to make her happy. I want her to like us, and I pray she doesn’t end up resenting us like Maalik’s afraid might happen.
“Oh, shit.” Caelan grunts. He steps closer to her and brushes his fingers over her shoulder. I’m annoyed at first, thinking he’s going back on our agreement to go slow with Isla. I tense up when I see the horrified look on his face, and I quickly step closer to her to see what he’s looking at.
I inhale a sharp breath when I see a large bruise and bite marks marring her shoulder. They were obviously caused by one of us last night. Maalik was right. We were too rough with her. Isla furrows her eyebrows and turns her head to see what Caelan’s fussing over. I bite my lip, bracing myself for her reaction. I just know she’s going to pull away from us again, and I don’t know if I can handle it. Things have been amazing all morning since breakfast.
She snorts and rolls her eyes, catching Caelan and I off guard. She shakes her head as she touches the marks on her shoulder, and gives us a salacious little grin as she suddenly drops her towel.
If my face was warm before, it’s on fire now. I can’t help letting my eyes sweep over her body, and I nearly groan when I see that her nipples are hard. She brushes her still-wet hair over her shoulder, completely unbothered that she’s standing naked in front of us.
She turns slightly, angling her body so we have a better view as she points out several fingerprint-sized bruises around her hips and thighs.
“Isla,” I gasp in horror. I reach a shaky hand toward her, my fingertips hovering near the bruises on her hips. I’m terrified to touch her. I don’t deserve to touch her. I can’t believe we hurt her so badly.
A soft, light-hearted laugh leaves her mouth, and I find myself gaping at her in surprise. She grins back and forth between me and Caelan like she’s amused at this entire situation, and she closes her eyes and sighs in content while she makes this weird little hand gesture. Her middle, ring, and pinky fingers are sticking up while she makes a circle with her thumb and pointer finger.
“Is she saying she likes it?” Caelan asks, running his fingers through his hair roughly. I nod slowly, feeling a weird mix of relief, confusion, and arousal. My brother curses and steps away, glancing at Isla once more over his shoulder before he leaves the room. “I need to take a cold shower, or else I’m going to claim her right here in front of you, Audun.”
Isla pouts at him as he retreats from my bedroom, and she turns to focus her mesmerizing honey-brown eyes on me. I swallow thickly, suddenly terrified to be alone with her. She’s still standing here naked, and she’s so incredibly tempting. But I don’t want to freak her out again, and I don’t want her to feel obligated to be physical with any of us just because of the claiming last night.
“I, uh…” I frantically look around the room and dart over to my bed to pick up the tawny-colored boots. “I have shoes for you.”
She giggles, and I feel like an idiot. It might actually be a blessing that she can’t understand my words. If she could, there would be no way I’d ever manage to win her heart or affection. She picks up the towel she dropped, and I try not to frown as she wraps it around her body.
Isla walks across the room and joins me beside the bed, and she smiles at the boots and the other stuff I brought from the storage room. She points at herself, raises her eyebrows and asks, “Me?”
I nod and bite my lip anxiously. Several seconds later, I realize I still need to find her some actual clothes, and I begin digging through my wardrobe. Everything is folded neatly, so I quickly find an old pair of pants that are a little too small for me and one of my warmest shirts and sweaters. I feel weird giving her a pair of my underwear, but I know she doesn’t have anything else yet. I bashfully hold everything out to her, and she gives me the sweetest, warmest smile in return.
Before she can drop her towel again or tempt me any further, I quickly step out into the hallway and wait for her to get