Chapter 11

Three more shots spit up dirt beside his feet, not that he could hear them over the blare of the siren. Cyrus ran for the trailer and slammed his back against it just as Mike made it to the opposite side of the doorway.

Glancing down the length of the long trailer, he saw the slender barrel of a rifle poking six inches out of a window. He signaled to Mike to stay by the door and slid his back along the trailer, making his way to the window. Before he reached it, he saw a hand stick out of the window, holding a small mirror. The mirror turned, and he met the startled gaze of Wilma Bassett in the glass.

"Wilma, what the fuck are you doing?" he shouted over the incessant alarm.

The siren shut off, and Cyrus shook his head because of the ringing in his ears.

"I'm protecting myself from strangers, asshole," she said in a surprisingly raspy voice like she'd smoked two packs a day for thirty years. "How the hell do you know my name?"

"I'm a bounty hunter, and I'm here to bring you in."

"Like hell you are."

"Oh, I'm serious, ma'am," he said. "I'd recommend you put down your weapon and come outside of your own free will. I know you don't want extra charges added to those you're already facing. So far, no one here's been hurt, so I won't add attempted murder."

"No one's been hurt because I hit where I aim, and I wasn't aimin' to hit you—I was just givin' you fair warning. I'm not goin' anywhere with you. You can just go back to wherever you came from."

"Ma'am, that's not how this works. And if you don't open the door, we're coming in after you—and it won't be pleasant."

"Try it," she barked. "The front door's boobytrapped."

He rolled his eyes because he didn't believe her. "With what?"

"If you try to come in, you'll find out."

He aimed a fierce frown into the mirror. She scowled right back.

"Hey, Mace," he said, without turning away.

"Yes, Cyrus?" Mace said in his ear.

"How about you come around front with your attack dog? He can be the first in the door."

Wilma's eyebrows rose.

Suddenly, a deep, hoarse barking started, sounding like a hellhound had been unleashed in the clearing. Wilma's hand holding the mirror retreated.

"Ma'am," he called out. "Wilma? You gonna open that door and surrender yourself?"

The rifle barrel withdrew, and Cyrus slid back toward the door. A few moments later, the snick of a lock turning sounded. The door opened an inch or two. "I'm coming out. Keep that dog away from me!"

Holding up his weapon, he stood back while Mike kept snug against the trailer wall. "Wilma Bassett, step outside with your hands up."

As the door slowly opened wide, a tiny woman with foam rollers in her hair stepped out onto the metal stairs, raising her hands shoulder-high.

Mike holstered his weapon and held out his hand.

With a sneer, she took his hand and let him lead her down the steps.

Once she was on the ground, Cyrus holstered his gun and stepped in front of her, holding up a set of handcuffs.

Her eyes widened, but then her chin lifted upward. "Go ahead and take me to jail. I won't be there long. They'll want to know where their money is."

He turned her with a gentle hand on her shoulders and quickly placed the cuffs on her wrists. "You figure they'll be willing to drop charges if you return the money?"

"They'll let me keep some of it. I know their secrets, too."

Mike snorted and pressed his lips into a thin line.

"So, Wilma," Cyrus said, leading her toward his Sequoia with a hand on the chain between the cuffs, "why did you let this go this far if you had no intention of leaving the U.S. with all that cash?"

"Huh. They thought I was a sweet old lady. They thought they could talk me into retiring before I earned my full pension. I heard 'em plottin' it. Even my two boys were in on it. I just smiled and acted all innocent, like I hadn't heard a thing, and then it only took a couple of clicks on my computer, and I cleaned them out. I called in sick the next day, and they still didn't know. Dumb asses. Now, I'll fund my full retirement, and they'll think themselves lucky they got some of the money back."

When they reached the vehicle and placed her in the back, Mike leaned inside. "Wilma, what do you want me to do about the truck and your trailer?"

"Keys are on the kitchen counter. Turn off the generator and just lock everything up. It was time for me to move it anyway. Shitter needs cleanin' out."

Mike blinked and backed away.

Cyrus shut the door on her and walked back to Mace and Malcolm, who stood grinning.

Mace was shaking his head. "To look at her, you'd think she was completely harmless."

"Shitter needs cleaning out," Malcolm said, then chuckled. "Damn, I love this job."

The following day, Milly left work, eager to get home and into a shower. After a day spent walking through the fumes from the geysers, she was ready to shed the Eau de Rotten Eggs that permeated her clothing and clung to her skin and hair.

When she arrived home, a note was pinned to the refrigerator. "Gone to Buffalo Wild Wings to hang with friends. Don't do anything I wouldn't do."

She shook her head. Since "the incident," Jake had given her subtle jabs—not to be mean, but because he loved embarrassing her. His jab today only reminded her that she had another long, lonely evening in front of her with Cyrus still out of town.

She hadn't heard from him the previous evening, but she hadn't really expected him to keep her updated on his day-to-day. They weren't there yet. Maybe they never would be, but she did like thinking about the possibility that, one day, he'd think about her as often as she thought about him—and at the most inappropriate times.

Cecily had caught her daydreaming in front of the Grand Prismatic Spring, staring at the rainbows in the steam rising from the colorful hot springs. "Man, you've got it bad. Is he that good in bed?"

Alarmed, she'd shushed her, but there hadn't been anyone around to hear her teasing. When she turned her gaze back to Cecily, she leaned closer. "As a matter of fact, yes."

Cecily grinned. "It's nice when you get a man who knows what to do with his…equipment."

For once, Milly felt like she was "in the know," having savored Cyrus's "equipment" several times that one magical night. "If you must know, yes, I was thinking about him. He's still out of town. We made plans for when he gets back."

"Good for you. Now, if he has a friend…"

Milly laughed. "Yeah, I'll be sure to mention I have a sex-starved friend at the park who'd really like some bounty hunter—"

"Don't you dare." This time, Cecily blushed.

Milly glanced around them. "It's something, isn't it? I love my job, but I never thought I'd get bored of the view."

"I think it's the smell," she said, wrinkling her nose. "You spend all day inhaling that stuff, and everything seems…unsavory. I can't wait to get home and strip in front of the washing machine."

"I'm right there with you."

"Well, I better move along," Cecily said. "Caught a pair of college students earlier who were trying to get to a pool for some sexy alone time. Had to chase them back to the walkway."

Milly gave her a little wave and continued on her way. She'd spent most of the day answering tourists' questions and simply being "present" as a precaution. Most visitors were respectful of the park and understood the unique features could be dangerous if they didn't follow the rules. She hadn't had to shoo people back onto the walkways.

Later that day, at home, she smiled as she stripped in front of the washing machine and headed naked to her bathroom for a shower. She scrubbed and then stood under the spray, breathing in the scent of roses to cleanse her nostrils of the eggy sulfur smell.

When she turned off the faucet, she heard the chime of the front doorbell, wrapped her hair in a towel, and pulled on her robe. The door chimed again, and she called out, "All right already. I'm coming!"

She opened the door and then sucked in a deep breath. Cyrus stood there, tall and solid, and looking so handsome her ovaries cramped. His gaze ran up and down her body, and then he stepped forward, crowding her back from the doorway and stepping through it, his foot kicking closed the door behind him as he reached to open her robe and slide his hands around her and down to grab her ass.

When he gripped her bottom, she gave a little hop, wrapped her legs around him, and kissed him hard as he walked through the house and straight back to her bedroom.

When he crawled onto her mattress, with her still attached to his body, she didn't mind at all as he fumbled to unzip and push down his pants just far enough to get his cock out. Then he sank his forehead against hers. "Condom," he said, his voice hoarse.

She reached to the side and pulled out the top drawer of her bedside table to retrieve the brand-new box she'd bought. He watched as she ripped off the top of the carton, pulled out a plastic packet, and quickly opened it. So, she was a little clumsy getting it rolled down his shaft, but this was another first, and he'd said he wanted them all.

Then he was sliding inside her, pushing all the way until he was fully seated and let out a huge sigh. His body came down over hers, squeezing the breath out of her, but she didn't care. She was too happy to have his warm, hard body beneath her hands, his mouth devouring hers.

He lifted his head. "Hello."

"Hello there, yourself," she said. "We've got the pleasantries out of the way. Now, fuck me."

"Damn, I missed you," he rasped.

"I could think of little else but this the entire time you were gone," she said. "You've ruined me."

He laughed and spread his knees, then cupped her bottom with one hand and lifted her while he braced on one hand and began thrusting hard inside her. "This okay with you?" he asked in a tight voice.

She let her arms fall to the bed and her eyelids close halfway as she savored the feel of him pressing against her inner walls, so thick and long. "Better than okay. Don't stop…and if you could go a little faster…"

He let loose a growl and rose to kneel between her legs, maintaining their connection. Then, hooking his arms under her knees, he thrust forward while pulling her toward him, then pushed her away when he withdrew. He pounded into her, heating her channel, causing her breaths to gust noisily. Her head thrashed side to side as he increased the speed of his pistoning hips. Every time he fucked her, it felt new—like there were a thousand ways to find their pleasure, and he was trying to introduce her to every single one.

"Touch yourself," he gritted out.

She blinked open her eyes and stared up at him.

"Do it. Touch your clit."

Though she knew her face was reddening because he was watching her so intently, she put two fingers in her mouth to wet them, then lowered her hand toward her pussy. It was stretched around him, the lips pulled tight. Her clitoris was straining already, nearly escaping its hood. With her other hand pulling up the skin to free it, she touched her wet fingers to the tender knot and gasped.

His strokes became shorter and faster as she rubbed her clit, then smoothed her fingers in slow circles over the swollen bud, swirling and swirling while heat built inside her. His thrusts had her widening her thighs and straining her hips upward. "I'm close," she whispered. "Can't wait…"

"Don't have to. I'm there, baby," he said, his voice now hoarse and straining.

He stroked her in short, staccato bursts, and her back arched off the bed. She cried shrilly and closed her eyes as she soared.

When she came back to herself, she lay on his chest, her legs spread over his hips, their bodies still connected. She felt his cock pulse slowly inside her and contracted her inner muscles around him to give him a squeeze.

"Felt that," he rasped.

"Just realized I could do that."

He chuckled and clapped his hands on her buttocks to rock her against him. "Damn, I could go for round two. Is your brother going to interrupt us any time soon?"

"No, he's out with the boys, I think. Left me a note."

Cyrus rocked her forward and back again. "I'm gonna take some time off next week to do some house hunting."

"You are?" she murmured, savoring the way he was grinding inside her.

"Mmm-hmm."

"Thought it was convenient living in the lodge," she said, trying to keep her mind on the conversation, but she was more interested in enjoying the roll of her hips against his groin and the rub of her nipples against his chest hair.

"I want someplace we can be and not worry about how much noise we make."

"What?" She blinked and focused on what he'd just said. "I like the sound of that." She smoothed her cheek against his shoulder, thinking about all the possibilities for extended sex.

"If I narrow it down, would you take a look with me?"

"Need a second set of eyes?"

"I need to know you'll like what I pick."

Her heart thudded dully, and she lifted her head to look at his face.

His expression didn't give away much, but his gaze was fierce and never wavered from hers. "I'd love to help you," she said noncommittally like he hadn't just gifted her with something very special. It was still too soon for her to allow herself to read too much into this. "We'll just have to match up our schedules. I do have some vacation I could take if you get serious about your search."

He lifted a hand from her ass and fisted it in her hair to bring her down for a kiss, controlling the depth and length. She found she liked it when he took control. Her nipples hardened, and her pussy clasped around him.

"Not too sore?" he asked when he let go of his grip.

"Not yet," she said, letting a grin stretch.

"I'm feelin' lazy," he said, arching an eyebrow.

"So, you're saying I have to do all the work?" She tsked and shook her head, but pushed up to sit, sliding her calves until they were snug with his body. Then with slow, tentative movements guided by his powerful hands, she rose and fell and let go, her head falling back as she moaned and screwed down and up his stiffened cock.

She hissed when he pinched the tips of her nipples, then gave him a wide-eyed stare. "Do that again."

From there, she might have been the one moving, but it was Cyrus, pinching, plucking, and bucking, who controlled her next unraveling.

She was breathless with pleasure, moaning with nearly every breath.

"So beautiful," he whispered, coming up on his elbows to root at her breasts, which she leaned forward to feed into his mouth.

Finally, she was trembling so hard she had to rest on him. "I can't move. Can't finish."

Cyrus rolled, then withdrew from her body. His hands quickly turned her to her stomach, then lifted her hips and stuffed pillows under her, raising her ass, which had her growing alarmed because now he was kneeling behind her, parting the globes of her ass and bending toward her to lick through her folds.

There was no more modesty to reserve. No place he wasn't going to plunder. When a thumb pressed on her back entrance, she wriggled and gasped, but he only gave a dirty laugh and shifted his body behind her. When his cock prodded her vagina, she sighed and tried to push back, but he gripped the notches of her hips and held her still as he moved in long, decisive glides, in and out of her. This time, deeper than he'd ever penetrated her before.

He bent over her body and kissed her shoulder and then her cheek. "I didn't ask if you'd help me find a place for myself," he whispered. "I want you to like it, too, because I want you to think about moving there with me."

She cupped a hand to his cheek and nodded. She hadn't wanted to rush him by letting her own feelings run away from her, but here he was giving her what she'd secretly wished deep down where she hadn't dared to dream about the possibility. Tears pricked her eyes, but she blinked them away.

"Just wanted you to know," he said, then moved back, one hand back on her hip while the other snuck around her belly, and a rough-tipped finger tapped her clit.

Maybe he was thinking in his man's mind about all the sex they'd have, but she knew he was being drawn closer to her the same way she was to him. They belonged together. Soon enough, he'd realize they were two lonely people falling in love.