall, svelte, model-thin women with blonde hair and big breasts. They were panty-soaking, drop-dead gorgeous, sex-on-a-stick men. Why would they look at a brown-haired, hazel-eyed, boring, mousy woman like her?
The last thought had her breath hitching and pain searing into her heart. She tried to stifle the sob in her chest but still ended up whimpering.
“Shh, baby. We’ve got you,” Bull crooned as he moved. The covers were pulled up higher and then she was once more cocooned in his and Ridge’s comforting heat and strength. The tension in her muscles began to seep out, and she felt herself sinking deeper and deeper into the mattress.
“That’s it, darlin’. Sleep now.” Ridge shifted until her head was resting in the crook of his shoulder and chest.
The spicy aroma of his deodorant and manly scent wrapped around her, calming her even more. When Bull moved closer, she sighed with contentment as she inhaled the citrus scent emanating from his skin, of his familiar male perfume.
Her body shuddered with sexual excitement, but she was so exhausted she felt sleep pulling her deeper and deeper into its embrace until she finally let go and slept.
* * * *
Ridge knew the moment Carly slept. He sighed with relief and adjusted his hard, aching cock. It had been difficult, but paramount, that he keep his erection away from her. She’d had so much to deal with, and he didn’t want to scare her off by his body’s reaction to her. She already had a madman after her and didn’t need his desire exacerbating her discomfort.
When she shifted in her sleep and moaned, Ridge had to bite his tongue so he wouldn’t groan in response.
“Geezus,” Bull whispered in a hoarse voice. “She’s wiggling that sweet ass into my groin.”
“Lucky bastard,” Ridge murmured.
“You wouldn’t be saying that if it was you.” Bull moved his lower half away from Carly.
Ridge lifted his head from the pillow and chuckled when she rolled over and draped herself ov
er Bull. He scooted closer and spooned her from behind. He was the one groaning when she pushed her peach-shaped, toned ass into his groin, causing his cock to ache and twitch. Bull chuckled as he smirked at him.
“Serves you… Oh. Fuck. Me.” Bull growled low in his throat and when Ridge met his brother’s gaze, he nearly burst out laughing. Bull looked as if he was being tortured, but in reality, Ridge knew he was lapping up each and every connection he had with Carly, just as he was. Carly had slung her leg over Bull’s hips, and from the position of her leg, it seemed as if she had her thigh right on top of Bull’s hard cock.
“She’s so restless, even in her sleep.” Ridge buried his face in Carly’s hair and neck before inhaling deeply through his nose. “Fuck! She smells like sex and innocence.”
“Yeah,” Bull agreed. “Do you think we have a chance?”
“How the fuck am I supposed to answer that?” Ridge snapped. “Sorry. She’s driving me fucking insane.”
“Me, too,” Bull replied. “But I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
“Me neither.” Ridge lowered his head to the pillow.
“We need to tell her about the ménages in town.”
“Don’t you think it’s a little early for that?”
“Shit! I don’t know. The women we’ve dealt with previously knew the score. This is so out of our realm. I’m scared of losing her.”
“Yeah.” Ridge drew a deep breath. “Get some sleep. Tomorrow is going to be a long day for all of us.”
“Especially Carly.”
Ridge nodded and closed his eyes. He hoped that Carly wouldn’t be upset with them when the sheriffs arrived.