Newmar, Lola - Devlin's Beast [Scarlett Rose and the Seven Longhorns 5] (Siren Publishing LoveXtreme Forever) (2 page)

Chapter Two

Coffee. The smell of coffee.

Her first thought of the day as she opened her eyes slowly.

“You up, darlin’?” Devlin’s voice called from the kitchen. The delicious scent of fresh herbs and extra-virgin olive oil drifted into the room, so she knew he was cooking them breakfast.

“I’ll be right there,” she called out, her voice thick with sleep.

After she’d washed her face and brushed her teeth in the hallway bathroom, Scarlett walked out into the hallway. Then she paused. Something didn’t sound right…Silence. Save for Devlin cooking in the kitchen, the rest of the house was completely silent. The other brothers were obviously not home.

As she walked into the kitchen, Devlin looked over his shoulder from the stove to smile at her. She envied how all her mates had such perfect, white teeth. Shirtless, physically fit, and just a bit sun kissed he unknowingly drove her wild with the need to have him inside her. “Good morning, darlin’.”

“Good morning, baby.” She walked around the island in the middle of the kitchen to stand next to him. On the back burner, five eggs poached in a Dutch oven. In front of them, bright red, yellow, and orange bell peppers sautéed in a large, shallow pan of olive oil and fresh herbs. He gave them a quick toss before turning to kiss her sweetly.

“Well, aren’t you just full of surprises,” she exclaimed as she watched him scoop out the eggs to drain on a clean dish towel placed on top of a big plate. “Every morning I’ve been here, I’ve woken up to a scrumptious feast of pancakes, bacon, and cheese omelets. What’s with the calorie crunch? You already afraid I’ll get a love chub and gain weight now that I’ve become comfortable with you?” she teased.

“With a face like that, it wouldn’t matter if you were a size two or twenty-two,” he said with a wink.

Giggling, she grabbed his hand and kissed his palm.

“Too bad we have to leave soon. It’s a gorgeous autumn day, absolutely perfect for shot practice.” He indicated the window behind the dining room table with a nod of his head as he pulled her orange University of Texas mug out of the cabinet. “But then again, after last night, I’m not sure you even still need practice, Wyatt Earp. You sure did a number on that boy’s hand.” He turned and smiled at her, all his overbearing seriousness dissipating in an instant. “I’ve never been so proud of you.”

The night before, she’d caught her stepmother, her stepmother’s mother, and her father’s male home nurse peeking in through the first-floor bedroom window while she made love to her seven mates. All at once. The evil trio then tried to shoot at her and her mates, so she did what any young girl would do—she shot a gaping hole through the sissy nurse’s hand.

“Okay, enough!” she scolded playfully. Knowing what could happen to his control, she tried her best not to blush too bright from all his genuine compliments. Most of the time, when the other Lenox brothers were around, Devlin usually just moped around the ranch like a big ol’ grump. But when he’d notice Scarlett’s presence, you’d swear a switch would turn on, and he’d become a completely different man. He was kind, sweet, and protective. And then there was a third kind of Devlin. When Devlin fucked her, kind and sweet were two words that had never, ever, come to mind. He wasn’t just a Dom, Scarlett had noticed, slowly and intelligently introducing her to his Lifestyle. Sometimes she worried he might have control issues he wasn’t yet ready to admit to, much less deal with. “You’re going to turn me into a conceited snob if you keep talking to me like that, Devlin.”

His eyes closed briefly as he drew out a long moan in pleasure. “You know it drives me crazy when you say my name like that,” he complained as he handed her a hot cup of black coffee.

“Oh yeah?” she asked with a laugh as she hoisted herself up on the island counter. It continued to boggle her mind how interesting she found every little tidbit she could learn about her new mates. Nothing made her happier than moments like this when they revealed parts of themselves to her, allowing her to get to know them on a deeper level.

“Yeah, but I’m sure every man feels that way.” Two whole-wheat English muffins popped up from the toaster, and he placed them on a small plate.

“And why do you think that is, honey?” she asked as she sipped her coffee.

Devlin turned the stove off. He seemed to ponder her question for a small moment as he transferred the eggs to their plates then shrugged. “I’m not sure, but it’s probably because we love anything that feeds our egos.”

She couldn’t help but to laugh at his honesty. “Well, I like when you say my name, too.”

Devlin smiled wickedly as he came to stand in front of her. “Oh yeah?” Even sitting on the countertop, she was just short of coming eye to eye with him. He wrapped his thick, muscled arms around her waist and pulled her closer to his body as he settled between her legs.

“Yeah, but when you say it, it’s usually more like, ‘Oh, Scarlett! Scarlett, you feel so good inside! Oh, Scarlett!’” she mocked in her corny sex voice.

Devlin stepped back from her, shaking his head as he glared at her in anger. Scarlett could never have the heart to tell him how cute she thought it was when he’d unconsciously pout his bottom lip out a little when he was mad. “Hell no! I sound nothing like that when I say your name in bed.”

“Hmm,” she tapped her index finger to her chin, her eyes roaming the tall ceiling in an exaggerated search for a conclusion, “yeah, you’re right. That sounds more like Rhett.”

They both laughed at the mention of the raunchy yet loveable triplet, the baby of the family at twenty-seven years old. Rhett was uncensored and completely no holds barred, both in his everyday life and his sex life. He didn’t hold back even a lick of expression when he was in the throes of passion. It was times like that Scarlett was grateful to not have a close neighbor for Rhett to scare the sugar out of with the stuff that came out of his dirty, pretty little mouth.

“So where is everyone?” she asked as he hoisted her back on her feet.

“I asked if they would all have breakfast elsewhere, leave the two of us together for the morning while we prepare to go to Dallas.” He grabbed their plates, and she followed him over to the long oak table in the dining room where a bowl of freshly cut fruit waited for them.

“Devlin, I made it perfectly clear last night that I wanted all the boys here this morning before we left. I said eight thirty sharp.” With frustration pounding in her head, she crossed her arms and plopped down on the chair next to his. She stared ahead and pouted. “I can’t believe you purposely defied me, Devlin Lenox, and I find it insulting. You know how much I like to be able to say hi to each of y’all before I head out somewhere, especially when it’s overnight like this.” It soured her good mood to know she wouldn’t be able to say either hi or bye to the other six brothers before they headed into the city. She knew she was rambling, but the least he could have done was discussed it with her first. It wasn’t so much about the fact she had to go a whole day without seeing the other Lenox brothers as it was about respecting her enough for him to see her as an equal. She loved the protective part of his alpha nature, but she could have definitely done without the 1950s, second-class-citizen treatment.

“Look, before you get upset, just hear me out.” He grabbed the black T-shirt that hung over the back of his chair then pulled it on as they took their seats next to each other at the long table. He smirked when he reached out and lightly grazed her throat with his rough fingers. “Your neck is flushed in anger.”

Even as she stared at his breathtaking jade eyes, which now sparkled in the path of the sun rays that beamed through the large windows in front of him, the frustration she felt inside didn’t diminish.

“You’ve been going through a lot, kitten,” he continued as he forked cantaloupe and strawberries onto his toast plate. “Things may not be getting better anytime soon. In the meantime, as your claimed mate, my job is to keep you from harm’s way. And if you don’t stop to take care of yourself, to allow us to take care of you, you can get sick. So I began the day with a lighter breakfast to keep your strength up with healthy calories. I can assure you it has nothing to do with your weight. All the bags have already been packed for the trip. All you need to get together are your toiletries after you take your morning shower. And like I said, I sent the guys away for your own good—”

“Excuse me?” she screeched defensively, standing to look down at him in challenge. “Next time you decide what the hell is for my own good, how ‘bout you check in with me first?”

He held his hands out innocently. “Hold on now, kitten. I wasn’t trying to be demeaning.”

“And I’m not trying to be controlled by a chauvinistic pig looking to treat a woman like a second-class citizen just to get his rocks off, either.”

Devlin stood to tower over her, his chair noisily pushed back as he did so. The scowl on his face made her immediately regret her words.

“Are you accusing me of possessing the ulterior motive of
hurting
you, Scarlett?”

Her head was tilted back in order to look up at him. He sure was intimidating when he wasn’t sitting down, she thought to herself as she swallowed. She was at a loss for words at what to say.

“I know your type, Scarlett.”

“You douchebag!” she screeched, pounding her fists into his marble-hard chest with all the strength she could muster. It only made her angrier when he easily captured both her wrists in one hand, embarrassingly unscathed from her sad attempt at causing him physical harm. “I’m your mate. How can you just compare me to all those buckle bunnies as easily as you talk about the weather?”

“You are special, kitten,” he said sternly, still holding on to her struggling wrists like heavy-duty handcuffs. Scarlett pushed back the echo of a dirty image forming in her mind as she thought about him using that strength to hold her down and make her—

The clicking sound of metal brought her focus back to the stubborn bull of a man keeping her bound. “And I know I’m special to you,” he continued as he began to undo his gold rodeo belt buckle. “But women are women, and men are men. And a woman like you is what we call a control freak. You’ve spent your entire life taking care of other people, putting the needs of your loved one’s ahead of anyone else’s. Work, family, friends, love interests—they’re all there demanding a piece of you, some kind of assistance for their own lives and their own obligations. For most women, years will pass, sometimes decades, until they realize they’ve never taken the time out to work on themselves. And then the guilt sets in. They feel guilty about finding their own pleasure, and the habit of controlling others becomes a security blanket to them. Well, kitten, I’m here to give you the permission you’ve been holding your breath for. Submitting yourself to my needs will allow you to satisfy your own at the same time you take care of another person, just what you’re used to.”

Tears welled in her eyes, blurring her vision. “I won’t let you hurt me.”

“Nothing I do,” he growled through his teeth, “nothing I will ever do, will be because I want to harm you.”

Scarlett couldn’t keep her eyes from straying down to the rock-hard erection pressing against his denim jeans. She could feel her body heat with lust as she watched him slowly and deliberately pull the black leather belt from his belt loops. Scarlett told herself that she could think of a couple of things to do with that belt, and she wondered if any of those things were running through Devlin’s mind.

“Put your hands out.”

What?

When she didn’t move, he calmly but more sternly repeated himself. “Put your hands out, Scarlett.”

Her nipples hardened against her night shirt when it finally sank in what he had planned for that belt to take care of this morning. Now excited and incredibly horny, she did as she was told.

He glared at her when she smiled at him. Instinctively, she dropped her smile and looked away as she held out her wrists. His anger was obvious in how rough he was with her as he wrapped the leather black belt around her wrists.

“What are you going to do with me, Devlin?”

“That is none of your concern. It will be your concern when you’ve earned that concern.”

When he was finally satisfied with the knot he’d twisted, he looked back down at her face. “I’m very angry with you, with how you talked to me just now. But I know you didn’t mean it.”

She shook her head enthusiastically. He seemed angry, and she silently begged the stars for the “correct” punishment. But for him to continue was not what she dreaded. In fact, for him to continue to dominate her, put her in place when she stepped over the line, is what she secretly yearned for. As pieces of her life in Dallas had started to slowly put themselves together, she’d come to realize the reason why she felt like such an uptight perfectionist at times was because that’s exactly she had been.