River Arrow (New Guardsmen Book 2) by Ella Drake Read Free Book Online

being a trustworthy, dependable trader. It wasn’t his place to get involved with a woman who took on the responsibility of protecting everyone she saw, even those who’d done her wrong. His only responsibility was to his trading route and it had to stay that way to keep everyone in villages like this alive. But her skin was so soft, so captivating.
    Groaning, he slid his grip to her shoulders and shoved her away. Little shocks of lust pulled at his groin. Never had he been so tempted to get his cock inside a woman. It wasn’t something he could do in a haphazard way, and despite the general need to get off on occasion, he never lost sight of reality. Pregnancy was risk. It was bigger than every single previous urge to get his cock wet. He’d never been this tempted before. His fingers dug into her as he fought the impulse to pull her into him again. It shouldn’t be so hard to let her go.
    Mouth swollen, eyes blurry, she blinked and licked her lips.
    His knees went weak.
    “Fuck,” he muttered and managed to unclench his hands and let them drop to his sides. Focus. Resolve. There was never a time to lose sight of staying alive. “I don’t have a weapon. If I could use a bow, I wouldn’t ask you to injure the guards. But you have to do it. I’ll go after the pregnant woman.”
    “I have no problem shooting these assholes.” She shook her head and wiped the back of her hand over her mouth.
    He didn’t like it. Not one bit. None of it. That she’d be the one shooting while he skulked about. That they’d be able to pinpoint her position when he could run while she was trapped. That she’d wiped his kiss off.
    Brushing past her, the corn leaves scratched his skin and sent an explosion of a fresh grass-like scent into the air. He froze and let his boot down carefully. He’d gotten hot under the collar and forgotten to keep it quiet. Forcing his lungs into a normal pattern, he let his shoulders loosen and wiggled his fingers. Then, he slid between the rows. The tassles on the corn never moved. Mari was good. No sign of her followed him but by the way the hair on his arms tingled, he knew she was right behind him.
    They made their way through the rows and he crouched at the edge of the crop. The nearest cabin stood only a few feet away. Mari’s hand gripped him. Keeping his body still and quiet, he turned his head. She gestured to the right. A man sauntered between rows of cabins, shoving doors open and leading with a rifle as he searched.
    These men would shoot to kill. They’d left a dead villager to rot as proof of that. Jared went cold, absolutely cold even as sweat trickled between his shoulder blades. He couldn’t get lost to the anger when he had Mari behind him.
    Jared and Mari eased back into the corn. Shade filtered over him, momentarily blotting the light. The sun was always hot. Most of the time he was used to it. Ignored it. But today every shift of wind fit his mood. His emotions hadn’t churned this much since he was a kid.
    Mari’s hand rested at his belt and his world narrowed to that point. The hell of it all was that he didn’t know what he was even doing here. Fate played tricks on him. If he’d poled the boat past this bend in the river just one hour before or one hour after, Mari would be dead. Mari would be gone instead of keeping herself upright and in position by using his back as a touchstone.
    Crouching, they stared across a small yard to the large building. He focused beyond him, not on the woman beside him, and tried to make out what was going on in the community house. Movement passed behind a hazy window.
    “That’s Nathan,” Mari whispered. Her words blew across his arm where he brushed against her.
    Her hand gripped his forearm and her nails dug into his skin. Her stare was hard and focused in an intensity that showed how well she used that lethal bow strapped over her back. The violence never ended. It never would. Mari could be one more victim but unlike Jared’s father,