Broken River - Ruby Shae Page 0,11

serious, and he was always honest with his family.

“Why do you think Gavin sent Elle to you? I mean to marry you? Two years is a long time to be married just to get some inheritance money.”

“I agree, and honestly, I don’t know. Elle said she’s dated some losers in the past that have tried to take her money, so maybe he thought I would scare them all away or something?” He shrugged. “I really don’t know. All I know is, I owed him big-time for saving my life, and this is how he wanted me to repay that debt.”

“Or…he wanted you to marry his sister, and knew that you guys would fall in love after two years,” Lael smiled again. “Or two days. You know, whichever comes first.”

Lael was boasting that huge grin again, and Liam wanted to punch the little shit in the face. If Lael had figured out his feelings toward Elle, then his other siblings knew, too, and apparently, he hadn’t been fooling anyone. That didn’t mean he had to admit to anything, though.

“I’m not in love with her,” Liam said, deadpan. “I feel responsible for her, and protective of her, but I barely know her. Other than being Gavin’s sister, she’s a stranger to me.”

Those words weren’t entirely true, but he wasn’t backing down.

Not yet.

Maybe not ever.

He had feelings for Elle, that was obvious, but that didn’t mean he had to act on those feelings. He wanted her, but he still didn’t believe he deserved the love of a mate.

And what about her? What about when she found out how messed up he was? Or when she found out about his bear? What if she ran? Or if her beautiful smile turned into a look of disgust? What if she hated him?

Honestly, he wasn’t sure he could live with any of those scenarios. They were stuck together for two years, and he would rather spend that time earning her friendship, and hopefully keeping it, than scaring her or making her hate him.

“Okay,” Lael said. “I was just curious. You know, making conversation. Talking with my big brother. Wondering about his new wife, and how he feels about her.”

“Don’t wonder about her,” Liam growled, taking a step toward the other man. “Don’t even think about her. She’s my responsibility, and I will take care of her. The only thing you need to do is be nice to her.”

“No problem,” Lael said, holding his hands up as if in surrender. “I will definitely be nice to her. No worries there. But, what should I do if I see her crying?”

She’d been crying? What the hell!

Liam growled and shoved his brother against the wall of the cabin. They were both large men, but Lael hadn’t expected the attack, and Liam went right for the other man’s throat. He pushed his forearm against Lael’s windpipe, and held the man in place using all of his weight.

“She was crying?” Liam growled, the sound filled with rage. “And you waited this long to tell me? Where is she? What happened?”

Lael grabbed his forearm and pushed him back. The movement was slight, but it gave the man room to breathe—and to talk.

“She’s at your cabin—at the pit—and she was sleeping when I wandered by. That’s the only reason I didn’t tell you sooner. I could scent her tears, but they were old, and she wasn’t in any danger.”

“You’re an asshole,” Liam growled.

He shoved all of his weight into the other man’s throat again, and then quickly sniffed the air before shifting into his bear form. He ran at full speed along the shoreline until he reached a large group of cabins that were close to the swimming area, and then he slowed his gait. As much as he wanted to continue running at full speed, doing so would scare the tourists, and this wasn’t an emergency. He had no desire to frighten any innocent bystanders, or gain the wrath of his siblings, by doing something so reckless.

The tourists were told that the bears were friendly, but they had also been warned to keep their distance, so almost everyone just stared as he wandered through the cabins on the way to the main building. He did hear a few photos being snapped, but other than that, no one bothered him. Once he cleared the building, he resumed running, scaling the steep hill on the way to his cabin in record time.

His desire to get to Elle—to make sure she was safe, and to