Page 47 of Guarded By Them

Kodee and Dillon sat on the ground behind us, watching while Rue aimed again and again, each time missing the tree. I was conscious of their gazes on us. Both of them could shoot, but I was the expert in this field. I liked being good at something. It made me feel as though I could offer something to us as a group, and that I wasn’t only a thorn in their sides. I hated being the one to slow them down or cause other complications, such as what I’d done to Rue. It was a small thing, but at least I was giving something back.

She clicked on an empty chamber, and I had to reload for her, showing her how it was done, and then handing back the gun.

Rue squeezed off another shot, and a small explosion of bark burst from the tree trunk.

“I did it!” she cried in delight. “I actually hit it!”

Kodee and Dillon clapped and cheered from behind us, and she beamed at them.

“Can you feel it, Rue?” I asked her, grinning. “You’re taking back your power.”

She smiled back. “Yes, I can feel it.”

Maybe we should learn to feel strong from the inside, but when you had people chasing you who wanted you dead, I didn’t think it hurt at all to have a little extra help.

“Now you have to hit it at least five times in a row, and then we’ll say you can shoot.”

She pressed her lips together and nodded in determination. “I can do it.”

Rue turned back to the tree and set her stance to start again. I watched with pride as the first bullet hit home, and then the second. She missed the third.

“Start again,” I told her.

She swore under her breath but nodded. She was fierce and determined, and I admired her like hell. But I hated that my hands had been around her throat and that she couldn’t trust me because I couldn’t trust myself.

Perhaps I would be the first man she’d end up shooting.

I counted the gunshots—one, two, three, four, five—each one hitting the tree trunk.

“You did it.”

She stood on tiptoes and kissed my mouth. “I couldn’t have done it without you,” she said, still not pulling away, her lips only millimeters from mine.

I couldn’t help myself. The scent of her mixed with the acrid bite of gunpowder was intoxicating. I wrapped my arm around her waist and yanked her against me, covering her mouth with mine. My cock was instantly hard, and Rue didn’t show any sign of minding, instead grinding herself against me. Clearly, firing the gun had been as much an aphrodisiac for her as it was for me.

A wolf whistle came from behind us. “Hey, hey! Get a room, you two.” I recognized Dillon’s Irish lilt.

I felt Rue smile against my lips, and, without breaking the kiss, I lifted my hand and flipped him the bird.

Sure, we might have an audience, but if my memory served me right, this was an audience that enjoyed watching. We were out in the middle of nowhere. No one else was going to interrupt us.

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