The slightest nod of her head. Keeping her flush to my body, I use my now free hand to slide my gun out of its holster. Don’t want to shoot a bear, but if she’s enraged it, it could either be it or us. And I’d rather it not be me.
“We’re going now, Mr Bear,” I say calmly. Keeping my voice steady, I instruct her. “Turn to me, sideways, so we can keep an eye on the bear. We’ll back away so he knows we’re leaving him alone.” In the distance I can hear Niyol’s feet stamping, the far-off jingling of his bridle. Time seems to stand still, but at least she’s obeying me, and slowly we’re putting distance between us and the threat.
The bear stares at us, two sets of eyes watch him back as we edge away. “Look at the ground, not at him,” I whisper, trusting she’s doing as I ask. “That’s it. I’ve got you. Just follow the lead of my body.”
She relaxes slightly, I take a step back, then another. Then risk a glimpse up over her shoulder. The bear’s on all fours now, no longer standing up. Could mean we’re no longer a threat, could mean he’s preparing to charge.
Another sideways pace to my rear, another glance up. Leaving your territory, brother. Didn’t mean to bother you.
As if he can sense my thoughts, the bear snorts and turns, then goes back the way he’d presumably come, his black pelt quickly being swallowed up in the twilight.
Still I’m holding her close, breathing in a perfume that makes my nostrils twitch, nothing fancy, just soap, shampoo, and her. Her fear. I can almost taste it.
I wait, hearing the sounds of the bear retreating until the rustling fades. My adrenaline now starts to recede, its place being taken by anger. What the fuck is she doing here? Alone, and in near darkness. Is she crazy?
Chapter 2
Mariana
An angry looking bear is a few yards in front of me, a very masculine body far too close in my personal space at my back. Extremely close. I get the sense of a hard cock pressing into my rear. I’m pinned to his chest, a hand with the odour of horse over my face, and I’ve no idea whether it’s the bear or man I’m in danger from most.
Until a voice speaks into my ear, “Face up to bears, but keep calm. Screaming scares them into making an attack.”
Jesus. He’s right. In my panic my only thought had been to make the bear frightened so he’d go away. But it appears the one most scared had been myself. Mr Bear there, or Mrs, what do I know? Well, he looked completely in control of himself.
The man behind me is saving me. Rescuing me. When he takes his hand away, I’ve learned my lesson and don’t let out another scream. Not one damn peep. Forcing my taut muscles to relax, I move back with him. Distracted, I focus on the bear, then reluctantly lower my eyes when instructed.
Another few steps back, my feet fumbling to stay out of the way of his, and to avoid putting more pressure on his groin. Then I can’t resist opening my eyes and peering through my eyelashes. Thank the Lord. The bear is moving away.
I’m breathing fast, the blood rushing through my ears is deafening. I’m shaking, the arm holding me relaxes, but now I need the support to keep myself upright. I’d been terrified. I’ll be the first to admit it.
The arm loosens again, and now I lean forward, placing my hands on my knees and taking long deep breaths. I’m just starting to calm, recognising I’m now out of danger.
“What the fuck are you doing out here? Are you alone? Is someone with you?” I glance up, seeing a face looking around me as if searching for somebody hiding.
“If there was anyone they’d have fucked off,” I hiss back. “What kind of friend would they have been to just leave me?” I pull myself upright for the first time, able to properly see the features of the man who’s rescued me. He’s gorgeous. Native American by the look of it. His long black hair reaches down to his waist, tied back with a leather thong. His pupils are so big and dark, there’s almost no white in his eyes at all. His tanned looking skin is dark against my more olive shade.
“You haven’t answered my question,” he demands in clipped tones, anger making his cheeks blaze.
It makes my temper rise too. “What the fuck is it to you?”
He rolls those beautiful eyes. “My business, if I make it. I suspect you wandered off the trail, got lost. Now I’ve got options. I can leave you here, or take you back to civilisation. There. My offers are on the table. Make your mind up. I haven’t got all day.” He pauses and looks around. “All night,” he corrects.
His words draw my attention to the fact it’s getting darker by the second. Where a short time ago twilight lit the area around me, now it’s hard to make out anything. The sky above is clear, but there’s no moon tonight, and though stars are starting to appear, they give off next to no light.
He tsks a little impatiently. “Well? Have you supplies in that backpack…?”
Interrupting him, I tell him the truth. “You’re right. Came out for a hike, ate everything I had around lunchtime. I got a little distracted, got off the path, then couldn’t find it again.” I’d been lost before the bear, and then my rescuer, found me. Now that the wildlife danger has dissipated, my previous worry about my main predicament returns. I’m lucky he came along. I could have been walking around in circles all night.
He lets out a sigh as if this wasn’t the way he saw his evening, and says a little grumpily, “Come then. I’ll take you back.” Immediately he turns, and within seconds has been swallowed up in the darkness. Instead of following what I know is a small, if little-used path, he’s gone straight into some bushes.
At my squeak, the bushes part again and he reappears. This time he takes my hand, and I can do nothing more than hold on and follow him. Over in the direction he’s leading me, I can hear the sounds of a bridle jangling, a horse snorting, and a hoof hitting the ground as though in impatience. Is it only him? Or is somebody else there waiting? While I’m grateful not to be alone any longer, I start feeling nervous about who exactly has rescued me. What am I getting myself into here? If that horse I hear is his form of transportation, I’ll need to explain I’ve never been on such a beast in my life. I’m just about to ask him when his arm shoots out again and stops my progress.
He waits. Beneath us, in the quiet, I hear a slithering noise.
“What is it?” I whisper.
“Rattlesnake. Still too hot for them to hunt during the day.”
“Are you going to shoot it, or something?” I’d felt the bulge of his holster and gun when he’d been holding me earlier.
He sucks in a breath. “It doing anything to hurt you?”
I shake my head, realise he can’t see it, then reply, “I suppose not.” Only the fact it’s alive and near me. I press closer to his back as though, like he did with the bear, he can protect me.
Instead of continuing to be annoyed, he reaches back his other hand and squeezes my arm. “It’s gone now. Hoping to find its dinner for the night, which wouldn’t in any case have been you. Doesn’t deserve death just for frightening you.”
I start to deny I was scared, then snap my mouth shut. He can read me too well. Even in darkness.
Onward progress again. Soon we’re on a proper path, then approaching that massive annoyed looking animal. My gasp startles it, the horse jumps back, the reins tautening where its bridle is attached to the tree. It’s going to break. It will stampede. Crush me…
“Hey, fella. Calm down.” Letting go of my hand, he expertly untangles the reins. “Shush, boy. Bitch ain’t gonna harm you.”
Bitch?
Lithely he puts his foot in the stirrup, does a little jump, then he’s miles above me sitting comfortably in the saddle.
“Er, I’ll just walk alongside.”
“Nah.” Kicking his foot out of the stirrup, he indicates it. “Place your foot in there, then jump up behind me.”
He’s got to be joking. Mount that wild beast? I take a step back, then another.
“For fuck’s sake. Okay, follow the path and walk yourself out. You’ll come to civilisation, eventually.” He
gathers the reins again. “If you don’t get bit by a snake.” He kicks the horse; it starts to move away.
He’s leaving me alone? “No!” I cry out, trying to match my pace to that of the horse. The horse which gives a little jump in front of me. I, instead, fall flat on my face, my human eyes not good enough to see the branch blocking the path. The desert sand, at least, is soft to land on. But I swear I felt something run over my hand. “Please, please…”
I don’t need to run to catch up. He’s already turned back, has stopped and is waiting.
“I’m scared,” I admit.
“More of the horse than the desert at night?” I think he’s chuckling.
I bristle, then give a nervous look around. A slight breeze is making the leaves rustle, or is it the bear coming back? I shudder. “Both. But the sooner I’m out of here the better.” The fastest way is to take the route he’s offering.
“For fuck’s sake.” Now he’s dismounted again. He leads the horse over to me. The animal doesn’t look impressed. Then he’s pointing to the stirrup. “You get up first.”
How?
Trying to copy him, raising my leg as high as I can, I place my foot in the leather holder. Before I can do anything else his hands are under my backside, shooting me up and … almost over, but not quite. The horse prances as I land. Terrified I’m going to fall off, I open my mouth to scream when a body lands behind me, pushing me forwards in the saddle. There’s barely room for us both. My groin is pushed tight up to the horn, his cock, tight to my ass.
Second time tonight. Is this usually how he gets his rocks off?
The horse starts to move as the stranger’s still sorting the reins out in his hands, one going each side of me, a fleeting touch to the side of my breast which I hope is accidental. I squeal at the movement of the horse, or at least, I think that’s what makes me cry out. Then I grip his arms.
Putting the reins into one hand, he fixes the other around me. “You’re safe. I’ve got you. Not going to let you fall off.”
“But who’s got you?”
He chuckles again. “Niyol’s got both of us,” he reassures me. Then he makes a clicking sound, and the horse quickens his pace. “You’ll be back soon. Just relax and enjoy the ride.”
But back where? Where is he taking me? I’m riding with a real live Native American in the dead of the night. Do they still capture women and take them back to have their wicked ways with them? Scalp them? Realising I’m letting my imagination run away with me, I try to normalise the situation. “I’m Mariana,” I introduce myself.
“Tse.”
Even his name sounds foreign. “Tse?” I ask.
“It’s Navajo. My mother got her way and named me. I’m half Native American. My father was an Anglo.” He offers this by way of conversation. Probably talking to keep me calm.
I don’t respond. I never give too much away about myself.
Sensing I’m not going to answer, he goes quiet. The horse, Niyol, plods on into the night, the muffled beat of his hooves almost hypnotic. The sooner we’re back out of the canyon, the sooner I can leave this strange enigmatic man, collect my car and get back on with my life. My car.
“Er, are we going near the parking lot at the bottom of the canyon?” I ask, realising I’ve no idea where he’s taking me.
“Guessed that’s where you’d have parked. Nah, it’s well over the other side. I’ll drop Niyol off, get him sorted out. Then, don’t worry, I’ll get you back to your car.”
That’s something at least. I hope it’s not far, my pussy is chafing against the seam of my jeans where it’s pressed hard into the leather. The motion of the horse makes it more erotic than uncomfortable. My reaction is stupid. Isn’t it? Perhaps not. I’ve got a handsome man riding behind me, who’s also aroused. I make a concerted attempt to get my head out of the gutter. I was in danger, now I’m safe, my body is overreacting, is all. But that masculine odour surrounding me. Is it possible to be attracted to a man you’ve barely seen? Just because ever since I met him less than half an hour ago, his arms seemed to have been around me, or he’s been touching me.
When we’re crossing a field, and approaching a lit barn, I’m not sure whether I’m more relieved or disappointed. As the horse picks up his pace sensing home, I settle on the former, wondering whether I’ll be able to walk straight once I get down.
The horse needs no instruction to stop in front of a gate. Tse expertly positions him, leans over, and opens it, unbalancing me so I’m again clutching at his arm. His hand brushes my chest once more as he rights me. Can he feel my nipples are erect?
An older man’s walking out on hearing the footsteps. He glances up, then barks a laugh. “Only you, Tse. Only you could go out and find a girl. In distress, was she?” He holds his hand up over his eyes. “Or a wood nymph? Wouldn’t put that past you either.”
Suddenly there’s no one at my back. He’s off, and I’m still up here. “No spirit, a flesh and blood woman who was facin’ off a bear.”
“The bear won, I take it?”
“Luckily, it was a draw. Darlin’. Swing your leg over to me. That’s it. I’ve got you.”
I do what he says, land again in his arms as he holds me to steady me.
“You ridden before?” the older man asks.
As I shake my head, I have a fleeting moment of pride, thinking my graceful dismount had impressed him, when he disavows me of that illusion.
“Thought not. Looked like Tse was unloading a sack of potatoes.”
Tse starts laughing. At the same time, he puts the reins over the horse’s head. The older man undoes the girth and puts it over the saddle. “Leave it, Tse. I’ve got this. You look after your desert sprite.”
Placing my hands on my hips I glare at them both, then realise how much I owe to Tse. “I’m sorry. I spoiled your ride, didn’t I?”
The light from the building shines on his face. I was right. He’s the most beautiful man I’ve ever seen. In other circumstances…
The light must be lighting my features too, as I catch a flare of interest in his eyes. Not going there. Can’t afford to. “Thank you for bringing me back. Now, if you could just take me to my car?”
A fleeting pause, then, “Sure, darlin’. Let’s get you back.” He points with his hand, then when I’m turned in the right direction, puts it to the small of my back. His warmth settles through the thin material of my tee. I walk around the building, then to the small parking lot. It’s empty of cars.
“Where’s your…?”
“There.”
I know it’s dark, but a car would have been big enough to see. Oh no. My eyes suddenly alight on what I realise will be my mode of transportation. A motorcycle. A big metal beast that looks, in its own way, every bit as scary as the horse I’d just gotten down from.
Chapter 3
Mouse
It was only when we’d gotten back to the stables, and Jacob had led Niyol away to rub him down and give him a feed—jobs which I should have been doing—that I realised why the old man had volunteered. Having seen little more of her than a view of her back up to now, for the first time I get a look at her face, and realise she’s fucking gorgeous.
Long dark hair, similar to mine and also tied back, large brown eyes in an olive-skinned face. Hispanic. I don’t know why that surprised me, nearly half the population in Tucson has that heritage, but it did. Maybe it’s her perfectly spoken English with no trace of an accent. Yeah, Jacob hadn’t thought I should let this one get away. That’s why he gave me space. He could well be right.
My cock’s been half hard ever since I first pulled her back against me, painfully so while I’d been pressed up against her in the saddle. I’d taken advantage of feeling the swell of her breasts against my hand, her peaking nipples giving away she’s not immune to me.
Now she’ll be the one behind me, hanging onto my waist, her tits making contact with my back. I grin as I relish my anticipation, and also at her reaction to my bike. Which is about the same as
when she’d first seen the stallion. Yeah, it’s time for another first tonight, Mariana. Watching her face go through various expressions of horror, I wonder what she’d look like in the throes of passion. And whether there’s any chance I might be able to find out. Doesn’t hurt to hope.
Approaching the bike, I take my cut out of the saddle bag and slip it on, hearing the audible gasp behind me. Yeah, babe, I’m a real biker. Will she be intrigued? Scared? I guess I’ll soon find out.
“I’ll walk,” she offers, decisively.
Looking around incredulously, my head shaking side to side, I exclaim, “You fuckin’ what? It’s miles if you go by the road. If you try to go cross country, you’ll get lost. Or come face to face with snakes and fuck knows what else. Nah, darlin’. Won’t take long. Hang onto me and you’ll be fine.”
“Doesn’t the old man have a car? Perhaps he’s going into town…?”
“Nah,” I interrupt her. “Jacob bunks down here. His eyes are failin’, he doesn’t drive in the dark.” They are. Good enough to handle a car in daylight, but at night he gets an attack of nerves. Man’s getting old. It’s not the first time the thought has struck me. Maybe I should do more to help out.
Time to move this along. I swing my leg over the bike, and settle on the seat. Holding out my hand, I instruct, “Come on. Get up behind me. Just hold on tight and we’ll be back at your car in no time.”
Still she hesitates, then says words that enrage me. “I can’t, you’re a criminal, you’re in a gang.”
“What the ever-lovin’ fuck?” I dismount again and stalk her, getting up into her face. “I’m a member of a motorcycle club. We’re not criminals.” Or not the way she’s imagining. “I should leave you here, would fuckin’ serve you right, if you take one look at my cut and think you know me.” My head shakes again. “Should have left you to that fuckin’ bear…”
“I don’t mean that!” she exclaims. “I’ve got nothing against you. You’re right, I know nothing about your… club. But…” she clamps her mouth shut. For a second I get a glimpse of shuttered eyes before she looks down at her feet.
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