Hunting April (15 page)

As she came again, her scream echoed throughout the lodge, followed in a nanosecond by his almighty roar. The lion had totally claimed his mate.

Chapter Twelve

Thursday to Sunday

April's childhood had been bursting with laughter, sweet kisses, and warm hugs, but Angelo had quickly beaten away the fond memories of that happy upbringing.

Where she'd found Angelo's presence repulsive, she never tired of Daniel's attentions. There was no such thing as "too much." For such a big man, he was remarkably tender, so very careful in how he handled her.

She never felt as if they were just having sex—even as wild and breath stealing as the act was between them. He made love to her. Passionate, ardent love. He'd come to her as a mature, knowledgeable man, not one of the stripling youths she'd known.

However infrequently.

There was so much for April to learn, so much to experience. Daniel had infinite patience with her, moved gently for his size. He told her, over and over, how lucky he felt to be the man able to teach her new things. She had no reason to doubt him.

April had read a boatload of romance novels in her youth, devoured story after story that depicted hot sex, heated sex, steamy sex, lava sex. In his arms, she found those extravagant descriptions to be based in truth. Wherever he touched her, he left heated trails on her flesh. She expected to see scald marks on her skin. Whenever he placed his broad hand on the small of her back, she swooned into a Tantric orgasm. His cock seemed made to pleasure her, even though it was larger and heavier than any cock in her meager experience. He used his talents skillfully, to bring her all the pleasure she could handle. And more.

While they didn't invade the other bedrooms, there were certainly enough other locations in the lodge that proved perfect for sex. Her level of stimulation went over the top every time he surprised her with new and unexpected experiences.

Without warning, Daniel had bent her over the back of a sofa and taken her from behind. Another time, she was simply walking by, when he lifted her so she could wrap her legs around his waist, then seated them both on a sturdy hassock so she could perch on his cock. Yet another time, he backed her up against the wall, then pumped high and hard into her tight channel. She screamed his name as she came, and continued to come as his big hands grabbed her ass while he suckled her nipples.

April prayed the wild pulses Daniel coaxed from her body would never end.

And what his mouth and fingers did to her flesh defied description. All of his sexual attentions were firsts for her. Astounding, astonishing firsts.

When foreplay at Daniel's hands made her totally insane, panting for release, she'd even become depraved enough—to her way of thinking—to wiggle and present her butt in the hope that he would bugger her again. She decided she liked that word better than the alternatives. However, there was still no position as sensual and satisfying, no other position that tightened her nipples as much and drew her womb into a knot, than him coming into her as she writhed beneath him. Then, the meshing of their bodies was perfect.

* * * * *

If asked, Daniel couldn't explain what had come over him. Since the little firebrand had come into his life as the monster Martone's fiancée, she'd become his complete focus. At first, it was about protecting her for Martone—then, protecting her
from
Martone. Until protecting her morphed into needing her. Wanting her. Wanting her all the time, wanting her in every imaginable place and position.

April made him crazy. He felt like a randy sixteen-year-old boy, his cock always ready, his balls needing to unleash his seed into her at every opportunity. Daniel Wyndsor had never been so out-of control, so totally 'round the bloody fucking pipe, in his entire life. All because of a little wisp of a girl, with her blonde-auburn hair and hazel-green eyes.

They had sex everywhere, even after she'd first protested, laughing, about his stated resolve to do it anywhere but in his bed. He chuckled to himself.
The girl definitely
has nymphomaniac tendencies
.

Then there was the stream. Making love in the stream.
Never mind making love.
He was honest with himself.
That was hard-core, over the top, fucking like randy mink
. He'd been sure his heart would explode.

Even with the indoor pool and the exercise room, staying inside had been making April fidgety. She wheedled, begged, and finally coerced him into accompanying her on a walk. He relented, but went fully armed. They ended up at the nearest stream, just outside the perimeter alarms.

The stream ran swiftly but not usually dangerous, and had perfect boulders for perching. Before he knew what she intended, before he could stop her, April had stripped, tossed her clothes up the bank, then waded into the water until she was waist deep.

"I've never made love outdoors. Daniel, come to me." She swished the cool water with her hands, then caressed her breasts and nipples. The nips perked into pebble-hard bits. "Come on."

Daniel scanned the area. "Angel, this isn't the safest course of action. There's no one here to back me up."

Hands on naked hips, she thrust her pelvis forward and sassed him. "I thought we discussed this—I need only you, baby." With that, she waded through the water to reach a boulder in the middle of the stream, then climbed to its wide, dry crown. She settled as comfortably in a sitting position as possible. Then she spread her thighs, bent one leg at the knee, and began to stroke herself. It was one of the tricks he'd taught her, and she was using it against him.

"Oh, sweet Jesus. April, baby, you're killing me." His cock tried to burst through the zipper of his jeans. "Behave yourself, and come back here."

"Not on your life, buddy." She fingered herself with one hand, tweaked her nipples with the other. "Bring your gun if you want to, but come to me."

Shaking his head, he stripped down naked, except for his shoulder holster. If he indeed felt foolish, his cock didn't have a care in the world. "This is bloody ridiculous, and I feel like a fucking lust-mad idiot."

And damn, he did just that. Fucked her. Took her like a Neanderthal. Grabbed her by the ankle, pulled her close enough to wrap her thighs around his hips, then slid his cock into her. He rode her hard. No gentleness, no tender lovemaking. Not even
close
to gentle or tender. He fucked her hard and fast, and she reacted like a wild animal. She raked his shoulders and back as she came, but he wasn't finished with her.

He withdrew his cock, pulled her down into the cool water amidst her gasps. He kissed her, roughly and soundly, then lifted her and pushed her forward on the boulder. Her breasts pressed flat against the rock, her thighs spread wide. He pulled her hips back, opened the lips of her sex-swollen pussy with his fingers, then slammed his shaft back into her. Her cry echoed among the trees, but she angled her pelvis to take him in. He slid a hand between her pelvis and the boulder, ignored the surface of the rock scraping the skin off his knuckles as he jacked her off, again. As she came, her cry of pleasure finally de-escalated into whisper of
okay, okay, I give up
exhaustion.

He pulled out once again, hard as an iron girder. He didn't rinse either of them off this time, but rubbed his pussy-drenched shaft in the crevice between her ass cheeks.

With little fanfare, he lubed up her puckered asshole with her come juice and his cock dew and sank into her—
that
cry sent the birds flying from their nests. In half a dozen strokes, he'd blasted his seed deep into her body, roared like the catamount for which the nearby lake was named.

As he'd carried April into the deeper water to rinse off, Daniel heard the faintest noise behind the sound of her sobbing sigh, then caught the slightest scent in the shifting breeze.

Shagging like rabbits on a chunk of granite in the middle of a rushing stream, naked except for his Sig Sauer in the leather shoulder holster—Daniel wondered how they appeared to Bobby Black Crow.

Chapter Thirteen

Monday morning

April found the deer, and she wasn't happy about it. Carcasses she understood.

She'd been raised on a farm that included a small herd of dairy goats. However, the dead buck that blocked her path along the par course trail was a fresh kill, had been pierced through the chest by an arrow.

Although not a hunter, she wasn't stupid. The deer had been taken out by a single clean shot through the heart, which meant the creature would have managed only a step or two before it dropped where it now lay, dead before it fell. A clean, righteous kill.

Since the perimeter alarms hadn't sounded any warnings, someone had been hunting just outside the confines of the protected area of the compound. Someone who knew what he was doing. She ran to get Daniel.

Daniel examined the flight feathers of the arrow. "Wild turkey quills. MacBride or O'Connell might be able to identify the bolt, but hardcore hunters often build their own arrows. This may not be traceable."

He straightened, then glanced toward the heavier tree cover. "Black Crow. The bloody bastard is encroaching on our territory." His gaze swung to April. "He's encroaching on
my
territory."

April heard the threat in his voice; the harsh timbre made the tiny hairs stand up on the back of her neck and arms.

* * * * *

Using Abigail's satellite phone to eliminate any chance of a number trace on the hospital lines, Glennon talked Daniel through resetting the perimeter alarms at Sanctuary.

"The lodge itself is protected. The heavy tree cover makes it tough, doesn't allow enough sunlight for solar recharging. Alarms will simultaneously sound through the monitors in the kitchen and in the com center, unless you disable one or both. Write this stuff down so I don't need to repeat myself."

Even though he was annoyed, Daniel did as Garrett instructed. He wasn't as expert in the field as Garrett or his buddy, Duquesne, and he wouldn't allow his ego to put April in danger.

Daniel met up with April in the kitchen, embraced her.

"The perimeter alarms are set. With all this heavy tree cover, we're secure only within a thousand feet of the buildings. Don't let your guard down for even the briefest moment. Not only do we need to worry about Martone and his crew, but we now have a very savvy hunter-tracker operating too close for comfort."
Yeah, really close. We're not
sure what sort of threat Black Crow is, but he's still a threat
. "As much as I hate to admit it, I'd feel better if O'Connell was here."

April smiled at him. "Well now, that's an unexpected confession."

Daniel stared at her.
I could drink in that smile for days without end
. He cleared his throat. "If O'Connell was here to switch shifts, we could all get some real sleep without worrying about who's invading our back yard."

April cocked her head. "Oh, of course, protection detail. That makes me feel
all
sorts of warm and fuzzy. However, I must admit that being able to sleep in your arms for an entire night, uninterrupted by alarm clocks and perimeter surveys, would be welcomed."

The top of her head was at the right height for nuzzling, which he did. "This isn't about
us
, angel. It's about keeping
you
safe and secure until the situation is resolved."

Wyndsor, you're sunk so deep in love with her—I hope you can dig your way out.

* * * * *

MacBride took the call from Daniel about the dead buck, then sent an off-duty deputy to pick up the carcass. Since the kill was fresh, the members of the volunteer fire department in the village of Catamount Lake would butcher the deer and use the meat.

"And boy oh boy," the deputy said, after Daniel helped lift the carcass into the back of the township pickup truck, "those fellas do know how to cook up Swiss venison steak that melts in your mouth. Add a pan of roasted new potatoes, and we are good to go.
Mmm mmm
."

As they watched the deputy disappear down the driveway, Daniel turned to April. "I need to check the boundaries again. You can either stay here, or ride out with me. Neither choice appeals, but we're short of manpower. I should have asked the deputy stay with you, but this time of the year that deer needs to be dressed out and refrigerated as soon as possible."

She stroked his arm, closed her eyes to enjoy the feel of her fingers against his skin. "I'll be fine. If it's all the same, I'd rather remain here, maybe read a bit."

"Stay inside. Lock the doors behind me. I'll be back as soon as I can—I'll come around the front, so you can see who it is. Grab the .22 out of the pantry, keep it handy.

Please."

She leaned into his kiss, fought the urge to tuck herself into the safety of his muscular arms and not peel herself loose. Daniel picked up the knapsack with the electronic diagnostic devices from the list Garrett gave him, grabbed a canteen of cold water, then left.

April poured peanut M&Ms into a small dish from a glass Batmobile candy jar on the kitchen counter.
Someone has a great sense of humor
. She wandered through the lodge, wondered what it would be like to live in such a place, full time. The views from the lodge, the lush greenery and glacial landscapes, were so different from the flatlands where she was raised. True, there had been mountains and valleys nearby in Chino, but it wasn't the same as being surrounded by the verdant majesty of Sanctuary.

As far as city living—an image came to mind that made Manhattan resemble a human Habitrail. She giggled.
Yeah, laugh at it now, sister—remember, you paid dearly for
the privilege of living in one of those hamster cages, and considered yourself lucky to get it.

April cozied up in a wing chair with her M&Ms, the Smith & Wesson .22

revolver, and a book she borrowed from the stack on Lorelei's nightstand—a Christine Wenger romantic Western, with a totally hunky-looking cowboy on the cover. By the time she reached page three, the noise outside, which had subconsciously niggled at her, became more audible. Since she was trying to read, it was also annoying.