Free Hellfire, Texas (Hellfire #1) by Elle James

two of us, we’ll keep you safe.” He kissed her forehead. “Okay?”
    Better than okay.
    She wanted to tip up her head to capture his lips. But she’d been the one to tell him not to kiss her again. With her life as messed up as it was, she had no business kissing Becket. He deserved better. Stepping back, she forced a smile. “What can I help with?”
    “I have the four-wheeler loaded up with supplies. If you’ll go get it from the barn, then we can head out to fix that fence.”
    She popped a mock salute, performed an about face, and hurried off to the barn, praying she still knew how to drive an ATV. Kinsey found it parked a few feet inside the open door of the barn. As she slung her leg over the seat, she glanced around. A prickling feeling crawled over the back of her neck. Nothing stirred in the barn. The stalls were empty, the horses turned out to graze in the pasture. Not even a barn cat came out to greet her. Still, Kinsey felt as if someone was watching her.
    Shaking it off as an overactive imagination, she turned the key and pressed the starter switch. The ATV roared to life. Kinsey released the brake, pressed her thumb on the throttle lever, and the four-wheeler leaped forward. Tools rattled in the large metal box attached to the back.
    By the time she reached Becket, she had the vehicle figured out. She pulled to a stop beside him, letting the engine idle, and started to climb off.
    “Stay.” Becket waved at her. “I’ll ride behind you.”
    Her belly clenched and her core heated. “Is there another one of these in the barn?”
    “The other one isn’t working right now. Either we take this and ride double, or we drive the truck.” He glanced at the sunny sky. “Personally, I was looking forward to the wind in my hair. You can drive.”
    She couldn’t argue with that, and gave up pretending to want to ride separately. As Becket mounted behind her and his long, muscular legs wrapped around hers, Kinsey could barely put together a functional thought. “Which way?” Her voice came out in a strained squeak.
    He pointed. “South.”
    She gunned the throttle, and the little four-wheeler shot off across the pasture.
    The wind blew through her hair, giving her a sense of freedom she hadn’t felt since she’d left Hellfire to go to college. The incredibly sexy man on the vehicle behind her only fueled her excitement, making it burn like a wildfire. By the time they reached the damaged portion of the fence, she was laughing out loud and smiling so wide, she was sure to catch a bug in her teeth. But she didn’t care.
    She approached the fence a little faster than she should have and whipped the handlebar to the right, skidding sideways to a halt. “Wow!” Kinsey switched off the motor, her hands still vibrating to the rhythm of the small engine. “I’d forgotten how much fun these are.”
    Becket dismounted, brushed the dust off his jeans, and resettled his cowboy hat on his head. “I believe I saw my life pass before my eyes.”
    Kinsey backhanded him in the belly. “Oh, don’t be a baby. You used to drive that fast when you were a teen. I remember. Nash and I never could keep up with you.”
    He captured her hand and pulled her against his chest. “In case you haven’t noticed, we’re not teens anymore.”
    Adrenaline powering through her veins already meant being that close to Becket only made her heart pump faster. “N-no, we’re not.” She looked up into his eyes.
    The intensity of his blue gaze made her shiver with desire in the hot Texas sun.
    Becket swallowed hard, his grip tightening on hers. “Let’s fix a fence.” He released her and stepped away.
    Kinsey willed herself to relax. Nothing would happen between the two of them. She wasn’t ready mentally, even if her body was screaming for action.
    Moments later, Becket had a strand of new barbed wire nailed to a post. Holding the roll of wire on a stick, he walked fifty feet down the fence-line and settled it on the