Mary Wine by Dream Specter Page B

secure their “problems” ‘til tomorrow.
    The mountain was equipped with a wide range of buildings; unfortunately, a cell wasn’t one of them. There had never been a prisoner held here. The function of his unit was protection and deployment.
    Well, they had two prisoners now.
    Shane had his hands full with the blonde and that suited Jared just fine. He wasn’t in the mood to share his problem. She had started this and he intended to see it finished.
    Her bonds came loose with far less effort this time. Whatever was wrapped over her wrists allowed Roshelle to slide the entire bundle down and off her hands. Moving her arms in front of her she simply took a moment to rub the ache from them. Too many hours of cramped positions made her grateful for the reprieve. It was just too bad that she didn’t have any faith in it lasting very long.
    Pushing herself up she forced her eyes to investigate her newest surroundings. Lying in this truck bed while she nursed her injuries wasn’t going to accomplish very much, except to ensure that she was still there when her captors got around to looking for her again.
    They had taken her up into the forest. Benton County was comprised of almost all forest, but there were distinct elevation clues that would tell you if you had made it to the true mountains. Even through the darkness she noticed the upturned needles of the trees in front of her. Instead of pine, they were fir trees.
    No one seemed to be in sight. Roshelle moved closer to the edge of the tailgate as she searched the area. Three other trucks were parked just thirty feet from the one she sat in. They were lined up with precise care, with exactly three feet between them.
    The house behind the vehicles seemed to hold the men that had disembarked from them. Light spilled from its windows as bits of conversation drifted on the night breeze. Christina’s voice reached her ears even if the exact words were muffled.
    Relief flooded her body. Something else followed on the heels of that emotion. The discomforts of her body were interfering with an exact identification of just what she was feeling.
    Lifting her head, Roshelle moved her eyes slowly about the dark. He was here. She had not been left alone. Instead she was being carefully observed.
    Her tolerance ended abruptly. She was sick of being the prey. Pushing herself to her feet, she forced her mind to tell her where he was. She had found him before. As it appeared that she was stuck with these feelings, she might as well exercise them.
    “You can stop hiding in the dark, because you’re not scaring me.”
    Maybe tossing out a challenge wasn’t the wisest thing she could do in her current situation but the waiting was simply unbearable.
    It was fortunate that she had found his direction because his feet didn’t make a sound as he melted from the darkness. His body bled from the night almost like a ghost. Light washed over the hard cut of his face. Solid muscle covered a frame that dwarfed her own. Her feet shifted as he came closer to loom over her.
    “I think I am scaring you. Tomorrow I promise you I will.”
    Jared ground his teeth together as he raked his eyes over her innocent-looking face. That need to protect her fragile-looking body crept up and he clenched his fingers into fists.
    No woman was worth dying for…not even this one. But damn it all to hell. Why? Roshelle was a local and Jared found his stomach turning as he considered the best method of breaking her.
    “Who are you?” Her voice was whisper-soft as she stared at him. Jared pressed his lips into a tight line before wrapping his hand around her arm.
    “I’m your worst nightmare.”
    And she was his. His body throbbed with unsatisfied desire as he concocted the best way to interrogate her. Jared ground his teeth together as he resigned himself to disappointment. His body didn’t care. His staff was hard with need as he hauled her into his house. Passing up the master bedroom took every last scrap of