This story is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons living or dead is purely coincidental. Copyright © 2021 Mondarbre Press Except as permitted under the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without prior written permission of the author. Cover design: Amanda Walker PA and Design Services Edits: Nikki Groom, Indie Hub Formatting: Lyssa Cole To get a little sparkle of Silke Campion in your inbox, sign up for my newsletter! He’ll shield his kitten from any threat. Ram: His first view of her was her perfect, heart-shaped ass sticking out of his rhododendrons in the middle of the night. His kitten was going to be nothing but trouble. Exactly the kind of trouble he liked. Julia: On the run and lost with nothing but her cat, Julia has no idea that the man who give her shelter will be the one to make her kitty purr. Contents Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Epilogue Other books by Silke Campion Acknowledgments Author Bio Chapter One R M . During his first tour in Afghanistan, he’d quickly learned to fake it AM ILLER WAS NOT ASLEEP well. That had been a lifetime ago, but living in a small, peaceful town in eastern Colorado, straddling the prairie and the mountains, hadn’t erased the skill. His eyes were closed, his breathing deep and even, but he was one hundred percent alert, listening closely for the sound that had awakened him. There it was again. The tiniest whine of a noise, just outside his window. He opened his eyes and rolled out of bed silently to pull on a pair of jeans. He was pretty sure it was just some animal about to get eaten by a coyote, but too many years on foreign sands had him unlocking the case in his nightstand to pull out his weapon. Without turning on any lights, he opened the back door and slipped around the side, keeping to the shadows cast by the bright, full moon. A woman, a tiny slip of a thing, but with too many curves to be mistaken for a child, stood nearly buried in the rhododendron bush that had grown out of control against the side of his house. All he could see of her was her perfect heart-shaped ass, clad in tight leggings, as she wiggled further into the bush. “Pixie,” she hissed. “Get down from there!” What the actual fuck? Realizing there was no threat, Ram held the weapon tightly against the small of his back, rather than at his side. “Pixie,” she whispered again, more loudly. “If you don’t come down here right now, you’re going to be in so much trouble. Bad kitties don’t get treats.” He smirked. “You got that right, kitten.” That ass quit wiggling and clenched visibly. He chuckled and securely tucked his weapon into the back of his pants. “Looks like the kitten I’ve always wanted just turned up on my doorstep. You’re going to want to loosen up those cheeks before I spank you, otherwise you might bruise. And we wouldn’t want that now, would we?” A little hiss of outrage rattled the leaves before she started working her way backwards out of the overgrown shrub. “I beg your pardon! Did you just threaten to spank me, mister?” This was more fun than he’d had in a damn long time. He grinned at her feisty response. “First, you will definitely beg by the time we’re done. And second, I never threaten, sweetheart. Something you may as well learn now.” She yanked harder to free herself from the bush, then paused with a pained hiss. “Ouch, darn it.” Ram stepped up to where she and the rhododendron had become one. Her t-shirt had ridden up her back, displaying a slice of sleek, ivory skin. He may have wanted to spank her disobedient, trespassing ass, but he didn’t want her to get hurt — not counting the pink butt he was going to give her, and she wouldn’t get that until he’d heard her whole story. “Are you okay?” “I’m fine,” she snapped. They were going to have to work on that attitude, he decided. “I just got caught on a broken twig and it scratched me.” “Stay still. I’ll help you.” Ram liked her fighting spirit, but he wasn’t going to have her scraping herself up on his rhododendron. The woman didn’t listen at all, but continued to battle the grasping branches, so he wrapped both hands around her lush hips. “Goddammit, kitten. What did I tell you?” She stilled at his touch and paused before she answered. “To stay still.” “That’s right. Did you obey?” It was all Ram could do to prevent his hands from squeezing down. She wasn’t his. Yet. “No, but…” “No buts, kitten. You don’t know me yet, but when I tell you to do something, you need to trust I’m telling you for a good reason. I didn’t want you to hurt yourself anymore. And what happened when you kept going?” “I hurt myself more?” Her voice went up at the end as if she was testing his response. “Damn right. I don’t want you hurt, precious.” “Look, mister. I don’t know you, and you don’t know me, so how about you help me out of your carnivorous landscaping, I say thanks, and go on my merry way?” Ram huffed in amusement. He liked his women submissive, but he didn’t want a doormat. This one was hitting all the right spots, and he couldn’t wait to see how she responded to his desires. “You’re cute. You got a man?” “Excuse me? Could you just help me out of this thing?” “Oh, I will, but answer my question. Are you with someone? Boyfriend? Fiancé? Husband?” “I don’t see what that has to do with getting me out of these branches.” Ram couldn’t help it. He squeezed her hip. His fingers sank into soft flesh, nowhere near hard enough to leave so much as a pink spot, but enough to get her attention. “Kitten, you are just racking up the swats.” She gasped and he could practically hear her thinking before she finally answered. “No to all three. No man in my life. Now are you going to help me out or not?” “Good girl.” He rubbed gently over the spot he’d pinched. “You got parents you need to get home to?” “No. They’re…” The pause told him the gist of the story. “They’re gone.” He wanted to hug that sadness out of her, but he had one more question. “How old are you?” “Why? Will it make a difference to whether you help me or not?” Ram grinned. He was looking forward to taming this kitten. “Not a bit. But it might change what happens afterward.” “You don’t make any sense.” She wiggled again, and this time, he let his hand fly. A satisfying crack rang through the still, cold air, and she yelped. “How old are you, kitten?” “I can’t believe you hit me!” Her outrage was clear, even though he knew he hadn’t spanked her very hard at all. “I didn’t hit you, I spanked you, and I’ll do it again if you don’t answer.” He must have sounded serious, because she hastened to reply. “I’m twenty! I’m twenty! Now get me out of here!” A great weight he hadn’t realized he was carrying lifted off Ram’s shoulders. He’d been handed a gift from above, free and clear, and he wasn’t going to waste it. But his kitten was trying to wriggle her way out of the branches again, heedless of the scratches she was getting. Time to hold to his word. “I told you to stop, I explained to you why I told you to stop, and now you’ve only hurt yourself again.” The pop he laid against her sweet ass had her cheeks tightening under the leggings, and she let out a startled yelp. He bared his teeth in anticipation, the expression one that always made his occasional playmates pause and reconsider any brattiness they’d been contemplating. “Hey! You can’t do that!” “You’re trespassing on my property, and you’re disobeying. You’re lucky you just got two swats.” She wiggled again, and he laid a third spank on her cheeks, wishing he could see the color of her skin as it reddened under his palm. The longer she wiggled, the more sharp swats he brought down until finally she stilled and cried out, “Stop! Stop!” He paused to make sure she no longer moved, either to get away from his hand or to untangle herself from the overgrown shrub. “You done trying to get out by yourself, kitten?” A sad little sniffle came from the bushes. “Yes.” Oh, he had the feeling he was going to be a complete sap for that sweet voice. “You going to let me help you out now?” “Yes,” she said again, a tragic little whimper. Without a moment’s hesitation, he curved himself over her back. Pressed against her lush little figure, it took all his willpower not to shove his hard-on into the soft give of her ass, humping her like some randy asshole. Instead, he reached around her, pushing back branches and leaves until she was no longer caught on anything and could step back without impediment. Dark hair floated in wild disarray around her head. He’d been right about her curves, too, now that she was fully visible. The shirt she wore was loose, but too thin for this weather, clearly displaying the hard nipples jutting out from tits that would fit nicely into his big hands. She crossed her arms over her chest, clearly aware of the effect the cold was having on her body. Fucking adorable, just like the rest of her. She came just up to his shoulder, counting her hair. He couldn’t tell her eye color in the moonlight, but he liked the set of her pointed chin and proud nose. Cute, he decided, but elegant. A tiny, fierce queen. He crossed his arms over his chest, too. “Now, kitten, you want to tell me what the hell you’re doing in my bushes in the middle of the night?” She shifted from one foot to the other, and he realized that in addition to the clothing that was clearly unsuitable for the chill of the night, she was only wearing a cheap pair of flip-flops. Anger that she would care so little for herself flooded through him. She was definitely getting a spanking for such dangerous neglect, on top of the one for trespassing, plus the one he’d give her just because he liked the way her ass bounced under his hand. “Goddammit. Come on. Let’s get you in the house and warm you up.” She sniffled again, and he couldn’t be sure if it was because her butt still stung from her spanking, or because she was catching a cold. “But Pixie…” “What the hell is a pixie?” “My cat. She’s up there and I couldn’t get her down. Would you…” She left the question hanging, but it was enough for him to take action. He could just make out a little poof of silvery fluff on a high branch, so he reached up and gently grabbed it by the scruff of its neck. The little shit immediately paid him back by screaming and hooking a million tiny, sharp claws into his forearm, but he didn’t let go until he deposited the yowling creature into the woman’s arms. “All right. Your tiny demon is safe, so both of you, into the house.” She paused from burying her nose into the kitten’s fur and looked up at him with her big, shining eyes. Even white teeth bit into her lower lip. “But I don’t know you.” Shit. He’d skipped a few steps in his haste to claim his little stray. “Name’s Ram Miller. This is my house, and you’re on BIA property.” “What’s that?” “I’ll tell you once we’re inside, kitten. Now come on, before you freeze.” He wrapped his arms around her slim shoulders and guided her around the corner and into the house. He closed the door behind them, then stopped her. Ram looked down at the treasure in his hands and sucked in a breath. His kitten was fucking gorgeous. Untamed, dark hair gathered in thick curls over her shoulders. Clear olive skin glowed in the lamplight as if she shone from the inside, and her wide, gleaming eyes were such a dark brown they were nearly black. She had round cheeks and a sharp chin, and the way she was nibbling on her plump bottom lip made him want to lick away the tiny hurt. But she was a wild, free kitten with a temper and claws, and he needed her to trust him before he could take those liberties. He went to one knee before her, his eyes nearly even with those hard- tipped tits. “What are you doing?” “Step up,” he commanded, dropping his gaze to her feet. When she didn’t move, he looked back up to her face. “Those things are fuckin’ useless, kitten. They don’t keep you warm and they don’t protect your feet. I’ll get you some warm, fuzzy slippers for around the house, and some nice, sturdy boots for going out.” With a slow nod, she braced one hand on his shoulder and lifted her foot until it rested on his knee. Ram could have let her slide out of the shoes herself, but that wasn’t his way. He was built to take care of his kitten, so he gently removed the flimsy pieces of rubber, examining her foot for bruises and scrapes, and brushed away any pieces of bark or dirt that clung to her elegant feet. “Other foot.” They repeated the process, this time with her hand on his opposite shoulder. Ram was bent over her toes when he felt a tiny weight land on the back of his neck. Four little needle- tipped paws trod across his shoulders until Pixie paused and touched her rough tongue to his ear. His kitten giggled. Pixie walked down his spine like he was her personal ramp, then jumped off when she got to the waistband of his jeans. A small gasp stopped the giggle, and he realized she’d seen the gun tucked into his pants. He made sure his girl was steady on her feet before he rose and faced her. “Don’t be scared, kitten. You’re completely safe. I’m going to go put it back in its case now, okay?” Her big, dark eyes were round as she studied him, then nodded. “Okay.” “Good girl.” He couldn’t help dropping a kiss onto her wild hair. “Don’t move. I’ll be right back.” Chapter Two T to be the weirdest evening Julia had ever spent. The isolated house she rented on the edge HIS HAD of Hedby, Colorado, hadn’t exactly been her dream home, but it had been within her budget and she’d never minded the lack of neighbors until tonight. An hour ago, she’d been in her bedroom, getting ready to settle in for a night of binge-watching baking shows on Netflix. Then her landlady’s son had used the owner’s keys and walked right in her front door followed by a couple of his buddies. She didn’t know what they wanted, but she wasn’t going to stick around to find out. Since they’d been in the front room and she’d been down the hall, they hadn’t seen her. Terrified out of her mind, she grabbed Pixie, snuck out the window, and started running. Julia was fairly sure she’d been headed toward town, but her sense of direction was not great on her best day. When she saw the group of neat, older homes behind a fenced lot filled with old cars, she planned to go up to the door of the first one and knock. Then Pixie had made a run for it, and Julia ended up caught in Ram’s landscaping, receiving a spanking for her trouble. The real trouble? The stinging swats had warmed up more than her bottom. The man who’d delivered the spanking was like someone conjured from her hottest fantasies. Big, dark, dense with muscle, and overwhelmingly in charge. His head was shaved, showing off the strong, heavy-boned face, golden brown skin, and striking, dark amber eyes that captivated her attention. When Ram knelt at her feet to take off her flip-flops and carefully examined her cold toes for injury, she’d never felt so cared for. Seeing the weapon tucked into the back of his well-worn jeans should have been frightening, especially after the break-in that had run her out of her house. Instead, she’d felt protected. This was a man who knew what he was doing, and would do what was necessary to keep her safe. Julia fully intended to do as he asked and stay where he’d left her when he went to put away his weapon. What was it they said about good intentions? It wasn’t her fault Pixie decided to go exploring. It couldn’t be helped that the kitten was an adrenaline junkie with no fear of heights. Or very large men. Julia swore she’d only turned around for a minute, and the little ball of fluff was already mid-air, leaping for the highest shelf on the bookcase built-in to the living room wall. She had to get Pixie down before he came back. For as fussy as he’d been about them rooting around in his shrubs, Julia was certain Ram would be much less forgiving about the interior of his home. Unfortunately, she was height-challenged and there was no way she’d be able to reach the