Freedom's Treasure (9 page)

Anna winced when several flashes of lightning ripped across the sky. Smaller trees were bending with the gusts of wind.

“You don’t have to leave. The couch is plenty comfortable and I have spare blankets.” She hadn’t known the words were going to come out of her mouth. Her stomach clenched. She shouldn’t have offered the couch for the night. She should have offered to wait with him until the storm let up. She wondered if she could rescind the offer without looking idiotic.

Hunter looked equally surprised but this was an opportunity he didn’t want to miss. He thought about the line and his hesitation must have shown.

“We could have some coffee and watch the storm until it lets up. I’ve always loved storms-.” Another chain of large cracks sounded and a medium sized tree fell across the end of the driveway taking power lines with it.

“And fate takes a hand,” Hunter joked. “I’d love to.” The cabin would have been pitch black if not for the candles they’d left burning during dinner. “Do you happen to have a flashlight handy?”

Anna darted into the kitchen and returned with her new flashlight. Hunter raised an eyebrow at the size of it. “Thank you. I’ll be right back.” He hurried out the door, down the steps and under the deck. A few motions and the generator started. Lights came on inside the cabin and the refrigerator began humming.

By the time he made it back inside Anna had sheets and a pillow on the couch. Hunter looked at the length of it and winced. His back would be killing him in the morning if he tried to sleep on that thing.

“I think it pulls out into a bed,” he suggested. “I hope,” he added under his breath.

They pulled the cushions off of the couch and realized there was no mattress on the folded frame. “That explains why it’s not the most comfortable thing in the place,” Anna stated. “As a renter I’m severely disappointed.”

“You’re disappointed? I’m the one who has to sleep on it.” Hunter replaced the cushions.

“Well, on that note, I’m off to my comfy bed upstairs,” Anna smirked. “Sleep well.”

Hunter watched Anna streak up the curved stairs to the sleeping loft. He had no idea how they went from talking and laughing over dinner to sleeping in separate areas within a ten minute time period. But hey, he was spending the night with a beautiful woman so who was he to argue?

Anna listened to the rain beating against the roof and wondered why she didn’t find it soothing. It might have something to
do with the man sleeping on the couch below her, she thought.

She heard the rustle of cloth as Hunter changed his position and realized he could probably hear her as well. Anna was suddenly very conscious of every move she made. The glasses of wine she’d had were starting to give her a headache and she pictured the bottle of aspirin in the bathroom cabinet. Would it be awkward to go down the steps and get it? Would he feel obligated to say something or would he feign sleep?

She decided there was only one way to find out and flipped the covers aside. A large glass of ice water and aspirin sounded so tempting. She discovered she was a coward, however, and lay back down with a sigh.

Propped up on the uncomfortable couch, Hunter grinned. Apparently he wasn’t the only one who found sleep elusive. “Are you on a rotisserie up there?” the whisper startled her.

“I’m sorry?”

“I can hear you spinning. If you aren’t tired don’t feel you have to hide,” Hunter replied.

“Are you comfortable down there?” she slid to the edge of the bed and lay on her side with her hands tucked under her cheek, the better to hear him.

“It’ll do. I’ve slept in worse spots and with companions who weren’t nearly so attractive. I learned how to sleep pretty much anywhere when I was in the Marines,” Hunter explained.

“You’ve mentioned that before. What made you join up?”

“My dad served in the Air Force. I’m not real big on flying but I wanted to serve so I chose the Marines. Dad wasn’t thrilled but he supported my choice.”

Anna did the math. “Were you in the first Gulf War?”

“No, I joined right at the end. A few of my friends went over,” Hunter sounded as though he meant to go on but stopped.

“Did they make it back?”

“Yeah, they all did but they weren’t the same after.” Hunter shifted to his back, his feet propped on the end of the short couch and silently cursed the height he had gotten from his father. Six fewer inches may have made him feel like a midget but then he would have been comfortable tonight. Not an exchange he would have made had the Devil appeared ready to make a deal but still.

“I don’t mean to bring up a depressing topic,” Anna apologized.

“It’s not what I’d call depressing, just reality. We pay a price in this country for the freedoms we enjoy.”

Anna had to agree with that though at times she wondered if the price was too steep. The current wars had gone on far too long and she wasn’t sure if they had helped or hindered the country she loved.

A bright flash of lightning followed by a crack of thunder made Anna jump. “Storms are a lot different out here in the woods than they were in Grand Rapids.”

“It only seems that way. You’ll get used to it.”

“I’m not sure if that’s a good or bad thing,” she mused. “There’s no way I’m falling asleep like this. Would you like to watch a movie?”

“Only if we can drag that mattress down here so we’re comfortable. And no chick flicks.”

“That sounds fair enough. If you grab the mattress I’ll pick out the movie.”

“You could slide down the steps on the mattress like a waterslide,” Hunter suggested, “and I’ll pick the flick.”

Anna snorted. “I like my idea better.”

“Fair enough.”

Anna connected her laptop to the new high definition television and loaded up one of her favorite Quentin Tarantino movies. Hunter laid out pillows and blankets on the makeshift bed and made a nest that left enough room between them for comfort but close enough to feel connected. It was a delicate balance, he discovered.

When the scene with a police officer being doused in gasoline came on Anna’s eyes had already closed. Hunter looked over and watched her sleep in the flickering light of the television and thought he might be in trouble. When she sighed and rolled into his arms he knew it as fact.

May’s chilly, rainy weather gave way to an unseasonably warm June. Anna had fallen into a routine that suited her, spending her mornings writing and her afternoons on errands, projects around the cabin and
general research.

She’d gotten to know the ladies at the library quite well and enjoyed their tales of the town and the many indiscretions of the people, past and present. There was gossip about current events and speculation of future ones, of course, and though Anna felt like an outsider she was feeling more at home as time went on.

She had decided to build her own flowerboxes and while spending time at the hardware store had gotten to know several of the older gentlemen as well. In addition to learning about stains she discovered they gossiped as much as the women but with a different perspective.

She saw Hunter a few times a week. The night they’d spent together had remained innocent and the next morning Hunter had cut up the tree blocking her driveway before heading out to check on his other rentals and his own house.

They had gone bowling and spent a day shopping in Ludington that Hunter found educational. He’d always thought Elisa was a champion shopper but she had nothing on Anna.

They’d gone to dinner a few times and Anna had contracted his lawn service after taking one look at the lawnmower in the shed. Hunter came with the high school boys the first time and found an excuse to come with them each week where they supervised the boys’ labor from the safety of her deck.

Anna waited for Hunter to make another move on her. Aside from a few kisses to the cheek and the hot kiss on the path in the woods he’d kept his distance. Not to mention the frontal flash she’d received the first time they’d met though the image flashed to her mind quite a few times.

She wondered if his chivalry gene made him slow things down and other times she wondered if he was waiting for her to make the move. Then she stopped thinking about it altogether, determined to enjoy the anticipation. The point of moving here had been to shake things up and live life. She saw no reason to force the issue.

Anna was sweeping the sawdust from her flowerboxes off of the deck and contemplating seasonal changes in relation to global warming. She accepted she didn’t have an answer and added that to her Google research list. The list was getting longer every day.

Hunter heard the pounding rock music before he could see her driveway. He shook his head. The woman would be deaf before she knew it. Colby had called when Anna had left the hardware store. After hearing she’d bought boards, nails and stain Hunter found his curiosity piqued.

He had set out for her place expecting what he’d found the first night they’d had dinner – a frustrated woman with a project half complete. He hadn’t realized he had developed a slightly chauvinistic attitude until his jaw had dropped. The boxes looked like a professional had made them and the stain perfectly matched the deck.

She was on the deck cleaning up tools and trash and wearing another of those tank tops, this one a royal green, with a pair of tan shorts. Her honey brown hair was tied in a high ponytail to keep it from falling in her face. She wore a tool belt as her only accessory and she wore it with a casual panache that told Hunter she was more confident around tools than he’d thought.

She waved as he pulled into the drive. Hunter swallowed heavily and waved back. Maybe he was being too patient in moving on to the physical aspect of their relationship. One part of his anatomy definitely agreed.

Hunter’s eyes glittered with a near mad light as he strode purposefully toward her. Anna felt a frisson of awareness; there was heaviness in the air between them that was palpable. Hunter swept an arm around her and pulled her in for a deep kiss.

Anna’s arms clung to his shoulders, first for balance, then to hold him closer. Hunter pulled back, looked deeply into her startled, burning eyes. He cupped her cheek and pulled her in for another kiss. Their tongues met, mated, fought a war and signed a treaty.

With a slow tug of her bottom lip Hunter released her mouth. Her lips remained slightly parted and Hunter delved in for another taste. He reached for the clasp of her tool belt and unhooked it, letting the belt fall to the ground. Anna automatically closed the gap between them, pressed her body against the long length of him.

Anna felt the crisp, soft brush of his hair against her fingertips. His chest rubbed maddeningly across her breasts, causing her nipples to harden. Her thighs felt the roughness of his jeans and she wanted more. She raised her leg, brought her calf around his and allowed a month’s worth of desire flow through her.

His hands lowered, gripped her hips tightly and he lifted her. Anna wrapped both legs around his waist and moaned with the weightless pleasure. She wasn’t sure if he turned or if the world spun around them at a dizzying pace and she didn’t care.

Hunter stepped toward the table and quickly swept his arm across, scattering wood remnants, papers and whatever else lay in his way. He set her down gently and remained locked between her tight yet soft thighs. His hand slid to her breast, gently rubbing and teasing. His mouth trailed across her jaw to her throat and that most sensitive spot behind her ear.

Anna released his back to slide her hands underneath his t-shirt and across his chest. Her nails raked lightly when he nipped gently at her shoulder and he loosed a groan. Anna relished the feel of feminine power at the sound. Her hands slid lower, tickling the trail of hair leading down his stomach.

Hunter used his teeth to slide the strap of her top down her arm and nuzzled his way back to her throat. He licked, teased and came back to her mouth for another deep kiss. Anna felt a roughness across her nipple, her top had fallen, exposing her, and she wanted more.

They broke apart, gasping. Hunter pulled his shirt off, dropped it to the ground. Anna matched his motion. That they were outside, that anyone could drive by and see them, meant nothing. All that existed was need, a thirst only the other could quench.

Anna threw her head back as Hunter kissed his way down her throat, across her chest. His teeth scraped at skin before he gently suckled, caressed. He slid his hand up her thigh, beneath her shorts, searching for the liquid heat at her core. He flicked the buttons that held her shorts closed.

Anna arched and raised her hips at the tongue across her breast. Hunter took advantage and slid her shorts from under her. He stepped back and pulled them off and quickly reclaimed his position. She felt the hardness under his jeans push against her and Anna tightened her thighs urging him closer. Her hands searched for the snap on his jeans and he stopped her quest.

“Not so fast,” he whispered, his voice husky with desire. Anna gasped when the tip of his tongue delved into her navel before continuing lower. He lifted one of her legs, placed it on the railing.

Anna suddenly realized she was nude, spread wantonly on a table before a man with hunger in his eyes and at the first touch of his tongue she came apart, nearly screaming with the release.

Hunter gentled his touch using his fingers and tongue first to soothe and then to stroke. “Again,” he used a dark whisper that shot electric jolts through every nerve ending. Helpless to do anything but obey the request, Anna rode the spiraling sensations ever upward until the world exploded once more.

Hunter ripped open a small packet and quickly sheathed himself with the condom. The sight of Anna on the table, flushed with her chest heaving from orgasm, made him want to be deep inside of her when she came again. He simply had to feel her muscles clench as she arched against him wanting more until they shattered against each other.

Ruthlessly exerting the last of his willpower he entered her. Millimeter by millimeter, so slowly, until, at last, he was buried to the hilt.

He filled her completely and Anna’s legs tightened around his waist to pull him deeper. Hot and hard yet silky soft it was almost too much sensation to bear. Anna sat up from her prone position, linked her arms around his neck and ground against him urging him ever deeper.