Chapter Four
It seemed like forever for him to work his way between her legs, his warm breath caressing her hip bones before he moved lower. She arched her hips, his light strokes setting every nerve ending aflame with desire. She wanted him. She needed him. Those memories of how it had been came crushing back with a vengeance, so when he found her wet and slipped his finger between her folds to stroke her clit, she bit her lip to keep from moaning aloud. He teased her with his thumb, sliding first one finger, then a second into her channel. She rode his fingers, pumping her hips to meet his short, teasing strokes.
He pulled away to replace his hand with his mouth, and she almost came just from the swipe of his tongue across her intimate flesh. He tongued and sucked her clit until she bucked beneath him. She grabbed his shoulder, fingers digging into his skin as he penetrated her with his tongue. Her muscles quivered. She hovered on the edge of release, needing it so bad, and yet, the teasing pace Logan set with his mouth kept her on the edge.
“Please,” she whimpered, and when he replaced his tongue with two fingers, her pussy contracted around him and she came. She cried out as her release flowed through her body. White lights burst behind her closed eyelids, and she felt as if she were flying. When she came back down and opened her eyes, Logan was looking down at her, a satisfied smile on his face.
“This time, we go together.” He moved between her legs, the tip of his cock pressing against her. He bent down and kissed her, then with a single thrust filled her. She wrapped her legs around him, her ankles pressing into the backs of his legs. Lifting her hips, she met his thrusts. He moved slowly, teasingly, kissing her with each stroke, until she whimpered and writhed beneath him. The man was driving her insane with pleasure. Her breasts brushing against his chest only heightened sensation, as did the feeling of his strong legs between hers.
He surrounded her with a haven of sensual masculinity. She wished she could bury her face against his chest and stay like this forever. Here, in Logan’s arms, she felt safe.
His pace increased. She tried to hold on, to keep from coming, and with one final, hard thrust, he sent her over the edge again. She clutched at him, giving voice to her pleasure as he filled her senses completely. One more thrust and he followed, a hoarse shout and his rigid muscles announcing his release. He slumped against her, his forehead resting on hers. Their heavy breathing filled the tent.
“Logan,” she whispered.
He rolled to the side, took care of the condom, then pulled her against him. Somehow he found one of her light sheets and covered them both. His heart thudding beneath her ear lulled her into thinking they were safe, that none of the stalkery things were happening. What would it be like, she mused, to simply be on a camping trip with Logan. No job. No fears. No worries. Just the two of them in the woods. Somehow, she had the idea that it would be amazing.
~* * *~
He’d lain there with Erika longer than he should have, but the temptation to keep her in his arms was too great to resist. He’d compromised the mission, gotten too close. He kept his thoughts to himself, not wanting to burden Erika with them. Besides, she was no doubt thinking about pictures to take, and when she’d rolled out of his arms to review the shots on her camera, he’d taken the opportunity to pull on his pants and boots and take a quick look around.
That’s when he’d found it. The small remote camera tucked into the poles of the tent near the apex wasn’t any of his gear. He’d set up some night vision cameras not far from camp, hoping to catch a plate number or an image of whoever was tormenting her. No, this seemed like something someone would place to spy on them. And now, whoever it was had seen them making love.
He bit back a curse. Erika couldn’t know. She shouldn’t know. He checked the device for an off switch, couldn’t find one, but did remove a small door and take out the battery. Dropping both into a plastic bag he’d kept in his gear, he promised to take it to Hank as soon as they got back to town. He doubted the sheriff’s office would do anything about it, especially since right now he had no proof that Erika or he hadn’t set it up.
He stepped back into the tent.
“Everything okay?” Erika asked.
“Yes,” he lied. “No signs of anyone.” The lie burned on his tongue.
“Good.” Her smile appeared forced. “I want to get more pictures, but someone shot at me.” Her voice shook only slightly. He had to give her credit. New recruits often handled getting shot at far worse than she had. “I’m not sure it’s safe, and I’m not sure about giving up.”
Now would be the time to tell her about the camera. Instead, he said, “I’ve been thinking about this. Whoever shot at us had a clear line of sight. Either the person is a bad shot or he—and I’m guessing it’s a he— deliberately didn’t want to hit you. I think the goal is to scare you away.”
His phone buzzed interrupting him. He checked the text. Call me. It was from Hank.
“I have to take this,” he said. “We might have some information.” He stepped out of the tent and dialed. Hank picked up on the first ring.
“We got some leads from the cameras you set up. Looks like a local causing problems. Plates on the truck trace to Aaron Whitaker. He’s the son of one of the local big ranchers. He’s been trying to get the government to lease that land to his family’s ranch. They’re refusing because of the wildlife, especially the mustangs.” Hank snorted. “First time I’ve heard of that happening. Usually the government doesn’t give a crap about the wild horses. I’m trying to see if I can get more information on that. Anyway, I think Aaron is causing problems for Erika. If her pictures publicize the horses, there will be more interest.”
“Makes sense.” Logan had wondered if there might be the case once they found out Jaime was out of the country.
“I’m on it. Stay with Erika. I’ll keep you updated.”
“Will do.” He disconnected the call. From inside the tent, Erika screamed.
He rushed into the tent to see her sitting on the corner of the air mattress, her phone lying on the ground a little distance away. Erika pointed at the phone. “Someone saw us. Oh my god! Look at the phone.” Her voice bordered on hysterics.
Logan grabbed the phone. He turned on the screen to see a picture of Erika, naked, breasts and ass clearly visible in the camera going down on him. He was more concealed, though his face was tilted back. Both of them were easily identifiable. A text came along with the picture. I see you. Go away now before these pictures are made public. Then no one will care about yours. Logan set down the phone. He doubted the naked pictures would do much globally to Erika’s reputation. Such things surfaced and were forgotten within days. The humiliation though would last, and in this small town, no one would be thinking about her mustang photography, only of her naked breasts on the screen, as if they were somehow more shameful than the fact that someone had invaded her private moments to get these pictures.
He went to her and clasped her hands in his. They were cold and she shook. He snatched a hoodie from its place over one tent pole and wrapped it around her shoulders. Not telling her about the camera seemed like a bad move now.
“How—How did they get the pictures?” She squeezed his hands. “Not even Jaime did something like this. Who would do this? Who is hurting me?” She closed her eyes and took several more deep breaths. “Damn it. I’m stronger than this.”
“Hank called. It looks like a local who doesn’t want you to publicize the wild horses here because he’s hoping his family will get the grazing rights to this land. I have a plan.”
She cursed, low and pithy. “He’s despicable if he’s doing something like this to scare me off. Disgusting.” She squared her shoulders and the fight was back in her eyes. “What’s your plan?”
He told her, and the more he spoke the more at ease she got. Maybe it was because it dealt with her taking the pictures she was there to take. Or maybe it was just that he had a plan of action so she wasn’t alone. Either way, he sensed the fight rising within her and by the time he was finished speaking, she was dressed, geared up, and ready to go.
~* * *~
Hearing Logan say, “we’re going to get your pictures no matter what” energized her. The photos, he assured her, could be traced and removed. He also admitted he thought he’d found a camera that they were working on tracing and destroying as well. She knew nothing would be completely removed from the Internet, but it also appeared these pictures hadn’t been posted yet. Hopefully they could be found before something happened. If not, she’d deal. No doubt someone she knew would have a good PR firm to help manage this. Frankly, after getting shot at, the nudes bothered her only so much as they invaded her privacy. It seemed more intimate, more threatening than getting shot. Bullet wounds healed.
His casual mention of finding, then disabling the camera bothered her. The fact he hadn’t told her until the pictures had arrived seemed a bit high handed. He should have told her, explained to her what he’d found. She knew the implications. She took photographs for a living after all.
They hiked back out to the ridge. After telling Logan to stay behind her, though closer to the trees this time, she set up her gear along the ridge. The horses were just coming down for a drink and this time they had a foal, maybe four months old, with them. Her heart warmed. She snapped several pictures, including a couple of close ups of the baby, before zooming out to get the group in a single shot. The horses moved, seemingly unaware of the people. They stopped by a small pond and began to drink. She captured several more poses.
While the horses continued to drink, she reviewed the pictures on her camera. Several nice shots, maybe not quite enough for a full calendar. Feeling proud of her work, she jerked when Logan’s hand touched her ankle—their agreed upon signal.
“Don’t move, but someone is in the trees. Keep taking pictures. We can’t let on that we know he’s here. I don’t think he sees me. I’m going to go see if I can get closer. Domino is at your camp, keeping watch.”
“Domino?”
“Caid.”
She nodded and lifted her camera again. With the big man back at her camp, it seemed marginally safer. Jenny might not feel that way, and she grinned at Logan’s sister’s response to him. Erika heard, though just barely, Logan move away from her, toward the trees. Just then a second foal emerged, and Erika lost herself in taking photographs, ever aware that Logan moved toward her assailant, and the last time they’d been out here, he’d had a gun.
Time moved slowly. She’d heard it said before, had thought it to be a cliché, but looking through her viewfinder, pretending to take pictures, a minute seemed like an eternity. Ever aware that Logan moved closer to danger. She struggled to keep her heart from pounding. Animals sensed nervousness. Some kind of primal connection all creatures shared in the wild made others startle when danger was sensed. Just like a bird calling an alarm on the Serengeti alerted giraffes and gazelles to a prowling lion, her pounding heart would be sensed by nearby wildlife, and one of them might sound the alarm to send the horses galloping back to the safety of the hills.
She longed to be like the horses, racing away from danger with the surefooted knowledge that they’d successfully outrun it. The mustang never worried about the cougar, and her Mustang, Logan, never appeared to worry about danger, either. She snapped a few more shots, this time focusing on a hawk perched on a tree branch over the horses. If they were to have a future, she’d have to get used to danger. Reaching for her canteen, she wondered if she ever would.
At last the horses sated their thirst and moved back up the hill toward their grazing lands. Occasional bird calls broke the soft sounds of the breeze rustling grasses and leaves. The hair on her arms stood on end. She wanted to move and see if she could see Logan. Doing so would give away his position. Her cell hung in its holster on her leg; they hadn’t talked about exchanging messages. She doubted he’d be texting while hunting down a bad guy anyway. She scanned the ridge with her camera, heightening the zoom to see if she could capture any more interesting shots.
A figure caught her attention. Walking low along the ridge, rifle held in his hand, he moved toward the horses. Erika frowned and zoomed in with her camera. The man wore camouflage, without the bright safety orange to indicate he was a hunter. He moved with determination. When he saw the horses, he stopped and knelt. She scanned back to the horses; they hadn’t noticed the man. Through her camera, she watched him lift his rifle, aiming right at the horses.
Erika burst from her cover, not caring if she startled the horses. “Hey!” She yelled, praying her voice would be heard across the valley dividing them. “What are you doing? Hey!”
The man stood and turned, the rifle moving with him until it was pointed at her.
She dropped her camera, the heavy instrument thudding against her chest as it reached the limits of the strap holding it around her neck. She ducked, diving for the ground without a care for her own safety. The sharp report of the rifle filled the air.
“Erika!” Logan yelled. Shots came from her right.
Buckshot peppered the ground in front of her. Scurrying backwards, she lifted her camera. Damn it, if she was going to die, she’d find out who was trying to shoot the mustangs. She zoomed in on the man’s face, angry and dirty, with thin lips and deep lines around his eyes. She snapped a couple of shots, then rolled as the shotgun fired again.
More buckshot hit the ground, sending tiny plumes of dirt flying into her hair. She pressed her face to the ground, the camera trapped between her body and the dry, brittle grass.
A hand touched her back. She squeaked, then spat out the mouthful of dirt she’d inhaled.
“It’s me,” Logan whispered. “Stay down. He’s running along the ridge.”
She glanced to her right just long enough to see Logan kneeling beside her, a military-looking rifle pressed against his shoulder. Had that been in his pack? Her stomach lurched. He peered through the scope, his face a mask of murderous determination. Her blood ran cold to see this side of him.
Looking past the toe of his boot, movement by the trees captured her attention. She tried to pull her camera up.
“Stay still,” Logan growled.
“On your right,” she snapped back at him.
He turned, and the movement became a blur of a man racing from the trees. More shot hit the ground by her head. Logan fired across the valley. Silence followed the shots. Had he shot the man? She scuttled backwards, protecting her camera against her middle. Raising it, she scanned the far horizon. Nothing. Not even the horses were visible. Her heart thudded and she gulped for air. Thinking that Logan may have shot someone with so little time to think, just turn and fire, chilled her. He might have been protecting her, but to shoot a man? No one deserved to die.
Logan grunted as the man shoved into him with his shoulder.
The man raised his pistol, pointing past Logan. She rolled to the side. Don’t shoot me. The pistol fired. Glass shattered, and her camera exploded in her hand.
Erika screamed.
Logan turned, and the man used the distraction to land a solid punch on his jaw. Logan reeled.
Blood dripped from Erika’s hands. Was she shot? No, she realized it was from the pieces of plastic when her camera had been hit. The pieces lay around her, and she quickly scavenged through them to find the SD card and dropped it into her pocket. Whatever happened, she’d have those photos.
From the nearby ridge, more shots were fired.
“Logan. He’s firing at us.” Stupid, she knew, but she couldn’t not warn him. With nothing behind her for cover, she hurried down the hill, hoping to get out of the line of sight. He’d said Domino was at camp. Maybe she could get back to—
Something hit the back of her calf. She stumbled, her legs sweeping out from beneath her, and sending her rolling down the hill. Her head hit the ground hard enough to send flashes of light behind her eyes. All of this over some wild horses…
Dimly she recognized boots flying past and then nothing.