Denying the Devil

by Calle J. Brookes

  He wasn’t an idiot. His attraction to this woman was stronger than any he’d ever had for another woman.

  Perci was the woman he would dream about at night for a long, long time.

  Sometimes that attraction got the best of him, and he did something stupid like this.

  He scooped her up and carried her over the steps and onto the front porch.

  The door opened, and his brother Levi stepped out. “Caught you a pretty fish, too? Finally. I told my wife you were the slowest on the uptake.”

  Levi’s words had deepened with satisfaction at the word wife. All of his brothers sounded just like that when they mentioned the women they loved. Matt and Pip were now fully ensconced on their ranch a mile or so past the entrance to this one that Nate currently shared with Levi. This one had been the family homestead for generations. Levi ran the ranch—all the properties, mostly—owned by the Mastersons, while Nate’s brother Joel ran the county as sheriff, and Matt ran a successful vet practice and worked toward building his own horse ranch. Joel and his wife, Phoebe, lived a bit closer to the town now, having finished redoing the old homestead that had been Nate’s grandparents’ place. There was one smaller chunk of property with a three-story, four bedroom home on it. It was about five miles west of where he now lived. Levi owned two of those miles in between. Matt owned one, and Nate owned the rest.

  One day, if Nate ever married, he’d take his own wife there. He was almost finished with the renovations now.

  It was just a mattered of another week or two.

  He’d been thinking of moving there a lot lately. Hard not to do, when his house was constantly filled with his brothers and the women they loved. Redheaded, blue-eyed women everywhere he turned. Each and every one of them reminding him of the one in his arms.

  Perci was always around now, too. Never far from her sisters. They traveled as a damned pack; that was for certain. Every time he blinked, she was there.

  Tempting him to do something completely stupid. Like touch her. Kiss her.

  Give her his entire soul.

  “Can it, Levi. She’s exhausted and took a hard knock tonight when a patient fell on her. Hurt her ankle and leg again. I just gave her a lift. She’s had some pain meds and is extremely groggy.”

  “Sure, you did.” Levi smirked at him, then looked at Perci more closely. “She looks more like a captive. That your intention? Carry your woman away? Let me guess, taking Persephone down to Hades? I was going to try it with Pandora if she didn’t start cooperating, but I figured she’d emasculate me if I even tried. I thought Perci was the scariest sister, but I’ve learned. Pan has her beat hands down.”

  “He’s lucky I don’t have a scalpel.”

  PERCI WAS JUST GLAD it was so dark her brother-in-law couldn’t see the red on her cheeks. Levi was the type to snark at her for what his brother was doing. And what in the hell was Nate doing? “I can walk. He just likes to lord it over me that he’s bigger and stronger and in charge—at the hospital. I thought he was driving me home.”

  “Aha. He captured you when you were least expecting it. I’m not going to ask what Hades is planning to do with you, Persephone, but I can imagine.”

  “Ha ha, Levi.” She thought about squirming again. But the arms around her were far too strong for that to do much good. She would just keep her dignity and let this play out how it would. That was all she could do.

  But, damn it, she did feel like a captive.

  With Nate, it was best to just let him think he was winning. She’d just do that until he decided to let her down.

  Sometimes it stunk, having him so much bigger than she was. Perci suspected Nate liked the size difference. Liked having her vulnerable and in his clutches.

  Hell, that drug was making her a bit too dramatic tonight. She squirmed slightly, but the arms around her were hard and strong. She wasn’t getting down until he chose to put her down. Period.

  He smiled down at her, but there wasn’t any humor in the expression.

  More like a mountain lion about to pounce. That was usually how she felt about the man. Like he was going to attack her at any moment.

  Past history had told her she wasn’t that far off the mark with him. Give him an opportunity, and he definitely would pounce.

  “You can put me down, Masterson.”

  “Nope. It’s a matter of principle, now.”

  “Excuse me?” The man didn’t make a lick of sense. Except that he’d always enjoyed making her life as difficult as he possibly could. She squirmed again. His arms tightened.

  Nate had really strong arms that she knew would never drop her, at least. There was that. The man was going to keep her safe—all while annoying the hell out of her.

  “Inside. Then you can camp out in the guest room. If you really want, I’ll drive you home in a bit. Your dad home tonight?”

  She shook her head. Her dad had been splitting his time between his partner’s ranch in Texas and theirs, lately.

  “The boys?”

  “No. Phoebe and Joel have them,” Levi answered. “So our sweet little Perci would be left all alone over there.”

  “Exactly.”

  Her younger sister Pan snickered when he walked by her. She’d been the one to flick on the light. “Watch out, Perci. You’re next.”

  “Bite me, Pandora. Just because the rest of you lost what brain cells you have the instant you saw a Masterson doesn’t mean I will.”

  “Sure, you won’t. I’ll get you some pajamas.”

  “Gee, thanks.” She hated feeling helpless like this. No doubt he knew exactly that.

  He carried her down the hall, then dumped her on the mattress of the guest room.

  Ok, so maybe he lowered her gently, but...the idea of Nate leaning over her while she was on a bed had her breath catching and something tightening in her gut.

  “I’m perfectly capable of staying alone for one night.” But she didn’t like it—and would never admit that to anyone. Except maybe her twin.

  She hadn’t spent more than half a dozen nights alone in her life.

  “No doubt. Good thing it’s just for one night, right?”

  He smirked.

  Perci wanted to smack him. Nate could be such an ass sometimes.

  2.

  NATE COULD TELL BY the expression in those Tyler blue eyes that she was royally pissed at him. And mortified. He hadn’t meant to do that, but she’d hurt herself, it was late, and she would be all alone, miles from civilization.

  Not an idea he was comfortable with.

  Tyler women had a habit of attracting trouble. It just wasn’t going to happen. She’d been hurt on his watch; that mattered to him. And not just because it was her. “Sorry if I embarrassed you. That wasn’t my intention.”

  “And just what was? Shoving down my throat that you’re bigger and in charge of every little thing? Well, you’ve accomplished that. So here I am, captive in your guest room. Now what?”

  He ignored the bite in her tone. He had to admit it—she deserved to be irritated at him this time. He had stepped over the line with her. Again. “I’m going to take one more look at that ankle, then I’ll get out of your hair. You can put hemlock in my oatmeal in the morning, or something. Then we’ll be even.”

  “Hemlock? Seriously?” Her eyes narrowed, and the spark that was Perci returned in an instant. He hadn’t even realized it had been mostly missing lately...until that moment.

  “Don’t witches carry that with them everywhere? To trap unsuspecting men? The way the rest of your little coven nabbed my idiot brothers?”

  Her body tensed against his. He covered his grin by turning away. At least angry, she wasn’t embarrassed any longer.

  He shouldn’t needle her, but he somehow always ended up doing exactly that.

  “Funny, Masterson. I think it was the other way around. My sisters used to be reasonable, rational, intelligent women until your brothers seduced the lot of them.”

  “If there was any seducing done, you Tylers a
re responsible. With those eyes, those lips. The hair...” The hair of hellfire. He brushed his fingers over her braid. It always surprised him that her hair was so cool and soft to the touch.

  It should burn. That made the most sense.

  Persephone Tyler made him burn hotter than hell.

  And she always had. Since the moment his mother had hired her to work as a nurse with the small hospital his mother had run for most of his life. Now that hospital was his responsibility. As was she.

  Hell, he wished he was as stupid as his brothers sometimes. As reckless. Wished he could just lower her to the bed—in the room next door—and show her exactly what she did to him. Keep her in his bed until he’d extinguished every flame she lit in him.

  Not because he was a Masterson and she was a Tyler and everyone just expected they’d be together eventually, but because he had burned for this woman from the very moment he’d looked up at the new nurse his mother had hired. Every nerve in his body had jumped to full alert.

  She hadn’t stopped burning him since.

  He’d wanted Perci Tyler since long before his three brothers had fallen hard for her sisters. Temptations, the lot of them.

  Sirens luring unsuspecting men to their doom.

  “Take off the cast. Let me have a look.”

  “Maybe I don’t want you looking at my leg? Maybe my feet stink? Maybe I haven’t shaved in a month?”

  “I’ve seen worse—I think I’ll survive.” He reached for the brace himself and removed it gently.

  There wasn’t a damned thing he could do for her ankle that the staff at the hospital hadn’t already done, and they both knew it.

  Nate just wanted to touch her for a minute.

  It was time he admitted it to himself—he was never not going to be burning for her.

  She’d captured him, same as her three sisters had captured his brothers. That probably wasn’t going to change anytime soon.

  He’d been thinking lately that maybe it was time he finally did something about how he felt.

  Nate brushed his fingers over the smooth skin of her calf—despite her claim, the skin was silky smooth—checking for excess swelling. “Does this hurt?”

  She shivered.

  Not the response he’d expected.

  Nate jerked his head up, just in time to see a look of heat in the blue eyes he dreamed about almost nightly.

  An almost hunger.

  His fingers tightened on her skin. His other hand came up, and he cupped her cheek. Stupid move, no doubt, but he wasn’t the kind to back down when he’d made a choice. “Baby? Did I hurt you?”

  She didn’t speak, just shook her head. Watched every move he made.

  Hell, he wanted to touch her. Every soft, perfect inch of her.

  Nate knew he shouldn’t, but there was no damned reason why he couldn’t at least taste her in that moment, was there?

  Nate leaned forward and pressed his lips to that smart little mouth that had tempted him daily for months.

  Perci met him halfway.

  OH, HEAVEN HELP HER. Nate Masterson was actually kissing her. Worse, why in the hell was she kissing the man back? Perci knew she should push the man away before something stupid and life altering happened. Mastersons were devils capable of turning Tyler women into wishy-washy idiots. She had three cases of living proof that she could draw on for that conclusion. Perci understood it. How could she not?

  Kind, intelligent, strong, handsome, loving, beautiful men who loved her sisters like they’d hung the moon—it was no wonder her sisters were ridiculously, deliriously happy.

  Her hands had a will of their own. They crept up around those broad shoulders and clung. She wanted to blame the pain killer she’d been given, but that was stupid. She was choosing to do exactly what she was doing right now. Nate was the biggest of his brothers. His shoulders were the widest, the strongest.

  Perci fought the urge to purr as she felt just how perfectly the man was built.

  Nate was the most beautiful man she had ever seen—and she’d freely admit that to anyone who asked—but when he opened his mouth to speak, he totally ruined everything.

  She’d better get herself figured out before what they were about to do got her damned to this devil and back.

  Once she gave in to him, there would be no escaping him.

  No pomegranates, no temptations, needed.

  She needed to remember that. Nate Masterson was the devil where she was concerned. He’d do anything to trap her into a stupid mistake.

  He pulled away slightly. “Kiss me back.”

  Then his lips were on hers again, and he was practically devouring her.

  Perci’s hands went around his neck and—heaven help her—she kissed him right back.

  3.

  HE HAD BEEN WAITING forever to kiss this woman. Nate took the taste of her he wanted, suspecting it would be the only chance he got. Once she pushed him away, he’d probably never get to touch her again. Not with all the history between them.

  She tasted like heat. Fire. Temptation.

  No surprise at that.

  He wanted to kiss her for longer—forever—but at the sound of light footsteps in the hall, he pulled back. “Pan is coming.”

  She gasped and jerked away, her eyes wide.

  He stepped away from the bed deliberately. “We’ll...talk later. Good night, Persephone. I’ll see you in the morning.”

  Nate passed his youngest sister-in-law in the hallway. She held pajamas in her hands and a toothbrush. No doubt they were going to talk for a while. All of the Tyler sisters were extremely close. It wasn’t the first time Perci had stayed the night at his home. After she’d been released from the hospital when she’d been injured by Jay Gunderson, she and Pip had stayed where Nate and her sisters could keep an eye on both of them. For a time, they’d had all four sisters under this roof. Phoebe and Joel had been married, Pan had been their housekeeper until she’d married Levi, and Pip had barely left Matt’s room until they were both healed.

  But Perci had left as soon as she could. Almost ran to get away.

  It had pissed him off for three days. He’d told himself it was because he hadn’t felt that she was physically healed enough to return home, but that had just been his excuse.

  He’d wanted Perci in his home. He wanted her on the same schedule as he was at the hospital—she’d gone back to work the week before she’d left his home—and in his home.

  It hadn’t helped that half of her intended medical leave had been spent working on that damned movie of Rowland Bowles’s. The director had used body doubles when needed, due to Perci’s cast. A lot of the filming had taken place either on his family ranch—or hers.

  Nate had been a front-row spectator for a lot of it.

  She’d made a beautiful fairy princess, perfect and fiery.

  And every day he’d gone to his own bed to dream about her.

  His brothers knew. They’d known from the moment they had first met Perci. And they’d understood.

  His brothers had been just as susceptible to her sisters. Only they had caved in. And now his idiot brothers were beyond happy.

  It was just him who wasn’t.

  Nate had known that from the moment Levi and Pan had said ‘I do.’

  The movie crew was back in Hollywood, working on post-production tasks that Nate didn’t care about. But the fairy princess was still around. Still driving him crazy.

  Making him dream. Making him want.

  He had yet to decide what he was going to do about her.

  He had to do something. He couldn’t go on like this. Seeing her, wanting her, not touching her. She was going to be around for a damned long time, thanks to their siblings. Either he left Masterson, and everything he loved, behind.

  Or he faced up to the inevitable.

  And found a way to get exactly what he wanted from her. Somehow.

  “YOUR LIPS ARE ALL RED.”

  Pandora—Pan, for short—was staring at her like she was a bug.
Pan—whose own lips were swollen. No doubt from kissing that husband of hers. They’d only been married a little over three weeks, but Pan was acting like she knew everything there was to know about men. Sex.

  Pan had been a virgin until Levi. What could her sister really know?

  Of course, if Levi kissed anything like his older brother Nate, Pan had probably caught up pretty quickly. Perci resisted touching her mouth.

  She could still taste him.

  “So? Did he kiss you?”

  Her sister was pretty shrewd. Pan was the most diabolical—and probably smartest—of her siblings. Perci knew better than to even think about lying. Pan would see right through it. Besides, she didn’t lie to her sisters if she could help it. She kept no secrets—except one.

  They’d had almost absolute trust between them for years. Since Pip had been attacked at nineteen, since their mother had died shortly after leaving their family so deeply in debt they’d nearly drowned, and since the Masterson brothers had entered their world.

  The Mastersons had brought nightmares—with Phoebe almost drowning in a flooded river, Pip and Perci almost burning to death in the barn, and Pan almost being killed by a madwoman—but the brothers had made her sisters beyond happy.

  Perci adored every one of her new brothers-in-law for how they loved her sisters.

  But through them, she’d gotten Nate. She still didn’t know how she felt about that.

  “He kissed me.”

  Pan smirked. “Of course he did.”

  “Shut up. I’m not going to get involved with Nate, Pan. I’m not. No matter what the rest of the family—or this town thinks. It’s just not going to happen, so quit looking at me that way.”

  4.

  PERCI ESCAPED EARLY the next morning, catching a ride to her house with Phoebe and Joel, who’d stopped by for breakfast. Joel waited until she’d changed into clean scrubs, then drove her to the hospital.