by Delta James
Croft watched it detect her presence and coil itself. He heard the distinctive rattle and, as it gathered itself to strike, he unsheathed his knife from its belt scabbard sending it flying to kill and pin the snake to the log. The knife landed expertly in the middle of the pit viper’s head, rendering it harmless.
Finn screamed and ran back to his side.
“Oh my God, that thing could have killed me,” she said, clearly terrified.
“It’s rare for a snake bite to kill you, but they’re damn painful. Do me a favor and don’t wander off. If you’re done going for a walk, how about you get back on Jasper while I go retrieve my knife.”
He walked over to the snake and removed his knife, wiping it off on some nearby foliage before returning it to its casing.
“Shouldn’t you do a better job of cleaning your weapon before putting it in its sheath?” she asked.
God, he really needed to find some intimate female company after he found out whatever he could about her brother. All he could think was he’d like to make use of her sheath, but it wasn’t his weapon he wanted to ram home in it … at least not the weapon she was referring to. He grinned; his cock had been lovingly referred to as a weapon by one of his ex-girlfriends — an admiral’s daughter who had decided a man who wasn’t going to follow his or her father’s path up the chain of command wasn’t for her.
“I’ll clean it properly later. I might point out if you hadn’t decided to take a little stroll, I wouldn’t have had to use it.”
She huffed at him and turned to get back on Jasper. She put her foot in the stirrup and seemed ready to hop up and then thought better of it. Finlay started to take her foot out and turn to him as he moved past her, delivering a sharp blow to her rump.
“Get on the damn mule,” he ordered.
Finn shrieked more in outrage than in pain. At least, that was his conclusion. He hadn’t swatted her hard enough for it to have caused much pain. Not that he wouldn’t like to have her over his knee as he delivered a spanking that resulted in tears from her. Croft thought he could then take her in his arms to lecture her about her foolish behavior before supplying both of them with some much-needed pleasure.
He shook his head again. He needed for his mind to quit going in that direction, but, damn, even in her jeans, her ass had felt good.
***
His hand connected with her derriere, causing her to react with surprise. The blow hadn’t been all that painful, just unexpected and completely inappropriate. Yet there was no denying it stirred something inside her … something she’d never known existed. It was too disquieting to even acknowledge, much less think about. She felt her nipples start to bead and moisture begin to form between her legs.
Oh, for heaven’s sake, Finn. It had been far too long since she’d been intimate with anyone and she had never, ever enjoyed anything even remotely resembling rough sex or any kind of power exchange. She smiled as she considered her use of the term. It was only recently she’d discovered a niche of romance books that dealt with power-exchange relationships. And while they sounded sexy, Finn was quite sure she had no interest in ever experiencing one. But, she reminded herself, she had a responsibility to Christian. If she didn’t deliver the flash drive she had stashed down her bra to the designated area by the appointed time, Christian would die. The man on the other end of the phone had been very clear about that.
“Think you can handle the flat land, or do you want me to lead Jasper?” he asked solicitously.
“I am perfectly capable of riding this mule,” she said, heading west.
“Ms. Reid?” Croft called. “You’re heading the wrong way.”
She was forced to turn Jasper around and head back the way she’d just come.
As she rode up beside him, he said in a soft but very authoritative voice, “I lead, you follow.”
He clucked to his mount and headed east.
“Last time I followed you, you tried to get me killed.”
“No, I tried to take a shorter way down because you lied to the firm about your riding abilities. And I would point out that the last time you wandered off on your own, you almost got snake bit,” he drawled laconically. “In case you missed it, this isn’t a drawing room in Boston. You need to watch where you’re going and know what you’re doing.”
“I no longer live in Boston. Besides, what would you know about drawing rooms in Boston, and what makes you think I know anything about them?”
He snorted. “I know plenty about Boston and its old-money neighborhoods. As for you, that’s obvious. Everything about you screams more money than sense. Do you even have a job? Won’t they miss you? Why don’t you go home and let us find your brother?”
“Because he’s my brother, and I’m the paying client. Last time I checked, that put me in charge.”
This time, Croft laughed out loud. “Then you’d best check again. Out here, money doesn’t buy you squat except a nice helicopter ride back to the top.” He nudged Sam to a trot. “Let’s go.”
He really was the most exasperating man. If she thought she had any other hope of finding her brother, she’d use language that would make a sailor blush. While he certainly didn’t know the events that surrounded her search for his brother, he had nailed her background. She and Christian had grown up in Beacon Hill — the children of wealthy parents. Her father’s family had been bankers for international concerns for as long as anyone could remember. Christian had been expected to go into the family business, which he had.
Her mother came from a long line of physicians with one notable, embarrassing exception. Her several-times-removed uncle had been the third son who had left his family at the beginning of the nineteenth century to become a mountain man and never been heard from again. Finn, who was her uncle’s namesake, had defied all expectations and become a highly respected photo journalist.
Finn fell in behind Croft, and they rode for another couple of hours before reaching Phantom Ranch, the famous trail stop in the Grand Canyon. They rode up to what she assumed was some kind of reservation center, and Croft dismounted, handing her the reins to his mule. She watched him go inside only to re-emerge a few minutes later.
“All right, they’ve got room for you in one of the cabins. Let’s go get you set up in there. The helicopter will be here tomorrow at eleven to pick you up. While you unpack, I’ll get the mules seen to.”
“I’m not leaving. I’m going with you. I was very specific about that in my dealings with Mr. McDaniel.”
“Mac isn’t here. But he was very clear with me to keep you safe and that if I thought you were in over your head, I was to call for the chopper. My guess is that you weren’t as convincing as you thought.”
He led her up to the cabin and offered to help her down.
“If you want to stop for the day, I suppose I have to be all right with that, but you aren’t going anywhere without me.”
“You tell yourself that if you want to, but I’m heading out in the morning, and you’re staying here. They have a lovely breakfast up at the canteen, and after that you can wait for the helicopter.”
He reached up and pulled her off Jasper. She struggled and, instead of putting any kind of distance between them, she managed to somehow to fall into him … again.
“Let go of me,” she said angrily.
“I’m not the one who keeps falling into my arms. I’m done being nice …”
“If this is your idea of nice, I’d hate to see you being nasty.”
He nodded. “Yeah, you would.”
Croft turned her toward the door of the cabin and slapped her ass.
“That hurt, you bastard.”
“Not as much as I would have liked it to …” He seemed to stop himself short, gathering his thoughts. “You’re out of your league here, Ms. Reid. If something has happened to your brother, and that’s a big if, we’ll find him. For all you know, he met somebody and is shacked up with her, having the time of his life screwing her brains out. Let me put the mules u
p, and I’ll come back for you. I’ll show you where everything is and then you can turn in for the night. Give me about half an hour.”
He dumped her saddlebags with her personal items inside the cabin then walked back out, closing the door firmly behind him.
The nerve of the man. Who did he think he was, telling her what she would or wouldn’t do? He didn’t know the first thing about her. She grinned. He obviously didn’t know anything about her reputation. Professionally, she was known for her tenacity and unwillingness to take no for an answer. She had covered some of the most war-torn areas of the recent global conflicts, primarily focusing on the female point of view and been nominated twice for Pulitzer prizes. She had lost the first time but hoped she might win the coveted prize.
Finn had given up answering to anybody somewhere in her distant past, so if he thought she’d just follow his orders, he’d better have another thought. However, she reasoned, the best way to handle Croft was to let him think he’d laid down the law and she would obey. She was ready and properly contrite when he stopped by and escorted her up for dinner and a brief tour of the famed lodge.
Dinner was served mess-hall style at long tables. Not many guests were at the lodge as it was midweek and the tourist season only just gearing up. They shared their table with a couple of avid campers who were frequent guests. Finn spent most of her time asking questions about the Grand Canyon and specifically about the location where she was heading. She hoped she had camouflaged her pointed interest with enough fluff that Croft wouldn’t be able to figure out her real goal, as well as guess at what she was planning. What she didn’t ask was if they, or anyone else, had seen Christian.
Croft walked her back to her cabin. “I’m not sure what all that was about in there, but whatever you think you’re planning, don’t do it. You stay in this cabin until breakfast, go enjoy yourself with your new hippy dippy friends, and wait for the helicopter. Then go home to Boston or wherever the hell it is you live. We’ll find your brother.”
“Exactly who died and appointed you God? Because, somehow, I missed that memo. I’m not sure where you get off giving me orders, but you can take them and shove them up a hole where the sun doesn’t shine.”
She closed and locked the door before he could respond then waited until she heard him leave the porch. Finn would give him a half hour. He had mentioned he would be sleeping in one of the men’s dormitories. It was a clear night with a full moon. Her “hippy dippy friends,” as Croft had named them, had explained how to get from where the mules would be kept overnight down to the Colorado River. From there, she knew to turn west and follow the river for the next few days. She had made sure to ascertain that the trail along the bank was easily traversed.
Finn gave Croft an additional hour to check on the mules and get settled before picking up her saddlebags, tossing them over her shoulder, and quietly making her way to the stables. There were several mules there. Glad Jasper’s appaloosa coat pattern made him easy to distinguish from the others, she brought him out of the stall. She became aware Croft had entered the barn when she realized he was standing on the mule’s other side.
“And where the hell do you think you’re going by yourself, on a stolen mule, in the middle of the night?” said Croft, clearly angry.
“That’s none of your business.”
“It’s my mule. You’re my responsibility. That makes it my business. Take your saddlebags and get back to your cabin.”
“Fuck you,” she said throwing the saddle up onto Jasper’s back.
Croft removed it before it had a chance to settle, and Finn watched as he hoisted it over his shoulder and untied the mule then put it back in its stall and the saddle back on the saddle stand. Without saying another word, he grasped her upper arm in a vice-like hold and began walking back in the direction of her cabin, dragging her along behind him.
“Let go of me, you thug,” she said through gritted teeth, trying to pull away from him. Her efforts seem to have little to no effect. “Let go!”
“No.”
He never broke stride, just made a beeline for her cabin, opened it, and pulled her through the door. She expected him to leave and head back to the dormitory. Instead, he closed and locked the door with him still inside.
“Get out,” she seethed.
Finn wasn’t sure why her breathing was erratic or she could feel the tendrils of desire infusing every inch of her body. She could actually feel her nipples and clit stiffening and her pussy pulsing in response to his presence. She was having a difficult time guarding her reaction.
“I need to know you’re going to stay put and get on the helicopter in the morning,” he informed her.
“Would you believe me if I told you I would?”
“I’m trying hard to make allowances for your recklessness. But if your brother is in trouble, and we don’t know that he is …”
“I do know …”
“How do you know?” he asked skeptically.
“He’s my brother … I just do,” she answered lamely.
“Why is it, Ms. Reid, I have a sneaking suspicion that you haven’t been completely honest with us about your brother’s circumstances?”
“I can promise you I have never once lied to you.”
Croft nodded. “Yes, but if you lied to us to begin with, you’d lie about having lied to us now. Give me a better reason to believe you.”
Finn had dealt with men like Croft in the past. They were tough and honorable. They believed keeping women safe was their personal responsibility. Given that she was a paying client, she was fairly sure he felt that way about her. She decided to fall back on her oldest and best trick of the trade to put a man like Croft out of his comfort zone … she burst into tears.
“I just know. He missed my birthday,” she cried, making her body lose all of its defensive posturing.
As expected, Croft stepped forward and hugged her. “Maybe he just forgot …”
“He would never forget. We’re very close, and it’s my thirtieth.”
Finn wrapped her arms around his muscular body and allowed herself the luxury of leaning on him. Granted, she was lying through her teeth, but it felt good to be in the embrace of someone strong and capable. But she also knew, especially given his boss’ background, he would insist on contacting the authorities. She had been assured that doing so would result in her brother’s immediate death.
“It’s all right, Finlay,” he said calling her by her given name for the first time. “We’ll find him. Several of the guys in the firm came with Mac from the US Marshals. Those guys are notorious for never stopping until they get their man. And we’re all specials ops — we never leave a man behind.”
Finn leaned her head back to look up at him, batting lashes wet from tears.
“You promise?” she asked quietly.
Strong hands reached up to gently cup her face as he used his thumbs to wipe away her tears. In the instant before he lowered his head, Finn knew he meant to kiss her. In that moment, she wanted nothing more in life than to feel his full lips against hers. She offered him no resistance as his mouth captured hers in a sensuous exploration. As he moved his hands so that one cupped her head and the other her ass, his tongue, as it entered her mouth, was neither tentative nor invasive, but more of an assessment and invitation of what could come.
Everything in Finn wanted to yield to him, to let him sweep her up in his arms, take her to bed, and make her forget why she was here. Her brother’s bruised face in the picture reminded her that to do so could well cost Christian his life. No, she needed to reassure Croft she planned to do as he told her and then get on with her plan. She needed to be away from here tonight.
He lifted his head, and she took a small step back.
“I c-can’t,” she stammered.
“Shh, babe. It’s okay. I understand. I probably should apologize for kissing you, but I don’t want to start things on a lie. You’ve had a long day. Why don’t you get undressed and crawl into bed? I’ll
tuck you in and turn out the light. I can delay my start long enough in the morning to have breakfast and make sure you’re okay.”
“But you said …”
“A couple of hours shouldn’t make any difference. And I think your brother would want me to make sure his little sister is okay before I do anything else, don’t you?”
She nodded. She started to unbutton her blouse, and Croft turned his back to give her some privacy. She stripped down to her bra and panties, placed her clothes on the chair beside the bed, and got under the covers.
He came over and kissed her forehead, lifting her bangs in order to do so. “I’ll see you in the morning.”
“Thanks, Croft,” she said softly.
He stopped at the door and turned as he switched off the light. “Try not to worry, Finlay. I’ll find him. I promise.”
As the door clicked shut, Finn felt a smidgeon of guilt but brushed it aside. She had to get to Christian.
Chapter 3
Croft headed back to the dormitory. He couldn’t believe he’d just kissed her. The kiss had been amazing — the feel of her lips as they yielded to his, the taste of her mouth, the way her body molded to his. If he’d hadn’t been raised better, he’d have had her on her back and been between her legs in nothing flat. His cock was hard and throbbing. Not only was it reminding him he hadn’t been with a woman in quite some time but informing him it wanted Finlay Reid badly.
As there was no one else in the dormitory, he turned on the light closest to the bunk he’d selected and removed her file from his saddlebags. He’d planned to ask her about her brother, how she’d deduced he was in the canyon, etc. He wanted a chance to review what they knew so he could formulate any questions he had and ask her in the morning before they parted.