Fatal Attractions
Page 13
“Shoulda, woulda, oughta-“ Ariel clamped her lips together, as if she’d said too much, then studied the ground around the plane. Was she looking for the bear tracks or avoiding answering his statement?
“Sometimes there’s just no justice,” he murmured, as he pointed toward the bear’s prints. “Guess you found that out the hard way, too.”
With a shudder, she stared at the impressions, then she looked past him. Before she turned her back to him, he glimpsed an odd mixture of confusion in her expression before she moved toward the tents. “What I make is enough for myself and Tempest. Don’t worry, you’ll get your rent checks on time.”
“I didn’t mean-“ She turned to look at him over her shoulder, her expression vulnerable. “You’re right,” he hastily said, “your finances aren’t my business.” He heaved an inaudible sigh, when her facial muscles relaxed, but she continued to look at him as if he was the enemy. With a stepfather and husband like she’d had, it was no wonder she distrusted men. Of course, it also explained why she had married a bastard and why it was doubtful that she would ever be attracted to him. Yet, after the way she’d kissed him, perhaps the theory that women fell for guys like their father wasn’t completely true. He frowned. Marishka certainly was nothing like his mother. “I hate to think you aren’t getting a fair shake.” She trembled. With three strides, he caught up with her, close enough to see the tears brimming in her eyes. One oozed over, hung on her lower lashes a moment, then it slid down her cheek. “Oh, hell!” He hugged her tight. Her entire body shuddered against his. Despite her obvious misery, it felt erotic as hell.
Stone forced himself to think about the bastards in Ariel’s life – the one who had taken her on a trophy hunt and the other one who didn’t pay for his own kid. “I’m not worried about the rent.” Muffled sobs proceeded a damp spot’s spread across his chest. What kind of a jerk had she married?
Soothingly, Stone ran his hands over her back. Ariel melted against his body, molding her curves to his hard planes. He tried to focus on her bastard ex. His hand slid under her heavy flannel shirt and grazed the heat of her back. She became rigid. Startled by her obvious fear, he paused. The men in her life had been psychological abusers, had they been physical, too? “I’m sorry for-“ He released her then gestured helpless to express his suspicions without further alienating her. It looked like more tears were poised to follow the first. Before the water-works could start in earnest, he hurried toward camp. Once there, he sat down on a stool and wondered how he’d ever gotten sucked into her emotional problems.
Moments later, she settled onto the edge of the stool next to him. When the silence lengthened, he admitted, “I had a rotten divorce, too. The one thing I learned is that it got better when I started talking about it.”
She chewed on her upper lip, then her expression relaxed and she gave him a quivering smile. “How bad was yours?”
“Total humiliation.” Though Ariel’s gaze rolled upward, he sensed that she understood, as only a person who has experience that sort of hell can. “I fell in love with Marishka the first time I saw her.” He looked away from her and admitted, “At least I thought it was love, though I now know it was just lust. I thought she looked like an angel.”
“She had wings?” she joke
“Wings?” He laughed. “Believe it or not, yes, but no harp.” One corner of her lips tilted upward, beneath her confused expression. “Marishka had platinum blond hair, long legs and big blue eyes and the first time I laid eyes on her she was dressed up like Tinker Bell – wings, wand and all.” His first impression had been that she looked like either a high priced model or a wet dream. Probably both. He should have known she was trouble and steered clear. But he hadn’t been thinking with the right head. Ariel looked like what she was – the girl next door, which was the antithesis of Marishka. Logic told him to shut up, but for some reason, having Ariel understand the reasons for his failed marriage seemed important. Stone shook his head at his youthful stupidity. “I didn’t think I had a chance with someone like her, so I told her I’d take the trick.” He wished he’d just given her a fist full of candy. Ariel looked startled. He laughed, “It was Halloween.” Stone shook his head. “We got married after knowing each other a week.”
“You’re kidding.”
He wished he was. “I didn’t get to know the woman behind all the cosmetics and goop until after she had that damned slave-band on my hand.”
“You married her just because of her looks?” Her tone spiked high with disbelief.
The sex hadn’t been half bad, either. “Stupidest thing I’ve ever done.”
Ariel blinked.
He kneaded the knotted muscles at the base of his skull. “It took a while to figure out why she’d picked me, and even when I figured it out, it took a lot longer to believe it.”
She frowned.
He stared at the horizon.
“Well?” She asked, “Why did your wife marry you, if it wasn’t for love, or the fact she was as shallow as you and thought you looked gorgeous together?”
How would she know if they’d looked good together? And why did she think he was shallow? He was tempted to tell her that it was because he was so good in bed, but that wasn’t a smart thing to tell the ‘girl next door’, so he opted for the truth. “Marishka wanted U. S. citizenship.”
“She what?”
“She was an exchange student from Novosibirsk.” He grimaced. “I was too young and too naïve to realize how superior the U.S. was to other areas – Siberia, for example.”
She shoved a stray curl behind her ear. “It’s difficult to imagine you being immature or easily manipulated.”
He gave a short bark of laughter. “I learned a lot during the summer between my junior and senior years of college… I call it my two months in hell.”
“That was when you were married?”
“Actually before Thanksgiving in my sophomore year. It took a while for me to figure out her motives, because she acted so devoted that she even took some classes with me, but it was all for her green card.” His nod felt harsh.
“You think of your marriage as hell?”
Oh, yeah. “At least being used by Marishka made me into a better businessman. Before it mattered, I knew enough to read the fine print, knew never to take anything at face value, knew that if something seemed too good to be true, it probably was and to never trust anyone.”
She leaned forward, surprise filling her expression. “That’s totally paranoid.”
He focused completely on her. “Are you trying to tell me your marriage didn’t teach you to toss away the rose-colored glasses?” She stared at him open mouthed, than sat back on her stool and snapped her jaws shut. He slanted his body forward and rested his forearms on his knees, lest he shake her secrets out of her and thus prove to her that all men were the same. “I just bared my soul and showed you the scars. What went on with your ex? How come you cringe every time I touch you? … Did he beat you?”
She shivered, as if chilled by a miserable memory. “My past isn’t any of your business.”
Bingo, she’d been beaten. What else had the bastard done? “What other kinds of abuse did he put you through?” Though Stone used a gentle tone, she stood up, and took a step away from him as she her lips clamped into a thin line. “If it wasn’t because of abuse, how come you’re supporting your kid all by yourself?”
She swallowed twice. “That’s none of your business.”
“True,” Stone said. His honesty seemed to surprise her. “Don’t blame yourself. And don’t blame me.”
“Who should I blame? Satan? God?”
“How about your father?”
She looked like she’d been slapped. “W-w-what about my f-father?”
“I meant your step-father. He was the first man who disillusioned you, right?” Stone remembered the way she’d looked when she told him about the leopard. “Up until the moment he shot that cat, I suspect you thought he was one step below God.”
Stone watched the canvass flutter until it, again, hung motionless. He mulled over the bits and pieces of the conversation he’d overheard. “Do you think he recognized us?” Tempest’s tone had sounded fearful. If he hadn’t heard the anxiety in her voice, he would never have paused to listen, then weighed the wisdom of bursting into their tent and decided not to. Though Ariel’s voice had contained a trace of nervousness, it had immediately become apparent that the threat wasn’t eminent, and it had something to do with why they’d seemed so disturbed after their walk in Deadhorse. By the time he figured that out, he’d been too intrigued to leave.
“But he was so close.” When she’d made the statement, he’d heard the fear. Why wouldn’t Ariel openly admit her ex had abused her? Obviously the jerk had mistreated Tempest, too. Stone’s teeth ground at the thought of a man using his size and strength against others – particularly kids. Did she realize that hiding the truth made everything ten times worse? He’d doubted that fact until he’d experienced the liberty of sharing the biggest mistake of his past.
Stone rubbed his temple and told himself there was no reason why he should feel strongly about someone who he was unlikely to meet. But he did.
~0~
The tent’s undulating canvas made the shadowed interior seem like she was inside a peacefully sleeping creature. But peaceful was a far cry for how she felt. Without the bag to kick, Ariel couldn’t work out her aggressions, so she did the next best thing and picked up her sketchpad. As she added texture, to the tiny twig, she heard nearby snuffling. Ariel shook her head to shiver ran down her spine, as she recalled the enormous tracks she’d seen. She dropped her charcoal pencil and grabbed her small knife. When the rhythmic sound didn’t move, she crept to the flap. With every inch forward, the odd vibration sounded louder; more like the purring of a large, contented cat then the hunger pangs of a bear. Or so she hoped. Hair tingling at her nape, Ariel peered around the campsite. She held her breath and listened. The source of the sound seemed to be coming from the men’s tent. Had something huge and furry crept in there? Eyes unblinking, she watched the structure. When nothing happened, she looked around camp for Stone. Slowly, she realized she was alone in camp with a – something – a ‘something’ that sounded like it had huge lungs – a something that probably ate people – a something that was probably impervious to kick boxing and tiny knives. She hunkered back from the tent flap and told herself she should have gotten over her fear of guns years ago. The thin canvas rippled in response. It might be good to keep out rain, but it wouldn’t offer any protection against something with slashing claws. Of course, since she didn’t have slashing claws, it would certainly hold her for whatever wanted to eat her. She crept out of her tent and edged closer to the cooking area, which might offer some form of threat. Unfortunately, she had to move close to Stone and Link’s tent to get to there. Inch by inch the purring sound intensified. The when the other tent flap fluttered. She froze, expecting an attack. Instead, she saw Stone sprawled face down on top of his navy sleeping bag; appearing dead. A scream welled in her throat. Ariel clamped her hand over her mouth. She stared at the tent, wondering how he’d been murdered there. The flap moved aside, again. There were no maul marks on him. In fact, he appeared peaceful. Her gaze narrowed on his face. His lips moved in concert with the odd noise. She stood up, shamelessly staring at him, innocent as a babe, Stone snored on mere feet from her. Her cheeks burned with proof of her paranoia.
Since the first time since she’d met Stone O’Banyon, Ariel had wanted to study him and understand what it was about him that made her feel so different from other men. Now that she had the opportunity, she tiptoed back for her sketchbook. Clutching it, she stared at the man who simultaneously seemed hard as diamonds and gentle as a kitten.
Kneeling in the shadow of his tent, she flipped open to a new page and began portraying the man who haunted her dreams. Hard muscles contrasted with his gentle smile while light and shadows conspired to give him an air of mystery.
A distant shriek startled her as much as the shadow of an eagle passing over the sketch of Stone’s face.
Fearful that he would awaken and catch her, Ariel scrambled to the campstools and flipped to a new page, then made sweeping lines that captured the bird’s flight as it rode the unseen air currents.
One day she and Tempest would be free as that bird.
One day, they would be able to scream into the wind and not mind who heard or saw them.
One day…
Chapter 10
Stone purposefully grabbed his fishing gear, slung his rifle over his shoulder and walked away from their camp. Halfway out of camp, he stopped, turned and said, “Come on.”
“What?”
“You heard me. Come fishing with me.” Her mouth flattened and she shook her head. Stone took a deep breath, then used a gentler tone, “Look, it isn’t safe to be alone, unless you have a weapon… Do you?”
“No, and I never have.” But she might have to rethink that personal rule if she intended to live in bear country.
“Then come on.”
“What is it with you?” Ariel looked him up and down, as if she was wondering if he liked caveman tactics. “Since when do you have the power to tell me what to do and when to do it?”
Stone exhaled and looked to heaven. “Fine. Stay here with just pencil and paper to beat off predators.” He looked ready to spit with frustration. “At least let me leave my spare rifle with you.” She shook her head. “It’s that or I stay.”
Teeth gritted in distaste, Ariel held out her hand.
Stone studied her. “Do you know how to use a rifle?”
“You point the barrel and pull the trigger.” She looked like a rancid taste permeated her mouth. “Stone, I appreciate your concern, but I am not going to kill another living thing.”
“I didn’t ask you to.” He took a calming breath. “Can you at least fire three shots into the ground?” She nodded. “Good. If there’s a problem, that’ll alert me and Link about it, but you won’t have to compromise your sensibilities.” She looked skeptical but determined. “In truth, most predators flee at the first shot, but a series of three is the international distress signal, so fire all three. Okay?”
“Fine.”
He swung the Marlin off his shoulder and offered it to her. Ariel grasped the barrel in one hand and the stock in the other, her nose wrinkled in distaste. He set down the fishing gear and with a step, moved behind her. “Here, put this hand here.” He placed her left hand under the stock. “See how it balances?”
“It does, doesn’t it?” Her tone sounded surprised.
“Right. Now you place the butt here on your shoulder. This is a little long for you, but that doesn’t matter, since you’d only need to use it as a signaling device, not win a marksmanship trophy.” He positioned her other hand near the trigger. She reacted as if it had scorched her fingers. Stone pointed to a black button. “See this?” He pushed it, so a red shaft emerged. Some of the tension in Ariel’s spine eased, as she focused on the small part instead of the whole weapon. “This is the safety. Red is hot, black is not. Red has to show for this to fire.” He quickly put the safety back on before her shivering created a disaster.
“I think I can manage.” Her words sounded more confident than her tone. “First red for ready, then 3 shots into the dirt.
“Yep it’s dead simple.” She became rigid. Stone massaged her shoulders, but with every rub, he
r back remained as unyielding as marble. What had her ex done to her that she usually couldn’t stand any sort of physical contact with a man? He dropped his hands and said, “If you see a bear, what do you do?”
“Push this, point there and pull that.”
“Three times,” Stone said.
She nodded.
With nothing else to say, Stone got his other rifle then left. But with every step away, he wondered what it was about Ariel Danner that put his body on red alert. God must have a cruel sense of humor to first have him fall for mercenary Marishka and now have him dreaming of Ariel, who switched between steamy and glacial for no reason.
No sooner had Stone cast his line, than Link joined him. “Catch anything?”
“Not yet.” Stone offered Link his rod.
“Nah, you keep it. If I start fishing, I’ll forget everything else.
Stone wished fishing was as enthralling for him.
“The kid is fun, but-“ Link turned his hands palm up. Stone grunted in agreement. “This is a strange camping trip. Think we’ll ever take a couple females camping again?” Stone shrugged. Link frowned. “You still pissed at me for inviting the Danners?” Stone shook his head. “Will you cut with the silent treatment and tell me why you’re angry?”
“I’m not mad.”
Link snorted. “You haven’t been yourself for days.”
“I’ve had a lot on my mind.”
“Such as?” Stone shrugged. Link scratched a mosquito bite on his neck. “Mavis would have told me if something special was going on with the company. And there’s nothing unusual at home. That leaves Dolly.”
Stone started reeling in the fishing line.
“That’s it, isn’t it?” Link scrutinized him. “There’s a problem with Dolly. That’s why you’ve been acting strange.” Link warmed to his theory. “You’re having a problem with the love of your life and it’s infuriating you.”