“So it can only be the trees and the stream,” Jared said decisively. “We will find a place where we will not have to cut many trees down where she will also be able to look at the water.”
“Mayhap we should go down to the stream and look up to see where it is most open?” Thor suggested.
“Butthisis the view!” Kane said testily. “If we are down there, how are we to know what she would see from up here?”
“I am going to survey the area,” Jared said tightly. “If it is the trees she likes, we will not be able to cut them down and make fields there or clear a place for salvage. I think we must decide where those must be put before we decide where the castle must stand.”
“She did not say that she wanted a castle. I noticed that,” Sebastian said.
“She did not say that she did not want one either!” Jared retorted impatiently.
“What did you mean by that comment ‘seven for now’?” Kane demanded abruptly. “Because if you are thinking that we might add others, I am certain I do not care for that! Chloe said that her woman’s cycle was 28 days EST and that she could not have sex for five of those day because of her period—whatever that is. That only leaves 3.8 days for each of us as it is!Lessif she also has rest days! Although I suppose we might as well consider the .8 as her rest times, otherwise we will be fighting over them. Because I donotthink that it would be fair for some to have four when the rest have only three!”
“Off-spring,” Jared said tightly.
Lucien and Kane gaped at him. “But you said that we could nothaveoff-spring! Reuel said it! How are we going to manage that?”
“We will have to think of something.”
“Well! If fucking will not do it I do not know what ‘something’ we will think of!”
* * * *
Despite his weariness from laboring all day, Jared found that he could not sleep. Heneededto talk to Chloe. It had reassured him for a time when she had seemed to accept that they were building for her, but it ate at him that she still avoided them and she had not actually given any of them a promise.
If he could only get her to promise that she would give them time to prove to her that they would and could take care of her, he would be able to sleep at night, he thought. And he knew that if she gave her word that he could count on it.
He was just sorry, now, that he had not realized before that the things she had said were not a promise that he could count on.
His anxiety over it was not the only reason he could not sleep. His need for sexual relief was reaching a point of true suffering. He hadthoughtit was bad when he had been in the brig. It was far worse now. He did notwantanyone but Chloe. Beyond that, he did not want to make her angry when she had made it clear that the thought of him fucking anyone else made her very angry. It was getting harder and harder to remember that, though, when he knew that all of the other men—Reuel’s crew—could go to their women for relief and did. He could not keep those thoughts from running through his mind no matter how hard he tried and he was afraid that he would do something stupid if he did not find relief soon.
He had begun to actuallyfearthat every decision that he made would turn out to be the wrong one and he would lose Chloe.
It did not make him feel better that the others were in nearly as bad a state as he was, mayhap worse, because they were as fearful as he was and were constantly badgering him for reassurances that he could not give them. He would not have felt any hesitancy if he was on familiar ground. When he had been a soldier, he had been completely confident that he had weighed all possibilities against probabilities in anything to do with military strategy and arrived at the right decision, but he had not experienced anything like this before and, moreover, he had not cared nearly as much whether he would be successful or not.
He thought that it was a very bad idea to approach Chloe when he was not certain of what to say and not certain that he could convince her that it was not just fucking that he wanted of her. In fact, he was fairly certain if she gave him any opening at all that he was not going to be able to control himself.
The need to get a promise from her had begun to outweigh his fears of self-control, however. He had not been able to corner her, but he had known that she ate and bathed. It had not taken much effort to discover when and that had made it harder to contain himself even though he knew he would be better off if he did not get her alone.
He lay staring at the timepiece in his cabin for a time, watching the count of seconds, minutes, and hours and finally sat up. She would be in the shower room. He would wait until she had had time to dry off and dress and then he would trap her there and speak to her, he decided.
He would still have to fight temptation, but it would be easier if she was dressed. He thought he would be able to get his mind off of his dick long enough to talk.
He could hear that the shower was still running when he reached the door to the shower room and he stopped abruptly, struggling with the instant urge that washed over him to at least step into the doorway and watch her. After debating for several moments, he lost the battle and moved to the opening.
His heart nearly stopped in his chest when he discovered that he was not the only one who had discovered when Chloe went to bathe alone.
Chapter Eighteen
Jared could tell, instantly, from her stance that Salina was only waiting for Chloe to notice her to attack. Her stance was aggressive and every muscle tensed to spring upon her.
Coldness washed over him when he had managed to analyze the situation and realized that Salina had taken the possibility of interruption into account. She had placed herself within easy reach of her target. If he moved or spoke, she would be upon Chloe in an instant and there would be nothing he could do to save her … nothing. It would not take her more than two seconds to break Chloe’s neck … if that much.
He swallowed convulsively, knowing Chloe would turn any moment and he would lose any advantage he had, any possibility. Summoning to his mind every possibility that occurred to him and then discarding it, he struggled with despair and finally seized upon the only one he thought had any chance of working as he saw Chloe reach for the lever to shut off the water.
Crouching, he calculated the trajectory and force he would need, and then bellowed loudly enough his voice echoed around the chamber, making it difficult to pinpoint his position and distracting Salina at the same time. “Get away from her!” he shouted. Launching himself into the air even as the words left his mouth, he soared over Salina’s head, executing an airborne somersault and landing on his feet between her and Chloe.
Fortunately, Chloe’s reaction was to jump back. Unfortunately, Salina had almost instantly realized his plan of attack. She had whipped around when he bellowed, but she had turned again almost before he touched down. Uttering a feral scream, she launched herself at him. Her attack altered his trajectory. She slammed into him full force, driving him into the wall behind him and then drove her fists into his midsection several times before he could recover enough to try to block her. He spared a quick glance to see where Chloe was even as he made a grab for Salina’s arms. Relief flooded him when he saw that she had crouched in a tight ball in the corner, but it was momentary.
