Her belly did a series of flips and flops. She stared right up into his dark eyes.
“I’ll be okay. I’ve learned to take care of myself years ago. So what about you? How long is the crew in town for?” she asked.
“Just a few days. We have some things to work on back in Dallas,” L.T. stated as he entered the bedroom. Axel immediately stood up. She felt the loss of his body next to her, as well as the feel of his hand beneath hers. She stared at L.T. The man was a God. Crew cut blond hair, dark blue eyes, and such hard, defined features. He always wore dark sunglasses, too. Not now that he was in the house, but even without the shades his eyes looked dark and unreadable.
He was intimidating, especially standing at six feet three while she lay down on a bed.
Feeling a bit out of sorts, she sat up.
“I thought I told you to rest,” Axel stated firmly. His tone was anything but compassionate and gentle. She felt as if he were reprimanding her like some child. Her libido cooled off quickly.
“I’m fine. I should go downstairs to say good night.”
She placed her feet on the rug and gripped the edge of the bed. Her head was spinning.
“Hey, there’s no need to move. Everyone just about left. You can call it a night,” L.T. said as he knelt down on the floor beside the bed. He placed one hand on the edge next to her hip and the other one on her knee. How he appeared so quietly and swiftly in front of her added to her head spins. He moved quickly and quietly for such a large man. Her pussy swelled even at that observation. She swallowed hard.
She nearly lost her breath from the impact of his touch. Holy mother of God, he is lethal.
“Oh, God, Randy? I told him I would be back.”
“He left, too. Said he would be here in the morning to accompany you and your uncle. We told him that we were here,” Quentin stated as he and Deacon walked into the bedroom.
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It had been years since they’d surrounded her like this. She instantly thought about the campfires near the lake and the movie nights she was included in. Michael always made her feel part of their group. The four men did their part to make her feel welcome and as if she was one of them. But she didn’t want to be one of them. She wanted to be their one and only. The thought of them with another woman gave her nightmares to this day.
Now she felt like she could pass out. The bedroom was pretty big. It was an old house and had multiple rooms. The four men were staying there tonight, too. Just thinking about that right now made her feel faint.
“Good. I don’t care for that guy,” Deacon said and then walked closer. “Are you feeling all right? I thought you were going to pass out downstairs,” he continued, and for some reason it really annoyed her. They seriously thought she was weak.
“Listen, I appreciate the four of you being concerned about me, but I’m fine. As I was telling Axel, I’ve been taking care of myself for quite some time. It’s emotional and I’ll miss Michael,” she said, and saying his name made her voice clog in her throat.
L.T. touched her shoulder.
“We care about you. Michael would want us to watch over you. You were his little sister, and we’ll want to make sure that you’re safe.” Her hopes, her attraction and desire for the four of them just evaporated into thin air. They thought of her as a little sister. Michael’s little sister, who needed looking after.
Well, wasn’t that a punch to the gut?
“I appreciate that. You’re good friends. You’re good men. I think I’m going to go shower and get ready for bed. Like all y’all said, tomorrow is going to be worse.”
She watched as the men said good night, and then filtered out of the bedroom.
She wondered if maybe she should accept Randy’s advances and move on from her fantasy of having four sexy retired Marines as lovers. She closed the door and made two fists at her side.
“God, I wish they saw me as a woman and not some innocent little college girl.”
Please let them be true friends of Michael’s and not ones Michael inferred were untrustworthy.
* * * *
It was late in the evening. Mariah had to lie down after the funeral. She was so overwhelmed with emotion and the show of support from the community. Between the military and the police department, men and women in uniform came out to show their support and personally give condolences. She could still hear the sound of the bagpipes echoing in the distance across the fields surrounding the cemetery. Michael was laid to rest, and somehow she would go on without him. Without his smile, his jokes, and his protective embrace. She would forever be lost without him.
She could hear the voices downstairs in the front parlor. As she stood at the top of the stairs she listened to what they were saying.
“She’ll be done with school at the end of the semester. She was accepted into the program abroad for a year in Italy,” Uncle Jeb stated.
She hadn’t wanted the men to know. Perhaps she thought there was a chance that they had feelings for her like she had for them. But last night, the fact that they all saw her as a sister, had totally destroyed her fantasy and hopes. Perhaps a year abroad would be the best thing for her right now. Luckily, the four men didn’t live around here or Uncle Jeb’s place. She wouldn’t have to see them again. A phone call would cover their concerns and their need to check on their “little sister.”