Unbridled and Untethered [The Double Rider Men's Club 10] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) (6 page)

Emma Rae pushed out a sigh of relief. Zeke wiped his forehead with a sleeve before he crossed the room to stand in front of her.

“Are you okay?” he asked. The concern in his expression was sincere.

“Yes. Thanks to you.” She reached up and slid her palm along his solid jaw. The first signs of five-o’clock shadow abraded her fingertips. He had a small cut above his eyebrow from the altercation. A single drop of blood rested near the wound.

“You’re bleeding,” she said.

“I’m okay,” he replied as she looked closer at the gash. “So, what do you think? Do I get to learn what your name is now?”

“Is that all you’re worried about?” She laughed and took a step closer. Now they were touching. The warm vibe of his chivalry planted deeply in her soul. Perhaps she was ready to trust a man once more. He’d stepped in front of a man with a gun and a bad idea regarding her virtue. She owed him. Plus, she wanted that kiss previously interrupted by the robbery mayhem. “I’m Emma Rae Madison. It’s very good to meet you, Zeke.”

“Very pleased to meet you, Emma Rae.” His sincere smile warmed her all the way to her toes.

“Thank you for stepping in front of me and keeping me safe.” She extended her hand awkwardly between them. He clasped it in his warm, strong fingers, squeezed gently, and gifted her with a smile that would make angels sing with joy.

His grin was infectious. “It was my pleasure.”

She tilted her head backward to gaze deeply into his intoxicatingly beautiful blue eyes. The corners of her mouth lifted upward, and for the first time in recent memory, she ached with sincere longing to kiss a man. She pressed forward, sandwiching their handshake between their intimately close bodies.

He didn’t move in or try and kiss her, but if he did, she wouldn’t stop him. Which was a huge revelation in her mind and worthy of some additional thought.
I want him to kiss me?
How odd.

Zeke was different. He’d protected her with his life before he’d even learned her name. She owed him, but more than that she
wanted
to owe him. She should offer him a boon. And she fully expected to enjoy whatever bonus he asked to receive.

What reward might she offer? A lip-licking kiss? A full-body embrace? A sexy, bed-rocking night at her place? All of the above? They were all varying degrees of the initial great choice to involve herself with this surprising man. For the first time in a long while, she had sincere desire for a man. She wanted to get to know him more intimately. She’d missed affection.

Zeke released their hands because she couldn’t seem to let go easily. The obstinate consideration that a kiss seemed like a great reward after all that had happened to them wouldn’t leave her mind. Maybe this wasn’t the perfect place, but she’d waited as long as she could.

Emma Rae zeroed her gaze on his azure-blue eyes. He didn’t turn away. She couldn’t strangle the utter desire in her soul to kiss him. She needed just a small taste. Before she could change her mind—or anything else stopped her—Emma Rae went up on her tiptoes, wound her arms around Zeke’s neck, and planted her lips on his smooth, perfect mouth.

Even after this harrowing experience, he tasted like fresh mint gum. The intoxicatingly sexy scent of his cologne, the familiar warmth of his skin, the hard, muscular sensation of his body pressed against her all combined and sent her libido flailing wildly in pleasure. Moisture seeped between her legs, coating her pussy in readiness for whatever might happen once they left the bank.

A single heartbeat after their lips met, Zeke bent his head forward and further engaged her impromptu kiss with enthusiasm. Emma Rae thought she might swoon in ecstasy before they parted. His tongue dipped between the seam of her softened mouth. He licked a sultry path within, tangling and dancing around for a few heady moments of newfound bliss. She was about to push her body harder into his for a more erotic embrace, but a noise from outside the vault startled them both, and they broke apart, breathing hard.
Damn it, not again
.

The sound of another muffled gunshot rang out. She and Zeke twisted to face the narrow, open vault door. He reached out and put a hand on her arm, already trying to cover her.

“Get behind me,” he ordered in the next second. He shoved her behind the shelter of his body and faced the open door of the vault. The taste of him lingered on her lips as she hid herself in his shadow.

Unfortunately, she’d forgotten about the third gunman. The one who’d possibly led the bank officer to his death. She caught a glimpse of someone with a black mask entering the vault door before Zeke’s arm bracketed her into the safety of his protection.

The remaining gunman suddenly filled the door with a smoking gun in one hand. “What the fuck?” he said in a strange gravelly voice laced with malice.

Emma Rae splayed her hands against the solid warmth of Zeke’s back. She wanted to burrow her face against the clean scent of his crisp, pressed dress shirt and reside there forever. The fervent kiss had rocked her world. The pressing matter of another wild gunman pushed forward in her lovesick brain.
Pay attention
.

The distant wail of a police siren outside the building pealed, giving her a modicum of relief and a dollop of hope. The gunman’s attention was diverted only a moment. So was hers, until another shot rang out and Zeke dove hard to one side, pushing her backward and keeping her safely covered. She heard the sickening thud as his head hit the metal surface of the wall.

He hung there unmoving against the surface, as if stunned. His face was still turned toward the gunman framed in the open doorway of the vault. She moved from behind him slightly.

Blood dripped from a wound that sliced across his upper arm. Emma Rae couldn’t believe he wasn’t unconscious from the blow to his head. He put his hand flat against the wound and pulled away a blood-smeared palm.

With malevolence in his stance, the gunman in the doorway then leveled his weapon at Zeke’s head.

Battling Zeke’s sudden protest to the contrary, Emma Rae stepped completely from behind the shelter of his body. “Don’t you dare shoot him again.”

* * * *

Zeke couldn’t keep Emma Rae protected behind him for long. She sidestepped around him to first look at his wound and then to apparently guard him from further injury. Blood smeared his fingers when he flattened his hand against the injury on his upper arm. The bullet had skimmed the flesh, and the furrow there burned like a son of a bitch.

The pain was manageable, and he knew it couldn’t be life threatening. His head hurt worst of all from hitting the wall, but he shook off the pain, fought to get upright again, and turned toward the doorway, trying futilely to get Emma Rae behind him.

The gunman at the vault entrance started moving forward, closing in on them. The still-smoking gun was pointed at Zeke’s head. Emma Rae stepped in the path of the gunman even as Zeke lifted away from the wall and tried to push her behind his body.

Without any warning, Emma Rae dropped to the floor, leaving him open to whatever the gunman planned. Relieved she wasn’t in the immediate path of the gun, Zeke thought the floor was the best place for her given the nasty glint in the robber’s eyes. She was safe and out of the line of fire, where she belonged. If the gunman fired at his head, she had a lesser chance of getting hurt by a ricocheted bullet.

However, Emma Rae didn’t stay on the floor for long. She sprang up quickly with her arm extended. The other bank robber’s gun was now clenched in her hand. It might have been threatening if her unsteady arm hadn’t reminded him of a palsied eighty-five-year-old trying to keep hold of the weapon.

The third gunman actually laughed at her. Apparently, he didn’t feel the least bit threatened. At least not until he advanced a step toward them and she pulled the trigger, firing off a shot in his general direction.

The bullet went wide and missed their foe.

Before Zeke could even take a breath, the gunman aimed lower, pulled the trigger, and hit Zeke in the chest. The pain was sudden, sharp, and excruciating.
Shit
. He fell against the wall once more, narrowly missing hitting his head again. However, his legs went weak this time, unable to hold his body straight. He started a weary slide down the metal surface of the vault wall. He was no help to Emma Rae now. Each breath he attempted felt like a red-hot poker was jammed in his chest wall. He was losing consciousness.
Damn it
.

“No!” he heard Emma Rae scream as if in a primal rage. Then he heard three more gunshots fired. At least this time he didn’t feel them hit his body before the black splotches consumed his vision.

Luke Benton hadn’t ever spent much time worrying about his best friend, Zeke. Or the fact that he had a government job that on occasion threatened his life. His friend had been a field agent for years but had never to Luke’s knowledge been in any violent altercations.

His job with Treasury hadn’t afforded him many dangerous situations beyond paper cuts from analytical reports and computer screen eyestrain. Even though he tracked, searched, and located money launderers, tax evaders, counterfeiters, and the like, Zeke had always been involved with more white-collar crimes than busting punks in the mean streets. However, the new taskforce he’d recently volunteered for definitely added a bit more intrigue. It also put him on the road, in the field, and out of town frequently. Luke worried about him more these days, but Zeke loved his new responsibilities.

Riding along on his horse surveying their ranch at a leisurely pace, Luke wondered why he had a sudden pang of unease. He shook it off and continued riding but headed in the direction of the ranch house.

Maybe he’d make a phone call to check up on him. They could laugh about it later.

He and Luke had been friends since God was a child, and even though he had a career with the government, Zeke wasn’t rash or a rogue, maverick agent when it came to his job. Meanwhile, Luke worked their horse ranch, and the success of their breeding stock had made them rich beyond every initial expectation.

In fact, Zeke didn’t even need to work, but Luke knew he loved his job. All in all, Luke felt like they’d carved out a pretty good life for themselves over the years. Of course, it wasn’t perfect, but certainly better than he’d ever expected, growing up in a poor family. Life was still pretty good, all things considered.

They’d been a part of the Double Rider Men’s Club since its inception. While the predominant goal of many of the members was to find a woman to love and share permanently, the two of them hadn’t spent an inordinate amount of time looking for their own perfect girl. At least they hadn’t searched for her recently. Luke had a poor attitude when it came to permanence. He wasn’t sure he believed they’d ever find a woman to share forever.

They both loved the lifestyle, but they’d never even come close to finding a woman willing to love each of them equally on a permanent basis. They’d tried over the years to find their perfect trio, but invariably the women who
said
they wanted two men ultimately didn’t really. They grew tired of the life very quickly, or worse, they’d spend more time with one of the pair rather than the other and balk at a threesome lifestyle as their ongoing future. Luke referred to it as the awkward phase of the relationship. He hated it with a passion. Each of them had been hurt more than once by fickle women who grew tired of the ménage lifestyle they adored.

Luke figured that when and if a woman came along who wanted to make a serious effort to spend her life with both of them, they’d have a very long engagement to ensure her feelings were valid and enduring. If after the considerable length of time together in a threesome, she still wanted both of them, then perhaps they’d buckle down and make a true success of a ménage relationship, too. But Luke wasn’t convinced such a woman existed for them. As time passed, the dejected feeling grew.

Last week, Zeke had come home in a rare love-struck mood and told him about a woman he’d seen that stirred him on a completely new level. A woman he’d claimed would be perfect for the two of them. Luke had been intrigued. It had been quite a while since Zeke had been so enthusiastic over the possibility of finding a love to share.

He’d set his expression to extreme disbelief and said, “Oh yeah? What’s her name?”

Zeke’s wide, white smile sprouted. “Actually, I don’t know her name. Not yet.”

Luke had played along with his best friend, wondering if he was joking. “Okay then, what does she look like?”

He shrugged. “Truth is, I didn’t get a particularly good look at her. But I know that she’s petite and very pretty from the glimpse I got. She also has short, chin-length, blonde hair and really amazing blue-green eyes.”

“She sounds very interesting. When can I meet her?”

Zeke shook his head. “I don’t know. But trust me, you’ll flip for her when you do finally meet her.”

“No doubt. Where did you see this vision of perfection?”

Pointing a thumb over his shoulder, he answered, “She was working in Clay’s communications bunker.”

Luke tilted his head to one side, unsure he’d heard correctly. “So Clay knows her?”

“Yes. Absolutely.” Zeke’s grin had widened.