Her Ranger Rescuers

by M J Adams

  The back door slides open just as I reach to pat the dog.

  A man fills the space, wearing a red flannel jacket and jeans, almost his whole face covered in a bushy beard.

  I cock my head as he studies me, his eyes as cold as the winter around me. Colder even.

  “It’s about time you came back, Cora,” he says.

  “Rich,” drips from my lips.

  Then I scream.

  “Hey,” someone said, a man like from the dream. “Hey, stop. Slow down. It’s okay. You’re at Parkwood.” The man grunted as Cora’s foot finally landed on something solid.

  It took her a moment to realize the crying in the room was coming from her. She tried to quiet. Rich didn’t like it when she cried. He’d only threaten to hit her harder so she’d have something to cry about.

  She sucked in a breath, the feeling of disorientation so unwelcome her stomach lurched.

  “It’s Max,” the man said. “Not Rich. You’re safe.”

  Cora glanced up, needing the assurance from the skylight in the ceiling. She really was at Parkwood. He really was Max. She really was safe.

  Humiliation burned through her, and she wished Luke had been the one to wake her from her nightmare. “Sorry,” she said.

  “You don’t have to be sorry.” Max rubbed his ribs, where she’d obviously kicked him. So she definitely had something to be sorry about, even if it wasn’t for having the dreams in the first place.

  “I was running through snow this time,” she said, drawing her knees to her chest and encircling them with her arms. “And he’s always there.” She lifted her eyes to meet Max’s. “Am I really ever going to be free from him?”

  “Physically, yes,” Max said instantly. “We can work on the mental stuff.”

  She nodded. “How do I do that?”

  “I’ll have Isaac come talk to you about what he’s doing to make sure Rich won’t come looking for you. Declare you dead, so you can move on.”

  “Can he do that?”

  “Of course,” Max said. “And we have contacts in the police department. So they can close the case. That type of thing.”

  Cora wanted to believe him, but no one knew Rich the way she did. “What if Rich doesn’t agree to that?”

  “He will.” Max seemed so sure, and Cora wanted to be sure too.

  “Can you get Isaac right now?”

  “Sure.” He stood up and took a couple of steps toward the door before pausing and looking back. “We’ve been thinking about going to Canada,” he added. “Maybe that’s why you’re dreaming of snow.”

  She shivered at the very idea. “Canada?”

  “It’s not Texas,” he said. “And there will be people looking for us when we break ranks.”

  Surprise and fear mingled inside her. “People like you and Luke and Isaac?”

  “Better than me and Luke and Isaac.”

  Despair filled her voice when she said, “How can we expect this to work, then?”

  Max returned to her and pressed his lips to her temple. “It’ll work. We’ll be careful, and we have meticulous plans.”

  Though comfort streamed through her at his touch, she wasn’t convinced. “But you’ve never done this.”

  “No.” He moved toward the door again. “I’ll get Isaac. We’ll go over everything with you, Cora.” He stilled with his hand on the doorknob. “You’ll have to be brave.” His dark, dreamy eyes met hers again, and she nodded so he’d leave.

  Alone in her room, she didn’t feel brave. She didn’t even know what that felt like. Yes, you do, she told herself. She remembered tying up the dogs so she could go into the law office and talk to someone. That had been brave.

  She could do whatever it took to be free from Rich. Not only that, once she made it through that, she’d have a life with Max, Luke, and Isaac. It seemed unbelievable that they all wanted to be with her.

  “Why me?” she asked. They’d had a dozen other charges.

  Before she could come up with an answer, the door opened, and Isaac stood there. He wore athletic shorts and a T-shirt that strained across his chest.

  “Hey, pretty girl,” he said, coming in and closing the door. “Max said you needed me.” He wasn’t asking, and most of Cora’s concerns melted at the sound of his voice. The way she absolutely needed him.

  She scooted over in bed so he could join her, and she let him gather her into his arms and stroke her hair. The silence between them felt easy, casual, and she let his warmth soak into her skin, her muscles, her very bones.

  “Nightmares?” he murmured, his lips in her hair.

  “A new one,” she said. “And Rich is always there. Always after me.”

  “That’s not going to happen, Cora.”

  “You said you had stuff on him. I want to see it.”

  Isaac drew in a breath and held it. “I really don’t think that’s a good idea.”

  She pushed herself up and out of his arms. Their eyes met, and a range of emotions moved through her. Gratitude that he wanted to protect her. Annoyance that he wouldn’t tell her everything.

  “I don’t want secrets between us,” she said. “That’s not how healthy relationships work.”

  A soft smile touched those powerful lips, and he reached out and cupped her face in his palm. “You’ll be extremely upset,” he said. “And all of us think it’s unnecessary for you to know all the details about this particular thing.” His eyes dropped to her mouth. “Maybe you could just trust me on this?”

  Cora wanted to. She wanted to kiss him too. Her mind took a route toward other fantasies too, but she pulled back on them. She wasn’t ready for sex, and she knew it. She also didn’t just want to have sex. She wanted to feel loved. Adored. Cherished. She wanted someone to make love to her, not just get off because she was the warm body locked in the suite.

  “Tell me what you’re thinking,” he whispered, and heat filled Cora’s stomach.

  She shook her head. “I trust you.” Leaning down, she pressed her lips to his. The kiss started out slow, but Isaac accelerated it in the next breath. Almost. It was still slow, but oh-so-passionate that her blood boiled and every cell in her body liquified.

  “I’ve got a lot of evidence against him,” Isaac whispered into her mouth. “The things he’s said to you, Cora…” He kissed her again, pulling her onto his lap. She straddled him, very aware of her effect on his body.

  Again, that sense of power roared through her. Rich had seemingly never been turned on by her. He commanded her to touch him in certain places or he did it himself to make things work properly.

  But Isaac…

  He groaned into her mouth, nipped at her bottom lip roughly, and pulled away breathless. “All right,” he said. “I’m getting out of control.” He slipped her off his lap and tucked her back into his side. “Unless you want to get out of control.”

  She said nothing, and he said, “That’s what I thought.”

  A few minutes passed, the warmth inside Cora intoxicating and very real. She liked that Isaac got turned on by her, and she wondered what it would feel like to have his hands everywhere. Have him inside her. Over her. Under her.

  I’ll do whatever Cora wants, he’d said. She believed him, and she did want to be the one in control in the bedroom this time around. Plus, there was something sexy about these tall, tough, tattooed men succumbing to her desires. Her will. Her demands.

  “Tell me about your family,” she said, letting her eyes drift closed.

  Isaac did, detailing a rough childhood with an abusive father. “I protected my sister a lot,” he said, his voice low and husky in her ear. “Rosemary was older, and she left home first, thank goodness. She lives in DC now, and I text her every so often.”

  “And you joined the Army right out of high school,” Cora said, guessing but sure she was right.

  “That’s right,” he said. “And now Max and Luke are my family.”

  “And me,” Cora said.

  “That’s right,” he whispered. “And y
ou, baby girl.” He kissed her again, and Cora had never been happier than she was in that moment.

  She tried to hang onto that happiness, because Max barked at everyone in their morning meetings for the next few days. Details had to be memorized. She had to pretend to learn how to bake. She was told she’d have to pass as another person flawlessly, and she never seemed to make enough progress for Max.

  They always walked to the back fence together right after their meetings, and he always kissed her on that bench. She finally asked him, “Why here? Luke says you’re going to be in so much trouble, because there are cameras.”

  “Not here,” he whispered, pushing his fingers through her hair and kissing her again. “There’s five feet here with no cameras.”

  “And how do you know that?” Her lips caught on his, and she really liked the solid feel of him in front of her.

  “I work in the security room sometimes,” he said, a sly look in his eye as he pulled back. “How are things going with Luke?”

  “He’s…hesitant,” Cora said. “I know he said he was in, and I believe he is. But we haven’t…you know.” Luke was present in the meetings. He contributed. He’d brought a whole list of places they could go together, and Cora was supposed to decide.

  She hadn’t, because she didn’t really believe the choice was hers.

  “Maybe he’s trying to find a way to stand out,” Max said, taking her hand and tugging her down onto the bench with him. “I mean, I kiss you out here. Isaac gets you in your room. Maybe he doesn’t know where to be.”

  “Are there cameras in the chapel?”

  “Yes,” Max said, glancing at her. “He mourns his wife in the chapel, Cora. I don’t think he wants to kiss you there.”

  Cora frowned. “Isaac said he doesn’t want another wife.”

  “He doesn’t. But he’s a man, and he likes you, and I think he needs to know you care about him.”

  “You want me to approach him.”

  “Yes. Luke’s shier than most men, despite the huge biceps and touchy-feely things he says. He told me it took him a month to even ask his wife out for the first time. And then four to kiss her.” He chuckled and shook his head. “He overthinks things sometimes. If you want to know if he’s in on this, I think you should be…more aggressive.”

  “Aggressive?” Cora laughed lightly and squeezed Max’s hand. “I’m not aggressive.”

  “That’s not what Isaac says.” Max cocked one eyebrow at her.

  “Oh, you guys are talking about me?” Cora smiled, but a flash of hurt moved through her.

  “No,” Max said. “We don’t. But I asked him if you guys were sleeping together, and he said yes. Sleeping.”

  “I’m not having sex with him.”

  “Yet,” Max said.

  Heat filled Cora’s face, and she looked away. “He’s…”

  “He’s Isaac,” Max said. “I know who he is. I’ll tell you the same thing I told him: I would advise you to wait on that, until we’re away from Parkwood.”

  “I’m going to wait on that—with everyone—until I’m ready,” Cora said, withdrawing her hand from his and folding her arms. “I’m—not ready for that. With anyone.”

  Max lifted his arm around her shoulders and brought her into his side. “I hate that he hurt you.”

  Cora did too, but she didn’t say anything. She knew people could heal from hard things. She just had to figure out how to do it too.

  Chapter 14

  Luke

  Luke stayed in the chapel until he knew most of the breakfast-goers would be gone. Yes, the scrambled eggs would be cold, but he needed to be alone. Figure things out.

  Days had passed since he’d agreed to be part of Cora’s harem. They’d turned in their paperwork, and things were progressing with that. She hadn’t picked their true location yet, but he was going to press her today about it. Get an answer if it was the last thing he did that day.

  He also wanted to know how she felt about him. Isaac didn’t even pretend to sleep in their bedroom anymore, and Max disappeared with Cora every day after morning meetings.

  In truth, Luke felt left out.

  Will I feel like this once we’re away from here too? he thought. And could he deal with that? What if he always came in third to Max and Isaac? Was that the life he really wanted?

  He’d never been great with women. June had been the one bright spot in his life, where he’d really gone out on a limb and things had worked.

  “There you are.”

  He glanced up to find Cora smiling down at him. “You never eat with us anymore.” She indicated the seat beside him. “Can I sit with you?”

  Luke slid over, unsure of why his chest pinched so hard at the sight of those blue eyes. “I’m just thinking,” he said.

  “I can see that.” She looked toward the stained glass window too. “Thinking over eating. Must be something really important.” Their eyes met, and Luke was once again reminded of how much she looked like June.

  He’d employed his bravery for thirty seconds with June. Long enough to ask her out. Then long enough to go out. Then long enough to believe she liked him, loved him, had said yes to him.

  “Remember how I said I didn’t know why my wife was out in the middle of the night the night she died?” he asked.

  Surprise crossed Cora’s face, and Luke supposed it was warranted. “Yes,” she said.

  “I lied.”

  Cora gazed steadily back at him. “Was she cheating on you?”

  “Sort of.”

  “How does one sort of cheat on another?”

  “Nothing had happened yet. They’d met online, over an Army network for spouses of people serving overseas. She was going to meet him that night, changed her mind, and was going back home.” Agony filled Luke, and he hung his head. “I hated knowing that. I hated that I’d tracked down her activity online, found the guy, and asked him.”

  He shook his head, his emotions threatening to overflow. He didn’t need that. The Army had taught him how to stuff everything away. Focus. Get tasks done.

  “I didn’t want to fail her,” he said, looking up as a sense of calm came over him. “I don’t want to fail you, either. But I feel…”

  “Third?” she guessed.

  “Yeah. Third.”

  Cora linked her arm through his and leaned her head against his upper arm. “You don’t come on as strongly as the other two. That doesn’t mean you’re third.”

  “Where am I?”

  “There are no ranks, Luke.” She settled her hand on his leg, which sent a jolt right up his spine and down to his feet.

  “There are cameras in here,” he whispered.

  “I’m aware,” she said. “I asked Max to do something about it.”

  “What?”

  Her hand moved to his inner thigh, and heat shot through Luke’s whole body. The evidence of this woman’s touch was about to become apparent, and he couldn’t do anything to stop it.

  She moved her fingers up, and Luke sucked in an audible breath. “Cora,” he warned.

  “What?” she teased. “I’m just checking to see if you’re really interested.”

  “I’m interested,” he said, everything on display now.

  Cora kept her face forward, but she surely knew. “I’m dying for you to kiss me,” she said. “What time is it?”

  Luke somehow managed to pull his phone out of his pocket and look at it. “Nine-oh-nine. I need to go get breakfast so I’m not late for our meeting.”

  She turned toward him. “Max said we’ll have five minutes.” Her eyes ate him up, and her hand was so close, so close to his groin he could barely think. “I want you to kiss me like you’ve never kissed anyone for all five minutes.”

  “When?” he whispered.

  “Nine-ten.” She closed her eyes as if he’d kiss her right then, and he drew in the beauty of her face, the way she made him feel male and powerful, and he wanted to kiss her with everything he had.

  “What if someone comes i
n?” he asked, not daring to look at his phone to check the time. It wasn’t like he and Max had synced up or anything.

  “Isaac’s standing guard.” Cora tipped her face toward his. “It has to be time, Luke. I’m dying.”

  Still Luke hesitated. Isaac and Max were helping her to be able to kiss him in secret. The thrill of it all made him more excited, but he couldn’t help saying, “I haven’t kissed anyone in a long time, Cora.”

  “And I make you nervous.”

  “Very.”

  “Just try it,” she said. “We don’t have much time.”

  Luke bent down and touched his lips to hers, almost expecting to be repulsed because she wasn’t June. Instead, the fire that had been licking its way through him exploded, and he groaned, giving away too much.

  “Luke,” she whispered, turning fully into him so he could kiss her properly. Which he did, his hands moving through her hair, down her arms, along her waist. Her skin felt like silky flower petals, and she stroked her mouth against his with a passion he hadn’t felt since his wedding night.

  Adrenaline pounded through him, and he moved his mouth to her neck, her collarbone, ravenous for her. She held onto his face as he put his mouth over her breast, the fabric there annoying him.

  “Luke,” she panted, and he brought his mouth back to hers. As he kissed her again, deeper, with a wildness he didn’t know he possessed, he knew he didn’t care where he was. There really was no rank, and he really did want to be with her.

  Someone knocked, and he jumped away from her as if he’d been caught making out with her by the Grand Master. His heart thumped in his chest. Their eyes met again, and pure desire and delight lived in hers.

  She ran her hands through her hair and straightened her clothes. “Five minutes wasn’t long enough,” she said with a smile. “But you better get your breakfast and bring it to the meeting. Max says we’re super far behind.”

  “He always says that,” Luke said, mourning the loss of Cora as she got up and headed for the exit. He caught a glimpse of Isaac as she left, and he wore an inquisitive look on his face.