Destined by Allyson Young Read Free Book Online

touch—fingers working through her hair, and then to
massage the nape of her neck—soothed her immensely. Her spanked bottom was
still a vague, heated reminder of her perceived perfidy, but it also spoke to
an apology owed her. Two apologies, although she’d take one
if at the hands of both men. Maybe.
    “Home, darlin’.” Craig sounded such a cowboy when he used that endearment, and her belly warmed
in response. Her sex was still thrumming with anticipation. She knew
intellectually what to expect, but experience … not so much. Hell, nothing. She
should probably tell them.
    Ash took her from Craig, lifting
her easily against his chest, corded muscles evident in his every move. He
ensured the blanket covered her, a good thing, because she just knew the ranch hands
were about, and watching the performance. She only hoped they didn’t know the
entire story.
    “I’ll bring her stuff,” Craig
called out quietly, as she was borne across the yard and up onto the veranda.
Ash smelled comfortingly of his usual citrus scent, and she drew it deeply into
her lungs. The sounds of encroaching nightfall washed over her.
    With a dip she barely registered,
Ash had the door open and they were inside the house. Instead of bearing her up
the stairs—maybe she was getting too heavy for him—he toted her into the
kitchen where he gently set her on her feet. She clutched the blanket and
watched heat flare his blue eyes to the true color of the prairie sky. It gave
her the confidence to flash him a smile.
    Quirking a brow, he pointed to one
of the stools set against the granite counter. They’d steadily upgraded the old
ranch house over the years, and the downstairs mudroom was the last to be
tended to, now the kitchen was finished. It had honored her to be consulted on
all of the renovations, and that, too, had given her reason to hope she was
reading their interest in her as quite separate from what they might feel for a
foster sister. Like they were building toward a very
different future.
    “Sit, Sinclair, if you’re
comfortable.” A slight smile lifted his sensuous lips. It drew her, even as she
was annoyed at his reference to her spanking. It hadn’t only been Craig’s big,
thorny palm meting out those smacks. She sat, and covered any sign of outward
discomfort with utter determination. Besides, she could admit to being a little
turned on.
    “I’ll make something to eat. An omelet okay?”
    “Sure.” She addressed his broad
back, shamelessly ogling his fine ass, encased in worn denim. “With rye toast.”
    A chuckle made his shoulders lift,
and she totally relaxed. It was going to be okay. The door slammed, and Craig
strode in, but bypassed the kitchen. She heard him mount the stairs and
surmised he’d brought her things inside and put them in her room. After a pause
he thundered down the steps and came to join her and Ash.
    He gave her a look redolent of
caring and desire, and she was thrilled to see it, after the way they’d hidden
from her that morning. They weren’t hiding now. Was it only several hours
previous that the brothers had rejected her plea to join them in a ménage? Ashton and Craig Russell. Package deal. A deal she was determined not to miss out on this time around.
    “You okay?” She assumed Craig was
referring to her bottom but chose to ignore that, and tell them what they
should really hear.
    “I’m not as sad and despairing as I
was.”
    The pan clattered against the
stove, and she figured the omelet might be a lost cause, when Ash whirled and
came to her, Craig pushing into her other side.
    “Jesus, darlin’.”
    “Sinclair, honey, if I could turn
back time …”
    Two pairs of arms encircled her,
and she was nearly crushed between two wide chests. A chin rested on the top of
her head, and lips pressed against her temple. Craig, so the chin belonged to
Ash. She’d cried enough today to fill a lifetime, but a tear still escaped and
slipped down her face to catch on the corner of her