Scratch by Mel Teshco Read Free Book Online

movement caught in her peripheral vision.
    One of the men strode out of the house and onto the veranda,
scanning the yard with its restless horses. She ducked, staying low on the
stallion, her arms wrapped around his warm neck.
    In the cover of the mares surrounding him, Blake
methodically undressed. He looked up at her. “When I open the gate, you ride
like hell,” he said in a low-pitched undertone. “Don’t look back. Don’t wait. I
won’t be far behind.”
    She nodded, gripping the stallion’s long black mane and
clamping her thighs to his rust-colored coat.
    “The house is clear.” A man’s aggrieved voice drifted across
the breeze. “Go and check the barn.”
    Crouched low, Blake swung open the gate. It squealed on dry
hinges like a cat that had its tail pulled.
    “Heeah!” Alexia yelled, stampeding the mares out of the
gate. Now was no longer the time for quiet.
    All three men raced toward the barn, their guns drawn.
Alexia caught a glimpse of Blake, already fully shifted in his panther form,
and running in the opposite direction. Drawing the three men away from her like
bait.
    Oh, dear lord, no!
    Her belly churning, it was all she could do just to hang on,
crouched low on the stallion’s back, as he galloped through the herd, nipping
lagging mares to push them faster.
    At the sound of her Ducati, she risked a quick look behind.
Stupid! Last night she hadn’t been thinking straight. And though she could
forgive herself for not having the foresight to check for a tracker, she should
never have left the key in the ignition, no matter how distracted she’d been by
Blake’s injuries.
    Two of the goons roared through the horses on her bike,
scattering all the mares in their path. She leaned forward, encouraging the
stallion faster still, his stride lengthening until he passed the mares in
front, his breath heaving with the effort, his hide already drenched with
sweat.
    A line of gum trees came into sight ahead. She bit back a
sob. They weren’t going to make it! Though the ground wasn’t smooth asphalt, it
was relatively flat and well maintained, giving the road bike all the
advantage.
    The Ducati roared alongside. The man riding pillion raised
his wavering rifle.
    Bastards. What had she ever done to them to deserve this?
    Whatever. She wasn’t about to roll over without a fight. She
wasn’t her father.
    Using her legs to steer the stallion, she nudged closer to
the bike. Then bending her knees until her feet pressed onto the stallion’s
back, she twisted sideward and launched clear.
    She threw herself at the men in a double body tackle that
had them grunting in shocked disbelief. The Ducati toppled onto its side and
the rifle flipped into the air. Tucking her head into her chin, she curled into
a loose ball and struck the ground hard, jarring her shoulder against a rock
before bouncing over and over. She lay still, winded and unable to move but
conscious of everything around her.
    The mares’ hoofbeats drummed past, dust choking her lungs.
The sun beat down, hot on her face. A groan sounded somewhere a few yards to
her right.
    She gritted her teeth and rolled over. One man lay unmoving,
out cold. The other was conscious and hurting by the sound of his labored
breathing. Her own shoulder throbbed. Blood drizzled wet and thick as sludge
down her brow.
    Please let Blake be safe.
    She sensed him long before she heard the pad of his huge
paws slow into a walk. His breath was hot on her face as his whiskered head
gently nudged her nearest cheek, a long, low growl rumbling deep from his
chest.
    “Blake,” she managed, smiling a little even as she winced
and managed, “I’ve always wanted a big…cat of my…very own.”
    In the long seconds it took him to shift back into human,
she forced herself into a sitting position.
    “Are you all right?” He crouched beside her, unashamedly
naked, his stare sweeping her from top to bottom.
    “I’ve been better.”
    A corner of his lip curled up into a