Free Given by Ashlynn Monroe Page B

and two point five children. That
life was gone forever. She had six men to navigate, all of them vying for her
sexual favors. She’d have to be very careful if she wanted to keep the peace
and her sanity.
    Krista stood. One last sob wracked her body and then she
turned off the water. She stepped out onto the chilly tile and grabbed one of
the humongous towels. If she had to be a prisoner, at least she was in a
comfortable cell. Drying off, she went out into the bedroom. There was a box on
the foot of her bed. It was big and wrapped in a red ribbon. She pulled off the
lid after loosening the ribbon. Tissue paper covered the contents and there was
a card on top of the paper. She picked it up.
     
    Krista,
    Thank you. Please accept this small token of our
appreciation. Sleep well, knowing you have our esteem.
    B and the boys
     
    Braxton had left her a gift. She smiled. She barely knew
them and yet this gesture just felt like his solo handiwork. He’d certainly had
no time to go the store, and the idea of him anticipating her need for some
sort of reassurance spoke well of his thoughtfulness.
    She moved the tissue paper aside. The transparent barrier
crinkled loudly in the quiet room. She picked up a fluffy, white robe. It was
soft, one of the softest things she’d ever touched. There was a plain, white,
silk nightgown. It wasn’t something she’d consider “sexy” lingerie, but it was
sexy in a sophisticated and understated way.
    She smiled, sure now that Brax had
picked this out on his own . He seemed one step ahead,
and that told her he thought, not just acted. This was so him. To see seduction
as something with layers instead of just physical parts of a woman’s body was
something she hadn’t anticipated from men who didn’t have to “work” at a
relationship, but had received her as a prize. She ran her hand over the silk
and the temptation to go around knocking on doors looking for him was great.
    She knew it wasn’t a good choice, and deep down she wasn’t
ready for emotional sex, physical sex had been enough for her for one night.
She did put on the nightgown and then the robe. Krista glanced at the bed,
frowning. She wasn’t tired. Quietly, she opened her bedroom door and decided to
find a copy of Braxton’s imagined world. Reading would help pass the time,
unless sleep finally caught up with her. When her mind was racing, as it was
now, she never had luck getting into a restful state.
    Krista was down the stairs and near the glass patio doors
when a shadow made her jump. She looked around frantically for a light switch,
but the house was so large she had no idea where she’d find one. Normally,
there was one by doors, but she didn’t see one anywhere within reach. The
shadow moved again and she squinted, holding herself still in the shadows.
Then, as her eyes adjusted to the darkness, she realized Max stood alone on the
patio, pacing.
    Krista began toward the room where she’d find the book, but
paused. Glancing back at the door, she felt guilty for having let Max run off
and not stopping him. She feared for her safety, but she also wanted to
understand him. He was part of her strange, new household, after all, and she
needed to know what had set him off. It had to be more than the joke.
    She turned the knob slowly and pushed open the door. “Hello,
Max, it’s me,” she whispered. The glow near his face told her he’d just taken a
puff of something to smoke. “Are you okay?”
    “Go away,” he said quietly. There was sadness in his voice.
Against her better judgment, she didn’t go back inside.
    “It’s just me. What are you doing out here?”
    “I could ask you the same question.” The words weren’t
snarky, but she had a feeling that’d been his goal; something kept him from
being truly nasty to her. She peered at him in the darkness, but couldn’t see
his expression very well.
    “I couldn’t sleep,” she replied honestly.
    He grunted. “Me either. Want a cigar?” This time she