Thunder Horse Redemption by Elle James Read Free Book Online

it had been more than enough to show him how angry she still was. Right now, she was cold, and scared, and hurting and she was willing to let his touch make the world go away for a while, but it wouldn’t last. Making love to her wouldn’t change anything. She still hated him and no matter how perfect she’d been for him, Special Agent Pierce Thunder Horse was the wrong man for her.
    He tugged her bra straps up over her shoulders and eased them both down to sit near the campfire, holding her close to share his body warmth.
    “That shouldn’t have happened,” she said, her voice not much louder than a whisper.
    “No. It shouldn’t have.” He didn’t try to kiss her again.
    She leaned her head against his chest. “It won’t happen again.”
    “Count on it.” He held her into the night as she fell into a troubled sleep. She clung to him, her body shaking, her head twisting back and forth as nightmares disturbed her slumber. Because of her possible concussion, he had an excuse to wake her from her dreams every two hours.
    In the small hours of the morning, Pierce spooned her body against his, his gaze on the dying embers of the fire, his thoughts swirling around the shooting, the dirt bike, Roxanne and the bullet and wrapper they’d found in the cave.
    Sleep escaped him with her body close to his and the wad of evidence in his pocket. The more he mulled over everything, the more dread filled his chest, crushing him with worry.
    Whatever Roxanne had stumbled on that had caused the shooter to attack, it was much bigger than some idiot taking potshots at wild horses.
    If he wasn’t mistaken, the piece of plastic and the claylike substance clinging to it wasn’t a candy wrapper for gum, but the packaging used around plastic explosives.

Chapter Four
    A horse nickered, stirring Roxanne awake. Her eyes blinked open to the muted light of predawn filtering through the window. Only it wasn’t a window, and the cool air brushing across her skin wasn’t coming from outside her house.
    Her back was warm. An arm draped around her middle and the solid mass pressing against her generated enough heat to chase away the chills, keeping her from freezing in the cool morning air.
    Then it all came back to her and she jerked to an upright position, her hands covering her breasts. She breathed a sigh of relief when her hands connected with her bra.
    Pierce Thunder Horse pushed up on one elbow, a wary expression on his face. “Morning. Sleep well?”
    “Fine.” She leaped to her feet, snatching up her T-shirt and jeans. Turning her back to the Lakotan, she jammed her feet into the jeans and shivered as she shimmied the cold but dry fabric up her legs. Thank goodness her shirt and jeans had dried in the night, or moving about in the cool North Dakota morning air would be very uncomfortable. She finger-combed her hair to smooth the curls before she felt confident enough to face Pierce.
    Good Lord, what had she done? She’d almost made love to this man.
    Without looking him in the eye, she faced Pierce.
    He’d pulled his denim shirt over broad shoulders, leaving it hanging open, exposing his smooth, dark chest.
    Roxanne realized too late that staring at his chest was every bit as dangerous as looking into his eyes.
    “I need to get back to my ranch.” The sooner she got away from Pierce, the better.
    Pierce frowned as he buttoned his shirt. “It’s not safe to go there without an escort. And I’ll need to go with you, anyway, in order to bring Sassy back with me.” She started to protest, but his jaw tightened and he held up a hand. “Give it up, Roxanne, I’m not taking no for an answer. You’re still in danger, and I’m not going to let you ride around this area by yourself.”
    Roxanne fought the urge to scream in frustration. She couldn’t deny that he was right about the danger of riding alone, but she hated to think that she was dependent on him, that she needed his help or protection. She’d spent the past two