Page 50 of Saved By the Marines (Soldiers Of Misfortune)

“And a blanket on her,” Weaver added. “Not to mention he about bit my head off if I made any kind of noise.”

“Fuck all of you,” Suave said, but I noticed that he kept his voice low.

My men chuckled, but Jasper shot him a warning glance. “We’re glad you like her, but try anything and I’ll give you another nut punch.”

Suave covered his balls. “No need. I just have a soft spot for vulnerable women.”

I frowned. I wasn’t weak and vulnerable. At least not anymore. I’d stood up to my father. That was a huge step for me.

“She’s got more heart than you know,” Wolfe told him.

“Not to mention spine,” Kip added.

“I don’t doubt it. She’ll need it to deal with you idiots,” Suave said with a laugh.

That seemed to be the signal and the six men embraced in the typical bro hug fashion, with a lot of back slapping. As soon as the three men were gone, Wolfe sat down at the table.

I was still hiding in the shadows, listening in. Despite wanting to go in and let them wrap their arms around me, I stayed put.

“What’s the plan,” Jasper asked.

“We’ll take turns having her sleep in our rooms,” Wolfe replied. “We don’t want to come on too strong and scare her.”

“She can have her own room if she wants,” Kip said. “We have plenty.”

“I want to keep her with us. She can have a room later, after the threat is completely laid to rest.”

“There’s still a threat? Even though Peter was arrested?” I asked, coming into the room.

Wolfe arched a brow and Jas glared at me. “It’s not polite to listen in doorways, Brat.”

I shrugged at Jasper and his cranky mood. Going over, I placed my arms around Kip. He tucked me up against his body and I reveled in the safety and heat he provided.

“Not sure yet,” Wolfe answered me. “But we’d rather be safe than sorry. If Coleman was responsible for this, he could still send someone after you. We don’t know why he did it in the first place.”

Sighing, I nodded. “He must have thought I overheard something I shouldn’t have. I really didn’t,” I told them. “I just want this to be over and done with.”

“We know, Beauty. Now that we’re not busy with your dad’s schedule, we’ll focus fully on figuring out what happened so you can have some closure.”

“Not that we weren’t looking into it before,” Jasper said. “Don’t worry. Nothing touches what’s ours.”

My heart squeezed. It was oddly comforting to hear him say that and it let me know that I’d made the right choice.

“We’re going to bed after we have a talk,” Wolfe said and looked pointedly at Kip.

Kip spun me so quickly all I could do was gasp as he pinned me against the kitchen wall, with his hand encircling my neck. He was staring down at me with a hard look. “When one of us tells you to get to safety and to stay there, we expect you to listen,” he told me. All the humor I was used to from him was buried beneath the serious tone. My heart raced with anticipation. I was equally scared by his sudden aggression, and turned on by his intensity. Part of me was hoping they would scold me, because if he kissed me I… I would happily bend over the kitchen table, and give in to anything they wanted.

I winced and pleaded with my eyes. “I only wanted to help. It was my fault that Ted was there in the first place,” I explained.

“No, Brat. It was Ted’s fault that he was there. That was his choice to come be a douchebag,” Jasper told me.

I couldn’t see past Kip’s wide shoulders, but I knew the others were watching just as intently.

“Even if it had been your fault,” Wolfe added, “that doesn’t mean shit to us. No man is putting his hands on you again. In order to make sure that doesn’t happen we need you to listen to us.”

Now they flanked Kip, all of them giving me narrowed-eyed looks. My heart tripped in my chest. They looked so fierce and so damn handsome I wanted to give in. But I was a new woman now and I refused to back down anymore, even to them.

“He was outnumbered and I could help,” I insisted.

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