by Leah Brooke
Kendra felt all the color drain from her face. “What?” She looked from one grim face to another. “Why would they do that?”
“They have to make an example of people who don’t pay.” Barrett’s arm, wrapped protectively around her shoulder, tightened, his fingers stroking her hair. “We’ll get it figured out. In the meantime, you can stay with us where you’ll be safe.”
Shaking her head, Kendra reached up to touch Quinn’s shoulder. “No way. Stop. I’m not taking trouble up to your ranch.”
“No.” They all answered as one.
Grant squeezed her hand. “Don’t be ridiculous. On the ranch, we can see them coming. We’re all good with guns, and there’s plenty of room.”
Turning, she met Barrett’s steely expression. “I thought you didn’t have guest rooms.”
His lips twitched, a dark brow going up. “You’ve got plenty of places to sleep and you know it.”
Meeting her glare with a faint smile, he bent to kiss her forehead. “Just relax. Nothing’s going to happen that you don’t want to happen.”
Grateful for their presence, she smiled faintly. “That doesn’t make me feel any better. I’m still mad at all of you for lying to me.”
Quinn’s eyes narrowed in the mirror. “You can be as mad as you want to be, as long as you’re mad at us at the ranch. At least you’ll be safe until we can get this thing figured out.”
Kendra couldn’t resist smiling sarcastically. “The famous Jagged Rock Ranch?”
Quinn grinned and his eyes crinkled in the rearview mirror. “Touché. You gotta love a woman with spunk.”
Mason reached back to touch her knee, the heat from his hand travelling up her thigh to her slit. “I’m sorry we didn’t trust you before, but you can understand why, can’t you?”
Unnerved by the combination of awareness everywhere Barrett, Grant, and Mason touched her, and Quinn’s repeated stare, Kendra folded her arms across the chest. “Then you can understand why I don’t want to bring any trouble to your ranch, can’t you?”
Grant slid a hand over her jaw, and turned her face to his. “Kendra, I know this is kind of sudden, and it’s been a shock to all of us, but we all know where this is going. There’s no other place for you to be. You belong at the ranch, and with us. You know it, and we know it.”
His smile made him breathtakingly handsome. “We want you. All four of us. You want us. I’m sure there’s going to be things to work out, but there’s no way we’re going to let you handle this without us.”
Mason smoothed his hand over her knee. “We hate lies. I know, we lied to you about the ranch, but we thought you were lying to us. There’s no pressure, honey. We just wanted to spell it all out for you up front. What happens, happens. What doesn’t, doesn’t. Okay?”
A nervous giggle escaped, and she wondered briefly if she’d fallen asleep and dreamed all of this. She couldn’t believe that someone had shot at her, and yet she’d never felt safer. “This is crazy. You know that, don’t you?”
Grant straightened, releasing her with a grin as his cell phone rang. “You sure as hell have shaken things up, honey.”
* * * *
Quinn followed Kendra’s progress as she sipped coffee and paced back and forth along the kitchen island. “Are you sure you’re not hungry?”
“I ate at the diner, remember?”
Barrett, who’d also been watching her, frowned. “Walking is good, but I don’t want you to overdo it and get that thigh aching again.”
Kendra whirled. “Why? You afraid you won’t get laid?” With a sigh, she shook her head. “I’m sorry. That was uncalled for. I’m just jittery. I’m nervous about this thing with us, and worried about what the hell’s going to happen next. He said it was just a warning. That means there’s something else coming. If something happens to one of you, I’ll never forgive myself.”
Quinn blinked, sharing a look with the others. “Calm down, Kendra. I know you’re scared about us, but we’re certainly not going to jump you. I know you’re scared about whoever shot at you and called you, but we’ve got a couple dozen men working for us, and everyone’s on the lookout for anything suspicious. Sid’s working on it, and I have a friend of mine working on it, too. You’re safe here.”
Kendra blinked. “You have a friend?”
Quinn glared back at her, but his lips twitched. “I have four.”
Kendra couldn’t resist. “Does that include me?”
Quinn’s eyes narrowed. “You and I aren’t friends, baby.”
Mason got to his feet and crossed to her. Wrapping an arm around her shoulders, he led her to the table. “Damn, you’re wound tight. Why don’t you sit here and talk to us?”
Shrugging him off, she turned and went back to her pacing. “I don’t want to sit down.” Setting her cup on the island, she braced her hands on the granite countertop, much paler than she’d been earlier. “This is ridiculous. What did the sheriff say?”
Quinn pushed his empty plate aside and sat back in his chair, trying to appear calm for Kendra, but inside, he shook with rage. “They found a slug in the wall behind the counter. Nine millimeter. It was definitely a bullet, Kendra, and by the angle, it looks like it missed your head by only a couple of inches.”
He met Grant’s glare with one of his own. “She needs to know, damn it. That way she can take this seriously and do what we tell her to help us keep her safe.”
Grant shot to his feet, a muscle working in his jaw. “There’s no reason to scare her.”
Quinn lifted a brow, insulted that Grant thought he would scare Kendra for no reason. “I disagree. I think if she’s too relaxed, she won’t be on her guard. I want her to think about walking in front of windows and how dangerous it can be if she decides she needs some fresh air again.”
The bang against the front door startled all of them.
Cursing, Quinn knocked over his chair in his rush to the door, but Barrett and Grant beat him to it. He looked back at Kendra, her shocked cry tearing him up inside.
Mason rushed to her, holding her against him and rubbing her back, his affection for her and his own fury evident.
Quinn went to the kitchen drawer closest to him and pulled out the gun they kept there, holding it against his side to keep Kendra from seeing it.
He sure as hell didn’t want to scare her any more than he already had.
Seconds after the bang at the door had startled all of them, Quinn stood beside Grant and Barrett, looking down at the envelope in Grant’s hands, an envelope with Kendra’s name on it.
“What the hell?”
Grant ripped it open, and pulled out the piece of paper inside. Passing the envelope to Barrett, he unfolded the paper. “Son of a bitch.”
Shoving the paper at Quinn, he fisted his hands at his sides and stormed back to the kitchen.
Holding the paper so both he and Barrett could see it, Quinn read the thick black words on the page.
“How far will they go to protect you? If you don’t want them to get hurt, you’ll meet me. I’ll be in touch.”
Chapter Ten
Kendra looked down at the piece of paper Quinn placed on the counter in front of her. Part of her went numb, while the rest of her shook in reaction. Staring down at it, her stomach rolled.
Whoever had written this note had zeroed in on her worst fears.
She couldn’t expect them to risk their lives for her.
If one of them got hurt because of her, she couldn’t live with it.
Mason moved his hand on her back, unerringly finding the tightest spot. “You’re safe here. You’re not meeting anyone. Let the sheriff and Quinn’s friend try to find this guy, and in the meantime, if he comes here, we’re ready for him.”
Aware of Quinn barking into a phone in the other room, yelling at whoever was on the other end about someone coming close enough to knock on the door, Kendra sighed. Wrapping her arms around herself against the chill that went through her, she glanced at each of them. “I hate that this cam
Except for Quinn, the others had gathered around the island with her, each with hard expressions, their eyes filled with concern.
Barrett’s jaw clenched. “You’re not a fucking burden.”
Kendra blew out a breath. “Face it. I’ve been a burden since you found me.”
Wrapping himself around her from behind, Masson kissed her hair. “We don’t look at it that way.”
Grant lowered himself to one of the stools at the island, scrubbing a hand over his face. “No, we don’t. Not at all.” He glanced from Barrett to Mason. “Maybe if we found out who the buyer is, we can call him directly. Tell him the situation, and see if he backs off. Once there’s no buyer, it should take Kendra out of the equation.”
Kendra frowned. “His name’s Miller. I had his number in my phone in case I had to contact him to negotiate. I’ll call him.”
She reached for her phone, only to have Grant grab it before she could.
“I’ll call him.”
“No, damn it. I can do it!” Pushing away from Mason, she followed Grant into the huge family room, glancing at Quinn as she passed him. “Look, I understand that you’re the hard cowboy type, but—hey!”
Startled when Quinn snaked an arm out, caught her from behind, and yanked her back against him, she struggled to get free. “Let go of me.”
Quinn tightened his hold, plastering her against him as he spoke into the phone. “Call me back when you know something.” He hung up abruptly and, with his now free hand, slapped her ass. “Settle down before you rip your stitches.”
Kendra froze, startled by the slap, and the overwhelming surge of lust caused by the warmth from his slap.
He’d made it both a dominant gesture and an erotic one, irritating her and arousing her at the same time. Turning to look up at him over her shoulder, she blinked at the wicked intent in his narrowed eyes. “You slapped my ass!”
Inclining his head, he flattened his hand on her waist, holding her close. “I did.” He added insult to injury by rubbing her ass where he’d slapped her. “A light little slap to warm your ass is a hell of a lot better than having to watch Barrett stick that needle into you and stitch you up again. Now, what’s all this about?”
Grant shared a look with Quinn as he held up her phone. “We’re going to call the man who actually wants to buy this place. She wants to call him, but I think it’s better if one of us calls. That way we can let him know, in no uncertain terms, that this place is not for sale.”
Struggling to ignore the solid heat at her back, and the look of hunger in Grant’s eyes as he moved closer, Kendra lifted her chin. “I can call him. You’re acting like Neanderthals.”
Stepping close enough for her to feel the heat from his body, he pushed her hair back from her face. “And yet you’re aroused by it.”
Sucking in a breath at his nearness, and at the overwhelming hunger that being sandwiched between them created inside her, Kendra swallowed heavily. “I’m not aroused. I’m mad.”
She was aroused.
Grant’s smile widened, but it held a sadness and frustration that made her want to comfort him. “I was married. I know mad, and I know arousal.” Cupping her face, he lifted it to his, running his thumb back and forth over her lips. “I’d almost forgotten just what a heady feeling it is to have a woman look at me with hunger in her eyes instead of dollar signs.”
Sucking in a breath at the feel of his chest brushing against her nipples, Kendra licked her lips against the tingling awareness there, her breath catching when his eyes followed the movement. “But you still believed that all I wanted was the commission.”
Grant grinned. “Baby, you know we want you, and you haven’t even tried to use that to get us to sell. In fact, all you’ve done is apologize.”
Kendra gulped, her pulse tripping at the feel of Quinn’s cock pushing against her back. “Maybe I was just p–playing you.”
“Well, well, what do we have here?”
At the sound of Mason’s voice coming from her left, Kendra slid her gaze in that direction just long enough to see him approach, not daring to take her attention from Grant. “Your friends are trying to intimidate me.”
Grant smiled. “Intimidate you? Do I intimidate you, Kendra?”
Quinn slid the hand at her waist higher, not stopping until it pressed against the underside of her breast. “She went from temper to aroused in two seconds flat. Gotta love that in a woman. Babe, if you think you’re getting away from us, you’re nuts.”
Barrett moved closer, not saying a word as he gripped her chin and turned her face to his. His eyes narrowed on hers, flaring as a muscle worked in his jaw. “She’s not going anywhere.” Taking the cell phone from Grant, he turned away.
She followed him with her eyes as he moved away and went to light a fire in the fireplace, her heart pounding furiously when Mason stepped closer.
Sucking in a breath when he reached out to touch her hair, Kendra pressed her hands to Grant’s chest, stunned that every touch stoked the hunger inside her until she shook with it. “I can’t believe how you all make me feel. I don’t know if I’m ready for this.” Her voice broke, the tension almost unbearable. When one of them touched her, the need was incredible, but when they touched her together, it felt so decadent and yet so amazingly loving that it overwhelmed her. “I’m shaking. It’s so strong.”
To her surprise, Quinn bent to kiss her hair, rubbing his hand over her belly. “Relax. No one wants to scare you. We’ll go nice and slow. You go to my head like whiskey, too.”
Kendra slumped against him, placing her hand over his. “Yeah, but there’s only one of me. When you touch me together, it’s too much.”
Grant bent low, touching his lips to hers, the warm, tender caress sending jolts of sizzling heat to her slit. “Christ, woman, you make me crazy. I’m not used to dealing with a woman so honest. So delicious.”
Cupping her cheek, he smiled. “We don’t want to overwhelm you, and you’ve had a rough time today. We just want you to know that we’re here for you.”
Her breasts felt swollen and heavy, her nipples tingling hotly against Quinn’s forearms as he wrapped both around her, holding her steady for several long seconds before releasing her.
When he moved away, Grant closed in, cupping her face between his hands and bending close. “Come on, honey. Why don’t we sit down and get you relaxed a little before bedtime.”
Kendra gulped, licking her dry lips. “Bedtime?”
The nights had always been so lonely before she met them, but now she looked forward to having a man hold her through the night, a comforting, strong presence to chase the shadows away.
Grant smiled, running his fingertip over her trembling bottom lip. “You’ll sleep with me tonight.”
* * * *
Stunned once again by his feelings for Kendra, the stirring of an emotion he’d never thought to feel again, Grant took her hand and led her to the sofa. Feeling her tremble, and loving the way her small hand felt in his, he squeezed it and smiled down at her, hoping to reassure her enough to calm her down.
His chest swelled at the trust and need in her eyes, a look that warmed and filled some of the cold, dark places inside him. Once settled on the sofa, he wrapped an arm around her shoulder, his chest swelling at how readily she slumped against him. Unable to resist, he ran his fingers through her silky hair, smiling when she practically purred.
Barrett studied her as he dropped into one of the chairs flanking the fireplace and held up her phone. “The number’s stored in here?”
Stiff at Grant’s side, Kendra shook her head. “Yes. It’s under Miller. His first name is Leo. Are you sure you don’t want me to call him?”
“No.” Barrett got to his feet, his expression grim. “I’ll do it. You just calm down.”
Grant reached for the remote and found a movie, hoping that having her attention on something else would help relax her. He turned it up just high enough to block out Barrett’s deep voice coming from the kitchen. The tension in the room could be cut with a knife, and he couldn’t help but notice that Quinn and Mason couldn’t seem to be able to keep their eyes off of her.
Sharing a look with the others, he kept up the smooth, even strokes of his hand over her hair, looking forward to many more nights of holding her this way. Still it wasn’t enough.
Sliding his hands to her waist, he pulled her to sit on his lap. “Much better. You’re still tense.”
It felt so good to have her on his lap, so good that his cock hardened against her thigh. Stroking her hair with one hand, he took one of her hands in the other, running his thumb back and forth over her knuckles. “You don’t have to hold it in or be so tough.”
A tear rolled down her cheek, and she quickly brushed it away. “I’m fine.”
Grant smiled, glancing up at Mason to see that he watched her with an indulgence Grant had never seen him display before. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Quinn reach out to pull her foot onto his lap. “You say that a lot. Not once have I believed it.”
When her eyes welled with tears, he found himself stiffening in an automatic defense against being manipulated.
His wife had used tears to get her way for years, until he’d become immune.
He wasn’t immune now. Looking at Quinn and Mason, he saw the same panic in their eyes. “Don’t cry, baby. I couldn’t stand it. You’re safe here, I swear. You’re safe with us.”
“I know. I’m sorry. It’s been a trying day.” Kendra blinked her tears away, stiffening when Barrett came back into the room. “Did you talk to him?”
Mason got up and went to a small bar in the corner and poured himself a neat whiskey.
Barrett nodded as he lowered his large frame into the chair again. “Pour me a small one, Mace.”
Mason turned to look at him, his brow going up. “Sure.”
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