Free Canyon Shadows by Harper Vonna

massive red-and-blue helicopter waiting a short distance away that made her think of a Pterodactyl. He’d climb into the powerful machinery and bring it to life. Under his direction, the great, awkward-looking beast would lift off and reach for the sky. Whatever he commanded of it, it would perform. Gracefully. Perfectly.
    That’s how he’d handle her—a competent and confident man guiding her to that place where modesty no longer lived. Under his guidance, she’d eagerly hand her body to him, surrender. Scream out her climax and welcome his cum into her core.
    Lightheaded and unnerved, she struggled to remember how to breathe. As she filled her lungs, she looked away so hopefully he couldn’t read the truth of her thoughts. She had to get the conversation going, somehow. Remember what it meant to be a civilized woman.
    “What’s that on the side of the helicopter?” she managed. “Some kind of design?”
    “A painting. Of a rearing horse.”
    “Oh?” Go on, think!
    “It’s our logo for Mustang Construction.”
    “Of course.” Keep it going. Make the words flow. She shielded her eyes from the sun. Mostly black against the helicopter’s silver side, the profile was of a horse with its forelegs reaching for the sky and its muscled hind legs effortlessly balancing its weight. “Now I see it. My goodness, it’s detailed. Did you create it?”
    “Not me. My mother’s the artist in the family.”
    He had a family, parents, siblings. A life she longed to know more about. At first the puffs of dust coming from the so-called road she’d driven on to get here didn’t register. Then, maybe because the dust had caught Maco’s interest, she paid attention.
    The approaching vehicle was an older blue pickup. Its height from the ground identified it as a four-wheel drive with oversized macho tires and a large unpainted metal front bumper that looked like it belonged on a tow truck. It fairly screamed redneck. Two men were in the cab. Another two rode in the bed.
    “Damn,” Maco muttered. The hackles rose on the dogs’ backs.
    “What is it?” she asked. She tapped her thighs to indicate she wanted the dogs back by her sides.
    “The opposition. Look, the best thing is for you to either get in your vehicle or wait in my office until I get rid of these guys.”
    Alerted to his take-charge tone, she touched his shoulder. Even with the truck closing the distance, her attention shifted to what she’d just done. His shoulder was every bit as solid as she’d thought it would be, and the heat and energy radiating from him sent more of the same throughout her. Maybe he’d had the same reaction because his gaze locked on her hand. His nostrils flared.
    She opened her mouth. So did he. For what felt like a long time, neither of them spoke. Then he said, “I’m serious. These guys are hard-nosed.”
    Forcing herself to remove her hand took all of her concentration. “How do you know?” she finally came up with.
    “This isn’t the first time that truck’s been here. It looks as if Roe has brought reinforcements.”
    “The first time—was it confrontational?”
    “Let’s say it wasn’t friendly.”
    The pickup rocked to a stop a short distance away. All four men stared at Maco and her. They didn’t move. If dust from the gravel road bothered the two in back, they gave no indication. One scratched at a sideburn.
    “I mean it,” Maco warned. He hooked his thumbs over his holster, making her think gunslinger. “Go where it’s safe.”
    Instead, she snapped her fingers, which immediately brought the two dogs’ heads up. Their stances widened and their tails straightened. “What about them? This is why you wanted protection, right?”
    “Yeah.” He spoke through clenched teeth. “What would they do?”
    “Whatever I tell them to.”
    “Attack?”
    “If necessary.”
    “No wonder you don’t carry a gun. Damn it. We don’t need this.”
    Noting that he’d positioned himself so he was between her and the