Surviving Seduction by Maia Underwood

to know that you wil do what I ask, even if it makes no sense to you,” he stepped in and placed a hand on each of her shoulders. “Do you trust me enough to listen?”
    “I promise I wil do whatever you tel me to do. Unless it looks like you’re going to die.”

    Dan groaned in frustration.
    “No one can promise to be in control of themselves in a situation like that,” she pointed out. “I could promise but I couldn’t be sure to keep it.”
    “Just try. Promise me that you’l try, at the very least.”
    “I wil do my very best to do what you ask, even if I think you’re going to die.”
    He nodded, looking somewhat mol ified, then returned to his packing.
    When they had everything they needed from the cabin, Selena fol owed Dan outside. Instead of heading to the tack room, he strode purposeful y to the kitchen.
    “Blaire,” he cal ed when they stepped inside.
    “Ya missed breakfast again. Becoming a bad habit,”
    she scolded.
    “We’re riding out. Taking Cal, Jack and Selena. I’l need provisions for us, plus a little bit of everything.”
    Blaire nodded and set about stuffing a burlap sack with the produce she had stored in the cabinets. A lemon, lime, plums, artichokes and a smal pouch of green beans al went inside. Many other kinds of fruits and vegetables that they’d grown were careful y placed in it as wel . When she was done with the produce, she wrapped up the meats that she knew would keep. There was an assortment of pork, chicken, venison and turkey, smoked, dried and salted. Lastly, she tied up a few pouches ful of several herbs and laid them inside. When she’d finished she handed the careful y packed sack to Dan, no questions asked.
    Selena watched the process with a raised brow. An offering, she assumed. Waving goodbye to Blaire, she fol owed Dan out.
    In less than an hour, the four of them were mounted and ready to go.

    Seven

    The journey was faster than usual, extending three days instead of four. Dan was intent on intercepting the free-grazers by the time they reached the remains of the neighboring town. The trek was grueling and Selena had wondered if Jack had been with the wagon so long he had forgotten how to ride in the saddle. He hadn’t.
    It was obvious that he didn’t see the point to the journey. Selena often caught him casting drol glances at Dan. In truth, she was as lost as he was about why Dan was so interested in these people. If Cal had any clue, he didn’t indicate it one way or the other.
    Selena was vexed that she didn’t know his reasons for meeting with them, but that was nothing to the growing dread she felt at the pit of her stomach. It was difficult enough for her to adjust to being around the handful of people they lived with now. She guessed there were many more of these free-grazers, and every one of them was a stranger. She was beginning to wish she hadn’t come when they arrived at the end of the hil s and the trees that shrouded them. For her entire life thus far, Selena had preferred living in the open. She could always spot other people before they spotted her. This gave her time to secret herself away as they passed. Now, knowing they planned to ride through what might involve crowds, she felt completely exposed under the wide, empty sky.
    As they rode through the old town, she nervously twisted her long, glossy brown hair into a bun in the hopes that it would draw less attention to her. At some point, she realized that she was fidgeting. Glancing at Jack over her shoulder where he rode behind her, she was perturbed to see that he hadnShe t missed it. Selena sighed. He knew far too much about her for her comfort.
    The sounds of cattle had been audible for some time now. Dan’s timing had been excel ent. When they reached the edge of the ramshackle buildings, the band of grazers could be distinguished with the naked eye.
    When her gaze met the scene before her, she wanted nothing more than to run with al her speed in the opposite direction. For