Colters' Woman (2 page)

He stood, giving her a good look at his long legs encased in tight jeans. She nearly groaned aloud when she saw scuffed cowboy boots sticking out from under his pant legs. She’d always been a sucker for a man in cowboy boots.

She gasped as he bent over and plucked her from the water. Before she could protest, he wrapped a huge towel around her and strode from the bathroom. She stifled her reprimand as he deposited her on a king-sized bed. She gathered the ends of the towel and held them tightly around her.

He turned his back to her and disappeared into the closet. Seconds later, he returned with a flannel shirt and a pair of sweats.

“They’re much too big for you, but they’ll do until your clothes are dry.”

He held them out to her, his gaze caressing her face. She should be afraid. She was in a strange man’s house. Naked as the day she was born. And yet she didn’t feel threatened by him.

She almost laughed at the absurdity. Most men terrified her. And for good reason. So why wasn’t she screaming the house down? Why was she lying there staring at him like she’d love nothing more than to strip him down to those cowboy boots? She should be making a mad dash out the door.

Instead, she curled her fingers around the shirt he offered, flushing madly when his hand touched hers. Fire lit his eyes and burned a trail down her flesh as his gaze raked up and down her body.

“I’ll leave you to dress,” he said. “When you’re done, come on out to the living room and warm up by the fire.”

“Th-thank you,” she stammered.

As soon as he left the room, she scrambled up, shedding the towel and yanking on the shirt. It hung to her knees, and the sleeves dwarfed her arms. She rolled up each one so her hands were free.

She sat on the edge of the bed and pulled on the sweats. When she stood, they fell to her ankles. Hiking them back up, she pulled at the drawstring, trying to make the monstrous pants stay up. They promptly fell back down, and she growled in irritation.

Well, he’d seen her in a lot less. At least the shirt covered most of her. Hopefully her clothing would be dry soon.

She snuck a glance in the mirror over the dresser and winced at her appearance. Her hair was a mess, and the dye job was awful. It certainly hadn’t achieved the desired effect of altering her appearance.

Straightening the shirt, she pulled it as far down her legs as she could and hesitantly walked out of the bedroom door. She moved down the hallway, looking left and right. At the end, she stopped and stared in embarrassment into the living room.

Three men, not just one, stared back at her. Three gorgeous, hulking men. And here she stood in nothing more than a shirt. She started to retreat, but the man who had bathed her crossed the room and caught her elbow.

“Don’t be afraid. I’m Adam, by the way.” He led her further into the living room despite her reluctance. “These two are my brothers, Ryan and Ethan.”

She eyed them nervously and hung back, hoping Adam’s body would shield her from view. “You didn’t say anything about brothers.”

“I told you the name of the lodge,” he said in amusement. He reached behind him and squeezed her hand in his. “Don’t worry, baby. No one’s going to hurt you.”

She shivered. Not from fear, but from the sex appeal in his voice. How could a complete stranger make her feel so safe? She licked her lips. “I’m Holly,” she said in just above a whisper.

One of the brothers rose from the couch and walked over to her, reaching behind Adam and gently pulling her forward. “Come over by the fire and get warm.” His husky voice filtered over her like fine chocolate.

Oh Lord, she must be dreaming. “Which one are you?” she asked, hesitating for a moment.

“I’m Ethan.” He smiled broadly at her. He tugged on her hand, and she allowed him to lead her closer to the fire.

Ethan was as large as Adam. The only difference between them was their eyes. Both had dark hair. Almost black. But Adam had green eyes and Ethan’s were a warm brown, while Ryan sported dark blue eyes. Ryan was slightly smaller in build than his brothers and his hair was a lighter brown, but where his brothers’ hair was short, Ryan’s hung below his ears, just brushing the tops of his shoulders. He had a wild, haunted look, the kind of man a woman instinctively wanted to try to tame. He looked to be the youngest, but Holly wasn’t certain. They were all pretty close in age, though Adam had to be the oldest.

Ethan coaxed her into an armchair next to the fire, and she drew her legs underneath her. She stretched her hands to the fire, letting the warmth seep into her body.

She was nervous as a cat in a dog kennel. All of them were staring at her. She could feel them. Had they all seen her naked? Was that why they were looking at her with such intensity?

Adam walked over to stand by the fire. “What happened to you, Holly? Why were you lying in the ditch? You weren’t even dressed for the weather.”

She tensed, unsure of how to answer. Her mind raced to come up with a plausible excuse. “My car broke down further down the mountain. I got out to find help. I must have fallen. I don’t really remember.”

Most of it was the truth. Actually, all of it was, but she wasn’t going to go into any more detail than she had to.

“Are you sure you’re all right?” Ryan spoke up for the first time. He looked closely at her as if trying to peel her secrets right out of her head. He was quieter than the other two and more serious-looking by far.

“I’m fine. Really.” She looked up at Adam. “Will my clothes be dry soon? I should be going.”

Ryan surged to his feet. Ethan tensed, and Adam’s expression darkened.

“I don’t think you should be going anywhere in this weather,” Adam said firmly.

Ethan nodded. “There’s no reason you can’t stay here until you’re feeling better. Ryan and I will go look for your car and tow it here if we need to.”

Uncertainty made her hesitate. Logically, she should get the hell out while the getting was good, but she felt safe here, and she was tired of running.

She looked down at her hands and tried to control the shaking. She was so damn tired, and she couldn’t remember the last time she’d eaten.

Adam knelt beside the chair and cupped her chin in his large hand. “You don’t have to go anywhere, baby. You can stay right here. We’ll take care of you.”

If she’d thought she couldn’t become more aroused, she’d been dead wrong. Though he voiced the offer in gentle tones, she didn’t miss the command. He wanted her to stay.

She knew nothing about these men, and yet in this moment she wanted what they wanted. She wanted to stay. Dizziness washed over her, and she struggled to keep her focus.

She stared into Adam’s eyes and saw sincerity. She searched for some sign that he couldn’t be trusted, something that told her she was an idiot for even giving a passing thought to taking the sanctuary they offered.

His features faded, and she blinked to bring them back into focus, but blackness crowded her periphery. She closed her eyes as a surge of weariness slammed into her.

Chapter Two

With a muffled curse, Adam caught Holly’s head as it fell forward. He quickly pulled her from the chair and cradled her in his arms. She was exhausted and probably hungry to boot if her thinness was any indication.

“I’ll put her in my room,” he called back to his brothers.

Ethan followed him down the hall and paused at the doorway to Adam’s room. “Ryan and I’ll go look for her car.”

Adam nodded as he placed her on the bed. She moaned softly, an expression of pain crossing her face, but she didn’t open her eyes.

A pulse beat in his temple, and he gritted his teeth. She was running from something. Or someone. She was skittish as a newborn colt, and she had so many secrets in her eyes it was hard to tell the color at times.

The bruise on her ribs bothered him. It could be from a fall, but he doubted it. It didn’t look recent. He fingered a strand of her hair, noticing the unevenness of the color. He’d bet money she was a brunette. The same color as the curls between her legs.

Feeling unsettled by the intensity of his reaction to her, he tucked the covers around her neck and walked quietly out. He needed a cold shower to calm his raging hard-on, but he opted to walk out into the cold and wait for Ethan and Ryan to return.

A half hour later, they drove up in the Land Rover. Adam went to meet them as they got out of the vehicle. “What did you find?”

Ethan frowned. “Not a damn thing.”

Adam raised a brow. So the angel had lied. Was she not thinking clearly or had she honestly not thought they would find out?

“How is she?” Ryan asked.

“Sleeping,” Adam replied.

Ethan looked troubled. A feeling Adam could relate to. That they had found their woman was nothing short of amazing. But it appeared she came with trouble.

Ryan shifted uncomfortably. “I never thought we’d find her. And now that we have, all I can think about is what if she doesn’t want to stay? I felt it too. I know she’s the one. Pop always said we’d know, but I thought it was bullshit until now.”

“I know,” Ethan said quietly. “I felt it too.”

Adam crossed his arms over his chest. “She’s hiding something. She has a bruise the size of my fist on her ribcage, and I don’t like to imagine how it got there. And she’s not a natural blonde. She did a piss poor job of dying it. A sign she was in a hurry.”

“Someone’s after her,” Ethan said grimly.

Ryan clenched his fists. “Who could want to hurt such a little thing?”

“I don’t know, but one thing’s for damn certain. We can’t let her leave no matter what we have to do,” Adam said.

Ryan blew out his breath and rocked back on his heels. “How the hell are we going to explain this to her when we don’t even understand it ourselves?”

Adam dragged a hand through his hair and rubbed back and forth. “I’ll take care of it.”

“Go easy with her, Adam,” Ethan warned.

Adam glared at him. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

Ethan didn’t back down. “You know exactly what I mean. You dominate. It’s your nature. You’re going to have to curb that with her. I don’t think she’s going to offer her trust on a silver platter.”

Though Ethan’s words irritated him, Adam knew he was right. He was the authority figure in his personal and professional life, and he was used to getting his way. In his mind, Holly was theirs whether she accepted it right now or not.

“I’ll keep that in mind,” he said dryly. “Now if we’re done here, I’m going to go check on her. Why don’t you and Ryan see about supper?”

Adam slipped back inside the bedroom to see Holly still sleeping soundly. After kicking off his boots, he pulled the covers back and settled down beside her. To his surprise, she let out a sigh of satisfaction and snuggled against him.

Her breasts rubbed erotically against his chest, and his cock swelled against her thighs. As she moved against him, her shirt rode up over her hips, exposing her luscious ass. Unable to help it, he smoothed his hand over her naked hip, pulling the shirt higher to her waist.

He was content to let his hand remain over the silky skin, his fingers just brushing the plump swell of her behind. He wanted to push the shirt higher so he could see and touch her breasts and kiss away the hurts of the past. But he didn’t want to frighten her.

Instead, he pulled her closer and buried his nose in her sweet-smelling hair. She stirred and made a restless sound as her lips grazed the column of his neck.

He swore softly and closed his eyes. Desire whispered through his veins. Just the innocent brush of her mouth affected him with such intensity that his hand shook against her hip.

She murmured something and he turned, trying to hear what she’d said. It was then he realized that the sound was one of distress. She was dreaming.

“Holly,” he whispered. “Baby, wake up.”

She moaned again and then pushed at his chest, her hands doubled into tight fists.

He caught one of her hands and pressed his lips to her knuckles. “Baby, wake up. You’re safe. I swear it.”

He dropped her hand and then cupped her face before slowly lowering his mouth to hers. He breathed in her light whimpers and kissed her as soft as the touch of a feather.

Her eyelids fluttered and opened, and shocked brown eyes stared back at him.

“Adam?”

“Yes, baby, it’s me,” he soothed. “You were dreaming.”

Her lips trembled, and she looked away but not before he saw the sorrow reflected in her gaze. And the fear.

His heart went soft. “Who hurt you, baby? Who put that fear in your eyes?”

Holly registered the comfort of the hard, male body pressed against hers. Her heartbeat picked up and her breathing sped up. This was a man who made demands and expected them to be met. He was hard and unforgiving…like Mason, but she felt guilt for making that association. Mason had hurt her. Adam…he looked like he’d kill anyone who touched her.

Adam nudged her chin until she looked back at him. “Who hurt you?”

She swallowed nervously. Some secrets shouldn’t be shared, no matter how badly she wanted to be able to trust someone. Just because she was lying next to a gorgeous,
seemingly
caring man didn’t mean that she should bare her soul.