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  He rolled to his back, taking her with him. Pushing her skirt to her waist, he lifted his head and got a good look at her pussy. Smooth skin led to the slit that was already glistening with her juices.

  She rocked on top of him, urging him to slide his cock inside her. Circling her hips, she reached between her legs and positioned him. He grasped her breasts, her hard nipples pressing into the center of his palms, and slid his cock inside her.

  Heaven couldn’t give him any more delight than being inside her. Her eyes closed, her mouth opened in a silent cry as she leaned her head back and flattened her hands against his chest. He thrust inside her, driving hard only to lift her up and pull out of her slowly. Her expression changed with every move he made, every push of his cock.

  He took her nipple into his mouth and lavished it with his tongue. She dug her fingernails into his skin, but he welcomed the pain and wanted more. He fondled her other breast then pushed them together so he could catch both nipples in his mouth. Rubbing her breasts against his cheeks, he felt his cock grow impossibly longer, thicker.

  She cried out and ground against him. “Yes. Oh, yes.”

  Gritting his teeth, he slid his hands from her breasts to her ass and tugged her toward him as he thrust his cock upward. She took her breasts in her hands and gave him a tantalizing show as she fondled herself.

  “Rub your clit, baby.”

  She placed her fingers between her folds, and he saw her expression tighten as soon as she found her clit and started rubbing it. Her moans mixed with the sound of their bodies slapping together.

  “I want to see your face when you come, baby. Rub harder while I slam you with my cock.”

  Her arm movements grew faster and her body shuddered with her first release. “That’s it. I can feel your cream wetting my balls.”

  His balls drew up, foretelling his climax. He didn’t want it to end, but he was only human, after all. Or mostly human. He grinned as the thought hit him then lifted his upper torso straight up, surprising her as he kept moving forward to drive her onto her back.

  She wrapped her legs around him as he shoved back inside her pussy. Digging her fingernails into his shoulders, she dragged in a quick breath, stiffened, and he knew he’d hit her sweet spot. She shouted her climax a second before he shouted his.

  His body trembled against hers, his mind going blank as he rode the wave of his seed shooting into her pussy. When the blackness of his climax passed, he fell to her side, his pants matching hers.

  “Shit.”

  “Shit?” She rolled to her side and searched his face. “Are you saying you didn’t like it?”

  He rolled his eyes. “Are you kidding? That was the single best time of my life.”

  “Then why did you say ‘shit’?”

  He pushed her on her back again and kissed her as he’d meant to do from the beginning. He dragged his tongue around her mouth, drawing in her flavors, the tastes he wanted to drink the rest of his life. As soon as he regained his strength, he hoped he’d have time to show her just how long he could last.

  “I said ‘shit’ because Cort had to have heard us. I think the world might’ve heard us come together.”

  “So?”

  “Both Travis and I have had you now, so he’s going to give me as much hell as he gave Travis.”

  “So?”

  “Is that all you can say? So?” He laughed then flung his body over the edge of the bed and landed on his feet. “So you’d better get ready to fuck him, too.”

  Her smile made his knees weak with the want of her. She was their mate, no doubt about it.

  “Tucker, you never answered my question.”

  “About what?” He knew, but he wasn’t about to have that discussion. Not without his friends present. Breaking a promise to not fuck her was one thing. Telling her they were werewolves was an entirely different thing.

  “My question about the man I saw at the bar.” She sat up, her intense gaze making him wish he could bolt and run.

  “What about him?”

  “Will you stop playing dumb? You know what I’m talking about.”

  He shook his head. “Gee, Kate, I don’t—”

  “Tucker, get your ass downstairs. We’ve got a problem.”

  Saved by Cort’s shout. “I’ve got to go. We’ll talk later, okay? Until then, you’d better get lots of rest.”

  He yanked on his jeans and dashed out of the room as fast as he could go.

  * * * *

  “No way.” Kate was determined to get an answer. Pulling on a new set of clothes as fast as she could, she dashed down the stairs. She paused as her feet hit the first floor and listened to see which way Tucker had gone.

  “Damn it. This is going too far.”

  Cort. She could hear him outside and had to cringe at the anger in his voice. Had he already confronted Tucker about breaking their promises to keep their hands off her? If so, she needed to take a stand, too. Why should they decide when and with whom she could have sex? She turned to the door, ready to make her case.

  “I can handle broken fences and even a dead cow or two, but when he starts messing with our woman and then Buster…he’s declared war, and we aren’t backing down.”

  The ache in Tucker’s voice brought her up short. What did Buster and the cows have to do with their having sex? She moved a little slower toward the front door.

  “I know how you feel, and I’d want to skin his hide, too. But you’ve got to take care how you handle the situation. Let me talk to their elders and see if we can come to an agreement.”

  Who’s he? She hadn’t anticipated someone else being here. She skulked over to the side window and listened again.

  “Bullshit, Jackson. I’m all for talking things over, but Litton’s pushed us enough. First the fence, then a couple of cows go missing, and now poor Buster. He’s not going to stop just because his elders tell him to. No, what he wants is a battle, and he’s going to get one.”

  So Travis was outside with them, too. But what did he mean about poor Buster? She peeked through the blind. Travis, Tucker, and Cort stood in a circle along with Jackson Carr and another man she didn’t recognize. She squinted and tried to make out what the bundle was that lay in the middle of the circle.

  “You’ll risk starting a war with them, you know.” Jackson tipped his cowboy hat back on his head. “Not that I blame you, but as the leader around here, I can’t condone any physical actions.”

  “Then we won’t tell you about it. If we do this right, they won’t know what happened.” Tucker’s features were hard, his jaw muscles working as he glanced from Jackson to the pile at his feet.

  “Of course, if you were to catch them red-handed, then their elders would find it difficult to say Litton and his buddies didn’t deserve everything they got.” Jackson jerked his head toward a blue pickup. “Again, what I don’t know can’t hurt me. Let’s go, Max, and get back to the ranch. I’m thinking it won’t hurt for us to check our livestock, too.”

  “I’m kind of surprised he didn’t leave him on the front porch instead of the road by our gate.” Travis shifted to the left, giving her a better view of the bundle at his feet. “Thanks for bringing him home.”

  “Don’t mention it. He deserved better than what he got.” Jackson held up his hand in a farewell wave as he slid into the cab of his vehicle.

  A gray tarp was wrapped around a large item and tied at the ends. Kate stared at it with the impression that she could guess what it was but didn’t want to recognize it. Her throat closed up even as she tried her best to deny the truth.

  Tucker dropped to his knees and unfurled the tarp, forcing her to believe what she’d feared. Smothering a cry, she burst through the front door and bounded down the steps to the animal at the men’s feet.

  “Buster!” She fell to her knees beside Buster’s body and reached for his head. Blood covered his body, darkening the white spots. His chain collar was tarnished with red. His eyes stared lifelessly at her, and his mouth wa
s opened in a death snarl. Her sobs turned to cries of anger as tears streamed down her face and fell on the dog’s body.

  Tucker tried to embrace her, but she flailed her arms, refusing to let him comfort her. “I’m sorry you had to see him, Kate. We should’ve taken care of his body as soon as Jackson brought him back instead of jawing about what to do.”

  She skimmed her palm along Buster’s neck, the dried blood caking off at her touch. “Did Litton do this?”

  The men remained quiet, silent in their attempt to keep the truth from her. “Will you stop that?” She glanced up at them and screamed, “Stop hiding things from me!”

  “Listen, Kate.”

  “No, Travis, tell me. Did Litton kill Buster?”

  Travis nodded his head then searched the other men’s faces. “We don’t know for sure, but yeah. I’d be willing to bet on it.”

  How could anyone kill Buster? Buster had liked everyone except Litton when he’d tried to take advantage of her. “Did he kill him because of me? Because of what happened in the office and then at the bar?”

  “It’s more complicated than that,” answered Cort.

  “How much more complicated can it get than killing Buster? Are you saying this is how he’s getting payback? How can anyone take his anger out on a sweet dog?”

  Fury boiled inside her, and if she’d had the chance, she would’ve attacked Litton with her bare hands. The other side of her anger flipped toward her, guilt rushing to replace some of the fury. If she’d given Litton what he’d wanted, would Buster still be alive?

  Cort moved beside her and wrapped his arm around her waist. “Come on, Kate. It’s no good to keep looking at him. How about you help us decide where to bury him?”

  “Are you going to leave him that way? With all the blood on him? Shouldn’t we clean him up?”

  She knew they exchanged another look between them, keeping her on the outside again. But she no longer cared. Buster was gone, and she couldn’t bring him back.

  “Baby,” whispered Cort, “his injuries are too deep. I’m afraid that if we try…” He cleared his throat. “We don’t want to put you through that. Why don’t you find a clean sheet upstairs and we’ll wrap him up? Travis and Tucker will do their best to clean him, but it won’t help much.”

  Her anger washed away as misery swamped her and took her strength. She nodded numbly and let Cort bring her to her feet. He made her turn around although she craned her head to see Buster, but he wouldn’t let her stay. Helping her to the front door, he gave her a gentle shove inside the house.

  She faced him and sought her answer in his eyes. “Tell me he didn’t suffer. I know it’ll be a lie, but I need to hear you say the words anyway. Tell me, Cort. Tell me what I need to hear.”

  Moisture filled his eyes and he gritted his teeth. She could see him struggling to keep his emotions in check. “He didn’t suffer, Kate.”

  “Thank you.” As though moving in a pool of quicksand, she managed to walk toward the stairs. Her hand was on the railing when he stopped her. Turning her head to listen, she didn’t dare look at him again. If she did, she knew her heart would break to see the tears running down his cheeks.

  “Make it a dark sheet, Kate. White won’t do.” She nodded once, knowing why he’d asked for a dark sheet yet unwilling to let the awful thought penetrate deeper into her mind. She nodded then took the stairs one slow step at a time.

  Chapter Nine

  Buster’s funeral was heart-wrenching but beautiful. Choosing the grassy area under one of the biggest trees on their property, Kate stood by like a guard over Buster’s sheet-wrapped body while the men took turns digging his grave. She didn’t want to look at the sheet and see where the freshly washed wounds had reopened to leave dark wet spots on the navy blue, but she couldn’t stop herself. To not look seemed almost disrespectful.

  The sun was high in the sky by the time they finished digging, and as Tucker and Travis lowered Buster’s body into the grave, Cort took her hand and they stood by, solemn witnesses to Buster’s final farewell.

  Cort and Kate stayed on one side with Travis and Tucker on the other side of the grave, their hands clasped over the handles of the shovels. Kate took a step forward and let the rose she’d taken from a bouquet in her room float into the grave to land on Buster’s dead body. She stifled a cry and was surprised she had any tears left to shed.

  “Would anyone like to say a few words?” Tucker waited a moment then started to speak again when she interrupted him.

  “Would you think it’s silly to say the Lord’s Prayer for him?” Her voice sounded steady, but her insides trembled with a mix of grief and anger.

  “Not at all.” Travis glanced at Tucker. “Um, I’m sorry, but I don’t know how it goes.”

  “I’ll do it.” Tucker cleared his throat and started reciting the prayer. “Our Father, which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy Name. Thy Kingdom…”

  Kate moved her mouth to the words, but her mind was focused on the image of Litton throwing Buster across the room. If she’d known what the big man was capable of, she wouldn’t have tried to placate him. Instead, she wished she would’ve had a gun and forced the awful man out of the house.

  Buster had been the first one to greet her as she’d gotten off the bus in Shatland. He’d stayed with her in the office, often rubbing against her, his big loving eyes pleading with her for one more scratch behind the ear. She remembered him at her bedroom door, the red ribbon tied to his collar, his bone-shaped tag sparkling in the light from her bedroom.

  “And forgive us our trespasses…”

  She frowned, not at Tucker’s recitation but trying to grasp the idea just out of reach. Something about Buster’s collar had seemed wrong. But what was it?

  “Amen,” echoed the men around her.

  It hit her with such clarity that she rocked on her feet.

  “Kate? Are you okay? Do you want to get in the pickup while we finish?”

  She clutched Cort’s shirt with both hands, eager to get it out. “His tag. Did he have his tag on?”

  “His tag? You mean the one shaped like a bone?”

  Tucker whacked Travis on the arm. “Like he had any other tag? What about it, Kate?”

  “Did he have it on? Was it on his collar when you wrapped him in the sheet?”

  Cort glanced at the body in the grave. “I couldn’t say. But what does it matter?” He rubbed his palms along her arms. “I don’t understand.”

  She didn’t either, except that she’d never seen Buster without his bone-shaped tag dangling from his collar. It didn’t seem right to bury him without it. She swallowed back a sob and shook her head. “I don’t know. I guess I’m fixating on meaningless things. I didn’t know him long, but I loved him just the same.”

  “We know you did, baby. Everyone loved Buster.” Cort took her hands in both of his and squeezed them.

  “Not everyone. Not Litton.”

  She saw the flash of hatred on their faces, but she couldn’t deal with anyone else’s anger and pain. Instead, she took one final look at Buster then stalked to the pickup. “I’ll wait inside until you’ve finished.”

  * * * *

  “Kate, come with me.”

  She’d stayed in the office after Buster’s funeral, working well into the night. Although the men had tried to coax her out, she’d refused. The only concession she’d made was to accept the sandwich and drink they’d made her for dinner. When she’d finally emerged around midnight, she’d headed straight for her bedroom and had taken a long hot bath.

  Too many thoughts ran through her head as she got into bed that night. In a matter of days, her entire life had changed. She lay in her bed, her comforter wrapped around her, and tried to shed the day’s grief. But images of Buster, alive then dead, forced their way into her head. She’d fallen asleep as the first rays of the new day had filtered through the blinds.

  When she awoke, the sun was high in the sky. She hurried to the bathroom and got ready then rushed downstairs
and to the office. The sounds of the men’s voices drew her to the kitchen instead. Had they expected her to make lunch for them? She’d already missed waking up early enough to make breakfast. Not that it took much effort to put toast on the table and brew a pot of coffee, but she didn’t want them to think she was slacking on her work.

  “I think it’s our best chance to catch him red-handed.” Travis’s voice was low, but she could still hear the urgency in his tone.

  “I agree. But we keep this quiet. The fewer people know, the less likely something will go wrong.” She could tell Tucker’s mouth was full, but it hadn’t muffled his words.

  What were they talking about?

  “What do we tell Kate?” Cort’s groan told her how bad he felt. “I hate not telling her the truth. Don’t you think she’s been here long enough to find out? I mean, she’s already taken you two into her bed, so to speak, so don’t you think she’ll accept what we have to tell her?”

  “Now? The morning after Buster’s funeral? Naw, she’s got enough to deal with. I say we give her another day or so.”

  She barged through the kitchen door, determined more than ever to learn everything they had to tell her. “What are you talking about?” She crossed her arms and glared at them. “Come on. Spit it out. I know you’re hiding things from me, so unless you want me on the next bus back to Oklahoma, you’d better start talking. And don’t even think about lying. I’ll see it on your faces.”

  Cort ducked his head while Travis and Tucker exchanged one of their telling looks she was growing to dislike. Travis, however, took the lead for them. “Kate, we want to tell you, and we will. But until we can get this Litton problem sorted out, we’re not going to.”

  “So you want me to leave?” Had she gotten it all wrong? Could this be their way of getting her to go home?

  “Hell, no.” Tucker was on his feet, reaching for her, but she backed away, holding her hands in front of her to ward him off. He saw that it was useless and settled back into his seat. He played with his food while the others left their lunches untouched.