Wed To A Stranger?

by Jule McBride

  Suddenly Fritzi yanked her arm away and started pummeling him, raining punches on his chest and arms. He merely stood there, still as a statue, keeping his grip just relaxed enough that it wouldn’t hurt her and yet tight enough that she could never get away. Only when she took a sincere swing at his face did he react—jerking just far enough back that the blow didn’t catch his jaw.

  He felt the wind of it pass, though. And when she screeched at him again, her smooth, cultured voice had vanished, replaced by something wilder and more throaty. She kept fighting—as if Nathan was the very devil.

  And he might have been.

  “That’s good,” he said. “Go ahead and take it out on me.”

  Her breath was hot on his cheek. “You bastard.” She gave her arm a final hard yank.

  “Don’t worry,” he found himself saying. “If I was going to kill you, don’t you think I’d have done it by now?”

  Maybe his tone convinced her he meant no harm. Her biceps relaxed another smidgeon beneath his hand. In turn, he loosened his grasp. But the second he’d stopped dodging her blows, her near proximity started torturing him. Both their parkas were unzipped. They were heavily dressed—she in a snowsuit and he in jeans and a thermal shirt—and yet her temperature had risen with exertion, and all the winter clothes in the world couldn’t mask her feverish heat.

  Nathan’s eyes trailed over her. In the dark, her russet hair looked black. Silhouettes of sexy, sweat-damp tendrils curled on her bruised forehead. And the scent of her was driving him wild. In the middle of this wretched icy landscape, the woman had the nerve to smell of fresh spring flowers.

  She smelled of fear, too. And that drove him just as crazy, making him want to hold her tight, to kiss her in the dark—and more. He wanted to love her until she completely lost herself to him, until he felt her nails clutch his back and her teeth nip his shoulders. until her legs twined around his waist and he heard her whimpers. Most of all, he wanted her to need him. He wanted to be the only man on earth who could make her feel safe.

  Fritzi’s voice was a croak. “Why are you stalking me?”

  “I’m not,” Nathan said. But it was a lie. Even as he said it, he admitted he’d watched her when she was unaware.

  “Let me go.”

  Her voice was raw from screaming, but Nathan wanted to pretend its huskiness meant something else. “Please,” he whispered.

  It was all he said, but he was sure Fritzi knew what he meant. It was a plea—or at least as near to one as a man like him ever came. And he was asking her to trust him.

  Already there were times when Nathan suspected she’d wanted to. When he’d kissed her today, trust was on her lips like a word she’d spoken, if only for an instant. Then, of course, she’d come to her senses and run.

  Maybe he shouldn’t have followed. Maybe he should leave her tonight, walk away while he still could—and merely watch her from afar. But he was drawn to her like a magnet. And he just couldn’t let go. Being near Fritzi wasn’t a matter of choice. It was simple polarity—a reflex.

  So was the way she responded. Against all his better judgment, Nathan suddenly tugged—and she actually came into his arms. Vulnerable and with a broken wing, he thought, his gaze flickering over her injuries again. But she was a moth to his flame, nevertheless.

  Fritzi’s voice was still husky. “You were chasing me.”

  “No.”

  “I don’t believe you!”

  She wrenched from his grasp, making it a few valiant paces before her sprained ankle gave out again. Just as her knees buckled, Nathan’s arm circled her waist, a palm settling at the small of her back, guiding her to face him again. Everything about the movements seemed like an unfortunate accident—and yet absolutely intentional.

  Fritzi was now flush against him—her breasts pressing his chest, her hands holding his biceps for support. God, he needed to kiss her, but the last thing he wanted was to spook her right now. Even in the dark, he could feel those panicked blue eyes. Eyes that said she guessed she didn’t have many choices left—except to listen to his lies.

  “Just as I got here, I saw someone leave the building,” he said.

  “I heard you following me! There was only one person in the building. It had to be you.”

  For all that, Fritzi was letting him hold her. He tried to forget it, too. But there were too many reminders—the mint-scented pant of her breath, the feel of her tiny waist beneath his hands. He swallowed hard. “Look, I do want to turn on a light somewhere and examine that gash on your head. And I swear I saw a snowmobile take off from behind the school. Whoever it was, we’ll find the tracks outside. You must have heard that person’s steps at first, then mine.”

  “Is this some sick thing with you?”

  Nathan squinted at her. “What?”

  “Some sick thing where you throw me into horrible situations just so you can rescue me? I know you called me.”

  His voice turned sharp. “Called you?”

  “You know exactly what I’m talking about!”

  His heart thudding dully, Nathan tried to keep his voice steady. “Someone called you? Could you describe the voice?”

  Fritzi didn’t bother to answer. Instead, she said, “If it wasn’t you, how did you know I was here?”

  At least she’d started listening and quit squirming away. Nathan just wished she didn’t feel quite so good in his embrace. He wanted to shut his eyes, pretend they were far away from this icy country, somewhere warm and green.

  “The baby was with you,” he said. “Given the way you took off, I figured you’d leave him at Abby’s again. I took skis from the garage and followed your snowmobile tracks to Abby’s, then here.”

  There was a long silence, during which he told himself to stay patient. He needed to hear her talk about whatever ordeal she’d just faced. It had been bad—and the shock obviously hadn’t caught up with her. Beneath his fingertips, he could feel her starting to tremble.

  Fritzi’s voice was tinged with fear. “I got a call telling me to meet someone here.”

  At the sign of tentative trust, Nathan’s heart swelled. “If you thought it might be me,” he said carefully, “then it was definitely a man.”

  “It was you!” Fritzi burst out. “I was running, I heard one set of footsteps, I rounded the corner and turned on the light—and there you were.”

  Nathan hoped she wasn’t getting hysterical again. No doubt, she was confused. She didn’t know what to think, where to turn. He began rubbing slow, calming circles on her waist. “You left Hannah’s and I followed you,” he said again. “When I got here, I saw a snowmobile—”

  “You really saw a snowmobile?”

  He nodded. “It took off from behind the building, from beneath the backstairs. I came inside to look for you. Since I didn’t know if anyone else was here, I started to search the place quietly.” He pulled her closer, so close their lips nearly touched. His voice turned gentle, husky. “Why did you come here?”

  “I told you.”

  But she hadn’t. Not everything. Nathan tried to keep any accusation from his voice. “You really expect me to believe a strange man’s call lured you out in weather like this?”

  Fritzi stiffened against him, as if affronted. “He said he had information….”

  “About?”

  “My husband. David Frayne.”

  Nathan’s mouth went bone-dry. It was all he feared—and worse. “What kind of information?”

  “You tell me.”

  His temper flared. He angled his head downward, suddenly tempted to give in to his baser impulses and simply kiss her into submission. Instead, his mouth stopped just short of hers. “You have to tell me everything. I’m trying to protect you. And I saw some-one out there….” Fritzi inhaled audibly—from the words or the nearness of his lips, he wasn’t sure which.

  Her voice quavered. “Why should I believe you?”

  “You just should.”

  “Give me one good reason.”

&nb
sp; Suddenly, it was just too much. Nathan couldn’t take her nearness. Her scent. Her soft breasts flattened against his chest. He’d had his reasons for coming into her life. But now he’d gotten too close. And he could no longer walk away—certainly not tonight. Maybe not until he’d loved her completely. Yes, then—and only then—could he leave.

  “Just trust me, sweetheart,” Nathan murmured, “and I’ll give you every reason in the world.”

  “But I just want one.”

  Because I’m the man you think you love, he thought. Because I’m David Frayne.

  But he could never speak those words. So he lowered his head and gave her the only other reason he could think of—his warm, hungry lips claiming hers.

  Chapter Eight

  This kiss wasn’t like the others; it lacked the harsh, almost violent possession of the first and the chaste, tender pressure of the second. This was a naked kiss bespeaking bare, unadorned emotion—a kiss that claimed without violence, that was tender but withheld nothing.

  Fritzi should have fought him—should have fought him every time he kissed her. Just moments ago, she’d been so absolutely convinced Nathan meant her harm.

  But at the first touch of his lips, she was just as sure he wanted only to protect her. So, shutting her eyes tight, she opened her heart wide, letting his muscular arms support her while she surrendered to his pure, sweet torment. As his lips parted hers, he drew her tongue inside his mouth, draining all her willpower as he did—until she turned to butter, all sizzling hot and runny and melting against him. Then his tongue thrust outward, filling her and making her ache to be one with him.

  Fritzi still didn’t know what he wanted, or if he was lying, or what kind of danger she was in. All she knew was that she had only one choice left—to follow her heart. She could no longer deny it. From their very first stolen kiss, she’d been falling for this man, and she was every bit as powerless to resist him.

  Nathan leaned into her now, almost lifting her, so both her legs dangled down one of his. Holding her tightly—as if she might fight him though she was no longer trying to—he barred every possible avenue of escape, leaving her no alternative but to arch against his side. Awareness of her painful injuries vanished as his warm palm cupped her nape. And as his hand slid upward, his long, dark, torturously strong fingers caught her hair in fistfuls.

  But each new kiss plagued her; each was so strangely familiar and yet so thoroughly unexpected. She felt as if she’d come home after a long journey—to find small changes, but the house still basically the same.

  That’s because he’s kissing me exactly the way David used to, Fritzi suddenly realized, the truth of it jarring her senses as much as the kiss itself.

  But of course, he wasn’t David.

  No, Nathan was merely another man who could make heat curl between their bodies like steam until she ached with an emptiness only he could fill. Clearly sharing that ache, Nathan moaned softly against her lips and shifted her in front of him. He pressed the small of her back, bringing her right against his burgeoning arousal.

  The shock of the touch made her shake all over. She trembled, her quivering thighs cradling that part of him as his kisses slowly broke through her denial. She’d suppressed so many emotions—about David and Nathan, about having been chased through the schoolhouse. And now Nathan’s kisses and tender caresses were coaxing all her feelings to the surface.

  Oh, David… She almost said it out loud, and guilt assaulted her. “Na-Nathan,” she corrected herself, stuttering raggedly against his lips. “I w-was—”

  He drew back a fraction, his eyes searching hers in the dark.

  “Was so scared,” she murmured.

  “Oh, sweetheart,” he whispered simply, sounding as if he’d just as soon kill anything that ever frightened her again.

  Fritzi clung to him then, wrapping her arms tightly around his neck, pressing all her womanly softness against his male hardness. Nothing could hurt her now—not while she was in Nathan’s protective embrace. He’d told her to follow her heart. And her heart said she was safe in his arms. Nathan made her feel like David had after her parents had died and she had no one left in the world but him.

  David was gone—probably forever. She knew that now. And it was Nathan who held her close. Held her until she started to cry—just a tear at first, then with racking sobs. Tightening his massive forearms around her back, Nathan wrapped himself around her like a blanket on a cold winter’s night, enveloping every inch of her in his warmth.

  “I—I keep seeing that man from the r-river,” Fritzi choked out. “It’s all so horrible, senseless murder. And now somebody’s calling me, chasing me with a gun. I’m s-so scared for me and my baby. And I don’t even know who you are….”

  Or what really happened to David. Maybe she’d never know why the man she’d thought was her husband had deceived and left her. Her shoulders shook with sobs as tears coursed down her cheeks.

  “There now, sweetheart,” Nathan murmured as David used to, nuzzling her damp cheeks, his silken hair brushing her skin until the sobs began to subside. When he spoke again, his voice was husky. “You’re going to have to tell me everything. And I need to take a look at that head of yours.”

  He shifted his weight, reaching into his jeans pocket. Fritzi felt his hand, just a soft pressure against her side. When he brought out a handkerchief, she actually smiled through her remaining tears.

  “David always carried handkerchiefs,” she found herself murmuring, “but somehow, you didn’t seem like the type to be…”

  Nathan raised his eyebrows.

  She shrugged. “Prepared for a woman’s tears.”

  “I guess I wouldn’t.”

  “Be prepared?” Fritzi said. “Or seem like the type?”

  “Both.”

  Nevertheless, Nathan cupped her chin and tilted her face upward. Fritzi sniffed, squaring her shoulders bravely as he wrapped the handkerchief around his index finger, then dabbed at her eyes. Afterward, he handed her the handkerchief, and she clutched it the way a child might a stuffed toy. She felt a little foolish, but it was comforting.

  Nathan’s voice was tenderly gruff. “Sure you’re all right?”

  She nodded. “I think so.”

  He scrutinized her, then his warm mouth covered hers again like the softest velvet. As he kissed her, his eyelashes fluttered on her cheek, feeling delicate.

  “Do you trust me now?” he asked huskily.

  “I do,” Fritzi admitted. “I don’t know why.but I do.” She glanced away, hoping she wasn’t wrong to trust him, hoping she wasn’t further endangering herself or betraying David. Past Nathan’s shoulder, she could see the snow had tapered to flurries. The night looked dark and cold.,

  Nathan’s gentle hold on her tightened. “Can you tell me what happened now?”

  The story poured out haltingly—everything from the phone call, to how she lost the snowmobile key, to the terrifying run through the basement. “When I saw the gun,” she whispered miserably, “I was sure he was the guy who killed that man in the river….” She glanced over her shoulder. “Do you think he’ll come back?”

  “He might. Can you think of anything else?”

  Fritzi shook her head. “I just got so scared, and then I tried to…to turn on all the lights.” Fritzi rested against Nathan, as if drawing her strength from him was the most natural thing in the world. “I was just so scared,” she repeated.

  Nathan’s voice was a near whisper. “I’m here, sweetheart. You don’t have to be scared anymore.”

  Fritzi swallowed hard. Ever since David had vanished, she’d waited to hear those words again. She only wished she knew more about the man who’d spoken them. Thinking of David, she leaned back in Nathan’s embrace guiltily. His palms drifted to her waist and rested there, a warm, steady pressure.

  Fritzi sighed. “Look, everything I told the sheriff and Frank Laramy is true. There really was a David Frayne. Even though there’s no legal record of it, we were married in
a church ceremony, and he is the father of my son.”

  Fritzi wasn’t sure, but she could swear Nathan stiffened against her. Was it because he knew something about David? Or because he was jealous?

  She forced herself to continue. “I don’t know why you came here, claiming to be my husband, and I know you have no intention of telling me. But I want you to know I thought I was married and that David Frayne was—is—a real man.”

  Nathan’s expression remained unreadable. Resting her hands on his shoulders for emphasis, her voice became a plea. “Don’t you believe me?”

  There was a long silence. Then Nathan said, “I do.”

  Fritzi sagged against him in relief. The whole town of White Wolf Pass had listened to her story but remained unmoved. Even Hannah doubted her. But Nathan believed her.

  “I don’t know where David went,” she said in a rush. “But he loved me, at least he said he loved me. He didn’t know I was pregnant—I was going to surprise him, that’s why I mentioned Malcolm in the classified ad—but I’m sure he never would have left me, not unless something awful happened. So when that man called and claimed to know something…”

  Fritzi’s voice trailed off. Pure grief seized her. She’d never learn what had become of Malcolm’s father.

  “Sometimes I think he’s dead,” Fritzi admitted with a start—her fingers tightening on the handkerchief, her eyes darting to Nathan’s. “If he was alive, wouldn’t he find me and at least tell me?”

  Nathan’s voice was barely audible. “I’m sure he would.”

  New tears threatened to fall, but Fritzi blinked them back. She just didn’t know how she could get on with her life, not when David could be in trouble.

  “C’mon,” Nathan said gently, staring down at her ankle. “We’d really better get moving. Why don’t you let me carry you downstairs?”

  It was awfully tempting. Her eyes trailed longingly over the dark outlines of his powerful biceps. “I think I can walk.”