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

  He’d shove her bra up along with her shirt and suck hard on her nipple while he pulled and twisted the other one with his callused fingers. She could almost feel the bite of his teeth on the tender nub, and still it wouldn’t be enough. He’d rub his whiskered cheek across the pebbled nubs, sending shivers down her body. Ellie pulled and twisted her nipples, uncaring that she was making needy sounds as she did.

  In her mind, Rex would spin her around so that her hands slapped against the hard brick wall. Then he’d run his hard hands down her abdomen to unfasten her jeans, one button at a time until he could shove them down her legs, taking her panties with them. She ran her own hands down the slick skin of her belly to the trimmed curls of her mound and teased her clit with one finger, all the while thinking how Rex would squeeze her ass cheeks before sliding a finger inside her cunt to make sure she was ready for him.

  Ellie moaned. Hell yeah, she was ready for him. Her pussy was leaking fluids faster than a tire with a nail in it lost air. He would play with her wet pussy while he flicked open his jeans and lowered the zipper so his thick, hard cock could spring free. Then, when she was sure she’d go crazy with need, Rex would line up his dick with her dripping slit and slide in balls deep.

  God, it would feel so good. He’d pound into her while her hands braced against the rough brick wall, his hands gripping her hips to keep her in place. Ellie gasped as her fingers played over her clit while the fingers of her other hand continued to torture her nipples. So close. So damn close. Need burned in her blood to the point of pain.

  She so needed this. Rex’s cock stretched her so good. It wouldn’t take much to send her flying. Just a few more long hard strokes, and she’d come apart. The faster her fingers flicked over her clit, the higher the pressure grew until she knew just one more second and…

  Someone banged on her front door loud enough she could hear it over her pounding heart and the beat of the shower against the back wall. Who in the hell was banging on her door like the house was on fire on a Sunday morning?

  Jason. Fuck!

  Ellie shut off the water and stepped over the edge of the tub to grab a towel off the shelf. She yelled at the top of her lungs to hold on.

  “I’m coming, Jason! Give me a damn minute!”

  The pounding stopped, letting her know she was right and it was her brother at the door. What in the hell was his problem? She quickly dried off, pulled on a pair of panties, and rummaged in her drawer for shorts and a T-shirt. Once she was decent, Ellie stomped to the door and unlocked it before flinging it open to glare at her brother standing on her front porch.

  It was obvious by the way he stood with his arms crossed and a scowl on his face that he had plenty to say to her about her bike ride the day before. In that moment, she almost hated her sister-in-law, but Susan was a wonderful wife and mother. Ellie couldn’t fault her for believing her husband was only looking out for his little sister.

  “Are you going to yell at me out there where the entire neighborhood can hear you, or do you want to come inside and keep it between the two of us?” she asked, stepping back.

  He opened then closed his mouth before striding inside to stand in front of her TV while she closed the door behind him. When she turned and leaned back against the door, crossing her own arms to wait for him to blow, she had no doubt he noticed that she wasn’t acting like she normally did when he was about to read her the riot act. Usually she immediately started in with reasons he shouldn’t be fussing at her or getting into her business. Not today. She’d had enough of his interference, regardless of how good his intentions were.

  Jason stared at her for a full minute without saying one word. Finally, he dropped his arms and propped them on his hips and sighed.

  “Ellie, what were you thinking?” he asked, shaking his head.

  She didn’t say anything. What was the point? No matter what she said, it wouldn’t be the right answer.

  “You didn’t even know the guy, and you got on the back of a bike with him. He could have carried you anywhere or gotten into a wreck with you on the back.” When she still didn’t say anything, he frowned. “What’s wrong with you?”

  “Nothing. I’m just letting you have your say is all. Are you done?” she asked.

  “Hell, no! I want to know why you thought it would be okay to trust a complete stranger, who, I might add, was wearing gang patches? Are you doing drugs, El?” Jason asked with a completely serious expression on his face.

  She couldn’t have stopped if she’d wanted to. Ellie burst out laughing, almost doubling over with it. The very idea that her twin brother thought she might be using was just too funny for words. How had they come to this? If she didn’t conform to his way of thinking or act like he thought she should act, then she had to be on drugs?

  “El, we can get you in rehab, get you some help before it gets bad, Sis. I should have realized you were having trouble before now, but work has kept me so busy,” he said, running his hand through his short hair.

  “Jason. Stop it. Listen to yourself,” she said, sobering at the worry in his voice. “I’m not taking drugs. I rarely even take a drink. You know that. Even if I was, why is it your responsibility to have seen it coming and prevented it? I’m twenty-nine years old, Jason. I can and do take care of myself. It’s not your job to do it for me.”

  Her brother just stared at her as if he hadn’t heard a thing she’d just said. Ellie walked across the floor to stop right in front of him. She wrapped her arms around his waist and rested her forehead on his chest. At barely five inches over five feet, his six foot height had always seemed like a huge contrast. Right now, with worry and maybe even a little fear evident on his face, the difference didn’t seem all that great. Instead, what she saw was her big brother feeling helpless in keeping her safe. How did she make him realize that his responsibility laid with his wife and son, not his adult sister?

  “You make it so hard to keep my promise, El. Why do you have to be so hard headed?” he asked in a tired voice.

  “A six-year-old boy promised his dad the first day of school to watch out for his sister because she was younger and a girl. I think you more than fulfilled that promise, don’t you? It’s time to put it to bed, Jason. I’m not that scared little girl who didn’t want to go to school. I’m not even a teenager crying over my first broken heart. I’m a woman who has to make my own mistakes and live my own life the only way I can—my way.”

  Ellie slowly relaxed when her brother finally wrapped his arms around her and hugged her tight. Maybe she’d finally gotten through to him. Maybe he would back off some and worry more about his wife and their son instead of who she was talking to or where she had been the night before.

  “I just want you safe, El. I can’t lose you, too.”

  “Oh, Jason. I’m not going anywhere. I’m always going to be your sister, and I’ll always live nearby. But I need some room to breathe, Jason. Trust me to be able to make my own decisions. I know I can always call you if I need help or some advice.” Ellie pulled back and looked up at her brother’s face.

  “I’ll try. That’s all I can promise, Sis. I can’t stand the idea of you getting hurt. If you keep acting crazy and accepting rides from strange bikers, you’re going to end up hurt. Please don’t do something stupid,” Jason said, resting his hands on her shoulders.

  “I can’t promise I won’t make mistakes. I’m human, and since I tend to be less conservative than you are, I’m bound to get hurt sometimes, but I promise I’ll be careful.” She hoped he could live with that. It was the best she could give him.

  “Tell me about this Rex dude. Are you seeing him? What does he do?”

  Ellie rolled her eyes but figured he couldn’t change in the blink of an eye. “I’m not seeing him and don’t have a clue what he does for a living. I really doubt I’ll ever see him again. He doesn’t know my last name, and I don’t know his. He gave me a ride. End of story.”

  “You kissed him, El!” Jason’s eyes widened in shock.
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  “So? I didn’t sleep with him, and even if I had, it wouldn’t have meant anything. It was barely even a kiss.” She shook her head and turned toward the kitchen. She needed another cup of coffee and had left her cup in the bathroom. It was cold by now anyway.

  “At least tell me you protect yourself, El. Getting pregnant we could handle, but there are things out there that could kill you.” He followed her into the kitchen.

  She laughed, shaking her head as she pulled two mugs down and filled them with the remainder of the coffee from the pot. Thank goodness it hadn’t already shut off. Nothing was worse than microwaved coffee.

  “Jason, I always insist on a condom if things go that far, but if I were to get pregnant, it wouldn’t be us handling it. It would be me. I’m sure I’d have your support when I needed it, but I would be the one ultimately responsible for the consequences.” She handed him a mug and leaned back against the counter to take a sip. “Besides, in order to catch anything or get pregnant, I would have to be having sex in the first place. Despite your conviction that I sleep with every guy I meet, I don’t.”

  “I don’t think you sleep around, Ellie. It’s just that you’re so open and giving. People, guys especially, will take advantage of that,” he said.

  “I know that, Jason. Even when it looks like someone is pulling one over on me, I know what’s going on. I don’t take crap off of you. Do you really think I would let someone walk all over me?” She snorted. “Yeah, I have a soft heart and tend to take on other people’s problems, but if I didn’t want to, I wouldn’t do it.”

  “Yeah. I guess I know that. I just don’t like it when someone screws with my baby sister,” Jason responded with a slight grin.

  “Change baby sister to twin sister. Stop seeing me as younger than you and remember that we’re really the same age. I think the older we got, the bigger our supposed age difference grew for you. There aren’t years, or months, or even days between us, Jason. There were nine short minutes, and from what Mom said about my foot coming out with your ass, I kicked you out to give myself more room.”

  He chuckled. “I remember her telling everyone that story over and over when people realized we were twins.”

  “I miss them,” she admitted.

  “Yeah. I do, too. I wish they could have been around to meet Susan and see Jason born. There were times I could have really used some of Dad’s sage advice.”

  “Yeah. There are just some things that only Mom’s hugs and kisses could take care of.” She looked down into her cup and remembered how, as a child, she could always count on her mom to mediate the fights she and Jason had so that they didn’t kill each other or break something in the attempt.

  “So you’re not seeing this Rex guy?” he asked, still a bloodhound on a scent.

  She sighed. “No. I’m not seeing him. I doubt we’ll ever even cross paths again.”

  He turned up the coffee cup and drained it before butt bumping her out of the way to rinse it out in the sink. Leaving it there, he turned and gave her a kiss on her forehead. Pulling back, he just stared into her eyes for a few seconds, then nodded and stepped away.

  “I better get back home before Susan sends the cops over to break us up. I have a little boy to give a present to before he writes me off as his dad.”

  “Jason?”

  He stopped and looked at her.

  “I love you, big brother. Take care of your wife and Jason. Don’t waste any time with them. Five-year-olds grow up fast, and women like Susan are hard to find.” She smiled at him to soften the censure.

  He nodded and walked out of the room. A few seconds later, she heard her front door open then close softly. She turned and grasped the sink to keep from sinking to the floor and crying. As much as she hoped that her brother would cut the strings that tied them together, she was going to miss them. There were days she felt so alone and empty inside, but there in the back of her mind had been the comforting knowledge that Jason was still a part of her and would always be there. He still would, but he belonged to Susan and Jason Jr., not her.

  Ellie hoped one day she’d find someone to belong to her. Until then, she had Captain Jack and all of her crazy friends to keep her busy. One day she’d find someone who needed her as much as she needed them to watch her back for those times when she got in a little over her head.

  With that thought, she straightened up and uncurled her fingers from around the edge of the sink to get started on Sunday chores. Captain Jack rubbed his scared face back and forth across her legs, his sputtering purr reminding her of Rex’s bike and the almost kiss that had felt like something more.

  Chapter Three

  As Rex parked in the store parking lot, he sighed. He hated shopping. Maybe he should hire someone to do his shopping for him.

  Yeah, right. Wimp out. I’m not a freaking invalid.

  No, he wasn’t an invalid. He was a productive member of society just like he told all those guys at the VA every day he went. That meant braving the damn grocery store to get supplies for the next week.

  Now get out of the damn truck and get it over with, Rex.

  He opened the door and climbed down, locking the door and closing it behind him. Patting his back pocket to be sure he had his wallet, Rex then checked his shirt pocket to be sure he had his list with him. He’d finally figured out where they put everything in the store, and now he made out his list so that he could go up and down the aisles without needing to backtrack for something he forgot.

  As he stepped through the automatic doors and grabbed a buggy that rolled decently, he pulled the list out along with his pen and headed for the produce on the right side of the store. It was a little busier than he liked, but then, he’d gotten behind and this was the latest he’d ever shopped on a Sunday. Normally he liked to go before lunch when most folks were in church. At nearly three in the afternoon, he had to navigate around the other carts and wait his turn to squeeze the fruit and check for spots on the vegetables. He’d never really understood why people did all of that, but he followed suit and prayed he didn’t get something that had been bruised by the last set of hands.

  As he reached the canned vegetable aisle, something caught his eye. He looked at the other shoppers, and, to his surprise, Ellie, from the convenience store the day before, stood not eight feet away staring up at the top shelf with her hands on her hips. What were the odds that he’d see her again when he’d never seen her there before? Then it dawned on him that he remembered her and had actually thought about her twice that day. It was unusual for him to remember something recent without a reminder of some kind.

  Then again, Ellie wasn’t a usual daily occurrence for him. She wasn’t usual at all. There was just something about her that had lodged her firmly in his memories, despite his problem with short-term memory from his head injury. The fact that he’d run across her twice in two days said that he needed to pay attention. He believed in fate and that you had sure as hell pay attention to the little things. It was one significant, overlooked little thing like the dropped doll on the side of the road that had killed his friends and left him with part of his leg missing and a crazy type of memory loss.

  They called it a form of anterograde amnesia. He remembered everything up until the moment the bomb had detonated when he was in the Army. Once he woke up from the coma he’d been in nearly three weeks later, he had lost part of his leg, many of his friends, and some of his mind’s ability to remember. He couldn’t remember what he was supposed to do from one day to the next and relied on notes and others to remind him. Unless something made a major impression on him, he wouldn’t remember it the next day.

  So, Rex took it as a sign that since he did remember Ellie and she was right there in front of him, he should go and talk to her. It looked as if she needed help with something on the top shelf. That he could handle.

  He pushed his buggy closer to hers before leaving it to stand behind her. It looked as if she was staring at the jar of sliced mushrooms. He reached over her he
ad and grabbed one. Her startled gasp made him smile as she spun around. The way her head slowly rose until she could look at his face let him know she was surprised to find someone so tall next to her. When it dawned on her who he was, her eyes widened slightly before a brief smile broke out across her face. He felt the warmth of that grin all over his body.

  “Was this what you wanted?” he asked, holding the jar of mushrooms up.

  “Rex? What are you doing here?” Her eyes held her smile in them for all of five seconds before they settled into a wary light.

  “Shopping, like you. I usually come on Sunday mornings, but something came up and I ended up having to wait until this afternoon. Do you shop here all the time?” he asked.

  “Um, yeah. I usually get here right after lunch, but I got busy with something and let the time get away from me.” Her eyes dropped to the jar of sliced mushrooms I held. “Um, I need another one if you don’t mind.”

  He chuckled and reached up to grab another one, noticing that she stepped back closer to her cart. It bothered him, but she really didn’t know him.

  Hell, we’re in the middle of a freaking grocery store filled with people. We’ve kissed. Okay, it wasn’t a real kiss, but still.

  Rex almost said something to her about it but held back. Instead, he handed her both jars, almost jumping out of his skin when their fingers touched and an electrical shock flashed between them. From the way she’d jerked her hands back nearly dropping the mushrooms, Ellie had felt it, too. It gave him hope that maybe he could get her to agree to go out with him. He really wanted to get to know her. Something about her made him feel good, calmed that constant growling that was always going on in his head these days.

  “Thanks.” She added the two jars to her other groceries.

  “Did you find out what was wrong with your car?” he asked, unwilling to let her leave.

  “It was a dead cell in my battery. You had it pegged,” she said, wrapping her hands around the handle of the buggy.