Emily McKay - Blackmailed Into a Fake Engagement / Tempted Into the Tycoon's Trap

He nodded with a knowing expression on his face. “You know where to find me.”

Her heart still hammering in her chest, she felt as if she were looking her fate in the eye. She tore her gaze from his and fled to her office, closing the door behind her. She didn’t want this complication in her life right now. She didn’t want to feel this way for a man who was so much a part of the life she’d left behind.

Torn in opposing directions, she looked at the monitor and did a double take. She narrowed her eyes at the screen. “What—” she muttered under her breath, checking for a different view of Pyrrha’s stall, then another.

Her blood ran cold. Oh, no, it couldn’t be. It couldn’t—“Luc,” she yelled, frantic, bursting through the door. “She’s gone, Luc. Pyrrha is gone.”

She and Luc immediately started to search. Dennis instructed them to stay in touch and said he would bring the horse trailer as soon as they called him. It turned out that the barn help hadn’t completely closed the door to Pyrrha’s stall and the horse had literally walked out the door.

It was pitch-black, bitter cold, and snow fell sideways owing to the raging wind.

Luc decided to use an ATV to follow Gwen’s Lab, June, as the dog searched for Pyrrha’s scent. Gwen was worried out of her mind. “She wasn’t ready for this,” she said to Luc. “She hadn’t rested enough. Her scrapes hadn’t healed.”

“We’ll find her,” he said, focusing on the dark, icy terrain.

“How can you be sure?”

“Because we’re both too hardheaded not to find her,” he said and spared her a quick glance.

His confidence quieted her panic to a dull roar inside her. It felt as if they were crawling behind June. Every moment seemed to take forever.

After an hour, Luc gave June some water and put slippers on the dog to protect her paws. Their breath left visible vapor trails in the air. He turned to Gwen. “It’s too cold out here. I’ll call Dennis to take you back to the house.”

She shook her head vehemently. “No, I’m okay.”

“Gwen—”

She shook her head again. “Really, I’m okay. Being beside you is keeping me warm,” she admitted.

“Okay,” he conceded reluctantly. “A little longer.”

They continued on for another twenty-five minutes and Luc stopped the ATV. He touched her cold nose. “I can’t let you stay out here any longer.”

“I’m f-fi—” She broke off, appalled that her chattering teeth revealed how chilled she was.

“That’s it,” he said.

June raced ahead, barking loudly.

Gwen’s heart raced in hope. “She’s f-found something. We have to follow her.”

Luc followed the lab to a small wooded area and killed the engine. He helped Gwen out of the ATV and grabbed a rope and halter. “You sure you can do this?”

She nodded emphatically, but silently, because she didn’t want him to hear her teeth chattering again. Stepping into the footsteps he created in the snow, she followed him into the woods. June continued to bark, and she could hear a scrambling sound.

“Sounds like June has cornered something,” Luc said.

Less than a moment later, they heard a neigh. He stopped to listen, and another neigh sounded. Glancing back at Gwen, he nodded with a smile and offered her his hand. “That dog deserves a steak when we get back.”

“Sh-she’ll get it,” Gwen said, hanging on to Luc as he picked up his pace. Meandering through the trees, they stopped when they found Pyrrha trapped between two trees with a stone wall at her back and June guarding her escape. Gwen immediately called Dennis on her cell phone to give him their location.

“Ho,” Luc said and approached the horse.

Pyrrha pricked up her ears at the sound of his voice. Gwen held her breath, fearing the horse would bolt and run.

Talking in a soothing voice, Luc continued his steady approached and lifted the halter to her nose. Pyrrha backed away, but her hindquarters quickly encountered the wall.

Pulling an apple from his pocket, Luc offered the fruit to Pyrrha. She tentatively walked forward, sniffing. Gwen watched in amazement as the horse took the apple from his hand. He’d known exactly how to handle the wild, frightened horse. She couldn’t help wondering if his instincts extended to human women, specifically her. Luc tossed the rope over Pyrrha’s head.

Relief gushed through Gwen like a waterfall. Even though she knew they still had to get Pyrrha safely back to the barn, she had a strong sense that the horse would be okay.

An hour later they had settled Pyrrha into her stall with fresh hay, fresh water and a warming light. Maybe it was crazy how she continued to identify with the pregnant horse, but Gwen felt more protective of Pyrrha and her baby than ever.

Luc moved beside her. “Dennis says the vet will visit in the morning. You should go back to the house and get some rest.”

She shook her head. “I’m sleeping right here tonight. I’ve got a cot.”

“You’re crazy. I bet you’re dehydrated. You’re just setting yourself up to get sick.”

“I’ll be okay. I’m stronger than I look,” she said and smiled. “My teeth stopped chattering within five minutes of when we arrived at the barn.”

He gave a sigh of disapproval. “Okay, have it your way. I’ll stay, too.”

Strange feelings trickled through her. Gwen had been counting on some time away from Luc to regain her sense and defenses. At the moment, she was overwhelmed with all kinds of emotions—gratitude, vulnerability…and a craving to be close to him that she knew she should ignore.

“That’s not necessary,” she said. “Besides, there’s only one cot and I’m using it.”

He shrugged. “I know you have some extra blankets and sleeping bags because I saw them in the storage room.”

Her energy seeping out of her with each passing moment, she raised her hands. “Okay, but don’t blame me when you end up with a backache.”

Luc grabbed the cot, along with a couple of sleeping bags and blankets, and brought them next to Pyrrha’s stall. He joined Gwen at the stall door. She was leaning against the side, her head already bobbing from fatigue. “You’re doing it again,” he said in a low voice, skimming his finger underneath her chin.

Her eyelids fluttered open, and she jerked her head upward. “I’m fine. I’m not—”

“Let’s take turns. You rest, I’ll watch.”

She rubbed her eyes with a weary motion. “I should say no. She’s not your responsibility.”

Luc couldn’t explain why he felt protective of both Gwen and Pyrrha, but their combination of defiance and vulnerability got under his skin. “Just rest.”

Hesitant, she glanced at Pyrrha, then back at him. “You’re sure?”

“Yeah, I’m sure.”

Her eyes softened, making his gut do strange things. “Thanks,” she said. “For everything.”

“No problem,” he said and locked gazes with her for a moment. The hint of longing in her eyes echoed inside him.

Deliberately looking away, she turned to the cot, spread out a sleeping bag on top and crawled inside it. Her moan sounded sensual even though he knew she was dead tired and she wasn’t making the sound from sexual pleasure.

Within seconds, he heard her breathing soften to the rhythm of sweet sleep. He took the opportunity to study her while she slept and felt like a thief.

He looked at her stubborn chin and wondered if her marriage to Peter Horrigan was what had made her so independent minded. She resisted his help at nearly every turn. He wondered what it would be like to have her trust. Luc sensed that Gwen’s trust would be a precious thing, her love even more so.

Love? Where had that thought come from? Frowning, he looked away, glancing at Pyrrha. The horse’s head dipped as she snoozed. “I bet you’re tired,” he murmured. “You caused some excitement tonight.”