The man’s physique defied her limited vocabulary. His heavily corded arms and shoulders, narrow hips and sexy-as-hell muscled thighs had driven her to distraction and beyond several times last night. And once this morning. Keelee could feel her face warming with the memory of his body thrusting against hers. The feel of the muscles in his back pulsing and his ass bunching and releasing. The caress of his breath against her heated skin. The revelation of rapture on his face as his body released into hers. His male hardness forced an ache deep within, but it was one she’d gladly accept. Hell, she’d beg for it.
But they needed to get off the mountain—sooner or later. A knowing smile spread across her face. But not tonight. There were four condoms left in the supply he’d brought and she intended on using every one of them. He explained he had every intention of making love to her, so he came prepared. Mmmm… his cock was so big and felt so damn good. Her hands flew to her face and covered her cheeks. Such thoughts! Girl, you are wicked! A carefree laugh bubbled up and bounced off the pine and plaster walls. Does everyone in love feel this good?
Thoughts of Adam carried her through the morning. She pulled some of the stores out of the cupboards and put together a chicken stew. She had the makings for dumplings and would add them to the pot. Her ankle injury sent small twinges of pain, reminding her to take it easy as she puttered around the kitchen putting things in order. A smile at the stacked mattresses in front of the fire grew exponentially when she heard the distant growl of a snowmobile. He’d made good time. Keelee ran her fingers through her hair and straightened her flannel shirt. If only I had something nice to wear. She giggled again and wrapped her arms around herself in delight. Adam. After all this time, she had Adam.
When she opened the storm door, her smile and her delight vanished. The rider was too slight to be Adam. As the machine drew closer, she knew. Clint.
Keelee watched as the machine got closer. There was no way she would have survived in the old cellar until this morning. If it hadn’t been for Adam braving the storm, she’d be dead.
With a sigh, she leaned against the doorjamb. Clint was a decent man. He treated her well. But there had never been and now never would be anything but a few tepid kisses between them. He was more of a friend than a boyfriend. Still, this conversation wasn’t going to be easy. She hated to hurt his feelings, but she’d be damned if she was going to deny her own any longer.
Clint lifted from the snowmobile. His usual smile spread across his face. “Well, I guess you could have gotten off this mountain without my help. You don’t appear no worse for wear.” He tossed a hard once-over at her. “Betty was worried about you, but it seems like you’re fine. Figured you would be. She seems to think you’re staying up here for another day or two. Why’s that?”
Keelee regarded the man in front of her. His sandy brown hair and lean build were attractive but nowhere near the drop-dead sexy physique of Adam. Stark reality forced her to see what she had been afraid to admit for the last two years. They would never work. Clint had repeatedly told her he didn’t like her being in charge at the ranch. He felt it was a man’s job. He questioned her every directive, but not enough to cause problems. Clint’s comments that she was too tall, gawky and lean to be considered attractive hurt. Yet he wanted to date her. The only reason she could come up with for that attraction was the ranch. Clint seemed eager enough to elevate the relationship, but something prevented Keelee from agreeing. In the very cold light of day, his desire for her was a means to an end.
Her face flushed when she remembered how Adam had made love to her last night and told her with embarrassing detail what he loved about her body. The two men couldn’t be more different and that suited her just fine. Yeah, this conversation needed to happen, and it needed to happen now.
“Actually Clint, I’m staying up here with Dr. Cassidy. He’s due back any second. I thought you were him. But to answer your question, my ankle is pretty sore and I got a concussion when the root cellar at the homestead collapsed under me. Adam searched for me during the blizzard, found me and probably saved my life.”
“You actually needed rescuing, huh? Honestly woman, if you had any sense in your head you wouldn’t have come up here with a blizzard blowing in.” He took off his gloves and shoved them into his down-filled coat.
“Sense? Sense would have dictated you help those people you ‘claimed’ were at the homestead. I was there Clint. Nobody had been there for ages.”
“Bullshit, Keelee. I saw them, but I don’t know why you’re all the way out here. I saw them at the old homestead by my dad’s ranch. Not this one. Seriously, you don’t listen worth a shit sometimes.” Clint’s eyes narrowed before he asked. “Why are you staying another night? You have a snowmobile. I’m here. I can take you down to the ranch if you can’t drive.”
Keelee could feel the warmth rising in her cheeks. “We’re staying for another night because we want to, Clint. To be alone.” Her soft words caused the man to flinch as if he had been hit.
“Would you care to explain why? We’ve been dating for over a year and I get a handful of kisses? Hell, no. You’re not staying alone here with another man. Now get your shit and let’s get out of here.”
Keelee’s mouth dropped open at his audacity. “Excuse me?”
Clint closed the gap between them and pushed her slamming her back into the doorframe of the shack. He pointed toward the cabin. “Get in there, get your shit, and get your coat on. We’re leaving. Now.”
Without thinking, Keelee shoved him back. The force of her hit caught him hard on the chest. He staggered back. “You don’t have the right to tell me what to do! I am staying here with Adam and I don’t care what you think. There is no ‘we,’ Clint. There is you wanting my dad’s ranch. You think I don’t know that?”
Keelee blinked stupidly at the ground. What the fuck just happened? Her hands and knees were buried in the snow next to the cabin. Pain suddenly ruptured through her dazed senses. He punched me! Oh God. Her split lip painted crimson Rorschach blots across the pristine white of the snow. Nausea rolled as sharp cords of pain radiated through her skull. Black spots danced across the snow, mixing with the abstract spray of her blood.
Clint clutched a handful of her hair and pulled her up, pinning her to the wall of the cabin. His other hand gripped her neck. He squeezed. She gasped desperately for a full breath of air. Keelee cringed as he shoved his face in front of hers. “I should be the one you’re spreading your legs for.”
The man jerked his head towards the meadow behind him. In the distance, the growl of a snowmobile expanded in volume as it approached. Turning, he leered at Keelee. His features relaxed and he released the excruciating grip he had on her hair. His stranglehold still tight, she clawed at his hand, trying to get him to release his killing grip.
Keelee’s pulse pounded in her head and her vision started to black out. She slammed her knee up and racked the man hard in the balls. He released her and folded into himself. Able to breathe, Keelee sucked air into her starved lungs.
“You fucking bitch!” He grabbed her hair again, but she threw an elbow backward, hitting his chin. He lurched forward, pinned her against the outside wall and forced his tongue between her split and bruised lips. Keelee clamped her teeth shut. Clint reared back and growled before he backhanded her across the other cheek. Keelee felt the explosion of pain from the blow and the fall that slammed her shoulder into the doorjamb. He picked her up by her hair and threw her into the cabin. A wicked kick of his boot landed against her ribs. “You’re mine, damn it!”
Keelee desperately scrambled away from him. He grabbed her hair and jerked her to him. Off balance, they fell backward into the legs of a table. It slid toward the fireplace. The Sat-phone on top teetered, then rolled off into the coals.
Regaining his feet, he lifted her up by her hair and trapped her face. His fingers pried her jaw open. He shoved his tongue forward in a rape of her mouth before he viciously bit her split bottom lip. His fingers kept her jaw pre
ssed open, preventing her from biting down. In desperation Keelee lifted her leg and stomped as hard as she could on the arch of his foot.
“Motherfucking son-of-a-bitch!” In his rage, he slung her down to the floor and she felt the stabbing agony of his boot connecting with her ribs. “You bitch! You and that damn doctor had better watch out. Do you hear me?”
Another wicked kick landed on her back and then the door slammed. Keelee scurried to the kitchen and grabbed a butcher knife. Her hands shook as she limped to the door and leaned against it trying to catch her breath. She couldn’t believe what had just happened. Clint’s machine fired and the snowmobile raced across the pasture. She took in the tattered seam of her shirt, blood staining the checkered pattern an ugly dark red. Lifting a hand to her face she pulled away a palm full of blood. Great. Pulling open the front door, she scooped a handful of snow, then limped back into the cabin. How in the hell did this happen?
*
Adam pulled Keelee’s snowmobile into the far end of the meadow as a machine left the cabin. He headed straight for it. There had to be something wrong if Keelee was leaving without waiting for him. As the two vehicles pulled closer, Adam slowed. The man on the snowmobile veered radically and gunned it down the hill. Clint flew past him. The man’s driving was going to get him killed. The idiot was going too fast. Adam watched him for a few seconds. An eerie feeling of apprehension wrapped around him. He glanced back towards the cabin and revved the snowmobile’s motor. Oh, fuck no!
Adam hit the throttle. The snowmobile topped out and flew across the field. If that son-of-a-bitch touched her… Adam’s training kicked in. No visible signs of distress to the buildings or out structures. No fire, the doors and windows appeared intact. He slid to a violent halt in front of the house, nearly sending the machine sideways into the pine fencing. He killed the engine.
“Keelee!” His shout echoed in the sudden silence. His eyes fell on the bright crimson staining the pristine white snow.
He roared, “Keelee!” He slammed against the door. It crashed open, sending splinters flying. The wood panel smashed against the interior of the cabin.
She stood at the kitchen sink with her back to him. As he stormed in, she turned a little and lifted a hand. “You’re going to fix that. I’m not good at carpentry.”
“What was he doing here?”
“Came up to bring me down to the ranch. We had the talk. I… ah… it didn’t go well. I shouldn’t have just come out and said it. He… he got mad.”
Adam walked up and turned her, holding her close. Slipping a hand under her hair, he lifted it to see her face and winced at the evidence of Clint’s brutality.
“What the fuck!”
“Yeah, we had a disagreement about me staying with you. Like I said, should have broken it to him differently.”
Adam glanced at the destroyed satellite phone. The putrid odor of melted plastic hung heavy in the air.
“No way in hell this is your fault. That motherfucker is dead. I’m going to kill him.”
He tilted her face up, examining it. One eye was swollen partially closed. The other had a bruise forming under it and a contusion forming on the cheekbone. Her lip was split, bleeding, and swollen. She held a melting snowball in one hand. It was tinged with blood. She had been icing the swelling. She put her hand on his wrist to stop him from examining her injuries. “Adam, I’m not asking you to go avenge my honor. Believe me, I got in a few good licks too.”
“Baby, he’s going to jail for what he’s done to you. After I examine you, I’m calling the sheriff.”
She leaned back against the wall and he saw the livid red finger marks at her throat. Pure unadulterated rage filled him. Nobody treated a woman like this.
She nodded toward the fireplace. “The phone got dumped into the fire during the fight. It’s toast. Literally. I pulled it out of the fire, but it’s dead.”
The ass-wipe was lucky. Adam would have to take care of Keelee’s injuries and couldn’t follow him down the hill. Damn coward. That vermin could run, but he couldn’t hide. He had no idea the can of shit he’d just opened. He’d find and deal with that son-of-a-bitch later. Now, Adam needed to take care of his woman.
“Where else are you hurt, baby?” He wiped a lone tear from her face as it trickled towards her split lip.
She gave a tiny shrug. “Couple kicks to the ribs and back. Been kicked harder by horses.”
“Okay. I need to take a peek.” He held her as she moved. She staggered a bit and then regained her balance. His immediate concern was her concussion. She didn’t need another blow to the head.
Once she had steadied on her feet, he turned to grab his kit and spoke over his shoulder. “Take off your shirt, babe.”
Her soft laugh was the last thing he expected. “Is it wrong of me to get a little turned on by that comment?”
Pulling his stethoscope from the side pouch of his kit, he shook his head. “Nope, and if I weren’t in a murderous mood right now, I’d enjoy making you even more turned on.” He winked at her as he palpated the dark red and purple tinged bruises around her ribs. He turned her to examine her back and then again to check on the other side of her ribs. He checked her lungs and listened to her abdomen. He sat on the arm of the couch and pulled her between his legs. She was banged up, but his woman was one tough cowgirl.
“Any sharp pains when you move?”
“Only in my head. If I didn’t have a concussion before, I’d bet I do now.”
“Yeah, we’ll have to keep an eye on you.” He pulled the sleeping bag off the bed and draped it around her shoulders. “Come sit down and tell me what happened.”
He moved and pulled her carefully between his legs, using his chest for her back rest.
“I thought it was you coming back. I opened the door and it was him. He wasn’t happy about me staying up here with you.”
“How did he end up using you as a punching bag?”
“Like I said, I told him we were staying up here, alone, for at least one more night. He got upset, told me to get my shit, and he’d take me down the mountain. He shoved me into the wall. Naturally, I shoved the asshole back. Hard.” She moved her head from side to side against his chest. “I didn’t even see the first punch coming.”
Adam froze. “First? How many times did he hit you?”
“Uhh… twice… maybe? He’s never been an angry or violent person. But he threatened us. I think, I don’t remember for sure.”
Adam wrapped her in his arms, holding her but not restraining her. “How did he threaten you, baby?”
“Most of his yelling is pretty jumbled. I was so shocked it was hard to take in. I remember him saying it wasn’t over and we better watch out.”
Adam stroked her arm softly and kissed her hair. “Does Clint drink or take drugs?”
Keelee shook her head slowly and gave a small groan. “No. Doesn’t drink and as far as I know he doesn’t have the money for drugs. His dad holds the purse strings for the family.” She turned and flinched a little at the movement. “I’m sorry.” She leaned into him. “I need to take a little nap. I’m tired and my head hurts.”
Adam shook his head. “Nope, let’s get up and go sit at the table. Need to eat whatever you have cooking and then we’ll clean up and see about a nap. Okay?”
Keelee sighed and waved her hand towards the kitchen. “I was going to make dumplings for the stew.”
Adam gently nudged her forward, “Alright, you sit at the table and give me directions and we’ll get them mixed up.”
*
It took every trick he knew, but he managed to keep Keelee awake for a solid eight hours. The manifestations of the concussion weren’t severe. Thank God. He set the alarm on his watch and tucked her back against him. Now that he didn’t have to keep Keelee engaged, he had time to process the day.
Clint would pay for what he did to Keelee. No man had the right to strike out in anger against a woman or for that matter another man. As a doctor, he knew domestic viol
ence was usually a learned behavior. Also a fact, if the local law enforcement officers didn’t find Clint quickly, Guardian’s people would. He’d fucking guarantee he was on hand when the man was put in cuffs. Fuck with the Guardian brotherhood and you get cut off at the knees. Fuck with the ones they loved? The Lord better have mercy on your soul, because the operatives at Guardian wouldn’t.
Chapter Fifteen
The sight of the ranch house had never been sweeter. The mental fog that shrouded yesterday after Clint’s insane attack still hadn’t completely cleared. The jumble of words, vicious sneers and threats never really solidified to the point she could recall everything. Even freshly showered and tucked into her king-sized bed, her head still felt like it was stuffed with cotton. Thankfully, Adam took point and dealt with Aunt Betty. It took a lot, but when that woman got riled up her voice could fracture plate glass windows. Her aunt’s angry voice had quieted some time ago. Thank God… or Adam… or both. Keelee chuckled to herself. It wasn’t that funny, but the mere thought of being able to thank God for Adam expanded a bubble of joy and wrapped her in happiness.
The sounds of male voices floated up the stairs and through her open door. She smiled. Dixon, Drake, and Chief had come back to the ranch. Jason King had flown back with them after the storm. She’d seen the massive man when Adam whisked her into the house and carried her up the stairs. She had buried her face in his neck, enjoying the protective gesture.
She could hear Dixon and Drake clearly now. When they were at the ranch, those two talked non-stop. But, the second a person they didn’t know showed up, they shut up. God couldn’t force a word from either one of them. In reality, that inane prattle had become comforting over the last two years. But today their voices didn’t sound happy. Her brow creased at the angry tones. She was the reason the twins were upset. No, that wasn’t right. What Clint did to her was the reason they were upset. It gave her a little boost to know she’d gotten a few good licks in, but why it happened still baffled her.
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