The older woman’s gaze ran up and down the men before she finally nodded and went to her station.
Yankee leaned in. “She buy it?”
She snorted. “What do you think?”
“I think she looks dubious,” Oscar said.
India touched her nose as she walked past them to the exam room where Mac was getting things ready.
She had to hand it to the men, they stayed out of the way and by the time they’d seen their last patient of the day, the twunks seemed to have charmed Mama nearly out of her shoes despite not speaking a word of Spanish.
Instead of focusing on how she wanted to jam a scalpel into Mac’s jugular, India focused on the two men.
Which was both a good and bad thing.
Good because they were damn sweet eye candy.
Bad…because they were damn sweet eye candy. And now her libido was flipping out. Every time one of those pairs of blue eyes met her gaze she felt her clit yanking on some direct neural pathway to her brain to pay attention, dammit.
And they were doing it to her in stereo.
Finally, she bid Mama good-bye for the evening and locked the door behind her with a sigh of relief.
Finally.
“When is your guy going to come get him?” she asked Oscar as she hooked a thumb over her shoulder to indicate Mac.
“Probably just after dark,” he said.
“You got your shit packed?” she asked Mac.
He nodded.
“Good.”
“I know you’re pissed off at him,” Yankee said, “but to be fair, the North Koreans tricked everyone except Q into working on the project at first.”
“What’d they do to him? Bribe him?”
“Threatened to rape and murder his wife, daughters, and mother, and then kill his brothers,” Yankee said. “And make him watch, then kill him last.”
She suddenly felt sick to her stomach. “Oh.”
“If it makes any difference,” Mac said, “we were trying to mutate the virus to a non-lethal state. Unfortunately, our work was interrupted and we were forced to escape or die. If we’d died, this entire situation would have happened anyway, only we wouldn’t have a chance to make it right. And if our team hadn’t worked on the virus, it would have been a different team. The North Koreans were rather…determined.”
She glared at him.
Dammit, I hate logic.
“Not saying we condone it,” Oscar added, “but while what they did was heinous, it wasn’t like they were all eager to do it. Now it’s our job to help them make it right.”
She walked over to the wash sink and turned on the cold faucet. Which wasn’t super cold this time of year, but at least the well water felt cool. She splashed some on her face and on the back of her neck. “What other kind of help are you going to need to fix this?” she asked, not believing the words coming from her mouth.
“Who are you talking to?” one of the twunks asked.
“Him. Doctor Demento.”
“Beg pardon?” Mac asked.
“What do you need? Equipment? Supplies? I need to make another run to either Guadalajara or Mexico City, depending on where CMI sends the next supply shipment. If I can’t piggyback the supplies onto my own order, I might be able to find them in town.” She grabbed a towel and blotted excess water from her face. “I don’t want to be the reason you guys fail in fixing your fuckup.”
“I…I don’t know. I need to see what Dr. Quong—”
“Q,” Oscar corrected. “We only use code names.”
“Ah. I see. Sorry.”
They turned at the sound of a knock on the door. Papa stood there, with what looked like a hunky wall of men behind him. “They yours?” she asked the twunks.
Yankee headed for the front door to let them in. “Yeah.”
Papa had five guys with him and wore an amused smirk. “Glad to see he’s still alive. You two are staying here with her tonight,” he said to the twunks.
All three of them asked it. “What? Why?”
She didn’t know if she should be more outraged that he was ordering them to stay, or that the two men seemed irritated at the order.
“No offense, India,” Papa said, “but I want to make sure we’re copacetic.”
“She already offered to help us get supplies,” Oscar said.
“That’s fine. But I also want to make sure no one’s tracked us back here yet. So I want you two protecting her until we’re sure it’s clear.”
It seemed the men’s indignation faded as quickly as her own. “Oh,” the three of them said.
“And now that we know this is a friendly location, we might need to use the sat-link to contact Bubba before we leave the area. Now let’s get his stuff loaded. Q is anxious to compare notes with him. I’ll send someone to check in with you guys in the morning.”
And that was it. Twenty minutes later, it was her and the twunks in an otherwise silent clinic. They seemed to be at as much of a loss as she was.
Say something, stupid. “You guys hungry?”
The men shrugged. “Yeah, we could eat,” Yankee said.
She smiled. “Then let me rustle us up some dinner, boys.”
* * * *
It wasn’t anything fancy. A one-skillet dish of ground pork and sautéed vegetables with some flour tortillas and guacamole.
“This is good, thank you,” Oscar said. Yankee nodded his agreement.
They were sitting at the front table in the waiting room. With all the shades pulled at the door and in the front windows, no one could see them from outside.
“I don’t get to cook much for others,” she said. “What little I do tends to be local fare. Ironically, I’ve lost about twenty pounds since being here despite eating more.”
“Just from the work?” Oscar asked.
“Paul Karsonnes, the doc who was here when I first arrived, he said he lost weight, too, but he thinks it’s because the food doesn’t have a lot of preservatives and artificial crap like what we buy in the States. It’s not processed out the wahzoo. Yeah, being on our feet all day I’m sure helps, but when I think about the crap I used to eat back in college, I shudder now.”
“Do you miss the States?” Yankee asked.
She shrugged. “Mostly, no. Air-conditioning would be nice. And a big supermarket. But I feel safer here than I did in St. Louis. What about you guys? Family?”
They shared a glance. “We’re originally from Philadelphia,” Yankee said. “Our mom moved in with her brother and lives outside the city now.”
“Siblings?”
“Nope.”
“What about your father?”
“He died when we were babies. He was in the military. Died in Egypt in the 2114 terrorist skirmish.”
“Oh. I’m sorry.”
The men shrugged. “Mom never remarried. Said we were a handful enough as it was.”
“Did it freak her out when you went into the military?”
“We didn’t really have a choice,” Oscar said. “We wanted to go to college, so we ended up doing this.”
“How old are you guys?”
“Thirty,” they said together.
She smiled. She couldn’t help it. It was cute when they talked at the same time.
“What about you?” Yankee asked. “What’s your story?”
“Thirty. Single.” She smiled. “Sort of like you, I ended up here because I took a full-ride scholarship from CMI to get my LNP degree. But I get paid while I’m here, too, as well as my expenses. So it’s not a bad gig for someone like me.”
“No siblings?”
“Nope.” She let out a snort. “Which is why my parents keep bugging me about moving home to St. Louis when my time is up. I have a hot news flash for them, if I go back to the States, I’m not going to be living with them.”
Oscar cocked his head. “That sounds like a story.”
“Not much of one. My parents got sucked in by Reverend Silo’s church, sent him their retirement money after I beg
ged them not to, and now want me to move home and take care of them. End of story.”
“Oooh,” the men said together.
“Sorry,” Yankee said.
She shrugged. “It is what it is.”
“So you’ve been running the clinic by yourself since the last doctor left?” Oscar asked. “That’s impressive.”
The pleased flutter in her chest caught her by surprise. He didn’t sound like he was feeding her a load of bullshit just to stroke her ego, either. “I’ve done it before, between doctors. Just never for this long.”
The dark cloud returned to her mind. “Here I thought Mac was CMI’s replacement doctor. I should have known better. They’ve never sent a doc who couldn’t speak the lingo before. I’ve had a couple who bumbled along and needed me to translate some things for them, but they always had a functioning level of basic Spanish.”
“Well, look on the bright side,” Oscar said. “We aren’t leaving here right away. He’ll still be around for a few days. If something comes up, we can grab him to help you out.”
Again with the inner conflict. She knew that would serve the greater good of the town, but it pissed her off on a personal level.
On the other hand, she knew what might take her mind off things. “For dessert, I have tequila, or tequila.”
The men smiled. “Tequila.”
They helped her clean up the dishes before she poured them all a few fingers each of the cold liquor.
Yankee laughed after choking down a swallow. “This stuff really is horrible.”
She shrugged. “It’s free, so I’m not going to complain.” She had an idea about what she wanted to do next, but wasn’t sure she wanted to approach the men about it.
If they said no, it’d be a blow to her ego she didn’t need tonight on top of the revelations about Mac.
Then again, what if they say yes?
“There’s not exactly a lot of nightlife here in this town. Usually after I call it a day I collapse in bed.”
“Don’t let us stop you,” Yankee said. “We can bunk anywhere.”
Nut up, buttercup.
She drained her mug and rinsed it out. “I was sort of hoping you two might want to bunk with me tonight. Excuse me while I go check the lock on the front door.”
* * * *
The men froze. Oscar and Yankee stared at each other. “Did she just say what I think she just said?” Oscar whispered.
Yankee nodded, throwing back the last swallow of his tequila. “I don’t know about you, but I’m not turning her down. I’m at least going to go see if she meant it.” He stood to rinse his mug before following India out of the storeroom.
Oscar tried to think of all the reasons this might be a bad idea and couldn’t come up with one. They were securely locked in for the night, and their orders were to stay there with her, keep an eye on her, and guard her.
Wasn’t any better way of keeping an eye on her he could think of than to be in bed with her.
He finished his liquor, rinsed his mug, and followed them.
Chapter Fifteen
India checked the locks on the clinic’s front door and turned, her back pressed against it, happy to see the men had followed her from the storeroom. Yankee and Oscar were the best-looking men she’d set eyes on in…
Well, in over four years. No offense to the men of the town of Colima, she’d always had a thing for tall, buff, blond, blue-eyed guys.
She didn’t see it as being picky. If men were given a pass for having a preferred “type,” she figured the same standard should apply to women.
No, scratch that. The twunks were the best-looking pair of men she’d set her eyes on in…ever.
Walking forward, she stopped in front of them and looked up to meet their gazes. They were about six inches taller than her own five six.
“You guys married?” she asked before her nerve could desert her.
Yankee, with the faint scar on his jaw, frowned. “What?”
“Simple question, buddy. Are. You. Married?”
“No.”
Oscar shook his head.
“Girlfriends?”
“No,” Oscar said. “Why are you asking us this?”
“You guys gay?”
“No,” they both said.
She grinned. “Good. How long’s it been for you two?”
“Huh?” they asked.
She hoped her sigh didn’t sound too disgusted and impatient with them. “Look, I’ve been here nearly four years. How long’s it been for you two?”
Yankee stared at her. “What are you talking about?”
Oscar smacked his brother’s shoulder. “Sex, dummy.”
She smiled and crossed her arms over her chest, just below her breasts and hopefully accentuating them a little. “Yes, sex. Dummy.”
“Oh.”
“Well? Or is that a no?”
“No,” Yankee said. “I mean—” He quickly added, “No, it’s not a no.”
“Is that a yes?”
The brothers exchanged a glance.
They were frustrating her in more than one way. “Look, I’m horny. Period. You guys interested or not?”
“Yes,” they said together.
“Finally.” She headed to her bedroom, turning and crooking a finger at them to follow her.
They scampered after her.
Locking the bedroom door behind them, she turned, smiled, and grabbed the hem of her T-shirt, pulling it up and off over her head before she dropped it on the dresser.
“See something you like?” she asked.
They advanced on her with the force of a tsunami. She held up a hand. “First things first. You guys clean, or do I need to test you? And I don’t mean Kite.”
“We’re clean,” Oscar said. “You can test us if you want.”
“Nope, but I find you’ve lied to me, just remember, I can do castrations.”
She didn’t think she imagined that both men winced.
“Message received,” Yankee said.
“I have a five-year in,” she said. “Put it in myself last year. And I’m clean.” She reached behind her and unsnapped the hook on her pink satin bra, pulled it off, and dropped it so it landed on top of her T-shirt. Usually she didn’t wear a real bra. She usually wore a sports bra. It wasn’t like she needed the support, and sports bras were more comfortable for the long hours she worked.
She’d wanted it for show for the twunks and had swapped it out at a bathroom trip during dinner.
Just in case.
Wasn’t like she even owned a dress. The bra was the last bit of “girlie” clothing she had.
The front of both men’s trousers tented. She would have laughed except she was so horny she could barely see straight, and she was afraid they might misinterpret what she found so amusing.
Sha-wing!
Crooking a finger at them, she pursed her lips and blew them a kiss. She hoped it looked sexy. It’d been so long, it might look goofy as hell for all she knew.
Apparently not, because neither man burst out laughing. They closed in, hunger in their eyes and her all laid out like a medium-rare prime rib.
She closed her eyes. One of them kissed her, the other wrapped an arm around her back and latched on to her left nipple with his mouth.
A moan escaped her, and thankfully that strong arm was hooked around her, because her knees went weak and nearly dropped her on her ass from how good it felt.
Her arms snaked around kissy twunk’s neck and held on tight while sucky twunk worked on getting her shorts off her. She did a dance in place, kicking them off before he yanked her panties down and off her legs, too.
One of them, her best guess was kissy twunk, scooped her up into his arms and deposited her onto her bed. When she opened her eyes, she was staring up at the men in the process of shucking their clothes.
She sucked in a sharp breath. Ripped, sculpted pecs and chests, tapering from wide shoulders down to narrow waists and hips that held up their firm, bitable asses.
Seconds later they stood over her, with cocks stiffly waving, which were just as sculpted as the rest of their bodies.
Those cocks were just too good to resist. She sat up and grabbed both of them, wrapping her lips first around the one on the left, then the one on the right.
The men let out identical groans of need, hungry, deep, churning like the Pacific surf. It called to something inside her, pulling it forward and giving it free rein.
Back and forth she worked, the men each resting a hand on her shoulders, their fingers clamped onto her flesh in a way that said if she tried to get away, they might have something contrary to say about that.
No worries there. She felt powerful, free for the first time in years. Her clit throbbed, her pussy already wet and wanting to feel these cocks inside her. She wasn’t a stranger to rubbing one out if she was in the mood, and she wasn’t a prude, for sure. But she’d be a liar if she said she didn’t feel a good thrill of nerves fluttering through her at the thought of maybe having both these cocks spearing her at the same time.
Yum!
Their flesh twitched in her hands, in her mouth, as she refused to let them rush her. Every flick of her tongue against the silky warmth of their cocks drew moans, gasps, responses from them. Something she’d missed so much, more than she’d realized until this point.
Maybe there wasn’t anything else they could do but screw around. She was good with that. She wasn’t looking for forever. With Kite raging around the world, forever might not be more than a few months for the entire human race.
That meant she refused to waste a single opportunity. Refused to turn her back on pleasure when it presented itself so wonderfully in front of her.
In smoking hot stereo, no less.
Finally, one of them pushed her back onto the bed and grabbed her, flipping her over. “Baby,” he hoarsely said, “I need to get that inside you, now, or I’m going to fucking explode.”
That had to be Oscar, because she realized the guy now crawling onto the bed next to her and pulling her on top of him was Yankee.
Yankee grabbed a fistful of her hair in his hand and kissed her, crushing her lips with his, holding her in place. His cock, trapped between them, pressed against her.