by Becca Van
“She’s going to continue fighting us,” Will said in a low voice so he wouldn’t disturb Kylie.
“Yes, she is,” Xavier sighed.
“She can fight all she wants.” Lachlan lifted his head to stare down at her. “She’s gonna have to realize no matter what she does or says, she isn’t going to push us away.”
“She tries to act so tough and doesn’t know we can see the fear and vulnerability in her eyes.” Xavier rubbed his hand lightly over her leg.
“Did you see how scared she got after we made her come?” Lach asked.
“Yeah.” Will nuzzled his nose into her neck and then looked over to Lach. “That about did me in. I wanted to pick her up, wrap around her, and hold her close, but she would have baulked.”
“It’s not just that asshole she’s scared of. She’s scared of how we make her feel. We’re getting to her.”
“So how are we going to handle this?” Will flopped back onto the pillow.
“We love her,” Xavier said and hoped like hell that they could wear her down and get beneath those protective walls she had erected.
* * * *
Kylie had trouble containing her tears through the commitment ceremony. Eva had married Quin earlier that afternoon and now she stood in the backyard of their home beneath the rose-covered arbor while she recited her vows to all her men.
“Pierson, I love you so much. You are my love, my laughter, and my joy. I will spend the rest of my life by your side through the good times and bad. You are forever in my heart.
“Gray, I love you just as much. You mean more to me than words can say. You are the air I breathe and my light, and are also forever in my heart.
“Quin, I love you, too. You are my pillar of strength and even though I know we will butt heads often, you are forever in my heart.”
The celebrant raised her hands and smiled at Eva and then looked up to the guests. “May you live and love long and enjoy the journey you are about to embark on.”
Kylie wiped the moisture from her face as Pierson turned to Eva and drew her into his arms. He said something to her, but Kylie couldn’t hear what. It had obviously been for Eva’s ears alone. He kissed her and the crowd cheered and clapped as Eva was then kissed by her other two husbands. By the time they had finished, everyone was moving toward the large marquee where the reception would be held.
A hand landed on her shoulder and she looked up into Xavier’s blue eyes. He placed a cloth into her hands and then rubbed her skin. “Are you okay, baby?”
“I’m fine, thanks.” She looked at her hand to see a clean handkerchief and then used it to blot her eyes and face.
“You look so goddamn sexy in that dress, Kylie. You’d better stick close to us, or you’re going to have the single men all over you.”
Kylie didn’t think anyone would be interested in her and rolled her eyes, but then she realized what he’d said and turned to face him.
“I’m serious,” he continued. “I saw the way some of the guys are looking at you, looking at the skin you’re showing in that dress. If you’re not careful, they’re going to be all over you.”
“So? I’m a grown woman. I think I know how to handle flirty men.”
His eyes narrowed. “Maybe you normally do, but this is different. These are Slick Rock men we’re talking about here.”
“And do you include yourself in these men I need to watch out for?” He opened his mouth to respond, but before he could, she held out a hand to silence him. “Listen, I don’t need you or your Neanderthal brothers looking out for me. I can take care of myself.” She whirled around and walked away.
The hair on the nape of her neck stood up on end, and although she wanted to look back over her shoulder, she didn’t. She wasn’t about to give Xavier the satisfaction of knowing she was aware of him, although after last night, she knew it was already too late. Just as she reached the tent, three very tall, muscular, bronze-skinned men moved into her path.
“Hi there, sweetie. I don’t believe we’ve met. I’m Brent Eagle and these are my brothers, Jerome and Clifford.”
“I’m Kylie Mailing, pleased to meet you.” Kylie reached out to shake Brent’s hand, but instead of shaking it, he just held it.
“We live in Mountain Village less than two hours from here,” Clifford said.
“That’s nice,” she replied, not knowing what else to say.
“Are you a friend of the bride?” Jerome asked.
“Yes.” Kylie snatched her hand back from Brent and stepped around them, feeling a little uncomfortable with the way they eyed her body. Cursing Eva mentally for picking a revealing dress that just screamed for attention, she hurried toward the bridal table and sat down next to Pierson. The three Eagle brothers were staring at her and she could see the interest in their eyes and that was the last thing she needed. She already had three men pursuing her. She didn’t want or need any more.
By the end of the celebration, Kylie was exhausted. It had been such a beautiful day, but now all she wanted to do was have a hot shower and crawl into bed. Eva and her men had left for their honeymoon more than an hour ago, as had most of the guests. Felicity Eagle was currently helping Kylie transfer all the wedding gifts to the house while her husbands, Tom and Billy Eagle and Luke Sun-Walker, were talking to Tom and Billy’s cousins as they folded up the tables and chairs and hauled them out to the clean horse float to be carted away.
After placing the last of the presents into the spare room next to the master bedroom, Kylie decided to take one more look around outside just to make sure nothing had been missed.
“I’m just going to check that we haven’t missed anything,” Kylie told Felicity.
“Okay, I just have a couple more cards and gifts to pair up and then we’re finished.”
Kylie nodded and then headed outside. It was nearly dark and with little light left she hurried to the pavilion. The Eagle men had moved out of sight and she had no idea where Xavier and his brothers were. She stepped into the tent and looked around, but everything had been cleaned away. All that was left was for the marquee to be pulled down, but that was a job for the Badon cousins that they would do tomorrow.
She pictured how happy Eva had been as she had shared her first meal with her husbands as Mrs. Badon. Her friend had glowed with love and happiness.
Kylie was so lost in her thoughts she didn’t realize that she was being watched, that something was terribly wrong, until it was too late to do anything about it.
Movement above her caught her attention, and she looked up just in time to glimpse the marquee falling toward her before her vision was completely obscured and she was smothered by the heavy fabric. As she struggled for air, a new panicked thought began to surface.
Do I smell smoke?
* * * *
The little cunt thought she could escape him. He almost laughed when he realized she’d run. She thought she was so smart, but he was much smarter. When he’d gone back to find out who she was, he’d also searched for her car. The apartment setup and the numbered parking garage had made his job easy. It had been easy as a snap of the fingers finding out who she was. The names of the apartment occupants were on the letterboxes in the foyer for anyone to see.
He’d spent a couple of years in the army and knew how to plan. He had learned to be patient and his patience would eventually pay off. He’d planted a tracker on her car so there wasn’t any place she could run to. He would always find her.
He was staying in a cheap motel only a couple of hours from Slick Rock and had driven the distance every day, hoping for a glance of her. His persistence had paid off and now he was standing behind some bushes at the back of the property no more than a hundred yards away. The town had to be fucked up, because it looked like one woman was marrying three men. He glanced toward the bitch and imagined her beneath him as he pounded his cock into her cunt. She looked like she wanted it, wearing such a slutty green dress, which showed more than it covered, and he was just the man to show her what it felt like to
be fucked by a real man.
As he crouched in the bushes, he imagined what he was going to do to her. It didn’t matter that his muscles ached as he waited hours for his opportunity. He learned to watch for hours on end while serving in the military.
When the bride and grooms left and then guests also began to leave, he knew the time to move was almost at hand. There were still quite a few big men around, so he was going to have to be careful.
Then his chance presented itself and he ran toward the back of the large tent. The bitch was all alone and this was his break. Making sure to stay within the shadows, he skirted the tent, keeping an eye and ear out for the men who were nowhere in sight at the moment, and he released the ropes attached to the outside poles. When they were all loose, he pushed them over. He started near the entrance to the pavilion, cutting off her only avenue of escape, and then worked on both sides and finally the back. She yelled out as if pissed off when the canvas floated down around her, but he was so in the moment he didn’t take any notice of what she said. Taking out his lighter, he sparked it to life and then placed the flame to the corner of the material.
He moved back into the shadows and back to the bushes and watched while the fire raced over the flammable cloth. Just as he was feeling triumphant that she couldn’t escape, men came out running around to the backyard and began to douse the flames with water.
He cursed under his breath and crept to the road and hurried to his car. He took off without turning his lights on, not wanting to draw attention to himself. When he was a couple of streets away, he turned his headlights on and headed back to Mountain Village. He would have to be patient a little longer, but in the end, he would prevail. That cunt was going to die.
* * * *
Will and his brothers had just finished stacking the last of the folding tables into the horse float when he caught the stench of smoke in the air. Will passed the Eagle men on the ramp as they loaded up the last of the chairs.
“Is that smoke?” Lach asked as he sniffed.
“Yeah, we’d better investigate.” Will hurried around the side of the house and into the backyard.
“What the fuck?” Xavier bumped his side as they both began to run toward the pavilion, which was now on the ground as fire licked across the canvas.
Lachlan yelled to the other men for help at the same time a familiar scream rent the air. Will ran the last few steps to the fallen tent and saw where Kylie was trying to frantically escape from beneath the heavy material. He didn’t stop to think, he just reacted. Thank God he was always prepared. Will retrieved the knife he had sheathed and strapped at his ankle and leapt over the flames.
“Kylie, don’t move, darlin’. I’ll get you out.” The squirming bundle stopped moving and he grabbed the material and began slicing close to her and then he grasped the cut and wrenched with all his strength.
Kylie’s head appeared first and even though her face was covered in dirt and streaked with tears, he had never seen a more beautiful sight. He threw his knife off to the side and reached for her. His hands wrapped around her upper arms and he hauled her to her feet. She swayed a little so he scooped her up and then looked around to see where the fire was. There was no way he was letting his woman get burned. He sighed with relief when he saw the Eagle brothers were already dousing the flames. Will carefully carried Kylie over the smoldering material toward his brothers. Xavier reached out and clasped one hand while Lachlan grasped the other.
“Are you okay, sugar?” Lachlan caressed her cheek gently with the tips of his fingers.
“Are you hurt anywhere, baby?” Xavier lifted her hand to his mouth and kissed it.
Kylie coughed and then gasped out, “I’m fine.”
“You don’t sound fine.” Will turned toward the house. “Let’s get you inside so we can make sure you’re not burned anywhere.”
“I’ll be in in a moment,” Xavier called out as he headed toward Sheriff Luke Sun-Walker and Felicity’s other husbands. “I want to know how that fire started.”
“Did you see anyone around, Kylie?” Will asked as he carried her up the back steps to the porch. Lachlan was already holding the door open.
“No,” she answered in a smoke-husky voice.
“Why don’t you take her into the bathroom and get her into the shower?” Lach suggested. “I’ll bring her something to drink.”
Right now Kylie seemed too exhausted to argue with any of them. It had been a wonderfully emotional day but had turned frightening, and since she hadn’t slept properly in weeks, Will could see it was all catching up with her. She rested her head on his shoulder and gave a sigh that sounded content. That little sound gave him hope. If she felt safe and cared for in his arms, didn’t that mean she trusted him with her body if not with her heart?
Will sat Kylie on the counter and then turned away to start the shower. When he turned back, she had her arms around her body defensively and gave a little shiver.
“Come on, sweet thang, let me help you.” He gripped her waist and lowered her to her feet and then helped her out of her dress. Once she was naked, he held her hand so she wouldn’t slip while she stepped into the shower. He watched her standing under the warm water as he removed his clothes and then he got in with her. She was leaning against the tile wall as if she didn’t have the energy to stand upright. Without saying anything, he reached for the shampoo and began to wash her hair. By the time he’d finished helping her clean up, some of the exhaustion had left her face and she was standing on her own.
Lachlan was waiting for her with towel in hand when he shut the water off. Will handed her off to his brother and reached for another towel. Lach wrapped Kylie in a large bath sheet and handed her a big glass of juice. She drank it quickly and when she thanked him, Will was pleased that some of the hoarseness had gone from her voice.
The door to the bathroom slammed open and Xavier stood in the doorway, his eyes searching out Kylie. He seemed to relax when he saw that she was safe and sound. “Did she get hurt?”
“No, the only damage was a bit of smoke inhalation and a sore throat.” Will tied the towel around his hips.
“Luke and the others found footprints leading to the road. Whoever let that tent down and lit it up must have had a car waiting. Someone deliberately tried to hurt Kylie.” Xavier sounded angry and Kylie looked worried.
“Xavier isn’t mad at you, Kylie. He’s worried for your safety just like Lach and I are.”
Kylie’s shoulders sagged. “See, I knew this would happen if I stayed here. An innocent person is going to get hurt and all because of me. I should just leave.”
“No,” Will and his brothers answered at the same time before continuing to talk amongst themselves.
“The rest of the town is on alert,” Will said. “If any strangers show up, we’ll know about it right away.”
Xavier walked further into the bathroom and got out another clean towel and began to dry Kylie’s hair. Will noticed that she looked a little pissed and was about to ask her what was wrong, but she beat him to it.
“I would appreciate it if you wouldn’t talk about me as if I wasn’t here.”
Xavier’s eyes narrowed and Will wondered how long before he and Kylie went head to head. He had been surprised by how much his arrogant, dominating brother had been holding back with their woman and wondered when he was going to step up to the plate. If Will had to guess—and because he knew his brother so well, guessing wasn’t necessary—sparks were about to fly.
“What was your reply when I asked if you were hurt?”
“I told you that I was fine.”
“Yes, you did. Why do you have to lie to us, Kylie? Why can’t you ever answer truthfully?”
“I did,” Kylie yelled. “God, you are such an arrogant asshole. I didn’t get hurt. Okay, I breathed in a bit of smoke and have a slightly sore throat, but I wasn’t injured for God’s sake.”
“What about the bruise and bump near your temple?” Xavier asked in a cool voice. “How did
that happen?”
“Huh?” Kylie reached up and touched her head.
When her fingers connected with her wound, Will saw the slight tension in her mouth, refuting her claim that she wasn’t hurt.
“That happened when one of the tent poles hit me on the head. It’s nothing.”
“When are you going to get it through that pretty little head of yours that we care about what happens to you? We care about you, Kylie. When are you going to stop pushing everyone away?” Xavier nudged her chin up and studied the knot on her head.
Way to go, bro. Why not really scare her off and tell her we all love her?
Will watched Kylie’s eyelids flutter closed. He wondered if she thought that having her eyes closed and not having to look at them would help to shore up her defenses again. He’d seen the shock in her eyes when Xavier had told her that they cared for her. But then he saw moisture trickle out from the corner of her eyes. Seeing her cry pulled at his heart strings, and before he thought about what he was doing, he nudged his brothers away and pulled her into his arms. Her arms crept around his waist and she clung tight to him as if he was her anchor in the middle of a raging storm.
He made shushing sounds and rocked her slightly while looking at his concerned brothers.
“What’s going on, Kylie, love? Why are you crying?”
“I can’t do this anymore. I just can’t.”
Xavier moved in behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. Lachlan moved into her side and kissed her bared shoulder and then stroked her skin.
“What can’t you do anymore, baby?” Xavier asked and placed a kiss on the top of her head.
“I can’t fight this anymore. I’ve tried so damn hard, but no matter what I do, nothing works.”
Will’s knees nearly sagged with relief, but he needed to hear the words from her mouth before he and his brothers took this any further.
“What have you been fighting, sugar?”
Kylie inhaled deeply and then released it slowly before looking into his eyes. “I don’t know where this chemistry between us is going or how long it will last. I tried to steer clear of you all because I don’t want anyone getting caught up in my problems and inadvertently getting hurt because of association to me, but I want to be with you all.”