Chapter 12
CHAPTER 12
D amn Gemma and her timing, Kile cursed to himself. He had wanted nothing more than to pull Sadie into his arms and kiss her senseless, but he wanted her to come to him this time. And she had been until the door opened.
“There you are.” Gemma smiled, looking from her to Kile, then frowned. “Are we interrupting something?”
“No,” Sadie answered quickly, a little too quickly. Kile wanted to growl; yes, you did but remained silent. “I just came in to clean up the mess.”
“Oh, I should have told you that I have women who do that,” Gemma replied, looking around. “Did you meet Beth Ann?”
“I did, and she was very nice,” Sadie answered with a huge smile. “They were all nice.”
Kile frowned, knowing that the mated females had been friendly, but the unmated not so much. He saw the looks she and Lily had been getting, and it pissed him off.
“Well, you and Lily were a hit.” Gemma boasted proudly. “So much so I had to have Eric stop the line of the men ready to go for a fifth plate. I found two puking and then saw them back in line.”
“I don’t think it was all about the food.” Eric frowned, glancing at Kile, who nodded in agreement. “Which will be handled shortly. Alex said that a few of the men were very disrespectful to Lily. Did any of them say anything to you that made you uncomfortable, Sadie?”
Kile watched her hesitate as she looked away from Eric to the floor. “No, not really.”
“What did the man who I stepped between you and him say to you?” Kile asked, knowing whatever it was had wiped the smile from her face.
Again, she hesitated, not looking at any of them. “Nothing really.” Sadie finally said, folding and unfolding her arms over her chest. “Listen, it wasn’t a big deal. Beth Ann said he says it to all the women.”
“Who?” Gemma frowned, glancing at Eric and then Kile.
“Dan,” Kile answered, not taking his eyes off Sadie. “And it is a big deal because I saw the look on your face, which is why I stepped in. Out of respect for you I didn’t cause a scene, but I want to know what was said that upset you. We do not condone disrespect of the women here.”
“No, we do not.” Gemma agreed and gave Sadie an encouraging nod. “What did he say to you, Sadie, though I think I know.”
“He said I was his,” Sadie replied, then sighed. “Like I said, Beth Ann mentioned that he says that to all the women, but after dealing with the Colton situation, it brought back things I’d rather forget. I’m probably too sensitive right now, and it bothered me a little. Listen, I don’t want to cause trouble here for Lily. She loves it here, and I don’t want to jeopardize her chance of happiness.”
“He said that to you?” Eric growled, his eyes narrowed as he stared down at his mate.
“I set him straight. He knows who I belong to.” Gemma patted his arm and then turned back to Sadie.
“Why in the fuck didn’t you tell me this?” Eric snarled, his fist clenching. Kile had a feeling Dan may be getting his ass handed to him today, and if not by Eric, but by him. Anger boiled in his chest as he looked at Sadie, watching Eric with wide eyes.
“Ah, because I didn’t want a bloodbath the day everyone arrived,” Gemma said, then turned back to Sadie. “If he bothers you again, just let me know.”
“He won’t be bothering her again,” Kile informed them, a growl in his own voice.
“You’ll get used to all the growling,” Gemma whispered to Sadie, but Kile and Eric heard her. “Now, the real reason I was looking for you is because I want to offer you a job. It doesn’t pay much, but I will offer you a small cabin as soon as possible so you will have a place to stay other than a tent—also a paycheck. We offer breakfast and dinner. I will hire someone you can train for the days you want off.”
“Oh, I, ah—” Sadie began, and Kile knew she was struggling to answer. “I don’t mind helping out. As for the job, I’m honored you asked me, but I’m still unsure what I am doing. I haven’t really had a chance to talk to Lily.”
“Think about it,” Gemma said with a smile. “And yes, if you can help while you are here, I would greatly appreciate it.”
“I’ll do more than help out.” Sadie grinned, and Kile wanted to see her keep that grin on her face every day. She was lovely when she smiled. “I promised Beth Ann and the other women who were here that I would teach them how to cook.”
Gemma clapped her hands together. “That would be amazing. Thank you so much for doing that.”
“Lily and I can help anyone who wants to learn,” Sadie said with a shrug as if it wasn’t that big of a deal. “My mother taught Lily and me how to cook, so I think I can do the same. Not as good as my mother, of course, but close enough.”
“She must have been a special lady.” Gemma clasped Sadie’s hand. “She would be very proud of you and Lily.”
“Thank you, and yes, she was an amazing woman.” Sadie nodded, and Kile could feel the emotion overcome her. It was odd to feel someone else’s emotion, but that is precisely what was happening.
“So I can count on you for a little while. At least until I find someone to take your place if you decide not to take the job?” Gemma put her hands together as if in prayer.
“Sadie smiled with a nod. “Of course.” She replied, then frowned. “But on one condition.”
“Anything,” Gemma said quickly.
“A two-plate minimum.” Sadie sighed, glancing at the kitchen. “You are going to run out of food, and it may kill me. That’s a lot of food.”
“We will take care of that issue,” Eric replied before Gemma could.
“Then I guess I better take stock of what is in the freezer and plan for a dinner,” Sadie said with a chuckle. “Who do I see for supplies?”
“That would be Cole.” Gemma glanced at her watch. “But you don’t have to worry about that right now. “We have a party in a few hours, and dinner is catered. You are coming to the party, aren’t you?”
“She’ll be there,” Kile answered for Sadie when she hesitated.
“Good.” Gemma grinned, heading toward the door. “I’ll see you later.”
“You coming, Kile?” Eric asked, giving him a look as he followed Gemma.
“Yeah, give me a minute.” Kile glanced his brother’s way. “Don’t start without me.”
“Then hurry up,” His voice was stern as the door shut behind him. Eric was going to get all the unmated males together to go over a few rules they seemed to have forgotten. It also looked like both of them needed to converse with Dan Beason.
“You guys are very busy people,” Sadie said as the door shut behind Eric.
“Yes, we are.” Kile agreed, feeling her nervousness with him, and wanted to change that. Neither he nor his wolf liked the fact she was feeling that way. “I don’t know how Gemma and Larry did it before we came along.”
“When you love something, you do what you have to do,” Sadie said, her cheeks flushed as if she said more than she wanted to say.
“That is true,” Kile smiled down at her, but his smile faded. “I’m sorry you were uncomfortable today.”
“Why? It wasn’t your fault.” She replied, surprised. “And it wasn’t that bad. I don’t want all the women to hate me and Lily, thinking we are here to take their man.”
“And that isn’t your fault.” He countered with a cocked eyebrow. “Unmated males can be?—”
“Pushy and overbearing.” Sadie cocked her eyebrow, mirroring his own, a grin forming across her full luscious lips.
“I was going to say idiots and fools.” Kile nodded with a chuckle. “But your observation works just as well.”
“Are all unmated males like that?” Sadie asked, and her tone indicated she was truly curious.
“No, we are not.” He answered, turning serious. “Some of us know how to act with a beautiful woman who knows how to cook.”
Her blush and the way her eyes softened at his compliment had his heart racing and his wolf howling. “I would say thank you, but you didn’t eat my cooking, so I’m not sure you’re talking about me.”
He took a step closer to her, his hand reaching out to cup her cheek. “Oh, I am most definitely talking about you, Sadie.” Once again, they leaned toward each other, each of them anticipating the kiss, and then....the fucking door opened.
“Hey, Eric said to hurry the hell up,” Cole yelled, breaking them apart.
Kile growled, his eyes narrowing as he turned toward his brother. “I’m coming.” Kile’s voice held a dangerous warning. Turning back to Sadie, he sighed. “I’ll see you tonight.” Dropping his hand and stepping away was damn hard, but he did it, and he wasn’t fucking happy about it.
Walking out the door past Cole, he headed to where Eric had rounded up all the unmated males. His eyes scanned until they zeroed in on the one motherfucker he was searching for. Finding him, he walked up to Dan and grabbed him by the front of his shirt, practically picking him up off the ground.
“Sadie is off limits to you.” He hissed, his eyes almost black as he glared at the wide-eyed man. “If I hear you have said one disrespectful word to her or any other female, I will personally kick your fucking ass and escort you out of the Sanctuary. Do you comprehend?”
“Yes,” Dan said, swallowing hard, his eyes still wide and frightened.
Kile let him go after giving him a good shake, then turned and looked around at all the unmated males staring at him. “That goes for all of you. Sadie is off fucking limits. If you want to challenge me then you best step forward now and get it done.”
Making sure he looked at each of them in the eye before stepping up next to his brothers, Kile gave one nod, then turned and walked next to Cole.
“Damn, bro.” Cole leaned over and whispered. “What are you going to do next? Whip your dick out and piss around her marking your territory?”
“Fuck you, Cole,” Kile growled, then glanced at Eric, who was staring at him with a smirk before looking back at the men.
“As my brother said, we will not tolerate any disrespect for the women here. There will be no more than two trips through the food line. If you’re that hungry, run into town or fill up a cooler.” Eric’s voice boomed loudly so they could all hear him clearly. “And as for you, Dan, you are lucky my brother got a hold of you first because I’m not as nice. You ever insinuate that my mate is yours, I won’t escort you off this property. I will kill you. You are fortunate to be breathing right now.”
A crowd of mated males stood around the outskirts, nodding in agreement, all glaring at Dan, who continued to look at the ground. The unmated males all nodded their understanding.
“Now, let’s finish our work so we can have a nice night,” Eric said, dismissing them.
Larry, standing near listening, walked up to the three of them. “You all sure know how to boost morale.” He snickered, shaking his head. “You Shifter fellows sure are a hoot. Never a dull moment around here now.”
Kile smirked, watching Larry walk toward Dan laughing his ass off. He said something to Dan, who scurried quickly away.
“Think they got the message?” Cole snorted, glancing at Kile. “Jesus, man.” Cole walked away, laughing almost as loud as Larry.
“Can I kill him?” Kile growled, glaring at Cole’s back.
“Nah, we need him,” Eric said after a few minutes of thought. “For now. So Sadie, huh? About fucking time you settled your ass down.”
Kile didn’t say a word as he walked away to get his emotions in check. He and Sadie would have a talk tonight about her leaving because he sure as hell was not allowing her to walk away without a fight, a fight he was determined to win.