by Leah Brooke
Not knowing how to respond to that, Savannah shrugged and changed the subject, turning the tables to talk about him instead.
“How did you learn to speak English so well?”
Hawke’s eyes became shuttered, his expression harder than she’d ever seen it. “Our mother was white. Phoenix, Blade, and I are half-breeds.”
Savannah inwardly winced at his tone, uncomfortable that she’d inadvertently touched on an obviously sore subject.
“Oh.”
To her surprise, Hawke grinned, his smile taking her breath away. “You’re a woman so you’re naturally nosy and want to know more, but just don’t know how to ask without opening yourself up to being asked questions about your past.”
Furious at being so easy to read, she cursed under her breath and spun back toward the house.
Once they reached the back door, Savannah turned and yanked the basket out of his hands.
“You know what the trouble is with the men around here?”
If possible, Hawke’s eyes narrowed even more.
“What’s that?”
“They’re too arrogant for their own good.”
Hawke’s eyes lit with amusement, and a good bit of that arrogance that set her teeth on edge.
“With good reason. You’re too used to city boys who act tough when they don’t know the first thing about protecting what’s theirs. Wyatt and Hayes do, and they’d both die to protect you.”
“I’m not theirs.”
Alarmed that her voice broke, Savannah rushed into the house, furious at the tears that burned her eyes.
Setting the vegetables on the big wooden table, she took a deep breath and let it out slowly, furious at herself for being hurt by Wyatt and Hayes’s obvious abandonment.
“Something bothering you?”
With a gasp, Savannah whirled and, if not for Jeremiah’s fast reflexes, would have knocked the basket of vegetables to the floor.
“I wish you people would stop sneaking up on me!”
Jeremiah blinked once before a slow smile tugged at his lips.
“I came in through the back door while you were working in the garden. I even spoke to you, but you were lost in thought and didn’t hear me. You got something on your mind you want to talk about?
Afraid those sharp eyes of his saw too much, she turned away. “Yes. I can’t wait until Maggie has her baby so I can get out of here.”
Jeremiah had the nerve to laugh.
“I can’t wait until Wyatt and Hayes get a hold of you and make you pay for putting something in their food to make them sleep.”
Gritting her teeth, she glared up at him through her lashes. “They wouldn’t have known if Eb hadn’t told them.”
Jeremiah tapped the underside of her chin until she lifted it.
“Eb finally told me why he taught you to do that. He told Wyatt and Hayes, too. He figured that after what you did to them, they had a right to know. You’re a brave woman, Savannah—braver than I suspected. I know you had a good reason for putting your uncle to sleep so he didn’t bother you, but you won’t get away with doing that here. Wyatt and Hayes are so mad that they’ve been afraid to come near you.”
Savannah stamped her foot, furious and mortified. “He had no right to tell them that! He had no right to tell anyone that. Maggie doesn’t know, does she?”
Jeremiah gripped her shoulders, his smile full of tenderness and understanding.
“No, honey. Maggie doesn’t know. There’s no point. But surely you see that Wyatt and Hayes have a right to know that the woman they’re going to marry was almost raped by her uncle. If Eb hadn’t shown up that night—hell. I don’t even want to think about it.”
Savannah shoved at him, turning away.
“It’s none of their business! I’m not marrying them or anyone else.”
“I’m afraid you’re mistaken about that. You’re definitely marrying us.”
Savannah spun toward the open doorway, her heart leaping into her throat at the sight of a furious-looking Hayes standing there.
“Damn it. If one more person sneaks up on me, I’m going to scream.”
Hayes came forward, not even glancing in Jeremiah’s direction as he bent and put a shoulder to her belly and lifted her kicking and screaming over his shoulder.
“You’re already screaming, honey, and you’ll damned well be doing a lot more of it before I’m through with you.”
Chapter Seven
Using every curse word she’d ever heard, Savannah hung on to Hayes as he all but dragged her out the back door and to his horse, where a stone-faced Wyatt waited.
Savannah had never been so scared in her entire life, which said a lot considering how life had been with her uncle. She looked back in time to see Jeremiah come out the back door.
He stopped to lean over the porch railing, his arms folded over his chest and one booted foot crossed over the other.
“Jeremiah, damn you! Help me.”
He straightened, spinning to catch Maggie who flew out the door, clearly upset.
He lowered his head and said something to her that Savannah couldn’t hear before straightening and heading toward her, Maggie trailing right behind him.
Struggling not to show fear, Savannah stood her ground, more than a little surprised that Hayes merely held her arm and waited for Jeremiah to approach.
To her shock, Eb appeared from somewhere behind her.
“Problem?”
Savannah whirled as much as she could with Hayes holding on to her arm.
“Of course there’s a problem. Hayes and Wyatt want to beat me!”
At the last second, she looked around, mortified at the number of ranch hands who witnessed the entire thing.
One steely look from Hayes had them turning and walking away.
Reaching out a hand to Maggie, he pulled her close, his sharp eyes raking over her in concern.
“Settle down, darlin’.” After taking in Hayes’s cold expression, he met Savannah’s gaze.
“I don’t blame them for that. They’re your men, and you played a pretty mean trick on them. If Maggie did that to me, her bottom would be red for a week.”
Maggie pulled out of Eb’s hold, a trace of panic in her eyes.
“What’s going on? What are you doing to Savannah?”
Crossing his arms over his chest, Eb eyed Savannah intently.
“I guess that depends on Savannah. She can’t get away with what she did. What if she needed their protection?”
Savannah lifted her chin. “I don’t know why you’re so mad about it. You’re the one who taught me how to do it, and you said there wouldn’t be any danger.”
“There was a reason I taught you that, and I meant there would be no danger to him. What you did the other night made it damned near impossible for Wyatt and Hayes to protect you properly.”
Lifting a brow, he looked even more intimidating.
“Of course, I can’t have anyone doing something like that in my town. It’s usually up to Jeremiah or me to handle, but since Hayes and Wyatt are the new sheriffs, and since you’re their woman, it’s their right to handle you.”
“I’m not their woman!”
She could actually feel Wyatt’s and Hayes’s stares boring into her. Keeping her face averted, she fisted her hands at her sides. “Please don’t let them do this to me. I really can’t marry them.”
Eb inclined his head.
“If that’s the way you want it, fine, but that’s between you and them. They’ve stated their claim on you and you’ve accepted it, Savannah.”
With a look at the others, he took Savannah’s arm and pulled her to the side, his eyes full of tenderness.
“Honey, I know you’re scared of their anger, but Wyatt and Hayes both love you very much. If I believed, for one minute, that either one of them would ever hurt you, I’d interfere.”
Bending, he kissed her forehead. “Both Wyatt and Hayes are good men—but I think you know that already. They’re scared of l
osing you, honey, and those men don’t scare easily.”
Nodding, Savannah looked over her shoulder to see Wyatt and Hayes both watching her intently. Even from this distance, she could see how stiffly they held themselves.
“I’ll talk to them.” Turning back, she reached out to touch Eb’s arm.
“I really wish I could stay. I’d love to be a part of what you’re all building here. I can’t believe you’d do all this for Maggie.”
Eb lifted his gaze, looking over her shoulder to where his wife stood with Jeremiah, the anxiety on her face apparent.
“There’s not much I wouldn’t do for that woman.”
Meeting her gaze again, he smiled. “And there’s not much Wyatt and Hayes wouldn’t do for you. Talk to them, Savannah. They’ll do everything in their power to make this right for you.”
Not daring to look at any of them, Savannah allowed herself to be led to back to where Hayes and Wyatt stood.
Eb stopped with her directly in front of them and lifted her chin. “Talk to your men.”
Closing her eyes against the fierce possession in theirs, Savannah nodded.
Hearing Maggie’s sigh of relief from behind her, Savannah knew she’d made the only choice she could make. She’d talk to Hayes and Wyatt about it later, when they were alone, and get them to understand why she couldn’t stay.
The hunger inside her stirred at the flash of need in Hayes’s brilliant green eyes and Wyatt’s much darker ones.
Hayes held out a hand, raising a brow as Savannah hesitated before placing hers in it.
“We need to talk.”
Eb met both men’s eyes squarely.
“If either one of you hurts her, you’ll be thrown out of the town by the rest of us, and she can stay here where she’ll be safe.”
Hayes clenched his jaw, his eyes full of rage. “I’d kill any man who hurt her.”
Savannah blinked, not having expected such a thing. Whirling, she gripped Eb’s arm.
“Are you serious?”
Eb scowled at her, putting his hands on his hips as though fighting the urge to shake her.
“What have we been saying all along? Did you think we were lying about the strength of our need to protect the women? It’s important to us, Savannah. Very important. We can’t have a town or any kind of civilization here without women. Of course, we have to protect them. Wyatt and Hayes are very much aware of that, and it’s an important part of their jobs. They wouldn’t even have considered coming here to make a life with you until they were assured that everything possible would be done to protect you.”
Ashamed of herself for taking their claims so lightly, she still bristled at the thought of getting spanked.
“If you’re so determined to keep us from getting hurt, why in tarnation are you so hell-bent on spanking us?”
Sliding a hand under her hair, Wyatt tilted her face back.
“To protect you. To keep you from getting too relaxed about what’s around you. We’re not in the city anymore. We want you to think about everything you do and stay sharp.”
Leaning closer, he brushed her cheek with his lips. “It keeps you from getting too lazy about your safety. Call it a reminder—something to remember when you’re about to do something that might put you in danger. Tell the truth. Did that spanking I gave you the other day cause you more pleasure or pain?”
Remembering the way it had felt to be naked, and with his hands running over her, Savannah couldn’t hold back a moan.
Wyatt straightened and smiled, a slow, wicked smile full of remembered pleasure.
Eb chuckled from somewhere behind her.
“I guess that’s that.”
Savannah heard more than saw the others move away, leaving her alone with Hayes and Wyatt. Still aroused at the memory of Wyatt’s hands on her, she had to clear her throat before speaking.
“Now that we’re alone, I need to talk to you. I really can’t stay here.”
Hayes wrapped an arm around her waist, lifted her against him, and started for his horse.
“We’re going to be even more alone in a few minutes, and we’re going to talk about what you did to us the other night.”
He tossed her onto the back of his horse and followed right behind her, settling her on his lap before starting off. His hooded eyes held the promise of retribution, along with the dangerous combination of anger and desire.
“Among other things.”
Chapter Eight
Turning toward the pond, Savannah wrapped her arms around herself and stared out, her nerves stretched to the breaking point.
Neither one had said a word on the way here, but the tension emanating from both Wyatt and Hayes spoke volumes.
Part of her wanted to run to them, to have them hold her close and tell her everything would be all right, but the dozen or so feet between them seemed like a mile.
She wanted to have a chance to explore all the passion their eyes promised, to spend the rest of her life taking care of them as much as they claimed to want to take care of her.
She wanted to be held in the darkness, to feel safe when she closed her eyes at night.
She needed to be needed—to be wanted for herself.
Right now, though, the emotional distance between them seemed insurmountable, but she didn’t doubt that they would somehow manage to change that.
It hadn’t escaped her notice that Wyatt and Hayes wouldn’t allow her to hide behind the wall she’d long ago erected between her and everyone else. Each time she swallowed emotion and only allowed the cool politeness she’d used with her uncle to show, Wyatt and Hayes plowed through it, not satisfied until they’d gotten to the real woman underneath.
They wanted her—the real woman.
For the first time in her life she felt valued, and not for the favors she could do.
She felt alive.
Another part of her figured it would be better if Wyatt and Hayes decided against marrying her. She could leave here and live her life the way she wanted to.
She wouldn’t have to worry about her uncle coming for her ever again. He could find her here, but he’d never find her in Texas.
Seeing a movement out of the corner of her eye, she glanced in that direction, stiffening even more when she saw Wyatt move closer.
He settled himself on a large flat rock near the water and leaned forward, his legs spread, his laced fingers dangling between them. He appeared relaxed and calm, but his eyes told a different story.
Sharp and dark, they glittered with something that looked suspiciously like possession.
As much as the inner voice inside her fought at the thought of being possessed, Savannah couldn’t deny the pleasure and inner warmth that went hand in hand with it.
Clasping her hands together, she glanced at Hayes and found herself caught in his penetrating stare, struck by the intensity of the anger and need in his eyes. Careful to keep her voice low and even, she turned to face him squarely, fighting the urge to shuffle her feet.
“I think you need to come to terms with the fact that I can’t stay.”
Hayes lifted a brow, his expression one of cold arrogance, much like he’d worn almost constantly in Kansas City.
“I think you need to come to the realization that we won’t let you leave. You’re ours, Savannah. You’ve already given yourself to us by words and by deed. Strip.”
Shaken by his tone and the icy intent in his eyes, Savannah gasped and took a step back.
“What did you say?”
He sounded so cold and distant, but the hunger in his gaze as it moved slowly over told her he was anything but.
Crossing his arms over his chest, Hayes leaned back against the trunk of the tree behind him, his stance making him appear larger than life. “You heard me. Get those clothes off. We’re going to settle everything once and for all, and I don’t want there to be any misunderstandings, and I sure as hell don’t want anything in my way.”
She didn’t know this side of him and in this
mood, he would be too unpredictable to anticipate.
It made her even more nervous when Wyatt went to his saddlebags and produced two blankets.
His lips curved in what appeared to be a semblance of a smile as he walked over the uneven ground and took his seat again.
“It’s a nice day, but you can wrap one of these around you once you get those clothes off. Keep the boots on so you don’t hurt your feet.”
Hayes stared at her breasts as he moved slowly toward her, not stopping until he stood only a few feet away. “It’s warm out, with just enough of a chill in the air to make you more aware of your nakedness. I want the breeze blowing over those pink nipples. I’m sure they’re already hard, but the cold will make them even harder—and more sensitive. Now strip, or I’ll do it for you. If I do it, though, your clothes will be in tatters and you’ll have to wear the blanket back to the ranch. Take off the shirt first.”
Shivering at his cold tone, Savannah took a step back, stopping abruptly when she almost slipped on the wet stones.
Hayes whipped out a hand to catch her, holding her against his hard body for several heart-stopping seconds, before pulling away to look down at her.
“You fall in that pond and I’m going to beat your ass raw. Lose the shirt.”
With a large hand, he gripped her upper arm and pulled her to the tree he’d been leaning against, a dark brow going up.
“Last warning.”
Savannah shook off his hand, knowing that she could only because he allowed it. “If this is how you’re going to treat me, can you blame me for not wanting to marry you?”
Hayes nodded and went to his own horse.
“Something we’re going to settle before we leave here. Are you going to take off that shirt, or am I?”
Need and fear made a potent combination, one that left her shaking so hard her teeth chattered.
Her fear didn’t stem from thinking they wanted to hurt her.
Whatever they had planned for her had nothing to do with pain and everything to do with pleasure. She could see it in their eyes.
Her fear came from the unknown. Not knowing what further decadence they had in store for her had her trembling in anticipation, every inch of her skin sensitized with awareness. Not knowing if she could handle it terrified her.