by Marie Carnay
“Just don’t put all your eggs in one basket, okay? She might change her mind.”
Jake stood up. “It’s a little late for that sis, I’m in love with her.”
Wendy’s mouth fell open and Jake strode to the door. “Guess I’m just going to have to make sure she doesn’t bolt.”
He stepped outside and exhaled in a rush. He couldn’t believe his own sister had doubts about Tabitha. He didn’t know where the animosity toward outsiders came from. It wasn’t like their family had lived there forever. His parents moved to Pinetree just before Wendy was born.
If he didn’t know any better, he’d swear she was jealous. Instead of harping on him about dating a city girl, Wendy should take a trip to Anchorage and find herself a man. He shook off the conversation and headed to his Jeep. He needed to get to work, to get his mind off his sister’s doubts and focus.
A few hours out in the field and he’d forget all about it.
Jake pulled up to the station and hopped out as Killian was headed in. The other trooper stopped when he saw him. “You sure picked a firecracker, Travers.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Haven’t you heard?”
He raised an eyebrow. “About what?”
“That little woman of yours marched straight into Dwayne’s hunting shop this morning and gave a packed house a piece of her mind.”
Jake swallowed. “What happened?”
“She threatened to investigate all of them. Claimed she’d be working with us to put Dwayne away.”
Oh, crap. Jake ran a hand down his face. “I didn’t know anything about it, I swear.”
“Yeah, well you better put a leash on her before Dwayne decides she’s more trouble than she’s worth. You know how easy it is to fake a hunting accident.”
Jake nodded. He remembered the sound of the helicopter as it took his father away. “I’ll talk to her.”
“You better, or it might not be a moose we find out in the woods.”
Tabitha unlocked the door to the clinic and stepped inside. She still had a few hours to catch up on paperwork before Becky arrived to open up.
Thank God for small favors. It had taken her close to an hour to calm down after the spat with Dwayne. The nerve of that jerk. Threatening her like that and practically admitting to breaking the law. He deserved to be in jail, not out and about with a rifle in his hand.
She took a step into the office when the door behind her opened. “I’m sorry, we’re—”
“Reckless? Foolish? Playing with fire? Yeah, you’re all those things, Tabitha.” Jake shut the door behind him and turned the lock.
His eyes burned like twin gas flames and from the clench of his jaw, she knew the cat was out of the bag.
“It’s not that bad, Jake.”
He stalked toward her, fists clenched, and she recoiled. With one arm, he took her by the waist and tugged. Her feet skidded across the floor and she crashed against his chest. “Jake! What are you—”
“My job’s dangerous enough. I don’t need you mixed up in it.” With his free hand, he tilted her head up by the chin. She’d never seen him this way. Angry didn’t begin to describe it.
“I’m a big girl. I can handle myself.”
“What happens when I’m not there to protect you? What happens when Dwayne decides you’re better off dead than alive?”
Tabitha struggled in his grip, mashing her breasts against his chest and squirming. She didn’t budge an inch. “Let me go.”
“Not until you understand how dangerous this is.”
“Dwayne wouldn’t kill me over some foiled hunt. That’s preposterous.”
“Is it? That’s his livelihood you’re messing with, Tabitha. He already breaks the law. Why wouldn’t he take it a step further?”
With two hands, she pushed against Jake’s chest. He only gripped her tighter. “I’m sorry, okay? I shouldn’t have gone over there.”
Jake loosened his hold and Tabitha seized the opportunity, putting a few feet of distance between them. Without him all over her, she could think. Focus. She smoothed down her dress and exhaled. “When I left Mabel’s, I was upset. Not thinking straight. When Mabel told me what happened with your dad and how you almost had Dwayne, I snapped.”
“What did you say?” The words came out slow and laced with tension.
Shit. “I said I talked to Gabe and Mabel. They told me about Dwayne and the stakeout.”
“What else?”
She swallowed. Why was he looking at her like that? “They mentioned April.”
He closed the gap between them before she could blink. “They had no right.” His hands wrapped around her arms and held her still. “That was my story to tell, not Gabe’s.”
“He didn’t want to say anything. Don’t blame him.”
Jake’s grip tightened around her arms. “You make me feel things I shouldn’t. Want things I shouldn’t.” His lips crashed against hers and Tabitha gasped in shock. All this time she thought he was mad at her for going behind his back, but now she wasn’t sure.
Was he scared? Was he mad he couldn’t protect her? She kissed him back just as hard, her tongue lashing out and striking his. Over and over she kissed him, lips hot and wild. At last, Jake stepped back.
“Damn it, Tabitha. The things you do to me.”
She grabbed her lower lip with her teeth and pulled it into her mouth. Jake made her want to be dirty and wicked and everything but the good girl from Seattle who always played it safe. She wanted him to break her. Tabitha let her lip go and tilted her head. “What are you going to do about it?”
Jake looked around, nostrils flaring with every breath. His gaze fell to her tie around her waist and he smiled. “Tie you up and have my way with you, I think.”
He grabbed the sash and tugged it off her body. Her dress fell open and he pushed it to the floor. “Hold out your wrists.”
A thrill rushed through her and she held them out without missing a beat.
“Obedient. It’s about time.” Slipping the tie around her wrists, he bound them tight, cinching until she couldn’t move. “When I heard you went to Dwayne, I almost lost my mind.”
“You should have told me. You need to stop holding back. You need to trust me.”
He stroked his fingers down her cheek until she shuddered. “Do you trust me, Tabitha?”
“Of course.”
He smiled and grabbed her by the shoulders steering her back until she bumped against the front door. “Good.” He lifted her arms above her head and hooked the sash over the coat hook on the back of the door. Tabitha gasped as she wriggled against the knot, trying in vain to pull her hands down. “I’m stuck!” Her voice came out in a squeal.
“Yes, you are. You don’t want me to hold back anymore? Then I won’t.” He yanked her bra down and took her nipple in his mouth. He sucked and nipped with his teeth as she thrashed against the door.
Oh my God. She was trapped. Tied up to the door of her clinic while Jake kneeled on the floor at her feet. He slid her panties over her thighs and Tabitha shivered. He’s not. He can’t. Here? Right here?
“Jake! What are you doing?”
He looked up at her as he snaked his hands up her inner thighs, sending a tremor of anxiety and need up her skin. “Tell me, Tabitha,” he said as he spread her legs, lifting one to reveal her throbbing sex, “how does this feel?”
He leaned forward and blew a hot stream of air across her folds and she arched her back against the wave of pleasure. This can’t be happening. “A—Amazing.”
He leaned closer and licked a trail from her ass to her clit, pausing to pulse against the little nub. “And that?”
Oh, God. “Better.”
He moaned against her slick skin, licking harder as she tugged against the knot around her wrists. She longed to run her fingers over his head and hair. But as he gripped her tighter, pinning her to the door and lapping at her clit with heavy strokes, she groaned. Oh, wow. Being helpless…it freed all
the emotions and feelings deep inside. Her sex throbbed and waves of pleasure crashed over her.
Jake leaned back and kissed her mound. “Damn, baby, you’re gorgeous. I want you to come. Come all over me.”
Latching his lips around her clit, he sucked, drawing it into his mouth. He lit her up with his touch, working her harder and faster, pushing her toward an orgasmic cliff and right over the edge.
She came on a cry. Her whole body spasmed, twitching and shivering and jumping as he sucked and licked and nibbled on her clit.
Jake lapped up her release, thrusting his tongue inside her channel before standing up and pressing her into the door. As Tabitha lolled against the door, overcome with euphoria, Jake yanked his pants open. He hoisted her legs in the air and in a single, forceful thrust, he buried his cock inside her.
Tabitha screamed. Oh my God! His cock throbbed inside her and Tabitha yanked against the tie. “Jake, we can’t. Not here, what if—”
He silenced her with a kiss, pushing his tongue past her protesting lips to circle hers with a need more violent than her own. Over and over he lapped, letting her taste her juices in his mouth, compelling her to relax and adjust to his size. Snaking his hands up her body, he found her nipples, circling in gentle strokes with his thumbs as he pulled back, sliding his thick member out of her channel until only the head remained inside.
The loss of his girth rolled through her in a wave and she whimpered.
“What was that?”
Tabitha groaned. It might be sinful and wicked and all kinds of wrong, but she couldn’t stop. Not now. She found his blue eyes and told him the truth. “I want you to take me.”
Oh, God. He slid, slow and controlled, back inside her, filling her up until all she could think and feel and want was him. He leaned his head into hers, forehead to forehead, as he stroked her breasts.
She kissed his cheek and leaned against him. If they were going to do this, then they should do it right. She’d always wanted a man to take control—to show her his strength and need and lust. Now she had her chance.
With a smile, she whispered in his ear. “Fuck me, Jake. Fuck me until I can’t stand. I want it hard. Rough.”
He pulled back and made eye contact, searching her face for confirmation. “You’re sure?”
She nodded.
“You don’t know what you do to me.”
Tabitha closed her eyes, taking a deep breath as Jake trailed kisses across her collarbone and neck. He planted his hands on either side of her body, steeling himself against the door.
In a flash, he thrust back inside, burying himself all the way. The breath blew out of her lungs in a raspy puff, rocketing up her throat and out her mouth. Fuck. He pulled back and thrust again, picking up speed as he used the door for leverage, pumping his hips until he pinned her against the wood with each stroke. Over and over she slammed against the panels, rubbing against the grain and scraping her skin. She wrapped her legs tighter around his waist, hooking her feet together.
With each smack of his body against hers, her breath came out in a pant and an orgasm built inside her. She wanted to come around his cock, tightening her muscles like a vice as he released his seed. Just as she bucked into him, forcing her hips up and into his, he pulled away. His dick popped free with a wet, sloppy sound and wetness slid down her thighs.
“Wha—” He grabbed her body by the hips and turned her around, mashing her face into the door. Pulling her ass backward, he kicked her legs out wide and positioned himself behind her. Yes! He slammed himself home in one thrust and Tabitha’s face mashed against the door. Her nipples rubbed over the wood as words tumbled out of her mouth. She begged.
With one hand, Jake found her clit, rubbing and flicking as he buried himself so deep she couldn’t breathe. He pinched her clit between his fingers and she came on a wail, the sound torn from her with its force. As her muscles clenched around him, he shuddered, pumping his release inside her again and again.
Tabitha sank into the door, drunk and exhausted from the best sex of her life.
As she came down from her high and her breathing slowed, Jake stepped back. His cock slipped out of her and he reached up to pull her off the door. With gentle fingers, he untied her and spun her around before planting a kiss on her forehead.
“Are you okay?”
She smiled. “I’m wonderful. If this is how you react when I make you mad, I should do it more often.”
Jake bent to pick up her panties and slipped them back up her legs. “I shouldn’t have lost control. I was too rough.”
He zipped his pants and bent to grab her dress, but Tabitha caught him by the arm. “No. You weren’t. I wanted it. Loved it. You have nothing to apologize for.”
With furrowed brows, Jake helped her back into her clothes. He kissed her softly on the lips. “I’ve got to go.”
Tabitha stepped away from the door with a nod. She didn’t know why he’d changed. One minute he was letting her in, showing her how deep his feelings for her ran, the next, he was shutting down and walking out the door.
She could still feel him inside her but she couldn’t make him stay. Without another word, Jake tugged the door open and disappeared.
8
TABITHA GLANCED UP at the front door and hoped Becky didn’t notice the blush spreading up her cheeks. Ever since Jake had walked out that morning, she’d been swinging between joy and confusion.
The guy was head over heels for her, that was for sure. But the way he left had her scratching her head. She wasn’t some delicate flower to keep under glass. Besides, she’d begged him for it.
She might not be the type of woman Jake was used to, but being strong and independent? It’s what Tabitha was all about. No hurt feelings or embarrassment would change that. Jake had to get used to her and all her wants, including those in the bedroom.
Or the waiting room of the clinic.
She snorted and Becky glanced over. “Something funny?”
Tabitha cleared her throat. “I…uh…choked on my water. It’s nothing.”
Becky gave her a look, but let it go. Thank God. The last thing she wanted to do was explain to her assistant how they got that dent in the front door.
The phone rang and Tabitha picked it up. “Pinetree Veterinary Clinic. Dr. Boone speaking.”
“Oh, thank God. Dr. Boone, there’s an emergency outside of town. There’s a wounded caribou just off Highway Eighty-three in the national forest. Officer Travers asked me to call. It needs your help.”
Tabitha snapped to attention. “Can you move it? It is able to transport?”
“No. It’s too big and I’m afraid if we try, it’ll bleed out. I think it’s been shot.”
Shit. Tabitha stood up and motioned at Becky to grab her bag. “I’m getting in my car. Can you give me directions?”
“Of course. Give me your cell number and I’ll text them to you. Please hurry, Dr. Boone.”
She rattled off her number and hung up the phone. A wounded caribou. Probably shot by Dwayne’s hunting party. She fumed. A gunshot wound meant minutes, not hours. If the wound nicked a major artery, the animal would be losing so much blood. If not…Either way, getting there in time to save it would need a miracle.
Maybe she could find some evidence to connect Dwayne to the killing. If she helped Jake put the guy away, he might accept her need to stand up for herself and the wildlife in town.
She grabbed her coat and Becky handed her the bag. “There’s a wounded caribou outside of town. Jake asked me to go. I’m going to see what I can do.”
“Do you want my Subaru?”
“No, I’ll be fine.” Tabitha hustled out the front door and slid into the driver’s seat of her sedan. A handful of minutes later and she was driving over rutted dirt roads and wincing every time the car bottomed out.
Damn it. I should have traded this in when I had the chance. A four-wheel drive would be a hell of a lot nicer right now. She’d had the chance to trade in the car in Anchorage, but she’d hesi
tated. What if she hated Pinetree? What if a city girl wasn’t cut out for the Alaskan wilderness?
She knew the answer to that now. With Jake by her side, she could be as country as anyone in town. As soon as she got back, she’d make the trip out to Anchorage and get rid of the car. She was in Pinetree to stay.
Holding her cell phone in one hand, she followed the directions until the road petered out. She jumped out and stomped into the brush, dodging fallen logs and branches, as she made her way into the forest.
The trees thinned ahead and she spotted it. A caribou. Oh, no. Tabitha ran up to the animal but stumbled to a stop a few feet away. It was already dead.
A poacher had cut off the antlers and hooves and left the rest. It was a trophy kill. Rage built inside her and Tabitha fought down a rush of tears. It wasn’t right, doing this to something so beautiful.
She knelt next to the animal and stroked its matted fur. If she’d gotten there sooner, if her car hadn’t been so slow, maybe she’d have saved it. Maybe she wouldn’t be staring at the work of some jerk with a rifle who called himself a hunter.
Tabitha reached for the animal’s neck and recoiled. It was cold. Too cold to be a fresh kill. She sat back on her heels. It didn’t make sense. Why would Jake ask someone to call her about a wounded animal and point her toward one that had been dead for hours?
A chill coursed down her back and she stood up. Oh, no. Jake’s words echoed in her head and she spun around. She scanned the forest for any kind of opportunity, but she knew the odds. If a hunter was out there in full camouflage with a high powered rifle, she was as good as dead.
If the caribou didn’t have a chance, neither did she.
Jake stared at the computer screen, his eyes glazed over and unable to focus. Never in a million years had he meant to be so physical with Tabitha. So raw. But when she’d looked up at him with those chocolate eyes and begged…he gave in to some seriously dark desires.
He ran his hands over his head and closed his eyes. He should go to her and explain. Tell her that wasn’t the real him—that he didn’t mean to lose control.
“Hey, man. You all right?”