Celestial Nights [The Protectors 4] (Siren Publishing Everlasting Classic) Read online

  “I love you so much, Celeste.” Hearing his voice from the other side of the door still tore her up inside.

  “I love you, too, Tyler. We’re going to be fine.”

  “Whatever that buyer comes back with you’re taking it and we’re leaving this place as soon as we can get you packed up and steady enough to ride. Do you hear me? I don’t care if it’s your bar or not, I’m not letting anything else happen to you.”

  “I hear you, babe. I plan on packing just as soon as I can sit up long enough to fill a suitcase.” She sighed as she stood up and eased over to the sink to wash her hands. “I just need a few hours of sleep and then maybe we can start packing.”

  The second she turned the water on, Tyler had the door open and was holding her up while she washed her hands. It made her smile despite how much it hurt to do that. Evidently she had some swelling on the right side of her face and a burn rash from her face rubbing against the cinder block wall.

  “I’ll pack and you’ll rest. Come on, up you go.”

  Tyler scooped her up into his arms and carried her back into the bedroom where he gently laid her back on the mattress making sure to position her head on the short stack of pillows. Lying flat on only one pillow made the throbbing in her head worse.

  “Did you tell everyone thank you for helping us like they did?” she asked again.

  “Yes, babe. I don’t know what I would have done without their help. All I had to do was grab a couple of the regulars and tell them what was going on and they were right there with me. They were just as horrified as I was when we broke in the door to find that bastard…”

  “Shh, it’s over now. I’m safe and nothing happened.”

  “The hell it didn’t. They hurt you, babe. They were going to rape you. I would have killed both of them if they hadn’t held me back. I guess I should be grateful since I’d have been in jail instead of taking care of you if they’d let me do what I wanted to do.” Tyler climbed into bed with her and wrapped his arms around her from behind, making sure not to jostle her too much as he did.

  “All I could see was a haze of blood when I looked at them. I’m not sure if I managed to get in a few good licks before they pulled me off of them or if they did it for me, but neither man was conscious when the sheriff finally showed up.”

  “If they agree to testify against Lyle, he’ll be going away for a long time, Tyler. That’s justice to me.” She cuddled his hand into hers. “Not only will he not get his greedy hands on my bar, but he’ll have to think about it while he rots in jail.”

  “It’s not enough. I dreamed of all sorts of things I wanted to do to him and those two bastards. Even that wouldn’t be enough for what they were doing to do to you. I’ll have nightmares about this for the next sixty years.”

  “God, I hope not. The idea of no sex for sixty years really doesn’t sound very promising to me. I need my Tyler fix at least once a day.”

  “Not until you’re completely healed up all over. I couldn’t touch you thinking I’m hurting you if I see one little bruise on you.” He nuzzled her neck. “That means you have to do everything the doctor told you and let me take care of you or no sex for you for a long time.”

  She smiled. “I don’t think that will last very long. I can already feel some interest now.”

  “And all it takes to calm me down is picturing your face when I got to you in that storage room. That kills the mood every time. Don’t think you’re going to try and seduce me, babe. My heart literally stopped until I was sure I heard yours beating.”

  “I love you, Tyler. Did I tell you that, yet?”

  “Yeah, but you can tell me as often as you want to. I’ll never tire of hearing it.”

  “Have you talked to your friend Morgan again? Has he heard from the buyer, yet?” She was sure she’d already asked him that, but her memory wasn’t working properly yet.

  “He’ll call us once he talks to the man again. It was only a few hours ago, babe. Go to sleep. You need to rest. I’m right here and won’t leave you for one second.”

  “Please don’t pee in the bed, Tyler.”

  “What?”

  * * * *

  “So the buyer came back with a counter offer of three. What do you think, babe?”

  Celeste’s mouth dropped open. “I don’t understand. I only asked for two hundred thousand, right? Or did I dream that, too?”

  Tyler’s grin made her smile, then wince.

  “Nope. You were asking two but Morgan didn’t like that so he upped the asking price to four. The three hundred thousand is the first round of negotiations. Morgan figures he’ll settle for three fifty or there about.”

  “No! Take the three now and let’s get out of this place.” Celeste shook her head then moaned.

  Tyler immediately held her head between his hands and massaged her near her ears to keep from touching her sore spots. “Don’t do that, babe. I can’t stand to see you hurt.”

  “Did you tell him to accept the offer? How soon can we sign papers?” she asked.

  “Easy, babe. Morgan is handling it all for us. He’ll let us know when the paperwork can be finished. Evidently the buyer is eager to step in and make some changes as well as redecorate.”

  Tyler’s eagle eyes missed nothing. She couldn’t stop the hesitation at hearing her once beloved bar was going to be dismantled and reconfigured. She opened her mouth to ask him for details then closed it again. Didn’t matter, it wasn’t hers anymore to worry about. She was starting over.

  “There you go. I knew you’d work your way back around to being ready to move on.” He winked at her.

  “You think you’re so smart. So tell me what I’m going to do when we move? I already know we’re moving to the same town your friends live in, but what am I going to do with myself to make ends meet?”

  “I’m going to find a job and provide for us until you decide what you really want to do. You’ve got all the time in the world. And first, we’re going to my friend Dodge’s to hang out for a few days. He has a huge house where we can recuperate and catch up with him while we’re there.”

  “He’s the one who lost a leg overseas, right?” she asked.

  “Right. He’s had a bad time of it. His wife, the bitch, left him high and dry when he came back missing a leg. She stayed around only long enough to see if he’d get any big settlement or something. When Dodge told her that there would be no settlement and even if there was he’d turn it down she packed up her shit and left. Why would anyone think Doge would get money for losing his leg when he joined the army to fight for our country? Veterans don’t get jack shit when they return from serving. Hell, he barely got decent medical care.”

  “I can’t wait to meet him, Tyler. It sounds like all of you guys are really close.”

  “Yeah, we are. When you see the worst of humanity and survive or nearly survive some of that shit, it forges a bond that can’t be broken. We’d all bend over backward to help and protect each other and our families. I’m proud to be a part of them.”

  “So is it time yet?” Celeste couldn’t help but start their argument over again.

  “Time for what?” he asked already knowing what she wanted.

  “Time to screw. I’m horny, babe. It’s been forever.”

  “It’s been two days. That doesn’t make forever.”

  “Sure it does.”

  Tyler’s phone rang, vibrating against her thigh where he’d laid it. “Hey, man. That was quick.”

  “Is it Morgan? What did the guy say?” Celeste was too excited to be quiet.

  “Yeah, that’s her.” Tyler put his hand over the mouthpiece. “Morgan says hello and hopes you’re feeling better.

  Celeste tore the phone from Tyler’s hand. “Hi, Morgan. I’m fine. Tell Tyler I’m fine so we can screw. Oh, and tell the buyer that whatever it is we accept. I’m ready to move.”

  Tyler extracted the phone from her hands and gave her a half way decent frown.

  “Don’t ask. Yeah, the drugs seem
to be pretty awesome—for her.”

  Celeste yawned half listening to the one-sided conversation until she heard the words “it’s a deal” and that blew her eyes wide open again.

  “We sold it? He bought the bar, right?” She almost bounced on the bed, but remembered just in time not to jump.

  “Got to go, Morgan. I’ll call you later.” Tyler slid the phone across the bed to the bedside table. “He’s telling the buyer that we accept their offer of three twenty-five. Are you happy now?”

  “You sold the bar for three hundred, twenty-five thousand dollars? Really? That’s awesome sauce! I’m really sleepy right now. Can we celebrate with sex later?”

  Tyler’s burst of laughter went straight to her heart. She loved that man.

  * * * *

  “Are you sure you feel okay to sit up, babe?” Tyler’s constant questioning her on how she felt and if she was okay to sit or stand or lie down was probably about to get on her last nerve.

  “Tyler, sit down. I’m fine. You’re hovering again.”

  “It’s taking too damn long. We’ve been waiting for this man to show up for at least thirty minutes now.”

  “It’s been maybe five. Calm down. I’m fine. If you don’t lay off of me while we’re here for me to sign papers, I won’t be okay. I’ll blow a gasket and end up with a killer headache. Got it?” Celeste’s voice rose right along with the color in her cheeks indicating her blood pressure was rising.

  “Okay, okay. Don’t get upset, babe. It’ll make your head hurt worse.”

  Celeste rolled her eyes and then obviously wished she hadn’t because she winced. He was about to caution her against doing that again when the sound of the outside door opening captured his attention.

  “I’m sorry I kept you waiting. The ride in from the airport took nearly an hour.” The tall thin man who stood in front of Tyler with his hand held out reminded him of someone but he wasn’t sure who. “I’m Gerald Kimbrough. I think you knew my son.”

  Tyler’s head spun and this time it was him who had to grab the back of a chair to remain standing upright. Why hadn’t Morgan warned him?

  “Tyler? Are you okay?” Celeste started to stand up, but the tall gentleman waved her back into her chair.

  “You shouldn’t be up. We need to get this over with so you can go back to bed.” He turned to Tyler and clapped him on the shoulder. “I’m sorry. I thought you knew I was coming, son. It’s good to see you again and under better circumstances.”

  “Tyler?” Celeste’s voice broke through the memories that had grabbed hold of him.

  “I’m okay. Sorry. Celeste, this is the father of one of my best friends, Gary Kimbrough. We lost him when we were deployed overseas the last time. He was one hell of a good guy and could sing like a martin.” Tyler had to clear his throat.

  “I remember you guys would tease him that he sang like the Nightingales. It used to piss him off that you’d compare him to that lady’s group.” Mr. Kimbrough chuckled. “Okay. If you are both up to it later, we can have a meal and talk, but right now, we need to get down to business.”

  Almost as if on cue, the door opened and the lawyer walked in with his assistant to spread out the paperwork so they could get started. Tyler wasn’t the one having to sign anything, but standing there with his hands resting on Celeste’s shoulders and looking at the father of the man he’d worshiped like an older brother, he felt just as nervous as he knew she felt. He couldn’t believe Morgan hadn’t said anything.

  Did he forget how close he and Gary had been? Maybe he thought that if he’d known he might not have wanted to accompany Celeste to the closing. That was crazy, though, because he’d never let her out of his sight again. If Morgan had been in contact with Mr. Kimbrough off and on over the years, maybe it didn’t cross his mind that Tyler hadn’t seen or spoken to the man in all that time and it might be a little bit of a shock.

  Little bit? Hell, it was a huge shock to see him standing there right in front of me. I shouldn’t have cut him out of my life. That was selfish of me. I wanted to spare myself the pain of seeing him and knowing that Gary would never be coming home again.

  “Are you okay, Tyler?” Celeste had pulled him down to whisper in his ear while they were taking a quick break.

  “I’m fine, babe. It was a shock. I’m okay now.” He brushed a quick kiss across her lips before standing up again.

  “You have to be tired, standing there like that. Why don’t you sit down next to me, Tyler?”

  He chuckled. “This is nothing. Try standing at parade rest for hours in the pouring rain without blinking.”

  “Gary bitched about that day every time he came home.” Mr. Kimbrough laughed. “He said you were making faces when no one was looking trying to make him break form and laugh.”

  Tyler grinned. “Yeah. I was such a little brat to him.”

  “He told me several times how he thought of you as the little brother he never had to put up with.” Gerald shook his head. “He loved you, son. He didn’t get on with a lot of people, but you made him smile. I’ll always thank you for that.”

  Tyler was spared from having to come up with something to say to that when the lawyer returned with more papers and the assistant passed out bottled water.

  Once all the paperwork had been signed and copies given to each of them along with a check to Celeste for the sale amount minus lawyer’s expenses, Tyler finally began to relax. He’d been on edge the entire day in fear that something would happen to stop the sale. When nothing happened, the relief almost gave him a headache.

  “Son, I know you’re uncomfortable with speaking with me, but I’d really like it if we could have dinner and just talk for a while.” Mr. Kimbrough seemed so desperate that Tyler gave in and agreed.

  “Sure. Celeste, would you mind?”

  “Of course not. I’d love to hear more about your son, Mr. Kimbrough.

  Tyler realized he really did want to spend a little more time with the father of his friend. Then he and Celeste could talk about their future together, because he was planning it that way, with them together for the rest of their lives.

  Chapter Eighteen

  “Are you ready, babe?”

  Celeste looked up from the sold sign she’d attached to the door of the bar and smiled.

  “Yeah. I can’t wait to get on the road.”

  Tyler’s slight frown worried her. The way his brows furrowed always clued her in that he was upset over something.

  “Are you upset that Mr. Kimbrough is going to change the name of the place from Celestial Nights?” he asked.

  “No. Not at all. It won’t be mine anymore, so Celestial Nights isn’t appropriate. I’m going to be free and clear of the bar and this place and that suits me just fine.” She made sure she showed it when she smiled up at Tyler again.

  She loved how he nearly towered over her. He made her feel feminine and special, especially when he gazed into her eyes with so much love it almost hurt. She loved him with all of her soul and needed to tell him. She’d refrained in case it came too fast, but she was convinced of it now. Her feelings for him had nothing to do with getting away from this place or the way he had made it all so easy for her.

  “I hope you like it in Cold Creek, where we’re going. The house we’ll be renting is nice, but I want to find us a place you’ll enjoy making yours. Have you thought any more on what you might want to do?” he asked.

  Celeste could tell this is what had him so nervous by the way he looked away as he talked about the move.

  “I’m sure I’ll love it there. You’ll be there, Tyler. I can’t wait to meet your friends.” She turned in his arms and held him close to her. “I still don’t know for sure what I’d like to open up there. I have time.”

  “Babe, you have all the time in the world. I already have two interviews when we get there so something will work out. All you need to do is unpack and relax.”

  “I’m not filching off of you forever. I have a few ideas, just not sure which one
I want to actually pursue.” She gave him one more squeeze then let go and pushed away from him. “We need to get on the road or we’ll never get out of here.”

  “One more thing, babe.” Tyler got down on one knee and held out a ring box.

  Celeste nearly screamed. It took her by surprise since she hadn’t even told him that she loved him yet.

  “Celeste, will you do me the honor of being my wife? I promise to love and cherish you and take care of you the rest of my life. I’ll probably drive you crazy wanting sex all the time, but you can just hit me over the head and tell me not now. I’ll wait a while and try again.”

  She couldn’t help it, she burst out laughing even as tears rolled down her cheeks. “Tyler, you get your ass up right this minute. I don’t want you on your knees.”

  His face fell, but he stood up anyway. She could tell he thought she was telling him no.

  “Of course I’ll marry you. I’ll hit you on the head when you forget to give me sex every day and I’ll love you for the rest of my life.” She cried even harder at the way his face lit up like the Fourth of July’s night sky. He grabbed her and swung her around until they were both too dizzy to stand up without holding on to each other.

  “You don’t have to worry about having your name on a sign anywhere, babe. You’ll always be my Celestial Nights as long as you’re in my arms. I love you, Celeste.” He kissed her with enough enthusiasm for both of them.

  “I love you, Tyler. I love you to the stars and back. The moon isn’t far enough away.”

  THE END

  WWW.MARLAMONROE.COM

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Marla Monroe has been writing professionally for nearly thirteen years. Her first book with Siren was published in January 2011, and she now has over 75 books available with them. She loves to write and spends every spare minute either at the keyboard or reading. She writes everything from sizzling-hot cowboys, emotionally charged BDSM, and dangerously addictive shifters, to science fiction ménages with the occasional badass biker thrown in for good measure.