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She pressed against Dawg’s palm, shattered cries passing her lips at the pressure against her clit. It would be so easy to climax, if she could just press against him a bit more, just the barest friction would allow her to ease the hunger beating at her.

“Not yet, baby,” he whispered at her ear, nipping her lobe. “Let your body burn for us, get so hungry that nothing matters except the touch, the need.”

She was already burning. Her fingers clenched in Rowdy’s and Natches’ hair as she felt Dawg’s fingers moving, felt him spreading her

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juices, allowing them to coat the tight entrance beyond as his finger massaged the closed portal.

She felt her anal entrance clench at the caresses, felt it open, milk at the tip of his finger as another hand, she didn’t know whose, began to play with the swollen bud of her clitoris.

She was trapped between them, in the middle of the kitchen area, suspended within a pleasure, a heat so intense she could barely make sense of it. Pleading, incoherent cries fell from her lips as she arched back, arched forward, so desperate that she no longer knew which touch would send her streaking toward orgasm, she just knew she needed it.

Yet, it was different than it had been with Rowdy alone. She struggled to push aside the vague unease she felt. The lack of emotional warmth, of sharing that had come from being in that bed upstairs, just her and Rowdy.

“There you go, sweetheart,” Dawg whispered again as she felt the tip of his finger slide inside her anus. “Damn, you’re tight, and hot. Your ass is sucking at my finger like a little mouth, needing more. Do you need more, sweetheart?”

At the same time, hard fingers captured her clit and pumped it wickedly. Oh God, she could come so easy, if she could just get closer.

She relaxed her buttocks as flames licked at the little bud.

Simultaneously, the little entrance sucked the hard finger deeper as the pressure eased at her clit, causing her to scream in pleasure and frustration.

Her ass felt filled, and yet she needed more. Her clit was pounding with need, her pussy clenching with it until suddenly, sirens began to rip through her head…

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Lora Leigh

“Fuck…” Reality slammed through as she was jerked to the floor, three cursing, furious men covering her as blasts shattered the erotic frenzy with cold fury.

“Get her to the side.” She was being pulled, jerked to the side, between the heavy cabinets as the sound of pounding feet and raging curses were heralded by return fire.

Shadows flashed around her in the dark as she scrambled to the corner of the cabinets, her hand brushing over fabric as she felt the shirt she had worn earlier beneath her hands.

Pulling it from the floor, she crouched in the vee made by the cabinets and pulled it over her head as Rowdy pressed her tight against his side.

She didn’t ask questions, she wasn’t hysterical. She followed his lead as he, Natches and Dawg began to work her closer to the back of the houseboat.

“Bastard shot the hull, Rowdy,” Dawg hissed as the gunfire eased.

The computerized alarm was still going nuts, the siren shattering her nerves as the sound of the security personnel on the other end demanded an answer.

She noticed no one was answering. Within seconds they were informed that Lake Patrol had been alerted and was now moving for the area.

“The pumps are working.” Natches slid in place with them. “We’ll be okay until the patrol gets here.”

They were dressed. She felt the scratch of Rowdy’s jeans on her thigh, Natches at her rear. Dawg had dragged his shorts back on, but where Rowdy had come up with clothes she wasn’t certain.

“I think he’s on the cliff overlooking us,” Natches snapped. “The trajectory of the shots would be about right for that.”

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“He’ll have to cross the point to get back to the road,” Dawg growled.

“I’ll be back. I’m going after him.”

“No…” The word was a hollow, raspy sound, jerking from Kelly’s throat as she caught at his pants.

Dawg brushed her hand aside, moving through the darkness as the pulsing siren continued to echo through the boat.

“Stay here.” Rowdy pressed her against the counters before moving for the alarm box and quickly cutting the sound off.

Kelly listened silently as he spoke to the security personnel, his voice hard, dark, furious.

“Don’t move from here until Rowdy comes back,” Natches whispered in her ear. “I need to check upstairs.”

She nodded in reply, her throat tight, fear and fury clogging her voice until she wasn’t certain she could speak. This was because of her.

Someone had shot into the boat, tried to sink it, to kill them, because of her. She had placed Rowdy and his cousins in danger, had caused a madman to focus on them.

She wrapped her arms around her waist, staying in place, huddled against the counter as Rowdy flipped on a light in the living area.

She looked up as he came around the counter, his expression hard, his eyes gleaming with rage.

“Come on, baby.” His voice was gentle as he reached down for her.

“Lake Patrol will be here to escort us to the dock in a minute. We need to get you dressed.”

She pulled herself wearily to her feet, gazing around at the destruction. The windows were shattered, glass and debris littering the floor, the paneling splintered from the bullets.

“Come on.” He lifted her into his arms as she stared around numbly at the destruction.

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Lora Leigh

Despair tightened in her chest as she buried her face against Rowdy’s neck. She could feel her stomach cramping with guilt, with fear. One of them could have died. She could have lost Rowdy, or Dawg or Natches could have been hurt, killed.

“Here.” He sat her in the middle of the bedroom floor before moving to the small closet and pulling free a pair of her jeans. “Put these on.”

She accepted them silently, bending to pull them over her feet and then to her hips before she took the sneakers from his hand. She sat on the bed, slipped them on then struggled to tie the laces.

“Easy, baby.” As Rowdy knelt before her, she realized the small whimpers she could hear were her own.

He brushed her fingers out of the way before tying the laces quickly then staring up at her. Something twisted inside Kelly at the gentle emotion she saw in his eyes. Beyond the anger, the determination to kill that she could see raging inside him, she saw his gentleness.

“This wasn’t your fault, Kelly.” He reached up, cupping her cheek in his hand.

Kelly fought the tears that clogged her throat, as well as the fears that clogged her mind. Rather than answering, she pulled from his touch slowly, shuddering at the thought that his need for her could end in his death.

“Don’t even try it.” The snarl that twisted his face had her staring back at him in shock. “Don’t think I’m going to let you run from me now, Kelly,” he snapped roughly. “The time for running was over the minute you let me fuck that hot little body of yours.”

She shook her head desperately, pushing against his chest as she fought to jerk to her feet. She couldn’t speak. If she dared to attempt to, she knew the screams of rage and fear wouldn’t be far behind.

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“Stop it, Kelly…” He grabbed her wrists, forcing her in place as she heard the first hoarse cry leave her lips. “It’s okay to be scared, baby. I swear to you, we’re all okay, we anticipated this, we know how to fight him…”

“No,” she protested fiercely, feeling the tears seeping past her eyes despite her desperation to hold them in check. “He’s crazy. You can’t do this. You can’t…” She wasn’t going to let him do it.

She tried to tear herself away from him, to get away from his touch, his warmth. She couldn’t live like this. She couldn’t live if anything happened to him, or the others.

“I will do it.” He gripped her upper arms, giving her a brief, hard shake as she stared back at him miserably. “Hear me well, Kelly. I will do it. And when I get my hands on him I’ll kill him. Do you understand me?

He will never ever touch you or another woman again. Ever.”

Death shadowed his eyes as she stared back at him, incredulous. He would kill, and he would do so with no guilt, no second thoughts, she could see it in his eyes.

“I can’t do this…” Her voice was shaky, her insides trembling with enough force to make her stomach pitch.

“He’s going to come after you again, baby.” He framed her face with his hands, holding her still as his eyes bored into hers. “You know he will. He didn’t finish with you, Kelly. You got away. He won’t be able to let it, or you, go. Do you understand me?”

“Stop.” Her nails bit into his wrists as she saw the complete determination to finish what he had started. God, how could she have not seen where it could lead? How could she have let it go this far?

“I won’t stop, Kelly,” he bit out. “Listen to me well, dammit. I will not stop until he’s dead. I will not let that bastard terrorize you.”

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Lora Leigh

She opened her lips to argue, to beg, only to be cut off as Dawg moved quickly into the room.

“He got away.” He was breathing rough, heavy. “Lake Patrol is moving in and Ray and Maria are right behind them. Natches is on the deck waiting for them.”

Rowdy turned back to her. “You aren’t leaving with them, Kelly. Don’t even consider it.”

Her breath caught, feeling the shudders in her belly beginning to work through her body. She had no other choice. She had to leave. And soon, she would have to leave Ray’s home as well. She couldn’t continue to endanger the people she loved.

“Don’t make me gag you.” She stared back at him in shock as his voice rumbled dangerously.

“What?”

“You’re going to try to run. I can see it in your eyes. You do and I’ll throw you over my shoulder and cart you out of here like a sack of fucking potatoes. Don’t push me.”

His lips curled back from his teeth in a powerful snarl as his eyes blazed with green fire back at her. Shock whipped through her at the deadly warning she saw in his gaze, as well as the confidence that he would carry out his warning.

“Don’t…” She tried to protest, to fight against the sheer force she could feel wrapping around her.

“I mean it, Kelly,” he growled, rising slowly to his feet as he pulled her after him. “Don’t fight me on this. Not right now.”

She felt dazed, overtaken, her mind overwhelmed by the danger and the certainty that if she attempted to run from him, then he would chase her down. He wouldn’t let her go. Not now, not yet. Not before he shed blood.

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Sheriff Ezekiel Mayes had surveyed the destruction of the
Nauti Buoy
after she limped into dock. His deputies were going through the interior as Kelly, Rowdy, Dawg and Natches sat inside the small employees’ room of the marina.

Ray and Maria stood at the side of the room as Sheriff Mayes took their statements. Kelly could see the knowledge in the sheriff’s eyes as he questioned her, his gaze flickering to the Mackay cousins, a hint of disapproval lighting the golden-brown depths of his eyes.

“You didn’t see anything at all?” His gaze went over the four of them once again. “Hard to believe three tough ex-Marines would let a stalker get the jump on them, especially considering those same Marines were well aware of the danger of the situation.”

Kelly pressed her lips together as she clenched her hands in her lap.

She had to grit her teeth to keep from defending the men. To keep from revealing the fact that she knew Rowdy had planned this. She knew he had, and it infuriated her.

“Come on, Zeke, you know better than that,” Rowdy bit out. “Kelly needed some time out. I thought the cove would be safe…”

“I’m not a fool, Rowdy,” the sheriff growled. “I’m not buying that shit and neither is your daddy.” He nodded to where Ray was staring back at his son with a heavy scowl.

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Lora Leigh

“I’m old enough that my daddy’s opinion either way doesn’t sway me, Zeke,” Rowdy snapped back. “Now why don’t you let me take Kelly home to rest…”

“Kelly, letting these three mix you up in some crazy scheme to catch this stalker is a bad idea.” The sheriff hunched down in front of the chair, staring back at her intently as she fought to keep her breathing even. “Let me handle this. We’ll catch him.”

“You haven’t yet,” she whispered, shaking her head as anger and fear collided inside her.

Damn them all. She felt like a bone in the middle of a pack of wild dogs.

Compassion filled the sheriff’s eyes. “I’m not a vigilante, sweetheart.

When he’s caught, I need the law on my side, not his. Kelly, if these boys suspect someone, I need to know.”

“If I suspected anyone, you’d know it, Zeke.” Rowdy’s voice was hard, cold. “Now leave her the hell alone.”

“God, stop snapping around me.” Kelly jerked to her feet, causing the sheriff to straighten and stare down at her with a heavy scowl. “All of you. I’ve had enough for tonight. I didn’t see anyone. I didn’t hear anything. We were on the lake to get the hell away from the bastard’s phone calls. That was all.”

She pushed her fingers through her hair, aware of the strained silence filling the room. She glanced over at her mother, and saw knowledge there. They knew why she was at the lake with the three cousins. She and Ray knew, and though Kelly felt no embarrassment, no shame at the knowledge, what she did feel was a sudden certainty that this wasn’t a relationship she could endure.

Not because of the knowledge. Not because of morality. Because she didn’t love them. She loved Rowdy, and the discontent, the subtle anger

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building inside her for days now over his expectations were clawing at her heart. The attack had only reinforced it. She was tired of being controlled. Period. First by a damned stalker and then by her need to please Rowdy.

“I’m ready to go home.” She shook her head before lifting her chin and staring around the room. “Now. I need to sleep and I need to think.”

“You can go home.” Sheriff Mayes nodded. “But I may need to ask you some more questions tomorrow.”