by Leah Brooke
He replied with a dark look and a grunt, turning and walking away without a backward glance.
Joe approached from her left, carrying a first aid kit. “Let me get a good look at you. Like my friend said, my name is Joe. Joe Diablo.”
Glenna blinked. “Joe Devil?” It fit him like a glove. Gorgeous. Charming. Dangerous.
Grinning, he winked. “I’ve been called a devil once or twice.” He gestured toward her car, where the other man worked at getting her spare from the trunk. “That’s Leland. Leland Moran.”
Glenna swallowed heavily, keeping one eye on the other man as Joe opened the kit. “Your friend seems a little intense.”
“That he is, but you have no need to fear him.” Smiling again, he reached into the box of supplies. “I promise. He wouldn’t hurt you.” He produced a package of cotton swabs, and drawing two out, he started to clean her bottom lip. “Be still.”
Wincing at the slight sting, she found her gaze drawn to his chest, covered by only a cotton T-shirt, marveling at the play of muscle from each graceful movement. “I’m really sorry about the way I acted before. I usually don’t run when someone stops to help me, but you have to admit, you’re both a little intimidating.”
“No problem.” He finished, placing the swabs in a plastic bag before reaching for her again, his fingers gentle as he slid them into her hair and probed. He smiled faintly, his eyes narrowed as he concentrated on his task. “A woman alone has to be careful. We didn’t mean to scare you, and when we saw the way your car bounced, we were a little afraid of what we’d find.”
He stood so close that she could feel the heat from his body, the warm muscle of his chest and arms surrounding her. His eyes remained sharp, but softened slightly each time they met hers.
His fingers moved through her hair, gently releasing it from the scrunchie, the slow, sensuous slide of them against her scalp so seductive that she found herself relaxing more and more and leaning toward him.
She found herself staring at his lips, wondering what he would taste like, or how they would feel on hers.
He looked like a man who would know how to kiss, a man who would know how to hold a woman and make her feel special. His movements would be as smooth as they were now, calming her fears even as he set fires of arousal along the way. Sliding his hands to her neck, he began to probe again, his gaze lowering to hers. “Does that hurt?”
Struggling to hide his effect on her, she swallowed heavily and tried to pull away, her face burning. “No. I told you I’m fine. Please let me out.”
Joe scowled, gently tilting her head back to shine a small flashlight into her eyes, his lips thinning and his nostrils flaring. “You said you were fine, even when your lip was bleeding. You didn’t know about that, so there could be something else you don’t know about. You seem a little rattled. I’ll feel better if I check you out myself. What the hell is that perfume you’re wearing?”
Blinking at his odd question, she stared up at him. “Excuse me?”
Gritting his teeth, he snapped the flashlight off, and tossed it back into the kit. “That perfume is driving me crazy. What is it?”
Trying to remember what she’d put on that morning, she shifted restlessly. “I was running around this morning, trying to get my sister to the airport on time. I only put on a pear-scented moisturizer. Can you move so I can get up, please?”
The sound of swearing coming from the front of her car had both her and Joe glancing in that direction.
Closing the lid on the first aid kit, he shook his head. “That’s not pear. Stay put for a minute. I’ll get something to clean your feet off, and go get your shoes. What’s your name?”
“Glenna.” Deciding that she’d rather just do what he said than risk being chased down again, she nodded, watching as he put the first aid kit away. Looking up, she stiffened when she saw Leland approach, her stomach clenching when she saw the hard look in his eyes.
“Glenna. That’s a pretty name.” Joe opened a bottle of water, and offered it to her, his brow going up at his friend’s expression. “What’s wrong? Can’t change a tire, or did you get lonely?”
“Very funny.” Leland’s gaze raked over her as he grabbed a towel from the back and began wiping his hands. “When she hit that hole, she bent the strut. She must have hit it hard. Is she okay?”
Taking the bottle of water from Joe, she smiled her thanks and eyed Leland. “I’m fine. A strut? Is that bad?” She had no idea what a strut was, but fixing one sounded expensive.
Joe cracked open another bottle and, to her surprise, poured it over her feet. “Bad enough. Not terrible, but you won’t be able to drive your car until you get it fixed.”
Glenna lowered her bottle to her lap, getting a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. “I have to go home. I have to go to work in the morning.”
Leland grabbed another bottle of water, his throat working as he downed it. Once he finished, he tossed the bottle into the back of the truck, his eyes narrowed on hers. “Not driving that, you won’t.”
Taking a towel from his back pocket, Joe began to wipe her feet, shooting Leland a dirty look before turning back to her. “Don’t worry. Thomas can fix it.”
Unnerved by the sight of his dark hand against her calf as he held her foot up, and shaken by the rush of warm, electric currents of pleasure and heat going up her leg, Glenna fought for composure. “Um, who’s Thomas?”
Inspecting the bottom of her foot, Joe shot her a disapproving look when she tried to pull away. Tightening his hold, he ran his thumb over the underside, smiling when she yelped and jerked it away. “Ticklish, huh?”
Picking up her other foot, he poured more water over it. “Thomas is a good friend of ours. He can fix anything on wheels, and a lot of stuff not on wheels. I’ll make a call and get him to tow it in.”
Uncomfortable with the ease with which they’d taken charge, Glenna glanced at him, shaking her head. “That’s okay. I can take care of it.”
As Joe turned away to get rid of the empty bottles, she jumped down from the truck, and immediately regretted it. The hot asphalt burned her feet, the pain so intense that she cried out, rushing to jump back into the truck.
Before she could do more than jump from one foot to the other, a hard arm came around her waist again, lifting her off her feet. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”
Leland’s harsh growl came from directly behind her ear. “It’s got to be close to a hundred out here. The pavement’s hot enough to cook on.” Setting her back in the seat, he grabbed the bottle of water from her hand and dumped it on her feet. “Joe, get me another bottle of water.”
“Already got it. How bad is it?” Shaking his head, Joe handed him another bottle of water, and cracked open another for her to drink. “What were you thinking?”
Leland’s hold on her foot was gentle, despite the fact that his eyes shot sparks. “She didn’t think. Christ, woman, you’re a menace.” He glanced at Joe, his voice almost a snarl. “I’ll go get her shoes.” Bracing one hand on the steering wheel and the other on the back of her seat, he leaned over her, his face only inches from hers—so close, she could almost taste his lips. “Stay put, damn it! If you jump out of this truck again, I swear, I’m going to turn you over my knee and spank your ass so hard you won’t be able to sit down!”
Shock gave way to outrage. “What?”
“You heard me.”
Before she could think of a more suitable reply, he turned and walked away, leaving her staring after him.
“Asshole.”
Joe looked up from inspecting her feet. “It angers us to see a woman hurt. We understand why you’re skittish around us. We’re strangers. But, I have to tell you that it’s frustrating as hell when we’re only trying to help you.”
Shifting restlessly under his stare, Glenna shrugged, feeling foolish. “I’m not used to taking orders.”
Joe’s lips twitched. “Leland’s used to giving them, and he’s only trying to protect you.�
* * * *
Leland glanced at Joe, expecting another warning look for his harsh tone, and instead saw his friend, pack mate, and fellow Alpha cradling the foot of the woman Leland would kill to possess.
Glenna.
“I don’t care. Your friend’s an asshole! He threatened to spank me.”
Her voice carried, but he would have heard her even if she hadn’t raised it.
Instead of being angered by the insult, he found himself even more intrigued—and aroused.
Struggling against the urge to run back to the truck and yank her away from Joe, he kept moving, hoping that by putting some distance between them, he could clear his head.
Her intoxicating scent was driving him crazy.
He pulled out his cell phone, but paused before dialing. Leaning against her car, he glanced back at her, wondering what the hell it was about her that made him feel that he’d been put through an emotional wringer.
She was beautiful, but he’d been with beautiful women before.
There was something about this one that was…breathtaking. He couldn’t quite put his finger on it, which frustrated him even more.
She shook him, something that didn’t happen to him very often.
With a sigh, he turned away to hide a smile. He might not be comfortable with the effect she had on him, but he couldn’t remember a time when he’d enjoyed himself so much.
God, he wanted her, and felt alive as he hadn’t in years.
He couldn’t look away from her for long. Turning back, he drank in the sight of her, letting his gaze linger.
Her long thick hair appeared brown at first, but in the sunlight, it gleamed like copper. Her eyes drew him in, the color of them so startling, it mesmerized him.
He’d never seen anyone with eyes the color of turquoise before, or ones so expressive.
Flawless skin, her cheeks pink from exertion and the heat, fueling his imagination, and the desire to see her even more flushed in passion.
Groaning, he adjusted the front of his jeans yet again.
He’d been hard ever since they pulled over, the scent of her wrapping itself around him and pulling him toward her as if he’d been on a fucking leash.
She’d run from him, and instead of just being annoyed, he’d been enraged.
Enraged.
Why?
He couldn’t blame her for being frightened, and couldn’t understand why it had angered him so much. He sure as hell didn’t know why he’d taken it so personally.
It hadn’t been because she’d run, but she’d run away from him.
In fear.
Shaking off his frustration, he dialed the number to the farmhouse, unable to keep from watching her while he waited for someone to answer.
“Hello?”
Recognizing Graham’s voice, Leland turned away from the delectable sight of the woman glaring at him defiantly as Joe slipped on her shoes.
“It’s Leland. We’re right outside the gate, a couple of hundred yards to the right.”
“What happened?”
Leland grimaced at the worry in Graham’s voice, the constant fear they all lived with a sore subject with him. “We’re fine. A woman ran off the shoulder and hit a hole. Flat tire and bent strut. I need Thomas to tow it into his shop so he can fix it for her. Tell him the tab’s on me.”
“Will do. We’ll be there in just a few minutes.”
Used to being obeyed without question, Leland disconnected, unable to resist turning to her again as she headed back toward her car. Inordinately pleased by the reluctant interest in her eyes as she went to the driver’s side and opened the door, he folded his arms over his chest, staring at her.
The memory of the way she’d felt against him had his cock throbbing, and his hands itching to touch her.
He’d been furious when he’d caught her earlier, and with the weight of her breasts against his forearm and the scent of her surrounding him, he’d come closer than he had in years to losing control of the animal inside him.
And, it scared him down to his core.
He wanted her as he’d never wanted anything else in his life—a primitive hunger and possessiveness inside him fighting to get free.
Shooting glances at both of them, she straightened, slinging her purse over her shoulder, and clutching her phone. “I’m just going to call the garage in town and have my car towed.”
Leland circled the front of the car, putting his hands on his hips to keep from reaching for her. “You don’t have any reason to be afraid of me. I wouldn’t hurt you.”
I’d die to protect you.
Startled by the fierce anger at the thought of anyone hurting her, he frowned, becoming even more irritated when she took a step backward.
His stomach clenched with hurt and a sense of betrayal he had no right to feel.
Glaring at him, she lifted the phone to her ear. “You threatened to hit me. Any man who hits me is going to get kicked in the balls.”
The image of her with another man filled him with a rage that had a growl erupting before he could swallow it. “Another man better not even think about laying a hand on you, and I only threatened to paddle your ass if you tried to jump down and burn your feet on hot asphalt.”
Joe walked up beside him, keeping his voice low. “If that thing about another man laying a hand on her includes me, you and I are going to have a serious problem.”
Gritting his teeth, Leland glanced at his friend. “I’m going to do whatever it takes to have her.”
“She’s mine.” Joe walked away, moving back toward her just as she placed a call.
She smiled at Joe, making Leland’s blood boil. “I called information and got the number for the garage in town.”
Leland didn’t bother to hide a smile when Thomas’s tow truck emerged from the private road to the farm and came toward them. He nodded to Graham, who sat in the passenger seat, frowning at the way his pack mate eyed her. Amused that she didn’t see them yet, Leland moved in on her other side.
Glancing at him warily, she turned away. “Hello. My name’s Glenna Harrison.”
Glenna. A beautiful name, one that he could imagine whispering in the dark as he moved over her. Into her.
She looked momentarily startled to find him staring at her, her beautiful eyes widening as she looked away and continued to speak into the phone. “I’m having a little car trouble, and one of the men who stopped by to look at it said that I bent a strut. I was wondering if you could come tow it to your garage.”
Looking momentarily startled when Thomas’s tow truck pulled in front of her car, Glenna blinked several times, her gaze whipping to his as she lowered the phone. “What?” Jolting, she brought the phone back up to her ear. “Oh, yeah.” Gesturing toward the tow truck, she frowned at Leland and pressed the phone against her shoulder. “Tell your friend thanks, but I don’t need him.” She lifted the phone to her ear again, turning her back on him and the tow truck.
As he’d expected, Thomas got out of the truck and came toward them, his cell phone at his ear as he listened to Glenna tell him the location of her car.
Stopping abruptly, Thomas looked from the car to Glenna and Joe, his expression clearing when he turned to Leland. Meeting Leland’s grin with one of his own, he leaned against the car, raising his voice. “Yes, ma’am. I know exactly where that is.”
Glenna whirled, her beautiful eyes widening, narrowing again when they slid to Leland’s. “This is your friend, Thomas?”
Enjoying himself, Leland smiled and inclined his head. “It is.”
Joe stepped forward, placing a possessive hand at Glenna’s back, his light touch infuriating Leland. “Why don’t you get in the truck while Leland and I help Thomas and Graham? I put the air-conditioner on for you.”
Glenna shook her head, moving away from his hand. “No, thank you. Thomas, are you going to be taking my car to your shop in town?”
Glancing at Leland and Joe, Thomas nodded, eyeing her with renewed interest when Leland glowered at him. “Yes. I have everything I need there. Is there a problem with that?”
Shaking her head, Glenna met Leland’s gaze, the confusion and disconcertment in her eyes delighting him immensely. “No. I was just wondering if I could ride to town with you. I need to get back home.”
Leland stiffened, and when Thomas looked his way again, shook his head imperceptibly.
He’d see her safely home.
He met Thomas’s puzzled look with a warning glare, confident that the other man wouldn’t go against his wishes.
He didn’t want anyone else near her, and wanted to get her away from his friends before they decided to make a play for her.
Thomas shrugged. “It’s pretty crowded in there. Maybe it would be better if you rode with Joe and Leland.”
Moving to stand between Thomas and Glenna, Leland met Graham’s look of confusion with another glare, watching both men closely.
He knew they wouldn’t be able to resist her any more than he could, and he wanted to stake his claim as early and definitively as possible.
The thought of fighting his pack mates didn’t sit well, but he’d do whatever he had to do in order to have her.
Instead of being intimidated, Graham chuckled, covering it with a cough, his eyes dancing with amusement. Grinning, he approached Glenna, sidestepping both Joe and Leland with a casualness that set Leland’s teeth on edge. “Hi, I’m Graham. Thomas and I live on the farm with Joe and Leland.” Frowning, he reached out to grip her chin, a dark brow going up when both Joe and Leland snarled at him.
Snarled.
Leland met his friends’ curious looks with a scowl, which seemed to amuse both of them.
Turning back to Glenna, Graham frowned, reaching for her chin. “Looks like you hurt your lip. Are you hurt anywhere else?”
Glenna looked from Leland to Joe and back again as if they’d lost their minds. “No. I’m okay. Did they just snarl at you?”
Graham shrugged. “They just get a little intense sometimes. What happened?”
Smiling and looking perfectly at ease, Glenna leaned against the front of the pickup truck. “I was driving along and suddenly their truck came around the curve up ahead. When it did, the sunlight hit the windshield and the glare blinded me.” Shrugging, she grinned up at him, revealing adorable dimples that only made Leland want her more. “Running off the road was a hell of a lot better than the possibility of hitting this monstrosity head-on.”
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