“What she looks like has nothing to do with this,” Sawyer told them both. “I stripped her to make sure she wasn’t wearing a wire or had a weapon hidden anywhere.”
“I think if she had a weapon hidden somewhere, she’d have used it earlier when Garret had his face between her breasts,” Joe pointed out.
Garret shrugged, unrepentant. “She was into it. She couldn’t have fake that. And I was hungry. I wasn’t thinking straight.”
“So, because you were hungry you thought it was okay to get it on with a strange, uninvited female you found in our pantry?” Joe asked incredulously.
“She said she was the new cook.”
They both stared at him.
“Yeah, okay, I didn’t actually believe that. But there’s just something about her.”
Joe shook his head in disgust. “All right, I get that you needed to check her for a wire, Sawyer, but don’t you think you should have given her clothes back?”
“I figured this was a good way of intimidating her. I need to get her to talk.” And torturing females wasn’t high on his list of fun things to do.
“We need to know who sent her. What she wants. What she knows.”
Joe sighed. “Why does anyone have to have sent her?”
“She could have just been hungry and looking for some shelter,” Garret added quietly.
“And, what? She decided to break in here?” Sawyer looked at them both. How could they be so naïve? “There are signs and traps everywhere.”
There was obviously a flaw in his security system, besides the fact he’d shown Garret how to disable the alarms, and he intended to find it.
He glanced over at the female. She was pacing the room. Her hands ran up and down her arms. He actually felt a stirring of sympathy. Maybe he should have given her clothes back. He’d seen the fear in her face when she’d realized she was partially undressed. It had been necessary, but now he was starting to feel like a bit of an asshole.
He firmed his resolve. She was the enemy. He could not feel sympathy for her.
“It’s awfully cold down there,” Joe said in a low voice. “We don’t want her getting ill.”
Sawyer gave him an incredulous look. “She’s a prisoner.”
“You’re not really expecting her to use that bucket, are you?” Garret added.
His brothers were bleeding hearts. He was not. He had to be the tough one. Left to their own devices they’d probably leave the gate down, forget to set the alarm, leave all their expensive artifacts out on display for anyone to take, and get themselves kidnapped for ransom.
It was up to him to guard this family. Against any enemy.
Even if the enemy was a tiny, blonde female with more guts than most soldiers he’d encountered.
He watched, eyes narrowed as their prisoner drew back her leg and kicked the bucket against the wall. Hard. It cracked into three pieces.
“Well, maybe not that bucket,” he muttered.
3
Joe knew this was a mistake.
He should be in bed, trying to sleep. He was already behind schedule and he was going to need to get up early to catch up.
But no matter how much he’d tossed and turned, he couldn’t stop thinking about the female down in the cellar. Sawyer had relented to letting her use a bathroom, but when he’d gone down to escort her, she’d bitten his hand and attempted to kick him in the balls.
That had, understandably, put Sawyer in one hell of a bad mood. Not only had he refused to take her to the bathroom, he’d also refused to let her have any bedding or clothing.
Even knowing Sawyer would kill him, Joe hadn’t been able to help himself. She might be a little hellion. But she was still a female. And Joe had been raised to take care of those smaller and more fragile than himself.
So had Sawyer. But things had happened to Sawyer. Things that had turned him into the cynical, hard person he was.
Joe pressed his hand to the key pad next to the door. It went green after reading his palm, and the door unlocked. He stepped in and quickly shut the door behind him. It locked automatically.
The female looked up from where she was crouched in the corner of the room, her legs pulled to her chest, arms wrapped around them defensively. Shivers ran through her body and concern filled him.
“Hi. Are you okay?”
She just snorted and glared at him from a pair of mesmerizing, blue eyes. Even though he was disgusted at Garret’s behavior he did understand his attraction to the female. There was something almost ethereal about her. As though she was a creature from another world.
Okay, now he was just being ridiculous.
“I brought you some clothes and a few blankets. Thought you might be getting cold. The clothes are some old sweats of mine. I don’t need them back.”
Her eyebrows rose. “And here I figured I’d get them laundered and straight back to you with a fucking thank you note.”
His eyes narrowed. “Your language leaves a lot to be desired.”
“Your face leaves a lot to be desired.”
“Now, that’s really mature.” He looked around for a place to put his stuff. The cellar was dirty and smelled musty. Damp. It couldn’t be good for her lungs to be down here. He studied her closely. Her face was pale, but there was something dark on her chin. Was that blood?
“Sorry, I tend to become immature and pissy when someone takes my clothes, locks me in a freezing cell without a toilet and attempts to starve me.”
He narrowed his gaze. “I thought Sawyer brought you some food.”
“Sawyer? Wild Man? Hmm, I thought of him more as an Albert or jerk face.”
Joe felt his lips twitch. When was the last time someone had amused him like this? Hell, when was the last time he’d actually had a conversation with someone other than his brothers?
A shiver ran through her. He put the blankets down on the mattress and handed her the clothes. “Put these on. You’re freezing.”
“How come I’m allowed clothes now? You guys doing some good cop, bad cop on me? Gotta warn you, it won’t fucking work.”
He sighed. “Has anyone ever told you that you have a terrible potty mouth.”
She snorted then grimaced. “Potty mouth? What am I, three?”
“From the way you act I’d put you about that age. What’s wrong with your lip? Is that blood on your chin?”
He moved closer, and she shied away, a wary look crossing her face. He forced himself to stand still. For some reason, he didn’t like that she was scared of him. He knew Sawyer was probably watching this and cursing him. Sawyer thought he and Garret were too naïve. Too trusting. The truth was anything but. Joe was well aware of the dangers they could all face if anyone found out who they really were. Not to mention how rich they truly were. But he kept that mostly to himself. Sawyer’s paranoia was out of control on a good day, he didn’t want to make him any worse.
That was definitely blood he saw. Hard to spot it under this crappy light. For a moment, he wondered if it was from where she’d bitten Sawyer, but she’d barely broken the skin on his arm.
“It’s nothing. I’m fine.”
He could see it was an automatic reply. Something she did often? Told people she was okay when she wasn’t?
“You’re in pain.”
“Like you care.” He’d dropped the clothes next to her, and she stared at them longingly. “You can leave now.”
He raised an eyebrow at the imperious order. “I don’t think so.”
“I want to get changed.”
“You’re welcome to put the clothes on.” But he wasn’t going anywhere. Yep, he was an asshole.
She glared up at him and he could see she was having the same thought.
“Turn around then.”
“What? And let you smack me on the head and knock me unconscious? I wasn’t born yesterday, sweetheart.”
The sweetheart was meant to be condescending, except it came out filled with more warmth than he’d intended.
�
�With what?” she held her hands out. “Not exactly armed and dangerous, am I? Sitting here in my panties and bra.”
Joe was unable to stop himself from staring down at her breasts, which were covered in black lace. The mounds of her breasts spilled over the top of the lace, and he felt his cock stir.
Shit.
“Pervert,” she muttered, glaring at him. She stood and quickly shuffled her way into his sweats. For some reason, he got a thrill seeing her wearing his clothes. A possessiveness filled him. He wanted to be the one to always clothe her, feed her, and protect her.
What was wrong with him?
He shook his head. It was like she’d woven some spell over him. He had to snap out of it.
“What happened to your lip?” he snapped more harshly than he’d intended.
Her eyes widened, and she froze. “I bit it. That okay with you?”
Nope. It wasn’t okay at all. He didn’t like that she was injured. Even if it was something she’d inflicted herself.
Get a grip, Joe.
“Who are you? What are you doing here?”
“Why the fuck would I tell you?” She stood, her hands crossed over her chest, a mutinous look on her face. Oh, how he wouldn’t mind wiping that look off her face. He could kiss her until she was looking soft and dreamy with lust.
Or just spank her until she apologized nicely then make her suck his cock.
Okay, where did that thought come from? This wasn’t him. He liked his sex pretty straight-forward. Some wining and dining. Romance. Soft lighting. A bed. Some oral sex for his partner to get her warmed up . . . he wasn’t into anything even remotely kinky.
And yet he couldn’t deny he’d gotten a bit of a thrill out of watching Sawyer spank the small female’s butt.
Prisoner. She was their prisoner.
He couldn’t forget that. He needed to keep a proper distance. The only thing that mattered was finding out who she was and what she was doing here. Everything else he could and would ignore. He needed to question her. Not think about her naked, tied to his bed, with his brothers and him fucking her.
His brothers? Since when did they feature in his fantasies? What the hell? He’d always known that when they found a mate, they would share her, but he thought they’d do it the normal way. That they’d take turns in her bed. That was how his fathers had shared his mother.
So why was he thinking about them all sharing her together? That was just wrong, wasn’t it? He shook his head. Time to get back to business. He was here to find out who she was. That was all.
“Anyone ever washed your mouth out with soap?”
Okay, so much for keeping this about her break-in.
“I’d like to see you fucking try,” she challenged.
“Oh, I’d have some pleasure in doing just that,” he growled back at her.
“I thought you were playing good cop.”
“This isn’t a game.”
“No, you’re right. Because, if it were, it would be more like crazy cop, horny cop and . . .”
“Yes?” he prompted.
* * *
Gigi attempted to prevent her fear from showing as she stared over at the quieter of the three brothers. And they had to be brothers. There was no denying they were related. That dark hair, those piercing, brown eyes. Sure, Mr. Hottie was more relaxed and oozed sex appeal, Wild Man could do with a shave and a haircut, plus he had the whole crazy eyes thing going on, and Mr. GQ looked like a fashion model, but they all looked too much alike not to be brothers.
What exactly would he be?
“Repressed cop,” she spat out before she thought better of it.
Probably best not to taunt a man when you’re locked in a tiny cell with him, Gigi. Yeah, well, she’d never been one to overthink things. That’s kind of how she’d ended up in this position to begin with.
Maybe it was time to start rethinking the way she ran her life.
Too bad she hadn’t figured that out before she’d been caught and tossed in this cell. At least now she wasn’t going to freeze to death. She was nice and toasty, being so close to Mr. GQ seemed to have a warming effect on her.
Damn him anyway.
“Repressed? You think I’m repressed?”
She thought he was fucking hot, but there was something a little stand-offish about him. As though he watched life, rather than participating in it. And then there was the way he dressed. Even now, in what she guessed was his relaxed look, he looked like he’d spent half an hour in the mirror making certain his shirt was tucked in properly, that the creases on his pants were straight, and that there wasn’t a hair of out of place.
Next to him, she felt like a hot mess. Not that she cared. Nope. Not her.
“What do you want?”
His gaze was narrow. Anger had tightened his wide shoulders. Probably she should shut up now.
“Who. Are. You.”
“The tooth fairy,” she countered. “Got any missing teeth?”
“No.”
“I could arrange that for you.” She smiled at him widely.
He made a grumbling noise that seemed to echo through the room. She stared at him, eyes wide. The hairs on her arms were standing on end. That sound wasn’t something she’d ever imagined a human could make. Finally, her heart started thumping again, and she let out the breath she’d been holding.
“What the hell was that?”
“Nothing.” He turned and stalked to the door.
“Hey! Where are you going?” All right, she’d done her best to antagonize and anger him, fear tended to make her a bit bitchy, but that didn’t mean she wanted to be alone. Except she was almost always on her own. Except for Roger.
Yeah, well, that was different. This time she was being forced to be alone. And she didn’t like it. So you’d rather spend time with one of the men holding you prisoner?
What was wrong with her?
“Away from you.” He turned and grinned at her. It wasn’t a nice smile. She swallowed past the tight knot in her throat. “I’m going back to my nice, comfortable bed, my clean, thousand-count sheets, and my marble-tiled bathroom with a working toilet. I might even have a little snack on my way back. Apparently, we have Twinkies.”
He disappeared out the door before she had time to reply to that. “Hey! Come back! Asshole.”
Shit. She really needed to learn when to shut up. Now she was warm, but alone and hungry. And she really wanted one of those damn Twinkies.
Several minutes later, the lock released, and she stood, feeling hopeful. She knew he didn’t have it in him to leave her here like this. Hungry and alone. He wasn’t a jerk like the wild man.
The door only opened slightly and a plate covered by a plastic lid was pushed through, then the door was quickly closed. She breathed out a sigh, waited for a moment, then moved over to the tray and pulled off the lid. There was a sandwich, thick with ham and cheese. A bottle of juice. And a Twinkie.
Guess which she ate first?
* * *
Garret had decided they were going about all this the wrong way. If anyone had a way of getting a female to spill her guts, it was him. Women told him everything. More than he ever wanted to know, if he was honest.
She’d been locked in the cell all night. He’d really expected her to cave and answer Sawyer’s questions quickly, but despite the craptastic conditions she still hadn’t given in.
Sawyer was extremely intelligent. He didn’t know anyone smarter. But when it came to people, his skills sucked. And he’d been deeply affected by some bad shit in his past. Stuff that had turned him into the paranoid bastard he was today.
He was going to try a different method to get her to talk.
Joe walked into the kitchen and sniffed. “What are you cooking? Whatever it is, I’ll have some. It smells delicious.” He reached for a piece of bacon and Garret whacked him on the back of the hand with a spatula.
“That’s not for you.”
“Ouch, that was still hot, you asshole.”
“What?”
“You never swear.”
“I can swear if I want to.”
Garret tipped his head to one side. “There’s something different about you today. You seem irritated, ruffled.”
“You just smacked my hand with a hot spatula.”
“Nope, you looked grumpy before that. What’s going on? You’re never grumpy.”
“Don’t know why, since I live with the two of you. If Saywer’s not going off on some paranoid, crazy rant then you’re running around fucking anything in a skirt.”
Garret sucked in his breath. That wasn’t exactly fair. Sure, from time to time he went into town. And if some pretty lady invited him into her bed then he wasn’t exactly going to say no, but he was no man whore.
This was not like his oldest brother. Joseph was the epitome of cool, calm, and collected.
So what the fuck was going on? What had changed?
Then it clicked.
“Have you been to see our inmate?”
“What? What are you talking about?” Joe snarled.
“You’ve been talking to her, haven’t you? That’s what’s got your knickers in a knot.”
“Who’s all this food for?” Joseph countered.
“I’m taking it in to our pretty prisoner. She’s got to be starving by now.”
“Sawyer said he’s going to take her some food.”
“Right. And we both know what kind of a cook Sawyer is. He’ll probably give her a can of baked beans and a can opener.”
“No, I wouldn’t.” Sawyer walked into the kitchen. “It would be stupid to hand her a weapon like that.”
“A can?” Garret asked.
“The can opener. Someone could do a lot of damage with one of those.”
Garret sighed. “Dude, you have got to get out more.”
“You cooked breakfast? Good. I’m starving. I’ve been in the security room all night, waiting for her to crack.” He turned to Joseph. “Saw you go in there last night and give her clothes and a blanket. That wasn’t part of the plan.”
“And freezing her to death was?” Joe countered.
Golden Binds Page 4