Mastered by Malone (Haven, Texas 6)

“Don’t try my patience. You know what the hell I’m talking about. How the fuck am I supposed to keep them off her?” As soon as they saw her, they’d descend. And the one thing standing between her and them was him.

“Problems? I thought you had them under control,” Jardin shot his own words back at him.

“Fuck you,” Alec muttered. “I can control my brothers and protect her. But you damn well owe me.” The headache her presence was going to give him for the next two months was not something he was looking forward to.

He watched her move forward, pressed against the side of the big guy and felt a surge of protectiveness that shocked him. He didn’t feel protective towards anyone who wasn’t family. Sure, he pretended to tow Haven’s rules, that every man was supposed to look out for the women in town. Protect them. All so he could go to Saxon’s a few times a year.

Otherwise he’d have to drive several hours to get to a decent BDSM club and he didn’t have that sort of time to waste. So he paid lip service to the rules, while not really believing in them. So why did this woman stir the Dominant inside him? The part of him that said protect, possess, play.

Oh, she would be fun to play with. With those curves and her fuck-me eyes, he could see her tied to a cross, naked, his whip biting into her back and buttocks. Him licking his way along each mark until he reached down between her pussy and—

“Alec. For fucks sake, Alec.” Jardin poked his elbow into his side.

“What?” he snapped.

“You’re staring and it’s freaking her out.”

As she got closer, he could see how pale her skin was, the dark crescents under her eyes. She had a haunted, fragile look. And, just like that, he shut down those instincts to take and command. This woman had been through hell. And she didn’t look like it would take much to push her over the edge.

No way could she handle what he would want.

And no way he should want it with an innocent like her. His background check had unearthed very little of interest, other than the fact her parents had died when she was a kid and she’d moved in with her aunt and uncle. She hadn’t even had so much as a parking ticket. She was a veritable saint and he was anything but.

“Hey, Mike, Mia,” Jardin said stepping forward. “Drive here uneventful?”

“I wasn’t followed, made sure of that,” Mike replied, looking Alec up and down. He had a tense look on his face as he glanced over at Jardin. “You sure this is a good idea?”

“Nope,” Jardin replied. “But right now, it’s the best option I can think of to keep her alive.”

Mia sucked in a sharp breath, and Alec turned his gaze from Mike back to her. Her expression hadn’t changed, but he saw a shudder run through her body.

Yep, fragile.

“What makes you think he can protect her?” Mike asked, ignoring him. A deliberate insult. Rude considering he was

opening his home to protect a stranger. “Sure, you’ve got a fancy gate, cameras, and some high fencing out by the road, but you can’t tell me this place is entirely secure. What’s to stop someone coming in the back?”

“It’s not impossible to get onto the ranch,” Alec admitted. “But there are no back roads. We’re surrounded on two sides by other ranches and the mountains at the back. They’d have to come in by foot or horse or bike. Then they’d have to get past the cameras and my security system. As long as she stays inside or near the house it’s going to be damn hard for anyone to get to her. And, provided you held up your end and weren’t followed, no one should know she’s here.”

“I wasn’t fucking followed.” Mike took a step forward and, surprisingly, it was the girl who stopped him from exploding. She moved in front of Mike, between the two them.

What the fuck? Had no one taught her she shouldn’t get between two aggressive men. She was supposed to stand behind the muscle. He narrowed his gaze, shifting it down to her, unsurprised when she looked away.

“Mia, get behind me.” Mike tried to shove her behind him. But, for some reason, Alec didn’t like him touching her. Especially when she stumbled slightly as he pulled at her.

“Easy,” Alec growled.

Her eyes widened as she stared up at him.

“Maybe everyone could just calm down a bit,” Jardin said, giving Alec a look that clearly said he needed to remember they owed Mike. Big. He hated owing anyone anything. But Jardin was right. He needed to play nice.

He just needed to remember how.

Jardin turned to Mike. “Mike, I get that you’re feeling protective of Mia. You guys have been driving for hours, you probably haven’t slept properly or eaten, why don’t you come in and have a coffee and something to eat and we’ll talk, all right?”

Mike continued to glare at him. Mia peered around the wide man and he could see the exhaustion in her gaze, the slump of her shoulders. She needed rest, not to be in the middle of a pissing contest.

“Come inside.” There, that had been nice, right? Although from the look Jardin sent him, maybe not.