by Leah Brooke
Erin gasped. “Jared! I’m not going anywhere.”
“On that, we agree.”
Chapter Eight
Stunned, Erin watched Jared walk out, and only her sister’s appearance in the doorway kept her from following him.
Frowning, Rachel watched Jared until he was out of sight before turning to Erin. “Okay. Talk. What the hell’s going on between you and Jared? Does this have anything to do with that lawyer showing up?”
“Yeah.” After checking on William again, Erin bent to pick up toys, tossing them into the large basket on the side of the sofa. “Ace showed up at the house a little while ago. He wants to know why Wes Cramer is still in town.”
Rachel blinked. “He is?” Rubbing her chin, she met Erin’s gaze. “Good question. Why is he still here? Why the hell did he come, Erin?”
“I have no idea.”
“Bullshit.” Rachel rushed to her side, plopping onto the sofa next to her. “Was there something between you and Wes Cramer?”
“Of course not!” Erin jumped to her feet, irritated that everyone around her seemed to think she and Wes had a past. “He’s staying at the hotel.”
Rachel smiled sympathetically. “Which has Jared, Duncan, and Reese twisted.”
“Yeah.” Sucking in a shaky breath, Erin suddenly found herself blinking back tears. “I hate this. I hate feeling so disconnected from them.”
Erin rose, glancing toward the hallway. “Watch William for me. I’m going to the hotel. I need to find out what the hell Wes is up to.”
* * * *
Sitting on the porch, Duncan tapped his fingers as he waited for Jared to come home. He didn’t like the implications of Erin keeping Wes Cramer from them, but the thought of Stark threatening her fired his blood.
Thinking about her secrecy about Cramer and the attorney’s sudden appearance in Desire made his blood run cold.
If she had a past with the other man and missed the city enough to go with him, Duncan would do anything to stop her.
The thought of tying her to their bed appealed to him the most.
Ace started down the steps, donning his hat against the bright sun. “I’m going back to check in at the office, and if any information comes in about Stark, I’ll call. I’m also having Talia do a background check on Cramer. After that, I’m going to stop at the hotel and see if I can find out a little more about Cramer’s intentions. We have some other strangers in town watching him. Feds. They’re gonna meet me and tell me what the hell’s going on.”
“Feds watching him? I don’t like anything about this.” Duncan glanced up as Reese came out the front door, the concern in his eyes telling Duncan that his brother had heard. “When Jared gets back, we’re going to go pay Cramer a visit ourselves.” Grinning, he rubbed his hands in anticipation. “We’ll probably get there before you do.”
Nodding, Ace slid on his sunglasses. “Don’t cause any trouble and watch out for strangers.”
Raising a brow, Duncan allowed a small smile. “I won’t do anything you wouldn’t do if some strange man came to town and grabbed at Hope, trying to convince her to go away with him.”
Ace’s features hardened at the mention of his beloved wife, a muscle working in his jaw. Looking up at the sky, he took a deep breath before looking at Duncan again. “That’s what I’m afraid of. I won’t be long at the office. Please don’t do anything I’m gonna have to arrest you for.”
Not willing to commit to anything, Duncan said nothing and got to his feet. Propping a hip on the railing, he watched Ace pull out and drive away. “Did you see how miserable Erin looked before she left?”
“Yeah.” Reese lowered himself to the top step. “I did. I hate that she thinks we don’t trust her. Her secrecy about Cramer and the fact that he not only showed up here, but stayed, worries the hell out of me. And now with the Feds watching him…”
Reaching deep for anger, Duncan could only manage to come up with fear. “I wonder if she knows about the Feds. She’s usually honest as hell and up-front about everything.”
Reese nodded, staring out into the yard. “I know. But I have to admit she surprised me a little. I expected her to turn on us like a rattler. Instead, she just got up and left. If she knew why Cramer was here, she’d tell us.”
Reese jumped up. “Shit!”
Duncan stiffened, evidently coming to the same conclusion as his brother. “Fuck. She’s going to go see Cramer and ask him herself.”
Jared came around the corner, squealing tires as he pulled into the driveway. “Get in.”
Duncan nodded as he crossed the yard. “Yeah, we just figured it out, too. Took us fucking long enough.”
Sliding into the passenger seat, Duncan smiled.
Jared scowled at him as he pulled out of the driveway again. “What the fuck are you smiling at?”
“I’m smiling because I feel a hell of a lot better.” Scrubbing a hand over his face, he glanced back at Reese. “I was so damned scared when I realized that she kept that phone call from us that I wasn’t thinking. Erin always thinks things out. She would have told us when she got over her shock. I saw her face. She was just as shocked when she found out that Cramer was still in town.”
Jared nodded, smiling faintly. “And since she doesn’t know why, she’d march over there and find out for herself. Yep. That’s our woman.”
Duncan blew out a breath, his insides unclenching. “Christ, I feel better. No wonder she was looking at us as if we’d lost our minds.”
From the back seat, Reese sat forward. “Yeah, but we still have no idea why Cramer’s here.”
Reese’s tone and the muscle working in Jared’s jaw told Duncan they were once again thinking along the same lines.
“There’s only one thing he could want.” Duncan looked at each of his brothers in turn. “He wants Erin.”
Reese clenched his jaw. “Yeah, and the Feds are watching him.”
Jared whipped around. “What?”
Duncan blew out a breath, the sense of urgency making his heart pound faster. “Ace just told us. Hurry up. We’ve got to get there before she does.”
* * * *
“What the hell are you doing here?”
Wes smiled and opened the door wider. “Good morning. Direct as ever. I’m glad to see that that hasn’t changed. Come in. I’ve been expecting you.”
Erin blinked and then frowned in confusion. “Why the hell would you be expecting me?”
Wes reached out to grip her hand to pull her farther into the room, but Erin yanked her hand away, pushing against the door he’d been trying to close. Frowning, he dropped his hand. “What’s wrong, darling?”
Erin blinked, suddenly finding herself staring at a stranger. “Darling? What the hell are you talking about?”
Reaching out a hand again, he smiled. “Erin, I felt it, too. I knew you were really like this under the conservative suits you used to wear. I felt it the second I saw you.”
Erin blinked again, running a hand through her hair just to make sure she wasn’t in the middle of some kind of crazy nightmare. “Wes, I don’t know what the hell you’re talking about, but I don’t have time to play games with you.”
His smile widened, his eyes dancing. “Of course you do. Once we get back to Dallas, you and I can play all the games you want. Just think of it, you and me together again. You’re fucking three men, Erin. You don’t have to play hard to get with me.”
Taking a step back toward the open door, Erin eyed Wes warily, wondering when he’d become delusional. “You and I were never together, Wes. I don’t even know why you would ever think such a thing.”
She fisted her hands at her sides, furious that he’d made something as beautiful and loving as her marriage sound sinful and dirty.
Taking a step closer, he reached for her again. “Darling, don’t say that.”
“Don’t call me that!” Furious now, Erin shoved at him. “What the hell’s wrong with you?”
“Erin, when we dated back in Dallas—�
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“Dated?” Erin felt as if she’d walked into a play where everyone knew their lines except her. “When the hell did we ever date?”
Wes frowned again, his eyes going hard and cold. “Don’t try to pretend it didn’t happen. All those dinners together—”
“We were working!” Erin couldn’t believe that he’d considered the dinners they’d eaten together as dates. “We went out to eat because we were preparing the case against Stark. The company paid for our dinners, Wes. They were business dinners! I never showed any interest in you other than as the attorney building a case. What the hell’s wrong with you?”
Wes snapped, grabbing her upper arms and shaking her. “It was more than that, and you know it! You and I belong together, Erin. Stop playing hard to get and come back to Dallas with me. Your marriage can’t be legal. You and I will get married as soon as we get back home.”
Erin couldn’t contain her temper any longer.
She kneed him in the groin.
Wes grunted and bent but didn’t release her.
In fact, his grip tightened, and for the first time since she’d arrived in Desire, she felt real fear.
“Get your fucking hands off my wife.”
A chill went down her spine at the venom in Duncan’s tone, but it quickly dissipated, replaced by a warm rush of relief.
As Duncan brushed past her, a hard arm closed around her waist from behind, pulling her against an equally hard chest.
Recognizing Reese’s hold, Erin tried to pull away from Wes’s surprisingly strong grip, warning bells going off when Duncan gripped Wes by the shirtfront. “Duncan, no!”
She knew her husbands well enough to know that Wes was in trouble.
Jared came around her other side, his hands closing over Wes’s wrists, the sound of a bone snapping as chilling as Wes’s pain-filled screech.
Freed from Wes’s hold, Erin found herself pulled away from him, with Reese’s arms wrapped firmly around her.
Jared moved in next to Duncan, his hands on his hips as he glared at Wes. “You were warned about putting your hands on our wife.”
Wes eyed each of them in horror, his attempt to pull away from Duncan futile. “Get off of me! You broke my damned wrist.”
Jared smiled coldly, moving to stand between Erin and Wes as Reese overcame her struggles and pulled her out to the hallway. “You’re lucky you’re still breathing.”
Panicked now, Erin pulled at Reese’s forearms, unsurprised that she couldn’t budge them. “Reese! They’re going to kill him.”
“Good.”
Still gripping the front of Wes’s shirt, Duncan shifted slightly, placing his body between Wes and Jared. “I think it’s about time you left town.”
Wes straightened, holding his wrist against his chest. “Not without Erin.”
Duncan pushed Wes back to fall on the bed, standing over him with his hands on his hips. “Then I’m afraid you’re gonna be disappointed. Pack your bags and get out of town. If I see you again, I’m gonna break more than your fucking wrist.”
Erin tried in vain to break Reese’s hold. “Please, Reese. Don’t let them hurt him any more.”
To her amazement, Reese bent to growl in her ear. “Shut up. Don’t even think of defending him.”
Dear God.
Her husbands appeared to be hanging on to control by a thread, and she didn’t trust her ability to pull them back.
As he pulled her into the hallway, Erin breathed a sigh of relief to see Ace standing just outside the doorway.
His size alone made the sheriff an imposing and intimidating figure, but the way he stood with his hands on his hips and the hard glint of anger in his eyes made him nothing short of terrifying.
“Ace! Please. Do something. I’ve never seen them like this.”
Lifting a brow, Ace glanced at her, his attention focused on Jared, Duncan, and Wes. “He grabbed you. Shook you. Is trying to take you away from them. What do you suppose my reaction would be if someone attempted that with Hope?”
Erin swallowed heavily, alarmed by Ace’s icy calm. “They’d probably have to call out the National Guard.” Reaching out, she touched his forearm. “Please, Ace. I don’t want them to get into trouble. It’s just a misunderstanding.”
Ace smiled faintly and nodded. “I guess Cramer’s learned his lesson. I’ll make sure he gets his wrist set before he leaves town.”
Reese bent and swung her from her feet, his features hard as he lifted her against his chest. “Let’s get you back to William. It’s time for his feeding.”
The fact that he said nothing else as he carried her from the hotel scared her more than anything. “Reese?”
“Not now, Erin. I need some fucking air.”
Chapter Nine
Leaning back against the countertop of the small kitchen in the lingerie store, Reese listened to Rachel and Marissa wait on customers while, over the rim of his cup, he watched his stone-faced wife pace with William.
His temper had cooled in the last hour, but Erin’s appeared to have heated significantly.
Setting his cup aside, he crossed his arms over his chest, irritated and still uneasy at the distance between them. “How long are you going to give me the silent treatment?”
Erin didn’t even glance up at him. “Until I calm down enough to talk to you. Are you sure Wes is all right?”
Relieved that she was talking to him, but pissed off at her concern for the attorney, Reese straightened and reached out to rub his sleeping son’s back, deliberately crowding her. “Cramer had his wrist set and is on a plane headed back to Dallas. Jared and Duncan went with Ace back to the police station to check on something.”
Erin nodded once and turned away from him, heading down the short hallway to the children’s playroom. “I’m going to put William down and go out front to help Marissa. I’ll get a ride home later.”
Annoyed at her attempt to get rid of him, he found the anger he’d finally managed to tamp down rising back to the surface. “No. I’ll wait.”
He followed her to the nursery and dropped onto the sofa, catching his niece when she threw herself at him. “I’ll just stay in here with the kids until you’re ready to leave.”
Anger flashed in his wife’s eyes as she straightened from settling William in the crib. “I can get a ride home later.”
“That won’t be necessary, my darling wife.”
He couldn’t resist the opportunity to remind her just what she was to him, and his present mood allowed him to get a great deal of satisfaction at the anger emanating from her.
His wife had to learn that keeping things from them, especially something as important as her safety, would never be acceptable.
* * * *
Jared pounded the steering wheel in an unusual show of temper. “Christ, I’m still mad as hell.”
Still furious that Erin had been manhandled in such a way, Duncan looked over at his brother. “At least you got to break something. How the hell was I supposed to fight with that asshole after you’d broken his wrist?”
Jared’s lips twitched as he pulled into the back parking lot of the lingerie shop. “Yeah. That felt good. Did you hear Erin? She had no clue that Cramer was interested in her.”
With a sigh, Duncan stared toward the back door, his cock twitching at the thought of the fighting and making up that would come in a few hours. “She’s a beautiful, remarkable, and sexy woman. A passionate woman. She can be sweet as pie one minute and mean as a rattler the next. Why she doesn’t understand how any man wouldn’t want her is beyond me.”
“She’s gonna be mean as a rattler tonight for sure. I swear that woman has no idea of her appeal.” Grinning, Jared threw the car in park and opened the door as he shut off the engine. “It’s gonna take some doing to appease her. Damn, I feel better already.”
Duncan opened his own door, his blood heating in anticipation. “Yeah. Reese’s text said she was so mad that she wouldn’t even talk to him. I think I’m gonna get started on c
urbing that temper.”
Climbing out, Jared frowned. “No. I am.”
“I don’t think so.” Duncan slammed the door behind him. “You got to break Cramer’s wrist.”
“And you got to him first and had the opportunity to get in his face.”
To Duncan’s surprise, Reese came through the back door, taking the steps in a rush and heading toward them.
“What the hell are you two arguing about?”
Duncan came to a stop with his brothers in the middle of the parking lot. “I plan to turn our wife over my knee. I’m gonna bring her to the truck and paddle her ass for keeping the fact that she might be in danger from us.”
Jared smiled. “But since he got to grab Cramer and get in his face, I think I should get that honor.”
Reese grinned. “And since I didn’t get to do either, and I’ve put up with her attitude all afternoon, the honor goes to me. Keep an eye on the baby.”
Turning to head back toward the shop, Reese smiled over his shoulder. “Besides, while William was sleeping, and I was getting the silent treatment, I went to visit Beau. Looking at all those paddles made the idea of having Erin draped over my lap more appealing by the minute.”
Beau Parrish owned the adult toy store in town, and since Beau had married Charity, they hadn’t seen much of him.
Jared’s lips twitched. “I can imagine.”
Having been on the receiving end of his contrary wife’s temper more than a few times, after having riled it more than his share, Duncan understood how exciting taming her could be.
And how frustrating.
And definitely temporary, which made the woman herself even more exciting.
Following Reese, Duncan slapped him on the back. “Long day, huh?”
Reese grimaced. “I tried to talk to her, but she won’t hear of it. Says she’s too mad. After a couple of hours of her cold shoulder, I’d had enough. I decided I’d let her burn off some of her mad in a way that would give me a great deal of satisfaction. I was just waiting for the two of you to get back.”
