Nighttime at Willow Bay (3 page)

A growl rose from behind them and Naomi immediately knew the man with the mesmerizing eyes had come for her.  She could feel his hot presence. All masculine and strong and…pissed. Relief flooded her. She didn’t know him, but she wanted nothing more than to fly into his arms.

She turned sideways so she could see him, watching as the moon illuminated his pale, angry eyes. Blue. His eyes were a beautiful blue. The coldest indigo she’d ever seen. No one in their right mind would test him—he was that pissed. Naomi’s pulse suddenly quickened, and a thick sheen of moisture gathered between her legs. As if he could detect her arousal, his gaze fixed on her face.

Her captors tightened their
hold.

“So you got a thing for Ryder Jory, huh? Well, don’t worry. We Spades
can out fuck the best of them.”             

N
aomi closed her eyes. God, what was this place?

“She’s mines,” the man, Ryder, growled.

Naomi opened her eyes. He was so handsome, unquestionably so, standing there in his dark jeans and hoodie like an avenging angel.

“Who says she’s yours?”

“I do,” he shot back.

“She looked to be running away from you
, bud. We got dibs.”

“We had a little domestic dispute, is all, but we’re fine. Let her go.”

“We got dibs.”

“She’s mine, dicks.”

Naomi blinked rapidly. My God, were these strange men really debating who she belonged to?
Her damn self, thank you very much.
To keep from responding, she bit down on her lower lip and silently counted to ten. Now was not the time to showcase her newfound independent nature. No doubt the men would resent it as much as her ex did. Playing coy and stupid was the only way to go.

“Please
, misters,” she begged. “Let me go. I won’t tell anyone ya’ll did this!”

“Yeah,” cackled one of them. “You won’t.”

Naomi swallowed. Okay, this was not good. She wasn’t quite sure of the social claiming rules, but she decided to toss her hat in the ring.

“He’s right,” she announced. “
I’m his.”

“Whose?”

“The man…I mean, Ryder Jory. He’s mines and I’m his and you better let me go before he kicks the shit out of ya’ll!”

The two men chuckled annoyingly, just as Ryder took a hot step forward.

“You two really want to do this? You know the consequences of going after a Jory.”

Tremors ran through her captors bodies. For once, fear left them speechless. Then they spoke
at once. “She ain’t no Jory! She’s up for grabs.”             

“You Jorys think you own the fucking woods. This place belongs to all
of the dark wanderers.”

Ryder’s voice grew deathly low.  “Except you…your kind’s not welcomed.”

Retribution darkened his eyes. If her captors had any sense between them, they’d let her go! But their arms tightened and their words grew colder.

“Our kind
is welcomed everywhere.”

At that, they
pressed their erections against her back and mumbled sexual promises in her ear. Naomi bit her tongue to keep from gagging. They were perverts!

Her gaze flickered to Ryder, who was looking at her steadily. She could feel his fury, his possession, his need to
protect her. The fact that he had come for her meant something. She didn’t even know the man.

“It’ll be okay,” he whispered.

She mentally nodded, liking that he would make the effort to reassure her. She opened her mouth to tell him this, just as gravity tilted, and she went flying through the dark sky. Her gaze drifted over the woods. Her breath hissed. The ground drew closer. Was she going to die? And then Ryder was catching her, cushioning her fall against his chest, cradling her in his massive arms. Naomi closed her eyes and sucked in a startled breath. It took her a moment to put two and two together.

Jesus.

She’d been thrown.

Far.

By her demon captors.

Assholes!

Inhaling deeply, she shifted in the man’s, Ryder’s, embrace. If he hadn’t caught her, she’d be dead.

Ryder made a disapproving sound. “Don’t move.”

“They threw me!”

“I know, darling, but don’t move.”

“But—they threw me!”

She turned to face him and saw that his features were a blank mask.  “Stay here.”

“What’re you going to do?”

“Beat the shit out of
’em, like you said.”

Amen to that. As she clambered to a sitting position, her le
ft hand came up to block her face, her right hand steadying her balance.

A questioning look entered his eyes. “I told you not to move.”

“Don’t give me orders!” she hollered, frustrated by the entire ordeal. Her body ached. Fortunately, there was no sharp pain, just a slight throbbing in her right arm, where bloody scratches encircled her elbow.  At least she was free, she thought, pressing the scratches against her jacket. At least she could escape!

Her attention immediately fixed on Ryder who was rising to face her captors with a deadly intent.

Chapter Four

The attack didn’t last long. Ryder made sure of it. The red-eyed man, Telly, stumbled backward awkwardly, his hands coming up defensively in front of him, while the other one, Ernie, tried to charge Ryder from behind. Without missing a beat, Ryder grabbed the man by the shoulders and sent him whirling in the direction of his friend. They toppled over like beer cans. Naomi smiled at the counterweight move. Sweet. Served them right. Assholes.  She watched as her captives gave one more go of it, this time surrounding Ryder on both sides. If possible, the Norse God looked to be enjoying himself. A beautiful smile crossed his face as he egged them on. He was nuts!

“Oh, this is getting good,” he roared, long arms outstretched. “Come and get me
, boys!”

They rushed in his direction.  Naomi
watched in astonishment as Ryder bitch slapped one and karate kicked the other, sending them both doubling over in pain. Jesus, she thought, walking to a nearby tree, he was strong. Like really, really strong.

While her captors lay motionless on the ground, nursing their wounds, Ryder didn’t let up
, just continued pummeling them with punches.

He was an animal.
The man. Showing absolutely no mercy. When it looked like he might actually kill them, she screamed for him to stop.

His gaze narrowed on her.

“Please,” she begged. “
Stop.”

Reluctantly, he rose, his fist covered in blood.

“Next time I won’t be so nice,” he said, standing over her captors.

Naomi bristled. Nice? If that was nice, what was mean? 

She stumbled forward, nursing her elbow, eying her wounded captors. Compassion rose in her at the sight of their injuries, and she did her best to squash it down.  After all, these men had tried to kill her.

Ryder came to stand by her.  “I should kill them.”

“
Just let them go,” she said softly, feeling oddly thrilled by his violent, protective nature. He seemed rawer than most…beastly in the way he moved and talked. What type of man spoke about killing another man?
A psychopath
, answered that little voice in her head.
Oh shut up.

Gently, h
e took her hand.  “Are you okay? You were tossed far.”

“I’m fine.”

“I smell blood; let me see.”

Naomi stiffened. Smell blood.
What an odd thing to say
. “I said I’m fine!”

But he ignored her outrage and located the scratches
around her elbow.

Then
he retrieved cloves from a nearby rosebush and returned.  “This might tingle,” he cautioned, rubbing the plants on her injury. Smoke billowed from the cloves as they touched her skin, and for one wild moment Naomi thought he might be trying to poison her, but then the pain eased, and her fear diminished.  

“What are you? A medicine man?” she snickered, sighing
. Heavenly.

“Something like that.”

“What do you mean?”

“All inhabitants of Willow Bay know about these healing herbs. It’s commonplace
knowledge.”

Naomi laughed. “Inhabitants?”

“Yes, inhabitants.”

“Nobody lives in Willow Bay
, mister—only animals. It’s a natural habitat park with over 120 different endangered species.”

He smoothed his hands down her arm
, a blank expression on his face.  “The wound should heal in another minute or so.”

Why wasn’t he denying her statement? What was that nonsense about dark wanderers owning the woods? Nobody lived in Willow Bay. It was against the law.

She flung a finger in his direction. “
What aren’t you telling me?”

He only stared at her.
She was sure she looked a fright. Her T-shirt had holes in it and her jeans felt dirty. Her bra itched her back, and her nails were chipped. 

Ryder’s gaze swept down her body slowly. Then in one quick mov
e, he locked gazes with her, his striking blue eyes rendering her helpless.

Naomi swallowed. The guy was way too big and cute. Sometimes Naomi lost her cool aroun
d hot guys. She took a hesitant step back.

“You think I’m gonna hurt you?” he demanded, taking a step forward. “Lady, I just saved your life.”

Naomi gulped. Oh shit, she’d made him mad. “No, I just need some space. You’re…so…big.”

With a growl rumbling from his throat, he eased away from her, all the while glowering at her as though she was a terrible inconvenience. “
You’re the first to complain, darling.”

Oh, the arrogance, she silently countered. Some people had absolutely no tact.

“Newsflash, I’m not complaining.  Just trying to figure out what the hell is going on here. Hello! I was just freakin’ attacked by demonic looking hillbillies. Cut a girl some slack. I’m in shock.”

At the words, his
voice softened a bit. “I warned you. Back at the camping grounds, I told you to leave the park.”

“That you did.”

“You’re going to have to listen to me.”

“No, I don’t.”

Confusion darkened his face. “What?”

“I said,
‘
no I don’t’
, meaning I do not have to listen to you.”

He snarled loudly, while she tried to keep the attitude from her voice.  “No offense, mister, but I don’t even know you.”

“I’m the guy who just saved your life, lady. Ryder Jory. Chief engineer at Cobalt Power Plant. Part-time forest ranger for upper Carolina’s national parks.”

She drew in a deep breath. “So, you
are
forest patrol. God help me.”

Mockingly, he bowed. “In the flesh.”

Her heartbeat kicked. With his long blond hair, and ample muscles, she would’ve never pegged the man as forest patrol. Maybe SWAT or ex-military, but forest patrol? Hell nah. Never in her dreams.

“Forest patrol or not, I still don’t have to take orders from you.”

“Darling, if you want to live to see the morning, you will listen to me. When I tell you
not
to run, stay put. And when I tell you
to
run, fucking high tail it.”

His slow deliberate words had her body clenching. Um, this was not good, she thought. Hardly the time to feel horny when someone was barking orders at you
like you had a rock as a brain, but my God, she did, and any moment now she’d beg him to fuck her. What was happening to her?  Her body wasn’t used to this up and down rollercoaster ride. She was pretty conservative. Didn’t even watch porn.  She gripped her palms and silently counted to ten. When her arousal finally settled down, she realized that Ryder was still lecturing her.

“Move from my side again, lady, and I’ll throw you over my shoulders. I’ll carry that fine ass of yours to safety if I have to.”

“
You wouldn’t.”

“
I would.”

Would he? Naomi glanced at his scowling face. Yep, he would. Look
s like the man had never been told no, and technically she did need his help to escape this place. Her map was gone, her cellphone was busted, and it was only a quarter past eleven. Ryder Jory was her only way out of Willow Bay. Perfect.

“C’mon,” he muttered and walked back to the
path. “We’re going the wrong way.” He walked over her captors, who were still moaning miserably.

She didn’t move. “Where’re we going?”

At the question, he turned, eyes scanning the darkness.

Something was wrong.

“What is it? What’s out there?”