Natalie wasn’t sleeping. She leaned back on Luca’s chest, getting used to the feeling of the horse moving under her, and letting her brain run through all of the facts.

Fact one: Yvette was gone. And no one but Natalie seemed to care.

Fact two: Yvette’s last known coordinates were the location of Yvette’s cell phone, and signs of something bad. Really bad.

Fact three: Luca had said there was too much blood. Way too much blood. Something had died.

Natalie swallowed down the bile threatening to rise up her throat every time she thought of that red-brown patch of dirt. When Yvette had failed to respond to any of her texts or messages, she’d gotten that sick feeling, but she’d pushed it away. She’d hoped. But now she knew with sudden chilling certainty that something dead had to be her best friend.

Could Luca be involved?

Natalie stared through her lashes at his large capable hands loosely holding Espresso’s reins. He was super hot, in that tall, dark, incredibly quiet way. His blue eyes were startlingly bright in his cowboy tanned face and, for all the smoothness of his movements as he’d taken care of her, he was a very tall man.

And strong. Look at the way he’d lifted her up without even breaking a sweat. If he could pick up someone with as curvy an ass as hers, he’d have been more than capable of hurting someone as tiny as Yvette.

But, in recalling his strength, she also recalled his gentleness as he’d wrapped her ankle. Besides, if he was a killer he’d had ample opportunity to kill her and make her corpse disappear. Just like Yvette’s.

No, she just didn’t see it. And it wasn’t because of the lovely, sexy feelings she was getting riding this close to him—her legs fitted to his. Thigh to thigh. Knee to knee. Her ass pressed to what she was sure was a hard-on.

She’d been on a few trail rides as a kid, those things you think are going to be great but turn out to be miserable, with someone shouting at you the whole time, “Don’t let him eat. Pull his head up. Kick him!” But riding with Luca was nothing like that. He held the reins loosely, almost not even using them.

Riding this close to him she could feel every time he signaled the horse, tightening a thigh muscle, or signaling with the gentle pelvic thrust of his hips. Each movement he made reminded her that she leaned back on a lean, tall, capable cowboy and a hot flush would rise across her cheeks.

She’d had no idea riding was so sexy.

They’d ridden for about an hour, leaving behind the grassy slopes and entering a forested area of the trail. Everything grew hushed and it seemed like there was no one but the two of them, and the horse.

Luca touched her arm. “Are you awake?”

“Yeah.”

“That’s my cabin.” He pointed to a small square log building with a beat up Silverado parked next to it, nestled beneath the trees. “I’m going to put you on that bench and take care of Espresso.” He pointed to a beautifully carved wooden bench next to a small shed and a corral. “Then we’ll get you to town. They have an urgent care there, right next to the sheriff’s office.”

Panic raced through her. The sheriff had been clear—she was to go home and not investigate Yvette’s disappearance. Wolf’s Peak was a very small town. If he found out she’d been injured, and on someone else’s property, he’d send her packing. Or, maybe he’d arrest her for trespassing.

She had too many questions, there was no way she was going to stop now.

“Can I use the bathroom?” It had been several water bottles and a long ride since she’d peed, but that wasn’t why she wanted to get into Luca’s cabin. She needed time to figure out how to get him not to take her to the urgent care, but to run her back to her car instead.

He looked right and left, hesitating. “Okay, but let’s make it quick. You really shouldn’t be here.” He looped Espresso’s reins around a fence post and reached up for her.

“Why not?” She slid off, her legs buckling when she touched the ground.

“Whoa! Hang on there.” He caught her and swung her up into his arms and she forgot that she’d even asked the question.

His chest was broad and smelled of fresh laundry, clean sweat, and the heat of the sun. As he carried her into the one room cabin, past the tiny kitchenette and into the tiny bathroom, she wished she could stay curled up in his arms. With his strength and solidity, he’d keep her safe.

She just knew it.

But he put her on her feet, making sure she was okay with a steadying hand and she let her fantasy go.

“Thanks.” She shut the bathroom door and took care of the necessities before balancing on her left foot in front of the mirror and washing her hands.

She was a wreck. Her face was smudged with dirt and a bit of blood. The soap stung scratches she didn’t even remember getting, not just on her hands, but on her legs and knees too. Her crazy curls had gotten free of their hair tie and were snarled beyond a few minutes repair— she’d need a stiff hair pick and an hour to undo the damage.

She opened the door intending to ask him for a washcloth. “Hey, Luca.”

“Are you ready? Great.” He stood in the living room tapping his wide brimmed hat against a thigh. “We’d better get you out of here.”

Her highly tuned alarm bells went off. First he was wierded-out outside. And now this. “Why? What’s going on.”

His lips pressed together and his gaze dropped to the floor. “Nothing.”

“No, it’s definitely something.” She sat down on a hard wooden chair. “I’m not getting into that truck with you until you tell me what’s going on.”

“It’s just—” he pulled in a long breath and let it out, almost as if weighing exactly what he was going to say. “—my employers, don’t like strangers. I need to get you off of the ranch as soon as possible.”

“Is that really it? There’s nothing else?”

Something crossed his face, but then his features smoothed out. “That’s it.”

It was plausible. Look at all the NO TRESSPASSING signs shouting on that fence. But there was something about the way he refused to meet her eyes. And then he did meet her eyes, head on, as if trying too hard to convince her of the truth.

Her alarm bells were still chiming, but not as fiercely. Something was up, not dangerous to her, but something for sure. She’d always been a little psychic when it came to avoiding trouble. It had saved her and Yvette countless times from bad situations and they’d made bad jokes about her sixth sense.

But it hadn’t gone off last month when Yvette had driven up here. A spasm of grief had her clutching the doorframe hard.

She’d failed Yvette. Maybe she wasn’t that psychic after all.

“Hey, are you okay.” Luca crossed the room and touched her shoulder. “Do you need some water or something.”

“Yeah.” She pushed back the tears and smiled at him. “That would be great. Oh, and a washcloth.”

He grinned at her and lifted his hand to cradle her face. His thumb skimmed across her cheek, leaving tingles behind. “Yeah, a little soap and water would do you good.”

For a brief second she wanted to lean into his hand. But then she simply returned his smile and took the washcloth he handed her, retreating behind the bathroom door.

She stared in the mirror, washing the dirt off of her face and legs and hissing at the touch of the soap. Thinking about Yvette.

Her face crumpled in the mirror as the tough-girl attitude, that always kept her going, broke. Tears poured down and she sank to the cracked wood floor and sobbed.

What the hell was she going to do without her best friend?

Luca pounded on the door. “Natalie?”

“I’m fine,” she choked out.

“No you’re not.” He pushed open the door and sank down onto the floor next to her. “Come here.” He pulled her onto his lap and wrapped his arms around her. “What’s wrong, darlin’. Tell me.”

“She’s gone. She’s really gone.” She hung on to him as if he could save her from drowning in the truth.

“Who’s gone.”

“Yvette. She’s dead.”

“I’m here.” He rocked her back and forth. “You just cry it on out.”

She hung on to his strong arms, and let this big man take all of her grief. She didn’t know how long she cried, but finally the tears ran dry.

She picked her head up off of his chest and patted his wet shirt. “Sorry to use you as a handkerchief.”

“I’ve been used for worse. You should see what cow snot looks like.”

“Gross.” She gave a soggy laugh.

“That’s better.” He pushed her hair out of her face. “I like your smile, it makes your eyes sparkle.”

Her breath caught. His mouth was inches away and she was cradled in his arms and she wanted to feel something, anything besides this hole in her heart.

It started off soft, just a slow touch. But then their lips opened and the kiss grew into something crazy and wild.

He smelled of warm summer heat. He tasted of life. She dove into him like she was drowning and only by going deeper could she ever find the surface.

She grabbed his shoulders, suddenly very aware that she sat in his lap and that the swelling she felt under her ass was a sign of a very aroused man. He wanted her, of that she was very sure. And she wanted him. She wanted to reclaim her heart from the black hole of loss where it had been spiraling for the last month. She wanted to make the pain and grief disappear.

She broke off the kiss, her breath coming in fast pants. “Was that a bed you have in the corner?”

He shook his head, his own breathing labored. “I’d be taking advantage of you—your grief.”

“No, cowboy. I’m taking advantage of you.” She placed a finger on his lips, silencing whatever protest he was going to say next. “Now pick me up and take me to your bed.”

His blue eyes went hot. He kissed her hard, before picking her up and taking her where she wanted to go, the big, king size bed taking up half of the open cabin’s floor.

She blocked everything else from her mind and focused on what the universe had sent her in her hour of need—strong, sinful, sex.

***

LUCA PLACED NATALIE on the bed, all the reasons why he shouldn’t be doing this running through his mind competing with the temptation of her lower lip, slightly swollen from their kissing.

She was injured. She was grieving. She was only using him to stop-up this huge hole she had inside. But as soon as he sank down on the bed with her in his lap, she started kissing him again. And the heat and passion in her kiss took him under—driving away all thought and leaving only primitive desire.

He wanted this woman.

From the first time he’d seen her trapped and rebellious at the bottom of the ravine, something in him had responded to her. She was strong in a way he’d never encountered before, as if she fought fate on a regular basis. His wolf loved it, rising to the challenge and taking away all his practical reasons why he should put her in his truck, drive her to town, and make her someone else’s problem.

And somehow, there was something more there under the defiance, something vulnerable in the way she drove her pain away in sex with a stranger.

And his wolf liked that even more. This woman wasn’t pack, wasn’t a wolf, but she was an alpha and she needed him.

She had his shirt unbuttoned and half off of his shoulders before he realized it.

“Slow down.”

“No.” She bit his lip. “I’m in charge here, cowboy.” Her eyes went molten dark chocolate. “Got it?”

“Yes ma’am.” He settled back for the ride, letting her climb on top of his lap and take the lead.

“Take this off.” She tugged his sleeves further down.

He sat up, letting her take the shirt all the way off, liking the way she took charge.

“So many scars.” She traced the white line across his belly where he’d been scored by a bull’s horn, and the traces of bite marks from long ago fights running over his torso and back. Her touch burned, searing traces of her chased through his skin down to his cock.

She traced a scar down into the waist of his jeans and he shivered with need.

He caught her hands. “Not yet.” And with one move he flipped them over and took charge.

He played with her full bottom lip, toying and tasting with his mouth until she writhed under him, her hips thrusting. He slid a hand under the fringes of her cut offs, just barely able to get a finger in and skim the wetness between her legs.

She shuddered. “Yes. Oh yes, Luca.” And she arched up into his hand.

The need to taste her raced through him and he went to unbutton her shorts.

A sudden knock on the door and the sound of a familiar voice stopped him cold. “Randolph? I know you’re in there.”

All thoughts of licking this sweet woman went out of his head.

“Damn.” Of all the curs to be knocking at this moment it had to be Brandon Bertolf.

“What’s—?”

He put a hand over Natalie’s mouth, capturing the rest of her question. “Shh. Stay quiet.”

She nodded. He waited until he was sure she understood before slowly letting go. He got off of the bed, adjusting what was left of his hard-on, and headed for the door.

Easing it open a crack he edged outside, closing it firmly behind him, spotting one of the white enforcer SUV’s. “What’s up, Bertolf?”

“Sergeant Bertolf, asshole.”

Inside, the wolf growled. Luca pushed it down. Control. He was always in control. He’d learned early how to deal with bullies like Brandon Bertolf.

Heavy-set for a wolf, but in decent shape, Brandon Bertolf was a prick of the first order and had been even worse since his recent promotion. Brandon’s ability to find out and screw with the wolves under him was famous on the force. Seeing Brandon’s eyes wander all over the cabin, truck, and corral, Luca wondered if that’s why Chief Howler had made him the head of the volunteer enforcers. Maybe she just wanted one more way to keep control of the mostly male shifter force and Brandon’s ability to sniff out trouble was it.

“You haven’t been answering your phone.” Bertolf glared at him. “I’ve been trying to get hold of you.”

“I was on the mountain riding the fence line. No reception.” Another reason to love riding fence. No Brandon harassing him.

He loved the hours he put in on the enforcers, but being a natural introvert he’d fall apart if he didn’t have the time on the mountain with no expectations other than the natural order of things—himself, Espresso, and the ranch.

“You’re here now. You should check your messages, I have important questions regarding the schedule.”

“Yeah. I’ll do that.” He cracked his neck, sending a clear message to the other wolf—my time is more important than yours. “Is that all you want?”

Brandon sniffed the air and his shoulders stiffened. “Hey. You’ve got someone in there.” He grabbed Luca’s hand and sniffed. “What the fuck, Weylyn? You smell like pussy.  I thought you were working?”

Luca jerked his hand back. “I was working.”

Bertolf’s thick bald forehead wrinkled and he sniffed the air with bloodhound tenacity. “What’s going on? You’re hiding something, I can smell it.”

“No. I’m not.” He’d always been hiding something. Parents dead just before he went to the pack boarding school to take the Bite, he’d learned—keep everything to yourself or they’d use it against you.

Bertolf’s eyes darted to the window.

Luca worked to hold back the growl. Luca tried to think of anything he could say that would deter the bull-headed man from tracking down exactly what secret was lurking in the cabin. He didn’t want this man finding Natalie and he didn’t want to dig too deep into his own motivations for hiding her away from Brandon.

“You’re right, Bertolf, I was ditching work.” He dropped his head as if ashamed. “I screwed up. I promise, I’ll check my messages from now on as soon as I get in.”

“No.” Brandon frowned, cocking his head at Luca. “There’s something going on. What are you hiding, Weylyn?” For a big man Bertolf moved fast and he darted around, pushing the door open before Luca could react.

Luca reached to grab him and pull him out of the cabin before he saw Natalie, but it was too late.

Bertolf rounded on him, his upper lip curved in a snarl. “Who the hell is that?”