Page 13

THORIN

I ’m going to strangle this woman.

Besides appearing a little miffed at being woken up abruptly, Aurelia sits up like she’s without a care in the world. I wish I could say the same after a long day of freezing my ass off in the snow. I came home expecting a hot meal, a hard drink, and a tight pussy to warm me, but what I found was an empty table, and this pain-in-the-ass girl curled up in my bed as if she belonged.

“Was that necessary?” Aurelia still doesn’t meet our gazes as she peels the soaked flannel from her chest. She’s all false bravado, this girl. My grip on the empty cup tightens as I try to keep my focus on her face and not her bare thighs.

“Why isn’t our dinner ready?” Khalil asks. “And don’t think I didn’t see our laundry in the same place we left it. I gave you our instructions.”

“I don’t know,” Aurelia answers with a curl of her upper lip while finally making eye contact. “Because you didn’t make it before you left? Because I’m not your maid?” Her stomach takes that moment to grumble loudly. “Speaking of food. I’m hungry. When’s dinner?”

I pinch the bridge of my nose and exhale. “Aurelia…please tell me you’re fucking with us.”

We searched the kitchen from top to bottom when we arrived home before finding her belligerent ass in my bad, tossing and turning like she was having a nightmare.

If she wasn’t, she’s about to.

“Why would I be fucking with you?”

My body trembles with the effort it takes not to snatch her ass up. If I’m a ticking bomb, this girl is undoubtedly the trigger.

Seth takes a seat on the edge of the bed, and Aurelia eyes him warily. “Why didn’t you do what you were told?” he asks her curiously, almost gently.

Aurelia would be dumb as shit to fall for it.

I may be holding on by a thread, but Seth shredded through every single one of his the moment he was born from the tattered remains of Zeke’s sanity. He doesn’t realize there is no such thing as gentle with this bitch. She’s too damned used to getting her way.

“Did you forget, Sunshine?”

The look Aurelia gives him says all we need to know. “I thought you were joking.”

Reaching out, Seth plays with one of her longer curls. “Why is that?”

Aurelia wrinkles her nose and slaps his hand away while climbing from my bed.

None of us moves to give her space.

I can tell the moment she remembers the night in the den. The night we found her. We’re crowding her, circling her just the same. The fear that we might repeat that night doesn’t paralyze her, though. It feeds her need to self-destruct.

“Because it’s the twenty-first century, you sexist shithole? You want me to cook and clean for you like I’m your maid, and when I’m done, spread my legs like I’m your whore. What’s next? Bear your child? That’s basic bitch, shit. I’m Aurelia fucking George. I can ruin your life with one tweet. Find someone else to iron your drawers.”

“Trust me, Au-re-li-a . You’re not our first choice either. A reptile would be more pleasant than you, but I don’t see anyone else around to warm our beds, do you?”

“You can’t just—”

“This again,” I interrupt. “We can’t keep you. Blah, blah. It’s wrong. Blah, blah. We’re crazy caveman psycho creeps. Blah, blah, fucking blah. Now that we’ve established that again, move your ass and start making us happy.”

For a moment, Aurelia just gapes at my inability to give a fuck. “ No .”

“No?” Khalil echoes. The dumbass actually looks shocked.

“No!” she repeats.

“Cabin rules, Aurelia. Remember? Rule number four is do what you’re told .”

She clears her throat and steps closer to me until I’m looking down my nose at her. “Fuck you. Okay? Fuck your rules. Fuck your house. Fuck your mother for having you. And fuck that. I’m not about to break my back washing your dirty drawers in a contraption that looks like it was made in the eighteen hundreds! You want to punish me? Fine. But do it knowing that I have a better imagination than you. Everything you do to me, you’ll feel three-fold. It’s in your best interest not to piss me off because I will get out of here, and I’ll never —”

The rest of the venom she spews is cut short when I seize a handful of her curls in my fist so hard she cries out and then reaches up to try to pry her hair free.

“Listen to me, you insufferable pain in my fucking ass. I hope you do come at us with everything you have. Go ahead. Make it interesting. We’ve been bored up here for nine years. These wilds haven’t tamed us, and neither will you. We’re overdue for a challenge.”

“I’m not your entertainment!”

“You’re whatever we say you are,” I bite back.

I start moving for the bedroom door, but Aurelia can’t fight me and keep up with my long strides at the same time, so she falls to her knees.

Ignoring the demanding pang in my chest to help her up, I keep going instead of stopping.

“Fuck.” Khalil huffs. I can feel him and Seth on my heels as I drag Aurelia, screaming and kicking, through the cabin by her hair. “Yo, Thorin. Maybe you want to chill a little?”

I don’t want to hear it.

This is his fault for being too soft with her.

I made it clear to him that if Aurelia stays, she needs to learn her place and fast before I change my mind about letting her stay.

Did he listen? Did any of them? Now it’s up to me to be the biggest asshole.

Either we get through to Aurelia once and for all, or we put her down forever. I’d rather not have an innocent woman’s blood on my hands when I could have her coming on my cock instead.

We reach the kitchen, and I let go of Aurelia’s hair and leave her sobbing on the floor.

Khalil’s soft ass walks over to help her up, but one look from me has him backing off with an eye roll.

I stalk over to the stove and feel my ire grow, realizing Aurelia let the fire go out. I hastily rebuild the fire, throwing some kindling and a log inside before grabbing the box of matches and lighting it.

For a while, I just stand there with my back to them all and watch the flames as the fire grows. I bide my time, giving Aurelia just enough to save herself. Hearing her shift on the floor behind me, I wait for her to tell us she’s sorry and that she’ll try harder to show us her gratitude. I already know she won’t, but I stay where I am anyway.

Before Aurelia even speaks, I know her remorse has been tossed out the window.

I give myself permission to do the same.

“Okay, I’ll cook for you,” she says sweetly. “But only because you’re such a gentleman, Thorin. Your mother must be proud.”

“My mother is dead.”

“Lucky her.”

I laugh, and the reaction makes her flinch.

“Lucky me,” I say easily. “My mother was a junkie whore without a maternal bone in her body. She had a mean streak a mile wide, though.”

“So that’s your secret tragedy? You got mommy issues, so you hate all women?” Aurelia snorts and shakes her head. “Your origin story sucks, dude. It’s not even original.”

“Stand up.”

It’s a command Aurelia doesn’t have a problem obeying. She stands, but I don’t miss the way she backs toward Khalil and Seth. I doubt she expects them to protect her from me.

Spoiler alert: they won’t.

She’s just desperate to get away from me.

That won’t do at all.

“Come here.” When she hesitates, my fingers flex with the urge to grab her, but I force myself to stay put. I didn’t enjoy what I did to her just now. I’d rather not repeat it. “I’m not going to ask you again, Aurelia.”

Her lips part to say something smart, but she thinks better of it and snaps them closed.

Aurelia doesn’t realize it yet, but she’s already starting to fall in line.

It’s all I can do not to send smug looks to my brothers when she inches closer. Aurelia isn’t ready to admit that she enjoys a firm hand and probably never will, so I gently take her nape as soon as she’s within reach and draw her close to me until her body is flush with mine and my free hand is resting under the curve of her ass cheek. My fingers are just inches from the tempting heat of her pussy, but I ignore the distraction and focus on the task at hand.

“Now, let’s try this again,” I say patiently. “If you refuse to answer or I don’t like what I hear, I’m going to hurt you. It won’t be easy, and you won’t be able to take it. Don’t test me, Aurelia. I’m not in the mood. Am I clear?”

My anger slowly unfurls in my chest when she stares at my chest and nods.

“Did Khalil tell you what we expected of you today?” Aurelia hesitates a moment and then nods slowly. “Were you confused by what he told you?” She shakes her head. “So why wasn’t it done?”

That defiant gleam enters her eyes again, and I tighten my hold in warning. She blinks, and then it’s gone. “I-I didn’t know how.”

“You didn’t even try,” I bite out.

“Because I don’t know how!”

I slap her ass hard enough for it to smart, and I swear to fucking God her nipples pebble through the flannel. “Watch that volume, songbird . I won’t tell you again . ”

Aurelia shudders violently and then squirms against my hold when she realizes I can feel her reaction. “Don’t call me that,” she grinds out.

“Why not?” I whisper against her lips. “It’s what you are. “You don’t like it?”

“ No .”

Her response is a knee-jerk reaction. And it’s a complete lie.

I’m tempted to reach under the flannel— my flannel—and touch her pussy to prove it.

Khalil couldn’t wait to find us earlier and brag about how he kissed her, and she kissed him back. According to him, she was damn near panting for it.

It’s hard enough watching Aurelia run her mouth, sleep in my bed uninvited, and walk around dressed in my clothes with nothing underneath and not do anything about it, but now it feels like I’m competing with my brothers for her attention.

“Tough. I don’t like it when my woman doesn’t obey me.”

“I’m not your—”

I don’t give her a chance to lie to me again.

She’s ours, and there’s nothing she can do about it. The thought sends a thrill from my fingers and up my arms and neck until it fills my head with euphoria.

Unwilling to repeat the same argument, I distract her with kisses instead. My lips are firm against hers but not demanding. I wait her out to see if she responds—to see how long it takes her to stop pretending she doesn’t want my touch.

The answer—not that fucking long.

All that fuss, and I don’t even have to make her kiss me back. Her eyes are closed so she doesn’t see me open mine to peer smugly over her shoulder at Khalil.

He rolls his eyes and looks away.

My way got her pliant, but maybe Seth and Khalil were on to something.

Nice makes her want it .

Aurelia even opens that mouth of hers when I ask, and nothing but sweet comes out when she moans and claws to get closer to me.

“Do you want a repeat of your first night?” I ask between kisses.

A terrified shudder rips through her, but she doesn’t stop kissing me, doesn’t stop feeding me her tongue. I swear to God she even clings to me like I’ll protect her…from me . “No.”

“No?” I break the kiss to stare down at her with my fingers tightening around her hair. “Then you better get started on dinner. You’ve got one hour to have something edible on that table, Aurelia. I’m not fucking around.”