Authors: Nichole Matthews
A single tear trailed down her cheek, and Parker wiped it away.
“When you invited me to
Rosebriar
for Christmas, Brother, I thought it was supposed to be a time for relaxation, not a gunfight.” The familiar drawl caused a smile to quirk up the corner of Parker’s mouth. “I was so looking forward to some Snapdragon; I would like an opportunity to win
back that guinea
from you.”
The tightness in Parker’s shoulders eased
a fraction when
he heard Peyton’s voice. He
turned
,
the hint of a smile on his mouth
. H
e spied Peyton leaning against the doorframe one booted f
oot crossed over the other his p
istol
securely gripped
in his left hand trained on Granville and a wicked looking
leather
whip swinging lightly in his right.
His stance deceptively
relaxed, but Parker new different. The look in Peyton’s eyes reflected the barely controlled anger boiling up inside to those that knew him best.
Peyton narrowed his
blue
eyes playfully, then looked down at his nails
as if bored by the situation he found himself
. “
Forgive me, B
rother, but i
f I
’m
remember
ing
correctly, you beat me last time and n
early lost your eyebrows in the process
.”
He looked up
,
a rascally sparkle to
his eyes.
All that changed when h
e turned hard eyes
, suddenly cold as glaciers,
back
in
Granville
’s direction
.
He chuckled, amuse
d, obviously not that impressed.
“I’m sure you would have foun
d it amusing as well, Granville, considering your proclivity for pain.” His eyes
narrowed. “Forgive me, I have forgotten. You enjoy administering pain. Not receiving.
I pray you will forgive my mistake.
”
He bowed
mockingly
.
“I
recalled
how bored you were over the summer. I wanted to make sure you could not comp
lain of the same this time.” Parker
flashed a glance at the object in Peyton’s hand
, his left brow lifted in question
.
Peyton flicked his wrist and the leather tail snaked through the hair with a hiss and then an ominous snap. He glanced askance at Granville, his brow raised. “I believe your
toy
of choice?”
Persephone winced
, clearly startled at the sound
, a loud gasp escaping her mouth as memories
instantly
flooded back
.
The sights, the smells, the sounds. She breathed deep in order to quash the nausea that threatened to rise from her churning stomach.
“Pardon, my l
ady,” Peyton said
apologetically, glancing at her fully for the first time
,
his eyes widening almost imperceptibly when he recognized her for the woman in the cage
. “Have you ever been on the receiving end,
my lord
?”
He trained his eyes back on Granville.
Granville sputtered, glancing about the room
h
is eyes skating fearfully over the three men.
“You’ve no right to rifle through my belongings.”
He almost looked
discomfited by what Peyton held loosely in his hand
.
Peyt
on’s expression
guarded
and his lips were
set
in a firm line, neither smiling nor frowning.
“You are most certainly depraved, my lord,” Peyton added, inwardly cringing as he watched Granville preening under the term as if it were a compliment. He had seen the look of question in his brother’s eyes when he expertly wielded the whip. He
knew what thoughts ran
through his head, especially after all that he had heard. It was amazing the path of destruction that was left by a few wagging tongues. He had never given a damn what anyone thought of him, but he knew that he would have a lot of explaining to do when this was all over. He watched as some of the tension left Parker’s shoulders. He pushed away from the door; his pistol still trained on Granville and sauntered slowly towards the cent
er of the room, his eyes traveled
lightly
over Persephone
. “So she’s the one, is she?” h
e said in a low voice.
Persephone’s eyes widened
, the blood rushed from her face
.
He was the one.
Her breath hitched on a sob.
Parker’s
brother. She
flushed; mortified
with the knowledge that he had witnessed her hum
iliation. Seen her nakedness when she was caged, b
ut he had saved her.
He had s
lipped a pick into her cage giving her the means of escape.
Peyton
winked,
his thick blonde lashes
and she was
mesmerized as they fluttered briefly against his cheek. He quickly placed
his finger to his lip
s
to silence her.
Persephone stood still as the tall man with devilish blue eyes
,
the exact shade as Parker’s, but with hair the color of wheat studied her
as if he had never seen her before
.
His gaze roaming
down her travel stained mantle
to her hand still gripped tightly around the deadly pistol
,
her knuckles white
,
and
he
raised a brow.
Persephone swallowed uncertainly and stared at him with her nerves weighing down on her like a ton of bricks.
“Not much bigger than Poppy or Piper, is she?” He circled them with a smile on his face, raising his laughing eyes to his brother’s.
“A wee fairy with all those red curls.”
His bluntness and humor at a time like this caught Persephone off guard as well as the sensation elicited by Parker’s callused thumb rubbing slow circles over the palm of her hand.
Her mind, her thoughts, her senses
were overwhelmed.
“She’s perfect.”
Parker slid his gaze sideways to Persephone.
Persephone’s
eyes darted back and forth between the brothers, surprised at their discussion while they were in a room full of cocked pistols.
“I
never kne
w you had a hankering for redheads.”
A glimmer of amusement flickered across Peyton’s face.
Parker’s eyes never strayed from Persephone’s.
As he spoke, h
e lowered his hand and removed the pistol from her
loosening grasp. “Nor
I
, i
t came upon me quite suddenly
one afternoon
as I was
taking a walk
.” His voice soft
ened
.
H
e regarded her in a way that sizzled straight to the center of her body.
Peyton stopped in front of her, bowing slightly from the waist.
He lifted her hand and placed a light kiss on her
knuckl
es. “Peyton Peregrine
,
at your service,
my lady
.”
Persephone’s eyes filled with tears and a choked sob escaped her
smiling
lips.
The corner of
Peyton’s
mouth turned up, creasing his cheek.
“An honor, my lady.”
He watched a tear seep out from beneath Persephone’s lashes.
Parker’s heart was in his throat as he watched the woman he loved smiling at his brother even though he didn’t understand why.
Peyton
glanced at his brother
as if to gain some sort of permission
. Persephone saw Parker’s slight nod before Peyton
raised his hand and caught a teardrop with his finger. “Don’t
cry
sweet
ing
.” His actions surprised her, especially since he was standing in front of his brother. “You are in the best
of
hands.”
Persephone watched Peyton with a bemused expression.
“What the devil is going on here?” Granville
all but shrieked
.
“A
goddamned
fucking
family reunion?”
Persephone flinched at Granville’s
tone.
Parker’s arm immediately circled her shoulders, pulling her snug
against his side
and she sagged into his embrace
.
Peyton’s eyes once again turned cold
.
For a moment he stared at Granville
in silence.
“Do you mind? I am being introduced to
my future sister-in-law for the first time, Granville, and
you are being unforgivably rude,
”
he said in
a terse voice that simply coul
dn’t
be
ignore
d
.
“Bastard,” Granville spat. “But I’m taking great pleasure in watching the highly esteemed Marquis of Ashford felled by a whore.”
Persephone watched Parker bristle at the comment and start to push past his brother.
Peyton shook his head, stretching out an arm and laying
it firmly across
Parker’s chest to hold him back.
His eyes narrowed, and they glittered dangerously.
“Tsk, tsk, Granville, have you learned nothing during your time on earth? You cannot even show a modicum of fear when three pistols are trained on you.”
“Three?” Granville looked around the room his eyes landing on Rockwell and Peyton.
A slow movement in the far right corner revealed the
third. Declan
Trenowyth
, the D
uke of
Hawksley
,
stepped from the shadows.
“I thought you knew.
”
H
awksley’s
eyes flicked toward Parker
in greeting
. “We come as a package deal
, Granville
.”
All the men
were
roughly of a size, large, powerful, and full of righteous indignation
and all there just for her
.
Parker’s head swiveled in
Hawksley’s
direction and
he
grinned.
Hawksley’s
green gaze flickered to Granville before returning to Parker.
Peyton stepped forward, leaning down to stand nose to nose with Granville, leaving barely a hair’s breadth between their faces. “I would assume you would rather wait for your beating
, or are you that eager for the pain?
” He
cocked his brow arrogantly rubbing his chin. “
Ahh
, I see.
” He smiled, slow and dark
, studying Granville’s face, taking note of every nuance of change in his breathing, his color
.
“
I
s that what
truly
gets your blood pu
mping?”
He
turned back to Persephone
and
bowed again. “I beg your forgiveness for my plain speaking
,
my lady
.”
Persephone tried to shake Parker’s fingers from around her arm. “This is
my
fight.”
Parker pressed his fingers over her lips. “When you woke in my field it was no longer only your fight. We are your champions. We will fight in your stead. You will never have to fight alone again.”
Persephone’s eyes widened and tears shimmered
, pooling
there as s
he stared in awe at the warriors that surrounded her enemy. Never in her life imagin
ing
that she would have her very own soldiers willing to follow her into battle so willingly.
She allowed her eyes a moment to trave
l over each of the imposing figures
fencing Granville.
Without question.
Without fail.
Parker
gave Persephone a faint smile
before turning back to
Hawksley
.
“How
i
s o
ur Poppy fairing?”