“Tonight is our first date actually.”
“No. Really? I would have thought, well, it doesn’t matter. It’s nice to meet the woman who got those guys to come out tonight to the Station. They could have brought you someplace special for your first date though. I’ll need to talk with them.”
Frankie chuckled. “They took me to Galileo’s.”
Michaela widened her eyes. “Really? Nice.” She nodded. “What would you like to drink?” she asked Frankie as she waved over the bartender.
“I really shouldn’t.”
“Don’t be silly, just one to make a toast.”
“A toast?”
“Sure, to new friendships,” Michaela told her, and Frankie felt a gush of emotions.
She didn’t think this woman was for real. But then, an hour later, as Frankie laughed along with the Hawkins brothers and a bunch of their friends, she knew these people weren’t faking anything. They were real. They cared about one another, and she’d never felt so envious in her life.
* * * *
Jake moved across the room to stand next to Turbo. “Galileo’s, huh? I guess you went all out to impress her?”
Turbo chuckled. “Hey, you saw her reaction to me at her place. But really I can’t take the credit. It was Nate and Rye that got her to accept a date.”
“Nate and Rye? No freaking way.” Jake replied and then took a slug of beer and looked at Turbo’s brothers.
“She’s a beautiful woman. I hope it works out for you guys,” Jake told him.
“It’s a first date. A start,” Turbo replied.
Jake gave his arm a nudge. “You sound unsure.”
Turbo glanced at Frankie and then back at Jake.
“She’s different. It’s more than just shyness, youth, and perhaps not being as experienced. There’s something there.”
“Maybe it’s because of the case. You’re trying to maintain your professionalism while also pursuing an interest.”
“It’s more than that. I can’t read her. It’s like some moments she seems confident, sure of herself, or at least she pretends to be. And other times, she seems intimidated, scared, like she’s trying to decide how to react to us.”
“You’re a pretty good judge of character, Turbo, but sometimes a pretty face and knock-out body can ruin your better judgment. Do you think she’s more interested in the fantasy of a ménage than making that type of commitment?”
“I’m not sure what to think, but I know I’ll do what’s necessary to protect my brothers.”
Jake nodded as he looked toward Rye, Mike, and Nate, who surrounded Frankie.
“How about just being honest with Frankie about what you’re feeling? Perhaps she’ll be honest with all of you in return.”
Turbo nodded. “I’ll see what happens. It’s only a first date.”
Jake slapped his hand gently against Turbo’s shoulder. “Sometimes it doesn’t even take that long to get in deep.” He then nodded toward Michaela just as Jake’s brother Billy wrapped his arms around her and nuzzled against her neck.
Turbo remembered how they all had met Michaela She had been hiding from serious trouble, too. Maybe he should follow his gut and just ask for Frankie’s honesty.
* * * *
“I can take the bus, really,” Frankie told them after they left the Station and headed toward the truck.
“Are you out of your mind? We’ll take you home. We want to be sure you get there safely,” Mike told her, staying close to her as they escorted her to the truck.
She felt pretty good, almost bubbly, as she tilted her head to the side so she could lock gazes with Mike.
“Is this an attempt to get me to let you into my place?”
He turned her around and pressed her against the truck.
Holding her gaze with his beautiful dark-brown eyes, he gave her one of his sexy smiles.
“Baby, inviting us into your place is completely your choice.”
Before she could respond, or even recover from that sexy expression and similarly sexy comment, he kissed her deeply.
She felt lost in his arms and in his kiss but reminded herself that this was a first date and taking it too quickly could be disastrous. She pulled back and pressed her hands against his chest.
“God, you make saying no so difficult.”
He pulled his lower lip between his teeth and gazed over her cleavage.
“Good, because I so badly would love to explore this amazing body of yours.”
She felt her cheeks warm as she pulled back and cleared her throat.
“First date, remember? I think I should take the bus.”
“Not happening. Hop in, honey. We’ll get you there safely,” Rye told her, giving her a light tap to her ass.
Even that aroused her pussy and made her think of making love to these men. Hell, they turned her on so much she truly debated about just letting them fuck her and call it the best most memorable experience of her life. But that wasn’t her. She had feelings, and she feared that connection, that bonding of bodies. Kevin had been her only lover, and it seemed she couldn’t satisfy him enough that he’d strayed elsewhere. How the hell would she be able to satisfy four men?
She clutched her bag and climbed into the truck with Rye’s support.
They talked about town and even mentioned a few newer condominium places that were up for rent. Their hints were thoughtful, and she didn’t take them as an insult for they didn’t know why she’d chosen Bayline and the worse neighborhood around.
As Nate pulled the truck up to the curb, Rye opened the door and helped her out.
“We’ll walk you,” he said.
“No need to.”
“We want to. It’s not exactly well lit, Frankie,” Turbo told her.
“Hey, I’ve got my trusty protection. No worries.” She patted her purse. They knew she had a gun. They didn’t look too happy about it at all.
“Nonsense. We took you out on a date tonight. We’ll walk you to your door,” Turbo added, and the doors slammed closed.
Her four huge-ass bodyguards escorted her along the dark sidewalks and up past the even darker pathways to her main door. She turned around to face them.
“Well, I had a wonderful time. I loved Galileo’s. Thank you for taking me there.”
“We’re walking you all the way up,” Turbo told her.
“Turbo, I’m fine. I come and go from here every day and night. I can take care of myself.”
“I think otherwise. We’ll walk you to your door,” he added firmly.
She didn’t know what to do. She was trying so hard to act independent. To act like having these four amazing, capable, strong, good men around her didn’t make her yearn for what couldn’t be. They made her feel safe, cared for, and important. She had to be tough. She needed to gain control and think about what she wanted and what was right for all of them.
“I’m not inviting you inside,” she told him, pointing at his chest.
Turbo grabbed her finger and pulled her toward him, causing her to step off the top step of the entranceway as he pulled her into his arms.
His hands held her firmly, one palm along her ass and the other around her waist.
“I respect that. It’s a first date. But soon enough, you’ll ask us to stay, or better yet, you’ll come home with us.”
He kissed her, and she kissed him back, wondering if this was even real and if maybe, just maybe, the past was well behind her and right here in front of her was her future.
Chapter 7
“So tell me about it. How was the sex?” Cassidy asked Frankie as Frankie joined her on the beach, laying her towel on the sand.
Frankie looked around them as if people may have heard Cassidy.
“Cassidy, could you lower your voice? I didn’t have sex with them.”
“No? Holy God, girl, what is wrong with you? Or, even more importantly, what did they do to turn you off?”
Frankie exhaled in annoyance, and Cassidy chuckled. She felt sorry for Frankie but also happy for her. It was obvious that Frankie was running from her past or, at the very least, scared of it. To find such great guys like the Hawkins brothers was like hitting the jackpot. It made her think about her own screwed-up relationship with Keith and about the new guy, Peter, she’d met two days ago.
Frankie pulled off her cover-up, revealing her voluptuous figure and the cute little moon and star tattoo she had on her hip. There was also some scarring by her hip bone, and when Cassidy had asked Frankie about it, she told her it was an old injury she’d gotten as a teen.
“They didn’t do anything wrong. They didn’t turn me off. I just don’t have sex on the first date. Not that I didn’t want to. God, Cassidy, it was so hard not to,” she admitted as she plopped down onto the towel.
Cassidy smiled. She was so happy for her friend.
“I knew it. How could any sane woman not want to have sex with men as hot as those four?”
“Hey,” Frankie reprimanded.
Cassidy widened her eyes and then slammed her hands on the towel with excitement.
“Oh my God, you’ve got it bad. You totally are into them. All four of them. A ménage!” She smiled, and Frankie covered her head and banged her hand down on the towel.
“It’s so crazy. I can’t even tell you how wonderful and amazing they are.”
“So why didn’t you sleep with them?”