Password to Her Heart (8 page)

“I think getting her to the ranch and speaking with Spocko will help her through the process.” Tex expressed his thoughts.

“You’re right. But there’s more going on here.” Mercury looked at his friends, his brothers.

Lee took a deep breath and released it. “She needs us.”

“It’s more than that and you know what Mercury is saying, Lee,” Tiek stated firmly. They looked around the hallway and made sure no one was in earshot, not that they cared anyway.

“She’s so beautiful and kind, and when I’m near her I want to hold her in my arms and take all that fear and sadness away,” Lee admitted.

“I feel it, too, Lee. It’s not just because Keith asked us to watch over her,” Stitch said.

“It’s more than that. I want her to count on me, on us, and know that no one can ever hurt her again,” Tiek added.

“She needs us as much as we need her. We talked about this a few times before. We all have trust issues except with one another. Finding a woman like Shawna to share, to care for together and make part of our family would make our lives complete,” Tex said, and they all agreed.

“She’s going to fight us on this. She’s going to think we’re caring for her because Keith asked us to,” Mercury said.

“Then it’s our jobs to ensure her that it’s more than that. Yes, Keith brought us together, but it’s the attraction, the connection we all know is there that will make us more. I want her. I want to keep her safe, I want to make her happy. She needs a new start and a new life. She deserves better than what life has dished out to her so far,” Lee said.

They all agreed and then made a plan to get things moving in the right direction. Mercury knew it wasn’t going to be easy, but Shawna was definitely worth it.

Shawna couldn’t believe how beautiful the men’s ranch was. Even the small town on their way here was stunning and inviting. She never had seen anything like it before and it made her feel both excited and sad. Her emotions were all twisted, despite her gut sensation telling her to trust these men. She swallowed hard. She wished that Keith could talk and tell her everything she wanted to know about the men. But he couldn’t. He was going to be like this for a while as he healed. She twisted her fingers together on her lap as she sat between Mercury and Lee in the front of their SUV. Tiek and Stitch were at the house, and Tex would be stopping in from work to have lunch with them.

She felt guilty for leaving her brother, but the hospital wouldn’t allow her to sleep there and she had been officially discharged. She had no place to go, and when Mike came to visit her, she knew that her job at the bar and living in that crappy neighborhood and apartment were behind her. She recalled Mike’s words as he visited her.

“You’re going to be just fine, Shawna. Your brother will pull through, and maybe you finally found some men you can trust your heart with. Although I’m jealous and wish I had what they have,”
Mike said.

“
I don’t know what you’re talking about. They’re my brother’s team members. They helped to rescue us,” she replied.

“Oh, it’s more than that. Their eyes eat you up, their protectiveness and jealousy that I’m here and they don’t know what our relationship is, is obvious. They care for you and it’s more than just as your rescuers.”

Her belly tightened. Her emotions, her analysis of the men’s intentions was unreadable as far as she was concerned. As much as she felt an attraction to each of them, the idea that it stemmed out of loyalty to their brotherhood bothered her. She shivered as the SUV pulled up a long dirt road. Lee covered her hands.

“It’s okay. This is going to be your home now, too,” he told her, his hazel eyes appeared warm and inviting. She looked away as the gorgeous, huge house came into view.

“It’s beautiful.”

* * * *

The house was absolutely stunning and huge, just like the five men. As Lee helped her out of the SUV, she fixed the sundress she wore that he had purchased for her to wear home. It was pretty and light against her ribs. She was a bit taken aback at the fact that he brought her new undergarments, too, and now knew her size, and even that caused a spasm of attraction to hit her belly. They purchased her a lot of new things after informing her that her apartment had been ransacked, probably prior to her abduction. She swallowed hard.

It was becoming obvious that she may never return to that apartment, that city again. Did she really want to? Not after everything that happened to her. Not after seeing this ranch. But this wasn’t her life. It was theirs and she was a visitor, the sister of their comrade, and baggage they were responsible for. Nothing more.

There were acres and acres of property as far as her eyes could see. A much smaller, almost identical house sat in the distance from the main house. There were horse stables, and some sort of garden with a pathway. Everything was done up with intricate landscaping with use of lots of paving stones and grand materials indigenous to the area.

Lee took her hand and guided her up the large stairs and open porch area. The home had to be worth millions. As they entered the front door, she was greeted by an open floor plan with high cathedral ceilings and a massive stone fireplace. The bright light from the sun shining through the large floor-to-ceiling windows cascaded over the entire main floor as well as the entrance to the formal living room and the kitchen.

“Welcome home, Shawna. Feel free to look around,” Mercury said as Lee released her hand and both men headed toward the kitchen. Shawna couldn’t believe she was standing in such a magazine-worthy home. It was like something she saw on TV or on a show where movie stars let cameras into their homes to see how the wealthy lived. But the men decorated it in such a way it was warm and welcoming, not cold and delicate. She chuckled to herself as she ran her hands along the huge sofa and glanced at the extra-large flat-screen television on the main wall in the living room. It had to be seventy inches wide. But the men were all big men, they would need lots of space. She spotted the painting on the wall, the Texas and American flags with the Marine Corps flag in the center. It had to be custom designed.

She turned toward the kitchen and could see Tex and Lee placing some things on the island, probably getting ready for lunch as she continued to explore. As she walked down a small hallway off the living room, she spotted the six sets of cherrywood French doors that led out to a grand patio and a swimming pool. She felt her chest tighten. Children she went to school with had swimming pools. She never really wished for one. She only wished that her parents stopped drinking and wouldn’t hit her. She shivered from the memory and she thought about Keith.

They would sneak off to the swimming hole during the summer. They snuck onto the Palmer’s property to do it but they were desperate to cool off and home just wasn’t safe the way a home should be. No child should have to live with such fear and such pain. It just wasn’t fair.

“Do you know how to swim?”

She gasped and turned around to see Lee standing there leaning against the doorway with his arms crossed in front of his chest. She held her side and shook her head.

“I didn’t mean to scare you.” He looked so attractive and sexy standing there. His bulging muscles peeked out from beneath the tight T-shirt he wore. The green somehow brought out the hazel color of his eyes. She licked her lower lip and turned away. She had been caught off guard deep in thought. Why was she remembering her past so much? It was nothing but painful memories. He moved closer. She felt him behind her, and then he placed his hands on her shoulders. “Was that a yes or a no about knowing how to swim?”

“I haven’t swum in years.”

“Well, we’ll get you a bathing suit and make sure you know how to swim. I can teach you.” He gently squeezed her shoulders. She closed her eyes, and loved the feel of this big, strong, capable man behind her. She wanted to lean back, to give in and allow him to comfort her. But she made a promise to herself to be strong, not weak. She needed to take care of herself. Once Keith healed, they would talk about their future and where they would go to live. She stepped from his hold and wrapped her arms around herself. She walked further down the hallway and around the corner.

“Shawna.” He said her name and she stopped. She didn’t turn around to face him. He was just so damn handsome and she knew she would have a hard time stepping away from him again.

When his arms wrapped around her from behind, she gasped and tried stepping away, but he spoke softly to her against her hair.

“Don’t push me away. I promise that you’re safe here. I’ll protect you. We all will.”

She turned in his arms and pressed her palms against his hard chest.

“You’ve done so much already. I’m used to doing things on my own, and that hasn’t changed.”

He smiled softly then reached toward her face and cupped her cheek. His large palm covered her cheek and upper neck he was so much bigger than her. She stared up into his eyes, her head tilted back to nearly her shoulders.

His thumb caressed her lower lip.

“You’re not alone anymore. We want to protect you. We want you to feel comfortable and trust us.” His eyes zeroed in on her lips and the thought of him kissing her flashed through her mind. She closed her eyes a moment, trying to hold on to the fantasy that there were real feelings here and not ones brought on by his loyalty to Keith. But then she felt his lips against hers. He was gentle but then the kiss grew deeper. The sound of voices echoing through the house had her pulling from him, but Lee’s hold was firm. He smiled at her.

“I’ve been wanting to do that since I first saw you.”

She swallowed hard. “At the compound?” she asked.

He shook his head. “The moment we found a picture of you after Keith contacted us. You’re so beautiful, Shawna.”

She shook her head and stepped from his hold. “I shouldn’t have let you do that.”

He was about to respond when Tex walked toward them. “Hey, lunch is ready. Did you get to look around a bit?” Tex asked as he approached, smiling. She nodded her head and avoided looking at Lee, who appeared upset.

“The house is big. I only made it this far.”

Tex took her hand. “Well, I’ll give you the full tour after lunch, and then we’ll show you your room. We hope you like it.”

They headed out of the room toward the kitchen and she looked back toward Lee, who ran his fingers through his hair and appeared upset.

Could he really have feelings for me, and a real attraction, or is he feeling obligated because of Keith?

“What’s wrong with you?” Tex asked Lee, noticing his change of attitude since Shawna headed upstairs to lie down. The poor woman was exhausted after Tex had shown her around the house. They never even made it outside. But there was time for that.

“Nothing.”

“Nothing my ass. Did something happen when I walked in on you and Shawna before?” he pushed.

Lee took a deep breath and released it. He looked around them, making sure the others weren’t in earshot.

“We shared a moment, and I thought she was feeling the same attraction.”

“And what? You kissed her?”

Lee ran his fingers through his hair. “Sure did.”

Tex was surprised that he didn’t feel jealous, but on the contrary he was feeling hopeful.

“Did she kiss you back?”

“Yes, but then she panicked. I told her I had been wanting to kiss her since I first saw her.”

Tex smiled. “That damn picture of her that I sent to you guys affected me immediately, and not just because she’s a good-looking woman. It was something in her eyes.”

“Exactly, but she took it the wrong way. It’s like we talked about at the hospital. I think she thinks we’re being nice and taking care of her simply because it’s our duty as Keith’s team.”

“What? Why would she think that…Oh hell, of course she would think that. She doesn’t know us. We haven’t expressed our attraction to her.”

“This is going to get all fucked up.”

“No, it won’t. If what you say is true, then we just have to make our intentions clear and where the attraction stemmed from to begin with. Her beauty, that lost expression in her eyes, and then upon meeting her, getting to know her over the last week, the physical attraction. We’re not faking it.”

“She won’t believe us, Tex. Trust is not something earned very easily by her.”

“That’s understandable, Lee, especially if her and Keith had a shitty upbringing.”

“That’s what we need to do. We need to find out more about her life, her experiences and fears. We need to court her.”

Tex chuckled. “Court her, huh? Now that’s a bit of your real Southern charm coming out, Lee. I’ve never courted a woman before. Not even sure how that’s supposed to go.”

Lee smiled. “Honesty. We need to be honest about how we feel. That’s a definite start.”

“Okay, I’m heading out but will be back in time for supper. Mercury and Stitch are handling that meal. Tiek is fixing up the other house for when Keith heals up.”

“He’ll like that. Especially if things work out between all of us and Shawna. Keith won’t want to be living in the same house.”

Tex chuckled. “I hope he’s not going to be pissed off.”