“I haven’t heard any mention of missing farm equipment, but I’ll ask next time I talk to my contact. The farmers are more concerned with their missing stock.” Jake spoke next to her ear, his warm breath distracting. He subtly guided her in the direction he wanted to walk.
“Everyone is staring.”
“Let them,” Jake said with unconcern. “Is there room for me to sleep in your workroom with you?”
Sorrel stopped walking. “What?” She’d wanted to test the latest batch of her cream. She could hardly do that with him in the same room. “Why?”
“Now that I’ve started paying attention to you the men will start to wonder what I see in you. You shouldn’t be alone. Don’t trust anyone.”
“I don’t need a minder.”
He hesitated then nodded, despite his misgivings. “As long as you’re careful, I suppose it will be all right. It’s possible I’ll still learn something in the men’s quarters.”
With a glance over his shoulder, he led her into the trees. He was pretty sure someone—probably one of Brother Rick’s close friends—would follow them. They needed to set the stage first. Once he was sure they were out of sight, he surveyed their surroundings. He was as sure as he could be no one was ahead of them.
“Why hasn’t anyone noticed you’re dying your hair?”
“My mother suggested it a long time ago. She knew it was too late for her to leave the compound, but she wanted me to get out if I could. She’d enjoyed the life here with Brother Samuel, but she knew I wanted something different.”
He stopped walking and turned to face her. His gaze slid to her lips and lingered. He shouldn’t but he wanted to kiss her again. And he desperately wanted to see the body under the robe. Damn fool. He needed a woman. Yeah, that was all this was—the urge to scratch an itch. “So this has been a long time in the planning.”
“I told my mother I would continue the plan we concocted. I promised her,” she added.
If there was one thing Jake understood it was promises. Guilt slashed him at the thought. He’d sworn to Greg he’d get him out, get him to medical help.
“I promised I’d help you and I will,” he said tersely. “But you need to trust me.”
“I don’t know you.”
Her words stung, even though they were true. She was taking a big leap of faith trusting him as much as she had already. “I’m all you have. You have to trust me.” Urgency throbbed in his words. “Brother John, at least I think it’s Brother John is following us. We’re going to give him a show so he can go back to Brother Rick and report.”
She stiffened. “What sort of a show?”
Jake glanced around and spotted a small clearing. Perfect for what he had in mind. He drew her toward it, tugging lightly on her hand while resuming his slow, tortured limp. Once they reached the grassy area, he urged her down. She flinched as he loomed over her, her eyes widening.
“This isn’t a good idea.”
“Why? You frightened because you’re starting to enjoy it?” Ignoring her building scowl, he dipped his head, snaring her lips before she could voice another objection. For a few taut seconds, her lips remained stiff. Unyielding. Irked by her lack of response he put his heart into the kiss, pushing his tongue deep, thrusting them both into a world where sensation ruled and thoughts steered to sexual.
A grunt of satisfaction escaped him when she relaxed and curled her arms around his neck.
“I’m going to touch your breasts,” he whispered on lifting his head. “Or what I can feel beneath that padding. The next time we’re alone together in a safe place you’re going to answer my questions, sweetheart.”
“I’m not your sweetheart,” she muttered and nipped his bottom lip.
Her sharp teeth should have hurt, but instead a knife of pleasure arced to his dick. Damn, what was it about this woman? She was filling his thoughts when he should be concentrating on sneaking around and catching Brother Rick and his cohorts stealing cattle.
Because they were stealing. If not cattle, then they were up to other types of mischief. His soldier’s senses told him so.
He rolled on top of her, holding her in place with his weight.
Sorrel let out a gasp, her entire body feeling as if she were squashed beneath a hard rock.
“No struggling,” he murmured. “Brother John is spying on us, and I’d hate him to report back to Brother Rick that something is amiss between us. The last thing we need is rumors flying around the compound saying our relationship is a pretense.”
Her fingernails dug into his biceps, a pointed reminder she wasn’t entirely with his program. After a harsh breath, she went limp beneath him. Hiding his satisfaction, he took the opportunity to kiss her again, one of his hands slipping under the neckline of her robe.
She froze. “What are you doing?”
Ah, as he suspected. No padding in this area, but instead a tightly bound strip of fabric. The knowledge brought curiosity, and his cock lengthened. The sole reason he could think of for a woman to make herself look ugly and unobtrusive was if she were worried about attracting too much attention.
He lifted his head, shot a swift glance in the vicinity where he’d last spotted Brother John and saw he’d either gone or relocated. Fine. It wasn’t a hardship to feel-up Sorrel Thyme. Jake settled in to do a decent job of kissing her. His hands wandered while his lips mapped her face, her mouth and her neck. He breathed in her scent, mostly masked by the stench of whatever substance she’d put in her hair, and went with the flow of arousal.
He took his time, even though darkness was falling.
“What is that digging me in the stomach?”
“Have you had sex before?”
She hesitated. “Once, a long time ago.”
“Then surely you recognize the thrust of a cock.” He was curious regarding her sexual experience.
Her wet tongue lashed across his earlobe, then traced the outline of his ear. A shiver swept him, and unable to help himself, he ran his fingers over her hip and down her leg, stroking back and forth, testing the flesh beneath her robe. He shifted his hips, thrusting against her before the thought registered.
“A modern marvel,” she whispered, pausing in her worrying of his earlobe. “You have two cocks.”
A bark of laughter escaped him. “I have a torch in my pocket.”
“That’s what I felt the first time. I didn’t think I could have that effect on a man, not until I felt the second.”
He stopped then, lifting his head to peer at her through the gloom. “If that’s the truth, then why have you bothered with your disguise?”
She kissed him this time, thrusting at his shoulders at the same time with enough strength to take him by surprise. They rolled with her landing up on top of him. “That’s better,” she said in satisfaction. “I couldn’t concentrate with two cocks poking me.”
A chuckle burst free. “You’re not into sex with more than one man. I thought that was the modern woman’s fantasy. To have two men focused on her pleasure.”
“Not me. All I want is to leave this place.”
“Then you’ll think about a man?”
“No,” she replied without hesitation. “Not straightaway because I need to focus on my goals.”
“I might take that as a challenge.” Hell, he did take that as a challenge. He wanted to peel away the layers hiding her real personality, her true form. He wanted to know what her natural hair looked like without the god-awful smelly stuff she’d combed into it.
“Don’t,” she warned. “Once I hear back from Alice—if I hear back from Alice and the news is positive, I’m going to ask her if I can work for Fancy Free. She mentioned a job.”
Jake nodded, reaching up to cup her face with his hand. “I hope the news is good.”
He let her kiss him again, enjoying the hell out of her lips and tongue brushing his. With each kiss her confidence grew, and he loved experiencing her shy looks and innocent attempts at playing the siren. If she wasn’t careful,
she’d get hooked on him. Jake smiled inwardly. Hell, maybe he’d let her.
“We can go now.” If they kept up the groping, he was gonna embarrass himself. His cock was hard enough to use as a hammer.
“Go where?”
He lifted her off him and rolled to his feet. At the back of his mind, he realized his left leg felt better than it had for weeks. The walking was helping more than the long gym sessions he’d subjected himself to before he’d come to Sloan. Jake paused to listen, satisfied when the sole noise was the baa of a distant sheep.
“Jake?”
“We’re going to continue our walk. I need to check the boundary line.” With sure steps, he led her in the direction he wished to go. Despite the growing gloom his eyes picked out a distinct path. “Do you know where this goes?”
“It goes to the top paddock. I come up here sometimes to pick leaves to use to decorate my candles.”
“Good idea. Make sure you pick up a few leaves on the way, in case someone stops us.”
Once the path widened enough for them to walk abreast, he curved his arm around her lumpy waist. When she moved closer, allowing him the liberty without complaint, he smiled. He might not be out with the team because of his injury, but his military friends, Nikolai and Louie were right about a change in routine helping to jerk him out of his mental funk.
Nothing leaped out at him, not that Jake had thought he’d find incriminating evidence. It was too obvious, and he figured Luke and Richard Morgan would’ve checked the boundary fences with the other properties already.
When they’d almost reached the main compound, Jake reached for her hand. “Are you sleeping in your workshop tonight?”
“Yes, it’s safer for me. I don’t want the other women looking at me too closely.”
Jake nodded, aware of the dangerous game she was playing. “I’ll escort you back before I go to the men’s quarters.”
Habit and instinct made him conduct a quick check of the dark workshop corners to ascertain no one was lying in wait for her. “No bogeymen in the corners.”
“I didn’t think there would be.”
Jake went to her and tipped back her head with his fingers. “You’re close to your goal now,” he whispered. “No complacency.” He kissed her slowly and thoroughly, leaving them both breathing hard by the time he finished. “Promise you’ll lock the door after me.”
“There’s no lock. Nothing is locked in the compound.”
Jake nodded. “What about the room Brother Rick uses as an office?”
“I don’t know. I keep away from Brother Rick as much as possible.”
“Understandable. I might do more checking tonight. Put a chair under the door handle so you have a warning if anyone tries to snoop around while you’re asleep.”
“Yes, sir. And I’ll scream loud enough to wake the dead if anyone scares me.”
“You do that,” Jake said.
Jake left Sorrel and walked across the open ground of the compound toward the single men’s quarters. On reaching the buildings, he ducked into the shadows and paused, cocking his head to listen. Although he could hear voices, they were nothing out of the ordinary. From his observations, most of the men spent their evenings listening to music, gossiping and letting the women wait on them.
After deciding no one was scrutinizing his actions, he wandered to Brother Rick’s office, a small building to the side of the main ones. The lights were out, and after another quick pause, Jake tried the door. Locked. He circled the structure, checking the windows. They were locked too.
Brother Rick had something to hide.
Jake considered a forced entry, but a night when Brother Rick was away from the compound would make better sense. Jake slipped back toward the men’s quarters.
It was dark now, the moon shining enough light for him to see without turning on his torch. Most of the men were still in the communal rooms, so he turned in that direction. He needed to pick up snippets of gossip.
He stepped inside the room, and each of the men turned to look at him.
“Where have you been?” Brother Rick demanded.
“Sister Sorrel and I went for a walk. She wanted to collect some leaves and dried twigs to decorate her candles.”
Brother John snorted in disbelief. “At this time of night?”
“Sister Sorrel has been working all day making products for the shop. Tonight was the first opportunity to collect supplies.” Jake waited to hear what they replied to that. Brother Rick was working her hard, and he wasn’t sure why. If Sorrel knew, she wasn’t telling.
“Her name is Bitter,” Brother Rick said. “Bitter by name, bitter by nature.”
Jake counted to five under his breath. He wanted to defend Sorrel, but kept his mouth shut. One day, he promised himself.
Jake walked past Brother Rick and took a seat. The men started to talk again, murmuring between themselves.
Someone came to sit beside him, and Jake turned to find Brother John smirking at him. The man had a thin, narrow face and a pointy chin. Combined with the hints of red in his hair, he reminded Jake of a fox.
“I saw you and Bitter. I’d fuck her in the dark too. That way it’s easier to pretend she’s not so ugly.” He nudged Jake on the arm. “How was she? I bet she was desperate for it. The quiet, snooty ones usually are.”
“Were you following us?”
Brother John leered. “Didn’t witness much leaf collecting.”
Jake straightened. “Follow us again, and I’ll push your nose down your throat.” He followed up his threat with a steely glare.
Brother John blinked. A tide of color swept into his face, highlighting his high cheekbones. “We don’t believe in violence.”
“You gonna tell Brother Rick on me,” Jake taunted, probably unwisely.
“You’re here on a trial basis.”
“That’s true, so you’d better be nice to me or I’ll decide to move to the South Island group.”
Brother John rose to his feet and left without another word.
“You shouldn’t tangle with him,” one of the elderly men said. “The boy has a mean streak.”
“Thanks for the warning. I shouldn’t have baited him. I’ll apologize to him in the morning.”
“Won’t do any good.” The elderly man tugged on his white beard. “The boy holds his grudges. He’s been that way since he was a toddler.”
“Have you lived here for a long time? Would you recommend Children of Nature as a good home?”
The elderly man glanced over his shoulder, leaned a fraction closer. “This used to be a good place to live. Things changed after Brother Rick took charge.”
“In what way?”
“We used to all be equals, but now the men run everything and make the decisions. Some of the women are no better than slaves. They do the cooking, the cleaning and bear children.” The elderly man paused, his brow knitting in a fierce frown. “Then there’s this gathering business. It’s not right the way they treat the women.”
“Did you attend the last gathering? From what I heard most of the men enjoyed it.”
“They enjoyed the sex and the alcohol.” The man snorted. “Their behavior was disgusting. Animals behave better.”
“You were there.”
“Aye, I was there. I was no better than the others. The next morning I woke up with one of the young girls and was disgusted with myself. Young man, don’t partake of the food or drinks supplied on the night. I’m sure it was drugged. That’s the only explanation I have. I didn’t touch the alcohol some of them drank. The young girl wouldn’t have slept with me willingly. Not an old coot like me.”
“I thought the men and women under twenty-five weren’t required to attend.”
“That’s the official line, but their attendance is looked upon favorably. The youngsters who attended have received material rewards—better tasks and new, more private quarters.”
“Where does Brother Rick sleep?”
“He commandeered the old farmh
ouse after Brother Samuel died.”
Jake nodded. “Does anyone share it with him?”
“His three friends share the house, and occasionally they have female company.”
“Anyone in particular?”
“No, not really. They share it around. Brother Rick keeps that part of his life private. If any of the women gossip, they’re cast aside. One of the sisters used to be a favorite. She mentioned his new furniture and the wide-screen television up at the house and hasn’t been invited back.”
Jake’s brows rose. “He has a TV?”
“Among other mod-cons,” the elderly man said dryly.
“Interesting.” He needed to get into the house to see for himself as soon as Brother Rick left the compound again.
The women arrived bearing a late-night snack, and two young women served tea and hot chocolate plus shortbread biscuits.
Jake took a cup of hot chocolate and biscuit with a polite smile.
An hour later the men started to drift off to the sleeping quarters. Jake decided he might as well retire too because Sorrel intended to do another delivery early in the morning.
Jake went through his bedtime preparations and kicked off his sandals. One by one the men stretched out on their single beds and the lights flicked off. Jake shouldered off his robe, hanging it on the wall peg near his bed. He stretched out, searching his plan for flaws. The quicker he caught out Brother Rick, the sooner he could leave this wacky place.
The walking left him physically tired, but he felt better than he had since his last mission ended abruptly in an injury. A wide yawn took him, and he closed his eyes, slipping easily into sleep.
* * * * *
Sorrel took Jake’s advice to heart and, after removing the junk off her mother’s old chair, she managed to shove it under the doorknob. As he said, it wouldn’t hold out a determined man, but she’d receive warning of anyone trying to enter.
That done, she checked the windows. She’d allowed them to collect dust on purpose, a suggestion from her mother when they’d first started working on the cream together.
Military Men Page 40
