Angelique (5 page)

* * * *

“What the fuck happened?” Armand asked.

“I don’t know. Truck was empty. I saw from the window and went down to look. Is she okay?” Marcel asked then caressed her shoulder.

“You okay, Angel?”

“I’m fine, but I think I’m bleeding,” she told them, and Remy was at her side immediately. Her hand was against her ribs and under her arm near her right breast.

She looked a little pale as she pulled her hand away and showed them that it was covered in blood.

“Fuck!” Armand yelled.

“Get her into the trailer and we’ll look her over,” Marcel told Remy. Remy lifted her into his arms and carried her out of the building.

“Handle this and call Eloi,” Armand pointed to Earl and Leon as they headed out of the building with Angelique.

* * * *

Remy gently placed her down on her feet the moment they entered the trailer.

Angelique was finally calming down from her scare, but now she was hyped up over the three sexy men standing around her trying to get her to remove her tank top.

“It will be fine. Just give me the first-aid kit and I’ll handle it,” she stated. She didn’t dare tell them that the cut was burning.

“You either take it off yourself or I’m going to do it. This is serious. You could have been killed,” Marcel raised his voice. Her heart was pounding in her chest. They were in some kind of double-wide trailer-office on the site. There was a couch, a few desks, a refrigerator, and coffee station.

It was Remy who placed his hands on her waist and stared into her eyes.

“We know what we’re doing. None of us are going to hurt you,” he told her. She stared up into his green eyes. He had a kind smile, and was just as muscular as his brothers. He was an inch or so shorter than Armand and Marcel. He looked sexy as sin with his crew-cut hair, small scars obvious on his scalp, and one along his neck. She wondered how he got them, and her belly quivered. He was in the war, too, just like Marcel. Was it getting hot in here or what?

He began to gently pull her tank top from the confinements of her pants. Although this was supposed to be an act of first aid, to Angelique it felt quite erotic, and the sexual tension filled the room to almost capacity. She covered his hands, and the move caused an ache against her ribs. She cringed, and they noticed. Armand was by her side.

“You’re hurt. Let him take it off,” Armand ordered.

She shook her head, and a few muttered curses flew through the room. They surrounded her, and she didn’t exactly know them well enough to be removing her tank top. Plus, she had big breasts and had always been self-conscious about them. It was part of the reason she designed lingerie. That thought of course made her mind run into overdrive just thinking about what sexy lingerie she would wear if she were one of the brother’s girlfriends. Instantly she had a pain in her stomach. It was guilt. She couldn’t choose between them. They were all just so attractive and nice.

Armand placed his hands against her cheeks and stared at her. Remy crossed his arms over his chest and glared. Was he annoyed at Armand for stepping in his way, or was he really getting that angry with her? A shiver ran up her spine as she remembered her ex who hit her. He had a temper, too, and he was not ex-military.

“You’re shaking and we’re worried, baby.” He stared down into her eyes, and she felt confused. Part of her wanted him to kiss her, but not with his brothers watching, and part of her wanted them all to kiss her. She’d never had such insane feelings before.

“You scared me,” he whispered then leaned closer and kissed her softly. She instantly closed her eyes and allowed him to taste her. His kiss grew hotter, and his hand pressed under her tank top and against her ribs opposite of her injured side. She held on to his arms and reciprocated the kiss until they mutually stopped. He slowly released her lips, but not before nibbling on her bottom lip.

“Mmm…Mmm…Better than expected, Angel,” he told her then smiled as he held her around her waist.

“Now will you let us take care of you?” Remy asked. She looked at each of them and their warm yet carnal expressions and blushed. Marcel licked his lips as he eyed her over. It warmed her inside to think he was turned on by watching his brother kiss her like that. Crazy!

She swallowed hard and nodded as Remy gently lifted the tank top higher. His thumbs touched her belly as he slowly removed the tank top.

* * * *

Marcel’s heart was pounding in his chest. He should be worried about Angelique’s wound, but with each inch of skin revealed as Remy undressed her, the more his heart pounded and his cock throbbed. When Armand took her hands and helped raise her arms so Remy could remove her tank top, Marcel’s imagination went into overdrive. He could picture Angelique belonging to them. To all of them as they undressed her and made love to her. She was sexy, petite, and a fantasy come true. As Remy removed her tank top, revealing her black lace bra that hardly covered her beautifully large breasts, he inhaled sharply. So did Remy and Armand.

“The cut, remember,” she snapped, and Armand cursed at the sight.

Angelique was scratched multiple times and was bleeding a little more from under her arm, along the side of her breast and her ribs. It appeared that the bra was ripped as well.

“I can’t keep my arm raised, it burns,” she told them, and Armand helped her to lower it. He glanced around the room. “Here, sit on the stool and put your arm on the back part of the stool. Then we can clean this out and see what the damage is.”

Marcel and Remy pulled out the supplies and laid them on the table.

The door to the trailer swung open, surprising everyone, but especially Angelique as she tried to turn to hide her body. Remy covered it from view of the intruder.

Armand saw Eloi in his sheriff’s uniform and released a sigh.

“It’s just Eloi, Angelique, it’s okay,” Armand told her.

“What the fuck happened? Why is she here, and why the fuck was she on the scaffolding?” he yelled, and Angelique turned away. Armand could see that Eloi had scared her.

“Settle down, it was an accident,” Armand told Eloi then glared at him.

“She hurt?” he asked in what sounded more like a growl.

Armand nodded.

“Let me see,” he stated.

“No! It’s just a scratch. No need to fuss,” she stated then tried to push Remy’s hand away and stand up.

In an instant, she appeared to have lost her balance as she grabbed on to Remy. Marcel stepped closer, but Remy was already next to her. Remy lifted her into his arms and glared at Eloi before carrying Angelique over to the couch. Armand followed, and so did Marcel. Eloi cursed then stood a few feet away, staring in shock as if he just realized Angelique was half dressed. He looked toward Marcel and raised his eyebrows as if questioning why she was undressed. Marcel was annoyed at Eloi.

“She’s hurt,” Armand scolded before Marcel could comment.

“Angelique, just lay still. Are you feeling dizzy, baby?” Remy asked her, and she nodded then closed her eyes.

“I’ll get something cold for her to drink.” Marcel walked away toward the refrigerator.

“We better apply some disinfectant to that wound right away,” Armand said as he opened up the first-aid kit and began to add ointment to a gauze pad. Remy wiped down the cuts and scrapes with some clean saline.

“She’s got a splinter of wood here and where her bra ripped, but no stitches are needed,” Remy told Armand as he raised her arm a little higher.

“Can you keep that up and out of the way, baby?” he asked, and she nodded her head.

 Armand retuned with a pair of pointy tweezers as Marcel stood by with a bottle of cold water. Together Remy and Armand worked gently to remove the splinters and bandage the deeper cuts. All the while tamping down his lust-filled thoughts, Armand wondered how the hell they were all keeping it together. Angelique was gorgeous. Her breasts were full and round, nearly bursting from the confines of the fine black bra she wore. By the looks of the deep cleavage, their woman was voluptuous. His eyes absorbed the curves of her body and the way the waist of her pants clung loosely to her hips. Her belly was flat and tan like the rest of her, and she was sporting some piercing on her belly, too. It was damn sexy, and as Armand looked up from her body to her closed eyes, he then glanced at his brothers.

Marcel was biting his lower lip into his mouth, his gaze focused completely on Angelique.

It was Remy who was cleaning up the mess, and Eloi stood watching all of them.

“She could have been killed,” Eloi whispered with his hands on his holster and that serious look he got whenever he was pissed off at something or someone. It usually led to a trip to the bar or the backyard and some moonshine.

“It was some kind of accident,” Remy added.

“Who was with her? Who should have been with her?” Eloi asked.

“I was with her, and then I saw the truck. I hurried outside to find out what was happening,” Marcel stated, feeling just as upset about the fact that he left her alone. But if he hadn’t done that, who knows how much worse the situation might have been. Marcel thought that he had minimized the damage by getting out there so quickly.

“She’s just a little thing,” Eloi stated.

“I’m fine. If Marcel didn’t stop the truck, more people could have been hurt,” Angelique whispered as she moved her arm and prepared to get up.

“Lay still,” Marcel stated, and Armand, Remy, and Eloi all yelled for her to stay.

* * * *

Angelique had been afraid to open her eyes. She feared seeing whether or not the four men stared at her and damned her thoughts as she hoped with all her heart that they were. Her belly tightened, and her nipples felt like tiny pebbles they were so damn hard. They had to have noticed. She also didn’t like the possessive way they spoke about her. She hardly knew any of them, and now here she was, practically naked from the waist up and just asking for trouble. She covered her breasts the best she could and sat up. Her belly growled, reminding her that she hadn’t eaten anything. Add in the heat and working since this morning, and she was probably suffering from a bit of heat exhaustion. Her hair fell around her shoulders and across her breasts. It just about covered the cleavage, and she was grateful.

“I’m fine. I’m just hungry and thirsty. I haven’t had anything since this morning.”

“We left the sandwiches at the site. I’ll go get them,” Remy stated then hurried out the door.

“Right here, you lay back down, you rest,” Eloi ordered as he pointed toward the couch and held her gaze. He looked so darn mean, and his deep voice intimidated her. His brothers were stern but noble as they showed concern for her well-being. Eloi seemed rough around the edges. It was obvious by his perusal that Eloi cared for her well–being, but maybe being in law enforcement made him hard. There was no other word for it. Even his facial structure was strong, chiseled and stern. She swallowed hard and tried not to show the fear she felt in her stomach. Then there was a tingling sensation. She must have banged her head and forgotten. After her abusive relationship, she tended to avoid men altogether and steer clear of aggressive men. They tended to be abusive, or at least she was under that impression. She only had one terribly bad relationship to go by, but that was enough. She slowly looked toward Armand in hopes that he was as understanding and gentle as he came across.

“Can you please pass me my tank top so I can use a bathroom?” she asked.

Armand walked over to the chair and grabbed her top then walked back.

“Help you with that?” he asked. She shook her head, and he handed it to her. Their fingers touched, and she felt that tingling sensation again. Apparently he did as well, as he smiled.

“Bathroom is that way.” Armand pointed down the small hall. As she stood up, she refused to look at Eloi. She could practically feel his heated stare on her. She wondered how far he would let her get.

Angelique thanked Marcel, who accompanied her down the hallway, and waited for him to walk back toward the main area of the trailer. Once he was out of sight, she ducked into the bathroom and released a long breath she hadn’t even known she was holding.

She washed cold water on her face and ran her fingers through her hair. She was shocked at how rosy her cheeks were and how bright her eyes looked. She was aroused, and damn it, if she could see the lust in her own eyes, what did the men see?

She took care of her business, freshened up after checking out her cut, and readjusted her bra. They did a good job removing the splinters. By the looks of how many thin red lines there were on her skin, there had been at least eight splinters. She would have to be sure and add more ointment to the area tonight after her shower. The tank had sticky blood on it, but at least it was a dark olive green and didn’t stand out too badly. She had a change of clothes in her car anyway. She was hoping to stop into town to grab a few things before she headed home. Including those beads from Maw Maw.

Taking another deep breath, she prepared herself to face the men. She wasn’t sure how she would find them but hoped they weren’t ready to attack.

As she walked down the hall and entered the room, she noticed that only Remy and Marcel were there. Where had Eloi and Armand gone off to? As if reading her thoughts, Remy patted the stool next to his and smiled.

“Sit here, sugar. Armand and Eloi took their lunch with them. They have a report to fill out and some investigating to do.”

She made her way toward him and had to pass Marcel, who sat on a chair near the end of the counter. She shyly looked away, and in that second, Marcel took her hand and gently pulled her against him and between his legs where he sat on the stool.

He placed his hands on her hips and held her gaze.

“Eloi would never hurt you. None of us would,” he told her with his hands firm against her hip bones. She could feel his thumbs gently rub against the material covering her skin.

She inhaled his scent, a mix of cologne, spackle, and soap. He was even better looking close up, and she noticed he shared the same facial features as Remy and Armand, except Armand was a bit thinner, even in his cheeks where Marcel had a muscular shape to his face.

“I don’t need trouble, and I don’t know any of you.”

Marcel placed his hand against her cheek and caressed her lower lip with his thumb.

“Planning on changing that,” he told her then leaned forward as if he were going to kiss her. Part of her wanted him to, but part of her knew it wouldn’t be right. She had just kissed Armand. She placed her hands on his shoulders to stop him.

“Please don’t do this. Your brother just kissed me a little while ago. It wouldn’t be right.”

“That’s where you’re wrong, sugar. We all want to get to know you,” Remy stated then took a bite from his sandwich. She was shocked, and Marcel smiled at Remy’s comment.

“He’s right, and we’re all planning on knowing you good. Now get something to eat, we’ve got work to do,” Marcel turned her around and tapped her on her rear as she hurried to her seat between them.

Her whole body was on fire from the way these men spoke to her and touched her. She especially felt curious about the getting-to-know-each-of-them thing. What exactly were they talking about? She wondered throughout the fifteen minutes they ate and then decided that her libido couldn’t handle the fantasies she was imagining. Four hot men and she in the middle at their mercy caused her body temperature to rise. Could she handle that? She instantly thought about Eloi again. That man scared her in ways she wasn’t certain that she was ready to face. Could he be abusive? Was he capable of hurting a woman? She wondered so many things that by the time they finished lunch, she felt nervous and shaky. Hopefully Eloi was gone, and she wouldn’t have to face his wrath again.