Still Mine (26 page)

“A little one-man job. No sleeping bag, but it’ll be some protection.”

“From what?”

He paused. Then as if it was obvious, explained, “The temperature’s falling fast.”

“What do you mean, falling? I’m sweating like a pig.”

“Lovely,” he said, laughter in his voice. “As high up as we are, it will probably get down to the upper thirties. The tent will be some protection for you.”

Upper thirties? In July? “For me? What about you?”

“I’ll be fine outside. I’ve done it before.”

“Without a sleeping bag?” she asked skeptically. “Or a fire shirt?”

“Well.” He swallowed. “No.”

“Then you’re in the tent too.”

He paused again, giving her time to consider what she’d just offered. She was going to sleep in the same tent as a man she’d known a—was it only two days? How could this all have happened in two days?

“It’s real small, close quarters,” he said. “And I said I’d keep watch.”

Was it her imagination or did his voice sound huskier than it had a minute ago? Imagination or reality, it sent skitters down her spine to places long ignored.

Okay, get a grip, Peyton. Yeah, he’s a hunk. Yeah, she’d be sleeping next to him, but they’d both be fully clothed and too exhausted to act on any interest. If there was any on his part. Which there probably wasn’t.

Not that it mattered.

“Don’t be ridiculous. You’re exhausted too, and you said we’re safe here. In the tent, at least we’ll be warm.” Okay, her voice was definitely huskier. Probably all the smoke they’d breathed today. Uh-huh, that was it.

The tent couldn’t be that small, could it?

Okay, it was. Um. Gabe straightened up from driving the last spike. The tent was no bigger than a coffin and she was going to share it with him. No way they were both going to fit. Maybe she could sleep outside. Hypothermia had nothing on sleeping next to a man who oozed virility. But she was already shivering, though earlier she could have sworn she’d never be cold again.

“Um, I think I’ll sleep outside.”

She heard him suck in an impatient breath, but couldn’t look at him.

“We can sleep with our heads toward the opening, can even leave it unzipped a bit if you want.”

He thought her claustrophobia made her hesitate. And she had to admire his patience. She didn’t realize he had the resources. He couldn’t understand—she wouldn’t admit—his size, his undiluted maleness had her heart hammering in her chest.

“It won’t be bad, Peyton. You’ll be asleep before you know it. And it’s going to be too cold out here.”

Come on, Peyton. You ran from a wildfire today, crawled through a cave. You can sleep next to a man you hardly know.
She squared her shoulders and nodded, though he’d turned off the flashlight and couldn’t see her.

He took her arm, urging her into the tent. When she crawled inside, feet first, the nylon stretched over hard ground was like the bed of a five-star hotel.

Then Gabe crawled in and sucked all the air out of the tent. Her skin tingled with awareness as he tried to fit in beside her. She scooted toward the seam and still felt the press of him against her back. She held her breath, heard him clear his throat in obvious discomfort as he settled on his side also.

“This, ah, this isn’t going to work,” he said gruffly, his breath grazing her ear.

She couldn’t turn around to look, didn’t want to see how close he was, though his shoulder bumped hers as he tried to find a spot for his arm. “Um, what?”

“Maybe you could put your head on my arm. There doesn’t seem to be any other place for it.”

She lifted her head in surprise and he took that as agreement and slipped his arm beneath. She settled back down, at first hesitant to let the whole weight of her head rest on it. He grunted her name and she tried to relax. His arm was hard and warm and smoky. Just when she thought she was used to the smell, her senses had to come back in full force.

All of them. The change in position brought his chest against her and she wished for the extra layer of his fire shirt between them. His T-shirted chest felt naked and she cursed her fertile imagination.

He flipped her hair over her shoulder away from him and she immediately tensed.

“Sorry. It was tickling my nose.” His voice was so close, his words teasing the back of her neck. She tensed all over again.

“Oh.” She smoothed the ponytail against her throat so no stray hairs would bother him. Then she shifted her hips and bumped her bottom into his groin. Both of them went perfectly still. Then, as if not to draw attention to her movement, she eased her hips away infinitesimally.

“We both have to, ah, relax,” he murmured at last.

He placed a hand on her hip and she flinched. He shushed her and slid his arm about her waist, drawing her against his body, spooning her against him, careful to keep their lower bodies apart, which of course only made her focus on it. Had her little bump aroused him and he didn’t want her to realize it?

She can’t fight her way out of a paper bag—but she might just talk him out of his heart.

Leap of Faith

© 2008 Arianna Hart

Dr. Jane Farmer, a marriage and family therapist and the host of a public radio station talk show, likes her life calm, controlled, and on schedule.

But after she accepts a package for her mysterious neighbor, Lex D’Angelo, her well-ordered life goes out the window. Now she’s on the run from gun-toting goons and putting herself in situations her lady-like upbringing never prepared her for.

Former FBI agent Lex D’Angelo can’t believe he’s stuck on a mission with his uptight neighbor. How is he going to solve a case that killed one of his former lovers when he has to rely on a psychologist? What’s she going to do—talk the gun out of the bad guy’s hands?

But as the situation gets more dangerous, Jane shows strength he never expected. Now Lex isn’t so sure that she isn’t the right woman for the job—and his heart.

Enjoy the following excerpt for
Leap of Faith:

“Would you slow down? I’m going to fall if you keep pushing me like that.”

“Then move faster.”

She practically ran through the shoe department to a door marked “Employees Only.”

“We can’t go in here. It says employees only.”

“So arrest me. We need to get out of here without our buddies in the Caddy seeing us. It won’t be long before they get sick of waiting and come into the store, if they haven’t already.”

Lex led her to a garage door that was partially open. Gas fumes and cigarette smoke lingered in the air.

“Wait here while I make sure they don’t have someone covering the back door. If you hear shots, run like hell and scream your head off. They won’t try anything with this many witnesses.”

Gunshots? Again?

Dropping his pile of purchases, Lex pressed her behind a forklift and slipped out the door. A shiver danced down her spine and she clutched the packages closer to her chest.

What on earth was happening to her?

Her heart raced and sweat dripped down her face as she imagined a million catastrophes. What if he left her here? What if he got shot? Worse, what if she got shot? What if right this very second someone was coming to get her?

A whimper tried to claw its way out of her throat but she bit it back. How long had he been gone? She strained her ears to pick up any little noise but all she heard was the rushing of traffic in the distance.

Her knees almost buckled when a car pulled up to the docking bay. Lex burst out of the front seat and charged toward her.

“Move it, Janey. I knocked one of the guys out but he could come to any second. The other one is in the store right now.”

Her head still spinning from fear, Jane ran as fast as she could in flip-flops over the dew-covered pavement. Lex had already thrown his bundles in the back seat and motioned for her to hurry up.

“C’mon! Get in.”

A pebble jabbed the arch of her foot through the thin rubber but she ignored it as she practically fell into the front seat of the huge car.

She wasn’t even buckled when Lex put the car in gear and crept out of the driveway.

“Keep down.” He pushed her head next to his thigh, crushing the bags she still held to her chest.

“Are they after us?”

“Not yet. When we didn’t come out the front door, the big guy went into the store. I waited until he was in before I got you. If luck is on our side for once he won’t find his missing partner right away and that’ll buy us some time.”

“So can I sit up?”

“Not yet. They’ll be looking for a blonde so I want to keep your head out of sight as long as possible.”

“This is vastly uncomfortable.” The seatbelt cut into her stomach and her face was pressed just inches from his jean-clad leg. She could smell the musky odor of sweat and man and it did strange things to her insides.

“Not as uncomfortable as a bullet in the head.”

Good point. She wiggled around to try to find a better position. Her face brushed against his thigh and he let out a groan.

“Could you please keep still?”

“I’m sorry. I’m doing the best I can. I’ve never had to lie across the front seat of a car before.”

“What a shock.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” She tried to lift her head up to get a better look at him but he pushed her head back down.

“Forget it. You wouldn’t understand.”

He was laughing at her. She could hear it in his voice. “Just because I don’t run from gun-wielding lunatics on a regular basis is no reason to make fun of me, you brute. I’m doing the best I can under the circumstances.”

“I’m not making fun of you. Really.”

“It sure sounds like you are.”

A gust of air ruffled her hair as he sighed. “When you were a teenager, did you fool around in your boyfriend’s car?”

“Of course not!” Her mother would have killed her. Ladies didn’t “fool around” at all, but most especially not in a car. Not that Jane wouldn’t have been willing to try it at least once if she’d had the opportunity. Unfortunately, her dates in high school were limited to chaperoned events orchestrated by her mother.

“I didn’t think so.”

“What does my youthful experience,” or lack thereof, “have to do with being squashed against the seat?”

“Lady, you don’t want to go there. Trust me.”

“Right. Like I’d trust you about anything.”

“Whaddya mean by that crack?”

“You have to admit, you’re not the most upstanding of citizens.”

“What’re you talking about? I was a freaking FBI agent!”

“You run away from the police, you carry a gun, and you have a penchant for, ah, playing the field.” Her face flamed in embarrassment, but she didn’t back down. If he was going to mock her for her lack of experience, she could comment on his plethora of it.

“My what?”

“The revolving door on your bedroom.”

“You’re crazy. I’m not a player.”

“Oh pul-lease. If you had any more women parading through your condo you’d have to install one of those ‘take a number’ machines like at the deli. You are most definitely a player.” Whatever that was.

“Not that it’s any of your business, but I’ve had relationships with all the women who’ve ‘paraded’ through my room. Jesus, it’s not even like there’s been that many. I’m not home enough to be a player.”

“It’s none of my business how you choose to live your life.” Oh Lord, could they please just drop this subject? She should have kept her mouth shut. This was only slightly humiliating.

“You’re right. It’s not.” He tapped his hand on his thigh.

Jane couldn’t help but stare at his long fingers just inches from her nose. He had a strong hand, very masculine with a smattering of dark hair sprinkled across the knuckles. It would look perfectly natural holding a beer can or a hammer. She couldn’t picture Lex drinking from a wine glass or using a delicate fish fork with those broad, callused hands.

An image of his fingers cupping her breasts, his darkness against her lightness, flashed through her brain, singeing every synapses along the way. He wouldn’t be a gentle lover. No, he’d be hard and demanding and probably very thorough.

Her breath hitched as her heart rate shot through the roof. Suddenly she felt far too warm. Sweat trickled down the back of her neck and between her breasts.

“I am not a player.”

“Whatever you say.”

“Don’t try that reverse psychology crap on me. Just because I don’t live like a monk doesn’t mean I use women. They know the deal going in. I’m not around enough for a permanent relationship. That’s not what they’re looking for either. Just a mutually satisfying experience between consenting adults.”

“Of course.” Very satisfying, from what she could tell.

“Why am I explaining myself to you?”

“I have no idea.”

Lex swore softly and Jane hid a smile. The conversation was completely inappropriate, but he was no longer picking on her for not making out in a car as a teen. It was nice to actually win a battle with him for once.

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