as she flew toward an orgasm. As she exploded, her body twisted and thrashed against the bubbles. Her wine goblet, suddenly forgotten on the bathtub rim, fell over and smashed against the bathroom floor with an ear shattering sound, joining the splash of water, her whimpers, and his guttural groans as he came right along with her.
The throes of the orgasm left her weary, and the effects of the wine made her heady. She could feel herself relaxing in the afterglow of sex. The soft scent of bubbles and warm water wrapped around her like a cocoon. Made her feel safe. Safe and sleepy.
Chapter Eight
Logan watched her eyes drift closed. His heart warmed. Something it hadn’t done in years.
Gorgeous woman, very easy to fall for her. Too easy. What would happen to her when they left? She was strong. Could maybe hold out for another couple of seasons. But if something happened to her greenhouse and her food ran out, what would happen to her? What if the weather continued to get colder as scientists predicted? Her greenhouse definitely wouldn’t produce much. Plants and solar panels needed sunshine and warmth. He knew that much about planting even if he was brought up a city kid. What the hell was going to happen to her? He asked himself again, the nice momentary warmth disappearing from his heart. What if-
He stiffened as he heard the soft footsteps in the bedroom.
Uneasiness zipped through him like a torpedo. Had the guys returned? Or was it someone else?
Shit! He’d left his gun out in his jacket on the hanger in the kitchen! The rest were in his saddlebag. Earlier today, when the guys had arrived, he hadn’t noticed the saddlebag around either. Had one of the boys moved it? Dammit! He’d been so enthralled with Teyla, he’d forgotten to be alert. How could he have been so damn stupid?
Logan held his breath, quickly swept the wine bottle from the floor, and readied himself to smash it over the edge of the tub. He’d use the jagged edges as a weapon. A whole hell of a lot good it would be if the intruder had a gun, though.
A floorboard creaked.
He readied himself to stand but realized if he did, the water dripping from his body into the tub would let the intruder know someone was in here. He’d have to wait until he saw someone stepping inside the bathroom.
As if sensing a problem, Teyla’s eyes snapped open. Quickly, he lifted a finger to his mouth to tell her to be quiet. Her eyes darted to toward the slightly open doorway. Back to him again. She shook her head, lifted her hand out of the quickly dissolving bubbles, motioning him to stay put.
Before he could stop her, she rose out of the tub and took a few steps forward.
Any other time, watching her naked, wet, pink flesh caressed here and there with bubbles would have him reaching out, grabbing her and pulling her right back into the bathtub on top of him. That erotic thought died when he heard someone breathing. He knew the sounds of his partners’ breathing well enough to know it wasn’t either of them. A nasty feeling of sickness crawled through his belly at the thought that Cassidy and Spencer might have been taken out.
It wasn’t like them to not give him a warning. Something bad must’ve happened to them. Something real bad.
Logan readied the bottle. He’d crack it now and rush the intruder. As if sensing what he was thinking, Teyla shook her head, grabbed a robe hanging off the hook and put it on. Without another glance at him, she walked out of the bathroom, closing the door firmly behind her. Fuck!
Teyla’s knees literally shook as she closed the door behind her and came face-to-face with the law.
“Linus? I didn’t hear you knock.” She tried to keep the anger out of her voice, but it was hard. Linus McWilliams, the self-appointed sheriff around these parts, was a constant thorn in her side. Not only was he the law, he was also the banker who held the mortgage on her land. She’d never liked the creepy way he looked at her with the palest blue eyes. He wore his blond hair in a short military cut and had a large moustache that curled upwards at the sides. He was a short, plump man with a red face who was always dropping in on her uninvited, pretending to check up on her. But what he really wanted was to have sex with her. She’d told him many times she didn’t service married men. Under any conditions. He’d been pretty much the only man she knew whose wife had survived the Catastrophe. All other couples she’d known had lost their partners.
“I knocked, but you must not have heard,” he replied, but she could read the lie quite clearly in his eyes.
Like hell he’d knocked. She’d been drifting leisurely in the after-sex glow, but she hadn’t been asleep. She’d been enjoying the sounds of Logan’s easy breathing and the way his cock had been swelling once again against her foot, but she hadn’t heard anything aside from the creak on the floor of her bedroom to indicate someone had entered.
“I was bathing,” she explained, casting him a smile she certainly didn’t feel. Inside, she felt cold toward him and couldn’t wait for him to be gone. “I had a customer. You just missed him.”
His smile dropped at the mention of a customer. She knew he’d been chasing her clients away. Had heard the rumors and could tell by the way his eyes blazed that he was angry.
“I’m here on business, actually,” he said tightly. A muscle twitched in his jaw, giving away his tension.
“Oh? And what business is that? Your next payment isn’t due until the end of the month. That’s still a week away.” She wondered if he’d seen the saddlebag Logan had brought into her kitchen. She’d moved it off the table and placed it in the corner behind the table out of the way. If he’d glanced down at the floor behind the table, he would have seen it. Surely, he’d seen Logan’s black leather jacket. She couldn’t remember where he’d left it. And had his two friends left anything of theirs lying around? How was she going to explain that? Like it was his business. She’d tell him that straight out if he asked.
Without waiting for an answer, she walked over to her dresser, grabbed her brush, and started brushing her hair. If he thought it odd she hadn’t washed the top of her hair while she’d been taking a bath, he didn’t mention it. Perhaps it was damp enough from all that splashing around during their foot sex? She tensed as his eyes strayed to the closed bathroom door. Thankfully, though, he didn’t move toward it.
“There was a train robbery over in Parkway,” he said. Parkway was a city south along the quickly crumbling highway going through an area that had once been called Banff National Park. City and town names used before the Catastrophe were being changed as survivors took over. There were so many changes, she hadn’t bothered to keep track any longer.
“Oh? So that’s the one that’s thirty or so miles north of here?”
“Thirty-five miles south, actually.”
“Anyone hurt?” she asked as she kept brushing her mid-back-length strands and stared at him in the mirror. She noticed how his gaze drifted from the closed door to her face as she asked that question. Good. Now all she needed to do was keep his attention focused on her, and hopefully, he wouldn’t ask why the door was shut.
“One of the guards was wounded. Nothing serious.”
“Well, that’s a good thing. So what brings you here?”
She leaned over, allowing the top part of her robe to fall open as she brushed her hair from underneath. Hopefully he’d be distracted enough by a good look at her breasts to forget why he’d come? Yeah, right.
Linus cleared his throat, but his gaze remained on her the curves of her exposed breasts.
“T…The Durango Gang…was responsible. They…uh…split up…um…into groups of three men each.”
A blade of uneasiness swept through her. Okay, so she didn’t have to do the math regarding having three men on her property.
“They…uh…ride horses.” He cleared his throat again, and shifted uneasily on his feet.
Lovely, Logan had come with a horse. What about the other two? She hadn’t seen any, but they could have put their horses in the barn before they’d even come into the house to announce their arrival.
“Doesn’t everybody ride horses these days? Gas prices being the way they are.” God, she hoped he didn’t hear the loud thumps of her heart. Had he checked the barn? No, he would be jumpy or out of character if he’d
