by Marla Monroe
She needed to go to the bathroom and dreaded what sort of drama that would cause. She didn’t know whether to just get up and walk in that direction or ask permission. It irked her to no end that she felt like a prisoner. Well, she wasn’t going to act like one. She threw the covers off and started to swing her legs over the edge of the bed. Before she had even gotten one toe off, Paul was by her side.
“What are you doing?”
“I need to go to the bathroom, and I don’t need help to do that.”
“You can’t walk on that leg. I’ll carry you.”
“I can walk, Paul. I’m not an invalid.” She stood up despite his attempts to stop her and smiled at him.
As soon as she took a step using her injured leg, the pain nearly caused her to pass out. She would have hit the floor had Paul not been ready to catch her. To his credit, he didn’t look smug or say I told you so. Instead, he effortlessly carried her into the bathroom and stood her by the toilet.
“Thanks. I can get it from here.” She refused to look at him before he turned and left her, closing the door softly behind him.
“Just call me when you’re finished, Lana. I’ll wait right here for you.” She cringed, knowing if she could hear him through the door he could hear her as well.
After finishing, she stood up and hopped over to the sink to wash her hands then she called out for Paul. He didn’t say anything about how she’d gotten to the sink, only lifted an eyebrow and shook his head before picking her up once again. She could tell he was frustrated with her refusal to admit that she needed assistance. She couldn’t help it. She’d always taken care of herself and later, her mom. It was a part of her, and asking for assistance with something as simple as getting to the bathroom just didn’t sit well with her.
He didn’t return her to the bed, much to her surprise. Instead, he carried her into the living room and settled her on the couch, covering her with a throw off the back of the couch.
“I’m going to start dinner. I can’t trust you to stay in bed, so I figured that letting you stay on the couch is a good compromise. I can watch you, and you aren’t all alone in the bedroom to think up ways to get into trouble.”
She gasped. “I don’t do that.”
His mouth turned up in a small smile before he covered it up. “It seems like it. Now rest while I cook. We can talk if you want to.”
She watched him walk toward the kitchen and instantly missed his presence near her. She huffed out a breath and situated herself on the couch to her satisfaction. She realized that she hadn’t seen Justin in a few hours and wondered where he was.
“Paul? Where is Justin?”
“Do you miss him, babe?”
“Just wondering where he is.”
“He’ll be back in a little while.”
She frowned. That didn’t tell her where he was. Not that it was any of her business what he did with his time, but they had said they had taken off to take care of her today. It hit her that she was being a baby now.
“When were you supposed to work at The Burger Hop again?” Paul’s voice pulled her from her musings.
“I work Thursday and Friday nights ’til close.”
“We better call Rick and let him know you’re not going to be able to work it. You can’t stand on your leg like that.”
It was right on the tip of her tongue to tell Paul he couldn’t tell her what to do, but in this instance, he was right. She wouldn’t be able to handle several hours, much less four or five on her injured leg.
“You’re right. I’ll call him now so he’ll have time to find someone to cover my shifts.” She started to get up then thought better of it. “Can I borrow your phone, Paul?”
“Good girl.” His full smile transformed his normally stoic expression into something amazing. “I’ll bring it to you.”
She couldn’t help but stare at him when he held out his cell phone for her to use. He was even more handsome than she had originally thought.
“Um, Lana?”
She closed her mouth and took the phone. “Thanks.”
She watched as he nodded and headed back to the kitchen. She quickly dialed the number to The Burger Hop and waited for someone to answer. One of the employees picked up and put her on hold while they got Rick on the line.
“This is Rick.”
“Rick, it’s Lana. I’ve hurt my leg and won’t be able to work Thursday or Friday after all. I’m really sorry…”
“What happened? How did you get hurt?”
“Someone broke into my apartment and attacked me. I’m okay, but I won’t be able to cover my shift after all.”
“Are you sure you’re okay? Do you need anything?” Rick actually sounded worried. It threw her for a loop.
“I’m fine, Rick. I’m staying with Paul and Justin. They wouldn’t let me back in my apartment yet.” There was silence on the other end of the phone for a few seconds. “Rick? Are you still there?”
“You know that if word gets out that you are staying with them everyone will believe you’re sleeping with them.”
“Rick. It really doesn’t matter what anyone else thinks. It’s none of their business what I do with my life.”
“Lana, just because there are other people living that way around Riverbend doesn’t mean it’s right. Let me come get you. You can stay with me.”
She could feel her blood pressure rise. He seemed to think it was okay for her to stay with him but not with Paul and Justin. They had been nothing but good to her. There was no way she would stay with Rick instead of with them after all that they had done for her.
“Rick. Thank you for worrying about me, but I’m fine. I’m going to stay here until they let me back in my apartment. I need to go now. Bye.” She didn’t wait for his answer. Instead she hit off and struggled to get her anger under control.
Paul walked back in and sat on the couch next to her. She handed him the phone and forced a smile.
“Thanks. That’s taken care of.”
“He upset you. What did he say?”
“Nothing to worry about. He just didn’t like that I was staying here.”
She watched as Paul’s face hardened. She could see the pulse beating in the vein at his temple. He didn’t like that she hadn’t told him what Rick had said, but it was none of his business.
“Justin should be back soon, and dinner is about ready. I made spaghetti. I thought it would be fairly easy on your throat.”
She couldn’t help but smile at him for thinking about how she would be able to swallow her food. He and Justin were thoughtful like that, even if they could be exasperating as well. He held her hand and carried it to his lips. The gentle gesture nearly brought tears to her eyes. Staying angry with them was next to impossible when they did little things like that. She quickly blinked her eyes to clear them.
Paul leaned in closer and brushed his lips across hers. He never closed his eyes. She felt trapped by the heated gaze as he left no doubt that he wanted her. When she swayed closer to him, a noise in the kitchen jarred her away from him.
“Hey. Something smells good.” Justin walked into the living room carrying her suitcase and a large box.
“It’s about time you got back. Dinner is ready.” Paul stood up and took the box from Justin’s arms. “I’ll help you take this up to the bedroom. Lana, we’ll be back down in a second.”
“Wait! What are you doing with my suitcase? Did they let you in my apartment? Can I go home now?” No way was she letting them get by with this.
“We’ll talk about it while we’re eating. I’ll tell you all about it.” Justin kept walking toward the stairs with Paul following him.
“You’re damn right we will.” She realized she was talking to their butts as they climbed the steps.
Exasperated, she crossed her arms and waited for them to return. Several long minutes later, they walked back down. Paul had a small, smug smile while Justin’s was broad. They were definitely up to something. She would put a stop to it, though. Sh
e was not going to stay with them any longer than necessary, and it looked like it was no longer necessary from what she could see.
Before she could start in on them again, Justin picked her up off the couch, carrying her to the kitchen. He settled her at the table that Paul had already set. Paul began serving the food and took a seat to one side of her. His brother took the one on the other side. They dug in as soon as they had their plates fixed. Lana held back. She had every intention of finding out what was going on with her apartment.
“So? What’s going on?” She directed her question to Justin.
Justin glanced over at Paul before answering. “Well, they let me go in and get a few things for you, but they haven’t released the crime scene yet. I had to go in with one of the deputies and couldn’t touch anything except what he cleared for me to.”
“When will my apartment be free again? I need to see about getting the window fixed.”
“Eat before it gets cold, Lana,” Paul said.
She frowned at him but took a bite of her spaghetti. It was delicious. She couldn’t help but be surprised that he was such a good cook. Before she could compliment him on it, Justin spoke again.
“I’m not real sure when they will let it go. They called in a crime unit from Dallas since they think it’s related to that murder the other weekend.”
“I wish I had been able to go with you.” She was pretty sure Justin wouldn’t have gotten what she needed if she was going to be there a few days.
“If I missed something you need, we can call Mac and run back over there for it, sweetheart. Don’t worry about it. You’re welcome here for as long as it takes.”
That was what she was afraid of. Staying with them wasn’t going to be easy. She was much too attracted to them, and they were very aggressive in their attempts at seducing her. She knew she wouldn’t be able to resist them for long, and her injuries wouldn’t protect her from their attentions. She needed the job. Succumbing to their wiles was the fastest way to losing it.
The brothers talked back and forth about the job they were working on while they ate. Lana only halfway paid attention to their conversation. She had too much on her mind right then. She needed to pay bills for one thing, and since she was already there, she figured she might as well start looking around in the office to see what she would need to start on first. She had no doubt it would take several days just to organize the mess. The sooner she got started, the sooner she could get everything in order.
“Lana? Did you hear me?” Paul’s amused voice got her attention.
“No, sorry. I was just thinking that while I was here I should go ahead and get started in the office.”
“You’re injured, Lana. You need to rest and heal.” Justin frowned at her.
“I was asking if you wanted some more to eat.” Paul pointed to her empty plate.
“Thanks. It was really good, but I’m full.” She leaned back from the table and patted her stomach.
“You don’t eat enough, sweetheart.” Justin seemed to be the one fussing at her today.
She refrained from rolling her eyes since it seemed childish under the circumstances. It wasn’t like she couldn’t stand to lose a few pounds even if she wasn’t full. She had a feeling she would be read the riot act if she made that comment out loud though, so she chose to ignore it.
“I can sit in the chair in the office and go through the paperwork to get it organized. I’m going to get tired of sitting here doing nothing, and no way am I staying in bed all day tomorrow.”
“I brought your Kindle for you to read. That will give you something to do while you’re healing.” Justin grinned at her, obviously pleased with himself.
She was getting nowhere with them right now. She would bring it up again in the morning. There was no use in arguing with them now, especially since she was yawning. Her nap earlier had only perked her up for a few hours. She obviously needed more sleep to make up for what she lost the night before.
“Looks like you’re about ready to go to bed, babe. I’ll help you get settled.” Paul stood up and picked her up from the chair.
“I feel funny having you carry me everywhere.”
“Nonsense. You can’t walk on that leg yet. Give it time to heal up before you put too much pressure on it. Besides, we like carrying you around. Isn’t that right, Justin?” Paul looked over his shoulder at his brother.
“Sure is. I like having you in my arms.”
She remained quiet as he carried her upstairs to the bedroom. When he settled her on the bed, she sighed. As much as she hated staying in bed, right now it felt good to be back. She hadn’t realized how tired she actually was. At least her head wasn’t hurting much now. The dull ache was bearable.
Paul pulled up the covers and bent down to kiss her. She couldn’t stop herself from digging her hands into his hair to prolong the kiss. She blamed it on how tired she was that she hadn’t been able to resist the need. When Justin took Paul’s place and covered her mouth with his, she moaned and squeezed his shoulders. By the time he’d pulled back, her pussy was wet and her nipples were poking against her top and the covers.
“Good night, Lana. We’ll check on you before we head to bed in a little while. Just call out if you need us. We’ll hear you.” Paul clicked off the light and closed the door.
There was a small light on in the bathroom so she wasn’t totally in the dark. It was comforting for some reason. She’d never been afraid of the dark before, but maybe she needed that light for now. After all, she was in a strange house and had been attacked less than twenty-four hours ago. A night-light wasn’t anything major to obsess over.
Lana snuggled into the covers, and clearing her mind, she promptly fell asleep.
Chapter Eleven
The scream jerked Justin awake from a deep sleep. Having Lana in their home and in their care had lulled him into some of the best sleep he’d had in a long time. The shrill scream had him out of the bed and running to the master bedroom even before his eyes were fully open. He nearly crashed into Paul as he entered the room.
They reached the bed and a thrashing Lana in mere seconds, but to Justin it had seemed like long minutes. She was fighting the covers and crying uncontrollably. It broke his heart to hear her screams and pleading.
“Shh, Lana. It’s okay, sweetheart. We’ve got you. You’re safe.”
Paul had her arms, trying to keep her from hitting herself or them as she fought her imaginary assailant. He wrapped his arms around her middle and tried to calm her.
“You’re safe, Lana. Wake up. Everything is okay.”
Paul swore when she finally stopped fighting, but the crying didn’t cease.
“Fuck, baby. Wake up. You’re killing me.”
Finally, she opened her eyes. After a couple of seconds, she seemed to focus on them and wrapped her arms around Justin. After a few more seconds she pulled back and looked over at Paul.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to wake you both up.”
“Shh, babe. It’s okay. It was a bad dream. You couldn’t help it.” Paul ran a hand down her hair.
She looked from one to the other and shivered. “Please don’t leave me alone.”
Justin nodded at Paul and they both climbed into bed with her. He snuggled up against her back as she wrapped her arm over Paul’s bare chest. When his cock nestled against her lower back, she stiffened as if she had just realized they were nude. Since she was dressed, he hoped she wouldn’t see it as an issue.
“Easy, sweetheart. It’s all fine. We’re not going to hurt you. Just relax and go back to sleep.” He kissed her shoulder and waited for her to slowly relax against him.
“You’re hard.”
“I’m always hard around you, Lana. We both are. Don’t worry about it. Go to sleep.”
“I’m sorry.” Her whispered apology sounded so sweet and innocent.
“Nothing to be sorry about, babe.” Paul’s deep assurance seemed to settle her some.
Justin heard her soft sig
h as she moved between them. His arm over her waist felt good there. He could tell that she was wrapped around Paul. He made sure he kept his legs from bumping against her thigh. He didn’t want to jostle her injured one.
After a few minutes, he felt her relax entirely back into sleep. She had a soft snore that was cute. He lay there for a few minutes thinking about how much he was already in love with her and how they would have to be very careful to keep from scaring her off after what had happened to her. Somehow they had to convince her to move in with them and keep her out of that fire trap of an apartment. He didn’t want her spending another night in that building.
He’d asked Mac to keep her apartment off-limits for her as long as possible. The sheriff had agreed and said that it wouldn’t be that difficult since there was an ongoing investigation due to the recent murder and the fact that the suspect had been killed there. They would have another couple of days for sure.
The bastard had been connected to murders all over the Midwest involving young, single women who lived alone and were vulnerable. From what they had been able to piece together with the help of the FBI, the man was a serial killer who would never hurt another woman again. Although he was pleased that the son of a bitch was dead, he wished he’d been the one to have squeezed the trigger. He had hurt his woman.
Justin nuzzled his face against Lana’s hair and breathed in her unique scent of mint and cinnamon. He knew part of it came from her shampoo, but not all of it. The rest was just her. He couldn’t get enough of being near her.
Finally, he relaxed enough to drift off, but he remained alert enough that if she moved, he would wake up. He had no doubt that Paul, with his military background, would be sleeping much the same way. He knew she was safe between them, but despite that, he wouldn’t let down his guard around her.
* * * *