Chapter 7
The cattle drive was as much fun as Tani had thought it was going to be and having Flynn with her made it that much better. Devil took to the trails with an abandon that surprised even her, although it was a struggle to keep him under control for the first day; he quickly learned what was expected of him and became a new horse. Flynn on the other hand took a bit longer to get in the swing of things, and had to fight his frustration when one after another cow escaped when he was herding.
“I had no idea that this would be so hard. I didn’t realize just how much work the dogs do.” Flynn said at the end of the second day. “I’m sore in places I didn’t know existed.”
Tani laughed, “I’ll tell you a secret, so am I.” Then laughed and added, “Don’t worry by the end of the summer you’ll be able to do this in your sleep.” when Flynn groaned.
“Are we going to do this all summer?” He asked, gingerly sitting down on the log next to her and handing her a plate of food.
“Well, I have to work with Devil, although I’m not sure how much more he needs to learn. I’m already tempted to have someone else ride him to see how he does.” Tani answered, hoping she hadn’t assumed too much, they hadn’t talked about the future and what it held for them.
“Don’t look at me, I can barely handle my own horse.” Flynn said, shaking his head. “It’s a little embarrassing. Devil might have this all figured out, but I sure don’t, it might take me all summer to get the hang of it, so I guess it’s good we’ll be up here a lot.”
Tani’s heart soared at his words, it was a relief to know that she’d have him for the summer at least. She ignored that little voice that kept telling her that she had to tell him about Egypt and everything that had happened there. There would be plenty of time to tell him, she just had to find the right time. Her fear that Flynn would turn away from her was melting day by day as her trust in Flynn grew, but she’d told few people the entire truth about what had happened and it wasn’t going to be easy.
But those kinds of thoughts would only spoil the time they had together and she had a surprise for Flynn. “I think I might have something that can help those aching muscles.” She said, a mischievous grin on her face.
“Oh, you do, huh? I can think of a few things that might take my mind off my pain.” Flynn said, a stab of desire sliding through him at the thought of Tani’s generous body under his.
“This is better than that.” Tani said, trying to look serious. “It’s an old remedy used by cowboys around here for a hundred years.”
Flynn pulled her to him, ignoring the other people around them and kissed her. “Sweetheart nothing is better than that, but I’m game to try something else.” He said, his voice husky.
Tani giggled, “Then let’s go.” She said, grabbed his hand and pulled him to his feet. “It’s not far, we can walk.”
The place she planned to take him was less than a mile from camp, but it took them a long time to get there because Flynn couldn’t keep his hands off her. Although they’d been sharing a tent, there was little privacy on the trail and Flynn took advantage of the fact that they were finally alone. By the time they reached their destination, Tani was so flustered it was all she could do not to trip over her own feet.
When he pulled her into his arms again, she said, “If you don’t stop, we’ll never make it.”
“But you don’t really want me to stop, do you?” Flynn said, sliding his hand between her legs.
Tani pushed him away, “I promise this will be worth it, now hands to yourself mister.”
Flynn grabbed her and kissed her, then said, “You didn’t say anything about my lips.”
Tani just laughed and pushed him away again, then started up the trail. Flynn watched her hips sway as she climbed the mountain and began to wonder just how soft a bed of pine needles might be, but they got to the top of the hill they’d been climbing and Tani stopped. Flynn’s train of thought was interrupted by the scene in front on him.
“What is that?” He asked, looking at the clearing filled with what looked like smoke.
“It’s steam.” Tani said, and set off into the dense swirling mass.
Flynn followed, almost losing sight of her once when the fog became thick. When he caught up to her, he took her hand and said, “This is kind of spooky, what’s….”
But he never finished his sentence because right in front of them was the biggest steaming pool of water he’d ever seen. It was surrounded by trees and there were ferns growing right out of the rocks that provided a beautiful backdrop for one of the most romantic spots he’d ever seen. Taking a deep breath of appreciation, his lungs filled with the scent of water and green growing things and some of his soreness faded. He’d already begun stripping off his clothes, the lure of the water so great he did it without thinking, when Tani began laughing.
“Guess you figured out what we’re going to do.” She said, stepping over to him and running her hands up and down his chest, thinking that Flynn looked even better in the moon light.
The water was warm and soothing and both let out a groan when they finally submerged themselves in its soothing heat. But it wasn’t long before Flynn pulled her into his arms, “Now, where were we?” He said, his hand sliding between her legs.
When they got back from the trail ride, it was clear to them both that what they’d found was special. After five intense days of herding cattle, nursing small injuries, and sleeping on the ground they’d not only grown closer but learned a lot about each other. Tani could tell when Flynn was getting frustrated by the way he got quiet, and Flynn had learned that Tani was grumpy for at least fifteen minutes in the morning after she woke up. But the new knowledge that neither was perfect only seemed to make their connection stronger as they learned to cope with those imperfections in each other.
They were happy to be home and quarreling good naturedly about who would get to take the first shower when they came in the kitchen door of the ranch house. They’d already decided that it was time to ask Sabrina if she could find them a cabin to live and head planned to do it the moment they got home. But she wasn’t in the office, so Tani grabbed her mail and they headed up stairs to get cleaned up.
“I’m surprised she’s not here, but maybe we missed her; she goes to the big barn sometimes to meet Cooper.” Tani said, throwing the mail onto the dresser.
“We’ll talk to her at dinner. Cooper said it shouldn’t be that big of a deal. Do you want the shower first?” Flynn said, stripping off his dirty jeans and making her heart leap in her chest at the sight of his muscular legs.
“Umm, sure.” She said, barely able to get the words out.
“Keep looking at me like that and we won’t make it to the shower.” Flynn said, taking off his shirt.
Tani took a deep breath and swallowed then scurried into the bathroom. As much as she wanted Flynn right then, she was just too dirty to even think about getting in the bed. She took a quick shower thinking about Flynn the entire time, the grin on her face making her get soap in her mouth twice. When she walked out of the bathroom Flynn slid in behind her, flashing her a smile over his shoulder and blowing her a kiss before he shut the door. For a moment, she considered following him inside, but she just couldn’t bring herself to do it, so she sat down on the bed and began to brush the tangles out of her hair.
She’d finished brushing her hair and was looking for another excuse not to put her clothes on when she saw the mail sitting on the dresser and decided to see what kind of junk mail she’d gotten this time. When Flynn came out of the bathroom he found her sorting through the mail, dressed only in a towel, and he stopped to watch her for a second then realized that she was staring at an envelope with a strange look on her face.
“What’s the matter?” He asked, using a towel to dry his hair.
Tani didn’t answer, but turned the envelope over and tore it open, inside she found a stack of pictures. The first one was of Cooper Terrell, then came Sabrina and the rest of the family who had taken her in and saved her life. But when she came to the last picture, it wasn’t one of the Terrell family it was of her parents and David, taken the night they’d all died. Clearly a crime scene photo, it shocked her to the core. She let out a small scream and flung the pictures across the room, then her vision began to cloud and the last thing she remembered was falling towards the floor.
Flynn heard Tani’s little cry through the towel over his head and pulled it off to see her crumpling to the floor. He couldn’t reach her in time, but he picked her up off the floor and carried her to the bed, calling her name softly. Tani lay motionless for several long minutes, but finally her eyes fluttered opened, and she looked up at him in confusion. But the confusion was gone quickly, followed by a look of pure fear that froze Flynn’s heart with its intensity.
“Sweetheart what’s wrong? What’s got you so scared.” He asked softly, afraid he’d spook her if he spoke too loudly.
The fear in Tani’s eyes faded a little bit, so he sat down next to her on the bed and pulled her into his arms. “It’s okay, I’m here. Talk to me Tani, I can’t help if you won’t let me.”
Tani began to shake in his arms, her body trembling uncontrollably until he began to get worried. But finally, she managed to say, “In the mail…. Pictures of….” Then pointed to where she’d flung the pictures to the floor.
Flynn moved to get up but Tani clung to him, “Please don’t leave me yet.” so he shifted his weight back into the bed and pulled her closer.
Flynn held her until she stopped shaking and her breathing became even, sleep taking her to a place where she was safe from whatever had scared her so badly. While she slept, he stewed about what could have been so bad that it had reduced a very strong woman to a trembling mess and vowed to get to the bottom of it even if he had to ask someone else. He’d give Tani a chance to explain first, but it was clear that she’d been through a terrible trauma not that long ago. If she hadn’t been so clearly wounded by what was in those pictures, he’d have been mad that she hadn’t told him about something that could upset her that much, but he couldn’t find any anger looking down at her asleep in his arms.
When he was sure that it wouldn’t wake her, he got out of bed and tucked a blanket around her and got dressed. He picked up the pictures off the floor and looked through them confused by why she’d become so upset at seeing them. Looking back at Tani sleeping in the bed, he knew that he couldn’t possibly wait until she woke up to get some idea of what was going on, so he put the pictures in his pocket and went in search of Sabrina who had to know what had happened to Tani.
He found her in the kitchen supervising dinner, but when she saw the look on his face she left what she was doing and pulled him into her husband’s office. “What’s wrong?” She asked as soon as the door was closed.
“It’s Tani. She got a letter with these pictures in it and fainted. She’s scared to death and I don’t understand why.” He explained, handing her the pictures.
Sabrina looked through the pictures quickly, then set them down on the desk. “There has to be more than this, go back up and look again and I want to see that envelope.”
“Sabrina what’s going on?” Flynn wasn’t moving until someone told him something.
“I’m not sure. Please just go check and see if there was more.” She answered, the concern on her face getting him moving.
When Flynn got back to the bedroom Tani was still sleeping, so very quietly he got down and looked under the bed. What he found there stilled his heart, it was all he could do not to curse when he saw the gruesome picture and began to understand what had upset Tani. He managed to get out of the bedroom without waking her, then he took the stairs two at a time and burst back into the study. Cooper had joined Sabrina while he’d been gone, and when he saw the picture in Flynn’s hand, he gestured for him to sit down.
“Can someone please tell me what’s going on? This is sick.” Flynn said, throwing the picture on the desk.
Cooper picked up the picture, looked at it, then set it on the desk face down. “This isn’t our story to tell,” He stared, taking Sabrina’s hand in his, “But, it’s clear you need some information now.”
“Flynn,” Sabrina started, then had to take a deep breath, “When Tani came to us she was a very broken woman; she lost her parents and fiancé in an act of violence that left her damaged.”
“It’s been five years and we’d all thought that it was a part of her past, but it looks like someone hasn’t forgotten about her.” Cooper added.
“But who are these people who want to hurt her? You have to tell me more.” Flynn was getting frustrated, he couldn’t protect Tani if he didn’t know what he was protecting her from. “Is she in danger here?”
“I don’t think she’s in any immediate danger, but I’ll post guards around the property. It won’t be the first time we’ve had to, that’s part of the reason she’s here and not someplace else.” Copper said, picking up the phone.
“None of this is making any sense.” Flynn said, his frustration growing.
“I’m sorry Flynn, but you’re just going to have to wait for Tani to tell you, it’s her story to tell.” Sabrina said, echoing the words he’d heard earlier.
Flynn went back to the bedroom and quietly shut the door, he’d been thinking about waking Tani up but one look at her stopped him. She’d curled herself in a ball and was hugging her knees to her chest, one look at her and he knew that she was too fragile to be pushed just then, so he stripped off his clothes and climbed into bed with her. When he gently pulled her to him, she stirred and opened her eyes, but he shushed her and rubbed her back until she fell asleep again.
When Tani awoke nearly an hour later, she found herself wrapped in Flynn’s arms, the heat from his body seeping into her still chilled one. The picture she’d been sent had been floating in the back of her consciousness as she’d slept, but safely in Flynn’s arms it didn’t seem as frightening as before. Flynn looked like he was asleep but she knew that he wasn’t, his breathing was that of controlled furry, she’d seen it before and knew what it looked like.
“I’m sorry Flynn.” She whispered, afraid that the anger was for her.
Flynn had been so deep in thought he’d missed the fact that Tani was awake and the anger melted away instantly, replaced by concern. “Are you okay? You scared me.”
“I’m okay, but I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about my past before. It was selfish of me.” She said, then opened her mouth to go on, but Flynn stopped her.
“You have nothing to be sorry about. Whatever happened must have been bad. I don’t want to make you talk about it but you are going to have to tell me, I can’t help you if you don’t.” Flynn said, scooting them up on the bed more.
“Flynn, I don’t want to get you involved in this, you could get hurt and I’d never forgive myself if that happened.” Tani said, deciding that she wasn’t going to tell Flynn after all, then he would be safe.
Flynn looked down at her, the fact that she was trying to protect him warming his heart. “Tani, I’m already involved in case you hadn’t noticed. I can’t just ignore that picture, I saw it.”
“Then you understand what that was?” Tani asked, her heart sinking, the little part of her that hoped it had all been a dream melting away.
“It was a threat, but I don’t know from who or why.” Flynn said patiently, even though he wasn’t feeling very patient. “Tani, I can’t protect you if I don’t know what I’m protecting you from.”
Tani’s face fell, “But if I tell you what happened you might not want to protect me anymore, you might want to just walk away.” She said, then realized that she’d verbalized her greatest fear.
Flynn’s impatience melted at her words, and he knew that she needed reassurance. “Sweetheart nothing you could tell me would drive me away from you. I’m right where I was always meant to be, we’ll handle this together.”
Tani took a shuttering breath and looked into his eyes, hoping that she’d see that his words were sincere. “I hope that’s true. I don’t think I could bear to lose you.” She said, a sob escaping her lips.
Flynn knew then that he’d have to show Tani how he felt, so he lowered his mouth to hers in a gentle kiss that began to warm her from the inside out. He gently stroked her back until she began to relax against him, then slid them down into the bed, his caresses as gentle as they’d ever been. Soon Tani’s body began to respond to his hands and she relaxed, her sobs turning to little hiccups.
Once she was relaxed, he gently put her on her back and kissed her, a kiss that was tender and sensual, a kiss that had her moaning in her throat. Unable to stop her body from responding to his, Tani forgot the terrible pictures and marveled at Flynn’s effect on her as the desire spread through her and the wetness began to form between her legs. Flynn continued to caress her, moving from her chest across her stomach and down her legs, his fingers barley brushing her skin, but leaving a trail of heat she could feel far beyond her skin.
Tani began to feel the blood rushing through her veins, each touch of Flynn’s fingers making her want more. Flynn’s mouth left hers as he trailed kisses down her neck, nibbling on her ear, his breath in against her sensitive skin making goose bumps break out over her body. He kissed his way to her other ear and whispered, “Don’t think about anything but this, trust me Tani, I promise I won’t hurt you. I only want to make you happy.”
She was spinning in a web of desire and passion so dense it snared her and erased all thought except of Flynn’s lips moving down her neck to her chest, his hands creating a need deep inside her. When his mouth finally found her swollen nipple, she arched her back as wave after wave of desire washed over her, cleansing her as nothing else could. When he switched to the other breast and covered the first with his hand, her need only increased and she clutched at his shoulders, her breath coming in short pants.
All too soon though, his mouth left her breast as he trailed kisses down her stomach, both his hands now on her breasts, teasing her nipples until she was writhing under him. He kissed his way down her stomach, then across each hip, until Tani spread her legs the need to have him touch her, driving her lose all inhibition. But when Flynn shifted until his head was between her legs, Tani stiffened, embarrassed to be so exposed to Flynn.
But he stroked her the inside of her thigh and said, “Relax sweetheart, I want to taste you, need to taste you.” His voice husky with passion and desire.
Tani relaxed against the bed, her heart hammering in her chest, her body still demanding more. But when Flynn used his finger to rub her swollen clit she forgot her embarrassment and rose on a wave of pleasure so intense she grabbed the sheets to keep the world from tipping. He rubbed her until the waves of pleasure were rolling over her faster and faster, then slid his finger down and buried it inside her. Tani’s hips came up off the bed and she cried out his name over and over, begging for what she wasn’t sure.
When Flynn’s tongue slid over her clit, she understood what her body had wanted, and with each stroke of his tongue and finger, she thrust her hips up to meet him, driving for a climax that she knew would shatter her but wanting it none the less. Her orgasm came in a rush and her body convulsed with pleasure until she stilled, her breath coming in short gasps.
But her body was still demanding more and she knew exactly what she wanted, “I need you inside me Flynn, please.”
Her words shattered the last of Flynn’s control, her cries of pleasure driving him to the brink, weakening him to the point that he was afraid that he’d lose control much too soon. Unable to help himself when she begged again, he slid up her body and spread her legs farther, his throbbing penis poised just at her dripping core. With one powerful thrust of his hips he filled her, then stopped, reveling in the feeling of her body welcoming him, her muscles clenching around him.
Tani rocked her hips unable to help herself, she wanted to feel Flynn moving inside her and was unwilling to wait for him. Flynn was lost when he felt her move beneath him, opening his eyes, he softly called her name needing to see her eyes. When her green eyes focused on him through the pleasure, he drove himself into her over and over again until they were soaring together, each thrust of his hips bringing them closer to the abandon they sought.
When her body exploded, she cried out his name and dug her nails into his shoulders, unable to keep the world from dissolving into nothing but the pleasure she was feeling. Flynn feeling her muscles grip him even tighter, emptied himself inside her, the pleasure momentarily leaving him unable to breathe. As they spiraled down from the heights of pleasure, a feeling of contentment came over them both, cementing them together in a way neither knew was possible.
Afterward, they lay entwined under the covers, and Tani knew that it was time to tell Flynn her story. She took a deep breath and began before she lost her nerve. “My father was a world-renowned archeologist. I was born in America but I grew up on the deserts of Egypt. Our world revolved around looking for a lost tomb, in the off season I was home schooled at our house in the country and the rest of the year we dug in the desert.” She began, thoughts of her childhood bringing tears to her eyes.
“Take your time. I thought I heard a bit of an accent, but I’ve never been able to place it.” Flynn said, to give Tani a chance to collect herself.
“It’s faded after all these years, but once you would have sworn that I was a native Egyptian.” Tani explained, “Even my name makes me sound Egyptian, that’s why I shortened it when I got here.”
“Tani’s not your full name?” Flynn asked to keep her talking.
“No, my real name is Nefertari. My father chose it, he loved anything Egyptian, it means the most pretty.” Her voice shook a little but she continued with her story. “I thought my life was perfect until I got to University in Cairo and discovered that I knew nothing about the world. I felt out of place and ugly next to the other women, but a handsome upper classman swept in and took me under his wing. We were both in the archeological program and he knew who I was, I didn’t think anything of it at the time but all David wanted to do was meet my father.”
“He used you to get to your father.” Flynn stated the obvious.
“He was never very good to me, told me I was lucky to have him and that no other man would ever want me, that if I didn’t change I’d lose him too.” Tani said, remembering all the terrible things David had done and said to her.
“Now I can see that he’d planned it that way, make me think I was worthless so I’d be totally dependent on him, and it worked. I’d do anything David told me too, including convincing my father to let him work with us, something my father never would have normally done. He never let anyone in unless he’d checked them out himself, but when he wanted to check out David I threw a fit until he gave in and let him on the crew.” Tani had to stop for a second, the memories of her behavior bringing the guilt to the surface again.
“What happened Tani?” Flynn was getting closer to needing to do physical violence the more she talked.
“My father found the tomb we were looking for and somehow David found out. He’d been working for the new military government who planned to swoop in and take dad’s find before he could register it. But before that happened my dad and I hid the entrance, when David confronted my father about the location he refused to tell him.” Tani, explained the memory of that night still as fresh as if it had been yesterday not five years ago.
“When my dad refused, David threatened my mother with a gun and accidently shot her. My father attacked him and the gun flew out of his hands and I picked it up. But David pulled a knife and stabbed my father, then he turned on me and I shot him.”