Shiver

by Nancy Lee Badger

  Oh, he talked to other teachers and his assistant, but they didn’t enjoy each other’s company on weekends, and never swapped stories at barbeques.

  The pity party ended abruptly. The popping of branches snapped his attention back to his predicament. Something or someone headed his way. The sound of footsteps intensified. He hoped it looked human.

  “Help!” he yelled, “I need some help over here!”

  As suddenly as the noise had begun, it stopped. Whatever or whoever heard his cries had halted. Silence engulfed him, while the air grew still as death.

  CHAPTER 2

  Moments earlier, as Destiny stood at the junction of the deer trail and main path, a smile had tugged at her mouth. At the thought of someone spying on her, heat sizzled down to her toes. She shivered with a mischievous feeling of euphoria, as if she’d downed a bottle of her favorite beer, or spent a lazy afternoon in bed.

  With a man.

  Even during the few times she’d made love, she’d never experienced as much excitement as now coursed through her body.

  Maybe I should find the stranger and thank him for interrupting my bath.

  “Silly. He’s most likely so embarrassed, he’s already halfway down the mountain!”

  She hushed her monologue when a doe bounded across the trail follow by a six-point buck.

  “At least someone’s getting some.” She sighed. Lovemaking? She never saw the point, though several friends had fun in bed with guys. They insisted that lovemaking felt pleasurable for both parties. Not in her experience.

  She looked up, through the branches, at the pinpricks of sky. Daylight waned, and her wet hair needed a chance to dry. Tall trees lent soothing shade during summer hikes. Using the cool waterfall’s pool as her beach, she cherished sunny vistas seen from the ridge. Rock-climbing up the Garnet Cliffs with friends kept her body taut and her lungs clear. She enjoyed white water rafting down the nearby Mercy River, and snowshoeing along these trails on winter afternoons. She knew this mountain.

  A sunny clearing lay not far ahead. Shivering under the forest canopy, she strode along while her head told her body she’d have more luck finding romance and happy-ever-after in the paperbacks, at the Fairfield drugstore.

  With a big sigh, and a vow to get her thoughts back on track, she decided to hike to the summit to end her day on a high note. Her body buzzed with the glow of liberation as she sprinted up the trail. Braless, her breasts tingled as they bounced beneath her yellow shirt. Panty-less due to dressing in haste, her damp thighs brushed together, making her secret place tingle.

  Fanning her heated face with one hand, she adjusting her damp shirt with the other. When the sun hid above the tree tops, her hardened nipples reminded her how quick the temperature dropped, on her mountain. Chipmunks raced away at her approach and a woodpecker tapped the trunk of a nearby rotted tree. Then a strange, out-of-place noise caught her attention.

  “Help!”

  A chill skittered down her spine, sucking all the heat from her skin. Sliding to a stop, she cocked her head to listen. Could the sound be a man’s voice, from higher up the mountain?

  “Who the heck is—?”

  “Help!”

  “There it goes again.” The deep, definitely male voice sounded as if it came from the direction of Falcon Ridge. The boulder-strewn mountaintop, where wind constantly blew, loomed a short distance away in the direction she’d been heading. Loudly, she asked, “Are my ears playing tricks on me?”

  “Please. I need some help over here!”

  “Are you hurt?” Destiny called, sprinting up the trail. When she slid to a stop, her mouth flew open, and her eyes widened, as she looked into the eyes of the most beautiful man she had ever seen.

  Wow.

  Her tongue fluttered, trying to form words, but not one word passed through suddenly dry lips. Thigh muscles clenched as she fought the urge to turn and run the other way. Never the coward, she stood her ground and took a closer look.

  He sat in the mud. His ripped blue flannel shirt stretched across a broad chest. One arm curled around his left knee. Shivering, and quite surprised himself, his brown eyes locked on hers. His distress was apparent by his pale skin, and pain-filled frown.

  Have I ever laid eyes on such a specimen of masculinity before now?

  Wavy chestnut-brown hair hung a bit long, skimming the collar of his shirt. Eyes like molten chocolate searched hers for answers. They fit his square face rather nicely. He was clean-shaven, and his arms displayed the healthy tan of someone who spent time outdoors. Too bad his face was white with pain.

  Destiny’s heart beat faster, and sweat beaded in the valleys of her fingers. Her nipples stiffened and her chest constricted, while she did her best to breathe, but air seemed in short supply. Enchanted by his earthy good looks, she stood statue-still, captivated…until he spoke and broke the spell.

  ***

  At the sight of the beautiful stranger, Jacob’s throat closed up tight. Desire surged below his belt, tightening his jeans. When she slid to a stop by his feet, her honey-blonde hair, tied back in a French braid, swung over her shoulder and slapped her chest.

  This is the woman from the waterfall!

  Forcing a deep breath to shake away his surprise, he knew he ought to explain what had happened. She might call him a liar, but he had to say something. He shouldn’t sit staring, since she was his ticket off this mountain.

  “Hi,” he sputtered, as he licked his dry lips and found his tongue had turned to sandpaper. An errant sunbeam lit up her face. Fascinated, and breathing deeply, he shut his eyes a moment, then cleared his parched throat with a small cough.

  “I took a fall and hurt my ankle and knee. The ankle seems better now.” He coughed again, and opened his eyes while inhaling another deep breath. “I don’t think anything is broken, but I can’t get to my feet. If you give me a hand, I’ll be on my way.”

  He had no intention of unlocking eyes with this beauty. Did she sense the throbbing ache in his groin? Embarrassment had nothing on the butterflies flitting inside his stomach. He couldn’t recall the last time he had hardened at the mere sight of a female. And, he grew harder the longer she stared back at him, so he closed his eyes, breaking her hold.

  I must suppress this wave of pure lust before she notices.

  Shouldn’t the pain of his injury be enough to cool his ardor? At the sound of crunching leaves, his eyes flew open. She was picking her way around the muddy center of the trail until she stood inches away, watching.

  What the Hell is she waiting for?

  CHAPTER 3

  Watching the procession of expressions that passed over the stranger’s face within seconds, Destiny let his voice drift over her. The low, masculine tone betrayed a hint of an educated upbringing, along with a citified quality. Pulling out from his gaze with a jerk of her head, she fixed her attention on his arm. She remembered the piece of tattered cloth she’d found on the blueberry bush, and his ripped flannel shirt shouted trespasser!

  Biting her inner cheek, to keep a sudden surge of rage from ruining the moment, the effort didn’t last.

  “You!” she cried. “You saw me bathing under the falls.”

  Clenching both hands into fists, she stared right through him. Her earlier desire for this man had turned to anger at his transgression. Her face must have exhibited her changed feelings, because he lowered his head and answered her accusation with a groan.

  “I am so sorry. I’ve never hiked this trail, before today. My co-workers made me promise not to miss Opportunity Falls, which I found by accident. If not for the singing, I would have walked right on by.”

  When his whispered words sunk in, she scolded herself. After all, the man just apologized. Again.

  “Miss?”

  She shook off the anger in order to turn her attention back to the problem at her feet. He looked hurt, and they were far from civilization. She couldn’t leave him here, no matter how she felt about him spying on her.

  “Ah, we’r
e pretty far up the mountain,” she answered, finding her voice. “Cell phones don’t work around here. I’ll help you up, and we’ll see if you can walk.”

  She hoped her words sounded logical. She certainly couldn’t carry him.

  “Okay. I tried crawling toward that huge stump. If I can get up on that, then I can see about standing.” The stranger turned his eyes back to her, brushing hair off his sweaty forehead.

  Without another word, she eased down on one knee, motioning for him to use her shoulder for support. He barely suppressed a groan as she rose with him. An unladylike grunt escaped, as she dragged him across the trail. She sat him on the mossy log, smiling as he let out a deep sigh. His jeans, dampened by the muddy ground, sculpted to his body.

  “My left knee is throbbing.”

  The way his eyes burned through her, she wondered if more than his knee throbbed. Maybe she ought to turn on her heels, run straight home, and leave him here to fend for himself.

  Doesn’t the guy deserve it, for what he did to me?

  Then she came to her senses. Here sat a handsome, albeit older, man with trembling hands and a physique worth drooling over. She turned away from his gaze, as heat bloomed beneath her cheeks.

  When she’d gained control of her reactions, she returned his gaze. Noting his pale face, she worried about shock, because he didn’t look well at all. She was at a loss.

  What should I do to help him? I wish Josie was here.

  Her best friend, a paramedic firefighter, would know exactly what to do. When the injured man inhaled another deep breath, her heart thudded in her chest. Smiling at him, so as not to appear lost and helpless, she brushed mud and leaves from her knees. No sense scaring him.

  The strange man groaned, then turned away from her. She assumed his injury caused him pain.

  She crossed her arms over her chest, and stared at his chiseled profile. Lines on his forehead, and at the corner of his mouth, proved he suffered.

  Beautiful…what a strange term to use concerning a man, especially when some might say his chin is too square and his hair is too long.

  She wanted to kiss his pale lips, forcing some color to them. A sudden yearning to rub his arms, warming him back to life, made her heart thump. An image of him lying in her bed, with his brown locks feathered across her plump pillow, snapped her back to the present. Waving off such lusty thoughts, she leaned over and ran fingers across his scalp, checking for other injuries.

  His hair glided over her fingers like a curtain of moist silk. After quietly sweeping bits of twig and grass from the strands, she ran her hands down both arms, searching for wounds. Under the shirt he’d ripped on the blueberry bush, his arm shook, but except for superficial scratches, she found no injuries. She stood and found her voice, once more.

  “You must be chilled from sitting in the mud, so we best get moving. Your hiking boots will support your ankles, as we head down the trail,” she said, as her gaze swept over his muddy jeans. Spying the bulge between his legs, she gasped.

  Josie had once told her that trauma victims sometimes suffered an unwarranted erection, so he might be hurt worse than she’d realized. She had to get him down her mountain, fast.

  Her gaze roamed back up to his face, but his eyes locked on hers. He must have seen her slow perusal of his body.

  “Jesus,” he groaned.

  She bit her lip, internally seconding his words. She arched her eyebrows when he adjusted his position on the log. I wonder if he’s in pain from parts of his body other than his knee…or groin.

  “I hope you don’t pass out on me.”

  His face paled. “Believe me, miss, that is the last thing I’d want to do with you.”

  Cocking her head to the side, trying not to read anything into his reply, she forced aside serious thoughts. “We need to get you back to civilization. Darkness and cold come quickly, on this side of the mountain. And, you need to see a doctor.”

  When his eyebrows rose, she knew she’d caught his attention.

  “If I can get to your waterfall, I’ll soak my knee in the pool.”

  “Do you think dipping your leg in cold water can fix the problem? Nope. Unwise. Getting in and out of that pool would be impossible.”

  “Why? I’m sure it’s—”

  “What it is, is slick with moss.” With both fists on her hips, she asked in a slightly sweeter tone, “Does your knee feel cool or hot at this moment, sir?”

  Licking his lips, he found his voice again and said, “My name is Jacob Oliver. Please call me Jacob.”

  “Jaaacob.” Destiny dragged out the pronunciation of his name as she glanced skyward.

  “I guess the waterfall idea is out,” Jacob said, when she didn’t move. He shifted his position on the log. “To answer your question, miss, my knee feels cold, probably because my jeans are soaked.”

  “Getting you to a hospital is the right course.”

  He sighed, and his shoulders slumped. “I hate hospitals, but I guess you’re right. I’m not thinking too clearly at the moment.”

  “Then we need to start down the trail. Always a chance we’ll meet other people, but in the meantime…”

  Jacob sat still, but his gaze followed her. She walked off the trail before finishing her statement. Crashing through the underbrush, she walked until she knew she had disappeared from his sight. Her body’s reaction to his voice, starting with her swollen nipples and ending with a body-wide flush of pure heat, was not something she cared to share.

  “I’m making you a basic crutch,” she called out, as she thrashed about. “And, call me Destiny. I’m Destiny Blake.”

  ***

  With all the noise, Jacob barely caught her name. Branches cracked and leaves rustled, while small animals high-tailed it out of her way. Chattering squirrels raced up huge pines, and several rabbits hopped past him, and his stump. When he spied flashes of tan skin, and her blonde braid, his aching body reacted.

  God, this girl would make a dead man hard.

  When she reappeared with a long branch, he couldn’t look away. She wore no makeup. She didn’t need any. Delicate gold earrings hung from dainty ears, and she had the deepest blue eyes imaginable.

  He let his gaze slide down her body, and glimpsed squared shoulders and taut muscles under her mud-spattered, yellow shirt. Two taut nipples jutted out, the soft fabric barely concealing their beauty.

  “She’s braless,” he sputtered.

  “Did you say something?”

  The young woman stopped in front of him. His cock went rigid as a tree trunk, adding a different sort of pain to the mix.

  “No, just clearing my throat.”

  There’s a time and place for a throbbing erection. This isn’t it.

  He hadn’t even shared a regular conversation with this woman. He required her help, so he’d better not scare her away.

  “Just breathe and relax,” he muttered. These irrational thoughts could turn into a problem. Air whistled past clenched teeth with an irregularity not caused by his injury.

  He turned away, but kept one eye on her, while she peeled twigs and dry leaves off a five-foot-long tree branch.

  No panty lines, either.

  She must have jumped into her clothes to chase me down. Brave, or just plain stupid? What if I was a rapist, or a serial killer?

  His mind blanked out on the present situation with swift intensity, reliving that long ago night, even though he didn’t want to remember the sobbing, near-dead woman he found lying in an alley…

  …in the rain, bloody, beaten, both battered eyes swollen shut…it was so hard not to retch. Nothing I’d seen had affected me like this. Then she moaned.

  I lifted her head and wiped blood and gore from her mouth, pushed wet hair away from her broken face…murmured useless words of comfort. She opened one bruised eye a fraction, and peered up at me…satisfaction?

  She whispered the name of her attacker, that she’d sworn out a restraining order against him only the day before…cradling her in my ar
ms, fighting the urge to find the bastard and pummel him into a bloody mass…knowing she needed me with her…

  “Stole…my…car…” she gasped and managed to recite the make, model, color, and license plate. Her last words.

  Her last breath on my face made it personal. My mind whirled with the need to avenge this complete stranger, lying dead in the rain, with my tears mingling with hers, until I realized I’d seen such a car. I saw the bastard drive away as I arrived!

  …speeding away in my patrol car the moment backup showed up… blinding rage consuming me…manifesting in fingers that gripped the wheel and in thigh muscles that bunched and strained with a need to make my patrol car go faster.

  I pressed the gas pedal to the floor. The shrill of the siren led the way, as I threw caution to the wind, making me careless, driven to find the guy…unable to shake the image of the tears on the cheek of his victim, blind to the road ahead…to the bridge.

  The screech of twisting metal…the winding down of my car’s siren…sure I was dying...the smattering of raindrops on my face, blackness…then nothing…

  “Wait,” he whispered, “these memories belong in another time. Another place.” He shook his head to clear the cobwebs, and opened his eyes. Pain throbbed between his temples, so he focused on the young woman standing nearby, working on the branch.

  She trusts too easily.

  After they reached his car, he’d lecture her on the proper way to stay safe.

  Fool. You aren’t a cop anymore. Leave her be.

  The branch split into a ‘Y’ at one end. She wrapped a fluffy yellow towel around the fork then handed it to him.

  “This should help.”

  “Thanks.” Afraid of what her touch would do, he pushed his body up to prove he didn’t need her help. Pain shot up his leg from his knee to his groin. Wincing, but silent, he fit the crutch under his armpit. Her sweet scent warmed his body, as shivers of pleasure slid straight to his groin, counteracting the pain. He inhaled. Her fragrance seemed familiar.