In Too Deep by Kira Sinclair

a crowd. Especially when she was younger and they’d lived in places where red hair was even more unusual. Maybe all the times when she was little and heard women chattering in a language she didn’t understand, their eyes cutting to her so it was obvious they were talking about her, had bred her dislike for being the center of attention.
    Or maybe that inclination was just naturally her.
    Those experiences had definitely fueled her drive, as she’d gotten older, to learn the language whenever they’d moved on to someplace new.
    Either way, she’d never particularly liked the notice her hair drew. And it had only gotten worse as she’d grown older, started to develop.
    The icing on the cake had been the night her entire world had fallen apart.
    Melody had been running with a bad crowd while their father had been on a dig just off the coast of Spain, near Morocco. She’d gotten tired of the constant arguments between her parents and her sister. Her sister willfully broke every rule she could, seemingly for spite.
    She hadn’t liked the friends Melody brought by the house. They were rough, rude and delighted in making her feel uncomfortable. On several occasions the guys had made inappropriate comments to her when she’d inadvertently walked into the kitchen or the den and found them sprawled there.
    Even she had become angry with Melody for her lack of respect. The house was Avery’s sanctuary and it hurt that she couldn’t walk around her own home without the fear of being heckled and propositioned.
    But the straw that broke the camel’s back had been the night she’d woken up in her own room with one of Melody’s friends standing over her bed. At first, she’d thought the guy was looking for Melody. Until he’d said her name, his voice slurred.
    “So gorgeous,
canela
,” he’d said in his thickly accented voice as his fingers sifted through her hair. Cinnamon. She hated the way he’d said the word, because it wasn’t an endearment but somehow a threat. His other hand rested heavily on her hip, pinning her against the bed when she tried to move away.
    She’d gone still, hoping all he wanted was to scare her. But that wasn’t what he wanted. The bed had dipped beneath his weight. His hand had gripped her hair, pulling hard until tears stung her eyes.
    “I wonder if that color is natural. Your sister says yes. I must know for myself.” His other hand slipped beneath the waistband of her shorts, yanking.
    It had taken her several moments to react, but when the shock wore off a sharp scream burst out. His hand slapped down over her mouth, but it had been enough.
    Her father had come running. Beat the shit out of guy before tossing him into the street. That night, the arguments had been bad. Melody, angry and belligerent, claiming she’d overreacted. Fed up, her parents had kicked Melody out, offering her a plane ticket home that she hadn’t used.
    Four weeks later they’d moved home to Texas, back into the house her parents owned but had barely used over the years. Avery had begun applying for early entrance to colleges. Everyone pretended that their family hadn’t been broken by what happened, but the facade had shattered six months later when they’d gotten the call saying that Melody had been arrested for drug possession.
    “I’ll be careful not to burn,” Avery finally said, choking off the unwanted memories.
    Knox tipped his head, his gaze roaming across her expression. Once again, Avery sensed that he saw much more than she wanted him to. But instead of asking what had caused the strange catch in her voice, he took a step back, waving toward the fire.
    Together they sat down to the meal he’d prepared. It wasn’t the first time she’d eaten a questionable protein source around a fire. On some of her father’s more exotic digs, they’d been invited to partake in local delicacies.
    The meat was tough but decent, the smokiness from being roasted over the fire providing enough flavor for her