It was fascinating to watch them in action and Madison could not take her eyes of Logan. He took his shirt off and stood on the one side dousing the fire with the high–powered spray pipe in his hand. The muscles in his arms and back bulged and she literally drooled. He gave her strict instructions not to move from the helicopter and to stay out of the way. Of course her immediate reaction was to insist on helping.
Logan took her chin in his hand and looked deep into her eyes and growled sternly, “No Wildcat, I don’t want you to get hurt,” before he kissed her hard on the mouth. Her resolve melted immediately and she relented.
With everything that happened since they came back from Houston, they have not been together intimately again and her body craved his. In a short period his touch, his command and possession of her body has become like a drug and her loins pulsed constantly in need. If the problems didn’t let up, she was likely to jump his bones the next time they were in a secluded spot.
“So Maddy. Are you sorry you took this job, yet?”
Shane walked up next to her and she glanced at him with a wide smile.
“Never. This is so much better than the same boring routines piloting Boeings for an Airline.”
He stood wiping his hands with a rug already dirty from oil and sighed while watching Logan in the midst of the extinguishing operation.
“I wish he would just take a break. He is dead tired. I don’t know how he still manages to stand upright and fight the fire. He does not stop until the end. No one else keeps going; everyone takes a break, even me.”
He swiped the rug behind his neck and sat down next to her in the open door of the chopper. There was not much space so they sat very close, but somehow Madison did not feel uncomfortable.
“Have you been able to ascertain what caused all these fires? There has been one nearly every day since we came back from Houston. It seems as if they are getting bigger too.”
Shane’s face tightened and he looked around. He shook his head.
“No, with going from the one to the other, we have not had the time to start a proper investigation. Our safety and environmental team has already started, but Logan is the one that usually finds the anomalies, the triggers of these fires.”
“Do you suspect arson or sabotage?”
“The thought has crossed our mind, yes. It is just too much of a coincidence that a fire flares up a day or two apart on various sites.”
He took a swig of water and stood up. “I am going to try and see if I can get Logan to take a break. He has not had wet or dry over his lips since last night.”
She watched Logan shook his head at Shane and moved over to hit the fire from a different angle. Shane looked at her and said something to Logan again and his head swung her way, a vicious look on his face. He literally threw the hose at Shane and stomped in her direction. She stood up slowly, worrying her lip with her teeth. What the devil did Shane tell him to anger him so much?
He reached her and stood in front of her with his hands on his hips. His eyes were as green as the clearest emerald and glittered with anger.
“Miss Phillips, let me make one thing very clear. You are employed to pilot me around, and await further instructions whilst I am busy - unnoticed! You do not flirt and drool over the damn half naked riggers and fire fighters!”
She glared at Shane, who stood laughing his head off, but he gave her thumbs up and she realize why he did it. At least he got Logan to take a break.
“Well, Mr. Dalton sir, I tried, I really tried … until you took your shirt off. That’s when the drooling started!”
She reached out and trailed her finger down the center of his chest, following a rivulet of sweat running down his body to dissolve into his pants. Her finger however, did not stop at his pants; it carried over his belt to lightly run down his zipper that suddenly became hard with his arousal. He groaned and sucked in his breath. Her eyes that followed the path of her hand now rose and met his again.
He reached out and gripped her behind her neck and slowly pulled her closer until she was flush against his sweaty chest. She didn’t complain, rather her hands flattened over his nipples which hardened immediately, causing her own to shrivel into tight nubs.
“Your timing sucks, Wildcat!”
He lowered his head and his mouth met hers in a slow, deep and passionately tender kiss. He explored her mouth slowly and swirled his tongue along her teeth and the insides of her cheeks before their tongues sparred in a passionate dance. She shivered as desire flushed her body and she was on fire from the intensity of the tender kiss. She moaned into his mouth and her hands curled over his muscled biceps.
The cheering and whistles from the riggers penetrated their minds and Logan ended the kiss at his leisure, ignoring their catcalls. The look in his eyes promised more and she smiled, her voice husky and it warmed his heart.
“I miss you, Babe! I need you badly!”
He laughed at her urgency and open need and hugged her tight.
“Not as much as I, my Wildcat. Not as much as I!”
Yet it was not meant to be. For reasons no one could explain as yet, the fire then spread to the Petrobel-run platform where it continued to rage for over a week before they managed to get it under control. More than one hundred and eighty workers were evacuated with no casualties, due in part to Logan ceasing all production activities as a precautionary measure.
At least Madison got to be part of the solution, albeit under furious disapproval from Logan. She flew over the raging fire at a safe height and two riggers dumped the Purple K Chemical powder from above. They hoped it would assist to reduce the ferocity of the fire, combined with the high-powered spray from the below.
The first try was a disaster. The wind thrush from the blades was too strong and only a minimal amount of the chemical reached their aim. The riggers got very excited as even that showed a small reduction in the strength of the flame.
“Okay, guys. You need to strap yourselves in properly. I am going to fly in as low as I can, I’ll tell you when to tip the kegs and this is where it gets tricky and you have to promise me you will hold on tight! At that point I am going to break sharp at a ninety degree angle and back to pull the air thrush from the blades away from the powder.”
“Jeez … ninety degrees! Are you sure, Miss? Logan will kill us if something happens to you.”
“Don’t worry about me. Just make sure you are strapped in tight.”
They scurried about and she took a look to check if she was happy with the way they strapped them in.
“Okay guys, here we go! I will tell you when to tip.”
The helicopter was powerful yet very easy to control which was why Madison was confident she would be able to pull off the slightly dangerous maneuver. She chose not to think about what Logan would say … or do once she got back on the ground.
Logan froze and his eyes glittered at the helicopter that edged closer to the top of the flames.
“Hot damn, Logan! What is she doing?”
Logan’s lips were pressed in a straight line and his jaw was rigid. The hose in his hand still aimed on the fire, but his eyes were on the chopper. A tight band squeezed around his chest the closer the chopper edged to the fire and then hovered within meters from the reaching flames. He noticed the two riggers with smoke masks and strapped in tightly on the side of the gaping door, which was removed to allow space for them to dump the Powder. They hesitated for a few seconds and then quickly tipped the keg and the moment the last of the powder spilled out, the chopper broke away at literally a ninety degree angle and his heart stopped.
“Holy shit!”
They stared at the black smoke wall behind which the chopper dropped away and Logan cursed, when there was no sign of the chopper anywhere. He didn’t even register when the riggers cheered at the obvious success achieved. The flames were less vicious and the fire seemed to have reduced to half its size.
He sighed in relief when the chopper appeared behind the black smoke scre
en again and then a vicious curse thundered in the air when she repeated the same maneuver. He held his breath as she positioned the chopper at the hovering height and then shouted her name when he noticed a sudden spurt of fire shooting straight up, reaching for the chopper.
Madison screamed at the riggers to hold on the moment she noticed the spurt of fire spiraling towards them. She pressed the throttle to increase the speed and pushed the cyclic down to drop the nose and controlled the rudders carefully but quickly to move forward at the ninety degree angle with the nose pointing to the ground, narrowly avoiding the fire shoot. The chopper shuddered and started to sputter as it went into an effective translational drop. She reduced the collective lever and applied less pressure to the pedal and pushed the cyclic backwards to slowly level out the nose and reduced the speed.
As soon as she had the chopper in a level position, she let it hover to catch her breath and said a quick thank you prayer. She looked back at the riggers who sat straight on the back seats, their faces frozen in shock.
“Are you guys, okay?”
They nodded. “Jeez, Miss. That was some major hectic moves you just did! When I saw that fire shoot I froze, I didn’t even think. How you manage to react so quickly I’ll never know!”
“I’m just glad we’re all okay. Are you ready to try again?”
“Yip … let’s give this sucker off a fire the boot!”
Logan cursed non-stop when she moved the chopper in position over the fire again. This time the maneuver was completed smoothly and the fire was reduced to such an extent that the fire fighters managed to rapidly reduce the fire intensity by the time Madison landed the chopper.
Chapter Nine
Shane pulled her in a bear hug the moment she put her feet on the ground.
“Maddy, you are one crazy woman! You nearly caused us all a heart attack! I’ve never seen anything like this in my life! Are you okay?”
“I’m fine.”
She wiped a tired and trembling hand over her eyes. The shock of their near death experience only hit home now. Her legs started trembling as well and she felt them give way. Shane caught her as she started crumbling against him, noticing her searching eyes.
“Aaah Madison, you should have realized he would be livid. He can’t be near you now, he is absolutely furious with you.”
She tried to stand, but her legs would not hold her and she started shivering. Shane cursed and picked her up in his arms.
“Give her to me!”
Shane turned and Logan took her in his arms. He didn’t even as much as glanced down at her, but jogged towards the doctor’s rooms on the premises, Shane close on his heels. He laid her on the bed with more care than he felt, he was that furious with her. The attending doctor hovered behind him and cleared his throat.
“Logan, my boy, if you want me to see to her, you need to move out of the way.”
He grunted and moved to stand at the bottom of the bed. Doc Baron has been with Dalton Oil for over thirty years and never thought he would ever see the formidable CEO of the company in such a spin over a woman.
“I need to examine her properly, which means I need to remove her suit, so please clear the room, boys.”
Logan’s eyes did not leave Madison’s pale face where she was lying on the bed with her eyes closed, her whole body trembling.
“Shane, get out.”
Shane lifted his eyebrows and laughed when Doc Baron looked at Logan with a frown, his intention to remain very clear with the instruction to Shane.
“Forget it Doc. I’m not leaving and it is not as if I would see something I haven’t already.”
“Hot damn! Good for you big bro!”
“Logan!”
Madison moaned in embarrassment and her eyes opened and clashed with his. Even through his concern she recognized the deep fury he barely kept under control.
Doc Baron just shook his head and looked questioningly at Madison.
“Do you want him to stay, Miss?”
“Forget it Doc, I am not going anywhere, no matter what she says!” He glared at her, daring her to oppose him in this.
“It is fine, Doc. He can stay.” Hopefully that would reduce his anger somewhat, but she was not too hopeful.
“Sit up then, Miss. Let’s get this suit off.”
“No, I’ll do it!”
Doc Baron looked at the young man in amazement, recognizing the possessiveness over the woman on the bed. He lifted his hands and stood back. He shook his head at the tenderness with which Logan pulled the pilot suit down to her hips and to glare back at him; annoyed at the wisp of see thru lace that covered her breasts.
“Far enough, Doc?”
Richard Baron bit the insides of his lip to stop from laughing. The tone of the question dared him to request it be pulled down lower and he responded in a dry voice.
“I suppose it will have to be.”
He took his stethoscope and quickly listened to her lungs, asking her to breathe deeply. He checked her blood pressure, eyes and ears and a quick abdomen check as well. He walked around the bed and fetched an oxygen mask and placed it over her nose and mouth.
“Miss, I need you to breathe in deeply. You took in a lot of black smoke up there and we need to get the oxygen through your lungs to clear it.”
Next he dropped some eye drops in her eyes and fetched a syringe he filled with a mild sedative. He dabbed her arm and she moaned softly.
“Do you have to Doc? I don’t like needles!”
Logan walked around to the other side of the bed and leaned over, drawing her face to his, took her hand and pushed the mask off her face.
“It’s okay, Wildcat. He does injections quite well.”
His head lowered and he kissed her slowly and with no concern to the smiling Doc Baron, deepened the kiss, easily gaining entrance to take command of her mouth.
Doc Baron shook his head and threw the syringe in the refuse container. Madison not even realizing he was done already. He filled two sachets with some pain tablets and mild sedatives in case she might need it and waited patiently for the two lovers to end their kiss. When Logan eventually lifted his head, he cleared his throat and instructed him to replace the oxygen mask.
“It is a mobile oxygen mask unit, so you have to keep it on for another three hours at least. It was only a mild sedative I gave you, but it should make you sleep so your body can rest properly. Here are some pain tablets and a mild sedative, if you need it. You might experience a bit of pressure on your chest, which is the reason for the pain tablets.”
“May I take her home, Doc?”
“Yes, but it is very important that she rest properly for at least another day or two.”
Logan nodded, stuffed the sachets in his pocket, quickly pulled her suit back on and picked Madison up in his arms. He carried her to the chopper and shouted for Shane.
“Logan, please put me down. I’ll be fine.”
“No, you heard, Doc. You need to rest.” He looked into her eyes and she sighed when she noticed the anger still lurking in his.
“Do not for one moment think we are not going to discuss your reckless and irresponsible behavior, Madison. Doc has offered you a respite for a day. You will be taken to task and I will wait until I am sure your body is strong enough to survive it!”
The fury flashed in his eyes and he ground the threat out through clenched teeth and she shivered.
“Wha … what are you going to do to me?”
Shane arrived at that point preventing any further exploration into his threat. Her throat closed in fear. Logan pointed his head at the chopper, which she noticed in passing had the door fitted back on as Shane climbed into the back. He handed her carefully into Shane’s arms and he sat back with her on his lap. She struggled to sit up, but Shane’s arms tightened around her and Logan glared at her.
“This is ridiculous. I can lie on the seat if you want me to. I don’t have to be cuddled all the way home.”
“What you should get is a God d
amn hiding! Now keep still, before you drive me to clobber my own brother for getting a forced arousal from all your wriggling!”
Shane burst out laughing and begged jokingly for her to stop, but her struggles already ceased the moment the words left his mouth. They glared at each other and Logan choked on the words, but he said them anyway, knowing he was admitting something to her and his brother he was not ready to even admit to himself.
“If you know how damn hard it was for me to put you in his arms when I want to be the one to hold you all the way home, you will not fight me on this, Madison.”
She nodded and relaxed against Shane and smiled at his relieved sigh. He waited until Logan closed the door and walked around the chopper to pilot them home before he said: “I would never have thought to see the day! You have brought out the first sign of softness in him and it nearly choked him to say it. Relax, Maddy. I know you are his and you are safe with me.”
“Do you know how he intends to punish me?”
“No idea. He has never reacted to any woman he does to you. You scared the hell out of him when that flame shot towards you. If you were on the ground then, he probably would have given you a hiding so you would not have been able to sit for a month. Now, giving him time to think, and knowing how he does things, it will probably be something that would really cause you to suffer.”
“Thanks so much for putting my mind at ease!” Shane chuckled at her sarcasm. Logan got in and they were in the air in no time. Madison fell asleep within minutes.
“How is she?”
“Sleeping. You should not be too hard on her, big bro. If not for what Donald, Ryan and she did, we would still be hosing that fire.”
“I’m well aware of that, Shane.”
“You can’t deny that those maneuvers were something you only see in movies. My heart nearly split in two when she dropped the choppers’ nose and missed that flame by a hair breath.”
“Yes, Shane. I was against her doing it in the first place! She was not appointed to perform tricks such as that! She could just as easily have been killed!”
The Wildcat that Tamed the Tycoon Page 9
