Page 23 of Recurve Ridge

I turned my attention back to find him on one knee. He reached out to cup my face between broad, work-roughened palms as he looked at me. A nonthreatening position. My mind still functioned on some level.

“Come back to me,” he murmured.

Behind me, Jon whispered his agreement, both hands sliding to my waist. Steadying, offering enough pressure to ground me.

Mad and unexpected, the dual contact worked.

I am safe here. These aren’t the same men who took from me.

Not even close. Gideon’sfriendsexuded their own brand of evil, and nothing in this world could make me face that again. Fool him once, maybe. My escape at his hands was the single reason my heart beat on. Fool him twice? Not possible.

Gideon took pleasure in watching others suffer, grandstanding for his moment of leniency when they begged for his mercy. I never gave him that moment, and I knew he hated me for it.

Robe’s breath brushed my lips, warm and welcome.Safe. My eyes drifted shut, and I wondered if he would kiss me. Would I welcome the pressure of another’s lips on mine again, or would I fear my soul could be stolen in a quick breath, leaving me an empty husk?

I will not be broken.

Too late.

“I’m here,” I whispered.

His breath huffed against my cheeks. “Then open your eyes, sweetheart. We’re not the monsters of those nightmares you face. Not in here, anyway.”

Smiling at the image of this incredible group of men as monsters, I opened my eyes.

Robe assessed me with his fathomless gaze, and my stomach dropped at the uncloaked need written there. He reined in whatever was reflected on my face, reduced to something wary, protective.

The loss of his emotion hit me keenly. Part of me wanted to see his desire reinstated, but then I shook my head. “You’re right. The monsters are out there.”

The shivers returned despite the fact that I was sandwiched between two large bodies that brought my safety back in a mere breath. I glanced over my shoulder at Jon, releasing the bars of my new cage that had nothing to do with iron braces and frayed ropes.

Or shadows and glittering eyes and roaming hands.

The expression in Jon’s eyes reflected Robe’s concern, though a smothered, unvoiced need was displayed there too. My stomach flip-flopped. The tethers that wound themselves around me were scented with pine needles and soap and, most importantly, were of my own choosing.

Who knew soap would be something I’d crave.

Robe’s eyes darkened with the sort of fixated obsession I understood could be so dangerous. “Do you want to stay, Mari Merripen? Because if you do, I cannot allow you to leave.”

His words rolled around my head as I stared at him, my heart divided both ways.Yeswas the only answer I wanted to give him, but I wasn’t sure which part I agreed to just yet.

Maybe both.

Robe bared his teeth in a brutal smile as his next words contradicted everything I wanted. “Leave whenever you want, Miss Merripen. But I suggest you wait until we’ve organized a safe mode of transport. Running around at night through the forest is… dangerous.”

It was the sort of practiced million-watt smile that made billionaire CEOs a hot-minute trend. All white teeth, dark eyes, not-quite-trimmed beard… swoonworthy.

My stomach flipped as he rose to his full height. “Thank you,” I repeated.

I couldn’t object to Robe’s logic. The forest held its own plethora of threats, and I got the impression that I had taken up residence inside a cabin with five prime specimens the woods had on offer.

“Eat, sweetcheeks. Robe and Jon will let you catch your breath.” Alan walked between the two behemoths and gripped my elbow.

He towed me across the room through the crowded space to a small, round table pushed against one corner. A window overlooked the pine forest beneath the house. I stared out, not realizing how high we’d ascended.

Flashing Alan a grateful smile, I tried to deny the anxiety that threatened to bloom into a full-blown panic attack despite the space I’d craved moments before. The air thinned, my vision graying around the edges. Conversation reached around me but couldn’t touch me. I clenched my fists, and my ragged nails bit into my palms.

A calculated risk that blessedly worked. The sting of bruised skin brought me back. I swallowed gulps of crisp forest air that seemed to follow Robe around until it jammed somewhere between my heart and my head.

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