Kennedy's Redemption (The Protectors 3)

“Then what were you doing, Sunshine? You were leaning so far forward we didn’t think we’d get here in time to catch you.” She could hear the anguish in Creed’s voice, the hurt. “You have to know we’d have followed you.”

“Why?” She didn’t understand why they would risk their lives for her, a nobody.

“Seriously, Sunshine? You don’t get it?” Linc asked her sounding shocked. Shaking her head no, the incredulity playing whiplash with his features shocked her.

“Fuck me,” he growled before stepping closer and grabbing her by the hips, pulling her into his body and slamming his lips onto hers making her gasp in surprise.

In that moment he owned her. Body and soul. The way his lips moved soft yet demanding, she gave in; she submitted to him. His grip on her hips said he owned everything she was and ever would be. One simple kiss and he took her on a journey of unexplored lust. She’d never reacted this way to anyone but them. Her body was on fire, her pulse was out of control, and her synapses were misfiring like crazy.

When Linc nipped her bottom lip, she tried to pull away but he pulled her closer, slipping his tongue along her lips until she granted him the access he so desired. He searched every crevice he could find in her mouth, leaving no stone unturned. Making sure to brand her as his anyway he could.

She got lost in his arms, the day floated away on the breeze like it never existed. In that moment she was just a girl, new to lust, new to life. And he was just a man learning who she was.

When she felt Creed’s hands on her shoulders, she nearly jumped out of her skin. Pulling away from Linc, she looked shyly over her shoulder at him terrified she’d see jealousy or disgust. They’d never really talked about the three of them. She felt it, but that didn’t mean they did too or that they wanted her. But for them, she’d try.

When Creed leaned forward, determination and lust shining brightly in his dark, nearly black eyes, she anticipated feeling his lips on hers. Leaning back into him, she held her breath as they met and felt a zing of electricity shoot down her spine. A zap all the way to her toes like it was meant to be.

She was meant for them. The soft to their hard.

And them for her. They would be the strength to her fragile.

Together they could be perfect.

·?•? ?•?·

Fuck me sideways. This girl. This girl was gonna be the death of me, Linc thought as he enjoyed the passion that consumed her as they kissed. Having her between them, though, was a dream come true. A dream he’d never thought would come to fruition. She might think of herself as weak and broken, but to them Kennedy was the strongest woman they knew. It was a huge turn on too; it burnt his blood, made his heart race frantically. Seeing her come alive the way she did made him wanna beg for more. But she wasn’t ready for more. Yet. He’d hold on to that yet until the day he died.

Seeing the emotions cross he

r face as she kissed his brother had him feeling real hope for the first time since they’d arrived. She’d been reserved, slowly opening up to them, but she was holding back a major part of herself. He’d let that go for now because she was giving them something precious and he was going to revel in it.

As Kenny and Creed pulled apart she let out a breathy sigh, her face a mask of bliss and of peace. Like she’d found one moment in time where she was finally happy.

Clearing his throat, Linc interrupted their moment because he needed… no, they needed to know why she had looked like she going to dive in. She had to have known it would have killed her.

“What happened, Sunshine? Why?”

Meeting his gaze briefly before looking at the mid-day horizon, she didn’t pretend like she was clueless. She knew, hell, they all knew what he was asking.

As she pulled away from them and walked closer to the edge again he tensed, ready to do whatever necessary to keep her with them. Sitting down with her legs dangling over the side and the waves reaching just under her feet, it splashed her legs making them shine and his mouth watered for a taste.

“When I first got here, I was in a bad way,” she started, looking back to them, not making eye contact but patting the ground on either side of her in invitation. Once they sat, she placed her hands in her lap and continued. “It took me a week just to leave the cottage and when I did, at first, I would only go as far as the beach behind it. Everything made me jump. I remember a car backfiring once as it drove by; I screamed loud enough to wake the dead. I ran to my room and like some scared little kid, I hid under my bed for hours.” She laughed without humor, breaking his heart for her.

“You know that’s normal, right, Ken?” Creed told her gently. “All part of PTSD.”

A snort of derision was his only answer on that.

“I kept waiting for one of my dads or brothers to come find me, tell me everything was ok that I was safe. God! I wanted to be safe so bad it was an ache in my bones.” Her sniffling caught him off guard. He watched as her tears fell in remembrance. “They never did. I couldn’t remember a time in my life when I’d felt so abandoned. They were always there, ya know? For everything. It used to aggravate me to no end. No matter how much I told them to leave me alone, let me find my way in this world, they wouldn’t let me. Ever. I would complain to Mom and all she’d do is pat me on the cheek and say, ‘Honey, it’s what God created man for, to annoy the ever loving hell out of us but to love us with their very last breath. Hold on to it.’ She always whispered the last part. I never understood why until that day, and it’s so fucking bad that she was right. I used to hate it so much; now, I wish I had it with every breath I take.”

He was gutted. Absofuckinglutely gutted. She wanted to be rescued, to be safe, and he wasn’t there. He was so fucking angry that they were called away. Their girl needed them and they couldn’t do the one fucking job they were truly meant to. To make her feel safe. FUCK!

Her hand squeezing his shocked him. He’d kept it locked down though— didn’t move, change his breath, but she knew. Of course, she fucking knew you fool, women know everything. Looking to his twin he could see Creed was in the same boat as him. The rage behind his eyes burned brightly, his jaw ticked, and the veins at his temples pulsed.

Grabbing her cheeks a little rougher than he’d meant to, Linc told her fiercely, “I am so fucking sorry we failed you, Sunshine. The one thing in this fucking world we should have been able to protect and we weren’t here. We ain’t ever fucking leaving again! You hear me, Sunshine? Not while there’s breath in my body will I leave you for anything.” He searched her eyes having to know that she knew. Her eyes watered but it was there. The belief, the trust, everything he needed her to know in that moment she did.

“I know, Lincoln,” she tried to soothe with a small smile.

·?•? ?•?·