“If you too are finished, maybe we could get this show on the road,” Flynn said, but he was smiling just like everyone else, the love between Sam and Julie so clear no one could miss it.
Frank wanted to pat himself on the back, everything was going according to plan. His men were out in the canyon ready to provide a distraction, the hunters were eagerly awaiting his signal to head out, and the bull moose was within easy reach just down a canyon to the north. He’d been lucky again and for that he was thankful, especially since at one point he’d thought that he’d have to abandon the hunt.
But now they were on their way to find the biggest trophy moose that anyone had seen in a long time, not only that but there were a few cows within easy range as well. He’d be getting a couple of nice bonus payments on this job after all. Who knew, they might even be able to track down a few more before morning, the trackers made it all that much easier to find them. The only thing spoiling the fun was the weather, thanks to an unexpected front that had come sweeping in with grey clouds full of moisture.
The forecast called for rain all night long, with the possibility of snow in the higher elevations. He shivered thinking of how cold it might get before morning, but then he thought of the beach in Mexico that would soon be his home and zipped his jacket up a little higher, shrugging off the cold. A night of being uncomfortable was worth a lifetime of comfort and the money he made tonight would assure him all the comfort he wanted.
Giving the signal, they moved into the forest a silent group of men focused on only one thing, the biggest trophy any of them had ever had. The intrigue of hunting in the canyon only fueling their fire all that much more, for many this was the biggest adventure they’d ever been on and worth every penny they’d spent. Each hoped that they’d be the one to bag the big moose, but the prospect of a cow wasn’t abhorrent to them either, after all what a great story they’d have to tell.
Wanting to push everything but the hunt from his mind, Frank made one last call to the men in the canyon then put his phone away. There was nothing that he liked better than a night hunt, the added challenge always welcome and tonight would be even more difficult with the rain, but Frank considered himself one of the most skilled hunters around and he was confident that he’d be victorious at the end of the hunt, anything less was impossible to believe.
As the long line of men disappeared into the forest, each as silent as the first, a series of gunshots could be heard echoing though the canyon and Frank smiled. The last phase of his plan had begun, a few hours from now there would be another volley of shots, a few miles from the first. It would drive the people in the canyon crazy running from one to the next, all the while right above them their precious moose would become trophies for some very privileged men.
Chapter 12
As the determined group rode away from the ranch it began to rain, a gentle patter at first that soon grew to a steady downpour. Despite their rain gear, they all became wet as they rode, the rain finding its way into any opening it could. Julie could feel it running down her back and shivered, but no one even considered turning back, there was too much on the line to let a little discomfort stop them. They rode for hours, finally arriving at the little valley where the moose had stopped for the night, near midnight.
To their relief the clearing where they found the moose was empty and a quick canvass of the area revealed that no human had been there recently. Using hand signals, they spread themselves around the moose, with Jake, Owen, and Flynn in position to intercept the poachers as they came down out of the mountains. Their entire plan hedged on Scott being right and them approaching from that direction, but it made the most sense, so they settled down in the rain to wait.
It wasn’t long before they saw the men come silently out of the woods, and Owen signaled for them to surround them. They’d decided to use their greatest weapon and surprise the men, hopefully they could disarm them before they realized there were only four of them. Julie stayed back, no amount of arguing or begging had gotten the men to let her go with them.
In the end Sam had taken her hand and said, “I’m sorry, Julie, but it’s just too dangerous, I’d never be able to live with myself if something happened to you.” His eyes had been full of love and she’d immediately thought of the life growing inside her, even if she lost Sam she’d still have a piece of him.
“Okay, but promise me you’ll come back alive,” she said, burying her face in his chest.
He tipped her head up and said, “Always, I’ll always be here for you.” Then poachers or not he kissed her until her knees when weak.
Now she crouched under the trees, rain dripping down her neck watching Sam and his brothers surround the men. Then on Sam’s signal they jumped out of the trees and shouted at the men, there was a lot of scuffling, several gunshots, and a lot of screaming. Julie jumped to her feet to go help them, but suddenly a hand slammed over her mouth, cutting off her air supply.
She struggled for breath for what felt like minutes, but was only a few seconds, before the hand eased up enough that she could breath. That was when she felt the gun sticking into her back. “Well, what do we have here?” a voice whispered in her ear, then she was jerked around and came face to face with the man from the diner in town.
He grabbed her by the hair and jerked her head back. “You’re that little bitch that slashed our tires. I should have known you’d be a problem, you and that boyfriend of yours.”
Julie didn’t say a word, her mind spinning for some way to get away from the man, but with the gun in her back she knew there was nothing she could do but stall for time. “Pretty quiet for someone who just destroyed my life,” the man said, and yanked her hair again, this time she let out a little squeak.
“You are going to be my insurance policy out of here. Do you understand?” He yanked her hair again.
“Yes,” she said, the tears rolling down her cheeks.
“That’s better. Now we’re going to get on my horse and head for my truck. If you behave I might let you live.” The gun poked her in the back a couple of times.
Julie nodded her head and began to walk, then carefully reached into her pocket and activated her personal tracker, hoping that Sam would remember that she always carried one. The man threw her up on his horse, sending blinding pain through her arm, but she managed to hold on. When he swung up behind her, she couldn’t help but wince when his groin was suddenly pushed up against her butt.
To her horror, he leaned closer and rubbed his hips against her butt. “We might have to take a few minutes to get to know each other better before I leave,” he said, then licked her face.
Julie wanted to scream but she just stared straight ahead, knowing that her best chance was to buy enough time for Sam to find her. It wouldn’t take long for him to see that she was gone and follow the obvious trail they were leaving. If he remembered the tracker it would be even easier to find her, so she took deep breaths and concentrated on everything she loved about Sam. Thinking about Sam made her think about the baby and she was able to push away the fear and panic and ride quietly through the drenching rain, knowing that Sam would find her but that if the opportunity to save herself and her child came along she wouldn’t hesitate to take it.
That was when she remembered the small revolver Sam had strapped to the inside of her leg earlier that night. It was so small she’d forgotten it was there, but now she was thankful that she’d let him give it to her. If she had a weapon her chances of survival went up dramatically, now she just had to look for an opportunity to use the little gun that suddenly felt so warm against her leg, it only had one shot but one was all she needed.
As they climbed in elevation the rain turned to snow, big fat flakes unlike any snow Julie had ever seen, the temperature drop that accompanied the snow had her teeth chattering almost immediately. Before long the ground was covered in white and the horse began having trouble finding its footing making the man curse and Julie flinch every time he dug his heels into the poor ani
mal. She held on to the horse’s mane, afraid of falling off and breaking her already injured arm, then lighting lit up the sky with the thunder that followed strong enough to shake the ground.
The horse frightened by the storm reared up and threw them both, Julie just managed to twist her body and land on her good arm. The snow covered bush that she landed on cushioning her fall, she was on her feet and had the revolver out of the sheath in seconds. She spun around until she found the poacher who was just getting to his feet, then she took aim, her injured arm throbbing.
The man took one look at the little gun and laughed. “What exactly do you plan to do with that?” he said, then began to advance across the clearing toward her.
Taking a deep breath, she fired the gun, but the shot when wide and only hit him in the shoulder. He screamed in pain and grabbed his shoulder cursing at her, then began taking one step after another toward her, making threats as he came. When he was only a few yards from her, he drew a knife out of the sheath on his belt and held it up for her to see.
But then to Julie’s astonishment out of the trees behind the poacher, the bull moose emerged, as majestic as ever. She sucked in a breath of pure admiration as the huge animal headed straight for the man, his nostrils flaring with each giant breath he took. The man seeing the look on Julie’s face turned and saw the moose, now only feet from him. He stared shocked at first, but when the moose blew a big breath out threw his nostrils and lowered his head, he began to back up.
When the man turned to run, the moose was on him instantly, head lowered, he tossed the man across the clearing. He lay motionless where he’d been thrown, the rise and fall of his chest the only sign that he was still alive. The moose walked over and stood a few feet away from the man, then turned to Julie and snorted. Too shocked to move, she stared at the moose who had just saved her life, then suddenly Sam was there, scooping her up and putting her on his horse.
Once she realized that she was in his arms and safe, she began to shake, not only from the adrenaline pumping though her veins but because she was soaked to the bone. “Sam, did you see that… the moose. He saved me,” she said, her teeth chattering so much it was hard to get the words out.
“Shush, don’t talk, you’re freezing. Save your strength, we have to get you somewhere warm,” Sam said, holding her tighter. “I know the perfect place, but it’s a little way from here.”
Julie tried to make herself as small as she could in his arms, taking what heat she could from his body, but still shaking with cold. “It’s not far now,” Sam said, after about an hour.
Julie could only nod her head, knowing that if she opened her mouth her teeth would chatter. Thankfully, only a few minutes later they arrived at a cave, it wasn’t easy to see but looked warm as the snow continued to fall. Sam helped her into the cave and started a fire with the firewood stacked against one wall, soon the cave began to warm and Julie’s shaking got worse not better.
“You need to get out of those wet clothes,” Sam said, going to the back of the cave and rummaging around in the boxes against one wall. When he came back he had a soft furry comforter and a sleeping bag. He laid the sleeping bag open on the ground, then helped her out of her wet heavy clothes, once she was naked he draped the comforter around her and had her sit close to the fire.
He stripped off his wet clothes and joined her under the comforter, then piled more wood on the fire. Soon the cave was warm and toasty, the fire and Sam’s body heat warming her enough that the shaking finally stopped. She drifted off to sleep with her head resting on his chest, finally warm, but exhausted.
When she awoke hours later, Sam was gone, but the fire was stoked and the cave was warm. Sitting up she looked around to find him in the back of the cave making what looked like a bed, and that was when she noticed just how the little cave was set up. With a little kitchen, what looked like a couch, and even a closet on one wall, it was like a home away from home. When she looked out the opening of the cave, it was to see the snow still falling heavily, but looking around her again, she knew that they would be safe here for a while.
Sam must have heard her stirring, because he made one last adjustment to the bed, then came and sat down beside her. He put his arm around her and asked, “How are you feeling? Are you hungry?”
“I’m okay, just a little groggy still. This place is amazing,” Julie said, curious to know how he knew about it.
“Flynn told me about it a few weeks ago, said I’d earned the right to know,” Sam explained shrugging his shoulders.
“Good thing,” she said, then asked, “Is there food? I’m starving.”
“I’ve got stew and biscuits,” Sam said, going to the kitchen and dishing up two huge bowls of something that smelled wonderful.
When Sam handed her a bowl of stew, she asked, “Are my clothes dry by any chance?”
“I’m afraid not, but I kind like this arrangement,” Sam said, reaching under the blanket and caressing one of her breasts.
Julie sucked in a breath as desire raced through her. “Um, I’m going to spill this if you don’t stop that,” she said, closing her eyes.
Sam laughed and said, “I think I can wait until you’ve had something to eat.” Then gave her a quick kiss.
After Sam cleaned up the dishes, he stripped his clothes off and crawled under the comforter with Julie, who immediately snugged up to him, practically purring when his skin touched hers. He was warm and hard, his muscles rippling as he pulled her into his arms. There was so much emotion running between them that they did the only thing they could and turned to each other willing to let their bodies do the talking for them for now.
Sam’s hands grazed over Julie’s skin bringing goosebumps everywhere he touched, and his mouth found hers in a kiss that was both familiar and thrilling, his tongue stirring the first trembles of desire deep inside her. She purred her pleasure into his mouth making him moan and pull her closer. Lying on her side, Julie threw her leg over Sam’s and reached between them to find his throbbing erection and gripped him in her hands, unashamed at how much she wanted him.
She stroked and teased him, rubbing the tip then massaging the sensitive area under his tight sack. Sam finally grabbed her hands and held them still. “I want to make you cum,” he said, pushing her hands away and rolled her onto her back.
Looking down at her, he slid his hand down her stomach and hips, then gently pulled on the inside of her leg until she spread them for him. He knelt between her legs and pushed them open farther, took one finger and slid it into her mouth, then lowered his hand between her legs. Julie was gasping with anticipation, Sam’s eyes locked on hers only increasing the desire flowing through her, she nearly screamed when his finger finally found her clit and began to gently rub the hard nib.
As undulating and pulsing waves of pleasure rushed over her, Julie let the them come, trusting Sam to give her what she so desperately needed, her complete submission only intensifying the feeling of pleasure. Sam sensed Julie’s complete submission to the passion between them and some primal instinct to bring her pleasure took over, he drove his finger into her, growing harder when she cried out his name and her body shook with fulfillment.
Feeling Julie trembling under his hands, unlocked something in Sam, a need to possess Julie like he’d never possessed a woman, an urge so strong that it shocked him, but that he was unable to resist. His need to be inside her overrode anything else and he grabbed her hips and pulled her to him, then drove himself into her, filling her deeply and fully in one hard thrust of his hips. When Sam thrust himself into her, Julie lost connection with the world around her, her only focus on the man inside her and the pleasure he created.
His thumb on her clit, Sam brought Julie to the brink over and over, before letting her tumble over into oblivion. The power of what he could make her body do only fueling his need to push her farther, to possess her further. When her body stopped trembling, he slid out of her and flipped her on her stomach, Julie so pliable in under his hands that he
was further inflamed. He pulled on her hips and slowly raised her to her hands and knees, then slid behind her.
Julie could feel Sam’s throbbing erection between her legs and a fresh burst of moisture ran down her legs, his hands on her back, sliding down to her butt and between her legs making her whimper in anticipation. Sam pushed her legs apart and grabbed Julie’s hips, his cock just at the opening to her throbbing core, then in one powerful thrust drove himself into her, all gentleness gone in that one moment.
Like a man possessed he drove himself into Julie over and over, each powerful thrust of his hips driving him deeper into her, stretching her to accommodate his growing erection. Julie took every inch of Sam, reveling in the power of him, the sheer animal passion he’d unleashed stunning and magnificent. As the coil of pleasure began to build deep inside her again, Julie rode it, crying out with pleasure with each thrust of Sam’s hips.
Sam was so close it was taking all his strength not to let himself cascade over the brink, but something was still driving him to push Julie over the edge again. To have her floating with him at the exact same moment he was, so he leaned over and whispered in her ear, “Cum with me, Julie.”
He felt the gush of moisture from her body, and heard her sharp intake of breath, then reached down between her legs and slid his finger over her clit. She immediately lowered her hips and ground them into him, sending an incredible wave of pleasure through him, a wave so strong he nearly lost it. With only a few more rubs of his finger he felt her body tense, gripping him so tightly all he could do was hold on to her as his orgasm ripped through him, so powerful he was unable to breathe for long seconds, the pleasure so intense he thought his heart would stop.
Julie felt the power of Sam’s body emptying itself into her, each contraction of his throbbing cock sending waves of pleasure through her until nothing existed but the pleasure itself and Sam, so deep inside her. When their bodies stopped trembling, Sam gathered her in his arms, still out of breath his heart hammering in his chest. Sam could feel Julie trembling in his arms and was immediately worried. “Did I hurt you, I’m sorry I just lose control with you sometimes,” he said, leaning up on one elbow.
Have My Child: BWWM Romance (Brothers From Money Book 14) Page 12
