McKenzie, Cooper - Daria's Heroes [Men Out of Uniform 1] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) (10 page)

“Okay then,” Roman said as his breathing grew harsh as he pistoned harder and faster into her. “Glad that’s settled. Now, my loves, who is going to come with me to paradise?”

Gage groaned as Daria sucked him harder and deeper. Pleasing two men was distracting her so much that she was not sure she could join them. That was until Roman reached around her hip and swirled two fingers through the juices that coated her clit. He then eased them through her puckered star. As he filled her ass, her brain frizzled and the orgasm that seemed so distant suddenly slammed over her, contracting every muscle in her body.

Roman thrust his cock in her several more times before holding himself as far in her pussy as he could. As her muscles clenched, she tried to keep from hurting Gage as she sucked harder and harder but was not sure she succeeded when he howled and filled her mouth with his own man juice.

Daria fought to stay in position so she did not hurt Gage as she sucked and cleaned his cock. When her orgasm retreated, it took all her strength with it. She had to release Gage as her arms gave out and she melted to the mattress in a puddle.

She sighed as Roman pulled his fingers from her ass and his cock from her core. He climbed off the bed, but she did not have the strength to lift her head to watch him walk away.

When Gage lifted her from the bed and laid her down in the center of the mattress with her head on the pillows, she stiffened but had no energy to fight him. He then crawled in and cuddled her close with her head on his shoulder as he whispered praises and planted kisses all over her face.

A moment later, Roman joined them. “Go to sleep now, loves. We’ve got long days ahead of us before things settle down again.”

Turning her head, she watched Roman lean over her to kiss Gage. Then he kissed her as well before settling down behind her. Daria listened as both men’s breathing settled into the slow rhythm of sleep. She closed her eyes, but remained wide-awake for a long time, a lifetime of guilt keeping sleep at bay.

Chapter 10

“Are you sure you’re going to be all right?” Roman asked two mornings later as he and Gage prepared to head to the fire station for work. It was well before dawn, but their shift started at seven and went for twenty-four hours.

Roman had called in the evening before to ask for time off, but two others had already called in sick with the flu, so their presence was required.

“I’ll be fine,” Daria said for what had to be the hundredth time. “I’ve got a meeting with the insurance adjuster this morning, and the funeral home left a message, so I’ll deal with that as well. Plus I still have to buy a proper outfit for Mrs. Stone’s funeral.”

After sleeping late the day before and then having an extended round of good morning sex, they’d spent the day in Jacksonville shopping for Daria’s new wardrobe. She now owned more clothes than she ever had in her life, and most were sexier and more feminine than she normally wore.

But none of the stores they’d visited had a simple black dress that she and Roman could agree on. He chose dresses that in her opinion were too short, too tight, or too sexy to be worn at a funeral. He called her choices frumpish, baggy, and old-lady-like. Gage refused to offer any opinion.

Daria hoped that by shopping without the men she would be able to find something appropriate that both she and Roman could live with.

“All right, but I want you to buy something that shows off that sexy body and is above the knees, understand?” Roman demanded in his Master tone.

“Yes, my liege. I’ll try to remember,” she snarked.

She squeaked when he smacked her left ass cheek. “If I don’t like the dress you buy, it’s going back and you’re getting a spanking, so choose wisely, baby girl.”

Said in his Master tone, she knew it was a promise and not just a threat. Only after she nodded her understanding did he lower his head and kiss her breathless. When he stepped back, the front of his uniform pants showed a distinctive bulge of arousal.

“I’ll remember.”

Once Roman stepped away, she turned to find Gage moving in. He hugged her tight and dropped his head close to her ear. “Don’t hesitate to call or come by the house if you need to. Don’t forget to take your cell phone with you and answer it when it rings.”

She returned his hug and another breath-stealing kiss. When he released her and stepped back, she found herself wobbly. “Why don’t you take some of this food with you? There’s no way we’re going to be able to eat it all.”

Roman shook his head. “Bring two or three hot casseroles and a couple of those salads for dinner just before five. If we’re out on a call, leave them with Tessa in the office and we’ll eat them when we get back.”

“Will do,” she said as her men picked up duffle bags and briefcases before heading out the back door. Once they were gone she turned to the empty kitchen and said on a yawn, “But for now I’m going back to bed.”

* * * *

Three hours later, Daria had just stepped out of the shower when her phone rang. She thought about letting it go to voice mail, and then Gage’s words came back to her about answering it at all times.

“Hello?”

“Miss Tate? This is William Birch. I’m the adjuster at Langston Insurance Agency. I’m not calling too early, am I?”

Daria clamped the phone between her shoulder and ear as she wrapped a bath sheet around her body. “No, this is fine, Mr. Birch. What’s up?”

“I know our appointment is in about an hour, but I was wondering if we could meet in two hours at the property instead of the office. I’m in Oriental heading into a meeting right now and won’t be back in town before then.”

“Oh, um, well, sure, no problem,” Daria said as her heart began to pound, and she instantly wished one or the other of her men were home to go with her to this meeting.

Roman refused to take her by the day before, though he never did say why. She figured it was because he did not want her to see the destruction in the daylight, but he was at work and she needed to see what was left. “All right then, I’ll see you there in two hours,” Mr. Birch said before hanging up.

Daria disconnected the phone then quickly dried off and dressed. Though it felt strange to pull on her jeans without panties, she kept in mind Roman’s rules of the household. Once she’d finished getting ready for the day, she wandered through the house trying to find something to occupy her mind until it was time to leave for her meeting.

The house was clean and tidy, the bed made, the laundry done and put away. There was nothing for her to do except sit and wait. Pacing the house, she wandered into the kitchen, looking through the refrigerator and cupboards. Both were fully stocked, so she did not even need to make a run to the store.

Walking through the house once more, she decided there was no way she could be here by herself. The house smelled like Roman and Gage, and all she wanted was for one or the other of them to walk through the door, hug her tight, and assure her that she would find her footing again.

“This is ridiculous,” she said to herself as she gathered the papers for the adjuster as well as the file for the funeral home and packed them in her messenger bag along with a can of Pepsi and a small bag of oatmeal cookies one of Mrs. Stone’s neighbors had dropped by.

Picking up her keys, she flipped through them and found a new one on the ring. Going to the front door, Daria opened the door and found the key fit the lock perfectly. Reaching into her pocket, she pulled out her phone and texted Roman.

Thanks for the key.

Hitting send, she grabbed her bag and headed out the door, making sure it was locked once she was out on the front porch. She drove to “her” park. After parking, she walked to the railing by the water and just stood and stared out across the river. She tried to keep her thoughts on what needed to be done and not the questions that haunted her about what she was going to do next and whether or not she really would fit into Roman’s little family.

The longer she sat there, the more sadness and guilt built up in her until she felt hot tears rolling down her cheeks. Checking her watch, she found it was time to leave and meet Mr. Birch. Wiping away her tears, she pushed down the guilt and fear so she could focus on what needed to be done.

Pulling into the driveway as she had thousands of times before, Daria could not hold back the small cry of pain that escaped when she looked at the total destruction that had at one time been her home.

Climbing from the car, Daria ignored the yellow police tape and approached the house. Her mind could not process what she was seeing. This was not Mrs. Stone’s home. This pile of ash and wood could not be the house where she’d learned strength and courage and love.

She slowly walked around the perimeter of the house, trying to wrap her mind around the fact that this was, indeed, all that was left of her life with Mrs. Stone. After stepping carefully over boards and piles of ash and debris, she walked down the front walk to the three steps that led to the city-maintained sidewalk. Once there she collapsed in shock as the guilt that Mrs. Stone had died because she had not been there overwhelmed her.

Before she could completely fall apart, a burgundy sedan pulled into the driveway. An older man climbed out and approached.

“Miss Tate?”

“Yes,” Daria said, feeling numb as she pushed to her feet.

“William Birch. Thank you for meeting me here. I’m sure this is difficult, but I have a few questions before I can finish filing your claim.”

“Sure, whatever,” Daria said.

She took several deep breaths to regain the control she had always prided herself on. She would cry later. Right now, there was business to be dealt with.

* * * *

As Roman went through the morning, his attention was divided between the clock on the wall, his task of training two volunteers on proper knot tying when it came to water rescues, and the phone on his belt. He wished he could have brought Daria to work with him today, but the chief was a stickler for rules and protocol. Besides, Daria had things to do, but he wondered it was this was too soon for them to leave her alone.

When his phone rang, he automatically glanced at the readout before pulling it from his belt. “What’s up, baby?”

“Roman? I…um…oh never mind, it’s not important.”

“Daria, don’t you dare hang up,” Roman growled as he walked down the hall into the exercise room for privacy. “Talk to me.”

“You’re probably busy.”

“We’re on lunch break, and as long as we don’t get called out, nothing is more important than you. Now, what’s going on?” Roman sat on the bicycle and began riding.

“I just wanted to say I’m sorry,” she said, her voice sounding watery.

“Sorry for what? Did you buy an ugly black dress?” he said, hoping for a laugh. Instead, she began to sob on the other end of the phone.

It was a couple of minutes before she sniffed and said, “It’s my fault Mrs. Stone is dead. I’m so sorry.”

Before Roman could respond, a beep sounded and the connection was broken. Checking his phone’s display, he found his phone fully charged, so he assumed Daria’s battery had died. They would be having a long talk about that when he got home in the morning. All he could do now was get back to work and hope she came by so he could assure her that she was not at fault.

“Was that Daria?” Gage asked from the doorway.

“Yes, but her phone died before she could tell me what’s wrong.”

“Uh-oh,” Gage said as the two men walked back to the kitchen. “Somebody’s in trouble.”

“You could say that. Especially since she was crying and saying that Mrs. Stone’s death was her fault.”

“What did Brian say?” Gage asked, referring to the department’s arson investigator. “You talked to him, didn’t you?”

“Not yet. He’s been out of the building all morning. But I will as soon as he gets back.”

Chapter 11

By five o’clock, all Daria wanted to do was find a cave and hide from the world. Not one thing she tried to accomplish had gone right. She spent most of the day running from the funeral home to the city office in charge of scheduling park events and back again three times due to a misplaced file and miscommunication. Though she had filled out new paperwork and jumped through all the hoops, she still did not have the necessary clearances needed to hold Mrs. Stone’s funeral at Union Point, which had been the woman’s request ever since her stroke five years before.

In addition, she still had to get permission from someone to scatter the ashes over the Neuse River, which meant figuring out which department she needed to beg, and she did not have it in her to fight anymore. Instead, she went home and found several more containers of food on the front porch with sympathy notes from several of their neighbors.