I came to the Appalachians for peace-six months alone with fresh air, clear trails, and time to forget.
Then I met Ryker Dennison.
Dark eyes. Rough hands. And a voice like smoke and sin.
Like me, he was adopted. Unlike me, he was brave enough to search for the family he never knew.
I thought I was guiding one lost man home.
I found nine more just like him.
Ten off-the-grid brothers who live by their own rules-
Bearded, broad-shouldered, built like they were carved from the mountains themselves.
They welcomed Ryker back like blood.
And they looked at me like prey.
These men don't ask politely.
They don't play by civilized rules.
When they want something, they take it.
And when they claim something, they share it.
Snowed in, surrounded by firelight and hungry eyes, I didn't stand a chance.
And when they told me exactly how they planned to take me...
I stopped pretending I could resist.
They worshipped me like a goddess.
Devoured me like starving beasts.
Made me crave things I'd never imagined wanting.
I should never have left that mountain.
Because now I'm carrying proof of everything we shared-and ten brothers who don't believe in letting go.