I hear him sigh into my neck before he stands up and places me back down on the chair as he whispers, “I just need a minute.” Then he turns and leaves the room, quietly closing the door behind him without even a glance at me.
Fuck.I’ve screwed up, he can’t even stand to look at me right now. I feel the tears leak down my face as I stare at the door. Maybe he’ll come back in and give me a kiss goodbye, like he always does. He just forgot, right? But somehow I know it’s more than that.He’s second guessing everything.I try to wipe my tears away as I hear Ryker say, “I’m going to go clean up the kitchen.”
“I—”
“Stay here, Penny,” Indy says, following Ryker as they leave the same way Braxton did, without a single glance in my direction. The second the door closes behind them, I burst into tears, glad I can at least bury my face in my hands without pain now. Two seconds later I’m scooped up, and the soft voice of Silver whispering, “It’s okay, Sweetheart, just let it out.”
He sits on the bed and wraps his arms around my body, so I turn against him, crying into his chest. His warm hand rubs the back of my neck. “Sweetheart, they are just upset you got hurt. They care about you so much it pains them to see you hurting.” After a pause he adds, quieter, “It hurts me too.”
I understand his words, but I don’t really believe him. I mean, yes, they were upset I got hurt, but they were upsetatme. I feel so useless. Why would anybody want to stay with me?Everyone leaves me.Charlie left me, my parents left me, even Ria left me. Maybe none of them chose to leave, but it didn’t stop me from havingthis feeling, deep down inside, that I wasn’t good enough, that one day these guys would leave me, too. I need a better way to show them I care, that I think about their feelings, and that I’m not a walking disaster.
“Sweetheart, I should have asked earlier, are you hurt anywhere else? Did the fire burn your legs?” I wipe my face as I pull back to look up into his concerned eyes. His beard has grown a little longer since I first met him when it was a mere five o’clock shadow. I can’t help but reach up and scrape my fingers through it. He leans into my hand for a moment before his eyes widen a little and he quickly stands, placing me on the bed.
“You should probably change out of that dress anyway, the cream is still there on the table, use it on any wounds you find. I should go make sure those three don’t make my kitchen worse in their efforts to clean up. I doubt any of them have ever used a kitchen in their lives,” he jokes, trying to lighten the mood.
As he opens the door to leave, I speak. “Thanks, Silver, for everything. I’m sorry about your kitchen.”
“It’s fine, I’m just glad you’re okay,” he says with one last look at me before closing the door behind him.
“Fuuuuuck,” I groan, flopping onto my back. What the hell am I going to do? How do I fix this? I can’t stand them thinking I’m useless.
A noise at the window has me turning my head to see a soft rain falling outside. Matches my mood perfectly. I stand and move to the window to watch. I see a few people hurrying down the street to the market. If I can’t cook them something, I could definitely buy them something. I had plenty of money, if I spent it on them, they’d understand how much I care. It was tradition to buy your husband a wedding present, at least in the human world, and I had three to buy for. I remembered seeing a few things in the market that they might like. Maybe a new blade?
With a plan in place, I quickly pull off mydress and take a quick look at my legs, luckily I can’t see any burns. One of my new dresses was recently delivered, so I slip it on, along with the cloak that arrived with it. The dress is a soft green and cream and the cape is a dark green. They are both beautiful and when I’m bundled up, I grab a few of the smaller coins we’ve accumulated and slip them in my pocket, making my way downstairs quietly.
Luckily, all the men must be in the kitchen as the tavern is empty, so I quietly slip out, pulling my hood over my head as I head quickly down the street towards the market. I don’t pass anyone on the way and make it there relatively quickly. I try to remember where the vendor was with weapons, and after passing stall after stall of food and scarfs, I find it. I see their array of daggers and try to determine which one will work for each man, but then something else grabs my attention. At the back of the table is a basket with a selection of rings in it. I reach out and pick one up, studying it. It looks like it’s made of silver and shines brightly. Wide enough to be a man’s ring. Do rings have the same meaning here that they do in my world? I think about asking the vendor but decide against it, deciding it will be better to find out from my mates when I give them theirs and explain the meaning of wedding bands to them.
“How much for three of these?” I ask, as I start looking through them to find the three I like the most. I find a black one perfect for Brax, although I’m not sure what it’s made of. The silver one for Ryker and a gold one for Indy.
“An eight piece for all three,” the vendor replies as I pull out my coins. I was still getting used to their money, but knew I had one of those coins. Once I found it I passed it over. He gives me three small soft velvet pouches and I place each ring in one before pocketing them, pleased my dress has pockets.
“Thank you, sir,” I say with a smile and a nod of my head.
I head back towards the tavern, pulling my hood up tighter, trying to keep the rain out. I can’t wait to give my men their gifts,I’m so pleased with my find. When I realize I haven’t passed these stalls before, I figure I must have got myself a little turned around. I round a corner and halt in my tracks, realizing I took a wrong turn, only the edge of the forest in front of me. When I turn back around, I practically collide with a large man standing there. “Oh!” I say in surprise, jumping back a step. Looking up at his face, I realize I recognize him. Relaxing a little, I ask, “You’re one of Silver’s friends, aren’t you? Sorry, I never caught your name.”
He smiles down at me, but instead of relaxing me, it sets my hackles on edge. I take a small step backwards towards the forest as I eye the space around him, wondering if I can slip around him. “Yes, that’s right. I’m Yariff, your next husband.”
“Excuse me?” I say, taking a bigger step backwards into a small puddle, but he just matches my step with his own, his smile getting bigger.
“I see how you’re collecting mates, I hear how you pleasure them, not playing favorites. I think it’s an admirable quality in a woman, and I am ready to be part of your harem, beautiful.”
He can hear—Wait, no, that’s not the important part. The important part is that he seems rather strong in his opinion right now, and I’m not sure how he will take my rejection. Besides, I’m not just collecting any single men I meet. It was the men that I felt a real connection with, then men who my heart called out to.
“I’m sorry, Yariff, but I barely know you.” I try to move to the side a little, hoping to make a dash past his side, but he positions himself to block my exit. “Do you mind letting me pass? I can hear my mates calling for me,” I lie, hoping it will make him move.
But as his smile turns even bigger, I swallow the lump in my throat and retreat again. “Oh, beautiful. You shouldn’t lie to your mate. I watched you leave without them, I know they aren’t here. I assumed you wanted to meet me, I’ve seen the way you’ve been eyeing me these past few weeks.”Eyeing him?I barely recognizedhim.
“Well, regardless, I have to get going.” I try to walk past him, but his arm snatches out and grabs my forearm. “Hey, let go of me!” I tell him angrily as I try to pull my arm away.
“Looks like your other mates haven’t trained you properly yet. Oh well, I guess that’s my job,” he says, dragging me into the forest as I stumble along behind him, his grip like an iron vise.
“I said let go of me! Help! Someone, help me!” We’re not in the market anymore, and the sound of the rain helps to drown out my cries for help before he pulls me back against his chest and covers my mouth with his hand. He lets go of my forearm, but bands his arm around my waist and lifts me up so my feet are dangling from the ground. I try to kick him in the shins, but I don’t have the leverage to have much of an effect. I dig my fingernails into his arm and scratch as hard as I can, and finally he lets me go with a hiss.
“Fuck, woman! What the hell did you do that for?” He looks up at me angrily before it changes to excitement. “Oh, I see, you like it rough, do you? Good, so do I.” He’s still between me and the market, but we’re at least twenty paces away now, and as he stalks towards me, I step backwards.
“If you touch me again, I’ll make sure my husbands kill you,” I warn him with my hand outstretched like I can keep him away.
“No, beautiful. When they see how well I have you trained, they’ll be thanking me.”
