His hand slid to the back of my head, fingers twisting into my curls, closing into a fist. Yanking my head back so I had no choice but to stare up into his face, his mouth descended on mine without hesitation, without asking for permission, and without warning for me to see it coming. It was not a kiss from a lover. This was not a caress of intimacy or romanticism. This was a primal touch making it very clear what this man expected.
He was in charge, and he wanted to make damn sure I knew it.
His rules. Plain and simple.
Regardless how my body responded to his touch, and part of me wanted to respond in every way, I shoved against his chest. Desperate to push him away—in fear I would suffocate from the overwhelming heat coursing through me—his only response was to hold me even closer. Suddenly, his mouth left mine. My legs were shaking, and I was wondering what had happened when I heard a screech. From the corner of my eye, I saw the screen door being pushed opened to allow Kit and her brothers inside. A dislodged bobby pin fell to the table as Banks’ fingers slipped from my hair when he released his grip and stepped back so fast, I had to reach out to grab the back of a chair to keep from falling.
Kit looked from one of us to the other. “Did we walk in on something?” she asked quietly.
“It appears our brother is already making ourguestfeel welcome in her new home,” Jay said with a devilish smirk that I had grown to expect with his sick sense of humor.
“Just going over the rules,” Banks said, keeping his gaze firmly planted on me.
“Good,” Rye said, his expression dark as he looked at me. “We expect them to be followed.”
Kit slugged Rye in the arm and then glared at the rest of her brothers. She smiled at me warmly. “Ignore them, Goldie. They pretend they are bullies, but they aren’t. Don’t let them scare you.” She reached for my hand. “I’m so glad you decided to join us in coming to the cabin. I was so scared I would be lonely. I didn’t want to be the only girl and, well… I’m just so happy to have you here as part of the family.”
Family.
If she only knew.
If she knew her brothers had kidnapped me, forced themselves on me, and threatened me to stay…
And what was even worse was…
As every minute passed, I realized I didn’t truly hate it, or them, for doing so.
Kit would think we were all crazy.
And we were.
“We need to get to town,” Banks spoke up. “We have a shipment of supplies coming, and we promised to meet with some of the men anxious to meet the new generation of Barretts.”
“I thought you wanted breakfast?” I called out after him as he made his way to the door, making sure my words were as sweet as could be, and not able to keep a small smile from curling my lips when he just growled.
Growl away.I’d seen his eyes and the crotch of his pants before he’d stepped away from me. Who knew I could get under his skin so easily?
“Banks is right,” Rye cut in. “We don’t want to keep them waiting. We can eat there, I’m sure.”
“Will you be all right while we are gone?” Jay asked Kit.
Kit smiled and nodded. “Yes. I have Goldie, now. She’ll keep me company.”
Yes, she had me now.
Theyhad me now.
What that all meant, I still wasn’t sure.
10
Goldie
“Is everything okay?”
I turned away from the door to see Kit looking concerned. “Yes, everything is fine. Banks said you were getting eggs?”
Her smile lit her whole face. “Yes. The chickens are so cute, and it was such fun even though a few of them pecked me. But that didn’t keep me from gathering the eggs.” She held up a wire basket where I could see several eggs, though they weren’t the white ones I was used to. Instead, they ranged in color from bluish to a darker tan.