Jaymie Holland (5 page)

“Here you go,” he said. “With room for milk and sugar.”

Shit.
It struck him that she might wonder how he knew she liked sugar and milk in her coffee, not to mention giving her the mug she used on a daily basis when there was a variety in her cupboard. Fortunately, she seemed too preoccupied to notice. She stirred in enough milk to make the coffee a rich caramel color.

“We’ll get you in to see Dr. Anderson first thing,” Dane said in an effort to keep her mind off of the coffee.

Her face fell and she took the lid off the sugar bowl. “I don’t have insurance and I definitely don’t have the cash to pay for something like this.” She pointed to her cheek.

“You
are
going to see Dr. Anderson.” Colton reached her and slipped his fingers under her chin, forcing her to look up. “It’ll be taken care of.”

Anger flashed across her face and she pushed his hand away. “I’m not a charity case.”

Colton and Dane both frowned. “Of course not. We don’t think of you as one,” Colton said.

Drew looked away.

“If it makes you feel better, you can make payments,” Dane said. “Take as long as you need to pay it off.”

She bit her lower lip as she brought her fingers to the large bandage that ran from her cheekbone to the corner of her mouth and anger flashed through Dane yet again at the thought of what the mugger had done to her. Not only the bruises on her face, her black eye, and the cut across her cheek, but also fury over what the bastard had done to her emotionally.

Drew looked at her hands again before raising her eyes and looking up at the men.

“All right.” She sucked in her breath then let it out. “But I’m making payments. You’re not footing the bill. Got that?”

Dane and Colton both nodded. “We just want you to be happy, Drew,” Colton said.

“Paying for it myself will make me happy.” She gave a wry smile. “I must be vainer than I think I am because the thought of a scar on my face really sucks.”

“If that’s vanity, then we’re all vain.” Dane smiled in return. “Anyone would feel the same way.”

Drew scooped three teaspoons of sugar into her coffee, stirred it, and closed her eyes as she sipped from the mug. When she opened her eyes, she said, “Just what I needed.”

Dane got out syrup, plates, and forks, and he folded paper towels into squares for napkins. When breakfast was ready, Drew ate as if she hadn’t eaten anything in ages.

Once they’d cleaned up after breakfast, Colton rested his hand on Drew’s shoulder. “We’ll head to our place to shower and change, then pick you up and take you to the police station and then your appointment.”

“Are you going to be all right?” Dane asked. He and Colton really didn’t want to leave her but they had an idea that she was feeling odd over what had happened between the three of them and she probably needed a little time alone.

“I’ll be fine.” She gestured toward the corner where the treadmill was. “I’ll get some time in on the treadmill and then take another shower.”

Colton kissed her forehead then headed toward the door and disarmed the system. “Lock up and set the alarm again when we leave.”

“See you, beautiful.” Dane pressed his lips to her uninjured cheek before following Colton out the front door then closing it firmly behind him.

The bolt lock thumped into place after they’d closed the door, then Dane heard the beep of buttons pressed on the alarm, telling them she’d set the security system. Last night had clearly spooked her.

As he walked beside Colton to the elevator, Dane dragged his hand down his face. He hated to leave Drew. The thought of how she could have been killed last night sat heavy in his gut. He’d wanted to beat the shit out of the mugger and had barely restrained himself to a couple of punches when they’d taken the bastard down.

Colton pushed the elevator’s down button. “She’ll be all right.”

“She’s tough.” Dane shook his head. “Scared the shit out of me last night, though. Thank God for your cop sense.”

“Scared me, too.” Colton looked grim. “Somehow we’re going to have to convince her to let Louis drive her wherever she needs to go.”

Dane shook his head. “Doubt it’s going to be easy getting her to agree.”

Colton blew out his breath. “That is one stubborn woman.”

The elevator dinged and Dane stepped into the empty car, Colton following.

“She sure as hell is.” Dane pressed the button for the ground floor. “But there are two of us and one of her.”

The corner of Colton’s lips quirked into a smile. “Something tells me that taming that woman is going to be an adventure.”

Dane grinned. “It sure as hell is.”

* * * * *

Drew’s thoughts pinged from the horror of last night’s attack to the safety she’d felt in Dane’s and Colton’s arms. Now that they were gone, panic threatened to rise in her throat. She’d made sure the bolt lock was engaged and had set the alarm, but she still didn’t feel as safe alone. She’d felt more than safe with the two men.

Anger prickled her skin when she thought of the mugger. He’d violated her with his attack, taking away something precious. Now she was scared and she didn’t like the feeling, didn’t like it at all. She’d always been so damned independent and then one person had shattered what ultimately were illusions.

She stomped to her bedroom, her gaze falling on the door to Megan’s bedroom. Sometime while the men had been here for the security system Megan must have told them which bedroom was hers, because Drew sure hadn’t.

The treadmill was calling her name. Anytime she was frustrated or angry, she took it out in exercise, invariably feeling better than she had before she stepped onto it.

After she changed into workout clothes and grabbed a hand towel, she strode into the living room and turned on the TV. Good Morning America was still on and she climbed on the treadmill and flopped the towel on the side rail. She started out slowly to warm up. Anger started to burn through her as she thought of the sonofabitch who’d attacked her. Soon she was too mad to feel much pain. She changed the settings to a higher incline than normal, and once she got going she upped the speed, too.

The speed kept her going at a run, the incline making her heart work harder. A segment about breast cancer awareness on GMA was followed by a street performance of an up-and-coming country singer.

Drew tried to concentrate on the program, but flashes of the mugger kept going through her mind. Her cheek throbbed from the cut and her face ached where he’d backhanded her. Now that Dane and Colton were gone, the pain seemed worse, as did the memories of the event. The men had kept her mind off of the pain and had eased her fears after the mugging.

She gritted her teeth and upped the speed again, her heart pounding with exertion, sweat rolling down the sides of her face. Her cheek burned as if the exertion was causing the wound to hurt.

Maybe she shouldn’t be exercising with the wounds she had, but she felt better, whatever the case.

The fact that she’d been stupid enough to refuse to hand over her purse kept replaying in her head. What had she been thinking? Desperation to have the money to pay her rent had kept her from thinking clearly. She could have lost her life, and what good would rent money have done then? Being homeless was a better alternative than being dead. She hated how shaken up she still felt, but she supposed that was a normal reaction after facing the fact that she could have died.

She was more than grateful to Dane and Colton, even though she hadn’t liked the idea of being followed by anyone. But if they hadn’t done it, things would have turned out badly for her.

After a hard run, Drew put the treadmill in cool down mode and wiped away sweat from her face and neck with the towel. Her wounds burned from the salt in the sweat.

She had stayed on the treadmill for over an hour. GMA had ended and the local morning show, Good Day NY, was on now. When she had finished cooling down, she stepped off the treadmill and headed for the shower.

Dane called Drew to let her know that the soonest Dr. Anderson could get her in was at four. They could go to the police department first and then to the surgeon’s office. Dane said that he and Colton would be by to pick her up at one-thirty to give her enough time. She dressed for the heat and wore a sundress in a soft floral pattern, which had spaghetti straps tied at the shoulders. All she wore beneath the dress were bikini panties and no bra.

She’d pulled her hair back into a ponytail—it was too damned hot these days to leave the heavy mass down. According to the weather report on Good Day NY, they were faced with at least another week of the heat wave. She hadn’t bothered with more than mascara because make up would just melt off in this weather. She’d had eyeliner tattooed along her eyelashes, so at least her eyes didn’t look naked. She added lip color that she’d applied with its applicator—the lip color would stay on for hours and wouldn’t melt in the heat on her face or in her purse like regular lipstick might.

When she looked in the mirror, she felt angry and deflated at the same time. The bruising around one eye was worse and seemed so dark against her skin that was still pale after the awful night.

Her cell phone rang. When she retrieved it, she saw on the display that it was Megan. Drew pressed the on button and brought the phone to her ear. “Hi, Meg.”

“Oh, my God.” Megan sounded panicked. “Are you okay? I can’t believe you were mugged. What happened?”

Drew’s eyes widened. “How did you find out?”

“Colton told Nick.” Megan brushed it aside. “Never mind that. What happened?”

Drew felt another burst of anger at the mugger as she filled Megan in. And once again Drew’s stomach dropped as she thought of what could have been. She assured Megan that she was fine, thanks to Colton and Dane’s rescue.

Faith called not long after Megan did. Apparently, Megan had called Faith, who was just as horrified over what had happened.

“Dane and Colton were right.” Faith’s voice sounded hard. “You can’t walk home alone in the dark like that.”

Drew sighed. “I can’t afford to use a cab everywhere I go.”

“Take up Dane and Colton on their offer to have their driver take you everywhere,” Faith said.

“How do you know about that?” Drew asked with a frown.

“Megan told me.” Faith had concern in her voice. “I imagine that Dane or Colton mentioned it to her husbands. Now tell me you’ll let Louis drive you.”

“Okay, I’ll think about it.” Drew sighed and promised that if she needed anything, she’d call Faith or Megan.

When the men arrived at Drew’s door, she was standing in front of the A/C unit, cooling off in what little cold air it provided, as she listened to it chug. It was going to die, she just knew it. She needed to call the damn super.

She went to the door, peeked through the peephole, and saw the two gorgeous men before she disarmed the security system and slid back the bolt lock. Her belly swooped when she opened the door. Dane and Colton looked so damned good that it made her nipples bead. Considering she wasn’t wearing a bra, her attraction had to be apparent right now.

Colton wore a solid black T-shirt that stretched across his muscular chest and the sleeves were tight around his biceps. His intense green eyes swept over her from head to toe and her panties grew damp when his gaze returned to hers. His square jaw was set and his expression held a look of promise.

The short-sleeved shirt that Dane wore was royal blue and it made his eyes look even bluer than usual. He had strong features with high cheekbones, which were emphasized with his hair pulled back from his face in a ponytail. He filled out his clothes just as well as Colton filled his. So much power radiated from both men that it stole her breath.

She raised her finger. “Just one moment. I need to grab my purse.”

The second the purse came to mind, she thought once again about last night and how the mugger had sliced the strap. She shook off the sick feeling it gave her, grabbed a small purse out of her bedroom, and shoved her wallet and keys inside. For now she put the wad of cash that had been in her purse into a drawer. She tossed the ruined purse into the garbage. She didn’t want to see it again.

She couldn’t have felt safer than she did with these two men. No man would think about attacking her with Dane and Colton around. Their big bodies and their intimidating expressions were enough to keep the most hardened criminals away.

But Dane and Colton wouldn’t be around all the time. She didn’t want them around all the time. She was an independent and strong woman who didn’t need to rely on any man.

Yet here she was.

Once they were out of the elevator and outside the building, she saw Louis standing beside a black Mercedes. He opened the rear door and Drew slipped into the middle while Colton got in on her side of the car, Dane on the other side. She almost felt petite sitting between the two large men, and at five-ten she was a tall woman.

She winced a little from her sore backside as she settled into her seat.

When they were seated in the car, the men’s big bodies were pressed tight to hers. She thought there was probably plenty of room for them to give her some space, but they wanted to be close to her.

Dane put his hand on her bare knee, the heat of his palm sending warmth up her body to her belly. “You look good in that dress.” He grinned. “But then you always look beautiful.”

“Hell, yes,” Colton said.

She’d heard it all before, but coming from these men it seemed to mean more, like they truly meant it. “Thank you.”

Colton squeezed her opposite knee and she caught her breath at the feel of two men touching her at one time, even though it wasn’t sexual in nature.

She met Colton’s heated gaze. Or maybe it was entirely sexual.

He lowered his head and brushed his lips over hers. She caught her breath and closed her eyes as he ran his tongue along the seam of her lips, which parted, allowing him to slip his tongue into her mouth.

She made a soft sound of pleasure as he kissed her. From her other side, Dane slid his palm up her thigh, pushing her sundress up to her panties. Her core clenched as he touched the leg band, trailing his finger down between her thighs over the silky material of her panties.