The hiss of the knife as he slid it into the scabbard at his waist didn’t give her any relief. His body had been firm when he’d held her and, despite her best intentions not to think about how easily he’d overpowered her, she imagined Cade Outlaw thrusting into her with commanding strokes.
Dammit! Stop thinking. Stop reacting.
But this man was an Outlaw. She’d secretly fantasized about her boss Tyler when they’d worked together during the Wars. But his heart belonged to another woman, so she’d never physically pursued him. Ah, but mentally was another story. She’d fantasized about him. Oh boy. Had she ever.
She’d even lusted after his suggestion that when they got back to the States, he would introduce her to Cade. She’d imagined doing both brothers, but that, of course, had never happened.
Too many things had gone wrong during the Terrorist Wars. After Tyler had been taken captive, she’d been left wide open to the mandatory R & R. Servicing men. Many men.
The intimate way Cade touched her as he frisked her was nice. Her pussy creamed warmly as his hot fingers danced along one side of her neck then the other as he checked her thoroughly for weapons. Pleasure tingled over her skin wherever he touched, despite knowing he was simply doing a body search. She sensed he patted her down slowly on purpose. Stroked her tenderly, committing her curves to memory.
Oh stop it!
He was a man. A bounty hunter. Her enemy.
Despite the thickness of her grandfather’s hunting ski jacket, the strength of Cade’s fingers swept erotically over one shoulder before moving to her other one. She tensed as his fingers slid into her breast pocket and he withdrew her jackknife and cell phone.
“Not that your cell works out here, being out of range, but I’ll confiscate it anyway.”
A moment later, his hand dipped beneath her jacket. He danced his long fingers along the waistband of her jeans and she sighed in frustration when he discovered her homemade switchblades in each back pocket.
“You certainly do have as much of a fascination with knives as I do.” He chuckled. Looking down at her with an amused smirk on his face, his left eyebrow quirked up in surprise. It was a cute gesture, that thing he did with his eyebrow.
She blinked aside the rogue thought and forced anger into her voice. “Didn’t anyone teach you it isn’t polite to put a knife to a lady’s throat? Or touch her without her permission? It seems you’ve forgotten the manners your mother taught you.”
He answered with a snort and continued frisking her. Her raspy breaths echoed in the air as his palms skimmed along the swell of her hips, then over her ass curves, before sliding intimately down the insides of her legs. Wherever he touched her, his body heat scorched her and she shuddered, biting back her moans.
God, she’d better escape soon or she’d beg him to fuck her, compliments of the X-virus. Not that having sex with him was a bad idea. Far from it. She hadn’t been with a hottie, sex-on-a-stick in months. Since that night with the man they called Will Blade.
She groaned in frustration when Cade discovered the small gun she kept strapped to the inside of her left calf. He snorted, lifted her pant leg and unclasped the gun from her holster. His soft, amused laughter was a sensual sound that had her body humming despite her being pissed off at his discoveries. He stuffed the gun into another one of his endless coat pockets.
Tell him to fuck you!
Reena shook her head and fought the naughty idea until it faded into the background. Defiance splashed through her like a black wave.
“You’ve signed your death warrant, Outlaw. My people will hunt you down and take you out if you hand me over to whoever you’re working for. You’ll be a corpse within twenty-fours of my death.”
“No one’s going to die, Red,” he said gruffly.
“I’m sure you’ll reconsider that thought when you’re six feet under.”
“Quit with the dramatics, Red. You’re tougher than this. At least that’s what I’ve been told.”
“Oh? And who told you about me? Your brother?”
“I’ll tell you all about it once I have you shackled and near a nice warm fire. You seem to be trembling a little too much. Now come on. We’re moving. I have a camp set up about half a mile due south.”
With a firm hand to the scruff of her neck, he pulled her away from the tree and then angled her toward the south.
Shit!The last thing she needed was to spend a night in a camp with him. Especially when she might need to orgasm. But her being cuffed, shackled, naked…
The thoughts of him dominating her rolled over her in a sensual wave and she stifled a moan. Moving carefully forward, she made sure her thighs didn’t rub together too hard or she’d be moaning out loud for sure. What things had he been told about her? Did he know she was infected? That she’d be begging him for sex pretty soon?
Up until now, she’d managed to keep her infection a secret. Only a handful of her bodyguards knew and a few other trustworthy souls. Hopefully Outlaw didn’t know and she’d be able to escape before she resorted to shameless begging.
Chapter Three
Cade Outlaw wasn’t one who gawked at a woman. He preferred to play it cool. Preferred not to let a woman know he was interested in her until he wasreallyinterested. But hell, these days there weren’t many women around because of the virus. He’d trusted women once. Not anymore, compliments of a woman he’d known overseas.
