Jethro’s lips twisted into half a smile, then he left, prowling toward his father and Daniel.
My heartbeat roared in my ears. I stood like an idiot as staff continued to load and look at me with an odd expression. Chagrin painted my cheeks, thinking they probably knew exactly what ailed me.
Sex.
I’d been debased to craving sex all while my life hung in some precarious balance.
Sex.
The monstrous need that made graves and debts and tally marks insubstantial compared to the promise of finding heaven in his arms.
“Nila...you okay?” Kes asked, sidling up to me.
I blew out a breath. I wasn’t in the mood to deal with him.
“Yes, I’m fine.” Waving my hand at the dwindling chaos, I asked, “What is all this for?”
Kes grinned. “I told you a few days ago. Polo.”
For some stupid reason, I thought it would take place on Hawk ground. I looked down at my black dress and thin mesh jumper. The garments weren’t enough now the weather had lost its summer warmth and slid straight into autumn chill. “Am I still permitted to come, or—”
“Of course. I told you...staff, prisoners...” He nudged my shoulder in jest. “The more the merrier. Come on, it’s time to go.” He moved toward his family, leaving me no choice but to follow, regardless that I wanted to move in the opposite direction to Cut Hawk.
Jethro never took his golden eyes off me as I stopped before them. Kes clapped his hands together. “Ready to get this mayhem on the road?”
Cut rubbed his jaw, looking me up and down. “Would you care to ride with me, my dear?” He pulled free a black handkerchief from his pocket, dangling it between his fingers. His smile was cold and sadistic. “I’ll have to blindfold you so you won’t know the way off the estate, but you’re welcome to the luxury of the vehicle.”
I hated that he came across so cordial—almost grandfatherly.
Jethro muttered, “She’ll be fine with Wings and me.”
My eyes widened. “You’re travelling with the horse?”
Jethro nodded. “Wings hates being confined. It kills him to be in the dark with no escape.”
My heart flipped. How could he say something so caring about an animal, yet be so strange about everything else?
Cut laughed—it held an edge of warning. “I expected you to grow out of that stupid notion, Jet.”
Jethro’s hands fisted. “Sorry to disappoint.”
Cut glared daggers at his oldest son. I stood poised to jump out of the way, just waiting for a fight to break out or some accusation thrown that might hint at whom Jethro truly was. It seemed his entire family knew and constantly used his weakness, condition—whatever he had—as a warning and an aid to heel.
Breaking the tense silence, I said, “I’d rather travel with the horses.”
Cut stopped trying to kill his oldest by death stare and turned his blazing eyes on me.
I rushed, “Plus, I won’t have to wear a blindfold as the truck doesn’t have windows.”
The thought of being cooped up in a dark space while weaving and swaying in traffic turned my stomach. The symptoms would be eerily similar to vertigo. But I would rather go with Jethro over Cut any day.
Cut nodded slowly. “Fine. We’ll see you at the match.”
Daniel shifted closer. “That’s a pity.” His unhinged soul glimmered in his eyes. His dark hair didn’t have any of the silver tinsel that Jethro and Kes had, but all three of the Hawk boys had inherited their colouring from their father. Daniel’s hair had thinned, whereas I knew from experience that Jethro’s was thick and entirely too enticing.
I know because his head has been between my legs, licking me while I dug my fingers—
Don’t think about that.
