Lawless (7 page)

Ariana spread out the soft blanket, and Milo
proceeded to unload his backpack.  She was surprised to see he'd packed a small
collapsible cooler as well as a box full of different-colored lures that looked
like miniature plastic fish.

It only took Milo a few minutes to get a pole
ready, and he headed down to the water.  "If we had more time, I'd teach
you to fly fish," he said as he stepped on a large, flat rock at the edge
of the stream and motioned for her to join him.  She followed, very aware of
where she put her feet so she wouldn't fall in.  He gave her quick instructions
on how to work the reel before he handed the rod to her.  "Go ahead and
toss it out."  She flipped her bright yellow lure out into the water.  "Now
just sit there.  If you feel a tugging on the line, start cranking your reel."

He'd no sooner taken a few steps away from her,
heading back toward the blanket for his pole, when her rod dipped and the line
tugged.

"Oh my God," she muttered and started
turning the little handle on the pole.  The fish tugged harder.  "Milo?"

"Give me a second."

She reeled harder.  "I think I have
something."

He hurried back to her, laughing as the silver
body of a fish flashed into view.  "I'll be damned.  It's a nice one, too." 
He let her reel the fish before he grasped the end of her pole, and reached
down into the water to retrieve the fish.  He pulled pliers from his back
pocket and used them to disengage the hook from the fish.  "Looks like we'll
be eating fresh trout tonight."  He glanced at her.  "I cook a mean
trout."

Happiness bubbled from within.  "I can't
believe I caught a fish my very first time trying, and I love trout."

"Ah, darlin', if this is your first time
fishing, you've really led a shallow life."

She swallowed past the hurt that tried to
surface.  She was not going to let thoughts of her father and her childhood
ruin this moment.  "Yeah?  Well, I'd say you'd better get busy and catch
yourself a fish.  You don't want to be upstaged by a novice fisherwoman."

He put her fish in the cooler and checked the lure
on the end of her line.  "You're ready to go again.  If you catch another
before I get my line in the water, I'm going to seriously doubt you're a
novice."

She grinned.  "It must be beginner's luck."

"Must be."

Unfortunately, she didn't hook another one before
he headed back to her.  She really would have liked to show him up her first time
out, but the odds were against it.  That was okay.  She could be happy and feel
accomplished catching only one fish.

"You'd better hope the cops don't show and
ask to see your license."

The thought of being in trouble set off her
instincts, and she glanced over her shoulder to make sure they were still
alone.  She'd never gotten over being busted by her father and the ensuing
nightmare.  "I thought you were one of the officers around here."

"That's right."  He walked out onto the
outcropping next to her.  "I could have you arrested for fishing without a
license."

She dropped her jaw, knowing that he teased her,
but that she was also probably being illegal.  "Why didn't you tell me I
needed a license?"

"What difference does it make?  I could have
purchased one before we left the house, but what ID would you use?  You're a
wanted woman."

"Thanks for reminding me."  She elbowed
him in the side, and he shifted his balance to avoid falling off the rock and
in the water.  It would serve him right.  "Yet, you're standing there and
encouraging me to break the law.  What does that tell me about you?"

A wide grin split his lips.  "I guess I'm one
of the cops who prefers to follow the spirit of the law as opposed to being a
hard ass about everything.  We won't catch more than the limit for one person,
okay?"

"Okay."

They stood side by side tossing out their lines
and reeling in nothing.  She didn't care.  Just being there with Milo was
enough for her.

"You mentioned college."  He tossed his
line again.  "What did you get your degree in?"

"I have two bachelor degrees.  One in
education and one in mathematics."

He turned to her, a look of appreciation showing
in his features.  "Wow.  I'm impressed.  I didn't realize you were such a
smarty-pants."

"Are you sure about that?  I think you've been
challenging me subtly since the moment we met."  And turning her on and on
with each passing second.  "I get the impression you're a bit of a scholar
yourself."

He shrugged.  "Maybe.  I do have a degree in
criminal justice, but I think I've learned more being on the streets than I
ever did in school."

She studied his face, the intelligence buried
within his brilliant eyes.  "I don't think it matters how one educates him
or herself.  Just that they do.  Life is so much richer when a person takes the
time to learn about the surrounding world."

"Agreed.  But I have to say you're failing at
one thing."

She drew her brows together, confused.  "What?"

"The whole time you've been chatting, there's
been a fish on your line."

She jerked her gaze away from Milo and toward her
line.  "No."  She laughed and started cranking the handle.  "I
think this one is bigger than the last."

"I think you're right."

When she finished reeling it in, she held out the
end of the pole to him, the fish wiggling in the air.

Instead of grabbing the end of the pole and
removing the fish, he took the rod and held the end out to her.  "If you're
going to fish, you need to learn how to remove the hook, too."

She tried to hold back her grimace.  "Does
that mean I have to touch it?"  Lord, she wasn't sure she could.

He nodded, and she was certain he took some kind
of perverse pleasure in pushing her limits.

"Fine."  She wasn't about to back down. 
She gripped close to the end of the pole to steady it and grasped the fish.  Cool
and firm in her hand, the silver fish actually had a pinkish band that traveled
the length of it.  Black dots careened over the green-tinted back.  Must be why
it had been given the name, "rainbow".  She supposed if she'd refused
to touch it, she'd never have gotten such an intimate look at the beautiful
species.

"Use the pliers to take hold of the hook. 
Kind of twist gently to back the hook out the way it came in."

She wouldn't admit it, but removing the hook
terrified her.  With unsteady fingers, she used the pliers and gripped it.  The
fish arched and bent, its movements surprising her.  In a swift, instinctive
move she squealed and flung the fish.  Her actions put her off balance, and she
stepped back to steady herself.  In a stalled second, she realized her
mistake.  Her foot hit a slippery rock.  Just as she started to fall, Milo
reached for her and missed.  Her leg sunk to the bottom, and she flailed her
arms as her other foot found the bottom of the riverbed.  The water hit her
crotch-high, but she managed to keep herself upright.

She stared at Milo, his eyes wide as she tried to
register the fact she hadn't gone completely under.  She started to laugh.  "I
can't believe I just did that."

Milo joined her laughter as he held out a hand and
pulled her from the cold river.  "Are you okay?"

"Yes…no.  I can't decide if I'm mad I fell in
or happy that only half of me is wet."  She should be angry or
embarrassed, but even though the bottom half of her was soaked, this day still
ranked up there with one of the best times of her life.

She shifted on the rock to get a better footing,
and Milo latched on to her waist as though he was afraid she might fall again. 
"If I'm supposed to be protecting you, I guess I'd better step up my game."

She smiled.  It felt impossibly good to be standing
there with him, having him care about what happened to her.  Yes, it was his
job, but it still stirred her emotions.  "I'm going to dry off.  You'd
better see what you can do about earning your dinner."

"You're all wet.  I think we should head
back."

"No."  She was not about to let a little
water ruin her day.  The thought of being trapped inside a building when she
could be here was not acceptable.  "You're not using that excuse as a way to
justify me catching more fish than you."

He let out a genuine laugh, the sound filling
their serene surroundings with beautiful noise.  "I see how it is." 
He lifted her pole, the fish still on the hook.  "Caught one.  Now we're even."

She shook her head.  "Nope.  That one's mine,
too.  I earned it the hard way.  The score stands at two-to-zero, zippo, none. 
I can't believe a big, bad cop like you is going to let himself get upstaged by
a city girl."

He narrowed his eyes as laughter teased the
corners of them.  "Oh yeah?  Then game on, darlin'.  Prepare to lose."

A thrill rushed through her as she stepped off the
rock.  "Game on, deputy."

Her shoes squeaked with each step she took, water
leaking out the sides.  By the time she'd traveled the short distance to the
blanket, it sunk in exactly how uncomfortable she would be to remain in her
water-laden attire for very long.

She slipped out of her shoes and peeled off her
socks, stepping onto the dry meadow grass.  She wiggled her toes, the blades
tickling her as she dried her feet.  Why had she never taken the time to get
this close to nature before?  It fed her spirit like nothing else.

She glanced at Milo, who seemed more intent on
watching her than fishing.  "Don't you think you should be concentrating
on what's on the other end of your line?"

"I am."

"Uh-huh.  Turn around.  I'm going to strip
out of these wet jeans."

"You tell me this and then ask me to turn
around?"  He arched a seductive brow.

"Turn."  She twirled a finger in the air. 
When he complied, she popped the button on her jeans and began to work her way
out of the wet denim.

Good God almighty.  Was he being punished for all of the
times he'd flirted with women and then left them wanting?  Knowing that the woman
who'd haunted nearly every thought he'd had since he'd met her was half-naked
within viewing distance was more than he could resist.  He'd like to meet the
man who could.

He managed to keep his eyes off Ariana for all
of ten seconds before his gaze slid in her direction.  He'd have to concede he
was no gentleman, but the ding to his honor was worth the prize.  He let his
fishing pole go slack as he feasted on the sight of barely-there turquoise
panties clinging to the nicely rounded pale flesh of her ass.  She wiggled as
she shimmied out of her wet jeans, and he grew instantly hard.  He forced a
swallow past the thick lump in his throat.  Damn.

She bent over to slip her feet from her pants,
and the pole slipped from his hand.  The movement jerked him from his lusty
thoughts, and he grabbed it before it slipped into the water.

When he glanced back at Ariana, she narrowed
her eyes.  "You peeked."  She tucked in the edge of the blanket she'd
wrapped around her waist.

He gave her his best innocent look and shook
his head.

"Don't try to lie to me.  It's written all
over your face."  She sauntered toward him, her long dark tresses
caressing her bare shoulders, her blanket-covered hips swinging with each
step.  She stopped in front of him, her gaze penetrating his façade.  "Admit
it."

He searched her eyes, sparks flying between
them, and he knew in that moment he was in deep shit.  He wasn't admitting
anything.  To do so would only sink him further into the mire.  Instead, he
grinned and turned back to the river.

 "Fine."  She picked up her rod and
stepped in close to him.  "I hope you did look, and I hope you're eating
your heart out right now."

He let out a slow, easy breath in an effort to
release some of his pent-up tension as he reeled in his line and cast it again. 
She had no idea of the current state of agony she'd put him in.

One thing was clear.  He'd have to keep up his
guard, or she'd snag him faster than she had her first fish.

*       
*        *

Their outing had ended much too soon for Ariana,
even if she had spent a good portion of the afternoon without her pants.  Storm
clouds brewed on the horizon, prompting Milo to call it a day.  It would be a
while before she'd let him live down the fact she'd caught two trout compared
to his one.

Dinner had been a feast.  Milo had lived up to
his promise of delivering a meal to die for, but now that they'd finished
eating and cleaning up, her protector had dove back into the thick volume of
nonsense he was reading, and she was left to her own devices once again.

She let the screen door slam as she stepped out
onto the back porch and sank into the swing.  Ominous clouds rolled across the darkening
sky as an unseen pressure thickened the air.  A soft breeze carried the delightful
scent of rain although no moisture had hit the ground yet.  It was the
proverbial calm before the storm.  The threatening sky mimicked her life. 
Right now, there were only stirrings of activity, but it wouldn't be long
before all hell broke loose.  She was safe from the approaching thunderstorm,
and she could only hope she'd remain safe until she testified at her father's
trial.

She kicked the ground, sending the swing into a
rhythm of creaking and groaning that fit well with the pensive atmosphere.  A
streak of lightning split the sky in the distance, and she counted off the
seconds to predict how long until the storm arrived.

Four seconds later thunder rumbled through the
heavens.

She loved it.

She tucked her feet beneath her as a swirling
wind gusted into the yard.  Branches in the pines rustled against each other as
though jockeying for the best position to ride out the storm.  The coffee cans
they'd used the previous night for shooting practice tipped and rolled off the
porch, the wind tumbling them toward the fence.  She thought of jumping up to
go after them, but they were quickly plastered against the clumps of tall grass
along the fence and wouldn't be able to escape.