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“What… what have… you done?” she whispered, shrugging away from the hand he reached out to her.
“I’m sorry, Sydney, really I am, but you left me no choice.” He snatched her arm with one hand while pulling a folded piece of paper from his back pocket with the other.
She shook her head, knowing what it was, what he wanted. “I… I told you… no… way…” The sharp yank on her arm to force her hand down to the coffee table where he tossed the paper drew a cry from her numb lips. She knew if he succeeded in coercing her signature, he would have her shares in their family-owned company sold before she could do anything about it. “No!” With a burst of strength born of desperation, she pulled free and stumbled toward the front door of her apartment. Why, oh why did I let him in?
He took her down before she could grab the handle, the impact with the hard wood floor jarring her body and wrenching another cry from her. The floor swam before her eyes as she struggled under his weight, his heavy breathing sending goosebumps racing over her skin. She wasn’t the only one in a distressed state.
“C’mon on, kid. Cooperate and it’ll be over. I promised I would pay you back, didn’t I?” he growled as he hauled her back on her feet.
Sydney shook her head again, flashes of her grandmother’s pain-filled face dancing in her head. Nana could never learn of her youngest son’s deceit; it would kill her. She pulled on her arm again, refusing to let him drag her back over to the table. Reaching out with her free arm for balance, she connected with the small end table lamp and, without conscious thought, grabbed hold and swung. The metal base just grazed Uncle Mike’s temple, but it was enough to draw a trickle of blood and startle him long enough for him to loosen his hold. This time, she managed to make it out the door with no thought in mind except run… run…. run.
Sydney jerked awake, shaking and sweating from the nightmare that wouldn’t leave her alone, no matter how far she traveled from home. The night her Uncle Mike stopped by with a bottle of wine as a peace token to mend the bridge between them had ended with her drugged, struggling against his powerful hold as he tried to force her signature, signing the shares left to her by her mother over to him. Drowning in a gambling debt his two older brothers and mother knew nothing about, his only option, he’d been telling her for months, was to invest her shares and, with luck, turn enough of a profit to pay her back someday. She’d refused his first few, polite offers and then avoided him as much as possible after he resorted to nasty threats. His final act of drugging her and trying to force her hand ended with her fleeing in the middle of the night, aching, devastated and determined not to hurt her grandmother with what Uncle Mike had done. Nana had already suffered the trauma and grief of losing her only daughter, a tragedy followed by her husband’s untimely death just two weeks later.
Sliding out of bed on trembling legs, she stumbled into the kitchen and flipped on the small light above the sink. Gazing out into the inky darkness, her mind jumped to Caden, her imagination picturing him with that curvy blonde. She was so engrossed in her thoughts, the sudden sound of the back door swinging open startled her, causing her to fumble with the glass she’d been reaching for when she turned and saw him standing in the door.
Guilt, coiling through him like an insidious snake, kept Caden from enjoying himself once he arrived at The Barn. Instead of seeking a willing sub to spend the evening with, he’d sat at the bar brooding over a pair of hurt, green eyes and a lonely figure standing on his front porch as he’d driven away. Connor hadn’t helped, accusing him of being too hard on Sydney, not giving enough consideration to her new arrival in the state. Finally giving up on getting any enjoyment out of the night, he left it to his brother and best friend, Grayson Monroe to close up and returned home to chec
k on their new cook.
He hadn’t expected to find her up, standing in the dim light of the kitchen wearing nothing but a skimpy nightshirt hiked up to reveal the edge of pink panties as she reached for a glass with a shaking hand. “What’s wrong?” he barked, striding forward and turning her to face him. Her slender body shook under his hands on her shoulders and her face was paler than usual, but those arresting eyes snapped with green fire when she jerked away from him.
“Nothing, I got up to get a drink and didn’t hear you come in.”
“The house is well-insulated against the harsh winters. What’s wrong?” he asked again, some insane part of him needing to know despite the way she crossed her arms in a belligerent stance of stubbornness.
“I couldn’t sleep.”
The evasive shift of her eyes gave away that untruth, drawing his scowl. “Do your hands always shake when you can’t sleep?”
She avoided his question again with a point-blank one of her own. “Did you have fun with your blonde?”
Exasperated, Caden swore and demanded, “Are you going to tell me what happened to upset you?”
Sydney tilted her head and regarded him with a probing stare before asking, “Are you going to let me into your club?”
She’s like a damn dog with a bone. “No.”
“Then goodnight, boss.”
Sydney moved to brush by him and, unable to let her go just yet, Caden gripped her arm and hauled her against him. Frustration with the entire, fucked-up night ripped through him. Fisting his free hand in her red hair, he tilted her head sideways and dipped down to nip at the soft, tender flesh of her neck. Her gasp went straight to his cock; her low moan when he stroked his tongue over the bite jerked him into a semi-erection. Lifting his head enough to coast over her lips with his, he warned in a low voice, “Be careful what you wish for, Sydney. You may just get more than you bargained for.” Before he could give into the temptation to toss her down and bury himself inside her slick heat right there on the kitchen floor, he released her and stepped back.
“Goodnight.” Caden left her standing there with a bemused expression, but that was better than the stress lining her face from whatever had kept her awake. He needed to learn to remain calm and unaffected by her, to remind himself she was just another employee, here to do a job, and that was the extent of their involvement.
Chapter 3
Sydney smiled to herself as she cleaned up the kitchen in the mess hall. She’d served homemade rolls with today’s beef stew and set out an array of desserts it had taken her all morning to bake. The guys couldn’t praise her enough, a few even offered marriage proposals in jest. Going by her boss’ scowl, she guessed Caden didn’t appreciate their humor, but Connor’s sly wink and grin said he did.
She relished the friendly banter and camaraderie today after spending Sunday mostly by herself after Caden informed her he didn’t have time to teach her to ride before taking off for Billings. Other than to approve her grocery list and grumble about feeding his meatloaf to the dogs, he had made himself scarce after returning in the late afternoon. She’d killed some time strolling around the barns and learning her way around the buildings, petting the horses in their stalls and throwing sticks for the dogs. Compared to the hustle and bustle on Saturday, the ranch had been quiet and lonely yesterday and made her enjoy the activity and noise of a working ranch even more this morning.
When the hall finally grew quiet, she stretched, more than ready for some fresh air. With luck, maybe a long walk like the one she’d taken yesterday would help her sleep well again tonight. She refused to credit Caden’s presence in the house for the previous good night’s rest. Grabbing her jacket off its hook, she slipped out into the pleasant afternoon sun and brisk breeze. She followed a path of worn down grass through the closest field, catching sight of a few ranch hands working the cattle from afar. Annoyance slithered under her skin when she realized her eyes kept seeking one cowboy in particular, and she cursed her inability to stop pining for more attention from her boss. I’m just lonely, and horny, she repeated over and over as she increased her stride and concentrated on keeping her head down.
An hour later, that strategy proved to be a piss poor one. “Damn, damn and double damn,” Sydney cursed while trying to disentangle her snagged jeans from the barbed wire fence she had attempted to climb over. The sound of a horse thundering toward her drew her attention just as she felt a painful, sharp scrape ripping through the sock covering her ankle. Shielding her eyes, Sydney groaned when she recognized Caden galloping up to her, his horse puffing from exertion.
“I should’ve known you were where you’re not supposed to be,” Caden sighed as he dismounted and tipped his Stetson back with a thumb. “Don’t tell me, you got turned around, right?”
“Can I help it if your land stretches on and on with nothing to break it up?” The cut stung, and she could feel blood dampening her jeans, which didn’t improve her mood.
“Hold still.” Gripping her pant leg with both hands, he ripped the bottom three inches of denim off, freeing her before he caught sight of the cut. “Son of a bitch.” Whipping out a bandana from his back pocket, he tied it around the cut and lifted her off the fence, his arms gentle, his weathered face taut with frustration. “When was your last tetanus shot?”
