Beginnings: Babe in the Woods

by Lorelei James

  superstitions. Nonsense in his opinion. Hard work, not fate, ruled his life. “My mother is into all that New Age crap.”

  “It’s not crap.” She attempted to yank her arm away.

  Becker held fast. “Wrong word choice.”

  “Then what did you mean?”

  He flicked the charm. “Do you believe this bracelet can somehow change your life?”

  “Yes. Not by itself, but I see it as a reminder I can choose my own path. I’m not doomed to keep repeating the same mistakes.”

  “Such as?”

  “Bad jobs. Bad relationships. Bad decisions.”

  “Has your luck changed since you put it on?”

  “Into bad luck, maybe. First I got lost, now I’m stuck with you—”

  He dropped her arm like a hot coal.

  Lacy leaned until their shoulders touched. “Wrong word choice.”

  “Touché,” he said.

  “I seem to be bad luck. I’d hoped it’d change on this trip.”

  Becker couldn’t help himself. He reached for her, smoothing fine wisps of hair from her velvety-soft cheek. “Maybe it has.” His touch lingered when her eyes sparked with desire. With the back of his hand he leisurely traced the outline of her face from temple to chin, sweeping his thumb over her plump bottom lip. “Firelight looks good on you, Lacy.”

  “Becker—”

  “Sam.”

  “Sam—”

  “Ssh. You talk too much.”

  Her breath caught as he brushed his lips across hers. Once. Twice. As he was about to dive into her succulent mouth for a real kiss, an animal screeched.

  Lacy jumped. “W-what was that?”

  Bad timing. Shit. Or good timing. What had he been thinking? His responsibilities for her didn’t include kissing and exchanging life goals.

  He scanned the sky. “Probably an owl.” Better to put some distance between them. “I’m whipped. Let’s douse the fire and hit the hay. We’ve got an early start tomorrow.”

  * * *

  Surly Becker had returned. Big surprise. No skin off her nose he’d changed his mind. He hadn’t asked for her help as he trekked to the stream for water to put out the fire.

  Did the cold water have any effect on the heat she’d seen in his eyes? She hadn’t imagined his interest or the eroticism in that simple kiss.

  As the last embers smoked, Lacy unrolled her sleeping bag.

  “Got everything you need out of your backpack?”

  “Yeah. Why?”

  “Because I need to loop it over a tree branch in case bears come sniffing around.”

  Bears. Her stomach lurched. How could she sleep knowing wild animals roamed nearby? Last night there’d been safety in numbers. But tonight…just the two of them? She watched him tie the flaps together and drape the backpacks over a high tree branch with a long stick.

  Becker spread out on the other side of the fire pit.

  She tamped down the urge to ask if it’d be safer if they slept closer. Like in the same sleeping bag.

  No. Dammit. She’d show him she wasn’t scared. Or a cupcake.

  “Lacy?”

  “Yes?”

  “If you need…”

  To rip my clothes off and revisit that body-heat-sharing idea … She shook her head to clear it. “What?”

  “To…see, ah…man about a horse, wake me up.”

  “Afraid I’ll wander off?”

  “Yes.”

  “Fine. But you’d better not be grouchy as a damn bear when I do. Good night.”

  Lacy crawled inside her sleeping bag fully clothed. She zipped up, scooting down until no part of her body stuck out.

  Eyes squeezed shut, she repeated, There’s no place like home. There’s no place like home. Which really didn’t calm her because it brought to mind the other famous phrase from The Wizard of Oz, Lions-and-tigers-and-bears-oh-my.

  Counting sheep wouldn’t help either; it’d remind her of hungry wolves. With red eyes and big gnashing teeth.

  She’d actually fallen asleep only to be awakened by a bloodcurdling scream. Hers? Maybe she’d imagined it. She waited breathlessly. And heard the scream again. Louder. Was it closer? After the third one, she scrambled out of her sleeping bag and ran to where Becker slept.

  Lacy threw herself on top of him. “Becker!”

  “What the…” He squinted at her. “What’s wrong?”

  “I heard a scream and I-I—”

  “Shit. You’re shaking. Come here.” He unzipped his bag and pulled her inside. It was a tight fit.

  Lacy didn’t care. She plastered herself to him.

  Becker stroked her back, murmuring in her hair. When she calmed down, she looked up at him. He was so…

  Yummy. Hot. Sweet. Like cinnamon candy. She could suck on him all night.

  “Better?”

  “Yeah. Thanks.”

  “Hang on.” Cool air wafted in. He climbed out and dragged her sleeping bag over. “Hop out for a sec.” He zipped the two bags together.

  A shiver worked loose at the thought of lying beside him in close quarters. Without meeting his gaze, she dove inside their cozy nest.

  He followed a beat later.

  Despite the awkwardness of sleeping with a man she hardly knew, Lacy finally felt safe. She drifted off and was almost asleep when a chorus of howls shot her back to awareness.

  “What was that?”

  “Coyotes.”

  “That wasn’t what I heard earlier.”

  “Probably a mountain lion before,” he mumbled.

  “A mountain lion?” She inched closer.

  “Yeah.”

  “But—”

  “God!” Becker wrapped his arms around her, tucking her against his chest. “Happy now? They’ll have to chew through me to get to you. Go to sleep.”

  She shut her eyes. Really tried to think of Becker as protection. Not a man with bulging muscles. Who smelled all woodsy. Who radiated such warmth. She rubbed her cheek over his left pec. Listened to his erratic heartbeat.

  “Stop wiggling.”

  “I can’t get comfortable.”

  “That makes two of us.” He loosened his hold on her.

  Lacy glanced up.

  Their lips were a breath apart.

  He growled and covered her mouth with his.

  No gentle kiss this time. The second his tongue touched hers desire leveled her like a felled tree.

  Becker’s masterful kisses alternated teeth-grinding passion with slow, wet, teasing nibbles. His hands cradled her head to position her mouth however he wanted.

  If the hardness pressing into her hip was any indication, he wanted her. Big time.

  Lacy grabbed handfuls of his T-shirt until he impatiently yanked it off.

  Oh. His skin was hot. Smooth. Perfect. Chest muscles rippled beneath her fingertips as she traced his hard contours.

  Groaning, he shifted, wedging his muscular leg between her softer thighs and clamped his hands on her ass, grinding her pelvis against his.

  She bowed beneath him, greedy to gorge on all the carnal delights his body promised.

  Becker trailed openmouthed kisses down her throat, flicking his tongue in tandem with her racing pulse. Then he sank his mouth into the magic spot where her neck met shoulder and bit down.

  Lacy let out a moan, lost in his intoxicating masculine scent, and the thrilling feel of his reckless lips branding her skin.

  His hands slipped beneath her tank top. Rough fingertips tickled her bare belly as his thumbs lazily grazed the underside of her breasts. He stopped kissing her neck, pressing his damp lips to her ear. “Lift your arms.”

  Her shirt disappeared. Then his silky mouth closed over her right nipple.

  He sucked softly. Forcefully. The teasing nip of his teeth was followed by wet swirls of his tongue. His hot breath beaded the tip into a painful point.

  Her brain fogged with pleasure. “More.”

  The stubble on his chin raked the tender skin on her chest. He soothed
the sting with petal-soft kisses and switched to the other breast. “You taste sweet, cupcake.”

  His hoarse whisper sent a rush of moisture south.

  The flannel sleeping bag stroked her flesh as Lacy thrashed. She ached. Every scrape of his beard, every suctioning kiss and deliberate lick made her slick and ready. She turned her head…and saw a pair of beady red eyes staring back at her.

  She screamed and tried to roll away—an impossible feat with two hundred pounds of amorous male crushing her to the ground.

  Becker went still. “What’s wrong?”

  “There’s a wild animal!”

  “Where?”

  “By the tree.”

  He sat up. Paused. “The squirrel? That’s what scared you?”

  Lacy peeked over Becker’s shoulder. A fluffy tail swished up the trunk as it scampered away.

  She’d freaked about a squirrel. How mortifying. She reached for her shirt, giving Becker her back.

  “Lacy—”

  “Save it. I’m an idiot. Go ahead and laugh.” She pressed herself into the zippered side of the joined bags, leaving a big gap between them.

  “I’m not going to laugh at you,” he said quietly.

  “You’d be the first.”

  The last thing Lacy heard Becker say was, “I’m not like him. You’d best remember that.”

  Her heart turned over, but she didn’t. She closed her eyes and tried to sleep.

  Chapter Four

  Becker’s snores woke Lacy up. She snuck off, snickering at his quaint phrasing about bodily functions. When she returned, Becker had already rolled up the sleeping bags and their backpacks rested against the log.He gave her a crusty look. “Thought I told you to tell me when you needed—”

  “I don’t need you to hold my hand,” she retorted sweetly.

  “Could’ve fooled me last night.”

  Her face flamed. Damn Nordic genes. “Sorry. It won’t happen again.” She tied her sleeping bag to her pack, grabbed her toothbrush and uncapped her canteen. Empty. Without another word, she headed for the creek.

  Scrubbing her face and teeth improved her mood. Until she noticed Becker leaning against a tree, glaring at her.

  “What? Hoping to see me fall in and get washed downstream?”

  Becker scowled. “You have a real high opinion of me.” He sidestepped her and bent to fill his canteen.

  “I assume you’ve got a plan for getting us back to civilization?”

  Why did his back stiffen?

  “Yeah. I think we should walk east. Because if we keep going west, we’ll get deeper into the mountains. There are houses and roads at the foothills.”

  She considered it. “Makes sense.”

  “You aren’t going to question my plan?”

  “No. I trust you.”

  Relief flitted through his eyes. “What’s our food situation?”

  “Don’t you have anything in your pack?”

  “No.”

  A guide with no supplies? Something about that didn’t ring true. “I’ve got one protein bar left.”

  “Save it. Keep an eye out for berries or something edible.”

  “While I’m foraging what will you be doing?”

  “Keepin’ you safe from wild critters, darlin’.”

  “I don’t—”

  “Although, I liked it when you wanted my protection from them last night.”

  Incredulous, she said, “You did?”

  He nodded.

  “You aren’t upset?”

  “Only if I won’t get another shot at protecting you tonight.”

  A sexy smile broke across his handsome face and made Lacy weak-kneed. How was she supposed to hike with him wreaking havoc on her system?

  “Come on, cupcake. Let’s get moving.”

  * * *

  “Tell me about your job in New York,” Becker said to take their minds off the grueling uphill hike.

  “It’s not nearly as exciting as what you do. I’m in advertising. I try to sell people things they don’t need.”

  Becker grinned. An apt—and surprisingly honest answer.

  Lacy launched into an explanation about the rigors of her day-to-day life that sounded exactly like his. “But I’m ready for a change.”

  “Like?”

  “Like working in a low-pressure job so I can savor life instead of making it a competition.”

  “Are you competitive in everything?”

  “Yep.” Lacy smiled saucily before taking off up the steep incline.

  He chased her. She won. This time.

  They stood atop the rise, wheezing, staring at the never-ending sea of greenish-black pine trees.

  She sighed. Sipped from her canteen and handed it to him.

  “What?”

  “I’d hoped to find a Super 8 on the other side of this hill.”