"Birth control shots. Don't you dare move," she growled.
His expression lust-filled, his eyes darkened, and he smiled a little.
Hal hadn't forgotten such an important thing as that since he began to experiment with sex as a teen. He was glad he didn't have to stop and delay the forward momentum as tantalizing as Tracey was. As eager as they both were.
He pressed deeper, allowing her time to adjust to his size, loving the feel of her heat and wetness wrap around him like soft velvet. He thrust into her, wanting this so badly, his body ached for her, their bodies moist with exertion, the smell of her sweet and sexy—the cougar half of her firing his pheromones into action.
Not that he'd needed the extrasensory assault to make him want this. Want her.
She wrapped her legs around his hips, opening herself further to his exploration, allowing him deeper into the sensual abyss.
And he took the invitation. He thrust harder, deeper, having to feed the primal need to conquer, to have her…to…to keep her?
It was in the genes when a cougar mated a cougar that he'd claimed her as part of his territory. And yet, it was also in the genes that they didn't mate for life.
Screw it. They both needed and wanted this. Now. Just the moment.
She purred and he valued the sensuous sound—a she-cat vocalization that was so right and engaging, but best of all? He had made it happen. Her eyes closed, her skin glistened in the sunlight like diamonds sparkling. Her breath was barely there as she looked to be absorbing the feel of him inside her. Her fingers clenched his ass, and he was certain when she arched against him, another orgasm had hit.
He was enraptured, his blood on fire, his breathing raspy as if he couldn't take her and at the same time breathe. She moaned softly. The beautiful sound added to the magic of the moment.
With the utmost control, he held still for a moment. He looked down at her swollen, well-loved lips. Her darkened green eyes opened, jade with flecks of gold, watching him with wonder.
"Perfect." He turned his gaze to her rosebud nipples, succulent to feast on, every inch of her stunning.
Then he thrust again, and again, desperate now. He felt the end coming and couldn't hold back even if his life depended on it. The sweet-pain of holding on, and then the climax, letting go, the release, sharp and hot and wondrous.
He collapsed on top of her, wanting to pin her body beneath his, and wanting the closeness. He loved this miracle between them, this moment in time, her, the setting. All of it.
She still had her legs wrapped around his and her arms tightened around him as if she craved having his body pressing heavily against hers. That she needed it.
He obliged, not wanting to let go of her or the moment, either.
He didn’t want to see anything more in this than that they had both needed this release. Maybe because of the recent shootouts with the bad guys. Maybe because neither of them had been with someone in a good long while. He shouldn't have cared. And yet, damn his hide, he was already thinking along the lines of her with him, as Ted had called her already, boss lady, his mate, his wife, helping him to run the ranch.
Yet, he knew how foolish the notion was. She was a highly trained Special Agent. Why would she give up her calling to live here with him? If he was married to her, he knew he'd want her with him, exclusive to him. Not running around, investigating wildlife criminal cases all over the world. Not in shootouts with damned wildlife traffickers.
He moved off her then and wasn't sure what to do next. If she was in his bed, he'd pull her into his arms and sleep with her.
Out here, they were bound to get sunburned and if he pulled the bedding around them, they'd get too hot.
He rested on his side as she smiled at him. "I opt for letting our clothes and my hair dry before we head back in."
"Works for me." He was glad to see her smile, as if she was happy to have had sex with him, and was not in the least bit regretting it.
He pulled a wet blond curl over her shoulder and leaned down and kissed her mouth. "Let's move the bedroll into the shade. I don't want us to get sunburned."
"Hmm." She sounded too boneless to move.
He smiled. "Fine." He got up then, enfolded her in the roll and carried her into the shade of the trees. "You'll thank me for it later."
She chuckled.
He unwrapped her, returned to the bedroll, took her into his arms, and promptly fell asleep.
Until, he heard her phone buzzing and felt her stirring against him, her body soft and warm and so damned appealing.
She groaned and moved to get off him, but he grabbed her arm. "I'll get it for you."
Naked, he left the shaded bedding and went back to where her clothes were. He grabbed her clothes and his and returned, handing her things to her.
She fished out her phone that had stopped ringing and checked the caller ID. "The boss."
He figured Mick had waited to allow her some time to sleep first after their wild night with her attackers at the gold mine, none of whom they'd caught, but now he was ready to counsel her for her rashness. Which Hal was glad for. Someone needed to do it. And she wasn't listening to him.
"Yeah?" she said to her boss, her fingers straying to Hal's thigh as if she wanted more sex and wasn't ready to go back to the ranch just yet.
And he was eager to make her forget about her job all over again.
Chapter 11
Hal settled next to Tracey on the bedroll. This was probably the weirdest call she'd ever taken from Mick since she had started working for her boss. Outside, yeah, that was usual when she was working a case, with the birds singing and a breeze ruffling pine needles or leaves of trees nearby. The sound of a creek in the background, sometimes. A waterfall, never. But it was the image of one hot male shifter sitting naked next to her on a bedroll while she was naked—that was what made the situation so secretly tantalizing.
She didn’t want Hal to get dressed just yet. She didn't want to give any of this up. Just yet. Though she suspected her boss was going to give her a lecture big time because she'd run off to meet with Ricky last night and got herself and him into trouble.
She figured she'd sidetrack the situation quickly. "Did the investigators find any real clues about the traffickers? Did my sister's photos show anything else of importance?"
"I need you to go home."
"What?" Now that was a real twist, but it worried her also.
"Your parents' home, I should say. Your dad asked me to call you—"
"Wait, what?" Her dad had called her boss and not her?
"Your dad called me after I asked Jessie for her photos. She's staying with them for the week."
"Yeah, okay, but if he wants me to come home, why did he ask you to ask me?"
"He figured I'd lend more weight in the matter. I want you to go home—to your parents' place. Jessie's there. You and your dad can safeguard her."
Tracey's heart began to race. "You think my sister really needs protection? That they could be after her now?"
"Your informant is right. The two of you look too much alike. And after she took pictures of the cave where the evidence was found, it appears you are one and the same person, and you're gathering evidence."
"That I would showcase on Facebook? Get real."
"To draw out the traffickers. You've been known to be rather reckless on occasion."
She couldn't believe they'd go after her sister. But then again, she could see the problem. "Why don't you put Jessie in a safe house?"
"Are you kidding? The two of you are as different as the seasons in Colorado, but this is one area that you two are identical. You and she refuse to be locked up for your own protection."
"So you've decided you want us both locked up at my parents' house instead?" Irritated to the max, she glanced at Hal. He was studying her, there for her, but keeping quiet so she could deal with this on her own, which she appreciated.
"Listen, this past Christmas, you were chasing down leads on the case of
the piranhas smuggled into the U.S. You've been working nonstop since then. Take the time to spend with your family. They'd appreciate it, and you're close to them, so no problem there. And, oh, by the way, if I didn't mention it earlier, you are on administrative leave. You know what that means?"
She let her breath out in a huff. She wanted to stay here, but if she was needed to safeguard her sister, she'd leave in a heartbeat.
"Well, let me spell it out for you, if you don't recall since the last time you were on administrative leave."
"I don't investigate anything." She couldn't help sounding irritated. She wasn't a damn child. She was a topnotch investigator, and she'd solved more cases than any of the other Special Agents. Mostly because of her cat senses and because she was so doggedly determined to bring an end to a case, which meant the bad guys went to jail. And she didn't take a lot of breaks. Except when she was put on administrative leave. Even so, she'd continued to work on the cases.
Mick needed her. Which worked in her favor or he'd fire her butt for insubordination. But she'd never had a case thrown out in court based on her lack of handling the evidence correctly—which was the main thing.
"Right. So do I have your word that you're giving your dad a call and then returning home?"
"Yeah, sure."
"Tracey."
"I said I would, didn't I? Hell, if I didn't, my dad would call you and rat me out. Is that all you had to tell me?"
"One last thing, if your dad gets into investigating this, I want you to put a stop to it."
Her heart nearly quit beating. "Is he?"
"You know your dad. Retiring from the force was the hardest thing for him to do. I don't know anything for sure, but both his twin daughters are potential targets for these assholes, so what do you think?"
"I'll make sure." That's all she needed was for her father to get himself killed over this. Sure, he and his retired Special Agent buddies still went to the firing range and kept up their skills. But she could just imagine him calling them up and having them assist in the investigation.
What a nightmare.
The thing of it was, they were trained enough, albeit their age would hamper their reflexes some, that she could see them all getting themselves seriously injured or killed. A chance at reliving the old days?
You bet. She'd heard them share their tales for years—their glory days—which was another reason she had wanted to join the force. All of them had come to her graduation, as proud of her as if she had been their own daughter.
She loved them as much as she did her own family.
"All right. Is that it?"
"That's it. For now."
"Thank you." Then they ended the call and she looked up at Hal, lost in emotions anywhere from worry for her family and her dad's friends, to anger that these traffickers were drawing her family and friends into this.
"Do you want to bring them here?" Hal asked, stroking her arm, and she didn't believe he could be serious!
"No." She pushed him down and settled against him, wanting to have sex again, before she had to stay at her parents' home. "My mother has a successful cake-decorating business. She's got so many summer weddings, summer parties, and birthdays to plan for, that there's absolutely no way that she's leaving home. I can just imagine what I'll be doing when I go home. I just inhale calories when I'm in her kitchen. But it's never truly a vacation when I visit. Not that she forces me to help. It's just hard not to when she's so busy and could use an extra hand. And truthfully, it is a lot of fun decorating."
"So what's the deal with Mick wanting you to leave here?" Frowning, Hal didn't look happy about it in the least.
"Some of it is that Mick wants me there to help protect my sister because my dad needs backup. Mick's afraid the traffickers don't believe that I have a twin. But also, and I think a lot of it rides on the second part of the equation, his four buddies, also retired from the agency at the same time as Dad did, keep in touch and—"
"Mick thinks that they're going to investigate the case on their own, without agency backing."
"Right."
"So if you don't want your parents and sister to come here, what if I go with you and stay out there?"
"Stay with us?" She shook her head. "No way. My parents would think something more was going on between us."
He smiled as she felt his erection stiffen between their naked bodies.
She chuckled. "Yeah, but a lot more than that. It wouldn't be right. And it would be awkward. I'd have to scratch off my mother's notes on her calendar, giving a guesstimate as to when she needed to make a wedding cake for us. I could just see my dad making us be on our best behavior at all times."
Hal caressed her shoulder. "You don't think we would be?"
"We'd have to be. Or my dad might force you to marry me, shotgun-wedding style. Just warning you."
"I don't want you to leave. How could I come to your rescue the next time if I'm here, and you're in…?"
"Loveland. It's really not that far from here."
"A mile is too far." He sighed. "Loveland, Colorado. That's the city that's known for its Valentine Re-mailing Program."
She smiled at him. "I wouldn't think you'd know about it. Yep, since 1947 after the postmaster had received over two dozen Valentines with requests to have the cards postmarked from there to make the gesture all the more romantic. That's why my mom opened her cake business up there. It just seemed perfect for business."
"Yeah, I know about it."
"Why?"
He let out his breath. "At Valentine's Day one year, my mother sent a card to me from there when I was on a bad mission overseas. Of course, the guys all ribbed me about it, but…" He shrugged. "I've saved it to this day."
She couldn't believe the Special Forces, hot cougar could be so sentimental.
"That's really sweet." She began to rub up against him. "I have to go. I've got to make sure that my dad and his friends don't get involved. And that my sister is well-protected."
"What about you?"
"I'll be fine."
"I don't like it, Tracey. Not one damn bit."
She let out her breath. "I don't either. Okay? But I don't have a choice." She glanced back at her T-shirt. "It's still drying." Then she spread her legs over his and began to gently rub his erection with her body. "But I'm getting kind of wet. Want to do something about it?"
***
Hal couldn't believe just how so out of this world the experience could be in the wild with one hot she-cat. Tracey was unbelievable. Not only did he not want to give this up, or her, because of how fantastic she made him feel, but there was no way in hell she was going home without him.
He was protecting her back, her sister's, her family's, and the retired Special Agents' backs, if need be. But she wasn't going home alone.
If any woman had told him she was taking him home to see her mom and dad and that shotgun weddings could be involved, he would have said no thanks. But with Tracey, the notion had some kind of crazy appeal. Was it a case of him not having been with a she-cat in a long damn time?
No. It all had to do with one firecracker of a she-cat—this one. He hadn't known any woman who would have wanted to have sex with him in the woods by the waterfall like this. And twice? It only got better. But it was a lot more than that. Her love of animals, like his. Her determination to bring the bad guys to justice, like he was just as determined to do. Her need to protect others, just like him. She loved the ranch and though he loved it too, she brought something special to the experience. Watching the sun rise. If he'd ever have the chance—watching the sun set. And running with her as a cougar up in the rocks.
Though he never ever thought he'd consider such a thing, he was thinking how perfect it would be to have a wedding and reception out here. He couldn't imagine anything better. Was he nuts? If any of his buddies had said a while ago that he'd be thinking along those lines, he'd have told them they'd had too much to drink.
He'd already rolled up the bedroll whe
n he glanced at her to see her pulling her still damp T-shirt on.
She shivered. "I shouldn't have worn it into the waterfall pool."
"You didn't expect to slip and fall into it."
She smiled. "Sorry about that. I didn't mean to take you for a dunking."
"Water kind of tamped down my libido for a moment." But only for a moment. After he pulled her close and her hot little body heated him up, his erection had all the encouragement it needed.
She chuckled. "I didn't think much would tame that wild thing down."
He laughed, then he grew serious.
He didn't want to discuss the next matter with her because they'd had such a lovely day, and he knew this wasn't going to go over well with her. But he had to because it needed to be said.
He helped her mount her horse. He was about ready to climb into his saddle when his phone rang. He glanced at it. And smiled. "It's Ted. He probably figured we got lost."
"I doubt it," she said. "He's just checking up on you."
Hal shook his head. "Hey, Ted, we're headed in."
"Okay, good. I knew you were fine, but Ricky's been bugging me for the past two hours, wanting to check on the both of you, afraid you fell off the face of the earth."
"Yeah, we did. But we found our way back. Talk to you in a moment."
"Out here."
He pocketed his phone and climbed into the saddle. "So, about you going to your parents' place…"
They started to head back to the ranch, and she turned her head to look at the wildflowers or the scenery. Or maybe she was just trying to avoid eye contact.
He finished what he had to say. "I'm going with you."
Her head whipped around. "No way, Deputy Sheriff Haverton." Her green eyes were feral, like a cougar's when she got ready for the kill.
He knew there was something really wrong with him when he found her annoyance with him appealing.
"Not only would my mother be penning in the wedding cake baking date on her calendar, but my sister would be scheduling our Save-the-Date and engagement photo sessions. And Dad would be cleaning his shotgun. Maybe even practicing with it a bit more at the range."