He must have felt her shiver. Tag wrapped his arms around her, pulling her into his hot embrace. Her hands automatically went to his shoulders as he enfolded her in a blanket of warmth, and that scent that was all Tag. Where Zander smelled of cedar and something spicy and wild, Tag carried the scent of leather and loam, all earthy and natural.
“No more running scared, Tessa. You’re ours. It’s time you accept it and stop making us crazy chasing you.” He looked down at her, his eyes searching her face.
“No. I can’t be yours. I can’t be anybody’s. Don’t push me, Tag,” she all but begged.
“What’s holding you back, baby? What are you hiding from? I know you’re hiding from something—or is it someone? Are you running from someone, Tessa? Tell me who, and I’ll deal with them.” The determined expression on his face told her he was more than serious. He was promising her that he would take care of any threat to her.
“I’m not running from anyone, Tag. I’m just not going to be someone’s doormat.” She bit her tongue. She’d almost said “again,” and that would have created a snag in her armor that would give Tag something to worry at like a dog gnawing on a bone.
He narrowed his eyes down at her. “No one wants you to be a doormat, Tessa. What gives you that impression?”
“You and Zander are Doms. I’m not a submissive. I’m my own person, and no one is going to tell me what to do. You and your buddy need to back off and find someone else to hound,” she said.
His slow, smug grin should have told her just how much trouble she was in, but Tessa was sure that she had made herself clear enough he would back off. She knew one thing about them for sure. They didn’t bully women, and they didn’t force them. None of the members of Golden Shackles were abusive to women. It was the one reason she hadn’t pulled up stakes and left town a long time ago.
Steve Tyler, her boss at Heavy Trinkets, was a member along with his brother Ben. Their wife Stacey was a sweet woman who worked at Sassy Sophisticate. All it would take was one word that someone was bothering her, and Steve would put an end to it. He wouldn’t, however, get in between her and Tag and Zander as long as all they were doing was pursuing her. She knew their rules. But it looked like they’d raised the stakes on her. She needed to decide if she was going to be able to withstand their brand of courting, or if she would have to move on.
“What are you thinking, Tessa? I can see your brain working overtime behind those pretty green eyes of yours. Don’t do something you’ll regret,” he said.
“I already have. I gave in and let you bring me home,” she said in a near whisper. “Now leave before I scream.”
Chapter Two
Tag wasn’t surprised that she was fighting them so hard. The first time they’d seen her at the fire that had nearly taken Marx and Jackson’s then-girlfriend Kelly, they’d known she would be a handful, but that didn’t stop them from wanting her. Time had only made the need for her stronger, but with it had come respect and admiration for the pretty redhead. While she was alone and nearly destitute, Tessa had worked for everything she had. Instead of accepting handouts and poormouthing her situation, she’d negotiated to clean house or weed flowerbeds for what she was freely given.
If she gave her word she’d be there, Tessa showed up, walking in the rain. If she promised to help with a project, she was the first one there and the last to leave. Tag wanted to give her the world even knowing she’d never accept it without earning it. Deep down he knew part of her drive to earn her way was so no one owned any part of her. But her core being was of someone good and kind, someone who believed in honor and hard work.
He and Zander had fought hard to make their own way in the world, building businesses out of nothing. They had gained the respect of the people in town when they had kept their places clean and safe. He and Zander showed up to help when someone needed something and never asked for anything in return. They knew what it took to change what people thought about them. They understood what Tessa dealt with on a daily basis when she’d first arrived. The fact that she hadn’t given up or taken off again only proved that she was perfect for them in every way.
Even now, with her staring up at him in defiance, he admired her. But he wanted her, too. Wanted her to the point of pain at the moment. It was time to leave before he did or said something that would set them back after all the time it had taken to get this far with the midget Amazon. She might only come up to his chin at around five feet four inches, but she packed a punch when she looked at him with those amazing green eyes.