Before she could say anything, Grace rushed forward and pulled her out of the chair and into her arms. Katie couldn’t stop the tears then.
“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry,” she repeated over and over again.
“Shhh, honey, it’s all right.” Grace smoothed her hand over Katie’s hair.
“It’s not,” she cried. “I was hurtful and you didn’t deserve that. Not at all. Everything you’ve done for me, you deserve so much better.”
“What?” Grace leaned back to look at her.
“You deserve better than taking the brunt of my temper tantrum. I don’t know where I’d be without all of you—dead probably.” She sniffled. “And I treated you poorly. I’m so sorry.”
Grace shook her head and looked over her shoulder at her men. Both stepped forward.
“Katie, we’re family; we’re meant to take the brunt of each other’s shit,” Ethan said quietly. “We yell, we fight, we forgive. Haven’t you figured that out after all this time? You don’t have to hold back, or bury what you’re feeling and thinking.”
“We need to know what’s going on with you,” Noah added. “If you think yelling at us is going to change how we feel about you, you’re in for quite a shock. We love you.”
Katie’s vision blurred and she couldn’t speak around the lump in her throat.
The front door squeaked as it was pushed open.
“Good morning,” Jack drawled. “We starting the morning off with a good cry?”
Katie choked back a laugh and turned around to find the men who’d saved her standing side by side with Chloe. “Maybe.”
“Well, get on over here, then. Give us a cuddle.” Isaac held his arms open.
Katie stepped into his embrace and buried her face in the front of his shirt. “I’m sorry,” she whispered.
“Oh, sweetheart, nothing to be sorry about,” he crooned. “You’re unhappy; we need to know.”
She laughed outright when Jack came up behind her and wrapped his arms around both of them.
“We love you,” he murmured, kissing the top of her head. “Don’t forget that. You’re allowed to yell and pitch a fit sometimes. Lord knows I manage to do so on a regular basis, and they always forgive me. Granted, I have my sterling personality to carry me. But hey, you’re kinda cute, so you’ll be fine. Ouch!” He jumped back when she reached around and pinched his side.
“I love you guys. All of you.” Her voice was slightly muffled and she was pretty sure she was snotting up Isaac’s shirt, but she didn’t want to let go.
Finally, the men stepped back and Chloe pulled her in for her own hug. “Do I need to go beat up my brother?”
“No,” Katie sighed. “He…he’s…”
“He made it right?” Chloe asked.
“Yeah, he did.” She smiled.
“Good.” Chloe gave her another squeeze then walked to the pump to fill the kettle. “Boys, get a fire started in the stove, won’t you? Your baby is starving.”
Jack moved to put wood in the stove while Isaac grabbed the basket from the hook near the door.
“I’ll gather the eggs.”
Ethan dropped a kiss on Katie’s cheek as he walked past her to follow Isaac. “Grab the pail, Noah; we got a goat to milk.”
An hour later, when Drew strolled into the cabin, breakfast was on the table. He fixed a plate and leaned against the counter as he ate. He lifted a brow at Katie, and with an exasperated sigh, she grabbed herself a plate and dished herself up some scrambled eggs and fried potatoes. She looked him in the eyes as she shoveled a huge bite into her mouth.
Good girl, he mouthed, and Katie felt a flush sweep through her body. When he finished, he washed his plate and fork.
“I’m working on my cabin today,” he announced. “Unless you need help elsewhere?”
Jack shook his head. “Got plenty of help with the bunkhouse, but we’ll let you know if that changes.”
“All right.” Drew nodded and walked out the door.
Katie frowned, disappointment sitting heavily in her gut. She hadn’t expected him to fawn over her or anything with everyone around, but she felt a little let down by the lack of attention—to anything other than her eating habits. She shrugged and pushed it aside. They’d talk later.
The morning was spent working in the garden with Ethan and preparing more vegetables for canning with Grace and Chloe, while everyone else worked on repairs on the bunkhouse. When they took a break for lunch, Katie frowned when Drew didn’t join them. She sat outside, on the edge of the porch, her gaze drawn toward his cabin more often than she cared to admit.
Despite not feeling awfully hungry, she forced herself to finish her meal, knowing full well Drew was going to ask what she’d eaten. Her lips curved at the thought.
“Hello, beautiful.” Kyle dropped next to her, smiling widely.
“Hello,” she returned.
He reached over and took her hand. “I was hoping maybe we could spend some time together this afternoon.”
“Oh.” She slowly reclaimed her hand. “Kyle, I think you’re really great; you seem like a nice—”
“God, you’re blowing me off, aren’t you?” He gaped at her.
“No! I just…I’m not… Okay, I’m just going to be brutally honest. I’m not interested in you that way. As friends, sure, but not more than that.”
“It’s because of him, isn’t it? Drew?” He snorted.
“Yeah.”
“But he makes you miserable!” he exclaimed.
“What? No, he doesn’t!”
“Oh please, I’ve seen proof enough of that over the past several days.” Kyle grabbed her hand again, holding it tightly. “I would never make you cry like he does, or act like a possessive jackass. Which he has no right to do. You know he’s fucking Charlotte, don’t you?”
“I know they have in the past,” she acknowledged. “But that’s over.”
“So he says.” He leaned closer. “You’re too good for him. Everyone heard you arguing last night and now today? He won’t even look at you. He’s holed up in his pathetic shack, not even giving you the time of day.” His eyes narrowed, and he added slyly, “Charlotte brought him lunch, and she was there for quite a while. Maybe things aren’t as over as he claims.”
Katie shook her head. Kyle was just upset and trying to get a rise out of her. And fuck if he wasn’t succeeding. Why hadn’t Drew come for lunch? Was he avoiding her? While she believed him that it was over with Charlotte, she began to worry. She thought of what she’d shared with him the night before. God, did he think differently of her now? She should have kept her mouth shut.
“At least give this, us, a chance,” Kyle pleaded.
Despite the doubts that crept inside her mind, Katie couldn’t let Kyle think there was a chance of anything more than friendship with her. “I’m sorry, Kyle.”
He opened his mouth to speak but was interrupted by Jack yelling for him to come and help. Kyle stared at her for a long, extremely awkward, moment then hurried away. Feeling badly, Katie picked up her empty dish and brought it inside. After a quick internal argument, she headed over to Drew’s cabin. As she approached, she realized he was on top of the building. Repairing the roof, she assumed.
She stopped and tilted her head to get a better look at him.
“Drew.” She cringed. Okay, she said that a bit louder than she’d intended.
“Katie?” He peered down at her.
“Have you changed your mind?” she demanded.
Moving to the ladder leaning against the small cabin, he frowned. “About?”
“Me. Us.” Clenching her hands into fists, she waited for his answer. When none came, she began to shake. “It’s because I told you, isn’t it? First, you didn’t want to rush me or scare me because you thought I was a virgin. Now that you know I’m…not, you’ve decided it’s not worth it. That I’m not worth it.”
“Katie,” he said flatly.
She pressed the heels of her hands to her eyes. “Stupid,” sh
e muttered. “Why would you want to be with me now? You could be with someone who isn’t messed up, damaged and weak.”
Suddenly, her wrists where gripped and her hands pulled from her face. Drew stood before her, mouth set in an angry line.
“Get inside.”
She nodded jerkily. “I’ll leave you be. I’m sorry.”
He turned her toward the door to his cabin then pressed up against her back, his hand circling her neck, not too tightly but with firm pressure. His breath tickled her ear when he spoke.
“Get inside and wait for me. Do not even think about leaving. Do you understand me?”
Katie’s eyes nearly rolled back at his rough voice and weight of his hand on her neck. She wet her lips. “Yes.”
“Good.” He released her and stepped away.
Trembling, she let herself inside. Then, stood dumbly, unsure what to do while she waited. She walked to the bed, but changed her mind about sitting. If Drew was going to come in here and tell her he had changed his mind, she wanted to be able to walk away quickly. If she sat, she didn’t know if she’d be able to stand again at this point.
Her back was to the door when he came in. Her breathing quickened when she heard him cross the room to stand behind her. He wrapped an arm around her waist and hauled her against him. Her knees gave out when his lips trailed along the side of her neck, but he kept her upright easily.
“Tell me,” he murmured, “how you could ever think I’d changed my mind about you?”
“I…I…oh!”
His teeth clamped down where her neck and shoulder met followed by a hot swipe of his tongue.
“That anything that bastard did would make me see you any differently? See you as weak? Nothing could be further from the truth. You are so strong, baby. Why can’t you see that?”
“I’m not,” she protested. “I’m not like Grace and Chloe. They’re strong. They don’t fall apart when they’re on their own, when someone goes away.”
He stilled then, after a moment, grasped her shoulders and turned her to face him. “That’s why you weren’t eating and sleeping? Because I left?” He used a finger to tip her chin up so she met his gaze. “Answer me, Katie.”
“Yes. Every summer, I felt so empty, so wrong.” Hot tears slid down her cheeks. “I couldn’t sleep at all, and I had no appetite. Even the smell of food would make me want to retch. See? I’m not strong. I just pretend. And, this time, I couldn’t even fix it myself when you came back. I needed you to fall asleep, and it took you…bringing me in here to be able to eat.” She swallowed thickly. “Even today, I didn’t feel like eating, but I knew you’d ask me, so I did it.”
His mouth curved. “Good girl,” he breathed.
She moaned and swayed toward him. Cupping her face, he leaned down and kissed her mouth, just a quick, light touch.
“You aren’t weak, baby. So far from it.” His fingers danced up and down her spine. “What you went through before you came here, that could have broken anybody, but not you. Not only that, but you kept it to yourself, shouldered that all on your own. That’s strength. Then, when they came to try to take you back, you could have buckled, especially facing the man who raped you, but you didn’t. You were rock solid, and you took him down.”
“Not before you got shot,” she murmured, pressing her hand to his side, over the scar she knew marred his skin.
“Not your fault,” he said firmly. “And you took care of me, didn’t you, afterward? It wasn’t Grace or Chloe who did that. You did. That, my sweet girl, is strength.”
Katie stared at him. Did he really believe that? Really see her that way?
The corners of his mouth turned down as he continued. “What happened when I left, baby, doesn’t mean you’re weak. Do you think Grace or Chloe wouldn’t break if one or both of their men suddenly left with no promise of returning? I’m so sorry my leaving hurt you that way. I didn’t see what was in front of me.”
He kissed along her jaw, lips sliding wetly until he reached her ear. “I should have made you mine a long time ago.”
She gripped his biceps, nails biting into his skin. Couldn’t he see what he was doing to her? With just words. She was lost, completely and utterly lost in him.
“And allowing someone to take care of you is not weakness,” he rasped. “Giving yourself to me in every way, submitting to me is not weakness. That takes a different kind of strength, but it is no less powerful or significant. Will you give yourself to me, Katie? Let me have you in every possible way?”
He looked down at her, patiently, lovingly, and she nearly cried. Again.
“Yes.” She nodded. “Please, I want that so much.”
He closed his eyes and drew in a deep breath before fixing his intense gaze on her again.
“Take your clothes off,” he ordered.
She bit back her gasp and nodded again. Stepping back, she grasped the hem of her shirt and pulled it up and off. Embarrassment flared hot as he raked his eyes over her bare upper body. She was too thin, even when she ate regularly, and she couldn’t help thinking of Charlotte and her womanly curves. What if Drew found Katie lacking now he could see everything?
“You’re still wearing clothes,” Drew pointed out, his voice husky.
“Sorry,” she mumbled.
Toeing off her shoes, she kicked them to the side then, deciding quicker was better in this case, shucked her shorts and panties in one go. Straightening, she managed not to fidget as Drew looked his fill, from the top of her head to the tips of her toes.
“Fuck, you’re gorgeous.”
Lightning fast, he yanked her to him and kissed her. Not so smoothly—teeth clacked, noses bumped, and the angle was all wrong—but still, it made her quiver. Knowing he was so affected that he lost control was a heady thought.
“Aren’t you going to get undressed?” she asked when he pulled away with a gasp.
He walked her backwards until she was sandwiched between the wall and his hard body. “Soon enough, baby.”
Skimming his hands down her body, he rained kisses over her shoulders and collarbone. When his lips drifted down to her breasts, his fingers teased the curls hiding her sex. He hummed against her skin when he brushed against her clit and she jolted in response. He grasped her thigh and guided her leg up around his hip, sucking a nipple into the wet heat of his mouth. Katie keened when his teeth scored against the sensitive tip. She felt his lips curve and his slight beard tickled as he moved to give the other nub equal treatment. Her pussy clenched as sweet heat spiraled from where he suckled down to her core. Then, he slowly trailed a long finger to her sopping entrance.
“Have you ever orgasmed?” he asked, his voice annoyingly casual as the digit dipped inside her.
Letting her head fall back against the wall, she nodded. “Of course I have. I’m old enough to have discovered the joys of masturbation, Drew.”
He chuckled, kissing his way back up to her neck. “Tell me, when you fucked yourself with your fingers, face buried in your pillow to muffled your moans, hand soaked with your cream…did you think of me?” Three fingers pumped into her channel now as his thumb pressed against her clit.
“Yes,” she sobbed. “Always.”
He hummed, a thoroughly satisfied sound. “Did you say my name as you came?”
“Oh, God.” Her body vibrated with pleasure; it coursed through her hotly. She was going to explode, fall apart in his arms before he even took off his clothes.
“Did you say my name?” he repeated, thrusting his fingers into her hard and rough.
“Yes, yes, every fucking time.”
“You were mine, even then, weren’t you?”
“Yours,” she gasped, moving her hips desperately.
“You are.” He flicked her earlobe with his tongue. “Are you going to come, baby? Your pussy is squeezing me so nicely, like it doesn’t want to let me go.”
“I’m so close,” she cried.
“Ask me for it,” he whispered hoarsely. “Ask me to let you com
e.”
“Please, Drew,” she keened. “I need to come. Please let me come.”
He twisted his fingers inside her with each stroke. “Fuck, you’re amazing. Come for me, baby.”
Everything tightened, every muscle in her body, then burst violently, taking her breath from her. She clung to Drew, clutched at him as she fell apart. A million pieces of her sliding through sweet hot bliss. He was the only thing anchoring her, her tether, as she lost herself in the sheer ecstasy he thrust her into.
He continued to lazily fuck her with his hand. “No more coming on your own.”
“Wha—?” She lifted her head and tried to focus on his face as her body still quaked.
“Oh, you can still touch yourself all you want, but you can’t come without permission. You have to ask.” He leaned forward, and his mouth ghosted over hers. “Do you know why?”
“Why?” she breathed.
“Because your orgasms, every fucking one of them, they belong to me.” He circled her swollen nub with his thumb. “Do you understand?
Her head thunked against the wall as pleasure began to rise again. “Oh…oh, Drew? Please?”
“Please what?” He pressed harder as he worked her clit.
“Please may I come?” Katie struggled not to come before he told her she could, but she could feel her internal walls begin to spasm. “Please, Drew. I can’t stop, I can’t.”
“Shhh,” he soothed. “Come, you gorgeous girl.”
His name a litany on her lips, she fell all over again.
Drew figured his dick could pretty well pound nails at this point, but he gritted his teeth and worked his girl through her second orgasm. He could feel his cock leaking as Katie’s pussy gripped his fingers and her sweet cries echoed around them. Fuck, he had to get inside of her.
She whimpered as he withdrew his hand from between her legs. He couldn’t tell if it was him shaking so badly or her as he turned her around, bending her forward. With a sigh, she braced herself, head against her arms, on the wall in front of her.
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