Paradise (25 page)

“I thank you for that.” She smiled into his back. “I heard Ranger Harrison say something about a long way back to town.”

“Well, in that case, you also know that we have to vacate the premises pronto and get our butts hustling if we don’t want a repeat of ‘a rainy night in
Georgia
.’” He loosened her arms and turned to hold her. Bending low, he sucked on her earlobe. “Although I can’t say I’d mind another look at you in a wet t-shirt.”

* * * * *

Thunder rumbled as he paddled for all he was worth. Another flash lit the sky. Oh, yeah, they were in deep shit. The ranger’s cabin at the park entrance, barely visible in the waning light, was the closest haven. There was no other safe area. Tall cypress trees loomed on either side, making excellent rods to attract the lightning.

He prayed the storm was far enough behind them. It would be one helluva a review on Channel Ten if he got their winner fried. He’d done some stupid things in his time, but this was right up there.
Dear God, don’t let anything happen to her.

The cabin was a couple hundred yards away when he felt the first raindrops. His gaze fell on the figure in front of him. He had to admire her. Robbie paddled like a pro. At least, she’d learned one thing on the trip. He smiled, thinking about that morning. Well, maybe she’d learned more than how to wield a paddle.

When they reached shore, he leaped from the canoe and hauled it up. Rain pelted down as Robbie jumped out.

“Go inside and tell them we’re back. You’ll need to sign us out,” he shouted over the storm. “I see where Nick left the Land Rover. I’m going to load the canoe onto the trailer so we can get out of here.”

Robbie nodded and ran to the cabin. He jumped into the Land Rover and pulled the keys and a cell phone from the console. Starting the ignition, he hit the speed dial on the cell phone.

“Hey Nick. It’s me. We’re back.” The rain pounding on the roof and another rumble of thunder made it impossible to hear his brother’s reply. “Listen, it’s a bitch out here. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.” He snapped the phone shut and tossed it into the console.

Back out in the storm, he secured the canoe onto the trailer, dug around for their backpacks and hurled them into the front seat of the Rover.

Lightning illuminated the sky when Robbie left the cabin and scrambled into the passenger seat. Within minutes, he joined her. “Wow, a great end to a great trip! What a rush!”

He grabbed two towels from the back seat and handed her one. “Courtesy of McGraw
Tours
.”

They both wiped their faces and arms.

“You actually think that was fun? For the second time in twenty-four hours, I thought I was going to die. Another ten minutes and we would have been Pop Tarts.”

“Hey, settle down, I told you I haven’t lost a camper yet. We had plenty of time. Where’s your sense of adventure?” he added, starting the Rover.

He circled out of the parking lot and made his way back toward town and McGraw Tours. Rain pelted the windshield like a truckload of ping pong balls dropped from a rooftop. A clap of thunder followed immediately by a flash of lightning told him just how close a call they’d had. The storm center was now directly above them.

“Nothing like Mother Nature’s light show.” He caught her staring at him. “What?”

“Just plain nuts, that’s all,” she muttered, but in the next lightning flash, her wide grin belied her words. She reached into her backpack and produced her cell phone, still secure in its Ziploc bag.

“Yes! With civilization, you also get phone service.”

He shot her a disparaging look, but she was too busy listening to her voice mail to notice.

“Oh crud.” She let out an exasperated groan.

“What’s the matter?”

Her face screwed up in a grimace. “Excelsior moved my interview from Monday to Wednesday morning. They put me on a six a.m. flight to Kennedy. That adds two more days of waiting to see if they like me.”

He didn’t respond. What could he say?
Robbie, give up your dream and stay here with me. I get to have my dream, but you don’t get yours?
He concentrated on driving through the downpour, ignoring the empty feeling in the pit of his stomach.

On reaching the office, he pulled around to the back parking lot. No lights blazed in the windows to welcome them. Only the single dim bulb of the porch light shone through the wall of rain.

“Jump out here and go onto the screened-in porch. The door should be open. I’ll park the Rover and meet you there.”

Robbie grabbed her backpack and struggled to open the car door against the heavy wind. Eventually, she scurried inside. Another flash of lightning changed his mind, and he switched off the Rover, leaving it where it was. He ran to the porch behind her.

The porch hadn’t changed since he and Nick had been kids. Two 1950s style mint green metal chairs flanked a small square table of the same color. A large gliding swing took up the back wall. Rain splattered through the screens, and he grabbed the door and latched it before another gust could pull it off its hinges.

“Boy, that’s a howler out there. I’ll handle the canoe and gear tomorrow.” He stripped off his shirt, wrung it out on the concrete floor and dropped it on the swing. He sat on a metal chair and took off his hiking boots and wet socks.

“I…I really should leave. It’s going to take forever to drive home through this storm.”

He turned sharply to stare at her, his stomach muscles tightening. No. It was too soon. He wasn’t ready to let her go. He’d probably never be ready to let her go.

“I…I had a nice time and want to thank you, oh, and Fran and Nick, for an, um, interesting experience. If I can get my purse from your safe, I, um, I’ll be on my way.”

“You can’t leave me.” He stopped. “What I mean is you’re not going anywhere in this weather. It’s too dangerous.”

She dropped her gaze and fiddled with the hem of her soggy orange sweatshirt. The dim light revealed a growing puddle at her feet. “But the getaway is over. I need to go back to the real world. You need to get back to your life.”

“I see.” He folded his hands and rested his forearms on his knees. So here it was, the moment he knew would come but prayed wouldn’t. She reached back to the ponytail falling from the pink cap and wrung her hair.

“You’re dripping wet. Do you really want to get that sweet car of yours soaked?”

She looked down at herself as if noticing her sodden condition for the first time. “Oh, I forgot.”

“Why don’t you change here?”

Her head shot up and she gave him a wary smile. “Do you have
facilities
or do I have to use the bushes?”

He smiled back at her. “I thought I told you. I own this building. I live on the top two floors. You can shower and change up there.”

“Oh.” Neither moved, but the message in her eyes reflected his.

“Are you going to stand there catching flies with that pretty little mouth, or are you going to get out of those wet clothes?”

“Out here? Where everyone can see?”

“In case you haven’t noticed, it’s almost pitch dark, pouring rain and there’s no one around except me…and I’ve already seen you without your clothes.” He winked. “I certainly wouldn’t complain if I had to again.”

Her chest rose and fell more rapidly at his words. She found the hem of her soaked sweatshirt and peeled it off. It thudded on the concrete floor.

Robbie hadn’t bothered with a bra that morning so her wet t-shirt outlined her breasts. Her hardened nipples looked like two ripe berries on a mound of whipped cream. As he stared, they grew tighter. She lifted a foot and rested it next to him on the chair before untying her shoelace. Her naked leg brushed his shoulder, sending a shudder of anticipation straight to his groin. She removed her shoe, then dropped the soaking sock next to it on the floor.

Raising her other leg, she repeated the process. Before she could stand up straight again, he reached and caressed her calf.

“Nice, very nice.” His fingers moved up her thigh where he massaged it just under the hem of her shorts. A sharp gasp escaped her and she clasped his shoulder, steadying herself. “You don’t want to leave, do you…babe?”

His lips follow his hand as he softly nipped her inner thigh. She shivered, and he leaned forward to nuzzled her lower belly. Her legs buckled, but he caught her, holding her upright. She cradled his head against her.

“Eddie…”

That one sigh sent a hunger raging through him like he’d never known before. Even if he’d met her only five days ago, she was his whether she acknowledged it or not.

Dammit, he’d almost gotten them killed out in a thunderstorm because he wasn’t paying attention to nature’s warnings. He’d been so busy reliving their love-making, contemplating taking her in his arms again, he’d missed the shift in the wind and the other telltale signs of the upcoming storm.

And now, she made one move -- maybe she wasn’t making a move, maybe she really was just removing her wet shoes -- and he was ready to take her on a cement floor in the rain.

He inhaled deeply and her scent filled him. No, there was no mistake. She was wet and not just from the rain. She clutched his head to her pelvis, swaying, her body begging him to take her. He wasn’t an animal. Five minutes was all he needed to get her upstairs to his bed.

Slowly, he eased back, gazing up, still holding her hips. “I want you so badly I was just figuring out how I could take you right here, right now.”

She leaned into him. “Right here, right now sounds good to me.”

“Oh, God.”

He put her from him and stood. Her foot, still on the chair, formed a perfect angle to settle his erection against her belly. His hand slid from her hip to caress the back of her thigh. He moaned and touched his forehead to hers. “It’s taking me everything I have to back away right now. A little help on your part would be greatly appreciated.”

Where he found the sense to pick up their backpacks, he had no idea. He slung them over his shoulder and reached for his keys. His erection made it difficult to fish them from his pocket. Opening the back door to the office, he ushered her inside the dark building and led her down the long hallway.

* * * * *

Robbie recognized the french doors to the tour offices on her right. Eddie held her hand, guiding her quickly up the carpeted staircase she had seen on her first visit. He unlocked a large oak door at the top of the stairs and drew her inside.

The room was dark, but blurred light from a streetlamp wavered through the rivulets of water on two large front windows. A sofa, several chairs, a flat screen TV and a fireplace dominated the room. Another staircase, off to the left, sported an ornate oak banister. It was impossible to determine the color scheme by the flashes of lightning, but she imagined it was all male, just like Eddie.

The door clicked behind her. The backpacks thumped on the floor two seconds before Eddie’s mouth claimed her throat. He clasped her shoulders, centering her against the door.

“I held on this long,” he said thickly. “That’s the best I can do.” His hands moved down to cup her breasts while his lips traveled to her collarbone. At his touch, she felt heat flow to every nerve ending in her body. What this man could do with his mouth. The bristles of his beard tickled her neck. He hadn’t shaved since their stop at Ranger Harrison’s “spa” and now he looked like a cross between a rakish pirate and a sexy mountain man.

She slid her arms around his broad shoulders. Their muscled contours coupled with the sharp scent of rain and sweat had her shuddering with expectation.

A rush of cool air caught her by surprise as he leaned back. Eddie stripped off her wet t-shirt, then smoothed his hands over her breasts. He massaged them, squeezed them, pushed them together and buried his face in them. Tangling her fingers in his wet hair, she brushed her lips across the top of his head.
Feel. Don’t think. Feel.