Chapter Six
When Jamie was injured, word had spread through Daly like wildfire. He hadn’t been able to come home immediately, but the community had gathered around him like a protective hedge. Their energy and support had strengthened him on days when he’d thought he might die. Some had traveled overseas with his brothers to visit him. Some had visited when he’d been strong enough to be transferred to the States. More had visited when he’s been moved to the hospital that served Daly and the surrounding communities. Cards and phone calls and small gifts had bolstered him and urged his recovery.
Even deformed as he was now, they accepted him. He was one of theirs. It was outsiders he didn’t trust. Outsiders who shied away from him. Outsiders who made him feel self-conscious and doubt his worth.
Rayna had never made him feel that way. She’d accepted him from the first minute. People here didn’t trust immediately, but they trusted Rayna. They saw her for the wonderful woman she was. Jamie didn’t have a single doubt Daly would rally around her.
After sending her upstairs for a bubble bath—which she protested as a clichéd and sexist method of calming overwrought women—he made a few phone calls. David and Sean immediately turned around to head home and Patrick abandoned his weekly game. The sheriff went on alert.
Jamie knew word would travel. Anyone spending time in town would be on alert for strange cars that were doing more then just getting gas or driving through. This Antonio jerk wouldn’t just sneak in. It was impossible.
Relatively sure of Rayna’s safety, Jamie checked the locks on the back door and all the ground windows. Once his brother and cousins were home, he locked the front door, wishing they had an alarm system, but in Daly it was just unnecessary.
A few minutes later, Rayna came downstairs wrapped in a fluffy pink robe and smelling of lavender. Jamie pulled her to sit on his lap on the couch. The other men took seats around the room.
“Tell us about Antonio,” Jamie urged. “What’s he done?”
“We can tell he’s a slimebucket,” Patrick added. “Otherwise, he wouldn’t be terrorizing you by screwing with your bank account access and disconnecting your cell phone.”
“He’s violent,” she confessed. “There were little things I ignored or excused at first. Never physical things he did to me or other people. Just a maniacal streak I didn’t recognize. Looking back, I realize he was verbally abusive at times. I didn’t recognize that either. I just thought we were arguing. But he was hurtful in the things he said. I felt so stupid when I found out that that’s one of the first warnings of an abuser.”
Jamie stroked her back. “It’s not like they wear signs.”
“It was after we got engaged that things escalated. He wanted to script my every move, know where I was at and what I was doing at all times. Sometimes he got rough, but he didn’t hurt me. Then one night, he beat the crap out of me. I reported him to the police and broke it off.”
“A*shole,” Patrick ground out, his fingers white on the arms of the chair where he sat. Sean and David were similarly tense. Jamie just continued to stroke her back. He lowered his forehead to her shoulder so she wouldn’t see how enraged he was.
“He kept calling,” she told them. “Apologizing, pleading, telling me how awful he felt and how he hadn’t meant it. He wanted me back. He was so convincing, but I kept saying no even though I wondered if I was making a mistake. When he couldn’t get me to say yes, he got violent again. He stalked me, did little things to make my life inconvenient or to scare me. He broke into my house the day before I left. I called the cops but he still managed to knock me around before they got there. He threatened to hurt me bad. The police called it a domestic dispute and hauled him away, but I knew he’d be out the next day—which I was right about according to Kelsey. So I packed up and ran in the dead of the night. And now he’s been fired. I know he’s coming here, and I know he intends to do something bad.”
“Over my dead body,” Jamie growled, finally looking at her and letting her see how serious he was.
“Don’t say that,” she whispered.
“He’s not hurting you,” he vowed.
“Damn straight,” Sean said. “Let him bring it on. He can find out what it’s like to have the shit kicked out of him.”
“No,” she protested. “I don’t want him anywhere near any of you. I need to leave. I need to go somewhere where he can’t find me. He’s not going to stop. You might teach him a lesson this one time, but he’ll just regroup and come up with something else. He thinks I’m his, and he’ll be damned if he lets anyone else have me—that’s what he told me.”
Rage clenched in Jamie’s stomach, deeper than any anger he’d felt toward the suicide bomber who’d changed his life. He was on the same page with Sean, and he was sure Patrick and David felt the same.
“Guys like him trip up,” Patrick said. He looked at Jamie. “You called Joe?” he asked, referring to the sheriff.
“Yeah, I called him right away.” Jamie grinned at Rayna. “He wants your friend to get the names of the other women he’s harassed. Do you have a picture?”
“No, but it’s on the web. Some award he won.”
“Joe wants it. He used to be FBI. If there’s dirt to be found on your friend, Antonio, he’ll find it. Joe loves small town life, but trust me, something like this gets his blood going. I think he’d like a little more action, but he’s not willing to go back to the city.”
She gave him a small smile. “I’ll call Kelsey and see what she can get. She seems to know everything that happens at that bank. That’s why I wanted her to help me with this.”
Getting up, she went into the front hallway to call.
“What now?” David asked.
“We keep her safe. That shit’s not gonna take long to surface,” Jamie said.
“Probably tomorrow,” Patrick said. “I wish I had time to call Sim, but he wouldn’t get here fast enough.”
Jamie wished the same. Before taking over the garage, his brother had done a stint in the Navy, and had been a SEAL for years before he retired. He personified the laid-back life, but Jamie knew he kept up his skills. If it wasn’t illegal, Patrick could take down Antonio and bury him in the backyard before anyone was the wiser.
Sim, his ex-dive partner who now a wrote books and magazine articles on military history, was planning a move to Daly, but not for a few months.
Rayna returned and handed him a piece of paper with two names on it as well as a web address. “This what he wanted,” she said. “I hope he finds something.”
They all did. Jamie handed the paper to Patrick. “We’re going upstairs,” he said.
“Can we join you after I take care of this?” Patrick asked. He grinned. “A little diversion?”
Jamie looked at Rayna, and she nodded. “I really want to feel you holding me,” she said. “All of you. Surrounding me.”
Mostly, she wanted Jamie but the more arms she had around her the better. She was pretty sure she was falling in love with him, but she cared deeply about the others. She could be with any one of them and be happy. And that amazed her. She’d attained a soul mate and three new best friends in the space of days. She couldn’t imagine what it would be like without them in her life—an all too certain possibility for the near future. She’d leave in a few days, if not sooner. She didn’t want Antonio coming near any of them.
She bit her lip as she climbed the stairs, Jamie close behind her. Kelsey had told her that he account was cleared up. Rayna had access to her money and could use her credit cards once more. Patrick had reported earlier that her car was running, barely; it still needed major repairs, but it might it down the road.
By the time, she reached the top of the stairs, a plan had formed in her head. She had tonight with the O’Keefes, but before the sun rose, she’d leave Patrick a check for the work he’d done, write them a note and head for the next city—hopefully she could find it. Once there, she’d get a rental and head for her grandmother’s. Antonio wouldn’t find her there. Without his bank connections, it would be like a needle in a haystack—or worse. The United States was a big place, and she’d never told him much about her family who didn’t quite approve of her taking off for the east coast.
Turning, she faced Jamie, who stood a step down from her. She’d never realized how tall her was. Inches separated their mouths, and she closed the distance. Her lips covered his. Her arms wrapped his shoulders. Slowly, she explored his mouth, tasting the man she wanted forever. She breathed him in, memorized the feel of his tongue against hers. Such longing filled her that she had to squeeze shut her eyes to keep her tears from falling.
As tender need warmed her, she stepped back, her eyes still closed, her arms still around him, her lips still claiming. Jamie moved up beside her and shuffled her toward the bedroom. He pulled off her robe halfway there. By the time they were through the doorway, she’d wrestled off his shirt and had his pants open. At the bed, he shoved down his jeans then sat and pulled them off the rest of the way.
Her eyes now open, she knelt, her gaze on his prosthetic. She thumped it with her knuckles. “Wanna take this off?”
“No. I don’t know how much moving I’ll do.”
“Fair enough.” She smiled. “As long as it’s not because you’re embarrassed for me to see it.”
“Nope.”
“Good. I’d hate to have to smack you up,” she joked, then sobered. It wasn’t funny in light of her problem.
“Ray, it’s okay,” he reassured her, no doubt guessing her thoughts from her expression.
Unable to say anything, she leaned forward and took his erection into her mouth. A low moan rattled through her at the feel of his smooth skin between her lips. Her stomach sucked in, reacting to the instant arousal that spiked to her p-ssy. Slowly, she took more of him, taking his iron-like shaft as deep into her throat as she could before releasing some suction and moving back toward the head. Her tongue lashed over the head, pressing into the slit that offered her his tantalizing pre-cum.
As if the secretion was an aphrodisiac, her nipples grew tight. Her skin tingled, needing more. Cream flooded her cunt and leaked to her thighs while tiny vibrations trembled through her.
She traced his length with her tongue, descending the shaft once more, faster this time. Jamie groaned, his fingers lacing into her hair as she worked him. Groaning, he leaned back on one hand and gave her leeway to do as she would. She almost grinned. She would have anyway.
More of his pre-cum flooded her tongue, and she knew he must be close to release. She grasped his cock and worked up and down with more speed. Suddenly, she jerked as she felt lips on her back. With great effort, she didn’t let the kisses distract her from her effort as they traveled her spine. Peripherally, she saw Sean and David come to either side of her. They kissed her shoulders as each reached beneath her to fondle her breasts. They squeezed and pulled, drawing low moans as she kept at Jamie.
She squeaked as Patrick, who continued kissing her back, moved his hand between her thighs to find her *. Her rhythm on Jamie faltered as she tried to concentrate despite the illicit sensations running through her. Regaining her pace—barely—she redoubled her efforts until Jamie jolted then cried out. His cum flooded her mouth, and she swallowed quickly to get all she could.
He wiped his thumb over her lip as she looked up at him. “Come up here,” he said then caught her under the arms. She quickly climbed onto the bed while he scooted to recline against the headboard. He drew her to lie between his legs, her back pressed to his chest. “I want to hold you while they each f*ck you,” he told her. “I want to feel you move with them. I want to share each tremor that runs through your body. I want to capture your screams in my mouth.”
She almost came just then. She kissed him wildly, needing him to know how hot he made her. She heard the rip of foil then felt one of the men climb between her thighs. Turning, she watched David probe her folds with his cock. She lifted into him, showing him she wanted him. Biting her lip as she smiled, she stared into his blue eyes.
“Yes…David,” she moaned as he pushed inside. She reached for him, drawing him forward. She arched into him. Her shoulders slid against Jamie’s pecs. David sucked a nipple into his mouth while Jamie cupped her other breast and manipulated the peak.
“Darling, you feel so good,” David growled.
She undulated against him, loving the feel of his deep thrusts.
“Oh yeah, f*ck him,” Jamie murmured in her ear. “Do you know how hot it makes me to feel you taking him?”
A barrage of tremors pulsed through her at his words.
“Come, Rayna,” he whispered. “Let me feel you shake as you clench him.”
As if ignited by his command, she exploded into climax, screaming as she gushed around David. Her heels dug into the bed as she shoved into him. He grunted, finding his release. She was still convulsing as he moved to the side and his partner thrust into her hard.
“Sean! Oh God!” she gasped. Jamie’s knees lifted beside her hips and she felt his renewed arousal pressing into her back.
Sean f*cked her as hard as David had, driving her to two more orgasms before he to poured into his condom. David leaned up and kissed Sean as he came. She turned her head, twisting and kissing Jamie.
“Jamie,” Patrick said. “Together?”
“Oh yeah,” Jamie replied. His mouth feathered over hers and he nipped at her bottom lip.
Sean and David left the bed. Patrick lay down beside Jamie, and Jamie turned Rayna to straddle his brother. Her cunt slid down Patrick’s wide cock and she moaned as he invaded her over-sensitized passage. Jamie moved behind her and kissed her spine as his brother had earlier. She lurched as his cool fingers rubbed over her anus. Looking over her shoulder, she saw him hand a tube back to Sean. His fingertips pressed against her.
With little choked cries, she rode Patrick while Jamie slipped a finger into her. Over and over, he thrust until he finally added a second digit then a third. She sighed when he abandoned his stroking and Patrick slipped free of her, leaving her bereft. She wanted more, so much more.
She startled when Jamie’s cock pushed to her back passage then groaned as his tip entered her. Together… This is what they’d meant. When Jamie was fully seated, stretching her as she’d never been stretched before, Patrick again entered her p-ssy. Her eyes went wide at the shocking sensation of two men inside her at once. She felt as if they were united, one erotic beast bent on pleasure. Her cries echoed in the room as they started to move, one in and one out in a practiced rhythm that blurred her vision.
Jamie banded his arm around her belly, holding her tight to him. Sean and David returned to the bed. They bent in and sucked her breasts. Their hands massaged up and down her thighs. Patrick bucked upward, his hands on her hips. This is what she’d asked for. All of them holding her. All of them surrounding her.
Suddenly, her body exploded out of control, lava flowing through her, her limbs shaking with the fire moving down her veins. She couldn’t move, so the men moved her, prolonging her orgasms until she wilted with the exertion, wrung out by the numerous climaxes. Her brain was mush as she hung limply in Jamie’s arms. She was only vaguely aware of Patrick’s cry as he came, followed almost immediately by Jamie’s heat filling her rectum.
She fell forward into the pillows beside Patrick. She couldn’t move as each of the men kissed her neck, then left the room—each of the men but Jamie. He sat on the edge of the bed. She heard a clunk then he laid down and pulled her into his arms. She smiled into his chest, weakly kissing his chest.
“I love you, Jamie,” she murmured.
His arms tightened. “God, I love you Rayna. I’m so happy you came to me.”
Yeah, she thought. She was glad she’d come to him, too.
* * * *
Jamie was sound asleep when Rayna got up. Regretfully, she glanced at her luggage. There was no taking it with her. Her clothes from earlier lay atop the suitcases and she grabbed them as she passed. She dressed on the way down the stairs. In the dining room, she found her purse.
Quickly, she wrote a note and made out a check for the car repair—at least what she suspected it had cost. She replaced her checkbook, pulled out her keys then shoved them in her pocket. Slinging her bag over her shoulder, she headed for the front door. Once there, she slipped on her shoes.
Sorrow filled her as she paused. Her heart hurt as if it were being gouged from her chest. Why couldn’t Antonio just leave her be? Why did she have to find the O’Keefes now when her life was in such shambles? She’d never forget them or this. And Jamie… He was emblazoned on her soul forever. It didn’t matter that she’d been in a ménage with him and three other men—there would never be another man for her, whatever the circumstance.
With tears flowing down her cheeks, she stepped outside into the utter stillness of Daly Wyoming. The bar had closed a few hours ago, and all the cowboys had made their ways home. Silence and peace followed and now reigned over the night. The stars shown overhead in a spectacular display she’d never seen elsewhere.
This place was perfect. She would have loved to call it home.
She didn’t want to leave. She wanted to stay forever. Glancing up at the house, she reminded herself why she was going. To protect the man she loved and the men for whom she held great affection. She’d rather have forever alone than have any of them hurt. That was the way it had to be.