by Rita Herron
He knelt, gun aimed at the window, and looked through the broken glass of the driver’s window.
The driver was slumped over the steering wheel, blood covering the steering column. Alex reached in with one hand and yanked the man’s head back, breathing easier when he realized the driver was dead.
But it wasn’t Jones.
Hell, he wished the dead man was Jones. How many hired guns did the bastard have working for him?
The sudden thought that this man might have also a partner sent him running up the hill. He ran to the SUV and expelled a relieved breath when he saw Mia still inside.
Sirens wailed, and the sheriff’s patrol car raced up. Alex waved him down. The sheriff’s face was agitated as he climbed from his car.
“The driver’s dead.” Alex explained about the vehicle trying to run them off the road. The bullet holes puncturing the side of his car and shattered glass confirmed his story.
“This is unbelievable,” the sheriff said. “Joleen’s murder, the fire, an attack against Mia, a dead man, and now this.”
“I told you Jones was one dangerous son of a bitch,” Alex muttered.
“Take Mia some place safe,” the sheriff said. “I’ll make sure the CSU identifies the driver and we’ll process the scene.”
Alex thanked him, dug one of the bullets from his SUV, put it in an evidence bag, and then handed it to the sheriff.
Then he crawled back in the car with Mia.
“What happened?” Mia asked.
He pressed a hand over hers. “The driver’s dead.”
“Was it Geoff?” she asked in a trembling voice.
“No, but we’ll find out who he is.”
Mia leaned back and closed her eyes, her breath a ragged whisper.
He started the engine then drove to his house, a rustic log cabin on the edge of a creek. He had a security system in place and an arsenal of weapons to choose from if Jones attacked.
Mia shuddered, wrapping her arms around herself to keep from falling apart as Alex drove. She felt numb, guilty, afraid.
Angry.
God help her.
She wanted Alex to hold her in his arms where she’d be safe.
But rational thoughts urged her to run so he would be safe.
Seconds ticked by, tension mounting inside her as they passed another ranch and more farmland, then Alex veered onto a dirt road about a half an hour from town.
“Where are we going?” she asked.
“To my cabin,” Alex said. “Hopefully Jones won’t look for you there. And if he does show up, I have a state of the art security system.”
She briefly wondered what kind of place the rugged cowboy lived in, then smiled for the first time in days when she spotted the rustic log cabin perched in the woods with the creek rippling in back.
“This is beautiful,” she said softly as he parked in his garage.
Alex shrugged, a sheepish look on his face. “It’s not fancy.”
“I had fancy,” Mia said. “I much prefer country. That’s why I chose the ranch.”
His eyes warmed, a small smile tilting his mouth as if her comment pleased him, then he climbed out and came around to help her. Mia was already pulling herself from the car, although her muscles ached and her head was throbbing.
Alex retrieved her bag from the trunk of the SUV, took her arm and led her up the porch steps. A rocking chair and porch swing dominated the front porch, gorgeous giant trees engulfing the cabin, the scent of fresh air and something sweet, maybe honeysuckle, scenting the air.
He unlocked the door, then rushed to turn off the security system, while she stood in the entry admiring the wood floors, the stone fireplace that ran from the floor to ceiling, and the paintings of landscapes and horses that decorated the walls.
“Would you like to get a shower?” he asked.
Mia nodded. “Please.” She needed the stench of that man’s hands and his sweat off of her. Needed to forget that he’d dragged her through the woods, and that if it wasn’t for Alex, she’d be in Geoff’s clutches now.
Or worse. Dead.
Then again, death would be preferable than being with Geoff.
Alex showed her to a guest room and bath with plush towels and a claw foot tub. The bedroom was homey but elegant with a handmade quilt covering a four-poster pine bed and an antique armoire in the corner.
“This is beautiful,” she said again.
He shrugged. “I’m a simple man. I like simple things.”
Alex was anything but simple. He never talked about himself; he only took care of others. Put his life on the line every day for strangers just as he’d done for her.
And he was all man -- rugged, no nonsense, muscular, a cowboy, and …the sexiest man she’d ever met.
Her stomach fluttered with nerves, desire heating her insides. But she glanced down at her disheveled clothing, felt the blood drying in her hair and dashed into the bathroom.
What man would want her?
Other than a sick one like Geoff…
Seconds later, she slipped into a warm bubble bath and relaxed, desperate to shove thoughts of Geoff and murder and his sick twisted ways from her mind.
Instead, she imagined Alex sinking into the tub with her, and her body tingled with need.
She wanted to be with him tonight. To crawl in his bed and feel his warm arms embracing her, to feel his breath on her body, to have him make her feel alive.
Alex quickly showered while Mia soaked in the tub, then yanked on a pair of jeans and a denim shirt although he hadn’t yet buttoned it when Mia appeared from the guestroom.
Her hair was damp and lay in soft tendrils around her face. She’d pulled on a thick terry cloth robe and looked clean and fresh and …relaxed.
Until he looked into her eyes. The old fear was there, haunting her, the night’s events weighing on her.
“You don’t deserve this,” he said softly.
“Maybe I do for being swayed by Geoff in the first place.”
“He hurt a lot of people,” Alex said, forcing himself not to frighten her by touching her. “But I don’t want you to think about him tonight.”
She fiddled with her hair, then walked to the picture window overlooking his backyard. Woods, the creek, the natural beauty was so scenic it looked peaceful, like a postcard.
Of course, the woods were also the perfect place a predator could hide.
“Geoff doesn’t know where you are, Mia.” He walked up behind her, saw their reflections in the glass, recognized her wariness. And a hint of relief that she could take a break from the terror her ex husband had instilled.
God, she looked so damn beautiful that his chest tightened, straining for a breath.
He couldn’t resist. He lifted one hand and touched a strand of her hair, then brushed it back and closed his arms around her.
She sighed deeply and leaned against him, a heartfelt agonized sound, then turned in his arms and gazed up at him. Hunger, need, desire…passion replaced the fear he’d seen earlier.
Unable to let the moment pass or resist, he lowered his head and closed his lips over hers.
CHAPTER TWELVE
Mia clung to Alex, savoring the sweet seductive allure of his mouth against hers.
She had been alone for so long.
Always terrified and looking over her shoulder. And just when she’d finally found peace, Geoff was back torturing her. Killing innocents to punish her for leaving him and testifying against him.
He would never stop hunting for her, never let her go.
“Don’t think about him,” Alex whispered in a hoarse voice against her ear.
“I can’t help it,” Mia murmured. “I want to forget about him, but he won’t let me.”
“I know it’s hard, Mia.” Alex kissed her again, slow and tender, achingly passionate. “But you’re safe. I’m holding you, and nothing else matters right now.”
A myriad of contradictory emotions pummeled her. Mia dug her fingers into his arms, wi
lling herself to pull away for his safety. Willing him to hold her tighter and never release her. “I wish that were true.”
“It is.” Alex massaged the base of her neck with one hand. “For tonight, it’s just you and me here alone.” He claimed her lips again. “Just the two of us.”
“I want that,” Mia said softly. “I want that so much.”
Alex cupped her face in his big hands. “Believe it, Mia. Trust me. I will never hurt you, and I won’t let him hurt you either.”
Mia’s heart swelled with longing. The walls she’d built around herself to protect her heart crumbled.
Alex was everything she’d ever wanted in a man. He was promising her protection. And so much more…
A night of loving and tenderness.
Something she hadn’t had in a really long time.
Something she desperately craved.
Resistance melted like snow on a hot day, and she tilted her head up and kissed him with all the pent up longing she’d kept restrained for the past year.
Alex groaned at her acquiescence, tunneling his hands through her hair and drawing her closer. She sank into his arms, meeting his tongue with her own and inviting his inside to dance with hers.
Heat built between them as they deepened the kiss, and his fingers trailed down to pull at the tie to her robe.
“Tell me to stop and I will,” he murmured against her neck.
She shook her head and raked her hands down his back. “I don’t want you to stop.”
“God, Mia.” His breath bathed her neck, hot and heady, his need so potently strong in his voice that something inside her snapped, and she tore off his shirt.
His broad chest rippled with muscles so well defined that she had to touch them. Had to feel his hot skin, his muscles bunching as he drew a breath.
He dropped kisses along her ear and neck, his tongue flicking out and awakening the sensitive nerve endings along her throat. Releasing a breathy sigh, his head dipped lower to tease at the opening of her robe, and one hand parted the fabric.
Mia had never been shy or self-conscious until Geoff’s critical scrutiny. Because of him, she had scars, inside and out. The instinctive need to hide them rose within her, and she pulled at the robe.
“Don’t, I want to see you,” he whispered against the curve of her breasts. “Remember, it’s just me and you, Mia. Trust me. I want this.” He kissed her skin so tenderly that heat flooded her and tears sprang to her eyes. “I want you.”
Mia heaved a sigh filled with resignation, with need and desire. All rational thought fled, and she gave in to the hunger inside her. “I want you, too. Alex.”
He lifted his head at her admission and looked into her eyes. Need flared just before he lowered his head and kissed her again, this time so fiercely that she moaned his name.
A second later, they tore off each other’s clothes. He tossed her robe to the floor, leaving her naked and vulnerable and starving for more of his touch.
She pulled at his jeans, the zipper rasping in the night as she pushed them down his hips. He kicked them off, stepping out of them, then she reached for his boxers.
He pressed his hand over hers, slowing her, but she wanted none of that. She wanted him naked and on top of her, inside her, all over her, loving her all through the night.
Passion and raw desire overwhelmed Alex as he stripped Mia. He had never seen anything more beautiful in his life than the sight of her naked and hot for him.
But tonight wasn’t about him. It was about loving Mia.
Showing her how gentle and loving a man could be. Especially a man who loved her
He froze, heart hammering out of his chest. Love? Was he in love with Mia?
Or was this simply an attraction? His need to protect an innocent woman?
Except Mia wasn’t just any innocent woman. She was a woman he liked and admired. A woman he’d wanted but thought he shouldn’t have.
Couldn’t have.
And now here they were, kissing, stroking and tasting each other, and he never wanted it to stop.
She moaned his name again as he dipped his head and tugged one nipple into his mouth. He pulled her closer, then backed her toward his bedroom and eased her onto his bed.
For a moment, he paused. Breathless. So in awe he couldn’t speak.
A drop of perspiration beaded on his lip. He didn’t deserve her.
But he didn’t have the willpower to walk away. Not when she opened her arms and invited him on top of her. Her lips seared his, her hands stroked his back, then his buttocks, and his muscles clenched as he struggled for control.
Tenderly he trailed his tongue down her throat again to her cleavage and cupped both breasts in his palms, massaging one with his hand while he used his lips and tongue on the other. Eventually he traded, loving each breast and suckling her until her body quivered.
Heat washed over him in a tidal wave of need, and he kissed her belly then parted her thighs and drove his mouth over her sweet center. She moaned again, her hips rising as she tried to draw him up to her, but he wanted to taste her essence.
Wanted her to know how much he desired her, that he derived his pleasure from pleasing her.
So he flicked his tongue along her inner thighs, her slick wet folds, then closed his lips over the heart of her sex and suckled her until her body began to tremble with her orgasm.
Still, he licked and sucked her, thrusting his tongue inside her as he wanted to do his cock, his body aching for release as she soared into sweet oblivion.
“Alex, please,” she whispered. “I want you.”
Smiling at her passion-glazed voice, he rose above her, braced his hands beside her head and teased her with his erection. She yanked his hips with her hands, then closed her hand around his stiff length and guided him to her.
He thrust into her, pausing for a second to let her adjust to his size, then almost lost it when she made a guttural sound and climaxed again.
The sound of her pleasure incited his own, and he thrust inside her, lifted her hips so he could drive deeper and began a rhythm that she met thrust for thrust. Sweat trickled down his back as the heat simmering inside him erupted into a blazing inferno, and he thrust faster and harder, deepening his penetration each time until he felt her inner core.
She clawed at his back, her breath panting as he rode her hard, reveling in the sound of her voice crying his name as the two of them came together in a blinding sea of sensations that sent him over the edge.
Even then as his orgasm claimed him, and he held her in his arms, he wanted her again.
One time would never be enough.
In spite her worry and exhaustion, Mia slept peacefully through the night.
Because she’d been well sated and loved for the first time in her life. Lying in Alex’s arms was a miracle, she thought as she stirred and listened to the sound of his breathing.
But she couldn’t get used to it.
When they caught Geoff, Alex would move onto another case – and maybe another woman. And she would have to pick up the pieces of her life and go on alone.
Alex opened his eyes and looked up at her, hunger flaring in the depths. Beard stubble grazed his jaw, his naked body powerful and even more sexy in the early morning light.
She wanted to stay in bed with him forever.
He reached up and stroked her cheek. “How do you feel this morning?”
Safe because I’m with you. “Good.”
He arched a brow, and she smiled. “Well, I’m a little sore.”
His smile faded. “From the attack?”
She shook her head, then climbed on top of him and straddled him. “No, from using muscles I haven’t used in a while.”
“Is that so?” His hands skated down her bare back as he lifted his head to tug one turgid nipple between his teeth. “Maybe another round will work out the kinks.”
She threw her head back and laughed, but her laughter quickly turned to a moan as erotic sensations rippled through her.
“God, Alex…”
His naughty chuckle echoed in the air, and he flipped her over, grabbed a condom from the nightstand, rolled it on and slid inside her. She closed her eyes and cupped his butt with her hands, a tidal wave of blinding colors washing over her.
He pounded himself inside her, thrusting hard and deep, over and over, and they rode the pleasure wave again until another orgasm built inside her. He whispered her name, nipping at her neck as euphoria carried her to its peak, then they came together, each moaning as their passion peaked and exploded.
For several blessed seconds, they lay curled together, basking in the aftermath of their lovemaking.
But Alex’s phone trilled, interrupting the moment. Their gazes locked, and an apology filled his eyes.
“Go ahead and answer it,” she said. She wanted this ordeal over with. Wanted Geoff back in prison where he belonged.
Alex eased away from her, and she felt oddly bereft. Not a good sign. She was getting attached to him. Falling for him…
Geoff would destroy Alex if he knew.
Sobered by the thought, she rose from bed and rushed to the shower in the guest suite while he answered the phone.
“Sgt. Townsend,” Alex said as he reluctantly watched Mia leave the bed. He wanted her back beside him, safe in his arms.
“It’s Chief Dunn. You need to get over to the prison. Jones’s cellmate says he’ll talk but only to the original arresting officer.”
Alex frowned. “All right, I’m on my way.” He rose, quickly showered and dressed, then checked his weapon and went to the kitchen and brewed coffee.
By the time Mia emerged dressed, he’d made them an omelet.
“You cook?” Mia said, surprised.
He shrugged. “Not much. But I can do eggs.”
She slid into the chair, although she looked wary, like she was already distancing herself from him.
He didn’t like it one damn bit.
“Mia –“
“Don’t,” she said, her coffee cup cradled in her hands. “Just tell me, what the phone call was about. Another murder?”
