Accepting Eva [Slick Rock 8] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting)

Slick Rock 8

Accepting Eva

Evana Woodridge has had to deal with disparaging comments from ignorant people her whole life. Because she walks with a limp and wears a supportive brace on one leg, she feels like men never look at her twice—not until the Badon brothers come along.

Quin, Gray, and Pierson, Slick Rock’s sexy new mechanics, are determined to overcome Eva’s self-doubt and show her the kind of love her new hometown has to offer. She’s convinced that what they feel for her is pity, not love, but no matter how hard she tries to keep the Badon brothers at arm’s length, her desire for them gets the better of her.

But just when the Badons think they’re getting through to Eva, her past catches up with her. Can the brothers get to her in time?

Note: There is no sexual relationship or touching for titillation between or among siblings.

Genre:
Contemporary, Western/Cowboys, Ménage a Trois/Quatre

Length:
39,937 words
 

Slick Rock 8

Becca Van

MENAGE EVERLASTING

Siren Publishing, Inc.

www.SirenPublishing.com

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A SIREN PUBLISHING BOOK

IMPRINT: Ménage Everlasting

ACCEPTING EVA

E-book ISBN:
978-1-62242-085-8

First E-book Publication: December 2012

Cover design by Les Byerley

All art and logo copyright © 2012 by Siren Publishing, Inc.

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED:
This literary work may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic or photographic reproduction, in whole or in part, without express written permission.

All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.

PUBLISHER

Siren Publishing, Inc.

www.SirenPublishing.com

Letter to Readers

Dear Readers,

If you have purchased this copy of
Accepting Eva
by Becca Van from BookStrand.com or its official distributors, thank you. Also, thank you for not sharing your copy of this book.

Regarding E-book Piracy

This book is copyrighted intellectual property. No other individual or group has resale rights, auction rights, membership rights, sharing rights, or any kind of rights to sell or to give away a copy of this book.

The author and the publisher work very hard to bring our paying readers high-quality reading entertainment.

This is Becca Van’s livelihood. It’s fair and simple. Please respect Ms. Van’s right to earn a living from her work.

Amanda Hilton, Publisher

www.SirenPublishing.com

www.BookStrand.com

This book is dedicated to my son. He was born with congenital hip dysplasia and had many operations from a baby and hopefully suffered through the last one earlier this year. He is now eighteen years old and is one of the most gentle, caring human beings I know. I am very proud of you, Chris. I couldn’t have asked for a better son.

Love always, Mum.xxoo

ACCEPTING EVA

Slick Rock 8

BECCA VAN

Copyright © 2012

She spun around when hands gripped her hips from behind. Her grocery bags landed on the ground near her car and she cringed, stepping away until her back came up against the cool metal body.

“Don’t touch me again.” Evana Woodridge glared at the man angrily. Why did men think they could do whatever the hell they liked? He raised his arms and held his hands up, palms facing her in a nonthreatening manner. He looked down at her leg and then back to her eyes and took a couple of steps back.

“I saw you limping and thought you may need a steadying hand.” His gaze left hers and he stared at her leg again before sneering. “Obviously I was wrong.” He turned and walked away without a backward glance.

Evana slumped against the side of her car and sighed over her reaction. She had nearly bitten the poor guy’s head off. He probably was harmless and wanted nothing more than to genuinely help her, but he was a stranger and had put his hands on her. She didn’t need his pity or anyone else’s. She was sick and tired of being treated differently.

Looking across the parking lot, she met the eyes of a little boy being towed along by his mother. The boy was paying no attention to where he was going, staring instead at Eva. She was used to it and tried to summon up a smile for him. He looked up at his mom and asked loudly, “Mommy, what’s wrong with the lady’s leg?”

The woman glanced at Eva and then looked away just as quickly. Eva heard her mutter something to the boy, probably telling him not to stare, and then she tugged him away faster.

Eva sighed. She didn’t mind curious children so much, at least she didn’t now that she wasn’t a child herself. Some adults were a lot worse, though.

She looked down at the two metal bars running parallel to the length of her right leg. They were attached to a special boot she wore and held in place by a sturdy leather cuff. She grimaced at it. Normally she didn’t have a problem standing up for herself when people were rude, but today she just felt tired. She didn’t believe in self-pity, but for just a moment she reflected on the twenty-three years of putting up with other people’s hang-ups about her disability. It weighed her down.

She looked down at the grocery bags. A ready-made salad was visible in the top of one. Her stomach growled.
You’re just tired and hungry
. Driving for two days to get to Slick Rock had taken a lot out of her. That was why she was feeling so disheartened.

Unlocking her car, she tried to cheer herself up. She was going to her motel room, where she could relax and plan out her sightseeing. She’d take a river tour and maybe indulge in a spa day at the Gateway Canyons Resort. The thought of someone pampering her by giving her a massage as well as a full-body treatment made some of the tension in her body ease. It had been nearly two years since she’d taken a vacation and it was beginning to show. She couldn’t remember the last time she hadn’t carried around any sort of stress. She was a stockbroker and had just been retrenched due to the worldwide economic downturn, which gave her the time she needed to take a break. Although she had loved her job, the stress had started to wear on her mind and body, and even if she could get employment with another stockbroking firm, Evana wasn’t sure she wanted to.

“Are you okay, miss?”

Evana straightened and turned to face the man who was walking toward her. He was built! His shoulders were so wide she wondered if he would have to walk through a door sideways, but his strong chest tapered down to a flat, ridged abdomen and slim hips. The muscles in his thighs flexed beneath the denim of his jeans, and for such a big man, he looked graceful as he moved.

The man stopped a few feet away from her and perused her. Not once did revulsion or pity cross his handsome face. In fact his scrutiny was downright flattering.

His shoulder-length blond hair framed his square, rugged face, bristly with stubble, making his piercing blue eyes seem brighter. His height—he had to stand at least six and a half feet tall—and the tattoos she glimpsed on his muscled biceps made him seem slightly dangerous but no less enticing. She tried to peek at the design of the tattoos, but his tight black T-shirt covered most of them.

Evana cleared her throat and remembered that he’d asked her a question. “I’m fine, thanks.”

“Do you need help getting your shopping into your car?”

Evana glanced down at the two bags she had forgotten were at her feet. She bent down and picked them up. “I’ve got them.” She finally turned away from the drool-worthy man and opened the back door, placed her groceries inside, and closed the door again. When she turned around to face him once more, his eyes were glued to her lower body.
Has he been checking out my ass?
No, surely not.
Most men ran away from her once they saw the bars on her leg.

He took another step closer and smiled in a chagrined kind of way, as if realizing that she’d caught him looking. Lifting his arm, he offered her his hand. “I’m Quin Badon. I run one of the car shops in town. I don’t believe we’ve met before.”

She took his hand and barely managed to hold in a gasp when warm tingles pulsed between their skin and raced up her arm. Quickly snatching her hand away, she opened her mouth, snapped it closed again, took a deep breath, and tried again. “I’m Evana Woodridge and I’ve never been here before.”

“Well, I’m pleased to meet you, Evana. If you ever need someone to look at your car or to show you the sights while you’re here, give me a call.” Quin put his hand in his back pocket and pulled out a card. He handed it to her, gave her a mock salute, then turned and walked away.

Evana watched him go. He looked as good going as he did coming. His ass flexed and his shoulders rippled as he strode away with a loose-limbed gait. She sighed when he turned a corner and was out of her sight.
Did he just offer to take me on a date? No, Evana, get that thought out of your head right now. He was only being friendly.
She got into the driver’s seat and started her car. After one more longing look in the direction Quin had gone, she sighed, put her car into drive, and headed toward the motel.

Although Evana was tired and wanted nothing more than to shower, eat, and curl up in the motel bed, her muscles felt too tight. Warm water only did so much, and she knew she needed to walk to stretch out her constrained muscles before she settled in for the night. It was late afternoon, but she still had at least another hour of daylight left. So after putting her salad in the small fridge in her room, she pocketed her key and set out on foot.