She packed away the bowl and her canteen, then stood and said, “Fuss,” bringing Tessa against her side. When she looked at Dagger, he gave her a nod and turned, heading straight into the woods again, heading north.
“How long until we get there?” she called out to him.
“If we set a good pace, just before dinnertime.”
Reaper walked up beside her. “You okay?”
“I’m fine.” Sky wasn’t, but she wouldn’t know anything more until she talked to him herself.
“You get some bad news?”
She shot him a glance. “Don’t know. Sky relayed word to Hank that he wasn’t hurt bad. That’s it. Not, I’ve been shot. I broke my arm. My skiff hit an underwater mine, and I lost a leg. Just, ‘I’m not hurt bad’. What the hell am I supposed to do with that?”
Reaper raised both eyebrows. “Sounds to me like he’s not hurt bad.”
Jamie made a face. “Men!”
Nearing six o’clock, they exited the forest onto Route 486, just south of Polebridge. Walking single file alongside the road, they followed it into town. They met Quincy and Lacey in the parking lot of the Polebridge Mercantile.
Quincy looked relieved to see them, and the men shared fist bumps. Lacey looked as though she’d just stepped out of a beauty salon, not single strand of hair straggled from her pale blonde French braid, and her makeup looked nonexistent, which meant she’d likely spent an hour blending it onto her porcelain skin.
Jamie couldn’t begrudge Lacey her perfection. “Don’t you look cute,” she said, eyeing her jeans that ended in crocheted cuffs at her boots and her pale pink, long sleeve Henley. Her fingers gleamed with a row of silver rings covering every finger, with moonstones and pretty little pearls at their centers.
Beside her, Jamie knew she looked worse for wear. She’d pulled back her own hair into a tight ponytail to keep it from straggling around her face, and her skin felt tight, so she knew she had a sunburn. Plus, she knew that the bird baths she’d given herself hadn’t been enough to take the trail funk off her skin.
Lacey gave her a hug anyway. She was like that. Never judged. Or when she judged, she did it with the intent to make things better. When she pulled back, she said, “We’ve already talked to Fetch. His guys will be here at O-dark-thirty tomorrow.” She rolled her eyes. “I don’t know how to set an alarm for that, but I’m imagining they’ll be here sometime before dawn. I’ve booked three cabins nearby, and Quincy and I stocked the kitchenettes with ready-made meals for dinner tonight and some easy breakfast foods for the morning. It’s nothing fancy—a bed, a tiny kitchen, and a bathroom—but there’s really not much here unless you wanted to go further afield to Whitefish.”
Jamie waved a hand. “You had me at bathroom. Thank you.”
“Well, we should load up,” she said. “Here are your keys.” She gave one to Reaper. “You’ll have to bunk with Quincy.” She handed a key to Jamie and gave her a waggle of her eyebrows.
Jamie didn’t know what to make of that look, but she climbed into the back of the agency’s Expedition with Tessa while dreams of soaking in a real tub played in her mind.
Five minutes later, they pulled up to a strip of tiny rustic log cabins.
Jamie glanced at Reaper. “We should probably meet later to talk about next steps.”
Reaper shook his head. “You rest up. I’ll talk with Fetch and see what he thinks. Make sure Tessa gets a soft pillow. She deserves it.”
Jamie was too tired to argue. She looked at her key fob and headed in the direction of her cabin.
The bath was small and narrow, and she’d rolled a towel to rest her head on it because the ledge was too short and square for comfort. She’d drawn up her knees nearly to her chest, but the water was hot. She was dozing after she’d bathed, when she thought she heard a creak in the room outside her door.
Maybe it was Tessa moving around. Then she heard her low whine. Either someone the dog knew was in the cabin, or someone had hurt and subdued her. If it was someone she knew, why the hell hadn’t they called out?
Jamie stood and grabbed her rolled up towel. She shook it open and held it in front of her body when she stepped quietly from the tub. She’d left the light off in the outer room, so she turned off the light inside the bathroom so that her body wouldn’t be framed in the opening. She reached for the doorknob and turned it slowly, and then eased open the door to peek into the room.
A large man stood in the room with his back to her. Just the light from the nightlight in the kitchen area illuminated his frame. In the dark, he looked menacing with his broad shoulders and long, muscled thighs.
If she’d been dressed, she might have handled this differently, confronted him directly, but she’d left her clothes in a pile on the floor beside the armchair. Also, her web belt, with her holstered Glock, was on the far side of the room. She felt at a distinct disadvantage.
She picked up her brush from the counter and walked toward him as he knelt in front of Tessa. When she was a foot away, she pushed the handle of the brush against the back of his neck. “Don’t move a muscle,” she said, keeping her tone even.
He froze for a second. “Let me turn on a light,” he said, his voice sounding muffled.
Not happening. She was naked. “How about you move toward the door. Doesn’t have to be a big deal. I don’t have to hurt you.”
His shoulders shook, which pissed her off. Was he laughing at her?
She shoved the end of the handle harder against his skin. “Get up slowly.”
He pushed up from the floor. He was as tall as Sky, and just as broad. Which pissed her off. Her fiancé was halfway around the world when she needed him most. Grasping the towel in front her and keeping the brush handle pressed against his neck, she nudged him. “Go on. Get to the door.”
He took two steps then feinted right. She dropped the towel and the brush and raised both fists, prepared to fight. His next move surprised her. A foot hooked behind her knee, a hand pushed against her chest, and she was falling…
Onto the mattress of the bed. When his body settled over hers, she knew who had her pinned. She knew his weight, the feel of his muscled chest. Knew his scent.
“Sky?”
“Yes, baby?” he said, kissing her cheek.
“You’re a jerk.”
He skimmed his lips down the bridge of her nose then gave her a featherlight kiss on her mouth. “I know.”
She moved her lips against his, rubbing harder. “Since you weren’t hurt bad,” she said, her tone dead even, “I expect you to make it up to me for all the worry…for breaking your goddamn phone and giving Hank that ridiculous message.”
He cupped her left breast and toggled the tip with his thumb. “Sounds like I have a long list of transgressions to make up for.”
“You do. Very long,” she said, slipping a hand between their bodies and grasping his cock through his jeans. “I’m so glad this isn’t the part of you that sustained injuries.”
“Oh, it’s hurting.”
She smiled against his mouth. “Better get it somewhere safe and warm.”
“Jesus.” He braced his weight on one hand and tried to unzip his jeans, but she batted away his hand and unbuttoned and unzipped them herself. Then she slid her hands beneath the denim to cup his buttocks. She stroked a fingertip down his crack.
He hissed. “Shove them down, baby. Get my dick out.”
If he felt half as desperate as she did for him to be inside her, she figured he deserved a little blue-ball punishment. She moved her hands to the front of his jeans and reached inside for his cock. She cupped his balls and slowly tightened her grip on them.
“Easy, baby.”
She gave them a little shake. “You said you weren’t hurt that bad. Do you know what went through my head hearing that?”
“That I wasn’t hurt bad…?” he gritted out.
She shook her head. “Reaper said the same damn thing. I don’t think your brains are wired like a woman’s. I imagined y
ou’d been shot and suffered a flesh would, or that an underwater mine had exploded, and you were burned or cut. That’s what I imagined.”
“Baby, I was shot…at. A round pierced the boat’s armor and fragmented. I got a little shrapnel—pieces in my cheek, my shoulder, my arm. And I didn’t break my phone. Another piece of shrapnel hit it dead square in the center.”
“I’m so glad you set me straight,” she said, fuming inside and still gripping his balls. “Now, I want you to roll over on your back.”
Chapter 6
As soon as she released his balls, Sky rolled to his back then reached to the bedside table to find the lamp, which he turned on. He needed to see her face, in particular, her eyes, because while she sounded really angry, he was worried he’d find tears.
Sure enough, the moment she straddled his hips and leaned over him, he noted her glittering eyes. “Ah, babe.” He placed his hands on her cheeks and thrust his fingers into her hair, but she didn’t allow him to bring her down for a kiss.
Jamie moved her finger around the small bandages on his left cheek then over the larger ones on his shoulder and upper arm. “You’ll have more scars,” she said, then tightened her mouth into a straight line, likely because her lips were quivering.
“I’m fine. I’ll be fine.”
Her frown was ferocious. “You could have called.”
“I did. I used Boomer’s phone.”
She shook her head. “I was outside cellphone range for a couple of days. I didn’t recognize the numbers. I thought they were robocalls. I called Hank…”’
“And got my…unhelpful message…?”
She nodded, and her face screwed up. He gripped her shoulders and brought her down against his chest.
Her chest bumped against his when she sobbed. “When did you strip?”
He kissed her temple and smoothed his hands over her back. “I was planning to join you in the bathroom and surprise you, but Tessa started whining.”
“I thought I had an intruder.”
“Obviously. And you planned to shoot me with what?”
She let out a hoarse laugh. “My brush handle.”
He smiled as she settled against him, breathing more deeply.
Jamie rubbed her cheek on his uninjured shoulder. “I’m glad you’re here.”
“I couldn’t wait. I drove straight from Hank’s. Kept in touch with Lacey. She told me she’d have a cabin for us.”
“So, she knew…?”
“Don’t be mad at her. She thought it would be romantic. Said she’s been trying to help you with wedding plans, but you’ve been…resistant.”
She sighed. “I don’t know why I’ve made such a big deal about this. I’ll go with whatever you want. Just don’t ask me to buy a thousand-dollar gown I’ll never wear again.”
He chuckled. “I got some advice when I was away. Seems like we’re not that far apart with what we want, Jamie. What’s most important is that you’re willing to wear my ring. Be my wife. The rest of it is just…details.”
She lifted her head. Tears clung to her eyelashes, and she closed her eyes while he smoothed his thumbs over her lids to dry them.
“No more tears,” he whispered. “No more arguing. We find this dirtbag Wakley then get hitched. The sooner the better.”
She nodded her agreement and gave him a little smile. She looked lovely. Her hair was drying in gold ringlets around her shoulders. Her face was flushed with heat from her bath. Her honey-brown eyes were clear and looking lovingly at him. He basked in that look, grateful she still loved him.
He cupped her cheeks again and leaned up to kiss her. “Ride me, baby,” he whispered.
Jamie settled her knees on either side of his body, and then planted her hands on the mattress beside his shoulders. She glanced down between their bodies. With a shallow movement, she lifted and pushed back on his rigid cock, circling her hips until he fit against her opening. Then she sank backwards, letting out a breathy moan as he filled her.
Lord, he’d missed this. Missed her wet heat. The feel of her soft skin.
Sky replaced his hands—thumbs on the notched bones of her hips, his fingers splayed over her ass. He pushed her down on him then waited as she rose. Sliding his feet up the mattress, he bent his knees for leverage and rocked his hips against hers.
Soon, the glides were less gentle. They slammed together, and he let go of her ass to cradle her quivering breasts. He loved looking at her this way. Loved how her features strained, loved watching the muscles of her toned thighs and belly flex as she fucked him.
When she grew breathless, he gathered her body closer and rolled, tucking her beneath him. Then he slipped his arms beneath her knees and leaned over her. With her movements restricted, he pounded against her pussy, thrusting deep and hard. Her hands fell to the pillow beneath her head, and she closed her eyes. Her head thrashed, and her breaths gusted. He was close, but he fought the urgent need to let go. He wanted her with him. Needed to watch her come apart.
He shifted his knees and gave her shorter thrusts, grinding at the end of each to rub his pubic bone and hair against her clit.
Her back arched, and her eyes widened. “Sky!”
“Yes, baby. Come now. Come with me.” He pistoned his hips, moving faster, building friction until she cried out. He gave his own shout, and although his motions slowed while he spilled inside her, he didn’t stop moving until she lay limply beneath him. Completely spent.
He released her legs and waited as she stretched them out, then he turned them on their sides. Brushing away the hair sticking to her cheeks, he cradled her face. “I love you.”
Sleepily, she blinked and smiled. But she didn’t answer.
She slept.
The next morning, Sky was seated at the small table in the kitchen area of the cabin when Reaper strode through the cabin’s open door. “Good to see you,” he said, grinning. “See you have a few souvenirs,” he said, glancing at his bandaged cheek. “Tried to tell her you weren’t hurt bad.”
At that moment, Jamie exited the bathroom and gave them both a scowl. “Bet Carly wouldn’t have found that one bit funny.”
Reaper raised his hands. “Nope. You’re right. She’d have been all over my shit if I’d said something as lame-assed as you did, buddy.”
“Traitor,” Sky said, then chuckled.
“Hey, I said ‘buddy’.” Reaper went to the sideboard and poured himself a cup of coffee. Then he took the other empty chair at the small table and winked. “Figure you’ve got a knee and would prefer that Jamie sit on it.”
Jamie poured herself a cup and settled on Sky’s knee. “So, have the guys from Kalispell arrived?”
Reaper nodded. “They’re eating breakfast in Lacey and Dagger’s cabin.”
“Mace and Taco with them?”
“Yeah. Though I hope Tessa’s feeling up to another run in the woods. We’re going to split up to cover more ground, and we have sat phones Brian sent, so we can track each other’s progress and won’t have to rely on cellphone bars. Lacey is working with Meg Henry, Wolf’s woman.”
“The Flathead County deputy?”
“Yeah, she works with Fetch’s office as a side gig now.”
“What will she and Lacey be doing?”
“Hitting every gas station and restaurant between here and the border. They’ll leave pictures of our runner and offer rewards to anyone who calls in if they give us a good lead.”
“Could get expensive,” Sky murmured.
“Yeah, well we can’t let him get to Canada, can we?” Reaper said, holding up his cup for another sip. “We can’t operate north of the border.”
“With so many working this now, our cuts are going to be miniscule,” Jamie said, wrinkling her nose.
“Brian can do the math. It won’t be an equal split. He’ll figure number of hours each hunter has spent on this clusterfuck, plus Fetch is offering a bonus to the team that brings him in.”
Sky shared a smile with Jamie. “What are we wai
ting for?”
“For her to get off your lap?” Reaper muttered. “Or should I give you guys another twenty…alone…”
“God, I love my job,” Jamie said, then fisted her hand around Sky’s collar and pulled him close for a kiss.
Chapter 7
Two days later, both teams were no closer to finding Wakley. However, on the previous night before nightfall finally had ended their hunt, Tessa picked up his scent.
For the two days they’d hunted, Mace with his dog Taco, Wolf, and Quincy had followed a direct path through the Flathead National Forest heading northward, the shortest route to Canada. On a hunch, because she figured Wakley had to be as tired as they were and might want to restock his provisions, Jamie and Tessa, along with Dagger, Reaper, and Sky shot an azimuth heading northwest, toward Eureka. Her hunch had been correct, because it was the exact direction Tessa’s nose was leading them.
Now, they closed in on the town that sat nine miles from the Canadian border. After papering Polebridge, Lacey and Meg cut due west and canvassed every gas station and restaurant in Olney, Trego, and Fortine, before arriving in Eureka. They’d also touched base with law enforcement to make sure they kept an eye out for Wakley. Often, when it came to bail jumpers, cops didn’t like the paperwork and would just as soon notify the bounty hunters where to find their skip.
After Tessa’s nose hit the dirt, Reaper and Sky soon found visual evidence along the trail that their skip was getting messy, leaving evidence behind. Food wrappers, water bottles, uncovered poop.
Jamie let the guys observe that last item and make guesstimates concerning how long ago Wakley had taken his dump.
“Oh, the glamourous life we lead,” Jamie murmured under her breath.
Big Sky Wedding: Brotherhood Protectors World Page 4
