Protecting Melody (9 page)

Not addressing her pessimistic attitude, knowing there was a distinct possibility that she
could
get taken by her stalker, Tex said instead, “You’re welcome. You okay? You need to stop? You hungry?”
 

Melody shook her head. “I’m okay. Even though they’ll intimidate the hell out of me, I’m looking forward to meeting your friends.”
 

“Don’t feel intimidated, Mel. They’re just like you. The women are strong and kick-ass and don’t take any crap from their men. And my friends, they’ll take one look at you and you’ll be firmly in their ‘you must be protected’ camp.”
 

“I’m not strong, Tex.”
 

“The hell you aren’t.”
 

“I think I’m glad you see me that way.”
 

“You’ll see yourself that way too. Promise.”
 

“Okay.”
 

“Okay.” Tex pulled Melody closer to him, ignoring the grunt of disapproval coming from Baby who was being mushed between them, and kissed her cheek. He pulled back and nodded at Mel. “Strong and kick-ass, Mel.”
 

Tex then put the truck back in drive and pulled back onto the highway.
 

* * *
 

“Breathe.”
 

Melody tried, she did, but she was really nervous about meeting Tex’s friends. The women all sounded awesome, and the men just plain freaked her out. She wasn’t really ready for this, but she knew these people were as close to family as Tex had and she wanted to make a good impression.
 

“I’m okay.”
 

“They’re going to love you.”
 

Melody could only nod as Tex got out of the truck and walked around to her side. He helped her out and Baby jumped down after her. Melody held the leash tightly as Tex reached for her hand. Melody jumped at the chance to grab hold.
 

They walked up to the house and the door opened as they reached it. A large man stood there and Melody could hear the voices of many others behind him. He stepped forward and mostly closed the door behind him.
 

“Tex. Melody. Glad you made it back so soon.”
 

“Wolf.” Tex gave him a chin lift. “Are they all in there?”
 

“Every last one.”
 

Tex smiled at that. Of course everyone was here. “It okay if we stay here tonight?”
 

“Hell, Tex, as if Caroline would let you stay anywhere else.” Wolf turned to Melody and held out his hand. “Melody, I’m Wolf. It’s great to meet you. I’m glad Tex found you, but I had no doubt that he would. He’s that good. Please know you’re welcome to stay here as long as you want.”
 

Melody took Wolf’s hand in hers and shook it. “Thanks, but I go where Tex goes.”
 

Wolf nodded as if he expected the answer. “I’m gonna say this quickly because if I know my wife, she’ll be out here before not too much longer. You have my protection, Melody. You have my team’s protection. Whatever you need, you’ve got it. Tex is a good man, he’ll keep you safe, but if you need us, if Tex needs us, we’re there. Understand?”
 

Melody could only nod. No words would come out. Yesterday she’d been alone. Today she had a whole team of bad-ass SEALs at her back. It was hard to wrap her mind around.
 

At her side, Baby growled low. Melody realized Wolf still held her hand in his. She quickly dropped it and Baby moved in front of her, pushing Wolf back.
 

“Nice guard dog you got there.”
 

“She’s not a guard dog.”
 

“Maybe not for anyone else, but she did the same thing when Tex was here before and Ice rushed him to give him a hug.”
 

Melody turned to Tex. “Really?”
 

“Yeah, really.”
 

Melody crouched down in front of Baby and whispered, “Good girl.”
 

The men above her just laughed.
 

“Come on, Mel, let’s get this over with.”
 

Wolf laughed at the mock resignation in Tex’s voice.
 

Tex held out a hand to Mel and helped her up. He put his arm around her waist and they followed Wolf into the house.
 

Melody could tell Tex was tired, because he was limping more than she’d noticed since meeting him. She remembered him telling her in one of their online conversations that when he overdid it, his limp would become more pronounced.
 

Before she could say anything, they entered a living room full of people.
 

“Tex is here!” One woman shouted and stood up quickly, and everyone in the room followed suit.
 

“Easy, Baby,” Melody heard Tex say beside her. She looked down to see the scruff on the back of her dog’s neck standing on end.
 

“You have to be Melody,” another woman said a tad more calmly. “I’m Summer. I’m sure Tex has probably told you about all of us, but instead of using all their
real
names, he’s probably only used their nicknames.” She rolled her eyes and Melody smirked.
 

“Okay, so you met Wolf at the door.” She pointed to each of the other men in the room and introduced them in succession. “Abe, Mozart, Dude, Benny, and Cookie.”
 

“Wow, Summer, I’m impressed you know our nicknames,” Cookie joked with her.
 

“Shut up, Hunter. Of course I know your nicknames. It’s not like you guys will stop using them.”
 

Melody just watched the by-play between everyone with amusement. She knew if she spent more time with this group of people she’d probably love them. They reminded her of her and Amy. A little goofy, a lot sarcastic, and funny to boot.
 

“Hi,” Melody said shyly.
 

“Come sit over here by us. We can’t wait to get to know you better!”
 

Melody looked away from Summer, and turned to Tex. Before she could say anything, Tex leaned down to her to whisper into her ear. “It’s okay, Mel. I’ll be in the other room with the guys if you need me.”
 

Melody nodded. “Okay.”
 

Before she knew it, she was sitting in the middle of the six other women, Baby at her feet, laughing at the stories they shared about their men. Through the stories the women told, Melody could hear the love that came through. These women adored their men, and it was one hundred percent reciprocal.
 

“So Melody, tell us about Tex.” It was Fiona that asked.
 

“What about him?”
 

“How’d you guys meet?”
 

“Well, I just met him face-to-face today.”
 

“Wow! That’s kinda cool! We just met him in person this morning. Well, Caroline had met him before, but not the rest of us,” Jessyka shared. “Isn’t he the
best
?”
 

Melody smiled at the affection in Jessyka’s voice. “Yeah, he is.”
 

“So? Deets woman!” Caroline demanded teasingly.
 

“We met online. I was bored and went into a chat room one night. He messaged me, and we started talking.” Melody stopped, and got serious, remembering all that the women had been through. “He was so worried about you guys. Fiona, I interrupted him when he was trying to help you and he was so concerned about you.” Melody turned to Jessyka. “He was pissed at you, Jess, but so proud that you’d risked yourself for Benny. You’re all so lucky to have him.” She stopped before she burst into tears. She normally wasn’t quick to cry, but the stress over the last few months was catching up with her with a vengeance.
 

Fiona got out of her chair and came over to kneel in front of Melody and put her hands on her knees. “We love Tex. He means more to us than you’ll ever know. We don’t take him for granted and we’re so thrilled he’s here. We’ve been wanting to meet him forever. Take good care of him for us.”
 

“I . . . we . . . we aren’t together like that.”
 

“If the look in either of your eyes is any indication, you will be soon.”
 

Melody didn’t know what to say. She just looked at Fiona, then around at the other women. They all had something in common. They were with hardcore SEALs that would give their lives for their women. Melody wanted that. She hadn’t admitted it to herself until now, but she wanted it.
 

They all turned as the men came into the room. Melody could see furrowed lines in Tex’s forehead and his pronounced limp made it obvious he was in pain.
 

Ignoring everyone else around her, Melody stood up and went straight to Tex. Baby trailed after her, close on her heels. Thinking quickly, not wanting to embarrass him in front of everyone, Melody said to him, but loud enough for everyone to hear, “I’m tired, Tex.”
 

Tex knew what she’d done, knew she was lying so he could get off his feet, but didn’t call her on it. He wouldn’t mind getting more one-on-one time with Mel, and he knew the girls could talk all night if given half a chance. Melody’s words were the impetus to clear the room. Slowly everyone came over to say their good-byes to both Tex and Melody and Caroline and Wolf.
 

Cheyenne gave her a quick hug and stepped aside for her man. Dude put his hand under Melody’s chin and lifted her head until she had no choice but to look him in the eyes.
 

“You might not know this, but you managed to hook up with the right man. Tex will do what it takes to make sure you’re safe. He can do some amazing shit on the computer. We’ve all relied on him, the government relies on him, and I know for a fact there are several top-secret military groups out there who rely on him. But most importantly, you can trust him, Melody. We’ve got his, and your, back, but when push comes to shove, trust Tex.”
 

Melody could only nod as she gazed up at the intense man in front of her. His words were more of a command than anything else and Mel almost felt compelled to agree with him. If it wasn’t for Cheyenne standing next to him with a hand on his arm and smiling huge, she probably would’ve been worried. He had a way about him that Mel didn’t get from the others. More…take-charge. That wasn’t exactly the word she was looking for, but before she could think too much about it, Dude leaned down and gave her a brief kiss on the cheek before stepping back so the others could approach her and say their good-byes as well.
 

Melody got a hug from everyone before they left, along with more reassurances that she’d be safe with Tex. She was basically passed from one person to the next until there were only four of them left. Tex had been right. His friends were touchy, but Melody liked it. They were affectionate and it was obvious they cared about Tex.
 

“I’ve got the room all set up for you guys. Melody, I got Baby’s food from the car and it’s downstairs for you to feed her in the morning. Your bags are also down in the basement. If there’s anything you need, just either let us know or help yourself. Tex, you know the drill.”
 

Tex nodded at Wolf. “Thanks, man. Appreciate it.”
 

“See you in the morning.”
 

Tex turned and headed for the basement door. Baby, once again, put herself at his side as they began to head down the stairs. He had to let go of Mel and he limped down the stairs. Tex quickly tried to think about how this would work. He knew the bed was only a queen. It should be big enough for them, but he didn’t know what Mel would think about it. He’d told her in the car that Caroline would probably put them in the basement room together. But most people would probably see this as very odd . . . them just meeting today and tonight sleeping in the same bed, but Tex felt as if he knew Melody a hundred times better than most of the women he’d slept with in the past.
 

More importantly was the issue of his prosthesis. He didn’t want her to see his stump, but there was no way he could sleep in it. His leg was on fire. He needed to rub it down and give it a break from the confines of the prosthetic.
 

“If it’s okay, I’ll go first in the bathroom,” Tex tried to be nonchalant.
 

“No problem.” Melody watched as Tex limped into the small room. She couldn’t quite read his mood. Hell, she didn’t really know him, no wonder she couldn’t read him. They did really well talking to each other on the computer, but in person it was different.
 

Melody looked around. There was a bed in the middle of the room with a dresser against a wall. Around a corner there was a small kitchenette that held a small refrigerator and a sink. There was a coffee maker on the counter and a little two-seater table with chairs tucked underneath.
 

She knew she should probably be asking Caroline if there was another room she could stay in. Sleeping in the same bed with Tex after only meeting him a few hours ago was insane. But it’d been so long since she’d felt safe, Melody couldn’t bring herself to care. She knew Tex. Knew he was a kick-ass SEAL and that he could hurt her a million different ways, but she also knew he was insecure. He’d go out of his way to make her feel comfortable and he’d never ever hurt her. Maybe she was being naïve believing that, but after meeting Wolf and the other SEALs who obviously respected and admired Tex, and after hearing from the women he’d had a hand in saving, she knew she was safe, and that there was nowhere she’d rather be, than right by his side.
 

She turned toward the bathroom door and tilted her head. What was going through Tex’s head? Baby jumped up on the bed and turned in circles at the foot. Melody smiled. It was obvious she’d been here before.
 

Melody looked back as the bathroom door opened behind her. Tex limped out wearing a tattered T-shirt and a pair of cut-off sweatpants which hung low on his hips. Melody gulped. She remembered thinking she wouldn’t care if Tex had turned out to be overweight, and she wouldn’t have, but he was gorgeous. Any woman who would turn him down because of his leg was obviously certifiably insane.