Cherry Adair - T-flac 06 (31 page)

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A slow, deep burn started in her belly, as he tasted the cool skin of her throat, then took stinging little bites back up to her ear. Her breath hitched as he laved the outer swirls, around and around, before he speared his tongue inside.

The hand on her cheek smoothed down her throat, callused fingers rasping her ultrasensitive skin. His knuckles skimmed down her breastbone, and then his fingers spread to cup her breast as his mouth traveled back to hers.

Lily's legs shifted restlessly as he rubbed her nipple to a sharp, aching point.

He brushed her eyelid with a kiss, murmuring, "You seem to be warming up nicely."

"F-foreplay is very effective that way." Lily managed to angle her head enough to kiss his jaw, her skin leaping with pleasure. "But I'm still cold." It was a blatant lie; she was hot enough to start a forest fire.

She rubbed her hand across his chest, loving the tensile strength of muscle and bone beneath the crisp hair.

"Are you now?" He ran a finger slowly up and down the crease of her butt until she arched into him with a shudder.

Spontaneous internal combustion made her pant. "Freezing," she told him solemnly, slipping her legs from between his, this time without difficulty. Their faces were inches apart, and the sustained eye contact made the experience intensely personal and exquisitely intimate.

The outer rim of his iris was almost black as he said softly, "I can fix that," and slipped inside her.

"I was sure—
oh
!—you could."

Two halves of a whole.

"I have to go out for a couple of hours," Derek told her, brushing a kiss somewhere in the region of her left eyelid. The man was clearly distracted, and not by having a warm, naked woman mere inches away.

"I'll bring your duffel in."

"You think he's still out there?"

He crawled out of the bag, letting in a wash of refrigerated air and giving her a brief yet lovely view of some very manly parts. Lily jerked the warm bag around her throat as Derek started the contorted process of righting his clothes while bent over in the close confines of the tent. "I sure as hell hope so." He picked up his weapon and tucked it into his belt, then snatched up his coat from the ground.

Lily shivered. This time from fear. Not since childhood had she been so close to death. Yet in some weird way she'd never felt more alive, either.

"I know I heard a shot just before I fell into the water."

Derek nodded, his expression fixed and taut. "More than one. I heard them, too. The guy's missed so far. I'm not going to give him another chance."

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Lily grabbed his forearm as their eyes met. She saw something cold, calculating and determined in the depths of his midnight blue eyes. "You're a rancher and I'm a vet. We need to get to the next checkpoint to alert the authorities and the other mushers. Let them hunt this guy down like the sniveling animal he is."

"My problem, my solution."

She fumbled with the edge of the bag; she was not going to let him go after some lunatic with a gun, a mission and questionable aim. Cold air clawed at her bare, love-warmed skin. This time she ignored the cold, shivering as she rose up on her elbow. "I don't think we should tempt fate, but if you're going, I'm coming with you."

"Not just no, but hell no." He picked up his rifle. "Stay where you are. If he's around I'll find him. Then I'll be back."

"Pretty damn arrogant of you," Lily said quietly. "I can help you. You know I'm a terrific shot."

"Yeah." He bent to cover her up again, zipped the bag to her throat and then brushed her cheek with his finger. "You are. Which is why your rifle is right here, and why I'm confident you can take care of yourself while I'm gone." He rose to fasten his coat.

"But—"

He cut her off. "He could circle back and kill the dogs. We're already screwed with only the one sled.

All yours is useful for about now is kindling."

Lily sucked in a shaky breath. "God. You're right. Sorry. I didn't think about that. Still, I'm getting dressed. Damned if I'll sit here like an ice cube just waiting for him to show up." She snagged her duffel and grabbed some fresh clothes.

"I'll take care of the dogs before I go."

"No. I'll do it."

He looked torn. "Damn it. You need rest. You can barely keep your eyes ope—"

"I'll chug some of my special vitamins," she assured him, trying to look more alert than she felt. "Just go and get it over with. And Derek? If you won't be smart, at least be careful."

"I will." He unzipped his duffel and withdrew a large, lethal-looking knife.

Lily's eyes widened as he strapped a sheath onto his right thigh and inserted the weapon with the deftness of someone who knew exactly how to use a deadly, seven-inch blade on something other than a nice piece of steak. He dropped his pant leg to cover it and Lily blinked back a sudden clutch of fear.

Who was this man? Everything she'd thought she'd known about Derek mere hours ago was suddenly wiped out by this grim-faced stranger with cold eyes who was armed to the teeth.

Fifteen

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Mouth dry, Lily asked calmly, "Is there anything you want me to do while you're gone?"

His eyes narrowed. "Keep a sharp eye open for anything out of the ordinary. If our shooter knows he blew it again, he could become really dangerous. And if he gets close enough, a bullet from an incompetent's gun is just as lethal as one from someone who knows what the hell he's doing."

"Should I break camp?"

"Yeah, but keep the fire going so you can stay warm." He scraped one hand down his face and Lily knew he was torn between going out to do what must be done and staying behind with her. Safety won.

"Pack up, but leave any duplicates behind. I'll have someone come and get what we leave."

Who someone? Lily wondered, but gave him a sharp salute without asking. "Yes, sir. I'm right on it, sir."

"Too bad I can't ask you to stay here naked waiting for me. It would sure as hell be an incentive to hurry back."

"Here's an incentive to hurry back." Lily pulled his head down to hers and sank her teeth into his lower lip, then sucked it into her mouth before kissing him seductively.

He cupped her face as they broke apart. "
Damn
good incentive." Then he put on his game face again.

"Stay vigilant. Trust no one. I mean it, Lily. We have no idea who we're dealing with here. Shoot first, ask questions later."

"The next person through will be an Iditaroder."

"Or the sniper," he reminded her.

"I'll make whoever it is identify themselves before I blow dem avey, hokay, Arnold?"

He didn't smile at her bad impression. "This is someone you know, Lily. Someone you've talked to, and probably laughed with. Someone who's blending in with everyone else. I'm serious. Trust no one. This person wants you dead. He won't keep screwing up. Eventually everyone gets a break." His eyes darkened. For a moment Lily thought he was going to kiss her again. But he just stood there looking at her, mouth grim, eyes shadowed. "We haven't even begun to explore our possibilities. Stay safe."

"While I respect the take-charge attitude here, what makes you think you know what some crazy is thinking?"

Derek paused briefly and something unsaid passed across his face. He didn't offer any explanation. "I don't want anything else happening to you. Take care of yourself until I get back." He pulled her up for another quick kiss before letting himself out of the tent and zipping it closed behind him. Lily listened to the crunch of his boots in the snow as he strode away.

She dressed quickly. She'd been lucky, really lucky, Derek had been there to help her, and in time.

Nearly drowning had been a terrifying experience, and one she'd probably have more than a few
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nightmares about in the years to come. But at least she was alive to
have
those nightmares. She rummaged around in her bag for more layers since her coat was somewhere out there, soaking wet. Then she went to take care of the animals, her mind whirling along with the flurries falling from the moonlit sky.

Derek had chosen the campsite well. On one side was a pile of large boulders that reflected the fire and made the heat stronger, on the other a dense clump of shrubs backed by a thick stand of trees.

The fire was still crackling, and she put on a large pot of the dogs' food to heat up. Then, grabbing up her rifle, she went down to the river. Ears alert for any sound, gaze scanning her surroundings, she retrieved the clothing Derek had stripped off her.

Derek was making her crazy and more than just in the physical sense. When had he gone from rancher to Lone Ranger? Over the years she had interpreted his behavior as arrogant self-assuredness. Now, those same traits were cast in a new and different light. His decisiveness and intellect far outshone anything Sean had been capable of. He easily took command of situations, so how come he'd been so hands-off? Lily's life was suddenly equal parts confusion and excitement. Hadn't she come to Alaska to plot and plan a simple, quiet life?

Adrenaline coursed through her veins. While she didn't relish having some loony arbitrarily shooting at her, she had to admit there was something exhilarating about her circumstances. The blend of impending danger and raw sex was a heady combination.

Dawn was still a distant promise, blending land, water and sky into a dark gray watercolor wash with no delineating markings to show one surface from the other. Lily shivered. From where she stood, she couldn't see the hole out on the river where she'd fallen in. But it was out there. She felt it. Terrifying.

Deadly. Almost her own watery grave.

She looked at the bits and pieces of her sled scattered about. No point trying to gather them up. There was no way they could reconstruct it and make it trail-worthy again.

The race was effectively over for her, Lily thought, walking back up to where Derek had made camp.

But considering that life had almost been over for her, the race didn't seem quite as important as it once had.

She wrung as much water out of her coat as she could, spread it close to the fire, sheepskin out to dry, then started taking down the tent. Her rifle was within easy reach at all times.

The hunter was being hunted.

Derek followed the running steps in the snow leading away from the river. He found where the guy had stood to take his shots at Lily. Saw the three twenty-two shell casings on the ground, and glanced up the hill through the trees where the man's deeply shadowed foot indentations in the snow looked like a slashing black marker leading away in a zigzag pattern up the hill.

The wind came up, blowing its icy breath against his face. He repositioned his goggles and pulled his scarf up to cover the lower half of his face as he slogged through the deep snow.