Page 28 of Searching for Valor

With a low growl that was equal parts frustration and annoyance, he closed the distance between their lips. The kiss more a collision than a caress. Her hands fisted in his jacket, pulling him closer even as she pushed back against him. It was a battle, a fight for dominance, for control, for absolution. A clash of teeth and tongues and desperate, dueling breaths. He gripped her hips, yanking her flush against him as he devoured her mouth with a hunger that bordered on violence. She met him with equal ferocity, her fingers digging into his shoulders, nails biting through the fabric of his jacket.

Rylan nipped at her bottom lip, drawing a gasp from her that shot straight to his cock. She retaliated by licking into his mouth, her tongue stroking against his in a blatant provocation that made him want to strip her bare and fuck her right there in the woods.

He walked her backward until her shoulders hit the rough bark of a towering redwood, the impact jarring them both. It should’ve stopped him, should’ve shocked some reason into him.

But it didn’t.

He tangled one hand in her hair, tugging just hard enough to make her moan into his mouth. The sound was like gasoline on the fire raging inside him, and he deepened the kiss, pouring all his frustration, all of his anger, all his pent-up desire, into the slide of his lips against hers. She arched into him, her breasts pressing against his chest, hips rocking into his. The friction was maddening, stoking the flames higher. He wedged a thigh between her legs, earning a gasp as he ground against her core.

Just as his hand was sliding under her shirt, moving up her ribs to cup breast, the crunch of tires on gravel doused the heat between them like a bucket of ice water.

Rylan jerked back, breathing hard.

Izzy stared up at him, her eyes dark and dazed, lips swollen from his kiss. “What the hell was that?”

“Fuck.” He paced away from her, putting some much-needed distance between them. His body was still molten, thrumming with need. “A mistake. One that won’t happen again.”

Izzy’s face shuttered, the heat in her eyes replaced by a cold, hard glint. She pushed off the tree, tugging her clothes back into place. ”Right. Of course. Wouldn’t want to sully yourself with the likes of me.”

She pushed off the tree and stalked past him, heading for the source of the interruption. Rylan cursed under his breath and followed, his long strides easily catching up to her.

As they emerged from the tree line, they were greeted by the sight of three SUVs rolling up the long driveway, kicking up dust.

“Expecting company?” Izzy asked, a brittle edge to her voice.

“Yes. Ash.”

She whirled on him. “What? I told you?—”

“If you want to find those kids, we need the sheriff’s department and their resources. Zak called him.”

“And you didn’t think to consult me on that decision?”

“It wasn’t mine to make,” Rylan said, his tone flat. “And you stormed off before Zak could. But for the record, I agree with him. If those kids were just lost in the woods, that would be one thing, but they were abducted. We’re a search and rescue team, Iz. Not investigators.“

She stared at him for a long moment, the muscle in her jaw ticking. Then she turned on her heel and marched toward the approaching vehicles. No doubt she planned to march right up to Ash and start making demands of her former boss… which Rylan kind of wanted to see. Izzy may be as stubborn as a mule, but Ash was as grumpy as one and downright scary sometimes.

As they drew closer, he realized it wasn’t Ash and a posse of deputies. For one thing, the Lost County Sheriff’s Department vehicles were all dark green, and these were shiny black, gleaming like beetles under the weak morning sunlight. The first SUV rolled to a stop just feet from where they stood, its tinted windows concealing whoever was inside.

Izzy froze mid-step, her shoulders going rigid. Rylan moved to her side, instincts screaming at him that something was very, very wrong as the SUV door swung open, and a man stepped out.

Attorney General Thomas Parker.

Monica Holt’s boss.

What the fuck was he doing here?

Parker adjusted the cuff of his suit jacket as he scanned the grounds and cabin, his gaze eventually landing on Rylan and Izzy. His salt-and-pepper hair gleamed almost as brightly as his polished black shoes as he strode toward them. He was a tall man, with broad shoulders and a bland, practiced politician’s smile that never quite reached his cold blue eyes.

A veritable wall of bodyguards flanked him, all dressed in dark suits and wearing matching earpieces, their eyes hidden behind mirrored sunglasses. They spread out in practiced formation as if expecting an ambush.

“Deputy Delgado. Mr. Cross,” he greeted, his voice smooth as silk. “Or, no, I forgot you’re no longer a deputy. Do you go by Miss Delgado now?”

Rylan felt her coil at his side and set his hand on shoulder to keep her from going for the man’s throat.

But although her eyes narrowed to slits, she didn’t rise to the obvious bait. “What can I do for you, Mr. Attorney General?”

The attorney general spread his hands, his smile never faltering. “I’m here to check on my employee, of course. When I heard about Monica’s children going missing, I was deeply concerned.”

---