Catching Cara: Dark Horse, Inc: Book 2

by Amy J. Hawthorn

  “No, that’s all on her. She shouldn’t have played games like that and, when she got caught, she should have owned up to it. Running? That’s all on her.”

  “She ran from me. I figured she’d cool down after she got some space. Heaven knows I needed to get my temper under control. It’s usually hard to provoke, but when I hit my boiling point, it’s not pretty.” He smiled wryly.

  “I know.” She smiled but he didn’t get her meaning.

  “You know?” He tilted his head in confusion.

  “Yes,” she said slowly. Then she moved and straddled his lap, so she faced him. “Boyd. At the Thirsty Beaver.” Lightning flashed brighter, making her flinch.

  He met her gaze and murmured, “Stay with me. What about the Thirsty Beaver?”

  “When Boyd grabbed me. You were there, and I thought you were going to kill him.” Thunder rolled in and through the house and her breaths came in short, rapid pants.

  It was his turn to cup her face. He held her, willed her to focus on him. On them. “I wanted to, but I probably would have stopped before he quit breathing.”

  She frowned and told him with her eyes what she thought. “That’s not funny.”

  “Nope. It’s not. It’s real. What he did to you was real. Given the opportunity, I think he would have done it again. I won’t let that happen, no matter what.”

  “I had to climb you like a tree.”

  “Whatever. It worked.” He leaned in close, just a breath away from her mouth. “Besides, any time you get the urge to monkey around with me, feel free.” Unable to resist any longer, he took her mouth with his. Soft, sweet, giving, she let him in.

  Lightning flashed. Thunder immediately followed, and rain crashed down in a roar. She tore her mouth away and buried her head into his neck. “I’m so sorry. I can’t while it’s storming. I’m a basket case.”

  “No you’re not. There’s nothing to apologize for. Has it always been this way?”

  “No.” Another loud blast of thunder signaled the storm’s arrival. “It’s been eight years.” There was something in her words as she tried to pull away from him. She tried to straighten her legs to get up, but he held her in place.

  “What happened?” He took her chin in his hand and tipped her face until he had her attention.

  She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply. As if ripping off a bandage, she spoke quickly but quietly. “We were on a security detail. We’d already been through earlier that day and were on our way back to base. In that quiet, peaceful little speck on the map we’d never had any trouble. One moment everything was fine, and the next the world around us erupted. Justin went down, and I…God, I can still hear his cries of pain. I didn’t think and ran to him. James grabbed me around the waist and pulled me back seconds before another explosion rocked the world.” She took a deep, stuttered breath. Her hands fisted in his shirt.

  “Justin’s screams stopped cold, and the silence terrified me more than the noise had. It’s not the storms so much as the pressure in the air and anticipation of the thunder that gets me. Logically, I know there’s a huge difference between Mother Nature and man-made terror, but I can’t always shake the fear.” Another bolt struck close, too close, making her flinch again. When the loud boom followed a second later, his heart broke.

  “We were only fifty yards or so apart, but it felt like two miles. The second blast, a rocket-propelled grenade, landed between Justin and me. It knocked him unconscious and, if it hadn’t been for James, I wouldn’t be here. I would have been in pieces all over the dessert. They got Justin out, stabilized and eventually home. When he made it back, we thought that he would be okay, but eventually he succumbed to his injuries. The Walkers were devastated.”

  The interior light flickered as the power threatened to go out, and he took the back of her head in his palm and pressed it to his chest. “Were you two involved?”

  She shook her head against him. “No. We were good friends. He was friends with everyone, just a really good guy that everyone liked. When it thunders, I sometimes hear his screams then the following silence is even more terrifying. I try to stay in the present, but sometimes the fear pulls me back in.”

  Aching, wishing he could do something to take the pain away; he rubbed her back and cursed the storm. He’d always liked them, but from this point on he’d always view them through different eyes. His shirt grew damp beneath Cara’s face, and he inwardly cursed.

  “Come on, let’s get more comfortable.” Without waiting for a reply, he picked her up and carried her to his room. He stripped her down to her shirt and underwear and tucked her beneath the blanket. He stripped down to his boxers and joined her. Yeah, he’d planned on them spending the night together in his bed, but it hadn’t been with her tears on his chest.

  He’d take them, anyway.

  Chapter Twelve

  The storm would arrive soon, so she should hurry, but she also wanted to see what the bad men were doing. She worried they might be dealing drugs or something, and if she knew anything at all, she knew drugs were trouble.

  Her father and his drugs destroyed her entire family. She didn’t want the stuff anywhere near her. These woods were her home; they were hers. She wouldn’t just watch them move in and take over. Her grampa would have run them off with his shotgun.

  Addie crept through the darkness across the empty quarry lot. She just needed to get a quick look inside the window, so she could make a picture of the new guy and leave it for the cop. It had been almost a week since the pretty lady had been by with food. Addie figured that she only had another day or two at the most before she came back.

  She came up on the big old building where the men all visited and slid along the wall like they did in the movies. She kept her back to the wall with her hands pressed flat beside her. She should have worn all black, but she hadn’t planned on playing spy when she’d left the house.

  Also, the lady who kept bringing her stuff usually brought her pretty things in girl colors—totally worthless for hiding in the woods.

  She wasn’t going to waste time wishing she lived in a world where she could worry about things like whether her clothes were nice or if they even matched. No, she wasn’t meant for that world.

  Addie, love, you were meant for bigger and better things than this old hollow. Don’t you ever forget it. Every once in while her mother’s voice whispered through the past and spoke to her. She loved hearing her voice, even if she no longer believed the words.

  A loud noise crashed inside. “Damn it, Jimmy. I warned you. I swear, one more fuckup, and your body will be at the bottom of the lake.” The voice sounded like the dirty cop. He acted like he was in charge, but the other two guys never really listened to him.

  She worried more about the quiet one. He stood around and watched everyone in a real creepy way she didn’t like. He was tall, with his blond hair buzzed real short. She’d seen him from the side twice, but she wanted to draw his face from the front. That’s what police artists did, and she could draw just as good as they could. She remembered seeing one in an old movie she’d watched with her grampa long ago.

  Her hands were getting sweaty, but it wasn’t hot. The storm was chasing in a cool breeze.

  She stood up, turned and looked inside the window. All four of them were inside. The dirty cop, the skinny one who was always in trouble, the guy with brown hair who always told the dirty cop what to do, and the new guy, all stood around a big table piled with black packages.

  The cop waved his arms around and pointed to the skinny one. The brown-haired guy looked tired and serious. He paid more attention to the packages on the table than anything else. The new guy? He watched the first two with a scary look in his eyes.

  It was the kind of look that at the same time made her want freeze in fear and run away. The brown-haired guy looked up to the first two, shook his head and went back to work but the blond guy, he never moved.

  Until he did.

  She hadn’t made a sound. She knew that. She n
ever did.

  Somehow, he knew she was there, because his dark eyes swept from the two men straight to her. Turned to stone, she almost peed her pants.

  Then he moved, and he moved fast. When the door banged on the other side of the building, it broke the spell and she ran. She ran faster than she’d ever ran in her life. The wind ripped through her hair as her legs pumped hard. Air burned her lungs as she panted in big heaving gulps. The night blurred around her.

  And then it didn’t. He’d caught her, and she jerked to a stop. He pulled her back tight against his chest. Hot breath hissed over her ear. “What’s a pretty girl like you doing wondering the woods at night?” The hard hand on her belly rose higher on her body, to her ribs, making puke rise in her throat. Her body froze again and she didn’t know how to break the ice.

  A hard jolt slammed into them, and the arms holding her released as the big guy fell to the ground. She fell hard to her knees. “Fuck. Sorry man.” It was the brown-haired man.

  She ran.

  “I tripped over a rock. Shit.” She recognized his voice as she fled into the woods, running until she couldn’t run anymore. She’d wanted to spend the night in her house, dry away from the storm, but there was no way she’d go there tonight. She’d have to go to her secret place and spend another night alone in the dark.

  It was her place in the world.

  Cara woke immersed in the comfort of Joe’s arms and wanted to cry all over again. She’d been a wreck, and he’d been…perfect. He’d held her throughout the storm, comforting her and never losing his patience.

  The man deserved an award, but he’d have to make do with breakfast in bed. Then maybe afterward, she’d give him an entirely different type of treat. She carefully extricated herself from beneath his heavy arm. Inch by inch, she moved across the bed and away from his heat. She hadn’t even set foot on the floor, and she missed his warmth.

  With light steps, she went to Joe’s bathroom and tended to her needs. When finished, she carefully opened the door and walked across his room to the corner where he’d put her overnight bag. She bent over to look for a pair of shorts.

  “C’mere.” A heavy arm wrapped around her belly and pulled her up into the heat of his body. “You can’t sneak away.” Sleep rough and growly, his voice whispered into her ear.

  “I almost made it out.” She couldn’t say she was sorry he’d caught her when his palm splayed flat on her belly beneath her shirt. From her nape to her heels, she felt him against her back.

  “No you didn’t. I have what Kylie calls dad ears. I can hear a pin drop and go from dead asleep to wide awake in less than a second. It’s a skill you learn when you have a kid who is too curious and very active. You can’t get by me.”

  “Hmph.” She crossed her arms over his. He tangled his fingers with hers and something inside her went soft and gooey. “I was going to fix breakfast to thank you for last night.”

  “No need.” He kissed a trail across the curve of her shoulder.

  “You fixed dinner and then dealt with my drama. I know that’s not how you planned to spend your evening.” She stared ahead at his closed closet door, hiding her vulnerability. As always, he saw through her.

  He picked her up and carried her back to bed. Prowling up her body, he maneuvered her onto her back. He only wore in a pair of navy boxers; and she knew his body was enough to tempt a nun to sin, yet all she saw was his eyes. The chocolate and caramel depths trapped her in a whirlpool of emotion.

  “No, it wasn’t, but that didn’t make it any less pleasurable.” He swept a tender graze over her cheek with his thumb.

  She laughed outright, a short, harsh sound devoid of humor. “I thought you were a good man, MacDonald. I know your momma taught you not to lie.”

  “There are far worse ways to spend a long summer night than with a beautiful woman in my arms. Truly.” His face softened. “I’m glad I was there.”

  The corners of her eyes grew damp, and she tried to make him turn away. Of course he refused. His mouth met hers and then moved right on in. Slow, deep and seductive, his kiss burned her in the best way possible.

  When he broke away, he said, “No more tears. I have a better idea.” He moved between her legs, and she felt his hard length beneath the material of his boxers, pointing at what it wanted.

  “Oh, yeah? What exactly is this idea of yours? I’m barely dressed.”

  “Wrong, sweetheart. You’re overdressed, but don’t you worry. I’ll fix that.” As if to put words to action, he pulled her shirt over her head. He slid her panties down her legs, his fingertips gliding against her skin along the way.

  “Wait a minute. Now you’re overdressed.” She ran a finger from his chin, down his neck, chest and belly. She hooked it in the waistband of his underwear. “These gotta go.”

  “Yes, ma’am.” The moment he finished stripping, she took the opportunity to pounce. She pushed all of her weight into one shoulder and shoved. Smiling, he let her have her way. She wasn’t fooled in the slightest when he fell onto his back, but she wasn’t going let her pride get the better of her. She’d be a moron to waste an opportunity to explore the body beneath her.

  Acres of roped muscle stretched out before her. Starting at his shoulders, she trailed her fingertips down over his chest and grazed over his dark nipples. When the hard abdomen beneath her pussy twitched in response, she smiled.

  “Bingo.”

  “Bingo?” He tilted his head in question.

  “I believe I’ve found one of your weaknesses, Mr. MacDonald.”

  His eyes flickered. “Nope. Try again.”

  “Really?” She rubbed her thumbs in slow circles. His belly dipped and rose again. Shameless, she lowered her upper half onto his, making full contact with the heat of his skin against her core. She met his eyes with hers and swirled her tongue around one nipple.

  “Yeah, really.” His abdomen hitched.

  “You know, each time I do this…” She tasted the other nipple. “I can feel your abs quake beneath my pussy. It’s making me wet. Can you feel it?”

  “Minx.” He ran a hand down her spine and cupped her ass. He applied pressure and flexed his muscles. Then he used his hand to rock her hips, rubbing her body against his. “Yeah, I do feel it. What about you? Isn’t this one of your weaknesses?” With his other hand, he grazed the barest of touches with the back of his hand over her nipple.

  Powerless, she groaned.

  “What about harder?” He cupped her breast and closed his thumb and forefinger over the hard peak in a firm, not quite painful grip. Sharp, erotic pleasure arced from where his hand held her to deep inside her core. “Turnabout is fair play.” He gripped her waist, lifted her higher until his mouth had access to her breasts.

  She tangled her fingers into his thick hair and held on as he took one in his mouth. She gasped and gave up the game. For the life of her, she couldn’t find a reason why any game could be more important than the pleasure they brought each other. Letting him have his way, she melted as he rolled until she was beneath him, her new favorite place.

  Home. Her inner voice whispered and sighed.

  Running her hands over the taught muscles of his shoulders, she reveled in his attention. Wet, yearning, her body demanded he take her. Exploring further, she scraped her fingernails until she found his nipples. She grazed them, teasing him as mercilessly as he pleasured her.

  She slid a palm downward and took him in hand. Rock solid and hot, his cock defined male prowess. Touching, kissing, relentlessly, they gave and took from each other in a wicked dance of indulgence.

  Aching with bliss, her body cried out for his. “Please, Joe. I want you inside me when I come.” Stripped bare of all pretense, she couldn’t hide her vulnerability from him, but why should she? He’d seen her at her weakest, knew her darkest secret, and still hungered for her.

  As if Joe understood that her need went far beyond the physical, he reached in the nightstand and took the briefest moment to protect them both. Testing he
r readiness, he found her damp and slick. “You’re a gorgeous, silken dream.” When he rasped a touch over her clit, sparks of brilliant pleasure shot through her.

  “Please, don’t make me—”

  “Never.” He entered her in a single, hard thrust, rocking her. Slowly withdrawing, he stopped just before leaving her entirely. Arching into his hold, she grasped his shoulders, readying for the next move.

  Then he came back, filling her. Each powerful thrust filled her with white-hot pleasure and a need that threatened to consume her. Taking his jaw in her hands, she pulled him close. She met his lips with hers, tangled her tongue with his.

  Growling into her mouth, he increased his pace. Her body tightened, intensifying the friction and making her deliciously full as the head of his cock rasped over her most sensitive tissues. He wrapped an arm under one of her thighs, lifted and twined it around his waist. Driving even deeper with short, brutal thrusts, he pounded into her again and again.

  Bliss ripped through her in a bright, blinding flash of ecstasy. She buried her head in his neck and held on as he carried her into a violent storm of erotic joy.

  He rolled her again, collapsing on his back. She lay there on his chest, with his heart thundering in her ears.

  “My gorgeous warrior princess, you’re pint-sized. I love it.” His heavy breaths heaved in and out of his chest. “I can put you right where I want you. Now, Mayhem, what was it you said about breakfast?”

  Chapter Thirteen

  Joe looked at the caller ID on his phone. The number was local but unfamiliar. He stopped outside the door to the station and answered, “Hello?”