Carol Finch (12 page)

“The next time a wild renegade drops from the sky I won’t be in such an all-fired rush to escape him.” She stared up at him as only Shiloh could—curious and straightforward. “Is there more?”

“Plenty,” he assured her, feeling a devilish grin spread across his lips. “I’ll be all too happy to show you.”

He moved gently within her, although it was damn near killing him to maintain such a slow, deliberate pace while his male body was making frantic demands on him. He watched her luminous eyes sparkle with desire, saw her lips part with wonder as they rocked together then apart, setting a cadence that took him higher, deeper and then left him spinning out of control in a way he never had before, and might never again.

Breath-robbing pleasure bombarded him when he felt Shiloh shudder and contract around him. The biting pressure of her nails on his back indicated that she was attempting to anchor herself against the mind-boggling sensations that consumed her. Consumed him. She clutched at him as desperately as he held on to her when waves of ecstasy drenched them both. Shimmers of indescribable release swamped him as he toppled off some unseen ledge that he’d never toppled off before.

And suddenly he was drifting through a dark, unfamiliar universe where time knew no measure and pleasure was without boundaries. It seemed to take forever for Hawk to breathe normally again, to think again.

Marshaling what was left of his energy he eased away. He gathered their scattered clothes and helped Shiloh wiggle back into hers, then she helped him into his.

“I’d prefer to have you spend the night naked in my arms,” he murmured huskily, “but it’s better to be ready to get up and get moving in case of trouble.”

She nodded drowsily as she snuggled up against
him and burrowed her head against his shoulder. “I’d rather have you naked in my arms, too,” she confided before she dozed off.

Hawk’s worst fear was being so satiated that he slept like a trusting child. He’d made it a habit to sleep with one eye open and both ears tuned to danger. But try as he might, he couldn’t overcome that tempting sense of peace and security that blanketed him while he and Shiloh cuddled in each other’s arms. He slumped against her, finding that his dreams had taken up exactly where erotic reality left off.

Hawk had been in some tight scrapes in his life, but he was damn sorry to say that he’d consumed enough liquor the previous night to be caught completely off guard the next morning when the barrel of a shotgun jabbed into his neck. Two men grabbed his feet and jerked him off the pallet.

Outlaws, no doubt, he mused as he appraised the ferocious glares directed at him. Five ragtag men, their faces rimmed with the stubble of whiskers, snarled viciously. Refusing to be intimidated, Hawk snarled back.

“Do me a favor and try to make a run for it, you worthless son of a bitch!” the man with the shotgun hissed as he crammed the weapon against Hawk’s throat and growled maliciously.

Hawk didn’t attempt to wrest free while the men dragged him away from the campfire. If that weapon went off, he wasn’t about to take a chance on Shiloh being shot. Everything inside him rebelled. He squirmed for release when he saw another dark-haired scoundrel swoop down to jostle Shiloh from the whiskey-induced sleep that made her slow to rouse—and even slower to react.

Every protective instinct inside him exploded to life. When Shiloh mumbled intelligibly, unaware of the danger she faced, Hawk knew he needed to get to her quickly. His arm shot upward to knock aside the shotgun barrel stuck in his neck. He reared up to plant his fist in the nose of the man who had clamped hold of his right ankle.

Pained howls and foul curses erupted around him as he shook off the other would-be captor. Hawk vaulted to his feet to deliver a right cross that packed enough wallop to send the man standing in front of him staggering backward into a graceless sprawl in the grass.

Shouts went up around him, but Hawk ignored them in his haste to reach Shiloh before she was dragged off to be molested and abused. Her befuddled gaze locked with his momentarily—and then his eyes went out of focus because the butt of the shotgun slammed against the back of his skull.

Hawk hit his knees, fighting the dizziness that swam before his eyes. When he tried to launch himself at the man who hoisted Shiloh to her feet another sharp blow connected with his head, causing him to pitch forward in the grass.

Hawk cursed himself soundly for failing Shiloh and then he collapsed, oblivious to the world.

D
azed and disoriented, Shiloh tried to shake off the cobwebs that clogged her mind and swore never to ingest whiskey again. The hangovers were murderous!

“What the devil do you think you’re doing?” Shiloh croaked as she watched her two scraggly-looking brothers drag Hawk’s unconscious body to the nearest tree.

“We’re hanging the son of a bitch that kidnapped you…and only God knows what else he’s done,” Gideon Drummond muttered as he glared murderously at his unmoving captive.

“Wake up that bastard,” Noah Drummond ordered one of the three cowboys that had volunteered to ride in the rescue brigade. “I want him to know what’s going on when we leave him dangling from the end of a rope. He’s going to feel his neck stretched out before he dies.”

“Stop it!” Shiloh railed—unintentionally inflicting agony on her sensitive head. Nauseous though she was, she abruptly jerked free of Noah’s grasp. “You are not going to hang him!”

“You’re sorely mistaken, little sister,” Gideon growled. “If you don’t want to watch it happen then take a walk.”

Shiloh tried to reach Hawk, who had been tossed over a horse and had a noose draped around his neck. She was ten feet away when George Porter, one of their ranch hands, splashed water on Hawk’s head, rousing him to consciousness.

In the next instant, Hawk was lashing out with his hands and feet to land blows that sent the cowboys standing on either side of him leaping out of his reach. Shiloh noted, amazed, that not only did Hawk put up an impressive resistance, but he was a force to be reckoned with, despite the odds. The consummate fighter, she mused, awed.

“Shiloh, run!” he shouted as he pulled his head from the noose.

When several shotguns snapped into firing position, threatening to blow Hawk out of the saddle if he tried to escape, Shiloh thrust herself in front of him like a shield.

“Move, damn it,” Gideon bellowed at her.

“Make a run for it,” Hawk ordered, glaring defiantly at his captors.

Shiloh waved her arms in expansive gestures. “This man is a Texas Ranger,” she told her bloodthirsty brothers. “If you shoot him or hang him then you’ll have to answer to
his
brother and a battalion of law officers.”

Her comment met with disbelieving stares and silence.

Then Noah growled and said, “I don’t give a damn what he
claims
to be. He kidnapped you and he is going to suffer the consequences!”

Shiloh braced her fists on her hips and stared down her mule-headed brothers. “You have jumped to the wrong conclusion. Logan Hawk didn’t abduct me. He
saved
me from a shoot-out with outlaws.” She indicated the bandage on her arm and purposely omitted the fact that
he
was the reason she ended up in a shoot-out with outlaws in the first place. “Then he rescued me from the fall I took down the side of a mountain.” She called their attention to her tender ankle. “Last night he saved me from being devoured by a pack of wolves. He deserves a medal for his heroics, not a hanging.”

Apparently, Gideon was unfazed by Hawk’s honorable deeds. He glowered at Hawk and said, “He was sharing your bedroll and
that,
by God, is punishable by death!”

“Amen to that, brother,” Noah chimed in as he cast Hawk the evil eye.

Brother?
Hawk’s head snapped up and he glanced between the two scruffy-looking, green-eyed men that were only a few inches shorter and perhaps twenty pounds lighter than he was. Earlier, Hawk had been too busy trying to avoid a hanging so he could rescue Shiloh to notice the Drummonds’ family resemblance.

But now he noticed. “Oh, hell,” he muttered.

“You can say that again,” Gideon sneered ominously.

“
Hell
is exactly where you’re headed,” Noah vowed spitefully.

“Been there,” Hawk shot back, refusing to back down from the two men who glared at him with mutinous disapproval. “The devil sends his regards, by the way.”

The caustic remark earned him a few more men
acing stares, which Hawk ignored. He was accustomed to being instantly disliked because of his bronzed skin, raven-black hair and midnight-colored eyes. He critically assessed the Drummond brothers and their companions. All five men were in desperate need of a clean set of clothes, a haircut and a shave.

His previous suspicions rose to the surface as he fixed his condemning gaze on Noah and Gideon. “I won’t be surprised to learn that your ranch is one of the outlaw hideouts we’re searching for. Did you parley with your two horseless friends this morning?”

Shiloh whipped around to stare at him in disbelief. “Are you suggesting that
my brothers
are mixed up with this spree of robberies, killings and rustling? That’s preposterous!
You
are jumping to as many ill-founded conclusions as
they
are!”

“There are five of them and they’re armed to the teeth,” Hawk pointed out reasonably. “They also look as ragtag and unkempt as the gang I infiltrated.”

“That’s because we’ve been scouring the countryside since the day we rode into Cerrogordo to discover that Shiloh had returned, but left her luggage at the blacksmith shop and rented a horse to make the last leg of her trip home unescorted.” Noah swiveled his head around to glare reproachfully at his sister. “And I would dearly like to know what you’re doing back in Texas, gallivanting around here alone. Apparently your damnable independent streak got you in serious trouble.” He glared at Hawk, indicating that
he
was the serious trouble she had gotten into.

“We were worried sick about you,” Gideon snapped. “We were afraid the absolute worst had happened.” He, too, focused his venomous gaze on Hawk. “Which appears to be true.”

“Why
are
you back in Texas?” Noah demanded. “And why didn’t you inform us that you were coming home?”

Hawk saw Shiloh wince. But to her credit, she tilted her head, squared her shoulders and said, “We will get to that explanation later. What’s important right now is that you apologize to this Ranger for nearly hanging him unjustly.”

She half turned to focus her disconcerting frown on Hawk. “And you can apologize to Noah and Gideon for presuming they are bandits.”

“So sorry,” Hawk said in a tone that wasn’t the least bit apologetic. He slung his leg over the saddle horn then hopped to the ground.

This was not the way he had planned to introduce himself to Shiloh’s overprotective brothers. They were smart enough to realize that he and Shiloh had become a mite too familiar with each other—hence sleeping on the same pallet. Judging by the censure in their eyes, they were going to hold that against him until the day he died—which would have been today if they had had their way.

Of course, Hawk didn’t blame them for what they were thinking. He was never going to forgive himself for abandoning his good sense last night and surrendering to forbidden temptation. He had predicted that he would regret his reckless impulse later.

Sure enough, he did.

“I suppose you want to see my badge,” Hawk said as he glanced from one annoyed brother to the other.

“Damn right we do,” Noah let him know in a hurry.

Hawk strode over to fetch his boot, then dug out the silver star. “And no, it isn’t stolen. I earned it the hard way and I have the battle scars to show for it. Captain
Benjamin Tipton, my coworkers and my brother, Fletch, can vouch for me if you still doubt my identity.”

“After the incident with Frank Mills and his hired imposter you can bet we plan to check on you,” Noah insisted.

“I’m really sorry about this,” Shiloh murmured when she and Hawk began to gather up their belongings. “My brothers are usually courteous and respectful. As I told you, they are a bit overprotective where I’m concerned.”

“At least you have someone who cares,” he replied as he tossed his saddlebags over his mustang. “Now that you’re in good hands, I think it’s best if we part company. I don’t want to lose track of the bandits I left traveling on foot.”

Shiloh felt her heart drop to her feet. She’d known this moment was inevitable, had even anticipated getting back to a life that was familiar to her. However, after last night she was feeling… Well, she didn’t know exactly
what
she was feeling. Not that it mattered because Hawk’s brisk comment made it glaringly apparent that he was anxious to get her off his hands. He was on a personal and professional mission and she was only a distraction, a night of reckless passion that he allowed himself before he went merrily on his way.

Although the realization cut to the quick, she put on a bold front, just as she had done when Antoine jilted her. And hadn’t that become a disturbing pattern in her life? Being jilted by one man and then another? Which reaffirmed her belief that her lack of charm, personality and character made her as resistible as a woman could possibly get.

Shiloh hauled in a bracing breath and rallied around her bruised pride. She thrust out her hand, vowing to
appear as impersonal and unaffected as Hawk seemed to be. “Thank you for your protection and assistance, Mr. Hawk. I am indebted to you. If there is anything my brothers and I can do to help you—”

“Speak for yourself, Shi.” Noah smirked, his expression indicating that he didn’t care to have any further association with Hawk, Texas Ranger or not.

Shiloh shot her brother a silencing glance then continued, “I will be glad to do whatever necessary to bring the desperadoes to justice. Don’t hesitate to ask for assistance in tracking the outlaws.”

“Hesitate,”
Gideon grunted sarcastically, then sent Hawk another dour glance. “But thanks so much for toting our little sister home.”

“Yeah, and nice knowing you…temporarily,” Noah said flippantly.

“C’mon, Shiloh.” Gideon held the reins to her horse so she could mount up. “Thanks to this time-consuming search we are a week behind schedule on ranch chores. We’ve probably lost a few more head of cattle and horses to rustling while we were riding all over creation looking for you.”

“I’m sorry I’ve caused so much trouble,” she told her brothers. “I never meant to be a burden or inconvenience to anyone.”
Hawk included.

Shiloh cast Hawk one last glance before she followed her brothers and the cowboys from camp. He never changed expression, not even once. You would have thought she had made the same impact on his life as a fly buzzing by.

He was probably wishing her a silent good riddance while she was wishing they’d had the opportunity to repeat last night’s passionate performance. Did their tryst mean nothing to him? Had she pleasured him at
all? Would he have wanted her again, as she wanted him, if her brothers hadn’t intruded?

None of that matters,
Shiloh told herself resolutely.
This misadventure is over and done.
That was the way she wanted it because she had vowed not to think in terms of a lasting liaison with Hawk. She had only wanted to live in the moment…and she had. The moment had come and gone. Now it was time for her life to return to normal.

Without a backward glance Shiloh rode away, knowing Hawk was breathing a gigantic sigh of relief because she was finally out of his hair for good.

The demoralizing thought pricked her pride, but she stiffened her spine and reminded herself that she had known going in that Hawk was never going to be a part of her life.

Hawk watched the entourage disappear over the hill and felt a strange emotion well up inside him. It was different from the knot of grief that consumed him when he watched his mother and grandfather die from their fatal wounds shortly before the clan was marched off to Bosque Redondo. It was different from the frustration and sense of loss he experienced when Archie Pearson became the helpless victim of robbery and murder.

No, this was an unfamiliar emotion that Hawk couldn’t define…and was hesitant to examine too closely.

He was accustomed to a solitary life of tracking criminals for the Rangers and he expected nothing more. But the loneliness he experienced when he was left behind in camp beat anything he’d ever known. He felt lost and restless, unsure how to adjust to being by himself for the first time in almost a week.

Which was ridiculous because he was on a crusade to keep the two thieves that he had left afoot under surveillance and hope they gave him a productive lead to follow.

Muttering at the odd feelings coiling inside him, Hawk grabbed the reins to the spare horses then rode away. Even though Shiloh was in the caring and capable hands of her brothers—and he hoped to hell they weren’t involved in the criminal activity plaguing the area because it would sure enough break her heart—he missed her already.

Get back to business,
the sensible side of his brain lectured him. But he felt as if he’d left things unsaid between Shiloh and himself this morning—although he hadn’t the foggiest notion what he was supposed to say after experiencing the most amazing interlude of passion. And he sure as hell couldn’t tell her
that.

Noah and Gideon’s unexpected arrival had prevented a repeat of last night’s tryst—which was definitely for the best. Plus, it had saved him from an awkward, morning-after conversation. So maybe it was good that her brothers showed up when they did.

Shiloh’s unexpected arrival in his life had been as spectacular as her departure. First a wild splash and then a near hanging, he mused wryly.

An hour later Hawk spotted the two hombres who were tramping across a meadow where a herd of horses and cattle grazed. He waited while the two men cut out two horses from the herd then managed to move in close enough to hop on bareback.

Following at a cautious distance, Hawk veered off to check the brands on the cattle. A suspicious frown furrowed his brow when he spotted the Triple D brand on the livestock’s hips. Either the men had randomly
stolen Drummond horses or they knew where to locate replacement mounts…because there was a secluded hideout on Drummond land where the gang leaders met to organize upcoming robberies.

That disconcerting thought kept spinning around Hawk’s mind as he followed the brigands right smack-dab across Drummond property.