Green Broke Woman (15 page)

“All right, you had your turn.” Keith elbowed
him aside and caught Kayla in his arms, mouth swooping down over hers to claim
her.

Jake grinned and was about to disrobe her,
but Travis's voice calling his name stopped him. Jake shot him a questioning
look when Travis shook his head with a serious expression. Jake mouthed the
words “Why not”, and Travis mouthed back “We'll talk.”

Keith took his damned sweet time feeling
Kayla up with his rival mouth. She'd better not like his brother better than
him. Jake smirked at this. Like any man could kiss her better than he could. He
rolled his eyes when Keith kept going and wouldn't stop.

“Give her some air, Keith,” Travis teased
with a crooked grin.

Jake had a less amiable approach. “All right,
asshole. Get your tongue out of her mouth already.”

Keith broke the kiss with a breathless smile
on his face. “I missed you, little bird.”

Kayla blushed, letting out a sweet little
giggle that melted Jake's heart. “I can tell. I missed you guys, too.”

Keith brushed his hand over her hair. “Travis
said you got in yesterday.”

She nodded, beaming when she looked at each
of their faces.

Jake's eyes narrowed when they darted over to
Travis. “Which he should have told us yesterday the second you got here.”

Travis got a shameless, smartass smile on his
face. “I figured I'd let her get settled in the first night.”

“You mean you figured you'd get settled in
her,” Jake shot back with a suspicious glower.

Travis smirked and took another swallow of
his drink. “Always the pervert, aren't you, Jake?”

Jake smiled and returned his focus to Kayla.
“How have you been, Kayla?”

“Okay. It's good to be back.”

Keith smoothed his fingertips down her arm,
making her shiver and her eyes heat with lust. “Did you get famous like you
meant to?”

Her face darkened with sadness and something
else. “I was in a commercial once, but no, I never got famous.”

“Oh yeah?
That's great, Kayla. What commercial?” Keith
inquired.

“It was just for mouthwash.” She shrugged.
“It wasn't a big deal.”

Jake gently rubbed her back, determined not
to let Keith do all the touching. “It sounds like a big deal. Most people never
get to be in a commercial. We're proud of you.”

She squirmed, and her face twisted with
discomfort as she stepped away from their fondling. “Don't be. I don't deserve
it. It's good to see you guys again, but I really have a phone call to make.”

Travis handed her the cordless phone. “Who
are you calling?”

“Somebody,” she
said
 
before
heading down the hall. She
entered the guestroom and closed the door behind her.

Keith frowned. “What's up with her?”

Jake folded his arms, feeling a little ticked
himself. “Yeah, Travis, why didn't you want me to take her towel off?”

“She's been through a lot, and I didn't want
you boys to scare her off,” Travis replied calmly.

Keith cocked his head curiously. “Why would
we scare her off? Years ago she was always hunting us down like one of them
crazy women in
Friendly Persuasion.
”

Travis set his mug down. “She's changed.”

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?”
Jake demanded. “She seemed to like us kissing her just fine. Did you fuck her
last night?”

Keith looked scandalized. “Is that what this
is about,
Trav
? You slept with her and now you don't
want to share her with us? We made a fucking pact, you remember?”

Travis looked annoyed. “Yeah, I remember, and
no, I didn't fuck her. I wanted to, but that's not what she needs right now.
She needs healing first.”

Keith blinked in confusion. “Healing from
what?”

Jake scowled. “Some undeserving son of a
bitch probably took her virginity and then cheated on her. Well, I've got the
cure for that, brother, and I'll give you a hint. It's pulsing somewhere under
my clothes.”

Keith snickered. “I think I can guess which
half you're referring to.”

Jake grinned. “Keith, you dirty boy, I was
talking about my heart.”

Keith smirked and shook his head. “Sure you
were, Jake.”

Kayla returned just then, holding the phone
in her hand.

“Let me take that for you.” Travis took the
phone from her and put it back in its holder.

Jake noticed how pale and afraid she looked.
“What's wrong, baby?”

Her hands and knees shook. “It was the
police. I called them.”

Keith looked startled.
“What
for?
We're not
gonna
have sex with you until
you're ready for it.”

“Huh?” She seemed to snap out of her scared
haze for a second with a look of perplexity. “Okay.”

Jake became baffled.
Okay? More like 'Oh God, yes, I've only been waiting for you all my
life. Make me a woman, Jake. Fuck me first. You're the best at it.'

Travis didn't act as surprised by her odd
behavior as they did. “Tell us what they said,
darlin
'.”

She blinked a few times without looking at
any of them. “They ... said they went to investigate the Hammond estate.”

Keith's forehead wrinkled. “Who the heck is
Hammond?”

Jake put a hand on her shoulder, noting the
way she jumped and seemed bothered. “What's going on, Kayla?”

“There was no one there,” she responded
eerily. “The house was empty. They were all gone.”

“Who was gone?” Jake prodded, irritated that
she stepped out of his insistent touch.

“The staff, his friends...” Her expression
contorted with pain and astonishment.
“Beck.”

Keith shrugged. “Who the hell is Beck?”

Travis stared at her. “Can I tell them,
Kayla? They're
gonna
be your men, too. They have a
right to know.”

The way Kayla behaved right now Jake figured
she was numb with shock as she pretty much floated toward the front door. “You
can tell them, Travis, but I don't want to be here when you do. I need to go
for a walk.”

Keith appeared concerned. “Don't go far. Stay
on our property.”

“I won't.”

Now he looked irritated. “Excuse me?”

She snapped out of her daze for a brief
moment. “What?”

“You will too stay on our property,” Keith
informed her. “You'll do as you’re told.”

“I didn't mean I wouldn't stay. I meant I
wouldn't go far,” she clarified.

“Oh.” Keith got a repentant smile. “Well,
good
. We want to look after you.”

She offered no reply to this as she turned.

“Kayla,” Travis called after her, waiting for
her to look back at him. “We'll protect you and fix this.”

There was a haunting emptiness in her eyes
like her soul had been ravaged into a state of
nonexistence.
She didn't say a word as she seemed to look right through Travis before turning
and walking outside barefoot and wearing only a towel.

“Kayla, you should probably get dressed
before...” Keith let his voice trail off when she walked through the screen
door in a trance.

Jake glared at his oldest brother. “Travis,
what the hell is going on?”

Travis wore a serious expression that bore
traces of sadness. “We need to talk.”

Jake snorted. “No shit.”

****

Kayla didn't realize she was half naked and
barefoot until she'd walked a few feet from the house. Oh well. The
Langleys
lived in the country, and she had no intention of
going back inside just yet. She needed to break away for a spell.

Beck Hammond had fled his estate along with
his staff and Slade. She shivered, feeling her eyes prickle with fear. He
didn't know where she lived. Only that she was from the Midwest originally.
Then she tensed, fearing that she might have mentioned Kentucky once before,
though she was certain she had never mentioned Lexington or the
Langleys
.

Besides, why would Beck or Slade come after
her when they had to know the police would be watching her and waiting for them
to strike?

She wandered into the crabapple orchard,
feeling at ease by the calming buzz of bees fluttering among the blossoms. The
orchard really was a utopia for the senses. The pink and white flowers budding
on the mature trees created a stunning pastel feast for the eyes, and the sweet
fragrance of the blossoms enriched the atmosphere.

“Kayla!”

She turned, becoming even more aware of her
current state of undress when she saw Jake walking toward her with a gym bag.
Either he was about to go pump iron in town, or maybe he was toting around some
guns or sports equipment.

She quickly lost interest in the bag, opting
instead to take in the rugged glory that was Jake Langley. He stood about
Travis's height at five feet, ten inches, and unlike his older brother, Jake
almost always wore a cowboy hat. A black Stetson was his trademark, though he'd
occasionally don a dark gray one.

His short brown hair matched the mustache and
chin strap that graced his easy on the eyes face. His dark brown eyes were
seductive and expressive. There was so much desire and feeling in them, it was
hard to believe sometimes that they were attached to a cowboy Romeo who had a
reputation as a bad boy.

He wore faded jeans and a denim shirt that
buttoned up the front. The long sleeves were rolled halfway up his strong arms,
and he had the top three buttons on the front of his shirt open, revealing part
of a necklace beneath. Dark wisps of hair flirted with her keenly interested
eyes from the division in his shirt. His suede cowboy boots completed his sexy
as sin Western look.

He set the bag down and closed the distance
between them, leaving her ready and shaky with nerves. His dark, rich eyes took
on a decidedly sympathetic appearance. “Travis told us what happened to you.”

Kayla let her eyes slip briefly from his.
They didn't know the half of it. Jake enfolded her in his arms, holding her
tight. She told herself she wouldn't cry. Still, to really be here again with
the men she loved was more than she'd dared hope for during the hell of the
last few months. She'd truly thought she'd never see them again, yet here she
was with them.

He held her in silence for a moment before
stepping back and holding her at arm's length. “I want to mend you.”

She offered him a weak smile, wondering if it
was a lost cause.

No, it couldn't be. That would mean Beck and
the others
had
won. The sons of bitches must never
win. She would beat them yet.

“I want that, too, Jake.”

“I want to make you come, but I don't have to
use my hands or my mouth. I have a bullet vibrator in the bag.”

She felt a coy smile spread across her face,
remembering the wicked memories of Master Hugh introducing her to toys. “Is
that what's in the bag—a bunch of toys?”

Jake got a crooked grin on his handsome face
that reeked of cowboy charm and sex appeal.
“A couple.
I've got some rope in there, too, if you're open to that.”

“You going to hogtie me?” she teased, tossing
him a playful wink.

“No. I was thinking on tying your hands above
your head from that tree branch.” He nodded up toward the thick branch overhead
that was studded with fragrant blooms.

“What about the bees?”

“I'll shoot them if they bother you.”

She giggled. “What if they're on me?”

He grinned. “Well then, I'll be looking at
other options.” His face became serious. “Are you okay with having your wrists
bound?”

She chewed lightly on her bottom lip. “I
think so, as long as I can see you and you promise to untie me if I ask you
to.”

He nodded and unzipped the bag, pulling out a
coil of rope. “You have my word.”

She swallowed down her apprehension and
nodded. “Okay then, but you can't use your mouth on me down there.”

He looked sad. “You don't like oral sex?”

She squirmed and twiddled her fingers. “I
used to, but now it makes me feel sick.”

He glanced down at the lush green grass
before looking up at her again with a note of caring. “We'll have to change that,
but not right now.”

She watched him swing the rope up from the
branch and secure it at a lower point before binding her wrists above her head
with the other end, making sure the rope was taut. He folded the towel and
tossed it on top of the bag.

“Too tight?”

“No, it feels fine.”

He pulled out a tube of lubricant and then smeared
the cold jelly all over her folds.

“
Brr
.”