by Mary Winter
“I won’t. Ever.” He pulled her even tighter, turning his head so that his mouth could find hers. He kissed her, long and deep, drinking from her like a starving man. To think that she could have been hurt worse—or killed—heightened the sensation of her in his arms. His tongue swept across her lower lip, drawing it into his mouth and sucking gently on it. He wanted more, knew he couldn’t have it in the middle of the camp.
A throat clearing behind him punctuated the point. “You two lovebirds done?” Domino’s voice penetrated the haze of lust fogging his mind.
Logan pulled away. “Yeah, Caid. We are for now.” He pressed a quick, hard kiss to Erika’s mouth, then leaned back. She scooted back in her seat. “Hear anything?”
“The photos have been neutralized. They didn’t get much traction online, and we were able to pull them down permanently. No traces.”
“You hope. Nothing ever dies online,” Erika said, though she sounded far calmer about it than he would have expected.
“They’re dead,” Caid assured her.
“Thanks.”
“The deputies want you at the station by 1600 hours. They want a full statement.” Caid turned his attention to Erika. “They want you to confirm that you’re planning on pressing charges.”
“They shot at me. Damn right I’m pressing charges.”
Caid grinned. “That’s what I told ‘em, but they want to hear it from you. Stay close to her, Logan. She looks like she might want to get into some trouble.” With a friendly swat to the back of Logan’s head, he went to his truck, Gull following close behind. A moment later it started up and pulled out of the parking lot.
“You ready to head into town? Want to break camp first?”
“Yes to town. No to camp. I want to come back here and finish my work. One more session, maybe two, and I’m sure I’ll have enough photos, and some at dusk will be perfect.” She slid forward in her chair and placed her lips close to his mouth. “Besides, there’s some things I want to do to you without anyone hearing us.”
“So you’re going to do it in the middle of a national forest?” Logan chuckled.
“Better than your sister hearing you shout my name when you come.” She traced a finger up his shirt. “Let’s get the business over and done with, so we can make time for pleasure. Besides, I think we probably ought to talk.”
Her words chilled his ardor, but he also knew she was right. They needed to talk. About what she’d do when her work was done here, and about how much he didn’t want her to leave.
Chapter Six
After giving her statement and confirming that she did want to fully press charges against Aaron and his father, Erika returned to her camp with Logan. She sat in her camp chair, head in her hands, fighting the feeling of being a bit shell shocked. The superficial wounds from the camera breaking already ceased to bother her. She’d peeled off some of the bandages while waiting at the police station. Logan’s split lip and bruised cheek looked worse; he claimed they didn’t hurt. Typical guy.
“I can’t believe they did that,” she said at last. “I have a backup camera, but that was my best one. They shot it!” She rolled her eyes and supposed she ought to be thankful that they hadn’t shot her directly. No, it seemed they wanted to stop the pictures. Maybe humiliate her a bit. But never kill. She couldn’t give them much credit for that. They still destroyed an expensive piece of equipment, hurt her, and hurt Logan.
Logan pulled up a chair and sat next to her. Reaching out, he held her hand, his thumb brushing along her palm. “You’re safe and I’m safe. That’s what’s important. The mustangs are safe.”
“This is what it’s like for you, isn’t it?” she asked, finally giving voice to something that had been nagging at her since the attack. “Getting shot at. The danger.”
“Yes. And it doesn’t get any easier.”
She turned and looked at him. “How do you deal with it?” She stroked his chin, delighting in the slight rasp of stubble against her fingers.
“You learn how.” Logan sighed. “I’m not sure I can explain it, but you live every moment. You cherish every moment you have. And you know that the danger isn’t the entire job.”
“Now? Since you’re with the Brotherhood Protectors? Will it still be like this?”
He smiled and smoothed his finger across her lower lip. “It might be. There have been missions with more danger. I won’t lie to you, Erika. What I will say is that I want you to stay here with me, to know that you’re coming back to me when you go on assignment, and I’ll do the same. And I will do my damnedest to get back to you safe and sound each and every time.”
He leaned forward and kissed her. His words stole her breath; his kiss took her heart. His mouth swept across hers, sealing his words with the promise of his love. He pulled back and drew a breath. “I love you, Erika. I think I have since we first met. I know I couldn’t stop thinking about you. Will you make Montana your base? Will you make a home with me?”
It wasn’t a marriage proposal, and she didn’t think she could handle one of those right now anyway. “Yes,” she replied. “Yes.” She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and pulled him towards her. This time, she initiated the kiss, moving her lips over his. She darted her tongue across his mouth, yearning to taste him. Logan’s arms closed around her. He leaned back, pulling her off the chair and onto the ground, straddling him.
She rubbed against him, the friction of denim against denim stoking fire deep inside her. She planted her hands on his chest, letting him take her weight against the hard ground. He could handle it. She leaned forward and nuzzled his neck. He tasted of salt and woods, a heady combination that went straight to her pussy. Her nipples hardened where they brushed against his chest, and she rocked her hips against his.
He moaned. “Shouldn’t we go to the tent?” He nibbled along her jaw.
She shuddered. Thinking about the tent, with the camera that Logan had found seemed confining. And yet, she understood his caution. The new air mattress would be so much more comfortable, for both of them. She wiggled off of him. “Sure.” She tried to sound more positive.
“Hey, I’ll keep you safe.” He sat up, brushed a kiss across her knuckles, then stood and went to the tent. A few moments later he emerged, presumably after doing a security sweep. “All clear.” He held out his hand. “Come to me. Love me.”
How could she resist? She stood, watching him strip off his shirt and toss it inside the tent, holding the flap open for her as she entered. He zipped it closed, and they both removed their shoes right by the door. Her shirt and jeans followed, socks next. Leaving her bra and panties on, she crawled to the air mattress and lay down, watching as he stripped out of his clothes. He tossed a couple of condoms next to the air mattress and then naked, came to her.
She drew a breath at his masculine magnificence. From his muscled legs and thighs, to his ripped abs and flat pectorals, to the determined set of his jaw and the hungry look in his eyes, he epitomized a ready for action male. His erect cock stood at attention, balls full and heavy beneath. A drop of fluid emerged from the tip. He eased himself down onto the mattress next to her, and it took all her will power not to wrap herself around him and never let go. Instead, she grabbed a condom, tore open the foil packet, but left it sitting near her pillow. Then she rolled forward, put a palm on his chest, and pushed him down to the mattress.
“You’re perfect. You know that?” She rained kisses over his jaw and neck, moving lower to his chest. He tried to change positions, to put her on her back. She shook her head and pushed on his chest again. “Let me explore you.”
She grazed her teeth across his nipple. He arched beneath her, whispering her name on a ragged breath. When she did it again, he cupped the back of her head, to hold her mouth to him. She moved lower, tracing his sculpted abs with her tongue, then lower, until she could breathe a warm breath across his cock. “This is mine,” she whispered. She licked his tip, tasting his salty essence. Cupping him, she stroked from base to t
ip. “All mine.” She sucked him into her mouth and licked her way to his base. She worked along his length, reaching between his legs to fondle his balls.
Her pussy grew wet, and she wanted to flip over and let him have his way with her. Not yet. First, she wanted to drive him crazy, and from the guttural noises that he made, she was accomplishing her goal. She rubbed against him, loving the way he reached for her and stroked her back and rear.
“Please. I must be inside you.” He pushed against her and she allowed herself to be moved.
“I want you inside me.” She reached for the condom, pulled it out of its package and sheathed him, then rolled onto her back. “Now and forever.” She held out her arms to him. Willingly, he moved into them, bracing his weight on his arms. Just as she did to him, he nuzzled her neck and shoulders, then lower until he brushed kisses across the top of her breasts.
His warm breath teased her. Arching her back, she offered her breasts to him and he took one nipple into his mouth, sucking gently. She speared her fingers through his short hair, her other hand holding onto his broad muscled shoulder. She needed this. She needed to feel loved, cared for, that Logan could protect her from the too harsh reality of the world.
“I love you.” She kissed his chest, peppering it with love bites.
He smiled against her flesh. “I love you, too. You got inside me and wouldn’t let go.” He moved lower until his shoulders pushed her thighs wider. “And let me show you just how much.” His warm breath against her pussy made her moan. The first touch of his tongue to her pulled a cry from her, one she bit back though she figured no one could hear. He found her clit and sucked gently.
She reached for him, holding onto his shoulders to find some support as a maelstrom of desire and need spiraled through her. She let her thighs fall open wider, arching her hips to bring him into even more intimate contact with her. Please. She whispered the cry in her mind, not sure if she said it aloud. It didn’t matter because Logan was in sync with her, so much so that he slid first one, then a second finger into her soaked passage. He thrust gently.
Her need for a release built. Muscles drew taut, striving for something that seemed elusively out of reach. Here in this tent, surrounded by Mother Nature and little else, she relished the intimate moment as she gave herself over to him. I love you. Again, uncertain as to whether she spoke or not, it didn’t matter. She’d already told him. He’d replied, and together they showed their love for each other.
Her orgasm came hard and fast, slamming through her like a stampede of mustangs. She cried out, hips bucking beneath him as pleasure coursed through her body. Her panting breaths echoed in the tent, as did his, and when he crawled over her body, his erect cock nudged her thighs, hard and insistent. She wanted him inside her. Reaching between them, she cupped him, stroking his length and guiding him to her, until he pressed against her opening.
“Yes,” she said, capturing his gaze with her own. To this moment, to forever…she wasn’t quite sure to what she was agreeing and it didn’t matter because she wanted it all. “I need you.” Desire made her words a growl.
“And I need you.” He claimed her lips in a hard, bruising kiss and flexed his hips, driving forward to fill her in a single thrust. She hooked her ankles around his legs and clung to his shoulders. Moving with him, she poured her heart and soul into making love with him. Each thrust pushed her closer to the peak, made her feel as if they were perfect for each other. And when she finally came, it was with a joyous cry and she grinned against his chest as he followed her into release.
He collapsed on her, careful to still support his weight on his arms as they came down from that high together. As her breathing eased, and she heard his racing heart slow to a more even rhythm, he rolled to the side pulling her with him. They lay there, snuggled together, and all she could think about was how this one assignment had changed her life. She’d come here to take pictures of the horses, do a fundraiser for her friends. Instead, she’d been rescued, and in turn, the horses had been too.
~ * * *~
Two months later…
Erika turned away from staring out the window over the kitchen sink in their new ranch house, just a few miles down the road from his sister’s place. She grinned at Logan. He’d just come in from the barn he was rebuilding, all sweaty and dusty from putting up stall panels. His shirt clung to his skin, as did his well-worn jeans. She drank in the sight of him. “They love it!” She’d just hung up with Jay and Cody at 2 Hearts Rescue in Wyoming. “They loved the calendar.”
Logan enfolded her in a hug. “Of course they would, sweetheart. You do beautiful work. Have you heard back yet from the resort?”
She nodded against his chest. “I’ll start shooting next week. Then we’re going camping in Yellowstone for our honeymoon, right? A working vacation?”
“Of course. I couldn’t think of anything else I’d like to do.”
“Anything?” She leaned back and teased him with a glint in her eyes.
“Well. I can think of a few things.” He lifted her onto the kitchen counters. “How soon did you tell my sister you’d help with the barbecue?”
She laughed and hugged him. “We have plenty of time.” She captured his mouth in a hard, hungry kiss. And they were only a few minutes late for his sister’s party.
About The Author
Mary lives in the Ozarks on a homestead with her spoiled horses, a flock of highly entertaining chickens, a not-so-itty-bitty-kitty-committee, and her husband. Her first published novel, Ghost Touch, was released in December 2002–back when you had to explain to people what an eBook was. Since then she’s written more than the fifty novels/novellas in multiple genres of romance under a few pen names, as well as nonfiction books under yet another pen name.
In addition, she runs Unscramblet Author Solutions, helping authors unscramble their websites and newsletters. Learn more at http://unscramblet.com
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