“His car is still in the parking lot, along with one other vehicle that Logan told me to expect.”
“Fuck.” Reggie being loose afterhours was a bad idea. Damn his foolish, sex-story-seeking hide.
“Yeah. I know. I really hated to call you, but me and Cooper have been looking for over an hour now with no luck. We need to call in more folks for a more complete search. Didn’t want you out of the loop. Didn’t want him to find anything. Especially the underground tunnel to our private residences.”
Kendall closed his eyes, squeezing the phone tighter in his grip. He truly appreciated that Zane waited to call, but this was about to ruin his evening. “You were right to call. And you’re right to want reinforcements. In fact, call everyone so it will go faster. We’ll do a full sweep. Also, if anyone wants me to continue as CEO and sheriff of this organization, then I’d better
not
be the one to find him tonight.”
Zane laughed lightly. “Well, we like you being in charge, so we’ll do our best.”
Logan, wearing only his jeans, strolled slowly into the room as Kendall hung up.
“What’s up?”
“Where’s Jocelyn?”
He grinned. “After our dance, she lay down on the bed and fell asleep immediately. Guess you wore her out. I covered her with a blanket.”
Kendall pushed out a long, slow breath. “Well, that’s actually good. We have to leave and go find Reggie. Zane thinks he’s loose in the park searching for an
afterhours
sex story.”
Logan’s eyes rolled toward the ceiling, and he shook his head. “Bastard.” Which was exactly Kendall’s point of view.
* * * *
Jocelyn woke up all alone and in a strange place. Before her thoughts could make sense, she heard a rattle of what sounded like chains. Eyes opening fast, she looked at one wrist and realized it was handcuffed to a loop attached to the headboard. There was a very soft blanket covering her, too.
How in the world had she slept so soundly as to not feel them handcuff her to the bed? A smile shaped her lips as she stretched. She felt like she’d been in the same position for hours.
On the nightstand next to her was the key to open the softly lined cuffs and a note.
She sat up, retrieved the key, and let herself loose. She also grabbed the note.
Had to take care of a problem in town. Please don’t leave yet. We’ll return as soon as possible. Rest up.
Trust us, you’ll need it for round two.
Jocelyn smiled and put the note near her purse, and the key back on the nightstand. Still naked, but surprisingly refreshed, she exited the playroom and made a beeline for the bathroom. A glance at the clock on her way out made her take a second look. It was early morning. Dawn was less than an hour away.
She was shocked to find that she’d been asleep for several hours, but more shocked that they’d left her alone for so long. The problem in town must have been worse than they thought. Grateful they’d left the key to release herself, Jocelyn made a quick visit to the bathroom. Back in the room, she grabbed her clothing from the neat pile on the chair that Logan had sat in earlier while watching her with Kendall. Having Logan watching them had been much sexier than she’d anticipated.
Dressing quickly, Jocelyn dug through her purse to find her phone. She should check for any messages, since she’d been sort of
off grid
for so long. After trying to turn her phone on with no success, she realized she’d forgotten to charge it. It was dead. She pushed out a frustrated sigh.
Great
.
She crossed the floor quickly to the nice computer desk in the main room. Tentatively, she settled into the plush executive desk chair to look around. Now she didn’t have to lie. She truly did need to check her e-mails. She could point to her phone as the reason.
This was her best chance to take a quick look at their computer. The outside door was across the room and she’d have to pay attention to listen for their return. Surely they wouldn’t leave her for much longer. Or perhaps they’d already come back to check on her and she’d just slept through it. She would have woken, right?
Although, after the earlier two rounds with Logan in the stable master’s office, and then the mind-blowing orgasm from round one with Kendall, a tornado could have swept by and she likely would have slept through it. Good sex
did
equal good sleep as it turned out.
After inspecting the components of the computer, she seated herself at the desk again and did some exploring. The machine was already running and the password had been entered, so she could look at anything she wanted. She took it as a sign that she should continue.
A streak of guilt akin to searching through someone’s medicine cabinet filled her momentarily, but she shoved it away. She didn’t plan to hurt anything. She just wanted a quick peek for the sake of locating her sister.
With one eye on the door, Jocelyn first accessed her personal files to check for any emergencies since she’d taken the day off. There were several messages from her parents wanting an update. Jocelyn exited out of her personal files and moved on to searching around inside their hard drive for anything in any file that might give her any information on Dean or Jenna specifically being at the park or visiting in the past month.
She saw absolutely nothing.
Finding a roster of those living in this compound, she quickly noted Kendall’s and Logan’s names. Turned out that they owned this house.
Interesting
. So not the hired hands she’d been led to believe they were, but instead a part of the wealthy cadre of owners. She didn’t blame them for keeping
that
a secret.
Jocelyn was a stranger, after all.
They probably didn’t want some gold digger setting her sights on either of them for financial gain. They didn’t have to worry on
that
score. Jocelyn was not at all interested in their money or their fancy behind-compound-walls address. If she didn’t live so far away, she’d likely return to the Old West Town and pursue them.
Unfortunately, a single day together—regardless of how spectacular it had been—didn’t make her their shiny new girlfriend. They probably didn’t think of her in terms of permanence.
She’d only admit to herself in the deepest recesses of her mind that she truly
did
want a future with Logan and Kendall. Even if she was still slightly worried about all of Kendall’s unknown round-two requirements.
Unfortunately, a lasting relationship probably wasn’t possible from two states away. Long distance was usually a difficult endeavor with regard to a future as their girlfriend.
She did a wide search on the computer using Dean’s name and found a single Word document file dated several years ago. Just as she was about to open the file and read the information, she heard a noise outside the house. It came from the direction of the outer door she’d entered earlier.
Jocelyn backed out of the file she’d brought up, wishing she’d had the foresight to bring a flash drive to save the info for later. But she didn’t want to get caught snooping.
Nor did she want to ask about Dean or his family. She’d ruined that easy solution by hacking into their system way before ever meeting them. What if she’d left a trace behind of her search parameters? It was too chancy. And truthfully, she never wanted them to find out she’d been the one to hack them weeks ago. Never. Especially not after being so intimately involved with them during this visit.
She turned the monitor off and scampered as quickly as possible back toward the playroom. Before she got three feet from the bedroom entrance, Logan appeared in the doorway leading outside. The sounds of the night followed him inside. Crickets, an owl, and the distinct sound of vehicles in the distance were cut off when he closed the door behind him.
“You’re back.”
“You’re loose and dressed.” His gaze quickly scanned the large room behind her as if he knew she’d been sneaking a peek at the computer files.
She centered herself and tried not to look as guilty as she felt. “You left the key.”
His focus went to her face. He grinned when he said, “No one said you could use it.”
Jocelyn shrugged. “In fact, you didn’t say anything at all. And the note only said rest up and don’t leave. Which I did, and…didn’t.”
Time to change the subject
. “Where have you been anyway?” She pointed to the wall clock. “It’s almost dawn.”
Logan pushed out a long sigh, shook his head, and rolled his eyes. “Chasing down Reggie the annoying blogger. He hid inside the park after we closed up. Then moved around to different hiding places as we searched. We had to call everyone out to look at every square inch of the park property more than once. Took forever. But we finally cornered him in the land surveyor’s office.”
“Where’s Kendall?”
“The park is formally pressing charges against Reggie for trespassing. We had to call in a state trooper from the next county to take care of the complaint, and for the arrest. Kendall’s currently at the Old West Town park’s sheriff’s office waiting for the police to show up to process Reggie. He’s not sure when he’ll be free.”
He moved closer. She didn’t stop him, but now that she’d rested up and slept so long, Jocelyn was a little antsy to get going. She hadn’t read any of the many messages still waiting in her inbox, and was suddenly anxious to disappear. Likely it was a bit of guilt for snooping.
“Sorry it was such a bad night for you.”
“The night wasn’t
all
bad. Only after leaving you here alone. Trust me, we truly wanted to be here instead.” He moved closer still. “I don’t suppose you could stay a little longer.” His arm slipped around her waist, pulling her tight against his chest. His mesmerizing gaze filled her soul. She was about to acquiesce and throw another day away.
Jocelyn put a hand to his chest, but then Logan’s cell phone rang and broke the spell. He tilted his head back and stared at the ceiling, muttering, “Damn it.”
The phone call was quick. Logan hung up and said, “The trooper will be here in an hour. So can you stay a while longer?”
She glanced at the clock and made a decision. For as much as she wanted to wait, it was time to leave. She’d been here much later than initially intended. “The truth is, I need to get going.” She pulled her phone from her pocket. “I just realized my phone is dead. I’m sure I’ve got a couple hundred messages waiting. I need to go charge up and tend to my twenty-first-century life. I’m sorry though. If I could stay, I would.”
He nodded and his expression was the epitome of understanding, but underlying it he looked a bit saddened by her need to leave.
“I get it. Although, Kendall will be inconsolable.”
“Is that so? Well, maybe I should stop at the sheriff’s office and at least say good-bye.”
Logan nodded. “Good idea. I’ll take you there.”
She gathered her purse and jacket then after a trip through the tunnel, back up the stairs, Logan led her through the darkened streets of the Old West Town park. Several lights blazed from either side of the town’s buildings, brightening their stroll along the dusty streets, and once more making her feel like she’d been transported a hundred years into the past. The thrill of living in the Old West pumped through her veins. She’d enjoyed her stay, and hated to go, but would never forget her time here.
When they walked past the street next to the stable, she stopped him. “Kiss me,” she said simply.
As before, he laced her fingers with his, secured her arms behind her back, pressed her against the wooden door of the candle shop, and then kissed her with an intensity like a volcanic eruption. She lost herself for a little bit as Logan consumed her like he never wanted to let her go.
After several long minutes of the most intense lip-lock she’d felt since the last time he or Kendall kissed her, he broke the kiss and buried his face at her throat. “Will you ever visit us at the Old West Town park again?”
“Unlikely,” she answered truthfully. “It’s way off the beaten path.” But her mind was already at work thinking of reasons she could return. “But then again you never know. I’ve truly enjoyed my time here in the Old West with stagecoach robbers, sheriffs, and the like.”
He pulled back to stare into her eyes. “If you ever come back this way again, I hope you’ll contact us.”
“Perhaps.” She smiled, but was unwilling to make any promises. This had been a wonderful fantasy, and until being here with them, she hadn’t exactly been looking for permanent romance. Although, yesterday and last night had certainly qualified as the closest she’d ever come. The idea of them wanting her to stay made her pause, but then she mentally shook her head. It wouldn’t work. She just lived too far away. She’d likely spend several weeks trying to find a way to return, but didn’t want to make promises she couldn’t keep.
“Let’s go see Kendall, maybe he can convince you to return to us one of these days.”
Jocelyn remained silent and let him lead her to the sheriff’s office. He opened the door for her and she stepped right into Kendall’s waiting arms. He hugged her tight, whispering, “I’m so sorry we got called away.”
“Me, too, but I slept really good. Must have been that amazing first round of sex.”