Kennedy's Redemption (The Protectors 3)

“Sleep, Sunshine,” were the last whispered words she heard before falling into the first dreamless sleep she’d had in months.

·?•? ?•?·

Linc woke to the smell of fresh coffee and bacon. The second most tantalizing scent he could think of; the first being anything Kennedy, of course. Looking over, he noticed her and Creed missing from the bed. He must have slept like the dead to miss them leaving.

Getting up, he went for a quick shower and clean up. Tossing a pair of sweats and a muscle shirt on, he went downstairs in search of that tantalizing scent and what he could now make out as giggling coming from the kitchen.

He stood in the entryway and watched as Kennedy flipped bacon while Creed did his best to suck her neck off. He was laying kisses across every available piece of bare skin he could. Deciding to join the fun, Linc made his way in when his brother spotted him and held a finger to his lips for him to keep quiet.

Smiling, Creed went back to attacking her neck, running his hands along her stomach as he did. She was distracted when Linc came up from the side, gently running one hand up the inside of her thigh between her legs to find her nice and wet.

“Oh!” She cried out, startled to have another set of hands on her. When she turned to face him his lips descended on her taking her mouth in a slow, sweet kiss, teasing her with what he’d like to be doing to her at the moment while giving her just enough to make her want it as well. He lightly ran his fingers over her bare mound, swiping his thumb around her clit but not enough to do more than tease.

“Mm… morning Linc,” she moaned against his lips.

“How you doin’, Sunshine?” He growled when she pushed into his hand.

A click alerted him to Creed shutting the burner off. “I’ve been better,” she purred.

“Oh yeah?”

“Yeah…” She let out a sigh when Creed undid her shirt freeing her small, perky breasts for his eyes to feast on.

The repeated chirping of his cell phone broke the mood when it continued to ring. “Shit,” he growled pulling away to grab the offending device from the counter where he’d left it the night before.

Seeing a text, he opened it:

Dane: Dude, it’s almost noon. Y’all coming or what?

Linc: Shit. Overslept. Be there soon.

Looking up, he saw Creed fondling her breasts with his hands while sucking on her neck. He was tempted to say fuck it and spend the day worshipping Kennedy, but he knew how important seeing Em was for her.

“That was Dane.” He broke them apart with his simple words.

Searching for a clock, Kennedy gasped

when she saw the time. “Shoot! I’ll go get dressed!” she yelled over her shoulder as she ran upstairs.

·?•? ?•?·

“Are you ready?” It seemed like they were always asking her that. No, she wasn’t ready. She knew this was going to be worse than when she went to her parent’s house two days ago, but she needed to do it. She needed to be able to move on, and in order to do that, she had to tell Emily some things.

Most importantly that she didn’t blame her for what happened. That she needed to forgive herself so she could have the life with Dane and Cooper that she deserved. They all needed to heal. As much as she dreaded this meeting because she was terrified seeing Emily would bring it all back, they all needed the closure it would bring.

As she got out of the SUV, she took a deep, fortifying breath to help calm her nerves. Slowly walking to the front door, she waited until Linc and Creed were standing on either side of her before forcing herself to knock. As she did her chest tightened in fear. This is really happening.

When the door opened and Emily stood there with Dane in the background, her vision narrowed and tears were overflowing from her eyes immediately. She’d never allowed herself to dwell on the fear of whether Emily was alright or not; it would have been too much for her to handle. But seeing her friend in the flesh, she felt horrible for not thinking of her as often as she should have.

“Kennedy,” she whispered like she was terrified she’d disappear. When she went to grab her for the first time since coming home, Kennedy flinched.

Her gasp had Kennedy pulling her into her own arms, offering all the comfort and support they needed. “You’re here,” Emily whispered on a sigh.

“In the flesh.” She tried to joke, not wanting to get overly emotional. She’d had enough crying in the last few months to last her a lifetime.

“Ohh, I missed you.” Squeezing her one last time Emily pulled back, running her eyes up and down her body as if to see that she really was there.

“I missed you, too.”