Free Warning Wendy by Kim Dare Page A

an overturned wooden crate.
    Finally! Lucas pushed himself away from the wall. The longest half an hour in the history of the universe was almost over.
    “Is everyone clear on the rules?” the organizer asked.
    A chorus of affirmative answers rang out. Perhaps if Wendy hadn’t been one of the submissives who’d set off twenty-eight minutes ago, Lucas would have been more inclined to believe them.
    But Wendy… He ground his teeth together. She should never be in the same room as another dom, let alone chased by a gang of them.
    He looked toward the big barn doors, impatient for the whole charade to be over so he could take her safely home.
    The organizer checked his stopwatch. The barn fell eerily silent as he counted down the final seconds. “Happy hunting, gentlemen!”
    Some idiot let out a whoop. Guys clapped each other on the back. Jokes hit the air. Lucas didn’t stick around to hear the punch lines.
    Bright sunlight momentarily blinded him as he rushed out of the barn. Lifting one hand to shield his eyes, he forced himself to pause and consider his options; certain that Wendy would have done the same.
    Two big open gates stood directly in front of him. It was the obvious escape route. Men strode past him, each one carrying a paintball rifle. Every one of them left through those big open gates. They may as well have had a flashing neon sign above them.
    He turned away from it. Wendy wasn’t the kind of woman who did the obvious thing. Before he was even aware he’d made a decision, he found himself striding toward another much smaller gate, tucked away in one corner of the yard.
    There were no protruding nails on the gate where a piece of her clothing might have been conveniently snagged to let him know that he was going in the right direction. There were no Hollywood style footprints for him to follow. All he had to go on was blind instinct.
    Transferring his paintball gun to his other hand, he cautiously opened the gate. He looked into another yard, flanked on all sides by stables and barns. There was no sign of life in there, let alone of Wendy.
    Damn! He turned back wondering how much time he had wasted checking out a dead end.
    The sudden sound of footsteps on the cobblestones made him pause. A young woman backed out of one of the stables, leading a stallion that appeared far too big for her to handle safely. The horse looked straight at him. Apparently, it wasn’t impressed with what it saw. The horse tossed its head and tried to pull away from the girl. As if reading the animal’s mind, she glanced over her shoulder toward Lucas.
    “Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle him.” He was about to step back and leave her to get on with her work. Then he saw the knowing smile play around her lips.
    The girl knew why he was visiting the estate, knew what kind of hunt was taking place there. As he watched, she led the horse out, her every movement calm and confident despite the size of the animal and the fact she looked no more than twenty years old. She turned toward him, and the black leather collar around her throat became visible past the fabric of her coat.
    Yes, she knew exactly what was going on.
    “Aren’t you going to give chase, Lucas?” she asked.
    “Yes, I am.” He cast one last frustrated glance around the yard, wondering how much of a lead the other men had on him by now. If one of them found Wendy first then—
    Suddenly, something cut through his thoughts.
    Lucas?
    She knew his name.
    “Wendy.” Lucas watched the girl’s face very closely as he said it.
    The change in her expression was fleeting. So was her glance toward a gate at the far side of the stable yard. Bingo!
    “I can neither confirm nor deny that any of the ladies taking part today is called Wendy. All the names of the participants are confidential.” Her lips quirked into a smile as she put her foot in one stirrup and easily mounted the giant beast.
    “So how do you know my name?”
    She laughed. “I guess someone must have