He considered my request in silence before he gave a slight nod. “You’ve earned it.”
Twenty
Eyes to the Dogs
I’d installed a new door, so I opened it and stepped inside the cabin.
She was there, wearing my t-shirt as she sat on the bed. Her eyes widened as she looked at me, seeing how sweaty I was. Then her eyes dropped down to my bloody hands. “Are you okay?”
“Never been better.” I went into the bathroom and got under the cold water, washing away the sweat, feeling the coldness numb my inflamed knuckles. A red line trailed down to the drain, a mixture of my victims as well as myself.
When I turned off the water and opened the curtain, she stood there.
I stilled and stared at her for a second before I grabbed the towel off the rack and dried myself.
“What happened?”
I scrubbed my hair dry then stepped out of the tub. “I punished Alix and the others.”
She stepped back to give me room in the small bathroom. “How?”
“I fought them.”
“You fought four men?”
“I hurt them until they asked me to stop—with all the other men there to watch.” I dried my body and returned the towel to the rack to be used again.
She stared at me in disbelief.
“I said if Alix didn’t beat me, I would move on to Eric. And if Eric didn’t beat me…on to the next guy. None of them did, so I beat each and every one of them to within an inch of their life—with my bare hands.” I skipped the shave and the rest of the shower routine and went straight into the bedroom, pulling on a new pair of boxers.
She followed me.
With my back to her, I grabbed a bottle of scotch and filled the glass. “And I did that for you.” I took a drink before I turned around and looked at her.
She stared at me like she didn’t know what to say. “All I care about is that you’re okay.”
“Like I said, I’ve never been better.” I set the glass down then walked to her. “It felt good…really fucking good.” My hands moved into her hair and cupped her head, looking into her soft blue eyes that cared about my well-being more than her revenge. “We’re leaving tomorrow.”
Her excitement was impossible to hide. “I thought we were here for a few more days.”
“I said I wanted to leave early. Need a break from this goddamn place.” My hands dropped from her face as I turned back to my scotch.
She grabbed my wrist and pulled me back, wanting my eyes on her face.
I stared at her and would do so as long as she wanted.
“Thank you.” Her fingers pulled me closer, bringing my body into hers so she could kiss me. It was a soft kiss, but a deep one, her hungry mouth parting my lips and giving me her tongue instantly.
Adrenaline was still in my veins, and my heart still beat a million miles a minute. High off endorphins and scotch, there was nothing I wanted more than to be between her legs, to be with the woman I’d just destroyed four men to avenge.
She pulled her shirt over her head then pushed down my boxers.
I ended the kiss and looked into her face. “We can wait as long as you want.” My hands moved around her wrists and kept her still, ignoring my rock-hard cock that was right against her stomach, begging for entry. “No rush.”
“He didn’t have me…”
“I know.” It was still traumatic for her, and I understood why.
“And when I’m with you, I don’t think about anything else.”
When we left the camp the next morning, I didn’t take her through the gate or via a circuitous route.
I walked her straight through the clearing, right by Alix, and I gave him a cold stare as I did it. The guys had to report for work despite their injuries because they would appear weak if they didn’t. And Fender wouldn’t give them the option either.
Fender joined me at the wagon, which was already full of product that I would take with me. It wasn’t everything, but Fender would take the second load when he left in a few days. “How’re your hands?”
I lifted them, showing the wrapping that covered both.
“Must have hurt this morning.”
“Worth it.”
He didn’t smile, but his eyes had a slight look of affection. “I’ll see you on Saturday.”
“Anything you want me to do for Melanie while I’m there?”
He suddenly turned cold. “My woman is taken care of.”
After the way he’d intervened for Raven, I felt even worse about not telling him the truth, that Melanie was just using him in the hope of freeing her sister. But his possessive response told me his obsession was deep, and even if she felt nothing for him, he would still keep her. Might as well let him enjoy the fantasy.
Raven came from behind me and joined us, her eyes on Fender.
I had no idea what the fuck she was doing.
I turned to her, giving her a glare that told her to leave—now.
But she was too absorbed in Fender’s gaze to notice mine.
Fender stared at her with narrowed eyes, the energy around him immediately menacing, like he might grab her by the throat and choke her to death right then and there.
But she held his look anyway. “I just wanted to say thank you…for what you did.”
Her appreciation would mean nothing to him, and I wished she hadn’t come this close to him.
He held her gaze in silence, his eyes becoming more terrifying with every passing second. His stillness was sinister, and his clenched jaw showed how hard he was working not to strike the woman I had claimed as mine. “Your appreciation means nothing to me because my intervention had nothing to do with you. My only interest was keeping my brother’s dick clean. Speak to me again, and I will cut those blue eyes out of your skull and feed them to my dogs.” He shook slightly, like it took all his strength not to make good on that threat.
My hand moved to her stomach, and I forced her to back away and give my brother space. “Get in the wagon. Now.”
She did as she was told and walked away.
Fender continued to stare at her, his face flushing slightly, like her proximity was borderline insulting. It took a few seconds for him to look at me again, to pull his look away from the woman who had destroyed his camp and brought him humiliation. “If you want your whore to keep sucking your dick, make sure she stays away from me.”
We took the journey down the path to where my car waited at the end.
She didn’t speak for hours, just looking at the luscious landscape around us.
I didn’t speak to her either. I was annoyed with her stupidity, and I needed time to calm down. My hands gripped the reins of the horses, my knuckles aching every time I made a fist.
She seemed to feel my anger because she waited until it was at a simmer before she spoke. “I just thought—”
“You thought wrong.” I watched the road ahead.
She stared at the side of my face. “I thought if I was kind to him—”
“Doesn’t work that way.”
She faced forward again and sighed.
“Don’t speak to him. Don’t look at him. Keep your head down when you’re near him.”