Free Hunted Love Box Set: Big Game, Bounty, Captured by Aden Lowe

roof.
    He chuckled and stepped out of his jeans. "Sweet dreams, Kate."
     
     
     

Chapter Eleven
     
    The day dawned bright and hot after a mostly sleepless night for Jakob. Kate's dreams had indeed sounded sweet, tormenting him into wondering what sort of scenario her subconscious had invented. He finally gave in to the inevitable and masturbated in the early morning, hoping to manage at least an hour or two of sleep. The effort was mostly wasted, since he dreamed of her and all the things he'd like to do to her, and woke to find he'd moved over in his sleep. He lay close enough to her for his maddening hard-on to prod her hip with each involuntary thrust.
    Kate murmured in her sleep and he hurried to roll away, cursing under his breath. The last thing he needed was for her to wake up and catch him humping her like a fucking dog. He slid out of his bag and into his jeans, forced to leave them open to accommodate his stubborn hard-on. By the time he pulled his boots on, Kate was stirring. He made use of a convenient bush and checked over the animals quickly.
    By the time he made it back to the fire, Kate was up and dressed. She stood by the fire twisting her hair into some sort of knot, which immediately made him want to thread his fingers into the raw silk and pull it down. Fuck, he had it bad.
    Breakfast was a quick, quiet affair and as soon as they finished, they extinguished the fire. Kate finished cleaning up while Jakob started tacking up the horses. She quickly joined him and made the work go fast. In a matter of minutes, they were mounted and heading up the winding trail.
    The dogs were already whining and pulling, restless and ready to give chase. He encouraged them, whistling them into a frenzy. The lead bitch suddenly froze, then pulled to the left, casting for a scent. A few moments later, one of the others bayed, deep and clear.
    One of Kate's horses blew nervously as Jakob called a halt to release the dogs. Freed from their long lines, they took off like a shot, hard after the one who'd found the scent. After a few confused barks, they all joined in the trailing.
    "We'll follow along at a distance until they bring it to bay. They'll hold it until we get there."
    They rode along at about the same pace as the day before, following the general direction the dogs were heading. Jakob guided them along the contours of the landscape, letting the horses choose the easiest going.
    Just before noon, the dogs' barking changed to a higher pitch. "They're closing in." He urged Ajax to greater speed. The big horse kicked it into high gear and took off, eating the ground with his long-strided running walk and easily outdistancing Kate's horse with its rough lope.
    Kate stopped trying to keep up before long and stayed with all their extra animals. She wouldn't have any trouble, since his horses were trained to follow him at their own speed.
    Up ahead, the lead bitch's bay changed to her relatively short tree-bay. She had her quarry cornered. Recognizing the change, Ajax dropped his hindquarters another notch on his own and lengthened his stride still more. The other dogs joined their leader wherever she'd brought the lion to bay and set up a cacophony of voices.
    Good thing they were getting close. The cougar would be in a pissy mood with all those hounds in his face. Jakob would prefer not to sew up any dogs on this hunt. He looped the reins on the saddlehorn, giving Ajax his head, confident the big bastard would get them safely to the dogs. With both hands free, he checked weapons, first the .44 at his hip, then the .30-.06 in the saddle boot, and the tranquilizer rifle just behind it. Assured all three were ready, he concentrated on helping Ajax find the most direct route to the dogs.
    Ahead, the dogs heard them coming and grew even more excited. The youngest of the pack, a male still in the early phases of training, broke from the pack and came running to meet Jakob, eager to show off his achievement. The pup's enthusiasm