Page 75 of Chased

She kissed him softly. “I love you too. I don’t know if that’s enough for you, but I do.”

He wrapped his arms around her, holding her to him, feeling her heart beat next to his.

And she said, “And I’d like to point out that you did rip my clothes off the day we met. And I liked it.”

Chapter 30

Things settled down at the Ridge after that. Days went by and Gunn’s team reported no signs that the Renards knew where Madison was.

Madison started to feel safe again. But she knew Sanchez didn’t. That became clear when he found out he and his cousins were going to be needed on an extended mission. Four or five days, at least.

“Don’t worry about me,” she told him. “I’ll be fine. Your sources say Henri is at home, and there’s no sign that they have any idea where I am.”

So he agreed to go. She should have known that wouldn’t be the end of it.

The Sunday before the mission, Sanchez invited Madison on an ATV ride. Or rather, in true Sanchez fashion, he showed up at her cabin with an ATV, told her to put on her hiking gear, laid a partially filled knapsack on the table and added, “Bring snacks.”

Madison folded her arms. “Is this an invitation or an order?”

He gazed at her, his face unreadable. “You want me to say invitation. Because that’s polite and romantic and shit. But it’s not one.”

At least he didn’t say it was an order. Because then she might have had to smack him in the balls. Except… there was something in his eyes that said this was serious. And important. To him, anyway.

So she put on her new hiking boots and grabbed a jacket. Then she said, “Is this going to be a long hike? By my standards,” she added. “Not yours.”

Because the guys could trot—or run—ten miles without even thinking about it. They could do it freaking barefoot.

“You can make it, Foxy,” he said, with the glimmer of a smile.

“Yes, but I’m trying to figure out how many snacks I’ll need.”

He shrugged. “Five or six miles? With rests.”

Yikes. She made sandwiches and bagged up some cookies, and added them to the water bottles, handguns and ammo he already had in there.

Sanchez drove the ATV with the pack fastened to the back and Madison snuggled up behind him, holding onto his waist. They took a trail through the forest, deeper than she’d ever gone, until it came out into the open, into rough country where Madison had never been before.

There were incredible views as they rode along—ridge after ridge of mountains covered in colored leaves, grassy fields turning yellow, and rocky ravines. Madison loved the expansive sensation it gave her, being able to see so far into the distance. She loved the feel of the wind whipping through her hair, Sanchez’s hard muscles under her hands. She might also have accidentally-on-purpose groped his dick once or twice while they were riding.

She liked the way it made him growl.

Before they’d gone far, he stopped. As she was getting off the ATV, he grabbed her and pulled her into his lap. “You know I have a boner now, Foxy.”

She said, in her best prim Renard manner, “I can’t imagine that has anything to do with me.”

“It always has to do with you.” He wrapped his fingers in her hair and pulled her into a kiss, his hand sneaking under her shirt to play with her breast.

“Mmm.” She could never get enough of him. But way too soon, he broke the kiss and dumped her on her feet.

“Fuck,” he said. “No time for this. Well, maybe later. Things to do now, though.”

She tried to straighten her clothes. “Are you going to tell me what this is all about? Or are you just going to be cryptic and mysterious until I snap and take you out?”

He did a Sanchez grin, so it was more like half a one. He said, “I love when you get fierce.”

But then he sobered up again, running his hands through his hair. “I don’t like leaving you alone while I’m away,” he told her. “I know we haven’t found any hard evidence that the Renards are coming after you. And even if they are, maybe they can’t find you. Maybe they’re not that good.”

He looked in her eyes, completely serious now. “But they have money. And people with money can hire people who are that good. Maybe almost as good as me. We’re not the only special ops shifter team in the world, and there’s some who’ll do anything for cash. We go take their victims back all the time.”