by Kate Kinsley
Molly touched his arm. “We’ll be fine. It’ll do us good to stay for a week and spend time together, reminding each other why we love each other so much.”
The cabin sat on the side of a hill, overlooking the valley far below where the town of Eagle Rock resided.
Kujo shifted into park and sighed, already feeling himself relax. “This will be nice, but I need to be back in town in time to get you something for Christmas. So, we’d better not get snowed in.”
Molly laughed. “Hank said your truck can make it out just fine.”
“You still need to tell me what you’d like.” He slipped out of the truck and rounded to the other side to help her down to stand in the snow.
“Make it a surprise,” she said and wrapped her arms around his neck. “I love you, babe.” Then she kissed him, taking his breath away.
How had he lucked into having such a wonderful woman choose him?
Kujo hated Christmas. The stress was terrible. What did a man get the woman he loved that would show just how much he loved her?
Molly wasn’t the type of woman who liked to wear fancy jewelry, or he could’ve gotten her some nice earrings, a necklace or bracelet. She didn’t eat a lot of chocolate, and she had an aversion to roses because they drooped so quickly, reminding her that they had been cut instead of growing freely. Besides, those were something a man gave on Valentine’s Day. She needed something meaningful for Christmas.
She was really sad about not being pregnant yet.
Kujo wished he could give her that one thing that would make her the happiest. A baby. So far, they’d had no luck. She’d cried the last time she’d gotten her period. Her tears had tugged at his heart. Molly never cried about anything. She was one of the strongest women Kujo knew. She had to be in order to do her job as an FBI agent. Agents didn’t cry.
Whatever he did for Christmas, it had better be good. He needed to cheer her up.
He glanced into the backseat of his truck at Six, whose head overhung the two front seats. He was panting in the chill air. He’d love being in the higher altitude with the snow.
If they couldn’t have a baby human, maybe Molly would like a puppy to fill that void. A puppy might make Six happy as well. He’d read that older dogs lived longer when they had a puppy to keep them company and make them feel young again.
Kujo grinned. More than likely a puppy would annoy the crap out of the old German Shepherd. Six had been an excellent military working dog, dedicating his young life to sniffing out bombs to save the troops. Now that he was retired, he deserved a good life filled with love, good food and happiness. Kujo had promised all of that to him when he’d brought Six home from the kennel at Lackland Air Force Base.
But Molly was right. Lately, Six had been a little down in the mouth and droopy. Kujo hoped the trip out to the mountain cabin would cheer up the Shepherd. He opened the back door. “Come, Six.”
The dog didn’t hesitate. He jumped out of the back of the truck, landing in the snow. Immediately, he pressed his nose to the snow, sniffing the ground and around the truck, moving toward the cabin. His step seemed a little lighter, and his tail lifted high. Yeah, coming to the cabin had been the right thing for Six.
Kujo stood beside Molly, starring at the little cabin. Her arm encircled his waist, and she pressed her body to his. He glanced down at her. “I’m glad we came.”
She smiled into his eyes. “Me, too.”
They carried their groceries, blankets and clothes into the cabin, making several trips. When they’d gotten it all inside, Kujo took Molly’s hand and led her back out to witness the sunset over the top of the ridge behind them. Then he kissed her again and walked through the door. “Come, Six.”
As Six trotted toward them, a lonely wolf’s howl echoed against the peaks.
Six’s ears perked to attention, and he stopped dead in his tracks just outside the door.
Kujo tensed. “Six, come.”
The wolf howled again.
Six lifted his snout to the sky and answered in a primal howl that echoed the wild one.
“Come, Six,” Kujo repeated, his tone commanding.
Six lowered his head and turned toward Kujo. Then he looked toward the hills surrounding them. He hesitated, something he hadn’t done in a very long time. The dog had been one of his best trained animals when Kujo had been on active duty. But the howl he gave was so visceral and wild, he could’ve been one with the wolf.
Taking a step forward, Kujo snagged the lead from the bag of dog food, snacks and bowls.
He didn’t have to snap the leash on Six’s collar.
The German Shepherd trotted into the cabin and waited for Kujo to close the door. Then he laid in front of the door as if to provide protection for his master.
Kujo let out the breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding.
Molly came to stand beside him, staring down at the dog. “You thought he’d go in search of the wolf, didn’t you?”
Kujo nodded. “He’s never hesitated performing a command.”
“Maybe he was warning the wolf to stay away.” Molly tipped her head toward the door. “I think he’s protecting us.”
Kujo’s eyes narrowed. “I hope that’s the case.”
Together, Kujo and Molly unpacked their staples, shook out the thin mattress on the narrow bed and made it up with sheets, a down-filled comforter and the pillows they’d brought with them. After the cabin was set to rights, Kujo went out to collect the wood stacked neatly at the back of the building. Within minutes, he had a cozy fire burning in the pot-bellied stove and a pan of stew filling the air with its rich aroma.
He poured food into Six’s bowl, added some of the soup on top and set it in front of the dog.
Six stood, sniffed and turned away.
“I think you’re right,” Kujo said to Molly. “He’s never turned up his nose at stew. If he doesn’t get better, I’ll take him to the veterinarian when we get back down the mountain.”
“Good. I hate to think he’s not feeling well.” She bent to scratch the dog behind his ears. He leaned into her hand, as he usually did. He liked Molly and protected her as if she were part of his pack.
Kujo and Molly ate their meal sitting on a bench at the rough-hewn table. After they’d finished, Kujo went outside to scoop up snow in a pan and brought it back in to melt and heat over the stove to wash their dishes. He and Molly worked side by side, purposely bumping into each other. He loved when they touched and couldn’t wait to get naked in the bed with her.
Once the last dish was dried, he turned, plucked the towel from her hand, hung it on a hook on the wall and pulled her into his arms. “No television, no internet, no radio…” He kissed her forehead, her cheeks and nibbled at her ear. “What else is there to do?”
She laughed. “If you don’t know, we just might be doomed.”
He bent, scooped her up into his arms and carried her the short distance to the bed. Then he set her on her feet and removed her clothing, one item at a time.
She worked on his buttons, his shirt, his jeans at the same time, their arms getting tangled as they raced to be free of their clothing and boots.
Once they were naked, Kujo stood back and admired his woman in the soft light of the lantern they’d lit to illuminate the small space.
Molly’s pale skin glowed in the shadows, her breasts smooth, rounded globes, the swell of her hips calling to him. He reached out to pull her against him, his staff nudging her belly. He was anxious to be inside her.
However, he wanted her to be just as ready as he was to make love. He wanted her to come with as much passion and abandon as he felt in that moment. Lifting her up in his arms, he laid her across the bed, letting her legs drop over the side. He parted them with his hands, trailing his fingers up her inner thighs to the soft mound of hair hiding her sex.
Molly moaned. “Foreplay is overrated,” she said. “I want you, Joseph. Now.”
He chuckled. “I want you, too. But I want you to come apa
rt at my touch.”
“Sweetheart, it won’t take much. I’m so ready.” She shifted her legs wider. He could see her glistening entrance. She was ready, but not as ready as he wanted her to be.
Kujo leaned over her and kissed her mouth hard and long, thrusting his tongue past her teeth to claim hers in a long gentle glide that left her breathless and wanting so much more. He trailed his mouth along the line of her jaw and down the long column of her throat to the pulse beating wildly at the base.
He touched his tongue there, feeling the beat of her heart in that moment. It was wild and primitive, like the howl of the wolf outside the cabin. His pulse hammering through his veins, Kujo swept downward as he conquered every inch of her breasts, her torso and the tight muscles of her abs, until he reached the triangle of hair at the apex of her thighs.
He knelt on the cool wooden planks of the cabin floor, letting the cold on his knees slow his own desire, ever so slightly. To bring her to the brink, he had to hold back his own urge to drive into her hard and deep. That would come…after her release.
With his thumbs, he parted the hair and folds, exposing her clit to his gaze. That narrow sliver of flesh, that nubbin of tightly-packed nerves, was the key to her pleasure, and he intended to unlock it.
He dipped his finger into her wet channel and swirled it around.
She moaned, her hips rising off the mattress. “Oh, Joseph.”
He chuckled. She only called him Joseph when they were making love. He liked that. With his wet finger, he touched her clit and swirled around it, flicking and teasing it until she writhed against the comforter, her hands bunching the fabric in a tight grip.
When he thought she might be close, he touched her there with the tip of his tongue.
She tensed, drawing in a sharp breath. “Yes,” she whispered, “there…”
He tapped that nubbin, gently at first, then with the sense of urgency he was feeling himself, swirling, flicking and laving until she cried out.
Molly dug her hands into his hair and held him close while her body rocked with her release. He continued licking and swirling her clit until she fell back against the pillow, her body still.
For a moment, her body lay limp against the mattress, but then her hands again tightened in his hair, tugging.
He answered her call, climbing up her body until he leaned over her his gaze on her eyes, her face, her mouth. When he kissed her, she kissed him back, her hands gliding down over his buttocks, guiding him to her entrance.
“This is how making love is supposed to be,” Molly whispered. “Wild, primitive and spontaneous. Not every move calculated to my ovulation cycle.”
“Yes.” Kujo growled low in his chest, feeling every bit of the passion that had been missing and loving Molly, even more.
An echoing growl sounded from the floor nearby.
Molly laughed. “Six agrees.”
The dog scratched the door.
“I think he needs to go out,” Molly said.
Kujo kissed her neck, her cheek and her lips. “I don’t want to leave you,” he said, his breath mingling with hers.
Six scratched again.
Molly captured Kujo’s face between her palms. “I’ll be here when you get back.”
With a sigh and one more kiss, Kujo left their bed and padded naked to the door and pulled it open.
“Use the lead—” Molly started to say.
Before he could snap the leash onto Six’s collar, the dog darted through the door and out into the night.
“Six, come,” Kujo said, using his dog handler’s stern tone.
When Six didn’t respond, Kujo repeated his command.
Again, Six didn’t return. In fact, Kujo couldn’t hear even the sound of the dog’s paws moving in the underbrush.
Swearing softly, he returned to the bed, snatched his jeans from the floor and shoved his legs into them.
Molly rose from the bed and dressed as well. “I’m worried about Six. He might go after that wolf.”
Kujo didn’t say it, but he was equally worried and could have kicked himself for not snapping on the lead before opening the door. He just hadn’t been thinking because his head had still been locked in the lusty euphoria of making love to Molly.
He pulled on his socks, boots and a warm winter jacket.
Molly did the same.
Grabbing his handgun, he held open the door for Molly, and they stepped out into the cold winter night.
Chapter Three
Molly zipped the opening of her winter coat all the way up to her chin as she stepped out into the cold.
“Stay close,” Kujo said. “The woods are full of wolves and mountain lions.”
“And they’re nocturnal.” Molly nodded. “Don’t worry.” She pulled her government-issued handgun from her pocket. “I can protect myself.”
In the moonlight, Kujo’s lips pressed together. “A bullet from a handgun will only make a wolf mad. It might not stop him. And wolves normally travel in packs. They don’t usually attack humans unless they’re cornered or feel threatened. But if a pack attacks, you might only have time to shoot one, maybe two before the others are on you.”
Molly smiled. “I know. That’s why I’m sticking close to you.” She looked out at the bright snow that was bathed in a bluish moonlit glow. “Where do you think Six went?”
“I don’t know. “Kujo frowned. “He never runs off.”
“Do you think he went after the wolf?” Molly asked.
“I hope not. If it’s an alpha, it will tear him to shreds. Six wouldn’t know what to do. He’s always been around highly trained dogs that don’t normally attack each other.” He drew in a deep breath and called out. “Come, Six!”
They spent the next hour combing over the area around the cabin as far out as they could go without sliding down the mountain. They saw dog tracks leading up into the rocky bluff above them but couldn’t climb in the dark to follow them all the way up the mountain. When Six didn’t show, bark or give any sign he was still within shouting distance, Molly slipped an arm around Kujo’s waist and leaned into him, exhausted, emotionally and physically.
Six meant a lot to her. He was part of her and Kujo’s family. Six had been in battle with Kujo, saving hundreds of lives with his skills sniffing out bombs. The man and the dog had a tight bond. It was one of the things that had drawn Molly to Kujo in the first place. Hell, Six had saved her life. She’d do anything for him. And the former Army Ranger cared for Six as if he were his own child. He would defend him with his life against any foe, two or four-legged.
Molly tightened her arm around Kujo’s waist. “What can we do now?”
Kujo shook his head. “I can’t get a search party going. Not in the dark. They don’t call these the Rocky Mountains for nothing. Searching at night any farther than we have could get one of us killed. I won’t ask for help until sunrise.”
“In the meantime?” Molly said softly.
Kujo looped his arm around Molly’s shoulders. “We hope and pray Six comes back on his own.”
Alive, Molly added in her thoughts.
For half an hour longer, they stood outside, calling for Six. It was well past midnight. Her nose, fingers and toes were starting to go numb with the cold. Molly shivered.
“Oh, babe. I’m sorry. You should be inside where it’s warm.”
“Six isn’t inside where it’s warm,” she protested, though the thought of warming her hands by the potbelly stove sounded like heaven.
Kujo turned her toward the cabin and walked with her. He held open the door for her to pass through.
Warmth immediately wrapped around her.
When Kujo didn’t follow her inside, she stopped and faced him. “You need to come in. It’s getting colder.”
He drew in a deep breath and let it out. “He’s tough.”
“Yes, he is,” Molly agreed. “And he loves the cold weather. Remember that time he stayed outside all day in the snow when the temperature was well below freezing?�
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Kujo nodded. “He was playing alone.”
“He’ll be okay,” Molly insisted. “He’s smart enough to stay safe.”
“If he thinks he’s protecting us, he might initiate contact with potentially dangerous animals,” Kujo murmured.
“Or he might make a friend and play.” Molly gave her man a calming smile. “My father always said, Don’t borrow trouble, Molls.” She touched his arm. “He’ll come back, and he’s going to be okay.” She took his hand and led him across the threshold into the cabin, closing the door behind them. Then, piece by piece, she removed his outer clothing, then his boots, his shirt and jeans. When he stood naked in the candlelight, he worked the clothing from her body and scooped her up into his arms.
When he laid her on the bed, he climbed up beside her, pulled the comforter up over their shoulders and held her, skin to skin.
There was nothing sexual about how they comforted each other. They held each other, sharing their body heat and a common concern over the wellbeing of the other member of their family.
Molly lay awake long into the night, holding Kujo, worried about Six. Even more, she worried about Kujo. If something happened to Six…
She must have fallen asleep in the early hours of the morning. When she woke, she lay alone in the bed. For a moment, she didn’t recognize where she was. Then everything that had happened the night before came flooding back. She sat up in the bed and looked for Kujo.
The small cabin was empty, the only light coming from the glow of a fire burning in the potbelly stove and the gray light of morning edging in around the shuttered windows. Kujo must have stoked the fire and then stepped out to look again for Six.
Pulling on her boots, she finger-combed her hair and shrugged into her jacket. When she stepped outside, a frigid wind whipped her hair into her face and sent a chill down her spine. Molly hunched her shoulders and pulled the hood up on her jacket to shield her ears from frostbite.
Her gaze swept the tree line, searching for Kujo and Six. She opened her mouth to call out and closed it again as a shadow detached itself from the trees and walked toward her.
