Ellie's Wounded Heroes [Wounded Warriors 1] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) Read online

  As he drove up the long drive, his garage door opened so that he could pull inside next to his truck. The door closed automatically, and Rex climbed off the bike, jerking the snaps on the chinstrap so he could pull off the head cage. After setting it on the shelf next to the bike, he opened one of the saddle bags, pulled out the bag from the VA, and carried it with him as he crossed the garage to unlock the door to his house.

  Once inside, Rex quickly decoded the alarm before entering the kitchen from the mudroom. He tossed the bag on the counter next to the fridge. He’d worry about it later. Right now, all he wanted was a beer and to think.

  Ellie.

  Her name seemed to whisper relief through his aching soul. Looking into her slightly unsure eyes had been like seeing his future in a different light. One of his old buddies had once said that when he’d found the woman who would become his wife, he had seen their unborn children in her eyes. Maybe there was something to that after all. He would swear he’d seen her sitting with him on his front porch swing.

  Shaking his head, Rex grabbed a bottle from the fridge and walked over to his favorite chair and sat down as he removed the cap on his beer. One long, ice-cold swallow later, he set the nearly half-empty bottle on the side table and toed off both boots. After pulling off his socks and stuffing them in the boots, he pulled the seam along the left leg of his jeans from the hem, and it split halfway up his leg so that he could get to his leg.

  Well, it was where part of his leg used to be. Now he stared at the new and improved part of him that continued to burn and ache despite its lack of nerves. Metal and silicone formed his lower leg instead of the bone, sinew, muscle, and skin he’d been born with. It didn’t take but a few seconds to remove the offending part, but it did take a while before he was able to touch the remaining stump to massage away some of the irritation that never seemed to totally disappear.

  “Fuck. This is bullshit.” Rex grabbed the bottle off the table and upended it, gulping down the still-cold brew, then slamming the empty bottle down on the coaster.

  He leaned back in the chair and shoved with his hands until it reclined. He closed his eyes and ran both hands over his face several times to push past the stinging tears that burned just below the surface. Too often he found himself in this spot, alone and angry, struggling to find his next reason to wake up to another day of his life. Yesterday it was because he was riding with his gang to say good-bye to someone he’d never met before. The man deserved an escort and protection for his family from protesters who always seemed to find the time to show up. Today it had been because he had to show up at the VA to help the new guys navigate the gym with someone who’d already been there and done that.

  Tomorrow? What would be his reason to wake up tomorrow? No funerals to attend, and it was a Sunday so no one needed his help with therapy. Maybe tomorrow would be the day he didn’t wake up.

  He lay there with one arm thrown over his eyes, letting his mind wander in case there was something that he had promised someone that he’d forgotten about. Images of Ellie appeared instead. He could still feel the mounds of her breasts as they pressed against his back while they’d been heading to her sister-in-law’s house. It had gotten him more than a little turned on. Hell, just looking at her bent over the car had made his dick hard.

  Face it, Rex. I’m in lust, and she’s not the least bit interested in a roughneck biker, much less the damaged man I am. Jack off like normal, and let it go, man.

  He blew out a breath, banishing thoughts of her to another room in the many compartments of his head. He would bring her out when he was alone in the shower or his bed. Right now Rex needed to remember what he was supposed to do the next day. As much as he hated to have to do it, he figured the only way he’d remember was if he got up and hobbled into the office to look on his calendar.

  He could do it now or wait until he was ready to head to bed and stop on the way by to check. Waiting suited him much better. No reason to make an extra trip across the floor if he didn’t have to. He hated hopping, or worse, using the damn crutches. There was no ignoring the oppressive presence of them lying on the floor next to his chair, no matter how much he liked to pretend they weren’t there. They were a constant reminder that he lacked something and always would now.

  Hell, he wished he’d brought the bottle of Jack with him when he sat down. At the very least he should have grabbed two beers instead of the one. He’d known he would finish that first one fast. Now he was stuck with nothing to drink unless he got desperate enough to hop or grab those damn crutches.

  “Fucking idiot. You can’t remember crap anymore.”

  Rex remembered every millisecond of that damn blast that had killed most of his platoon and left him footless with a head injury, but he couldn’t recall what he was supposed to do the next day without a fucking note to remind him.

  “Hell!” He rubbed at his eyes again.

  Might as well go look at the damn calendar and see what’s on the agenda. There would be something, because there always was.

  Giving himself another few minutes to relax as much as he ever did, Rex played the game he always played and challenged himself to wait it out as long as possible before he gave in to the need to know. One, two, three minutes passed before he finally cursed and gave in to the skin-itching need to know.

  Rex pushed the chair down using his good leg and sat up. Without looking, he reached down to one side and grabbed the offensive crutches and pushed himself to his foot. Then he leaned over and grabbed the artificial part of himself and fixed it on the hook he’d set up to carry it when he was on the wooden contraptions.

  The office was just off the living room, exactly ten swinging steps from his chair to the doorway. He used the rubber tip of the crutch to push the door all the way open and crossed the threshold of not knowing into everything he had ever known and ever would need to know.

  Leaning the crutches against the wall next to the door so the prosthesis didn’t hit the floor, he hopped twice to get to his chair. As soon as he sat in it, things seemed to calm inside of him. Here, at least, he knew who he was and what his purpose was. Here he was in control, and there were always happy endings.

  What had started out as a way to work through the pain and depression after the bomb had turned into a career that had taken him by surprise. Not only was he able to support himself and help others, but he could lose himself in the process for a little while, escaping the reality of life without his lower leg.

  He looked at the calendar that always remained open on his desk. Saturday, June 16th, 2012. VA Therapy Class and, below that, Chapter Fifteen is where Luke realizes he is going to lose Sandy if he doesn’t make a decision one way or the other.

  Sunday the seventeenth he had written in to finish the edits for Gabriel’s Redemption and send them to his editor. He relaxed. As long as there was something written on the calendar, he felt like he had a reason to get up. He remembered the strange scent of vanilla and mint in a warm kitchen, and Ellie’s face drifted through his thoughts. She’d smelled so damn good when she’d brushed her lips across his for that brief moment. He imagined she tasted even better, but she hadn’t given him a chance to find out.

  He turned on the computer, pulled up Chapter Fifteen of his current book, and wondered if a person could replace his need to have something on his calendar every day. To do that, she’d have to be in his life, and right now, she wasn’t. But maybe she could be if he was able to find her again. To do that, he’d have to remember her when he woke up in the morning. He could write her on his calendar, but that would be cheating.

  Chapter Two

  Sunshine poured through the slits in the slats of her blinds where the cat had chewed on them. It burned her eyes, despite them being closed. Why couldn’t she sleep all morning on Sundays? She had to get up early every other morning of the week.

  Damn!

  Right on time, Captain Jack jumped up on the bed and plodded his way up her body until he sat on her chest. There h
e settled down and started that broken purr he had that always tickled her.

  “I swear you sound like a sputtering motorcycle, Cap.” Immediately, she remembered Rex.

  Thoughts of the handsome biker had plagued her off and on all afternoon the day before. She’d enjoyed spending time with her nephew and helping Susan navigate the sea of five-year-olds high on sweets and full of enough energy to run an entire city if they could just figure out how to harness it.

  Once the party was over and everyone had left, with Jason Jr. down for a much needed and resisted nap, the questions had started. Susan hadn’t missed her ride or the almost-not-there kiss she’d given the man. Ellie had to give it to her. She’d remained quiet about it until they were alone and cleaning up, but it hadn’t made it any easier to deal with. Jason had trained her well when it came to interrogating his sister.

  “Who was that on the bike?” she had asked with a smile.

  “Rex. He gave me a ride when my car wouldn’t start. I need to make sure the tow truck picked it up and find out what’s wrong with it.” She had pulled her cell phone out of her purse to check her messages.

  “Don’t try and change the subject, El. Who is he? He looked dangerous.” Susan stuck her hands on her hips.

  The fact that Ellie was almost two years older than Susan didn’t faze the other woman. She had Jason’s determination to take care of his little sister by nine whole minutes firmly imbedded in her. With Jason out of town on business, it fell to her to make sure Ellie stayed out of trouble.

  “I’m not. Just a minute, and let me check on my car.” She’d listened as the dealership answered.

  It turned out that she did have a dead cell in her battery, but they had replaced the battery, which was still under partial warranty. She could pick the Pathfinder up any time before six. When she’d told Susan, the other woman had nodded and continued with her questions.

  “You know I’ll take you to pick it up after Jason wakes up from his nap. Now tell me about this guy. Where did you meet him? How long have you known him?”

  Ellie sighed. For a minute she considered lying and telling her sister-in-law that she’d known him for a few months, but lying had never ended well for her. She could never keep up with the lies. One always led to another, each one building on the last one until you couldn’t draw a breath without adding to the mess. No, she was better off dealing with the fallout now than trying to maneuver through a web of deceit.

  “Actually, I just met him when my car wouldn’t start at the store. He offered me a ride, and I accepted.” She slipped the phone back in her purse and returned to picking up the post-birthday party mess.

  “You got on the back of a motorcycle with someone you didn’t even know? Are you crazy? He could have been a gang member and carried you off to God knows where. El, I swear, you don’t think about the possible consequences of your choices sometimes. Jason is going to blow a fuse when finds out.” Susan tossed a handful of napkins in the big black garbage bag they had set up in the middle of the den.

  “Just promise me you won’t tell him until after he gets home. I don’t want him on the road all upset, Susan,” she said with sigh. “And I do think about the consequences. I thought about you struggling with a group of five-year-olds all alone and knew I couldn’t be any later than I was.” She pulled the candy wrappers out from under the sofa cushions and tossed them in the bag.

  “Don’t you dare try and blame this on me, El!” Susan’s outrage was obvious.

  “I’m not. I’m just saying that I do think. I trusted him. His eyes looked honest to me. They weren’t hard, cold, or little beady things that said he was a hardnosed criminal.”

  “You’re acting like this is funny,” Susan complained.

  “Look. I’m twenty-nine years old. I don’t tell you or Jason how to live your lives. I’m doing just fine.” She hoped Susan didn’t bring up the time she’d had to call Jason at three in the morning to bail her out of jail when her date had turned out to be wanted for drug possession.

  She sighed. The charges on her had been dropped since she hadn’t had anything on her and wasn’t under the influence. Besides, Jason had thought Ben was a nice guy when he’d met him. That wasn’t her fault.

  No. She didn’t bring that up, but she did bring up the time she’d forgotten to check her gas gauge before heading to Austin for a weekend of shopping and ended up stranded in the middle of nowhere with no cell coverage. She also brought up the time Ellie ended up in the emergency room getting her shoulder and back sewn up when she’d climbed through a barbed wire fence to rescue Captain Jack from the dogs that had been terrorizing the tiny kitten.

  She didn’t regret that one bit, not one single stich of the twenty-five it had taken to close the cuts, though she hadn’t much liked the tetanus shot they’d made her take even though she swore she’d had one four years earlier. Cap was the best friend she’d ever had, despite the loss of one of his eyes and the strange way he walked.

  “Are you even listening to me?” Susan had asked, jarring her from her thoughts.

  “Yes, but honestly, I’ve heard it all at least a dozen times before.” She knew she was being rude, but there was only so much nagging she could take.

  “Ellie, you kissed the man. A complete stranger, and you kissed him!”

  “I owed him for the ride,” she said as if that explained it all.

  Susan’s mouth had opened then closed without saying another word. They had finished cleaning up the birthday party destruction in silence. Every once in a while, Ellie had felt Susan’s eyes on her, but the other woman hadn’t said anything more. As soon as Jason Jr. woke from his nap, Susan had taken her to the Nissan dealership to pick up her SUV. Her parting words had said it all.

  “I’m sure Jason will call you once he gets home.”

  As Ellie lay in bed, she wondered what time that would be. She rubbed over Captain Jack’s gray striped head as the tabby cat’s motor really revved up into a sputter worthy of a big cat. She chuckled and rubbed her nose against his.

  “Got to get up, Cap. Big brother is liable to drive over instead of letting me have it over the phone.” She set the scrawny cat down next to her and rolled over to climb out of bed.

  Coffee first, then a shower. Hopefully Jason would hold off until after lunch. Captain Jack gave a loud yowl and jumped to the floor next to her. Right. Coffee, feed Cap, then shower. He would let her set the coffee up before she fed him, but if she didn’t feed him after that, there was a good chance she wouldn’t get that first cup of coffee.

  It took her a few seconds to get the Mr. Coffee going. She really wanted to get one of those new Keurig machines but hadn’t wanted to spend the money on one badly enough yet. She kept starting a jar fund to get one, but something always came up that meant she had to rob the Keurig fund for something else. One day she’d actually manage to save enough to buy the damn thing. Then she would come up with something else for her jar fund.

  As she poured the dry food into Captain Jack’s bowl, it dawned on her that she’d have to make a run to the store. She hadn’t gotten to the day before, with the birthday party and her car screwing up. She sighed. Great. She hated shopping, even if it was for groceries. She made a note on her grocery list to get cat food. Then she poured a cup of coffee and sipped it while she rubbed down Cap’s back with her bare foot.

  Once she’d managed to get half the cup down, Ellie carried it to the bathroom with her. She’d take a nice long shower to help her fully wake up, then she’d tackle her housecleaning chores. She could put off going to the grocery store until later in the afternoon.

  Taking one more delicious sip of her morning eye opener, Ellie set the cup on the counter and climbed into the shower. She wished she had a walk-in shower like Jason and Susan had, but her tub shower was better than not having one at all. She moaned as the hot water sluiced over her stiff muscles. Running after five-year-olds was a lot more work than it looked like. The fact that she’d picked up and carried a few of
them was probably what contributed to her tired muscles this morning.

  She thought she heard her cell phone ringing in the bedroom, but she wasn’t about to get out of the shower to answer it. It would more than likely be her brother with a few choice words to say to her about Rex and her usual bad choice in men. He could wait until she was finished.

  Thinking about Rex while she was all soaped up and running her hands over her body wasn’t a good idea. She had no idea what he had going on under those well-worn leathers he’d been wearing, but her imagination was doing just fine giving him lots of smooth muscles in all the right places and a nice, firm package where it counted.

  Ellie groaned as her hands smoothed down her slick skin, pretending they were his touching her, caressing her. She couldn’t have him in real life, but in her shower or in her bed, she could have anyone she wanted, any way she wanted them. Of course the orgasms weren’t nearly as satisfying, but then, in real life there were no guarantees there either. God knows she could vouch for that. No, playing with her fantasy lovers was a sure thing and much safer in the long run for both her heart and her body.

  That one brief kiss, a brushing of lips really, had given her all the fuel she’d needed for a very real and satisfying fantasy of Rex in her shower, or in the bed, or over the back of the couch. God, there were endless possibilities where this one was concerned. Hell, he was bad boy enough to take her in the middle of a parking lot outside some bar. She could see him pushing her against the side of a truck, or even against a wall. He’d pin her between him and the bricks with one beefy arm on either side of her head and lean in to take her mouth in a hard kiss.

  Yeah, take. He wouldn’t ask permission, but take what he wanted, and she’d gladly give it to him and ask for more. She shivered as her body grew hot and her skin too tight. She was sure her pussy was wet, and not from the shower. Just to make sure, Ellie ran her palms over her stiff nipples before tugging on them with her fingers.