Precious Angel (Alpha Province #4)(13)

She sucked in a breath when she turned to gaze at him over her shoulder,  her cracked ribs protesting the movement. "I've just told you I don't  like taking pain medication." She turned away from him and stared at her  empty plate. Heat suffused her cheeks when she felt all three of them  staring at her, but she was determined to ignore them and the thick  tension in the air.

She squeaked out a startled noise when Jayson lifted her and her chair  away from the table, her knuckles aching as she clutched the side of the  seat hard. When he lowered the seat again, she huffed out a relieved  breath to have all four legs back on the floor and her no longer in  danger from toppling off of it.

When Jayson squatted down in front of her and clasped her hand in his,  she blinked at him owlishly. She didn't want to be this close to him  because the blood racing through her veins was heating up her whole  body. He and his brothers smelled so good, she wanted to keep breathing  them in for as long as possible.

"Kenzie, what aren't you telling us? Why do you have such an aversion to taking the medicine Broden prescribed to you?"

She wasn't sure telling him the truth was a good idea right now. He  looked so concerned for her, she didn't want to add to his worries. She  could feel Jordan and Jenson virtually boring holes into her skull as  they waited for her answer expectantly, but she stubbornly kept her gaze  locked with Jayson's. "I've already told you twice." She shrugged  nonchalantly. "I'm going to sound like a broken record if I repeat  myself again."

Jayson rose with a sigh, combed his fingers through his hair, and turned away from her.

Silly tears stung the back of her eyes and she blinked rapidly to dispel  them. Kenzie had no reason to be feeling so emotional or to be crying,  but she felt as if she was about to fall apart at any moment.

She'd hadn't cried since the day her mother had been buried in the  ground, not really. Crying out and having tears leaking from her eyes  while experiencing excruciating pain didn't count in her book. Kenzie  was worried if the dam burst, she'd never be able to plug the hole up  again, so she sucked in a deep breath and exhaled slowly. The urge to  cry passed and she sighed with relief.

Another startled sound emitted from her parted lips when Jayson spun  back toward her and scooped her up into his arms. She gazed at him with  shock as she looped an arm around his neck.                       
       
           



       

"What are you doing?"

"I'm carrying you to your room. You're so fucking tired your eyes are  half closed. Your lips are pulled into a tight line from pain, and  you're so fucking white, besides the bruises, you look as if you're  about to pass out." He glanced over toward Jordan and Jenson. "Bring a  glass of water."

Kenzie bit her tongue to stop herself from demanding to be put her down.  If she was honest with herself-and she was right at this moment-she  wasn't sure she could have walked on her own. And while she normally  hated taking any medication, each second that went by she was hurting  more and more. Maybe taking something wasn't such a bad idea after all.

If she hadn't been concentrating so hard on not moaning with pain-if she  hadn't been in any pain at all-she would have taken in her  surroundings, but she just didn't have the energy. When she was feeling  more up to par, she hoped she'd get the chance to explore, but right  now, she just wanted the oblivion sleep could give her. Even if she was  scared of making an ass out of herself if she ended up crying out in her  sleep.

She needed a reprieve, or she would end up blubbering like a baby.

Jayson gently lowered her onto the bed and it wasn't until he was  pulling the covers up over her that she noticed Jordan and Jenson were  in the room, too, and that one of them had tugged the quilt down. She  sighed as her head and body sank into the softest, most comfortable  pillow and mattress she'd ever had the privilege of resting on. She  could already feel her eyelids and her body growing heavier.

"Open your mouth, baby," Jordan ordered in a soft, yet firm voice.

Kenzie opened her mouth and when he placed two pills on her tongue, she  didn't protest. A large, gentle hand cupped the back of her neck, lifted  her head, and the rim of a glass was pressed to her lip. She sipped at  the water, swallowed the pills, and sighed when her head was lowered to  the pillow again. When she felt movement on either side of her as the  mattress dipped, and then at the foot of the bed, she wanted to open her  eyes to see what they were doing, but it was just too much effort. She  rolled onto her uninjured side, drew her knees up closer to her body and  drifted off to sleep.





"I hate seeing her like this." Jenson sighed as he stared down into her  peaceful face. He was lying on the bed next to her with his head propped  up on his hand. He gazed over her bruised, swollen face and wondered  how long it would take for all her injuries to fade and heal.

"We do, too, Jenson," Jay said. "Thank fuck Broden, his brothers, and  Dusty offered to take over cooking at the hotel. My panther's been going  crazy ever since I found her. I'm having a hell of a time concentrating  on anything. If I had to cook, I'd likely fuck something up or end up  poisoning someone."

"Are you ever going to let that go?" Jordan asked. "It wasn't our fault  Dusty got sick. How we were to know that she had a life-threatening  reaction to nutmeg?"

"You've apologized, Jay, even though you had nothing to apologize for, and Dusty accepted how sorry you were," Jenson stated.

"She even told you it wasn't your fault," Jordan reminded.

"I know."

"So, what's really bothering you?" Jenson asked.

"What if she doesn't want us?"

"She does, Jay. We all scented her desire." Jordan shifted closer up  behind Kenzie. He was about to wrap his arm around her waist and pull  her tighter against him, but Jenson gripped his wrist while it was still  in midair.

"Don't."

"What the fuck, Jenson? Let me go. I'm only going to hold her."

"Keep your voice down," Jay growled.

"You can't be manhandling her until her ribs have healed. You'll end up hurting her."

"Shit." Jordan rolled from the bed onto his feet and scrubbed a hand  over his face as he stared at their mate. "I'm going out for a while."

"If you're going for a run, make sure no one sees you." Jay glared and pointed a finger at him.

"I wasn't born fucking yesterday." Jordan gave Jay the finger and stormed away.

"We're going to have to try and tamp down our aggressive tendencies,  Jay. If we scare Kenzie, she's going to want to leave," Jenson said. He  couldn't believe he was being the voice of reason for a change. Usually  he was the one going off half-cocked and doing something idiotic without  thinking it through. Although to be fair to himself, that had been  before they'd joined up to serve in the Marines. He'd been so young,  carefree, and impetuous, but all his innocence had slowly been shoved  out by the cold hard reality of war and violence.                       
       
           



       

He and his brothers had hardly spoken over the last five years. If  they'd needed to respond to anyone they'd usually grunted or made some  other noise. Since Emmy had arrived on the scene and then Pixie and  Dusty, they'd become downright chatty, and he was glad about that. If  they hadn't had practice talking with the other women, they probably  would have had trouble communicating with their own mate. Not that he  and his brothers were experts or had become chatterboxes. They still  didn't speak as much as the other guys in town, but they were slowly  getting better.

Now that Kenzie was here in their home, he had so many questions he  wanted to ask her, but she needed to recover before he started grilling  her. It wasn't that he was going to give her the third degree or  anything. He just wanted to know everything and anything he could about  her. He was already in love with her, but he wanted to know her on a  soul-deep level as well as an intimate one.

And while he and his brothers had scented her desire, that didn't mean she was going to agree to be their mate.

Pain shot into his heart making him gasp. He wasn't sure he'd be able to  contain his panther if she turned away from him. If his beast got away  from him, other people's lives would be in danger.

Jenson wouldn't be able to live with himself if he hurt the other women or men in Ambrose.

If Kenzie decided she didn't want to be their woman, the best thing to do would be to put a bullet through his brain.





Chapter Six




Jenson and Jordan had both left the house to go for a run. Jayson had  wanted to go as well to relieve some of the aggressive possessiveness  coursing through his blood, heart, and soul, but he wasn't about to  leave Kenzie home alone while she was sleeping, while she was so  vulnerable. So, he'd stayed. He couldn't even bring himself to leave the  room. After Jenson had followed Jordan out, he'd moved from the bottom  of the bed to lie beside his mate. He could have spent hours, days on  end just watching her sleep peacefully.