Another Second Chance Read online

  “In hindsight, we should have put her in one of the other rooms. They have rails on the beds. But like my dad always said, hindsight is twenty-twenty.” Brian had already returned to work, placing the under layer of stitches.

  “We wanted her as far from the front entrance as possible to give your guys plenty of time to deal with anyone walking through the door set on finding her. With the secondary exit nearby, this was perfect.”

  “Did the lights here dim? I swear when Micah fires up all those fucking gadgets, the local electric company goes apeshit, and they have to throw some auxiliary power switch. Like that Christmas movie where the alarm sounds and warning lights go off when Clark put all those damned lights on his house? Micah pulled a good shot of that asshole sniper’s face off the dock feed. He and Phoenix are running facial recognition programs at some Mach speed Jax said would have the console smokin’ in no time. If somebody has to call the fire department, make sure they know it’s not me this time.”

  Tobi was talking a mile a minute, completely unaware of her husband rolling his eyes toward heaven at her profanity-laced chatter. With her back to the door, she hadn’t noticed her other husband step into the room either.

  “Kitten.” With just one word, Kyle West silenced his wife and made every man in the room chuckle at her whispered curse. Liam was almost certain her comment about a duck wasn’t anatomically possible. Kyle had once told him, no matter what they tried, they hadn’t been able to break her habit of cursing when she was excited.

  Tobi looked around the room, leveling each of them with a look that would likely make most men cover their family jewels. She wasn’t pleased with the amused looks on the faces surrounding her.

  “You all knew he was there and didn’t tell me? Boy, oh boy. Rats… you’re all rats. I swear, I’m getting voodoo dolls made to look like every Dom at the club and then sponsoring the biggest margarita party ever for the subs. I’ll surf eBay until I find enough hat pins to torture you all and then it’ll be on. You just wait and see.” Every man in the room flinched, and Kyle rolled his eyes behind her.

  “You are incorrigible, kitten. Let Brian work, the team is getting antsy to get Colbie back to the compound. Even though having her on our home turf didn’t help us much earlier today.”

  “I told you buying the land across the river wasn’t going to help unless we fenced it off.” Kent’s comment about purchasing the adjacent tract was obviously news to everyone in the room—including their wife.

  “The dads were reviewing the bids, but I assure you, they’ve kicked it into high gear now.” Kyle moved his gaze between Liam and Bode as he added, “I’m sorry. There isn’t anything else I can say. She did exactly what Jax asked her to do. She turned around well before the gate near the road and several feet shy of the end of the dock. She’d have expected an attack to come from the road, not the river.”

  The path she’d run would have kept her sheltered from view for all but a few seconds as she turned on the dock. Whoever the shooter was, he was either damned lucky, or he was familiar with the layout of the compound. The last thought was damned humbling.

  Kyle shifted his weight in a move Liam suspected was to relieve some of the frustration he was feeling. When he held out his hand, Tobi walked into his arms and hugged him tightly.

  “This is all on that jerk who shot at Colbie. Don’t you be feeling like you didn’t do enough, I just won’t have it.” Kyle’s expression softened as he leaned down to press a kiss against the top of her pale blonde hair.

  “Every man in the world should have a woman who loves as unconditionally as you do, kitten. I’m convinced it would be a much nicer place if we all experienced such selfless support.”

  Liam felt a pang of jealousy and sent up a silent prayer he and Bode would someday have a relationship like the Wests.

  “But that doesn’t mean I’ve forgotten all your cursing, kitten.” Pulling back, Kyle frowned down at Tobi. “We’ll deal with that later.”

  “I have it on good authority the kids are going to the movies with mom this evening.” Kent’s smirk made Liam choke back a laugh.

  “Traitor.” Tobi’s glare earned her a scathing look from Kent. Liam knew the man might look like a soft touch, but his core was pure sexual dominant—something he suspected Tobi forgot regularly. “Sorry, Sir.”

  “Jesus, Joseph, and Mary, people. Can you take this outside? I’m never going to finish this with the Lucy Show playing in here.”

  Kirk snorted a laugh at Brian’s comment before opening the door and urging the Wests into the hall. The last thing Liam heard was Tobi giggling.

  “I can’t believe we got kicked out for talking. That hasn’t happened to me in…. well, at least a couple of weeks.”

  Shaking his head, Brian returned to his work. “I swear she and the other women at the Prairie Winds Club are the most resilient people I know. They’ve all been through so much, but they burst through the other side, smiles in place and ready to take on the world. It’s remarkable.”

  “I’ve seen the close friendship between them; what role does that play in their recovery?” Liam was surprised by Bode’s question. Not that he hadn’t considered that angle, but his friend wasn’t usually as interested in the finer points of social interaction. Bode had definitely been born on the wrong side of the pond and a century too late. He was more the shoot now and ask questions later type—it was probably part of the reason he’d fit in with the team of former Special Forces soldiers so quickly.

  “I’m sure that’s a large part of it.” Brian didn’t look up from the row of sutures he was finishing up when Kirk stepped back into the room. “They have a built-in support system. As I see it, they are a very special group. They’ve all experienced unique traumas and are submissives who have a built-in need to please others. Someone who doesn’t understand the full range of nuances of the lifestyle might see the stiff upper lip routine as strength. Whereas, another sub understands and offers a safe place to vent. Without friends who understand, a submissive would probably bottle up all that emotion because they wouldn’t want to trouble anyone.”

  “Granted, I’m walking into the middle of this conversation, but I can’t begin to tell you how important Tobi and Gracie’s friendship has been to Regi. Even though she worked at the club, she hadn’t fully embraced the lifestyle because she was afraid to let go and trust. Those two women had her back when everything was collapsing around her. They hold a special place in our hearts for all their support.” Kirk chuckled before adding, “And they’re damned entertaining, too. Personally, I hope Tobi does get a margarita party together. We all watch from the control room; those women are a hoot.”

  “You’re just saying that because they always end up naked.” When Liam turned abruptly back to Brian, he shrugged. “It’s true. They usually end up skinny dipping.”

  “And you encourage this?” Liam couldn’t hold the note of judgement from his voice.

  “Hell, yes.” They answered in unison with nearly identical disbelieving looks. “What’s not to love? Beautiful, naked women having the time of their lives, racking up punishments like it was a competition. It doesn’t get any better.” Kirk’s laughter was loud enough to elicit a reaction from Colbie. When she tried to roll away from Kirk’s voice, he patted her hand and apologized. “Sorry, sweetie.”

  Kirk handed Liam a sheet of instructions, including the prescriptions he’d already called in to a local pharmacy. “One of us will come back to town for these after we’ve gotten Colbie settled.”

  “No need,” the doctor shook his head. “Merilee came by, she and Tobi are taking care of it. Kyle sent Tank with them—I’m not sure if it was for their protection or to keep the two of them out of trouble.”

  “I don’t know what they pay him,” Bode shrugged, “but there’s no way in hell it’s enough.”

  “I asked Kent about that once, and he assured me the women were making Tank a very rich man. He gets bonuses every time he keeps Tobi out of jail.” Brian
looked up as he affixed the last strip of tape to the dressing and smiled. “I referred him to our financial manager, figuring he had a lot of extra cash drawing zip-squat interest in a savings account. It turns out, Tank is a closet stock trader. I’m thinking of turning my portfolio over to him.”

  Chapter Nine

  BODE SAT SLUMPED in the chair at the side of the bed, watching Colbie sleep. He’d carried her out of the hospital and held her until Liam had taken her from his arms once they’d been safely inside the garage. She’d opened her eyes when they first stepped from the elevator; the brief flash of alarm at the realization she was being carried by a man, faded quickly as she took in her surroundings. He’d wanted to fist pump knowing she’d felt comfortable enough to fall back asleep in Liam’s arms.

  He’d sworn he was going to keep his enthusiasm in check, but everything about Colbie called to him. On the surface, she appeared tough and acutely aware of the danger she was facing. But underneath, there was a core of vulnerability he couldn’t resist. The first time he’d seen her, he’d known she was scared out of her mind, but her determination to push past it showed a soul who was wise far beyond her years.

  Over the past year, he and Liam had meticulously reviewed every aspect of her background. She might have blood the color of Texas Bluebells, but their families routinely made the Forbes’s list, despite their fathers’ best efforts to throw the publication off their trails. Bode’s parents swore the magazine’s list painted a target on them which every thief in the world could see. Liam’s family was even more cautious, but so far, their efforts to conceal their wealth from the media had proven futile.

  Over the years, they’d been targeted by two types of women. Those who wanted to know what if felt like to have two men focused on their sexual pleasure. They’d sworn they could handle the commitment involved, that they could handle the dominant sides of his and Liam’s personalities, but those promises had always quickly fallen apart. Most hadn’t made it out of the bedroom before the reality of dealing with two sexual Dominants settled over them like a dark cloud.

  Other women were only concerned with their bank balance. It didn’t matter how normally they tried to live, the media took great pleasure in publishing the details of their trust funds’ annual growth. The truth was, most of those writers knew more about his money than he did. God knows they’re more interested.

  Shifting in his seat, Bode scrubbed his hand over his face, hoping to push aside the fatigue threatening to pull him under. Dropping his hand, his gaze went back to the woman in front of him. He was surprised to see her watching him, her crystalline blue eyes drowsy with sleep, but the fog of drugs had cleared. For several seconds, he simply enjoyed the moment. He was sure she underestimated how beautiful she was. Sky-high cheekbones and a perfectly shaped nose covered in pristine ivory skin so soft he longed to kiss every inch, Guinevere Colbert-Lister was, in a word, stunning. Her long blonde waves had been an invitation few men would have been able to resist, but those had been replaced with short red spikes which did little to conceal the startling beauty they topped.

  “Are you okay?” Her quiet question pulled him from his musings, and he smiled.

  “I think I’m the one who should be asking that question although I know you aren’t really okay—at least not yet.” Her gentle smile made his breath catch. Pushing from the chair, he stretched and then stepped up to the bed. Sitting beside her, Bode smoothed his hand over her cheek. “Give me a number for the pain, Storeen.” Her quick glance to the side told him she planned to underplay her discomfort. “Don’t lie to me, sweetheart, because I assure you that I’ll know.”

  She took a deep breath before answering, “My arm is throbbing, but I don’t want to take anything that will knock me out. I already feel like I have the world’s worst hangover, and I only want to fight this once.” When her eyes became watery with tears, he wanted to growl with frustration.

  “Let’s try a half dose of the pain killer Kirk prescribed. I’ll make you some toast first, so it doesn’t upset your stomach.” When she tried to sit up, tears poured down her cheeks. “Hold on. Let me help.” He slipped his arms under her knees and behind her back to set her gently on the edge of the bed. Without asking, he helped her into the bathroom.

  When he didn’t leave the room, she blinked up at his in confusion. “Aren’t you going to leave?”

  “No.”

  “What? Really? What about privacy? I can’t pee with you standing there.” He held back his grin when she stood stock still like a deer caught in the headlights. “Call it performance anxiety, but I won’t be able to do it. Can you please just stand on the other side of the door?”

  He wanted to push the issue, but she was already swaying on her feet. Bode believed in the old adage about beginning as you intend to go, but he also knew there was wisdom in choosing your battles.

  “I’ll be right outside the door. Don’t stand up until I’m beside you.” Since he knew she wasn’t wearing anything beneath the sundress they’d slipped her into hours ago, she didn’t need to be embarrassed by him helping with panties. Smiling to himself as he stepped outside the door, he enjoyed knowing she’d have little need for panties once she was theirs. Well, aside from the fact he loved the sound of lace being ripped apart.

  She called his name a few seconds later, and his heart stuttered at the sweet sound. Back at Colbie’s side, Bode steadied her as she stood up and swayed precariously on her feet. After she’d finished freshening up, he led her slowly into the living room. Liam had heard them coming down the hall and already had pillows and blankets waiting on the sofa. Stress lines from the pain bracketed her mouth by the time she was settled.

  “I’ll make the toast while Liam pampers you.” He’d often teased his friend about being a mother hen; it would do them both good to spend time together. By the time he returned, she was already fading. “Oh no you don’t. You need something to eat before you get a nap. If Tobi shows up and finds out we haven’t fed you, she’ll make extra voodoo dolls of us.”

  Colbie wrinkled her brow trying to figure out what he meant and Liam laughed.

  “She threatened to make the dolls because no one told her Kyle was standing behind her at the hospital. I’m certain her profanity-laced tirade earned her more than a few swats.”

  “Tobi mentioned that her men are sticklers about that, but I didn’t know why.”

  “To outsiders, I’m sure it looks like they are trying to control her language and dictate what she can and cannot say, but that’s not it. They simply want her to be the best she can be and talking like a drunken sailor isn’t going to earn her the respect they both feel she deserves.”

  Liam’s explanation was spot-on as far as Bode was concerned. Most Doms had rules against their subs cursing, and their reasons varied, but he knew Kent and Kyle were entirely focused on what was best for Tobi. After finishing her toast, he handed her the medication, but she held it in her hand without taking it.

  “Yes. I mean, the answer you wouldn’t let me give you last night… or” she was looking around for a clock, and Bode realized she had no idea how much time had passed since she’d been shot.

  “Our conversation was two nights ago, sweetheart.”

  “Holy shi…ne. I slept that long? What the heck did they give me?”

  “Good save on the language,” Bode smiled. “We’ll ask that you curb the cursing as much as possible, but we also know those changes take time. As for what they gave you, you’ll need to check with Kirk, but I know it hit you much harder than he expected. I’m sure he’s made notations in your chart, but it’s information you need to have as well.”

  “Whatever.” Liam waved his hand in a motion of impatience. “Let’s get back to the part where she said yes before she takes that pill.”

  “I’d already said yes, but you wouldn’t accept my answer. I’m just repeating what I said earlier. I’ve been given another second chance, and I don’t want to waste it.”

  He had a deep sense o
f what she wasn’t saying as well. She didn’t think she was going to be able to stay in Texas, and she wanted to enjoy what time she had with them.

  “I’d like to learn more about the lifestyle, but it’s been a long time since I had the training class, so you’ll have to be patient.”

  Bode wanted to laugh and rail at the same time about her request for patience. It seemed like they’d been waiting forever, so a few more days wouldn’t hurt.

  “We’ll go as slow as you need for us to go. But I want you to notice I said we’d be addressing your needs and those may not always line up with what you think you want.”

  Bode agreed with what Liam said and nodded to show her he was on the same page. He crossed his arms over his chest, drawing her attention.

  “I’d like to add I don’t think there is any class that would adequately prepare you for having two Doms.” Her eyes were wide, but he didn’t see any sign of fear or uncertainty in them.

  She took a deep breath and then nodded. “Maybe Tobi could help me. She has two men.” Bode felt his jaw drop and for the first time in years, he was struck dumb.

  “I’m not sure I’ve ever seen Bode speechless.” Liam leaned his head back and laughed.

  “What’s wrong with asking Tobi?” The little minx’s grin told him she was being intentionally naïve.

  “Not a thing, sweetheart. By all means, ask Tobi your questions. Follow her lead. I’ll enjoy having your bare ass draped over my lap. Hell, my palm is itching in anticipation of seeing it’s imprint turn a lovely shade of pink against your creamy skin.” Bode watched her pupils dilate and heard the small catch in her breathing. The dress she wore exposed the base of her throat, and he watched her pulse kick up. She shuddered under his scrutiny, and he caught the flinch of pain she tried valiantly to hide.