Damaged!: A Walker Brothers Novel: (The Walker Brothers Book 3)

by J. S. Scott

  She’d been hunted like an animal before she’d ever really been an adult.

  Maybe I should let her have her freedom.

  Or…maybe not.

  “Fuck! I’m pathetic,” I whispered irritably to myself as I went to search out my woman.

  Kenzie was usually awake before me, and she was almost always in the kitchen.

  “I’m doing it today, dammit!” I said fiercely under my breath.

  I wasn’t going to be able to wait anymore.

  I met with Theo in the kitchen. “Where’s Kenzie?” I asked.

  He motioned toward the French doors. “She took Lucky for a walk. Coffee is made. I’m taking mine to go. Got work to do.”

  Theo grabbed his travel mug that I assumed was full, made his way to the front door, and exited.

  I filled a mug and went to the French doors to look for Kenzie. I wasn’t used to the house being so damn silent.

  Kenzie had changed my home, and my life.

  Usually, it was alive with her energy, and I never wanted it to be quiet again.

  I’d spent too much of my life alone, and I’d never really gotten used to it. Maybe I’d told myself that I was content, but I wasn’t.

  I think I’d always just been waiting for her.

  “She’s going to marry me,” I grumbled as I made my way out to the beach. If she wasn’t ready, I’d wait. Hell, there was no time limit on how long it took to convince her. I just knew that I’d never survive without her anymore.

  I stopped on the sugar sand, covering my eyes as I scanned the beach along the coast of the island.

  No Kenzie.

  Logically, I knew she hadn’t gone far. We were on a goddamn island. Where could she go?

  Still, my heartrate accelerated, and my adrenaline kicked in as I searched for her.

  Because of her past, and the way I felt about her, I was always going to worry when I couldn’t find her. Losing her was my fucking nightmare.

  I heard the distant sound of a dog barking over the sound of the small waves hitting the shore. It was calm, and there wasn’t really an angry surf this morning.

  I sprinted down the sand, stopping abruptly as I finally saw Kenzie, and my body tensed as I spied her out in the water.

  “She can’t swim that well yet. What in the fuck is she doing?”

  We’d been slowly working on her ability to keep herself afloat, but she still wasn’t a strong swimmer. It was going to take more time.

  Lucky had her paws in the water, but even she didn’t attempt to follow Kenzie into deeper water. The canine was barking up a storm, trying to convince Kenzie to come back.

  “Smart dog,” I rumbled.

  I quickly shucked off my jeans, then tossed them on top of Kenzie’s clothing. I hadn’t bothered with any other clothes, so I was naked when I waded into the water.

  “What in the fuck are you doing?” I grabbed her arm as I approached.

  She visibly startled before she turned to face me.

  Jesus! I hated it when I saw fear in her expression, but I was pissed because she’d ventured into the water without me. There were strong currents along the island at times, and given her novice swimmer status, it scared the hell out of me to see her alone.

  “I’m fine,” she bristled. “The water is calm, and it’s not deep enough to have to swim.”

  “There’s a drop-off just a few more feet ahead.” I was pissed, but my anger was caused by my fear.

  Her face fell. “I didn’t know. It seemed safe enough.”

  She probably would have been safe. Even if she’d stepped off the sand bar, she could have easily swum back to where it was shallow, but there was no reasoning with my anger.

  “Get out of the water,” I demanded, letting go of her arm so she could trudge back to shore.

  “You’re here now,” she reasoned.

  “Get. Out.”

  For an instant, she looked like she wasn’t going to move, but then she turned toward shore and made her way back to the sand.

  I followed closely behind her, my temper barely contained.

  She picked up her T-shirt and plopped down on the dry top. “I’m fine. You can go now,” she huffed.

  Oh, hell no. I wasn’t leaving until she understood that she couldn’t do anything that could risk her life. I spread out my jeans and sat beside her. “I’m not leaving until you do.”

  Lucky pranced around for a few moments before she finally scampered into the shade to take a puppy nap.

  “I don’t need a keeper,” she answered in a snippy tone.

  “Too bad. You have one anyway. I can’t leave you alone for a minute without you trying to get yourself killed.”

  “Is that why you’re angry?” she asked softly. “You thought I was going to die? Dane, that’s not reasonable. I was perfectly safe.”

  “Bullshit! You can’t swim well yet. One bad current, one wrong step and you could easily get swept away. Dammit! Don’t you understand that if anything happened to you, I’d never survive it, Kenzie? You’re my whole damn life now. There won’t be a ‘me’ without ‘you.’

  Maybe I was pathetic, but it was the truth.

  Kenzie’s eyes filled with tears as she looked at me for a minute before swinging her body over mine, straddling me.

  I told myself not to be swayed by her beautiful naked body over mine, but I was starting to fail miserably.

  All I had to do was feel her soft skin touching mine, or catch a whiff of her seductive scent, and I was toast.

  “Thank you for worrying about me,” she said against my ear. “But you can’t boss me around like a drill sergeant. I don’t like it.”

  Had I been that bad? “I was scared,” I admitted.

  She stroked my wet hair back from my face. “I get that. But the risk was minimal, and it’s hot this morning. All I wanted to do was get wet.”

  “I can get you wet,” I rasped, my mind snapping the moment she mentioned getting wet.

  She laughed, a musical, happy sound that made my heart swell up in my chest.

  Kenzie hadn’t had many reasons to laugh in her life, and I loved it when she did. It was happening more and more, and the shadows in her eyes were slowly fading.

  “There’s no doubt you can get me very wet,” she said seductively.

  I looked up into her eyes, my heart hammering as I saw the love that I needed right there in her expression.

  Holy fuck! I knew instantly that I was a goner.

  CHAPTER 46

  Kenzie

  I’d been hurt when Dane had yelled at me, bossing me around like he owned me. But all of that faded as I saw the fear in his gaze.

  He isn’t angry. He’s scared. And he’s afraid for me.

  I’d get him to lose the anger, and talk to me about what was bothering him. While I wasn’t the kind of woman to put up with somebody bossing me around, I could handle Dane’s fear. It nearly brought me to tears that he cared that much.

  “You’re not mad,” I told him. “But your concern is coming out as anger. And it hurts me.”

  “Fuck! You’re right,” he said. “But I can’t fucking stand the thought of anything or anybody hurting you ever again. I’m sorry,” he said remorsefully. “I don’t want to control you, Kenzie. I just want to keep you safe. I feel so damn possessive I can’t stand myself.”

  I put my hands on his shoulders as I looked down at him. “I think I can handle it. Maybe I even like the way you want to protect me.”

  “Do you?” he asked.

  I nodded. “It’s kind of sexy.”

  “I’m glad you think so, because I can’t seem to control it. I’m one of those jealous, obsessive guys I used to laugh at, like my brothers. I never got how they could get so damn crazy over a female.”

  I smiled. “But now you do?”<
br />
  “Karma is a bitch.”

  “I love you, Dane. I don’t want to go anywhere, and I don’t want anybody else.”

  “Yeah. I find that hard to believe sometimes.”

  “Believe it.”

  “You could do better, but I’m not planning on giving you that chance.”

  I chuckled. “Really? I could do better than the most handsome guy on Earth who has a ridiculous amount of talent? A billionaire who also happens to be kind and wonderful. Excuse me if I don’t believe that. There is no better man. And I happen to be insanely in love with you.”

  Dane had never realized his worth, and it had nothing to do with money or his painting. He saw me. He always had. He was kind and generous. He was loving and protective. All those reasons made me love him.

  He tightened his arms around my waist. “Then I sure as hell am not going to try to talk you out of it.”

  “Good.” I leaned down and kissed him, trying to show him just how much I needed him.

  Dane had become part of my soul, part of the fiber of my being. I had no idea how I’d found him, but I needed him so desperately that my heart ached.

  Our mouths never came apart as he rolled me onto my back, taking possession of my body as it trembled beneath him.

  I gasped as he released my lips and found the sensitive skin on my neck. “Yes,” I encouraged. “Please.”

  “Baby, you don’t have to beg,” he said against my skin.

  “Does it turn you on?” I asked in a shaky voice.

  “Hell, yes,” he growled.

  “Then I don’t care if I beg. Not with you.”

  “There can’t be anybody else, Kenzie. Ever.”

  As his mouth moved down to my breast, I said in a raspy tone, “Never.”

  There would never be another Dane. I could never feel this way again, so I cherished what we had.

  All thoughts of conversation fled as his teeth latched onto a hard nipple, jolting sensation through my body. When his fingers teased the other one, I nearly came unglued.

  It was like that with Dane. All it took was one touch to make me crazy. My core flooded with heat as his fingers trailed down my belly, finally finding what they sought.

  Our bodies were almost dry, so the sand had begun to fall off my body until it felt warm beneath me instead of sticking to my skin.

  “Oh, God. Dane,” I moaned, needing more.

  His fingers found my clit, and he was teasing rather than satisfying.

  “Fuck me, Dane. I don’t want to wait this time,” I pleaded.

  It had never taken him long to make me fly into a frenzy. But I couldn’t stand it. Not today. Both of us needed each other so desperately that I just wanted him to send me into orgasm. And I wanted him inside when he did.

  What we felt was primitive and raw, and that was what I craved.

  “What do you want, baby?” he said hoarsely.

  “You!” I cried out. “I just want you.”

  “You’ve always had me,” he growled as he covered my body with his.

  I could feel every hard inch of him pressing against my belly.

  “I want everything,” I whimpered.

  “You’ve got it,” he said gruffly as the tip of his cock pressed against my core.

  There was no hesitation. Dane entered me in one powerful thrust.

  I wrapped my legs around his hips, silently asking him to fuck me as hard as he could.

  “Christ! You feel so damn good.” He pulled out and entered again. “But I need more.”

  He pulled out, making me whimper with the pain of losing his cock inside my body. But I was panting as he prompted me onto my hands and knees.

  He brushed the clinging sand from my ass sensually before he grasped my hips.

  “You okay?” he asked.

  “Yes. Just do it,” I demanded, eager to feel him take me.

  Being with him this way incited some kind of madness I couldn’t explain. All I knew was that nothing was more important than having him fuck me.

  We’d never assumed this position, yet it matched the insane way I had to have him.

  I let out a squeak as he buried himself to his balls again, his hard grip on my hips almost painful. He was so deep that it satisfied the ferocious need that was overtaking my entire body.

  “I love you,” I panted. “I love you so much.”

  He pulled out and entered me with an even greater force. “I love you, too, baby. Probably way too much.”

  I wanted to tell him that he could never love me too much. I craved his fierceness, and I adored his protectiveness. Maybe he went a little over-the-top sometimes, but I understood it. I felt the same way.

  My head dropped as he plowed into me.

  Over and over.

  Harder and harder as I encouraged him.

  When he grasped my hair and pulled my head up, I screamed his name as my body started to come undone.

  Heat fired in my belly, and it went straight to my pussy.

  I didn’t even flinch when his thumb slid roughly over my ass, probing my anus. “This will be mine someday, too,” he insisted in a husky voice filled with greed.

  I’d never done anal, but I could see myself giving anything and everything to Dane. He’d make it pleasurable. He always did. “Yes,” I consented with a tortured moan.

  When his finger probed that untried area, my climax didn’t just begin, it rushed toward me with a speed I couldn’t control.

  “You’re mine, baby. I’ll never let you go,” he said with a groan.

  Like I’d want him to? All I wanted was Dane.

  “Don’t,” I cried. “Don’t ever leave me.”

  “I’m not going anywhere.”

  When that wandering hand moved to my belly and down to my clit, I imploded. He was rocking my body with sensation, and I couldn’t hold back.

  The muscles inside my channel spasmed almost painfully, milking Dane to a heated release.

  I collapsed, and Dane came down beside me, his hand searching and finding mine.

  We stayed just like that our hands clasped, and our labored breath slowly recovering.

  “What in the hell did I ever do in my life to deserve you?” he asked huskily.

  I sighed. “I wondered the same thing.”

  Dane let go of my hand and sat up, then grasped my hands to pull me up beside him.

  “I wasn’t planning on doing this right now, but I can’t wait.” He let go of my hands to fumble in the pocket of his jeans.

  My heartrate, that was almost back to normal, increased again as I saw the small jewelry box in his hand.

  He flipped the lid, and sat directly in front of me. “Marry me, Kenzie. I can’t spend another minute without officially making you mine.”

  I covered my mouth with my hand as a sob escaped from my body. “Dane, are you sure?”

  It was obvious that he was deadly serious, the expression on his face hopeful.

  “Surer than I’ve ever been in my life. I know I’m no Prince Charming, Kenzie. But I need you so damn much.”

  The enormous diamond sparkled in the sun, and it was the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen.

  I shook my head. “That’s not true. You’re my Prince Charming,” I said between sobs.

  My heart was galloping as I took in the moment.

  The man I loved more than anything in the world wanted to marry me?

  “Being yours is all that matters,” he explained. “Put me out of my misery. Marry me. I’ll never be perfect, but I can promise that I’ll always love you.”

  I could promise him the same thing. “Yes. Yes. Yes.”

  “Thank fuck,” he answered in a relieved tone as he took my hand.

  The diamond fit perfectly.

  “How did you know my ring size?�
� I asked as tears flowed down my cheeks.

  “Paige might have helped me a little,” he replied.

  I threw my arms around his neck and sent him tumbling onto his back. “I love you so much.”

  He wrapped his arms tightly around me. “I love you, too, Kenzie. I always will. There’s nobody else for me but you.”

  We stayed there for a while, absorbing the sense of peace that washed over us now that we were committed to making each other happy for the rest of our lives.

  Honestly, I didn’t know how a woman like me had captured a guy like Dane, but I wasn’t going to question my fate. I was too damn happy about it to keep wondering about my destiny.

  The sun was getting warmer by the time Dane lifted me from the sand and carried me back inside.

  Lucky followed us, barking playfully as she scampered behind, apparently approving of the way we’d just sealed our love.

  In the blissful weeks that followed, we did very little except celebrate our engagement.

  By the time we married in Vegas, our bond was so strong that nothing and nobody was ever going to pull us apart.

  I was grateful for every day I spent with the man I loved. And knowing we had a lifetime together was the greatest gift I’d ever received.

  The two of us were stronger together, and the fear that I’d always carried with me eventually dissolved.

  It was funny what the powerful and absolutely undefeatable power of love could do to repair emotional damage that had been piling up for a lifetime.

  EPILOGUE

  Kenzie

  MONTHS LATER AT THE HOLIDAYS…

  “What are we doing here?” I asked Dane curiously, not certain that I wanted to exit the warm vehicle we’d traveled in.

  He shrugged as he opened the car door. “It’s Christmas. I have a present for you.”

  Like I hadn’t already gotten enough stuff? Between Dane, Paige, Eva, Trace and Sebastian, I’d gotten more presents this Christmas than I’d ever seen in my entire life.

  I loved Denver, and it was beautiful at Christmas. The only downside was the cold. Dane and I were used to our tropical island, so I was pretty sure my blood had thinned, but it was nice to see a real winter again.