A Trick of the Moon
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Going back to question Maura's workers could provide some information.
He could see if one of them practiced the old ways, as Declan called it. If they were all Christians, it probably wasn't one of them leaving the offering.
He would need to tread carefully while asking people about religion. They tended to get a bit testy. Not that he blamed them, but knowing would help him narrow down the suspects, which would bring them closer to an answer for Maura.
Thinking about the pretty blonde made his cock stir. He closed his eyes and remembered the feel of her hand on his cock, her stroke firm yet gentle as she jerked him off. He wanted to feel her tongue on him, licking him from toe to head. Then he wanted to flip her onto her knees, slap her ass hard as he pounded into her pussy. Declan's fingers would be on her clit, making her come as they had last night.
He groaned softly at the idea, surprised to hear Declan call his name.
“What the hell are you doing?”
“Thinking about last night,” he answered truthfully. He stood up, stretched his back, and walked toward where his friend sat cross-legged running fingers along a ridge in the dirt. “Did you find something?”
“I thought I might have found the outline of a wall, but now that I've got my fingers in deeper, I think I'm wrong; it's just a little groove in the dirt.”
Declan clapped his hand together, sending clouds of dust drifting into the air.
“You thinking about last night, huh? I've been thinking about it too.”
Dario clicked his teeth together. “Are you pissed I butted in?”
“Surprisingly enough, no. I thought I would be, but it was…natural.”
Declan sounded more than a little surprised.
“Right time, right place, huh? I was a little worried. I know how you feel about her.”
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He watched Declan consider his words and was very surprised by his friend's grin, which was much like that of a kid in love for the first time. “There was nothing wrong with what happened. She loved it, and so did we.”
Dario was happy to hear him say that. His friendship with Declan meant the world to him, and if he'd done anything to damage it, it would crush him.
“I'm glad you feel that way. But maybe we should set up another tent for tonight in case the two of you want to be alone.” Declan shook his head.
“I think we should let Maura make the decision.”
Dario plopped down next to him. “And how do you propose to ask her?
'Hey, sweets, do you want another ménage tonight?' She may not take that too kindly. Although, I have to admit I'm surprised she hasn't brought it up today.”
“We've been busy. Plus, she's a lawyer, a professional woman who handles things that come her way. I'm sure if she had a problem with it, she would have let me know.” Declan glanced down to where his finger still traced a line in the dirt. “Or at least I think she would have.”
Dario picked up a few round pebbles, then tossed them back to the ground one by one. “I thought she would have mentioned the rude awakening we got, at least. That guy was an ass. But…”
“But what?” Declan stopped playing in the soil, fastening his gaze on Dario.
“It was a little over the top, don't you think?” Dario stretched out his legs and leaned back on his elbows. The dirt bit into him, but he didn't care. He'd always loved the outdoors, just as much as Declan did. He just didn't have a job playing in it. “I've been thinking about it all day long. He wanted to piss us off, see if he could run us off. I have to ask myself why.”
They exchanged a long glance, and then Declan reached into his bag, took out a long, slender tool. “I see the cop is doing his job. Want to borrow this to go interrogate the guy?”
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“Tempting…but no.” Dario stood and began examining the area again. “Do you think I'm wrong?”
“No.” Declan's voice drifted to him as he walked farther away. “Now that I'm thinking about it, you're probably right. Why would he use racial slurs, especially when Maura said it wasn't like him?”
Dario went to the tent, retrieved a plastic chair from inside. He set it next to Declan, then made himself at home. “He knows why we're here, and he doesn't want us here. I'd like to talk with him, just for a little while.”
“After your reaction this morning, he would probably think you would try to kick his ass.”
“Good.” Dario laced his fingers together, placing them on top of his stomach as he lay back. “Hey, I have a question. You take this chair out on dig sites you have to hike to? It seems to me it would be a little too big for a long trek.”
Declan laughed, then stood. “You're right, it's not one I normally bring with me. But it does stay in the back of the SUV in case I need it. I didn't bring that much equipment, really, because I wasn't sure what I would find.”
He strode toward the SUV, then pulled open the door. Declan picked up the camera and examined every piece of it before turning it on.
The sound of its whir filled the area, and Declan depressed the shutter, the click audible. “Good, it still works. Hopefully nothing inside was jarred by the fall.”
Dario walked up to him and took the camera from Declan's hands. “We should try it out. Tonight, before it gets too dark.” He glanced at his friend, happy to see from the grin on his face that he immediately got his meaning.
“That's a great idea, Dario. We'll use it to prove to Ms. Atwell just how beautiful she really is.”
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Chapter Nine
Maura gripped the wheel as the truck bounced over the rugged landscape.
It was a good thing she'd placed the food in the cooler. The large plastic container was wedged into the front seat. The ride seemed much bumpier right now than it had earlier. That was probably because she was going much too fast.
She needed to slow down. It wasn't as if the guys wouldn't be there. There was no cell-phone reception in this area, so she hadn't been able to call them this afternoon to see how things were going. Instead she'd worked at her desk, made cabin assignments for next week's visitors, and ran credit cards for deposits on lodgings.
Then she'd gone out to check and make sure everything was all right with the workers. No one treated her differently than they usually did, which meant, she hoped, that Bear had kept his mouth shut about what he'd seen that morning. She hadn't seen him since their run-in, and she wondered exactly where he was.
She'd asked a few people, but no one had seemed to know. They'd all just said he'd worked that morning, then said he was taking off. Several of them told her he'd given no indication when he would be back.
That made her question where he was. Bear had a house right near the Full Moon. He'd bought the land from her father some years ago and built a very nice house. He lived there with his wife and three of his five sons. The two who weren't living at home were at school in Albuquerque, enrolled in summer courses at the university.
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She could go and ask his wife, Nita, where he had gone, but that would raise questions about why she was asking. She never went to Bear's house. In fact, she could count on one hand the number of times she'd been there. If there was a social gathering during holiday time, he and his family came to her father's house.
While she'd been working that afternoon, she'd pondered who would have pulled the stunt with the rope ladder that morning. The only person she kept coming back to was Bear. His reaction to finding her in bed with Declan and Dario this morning had been strong. He'd said he'd wanted them out. Then came the ladder incident.
Now he had left. But where had he gone? She needed to share her suspicions with Declan and Dario, see what they thought. Or had they just brushed off the incident, thinking it was nothing. They hadn't been concerned at the time, or so it seemed.
Had Declan found other evidence that perhaps this area had been inhabited all those years ago when the ancient Puebloans had lived in this area? And if he had, what would it do to her father's land?
She needed to do some research, see what would happen if this site did turn out to be important. Could the land be confiscated by the government or by the reservation? Those were questions she didn't know the answers to, but she needed to find out. Maybe Declan would know.
Thinking about her old friend and new lover made her insides heat. Her nipples tingled with excitement as she thought about him caressing her, about how he'd felt inside her, thrusting hard, pulsing with need and the desire to fill her.
And then there was Dario, his handsome face flushed with excitement as she stroked him to orgasm. She remembered the feel of his length in her hand, how he filled her and she stretched around him.
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How had this happened? How was it she now had two lovers instead of one? An even bigger question, she knew, was why did it seem so natural? She'd had friends who had participated in ménages or explored their sexuality to the point of having sex with another woman, but she'd never been like that.
Yet last night she'd asked them both to stay. Would they repeat it tonight?
Would they bring it up, or did she have to? This was uncharted territory for her, and she wasn't exactly sure how to proceed.
A few bumps later she saw Declan's SUV sitting next to a large blue tent.
She didn't see either of them, but as she drew closer she noticed a ring of stones placed over where the kiva was, marking the structure from the outside.
Seeing it made her wonder if there were other structures like it in the area. If there were, they hadn't been cleared out. Or at least she didn't think they had.
Declan would have spent the afternoon looking for them, and if he'd found something, he would have marked it the same way he had the kiva, she was sure of it.
She pulled the truck up next to Declan's and put it in park. No one came to greet her, and she wondered if they were off wandering the valleys, looking for things that might have been left by those who came before them.
Leaving the cooler in the cab seemed like a good idea, since she wasn't sure where they were. It was fairly heavy, and she didn't relish the idea of carrying it to the tent. Better to let the men handle it.
She reached for the door handle, and a face appeared in the driver's-side window. Dario peered in at her, his expression serious. Concern raced through her. Had something happened to Declan? No, it couldn't be. They might not have cell reception out here in the middle of nowhere, but they still had a car.
They could have come to the house if something had been wrong.
“Roll down the window.” His voice sounded muffled through the glass, but she obeyed his order.
“Is something wrong? I thought…”
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“Can I see your license, ma'am?”
“Excuse me?” She burst into laughter. “Did I park too close to Declan? Or did I break some other driving law on my way here?”
He took a small step away and put his hands on his hips. His legs were slightly apart, and she imagined him in a dark blue cop's uniform, the utility belt strapped around his waist, the tight material stretched over his muscles.
Her already hard nipples tightened even more, and her clit, as if remembering his touch from the night before, began to throb.
“Your license. Now.”
“I don't have it with me.” She put her hands on the wheel and gripped it tight. It was either that or reach through the window and try to pull him inside and beg him to take her.
“You know that's against the law, don't you?” Dario stared at her for a few long moments, and then he reached for the door handle. “Step out of the car, please, ma'am.”
Where was Declan? Was this some sort of game Dario wanted to play with her on his own? Or was he just fooling around, trying to get her to laugh. She hadn't exactly been in a great mood when they'd left the house. Maybe this was his way of lightening things up.
The car door opened slowly, and she exited the vehicle, stepping toward the front where he indicated she should stand. “Are you going to arrest me, Officer? Or just try to scare me? I know you're supposed to have your license with you at all times, but I forgot my purse. Sue me.”
Maura crossed her arms over her chest. “Of course this is private property. You have absolutely no jurisdiction here.”
He stepped closer, and she put her hands out to her sides, pushing them against the truck to keep herself steady. His body pressed hard against hers, and she could feel the rigid outline of his cock against her belly.
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“You'll think jurisdiction when I'm done with you. You were a bad girl this morning, talking about being too big. Shame on you.” His hot breath, which smelled vaguely of a sugary soft drink, caressed her cheek, and her body quivered as he ran a hand up her side. “It's time for your lesson, and it starts with you taking your clothes off. Slowly.”
“Excuse me?” She was sure he could hear the sound of her heart, going rap-a-tat-tat in her chest, the rhythm almost as loud as the bass in a teenager's car.
“You heard me.” He didn't move away from her but kept his body firmly pressed against hers, her breasts flattened against her chest. “I can see I'm going to have trouble with you. Maybe I need to make sure a record is kept of this little incident, just to cover my own ass.”
Maura gasped in pretend outrage. “Are you suggesting I would lie about something that happened here?”
“You're a lawyer, aren't you?” She pushed against his shoulder.
“Creep.” She tried to wiggle out from under his arms, but all it did was put her body into more contact with him. Not that it was a bad thing. He felt delicious against her. “Let me go.”
“I don't think so. Don't make me pull out my handcuffs.” He put his lips right against her ear. “I'm going to move away, and you're going to undress. Is that clear?”
Oh yes, it was very clear, and it was very exciting. She had only two real questions. First, where was Declan? And second, should she pretend to fight, or should she just play along? What would they expect from her?
Declan was obviously waiting somewhere in the wings for his part to start.
But where was he? She thought back to what Dario said about making a record. Declan was somewhere, with the camera. The thought made her stomach clench. She wasn't too thrilled with the idea of recording this little A Trick of the Moon
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tryst on camera. But obviously they were. Maybe she could talk them into changing up the rules a little.
“How about if we—”
“No!” Dario stepped away from her and turned her expertly so that her front was against the car. Her already hard nipples felt as if they would burst.
Oh crap, she liked this, liked the force he was using, even if he was just playacting. What did that say about her? Did she want him to dominate her, and did she want Declan to capture it on film?
The clink of cold metal against a wrist brought her mind back from its wanderings. He'd cuffed the other one expertly before she could object. The feelings inside her turned up a notch, and she wasn't sure if it was excitement or fear. After all, she'd only known this man a day. True, he was Declan's friend, and she'd known Declan for years. But Declan was nowhere to be seen at the present time. Was he inside the tent, looking out? Or was he farther away?
“Dario, I—”
“It's Officer Fuentes to you.” He patted her behind. “Do you have any weapons on you? Anything I need to know about before I search you?”
Yeah, hard nipples and a wet pussy, but you'll probably find that out soon enough. “No.”
“We'll see about that.” He took hold of the chain between the cuffs
and gently tugged. “Come with me.”
He took her to the other side of the truck, the one that faced the tent.
From inside it she saw a slight movement, answering her question about where Declan was. He stepped out seconds later, camera in hand.
“I suppose you're the one who's going to capture this for posterity.” She wanted to point at the camera, but since her hands were bound, there was no way she could. Instead she inclined her head. “That's good. It will help me in court after I file suit against you two. I'll be going for the big bucks.”
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She chuckled evilly, and when they joined in, she stopped, gazing at first one and then the other. “What's so funny?”
“You, winning a suit against us,” Dario retorted. “You were the one who was breaking the law. Now, let's see what you've got hidden under those clothes.”
“Wait. Let's make sure we get the whole thing on film.” Dario stepped back, and Declan aimed the camera. She sneered at him, working hard to fight the smile that threatened to overtake her mouth. The click of the shutter made her nerve endings jump: a mixture of trepidation and excitement.
She had no idea what they had planned; she was at their mercy. But she would give them a run for their money, in a playful sort of way.
“Got her, Officer Littlecreek?”
“Yes, sir, I do.”
Maura snorted out a laugh. “Officer? Of what?”
“Watch it, prisoner,” Dario whispered in her ear. “I have the authority to control the amount of punishment you get for your little offense. You'd better be nice, or it may get ugly.”
Before she could answer, he whirled her around and grabbed the hem of her shirt, pulling it over her head and back over her bound arms. She felt him wrap the material around her wrists, gasping as the shutter clicked and clicked and clicked.