* * * *
She just got out of the bathroom after freshening up and trying to splash some water on her heated cheeks. She couldn’t get Matt’s words out of her head. He, they were going to undress her and check over her injuries. Doing something so intimate, letting her guard down like that was something she had been trying to fight. But the way they all reacted to her injury, the upset at her being hurt and unprotected, tugged on her emotions. Deep down inside she wished she could release her fear even just physically, to let them in. But she knew it would be difficult to give of her self, her soul, and emotionally. She wasn’t sure she would ever be able to give all of her. But as she prepared to exit the bathroom, she felt her heated cheeks, her need to remain looking attractive, mature, and capable of handling four men.
Despite the way the painkillers were making her feel, her attraction to Matt, Dale, Virgo, and Quaid was hotter. She took a deep breath and opened the door, the dizziness as intense as her nervousness. She grabbed onto the door frame as Virgo stood there, shook his head, and then picked her up into his arms. She had been right. The man was as wide and muscular as a linebacker, but with a softness in his eyes that instantly made her feel safe and protected. If not for the fact that her skirt was lifted higher under her ass in this position, she would relish in the time he held her. So many things were going through her head. She liked them. She felt like she could even have strong feelings for each of them. But the fear, the distrust, was too strong. She wanted to take a chance. She truly did, but then she would think about Detroit, and the horrible things she witnessed, never mind experienced. She knew that the way those men had treated women was wrong, and they exploited them, used them, and then tossed them away like trash. She was a lucky one, a late bloomer which saved her virginity and her body from deeper harm. Well at least from being raped. The touching, the pain he inflicted on her despite the fact that she had an underdeveloped body still scared her deep. Could she even let her guard down tonight to let these four men, men she knew wouldn’t hurt her, see her in nothing but her panties and bra?
She looked at Virgo as he climbed the stairs and carried her down the hallway to the last room on the right.
“Are you okay? You’re being very quiet,” Virgo said.
“Fine.” She snapped, and she didn’t mean to, but she was nervous.
He made a noise as if annoyed with her.
“Are you mad at me, too?” she asked him, and was surprised that she did. Why did she care? She never cared what people thought. But thinking that Virgo, the calmest, sweetest of the bunch was angry with her gave her guilt inside.
He looked down at her. “I care about you. You’re too beautiful, too special to be injured and to have to get stitches. I don’t like it. I don’t want any scars on this gorgeous body.”
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She swallowed hard. “It was an accident.”
“So you say,” he countered.
“It was, Virgo.”
He paused in the middle of the bedroom and she turned to the left to see Matt and Quaid standing there undressing.
“What are you doing?” she asked in a panic.
“We all need some sleep. We’ll check you over and then get you in bed,” Matt stated. She nearly drooled at the sight of Matt and Quaid undressed wearing only boxers and filled with muscles. They were stunning, and it made her panic in both excitement and worry. Would they want to make love to her? Together? Was that how it worked? Did they just rescue women from bar fights, whisk them off to their home, and then take what they wanted from them?
“Get that look off your face. We’re not going to take advantage of you. We’re going to take care of you,” Dale told her firmly. Now he was even getting short with her. Why were they so high strung? They all had sex before. God knew how many women they took into this bedroom, undressed, seduced, and then had wild crazy sex with? She closed her eyes tight and cringed as she felt her body shake. She gripped onto Virgo.
“Virgo, set her down, and we’ll get a better look at the bruising on her hip bone,” Matt stated.
Virgo looked at her, as if waiting to see if she were ready to stop gripping his neck. She slowly loosened her grip, and he set her down and she held on to him. They locked gazes.
“We’re not going to hurt you. You’re our woman, Sage. Tonight you start trusting us, and opening up your heart.”
She felt his words, the sincerity of them, and the power of them to her heart. “I believe you, but that doesn’t mean I’m not scared.” Quaid and Matt reached for her camisole.
“Let’s take this off nice and easy,” Quaid said.
She shook her head and stepped back on wobbly, unsure legs.
“We need to check you over,” Dale told her.
“My hip is fine. I’m fine in this.”
“Sage, relax and let us take care of you,” Matt said.
She darted her eyes around at each of them. She felt her throat close up, the fear grip her as she shook her head.
Dale moved around to where Virgo was as Matt and Quaid gently reached for her arms and caressed them gently.
“It’s okay. Trust us, Sage. We’re grown men, experienced men, who know how to treat a woman and care for her. We’ve waited far too long to tell you how we feel about you and how much you mean to us,” Quaid told her as she held his gaze.
She slowly relaxed a little. Maybe they would just see she was okay and didn’t have more bruises and then they would go to bed and sleep. She looked at their bare chests. Quaid had muscles even on his forearms. They were so much larger than her. She liked that. She could get lost in any of their embraces. She wanted that. To feel so safe with their arms of steel around her, protecting her.