As Butch rather clumsily attempted to mount Gigi, Dominic cursed. “Goddamn it. I’m going to get his ass fixed.”
“I don’t think his ass needs fixing. His dick on the other hand seems really interested in Gigi. Aw, look. He’s frustrated. He can’t get it in there with that sheet wrapped around her.”
“Well, aren’t you a fucking comedian?” Dominic groused.
Law sent him a deprecating shrug, then shot to his feet with a frown. “Damn it, how is Kinley planning on getting out? That window is too high. She’s going to break her neck. I’ve got to stop her.”
“Wait.” Dominic stayed Law with a tap on the arm. “Would you look at that? I’ve got to hand it to her.”
“How did she manage to not only get herself through that window, but fashion a rope from the rest of the bed sheets?” Riley was stunned. “Shit! She’s rappelling down the side of the house in heels.”
She was trying to run away from her kidnappers in stilettos. Riley couldn’t see their color on the black and white feed, but he imagined them as fire engine red. And damn, he couldn’t focus on anything but those heels. They would make her legs look a million miles long as he spread her wide for his cock. Well, when someone else did all that. He wasn’t touching her.
“Yeah, and look at that ass in those jeans. Damn.” Law sighed and adjusted his fly.
His brother was right.
On the screen, Kinley hit the ground and immediately tried shooing Butch away from Gigi. She scooped her dog up, but Butch just barked happily like it was all a game. They could hear the commotion coming from around the side of the house.
“Be quiet,” Kinley hissed in a whisper that he heard clear as a bell. “Nice dog. Hush. Go find your master.”
Dominic groaned. “Does she know what that word does to my cock? Fuck, yeah, I could master her.”
Riley had kind of thought the same. Except he refused to be led around by his dick like the dog and his brothers by some female destined to leave them. He was too smart for that. “Are either one of you going to stop her?”
Dominic and Law just stared at the tablet like it held all the secrets of the world.
“Soon. I want to see what she’s going to do. I’m at a complete loss with this girl,” Dominic admitted.
“She’s going to get away,” Riley pointed out.
“Dude, she can’t even get rid of Butch. I doubt she’s going to make it very far, especially in those heels. They’re sexy but fucking impractical.” Law pointed to the screen where she was shoving Gigi into her oversized purse and pulling at her roller bag as she pleaded with Butch to stay. “Do you see her trekking miles to civilization in those shoes?”
“And that’s if she even knows where to go.” Dominic started around the end of the porch. “But it looks like she’s trying to head north. Why is she going toward the forest?”
Riley followed him with Law trailing after. “Maybe she just wants to find cover.”
Law snorted. “She should want to find a road. I don’t think she really believes she’s in Alaska. I bet she thinks she’ll walk a mile or two and find a town.”
“We’re not going to let her get that far, right?” Riley prompted.
Kinley wouldn’t do well out in the wilderness. She would be all alone, and he’d bet she had zero outdoor skills, like starting a fire or building shelter, much less knowing what plants were safe to eat. In fact, she might have negative skills since she seemed to think that her heels were proper footwear for mountainous terrain.
Law left the porch as she hobbled to the side of the house, giving them a clear line of sight. Kinley shoved her hair aside with one hand and tried to shoo Butch using her roller bag with the other.
“Nah, I just want to see how far she’ll go before she runs back here,” Law said finally. “She’s being impulsive. She does this a lot. In the end, she’s always sensible. Trust me.”
Law was the subject matter expert when it came to Kinley Kohl. Just as he said the words, she stopped, and Riley watched as her shoulders rolled and she drew in a deep breath. She seemed to be having an argument with herself.
“See, Kinley is telling herself that she’s being stubborn,” Law explained. “She did the same thing when she went to the spa to get a bikini wax earlier this week. She stood outside that damn building for twenty minutes telling herself that she was being dumb and that most women didn’t shape their pubic hair into a style. Finally, she made the right decision and got a full Brazilian.”
“How the hell do you know that?”
“I listened in on her conversation with Annabelle,” Law explained. “There’s a coffee shop right next door. She sat down at one of the tables. I was beside her. At first, I was pissy that she waxed for that douchebag, but then I didn’t care why her pussy was soft and ready to eat. I just appreciated that it was. She might have been thinking of him when she did it, but I’ll be the one reaping the reward. Oh, look, she’s not ready to make the right call yet.”
She started walking again. Butch was still following along, but now Gigi had decided she wanted dick more than designer luggage since she was trying to climb free of her carrier.
Kinley’s blonde hair bounced with every wobbling step she took. Heels in soft earth just didn’t make a stride easy. She’d put on a sweater, but it didn’t cover her ass. That luscious, gorgeous backside swayed, and Riley couldn’t seem to pry his stare from her juicy cheeks. That was an ass made for a man’s hands. The rhinestones all over her butt glittered in the sun, a veritable Get It Here sign right across her tush.
She turned slightly as though she felt eyes on her, but she didn’t see them under the shadow of the porch.
God, she was an adorable bundle of chaos, Riley admitted. Definitely not someone who overthought everything, the way he tended to. Kinley lit up a room with just her smile. She fucking glowed. Okay, so she was naïve and didn’t always make the most rational choices when she let her emotions rule. Because she used her heart far more than her head.
Riley stared with a thoughtful sigh. She needed a man. Or two. Or three.
Damn, but she was getting to him.
“Oh, shit.” Dominic pointed to the edge of the tree line where the forest started ahead.
A massive moose lumbered along. Kinley focused on Butch barking behind her.
“Kinley! Baby, watch out!” Law yelled as he jogged toward her.
Butch started growling at the moose. Kinley finally turned around—and her whole body went rigid. She gasped.
“It won’t hurt you!” Law yelled.
It wouldn’t charge her, but it might kick her if she got too close.
“It’s an herbivore!” Dominic promised, laughing. It had been months and months since Riley had seen Dominic even crack a smile. “Do you think the moose likes designer luggage?”
Kinley let out a little scream, then turned and staggered as fast as her heels would take her. She didn’t just run from the moose. She darted straight toward Law, dumping everything on the ground except Gigi and her carrier, then practically jumped into his arms, wrapping her legs around him.
Law’s whole body shook with the force of his laughter, but he held her like he meant to protect her, no matter what. He didn’t even seem to mind that Gigi’s head poked out of the purse and that she seemed intent on licking every inch of his arm.
“Law is in love with her,” Riley muttered. “Fuck.”
“Yeah.” Dominic sobered. “And Law’s only going to fall once. If this doesn’t work out, he’ll mourn her for the rest of his life. I can’t fix it, man. If this was another time, another place, I would be all in. I like her. She’s a little impractical and stubborn at times, but she’s also loyal and so damn sweet that I almost can’t help myself.”
“But we have to help ourselves because this isn’t going to end well.” Riley couldn’t stand the thought of his brothers being hurt. But unless Law changed course, it was inevitable. And if Dominic hopped on the bandwagon, too…shit.
An
d Riley hated the ache that split his chest as he watched Law turn and head back to the house, still carrying Kinley. His brother’s face was completely open and happy. She said something, looking both terrified and animated. Law howled again, then leaned in to brush his lips against hers. She met him halfway. When the kiss was over, she didn’t try to retreat, but simply buried her face in his neck and held on.
“You’re right. It probably won’t end well,” Dominic admitted, his prior joy draining from his face. “But I think you should be ready to let Law make his own mistakes. If she wants him, then let him be happy for however long it lasts. Not every woman plays with a man like Simone,” he reminded. “I’m going to go grab her bags before the moose decides to take a dump on them. We need to get a lock on that window.”
“There’s so much nature, Law. It’s everywhere!” Kinley insisted as Law carried her to the porch. “Why is there so much of it?”
“It’s Alaska, baby. Nature is a big selling point here. No one comes to this part of the world expecting a Neiman’s around the corner.” Law glanced his way. “I’m going to sit her down and feed her some breakfast. Do you want anything?”
Riley didn’t want food. He was shocked to realize that, deep down, he wanted to feel the way Law felt now. Some dangerously yearning spot inside him railed that she didn’t cling to him—or even look his way. He wanted to know her, feel like he had a place beside her.
He had to stop thinking this shit.
“No. I’ve got some work to do. Come on, Butch. Let’s go look at that window.”
The dog utterly ignored him, following Law, Kinley, and Gigi inside.
Everyone had a crush it seemed.
He watched through the window as Law sat Kinley at the table and poured her a cup of coffee. She peeked at Law from beneath her lashes and bit her lower lip, her eyes downcast until he handed her the mug. Then her brilliant smile damn near lit up the whole house.
Riley took a step back. He was not falling for a woman to try to share with his brothers again. He couldn’t. She was Law’s. Dominic could flirt with sharing a corner of their sheets or whatever. Not his problem, and Riley knew he had to let this go. If the other two didn’t care about getting burned again, that was their call. They’d see the light when she used her charm to escape, this time for good. Kinley didn’t really want them, and the fairy tale complete with the picket fence Law was envisioning would never happen. The sooner he and Dom figured that out, the better.
With a sigh, Riley went back to work.
* * * *
Kinley took a long swallow of her wine and stared at the accounting books spread across the table in front of her. Hours and hours had gone by since she’d escaped, only to turn around and run back into her captor’s arms.
Moose shouldn’t be that big. Like huge. Enormous. And slobbery. That thing could seriously put out the mucous.
“You all right?” Riley Anders stood in the doorway, leaning negligently against it.
He was heartbreakingly gorgeous, and it was so obvious that he wanted nothing to do with her. He was the only one who never invaded her space, who stayed as far from her as possible.
She knew these men considered themselves so close that they were all for one and one for all. If Riley didn’t want her, she was screwed. Or not screwed.
“I’m okay.” Except that she was dumber than dirt, and the evidence in front of her proved it. The last six weeks showed a series of payouts that she couldn’t account for. And apparently her accountant wasn’t doing his job anymore for whatever reason. Someone had been keeping the books, but nothing like meticulous Steve.
And she was a fool because she just knew she was falling for the men who had kidnapped her.
Nothing in the world had felt so right as running toward Law this morning. Even as she’d crawled out the window, something inside her kept insisting she was making a huge mistake. But logic told her that she should want to escape her abductors, so she’d kept walking. Very quickly, Kinley had realized that she knew absolutely nothing about surviving in the woods. And obviously, they hadn’t lied about the whole Alaska thing. The sun didn’t stay down for very long. She’d managed to sleep a little, but the lack of darkness threw off her whole system.
So did they.
Riley stood in the doorway, almost staring a hole through her. “How about the rat thing?”
She wasn’t sure she liked them referring to her dog as a rat. “Gigi is fine now that’s she’s been fed.”
Riley frowned. “Is that what all the barking was about? For such a little thing, she can be awfully loud.”
Gigi was simply a dog who knew what she wanted. “She’s used to a certain feeding schedule. The whole kidnapping thing threw us off. If she starts up again, she’s likely hungry so if you want her to stop, feed her a little something. And she’s smart. She knows where the food is. She’ll come running into the kitchen at least twice a day barking up a storm now that she knows where the food bowls are kept.”
“Good to know,” Riley said. He looked back at the door as though he was contemplating walking back out, but then he seemed to come to a decision. That straight-line jaw of his firmed. “Are you going to run again?”
After the whole snot-nosed moose incident? “No. Now that I’ve seen what’s out there, I feel much safer here. You’re not going to murder me and leave my body in the woods, are you?”
“No.” He took a single step toward her. “We really are trying to help you. Your boyfriend meant to kill you.”
She’d just about accepted that fact. “He was never my boyfriend, just my fiancé. That may sound weird, but a boyfriend is someone who wants you. A fiancé can be bought. I should know.”
She’d bought Greg with her name, her connections, and apparently her charity.
Riley stared at the floor. “I wouldn’t know about that. I’ve never had enough money to buy one.”
She heard the bitter tone of his voice. “Yeah, well, I would tell you to hold out for someone you love. The whole sacrifice thing tends to go wrong.”
“Is that how you saw it? A sacrifice?”
She’d been sacrificing her whole life. She’d given up so much time, energy, and love. She’d always thought that, while her sister and father meant well, they struggled with self-discipline and showing affection. But now she knew they simply didn’t have any kind of a conscience.
“Yes. I was marrying Greg because I firmly believed my father had cancer and my charity was going under. The economy has been bad. Donations are way down. Hope House was the work of my mom’s heart. I couldn’t let it die. And the thought of my dad having cancer and no insurance nearly killed me. Mom was the one who worked. Dad, uhm…he didn’t think about practicalities like paying bills and stuff.”
“Or he was too busy gambling to send his check in.”
She started to protest and stopped. Because it was true. “Yeah.”
“So you were marrying Greg to save your dad and your charity?”
“And because I was lonely.” Her heart ached, and she was too tired to lie. “I’m twenty-five and I’ve never had a lover. I was lonely, and I wanted a family before it was too late.”
He was silent for a long moment. “You want a family? Like a husband and kids and a white picket fence?”
That had been the dream, but… “I think I would take love any way it came to me.”
He laughed, but it was a bitter thing. “I’ve never known a woman like you to care about love.”
“A woman like me?”
“Pampered. Rich.”
“Money doesn’t buy happiness, Riley. And we’ve already covered that it can’t buy love. At the end of the day, I’m just a woman. I can’t speak for all of them, but me? I just want to have a good life.”
“What would a good life be?”
That idea hadn’t changed in the years since she’d first understood what the word family meant. “Someone who loves me. Someone I could love back. Children. A purpose that’s meaningful. I�
�m not talking about fame. I don’t care if anyone knows who I am. I just want to make a difference. I want to make other people’s lives better because I walked the earth. I want to make the people who love me proud. Is that too much to ask? I guess it is, because I don’t seem to be able to do it.”
He stared, a long moment passing before he spoke. “I hope you find it. I came in here for a reason. Uhm, Jansen is on TV right now. Look, Law doesn’t want you to watch this, but I think you should. You’re strong enough to handle the truth. Greg is holding press conferences and telling people you were taken. He’s trying to make a case for you to return to him.”
“Why?”
“Well, for starters, if you married Jansen, you wouldn’t be compelled to testify against him.”
“Show me.” She wanted to see whatever Law sought to protect her from. It was sweet that he didn’t want her hurt or upset, but she needed to know. She was quickly realizing that she wanted what these men could give her. Law offered utter devotion. He would try to shield her with every ounce of his being. Dominic challenged her. He wanted her to be smarter, better than she thought she could be.
And Riley was an equal, who supposedly appreciated life and humor and the people he shared them with. Which was why it hurt so much that he wasn’t interested.
He turned on the TV hanging on the opposite wall and changed the channel to a twenty-four- hour news network. Greg’s face immediately came up. He was wearing a perfectly pressed suit as he spoke to the camera. It didn’t look like he’d missed any sleep.
“Someone took my fiancée. I can only pray they treat her well. She’s my heart. She’s the better half of me. I’m begging for Kinley’s swift return.”
A voice came from the audience. “How do you reply to Kellan Kent’s assertion that Kinley Kohl is a runaway bride who fled your wedding with her lover?”
She had a lover? Oh, this story was way more interesting than her actual life.
Greg frowned. “My bride isn’t interested in lovers. This is pure libel. She’s an innocent. Kinley is one of the world’s most true and pure souls.”
Their Virgin Hostage, Masters of Ménage, Book 5 Page 14