by Delta James
Croft smiled. Sometimes he forgot what a soothing presence Avery could be. When Mac had decided it was time for them to find someone to run the operational side of the business, Croft had suggested Avery. She’d been the helicopter pilot assigned to his SEAL team and had saved their butts more than once. She was calm, cool, and fearless.
“I’m not going to need you to come pick up Ms. Reid.”
“No? Did you find out about her brother?”
“I wish. I thought she had agreed to leave. Her riding experience in Boston doesn’t translate all that well out here. I had to strap her onto Jasper and lead her down.”
“Oh shit,” Avery said laughing. “I can’t imagine that ended well.”
“Better than you might think, but now she’s taken off, and I’m not sure how much of a lead she has. I overslept a bit.”
Avery’s increased amusement at his situation was not welcome but was appropriate.
“I don’t think I’ll ask how that happened. Don’t be too hard on her … or yourself. Go find your girl, get her safe, find her brother, and come on home.”
“I didn’t say she was my girl …”
“No.” Avery couldn’t seem to stop laughing. “You didn’t, but we both know she is, or at least you’ve decided she is. Otherwise you wouldn’t be so pissed, and you wouldn’t have overslept.”
“Shut up, Avery.”
“Love you, too, Croft,” she said as she hung up on him.
Croft shook his head. Just you wait until the right man gets hold of you and takes you in hand, Avery.
Croft arranged for his things in the dormitory to be moved to Finn’s cabin and let them know they would be extending their stay for several days then headed for the stables, quite certain of what he would find. He entered the barn and was greeted by Sam’s distinctive bray.
“I hear you, buddy. I wish you could tell me how long they’ve been gone and which direction they went.”
Croft walked into Jasper’s stall and examined the fecal matter. It was cold. The mule had left it a couple of hours ago. He got Sam ready and led him out of the barn. He found Jasper’s trail leading away from the barn, swung up into the saddle, and set out to find Finn, a bit surprised she had opted to ride. Apparently, he hadn’t paddled her backside hard enough to dissuade her from that choice; he planned to remedy that as soon as he could.
All of the horses and mules Willa kept for her gourmet trail business, and which the firm used as needed, had a distinctive horseshoe that made them easy to track. Croft trailed after Finn for several hours. He had underestimated both her strength of resolve to find her brother as well as her riding ability. She was making good time.
Croft was grateful for Sam’s stamina and ability to make up time. He could tell they were gaining on Finn, but the sun’s crippling heat began to impede his ability to maintain the rate of speed he’d been using in the cooler morning. He had to slow Sam to a walk in order to ensure his mount’s safety. His only comfort was that he believed Finn was smart enough to recognize the danger and do the same for Jasper.
***
Finn’s progress had been slowed as the sun crept higher in the sky and the burgeoning heat along with it. The slower pace gave her time to think. So many things had changed in the past twenty-four hours. She was still frightened to think of what had happened to her brother and believed she should be in time to save him. She glanced at her watch and, as she had initially given herself time to spare, she should still be able to make the deadline given by those holding him.
She tried to banish from her mind the picture they had shown her. Christian had been savagely beaten but looked to be alive. They had taken the picture with a copy of that day’s newspaper so she prayed he still lived. His captors wanted information that Christian had amassed and was going to be handing over to the government. They had his computer, but he had left a flash drive with a copy of all the information in his row house in Boston. The deal was Christian for the flash drive. Finn wasn’t so stupid as to believe they would just let them walk away but hoped that the safeguards she had left in place would allow her to rescue her brother.
And then there was Croft. She couldn’t even begin to explain to herself the wild attraction she felt for him or the way she had responded to his less than gentlemanly behavior. First, he hadn’t been the most congenial companion going into the canyon which was why she hadn’t shared her real concerns about her brother’s disappearance. Second, he had spanked her! And not some fun, erotic-type thing she’d read about in some of the novels she liked to indulge in, but a true punishment. His goal had been to chastise her and try to ensure she would do what he told her. She grinned. While he might have accomplished the first, the second had been an utter failure.
Why did that bother her? For the life of her, Finn couldn’t figure out why it did. When did doing what Croft wanted become important to her? She wanted to believe that it had happened after he had fucked her with a ferocity and skill that had exhausted her from the number of times she climaxed. The problem was … she knew that wasn’t true. Her wanting to please him came at some point when she was facedown over his knee getting her backside paddled. Finn wondered if he’d felt the same and at the same time. Did he care at all for her? Was she just some woman who had pissed him off royally and who he could vent his anger on as he hammered her pussy from behind? She hated to admit it, even to herself, that next to her fear for Christian, what last night might have meant to Croft was quickly gaining in significance.
Lastly, her response to his stern correction had been completely unexpected. She’d reassured herself that she only found the novels she read titillating in an abstract sort of way. Finn never expected to experience any kind of arousal from having anyone smack her ass — much less to the point that it remained tender the next day. But she had been wrong. Even thinking about it, about Croft or about what happened when he’d ordered her up on the bed on her knees was enough to get her nipples to stiffen and the space between her legs to ache and grow wet at the thought of any or all of it happening again.
Jasper bobbed his head, shaking the reins at her to break her reverie. She stopped him and then loosened his rein. He inclined his head toward the river, and she nudged his sides to urge him to move in that direction. He made his way down to the river’s edge and stretched his neck down to get a drink of water. Finn patted his spotted rump.
“Good idea,” she said reaching back for a water in her saddlebags.
She took a long drink and was a bit surprised when the mule waded out almost belly deep into the Colorado River. Jasper reoriented himself to the direction they had been headed. As the cold water covered her feet, she felt how soothing it was. She took out the GPS device with satellite capability that she had purchased for the trip. It indicated they were still on track and would reach their coordinates the following day. Finn’s plan was to ride on through the day and then find a place to make camp that night. She let Jasper continue walking in the cool water.
After the heat of the day, Jasper moved toward the bank and shallower water. As the sun began to set and she considered finding a place to camp, he walked out of the river on his own. She patted the big mule again. He was proving to be an excellent companion on her quest. And at least he didn’t want to spank her.
Finn checked the GPS again and realized they had made excellent time. She found a sheltered spot that had been favored by others before her. It wasn’t a cave per se, but rather a hollow under an overhanging ledge. It made her feel good to see that no one had graffitied the rock around her. The only indication that others had sought shelter in the same place was that someone had taken the time to build a natural-rock-lined firepit. Finn got off Jasper, unsaddled him, and got his feedbag ready. Despite what Croft might have thought, she was enough of a horseman to see Jasper was taken care of before seeing to her own comfort.
Once Jasper was settled, Finn made a fire and set up a primitive camp for herself — this included ensuring they were not sharing thei
r overhang with any other critters. She hadn’t brought anything to cook but planned to make a meal out of protein bars and beef jerky. Finn leaned back against the wall of the cave and closed her eyes.
She wavered between deep sleep and dozing, but the sound of Jasper braying startled her to full wakefulness. Finn picked up the rifle that had been in her saddle scabbard and stood up.
“I’m armed and not in the mood for company. Whoever you are, you’d best move along.”
Croft delivered a hard swat to her backside with one hand as he easily took the gun away from her with the other. Somehow, he had circled behind her.
“I’m not in the best of moods, either. If I were you, I’d be thinking of a way to explain the level of bullshit you’ve exhibited since we met. And don’t even think about trotting out a set of fake tears again. Fool me once and all of that. Besides,” Croft said, anger and lust mingling in his voice, “you’re in enough trouble as it is.”
“Jesus, you scared me.” She turned to face him, batting him with her hand. “What the hell is wrong with you?”
“Me?” he answered incredulously. “I’m not the one who snuck out this morning and took off for parts unknown with no explanation whatsoever. But I got news for you, Finn. Before I get through with you tonight, I’m going to know all of it. Sit your ass down while I get Sam seen to.” He moved away from her, leading Sam over to Jasper. Once he had Sam settled, he came back to the fire and hunkered down. “You weren’t going to eat anything?”
“I’ve eaten,” she said inching away from him.
“What? There’s nothing to cook with, and I don’t see any dirty dishes. And get your ass back over here. You were fine where you started, and you’re to sit there until I tell you different.”
“Who do you think you are?”
Croft barked out a laugh. “I think — no, scratch that, I know — I’m the guy who spanked your pretty bottom last night, but not as hard as I should have. By the way, I’ll get that corrected later. I’m also the guy who made you scream and call his name multiple times as I laid claim to you. Do you know how to cook on a campfire?”
“I’m not hungry.”
“Not what I asked.”
He leaned over and pulled her to him. His mouth came down on hers in a harsh, angry kiss that nevertheless indicated his concern for her as well as his lust. He thrust his tongue into her mouth and brought the embers of her own desire back to a bright flame. Finn found herself softening and clinging to him before he released her mouth.
“Yes or no?” he asked.
“What’s the question?”
“All of them.”
Finn couldn’t hold his gaze. She knew that the unasked question as to her acquiescence to his dominance was just as important as the one about her cooking abilities.
“Yes,” she said softly.
He kissed her again — hard and fast.
“In that case, you’ll find a couple of potatoes, onions, and bell peppers in my saddlebags along with some foil.” He pulled his knife from the scabbard and grinned as she looked at it. “I washed it last night. I don’t much care for things seasoned with snake brains. Cut the vegetables into thin slices and give them a light coating of olive oil with salt and pepper. The oil and seasonings are in there. It’s all labeled. Divide them into two servings and put them on pieces of foil. I’ll be back with the rest of our dinner pretty quickly.”
Croft untied his bedroll from behind his saddle and brought it over to her, unrolling it as he did so and extracting a hard-cased tube. He opened it and revealed a collapsible fishing pole as well as a small case with several lures. He put the pole together and readied it for fishing. He tossed her the bedroll.
“If you have time, will you make us up a bed for tonight?” he asked.
“One or two?”
He smiled down at her. “One, unless you fancy redoing it after I’ve spanked you and before I fuck you.”
Finn shivered with desire. She tried to deny what she was feeling.
“What makes you so sure that any of that is going to happen?”
Croft jammed the handle of the fishing rod into the sand, crossed the distance between them, and pulled her up into his arms. His midnight-blue eyes flashed fire before his mouth captured hers once more. Finn could do nothing but yield to the power of his kiss. His tongued stabbed at hers and asserted its authority to be there. Her resistance was futile, and they both knew it. She kissed him back with the same level of intensity, moaning. When he had finished ravaging her mouth, he lifted his head.
“Knock it off, Finn. Whatever you’re plotting and whatever you think you’re going to do, just quit. I’m telling you from here on out you’re going to do what I tell you, and the first thing I’m telling you is that you’re going to tell me the whole story. Got that?”
She found herself nodding. He kissed her again but this time more coaxing and reassuring than to establish the authority they both knew he had over her. Croft took her face in his hands and kissed her closed eyelids then the tip of her nose and her mouth again.
“It’ll be all right, babe. Whatever it is, we’ll figure it out … together. Got it?”
She nodded.
“Good girl. Now get our supper ready for the fish. This time of year, it shouldn’t take long.”
Finn watched him walk away and couldn’t suppress a grin. Croft certainly filled out a pair of Levi’s in the nicest manner. She shook her head and then began to prepare the vegetables as he’d instructed her.
It didn’t take long before he returned, having taken the time to clean the fish and dispose of the inedible parts while down at the river. He made short work of adding the fish on top of the vegetables and closing up the foil to make a tight packet before tossing them onto the open flame.
“It’ll take those about thirty minutes to cook. You want to try telling me what the hell this is all about?”
“I can’t,” she said, unable to meet his eyes.
“You can and you will. The only choice you have is do you want to do it now or once I’ve spanked you even harder than I had planned? Because believe me, babe, you’re going to tell me, and you’re going to get spanked.”
“You can’t spank me,” she cried. “Not and expect me to ride, and I have to ride. We don’t have time to stay here or for you to take me back to Phantom Ranch.”
“All you have to do, Finlay Reid, is answer me. I’ll make the determination as to how hard and when you get spanked … from this day forward.” Croft cocked his head as he looked at her. “Are we on some kind of timetable I don’t know about?”
She shook her head. Croft got up from his place across the campfire and came to sit down on the flat rock she had her back against. He drew her up to her feet. Finn started to resist him, fearing he was about to make good on his threat to spank her again.
“Easy, babe. I just want you to sit in my lap.”
He pulled her into his arms so she was sitting on his thighs.
“Talk to me, Finn. What’s really going on?”
“I can’t,” she whispered and felt his body stiffen. “It’s not that I don’t want to. I just can’t, they sa …” She stopped herself before completing the sentence.
“Who is they, Finn? And what is it they told you?”
She shook her head.
“Does somebody have Christian? Why didn’t you go to the authorities?” He shook his head as well. “Because they told you if you did, they’d hurt him.”
“They’ve already hurt him,” Finn said, dissolving into quiet tears.
“Do you know that he’s alive?” Croft asked gently.
She nodded. “They showed me a picture with him holding a newspaper from a few days ago. I have to go alone or they’ll kill him. I didn’t need a tracker, but I needed a guide … don’t you see? If I don’t do what they tell me, they’ll kill him.”
“They’re probably going to do that anyway if they haven’t already. You, too, for that matter. Why did they contact you?”
>
“Because Christian has some kind of information on them. I don’t know all the specifics, but I do know they don’t want it to get to the authorities.”
“Do you have the information?”
“Yes.” Finn dug into her bra and retrieved the flash drive. “They managed to get Christian and his laptop but not this.”
“How did he get you involved? Is this the only copy?”
“Yes, and Christian didn’t get me involved,” she said resenting the implication that her brother had done something wrong.
“He did, babe. He had to have told them there was a copy, and they reached out to you to get it for them. If they know your reputation, they also probably figured you already knew. I might be able to use that to our advantage.”
“No, Croft. I have to go alone.”
“That ain’t happening. When are you supposed to meet them and where?”
“I can’t.”
“You can and you will. Don’t make me spank it out of you, Finn.”
“Tomorrow at high noon, which I thought was a bit melodramatic, and I have GPS coordinates.”
“I take it, then, you have a GPS locator?”
She nodded.
“And high noon in the desert isn’t a bad idea. Far less likely that someone will interrupt you as most folks stay out of that kind of heat.”
“But why here in the canyon? Christian’s never been here that I know of.”
“I doubt he’s here now.”
“No, he has to be. They said we could make the exchange.”
Croft prevented her from getting to her feet and pulled her more tightly against his chest. “They want you alone in the Grand Canyon where people have disappeared for hundreds of years with the only evidence of whatever it is that Christian knew with you. Whoever it is never had any plans to exchange your brother or to allow you to walk away. Hopefully, they will have left Christian alive until they’re sure they have this.” He indicated the flash drive. “Once they have that, you and your brother are expendable and dead.”
“Do you think Christian is dead?”
“I think at this point the odds are in our favor, but only until they have that flash drive.”