“There wasn’t anyone available,” he explained. He sensed her shock at his explanation. “They had only one tracker and he was on another job. As far as the sheriff was concerned, you were already another missing person who wouldn’t be found.”
“He had already written me off?” She was incredulous.
“Unfortunately, yes.”
“But you didn’t.”
“You’re a stubborn and very strong lady. I knew you’d make it.”
Shelby smiled at his confidence. She would have rolled over to face him, but his grip kept her from moving.
“My very own James Bond. But sexier.”
He nuzzled the soft area just behind her ear. “Sexier, huh?” He noticed the way she further relaxed in his arms. “I like that idea.”
A coil of heat settled deep within Shelby’s stomach, and it had nothing to do with Jed’s hand covering her abdomen. If she shifted her body just a little, his fingers could easily find their way beneath the waistband of her shorts.
“James Bond would take advantage of a situation like this,” she prompted, then gasped when his hand shifted upward until it covered her breast. His thumb and forefinger rolled her nipple to an aching erectness. She arched her back as he cupped her breast.
“But I’m not James Bond,” he murmured in her ear.
Shelby found it difficult to formulate her thoughts. “Good, because I’d rather have you, no matter how grouchy you can be.”
Jed took her earlobe between his teeth. “Would you say I’m grouchy now?” His other hand slipped beneath her pajama bottoms and palmed her aching center, his fingers delving inside her moist warmth. “Hmm, I’d have to say you’re not the least bit grouchy. It looks like you’re showing me how wet you are instead.” He savored the rich music of her soft throaty moans, knowing he was causing them. As he teased the tiny nub that intensified her pleasure, she arched back and his hips bumped against hers.
Shelby’s head tilted, pressing against his throat even as her lower body rocked forward against his hand. “I want you!” she keened, pressing her nails into his wrist.
Jed didn’t need a second invitation. He practically ripped his zipper as he tore the tab downward, at the same time pulling down her pajama bottoms with his other hand. With one strong thrust he was firmly inside her, feeling her tight walls squeeze around him. He muttered a curse, fearing he would finish before he’d even begun. But he had the sanity to rein in his enthusiasm and deliberately slowed his strokes as he cupped her from the front, pulling her against him.
Shelby twisted her head so she could see his face. “Jed,” she whispered. Her lips were parted and moist, and her tongue trailed across her lower lip.
His mouth slammed down on hers even as his body filled her, his tongue thrusting inside to twine around hers in a lover’s dance.
The urgency was rabid in their veins, but it was left unspoken that they wanted their lovemaking to last as long as possible. Shelby’s hips slowed even as Jed’s thrusts became lengthier, though still deep.
It was as if this was their only way of telling each other what they truly felt. Jed couldn’t divulge his deepest secrets, but his body could let her know how much he wanted her with him always. Shelby still feared that if she pressed for more, this time Jed would be the one to leave, but with her body she could indulge her every fantasy. She could pretend he would always be hers.
Jed had always marveled how well they fit together. Even their breathing rhythms were in sync as they raced for that fiery pinnacle. As always, the explosion was intense, their eyes glowing as they looked into each other’s soul.
And when they fell off that pinnacle, they didn’t drop into dark depths but into an abyss of bright light that showed them what they were looking for. If they cared to hang on to it.
Chapter 9
“Once we get back to civilization I am going to make you buy me a steak,” Shelby told Jed as he packed up the backpack and made sure his weapon was fitted snugly in its holster, against his back. “I’m talking about a nice big one. Along with a large order of onion rings, garlic bread and a very good bottle of wine. Maybe two.”
“Anything else?” he asked, amused with her request. And not all that surprised. The idea of a meal made up primarily of red meat seemed an excellent one right about now.
“Cheesecake for dessert,” she decided. “A very large piece. I have several days of barely eating to make up for.”
“I’ll make sure all your requests are filled,” he told her as he tightened the laces of his hiking boots. He then straightened up and grasped her shirttail. Smiling that smile that sent electric charges through Shelby’s blood, he pulled her toward him, indulging in a long, satisfying kiss. Shelby melted against his chest with the idea of taking more, but Jed ended it reluctantly. He knew they needed to get out of there. He pulled away, regret etched on his face.
“What do you say we go in search of that steak,” he said, picking up the backpack and settling the straps on his shoulders. “Something tells me we’re going to need the red meat for energy.”
He reached for Shelby’s hand, lacing his fingers through hers as he prepared to climb down, but she held back.
“I’m glad you were the one to come up here for me, Jed,” she said softly. A small smile curved her lips.
He smiled back. “You weren’t too sure of that in the beginning.”
She nodded. “I know. I guess it was because I couldn’t imagine your coming up here. You see, when I was praying for help, I said I wouldn’t care if a trained gorilla rescued me as long as it was soon. It didn’t take me long to realize you’re definitely better than a gorilla.”
Jed shook his head in wonderment. He knew she had to have been scared, but yet she had somehow kept her sense of humor intact. He should have known his lady would have lots of guts. He leaned over and kissed her again. Not a heated kiss like the night before, but one that promised a great deal. Later.
“Let’s get down this mountain,” he told her, helping her to descend the rocky slope.
For a while during their hike Shelby paid closer attention to their surroundings than she had the day before. But because Jed was in a hurry, she found herself having to take two steps to his one. It wasn’t long before she found herself out of breath.
“Enough,” she wheezed, pulling on his hand. “If we don’t stop right now I’m going to run out of air.”
“I don’t think there’s any way that can happen.”
She huffed and puffed as she painfully tried to catch her breath. “Oh, yes, there is. And I’m living proof. I need to stop, Jed.”
He frowned as he scanned the trees and scrub around them. “We can’t take too long.”
“All I ask is a minute to rest.” She dropped down onto a boulder and reached for the canteen hanging from his belt.
Jed studied her with a sharp eye. He couldn’t miss her heaving chest or red face. “I thought those aerobic classes you took every day and your personal trainer kept you fit.”
“My classes and my trainer ensure my fitness for walking fast or running on fairly level surfaces. I wasn’t meant to climb up and down mountains like a goat,” she argued. She took several sips of water, then handed him the canteen. He tipped it up and drank. “I was meant to walk the mall at a reasonable pace or run through an airport to catch a flight.”
Jed shook his head. “Good thing I’m along to help you through this new experience of yours.” Feeling prickles of unease travel along his nape, he looked around. “Are you ready to go?”
Shelby couldn’t miss the taut expression on his face or the tension lacing his voice. “What’s wrong?”
Jed merely shook his head and grabbed her arm. “Come on.” He kept his voice low as he walked more rapidly down the slope. “We’ve got to move.”
With trees and brush around them, he hoped they could remain hidden. Jed knew their luck might not hold. The thought had even occurred to him that the men might have decided to climb all the way down
to Meredith’s cabin and lie in wait for them there. If so, they would have easily found his car and figured out he’d be returning in that direction.
He cursed himself fot not bringing along his cell phone, even though there was no guarantee it would have worked in the heavily wooded region. He hadn’t wanted the extra weight in his backpack, and he’d assumed he would have no problem rescuing Shelby. So far, he hadn’t.
He told himself not to worry if he didn’t have to. He had promised Warren he’d bring Shelby back safely and that was exactly what he intended to do.
As they hiked down the steep trail at an even faster pace than before, Shelby felt the tension in the air, as if an electric storm was approaching. She fully expected to see small animals fleeing and birds flying to safer territory as if danger stalked their heels. She knew she didn’t dare ask for any more stops. Jed sensed something was wrong, and she wasn’t about to dispute his hunches.
It wasn’t all that much later that Shelby felt burning pain radiating out from the bottom of her feet, up through the back of her heel and along her leg. She glanced down and saw blood seeping through the bandages. She gritted her teeth against the pain and concentrated on not limping.
She was thankful Jed was too busy scanning their surroundings to keep a close eye on her. She knew he sensed she was right behind him and that was all that mattered.
As they reached the end of their journey, Shelby felt herself drooping with weariness. She stumbled several times and once fell to the ground.
“I’m all right,” she told him, raising herself up on her hands, then scrambling to her feet. “I wasn’t looking where I was going and I must have tripped over a rock.”
Jed frowned when he noticed the bloody bandages. “Damn,” he muttered, squatting down and examining her feet. “Those need to be changed.”
“We can take care of that when we get down.” She hated herself for feeling afraid, but the back of her own neck was prickling like mad. Was this what Jed felt when danger was close? “We need to go, Jed! You said so yourself.”
He looked up and didn’t miss the terror in her eyes. Along with that he saw the trust in her gaze. Trust in him. He was glad to see it. He didn’t want her trust to be misplaced. “Yeah.” He straightened up.
Shelby compelled herself to ignore the pain in her feet as she almost ran to keep up with Jed.
“If this is what you do as a spy, you’re a better person than I am,” she panted. “My killer instincts are better in the malls than out here.”
“And you do a great job there. Just remember, we’re going to get through this,” he told her, still keeping to the path he felt was safest.
Shelby was so intent on keeping up with Jed that she ran into his back when he stopped abruptly. She opened her mouth to ask what was wrong, but he motioned for silence. She settled for standing on tiptoe and looking over his shoulder. Her mouth widened to a soft O when she saw the clear blue lake, looking as peaceful as it had that day that seemed so long ago. They’d reached the clearing where the Ackerman cabin was situated. She recognized Jed’s black sedan parked along one side of the building.
“It’s too quiet down there,” Jed murmured, his gaze sweeping the scene with a sharpness guaranteed not to miss even the smallest detail. His body was tight with tension as he surveyed every inch of ground.
“Wouldn’t it be quiet because no one’s there?” she whispered, although she couldn’t figure out why she felt the need to speak so softly.
“Quiet, yes, but not this quiet. You have to remember it can be quiet even when someone is around.” He lifted his head as if sniffing the air.
She watched his action. “The way those men smell we should be able to detect them a good ten miles away,” she muttered, wrinkling her nose with disgust. “I swear, a skunk that had been dead for a week would smell better than them.”
Jed lifted an eyebrow. “You ever smell a dead skunk?”
She screwed up her face. “No, and I’m not too sure I’d care to.”
“You wouldn’t. Not unless you want your sinuses cleared for the next month.” He absently touched the hard lump slung over his shoulder. The rifle resting there should have been comforting, but it wasn’t. Right now, he wanted them out of there. Damn! Why did he feel as if all hell was going to break loose any second? “We’ve got to pray they’ve given up and haven’t gotten down here ahead of us,” he told her. “Just head straight for the car. Don’t stop for anything and don’t look back. I’ll deactivate the locks before we reach it so all you have to do is open the door, dive in and keep your head down. Use the cell phone to call for help.”
“Why do I have a bad feeling about this?” Shelby asked, wishing she could will away her sense of alarm. She wondered if spending the past few days with Jed had attuned her senses in some way.
“Don’t even think about it,” he muttered, doublechecking his rifle.
“Let me take that.” She pulled on his backpack straps. “It will be one less thing for you to worry about.”
“If it proves too bulky, just drop it and keep on running. There’s nothing all that important in there.”
“I’ll definitely leave it behind if there are any of those awful cereal bars left,” she quipped, draping the straps over her shoulders.
Jed looked down at Shelby. He couldn’t miss the flushed state of her cheeks, the taut expectancy in her body and the emerald sparkle in her eyes as she gazed up at him. Her face wasn’t clean of anything but makeup, but he couldn’t imagine she had ever looked more beautiful to him than she did just now.
Dammit, she was getting off on this! Her hair was dirty and tangled around her face, her clothing more suited for a ragbag than a boudoir. What exposed skin wasn’t filthy was marred with scratches and bruises. But it was as if none of this mattered to her. For now, the danger was pumping up her adrenaline and giving her the kind of high no drug could duplicate. She was ready for battle and actually looking forward to it. She was proving to be her father’s daughter, all right.
Jed couldn’t stop himself from touching her. He cupped the back of her head with his free hand and pulled her toward him. The moment their lips met, his tongue thrust inside for a raw, heated kiss. Pretty soon his other hand, still holding the rifle, rested flat against her spine as she melted against him. He didn’t want to worry about her! He refused to think something could happen to her. Most especially, he didn’t want to think Eric and his boys had gotten down here already and had disabled the car. Damn, he didn’t want to feel anything!
“Shel.” He broke away, breathing hard. “I swear if you ever pull a stunt like this again, I’ll keep you tied to the bed for the rest of your life.”
The Shelby of the past would have been angered by his arrogant statement. The new Shelby merely smiled.
“And the same goes for you, darling.” She patted his cheek. “Now, can we get out of here? I’d kill for a long hot shower.”
Images of a naked Shelby in his shower danced briefly before his eyes before he pulled himself together. Jed grabbed her hand and pulled her down the last few hundred yards.
Shelby’s fingers were on the passenger-side handle and Jed reaching for the driver’s door when a familiar taunting voice and the mocking sound of hands clapping invaded their tenuous relief.
“Congratulations, I figured you’d end up as mountain lion bait. You’re better than I thought you’d be.”
Jed slowly turned. Eric, with his nephews on either side, stood a little way off, at the edge of the clearing. While Eric’s high-powered rifle was cradled in his arms, those of the two younger men were aimed directly at them. Out of the corner of his eye, Jed could see Shelby slowly dropping the backpack and standing stiffly. He thought of every curse he could remember. Considering the state of her feet, he doubted she would be able to run if he ordered her to. Certainly not fast enough to outrun the two nephews.
Now that he saw Eric up close he could detect the faint signs of madness in his eyes. There would be no talking
to this man. He would rather fight to the death, and Jed sensed that he usually won. But this time things would be different. Jed was going to make sure Eric didn’t walk away with Shelby. The bastard would have to lose his life.
As Jed stood there, hands at his sides, his mind rapidly worked out scenarios and rejected most of them. After all, their opponents had their weapons in the open, ready to shoot.
“Drop the gun,” Eric ordered abruptly. His eyes were cold and flat. The lack of emotion in his gaze was chilling.
Shelby had remained silent until then. “What are we going to do?” she murmured, just loudly enough for Jed to hear.
“I’m not giving up my weapon,” he said in a voice meant for Eric.
Shelby winced. “That isn’t what I wanted to hear.”
Eric smiled. There was no humor in his action, just pure animal glee. “You stole my woman. I don’t like hippies stealing my women.”
Jed raised his head, staring straight at him. If it was to be a battle of wills, so be it. “She was mine first. And I hate to tell you this, but the hippie movement pretty much died out in the seventies.” Out of the corner of his eye he could see Shelby bite down on her lip to keep her mouth shut. Good. It looked as if she had learned when to remain quiet. Keeping watch over her sensibilities wasn’t part of the plan right now. He had to keep his attention centered on the man standing before him.
“Then you shoulda kept a better eye on her,” Eric advised, still smiling. “Because she’s mine now.”
“I don’t think so. I intend to keep a very close eye on her.”
Eric still cradled his rifle in his arms like a baby. “You know I can’t let you just walk out of here.”
“It might be a better idea if you did,” Jed replied conversationally, as if they weren’t talking about anything more important than the weather. “Ordinarily, I’d just kill you and be done with it. Hell, I’d probably receive a medal for doing so. After all, you’ve been kidnapping women and killing them when you’re tired of them. The law looks down on that kind of behavior. You would have been better off if you’d remained up that mountain with those boys and not ticked off people down here.”
No More Mister Nice Guy Page 12
