Brody's Vow (Colebrook Siblings Trilogy Book 1) by Kaylea Cross Read Free Book Online Page B

evenings with a cold beer. “How many acres of land does your family own?” she asked as he rounded the hood.
    “Sixty. It’s mostly pasture and woodland.”
    It was beautiful country. The entire setting was idyllic, the house looking like it should belong to a family in an after-school special. Not the kind of place she ever envisioned visiting.
    “Come on, let’s get you settled.” He started for the porch but she hesitated and he looked back at her. “You’re in no shape to go anywhere by yourself tonight,” he said in a reasonable tone. “Might as well spend the night here, where you know you’ll be safe.”
    It felt so wrong. Weak. She never relied on anyone to look after her, to protect her, but she had to admit she was in rough shape at the moment, not to mention exhausted.
    “Unless you’re planning to walk back into town by yourself, come on,” he said, heading for the front porch without glancing back.
    Her gut said she could trust him. To a point.
    Hoping she wouldn’t come to regret her decision, Trinity followed him. She stepped into the entryway and gazed around at the homey surroundings as the scents of old wood and lemon greeted her.
    Everything was neat and tidy. Wide plank floors stretched as far as the eye could see, leading to a grand wooden staircase that split the lower floor into two halves. The light cream-painted walls made everything appear bright and clean. It was cozy, a home clearly well-loved and cared for by its owner.
    Colebrook closed the door behind him and stepped up beside her, and she felt a tug of attraction at having him so close. She put him at around six-two, around two-ten or so. He was wide through the chest and shoulders, and he smelled damn good. Soapy and clean. Good enough that part of her was tempted to lean in and inhale more of his scent.
    Which was insane, and maybe she’d hit her head harder than she’d realized. She was so used to using her body to get what she wanted, had never experienced attraction to any of her targets, that this felt…unsettling. And far more tempting than she would have expected.
    “You hungry?” he murmured, his quiet tone telling her he didn’t want to waken whoever else was at home.
    Way hungrier than she should be, under the circumstances, and not for food. That was startling all on its own. It had been…
    God, she couldn’t remember the last time she’d been attracted to anyone or had sex for pleasure’s sake. Had to be nearly two years ago now, that time she’d hooked up with a guy from a pub when she’d first moved to London. And that had only been for one night, after she’d checked him out and looked into his background to make sure he wasn’t a threat to her. “No thanks.”
    “I’ll show you up to your room then,” he said, heading for the staircase, the hitch in his gait more pronounced than before. Maybe the drive had made his leg stiffen up. “There’s some pain meds in the upstairs bathroom. I’ll—” He stopped as the sound of shuffling footsteps reached them from upstairs.
    From the shadows at the top of the stairs, an old man appeared. Gray-haired, a heavy growth of stubble on his lower face that didn’t disguise the way the right side of it drooped. He was slightly bent to one side, leaning on the cane in his left hand.
    “Brody,” the man said, his voice a deep rumble, the syllables slightly slurred. “Who’s this you’ve brought home with you?”
     
    Brody might be thirty-four years old and consider himself to be an elite operator, but he still cringed at coming in late and waking up his old man. “Sorry we woke you, Dad. This is Trinity. She’s a…friend of mine,” he said, not knowing what else to say to explain this odd situation.
    Rather than respond, his father shuffled down the stairs, staring at her. Trinity didn’t move, watching his father come toward them closely, without a word.
    Brody hated that this was how she was seeing him for the first time. Back in the day, his