Blushing, she drew back and looked over at her friend.
“If you want to kiss like that, take it out of the kitchen, huh? It’s already hot enough in here.”
“Aw, Mia, you feeling left out? You want some lovin’ too?” Beau grabbed his sister-in-law and blew a raspberry on her neck.
“Ew, get away from me, you ass. Jesus, Alec will skin you alive if he catches you doing that.”
Beau just laughed and ran out of the room.
“I don’t know how you deal with him and Maddox.”
“There’s some benefits.” Scarlett smiled dreamily.
“Well, I don’t need to know any details. Oh drat.” Mia shut the fridge door.
“What is it?”
“I need sour cream for this recipe, and we’ve run out. I thought we had some.”
“Um, whoops. That’s my fault. I had a craving for sour cream and pickles last night.”
“Ew, well, okay. What am I going to do?” Mia mused. “Seb’s going to wake soon but then he’ll want to be fed. I won’t get to town and back in time before he wakes up.”
“It’s my fault, I’ll go out and grab some more.”
“Oh no, you can’t do that.”
“Course I can. I’ll just have to take Beau’s truck since Maddox is out. I mean, it’s been a while since I drove a stick shift, but I’ll be fine.”
“But will Maddox want you to go out on your own?” Mia worried.
“There’s no threat to me anymore. I’ll be fine. It’s time I went off the ranch alone, Maddox or Beau has always gone with me. It will be fun. Do you need anything else?”
“No, just, you’re sure?”
“Mia, I’ll be fine.” She waved as she left the room, grabbing her wallet. Maybe she’d get some pecan ice cream while she was out. And more pickles. Oh, and pretzels. Pretzels, pickles, and ice cream. That was a winning combination.
It took her a bit to get used to the gears in the truck. They made a funny grinding noise as she changed them. She was grateful she wasn’t short like Flick or she’d never be able to see over the dash.
Her phone rang and she put it through the Bluetooth as she saw it was Maddox.
“Hey, little one. You all right?”
Maddox had been at a cattle sale with Butch, and they’d stayed away overnight. It was just one night, but she’d missed him.
“I’m fine. Are you far away?”
“About an hour. Maybe a bit less with the way Butch is driving.”
“Hey! You’re the one who kept griping about missing your girl.”
“Hey, Butch!” she said loudly.
“Baby girl!”
“Don’t call her that,” Maddox snapped. “Scarlett? Are you in a vehicle?”
“Uh-huh, I’m in Beau’s truck.”
“Beau’s there?”
“Nope.”
“Then who’s driving?”
“I am.” She changed gears, wincing as they made a strange noise. “I think Beau needs to get his truck looked at. It makes a lot of odd noises.”
“That’s because you’re riding the clutch. Why are you driving? Who’s with you?”
“No one’s with me.”
“What? What are you doing on your own?”
“Chill, I’m a big girl. I’m just popping into Haven for sour cream and then going straight home. I kind of ate it all last night.”
“Let me guess, with pickles?”
“Um, yep. No one else was home, so I told Mia I’d drive into Haven and get it.”
“I don’t like it.”
“Maddox, I’ll be fine. There’s no threat anymore. You’re being overprotective.”
“I want you to call me when you arrive in town. Then again when you leave. And when you get home.”
She sighed. “Seriously?”
“Yes, seriously. Or your ass is toast.”
She heard Butch laughing in the background.
“Oh, all right.” She changed gears again.
“And Jesus, little one, I think you might need some more driving lessons.”
Really? How rude!
Fifteen minutes later, she was walking around the store trying to decide on what sort of ice cream she wanted.
“Hey, Scarlett.”
She looked up with a smile as Hannah, the medical receptionist, walked toward her. She’d met her a couple of times now when Maddox had forced her into the doctor’s for various reasons. The guy was a hypochondriac, but about her, not himself. It was sweet and annoying.
“How are you?” Hannah asked. “Haven’t seen you this week.”
She groaned. “No, Maddox has been busy with other things, thank goodness. I swear, he’s gone nuts.”
“It’s sweet he worries about you so much. So, I—” the other woman was interrupted as someone let out a cry. Then there was a shout from the front of the store.
“Rodney, what are you doing! Put that gun down!”
Gun? Hannah took hold of her arm and quickly led her toward the back of the store.
“I know she’s here! I saw her come in! Where’s that bitch! He took that land from me and now I’m taking her from him. Scarlett? Scarlett?”
Wait. What? There was a guy with a gun looking for her?
She put her hand over her stomach. Her babies, she had to protect them.
“Come on, this way.” Hannah tugged her along.
Then a shot fired, making her scream.
“Shit, shit,” Hannah muttered.
“There you are, Scarlett.”
She froze, peering down at the end of the aisle where an ill-kempt man stood, swaying. He held a rifle in one hand. What was wrong with him? Who was he?
“I’ve been waiting for you, Scarlett. Waiting to get you away from him. It’s his fault. He has to pay. The land was meant to be mine, not Malone’s.”
Who was this guy?
“What land?” she asked. “What are you talking about?”
“The land my uncle and those idiots owned. It’s full of oil. I told Stanson about it. He was gonna buy it and we were both gonna get rich. But then Malone bought it out from under us. He took it from me and now I’m gonna take you from him.”
He raised the rifle, and she froze, she couldn’t move. Then she was shoved. Hannah slammed her to the ground as the rifle went off.
She screamed, certain he was going to come after them again. But then she realized no more shots were being fired.
“Scarlett, are you hurt? Are you all right?”
She opened her eyes to peer up at Hannah. She looked around, searching for him.
“He’s going to kill me. Hurt my babies.”
“No, Scarlett. It’s okay. They’ve got him. See?” Hannah pointed down the aisle where one of the sheriff’s deputies had the crazy guy pinned to the floor. The sheriff was then striding toward them. And suddenly, it was just all too much. The sheriff grew blurred, the store started to go dark, and Hannah’s frantic cries faded.
Everything went black.
* * *
“Where is she?” a voice roared.
“Well, seems like Maddox has arrived,” the sheriff said dryly.
She was lying on a hospital bed, connected to some monitoring equipment and a drip. She’d only fainted, but the paramedics had insisted on bringing her in because she was pregnant. And then her blood pressure had been a touch on the high side, so the doctor wanted to monitor her.
Jake, Haven’s sheriff, had just finished taking her and Hannah’s statement. He stood as Maddox came racing in, followed by Beau.
Both of their faces filled with relief at the sight of her.
“Little one. Are you all right?” Maddox asked.
“Did he hit you? They said he didn’t hit you? Did he?” Beau patted her down, as though searching her for injury.
“I’m fine, guys. I promise. I’m not hurt at all.”
“You’re in the hospital on a drip and monitors,” Maddox pointed out.
“It’s more of a precaution. Righ
t, Hannah?”
“Yep.” Hannah stood up. “Her blood pressure is a bit high, though. Probably due to the stress so the doctor wants to keep her overnight.”
“I don’t need it though. I can go home.”
“You’ll do what the doctor wants,” Maddox growled.
“Damn straight,” Beau added.
She sighed. Great. When they teamed up she knew she was doomed.
“Seems like you’re in good hands,” Jake said. “I’ll take Hannah home now.”
Maddox turned to him. “Rodney’s in custody?”
“Yep. Got him locked up tight. He’d been drinking. By the looks of him, he hasn’t slept or eaten in days. I’d say he’s been hiding out somewhere, waiting to get to Scarlett.”
“Shit. Shit.” Maddox ran his fingers through his hair. “And it was all over the land? Because he had a deal with Stanson?”
“He said there was oil in the land,” she explained. “He must have told Richard, who agreed to buy and they’d, I don’t know, split the profits. I’m sure Richard wouldn’t have honored any agreement though.”
“I can’t believe I didn’t know anything about this. I didn’t know Rodney wanted the land. Darren never said anything. Has he been contacted?”
Jake nodded. “I called and spoke to him. He said that Rodney had been acting strangely ever since he moved back here from Chicago. Turns out, he and Stanson used to go to the same gym and got friendly. Then Rodney lost all his money with some bad investments and came back here. He must have discovered there was oil on the land Darren and the others owned. But instead of telling Darren, he decided to be greedy.”
“Damn it,” Maddox swore.
“It’s not your fault, Maddox,” she reassured him.
He nodded, but he didn’t look happy. She knew he wasn’t going to get over this for a long while. Coming so soon after the threat of Richard coming after them. Yeah, it would take them all a while to recover.
“Thank fuck, he didn’t hit you,” Beau said.
“Thanks to Hannah. She saved me.”
Hannah blushed as both men thanked her. Then she and Jake left, leaving her with her men.
“God, little one, when I got that call I nearly had a heart attack. I can’t take it anymore. You’re not to get into any more trouble, understand? I don’t even want you stubbing your toe.”
“Maddox, I’m fine.” She reached out and hugged him.
“I agree,” Beau added. “No more leaving the ranch on your own.”
She sighed but didn’t argue. After all, she knew they were only overprotective because they loved her.
And she loved them back just as much.
25
She was hot and grouchy.
Being nearly six months pregnant with twins in this heat was no fun. She shifted around on the porch swing. She’d come out here, hoping to catch a bit of a breeze. You wouldn’t know it was nearly autumn with the heat wave they’d been having.
Just as she’d thought, both Maddox and Beau had grown even more protective of her after her encounter with Rodney, who was still awaiting trial. Richard had been found guilty on all charges and was currently incarcerated for a long time. Which went a long way to helping her sleep at night. Although she still had the occasional nightmare about what happened with Rodney.
Unfortunately, she’d had a nightmare last night, which might be attributing to her grumpiness.
“Little one, what are you doing?” Maddox asked, coming around the corner of the house. He walked along the porch towards her. Inwardly, she sighed. God, he was gorgeous. Sometimes she still wondered how she’d gotten so lucky. And what the heck they saw in her.
“Just sitting here, getting fat,” she grumbled.
Maddox’s eyes narrowed, and her heart skipped a beat. It had been ages since he’d spanked her. That was making her grouchy, too.
Seemed that everything might be making her testy. Stupid heat. Stupid hormones. Stupid men.
Maddox raised an eyebrow, then knelt down in front of her, running his hand over her belly. She felt enormous.
“What’s the rule about calling yourself fat?” he murmured. “You’re not allow to put yourself down.”
“Yeah? What you going to do about it, big guy?” she challenged.
He studied her for a long moment as her heart raced. She knew she was poking at the bear. His gaze moved over her face then he brushed his thumb under her eye. “You’re tired. You need a nap.”
“I don’t need a nap.” She brushed away his hands.
“You’re tired.”
“I am not.”
“And grumpy.”
She narrowed her gaze and leaned forward. Well, she tried to lean forward, she couldn’t go far. “Bite me.”
“Bite you?” There, something flared in his gaze.
“I’m not having a nap. I’m not tired. I’m just going to keep my fat ass here all day and ogle your brothers as they walk past. It’s hot out, I’m sure most of them will have their tops off.”
Oh yeah. That ought to do it.
“You know, I had a surprise for you. Too bad, you’re going to be locked up in the bedroom for the rest of the day.”
Standing, he lifted her into his arms and carried her inside. She bit back a protest about him hurting his back. Seemed like maybe that wasn’t the thing to say right now.
“What surprise? I like surprises.”
“Then you shouldn’t have been a brat,” he told her as he started up the stairs.
Shoot.
She readied her best puppy dog eyes. “But, Maddy, please tell me what the surprise was.”
“Nope. Naughty girls don’t get surprises.”
When they were in the bedroom, he set her down on the floor beside the bed and turned her towards him.
His eyes widened in horror. “Little one, you’re crying.”
“I . . . I . . .”
He drew her over to the bed, then sat with her on his lap. “Baby, don’t cry. I wasn’t really going to lock you in the bedroom.”
She wiped at her face, and he grabbed a tissue, cleaning her up.
“That’s not why I’m upset,” she cried. “I want my surprise.”
“Then you shouldn’t have been so naughty, should you?” He tilted up her chin with his finger under her chin. “Were you purposely baiting me because you wanted a spanking?”
“Now he gets it!” She threw her hands into the air. “You haven’t spanked me in ages.”
“Because you’re pregnant.”
“So it’s because I’m fat!” she wailed.
“Right, that’s it,” he said sternly. “I don’t care if you are baiting me on purpose, I’m not putting up with that.” He set her on her feet. “Off with the shorts and panties.”
Her heart skipped, then raced. Uh-oh. He looked really serious.
“Well, I, um . . .” Shoot. Why hadn’t she thought this through a bit more?
“The more you procrastinate, the worse it’s going to be, little one,” he said warningly.
Darn it. She drew down her shorts and panties, setting them to one side. Her T-shirt barely covered her belly, leaving her pussy and ass on display.
“Good girl,” he murmured. He drew her between his spread legs. “I’m sorry I’ve been neglecting you. That’s about to change.”
Uh-oh.
“Take off your top and bra.”
She stripped, leaving her naked while he still sat there, fully clothed. He ran a finger down her tummy. “Now, what did you call yourself? Fat?”
Oh no.
“I didn’t mean it,” she said hastily.
“That’s ten.”
Whew. That was less than she’d thought.
“Every night for the next week,” he added.
“What?” she asked, her eyes widening. “But I didn’t really mean it. I know I’m not fat.”
“Don’t care if you meant it or not. You’re not allowed to put yourself down. Step back and spread your legs.”
She took in a deep breath, then stepped back so she could widen her legs. He moved that finger down, towards her pussy.
“You may put your hands on my shoulders if you need to steady yourself,” he told her.
“Yes, Sir.”
He moved his fingers between her lower lips. “You’re wet.”
Yeah. No kidding.
“Are you wet at the thought of ogling my half-naked brothers?” he asked in a dark voice.
Her eyes shot open. “What? No!” Why had she said that?
“It best not be,” he told her. “Because while I might share with my twin, he is the only person I would share you with.”
“I know that,” she squeaked. “I’m not . . . that was just a joke.”
“Not a good one,” he told her, drawing his fingers from her pussy. He placed them in his mouth, letting out a murmur of pleasure. “That’s going to cost you too.”
Her breathing grew faster. “Cost me what?”
“You’re going to bend over and put your hands on the edge of the bed. I’m giving you fifteen. Then I’m going to fuck you. Hard.”
Hell. Yes.
“Look at me,” he demanded. She raised her gaze to his. “You tell me immediately if anything hurts or you feel uncomfortable? Understand?”
“I will, Sir.”
“Promise.”
“I promise.”
“Then get into position.”
Maddox stared down at her pale ass.
His dick throbbed in his jeans. Beau was going to kill him for taking so long, but there was no way he could ignore her need to have his hand against her ass.
Calling herself fat would never be allowed. And threatening to stare at his half-naked brothers?
Did she know she was riling the dark lord’s jealous side?
And did he really just refer to himself as the dark lord?
Fact was, since they’d brought her back here with them, he’d felt more relaxed and at ease than he had in years. But it seemed that their girl still needed him to take control. And he wanted to give her whatever she needed.
He shook his head, then moved so he was standing to the side of her. “Spread those legs wider, little one.”
This might be a punishment, but he wanted to make sure she was nice and ready for him as well.
He landed the first smack. Damn, he loved seeing his hand against her ass, the way the skin turned pink, the small cries she made as he slapped his hand on her bottom. He gave her another three smacks.
Twice the Malone Page 25