A bubbly euphoria filled her. She was having fun. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d been this carefree.
Holt rode for a mile or so before he turned to go back. He slowed as they got to the cabin. “I’ll let you off here. I’ll take care of the horse. We’re due at your fathers’ for dinner at seven.”
“When did they call?”
“Gray called them before he left. He thought you might like to see your family. It’ll give you a break from being with only me.”
She stared after him as he rode to the barn. She did want to see her family, but she also wondered what she and Holt would have done all evening alone at the cabin.
Her pussy clenched and ached for attention. A pulse of need and want beat deep inside. Nat hurried in and got into a cold shower. She’d better cool it or her parents would know something was going on.
The bathroom door opened. Holt stepped in. He was naked. His tall, tanned, well-muscled body took her breath away. His cock pointed out toward her, full and hard. She gulped as he ripped open a condom and rolled it on his dick.
“Gray might be willing to take his time and court you, but I’ve been hard as rock since I first saw you. And I’m not a patient man.” He moved into the shower with her. She backed up against the tile wall. “Put your arms around my neck.”
She told herself to scream and order him out of her bathroom. But at the same time her arms wrapped tight around his neck. He pulled her legs up around his waist and put his mouth tight over her lips. Then Holt plunged into her tight, wet pussy. Her inner walls rippled around his cock. He pushed harder and slid in all the way. She clenched and unclenched around his wide cock sending a sizzle of electricity straight up her spine to her pleasure center.
He pulled back from her mouth and growled. “You’re mine and Gray’s, and I’m going to make love to you so often you’ll feel me when I’m not here.”
“And what if I say no?” She tried to sound defiant.
“You won’t.” He pumped into her fast and hard. She pushed down harder, trying to get even closer, and she wiggled and moved herself up and down.
“Stay still.” He held her tight and stared into her eyes. His had darkened with desire. Her pussy pulsed around him as he slowly began to move in and out, never losing eye contact. A flood of emotion started at her feet and rose until she thought she’d drown. Then he kissed her, his tongue leisurely exploring all the crevices of her mouth. She opened herself to him and spun into the breathless sparkling air. He quickly speeded his movements and followed her with a shout of victory and completion.
Neither moved. He held her as they both gasped for breath and the reality of the cold shower returned. He reached for the faucet and warmed the water cascading down their bodies. Holt let her legs down and picked up a bar of soap. Gently he washed her body. When they got out, he wrapped her in a big towel and carried her to bed.
Holt glanced at the bedside clock. “We have one hour before dinner. Plenty of time for hors d’oeuvres.”
This time he kissed her slow and deep. Then his lips explored the sensitive spot behind her ear and the place where her heart pulsed against her neck. He lowered himself to eye level with her lush breasts. She moaned when he held them in his callused hands. His teeth raked across her pebbled nipples.
Farther down, he kissed her abdomen. She shivered in response to the overload of feelings crashing through her, heat, hunger, an ache, all mixed with a quiet comfort. Confusing, yet she didn’t want him to stop. She might regret this later, but she didn’t now.
He pulled her legs wide, spread her lower lips, and sucked on her nub. Her hips rose off the bed as she screamed his name. Moisture flowed out of her pussy. He licked along her lower lips.
“Ambrosia.” His tongue darted inside her opening.
“Take me.” She held onto his thick, overlong brown hair. “I want to feel you inside me.”
He rolled her and she sat on top of him. “Then take me inside.” He handed her a condom from the top of the bedside table.
Her hands shook so much she didn’t know if she could get it on him, but she did. Then she placed the top of his cock at her opening and slid slowly down. When he groaned, she smiled.
He placed his hard hands at her waist and raised her up and down. She moved fast then slow. Her insides shook with spasms of ravenous craving. She’d never had this intense of an experience. It both thrilled and frightened her. She expected at any moment to explode into tiny points of bliss.
His hands covered her breasts, and his fingers pinched her nipples as he pushed deep inside her one more time. She melted into his arms. His cock pulsed with its own beat against her oversensitive inner walls as Holt took her one step higher and reached his orgasm.
She rolled off him and lay panting for air. Her heart pounded, and her pussy still pulsed, sending slow ripples of throbbing delight to every nerve.
Nat moved her head and watched his chest rise and fall as he caught his breath. She studied his beautiful body and his austere face surrounded by dark, shiny brown hair. He was darkness and shadows as enticing as the lighter, sunnier Gray, two opposites that tempted her.
He lay on his side to face her. His fingers traced her face, across her lips, and down between her breast.
“Go shower and dress. We have to leave in ten minutes.” In one smooth move he was off the bed and out the door. She didn’t like the abrupt ending, but what had she expected or wanted?
She sat on the side of the bed for a minute and wondered if she imagined his demanding hunger for her. But no, she had sore muscles she hadn’t used in a long time. And he was no mirage. Next time she wasn’t going to give in so easily.
* * * *
Holt sat beside Natalie at dinner. He liked listening to the casual banter around the table. Boyd and his half brother, Nick, teased and talked about the day and what they planned for tomorrow. Nick was flying back to college for the summer term. May and her two husbands smiled at their conversation.
Natalie sat quietly at his side and appeared deep in thought. He knew he’d confused her by his sudden withdrawal after their session in her bed. He didn’t know how to explain the uneasiness that swept over him.
He’d only loved once before. That time he’d been betrayed. Letting down walls and being vulnerable wasn’t something he normally did. He was strongly attracted to Natalie and wanted to marry her, but he didn’t want to be the one to lose control. He always kept a portion of himself cut off from others.
Today, his control slipped when she was wrapped around his body, and he was deep in her hot pussy. He’d allowed her closer than anyone. It shook him. He had to put space between them. He needed time to think.
“Holt, you’re very quiet tonight. Are you worried about Nat’s case?” May asked.
“No. We’ll find the real murderer. Sorry, my thoughts were wandering.”
“Oh, that’s fine. I thought maybe you didn’t like my chicken.” The whole table laughed at her comment. May was known for her excellence in the kitchen.
His phone rang and saved him from further explanations. “Sorry, I have to take this.” Holt stepped into the next room.
“What’s up, Gray?
“You and Nat better fly out early tomorrow. I’ve talked to Jake. He’ll fly you. Meet him at the airport at seven. I have to have Nat at the police station by three. They found the gun that shot Tom.”
“Where?”
“Hidden in the back of her closet.”
“Damn, she’s being set up.”
“Yeah, and you need to find out by whom very quickly. We already have a good idea.”
All eyes were on Holt when he came back to the table. He told them what Gray had reported. Tears slid down Natalie’s face.
“I didn’t do it. That gun was for my protection. I never thought about it because I knew I hadn’t killed Tom.”
“Do you check it often to be certain it’s still there?”
“The last time was about three weeks before To
m’s death. It was in the same spot.”
“Who else knew you had the gun and where you stored it?”
“Only Tom as far as I know. I guess he might have told someone.”
“I’m going with you two tomorrow,” her father Angus said. “They’re going to charge her. They have vital evidence now. But they’re also going to know who she has supporting her.”
Tim McCloud nodded. “I’ll handle things here.”
“Well, I’m going, too,” May added.
Nat eyes filled with tears. “You are all so wonderful to me. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”
No one wanted any more to eat. They went in the living room and settled in chairs, the sofa, and a rocker.
“If she’s given bail, we’ll pay whatever it is. Have Gray ask them to allow her to stay here in Triple Dare while awaiting trial,” her father said.
“They’ll ask for a large amount,” Holt warned.
“We can afford it,” Tim MacCloud added.
“I’d pay it myself, but I have to keep my investigator persona separate from my private life or they’ll disregard any evidence I find.”
Natalie looked around at his comment.
“Good. I don’t want to be beholden to you.”
“Nat!” May frowned at her. “You were rude to Mr. Ramm. He’s trying to help you.”
“It’s all right, and please call me Holt. She’s rightfully upset and in shock from this new turn of events. I think we’d better leave. We need to get a good night’s sleep and be ready for whatever happens tomorrow.” Holt walked to her chair, and Natalie stood.
Her family gathered round and hugged her, and then Holt put his hand at the curve of her back and escorted her out. They didn’t talk on the way home. She kept her face turned to the window. Once inside the house, Holt put his hand on her arm to keep her from going directly to her room.
“We can’t go back to the city with this animosity between us. Do you want me to apologize for this afternoon?”
“Which part, coming into my bathroom and seducing me or later when you acted like you didn’t want to remember what happened between us?”
* * * *
“I won’t apologize for making love to you, but—” He hesitated. He had difficulty explaining his actions to people. This time he’d better try.
“If I feel too intimate with someone, I withdraw. You got way too close and around my guard.”
Her beautiful, golden-brown eyes studied his face intently. She nodded her head and walked down the hall, disappearing into her bedroom.
He wasn’t good at explanations. That one would have to do for now. He climbed up the stairs to the loft, stripped, and climbed in between the cool sheets.
Holt wasn’t sure what woke him. It was still dark outside. His clock said two. He got out of bed, pulled on pajama bottoms, and tiptoed downstairs to the hallway.
The noise was coming from Natalie’s room. Without making a sound, he opened the door. She lay on her side, facing the window. Soft sniffles and an occasional hiccup shook her body. He moved closer trying to determine if she was asleep or awake.
Her eyes were closed. He lifted the blanket side and slid into her bed. Holt pulled her body snug against his front. His cock had already come to attention.
No playing tonight. Comfort is what she needs. I’m glad I put on these pajamas or it really would be torture.
She wriggled her body closer to him, sighed, and settled into a deep sleep. Holt doubted he’d sleep at all, but he’d enjoy his hips being against her sweet ass and the touch of her soft skin against his bare chest. Her sultry scent teased his nostrils. Heaven and hell, but he’d behave, this time.
Chapter Seven
Natalie woke snuggled against a warm, male body. Her heart jumped into overdrive. She knew his particular scent already. Last she remembered she had cried and cried until her eyelids drooped and she fell into sleep. How did he get here?
Carefully, trying to not wake him, she turned on her back. His arm kept a tight hold on her around her waist. Pale light shone around the window curtains. The clock said five. They had to hurry.
“Holt, wake up. We have to get ready and leave.”
He came instantly awake. His clear, blue eyes looked deep into hers. “I must trust you or I’d have been awake the second you moved.” He sat up and ran a hand through his unruly hair.
“Throw some things in your overnight bag. We have to be on our way in thirty minutes, and then we may be late.” Holt took long strides across the room and out.
There’d been no time to ask how he’d ended up in her bed. It didn’t matter. She’d been warm, and safe, and had slept the best since all this started.
She took a quick shower, put on light makeup, black slacks, a silver-gray silk blouse, and low black heels then pulled her hair into a bun. The last touch was to add simple gold jewelry. Nat studied her reflection in the mirror. She appeared dignified and composed although nerves were jumping in her stomach.
“Ready?” Holt stuck his head in the door. “I like the way you look. Good choice.”
Having him compliment her warmed her cold body. He took her case, and they hurried to the car. Holt drove fast but competently. The roads were empty this early, and they made good time. Jake was warming the engines and doing his checks when they got onboard. Soon afterwards they were flying through fluffy white clouds and blue skies.
Gray met them at the airport. “You’ve made good time.”
“The pilot said we had a tailwind,” Natalie said.
Holt grinned at Gray over her head. “She’s a white-knuckle flyer in little planes.”
“Jake’s one of the best. He helped train me,” Gray said.
“You fly?” Nat asked as they walked to the car.
“Took lessons and have quite a bit of experience. I’m going to buy my own plane when I settle at the ranch.” Gray opened the door for Nat. She got in, and Holt pushed her to the middle then got in beside her.
“There’s plenty of room in the back for one of us.” She challenged him.
His lips quirked up in a half smile. “Yep, there is.” But he didn’t move.
“Humph!”
Gray and Holt both grinned as Gray started the car. “Are you two hungry? We have some time before we have to be at the station.”
“We didn’t eat earlier,” Holt said.
Gray drove to a small, quiet restaurant. Nat thought she might throw up if she ate, but Gray urged her to try. “They will possibly arrest you today. Your dad and May are arriving on a regular flight in thirty minutes. We’ll ask for bail to get you out as quick as possible. But I don’t know when you’ll get to eat. You don’t want to appear faint and weak.”
She agreed to soup and crackers and got most of it down. Her body did feel stronger afterwards.
When they arrived at the police station, her father and May were waiting in the lobby. They hugged her.
“We’ll be right here. Gray will let us know what’s happening,” her dad reassured her.
Detectives Castor and Anderson came to the front to escort Natalie and Gray back. They wore broad smiles, which hiked Nat’s fear level higher. She took a deep, calming breath. Gray kept his hand on her back.
Detective Castor motioned her into the gray, square, cold room where they’d questioned her before. She sat in a metal chair, and Gray sat in one beside her. Anderson sprawled in the chair opposite her. Castor stood. His red hair shone like a warning beacon in the light from the single overhead light bulb.
Anderson put a gun on the table. “This look familiar?”
“I have a gun that looks similar to that one, as I’m sure many people do.”
“Ah, but this one had only your fingerprints. Although it was obvious you’d tried to wipe them off. We found one partial good enough to identify you. This gun shot the bullet we found in your husband’s heart.”
“I did not kill Tom. The last time I checked my gun was weeks ago.”
“So someone
broke in, stole your gun, killed your husband, and put the gun back without your knowing anything about it? Is that your story?” Castor asked.
“My client has answered your questions truthfully. She will not answer sarcasm.”
“Then she can explain it all to a jury about the gun and the comment she made about killing her husband. We’re charging her with the murder of Tom Newlyn,” Anderson said.
Nat heard the words, but all the rest became a jumble in her mind. The cold handcuffs, the satisfied smirks on the detectives’ faces when Anderson mentioned she’d threatened Tom. Gray was her one solid support in a world gone crazy.
“Go with them.” He held onto her cold arms with his warm hands. “I’ll ask for a hearing with the judge first thing in the morning.”
She nodded and reluctantly left his side when the policewoman came to the door and motioned for Nat to come with her. Nat’s body trembled with fear of the unknown. She went through processing and was held in a cell alone. She couldn’t eat dinner. The one blanket didn’t stop her shivers.
It was a long, cold, and scary night. Nat thought about the previous evening when Holt had held her snug against his warm body. She’d give anything to be back at the cabin with him. She didn’t sleep but kept her eyes open and jumped at every noise.
By ten the next morning, she was back in court. Gray took her arm and sat her in a chair by him. Thank goodness he didn’t ask how she was. She’d have broken down.
They rose when the judge entered the courtroom. Once seated, Nat glanced over her shoulder and saw her dad, May, and Boyd sitting a few rows back.
The case was called, and the prosecution and defense said why she shouldn’t or should receive bail.
“Judge, her father and family are here today, Mr. MacCloud and his wife, and her brother, Boyd. They’re from South Dakota. They’ll pay any bail you set and would like to take her back to South Dakota until she needs to return. We had her back yesterday in time for her appointment at the police station.”
Possessive Protectors [Triple Dare County, South Dakota 1] (Siren Publishing Everlasting Polyromance) Page 6
