Illeanna by Dixie Lynn Dwyer Page A

and some clothes that might be a bit big but will do.”
    She turned off the water and slowly walked toward the end of the entrance to the shower. Gustave handed her the big fluffy red towel, and she quickly wrapped it around her. When she stepped out Gustave was waiting there leaning against the counter with his arms crossed in front of his chest.
    He was a handsome man, tanned complexion with nice warm, brown eyes. He was a bit stockier than his brothers, and damn she had loved how it felt to be held by him. She loved how it felt to be held by any of the Boudoux men. But she was a bundle of nerves. She couldn’t wrap her brain around how terrible the last few days had been for her and how close she had come to death.
    She remembered her morning at Aubert’s restaurant and how Johnny and Gustave came in. They sat beside her, tried their regular tactic at getting her to engage in conversation, which always led to one of them touching her. She blew them off. She sighed as she turned away from him to dry herself better and out of his view. He was silent as if gauging his words. It was ironic how she came to her senses about how she felt about Gustave, Johnny, Franco, Louis, and Julien only hours before she was attacked. That reality nearly cost her. She could have lost the opportunity to explore a relationship with them. She could have lost everything.
    “I brought in some boxers, an undershirt, and a sweatshirt.”
    “Thanks.” She decided that she was a bit cold. It probably had more to do with those damn nerves of hers than the temperature in the room. So much for taking a hot shower.
    “Do you need any help?” he asked, and she shook her head.
    “I’ll wait outside in the bedroom. It’s late and you’re probably tired.”
    She panicked a moment then went to reach for him. “You’ll wait there? Outside the door I mean?” she asked, and he nodded his head.
    “Right outside the door, sugar. I won’t leave you. One of us will always be by your side.” He consoled her and that statement seemed to take the edge off her feelings of being left alone. It was probably a normal reaction by a victim. She swallowed hard. Could she get through this? Being attacked in her sleep in her own bedroom by a masked man threatening to rape and kill her was not something to take lightly. Gustave walked out, and she hobbled toward the mirror and vanity. She pulled the towel from her body and gasped as she looked at her breast. It throbbed something terrible. She didn’t want them to see her like this. They would stay with her, comfort her, but she would want more. She felt needy now, and it didn’t matter that her skin was battered and red in areas where her attacker struck. Her ankle was sore, but now she felt numb from the events that had taken place. What was she consenting to in her mind?
    She looked over the damage. There was a large red blotch over her ribs. It didn’t really hurt, but it looked sore. Aside from her breast, her cheek and her throat looked kind of bad. They were already discolored, and it made her weak in the knees remembering the pain she felt when he did it. As quickly as she could, she pulled on the long undershirt that reached her knees, and then the boxers she rolled a few times to sort of fit her waist. She looked in the mirror and began to pull on the sweatshirt. It was just as huge as the other clothes and nearly reached her knees. She took a deep breath and opened the door.
    She hobbled out and immediately saw that Gustave, Julien, Louis, and Johnny were holding bags of ice and were sitting in various places around the large bedroom. Gustave was sitting on the edge of the king-size bed along with Franco.
    Franco patted the bed. “Ready for some pampering, sugar?” he asked.
    “I’m fine. Maybe some ibuprofen might help?” she asked then swallowed. They all looked so tense and kind of angry. She wondered if they were angry with her for not allowing them to stay in her home tonight. If she had,