Golden Binds

“Fuck off and don’t come back. Any of you.”

He stared up at her. “I’m not leaving.”

“Yes. You are. And if you don’t, I’m going to start screaming.”

“No, you’re not.”

“No? And why is that?”

“Because you don’t want your brother and his men,” there was a sneer as he said that word, “to get hurt.”

She raised her eyebrows at his arrogance. “And what makes you think you won’t be the one to get hurt?”

“There are things about me you don’t know. Throw the rope down.”

“I got rid of it.”

“I don’t like being lied to, little girl. Throw it down. Now.”

She ground her teeth toge

ther. She hated being condescended to. But he spoke the truth, damn him. And the truth was she didn’t want anyone getting hurt on her behalf. Him included. So, she threw the rope down. She didn’t watch him climb up, though. Instead she moved to her wardrobe and pulled out some sweats, hastily pulling them on. When he was inside, he pulled up the rope and closed the window, turning to her.

His mouth turned up at the edges. “Think that’s going to help you?”

“I don’t know what you mean.”

“Sugar, the more layers you put on, the more I have to pull off. And I’ve always enjoyed unwrapping presents.”

She watched him warily, trying to keep a healthy distance as he stalked towards her. There was hunger in his eyes, and a bit of that wildness. She knew he’d never be tame. Would never bow to pressure. Or do what was expected of him unless he wanted to. He was a lot more dangerous than his brother. At least Garret was fairly easy to understand. He was governed by lust. Joe by control. But Sawyer, she wasn’t certain what drove him.

Although she was having to reassess her view of Garret after last night. He hadn’t taken her. And he could have.

“What are you doing here, Sawyer?”

“I came to talk to you.”

“Just talk?” she asked sceptically. She could see the look in his eyes. That wasn’t the look of a man who just wanted to talk.

“We can do more than that if you want. Much more. My brother says you taste like peaches. I think I might like to find that out for myself.”

Her breath caught, her pulse raced, and she grew wet. He did not just say that. And she did not just react with lust.

“Of course, I plan on doing a bit more than that. I owe you a punishment.”

“A punishment?”

“You were naughty, Gigi.”

Shit, she liked hearing her name from his lips just a bit too much.

“I’m not a child.”

He ran his gaze over her. “No, you certainly aren’t. And those ugly sweats, which I intend to let my brother burn as soon as I get you home, can’t disguise how much of a woman you are.”

He moved his eyes to hers. They caught. She just stared, unable to look away. He had power over her. And they both knew it. But as his eyes flickered, she thought she held some power too.

Damned if she knew what to do with it, though. And that was the crux of the problem. She had no idea how to handle any of this. Exhaustion flowed through her and a headache pounded into her with vicious strikes. “What do you want, Sawyer? If you’re here to tell me that you and your brothers are intending to claim me in some sort of weird love triangle then you can just save your breath. I’m not interested.”