“What do I do, Cade?” he asked, clearing the emotion from his throat. No emotion. No need. He couldn’t, because he couldn’t bear the return of the nightmares, the horrible memories. “It’s my home, too. Will you sacrifice us all without even trying?”
Shock bloomed through Brock when Cade faced him fully. God. He couldn’t stand it. He couldn’t look in those eyes, nearly black with memories, with pain, shame. They had no reason to feel shame. Yet, he knew Cade did.
“I will not take her sense of security from her, Brock.” Cade’s voice vibrated with all the shattered hopes and dreams of a man who had once been innocent. Young. “I won’t do it, and neither will you.
When I can control my need to part from that bond with you and Sam, you can bring Sarah home.”
Brock looked around the tack room and thought of the large house. It echoed with Marly’s laughter and sometimes with Cade’s. More often with Sam’s. And Brock knew that if this didn’t resolve, then as long as he had Sarah, he would never be able to return.
“Yeah. Sure.” Brock straightened from the wall, avoiding Cade’s gaze, avoiding more than just a look, and he knew it. “Just let me know, Cade.” And he knew Cade never would.
He turned without giving his brother a chance to speak and left the room. He wasn’t sure, but when he reached the wide stable doors, he thought he heard an animal’s whimper of pain. That lonely, haunting sound burst over his soul with the agonizing force of time. A young man’s whimper, his eyes black with shock, shame, his body—
He shook his head, pushing it back. Back. Far away where it couldn’t hurt the man, where it could
never destroy ever again. Back to the past, where the shame, regret and blood were forever hidden.
CHAPTER SIX
Sarah couldn’t believe what Brock had done. The appointment at the doctor was bad enough. A thorough exam and blood testing resulting in a quick shot into her forearm of a birth control medication.
Dr. Bennett, pleased to learn that her cycle had just passed, was happy to begin the shots immediately.
Then, to her immense mortification, with a nonchalant attitude blithely handed her the report on Brock’s last blood tests as well. Disease free. Her face flamed as she remembered the doctor’s curious glance at her.
Normally, she would have balked at Brock’s domineering attitude when he informed her of the appointment. But there had been something about him. Something broken and lost, an edge of desperation in his look that had halted her. The way he touched her cheek, pulled her to him, his arms tight, his breathing harsh as he held her. So she had given in instead. And she wasn’t certain what she had glimpsed, or why it had hurt her to the soles of her feet.
“All set?” Brock stood to his feet in the outer office as she walked out of the examination room.
He ignored her blush. She was certain he had noticed it.
“Yeah, all set.” She drew close to him, overwhelmed once again by the sheer maleness of him. He exuded testosterone. Hard and handsome, warm and strong, and if the bulge in his pants was any indication, more than ready to take her to bed.
“I just got a call from the sheriff,” he told her as he led her from the doctor’s office. “Mark and his little friend are gone, and the cleaning crew just finished cleaning the house. You’ll have to replace most of the clothes he destroyed, but other than that everything seems in order. I also had your bed replaced.”
Sarah sighed. He was taking over. Why was he taking over? What the hell was going on here? She brought a man home for a night of rough and tumble sex, and all of a sudden she had blood tests, a birth control shot, and a new bed. None of it made sense.
“Thank you, but there was no need to bother,” she told him a bit desperately. “I didn’t mean for you to be put out this way.”
“That’s okay, love, I haven’t been put out.” He placed his hand at the small of her back as he led her to the jeep. “Mark doesn’t seem to be real accepting of this divorce though, Sarah. What’s up with that?”
His voice was carefully controlled, but she caught the under-edge of pulsing anger flowing through it.
“What’s up with you?” She kept her voice calm as she let him help her into the jeep, meeting his gaze as though there was nothing out of the ordinary with their conversation. “I was unaware this was any of your
business.”
He stilled. Just like that. He didn’t even blink as he watched her for long moments. Just watched her.
There was no anger in his face, no determination, but there was tenderness. What was it about that one, almost non-existent light in his eyes that stilled her anger?
“I’m making you my business, Sarah-love,” he told her softly. “All my business.”
Sarah blinked. His gaze was suddenly hot and possessive, searing over her flesh as he watched her closely.
“You’re supposed to wait for an invitation, Brock,” she told him coolly. “The world does not belong to the August men.”
“No, it doesn’t, but you just may,” he told her cryptically. “Now buckle up. I want to get you home so I can return to the ranch and get back here before nightfall.”
Get back? The door closed on her question. Reaching behind her, she pulled the seat belt forward, clipping it with a jerky, tense movement.
“You are not moving in with me, Brock August,” she bit out as he jumped into the jeep.
She watched his hands tighten on the wheel, then they relaxed and he was closing his door, fastening his own seat belt and starting up the vehicle.
“I don’t recall asking to.” His voice was smooth as honey, but he couldn’t hide the underlying edge of tension.
“I have a feeling you rarely ask for anything,” she grumped, settling against the seat as he drove towards her small house. “I bet you just walk right in and take over when you want something.”
She noticed the shuttered glance he gave her; despite the fact he appeared to be trying to hide it.
“Is there another way to do it?” he asked her, grinning as he navigated trough the sparse traffic of Madison’s main city street.
Sarah rolled her eyes.
“Why haven’t I heard about this dominant streak of yours before now?” she asked him testily. “None of your other women complained about it.”
He shot her a surprised glance.