Lawless Read Free Page B

looked like the real thing. He suspected his balls were going to ache for the rest of the night, because even faking the act didn’t change the reality that his body had a purely 16
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    Lawless
    physical reaction to holding a beautiful woman so close and it had been way too long since he’d lain with one.
    He whispered against her smooth temple. “Sorry.”
    Almost immediately he rolled off of her and let her wrists go. Out loud, he said in a cool, mocking tone that made him cringe inside, “Thanks, darlin’.”
    It was a heartless insult of the first degree, especially if he really had brutally had his way with her.
    Laurel Daniels sat up in a flurry of long golden hair, her oval face pale except for the scarlet splotches of color in her cheeks. With shaking fingers she fumbled to refasten her dress. “I hope you rot in hell,” she hissed with convincing vehemence.
    Cal reached over and hauled her up against him, settling down on the blankets. “I think that’s a sure thing, Miss Daniels. In the meantime, let’s get some sleep.”

    ***
    It was very late and the lonely howl of a wolf came with mournful clarity, the sound echoing in eerie reverberation along the canyon cliff above. The scent of pine was crisp and clean and it had gotten cold as the night settled in. Laurel shifted on the hard ground, unwilling to admit she was grateful for the solid warmth of the man next to her, the shocking reality of sharing the same blankets aside. It was hard to believe it, but she’d even dozed off for a while, which was a miracle considering where she was and who she was with at the moment.
    Cal Riker. Who had one arm draped over her waist, her back to his front, with her bottom nestled firmly against his lean hips. When she tried to edge away his hold tightened like a band of iron and she had given up trying to fight the scandalously inappropriate position, mostly because she didn’t care to freeze to death.
    She wasn’t at all used to sleeping on the hard ground in the middle of nowhere surrounded by a gang of predatory men either. Odd as it was, he made her feel safe. What had happened—or not happened—earlier still had her confused, but he hadn’t forced himself on her. Even during those mortifying moments when he put his hand inside her www.samhainpublishing.com 17

    Emma Wildes
    dress and cradled her breast, his touch had been gentle and she sensed his reluctance to do it in the first place.
    The man was an enigma. If he was really ice cold and ruthless like every rumor she’d ever heard, why he hadn’t just gone ahead and taken what he wanted? Instead he’d gone to great lengths to fake sexually using her and actually apologized for that afterwards.
    And he had wanted it. Her face heated when she remembered the hard bulge pressed at the juncture of her thighs, easily felt through the layers of their clothes. She’d spent most of her life on a working ranch and knew enough about the reaction of males to an available female to realize he hadn’t been indifferent to having her beneath him.
    She shivered and felt his arm tighten just a fraction. That he was awake didn’t surprise her, for she had a feeling vigilance was what kept men like him alive. She desperately wanted to ask him if he meant what he said about returning her home, but it was clear he didn’t want to risk being overheard.
    A twig snapped somewhere to their left and she felt the ripple of reaction in his tall body. Something gleamed and Laurel realized with a start he had a gun in his hand that fast. He went up on one elbow and stayed that way, taut and still. Heart pounding, she lay quietly and felt her mouth go dry with fear.
    A moment later he relaxed and murmured almost inaudibly, “Just an animal. Though plenty of men I know fall into that category, I reckon. It’ll be dawn soon. You ought to try and get some sleep. We’re leaving and it’s a fair ride.”
    Realizing he’d known she was awake was