Wyne and Chocolate (Citizen Soldier Series Book 2)

by Michaels, Donna

“Ah, Jill, step into my heated lair.” His oldest brother Ethan smiled as he rushed to open the door to the running vehicle parked facing the front of his on the deserted interstate.

  “I doubt she’s cold,” Keiffer said, twisting around so his cargo could climb into the Humvee. “She had Mason and his penises to keep her warm.”

  Flipping his grinning sibling not one, but two birds, which wasn’t easy clutching the damn dicks, he marched passed the two laughing guardsman and leaned inside the vehicle to hand the blushing woman her molds. “Good luck with your deadline. Make sure you get your nose looked at.”

  “I’m fine.”

  “No. You crashed your vehicle and need to be checked out.” He stared at her long and hard, all the while knowing the stubborn woman was going to do whatever the hell she wanted.

  Before she could respond, he slammed the door and turned to his older brother, not bothering to hide his sudden annoyance. “I don’t give a damn what she says. You make sure she’s checked out.”

  Ethan nodded. “Of course, don’t worry. I’ll handle it. Unless you want to ride back into town with—”

  “No.” Hell no. The last thing he needed was to be around the woman any longer. Thank God his younger brother had interrupted his moment of weakness. “I’m sure Greg is almost done fixing my ride.” He strode to Keiffer’s buddy. The guardsman was a gifted mechanic like his younger brother. There wasn’t anything those two couldn’t take apart and put back together. The former was currently bent over the opened hood of the broken vehicle, applying his magical fix-it powers.

  Christ, that’s exactly how he’d felt with Jill on his lap, gazing into his eyes, her warmth seeping past his walls, aiming straight for his busted heart with her magical healing powers.

  No thanks. He’d done the let the woman into his heart thing. It hadn’t worked out so well.

  “Yeah. That should do it.” The younger guardsman nodded and stood back. “Give it a try, Keif.”

  Mason watched as his brother climbed into the dead vehicle, and cranked it over in one try. “You are a genius like my brother, Greg. Thanks.” He slapped the guy on his back and turned to Ethan. “You two take Jill straight to the hospital and make sure she’s examined. Keiffer and I will continue on our patrol.”

  Out in the storm. Where it was a hell of a lot safer away from the sweet woman and her tempting curves.

  Chapter Three

  It had been three days since Jill had become intimate with the pothole.

  Airbag.

  Mason Wyne’s warm, hard lap.

  Of the three, the yummy guardsman was the most enjoyable. So much so, it fueled her dreams the past two nights, and she’d awoken all warm and tingly.

  “What’s the smile for?” Lea asked, ushering her out of the cold and through the door of The Pocono Eatery, the restaurant the Gablonskis owned and where her friend occasionally waitressed when the history major wasn’t in New York City working at one of the museums. “Are you anticipating my dad’s famous breakfast?”

  “Absolutely.” Not. But it was better than admitting the truth. She’d been thinking about her friend’s future brother-in-law.

  Lea was seeing Sgt. Benjamin Wyne, one of Mason’s older brothers. And, well, she assumed marriage was in their future. Practically inseparable since Lea moved to the Big Apple last year, the couple took turns commuting between an apartment in the city and Ben’s cabin here in the Poconos because the guardsman worked full time at the armory across the street.

  “Good.” Her friend smiled. “I’m glad you decided to have breakfast with me.”

  She snorted. “Like I had a choice.”

  The stunning, blue-eyed brunette had practically pulled her down the two blocks that separated their businesses. If it had been up to her, she would be home, or in the back of her shop searching for the pin she’d misplaced since her accident, not out in public. Bad enough she had to leave poor Theresa alone at Confection Connection again. Her only worker insisted she was fine, and ran the place the last two days while Jill had been fulfilling her big order. But, even when she’d finished the order, she’d stayed in the back. Guilt clawed at her insides for worrying more about her appearance than her helper.

  Today, she decided to take the plunge—into the public eye—thanks to her friend’s insistence. She loved Gabe’s pancakes; she just didn’t want everyone to see the two black eyes hidden behind her mirrored sunglasses, courtesy of the dang airbag.

  After waiving to Lea’s father smiling at them from behind the counter, they headed for one of the red vinyl booths with a table covered in a cute red and white checkered tablecloth.

  “And stop worrying about your face. This place sits across from the armory, so believe me, it’s seen more than its fair share of bruised customers over the years.” Lea grinned, sitting down. “Besides, you just finished your biggest order to date. You deserve to celebrate with your friend. Breakfast is my treat.”

  “And right here.” Gwen Gablonski, Lea’s older sister, and Jill’s other friend, appeared out of nowhere with a tray of delicious smelling food.

  “How’d you know?” she asked the stunning blonde who, until recently, had been a super model traveling around the world. “We didn’t even place an order yet.”

  “Lea called ahead.”

  A simple act. One people here did every day. Not Jill. She didn’t have friends. Well, not before moving to the Poconos. Now she had two. It was strange, but in a good way.

  “Thanks.” She smiled at both women, fighting back the sting of tears, doing her best to hide the unexpected rush of emotions.

  Lea frowned. “What’s wrong?”

  Something must’ve shown on her face, despite her mirrored glasses. “Nothing. Sorry. I’m just not used to…”

  “What? A friend?” Now Gwen was frowning. “Someone who’s happy for you?”

  “Someone who has your back?”

  “Yeah. You could say that.” She held in the snort that threatened.

  More like she was used to watching her back. Not trusting people. Keeping her gaze on everyone. Not letting her guard down. Heck, even now she knew there were two exits, one to the street that she had to zig then zag around two tables to depart; the other through a door on a south-facing wall in the kitchen, which lead to an alley out back. There were two customers eating at the counter, one was left-handed, but must have shoulder trouble because he was eating haphazardly with his right hand, the other walked with a limp and used a cane. And the two older ladies drinking tea in the corner booth were stalling, killing time, but for what, Jill had no idea.

  God, she was pathetic.

  “Look, Jill.” The dark-haired sister cocked her head. “I know you’ve had to fend for yourself most of your life.”

  She reeled back, mostly due to the heart-rocking in her chest. “How…” could the woman possibly know that?

  “Your cousin Nico doesn’t mince words.”

  She blew out a breath and nodded. “True. He doesn’t. I’m not sure what he said about my mom, but she never really recovered from losing my dad.” Heat infused her face faster than the wind blowing flurries around outside as old mortifications rushed to the surface.

  “He didn’t say anything about her, but I get that.” A sad smile tugged Lea’s lips as she glanced at her father.

  “We both do,” Gwen said, shifting her feet. “Our dad hasn’t been the same since Mom died.”

  The two sisters shared a look before their attention returned to her, remnants of a helpless pain she knew all too well dulling their beautiful blue gazes.

  “I was talking about your ex-husband,” Lea stated quietly. “I’m sorry you had to deal with his gambling issues.”

  So was Nico. In fact, Jill had heard his friend, who happened to be a cop, apparently had to physically stop her cousin from heading to the city when she’d been forced to call her uncle for advice.

  “You know none of it was your fault, right?” The kind brunette reached across the table to squeeze her
hand.

  Uncle Al and her cousins were the only ones to ever tell her that. She was not used to having someone non-related in her corner. To have her back, as the sisters had mentioned.

  The stinging returned behind her eyelids. Darn it. “It takes two to make a marriage. Maybe if I had pushed harder to have Donny seek help in the beginning he’d—”

  “No.” Lea shook her head and tightened her hold on Jill’s hand. “Don’t do that to yourself.”

  Gwen set a hand on her shoulder and stared down at her. “My sister’s right, Jill. Gambling is an addiction like alcohol and drugs. The person has to want help, to seek help, or no amount of counseling will work.”

  The former model sounded as if she was speaking from experience, and apparently Jill wasn’t the only one who picked up on the sad tone. Lea was now studying her sister closely.

  “What happened, Gwen?” The brunette released her to grab her sister’s wrist before the pale woman could walk away. “And don’t tell me nothing. Successful super models don’t just up and quit the business to go home and wait tables.”

  The stunning woman shook her head. “I’m not ready to talk about it, yet.”

  Lea sighed. “Okay. But you know you can tell me anything.”

  Nodding, the blonde blinked away a sheen of tears from her eyes, and Jill’s heart ached for the waitress, totally understanding deep pain and the need to keep it to yourself.

  “And me, too,” Jill rushed to say. “That’s what friends are for, right? To have each others’ backs?”

  Gwen smiled a real smile that reached her eyes. “Right,” she said, stepping closer to the table. “We do, so, just remember, that goes both ways.”

  “Got it.” She nodded.

  “Okay. I’d better get back in the kitchen before Dad decides to rearrange the spices again.” The beauty winked at them before walking away.

  Lea leveled her with a look, gratification warming her troubled gaze. “Thanks for backing me up with Gwen. I know something’s wrong, but she won’t talk about it.”

  “No problem,” she said. “I got the same impression.”

  Her friend nodded, then blew out a breath and smiled. “All right, enough with the past. This is a celebratory breakfast. Let’s eat while the food is moderately warm. Did you bring what I asked?”

  “Yep.” She withdrew a small container of her special melted chocolate from her purse and handed it to her friend. “Bon appetite.”

  “Amen. Your chocolate rules.” Lea swiped the container from her hands then poured most the contents on a stack of pancakes before handing it back to Jill.

  She laughed and emptied the contents on her food.

  Three quarters of the way through her delicious stack of chocolate covered chocolate chip pancakes, she glanced up as the door open and half the Wyne brothers walked in. The middle ones. Mason and Ben, who zagged then zigged to their table while awareness travelled the same haphazard path straight to Jill’s good parts.

  Stupid body always had that reaction whenever Mason entered a room. He changed the atmosphere…the ingredients. His irresistible presence mixed with hers to cause a chemical reaction she was clueless to dissect. So she’d learned to ignore it as best she could.

  From a safe distance.

  That strategy had seen her through the past year, but was impossible to carry out when the enigmatic man dropped into the booth beside her as his brother slid in next to a grinning Lea.

  “Hey, handsome,” her friend said before laying a lip-lock on the guy.

  Blushing, Jill returned her attention to her plate and stared at her decimated pancakes, unsure if the couple’s enthusiasm was the cause of her flush, or Mason. The man was hot. Literally. Heat seeped into her wherever their bodies brushed, making her nice and toasty…and hungry.

  The sudden urge to decimate him was new.

  She could feel his attention on her, so she pushed her sunglasses up her nose and continued to stare at her plate, willing the tempting man to look away. Think of something else. Anything else.

  The cold weather. It was cold. And snowy.

  The hottie next to her could keep her warm.

  Dang, that wasn’t working. Her car, or lack thereof. Her insurance company had declared it totaled and would be issuing a check within the next ten days. Too bad she didn’t have the rental car clause in it. Dummy. Luckily, Lea had insisted Jill use her car in the meantime, since she and Ben commuted by bus to the big city.

  Oh, sweet baby Jesus, Mason was leaning closer.

  “Nice look. Wild night?”

  While his low, sexy tone turned her insides to mush, she turned to him and shook her head. “N-no. Of course not. What are you talking about?”

  “Your shades. Not exactly an indoor requirement.”

  She smiled. “Sure they are, if you’re trying not to scare Gabe’s customers out the door.” Or to keep everyone from tasting their food a second time.”

  “Come on. Your nose can’t be that bad.”

  “No. It’s worse.”

  Of course, he wasn’t the type to take her word for it. No. The bugger reached right up and slipped off her glasses.

  Then grimaced.

  “See? I don’t exaggerate,” she said, trying to retrieve her camouflage from him, face heating further.

  Easily outmaneuvered, she stilled when he used his other hand to gently touch her face. She didn’t even dare to breathe as his thumb lightly brushed her cheek.

  “Does it hurt much?”

  His nearness and tender touch fogged her brain, and his words barely made it through, let alone made sense. “What?”

  “Your nose.”

  “Oh…no…it’s fine as long as I don’t sneeze,” she stammered before sucking in a much needed breath and discovered her nose definitely still worked. His woodsy, yummy male scent engulfed and teased in a most pleasant way.

  “It’s going to look worse before it gets better,” he informed with a slight grin.

  “How?”

  His thumb feathered over her skin. “This black and blue will turn an ugly yellow/brown.”

  “Great. I take it we’re not talking about a chocolate brown,” she continued to babble, trying desperately to appear in control, despite her hammering pulse and fluttering stomach.

  He was still touching her, like he couldn’t help it. Very unlike the aloof Wyne that kept to himself the past year.

  Apparently, their audience agreed, because both Lea and Ben had stopped kissing and were staring at them with opened interest.

  “Hey, great shiners, Jill.”

  She turned her attention to Keiffer as he strode toward their table, big grin on his face.

  “I’d definitely say the airbag won.”

  Mason dropped his hand and settled back in his seat. She told herself she was happy his warmth disappeared, after all, she found it easier to breath. And think.

  “I agree. “ She returned the youngest Wyne’s infectious smile. “It was nice of your brother to avenge me, though.”

  Kieffer laughed. Lea and Ben continued to watch on with interest, and Mason just frowned at her. She grabbed her glasses from him and slipped them back on her face as she bumped shoulders with the sourpuss.

  “You killed it, remember?”

  “Yeah, Mase.” The good-natured brother chuckled. “You stabbed Jill’s attacker and put it out of her misery…before climbing into the busted vehicle to keep her warm.”

  He reeled back. “Jesus, Keiffer. You know that’s not what happened.”

  Anger tightened her rescuer’s mouth. Apparently, he was just as unhappy as her to have their business announced to the occupants of the diner. And the four customers were definitely listening, if their grins were any indication. Even Gabe was smiling behind the counter.

  Great.

  “I climbed in to check her for other injuries,” Mason valiantly stated.

  Ben slung his arm around Lea and grinned. “Oh, is that what they’re calling it now?”

  �
�Ah, hell, not you, too.” Muttering a curse, the unhappy man next to her sat back in his seat and spared her a sideways glance. “Sorry, Jill, there’s no reasoning with them when they’re like this. I’ve no idea why they’re giving me such a hard time. You were stranded. It was my duty…a duty each of my brothers has performed over the years. Christ.” He blew out a breath and leveled his accuser with a look. “You make it sound like I copped a feel.”

  Oh, Lordy. Her heart rocked as several thoughts rushed through her head, but only one stuck. A bad one.

  If only he had…

  “Well I hate to disappoint you little brother, but I didn’t,” Mason stated. “Isn’t that right, Jill?”

  He turned to stare at her, and darn it, her cheeks flamed as images, inspired by that bad thought, flashed through her mind, tempting, teasing, making her neglected body wish they were real.

  “Yes…that’s right.” She nodded, her dang lips too loose to rein in. “But no one’s copped a feel in so long, I’m not sure I’d know it.”

  Just kill me now.

  Instead of mortifying her with laughter, the enthralling man leaned closer, gaze direct, unwavering. Sinful. “Trust me, Jill Bailey, if I copped a feel, you’d know.”

  It was a good thing she was sitting down, because her legs were suddenly boneless. They disintegrated, along with her air supply.

  “And that’s my cue to grab the breakfast sandwiches I came to pick up for me and Greg,” Keiffer said, his announcement filtering into her brain from far away.

  “What is he working on this week?” Ben asked, taking the focus off her.

  Thank God.

  Still holding Mason’s delectable, hot gaze, she was unable to do more than listen to the conversation going on around them. And talk her lungs into breathing.

  “A 1970 Oldsmobile 442,” the younger Wyne replied.

  Ben whistled.

  Even Mason broke eye contact to stare at his brother, envy lighting his gaze. “Convertible?”

  “No. Hardtop with a W-25 ram-air option,” Keiffer replied with a grin, and he might as well have been speaking a foreign language because none of it made any sense to Jill. “And I should get going. The special order part I just picked up from the post office isn’t going to install itself.”