Her eyes widened, and she let out a startled shriek. She scooted away from him yanking the covers over her body. “What the hell’s going on?” she demanded, her voice still husky with passion.
He watched the confusion register in her eyes as she fought against her enjoyment of what happened and her natural instinct to fight it.
“I made you come,” he said simply.
“I—you…” She trailed off, her mouth opening and closing in rapid succession.
He put his hand behind her neck and pulled her to him. “In case you’re wondering,” he said as he kissed her long and hard, “I plan to do it again. Soon. ”
She jerked away and gaped at him. “But—”
“You want me,” he said matter-of-factly. “And I want you more than I’ve ever wanted another woman. I’m going to take care of you. ”
Holly stared at him in shock. Her heart was beating double time. Not only had she experienced the most mind-blowing orgasm of her life—okay, the only orgasm of her life, and if this was normal, she had no idea how a woman survived it—but his declaration cut straight to her heart.
She couldn’t believe him. It was her naiveté that had gotten her in this situation to begin with. Her yearning to be l
oved and cherished. The mere thought of how stupid she’d been made her want to puke.
His expression softened. “Who hurt you, baby? Who put that fear in your eyes?”
She swallowed nervously. This guy was too perceptive by far. How on earth could she be lying almost naked next to a guy she hadn’t known for more than a day? She closed her eyes. This wasn’t happening. It was all a dream. A wonderful dream, mind you, but a dream all the same. Any minute now, she’d wake up and be back in the horror that was her life.
“Let me go get your clothes for you,” Adam said, throwing his legs over the side of the bed. “You need to eat something. ”
A few seconds later, he returned with her jeans and sweater. He dangled her underwear on the end of his finger and she hastily snatched them away from him.
“I’ll be in the kitchen. Come on out when you’re done. ”
When he’d left, she scrambled out of bed and quickly pulled on her underwear. Her pussy still throbbed from the explosive orgasm. Her fingers lingered near her crotch, and she slipped her hand underneath the silk of her panties.
She flinched when her finger made contact with her swollen clit. God, the man was lethal. Reluctantly, she pulled her hand away and reached for her jeans.
When she was dressed, she walked to the door and stood hesitantly with her hand on the knob. How could she face him after what happened? Her cheeks burned with embarrassment. He was going to think she was a complete slut.
Drawing in a deep breath, she opened the door and slipped down the hall toward the kitchen. The smells emanating from the stove made her mouth water. It had been too long since her last good meal.
The three brothers looked up as she slid onto a barstool. She looked down self-consciously, hoping Adam hadn’t seen fit to fill his brothers in on what happened.
Ryan moved closer and rubbed a hand over her shoulder. “Are you okay?”
She shivered, horrified by her reaction to him. Surely she was still on edge from the orgasm she’d experienced just minutes ago. She was losing her mind. Slut didn’t even begin to describe her. She was lusting after three men.
“I’m fine,” she mumbled, flinching away from his touch.
Ethan put a plate in front of her. “I’ll dish it up in just a sec. You hungry?”
Her stomach growled in response. “Starving,” she admitted.
“How long’s it been since you ate?” Adam asked, his expression pensive.
“Don’t remember,” she said vaguely.
He exchanged glances with his two brothers, and she hoped she hadn’t raised their suspicions even more. She needed to disappear as quickly as possible before anyone figured out where she was. Or who she was.
A few minutes later, Ethan heaped bacon, eggs and a slab of ham on her plate. Her hands shook slightly as she cut into the food with her fork.
Adam stood back, his arms crossed over his chest. He watched while she shoveled food into her mouth as quickly as she could. “Slow down, baby. You’re going to make yourself sick. ”
She flushed and set her fork down on the plate. Ethan plunked down a glass of orange juice next to her, and she smiled slightly at him before drinking down half the contents.
A loud knock sounded on the door, and Adam frowned. “Who the hell could that be?” He swiveled around as Ryan and Ethan both started forward.
“Hold up,” he ordered. “We don’t know who’s out there. ”
They all turned around to where Holly was sitting, only she was gone. Adam swore. She’d run scared the minute she heard the knock.
“I’ll go find her,” Ethan said, his tone suggesting he’d take care of her and for Adam and Ryan to take care of the outside threat.
To their surprise, the door opened and Lacey McMillan stuck her head in. “You in there?” she called out. She stopped when her gaze rested on Ryan and Adam.
Adam relaxed. Lacey was the county sheriff, and she paid a call from time to time to see how things were in the high country. Tall, lanky and redheaded. All the things Holly wasn’t. At one time, Adam had thought Lacey might be the one, but his brothers hadn’t shared his attraction.
She removed her Stetson as she walked further into the cabin. She threw Adam a saucy grin. “Aren’t you glad to see me?”
Ryan scowled and sat back down at the bar.
“What brings you out?” Adam asked, folding his arms and affecting what he knew to be an intimidating stance. Normally he wouldn’t mind shooting the shit with Lacey, even doing a little light flirting, but that was in the past. Now he just wanted her to be gone as soon as possible.
Lacey slid onto a barstool beside Ryan, hitching her long legs up to balance on the lower rung of the stool.
“Where’s the third stooge?” she asked, looking around for Ethan.
“Around,” Adam said.
She arched a brow but didn’t comment further on his being so close-mouthed.
“I’m up here to find out if y’all have seen a young woman. Early twenties. Brunette. Short, maybe five two. We’re dealing with a possible abduction, though she may have escaped. We found an abandoned car at the base of the mountain, and we’re checking out the area. Maybe you saw something?”