“Enough with the teasing,” I growled. “It’s my turn to play.”
CHAPTER 15
Kia
I TREMBLED AS I looked into Hunter’s eyes. There was no denying the gold glow in his irises as he looked at me as though he was ready to devour me, but it was excitement rather than fear that coursed through my veins. I knew this was a bad idea, that having sex with Hunter could never be something as simple as a quick fuck, but I was too far gone to care.
“Your pussy looks so good,” he whispered, staring down at my shaved mound. He licked the pad of his thumb and then reverently slid it across my folds, sending a spark of pleasure into my core. “But I want you wetter than this.”
He slid two fingers inside me, and I moaned as he stretched me, sending more of those delightful sparks skipping through my nerve channels. My back arched involuntarily as he began to massage my clit with his finger, circling slowly while thrusting his fingers in and out.
“Oh God,” I gasped as his fingers found my G-spot. “Yes, right there.” I let my head fall back against the pillows, closing my eyes as the sensations built gradually. I savored each pulse and throb. I’d never really been big on foreplay before, preferring the feel of a big, hard cock inside me to a man’s fingers or mouth, but for some reason, Hunter was able to find my sweetest spots.
“Open your eyes,” he demanded, his voice low and rough and so sexy I didn’t even think about the fact that he was ordering me to do something. “I want you to look at me when you come.”
I opened my eyes, and Hunter lowered his head, replacing his thumb on my clit with his tongue. Instantly, my whole body stiffened, and I grabbed his head, pressing him close, craving more.
“Yes. Please, don’t stop,” I gasped.
I looked down at him then, and the sight of him between my legs was so hot, I came harder than I ever had in my life. Waves of pleasure poured out from my center. The waves started to ebb, and I thought it was over. But he kept licking me, and another surge of bliss crashed down on me again and again until I was begging for mercy.
“Holy shit,” I panted, collapsing against the sheets. “That was fucking amazing.”
Hunter lifted his head, a self-satisfied grin plastered on his face. His jewel-toned eyes smoldered with lust, and I thought I would melt into a puddle right then and there.
“It sure did sound pretty good from where I’m lying.” He crawled up my body, hemming me in with his hands and knees on either side of me. “You taste really good,” he murmured, lowering his lips to mine. “I could eat your pussy all damn day.”
Our lips were about to touch when a shrill scream pierced the night. Hunter and I both jumped, and then he vaulted off the bed and ran over to the window.
“What the hell is going on out there?” I demanded, reaching for my jeans at the foot of the bed. My heart was racing again, and this time, it had nothing to do with the man in the room.
“It’s one of the horses!” Hunter shouted, dashing from the room. The next thing he said made my heart drop into my stomach. “They’re being attacked!”
CHAPTER 16
Hunter
I GRABBED A SHOTGUN from the rack by the door and rushed outside, heading for the stables at a dead run. The horse was still screaming, and the others were stomping and neighing in fright. I was confusing the sounds, but beneath all of the equestrian racket, my sensitive ears picked up on the noise of growls and teeth ripping into flesh.
Something’s out there for sure.
I pumped the shotgun and then fired a warning blast in the air. The horse screamed again, and then it was silent before I heard a scampering of paws against dirt. I caught a glimpse of a large creature with shaggy fur dart from the stables before disappearing and running off into the night. The predator in me wanted to chase after the intruder, but the more rational part of me knew I needed to check on the horses.
Grabbing the lantern hanging outside the stable doors, I paused to light it and then held it aloft while cautiously entering the stables. Most of the horses were still in their stalls, stomping nervously, banging against the doors, their terrified whines and snorts putting my beast on edge. I wanted to stop and soothe them, but the stall door at the end was open, and I slowly crept toward it to investigate.
What I found inside made me wince in sympathy. Inside was a roan mare named Twilight, lying on her side and covered in bleeding bite marks and gashes. The ones on her forelegs were deep enough that I could see a hint of bone, and one of those legs was at an odd angle, bone poking through the skin.
“Oh, Twi,” I murmured softly, crouching down to stroke the horse’s mane.
The mare let out what could only be categorized as a whimper, but she seemed to settle down as I caressed her.
“You were so close to finishing your training too. I’m sorry.”
I aimed the shotgun at the horse’s head and then paused as I heard a rush of footsteps outside. My nose told me it was Kia, and a second later, she dashed to my side, bundled up in a robe over her jeans, her face concerned and hair flying every which way.
“Oh my God,” she gasped as she caught sight of Twilight. “What happened to that poor horse? And . . . what are you doing?” Her eyes narrowed on the shotgun in my hand.
I sighed, lowering the weapon so as not to cause her further alarm. “I have to put her out of her misery,” I explained, reaching out and stroking Twilight’s matted hair.
The horse quivered beneath my palm, and my heart ached for her.
“What?” Kia looked horrified. “You . . . can’t just kill that poor animal! How do you know she won’t recover from her injuries? I’m going to call the vet, see if I can get someone down here.”
She started to turn away, but I reached out and lightly squeezed her by the ankle.
“Kia,” I said, my voice low, “first off, calm down and stop yelling. You’re agitating the horses.” I waited until she stilled. “Second of all, come here. I want to show you something.”
Reluctantly, Kia lowered herself into the hay and dirt so that she was kneeling next to the horse and me. I took her hand and placed it on the horse’s left foreleg.
“Do you see anything odd about this?”
Kia was silent for a long moment. “It’s broken,” she finally said in a small voice.
“Yes.” I took a breath. “Even if Twilight manages to survive her other injuries, which is doubtful at this point,” I said, gesturing to the large quantities of blood matting the hay beneath the mare, “this leg will never heal properly. It isn’t just a matter of her being lame. She’ll literally never be able to put any weight on it, and with the amount of mass she has, it just isn’t feasible for her to try to hobble around on three legs. She’d live out the rest of her life in constant pain and misery.”
Tears filled Kia’s eyes. “But . . .”
I laid my hand over Kia’s. “I’m sorry, sweetheart. It has to be done.”
Nodding, Kia rose to her feet and fled the stables. I sighed. Then, resigning myself to the task, I pumped the shotgun, aiming at the horse’s head, then fired.
* * *
“I have to say, this is the strangest thing I’ve ever seen,” Dr. Kensington said as he knelt down in the bloody hay and examined the dead animal in the stall. “A horse being attacked in its own stall. Never heard of such a thing in my entire career, and I’ve been doing this for thirty years.”
I stood just outside the stall, watching the vet bend his salt-and-pepper head over Twilight’s body as he scrutinized her injuries.
“What do you think did this?” I asked.
We were completely alone in the stall. I’d let the horses out before I turned in last night so they wouldn’t have to be around the stench of death, and Kia was still in bed.
“Well, the bites and claw marks are certainly canine in nature,” Dr. Kensington said, “but the jaw length is far too large for a dog or coyote. My best guess would be that it was a wolf . . . but even then, it would have had to be a huge o
ne.” The vet shook his head, finished his examination, and stood up. “I hate to say it, but you did the right thing by ending Twilight’s life. She never would have recovered from that broken leg.”
“Appreciate it, Doc.” I took out my wallet to pay the man and then helped him to his car. I stood on the porch, watching the vet drive off, thinking long and hard about what the doctor had told me and what my own senses had informed me when I did a little of my own investigation last night.
My first impression when I’d seen the beast running out of the stable was that it was a wolf. But I’d discarded the theory on my second impression, which was based on the animal’s size. Once I’d let the horses out and I was alone in the stables, I’d picked up on what I thought was the scent of a wolf, though it was slightly off from what I remembered wolves smelling like.
The doctor had told me that the bites were canine, but they were too large to be a dog or coyote or really even a wolf. But I had smelled something like a wolf and seen something like a wolf, and I could only draw one conclusion from all of this. The beast that had attacked Twilight was a wolf-shifter.
But what the hell was a wolf-shifter doing running around in rural Texas and killing off horses?
I could understand if a rogue or nomadic shifter had decided to take down a cow or sheep for some food while passing through, but the shifter had left the cattle untouched despite the fact that they were much easier targets. The idea that the animal that had attacked Twilight was a shifter also explained why the stall door was open, I realized. The stall door hadn’t been damaged in any way, so I couldn’t see how an animal could have gotten it open.
Shaking my head, I went back inside the house. Then I called Johnny and a few other guys in town to come and help me remove the dead horse from the stable and get it to the butcher. After the emotionally and physically draining tasks were completed, I returned to the house ready to tackle the rest of my to-do items for the day. Upon entering the house, the delicious aroma of bacon and griddle cakes hit me, and I followed the scent into the dining room, only to see Kia sitting at the table, picking at a plate of eggs and griddle cakes. She was bundled up in a bathrobe and looked a little worse for the wear, her hair hanging wildly around her face, with dark circles beneath her red-rimmed eyes.
“Hey,” I said softly, sitting in the chair next to her. I put my arm around her. “Are you okay?” I knew it was a dumb question as she clearly wasn’t, but I couldn’t think of anything else to say.
A lone tear slipped from the corner of her right eye, and she angrily swiped at it, as though she couldn’t bear for me to see her tears. “It’s stupid,” she choked out, her voice barely a whisper. “I hardly knew any of the horses. I’ve only been taking care of them for a week. Yet . . .”
“You grieve,” I finished for her. I squeezed her shoulder gently. “There’s no shame in that. Twilight was a good horse, and you learned to ride on her, so it’s only natural that you would feel her loss.”
“I overheard you on the phone,” Kia said suddenly, lifting her head to glare balefully at me. “Don’t take Twilight to the butcher. I want to give her a proper burial.”
I nodded, silently acquiescing to her request. There was no point in explaining to her that selling Twilight to the butcher would allow us to recoup some of the monetary loss from the horse’s death. Kia was in no state to think about business.
“We’ll bury her this afternoon.”
Johnny and the other men arrived, and we spent the rest of the morning hauling Twilight’s body out to the burial ground that Kia had picked out and then digging a hole large enough to bury the animal. I tried to get Kia to go back inside, but she refused, planting herself next to the horse’s body, her knees drawn up to her chest as she watched the men work. Her brown eyes were vacant, as if she were far off in another time and place. I couldn’t help but wonder what she was thinking about. I didn’t press her though, sensing she wanted to be left alone.
Storm clouds slowly gathered on the horizon as we worked, and by the time the grave was finished, thunder and lightning were crackling through the sky. Mrs. Jones came out with umbrellas for everyone, and we all huddled around the grave as Johnny officiated the ceremony. Everyone said a few nice words about Twilight, even the ranchers who had never met her before, and then we buried her, placing flowers atop the grave.
Kia quietly thanked everyone and then disappeared into the house before I could say anything.
“Leave her be,” Mrs. Jones said when I attempted to go after her. “I have a feeling she’s grieving for more than just a dead horse.”
Nodding, I paid the men for their help, and then Johnny and I saddled up and herded the cattle to another pasture.
Just a few more weeks of this, and the pastures will be looking right as rain. Although that won’t matter if I end up losing the bet.
That’s the most defeatist thing I’ve ever heard you think, my inner beast growled. So, we lost one horse. That doesn’t mean we’re going to lose another. We’re just going to have to work a little harder to make up for the loss.
Easy for you to say, I grumbled.
But my wolf’s words actually made me feel a bit better. The truth was that I still had three weeks, and a lot could happen in that amount of time.
Still, that wolf-shifter I smelled was pretty alarming, I told my beast. I hope he was just passing through and that he’ll leave the horses alone.
My wolf snorted. If you’re going to trust in things like hope and faith, you might as well throw in the towel now.
Right.
I needed to be on my guard. The horses were the ranch’s most valuable commodity, and since we only had ten right now, we couldn’t afford to lose another. Until I knew that the wolf wasn’t going to come back, I was going to have to make sure the horses were guarded. And since I couldn’t bring myself to put any of the other men in that kind of danger—they were only human, after all, and I wanted them to stay that way—it meant I’d have to do it myself.
CHAPTER 17
Kia
WHEN I FINALLY AWOKE, the sun had set below the horizon, leaving only a few faint streaks of color in the sky as evidence that it had ever been there.
Twilight, I mused groggily.
And the reminder of the horse nearly threatened to send me into a spill of tears again. But I held them back. There was no way I was going to cry any more today. My head felt as though it had swollen to the size of a watermelon, and my eyes and nose ached from all the crying I’d already done.
God. I rolled onto my back and stared up at the ceiling. Hunter probably thinks I’ve lost my damn mind.
I bet no woman he had ever met lost her head like this over a horse she’d barely known. If he told the story to any of my friends or acquaintances in New York, they would never believe it.
Kia, getting emotional over an animal? That woman wouldn’t even be moved to tears by the TV commercials with Sarah McLachlan singing “Angel.”
I owed Hunter an explanation for my behavior, and I was going to give it to him before I chickened out, hiding behind my mental walls again.
Dragging myself from the bed, I shuffled into the bathroom and splashed some water on my face. I attacked my bedraggled locks with a brush for a few minutes, and then, knowing I wasn’t going to look any better unless I started caking on makeup, I left the bathroom and made my way down the hall to Hunter’s room.
No one answered when I knocked, and a quick peek inside the room revealed nothing but rumpled bedsheets. I flushed as I remembered that I had helped rumple those sheets, and desire warmed my blood despite my shitty mood, surprising me. I shouldn’t even be thinking about sex right now, yet the way his hands and mouth had felt on me, teasing my most private places—
Shaking my head, I closed the door and headed downstairs. I found Mrs. Jones cleaning up in the kitchen after dinner, but no Hunter or any of the other ranch hands who had been here to help out today.
“Where is everyone?”
; Mrs. Jones glanced over her shoulder toward me and then set down the dish she was holding. She briskly dried her hands on a towel. “Oh, you’re looking much better, sweetheart,” she said, taking my face between her hands and peering into my eyes. “But you look like you could use a bite. Let me heat you up some leftovers.”
I shook my head. “I’m not hungry right now. I just want to know where Hunter is.”
“That foolish man?” Mrs. Jones clucked her tongue disapprovingly as she opened the fridge door, clearly ignoring me as she pulled out what looked like fried catfish, baked sweet potatoes, and steamed vegetables. “He’s outside, sleeping with the horses. Says he’s waiting for the animal that attacked poor Twilight to come back. I told him he was crazy to put himself in danger like that, but he won’t hear of it.”
A lump formed in my throat at the thought of Hunter being so dedicated that he would sleep with the horses, and I scowled at the emotional response. I’d probably raged and cried on this ranch more than I had my entire life, and I wasn’t sure how I felt about that. Either Texas ranch life was getting me in touch with my emotional side, or it was driving me batshit crazy.
“I’m going to go out and check on him.”
“Hang on, sweetie.” Mrs. Jones caught me by the wrist as I was turning away. “Let me finish heating this food up for you.”
“But I’m not—”
“Maybe you’re not hungry, but I can guarantee you, Hunter will happily eat all of this and wonder why you didn’t bring seconds. That boy is insatiable when it comes to food.” Mrs. Jones took the container out of the microwave and then handed it to me along with a fork wrapped in a napkin. “Go ahead, honey. I’ll just finish up here and head off to bed.”
I took the food out to the stables, my ears straining to hear any kind of unusual activity, but there was nothing but the sound of chirping crickets and the occasional rustle in the grass. Brilliant stars littered the night sky, and the moon was round and nearly full, providing a gorgeous luminescence to the evening. It was like nothing I’d ever seen in NYC. The light pollution generally blotted out all but the brightest stars in the sky, and even then, they were faint pinpricks. Here, I could actually imagine them as the enormous, gaseous balls of fire they really were, providing light from trillions of miles away.
Operation Wolf: Hunter ~ Sedona Venez Page 8
