*
Sam caught hiswife as she tried to sprint past him. When she’d seen the boat bearing down on Lakyn, Jen had shed her life jacket like the trained operator she was and bailed off her tube. She’d been close enough to the shore, she’d literally hit the ground running heading to the small shed here the Wests stored the team’s small helicopter.
“Where do you think you’re going?” Sam growled the question but didn’t expect her to answer—hell, they both knew exactly what she planned to do, and the last thing he needed was Jen going off half-cocked without back-up.
His earpiece crackled to life and his brother chuckled, “Let her go, I’m already doing the pre-flight checks. Can’t say I’ve ever had a co-pilot wearing a polka-dot bikini before,but I’m not going to complain.”
Christ, just what he needed, his horny brother and their wild-child wife locked together in a glass bubble a thousand feet above the ground.
Threading his hands through her wet hair, Sam crushed his lips against hers in a heated kiss before pulling back. “Be careful.” He gave mostly bare ass a swat, the wet skin giving a satisfying pop against his palm, beforehe watched her run the short distance to where Sage waited. Sending up a silent prayer of thanks to whoever invented thong swimsuits, Sam turned to see Tobi trying to sneak by him on her way to the jet skis tied at the far side of the dock.
“Freeze, Tobi.” Jesus, Joseph, and Mary, what was with the subs today? Was it some sort of special full moon or something?Damn.
A cart holding several teammembers skidded to a stop at the end of the dock. Juan and Trac ran for the jet skis as they pulled the tabs on their self-inflating tactical vests. By the time they’d untied the jet skis, Sage and Jen were lifting off. The roar of the watercraft engines sounded over the whoop-whoop of the helicopter’s rotor, and Sam looked over to see both Del and Dean West sheltering Lilly from the noise. Ina flash of insight, Sam saw his future. Jen would always want to be right in the thick of things, and no matter how old he and Sage were, they’d always protect her. Just as Lilly stood between Dean and Del, they’d keep Jen between them because that was exactly where she belonged.Christ, didn’t Dean say Del was with Kodi?Both Kodi and Kameron West were brilliant children, but Kodi was hell onwheels, just like her mother. Sam hoped like hell she hadn’t followed her grandfather to the river—I need a fucking raise.
Tobi stood on the river bank, glaring his way with her arms crossed over her chest, emphasizing the cleavage so prominently displayed.
“Hell, one deep breath and she’s going to come out of that top.” Kent’s amused voice sounded from beside him, and Sam had to agree. “Ifwe weren’t in the middle of a—well, never mind. Let’s get Lakyn back, then I’m going to torture my sub until she admits why her breasts have grown, and she was drinking virgin margaritas the other night.”
Sam couldn’t hold back his laughter because it was a running joke that only at Prairie Winds was pregnancy contagious.
*
Cameron Barnes lookeddown at the lusciousbare ass peaked perfectly over his lap and smiled. His sub was vibrating with need, and she still had several swats to go. The sass she’d given him before the last of the construction crew left had earned her a spanking he was more than happy to provide. Just as he raised his hand to finish the last series of swats, his phone’s emergency alarm sounded.Fucking hell.
“Up you go, Pet.” He handedher off to her other Master and pulled his phone out, answering it with one word, “Barnes.” Micah Drake’s clipped words sent Cam running out the back door as he shouted instructions over his shoulder to Carl. Hell, they hadn’t even finished moving in, and their neighbors were already causing trouble.
Laughing to himself, Cam easily found the woman half of the Prairie Winds team was currentlysearching for. Lakyn Hick’s entire body was covered in mud, grass, and sand. If the scowl on her pretty face was any indication, Cam bet she had sand in a few places it didn’t belong as well.
“Hello, beautiful. Nice of you to drop by.” He smiled down at her and chuckled when she blinked up at him in confusion. “Wondering how I got here before anyone else, Lakyn?”
“Not really. I learned a longtime ago CIA agents have some sort of built-in trouble detector… well, Cooper’susuallyworks… not so much lately.” Cam was shocked by her admission since they’d all doubted she knew who her brother worked for. When he didn’t respond right away, she didn’t bother to elaborate and simply held up her hand in a silent request for help to her feet.
Shaking his head, he knelt beside her. “No, youstay right where you are until the Calvary arrives.” She started brushing the debris from her arms and legs, wincing when she encountered a sharp piece of reed stuck in her thigh. “I’m going to play the security footage back to see how you managed to keep your face perfectly clean and uninjured when the rest of you looks like you rode a tube through a jungle before being rolled in mud and sand.”
“Years of training.” For just a second, Cam caught a glimpse of the vulnerable woman beneath the star persona and hoped Juan and Trac were up to the task of convincing Lakyn the world would benefit from her intelligence even more than it had from her pretty face.
“How long have you known about Cooper?” He could hear the whirl of the helicopter and the high-pitched whine of the jet skis as theyclosed in.
“You mean how long have I known he wasn’t a SEAL anymore? Or how long have I known he’d been recruited by the Agency?” Sighing, she shook her head. “I swear to all things holy, I hope to hell I don’t look as dim as everyone assumes I am. It’s just plain insulting.” Cam leaned his head back and laughed.
“Beautiful, you are going to fit right in at Prairie Winds.” Hovering over her,Cam blocked the flying sand as Sage set the chopper down. He’d read her file and knew she was as smart as she was gorgeous, but files rarely give you a sense of a subject’s personality, and Cam was happy to see she would fit in so well with the other submissives. His own sub was going to be taking a lot more time off in the near future, so she’d have ample opportunity to spend time with the othersubmissives at Prairie Winds. He knew she’d missed having friends while they’d lived in St. Maarten, and that had played a large part in his and Carl’s decision to move their family back to Texas.
“What is it with Texas and blowing sand?” He’d barely heard her question as pandemonium broke out around them. Juan and Trac were at her side within seconds, and Cam happily turned her over to them.He’d heard the story of how the men had found her on the edge of the road and chuckled to himself at her frustration with the wind and blowing dirt in Texas.Just wait until the first time she gets run over by a tumbleweed stampede.