Van, Becca - Double E Ranch [Slick Rock 2] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) (12 page)

“Oh good. I’m starving,” Felicity stated, turned on her heels and left, putting an enticing sway in her hips that had the three men groaning. She looked back over her shoulder and saw them all adjusting their cocks. She was finally back in the land of the living and intended to enjoy every moment.

Chapter Ten

Felicity was enjoying life for the first time. She went horse riding and walking, read, and relaxed. She had never felt so alive. She made sure to rest every afternoon, even though she felt fine. She took the opportunity to catch up on her reading. She would sit out on the back veranda every afternoon, read until her eyelids began to droop, and then she would take a nap on the long bench seat swing. She was usually awoken by one of her men kissing her until she stirred. She was eating three meals a day and was gaining the weight she should have been carrying on her slender frame. She was no longer skin and bones. She had a healthy glow to her, and her muscles were more pronounced from riding every morning. Her three men were loving her every night, and then they would cuddle up with her after they had bathed her. Life couldn’t have been much better. She was at the end of her forced sabbatical with only two days left before she would return to work as a ranch hand. She didn’t really want to return to work. She was quite happy and content being a lady of leisure, now that she’d had a taste, but knew it wouldn’t be fair to Tom and Billy. She would feel guilty not helping out.

Felicity felt her eyelids drooping and knew, as much as she wanted to keep reading, her body wouldn’t allow it. She picked the book up, and got up to go inside. She made her way into the living room, lay down on the sofa, and dozed. She was still aware of the sounds of cattle and horses drifting in through the open windows and screen door as her mind drifted in that place between sleep and wakefulness. She heard the sounds of boots on the veranda steps and then the screen door opened, but she couldn’t open her eyes to see which one of her men was heading toward her. She just continued to drift. She felt whoever it was stop next to her and smiled, letting them know she was aware they were near. The hand that covered her mouth firmly had her jerking and her eyes snapping open. She looked up into the angry gaze of James. She tried to sit up, but he placed a hand on her chest, holding her down with painful pressure. She reached out with her arms, trying to pry his hands off her mouth and chest. She scratched down his arm, satisfied she had hurt the bastard when he cursed. She didn’t see the fist coming until it was right in her face. Pain exploded in her jaw, shooting into her head and down her neck. She saw stars then slumped into the beckoning darkness.

* * * *

Felicity groaned, pain radiating from her jaw to her pounding head. She opened her eyes only to close them again, light from a bare lightbulb making her flinch in pain. She opened her eyes again, taking in her surroundings. She had no idea where she was, but she knew she was no longer at the ranch. It looked like she was in a small hut. The walls were made from weathered timber, the roof from corroded tin. She looked down to find herself on a crude version of a bed, a fire burning brightly in a hearth. Her hands and legs were bound together with abrasive rope that cut into the skin of her wrists and ankles. The small hut was empty, and she knew she was in deep trouble. She couldn’t believe James had hit her then kidnapped her. He obviously had a screw or two loose.

Felicity tried to wiggle her hands out of the ropes holding her arms behind her back, but only managed to scrape her wrists raw. She could feel the warmth of blood trickling over her wrists and gave up trying to get free. She hoped James didn’t come back anytime soon. She wanted to try and escape before he arrived. She used her stomach muscles, pulling herself into a sitting position, then swung her bound legs off the side of the bed. She jumped over to the door of the cabin, turned her back to the door, stood up on her toes, and fumbled around for the doorknob. She turned the knob with her fingers, jumped back around and then out the door, using her shoulders to push the door open.

She took in her surroundings and knew she was going to have to find a place to hide. She could see a copse of trees in the distance and knew they were her only chance of hiding. She began the tedious, arduous task of jumping toward her destination. It seemed to take her hours to jump no more than a hundred yards. The muscles in her legs were burning with fatigue, lactic acid making her limbs feel heavy.

The sky was changing to pinks and purples, the sun was setting, and she knew she was running out of time. She had no idea how long she had been in the small hut, but she knew it didn’t really matter. She hoped Luke, Tom, and Billy knew she was missing, knowing they were her only hope of escape from the deranged ex-ranch hand. She pushed the pain of her burning calves and thighs to the back of her mind, picking up the pace of her jumping motion. She needed to get to those trees.

She paused her movements as she heard the motor of a vehicle in the distance. Her time had just run out. She sobbed but took off jumping as quickly as she could, hoping she hadn’t wasted any precious time by listening to the approaching vehicle. The sun was nearly gone from the sky, twilight lengthening shadows along the dry, long grass she was moving through. She caught the glare of headlights and quickly ducked down into the tall grass, not daring to move, not wanting to give her position away to whoever was out there, just in case it was James returning to the hut. She heard the vehicle stop, the engine no longer running. She held her breath and shivered uncontrollably when the sound of a male’s voice echoed over the field. The sound of pure and utter rage permeated the air, making goose bumps cover her cold skin. She was so scared her heart was racing and she was panting in and out through her mouth. She exhaled quietly as she heard the sound of the vehicle start, the wheels of the four-wheel-drive, dual-cab utility spinning on the grass. She wanted to get up and bolt, but knew it would be absolutely futile. She stayed hidden in the grass as the vehicle sped across the open field. She exhaled again as the vehicle headed away from her. She rose up on her haunches slightly, trying to see where James was heading, but quickly ducked down again as the vehicle turned. She held her breath as the vehicle headed in her direction. He was obviously using his headlights to search for her. He sped past her, only yards separating her from the wheels of his truck. Fear making her body shiver and shake. She heard the truck turn once more, the sound of the engine much closer to her hiding place than the last time. She kept her eyes wide open, preparing to roll away from the deadly tires of the truck. She flattened herself out, rolled, and cursed as the car rolled to a stop over the top of her body. She bit her lip to contain her cry of pain, as the undercarriage of the truck struck her knee just before she flattened out. She was in danger of vomiting. Pain was shooting from her knee up and down her leg. She could taste blood in her mouth, dribbling down her chin from the cut in her lip from her teeth. She didn’t dare release her lip, knowing if she did she would cry out in agony. The pain finally eased, giving way to a dull, persistent, burning throb. She opened her eyes wide, hearing the car door open, watching as booted feet landed on the ground so close to her. She breathed quietly in and out of her nose, hoping he wouldn’t hear her, closed her eyes, and prayed.

“I will find you, you fucking bitch,” James yelled hysterically. “Don’t think you’ve won. I’m not leaving until I have you. I am going to fuck you so hard. It’s your fault those bastards sacked me. I am going to make you pay. I will use your body over and over again. When I’m done with you, I am going to kill you. It won’t be quick either. I am going to slice you up into little pieces, then leave what’s left of your body for animals to pick over.”

Felicity closed her eyes as she listened to James rave, his voice screaming out what he intended to do to her. She could see his feet moving from side to side in agitation and knew he was definitely insane. She hoped now he had driven over her hiding place, he would move to another area of the field. She was going to have to stay where she was. There was no way in hell she could move again. She was in way too much pain, and God knows what damage had been done to her right knee.

Felicity listened as James’s ranting stopped, and then he cursed under his breath, got back into the car, and drove off. She stayed where she was, not daring to move, but listening intently as his vehicle roamed the open field searching for her. Her knee was throbbing like a bitch, her body shivering with cold even though she knew it wasn’t that cold at all. She was in shock. She hoped like hell her men would turn up and find her soon. She was beginning to feel quite ill, knowing if she didn’t get warm soon, she could be in real trouble.

Chapter Eleven

Luke arrived home from work, anticipating loving their woman after dinner making his cock hard. He stomped up the veranda steps hoping to find Felicity napping on the swing seat. He entered the house and saw her book on the floor in the living room, thinking it was unusual for her to leave her books lying around. He picked up the book and perused the cover, a big grin crossing his face when he saw the picture of one female and three men. The cover was very erotic, the vision making his cock jump in his pants. Taking the book with him, he headed to the kitchen to greet Felicity with a passionate kiss.

Luke entered the kitchen, breathing deeply as the aroma of the food Nan was cooking for dinner enticed his nostrils.

“Hey, Nan, something smells good.”

“I’ll bet you’re nice and hungry, too, after a long day of keeping law and order. Dinner should be ready in about half an hour. Why don’t you get cleaned up and bring that little girl in off the swing. She’s probably thirsty after spending all afternoon out in the fresh air,” Nan said.

“She’s not inside?” Luke asked with a frown.

“Not that I know of, usually I hear her come in. Why?”

“I found her book on the floor in the living room, so she had to have come inside. I thought she must have dropped it without noticing before she went to the bedroom.”

“That’s not like our girl. She’s always so careful of her books,” Nan stated.

“Yeah, I know. I have a sinking feeling in my gut, Nan. I think I’ll wander over to the barn and see if she’s in there with Tom or Billy,” Luke shouted over his shoulder, hurrying out of the house.

“Let me know if you find her,” Nan called. Luke gave Nan a wave as he headed to the barn to let her know he’d heard her. He was in a hurry to find his woman.

Luke walked into the doorway of the barn, let his eyes adjust from the bright sunlight to the dim interior of the building, and called for his friends and lover.

“Tom, Billy, Felicity, are you in here?” he called as he moved further into the building.

“Here,” Tom called then appeared from the tack room. “What’s up?”

“Have you seen Flick?”

“She’s on the swing on the veranda,” Tom answered.

“No, she’s not. She’s not in the house either. Where’s Billy?”

“He was in the loft last time I heard,” Tom said, pointing to the ladder leading to the loft of the barn, then called loudly for his brother.

“What?” he yelled back then hung his head over the edge of the loft floor.

“Have you seen Flick?” asked Luke.

“Veranda swing,” Billy stated.

“Fuck it. I knew something was wrong when I couldn’t find her in the house. We need to search for her. I’ve had a sinking feeling in my gut ever since I found her book on the floor in the living room,” Luke stated. “Where could she have gone?”

“None of the horses are missing. Maybe she’s gone for a walk,” Billy suggested.

“When was the last time you’ve seen our girl leave her precious books lying around on the floor?” Luke asked.

“Never,” Billy replied.

Dread made Luke’s heart sink to his stomach.

He looked from Tom to Billy and back again, agitation making him shift restlessly as he thought about where their lover could have gone. He hit on the same conclusion as his friends when their voices of fury joined his.

“James.”

* * * *

Felicity’s teeth were chattering in her mouth, her body shivering uncontrollably. Her head was pounding, her jaw and knee throbbing. She could feel bile rising up in her throat and knew she was going to be ill, but was thankful she couldn’t hear James’s car roaring through the open field anymore. She hoped he had given up searching for her and was long gone. Her arms and shoulders were aching from being restrained at an unnatural angle behind her back. Her fingers were freezing cold and totally numb. Her wrists were raw and sore, and she could just feel a small stream of blood trickling down her flesh. Her feet and toes had gone totally numb, and her legs were throbbing because of lack of circulation. In other words, she was a total mess. She’d tried countless times to get her body to cooperate, to push herself into a sitting position, but her arms were aching so much and her fingers were so numb, she knew it was a useless endeavor. But she refused to give up. After each attempt, she would rest her tired, aching body until she felt a little of her waning strength return. She couldn’t allow that bastard to win. Not when she’d finally found a reason to live, to enjoy life to the fullest. She was so in love with her three lovers and vowed they would know how she felt. She wanted to spend the rest of her life loving the men she had only just found. She wanted to have their children, share the sorrows and joys life threw their way until they grew old. She wasn’t giving up without a fight.