Free Endangered Hearts by Jolie Cain Page A

And she couldn't think of a single other idea for getting down. The next time she needed to take her mind off something, she'd just pig out on an entire carton of cookie dough ice cream. Right now, she didn't care if she never saw another tree in her entire life. What an idiot she was. A dunce. A nincompoop. A—whatever else. She was running out of words to describe the lunacy that had gotten her into this situation in the first place.
    After several more minutes of trying to find a way down, she looked once more toward Bear, now lying on the ground several feet underneath her. “Oh, well,” she rolled her eyes at herself. “I'll try anything once.” She raised her voice and called, “Bear, Bear. Get up, boy."
    Bear bounded to his feet and looked at her, his pink tongue lolling out of his mouth and his ears perked up. “Bear, sweetheart, go get help. Get Jack.” The dog just stood staring up at her and let out a loud bark. But he didn't budge from his position beneath the tree.
    She tried again. “Bear, go get Jack. Bring Jack here. Jack, Bear, get Jack.” She could hear the desperation in her voice, and so, apparently, could Bear, because he began barking and moving back and forth around the base of the tree.
    Out of nowhere, a clap of thunder echoed in the distance. While she had been climbing her tree and getting herself stuck, Abby had not noticed the darkening sky. But she sure noticed it now. “Oh, great. Wonderful. This is just what I need. Not only am I stuck up a tree, but now I'm going to get soaking wet, if not electrocuted.” Abby closed her eyes in exasperation. “Please, Bear, go get Jack.” Again, her only response was more barking, but this time it was much louder. The dog must have thought that this was some kind of new game, and he was participating with great enthusiasm.
    She leaned her head against the tree in defeat. Unbelievable. She needed Lassie and instead she had Bozo the Clown. Here she was, stuck, with nothing but an idiot dog for companionship. She felt so frustrated she almost burst into tears. Then she felt the first drops of rain hitting her cheek. Well, shit.
    * * * *
    Jack sat beside the pond, relaxing and pretending to fish. Kicked back and propped against a stump, he had a line dangling in the water, but he wasn't really paying much attention. He was thinking about the night he had spent with Abby. It had been so unexpected. The sex had been unbelievable. Even now, just the thought of her eyes glazing over when she climaxed had him hard and aching.
    His eyes darkened as he thought of her responsive body, and he wanted to once again feel those soft lips parting beneath his demanding mouth, to breathe in her deliciously aroused scent, to taste the salty-sweet liquid that spilled from her cunt. He wanted to know all the secrets of her sweetly curved body and tempting mouth, to explore it until there was nothing hidden from him. Hell. Something was wrong with him. What was it about Abby that had him so enthralled? It almost felt like he was falling ... Whoa. Wait a minute. He couldn't even think like that. It was just possessiveness. Yes, that was it. Typical male-staking-his-territory reaction.
    And lust. Pure, unadulterated lust that had him so wound up he didn't even feel a twinge of guilt over taking her last night. And Abby had enjoyed herself, if her screams of satisfaction were anything to go by. He had always been an aggressive lover, and as the years had passed his preference for sexual practices that were not quite part of the mainstream had grown. There was nothing like holding a woman down, knowing that she loved it, forcing her to accept the things that he did to her until she begged for release. And Abby had loved it, obeying his every command as if born to it. He had so many more things that he wanted to do to her. Show her. How much would she allow?
    His thoughts were suddenly interrupted by the distant sound of barking. Looking up, he saw that the sky had turned