OWNED & UNTAMED (A Back Down Devil MC Romance Novel) by London Casey, Karolyn James

said.
    He walked through the kitchen - mind you, it was a big kitchen - but he purposely walked my way. I felt his hand gently touch my back. His presence was massive yet it felt great. So protective.
    He kissed the top of my head.
    Then he whispered, “It’s going to be okay, sweetie.”
    I nodded.
    I had no idea what he was talking about but it was good to hear those words being spoken. From the corner of my eye I watched as Duke poured himself coffee. He took it black. He put it to his lips and sipped as though the liquid wasn’t ten thousand degrees. Something so little like that shouldn’t have turned me on the way it did.
    Duke nestled himself into the corner of the counter. “Eggs smell good.”
    “You should see me with bacon,” I said.
    “Oh?”
    “Don’t even ask,” another voice said.
    I looked and saw Jim walking into the kitchen. See, he wore the same clothes from yesterday too but he looked completely homeless and beat up. Like a burned out junkie.
    “There he is,” Duke said. “The rockstar. Partying with pills all night.”
    My heart skipped a beat. The last time these two tried to talk they ended up in a fist fight. I wasn’t in the mood to get between them again.
    “That’s why you’re here again?” Jim asked.
    “You going to stop trying to hurt yourself?” Duke shot right back.
    “I’ll start with a coffee.”
    “Here,” Duke said. He offered Jim his mug. “It’s already cooled off. So your little girl lips don’t get burned.”
    Jim took the mug and half smiled. “I’ll throw this in your face.”
    “Go ahead,” Duke said. “It’s cooled off.”
    “Just for the record, I wasn’t trying to hurt myself,” Jim said. “Or anyone. I felt like shit yesterday. I was thinking about messing with that damn tree outside.” He looked right at me. “Since you don’t stop bitching about it.”
    “Hey,” Duke said. “That’s your sister, brother. A little respect.”
    Jim grinned again, eyeing me and Duke. “Right. Sure.”
    That grin… could he sense it?
    He was a guy. Of course he sensed it.
    Jim always gave me crap for falling as hard as I did for Duke. Duke had been my first real crush when I was too young for him and he quickly became my first true love when I was old enough to be with him.
    “I was cutting at the tree,” Jim said, “and I just felt off. My body started to hurt. So I did what the doc said to do. I took a couple pills.”
    “A couple,” Duke said. “How many is your version of a couple?”
    “You build a tolerance, man,” Jim said.
    “That’s something a junkie would say.”
    “Fuck yourself,” Jim said. He turned and walked to the table. He sat down.
    I then looked at Duke and sucked in a deep breath. Duke puckered his lips with a shhh and then inched toward me.
    He got close and whispered, “I’ve got this, sweetie.”
    He kissed the side of my head and then sat across from Jim at the table.
    “How many did you take?” Duke asked.
    “A few. More than I should have. But I wasn’t going to die.”
    “Belle didn’t know that. She called me. You’re lucky. If an ambulance was here…”
    “I know,” Jim said. He stared into his coffee as I served him and Duke a plate of eggs.
    “The least you could do is apologize to her,” Duke said.
    “You’re not complaining about getting the call,” Jim said.
    “Smart mouth, huh?”
    Jim grabbed his fork and shoveled a huge heap of eggs toward his mouth. That’s when Duke made a move. Duke grabbed Jim’s wrist and twisted. Jim dropped the fork. Duke stood, kicking the chair back, and leaned over.
    “I’m only going to say this once, Jim. If I ever get another fucking phone call about you drinking too much, puking, taking too many pills… I’m going to take you out back and make you never get a chance to try it again. You have problems, Jim? Call me.”
    Jim backed away from the table and shook Duke’s grip away. He then stood up and slid his plate of food out of the way.
    “Is this