An excerpt from

Saddled

Copyright © 2009 Delilah Devlin

All rights reserved — a Samhain Publishing, Ltd. publication

By the time Cale fell through the front door of the cabin with his final burden, he was shivering hard.

Bobby hadn’t spoken a word in too long. The woman was still unconscious, lying in the same spot he’d dropped her before he’d headed back to the truck for his friend.

Bed, he had to get them both into bed. He let Bobby slide to the floor and walked on wooden feet to his room, tore back the quilt, turned on the electric blanket and then began to strip as he headed back for them both.

The woman was in the worst shape, but he carried her to the bedroom, sat her on the edge of the bed and stripped her as fast as his frozen fingers could manage before drying her with his clothes, then scooting her to the far side of the mattress and covering her up.

Then it was back for Bobby, whom he had to drag by his arms. Once his friend was stripped and lying on the bed, Cale stoked the wood-burning furnace and crawled up between them, pulled the covers over them all and tried to still the shivers that racked his own body sandwiched between two frighteningly cold bodies.

He pulled them both close on either side of him and wondered as he drifted off to sleep if any of them would make it through the night.

Despite their dire circumstance, Cale couldn’t help thinking that the girl they’d rescued was just the type the two of them would have rushed toward in a bar, crowding her between them as they both jockeyed for attention.

More often than not, Bobby would win the competition. With his glib tongue and darkly handsome face, he’d lead the woman away, grinning at him over his shoulder.

Cale might have been left a time or two with a hard-on he couldn’t ease, but he hadn’t really minded. Not much, anyway. He knew his limitations when it came to attracting a woman like this. He’d noted the lush pink and cream curves he’d uncovered when he’d stripped the woman raw. With pale, shimmering hair and a face so sweet and perfectly formed, he knew he’d have been left tongue-tied and staring.

That something as classy as this woman was lying right beside him had him thinking that maybe this wasn’t such a bad way to go.


*


Katherine Duvall awoke as sensation flooded her feet and hands—sharp prickling pinches that made her moan.

“Yeah, it’s gonna hurt. But it’s a good sign sweetheart,” a man whispered against her hair. “And there’s no frostbite. I checked.”

He’d checked? One fact penetrated her pain-filled fog. He’d done a lot more than checked. She was naked. And his bare-naked body was pressed up against her back, a penis nudging her bottom.

“Where are my clothes?” she gasped, choking on outrage and fear.

“Had to shuck ‘em. They were soaked.”

She remembered the car sliding into the water. But why wasn’t she in a hospital? “Where am I?”

“In my cabin. Couldn’t chance taking you back to Wellesley. Snow’s comin’ down too hard.”

Her fingers stung, and she pulled her hands from under the covers to peer at them in the inky darkness. “How long have I been here?”

“Maybe an hour. Was worried about you two. You both passed out.”

“Both?”

“Bobby went into the creek after you. He’s not in much better shape.”

She edged carefully away from his body, instantly missing the warmth and rolled onto her back to get her first view of her “rescuer”. What she saw didn’t do a whole lot to alleviate her fears.

The man lying beside her was enormous—a broad-shouldered shadow. Her heartbeat thudded against her chest as her alarm grew, and she wondered what else he might have done while she’d been out.

“Let me get the lamp. You sound like you’re about to freak out.”

About to?

He leaned away. A light flickered on from a bedside table, and she got her first clear glimpse of the stranger in the bed beside her. He leaned on his elbows, his expression taut as she stared back. Shaggy, brown hair, thick dark brows over deep-set eyes. His skin was deeply tanned, his chest and abdomen a study in light and shadow as muscles rippled as he breathed. The thick fur covering his chest glinted with red and gold where the light struck it.

Then she caught a glimpse of another body outlined beneath the covers on his opposite side. “Just what the hell do you think you’re doing?”

“It’s not what it looks like,” he said softly, a smile turning up the tips of his mouth. “Swear. I had to get you both warm.”

She pulled the edge of the blanket higher over her chest and scooted away from him, caught by a hard shiver.

“You’re still chilled. The electric blanket’s set low. Didn’t want to damage tissue as I heated you both up.”

A groan sounded beyond the bear-like man. “Goddamn, would you both shut up? Fuck, everything hurts.”

“Bobby, you need to wake up. We got a problem here.”

The figure huddled under the blanket stirred and rolled toward them with a moan. When he came up on an elbow, air hissed through Kate’s teeth. The man was even more attractive than the first, and she was wondering if she’d woken up on the wrong side of heaven. This one wasn’t as large but was every bit as ripped. And his wide chest was hairless, his face austere, scraped clean over high cheekbones and a jutting jaw. An Indian by his bronze skin, even without seeing the long black hair that filtered around his shoulders.

Still, they were both naked. And sharing a bed with her. And she didn’t know if she was safe or about to be molested. After all she’d felt an erection prodding her bottom.

She took a quick, silent inventory. The parts of her that weren’t busy thawing didn’t feel any different. She’d know, wouldn’t she, if he’d already taken advantage of her?

“We’re not going to hurt you, lady,” Bobby said. “We saved your life. Get back under the covers and snuggle close. You’ll warm up faster. Can’t have you getting sick, seeing as how you’ll be stuck here for a while.”

Her heart stuttered, then began to race. “What? I can’t stay here.”

“Don’t know if you noticed,” Bobby replied, “but there’s a storm outside. The roads are closed. No one’s getting in or out.”

She opened her mouth to make another protest, but she shivered again and moaned as the pain intensified in her fingertips.

“You’re gonna have to trust us,” the big guy said. “If something comes up between us, you’ll just have to ignore it. My body’s warmer than yours even though I’ve been stuck between two blocks of ice for an hour.”

Color filled her cheeks. She shivered for another few moments and then gave in to the offer of warmth. Facing away, she settled on her side and held her breath as he snuggled close again. When his arm came over her waist, she jumped but calmed as he shushed her gently.

The embarrassment and fear was a small price to pay for the heat his body generated.

“Just go to sleep,” he muttered. “This is as close as I’m gonna get.”

It was close enough. Again, his cock was upright and poking at her bottom.

“Don’t know how it’s staying hard,” he whispered. “Your ass is cold.”

A gust of laughter surprised her. “Serves you right. Should have kept your underwear on.”

“Lady, you always this grumpy?” came Bobby’s slurred whisper.

“No. I’m just not used to waking up in bed beside strangers.”