Chapter Five
When she flinched, Eli wanted blood. His wolf growled, none too happy at the implication. She’d expected him to hit her, which meant someone had done just that in the past.
He swallowed his anger. This wasn’t about him. It had never occurred to him to tell her about his family. That was on him. She hadn’t seemed to want to talk on the drive, so he’d left her alone, assuming there’d be plenty of time to discuss things once they were here. Shortsighted on his part.
Having a woman on the mountain was new territory.
He and his brothers lived here together.
They sought female company when they were on the road for work.
It wasn’t that they didn’t want to find that special someone and settle down, but unattached female wolves weren’t easy to find.
Nor were most female wolves willing to give up the security of their packs to go live on a mountain with what amounted to a bunch of outliers.
Their mother had left it all behind for their father, but Sadie Sin had been one in a billion.
There were always human women, but that was a huge security risk.
Secrecy about what they were kept them alive.
Those kinds of relationships were also frowned upon by the packs.
The risk of a child was remote, but it did exist. Most wolves were all about keeping the bloodlines pure. None of which mattered right now.
“Breathe, Kinley.” He could hear the thundering of her heart, see the wild fluttering of her pulse in her neck.
Her pupils were dilated, her eyes wide. She was so brave it was easy to forget what she’d been through in a short amount of time.
“You’re safe here. If you don’t believe anything else, believe that.
I’d sure as hell never hurt you and neither would my brothers. ”
He wanted to wrap his arms around her but refrained.
She was skittish and rightfully so. It felt longer, but they’d met less than a day ago.
A lot had transpired in that short amount of time, but they were for all intents and purposes strangers.
He wouldn’t deny he wanted to get to know her a whole lot better, but that would have to wait until more pressing matters were dealt with.
She stared up at him for what seemed an eternity before nodding.
The first hurdle cleared, he huffed out a breath.
“Let’s get something to eat and get you settled.
” They didn’t have a guest room, had never needed one.
They’d converted their parents’ bedroom into an office some years back.
He’d take the couch in there or in the living room. Kinley could have his room.
The thought of her sleeping in his bed, snuggled beneath his sheets, had his body stirring to life. He silently cursed. Considering the state of her life and her fears, that was the last thing she needed.
“There’s no way I can repay you for what you’ve done. I was serious about hiring you.”
Considering what they charged for their services, he seriously doubted she could afford them. And the idea of taking her money was repugnant. “Don’t worry about that now. Come on.” Hand resting on the small of her back, he propelled her toward the house and up the steps.
She came to stop inside the main entrance and stared with wide eyes. “This place is amazing.”
Looking at it from her perspective, it was pretty incredible.
To him, it was simply home. The great room had vaulted ceilings, giving it a spacious feel.
It was also necessary because of their height.
No wolf liked feeling hemmed in. Two huge sectionals were angled in front of a stone fireplace with a massive television mounted above it.
A window seat and bookcases filled one wall.
Wide-planked oak floors spread throughout the downstairs level.
Beyond it was a dining table big enough to seat ten and a large kitchen where his brothers impatiently waited.
“Coffee’s hot,” Levi held up the pot. “Or there’s sweet tea.” Women seemed to love his brother. He had an easy way with them that they often used to their advantage on a job. Eli hadn’t liked seeing his brother use those skills to try to win over Kinley.
She squared her shoulders and headed toward the kitchen. “I’d love some sweet tea, if it’s no trouble.”
Cyrus was nowhere to be seen, but a shower was running in one of the downstairs bedrooms. Levi was busy filling two glasses. Before Eli could introduce his other brother, he stepped forward. “Welcome, I’m Zach.” He held out his hand.
Kinley rubbed her palm against the leg of her jeans before taking it for a quick shake. “Nice to meet you.”
“Have a seat.” Eli waved her toward the table. “What do we have to eat?” It took a lot to keep them all fed. There was always something to snack on.
“I made sandwiches since we weren’t sure what time you’d get here.” Zach pulled a large platter out of the refrigerator and set it on the table in front of Kinley before heading back for plates. Levi was right behind him with glasses of sweet tea.
His wolf didn’t like seeing them hovering around her. Before he could stop it, a growl of displeasure rumbled in his chest. They all turned in his direction. He clamped his jaw shut and dug through the pantry for a couple of large bags of chips, ignoring the unfamiliar surge of possessiveness.
Both brothers cast concerned glances his way, but Levi, the bastard, grinned. Irritated with himself for his reaction, Eli dumped the chips in front of her.
“Dig in.” Zach removed the plastic wrap and shoved the sandwiches closer. “There’s roast beef with mustard, or turkey with mayo.”
She stared at the small mountain of food. The corners of her mouth twitched, and her eyes filled with humor. “I hope you don’t expect me to eat all this.”
Levi threw back his head and laughed. Zach flashed a grin. Amused by her quick wit, Eli dropped into the chair beside her. “I think there’s enough for all of us, but you help yourself first. My brothers are bottomless pits.”
The stress on her face fell away when she grinned and helped herself to a turkey sandwich, showing him a mischievous side.
He was hungry for more than food. Her pretty pink lips beckoned.
His jeans grew uncomfortably tight. To distract himself, Eli opened one of the bags of chips and piled some on her plate before filling his own.
There was something satisfying about feeding her.
They hadn’t stopped for a meal on the trip home, instead snacking on muffins and a few stale Danishes he’d picked up at a gas station along the way.
He was starving and knew she had to be too.
Satisfied once she’d taken a bite, Eli plowed through four beef sandwiches before the edge went off his hunger. Wolves had a high metabolism and burned through a lot of calories. Kinley had only eaten half of her single one and a fraction of the chips.
Concerned, he nudged her shoulder with his. “You want something else?” He wasn’t the best of cooks, but he could whip up an omelette or toss something in the microwave.
“Oh, no. This is delicious. I’m not that hungry.” She absently poked at one of the chips on her plate
She had to be starving. Before he could figure out how to tempt her to eat more, Cyrus padded barefoot into the room, fresh from his shower, and took the chair at the head of the table.
Zach shoved the still half-full platter in his direction while Levi filled a tall glass with sweet tea and set it in front of him.
Beside him, Kinley tensed. Beneath the cover of the table, he laid his hand over hers and gave it a squeeze of reassurance. He was about to withdraw when she flipped her hand over and twined their fingers together.
“I’m sure you have questions,” she began.
Eli shot his big brother a look that warned him to go easy on her. If she felt the least bit threatened or unwelcome, she’d take off on her own. Then he’d be forced to go after her.
He didn’t question his reasons for needing to protect Kinley. From the moment he’d laid eyes on her, there’d been something about her. Trouble—she was that. But she was also a courageous, resilient woman who was afraid and alone in the world.
Undaunted, Cyrus rested his elbows on the table and steepled his fingers together. “First things first. We need to decide as a family how we want to handle this situation. Like it or not, we’ve been dragged into your problems.”
“That was never my intention.”
“We can circle around who’s to blame until the end of time. The fact remains, after a lifetime of staying off the radar of any other wolves, we’re involved with your pack’s politics. If I’d known Duke Wright was a wolf, I would never have taken the job.”
“You should have followed protocol and had me investigate,” Zach needlessly pointed out. They had procedures in place that they followed to vet each job.
“Could have, should have.” Cyrus shrugged. “I thought it was a quick, easy job from a reliable broker we’ve dealt with many times before. That was my mistake. Eli’s mistake was not leaving the second he realized Kinley was a wolf. We both did what we did. Now we deal with what is.”
That was one of the things he respected most about his brother.
Fuckups were pointed out and used as learning tools.
No matter the outcome, none of his brothers would level blame at him.
That didn’t stop the knot of guilt from twisting in his gut.
If one of his brothers died because of this, he’d never forgive himself.
“Maybe there’s some way we can work this out that doesn’t end in violence. ”
Kinley jerked her hand from his and stood so fast her chair toppled to the floor. “I won’t go back.”
He jumped up. “No one is sending you anywhere you don’t want to go.”