by Beverly Rae
“Hey, she’s up.”
Ranlon grinned, moving to her side and slipping an arm around her waist. His grip made her wonder how his touch would feel on another, more sensitive part of her body. She inhaled, drawing in his musky scent. Although his scent was different from Jimmy’s, it had the same underlying edge of wildness she found enticing.
She took them in, the three of them perfect examples of sexy men with their broad shoulders that led to lean hips and strong legs. Yet each was different, possessing a quality of his own. A rush of yearning swept through her. What if, like in her dreams, she could have men like these make love to her? She swallowed, her pussy clenching with need.
Nick slapped Michael on the back. “See? I told you we were taking too long to get her food.”
“Yeah, well, if you hadn’t burned the first batch of pancakes we would’ve gotten it ready sooner.” Michael motioned toward the kitchen. “Ready to eat, Mandy?”
“You did all this for me?” She glanced from one man to the next. What was it about these guys that made her heart pound faster?
“Sure. We want you to feel welcome here.”
She fought back the tears at Ranlon’s words. He’d made the statement sound casual, but to her, it meant so much more.
“So that’s what’s taking you so long.”
Jimmy’s appearance had them swiveling toward the front door. The same desire she had for the other men rushed through her, but harder, faster. If she had to choose just one, it would be Jimmy. But who said she had to choose? Wow. She giggled, intrigued by the possibility.
Surprised by her wicked thoughts, she strode over to Jimmy and gave him a kiss on the cheek.
“Hey, we’re the ones who fixed you breakfast.”
Jimmy laughed at Nick’s protest and took her hand. “Didn’t you notice me filling containers with food? I’m taking Mandy on a picnic breakfast.”
“Then we won’t need this. Here.” Michael gave the tray to Nick, pushing it against his chest.
“No, you won’t.” Jimmy hooked her hand around his elbow. “Ready to do this?”
Having more than one man pay attention to her was a first. A first she could get used to. “Ready.”
* * * *
She’d never thought of Texas as a beautiful place before coming to the Matheson Ranch. Gazing over the flat land toward the sloping hills beyond, she had to rethink her opinion. Or maybe it was the company that had her sighing at the tumbleweeds and thickets of brush. She wrapped her arms around her knees, content to sit on the Southwestern-style blanket Jimmy had spread out for the picnic and watch the fluffy white clouds roll by.
“Did you get enough to eat?”
She chuckled and shot him a funny look. “Are you kidding me? Pancakes, strawberries, bacon, sausage, melon, and even champagne? You brought enough food to feed a small army much less fill me up. But thank you. This was great.” She smiled at him, reaching out to touch his hand. “You’re very thoughtful. All of you have made me feel very…accepted.” Where had she come up with that word? Yet, she had to admit, the word fit.
“But I’m the most thoughtful one of all, right?”
Who could resist him? He combined the qualities of a hot man with a lighthearted boyishness she found endearing and very sexy. “Yes, you are. But don’t tell the others, okay? I wouldn’t want their feelings hurt.”
He scoffed then shook his head. “Feelings? What feelings? They’re just a bunch of animals.”
Why did everyone refer to them as animals? “Maybe so. But they’re a pretty great bunch of animals, if you ask me.”
He drank the last of his champagne, his hazel eyes growing warm. “Yeah. They really are. But I’ll deny that I ever said so.”
He leaned closer, rubbing his shoulder against hers. The familiar zing of excitement spiraled inside her stomach. Licking her lips to wet them, she bowed her head then gazed at him through lowered eyelashes.
Shifting to face her, he hooked his finger under her chin and lifted her face. She forgot about the land around them, forgot about the other men. Nothing existed except Jimmy.
Light danced in his eyes as he moved closer and pressed his mouth to hers. Tender at first, he swept the tip of his tongue between her lips. She moaned, a small sound she barely heard, then met his kiss with more force when he cupped his hand behind her neck.
He nibbled at the corner of her mouth then flicked his tongue over the spot as though he’d harmed her. Pulling her close, he slid his tongue inside her mouth and moaned. The sound and warmth of his moan entered her, and she drank it in, reveling at his tastes.
He lowered her to the blanket, his lips never leaving hers. Skimming his hand under her top, he pushed her bra aside and cupped her breast. She arched, urging him to do more than use his hand. She looked into the sky and tunneled her fingers through the hair at the nape of his neck.
“You’re more beautiful than I ever imagined.”
Had he imagined her? Or someone like her? But it didn’t matter. What mattered was that she was with him now.
She gasped as he slid his tongue over her breast then sucked in her nipple. Whipping his tongue around the taut bud, he sent flares of delight spreading outward from the tip of her breast. Echoing flares erupted between her legs, and she let her bent leg fall to the side.
Snort!
Jimmy jerked away from her, his eyes scanning the area behind them. Several bushes grouped together to form a dense thicket.
“What’s the matter?”
He cupped his hand over her mouth, shook his head, then pulled her to a sitting position. Motioning for her to keep her voice low, he whispered, “Get dressed and listen.”
She did, straining her ears to hear what he obviously heard. At last, she shook her head.
Keeping his voice low, he stood, taking her with him. “I want you to get on your horse and start back the way we came.”
Her breath caught in her throat as the tension stiffened her body. “Are we in danger?”
“Hogs.”
“You mean like pigs?” How could a pig put them in danger?
“Wild hogs. With long tusks that can tear you apart. They don’t think twice about attacking people.”
“Oh.” She took his arm. “You’re coming with me, right?”
“No. Just do as I say.” He took her arms and gave her a little push in the right direction.
“But—” One more look at his face told her not to argue. Nodding, she hurried over to the two horses that were tied to a large thicket of bushes. Untying her horse’s reins, she slipped her foot into the stirrup and hopped onto Rocky’s back.
Jimmy dug into his backpack lying next to the picnic basket and pulled out a long, sharp knife. She stared at the blade, her mind wondering if it was a Bowie knife. He turned back to her and scowled. “Go. Now.”
She pulled on the reins and took one last look at Jimmy. Within a second, he disappeared into the underbrush. Yet instead of leaving, she sat, unsure what to do. How could she leave him alone? What if the hog attacked him? What if he was injured so badly he couldn’t catch up with her? No. She couldn’t, wouldn’t leave him alone.
A wolf’s howl split the air around her, followed by something crashing through the bush. Rocky pranced, and she pulled back on the reins as Jimmy had taught her to keep the horse from bolting.
“Easy, boy. It’s okay.”
Where was he? Did the hog attack him? Or a wolf?
“Jimmy? Are you okay?”
A crash to the side of her made her crane her head around, leaning off-center on top of the horse. A huge, black boar burst through the bushes, charging directly at her. A yellow wolf, twice the size of a regular wolf, its fangs bared, nipped at the boar’s heels.
The boar squealed then swerved at the last moment to narrowly miss running into Rocky. The horse reared, kicking out with its front legs.
“Whoa!” Mandy lurched for the saddle horn but missed and fell off the back of the horse. Her breath burst from her and pa
in seared into her back and leg as she hit the hard ground. Rocky whinnied then whipped around and took off running, throwing dirt into the air.
Out of breath, she struggled to a sitting position and waited for the world to stop spinning. In the fog of her dizziness, she saw the wolf whirl around, stare at her, then take a couple of steps in her direction. Blood dripped down one of his legs, but she knew he could still jump her, his claws and fangs shredding her skin.
“Get out of here!”
She had no clue if a wolf would be frightened away by a shout, but she couldn’t think of anything else to do. Hell, she could barely think at all with the pain. The wolf tilted his head to the side, his gaze locked on her. She stared at him, her pain momentarily forgotten. Searching for an unknown something, she stared, entranced by the intelligence she saw in his amber eyes. Without understanding why, she reached out, drawn to him.
Suddenly, he whimpered then spun around to scamper off after the boar.
“Shit, shit, shit.” Shaking her head to help clear her mind, she wiped the dirt from her face and hair then ran a hand along her leg. A trail of pain traveled up her leg from the agony in her ankle.
Praying the danger was over, she tried to keep the panic at bay.
“Jimmy? Where are you? Can you hear me?” A tear slid down her throat, but she told herself it was from the searing sting and not from her worry for Jimmy. She waited, hoping to hear his voice, but she heard nothing. At least the boar and wolf seemed to have gone out of earshot.
She gritted her teeth against the stabbing ache and managed to stand. Keeping her weight off the foot, she hopped over to Jimmy’s horse, Ranger. “At least you stayed tied. I’d hate to think what we’d do without at least one horse to get us home.”
“Let’s hope so.”
She jolted and whirled to face Jimmy. He stood at the edge of the brush, his clothes torn and blood running down one arm.
Chapter Five
“Jimmy.” Mandy clung to Ranger, resting her weight against the horse. “You’re hurt.”
“I am?” He glanced at his arm then shrugged. “It’s only a scratch. But that damn boar knocked the knife out of my hand then tried to take my head off. If I hadn’t—” He shook his head, his gaze traveling the length of her to land on her foot. “Looks like you’re the one who’s hurt. Is it bad?”
“No.” She moved, tried putting her injured foot down, and winced. “Okay, a little. My ankle isn’t swelling, so nothing’s broken. I must’ve just twisted it.”
“What happened? I thought I told you to get out of here.” He hadn’t expected her to stay, much less to be in the way during the chase. But part of the blame belonged to him. If he’d only managed to herd the boar in the other direction, she wouldn’t have been in harm’s way.
“I tried but the pig startled my horse and sent me flying before he tore off. Oh, my God, Jimmy. A wolf was chasing the pig. A really big wolf. Plus, there was something about him, something different.” She blew out a ragged breath. “Thank goodness you didn’t run into that thing.”
That thing. Would she think the same way if she knew he was the wolf? He slid his arm under hers then around her waist to help boost her onto the horse. “A wolf, huh?”
She grabbed the saddle horn and pulled into the saddle. “Are there lots of wolves around here?”
He tucked his head so she wouldn’t see his smile. “More than you’d think.” Taking care not to pull her off, he swung onto the rear of the horse and settled in behind her.
“What do we do about Rocky? Is he in danger? You know, from the wolves?” She turned to face him with her eyes wide. “Don’t wolves travel in packs?”
“Most, yeah. But Rocky’s probably already halfway home by now.” He clicked to Ranger and kicked him lightly with his heels. “Which is where we need to be so someone can look at your cankle. Uh, I mean ankle.”
“Tell me you didn’t just say that.”
He laughed at her shocked face and motioned for her to face forward. “Just kidding. Now hang on.” He clucked at the horse, breaking into a full gallop. Mandy squealed and clung to the saddle horn, leaving him to take over the reins.
He leaned against her, using the excuse of handling the horse to get closer. Her long, satin-black hair whipped in his face, the wind blowing her sweet scent to him. He flexed his arms, enjoying the way her body fit against his, her soft curves a counterpart to his hard muscles. He thrust his pelvis forward and wished the end of the saddle didn’t separate them. She bounced in the saddle, showing her inexperience as a rider. Still, peering over her shoulder gave him a great view of her breasts bouncing with the rhythm of the horse’s movements.
Was anything better than riding a strong horse with a beautiful woman? Maybe one thing. He closed his eyes, imagining Mandy in her wolf form as they ran side by side during a moonlit night. Although he never wanted to see her hurt, he was almost glad she’d gotten thrown so they could ride double.
Randy sidestepped, jerking them, and Mandy let out a yelp. He tightened his hold on her, his forearm pushing into the soft curves of her breasts. “Riding a horse at a gallop is like riding a roller coaster. Just go with the motion. If you fight it, you’re going to end up landing on your butt.”
“Oh, no. Not again.”
“Don’t worry. I won’t let anything hurt you.”
She glanced over her shoulder and gave him a hopeful expression. “You promise?”
“On my life.”
Thirty minutes later, they could see the ranch house. The rest of the pack, including Sara, stood on the front porch. Ranlon waved at them then headed toward the barn with Rocky, who had, as predicted, made it home before them.
Jimmy reined in the horse, dismounted, and then helped Mandy slide off, taking care not to let her put weight on her injured foot. He scooped her into his arms and started up the front steps.
Sara stayed by his side while Michael ran ahead, opening doors. Sara motioned for Jimmy to take her upstairs. “What happened?”
“We’ve got a wild boar problem.” Jimmy paused, waiting for Sara to open the double doors into the guest bedroom.
“Damn it. I thought I saw some tracks close to the house.” Michael pulled out a cell phone. “I’m calling in the hoggers now.”
“Why bother when we can take of the problem?” Ranlon rushed by him, carrying a medical kit.
Jimmy settled Mandy on top of the bed, then stepped aside as Sara took the kit from Ranlon. After giving him orders to fetch a cold compress, she sat beside Mandy and eased off her running shoe.
Mandy winced but didn’t cry out as Sara examined her, gently pressing around her ankle.
“You mean there’s more than one pig?”
Jimmy smothered a smile. Pig wasn’t the right term, and since he hadn’t corrected her before, he didn’t think he should now. “When there’s a boar, there’s usually a sow. And probably a mess of babies.”
“Which means we’re going to have one hell of a good cookout.” Nick sauntered over to the other side of the bed. “If we bother to cook them.”
“You’d better warn them about the wolf, too.” Mandy flinched, jerking her foot away from Sara. Apologizing, she let Sara take her foot again to continue the examination.
Jimmy met the telling looks of the others, and a silent message passed between them. He didn’t have to tell them that he was the wolf she’d seen.
“I don’t think one lone wolf is reason for alarm.”
“Michael’s right. Besides, the wolf was after the hog. If we had enough wolves, we wouldn’t have a hog problem.” Jimmy flashed Nick a warning look. “But right now, let’s concentrate on you.”
“The kid’s right.” William stood by the door with Max peeking in over his shoulder. “Do you need anything else, Sara?”
Sara returned the materials into the medical kit. “Her ankle doesn’t look sprained, much less broken. It’s not even swelling.”
“Then I brought this for nothing?” Ranlon stalked past Willia
m to toss the bag of frozen peas onto the bed.
Jimmy eased Sara out of the way and sat next to Mandy. “Let’s pack it anyway just in case. Everyone, I think I can take this from here.”
“Aw, come on, Jimmy. Maybe Mandy wants our company.” Nick hooked an arm around Ranlon’s neck and shot a wolfish grin to the other men, egging them to join in.
“Yeah. Besides, let’s let Mandy decide who she wants to stay.” William, forever one to compromise, lifted his eyebrows. “So what’s it going to be, Mandy? Just Jimmy? Or do the rest of us get to spend time with you?”
Jimmy’s lip lifted in a silent snarl. One that Mandy couldn’t see with his head turned to glare at William. He wanted her alone. Granted, if she joined the pack, she’d take them into her bed for the initiation, but that was for later.
Her green eyes sparkled as she moved her gaze over them, stopping to rest briefly on each man. Her expression changed slightly, softening, growing timid, then shifting back to an open perusal of William. At last, she fixed her focus on Jimmy.
“I appreciate everyone’s help, but if you don’t mind, I’d like just Jimmy to stay.”
Sara patted her leg then flapped her hands, shooing the others from the room. “You heard her. Jimmy stays.” She paused after getting rid of the men and asked, “How about we give you two about an hour or so? Then I’ll have one of the men bring up something to eat or drink.”
“Sara, you don’t have to do that. I can come to the kitchen later. I’m sure my foot will be fine after I rest it a bit.”
Sara shook her head. “Girl, if you’re going to stay with us you need to learn to take TLC whenever you can get it. If the men are willing to wait on you hand and foot, then lie back and enjoy it.” Sara winked, turned on her heel, and left.
“TLC?”
Jimmy took her hand and enjoyed the warmth traveling from her hand into his. “Tender, loving care. I want to give you exactly that. So tell me. What can I do to make you more comfortable?”