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Endangered Hearts

Jolie Cain

(c) 2007

Endangered Hearts

Jolie Cain

Published 2007

ISBN 1-59578-306-7

Published by Liquid Silver Books, imprint of Atlantic Bridge Publishing, 10509

Sedgegrass Dr, Indianapolis, Indiana 46235. Copyright © 2007, Jolie Cain. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the author.

Manufactured in the United States of America

Liquid Silver Books http://LSbooks.com

Email:

raven@LSbooks.com

Editor

Kathleen Collins

Cover Artist

April Martinez

This is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents and dialogues in this book are of the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is completely coincidental.

Prologue

At first, Jack just stood in the doorway and took in all the details of the room: the clothing scattered across the floor, the empty condom wrapper on the bedside table, the smell of spent sex mixed with a familiar perfume. Everything whirled around in his brain, as if by focusing on the minute details of the moment he could somehow block out the reality of what was right in front of him. The couple entwined on the bed was oblivious to his silent observations. The woman’s fingernails dug into the bedspread and panting moans erupted from her parted lips. Long dark hair spread over the white silk sheets like melted chocolate as she urged the man on with hoarse demands of “Faster, faster.” Legs wrapped around his hips, she bucked up into his furious strokes.

Jack turned and made his way into the living room, panting moans and gasps of pleasure following his heavy footsteps down the hallway. After pouring himself a stiff

Scotch, he quickly downed it. Then he sat on the leather sofa, crossed his legs, and waited. Fifteen minutes and another drink later, he heard voices coming closer. His fiancée entered the room, laughing up at the man whose arm was clasped around her waist. He bent to whisper in her ear before looking up. He froze when he saw Jack.

“Hi, Dad. Have a good time?” Jack asked, lifting the drink to his lips for a bracing swallow. No one spoke. Jack thought humorlessly that they must look like a scene from some sappy made-for-TV movie. He emptied his glass and set it on the table in front of him. His father’s face flushed, and he looked down shamefaced, but Lauren didn’t even bother to pretend to feel embarrassed by what she—or rather they—had done.

Strolling further into the room while she tightened the belt on her blue silk robe, she slanted a smile at Jack. Finally she spoke, breaking the uncomfortable silence that had settled over the room. “Well, I guess he had to find out sooner or later, didn’t he, darling?

It’s not as if we could keep this a secret forever.” She turned to his father and tucked her hand around his arm before gazing back to Jack, her eyes taunting. “It’s past time you knew the truth, Jack. Robert and I have been seeing each other for a few months.”

His father started to speak. “Jack. Look, son, I know how this must seem…”

Jack held up his hand. “Don’t bother, Dad. Really. Just don’t.” He wasn’t interested in fumbling excuses. “There’s nothing that you can say to me that could possibly excuse what I saw. Jesus Christ, didn’t you even care that I was engaged to her? Or is that a stupid question? Of course, you didn’t care. Why should that stop you?” Nothing could hide the disillusion in his voice.

“You don’t understand, Jackson. Lauren and I never wanted to hurt you, didn’t mean for this to happen, but we…we fell in love. We just couldn’t help ourselves.”

Jack let out a bark of laughter. “In love? Please. Neither one of you has any idea what love is. All you know is how to play your sordid little games. And I was just the poor idiot who got caught in the middle of it.”

Again, his father tried to explain. “No, Jack, it wasn’t like that. I swear to you, son. I

don’t know how it happened. It just did. If we could have stopped it, we would have.

But…” again he halted, seeming to struggle to find the right words. “We didn’t know how to tell you. I tried several times, I just…” he shook his head. “Anyway, Lauren and I

… well, we’re going to be married.”

Jack had thought it couldn’t get any worse, but there it was. He felt like he’d taken a punch in the gut. Lauren was going to be his stepmother. He had fucked his stepmother.

Sonofabitch. Jack ran his fingers through his hair. The whole scene had an unreal quality to it, and he couldn‘t quite seem to grasp what was going on. He felt like his life had just turned into a bad romance novel.

His eyes moved to Lauren’s face, and he saw the self-satisfied look she wore. He felt sick as realization hit. Suddenly it was all clear to him. She had never loved him, never cared for him at all. She had played him for a fool, and he had fallen for it. It was all about the money, and she had hit the mother lode with his father. Robert Cole not only owned one of the most successful electronics firms in the United States, but he had also inherited money from his mother’s family. Now

Fortune magazine had named him one of the wealthiest men in the Southeast. And apparently, that’s what Lauren wanted—money and everything that went with it.

Jack realized there was nothing he could say. Nothing more he wanted to say. All he wanted was to get the hell out. “Congratulations. I’m sure you’ll understand why I won’t be around to witness the happy event.”

“What do you mean?” The confusion on his father’s face looked sincere, but Jack had a hard time believing that his father was surprised. Surely, he didn’t think that Jack would simply accept Lauren as his new stepmother. But apparently, that’s just what he did think. “You can’t just leave. The company needs you.   need you, Jack.” He crossed

I

over and tried to place his hand on Jack’s shoulder in a placating gesture, but he shrugged away from his father’s arm and walked over to the door, passing Lauren where she stood with a feigned look of compassion on her face.

She added her pleas to his father’s. “Yes, Jack. You have to stay. I couldn’t bear it if

I thought that I was the cause of your leaving. I never wanted to come between the two of you. I know how close you’ve always been.” Lauren’s insincerity was obvious to Jack, but it seemed his father believed every lying word. “Your father needs you. If you go, what will happen to the company? You know Robert is getting ready to retire. He’s promised me a trip around the world for our honeymoon.”

Jack refused to listen to any more and headed for the door. He had to get out of there.

“I’ll be cleaning out my desk tomorrow. And quite honestly, I don’t give a damn about the company.”

“Now, son…” But it was too late. The slam of the door was the only reply Jack gave.

Chapter One

Two years later

Jack leaned back against the rough wooden railing and took a sip of his coffee. The air was heavy with the crisp smell of pine, and he could hear mockingbirds calling in the distance. As he gazed over the panoramic vista, a smile of satisfaction creased his hard-

featured face. Most who knew him would have been surprised. He was not a man who smiled easily. These days about the only thing that brought a smile to his face at all was his mountain.

He supposed it was rather arrogant for one man to own a whole mountain, but he had needed his privacy after the catastrophe of his broken engagement. Total privacy was what he had sought, and he had carved it out for himself here in this isolated spot. Tree by tree and nail by nail, he had immersed himself in the physical labor needed to clear the land and build two cabins. To his surprise, he didn’t really miss anything about his fast-

paced life in Atlanta. Only now and again, when he thought of the close relationship he had once had with his father, did he wish things could have been different.

Of course, there had been plenty of people who were against his self-imposed exile.

Ironically, Lauren had been one of the most vocal protestors. She had accused Jack of everything from deserting his father to total lunacy. She could not, or would not, understand his aversion to being around her and his father. She’d even come by his apartment one afternoon when his father was still at work and offered to keep their sexual

“relationship” going. She had assured him that his father could not compete with Jack in the bedroom.

“I still love you, darling. It’s just that your father has more to offer me than you do. I

was quite willing to settle for less when I didn’t think I had any other choice. But I have to be practical.” She’d laughed at his astonished expression. “Oh, please, you can’t be that naïve. Remember, I know what you’re really like. No limits, remember? You’re such a great fuck. I loved all those wicked, wicked things we did together. And you’ve got a great body, so hard and firm,” her eyes skimmed over him, and she licked her lips, “not soft like Robert’s.”

Crossing the room, she’d reached out to trail her fingertips down his cheek and just underneath the collar of his shirt, rasping the skin with her nails. “So, you see, there’s no reason at all why we can’t continue to enjoy each other. Your father never has to know.

It’ll be our little naughty secret. Now quit acting like such a child.”

He’d stood there unmoving as she’d flicked open the first two buttons and leaned in to lick his neck and pull on his skin with an erotic suckling that made his stomach muscles clench. She pressed a passionate kiss on his mouth, her tongue pushing past his teeth with wet demand, and reached between them to cup his dick and stroke it up and down until she got the response that she wanted.

Unwillingly, he felt his cock harden. Oh, yes, she knew all the right buttons to push.

He stood there hands at his sides, neither encouraging nor discouraging her. Briefly he thought about telling her to stop, but he wanted to know just how far she’d go. He also admitted to himself that he liked what she was doing to him. He liked it very much, damn

her. Smiling wickedly, she began unfastening the fly of his pants, dragging out the process with pretended fumbling and brushes against his cock that had him straining for release.

By the time she held his erection enclosed in her fist, he was lost to reason. Her hand began to move, tugging up to the head before pushing down again, quickening the pace on each stroke. Her eyes never left his face. He grew even larger in her grasp, and he couldn’t muffle a moan when she dropped to the floor in front of him. After unbuttoning her own shirt so that the fabric parted over her swollen breasts, she leaned forward to place a wet kiss on the tip of his erection, her hot breath skimming over the sensitive flesh. She swirled her tongue around and around the head in a tantalizing caress but drawing back each time he thrust forward.

“Don’t play with me, Lauren,” Jack growled. Roughly, angry at himself for letting her do this, yet unable or unwilling to stop what was happening, he reached up to catch the back of her head in an inflexible grip. She laughed as he pulled her forward, and her mouth enclosed the plum-shaped head. She sucked him greedily into the moist cavern of her mouth. Her agile tongue and mobile lips worked on the head at the same time her hand came up to squeeze his balls and roll them delicately between her fingers. His hand on her head quickened the pace of her sucking rhythm until he knew he couldn’t hold out any longer. With a harsh cry, he jettisoned his cum down her throat.

When he finished, she rose to her feet, licking her lips to find and swallow every drop of his sticky offering. “Delicious, darling.” She moved forward as if to wrap her arms around him, but he stepped back. He had never felt such disgust at his own actions.

What kind of bastard had he turned into? Not that his father didn’t deserve it after what he had done. Still, it felt wrong, and he just wanted her to leave while he still had a little self-respect left.

“What’s the matter, Jack? You know you want more. You can’t fool me, lover.” Her gaze drifted down to focus on his still-erect penis and she smiled in anticipation. “I know what you need, baby. You still love me and what we do together. You can’t hide this from me.” Her hand reached out to stroke over his cock. “Now, let‘s go into the bedroom and pick up where we left off. I feel like getting really wild with you today, baby. God

I’ve missed you.”

Jack pushed her back and shook his head, quickly fastening his pants so she couldn’t touch him again. “Only a boy lets his dick do his thinking for him, Lauren. I have a little more control over what I do with mine. What just happened … well, it was a mistake. A

huge mistake that I don’t intend to make again. So, thanks for the blow job, but that‘s it for me. There‘s no way I‘d ever let you back in my bed. Let’s face it, you’re nothing but a high-priced whore that my father bought and paid for.” He pulled her hand up and looked at the enormous diamond that rested there. Quite a contrast to the elegant little stone he himself had given her. “Nice. And definitely not cheap.”

Her face reddened at the insult, and she slapped him, her handprint standing out vividly along the side of his jaw. Jack just stood there and smiled, not a trace of humor in his bleak-eyed stare. “I guess I deserved that for what I just let happen. But that’s it.

We’re even now. You’ve got what you wanted—money. And you taught me a lesson I

won’t soon forget.” His hand came up to grasp her chin in a tight grip, forcing her eyes to meet his. “And you’re wrong. I don’t love you. I feel nothing for you at all. I’m actually sorry for my father. He’s getting the worse end of this deal. Now, I think you’d better

leave.” He pushed her away.

Lauren’s eyes had glittered with fury. “You bastard.” She spat the words at him. “It won’t take me long to find someone to take your place. But how many women do you know that will let you do to them what you did to me? And you know you loved everything we did together. The wilder, the better, baby. You’ll never be able to forget that kind of sex, lover. That kind of heat. Who else can give you what I can?”

The bitch of it was that she was right. The sex between them had been hot, and she had allowed him to explore the darker side of passion, the kind of passion that he craved, the kind of sex that he had needed ever since he was a teenage boy just beginning to experiment with the bodies of the girls he fucked. Maybe that was the reason he’d been so convinced they were meant for each other. Now he knew otherwise. She wasn’t worth it. No woman was.

She’d stormed out of his apartment, and he felt a twinge of pity for his father. But nothing could persuade Jack to stay. He’d devoted most of his adult life to the electronics firm that his father had begun and built into a major company and he didn’t owe it any more.

A few friends had applauded his decision. Most, however, had thought him crazy to throw away the comfortable life he’d had as senior vice-president of Cole Electronics, despite what had happened. After all, his father was owner and CEO, and Jack was the heir apparent, not just of the company but also of all the rest of the money and property.

Jack’s old college buddy, Beau Dalton, had been one of the few people who had supported Jack’s decision. Which he supposed was the reason for all this introspection.

The letter he had recently received from Beau was in his back pocket, and he knew that he had put off answering it for too long. He reached back and grabbed it. Opening it, he reread the brief note.

Jack, I need a favor. I don’t know if I ever told you, but my Aunt Abigail

Montgomery is a writer. She’s looking for somewhere quiet to work, and when she told me the kind of place she was looking for, I immediately thought of that second cabin you have. I know how important your privacy is to you, but I really don’t think that my aunt will be a problem. So what do you say? I’ll be waiting to hear from you.

Beau

Jack refolded the letter and once again let his gaze take in the beautiful mountain scenery. Damn. He really didn’t want company, but he owed Beau. This was the first favor his friend had ever asked for. And he was probably right. A middle-aged writer couldn’t be that much trouble. He’d seldom see her. Jack shrugged in resignation. He’d write and tell Beau “okay”. He only hoped it wouldn’t take very long for her to finish the book.

Aunt Abigail Montgomery. God. What a name! Why were aunts always named

Abigail or Gertrude or Hazel? Jack had already conjured a picture of Aunt Abigail in his mind. The image was a cross between Beau and Miss Naomi Lockhart, his fifth-grade teacher. A rail-thin woman with scraped-back brown hair and a thin moustache, she’d wear orthopedic shoes and those little half-glasses he somehow associated with writers and English teachers. With any luck, she’d treasure solitude as much as he did.

* * * *

Abby Montgomery turned her truck toward the front of the cabin and parked. She

leaned her head back and rested it against the seat. Man, was she ever glad to get here at last. She really should’ve had more sense than to drive straight through from Gulf Shores to this small town nestled in the foothills of the Smokey Mountains. Anyone with any common sense at all would have taken the trip in easy stages. But not Abby. Oh, no. She reached up to rub the back of her neck and her hand encountered something warm and wet.

She opened her eyes and smiled. “You’re tired, too, aren’t you, baby?” she crooned to the huge golden retriever sitting behind her in the rear seat of the Explorer. She reached over and scratched Bear behind the ears. “Well, here we are. Finally. I just need to find this Mr. Jackson Cole and get the key to the cabin. Then we’ll get all settled in, okay?” She grinned and opened the door.

After hopping down and letting Bear out, she strolled toward the cabin. Pausing, she took a deep breath and looked around. The cabin was rough looking, but Abby found it oddly attractive. Tall pines towered over the cozy building with its front porch swing and brick chimney. The wood was a dark reddish color and reminded Abby of the house her grandmother had lived in before she passed away.

Abby turned and caught her breath. The view was breathtaking, and she spent several moments just soaking it in. No wonder Mr. Cole didn’t mind the near-inaccessibility of his home. Almost anything would be worth waking up to this view every morning.

Bear was sniffing around the cabin, and Abby called him to her before knocking on the front door. After waiting for several minutes with no response, she tried the doorknob. It opened easily beneath her hand. Walking into the cabin, she scanned the sparsely furnished room.

“Mr. Cole? Mr. Cole, are you there? It’s Abby Montgomery.” No response. Abby shrugged and looked down at Bear. “Looks like he’s not in here, sweetheart. Maybe he’s out back.”

She walked through the living room and the adjoining kitchen and pushed open the back door. As Abby stepped outside, she looked around. A huge deck ran the length of the cabin, with a gas grill and picnic table off to one side. Scattered around were an old-

fashioned glider and a few Adirondack chairs. Some trees in the yard held white blossoms, and she wondered if they were dogwood.

Abby took in the view from this side of the cabin as well and wasn’t disappointed.

The yard sloped down and to the right, where a small pond lay nestled amongst a stand of trees. As she watched, she saw a fish jump at a dragonfly that flew too close to the surface. An old stump with an axe embedded in it was at the opposite side of the yard near a small shed, but there was no sign of the man she was looking for.

“Well, rats. I wonder where he is. Beau said that he’d be expecting us.” She turned and went back inside. “Hmmm. Bear, do you suppose Mr. Cole would mind if I made myself a cup of coffee? No? Me either.” She searched through the cabinets and found what she needed. A moment later, a pot of coffee was brewing, and Abby was trying to hold back a yawn. “Goodness. I guess that’s what I get for leaving so early this morning.”

She shook her head at her own stupidity and poured herself a cup as soon as it was ready. Propping against the counter, she let her mind drift back over the conversation she’d had with Beau when he had told her about this place. As usual, she had been bemoaning the fact that she couldn’t work at home. There were constant interruptions that were affecting her ability to concentrate on her novel. Not to mention her worries

about her former assistant who, for some strange reason, had become convinced that they were more than just employer and employee. He’d not done anything very bad but had spooked Abby. The day she’d fired him had not been a pretty scene.

Scotty had accused Abby of betraying him with other men. Of “whoring herself out”

just because she’d gone on a couple of casual dates. Stunned and off balance, Abby had tried to calm him down, to remind him that they were nothing more than writer and assistant, that she considered him a friend, but that was all. He had gotten even more irrational, asking her why she would say such a thing after all they had meant to each other. That she was just like every other woman and couldn’t be trusted. The argument and recriminations had grown more and more heated until Abby had finally ordered him to leave. When he had slammed out of the apartment, Abby was thankful. Despite the fact that he hadn’t laid a hand on her, on some primitive level she had been afraid that he might.

That night she left a message on his answering machine saying that she thought it best that he find other employment and for him not to bother her again. She’d mailed him his check with an extra two weeks pay, and afterward she tried to put the whole ugly scene out of her mind. She didn’t know what had set him off, but she wasn’t willing to risk another confrontation.

Even though he had not returned to the apartment and had seemed to accept the fact that he would no longer be working for her, she had gotten a couple of hang up calls that she suspected might be from Scotty. When a flower arrangement of white roses had been delivered to her house with a note reading, “I’m so sorry. Please, won’t you forgive me?

Scotty,” she had become even more concerned.

Beau had agreed with her that it was best to err on the side of caution. They had met at their favorite seafood place for lunch where he had proceeded to worm the whole sorry story out of her.

“What you need is a place with no telephone and no doorbell and no well-meaning neighbors. A place where all there is for you to do is eat, sleep, and write. A place where

Scotty can’t find you.” Beau had glared at her with a fierce expression on his face, protective instincts on alert.

She’d tensed, wanting to deny that there was any reason to worry, and then sighed in resignation. “You’re right. I know you’re right.” She’d agreed, trying to think of a spot she could go hide out. She dismissed most of the places she knew and had just about given up on the idea, when Beau spoke.

“I think I may know a place.” Beau had captured her attention with that remark, and when he had proceeded to explain to her about his old college buddy’s place in the mountains, it had sounded ideal. “Do you think you could arrange for me to borrow the cabin?” she’d asked.

An odd twinkle had lit Beau’s eyes. “Oh, I think so.”

Abby smiled at the memory and finished the last of her coffee. She walked into the living room and poked around. There was no TV set, but there was a CD player and a wide assortment of CDs from which to choose. She slipped an old country and western favorite in and sat down on the comfortable sofa to wait for Mr. Cole to show up. Within minutes, she had kicked off her shoes and tucked them under the couch.

Even with the coffee she had drunk, she was having a hard time keeping her eyes open. As the sounds of a man’s voice singing about wasted love and cheating women

drifted around the room, she sank down lower and lower. Bear curled up on the floor in front of the fireplace, and soon they had both fallen into a deep, exhausted sleep.

* * * *

Jack stopped his Jeep beside the SUV in front of the cabin. It looked like Aunt

Abigail had arrived while he was gone to get the mail and pick up a few groceries. He still couldn’t believe he had agreed to let some strange woman use the extra cabin indefinitely. At least he should have set a time limit, dammit—but it was too late now. He glanced around for the woman but saw no sign of her. Realizing that she must have gone into the house to wait for him, he grabbed the mail and a grocery bag from the backseat and then gazed at the Explorer in puzzlement.

Not quite the vehicle he had expected an “Aunt Abigail” to drive. Mud was splattered down the white doors, and the antenna had one of those little smiley-faced balls, only this one looked like a little bitty smiling Dracula. Weird. A bumper sticker on the back read, “

Writers do it in novel ways.”

He tried to ignore a faint feeling of unease and strode toward the house and across the porch. Entering through the front door, he set his packages down on the entry table before turning around to face the main part of the room. Right away, he saw the dog sprawled before the fireplace on his hooked rug. Its head lifted from its paws, but it made no threatening moves.

It wasn’t the dog that held his attention, but the woman who was asleep on his couch.

Long red-gold hair rippled in waves over her shoulders and trailed down to brush the floor. Her features were delicate, not strictly beautiful, but there was a piquant, almost pixyish quality there that he found very attractive. Her tip-tilted nose was dusted with freckles, and her chin held a small dimple. Jack’s eyes moved to her moist lips, the lower one just a bit fuller than the upper, and then roamed down her white throat to the firm breasts, which rose and fell in time with her deep breathing. Her shirt had ridden up, and he could see the indentation of her navel above the waistband of her pants. Jack felt a tightening in his jeans as his eyes studied the sleeping figure before him. Definitely not

Aunt Abigail.

His hands clenched as he acknowledged his reluctant arousal. His current lifestyle had offered little chance for feminine companionship. Admittedly, there had been times when he sought out women for his casual attentions, but they were easily available and easily discarded. All he wanted from them was a hard fuck and a quick goodbye.

Now here was some strange woman sleeping on his couch—invading his territory. A

woman who had already captured his unwilling interest and, considering his hardening cock, it was plain that he would find her hard to ignore for any length of time. Hell, he could picture himself going over to where she lay, pushing up that little top that she wore to capture her full breasts in his hands, massaging them, and plucking at the peaks until they stood pleading for the attention of his mouth. Peeling down those jeans, he would plunge his cock into the wet passage that lay between her thighs. She would be tight and hot, so ready for him. Just imagining the strong clasp of her body around his dick had him hard as stone. He had reached down to unsnap his jeans before he caught himself.

What the fuck was he doing? He couldn’t believe he was standing here daydreaming about screwing the brains out of some unknown female. Who was she? Why was she sleeping on his sofa? She looked a bit like Goldilocks, but he sure as hell wasn’t Papa

Bear.

His anger gained momentum the longer he watched his unwanted visitor, rattled by his body’s reaction. He took a step towards her, and the dog, which had been quietly observing him, rose and growled low in its throat. Jack halted, and drew back, not wanting to provoke the animal. But the sound had awakened his mysterious guest. As her green eyes blinked open, she saw him standing before her and sat up, one hand automatically reaching out to calm her pet.

“Who the hell are you?” he demanded.

*

Abby blinked up at the furious man whose heated stare made her uncomfortably aware of her tousled hair and rumpled clothing. As she straightened her shirt, she tried to collect her thoughts. Her sleepy eyes registered his harsh, male features and well-muscled body. Coal-black hair was a sharp contrast to the clearest, bluest eyes Abby had ever seen. But what was even more obvious was the tense stance of his body and the tight set of his mouth. His rampant masculinity dominated the room. As his furious gaze raked over her curves, she felt it in every pore of her body. Dangerous, she thought. He was very, very dangerous.

She reeled her thoughts back under control. She wasn’t here to find a man. Besides, he was obviously way more man than she could handle. But she was puzzled at his blatant antagonism. This had to be Jackson Cole, and he must have been expecting her.

Beau had said that everything was arranged, so why on earth did he look so furious?

“Mr. Cole?” She inquired hesitantly.

A brief nod was all the response she received as he continued to glare at her through narrowed eyes.

Satisfied that at least she hadn’t somehow arrived at the wrong cabin by mistake, she stood up and held out her hand. “Mr. Cole, I’m Abby Montgomery. I think,” she paused and looked at him questioningly, “—I hope that you were expecting me?”

Chapter Two

Jack stared in astonishment at the hand held out to him by the woman who had risen and was gazing at him in trepidation and honest bewilderment. Abby Montgomery? This was Aunt Abigail of the orthopedic shoes?

“You’re Abigail Montgomery?” he asked, having a difficult time associating the woman he was speaking to with the picture he had formulated in his head. Abby nodded her head, letting her hand drop back to her side.

“Beau’s Aunt Abigail?” he asked again, disbelief shading his voice. Again, she nodded, understanding wiping out the puzzled expression on her face.

“Oh, no. Damn that Beau. He didn’t explain about me, did he? You were expecting someone more…” she smiled, eyebrows rising, “more mature, perhaps?” Her eyes invited him to laugh with her.

“Look, lady, I don’t know if you’re who you say you are…”

“Oh, I’m Abigail Montgomery, all right. Although no one calls me Abigail except for Beau. And the only reason he does, is because he knows it pisses me off,” she interrupted. “Beau was just playing a little joke on you—that’s all.”

Trying to make sense of the convoluted explanation he was hearing, Jack began to get the idea. “You’re not Beau’s aunt, obviously,” he stated, recognizing Beau’s somewhat warped sense of humor in the situation. This woman standing before him couldn’t be older than her early twenties while Beau was near his own age of thirty-one.

“Oh, I’m his aunt, all right. At least, I was his step-aunt. My sister Katherine married

Beau’s dad. They’re divorced now, but Beau and I are still pretty close.” Jack remembered Raymond Dalton, a somewhat garrulous man in his early sixties who’d had a string of wives over the past twenty years, each one younger than the last. Abby’s sister must have been one of the endless parade.

“You don’t seem too surprised by this whole situation,” Jack observed after a few moments of trying to reorder his thoughts.

She shrugged. “This isn’t a new game. Beau gets a kick out of shocking his friends by introducing me as his aunt. It   a bit unusual since he’s older than I am. And no one is ever accused Beau of having the most mature sense of humor.”

Jack listened to her in irritated silence. Beau had placed him in an awkward situation, and Jack had no doubt that he had done it on purpose. It was just the kind of thing that

Beau would do. He probably thought it would be hilarious, but Jack failed to see the humor.

Where he might have found it easy to ignore Aunt Abigail with the thin moustache and sensible shoes, the fuckable Abby might turn out to be quite a different story.

Reluctantly, he acknowledged his raw response to her. Even now, though he’d tried to remain focused on what she was saying, his cock had stayed hard and strained behind the zipper on his jeans.

Jack’s thoughts were disturbed by the sound of Abby’s voice and he realized that she had continued to speak. “And I hope you don’t mind that I sort of made myself at home.

But you weren’t anywhere around. I made myself a cup of coffee.”

Jack’s unwilling desire for her, and the knowledge that he would be unable to

appease that desire, sharpened his voice. He raised his chin. “Would it matter if I did mind?” he growled, dismissing her apology and erecting a wall of irritation between them.

*

Abby’s brow knit in consternation. His comment was rude, but perhaps he was still a little off-balance because of Beau’s stunt. She could understand that since she herself had been the butt of Beau’s jokes for years. So she smiled, determined to maintain a civil conversation with him. “No, I guess not. You know, Mr. Cole—Look, do you mind if I

call you Jack? I’m afraid that I’ve never been very good with formality.”

He shrugged, not responding to her friendly overtures. Abby tried again, undeterred.

“Beau’s been telling me about your mountain, Jack. I must say that I thought that he was exaggerating when he told me how lovely it was. But I can see now that he didn’t come close to doing it justice. It‘s spectacular and…”

“I’ll get you the key to the cabin,” Jack cut in and then turned and walked toward the kitchen doorway.

“Well!” Abby commented to Bear under her breath after Jack had left the room. “Not exactly the most outgoing guy in the world, is he?” She patted Bear on the head. “But I

suppose it takes all kinds, right?” She was determined not to let Mr. Jackson Cole disturb her normally genial nature. She leaned over to whisper in Bear’s ear. “He is quite a hunk though, isn’t he? Not that I’m interested. But there is something about those eyes of his.

Whenever he looks at me…” she shuddered, feeling trickle of moisture between her thighs, “man, oh man.”

Abby was quite surprised at her immediate reaction to Jack Cole. She had always considered herself a somewhat asexual creature. Normally, she could take sex or leave it, and she usually chose to leave it. Now, for some reason, this man sparked something different in her. Something hot. But she dismissed the unwanted attraction. In addition to the fact that she had no clue how to handle a man like Jackson Cole, she didn’t need or want a man, especially not right now. No matter how attractive he was. No, the two of them could just stay out of each other’s way as much as possible. Beau had said the second cabin was pretty isolated so that shouldn’t be very hard to do.

By the time Jack returned with the key in his hand, Abby had walked across the room and was gazing out the wide window. She turned at the sound of his footsteps on the hardwood floor, and his eyes speared her, sending a little shiver of awareness through her that she tried to ignore. He walked over with the key dangling from his fingers.

He dropped it into her outstretched palm. “This is the only one I’ve got so try not to lose it.” Still oozing annoyance, Jack spoke abruptly to Abby. When he turned to the front door, Abby saluted his broad back, but only Bear observed her childish action. Then she scrambled to follow him out the door, stepping onto the porch just as Jack reached his

Jeep and climbed in.

Urging Bear into the Explorer, Abby started the motor and followed the disappearing vehicle. As they moved through the dense woods on an obviously little-used road, they were forced to a snail’s pace. The uneven terrain and huge potholes made her glad her

SUV had four-wheel drive.

They arrived a few minutes later at a cabin almost identical to the one they had just left. Jack preceded her inside and began turning on the lights. He gave her a brief tour and explained how the generator worked. When Abby revealed her ignorance in lighting

a fire, he demonstrated reluctantly. Even though it was spring, some nights still got cool.

Then he rose to his feet and walked out onto the porch. Abby followed.

He paused and turned to face her. “The mail is delivered at a mailbox down the mountain a bit, and I collect it every morning. If anything comes for you, I’ll drop it off.”

Abby nodded. “I am going to be expecting some things from my agent in a day or so.”

Acknowledging her comment with a narrowing of his eyes, he continued. “I stocked up on a few basics for you, but you’ll probably need to make a run into Stone Hill, that’s the nearest town, as soon as possible to pick up whatever else you’ll need.”

Again, Abby nodded and smiled, ignoring the curt note in his voice.

As he was about to leave, Abby halted him with a question, strangely reluctant to see him go now that the time had come. “How far is it from this cabin to yours? We seemed to have traveled quite a distance on that road.”

Jack’s forehead wrinkled, but he answered her question. “It’s about two and a half miles by road, but not quite a mile going straight through the woods.”

“Is there a path?”

There was no mistaking his hesitation in answering her. “There is a path, but it’s rarely been used.” He took a deep breath and his eyes stabbed into hers. “Look, Miss

Montgomery…”

“Abby, please.”

He didn’t act as if he heard her. “I’ll be blunt.”

“What a surprise,” she muttered under her breath.

He looked at her suspiciously and then continued. “I like my privacy. And I don’t like unexpected guests. Especially female ones. The only reason that I agreed to let you use this cabin is because Beau is a good friend, and I didn’t think that some little old lady would be much trouble. But someone like you is an entirely different matter. Women like you are nothing but trouble.”

Her lips parted to speak in her own defense, but he held up his hand. When she remained silent, he continued. “I don’t want you here, but I promised Beau that you could use the cabin, and I always keep my word. However,” he stressed the word as he stared piercingly into her eyes, “I would appreciate it if you would keep to your own side of the mountain. I’m not here for your private entertainment. Write away to your heart’s content but stay the hell out of my way. If you come nosing around, I’m going to assume that you’re after a little fun and games.” His gaze raked over her breasts “You’re very attractive, and I’ll be the first to admit that it would be no hardship to spread you across my bed and sink between those sweet thighs of yours. But anything other than that is just not going to happen.”

With that, he nodded a curt goodbye and strode to his Jeep. He’d climbed in and driven off before Abby could summon a suitable retort. Red-faced and stunned at his frank words, she watched as his truck disappeared back down the drive. The man was impossible. He’d acted like she had thrown herself at him just because she’d asked a little question about the path. Stay out of his way? Ha! She sincerely hoped she never saw him again

* * * *

Abby woke slowly. Her eyes flickered open, and she felt mild confusion when she

noticed she wasn’t in her own bedroom. Then it all came flooding back—the long drive, the beautiful scenery … and Jack Cole. A grin stretched her lips when she recalled how mad she had been when he’d left the day before. Later, she had decided that it would do her no good to stay angry. After all, it was his property. She’d just do what she had come to do, while ignoring his belligerent attitude and her own attraction to him.

She struggled out of bed and crossed to the dresser, determined to get started on her book as soon as possible. Pulling open a drawer, she reached in to grab a clean shirt and pair of shorts. When she heard a noise behind her, she looked up. Over her shoulder, her eyes met the melting blue of Jack’s. He stood in the doorway to her bedroom as if he had the right to be there, hands braced against the doorframe. The skimpy tank and men’s boxers she wore were no barrier against his hot gaze. Her breath caught in her throat.

“Jack? What are you doing here?” she whispered around the sudden dryness in her throat.

Inexperienced she might be, but she recognized that look. He wanted her. And she was very much afraid that she wanted him just as much.

He shook his head as if trying to clear his thoughts. “I forgot to tell you about the pump. I knew you’d need water this morning. I knocked, but … Fuck. I swore I wasn‘t going to…” His words petered out, and he stepped forward as if drawn by an unseen force. His gaze focused on Abby‘s body, which was reflected clearly in the mirror in front of her. The hardening nipples and the dark shadow at the apex of her thighs were visible through the thin cotton fabric. Her nipples tightened even more at the expression on his face. When he was close enough for her to feel the heat of his body, he stopped, not quite touching her.

Abby realized she should turn around, say something, anything, to break the silence, but she just stood there, knowing what was coming and helpless to stop it. He reached out to clasp her upper arms, almost tentative at first, sliding up and down and causing her to shiver at the touch of his callused palms. His hands moved higher and caught the thin straps of her shirt, pulling them down off her shoulders, inch by inch revealing her aching breasts and taut nipples. A whimper escaped Abby at the feel of the fabric moving across such sensitive flesh. Catching on the peaks for a moment, the neckline finally succumbed to the sharp tug Jack gave it and eased down to her waist, fully revealing the silky mounds and trapping her arms against her sides.

He took a step closer, his tongue wetting his lips as he looked his fill. With one hand still holding her shirt tight, his other moved up to twine her hair around his wrist, tugging her head to one side and baring the vulnerable line of her throat. Bending his head, his eyes held hers while his tongue traced a slow, wet path from her shoulder, up the nape of her neck, to stop finally at her earlobe where his teeth nipped sharply. Abby moaned in helpless arousal, unable to prevent her response. Her body arched back into his, and she felt his hard cock press against her.

Releasing his grip on her hair, his hand moved to her hip, tugging the shorts down and off, leaving her nude but for the shirt twisted at her waist. That, too, was soon dispensed with, and she stood before him, her nude body a pale shadow against his fully clothed form. His hands reached around to cup her breasts. He massaged them with slow movements and tweaked the peaks until they were stiff and red. Then he pushed her forward and down, and she found herself bent over, palms flat against the dresser top, with Jack’s hand skimming across her back and down her crevice to test the wetness between her thighs. Her cunt throbbed with need as his finger probed the opening before

easing inside. She could see in the mirror how his eyes followed the strokes of his finger in and out of her aroused body and she got even wetter. When he added a second digit, she pressed back eagerly against the movement of his hand.

“Please, Jack.” Abby hardly recognized her own voice as she begged for more.

His fingers withdrew, and the sound of his zipper being released echoed in the small room. He looked up at her as he aligned his body with hers, pausing a second before he slammed into her hot cunt. Abby cried out and her eyes glazed over as his cock stretched her tender opening. Gripping her hips, Jack pulled back until just the tip remained lodged inside her.

“Do it,” she begged when he hesitated.

At her broken plea, he pounded his cock into her again and again, no thought of tenderness or sweetness, just a hard fucking rhythm. Abby writhed against him, straining back into his thrusts, needing the roughness, the hardness. God, what was he doing to her? The wet sounds of cock meeting cunt thrilled Abby, and she couldn’t control the release she felt rushing toward her, pulling her down…down…

“Oh,” Abby woke abruptly and looked around. The covers of her bed were a tangled mess, twisted between her legs so tightly they rubbed against her clit with each breath, carrying her closer and closer to orgasm. “Shit, what a dream!” Even as she moved to untangle herself, she could feel the throbbing heat of her pussy aching for fulfillment. At last, she was free of the confining fabric. Knowing what she needed, she eased her hand down into her panties and between her damp thighs, conjuring up the scene that had been interrupted by her waking. Jack, fucking her mercilessly. Yes, her fingers rubbed across her swollen clit, faster and faster, needing only a few hot strokes before she arched up into orgasm. “Jack,” she screamed, her mind filled with the picture of Jack‘s face as he exploded in his own release.

Abby lay there for a few long moments, stunned by the power of her orgasm. What in the hell was that about? God, she must have been more tired than she’d thought. Best not to dwell too long on the dream and her own response to it. Obviously, she was reacting to everything that had been going on for the past few months plus her own strange attraction to Jack. She was just on emotional overload. Easing her hand from between her legs, she pushed herself into a sitting position. After shaking her head to clear her thoughts, she struggled up out of the bed and put on her robe.

She brushed her memories of the dream aside with a rueful laugh and wandered into the kitchen. Bear came over to nuzzle against her leg, so she filled his water dish before stepping out onto the front porch of the cabin to stand for a moment just absorbing the silence of the surrounding forest. She could feel the tensions of the past couple of months flowing out of her in the face of so much serenity, so different from what she was used to.

In sudden decision, she went back inside to dress in faded jeans and a comfortable t-

shirt. She wanted to make the necessary trip to town to pick up the groceries that she needed before she started working. And on top of that, she had promised to telephone

Beau to let him know that she had arrived safely. Her cell phone wasn’t working up here in the mountains, so she’d have to find a pay phone somewhere in town.

Keys in one hand, she ran down the steps, letting Bear out so that he could explore the area while she was gone into town. After a last look at the cabin, she headed the SUV

back down the mountain. When she drove past Jack’s place, she looked carefully but saw no sign of the man himself. She wasn’t sure whether she was relieved or disappointed.

Abby was soon in the small town of Stone Hill, Alabama. Wide shaded streets with old-fashioned houses and white picket fences gave the town a quaint charm that Abby found delightful. Although hardly a budding metropolis, the town was big enough to boast a couple of large supermarkets, and Abby turned into the parking lot of a well-

known chain. Next to the store was a small café with a sign that said they had a public telephone inside, and she decided to make her phone call before buying groceries. The café was not busy, so Abby moved right to the phone and soon was speaking long-

distance to Beau.

“Abby. Good God, woman. Do you know what time it is?”

“Yes, Beau. It’s eight o’clock. Not exactly the crack of dawn.”

“It’s Saturday, darlin’,” he moaned in disgust.

“Oops! Guess I forgot what day it was.” Saturday morning was sacred “sleep-in”

time for Beau, but she felt no remorse. Especially not after the trick he had played on her and Jack.

“You don’t sound sorry, but I’ll forgive you anyway, sugar. So, I … uh … guess you made it okay. Any … problems?” he inquired. She could tell from the tone of his voice that he had remembered his little “joke.”

“No. The trip was fine. A little long and tiring, but nothing compared to the reception

I got at the end of it, you jackass.”

She rolled her eyes when she heard his laugh. “Oh, come on. That’s a little harsh, isn’t it? Jack didn’t kick you out or anything, did he?”

“No, thank goodness. But I could strangle you, Beau. He was expecting some senior citizen and instead he got me. You should have seen his expression when he first saw me.”

He sighed. “I just don’t see what the problem is. If I was expecting some old lady and got you instead, I’d be tickled pink.”

“Well, you might not complain, but Jack did. Loud and clear. And you knew exactly how he would react.”

“Okay, okay, I admit it. So sue me.”

Abby laughed in defeat. “What am I going to do with you?” She never could stay angry with Beau for long.

“So,” she could hear the smile in his voice, “other than the little ‘surprise’ how do you like the cabin?”

“The cabin’s great,” she enthused, “and I am grateful to you for sending me here and arranging with Jack that I stay. Even if your methods were somewhat devious and left me at the mercy of that arrogant S.O.B.”

“Look, Abby, try to cut Jack a little slack.” Beau’s voice grew serious. “I know he can be difficult to deal with these days, but he’s had a rough couple of years. Let’s just say that he has good reason for being suspicious of females.”

Abby restrained her curiosity since it was really none of her business, “All right. I’ll try. So, have you heard anything from you-know-who?”

“Not a peep. I think he’s finally given up.”

“Good.” Abby was relieved. Not that she had really thought Scotty would do anything serious, but it was good to have one less worry so she could focus on her work.

“Okay, then. I’ll let you go. I know you want to get back to your beauty sleep.”

“All right, sweetheart. Tell Jack I said ‘hi.’ And call me if you need anything.”

“Will do. Bye, Beau. I love you.”

Abby hung up the phone and left the café. She walked into the grocery store, conscious of the curious eyes of the people shopping. Uncomfortable under the close scrutiny, she loaded her buggy as quickly as possible and moved toward the checkout stand.

As she was steering her groceries into line, another cart crashed into the side of hers, and Abby was startled by the jolt.

“Oh, excuse me. I’m so sorry,” a young woman with long dark hair apologized. “I’m afraid I wasn’t looking where I was going.”

Abby smiled. “No problem.”

Inquisitive grey eyes studied her. “You’re new in town, aren’t you? I don’t remember seeing you before.”

“Yes. Just visiting, really. My name is Abby Montgomery.” Abby held out her hand.

“Leigh Ann Carter. Nice to meet you.” She shook Abby’s hand and eyed her with interest. “We don’t usually get a lot of visitors around here, so a new face usually gets noticed.”

“So I see,” Abby glanced around at the eyes turned their way.

Leigh Ann laughed. “Idle curiosity. Don’t worry about it. Really, we don’t bite.”

Abby chuckled. As she paid for her groceries, she and Leigh Ann continued to chat.

When they walked out into the parking lot, Abby said goodbye and started toward her car.

“Hey, Abby,” Leigh Ann stopped her. “Would you like to meet me for lunch tomorrow?”

Abby smiled and nodded. “That would be great. Where and when?”

They arranged to meet the following day at

Lila’s for an early lunch and said their goodbyes. Her spirits high, Abby loaded her groceries and climbed into her SUV to head home. As she drove toward the cabin, she rolled down the window and cranked up her radio, singing along with an oldies station she found.

When a black truck pulled up behind her, Abby slowed to allow it to pass. Instead of going around her, however, it stayed right on her tail, slowing as Abby slowed and speeding up when Abby did. It came so close to her back bumper at one point that Abby expected to feel the two cars collide, but the other driver backed off. It was as if they were playing a game of cat and mouse.

Abby’s hands tightened on the wheel. Had she picked up some wacko back in town?

Many times Beau had warned Abby about being on her guard, especially when she was alone. The road she now traveled was practically deserted; she hadn’t seen another car for quite some time. If she were forced off the road, there would be no one around to help her.

Abby tried to see the face of the driver, but the truck’s windows were tinted, and she was afraid to take her eyes off the road for too long. If the truck rammed her, it would take all her concentration to keep her vehicle under control. Her mouth was dry and her heart pounded as she considered her options. She didn’t want to lead whoever it was to the cabin, so she couldn‘t go home. The last thing she needed was for some stranger to know where she lived and how isolated she was from other people. Just as Abby was about to completely lose it she saw another car coming toward her. A sheriff’s deputy.

Thank God. The truck behind her turned off onto one of the many side roads that dotted

the countryside just as the patrol passed by.

Shaking with reaction, Abby sped up, frequently checking in her rearview mirror to see if the truck returned, but it was gone. Abby didn’t know what to make of the encounter. She didn’t want to panic; after all, nothing had really happened. Relieved, she spotted the turn off to the road up the mountain. She was almost home. Should she tell someone? Jack? The sheriff? No, she would just keep an eye out to be on the safe side. It was probably nothing.

Chapter Three

The next several days all followed a similar pattern. She spent some time outside playing with Bear and went down the mountain again to explore a nearby antique mall with Leigh Ann, but most of her time was occupied working on her novel. And if her gaze was drawn out the window toward the direction of Jack’s cabin a little too often, she wouldn’t admit it to herself. Her nights were filled with restless tossing and turning, and she woke each morning aware of a pulsing arousal humming through her veins. Her body knew what she wanted even if her mind refused to admit it.

By the morning of the eighth day, she was ready for a break. She grabbed the fantasy novel she had bought at the grocery store and went to sit at the kitchen table. With her chair tilted back and her feet propped on the tabletop, she soon became lost in the adventures of the fledgling wizard Daron and his dragon Crole.

“I’ve brought your mail.”

So complete was her concentration that the intrusion of that masculine voice startled the wits out of her. She shrieked, her whole body jerked in reaction, and the chair she was sitting in crashed backwards to the floor. Her left foot knocked against a glass and sent it flying off the table with a bang. And to top it all off, Bear began barking and jumping up and down, adding to the general confusion in the tiny kitchen.

Jack moved to where Abby lay sprawled on the hard floor, gasping for breath. He stepped gingerly over broken glass and around the barking dog before kneeling and reaching out to support her as she attempted to rise.

“Hell. I’m sorry. Are you all right?” he asked as he helped her up. She swayed, and he put out a hand to steady her, drawing her close to offer support. His arms enfolded her waist, and she could feel the steady beat of his heart under her hand as it rested on his chest. Though his arms held her gently, their grasp was firm, and she leaned into him for several long moments.

The atmosphere in the room thickened, and Abby became aware of a tension in the arms that surrounded her. She held herself completely still, afraid of the feelings racing through her. She had known that Jack would be trouble for her, and she had been right.

When she tried to pull back, wanting to escape the feelings he aroused in her, his hands tightened, and he drew in a harsh breath as her struggling body arched against his. An unfamiliar heat rushed over her at the look on his face, blue fire shooting from his eyes.

She tried to look away but couldn’t, hypnotized by the desire she saw there. His growing erection prodded her soft belly while his eyes strayed to her suddenly dry lips. As she bit her bottom lip, his hands tightened on her waist for a brief moment before he pushed her away.

“Are you okay?” he asked again.

Abby hoped that he would associate her flushed face and quivering voice with her accidental fall rather than their close proximity, but she realized that was probably a hopeless wish. “Yes, I-ah-yes. I guess I just got the wind knocked out of me,” she answered. His own breathing was not quite steady, and she knew that he, too, had been affected by their nearness. An awkward silence settled over them, and Abby tried to dispel it with an attempt at humor. “I must say, you’re the first guy I’ve fallen for in a

long time.”

Jack looked at her blankly at first, and she thought for a moment that he might smile.

But he brushed aside her comment to apologize again. “I really am sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you.” This man was different from the one she’d met the day before. It was obvious that he felt guilty for scaring her, and his sincerity showed her a new side of Jack Cole.

She could see now why he and Beau had become friends.

Abby’s green eyes met his, and her lips curved into a forgiving smile. The smile died when the expression on his face changed again to one of heated desire. She could see the struggle in his eyes, the indecision. Paralyzed by the need he was now making no attempt to conceal, she stood rooted to the spot. “Hell,” he growled as his mouth descended towards hers.

The first touch of his mouth on hers was surprising, almost tentative. He pulled back, just a hair’s breadth and his hand rose to tunnel into her curls. Her only warning was his hand tightening in her hair and then his lips clamped hard onto hers, quickly taking control, his tongue breaching the barrier of her lips and teeth with little resistance. Abby responded to his demand, helplessly accepting the heated passion that all but overwhelmed her. The few fumbling boys she had been with in the past had not prepared her for this instant, shattering possession by Jack.

*

Jack was stunned himself but couldn’t stop. It had happened so fast, her warmth igniting a blaze in him he didn’t want to quench. He thought about Abby all the time, dreamed of her sweet little body and what it would feel like underneath him. Several mornings he’d awakened with a hard-on and knew it was because of her. He’d tried over and over again to remind himself that he had to keep his hands off her, and here he was, all over her the first chance he got. So much for keeping his distance. Yet she tasted so good. So fucking sweet. And God knows, he needed some softness and some sweetness in his life. It had been so long.

“Kiss me back, baby,” he ordered as his hands slid down her body, pressing his aroused hardness into her tender belly, before pulling her up so that his erection rubbed against her heated center. His hands stroked up and down her back curving her more completely against him.

“Let me touch you, Abby,” he murmured as he felt her hesitant response to the increasing demand in his touch. His tongue delved into the moist depths of her mouth, tangling with hers in an erotic duel. He compelled her response with his greater experience. Grinding his hips into her softness, he pressed burning kisses down the side of her neck, to linger over the pulse, which beat against her pale skin. Not giving her a chance to think, his hand slid around and up to caress her swollen breast, rubbing against the tight nipple that rose against her shirt.

Abby moaned in abandon. He shoved her shirt out of the way and yanked down her bra to get at the softness beneath. Her breasts spilled over the lowered cups in silent offering. Then his mouth was covering an aching nipple, and he sucked ravenously, eliciting another moan from her. With his tongue, he circled the swollen mound before moving to the other that he held cupped in his hand, giving it the same attention he had the first.

“Oh, please…” she stammered, unable to control the feelings overwhelming her. “I

don’t…”

“Please, what?” he asked huskily. “This?” He caught the nipple between his teeth and began a light tugging that arched her against him. His playful tugging became a harder bite, and Abby rolled her hips against the thick cock that bulged aggressively against his jeans. Her hands reached up to clutch at his head, holding his mouth against her heated skin.

“You are so damn responsive. Do you have any idea what that does to a man?” Jack whispered as he kissed his way back up to her mouth, to take her swollen lips again in an aggressive kiss that brooked no denial. His hand reached into her hair and tugged her head back so he could plunder more deeply, controlling her response.

“Yes, you like that don’t you?” he asked as she moaned. He could smell her arousal and his hold tightened painfully in her hair. “You’re wet for me, aren’t you, angel?” His hand smoothed down her belly and beneath the elastic waistband of her shorts, and his fingers sank into the moist heat of her pussy. She let out a broken whimper, and he knew it wouldn’t take much to bring her to climax. His mouth met hers again as he sank one long finger into her channel, his thumb stimulating her clit. He pulled out his finger and pushed it in again, and she whimpered. “Yes, baby. God, you’re so tight. That’s it. That’s right. Come for me.” Her pussy spasmed around his finger, and he felt the gush of her orgasm over his hand as she cried out. “Fuck, yeah. That’s so sweet.”

He pulled his hand out of her pants and reached for his own fly, the slick moisture from her climax making it difficult to undo his button. All he could think of was dragging

Abby to the floor and sinking his cock to the hilt in her hot, wet cunt. Thank God Beau had sent her here. He needed her so damn… Shit. Beau. What the fuck was he doing?

This was Beau’s aunt, for chrissakes.

He stepped back from Abby, releasing her so abruptly she stumbled and would have fallen if not for the chair behind her. Her eyes blinked at him in bewilderment, and her bare breasts rose and fell in time with her breathing, glistening with the moisture from his mouth. Jack fisted his hand to prevent himself from reaching for her again, but he had to regain control here. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. What the hell was going on? He had to get away from Abby before he did something they would both regret. If he hadn’t already done that.

“Hell, look Abby. I’m sorry about that. I need to get laid, and you were handy. It didn’t mean anything.” Jack backed away from Abby, trying to ignore the hurt look on her face at his harsh explanation. Shit.

Blankly she tugged her shirt down over her exposed breasts. “Jack, please don’t…”

“Don’t worry. It won’t happen again.” He cut her off, a bland mask of indifference hardening his features in an attempt to put as much emotional distance between them as he could.

*

Abby‘s face paled at his words, but then her chin lifted. “Sure, whatever. It was just the heat of the moment, right?”

“Look, I have to go.” He muttered the words just before he turned and strode toward the door. Pausing in the doorway, he hesitated a moment. “I really am sorry.”

Abby stood there frozen, listening to his retreating footsteps and the opening and closing of the front door. She ran her fingers though her hair and tried to figure out what had just happened. She was glad he was gone, she told herself. But then why did she ache so? She stared at the space he had occupied as seconds ticked by. Finally, she pulled

herself together. She would not let him hurt her like this. If that’s how he wanted things to go, that was fine with her.

She stepped forward and her foot landed on a piece of broken glass.

“Ouch!” A small bead of blood trickled from the spot where she had cut herself, and she walked to the sink to rinse the wound.

When she was done, she cleaned up the rest of the glass, glad to have something to keep her from thinking about what had just occurred with Jack. Lying on the floor by the table was a large manila envelope with her name and address scrawled across the top in her agent’s handwriting. Jack must have been bringing her mail to her. Pushing thoughts of Jack out of her head until she felt better prepared to deal with them, she opened the envelope and leafed through the stack of mail until one letter caught her eye. Her eyes zoomed in on the return address … Scott Davenport. Shit! She set it aside and opened the note from her agent.

Dear Abby,

  Here is all the mail that has come in this week. The research information you wanted for the new book is in this batch, and there’s also a note from your assistant. I’ll forward the next group of letters that come in as soon as possible. Hope the book is going well.

Love, Tara

Reluctantly, she picked up the letter and turned it over in her hand before tearing it open. As her eyes skimmed the note, she picked out a few phrases: “I must see you as soon as possible…” and “Please, call me. I need to talk to you.” God, the guy was nuts.

She shivered in apprehension.

She wondered if she should contact someone, like the cops, but what would she say?

A former employee had sent her a couple of creepy letters? No, her best option was just to stay out of Gulf Shores for a while and let everything calm down. She’d see what things were like when she got back to town.

* * * *

For the next couple of days Abby saw nothing at all of Jack. Each morning, she and

Bear went for long walks in the surrounding woods, and during the afternoon, she sat bent over her laptop, hard at work on her book. She was pleased with the way it was coming along. A lot had been accomplished in the short time that she had been here. If she kept going the way she was now, it wouldn’t be long before she was finished.

One morning, she was sitting at her computer, the rhythm of the keys steady and swift, when suddenly the lights in the cabin flickered and went out, along with the computer. The battery backup kicked in, so Abby hurriedly saved her work. She walked over to the light switch and flicked it a couple of times, hoping that by some miracle the energy would once again begin flowing. But no such luck.

“Damn,” she muttered, and Bear’s head lifted from where it rested on the floor.

“Wouldn’t you know it? Right in the middle of an important scene.” She knew that she could continue with the battery for a while, but she didn’t want to take the chance that the battery would fail, too. Best to go ahead and deal with the problem now.

In the backyard stood a small shed that held the cabin’s generator. Flashlight in hand, Abby went inside to peer at the complex piece of machinery from various angles, checking to make sure it had enough gasoline as Jack had told her to do. Finally, she gave

the generator a hard kick in what she considered a likely spot.

Although not a very scientific method of repair, nevertheless, it had worked amazing miracles for Abby in the past. Unfortunately, this time—nothing. Not even a little creak.

She sighed. There was no hope for it. She would have to go get Jack and let him have a look at it. Before leaving the shed, she gave the generator one more swift kick for good measure. It might not succeed in getting the machine working again, but it sure as hell helped to relieve a little feminine frustration.

Recalling Jack’s orders to stay away from his cabin, Abby grimaced, and then shrugged. This was, after all, a legitimate excuse. What else was she supposed to do except go find the owner for some help?

So, with Bear trailing after her, she scouted around for a few minutes and finally located the trail Jack had told her about. As he had warned her, it was overgrown. Abby made her careful way through the dense undergrowth until she emerged in the clearing around Jack’s cabin. She straightened her ponytail and wiped the sweat from her forehead. The trek through the woods had been hot and dirty, and she felt bedraggled.

Well, at least now it was clearer than it had been before. She’d had to stop several times to move some small limbs from the path, but at least if she had to come this way again it would be much easier.

She had started toward the front door when she heard the sound of a rhythmic pounding that seemed to originate from behind the cabin, so Abby changed her course and headed in that direction. Rounding the side of the building, she halted as she caught sight of her erstwhile landlord. Stripped to the waist, Jack raised an axe above his head and brought it down with a powerful stroke, his muscles bunching and sweat gleaming from his tanned shoulders. He threw the wood onto a growing pile, reached for another, and repeated the action in a steady, practiced rhythm.

Abby stood there mesmerized by the physical perfection of the man before her, forgetting her vow to remain aloof. Beads of moisture stood on his forehead and trickled down his neck and onto the solid wall of his chest, following the light dusting of dark hair that trailed down his hard stomach and disappeared into the waistband of his jeans. The impressive bulge at his crotch had Abby licking her lips in admiration.

As he started to raise the axe again, Bear began barking. Jack turned and spotted her.

Abby thought she spotted a gleam of unwilling pleasure lighting up those hypnotic eyes of his before it was veiled behind a wall of aloofness. Projecting an air of confidence she was far from feeling, she stepped forward as he lay down the axe. He picked up his discarded t-shirt to wipe the moisture from his face and watched her approach.

“Hi,” she said, halting a few feet in front of him.

He returned her greeting brusquely. “Morning.”

Abby tried to ignore his sullen attitude. “Hot, isn’t it? I can see that you’re hard at work, though.” She gestured toward the axe.

“Is there something that I can do for you? As you can see, I’m a little busy.” He looked back to where a pile of logs awaited his attention. Okay, Abby mentally shrugged to herself. If he wanted to play the taciturn stranger today, that was his privilege. But she didn’t have to go along with it. She would be friendly even it if killed her.

She smiled. “As a matter of fact, there is. That’s why I walked over. My electricity went out a little while ago. I think that something must be wrong with the generator, and since I don’t know anything about it, I thought that you could have a look.”

The suspicious look vanished from his eyes as he swore. “I’ll come take a look at it.

Just let me pull on a clean shirt. Come on in.” She followed him into the house, admiring the way his jeans hugged his tight buttocks. She could look she told herself; she just couldn’t touch.

While Jack was in his room, Abby wandered around, examining the cabin in greater detail. Unlike her own place, which was cluttered with pictures and souvenirs, there was little here to tell her much about Jack. One slim volume of poetry lying on a table caught her eye, and she picked it up. As she opened it, a picture fell out and dropped to the floor.

Abby bent to retrieve it and examined the two figures in the snapshot. One was Jack, although his expression had little in common with the habitual grim one he wore now. He looked happy and carefree as he gazed down into the face of the beautiful woman he held in the circle of one arm. As she was leafing through the pages, she noticed the inscription on the inside cover. It read:

“To my darling Jack. All my love forever. Lauren

.”

A noise beside her attracted her gaze, and she saw Jack standing there wearing an inscrutable expression. He took the photo from her, studied it briefly, and placed it back inside the book. Abby braced herself for some scathing comment that never came.

Instead, he said nothing. He just laid the book back on the table. “Ready?” he asked.

Abby nodded uncertainly and followed him as he turned to exit the cabin.

While Jack worked on the generator, Abby sat on the back steps stroking Bear and wondering who this Lauren person was. Abby could tell from the photograph that he had cared for her. Was she a girlfriend? Fiancée? Wife? Mentally she shrugged, knowing the idle speculation was pointless yet unable to stop herself from wanting to know more about him. Every time she saw him, she was aware of a deepening interest. Right or wrong, she couldn’t seem to control her thoughts when they began to stray in his direction.

Recalling the way she had been in Jack’s arms, she felt an ache growing between her thighs. She wondered what it would be like to have every inch of him against her without the barrier of their clothing. The men, boys really, she had been with before had been more friends than lovers. They had inspired no more in her than a feeling of tenderness.

Closing her eyes, she pictured the two of them lying together in her bedroom, Jack’s hands free to roam over her body, caressing and stroking every inch. Her hands, equally restless, would travel down to encircle his pulsing…

“Abby?” Jack’s sudden appearance from inside the shed interrupted her, and she blushed as she realized where her thoughts had been. She waited until he got closer before she spoke to him, giving herself a moment to get her voice and expression under control.

“Did you find the problem?” she questioned hoarsely.

He ran his hand through his already mussed hair. “Yeah. I think so. It was just a loose connection. Why don’t you go inside just to make sure?”

“Okay.” Glad to escape until she could get the images of them together out of her mind, she rose from the steps. He dropped down into the spot she had just vacated.

Inside, the lights had come on and so had the air conditioner. She went into the kitchen and prepared two large glasses of lemonade. Pushing open the back door, she joined Jack, holding out one of the glasses. “Everything’s working fine. Here you go,” she offered.

“Something to cool you off. It’s the real thing, fresh squeezed this morning.”

He studied her for a moment before a small smile of thanks appeared on his face. She

felt the power of that smile like a punch.

He reached for the glass, and his fingers brushed against hers. Abby experienced an electric tingle where he touched her that traveled in a straight line to her cunt. His eyes darkened in awareness, and she knew that he, too, had felt the charge. Something about the way he looked at her made Abby nervous. The look in his eyes was almost … sexual anticipation. But that couldn’t be right. He had made it clear that there could be nothing between them.

Abby hesitated a moment before sitting near him on the rough wooden steps, sipping her own lemonade. She must have imagined the look he had given her because now there was nothing but neighborly concern there. The two of them rested in companionable silence for several minutes sipping their lemonade, before Abby spoke.

“I called Beau the other day to let him know that I had arrived, and he asked me to tell you hello.”

He smiled at the mention of his friend and glanced towards her. “Tell him I said hello back the next time you talk to him.” He took a swallow of his drink. “Did you have any trouble finding a phone?”

Abby tried not to stare. Two smiles in one afternoon. “No, not at all. I used the one in the little café next to the grocery store.”

He nodded. “That would be

Lila’s

.”

“Yes. That was it. I was a little disappointed that my cell phone wouldn’t work here.”

“It’s the mountains. There’s not much signal strength.”

“Don’t you find it annoying not to have a phone around when you need one?”

“No,” he shook his head. “It hasn’t been a problem. Of course, I do have a short-

wave radio in case of emergency,” he explained, taking another swallow of the lemonade.

“So, how is Beau doing these days?”

“He’s doing great.” Abby‘s face lit with fondness. “The same old Beau, you know. I

told him that you didn’t appreciate his little joke.”

He slanted a sideways glance toward her. “And what did he say?”

She grinned. “Well, I got a couple of stupid one-liners and an admission of guilt, but no apology.”

A grunt was her only response.

“So, how’s the writing going?” he asked, changing the subject.

Abby followed the abrupt of topic change without protest. “Actually, it’s going pretty well. I’ve been getting about ten pages a day of

Sacrifices since I’ve been here.”

“

Sacrifices

? Sounds eerie.”

*

As Abby proceeded to tell Jack about her book, a glow lit her face. While he listened, he found himself more and more captivated. He also found it harder and harder to keep his hands off her. And even though she tried to hide it, it was obvious that she wanted him too. Her flushed skin and dilated eyes told him that. Maybe a couple of sessions burning up the sheets, and he could get her out of his system. He tried to focus on what she was saying, but his body was making that very difficult. He just couldn’t forget the sounds she made when she had come apart in his arms.

Jack shifted on the step to place his empty lemonade glass on the floor, and his thigh brushed up against her. He felt the slight quiver of awareness that moved through her

body and wondered what she would do if he were to kiss her again. Her tongue darted out to moisten her lips, and he moved closer, drawn by something powerful that he did not quite understand. He’d never felt this intense desire for the taste of a particular woman before. He was surprised by the compelling need that filled him whenever he was near her. He had told himself to stay away from her, but he now realized that was impossible.

There was something about her that called to him.

His hand came up under her chin and tilted her face. Her eyes widened as she stared into the deep blue of his, but she didn’t stop him. He couldn’t read the expressions that were chasing themselves across her face, but she wasn’t resisting. Abby’s eyelids fluttered closed when his lips touched hers, but Jack kept his eyes open, wanting to see her face. Her mouth was sweet, so sweet.

Jack kept the pressure light, resisting the temptation to ravish her mouth and force her to respond. He wanted to dominate her, take her, but he didn’t want to frighten Abby with demands he had no business making. But he couldn’t prevent himself from lingering over the kiss, relishing the flavor and texture of her tender mouth. He parted her lips with his tongue and began a delicate investigation, which was almost as arousing to him as the fierce plundering that he wanted to give her. When hand moved up to cup her breast and he could feel the nipple peaking against her bra, he almost lost it. He knew he had to stop, or he would soon be completely out of control.

Raising his head, he backed away from her, and her hands dropped to her sides and her eyes filled with questions. Her vulnerable mouth was slightly damp and still parted from the pressure of his lips, and he wanted nothing more than to pull her back into his arms. But he kept telling himself to go slow. He had really screwed up the last time, rushing her to orgasm. That wouldn’t happen again.

“I guess I shouldn’t have done that.” Jack spoke quietly.

“Don’t be silly, Jack. It was just a friendly kiss. No big deal.”

Jack didn’t quite know how to respond to that tidy little statement, so he decided to just follow her lead. She was right, after all. It was just a kiss; perhaps he would have described it as a bit more than friendly

. But after the way he had reacted the last time, he was surprised she had let him touch her at all. So he’d let it go-at least for now.

She stood and picked up their glasses. “Would you like some more lemonade?”

Jack shook his head. “No thanks.”

“I’ll just put this stuff in the kitchen.”

When she returned, Jack was playing fetch with Bear “You’ve just made a friend for life. Bear loves to play fetch.”

“Bear, huh?”

“Yeah, I named him after Bear Bryant, the greatest football coach ever.”

He quirked an eyebrow at her before looking away and tossing the stick again.

“Funny, you don’t look like a football fan.”

“Maybe not, but I love it. Especially college football. And of course, the Crimson

Tide is my favorite team.

They talked idly a few more minutes before Jack said, “Well, I really should be going.” He stood, amazed at how much he wanted to stay.

Abby stood with him. “Thanks again, Jack, for all your help.”

“No problem. I appreciate the lemonade and the company. I’ve really enjoyed myself.” His voice held a tone of mild surprise.

“Anytime,” she replied.

* * * *

The hotel room was dark. A shadowy form crossed the carpeted floor, not pausing or hesitating. A photograph in a silver frame stood on the table beside the bed, illuminated only by the sunlight that palely trickled through the semi-closed curtains. A trembling hand lifted the picture and a single finger stroked down the curve of a cheek, lingering over full, smiling lips. The tenderness of the gesture emphasized the longing in the dark gaze that studied the photo with such intensity. Suddenly the hand tightened and the picture was lifted high into the air and brought crashing down into the tabletop. Over and over, it was pounded down until the glass had cracked beyond repair and the image itself was creased and torn. The sudden fury of the motion was emphasized by the sounds that tumbled from drawn lips. “You’re mine, mine, mine, mine, mine…”

Chapter Four

Leigh Ann had talked Abby into visiting

Rowdy’s Bar on Saturday night. Rowdy’s was a hole-in-the wall dive just over the county line that Leigh Ann had insisted was the

place to party on the weekend. That was all Abby had needed to hear. She’d quickly agreed to go and check it out with Leigh Ann.

Not really knowing what to expect, Abby had dressed in a short flirty dress and cowboy boots. When Abby honked for Leigh Ann, she ran out the door of her house wearing jeans and a skin-tight red shirt. Her face was perfectly made up and emphasized her striking grey eyes.

“Wow, girl, you look like you’re loaded for bear,” commented Abby. “Is Wade going to be there?”

Leigh Ann flushed. “Maybe.” As the two had gotten to know each other better, Leigh

Ann had told Abby how crazy she was about a local horse breeder named Wade Barnes, but that he’d always treated her as the younger sister of his best friend. She wanted him to see her differently—as potential date material. “And then again, maybe I’ve given up on him. There’s plenty of other fish in the sea.”

“Yeah, right.” Abby wasn’t falling for it.

“Just drive.” Leigh Ann directed with a sniff. Abby smiled. She knew just how Leigh

Ann felt. She hadn’t seen Jack since that day at her cabin, and she supposed that their temporary truce was over. Disappointed that he hadn’t sought her out, she had finally admitted to herself that she wanted more from him than just a friendly kiss or two. But apparently, he wasn’t interested, or he surely would have done something about it by now. This girl’s night out was just the thing to get him off her mind. Some music, some dancing, a drink or two, and Jack Cole would be completely forgotten. Or so she hoped.

When they walked inside, Leigh Ann spotted Wade sitting with his brother at the bar. Casually, she strolled over to him. “Hi, Wade. Mac.”

Wade turned in surprise and slid to his feet when he recognized them. “Leigh Ann.

Hi. What are you doing here?”

“I just wanted to show my friend one of the local hot spots,” she replied, turning to

Abby. “Abby, this is Wade Barnes. Wade, Abby Montgomery.”

Wade shook her hand and smiled. “Abby. It’s good to meet you.” He nodded to the man seated on the next barstool next to him. “This is my brother, Mac.”

As he slid to his feet, the expression in Mac Barnes’s eyes told Abby that he found her very attractive, and he smiled down at her with obvious interest. “Well, I believe this is my lucky day, Abby. It is very good to meet you.” He took her hand and raised it to his mouth, his eyes staring flirtatiously into hers. He was a heartbreaker, Abby thought to herself and tried to keep from laughing at his obvious seduction technique. With the wicked gleam in his eyes, he reminded her a bit of Beau, and she couldn’t help but respond.

Abby smiled back before warning, “Don’t even think about it. I know your type too well.”

Mac laughed at her comment, and before she knew quite how it had happened, the four of them were sharing a table near the bar’s small dance floor. Leigh Ann took

advantage of the opportunity to monopolize Wade’s attention with questions about his quarterhorses, which left Mac and Abby to get better acquainted.

“I think I’m in love with you, sweetheart. Will you marry me?” Mac gazed soulfully into Abby’s eyes, his own twinkling over the outrageous proposal he had just made.

Abby couldn’t help rolling her eyes at his antics. “If you use that line very often, some day someone’s going to take you up on it. Then where will you be?”

He grinned back. “Halfway to California.”

She snickered, glad that she had agreed to come with Leigh Ann tonight. This was going to be fun.

Leigh Ann and Wade left the table to go talk to some mutual friends, so Abby and

Mac ordered a pitcher of beer and continued their bantering conversation. When the band came back from break, he dragged her onto the dance floor. They performed a spirited two-step that left Abby breathless and dizzy. As the tempo slowed down for a love song, the floor became crowded with couples, and Mac pulled her closer against him. The few beers she’d drunk had given her a pleasant buzz, and she didn’t resist when he began pressing soft kisses against the side of her neck. Drifting in a dreamy haze, she molded her body to his and swayed to the hypnotic beat of the music.

“Excuse me, I’m cutting in.” Jack’s voice startled Abby, and she lifted her head to stare into his furious eyes.

Mac released Abby, and Jack quickly stepped in to haul her tight against him and twirl her away through the dancers. Over Jack’s shoulder, Abby saw Mac shrug questioningly at her. She just shook her head and then smiled up at Jack. So much for getting him off her mind. She sighed in contentment and snuggled close up against him, resting her head on his shoulder and closing her eyes in pleasure at the spicy smell of his cologne. “Umm. Nice. I didn’t know you were gonna be here tonight, Jack.”

“Just what in the hell do you think you’re doing, plastering yourself all over Mac

Barnes? A little encouragement is all he needs. Before you know it, he’ll have you stripped and spread-eagle in the bed of his pick-up truck.”

His angry tone barely pierced through Abby’s pleasantly inebriated brain. “Huh?

What are you talkin’ about? We were just having a few friendly dances together.” She wasn’t quite sure what the problem was. Leaning back, she peered up at him pondering his statement, but ruined the moment when she giggled. “Didja know you’re pretty sexy when you’re angry? Those blazin’ blue eyes and that l’il muscle that’s twitchin’ right beside your mouth? Ummm umm.” The alcohol she’d consumed had given her a boldness she didn’t normally possess around Jack, and she cuddled nearer, sending a probing tongue to explore the curves and creases of his ear.

She felt his cock jump against her belly and shimmied against him in an effort to get even closer. Abby tilted her face up and saw Jack’s eyes widen in realization. “Shit.

You’re drunk as Cooter Brown.”

Abby laughed again. “You know, I always wondered. Just who is this Cooter

Brown? He musta been one drunk fella if everybody remembers it so well.” Her words slurred together slightly, and then she let out a ladylike burp. “Oh, my heavens. Please excuse me.” She giggled then burped again. “Anyway, I’m not that drunk. Just a little fuzzy around the edges is all. And what business is it of yours?” She pulled back and poked him in the chest. “I haven’t seen or heard from you in…well, I can’t remember, but, ahh…” Abby stumbled to a halt, completely losing her train of thought.

Jack rolled his eyes and laughed, his rigid body relaxing as the anger seemed to flow out of him. “You make a pretty cute drunk, honey, but I think you’ve had enough. Come on. I’m taking you home.”

“Nope.” She shook her head emphatically. “Cain’t go. I brought Leigh Ann.”

“Leigh Ann Carter?” Abby nodded. “When the hell did you meet…” He paused.

“Never mind. Let’s find her.” Jack stopped dancing and pulled Abby with him through the swaying couples. After searching the crowd, he finally located Leigh Ann wrapped up with Wade in a dark corner. As Abby stood there balancing precariously, Jack explained that he was taking Abby home. Wade grinned and promised to see that Leigh Ann got back all right.

When they reached the parking lot, the fresh air helped sober Abby up some, and she began to struggle against Jack’s steely grip, but he just scooped her up into his arms and carried her wiggling form to his Jeep. He deposited her in the passenger’s seat and then went around and got inside. They sat there for several long minutes not speaking.

*

Jack stared through the windshield, wrestling with the way he had felt when walked into the bar and saw Abby with another man. He was uncomfortably aware that his first reaction had been a possessive jealousy far beyond what the situation called for. “Fuck.”

He paused, searching for the right words. He knew he was in over his head but he didn’t know how to stop himself. “Look, Abby, I didn’t like seeing you in Mac’s arms.”

The silence stretched between them as he waited for her to say something—to tell him it was none of his damn business, to jump his bones, slap his face. Anything. When she didn’t, he turned to look at her. She was sound asleep, her cheek resting against the window. Jack just shook his head and, smiling ruefully, cranked the Jeep. As he drove down the highway listening to Abby’s soft, feminine snores, he contemplated their relationship and where it might be heading. His reaction tonight had been way over the top. If it were just lust, it would be simple and clear-cut, but there was more to it than that.

Her sense of humor, her ability to laugh at herself, her passion for her work—all of it together caused such a welling of tenderness and need in Jack that he was afraid that he had crossed a line with Abby that he hadn’t even known was there. She was his. That’s how he felt. She might not know it yet, but he did. He was through fighting his craving for her.

Half an hour later, he pulled his Jeep to a stop in front of Abby’s cabin. He crossed around to her door and opened it. Bending over, he slid his arms underneath her to lift her out. With a soft murmur, she wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her face against his shoulder. When he reached the steps, she stirred in his arms and lifted her head to look around.

“Jack, put me down. I can walk.”

He obeyed, dropping her legs until they reached the ground. “Are you okay?”

Abby swayed slightly and clutched at his arm. “I’m just a little dizzy. Let me sit down a moment.” He eased her down onto the step and stood looking at her pale face.

After a few moments, Abby raised her head. “What’s going on, Jack? Why did you bring me home?”

“Why do you think, Abby?”

She shook her head. “I have no idea. I’m just so mixed up with you. You keep

changing on me, and I don’t know what I’m supposed to do or how I’m supposed to act.”

“I know, baby. I’m sorry about that. All I can tell you is that I want you so much I

can’t sleep; I can’t concentrate on anything else.” He reached down and took her hand to draw her to her feet. He pulled just a bit too hard, and the momentum tumbled her straight into his arms, which folded tightly around her. His response to her was immediate.

“Shit,” he muttered, whether to himself or her he couldn‘t say. “I swore this wasn’t going to happen—at least not yet.” But instead of letting her go, he held her even closer.

His lips nuzzled against her earlobe, and his tongue darted out to taste her salty skin. For a moment,—just a moment—Jack considered releasing her. He knew she still wasn’t completely sober and he shouldn’t take advantage of her. But it was too late. Just that little bit of contact, and it was all over for him. No warning. Just wildfire, hot and burning, streaking through his veins. His lips covered hers in a kiss that was wet and consuming. Their tongues tangled, and he tasted the bitterness of the beer she had drunk earlier mixed in with the sweet taste of woman.

His lips moved across her neck and chest above the scooped neckline of her dress with sharp, stinging little kisses that left damp marks on her throat and breasts. Impatient with the fabric that kept him from reaching more of her skin, he gripped the hem and pushed it up and over her head before tossing it onto the ground. Driven by a burning desire, he released the front catch of her bra and focused on her swollen breasts. He enclosed them in his hands, squeezing and plumping them up before tracing small circles across the swollen tips. Her eyes fluttered closed as he pinched her nipples. “Open your eyes,” he commanded. “Look at me touching you. I want to see your face while you watch me.”

Obediently, she lifted her heavy eyelids, and he smiled in satisfaction. Bending down, he licked delicately over one pointed nipple, and she gasped.

“I want to fuck you, Abby. I don’t know where this is going, or if it’s going anywhere at all. And Beau will probably kill me if he ever finds out. But I’m dying here, baby. I have been since the first time I saw you. Let me fuck you.” His mouth closed over her nipple, and Abby’s hips arched upward

“Yes. Oh, yes, Jack.”

“Say it, Abby. Tell me what you want.”

“Please, Jack can’t you just…” she pressed against him again, grinding her hips against his.

“No. You have to say it.” His hand left her breast and moved down to the crotch of her panties. He covered her, pressing inward and stimulating her already swollen clit.

“Say it. If you want me, you have to say the words. I have to know you really mean it. I

don’t want you to regret this in the morning. You won’t be able to claim that you were drunk and didn’t mean for this to happen. I have to be sure that you know what we’re doing here, Abby.”

“Yes, I want you, Jack. I’ve wanted you since that first day.”

“That’s nice, angel,” he said as he stroked her faster. “Real nice. But I want different words. I want the words nice little angels aren’t supposed to say.”

“Oh, God,” she moaned, grinding her hips into his fingers.

“Say it,” he commanded.

Abby surrendered to his demand, almost screaming the words for him. “Fuck me,

Jack. Please, fuck me.”

Jack grunted in satisfaction, refusing to think about the consequences of what he was about to do. It felt like he had been trying to resist this attraction forever instead of for a couple of weeks. Maybe if he just sated himself with her body, he would get over the craziness that overtook him every time he thought about her. Or saw her. Or smelled her.

He roughly pushed her up onto the porch until her back hit the side of the house. Then his body flattened hers into the wood, every inch of him plastered against her, holding her, controlling her. She couldn’t move unless he allowed it. Could hardly breathe without his permission.

His mouth crushed hers, forcing hers open, his tongue stabbing in, all pretense of gentleness and civility swept away with the force of his passion. His mouth mimicked the thrusts his hips were making against the cradle of her thighs, preparing her for what was to come. Letting her feel how it would be for them. Abby moaned and thrust back.

“Yes, baby, yes. Show me how much you like this. Show me how much you want me.” There would be no stopping now. He eased his hand into her thong, probing beneath the panties to find her warm, moist core. He stroked his fingers across her clit and moisture flooded her cunt, coating his fingers with its slippery wetness. In moments, he had pushed her panties down to her ankles and knelt in front of her, pulling them off along with her shoes. She stood above him, beautifully naked in the pale moonlight.

“Jack, please. Let’s go inside. Someone might see us. “ Abby begged.

He shook his head, knowing there was no way he’d make it inside. “There’s no one around for miles, baby. And I like looking at you like this, raw and sexy. And aching for me.” He leaned forward from his kneeling position and inhaled deeply. “God, you smell delicious. I can’t wait to taste you. I’ll bet you taste like honey, all sticky sweet.”

Reaching out, he parted the swollen lips of her cunt. His tongue swiped up to brush over her clit and her head fell back against the wall. “So good, angel.” Again and again, his agile tongue forged a path over her heated center. Her head tossed back and forth as she climbed higher and higher until last she came with a broken cry.

When the last pulses of her orgasm faded, he reached out to turn her around. His hands roved her body, cupping her breasts from behind, squeezing and tweaking her nipples. He pushed her hair to one side and clamped his mouth onto her neck, right at the spot where her nape met her shoulder, biting down hard. Abby whimpered. His mouth sucked and nibbled as his hands stroked down over her belly and toward her pussy. His fingers teased slowly through the red-gold curls that covered her mound. Easing between the swollen lips, he pushed his finger up into her, and she arched into his hand.

Moving his finger in and out of her wet pussy, Jack couldn’t believe how on fire he was. “Oh, baby, you’re so wet. So hot. It’s gonna feel so good to get my cock in this tight little cunt.” He slid his zipper down and then his cock was pushing into her channel, forcing a path through her swollen tissues. “God, you feel good, baby.”

He pushed in to the hilt, his balls slapping up against her straining buttocks as he leaned over her, forcing her body to bend slightly forward. The new position sent him even deeper and he held himself still for a moment, savoring the delicious feel of his cock enclosed in her moist depths. Then he drew back and plunged back in. The wet, slapping sound of cock meeting cunt turned him on as much as her helpless moans. Repeatedly he withdrew and slammed back in, not tempering his thrusts with any gentleness but taking

Abby in a violent possession, staking a claim on her that he could hardly admit even to

himself. In some dim corner of his mind he was afraid he might be hurting her, but he couldn’t stop. His pounding rhythm increased as his arousal peaked. After a few final hard pumps, he yelled and exploded, his milky cum filling her spasming pussy. He stilled, panting heavily against her neck. They stood there, nothing but the sound of their ragged breathing breaking through the silence.

Trembling, Abby collapsed against the side of the building, no longer able to hold herself up. Jack drew her back against him, his hands soothing her, rubbing up and down her stomach and cupping her breasts. “Fuck, baby. That was so good.” Jack pulled his cock out of her pulsing channel and reached down to pick up her still-trembling body.

With one hand he opened the cabin door. He carried her down the short hallway to her bedroom and laid her gently onto the bed before stripping and following her down.

Nestling her against the curve of his body, he closed his eyes.

“Jack?” Abby whispered, obviously exhausted.

“Yes, angel?”

“I just wanted you to know that you don’t have anything to worry about. I’m clean and on the pill.”

“Good, baby. That’s good. Me, too. I mean, I‘m safe, too.” He stroked her arm and felt her relax into sleep.

Hell. He hadn’t even given any thought to using a condom. That had never happened before. He hadn’t had unprotected sex with a woman since he was in high school. If she hadn’t been on the pill, he could’ve gotten her pregnant. So, why was it that the thought of Abby pregnant with his child didn’t scare the shit out of him like it should have?

Chapter Five

Jack was gone when Abby awoke the next morning. She felt a little relieved that she didn’t have to deal with the morning-after awkwardness. All of this was so out of character for her that she needed some time to figure how she felt about it. She’d never actually had a “one-night stand” or even any brief affairs. The truth was, she was a bit inexperienced, with only three previous relationships in her past, and one of those had been when she was in college years ago. Determined to clear her head and burn off some restless energy, Abby decided to take Bear and go explore the surrounding woods.

Amazingly, she wasn’t hung-over at all. Did great sex always affect a person like this?

She‘d never really had great sex before, but if it left everybody feeling as marvelous as she did right now, no wonder there was so much of it going on. She hadn’t known what she was missing.

The two of them began their trek, following a rough path they’d discovered on an earlier exploration. The trail wove through a dense stand of trees. On the other side was a clearing in which a lone tree stood. It was an old gnarled oak with branches extending down within easy arm’s reach. She grinned. “Look, Bear. That looks just like the tree that was in Grandma’s backyard. I climbed all the way up it one summer when I was about eleven years old. Beau dared me, and I couldn’t let a boy get away with calling me a scaredy-cat!”

With an eager spring to her step, Abby moved toward the tree. She contemplated its height and then looked down at Bear. “Heck, I bet I could still make it to the top. What do you think?”

He tilted his head sideways as if considering her question. Again she examined it, placing one hand on the trunk. She squinted upwards. It looked like it would be easy enough to climb. There were limbs sticking out everywhere—plenty of handholds and steps. She made a quick decision. “I’m gonna do it, Bear. You wait down here for me like a good boy.” Abby reached out and grasped the nearest branch, pulling herself onto the first limb. “That wasn’t bad at all,” she declared, observing Bear from her perch a few feet off the ground. “This ought to be a piece of cake, huh?”

Her adrenalin was beginning to pump, and on she climbed, the physical labor keeping her from dwelling on the events of the previous night. She moved higher and higher into the branches. As she went up, the convenient branches got farther and farther apart, and she began having to stretch for each new handhold.

Just as she was reaching out for the next limb, there was a sharp crack, and the branch beneath her foot broke in half. In panic, she reached out to grasp the limb before her, and, after much struggle, she managed to pull herself up. She sat there for several long minutes, trying to recover her breath and calm her nerves. Her heart was beating double-time, and she had skinned her hands and knees in her fight to rescue herself.

At first, she didn’t realize the precariousness of her position, grateful to be sitting on something solid, but gradually an awareness of her situation began creeping into her consciousness. Looking down, she could see that the next unbroken limb was several feet below her dangling shoes. She stretched as far down as she could without losing her balance, but she didn’t even come close to touching the branch. Oh, Lord. What was she

going to do now? She looked over and saw Bear dancing around chasing butterflies not too far away. Maybe—nah! No way. Dogs only rescued people in the movies.

She was an idiot to think that she could possibly get Bear to go for help. But she was feeling desperate. And she couldn’t think of a single other idea for getting down. The next time she needed to take her mind off something, she’d just pig out on an entire carton of cookie dough ice cream. Right now, she didn’t care if she never saw another tree in her entire life. What an idiot she was. A dunce. A nincompoop. A—whatever else.

She was running out of words to describe the lunacy that had gotten her into this situation in the first place.

After several more minutes of trying to find a way down, she looked once more toward Bear, now lying on the ground several feet underneath her. “Oh, well,” she rolled her eyes at herself. “I’ll try anything once.” She raised her voice and called, “Bear, Bear.

Get up, boy.”

Bear bounded to his feet and looked at her, his pink tongue lolling out of his mouth and his ears perked up. “Bear, sweetheart, go get help. Get Jack.” The dog just stood staring up at her and let out a loud bark. But he didn’t budge from his position beneath the tree.

She tried again. “Bear, go get Jack. Bring Jack here. Jack, Bear, get Jack.” She could hear the desperation in her voice, and so, apparently, could Bear, because he began barking and moving back and forth around the base of the tree.

Out of nowhere, a clap of thunder echoed in the distance. While she had been climbing her tree and getting herself stuck, Abby had not noticed the darkening sky. But she sure noticed it now. “Oh, great. Wonderful. This is just what I need. Not only am I

stuck up a tree, but now I’m going to get soaking wet, if not electrocuted.” Abby closed her eyes in exasperation. “Please, Bear, go get Jack.” Again, her only response was more barking, but this time it was much louder. The dog must have thought that this was some kind of new game, and he was participating with great enthusiasm.

She leaned her head against the tree in defeat. Unbelievable. She needed Lassie and instead she had Bozo the Clown. Here she was, stuck, with nothing but an idiot dog for companionship. She felt so frustrated she almost burst into tears. Then she felt the first drops of rain hitting her cheek. Well, shit.

* * * *

Jack sat beside the pond, relaxing and pretending to fish. Kicked back and propped against a stump, he had a line dangling in the water, but he wasn’t really paying much attention. He was thinking about the night he had spent with Abby. It had been so unexpected. The sex had been unbelievable. Even now, just the thought of her eyes glazing over when she climaxed had him hard and aching.

His eyes darkened as he thought of her responsive body, and he wanted to once again feel those soft lips parting beneath his demanding mouth, to breathe in her deliciously aroused scent, to taste the salty-sweet liquid that spilled from her cunt. He wanted to know all the secrets of her sweetly curved body and tempting mouth, to explore it until there was nothing hidden from him. Hell. Something was wrong with him. What was it about Abby that had him so enthralled? It almost felt like he was falling… Whoa. Wait a minute. He couldn’t even think like that. It was just possessiveness. Yes, that was it.

Typical male-staking-his-territory reaction.

And lust. Pure, unadulterated lust that had him so wound up he didn’t even feel a twinge of guilt over taking her last night. And Abby had enjoyed herself, if her screams of satisfaction were anything to go by. He had always been an aggressive lover, and as the years had passed his preference for sexual practices that were not quite part of the mainstream had grown. There was nothing like holding a woman down, knowing that she loved it, forcing her to accept the things that he did to her until she begged for release.

And Abby had loved it, obeying his every command as if born to it. He had so many more things that he wanted to do to her. Show her. How much would she allow?

His thoughts were suddenly interrupted by the distant sound of barking. Looking up, he saw that the sky had turned cloudy and there was a chill to the air. The barks erupted again. Jack knew it was Bear making all the racket since he was the only dog around for miles. What the hell was he was so worked up about? That mutt had probably treed a squirrel. He stood, deciding to go investigate before it started raining. He followed the excited woofs and soon spotted the dog jumping around beneath a huge oak. Jack smiled in amusement at the retriever’s antics as he leaped and danced at the foot of the tree.

Feeling a drop of rain on his hand, he realized that if he didn’t hurry he would be caught in a downpour. He decided to take Bear with him back to his own cabin and keep him out of the rain. When things cleared up, he could run the dog back to Abby. He smiled briefly at the thought of seeing her again, but just as he started toward the dog, he heard a very feminine, very irritated voice coming from somewhere above his head.

“I wish you would just shut up, Bear. It’s bad enough being stuck up here, without having to listen to your ridiculous yapping. How am I supposed to figure out how to get down if you won’t be quiet and let me concentrate?”

In amazed disbelief, Jack moved around the tree until he had a clear view of Abby seated on a branch about midway up. With her legs swinging below her, she was shaking a finger at the dog while the other arm was wrapped tightly around the tree trunk. Her hair had escaped from a lopsided topknot, and reddish tendrils were sticking to her sweaty skin. The white tank she wore was streaked with dirt, as were the matching white shorts. She looked like she had been through a mini-disaster.

Several more drops of rain fell from the sky and the boom of thunder echoed in the distance. Jack knew that it wouldn’t be long before they were caught in the midst of a real storm. Abby looked wet and uncomfortable perched in the branches of the tree. She also looked as if her temper were on a very short fuse. An intelligent man would not have provoked that temper. An intelligent man would not have shown his amusement.

Jack burst into laughter. His loud chuckles quieted the dog and drew a grateful, then embarrassed, and finally indignant look from Abby. As his laughter continued unabated for several minutes, Abby’s expression became more and more irate. Her eyes shot green sparks at him and her chin tilted up.

When his laughter quieted, he moved to stand directly beneath her, attempting to suppress his amused smile but not quite succeeding. Abby stared down at him, an expression of disgust on her face. “I fail to see what is so funny.”

Jack nodded. “Yes, you would.”

She sniffed at that. “Are you implying that I have no sense of humor?”

He just widened his eyes, laughter dancing in their blue depths.

Abby continued. “Well, I’ll have you know that you are quite wrong. In fact, I have an excellent sense of humor. However, I do not find anything even remotely amusing

about this situation.”

Jack just stood there with a huge grin on his face saying nothing. His eyes met hers, and, unwillingly, Abby’s own lips began twitching. Soon they were both chuckling at the absurdity of the situation. As Jack peered up at her eyes sparkling with laughter, he knew that she was someone he would not be able to walk away from. Ever. No more fighting it, no more trying to reason his way out of it. It was love. He loved Abby more than he had ever thought it possible to love anyone.

The laughter died from his face. He stared at her as if seeing her for the first time.

Abby’s voice pierced his sudden bemusement, “Jack? Are you all right?” Jack shook himself free of his sudden insight. The rain began to fall a bit harder, and he knew that he needed to get her out of the tree as fast as possible. He would think more about their relationship later, once she was safe and sound, preferably flat on her back with his cock buried inside her.

Jack walked around the tree, examining Abby’s perch. He made no comment until he had made a complete circle. “Okay, I don’t even want to know how you got up there, or why. Let’s just get you down before you fall.” He looked her over one more time and moved to stand below her. “All right. Just drop on down. I’ll catch you.” He braced himself to catch her weight. A few seconds passed. When she didn’t drop down as he’d ordered, he looked up at her and saw the disbelief etched on her face.

“What do you mean, ‘just drop on down’? Are you insane?” She tightened her grip on the tree. “No way, Jose. You go get a ladder. I’ll wait right here.”

Jack’s brows rose. “If you think I’m leaving you here, in the rain and stuck up a tree, while I hike all the way to my cabin to bring back a ladder that will probably not even reach you, you’re crazier than you look. And believe me, you look pretty damn crazy right now, woman.” He brushed back his hair, which was getting wetter and wetter as the rain came down now in a steady drizzle. Bear crossed over to stand by his leg, and he reached down to rub his head in an absent-minded gesture, his attention fully focused on the woman dangling above him. “You’ve got two choices.” He looked her in the eye, and she gulped. “Number one is to do as I suggested and drop down. I promise that I will catch you. You won’t get hurt.”

“And what’s choice number two?” she asked.

He smiled evilly. “Build a nest.”

*

Abby didn’t know whether to laugh or throw something to wipe that arrogant smirk off his face. There was nothing, absolutely nothing, worse than having to back down in front of a cocky male who knew he was right. Especially when said male was the only source of help for miles around. She widened her eyes and let her lower lip tremble. “But, Jack,” her voice softened, “what if you drop me? I-I-I’m scared. Please … please don’t make me jump. I could break an arm. Or a leg. Please…” Her voice trailed off, and she lowered her eyes in feminine helplessness.

There was absolute silence for several long moments, so she ventured a look at him.

She knew right away that she had failed in her attempt to change his mind. Failed miserably. Jack was openly grinning at her performance.

“No good, huh?” she asked.

“Afraid not, angel.” He shook his head. “But it was very interesting and enlightening, I must say.” He laughed when she made a face at him. “I’ll have to keep

this little performance in mind the next time you try to pull a fast one on me.”

That comment struck her as strange. It sounded like Jack expected them to be together for a while, when in actuality she knew that what they had was only temporary.

Just sex, right? Come to think of it, his demeanor during this whole episode had been strange…

“Come on, Abby. I’m waiting.”

She bit her lip. “So you’re really gonna make me jump, huh?”

He resumed his position beneath her. “It’s not going to be that bad, I promise. Just ease yourself forward and drop. I’ll be right here to break your fall. You’re really not all that high.”

“Are you sure?” she asked, not kidding this time.

“Sure, I’m sure. Now, come on, chicken. We’re already soaking wet, and I’d like to get out of these clothes in the next decade or so.” His tone was challenging, and Abby responded to it.

“I’m not a chicken,” she denied. “It’s just—well, oh, all right. I’ll do it. But if you drop me, Jack, so help me…”

“I won’t drop you. Come on, now. Move forward on the limb. That’s it. Now grab onto that other branch—good, good.” And with Jack patiently guiding her through, Abby prepared to jump.

“Jack…” she tried one last plea.

“Jump, Abby,” he commanded.

Closing her eyes and taking a deep breath, Abby released her tight grip on the limb and dropped toward Jack’s waiting arms. Unfortunately, the momentum of her fall sent her down with considerable force, and they both crashed to the ground. At the same moment, the floodgates seemed to open, and rain poured down on their unprotected bodies.

They lay there, their limbs in a tangled heap. Abby recovered first and pushed herself up to peer worriedly down into Jack’s face. His eyes were closed. “Are you all right, Jack?” she asked in breathless concern, afraid that the fall had knocked him unconscious.

His eyes blinked open against the rain, and he stared dazedly at her. Then he managed a weak grin. “Sure. I’m great. Just great. Thanks for asking.”

Abby relaxed, relieved that she was finally down and neither of them was too badly hurt. “I told you this was a bad idea.”

“All right. I admit it. It was a bad idea. You were right. I was wrong.”

“Well,” she smiled. There was nothing she liked better than to be proven right. She could be magnanimous in victory. “No harm done. And at least I’m down and relatively unscathed.” Her voice was filled with grateful humor. “For a while there I thought I was going to be stuck up in that tree forever.”

He smiled and so did she. The laughter faded from her eyes as she became aware of the close proximity of their bodies, and the rapidly growing bulge pressing against her.

She attempted to push herself up, but his arms encircled her waist and halted her tentative movements.

“Sorry I had to leave you this morning, but you were sleeping so soundly I didn’t want to wake you,” he whispered to her, ignoring the pouring rain. Their wet clothes clung to them so that it felt to Abby as if they were skin to skin.

Abby knew that he could see her aroused nipples, and his hands rubbing up and

down her back were having their usual effect on her. She looked down at him and saw the same desire in his eyes that she was sure was reflected in her own. In the blink of an eye, the mood between them had passed from humor to passion, and there was nothing she could do to stop it. She wanted him, wanted this.

Her limbs felt heavy and the splattering of the rain on her back added to the erotic atmosphere that enclosed them. Her breathing sped up as the expression on his face became more and more sensual. She felt claimed, caught by his clear blue eyes.

Her tongue swept her lower lip, tasting rainwater, and she watched his eyes trace the path of her tongue before following a droplet of water as it slid slowly down her cheek.

His eyes rose back to hers, and he reached up to stroke a finger down the trail the water had just followed, his finger skimming down further to stroke over the distended nipple of her left breast which ached for a firmer touch. She leaned down to lick some droplets from his mouth, and his hands tunneled into her hair, scattering the few remaining pins.

As Jack molded her mouth against his own, she opened her lips, accepting the hungry slide of his tongue into her with eager warmth. She absorbed his taste, while overhead thunder crashed and the rain fell. Then it seemed to Abby as if she and Jack had become caught up in the storm itself. While the skies emptied around them, they rolled over and over on the ground, lips devouring and bodies straining to get as close to one another as possible.

At last Abby lay beneath Jack, his weight pressing her down into the soft, damp ground. He moved his leg between hers, and she spread her thighs, opening herself to his touch. As he rubbed himself against her swollen softness, she let out a low moan that he quickly swallowed into his own mouth. When he ducked his head to capture a swollen peak between his teeth, he bit down just enough to cause Abby a twinge of pain-filled pleasure.

“God, Jack. God, that feels so good,” Abby gasped. She felt his hand move down her body until it reached the hem of her shirt where the seeking fingers began tunneling up beneath her top. The rain felt cool on her heated flesh when Jack stripped her of her wet clothes, and she watched in eager anticipation as he removed his own.

With sudden boldness, Abby shoved Jack over so that he lay flat on his back and began kissing and sipping her way down his damp chest, plucking on the trail of dark hair that arrowed downward, and giving attention to each of his puckered nipples with little delicate licks.

His hands grasped the back of her head and tangled in her wet locks as he nudged her head lower. She licked her way down his flat belly until she reached the swollen cock that rose from a nest of dark curls at the juncture of his thighs. Her hand wrapped around the base, and she glanced up to see his eyes focused on her. Conscious of a delicious new feminine power, she dropped a delicate kiss on the tip where a bead of pre-cum beckoned, and she smiled when she heard him groan with pleasure.

Taking her time, she covered his throbbing manhood with wet openmouthed kisses and tiny nibbles before taking the head into her mouth. His hands urged her closer.

Opening her jaw wider to take in more of his length, she sank down as far as possible, feeling his cockhead brush against the back of her throat and resisting the urge to gag at the unaccustomed fullness. Then, under the direction of his hands, she set up a slow rhythm, moving up and down on his cock, sucking and licking with each withdrawal.

“Enough,” he finally stopped her movements and pulled her head back. “I don’t want

to come in your mouth, angel. Not this time.” He sat up and moved her legs to either side of his hips so that she straddled his lap. Abby could feel his erection rubbing against her labia, her wetness creating a delicious friction as his cock stroked up and down against her cunt. The rain continued falling around them, but Abby was so caught up in their passion that it hardly penetrated her consciousness. “Tell me you want me, Abby.”

“I do. I want you so much, Jack. Please. I need you inside me.”

“You know what I want to hear. Say it.”

“Fuck me, Jack. Please fuck me. I want your cock inside me now.” He responded to her plea by lifting her up so that he could maneuver his straining hardness into position.

Poised at the delicate opening, he hesitated; then he thrust upward until she was impaled on his rigid flesh. He grasped a handful of her hair and forced her head back, and she couldn’t suppress a deep-throated moan as she was bombarded with sensation after sensation. His hand moved to her hip, gathering her against him. At his urging, she began moving, slowly at first, and then faster and faster.

“Take me deeper, baby. Can you feel that? Can you feel my cock inside your tight cunt? Is it good, angel? God, you are so wet for me. I love it that you‘re so wet for me.”

Abby was incapable of forming a coherent response, so she just moaned his name over and over, “Jack. Jack. Oh, Jack, yes. Harder. Fuck me harder.” A stinging slap of his hand against her butt cheek sent a wave of pleasure crashing through her. Another slap had her gasping aloud, and her cunt flooded with even more wetness.

“Yes, you like that, too, don’t you, baby? You like it a little rough. A little pain.

That’s good. So good.”

They moved together, gasping and clawing in passionate need. Releasing her hair, he slid a hand down her wet body until his finger touched her clit, rubbing in time with his thrusts. Her arms wrapped around his neck, and she met him thrust for thrust until she was claimed by her climax. Her body arched sharply backward, and his release was triggered by the tight clasp of her cunt around his cock. She felt his cum spurt inside her, and for a moment, everything went black.

Abby’s body collapsed against Jack’s, and she lay there dazed, incapable of forming a coherent thought. He eased her body down and off of his still-hard erection. The rain continued to fall as he gathered their clothes together and slid into his jeans. Abby felt him lift her into his arms and began carrying her down the trail towards his cabin. Bear, who had been lying beneath the tree as far out of the rain as possible, kept pace with them down the narrow trail.

* * * *

Deep in the surrounding forest, a pair of unseen eyes followed the path of the trio as they moved deeper into the undergrowth and out of sight. The silent witness to the couple’s passion stood frozen, hands clenching and unclenching over and over, and a soft voice muttered promises of revenge to the patter of the gentle rain.

Chapter Six

As Jack carried her through the woods, Abby stirred against his chest. “It’s okay, baby. I’ve got you.” She curled her arms around his neck and rubbed her nose against his jaw line, breathing in his spicy scent. Still not quite sure how all this had happened, she had somehow embarked on an affair with one of the sexiest men she had ever met. It felt good. Really good. But also a little scary.

She knew that there was no future in it. Jack had warned her of that very fact. She would just have to keep that in the back of her mind at all times and not make the huge mistake of falling for him; that is, if she hadn’t already done so. Abby had a sinking suspicion that it was too late to save her heart from breaking when their affair was over, but she didn’t want it to end yet. No matter what the consequences, she wanted to be with

Jack for as long as she could.

When they arrived at the cabin, Jack took Abby straight through to his bathroom. He turned on the shower and made sure it was warm enough before setting her inside. Then he stripped off his jeans and joined her. He soaped up a bath cloth and turned to Abby, a gleam of anticipation in his blue eyes and a wicked smile on his lips. Running the soapy rag down her arms and then across her breasts, Jack washed her sensitive skin. The scratchy feel of the cloth combined with the slickness of the soap stimulated her nipples into tight peaks. Repeatedly, he circled the quivering mounds, brushing over the pointed tips and teasing Abby into a mass of need. Abby stared at Jack, but his entire attention was focused on his hands as they moved over her soapy skin. Her back arched, trying to press her breasts more firmly into the cloth, but he held back, tantalizing her with his soft movements. Inch by inch, the cloth traveled lower.

Her curved waistline received his attention next with a brief stop at her navel, before he continued down to just above the nest of curls covering her pussy. Then he moved back up again. Down and up, down and up, until her hips were pushing forward, trying to force his hand lower. Her thighs parted, begging for his attention. Brushing over her throbbing cunt, he turned his attention to her legs, where he traced a meandering path across her right thigh, over her knee, and past her calf.

Kneeling before her, he soaped her feet, picking up first one and then the other, before trailing a path up her other leg. When he brought the soapy rag up the inside of her thigh, he pushed it rhythmically against her mound for a few strokes before pulling back.

Abby bit back a moan of protest when he stood and stepped back.

With his eyes locked on hers, he ran the rag over his own chest. Abby licked her lips, wanting to taste his flesh against her tongue. She watched, enthralled at the sight of the cloth gliding over his warm, tanned skin. His hand crept down over his hard stomach, circling around and around with mesmerizing motion. Dropping the rag as he reached his cock, his soapy hands moved up and down on the turgid flesh. His eyes captured hers and he said nothing, but Abby knew that he wanted her to watch him pleasure himself.

Fascinated, her eyes followed every movement of his hands as they stroked his cock from base to purplish head. Her hand crept between her own legs, unable to resist joining him in this voyeuristic game. The wet cream of her cunt covered her fingers as she delved between her thighs, stimulating her clit and then pushing a finger inside her tight channel.

Her hips pressed forward as if offering her cunt to him. His hands moved in a hard stroke on his cock, and hers mimicked his motions on her own throbbing clit.

Abby had never done anything like this before in her life. It had seemed too embarrassing the one time a former lover had suggested it. Yet now, with Jack, it seemed so natural. She licked her lips as she felt her orgasm approaching. A groan from Jack signaled his own, and his hips jerked as his cum squirted out and onto her belly. Abby’s hand moved up to gather some of his offering and pushed it down to her aching pussy, using it to stimulate her clitoris even more until she too arched in surrender to her climax.

Jack smiled and gathered her to him, rinsing them both off before lifting her out and following behind. He toweled her dry, and she took the cloth from him and returned the favor. Then they went to his bedroom to settle under the covers of his king-size bed. They had not said one word to each other since they had arrived at the cabin, the silence somehow heightening the eroticism of the moment. But now Jack brushed a soft kiss over

Abby’s forehead and said, “You’re beautiful, Abby. I don’t know how I got so lucky to have you come into my life.”

Abby started to say something, but he stopped her. “No, let me finish. I know I was a real son-of-a-bitch to you when you first got here, and I want you to know why. It’s not a very pretty story, but you deserve to hear it.”

She settled close against him, understanding that what he was about to say was going to be difficult for him. “A couple of years ago I was engaged to a woman named

Lauren—you saw her picture. Thought I was in love, you know. Then I came home one day and found her in bed with my father.” Pain filled his voice as he related the events.

“Long story short, they got married and I got out.”

“God, Jack. I’m so sorry.” She stroked a soft hand over his jaw line. “I hate that you were so hurt, but she didn’t deserve you. You’re lucky you got out when you did. Can you imagine being married to such a bitch.”

Jack smiled. “I wanted you to know about Lauren because I think we’ve got something here. Something special. I don’t quite know how it’s happened. I just know that it has.”

“I feel it, too, Jack.” She kissed his shoulder softly and promised herself that she would do whatever necessary to make this work for them.

* * * *

Later that afternoon, Jack and Abby relaxed in the main room of the cabin, just talking and discovering more about each other. They both loved old movies and hated reality TV shows. Abby felt like she was living a dream as Jack really opened up to her about his past and his hopes for the future. She learned that he liked working with his hands and had tried building furniture in addition to the two cabins. He told her his grandfather had been a carpenter, and they had spent hours together puttering around in his workshop. The more she learned about Jack, the deeper in love she fell. “It sounds like you really love building things. Is that what you do? For a living, I mean.”

He looked at her in surprise. “Didn’t Beau tell you?”

She frowned at the odd tone of his voice. “No, not really. I know that for a while you worked for some electronics firm, but you’ve been here for a while, so that must have fallen through.”

He laughed. “Yes, I guess you could say that. It was my father’s firm, Cole

Electronics.”

Abby was stunned. “I’ve heard of them. They’re one of the Fortune 500 companies, aren’t they?”

Jack nodded. “Yeah. I was one of the vice-presidents when the shit hit the fan with

Lauren and my father. Needless to say, I didn’t stick around.” He paused. “I didn’t really enjoy it anyway, so it was no hardship to leave. And since I had money of my own, I

didn’t actually have to work. So I bought this mountain and have been kind of a hermit ever since.”

“You own the whole mountain?” Her jaw dropped. “Hell, you’re loaded, aren’t you?”

“I’m afraid so,” he confirmed, laughing with delight at the chagrined expression on her face.

She shook her head at his casual acceptance. “Just how much money do you have, Jack?”

“Well, when I left the company, I assume my father probably cut me out of his will, although I’m not sure about that. But my mother was Margaret St. John of the St. John hotel chain. She left me a pretty good bit when she died. And I’ve made some wise investments along the way. Let’s just say that I don’t have to worry about where my next meal is coming from and leave it at that.”

“Good grief. I wonder why Beau never mentioned it.”

“The money never meant much to me or to Beau either. It probably didn’t even occur to him. Why? Is there a problem?”

“Nooo. I guess it just surprised me, that’s all. I mean, you certainly don’t act like you’re filthy rich.”

“How do filthy rich people act?”

Abby realized how stupid she was sounding, and she laughed at herself. “I don’t really know. I’ve never met one before.”

“Well, I can tell you that most act just like everybody else.”

“I guess.” She pushed the thought aside and moved the conversation on to other topics, just a bit uncomfortable at the thought that Jack was so far out of her reach.

* * * *

An hour later, Abby finally left Jack to return to her own place and try to get some more work done on her book. It had stopped raining, although the ground and trees were still quite wet. Bear stayed right with her as they tramped through the damp bushes, the afternoon sun painting shadows on the path ahead. Picking up their pace, they broke free of the trees and arrived at the clearing. Abby was anxious to get into her own clothes and out of the borrowed t-shirt and sweats Jack had loaned her because her own were still soaked.

Once Abby reached the cabin, she went inside to change. Folding the borrowed clothing into a neat pile, she placed them on her dresser and opened a drawer. With her mind on the day she had spent with Jack, it took a moment for her to notice the tangled pile that was her panties and bras. That was odd. Generally, she was pretty neat about keeping them separated into small stacks, with her bras on one side and panties on the other. In fact, she was a little anal about it. Oh, well, she’d had a lot on her mind lately. It was a miracle the whole cabin wasn’t in chaos.

She put on a pair of red thongs and a matching bra before finding some blue jeans and an old University of Alabama jersey. Once she was clothed again, she ran a brush through her tangled hair and went into the living room.

Sitting down in front of her computer, she noticed that the computer light was turned on. That was strange. She thought that she’d turned it off the night before when she went to bed. It wasn’t the kind of thing she was careless about since it was how she made her living. And obviously, she hadn’t used it yet today. Curious, she moved the mouse, and an open file came up on the screen. In large red letters, she read the bizarre message printed there:

Like it outdoors, do you, whore? That was quite a show. Up against the wall last night and doing it in the rain this morning. What a bad girl you are! You’d better watch out. Bad things can happen to bad girls.

Stunned, Abby closed the message, deleting it from the screen. Then she stood, knocking over her chair as she moved blindly back from the desk until her back was against the wall. Ohmigod. Someone had been in her cabin. And that someone had watched Jack and her making love under the tree. But who? And how long had he watched them?

Oh, God, just knowing that someone had been there and observed all the things they had done creeped her out. She had believed that there was no one around to see them.

That someone had spied on them was bad enough, but for them to have witnessed such intimate moments made Abby feel nauseous.

A whimper of fear escaped her throat. It must be Scotty. God. He had to be here somewhere. Her eyes darted around the room, seeking out any other sign that her things had been disturbed. Nothing looked different from when she had left this morning.

Nothing except for the threatening message on her computer. Then she recalled the mess in her underwear drawer, and a chill raced down her spine. Had he gone through her personal things? Abby shivered at the thought of him pawing through her panties and bras. She felt violated. This was bad. Really bad.

She grabbed her purse that was lying on the couch and searched through it until she found the key chain which had a small container of mace attached to the ring. Clutching it in one hand, she ran to the door and down the steps, calling Bear to come to her so that they could go back to Jack’s. She had to warn him. Who knew what Scotty was capable of doing? Remembering her rather meek-looking assistant, she felt astounded that he could be doing this to her.

When she entered the woods, every sound startled her and every shadow held hidden danger. It was spooky amongst the trees, and Abby had to tread carefully to avoid stepping in hidden holes or tripping over fallen branches. She held the mace forward, her eyes scanning the forest around her with every step, grateful to have Bear beside her. She tried to hurry, not wanting to linger where she couldn’t see very far around her. Anyone could be hiding and watching her. As soon as she reached the end of the path, she yelled, “Jack! Jack, where are you?”

* * * *

Jack had been in the shed behind his cabin sanding a bookshelf when he heard

Abby’s cry. Dropping the sandpaper, he rushed to the front of the cabin and caught her in his arms as she ran toward him. “Abby, what’s the matter? What happened?” Pushing her back slightly, he looked down into her pale, frightened face. Something was very wrong.

“Oh, Jack, it was awful. I just know it was Scotty. I don’t know what to do. I think he must be crazy or something.”

Jack had a hard time making sense out of Abby’s panicked ramblings. “Slow down, angel. Come over here and sit down. Stay.” After he had pressed her down onto the steps, he went inside and came back shortly with a glass which held a small amount of a dark liquid. He stood over her and pressed the glass into her hand. “Here.”

“What is it?”

“It’s whiskey. Drink.”

He pushed the glass against her lips, and she took a small sip. “Now, take a deep breath and tell me again what happened.”

“Oh, damn. I don’t know where to start.” Tear-filled eyes met his.

He sat beside her and slid his arm around her waist. “Just start at the beginning.”

“Right.” She took another swallow of the whiskey. “Okay. It all started a few weeks ago. My assistant Scotty started acting,” she shrugged, “I don’t know—weird, I guess. He was getting very possessive, coming by at odd times. One day he began accusing me of all kinds of things, called me a whore. I fired him.” She paused, pushing her hair behind her ear. She met his eyes. “Jack, there was never anything like that between us. I don’t know what happened. Why he started acting like he did.”

Jack listened, rubbing her arm in calming strokes. “I believe you, angel. Go on.”

“That was one of the reasons why I wanted to get out of Gulf Shores for a while.

Beau thought that if I was gone, that Scotty would just … you know, get over it. But then when my editor forwarded my mail last week, there was a letter in it from him. It kind of frightened me, but I thought he didn’t know where I was, so I just ignored it.” She shivered and looked away. “When I got back to the cabin a little while ago, there was a message on my computer screen.” She squeezed her eyes closed and covered her face with her hand. “It was hateful. Called me a bad girl. It said that bad things happened to bad girls. It said he saw us, Jack, in the rain. Watched us make love. And last night, too.

On the porch. Oh, God.” Abby shook her head and tears welled in her eyes and slid down her face.

His face hardened at the thought of someone scaring Abby, threatening her. Some crazy was hiding in the bushes and getting off watching them? He wanted to kill him.

“And when I changed clothes, oh, Jack, my panties and my bras, someone had gone through them. Touched them. I can’t stand the thought of him just going through my stuff. “ She grabbed his arm. “ It’s Scotty. It has to be him. I just know it.”

Trying to contain his own rage, Jack took hold of her shoulders and stared down into her eyes. Giving her a little shake, he said, “First thing is you’ve got to get yourself under control. It’s not going to do anybody any good if you panic. Don’t let whoever it is get the upper hand here.”

She wiped off the tears from her cheeks. “You’re right. You probably think I’m pretty stupid to get so upset about a silly computer message, huh?”

“No,” he whispered. “No, I don’t think you’re stupid. I think something is definitely wrong here.” He reached down to clasp her hand and discovered the mace that she still held. “What’s this?”

“Oh, Beau gave it to me for protection. You know, girl living alone. Be prepared.”

She smiled through her tears, trying to suppress the panic that filled her.

“Good. Keep it with you at all times. And Bear, too. Abby, we need to go see the

sheriff about Scotty.”

She met his eyes and nodded in agreement. “Yes, I know you’re right. I should have reported something weeks ago. I thought I could handle things on my own, but I guess I

was wrong.” She bit her lip. “Can we go now? I just want to get it over with.”

Jack agreed that the sooner they spoke to the authorities the better, so they loaded up in the Jeep, putting Bear on the back seat. Before long, they were facing the Sheriff across his scarred desk. Sheriff William Tyrell was a large-chested man of about fifty.

With graying temples and intelligent eyes, he exuded an air of competent authority.

“Hello, Jack. Ma’am,” he nodded at Abby. “Now what can I do for you?”

“Well, Bill, it seems we have a little problem.” Jack introduced Abby and then began relating everything that Abby had told him. The sheriff listened and wrote down some notes on a legal pad that sat in front of him, occasionally asking Abby to clarify something that Jack had said. When they were finished with their tale, he sat back.

Setting down his pen, he leaned forward. “I’m going to be honest with you, Jack.

There’s not a whole lot here to go on. No one was seen at your cabin, and you don’t know for sure who left the message, right?”

Jack nodded in agreement, knowing what Bill was going to say. “I’ll check around town, see if anyone new has been spotted. The usual kind of thing, y’know. But until we have more to go on, my hands are tied. I mean, even if I find out there’s a stranger in town, I can’t accuse him of anything without some hard evidence.”

“But what about the letter he sent Abby? Surely you can do something about that.”

“Do you still have the letter?” Sheriff Tyrell asked her.

“No, I threw it away,” she admitted.

“What about the message on your computer?”

“Deleted,” she acknowledged. “God, I’m so stupid.”

“You say he sent you letters while you were in Gulf Shores? Do you have any of those with you?”

“No, I didn’t keep any of them, either.”

“Any witnesses to any of the phone calls or arguments?”

She shook her head.

He nodded. “As I said, there’s not much to go on. I’ll tell you what I can do. I’ll contact the police department in Gulf Shores and have them check and see if they can locate Mr. Davenport. If he’s still in Gulf Shores, then we’ll know that he wasn’t responsible for your problems.”

“But if it isn’t Scotty, who else could it be? Who went through my things? Who left the message on my computer?” Abby questioned.

“Well, Miss Montgomery, there’s a lot of weirdoes out there. Sometimes strange people wander through the woods, just looking for mischief. And as far as the message on your computer, well, I don’t know. Could you have imagined it? I mean, you admitted yourself that you’ve been under a lot of pressure. Sometimes our minds play tricks on us.

Did Jack see it?” he asked.

“No. No one else saw it,” Abby admitted. “But I didn’t imagine it. I know it was there.”

“I

do believe you, Miss Montgomery. I just have to cover all the bases. Is there anything else you can think of?”

“No… Well, a few days ago a truck got behind me when I was on my way home.

Whoever it was wouldn’t pass me, even though I slowed down for them. They just rode right up on my bumper, almost hitting me a couple of times. It scared me.”

“Why the hell didn’t you mention this before?” Jack questioned, staring at her in disbelief.

Abby shook her head. “After it was over, it just seemed like a silly prank, maybe some teenagers trying to flirt or something. I don’t know. I was already a little nervous because of the other things. I thought maybe I overreacted.” She looked at the sheriff.

“Do you think it’s connected to the other stuff?”

The sheriff shrugged. “Could be, but I’m not sure. There’s too much happening for my liking, I can tell you that. One or two things would be coincidence, but more’n that, seems pretty suspicious. Like I said, I’ll do what I can. In the meantime, to be on the safe side, stay alert. Use common sense. And if you’re still staying up on that mountain, make sure you keep that short wave in working order. Without a phone, it’s going to be hard to let anyone know if you have more trouble.”

Jack rose. “Thanks for your time, Bill.”

Abby stood up beside him. “You’ll let us know what you hear from Gulf Shores, won’t you?”

“Just as soon as I hear something, I’ll be in touch.”

“Thanks, Sheriff.” They turned and left the office.

As soon as they got outside, Abby said, “It wasn’t my imagination, Jack. I swear.”

“I believe you. But he’s right. We don’t have a whole lot of evidence. We’ll just have to be careful. And you can’t stay in that cabin alone. I want you to move in with me.

I swear, whoever it is, he won’t get close to you again.”

“I’m frightened, Jack. If he’s crazy enough to spy on us and to go through my cabin, what else is he capable of?”

As he escorted her back to the Jeep, Jack wondered that himself.

Chapter Seven

By the time they reached Jack’s cabin, Abby was worn out. They had stopped at

Lila’s for coffee and then by her place to get some clothes and other things. Now exhaustion was setting in. She got out of the Jeep and headed up the steps with Jack, wanting nothing more than to take a long nap. The worry had taken a toll on her energy, and she really needed to recharge. Jack seemed to know how she felt.

“Come with me.” Leading her by the hand, he crossed to the bathroom and set her on the toilet seat. On his knees, he reached over to put the plug in the tub before turning on the water and adjusting it until the temperature was just right. “Now, get out of those clothes and get your sexy butt into that tub.”

She took two steps toward him and put her arms around his waist, hugging him tightly in gratitude. “Jack, I…”

“Shh. Just do what I said. I’ll go get us something to drink. I need to relax, and I’m sure you do, too.”

“Thanks.”

He just smiled and stepped out, closing the door behind him. Abby stripped and eased her tired body into the tub. God, it felt great. Gradually, her sore muscles relaxed from the heated water, and soon she was drifting in a semi-sleepy fog. Avoiding thoughts of Scotty, Abby focused her musings on Jack and all that he had done for her.

She heard the door open and lifted her eyelids to see Jack holding out a glass of white wine. She reached up for it, “Umm. Perfect.”

His eyes roved over her body, lingering on the pointed peaks just visible above the waterline. “Perfect, indeed.”

Blushing a little at her body’s blatant reaction to his nearness, Abby tried to pretend an indifference she didn’t feel. She pushed herself up a little, took a sip from the wineglass, and looked up to meet Jack’s eyes. Her blush deepened as his hot stare touched every inch of her bare breasts and lowered to linger on her feminine curls. His expression tightened and then his clear blue eyes were stabbing into hers. Bringing her drink to her lips again, she tilted her head back and drained the wine before holding the empty glass out to Jack. He took it and set it on the counter behind him then knelt down beside the tub and reached out a single finger to stroke across a burgeoning nipple, causing it to tighten even more. “You’re mine, Abby.”

Abby nodded in acknowledgement. Why try to deny what they both knew?

“And I won’t let anything happen to you. Do you understand?”

“Yes, I know. Jack?”

“What, angel?”

“Make love to me, please.”

He took her hand, helping her out of the tub and stood there for several moments just staring at her wet, naked body. Leaning in, he took a deep breath, seeming to absorb her very essence into him and his hands came up to cup her face. Staring into her eyes, he appeared to be searching for something in her expression. She didn’t know what he needed from her, but she knew that whatever it was, she wanted to give it to him.

Raising herself onto her toes, she moved close enough to press her lips against his.

For a moment, he stood still, passively accepting the caress, but then his hands tightened against her cheeks, and his tongue pushed between her lips, taking control. As his hand moved to the back of her head, he repositioned her so that he could kiss her even deeper.

From sweet to hot in a matter of seconds, Abby felt like she was melting into his passion. Jack picked her up and carried her into the bedroom, dropping her onto the bed and following her down. She was wet from her bath, but he didn’t seem to notice. His hips forced her legs to part, and his pelvis ground into hers.

“Just looking at you, being near you, makes me crazy,” he muttered into her ear, and his tongue traced a slow, erotic pattern around the edge before he bit lightly on the lobe and sucked it into his mouth. His hips set up a slow, firm rhythmic pressure against her pussy.

“Oh, Jack. That feels so good.”

He paused and rose up to look at her. “Will you let me have complete control tonight, angel?” he asked in that husky voice.

“Control?” she didn’t know what he meant, but she knew that she would let Jack do anything to her that he wanted.

“Yes. I want to tie you up, sweetheart. Will you let me? I need to know that you trust me to keep you safe no matter what.”

She paused, thinking about what he had asked for a moment. She had never played any bondage games before, but the thought excited her more than she would have thought. She nodded. She wanted to turn everything over to Jack, not to have to think about anything. “Yes, Jack. I trust you.”

He reached across the bed and picked up a length of rope that he had placed there earlier. “Are you sure about this?”

“I’m sure.” She smiled and held out her hands.

He wrapped the rope around her wrists and tied, pulling it tight enough so that she could not get loose. Then he eased her arms above her head and knotted the dangling lengths around the rails of the iron headboard. When he sat back and looked at her, his eyes blazed. “God, you look gorgeous. All spread out before me like a delicious buffet.”

Next, he picked up a black cloth. “Can I blindfold you, too, Abby? It’ll make everything much more intense.” His blue eyes held hers. “When you can’t see what I’m doing, your other senses become enhanced.”

Abby nibbled at her bottom lip for a moment, just a twinge of uncertainty filling her.

But then she looked at Jack. She knew that he wouldn’t hurt her. After a moment she said, “Okay, Jack. Go ahead.”

He bent over her and covered her eyes with the cloth, lifting her to tie it around the back of her head. He sat back and studied her. “There. Can you see anything?”

Abby shook her head, quite stimulated from the position she now found herself in, tied up and blindfolded in her lover’s bed. She could feel his hip brushing hers and hear the soft sound of his breathing. The scent of his aftershave filled her nostrils.

*

Jack stared down at Abby’s prone body, unbelievably aroused by the sight of her bound and helpless in his bed. Her breathing was coming in short gasps from between her parted lips, and her breasts rose and fell in concert. Rosy nipples pouted up at him in aroused anticipation of his touch. As his eyes moved down her body, her tiny waist with its sweetly indented navel caught his attention. He wanted to see his ring pierced through

that spot. His eyes lit with a gleam. He’d have to see about getting Abby one. Thinking of her with that badge of his ownership on her body heightened his hunger. Her legs were slightly parted, and he could see the wetness on her cunt, already preparing itself for the penetration of his cock, the cock that right now strained almost painfully against his jeans.

“Jack?”

“Shh, baby, I’m here. Just admiring the view.”

“I want you to touch me,” the words came out in a whispered plea.

“I will angel. But the anticipation is half the fun. Be patient.”

Deciding to keep her in suspense just a few moments longer, Jack let his eyes trace back up her body to the bound hands stretched above her head. A tenderness and longing filled him. God, he loved her so. And she loved him, too. That was clear to him now. He just had to get her to say the words, to admit her feelings. He knew it was not in Abby’s nature to allow a man to do to her the things she was allowing, giving up all control, unless she loved him.

At last, he bent down, licked one straining nipple, and then blew across it, watching the point tighten, before taking it into the hot warmth of his mouth. Abby gasped and her hips arched up off the bed at the unexpected touch. With nothing more than his lips, tongue, and teeth, he worked over her nipple with the passion of an artist for his masterpiece. Tugging, sucking, and rolling the peak between his lips, he soon had Abby writhing on the bed and trying to push more of her breast into his mouth. Then he transferred his attention to her other nipple and bestow on it the same treatment. Her pleas and moans filled the room.

Moving his mouth lower, he paused at her navel to give it a sharp stinging little bite in just the spot he had promised himself she would one day wear his gift. Abby cried out when he nipped the sensitive skin of her belly. Then Jack was moving again, nibbling his way down to where he most longed to be. Using his hands, he pushed Abby’s legs wide apart and back, opening her completely to his hot stare. Her cunt was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen, pink and glistening with arousal. Delicate red-gold curls barely concealed her outer lips from his sight, and he reached up with his hands to pull the flesh aside so he could see all the secrets of her body. He bent over to smell the enticing aroma of her arousal.

“God, Jack. Please.”

He grinned, looking up at her head, which was tossing back and forth on the pillow, her long hair spread out around her, the blindfold snug against her flushed face. “Please, what, angel?”

“You know.” Her hips strained towards him.

“You’ll have to do better than that.”

“Put your mouth on me, please.”

“Where? Where do you want my mouth? Here?” He kissed her thigh. “No? How about here?” Another kiss, this time on her hip. Her head tossed back and forth in denial.

“Where then? Say it, baby.”

He watched her gnaw her lip and then whisper, “My cunt, Jack. Lick my cunt, please.”

“My pleasure, baby.” He smiled at her capitulation.

Jack bent down to trace the tip of his tongue over Abby’s heated center. Around and

around, his tongue explored the delicate tissue, but carefully avoiding any contact with her clitoris. Soon Abby’s moans grew louder, and it was all Jack could do not to throw himself on her and sink his aching cock into those heated depths. But he wanted her to remember this night for a long time, wanted the passion that they shared to fill her mind and body to the point that she would never again want another man. She was his, and tonight he was going to prove that to her.

Drawing out her pleasure, he placed stinging love bites on her parted thighs, grasping a small bit of skin high on the inside of her leg, he sucked on it, leaving a small red circle to mark his ownership. “I love seeing my mark on your body,” he told her. Then he reached out with a long finger and manipulated her swollen clit.

“God, Jack.”

“What, Abby. Tell me what you need. Beg for it.”

“Make me come. Please, make me come. Please, please.” She moaned her desire in a huskily aroused voice.

He eased forward and took a dildo from the bedside table.

When Jack returned to his spot between her legs, he took the fake cock and stroked it through her wetness once, twice, until it was poised at the entrance to her core. Then Jack pushed it into her. It was very large and he knew it would fill her almost to the point of pain. Waiting a moment to allow Abby to adjust to the size, he pulled it out only to shove it back in. Abby strained and arched into the movement. Before long, she was crying and begging him. “Let me come, Jack. Please. I need to come so bad. I can’t take any more.”

He leaned forward, his mouth clamping down over her clit and began sucking hard.

She stiffened. “Yes, yes, oh, God, Jack.” She climaxed hard against his mouth, and he licked up her juices as they flowed from her pussy until her spasms died.

Jack withdrew the dildo and turned her over. “What are you doing?” Abby asked, moving into the new position.

“It’s all right, angel.” Jack soothed. “Just relax. I promise you will love this.” He tugged at her hips until she was on her hands and knees. He bent over her, stretching across her back to caress her hands where they were tied in front of her, before sliding up her arms to her shoulders. Brushing her hair to the side, he began nibbling down her back, and she shivered from the feel of his tongue as it began tracing a path down her spine. When he reached her heart-shaped buttocks, he placed another love-bite on a rounded cheek. Then his hands separated the cushioned mounds and he licked down the tender crevice. Abby jerked, trying to pull away. “No, Jack. Don’t do that.”

“Yes, Abby. Don’t fight me. Let me do this. I want to.”

“But, Jack…”

“Let me, Abby.” His commanding tone silenced her, and he felt her body relax back into his hands.

Again, Jack bent to brush a kiss against the sensitive spot. Then he pushed his finger into her pulsing cunt, wetting it with her own cream, before pulling it out and probing against the tight anal opening. “Have you even had a man take you here, angel?” he questioned her as his finger began breaching her.

“Nooo,” she moaned as he pushed further inside her, before pulling out and pushing again until his finger was all the way in. “Please, Jack, I don’t know if I like this.”

“Oh, baby, you were made for it.” He pumped his finger again, out and in, twisting and turning. He stretched her opening, adding another finger to the first. After a few more

strokes, he took his fingers out. “I won’t fuck your ass today, baby, but soon, it will be mine.”

He pressed his cock into her aching pussy and began thrusting into her very slowly at first. Once he was fully seated inside her he paused a moment before easing himself out until only the tip remained inside her. He repeated the motion again, drawing pleas from

Abby.

“Jack, please.”

“You know you have to tell me what you want.”

“Hard. I want you to fuck me hard and fast.” He gave her what she needed, beginning to pound into her. Abby’s arms stiffened as she braced herself on the bed, his forceful strokes almost pushing her into the headboard. Her bound hands curled around the rails, and she lowered her head and chest to the bed in an effort to gain some leverage.

The change in position sent him deeper into her with each thrust. His hand came around to cover her throbbing cunt, and his finger pressed against her clit. With each stroke of his cock, his finger moved harder against the aching flesh until she cried out. Bucking against Jack’s hand, his cock hammering into her, she tumbled over the pinnacle in a second orgasm, screaming out her satisfaction.

“Yes, baby. Come for me. That’s the way. God you feel so good.”

“I love you, Jack.” Abby gasped the words out.

“I love you, too, angel. I love you, too.” He thrust one last time before his cum shot up into her pulsing core.

Long minutes later, he rolled from her relaxed body and reached up to untie her wrists and remove the blindfold before pulling her against his side to cuddle, her head on his shoulder. She lay in his arms, breathing heavily, for several minutes. Finally, in a hesitant voice, she asked, “Jack, did you mean it?”

“Mean what?”

She froze. The hand, which had been rubbing over his stomach, stopped. She raised herself up and stared down at him. His eyes twinkled up at her, and hers narrowed.

“Mean what? Mean what? You rat. You dirty rat.”

She grabbed a pillow and began pounding it on his unprotected head. “Mean what?

Oh, you’ll be sorry, you jackass. You’ll be so sorry.”

Laughing, he reached up to grab her wrists and snatched the pillow away to fling it across the room. He pulled her down to lie across his chest and his eyes grew serious.

“No, I’ll never be sorry. I do love you, Abby. More that I ever thought possible.”

She threw her arms around his neck and hugged him against her. “Oh, God, Jack, I

love you so much.”

As he hugged her back, he closed his eyes, and he felt her soft body resting against him. He knew that this was it. There would never be another woman for him. He wanted to be with Abby for the rest of his life. Nothing else was acceptable. “Marry me?”

She drew back to look at him in surprise. “Are you sure?

“I’ve never been surer of anything.”

“Of course, I’ll marry you, Jack. As soon as you want. Whenever you want.”

“Angel, I’d marry you tomorrow if I could. I never thought I’d ever feel like this about anyone Without you, I’d be lost.”

“Oh, Jack. I feel the same way. I don’t know what I’d do if anything ever happened to you.”

“And, Abby, I want babies with you.” He brushed her hair behind her ear and cupped her cheek in his hand. “Lots of little girls with hair like sunlight.”

“Oh, I think we’ll have to have a few boys with dark hair and melting blue eyes so they can drive all the little girls in town crazy.”

Jack laughed in pure delight. “Whatever you say, baby. Whatever you want.”

“One thing I absolutely want is to live here on your mountain.”

His arms tightened. “Are you sure? I know your home is in Gulf Shores. I’m willing to move if that’s what you want.”

“I love the coast, and I always will. But the minute I got here, I felt a connection to this place. This is where I want to raise our family and grow old with you.”

“Then this is where we’ll live. God, I can’t believe how perfect you are for me.”

She smiled. “Please don’t expect perfection, Jack. I’ll never live up to it.

“Angel, I never said you were perfect. I said you were perfect for me.” And his mouth closed over hers in a loving kiss.

When they eventually arose from the bed and dressed, they went in to the kitchen to prepare something to eat. Jack lit a fire in the grill on the back deck and put a couple of steaks on while Abby tossed up a green salad. Soon they were sitting at the kitchen table, enjoying their meal while Bear lay beneath the table, happily gnawing away on a bone.

Jack sipped his beer and studied Abby’s face. Beneath the surface contentment, he could see the worry that was never far from her thoughts. Her eyes strayed again and again to the uncovered windows on the French doors that led out to his back deck.

“We’re safe here, Abby.” He placed his hand over hers and squeezed in reassurance.

She started and looked guiltily at him. “I know. I just can’t help wondering where

Scotty is. Is he out there right now, watching us? Plotting his next move.” Her mouth firmed. “But I’m going to quit acting like a victim. He is not going to turn me into some weak, whining female. He’s starting to piss me off.”

“That’s right, angel. He’s not going to win. We are.”

“Yes.”

“There’s something I want you to consider. I’ve thought about calling a friend of mine to see if he could come and help us out. No, listen to me,” he continued as she opened her mouth. “Clay Gentry is a private detective, and he knows how to protect someone who’s in trouble. If he’s not on a case right now, I know he’ll come help. It’s crazy for us to try to handle this on our own when we have someone who could give us a better chance at catching this guy.”

Abby reluctantly agreed. “Yes, you’re right. I can’t afford to refuse help wherever I

can get it. And I would feel better with two of you here in case Scotty goes crazy and tries to hurt someone—especially you.” She closed her eyes briefly. “I’d never forgive myself if he harmed you. But I feel like we might be overreacting a little. I mean, no one‘s been attacked, or anything.”

“We don’t want to wait until someone does get hurt or even killed, do we?”

“Nooo. How about this … if something else happens, we‘ll call him.”

“All right. But no arguments about it. The minute something, anything else unusual occurs, I‘m on the phone. I’ll feel better with another set of eyes to watch over things.”

* * * *

From the tree line behind the cabin, a figure stood and watched the couple as they

leaned in to kiss. Concealed by the darkness of the night and the surrounding bushes, no one in the cabin could have seen the shadowy outline, even if they had been looking for one. With narrowed eyes, the intruder soaked up every movement made by the couple sitting at the table. An evil smile curled over the tightened lips as the couple rose from the table and began clearing the dishes away. What a sweet scene of domestic bliss. Yes, let them enjoy each other now, thought the watcher, because in a few days, they would be parted forever.

Chapter Eight

The next day Jack and Abby stayed close to home. Abby worked on her book, and

Jack hung around the cabin doing various chores and generally getting on Abby’s nerves.

By late afternoon, she’d had enough. “Jack, you’re driving me crazy. Nothing is going to happen to me. You don’t have to stand over me like a nursemaid. Go outside and play with Bear or something.”

Strolling out on the porch, she heard him whistle for the dog.

A short while later he came back inside, a concerned look on his face. “Abby, I need you to come out and call Bear.”

She stood. “He’s not out there?”

“No, and I’ve called him several times. Maybe he’ll respond better to your voice.”

Crossing the room and stepping through the doorway, Abby began calling. “Bear, come on now, quit playing,” Abby yelled, following her call with the piercing whistle the dog always responded to, but there was still no sign of him. Getting worried, she called once more, her voice sharper, reflecting her fear. Shit. Had Scotty done something to

Bear now? What if he had hurt him? Killed him? Her gentle, sweet Bear. She didn’t even want to think of that possibility.

“Jack, I don’t like this. Bear always comes when I call him. And with everything else that’s been going on…”

He slung an arm around her shoulders and squeezed. “I know, Abby.”

She looked at him with troubled eyes. “I don’t know what I’ll do if anything has happened to him. He’s big, but he’s just an old softy. He wouldn’t hurt a flea. If Scotty has hurt him, I…” Her voice broke, and she bit her lip to prevent the tears from falling.

“We’ll find him. I promise.”

They set out together searching through the surrounding woods for the golden retriever. They tried to cover as much ground as they could, but as afternoon faded to early evening, it got harder and harder to see. Abby called and whistled as they looked, but there was no sign of Bear. Finally, they had to admit defeat. “I’m sorry, Abby. It’s just too dark to look any more. If we keep stumbling around here, we’re going to get lost or hurt. Or we’re going to overlook Bear.”

“I know. You’re right.” She hated to stop searching, but it was obvious that they wouldn’t do Bear any good like this.

“We’ll start looking again at first light. Come on. Let’s go back.”

Taking her hand, Jack led her back through the trees to his cabin. Once they’d taken off their coats and drunk a cup of coffee, they settled close together on the sofa. Jack’s arm went around her shoulders, and Abby’s head rested against his shoulder.

“Whether we find Bear in the morning or not, we’re going to drive to town and talk to the sheriff again,” Jack said. “If Scotty’s in town, surely someone will have seen him by now. Stone Hill isn’t that big.” He looked down into her red-rimmed eyes and bent to drop a soft kiss on her lips. She leaned in to him, moving her arms around his neck.

“Come on, angel. Let’s go to bed. We have an early morning coming.”

Abby followed Jack into the bedroom. She watched as Jack took his clothes off and dropped them to the floor. He was so beautiful. She stripped her own clothing off and

joined him in the bed. Pulling the covers up around their shoulders, he pressed her head down onto his chest. Abby lay there staring out into the darkness long after Jack had fallen asleep.

* * * *

Abby was awakened by the smell of coffee brewing. She turned over, her lashes fluttering open once, twice. Disoriented, she sat up and looked around the room. Where on earth—then the events of the previous night came pouring back. Bear. Bear was missing and there was some lunatic out there stalking her. She rose from the bed and dressed.

The odor of frying bacon drew her to the kitchen, and Abby realized just how hungry she was when her stomach let out a loud growl. Jack stood with his back to the door but turned when he heard her footsteps. “Morning, sunshine.”

Looking good enough to eat himself, in a pair of worn jeans and a plain white t-shirt, he gestured with the spatula he held in his hand. “Go sit down, and I’ll fill your plate for you.” He placed her food and a cup of coffee in front of her and then joined her with his own. She took a bite of eggs before stealing a quick glance at Jack. Catching her questioning look, he shook his head. “I haven’t gone looking yet. As soon as we finish breakfast, we’ll head out. Okay?”

She nodded in agreement. He reached across the table stroke her cheek. “We’ll find him. I promise.”

Thirty minutes later, they set out. They took a circuitous route through the surrounding woods, trying not to go over areas they had already searched the night before. “Bear? Here, boy. Come here,” Abby called repeatedly. Her throat was beginning to get hoarse after two hours of repeating the same phrase again and again. So far, they hadn’t seen or heard anything.

Jack walked beside her, his long stride adjusted to match her shorter one. When she stumbled over a fallen branch, he reached out a hand to halt her. “Why don’t we sit down and take a break?”

Abby opened her mouth to protest, but then she stopped. He was right. Nothing was going to be accomplished by driving themselves to the point of collapse. “Okay.” She dropped tiredly beside a log, resting her back against the rough bark that pricked through the cotton of her shirt.

“Tired?” he asked.

“Yes. I must be more out of shape than I thought I was.”

His mouth quirked in amusement at her statement and his eyebrows rose up with devilment. “I don’t see anything wrong with your shape.”

Abby’s eyes widened, and she turned to stare up at him. “Are you flirting with me?”

“I guess I am.” He quirked his lip up in a lopsided grin.

“Well, well, well, will wonders never cease? I think…” Before she could finish her comment, she thought she heard a noise. “Jack, did you…”

Jack was already on his feet. He nodded. “Yes, I heard it. This way.”

Moving toward the odd sound, Jack led Abby through the thick undergrowth. As they rounded a tree, they saw Bear. He was lying down, a pool of blood soaked into the ground at his side. Abby rushed toward him, but Jack held her back. “Stop, Abby. He’s hurt. No telling how he’s going to react.”

She knew he was right, so she stayed back as he carefully approached Bear. The dog was very weak and barely conscious. Jack bent down beside him and reached out a hand to examine the wound in his back leg. Bear whimpered but made no attempt to bite Jack, so he motioned for Abby to come closer. She knelt near the retriever’s head and ran her hand across his soft neck.

“It’s gonna be okay, Bear. You’ll be just fine. We’ve got you now.” Abby blinked tears from her eyes as Bear attempted to raise his head and lick her hand.

“Move over, Abby,” Jack ordered. Then he maneuvered his hands beneath Bear and picked him up, adjusting the dog’s 60-pound weight as comfortably as he could in his arms. “Let’s go to the truck. We’ve got to get him to a vet. I think he’s been shot.”

They headed back as fast as they could, with Abby leading the way and clearing a path ahead for Jack and his burden the best she could. Pausing only to allow Jack a few moments to rest, it still took them quite a while to reach the cabin. When the clearing came in sight, Abby rushed forward to open the door to the Jeep. Jack laid Bear across the back seat.

Within minutes, they were heading down the winding mountain road. Abby kept her eye on Bear, wincing with every bounce the Jeep made. Bear lay very still, and Abby was worried that they hadn’t made it in time. When they reached the main road, Jack sped up, and in record time, he had parked his Jeep in front of the vet’s office. Moments later, they had Bear inside being examined by the veterinarian while Jack and Abby waited impatiently for news.

As they sat side by side in the stiff plastic chairs, Jack reached out and took Abby’s hand in his own, squeezing it comfortingly. Bear had lain all night long with the gunshot wound in his leg. Would he make it? It seemed like an eternity before the doctor came out.

“How is Bear? Is he going to be all right?” Abby rushed into speech, not wanting to wait another moment.

The doctor smiled at her. “I believe Bear will be fine, Miss Montgomery. He’s a very lucky dog. The bullet was not lodged in his body. Apparently it hit him in the back right leg, passing through some muscle mass and then out again. He still lost a good deal of blood,” he added in warning, when Abby took in a relieved breath. “He’s not out of the woods yet, but I think he’s going to make a full recovery He’s a fighter, and that’s always a good thing. I’d like to keep him here for a few days to keep a close eye on him and build his strength back up.”

Abby burst into tears, and Jack shook the vet’s hands. “Thanks so much, Dr. Fisher.

You don’t know how relieved we are.”

The doctor smiled. “I just wish my news were always this good. If you’d like to, you can come back and see him for a few minutes. He’s just now coming out of the anesthesia, but he’ll recognize you, and I’m sure he’ll be glad to know you’re here.”

Abby and Jack went back to check on Bear and, after making arrangements with the vet for Bear’s continued care, they left the building.

They walked down to the sheriff’s office to tell Sheriff Tyrell about this latest incident. His concern was obvious. “Well, I have a little information for you, but not as much as I’d like, I’m afraid. Scotty Davenport has not been seen in Gulf Shores since last week, around the time you said you left, Miss Montgomery. It’s possible that he followed you here, and that’s how he knows where you are. Of course, just because no one has

seen him in Gulf Shores doesn’t necessarily mean that he’s here in Stone Hill. Fact is, I’ve checked around town, and no one matching Mr. Davenport’s description has been seen by anyone. And no single males have checked in to the Azalea Inn. The only new people been around town are a young newlywed couple name of Hammonds and a fancy lady who’s car broke down on her way to Memphis. Elvis fan. We get a lot of them around here on their way to Graceland.”

Abby turned to Jack in disappointment and clasped his hand. “That’s not that strange, Bill. He could be staying in another town and driving over. Or camping in the woods somewhere. Just because no one’s seen him, doesn’t mean that he isn’t around.”

“Now, that’s a fact. There are so many back roads and trails around here that it wouldn’t be hard to avoid being seen, if that’s what you wanted.”

“Is there anything else you can do, Sheriff?” asked Abby.

“Well, I’ll have my deputies patrol out in your direction more, and they’ll keep a sharp eye out for anything suspicious looking.”

With that promise Jack and Abby had to be content.

* * * *

The next day found Jack and Abby on their way back down the mountain and into

Stone Hill. Their first stop was the vet, where they checked on Bear’s progress. He was looking a lot better, sitting up and nuzzling against Abby’s jean-clad leg as she knelt down to pet him. After talking with the vet, they arranged to pick up Bear the next day.

Their next stop was the sheriff’s office. Sheriff Tyrell was seated at his desk and motioned for them to come on in.

“Sit down, sit down,” said the sheriff. Jack and Abby complied, and the sheriff took a file out of his drawer and opened it. After reading over the information, he looked up at them. “Anything else happen since we spoke yesterday?” he inquired.

“No, Sheriff,” Abby answered. “Nothing else, thank goodness.”

“Good. I’ve been trying to find some more out about our suspect, but there’s nothing on Scotty Davenport. Not even a speeding ticket. Are you sure it’s him, Miss

Montgomery? Could it be someone else with a grudge against you?”

“I don’t know of anyone else it could be. But I’m a writer, and sometimes we attract some crazy fans. Especially with the kind of books I write.”

“What kind of books are we talking about here?”

“I write horror stories under the pen name A.J. Montgomery. You know the stuff—

science experiments gone awry, possessed cats, psychic powers, that sort of thing.”

“Well, now, that would attract an oddball or two, I’m thinking. Who would know if you’d gotten any weird fan mail or hate letters, that kind of thing?”

“Oh, that would be my agent. I’ll give you her number. I’m sure she’ll have anything unusual on file. I’ll call her and let her know what’s going on.”

“Thanks. I’ll get in touch with her as soon as possible. Well, that’s it,” he pushed his chair back and stood. “If anything else happens or you see anyone suspicious, you let us know. I’ll have my deputies patrol past Jack’s place every few hours, just to keep an eye out.”

Abby stood, also, and held out her hand. As she shook the sheriff’s hand, she said, “Sheriff, I do appreciate all you’ve done. I know that you don’t have much to go on, and you’re taking a lot on my word alone. I want to thank you.”

“You’re welcome, little lady. I know it’s not much, but we’ll keep our eyes open for you.”

Jack reached out and shook Bill’s hand. “Yes, Bill. Thanks. Look, I also wanted to let you know that I’ve decided to call in a friend of mine who’s a private investigator.

Name’s Clay Gentry. He’s from Atlanta.”

The sheriff met his gaze head on. “That’s not a bad idea, Jack. Not a bad idea at all.

My hands are tied to a certain degree, and my deputies have a lot of miles they have to patrol. But a private eye will be able to do a sight more investigating than I can do myself and stick a lot closer to hand.”

“Yes, that’s what I thought. I’ll have him come by and talk to you as soon as he gets in to town. Thanks, again, Bill.”

They exited the building together, then strolled down the street toward

Lila’s

. After

Abby called and spoke to her agent about what was going on, she walked across the room to sit at a table while Jack used the phone to call Clay. Once they had placed their order for lunch and the waitress had departed, Jack told Abby what Clay had said.

“He’ll be here tomorrow, as early as possible. He said that he didn’t like the sound of this Scotty Davenport guy. I didn’t give him all the details yet, but I’ll fill him in completely when he gets here.”

“How well do you know Clay?”

“Pretty well. We’ve been friends for a while now.” He didn’t want to tell Abby just how well he knew Clay, at least not yet. The two of them had similar sexual tastes, including one time when they had shared a woman. The thought of sharing Abby with

Clay intrigued him. Would she be willing to do it? Would he want to share her in that way? Yes, he would. Just thinking about it made him hot. He knew that she was pretty inexperienced, but she had been an enthusiastic participant in all that they had done so far. How much more would she be willing to try? Just the thought of her body writhing in ecstasy between Clay and him had him hard as a rock. Yes, he would have to see if he could coax his little angel into experimenting with a ménage a trois

.

* * * *

For the rest of the afternoon, Abby sat at Jack’s kitchen table and tried to write the next chapter of her book. Occasionally she would glance out the window to where she could see Jack as he worked on the bookshelf. He had pulled it outside to stain it, and she enjoyed the sight of his broad muscles flexing beneath the tight navy t-shirt as he worked the rag over and over on the wood. It reminded her of how those hands felt on her body as he brought her to ecstasy time after time. Shaking her head at her foolish daydreams, she focused on the page in front of her and was soon immersed in the action of her story.

About an hour later, a loud thump from the front porch caught her attention just as she was typing the final sentence of the scene she was working on. What in the world?

She stood and walked to the front door, hesitating before grasping the handle and opening it. At first, she could see nothing, so she walked forward a step or two.

She let out a piercing scream, which brought Jack running. She just pointed to the limp body of a dead raccoon lying on the ground near the steps. Its throat had been cut and, the dismembered head lay on the porch next to Abby’s foot, blood splattered across the door. He rushed to her and led her back into the cabin, closing and locking the door behind them.

“It was horrible, Jack. Did you see it?” Abby felt faint as she faced him. “My God, what kind of monster is he? What kind of person would so such a thing?” The pitch of her voice climbed higher and higher, edging toward hysteria.

Jack clutched her shoulders and shook her. “Calm down, Abby. You’ve got to keep your head. Don’t let him do this to you.”

She knew he was right and took several deep breaths. When she felt like she had herself under control, she said, “Okay. You’re right. I’m fine.”

He looked deeply into her eyes, and what he saw must have reassured him. “All right. I’m going to go out and look around.”

“No, Jack. Don’t go out there. What if he’s still here?”

“I’ll be fine, Abby.”

Jack opened the closet and reached up to get a shoebox that was sitting on the shelf.

He lifted the lid and pulled out a pistol. Abby’s eyes widened when she saw him check it for bullets before tucking it into the back of his jeans, but she said nothing. After cautioning Abby to stay inside and lock the door, he went out, and Abby watched him through the window as he methodically searched the area around the cabin. Abby waited impatiently as Jack examined the bloody corpse of the animal before lifting it onto a shovel and carrying it out of sight around the side of the building. When he came back, Abby unlocked the door and stepped back, allowing him to enter.

“Whoever it was is gone now,” he assured her. Jack crossed to the kitchen and washed his hands in the sink, looking out the window with narrowed eyes. Abby walked up behind him and put her arms around his waist, leaning her head against his strong back. He dried his hands on a dishtowel and then reached down to cover her hands with his.

“I’m so glad you’re here with me, Jack.” Abby murmured against him, her hands tightening.

“I’m not going anywhere, baby.” He turned to face her, dragging her against his body with a tug and pressing her face against his neck.

Abby pulled away and turned her back to him, taking a few steps across the room.

“Maybe you should. Or maybe I should. Maybe it would be better if I went away somewhere so that this kook would leave you alone. That way you’d be safe. Who knows what he’s going to do next?” She looked back at him over her shoulder. “I’d die if anything happened to you because of me.” She couldn’t control the fear and worry in her voice.

He crossed to her and grabbed her arm so that she turned to face him. “Are you insane? You’re not going anywhere. My God, how do you think I would feel if you left me? If you went away and I couldn’t protect you from this idiot?” He shook her. “Don’t you know you’re the most important thing in the world to me? We are in this together.

We are in everything together. I love you. You’re mine, and what’s mine, I protect. Do not even think about leaving without me. Do you understand?”

Abby tried unsuccessfully to blink back the tears that threatened to brim over.

Unable to speak, she nodded, and he tugged her tightly against him. “Go ahead, baby.

Cry. God knows you deserve it. But once you’re done, I expect to see my little fighter back in action.” He whispered against her hair as great gasping sobs came from her. They stood there for several minutes, with Abby’s sobs gradually quieting to little whimpers.

She looked up at Jack, her face wet and her eyes swollen from her tears. She wiped a

hand across her face. “God, I’ve turned into such a crybaby. I’ve always hated women who cried at the drop of a hat, and now look at me.” Reaching up a hand she stroked across his cheek and managed a weak but genuine smile. “You’re right, Jack. We’re in this together. Forever.”

He leaned down to press gentle kisses on each eyelid and her trembling mouth. Her lips parted and his tongue slid between her teeth to caress the inside of her mouth, and her tongue rubbed against his in sweet surrender. His large hands rubbed soothingly over her shoulders and down her back, kneading and pressing their way to her bottom. With a sure touch, he curved her hips into his, molding her body to the hard contours of his own.

When the kiss ended, they walked hand in hand down the hall to his bedroom. He released her and stepped away, his hands going to the buttons of his shirt. As he pushed the first button free, she licked her lips and then she, too, began removing her clothes.

Neither said a word. In moments, they were both naked and lying on the bed. He reached out a hand to gently cup her swollen breast, rasping his thumb across the already pouting tip.

Abby was caught up in the tenderness of his touch. So different from their other encounters, this moment would be forever etched in her mind. She felt as if they were pledging themselves to one another more surely than any wedding vows. Those were for later, for family and friends. But this moment was for the two of them, merging their lives and bodies into one.

His lips caught hers, tongues tangling together, exploring and arousing. She put her hands on his shoulders and urged him over her, spreading her legs as he settled between them. His skin felt so hot against her wandering hands and his muscles moved against her fingertips, rising to meet their touch. Trailing down his back to his firm buttocks, her hands clutched him closer. When the head of his cock nudged against her opening, she spread her legs wider, and he pushed slowly inside, filling her, claiming her. His hands slid underneath her hips, and he clasped her more firmly against him as he arched back and thrust again.

Feeling every stroke deep inside, Abby wrapped her legs around his hips, craving more of his touch, aching to be as close as two people could be. On and on, they rocked with the sensual tide, the rhythmic call of passion and love. Jack’s strokes in and out of her body were so sweetly loving, yet underlying the gentleness was a core of steel. His pace quickened, and he reached between them to massage her swollen clit, leading her, pushing her on until the world exploded behind her closed eyelids, and he followed her down, jets of his cum filling her womb.

Much later, Abby sat on the couch, Jack’s head cradled in her lap as she stared into space, her mind again reliving the last few days and her feelings of helplessness and terror. She would not live like that. Jack was right. It was time to do something about it.

“When will your friend arrive, Jack?”

“He should get here sometime before noon. He’ll probably stop at the sheriff’s office to talk to him and read over the official report before he comes up the mountain.” Jack’s eyes were closed, and Abby’s fingers stroked lazily across his forehead through his hair.

“What’s he like?” she asked, curious about Jack’s friend now that she had agreed to let him help.

“Who, Clay?” Jack grinned. “He’s a great guy. I think you’ll like him.”

“Where did you two meet?”

He waited a moment before answering, and she couldn’t help but notice the hesitation. “What? Is there something you’re not telling me?”

“Well, sweetheart, the truth is that Clay and I met through a mutual friend—a woman.” The uncertain tone of his voice piqued her interest, and she sat up. “Yes, and…”

She studied him closely and prodded again. “So? I am aware that there have been other women in your life, Jack. I’m not a moron. What else? I can tell you’re trying to hide something.”

“Not hide, exactly. I’m just not sure how to say it.”

“Oh, just spit it out, Jack. Now I’m really curious.”

He sighed and then said, “The truth is that a woman we both knew was curious about what it would be like to have sex with two men at once. She wanted to have a ménage and asked us if we would like to try it with her. We both agreed. I had never done anything like it before, and neither had Clay. Anyway, that’s the first time we met.”

Whatever she had been expecting him to say, that wasn’t it. She was dumbfounded.

“You shared a woman with Clay? All three of you—at the same time?” Abby didn’t know quite what to think about it. One the one hand she was shocked, at least she felt like she should be, but she couldn’t deny that the idea of such a forbidden experience was a little titillating, too.

“So…did you like it?” She was curious.

“Abby, really, I…”

“Just tell me, Jack. I know that you like your sex a little wild. Even though I haven’t been with many men, I do have a little bit of an idea what goes on. And some of the things that we’ve done, well, they’re not exactly typical missionary position, are they?”

He laughed. “No, they’re not. Okay. Yeah. I liked it. I enjoyed sharing a woman with

Clay. There’s nothing like it, angel.” His voice grew serious. “To know that the woman you’re with is going to experience so much more pleasure than she could with one man alone—that you’re going to give her something unlike anything she’s ever had—it’s a very heady experience. A real turn-on.”

“You wouldn’t … you wouldn’t want to share me, would you, Jack?” she asked in a small voice, uncertain of her reaction to what he was saying.

“Only if you wanted to, baby.” He sat up and drew her across his lap. “I’m not going to lie to you and say I wouldn’t enjoy it. In fact, when I decided to ask Clay to come here, I did think about the possibility of our sharing you, but only if you felt comfortable doing it. I would never force you to do anything you didn’t want to.”

She stared into his eyes. “I just don’t know if I could, Jack. I mean, don’t you want us to be faithful to one another?” Her eyes reflected her confusion.

“This has nothing to do with being unfaithful, baby. I would never want you to be with another man unless I was there and an active participant.” He reached up to tuck a lock of hair behind her ear as he continued. “But I think that you would love it, sweetheart. And I know I would. Would you at least think about it?”

Abby felt herself becoming lost in his beautiful blue eyes. Could she do it? Could she let another man touch her like Jack did? She didn’t know. But what she did know was that the thought of it wasn’t as repugnant to her as she had imagined it would be. Just listening to Jack talk about the pleasure that the woman received from having two men focused on her pleasure caused a tingling in her core that she could not ignore. Jack had

already taken her to places she’d never dreamed of before. Would this be another? She couldn’t believe that she was actually considering it, but she was.

“I’ll think about it, Jack,” she promised him and then he leaned down to place a gentle, loving kiss on her mouth before cuddling her close to his warmth.

Chapter Nine

Clay arrived on the mountain just after noon the next day. Abby was hard at work on her book when Jack heard the truck pull up in front of the cabin. Clay climbed out of the pickup and strode toward Jack with a confident step. Wearing a pair jeans so faded it was a miracle they held together and a t-shirt reading

What are you looking at, asshole?, Clay conveyed a no-bullshit attitude.

He grinned, a wicked glint in his brown eyes, and held out his hand in greeting.

“Hey, man. How’s it hanging?”

Jack grasped Clay’s hand in his own. “Thanks for coming, Clay.”

“No problem. I wasn’t involved in anything very interesting. I just turned over another cheating wife case I was working on over to one of my assistants and came up as quickly as I could.”

“My God, assistants? Business must be really good.”

Clay laughed. “Can’t complain, man. So, where’s your lady?”

“Abby’s inside working. I wanted a chance to talk to you privately before she realized you were here.” They turned and went up the steps. Jack walked over and sat on the porch swing while Clay leaned against a post. “Did you speak to the sheriff?”

Clay got serious. “Yeah, I just left there. I read over his file and talked to him a bit.

He’s a good man, but he can’t really do much without more to go on.”

“That’s what I thought. What do you think?”

“Well, I did a little digging after you called me. This Davenport guy’s pretty low-

key. No priors. Everyone who knows him speaks well of him. He really doesn’t seem the type to stalk anyone. Then again, a lot of people who do this kind of shit don’t seem the type. Something sets them off, and bam, they lose it.”

“Did something happen to set him off?” Jack asked.

“Well, funny you should ask. I found out from a buddy of mine in Gulf Shores that

Scotty boy just broke up with a long-time girlfriend a few weeks ago. Seems she left to go to college at the University of North Alabama and decided that she didn’t want to be tied down to some guy in Gulf Shores. So she gave him the old heave-ho. He took it pretty hard. Not too long after that is when he started putting the moves on your lady.”

Jack considered what Clay had just told him. “So do you think it’s him? And do you think he’s dangerous?”

“I don’t know, man. It sure seems to fit. Maybe a little too well, if you know what I

mean. I don’t like things to be this easy. I’ve got one of my guys driving over to UNA

today to see if he can find the girlfriend. He’s going to see if she’s heard from our boy.”

Jack agreed. “There’s something else, too.” Then he proceeded to bring Clay up to speed about the dead raccoon.

“That’s not good, man. Sounds like he’s escalating. We need to get this thing resolved as quickly as possible.”

“I agree. I won’t be able to relax until I know Abby is safe.”

Clay looked at him questioningly. “So tell me more about Abby. How serious are you two?”

“I’ve asked her to marry me.” He grinned at the astonished expression on Clay’s

face.

“No shitting? My god, who’d have ever thought it? I mean, after that crap with

Lauren and your dad…”

“I know. But Abby is nothing like Lauren. Nothing at all.”

“Good. If anybody deserves it, man, it’s you.” He paused and Jack knew something important was coming from the serious expression that crossed Clay’s face. “Speaking of your dad, Jack, I heard that he had a heart attack. A pretty bad one. He’s in the hospital.”

Jack’s eyes widened. “Hell.”

“Lauren didn’t contact you? I was afraid of that.”

“That bitch? Hardly. I wasn’t exactly on her list of favorite people when I left.”

“True, but still, man, it’s your dad.” His eyes narrowed. “You need to know that things between your dad and Lauren haven’t been going too well.”

Jack froze. “What do you mean?”

“I heard he caught her in bed with some guy.”

“Fuck, why am I not surprised? So she screwed around on him? I’d like to say I can’t believe it, but I’d be lying.”

“There’s all kinds of rumors floating around Atlanta. Some are even saying that there might be divorce papers in the works. You realize that you lucked out when Lauren broke things off with you, don’t you?”

“Hell yeah. Believe me, I know. And now I have Abby.”

“So, what   she like?”

is

“Sweet and funny. Gorgeous. And crazy about me.” He grinned. “Plus, she’s open to all sorts of …well, let’s just say new experiences. In fact, right now, she’s considering one idea that I asked her about last night after I talked to you.”

Clay’s eyebrows rose. “Really? Can I guess what that idea is?”

“Probably, especially since it includes you.” Jack smiled wickedly at his friend.

“Hell, are you sure, Jack? I mean, she’s your lady now.”

“Oh, yeah, I’m sure. And I think she’s going to say yes. So be sure to turn on the charm when you meet her, buddy. I’ve got big plans for later on tonight.” With that, Jack turned to lead Clay up and into the cabin to meet Abby.

*

Abby had not noticed the visitor when he arrived, so into the story that she was working on that a bomb could probably have gone off in the next room and she wouldn’t have flinched. But when the door opened, she looked up to see Jack entering with a drop-

dead gorgeous guy following behind him. The stranger stood at least six-foot-three and had shoulder-length blonde hair pulled back in a ponytail. A silver cross glinted in one ear, and a tribal tattoo banded the bicep of his left arm, barely visible below the stretched arm of his t-shirt. A little uncomfortable at the interested perusal the man was giving her, she stood hastily and crossed to greet them. Jack threw his arm around her shoulders and introduced them. “Clay, this is my fiancée, Abby Montgomery, otherwise know as A.J.

Montgomery, horror novelist. Abby, this is Clay Gentry, the P.I. I told you about.”

Abby held out her hand managed a weak smile. “It’s nice to meet you, Clay. Jack has told me a lot about you.”

His eyes swept over to Jack before returning to Abby’s. “Not too much, I hope. A

guy likes to keep a little mystery.” He grinned down at her, and she could feel a stirring of attraction in her body. Bad boy, she thought to herself. It’s a good thing she was

already crazy in love with Jack because Clay would be hard for a girl to resist. She could feel Jack’s eyes on her, and she knew he was thinking about the three-way he had suggested. A blush crossed her features. Clay’s eyes lingered on her face before dropping down to take in her slim but curvaceous figure. He turned to Jack. “I must say you’ve got great taste, Jack. You’re a lucky dog.”

Jack squeezed Abby’s shoulders before releasing her. “You’re right about that. Come on in and sit down. How about a beer while we talk about our little problem?”

“Sounds great.”

Jack crossed into the kitchen to get the drinks while Abby led Clay to the sofa. She sat down and he took the chair across from her. Clasping his hands together to dangle between his muscular thighs, he leaned forward. “So, how’s Bear?”

“He’s doing great. We’ll probably run down the mountain to pick him up in a little while.”

Jack sat beside her and handed Clay his beer. “Yeah, he was lucky it was just a flesh wound. It would have been a lot worse if the bullet had been in him all night long.”

“That’s good.” Clay proceeded to fill Abby in on all that he told Jack earlier. “So I

called and told one of my associates to run over to the UNA campus at Florence and see if he could locate this Missy Crawford.”

“What do you think she can tell you?” Abby wanted to know.

“Well, she might know Scotty’s current location. If she does, it’ll make it a whole lot easier for me to track him down and find out if he really is the one causing all your problems.”

“Who else could it be?”

“When I talked to Sheriff Tyrell, he gave me a list of some of your weirder fans that he’d gotten from your agent. I’m having some of my guys run the names to see if anything pops up.”

She leaned closer to Jack. “You know, I kind of hope it is Scotty. I don’t like the thought of some unknown creep out there following me around and doing all these horrible things. It would be better if it were someone I’m actually acquainted with. At least I know what Scotty looks like. If it’s not him, it could be anybody.”

Clay agreed. “Better the devil you know, as they say. But don’t worry. Whoever it is, we’ll catch ‘em.”

She smiled weakly. “Yeah, I hope so. The sooner the better.”

Clay and Jack decided to check outside and see if they could find any trace of the intruder that Jack might have overlooked when he had searched earlier. Abby stayed in the cabin, trying to work on her book some more, but having difficulty concentrating.

Between the stuff with Scotty and Jack’s suggestion that they have a threesome with

Clay, her thoughts were in a tailspin.

Eventually she gave up, and just sat in the living room, sipping a cup of coffee. Her thoughts wandered to a scene she had witnessed back when she was fifteen years old, one she hadn’t thought about in a long time. She and her best friend Annalise had been spying on Beau because Annalise had a crush on him. He was twenty years old and major hot.

The girls had followed him and a buddy down to a secluded spot by the creek that ran near Beau’s home. The guys had met up with a couple of girls. When the two boys had started putting the moves on the girls, one of them had gotten mad and left.

What had happened between the remaining girl and the two boys had remained

etched in Abby’s mind for years. It had been one of the most erotic things she had ever seen. Perhaps that was why she wasn’t quite as shocked by Jack’s suggestion as she should have been. But the truth was that once the initial surprise had passed, the idea of the three of them in bed together was exciting. Abby shivered at the thought of herself sandwiched between the two hard bodies of the men. She was getting wet just thinking about it.

From the way Clay’s eyes had studied her earlier, she didn’t think it would take much to gain his cooperation. Was she crazy to be considering agreeing to this? As she examined her own feelings, she knew that deep down she wanted to do it. She made her decision. She was going to do it. She was going to allow the two men complete control over her body, but she knew that she would never be able to do it without Jack there. Her trust in him gave her the courage to dare anything.

* * * *

After examining the area surrounding the cabin, Clay found nothing except for some bushes that had been pushed around and a section of ground where someone had stood, apparently watching the cabin. He showed the spot to Jack whose expression grew more worried. They decided not to tell Abby what they had found. She already had enough on her mind as it was. Clay would keep an eye on the area in case whoever had been there came back.

Jack went back inside, letting Clay do a little more exploring. He found Abby sitting in the living room, lost in thought. He bent down and kissed her head, then walked around the couch to sit beside her. “How are you doing in here? I thought you were going to work on your book.”

“I couldn’t concentrate. I have a lot on my mind,” she confessed.

“Oh, yeah? Like what?” he asked, thinking he probably already had a pretty good idea.

She glanced up at him. “Truthfully, I’ve been thinking about what you said earlier, about Clay and us. You know … together.” She looked down at the hands she’d clasped in her lap.

“Yes, angel?” He tried to sound reassuring.

“If you … if you still want to, well … I’m willing to try it.”

He put his hand beneath her chin and nudged it up. “Are you sure?”

“Yes. I’m just a little nervous about it.”

“There’s no need to be. I promise if you start to feel weird or uncomfortable, we can stop.”

“Okay.” She took a deep breath, and Jack hid his smile at the betraying action. He could plainly see the apprehension in her expression, but mingled with it, was a hint of excitement.

“Well, when would we…you know…do it?”

“I thought tonight would be perfect. Is that okay?”

She nodded and smiled hesitantly at Jack. “Okay.”

He gave her a reassuring hug. Just then, Clay walked in. “I’m going to run back to town to use the phone. I’d like to check in with my office and see if they’ve found out anything yet.”

Jack nodded. “Okay. We’ll follow you down. The vet’s letting us pick up Bear this

afternoon.”

When Abby got up to put on her shoes, Jack followed Clay out onto the porch. “Do you think your agent has learned anything yet?”

He shrugged. “We’ll know soon enough.” He turned to walk to his truck, but Jack stopped him.

“Clay, about what we were talking about earlier…”

“Yeah?” Clay’s expression lit with a gleam of anticipation.

“Abby said yes. If you still want to, it’s on for tonight.”

“Fuck, yeah, I want to.” Clay grinned.

Jack paused for a moment. “I just want to warn you, she’s pretty nervous.”

“No problem. We’ll ease her into it.” Clay nodded his head in understanding.

Jack tucked his hands in his pockets and met Clay’s eyes. “I haven’t taken her anally yet, but I want to do it tonight. Her ass is mine, understood?” His determined eyes met

Clay’s.

“Understood.” Clay agreed easily. He nodded his head and then turned to get in his truck.

A few minutes later, Abby joined Jack and they got in the Jeep, following Clay’s vehicle down the mountain and in to Stone Hill.

After getting Bear from the vet’s, Jack and Abby loaded him into the back of the

Jeep. Then they crossed over to

Lila s

’  to meet Clay. He occupied one of the booths next to the window.

After they sat down with him and ordered coffee, Jack asked, “Did you get in touch with your associate?”

Clay answered affirmatively. “None of the people on your agent’s list sent up any red flags. And I’ve got some more news for you. Davenport is with his girlfriend.

Apparently, he drove up to see her in Florence several days ago and they made up. My guy said there’s no way he could have been the one who’s been causing the problems here in Stone Hill. He says when she split with him, he lost it for a little while. He claims he’s been trying to get in touch with you to apologize, but you wouldn’t return any of his calls.

Abby sat back, amazed. Even though they had talked about the possibility, she hadn’t really considered that it could have been anyone else besides Scotty. “But, who is it, then? Clay paused for a moment. “I want to ask you guys something.” Looking very serious, he continued, “Is it possible that this person is after you, Jack, and not Abby?”

The question stunned both of them. Jack answered. “Me? Why on earth would anyone be after me? I’ve lived practically like a hermit for the past two years.”

Clay reminded him of something he hadn‘t even thought of. “But your dad is in bad shape, Jack. You stand to inherit quite a lot of money, not to mention the electronics company. I think that either of those could be powerful motives. Who would benefit most if something happened to you?”

“No,” Abby burst in. “The things that happened, they happened to me, not to Jack.”

“True,” said Clay. “But if someone has been watching you, he might think that you were the quickest way to get to Jack.”

Jack broke in, “It never occurred to me that this might be connected to me. Like I

said, I can’t imagine who it would be. I don’t even know who’s in charge of the company these days. Maybe someone there doesn’t want me back. Hell, I figured my father had

probably cut me out of his will after I left. I just don’t know.”

“Well, I think it’s something we should look into. In the meantime, I’ve got a few other ideas of my own I’m checking out.”

“Like what?” Jack wanted to know.

“I’d rather not say right now. Let me check some things out first, okay?”

“All right. But you’ll let me know the minute you find out anything?”

“Absolutely.”

They finished their coffee and exited the café. As they stood on the sidewalk outside, Clay told them, “I’m going to stay in town for a while longer, see if I nose around a little.” His eyes shifted to Abby. “I’ll be back up in an hour or so.”

She held his gaze, knowing his thoughts were on the night ahead with the three of them together. A shiver of anticipation danced over her skin at the promise in his eyes.

* * * *

Abby was taking a shower when Clay arrived back at the cabin. Jack sat on the front steps petting Bear, who lay on the porch beside him. “Hey, man, find out anything interesting?”

Clay stopped by him and knelt to pet the dog, which sniffed his hand and then nuzzled against it, uninhibitedly pleading for more attention. “Good boy, Bear.” Bear’s tail flopped back and forth on the blanket.

“Not much. Just the description of this woman who broke down. I couldn’t find her, but according to the desk clerk at the Azalea Inn, she’s a pretty high-class sort for this small town. Something just stuck me as a little off. She didn’t sound like an Elvis fan to me. Of course, it takes all kinds, I guess. I’ll check her out some more tomorrow. Maybe meet with her myself and see what she’s like and exactly why she’s here.”

Jack grunted in reply, letting his eyes focus on the distant mountains. “I hate this waiting around and not knowing anything. And it’s damn hard on Abby.”

“I know. But that’s just the way these cases go. Most of the time it’s hurry up and wait. You move forward an inch at a time. So, are we still on for tonight?” he asked, changing the subject to something much more pleasant.

Jack smiled. “Abby’s showering now. She wanted to be sure she was ready for us.”

“Well, let me get my things out of the SUV. Is there an extra bedroom where I can store my stuff?”

“Sure. Come on.”

Moving on into the house, they put Clay’s things into the spare bedroom. Jack went back to the porch and brought Bear in. They had made him a pallet in the mudroom, and

Jack put him in there with some food and water. By the time Abby emerged from the back, the men had discussed their plans for the coming night. Their top priority was to make Abby comfortable and to keep her from panicking and canceling on them.

Abby walked hesitantly into the room wearing a pair of shorts and a halter top, her hair pulled into a ponytail high on her head that made her look about sixteen.

“You guys hungry? I could whip us up some spaghetti.”

“That sounds great, angel.” Jack responded with a reassuring smile.

“Right. Well, ah, I’ll just be in the kitchen.”

By the time Abby called them to come and eat, she was a nervous wreck. She could not get the coming night off her mind. The spaghetti stuck in her throat, but the guys

seemed to enjoy it, finishing off a couple of helpings each. They all pitched in to clean up the mess, and soon the kitchen was sparkling clean.

Abby was wiping off the counter when Clay walked up behind her and put his hands on her shoulders. “Thanks for a great meal, Abby.” He bent and placed a gentle kiss on the nape of her neck, and she froze. He stroked down her bare arms and stepped closer, every inch of him from chest to thigh in close contact with her body. Warm heat began spreading over her as he bent his head to kiss her neck again, on the side this time, his five-o’clock shadow scratching over her tender skin and sending chills down her spine.

At first she held herself still, uncomfortably aware of Jack’s presence nearby. Then she forced herself to relax against Clay and felt his hardness rubbing against her rear.

Abby turned her head and saw Jack standing across the room watching them with a rapt expression on his face. So this was it, thought Abby. Amazingly, her nervousness had faded away, replaced instead by a hungry eagerness to experience all these two beautiful men could offer her. Jack licked his lips, meeting her eyes with the fiery blue of his own, obviously excited to see what Clay was doing to her.

Clay’s hands moved up to brush the underside of her breasts through the cloth of her top, then slid up to easily find her tight nipples, which he pinched lightly. She moaned at the arousing combination of Clay’s hands moving over her and Jack’s lustful stare.

Grasping her shoulders, Clay turned them both around so that they faced Jack head on.

Jack’s hand dropped to stroke over the swollen flesh rising behind his zipper. His hands unfastened his pants and reached in, drawing his cock out and taking it in a firm grip. His eyes never left Abby and Clay while his hand played up and down over his erection.

“I think Jack likes what he’s seeing, darlin’.” Clay’s husky voice slid into her ear and straight to her cunt. His mouth nuzzled against Abby’s hair as he untied the straps of her shirt and eased it off. She hadn’t worn a bra so her breasts fell free and unrestrained into

Clay’s hands, and he began squeezing them and tugging the peaks over and over, until they stood out red and swollen against her pale skin. Abby’s head fell back against Clay, and he traced a slow line down her abdomen. He unbuttoned her shorts and pushed them down until they fell to the floor. She was left in nothing more than a brief white thong that rode high on her hips. Jack stepped forward as Clay’s hand disappeared down into the front of her panties. His eyes bore into hers as he approached.

When he was within a couple of steps of Abby and Clay, Jack stopped, his eyes focused on the hand between her legs as it worked against her but remained hidden by the white nylon. He looked up to meet her stare before kneeling in front of her. He clasped the sides of the thong in his hands and dragged it down her legs, slowly revealing the erotic sight of Clay’s hand as it stroked against her swollen cunt lips. “You’re so sexy, angel.” Clay’s finger slid around her clit in a teasing motion, close but never quite touching the hard nub. Her hips responded to the manual stimulation by trying to press forward, circling and arching towards his hand. Jack seemed almost hypnotized, his eyes following each caress.

Then Clay brought his hand back up to cup her breasts, and Jack leaned in to lick over the wetness that Clay’s hand had drawn from between her legs. Abby moaned, a low, plaintive sound, and thrust herself against his face, grasping his head between her hands and entangling her fingers in his thick black hair. Jack apparently took that as a signal because he attacked her cunt with his mouth, licking and biting and sucking. He drew one leg up over his shoulder to spread her more for his delectation. At the same

time, Clay devoted his attention to her breasts, continuing his earlier tugging and squeezing, his face buried in her neck, his teeth scraping over her pulse.

Abby was overwhelmed by all the feelings that were building inside her. Her moans increased in volume, and she could feel her climax approaching rapidly. Clay whispered against her skin. “Yeah, honey, oh, yeah. You like this, don’t you? You were made for this.” Then he bit down on her neck just as Jack drove his tongue into her straining tunnel, fucking her with his mouth. The orgasm broke over Abby like a tidal wave, her scream of pleasure echoing around the kitchen and her limbs giving out completely. She would have fallen if Clay had not wrapped his arms tightly around her waist. “That’s it, baby. Come for us. Yeah. Just like that.”

Jack rose from his kneeling position to press an open-mouthed kiss against Abby’s lips, and she tasted herself on his lips. He caught her up in his arms, turning, and gently set her down on the table. Pressing her down until she lay flat, Jack maneuvered Abby until her hips hung slightly over the edge. When he had her positioned just right, he stepped to the side and Clay took his place. Abby, flushed with her climax, could do nothing more than gaze up at the man who stared down at her moist sex. He knelt down.

“I can’t wait to taste you, too, Abby.” Then his mouth was on her, working over her labia and stabbing up into her. While Clay continued plundering her feminine softness, Jack quickly stripped himself. He stepped to the side of the table and climbed up, straddling

Abby’s face, and she stared up enthralled at his swollen cock.

“Open up, angel. I want you suck me while Clay eats you.” Abby’s lips parted, and

Jack pressed his arousal into her mouth. Hungrily she sucked on the plum-shaped head all the while arching into Clay’s eager tongue that had set up a fast rhythm in her aching pussy. Jack leaned forward slightly, forcing more of himself into her mouth. “Yes, baby.

I want to fuck your face. Open wide. Wider. Yes, that’s so good.” Jack began easing his cock in and out of her mouth, setting up a steady motion, pushing himself deeper down her throat with each stroke. Abby had one hand clasped around Clay’s head and the other grasped tightly onto Jack’s buttocks as he repeatedly rocked himself into her.

When Clay quit his ministrations, she moaned in dismay, trying to push his head back to her pussy, but he resisted her. His hand replaced his mouth, and she felt his finger enter her. Soon a second finger followed, and he pumped in and out. His mouth returned to her clit, suckling and stroking until she exploded into a second orgasm. She heard the sound of a zipper and paper tearing and realized Clay was putting on a condom. Moments later, she felt the head of his penis press against her cunt, and then he surged inside.

Gasping with the force of his thrust, she momentarily lost focus. She looked up at Jack and could tell from his expression that he knew Clay had begun fucking her. A shiver slid down her spine at the look of total heat in his expression.

“Take me deeper, baby.” She felt Jack’s cock banging against the back of her throat and swallowed, pulling another inch of him into her mouth. “Yes, that’s it. God, that’s so good. Suck harder. Jesus. I’m going to come, angel.” Suddenly his cock erupted, spraying his cum down her throat, and she eagerly swallowed the salty-sweet juice, glorying in the taste of him. He kept thrusting and thrusting until she had sucked down the last drop. He pulled out of her mouth and dropped a kiss onto her upturned face. “That was so good, Abby.”

Shifting his body, he slid himself around until he was propping her up so they could watch Clay fucking her pussy. “You don’t know what a turn on this is, angel. Just look at

him fucking that tight little cunt of yours.” He reached around with both hands to cup her breasts and stroke her nipple, tweaking and pinching, adding to Abby’s frantic excitement. “Watch him, angel. Watch him take you.” As Clay slid in and out of her, she saw her own juices making his cock glow. Clay grinned up at them, tightening his hold on Abby.

“God, your cunt is so tight and wet, Abby. You feel so good. No wonder Jack can’t get enough of this hot pussy.” Clay gasped out the words as he continued to pound his cock into her. His thrusts became shorter and harder until he finally exploded into her, bellowing out his release.

Abby felt limp. “Are you okay, angel?” Jack leaned over her and caressed her cheek as Clay pulled himself from her body.

She smiled tremulously up at him and whispered. “I’m fine, Jack. You were right.

I’ve never felt like this before.”

“I’m glad, sweetie, but you’re talking like it’s over.” He kissed her. “We’re just getting started, right Clay?”

“Damn right,” Clay responded. Abby looked down to where he stood between her legs, his cock still erect and a naughty grin lighting his features.

Jack slipped from the table and scooped Abby up in his arms while Clay followed them. They walked into the bedroom where Clay stripped the covers back from the bed, moving over so that Jack could deposit Abby in the center. Clay and Jack lay on either side of her, Jack’s arm encircling her waist. Clay dropped a kiss on her shoulder.

“What now?” Abby wanted to know. She couldn’t believe that she had ever been nervous. She felt so relaxed and comfortable lying between the two men.

“Now we’re going to take a little breather and rest. Believe me, angel, you’re going to need it before this night is done.” Jack told her.

Clay just grinned.

Abby couldn’t wait.

* * * *

Outside the cabin, a shadow slid away from the kitchen window. “Damn that bitch.

It’s time to end their little party. It won’t be long now. She thinks she’s so hot, with two men panting after her ass, but she’ll soon find out that she’s just a stupid little cunt.” The rasping voice muttered as the figure crossed the clearing and entered the woods. Over and over the voice repeated. “Stupid little cunt. Stupid little cunt.” Then the darkness of the forest closed around the dark form and muffled all sound.

Chapter Ten

The warm feel of hands brushing over her pubic hair woke Abby. Keeping her eyes closed, she turned toward the movement, spreading her legs to the invading touch.

Skillful fingers pressed up into her channel as wetness seeped from her core, and she whimpered, wanting more. A delicate lick stroked across her nipple, a hand caressing her other tightly beaded tip. From behind her, another hand massaged her buttocks, another tongue explored the crevice between the soft mounds. Abby whimpered again, craving the dark touches. Her eyelids fluttered up and her vision filled with the top of Clay’s head as he feasted on her breasts and his hand played between her thighs. She realized then that it was Jack’s touch she felt on her bottom, his mouth moving closer and closer to that most forbidden spot, the spot that he had sworn earlier that he would claim for his own.

Then she felt the first, delicate rasp across the sensitive tissue.

Clay lifted his head and stared into her eyes. His hands shifted and he rolled to his back, pulling Abby away from Jack until she lay fully stretched over his body. Pulling her face down, he kissed her deeply, his tongue exploring all the hidden crevices of her mouth. Then he pushed her up until she straddled him, his cock standing at rigid attention before her. His hand reached across to the nightstand where he found another condom, and he gave it to Abby, who opened it quickly and rolled it over his straining member.

She put out a hand to encircle his swollen cock, and he gasped out a moan, arching up into her hand. “God, yes, Abby. Again.” She complied with his request, stroking up and down with a firm grasp. “Ride me, honey.” He lifted her into position, and she sank down, engulfing his cock inside her tight tunnel. She moved up and down at the direction of his hands, utterly at the mercy of his demands. Jack moved on the bed, reaching over to pull something out of the drawer in the bedside table. It was a tube of lubricant, and

Abby’s eyes widened in apprehension. She knew what he wanted. He had told her before.

He wanted to fuck her ass. But … both of them? At the same time? God, could she take two men at once?

She stilled on Clay’s body, apprehensive about what was going to happen. But he pulled her down onto his chest and whispered in her ear. “Shh, honey. It’ll be fine. Just relax. You can do this. I know you can take us both. I swear we wouldn’t do anything to hurt you.” Then he kissed her again, his tongue mimicking the movements of his cock in her cunt.

She felt the coldness of the lube as Jack squeezed it onto her ass and proceeded to work it over the tightly puckered rosette. His finger traced around the hole before pressing forward, penetrating her as he had done previously. In and out, he pushed the single digit, finally adding a second finger. With Clay’s cock already invading her cunt, the fingers inside her asshole gave her a feeling of aching pressure. Jack twisted and turned his fingers, stretching her more until he added a third. Now she really felt full, riding the cusp between pleasure and pain. “Jack, God, Jack. No more.” Yet even as she spoke, her body arched into his motions in contradiction to her words. Clay raised his hips in time with Jack’s hand, and Abby responded, moaning and thrashing her head from side to side as she moved with their rhythm. It felt so good. They continued until Abby begged, “More. Give me more. Please, oh, please.”

Jack pulled his fingers from Abby. She looked back in protest and then saw him grab the tube of lubricant to smother his cock with the slick gel. She turned back to Clay who pulled her down to kiss her, momentarily distracting her. Then she felt Jack probing with his blunt hardness against her tight opening. As the pressure built she instinctively tried to draw away, but Clay held her steady, murmuring words of reassurance. Using his hands, he separated the cheeks of her ass to give Jack more room. Firmly, Jack continued to press forward.

“Bear down, Abby.” Clay directed.

“No, no, I can’t do this,” Abby gasped, feeling a burn begin in her anal passage as

Jack’s cock began to enter her.

“Yes, you can, baby,” Jack encouraged her. “You can do this. Press down, sweetheart.”

Abby stared down into Clay’s brown eyes. His hands held her steady for Jack’s penetration. “Clay, please. It hurts.” She whispered to him. “Tell Jack to stop.”

“You know Jack loves you, right, Abby?”

She nodded in agreement, tears brimming in her eyes.

“He’s not going to do anything to hurt you, Abby. Just press down.”

Jack added his gentle command to Clay’s. “I swear, Abby, it’ll be better soon. Bear down. Now.” His demanding voice reached her as nothing else had, and she did as they said, pressing down against Jack’s invading length. He slid in another inch. “That’s good, baby. Again.”

Abby followed his instruction, and he finally slid into her completely, his balls bumping against her curved ass. “Yes, angel. Hell, yes.”

Abby cried out at the pain that felt so good. “Jack. Ohmigod, Jack.” Abby had never felt so full, so possessed. Both Jack and Clay remained still, allowing Abby to adjust to the feel of both cocks inside her tight passages.

“Yes, baby. You’re beautiful. Perfect. You feel so good. So fucking tight.” Jack moaned in her ear.

Clay joined him. “Beautiful, Abby.” He pulled her down to kiss her again passionately, and her body began to relax and accept this new experience. Jack leaned down and braced himself before pulling out again. This time as he sank into her, Clay withdrew, the two of them setting up an opposing pattern of thrust and withdraw. Abby arched up and down, accepting each cock as it entered her, giving her body to the pleasure they offered. Her cunt flooded with her juices, so aroused she couldn’t think a coherent thought. As the two men slaked their lusts on her willing body, Abby spiraled further and further out of control. Distantly she could hear her own voice, huskily begging and pleading with the two men to fuck her harder, faster, deeper. She came, a brief, unexpected climax that did nothing to ease her arousal. Instead, it ratcheted up a notch. A tremor began deep inside her. Waves of pleasure trembled over her, again and again. Several more short, hard orgasms jerked through her body. Clay and Jack quickened their pace.

“Oh, angel, give me more. Yes, look at you. So hot. Give us more.” Jack stroked down her back in a delicious caress.

She moaned, unable to speak, lost to rapture. Her breath came in short gasps; her eyes lost their focus. It felt as if a hot wire inside her was winding tighter and tighter.

How much more pleasure could it take? Then Jack’s voice. “Come for us, angel. Come

now.” At his words, the wire snapped and she screamed, the sound echoing around the room as she fell into the strongest climax of her life. It rolled over her, pounding like waves beating against a shoreline. Jack’s shout of completion was followed closely by

Clay’s, and they throbbed inside her, emptying their cum into her willing body.

Jack withdrew from her and fell to the side. Easing her from him, Clay moved Abby to lie between the two men, all three of them limp but pulsing with satisfaction. “Damn,”

Clay managed to say.

Jack just laid a hand on Abby’s thigh, squeezing lightly. Abby moaned low in her throat once, and then her eyes flickered shut and she slept.

* * * *

Only she and Jack occupied the big bed the next morning. Turning her head, she looked over to meet his clear blue eyes. He smiled and rose over her. “Good morning, angel,” he murmured and leaned down to give her a long, leisurely kiss.

“Mmm. Good morning to you, too.”

“How are you feeling?” he asked.

She stretched and felt a few muscles that she hadn’t known existed, reminding her of the night she had just spent. “A little achy, but not too bad.”

“Are you sorry, Abby?” Jack asked. Although he knew that Abby had thoroughly enjoyed herself and everything that they had done the night before, he also knew that things done in the heat of passion sometimes seemed different in the light of day.

She met his gaze head on. “No, I’m not sorry, Jack,” she reassured him, reaching up to caress his cheek, and he turned his face to plant a loving kiss in her open palm. “It’s not something that I’d want to do all the time, but I have to confess that it blew my mind.

I’ve never felt anything like that before.”

A relieved expression crossed his face. “Thank God.” His face grew serious. “Do you have any idea how much I love you? You are my life.”

“I love you too. So much it scares me.” They kissed again, gently, and smiled into each other’s eyes.

“Come on, you two lovebirds,” came a call from the kitchen. “Up and at ‘em.

Daylight’s burning.”

Jack and Abby reluctantly got up and, after showering and dressing, they joined Clay in the kitchen, where he had breakfast already on the table. Abby thought she would feel awkward in Clay’s company, but he put her at ease, dropping a quick kiss on her nose before pushing her down into a chair. “Morning, beautiful lady.”

“Hi, Clay. Wow! This looks great.”

“Yeah, hard to believe I’ve got a great body and I can cook, too.”

She laughed. “Someday you’ll make someone the perfect wife.”

He snorted, and Jack laughed. They dug in and had soon polished off their meal.

Abby volunteered to clean the kitchen, so the two men walked outside. Their conversation grew serious, going over again the ground that they had covered before and speculating who could be harassing Jack and Abby.

Clay was the first to notice something wrong. “What is that smell?”

Jack sniffed and searched the sky. “Hell. Something’s on fire!”

“Damn, you’re right. Look.” Clay pointed in the direction of the second cabin, the one in which Abby had been staying.

“Fuck.” Smoke filled the sky above the area in which the cabin was located.

Jack ran inside, startling Abby where she stood washing the dishes. “There’s a fire at the other cabin, Abby. Do you know how to use a short-wave radio?”

Abby nodded her head. “Beau taught me to use one on his boat.”

“Great. Contact the sheriff’s office and have them call out the volunteers. We’re probably going to need some help up here.” Abby dried her hands and turned to go. “And

Abby,” Jack’s hands grabbed her shoulders, “lock all the doors and don’t go outside. I

don’t know what’s going on, but I really don’t like this. My gun is in the table by my bed.

I want you go get it and lock yourself in the bedroom. I’ll come check on you as soon as I

can. Do not come out unless Clay or I come and get you. Do you understand?”

“Yes, Jack. And please, be careful, okay?” She pulled his head down to give him a quick hard kiss. “I love you.”

“I love you too, angel. I’ve got to go help Clay. Lock up behind me.”

He dashed out the door, and Abby reached down to turn the lock. Then she went to the front door and did the same. The short-wave radio was in Jack’s bedroom, so she hurried down the hall and entered the room, shutting and locking the door before turning to the radio.

“Well, well, well.” Suddenly, a gun was pressed against Abby’s back. “What do we have here? Jack’s newest little playmate?”

Abby froze in shock. It was a woman’s voice. “That’s good. Don’t move.” The woman walked around to stand in front of Abby, pistol pointed directly at her stomach.

Abby’s heart lurched. She recognized her. It was the woman from the picture. Jack’s ex-

fiancée, Lauren.

Oh my God. Was this the stalker who had been giving them such hell? The woman looked wild. Her hair was a tangled mess, and her clothes were soiled and torn.

Lauren looked Abby over, her eyes hard as stone. “What on earth does he see in you? I mean, you’re not even that attractive, if you ask me. Unless you go for that lost waif look, and that was never Jack’s speed. He’s always preferred a more sophisticated woman. Like me.” Her eyes traveled up and down Abby’s tense form. “No, I honestly don’t know what he sees in you. Except you do seem willing to play his little dirty games with him.” A knowing smile crossed her face. “Yes, you are a little wild tiger in bed, I‘ll give you that. I mean you sure seemed to like everything he was doing to you that day in the rain. And sharing him with Clay? Well, hell, who would have thought you’d have it in you? A little mouse like you.”

She laughed, a high-pitched, slightly maniacal sound that frightened Abby even more than her words. If this woman was as out of control as Abby feared, there was no telling what she might do. Abby kept an eye warily on the gun clutched in Lauren’s hand. “But he’ll get tired of you. I mean, there’s only so much of your little homespun goodness that he can take before he O.D.’s on all the sugar and spice. Yes, it won’t be too long before he’ll want me back again. I know Jack. But just in case, I need to make sure that you’re completely out of the picture. I wouldn’t want him to stay with you out of some misguided sense of honor. That would just never do, don’t you agree?”

She gestured with the gun. “Move over to the bed.”

Abby silently did as she directed, hoping that Clay or Jack would come back to check on her soon.

“Strip.” Lauren ordered.

Abby just stared at her blankly.

“Do it. Strip or I swear I’ll put a bullet through your brain right here and now.”

Abby hesitated a moment longer, but when she saw Lauren raising the gun to point at her chest, she grasped the bottom of her shirt and yanked it off. Then she took off her shorts, feeling utterly humiliated and afraid of what was to come.

“The bra and panties, too, slut. I want to see what has Jack all hot for you. I mean, obviously you’ve got something going for you.”

Abby closed her eyes briefly but did as commanded. Soon she stood completely nude and trembled as Lauren inspected her slender figure.

“Hmm. Like I thought. You’re nothing special. No, he won’t have a hard time forgetting about you once you’re not around any longer. You’re just not the stuff dreams are made of.” She cocked her head to the side. “Now lay down on the bed.”

“Lauren, can’t we talk about…”

Lauren reached out and grabbed a handful of Abby’s hair, yanking back so hard that

Abby almost fell down. Then she released her. “Now, fucking get on the bed. No talking.

If I want you to say something, I’ll let you know.”

Tears filling her eyes, Abby reached up and rubbed her sore scalp. When the gun gestured toward the bed again, she walked over and lay down. Lauren fumbled around in the drawer and found the rope Jack had used on Abby. She smirked. “This looks familiar.

Raise your hands.” She climbed onto the bed and efficiently tied Abby to the headboard.

“Oh, yes. I saw this little game, too. Jack really needs to start closing his curtains if he doesn’t want an audience.” She tightened the knots that bound Abby’s hands until the rope cut into her wrists, and Abby barely managed to bite back a moan of pain.

Oh, God. Her only hope was Jack and Clay. Please let them come soon, she prayed silently.

“Well, there’s the pretty little whore, all tied up and nowhere to go.” Lauren laughed and tossed her head. “Tell me, do you like the way Jack touches you? I always did. I

loved the way he pinched my nipples and licked my cunt.” She reached out a hand and twisted Abby’s nipple, dragging a cry of pain from her. “Did you think what the two of you had was special? Well, guess again.” Lauren laughed, enjoying the sight of the agony that she had inflicted. She reached over and did the same to Abby’s other nipple. Abby shook her head and bit her lip, determined not to give Lauren the satisfaction of hearing her cry out again.

Lauren stepped back. “Hmm. Not bad. Not bad at all. I think I’m beginning to understand Jack’s interest in you. You do have some potential.” She reached down and raked her fingernails lightly over Abby’s hips, and Abby jerked in reaction. “You know, Jack and I used to share a woman sometimes, back when we were together.” She traced her hand over Abby’s abdomen and down towards her pubic hair. “Oh, yes. The little games he has played with you are just the tip of the iceberg with Jack. Hell, who knows?

Maybe he wouldn’t mind sharing you with me?”

Abby gasped out, “Please, no.”

Lauren reached out and pinched her again, twisting the nipple viciously and drawing another pained gasp from Abby. “Slut, when I want you to talk, I’ll let you know.

Remember? What, do you think you’re too good for me to touch? His little angel, right?

What a joke! You don’t look so much like an angel now. You look like the cheap whore you are. You know, I had it all planned.” She grasped Abby by the chin and forced her

face up to look into her eyes. “Jack was going to be mine again. Why didn’t you just leave when you had the chance? I tried to get you to go, but you just wouldn’t take the hint. Oh, no, you wanted to sink your hooks into Jack, didn’t you. Well, he’s mine, slut.

All mine. Do you hear me? Do you?”

Her voice was getting louder and louder, and she waved the gun around as she spoke, pacing back and forth in the room. Tears began rolling down Abby’s cheeks at the thought of never seeing Jack again, and she began feverishly working her wrists back and forth, trying to loosen the knot enough to slip her hand free. Damn, they were just too tight. Then Lauren walked back over to the bed, apparently refocused on Abby, who she seemed to blame for all her current problems. “Spread your legs, cunt.”

Shaking her head, Abby pleaded. “God, please, don’t do this.”

“How many times do I have to tell you? No talking. Do it. Spread ‘em. You didn’t have any problem opening them wide for Jack. Clay either. Now, do it, bitch.” A palm came down on Abby’s thigh with a loud popping sound, leaving behind a stinging red handprint. Then another. And another. She didn’t stop until Abby’s thighs were burning and bright red.

Abby was sobbing, but she finally did as she was told and parted her legs slightly.

“Wider. Let me see Jack’s new little pussy.” Reaching down, she shoved Abby’s legs further apart, “Come on, now. Don’t be shy.” Lauren drew the barrel of the pistol up the inside of Abby’s thigh, and Abby sobbed, closing her legs tightly to stop the movement of the cold steel.

A hard pinch on the nipple. “Open them.”

Trembling fearfully, Abby parted her legs again, and the barrel began moving up to brush over her pubic curls. Abby bit her lip, choking back a cry of protest. “You know, Jack and I were the perfect couple. Yes, perfect. I screwed up. I admit it. I didn’t have enough patience to wait for all that lovely money. So I dropped him and picked Robert.

But now, my husband has decided to divorce me. Can you believe it? That old bastard, after I let him slobber all over me and fuck me whenever he wanted to. Sweating and hammering away with his pathetic little dick. Who could blame me for getting a little extra loving on the side? God knows, I deserved something after putting up with his boringly vanilla fucking. Surely he didn’t really expect that he would be able to keep me satisfied. No, he just didn’t have the stamina. Or the imagination. Not like our boy, Jack.

Now, he knows how to use that cock of his.”

She rolled her eyes, her tone quite conversational. Abby wanted her to keep talking.

The longer she ranted, the better chance that someone would come and find them.

“Really, you would have thought I had murdered someone when he found out I’d had a few lovers. He threatened to kick me out. Imagine. Me? Was it my fault that he had a heart attack right in the middle of our argument? And was he grateful for all that I have done for him? No. He’s cutting me out, divorcing me, and leaving me with nothing but a measly fifty thousand because of that stupid pre-nup. Just a few more months, Robert would be dead and the money would be mine. Now, Jack’s going to get it all. How can that possibly be right? I’m the one who’s worked for that money. It’s mine. I deserve it.”

She glared at Abby. “I thought I’d lost everything, but then I had an idea. All I had to do was get Jack back. I knew it would be easy. I knew all I had to do was call and he would come running. He is so in love with me, it‘s really kind of pathetic. So I come here, out to the boonies, to tell him that I’m all his. That once his father is dead, it would

be just like before with us. But what do I discover when I get here? Jack’s got a new little toy and I have competition. Which wouldn’t have been any problem if you’d just gotten the message that you weren’t wanted here and left. But you wouldn’t go. No matter what

I did. Well, I’m tired of waiting. So I’m just going to have to get rid of you. Nothing personal, you understand? And then once you’re gone, Jack will come running back to me. And I will…”

Suddenly there was a loud pounding on the door. “Abby?” It was Jack. She jumped in surprise and couldn’t stop a gasp of relief as she heard his voice.

Lauren swung around and narrowed her eyes at the door. She leaned down to Abby, swinging the gun up against her temple. Whispering in her ear, Lauren ordered, “Tell him you’re fine. Everything’s okay.”

Abby swallowed convulsively, licking her swollen lips. Lauren grabbed her hair and yanked back harder than before, twisting the long strands around her wrist until Abby’s head was arched painfully back. “Do it, or I’ll kill him, and then you, too. Tell him. And you’d better sound convincing.”

“Jack?” Abby spoke huskily, her voice barely above a whisper. She cleared her throat and spoke louder. “Jack, I’m fine. I’m just resting.”

“Open the door, Abby. Let me in.” Jack sounded impatient.

“Give me a few minutes, okay? I, ah, I just need a little time.”

“Abby, are you sure you’re all right?” Concern filled his voice.

“Yes,” Abby answered, as Lauren rubbed the pistol over her cheekbone, pressing in enough to hurt. “I’m just tired, Jack.”

“Well, at least come to the door and give me a kiss. I’ve got to get back to Clay. I

just want to see you before I go. Make sure everything’s all right. He’s still over there putting out the fire.”

Lauren looked at her thoughtfully and whispered, “Tell him you’ll be there in a minute.”

Abby did as told. Then Lauren released her hair and untied her hands. She let her put on a robe before pushing her in the direction of the door. Following closely behind her with the gun pressed into Abby’s back, Lauren whispered her directions. “I’m going to ease open the door. Give him a kiss and tell him you love him, like a good little girl. Then get rid of him. And you’d better not do anything to let him know I’m here, or I’ll shoot you where you stand. Him, too. Do you understand me?”

“Yes,” Abby whispered. With Lauren off to the side and out of sight behind the door, Abby unlocked it and eased it open a few inches, just enough to allow her to lean out so

Jack could drop a kiss on her mouth. Abby stared up at Jack in an attempt to convey without words that something was going on. She couldn’t tell if he suspected anything or not. He just gazed at her in concern.

Suddenly, without warning, the bedroom window crashed in, and Clay dove into the room, rolling across the floor. When Lauren turned in surprise, the gun wavered in her hand. Immediately, Jack slammed the door back, knocking against Lauren. Then he pushed Abby down and to the side, covering her with his body. Clay rushed Lauren and shoved her back, pinning her against the wall. A gunshot sounded loudly in the room before Clay managed to knock the gun from her hand.

Lauren fought him like a woman possessed, scratching and clawing at Clay and biting his hand until he cursed aloud. “Goddammit, you crazy bitch!” he shouted, losing

all patience. Quickly drawing his arm back, he delivered a hard jab to her jaw, which knocked her unconscious, and she collapsed facedown onto the floor. Clay rolled her over before slapping a pair of handcuffs onto her wrists. He hefted her up and dropped her across the bed, where she lay limp as a rag doll. “Damn, she had some fight in her.”

He reached up to feel the long scratch mark that ran down the side of his jaw. Then he turned to Jack and Abby. “Is everybody all right?”

“I’m okay. Abby? Did she hurt you, angel?” Jack pulled Abby up and wrapped his arms around her so tightly she could hardly breathe. But that was okay. She didn’t really care about breathing. After her nightmare with Lauren, all she cared about was being held safely in Jack’s embrace.

Trembling in reaction and crying with relief, she shook her head. Holding onto him, she just kept repeating over and over again, “Thank God. Thank God you came.”

Jack looked down at Lauren where she lay on the bed, her eyes flickering open to stare dully at them. “What the hell were you thinking, Lauren?” She didn’t answer, just turned her head away to stare at the wall. His eyes filled with a dangerous light and he took a step toward the bed, but Abby held him back.

“Please, Jack. Get me out of here.” She didn’t know what he planned to do, but she knew she didn’t want Jack anywhere near Lauren looking the way he did.

Jack stopped and looked down at her “All right, baby. We’ll go to the other room.”

He told her. “Clay, can you handle things in here by yourself?”

Clay nodded, “I’ll use the short-wave to call the sheriff. Lauren isn’t going anywhere.”

“Thanks, man. For everything.”

Clay just waved Jack and Abby from the room, already moving to turn on the shortwave.

Jack led Abby to the couch and tugged her down into his lap to cuddle her closely against him, running his hands up and down her back as if needing to reassure himself that she was really all right. Clay came into the room a few moments later and asked

Abby if she felt up to telling him what had happened. Haltingly, Abby proceeded to recount all that Lauren had said and done to her. Tears were streaming down her face by the time she finished. When she stopped her recitation, Jack stroked her cheek and said, “I’m so sorry, angel. This is all my fault.”

With a tear-streaked face, Abby turned to reassure him. “No, Jack, it’s Lauren’s fault. Not yours. I think—I think there’s something wrong with her. I mean, seriously wrong. She’s unbalanced.”

“I agree, Jack,” Clay commented. “You can’t blame yourself for what Lauren did.

Abby’s right. Something inside Lauren just snapped when she realized that her plans to get all that money had fallen through.”

Abby nestled deeper into Jack’s comforting arms, feeling completely safe for the first time in weeks. She wondered what had brought them back to the cabin so quickly.

“How did you know what was going on? That I needed you?”

Jack tightened his arms about her. “When we got to the other cabin to put out the fire, we realized someone had set it to lure us up there. I was already suspicious anyway, but someone had doused a pile of green wood that was stacked up against the back of the cabin with gasoline and tried to set it on fire. It smoked a lot, but it hadn’t really caught fire yet. We took care of it as fast as we could and then raced back here. We snuck

around to the bedroom window to see what was going on. When we heard Lauren talking, Clay and I knew we had to get you out of there as fast as possible.”

Abby told them. “She was already in the house when you left, Jack. I didn’t have time to lock the doors. She caught me just as I was going into the bedroom to use the radio. I didn’t know what to do since she had a gun. I thought the smartest thing would be to just go along with her and hope you would come back to the cabin pretty soon.”

“You did the right thing, Abby. God only knows what would have happened if you had tried to escape or fight her. It was all I could do to control her myself.” Clay added.

“I’m just glad it’s over. I don’t have to keep looking over my shoulder and wondering what’s going to happen next.”

* * * *

A few days later, Abby and Jack walked down the corridor toward Jack’s father’s room in Atlanta Memorial Hospital. Jack held Abby’s hand clasped in his own. She squeezed his hand as he paused before the entrance to the private room. Taking a deep breath, he pushed open the door, and they walked inside. Jack’s father lay on the bed, propped up with a mass of pillows. His eyes focused on the door and immediately lit up when Jack and Abby stepped inside. “Son,” his gruff voice seemed loud in the small room. “I’m glad you’re here. I’m so sorry for everything…” Weakly he held a hand out towards Jack, and Jack stepped over to take it in his own.

Stunned by how old and ill his father looked, Jack stopped his apology. “Not now, Dad. You just concentrate on getting better. We’ll talk about everything once you’re back home. Right now you just rest.”

His dad looked like he wanted to say more, but he refrained.

Jack put his arm around Abby’s shoulders and drew her closer against his side. The old man’s eyes focused on her with unexpected acceptance and gratitude as Jack introduced them. “Dad, this is Abby, my fiancée. I told you about her on the phone.

Abby, my father, Robert Cole.”

Abby smiled. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, sir.”

He smiled back at her. “Likewise, my dear. Welcome to the family.”

“Thank you.” She bent down and dropped a kiss onto his cheek.

“You be good to my boy, you hear? God knows, he deserves it,” he whispered in her ear.

Abby smiled. “You can count on it,” she replied before standing back up.

After a few more minutes of conversation, it was clear that Jack’s father was becoming tired, so Jack and Abby left with the promise to return the next day to visit again. As they made their way out of the hospital, he paused for a moment, looking down into her eyes. “I’m glad you made me come.”

“Me, too,” she smiled at him gently. “I know it was hard for you.”

“Not as hard as I had expected. He looks so thin and frail that it’s hard to stay angry.

It seems foolish to try to hold onto old hurts now. I just want to forgive and forget.”

She held onto his arm. “I know. Now … you promised me a special present. What is it?”

“It’s a surprise.” Jack laughed and tugged her arm, drawing her out into the tide of people busily walking down the sidewalk.

It was good to see him so happy and carefree, Abby thought to herself as they wound

their way through the oncoming pedestrian traffic. He stopped suddenly and dropped a short but passionate kiss onto her upturned mouth. “Actually, this surprise is as much for me as it is for you,” he commented mysteriously. He gestured to a small building in front of them with a sign that read

Georgia Peach’s Tattoos and Body Piercing

. With a wicked gleam in his eye, Jack pushed open the door. “I promised myself this the first time I saw your cute little belly-button, and I always keep my promises.”

“What are you talking about?” Abby questioned with a laugh, already having good idea what he wanted.

“You’re mine, and I want to put my mark on you … a sweet little diamond stud piercing in that delicious tummy of yours.” He paused, reaching out to brush a finger over her blouse right above the indentation of her navel. “Well, what do you say, angel?

Are you willing?”

Abby didn’t hesitate. “Let’s do it.”

Hours later, Abby and Jack lay entwined in a king-sized bed at his father’s house.

His head was pillowed on her tummy, and he stared in satisfaction at the glint from the heart-shaped diamond that nestled there. He smiled with pleasure at the sight. “I love you, angel.”

He felt her belly shake silently with joyful laughter. “I love you, too, Jack.” Her hands tunneled through his hair in a tender caress.

“I want us to get married as soon as possible, sweetheart.”

“If you really want to, that’s fine with me. I don’t want a big wedding anyway.”

Abby agreed. “But are you sure that’s what you want?”

“I’ve never been more sure of anything in my life.” Jack responded. “I want you tied to me in every way possible, so that there’s not doubt in anyone’s mind who you belong to.”

“All right.” She tugged gently on his hair, and he lifted his body to cover her, his mouth closing over hers with a demanding kiss.

It didn’t get any better than this, Jack thought.

The End

About the Author:

Jolie Cain is a wife and mother of two whose home is in the Deep South. All her life she has created characters and stories, with dreams of one day bringing them to life. She finally decided to stop procrastinating and just do it! Thus, her first book was born. She has discovered that there’s much more to writing than, well…writing. But there’s nothing quite as satisfying as taking an imaginary world and turning it into reality. Jolie invites you to visit her at her website at www.joliecain.com

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