She had turned her horse away from the stream to move toward a small stand of trees, then she'd spied the two men on horseback darting in her direction! She felt a wave of panic and hurriedly mounted Arwen. As Kenna urged her horse into the trees, she realized she couldn't outrun them or return to the base. She needed to find a place to hide.
She had trotted Arwen through the trees a few hundred yards farther and dismounted then looped the reins around the saddle horn and smacked the horse on the butt. Arwen had snorted and bolted away. Kenna then ran in the opposite direction of the men, hoping to find some bush or deadfall to hide in.
They were upon her before she'd found a place to hide. A tall, skinny man with dirty-blond hair and pale-blue, watery eyes had grabbed her from behind. She'd struggled fiercely, kicking and clawing her way out of his arms. But the other man had grabbed her by the hair and the back of her shirt. The skinny man had sworn as he'd looked at the path of blood her fingernails had drawn down his arms, and he'd rubbed his shins where she had landed a few good kicks. He had come over to help her heavyset captor wrestle her to the ground and bound her hands and feet. When she was tied up, the thin man had mounted his horse and rode off. The big black-bearded man sat down a couple of feet away from her and took a few swallows from a silver flask he had drawn from his saddlebag.
As he'd run one hand through his scruffy, long black hair, he had said, "Well, now. What are we going to do with you?" He looked her up and down. "Who do you belong to, and what the hell are you doing out here alone?"
Kenna hadn't spoken. She'd just watched him and wondered what his skinny friend was up to.
"If you don't belong to anyone, then we'll just keep you for ourselves," he'd said with a leering grin. "My partner and I can take real good care of you."
"If you touch me, Sheriff Hardin will kill you!" She wanted to sound more forceful, but she was terrified and her voiced wavered. "I'm his best friend's sister. Let me go back to town, or you'll be in trouble!" She didn't want to say she was dating Jack because these men seemed like outlaws, and if they wanted revenge on the sheriff, what better way than to hurt his woman?
"Bobby doesn't have a sister. Yer lying; that's for sure! You and the sheriff may have had a tumble or two, but I've known him a long time. He ain't ever been interested in settling down. I don't imagine he'll be upset at us for providing room and board to a girl from the saloon."
"I'm not a saloon girl! I'm staying at Pauline's boarding house." There had been no waver in her voice. But she'd immediately seen the mistake of lying to these men. How was she to know that men like these two would know about the sheriff's personal affairs?
"Lying again. Judging from the way you're dressed, you couldn't afford Pauline's. You ain't no lady; that's for sure!" He had taken another deep swallow from the silver flask and gave her a nasty look.
"I'm not lying! Take me back to town, and I'll prove it!" she'd said with as much confidence as she could muster.
They didn't take her back to town.
The skinny man had come back and said he couldn't find her horse. The black-haired man had then picked her up and tried to throw her over his saddle, but she had struggled as hard as she could. That's when she had felt a hot, blinding flash of pain on the back of her head. Her knees had buckled underneath her, and she'd hit the ground. Then she'd woken up in the log house.
Out of the frying pan and into the fire ran the old cliché through her aching head. She should have stayed in the frying pan. Jayden was right after all. Jumping back through the portal to her old life didn't seem so bad now. Especially if there was no chance of being with Jack. If this were the fire, then she would try to get back to the frying pan with every last ounce of her energy!
She knew she should have listened to Jack. She had been overconfident, not truly understanding how much danger she was putting herself in. This was precisely what he had warned her about. These men were not reasonable, and they weren't listening to her. This house was back in the mountains somewhere, and no one would ever know she was here.
Kenna became sick to her stomach and overcome with sorrow when she thought about how her life was now completely destroyed.
12
Fear
Kenna's eyes were swollen, and her face was tight with the salty tracks of her dried tears after several hours of crying. She had never been much of a crier until the last month or so. She usually held in her emotions and rarely let anyone see that she was upset or sad. Her father had taught her to always put on a brave face.
The brave face was lost entirely when she had regained consciousness in this house. Mourning had taken over. She was grieving the loss of any future possibility of happiness. It amazed her how one lousy decision had utterly destroyed her life. Why had she veered off into the trees? Jayden had been unsteady on his feet when he had shuffled after her. He wouldn't have been able to follow her with any success for at least another couple of hours after he'd made the jump through the time portal. Not only did he not have the strength, he didn't even have a horse! If she had just ridden back to town on the main trail, there was a good chance that these brutes wouldn't have seen her. What was she thinking? That was the problem—she hadn't been thinking. Fear had taken hold of her, entirely clouding her judgment.
Kenna had drifted in and out of consciousness until the light of dawn streamed through the windows of the cabin. Awakening slowly, she realized the snoring of the two men had stopped. That was the last thing she remembered hearing before drifting off to sleep. Then she noticed the shuffling sounds of feet on the floor on the other side of the room and cracked her eyes open a fraction. The men were pulling their clothes on. She squeezed her eyes shut and pretended to be asleep. The creak of a metal door startled her, then, soon, she smelled wood burning.
The sizzle of eggs and sausage on the old soot-darkened wood stove made Kenna's stomach rumble with hunger. She tried to keep as still as possible so as not to attract attention. She knew this was foolish as she was the only woman in a remote house with two men and would be the center of attention no matter what she did. She gave up and opened her eyes.
The skinny man looked over at her and saw that she was watching them. "Looks like our guest is awake," he said as he leered at her and winked.
The big man dished the breakfast onto two plates. "That's good. I was worried I hit her head too hard. It'd be a damned shame if I'd killed her."
The two men looked at each other in agreement.
"Well, let's eat first," said the skinny man. "We need to keep our strength up! Looks like we're goin' to have an interesting evening."
They broke out into hearty laughter, then they began to talk about what they had to do that day. None of it concerned her.
She felt her anger rise. They were enjoying each other's company a little too much, at her expense.
Anger suddenly gave way to fear, her heart pounding so hard it felt as if it was going to jump out of her chest. Her chest hurt, and it was hard to breathe. She knew it was a panic attack. She'd had one just after her parents died when she was worrying about her uncertain future. She had thought she was having a heart attack and called 9-1-1. It had turned out to be anxiety, and the paramedics showed her how to manage the horrible feelings. She squeezed her eyes shut and tried to take a few deep breaths. It was almost impossible at first, and then it slowly became easier.
The men finished breakfast then put on their boots and went out the front door. At least she was safe for a little while, Kenna thought gratefully as she lay still on the floor and waited for her heart rate to slow and her breathing to return to normal. She had to calm down and try to think straight if she was to figure out a way to escape.
It would be hard for anyone to find her as she had taken great care to hide Arwen's tracks. In the worst-case scenario, she would have to comply with whatever these men wanted until she could figure out where this cabin was located and run back to the base at the first opportunity. Kenna would swallow her pride and beg Arthur to send
her home, with or without any money. There was no point in going back to Forest Hills; Jack wouldn't want her if these men had their way with her. And if she managed to get away, she'd have to disappear fast so they didn't find her again.
She wondered if Jack was looking for her. Probably not. She couldn't think about him in this house; it somehow felt wrong. What happened here wasn't part of her real life. It was a nightmare.
* * *
Kenna woke with a start. Was that gunfire? She must have drifted off into unconsciousness again. Her head was pounding, and her vision was blurry.
Bang!
There it was again! She heard a man yell out in pain. It sounded like the skinny man. Were her captors fighting?
She rolled herself up into a seated position to get a better view of the door. Suddenly light-headed and sick to her stomach, Kenna propped herself up against the wall so she wouldn't fall over.
Bang!
The window was so close, but she couldn't get to it! Darn! All she wanted right now was to see what was happening.
The door slammed open, and the big man staggered through at an awkward angle. His leg was bleeding, and there was an arm wrapped around his throat.
It was Jack! He had the man in a chokehold.
"All right, Emery. Where is she? I don't want to have to kill you too." Jack squeezed his arm tighter around the man's neck.
"Over there." He wheezed as he pointed in her direction.
Jack gave the big man's neck a sharp twist, and then the man's limp body slid lifelessly to the floor. Jack stood inside the doorway with the dead man at his feet and looked over at Kenna with an undeterminable expression that she had never seen before. He continued to just stand there. The room was filled only with the sound of Jack's uneven breathing and the wind moving through the trees surrounding the house. He finally looked down at the black-haired man at his feet.
"See what happens when you don't listen?" he barked. "Two men are dead because of your foolishness." He shook his head in disgust.
"I'm sorry. I…" Kenna stammered as tears welled up in her still-swollen eyes. She had so many emotions winding their way through her body. She was in shock after seeing a man killed in front of her, and she was so happy and relieved that Jack had come to rescue her, and she was terrified that she had pushed him too far. Did he think she was too unreliable and foolish to bother with continuing their relationship? Did he still want her?
Kenna watched him as he stood breathing heavily over the body of the man he had just killed to keep her safe. He looked so hot and fierce. Kenna wanted him to untie her and take her right there on the kitchen table. Her breath quickened and a familiar flush of warmth coursed through her body. It wasn't right to feel this way—but she did. She had waited long enough and wanted him right now!
"Jack, I'm sorry. I—" She wasn't crying anymore. Now it was passion that made her voice waver.
"I ain't listening to your excuses right now," he said as he walked over to her. "Did they hurt you?" He bent down and began untying the ropes.
"That man…" She indicated the body on the floor of the cabin. "…hit me on the back of the head. It hurts. I'm still dizzy, and my eyes are a bit blurry. But nothing else." Her voice shook, and tears ran down her face. "You were right, Jack. I thought my life was over when I woke up here. I'll never leave town again by myself," she sobbed.
He glared at her as the ropes fell away. "Can you stand up?"
She tried to get her legs under her but started to fall over, then a familiar strong arm wrapped around her. Jack helped her up, but her knees buckled, so he swept her up into his arms and carried her out of the cabin. She felt so safe. This man had risked his own life to save her! She'd never known a man who would do that. She owed him her life. And she loved him. Kenna hoped he could forgive her.
Jack lifted her up into his saddle and swung up behind her, then guided his horse into the trees and found Arwen. He gathered up the mare's reins and led her behind them, following a rough trail that led out of the forest and toward town.
13
Punishment
Kenna sat sullenly and watched Jack build the campfire. She had offered to help, but he had ordered her to relax and not move, or he'd tie her to a tree alongside her horse. She wasn't entirely convinced that he was serious, but she didn't want to test him. He was in a foul mood. They had ridden for many hours to the edge of the forest, where they had made camp for the night.
When the fire was roaring and he'd collected enough firewood to last the night, Jack sat down a few feet away from her and took a long drink from his canteen. He offered it to her with a cold look, and she accepted gratefully. She was parched and took a few swallows before he pulled it away from her.
"Take it easy. This has to last us until we get back to town tomorrow." He put the canteen down on the other side of him, out of her reach.
He hadn't spoken to her since he'd rescued her from her captors, other than to order her around. Kenna was sure those men would have used her roughly and then disposed of her somewhere in the mountains if Jack hadn't found her in time.
She remembered him saying when they first met that she was on her own if she ever got into trouble. Something had changed. A man wouldn't risk his life for a woman he didn't care about. Would he? But then again, he was the sheriff and felt responsible for keeping the citizens in his town safe. She was a citizen, so even if he was done with her, he would still rescue her, she reasoned. It was his job.
She stared into the fire. Well, she was safe now. Jack had found her somehow and had freed her from those awful men. She had seen real fear in the big man's eyes when he came through the door of the cabin. He'd known Jack wasn't going to let him go without some kind of punishment. But Kenna hadn't expected Jack to kill both men. She had warned them that she knew Jack and they should take her back to town. They had made one wrong decision that ended their lives. It could happen so quickly!
Jack looked over at her and shook his head. "What were you thinking, woman? Did you think you'd be safe riding out into the forest by yourself? I told you before that there are wild animals, not to mention men like Slade and his boys who are always looking for a little entertainment. You riding out there by yourself is just asking for trouble." A look of disdain crossed his face.
Slade and his boys? She'd thought there were only two of them. She had been in more danger than she had realized, and she involuntarily shivered at the thought of still being in that house.
She understood the cause of his harsh words, but he didn't have to sound so condescending. "I'm very sorry I caused you all of this trouble. It was just bad luck. I've been just fine so far," she said, refusing to admit how shaken up she was.
He glared at her, and she knew she'd pushed too far. She attempted another apology. "I-I mean—"
"I heard what you said. Damn it! This wasn't just bad luck! I can't believe this didn't teach you a lesson!" He looked down as if in deep thought, digging the heel of one boot into the dust. Then he shook his head and looked up at her with a purposeful expression. "If you haven't learned anything from this on your own, then I'll just have to keep trying to teach you my way."
Jack had both of her wrists in handcuffs before she realized what he was doing. He sat down on a large log and pulled her across his legs, pinning her down and roughly exposing her backside.
"Jack, no! I don't feel well. My head hurts!"
"You'll have more than a sore head by the time I'm done with you!"
He rubbed his hands over her bare bottom and gave one cheek a sharp slap. He continued slapping her, first on one side, then the other. She heard him breathing heavily and felt his manhood swelling under her belly. He paused for a minute, before running his hands along the curve of her buttocks and down her thighs. He traced the inside of one thigh and forced her legs apart, then his hand moved up between her legs to her sweet spot. He rubbed in a slow, gentle, circular motion until she moaned. Then he stopped and moved his hand back to her bottom.
&n
bsp; She wanted him to keep going but knew she had no control over the situation. She relaxed slightly and hoped that he would keep moving his hand.
He slowly caressed her red, stinging backside. "Don't get too relaxed; I ain't done yet. I'm just giving my hand a rest." He slapped one of her cheeks and then the other.
"No. Jack. Please stop!" She sobbed loudly. Her backside was on fire, and her whole body ached from confinement. "I've learned my lesson. I'll stay in town. I won't ride out alone anymore! I promise." This was the truth as there was no longer a reason to ride out of town.
"Yer damn right you won't," he said as his hand whacked upwards on the curve of one buttock. He kept spanking her. First one cheek and then the other. He stopped for a moment and lightly stroked her burning flesh before starting again, slapping upward. She rolled her hips from side to side to avoid his hand, sure her little bottom was starting to turn purple and blue under his aggressive punishment. She was crying and wailing, unable to think straight while he continued to stop and start up again. She didn't know if the pain would ever end or what would happen next.
He finally finished, shaking his hand at his side. "Damn, I'm going to have a sore hand for a day or two." He massaged her bottom until her wailing slowed to a sniffle. As he caressed her, she felt the fire cool on her tender, bruised flesh. She hated him for this and would never forgive this humiliation! He had no right to treat her this way, even if he did think it was for her own good. She'd already been frightened out of her mind. Wasn't that enough punishment?
Jack rubbed her bottom longer than he had to. His hand lingered as he stroked the back of her firm, slender thighs, and then his hand slid between her legs. Kenna felt his hardness against her hip and knew that even though he was angry, he still wanted her.
Sheriff's Desire: Time-Travel (Escape To The Wild West Book 1) Page 9