Page 6 of Wild As Her

“Get out of here,” I grunt, as I kick him hard with my boot.He scrambles to the property line and bolts over the fence, cursing as he goes. Cami fires another warning shot into the air, making him stumble as he runs. He turns and calls her every name in the book.

“Was that extra shot necessary?” I ask as I place my hands on my hips and give her a look. “You scared the shit out of me, Wilder.”

“Very necessary,” she huffs.

But I don’t miss the look in her eyes when I call her the childhood nickname she’s always loved.

“Why the hell are you here, Jessop?”Her eyes narrow, and I know she’s about to give me hell.

But I can’t focus on the words coming because I’m too stuck on how damn good she looks. White tank top clinging to her, overalls half-snapped and tucked into her boots like she threw them on in a hurry. She probably charged out here, ready to go to war. And I hate that she had to.

The thought of her chasing off a trespasser by herself out here, armed or not, makes something hard and cold settle in my chest. I’ll deal with that part later. Right now, I’m just trying to breathe around the sight of her, adrenaline still buzzing through me, hands itching to keep her close.

She clicks the safety on her rifle and props it casually against her hip, probably still coming down from an adrenaline rush as well.“Get out of here,” she says, now softer. “And mind your own damn business. I can take care of myself.”

And somehow, I’ve never wanted to kiss her more.

Or throw her over my shoulder and lock every gate on this ranch.

Because my business?Is her.

She stands glaring at me like she owns the world.

And she does own my world. Always has and always will. The crazy part is that she doesn’t even know it.Yet.

“You okay?” I ask, lowering my voice and ignoring her attitude.

“I’m fine,” she huffs, her chest still shaking.

“Next time, try not to shoot anyone before breakfast,” I tease as I watch her stalk back toward her barn. “At least try to make it to lunch.”

She says nothing but glares at me over her shoulder, breathing heavily. Damn it, I want to take her into my arms and hold her.

“What was Granger doing here?” I ask as I follow her, pulling Pesto with me, trying to get a handle on my own heart rate. It’s finally beating at a normal rate again now that I know she’s finally safe.

“He was poking around my barn, probably looking for shit to steal,” she calls over her shoulder.

Fucking Granger. I’ll be paying him a visit later.

“Don’t even think about telling Ollie about this,” she says as she glares at me. But the glare doesn’t reach her eyes. Her warm brown eyes are still full of fear. And that asshole Granger put that fear in her by creeping around on her property. Yeah, he’ll pay for that, too. And Iwillbe taking her brother with me when I pay that fucker a visit. Someone has to look out for her, and we aren’t letting anyone mess with her.

“Where’s Love?” I ask, glancing around and realizing her Blue Heeler isn’t here. I love that dog, and she loves me, much to Cami’s dismay. Sometimes, when I’m out working in our connecting pastures, she comes and finds me.

“I locked her in the barn when I took off after Granger. He had a hunting knife in his pocket he thought he’d introduce me to, and I don’t trust her not to bite him, and then he’d hurt her.”

I stare at her, mouth dropped, then shake my head in anger and say, “I meant what I said earlier. We need to call the sheriff.”

She snorts. “Why? It’ll take him at least half an hour to get out here. I’ll deal with these fuckers myself.”

I practically choke on air. “Thesefuckers? How long has this been going on, Cami?” I ask angrily. “This has happened before?”

Oh, hell no.

She shrugs, “A few times. They think they can pick this ranch clean as if I’m not still here. Love chases them off, and I have to get after them. I don’t want them hurting her.”

Damn. I don’t like this at all.

“You need someone staying out here with you. Let me help you.”

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