by Mary Winter
“God, yes.” He scissored up, pulling her with him as he nuzzled her soft skin. She smelled of a spicy musk; no flowers for his Shay. He grinned against her skin.
She cupped his head, her fingers sliding through his hair as she held him to her. Arching her back, she pressed her breasts against his face. When at last he turned his head and drew a nipple into his mouth, she cried out. The sound echoed on the walls, and he was thankful she had several hundred acres. At some point today, tonight, he was going to make her scream.
He rolled her nipple with the tip of his tongue, moving it back and forth until her cries grew and she rocked her hips against him. He skimmed his fingers over her stomach, thinking she felt too gaunt. He unhooked the button on her jeans before slowly drawing down the zipper.
She tugged eagerly at his shirt, until he paused to pull it over his head. Her fingers moved over his chest, his arms, as if she wanted to find every bit of his masculine topography with her touch. Part of him longed to lean back and let her have her way, but he was too hungry and too aroused to stop. Instead, he shifted, rolling her onto her back, and began to remove her jean shorts.
She lifted her hips as he pulled them over her legs, letting them drop. When he glanced back at her, she spread her legs. And yes, she was a natural redhead. The neatly trimmed triangle of hair drew his attention to her pink pussy, visibly wet with arousal.
Shelby reached for him. “Got protection?”
He nodded, moving from the bed long enough to remove his jeans and socks.
“Commando, nice-” Her words ended on a gasp when she saw him, thick and fully aroused. She licked her lips, and damn if he didn’t want to kneel over her and have her suck him off with those pouty lips around his shaft.
“Yeah.” Focus on the mission, man. Later they’d have the talk, see if he couldn’t slide unhindered into her tight body. But today, this moment, he grabbed his jeans and pulled the condom he’d put in his wallet—oh fuck, he couldn’t remember. He glanced at the date. Not expired. Thank God. And he quickly sheathed himself before returning to the bed.
No sooner had he stretched out beside her than she turned and wrapped arms and legs around him, pulling him on top of her. “Next time I have some in my dresser drawer,” she whispered in his ear, tugging on his earlobe for effect.
“You should have said.” A bolt of jealousy shot through him. Later, when they were having that talk, he’d make it clear that he didn’t want any man in this bed with her except him. He remembered she’d said there was no boyfriend; then she sucked on his neck, just beneath his ear, and arched her hips into him. Her movements put his head back on straight, both of them, and he put her on her back once more, and began kissing a trail down her body.
Shelby tried not to think that he’d had a condom in his billfold; she expected it of a man like him frankly. Then his lips wrapped around one of her nipples, and the suction had her tangling her fingers in his hair and holding his head to her breast. Oh, she needed this. The release she’d find with her fingers, a toy, would hardly compare to what Bull’s thick cock and oh-so-talented fingers and lips could do for her. He moved to her other nipple, then ventured lower, pausing at her navel before parting her legs and nestling himself between her thighs.
His warm breath caressed her slick lips and sent shudders through her. He stroked her with his knuckle, then the tip of one finger. It slid easily between her folds, and the first touch against her clit was electric. Her back bowed off the bed. She cried out, and reached her free hand for the comforter to grab something to keep her anchored. Tightening her inner muscles, she longed for him to fill her. Fingers. Cock. It didn’t matter, not at this time, and as he gently stroked her swollen clit, she worked her hips against him.
“Bull. Please.” Her panting breaths echoed around her.
She smelled her own arousal. Her pleasure built. Quickening her pace, she rushed toward her release. Distantly she registered cries coming from her mouth, and she gasped with the realization that this man—Bull—was wringing them from her with just his touch.
In that moment, he lowered his mouth to her. A moment of anticipation, and then he was there, lips and tongue drinking from her as if she were the coldest beer on a hot winter day, savoring each and every drop. She couldn’t hold on anymore. With a flick of her hips, her orgasm rolled through her. She gave herself over to it, to the pleasure so long denied darting through her veins, and rode it for as long as it lasted.
When she came back down, Bull was covering her, his weight braced on his arms, his cock nudging at her opening. She wrapped her legs around his waist, pulling him toward her, and he entered her with a single, smooth stroke. She moaned, the width of him inside her, stretching her, filling her completely, sending sparks of pleasure darting throughout her body, and without even moving, she started to climb the pinnacle once more.
Bull thrust forward. He caught her, lifted her ass from the bed, and bent her legs so that he filled her even more. She sensed the struggle in him, the need to keep it slow and easy. Her body didn’t want that, and frankly, neither did she. Arching against him, she grabbed his ass and pulled him toward her. “Fuck me,” she whispered in his ear.
As if her words released any restraint he might have had, he moaned aloud and thrust forward, so hard her headboard rattled against the wall.
“Yes!” she cried out.
He plunged into her, and she clung to him, riding him the entire time. He shifted just enough so the head of his cock bumped the sensitive place inside her, and she took only a few more fast strokes before she shattered into bliss again. She curled her fingers into his back. Her heels pressed into his buttocks, and a moment later, he followed her, a hoarse shout announcing his release.
They clung to each other. Only when she struggled to get her panting breaths under control, she remembered how they’d ended up here. He’d kissed her. She’d longed for something to put the bad memories aside. She gently pushed on his chest, and he rolled away from her. For a moment she lamented the loss of the intimate contact as she watched him remove the condom, roll it into a tissue, and drop it into a trash can.
“I don’t regret that,” she said, more to reassure herself than him. “But I don’t think it can happen again.”
Bull remained silent.
She rolled to her side, propping up her head on her elbow, and reached for him. She rested her fingers against his chest, feeling the slight springy touch of hair between his pecs and his sweaty skin. Curling her fingers into the tactile sensation, she waited for him to move, to say anything. He didn’t. And that scared her.
A beeping noise came from his jeans on the floor. His cell.
He rolled over, grabbed his pants, and pulled out his phone. “You got visitors.” He tugged on his jeans, buttoned them, then put on his socks. He shoved his feet into boots and shrugged on his shirt. “You have field training. I’m going to take the ATV. If you follow, stay out of the way.” With that he was gone. And of course, she was going to follow.
Chapter 6
If he’d had his preferences, he would have taken Leroy. The horse would be a lot quieter than this ATV, but he didn’t want to take the time to saddle the gelding, and then there was the question of whether he’d cooperate or not. The stubborn horse was good…when he wanted to work. If he didn’t, then he could be a royal pain in the ass.
He stopped a distance away from where the fence was cut, and brought up the cameras on his phone. Yep, the trespassers were still there, trying to tie a piece of rope around a balky steer’s head. He turned off the engine, hoping it was mistaken as coming from the highway, and hurried on foot.
“Come on. We got to get out here before they notice. It’s daylight,” a small voice said. It sounded suspiciously like the boy he’d caught before. Could the two kids be part of a steer theft operation?”
An ATV sat just outside the now-cut fence. He hurried over to it and cut the spark plug wire. He paused for a moment, watching the two kids, and they were kids, wra
ngle with the steer. It hopped on stiff legs, not happy at being caught, trying to shake its head to dislodge the bigger of the two.
The young kid he’d caught before was there, hanging onto the end of a rope. He didn’t have gloves, and if the steer bolted, he’d get some pretty bad rope burns. That was the least of his worries, though, because the herd was starting to react to the steer’s heightening sense of worry, and both of them could easily be trampled underfoot.
The older kid appeared to be two, maybe three years older, and clearly knew what he was doing. He quickly secured the knot, then started to walk.
The steer balked.
The idea of taking down these kids rankled. Memories flashed across his mind, though, of kids younger than this doing far deadlier things than stealing a steer. Taking a deep breath, he noted the sound of a truck coming up the alley, and bolted for the steer.
With a yell, he slapped the animal on the rump, sending it wheeling back onto its haunches, then turning and running back to the herd, the rope flapping behind it. He’d have to come back and get the rope off the animal, but not right now, because the younger boy had been knocked down by the steer as it turned.
Bull grabbed the older boy, wrenched his arms behind his back, and dropped him to the ground. He turned to the younger kid. “Don’t move,” he growled.
The kid, eyes wide, nodded. “Yes, sir,” he stammered.
“Shut up,” the older one growled.
The truck stopped.
“Stay where you are,” Bull called. He shifted, grabbed zip ties he’d stuffed in his pocket as he raced from the ATV, and secured the older boy’s hands. “Call the sheriff if you haven’t already.”
“Don’t call the cops,” the younger boy said, his lower lip quivering. “We can’t…”
“Shut up!” his older brother ordered.
“You shut up.” Bull said, clamping his hand down over the boy’s mouth. He stood, hauling the older kid with him.
The teen kicked out. Bull took the blow to his shin, then trapped one of the boy’s legs with his own, keeping him from moving. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Shelby come through the fence.
“Go to the kid,” Bull said.
The younger one rose to his feet. “We didn’t mean to do anything. I’m so sorry. It was all Kordyn’s idea. He said he had a …” The younger boy must have gotten a look at his big brother’s face, because he abruptly shut up. “Just don’t hurt me,” he whispered.
Shelby held out her hands. “No one is going to hurt you.” She stopped by the boy and caught his wrist, kneeling down so she was at his level. “Where do you live?”
Tears ran freely down his face. “Next to the old couple.”
“The Gundersons?”
The boy nodded.
“Why were you here?”
He hoped she’d called the sheriff because as much as he’d like to get answers, he really didn’t want to do it with a herd of agitated cattle and a broken fence. Even the hot wire was cut, so either the boys didn’t care about the shock or they’d turned off the charger at some point.
The younger boy broke down in sobs, and Shelby pulled him against her chest. “It’s okay. We’re not going to hurt you.”
“Did you call the c-cops?” He sniffed.
“Not yet.”
The boy turned his head. “Kordyn! No!” he shouted.
Something sharp caught Bull in the side. He winced, releasing his hold just enough for Kordyn to slip free. Where on his skinny body he’d secreted a pocket knife, Bull didn’t know, but he held the blade like he knew how to use it. He touched his side, and his hand came back bloody.
He lunged for Kordyn, but the teen danced back and out of the way. He darted to Shelby. “Let go of my brother, bitch!”
She turned, and the fear in her eyes galvanized Bull to action. He darted between them, intercepting Kordyn and taking him down hard. One slam and the knife tumbled out of his hand.
Shelby reached for it.
“Evidence!” he called. “And get the sheriff here NOW!”
She nodded, pulled out her cell phone, and dialed 911 with one hand. In her arms, the younger boy trembled, but he focused his attention on getting Kordyn bound. He kept the teen on the ground, a knee in his back to pin him there.
She explained the situation to the dispatcher.
“We didn’t mean anything,” the younger boy said. “Kordyn…” Whatever he was about to say was muffled by his tears and his face buried against Shelby’s chest.
“Call your friend. See if Domino can come.”
She nodded, and he sensed she was running on autopilot. Whatever demons she battled were front and center in her mind. He heard her talking to Jenny, heard her hang up the phone. “Domino and Mustang will be over shortly and they’ll bring something for the fence.”
“Good,” he said. “Hang in there. This will be over soon.” Beneath him, Kordyn wiggled, and he turned his attention to his teenage charge. This seemed easy. Almost too easy. Something else was going on here. He’d get to the bottom of it.
Shelby worked on shoving the memories down. They were in the field. The smell of cow dung pungent from a fresh patty not too far away, and the herd moving away from the commotion. She’d have to come back on Cookie and get the rope off the steer’s head. Hopefully, he wouldn’t tangle it around his legs and break one before she could get back.
The sound of a truck racing toward them ratcheted up her adrenaline until she saw Caid at the wheel, Logan by his side. Both men parked, then hopped out. Logan immediately began working on the top strand of the fence. One worry off her mind at least.
Caid hurried to Bull.
“Brought some tape.” He handed it to Bull, who immediately wrapped the thick black tape around the boy’s ankles to hold his legs together. He handed a rag that looked like part of an old t-shirt to Bull, who used that to tie the boy’s hands together over the zip ties, and then put the tape over that. The kid wouldn’t be going anywhere anytime soon.
“Watch him,” Bull told Caid. He stood and turned toward Shelby. The instant their gazes locked, relief poured through her. The one look conveyed so much, most of all that he had it under control and no kids would be harmed today. She glanced at his shirt, the wound already looking as if it had stopped bleeding.
“You okay?” she asked.
He grunted. “I’ve had worse.” He eyed the young boy she held in her arms. “I saw you the other night, didn’t I?”
He sniffed. “Yes, sir.”
“This your brother? The one you said sent you here to look for his knife?”
“Yes, sir.” The boy’s voice grew resigned, wary.
“I see he found his knife.”
One corner of the boy’s mouth quirked up. “Yes, sir. He had it the entire time.” The boy jutted his chin defiantly toward his older brother.
Bull allowed a small smile. “I see. You know, an older brother is supposed to look out for his younger siblings. Take care of them if necessary.” As he spoke, Shelby wondered if maybe he weren’t talking about his older brother, or maybe he had been one. She realized even though she’d slept him with him, there was so much she didn’t know. Including, what would he do once this was wrapped up? And it appeared to be getting there quick.
Sirens sounded. A moment later a deputy’s car pulled up by the fence. The man got out and strode toward them. “Logan. Caid. You guys okay?”
Murmured conversation, too soft to hear, drifted to her; then the deputy strode to them. He stopped by the young man, checked, and with a nod to Bull, turned to her. “Ma’am. These boys trespassing on your property?”
“Yes, they are. I have reason to believe they are also the reason why I’ve lost two steers in the past month.”
In her arms, the younger boy trembled. “I didn’t steal nothin’, sir. Kordyn told me to hold the rope, but he tied all the knots and made me come. Said he was going to beat me if I didn’t.”
Shelby hid her smile. Seemed that being around t
hem made the young man stand up for himself, and she suspected that was new for him, because he glanced down at the ground again.
“I’m not in trouble, am I, sir? I didn’t mean any harm. I don’t get an allowance, but I’ll do chores or something to pay her back.” He looked up and over his shoulder at her. “Is that all right, ma’am?”
For a moment her heartstrings trembled, and she thought about dismissing the police and telling them it’d be okay. From the skinniness of the kid, it seemed that he’d missed more than a few meals. “What were you doing with my steers?”
The boy shook his head. “I don’t know. Kordyn gave them to some man. Honest. I don’t know who he was.”
“We’ll find out more down at the station.” The deputy glanced at Bull. “The boy pull a knife on you?”
“He did.” Bull gestured to where it still lay on the ground. “There it is.”
The deputy motioned for his partner to come over, and pointed out the knife. A few moments later the man had on gloves and was putting it in an evidence bag. The deputy grabbed Kordyn’s arms, and with a nod to Bull, both men carried him to the squad car.
“Sorry about trussing him up like this, but after he pulled the knife, I wasn’t sure what would happen,” she heard Bull say on the way to the car.
“What’s going to happen to me?” the young man asked.
“What’s your name?”
“Kaden. Kaden Kordeen.”
“Well, Kaden. I don’t know what’s going to happen, but if you’re very nice to the deputies and tell them the truth, even the things that you think might get you in trouble at home, I think you’ll be surprised at what happens.”
The deputy came back. “Ma’am, we need to take him in as well.”
“I know.” She handed him over, not releasing him until the deputy had a firm hold on his too-skinny arm. “I don’t think either one has eaten in a while.”
“We’re familiar with the Kordeen family. I’ll make sure this one gets fed.” No mention of his brother, and Shelby knew she couldn’t ask for more than that. “We’ll need you to come to the station and give a statement.”
