Big Bear Mountain - The Complete Series (13 page)

S
uddenly the reality
of what they’d experienced took hold and Cassie felt her knees turn to melted
butter. Her mouth went dry and her hands began to tremble. As she wavered,
Jack’s strong hands took hold of her shoulders and guided her firmly to a
nearby chair. She was surprised at how reassuring his hands felt against her
skin.

“You’re feeling
the effects of the adrenaline rush. I’ve felt it plenty of times myself. It’ll
pass, just relax until it does and don’t stress. That only makes it worse.”

“So you see a lot
cases of post adrenaline rush around here?” she asked, knowing full well he
didn’t.

“I’m ex-military.
Seen my fair share of it in others and felt it plenty myself. Don’t see it much
in these parts, not in this job, anyway. But you knew that already, didn’t
you?”

She nodded.

“And you’re not
just here to sort out your grandma’s estate, are you? You don’t need to be
staying here to do that. You hold a gun like total badass and you can
neutralize a professionally assembled bomb like I’ve never seen before. So, you
want to share anything about that?”

She shook her
head. The less she said to this astute stranger, the better. She had
underestimated him. Not something she did very often. His disarming charm and
mysterious storm blue eyes were having an effect on her. Not the effect she
wanted, either. The warmth pooling between her trembling legs testified to
that.

His hands moved
from her shoulders as he took a seat opposite her. She immediately felt a sense
of loss as he broke the intimate connection between them.

“So, how about we
tell each other what we aren’t telling each other? Whatever’s going on here is
clearly dangerous and it’s no coincidence that someone has tried to blow up
your spring —”

“Wait … my
what
?”

“That’s where I
found the bomb. It was stuffed inside an old oil can and hidden down in the
spring. Why would someone do that?”

“I have no idea.”
She thought for a moment. “As I was turning off the main road today, a black
truck came hightailing out of here. Surely there can’t be that many black
pick-up trucks in these parts?”

“Are you serious?”

She shrugged.
“What?”

“There’s nothing
but
black pickups around here.” He paused and looked out the window at her classic
old Cutlass gleaming in the moonlight. “Until now, that is. Nice piece of
Detroit muscle, by the way,” he added.

“Thanks.” She
nodded and followed his gaze to the car her dad never finished restoring before
he died. “So how do we work out who did this?”

“We don’t. We
figure out the why, that’ll lead us to the
who
.”

Smart idea
, she thought.
He’s quite the detective,
for a small town sheriff
.

S
he missed the
comfort of his hands on her shoulders. Their brief contact still heated her
skin, as if his touch had ignited something within her. Again she became aware
of the aching need building in the pit of her stomach, spreading liquid warmth
to her awakened sex.

She finally
summoned the courage to reach across the table and lay her hand over his when
he jumped out of his chair and sprinted around the table to where Cassie was
sitting. He wrapped his long, muscular arms around her and hoisted her possessively
from her chair, crushing her against his broad, thickly muscled chest.

Her eyes were
closed, her face turned up, waiting for him to press his perfectly shaped lips
against hers.

Instead, he crash
tackled her to the floor and rolled on top of her.

“I would have
preferred to start with dinner and a movie, but this could work, too,” she
giggled into the nape of his musk scented neck.

She hadn’t heard
the crack as the bullet passed through the window, but a split second later,
she saw the bullet strike the chair in which sat only seconds ago, blasting a
fist sized hole through it.

“H
ow did you know?”
she whispered into his ear, her voice a pitch higher from the stress.

“Laser sight. I
saw him lighting you up with it. At least we know he’s not a professional. A
pro sniper wouldn’t use a laser sight,” he said convincingly.

“What exactly
did
you do in the military?” she quizzed.

He ignored her
question, rolling over and cautiously looking over the table and through the
bullet pierced window.

“Wait here.” He
didn’t wait for her to object before running in a low crouch toward the door
and pushing it open as he rolled down the steps, landing in a braced kneeling
position with his service weapon aimed at where he estimated the shooter to
have been. He hadn’t drawn any fire and he assumed that the shooter had made a
run for it.

Having been nearly
shot to death by a sniper had given Cassie a sense of urgency and recklessness.
She had no idea what came over her, but it felt good and she was powerless to stop
it, even if she had wanted to. And she didn’t.

When Jack entered
the cabin again, Cassie threw her arms around him and squeezed him with all her
might. Jack was about to break free when she crushed her lips against his and
kissed him tentatively, taking his upper lip between hers and tasting him for
the first time.

He tasted as good
as his musky, masculine scent suggested that he would. As she parted her lips,
he followed her lead and allowed him to explore her mouth with his tongue.
Soon, their tongues were dancing together in an erotic tango, hinting at the
sensuality that smoldered below the surface. They both felt the passion swirl
within, building.

Picking her up
like she weighed nothing at all, Jack spun around so her back was pressed
against the wall and he began to plunder her mouth with his tongue greedily and
hungrily. Cassie responded with a low moan from her throat. She wrapped her
legs around Jack’s waist and pulled his hips toward her waiting sex, eager to
feel his hardness against her.

Using one of his
large hands under her magnificent butt to hold her aloft, Jack pressed her
harder against the wall and slid his other hand along her curvy thigh. Even
through her jeans she could feel the heat of his touch as if it burned a path
across her skin. She loved how he touched her. What’s more, she loved how it
made her feel when he hardened against her in response. He was enjoying her.
All of her, including her curves. She felt his hardness twitch again as his
hand swept up her thigh to the cheek of her ass. Like he was especially
enjoying her curves.

In vain she tried
to fist a handful of his hair to draw him further into her mouth, but his
military style haircut was too short, so she settled with her hand on the back
of his head and pulling him hard against her. He sensed her hunger for him and
responded with a deep, possessive probing with his tongue. Jack’s bear growled
in appreciation at tasting his mate.

“What was that?”
she asked, breathlessly into his ear as she explored it with the tip of her tongue.
“Am I bringing out the animal in you? Grrrrr,” she teased.

“You have no
idea,” Jack responded.

If only she
knew
.

Of course, he knew
it would end in short order if he let his bear free with her. Some things were
best kept secret.

“Let me show you
…”

And with that,
Jack released one hand from her butt and slid it inside her top, cupping her
soft, smooth breast and the hard pebble of her nipple as she responded to his
firm, masculine touch. She’d taken her bra off when she prepared to sleep. She
was glad she had, too. His rough, strong hands felt like heaven against her
tender skin. It had been so long …

Alternating
between squeezing and caressing her tender, ripe morsel with his hand, Jack
elicited a keening sound from Cassie’s throat before she returned his kiss with
equal depth and passion. She had become frantic and needy, desiring him in
every way imaginable. His greedy fondling of her breasts sparked a fire in her
belly and the heat that had amassed down there spilled all the way down to her
pussy. She felt the dampness in her panties and wanted him to feel it, too. She
wanted him to feel what he was doing to her.

Lowering her hands
to her jeans, she proceeded to unfasten them, leaving them open for him to
explore her, taking a moment to feel the thickness of his hardened cock through
his pants. She liked what she felt and enjoyed how he responded when she
stroked its length and playfully squeezed the well-defined outline of his
cock’s head.

“Touch me. I want
to feel your hands down
there
,” she cooed softly, embarrassed to say it
aloud.

Jack nibbled the
nape of her neck, trailing kisses and gentle bites down to her shoulder as he
felt the vibration of her sensual purring. He could sense she wanted him. His
bear was already wound up from the heady scent of her arousal and keen to take
her as his mate. Jack, too, felt drawn to her and wanted her in
that way
,
too. But he didn’t want his judgement clouded by his physical urges. She was
vulnerable and the events of the night were not trivial. Someone was trying to
kill her. He needed to protect her and taking her like a wild animal, slamming
her hard and dirty against the wall was probably not the wisest course of
action.

But when her hand
began to rub his cock it hardened enough to nearly rip through his pants,
wisdom went out the window. Jack’s primal lust and his bear’s urge to mate with
his chosen one claimed victory as he trailed his fingers across her smooth,
curvy belly before plunging them into her panties and down to the wet folds
that awaited.

C
assie gasped and
convulsed as his touch sent shock waves of pleasure through her. From her
heated sex, through her belly to every part of her, like he was lighting a
brushfire of ecstasy within her.

Feeling her
arousal move to the next level, Jack probed her juicy folds, finding her clit
and gently stroking it. Again, she quivered and shook, throwing her head back
and mewing with unrestrained pleasure. She was feeling sensations she didn’t
even know existed. Heights of sensitivity that were truly beyond her
imagination. When Jack plunged his fingers into her folds and stretched her
opening to receive them, she gasped.

“I need you inside
me,” she breathed into his ear.

Jack didn’t need a
second invitation. He gently lowered her to the floor, leaving her to support
herself on her trembling legs and pulled his shirt over his head without even
bothering to undo the buttons and shimmied out of his pants, letting them pool
around his ankles on the floor.

Cassie followed
suit and within moments, they were naked, admiring each other’s form, lust
burning in their eyes.

Taking her wrists
in his hands, Jack pinned her arms against the wall and once more plundered her
mouth fervently, claiming her as his mate. Cassie opened to receive him, giving
herself to him and showing him she did so freely and fully.

His rock hard
manhood sprung between her legs and she felt its tip brush against her smooth
folds, teasing her and showing her the promise that it held, of pleasure she
couldn’t even begin to imagine.

“I want it inside
me,” she demanded, her face glazed with desire.

“You sure?” Jack
asked, needing reassurance that this was what she really wanted.

Taking his shaft
in her hand, she guided it like a heat seeking missile into the entrance of her
tight passage. The slick, wet heat of her desire coated the tip, spreading her
warmth all over it. “Does that feel like I’m sure?”

Jack’s eyes met
hers and they remained locked together as he thrust his hips, burying his
entire and substantial length into her hot passage.

A
gain her legs
turned to jelly and Jack took her weight effortlessly, allowing her to wrap her
legs around his hips, burying the heels of her feet into his lower back as he
thrust himself into her with heated desire. The ancient timber walls creaked as
he slammed her against them. Over and over again. Each time he buried his
magnificent cock inside her she wailed plaintively because she knew that each
time he did that, he would withdraw, leaving her empty again. She needed to be
filled by him.

She clawed and
raked his rippling muscular back with her nails and pounded his tight ass with
her feet as she felt her climax nearing.

“Come with me,”
she pleaded. “I want to feel your heat inside me when I come. I need you.”

Jack grabbed her
ass with his hands and pulled her harder to him each time he entered her,
controlling the rhythm and pace, trying to slow the urgency of her lovemaking.
She wasn’t having it and arched her head back as her orgasm threatened to
explode. “Give it to me
now
, Jack,” she screamed and kicked him hard
with her feet, urging him to finish her off.

Hearing the wild
frenzy in her voice and seeing the fire burning in her eyes, Jack’s own sense
of urgency began to peak. He felt how close she was to coming and let himself
go, no longer trying to temper the urges both he and his bear felt. They could
be overwhelming and sometimes a little rough, that’s why he held back. But he
felt her strength as she clawed and kicked him ravenously. He knew she was
strong enough to handle them both.

“You better be
ready for this,” he cried, slamming her harder against the wall, dust and dirt
falling from gaps in the timbers.

“I am. I’m ready.
Don’t hold back,” she encouraged. She knew he’d been trying to be gentle with
her. That’s not what she needed right now. Far from it.

Wanting to please
her, Jack let his bear have free reign and together they pounded Cassie hard
and fast, responding to her frenzied cries for more until he impaled himself
within her one final time and erupted with a climax that, in turn, pushed
Cassie over the edge as well.

Together, they
came and their orgasm literally shook the house as their climax racked bodies
shuddered with release. Slick and sweat drenched from their exertions, they
remained in each other arms trying to catch their breath as airborne motes of
dust continued to spiral around them, a reminder of the intensity of their
intense love making.

As her heart rate
slowly returned to normal, no longer threatening to beat out of her chest, a
thought gnawed at the edges of her post coital bliss.

“Jack?”

“Mmmm,” he
grunted, still nuzzling her neck.

“How did you know
I hold my gun like a ‘total badass’?”

Jack’s breath
caught in his throat.
Shit!