THE CRADLE CONSPIRACY (12 page)

Chapter Eight

Raven ignored the rain. She simply wrapped her hands
around Daniel’s neck and clung to him. His strong arms nestled her closer. She
tucked her head against his chest, his steady heart thudding in time with his
quick steps. Within seconds he stepped beneath the rock outcropping into a haven
from the storm. Her vision blurred, she barely noticed Trouble slinking into the
corner of the cave and curling up.

Slowly Daniel set her to her feet. His hands were wet but warm
on her face. His gaze hypnotized her, his eyes blazing with heat and passion and
something untamed and wild.

Her breath caught in her throat, and she couldn’t look away.
She couldn’t move; she could only stare, held fast by the intensity of him. Her
lips went dry, and she moistened them with her tongue.

“Last chance,” he whispered, his voice deep and husky, almost a
growl.

Something about the storm outside and the tempest swirling deep
inside her froze her in his arms. She wanted to be with him. She wanted to feel
his strength. Everywhere. Holding her, touching her, claiming her.

She said nothing, but met his gaze, unwavering in her
certainty. She closed her eyes and leaned into him, lifting her lips to his. “I
want you.”

Daniel growled deep in his chest, but he didn’t kiss her, just
encircled her with his strong arms, holding her tenderly, close, as if she were
the most precious thing in the world.

“You’re vulnerable,” he said.

Raven leaned slightly, grabbed at his belt and anchored him
close. “Daniel Adams, you are not backing out now.” She wrapped her arms around
his waist and stood on tiptoes to whisper in his ear. “I may not remember
everything,” she said softly, “but I do know I want this.”

No demands. No looking for commitments
later. Just you and me finding solace in the storm.

She kissed the line of his jaw, relishing the feel of its
whisker-rough edge. “I want you.”

Lightning split the sky. Thunder roared. “I can’t resist you,”
he said finally.

His hands cupped her backside. Daniel lifted her off her feet,
and she wrapped her legs around his hips and her arms around his neck, holding
tight. He nipped her throat, and Raven tilted her head back, giving him access
to the hypersensitive skin.

In two steps Daniel pressed her against the wall of the cave.
She could feel the rocks through her shirt, but she didn’t care. She clutched at
his hair and let out a soft gasp. He took his time, wooing her skin with kisses,
exploring the pulse point at her neck, then moving lower. He nibbled at the top
of her breasts and shoved aside her shirt, hitching her higher, and feasted on
her curves, his mouth working magic wherever he explored.

Her head dropped back against the cave wall, and she audibly
sighed. “Please,” she panted. “Don’t make me wait.”

She could barely catch her breath. She clutched his head
between her hands and bent down. Finally, her lips met his.

There was nothing tentative or new in their kiss. His mouth
crushed hers, invading her very being, and she welcomed him. Uncertainty had
claimed everything in her life. Except for her need for the man in her arms.

She tightened her legs around him. He took her lips again,
telling her without words how much he wanted her.

The world fell away as his mouth and hands seduced her body and
soul. She couldn’t hear or smell or feel anything. Except Daniel.

He lifted his lips from hers, then stared into her eyes. She
clutched his arms, shaking with want, needing him to douse the fire burning her
skin. “Please,” she whispered, trembling in his arms.

His gaze unwavering, he gently lowered them both to the
sleeping bag. His eyes flickered in the light of the lantern. He trailed his
finger down her jaw. “You’re beautiful.”

“So are you.” She let her touch flutter against the scar on his
cheek. He flinched, but her hand remained steady. “I love your strength and
courage.”

He went to speak, but she stopped him with a finger to his
lips. “Shh.” She pushed him, and he let her roll him to his back, then she
straddled him. Her wet hair framed her face, and her hips shifted on top of
his.

His eyes darkened. She lifted the scrub shirt over her head and
unhooked her bra. She felt brazen but powerful. He couldn’t take his eyes away
from her. He cupped her breasts in his hands.

Raven leaned down and let her breasts press against his chest.
“Take me now.” She pressed her lips against his and then explored his mouth.
“Now. That’s an order.”

Suddenly he laughed. “I don’t always follow orders well,”
Daniel said, flipping her onto her back. “But this time...” His teeth teased her
nipple until she arched against him. “This time, nothing will stop me.”

He pressed a denim-clad leg between hers and explored her naked
torso with his hands and mouth. She didn’t know how he removed the remainder of
their clothes so quickly, but suddenly he settled on top of her, and he was
touching her everywhere. With devastating thoroughness, he worked his way down
one leg, then up the other until he found the center of her. She cried out as he
caressed her, and her body exploded in an eruption of need. She could feel his
throbbing heat, strong and hard and wanting. “Daniel,” she panted. “I want you
inside me.”

In response, he grabbed the bag Noah had provided and dug into
the side pocket. She whimpered in protest until he pulled out a foil packet.

He slipped on the condom and held himself above her. Her heart
raced until she thought it might leap from her chest, then he shifted, joining
them as one. She cried out in joyous relief.

His eyelids fluttered closed. For a few moments he remained
unmoving, sucking in one breath, then another.

She wrapped herself around him, tilting her hips, cradling him,
surrounding him. They belonged together. She wanted to whisper the words, but
she didn’t dare.

As if he had heard her, Daniel let out a low moan. “God, it’s
like coming home.”

A wall seemed to crumble between them. He lowered his mouth to
hers and moved against her, driving her higher and higher until she called out
into the night, her mind and heart flying free for the first time since he’d
found her.

* * *

C
HRISTOPHER
HAD
WANTED
to
push his vehicle to the limits to return to Trouble, but he couldn’t risk anyone
stopping him, so he’d gone the speed limit. He and Tad set up on the outskirts
of town. Now Christopher paced back and forth beside the SUV. The grumble of
thunder sounded in the distance, over the mountain, making the hair on the back
of his neck stand at attention.

Static crackled from the listening device he’d placed at the
sheriff’s office. He shoved his boot heel into the ground and let out a string
of curses; then he whirled and slammed his fist into the vehicle’s side. “Damn
it. What’s taking so long? I was sure Galloway would know, or at least get in
touch with that woman. Where the hell is she?”

Tad shoved his hand through his hair. “You never did have any
patience for surveillance. It’s just another part of the hunt. She’ll turn up
sooner or later.”

Christopher rounded on his friend and grabbed him by the neck.
“Listen to me. I’m protecting my family, and if I have to kill someone to do it,
I will. Even you. So shut up and let me think.”

A sharp ring sounded through the speaker. Chris shoved Tad away
and turned up the volume.

“Sheriff. This is Noah Bradford. I’m
trying to reach Daniel. I have news, and I need to talk to him. I can’t get
through to his SAT phone.”

“Sorry, Bradford, but Adams left without
telling me where they were going. Didn’t trust that we could protect Raven.
Not that I blame him,” Galloway complained. “Lucy’s still touch-and-go.
Hondo’s in a bad way. I’d get the hell out, too.”

Noah swore succinctly. “I’m sorry about
your friends, but I’ve got to talk to him. There’s a tracer in his laptop so
I have his coordinates. If I give them to you, can you get to him
immediately?”

“Yeah, won’t be a problem.”

The man named Noah read off the
digits.

“Jackpot.” Christopher grabbed a pen from Tad and wrote the
information on his arm.

Galloway whistled. “I just checked the
map. Not good. They’re by the washes that lead away from the peak. There’s a
flash flood warning for that area. The place is unstable at the best of
times, but with the unexpected rain in the mountains, the ground there won’t
soak up anything. There will be flash floods and mudslides all over that
land. Even if I wanted to get to him, he has the four-wheel drive. I can’t
risk it with the vehicles I have. Maybe dirt bikes could get in.”

“Forget it.” Noah let out another curse.
“I’m taking a chopper to get them out.”

“What’s going on, Bradford?” Sheriff
Galloway asked, his voice suspicious.

“That’s the problem, Sheriff. We have no
idea, but I’ve got a really bad feeling this is where the whole case is
about to change.”

The call ended.

Christopher grinned. “Damn straight.” He and Tad jumped in the
SUV. “It took a few hours, but it paid off, Tad. We know where they are now, and
I got an easy way to make that woman’s death look like an accident.”

“Now let’s go steal some dirt bikes.”

* * *

D
ANIEL
’
S
HEART
RACED
like he’d just run for his life, but he felt like
he’d grabbed a small piece of heaven. He didn’t want to leave the warmth of
Raven’s body. She lay curled against him with her eyes closed, but she wasn’t
asleep. Her grip on him was too strong, as if she didn’t want to let him go.

An unfamiliar warmth seeped through his chest, surrounding his
heart. He kissed the top of her hair and stared out into the night. It felt so
right to have Raven in his arms.

He tucked her head under his chin, being careful not to bump
her wound.

She sighed and wriggled closer. “Thank you,” she whispered, her
voice low.

He smiled and tightened his hold. “That should be my line.”

She laughed. “In that case, you’re welcome.”

She shifted in his arms and looked up at him, the flickering of
the lantern illuminating her dark hair, creating a halo around her head.

He pushed back the silky locks. How he wished he could have
been there to protect her from the beginning. She should never have been so
vulnerable. Her bruises hadn’t faded much, and she couldn’t hide the circles of
fatigue under her eyes, but she was the most beautiful woman he’d ever known,
because her beauty came from deep inside.

“I haven’t felt like a normal woman since I woke up,” she
whispered. “Not until now.”

“Normal is overrated,” Daniel teased, even as his body hardened
against hers. “Your uniqueness is way better than that. I like the sounds you
make when I’m inside you.”

A soft blush reddened her cheeks, and he smiled, feeling
halfway human for the first time since Bellevaux. A flashing image of the black
bag being pulled over his head and him being dragged into that prison cell
seared his mind. He didn’t want to think about his past.

No.

He hated the memories. He wouldn’t let them taint this
moment.

Daniel let his fingertips linger against the bruise on her
temple. “Head still okay?”

“Fine,” she said with a small yawn.

He kissed her temple. “Try to get some sleep. I won’t leave
you,” he said, settling her against him. “I’ll keep you safe.”

Her eyelids fluttered close. “Safe,” she said. “I like feeling
safe.”

After several minutes, her breathing grew regular.

Daniel didn’t want to move. He wanted to just disappear in this
cave forever with Raven, but she shifted onto her side, and the lantern’s light
reflected off the locket around her neck, reminding him that disappearing wasn’t
an option.

In fact, ignoring the past wasn’t an option.

For either of them.

* * *

P
AMELA
STARED
AT
the baby in the crib, her cheeks rosy and healthy. The other baby. If
Chelsea had given her this one, everything would have been fine.

Now Pamela loved Christina with an obsession that scared even
her.

The little girl whimpered and let out a sneeze.

No. This baby couldn’t get sick. They’d call off the procedure.
That wouldn’t work.

Christina was failing faster.

Pamela raced down the hall and grabbed a vaporizer. Within
twenty minutes the room was bathed in healing steam. She paced back and forth,
every few seconds staring down at the child.

Christopher hadn’t come home, thank God. She’d seen the wild
look in his eyes and recognized he hadn’t changed. Somehow she had to figure out
a way to get away from him without him learning the truth about the babies.

A ringing phone pierced the night. Pamela ran into the hallway
and picked up the receiver. “Hello?”

Small sobs sounded through the line. “Mrs. W...Winter?”

A chill skittered down Pamela’s back. “Chelsea? You promised
never to call. You promised to disappear. We had a deal.”

“And you promised me Christopher would never find me after I
moved this time. That the baby would be safe. I never should have let you take
her. I should have given them both to...” Her voice trailed off. “He’ll find
out, and he’ll kill me.”

Pamela gritted her teeth. Quietly she shut the door to the
nursery and walked into her bedroom. She stared at the photograph of her
husband, a picture to remind her of one truth. A truth it had taken her thirty
years to understand. Mercy didn’t win. Only power won—and witnesses weren’t to
be left behind.