"You don't understand, Rabbit. She saw my face. She'd seen me with the cows' trackers. What was I supposed to do, just send her on her way and hope that she didn't call for help? Or the god-damned cops?"
"Like Sheriff Donohue could have tracked us down. A sleepy sheriff of a sleepy small town. He's not a threat."
"Well, Mad Dog seems to think otherwise," Hatchet replied and Jackrabbit flinched.
Mad Dog was the president of the Roadburners crew, and Jackrabbit had a good reason to flinch. Though he may be the vice president, ever since a job went south the year before there had been some bad blood between the two of them. And Mad Dog had gotten his nickname for a reason. He had a quick-fire temper that turned deadly, often without warning. He wasn't someone to cross.
"You think he's going to be particularly happy when he sees what else you brought home with you?" Rabbit asked, one eyebrow arched. Hatchet just shrugged.
"Look, she's my problem. Not yours. I'll deal with her, okay? Just lay off the lecture. I don't need this shit from you."
"You need it from someone, Hatch. You've been reckless." His friend stared at him.
Hatchet couldn't form an answer. He'd known the other man for over fifteen years. They'd served together overseas, and Rabbit was the one who had helped him dig his life out of the shithole he'd found himself in after McLaurel had fired him. Rabbit was the one who'd introduced him to the Roadburners. Hatchet owed the other man his life, but he still didn't have an answer for him.
"Just leave it be, alright?" Hatchet demanded. "I'll figure this shit out."
"Well, you better, man. I don't want to be pulled down with you … What the hell?" Hatchet turned to follow Jackrabbit's wide-eyed gaze and it only took a minute to find the source of his surprise. The cows were moving, happily following the woman up the ramp. Her hands were still tied but she seemed to be holding out a piece of fruit to lure them inside the trailer, and they followed like little kittens after a bowl of cream.
"Well, I'll be damned," Hatchet said. He watched the odd parade as the petite girl easily led the cows into the trailer, coming out by herself a few minutes later. She gave him an exasperated look.
"I was getting tired of listening to you girls argue. Now, if you're done bickering, can you … can you let me go?"
There was a pleading in her voice that was hard for Hatchet to resist. He looked to Jackrabbit for help, but the man was already loading up Samson next to the cattle and closing the back of the trailer.
Jackrabbit got on his motorcycle, which had been parked and waiting next to Hatchet's, before finally looking over. He glanced from Hatchet, to the girl, and then back again before he just shrugged.
"I'll see you later. Figure it out," Jackrabbit said. He turned the throttle, and a millisecond later the engine purred to life and he rode out onto the road along with the truck and trailer carrying their haul.
Slowly, Hatchet turned back to the woman, whose hands were still tied and who was looking up at him with those big innocent eyes.
Hatchet wracked his brain, but he just didn't know what the fuck to do with her. It didn't help that her subtle perfume, something light and sweet all at the same time, was getting into his head and doing all sorts of things to his ability to think straight.
"You have to let me go now," she said, and it wasn't a question. It was a demand. Hatchet cocked his head, looking down at her. "Your friend didn't seem to mind."
"And what if I don't want to do that?" His voice dropped an octave, turning rough and gravelly as his spoke. His thoughts were filled with all the things he would much rather do to her than let her go.
"You have to! Let me go right this instance, or I'll … or you'll regret it!" She was glaring now, and Hatchet couldn't keep his mouth from curling up at the edges as amusement rolled through him.
Here he was, at least twice the size of her, and she was threatening him. It was funny, and endearing, and if he wasn't careful he had a feeling that this little woman would have him on his knees. A flush of arousal at the thought left his pants feeling tighter than before. Yeah, kneeling would put him at exactly the right height … Stay focused, asshole. This is about the job. That's all. Nothing else. Stop letting your dick do your thinking for you.
Finally, Hatchet sighed, moving more from instinct than anything else as he reached around her for the rope that bound her hands together. Before he could let himself think twice about what he was doing he tugged at the knot keeping it secure and a moment later it fell to the ground.
"Are you letting me go?" She rubbed at her wrists.
He felt a pang of guilt but shoved it away. He was a criminal for Christ's sake. He couldn't let himself feel bad about doing what he had to.
"No. I'm giving you a choice." The words came out harder than he had intended, and he hated when she flinched at his tone. But her big eyes never left his. He wondered briefly at their color once more, wondering what it was. He would find out soon enough.
"What choice?"
"You can turn around right now and walk back to the ranch, or you can come with me. Those are your only two options." Hatchet stared down at her, forcing his hands to stay still at his side. "Decide now."
She looked around nervously at the deserted old road surrounded by miles and miles of empty land. He saw her hesitate and he knew what her answer would be. But, just as she opened her mouth to speak, a haunting sound rose from the tree line that circled them. Coyotes. And by the sound of them, it was a large pack, and hungry.
Hatchet saw the fear creep into her eyes as the pack howled again, drawing closer this time, and he saw the exact moment her answer solidified.
"Alright," she said, nodding once as she stepped towards him, "I'll come with you."
"No second chances," he said gruffly. He didn't think he had it in him to let her go twice. Anger flashed like quicksilver across her features, but it fled as the hungry howls broke the quiet once more. This time, it sounded like it was coming from right behind them.
"Let's just get out of here, okay? I've seen what a small pack of coyotes can do to a cow four times my size."
"Whatever you want, darlin'," Hatchet said, walking towards his motorcycle. "Whatever you want."
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Read on for a sample from ROADBURNERS MC #2: RUINED!
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SAMPLE: Ruined
Chapter 1
"Oh god. Fuck yes." Rachael moaned the words as she hitched her hips, once more making contact with the hard, hot body beneath her. They were both tangled up in the sheets, sweat soaking their skin from the energetic morning romp but neither noticed. They were lost in each other.
It was the same as it was every time Rachael and John Dawes, more commonly known as Jackrabbit, fell into bed together. Or the kitchen table. Or the back of her truck. Or the alley behind the bar that Rachael lived above. One touch and they both exploded. Sparks flying everywhere. Burning out of control for one another.
Rachael bit of another groan of pure pleasure at the feel of Jackrabbit's teeth grazing that sensitive curve where her neck melted into her shoulder and it sent shockwaves tumbling through her, adding to the intense sensations that already threatened to overwhelm her.
Her tense muscles were straining. A quiver grew from her legs and quickly spread to the rest of her body. Rachael panted, biting her lower lip as the pleasure turned into ecstasy, and then something urgent-something more insistent. She tried to hold back, tried to hold out just a little bit longer but before she could even take her next breath, she felt herself coming apart.
"Johnny!" She cried out, her mind nothing but a haze as her body shook in his arms. On and on, he thrust hard inside her, stretching her orgasm for what seemed like an infinity but a few moments later he followed her over the edge. His fingers tensed, digging hard enough at her hips bruise but she didn't care. She was lost in the pleasure that still rode her body.
With one last weak cry, he wrung the last ounce of ecstasy from her. Rachael collapsed with a breathless laugh on top of his muscular chest. Her breaths came out soft and husky as she rolled to one side, the sheet rolling with her and covering about half of her body.
The rest of her was still on display but Rachael didn't care. They had just finished having sex together and still, Jackrabbit's dark blue eyes were drawn to her curves, gleaming with a lean and hungry light.
He swept one callused hand from her thigh, traveling up the peak of her hip and into the valley of her waist and then up some more, just skimming the tip of her still sensitive nipple to sweep across the skin of her shoulder.