Page 51 of Her Guarded Hero

“No,” she wailed.

He licked downwards, igniting flames along her jaw to the pulse of her neck, then he bit. Aurora felt it in her core, moisture flooded the folds of her sex. He let go of her hair, and hoisted her up by her legs, she immediately wrapped them around his waist, grinding herself against his erection. She whined in frustration.

“Not close enough,” she whimpered. She looked frantically around the barn. “Tack room,” she panted.

Dalton nodded. He kept her in his arms as he strode toward the spotless room at the back of the barn. She shivered with anticipation when he kicked the door shut behind them.

“Let me down,” she commanded.

“Nuh-uh. Like you where you are.” Dalton’s big hands squeezed her ass and she thought she might explode.

Aurora let out a sound of complaint when Dalton moved one of his hands. Then she heard a thud as he threw a saddle on the floor. She pointed toward a shelf. “Clean blankets.” He grabbed two and threw them down on top of the saddle, then let her slide down his body, but even then, he kept one arm firmly clamped around her waist.

“Let me,” she struggled to bend down and spread out the blanket.

“Nuh-uh. I’ve got it.” One handed, he grabbed the corner of the blanket and sent it into an arc so that it landed softly over the saddle. He did the same with the second, and they had a spot to lay down.

She saw him frown as he looked down, then he grabbed three more of the horse blankets from the shelf. “I like that you’re anal about cleanliness,” he grinned. She watched as he mounded the blankets into a nest. “There, now it’s soft enough for what I have in mind.”

Aurora squeaked as he picked her up then smoothly laid her down onto the makeshift bed. But as much as she wanted this, needed this even, she had to know that he was in this with her. Mind, body and soul. She cupped his cheeks and when he bent down she pressed kisses to his forehead, his temple, his jaw and finally the tip of his nose. He gifted her with a smile.

“This will bring you happiness?”

“Right now? Sunshine, this means everything to me,” he promised her.

9

Even stuck in a tree, over five months later and thousands of miles away from Aurora, and he still couldn’t get her out of his mind. The first seven hours he had been able to concentrate on the mission, but after that his mind started to wander. Here he was on hour twelve, and blonde hair and brown eyes floated through his brain, even as the weather changed from a category two to a category four hurricane.

His receiver wasn’t working. As the storm had increased in power, his SEAL team’s communication devices had gone to shit. Half the time it was nothing but static. The rain was now hitting Dalton sideways as he clung to the high limb of the Encenillo tree.

Was Aiden signaling him? His second in command was a hundred meters away hidden beneath the jungle floor, but Dalton was almost positive he had seen him hold up a hand, or was it a fist?

Yep, there it was again. He must have gotten some kind of communication from someone else saying that they were going to make a move. It was about damn time. They’d come to Columbia to extricate Angel Restrepo from the jungle drug cartel’s hacienda. That’s what the drug dealer who owned the place, liked to call his fortress. Restrepo was a DEA informant, and if they didn’t get him out in the next twenty-four hours then an entire network of operatives was at risk of being exposed.

Dalton flinched when gunshots sounded in his ear. Was that Wyatt who grunted? Goddammit, he better not have gotten shot. He could hear the pounding of boots, then more gunshots.

“Be ready, we have a fan club,” Gray whispered. That was his, Dex and Aiden’s cue. The team was coming out with their man.

“I can walk,” Wyatt Leeds said loudly.

“Keep it down,” Hunter hissed.

Yep, Wyatt was injured, and Dalton would bet his last dollar that Hunter was carrying him.

Shit, what a cluster.

It had been decided that a four-man team would go in for the rescue.

Dalton knew that Dex was also outside the compound, waiting to pick off anybody trailing the members of Black Dawn if they came out the front entrance. Aiden was covering the side entrance, and Dalton was covering the roof and back.

“Which way are you coming out?” Dalton queried.

“Not sure yet,” Gray answered.

More shots were fired. Dalton hoped they were coming out the back. He knew that being positioned up in the tree gave him the best ability to take out the bogeys.

“Back! We’re coming out the back!” Griffin Porter yelled. It seemed like forever before the back door was flung open, and Griff flew out. He held it open. Hunter had Wyatt over his shoulder in a fireman’s carry. Wait, he wasn’t holding his left leg, that was dangling uselessly.