Branded by Lust: 4 (Night Seekers)

by Holt, Desiree

  “Can we get Google maps of the area?” Logan asked. “If so I can print them out on my computer. Also a map of each town?”

  Doug nodded. “Most of them. I can show you the links.”

  “Okay. I can always call back to our home base and get our team leader to pull up and send us what we can’t get.”

  “Team leader?” Ford asked. “What kind of outfit do you work for, anyway?”

  “A highly specialized one,” Logan answered. “We have only one focus. To find and destroy the Chupacabra. And now it seems the place where they’re being bred as well, and bring down whoever is responsible for this.”

  “That takes a lot of money, doesn’t it?”

  Logan nodded. “The man who put this team together is a billionaire. The devil beast killed his wife and daughter so he’ll spend whatever it takes to get this job done.”

  He looked at the sheriff again. “Rance, you’ll need to figure out what you want to tell your deputies. How much, I mean. And make the assignments. You have enough snowmobiles?”

  The sheriff nodded. “If not I can always borrow some.” He looked around the table. “And we’re agreed the word we put out is a possible bear sighting?”

  “That doesn’t help if the beast shows up in human form,” Logan pointed out. “And it won’t explain all the additional patrols out. Let’s forget about the ranger for the moment. How about if you pass the word that there’s a rumor of a prison break at Montana State Prison. That the escaped prisoners could be headed this way toward the Canadian border and possibly passing through here. Be sure and tell them the rumor is unconfirmed but you don’t believe in taking chances.”

  Danvers rubbed his chin. “I guess I could make that work. It could be a plausible reason for warning people about strangers. I’d have to feed the same story to my staff but I think I could make it stick.” He snorted. “Better than trying to sell them a story I still have trouble believing.”

  “As long as it works I’m good with it,” Logan agreed. “Remind them too that all the snow could have driven the wild animals closer to civilization and to keep their rifles handy. Oh and one more thing. The beast almost always attacks its prey at night, although it can insinuate itself into the situation during the daytime.”

  “We’ll meet first thing in the morning?” Rance asked. “To go over this one more time and assign people areas to cover?”

  “Yes. Good idea.”

  “Can I ask that we do it here again? I’ll be giving my men a bare minimum of information. Just what we cooked up to tell the general public. I don’t think I can really make them understand what we’re dealing with.” He raked the fingers of one hand through his short hair. “Hell, I can hardly believe it myself.”

  “Just as long as they’re on alert. And meeting here in the morning is fine.” He looked around the table. “Eight o’clock good for everyone?”

  They all nodded.

  “Okay then. Let’s get it done.”

  * * * * *

  Jade Robinson pulled into her garage, parked her car and lugged her packages into the house. Running into Logan Tanner had sure been a surprise today. She hadn’t seen him in more than a year, not since their breakup and the deaths of his brother and sister-in-law. Someone told her he’d left town to take some kind of specialized job but now here he was, sexier than ever and with some woman.

  She’d somehow known from the beginning that he hadn’t looked at their relationship as anything permanent. At least as far as he was concerned. Their situation had been on again off again and while she kept hoping for something more he made it abundantly clear he wasn’t going there with her.

  Now here he was, back in Overlook, big as life and with a woman she wanted to kick to the curb. She certainly had been bitchy enough to Jade. The sense of possession that radiated from Logan had been enough in itself to piss her off.

  Jade sighed and set about putting her purchases away. No sense wishing for something that wasn’t going to happen.

  She changed into sweats and booted up her computer, ready to check her emails. She was getting a lot of business from her website as well as a nice number of client referrals. Business was really good and she didn’t have to leave her house to go to work. And Overlook was a nice place to shut out the world after the disaster of the city.

  Too bad there didn’t seem to be any more eligible men than when she’d left. All the good ones lit out for someplace else as soon as they could. Well so be it. She guessed she’d had enough of men for a while anyway.

  And what was Logan so concerned about that he repeatedly warned her to be careful? She figured it was just so much bullshit. She knew how to handle herself. Kept both a nine-millimeter handgun and a hunting rifle fully loaded at all times. But nothing ever happened in or around Overlook.

  She was just reading her third email when the phone rang.

  “Jade?”

  Damn Logan Tanner. His voice could still cause ripples through her.

  “Yes. What can I do for you, Logan?” Nothing that I want to, that’s for sure.

  “I’m just calling to make sure you’re okay and you pay attention to what I said today. I wasn’t kidding.”

  She gave a phony laugh. “Logan, you might be able to sell that story to some people but not to me. The ranger was killed by a wild animal, maybe a bear. Not some mythical creature.”

  “Jade.” She heard the strained patience in his voice. “This is not a joke. Just please. Don’t open the door to any strangers and don’t pick up any stray animals.”

  “I don’t do either of those things, Logan. Why do you care, anyway?”

  There was a slight pause.

  “We were friends for a long time, Jade,” he said at last. “I don’t want anything to happen to you.”

  “Friends?” She snorted. “Is that what we were?”

  “Look. I didn’t call to debate the quality of our relationship. Just to tell you not to let anyone into the house that you don’t already know and to stay away from stray animals. Believe the story or not, you still need to take precautions.”

  “Fine,” she snapped. “Shall I keep my rifle by the door?”

  “Might not be a bad idea,” he agreed.

  “I was joking, you idiot.”

  “Well, I wasn’t.” She could tell he was out of patience. “Listen, I have to go. But the sheriff is running patrols twenty-four/seven until we kill this beast. I’ll be sure he has someone swing by your house on a regular basis.”

  “I’m fine, Logan.” Jade was irritated now. If he didn’t want her, why the hell did he care about what happened to her? “Tell Sheriff Danvers he can babysit someone else.”

  “Just…take care.” He hung up with a firm click.

  Take care? He wanted her to take care? She could damn well take care of herself without his interference. His story was such a crock of shit anyway she didn’t know why people believed it.

  But as she hung up her own telephone she pushed away from her desk and made the rounds of the house, making sure every door and window was securely locked and closing all the blinds. Finally—chiding herself for being such an idiot—she got out her hunting rifle and checked it thoroughly. She left it by the front door, standing like a headless soldier.

  “Satisfied, Logan?” she asked.

  Only he wasn’t there to hear her. Damn him.

  * * * * *

  “I take it that didn’t go so well.” Rebecca leaned against the doorjamb in Logan’s study and office combination. Frustration carved lines in his face.

  “Not at all.” He raked his fingers through his hair. “I just wanted her to take precautions. Hell, like almost everyone else, she doesn’t even believe there is a danger.”

  “Well, from a female point of view, I don’t think she’s in a mood to take much advice from you anyway.”

  Logan’s jaw clenched. “I was never anything but honest with Jade. I never had the kind of feelings for her that she expected and I was careful to make sure she knew
it. It was her choice to continue the relationship under those circumstances. But that doesn’t mean she needs to put herself in danger to spite me.”

  Rebecca moved over to stand beside him. “Go ahead and call Sheriff Danvers and make sure her house is on the patrol route, like you told her. And if it will make you feel better, we can do some drive-bys ourselves.”

  “That’s okay with you?”

  “Yes, if it will give you peace of mind.”

  Logan tugged her down onto his lap. “Thanks for understanding.”

  A chill raced along her spine as she thought of the damage the Chupacabra could do to a woman like Jade. “I wouldn’t wish that horror on anyone. So do what you have to.”

  “Thanks. I appreciate your understanding. A lot.” His gaze shifted and he seemed to be staring at a spot past her head.

  Rebecca cocked her head, studying him. “Something wrong?”

  “I don’t know. I got some kind of weird vibes from Ben.”

  “Weird vibes?” She pulled back a little to give herself a better look at his face. “How? In what way?”

  “Just…I don’t know.” He shook his head. “I’m probably imagining things.”

  “He seemed very aware of everything you laid out and wasn’t giving you a hard time. I felt as if he was on our side.”

  “Me too. I’m probably just imagining things, as wound up as I am about this case.” One of his hands caressed her cheek and she saw his eyes darken with heat. “Maybe what I have to do right now is take your mind off this whole situation for a little while. Both of our minds. Think I can do that?”

  She smiled at him. “Oh I have no doubt. But don’t we have things to do?”

  “It will be dark soon. Danvers will have his patrols out. I need to video conference with Ric but for the moment that’s about all we can do. We’ve seen some ugly things today, Bek. Things that brought back even worse memories. I think we can take a little break to wipe that away for the moment, don’t you?”

  She touched her forehead to his. “I think I agree with you.”

  Chapter Six

  Logan lifted Rebecca easily in his arms and carried her to his bedroom. She glanced around as he nudged the door wider with his foot. She barely had time to glance at the furniture—similar to that in her bedroom only larger—before Logan placed her on the bed, took a moment to get rid of their boots and came down beside her. His face was so close she could see the spikes on his thick eyelashes. The color of his eyes had deepened to rich chocolate and his breath was a warm breeze on her face.

  “I’m surprised I managed to keep my hands off you in Maine,” he told her in a voice rough with desire. “I’ve never felt a connection to another person like this.”

  “Me either,” she whispered.

  Then his lips were on hers, firm yet soft at the same time, brushing lightly at first. His tongue traced the line of the seam and licked at the corners of her mouth. When she opened for him his tongue swept inside and glided over hers. Little sparks of flame burst at each point of contact. He tasted every inch of her mouth, even the inside of her lips. Her nipples hardened and heat shot straight to her cunt.

  She moaned into his mouth, pressing her body against his, loving the feel of the hard planes of his chest against the softness of her body. He kissed her until he’d stolen every bit of her breath. Her skin was hot, flushed, and desire was a living thing in her body. She wanted everything from him. All he had to give.

  Balancing on one elbow, Logan pulled her sweater over her head and stared at her breasts as if he hadn’t ravished them less than twenty-four hours ago. She’d never had a man look at her so reverently before, with hunger and desire and awe all mixed together. He swiped his talented tongue across the upper swell of her breasts then did it again before lifting his mouth to trail kisses along her jawline and down her neck, pausing to plant an open-mouthed kiss at the hollow of her neck where her pulse beat frantically.

  Shifting his position, he flicked open the front clasp of her bra and took one of her aching buds into his mouth. The combination of his wet heat and the suction he applied sent shafts of lightning arrowing through her. Little sounds of pleasure rolled from her mouth as she arched herself into his touch. His hand kneaded the other breast, squeezing it and pinching the rosy tip between thumb and forefinger.

  “I could spend hours just feasting on these,” he said. “I love your nipples. They’re like ripe berries.” He bit gently on first one then the other. “Your taste makes me crazy.”

  He took his time, sucking and nipping and pulling until Rebecca wanted to scream at him to get on with it. She finally worked her hands between them and pulled at the snaps on his shirt. She thrust her hands inside the open material, almost desperate to feel his skin, the hard wall of muscle and the springy curls that covered it. When her fingertips came in contact with his flat nipples she scraped her nails lightly over the pebbled tips, drawing a faint groan from him.

  Logan sat up abruptly. “We have too many clothes on. Hold on a minute. Don’t move.”

  Rebecca lay back on the pillows, her body vibrating with need, watching as Logan swiftly undressed. Her mouth watered as his cock sprang free, full and swollen, the head a dark purple. She wanted it inside her. Now.

  Then he went about the business of undressing her, removing her unclasped bra first and taking a moment to graze each nipple with his teeth. Unzipping her jeans, he slid them down her legs along with her panties and tossed both items to the side. He paused a moment, his gaze taking in every naked inch of her body. Then he knelt on the bed between her thighs and proceeded to kiss every inch of exposed skin, lingering on her navel, the seam where hip and thigh joined, the skin just above the curls covering her mound.

  At last he opened the lips of her pussy and flicked his tongue in one long slide from end to end and back, taking care to swirl the tip around her clit. He did it again, then lapped at the wet pink flesh surrounding her opening. She bent her legs and planted her feet, arching up to him.

  More. I want more. I want everything.

  When at last he thrust his tongue inside her the muscles of her cunt clamped down on it and the first tremors of orgasm rolled up from deep inside her. Logan used his mouth to carry her over the edge and beyond, not lifting his head until he’d wrung every last spasm from her, every last twitch of response.

  When he lifted his head his lips were gleaming with her juices. He kissed her—sharing her taste with her, a sharp taste that mingled with Logan’s own particular masculine flavor. The flavors mingling on her tongue were a sharp aphrodisiac, arousing her even as her body lay sated beneath him.

  Rebecca smoothed her hands over the taut muscles of his shoulders and his back, loving the feel of his skin and the lay of muscles beneath it. And all the while he was kissing his way down her body again, taking his time as he had before so that no spot on her body was left untouched or untasted. As he used his mouth and tongue and hands her body responded and the desire inside her grew and grew.

  Her skin was ultrasensitive, as if the top layer had been peeled back and all her nerve endings were exposed. At every touch of Logan’s mouth or tongue pleasure bubbled through her. The tremors in the muscles of her pussy set up a series of vibrations that raced through her. When he invaded her cunt with his tongue again—using the thumb and forefinger of one hand to torment her clit—to her amazement a climax gripped her and shook her even more fiercely than the previous one.

  As she lay panting on the bed, trying to drag air back into her lungs, Logan pulled a condom from the nightstand drawer and sheathed himself quickly. She was pleased to see that his hands trembled just a little. His iron control as he’d worked her body had amazed her but now she realized he wasn’t as unaffected as she’d thought.

  “Let me touch you,” she begged, eager to wrap her fingers around his thick cock. “I want to do things to you too.”

  His laugh was unsteady. “Babe, if you did we’d be finished before we even started. It’s all I can d
o to hold myself together to give you pleasure. We’ll get to it. I promise. But first this.”

  He spread her legs wider as he knelt between them again, holding his shaft in one hand and guiding it toward her opening. The thick head nudged against her pussy lips, pressing them apart before inching slowly inside her.

  Logan took his time, even though the corded muscles in his neck and the clenching of his jaw told Rebecca that his control had frayed and was nearly gone. He pushed himself slowly inside her, then withdrew, then pushed again a little farther. Her body was hot, her pulse thudding heavily when he was finally completely inside her hot, wet tunnel. Just like the previous night he filled her completely, stretching her inner tissues. She lifted her legs and wrapped them around his waist, digging her heels into the small of his back in an effort to get him even closer, to fill her more if possible.

  Logan dragged in a breath and let it out slowly. His face was covered with a fine film of sweat.

  “Jesus.” He pulled in another breath. “I think I could stay like this forever.” Then he looked into her eyes. “Almost.”

  And he began to move, a steady in-and-out thrust, slowly at first then picking up the tempo. Each time he thrust into her harder, the head of his cock rubbing against her sweet spot. Pleasure bubbled through her and heat exploded in bursts throughout her body like explosions of fireworks.

  She tightened her legs around him, bucking up against him, meeting him thrust for thrust. The tremors were so intense she was sure they’d shake her body apart.

  Almost there. Almost…there.

  And then she was over the edge and falling into an erotic space like black velvet, body shuddering, pussy tightening and clenching with intense spasms. Logan slammed his mouth against hers, swallowing her cries of pleasure, the thrust of his tongue mimicking the movement of his cock. Rebecca was helpless in the force of her orgasm, nothing existing except this man, the joining of their bodies, and the free fall through space. They lay there on the bed, linked together, heartbeats hammering so loudly she wasn’t sure which one was hers and which was Logan’s.