Protectors (3 page)

We knew when we moved west that we were going to run into some

of this.”

“I still wish you woulda told me,” Tyler grumbled.

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Samantha Blair

“Why? So you could fret over it?”

Tyler sighed in exasperation. Gage did have a point. He was a

worrier. “That why you insisted on having that security system

installed right after we got here?”

“It was one reason,” Gage agreed.

Tyler finished cleaning out the scrapes on Sara’s palm. “Lift up

your legs, honey. I wanna get the scrapes on your knees.”

Sara obediently lifted her feet up to the counter. The hem of her

dress slid up her thigh, and Tyler caught a glimpse of her blue cotton panties. He bit down on his lip to stifle a moan. Now was not the time to be noticing how attractive she was, or to think about how long it

had been since he’d had the pleasure of being with a woman.

He returned his attention to her knees.

“What happened to you, sweetheart? You sure are beat up.”

“Jeremy was out with some friends. They were supposed to be

gone most of the night. I’ve been planning to leave him for a while

now, but I haven’t had the means or the guts to get away. It’s kind of complicated, but tonight was supposed to be the night. I packed up all of my stuff and was just about to leave when he came home early. He

saw my suitcases in the living room and went ballistic.”

“He hit you?” Gage asked. It didn’t really sound like a question.

She nodded, her eyes filling with tears.

“I had a full tank of gas in my car. I’m not sure how far I would

have gotten. I didn’t have anywhere to go, but I figured I’d get out of Montana and then find a job waiting tables or something until I got

back on my feet.” The tears streamed down her cheeks, and Tyler

handed her a box of tissues. “I couldn’t even get that far. Maybe I am stupid, like he always says. I just thought I could get out.”

Tyler pulled her into his chest. “I never want to hear you say that

again. You are not stupid. You were doing the right thing trying to get out of there. We’re gonna help you. Okay?”

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21

Lifting her gently off the counter, he set her on the ground.

“You’re all patched up, but I think we should give you a change of

clothes. Your dress is pretty well ruined.”

“Grab one of my T-shirts,” Gage suggested. “It should fit her like

a dress.”

Tyler shot him a questioning look. It was obvious that his own

clothes would be a better fit for her. He was much closer to her size, although she’d be dwarfed by either of their wardrobes. He knew his

partner very well, and he could think of only one reason why Gage

would have made that statement. Gage wanted to see her in his

clothes because he was already staking ownership over her. He

wanted her.

Tyler didn’t argue, instead leading her out of the bathroom and

into the master bedroom. He pulled one of Gage’s shirts from the

dresser and a pair of his own boxers from the drawer above.

“Why don’t you change and meet us down in the living room?”

She wiped a final tear away with the back of her hand and took

the offered clothing. The men left her alone to change.

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Samantha Blair

Chapter 3

“So what are we going to do?” Tyler asked as soon as they were

out of earshot.

“We’re going to go over the bastard’s head, call the state police,

and get them to arrest the sheriff. Then we’re going to go over there, collect her stuff, and help her get her car,” Gage answered.

“Then what?”

“Then it’s up to her. If she wants to move out of state, we can’t

keep her here. She should be as far away from that asshole as she can get.”

“So you
do
want to keep her here,” Tyler stated. A mischievous light glowed in his sparkling blue eyes.

Gage shot him a firm look. “I know I’m not the only one in this

room who thinks she’s attractive. However, she currently believes that we’re gay, and I certainly don’t think that this is the best time to be telling her otherwise.”

“We should at least offer her a room. We’ve got plenty of space.

She has nowhere else to go, no job, no means to support herself. I’ll be damned if we let her get in some car and drive off for the state line with no guarantee that she’ll be all right. You know she’ll be safe here with us.”

“Do you really think she’d accept it? I’d love it if she spent a few

days with us, but it’s quite clear that she’s got some trust issues with men. I’d be surprised if we can talk her into staying the night.”

“I’m not sure, but she won’t stay if we don’t offer. Let me talk to

her. I think you intimidate her with all that muscle mass.”

“I’d never hurt her, Ty. You know that.”

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23

“Of course I do, but she doesn’t. How big is this Jeremy guy? Do

you look like him?”

“I guess. Not that I’m fond of comparing myself to him, but he’s

your typical male bully. Not quite as big as me, but certainly big

enough to do some damage to a little lady like Sara.”

“She is tiny. It wouldn’t take much,” Tyler agreed.

“I hated him from the minute I first saw him,” Gage confided.

“And Sara?” Tyler asked. That mischievous look had appeared in

his eyes again.

“What about her?”

“What do you feel for her?” Tyler asked cheekily. He was

pushing, and they both knew it. If he didn’t knock it off soon, he’d

wind up with a pink ass to show for it.

“I feel the same thing that you do. I want to protect her.”

“Is that all?” Tyler asked.

“She just got the crap beaten out of her by some redneck asshole,

and you want me to hit on her?”

“Nope. Just verifying that you
want
to hit on her. I know I do.”

“Leave her alone, Ty. She’s not ready.”

“And neither are you.” Tyler smirked at him. “But you will be

soon. Both of you.”

Gage leaned down and pressed his lips to Tyler’s, effectively

ending the discussion. His fingers threaded through blond hair,

tipping Ty’s head back, dominating him with his kiss. Tyler submitted to him, opening his mouth to receive his tongue.

A small squeak from the doorway alerted the men to Sara’s

presence.

* * * *

Sara came downstairs after dressing to find the men in a heated

embrace. She was embarrassed by how warm she felt after watching

them kiss. She could admit to herself that they were both extremely

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Samantha Blair

attractive men, but it was wrong. Wasn’t it? To be aroused by the

sight of two men kissing?

“I’m sorry,” she said, backing away and blushing as the two men

looked up at her. “I didn’t mean to interrupt…”

“Don’t be silly,” Tyler said. “Please sit down.”

She sat down awkwardly on the overstuffed couch opposite the

loveseat that the two men were sharing.

“So Gage came up with a plan,” Tyler explained. “We’re going to

go over Jeremy’s head. We’ll call the state police and have him

arrested. After that we’ll take you to get your car and your things.

You can stay with us for a few weeks while you look for a job, and

after you find something and get back on your feet, we’ll help you

move into your own place.”

“Oh, I couldn’t impose like that, and I’m not going to the police.

In fact, I should be on my way. Thank you for patching me up and for

getting me out of there. I’ll just get out of your hair…”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Tyler protested. “You don’t even have a

complete pair of shoes. You’re not leaving this house tonight.”

To her surprise, Tyler moved to hold her on the couch, gently

pulling her into his strong arms. He’d pulled a T-shirt on, so she could no longer see the hard lines of his sculpted chest, but she found his warm embrace comforting anyway. He smelled of sandalwood and

horses, nothing like stale beer and Jack Daniels.

Trusting these men, especially Tyler, was as easy as breathing.

She didn’t doubt that she was safe with them, but she didn’t want to

bring trouble into their lives. It was obvious that they were happy with each other. Two self-sufficient gay men would have no place in their

lives for a battered woman who could barely take care of herself.

Still, it did feel incredible to be held and cared for. These were

easy men to like. She really didn’t want to leave, at least not tonight.

“Why don’t you want to call the state police?” Gage asked.

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25

“They all know each other. It’s my word against his,” Sara

answered. “They won’t listen to me over the word of another cop. I

know they won’t.”

“Ty? What would you think about calling Martel?”

“It’s not a half bad idea, I guess. It’s not in his jurisdiction by any means, but he might have an idea who we should talk to.”

“Who’s Martel?” Sara asked softly.

“Mike Martel is an old friend of mine,” Tyler explained. “We

were in college together. He works for the FBI now.”

“FBI?” Sara squeaked. “That sounds like a bad idea.”

“He’s a really good friend, honey. I talk to him almost every week

anyway. I’d be calling as a buddy. It’s not the same as calling the

police to report an incident.”

“I think I should just leave town,” Sara stated firmly. She was

terrified of Jeremy and every other person who could be considered

law enforcement in any way. There was no way that she was willingly

going to the police.

“Well, you’re staying for tonight, at least,” Tyler insisted. “And

you’re going to let us get you a change of clothes and a decent pair of shoes. If you still want to leave after that, then I suppose we can’t stop you, but I’d really feel better if you’d agree to stay a couple more

days. You’re safe here with us. We won’t let anything bad happen to

you.”

“He’ll find me,” Sara stated, positive of the fact. “He knows this

town inside and out. He’ll come after me if I don’t get out of here.”

“He never comes to our ranch,” Gage said. “He’s probably afraid

that our sexual preferences will rub off on him or some such bullshit.

No one knows that you’re here, and we don’t plan on tellin’ anyone.

So you can rest easy, at least for tonight.”

Sara looked from one man to the other. Tyler’s arm was still

around her shoulders comforting her. It was already after midnight,

and she was exhausted. She didn’t have anywhere else to go.

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Samantha Blair

“Thank you, then,” she said quietly. “I’ll stay the night, and we

can figure out what to do in the morning.”

“Come on, sweetheart. I’ll show you where the guest room is.”

* * * *

Tyler looked up from where he’d had his nose buried in Sara’s

hair.
God she feels good in my arms.
He helped her up from the couch and led her back up the steps. He put her in the guestroom across the hall from the room that he and Gage shared. He really wanted to tuck

her into his own bed, but he knew that Gage wouldn’t agree. He

didn’t want to rush her, even though he was sure that he could

comfort her.

I can think of more than one way to get her ex out of her head.

He turned down the covers for her and watched her slide into the

big bed. He admired the way her long, dark hair spilled over the white pillowcase. He fought to keep his cock in check as he pulled the

covers up around her and pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead. She

was so beautiful.

“We’ll be right across the hall. Please come and get us if you need

anything,” he whispered.

“Sleep sweet, Sara,” Gage said from the doorway.

“Thank you both, for this,” she responded.

The men left her room, pulling the door most of the way closed

behind them.

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Chapter 4

Gage rolled his eyes at Tyler, as soon as they were out of Sara’s

view. They had discussed her staying for days, not weeks, like Tyler

had suggested to her, and he really didn’t believe that she would stay anyway. He knew that if Tyler got his way, she would never leave at

all. They had discussed bringing a woman into their lives on more

than one occasion, and it was painfully obvious from the way that

Tyler was holding Sara and tucking her into bed that Tyler believed

this to be the perfect opportunity. Gage wasn’t so sure. They’d shared women in the past, and one time in particular the whole thing had

ended badly. He wasn’t in any great rush to have his heart broken

again.

When they were back in their room, Gage captured Tyler around

the waist and pressed him up against the wall. They kissed deeply,

their hands roaming over familiar physique.

“You like her, don’t you?” Gage murmured into Tyler’s neck.

“You are so good with her.”

“I didn’t do anything that you wouldn’t have done yourself. We

both like her. It’s not your fault that those muscles intimidate her. I happen to think they’re fucking sexy as hell.”

Tyler’s hands tugged at his belt, but Gage pushed him away,

finding it faster to do the job himself. He was already hard and

aching. Tyler dropped to his knees.

Gage groaned as Tyler took his cock between his lips. His hot

mouth always felt fucking fantastic. Gage thrust his hips, fucking

deep into the other man’s mouth. Tyler loved to be used in this way,