Chapter 11

It was almost unbelievably pleasant, stretching out under fresh sheets with a full stomach, watching the little rivers of rainwater catch the light from the hallway. Red snuggled under a thick quilt and listened to the sleeping house. Jeeves gently snored in his bedroom, the door partly open to allow Bandit to wander should he wish to. But the cat had fallen in love, and refused to leave the giant's side.
"Faithless animal." Red grumbled. She was grateful, though, that he had settled in so well. The rain sounded soothing. Tender, a pattering of miniature drumbeats against the windowpane.

Suddenly a quiet noise drew her attention to the wall nearest her bed. She rolled over, listening, and heard muffled voices. Lester's voice. His room must be right next to hers.

"…got you, baby. Just relax."

He sounded gentle, his tone soft and reassuring. Tsugi's higher voice was easier to hear.

"I love you so much, Lester. You're amazing."

"I love you too. Lie back, darlin'."

Red bit her lip, blushing. Oh God, they were making love. The bed creaked, she could hear them breathing.

"Kiss me." Tsugi gasped.

Red found it strangely moving to curl up in the dark and listen to such a warm display of affection, passion and love. She closed her eyes and tried to remember the last time anyone treated her with that level of compassion and desire.

No one, really. There had been no one. Men just took what they wanted from her in the past. Some for money, some for food or warmth or the wild desperate hope that she would be loved. The result was always the same. An empty bed and an empty heart and an empty soul. Each experience had only left her emptier.

Red sat up in bed, wrapping her arms around her knees and looking at the door, the hallway. Across the hall and to the right, Darwin's door was closed. She wondered if she would be expected to sleep with him. If he would give her a day and time or just command her to get in the bedroom and perform without warning her first. If maybe he was the type to prefer rape. He seemed stern and ruthless, but there was a strange aloof intellect there as well. Almost aristocratic, as though he wore the disguise of a redneck madman just to be ironic and toy with the world. Damn it, he was hard to read. Maybe she was supposed to go to him and show initiative.

Twenty minutes passed while she silently rocked in bed, tormented by indecision and lost in thought. There was a small, climactic whimper through the wall. Red shivered.

"Darwin." She whispered, tasting his name on her tongue. There wasn't a sound now from the room next door. Just the moaning of the wind outside, the restless tapping of the tree branches against one another and against the roof. Red took a deep breath.

Held it in.

Let it out slowly.

She pulled back the covers and slid out of bed. Her feet hit the chilly floor, the soft carpet like dry cool moss between her toes.

"Now or never." Softly the words hissed under her breath. Fear and a strange icy tingle of anticipation thrilled down her spine as she stepped into the hall and crossed to his bedroom. Briefly she considered knocking, but she didn't want to risk anyone else hearing her.

Slowly, carefully, she eased his door open and stepped into the darkness of his room. Her hands were shaking, palms sweaty, mouth dry. It seemed that every breath was very loud in the silent room.

"What am I doing?" She thought to herself.

The room smelled of gun oil, sweat, leather, a hint of Old Spice. The musky aroma of maleness infused everything. Red's eyes gradually adjusted to the dim silver moonlight filtering in through the parted curtains. The double bed sat beneath the window, blankets rumpled and pillows askew. Red took a deep breath and moved forward, letting the door close behind her. She crept closer to the bed, one foot in front of the other. Her knees felt as though they were made of licorice whips. The source of all this nervosa was a complete mystery to her. She'd been with plenty of men, after all. Faceless, heartless, endless men. But this was different somehow.

She leaned down and touched the bed with one hand, tucking a curl behind her ear with the other.

There was something wrong. The bed was empty.

A strong arm went about her waist abruptly, and a hand went over her mouth. She was yanked hard against a lean, muscular body. Warm breath on her neck. A husky-low voice in her ear.
"Well now," Darwin whispered, "What do we got here? You lost, Red?"

His voice had a deadly edge to it.

Red struggled in his grip, but he held her tight until she finally stilled. Her heart was pounding in her chest faster and harder than it ever had in her life. Darwin's left hand stayed firmly over her mouth to keep her silent while his right hand trailed over her body. He patted her down, checking her hands and the waistband and pockets of the flannel pants she wore. Finally, when he was satisfied that she carried no weapon, he wrapped his arm around her waist and arms and held her immobile. They simply breathed for a few moments together in the darkness. Red was trembling in his stern embrace, breathing hard through her nose. She closed her eyes and tried to fight down a wave of panic.

But it wasn't there.

All at once she realized that she wasn't afraid. A little burst of something akin to pleasure radiated from every point of contact between their bodies. And judging by the undeniable evidence pressing against the soft flesh of her lower back, she was not alone in her arousal. Darwin was breathing a little heavier as well. His voice was like velvet when he spoke to her, low and warm.

"I'm gonna move my hand now. If you scream, you will regret it. You'll wake the whole house, which includes Jeeves. Believe me, Red, you do not wanna do that. Now do you plan to make a fuss if I let you go?"

Red shook her head as much as she could, trembling. Slowly, Darwin released her.

"Start talkin'. Why the hell are you in my bedroom at three o'clock in the goddamn mornin'?" He demanded. Red slowly turned to face him, backing up only slightly. She didn't know how to tell him that she was there to settle her debt and remain in his good graces. In the past, the men had wordlessly taken what they felt was their due. It was best not to fight. It was best to make it look consensual. But faced with Darwin's annoyance and seemingly genuine bewilderment, Red didn't know what to say. Her eyes dropped to his bare chest of their own accord. He wore only a pair of loose blue and white boxer shorts on his lean frame, everything else on display. His messy topknot of dark golden hair fell into his arresting blue eyes, his tattoos standing out starkly against his pale flesh.

"Speak up, Red. I'm losin' patience with all this silence."

Red wet her dry lips and took a deep breath. Then she reached up and lay her palm against his warm, bare chest.

"I thought….I should come to you first." She whispered. Darwin looked down at her, his eyes searching her face. Then he put his hand on hers and slid the other around to caress the small of her back. Red was already trembling but she took a deep breath and allowed herself to be pulled against him.

It was going to happen. This had to be paid for. Best not to fight. It would hurt less if she didn't fight.

Darwin's stubble scratched the tender flesh of her neck as he leaned down to kiss her throat. She closed her eyes and tried to focus on the thought of a warm bed, Bandit's drowsy velvet purr, Lester's fantastic cooking. Slowly, the azure-eyed leader of the Tremor family drew her toward the bed and turned her around, pushing her down onto the rumpled blankets. He was gentler than she'd expected him to be, more sensual and less greedy or rough. His hand moved up to cup her cheek, his lips like summer rain on her skin.

Red didn't resist, nor did she hold him. Instead, she lay passively back with her eyes squeezed shut as she felt his other hand touch her chest, calloused palm against her sensitive nipple. He kissed a trail softly up her neck to her chin, and then she felt his warm breath on her lips.

Darwin hesitated.

"Open your eyes." He commanded.

Obediently, Red's eyes flickered open and she looked up at him. There were no tears. She had shed them all long ago in such situations. Long seconds passed. Darwin stroked her cheek and looked into her eyes. Something changed in his expression. He sighed. And then he did something that Red was not prepared for. He kissed her forehead and rolled off.

"Go to sleep. You gotta be tired." He said, and lay down on his stomach with his head pillowed on his arms, getting comfortable.

Red lay stunned for a moment.

"Don't you…"

"Nope."

"But I thought…"

"You thought I was the kind of hard-up sumbitch who would expect a penniless wounded woman to fuck me in exchange for food and shelter. Yeah. Thanks for the vote of confidence. You got a lot to learn about this family, Red. And a lot to learn about me. Just go to sleep."

She didn't know what to say. There seemed to be nothing, really. Not even an apology seemed appropriate at this point. Slowly, Red started to get up. Darwin didn't move, but his voice stopped her.

"I didn't tell you to leave. I told you to go to sleep."

"Here? In your bed? Shouldn't I go back to the guest room?"

He grunted and turned his head to look at her.

"You go out there and you'll run into problems."

"What do you mean? What problems?"

"Les and Tsugi are makin' love, ain't they."

Red was nonplussed. She had no idea what that had to do with anything. Her cheeks reddened.

"I don't know."

Darwin snorted in derision.

"Sure you do. They ain't exactly discreet and your room is right next to theirs. If I knew they were getting' a little action in there, guess who else knows."

Red shook her head slightly, not understanding.

"Um…me?"

"Besides you. Jeeves is just up the hall. He can hear them. And he's about 80% pure animal."

"What? What do you mean? What's the other 20%?"

"Also animal, matter of fact. But I was tryin' to be polite. He's close to three hundred pounds of solid muscle and five inches shy of bein' a seven-footer. He has almost no impulse control, he follows his instincts and desires without ponderin' them a whole lot and he has no moral shut-off switch. And his blood is undoubtedly up after hearin' those two. He'll settle down, but it'll be a couple hours." He rolled onto his side and reached down to pull the blanket up over Red's shoulders. Glad of the warmth, she snuggled down a bit and rested her head on the pillow, listening as he spoke in that whiskey-soft Southern purr she was coming to appreciate.

"You go out there now and head on back to your room, you're gonna run into him. He don't exactly possess my level of mercy. Just make yourself comfortable and rest here. It's safe and clean, sheets just got changed yesterday. Lester's a great hausfrau. Just relax, I ain't gonna hurt you."

Red was quiet, thinking.

"What's wrong with Jeeves? He seemed so sweet."

Darwin's eyes narrowed.

"There ain't a goddamn thing wrong with him. He's just a little wild is all."

Red bit her lip, unwilling to upset him further by asking too many questions. He sighed.

"He didn't have the best upbringin'. None of us did, I guess. But Jeeves got the worst of it. Anhow, you just listen to me. Stay put. Probably a good thing you came in here anyway."

"He wouldn't hurt Bandit, would he?" The thought terrified her suddenly.

"Hell no, your cat's safe. In all the many years I've known my brother, he ain't ever harmed an animal. Boy loves his critters, every kind. He feeds 'em real well even though he thinks I don't know about it." Darwin rolled onto his back, looking up at the ceiling.

"He's free to do whatever he wants with his money. I spend mine on weapons and shit like that. Lester loves cookin' and readin'. We all got our hobbies."

Red studied his profile in the dim light.

"I miss having hobbies." She finally said. Darwin turned his head to look at her, and under the intensity of those blue eyes she found herself actually opening up. "I've been running too long. You forget how to relax and have fun."

"So remember again. It ain't like life's gonna just up and get easier on you if every little pleasure is stripped away. Even a man on his way to the gallows can appreciate a sunrise."

Red had never heard this viewpoint before, but it struck a chord in her. She tried to remember the last time she'd actually watched a sunrise and noted its beauty. Years, probably. A dull laugh emanated from somewhere within her, mirthless and slightly bitter.

"What are you, some kind of redneck Buddha?" she asked softly, but the moment the words were out, she regretted them. "I'm sorry, sir. I didn't mean…"

Darwin chuckled, looking up at the ceiling again.

"Hell, it's alright. I been called worse."

They lay in silence for a little while, listening to the wind outside. Something creaked in the hallway, and Red stiffened. Darwin turned to look at her and she caught the glitter of his eyes in the dark, then the gleam of his teeth as he grinned.

"You heard him, didn't you. Yep, he's out there. Breathin' in the pitch black."

Without a thought, Red cuddled closer to him, laying her hand on his bare chest. Darwin put his arm around her, still chuckling.

"Oh relax. It's just the house settlin'. Happens when the wind blows."

"You bastard." Red whispered, but there was no bite to her tone, and she didn't try to pull away. Nor did Darwin. After a few moments, Red rolled onto her side and pressed fully against him. He shifted a little to make more room for her. It was strange, how well they fit together. She wasn't afraid. He smelled good, felt good, and it had been ages since the last time she'd cuddled with someone.

"Can I ask you a question?" she whispered.

"Sure thing."

"If you didn't want me, why did you kiss me?"

"Hell, I never said I didn't want you. Just didn't want to press my advantage here. I ain't that kinda guy."

"Lester implied that you all kill for money."

"That don't make me a rapist."

"Just a murderer."

Darwin gave a little shrug.

"Call it what you want, it don't change a thing. Killin' some sumbitch who brought it on himself by pissin' off the wrong people is a far goddamn cry from extortin' cold passionless sex from an abused woman who's takin' refuge under my roof. You can call me a redneck, a bastard, a murderer and a maniac…but you ain't never gonna be able to call me a rapist. End of fuckin' story."

Red was silent after this little speech, thinking. Then she reached for his hand. Found it. Held it.

"Protect me?" she whispered, so low that it was barely audible. Darwin squeezed her hand.

"Alright then."