The man sat in a copse of trees on a rise that looked down on the cabin where she was staying. He knew they’d gone to meet that damn Becca Reiter way out at Eagle’s Nest. Having access to countywide information kept him well informed. Then he’d taken a drive out this way and was satisfied they were holed up in the cabin for at least the afternoon. He’d have to figure out what to do after that.

Of all the damn rotten luck. Why did she have to come sticking her nose into this? With her writer’s nose for information, who knew what she could dig up?

He and the others in their exclusive little club had met to discuss the situation this afternoon. The others had insisted he had to be the one to dispose of her. Not so easy with that SEAL glued to her side. He had to figure out a way, though, or they were all dead.

The whole thing had seemed like good fun when they’d thought it up years ago. They all had skewed sexual appetites, and young girls aroused them the most. The first time he’d forced one of them, he’d hardly been able to believe how excited he got, how hard his cock was and the thrill when he shoved himself into virgin sex.

Jesus!

He’d gotten so excited that when he went home that night he had to get himself off again or risk doing damage to himself.

The others, it seemed, were the same. They met once a month, in their private place, to relive the excitement and share details. And those delicious little girls were too scared to report it. Until one did, and he was sure all holy hell would break loose. Well, they were all threatened with death if they did, so he had to take care of that first one, and he did it himself. And he made sure the investigation went nowhere, despite the anguish of her parents.

But then, almost a year later, another one reported it. The others decided he should take care of her because he’d done such a good job before. And truth to tell, he got off on the killing as much as he did fucking them. Now there were nine total, and he sure as hell hoped there wouldn’t be any others. They all agreed they’d remind their new pieces of ass how many bodies there already were.

But now he’d have to get rid of Jenna Donovan. He knew she’d just keep digging until it all came out, and they couldn’t have that. He’d have to get rid of that fucking SEAL first, and that was easier said than done. But he was smart. He’d figure out a way. He wasn’t about to have his cushy life disrupted by some fucking female.

He knew his chance would come if he was just smart about it. Meanwhile, he sat and watched.

Jenna was exhausted, mentally and emotionally. They’d spent the afternoon doing research, and the amount of information she found on each name was astonishing. These were men who all, including Sheriff Owen Bartell, held positions of power in the area and had for some time. And Bartell lived on a small ranch that, despite its size, had to have cost a pretty penny. He didn’t pay for it on a sheriff’s salary.

So who couldn’t stop the craving for this heinous crime? Who had to be paying Bartell to sweep it under the rug?

She shared her information with the women at dinner. They were shocked that she thought it could be more than one, but agreed if that was the case these were real possibilities. The stories they shared with her about the rapes over the years curdled her blood and brought all those memories she’d suppressed screaming to the front.

Tomorrow, she’d start putting everything into some kind of order. Then she’d write the first of what would be a series of articles about rapes in the Crazy Mountains that had gone on for more than two decades. And she knew just where to submit them. That ought to get some action.

Scot checked everything outside before they walked into the cabin. Once inside, she dropped onto the couch and began massaging her neck. A tension headache was threatening

“I can help you with that.” Scot sat down beside her. “I mean, if you’re okay with me touching you.”

Strangely enough, she was. Throughout the entire day and evening, as she battled with her past and dealt with the danger of the present, she realized how in such a short time his presence had become both reassuring and tempting.

Tempting!

To a woman who’d thought of sex as just something to be suffered through, if she could get up her courage.

“Jenna?”

She realized she’d zoned out.

“Yes. I mean, okay. I—I’d appreciate anything you can do. My nerves are strung tighter than a tennis racquet.””

He shifted her so she was sitting sideways on the couch, between his thighs.

“Close your eyes,” he told her in that deep voice that now covered her like a warm blanket and made all her secret places throb and tremble. Places she was sure were frozen yet in less than twenty-four hours this man had begun to thaw them out.

She did as he asked and with his strong fingers he began to work the knots out of her shoulders and neck. Little by little, the tension eased from her body, and the headache that had threatened began to subside. She kept her eyes closed and let herself fall into the feeling.

What if she kissed him again? Would he even want to after she’d pushed him away? He knew what a hot mess she was with the baggage she carried. Why would he even waste his time? But lord! This was the first time in all these years she’d felt actual desire for a man. What if they tried it? But what if she froze?

“Stop thinking.” His deep voice smoothed over her. “You’re getting all knotted up again.”

She drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Sorry. Can’t seem to shut off my brain.”

“I’m going to ask you a question that is none of my business and very inappropriate, considering our situation.”

Her giggle was tinged with hysteria. “Ask away. You know my history. I have no secrets from you.”

“Oh, I don’t think that’s true. I think you have a few hidden away.”

“What did you want to ask?”

He put his mouth next to her ear. “Did you enjoy that kiss last night as much as I did? I don’t want to overstep here, Jenna. I wasn’t all that hot to take this assignment, but I think we have an unexpected connection. If you tell me no, this whole thing is forgotten.”

Which she knew was what she should do. But then she thought, what the hell? She wouldn’t be any worse off than she already was, the hot mess of the world. And he was the first man she’d wanted in, well, forever.

“Jenna?” He squeezed her shoulders. “Should I take back the question?”

“No. I mean, yes. I mean,…oh, hell. No, don’t take it back and yes, I enjoyed it”

“Then how about we try it again?”

When she nodded, he turned her so she was sitting on his thighs, cupped her chin, and drew her face close to him. His pressed his mouth to hers with a light touch, as if waiting to see whether or not she’d bolt. When she didn’t, he traced the seam of her lips with the tip of his tongue, back and forth, gentle, again waiting for her reaction.

Unfamiliar heat washed through her and she opened her mouth, welcoming his tongue. Her nipples tingled, and the muscles in her sex clenched with need.

Holy hell! All this from a little kiss?

But there was nothing little about it. It invaded her entire body. When she sucked on his tongue, boldly, he bit down gently on hers. Fire shot through her. She lifted her hands to cup his head, threading her fingers through the silk of his hair. The feel of his beard against her skin was erotic. She could have rubbed her face back and forth over it for hours.

With his mouth still fused to hers, he slipped one hand beneath her sweater and coasted it along her rib cage until he cupped one breast. He squeezed, and she moaned into his mouth. Then he pinched the nipple and without warning, she froze. Everything. Her hands. Her lips. Her tongue.

She felt him draw back at once, and she wanted to cry.

“Don’t.” His voice was gentle. “If this is as far as you can go, it’s all good. We can try again.”

“No.” She almost shouted the word. “I don’t want to stop. I’m so tired of being an emotional cripple. I’ve let that man steal my whole life, and I want it to stop.” She opened her eyes and looked into his. “You’re the only man I’ve ever been able to really respond to. Please don’t stop.” She bit her lip. “Unless this is too much for you, and I won’t blame you if it is. Really. We can just forget this ever happened.

“Only if you want to.” He cradled her cheeks in his palms. “I’ve had my own hang-ups, Jenna. I closed myself off for so long so I could do what I had to with the SEALs that I wasn’t sure I’d ever be able to feel. No one else has ever gotten past that wall until you. And I can have all the patience you need.”

Again, it was his words that crumbled her barriers more than his actions.

She looked into those chocolate eyes and smiled.

“Don’t stop.”

“Okay, then,” he whispered and pressed his mouth to her.

He eased his hand beneath her sweater and moved it until he once again cupped her breast. He abraded the taut nipple with his thumb while he stroked the inside of her mouth with his tongue. This time, she moaned and arched up to him.

The kiss went on forever, his tongue exploring, tasting sweeping, while he teased her nipple until it ached with need. He turned his attention to the other one and soon it, too, was swollen and aching.

“How about I take off the sweater?” he asked in the same soft voice.

“Okay,” she whispered.

He eased it up and over her head, tossing it to the side. He reached for the clasp of her bra then looked at her, waiting for her to stay stop or go on.

“Yes. Take it off.”

He did so, with a gentle movement, and dropped it onto her sweater. Jenna forced herself not to at once cover herself with her arms. This was Scot, the man she’d trusted from the moment she met him. The first man to kindle desire within her. So she sat there, naked to the waist, and let him look his fill, even as she trembled inside.

His brushed a kiss over her mouth again then trailed his lips down the line of her throat to the swell of her breasts, planting little kisses. Then his palms cradled her breasts, and he closed his lips over one swollen tip, sucking it into his mouth.

“Ohhhhhhh.” The long cry burst from her at the sensation of fire that raced through her body. Moisture seeped into her panties, and she had to squeeze her legs together against the sudden fierceness of the throbbing there.

Scot lifted his head, a frown creasing his forehead. “Did I hurt you? I can stop.”

“Don’t you dare,” she protested. “Keep doing it. Please.”

His laugh had a low, guttural sound that was as arousing as any touch of his.

“Okay, then. Glad to oblige.”

He took the other nipple in his mouth, squeezed both breasts as he sucked it into his mouth and grazed it with his teeth. Jenna couldn’t believe how hot and needy she was. By the time he lifted his head, she was crazy with need. She had never felt this kind of desire before, never felt her body respond in this way.

Take off your shirt,” she whispered, tugging at the shirttails.

He smiled down at her. “Of course.”

He tossed it to the side on top of her pieces of clothing, and there he was. Lean, broad-shouldered, muscular, with a dusting of curls on his chest that matched the hair on his head. She ran her fingertips over his pecs, hungry to feel every inch of his skin. She found his flat, male nipples beneath the hair and stroked them with her fingertips. She thought what a good thing it was that she’d read so many romance novels trying to get past her own hang-ups or she’d have no idea what to do.

While she explored his chest and his rock-hard abs, Scot sprinkled kissed over her breasts and teased her nipples until she was nearly out of her mind.

He lifted his head and looked at her. “Doing okay so far?”

“Better than okay,” she gasped, as heat consumed her.

“Maybe we could take off a few more clothes?” He put it in the form of a question, which made her like him all the more. He was letting her take the lead. She knew, no matter how much control it took on his part, he’d stop any time she needed to.

“Okay.”

He shifted them so she could stand and without waiting for him, she unsnapped and unzipped her jeans and shoved them down her legs. All she had left were her panties, which were utilitarian and about as sexless as you could get. It didn’t seem to matter to Scot, however. He stared at them, wetting his lips with his tongue.

“Take them off.” His voice was hoarse, and the look in his eyes nearly seared her skin.

Her hands trembled as she hooked her fingers in the waist and eased the flimsy material down her legs. When she stepped out of them, she kicked them to the side and stood before him, naked, shaking, her sex so wet she could actually catch the scent of her musk, a very new sensation for her. Uncertainty crept over her as she waited for him to say something. Maybe he didn’t like what he saw. Maybe he was disappointed. For one awful moment, she was tempted to grab her clothes and race up to the loft.

But then he reached out and touched her, running his fingers over her breasts, down her tummy, brushing the curls between her legs. And all the while there was no disguising the approval and hunger blazing in his eyes.

“Beautiful,” he said in a husky voice. “Just as I knew you’d be.”

“Your turn.” Could he hear how shaky her voice was.

Without saying a word, he unbuckled his belt and disposed of jeans and boxer briefs in one swift movement.

Ohmigod! That was all she could think.

He was gorgeous, with lean hips, long, muscled legs, and a cock that could tempt a saint. Thick and swollen and very large, the head was a dark purple, and a tiny bead of fluid sat directly on the slit. She didn’t have to ask if he was aroused. It was obvious.

But now what? Could she go through with the rest of it, or would fear take over as it always did? Of course, she had to admit no man she’d been with could hold a candle to this one. Plus, no one had ever taken the time to arouse her and make her feel secure as Scot did.

While she was wondering what to do next, he lifted her and carried her into the bedroom, yanking back the covers and sitting her on the edge of the bed. Then he stood in front of her, his swollen cock front and center.

“Touch it,” he said in a soft voice. “Go ahead. It’s not going to hurt you, Jenna. And yes, it will fit because we’re going to make sure you are good and ready and wanting it as much as I want you. Come on. Put your hand on me.”

Hesitant at first, she reached it and wrapped her fingers around his cock. The outer skin was soft, but the shaft it covered was hard as steel. And hot. So warm it heated her palm. She stared at it, fascinated, then touched the little bead of fluid with a fingertip and brought it to her mouth, licking it. It tasted salty and smooth, and she licked her lips. His cock jumped in her hand, giving her an unfamiliar feeling of power.

On impulse, she leaned forward and licked the head then drew her tongue the length of it.

“Better take it easy,” Scot said in a shaky voice. “I’m not sure how much control I have left.”

“Oh! Am I doing it wrong?”

His laugh had a touch of hysteria in it. “No, you’re doing it just right. I wanted you to touch it, feel it, taste it, so you’d know that it isn’t a man’s cock that hurts you but how he uses it.” He lifted her hands, leaned forward, and nudged her so she fell back on the bed. “My turn.”

Oh god. Here it comes. Please don’t let me scream or push away.

But he had other things in mind. He dropped to his knees between her legs, nudged her thighs apart and traced the line of her slit with the tip of a finger. She shivered at the feelings that consumed her, and deep inside her a pulse began to beat. He traced the wet flesh again and again before he spread the lips of her sex and helping himself to a taste.

The feel of his tongue as it stroked her set her on fire and ignited a need unlike anything she’d ever known or expected to know. When he closed his lips over her sensitive clit, the throbbing inside her sex accelerated. And then he went to work on her, thrusting first one then two fingers inside her and setting up a steady rhythm. Her inner walls pulsed and flexed against his fingers, but then he closed his lips over her clit and sucked, hard, and she exploded. Her inner walls gripped the fingers inside her, spasming against them as tremors rocked her body.

He rode her through the orgasm, licking and sucking and stroking, until the last tremor subsided. She felt so weak she wasn’t sure she could lift a hand, never mind move. Scot kissed his way up her belly, between her breasts and to her neck before reaching her lips. She could taste herself on his mouth. A sensation so erotic she could feel her hunger building in her body again, just that fast.

Scot shifted her so she lay with her head on the pillow then went to the dresser and took something out of a shaving kit on top of it.

“I’m always prepared.” He grinned, showing her the foil-wrapped condom. He climbed onto the bed, straddled her, and smiling down at her. “So far so good?”

“So far very good.”

“Let’s see how this goes, because I need to be inside you more than I need my next breath.”

He unwrapped the condom, sheathed himself then lifted her legs, draping them over his thighs.

“We’ll take this nice and easy. You tell me anytime you panic and need to stop, and I’ll do my best to accommodate you.”

He didn’t know at this point she’d kill herself before she put a halt to this.

She closed her eyes and tried not to grit her teeth as she waited for him to enter her. But instead she felt his mouth on her again, licking her hot core, drawing his tongue through her slit and tugging on her clit with his teeth.

The same intense feelings of desire clawed their way up through her body again. She was so intent on the sensations rocketing through her that she almost missed it when he entered her, slowly, still stroking her clit, easing himself into her a little at a time. It took a moment before she realized he was fully seated in her, every bit of him. When she opened her eyes his mouth was curved in a hungry grin and desire flared hot and bright in his eyes.

“Okay so far?” he asked.

“Yes.” The answer came out on a whoosh of breath.

“Okay, then. Here we go, nice and easy.”

And that was what he did, taking his time so her body accepted him, rubbing her clit, easing in and out until her sex was so wet that the slide and glide was easy. Then he picked up the pace.

“Ride with me, Jenna. Wrap your legs around me.”

She did, locking her ankles at the small of his back, while he took her on a ride so sensuous it involved every part of her body and blanked out her brain. She was aware of the orgasm building inside her again, higher and harder, and of Scot riding her with long, powerful strokes. And then, before she could even get ready for it, the climax burst over her, hot and hard. Her inner walls grabbed his throbbing cock, and her whole body shook.

It seemed to go on forever, and she wondered if she’d survive. Then, suddenly, Scot slumped forward and the tremors eased, as did their breathing.

“Look at me, Jenna.”

She did, and was caught up by his warm smile and the emotion in his eyes.

“I—had no idea,” she said. “All these years…”

“Maybe you were just waiting for me,” he teased.

But she thought, Maybe I was.

He sprinkled kisses on her face and brushed them over her mouth before finally easing from her body.

“Be right back.”

When he returned, he had disposed of the condom, and he climbed into bed with her, spooning her against his body

“No need for you to climb those stairs tonight,” he murmured in her ear.

“I don’t think I have the energy, anyway.”

He chuckled. “Good.”

She was wondering what came next as she drifted off into the best sleep she’d had in years.