Mastered by Malone (Haven, Texas 6)

Alec had run out of patience. He wasn’t even going to ask, well demand, anymore. He simply reached out and grabbed Mia around the waist, moving her out of his way.

“Hey! Let me down, you brute!”

He set her down, turning so he loomed over her. “Brute? Honey, you haven’t even seen me in brute-mode yet. Keep pushing and you will. Now, get your butt upstairs, brush your teeth, put your pajamas on and get your ass into bed and stay there.”

Her hands went to her hips, her eyes sparking with temper. Damn, she was gorgeous.

“I am not a child.”

“No?” he drawled. “Tell me, what rule did I give you when you came here?”

“There was so many it’s hard to remember.”

“Oh, you don’t want to push me tonight, little one,” he warned, taking delight in the way she swallowed nervously. “You know what rule I’m talking about. What was it that I expressly forbid you from doing?”

“I don’t like the word forbid.”

“Tough. What was the rule?”

She bit at her lip then let out a huff of breath. “You said I wasn’t to leave the ranch.”

“And what did you do tonight?” he asked in a dark voice.

He didn’t hold back. He released the side of him he usually kept buried. The uncivilized part that had served him well in his old life. Part of him recognized it wasn’t quite fair to her. She was an innocent. But the idea of her putting herself in danger made him furious. He needed to ensure that the next time she thought about disobeying him, she would stop and remember this.

“What did you do?” he repeated with a bit more of a snap.

“Alec, stop,” Jaret said, sounding more sober than he’d expected.

“Stay out of this,” Alec told him. “You’ve done more than enough damage tonight. I’ll be talking to you about that later.”

“I left the ranch without permission,” she said in a quiet voice.

“That’s right. And you put yourself in danger. What if someone had seen you? What if that someone had ties to Angelo? What happens if they turn up here looking for you?”

“The odds of that happening—”

“I didn’t ask for the odds. My job is to keep you safe until the trial. Nothing more or less. You staying on this ranch is the best way to secure that. You going rogue and doing whatever the fuck you want is going to get you killed. So, get your ass upstairs and into bed.”

As she turned away, he had to fight the urge to call her back. To apologize.

Instead, he let her go.

She woke up feeling worse than when she’d gone to bed. Not that she was actually in bed. She glanced around the closet she’d commandeered as a bed. She was so fucked up.

She yawned. She’d only had a few hours’ sleep. And those hours had been broken up with nightmares.

She knew she’d messed up last night. But she’d been trying to help Jaret. And the likelihood of anyone seeing her had been pretty slim, let alone anyone who might have ties to Angelo. Alec hadn’t needed to speak to her that way. She wasn’t an idiot. She’d made a mistake, but she’d had a good reason.

She dressed and started down the stairs. She’d slept in, but it was Sunday. She didn’t make breakfast on Sundays. The cops hadn’t turned up last night, which had kind of surprised her. She guessed maybe Bergman hadn’t seen his car yet.

She walked into the kitchen and poured herself some coffee.

“Good morning.”

She gasped, turning to find Alec standing in the doorway. His face was unreadable.

“Shit. You scared me.” She placed her hand on her racing heart.