Keeley's Fight (The Protectors 1)

Ducking her head to take a drink of her coffee, she was equally thrilled and scared spit less at this. They were the first people to ever be kind to her, let alone want to take care of her. Tread carefully here, they could still hurt and use you. Her inner voice kept trying to interfere with what her heart wanted so badly… To be loved. It’s the only thing she ever wanted and never got. Not from the parents she was forced to slave for, not from the friends she thought she had until she was forced to drop out of school, and never once from any of the seedy employers that hired her for barely minimum wage and made her do the most filthy jobs.

Deciding she wanted to get to know them better was easier said than done. She had serious trust issues, especially with men. “Would it be ok if I asked you guys some questions?”

“Anything,” they both replied smiling at her.

“Ummm, gosh, I don’t know where to start.” Smiling sheepishly over her coffee. “How old are you both?”

“Well, I’m 32 and Ty here turned 30 not long ago,” Nate responded, shocking her at their age. It didn’t bother her, the age difference. She just didn’t think they looked quite that old.

“Is Kennedy your only sibling?”

“You bet, thank fuck! The girl has been a pain in our asses since the day she was born! Spoilt little princess,” Tyler chimed in with a smile, so she knew that while it may be true, they both still loved her very much.

“And you’re Marines, right? I’ve heard, once a Marine always a Marine,” she said it in such a gruff voice, mimicking a masculine tone that Nathaniel and Tyler both burst out laughing. “Yeah baby, that’s right. Marine for life!” Tyler told her.

“How does your arm feel, Butterfly?”

“It’s fine, Nathaniel. Just a little sore.” She smiled at him.

Struggling with how to ask her next question, and maybe the most important one, Keeley just had to know if she was the first woman they’d shared together? Thinking about what her room looked like, she had the feeling that no she wasn’t, but had they used that room with someone else? Or was she just special? Clearing her throat she mumbled out, “Have you shared women before?” Looking down and holding her breath, she waited for their answer.

“Darlin’, look at me,” Tyler coaxed her. Looking up, she saw their serious faces and waited. “We’ve shared before a few times, we like it. It makes us feel complete. But never, and I mean never, have we found a woman that we’ve wanted to bring home or spend more than a few nights with.”

Interrupting him Nathaniel continued, “It takes a special kind of woman to be able to have this type of relationship Butterfly, and honestly, we have yet t

o find a woman who has wanted more than the thrill of saying she’s been with two men. With you, we want it all. Everything. You understand?” He asked.

At her nod, Nathaniel went on to tell her that when they bought the house and renovated it, they knew that no woman would enter their domain until they brought home the one that would complete them. That they would marry. That even though her room was built for three, she was the only one who had ever slept in that bed. Essentially, the room was hers for as long as she was with them. It helped ease some of Keeley’s anxiety, but she was still nervous. Still had doubts that they wouldn’t want her once they learnt of her past. Deciding not to dwell on it anymore for now, she just enjoyed the quiet moment they were having, not prepared for their next question. She knew it was coming sooner rather than later, so she should have expected it. She just wasn’t ready to trust them with those answers yet, though. Because in all honesty, who would want her when even her own parents didn’t?

“Do you want to tell us what happened yesterday, before you came to the restaurant? You can trust us,” Tyler implored, looking her in the eye. She saw the warmth, the concern, but she just wasn’t ready. Shaking her head, she stood up and went back out the front door to sit on the swing she noticed on the porch earlier.

Chapter 8

She shut down. He could see it happening as soon as the words left his mouth. Her face was devoid of emotion, and her eyes went sad before they went dead, completely. “What do we do, Nate?” He asked, not really expecting an answer, but hopeful for one none the less.

“She needs time to trust us, Ty. She’ll open up when she’s ready. We just need to be prepared for everything that’s going to come with her story. If I had to guess, it was pure hell,” Nate answered him solemnly before getting up and going to their home gym in the basement.

Ty sat there thinking for what felt like hours, but in reality was probably only twenty minutes or so, when he heard his cell phone ringing from the counter. Picking it up, he said, “Go for Maxwell.”

“That crazy psycho thing you and your brother called a girlfriend, at one time, is here again Tyler Maxwell. I told you the next time she showed up I was going to sick Cooper on her. You have five minutes.” Their secretary, Julia, didn’t even give him a chance to reply before she hung up on him. Sighing he got up, thinking over their very, very short encounter with that viper. They should have known better than to get involved with her, she was too forward with her pursuit of them for their usual tastes. They had sex with her one time, over a year ago, and they have been avoiding her like the plague ever since. He was pretty sure she was like Lyme disease, only in human form. Once you’ve got it, it never leaves!

Sending a quick text to Nate that he was heading to the office to deal with something, because you don’t interrupt him when he’s working out, or you risk being tossed around like a sack of potatoes. He grabbed his keys and walked out the front door. Stopping in front of Keeley, he bent down and told her, “I’ve gotta head to the office for about an hour. Nate’s downstairs in the gym, but help yourself to anything while I’m gone, alright?”

Nodding her head she finally looked at him. “Will you be gone long?”

“No baby doll, maybe an hour or so.”

“Ok,” she whispered back. Kissing her cheek and heading for his truck, he starts the short drive to work. Pulling up outside of their building, which is basically just an old warehouse that they had renovated to fit their security firm’s needs, he saw Julia kept her word about calling in Cooper. Coop was an old Marine buddy they hired about two years ago, when he and his best friend Dane left the service. Closer than brothers, those two always stuck together.

Chuckling at the scene before him, Cooper with scratches down his face, and the viper, Tawnya, in a headlock, he couldn’t help but be slightly amused. “What’s going on, Coop?” He asked, like this was an everyday occurrence, which lately it’s been happening frequently enough that it almost could be.

“Same old, same old, man. Just taking out your trash.” And let the screeching commence in 3…2… “Ahhhhhhh, I am not trash, you… you oversized ape!!! Let me go this instant, or I’m calling the police and pressing charges for assault!!!”

“Do it, you slick little viperous leech! They’re on their way now to arrest YOU for trespassing and assault on poor Cooper,” was Julia’s smooth reply. It only knocked the wind out of her sails for about ten seconds before she started spewing her crap again.

“Cooper, you best let me go before I scream rape! And Ty, baby, how could you do this to me, to us? You, Nate, and I are soul mates. We’re meant for each other!” She practically whined, only embarrassing herself further.

Getting sick of her shit, and tired of always playing nice, Ty exploded on her. “We fucked you one time Tawnya, one miserable fucking time, and honestly it wasn’t even that memorable. You need to get over yourself. Accept the fact that Nate and I were done with you as soon as the condoms were off. Move the fuck on, we sure as hell have!”