“No problem.” He carefully set each piece of wood in the box a few feet from the potbelly stove.
He walked over to the fire and stoked the embers, even though they were fully alight with flames. “It should heat up in here in no time,” he said, closing the stove and turning back to her. “But if you don’t mind, I’m going to warm up before I go.”
She couldn’t help the smile that overtook her face at his lame excuse for wanting to be around her for a little longer. Was it possible that he was feeling the same confusing mess of emotions that she was?
“What about the bikers? What if they come here?” She nibbled seductively at her lip.
“I think you’re okay. They didn’t get your real name, did they?” he asked, almost as if he was oblivious to the fact that she was, in a way, asking him to spend the night.
He definitely wasn’t a player, or there would have been no way he would have missed her pitch.
“I don’t think so,” she continued. “But I’d feel better if you stayed for a while. You know, just to make sure they don’t come after me...or us.”
Maybe his miss was a hit after all.
“About the bikers, why didn’t you tell Grant about the rendezvous tomorrow?” He moved slightly so he could face his palms toward the heat.
Lex walked over and stood beside him at the fire. She shrugged. “I dunno. It just didn’t feel right, you know?”
“Are you worried that if you tell him, word will get to Travis?”
She hadn’t thought of that, but Casper might have a point. If she had given Grant the information, it would make Travis’s work significantly easier. She wasn’t vindictive or glory-seeking, but it ate at her that he was taking over, and no doubt would get all the accolades when he solved the case.
“I’m going to have to tell Travis about what we found anyway, I guess.”
“If that’s not it, then what do you mean by, ‘it didn’t feel right’? Grant didn’t seem like a bad guy. If anything, he was pretty helpful going out and talking to the local cops for us, and he combed the wreck—twice.”
A thought struck her. “You’re right. He did comb the scene of the wreck.” She rushed to the tiny table by the kitchen and grabbed a piece of paper. She jabbed her pen into the soft paper as she wrote down a series of names.
“Look,” she said, lifting the note for him to see. “These are all the people who knew we were carrying the drugs that night. Travis, Hal, the other ranger—John—and you and I. We were the only people on the scene of Razor’s death.”
“We talked about this. I don’t see how those guys could be behind us losing the drugs.”
“Think about it... Who all have Travis and John been talking to?”
Casper shook his head, not following her.
“I’m sure they’ve been talking to Grant.” She ran her hands through her hair with excitement. “When they were taking off in the helicopter from the crime scene, Travis was on the phone. He was probably telling Grant about what we had found and where we were going with the drugs. Maybe they set up the accident. Then maybe Grant just picked up the pills.”
“Are you serious? You think that Travis and Grant have something to do with our drugs getting stolen? It seems a little far-fetched.”
She paused, staring at the yellow legal pad and its list of names. He might be right, but then again, there was a little part of her that couldn’t accept it. “How did Grant know we were here tonight? That you were with me? The last people who saw us together were the bikers.”
“So now you think the bikers are in Grant’s pocket?” Casper took off his hat and threw it on her couch, just atop the quilt her foster mother had made her. “This isn’t some episode of Law and Order. Everyone isn’t in cahoots. There has to be a more simple explanation to all this.”
“Why are you being so dismissive of my idea?” she asked, trying to keep her annoyance from seeping into her voice.
“I’m not being dismissive. I just don’t think the entire ranger district is involved with a biker gang. I mean, take yourself, for example. You were married to Travis. Did either of you have bikers stopping by? Was there anything at all before this started to make you think he, or anyone you know, has been working with the MC?”
She sighed, setting the pad back down on the table. “Maybe you’re right. I’m getting ahead of myself. It’s just...I want to get to the bottom of this.”
“Everything’s going to be okay, even if we don’t solve this tonight.” Casper walked over and stopped behind her. He started to rub her shoulders. It felt so good, the kneading pressure of his fingers in her taut muscles. She hadn’t realized how stressed she was. “You know, at least something good came from all this.”
She opened her eyes and looked back at him. “What’s that?”
“I got the chance to meet you. You’re the best thing that’s happened to me in years.” He leaned down and his lips met hers in one glorious kiss.
Her body flushed to life. It felt so right as his tongue brushed against her lower lip and she tasted the mint on his breath. She turned around, not breaking their kiss. Reaching up, she ran her fingers through his slightly-too-long locks.
His hair was so soft, it felt like strands of silk in her fingers. She pulled him harder against her lips. She wanted more. So much more.
Even so, there was a warning that sounded from the back of her mind. For a moment she paid it heed, but quickly doused the negative sparks with the euphoric wave of his kiss. She could have this. Him. Here. Now.
Consequences and the future be damned.
She was an adult woman. A woman with needs. A woman with wants. And right now the thing she wanted most was pressing against her, his body responding in a way that proved he wanted her as badly as she wanted him.
He pulled her into his arms. His shirt was wet and he smelled of pine and sweat all laced with the heady aroma of lustful pheromones. If she was forced to think of the sexiest scent on the planet, it would have been him, in this moment.
She trailed her fingertips down from his hair and over the rough stubble that riddled his cheeks. Drawing back, she ran her thumb over the slightly chapped skin of his lower lip. Playfully, he took her finger into his mouth and traced his tongue just over the tip. He nibbled it and she drew back at the surprising mix of pain and craving.
Lifting his hand from her waist, she mimicked his movement, sucking and pulling his finger into her mouth. Deep and long. Licking the length and stroking it with her lips. On his fingertip was a bump and he winced slightly as she swirled her tongue on the spot. She stopped.
“Are you okay?” she asked, looking at the place on his finger that she had felt with her mouth.
There was a small dot and the skin around it was raised and angry.
“Don’t worry about it,” he said, slightly breathless.
She smiled as she thought of how she had made him feel.
“What happened here?” she asked, attempting to prolong the agony of desire.
“I poked my finger when I was sewing your pants. It’s no biggie. Really,” he said, leaning in to take her mouth again, but she pulled back.
“You mended my pants?”
“Yeah, your work ones. The ones you ripped on the log.”
“When?”
He sighed and stood tall, as though he realized that she was playing hard to get. “I mended them when you were asleep in the hospital.”
She stepped out of his arms, going to the laundry basket in the bathroom and taking out the pants. There was a small series of stitches, perfectly aligned and set. It was better than she could have done. In fact, if she hadn’t known better, she would have thought a professional had done the work.
He walked into the room behind her and leaned against the door frame. “Up to snuff?” He gave her that roguish
grin she loved so much and she dropped the pants back into the basket.
“Even better.” She took him by the hand and led him to her bed.
It melted her heart as she thought of him sitting beside her, setting to work on her pants. There was something so hot about this alpha-type man sewing. Thinking of her broken man taking care of her in such a selfless and domestic way made any last shred of doubt about him slip away.
He checked every box that she wanted in a man—strong, smart, sweet, caring, not afraid to speak his mind and not afraid to admit when he was wrong. He was the unicorn that every woman wanted. And he was hers.
She reached up and started unbuttoning his shirt.
“What’re you doing?” he asked.
“You took care of me, now I take care of you.” She gave him an impish grin. “We need to get these wet clothes off. I don’t want you catching your death of cold.”
He laughed. “I see...” He sucked in a breath as her hands moved to the lowest buttons of his shirt and she skimmed the rough fabric of the front of his pants.
She loved this game and relished the thought of making him long for her.
Slipping his shirt from his shoulders, he stood there, his body reflecting the orange flickering light of the fire. He had a thin patch of hair between his pecs, just enough for her to run her fingers through without being too much.
Stepping closer, she took his nipple into her mouth and sucked, making a popping sound as she moved to the next. His breathing intensified, and his hot breath slipped down her neck and under her shirt like a caressing touch, making her nipples as hard as those in her mouth.
He pulled her up to him, taking control. He fumbled with the buttons on her shirt, but in his state, his fingers seemed to be disconnected from his body. He gave up and ripped it off, sending buttons flying throughout the room.
“It’s a good thing you know how to sew,” she joked.
His smirk returned, but this time his eyes were burning with red-hot desire that made her core clench and the dampness grow between her thighs.
He unbuttoned her pants and let them fall onto the growing heap of clothes. Gently he lifted her onto the bed, laying her head on the pillow. “Are you okay?” he asked, as if touching her hair had suddenly reminded him of their accident.
Some of the heat disappeared in his eyes and she longed for it to come back.
“Don’t worry about me. Right now let’s just be here, in this moment.” She unbuttoned his pants.
His body arched around her touch as if he was shy, but wanted more. Ever so slowly, she lowered her hand, tracing her fingers down his length. The fire in his eyes raged once again.
She pushed his pants and boxers off.
He moved between her legs and lowered himself into her. Her body pulsed with life and she moaned at the beautiful torture of feeling him inside her.
If she had her way, this night would last forever.
Chapter Thirteen
As Lex arrived at the ranger station the next morning, her body ached with the pleasant pain that came after a long night of lovemaking. She smiled as she thought of their time together, him between her thighs, and the feeling of her head on his chest. Her mind swam in the warm thoughts of what the future could bring, until her friend Kelly stepped out from the back office and stopped at the front desk.
Her work friend was in her midthirties, petite but a bit on the heavy side, and on the cuff of her shirt there was peanut butter smeared where one of her kids had used her as a napkin.
“Lex, what’re you doing here?” she asked. “I thought you were still recovering. I was going to stop by and see you after I got off work today.”
“Dragger wanted me back—wants me to button up Sperry.”
“Are you serious? Dragger called you back? He couldn’t have meant it after what happened. Did they ever figure out who forced you off the road?”
Lex shook her head and, not for the first time that day, she wished Casper was still with her. She had made him stay behind and look further into the bikers.
“No one’s come forward and we can’t track down any witnesses. Grant’s helping us.” She paused. “By chance, have you talked to him lately?”
Kelly nodded. “He called me last night and asked me where you were. Apparently he was looking for you—did you guys catch up?”
So, Casper had been right. Grant had been telling the truth and had just luckily tracked them down. She felt silly for suspecting that everyone around her was guilty. Maybe she was just losing her mind; or maybe her past was conflicting with her present.
It was a wonder that Casper wanted anything to do with her and her baggage. Maybe he just didn’t know what he was getting himself into. Or maybe last night had been his attempt at a one-time thing. A sliver of panic moved through her. Had last night been just that—a one-night stand?
“Are you okay?” Kelly asked, almost as if she could read her mind.
She plastered a fake smile on her face and nodded, but Kelly kept looking at her as though she didn’t believe her.
Travis’s voice echoed out from the back office, but she couldn’t tell whom he was talking to.
She couldn’t even fake a smile as she heard him.
He was laughing at some unheard joke as he stepped out into the main office. He gave her a smug grin as he spotted her. “I thought you were going to quit.”
So he’d been talking to Dragger at some point? She shouldn’t have been surprised. Why had Dragger told Travis about his threat to fire her? Travis had no business knowing anything about her or her options.
“Oh, I’m sorry to disappoint,” she said, trying to summon every bit of self-confidence that she could muster.
Dragger and John walked out from the back office. John, the blond ranger from the recovery, was strutting like a fat goose as he looked at her.
“What’s wrong with you?” she asked as John stuffed his thumbs into his pockets.
“John here,” Dragger said, motioning toward the man, “will be taking over the case.”
“But—but you said it was going to be Travis who took over,” she stammered as she stared in disbelief at her ex-husband.
“I changed my mind,” Dragger said with a dismissive shrug. “He asked to go with you up to Sperry instead.”
“What in the hell? Why did you do that, Travis?” Who did he think he was to push his way back into her life?
“Whether we are married or not, Lex, I care about you—not like that CBP agent you’ve been running with the last few days. There’s no way that after your accident I’m just going to let you go up to the chalet and spend the whole day working all by yourself. It’s a recipe for disaster.”
Travis had never been the kind for grand gestures, and when they’d been together he’d never gone out of his way to make sure that she was okay. If anything, most things had revolved around him and his needs—especially when it came to “his time.” There had to be something else going on, something that he wasn’t telling her.
“First, Travis, you don’t let me do anything. If I go up there, it’s my choice to make and not yours. Second, why the sudden change of heart? You don’t give two shakes about me.”
Dragger stuffed his toe into the thin industrial carpet as he tried to look at anything but her.
Travis rolled his eyes, and the stupid adolescent response made her want to pitch her shoe at him. She had every right to get upset. He didn’t love her. He hadn’t loved her in a long time. Just like his showing up at the hospital, it was nothing more than a show.
“Lex, I’ve always loved you.” He reached over and tried to touch her, but she batted his hand away in disgust.
“If you loved me, Travis, then why did you treat me like you did?”
Kelly smiled from behind the desk and gave her a
little thumbs-up, as if she was enjoying the show that was happening in front of her.
“Knock it off, you two,” Dragger ordered. “You have plenty of time to hash out your private business on the ride up to Sperry.”
She considered being petulant and telling Dragger that she refused to work with Travis, but from the sour look on Dragger’s face, it would only end in her being reprimanded—or worse.
“I want you to take the pack horses and use Gunsight Trail. Check that all the hikers are out so we can close the trail,” Dragger ordered, looking to Travis and giving a quick nod of the head like they had some private agreement. “Before you go, Alexis, you need to fill John in on all your findings with the case. Where’s Agent Lawrence? I thought he was going to be here to pick up his new partner.”
She was happier than ever that she had told Casper to cut and run.
“I have no idea where he’s at, sir,” she said, not entirely lying. All that mattered now was that he was making the most of what little time he had before John interfered.
* * *
CASPER CLOSED HIS eyes and leaned his head against the car’s window as he let last night’s memories flash through his mind. Their bodies entangled in a mess of arms and legs, wet with sweat and smelling of sex. His body shuttered to life, but he tried to ignore it. He was one lucky son of a gun.
He had imagined that a night with her would be hot, but she had been even better than his best fantasies. It had been one hell of a way to spend the night—and if he had his way, it was exactly where he’d like to spend the entirety of his life. If he did, he would die a happy man.
There was a knock on his window and he opened his eyes to see Deputy Steel standing outside the car, staring at him.
“Are we gonna work or just hang out and nap all day?” Steel asked, his voice muffled by the glass.
“Get in,” Casper ordered, half laughing as he motioned to the passenger seat. “I’ve been waiting for you nearly all day. I thought you must have gotten lost. I know that’s a problem for the Marshal Service.”
“Sorry, your mom made me breakfast after last night,” Steel ribbed.
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