by Aliyah Burke
A personal hand signal had the dog parking his ass beside her. Derek rocked back on his heels before approaching. Those big eyes followed him every step of the way. Derek went with her as she popped the trunk. He reached for her bag and lifted it with ease to place it at their feet.
No denying she cared deeply for her dog. There were more items for the canine in there.
“Food for the dog?”
“Black duffel.”
He took that and hefted her bag. “Close the trunk and let’s go get you settled. We can take your dog out after.”
She reached for the metal and his heart ached at the site of the scars there on her exposed forearm. Ones he knew she received in captivity.
He had two stories but had converted the second floor to his home office. So he put her downstairs on the opposite side of the home from him. Not where he wanted her, but for now this would do. Opening the bedroom door, he set the bags down but didn’t enter. The dog went by him and lay on the braided rug in the middle of the floor.
“Linens are fresh. Towels are in the bathroom and more in the closet there. Make yourself at home. Dog, too, although knowing his name would be nice.”
“Cao.”
“Nice.” He stepped back. “Come up front when you’re ready and we will take him out.”
“We’re ready now.”
Another hand gesture and the dog was again at her side.
“Cao’s well-trained.”
She ruffled his head. “He’s my best man.”
The title that should be for me.
“You can leave him out as long as you want. These border properties belong to my brothers.”
“He won’t wander but he will enjoy being able to stretch his legs.”
They bundled back up and exited out onto the back porch. He stayed up top while she and her dog went down. They ran in the increasing snow, obviously more at ease. Whether it was because he remained there or because they were just enjoying the time outside, he wasn’t sure.
His pocket buzzed with his phone and he yanked it free to answer without checking the screen.
“What?”
He wanted to growl and snap. His protectiveness was in full force combined with he didn’t want others there. This was their time to figure things out.
“Mind your tone with me, Derek Logan. You may be grown but you ain’t that big.”
“Ma?”
“What’s this about you suddenly not coming to dinner? You told me to set another place, why are we not getting you or your mysterious guest? Plus there’s the things I need you to get from Emma’s.”
“Ma, I —”
“This is the first meal we will have since you got back. I know you’re not thinking anything else is more important.”
“Ma —”
“I fully expect to see you at my house, at my dinner table, in forty-five minutes. Weather is getting bad, better get a move on.”
She was gone.
Derek sighed and stared at the black device in his hand. Orders were orders. A tingle up his spine had him sighing.
“What are you doing here, Wild?”
“Told you I’d be back in an hour. It’s been longer.”
Derek hadn’t a clue about that.
“Hi, Derek.” Alyse patted him on the shoulder as she went by him, heading down across the lawn toward Avery.
He didn’t speak, just watched as the women hugged, then Alyse dropped to one knee to pet Cao.
“I don’t want to hear it, Wild. I’m telling you, right now. I’m overly protective and possessive. I’m not in a joking mood.”
His brother stood beside him, staring in the same direction. Derek was confident his sibling was focused on his wife.
“I know. I knew from the moment you laid eyes on her. From that moment, in Guatemala, you were the one who would have killed Rhodi were Adam and I not there to stop you. The one I am sure you were on missions for the SEALs.”
Derek shrugged. “I warned him.”
“I know that, too. I won’t lie and say this obsession you had with her didn’t worry me. Still does.”
Wild’s words registered but he still didn’t look away from Avery.
“How soon did you know with Alyse that she was your one?”
“Almost immediately. That tension built up in my chest from those missions, you know the ones.”
He did. All too well. The ones that went sideways.
Wild grunted.
“Right, those.” He blinked as the snow increased tenfold.
“From the first moment I touched her, they went away and I knew she was my calming force.”
He faced his brother. “She is mine.” Focusing back on the women, he sighed. “Avery, we need to go.”
Even from this distance he couldn’t miss the tension radiating from her at his words. When Alyse slipped her arm through Avery’s it faded a bit, but only a bit.
“You need to relax, Derek. You’re going to scare her.”
“I feel she’s in danger and I don’t want her in the open.”
Wild touched his shoulder.
“What?”
“Relax. She’s here. I get it, man, honest I do. We’re going to go to dinner with Mom. You have to relax, she’s safe.”
He struggled to rein it in and felt as if he teetered on the edge. He stared at the woman approaching. So tiny compared to him. Delicate, perhaps, to be a more appropriate term. Despite outward appearances, she contained an iron will.
She’d had to be for her to survive what she had. Even now, seeing her with Alyse, he had the overwhelming urge to hold her. As strong, if not stronger, than when he first laid eyes on her.
Avery smiled at something Alyse said and his heart caught for an entirely new reason. The smile completely transformed her, driving away all the fear and uncertainty, allowing her beauty to shine through.
“Breathe.”
Wild’s voice penetrated his single-minded focus.
“I suppose you’re bringing the dog as well?”
“He’s calming for her.”
“More to him than meets the eye. Service dog?”
“I think protection. It doesn’t just watch her, but everything.”
Wild grunted as the women neared. “Good way not to advertise it. Using a retriever.”
He nodded and went to the steps, holding out his hand to Avery. Alyse smiled as she moved by him, Avery placed her hand in his, her skin far colder than he would’ve liked.
Closing his fingers around her hand, he drew her close. “You’re freezing.”
“I’m okay.”
“We need to go.” He met his brother’s gaze. Alyse was wrapped in his arms. “I have to swing by Emma’s first.”
“Let’s head out.” Wild tugged on Alyse’s hair before going back into the house.
Derek followed, keeping Avery tucked against him. Wild and Alyse hurried to the vehicle and he unlocked the door to his.
“Get in. I’m going to put your car in the garage. Give me your keys.”
She passed them over without a word, even as her eyes went to Cao.
“He goes too. I’ll be right back.”
In her car he had to adjust the seat, but it didn’t take him long to put it there and be back in the vehicle with her and Cao.
Derek pulled out after Wild and made sure to close the gate once they went through.
Chapter Three
Her eyes hurt. Avery fought the urge to rub them. Snow had picked up even more but the man behind the wheel wasn’t bothered by it. It wasn’t a guess on her part, just knowledge.
The SUV had been jacked up with oversized wheels. The ride was smooth and she felt safe and warm. Her sleep on the road had been sporadic at best, fear of the men her father hired would show to take her back. Then, of course, there were the nightmares.
However, right here, she teetered on the edge of exhaustion. Add to that the low, soft strands of R&B music flowing to her ears in the cab was a continual nudge to that edge.
>
He didn’t force conversations, and as the vehicle slowed her body woke from her light doze. They were pulling up to a nice house—smaller than Derek’s yet, even from here, she could feel the love streaming from it.
“Come on, Avery.” He had parked and open the door on her side.
I dozed again.
He assisted her, having her slide down the planes of his hard body. Avery wanted to stay there in his arms, yet didn’t fight as he placed her on the snow-covered ground before stepping to the back door to let Cao out.
Her dog leaned against her and she dug for the tab to put on his collar. She made it, black material with blue and purple designs on it and a silver hook.
Derek held out his hand. She placed hers in his, and she spied Wild and Alyse waiting and watching. Derek wrapped his arm around her when she made it to his side. The bag was in his other hand.
At the door, she struggled not to show any fear.
“You’re safe here, Avery. Promise.”
Wild and Alyse entered while she and Cao followed with Derek. Warmth and sense of mouthwatering temptation hit her.
“Oh, a dog!”
She saw a young, towheaded child run toward Cao. However, before he could get there, Wild scooped him up.
“You can’t just run up to a dog, Brayden. You have to ask for permission.”
Two of the kids coming were in diapers. Nope, .make that three.
“How is he with kids?” Derek’s deep rumble rolled over her.
“Cao loves kids, he never intentionally harms them.”
Derek looked at her. “We’ll discuss your wording later.”
They introduced the dogs to the kids. Brayden, Tyler, Hamilton, and Sarah. Then it was the adults’ turn.
She shook hands and met the rest of Derek’s family. The brothers — except for Wild — were dark-haired with deep blue eyes. Rhodi was with Karen — parents of Brandon and Sarah. Wild and Alyse had Tyler, an adorable girl with caramel skin and dark brown ringlets. Adam and Shelley Marie — a redhead — had a small black-haired boy named Hamilton.
“How did you and my son meet?”
That question came from the mama bear.
“He assisted me when I most needed help.”
Derek placed his hand along the small of her back, fingers lightly stroking. Mrs. Wilder’s eyes, like the three boys, softened. “That’s my son, always helping people who need it.” That gaze grew shrewd. “And you’re here now, why?”
“She’s spending some time with me.” Derek’s comment fell right away without any awkward silence.
“I see.”
Avery felt she did see, all too much.
“Dinner will be ready shortly.”
“Let me help,” Karen said, heading off to the kitchen as well.
Shelley Marie went also and she wondered if she was expected to follow. The question was answered when Derek guided her to a couch and told her to sit beside him. He draped his arm over the back, fingertips brushing her shoulder.
“Is everything okay, Avery?” Wild asked. She zoomed in on the way he touched his wife. Constant, and she leaned into him. Alyse had been the one who had flown her home. She’d been kind. Still was by all accounts.
“I am.”
“Are you sure?” Adam this time. “I’ve spoken to your father. He is worried. Said you talked about traveling then vanished without a word. No bodyguards.”
“I will leave, I have no wish to cause problems.”
Derek tightened his grip on her. “You’re not going anywhere. You’re not causing problems.”
“Avery.” Adam again. “We just need to know, not because we want you to leave. Do you have —”
“Supper’s ready. Come eat.” Mrs. Wilder’s voice rang with firm authority.
“Let’s go, it’s best not to keep Mom waiting.”
Avery swallowed, desperately wishing she didn’t feel so out of her league. It wasn’t as if she hadn’t been to family dinners and important meetings, not with her parents being who they were, but this was different. On so many levels she couldn’t even begin to count them.
This had to do with the one man who’d owned her fantasies for so long she wasn’t entirely sure she wasn’t still indulging in one now as opposed to being with him in real life. So lost in her own thoughts, she flinched when he touched her wrist.
Instantly, Derek released her. Concern leached from his gaze as he watched her face for any signs of distress and discomfort. She forced a small smile to tip up her lips, desperately wanting to put him at ease. This time, when he reached out his hand, he didn’t touch her he waited for her to accept and make the first contact.
Hands together, Derek led her to kitchen where she stopped with a small gasp. The large dining area off of the kitchen was a large table laden with food, plates, and chairs for everyone, children included. Once again that overwhelming feeling reached her and she wasn’t sure where she was supposed to go, what she should be doing, or what they wanted from her.
Everyone around her knew exactly where to go and filed to the respective seats, adults helping the children laughter and soft conversation flowing around her. This was the epitome of a family dinner. Something she’d read about and had watched on movies, especially those Hallmark kinds.
Derek’s hand released hers for a moment and fear swarmed. Seconds later his touch graced the small of her back, gently pushing and guiding her towards a chair. He pulled it out for her, waited for her to sit, and then pushed her back in to the table.
Moments later he claimed the chair beside her on her left side, and maneuvered his chair so their legs touched. Skimming her glance over him as she turned to find where Cao was, she found he had entered the dining area and lay behind her. Out of the way should somebody need to walk around, yet in true form in the place he could protect her. With a hand signal she told him to stay then faced forward once more.
Alyse sat beside her on her right side. Next to her was their daughter Tyler, and on the other side of the small child was her dad. A clenching in her chest occurred when she noticed the way he brushed his lips over his daughter’s forehead. How was her father doing? Was he worried about her?
She blinked away tears, determined not to let them fall and show anyone else how concerned she actually was about having left her father with no words and where she was. It didn’t matter, she should have known better.
Derek leaned over and whispered in her ear, “We will let your father know you’re okay after dinner.”
After grace, she watched in awe as this family dynamic exploded before her. Loud, raucous, and entirely what she’d never had growing up. There was joking, playful threats, and more amongst the siblings.
Even the wives got in on the action, as did the mother. Never once did they let her feel like a stranger. Derek and his brothers included her in the jokes and the stories, opening her eyes to a world she’d only dreamed of. Children were well behaved and as she observed it became painfully clear Mrs. Wilder was one helluva matriarch. She’d raised her children right.
After dessert, Avery got up and helped clear the table along with put food away while the guys did the dishes. It didn’t matter where she was in the kitchen, it never seemed to fail that Derek found a way to brush up against her to let her know he was thinking of her. Even through the cleanup the jokes and teasing continued.
Little by little, the families left until it was Derek and her and Wild’s family, who were the only ones left in the house with the mother. She hadn’t missed the looks and silent communication between the brothers, however, and knew that they would be brought up to speed as soon as they got their family’s home.
Interested in the large window in the front, she leaned against the wall, staring out the glass as Cao lay at her feet. She could hardly see past the light from the house, the snow was falling so heavily, and as she rubbed her arms she was eternally grateful she wasn’t out still trying to drive in this.
Alyse walked up next to her and slid an arm ar
ound her waist as if they were friends and had been for the longest time. A wonderful feeling if she wanted to stop and think about it. Accepting the gesture as it was meant to be comforting and friendly, Avery smiled at her.
“I have to tell you, Avery. The first time I had dinner here it was pretty much announced that I was Wild’s woman. I tried to deny it, but none of them believed me. This family is extremely close and there aren’t secrets between them. Wild and Derek are the closest with each other, which is why we’re still here. I’m not telling you all this to scare you, or worry you. I want you to know we are your family now. If you have a problem, you come to us, any one of us, it doesn’t matter we’re here for you.”
Fighting the urge to rest her head on Alyse’s shoulder, Avery smiled. “I hardly think my being here makes me Derek’s woman, but thank you for saying what you did. I know you didn’t have to and I know you do mean it. I’m an only child, never had siblings. This dinner was a lot for me in some ways, and in others everything I wish I could’ve had myself.”
Alyse chuckled. “If you truly think Derek hasn’t claimed you, we really need to talk about your eyesight. Unless you can stand there and tell me by looking me in the eye that he wasn’t touching you all through dinner.”
Closing her eyes, she fought back the blush that threatened to rise in her cheeks. Alyse started laughing. She dropped her arm and crossed them over her chest, one eyebrow arched.
“I thought as much.”
What did one say to that? Avery had no response, so she opted to remain silent. Something, she found out moments later, that was in her wisest course of action.
The men showed up, Wild moving up behind his wife and wrapping his arms around her waist. Derek appeared beside her, slipping one arm around her back and brushing his lips against her temple.
“What’s so funny that we missed?” Wild propped his chin on Alyse’s head even as he held Avery’s gaze.
Both men flicked their gazes back and forth between her and Alyse, yet she couldn’t find the wherewithal to give them any sort of response.
“I’m sorry, Avery. Did you want to tell them or do you want me to?” Alyse’s tone was full of laughter.
“I was kind of hoping we could forget the discussion ever happened.”