Brotherhood Protectors_Rescuing Reya Read online

Elias

  When I came to, I was on the barn floor with Reya curled up to me. Being a little disoriented, I freaked, thinking she was dead because she was so still. But as soon as she lifted her head I calmed down.

  The next several hours consisted of firefighters, policemen, the coroner and emergency personnel coming and going while asking a ton of questions. It was exhausting and I could tell Reya was ready for it to be over. A year-long nightmare for her can finally come to a close and she can get on with her life. I should be happy I helped and that she’s okay, but instead I feel hollow. I remember this feeling well. It took over my life after I got out of the military.

  My home and all my belongings are gone, not that it was much, but it was still mine. The peace I’d worked so hard to gain since I came here went up in that same puff of smoke. Reya stumbled drunkenly into my life a few days ago and twisted it inside out. I never thought about loving someone again. Never thought about making a commitment again until those last moments before all hell broke loose last night. She was already getting under my skin before that. She’s beautiful, strong, resilient, loyal and intelligent. Who wouldn’t want a woman like that at their side? Maybe if there was no chemistry I’d feel differently. But we have that in spades.

  Something passed between us on that bed last night, something I didn’t even know existed. Now, I have to let her go. It’s time for her to move on with her life, and with all of this tied up and her questions answered, she can.

  Earlier today her father flew in to the airport in Billings and Hank picked him up. I didn’t want her driving home alone, especially after everything that’s happened and she refused to let me help. I can’t lie and say that didn’t hurt, but I wasn’t going to admit it out loud.

  Her father, Jeb Saunders, is a large, robust man with a kind smile and firm handshake. In fact, when I met him upon his arrival, he almost shook my hand right off as he thanked me for everything. Bill put us in his guest rooms in the main house an hour ago and I’ve been lying here trying to figure out how to say goodbye and let Reya go. I’ve also tossed around the idea of asking her to stay and finding us somewhere to live nearby, but I quickly realized how selfish that would be and let the thought die.

  The creak of the door snaps me out of my thoughts and I glance over to see Reya tiptoeing in and closing it behind her. Without a word, she slips into bed and straddles me. My hands slide up and clasp her hips automatically. What’s she doing? Why is she here? She hasn’t said much to me since her dad arrived so I thought maybe she was ready to be done.

  Reya dips her head in close and brushes her lips with mine. When she sits up she whips her shirt over her head and rocks a little against me. I stifle a groan as I grow with the friction. She leans down again and slips her tongue between my lips. Her mouth is minty and warm and I get lost in the sensation of her. When I can’t get any harder, she raises up and strips off her panties and tugs my boxers down and off. Then she sits up, opens a condom packet and rolls it on me. Considering my apartment burned to the ground, I have no idea where she got it, but now isn’t the time to ask. Now is the time to enjoy the feel of her sweet pussy wrapped around me and her nails buried in my chest as she rides me. Her hips rock slowly at first, steadily increasing the pace until I’m forced to hold the headboard so you can’t hear it squeaking or banging against the wall.

  Her beautiful breasts bounce and sway in time to her movements. I wrap my free hand around one and roll the berry tip between my fingers, causing her pussy to clench and her head to roll back. Strands of her long hair brush my thighs behind her. I want to shout her name, but instead I grip her hips and hold tight as I climax so hard it feels like I’ve emptied myself completely. Her body shudders and she whimpers as her orgasm hits her seconds later. Finally, she collapses on my chest and rests there. She doesn’t say a word and neither do I. How do I make this last longer, like all night?

  Reya draws designs on the skin of my shoulder with her fingernail as I rub her back softly.

  “I’m going to miss you,” she whispers. “Tomorrow I go back to my life, but I’m not ready to leave you.”

  There are two things I want to say to her. One of them being that I want her to stay. The other that I’m in love with her. But knowing those aren’t the right things to say to her I remain quiet. After 10 minutes, she kisses me one last time and climbs out of bed, looking for her clothes.

  As she’s shrugging her shirt back on I finally say her name.

  She kneels on the bed and kisses my lips. “Shhh. You don’t need to say a thing. I get it. You don’t owe me anything,” she whispers, then leaves the way she came. And I’m right back to the empty feeling I had before she came in here. What the hell is wrong with me? Why didn’t I say what I’m feeling? Probably because it’s wrong to try and keep her here. This is not her home.

  The next morning, I follow them out to their car and shake hands with her dad before he goes to the driver’s seat and leaves me with her.

  “Thank you for everything. I’m so sorry about your house and your stuff. I wish you’d let me repay you.”

  Reaching out, I push the stray strands of hair over her shoulder and out of the way. I could say they were in her face, but that would be a lie. The truth is that I wanted to touch her at least one last time.

  “It’s all stuff. None of it mattered. You’re safe; that’s what counts. You don’t owe me anything. Bill will get the insurance check and rebuild. I’ll find myself a place in town. Everything’s okay. Just go home and be happy. That’s all I want, is for you to be happy. You deserve it.”

  We stare at each other for a long time and I can feel all the things I pushed down last night creeping to the surface. Almost as if she’s saving me from myself, she breaks the stare-down and hugs me. I hold her tight and kiss the top of her hair. Finally, she pulls back, turns and strides to the car. “Reya!” I call to her like I’m going to say more. But of course I don’t—I can’t—so she climbs into the car without another look back. I wave as she disappears from the property, taking the last little bit of my heart with her.

  10

  Reya

  I’ve been back for three weeks and haven’t slept for shit. I accepted a job right after I got home at the same hospice house I worked at before the accident, and I started a few days ago. Sadly, I’m not the least bit excited about it. In fact, I’m not excited about much of anything these days. I’ve been staying with my parents until I can sort out where I want to live, and although that’s fine, I can’t seem to make myself even look. It’s pathetic.

  Most days my mind lingers on memories of my time in Montana. About the way the Crazy Mountains loom in the distance beyond Bill’s property or the sound of the cattle as they graze nearby. I swear I can still smell the mix of hay and fresh, dry air, and I miss it. It only took a few days for me to fall in love with Montana and Elias Covington. I miss him more than any of the things that I miss about Montana, though. I miss the look of him in his Wrangler jeans and that dirty cowboy hat that he loved. I really miss the quiet, deep timbre of his voice and the warmth of his arms. I won’t mention what I miss when the lights go out.

  I wanted him to ask me to stay, but he didn’t. For a few seconds I thought he might, but I was wrong. I almost wondered when I left if what I was feeling was an illusion. It’s easy to get wrapped up in emotion when life is in turmoil like it was. Add life or death situations and a sexy hard-bodied man and I think it’s impossible not to get carried away. I thought once I was home I could forget him. The problem is…I haven’t. In fact, it’s worse now.

  Men don’t fall in love after a few days, especially with women in situations as crazy as mine was, so I’m sure he was happy as hell to see me go. Sure, there was sex involved and men love that, but I think he’s the kind of guy who is happier alone, and I was stomping all over that.

  Last week I bought him a brand-new, sexy white Stetson hat and shipped it to him with a thank-you note. I can never replace his granddaddy’s hat that he lost in the
fire, but I could at least get him a nice replacement. I just hope he likes it.

  It took me forever to write the note I put in the box, and I must have used a hundred sheets of paper trying to do it, but I finally settled on simple.

  Elias,

  I can’t thank you enough for rescuing me and ending my nightmare. I’m so sorry your granddaddy’s hat is gone. I know this won’t replace the sentiment of your old one, but I hope you’ll be able to make use of this one.

  Thank you doesn’t seem like a sufficient term to say to someone who flipped my world upside down. But I’ll say it anyway because I’ll never be the same. Thank you.

  With a grateful heart,

  Reya

  It wasn’t my best, but I didn’t want to look at that hat for one more minute and think about the super soft hair it was going to cover, or what he’ll look like wearing it, so I put it in the mail last week.

  We were low on milk and eggs when I left for work today so I stopped to pick some up on my way home. Now I’m headed to my parents’ house for another night in front of the television watching game shows and the Hallmark Channel. Ugh.

  As I turn down their street I notice a big white truck in the driveway. My heart skips a beat when I realize the tailgate is down and a good-looking cowboy, wearing the sexiest Stetson hat I’ve ever seen, is sitting on it. Oh my God! What is Elias doing here?

  I pull in behind my dad’s car and throw it in park. My heart has picked up the pace and is hammering in my chest. I blink a few times and make sure I’m really seeing what I think I’m seeing. He’s still there, studying me through my window. Looking more handsome than I remember. His light blond hair is curling along his collar and ears a little, but he’s freshly shaven. His Wrangler jeans are obviously new but I bet they fit the same as the old ones.

  When I climb out of the car, it’s like I’m in slow motion. I’m afraid to hope that he might be here for me, but I’m also not going to ignore the possibility that he might be. Why else would he be here?

  I stop about two feet in front of him, afraid that if I get any closer I’ll leap right into his arms whether he wants me or not. “You’re here,” is all I can say.

  “Yeah, thought you deserved a thank you for the hat and I suck at writing letters. It’s easier for me to do it in person.” The sound of his heavy southern accent melts my insides. His lips twitch and one side rises in a half smile.

  “You drove all the way here to say thank you?”

  He cocks his head to the side and pauses. “Yes, and to tell you I miss you.”

  My heart is now thundering in my chest loud enough that I bet he can hear it and I reach up to rest my palm on it like I can calm it down that way. I wish I could come up with something good to say, but I can’t get a single word to form. Realizing I’m not going to be able to talk, I instead close the distance between us and throw my arms around his neck. He wraps his arms around me and lifts me up higher.

  “You miss me too?” He pulls back to pin me with those gorgeous blue eyes.

  When I nod a yes, happy tears spill over my lids.

  “Let’s not do that anymore then,” he says, referring to my crying, as he wipes the tears away. He kisses me hard and long. This kiss is inappropriate for the front yard of my parents’ house, but I don’t give a damn. He breaks away and rests his forehead against mine.

  “Your Mama said you got a job.”

  “Yeah,” I answer as I glance down at my scrubs.

  “If you can give me a few weeks, so I don’t leave Bill without help, I’ll move down here to be with you. That is, if you want me.”

  “You’ll move your whole life for me?”

  “This is probably the best time in my life to move, considering I only have about a week’s worth of clothes and no furniture to my name.” He grins like this is funny.

  “Do you want to leave Montana?”

  He tucks a stray lock of my hair behind my ear and smiles sweetly at me. “I want to be wherever you are.”

  “Are you sure?”

  He gives me a look like that’s a stupid question. “Reya, it took less than a week to fall in love with you. I can’t imagine what a lifetime will do. I don’t care where we are, as long as we’re together.”

  “Then let’s go back to Montana. There’s nothing here for me except my parents, and they can visit. I don’t know what I’ll do for work, but I can figure it out.”

  “Funny you should mention work. Doc called me last week asking if you’d want a job as his nurse. He said it would be in the office and out on house calls. I told him you went home and I think he got mad at me.”

  I laugh out loud for the first time since I was with him last and his eyes smile back at me.

  “Montana it is.” I pull him down for a kiss and when I break it I say, “And for the record, I’m pretty sure I fell in love with you when I got a view of you in those Wrangler jeans the first time.” He laughs as I smack his ass and drag him toward the house.

  The End

  If you are interested in learning more about Tiffani Lynn’s books or connecting with her please visit Tiffanilynn.com