Free Owned for Christmas by Willa Edwards

him know. You have to tell him who you are, what you need—even what happened between us.”
    Kate shook her head, squeezing her eyes tight. Tears formed behind her lids. “I can’t.” She remembered all too well how other men had run from her desires. That was why she’d gone to the club to find someone who would understand her, who would be able to give her what she craved. Grant had fitted the bill and then some. And they both knew how well that had gone.
    “He’s not like you. That’s what I love most about him.” She took a deep breath, steeling herself against her next words. “He won’t understand.”
    Quickly, Grant stepped toward her, capturing her hands in his big grip and pushing her back against the farmhouse. The shingles bit into her back, his fierce hold keeping her from escaping. He caged her in with his body, his presence massive, blocking out everything else. Her muscles shook, longing raking through her, almost tearing her to shreds.
    “I know what you are. I can see it.” He tightened his hands on her wrists to just this side of pain. He pulled them higher up the side of the building, increasing her vulnerability. The joints in her shoulders screamed. It became harder to breathe with her back arched at an awkward angle. She wanted to hate it, to hate him, but she couldn’t.
    “I see your needs in the way your eyes darken when I do this, the way your heartbeat speeds up and your breathing becomes labored. Your pussy is probably downright dripping right now and all I’ve done is hold down your hands.”
    Kate dropped her gaze, hoping to avoid his stare, and not confirm his words, even if they were true. Just because her body responded to him didn’t mean she had to accept it. She could live without this feeling, this completeness, the wholeness that came from being held down and controlled. Other people did. She could too. She could do it for Daniel.
    “You’re a submissive, honey. No amount of playing house with my brother will change that.” He ran the pad of his thumb along her cheek, heat following his touch. “If you don’t think he’ll ever notice, you’re fooling yourself.” Grant stared down at her with fierce bewitching eyes that always made her knees weak. “You can’t hide from who you are forever, Kate .”
    The way he said her name pierced her like a dagger to the heart. Her stomach churned. A part of her, deep inside, wanted to hear him call her ‘pet’ again.
    “If you keep lying about what you want, you won’t just be hurting yourself. You’ll hurt him too.”
    Kate wanted to scream and rail against him. She wanted to kick him in the shins and run away. She hated what Grant was saying. She hated how he knew her. She hated how he spoke with such authority.
    Most of all, she hated that he was right.
     
    “ What the fuck ?”
    Of all the sights Daniel thought he might walk into, he had never expected this one. White-hot rage surged through him. His brother had Kate pushed up against the house, her hands held in his tight grip. Grant stared down at her so intensely every instinct in Daniel’s body flared with fury.
    “Get the fuck off her,” he screamed, running toward them, concern for Kate the only thing on his mind. He knew his brother was upset with him for not coming home after their father died, that all the responsibility for the ranch had fallen on Grant. Maybe Grant was even upset that he didn’t have someone of his own to love. But nothing justified this .
    Grant instantly dropped her hands, stepping back almost three full feet in one long stride. He looked down, his head hanging in shame.
    Damn right. He should be fucking ashamed. What the fuck is Grant doing touching my girlfriend?
    “Are you okay?” With shaking hands, Daniel explored her body, examined her face, her cheeks, her neck. He didn’t find any injuries, at least not that she let on, but the rock in his gut still wouldn’t shrink.
    “She’s fine,” Grant responded for her,