Brotherhood Protectors: Wild Horse Rescue (Kindle Worlds Novella) (2 Hearts Rescue South)

by Mary Winter

  She marched along the trail she’d scouted on the map, checking her phone’s GPS now that it had much better signal for some reason, sensing Logan following behind. She was surprised he didn’t want to lead. Then again, he didn’t know where she was going. They’d talked about the trails, but nothing concrete. The weight of the camera against her back reminded her of work to be done. That’s what she had to focus on. Get the job done, then she could worry about Logan.

  ~* * *~

  Logan wanted to kick himself a thousand times for getting distracted. He knew better than that. He was better than that. Something about Erika made his focus go out the window. Maybe it was because he remembered how good they’d been together, and judging from the chemistry of their kisses, how good they’d be again. He sighed and followed her on foot. Taking the ATV would have been easier; Erika argued that the engine would scare off any wild horses. She had a point. He just didn’t have to like it. On foot they were bigger targets, less capable of defense and retreat if necessary.

  He strode behind her, stopping when she motioned with her hand. She dropped to one knee, unhooked her binoculars from her bag and scanned the next ridge. He did the same. A small group of wild horses stood not far from tree cover. She lowered herself to the ground, stretching out to make her profile as small as possible against the hill.

  He followed suit, looking behind them as well as to all sides until she scowled at him. Apparently she thought he was moving enough to disrupt the horses. Sure enough, one of them lifted its head and sniffed the air.

  “Stay still,” Erika hissed at him. Slowly, like a sniper getting a rifle into position, she lifted her camera, fiddled with the lens and leaned forward, holding her breath the entire time.

  He froze, feeling penned in like he’d just dropped behind enemy lines with little intel. At this very moment her stalker could be back at the camp going through things. Sure, he’d let the deputy know where they’d be, though he hadn’t told Erika. It wasn’t enough. Not out here, miles from anywhere.

  The slight click of the camera announced her taking pictures. Through the binoculars he saw only several brown horses, not enough detail to make a photograph. Of course she’d have lenses, telephoto zoom, whatever made the pictures in the magazines look good, and the urge to find out about her work, what she was doing, made him open his mouth to ask, only to shut it again when she gave him a stern look. Glancing through the binoculars again, he watched the horses trot into the trees and out of sight.

  “This isn’t going to work.” She rested the camera against her chest. “You want to watch out for me. Fine. But do it about twenty yards behind me, so you won’t be seen by anyone looking at this ridge.”

  “But I won’t see--”

  She held up her hand. “Look, you’d chew my ass if I told you how to do your job. And I really don’t want to, but you’re interfering with mine. I’ll watch everything in front of me. You watch what’s behind me, okay?”

  He certainly didn’t mind watching her six. That was beside the point she was making, which he had to admit was a pretty reasonable one. “Okay. But if I see anything that indicates trouble, I’m right by your side.”

  “Fine,” she grumbled. “You’d think I hadn’t been in war zones or something,” she muttered under her breath, lifting her binoculars again.

  He moved a discreet distance back where the top of the ridge blocked is view in front of her, but he saw what was on either side of her, and could glance behind him without any problems. There was a small group of trees at his three o’clock blocking his view. They troubled him. He couldn’t see beyond them, and wasn’t certain they blocked anyone’s view of Erika.

  By his watch, he kept vigil for an hour and a half, the only sounds those of nature. All of a sudden thundering hooves broke the silence. Erika whirled around. “Damn it, Logan.” She glanced at him and frowned. “How’d you spook the horses from here?”

  Movement caught is attention. “Down!” He dove for her, covering her body an instant before bullets hit the ground around them.

  “What the hell? My cameras!” Erika wiggled beneath him.

  “Stop moving.” He sighted and squeezed off two shots. Whoever had been there was gone. He rolled to one side long enough to let her move her gear; he hadn’t thought of that, only of her safety. “You hurt?”

  “No,” she whispered.

  “Wait here.”

  He moved into a crouch and covered the space between them and the edge of the trees. When he arrived, he saw nothing. Not even footprints in the stubby grass. He followed the edge of the woods until a gray swath of gravel caught his attention. A parking lot. When he arrived, it was empty, though tire tracks indicated someone might have been there and left. How long ago, he didn’t know. A plaque proclaimed the place a scenic overlook, and he noticed that it gave an excellent view of the ridge where the wild horses had been. That may have been enough to clue in someone to Erika’s location. Aware he’d been gone from Erika, he hurried back to find her still in the same position.

  “You okay?” He knelt beside her, patting her arms and legs, looking for wounds.

  “I’m fine.” She sat up, visibly shaking.

  Logan wrapped his arm around her, pulling her against his body. “It’s okay. Whoever was there is gone now.” He stroked her hair, trying to get images of Erika hurt, or worse, out of his mind. “This has gone beyond ex-boyfriend stalker territory. Let’s get back to camp. We have to call the deputy, and I need to let my boss know. I know you won’t abort your mission, so I have to ask you to let me do mine.”

  She nodded, and he wished he could wipe the fear from her eyes. When he reached for her hands, they were ice cold. He removed his chambray shirt and held it out to her.

  “Put this on. I don’t want you going into shock on me.”

  She nodded and slid her arms into it, wrapping his shirt around her as if it could ward off all the evils of the world. From her reaction, he guessed she’d never been shot at. It was an experience, for both of their sakes, he didn’t want to repeat.

  ~* * *~

  When they returned to camp, Erika was thankful to see nothing had been disturbed. The sounds of the shots, the feel of the dirt rising up to hit to hit her, played over and over in her mind. She’d been in tight situations before; she never considered herself a wilting wallflower. To think someone was shooting at her—that couldn’t be the work of Jaime. A coward who couldn’t take no for an answer, that was who Jaime was. He wasn’t a murderer.

  Logan sat down beside her, his arm around her shoulders. She snuggled into his warmth. His solid body protected her, made her feel as if she were safe even when she knew she was anything but. She breathed deeply in an attempt to slow her racing heart. The shaking had stopped by the time they were halfway back to camp, though she still wore his shirt. Logan’s cell phone chimed.

  He pulled it from its holster and checked it. After reading for a moment, he put the phone away. “It’s a text from Hank. Jaime was located in Croatia doing a photo shoot there. He’s not our guy.”

  “I didn’t think so. Jaime and I might have had personal and professional differences. He’s not a killer. He’s vegan. He can’t even eat meat.” She managed a smile. “So who is it?”

  “We don’t know.”

  She sighed and came to a decision. No one knew what might happen in the future, and since Logan had come back into her life to not experience passion in his arms again seemed unthinkable. She had no idea if there was anything they could do right now in finding the person who shot at her. Having him race off to look only made her worry. Right now, she didn’t want to be alone. She knew one way to get him to stay. Reaching up, she cupped his check. “Then make me forget. Just for a little while.”

  Logan sucked in a breath. “Are you sure?” He glanced at her, the heat burning in his eyes strong enough to make her toes curl with the promise of pleasure to come. “Are you really sure?”

  “Yes.” She said it aloud, afraid he might not cons
ider her nod enough consent. “I want this. I want you.”

  “Oh, Erika.” Logan pulled her to him, so she half-draped across his lap. Finding her mouth with his, he kissed her, all the pent up passion exploding in one, heart-stopping, toe-curling kiss. His tongue swept across her lower lip, hungry and demanding. She whimpered and opened her mouth to invite him deeper. With just a touch, her nipples hardened. Her sex softened, readying itself for him. She didn’t need much. And when his hand slid around the front of her shirt to cup her breast, she nearly cried out only to be silenced by Logan’s mouth.

  “The tent,” he said when they parted for air. “More comfortable.”

  “Yes.” She scrambled to her feet and grabbed Logan’s hand. Pulling him to the tent, she couldn’t wait. As soon as they were inside, she shut the door, then stripped out of her shirt and jeans, kicking her boots into the corner. Normally she was more careful, didn’t want to track dirt inside. Right now, she didn’t care, and she reached for Logan’s shirt.

  She pulled it over his head to reveal his bare chest. Dropping the shirt next to them, she caressed his skin, exploring the planes and valleys of his sculpted abs, his pecs. She closed her eyes and leaned forward to taste him. He tasted of a slight hint of salt and something deeper, masculine, and she couldn’t get enough. Swirling her tongue around his nipples, she drew one into her mouth and sucked gently. His soft groan echoed around her, emboldening her to swirl her tongue between his pecs and down toward his navel.

  Logan lay back on the air mattress and unfastened his jeans. His cock rose through the fly, thick and hard, a drop of fluid pearling at the tip. Erika scooped it onto the tip of her finger and brought it to her mouth, smearing it over her lower lip.

  “You’re killing me,” he groaned.

  “Am I?” A smile played around the corners of her lips as she drew her finger along his length to circle the wet tip of his shaft. Memories of a hotel room in town, the sheets tangled around them as she did this exact same motion filled her mind. Steak from the local steak house, brought back to the room in Styrofoam containers, and cans of light beer littering the night stand. Her mouth watered. She dipped her head and tasted him.

  His salty flavor filled her mouth as she took him completely into her mouth. Springy curls tickled her nose, and she circled the base of his cock with her fingers. She worked up and down his length, judging by his slight groans and panting breaths that he was getting close to release. When she released him with a pop and crawled back over his body, Logan grabbed her hips and spun her beneath him.

  She parted her thighs, and he settled there as if he belonged. Bracing his weight on his hands, he dipped his head and kissed her, no doubt tasting himself on her lips. He moved, just long enough that she heard the tearing of foil and rolled on a condom. Then he just as she did, he began a leisurely exploration of her body, drawing first one nipple into his mouth, then the next. She bowed her back and tangled her fingers into his short hair.

  Chapter Four

  It seemed like forever for him to work his way between her legs, his warm breath caressing her hip bones before he moved lower. She arched her hips, his light strokes setting every nerve ending aflame with desire. She wanted him. She needed him. Those memories of how it had been came crushing back with a vengeance, so when he found her wet and slipped his finger between her folds to stroke her clit, she bit her lip to keep from moaning aloud. He teased her with his thumb, sliding first one finger, then a second into her channel. She rode his fingers, pumping her hips to meet his short, teasing strokes.

  He pulled away to replace his hand with his mouth, and she almost came just from the swipe of his tongue across her intimate flesh. He tongued and sucked her clit until she bucked beneath him. She grabbed his shoulder, fingers digging into his skin as he penetrated her with his tongue. Her muscles quivered. She hovered on the edge of release, needing it so bad, and yet, the teasing pace Logan set with his mouth kept her on the edge.

  “Please,” she whimpered, and when he replaced his tongue with two fingers, her pussy contracted around him and she came. She cried out as her release flowed through her body. White lights burst behind her closed eyelids, and she felt as if she were flying. When she came back down and opened her eyes, Logan was looking down at her, a satisfied smile on his face.

  “This time, we go together.” He moved between her legs, the tip of his cock pressing against her. He bent down and kissed her, then with a single thrust filled her. She wrapped her legs around him, her ankles pressing into the backs of his legs. Lifting her hips, she met his thrusts. He moved slowly, teasingly, kissing her with each stroke, until she whimpered and writhed beneath him. The man was driving her insane with pleasure. Her breasts brushing against his chest only heightened sensation, as did the feeling of his strong legs between hers.

  He surrounded her with a haven of sensual masculinity. She wished she could bury her face against his chest and stay like this forever. Here, in Logan’s arms, she felt safe.

  His pace increased. She tried to hold on, to keep from coming, and with one final, hard thrust, he sent her over the edge again. She clutched at him, giving voice to her pleasure as he filled her senses completely. One more thrust and he followed, a hoarse shout and his rigid muscles announcing his release. He slumped against her, his forehead resting on hers. Their heavy breathing filled the tent.

  “Logan,” she whispered.

  He rolled to the side, took care of the condom, then pulled her against him. Somehow he found one of her light sheets and covered them both. His heart thudding beneath her ear lulled her into thinking they were safe, that none of the stalkery things were happening. What would it be like, she mused, to simply be on a camping trip with Logan. No job. No fears. No worries. Just the two of them in the woods. Somehow, she had the idea that it would be amazing.

  ~* * *~

  He’d lain there with Erika longer than he should have, but the temptation to keep her in his arms was too great to resist. He’d compromised the mission, gotten too close. He kept his thoughts to himself, not wanting to burden Erika with them. Besides, she was no doubt thinking about pictures to take, and when she’d rolled out of his arms to review the shots on her camera, he’d taken the opportunity to pull on his pants and boots and take a quick look around.

  That’s when he’d found it. The small remote camera tucked into the poles of the tent near the apex wasn’t any of his gear. He’d set up some night vision cameras not far from camp, hoping to catch a plate number or an image of whoever was tormenting her. No, this seemed like something someone would place to spy on them. And now, whoever it was had seen them making love.

  He bit back a curse. Erika couldn’t know. She shouldn’t know. He checked the device for an off switch, couldn’t find one, but did remove a small door and take out the battery. Dropping both into a plastic bag he’d kept in his gear, he promised to take it to Hank as soon as they got back to town. He doubted the sheriff’s office would do anything about it, especially since right now he had no proof that Erika or he hadn’t set it up.

  He stepped back into the tent.

  “Everything okay?” Erika asked.

  “Yes,” he lied. “No signs of anyone.” The lie burned on his tongue.

  “Good.” Her smile appeared forced. “I want to get more pictures, but someone shot at me.” Her voice shook only slightly. He had to give her credit. New recruits often handled getting shot at far worse than she had. “I’m not sure it’s safe, and I’m not sure about giving up.”

  Now would be the time to tell her about the camera. Instead, he said, “I’ve been thinking about this. Whoever shot at us had a clear line of sight. Either the person is a bad shot or he—and I’m guessing it’s a he— deliberately didn’t want to hit you. I think the goal is to scare you away.”

  His phone buzzed interrupting him. He checked the text. Call me. It was from Hank.

  “I have to take this,” he said. “We might have some information.” He stepped out of the tent and di
aled. Hank picked up on the first ring.

  “We got some leads from the cameras you set up. Looks like a local causing problems. Plates on the truck trace to Aaron Whitaker. He’s the son of one of the local big ranchers. He’s been trying to get the government to lease that land to his family’s ranch. They’re refusing because of the wildlife, especially the mustangs.” Hank snorted. “First time I’ve heard of that happening. Usually the government doesn’t give a crap about the wild horses. I’m trying to see if I can get more information on that. Anyway, I think Aaron is causing problems for Erika. If her pictures publicize the horses, there will be more interest.”

  “Makes sense.” Logan had wondered if there might be the case once they found out Jaime was out of the country.

  “I’m on it. Stay with Erika. I’ll keep you updated.”

  “Will do.” He disconnected the call. From inside the tent, Erika screamed.

  He rushed into the tent to see her sitting on the corner of the air mattress, her phone lying on the ground a little distance away. Erika pointed at the phone. “Someone saw us. Oh my god! Look at the phone.” Her voice bordered on hysterics.

  Logan grabbed the phone. He turned on the screen to see a picture of Erika, naked, breasts and ass clearly visible in the camera going down on him. He was more concealed, though his face was tilted back. Both of them were easily identifiable. A text came along with the picture. I see you. Go away now before these pictures are made public. Then no one will care about yours. Logan set down the phone. He doubted the naked pictures would do much globally to Erika’s reputation. Such things surfaced and were forgotten within days. The humiliation though would last, and in this small town, no one would be thinking about her mustang photography, only of her naked breasts on the screen, as if they were somehow more shameful than the fact that someone had invaded her private moments to get these pictures.