by Lora Leigh
He watched her for a moment, judging her mood—assessing his own. “That’s the thing,” he said, surprised by his own reaction. “I’m not so sure it is a game.”
That was God’s honest truth.
Something was happening here. Something he hadn’t planned, hadn’t counted on and didn’t quite know how to handle.
Her gaze held his for a long moment before she looked away, shaking her head. “Look. This … You and me. It’s not such a good idea. You know that.”
Ah. No beating around the bush. He liked that in a woman. She knew where this was headed and she’d decided to call him out. Fine. He was ready for the challenge.
“A little early in the … game … to make a decision that important, isn’t it?”
“Yeah … see … there’s that word again. Game. It keeps coming back to that. And that’s the problem.” She reached up and pulled a few pins out of her hair. He held his breath and felt the impact deep in his gut as she shook her head and all that chestnut-colored silk untangled around her face and shoulders.
He knew she had no idea what effect letting her hair down had on him as her dark eyes met his.
“I don’t play games, Seth.”
No, she didn’t. He understood. Silent seconds ticked by before he answered, knowing he was speaking the truth and a little rattled by it. “Like I said. I’m not sure this is one.”
He saw the answering spark in her eyes. Felt a sudden electricity in the moment that compelled him to close the distance between them.
He searched her face, back-shadowed by the night and the canyon rim. Touched a hand to her hair. Gently fisted his fingers in the thick, luxurious weight of it and drew her toward him.
“I’m not sure what is happening here, Elena, but whatever it is … it damn sure isn’t a game.”
Then he kissed her. Open mouth, seeking tongue, and a suddenly desperate need. Hadn’t realized how much need until he’d been within touching distance. Hadn’t realized how much desire until she responded to his deep, throaty groan with an answering sigh and wrapped her arms around his neck.
Holy God. The woman could kiss. The woman could reduce him to a puddle if he wasn’t careful. But careful wasn’t in him at the moment. He felt reckless and hungry and the way she responded to the demands of his mouth told him she felt exactly the same way.
He deepened the kiss, tasting, exploring, welcoming her lush responses and inviting more. He filled his hands with her hair, tilting her head to change the alignment of their mouths and experience another amazing angle of Elena.
With a groan, he let his hands wander down her slim back, cupped her hips with splayed fingers and drew her against him. She gasped when she felt his erection pressing against her belly, did an amazing little shiver thing that ground her even closer and forked her fingers into his short hair.
He could have stood there kissing her like that forever. Feeling all of her pressed against all of him. Learning her curves, the satin feel of her skin as he tunneled a hand up under her shirt. Fire. She was on fire and he wanted to bring her from a blaze to a raging inferno.
He cupped her breast and she moaned. Flicked his thumb over the peak of her erect nipple and she cried out. Then stiffened. Broke the kiss.
He didn’t fight her. Hell. He had to catch his breath. Clear his head.
“Wow.” Breathless, he cupped her head in his hands and pressed his forehead to hers.
She pushed out a tight laugh, gripped his biceps and hung on like she needed his strength to steady her. “In a word.”
He struggled for a deep breath, still holding her that way, forehead to forehead, his hands in her hair, her fingers wrapped around his biceps—like she couldn’t decide whether to push him away or pull him back against her.
“That was … um … that was intense,” he whispered, both of them struggling for a steady breath.
She pushed out a tense laugh. “There’s another word.”
He grinned then pulled back so he could see her face. Her eyes were heavy-lidded; her lips plump and pink from his mouth plundering hers.
“One word that doesn’t fit is game. No question in my mind, Elena. That was definitely no game. I don’t honestly know how long I’ve been wanting to do that, but from the way my knees feel, it must have been a helluva long time.”
She looked sober and stunned and confused. “I … I, ah, guess I didn’t know it was what I wanted either.”
His heart slammed like a brick against his ribs at her admission. “So. What do we do about it?”
She shook her head. Breathed deep. “Taking a step back and thinking it over might be the wisest move.”
“Yeah,” he agreed with a slow, reluctant nod. “You’re probably right. Is that what you want to do?”
She finally met his eyes, sighed in defeat and moved into him again. “Hell, no.”
Then she kissed him. On the attack this time, nothing tentative, nothing shy and nothing held back. It damn near knocked him on his ass.
“Elena,” he whispered, hearing the urgency in his voice as her busy, busy mouth drove him out of his mind. “If we don’t take this horizontal soon, one of us is going to get hurt.”
“Oh, you’re gonna get hurt all right, lovebirds,” a gruff voice growled behind them.
Reflexes honed by muscle memory and practice, triggered by threat, had Seth shoving Elena behind him, automatically reach for his S & W. Which, of course, wasn’t there.
Ten feet away, two hard-faced men stood in the darkening night. One pointed a Glock dead center at Seth’s chest. The other aimed the silver barrel of a Ruger revolver at his head.
“You’re gonna get hurt real bad.”
FOUR
“GOT YOURSELF A REAL sweet little piece there don’t ya, pig?”
Seth sized up the two men, assessed the threat. They were big. Out of shape, beat up by the trail and mad as hell. Trigger fingers as itchy as dogs with fleas.
He didn’t think he knew either one of them. Yet they seemed to know him, or at least they knew he was a cop.
Axe to grind. That was the obvious call. Big axe to have tracked him all the way down here. The question then was, could he convince them they had more to lose if they shot him than they did if they just walked away? The bigger question, how the hell did he keep Elena from getting caught in the crossfire?
“Don’t know what your beef is, fellas, but I’m sure we can settle it without the guns, okay? Why don’t you just put ’em down before someone gets hurt?” he suggested in a calm, evenly modulated voice. “You look thirsty and beat. We’ve got water. Food. You’re welcome to both.”
“Well, that’s real generous of you—considering we’re callin’ the shots.
“You. Lawyer bitch.” The guy with the Glock motioned at Elena with his gun. “Get us some water.”
Every cell in Seth’s body screamed to red alert. Whatever this was about, they knew who Elena was, too.
“Look, guys, whatever your problem is with me, leave her out of it.”
“Shut the fuck up, hero!” Glock guy exploded with rage. “And let’s get something straight. If it was up to me, both of you would be dead or dying right now, got it? So don’t push me.”
“What’s this about?” Elena asked.
“I think my old man already told you, bitch.”
Elena’s fingers clutched Seth’s arm like a vice. “Oh, God. You’re … you’re Jake Devine. Joey’s brother.”
Oh, Christ.
“That’s right. You and this asshole cop are responsible for putting my little brother in prison. Which means you’re responsible for him being dead.”
Worse and worse.
Riled to the point of losing control, Devine closed the distance in three long, angry strides. Got right in Seth’s face as Seth shoved Elena further behind him. “I’d like nothing better than to waste you both right here and now, but the old man wants to save that pleasure for himself. He wants to kill you slow-like. Wants you to know the pain he’s going thr
ough. Wants you to feel it over and over again.”
Jake shoved the pistol hard and deep into Seth’s gut. “So don’t push me or I might just forget my old man called dibs and start working you over myself.”
Eyes still locked with loathing on Seth’s face, Devine yelled at Elena. “Now get us some water! And get some goddamn food while you’re at it—”
It was now or never. Taking advantage of Devine’s attention on Elena, Seth chopped the gun to the side and down before Devine ever knew what hit him. The pistol went off, fired harmlessly into the dirt as Seth wrestled Jake to the ground.
“Elena, run!” he yelled as the two of them rolled over the ground, hitting rocks and brush and sending camping gear flying.
Seth ended up on top, drew his arm back to land a right hook and heard the unmistakable sound of a hammer being cocked. The business end of the Ruger revolver pressed into his spine, directly between his shoulder blades.
“Back off,” the other guy said. “Raise your hands now, cop, or you’re dead right here.”
On a controlled breath, Seth unclenched his fist and raised both hands beside his head in a show of submission.
An explosion of pain stole his breath and his consciousness as something slammed into the back of his head.
“YOU RUN AND I’LL kill him,” Jake Devine threatened, rising to his feet. “Then I’ll hunt you down and kill you too.”
Elena hadn’t planned on running. She wasn’t leaving Seth.
“Tie ’em up, Benny,” Jake ordered the other man.
Elena didn’t fight him as the man Jake had called Benny jerked her arms roughly behind her back, pushed her down to a sitting position, then tied her ankles. He made quick work of tying Seth the same way. Then the two men tore into their food supply and gorged themselves.
Seth lay as still as stone beside her, his face ashen where it pressed into the rock and grit of the campsite floor. The blood that soaked the back of his head oozed black in the night. She was close enough that she could feel his breath penetrate her shorts and warm her hip so she knew he was still alive. What she didn’t know was how badly he was hurt. Bad, she suspected, for him to be out this long.
“He needs medical attention.”
Neither man acknowledged her.
Seth stirred slightly.
“Lay still,” she whispered, darting a glance across the shadows, hoping Jake and Benny couldn’t hear her. “Just lay still. You could have a concussion.”
“Jesus.” Seth’s voice slogged out, weak and strained. “What … happened?”
“He hit you with the butt of his gun. You’re bleeding pretty badly.”
“Head wounds,” Seth slurred. “Always … bleed like a … bitch.”
Elena glanced at the men again. Decided to chance lying down. She rolled to her hip, eased down so she could see Seth’s face in the dark.
“How bad?”
He blinked. Tried to focus. “Picked a … good place to … nail me. Come from … a long line … of hard heads. I’m … fine.”
“Yeah,” she said, her chest tight with fear. “I can see that, tough guy.”
Leave it to him, Elena thought. He could hardly talk, had to be hurting like blazes, and he insisted he was fine.
“What are … they doing?”
She glanced toward the sound of gluttony. “Eating. Drinking. Bitching about no-service messages on their cells phones, sore feet and blisters and complaining about the old man and his bright idea to track us out here.”
“Must have been looking … for a chance … to get at us.”
Elena nodded. “Probably read about the event in the papers. But why track us here? Why not just wait for their chance and kill us in Flagstaff?”
Seth shifted slightly, groaned. “Think about it.”
She thought. Got the connection. “Right. The headlines would read something like ‘Assistant DA and Flagstaff police detective die in unfortunate Grand Canyon hiking accident.’”
“Bingo. They can rough us up real … good out here. It’ll look like damage from, say … a bad fall. No fingers … pointing Devine’s way.”
His voice was so faint, she could hardly hear him over the wild, racing beat of her heart. “So what do we do?”
“Darlin’, for the moment … we do nothing. Time’s on our side until … the old man arrives. They can’t contact him. No cell tower in the … world has enough power to catch a signal from this deep in the Canyon. Gotta figure Daddy won’t show up …” He stopped, caught his breath. “… until morning. He can’t hike in, in the dark. Can’t chopper in tonight either. So … we wait for these yahoos to fall … asleep. They’re in no shape for the … hike they made today. They have to be … hurtin’ bad.”
“And you’ve probably got a concussion and we’re both trussed up like Thanksgiving turkeys,” she pointed out, working hard not to give in to panic.
“Be a pretty … dull life without … a little challenge now … and then.”
“You’ll forgive me if your warped sense of humor just doesn’t cut it for me at the moment.”
“Just … keepin’ it real, babe. We’ll get out of this. For now … just … just watch them … okay? And … keep me awake. Don’t … let me fall … asleep. Talk to me. Who’s … who’s the other guy, do you know?”
“Jake called him Benny.”
“Benny Cravets,” Seth surmised. “Gotta be. He’s Jake’s watchdog.”
The guilt that had been working on Elena since Devine had shown up reached a boiling point. “This is my fault.”
“It’s your fault … that these guys are scum? I don’t… think so.”
“Devine threatened me,” she confessed, searching his dark eyes in the night, looking for signs that he was going to pass out again. “After Joey’s sentencing.”
She told Seth what Devine had promised would happen to her if Joey ended up dead. “I should have told someone.”
“Yeah,” Seth agreed, “you should have. We should have had … a detail watching you. But the bottom line is, this should … have been the safest place you could be. No one would have thought Devine would … track you here.”
“And yet he has.”
“Look, we’re going to get out of this. Those two … they’re in a bad way. Out of shape … hurting and pissed off about it. In those shoes … they probably have bleeding blisters.
“They’ll … fade soon, okay? Then we’ll figure something out. Just don’t … panic on me. You need to … keep it together.”
She nodded, shored herself up. “I’m okay. You’re the one I’m worried about.”
She watched his face as he tried to find a more comfortable position. “I’m fine. Move on over here, though. It’s going to get damn … cold before this night is over. We need to share body heat since it’s … obvious who’s going to be using our bedrolls tonight.”
Elena glanced at the two men. Jake was already settling into her sleeping bag. Benny, evidently, had been tagged with first watch. He sat with his back against a rock, watching them, the pistol clutched loosely in his hand.
As clichéd as it sounded, Seth was right about needing to share body heat. Moving slowly and quietly, she rolled to her other side so her back was facing Seth’s front. Then she scooted back against him, pressing as much of her back to as much of him as she could to share heat.
His big body shivered against hers and she felt a sick knot of dread.
“Closer,” he said, his breath feathering along her nape. “We’ve got to keep warm.”
“You’re going into shock,” she whispered, spooning her body back against his.
“No. I’m fine. Just a little … chilled. I’m counting on that hot Martinez temper to warm me up.”
He breathed deep and nuzzled his face deeper into her neck. “Workin’ already,” he whispered, and Elena realized exactly what might be heating him up.
Her bottom was pressed tight against his groin. Very tight as his erection grew against her.
“
You have got to be kidding,” she whispered, astonished.
“Sorry, darlin’.” Seth rocked his hips closer to her. “It’s the adrenaline. But there’s good news. It’s working. I’m getting warmer by the minute.”
Oh, God. She couldn’t believe he’d actually made her smile. “Adrenaline, huh?”
“Cut me a break here, Martinez. It’s not like I … have a lot of control over this.”
No, she thought, feeling her own body respond with warmth as his heated up behind her. It wasn’t as if either of them had any control. All that stuff about life or death situations and heightened senses were apparently true. She was acutely aware of everything around her—including the raw sexuality of the man at her back.
They lapsed into silence. Above them the sky spread out like a bolt of velvet, littered with millions of stars. A night breeze danced around the canyon walls. It was so quiet she could hear the rhythm of the Colorado cutting its endless path fifty or so yards below them in the base of the canyon.
“Seth? You still awake?”
“Yeah,” he said sluggishly. “I’m awake. Talk to me. I need you to talk to me.”
A snore drew their attention toward the lean-to.
“One down,” Seth whispered. “Which one is it?”
Elena strained to see in the dark. “Jake.”
“How’s Cravets holding up?”
“Doing a lot of face rubbing and shaking his head. He’s struggling.”
“So we wait a little longer. Keep talking, okay? Just talk.”
“About what? What do you want to hear?”
“What color panties are you wearing?”
She let out her breath on a disbelieving huff. “You are really too much, you know that?”
“Red?” he guessed, a smile in his voice.
Which made her smile, too. Which is exactly what he’d wanted her to do, she realized. “You wish.”
“Okay, fine. Spoil my fantasy. Tell me about your family then. Tell me about your childhood. Hell, tell me about your grocery list. Just talk to me.”
FIVE
SETH’S HEAD HURT LIKE a bitch. Elena was probably right. Concussion. Slight, but there. Enough to make him nauseated if he moved too fast. Enough to make him light-headed if he moved at all. Enough that he knew he had to stay awake because if he let down his guard and slept, he might be out for the duration.
