by Piper Stone
He moved behind her, his legs unsteady and walked toward the refrigerator, pulling out two bottles of water.
Dani wanted to talk to him, to find out anything. Everything. A smile was followed by another whimper as he slid the cold water bottle down her spine before tapping her on the ass. Turning, she gave him a wicked smile before grabbing the bottle out of his hand. “That was delicious.”
Nodding, he twisted the cap, taking several gulps.
“You can’t say anything to me? You’ve already broken the silence.” She knew he was paying very close attention to her and she encircled first one nipple then the other with the bottle, making certain they were fully erect.
His eyes were glassy, the hunger never having left. He gulped more water then replaced the cap, immediately grabbing for his jeans.
“Wait a minute. You’re really not going to talk to me? Are you serious?” She inched closer, placing her hand on his arm, biting her lip in an effort to keep from giving a strangled cry. Why were they so connected? “What’s your name at least?”
He hesitated, yanking on his jeans. “Dan-ger.” His whisper was hoarse, and he enunciated the word, flicking his tongue at the end.
“What? Danger? That’s fascinating, but I don’t believe you.” She remained turned on, every part of her body electrified.
He nodded and fastened his pants, bending over to grab her shorts. As he tossed them, his eyes twinkled, raking over her with desire enshrouding his heated expression.
She swallowed hard, trying to gain her composure. He wanted her off her game, buying into his persona. “Why is that so difficult? Did the four of you just decide you weren’t going to talk to me? Or are you playing into what the town says about you?” She flipped the shorts onto the chair and inched closer, giving him a playful look. “You know, bad boy cavemen, hunting down the pretty young girls. They say you’re dangerous, wild creatures, prepared to pillage the town. Is that true?”
He snorted his reply.
“Okay, Danger it is. Nice to meet you. Do you have a last name?” She struggled to open the cap before taking a sip as if she really didn’t care. She remained naked, acting as if she’d never been more comfortable in her life.
“Don’t we all?”
“The caveman speaks just like he drives a rugged truck. Not very caveman-like.”
Chuckling, he crowded her space, pushing her back toward the window. “What do you want, little girl?”
“I... Nothing really.” As he ground his hips against her pelvis, she bit back a series of moans. When he dragged his tongue all the way down the side of her neck, slathering her with saliva, she almost lost her footing.
Danger sniffed then took a deep whiff before pressing his lips against her cheek. “And just who are you, Dani?”
“I’m nobody.”
“You’re delicious.” He chuckled darkly before easing back, shaking his head. “Why did you decide to follow us? Why the journal? Why the sketchbook?”
She held her breath, clenching her fists. She’d been right. He’d searched her things. Of course, he did, no doubt reading everything she’d written. “I like to draw, and the mountains are beautiful.” His expression was one of disbelief.
“You found us on purpose, little girl. That much I know.”
Dani bit the inside of her mouth to keep from snapping at him. The man was ready to push all her buttons. “I was curious. Okay? You waltz into town, acting like you own the place then leave. All on a regular schedule. Who wouldn’t be curious?”
“You know nothing about us, who we are or why we’re here. Yet you decided to follow us, no doubt against the advice of your friends and family.” Danger lifted a single eyebrow. “Is there more to this story?”
The roughhewn tone was gravelly, sending a complete shower of desire into her. “I don’t have any family in Oregon and I didn’t tell anyone what I was doing. Okay? Maybe I was crazy, but I had to know who you were.” Great, now she was already lying, but the words just flew out of her mouth.
He seemed caught off guard, his eyes narrowing. “You didn’t tell anyone you were following strangers into a treacherous situation, where you could be hurt, even killed?”
“I can handle myself, thank you very much.”
Choking, he shook his head. “You have no idea about these mountains. Well, you should by now. They’re not a place for women alone.”
“Fine. I do, but again, I can handle myself.” She wanted to remain insulted, but her resolve about everything was crumbling.
“Why, Dani Carver?”
“Why, what?” She knew what he was asking and looked away.
“Are you following us? You have no reason and no right. We haven’t bothered anyone or intentionally hurt a single person. We are simply men who enjoy living alone.”
“Bullshit. I know you’re up to something. Yeah, so I was intrigued by you, all of you. Not a crime. Okay?” Uh-oh, she could feel the heat of his eyes boring into her.
He exhaled. “You risked your life to follow us, which means there is a reason. You wrote notes already and you sketched a picture of me. That screams deception. You need to come clean. You have one opportunity.”
“Or what, be punished?” She could tell by the sudden hard expression on his face that these men certainly didn’t want anyone bothering them.
“Yeah, not a bad idea. We saved your life, so you owe us an explanation if nothing else.” He dipped his eyes to her breasts. “Actually, you owe us more than that.”
“An explanation? No, I don’t.” When he crowded her space even more, breathing down on her, his eyes judgmental, she reacted, pouring the entire bottle of water over his head.
Sputtering, Danger kept his head in the same position as he grinned. “I like a girl with spunk.”
She was flustered, the heat rising so fast on her neck and cheeks that she had a terrible feeling she was going to pass out. “You’re an asshole.”
“That’s what people tell me.” His attention was distracted, his eyes narrowing as he looked out the window.
Hearing the rumble of a vehicle, she tried to scamper away, but he gripped her arm. “Let me go.”
“Not until my companion tells me all about you. Better if you explain your situation now.”
Opening her mouth to retort, she realized with a simple Google search, her name would blast her identity, including who she worked for. Shit. Shit! “There’s nothing to tell you. Let me go.”
“You’re in no position to make a single demand, sweetheart.”
She heard the sound of heavy boots on the front porch and cringed, shrinking back as much as the space would allow. When the door was opened, she covered her breasts with one arm, clenching her jaw and refusing to be embarrassed. But she was, her entire skin covered in goosebumps.
The man’s gaze swept over both of them as he walked inside, the smile one of knowing, his eyes nothing but leering. He shook his head. “You started the party without me.”
“You better let me go!” she demanded, giving the newcomer a vicious glare. The man was equally attractive, his aura reeking of darkness as well as sensuality. “What the hell is your name? You are going to tell me.”
“Seemed like a good thing to do at the time,” Danger said, his grip never loosening. “However, the mouth on her continues.”
“Don’t talk about me like I’m not here. What is your name?” She leaned as far forward as possible.
The dark man chuckled as he leaned against the wall. “I’ll tell you my name, sweetheart if you tell me yours.”
“I told you my name, asshole.” She said the last word under her breath, but Danger shook his head.
“What did you find out?” Danger asked, hissing under his breath.
Pulling Danger aside, he kept his voice low, but Dani could hear every word. “We were right about the findings. We’ve hit the motherlode, at least according to the report. Seems you might get your wish after all.” The dark-haired man studied Dani’s face, grinning as he wa
lked closer. “Then there’s the issue of our wayward capture.”
“Fucking about time.” Danger seemed elated as he tossed Dani a quick glance.
What in the hell were they talking about? Dani homed in on every word.
“Yeah, damn good news except for the schedule has been moved up. We have thirty days or the deal’s off.”
Danger hissed, finally letting her go. “Does the jerkoff understand what we’re up against? I want out of here as much as the rest of you, but if it’s not done right, we’ll end up with shit.”
“He doesn’t care. Doesn’t need to. He’s holding all the cards. Least we’ll get out of here sooner, but we don’t need any bullshit or complications.” He brushed his hand through his hair before yanking several pieces of folded paper from his back pocket. “Which is why this little girl is now along for the ride, just like we agreed.”
“What are you talking about?” Danger asked as he refused to allow Dani to sidestep him.
“Seems she not only lied about her name but also has an interesting occupation and I suspect she thinks she has a goldmine in finding us.” He held out the paper, jerking it back when Dani tried to grab the items out of his hand. “Tsk, tsk.”
“My name is Dani Carver. And you’re not going to trap me here.” Dani snorted, suddenly more anxious than she’d been up to that point.
“Yep, we are, and I suggest you get nice and comfy in your new surroundings. Name’s Wolf, Big Bad Wolf to you if you try to give us any trouble or if you try to escape. You have several strikes against you and we have the upper hand. Here’s the way it’s going to go. Your responsibilities are to cook, clean, and make certain that we’re happy in every manner.”
“I...” she started. “Wait a minute.”
Wolf held up his finger. “Uh-uh. Your lies stop here. Took me a while to weed through all the bullshit written about you, but I managed, Dani Cronfeld.” He chuckled under his breath. “Called a buddy of mine, ex-CIA who lives in Virginia. Seems your particular newspaper articles were the talk of the town, including Washington DC. For all of fifteen minutes. However, your vehemence seemed to have damaged your credibility.”
“A reporter.” Danger’s voice was barely audible. His eyes scanned the papers, moving from one to the other.
“Yeah, not a bad one either, but she almost cost a couple people their jobs back in good old Virginia,” Wolf stated as he crowded closer.
“I wasn’t trying to hurt them, but what they were doing was ridiculous.” Dani cringed hearing the accusatory tone. She caught a glimpse of one of the articles she’d written in anger, all because of the treatment her father had received. She’d been naïve, even stupid, but she had caught certain people in serious lies. At least that’s what she’d thought. The entire situation seemed like a blur, as if it had never happened. The crap even kept her from contacting her father. “I left all that and moved here. Starting fresh.”
Danger shook his head. “You were fired, sweetheart. I wonder what your new boss thinks about that.”
She opened her mouth then let out a long exhale. Danger was being far too quiet.
“Of course. He doesn’t know,” Wolf retorted. “We have the upper hand. Nice.”
Dani wasn’t certain this was a question. “Yes. I was caught in the middle. I was over my head. I was...”
“Seems like you placed yourself smack in the middle if you ask me. There’s something else. Nice little article you wrote about us as well as about your upcoming adventure in the mountains. I can only imagine what the poor town folk are thinking. My guess is they lock their doors at night, guns hidden under their beds.” Wolf tossed a printed article onto the island. “Are you working for anyone else on this?”
“No. What do you mean?” she asked, her mind reeling. “Just the newspaper in Baker City.”
“No connections still in Virginia?” Wolf asked under his breath.
What in God’s name were they hiding?
“No!”
Snagging the paper, Danger hissed. “You wrote this?”
“I... Well, you came into town like you owned the place. You’re all powerful and unbridled and...” She rubbed her temple, trying to put any coherent words together. “Look, I just wanted to write a couple articles about you. You know, find out what you’re doing and why you left society. People will eat that shit up.” She could tell Danger was furious, fuming under his calm exterior.
“We are people, Dani. We deserve respect as well as our privacy. Why would you do this?” Danger’s words remained floating in the air. “We need to take her back to her truck. She has no clue what we’re doing. Better to let her go now.”
“No! Please don’t do that. Really. I want to stay. Yes, I told my editor that I was going to write this big story about you and no, he has no clue who I am, or was. There was no reason to tell him.” Dani had never felt so damn stupid. She’d gambled and failed.
“She wants to stay and it’s in our best interest, just like we talked about.” Wolf gave Danger a shake of his head. “Interesting little issue we have here,” he continued, laughing in a dark and dangerous manner.
Danger held up his hand. “I don’t think we should do that. We have to be careful.”
“I only want to write about how it is living here, you know, sex it up for the women. That’s what sells. Nothing more. I promise. I just need a big story. Okay? I admit it. I lost everything, including credibility. I’m just trying to make a name for myself.” Dani held her breath. This had to work, and she was willing to do anything to stay.
Wolf shrugged. “We could work something out. Couldn’t we, Danger?”
She settled against the island, unable to take her eyes off the blasphemous words she’d written. “I’m really sorry. I wasn’t trying to hurt any of you. I just wanted a new life, one full of adventure. I thought the story idea was perfect, especially since there are already dozens of theories about you in town.”
Snorting, Wolf shook his head several times. “You want a new life with a new name? I personally have no problem with that. Every man here made that same decision for various reasons, but there are rules to go along with your new life, sunshine. And trust me, the discipline you received last night is nothing in comparison to what’s going to happen to you every day. Every. Single. Day.”
Her lower lip was quivering, her heart racing. Wolf meant every word, and in her gut, she knew she deserved whatever they doled out. “Why? Because you’re afraid your story will get out? What I wrote has nothing to do with whatever business you’re in. Jesus. What did I do to you?” she asked defiantly. Oh, God. Oh, God.
“Uh-huh,” Wolf said under his breath.
“I can explain about Virginia and why I wanted to do this in more detail. If you’ll only let me.” Why would she even bother trying to explain? Why had they looked into her past? The man had no right. No, they had every right. Still, they were here for a significant reason. Why? Her reporter hat had already gotten her into so much trouble, but she was determined to figure out every secret. Her readers deserved as much. Right? For a few seconds, her mind rushed to the last story she’d written on the local doggie pet salon.
“Don’t need or care about the explanation but I think you do understand the situation you’re in. This could be very interesting.” Wolf wrapped his fingers around her hair.
The tension remained.
“Wolf is right. You want an exclusive on four unruly cavemen, as you call them?” Danger snipped, glaring in her direction.
“I didn’t mean those words in a bad way,” she insisted, feeling smaller than ever.
Danger clenched his fist. “Now we’re in control, so here’s the deal. You’re staying here until we are finished with our project. You will never ask any questions or bother us when we’re working. You can take notes, sketch all the pictures you want, but none of it will have anything to do with our business. You will cook and clean and submit to us in every way, no matter what we ask.”
“I like that,” W
olf muttered.
“That’s not...” Dani sucked in her breath, but she was tingling all over, the bad girl side of her jumping for joy. Surrendering her body, her sex would be incredible. She tried to rationalize this, taking several deep breaths. Danger had already told her in no uncertain terms they would become her masters. He’d been serious. Yes, she was insane, but this was exactly what she’d wanted. And she craved the man called Danger.
“Are we clear?” Danger demanded.
She looked from one man to the other. “Yes, sir.”
“Not a bad deal, even though the others might have somethin’ to say about this. Nah. They’ll love having you around, even for a little while. However, we’re going to be spending some quality time together, sunshine,” Wolf added. “See, we have an important job to take care of, one that’s going to make certain we have a better life. Hell, if you’re a good little girl, might even cut you in on our deal. However, if you so much as try to run, we will find you and trust me, you do not want that to happen. Got it?”
Danger yanked the paper from his hand and as his eyes scanned the page, Dani had a wretched sickening feeling in the pit of her stomach. She swallowed several times when he finally lifted his head, the expression on his face going from incredulous to no emotion at all. He was shutting her out of his emotional life.
“You had a chance to come clean.” He exhaled before letting the paper fall out of his hand, floating toward the floor. “I value my privacy. I also value trust more than anything.”
“I didn’t lie to you. I just didn’t tell you why I was here, but I...” Her words trailed off.
After exhaling, Danger grabbed his boots and walked out the door.
“No. No! Damn it!” She snagged the paper from the floor, furious with herself for thinking she could do this without them knowing.
“Gonna give you one hint, sweetheart. I can tell you have a thing for Danger and from the looks of it, he does for you as well. However, that man doesn’t deserve anymore shit in his life. He’s just about to get a break for the first freaking time and you’re not going to fuck it up. It was your decision about what he laid on the table. We’re not going to force you to do anything. You stay, you play then you get a story. You want to leave, we’ll disappear. But I can tell you this, I know Jacob Plank. I also have connections to just about every newspaper that means anything. You certainly won’t have a job to go back to and you’ll never know how far my tentacles reach. Just let me know what you decide.” Wolf sucked in his breath, stole a glance at the paper in her hand then pointed to the floor.
