Hunted Love Box Set: Big Game, Bounty, Captured (4 page)

Kate hurried down the alley, anxious to see about the horse even if it did hate her. She needed to get the hunt talk out of the way and make her own intentions clear, but that would wait for a sick horse any day.

A glance in the stall door showed the horse contentedly munching his hay. "Ray, there doesn't seem to be anything wrong."

The old foreman sighed. "No, there isn't, Miss Kate. Leastways not with the horse. That boy there has a look in his eye I don't like. I don't want you going. Send one of the boys instead."

Kate drew a deep slow breath through her nostrils to keep from cursing. Of all the people she might expect something like that from, Ray was probably the last. "What do you mean, a look in his eye?"

"You going to make me say it? Dammit, Kate, the boy is a tom cat on the prowl. You don't need to be around that kind of thing."

Shock froze her for an instant. "What?"

Ray shook his head. "I wish your daddy was here, but since he ain't, I have to look out for you. That boy is the kind good girls cry over. He wants nothing but to take advantage of a girl like you, Kate. You can't go on this hunt."

It was only when the tang of blood registered that Kate realized how hard she'd bitten her lip in an effort to stay quiet through her fury. "Ray, I'm going to pretend this conversation never happened. But for your information, I might just want to be taken advantage of for a change." Spinning on her heel wasn't a great idea, ever, but nearly ended with her in a pile on the ground in that moment.

Recovered, she stomped back to the cross alley and flung herself onto the seat at Jakob's side again. Nosy old bastard. As if the state of her virtue was any of his business.

"Problem?" The firm line of Jakob's mouth commanded all her attention for a moment and left her glad to be sitting. Otherwise, her knees would have dropped her right at his feet.

Kate forced a rueful smile. "Just a misunderstanding. Nothing to worry about." If only it were that simple. Ray, and likely the rest of the crew, considered her one of those girls, unmarriageable, unworthy, unable, un-fucking-anything. And no doubt Jakob put her in that category too, and his seeming interest was only fleeting, and only because she happened to be female. Every ounce of her willpower focused on pushing back the heartrending despair that threatened to envelope her. She had no time for that shit.

At least Ray was smart enough not to follow her directly back to the cross-alley. He would have regretted it, for sure.

"Hey," the gentle pressure of Jakob's finger on her jaw insisted she look at him, "You okay?"

Of course, he would catch her in a moment of weakness. It simply confirmed Ray's suspicion he was a 'tom cat', a man who wanted nothing more than lots of sex with lots of different women. That sort always knew when and how to be sweet and get past a woman's guard.

He trailed that soft touch along her jaw and down her neck, raising the temperature to all sorts of illegal heights. "Tell me. I'm betting it involves me, and some of those interesting things I'd like to show you."

The truth bolted from her throat and blew through the gates of her lips to prove her foolishness. "He thinks I can't handle myself."

He tilted his head a little. "And can you?" The finger continued to stroke the column of her neck.

Again, the truth ran away from her, while her mind was occupied with the various ideas his finger inspired. "Sometimes I don't know." And why the hell didn't she just tell him to keep his scorching fingers to himself, anyway? When she thought to do so, her mouth betrayed her and refused to utter the words. She just couldn't win.

He gave a little wink that flipped her stomach and made matters worse. And he took his finger away and deprived her of that fascinating sensation. "I think you can."

The words didn't make up for the loss, but thankfully Ray chose that moment to return and saved her from having to answer. Would have been impossible anyway with her heart pounding in her throat.

Even as he nodded to acknowledge Ray, Jakob refused to move out of her personal space. One thing for sure, the man had nerves of steel even with Ray staring him down like some angry god from an ancient civilization. "Tell me what you know about this lion."

Ray's heavy scowl spoke volumes but Jakob continued to ignore it, and asked questions about what they'd found. Ray finally seemed to resign himself to his lack of control and began to speak in more than monosyllables.

With Jakob only inches away, his scent quickly overwhelmed Kate again, leaving her unable to stay focused on whatever was being said. Over the next hour, Jakob and Ray discussed the predator and its known habits, while Kate tried in vain to keep up and Ray ignored her. Of course, in all fairness, she couldn't blame him, since she'd essentially told him to go fly a kite.

As lunch-time grew near, Brady and one of the other hands joined them, electing to sit in the battered folding metal chairs, and pointedly refusing to acknowledge Jakob's proximity to Kate, or anything else out of the ordinary. Obviously, as far as they were concerned, if he got rid of the lion issue, everything else was all good.

Eventually, Jakob seemed satisfied that he knew as much about the lion as he could learn without a face to face meeting. "Okay, I'm going to double check all my gear and animals. Miss Kate, I could use a hand if you have time." He rose and offered his hand in a casual way, as if offering assistance was purely habit, more like in-grained good manners than trying to help someone less able.

Despite her usual stubborn independence, it felt natural to place her hand in his and accept his support to stand. "I'll be glad to help. I need to get my gear ready too." Her men stared at Kate as if she'd sprouted a second head right in front of them. It took some doing but she managed not to take any of their heads off as she reminded them of some of the tasks waiting for them. You'd think the bastards had just suddenly realized she was female.

Orders given, she followed Jakob out toward his truck, trying not to let her lingering aggravation at the men effect the hours ahead. Since she intended to be in the wilderness with this man for several days, far from any kind of assistance, she needed to get to know him a little, at least. Of course she would go armed to the teeth and prepared for trouble, no matter what he did to her libido.

The risk was the same every time she, or any other woman, worked or lived in relative isolation with one or more men. The smart woman took it seriously and took sensible precautions. And Kate paid close attention.

Sorting through gear and determining how to distribute weight and bulk, and ensuring emergency materials were easily accessible took up most of the afternoon. Perhaps it would have gone more quickly if Jakob handled the task alone, but he said it was important for her to be aware of how everything was packed as well. With everything safely stashed in the big panniers and smaller packs that would be attached to the big pack saddles once they were on the horses, Jakob placed everything in the horse trailer to wait for morning.

"Ready to take care of your stuff?" He grinned and closed and locked the trailer. "I assume you have animals chosen?"

"Of course." One shoulder lifted in an offhand gesture. "Two riding horses and one pack, all experienced steady horses with plenty of bottom."

"What will they do with dogs or gunfire?"

"They'll stand. I'll bring my personal gear, of course, but is there anything else we'll need besides food? I'll have to get my stuff off the ATV."

Jakob shook his head and followed her toward the equipment shed where the ATVs she'd already had prepared waited. "You saw what I'm bringing and you know the area better."

Five minutes later, they transferred her things to another set of packs in preparation for morning. All her tack and equipment for the horses had to be inspected, since something as simple as a worn rivet could spell disaster under the kind of stress and heavy conditions they were about to face. Their lives literally depended on leather straps and brass buckles.

With that task completed, Jakob stood and pressed his knuckles into his lower back. "If you'll point me to where I can get some supper and bunk for the night, I'll make it an early night and study that topo map a little, and see if I can pin down anything about the lion."

Normally a male guest would stay at the old bunkhouse with the unmarried hands, and Kate nearly sent Jakob that way, until she noticed how early it was. "I think it's best if you take the guest room in the house. You'd never get any rest in the bunkhouse with all the comings and goings and noise." Too late, she remembered there would be no one else in the house but her. Not like it made any difference though, there wouldn't be anyone else to chaperone during the hunt.

One dark brow raised, but Jakob nodded without voicing any concerns he might have.

"As far as supper, we'll have to make do with something simple. My cook got sick a few weeks ago, and I kept hoping she'd recover enough to come back, but she hasn't. I'll have to look for a replacement when we get back." Kate walked and talked, limp nearly forgotten, because he adjusted naturally without her noticing.

In the kitchen, Kate's stomach growled, reminding her it had been a long time since the quick sandwich she'd had for lunch. The contents of the refrigerator confirmed she definitely needed to find Mandy's replacement as quickly as possible. "Hmm, this is a little embarrassing, but it might have to be cold sandwiches, from the looks of this sad fridge." Figured, a man to feed and she had nothing suitable. Hopefully he was too tired to care.

She stepped back to close the refrigerator in disgust, only to collide with a hard immoveable surface. Surprised, she stumbled and a pair of strong arms righted her quickly.

"Sorry, didn't mean to startle you." Jakob's breath on the back of her neck sent a flash of heat racing over her.

Kate slipped to the side to extricate herself with a nervous laugh. "I didn't mean to run over you."

His soft laughter sent another wave of heat chasing the first. "No, I shouldn't have been right on your heels. Can I take a look?" He leaned to inspect the contents of the fridge. "Hmm, I see potential, if you'll turn your kitchen over to me for a few minutes."

Kate's turn to laugh. "If you see potential in there, be my guest, it's all yours." She lifted her hands and stepped back.

"Good." The smile he sent her way would have melted butter. "Let's make a deal then. I cook, you clean?"

"Works for me. I'd do about anything to avoid another ham sandwich."

He paused in the middle of placing items on the counter. "Anything? Even give me that kiss I nearly had earlier?" Only a faint trace of humor curved his mouth and whatever his lowered eyelids concealed, it certainly wasn't funny.

A whole flock of butterflies took to wing in her belly, and instinct made Kate try to derail the tension. "Honey, I'd kiss a buffalo for a good supper."

His eyes widened, worrying her for an instant, then he laughed. Out loud.

The sound of male laughter rumbling through her kitchen had a paradoxical effect on Kate. Rather than laugh with him, she suddenly wanted nothing so much as to kiss him.

Jakob turned back to his task, still chuckling. Kate sank to her favorite chair and watched as he concocted something, occasionally pausing to ask where to find something. She wanted to talk, to ask questions, and make plans for the hunt, but something about the way he moved kept her quiet, mesmerized.

In less than half an hour he set a steaming plate before her, with a thick grilled sandwich giving off irresistible aromas. His own plate went next, along with glasses brimming with iced tea, and a third plate filled with thick slices of fresh tomato and cucumber.

"How did you make a few leftovers and stale bread look and smell so amazing?"

"Taste it first and let me know if it's worthy of a buffalo kiss."

Kate nodded and lifted half her sandwich for a bite. Crisply grilled bread gave way to rich melted cheeses and shredded chicken, chopped mushrooms and sautéed onions. Incredible flavors exploded over her tongue and her eyes threatened to roll back in her head. "Good grief, why are you hunting lions or anything else when you can cook like this? What a waste." She dove in for another bite.

Jakob finally seemed to relax a little, as if relieved that she approved, and picked up his own sandwich. "This is nothing special. When we get back, I'll cook you a real meal to celebrate."

"Promise?"

The half hour passed far too quickly while they ate, and Kate was reluctant to leave the table and break the spell. The instant she stood, he would be reminded why he really didn't want to pursue anything with her. Eventually she would have to, though, and better sooner than before her imagination ran any further away with possibilities. Jakob stretched, reminding her he'd been tired earlier.

Kate rose and started clearing the table. "You have your map?"

"I do." He fished the folded paper from his hip pocket and spread it on the table. "Do you have a pen handy?"

Directing him to the calendar and notepad beside the door gave Kate an odd feeling of domestic intimacy. What would it be like, sharing all the little bits of her home with a man? Too bad she'd probably never find out.