Ultimate Cowboy (16 page)

Even longer since he’d made love to one, because the only woman he’d ever loved was standing in front of him.

“But I’m not going to push you away this
time,” he said gruffly. “I need you, Julie.”

A heartbeat passed, then Julie set her glass on the table beside him and reached for him.

Chapter Sixteen

Julie threaded her fingers through Brody’s hair, unable to resist the urge to comfort him.

Although as he drove his mouth over hers, kissing her with such fervor, desire flared inside her. She needed comfort as much as he did. Too many nights and days of monsters hurting women and children haunted her.

It had all started with Will years ago. It had to
end with them finding him, bringing him back home, and helping him accept the love Brody had for him.

Brody emitted a low growl of pleasure as she parted her lips in invitation, and he took the kiss to a frenzied pace, his hands roaming over her shoulders down to her hips where he pulled her against his hard rippled body.

Her breath caught, delicious sensations pummeling her as his tongue
danced with hers. He trailed kisses down her neck, nibbling at the sensitive flesh behind her ear, while she raked her hands over his muscled chest. She wanted his clothes off. Her clothes off.

To lie naked and loving him forever.

Then his teeth nipped at the buttons on her blouse, and her nipples stiffened to peaks that ached for his mouth.

Her back suddenly brushed the stair rail,
and she realized they were in the foyer, that anyone could walk in and see them.

She kissed his neck, her body humming with arousal. “Upstairs,” she whispered.

He murmured agreement, then swung her up in his arms and carried her up the stairs. She had never been in his room, but it was exactly as she would have imagined it. Masculine colors and furniture, strong lines, with pictures
of horses and wildlife on the wall.

So Brody. The ultimate cowboy.

He shoved the comforter down and dropped her on the bed, then cradled her face between his hands and gazed into her eyes. His were dark pools of turmoil, pain and hunger.

Need flared inside her, a need that had been there years ago, one that had never left her. The years fell away, and she felt like she was seventeen
again, hungry for Brody’s touch, and so in love she could barely breathe.

“I’ve missed you so much,” Brody murmured.

“I missed you, too,” she whispered.

Raw passion flared on his face as he unbuttoned her blouse, then he lowered his head and claimed her mouth again. This time emotions drove the kiss, and his fingers trailed lower to rake over her breasts.

She arched into him,
her pulse hammering as he kissed his way down her throat. Then he took one nipple in his mouth and suckled it while he unbuttoned her slacks, and she lifted her hips to allow him to undress her.

A frenzy of desire made her grip his hips and press herself against his hard erection. He groaned, then rose above her and stripped her underwear. Tiny shivers rippled through her as his fingers brushed
her heat.

His look of approval made her reach for his shirt. The buttons flew to the floor as she ripped it off, then his jeans came next, the two of them becoming more frantic with each touch and passionate look.

She had always wanted Brody. He was the boy who had stolen her heart years ago.

And he was the man she wanted now.

* * *

B
RODY
SOAKED
IN
Julie’s beauty, the
sight of her naked body lying beneath his fueling his hunger. It had been so long since he’d held a woman, loved one, since he’d had Julie, that he wanted to prolong the pleasure.

She raked a hand through his hair, and he smiled, remembering the countless times she’d done that.

And how much he’d missed the intimate gesture.

Thoughts of that place they’d found earlier started to
intercede, but he pushed the ugly truth away. He would hunt again tomorrow.

Pain and need blended together, making him reach for Julie and kiss her again. She plunged her tongue in his mouth, and he suckled it, using his hands to drive her to a frenzy as he toyed with her nipples, then slid a hand down to slide between her thighs. She parted her legs in silent invitation, moaning softly as
he teased her folds then slipped two fingers inside her.

She whispered his name, clawing at his back, holding him tighter as he teased her again and again. White-hot need raged through him, the urge to thrust inside her almost unbearable.

Instead of satisfying himself, he raked his tongue down her breasts, then lower to her belly, then lower until he pushed her legs apart and settled
his mouth where his fingers had been.

Julie murmured a low sound of pleasure, arching into him, and he tasted her sweetness, licking and suckling her sweet nub until she cried out his name and quivered with her orgasm.

But Brody didn’t stop then. He continued pleasuring her with wicked tongue lashes and suckling noises while she trembled and sighed and begged him to enter her.

Finally Brody rose above her, then grabbed a condom from his jeans pocket, tore it open with his teeth and began to roll it on. Julie laughed as he struggled with it, then reached out to help him.

One touch of her fingertips, and he thought he would explode. Julie’s eyes flickered with passion, igniting the heat in his body, and he kissed her again, then thrust inside her.

Julie gripped
his arms and clung to him as he filled her, pulled out, then plunged into her again, over and over until she cried out his name in sweet oblivion. He lifted her hips and angled her so he could go deeper, until his body shook with erotic sensations so powerful that suddenly he came apart in her arms.

Pleasure so intense it made him growl her name stole through him, and he shuddered, rolling
her to her side so he could cradle her in his arms. Their bodies were still joined, heat rippling between them, his heart racing from their lovemaking.

Julie curled into him, and he closed his eyes, holding her tightly, afraid if he released her, he’d lose her again.

* * *

J
ULIE
DRIFTED
TO
sleep, sated and feeling more alive—and loved—than she had in years.

Hours later, she
awakened, her cell phone trilling. For a moment, she considered not answering it. She didn’t want to leave the sanctity of Brody’s arms.

But Will was still missing, and so was little Hank Forte.

Brody moaned, and slowly opened his eyes, but a dark cloud passed over them when he realized the phone was ringing.

Julie sat up, tugged the sheet up to cover her breasts, then grabbed the
phone. The caller ID showed the CSU number. “Special Agent Whitehead.”

“Agent Whitehead, this is Detective Burks from the crime unit.”

Julie scrubbed a hand through her hair. “Yes?”

“We’re still sorting through the prints we found at the crime scene, but we’ve identified the two bodies in the graves. Carl Fanning and Daryl Derwin. They’ve been there a long time.”

“What about
Will Bloodworth’s fingerprints? Did you find those?”

“Yes,” he said. “But so far we haven’t found Hank Forte’s.”

“So this man Moody must have moved before he kidnapped Hank.”

“I can’t say for sure, but with the meth lab explosion we’re still working on the timing.”

“Thanks.”

“We’re going to do autopsies, of course, and contact the families.”

Brody climbed from the
bed and went into the bathroom, and she heard the shower kick on. She wanted to join him, to continue their lovemaking, to feel happy and alive and forget about the world of ugliness surrounding her, but the phone call had definitely killed the intimacy.

Frustrated, she grabbed her clothes, hurried to the guest room across the hall and jumped in the shower herself. By the time she emerged
dressed and ready to work, she found Brody in the kitchen with coffee and breakfast.

“I talked to Johnny and Miles, and they’re going back out to search.” He handed her a cup of coffee, and their hands brushed. His were big, dusted with hair, and had brought her intense pleasure the night before.

For a heartbeat of a second, hunger darkened his eyes, but his phone buzzed again and reality
interceded as he answered the call.

“Yes.” A pause. “Okay, I’ll meet you and Tray at the main house counseling center in five minutes.”

Julie’s stomach growled and she sat down and ate the scrambled eggs and toast he’d made. Brody joined her a second later.

“Mrs. Goodner and Tray are on their way here.”

“It’s nice of you to offer them a place to stay.”

Brody shrugged and
wiped his mouth with his napkin. “God, Julie, it’s the least I can do. They’ve both been through hell.”

He would know because he’d been there himself.

He polished off his breakfast, and she did the same then they worked in tandem to clean up the dishes. It felt so familiar that Julie felt as if they’d been doing it for years.

As if they belonged together.

But she couldn’t get
her hopes up for a future. Last night had been about comfort. And maybe a glimpse of the past.

But they still had to find Will, and if Brody lost him again...

No, she couldn’t think like that.

Brody grabbed his Stetson and she tucked her phone onto her belt then they went to meet the Goodners.

Tray looked bruised, his skin still a grayish color, and his bandaged arm was in
a sling. His eyes darted around nervously as Brody greeted him and his mother.

“Did you get any sleep last night?” Julie asked Mrs. Goodner.

“Not much,” the woman admitted. She lowered her voice so her son couldn’t hear. “I was so excited to have my boy back, but when I think of what he went through...” Tears blurred her eyes and Julie squeezed her shoulder.

“I know it’s difficult,
but today your son can start to recover.” She gestured for her to sit at the round table in the corner. “We hope we find the other boys and they can have that chance, too.”

* * *

B
RODY
SYMPATHIZED
WITH
Tray and his mother as they settled into his office. Kim, Brandon Woodstock’s wife who counseled kids at the BBL, had agreed to sit in and was eager to help Tray.

Brody claimed the
chair across from Tray and pushed a can of soda toward him. “I’m sorry for what happened to you,” Brody said. “And this is not an interrogation, Tray. I swear, no one here is out to trick you or hurt you or pin something on you.”

Kim spoke up. “He’s right, Tray. We’re not here to judge or condemn you and nothing you say can be used against you.”

Tray jerked a thumb toward Julie. “What
about her?”

Julie sipped her coffee, her smile warm, welcoming. “I am a TBI agent, Tray, but no matter what you’ve heard about the police or federal agents, I only want to help you and find the other missing boys.”

Mrs. Goodner twisted her hands together on the table. “We do want to help you,” she said. “But my son has been through so much.”

Tray squared his shoulders, his shirt
too big for his thin frame. He looked nervous, but Brody could also see that he was trying hard to be a man.

“I’m okay, Mom.” His gaze met Brody’s. “I want to do this.”

“You knew my brother, Will?” Brody asked.

Tray nodded. “Father called him Kyle.”

“What did he call you?” Kim said softly.

“RJ.” Tray ducked his head down. “But I never forgot my real name.”

Every muscle
in Brody’s body tightened. Had Will really forgotten or was something else going on?

“We found a compound with barn stalls and a meth lab in a trailer,” Julie said. “Is that where he kept you?”

Tray rubbed his finger around the soda can. “For awhile. We left there when you caught Kyle.”

“But the meth lab was still being used,” Julie said.

Tray shrugged. “I guess he went back
and worked it some. Money was tight and the heat was on. That’s why he started sending us out to rob the stores.”

A moment of silence passed, the harshness of his admission lingering between them all.

Finally Kim broke the quiet. “Tray, where did you go from there?”

Tray’s hand trembled as he picked up the soda can and took a sip. “Some place with concrete buildings.” He closed
his eyes, his pale face constricting as if he was remembering a horror from his past.

“What else was there?” Kim said in a low soothing voice. “A house? Was it a farm?”

Tray shook his head. “Some tunnels.”

“What kind of tunnels?” Brody asked. “Like an underground mine?”

“Were there trucks there? Had someone been working them?” Julie asked.

Tray opened his eyes, fear flashing
in the depths. “No, it... No one was there. It was away from everything, like it hadn’t been used in a long time. There was rusted equipment left behind.”

Brody snapped to attention, his mind racing. “An old abandoned oil mine.” He patted Tray’s shoulder. “That’s good, Tray. Thank you.”

Kim offered Tray a smile, and his mother put her arm around him and gave him a hug. “You are a brave
boy, my son.”

Tray beamed beneath the praise, giving Brody hope that he would eventually overcome the trauma of his ordeal.

“Do you remember anything else?” Julie asked.

Tray looked at his mother, pain wrenching his face. “Jeremy brought Hank there,” he said, his voice cracking. “Will...he tried to protect the little guy. But when he got caught, Father was real mad.”

Brody
and Julie exchanged worried looks.

“What did he do?” Kim asked gently,

Tray closed his eyes again. “He said he might have to move again.” In spite of his bravado, Tray dropped his head forward and held it between his hands.

“Why does moving upset you?” Kim asked.

Silence, thick and daunting, echoed in the room. Then Tray answered, his voice a low tortured sound. “Because he’s
scared to move us all.”

Brody’s blood ran cold. That was the reason there were two bodies at the meth lab site. Although they had been there a while.

Rage and disgust filled him, but then he remembered that in Tray’s story, he’d given them a lead.

“I’m sorry for what happened to you, Tray, but thank you for your help.” He shook the boy’s hand then hugged his mother. “You two are
welcome here as long as you want. The BBL will always be your home.”