Page 106 of Wild Mustang Security Firm

“Yes,” she said softly.

He kissed her again—hard and fast.

“In that case, you’ll find a couple of potatoes, onions, and bell peppers in my saddlebags along with some foil.” He pulled his knife from the scabbard and grinned as she looked at it. “I washed it last night. I don’t much care for things seasoned with snake brains. Cut the vegetables into thin slices and give them a light coating of olive oil with salt and pepper. The oil and seasonings are in there. It’s all labeled. Divide them into two servings and put them on pieces of foil. I’ll be back with the rest of our dinner pretty quick.”

Croft untied his bedroll from behind his saddle and brought it over to her, unrolling it as he did so and extracting a hard-cased tube. Opening it revealed a collapsible fishing pole as well as a small case with several lures. He put the pole together and readied it for fishing, then tossed her the bedroll.

“If you have time, will you make us up a bed for tonight?” he asked.

“One or two?”

He smiled down at her. “One, unless you fancy redoing it after I’ve spanked you and before I fuck you.”

Finn shivered with desire, although she tried to deny what she was feeling.

“What makes you so sure any of that is going to happen?” she asked, trying to keep her tone neutral.

Croft jammed the handle of the fishing rod into the sand, crossed the distance between them, and pulled her up into his arms. His midnight-blue eyes flashed fire before his mouth captured hers once more. Finn could do nothing but yield to the power of his kiss. His tongue stabbed at hers, asserting its authority to be there, and her resistance was futile. She kissed him back with the same level of intensity, moaning. When he finished ravaging her mouth, he lifted his head.

“Knock it off, Finn. Whatever you’re plotting and whatever you think you’re going to do, just quit. I’m telling you from here on out, you’re going to do what I tell you, and the first thing is you’re going to tell me the whole story. Got that?”

She found herself nodding. He kissed her again but more coaxing and reassuring than to establish the authority they both knew he now had over her. Croft took her face in his hands and kissed her closed eyelids, the tip of her nose, and her mouth again.

“It’ll be all right, babe. Whatever it is, we’ll figure it out… together. Got it?”

She nodded.

“Good girl. Now, get our supper ready for the fish. This time of year, it shouldn’t take long.”

Finn watched him walk away and couldn’t suppress a grin. Croft certainly filled out a pair of Levi’s in the nicest manner. Shaking her head, she prepared the vegetables as he’d instructed. He was back within short order. He’d taken the time to clean the fish and dispose of the inedible parts while down at the river, then made short work of adding the fish on top of thevegetables and closing up the foil to make a tight packet before tossing them onto the open flame.

“It’ll take those about thirty minutes to cook. You want to try telling me what the hell this is all about?”

“I can’t,” she said, unable to meet his eyes.

“Yes, you can, and you will. The only choice you have is, do you want to do it now, or once I’ve spanked you even harder than I had planned. Believe me, babe, you’re going to tell me, and you’re going to get spanked.”

“You can’t spank me,” she cried. “Not and expect me to ride, and I have to ride. We don’t have time to stay here or for you to take me back to Phantom Ranch.”

“Not your choice, not your decision. The only thing you’re going to do, Finlay Reid, is answer me. I’ll make the determination when and how hard you get spanked… from this day forward.” Croft cocked his head as he looked at her. “Are we on some kind of timetable I don’t know about?”

She shook her head. Croft got up from his place across the campfire to sit down on the flat rock she had her back against. Drawing her to her feet, Finn started to resist him, fearing he was about to make good on his threat to spank her again.

“Easy, babe. I just want you to sit with me.” He pulled her into his arms, so she was sitting in his lap. “Talk to me, Finn. What’s really going on?”

“I can’t,” she whispered and felt his body stiffen. “It’s not that I don’t want to. I just can’t, they sa…” She stopped herself before completing the sentence.

“Who is they, Finn? And what is it they told you?”

She shook her head.

“Does somebody have Christian? Why didn’t you go to the authorities?” He shook his head, as well. “Because they told you if you did, they’d hurt him.”

“They’ve already hurt him,” Finn said, dissolving into quiet tears.

“Do you know that he’s alive?” Croft asked gently.

She nodded. “They showed me a picture with him holding a newspaper from a few days ago. I have to go alone, or they’ll kill him. I didn’t need a tracker, but I needed a guide… Don’t you see? If I don’t do what they tell me, they’ll kill him.”

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