by Tarah Scott
He took a swig of water and washed down the ample slice of cornbread he’d eaten. “It is. But this is where it all begins.” He stretched out his legs and crossed ankle over ankle. “You can’t know the material you’re analysing until you see where it comes from, feel the dirt on your fingers”—he lifted a hand and looked at his dark fingers—“and beneath your fingernails.” Hawk released a slow breath, his gaze on the desert that stretched out before them. “There’s nothing like being out here.” His eyes shifted to her. “Plus, I like getting dirty.”
Liz startled, then snorted. “Very funny. What got you into archaeology?”
He dug a thigh from the plastic tub of chicken. “Two pieces of damned good luck.” He bit into the chicken.
“What do you mean?”
“A history teacher and one tenacious ASU archaeology professor. Not many kids who grow up on reservations make it into graduate programmes.”
Mortification warmed her cheeks. “Hawk, I—”
He shook his head. “You didn’t say anything wrong.”
“I didn’t even think about it,” she said.
“That’s not a bad thing—not totally. You didn’t stereotype me.”
“Who could possibly stereotype you?”
He chuckled. “I guess they don’t know me the way you do.”
This time, the heat pooled between her legs and tugged hard on her pussy.
He took another bite of chicken. “What about you? What do you do?”
“I manage a clothes manufacturing plant.”
His brows rose. “Tough job.”
She thought of the phone call she would have to make tomorrow to GFW Industries if they forestalled the payment due to Leland Industries, and laughed. “It has its moments.” Liz grimaced. “But I’m much more boring than you are.”
“You’re anything but boring, sweetheart.” Fire burned in his eyes.
Her heart skipped. “I… I… Stop looking at me like that.”
“I plan to do a lot more than look, first chance I get.”
Moisture dampened her panties. “You promised to be good.”
“You’re sitting twelve inches from me, Liz. I am being good.”
“Your students don’t have to hear us to guess what we’re talking about,” she said. “It’s written all over your face, for God’s sake.”
“There’s plenty of privacy on the other side of that southwest pillar,” he replied matter-of-factly.
She gaped. “You’re incorrigible.”
“I’m a helluva lot more than that.”
Damn him, he was. She grabbed her water and took a long swig.
“You must want me bad to need that water.”
She choked, then spewed water. Water sucked down her windpipe. She wheezed.
Hawk gave her a hearty slap on the back. “You okay?”
Her vision blurred, but she still discerned the amusement and satisfaction in his eyes. Liz opened her mouth to tell him to take a flying leap, instead she dragged in another harsh breath.
“Breathe easy,” he coaxed.
She shot him a dark look.
“It’s not my fault.” He rubbed gentle circles on her back.
The constriction in her throat eased. She took a small sip of water and was rewarded with a cooling sensation on the way down. She released a breath and wiped at the moisture in the corners of her eyes.
“Next time, take it easy with the water,” he said.
“Next time, I’ll take you over my knee.”
His mouth twitched into a smile. “Promise?”
She groaned and tore a hunk off the chicken leg with her teeth—and wondered what it would be like to do the same to him.
Sun skimmed the distant edge of the desert when Liz looked up from where she lay brushing loose dirt from the hard ground. Nearby, Hawk was giving instructions to the last two remaining students.
“I’ll see you here, tomorrow after class,” he said. “Katie, you’re in charge until I get here.”
The girl nodded and she, along with the young man standing beside her, turned and headed toward the cars. Hawk faced Liz as she rose from where she’d given a final few brush strokes to the section of dirt she’d been working.
“Not so much as an arrowhead,” she said.
“Such is the life of an archaeologist. Ninety-eight per cent of the ground we dig doesn’t yield anything.”
Liz grimaced. “The digs Em and I went on always yielded something.”
He laughed. “You were paying customers.” Hawk grasped her arm and squeezed. “I promise to make up for all your hard work.” He winked.
She couldn’t help a laugh. He looked like a big kid. Liz sobered. That was exactly what he was. But she’d left that stage of life behind long ago.
“Hawk—”
“Here it is. You’ve had all day to conjure up reasons not to see me.”
She shrugged. “It was inevitable.”
“Just as this is inevitable.” His fingers tightened on her flesh.
She resisted, but he gently drew her to him.
“Hawk,” she managed before his mouth lowered onto hers.
His moist lips pressed against hers sent Liz into a tailspin—just as she’d known it would. He was right; she wanted him. But he was also right in that she’d had all day to own up to why nothing could happen between them. Liz broke the kiss, breathing hard, and leaned her head against his chest. The hard thump of his heart made her want to listen to the sound until past dawn.
A short, torrid affair would do her good. But, damn it, even if Hawk was capable of separating their relationship from his relationship with Emma, when things went bad, Emma wouldn’t be. And a friend like Professor Anthony Hawkins could make all the difference to her success.
“You are a powerful temptation,” Liz said through a shaky breath.
A strangled laugh broke from him. “Only a temptation? That doesn’t even come close to what you are to me.”
She lifted her head and met his gaze. “I’ve never let my personal life interfere with Emma’s wellbeing—until today. I can’t let it happen again.”
“What do you expect to happen?” he asked.
“I expect explosive sex, then just as explosive a breakup.”
A corner of his mouth twitched into a smile. “I scared you with that kiss last night, didn’t I—and probably my driving, too?”
Liz blinked, then laughed. “Last night was…unusual, but no.” She couldn’t resist tracing a finger along his jaw. “You saved my life, and you didn’t have to do that.”
His eyes darkened. “God damn it, Liz, talk to me in that voice and you drive me out of my mind.”
Her insides liquefied. They stared at each other for a long moment before she stepped back.
“Do you really think I’m incapable of separating my personal life from my professional life?” he asked before she could say a word.
“I think you haven’t been tested like this. Have you ever been involved with a student’s mother?” Regret rolled over her. If he said yes—if she wasn’t the first mother whose panties he’d got into with little resistance…
“No,” he replied.
Relief gave way to reality. “Then you can’t know what you’ll do,” she said.
“Have you ever had a relationship with a younger man?” he asked.
She shot him a withering look.
“I’m not a child, Liz.”
Her stomach did a flip. That voice didn’t belong to a child. Neither did the determination and desire in his eyes.
“I’m not an asshole, either,” he added.
“Can you blame me for wanting to protect Emma?” she asked.
“I can blame you for using her as an excuse.”
“An excuse—you’re out of your mind.”
“You said that last night. Yet, here you are.” Before she could reply he added, “Just because I haven’t been involved with a student’s mother, doesn’t mean I haven’t been tested—and in the toughe
st way a man can be tested.”
Liz frowned in confusion.
“Marriage.”
She blinked. “You’re married?”
“Was,” he said. “I told you, I’m not an asshole. We’re divorced.”
“Divorced? What woman would divorce you?” The words were out of her mouth before she realised it.
“I divorced her.” Hawk grinned. “But I like the way you think.”
Liz wasn’t sure whether to feel weariness or just plain curiosity. Curiosity won out. “Why did you divorce her?”
“Let’s just say I took fidelity more seriously than she did.”
This time, Liz couldn’t stop her mouth from falling open. “I don’t believe you.”
He lifted a brow. “Are you saying women are incapable of being unfaithful, or is it that men are incapable of being faithful?”
What woman in her right mind would look at another man with him around? How could she possibly have the energy? The glimpse Liz had got of his character said he was a good man, and his lovemaking… What had been wrong with his wife?
Liz gave him a soft smile. “I’m saying I’m sorry. Divorce is a terrible thing.”
“Sometimes it beats the alternative.”
The words were lighthearted, but Liz didn’t miss the hint of pain.
“What about you?” he asked.
“Me?”
“Emma’s father?”
Liz grimaced inwardly. Turnabout was fair play. “He left when she was three.”
Hawk frowned. “That’s it?”
“That’s it. He decided a wife and a child weren’t what he wanted.”
Disbelief crossed Hawk’s expression, then he snorted in disgust. “He discovered that a little too late. I’m sorry, Liz.”
She smiled. “Sounds like we’re both sorry.”
His mood didn’t lighten. “Maybe, but he had a daughter to consider. I can deal with the fallout of my mistake. Kids change everything.”
Her heart warmed. He would make a good father. When that time came, he would understand. “A mother doesn’t sleep with her daughter’s professor,” she said in a quiet voice.
A smile touched his mouth. “Dinner. That’s all I’m asking.”
“No, it’s not.”
“I didn’t say I wouldn’t take more,” he said with startling honesty. “Hell, look at you. What man would turn you down? But what I’m saying is, I’ll settle for dinner—tonight.”
“It won’t end there, and you know it.”
He studied her. “Sounds to me like it’s you who doesn’t think it can end there.”
Liz racked her brain for a response, but he saved her from the embarrassment of an answer he was sure to see straight through.
“Come on.” He started them toward the rise. “It’s getting dark. Let’s get back to town. I know this great place.” She started to argue, but he cut her off. “Don’t worry—it’s an overly crowded cantina on the west side. There isn’t a private corner in the place where I could get my hands between your legs.”
Butterflies leapt into a riotous dance inside her stomach at the memory of his hands between her legs, his mouth… How would she get through dinner without excusing herself to go to the ladies’ room, to relieve herself of the pressure building in her pussy?
Chapter Six
They crested the rise, and the instant before Hawk caught sight of the two flat tyres on the Land Cruiser he sensed something was wrong. Liz gasped, and he grasped her arm, bringing them to a stop.
Hawk cursed. How had he missed hearing a vehicle pull up to their cars after the kids had left? Easy. He’d been so focused on Liz that a Mack truck could have rumbled past and he would have missed it. He scanned the area. The Chevy sat parked twenty feet beyond the Cruiser. No other cars were within view of the old road or the desert beyond. It was unlikely anyone would be hiding around the cars, but who the hell knew what these crazy assholes would do?
He dropped to a squat and looked beneath the Land Cruiser, then across the open space to the truck. No one hid beneath the two vehicles—and the truck’s four tyres were okay. He didn’t like that. Whatever they’d done to the old Chevy wasn’t obvious, which probably meant the slashed tyres were an afterthought. An afterthought motivated by a reason he felt certain he wouldn’t like.
Hawk rose and started to tell Liz to stay put while he investigated, then realised, if anyone came up over the slope while he was at the cars, he couldn’t get to her before they did.
“Come on.” He started them forward. When they reached within twenty feet of the Toyota, Hawk stopped. “Wait here.”
“But—”
“Let me take a look.”
Her lips pursed, but she nodded.
“Don’t move,” he emphasised.
“I promise.”
He handed her the cooler he carried and silently cursed the worth of her promise and depth of his stupidity. After he’d delivered her safely home, he planned to find Vance Reid and beat the shit of him.
Hawk approached the Land Cruiser. He looked inside, found nothing, then went around the truck and looked inside the cab. As expected, empty. He finally motioned Liz forward, then strode back to her car, where he squatted beside the front tyre and ran his fingers along the gouge on the lower section of the rubber where it had been slashed with a knife.
Liz set the cooler on the ground and knelt beside him. “My God.” She touched the hole, her long, slim fingers pale against the dark rubber.
“Yeah.” Hawk rose and went back to his truck.
He opened the hood and scanned the engine. Nothing obvious was out of place. He knelt on one knee, braced a palm on the ground and looked under the car. A dark circle stained the desert floor beside the passenger-side tyre. He lowered himself onto his back and scooted under the truck near the stain. As suspected, fluid dripped from a cut brake line. Hawk grasped the fender, pulled himself out and stood.
“What do you think happened?” she asked.
He considered lying, but she wouldn’t be fooled by a sugar-coated answer. Only he didn’t have to tell her that her slashed tyres were a message concerning her. His only living family was his grandfather who lived on the reservation. Vance Reid didn’t have a big enough army to get to him, and Hawk’s friends could take care of themselves as well as he could. Hawk’s jaw tensed. He’d finally given Reid what he’d been after for the last three months; a way to get at him.
“They cut my brakes and slashed your tyres,” Hawk said.
“Your brakes?” she burst out.
“Did you bring a cell phone?” he asked.
“Sure. But there’s no service out here.”
“Let’s take a look.”
He followed her to the Land Cruiser. She opened the driver’s side back door, then swung to face him. “My purse is gone.”
Hawk nodded. “I would have been surprised if they’d left it.”
“You don’t have a cell phone?”
“I hate the things.”
She looked nonplussed. “You’re kidding.”
“I used to have one and couldn’t get a damn bit of work done on a dig.”
She glanced around. “Why do all this then leave? That doesn’t make sense.”
But it did. It made more sense than anything else they’d done so far.
* * * *
Panic rose like a tsunami. Get a grip, Liz mentally ordered. But the command didn’t stop the tremble that rocketed through her body. Hawk pulled her close and she allowed herself to relax against his solid body. The steady beat of his heart lulled her rampant pulse into a manageable rhythm as he stroked her hair. Tears threatened, but she bit down on her lip. The last thing he needed was a hysterical female. And she had no intention of giving Vance Reid the satisfaction of reducing her to a blubbering mass.
Liz wrapped her arms around Hawk and released a slow breath. A stirring against her abdomen confused her for a second before she realised the growing bulge would be a full-blown erection in secon
ds.
She straightened and looked up at him. “How can you…?”
He gave a half laugh. “It’s not difficult with you, sweetheart, but we’ll save it for later.” One hand slid around her neck, while the other held her tight. He pressed a chaste kiss against her forehead, then pulled back. “I’ll make this up to you when we get home.”
Her stomach flipped and she could only nod.
Hawk released her. “It’s fifteen miles back to 87, too far to walk on this old road at night.” He glanced east. “Even with a full moon on the way.” His gaze came back around and locked with hers. “You game for a night under the stars?”
Her heart did a double take, but to her surprise she read only concern in his eyes. That made her legs gel even more. A night under the stars with a Native American warrior who intended to protect her? Who was going to save her from him?
“What time will your students return tomorrow?” she asked.
“Katie will be here by nine a.m.”
“That’s not too bad,” Liz said. “Emma will be worried sick, but there’s nothing I can do about it. I’m sure Katie will have a phone.” She gave him a recriminating look.
He shrugged. “This’ll teach me.”
“What time is it?”
He glanced at his digital watch. “Seven-thirty.”
“Maybe we’ll get lucky and Katie will be early.”
He nodded, but she couldn’t help feeling she’d be a lot luckier if Katie were late.
“Where did you leave the cooler?” he asked. “We’ve got plenty of food and water left.”
“The other side of the car,” she replied in a voice that, thankfully, didn’t crack. She fetched the cooler then crossed to the truck, where Hawk was retrieving a sleeping bag and blue jean jacket from behind the seat.
“You really come prepared,” she said.
“The desert gets down in the forties this time of year. Without a coat and water you can be in trouble before you know it.” He paused and looked over his shoulder at her. “We’ll be all right.”
The knot in her stomach tightened when he pulled a rifle from behind the seat. Hawk shut the door and faced her.
