RaineonMe Read online

  “He leaves you alone now?”

  “No.” She shook her head. “There are restraining orders in place and he’s supposed to stay far away from me. The truth is that Dale heard my ex-husband would be showing up in town and he sent me here where I’d be safe.”

  River’s dark gaze locked with hers and he looked furious as they studied each other. “You’re definitely not leaving, baby. I’d never hit you. I might be an ass about some shit but know that, okay? I’d never hurt you.”

  “I know.” At least her gut told her she could believe him and River definitely wasn’t anything like Kyle. “I’m not afraid of you.”

  “Good.” His body relaxed over hers. “I am a bit controlling but only about sex. You’re not running away from something we both feel. I’d carry your bag out to your car for you if I honestly thought you weren’t attracted to me.”

  She couldn’t look away from his beautiful eyes, seeing honesty there. “It’s just not a good idea for me to get involved with anyone. I’m going to be totally honest here, okay? My ex-husband is dangerous and if he ever found out I slept with you, discovered who you were, he’d do everything in his power to make you suffer for it.”

  “I don’t give a shit.”

  “You would if he ever came after you.”

  “I’d kick his miserable ass. I hate to break this to you but I’ve gotten into quite a few disagreements with other men in my time. I can more than handle myself in a fist fight. Women might like me but men rarely do.”

  She ignored his attempted humor because this wasn’t a time to joke around. “I’m not talking physical. You could totally take him in a fight with one hand tied behind your back. He’d smear your name and spread nasty rumors about you, maybe even about your entire family.”

  A loud laugh came from River as he grinned. “I’m a Raine.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “It means everyone knew my father as the town drunk and my mother as a whore. What the hell could this guy really say that is worse than the truth? I grew up with folks looking down on us so, in their opinions, there’s not much lower us Raines can get. Guess what? We don’t give a damn. My brothers and I are tight, our family is all that matters, and nothing that anyone could say would hurt us because it’s probably already been said a thousand times.”

  She hesitated. “He’s dangerous, River. He’s crazy and I don’t want you hurt. I don’t want you in the middle of the war I have going on with him.”

  “It won’t be a war and I won’t be in the middle since you’re safely tucked away on the ranch. This guy won’t find you and you aren’t leaving.”

  River made it sound easy but he had no idea how insane Kyle could become. She wished it were that simple. She knew she’d be safe as long as Kyle couldn’t find her and she’d left no way to link from her life to the Raine family. She’d covered her tracks and knew Dale would look out for her back home. He knew what kind of sneaky bastard her ex-husband could be and wouldn’t leave anything to chance.

  She debated on telling River the rest but then discarded that idea. He didn’t know her well enough for her to tell him all the sordid details. She bet he’d be happy to release her and let her go though, if she did reveal exactly how she’d gotten away from her ex-husband.

  “So you’re staying, right?” His leg moved and he kicked one of the dangling chains. “If not, I’m really going to secure you to this bed.” He grinned. “I’m almost hoping you say you still want to leave. I have this fantasy about having you staked out and fucking you into submission. Being on top of you sounds like the best way to spend a few days if that’s how long it takes.”

  How could she resist him? I can’t, she admitted to herself. He was too handsome and his beautiful eyes sparkled with amusement. She’d told him enough that he knew she came with trouble but he wasn’t fleeing. A lot of men would, not wanting that kind of baggage attached to a new relationship. Of course he wasn’t offering a real relationship, instead it would be more of a sexual romp that would last a month, but still, he wasn’t escorting her to the door to get her out of his life faster.

  “I’ll tell you what,” she said softly, “I need to eat. I’m starving, but then I’ll let you use your chains on me.”

  Lust burned in his gaze as he licked his lips. “Damn, baby. You make me so fucking hot. I’m hard again. Are you trying to kill me?”

  She hid her flinch at his question. “No but I am really hungry. Hold that thought.”

  “Okay. It wouldn’t be right to starve you when I know damn well you’re going to need your energy for what I have in mind.” He winked and then rolled off her body. He got to his feet and held out both hands to her. “Let me help you up since I put you there and then I’ll treat you to a Raine steak sandwich.”

  She leaned up and put her hands in his so he could pull her carefully to her feet. She hesitated. The sandwich comment had her remembering when Ryder had spoken after he’d watched them have sex.

  “What was that about you and your brother sharing women? I haven’t forgotten that and since we’re about to leave your room and we’ll probably run into him, I want to assure you I’m not into that shit.”

  His grin died instantly and something in his gaze grew a little chilly. “You have a past and so do I. Ryder and I grew up with people thinking the worst of us. It kind of made us a bit wilder than most boys. It was a bad-boy reputation we were more than happy to help along.”

  “So you did share women?” Something inside her turned a little cold at the thought and she tried to free her hands.

  River invaded her space when he stepped into her, going body to body with her, until she had to look up at him. He kept a tight hold on her hands, refusing to release her. “If my brother were to touch you I’d kick his ass and I told him that. We haven’t done it in a long while and definitely won’t with you. I can’t put my finger on why but no other woman has ever affected me the way you do, Brit. I’ve never wanted a woman more and I feel strangely possessive of you.”

  She again saw honesty when she stared deeply into his dark eyes. “Okay. I just wanted us to be on the same page.”

  “We are. I’m not sure what is between us but it’s strong.”

  Brit suddenly grinned. “I can tell you exactly what’s between us. You’re hard again and digging into my stomach.”

  He laughed. “Food first, then fucking. I’m a great cook and I make the best steak sandwiches in Texas.”

  “That sounds really good. I could eat a horse right now.”

  He laughed. “Cow, not horse. I love them too much to ever put one on a plate.” He released one of her hands, stepped back, and then tugged her as he started to walk toward the door. “Come on. I really want to get you back up here as soon as possible.”

  Brit dreaded running into River’s family. He might tell her it would be no big deal but she wasn’t accustomed to sleeping with a guy around his family. It made it worse that she didn’t really know the Raines and worried they might think less of her for jumping into bed with River.

  The downstairs was silent and empty as they entered the kitchen. River flashed a grin and released her hand. “They must be napping.”

  “Your brother takes naps?”

  “No. Nav and Trina are probably in bed fucking but I didn’t want to say that. Ryder is probably hitting up Adam and Trip for a poker game.”

  “Do you need any help with lunch?”

  “Nope. Just have a seat and let me show you my kitchen skills.” He grinned. “I was taught by the best.”

  “Your father cooked?”

  The comical look on his face answered that. “Uh, no. Mary taught us boys how to cook.”

  “Who is Mary?”

  A sad expression filtered across his face. “She was Adam and Trip’s mother. My dad hired her after my mother left. She raised us until she died of cancer. We were still in high school when she got sick. It broke our hearts.”

  “I’m so sorry.”

  He turned