by Diana Duncan
“I know.” She softened her voice. “But life happens, Aidan. You can’t protect me from it. And I don’t want you to.” She gave him a gentle hug. “In the end, nobody gets out alive. I’d rather experience every moment to the fullest, make the most of every opportunity for a brief time, than grow stagnant.”
He went absolutely still. In the shocked silence, she couldn’t even hear him breathing. Finally, he inhaled sharply. “Dammit,” he whispered. He was trembling. “You don’t have to throw me over a cliff twice. Okay, I get it.”
She frowned. Her sixth sense told her he wasn’t ready to explain why her statement had rattled him so badly. Sometimes, it was better to quit while you were ahead. “I’ll scout around, see if I can find shelter.” Before he could protest, she slipped out from under the tarp and struggled back into her wet shirt.
Aidan lay in darkness and mustered his strength. He had to help Zoe, yet couldn’t make his body obey the order. His thoughts raced in his head like the lead car at the Daytona 500. He’d nearly made the same mistake again. He’d not only locked up his own emotions, he’d tried to arrest and incarcerate Zoe’s joie de vivre. Not intentionally. Her zest for life was one of the things he appreciated most about her. Along with her bravery, creativity, smarts and sound moral compass. But his overprotective instincts wanted to lock her in a gilded cage. Which was no way to live.
No matter how good the intentions, a cell was still a cell.
He blew out a frustrated breath and scrubbed his hand over his face. He had to learn to let go. To live in the moment. Zoe could teach him a thing or two about that.
He swept the tarp off his face, eased to a sitting position and woozily glanced around. He caught a flash of white near the cliff’s base. Zoe had survived a horrendous childhood to become a light in the darkness. Not like the harsh glare that would be cast by the flares he’d liberated from the boat. She shone with a soft glow that illuminated every shadowed corner in his soul. A pure brightness that unflinchingly revealed the truth. Forced him to face facts.
She baffled him, dazzled him and frustrated the hell out of him. And he reveled in the challenge. She’d saved his life…twice. At considerable risk to her own. The realization made him tremble. If anything happened to her, it would rip out his heart.
Because he loved her.
He reeled from the nuclear blast, but didn’t duck the fallout. Merely accepted it. He’d spent the past six months denying the reality slowly being hammered into his thick skull. But he couldn’t deny the truth when it slapped him in the face.
Holy crap! He loved her. With a consuming, heart-shaking fierceness he’d vowed never to feel. Fear and exultation tangled inside him. He’d never wanted to leave a woman behind. Zoe refused to be left behind. He’d never wanted grief to devastate his soul mate. Zoe would grieve as deeply as she loved, but she hadn’t let pain stop her from living before and wouldn’t in the future. He’d never wanted a woman to be dependent on him. An unsteady chuckle slipped out. He’d received his wish. His intrepid reporter was about as independent as they came. Zoe didn’t need him. But if she chose to share her life with him, she’d be loyal forever.
They had incredibly hot sexual chemistry. Meshed emotionally and intellectually. She carried the same aching loneliness within her that shadowed his own soul. In some ways, she was as strong as he. In other ways, stronger. Together, two halves made a whole. Could they have a future?
The possibility staggered him. Thrilled him. Terrified him. So much was at stake. He’d have to risk everything.
He clenched his fists and made a silent vow. He would get them both out of here alive. Neither would die just when he’d discovered how much they had to live for.
“Zoe,” he called. “I need your help.” There, that wasn’t so tough to admit, was it?
“Coming!” She hurried to his side, a pale angel of mercy in the murky gloom. Shivering, she knelt in front of him. “What do you need?”
You. He rubbed her shoulders. Her skin was chilled under the damp tuxedo shirt. “You’re freezing in this wind. You shouldn’t have put that wet shirt back on.”
She fussed with the tarp, wrapped it around him. “I can’t run around in nothing but panties.”
“No objections from the rear guard.” He understood her preference to be cold over the vulnerability of being naked. While he was comfortable with his body, he wasn’t yet comfortable with his naked, vulnerable emotions. “Rig the sling again so I can help you search.”
“You should stay put and rest.” He shot her an exasperated look, and she sighed. “Okay, fine.” She scooped up the waterlogged cummerbund and bow tie. “Tough guys,” she muttered. “Can’t live with them, can’t strangle them in their sleep.”
He chuckled. “Don’t blame you there. I’ve been a pain in the ass since the day we met.” He sobered, cradled her chin in his hand. “I haven’t been fair to you.”
She tilted her head. “What makes you say that?”
“I made assumptions based on your occupation. About your M.O., morals and motives. I was wrong. Dead wrong. I’m sorry, sweetheart.”
She froze in the act of fastening the sling. Blinked. “Uh…wow,” she whispered. “Apology accepted.” Her full, sexy lips trembled, and she pressed them together. “Um…does this mean you’re unpacking the baggage?”
“Honey, the baggage fell over the cliff when I did. It’s shattered into a million pieces.”
Tears sparkled in her eyes, and she shuddered. “Like you almost were.”
“A super-size wake-up call.” He stroked a fingertip down her nose. “We need to find shelter.” He struggled to his feet, and the world swam in a dizzying arc.
Her arm slid around his waist. “I found an opening that might be a cave.” She hesitated. “I couldn’t…didn’t go inside.”
“Lead on.”
With Zoe shivering beside him, he trudged up the beach. Weak and woozy, he took twice as long as he should have, and aggravation tightened his jaw. He hated being a liability to her.
He glanced around the small crescent of pale sand carved out of towering cliffs. The ocean roared at their backs, trapping them in the cove. At daybreak, they’d be completely exposed. Easy pickings for the bad guys.
They reached the rock wall, and she stopped. “Here.”
“Maybe.” He studied the narrow fissure. “I’ll check it out. Pass me a flare.” He strode forward, but a wave of dizziness assaulted him. He staggered, missed the cleft and rammed into the wall. Pain drove him to his knees, gasping in the sand.
She wrapped the tarp around him. “I’ll d-do it.” Her shaky tone belied her brave words.
He ground his teeth and struggled to rise. Dammit, she was terrified to go in there. He was failing her.
She patted his good shoulder. “Aidan, just sit and rest. You’ll hurt yourself again, and then where will we be? I can’t carry you.”
She hesitated at the cleft, counting softly. Blew out a quivering breath. “H-how d-do I light the flare?”
“You can’t, not until you get far enough inside so the light won’t reflect out.” He reached out to her. “Help me up. I can’t make it alone and neither can you. We’ll conquer it together.”
“You finally admitted it.” She smiled broadly. “We make a great team.”
Following his instructions, she erased their tracks from the beach, and then returned to where he leaned against the cold rocks. Her wide, fearful gaze met his. “How long before we can have light?”
“I don’t have any way to gauge, honey. I’ll be with you every step of the way.”
“All right.” She gulped, nodded. “Will you hold my hand?”
“You bet.” He didn’t figure he’d get her inside without doing so. He’d probably have to pull her most of the way. “Ready?”
She nodded again, and he squeezed inside. Following the dark, twisting, claustrophobic passage, he turned down several blind alleys and almost got stuck twice. He was far enough inside to fire up the flare, bu
t didn’t have room. He’d set his hair on fire.
When he slowed to wind around a low ledge, Zoe stopped, frozen. He tugged on her hand. “C’mon, sweetheart. Keep moving.”
“O-okay.” Her rapid, panicked breaths sounded far too close to hyperventilating. And in spite of the fact that they were out of the wind, her shaking had increased.
Entombed in cold, hard granite, he slithered forward as quickly as possible. “We’re getting close. Smell that?”
She sniffed, lurched to a halt. “Is that odd smell bats? Wait. I hear rustling!” Her voice rose three octaves, and she broke contact. “There’s a horde of bats in here!”
“Zoe…no! Don’t let go!” If he lost her in the dark maze, he might never find her again. He grabbed for her hand, but missed.
“I can’t!” She skittered backward, away from him. “I have to get out!”
Chapter 13
4:00 a.m.
“Zoe, stop!” Aidan turned to follow, but bumped his shoulder. He groaned and clutched the wall. “No. Bats!”
“No bats?” Her terrified question floated back. “Spiders? Snakes? Creepy-crawlies of any variety?”
“No.” At least he hoped not. “The Cascade Range is made up of volcanoes. That sulfur smell means there are hot springs ahead. Which indicates a cave. Soon, we can light a flare.”
“What’s that rustling noise? C-can’t we light a flare now?”
“It’s the simmering water. There’s not enough room for a flare yet.” He kept his tone low and soothing. “Come back to me, Zoe. You don’t want to get lost in here all alone.”
Her gulp was audible. “I’m…paralyzed.”
“Come on, sweetheart. Walk toward my voice.” Her footsteps shuffled on the sandy floor, and he kept talking. “Keep moving, Zoe. My hand is right here. Reach out and take it.”
When her ice-cold fingers finally grasped his, he sighed in relief. “I’ve got you.”
She shook so hard her teeth chattered. “I—I panicked.”
“It’s okay. Everything will be okay. Hold on to me and don’t let go again.” He squeezed her hand. “It might help if you close your eyes, so you can’t ‘see’ the dark.”
“M-maybe. All right. I c-can d-do this.” A long pause made him hold his breath before she finally declared, “I can.”
“Yes, you can.” Her breathing had reached critical mass. He needed to calm her down before she passed out and they were literally stuck between a rock and a hard place. “Just a little farther. Remember, you wanted to tell me something about the Musketeers? When we were in the creek.”
“M-Musketeers?” She paused. “Oh, yes. You said one for all, and all for one. Which made me think. You’re like Athos…wise and sad, and a strong, excellent leader.” The distraction worked, and her inhalations slowed. “Con has the bravado of D’Artagnan. Liam has Porthos’s humor.” Another breath. “Grady is like Aramis…an interesting combo of smarts and swashbuckler.”
“You have the O’Rourke brothers pegged.” His chuckle rebounded eerily in the winding passage. “Does that make you Milady D’Winter?”
Zoe snorted. “She was…nuts.”
He pressed onward, following the ever-stronger sulfur smell. “You’re making my case for me, Brenda Starr.”
“Thanks bunches. I never slug wounded men,” she panted from behind him. “Consider yourself owed.”
“I look forward to payment in full.” He squeezed around the final bend and into an airy, echoing cavern. “We made it. Hang tight for three more seconds before you open your eyes.”
He scratched a flare into life and grinned at the sight in front of him. “Open sesame.”
Zoe gasped, her astonished gaze traveling around the golden, glittering chamber. “It’s beautiful! Gold?”
“Pyrite. Fool’s gold.” He swallowed hard. Her wet shirt had turned sheer, her dusky nipples clearly visible in the shimmering light. She was far more beautiful than the cave.
He led her behind a short rock wall. “Right on target.”
Shivering, she plopped her survival bag on the sand beside the steaming pool. “Now that we’re closer, it smells kind of like hardboiled eggs. I’m so cold, I can’t wait to jump in.”
He knelt, jammed the flare into the sandy floor and dipped a cautious fingertip into the bubbles. Natural hot springs could exceed boiling temperature. “Perfect. Climb in.”
“I’ll help you start a fire first.”
Driftwood liberally scattered the sand—evidence that seawater had once flooded the cave. The wood was bone-dry, so he dismissed that concern. He had enough worries. They both needed food, and more importantly, water. How would he get them out of here? He bent to grasp a log, swayed and nearly fell. He clenched his jaw. How was he supposed to protect Zoe when he was staggering around like a frat boy on pledge night?
She took the log from him. “Let me.”
“Here.” He handed her his knife. “Slice small slivers of wood.” Using Muscles’s lighter, torn pages from her spiral notebook and kindling, they soon built a crackling fire.
He propped his back against the wall, closed his eyes and let the heat radiate into his aching muscles.
“Aidan?” Zoe’s soft palm nestled above his heart. “Shall I help you undress?”
He looked down at her hand, small and fragile against his tanned chest. Looked up at her weary, trusting eyes, shimmering golden-green in the firelight. Looked at the scrapes and bruises marring her creamy skin. Every protective instinct inside him surged to the surface. “I’ll manage. Hop in.”
She stuck out her lower lip in an exaggerated pout. “Aw, I’ve been wanting to get you out of your pants since the night we met. SWAT…some women adore trouble.”
He chuckled. “How can I say no?”
Her impish grin flashed. “You can’t.” She knelt, untied his shoes and removed them, and then stood. Her smiling gaze held his as her nimble fingers unfastened and unzipped his fly. It wasn’t so tough to give her what she wanted, after all.
She drew his pants toward his hips. Tugged. “I can’t seem to…they’re caught on…” She glanced down and a blush stained her cheeks. “Oh. My. Gosh. No wonder.”
He’d been sporting a raging erection since he’d awakened with her naked breasts pressed to his chest. “I’ll do it.”
Her blush flared hotter. She snatched away her hands. “I don’t want to uh…damage anything important.” She choked and spun, putting her back to him.
“Zoe,” he said, his voice soft and low. “Don’t be embarrassed because you turn me on. I’m not.”
“I know you’re attracted to me.” Her uncertain murmur was barely audible. “I’m just not sure you want to be.”
“I wasn’t sure at first, either.” He reached out and wrapped a silky curl around his forefinger. “I am now.”
“You—” Her shoulders hitched. “You’re all right with it? You actually like me?”
Her tremulous question punched him in the gut. She’d had so little in her bleak life. He wanted nothing more than to reassure her. He knew she desired him. Enjoyed being with him. He didn’t know if her feelings were as intense as his. A grubby cave in the middle of a life-or-death chase was hardly the place to blurt out a declaration of love. She’d never had anyone or anything. He would not cheat her out of a courtship. He wanted to shower her with flowers. Candy. Jewelry. Laugh with her over favorite movies. Cook her hearty meals. Stroll with her hand-in-hand and talk about her hopes and dreams.
He wanted to show her how much he cared.
He stepped closer, and put his hand on her shoulder. “Oh, yeah. I like you, sweetheart.” He rested his head against hers. “I like you a lot.”
“I…” Her voice caught. She was trembling. “L-like you a lot, too.”
“Good to hear.” He rubbed his thumb along the side of her smooth neck, and she trembled harder. He kissed her hair. “Let’s get into that nice warm water.”
“You first.”
She kept her back to him whi
le he laboriously stripped off his damp slacks and jockeys and stepped into the pool. He sat on a protruding ledge and sank chest-high into steaming water. A contented sigh slipped out as heat soaked his injured shoulder.
She picked up his pants. “Don’t want these to dry stiff.”
He flicked her a wry glance. “Stiff is damned inconvenient.”
“Not always.” At his chuckle, she blushed again, but grinned as she rinsed salt water out of his clothes and draped them over a log beside the fire. “Your turn to shut your eyes.”
He tipped his head back and let his eyelids drift closed. He heard her wet shirt slither down. Seductive whispers of satin as she stepped out of her panties. Rippling water caressing her skin. She’d be leaning over the pool, rinsing her clothes.
Naked.
Erotic mental images blasted his system, and his entire body clenched. He gritted his teeth against the urge to raise his lashes just enough to watch her. She’d never know. He balled his good hand into a fist. No. He would not invade her privacy and violate her trust. But temptation danced an enticing tango against his closed eyelids.
More splashes. Her forearm teased his, and then her silken calf brushed his thigh beneath the warm water. His muscles tightened painfully, and he hissed under his breath.
“Sorry.” She sounded breathless. “Did I jar you?”
Clear to my toes. “No.” He opened his eyes to see her anxious, elfin face close to his. There was no way to sit in the small pool without touching. Thank the Lord the bubbles reached her collarbone. A man could only resist so much temptation.
She passed him the water bottle. He sipped and handed it back. She frowned. “Drink it all. You need to stay hydrated.”
“So do you.”
“I’ve had mine. Go ahead.”
He examined the nearly full bottle. “Really.”
She jutted her chin in the endearingly stubborn gesture he’d come to know and love. “I’m not thirsty.”
He held out the bottle and drilled her with an implacable stare. “We both drink or nobody drinks.”
