by Jenny Penn
“Why don’t you ever listen?” Brodie’s heated breath washed over her like the crash of a wave. “You are the dumbest woman I ever met and stubborn in your stupidity. All you had to do was listen, but no. You just bound and determine to be difficult in the face of reason, and now look what happened! Don’t you realize you could have been killed? Killed, Jamie. Well, I ain’t going to let that happen. I have had enough.”
Before she could level him with a response or even attempt to make sense out of Brodie being the one yelling at her and Caelen giving Danny the beating, she ended up flattened. Jerked into his bear hug, Brodie about squeezed the last puff of air out of her lugs with his massive arms. It outright hurt, but strangely enough made her feel safe at the same time.
Then he went right back to screaming at her, shaking her. Brodie couldn’t seem to make up his damn mind whether he wanted to tan her ass or squeeze the very life out of her. Ending the second round of roaring with yet another bone crushing hug, he started right back up on his tirade a second later.
It about made her dizzy enough to throw up. By the time Brodie had worn himself down enough to let her stand on her own two feet, Jamie could only do so in a daze. Her ears rang with his shouts, her mind raced to make sense of all the many varied threats he made even as her body tried to right itself in a world no longer whirling around her.
Her momentary disorientation gave Brodie all the sense of command he needed to revert back to acting like he owned her. Straightening up, he decreed that they’d finish their conversation at home, with her father. That one went over the line, jarring her from her stupor.
“Conversation?” she shot back. “I hadn’t notice we were having one.”
“Don’t start with me,” Brodie warned.
“Why not?” Not the least bit intimidated, Jamie’s temper had her rushing right into battle without thought of the consequences. “You already started on me.”
Something darkened his eyes as his voice dipped dangerously low. “That’s one, Jamie.”
“One?” Jamie made a show of looking around. “One what?”
He didn’t get the joke. “You don’t want to hear me tell you it’s two. Now get your ass up on my horse.”
“I’d rather walk home barefoot across snake-infested fields than go anywhere with you.”
“That ain’t the way you used to feel.”
That small reminder of the type of fool she used to make of herself only had Jamie dig down deep to find a tone worthy of her response. “That’s before I realized men like you were a dime a dozen.”
That got him, bringing his boots right to the tip of her tattered skirt. “That might be true, Jamie, but I don’t see a dozen men standing here. Just me…and one little girl. Who do you think is gonna win?”
“Listen here, you putrid pile of puke,” Jamie stepped on his toes as she met him chin to shoulder. “Don’t think for a minute that because I ain’t got a man at my side, I can’t handle the likes of you just fine. Unless you failed to notice, it was the boy screaming in pain.”
“Unless you failed to notice, I ain’t a boy, Jamie Traynor.”
Not notice when barely an inch separated her from that hard body? Even this close, she could feel his heat seeping into her skin, infusing her blood with that sparkling rush that made her just about hum. None of that came through in her smile or her tauntingly cheery tone.
“Not so much a man that you don’t need your brother to get the job done.”
“And just for that I’m going to keep you too.”
“Keep me?” Jamie laughed at that outrageous claim. “I am not some lost calf you’ve run-up on in a round-up, Brodie. You can’t just keep me.”
“I can.”
Fear. That’s what his solemn tone evoked. He only used that voice right before he delivered on a threat, but this one...he couldn’t keep her. That wasn’t the plan.
“There is no way my brothers would let you do such a thing.”
“All your brothers but Mike have already headed north on a drive. There ain’t nothing that scrawny boy is capable of doing to stand in my way until they get back, weeks from now.”
Weeks? Talk about bad timing. “Your brothers—”
“Are on the drive. Left this morning. Other than Caelen, Linc’s the only one who stayed behind, and he’s got his hands full taking care of your sister, who’s ready to pop his pup out any day now.”
That left her father as her last defense, and they both knew how he folded. “Don’t you even think about talking to my father.”
“Your father has a right to know what kind of coward his daughter is married to. Your husband has neglected his duties, and you’ve nearly gotten raped as a consequence. It is obvious you are in need of a new husband.”
“I don’t need any man, Brodie MacAuley. Least of all, you!”
“You’ll be on your knees, naked and at my mercy, when I accept your apology for that one.”
Jamie swallowed back the full-body pop those words triggered in her. The instant heat had her going wet in places only her hand had ever managed to make feel alive. Those words did it. Just the idea made her grin.
“Naked and at your mercy, Brodie? You sure you’re man enough to take up that challenge now?”
Not bothering to argue it a second longer, Brodie’s only answer was to turn and swagger off toward his horse. In less than a second, his steed began mowing through the field, aimed right for her daddy’s house.
Son of a bitch! She’d let her hormones run her mouth wild without thinking. Now he’d get to her daddy first. With Brodie talking about keeping her, only disaster could be waiting for her at home. Her daddy would never hand her over to the MacAuley twins just for sex, but marriage…
Already worn through by Danny and Brodie, Jamie rallied what little sanity she had left and turned to confront Caelen as his shadow moved in to consume her. Customary hands on hips and an unusual scowl on his face, he just shook his head sadly.
Opening his arms without a word, he offered her the old childhood shelter she’d always sought when life went awry. Old habits may fade, but some never truly died. The urge to find the comfort she knew existed in his hug overwhelmed any greater need to prove some point. With a whimper, she stepped into his embrace and snuggled herself right into her old spot as his arms tightened around her.
Caelen had always been her safety blanket. Even if he had ripped that security away the last time she’d ever seen him when he’d sided with Brodie and turned his back on her. That didn’t change this moment and how it felt just like all the old ones—safe.
Comforted by his scent, caressed by the soft cotton of his warn shirt, intoxicated by the feel of his strength beneath, she could have existed in the security of his embrace for a lifetime. With a sigh, he rubbed his cheek into the top of her hair. Her bonnet had been loosened with her scuffle with Danny and lost completely during her one with Brodie.
“You really do know how to make a mess, don’t you, darlin’?”
Jamie sniffed and let go of the past. She’d been nothing more than a little girl pinning all her hopes on her heroes. Jamie knew different now. She took responsibility for herself and her future. A future she didn’t intend to spend locked under the control of Brodie and Caelen.
“And I know how to clean them up. Say what you want, Caelen. I was handling this one just fine without your interference.”
“Explain it to your father, girl.” That traditional response came along with his well-known, broken-down smile.
Despite her intentions to remain as in control as she did when she ran her business, Jamie felt herself crumbling beneath that look. It almost horrified her to hear the mutter come from her own lips. “All Brodie’s going to do is upset my daddy because there ain’t nothing he can do.”
Caelen pursed his lips as if he gave that any consideration before shrugging. “You really got to consider the ramifications of taking that stance. If you’re saying that you are the person in charge of you, well then you a
re only as strong as you are alone, Jamie.”
“Don’t doubt that I don’t know that, Caelen.”
* * * *
For a moment, the vision before him wavered into memories of the past. Brodie had always been good at upsetting Jamie. She’d get that pout on her lips before she gave him the big-eyed, lost look that wore down his resistance. That had been then, though.
Now, she didn’t try to manipulate him but looked off toward the horizon that Brodie had disappeared into with an air of determination. It unnerved him because he knew well just how hard Jamie used to push, and he felt pretty sure she pushed harder now.
Five years back, Caelen had sided with Brodie and turned his back on Jamie to save her from the erotic games they liked to play with their women. It had been hard enough to control the impulse, but with her like this, it would be impossible. The very idea of having Jamie in his bed only fed the darker reaches of his wickedness. If she pushed now…
“And just what is it you’re going to try and talk my father into this time, Caelen?”
Certainly not into what he truly intended to do to his daughter. Not that Sheridan would get in his way. All Jamie’s dad could do was make things more difficult for him and Brodie. The more difficult they got, the more delights Jamie would suffer when it came time to bow down.
Those truths wouldn’t convince Jamie to just accept their fate but probably make her even more determined to drive him deeper into the erotic recesses of his imagination with her redoubled resistance. Better for the little darling to just avoid the argument, especially with the last battle still lingering over her in a fine layer of dust.
Her perfect curls now clumped in disheveled balls and the crisp cut of her outfit hung tattered and wrinkled from her body. A disheveled mess, just like she’d always been. Swiping a patch of dirt from her chin with his thumb, he pointedly changed the conversation.
“Maybe you ought to clean yourself up a little before we get you home.”
Jamie’s look only hardened at that comment. “I have a right to have a say in my own future, Caelen. I’m not a little kid anymore. If Brodie has something to say about me to my father, then I should have the chance to defend myself.”
The stubborn tilt of her chin only added to the sweetly earnest look she pinned on him. It had been too long since he’d shared these kinds of moments with her. Too long and now…now they could end just the way he’d dreamt of.
Cupping her frowning face between his palms, he stepped right into the question that parted her lips and sealed it inside with his own. Just as sweet as he’d dreamed she’d be. Caelen took his time, savoring this first kiss that had been years in the making. Exploring the soft recesses of her mouth, she held perfectly still beneath his hold until he started teasing her tongue into playing with his own.
Then like a humid day giving over to the rain, she collapsed against him. All soft curves melting into the slow, sensual dance of a woman in need, she tempted the savage man buried in his soul. Like a primitive call, her teasing motions made him burn with the need to feel her skin to skin with nothing barring the delicious friction of her motions from scorching him alive.
Caelen almost gave into the urge to drag her to the ground and claim her as his, but a cold wash of reality chased the liquid heat of need down his spine as her lips clamped around his tongue and sucked. Tendrils of flames licked over his balls, even as the sure knowledge that another man had taught her all these tricks had them shriveling back up under the cold reality that he’d let that happen.
The sudden, painful lash of jealousy had him releasing her lips. He shouldn’t blame her for what was his fault, but that didn’t stop the anger from tightening through his gut. The glazed look of desire in her big, honey eyes didn’t help at all. It only served to make him wonder if she responded to him or if her husband had trained her well enough to respond to any man.
The insecurity made him gruffer than he should have been as he released her. “I guess we should get moving if you wanna catch up with Brodie.”
Jamie blinked and bit her lower lip as indecision danced in her eyes. His decision not to mention the kiss apparently made her mind come to the same conclusion. “What about him?”
She nodded toward where Caelen had tied up the bloody and bruised man to a tree. He didn’t bother to look in the same direction. “If he don’t find help, he’ll be dead by morning.”
“I guess we’ll leave it to God then.”
Chapter 4
Jamie’s heart raced faster than Caelen’s horse as the massive beast galloped full-speed to catch up to Brodie’s. Catching him would only rile the demon inside Brodie, only make things harder once they all crashed into her daddy’s door.
That guarantee shined in the dark look he shot her from under the brim of his hat as Caelen’s horse pulled alongside his. They made it, just in the very nick of time, clearing the first fences of her daddy’s ranch side by side.
Over the past weeks of travel, Jamie had envisioned this moment in so many ways, and Brodie’s grim disposition didn’t ruin it for her. Savoring the thrill at being enveloped in the comforting landscape of home, Jamie smiled as she scanned the pastures.
Taking in all the changes, it pleased her to see all the old, familiar cluster of buildings containing everything from chicken coops to barns and even a few houses for people to live in. Gardens and corrals tucked in between the wooden structures, as stray trees peppered the yards with cherished spots of shade.
The dogs that normally spent their day riled with excitement, herding anything that would run from them, had piled into a large pack under one such tree. With the ranch calm and quiet, they roused slowly from their nap to take note of the intruders galloping through the fields. It took a moment, but once one hefted itself to its paws and gave a questioning bark, the rest followed suit.
From sleep to a full-on frenzy, the dogs came nipping at the horses’ heels before they’d cleared the half of the distance to the large house sitting in the center of the pasture. Well accustomed to dogs, the horses still snorted and stomped in annoyance as the pack surrounded them. Seconds later, the entire mess pulled to a stop at the foot of her daddy’s porch. Yapping and hopping with glee at having caught their prey, the hounds pooled underfoot, trying to figure out what to do with it now.
That was their problem. Jamie had bigger ones-- ones that soared over six feet and surely weighted in at over two hundred pounds each. The easier of the two at least let her slide free to hit the ground before him, but not before Brodie. His boots had already started to pound through the dirt, but the dog pile got in his way with their exuberant greeting.
Jamie took the advantage to rush up the porch steps, fully intending to get through the front door and lock Brodie out. She didn’t make it but to the top step before the door flew open and Sheridan Traynor stood there staring at her with a startled scowl on his face. “Jamie?”
“Daddy,” she cried, throwing herself against him to give him as big a hug as she could. “It’s good to see you,” she gasped as she tightened her arms as hard as they could go.
He didn’t return the gesture. Still stuck on shocked, he braced his hands on her shoulders, forcing her back far enough so he could double check just who had called him Daddy. “Jamie?”
Though he had the right to be surprised, his reaction still came in less than she’d imagined. “Aren’t you happy to see me, Daddy?”
“Uh...yes, yes. Of course.” Sheridan recovered from the stiff confusion that had held him long enough to give her a hug of his own. “It’s just an unexpected surprise is all, but there isn’t any way I wouldn’t be happy to see my baby girl. Now let me…what happened to you?”
“What? This?” Jamie looked down at herself as if in surprise that her father would even notice her rumpled and torn appearance. “It was nothing, just a little—”
“No, it was not nothing,” Brodie interjected. He lashed onto Jamie’s arm as he spoke, stepping up even as he dragged her away from her fa
ther. “You will not believe what your daughter—”
Jamie cut Brodie’s argument off by sticking a foot out and tripping him. She added a shove against his back to make sure he went down face first onto the porch deck. Jumping back before he got crushed by Brodie’s massive falling weight, Sheridan turned shocked eyes on his daughter.
“Jamie!”
She ignored her father to deliver a swift kick to Brodie’s ass before he could roll over. “I’ve had just about enough of you, Brodie MacAuley. This is my life, and I’ll thank you not to go putting your nose in it.”
Brodie responded with more than just an aggressive snap back to his feet. “That’s two.”
“You’ve done your good deed for the day, Mr. MacAuley,” Jamie retorted with a total lack of sincerity. “Now I’ll thank you very much to leave so that I may have some privacy for my reunion with my father.”
“I’m not going anywhere, darlin’.” Brodie almost seemed to grow before her eyes as he flexed every muscle. He was no doubt trying to restrain whatever barbaric impulse had just entered his head. If her daddy hadn’t been standing there, Jamie might have been in serious trouble. “Not until you answer some questions and I have my own private conversation with your father.”
Like a damn dog with a bone, she wished she could just smack him on the nose to get him to drop it. “Questions? I don’t owe you any answers. You’re not my husband.”
“And just where is he?”
“That’s none of your concern.”
Brodie’s nostrils flared as he snarled with barely leached ferocity. “It is my concern when I have to risk my own neck to rescue his stupid, little wife.”
Jamie gasped at that and reeled back. “Excuse me, but you didn’t rescue me. I rescued myself. I don’t need to be rescued by some overgrown, egotistical, whiny little pansy to ride in and take all the credit.”