“If I need you, I won’t hesitate to call,” Mac assured him. “Right now, I’d rather keep this on the farm, though. ”
The other two men nodded before their gazes flickered to the dance floor, then back to Mac. It was well known that no other man ever slow-danced with his wife. But there he sat, relaxed, at ease, and on the dance floor Jethro Riggs was wrapped around Keiley like a winter blanket.
“You surprised me,” Joseph told him without censure. “He’s a lot like you were, though, when you first came home. Wary. Kind of dark. She fixed you. ”
“And she’ll fix him. ” Mac nodded.
The question Joe didn’t want to voice was in his and Chase’s eyes, though. They were his best friends, his only true friends from the years before he left town. Two of only a few men who knew the truth of the life he had led before his mother died.
“You know why, Joe,” he finally said. “I was never just like everyone else. This is just a part of it. ”
Joe grinned at that. “Keiley’s living every woman’s sexual fantasy, you know that, don’t you? The rest of us are going to catch hell now. ”
Mac looked back at him in surprise.
“No kidding,” Chase grumped. “Fayrene’s already wondering why the hell none of my Army buddies can’t visit for the summer. You have those women frothing in fantasy. Man, we should kill you for that alone. ”
Mac looked out at the dance floor. Jethro was indeed wrapped around Keiley like a winter blanket, dancing slow and easy, his head bent to hers, and laying against hers. Like Mac danced with her. And there was no jealousy, just a sense of comfort.
There would always be someone to protect her, and Jethro would heal. The bleak shadows of his past would go away, and beneath Keiley’s influence and her love, he would soften. She had that effect on people. Her love had that effect on men. He didn’t expect it to be easy. Jethro had been rejected from hell and back during his childhood. It would take a while. A year. Maybe two. But he would realize he was where he was meant to be.
All three of them. They were exactly where they were meant to be.
26
“Come on, sweetheart. ” Jethro eased Keiley from Mac’s hold as he opened the door, careful to keep her body shielded with his as Mac tucked his weapon behind his back and eased from the vehicle.
She was aware that they shielded her from the time she moved from the truck until they entered the house. Keiley fought back her apprehension, easing into the house behind Mac, hating the fact that he had to stand in front of her, that she had to be protected, that she wasn’t able to protect herself.
“When this is over, we’re going to talk about my own training. You’ve been neglecting me,” she hissed at Mac as they entered the foyer and headed upstairs to Jethro’s room, where she knew they would stash her until they had secured the house.
She heard his amused snort and felt Jethro’s hand smooth warningly over her rear as they stepped to the landing and headed for Jethro’s room.
She really wanted her bedroom back. Her comfortable bed, her familiar surroundings.
Jethro moved into the bedroom, his weapon held confidently in his hand as he swept through the room. He checked the bathroom, the closet, and behind the curtains. Within seconds he was motioning them in and Mac was pulling his backup weapon from the holster at the top of his boot and pressing it into her hand.
“You know the drill,” he told her. “Lock the door behind us and don’t open it until I give you the okay. ”
She nodded sharply as worry continued to gather inside her. She tried to draw the confidence she felt radiating from both of them into herself and steel herself to be strong.
When this was over, Mac and Jethro were going to train her to help them. She made that decision as she stared at her husband, then her lover. She would never again hamper their movements if danger followed them.
“We’ll be right back. ” Mac kissed her quickly, his lips taking hers, catching them in a kiss of heated promise and desire before he moved away.
Jethro moved by her then, caught her to him, and pressed his lips to her brow. “Be good,” he growled with a sexy warning. “Or you won’t get spanked later. ”
“Hell of an incentive. ” Her breath hitched shakily. “Hurry. I get lonely very easily. ”
“Spoiled fairy. ” His voice was teasing.
“Remember it,” she ordered as he pulled away from her.
They moved out of the bedroom, closing the door behind them. Holding the gun in one hand, Keiley locked the door with the other and pressed her face against it with a ragged breath.
Ten to fifteen minutes was all it took, she assured herself. The security device they carried that worked with the motion-sensor alarms had shown no disturbance in the house. No one was here. They were all safe for the night.
Weren’t they?