And yet…the way Tej’s gaze now moved over her in carnal assessment…the manner in which Rhys licked his lips when he regarded her…
“That’s not what it sounded like,” Rhys noted.
They heard her, all right, and what they heard, they liked.
She had a pistol in her hand and a mission to accomplish. All the same, a flush of desire stirred in her, low and fast.
For the love of everything holy, she’d never, never entertained the thought of having someone hear her during sex. But still…did Tej and Rhys get hard when they heard her screams of ecstasy? Did they picture themselves with her? Not just them alone, but all of them, together? A seething, sweaty tangle of flesh—her open in every way to all of them. Not just one cock, but three, and her mouth, and her cunt, and her…arse.
Why the devil did that idea stir her so unbearably? Good God—she had to be deranged, to grow aroused by the notion of more than one bedpartner at a time, in the filthiest positions and postures known to humanity.
Mentally, she shook herself. This wasn’t the time, and these were not the men.
“Both of you, up,” she commanded. “Hands, too.”
Slowly, Rhys and Tej rose, holding up their hands. Jessica kept her pistol trained on them as she strode forward and pulled their weapons from holsters and belts. These she added to Ezra’s firearms in her satchel.
“Get me some rope,” she said to Rhys.
He looked to Ezra, who gave him a slight nod. The sandy-haired man went into the cottage and returned with a length of rope.
“Give it to me,” she commanded.
Rhys did as she bade him, handing her the length of hemp.
“Stand next to each other,” she said.
The three highwaymen did as she asked.
“Hold out your hands.”
When they obeyed, Jessica quickly tucked the pistol into her pocket before wrapping the length of rope around their wrists and knotted them securely. Then, she took up her pistol again.
They seemed awfully compliant. The hairs on the back of her neck prickled, but if they were willing to let her bind them without putting up a fight, she wouldn’t complain. Yet she would remain on alert, in case they attempted anything suspicious.
“Those are good knots,” Ezra observed.
Jessica gave him a grim smile. “My brother was in the navy. He’s a bodyguard now.”
“He taught you well,” Tej said. “What else have you learned?”
“Not to talk to prisoners,” she replied.
Knowing that the men couldn’t get far lashed together, she hurried to the structure they used as a stable and quickly bridled one of the horses. She didn’t bother with a saddle as she swung herself up onto the animal’s back. It whickered slightly, but accepted her as its rider as she quickly rode back to the cottage.
The three highwaymen stood right where she’d left them, waiting calmly as if they were planning to escort her to the shops.
With her pistol pointed at them, she commanded, “Walk.”
“Give us our direction,” Ezra said.
“Back to the Essex road.”
“We won’t make it there until after nightfall,” Tej noted.
“And moonrise,” Rhys added.
“Walk,” Jessica said again. “Stay ten yards ahead of me. And if you do try to escape, I’ll shoot you through the back.”
