The Mighty Quinns: Eli (8 page)

As she began to move, Lucy realized this was more than just a physical attraction. She'd never experienced anything so perfect, so right. Eli was sweet and sexy, but he was also a man who accepted her exactly the way she was.

The pleasure began to build deep inside her, but this time, she wasn't afraid to let go. With Eli, she didn't feel vulnerable. She didn't want to hide her emotions. She wanted him to see her surrender, to know that he was giving her what other men hadn't.

Lucy pressed her hands against his chest and tipped her head back, pleasure pulsing through her body with each stroke. But when Eli reached between them and touched her, she was lost. Every nerve in her body tingled, every ounce of her attention was focused on the spot where they were joined.

And then it hit her, powerful spasms that rocked her body, coursing through her like an electrical current and leaving her skin flushed and her nerves tingling. Somewhere in the midst of her release, he'd joined her, and as Lucy drifted down to reality, she opened her eyes and watched Eli do the same.

Lucy collapsed against his chest. “Why did you come back to me?” she asked.

“I just wanted to talk to you. I needed to hear your voice.”

“That's it?”

“No, but the rest can wait,” he said.

“Tell me,” Lucy insisted.

“Well, I just found out that I may or may not have inherited a million dollars. And that the man I thought was my father maybe isn't my father at all, and my real father could actually be alive.”

Lucy frowned. “You could just admit you missed me.”

“All right. I missed you. And there was no way I wanted to leave things the way we did yesterday.”

She laughed. “A millionaire?”

“It's a very long and complicated story and I'll explain it later.”

She leaned closer and dropped a kiss on his lips. “I want to hear all about it.”

They spent the entire day together and never put all of their clothes back on. After a morning in bed, they spread a blanket in the grass in front of the cabin, and had a picnic lunch. Then they planted a few more rows of vegetables in her garden before returning to the bed for a nap.

But a day was all she'd allow herself. The project had to come first.

So he left that night. She kissed him goodbye and made him promise that he'd return in a month. As he walked away, four weeks apart seemed an impossible thought to Lucy. And yet, it had to be her reality, at least until next April.

 

4

August

T
HE
CALL
HAD
come at 3:00 a.m. Annalise drove over from her house and woke Eli from a deep and dreamless sleep. Lucy Parker had missed her weekly check-in with the producers and they were worried something had happened to her.

In less than five minutes, Eli had thrown together a pack and was ready to leave. With a light load, he could get to the cabin in under three hours. The rescue helicopter could get there faster, but Eli knew from being on the team that they wouldn't be able to take off until dawn, and Eli couldn't sit around and wait until then. He had to go now.

He grabbed his satellite phone on the way out, aware that he was also taking a risk by hiking the trail in the dark. But he'd made the trip so often, Eli was sure he could do it, even with his eyes closed. A flashlight made the trip almost easy.

With his rifle slung over his shoulder, Eli kept a close watch on the trail for bears or other hazards, making as much noise as he could. But in his mind, his only thought was Lucy, and he couldn't help but run back through his last trip to the mountain cabin. They'd grown so close in such a short amount of time and it had been almost impossible to leave her.

But he knew how important the project was to Lucy and he'd decided to let her call the shots. This thing between him and Lucy Parker was still in a very hazy, undefined state. It wasn't exactly a relationship, and yet he found himself caught up in fantasies about the future all the time. In truth, the past month, his mind had been filled with thoughts of the few hours that they'd spent together.

He ought to have moved on to his next adventure already. Instead, he'd worked in his mother's shop, caught up on his reading and signed up for a weekly shift with the local search-and-rescue unit. As much as Eli wanted to deny it, he was turning into a damn homebody, and all because he wanted to hang around just one more month.

He glanced at his watch. The sun would be up in a half hour, but he was nearly to the meadow. Though he wasn't sure what he'd find, all sorts of scenarios raced through his head at once. He'd been concerned from the beginning that Lucy was in over her head. He'd been impressed by her determination and grit, so he'd stepped back from his self-imposed protector role. But now he kicked himself for letting down his guard. She could be injured, lying helpless somewhere near the cabin. There could have been a bear attack or she could have simply fallen and hit her head.

Eli had come to think of her as stubbornly invincible. But he should have known that image was pure fantasy. Out here, in the wild, everyone was vulnerable. Everyone was just one step away from disaster.

He tried to focus on something more positive to keep himself from panicking, and his mind wandered to the morning they'd made love. He'd relived that moment again and again over the past three weeks, patiently waiting for the next visit. He would be patient no longer.

Thunder rumbled in the distance and Eli squinted through the trees at the eastern sky. A storm was rolling in over the Rockies, and the conditions could change very quickly. If she was outside— No, he wasn't going to dwell on the worst-case scenarios.

Maybe her radio had broken, or the generator had run out of gas. There were so many benign events that could have caused her to miss the call. Hell, maybe she'd just lost track of time and forgot.

As he reached the meadow, Eli grabbed his water bottle and took a long drink. Then, after tucking it back in the pocket, he took off running, the way to the cabin now visible in the low light of dawn.

The rain began suddenly, a downpour that nearly obliterated his view. The cool water washed away the dust and sweat from the trail and gave him fresh energy—energy he'd need if he found Lucy hurt.

The smell of fresh, clean air filled his head, reminding him of his boyhood and the summers spent on the mountain. Life had been so uncomplicated then; choices had been simple. He'd made sure to keep his life that way, even into adulthood. He'd never really committed to anything, never made a hard choice, never learned what sacrifice or compromise was.

Hell, for the past ten years, he'd wandered from adventure to adventure, searching for that one thing that might catch his attention, that piqued his passion. Wouldn't it be the ultimate irony if he'd found that here, on Trudie's mountain? If he found it with Lucy?

“Hello!” he called as he approached the cabin. “Lucy?”

A few seconds later, the cabin door opened a crack and Riley peeked out. But he didn't approach Eli. Instead, he sat behind the screen door, watching and waiting, his tail beating on the rough plank floor.

“Hey, buddy,” Eli said as he climbed the porch steps. He opened the door and patted the dog's head as he stepped inside. Eli stopped short as he took in the mess that was the interior.

“Lucy?” It was not like her to leave everything in such a state. A flare of panic gripped him. If she wasn't here, he had no idea where to look.

Riley ran over to the far side of the bed and whined softly. Eli crossed the room and was stunned by the scene in front of him. Lucy was curled up on the rough plank floor, a quilt wrapped around her naked body, her hair damp and tangled.

Eli squatted down. “Lucy?” He gently shook her shoulder and her eyes fluttered open.

At first she didn't seem to recognize him. Then she reached out and touched his cheek. “Hi. You're here.”

“I am.”

“Is it really you?”

“What are you doing on the floor?”

She frowned, then smiled sleepily. “Am I on the floor?” Her eyes closed and she drifted off to sleep again.

Cursing softly, Eli scooped her up and set her on the bed. She was sick, that much was obvious. But how long had she been suffering? And what had caused her illness? Eli pressed his hand to her forehead, but it was cool to the touch. “No fever,” he murmured.

Purple shadows tinged the skin beneath her eyes and her usually lush lips were dry and cracked. He grabbed a fresh bottle of water from his pack and returned to the bed, remembering his paramedic training from search-and-rescue.

He slipped his hand beneath her shoulders and sat her up. Reaching for her wrist, he gently pinched the skin on the back of her hand for a few seconds, then observed the response. “Lucy? Sweetheart? You need to drink something. Right now. You're dehydrated.”

Eli opened the bottle and held it to her lips, then gave her a gentle shake. “Come on, honey, drink something for me.”

She opened her eyes and looked at him. “Is it really you?” she asked again.

“It is. And I want you to drink this for me.”

She groaned softly and shook her head. “I can't. It will just make me throw up.”

“If you don't drink this, I'm going to call the helicopter and they're going to come and get you and take you to the hospital.”

That seemed to get through the haze of her illness and she took a small sip. Over the next hour, he gently cajoled her into finishing the whole bottle, sip by tiny sip. She seemed to improve remarkably and when he left her to grab another bottle, she watched him from the bed.

He sat down beside her and she lifted the quilt and groaned. “I'm naked,” she said. “Did you take my clothes off?”

“No, you did that on your own.”

“When?” she asked.

“I don't know. How long have you been sick?”

“I'm not sure. How long have you been here?”

“A couple of hours.”

She blinked in surprise. “That's all. It seems like days.”

“Maybe you've been hallucinating. You must have had a fever.” He cursed softly. “Why didn't you call for help?”

“I didn't need help,” she said. She sighed. “It was just a stomach flu. Or maybe something I ate.”

“When?”

“Tuesday night?”

“It's Saturday morning. You've been sick for three days. Considering your condition, you ought to be in the hospital right now.”

“But you were here with me,” she said. “You took care of me.”

“Lucy, I just got here a few hours ago. I swear, you've been alone all this time.”

The revelation seemed to confuse her and Eli had to wonder just how sick she'd been. So sick—and all alone. He sat down on the edge of the bed and took her hand in his. “Lucy, I really think you should see a doctor. Just to make sure you're all right.”

“I feel so much better already,” she said. “Now that you're here.” She paused. “Did you bring anything to eat?”

Eli chuckled. She was hungry; this was a good sign. Relief washed over him. He'd keep an eye on her and if she continued to show improvement, then he'd hold off calling in the cavalry. “I did.”

He grabbed some food and a thermos from his bag, and when he returned to the bed, she was sitting up, the quilt tucked beneath her arms, her back resting against the pillows. “Day-old chocolate croissants,” he said, drawing one from the bag. “And coffee. I didn't have a chance to get you a latte, sorry.”

As he watched her nibble on the croissant, Eli realized how close she'd come to disaster. If she'd gotten ill just a few days earlier when no one was expecting to hear from her, he might have arrived to a much more tragic scene. This idea that she had to check in only once a week wasn't an adequate precaution.

He cursed himself again for letting down his guard. He'd been busy with his search-and-rescue duties in the past week—just when Lucy could have used a rescue. His instincts had been right all along. She shouldn't be staying here all alone, especially with no way to contact him directly for help.

“Maybe that croissant is too rich for your stomach,” Eli said.

Lucy took a larger bite of the pastry and smiled. “Chocolate is the best medicine.”

“Do you remember what you ate before you got sick?” he said.

“I think I know what I did wrong. I opened a can of mushrooms and they smelled a bit off, but I put them in the spaghetti sauce anyway.” She wrinkled her nose. “Ugh, I should have known better.”

“What else can I get you?”

“Do you have a hot shower in your backpack?” she asked. “I might almost feel normal if I could have a hot shower.”

“Would a bath do?” Eli asked.

“I think it would,” she said with a smile.

“All right, then,” Eli said. He grabbed the last bottle of water from his pack and handed it to her. “Save your coffee and work on downing that.”

Eli slipped out of the cabin and circled around to the rear, where his grandmother's old cast-iron cauldron was leaning up against the log wall. He remembered her using it for everything from laundry, to boiling off maple syrup, to heating bath water.

Lucy was about to experience a real backcountry bath. It was far from the height of luxury, but it would make her happy. It was all he could offer her. For now, it was enough.

* * *

I
T
WAS
THE
most unusual bath she'd ever taken. Behind the cabin, Eli had overturned an old cast-iron cauldron and built a fire beneath it, then filled it with water from the pump. When it was just the right temperature, he'd come back inside and found a clean sheet in the linen cupboard, then held it out to her.

“Close your eyes,” she said, watching him warily from the bed.

“I've seen you naked before.”

“Yes. But I don't think I have the strength to handle your reaction,” she countered.

“You don't think I can control myself?” he asked. “Try me.”

“I know you can't control yourself,” she teased.

“I'll close my eyes if you close yours,” Eli said.

She sighed. “All right, we'll both close our eyes.”

“Deal,” he said.

Lucy waited for him to do as she asked, then she crawled out from under the quilt. She watched him closely and the moment he began to open his eyes, she quickly shut hers. What difference did it really make? Besides, there was a certain satisfaction in knowing that he found her beautiful—even with the bags under her eyes and her hair stringy and tangled.

She stepped into his embrace and he wrapped the sheet around her body, tucking her against his chest. Lucy opened her eyes and grabbed the ends of the sheet, knotting the corners beneath her arm, but she didn't step away from him. Her gaze caught his and he stared down at her, his eyes focused on her mouth.

Holding her breath, Lucy waited, wondering if he was going to kiss her. “What now?” she murmured.

He blinked, as if startled out of his thoughts. “Where do you keep the soap? Shampoo? A washrag?”

“On the shelf above the sink,” she said.

She wandered over to the front door and peered through the screen. The storm that had poured down buckets of rain earlier had quickly blown over and the sun was now shining across the meadow.

Though she did feel better, the illness had sapped her of her strength, and there were so many things to do—harvest logs for the new cabin, work on her garden, chop wood to add to the huge pile of split logs she'd need for winter heat. After three days off, she was probably months behind.

But now that Eli had arrived, her worry seemed to have dissipated. She'd spent the last month thinking about this day, wondering what it might be like between them. Would they fall back into the passionate relationship that had marked their last visit, or would they have to start all over again from the beginning?

Glancing down at her body, Lucy smiled. They'd managed to jump from awkward greetings to a nearly-naked body in no time. “Where are we going?”

He pulled up a weathered wooden chair and set it at the top of the porch steps. “You sit there,” he said, setting the soap and shampoo next to the chair. “And I'll be right back.”

When he returned, Eli was carrying two buckets. He set one down at her feet and then held the other over her head. “Ready?” he asked.