Wild

1 MARINA My cell was ringing. The sky had opened up and was dumping buckets. I’d never seen it rain so hard. The wipers on my little rental barely worked, even on the highest setting. I was practically crawling down the back road, and it was going to take me hours to get to Audrey’s. “s**t,” I said aloud, fumbling to grab the phone from my purse on the passenger seat. “Hello.” “Hello, Marina Thompson?” A huge flash of lightning cut across the sky, and it illuminated the road in front of me. It wasn’t dark yet, but it might as well have been midnight. I saw the road in front of me—or lack of it—and a split second later, I slammed on the brakes. A car-rattling boom followed directly, which made me jump in my seat. “Shit.” A huge river of water was cutting across the road. “Hello?” the voice in the phone said. I took a deep breath and stared out the window as best I could to the water that was blocking my way. It was too deep to cross. “Oh my God. There’s a river in the road… ” I sighed. “Um, yes. This is Marina.” “I’m Janine Fitz in the bursar’s office.” “Yes, hi. Sorry, I’m caught in a little bad weather.” I added the last because the woman probably thought I was crazy. “I wanted to inform you that the p*****t for fall semester has not come in,” she said from somewhere dry and sunshiney at the university. “It was due last Monday.” I blinked, processed her words. Maybe I hadn’t heard her right, for the rain was pounding on the car. “My father sends in a check for each semester.” That was pretty much all he did for me. “It’s not here. If we don’t receive it promptly, we will assume you are not attending for the upcoming school year.” “I’m attending,” I said quickly. Another streak of lightning followed by a clap of thunder. “I am. Thank you for calling, and I’ll follow through.” “Have a good day,” she said. “You, too.” A good day? It was like the heavens had opened up in the middle of Montana. I looked down at my phone in my hand. Sighed. “Dad, what’s the deal?” I murmured as I quickly sent him a text about the missing money. I wasn’t expecting a reply because he rarely did, so I tossed the cell onto the empty seat. I glanced at the road again. I didn’t think there was supposed to be a raging river out there. Or a bridge was missing. Either way, I wasn’t going any further. This shouldn’t be happening. I had to get to Wolf Ranch tonight. “Not a chance,” I mumbled. There was nothing I could do about the tuition. Or the impassable road. So I’d just go with it. Enjoy the here and now. The summer class was over, the exam done. I was on vacation. I pushed open the door and climbed out. Instantly, I was drenched. Maybe it was a stupid move getting soaked through, but I had to get out and see this crazy Montana storm in person. Up close and personal. Until an hour ago, the weather had been perfect. Sunny skies with big puffy clouds, mid-eighties. The storm had blown in quick, the Big Sky country living up to its name as I’d watched it roll in from the west, and I’d driven right into it. The rain was chilly as it pounded my face, stuck my hair to my cheeks and neck, absorbed into my sneakers. I took a deep breath and tilted my face up to the sky. Only the sound of the rain and wind could be heard. No big city noises like car horns or sirens. No construction or dogs barking. Nothing but me and nature for miles and miles. I smiled. I didn’t realize how much I liked being out of the city until I was a time zone away. I could enjoy my break in Montana, starting with Audrey’s wedding. I couldn’t wait to meet the hot rodeo champ who’d lassoed her heart, the guy whose pics online were hot, hot, hot. I’d told Audrey once that I was vicariously living through her. I hadn’t been lying. My love life was non-existent. Sure, the guys in my department had asked me out, but none of them had done it for me. I had no idea what I was holding out for… some of them were handsome and nice. Smart. Funny. But they were boys. I wanted a man. A real man. A manly man. A guy to take hold of my hair and drag me back to his cave. Oh, and maybe not for him to flake like the last one. Sticking would be good, too. Maybe I’d settle for not cheating. God, the bar was getting lower and lower. Still, I knew exactly what had been missing. What I was craving. Heat. Chemistry. Off the charts sizzle. What Audrey had found with her cowboy. I wasn’t a virgin, but I might as well have been. The last guy I’d been with had traded me in for a newer model. That had been fun. Not. I wanted a guy who made me hot, where there was some kind of zing, like the lightning that lit up the sky. I craved it, and the dead batteries in my vibrator were proof of that. I turned my face up and let the rain pelt my eyelids, my cheeks, my lips. And then I started to laugh. Took a deep breath, then another as I looked at the two-lane road in front of me. A creek had swelled over its banks and covered the roadway. The murky water rushed by, a tree branch or shrub ripped from the ground bobbed and moved downstream. Nature always won. Was always grander, bigger, stronger. It could always reduce my problems to insignificance. I picked up a rock and tossed it into the swift moving water to see how deep it was. It instantly disappeared. I laughed again. I wasn’t getting across anytime soon, at least not on this road. All around me was nothing but prairie grass whipping in the wind. The nearest town was five miles back, although the term town was generous. It didn’t even have a stoplight. I could turn back and detour a different way, but the alternate route the GPS gave me took me three hours out of the way. And that was if those roads hadn’t been flooded, too. If I couldn’t get to Wolf Ranch tonight, I wasn’t in any hurry to get anywhere else. Might as well enjoy nature’s ill-timed show. I climbed up onto a two-foot high stone and concrete marker by the side of the road to get a better look. A pickup’s headlights caught my attention, and I wobbled on the top of my perch. Because of the storm, I hadn’t heard the engine until it stopped right behind my car. The door opened, and a large man climbed down and stalked toward me. “You okay?” he called, concern lacing his voice. I blinked the rain away, stared. Blinked again. Well, hell-o. Speaking of a real man. The guy was huge, at least six-three or four. Solid muscle, as if he lifted little rental cars like mine for exercise, was barely concealed beneath a black t-shirt and cargo pants. He was instantly wet. So was I, and not from the rain. He stopped beside me, and even with me standing on the sign base, I stood only a foot above him. His hair was close-cropped and dark, although it was almost black now. He needed a shave, as if he’d lost his razor a few days ago. I bet he had a hairy chest. Yum. I laughed, nearly losing my balance again. “I’m fine. I was just having a look.” I pointed toward the flooded road, but he didn’t take his eyes off me. He reached up and caught my elbow to steady me. A deep V crinkled his forehead. He was probably a decade older than me and wow... h.o.t., HOT. “That water’s deeper than you think,” he said. His voice was deep, gruff and full of command. My body shuddered, not from the chill from the rain but in response to his words. “There’s no way you’ll get across.” Piercing dark eyes roved over me, stopping on my chest. I looked down and realized my n*****s were poking against my pale pink shirt which was now practically see-through. He didn’t need x-ray vision to know I wasn’t wearing a bra. I turned my face to the rushing water. “I know. I just wanted to watch it for a minute.” I turned my foot, and it slid a little on the slick surface. His grip tightened on me. “Little girl, you’re making me nervous. Hop down before I pull you down.” Little girl? I stared at him. I was so much smaller and definitely younger, but still. Those same bossy words out of another guy’s mouth would have offended me. Somehow from him they sounded sexy. Virile. It probably had something to do with those bulging muscles in the arm holding me. He reached for my waist, not waiting for me to comply. “Let’s go.” He lifted me easily to the ground, but kept his hands resting lightly on my waist. He looked around, as if searching for something, then back at me. His gaze roved over my face, dropped to my lips, then looked me square in the eyes. “You’re standing out here just to look? You’re soaked through.” “So are you,” I countered. He tipped his head, like he wasn’t used to being challenged, and I thought I saw the glimmer of a smile before he hid it. He bent his head to mine and inhaled sharply, nostrils flaring. I swore I heard him growl. His eyes widened like he was just as surprised by the sound as I was. He swore, but it got caught on the wind. “Um… you’re staring,” I said finally, when he didn’t look away. I didn’t even think he blinked. “Yeah.” Yeah? That was it? Were we having a moment? Yes, I was definitely having a moment with a gorgeous manly-man stranger whose hands were still on me. I couldn’t wait to tell Audrey. I licked my lips, and I watched as his eyes followed the movement. He took another deep breath and growled again. He wasn’t in a rush now to get me out of the rain. In fact… “Um, you’re still holding me.” His fingers tightened fractionally on my waist, the heat of his touch almost searing. He wasn’t letting go. “I don’t want you disappearing.” I frowned. “Well, I’m not going that way,” I replied, with a tip of my head toward the rushing water. “Can you… um...” Whatever I was going to say fled when his thumbs began to slide back and forth over my wet shirt. It was as if he was touching my bare skin. Heat flared. Need. A jolt of thrill. Of longing. Of… zing. I broke the stare and looked him over. This close, he was huge. Broad, thickly muscled. I was in the middle of nowhere with a guy who could be the Incredible Hulk’s brother. I should be afraid he might turn green and rip me limb from limb, but I wasn’t. His intensity was insane. This close, I couldn’t miss how dark his eyes were, with little flecks of lighter brown in them. All that chemistry I’d been thinking I’d never find? Wow. It was all right here. In his gaze. His touch. His very being. It was as if the lightning in the sky was coming off of us, the electricity and connection that powerful. I was surprised we didn’t sizzle. Yeah, I’d been reading too many of the romance novels Audrey had recommended. Maybe her whirlwind love affair with her rodeo cowboy had me yearning for my own adventures of the heart—or just the flesh. I’d just assumed I’d never feel… the heat from a guy. Crave a guy’s touch. What his mouth and fingers could do. His c**k, God. How he might thrust his hips and take me hard. This guy? I doubted he did sweet. I barely noticed the rain hitting my face. I only felt his hands. Saw his deep stare. Heard his rough breath. He was just as affected by me as I was by him. “Out of the whole world, I find you here.” I frowned again. “What?” When he didn’t reply, I asked, “Are you going to let me go?” Slowly, he shook his head. “Um… okay, well, I don’t even know your name.” “Colton Wolf.” My mouth fell open. This guy was Colton Wolf? Holy s**t. There couldn’t be two guys with that name in the middle of nowhere Montana, on a road headed toward Cooper Valley and Wolf Ranch. Audrey had told me about Boyd’s brothers in one of our many gabfests. One lived on the ranch. Rob. The other was a Green Beret stationed on the east coast somewhere. Colton. He wasn’t on the east coast now. I had the insta-hots for my soon-to-be brother-in-law’s brother. I exhaled, relieved. I wasn’t lusting after a total stranger because not only was it dangerous and creepy, but Audrey’d kill me. She was fine with me having a one-night stand, but I didn’t think she meant pick up a guy on the side of a deserted road and f**k him until I forgot my name. Regardless, I didn’t want to climb a random man like a dang tree, no matter how hot he was. No, I wanted to climb Colton Wolf. And there was a lot to climb. I’d complained to God in the car just a little while ago. Maybe the raging creek was fate. Destiny. Maybe I wasn’t supposed to get to Wolf Ranch tonight. Maybe I was supposed to be in this guy’s arms. It seemed my bad luck had changed. Yet we were still standing here in the rain, and he didn’t seem like he had any intention of moving. I noticed he didn’t ask my name. I cleared my throat. “You’re right, we should get out of the rain.” Another slice of lightning, then thunder rumbled. He didn’t even blink. “Colton?” His gaze had dropped to the side of my neck, and he was looking at me as if I were a buffet and he hadn’t eaten in a week. That was good, right? I wanted a guy to look at me like that. I wanted someone ravenous for me. Especially since I was that way in return. But this was Colton Wolf. I knew of him, and I had to assume if he was driving to his family ranch too, he was returning for the wedding. That meant I had to assume he knew of me. Or at least knew that Audrey had a sister. Crap. I was going to be a pseudo-little sister. I was far from related, but still, he’d already called me little girl. Would he have some kind of rule about not screwing the little sister? Yeah, I was thinking about having s*x with him. By the look on his face, he wasn’t interested in a make-out session. He probably wouldn’t want me if he knew who I was. Military guys sometimes got twisted up with honor and bro-codes. I wasn’t a bro, and while I had honor, I also had hormones that made me want this guy and only this guy. Tonight. It had to be tonight. Once we got to the ranch, and he knew who I was, everything would change. “Don’t you want to know my name?” His eyes met mine. “It doesn’t matter.” “It doesn’t—” Okay, maybe he wanted a one-night stand after all. This could work. This could totally work. One night with the badass Green Beret. He was big, so I had to assume he was proportional… everywhere. My p***y clenched at the possibility. Running a hand over his face, he wiped the rain away, at least for a second. It looked like he had a scar through his eyebrow. There was a slice of dark hair missing, but I didn’t see a healed wound. The wind kicked up, the gale pushing me forward and closer to him. He breathed deep, and I watched as his nostrils flared again. Every line of his body tensed, and his hand still on my hip tightened more. His eyes seemed to glow in the headlights. He looked… wild. Lightning lit up his features in stark contrast, and I counted. One, one thousand. Two, one thousand. Boom. I shot forward into his arms. Okay, I needed to move this along. He seemed to be fine staring at me, holding me to him and… oddly enough, breathing me in. But damn, his strong arms felt good wrapped around me. Where I was cold, he was warm. “Easy,” he murmured right by my ear. “You’re safe with me. I promise.” My heart skipped a beat, then practically pounded out of my chest as I listened to him take another deep breath. “I know.” I lifted my face and beamed up at him. “f**k me,” he muttered. Did he say f**k me as in I should f**k him? Yes, please. Slowly, I shook my head. “Um, I think you’re supposed to f**k me.” One dark brow winged up. “What are you saying?” I smirked in the rain at the press of his c**k—his huge, long, thick c**k—press against me. “I think I made it pretty clear.” His gaze roved over my face again, as if memorizing it. “Little girl, you are pure damage.” I dragged my lower lip through my teeth. My small breasts pressed up against his ribs, my hands were on his rock-hard abs. “The creek won’t go down for hours after the storm’s blown through,” he explained. “There’s a motel in the last town.” Dark, tawdry thoughts instantly filled my head. His hands moved to my shoulders, but his gaze dropped to my breasts again, like he was thinking about cupping them. If he did, he’d find out they were small, only an A-cup, but my n*****s were hard enough to cut glass. I had to hope I was enough for a brawny guy like him. I might be small, but I wouldn’t break, and while I hadn’t had tons of s*x—okay, barely any—I had pretty naughty thoughts. Suddenly, I wasn’t cold. His scent caught on the wind. Soap or something spicy, but beneath it… man. “You need to get out of those wet clothes,” he almost snarled. So do you, my friend. Would he help me undress? Lift my long-sleeved t-shirt over my head? Would he work my leggings down over my hips taking my thong with it? Would he pat every inch of my skin dry with a towel, or would it evaporate away when he kissed me? The road in front of us was impassable. We’d spend the night in the motel he mentioned, but if I had my way, we wouldn’t do much sleeping.