Oh, yea, she had bewitched him, all right and there was no way in hell he was ever letting her go!
It had been over a week since Laurie had been rescued and she was growing restless. She paced back and forth in front of the windows of her room and looked off into the distance toward Nogales. The map she’d found in Jake’s office earlier that morning showed her that she wasn’t that far away from Luzaro’s estancia. Her intuition and all of her senses told her that Aragon was still safe, but how long he would remain that way was anyone’s guess. The longer it took Enrique to find her, the more his nerves would fray. He was not known for his patience and his vindictiveness was legendary. It would only be a matter of time before he started taking out his frustration on her defenseless animal.
Laurie’s leg was healing nicely and she now felt very little pain. She was certain she would be able to ride the distance to Luzaro’s compound without any problem and once there a whistle would be all that would be necessary to get Aragon to come to her. There wasn’t a fence that could hold the Andalusian if he wanted to go, unless they had him stabled in a barn which would lead to another whole set of problems. Damn!
It was past time for her to leave Kingdom Ranch. Laurie had found herself making excuses day after day not to go. She’d been avoiding Jake as much as possible the last few days because she was drawn to him in a way that she’d never been to any other man. She’d known him only a short time and she couldn’t believe the hold he already had on her heart. The longer she stayed, though, the more danger he would be in and she wanted him safe at all costs, even at the cost of her heart. She would leave tonight, take one of the ranch horses and go after Aragon, thereby reducing the danger to Jake and his brothers. Once she had freed Aragon, she would release the ranch horse and hope it would find its way back to Jake’s stables. As to what she would do after that, she and Aragon would ride as far as they could in the hope of finding a place to shelter somewhere along the way. Not a good plan but it was the only one she had.
Laurie left the house and walked to the barn as had become her habit the last few days. The jeans and cotton shirt Jake had given her fit extremely well, the jeans molding to her backside a little too well and the buttons of the shirt straining over her full breasts. Laurie enjoyed spending time with her new friends. The kitten she’d name Josephine because of her regal attitude and the old mutt that had adopted her she’d named Sam. Laurie stopped in mid-stride as she approached Cloud’s stall.
“You should stay away from Cloud. He’s dangerous.”
Laurie could hear the fear in Jake’s voice, fear for her safety. She tamped down her indignation at the order and answered smoothly as she reached out to pet the stallion’s velvety-soft nose. “Cloud and I have an understanding.”
“I know you’re good with animals,” Jake said, waving his arm to encompass the pets that waited for her nearby. “But stallions are different. A friend of mine was killed by one a few years ago. The beast picked Raymond up by the back of his neck and shook him like a rag doll. Broke his neck instantly.”
“Thanks for worrying about me, Jake, but it’s okay. Cloud would never hurt me, would you boy?” Laurie ran her hand lovingly along the stallion’s arched neck and Jake swore he heard the big guy sigh.
Laurie rubbed the stallion’s nose and then dropped onto the bale of hay next to his stall door. “Hi Josephine,” she smiled as she reached for the kitten at her feet, hauling it into her lap where it purred contentedly. “And how are you this fine morning, Sam?” The old dog lay down at Laurie’s feet, his eyes fastened on her face, his long tail sweeping back and forth across the stable floor.
Jake laughed at the dog’s obvious dedication. “Do you have this effect on all animals?”
“Many of them,” Laurie said matter-of-fact. “I didn’t know just how much until I got out on my own. I wasn’t allowed to have animals at any of the foster homes where I lived growing up. My parents and brothers were killed when I was very young and there was no other family to take me in.”
Jake saw the sorrow in her eyes, and the regret. “I’m so sorry, Laurie. My family has had it’s problems over the years but nothing like what you’ve faced. I’ve always had my brothers. I’m sorry you didn’t have anyone.”
He reached down and lifted Laurie to her feet, drawing her into his arms, intending to comfort her, while the kitten hissed its disapproval and dropped to the floor. Jake could feel Laurie’s heart beat accelerate as he drew her into his arms and his wolf could smell her arousal. He was unable to tear his eyes away from hers as he slowly felt himself losing control.
Jake crushed Laurie’s unresisting body against his and kissed her lips with feral possessiveness. He ran his hand up under her shirt and cupped her breast, running his fingertips over her nipple which sent a red hot shot of lust strait to his groin.
Laurie kissed Jake back and wrapped her arms around him. She could feel his arousal against her stomach and the ache between her legs filled her with urgency. Laurie felt like a bitch in heat. She wanted to lean into Jake, hungry to feel his arms around her. She craved the want, the need, the sense of belonging to someone who cared about her. Horrified by her reaction to him she jerked away, desire coiling low in her belly.
Damn! Jake instantly backed off, thinking he had scared Laurie. His wolf was very near the surface and he was afraid he would lose total control. She was his mate, the one meant for him and she needed to know exactly what that entailed before they consummated their relationship.
“I’m sorry, Laurie,” Jake said sheepishly trying for a lighter note. “It seems you bring out the beast in me.”
Laurie smiled despite her anxiety and touched her lips that were swollen from Jake’s kiss. “I like you Jake, very much. If things were only different . . .” her voice trailed off awkwardly.
“I didn’t mean to rush you, it’s just that you’re so damn beautiful. It’s hard for me to keep my hands off you.” Jake grinned that little boy grin that Laurie had come to love so much. “I’ll give you all of the time you need. Tell me to back off and I’ll back off, but I can’t promise you for how long.” He grinned again before turning away and adjusting his jeans before opening Cloud’s stall door. “Time to give this ole boy here a little exercise.”
Laurie would have given anything at that moment to have been able to give Jake the reassurance he was looking for, but she couldn’t. She would be leaving tonight and she would never see him again. That thought caused a sharp pain in her chest and she gasped at the sheer intensity of it, glad that Jake had been turned away from her. She scooped up the kitten and followed Jake out of the barn and toward the round pen where he would work the stallion.
They would only have today and Laurie intended to hold every precious moment of that time deep in her heart. You could come back when this is all over?
Laurie sighed and shook her head, knowing that she wasn’t likely to survive Enrique’s all out man hunt.
A woman in love made sacrifices. A woman in love would protect her love against anyone who would harm him and she would do whatever it took to make him happy. And in that moment, Laurie realized she was that woman, and that she was in love with Jake Wolfe.
ChapterEighteen
Anthony Pluta had been born on Kingdom Ranch and loved the gargantuan spread with all his heart and soul. He’d seen many things over the years, some good and some bad, like when the Patron’s woman had died in a flash flood. He had worshipped the Senora and still mourned her as he knew her sons did.
Anthony felt the effects of his age this morning as he walked into the stables, the arthritis in his joints letting him know that it was well past time when most people had retired. Anthony was grateful that Jake Wolfe hadn’t asked him to do that yet. He knew that he would wither away and die if he was no longer allowed to be a part of the ranch’s activities.
Anthony had seen the young woman called Laurie before but only briefly. He admired her courage as she stood beside Golden Cloud’s stall, petting the dang
erous stallion as though he were a lap dog. Until now, Anthony had been the only other person besides Jake who could get close to the stallion without courting disaster. The stable boys gave Cloud a wide berth for which Anthony was grateful.
“He is very gentle with you, Miss,” Anthony said as he walked toward Laurie. “Many fear him and with good reason.”
“That’s because he doesn’t trust most people, with good reason,” Laurie laughed, her porcelain skin glowing and her brilliant green eyes twinkling. She extended her hand in greeting and Anthony shook it firmly. “I’m Laurie, and you are?”
“Anthony Pluta, but most call me Anthony. I care for the stables here at Jake’s and the stable boys,” Anthony said with a smile that belied his seventy years. His shoulders were slumped and his hair had turned completely gray, but his mind was as sharp as it had always been and his amber eyes missed little of what went on around him.
Laurie was charmed by the older man’s easy manner and felt an instant connection. “I’m supposed to meet Jake here this morning. He promised he’d show me some of the ranch.”
The moment Anthony’s hand touched Laurie’s he felt an instant connection and he knew, despite the smile that covered her beautiful face, the young woman was in trouble and capable of making even more trouble for herself if she wasn’t careful. “There is much to see on a spread as large as this one. There are many things to beware of, also. Rattlesnakes, bobcats, pumas, and coyotes, just to mention a few. And then there is Lobo Diablo.”
An icy shiver traveled the length of Laurie’s spine as she watched the old man’s eyes cloud over with what? Fear? Her thoughts suddenly flashed back to the huge black wolf she thought she’d seen when the coyotes had attacked her. “Lobo Diablo?”
“Yes, Lobo Diablo, the devil wolf. He is a legend in these parts, hunting the human coyotes who traffic in human misery and desperation. These men are the scum of the earth and it is said that Lobo Diablo has no mercy on them when he finds them.”
“You’ve seen this wolf yourself,” Laurie asked, finding it hard to believe that such an animal existed, bringing to mind tales of Big Foot and the Abominable Snow Man. If these creatures did exist how had they managed to remain undetected by modern society and its advanced technology?
“I have not seen the wolf myself but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t exist.” Anthony shared the Wolfe brother’s secret and did all in his power to protect them and the good they were doing. “What would you do if you saw it, this wolf?”
Laurie had just discovered her new found affinity with animals and was just beginning to learn that she could actually reach them on a primitive level. But her confrontation with the coyotes had shaken that belief somewhat and she wasn’t at all sure what she would do if confronted with a wolf as large as the one she thought she had seen.
“You are right to be cautious,” Anthony said when he saw Laurie’s indecision. “The wolf is after all a beast and who knows which way the beast will jump if provoked.”
Neither Laurie nor the old man had noticed Jake standing near the entrance of the stable. Even at a distance, his wolf hearing had been able to catch every word of their conversation. The time was fast approaching when he would need to make a decision as to whether or not to tell Laurie about himself and his brothers. Jake wanted Laurie to stay with him and he knew he could probably use his wolf’s sexual prowess to gain her agreement, but he didn’t want to win her that way. He wanted Laurie to stay with him because she wanted to stay, because she had come to love him and realize that they belonged together. The fact that Jake could Change Laurie had entered his mind on more than one occasion, then she wouldn’t have been able to leave. They wouldn’t have been able to allow her to run free and risk jeopardizing everything they, as a family, had built over the years. To have people know who and what they were would be a disaster.
“Telling tall tales again, Anthony?” Jake asked as he walked into the barn. Both Laurie and the old man stepped aside as he opened Cloud’s stall door and grabbed hold of the stallion’s halter. He lead the animal out into the wide aisle that ran the length of the stable and clipped the cross ties to each side of Cloud’s halter so he could be saddled.
“To be sure. Nothing but old wife’s tales,” the old man grinned, showing several gaps in his front teeth. “Which horse do you want me to saddle for the lady?”
“Sugar should do nicely for her. A babysitter, since I don’t know how well you ride,” Jake smiled mischievously at Laurie.
“Sugar, are you sure you want Sugar for her?” Anthony questioned as he looked from Jake to Laurie and then back again.
A babysitter? I’ll show you, Jake Wolfe. Laurie promised as Anthony walked toward the end of the stable and lifted the latch on one of the stall doors. Laurie inhaled sharply when Anthony lead a gray palomino mare out of the stall. The mare was fine boned with a refined head, large eyes and nostrils over a small muzzle.
“She looks like an Arabian,” Laurie breathed, unable to keep her feet from moving toward the animal. She ran her hand lightly along the mare’s sleek arched neck. The mare quieted immediately under Laurie’s light touch and turned her finely chiseled head toward Laurie, blowing puffs of air through her flared nostrils.
“That’s because she is an Arabian,” Jake laughed, his blue eyes crinkling at the corners.
Laurie felt a burst of pleasure just looking at Jake. The smile in his eyes seemed to light his whole face when he looked at her and she felt a sudden pang of regret for what she had to do. Jake had saved her life and opened his home to her. She believed he would even open his heart to her if she stayed. A sudden vision of Enrique Mendoza’s hated face filled her with dread and she turned back toward the mare. “I thought you were only going to breed racing Quarter Horses.”
There’s that look again. It had been several days since Jake had seen that look on Laurie’s face and he could feel his wolf snarling to get at whoever was causing Laurie so much pain. He ruthlessly beat down the wolf’s urge to rip and tear and said, “Yes, she’s a luxury I couldn’t resist. I saw her in a pasture on a run down ranch just outside of Patagonia about six months ago. The guy who owned her had neglected her so badly that she was skin and bones and filled with worms. I offered him a ridiculous price for the mare, went home and got my trailer and hauled her back here. It took months of good feed and supplements, as well as Anthony’s masterful care, to bring her back to what you see now.”
“She looks like she could be show quality,” Laurie said, running her hand over the mare’s well rounded rump. “I went to a horse show in New York once where they had Half Arabian classes. Have you ever thought about breeding her to Golden Cloud?”
Jake didn’t miss the mention of New York as he laughed and said, “No, but I’m sure Golden Cloud has. She’s not in heat right now or we wouldn’t be taking her.”
“Bad Jake,” Laurie scolded and felt herself blushing to the roots of her blonde hair. It wasn’t the fact of what Jake had said that had her turning red, it was the fact that she wished he would be bad with her?
Jake and Laurie’s eyes collided and held and whether they knew it or not in those few precious moments a connection and a commitment were made. Laurie resolved to have that fling with Jake Wolfe before she left that she’d been dreaming about. Those few precious minutes would be all she would have to hold onto after she left him. Laurie’s eyes were suddenly filled with tears and she jumped when she heard Anthony clear his throat, effectively breaking their connection.
“We’ll be out for about two hours,” Jake told the stable master. “I’ll have a radio with me in case anything comes up.” Jake finished saddling Cloud as Anthony finished saddling the Arabian.
“You young uns just be careful out there.” Anthony looked at the dark clouds gathering over the distant mountains. He helped Laurie mount, adjusting the stirrups to accommodate her long legs.
“Thanks, Anthony, we’ll be careful.” Laurie drew the reins into her hands and easily controlled the Ar
abian which was prancing around the yard in her eagerness to run.
Jake shook his head when he saw Laurie pat Sugar’s neck, which immediately quieted the animal. There was no doubt in his mind that Laurie had a way with animals, much like horse whisperers had with horses. He couldn’t help but wonder what she would think of a big bad wolf?
“Sugar?” Laurie asked, her eyebrows raised in question. She and Jake had traveled in silence for several miles before stopping at the edge of a deep arroyo. “Surely this Arabian has a much grander name.” Laurie hoped to break the stilted silence that had settled between them since their eyes had collided in the stables.
Jake was gazing off into the distance, concentrating on the storm clouds brewing high up in the mountains. After several long moments he glanced down into the arroyo and said, “My mother died when a flash flood roared into an arroyo like this one. When a violent thunderstorm breaks over the mountains, the runoff from the rains runs into the steep canyons in a matter of minutes. Walls of water sometimes ten to thirty feet high rush through the canyons and arroyos, picking up mud, boulders, trees and other debris. Plants, animals and people are sometimes caught and swept along, battered by the torrent. Flash flooding in an arroyo like this one can take just seconds to develop.”
“I’m so sorry, Jake. It must have been devastating losing your mother that way.”
Jake shook himself, releasing the unpleasant memory. “Rand thinks our mother committed suicide, or at the very least, didn’t fight to survive. I tend to believe she did fight, that she never would have left us without battling that raging flood.”
“Rand, that’s your other brother? The one I haven’t met yet?”
“Yea, he was the youngest of us boys and took it the hardest. He’s convinced she committed suicide and who knows, maybe he’s right. She had been fighting depression for a long time. Her death, or suicide as he believes, made him hard toward women, though.” Jake sighed at the thought. “Oh, he’ll have the occasional one night stand but he doesn’t let anyone get close.”
The Guardian (The Wolfe Series) Page 14