Green Broke Woman Read online

  “I'm not settling. This is a good thing.”

  “Sounds like it,” she quipped.

  “It is.”

  “When are you going to tell Jake and Keith that you're a quitter?”

  Travis shot her an annoyed glance. “I'm no quitter. I'm just trying to wise up to the fact that some things are never gonna happen.”

  He silently cussed out the stupid twenty-six year old version of himself in the past that had let his one sweetheart go instead of trying to find a way to gradually introduce her to his lifestyle. There was no rush. They could have spent the first year or two taking it slow if she needed to. He could have started out slowly with spanking and sex toys and worked from there.

  Then eventually he could have brought up the notion of his brothers joining in. Surely Kayla wouldn't have minded a ménage. After all, she'd pretty much flirted with all of them during her teen years.

  “You didn't answer my question,” Miranda prodded.

  Travis put the tiny box back into his pocket and grabbed his keys and wallet. “I'll tell them when they come over for a visit. You didn't tell them, did you?”

  Miranda got a guilty face, but her humor disclosed her lack of shame. “Well...”

  “Miranda, I told you not to—” He answered the ringing phone. “Hello?”

  “What the hell is wrong with you?” Keith Langley demanded from the other end. “Miranda tells me you plan on proposing to your girlfriend tonight.”

  Travis shrugged, surprised by how weighed down he felt emotionally. “Yeah, so?”

  Jake Langley's voice yelled in the background “Fuck you, traitor!”

  Travis rolled his eyes. “That's real nice, Jake. Unlike you two players, I'm just trying to grow up and act like a man now.”

  Keith sounded frantic with exasperation. “No, you're fucking up like an idiot is what you're doing. We agreed to wait for Kayla to get back. Do you remember that?”

  “Yeah, I remember, but I've got news for you, little brother. She's never coming back.” The words caught in his throat, making it suddenly sore.

  “You don't know that,” Keith insisted.

  “Keith, it's been six years and not a word. She was just a teenager with a crush. We got ourselves in too deep taking her seriously,” Travis countered.

  Jake raised his voice from the background. “She loved us, you dumbass! I saw the way she looked at me when she stumbled across me and saw that woman sucking my cock. It wasn't just jealousy. She was devastated. I've never seen that look on a woman's face, and I never want to see that look on her face again.”

  Travis rolled his eyes, noticing the time. “You can't go five minutes without talking about your dick, can you, Jake?”

  “Yeah well, I've got a dick worth talking about, and it beats being one,” Jake retorted.

  “Look, find someone else to yak with about your bits and pieces. I've got a date,” Travis reminded him.

  “You're making a mistake,” Keith told him. “What if you marry this woman and Kayla does come back?”

  That would be hell, but never settling down and having a family was a lonely existence in his mind. “And what if she never comes back? She left us to chase her dreams. Is it so unreasonable that I let her go to chase after mine?”

  “Except she is your dream,” Miranda spoke into the phone from the other room.

  “Miranda, get off the damned phone.” Travis rolled his eyes at her saucy chortle.

  “If you make this mistake and Kayla does come back, we won't let her go. We'll have her just to the two of us, and we won't back off out of sympathy for your stupidity,” Jake said loudly on the other side.

  “Jesus, Jake! Right by my head,” Keith complained.

  Miranda spoke up. “Just ask yourself this, Travis. Which is worse, to go through life alone, or to share your life with someone you know you weren't meant to be with?”

  Travis sighed. “I appreciate the concern, but my mind is made up. Now, you two go spank one of your little subs and let me be.”

  He hung up and headed out, thinking about what they said. The song he'd heard earlier still played through his head. Where was Kayla, and who was she with? Hell, she could be married with kids for all he knew. Did he ever cross her mind?

  When he pulled into Veronica's driveway and saw her waiting for him and felt the painful chasm in his chest, he made his decision, and he wasn't going back on it.

  ****

  Kayla hung up the phone, fighting back tears. She'd heard Travis Langley's voice. God, he had a sexy voice. The sound of his familiar vocals seemed to transmit home to her through the long distance that separated them.

  She'd wrestled with the idea of calling her father and asking to come home, but when the moment came to dial the numbers, her old man's pride flared in her blood, and she called Travis instead. She often dialed his number just to hear his voice.

  She never heard Jake or Keith answer the phone anymore. Had they moved out?

  Occasionally she heard Miranda's spunky drawl on the other end. Kayla smiled at the memories she'd made with her best girl pal growing up. Miranda had been more of a tomboy as a kid while Kayla had been a girlie girl, but as a teenager Miranda had bloomed into a feminine young woman, albeit still a kick-ass blonde chick that had no problem letting the boys know they'd met their match.

  Kayla hurried out of the store as the floodgates opened when the chorus of “Need You Now” serenaded her out. That song always made her think of the Langley brothers, Travis in particular.

  She never spoke on the phone with them when she called. She just listened to them say hello a few times before hanging up. It had been years since she'd seen them. They'd probably think she was a pathetic mess with old feelings for them still simmering in her soul. She'd never be able to hide it from them. They were good at reading people ... like her Master had been.

  She walked through the rain on her way home, trying not to cry. As much as she liked California, the acting thing wasn’t exactly working out. At times she was torn between going home to Kentucky to see if the Langleys were still available and staying here in hopes that Master Hugh would come back to her.

  The savory aromas floating from the restaurants made her hollow stomach growl painfully. She took a shortcut down an alley and contemplated picking up some food for dinner on her way home.

  Footsteps sounded from behind her, and she saw a hefty shadow closing in on her. She walked faster, but the person matched her step for step.

  “Hey! Hey, you! Are you a hooker?” the man called out.

  “Uh, no,” she squeaked, quickening her steps.

  “Would you like to be?” he asked, still following her.

  “No, thank you.”

  “It pays good. I take care of my bitches.”

  “I'm fine, thanks.” Kayla walked faster, cringing when she saw him stride more swiftly when she glanced over her shoulder.

  Her heart skipped a beat when she saw a pickup screech to a halt at the end of the alley. Oh God, he had a partner in crime.

  The man walked next to her, breathing down her neck, but he didn't touch her. “You don't got no man at home, do you? I bet nobody would go looking for you if you went missing.”

  Oh crap!

  The man in the truck honked and hollered out the window. “What do you think you're doing harassing my wife?”

  Kayla felt a crippling wave of relief wash over her that nearly made her fall over. She didn't know who the cowboy in the truck was, but if he wanted to help get her away from this creep, then she'd gladly get into his truck with him.

  She turned to face the pimp, faking boldness as best as she could. “I'm married to a cop, and there are a lot of people who would miss me.”

  The creep backed off, throwing up his hands. “Just having a harmless conversation.”

  He backed away slowly and watched her get into the truck with the other man before he took off running down the alley.

  She couldn't stop shaking as she sat drenched on t
he passenger's side while the man in a white Stetson drove away. “Thank you for that.”

  “No problem,” he said with a certain drawl that made her wonder if he was from Tennessee. “What's a nice girl like you doing wandering around in a dark alley at night?”

  “I was on my way home. I really appreciate what you did back there. I wish there was a better way for me to thank you.”

  He gave her a friendly smile while he drove. “Well, I could use a favor.”

  “What kind of favor?”

  “It's about my sister, Gretchen, but I'll tell you after we eat. You hungry?”

  “Starving.”

  “Good. I’ll buy you dinner.” He extended his right hand. “My name is Virgil. Virgil Paisley.”

  “Kayla.”

  She shook his hand, feeling a sense of security come over her. Call it gut instinct or feminine intuition, but somehow she knew she could trust the cowboy.

  Chapter Three: Bonding

  Six months later

  Beverly Hills, California

  Kayla sat at the table with Virgil outside the café. She twirled her straw in her icy pink lemonade, trying not to smile too big as he spoke. They’d been meeting several times a week for the past six months, mostly to discuss whether or not she’d found any information on his missing sister, Gretchen, but Kayla never had.

  She felt bad for the poor guy, but she had to admit she enjoyed their time together immensely. In a posh world of fakeness and glamour, he was the only one who seemed real to her. His country charm reminded her of home.

  Virgil sighed and palmed his tall, frosty glass. “Beck Hammond might not have had anything to do with her going missing. Just because Gretchen worked for him, doesn’t mean…” His voice trailed off. “I don’t know what it is. I just don’t trust him.”

  “I’ll keep looking.” Kayla reached across the table and took his hand in hers, giving it a light squeeze. “We’ll find her.”

  He flashed her an appreciative smile and turned in his seat to face her. “Enough about that. How have you been?”

  “Okay.”

  The playful smile on his face made her insides rise with giddiness. “Just okay?”

  She couldn’t fight the smile this time. “Really good … now that you’re here.”

  He kissed the top of her hand, making her skin tingle. “I noticed you got a new tattoo.”

  “I did.”

  “Those look kind of like the flowers I got you for your birthday.”

  She blushed and took a drink from her lemonade. “They are.”

  “Are those your favorite flower?”

  “One of them. Mainly I got it because it meant a lot to me, that you remembered my birthday and got me flowers.”

  Virgil smiled at her when she looked up at him again. Caressing her hand with his thumb, his focus lowered to the table briefly. “I know this started about business, but sometimes I think about taking you out on a proper date.”

  Her pulse rushed, and she was beaming. “I’d like that.”

  ****

  Three months later

  Virgil Paisley sat in his truck in the dark, tapping his fingers on the steering wheel. His baby sister, Gretchen, had been missing for about fifteen months. The police never found her. It was possible the feisty young woman had been abducted and murdered walking home from work one night.

  Then again, somewhere in the back of his mind was a restlessness that left him ill at ease. He’d always wondered about her employer, Beck Hammond. She'd worked for him for a month or so and then disappeared. It could all be a coincidence, but the highly guarded Hammond estate reeked of suspicion as equally as it boasted wealth and glitz.

  Virgil had hated the idea of Kayla applying for Gretchen's old position as Beck Hammond's assistant nine months ago, and he still wasn't crazy about her working for the playboy rich guy. She'd agreed to it, though, after he'd rescued her that night months back and told her about his missing sister.

  Hugh would probably blow a gasket if he knew that Virgil had placed Kayla in a household that was currently under suspicion, but Virgil had needed an attractive, qualified, young woman to apply for the position. Then along came Kayla Sanders.

  Waiting for her to meet with him now in his truck like he was, put an easy smile on his face. She was spunky and adorable with equal parts innocence and the occasional attitude. He'd been smitten almost since he'd laid eyes on her. That had likely been mere physical attraction, but after spending nine months meeting with her a few times a week in public to give an account of her assessment of Beck Hammond's affairs, Virgil knew he'd fallen for the curvy country girl.

  He felt his pulse quicken when he saw her coming and unlocked the door for her. He took her by the hand and pulled her up into his truck. The sound of the door shutting sent a happy jolt to his cock. He shifted in his seat, hoping the darkness concealed it.

  She was a sweet girl. He wouldn't take advantage of her ... unless she asked him to. Lord, how he wished she would. He could tell she was attracted to him, but she was a good girl. And she'd been Hugh's submissive for two years, or his slave, or whatever kinky crap they'd been involved in together. The dulcet cutie was off limits. Virgil could look at her all he wanted, but he couldn't touch.

  Well, damn.

  “How you doing, honey?” he asked, startled by the way she trembled. “What's wrong?”

  “I'm okay.” She didn't sound okay. “Nothing suspicious to report.”

  He sighed. “Well, I reckon that's a good thing. You're shaking like crazy. Are you sure you're all right?”

  She flinched when he reached for her.

  “Jumpy.”

  “Yeah, I get like that sometimes.”

  “Did something happen?”

  “Well, of course something happened. I landed a commercial, remember?” Her smile seemed forced. “I'm going to be a star.”

  He grinned and high-fived her. “Yeah, you are. I'm proud of you, Kayla.”

  “Thanks.” Her face distorted for a fraction of a second, and she looked choked up before donning a tranquil air. “So do you still think he's responsible for your sister's disappearance?”

  Virgil sighed and shrugged. “I guess not. I just really thought Hammond had something to do with it. I reckon I was wrong.”

  “I can keep looking,” Kayla said quietly as she stared at the dashboard, absorbed in her thoughts.

  “Nah, that's all right. I wish we had more time.”

  Her eyes closed, almost in despair. “So do I.”

  “I can stay longer if you need me to.”

  She reopened her eyes and shook her head, acting like she tried to be brave. “No. You should go. Your mom needs you. She should spend her last days with her boy.”

  He nodded solemnly, feeling choked up when he thought of his mama dying of cancer. “I don't suppose you'd still like to meet me every once in a while just for the heck of it once I get back from Tennessee? It might be six months or more, but I could come back to you.”

  “Please,” Kayla blurted breathlessly, grasping his thigh. “I really need you in my life. You're the one thing in it that's real.”

  His loins woke the hell up at the feel of her dainty hand on his denim-clad thigh. Good heavens, it was only a platonic touch and she had his engine ready to go. He refrained from groaning at the thought of burning up the sheets with her. Just one night.

  No. That would never be enough with his little honey. He just might need to spend his life with her.

  “What do you mean by that?” he asked.

  Move your hand higher, honey.

  “You remind me of home and the girl I used to be.” Her voice changed to a broken hush that tugged at his heartstrings.

  “What are you talking about, sweet thing? You're still the same person.”

  Her eyes squeezed shut, and she seemed shaken up. “I'm not.”

  He gently hooked a finger under her jaw and lifted it. “Is there something you're not telling me?”

  She
gazed deeply, almost pleadingly into his eyes with that dazzling hazel stare of hers. Her head moved closer, and she lightly pressed her lips to his.

  Sorry, buddy, but you left her and she started this.

  Virgil mentally tipped his hat to his friend Hugh and slanted his lips over Kayla's. It was a sweet kiss full of affection and tenderness, but the sensual twisting and rolling of their tongues quickly sparked carnal urges he hoped she was ready to give into. He'd be a gentleman if she wasn't, but still, what if?

  She sucked his lip with vigor, eliciting a loud moan from him. He put his arms around her, pulling her closer. His cock made an agonizing spectacle of itself the way it pushed insistently on the crotch of his jeans, wanting a turn in her lovely mouth.

  He let out a savage gasp when she grabbed his groin and squeezed. His hands found her breasts and groped them, spurred on by her titillated whimpers. He broke the kiss, but with difficulty. “I don't have any condoms on me.”

  “That's okay.” She undid his fly, staring into his lap with genuine hunger. Hugh taught her well.

  “I'm clean, but I don't want to get you pregnant.”

  She gave him a flirty half smile as she pulled his bulging penis out. “Somebody didn't pay attention in sex-ed.”

  Virgil practically howled at the humid feel of her luscious mouth going down on his cock. She swiveled her steamy tongue all over his swollen glans and up and down his aching shaft until he thought he'd explode. The little seductress didn't neglect his balls either. He had a real winner on his hands.

  He weaved his fingers through her silken strawberry blonde strands, trying not to come too quickly from the rapturous high her skilled mouth evoked. She took his erection in pretty far but stopped when his crown touched her uvula. He wondered absently whether or not Hugh had taught her to deep-throat.

  Regardless, she gave amazing head. Virgil about lost it when her mouth seemed to cave in around his dick and tremendous pressure bore down on his organ when she sucked him forcefully to the roof of her mouth. The sensations flaring all over his cock at the ferocious suction made his balls draw up painfully, and it really was too much.