Hearts on Fire 5: Loving Frankie (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) Read online

  Before anyone could respond, the cheers started as their friends greeted them.

  Jesse and Dudley were already drinking as they gave them hugs then hello slaps on the backs.

  “What are ya drinking these days?” Larry asked as he leaned against the bar.

  “I’ll take a Bud for now,” Turbo told him then glanced at Mike, Nate, and Rye.

  Nate was talking to the owners of the place, Charlie, and Lure. Lure and Nate went way back to their jobs in the service and with the government. Turbo took a sip of the beer Larry handed him as he watched Nate talk to the two men. All three of them were straight faced and hard looking. Nate worked construction with Rye but more so to stay in shape and keep busy. Money wasn’t an issue for any of them.

  “How are the prospects looking tonight, Shark?” Gary asked one of the main bartenders.

  He smirked as he wiped out the inside of a clean beer mug.

  “Charlie and Lure hooked you guys up. Starting with the hottest waitress and bartender of Prestige to the extra special guests your buddies all lined up in the private room.”

  “Oh man, not the platinum-blonde one with the big—”

  Lure slapped Gary on the back interrupting him before he continued.

  “You’ve got Frankie. I expect you to behave. Now if you all will follow me, I’ll escort you to the area we have set up for you guys,” Lure told him, and then the others followed.

  Turbo took his beer and walked with his brother Mike, following the other guys. They were talking and laughing, all excited about the night ahead of them, and Turbo wondered who Frankie was and what had Gary rubbing his hands together and appearing excited. He was fixing his shirt and then the waist of his pants as he whispered to Murphy, and Murphy shook his head.

  The moment they headed toward the large table in the back of the club, Lure introduced Frankie.

  “Gentleman, this is Frankie, your server for the evening. Anything you want, you just ask Frankie and she’ll try her hardest to accommodate your request or get me to assist. Enjoy the evening, and the first round is on Prestige.”

  The guys cheered, but Turbo was caught off guard by Frankie’s beauty and body. He wondered why the hell she went by a guy’s name as his brother Mike gave his arm a nudge. He glanced at him.

  “Holy shit,” Mike whispered.

  Some of the guys took seats at the table while others stood around talking and ordering drinks from Frankie. He couldn’t get himself to sit down. Turbo watched Frankie like a hawk, taking in all her assets and the movement of her body as she walked between the men. She was petite, too, and had sexy, toned thighs that led up to a nice, round ass. But her deep cleavage drew all his attention until he locked onto her baby blues.

  “Can I get you another beer, sir?” she asked him, making him feel old.

  The strike to his ego had him barking the word Bud to her, and she quickly wrote it down then looked at his brother Mike.

  Her eyes widened, and then she looked down at the note pad then back up toward him. Turbo wondered what was going on.

  “This is where you work?” Mike asked her, and she just nodded and held the pen then looked down at the pad again.

  “I saw those guys trying to follow you and your friend out of the Beach House. My buddies and I stopped them. They didn’t catch up with you, did they?” Mike asked her.

  She looked shocked and then squinted at him.

  “You did that? Why?” she asked, on the defensive.

  “I didn’t like the looks of them. They seemed up to no good, and they scared you off. That meant I couldn’t get to know you better,” Mike added, flirting.

  Turbo just watched Frankie’s expressions change. At first she seemed thankful that Mike had intervened at something and then annoyed. He wanted to know what happened, what sounded like some guys bothering her at a club. But then Frankie released an annoyed sigh and changed the subject.

  “And you, sir, what would you like to drink?” she asked Mike, and then Turbo didn’t feel so hurt.

  Apparently Mike had met the woman somewhere before. Mike was probably closer to her age at thirty-three than Turbo was at thirty-six. He would have to ask Mike where they’d met.

  “Darling, you can call me Mike.” He winked at her, and she smiled.

  “Sure thing, Mike. I’ll try to remember your name, but there are a lot of you guys.”

  He reached out and tugged on a strand of her platinum hair.

  “You’ll remember me, just like I’ll remember you, Frankie.” He released her hair and winked again.

  She shook her head.

  “Smooth,” she whispered and moved onto Nate and Rye.

  Mike smirked, and Turbo shook his head but watched Nate and Rye give her their drink orders.

  Nate kept his arms crossed in front of his massive chest, intimidating the poor young woman, while Rye leaned closer to pretend to see if she had the order straight.

  She blew them off, too, in a friendly way and continued on.

  “So how do you know her?” Turbo asked Mike.

  “I don’t really know her. I saw her at the Beach House the other night. Some guys came over, bothering her and her friend. I went over to see if they were okay, but she seemed to have it under control. Whatever went down, she and her friend disappeared. I couldn’t keep my eyes off of her while she was there. Caught her looking back a couple of times. I don’t know what her deal is.”

  “Maybe she has a boyfriend,” Turbo suggested and felt his own disappointment thinking that.

  “I sure hope not. I was hoping to get to know her. Don’t you think she’s beautiful?”

  Turbo glanced back toward the platinum-blonde who seemed to have snagged all the guys’ attention, including the married ones.

  “She sure is.” He just watched her like the other guys did and wondered more about her.

  The conversations went on as appetizers were brought out and more guys arrived. It got louder and more crowded as Frankie delivered drinks and cleaned up plates. She was looking a little flustered when Lure showed up midway through. He squinted his eyes at her, and she shrugged and barked at him. He looked around as if he were searching for someone then walked away, pissed off. She ran her hand along her brow and exhaled then rubbed her right hip.

  “What’s that expression for?” Mike asked him.

  “Did you see her rubbing her hip? She’s in pain.” Mike squinted his eyes and watched. Then Mike gave him a nudge.

  “Looks like Nate and Rye noticed, too. She’s working this entire party on her own. We better be sure Gary and Murphy tip her well,” Mike said.

  “Why wouldn’t they?”

  “Because she keeps declining their advances.”

  Turbo shook his head and took another slug of beer. He felt that inkling of jealousy hit his gut. It was stupid. She wasn’t his, so there was no reason for jealousy. Besides, she’d declined their advances, too.

  * * * *

  “You work too hard, Frankie. Why don’t you come on over here and sit on Jessie’s lap? You know he, Larry, and Dudley are getting married next week?” Gary told Frankie.

  “All three of you are getting married? I thought just Larry was.” She placed her hand on her hip. It was aching, and she still had hours of work to go once the men went into the other room.

  “We’re marrying Priscilla. She’s beautiful like you,” Dudley said then downed another shot of Fireball. The men cheered around him, and Gary placed his hand on her shoulder.

  “Come sit,” he told her.

  “No, that’s okay. Remember what I told you? I’m not on the menu. I think your treats are waiting for all of you in the other room.” Just as she said that, and the guys started whining and flirting with her, she heard the roar of anger and turned to the right. There stood Gloria, half dressed and suddenly charging toward her. Lure and Charlie were far behind her and looked really pissed off. Frankie wondered what had happened. Gloria had never shown up to help Frankie take care of the party, and she’d
been forced to do it all herself. But the expression on Gloria’s face had Frankie backing up

  “You bitch!” Gloria yelled out and slapped Frankie across the face, hitting her cheek and upper eye.

  Charlie and Lure grabbed her.

  “Bring her to the back room, Charlie. The police are on their way,” she heard Lure say as someone lifted her up and pulled her onto their lap.

  “Are you okay? Jesus. Rye, grab ice.”

  She felt the tears stream down her cheek and the pain radiate against her cheekbone and eye, causing her vision to blur a little. Instantly, her eye began to swell as she tried to focus on what had happened and also tried to get up off of whoever was holding her.

  “No, honey, sit still. You’re hurt, and I’ve got you.”

  She blinked her eyes opened and saw Turbo holding her. With short dirty-blonde hair and a hard expression, the man was like steel. His hard thighs pressed firmly against her ass, making her feel sensations she wasn’t used to feeling. Mike was there, and the other guy Nate, who appeared hard and serious and had an expression of pure anger. She was shaking and had no idea why Gloria had struck her like that.

  “I don’t understand,” she whispered.

  “What the fuck is going on, Lure? Who was that woman, and why did she hit Frankie?” Nate demanded to know.

  Lure placed his fingers under Frankie’s chin and tilted it up toward him. He cursed. “Fuck. Damn, baby, I’m sorry she got to you. She was a raging lunatic. If we’d known she would go after you, we would have kept watch on her better in the back room,” Lure told her.

  “Here’s the ice,” Mike said, handing the plastic bag of ice to Turbo, who gently laid it on her eye and face.

  She tried to take it from him and hold it there, but she was shaking.

  “I got it. You just relax. You’re safe with me,” he told her. She gulped. Safe with him? Who was this guy? Who did he think he was, taking control of the situation and taking care of her? She tried to move. His hand gripped her thigh a little snugger. “No. Sit still and let the ice work.”

  She was overwhelmed. She felt the attraction and a sincere appreciation for the man’s good looks and chivalrous actions. She needed to get a grip. All men were sneaky, manipulative dickheads. She’d learned that the hard way. She looked away from him and focused on Lure and Charlie.

  “Why did she do this?” she asked, voice cracking.

  “We caught her in the back room. She was snorting coke and banging some asshole instead of working and helping you. Turns out she was selling the shit here, and that dick was her supplier. We’re taking care of it. The police are on their way,” Lure told her.

  “The police are here,” Nate said and then walked away toward them as two uniformed cops and what appeared to be a detective in plain clothes arrived. Nate seemed to know them and so did the others as they greeted one another.

  “Don’t worry, honey. Just keep the ice on there. We’ll take care of everything.”

  Take care of everything? This is ridiculous.

  “I need to get up. I have to get back to work,” she said, and Lure, Turbo, Mike, and Rye all said, “No, sit still.” She gulped, taking the ice from her eye and cheek. Rye cursed, and Turbo ran his hand along his jaw.

  “You might need a paramedic to check this out or a doctor.”

  “No. No I’m not. I don’t need to go. It’s just swollen from the strike of her hand. The ice will bring down the swelling. No, I’m not going. That’s stupid.” She stood up and lost her balance.

  Mike wrapped an arm around her waist to steady her. “All right, relax. If you don’t want to go, then I’m sure the cops can take a picture of your injuries so you can press charges.”

  “Let’s bring her to my office,” Lure said, joining them again.

  “No, I’m okay. I need to clean up and help with the party.”

  “We got it covered, honey. Come on now. We need to look over that eye. Nate?” Lure said to him, and Nate nodded as they escorted her to the back office.

  She noticed the other employees helping with the party and the guys in the bachelor party headed toward the other room. She hoped their night wasn’t ruined because of this.

  Those thoughts left her mind a moment later as she felt Mike’s large, heavy hands on her waist, guiding her down the hallway. The others followed, including several police officers and a detective. But she was shocked that Nate and Rye followed, too, and took protective positions around her as if guarding her from everyone else. That gave her an odd sensation in her gut.

  She was shocked at the tingling sensations she felt just from Mike’s hands on her, guiding her. She was attracted to all four of the good-looking men. When had she become needy for a man’s touch? An attractive, masculine man’s attention? She needed to clear her head. Men were pigs.

  As they entered the office, it appeared all the men knew one another. Mike helped her into a chair, and she crossed her legs and held the ice in place. Nate knelt in front of her. He placed a hand on her thigh and one on the arm of the chair.

  “I know a bit of first aid, sweetness. Let’s take off the ice and see how it looks, okay?”

  She stared at his firm expression and absorbed his dark-brown eyes and the mature, hardened lines of his jaw, and then she inhaled his cologne. She felt an instant attraction to him, just as she felt to Mike, Rye, and Turbo. They were all older, big, muscular, and handsome, but she had been down that road before. Look what falling for the charms of an older, more experienced man had gotten her. Nearly killed.

  She gulped.

  “I’m sure I’ll be fine if I just ice it.” She began to lower her head, and he raised one of his eyebrows at her.

  “I’ll be the judge of that,” he replied firmly.

  He was sexy, big, and had what appeared to be a tattoo on his neck peeking out from the collar of his button-down white shirt. She felt so tiny and fragile next to him. When he touched her chin, his thick, large fingers aroused some inner need inside of her to feel the safety and protection of such a charismatic and large man. She surely would know what it felt like to be hugged and protected in his arms.

  But that couldn’t happen. She needed to put a little space between them and set these men straight.

  “You should be at the party enjoying yourselves like your friends are, really. I’ll be fine, Nate,” she whispered, and his eyes seemed to brighten and show some emotion before he was serious again.

  He gently lowered the ice bag and her hand. He squinted hard and kept a firm face. He turned her chin slightly.

  “It’s a good one. I think the ice will keep the swelling down. But it seems Gloria was wearing a ring. It cut your skin by your eye.”

  He didn’t look away as he spoke to Lure, and she didn’t look away from Nate either.

  “I need a first aid kit, some ointment, and a tiny Band-Aid,” he said, and she felt his large, heavy palm caress her thigh.

  The man was big and solid, like a linebacker but trimmer. This close, she could see what appeared to be a tattoo on his shoulder through the white dress shirt he wore. It must have extended from his neck then lower. She wondered what it was. She also wondered how much it hurt to get that tattoo. But a man his size with such a hard, dark look in his eyes probably never felt pain.

  “I really need to get back to work,” she told him as she absorbed the gruff look on his face and the darkness of his eyes. The man looked almost haunted.

  “Honey, you’re done for the night. I’ll be bringing you home once you sign the papers and press charges against Gloria.”

  She locked gazes with Lure.

  “Do I have to press charges? Won’t it be enough that she was selling drugs here and that she got fired?”

  Nate squeezed her thigh.

  “Definitely not enough. She assaulted you, Frankie. That’s unacceptable.”

  She instantly felt on edge, nervous and intimidated. The man was so forceful and disciplinary. It was as though he was giving an order, and she needed t
o comply. A bunch of thoughts went through her head, including telling him to mind his own business, but then Lure spoke up.

  “You can fill everything out and then decide. But as far as tonight is concerned, you’re done.”

  “But I need to work.” She wrung her hands together. She was embarrassed and looked away from Nate and to Lure.

  “I need to. I’ll be fine, Lure. Really.”

  Nate released his hold and stood up just as Frankie put the ice down and stood. Her eye and cheek throbbed, and she teetered a moment getting up so quickly.

  These men all made her nervous, including Charlie and Lure.

  Nate held her, steadying her, and she heard him curse under his breath. It sounded like he’d called her stubborn.

  “I don’t think you’ll need to work for the next month. Not with the tips the guys left you, and considering you didn’t get any help, it’s all yours, Frankie. You can afford to take tonight off,” Charlie said as he walked into the room.

  “I’ve got the paperwork ready, miss,” the officer told her as he came to stand by Mike and Rye.

  She felt Nate’s hand glide along her lower back nearly to her ass, and then he released her.

  “Sign the papers and we’ll get you home.”

  She was shocked as she looked from him to Charlie and Lure.

  “Nate?” Charlie said his name as if questioning him about him saying he would take Frankie home.

  She answered the officer and signed where he told her to but listened to the conversation behind her.

  “She’s our responsibility, not yours.”

  “Says who?” Nate replied to Charlie.

  ‘”You fucking just met her.”

  “And your point is what? I’m taking her home. Is there a problem? Is she yours? Are you claiming her?”

  She didn’t know what was going on. What were they talking about, claiming her? She didn’t belong to anyone. She was far from belonging to a soul. In the back of her mind, she recalled some things she’d heard around town. Comments pertaining to the way certain men protected their women. Then she thought about the ménage relationships, and her belly tightened so quickly she thought she might lose it. Were these men trying to stake a possession or claim on her?