by Brook Wilder
With a jolt, he pulled his hands away from her, but his palms were still tingling and the unexpected – and damned unwanted – attraction was still making itself known in the tightening in his pants. Hatchet shook his head, cursing himself for a fool, and forced himself to keep his focus on the job ahead of him instead of the delectably curvy woman. It was harder than it should have been.
Quickly, he finished the pat down, finding only her cell phone. He threw it on the ground behind him and ignored her gasp of outrage. It was muffled by the gag, but it did nothing to dilute the glare she was shooting at him now.
“What the hell am I going to do with you?” Hatchet whispered the question out loud, but no answer came, just that furious glare and her soft skin glowing pale and luminescent in the moonlight. It was the only light besides the stars that twinkled down at them and, before he could second guess himself, he was pulling her to her feet and sweeping her up in his arms like some damned white knight. More like black knight, Hatchet thought to himself. He was definitely not the hero of this story and, from the looks of it, the woman now wriggling against his arms was no damsel in distress.
He looked down at her then, struck by a vague familiarity as he tried to make out more of her features in the dark. But after a moment he gave up. Jackrabbit’s out there waiting for me and the cattle, and I’m just standing here drooling over a dirty but beautiful farm hand.
With one final look around him, Hatchet carried her over to his horse. With a bit of maneuvering, was able to get the woman on the saddle before leaping up to sit behind her. Hatchet breathed in sharply as the back of her body fused against the front of his and her hips nestled tight in the open vee of his own. Hatchet cursed silently again at the delicious feel of her.
Damn it, maybe this is a bad idea after all, he thought as he heeled his horse to a trot. He had to gather the cattle and get back to Jackrabbit fast, before he did something really stupid.
***
What is happening to me? This can’t be real. This just can’t be real. But, as Elsie watched the ranch disappear behind her, she knew just how real it was. Her hands were bound tightly and the stale taste of the fabric gagged her mouth. She’d been kidnapped. Of all the ridiculous, annoying, bothersome things to have happen to her, she had one more to add to the list. Elsie McLaurel – kidnap victim.
It wasn’t something she’d ever thought would be added to her resume, but she had to admit that the man sitting snugly behind her on the large stallion wasn’t like any kidnapper she knew. Not that she knew many or any personally, if she was being honest. The only kidnapping she’d ever seen was on the big screen. But if this had been a movie, he’d be scary and mean—terrifying her, threatening her. Instead he’d been… gentle, if tying up a woman and dragging her off to god knows where could ever be gentle.
And there had been something else there too. Maybe it was just because, even in the dark, she had seen his dark eyes burning over her skin, or the fact that he’d towered over her, or the fact that he was more handsome than sin, all wrapped up in a bad boy package that had her body going haywire. But when he touched her while he was binding her wrists together with the rope, his hands had lingered longer than they needed to and a spark of electricity had shot through her. It was something she’d never felt before and something—damn her soul to hell and back—she desperately wanted to feel again.
What the hell is wrong with me? I should be fighting. I should be doing something! But she didn’t. And that worried her far more than the man currently riding in the saddle behind her.
She’d always been cautious, careful. Too careful according to Rachael. But right then, at that moment in the darkness, with the feel of a stranger’s hand—big and hot and heavy—against her waist, she felt anything but cautious. For the first time in her life, Elsie McLaurel felt reckless.
What was worse, she liked it.
That was it. Maybe she really had lost her marbles when Goat had bucked her from the saddle. Maybe she’d hit her head, and this was all some big hallucination. Yep, that’s it. That’s the only reasonable answer for all of this. That was the only solution that made sense. She’d finally gone off the deep end.
Elsie held that thought tightly as her captor—Hatchet if he could be believed—rode confidently through a dark forested area. She had to admit that he knew his way around a horse, the large stallion responding easily to his deft touch on the reins. It made her wonder what else he had a deft touch with. The thought left her cheeks burning so hot that for a split second she was glad of the darkness.
He stopped only once to collect the cattle he had tied up to a tree just beyond the ranch’s property line. Elsie instantly recognized them as the cows that had gone missing earlier in the day. It was too dark to see but she could guess that their trackers were the ones she’d followed to the grassy field. After a few moments the cattle ropes were tied up behind the saddle and they were moving again.
She wasn’t sure how long they had ridden, her thoughts circling around and around like a startled bird with nowhere to land, when his deep, gruff voice startled her.
“Here, I think we’re far enough away.” There was that note of gentleness again, the one that had thrown her for a loop when he first tied her up. With his free hand, he pointed to the piece of fabric still gagging her. “Now, I’m gonna take this off, and you’re going to be quiet, alright? Otherwise I’ll have to put it back. You get me?”
He was silent for a long moment and Elsie realized he was waiting her answer. In lieu of words she gave her head a slight nod and a minute later she could feel his hand brushing across her cheek. She didn’t know if the caress was intentional or not but, either way, it sent chills shivering down the back of her spine.
“Cold?” he asked, and Elsie went all flush again. He must have felt the tremor that had shaken her, and known it had nothing to do with temperature. The gag was untied and slipped away, and she gratefully took a long deep breath. A moment later a jacket was slipped around her shoulder and Elsie looked behind her in surprise at the kind gesture.
“What is it?” he asked, noticing her stare, and Elsie forced a shrug.
“It’s just that… you’re nice, for a kidnapper,” she said softly, and her words earned a scowl from the big man sitting behind her.
“I’m not nice, darling, don’t you ever forget that. I’m not a kidnapper, either.” The last bit was said under his breath and she had the feeling he was talking more to himself than her.
“Then let me go,” she pleaded, some sense of self-preservation forcing her to speak. “Let me go and we’ll just forget all about this. I won’t say anything, I promise.”
He gave her a long look before finally shaking his head. “I don’t think so, sweetheart. It’s far too late for that. You’ll stay with me until I figure out what to do with you. Make things easier on yourself and stay quiet.”
“You have to let me go!” Elsie said, a sudden panic making her lurch in the saddle. The horse beneath her gave a snort of displeasure, shaking his head.
Hatchet quickly snaked his arm around Elsie’s waist, holding her tight against him. He took a moment to calm the animal before growling in her ear. “If you try that again, I might just let Samson here throw you. I might not be there to catch you in time again. Now, I don’t want any trouble.” He cut off abruptly as they trotted out of the tree line and onto an older access road. At this time of night, it was completely deserted of cars, but as they crossed the pavement Elsie could just make out a large ditch that ran along the shoulder and at the bottom of which was a beat up old truck with a trailer attached. Beside it were two motorcycles and one very impatient looking man.
“Jesus, Hatchet! It’s about fucking time!” the man exploded, sounding angry while at the same time somehow managing to keep his voice down. Elsie saw the exact moment the new man’s eyes found hers in the dark. She could see the way he stiffened and then turned a deadly glare towards the man still sitting behind her. “A girl? Hatchet, we had a p
lan. Who is she? And what the fuck is going on?”
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OTHER BOOKS BY BROOK WILDER
THE BABY WAS SUPPOSED TO BE OUR DIRTY LITTLE SECRET.
The last thing I needed was to babysit the MC President’s innocent daughter.
That perfect ass of hers taunts me with every step and leaves me aching for release.
I was supposed to keep her safe.
I was supposed to keep my hands off her.
Instead, I left my baby growing inside her.
Her father put me in charge of keeping her safe.
He gave me one rule: keep my hands off his precious daughter.
But staring at her perfect ass all day left me hard as rock.
I can see it from the way she looks at me that we both want the same thing.
Her petite body pinned under me.
Her hot little mouth screaming my name.
It was supposed to be a one-time thing.
Nobody was supposed to find out.
Until I knocked her up and all hell broke loose.
Now the secret’s out:
She’s carrying my child, and her father’s out for my blood.
But no way in hell am I giving up what’s mine.
***
SHE’S THE NICE GIRL NEXT DOOR AND I’M A MONSTER WITH BLOOD ON MY HANDS.
My whole life, the Rebel Disciples MC was the only family I needed.
I had no time or patience for love.
But that was before she moved in next door.
At first, it was out of curiosity. But I quickly found out I couldn’t get her soft curves out of my head.
Couldn’t stop picturing her tiny body shuddering against mine.
Her delicate pale fingers on my body as her quiet moans whimper in my ear.
She heals people, I rip them apart.
We’re not supposed to be together.
But I’ve never let something like rules get between what I want.
What I want is her.
And I’ll destroy whatever is in my way to have her.
To keep her.
To make her mine.
***
I TOOK HER AS PAYMENT AND NOW SHE’S CARRYING MY BABY.
I came to collect the money owed to us, instead I took the next best thing.
His sister.
I had to keep my hands off her, but I couldn’t stop thinking about corrupting her.
Things were already complicated enough.
And that was before I put a baby in her.
I was the head of my club—the Satan’s Knights MC—and she was just a waitress working for her degree when her deadbeat brother gave her to us as payment.
She looked like she belonged in my world from the way she came in.
She had no idea what kind of world she was left in.
I was supposed to protect her.
I was supposed to keep my hands off her, but I took her instead.
Took her, used her, made her forget who and where she is.
Until the baby changed everything.
My enemies are willing to hurt her to get to me.
I’d like to see them try.
Hannah is mine.
And I’ll bury every person who lays a finger on her.
No matter how long it takes.
***
They went after my family, and she helped.
I’m going to make them all pay, starting with her.
And once I have her in my hands…
I’m going to use her, ruin her, and make her do whatever I tell her to do.
We lived in a world that had no rules but agreed that family was always off-limits.
Until my enemies broke that agreement and came after me and mine.
I just never thought someone like her could be involved.
She seemed so innocent and wholesome.
But fool me once… and there’s hell to pay.
I thought I had it under control.
But one look at her tight body leaves me with nothing but ideas.
Ideas of how I’m going to use her.
How I’m going to ruin her.
How I’m going to make her do whatever I tell her to do.
Whatever it takes for me to put my family back together.
And once I’m done, I’ll leash her and never let her go.
***
They’re framing me for a crime I didn’t commit.
She’s the only one who can get me off.
But one look at her, and staying innocent is the last thing on my mind
There’s a simple code in my world: No snitching. That means I don’t talk—not to law, not to lawyers, and definitely not some fresh-out-of-school public defendant.
I was ready to do my time when Olivia threatened my family.
She thought she could use that to get to me.
She didn’t realize that she’d crossed a line.
Now I’m going to teach her the consequences of crossing lines in my world.
One night after the next until she gets me off.