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Out of habit, Logan tilted his head back and sniffed, testing the air. The hot, dry, alkaline scent of the desert formed a backdrop for the more prominent odors of living things—greasewood and sagebrush, alpha and omega… andwolf.
It was less than an hour since they’d broken camp and set out on horseback, but already the landscape was frying beneath the pitiless glare of the sun. In the middle distance, tall saguaro cactuses danced in the shimmering heat, and farther off, the ridge of mountains toward which they were riding seemed to hover above the earth like a floating continent. As long as they kept up their current pace, they would reach the invisible foot of those mountains just before nightfall.
Logan twisted in his saddle and looked back at his companions. Shannon was there, her dusty cowboy hat pulled low to shield her eyes from the sun. Tanner was riding alongside her, leading the late Mr. Blaylocke’s horse by the reins.
Rufus was farther off, loping along on all fours.
They’d briefly discussed the possibility of letting Rufus ride the extra horse, but they’d quickly discarded that idea as impractical. Neither Logan nor Tanner had any clothing that would fit the wolfman’s slightly larger frame, which meant he would have had to ride naked, and that would have been uncomfortable for him, and distracting for the omega.
Besides, Logan got the impression that Rufus favored his wolf form, and he seemed perfectly happy trotting along on four legs, his pink tongue lolling out in the heat as his pointed ears scanned the desert for trouble. He was keeping his distance so’s not to startle the horses, but the horses already seemed to be learning that the giant predator posed no threat to them.
As for Logan himself, he was actually starting to like the stupid wolf.
He hadn’t liked him at first—not at all—but something had changed during the long night of sharing the omega. A bond had formed, not just between alpha and omega, but between the three males themselves. Logan’s connection with Tanner was already ironclad, but today felt as if it had grown even stronger. And even more surprisingly, he no longer viewed Rufus as a dangerous outsider, but as a comrade. They were united by the common purpose of protecting the omega, and Logan had seen firsthand how viciously the wolf would defend her if necessary.
He had a feeling they might have to call upon that viciousness again before the journey was over. With a small army of ill-intentioned cowboys on their tail, he and Tanner could use all the help they could get defending the omega.
To say nothing of satisfying her nearly insatiable needs.
Logan couldn’t help stealing another glance at Shannon. She was looking especially gorgeous today. Her shirt, the same one Tanner had ripped open last night, was tied instead of buttoned, exposing her bare midriff, which was tanned and glowing with perspiration. Logan couldn’t help thinking about how good her skin tasted, and how much fun it would be to kiss her smooth stomach, slowly working his way downward to that even more delicious treat that lay nestled between her soft thighs. The memory of her flavor on his tongue instantly turned his cock to stone inside his britches.
Damn, maybe the omega wasn’t the only one who was insatiable.
A double flash of turquoise from beneath the brim of her hat let Logan know she was looking back at him. Even though her face was mostly hidden in shadow, Logan could still see the flush of heat that pinked her cheeks, followed by the mischievous white sliver of a smile.
Perhaps she was remembering the wayhetasted, Logan thought. She’d sampled him several times during the night—and not just him alone, but Tanner and Rufus too. His cock throbbed at the memory of the various ways they had shared her body.
Logan returned Shannon’s naughty smile. Then he quickly turned his eyes forward again before he did something foolish.
There would be plenty of time for foolishness come nightfall.
The omega’s heat wasn’t over. Not by a long shot. It was just lying dormant, waiting till dark so it could come roaring out of her again. This wasn’t something Logan knew from experience. He’d bedded his share of betas in his day, but he’d never been with an omega before Shannon. Still, something in her scent told him everything he needed to know about her, and right now, that scent was telling him he’d better conserve his energy, because tonight’s mating would be even more exhausting than the last.
Logan was looking forward to it.
Now was not the time to be thinking about such things. They still had a long, hot day of riding ahead of them, and although this basin was safer than yesterday’s canyon, they still needed to be vigilant. There were plenty of dangerous creatures lurking in the desert.
Still, no matter how hard Logan tried to focus, his mind kept returning like an obsession to the omega. He couldn’t stop thinking about how beautiful that smooth, tanned belly of hers looked.
And how much more beautiful it would look with his baby inside it.
Damn!
Two days ago, Logan had thought Tanner had lost his mind to go chasing after the woman. Now herehewas daydreaming about knocking her up.
It was an unfamiliar desire, and it was a little frightening too. Logan had never pictured raising a family. All he’d ever wanted was to live the free life of a drifter, seeing the country and getting by from day to day until he finally crossed paths with someone who was a better shot than him.
Still, if there was ever a woman who could make a man like him consider settling down…
Something on the horizon broke Logan from his trance. He brought his horse to a stop, and a moment later, the others stopped alongside him.
“What’s up?” Tanner asked.
Logan pointed. “Dust cloud.”
“Maybe it’s just a dust devil?” Shannon said hopefully.
Nearby, the wolf whined. His ears were up and so were his hackles. He’d heard what Logan already suspected.
