Authors: Abby Blake
“So we’re all agreed.” Brock glanced around the room as everyone nodded. “Okay, we need to move as much as we can into the ship part of the stations. We’ll leave the rest behind for now and hope it survives until we can come back with an armed escort. Let’s get this done.”
Everyone scattered in different directions, and soon it was only Matt and Mikayla sitting at the table.
“Are you okay?” Matt asked his wife. She looked pale, and he knew she hated change. It wasn’t until her confession about being shuffled around from foster home to foster home that he really understood her love of stability.
“I’m fine,” she said absently, even though it was very obvious that she wasn’t. She must’ve seen the incredulity on his face because she smiled and tried to be more convincing. “Really, I’m fine. I know that we’re taking most of the station with us, and all of my husbands will be there. It’s just that sudden change dredges up a lot of memories I’d rather forget.”
Matt held her for a moment and then stood up and stepped back to see her face more clearly.
“Hopefully one day you’ll share some of those memories.”
“Why would you want to know?” she asked, sounding surprised that he would ask.
“Because your memories are part of who you are. Even when we convince ourselves that they can’t hurt us anymore, something like this, the sudden change, comes along and throws a wrench in the works. If your husbands know what might trigger these sad memories, we can make certain that we’re there to help you through them.”
She smiled at him, stood, and touched his face with obvious affection. “You’ve got a noble streak a mile wide, haven’t you? You knew in just a few moments that I was in trouble that day you met me. You’ll always know when I’m feeling scared. It’s just part of who you are, Matt Davidson.” She stepped into his embrace and wrapped her arms around him. “In some ways, I owe you so much. If you hadn’t gotten involved that first day, my life could be very different. And not in a good way.” She ran her hand over the frown mark on his forehead. “But I promise I will share some memories with you soon.”
Chapter Eight
After three weeks of living in cramped conditions, Mikayla was practically ready to scream. She’d finally told the rest of her husbands about her fear of becoming pregnant again, and their reactions had ranged from guilt and remorse that they’d asked her to have their children to absolute horror and anger that she would feel the need to hide her feelings from them.
Having had time to come to terms with her own emotions, she could see their reactions were born from their love and fear for her. Mikayla had spent most of the last few days trying to smooth over the upheaval and reassure her men that she wouldn’t keep that sort of information from them again.
But still, a little space would be nice.
She managed to make it all the way into the kitchen only to find Ty seemed to have had the same idea. “Need some alone time?” he asked with a smile.
Mikayla nodded, feeling a little bit childish in her need to get away from men who did everything they did because they loved her.
“I can go,” Ty said hesitantly. It was obvious that he’d started to prepare the evening meal, and Mikayla was more than happy for the help. Feeding herself and eight men had been a challenge. Feeding three extra women, all of whom seemed to think they were above domestic chores, took a lot of planning.
“No, that’s okay,” Mikayla said as she stepped to the sink and began rinsing vegetables, “we can be alone together.”
Ty smiled, and Mikayla caught the first real sign that her husband was beginning to feel the strain as well. The ship only held just under half of the living space the station had in total, so they’d all had to make compromises. Add that to the fact that the medical science station-ship mysteriously hadn’t started and they’d had no time to fix it before leaving the planet urgently, tempers were fraying at an alarming rate.
“Everything okay?” Mikayla asked quietly.
Ty looked at her for a moment and then blew out a big breath. “Fine,” he answered, sounding rather tired. “It’s been hard sharing a ship with those women. They don’t seem to have any inclination to make allowances at all. The three of them have been arguing with Ryan since we left the planet.” He turned and whispered conspiratorially, “I think Ryan is about ready to stun their asses. Next time they piss him off, you’re liable to hear three dull thuds as they hit the ground.”
Mikayla giggled a little and then placed her hand over her mouth. “I think I’d cheer if he did,” she said, a little shocked at her own reaction.
Ty smiled as well, nodding his agreement. Mikayla had thought the female scientists were difficult to deal with back on the planet, but that was nothing compared to the angst they were causing now.
“I have half a mind not to feed them,” she said as she went back to washing vegetables. “But it would only mean they’d have to use the kitchen to fend for themselves, and I sure don’t want to be left to clean that mess up.”
* * * *
Ryan saw Jacqueline come into the lab and tried to hide his irritation. Three weeks of attempting to avoid the woman in the cramped space of the ship was starting to wear on him. Unfortunately, Jacqueline had made it rather obvious that she had no respect for Mikayla, or for her marriage vows, and therefore saw him and his brothers as available rather than married men.
“Where’s Bryce?” she asked in a tone that suggested she had a right to know. The woman was nothing if not direct. At first Ryan had dismissed her behavior as the quirks of her personality. A lot of scientific researchers had difficulty in a social setting, and he’d just figured she was one of them. He’d never been quite so wrong in his life.
“I’m not sure,” he answered honestly. Bryce could be anywhere on the ship. It’s not like they had a roster.
“What about Matt?” she asked in an imperious tone.
“Sorry,” he answered, trying to remain polite but having difficulty. He breathed a silent sigh of relief when Ty came back into the lab.
“Jacqueline? Anything I can help you with?” Ty asked as he walked past her, heading back to his desk.
“Call Bryce and Matt for me,” she said in a helpless-sounding voice that somehow came across as a command. Ty looked to Ryan for clarification, but all Ryan could do was shake his head in irritation. Perhaps calling Bryce would be a good thing. He’d been the first to notice Jacqueline’s predatory ways, and despite his brothers’ explanations of the type of personalities often found in their line of work, Bryce had steadfastly held to his own beliefs. Ryan nodded slightly, and Ty went to the communicator to track down Bryce and Matt.
“They’re in their quarters,” Brock told him from the control room. “I’ll send them your way.”
“No need,” Jacqueline said sweetly, “I’ll just go meet them there.” She left the room before Ryan and Ty could think to stop her.
* * * *
“Hell,” Bryce said as he rolled off the bed and onto his feet. Jacqueline wanting to meet them in their quarters was not a good sign. Fortunately, Matt agreed with him because they both headed for the door at the same time. If they could get into the common areas of the ship, they’d be a lot safer.
Bryce laughed softly as he realized they were essentially running from one little female, but the danger Jacqueline presented was far more than physical. None of them would ever be unfaithful to Mikayla, but Jacqueline seemed determined to undermine Mikayla’s faith in her men.
Well, Bryce sure as hell wasn’t going to let his wife down.
They’d barely made it halfway to the lab when Jacqueline came around the corner. The woman must’ve run to get there so fast. Lord knew they were both moving double-time.
“Oh,” she said, looking disappointed. “I was hoping to speak to you two privately.” Considering that they were the only three in that particular hallway, it should’ve been private enough.
“Why?” Bryce said as he crossed his arms and tried to look intimidating. Jacqueline simply ignored his body language, threaded her hand into the crook of his arm and attempted to turn him back toward their living quarters. Bryce managed to untangle himself. To hell with being polite. If the woman couldn’t understand his silent signals to leave him alone, then maybe he needed to be more direct.
“I have a proposal for you two that I think you’ll find very interesting.” She turned to Matt and walked her fingers up his arm. Matt took a step away.
“What sort of proposal?” he asked in an annoyed voice.
“This sort of proposal,” she said with what was probably supposed to be a seductive laugh. She pulled some sort of perfume bottle from her pocket, sprayed the stuff on her neck and stepped closer to them both.
Bryce felt the effects immediately. His cock hardened against his jeans, his breathing became labored, and his head filled with sensual images of fucking, claiming, marking his woman. He heard a strangled groan as the perfume—obviously made from mouse tears— affected Matt as well.
“Now,” Jacqueline said as she sighed happily, “wouldn’t it be more comfortable if we took this back to your quarters?”
“I have a better idea,” Matt said as he lifted Jacqueline over his shoulder. For a single, suspended moment Bryce worried that his brother wasn’t thinking clearly, but one look at the determination on Matt’s face was enough to put his mind at ease.
Jacqueline giggled happily as Matt marched down the hallway. She wasn’t quite so impressed when, after they made it to the lab in record time, Matt unceremoniously dumped Jacqueline onto one of the lab tables.
“Where is it?” Matt demanded as he ran his hands over Jacqueline’s clothes trying to find the perfume bottle. Jacqueline shrieked in outrage, but Matt finally found the offensive concoction and relieved her of it.
“Call Lachlan,” Bryce said in a strained voice to Ryan. “And steer clear of her,” he said, pointing at Jacqueline, so angry that he didn’t even want to say her name out loud. “She’s wearing a perfume made from mouse tears.” Ryan nodded and went straight to the communicator.
Bryce and Matt took up aggressive positions in front of both the doors. There was no way Jacqueline was leaving the room wearing a perfume designed to rob a man of his choices. Bryce ground his teeth against the need to find his wife and work off some of the strain. First he needed to contain Jacqueline, and then he needed to make sure he was in control of himself. The last thing he wanted to do was hurt his wife.
It seemed to take forever but Lachlan finally made it to the lab. He took one look at the rigid stances of the four men in the room and quickly realized the situation.
Unfortunately for Jacqueline, the woman chose that exact moment to leap off the table and have a very unladylike tantrum. Before she could shout out more than a couple of horrible threats, Lachlan threw a bucket of soapy water over her. They all watched impassively as Jacqueline screamed like she was melting and then very inelegantly threw herself onto the floor and kicked her feet like a bratty three-year-old.
“Are you two okay?” he asked Bryce and Matt. When they shook their heads he said, “Head back to your quarters. I’ll deal with this.”
Bryce glanced over at Ryan and Ty, nodded his thanks to Lachlan, and turned to hurry back to their quarters. Matt was right behind him.
* * * *
Mikayla was feeling a little better just from being able to spend some time alone. Talking to Ty had helped, but he’d headed back to the lab once dinner was under control. It had been a rough few weeks for all of them, but they were almost back to Earth, and they’d soon be able to wave goodbye to the female scientists. Mikayla was humming softly when Ryan and Ty came into the room. Ryan looked pissed, and Ty looked more annoyed than she’d ever seen him. For two men who were usually joking around, it was a pretty sure sign that the close quarters were affecting everyone.
“Jacqueline kept some of the mouse tears,” Ryan said immediately, his voice laced with anger. Fabulous. The woman was not only condescending and predatory in her attitude, but it would seem that she had no idea how dangerous the mouse tears really were. What the hell had she been thinking? She should’ve just left the dangerous cocktail on the planet. It was, after all, considered an illegal substance now.
“What happened?” Mikayla asked, concerned for all involved. After their experiences on the planet, she knew that men operating under a full dose of the mouse tears weren’t in control of their own impulses.
“We managed to counteract the effects with the vitamin cocktail, but that bitch wasn’t aware that we had any left,” Ty said, practically grinding his teeth to dust.
“She exposed you deliberately?” Mikayla said, feeling her hackles rise. One very smart, self-involved scientist was about to get a boot up her ass.