Breaking Free: A Colorado High Country Crossover Novel, Pamela Clare [i can read book club .TXT] 📗

time when she came, he climaxed with her, the two of them falling together into paradise.

In a post-orgasmic daze, Jason held Winona, her head resting on his chest, her hair spilling around them, her taste still on his tongue.

Leaving her won’t be easy.

It was true. He knew it. But damned if he could regret a moment he’d spent with her, least of all having sex with her.

Winona Belcourt blew his mind. Something about her was so down-to-earth, so very … real.

She raised her head, kissed one of his nipples, smiled at him. “Will you believe me if I say I’ve never enjoyed receiving oral sex?”

He stared at her, sure she must be joking. “You’re serious.”

She nodded. “Until tonight, I wondered what the big deal was. Now I know.”

Jason couldn’t keep the stupid grin off his face. “It’s all in the lips.”

Don’t let it go to your head, cabrón. After this week, it will be other men giving her that pleasure.

Maybe he could stay a little longer. He didn’t have to be back in Sells until his hearing.

Do you hear yourself, man?

Lima Charlie—loud and clear.

He forced that train of thought from his mind. “What else haven’t you enjoyed—in bed, I mean.”

She considered his question. “Sex from behind. I don’t get anything from it. I need to watch TV or read a book so I don’t get bored.”

That made him laugh. “That bad? Challenge accepted. Anything else?”

“I guess that’s it—but there are a lot of things I haven’t tried. Most of them I don’t want to try.”

This was intriguing.

“What haven’t you done that you want to do?”

Her eyes went wide for a moment. “Well, I…”

He kissed the tip of her nose. “Hey, don’t be embarrassed.”

Still, she hesitated. “I … I like it when you get a little rough.”

He’d noticed that. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

Because he couldn’t yet get it up again, he changed the subject. “I cased out your house and the clinic this afternoon while you were working, and there’s a lot you could do to improve security. Nate gave me a card of a company he recommends. If it’s okay with you, I can give them a call tomorrow.”

Her smile faded. “I’m not sure I can afford it.”

He chuckled. “Jack and Nate can. They want to help. I’m sure they’d be willing to cover the entire cost.”

“That doesn’t seem right. It’s not their problem.”

“Why not? Their steers weren’t your problem. They’ve got the money, and you helped them.”

She brushed that off. “The bad guy is in the hospital. He’ll be going back to prison. He’s not a danger to me now.”

Jason tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “I know it scares you to be there, especially when you’re alone. I know you have nightmares. It’s okay to want to feel safe, and it’s okay to let people help you.”

“You probably think I’m a wimp.”

The anguish in her eyes cut him. “No, I don’t. You don’t have to be brave all the time, Win. You don’t have to carry the weight of this. Chaska, your grandfather, Jack, Nate, me—we want to help you. Let us. I’ll stay to make sure the work gets done and gets done right.”

“Wasn’t the plan for you to spend time with Zach and then to go see the sights and camp? Helping to put in my security system can’t be what you hoped for when you set off on this vacation.”

“You want to get rid of me?” It was a joke.

She didn’t take it that way. “No! No, hardly that. I just don’t want you using your hard-earned time off dealing with my stupid problems.”

“Hey, now. Your problems aren’t stupid.” Tell her. “This isn’t a vacation. I’m on unpaid administrative leave.”

“You’re … what?”

He sat up, moved to the edge of the bed, rubbed his face with his hands. “I’ve got a disciplinary hearing when I get back.”

She sat up behind him, her hand sliding up his back. “What happened?”

He told her about Ren and the ambush and how he’d chased that son of a bitch across the border. “He turned, raised his weapon, and I fired. The next thing I knew, there were a dozen Mexican agents. They frisked me at gunpoint, cuffed me, took my weapons, badge, and ID.”

“How scary.”

“The rest of the Wolves showed up, and eventually, they released me. But they filed a complaint.”

“I don’t understand. You’re O’odham and a dual citizen. That’s your people’s land. You have a right to be there.”

“Not as a member of a Border Patrol unit.”

She rested her cheek on his shoulder, one lush breast brushing his arm. “What do you think will happen?”

“I don’t know.” Jason had done a little digging, and there’d never been a case like his. “I might lose my job. I might find myself at a desk. I might get a slap on the wrist.”

“How do you want it to end?”

No one had asked him that.

“I’ve spent my entire adult life working as a Shadow Wolf. I don’t know who I’d be without the uniform.”

She kissed his shoulder, her hand caressing his bicep. “You’ll be the man you are right now—the man who helped rebuild a summer camp for kids, who helped strangers track a poacher, and who wants to help some random woman with a security system.”

That last part made him smile.

He turned, caught her in his arms, and pushed her back onto the bed. “Hey, your taste is still in my mouth. There’s nothing random about you.”

Then he kissed her.

Winona woke first, the scent of Jason’s skin tickling her from sleep. He lay on his back, one arm bent above his head, the other around her shoulders, her cheek against his chest. The covers had slipped down, leaving them both exposed from the waist up, his chest and belly bared to her gaze, his breathing deep and slow.

She’d met him last Saturday, and it was only Thursday—and he’d already come to mean so much to her.

He’s leaving soon. You might not see him again.

The