Penn, Jenny - Chasing Lacie [Sea Island Wolves 4] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) (5 page)

“I know, baby.” He couldn’t have felt lower right then even if he had snapped her ankle with his own hands instead of chasing her down like a damn prize. “I’m sorry.”

“Say that again,” Lacie instantly demanded, clearly unappeased.

Chance sighed. “I’m sorry, Lacie, but now you have to let Marcus—”

“I don’t have to let anybody do anything. I want to go to the hospital.” She struggled to sit up, slapping a new at Marcus’s hands. “I told you not to touch—
you’re naked
!”

It took a second for Chance to process that. The accusation flung out of her with the same shock that sent her flying to her feet and fumbling backward. Like a fool, he just knelt there staring up at her in confusion while Lacie’s eyes bugged out of her head, taking in the swarm of naked men all around her.

Then it hit him. Chance blinked and stared at her two perfectly good ankles, his gaze traveling up the curves of her legs and over her heaving mountain of her breasts to connect with her wide, clear eyes. For just a second he could see a gleam of panic fill her gaze before she let out a squeal and turned to flee.

Luck was on Lacie’s side because Marcus, that dumbass, had left his truck door open and his engine running. She didn’t even have to take a step to dive into the cab. Then before a single man around them could do a damn thing, Lacie slammed the gas down and threw the truck into a hard spin that kicked dirt and grass over all of them.

“So long, suckers!”

With a laugh, Lacie was gone, leaving Chance rising to his feet in her dust. Nobody said a word as they watched the truck plow haphazardly through the fields. She’d played him. Just like the panic he’d felt moments ago, Chance didn’t know exactly how to process the shock of being had.

He might have been able to appreciate her performance if he hadn’t been the victim of her emotional manipulations. Damn but he still felt kind of guilty and that just pissed him off all the more.

“
That’s my truck
!” Marcus roared, finally breaking free of his stupor. “She’s getting away in my truck. She’s going to wreck it!”

“Ah, ease off,” Terri shot at Marcus in Chance’s defense, ruining the effort when all he did was rile Marcus’s temper higher. “Transmissions already ruined.”

“What the hell you talking about?” Marcus spat. “It’s brand new.”

“Maybe,” Terri conceded. “But you hear that?” He paused so they could all listen to the engine whining over the plains. “She hasn’t popped the foot brake.”

“Damnit, Chance!” Marcus turned on him. “You better do something about your woman…or do you need help?”

That provocation jolted Chance from his daze. Meeting Marcus’s challenge straight on, he offered his friend a cold smile. “Don’t worry, I’ll handle it.”

“We’ll handle it,” Davis corrected, stepping into the group. “Just once somebody tells me what is going on. And where’s Lacie? I thought I heard her screaming.”

Chapter 4

Lacie didn’t laugh for long. The massive truck she’d liberated took all her concentration to control. It didn’t help that she had to perch on the edge of the seat to reach the pedals. It would have helped if she knew where the hell she was going.

Not that she let that concern stop her from keeping the gas pedal pressed to the floorboard. Lacie didn’t ease up on the accelerator until the group of men in the mirror faded from view. Now there had been a sight Lacie wished she’d had more time to enjoy. While she knew lycans shifted in the nude, Bud had threatened her with the pain of death if she ever tried to spy on them doing it out in the barn.

If only Lacie had known what she was missing, she’d have called Bud’s bluff. Just the memory of all that tanned, golden skin stretched like satin over so much steel had Lacie heating with a little thrill. And Chance had been the most tempting one there. Bigger, harder, and looking so concerned, his gentle touch had made it all the more difficult not give in and forget about trying to run.

If the man had only started out with petting her like that, Lacie would have been purring in his lap right then. They hadn’t, though, and Lacie hadn’t set the rules for this game. All the same, she intended to win. Then they could start over doing things her way.

Cranking the wheel in what she hoped was the direction of the ranch’s main house, Lacie searched the truck for any sign of a phone or a CB, but she was on her own. If she just went straight, eventually she’d have to run into something. Less than two minutes later, Lacie cleared another hilltop and did just that.

Cresting the grassy peak, she grimaced as a harsh glare blinded her. Sunlight bounced and danced off the sparkling surface of the watering hole, burning her eyes and making her instinctively slam on the brakes as she squinted into the unknown. The truck slid down the hill, getting no traction from the grass as she rolled straight for another, all too familiar, truck.

Gathering her scattered wits, Lacie stepped back on the accelerator, spinning the wheel to the left in an attempt to avoid the oncoming collision. She might have run herself right into their trap, but there was no way they could make her stop long enough to be caught.

Aimed to clear around Chance’s truck, Lacie forgot all about missing it when a sudden streak of white had her standing on the brake. The whole ass end of the truck lifted as the wolf darted right in front of her bumper. The engine gave a loud growl and ominous crank beneath the sudden pressure. Then everything banged back to Earth except Lacie’s stomach, which remained missing in action until she caught another glimpse of white darting off into the field.

Anger shot through her like a hard hit of whiskey as she considered how reckless Davis had behaved. She could have killed him. Right then she kind of wanted to. Before the curses on her lips could crystallize into coherent words, the back of the truck banged again hard enough to make her foot slip from the brake.

The truck rolled forward as her mind went blank. Climbing over the tailgate, Chance didn’t look happy and he was coming straight for her. The panic returned, kicking her pulse back into a frantic pace and flooding her body with overheated blood.

The heat melted through her resistance, making unwanted images flash through her mind. Getting caught wouldn’t be that bad. There could be fates worse than being pinned against all those hard, rippling muscles and forced to endure one climax after another while he fucked her straight into oblivion with that big dick of his.

Crash!

The sudden, sharp cry of twisting metal heralded a shudder that had the whole truck rolling with the motion. Lacie pitched forward as Chance disappeared over the edge of the bed in a flail of limbs. The truck rocked backward, slamming her back into her seat and triggering instincts that had her reaching for the wheel.

Spinning it, she managed to turn the truck until it was aimed straight at the calm waters of the pond. Slamming on the brakes in a belated reflex, she made the bed of the truck lift for a second time. It slammed back down hard, but the front wheels held, keeping both her and the truck from taking a dip.

It took a moment for everything to sink in. Lacie sat there strung high on the vibrations still trembling through her muscles. She’d almost driven the truck straight into the water. And it wasn’t her truck. Things were getting way out of hand.

Chance!
He’d fallen out of the truck, could be lying dead or dying on the ground. Throwing open the door, Lacie scrambled out of the truck. The bumper she’d sheared off Chance’s truck lay on the ground, twisted and mangled, the same as the large dent scraped down the side of his truck. Her heart seized on the idea of Chance in the same condition.

“
Chance
?”

“Oh, for God’s sakes, woman,” Chance groaned, his grumpy expression easing the sudden pain in Lacie’s chest as he rose into view. With one hand, he clutched at the side of the truck, while the other one cradled his head. “My skull is already pounding. I don’t need another damn demonstration of how shrill your voice can be to make it hurt worse.”

“You’re all right?”

“Of course I am. No thanks to you,” Chance snapped. “What the hell you trying to do? Kill me?”

“No.” Her indignation flared at his accusation, but quickly flamed out as she found herself issuing the lamest of excuses. “It was an accident.”

“Oh?” Chance straightened up, shooting her a hard glare. “You just nearly gave me an accidental heart attack by faking an injury? And driving right into my truck, that’s just a ‘whoops’? Ah, God.
My truck
!”

Chance’s tirade gave way to a plaintive whine as he cleared the back of the bumper of the borrowed truck to confront the damage Lacie had done to his vehicle. She stared down at the disaster and couldn’t find it in her to feel a bit sorry. Ultimately, this was all his fault. He and Davis had started it.

Not that she expected Chance to buy that argument. Eyeing him and the scowl starting to darken his features, she figured she had only minutes left before he started looking for revenge. There wasn’t a damn thing she could do to stop him from taking it.

Glancing down his long, hard length, Lacie couldn’t find an ounce of fat on the man. Muscles thickened his thighs and made his arms bulge with the kind of strength that sent shivers racing through her stomach.

Solid and thick all over, her gaze traced over the hard planes of his chest and down the ridges of his abdomen to trace the fuzzy line of dark hair down from his navel to where his long, thick cock jutted out hard and proud. Too big not to be a little threatening, Lacie couldn’t help but wonder if he wasn’t just a little too much for her.

“Look what you did to my baby.”

Lacie obeyed, dragging her dry eyes back to the red pickup she’d managed to smash up pretty good. “And here I thought I was your baby.”

“Very funny.” Shooting her a hard look, Chance issued the threat she’d been anticipating. “You’re going to pay for this, Lacie.”

“What do you want? A check?”

Lacie knew better than to taunt him, but didn’t figure it made much of a difference now. Nothing she said would change Chance’s intentions. Besides, it felt good to be the one antagonizing him with a smile this time around. Now Chance got to enjoy being flustered and pissed.

“You better watch yourself now, baby,” Chance warned her. “In case you haven’t noticed, the odds are still on my side.”

He might be right, but Chance’s arrogance provoked Lacie’s instinctive need to resist. Maybe there was hope. Somebody had driven Chance’s truck over here. Perhaps they’d left the keys in the ignition. It would probably be too much to hope to pull off the same trick twice, but Lacie dared to dream as she slowly started backing up.

“Now, Mr. Dillon.” Lacie treated him to her most professional smile and best condescending tone as she eased herself around the corner of his truck. “I don’t think there is any need to start threatening each other.”

“I’m not threatening, Miss Chandler.” Chance prowled steadily forward. “I’m promising.”

“And so am I.”

Lacie eased herself past the tire well, feeling more confident the closer she drew to the door handle. If nothing else, she could get into the cab and lock them out. Then he’d have to smash his
baby’s
window if he wanted to get to her.

“You’ve already paid a high price for your arrogance, Mr. Dillon. Don’t you think it’s time to admit defeat?”

“Oh, Miss Chandler.” Chance smiled. “You’re still not understanding. You can’t win. You can’t escape. You belong to—”

“Us.”

Lacie started with a shriek, whirling around to find Davis blocking her path.

“Hey, honey, having fun yet?”

“No,” Lacie answered honestly, trying hard not to give in to the charm of his double-dimple grin. Cute, Davis might be, but she had a right to her grievances. “I am not, and for the record, I don’t belong to anybody. I’m not a damn dog.”

“Not a dog,” Davis agreed, his smile warming with satisfaction. “A mate. Our mate. Surely Bud’s explained how that works to you.”

“Maybe that’s why I don’t believe you.” Not willing to accept being cornered so easily, Lacie started poking Davis in the chest, marching him steadily back even as she tore into him.

“I know how mating works, and it doesn’t include dragging a woman out to the middle of nowhere and releasing her to be hunted like a prey.”

“Maybe in our book it does.” Davis dismissed her accusation without bothering to consider it. Digging in his heels after four steps, he came to a stop as he took his stand. “But trust me, Chance would never have risked his truck for anybody else.”

Lacie guessed Davis thought that would overwhelm her, to know she ranked as high in Chance’s affections as his truck. It kind of actually did fill her with a strange thrill. His logic couldn’t be argued. Chance was clearly one of those cowboys who lived and died by his pickup. Probably had a thing about his hat, too.

Not that Lacie would let the little bit of warmth starting to curl through her wash away her justified outrage at their behavior. If she really was their mate, then that just made all of this worse because she was due a whole lot better treatment. Hell, any woman would have been.

Lacie kept those thoughts to herself as Davis reached out to cup her cheek. Letting him believe he had her under his charming spell, she let him pull her slowly closer toward his kiss. The anticipation was hypnotic, the lure to give in to the moment almost overpowering, and Lacie didn’t have to fake the breathless quality making her whisper husky.