Flynn's Kiss (Disarmed & Dangerous) (18 page)

The moment the cowboy stepped into her path, she knew she should have taken notice of those tiny hairs prickling the back of her neck.

“Hello, Buddy.”

“Lady Liberty.” The slight slur indicated Buddy’s consumption of alcohol. Liberty hoped it was enough for his coordination to be off, but having already suffered his drunken advances, she seriously doubted it was going to help.

“I’m just going to see Kate. She’s expecting me.”

“I don’t think so. Jack’s out and Kate’s gone to bed. At least all the lights were turned off about ten minutes ago.”

“Miss Liberty, is that you?”

“Jacob.” Her voice came out in a breathless gasp, and frustration flowed over her at her display of weakness.

“What are you doing here, boy?”

“My granddaddy sent me to see to Miss Liberty’s horse.”

“It’s done. Now fuck off.”

A spike of fear shot through her, rapidly followed by annoyance. How dared he speak to young Jacob like that? How dared he stand in her way? She took a confident step forward, chin raised, shoulders back.

Absolutely expecting Jacob to leave in the light of Buddy’s aggression, dread filled her at the thought he may not, and instead he might try and stand up to Buddy, his younger, lesser frame no match to the seasoned wrangler.

“Jacob, thank you. Please, let your granddaddy know I’m okay. Buddy’s with me, and I’ve seen to my own horse. Go on home now and tell your granddaddy Buddy is with me.”

She hoped with all her might Jacob understood she was calling for help, but the youngster just stood there, a silhouette in the twilight. His hands clenched at his sides and the glitter from his blue eyes made her see the resemblance to his uncle.

“Jacob, run along,” she reiterated, anxiety making her voice high-pitched.

“If you’re sure.”

“Yes. I’ll see you…later.”

“Okay.”

Jacob turned to go, and Liberty put a spurt on to reach the entrance of the stable before he was gone, but as she came alongside Buddy, he shot out an arm and snatched her wrist. The sample bottles crashed to the ground between them, and he gave another sharp jerk to pull her straight into his barrel chest, knocking the hat off her head.

“I knew you wanted us to be alone.” His oily voice sent spasms of nausea clenching at her stomach. Forgetting everything she had been taught, she wrenched away from him, eliciting nothing but a malicious chuckle as he whipped her back, one hand wrapped tight around her wrist, the other engulfing her right breast.

Desperate, she peered into the darkness, ready to cry out for help. Unable to make out Jacob’s form, she tried to force her mind to remember. Remember what she had been taught. Remember what Flynn had said. Difficult to do when her breast was being squeezed by a filthy lecher.

Know your enemy
—she did. He was a drunken, cowardly womanizer.

Caress my hands, like you’re enjoying this.
Against every impulse, she placed her right hand upon Buddy’s and stroked her fingers over the back of his hand. Miraculously, he groaned, and in the dim light she saw his eyelids flutter closed, felt his fingers slacken around her wrist as his other hand molded her breast in a rough massage. Smothering her revulsion, she stepped in closer, drew in a breathy sigh.

“Oh, that’s good. Come on big boy, make me feel better.”

He raised his other hand to her left breast and she rubbed his hands, pressing them into her breasts.

You’re going to break his finger.

“Oh yeah, you can do it.” She breathed, her fingers lightly danced over his skin, and as she saw his mouth go lax, his expression change to one of rapture, she wrapped her hands around his little finger on each hand. With a strength borne of desperation, she snatched them out and down as quick and hard as her strength would allow, registering the loud pop of one finger and the bone grinding snap of the other.

With an earsplitting yowl, Buddy hit the floor, but this time Liberty didn’t make the mistake of hanging around to check on the damage she had caused. Instead, she took off as fast as her legs would carry her in the direction of the doorway. Staggering slightly, she glanced back at the brightly colored Stetson crushed under Buddy’s knee, and with barely a second thought for the death of yet another hat, she turned and pelted across the open land toward Kate and Jack’s house.

Away from the lights of the barn, she was soon engulfed in complete darkness with only the sound of her own harsh breathing to accompany her. And it occurred to her if Buddy pursued her, she was leading him straight to her best friend and her best friend’s baby, and Buddy knew they were alone.

Dodging to the left, Liberty darted into the tree line, weaving through the woodland, with the sounds of Buddy crashing through the undergrowth behind her. She headed for the cottages and the safety of Flynn, and then with a jolt of horror, realized Flynn probably wasn’t there. He had a date.

Onward she tore, trying to build enough air in her lungs to scream, but the air wouldn’t stay and her lungs burned with the effort of running.

As the dense shadow of a man stepped out of the covering of trees to the left ahead of her, she never hesitated. She darted straight for him, instinct telling her it was Flynn. A second shadow stepped from behind Flynn, arms held wide in a silent invitation to run into them. And run she did, feinting to the right at the last minute. Full tilt into the open arms of Bill.

A loud roar filled her head as the remaining oxygen catapulted out of her lungs, and the impact of her body hitting Bill’s bowled them both over in a tangle of arms and legs.

For a complete second, the world was silent, and then Liberty drew in a breath and Bill exhaled one.

“Well, you’re a hell of a lot heavier than I was expecting.”

Liberty raised her head and peered through the darkness, barely able to make out the outline of the body she was sprawled on top of, but she could see the glitter of Bill’s eyes and the whiteness of her teeth as she grinned in the pitch black.

“Are you girls done playing now?”

Jack placed his hands on her waist and plucked her from Bill’s body, leaving Bill to struggle to her feet on her own.

“What happened?” Liberty squinted through the darkness.

A bright white flashlight played over Flynn, highlighting his figure crouched over a crumpled mass on the ground.

“Flynn got him.”

“She broke two of my fingers.” Buddy’s sniveling filled the dark copse.

“She did? I’d have broken your fucking neck.” Flynn glanced up and indicated for the light to be brought closer, revealing Buddy’s inert body face down in the undergrowth, both arms behind his back already securely cuffed. “She sure as hell did break one finger, but the other one…” Flynn reached over, a loud popping noise sounded in the dark, and Buddy’s wail grew to a howl. “Nope, she only dislocated this one, but I’ve put it back for you. You’re lucky. I’m feeling generous because I only taught my girl to bust
one
of your fingers. She did good.”

Before the pleasure of being called his girl could settle inside her, Flynn came to his feet in one smooth move. The white light of the flashlight illuminated his features and made Liberty’s breath catch in the back of her throat at the pure, deadly fury in his eyes.

“Get this bag of shit out of my sight, Jack.”

Jack leaned over and hauled Buddy up by the back of his clothes, eliciting a grunt from the guy.

“I’ll need a statement from Liberty.”

“He killed my hat.”

A long silence drew out as though everyone thought she was an idiot but didn’t want to say.

“In the morning will do.” Flynn’s quiet voice brooked no argument, and Jack gave a swift nod.

“You done good too, kid.” It was only then Liberty realized it was Jacob holding the flashlight. Overwhelmed with gratitude, Liberty grabbed him and hauled his skinny body into her arms, almost crushing the life out of him as she rocked him, snuggling him into her bosom and kissing his ear.

“Thank you, Jacob. Thank you for saving me.”

“Let the kid go, you’re going to suffocate him,” Flynn grunted as he peeled him out of her arms and held him steady, while Jacob glanced around with a vacant look and a sappy grin. “Look what you’ve done to him. He’ll never be the same again.” Flynn smacked him lightly on the back of the head. “Go with Bill, kid. She’ll see you home.”

They headed off in the same direction as Jack and Buddy, taking the flashlight with them, leaving Flynn and Liberty in the silence of the heavy darkness.

“Why didn’t you run to Jack’s house?”

“Kate was alone with the baby. I couldn’t risk it.”

“Where were you headed?”

“To you.”

She sensed rather than saw him nod.

She waited in the oppressive silence for him to speak, but instead he took her elbow and guided her through the dark. As they approached the place where they had first made love, a lump formed in her throat and she wondered if he even gave it a thought.

He pulled her to a halt outside her front porch, and she peered through the darkness at him.

“Liberty. If I asked to come in, would you let me?”

“Yes.” At her whispered reply, he blew out a breath she hadn’t realized he’d been holding.

“Would we make love?”

“Yes.”

“After, would you regret it because I didn’t kiss you?”

Strange how the answer wasn’t quite as simple as it should be, but she closed her eyes and tried to keep her thoughts clear.

“Yes.”

He drew her body against his, held her in his warm embrace, and she allowed herself the momentary pleasure of snuggling her cheek into his hard chest and resting her hand over his strong heart.

“I need to explain something to you.”

She drew away from him.

“Come inside.”

“Can I trust you?” His voice, laced with amusement, rumbled low in his chest.

“Not necessarily, but come inside anyway.”

She tugged his hand and he followed, but when she attempted to switch on the light, he halted her.

“Can we sit in the dark?”

The flutter of trepidation in her heart increased.

“Of course.”

He pulled her down to sit next to him on the sofa, and then shifted himself to sit on the edge, his elbows on his knees, his face in his hands.

It had been a hell of a day and an even worse night, and the trembles that shuddered through her couldn’t be attributed to the coolness in the lodge.

His sudden move surprised her. So did the fact he hauled her onto his lap, wrapped his arms around her, and squeezed her until she could barely breathe.

“You scared the shit out of me tonight.”

“I’m sorry.” Her voice was muffled by his shirt.

“What the hell were you thinking of, trying to run all the way?”

“I didn’t know for certain he was following at first. There was no one around.”

“We were coming from my lodge when Jacob came running hell-for-leather for me.”

Flynn gave a shuddering sigh and burrowed his face into her neck. She stroked his soft hair as her heart settled.

“You wanted to tell me something.”

“Now probably isn’t the best time.”

“Now is definitely the best time, Flynn. Tell me.”

He slid his fingers under the hem of her T-shirt and with slow, circular movements over her skin, soothed her.

He pulled back and indicated his face.

“When this happened, I was a mess.”

She gave a slight nod, her throat tightened.

“I told you Barbie saved me. She dragged me halfway across the desert until we were picked up by a helicopter. We got back. I was in hospital three months because of the infection. I almost died. And every week my fiancée wrote to me, told me how I was a hero, and how she couldn’t wait for me to come back home.”

He leaned his head against the back of the sofa, and Liberty propped herself against his chest, her eyes becoming more accustomed to the dark so she could make out his form, his weary stance.

“I still thought I was God almighty. I strutted through here like I owned the world. Like I always had, and I laid claim to my fiancée, paraded her through town to show I was still the man I had always been—and she strutted alongside me, head held high, proud of her hero.” He paused, his breath labored as though he were still there, in the past. She could feel his heart rate increase under the palm of her hand.

“She was the most beautiful creature on Earth.”

Pain sliced through her heart, almost crippling her with its intensity. She wanted to pull away, but she needed to know, he needed to finish. He closed his eyes and rolled his head from side to side as though he could see his fiancée behind his closed lids and the sight of her pained him.

“Stunning. She could have been a supermodel. Tall, slim. She was unbelievably elegant, and every man in town lusted after her. She was mine and I was insufferable in my arrogance. And I was punished for that arrogance.”

He fell silent and Liberty wondered whether he realized she was still there. His thumb still made circular motions on her skin, but otherwise he was perfectly still.

“What happened?”

“We went back to her place. We were desperate. God, we started ripping each other’s clothes off.” She shuddered, too much in pain to listen, too enthralled to stop him. His eyes opened and he stared at her through the dimness.

“I kissed her and she pulled away. Stared at me with utter horror on her face. She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, swiped it across over and over again as though she wanted to scrub away the imprint. ‘I can’t,’ she said. ‘You’re disgusting, a monster.’”

Liberty’s pulse throbbed in the base of her throat, and pure, unadulterated fury whipped through her veins.

“And then she threw up, all over my feet. She stood and heaved and heaved until there was no more, and when I tried to comfort her, she backed away as though I’d committed some heinous crime instead of being the victim of one.”

“What a disgusting woman.”

He gave a wry smile.

“She told her friends I’d tried to force myself on her. I guess it was in case I told everyone she’d thrown up. But I was too ashamed.”