Page 34 of These Reckless Hearts

I nearly black out. Feelings sweep over me with so much force that I lose all time and place. I ride his cock, pleasure barreling at me from all sides. My cries echo around the mountains, reaching my ears the second time around as I keep clenching and clenching, prolonging both mine and Lucas’ orgasm.

Lucas’ face is set in concentration as he loses himself, fingers gripping my thigh painfully. When I’m finally done, Wyatt and Stone carefully move me forward until I’m slumped over their friend’s rapidly rising chest.

No one speaks for a solid minute. Eventually, Wyatt says, “Next time, I want to be the caboose.”

A ripple of pleasure hits me again, and I shiver over top of Lucas. “I guess the good news is there’s no way they could have heard us, huh?”

The three of them chuckle. “You keep believing that,” Wyatt snarks.

“So what if they do?” Lucas throws out, pulling my damp hair around my ear. “We’re just four people in love.” My pussy clenches again, and he groans. “Are you doing that on purpose?”

“Not even remotely. Stop saying nice things.”

He locks gazes with me. “I love you, Dakota.” My pussy fluttersagain, and he closes his eyes and moans, “Jesus hell.”

I bite my lip, enjoying the mini aftershocks. “Do you think you guys broke me?”

Wyatt chuckles. “I think you might break Lucas if you don’t get off.”

My cowboy helps me to my feet before dropping a kiss to my temple. Stone tangles his fingers with mine, and we stare at each other as if we’ve already found the Wilder treasure. It’s right in our damn faces.

Lucas stands, but he comes to an abrupt halt, hissing.

“What is it?” I ask, temporarily dazed by our most recent events.

I don’t see him hop out of the stream until he falls to his ass again. I step closer. “It’s not your injuries is it? We shouldn’t have—”

“No,” he growls. “I stepped on something in the creek.”

Stone bends, fingers searching the riverbed for whatever sharp object hurt Lucas. His stare narrows as he tugs on something. “Found it but it won’t come out. It feels like metal. Wyatt, get the shovel.”

Wyatt peers down at himself. “Yeah, I’ll get right on that.”

The glare Stone gives him makes my cowboy grudgingly move toward our packs, mumbling something under his breath. I inspect Lucas’ foot, but whatever got him doesn’t appear to have broken the skin.

Wyatt comes back with the shovel, and Stone takes it from him. He drives it into the sand, pulling up wet mud and water and tossing it to the side. Wyatt, Lucas, and I move closer while Stone works until he reaches below the surface.

He removes an object from the ground, water cascading from it in rivulets that temporarily disfigure what it is.

When it comes into clear view, I gasp. “Ho-ly shit.”

It’s a lantern. Exactly like the kind we’ve been searching for.

15

“No....” Wyatt exclaims in wonder.

We all stare at the item hanging off Stone’s pinky in amazement. I run toward it, splashing through the creek before taking the base in my shaking hands. I move to the bank of the stream and use the shallow water to wash away the remaining sand clinging to the metal, then set it on a nearby flat rock. In the waning light, it’s difficult to see anything other than the general shape, but I can tell it’s the kind of lantern we’re searching for. The glass is obviously long gone, and the metal is rusty and eroded, but this is the right lamp for the time period.

“Bring it to the fire,” Stone instructs. He starts striding away, still free balling it, before he seemingly remembers the state we’re all in. “Fuck. Let’s get dressed first.”

I practically fumble getting my clothes together and decide to shove my bra down my pants without putting it on. My hands still tremble as I bring our find close to the fire. Once there, I inspect every last inch of it. If it’s the lantern we’re searching for, it will have the inscription on the metal.

At least, that’s our theory.

“Do you see it?” Lucas questions. My stomach twists into knots, and Stone practically knocks me out of the way to look for himself. He brings out his phone and turns on his flashlight app. Slowly circling the rusted piece of metal, he uses the light to scour every last inch, angling the phone for different views.

The problem is, it’s so corroded, evidence of it being in water for quite some time.

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