Breed True by Gem Sivad Page B

straightened and turned, tensed for the next show of his authority over her. Her eyes flickered toward the door, back to the babies, and then to him.
    "Leave the babies and come here." She did not want to go one step nearer to Grady Hawks. Whatever tentative thoughts she'd had about trusting him fled her mind.
    Men in general were dangerous, but she'd found that men in groups were more deadly than a pack of wolves. Whatever her husband had planned for her, there was no help to be found among the men at the table.
    Her stomach lurched, and the food she'd enjoyed earlier threatened to return. She met his gaze and clenched her jaw as she walked toward him, obeying.
    Jewel watched him evaluate her physical conformation as though she was an animal he checked for flaws.
    When she stood beside his place at the end of the table, he turned on his seat and pulled her to stand between his thighs. Here it comes. She'd expected him to handle her in front of the men, if not worse. But that didn't make accepting his touch easy. She stood tensed, waiting.
    "This is Julie Fulton Hawks. She'll give me the son that we need to secure our claim to Hawks Nest. Give her the respect due my woman."
    Give her the respect due my woman? She stared at the wall, refusing to react as his hands fumbled at her hair. One by one, he pulled the pins from the bright auburn mass, and they all watched as it tumbled in shining waves to her hips. Jewel shifted her stance between his thighs, preparing to pick up her pins and leave. Instead, she froze as she inadvertently brushed against the bulge that swelled along his leg.
    But he ignored the contact and said prosaically, "If you keep serving up the bread that way, we'll run out before the next trip to town."
    Startled, she looked at the remaining crumbs on the plate. It hadn't occurred to her that he bought the loaves, but of course, there was no one here to bake.
    He called her thoughts back to him, when he tugged on her hair.
    "Leave it down from now on." He'd wound his hand through its length and showed it to the other men. "Red," he growled. "She'll breed true."
    Of all the arrogant … She couldn't disguise her anger and forgot her fear.
    He dropped the length of hair and turned away, dismissing her with a shrug. As Jewel began to gather her pins, he covered her hand and murmured without looking at her, "Leave them."
    She hesitated. They were plain wooden hairpins, but they were all that she owned.
    She couldn't decide whether the battle was worth the effort. Without them, her possessions could be counted on less than ten fingers.
    "I don't have a proper comb," she murmured, eyes downcast, testing to see if there would be punishment for backtalk. She was tense, ready to spring away if need be.
    But he said nothing, nor indicated that he'd even heard. His hand lay still, covering hers, until she withdrew her fingers—empty. She fiercely resented his victory as she moved to carry the cradle from the room.
    Silently, he crossed the floor and stood beside her before she could leave. She hunched defensively, preparing for the slap that didn't happen. Instead, he took the cradle and set the babies back by the fire, saying, "Too cold back there."
    Jewel stood nonplussed as he returned to resume his meal. It was too much. She looked wildly at the table of men, desperately trying to keep from screaming at him.
    What do you expect me to do? Stand here and wait for your commands?
    No further orders were issued, though, leaving her to make the next move. She cast a scathing look toward the men in the room and pulled the heavy bench so that she faced the fire. Then she sat with her back to them with a blanket wrapped around her shoulders as she lifted each twin for her morning meal.
    As always, feeding them soothed her anxieties. She focused on the tiny hands that clutched her breast as first Emma fed, and then Amy. This is what I was made for—this is my purpose. She ignored the rancher who owned her for a year and