by Shae Shannon
“Besides from the fact that no one is allowed to speak to you until you have consumed at least one cup, you look like walking death.” He kissed her on the top of the head. “Gorgeous death, but death. Your poor face looks miserable, darlin’.”
“Words every woman wants to hear. I feel worse than death. Between the alcohol and the huge baseballs attached to my face, my head is going to explode like a zit at any moment.” She slowly made her way over to the table and sat down, realizing that Dixon wasn’t present. She almost asked about his absence, but after the flood of puzzle pieces that had begun to connect her memory, she thought better of it and kept her mouth shut. Lyndon handed her a bottle of headache pills, and she accepted them gratefully. She offered a small smile, which took more energy than she had at the moment.
“Emmie love, you need to eat. It will make you feel better. Here, get this in your tummy.” Lillian sat a heaping plate of sausage, eggs, toast, and warm biscuits in front of her.
“Thank you. It looks amazing, but I am not sure how my stomach is going to react. I think the whisky burnt the lining out of it last night. Now I remember why I only drink like that a couple times a year.” Lilly patted her sympathetically on the shoulder, and walked back in the kitchen to get the next batch of cinnamon rolls out.
“Dang, Mom. You never babied us like this when we come in hungover.” Jase’s pout made her smile.
“You boys came dragging in every morning tore up, and sometimes still drunk. Emmie doesn’t make it a habit. Plus, she had some no-good asshole use her as a punching bag. Most of all, she is a lot cuter than any of you brutes.” Her eyes twinkled at the boys, and she sent a wink to Emmie. All of the men chuckled, and began chatting about the livestock.
Jase had moved to stand behind EmmaLee, and was gently massaging her shoulders. When she had walked in, his stomach hit the floor. Her face was so badly bruised and swollen he wanted to pick her up and make her go back to bed. Trent would definitely be getting another visit soon. They would make sure that the bastard thought twice before raising a hand to a woman again.
“Boys, I think my nephews might need a hand on the chores today. I know it was still their day to pick up some slack, but my sister called in a fuss. Johnny is out trying to manage it all himself. The other two are passed out in the bed of the truck still. They started throwing up on the way home, so he tossed them in the back and didn’t bother hauling their butts in the house last night. Jennie is livid. Can’t say I blame the boy, I would have left them out there, too.” Jeremy took a pull off of his coffee and leaned back in his normal position, with his feet straight out and crossed.
“Well hell, Dad. If we gotta go fix fence and do chores, I am going over to wake up the sleeping princesses to help. Them little pissants aren’t getting off that easy. A water hose will cure whatever ails them.” Lyndon grinned in anticipation.
When Lilly walked out of the room, Jeremy leaned in and whispered, “However you boys need to get things done, do it. I know I would do more than hose them down, but that’s me. If your momma or Jennie find out, I plead the fifth.” The soft lines in his features drew up, bringing his warm smile up to his eyes. He turned toward EmmaLee, and patted her hand. “I heard you had a rough time last night, sweetheart. I am glad the boys took care of it. After breakfast I want you to go back down and get some rest today. Ain’t no reason you need to be out in the sun all beat up like you are. The boys got things under control.”
“I am fine, but thank you, Dad. I can pull my weight around here. You taught me to dust my britches off and get my butt back in the saddle. I ain’t about to quit taking that advice now.” She stood and gave him a peck on the cheek, before taking care of her breakfast dishes and grabbing more coffee.
Lyndon had followed her behind the counter, and pinned her in the corner. With his voice low enough the others wouldn’t hear, he whispered, “I missed you last night. Jase and I both wanted to stay but you were a bit frisky. And hammered. Extremely hammered. When you are with us for the first time, I want you to feel every single touch. I want it to be etched in your memory forever.”
“How very gentlemanly of you guys. I am glad because that is something I have dreamt of since puberty. I need to see if you live up to the fantasies I have had all these years.” Her teeth tugged at her bottom lip in a sexy little tease.
“Oh, we will do that and so much more.” He leaned in and kissed her. She pulled away with a look of surprise, darting her eyes over to make sure Jeremy hadn’t seen. Lyndon didn’t let her get far before he attacked her lips in a discipline of sorts for attempting to flee him.
EmmaLee became his prey, molding like putty in his hands. It was useless trying to evade him. Once his hot mouth came over hers, she was lost. He taunted and teased her lips with the soft tip of his tongue, darting it along the seam but never plunging into her anticipating mouth. Frustration began to mount in her, releasing a pent up determination that wracked her soul. She snaked her arms around his neck and pulled him in closer. Her breasts pressed against his chest in an unspoken taunting invitation. She took hold of the situation and slipped her tongue between his lips, spelunking through his delicious cavern. He immediately responded, shocking her to the core. His large hand curled around the nape of her neck, firmly holding her captive while he took the control away. Lyndon’s hot mouth worked her higher and higher into a frenzy of need. His firm touches left her vulnerable, which both shocked and scared her. As soon as it had started, it ended. He pulled away, leaving her in a puddle of frustrated arousal. She shot him a questioning, desperate look in attempts of making him finish what he had started. He grinned the biggest, goofiest, toothy smile she had ever seen. If it wasn’t for the strong ache that made itself well known in her throbbing sex, EmmaLee would have found it adorable. At this particular moment, it twisted her panties in a wad and sunk her in a pout. Amusement was written all over his face. With a pissy huff, she turned and finished cleaning up. She was grateful the others had ignored their morning make out session, and still continued rambling about the day’s chore schedule. Jase and Lyndon appeared deeply in thought as the conversation carried on, except she caught their occasional intense stares watching her from time to time. Their heated gazes followed her movements, leaving no question as to their intentions. Their effects beaconed off of her like a neon sign. She fumbled, tripped, and dropped everything she came in contact with.
EmmaLee focused all of her attention on the dishes and cleaning, hoping that it wasn’t obvious to the world that her pussy had become the Nile River, and her misfortunate panties a lake of need. The voices in the room were a distant hum. Jeremy’s voice cut through her ridiculous concentration on the overly clean pan she had a death grip on and still continued to scrub.
“Emmie? Did you hear me?” Concern furrowed his brow.
“Oh, uh, no, sorry. I was spacing. What’s up?” She nervously rinsed and dried the large frying pan and put it up.
“Are you okay? Never mind, I think you need to go lay down, girl.”
“No, I’m fine, really. My head is still in a fog, that’s all. What’s on my agenda today?” She plastered the best smile she could mask, and tried to look chipper.
“This afternoon, after you have rested, I was wondering if you would ride out and check on the calves.”
“Sure, I will go shortly. I have wanted to get out there and see the cute little boogers. I will take care of the watering and clean the barn out. Is there a broken fence down that way?” From the look on Jeremy’s face, he wasn’t buying her little charade.
“Emmie, who taught you how to play poker?” Jeremy crossed his arms.
His odd question threw her off. “You did, why?”
“That’s right. And what is the one thing I told you that gives your bluff away every time?”
She thought a moment, trying to figure out where this conversation was heading. “That I look like a sucker fish when I am bluffing and I chew on my lip when I have something bigger than two pair?”
Laughter vibrated through him. “Well, I guess that is part of it. What I am getting at is your poker face sucks. I know you hurt, are tired, and feel like crap. I know you are a hard worker. Hell, you work harder than these goons put together. But I want you to rest today, do you understand?” His tone fell into a fatherly command.
She fell back and slumped against the counter. “Yes, sir.” She absolutely hated that she didn’t have an income to help out. It was bad enough they had bought her a new truck, given her an apartment, provided food, and gave her a paycheck for personal items.
“Good. Boys, be over at Johnny’s by ten. I am going to go find my lovely wife, and head out to work on the tractor. I mean it EmmaLee, check on the cows, that’s all.” He dropped a kiss on the top of her head as he walked by.
“See you in a few, Dad.” Lyndon called out.
EmmaLee topped off her coffee cup, and plunked down in the chair between Jase and Lyndon. They both automatically moved to touch her. Lyndon’s hand dropped to her thigh, sending immediate tingles upwards to the V between her legs. Jase threaded his fingers through hers, making her feel wanted and loved. These two were showing her affection because they cared about her. Not because they were trying to get in her pants, not because they wanted something. Just…because. Her heart swelled in her chest. She didn’t dare confess her feelings, and yet she knew that they were feeling the same thing. It was crazy that within just a few days’ time, her life had turned upside down. On top of her career change, move, and the life altering realization that she did belong, her so-called brothers had become the men that held her heart. They always had, but now it was a reality instead of just a fantasy for her. She smiled at them both, hoping they could see how much their simple gestures meant to her. She wanted to say something, but couldn’t seem to get words to form.
As if on cue, Jase filled the silence. “I sure was worried about you last night, sugar. I wanted nothing more than to sleep cuddled up to your side.”
“I want to say that I missed you both, too, but I honestly don’t remember anything. Lyndon mentioned how I kept trying to rape you guys. I…don’t exactly know what to say except I’m sorry…I was really drunk and…”
“Don’t apologize, Emm. Believe me, if you would have been coherent, we would have let you have your wicked ways with us. You were too drunk and without us knowing for sure that’s what you wanted, there was no way we could take advantage of the situation, no matter how bad we want you.” Jase gave her hand a little squeeze and pulled it to his mouth to lay a smacking kiss on the back.
“Well, thank you guys for defending my honor while I was trying to molest you both. Oh, and thank you for taking care of me last night. Somehow you even put my favorite pajama shirt on. I think the bandages and ointment kept my face from looking like something out of a horror movie this morning, too. It was so sweet of y’all to do all of that.” Their faces went blank. Had she said something wrong? They sat there, staring at her for the longest time. They looked between each other and back to her, appearing confused. “Didn’t you guys wash my makeup off? Change my clothes?” Their silence carried on.
Finally, Lyndon shook his head and looked at Jase. “It wasn’t me either, Emm. Not that we wouldn’t have, but Dixon carried you in last night. We went on to bed.”
“Dixon undressed me?” Her eyes bugged out of her head.
“I guess so, doll. No worries, there is no way he would take advantage of you in any way, you know that right?” Jase was now leaning forward in his chair, heedfully stroking her hand.
“Ya…” Her voice faded out softly. She dug down into the subconscious memories of the previous night, attempting to recall Dixon in her room. Like an old Rolodex, visions flipped through her head. Out of nowhere, it hit. “Oh no…oh no no no no no!” Panic spread over her with urgency, sending bile shooting up in her throat.
“What’s wrong?” Lyndon stiffened, automatically changing into protector mode.
“Oh, nothing, just that I remember puking my guts up and someone helping me. It is patchy, but that means that Dixon was the one holding my head from dunking in the toilet. It means that he witnessed alcohol shooting out my nose, and had to clean up barf. No wonder he isn’t here this morning. I wouldn’t blame him if he never wants to see me again after all of that.” She covered her head with both hands and rested it on the table.
“Oh, darlin’, I highly doubt he is upset over a little throw up. Dixon had to run to town earlier for supplies. He has had plenty of experience with alcohol heaves, I promise you that.” Jase ran his hand up and down her spine reassuringly.
EmmaLee could tell Jase was holding something back. Lyndon had kept quiet also, throwing up even more red flags. They knew something and were keeping her in the dark. “Spit it out, boys.”
“What are you talking about, Emms?” Lyndon’s voice was higher and sugarcoated, and so not Lyndon.
“First off, you never call me Emms unless you are hiding something. Second, you just sounded like a pubescent teenage girl. So, spill it, whatever it is.” Her head raised off the table to make eye contact, confirming any doubt that she wouldn’t drop the subject until they confessed.
“Baby, he is in love with you.”
“No. Sorry, but you are wrong, Lyndon. He has made it perfectly clear for a very long time that I am just family, and I am his baby sister. And, now I think he is pissed at me.” Tears welled in the back of her eyes and her throat restricted. She tried to wipe her eyes before any had a chance to escape, but a few lone drops streaked down her cheeks. Jase and Lyndon both got up simultaneously. Lyndon picked her up and carried her to the front room. They sat her in between them, snuggling her into the protective shield of their muscular bodies.
“Shh, baby. Listen, he isn’t mad at you for anything. If he is pissy it is only because he is mad at himself. He is in denial, and the longer he goes without you, the more torment he endures. He will come around, I promise. You do love Dixon, too, don’t you?” Jase’s words shook on the last set of words he spoke.
If EmmaLee didn’t know better, he sounded almost afraid of her answer. She looked down at her wringing hands and sighed. Her heart ached in fear of losing the two men next to her. She needed to tell them why Dixon was upset, but her voice came out in a squeak. After a few tries, she finally managed to speak. “Of course I do. I have been in love with all three of you for so, so long. I knew that I would never be good enough for any of you, let alone all three. Dixon is angry because I am ruining both of your lives. He has every right to be, but I can’t fight what is in my heart. You both do deserve better, but I love you.” A fountain of more tears drenched her blotchy, bruised, and battered face. “I see the way he looks at me, and it rips my soul out.” Wails wracked her shoulders, freeing the pent up sorrow and heartache in a volcanic eruption. Both men encased her in their huge arms, holding her tightly. Jase feathered kisses on her head, and Lyndon rubbed soothing patterns on her thigh.
“Shh, no more tears, baby. We got you.” Lyndon showed sensitivity no other had seen.
Jase was dumbfounded. How could such a sweet, innocent, amazing woman possibly think that she wasn’t enough for anyone? Her insecurities and self-image pissed him off to the core. Had no one shown her how wonderful she was? How in the heck could she not see what an amazing woman she was? His heart ached. If anything, she deserved better than him and his brothers. It would be his sole mission in life to show her just how amazing she was. “Emmie, stop it now.” His gruff, even voice caught her attention. Her head snapped up, with fear of the unknown washed over her delicate face. In a dominating, commanding tone, he said, “Listen to me now. Do not ever say those words again. You are more than any of us deserve. You are beautiful, smart, sweet, and have the biggest heart I have ever seen. Dixon is fighting what he thinks is right and what he wants. He wants you, Emmie. We want you. You are ours, forever. Do you understand that?” She slowly shook her head. He narrowed his eyes, and asked again. “Answer me.”
Her mouth dropped open in shock. He had never let her see this side of him, but it was time to get her used to it. In the quietest whisper he had ever heard, she answered, “Yes.”
Lyndon stood up in front of her and extended his hand. She took it, slowly and undetermined. Without a word, he picked her up and carried her down to her apartment. Jase followed, keeping the silence until they had entered and locked the door. They left her standing in the middle of the room, and sat on the small brown sofa. She stared at them wide-eyed, looking between them and the door.
Lyndon’s determination fueled him, igniting the dominance inside. Both men had come to a silent agreement that he was in charge. They had to break her out of her shell and build her back up from scratch. Lyndon looked her up and down. In the same deep, firm tone, he said, “Strip for us, Emmie. Take your clothes off, nice and slow, and walk over to the bed. I want you to sit on your knees, with your hands gripping the wood slats in the headboard.” If her eyes could jump from their sockets, that was what they would look like just before they took the leap. Her jaw now hung fully extended. Panic flashed through the chocolate pools of her eyes. She stood, planted in place and fear. Her face had drained of color and left her pale as a ghost. “Now, EmmaLee.” Lyndon’s commanding voice made her jump. She kicked off her shoes and pushed them to the side. Her little hands trembled trying to open the button on her jeans. Her face had changed an all-new shade of crimson, but with her lips pursed, she pressed on. She eased her jeans over her hips, shimmying them off over the length of her soft, long legs.
Lyndon’s cock ground against his zipper, begging to spring free. One look at his brother and he knew he was enduring the same sweet agony. He kept his eyes narrowed, staring intently on her every movement. He almost lost all composure when her teeth caught the tender flesh of her bottom lip. He had to give it to her, it was evident she was scared, and yet she sucked it up and marched on. Admiration swelled in him. She had managed to kick off her blue jeans, and as instructed, slowly crept her shirt up and over her head. Both he and Jase sucked in a breath at the same time. She was un-fucking-believable. Her curves dipped in perfect proportion. She had full, lush breasts that barely remained in the confinements of the purple silk bra. He drew his eyes the length of her, taking every tempting, delicious inch of skin. Her body was un-fucking-believable. He remained in control, willing his eyes to roam slow and deliberate, wanting her to feel the heat of his desire. His dick almost exploded in his jeans. She wasn’t wearing any panties, which left her smoothly shaven pussy bare and on display. Pre-cum oozed out, soaking the front of his jeans. Discovering the missing garment made Jase think EmmaLee was a woman after his true heart. He never understood why people wore the confining, uncomfortable things. They were sexy on girls, but naked was sexier. Her hands reached back and unlatched the hooks of her bra, sending both perfect breasts free. He muffled a moan at the sight of the tight, pale pink buds that stood at attention. Out of the corner of his eye, Jase was licking his lips at the tasty sight. She turned all too soon and walked over to the bed. With her ass pointing toward them, she crawled on her hands and knees into the center, and reached up to grab the headboard. Her glistening pussy sat on display for them to take in.