Golden Binds

“Something to think about,” she whispered. She felt like she’d landed in some alternate reality.

“There’s nothing to think about for us,” he countered.

“You’ve had a while to get used to all of this,” she pointed out.

“Then take time. Just don’t rule it out entirely. And don’t try to leave us. Not until you give it a chance.”

She thought about that for a moment. She did feel a pull towards these guys. She’d been on her way to be with the three of them when she’d been taken. She wanted them. So, what would it hurt to give them a chance?

“You have control? When you’re in bear form?”

“We are still ourselves. We would never harm you.”

“I want to see my brother. Whenever I want.”

He grimaced. “Joe and Sawyer won’t like it. But all right. I’ll see to it.”

“And I want some time without any pressure. I also won’

t be locked in a cage.”

“Agreed. Anything else?”

“At the moment, no. But who knows what else will come up? You guys sure do like to surprise a girl.”

“We’ll try to keep the surprises to a minimum.” He reached over and squeezed her hand. “Thank you, you won’t regret it.”

Yeah, that remained to be seen.

14

She wandered down the long hallway, looking at the paintings lining the walls. The whole bear theme made more sense now. Not that it made the paintings any more attractive. The castle could still use a good scrubbing and an overhaul.

Even Carlin had been unimpressed by the state of the place. She got the feeling, though, that it was more out of disinterest than lack of funds that the castle was in such a run-down state. The bedroom she’d been given was beautiful. Rich, thick drapes, plush carpet, and a sparkling bathroom. She didn’t know who cleaned it seeing as they didn’t have any servants.

Carlin had been to see her half a dozen times since she’d been brought back nearly three weeks ago, after Gio had kidnapped her. She figured she’d spent more time talking to him one-on-one in her new environment than she had in the last five years. Of course, most of those conversations circled around her coming back to live with him.

Each time she’d refused.

She wasn’t sure why. Sure, she’d told Garret she would stick around. But if she hadn’t wanted to, there was nothing they could do to keep her here. Except for tying her to the bed, she guessed. But Carlin would come in, guns blazing, if he didn’t hear from her every few days. Funny how being kidnapped and beaten had improved their relationship.

So why had she stayed?

Because she wanted to. Because she didn’t want to leave them.

Because she loved them. She rubbed a hand over her face. They’d been babying her these past few days. They’d brought her food when she was hungry, entertained her when she was bored, and pretty much treated her like she was made of fragile glass.

It had been wonderful. But enough was enough. She wasn’t fragile. She had healed nicely. Yes, her ribs were still giving her some problems, but she wasn’t in nearly as much pain as she had been and was moving better each day.

Things had to change. She knew she’d scared them. But they were treating her like an invalid. Not a woman. Not someone they desired. Not their mate. She swallowed heavily. She’d thought about it. A lot. There had been many times when she’d told herself she was going to walk away. It was too much to take in.

But it all came down to one thing. She loved them and she couldn’t leave them. And the time had come to tell them.

She heard voices drifting from down the hallway. She’d hoped to find them all together. It was nearly eight p.m., and they probably thought she was in bed. They seemed to expect her to sleep twelve hours and still nap during the day. She moved closer to the open doorway and peeked in. They were all in there. Good.

Joe sat behind the desk, Garret was sprawled on the sofa, and Sawyer paced. She smiled at the scene. It was just how she would have pictured them.

Sawyer slammed his fist down on the desk, in front of Joe. This had to be his office. They hadn’t taken her on a proper tour yet. Hadn’t wanted to tire her out, apparently.