Hunter

by Melody Anne

  Her cheeks instantly heating, Rebekah sent him a stern look. “Some of us would worry about people taking pictures.”

  “I have nothing to hide,” he told her with a hearty laugh.

  The images flooding her mind of him wet and naked, his muscles gleaming, his body … Rebekah put a halt to those thoughts before they could grow any further out of control. She was stuck in a small plane with him. She certainly didn’t want to be picturing him in the nude.

  “It has to get lonely in the middle of nowhere without a soul in sight. I would be a bit freaked out,” she said.

  “It’s heaven. Not something I would want to do forever, but after a particularly bad assignment sometimes I just need to get away from it all.”

  There was a slight tightness in his voice as he said that and she wondered if some of the bad he’d witnessed weighed on him. She wanted to ask, but she wasn’t anything to him. She didn’t have the right.

  “I’m sorry,” she told him.

  “Nothing to be sorry about,” he told her with a careless shrug. “I clear my head and then I’m on to my next big adventure. It’s great.”

  In the blink of an eye Hunter was able to brush off that tightness. She wished she were able to do the same. Maybe it was a male thing. She wasn’t sure.

  “You’ve changed quite a bit in ten years,” Hunter pointed out.

  Rebekah sighed. “I grew up,” she said.

  “Did you ever think about the two of us?”

  That question shocked Rebekah. She hadn’t been expecting it, hadn’t come up with an answer if asked. A nervous sweat broke out on her brow. It wasn’t something she could outright lie about.

  “It’s not something I dwelled on,” she finally said. “But I won’t lie and say that meeting you and spending that summer with you wasn’t something that shaped me. It’s over though.”

  Not knowing what to expect, Rebekah was again shocked when Hunter laughed. She couldn’t help but look over into his sparkling eyes.

  “You need to get out of the classroom a little more, Professor. Life can’t be so easily summarized or placed in a box. And our time together is most certainly worth thinking about a lot more than once in a while.”

  “You’re incredibly full of yourself,” she said.

  “I have no reason not to be,” he assured her.

  She considered her response for several heartbeats before replying to him again. The ground was growing ever closer and she popped her ears as they neared the runway. The sooner they were out of the plane, the sooner this reminiscence about the past would be over.

  “We all have faults, Hunter. I think a person is much more impressive who admits to them.”

  His laughter died away as he glanced at her before focusing again on the instruments in front of him. He looked serious all of a sudden and she almost wished for the light-heartedness of just a moment before.

  “I don’t think we have faults. I think we have characteristics that shape us. Nothing we do is right or wrong, it is just the way it is,” he said.

  “Maybe,” she said with hesitation. “But there are turns in my life I would change if I could go back.”

  He raised a brow at her. “Am I one of those turns?”

  Rebekah couldn’t look away from him as he smoothly landed the plane and began taxiing it toward the private hangar where she could see a shiny black SUV waiting. He said nothing else as he waited for her answer. She could lie to him, maybe end all this suffering she was feeling. But for some reason she didn’t want to taint that memory.

  “No, Hunter. That was a critical part of my growing up,” she finally told him.

  He stopped the plane and shifted, pressing himself even more closely to her. He looked as if he was going to kiss her again, and Rebekah found herself hoping he would. The inconsistency of her emotions was too insane for her to try to figure out.

  “Maybe we aren’t done growing,” he said.

  Rebekah was lost in his gaze. She was lost in it all. And she wasn’t entirely sure she wanted to be found.

  Chapter Eight

  The plane ride had been both exhilarating and torturous for Hunter. Having Becka pressed against his side for an hour had felt right, but had made him want to press her down into the seats in a horizontal way.

  He was rock solid in his pants as he jumped from the plane, then held out a hand to assist Becka down. She looked at his fingers as if they were snakes, then climbed down on her own, refusing his help. That might be a good idea at this particular moment. With his hormones raging, he wasn’t sure he wouldn’t press her up against the metal of his plane and ravage her right then and there in the very public airport.

  He felt like a rowdy teenager who had been chasing the girl for too long. What made the situation even worse was the kiss they’d shared the night before. It had awoken every cell of his body, and he had images flashing through his mind of the two of them twined together as she called out his name in ecstasy. They’d been great together. He imagined they’d be even better now.

  When he stepped back from the plane, Becka reached inside and grabbed her backpack, clutching it in her fingers, her knuckles white as she held on tightly. To fight these feelings was insane for both of them, but he didn’t see another option.

  Hunter had no doubt Becka was feeling as much as he was, but for some strange reason he didn’t understand, she didn’t want to do anything about it. It wasn’t as if either of them was in a relationship. He didn’t see what it would hurt for them to ease the strain they were both under. But Hunter had never really understood women.

  Hunter grabbed what he needed from the plane and led Becka to the awaiting vehicle. He thanked the man who’d dropped it off and then it was just the two of them once more. Maybe he should have hired a driver instead. It might have been a safer option.

  That thought made Hunter smile. He never had been one of those men to choose the safest route. He didn’t see a reason to do so now. Becka sat in the passenger seat as she studied the map sitting on her lap.

  “I don’t see how this is leading us to Bodie,” she said.

  “Do you see that mark there?” he asked her, pointing at a spot on the map, the beginning of their journey.

  “Yes,” she said, her brows furrowed.

  “That’s a grave marker. It’s been a long time since I’ve been to Bodie, but I believe that’s the cemetery there and we’ll find whatever clue was left behind if we go,” he told her.

  She gazed at the map a while longer and then smiled. “I hope so. If this isn’t it, we’re not going to know what to do.”

  “Why would my father lead me on a treasure hunt that I had no chance of figuring out?” he asked.

  “Why would he put my name to help you?” she responded. “It doesn’t seem that I’m helping at all.”

  “We just have to keep following the clues and we can get it all figured out.”

  “I guess so,” she said, with little confidence.

  Becka put the map away as they began making the sixty mile drive to the ghost town. The farther they got from the Mammoth Yosemite Airport, the more secluded they became. There were a few cars here and there, but not as many tourists as he would have expected — even in the beginning of winter.

  As they reached the outskirts of town, Hunter looked over as a slight tremor ran through Becka.

  “Are you okay?” he asked.

  She turned and gave him a brilliant smile that made his muscles tense. Damn, she was beautiful. It was nerve-wracking how much so.

  “Do you realize you were the first person to give me a real adventure?” she said, surprising him.

  “Today?” he asked.

  “No, ten years ago. I’d been studious and responsible until that summer and for a few short months, I got lost in the fun of living life. I just realized that I’ve been locked away again, in colleg
e learning and now teaching. So I guess you’re the one to give me another adventure,” she said.

  “I could give you a lot more,” he promised her. He wanted to pull the vehicle over and show her exactly what he was talking about. Instead of the shutters going back into place, she smiled.

  “I’m good,” she told him.

  “Yes you are,” he readily agreed.

  “Tell me about this place,” she insisted as she gazed out the windows, seeing their destination quickly approaching. Hunter would rather talk about the two of them, but he had time. He hoped for the first time in a while that this adventure would last for a bit. He wasn’t in a hurry to leave and find a new place. That was strange for him.

  “In the late eighteen hundreds the town was said to have been nearly a mile long, which was huge for the time. But then a disastrous fire happened, wiping out a lot of it. Forty years later another fire further devastated the place. What we’ll see today is pretty much all that was left.”

  “Was it the fires that made the town die?” she asked.

  “The fires certainly didn’t help. I’m not a history buff like you so you should know more about this place than I do,” he pointed out.

  “Surprisingly enough I haven’t studied a lot of state history. My focus was really on the Civil War era. I would love to go to the South for an extended period of time and study some of the places that were so significant to the war,” she told him.

  “Maybe our journey will lead us there,” he said, loving the idea of taking her away to a place she was forced to spend more time with him.

  “I’m teaching right now, Hunter. There’s no way I could get away for a week at a time,” she said with disappointment. That helped ease his bruised ego.

  “I might just have to sneak into your classroom and watch you lecture one of these days,” he told her. She turned to him, her eyes turning to saucers.

  “That’s not a good idea,” she said quickly.

  “Why? Are you a bad teacher?” he asked.

  “No!” she said with a scowl. “But people pay good money for college. You can’t just come in off the street,” she said with a bit of a stutter as if she were thinking quick on her feet to make up a suitable excuse.

  “I donate to colleges, so maybe I want to see where my money is going,” he told her.

  “Do you donate to my college?” she asked.

  “I’ll have to check.” He handed the money over most of the time and his financial advisor took care of it.

  “Well, sit in on another professor’s lecture,” she told him.

  Hunter could rile her up so easily. It wasn’t a challenge at all. But even so, he enjoyed it. And now that he’d come up with the idea, he knew he had to go and see her lecture. She looked damned sexy in her professor getup. He couldn’t believe he’d ever thought it unflattering. Maybe by the end of this, he’d even get to live out his fantasy and test out the strength of that cluttered desk in her office.

  That thought had him thick and hard again. If he kept allowing his mind to travel to places it shouldn’t travel, he was going to be damned uncomfortable for a lot of this treasure hunt.

  “How many buildings are in Bodie?” she asked as he found parking and turned the vehicle off.

  “There are about a hundred, I think. Some small outhouse structures, houses, at least one church, and the giant mill. They closed most of the buildings to keep them and visitors safe. They are sturdy, and not likely to fall over, but there are a lot of exposed nails, unreliable floorboards, broken glass and any number of other safety hazards.”

  “I bet you could still get us inside one,” she said.

  “Maybe,” he told her. Yes, he was sure he could get her a private tour. Having the money and influence he did allowed him certain privileges. He didn’t like to take advantage of it though. But if Becka insisted on it, he just might be willing to bend his own rules.

  At that moment was when Hunter realized the power this small woman held over him. He wondered if it was more than sex he wanted from Becka. Was there something about the actual woman that called to him in a way most women didn’t? That wasn’t a very appealing thought. Hunter didn’t want to be tied down, didn’t want to be responsible for another person, or be accountable to anyone. He loved his life just the way it was.

  Hunter walked next to Becka as they made their way through the town. He watched her excitement as they went past buildings and she stopped to look inside the barred doors and windows.

  “I can’t believe I’ve been so close to this place and never came here before,” she told him.

  “Life without adventure is no fun. Anytime you want to try a new place, give me a call,” he replied.

  She looked at him in a wondering way that made him want to squirm on his feet. He wanted to tell her that they were just empty words — that he was a busy man and once he was gone from this mission, he wouldn’t be back. But he couldn’t seem to say it.

  “Better be careful what you promise, Hunter,” she said with a wink that surprised him. Then the moment was broken as they continued on.

  They turned a corner, and a rattling sound made Becka jump backward as Hunter caught her. A rattler was two feet away from them and Becka was wearing sandals.

  “Be very quiet and back up slowly,” he warned her.

  He watched the color drain from Becka’s face as she stood stiffly at his side without saying a word. He gently nudged her arm, but she still wasn’t moving.

  “Becka, we have to back away. You’ve seen rattlers before haven’t you?” he questioned.

  Finally she turned her head and looked at him, fright in her eyes. If she was this scared of a little snake he wasn’t so sure she was going to be able to finish this adventure with him.

  The snake rattled again and looked as if it were looking directly at them. Hunter had seen worse things than a rattler, and if he were alone, he wouldn’t be frightened at all, but if Becka freaked out on him, he was afraid she was going to get bit.

  “I love the desert but sometimes it’s a bit more deadly than I like,” Becka whispered as the two of them got out of the danger zone.

  “Nature can be a real bi—”

  “Hunter,” Becka interrupted him.

  Hunter laughed. He hadn’t been corrected in a long time. He found it amusing as he looked down at Becka’s professor face. He could imagine her students hanging their heads in shame when she scolded them.

  Without a thought, he reached for her, ran his finger down her cheek and cupped her chin, his thumb rubbing against her jaw. Her eyes softened as he got lost in them. The snake Hunter wasn’t afraid of. Becka, on the other hand, scared the hell out of him.

  He pulled his hand away and took a step back. As much as he wanted this woman, he didn’t want to screw it up. The moment had come and gone and as they began moving again, he wasn’t sure if he’d made the right decision by pulling away. He just knew that now wasn’t the time to get distracted. They were on a mission and if he screwed it up the very first day she would flee faster than a hummingbird.

  When they’d completed their objective, maybe he would take a few extra days — or weeks — and finish what he’d started the night before. She was worth sticking around for — at least for a while. He would bed her again. There would be too many regrets if he didn’t.

  They walked again in silence for several moments and then found the cemetery. Excitement filled Hunter and he was a little frustrated about it. He didn’t want to be having a good time on this adventure. He wanted to be mad at his father for making him go. But as they approached the grave of Rosa May, he knelt down and ran his fingers across the hot stone.

  “Is this it?” she asked as she knelt next to him.

  “I think so,” he told her. Then he was still.

  “Where do we look?” she asked.

  He was almost afraid to sea
rch, because if there was nothing, this might all end. But if there was something, then he had to stay. He wasn’t sure what he wanted more. Reaching down he moved a few rocks … and found the next clue.

  Chapter Nine

  For three days and three very long nights Rebekah hadn’t seen or talked with Hunter. They’d found the next clue, and separated once they’d arrived back home. They’d each taken a copy of the clue and she’d spent every available moment trying to figure it out while she wasn’t in her classroom teaching.

  She finally had. They were going for a hike on a mountain on an island off the coast of California. It appeared Hunter’s father truly did have a sense of humor. She didn’t understand any of it, but she did know that she was now invested in this project.

  Her fingers twitched on her phone as she ached to call the man. He’d been so close to kissing her again back in that ghost town. And she’d been more than willing to let him. She didn’t want to feel that way, and when logic stepped in and her brain was running the way it should, she knew better than to go down that road.

  But when she got lost in the beauty of Hunter’s incredible green eyes, logic flew right out the window. She desired him — needed him — in a way she hadn’t needed anyone in a very long time. Heck, if she were honest, she would admit she’d never wanted anyone the way she desired him. She found herself dialing Aimee instead of Hunter. Her long lost friend answered on the second ring and enthusiastically invited Rebekah to come to her place.

  Putting her phone away, she tucked her notes into her bag and jumped into her car. It didn’t take her long to find Aimee’s place — a perfect two-story in a suburban neighborhood. It was everything Rebekah had once wanted. Maybe she just needed to accept that her life had taken a different path than she’d planned and appreciate the journey she was on.

  “I’m so glad you decided to come over. I didn’t warn you that my terror child is going to make our visit less-than-peaceful,” Aimee said with a laugh.

  Rebekah looked down at the angelic face of the little girl clinging to her mother’s leg as she gazed up at the stranger entering her house. Acting on instinct Rebekah knelt down and smiled at the child.