Lena's Happily Ever After (The Town of Pearl 3)

He dropped the bottle and grabbed her by her upper arms before pulling her against him.

He looked down at her. Her heart raced, wondering what this psycho was going to do to her. She’d pushed him too far. What the hell was I thinking messing with a Marine?

His grip was hard as his eyes bore into hers from above.

“You deserve better than that. You should be spread out on a bed of roses and made loved to, not fucked like some whore.”

Her chest tightened. She wasn’t a whore. She hadn’t had sex with them. Well, not technically, anyway.

“Well, I didn’t have sex with them. We fooled around, Bryant. As a matter of fact, it was all very new to me and quite enjoyable. Maybe if you stopped drinking and shaved those whiskers off your face, you’d be more appealing?”

He shoved her away from him and kicked the bottle on the ground before walking up the steps.

“Go do whatever with them. I don’t give a shit.”

“Sure you don’t, soldier boy. Hey, I’l

l be over later to fix your dinner.”

“Don’t bother. I won’t be here. You can spend the night with my brothers.”

He slammed the door closed, and she stared at it a moment in shock.

“What the hell just happened?”

She turned and headed toward the main house, trying to compose herself again. She felt angry, insulted, but also proud for not backing down from him and, damn it, a little turned on. Had he really heard her last night? She covered her mouth and giggled as she felt her cheeks warm.

Last night was amazing, and she sure did look forward to more nights like that one. However, she couldn’t lead Blake, Kenny, and Quinn on. They wanted to make a commitment to her. Even if she were attracted to Bryant, she couldn’t force their relationship to mend. He needed time, and maybe it was out of her control.

* * * *

Abigail was laughing along with Stacy, Lena, and Anna as Stacy told them about her baby, Hope, getting an upset stomach last week along with her men’s reactions.

“It was so funny. We were all in bed and I was holding Hope, trying to stop her from fussing, when she made that gurgling sound,” Stacy stated with a giggle.

“Oh boy, don’t I remember that sound,” Abigail replied.

“Well sure enough just as she began to get sick, both Max and Eric jumped up out of bed and went running clear out of the bedroom and into the hallway.”

“No?” Anna asked in shock.

“Hell yeah they did. They abandoned ship and looked like they were scared out of their minds. The funniest part is that baby Hope didn’t get sick, she just spit up a little ol’ bit.”

They laughed about the story, and Abigail saw Lena smiling.

She watched as Lena smiled toward baby Hope.

“She is so beautiful, Stacy,” Lena stated.

“Why thank you. Do you like babies?” Stacy asked.

“I used to babysit a lot in my apartment complex for money back in Detroit.”

“Really. That’s wonderful.”

“Do you have any siblings?” Abigail asked Lena.

Lena reached up and gently touched her bruised cheek.