of some kind. Was that why he couldn’t quit thinking about her, was so intent on solving the riddle of who she was, where they’d met before? Fuck, probably.
“I’ve known neither of you needed someone to cover your backs since we were teens, but there’s always safety in numbers. Remember that, Dakota. If you’re good here, I’ll ride back in. I have things to do yet today.”
“Any of them have to do with the attractive blonde with the pretty breasts from last night?”
Clayton always did go for blunt questions when poking his nose into his or Dakota’s business.
“Blonde? Was she the one who got under your skin last night?” Dakota asked with a sharp glance toward Shawn.
“No one got under my skin, it’s just Clayton making an ass of himself, again. I’m grilling tonight if either of you wants to join me.” Lifting his hand in a wave, Shawn turned Nevada toward the east and kicked him into a gallop.
There was nothing as exhilarating as tearing across a wide-open range with the wind whipping at your face and your body in tune with your steed’s ground-eating strides. As much as he enjoyed the rigorous ride, Shawn arrived at the stables still debating over what step, if any, to take next with Lisa. On top of finding her attractive, she tempted him as a Dom to explore her submissive side further, and to get to the root of her problem. Her wary, reserved eyes with hints of trouble tugged at his protective instincts and whatever secret she was holding close that demanded investigating. The combination couldn’t have been gift-wrapped and left on his doorstep in a more enticing package, and he figured the only solution was to get to know her better and earn her trust.
He couldn’t rely on random meetings to accomplish that goal in the relatively short time she would be here, and certainly not at the club where emotions and libidos ran so high. Assuming she would agree, Shawn decided to ask her out. As soon as he learned where they’d met before, he was sure his odd obsession would disappear as fast as it came about. It would have to, he determined as he tethered Nevada at a corral rail outside the horse barn. Given she was only in town for a few months, nothing long term could come of whatever relationship he could talk her into.
Satisfied with his decision, and confident of the outcome, he groomed Nevada and turned him out to pasture before hopping in his SUV and returning to his place to see what he had to go with the buffalo burgers.
****
Lisa jerked awake on a gasp, struggling to breathe, her hand on her constricted throat. Heart pounding in terror, she cast a frantic look around the dark room, trying to get her bearings. Another dream, that’s all. That realization was little comfort as she sat up on the side of her bed, still shaking inside and out from the too-real heavy pressure threatening to suffocate her.
Reaching for the lamp next to the bed, she switched it on, wishing like hell the circumstances of why Shawn had whisked her out of that foster home had never resurrected again. Sometime between settling in with her new foster family and getting counseling, she’d effectively blocked most of the fear of that large, foul-breathed man pinning her to the bed, choosing to dwell on the comfort of strong arms and a deep, soothing voice instead. For the first time since her mother never returned home, a stranger had been willing to let her choose a path forward.
That night, with her assailant lying on the floor still way too close, it had been a no-brainer to go with Shawn. She’d lived with the memory of that rescue without fear until the threatening phone calls had started, reviving the terror of being victimized. The first time she went to the club after getting that first scary message, she couldn’t get past the coldness that had invaded her body. No matter how hard or what Master Wade tried, nothing had worked to separate her mind from her body, or to release the block keeping her from responding.
Just like twenty years ago, it was Shawn who had carried her out of the frigid darkness into the warm light. That didn’t mean she wanted him to know who she was, or why she’d come to Mountain Bend. Despite that unreasonable pang when he didn’t remember her, she wasn’t about to let him