Chapter 6
MELANIE
I’m not sure exactly what I was expecting when Auntie Gray said I’d be meeting the rest of the family, but it certainly wasn’t to find myself surrounded by giant, muscular men who all look like they could rip a pine tree out of the ground with their bare hands and not even break a sweat.
I feel almost comically small compared to them, and even though Axel is the only one out of the bunch who’s actually hurt me, I find myself pressing my body closer to his for the protection some part of me instinctively knows he’ll provide.
Because even if he did spank me and wash my mouth out with soap and tease me with the most unbearable pleasure I’ve ever felt, something inside me says he’ll protect me from actual harm.
Or maybe I’m just that fucking gullible.
“Shh. You’re all right, little one.” Holding me close, he presses a kiss to the top of my head. “No one here is going to hurt you.”
“He did,” I grumble, glaring at a man seated further down the table. The one who strapped me to a table and shoved a thermometer up my ass.
“Uncle Ford didn’t hurt you, Melanie. He helped Daddy take your temperature to make sure you weren’t sick after being out in the cold for so long.”
Lifting his own steaming mug, Ford grins, quick and boyish. “Can’t blame you for being pissed about it, though. I wouldn’t want to have that kind of thing sprung on me, either.”
Another man settles beside Ford, but where Ford’s expression remains open and welcoming, this man seems almost…
foreboding. His long hair is pulled back in a slick ponytail and his thick arms, like Axel’s, are covered in tattoos.
“You’re looking better than you were when Axel brought you home.
Care to tell us what the hell you were doing out in the middle of this storm wearing next to nothing? ”
“Elias.” Axel’s voice is sharp, scolding. “Be nice.”
Mr. Ponytail rolls his eyes. “I am being nice.”
Someone drops down in one of the seats to our right, halfway down the table. A bit more slender than the others, but still gigantic and no less intimidating, he shrugs. “In his defense, this is him being nice.”
Behind me, Axel’s chest rumbles with a literal growl. “Not helping, Colt.”
“Never claimed I was here to help you.” Tilting his head to the side, Colt studies me with unnervingly sharp eyes.
The same dark brown as Axel’s, they seem to see straight through to the very center of who I am.
“And he raises a good question. What was she doing out there, clearly not dressed for the weather? What was the plan, sweetheart?”
“She’ll tell us when everyone is here.” From her spot at the opposite end of the table, Auntie Gray cocks an eyebrow as if daring anyone to challenge her. “Where are Dane and Bram?”
“Right here.” Two more men, nearly identical to the giants already seated at the table, join us.
Wait. Actually, I’m fairly certain one of them is identical to Colt. Looking from one to the other, I blink rapidly to clear my vision.
“Nothing wrong with your eyes,” Colt says with a flash of a smile. “We are, indeed, twins.”
Other Colt smiles, but it isn’t quite as wide as his brother’s. He strikes me as a bit more reserved, a bit… darker. “I’m your Uncle Bram, little one.”
Something about the names I’ve been given tickle my brain. “Axel, Bram, Colt, Dane, Elias, Ford, and Gray. Is your mom just a big fan of the alphabet or something?”
As soon as the words slip out of my mouth, I wish I could take them back. On every face I see some variation of the same grief I saw on Axel’s face earlier.
“Sorry. I’m sorry, that was thoughtless of me.”
“It’s all right.” From the end of the table, Ford smiles, though it’s tight at the edges in a way that has guilt twisting in my chest. “You couldn’t have known.”
“I did. Axel told me and I just… wasn’t thinking. I’m really sorry.”
“No more apologies needed, little one,” Colt says, leaning over his twin to squeeze my arm. “We all make mistakes, and you’re probably very overwhelmed right now, huh?”
“A bit, yeah.”
Strong arms tighten around my waist. “She loved musicals.” Axel’s voice is thick with emotion.
“Seven Brides for Seven Brothers was her favorite. All the brothers are named in alphabetical order, and she thought it would be fun to name us all the same way. She wanted to get to J, but she stopped with Grayson because she said she’d never make anything more perfect than our sister. ”
A muscle jumps in Auntie Gray’s cheek before she blinks and clears her throat.
“There will be plenty of time for trips down memory lane later. Right now I’m more concerned with the present.
Namely, as Elias said, how our little niece ended up stranded on the side of the road in nothing but a wedding dress. ”
Six sets of eyes turn to me, and it’s all I can do not to squirm on Axel’s lap. To give myself time to adjust to being the focus of all this very dominant energy, I pick up my hot cocoa and sip.
And nearly orgasm right on the spot.
“Holy shit. This is amazing.”
Nearly every gaze that’s locked on me hardens, with the exception of Ford who has to hide a smile behind his mug.
Axel’s voice is a low growl in my ear. “That cocoa will be much less tasty if Daddy has to wash your mouth out again, little girl.”
“Sorry.” Embarrassment heats my cheeks, and I tell myself it’s more from being scolded like a child in front of everyone than the guilt of breaking another rule. “I forgot.”
“If you forget again, you will be going right over Daddy’s knee at this table before you get more soap in your mouth. Understood?”
Leaning into my Little girl role—because why not? If they’re going to treat me like one anyway, I might as well see if I can use it in my favor—I push my bottom lip out in a pout. “I was just trying to compliment Auntie Gray’s cocoa.”
“You can do that without the naughty words, little girl.”
“I’ll try. But it’s really good cocoa.”
“Now that we’ve handled our little one’s potty mouth.” Auntie Gray’s tone is dry but amused as she raises a brow in my direction. “Tell us what happened, Melanie.”
“Well… as you can probably guess, I was supposed to get married today. But I didn’t really want to so I said ‘I don’t’ and jumped out a window instead.”
All around the table, Axel’s siblings stare at me with varying degrees of surprise. It’s kind of fun to see, actually, but my amusement is short-lived.
“You did what?”
Uh-oh. “Daddy” is not happy.
Clearing my throat, I shift on his lap, refusing to turn and meet his onyx gaze. Not that it matters much when every single man—and woman—at the table has his exact eyes.
“Okay, well I didn’t really jump out of the window. And there was a roof beneath me so I really didn’t fall that far. It was perfectly safe.”
“Fucking hell,” Axel mutters. “If you ever try that here, I swear—”
“I know, I know. You’ll spank me. Trust me, I’ve picked up the pattern.”
Dane, who has until this point remained entirely silent, grins. “Sassy little brat. I like her.”
Behind me, Axel grunts. “She’s about to get the sass spanked out of her if she isn’t careful.”
“See? A pattern.”
A large hand slides around my throat, pulling me back against his hard chest and my heart hammers against my ribcage.
I realize, too late, that being surrounded by people made me feel braver than was probably wise.
Because the man who stripped my ass bare for a thermometer and then washed my mouth out before spanking me raw would probably not have any compulsions about repeating those punishments with an audience.
“Maybe I am predictable.” His voice is a deceptively low purr. “But that won’t make your ass any less sore when I’m through with you. Watch the sass unless you want to be wearing the marks from Daddy’s belt to bed.”
“S-Sorry, Daddy.”
“Much better.” Without releasing his hold on my throat, he brushes a kiss over my cheek. “Continue your story, baby.”
Reeling now from the shift from growly asshole to sweet Daddy, I take another sip of my cocoa to help my system settle.
“Um, well. That’s pretty much the gist of it.
I didn’t want to get married so I snuck out the bathroom window, stole the church van, and hit the road.
But I didn’t think to grab my purse or anything so I didn’t have any money for gas.
So I just drove until I couldn’t drive anymore and…
well, honestly, I didn’t really have much of a plan past that. ”
Auntie Gray shakes her head, and in her eyes I can see the same fury I heard in Axel’s voice a moment ago. “You are damn lucky Axel found you when he did. You could have frozen to death out there if he hadn’t come along.”
“It’s not that cold.”
Again, that muscle in her cheek jumps. “Are you arguing with me just for the sake of arguing, little girl?”
I am, because I know damn well storms like the one we’re currently trapped in are silent killers. The cold sneaks up on you and by the time you realize you’re in trouble it’s already too late.
But there’s something about being treated like an actual child who’s too irresponsible to make sure she doesn’t literally die rubs me the wrong way. “No, I’m arguing with you because I’m a grown woman who made an error in judgement and you’re making a federal case out of it.”
“Oh, little girl.” The smile that curves her lips is far worse than the glare she’s been sending my way this entire conversation and I can’t help but press myself back against Axel.
“Trust me, you haven’t seen anything yet.
The only reason I haven’t paddled your ass red is because I trust your Daddy to keep you safe.
But if you ever want to test me, feel free to try.
I promise you’ll find you prefer your Daddy’s discipline to mine. ”
A soft whimper slips past my lips as fear climbs up from my stomach, its claws digging into my chest and throat. Behind me, Axel sighs and cradles me closer to his chest.
“I think that’s enough for now. I’m going to put her down for a nap.”
With me still in his arms, Axel rises from his chair.
“I don’t need a n-nap,” I say, but my protest is weakened a good bit by the wide yawn that interrupts my statement.
“You do, and if you know what’s good for you then you’ll stay where Daddy puts you.”
In the living room, he lowers me onto one of the oversized couches and drapes a blanket over me. Despite my insistence I don’t need a nap, my eyes are already drifting closed when he leans down to press a kiss to my forehead.
“Daddy will be right in the next room if you need me. Sleep tight, my little runaway.”
As he slips away, the exhaustion of the day overtakes me and I do exactly as he bid me to.
I sleep.