STORY EXCERPT

Sallyanne glanced at the plate of vegetables Rachel set on the bar in front of her and smiled in thanks, but the smile slid from her face when she felt the atmosphere in the room change. She glanced in the mirror over the bar and her breath hitched in her throat when she saw the two sheriffs walking toward her. Her body tensed and every instinct was on alert, screaming at her to run.

Did they know who she was? Did they know what had happened to her? Were they in Angelo’s pocket?

She took a bite of broccoli and nearly choked when she tried to swallow it. The sheriffs had come up behind her. The bronze-skinned guy sat on the stool beside hers, but the other one stood behind her. Almost instantly her heart rate increased and her breathing sped up. Perspiration broke out over her skin, and all the blood in her brain felt as if it headed south. Tightness enveloped her chest, and though she knew she needed to get her breathing under control so she didn’t hyperventilate and pass out, she couldn’t think coherently enough to use the breathing exercises she’d read about and taught herself.

Darkness seeped in from the sides of her vision, and she gripped the fork so hard it hurt her hand, but she couldn’t make herself let go. Buzzing sounded in her ears, and a low male voice sounded so far away she couldn’t work out what was being said. Not that she cared. All she cared about was remaining conscious so she didn’t draw even more attention to herself or make a complete fool of herself.

However, it seemed as if she was fighting a losing battle, and the blackness encroached until she couldn’t see or hear anything except for the loud roaring in her ears. The tension in her muscles dissipated and her body began to go lax. When she ordered her brain to move her arm to hold onto the bar, it didn’t obey, and then she was sinking into oblivion.

* * * *

“Fuck!” Will shoved his chair back and then hurried across the crowded room.

Frank stood at the same time as Rick and followed their oldest brother toward the bar. Frank’s heart stuttered when he saw Sheriff Luke Sun-Walker catch the blond woman as she fainted and toppled from her stool.

“What the hell happened?” Will asked, a frown of concern marring his face.

Frank moved in closer to the two sheriffs and the woman so he could hear the answer. Rick bumped his shoulder as he crowded him.

“I don’t know.” Luke adjusted his hold on the woman and then nodded to Tyson as the man pointed toward the hallway and his office.

“Do you want me to call Doc?” Rachel asked as Luke carried her toward corridor.

“Yes,” Luke called over his shoulder before disappearing into the office.

Frank followed Damon and Will. Rick was behind him, and he knew by his brother’s deep inhalation that he was just as worried as the rest of them.

When he entered the office he saw that Luke had placed her on the small sofa and was in the process of covering her with the throw rug he pulled from the back of it.

“Is she sick?” Frank asked as he leaned against the wall just inside the door. When Rick nudged him, he took a couple of steps to the side so his brother could enter.

“I don’t think so,” Luke answered without looking up. The sheriff was gazing at his watch and had his fingers on the lady’s pulse on her wrist. “I think she had a panic attack.”

“What concerns me is that she was fine until she noticed us moving toward her,” Damon said. “Do you think she’s running from the law?”

“I don’t know,” Luke replied. “I’m going to search her pockets to see if she has any ID on her. Can you get Rachel to come in?”

“I’m already here,” Rachel said as she nudged Rick aside and hurried over to the sofa. “If she had a panic attack when she spotted you two,” she paused to meet first Luke’s and then Damon’s gazes. “I think you should leave. The doctor is on the way. You don’t want to scare her further do you?”

“You know the answer to that, Rachel.” Luke frowned at her.

“If she’s in trouble, seeing all of you staring at her when she wakes up will send her running. I know what I’m talking about, since I’ve been there.” Rachel met Tyson’s gaze. “You all need to leave.”

“What if she’s bad news?” Tyson asked. “You could end up getting hurt.”

“What’s your gut telling you, baby?” Rachel asked Tyson.

“That she’s on the run and in danger.”

“Seems to be the norm for all the women who find their way to my town,” Luke muttered as he lowered the woman’s arm to her side. “But you’re right, Rach. We all need to leave.”

“I’d feel better if you had someone with you just in case.” Tyson squeezed Rachel’s hand before she placed it on her slightly rounded abdomen. “I worry about you and the little guy.”

Rachel met Will’s gaze. “Can you send Cat in?”

“Sure thing, honey,” Will gazed at the woman one more time before leaving the room. Frank wanted to stay to make sure she was okay, but he knew that Rachel was right. If she was in trouble, they didn’t want her running. He, his brothers, and the men in this town would do anything and everything they could to protect her. He just hoped that he got the chance to get to know her better, because he had a feeling she was the one woman they’d been waiting for.

ADULT EXCERPT

Since Rick didn’t seem to want to make the first move, she decided that she would. She stepped into him, rose up on tiptoes, wrapped her arms around his neck, and kissed along his jaw.

Rick made a soft growly sound which gave her the confidence to kiss him on the mouth. The wariness she’d seen in his eyes seemed to fly out the window the instant their lips touched. His tongue pressed in and rubbed along hers, flaming the embers that had been pooling in her belly after kissing first Frank and then Will, until it felt like they were raging out of control.

He explored every inch with a rapacious need that matched her own. She was so lost in the sensations, the taste of him, and his hands caressing her sides that she didn’t realize that she’d climbed up his body until she felt his large hands grip her ass.

Rick broke the kiss and gasped in breath after breath as he rested his forehead against hers. She shifted in his hold and then moaned when she felt his jeans-covered hard cock press against her denim-covered crotch. He made a growly sound and then the grip he had on her ass tightened, and he began to move her hips, rubbing her drenched, aching pussy over his erection.

She whimpered as tension built low inside of her womb, sending sparks flying through her blood. A need, a hunger she’d never experienced before invaded her body, mind, and soul. Sally tightened her arms around his neck, bent toward his throat, and began to lick and nibble his skin. He tasted so good, salty and manly, and she couldn’t get enough. She nipped at his earlobe and then traced the outer edge of his ear with her tongue, and all the while he moved her cunt over the hard ridge of his cock.

Her nipples throbbed, and she groaned when they brushed against his chest, and it felt so good she began to move her upper torso side to side, caressing her own breasts against his body.

“Yes, love. Take what you need,” Rick growled against her ear, his warm, moist breath sending frissons of heat racing up and down her spine. Goose bumps formed over her flesh as the pleasure of having him rub her pussy through their clothes grew more intense.

He sucked at a sensitive spot just below her ear before nipping her earlobe, and then his tongue was delving into her. She cried out and shook as ecstasy washed over her, battering her this way and that in a powerful tumult of rapture. She heard him groan, and then his body trembled and she hoped she wasn’t hurting him, but she was too caught up in her own bliss to worry overly much.

Her cunt convulsed in parody of seismic proportions that had her whole body quivering and quaking as cream leaked onto her panties. As her first-ever orgasm began to wane, Sally hid her face against Rick’s neck and smiled. She’d known deep in her heart that she would be a fool not to trust Rick, Frank, and Will. They had and were taking such good care of her, and she was well on the way to falling in love with them. She felt happy and content, which was something she hadn’t felt for such a long time, not since her mom and stepdad had been alive.

She wanted to giggle, to laugh and spin in circles with the joy of actually being alive. That was so different from the pain and numbness she’d been living with, it almost scared her. But she was done with being afraid. She wanted to put the past behind her and look forward to a future she hadn’t dreamt about for over four years.

However, in the back of her mind was the lingering shadow of Angelo Perez, and she knew she wouldn’t be able to fully relax until that fucker was behind bars.

* * * *

Rick wanted to shout to the ceiling with elation. Sally had instigated their shared kiss and a whole lot more. He’d been so turned on watching her kiss first Frank and then Will, he’d been scared to reach out to her in case his over-eagerness had caused her wariness.

She trusted him and his brothers and she’d experienced what he suspected had been her first-ever climax in his arms, as she’d rubbed her sexy little body all over his big hard one. He didn’t even care that she’d made him come in his pants as if he’d been experiencing sex for the first time, nor that his boxers and jeans were wet from spewing cum all over them.

Sally lifted her head and smiled at him shyly. He chuckled and then kissed her on the forehead before kissing his way down to her lips. Their shared kiss was nowhere near as hungry as before since both of them had taken the edge off their arousal, but he knew that if he kept on kissing her that it would soon turn out of control again and it wouldn’t be long before he was raring to go once more.

“I didn’t know … That was …” She blew out a breath before pecking him on the cheek.

“That was only a taste of how lovemaking should be between people who care about each other.”

Sally nodded as she looked down and then met his gaze again. “How did I end up like this?”

“You climbed up Rick like you were climbing a tree, baby.”

Sally blushed as she unhooked her legs from around Rick’s waist and wiggled until he lowered her feet to the floor. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean …”

Rick nudged her chin up until she was gazing into his eyes. “Hey. Don’t be sorry, love. You can do that to me whenever you want.”

Frank snorted. “I’ll bet.”