Hot Bodies Boxed Set: The Complete Vital Signs Erotic Romance Trilogy (10 page)

The man leaned closer, and Joanna could see he had a gentle, friendly face. A face that reminded her of someone, in fact. But she couldn’t quite place who. “Ma’am, it’s not a good idea to fall asleep alone in these woods,” the stranger said.

“I know,” Joanna muttered. Experienced hiker that she was, she should have known better than to fall so completely under the spell of a simple waterfall, no matter how beautiful it might be. “I just—I guess I just lost track of the time.”

“I’d say so,” the older man said. “You’re lucky we found you when we did. There’s lots of black bear in these woods, and they come out at night to eat. We’ll help you get back to your car if you like.”

We?

“There are more of you, sir?” Joanna asked, feeling stupid and scared at the same time.

“Yes, Joanna, there are,” a familiar voice said from somewhere in the trees. Dr. Harlan Wilkinson stepped out of the shadows to stand next to the portly man holding the lantern. Harlan was in camouflage hunting clothes, and in his uninjured left hand, he carried a lightweight .38 hunting rifle with a scope.

Joanna nearly fainted at the sight of him. “Wh-what? Harlan? What on earth are you doing here?”

“Just doing a spot of hunting,” Harlan replied, his voice almost a chuckle. “Joanna, this is my cousin, Richard.”

“Richard Wilkinson,” the portly man added, setting his lantern on the rock beside her and extending his hand for her to shake. “Pleased to meet you, ma’am. I take it you and my cousin are already acquainted?”

“Ummm, yes.” Joanna didn’t shake the man’s hand, and he folded it back by his side without comment. She was positively reeling. What were the odds that Harlan Wilkinson would appear in the exact remote, complete-middle-of-nowhere spot that she had picked at random for the sole purpose of trying to forget him?

One in a million, at least.

Joanna felt her face go red as a blowtorch. She was embarrassed, nervous, frightened, and awestruck all at once. Was this one-in-a-million shot—the object of her desire finding her in such a bizarre, random way—a cosmic message of some kind? An incredible stroke of luck? A coincidence worthy of the sappiest soap opera?

Or in some crazy, inexplicable way, had she
meant
for this to happen?

Harlan inched closer to her. She could smell his scent—the same mix of aftershave and delightfully male musk that she’d smelled back in Raleigh, only by now the alcohol was worn off. “Joanna, if you were so desperate to run into me tonight, why didn’t you just wait around the restaurant for a few minutes longer? I came back looking for you, but you’d already left.” Harlan Wilkinson shined his flashlight into his face, shooting her a quizzical look. He seemed as mystified at their chance meeting as she.

Or was he? Perhaps this strange occurrence was just another opportunity for Harlan to drive Joanna mad. For all she knew, he had followed her here.

Whatever had really happened, Joanna decided the best thing to do was to get back to the relative safety of her vehicle as soon as possible. She stood up and headed for the trail, expecting the two men to follow her. They did.

Silently, Harlan and Richard escorted Joanna back to her car, using Richard’s lantern and Joanna’s and Harlan’s flashlights to guide the way. Harlan kept his rifle at the ready, on guard against any possible nighttime predators—bears, coyotes, or who knew what—but it proved unnecessary. Within less than ten minutes, Joanna was back in the small trailhead parking lot, which was brightly lit by a single halogen lamp. As if he understood that there was unfinished business between Harlan and Joanna, Richard walked to the far side of the parking lot until he was out of earshot.

Joanna folded her arms across her chest angrily. “How
dare
you leave me alone in the restaurant like that!” she shouted at him, making no effort to lower her voice. Her shouts echoed off the mountains and trees into scores of reverberations that sounded almost animal-like. “And after the public scene you pulled, too—why did you have to humiliate me?” Joanna was so livid she had to fight back tears. But even so, just being in Harlan’s presence again set her heart to hammering.

Harlan’s face, crossed by the harsh shadows cast by the halogen lamp, showed no emotion. “I’m sorry, Joanna, but I just had to leave. Your comments—well, they kind of put me in a bad way, and I didn’t want to risk hurting your feelings more than I already had. I needed to go somewhere to cool off for a few minutes. So I left.”

This just made Joanna even more furious. “Then I suppose you think I couldn’t have cared less that you ditched and humiliated me in a public place after I’d already gone to the trouble of driving you all the way to Raleigh to see Dr. Rosenblum—who, mind you, rearranged his whole schedule to see you as a personal favor to me. Not to mention the fact I tried to treat you to a nice meal to calm your nerves?”

“Joanna—“

She balled her fists and stamped her foot. “You thought that abandoning me in a public place wouldn’t bother me, after all that? Is that what you thought, Harlan Wilkinson? Huh?” Joanna’s breath was coming only in gasps. She was unsure if it was because she was so furious—or just wildly aroused.

Harlan raised one eyebrow. “Joanna, I needed to cool down. That’s all. You’re acting as if I physically abused you or something.”

“You might as well have.” Joanna was almost hyperventilating. She realized now that being out of Harlan’s presence for more than a few hours almost
was
like being physically abused. She needed him—needed his touch, his kiss, his cock inside her so badly that being separated from him actually hurt her physically.

Harlan inched closer to her. “Joanna, are you all right?”

“No.” Joanna matched his step with two of her own, until their faces were only inches apart, their shoulders and chests touching. Joanna felt her nipples go rock-hard against the fabric of Harlan’s rough hunting jacket. She ran one of her hands up and down along his firm, muscular chest, tracing the outline of his pecs through the layers of his hunting attire’s ripstop nylon fabric. She heard Harlan’s breath catch, felt him leaning into her, felt him plunging his hands into her hair.

“Joanna—“ Harlan breathed, and his mouth seized upon hers. They kissed for a long time—so long that Joanna had to break off the kisses several times just to come up for air. They were long, slow, wet kisses, done with both passion and caution. Harlan’s tongue eased in and out of Joanna’s mouth in a series of tiny, feathery movements, as if he was almost afraid of making full contact with her. In response, Joanna sought Harlan’s mouth and lips with more and more abandon, finally sinking her teeth into the inside of his lower lip with scores of light, bouncing nibbles, each little bite spaced between deep, sweeping probes with her tongue. Harlan groaned, clicked on the safety on his rifle, set it down beside his feet, and slid his hands down Joanna’s back to grip her buttocks. With his uninjured left hand, he grabbed fistfuls of her nurse’s uniform slacks, then pinched at her firm, rounded flesh hard enough to leave marks. Joanna felt herself go wet as Harlan’s crotch hardened into a tight, thick bulge against her thigh. She reached down for it, gently stroking his need through the layers of his clothing. Harlan groaned again, more urgently this time.

God only knew how long they’d been embracing, kissing, exploring each other’s bodies when they heard a loud, forced cough from the other end of the parking lot.

Apparently Harlan’s cousin Richard wasn’t interested in a peepshow.

Harlan broke away from her. The space that grew between them cut her like a hundred pointed daggers. “We ahhh, should probably stop this,” he said. “At least, for now.”

Joanna nodded. Every pore of her body was ringing with spicy-hot sensations, with a need that had to be satisfied—
now.
No matter how much her head—or even her heart—told her that Harlan was bad for her, was unstable and unpredictable, was possibly even dangerous, it just made her want him all the more.

“I’ll walk you to your car,” Harlan said, forcefully taking her arm and leading her there. Somehow, she managed to get her car keys out of her hip pocket and unlock the door. Harlan helped set her in the Honda’s driver’s seat, but she was trembling so much she could barely stay upright, let alone drive.

“Would you like me to drive you home?” he asked. “I can hunt with Richard another time.”

Joanna nodded, still shaking uncontrollably.

“Pardon me a minute,” Harlan said, and picking up his rifle from the spot where he’d left it, he sauntered over to where he cousin was standing. Joanna’s cheeks colored at the thought of the amorous sight she and Harlan had just provided him.

A moment later, Harlan returned to the Honda. He’d left his rifle with Richard, from whom he must have borrowed it. He carried a small backpack that Joanna assumed must hold his street clothes. Instead of having her get out of the car, Harlan simply lifted her up and moved her over to the passenger seat, then took his place behind the wheel. Gently, he forced her keys from her clenched fist and started the ignition.

“I think we should head back to Statesville before continuing. . .what we just started. I’ve sobered up, and my hand is stitched up well enough that I should be able to manage driving. Is that all right with you, Joanna?”

Joanna nodded again, then leaned forward to rest her forehead on the dashboard. She suddenly felt very faint.

“Are you sure you’re all right?” He reached over to caress her hair softly. This soothed her a little. But even this gentle, ministering touch burned her in places that wouldn’t be still for long. She wasn’t sure how much more she could stand. She needed his cock back inside her
now.

After a deep breath, Joanna set herself upright and pulled the seatbelt around her still-heaving body. “I’ll be all right. Just take me to my condo, please. I live on Sander Drive, which is just two blocks off Main Street.”

Harlan eased the car onto the gravel road that led back to the main highway. “It’s still almost an hour and a half drive to Statesville. Can you wait that long? I don’t want to rush you or anything, but you seem—very, ahhhh—“ Harlan’s voice trailed off. Joanna glanced over at him and could tell that he was smirking a little. “Maybe we could find a motel somewhere close by? I think there are a couple in the next town.”

Joanna cut him off. “Harlan, I just want you to know that I don’t go throwing myself at every man that comes into my life.”

“I never said you did.”

“I am usually very reserved when it comes to—interpersonal relations,” Joanna said, feeling ridiculous.

“I’m sure you are,” Harlan replied. Now it was obvious he was trying hard not to laugh.

“Don’t make fun of me!” Joanna hissed, offended. “It’s just that—it’s just that—“

“What?” The car made it to the main road and Harlan glanced in both directions before pulling the car onto the deserted, dark highway. He drove with his left hand, keeping his injured right one in his lap. Joanna silently thanked God her Honda had an automatic transmission.

“It’s just that nobody has made me feel this way before.” There. She had said it. Dr. Harlan Wilkinson had awakened the sensual, sexual woman she had buried deep inside herself for her entire life. And then some. He had uncovered some unknown part of her that she hadn’t known she possessed. A part of her that was capable of desires and sensations she’d never experienced before, that she’d never even thought possible. Her body ached for Harlan’s touch. Her mouth yearned for his lips on hers, for the gentle probing of his tongue. Her body’s private depths burned for the fulfillment only prolonged, ardent lovemaking with Harlan’s nimble fingers and giant cock could provide.

And the thought of each and every one of the ninety minutes that made up the long drive to Statesville and separating her from that fulfillment was pure torture.

Joanna grabbed Harlan’s hand on the steering wheel. “Stop the car,” she ordered.

“What?” Harlan struggled to keep his eyes on the road. “Why?”

“I want—I
need
—you to take me right now, Harlan. Please.”

Harlan gently loosened Joanna’s hand from the wheel and set it in her lap, all the time keeping the car in motion by steering with his knees. “Are you sure you’re ready?”

“I
know
I’m ready, Harlan. Now.”

“All right,” he said. “It’s about three miles to the next exit—“
Joanna pounded her fist against the dashboard. She couldn’t wait three miles. “
Now
,” she ordered.

Harlan chuckled. “You’re the boss,” he said. He scanned the roadway for a place to pull over, and saw a wide shoulder alongside the road just ahead. The spot was sheltered by a large hill that formed a high cliff since it had been blasted through to build the highway. There was a small cove indentation in the side of the blasted-out bedrock that would protect them from traffic and onlookers. “I think that’ll do nicely.” Harlan pulled off the road, tucked the Honda into the little cove, and switched off the headlights. Now they were in total darkness, the only illumination coming from the occasional passing car.

“Well, Joanna?” Harlan said through the darkness. “How do you want to do this? My wish is your command.”

Joanna smiled. She liked the idea of being in charge. God knew she’d never called the shots in her sex life with Bob, and turning the tables on a man as confident and powerful as Harlan was even more enticing. “Get in the backseat,” she ordered.