“She’s eighteen. You have two kids, a wife, a family, something to build on together. What the hell are you thinking?”
He dropped his head. “I’m not.”
“Hell no, you’re not.”
“I can’t think around her. She makes me crazy.”
Kane saw death. “She makes you crazy?”
“You don’t understand what it’s like with us.”
Kane wanted to tell him she was using him to get to the Cartwells and blow his fantasy love affair to hell and back. He decided against it.
“Have you jeopardized her in any way?” Now he sounded like Braden. Why the hell didn’t he just ask if he’d fucked her?
“You mean, am I sleeping with her?”
“Yeah, precisely. Are you?”
The man watched Kane closer now. “Well I’ll be damned.”
“Answer the question.”
“You’re just like your daddy. I can see it in your eyes. You’re crazy in love with her. You’re so mad about her that you probably don’t even know you love her yet.”
Kane swallowed stiffly. “I asked you a question, and this has nothing to do with my father.”
“Of course it does. Your mother drove every man in this town nearly to his knees and now you have one just like her living in your house. Worse still, especially for Peyton, you look and act like one of the men who ruined everything for you and your brothers.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Maybe I’ll tell you sometime. I’m not sleeping with her, but I didn’t know she belonged to a Cartwell or else I would have…reconsidered pursuing her.”
“You knew she lived with us.”
“I knew your brother took her in and wanted to help out her mother. I should’ve figured out the rest.”
Kane wiped the sweat off his brow. “She’s nothing like my mother, for the record. Peyton’s strong and-”
“Boy, I knew your momma and your daddy. You don’t have to tell me anything. There are two women who have passed through these parts with those looks. Your momma was one of them and while Peyton doesn’t remind me of your mother much, she reminds me of something else more.
“She reminds me of what it feels like to be a man, a man who wants a woman so bad it could kill him. But again, I didn’t know she wore that proud Cartwell collar, and if I had, I wouldn’t have gone near her. I swear it.”
Kane narrowed his gaze on him and then gritted his teeth. Mentioning any kind of collar was a bad idea. Few people around town knew about Kane’s lifestyle, or at least the one he lived before Peyton moved in. The few who did saw him in the clubs which meant the man in front of him was already on the path to disaster. Peyton provided a slight diversion but she may have been one of many.
“Go home to your wife tonight and love her. We’re going to take care of Peyton until she doesn’t want to live out at the ranch anymore. When that day comes, she’s free game, but until Braden gets her raised and out of the house, she’s off limits.”
A wide smile replaced the man’s thoughtful frown. “I imagine you boys won’t turn her back out to graze among the locals.”
“If I have my way about it, she’ll stay for awhile.”
“I imagine, since you made a trip here this morning, you’ll find a way to make it happen.”
All day long Peyton daydreamed about Kane. She hoped he’d felt the same burn too, the same desire-filled air sweeping around him as he drove back to the ranch. She crossed her fingers tightly hoping he’d show to pick her up and then sweep her into his arms like he did before. With the same ache, the same uncontrollable need, she’d felt for him for some time.
When the final bell rang, she rushed to her locker, gathered her books and ran straight into Vicky. “Where’s the burning bush?”
“Funny.”
“Can you give me a ride home?”
Peyton’s mouth turned up at the corners. “I’m getting picked up today. I’m grounded.”
“Get out!” Vicky smiled in amusement. “Who grounded you?”
They started walking toward the exit, blending in with the other kids. A few guys deliberately bumped shoulders as they passed and one or two said hello.
“I think,” Peyton sighed as she stepped out on the concrete steps and pointed to the Ford Expedition waiting for her, “I’m pretty sure all of them.”
“Oh, that really sucks.” She laughed and then winked. “It must be hell riding around with all of those guys day in and day out.”
“Go ahead, laugh. One day your daddy may send you to live with us and then we’ll just have a scream together. It’s not as fun as it looks.” No, it’s better. So much better.
Vicky whispered in her ear. “There’s a name for it, Peyton. It’s called sexual frustration. You need a vibrator. It will solve all sorts of problems for you.”
Peyton grumbled as she left her friend behind and minutes later, she slid into the backseat next to Evan. Kane didn’t turn around in the passenger’s seat but Braden glanced in the rearview mirror.
“How was your day?” Evan asked.
“Great,” she deadpanned.
“Learn anything new today?” Braden put the windshield wipers on as the raindrops started to bubble and slide across the glass.
“Yep.” She shifted her weight and tossed her books behind her before she kicked the seat in front of her. “I learned a lot.” Kane caught what she meant. She made sure of it and watched as his shoulders squared.
“Like what?” Evan sounded too interested. He’d only been out of high school a couple of years. He probably still remembered everything on the curriculum.
She leaned back in her seat and put her arm over her forehead. “In sex-ed I was the volunteer since I’m the most developed in the classroom, or at least that’s what Vicky thinks.”
Kane turned around in his seat. “What does a volunteer do exactly?”
Evan gritted his teeth. “Do you still have Humphreys in class?”
She nodded, and his jaw tensed even more before she answered. “He’s an ass. He uses some sort of long stick to point out female body parts.”
“Yeah, right, I’d have his job, Peyton,” Kane informed.
She continued her exaggerated story. “It’s really not too bad. He just ran the end over my nipples for a little longer than necessary while talking about arousing a female. I started to toss my head back, lower my hand into my panties and scream for more.”
Evan laughed. “Good grief, Peyton.”
Braden put the break on and stopped at a stop sign. He cleared his throat and dared to inquire further about her day. “How did the co-op go with the art studio?”
“Oh, now there’s a thrill. It’s exciting.” She purred realizing at least one Cartwell was getting ready to blow a major gasket.
“So you like it?” Evan patted her arm and then added, “I told you Braden. She has a knack for art almost as much as sports.”
“Well, I don’t know how good I am at it but once I get to try it, I might like it.”
“What do you mean, try it? You’ve had the class since the start of second semester. Don’t you walk across the street to the studio each afternoon?”
“Yep, but I’m the model. I haven’t drawn anything yet.”
Braden clutched the steering wheel tighter and pulled off on a side road. Kane turned around immediately. “What do you mean, you’re the model?”
“I’m over eighteen, and they needed topless models and I’m the topless model for their adult-ed class.”
Before she said another word, Braden turned the Expedition around and raced toward the school. Kane clung to the door and Evan looked downright mad. She felt the heat of fury radiating off of his skin.
‘Wait, guys. I can explain.”
“I just bet you can, Peyton,” Braden growled. He never growled. He might bark or act like he planned to bite her head off but he never let out a man’s groan of disapproval.
They came to a screeching halt, and all three men barreled out of the truck. Kane turned around and pointed at her. “Don’t you fucking move from this vehicle or I swear I’ll spank your ass all the way back to the ranch.”