The Nymph's Curse: The Collection (45 page)

He stopped next to her. “Good shower?”

“Oh hey,” she said, dropping her towel over her arm. “Yeah, the shower was great, thanks. Nice and relaxing.”

He tried to ignore the reawakened images of her in his shower as he cleared his throat.

There on the top shelf, just at eye level, was the only award he’d ever won and he blushed slightly as Aura picked up the little wood and brass plaque.

“Lifesaving Medal awarded to Flathead County Deputy Dane Burke. In grateful appreciation of your outstanding police performance, in saving of a human life and the display of compassion, initiative, capability, and attention to duty, thereby earning respect and admiration for himself and the Department.” A wide smile spread across her face. “You must be really proud.”

“It wasn’t like that. Anyone on the force would have done what I did. I just happened to be at the right place at the right time.”

“What happened?” She ran her fingers lovingly over the edge of the frame.

That cold day three years ago had seemed much like today — he’d been standing on the edge of the lakeside after helping load a dead woman into a body bag.

“It was a few years back. A family had come up to Montana for a family trip and thought they could go out on the lake in a rickety old boat.” He pointed at a picture he’d taken of Flathead Lake. “That place is one of the largest freshwater lakes in the U.S. and one of the coldest. It’s fed in the summertime by snow runoff. It gets real deep in places. In the winter the lake has only been known to completely freeze over once and the ice didn’t last long.”

He lifted the plaque from her hands and sat it back on the bookshelf, wiping some of the dust off in a feeble attempt to cover his lack of housekeeping skills. “Of course they got stuck out there and the wind picked up. We don’t know what really happened from there, the little girl was only three. But it sounded like the father had tried to row with his arms, but got tossed overboard. The mom jumped in to save him, not knowing how cold the water was … or how quickly hypothermia can set in.”

He watched her shiver beneath his oversized tee.

“We got to the little girl just in time. The boat had begun to take on water and she developed hypothermia from the exposure. I had to hold her until the medics showed up. They said I saved her life, but I’m telling you it was exactly what anyone else would have done. She was just a little frightened girl.”

He’d been plagued with thoughts of that day for months afterward, until he’d finally gotten up the balls to go and see the psychologist. Even now, once in a while, he would have the reoccurring nightmares. They would take turns with the night at the barn. Each nightmare was horrific and terrifying in its own cruel way.

“Is the little girl okay?” Aura asked.

“Yeah, I see her from time to time. She moved in with her grandparents who don’t live too far from here. They seem to take really great care of her.”

Aura looked back at the plaque. “I don’t know how you do it all. I don’t think I could deal with all the horrible things you have to deal with. It has to be a lot.”

Dane lifted the towel from Aura’s arm and wiped away a droplet of water that fell from her hair and had started to twist down her forehead. She moved closer, like she wanted to take him in her arms like he had done with the little girl, but she stopped short and turned back to the shelf.

An unexpected sadness formed in his heart. He couldn’t kiss her full sweet lips and tell her it would all be okay. She couldn’t open her arms and let him find solace in her embrace. They were just like that little boat sitting out in the cold water, bobbing away, simply waiting and hoping that they would make it through the day. But there was no rescue coming for him or for her — unless it came from the other.

“Who are all of these people?” she asked, pointing to a picture of him and his family as they stood outside of the bright red barn at the Diamond.

“Oh, that’s my mom and dad.” He pointed to the familiar pair at the far left of the picture. “That’s Zeb next to them, then me.”

“You guys look really happy. How old were you here? Sixteen?”

He wrestled the thoughts of the little girl from his mind, but unfortunately she was quickly replaced with thoughts of his mother. “Yeah, I guess I was about that. This photo was taken a year before … ”

“Before what?”

“Before I found my mother in the barn … she … she’d had an accident.” The words filled his mouth with acid. The smell of the ash was still fresh in his mind though it had been years before.

“Do you mind me asking what happened?”

He’d lectured her on honesty in the car and as badly as he didn’t want to tell her about his past, he knew it couldn’t be avoided without him looking like a hypocrite. She had opened up to him, telling him about who she was, when she could have kept up her front. It was time to let her in, at least enough for her to know that he trusted her as much as any cop could trust another person.

“My mother was a smoker. She knew better than going in the barn to light up, but she was trying to hide it from my dad. Of course, he knew but he always pretended to not notice the way her clothes smelled of cigarette smoke.”

“It was a senseless accident, and I tried to save her, but the burns were too severe.” The thought of his mother made his heart clench and tears well in his eyes. “My father died not long after from a heart attack. And when I left the ranch, I guess I thought I left it all behind. But I’ve been wrong. I think I’ve just been running. Trying to save the ones I can.”

“I’m so sorry, Dane. I shouldn’t have asked.”

“Yeah, well, I guess shit happens to everybody. My brother tore down what was left of the burned out barn after I left.”

“So your dad left the place to Zeb?” Her cheeks flamed, as if she instantly felt shame for continuing to pry into his past, but he didn’t mind.

“No.” He cleared his throat. “He left it to both of us, but after I left, Zeb took over the running of the place. After the accident and everything that had gone on at that place … well I just didn’t want to be there anymore. There were too many memories. Plus, I hate to admit it, but I really hate working with cows.” His laughter echoed through the dusty house.

“What about horses?” She gave him a seductive smile.

Dane moved into her and wrapped his arms around her and could feel her moist skin beneath his old tee-shirt. “I’m always up for a good ride,” he whispered, pulling her sweet, freshly washed scent deep into his lungs.

She looked up at him and there was a light in her eyes that he recognized from the night they’d spent on the mountain. She wanted this … even if she had said she didn’t. He leaned down and feathered his lips against hers. He didn’t want to take this fast. If this was his last chance to make love to this beautiful goddess he was going to relish every second of it — even if he had to think about football to make himself go a little further.

She took his lip in her teeth and nipped, the pain only made him want her more. He tightened his arms around her and pulled her against him, showing her exactly how much he needed to feel her again.

Aura ran her hands up his chest and ran her thumb over the cloth above his nipple, making it harden like the rest of him. Dane ran his hands down to the bottom of her shirt and lifted up the edge, he slid his fingers underneath and felt her buttery smooth skin. He found the line of her panties across her ass. Finding the top of the silk, he pushed his fingers under the thin fabric.

Her palms moved over his chest and she pushed gently as she released his lip from her sucking mouth.

“Dane,” she said, between heavy breaths. “We can’t do this. Not now.”

• • •

The clock ticked away, marking each second that passed while Aura imagined him lying out on the couch. Was he thinking of her? Was he thinking of the things that could have just happened between then? Or what had happened in the past?

Her hands slipped down under her panties as she thought about the feel of him inside of her. She had wanted him again, there was no question, but there was so much at stake — and most fragile was their hearts. He couldn’t love her and more importantly, she couldn’t love him. She couldn’t risk feeling his body against hers, the heat of his breath on her skin, or the way he made her heart flutter to life.

The moisture under her fingers grew as she envisioned his body between her legs, him thrusting inside of her like there would be no end to their lovemaking. She fantasized tiptoeing out into the living room and finding him in the night — hungry for her touch. With her other hand, she reached up and ran her finger over her lips, trying to mimic his kiss. Her fingers felt cold, familiar, and unwelcome — and they left her wanting.

Could she risk going to him?

Aura closed her eyes. The motion of her fingers and the lulling warmth filled her body, relaxing her mind and making her body her only focus. She was growing closer by the second to finding a fleeting moment of bliss.

Her breath came in cutting jags as the sound of a knock on the door broke her body-centered trance.

“Aura,” Dane whispered, “are you still awake?”

She silently tried to catch her breath and slow her heart from pounding out of her chest. She didn’t know what to do. If she stayed silent, he would probably never come back to her. What they had together would be gone. The morning would come and they would treat each other as strangers. If she answered, he would know that she had been lying here thinking of him. If he opened the door he would see her sweating face and know what she had been doing — and in her heart she knew he would find his way into her bed.

There was a squeak as he turned away from the door and his footfalls moved down the hall and away from her.

Throwing back the sheets, she mentally threw back her defenses. She loved him. Even if she tried to deny it, she wanted him. Not just now, but for the rest of her life. He was already in danger — and had been from the moment he’d stepped foot into her life.

She ran to the door, flipped on the lights, and threw the door open. “Dane!” she cried.

He turned around slowly, as if he knew what would come of his facing her. But he didn’t know.

“I can’t love you. You mustn’t love me. My kind can’t have love.”

He stopped and gave her a look of dismissive disbelief. “Everyone can love.” He stepped toward her and put his hand on her chest, right over her heart. “Everyone’s heart beats. Yours beats. Mine beats … .and when I’m around you there’s something more. I — ”

She pressed her finger over his lips. “You can’t say it. If you say it, you will die.”

His forehead collected into a mess of fine wrinkles as he shook his head.

“Yes,” she said, pulling her finger from his lips. “All nymphs are cursed. If we fall in love, the man we fall in love with is cursed to die.”

“I don’t believe in curses.”

“There have been thousands of men who dared to utter what you just said — and they all paid the ultimate price for their choice to not believe.”

“Would it make you feel better if I tell you I believe in the curse? But what if I just don’t give a damn?” Aura ran her hands up his back like she could wipe away his foolish thinking, but he wouldn’t have it. “I don’t care if my life is at risk. My life’s always at risk — I’m a cop.”

“Even if you don’t care — I do. I love you.” She tried to bury her face in his chest, but he reached down and took her chin in his rough fingers. Before she could pull back he owned her lips with his, their teeth knocked together with his forceful passion.

Her thoughts fluttered to Lord Tennyson who once said ‘It was better to have loved and lost, than never to have loved at all.’ She had heard the quote often, but not until here and now had she truly believed the man. Now as she stared at the golden flecks in Dane’s eyes she was at a loss for logical thought. She needed to get lost, let herself be devoured by the sweet light in his eyes, the motion of his body, and the love in her heart.

His kiss softened and he drew back slightly, softly brushing his tongue over her bottom lip, tasting her like a summer-ripened peach. The flick of his tongue made her already moist center quiver with desire for the greatness he had to offer.

She tried to pull out of his arms to lead him to the soft bed, but he wouldn’t allow her to move. Reading her body’s desire, he moved her to the rough carpet, never letting his lips move away from hers. She opened her legs and let his body rest upon hers, but he had no intention of resting. Instead, he reached down with both hands and pushed up her shirt. His kiss deepened and he reached down to her panties. He pulled the fabric tight and ripped open the seam then repeated the action on the other side.

Aura lifted her hips, letting him slip the silken panties away from her wanting body. He broke away from their kiss for a moment and moved between her legs. His pants landed on the floor next to her, but she barely noticed. Dane pressed his hot, naked flesh against her, taking his time as he gently rubbed himself against her wetness. She moaned and threw back her head in carnal desire.

His body shook with wicked laughter as he rubbed harder, mimicking the motions that she’d been making with her fingers only minutes before. If he wasn’t careful the fun would never begin. She let her body speak as she lifted her hips and tried to force him to enter her. He ground his body against her again and his body shook with excitement.

“Please … ” she moaned.

He traced his lips over her neck and down her collarbone. He feathered his tongue down her chest in between kisses until he circled her nipple. She sucked in a heavy breath as he pulled her into his mouth. She tried to force her body to calm, to hold off from the release that threatened to spill over.

“Dane … ” she begged.

His mouth released her hardened nipple and he moved as if to take the other, but stopped and drove inside of her, catching her by surprise. Her body bucked with unbridled excitement and euphoria. She’d never felt anything as good as him inside of her.

The rough carpet scratched at her skin, but she didn’t care — the pain only made the pleasure that much sweeter. He slowed, taking his time as he kissed everywhere his mouth could reach without his leaving her. She had never been more satisfied.