Alphas in the Wild (33 page)

From his place near the hearth, Jake
whuffed
as if he agreed.

“What if I don’t trust myself not to behave?” She ducked from beneath his hands and shot an impish grin his way.

“We can take turns being strong.” He blew out a breath. “And we can talk about what we’re doing next. The alien invasion is as good a libido dampener as we’re likely to come across.”

Sara snorted. “No kidding. Okay. I suppose it would make sense for us to be together, along with a couple of loaded weapons. I’ll go outside and collect my stuff. You can get your bag and pad out.”

He watched her walk out the door, captivated by the swing of her hips. He tried to focus on what he’d told her. They had bigger problems than the attraction growing between them. He hoped there’d be a time to draw Sara into his arms and make love to her, but that time wasn’t tonight.

Pushing his cock to a more comfortable position, he bent to his backpack and opened the lower compartment to extract his sleeping bag and inflatable foam pad.

* * * *

S
ara welcomed the chilly night air on her overheated cheeks. She hadn’t meant to let him kiss her, or to kiss him back. It just sort of happened, and it had felt so good, so right, in his arms, she’d gone with the flow. She hadn’t made love with anyone for over a year, and her body clamored for more of what she’d just walked away from. Her panties were damp with wanting him, and her breasts felt heavy, their nipples puckered with need.

Ignoring all of it, she unzipped her tent and grabbed her bag and mat. They were the only things she’d put in the tent, so there wasn’t anything more to clear. She thought about taking the tent down, but figured morning was soon enough. Still feeling warm from Jared’s embrace, she let herself back inside and latched the door. It wasn’t much of a lock, but it would buy them time.

Jake would alert them if anyone was outside.

Jared had laid out his things near the stove, so she dropped her bag on the cot and rolled her sleeping pad. She wouldn’t need it since the cot had a thin mattress.

“I didn’t notice before.” His voice caught her by surprise. “But there’s a hell of a mess in the far corner that looks like it used to be a radio.” He rattled a sheaf of papers. “Are these the dispatches?”

“Yeah. I figured out something was fishy before Lonnie and Stuart showed up with the bird. Jake and I traded the cabin for a vantage point where we could keep an eye on it, but not be seen. I wasn’t certain, but I suspected if I waited, something would happen.”

“Good instincts.” He nodded approvingly.

“Thanks.” The unexpected compliment pleased her. “Back to what happened to the radio. After I shot Lonnie and Stuart, I didn’t want anyone else trying to contact me, so I took the axe and decimated it. Did you get a chance to look at the dispatches?” She sat on the cot and drew her legs beneath her.

“I skimmed them, but I’d like to do more than that. Thought I’d take them to bed with me. Not quite as scintillating as a novel, but knowledge is our friend. The more we can glean from the information we have, the better we can plan.”

“All true, but reading them now isn’t a good idea if you want to get any sleep.” Sara screwed her face into a moue remembering the tears she’d shed reading those same pages.

“Noted. If I have nightmares, I’ll move closer to the dog.”

She laughed and bent to unlace her boots, wondering just how much she’d take off. Normally, she slept in her long underwear and down booties. She was already down to her long john top, so all she needed to do was remove her trousers.

For chrissakes, what am I fussing about?

Mentally rolling her eyes at her misplaced modesty—after all, she’d been locked in his arms not half an hour ago—she slithered out of her pants and got into her sleeping bag. The cabin was plenty warm, so she didn’t zip it.

“Nice.” His dark eyes twinkled. “I was wondering if you’d undress.”

“Well, now you know.” She was having a hell of a time not beckoning him to her cot for a goodnight hug. To reduce the temptation, she shifted to her side and slitted her eyes watching him unobtrusively. “Good night.”

“Night, Sara.” He crossed the cabin to her side and bent to kiss the tip of her nose. The gesture was so sweet and spontaneous, it touched her. “If my light bothers you, let me know.”

Before she could say anything, he moved to the far side of the cabin. He fiddled with the stove, damping it for the night and stripped to his long underwear before crawling into his bag, using folded clothing for a pillow. Settling his headlamp in place, he flicked it on before turning his attention to the dispatch sheets.

She let her eyes close. She’d watched him almost as closely as he watched her when he removed his shirt and climbing pants and boots. He had exactly the type of body she expected with broad, muscular shoulders and slender hips. His long legs probably ate up trail miles.

He’d mentioned coming over Glacier Divide. She wondered if he was a climber as well as a backpacker. There weren’t any easy routes over the divide. They all required guts and skill.

Her eyes felt heavy, gritty. It had been a hell of a day. She almost couldn’t believe it was the same one when she’d killed Lonnie and Stuart, but it was.

Yeah, but it’s also the day I met Jared and found out it wasn’t just me and Jake against the aliens.

Jake made little noises in his sleep, the ones that meant he might be dreaming about killing small rodents. She fell asleep between the dog’s yips and the gentle bob of Jared’s headlamp.

* * * *

A
growl punctuated by one short, sharp bark slammed her awake, heart beating fast. Sara bolted upright, feeling for her headlamp.

Jake nosed her arm, still growling low in his throat.

“Hush. Quiet.” She kept her voice low. Jake quit snarling, but he stood right next to her, tension pouring off his furred form.

“No lights.” Jared was by her side in an instant. He whispered the words near her ear before moving away.

Probably a good move to keep things dark. Lights would alert whoever was out there, make them cautious. She pulled on clothes by feel. Rustling from across the room told her Jared was doing the same.

It was still black as pitch outside. She held a hand over her watch to shield the luminosity and clicked a button to check the time. Four in the morning. What was out there? Had Jake overreacted?

Not likely. He’s trained as a guard dog.

She hadn’t heard rotors, but maybe she wouldn’t have since she’d been asleep.

Jared settled next to her on the cot and placed an arm around her, positioning his mouth near her ear. “I’m going out there. I didn’t hear anything until the dog barked, and I wasn’t asleep, so that means whoever’s here came on foot.”

Sara gripped his upper leg. “No.” She whispered back. “We go together.”

“Too dangerous. I’m bringing a gun. It’s dark. I don’t want to shoot you by mistake. Keep Jake inside too.”

She squeezed his leg harder. “Jake is trained for shit like this. He and I are used to working as a team—”

“You are not going out there without me.” Even in a whisper, his voice thrummed with determination.

Sara rotated her shoulder blades, trying to move the iron bar of tension that had dropped between them. What the hell had alerted Jake? “Okay. We’ll both go.” She got to her feet and walked to the door, pulling the latch as quietly as she could. The dog hugged her side like a shadow.

The minute the door was open, he shoved his muzzle through scenting the air. He’d chase whatever he scented if she gave the command, but she didn’t. God only knew what he’d run into, and she wanted to keep him safe. She held perfectly still, listening intently, but didn’t hear a thing.

Jake wasn’t pulling against the hand she had around his collar. “It’s odd,” she murmured, “but I don’t think anyone’s out here.”

“I was going to say the same thing. Call it a sixth sense or something. Let’s just check around the cabin, though. Maybe we’ll see footprints that don’t belong to us—or some evidence of something.”

“Think the headlamps are okay?”

“Yeah, I do.”

She glanced at his boots and clicked on her lamp to see better. “Asolo. Maybe elevens?”

“Close. Twelves. Good eyes.”

“I’ve done a lot of tracking. Need to sort out which prints belong to you.” She turned her attention to the dog. “Track but stay close.”

Tail pluming, Jake bounded off the porch and down half a dozen steps into the yard. Sara followed him, rounding the corner of the cabin. At first, it didn’t register, but when she saw the dog circling, she froze.

Her tent was gone.

“Jared.”

He came at a dead run. “What?”

She pointed. “Someone was here. They took my tent. This is where I had it pitched.” She bent, examining the ground. “Look.” She extended a hand. “Here. And here. Two sets of boot prints. No. One of them are tennis shoes.”

“What the hell?” He bent to examine the areas she indicated. “Should we follow them? They have to be human. Those things I burned walked upright on hind feet that looked like they belonged on a small dinosaur.”

Sara considered it. “Whoever it is, they’re scared, or they would’ve just knocked on the door. Maybe they’ve been watching the cabin. Backcountry travelers do that sometimes. They hang around and wait for the ranger to come back—except whoever it is, is probably scared shitless because of what happened.”

“And keeping a very low profile.”

Jake barked softly, probably hoping she’d loose him to track whoever had stolen her tent.

“How about a compromise?” she suggested. “Let’s go back to bed. Once it’s light and we’ve had some breakfast, we’ll let Jake follow their tracks.”

“Good enough for me. At least it’s not the fucking aliens. I’ve been worried they’d come hunting for two of their own.”

Sara exhaled sharply. “They still might. It’s been less than twenty-four hours since Lonnie and Stuart showed up here.” She led the way back inside, clucking to the dog. Jake followed her in, but the set of his tail told her he’d rather be on the prowl.

She pulled her gun from its holster and thumbed on the safety. Jared did the same, but with far less ease. “How long since you’re fired one of these?” she asked.

He shrugged. “Maybe fifteen years, but it’s like riding a bicycle—”

She slugged him in the arm. “Shit too. If I wasn’t worried about burning through shells, I’d stand you some target practice. As it is, I just hope you have a steady hand.”

He glanced at her, humor dancing in the depths of his eyes. “The hand that wields the scalpel rules the world.”

Sara burst out laughing. “Cradle. That was cradle. And rocks, not wields.”

“Whatever. Night.” He headed for his sleeping bag.

She was still chortling when she crawled into hers.

J
ared woke to a gray dawn. Sometime during the last part of the night, Jake had moved next to Sara and was curled on the floor by her cot. The dog flicked an ear his way, but didn’t get up. Sara slept on her side, her head cradled on an arm, her hair spilled around her like a dark, shimmering flood.

He took advantage of the moment to study her, enjoying the view. He wanted to cross the cabin and sink his fingers into all her glorious hair just before he kissed her, but they had work to do. He’d read everything that had come through on the radio about the alien invasion. As he read, something about the intergalactic trade agreement rang distant bells in his memory.

The U.S. space program had unearthed about six planets with intelligent life. He’d studied some of them as an undergraduate. While items from Earth traveled to other planets with some level of regularity, the reverse didn’t seem to apply. Reading between the lines, Earth had stopped sending goods, which led to a particular planet declaring war. Even though the dispatches stopped shy of saying it, he figured the aliens needed to bond with humans to survive in Earth’s atmosphere. It was the only explanation that made sense. Otherwise, why go to the trouble of grabbing up people to merge with, when killing them would be faster and easier.

Sara’s eyes fluttered open. “Morning. How long have you been up?” She stretched her arms over her head. The movement pushed the upper part of her breasts out of her sleeping bag. She still wore her long underwear top, but it didn’t leave much to the imagination.

“Not long.” His resolve to be all business this morning evaporated, and he left the warmth of his bag and crossed to the cot.

She patted the place next to her, and he perched on the cot’s wooden frame. “Did anyone ever tell you what amazing hair you have?” He wound a curl around his fingers.

“Not lately.” Sara opened her arms. “Come here, but only for a minute. We need to get moving.”

“I know.” He wrapped his arms around her and felt hers close behind his back. Her breath was warm against his face before he kissed her. Arousal raged through him, shocking in its intensity. He held her more tightly, enjoying the press of her breasts against his chest as he teased her mouth with his lips.

She splayed her hands across his back, strong fingers holding on tight. He wanted to lay next to her, but if he did that, they’d both be lost, so he kept his feet on the floor. She made a small moaning sound. Her nipples felt like polished stones through the thin fabric of her shirt, and her lips clung to his while she buried her tongue in his mouth.

His cock was bent at an uncomfortable angle, but it just grew harder and harder, perilously close to spontaneous release. He moved a hand to her breast and twirled the nipple between his thumb and forefinger. He hadn’t meant to, but his hand developed a mind of its own.

Sara pressed into him, hips writhing with wanting the same thing he wanted. She tore her mouth from his. “Please. Maybe it’s wrong and too soon and all those things, but—”

“Sara, darling.” He swung his legs onto the bed and pressed the length of his body against hers. She tugged the unzipped sleeping bag out of the way and wrapped her legs around one of his, pressing the heat of her core against him.

He reached down and straightened his cock. Even the brush of his hands against his ridged flesh almost made him come. He focused on her breast beneath his hands and then moved down to take her nipple in his mouth, pushing her shirt up and out of the way first. She gasped, and buried her fingers in his hair while her hips bucked hard against his thigh.