He’d said absolutely nothing about anyone loving him. “Do you miss her? Is that who Tal will call?”
“She died a couple years back. She wouldn’t have really cared. She was a mean old lady. There was a reason my momma wanted to get the hell out of that trailer. My grandma ran off everyone who ever loved her. She never let a day go by where she didn’t tell me what a whore my momma turned out to be and that I was an embarrassment. She kept me because righteous women take care of their mistakes.”
How hard had it been for his sole guardian to consider him a burden? Lan was so competent. In the course of one day, he’d scouted the perimeter of the island, found food, and set up a desalinization station that was gathering water so they could stock up. He was amazing and he’d always been so deeply kind. She didn’t stop this time. If nothing else, he was her friend.
Alea scooted closer to him and placed a hand on his back, leaning her face against his strong upper arm. His skin was warm and smooth, so much softer than she’d imagined, though it covered rock-hard muscle. “You weren’t a mistake. I can’t imagine any mother not being so proud of you.”
He turned slightly, forcing her head up and looking on her with a curious gaze. Slowly, he reached down and brushed away tears she hadn’t known she was shedding. “Are those for me?”
She shrugged, then nodded. He wrapped a bulky arm around her and hauled her in close. For a moment, she stiffened, then sank against the heat of his body. And the safety. She felt safe with all of them.
“Don’t you cry for me, Princess.”
Sometimes when he called her that she could almost believe it was a term of endearment and not merely a title. “Someone should. And I’m not really crying for you. It’s not pity. You came from so little and you’ve turned into a wonderful man.”
“Sometimes,” he began, staring down at her, “bad things happen to good people, and they still find a way to turn it around. They find a way to be brave. I know you’re brave, too. I want you to kiss me, Lea.”
So much for his lack of smarts. He was a manipulative bastard. But if she wanted to heal, wanted to move forward and not let the kidnappers beat her, as Piper had pointed out, she had to be willing to take chances. Get out of her comfort zone. Try to be a whole woman. Believe that she could trust them.
Alea closed her eyes and tilted her head up. She could handle this. Landon would never hurt her.
She waited, but nothing happened.
Alea opened her eyes, and found Lan staring down at her. Cooper had moved behind, and she could feel his heat. Dane had edged closer, too. His gaze was fixed on her, smoldering like the nearby fire, as he leaned back against a tree.
“He said he wanted you to kiss him, baby,” Dane pointed out. “You have to listen to instructions or there might be consequences.”
She stiffened a little. “I don’t think I like the sound of that.”
Cooper leaned in. “Come on, Lea. Don’t be scared. You know Dane likes to play. It’s just who he is. He needs to feel like he’s in control.” His voice dropped to a whisper. “If he thinks you’re afraid, he’ll pull away. His ex-wife told him he was a pervert, and I don’t think he can handle it if you feel the same way.”
Talib liked to “play,” too. Oh, her cousins had tried to hide that fact from her, but she’d snuck into Tal’s “dungeon” when she was a teenager. The locked door had always intrigued her, and they’d never let her in or explained. Unfortunately when she’d finally figured out how to sneak in, Tal had been playing at the time. She’d hidden, of course, but she’d heard the moans, the slaps of leather on skin, the gasps—the sounds of satisfaction.
And she’d heard the tenderness he’d shown his submissive afterward. The praise he’d given her. The woman’s sighs of contentment. They had both enjoyed themselves. There hadn’t been anything wrong with it. She’d heard that the dungeon was open again and her cousins played with Piper, teasing her and loving her. Tal needed the control after what had happened to him.
What had happened to Dane?
She sat up and stared at him, illuminated by the fire. He had a bland, somewhat expectant look on his face, but she was starting to really know him. His anxiety revealed itself in the hard line of his shoulders, in the stiff way he held himself. “What if I’m not submissive?”
And just like that, his body relaxed, and the teasing Dom was back. “Oh, you are.”
“Maybe I want to be in control. Maybe I need it after what happened to me.” How would he handle that?