Wild Thing (7 page)

Hunter cleared his throat. “Where did you just go?”

“To a graveyard.”

“Do I want to know how that happened?”

Toni put some space between them and stood on the other side of the table. “It’s the way you look at me, like you’d look at an optical illusion. Like, if you just stared long enough or caught me at a certain angle, I’d make sense.”

“And where does the graveyard fit in?”

“Oh yeah. I have this poster that uses lenticular imaging to create the illusion of depth. It refracts light in different directions so the image moves and changes depending on the angle from which it’s viewed. It’s of a beautiful woman in a graveyard. I like graveyards.”

“I like beautiful women.”

Of course he would. “Last I counted there were seven of them at the beach. You might want to run back up there to get your pick before your brothers take the best ones. I’d keep away from Yvette though unless you like exhibitionists. Then go for it. She’s your girl.”

“Not interested. I need to get my mail. I’m still managing a business, you know. Are you up for a hike? It might help you with that little problem of yours.”

“It’s only a problem when I’m here.”

“And you’re here for the next week, so what do you say? Step out of your comfort zone. Take a chance. I won’t let anything happen to you.” He held out his hand, and for some reason she took it. He graced her with a smile. “First things first.” He walked her toward his bedroom—she hadn’t gotten to see much of it when Karma had been there. Toni stepped in, and the first thing she saw was a window that took up most of the wall opposite the bed. What a view. River, meadow, mountains—stunning. “It must be a bitch trying to sleep in.”

“I’m an early riser. But the real show is at night.”

Oh yeah, she could just imagine. The way he said it made her think all sorts of naughty thoughts. She tried to shut down that side of her brain. Being in the bedroom of a gorgeous man who not only held her hand—his thumb tracing circles on her palm—but stood very close to her, made it difficult. The room smelled like him, which unfortunately for her, was not a turnoff. Lodge pole furniture with deep colored Navajo rugs and wall hangings gave the room a masculine look without being off-putting, though it looked as if a woman had designed the bed—high and covered with pillows. The sheets had a sheen to them and looked soft and made to lounge on. Pictures of Hunter on the bed wearing nothing but the corner of a dark sheet floated in her mind.

“Take off your top.”

“Excuse me?” She could swear he just told her to undress. She wasn’t sure if it was real or imagined.

“We need to get you slathered with sunscreen. I’d really hate for all that creamy white skin of yours to burn.” He pulled her into the bathroom. A tub big enough to hold four adults comfortably sat directly under the skylight. A steam shower with multiple heads took up the far wall. He stopped next to the double vanity and pulled a tube of sunscreen out of the medicine cabinet. He squeezed SPF 50 into his hand and then rubbed them together.

“Turn around.”

She did, only to find herself facing the mirror. She put her hands on the cool granite countertop.

“Oh—and you might want to take off your collar too.”

Instead of looking at him through the mirror, she turned her head to look at him directly. “Why?”

“Ever heard of tan lines?”

“Fine.” She unhooked her collar and laid it on the counter before slipping off her cover-up. His big hands went to her shoulders, massaging as he spread the warm sunscreen over her skin. Hands worked their way up her neck and down her back, skimming the bathing suit straps off her shoulders. Letting her head drop forward, she stretched tense muscles as his fingertips slid beneath the back of her suit with a gentleness that surprised her.

The man had amazing hands. Unbidden visions of what she’d like him to do with those hands had blood pounding through her head as Hunter massaged her neck and back, leaving trails of heat wherever he touched. When his fingers slid past her neck to the sensitive flesh behind her ears, it was all she could do not to moan. It had been ages since a man had touched her and even longer since she’d wanted one to. She closed her eyes and didn’t open them until he turned her around. His big hands cupped the back of her neck, tilting her face toward his.

“I did your back. You better handle the front.” His voice sounded rough as his gaze flew from her lips to her chest and back again. When their eyes met, his pupils were dilated, leaving only a ring of green around the circle of darkness. She swallowed. His thumbs traced her throat to the base of her neck as his breath fanned her face. She reached out to steady herself, her hands at his waist. Ridges of muscles tensed beneath her fingers, and for the life of her she couldn’t stop staring, just like she couldn’t stop herself from going up on her toes until she was nose to nose with him. Hunter didn’t move forward like she wanted him to. He didn’t kiss her. He just stood there watching and waiting.

The front door slammed breaking the spell. He handed her the sunscreen. “I’ll meet you in the kitchen.”

“Thanks,” she croaked.

“My pleasure.”

Toni blew out a breath. Well, almost anyway. Talk about perfect timing. On the other hand, maybe she’d misread him. He hadn’t moved to kiss her, even though she’d given him ample opportunity. She slathered her arms and chest with sunscreen before resting her foot on the edge of the tub to get her legs. Hunter neither agreed nor disagreed with her when she told him he wasn’t subtle with his come-ons—he simply changed the subject. The man was irritating, kinda like a rash. Scratching it always felt good while you were doing it, but in the end, it only ended up spreading the rash around and making it worse.

“Toni, are you coming?” Hunter hollered.

Maybe it would be better for her to keep her distance. She was never one to make the first move—ever, and going up on her toes was as close to a first move as she planned to make. He let that one slip away. She wished she could thank him for it.

***

Hunter waited by the door, thankful his twin had interrupted them in time to keep him from doing something stupid, like kissing Toni.

It had taken him a full five minutes to get the damn problem in his pants under control. Yeah, as much as he hated to admit it, he was lucky Fisher had slammed his way into the cabin looking for the key to the outbuildings, so he could get the volleyball net and show off his form. Fisher loved the ladies. Hell, Hunter did too—he just didn’t go sniffin’ around every female within a thirty-mile radius. No, he chose Toni, the one who didn’t seem to like him. He only wished he could decide if the feeling was mutual. The episode in the bathroom told him that although she may not like him much, she was attracted to him, and as much as he would prefer not to be, he was attracted to her like a rainbow trout to his Pheasant Tail Nymph fly.

Unfortunately, in this case he was the trout, and if given the choice, he’d rather not end up in a hot frying pan. When Toni looked at him, he saw what he saw in so many of his camp kids. Something lost. Sometimes it was the loss of innocence. Sometimes it was the lack of love or trust in their lives that grabbed him by the throat. Whatever it was with Toni, it called to him the first moment his gaze met hers. It drew him, and although he wasn’t sure he wanted to explore it, he didn’t feel as if he had much choice. There were some things you just had to do. Getting to know Toni, really know her, was one of them.

“You bellowed?” Toni strode from his bedroom as if she owned the place and had the balls to look pissy.

He’d seen that look on numerous other women—the one that said he was going to have to pay dearly for whatever he did to drive her to such a state. He couldn’t think of what he’d done in the last few minutes except behave like a perfect gentleman. But looking back, it could be any number of things, which didn’t bode well for him or their strange relationship. Still, he was in his element, and Toni wasn’t. He had the advantage. He hoped. “Are you ready to go?”

Hand on hip, Toni tilted her head just so. Hunter had the urge to nibble her long, bare neck, even though he knew it would taste like sunscreen since he’d put it there himself. The woman had the most amazing skin. It felt like velvet under his calloused hands. She hadn’t put the collar back on, and he wasn’t sure if he missed it or not.

“To me, a trip to the mailbox entails going down to the lobby by way of the elevator and then crossing to it. I suspect here, like everything else, mail collection and delivery is different. Where exactly is your mailbox?”

Hunter smiled. “About a mile and a half down the hill.” He snagged her hand, tossed a backpack over his shoulder, and drew her out the door and to the path. The driveway went there too, but it was a longer walk and not as pretty. Though right now, he couldn’t take his eyes off Toni long enough to enjoy the view of anything but her.

“That’s crazy. You actually think I’d choose to hike three miles, in the wilderness no less? Well buddy, let me clue you in, I wouldn’t by choice walk three miles through the wilderness with you or anyone else…”

And she was off. It was amazing how she could babble on without noticing she was doing the very thing she was arguing against. And when she argued, her color rose, her eyes brightened, and she spoke with her hands, which made him smile. It was as if she thought her face wasn’t expressive enough. She had to add the hands for punctuation.

“…even if there were a million-dollar gold Starbucks card at the end of that rainbow.”

Ah, so he was right. He’d pegged her for a Starbucks girl. Before he’d met his cousin-in-law Gina and her friends, he’d thought Seattle girls held the record for caffeine addiction, but after being up at Ben and Gina’s cabin in Three Whores Bend with a bunch of New Yorkers, he knew different. Seattle girls couldn’t hold a coffee cup to New Yorkers. Hunter stepped off a small rock ledge and held Toni’s hand to help her. “I have Starbucks coffee, and I’m a hell of a barista if I do say so myself.” They were almost eye to eye. “I even grind my own beans.”

“You do?”

Her eyes widened in what looked like a combination of awe and surprise, so he pushed his advantage and slid his arm around her. He couldn’t stand not touching her. She leaned into him, her soft curves molded to him as if they were custom fit. He swallowed hard and nodded. If he moved his head to the left a few centimeters, their noses would touch.

She licked her lips, and he held back a groan.

“Espresso?” Her nose brushed his as her hands slid up his arms to his shoulders.

“Oh yeah.” Shit. Toni worked for a client, and he made it a point never to fool around with clients. Long before he and his brothers started River Runners, Hunter learned it was bad for repeat business—especially if said client wanted to return to vacation with her new significant other. The one time that happened, it hadn’t bothered Hunter. Unfortunately, the same could not be said for the lady. He’d learned a valuable and rather expensive lesson. He lost a week’s work when he was replaced with a guide who hadn’t shared her sleeping bag. But this was completely different. For one thing, Toni would never return unless forced. For another, if Toni did show up expecting to share anyone’s sleeping bag but his, it would bother him a whole lot. He’d want to rip the guy’s arm off and beat him with it. And since Hunter hadn’t so much as kissed Toni yet, it made the decision whether to kiss her a foregone conclusion.

Chapter 5

The brush of Hunter’s lips was so light, Toni couldn’t be sure it really happened. She was more aware of the sweet scent of cinnamon on his breath, until he angled his head and increased the pressure, sending a rush of warmth from her mouth to parts of her body she’d forgotten existed. His fingers grazed her jaw, barely touching her, in direct opposition to the arm wrapped around her waist, holding her fast, chest to chest, thigh to thigh.

She breathed him in, sliding her hands across his shoulders, her fingers tunneling through the soft hair at the nape of his neck, drawing him deeper into the kiss. His tongue traced the seam of her lips, circling, teasing, before spearing into her mouth, shooting more heat through her already overloaded system.

A moan resonated through her mouth and chest. She wasn’t sure if it was hers, or his, maybe both, but the vibration sent a twisting ache of need straight to her belly. Her heart slammed against her ribs as his tongue wrestled with hers for control, shattering her thoughts into a billion pieces, forcing her to do nothing but feel. The sharpness of his teeth, the slide of his tongue, and the hardness of his body against hers played havoc on her senses.

He ended the kiss, and when she opened her eyes, she found him watching her.

“I’m sorry.”

Her heart took a tumble. “You’re sorry?”

He pulled her close, tilting her chin to look at him. “I’m sorry we’re doing this here. I’m not sorry I kissed you. If Karma knew, I’m sure she’d tell me, you, and everyone else that I’m not the most romantic guy in the world, but even
I
can do better than this.”

“Oh.” He wasn’t sorry. That was good at least—or maybe not. She wasn’t sure, nor could she figure out if her inability to think clearly was because of Hunter’s proximity or the altitude. She hoped it was the altitude.

A smile spread across his face. “I know a beautiful little place we can go.”

“Does it involve mail?”

“No, it involves you, me, and water.”

“What kind of water?”

“Warm, secluded water. Interested?”

Toni looked around. Crap. She was in the middle of the damn forest, and somehow he’d gotten her out there with the promise of coffee.

“Toni?”

“You cheated. You brought me out here under false pretenses.”

“No, I just let you walk while you argued. Whatever works, right?”

“You and your family say that an awful lot, you know.”

Hunter tightened his hold on her like he didn’t want to let her go just yet. She never would have imagined feeling as comfortable in the middle of nowhere as she did right now. He kissed her ear. “Are you going to stay mad at me?” His breath against her ear and the rumble of his voice through her chest had her rethinking the idea of moving. All of a sudden, right there, in-the-middle-of-the-woods didn’t seem all that bad. “Or are you going to let me show you one of the most beautiful and best kept secrets in the area?”

She shrugged, and he kissed the tip of her nose. “Good girl.” Grasping her hand, he pulled her off the beaten path toward the sound of rushing water. “I found this place a few years back when I was kayaking.”

“Kayaking?”

“Nothing wrong with your hearing. If you don’t like it, we can leave, and I promise to take you back to the cabin and make you as much espresso as you can drink.”

Hunter had a way of making her do things she didn’t want to do without her even realizing she was doing them. So far, he was batting a thousand. Facts were facts. She didn’t have to like them. At least if she admitted it, she might get something out of the deal. “Bribery will get you everywhere.”

Hunter stopped and stole a kiss before he winked. “That’s good to know.” As he led her toward the river, the trail narrowed and changed to rock. Hunter scampered up a huge boulder and pulled her after him. “You really need to get some decent hiking boots.”

“Why?”

“So we can come back here without worrying you’re going to break an ankle.”

“Oh, that’s such incentive.”

“It is. You’ll see.” He jumped off the boulder, and grabbing her by the waist, helped her down, letting her slide along the length of his body, reigniting all the flames that were doused when he dragged her through the forest. The man had incredible upper body strength—he lifted her like she weighed nothing, without even a telltale grunt of strain. After eating her weight in chocolate for the last week angsting over this trip, she knew she’d put on more than a few pounds.

“We’re almost there.” He followed the path, pulling her along behind him and then stopped. “Come, stand in front, and look at this.”

She shimmied around him, and her breath caught in her throat. If the panorama of snow-covered mountains wasn’t amazing enough, the crystal clear river under an endless blue sky, cut only by green pine forest, made it spectacular.

Hunter wrapped his arm around her middle and pointed over her shoulder to a huge bird with the largest wingspan she’d ever seen.

“That’s a bald eagle, see it? He’s catching a thermal and heading to the ridge lift. Watch him.”

The eagle soared like a glider, gaining altitude on invisible waves of air, his white head bright against the blue sky.

“See that spot in the water?” Hunter pointed down to the river. “There, right below that boulder. That’s called an eddy. I was playing in it one day—”

“Playing?” She saw what looked like a whirlpool in the middle of the raging river, below a boulder big enough to picnic on. What some people thought of as fun truly eluded her.

“Yeah, playing. You see, the water runs around the boulder, and then back upstream toward it. If you get right behind the boulder, in the heart of the eddy, you can float around, resting, relaxing. It’s almost like surfing and going nowhere. I was in my kayak playing in the eddy when I looked over here and saw this.” He pointed to a spot at the edge of the river with big rocks in a semicircle. “It’s a natural hot spring. Really hot, so I put the rocks around and let in just enough of the cold river water to make it the perfect temperature. Come on. It’s big enough for two.”

She turned around to question him, only to see him reaching behind and pulling his T-shirt off like guys do in the movies. She figured they did it that way to show the hem of the T-shirt slip over the actor’s washboard abs. Normal people crossed their arms in front and pulled their shirt over their guts, and well… whatever else, before pulling it over their heads. Her way certainly wasn’t as sexy as his.

Toni thought she was prepared to see Hunter shirtless. After all, she’d seen him on the website and worked around models all day long. It wasn’t as if she was lacking in beefcake.

The only word that came to mind after seeing Hunter Kincaid shirtless was magnificent. The man was perfection personified, except for that little flaw he had that enabled him to get her to do things she wasn’t interested in doing.

Toni wasn’t sure who kissed whom. All she knew was that she’d lost control of everything the second Hunter’s lips met hers. She knew from the first kiss he was potent, but she’d never guessed anything could be like this. One second he was pulling off his shirt, and the next he slid his mouth over hers. Hunter might be a slow starter, but he definitely knew what he was doing and exactly what he wanted. He controlled the kiss, teasing her with his lips, varying pressure. His hand cupped to the back of her head, changing the angle, before tracing his tongue across the seam of her lips. His tongue slipped in, penetrating, searing, and she reveled in it. His body surrounded her. His tongue, hot and wet, invaded. One hand massaged her scalp as the other traveled down her spine to her ass and pulled her hips against his, lifting her leg. His erection hit that perfect spot, and this time she was sure the groan was hers. Beyond the Niagara Falls roar of blood pounding through her ears, she heard applause. Her eyes shot open as two orange rafts flew past down the river. “Oh God.” She felt faint. She couldn’t breathe. It was happening again.

“What’s the matter?”

Her leaden leg slid down his, and if he hadn’t been holding her so tight, she was sure she’d have hit the ground.

“Toni, what’s wrong?”

“They’re gone. They took the rafts. They left us here.”

“Who?”

She pointed as the big orange rafts got smaller the farther downstream they traveled.

“Son of a bitch.”

***

Hunter was going to kill Trapper. He’d expect Fisher and Karma to pull a stunt like that, but Trapper knew better. “It’s okay. Karma’s with them, which means she left her Jeep at the cabin. We’re not stranded. We’ll take off early in the morning and get to the Inn before we need to leave for the first shoot. I’ve got you, Toni. You’re fine.” He sat her down on a rock. “Breathe. Nice and slow.” When she dragged in a few breaths, his were easier. “Good girl.”

She stared down river and then looked around as if she’d never seen the area before. Trying to figure out what went through a woman’s head was difficult enough, but trying to figure out a terrified woman was impossible. “James promised he wouldn’t leave me here.”

Hunter didn’t know what shocked him more, the fierce protectiveness he felt for Toni, or the jealousy that washed over him at the mention of James. The man was old enough to be her father, and he was gay for cryin’ out loud. “They probably thought they were doing us a favor, giving us time alone together.”

God, she looked as if she was about to cry. He hated when women cried. He squatted so they were face-to-face. “It’s fine. You’re not alone, and you’re not lost. I’ve spent almost every summer of my life up here. I know this place like the back of my hand. I won’t let anything happen to you. And you know what?”

“What?”

The color was slowly returning to her face. “I’ve got great coffee, and they don’t.” There… he coaxed a hint of a smile out of her. Crisis averted. “Now, where were we?” He leaned forward and kissed her, just a light kiss, nothing more than that. It was that moment he realized his mistake. Being with Toni was like skydiving. It was great, the best thing ever until you remember you’re gonna have to hit ground eventually and realize you’ve forgotten your damn parachute. He figured he might as well enjoy the trip down, since it would undoubtedly be a rough landing.

He looked into her eyes and couldn’t decide if they were the lightest of blues or if they were gray. Right now, they were gray and unshuttered, eyes that could decimate him with a look. He did the only thing he could do to remedy the problem. Avoiding her eyes, he reached over and slipped her shoes off before pulling her to her feet. He made sure she was steady before he let go. “You, me, and nice, warm water. Come on.” He kicked off his shoes, tossed his pack beside them, and led her down the path to the heart of the spring. Together they eased in. Hunter’s hands ran over her wet skin. The soft spring water made her skin slick and slippery.

She floated out of his arms, just far enough away to make him wish he hadn’t let her go.

Pulling the band from her hair, Toni slipped it around her wrist before dipping under and resurfacing, her black hair a stark contrast to her pale skin.

“You are so beautiful.”

She looked shocked, as if no one had ever told her that before, which was ridiculous. Despite the Goth clothes, she was one of the most beautiful women he’d ever met. Hell, she was every bit as gorgeous as the models working with her. But then his whole take on Goth had changed in the last twelve hours. Who said Goth couldn’t be sexy?

Their legs tangled as they floated together and apart, the slide of skin on skin erotic. She floated around the small pool, while he willed her to come back to him, wanting to peel her bathing suit off her body and explore every inch. If she didn’t do something soon, he’d have to take a dip in the river to cool off; he wasn’t sure even that would help.

She slipped beneath the water, arching her back, heading toward him, her bottom the last thing to disappear below the surface before her head popped up. Her momentum brought them together. He caught her in his arms. Her thick black eyelashes sparkled with unshed water, and her eyes widened when she came in contact with his erection. “I like this.”

He pulled her tighter against him. “Are you talking about the spring… or this?” He rocked his pelvis against hers.

“Both.”

“Good answer.”

Toni’s arms and legs wrapped around his neck and waist. Nose to nose she stared into his eyes as if she were waiting for something.

“What color are your eyes?” She obviously hadn’t expected that.

“Gray, but sometimes they look blue or green depending upon what I wear. The official color is gray though. Do you know what they say about women with gray eyes?”

He shook his head, his nose bumping hers, drawing her closer. Still they had their eyes locked. “No idea.”

“We’re unpredictable. That’s not always a good attribute.”

In the hours since they’d met, he figured out the unpredictability thing was kind of a given. He could say one thing for her—she wouldn’t bore him in the next week—which was more than he could say for any other woman he’d ever hope to know intimately. “I guess I have to take my chances then.”

“It’s not a good bet.”

“Probably not, but the cards are dealt. I’m not about to fold just when the game’s getting interesting.”

“Okay, then. I’m all in. I like games.”

***

It’s a game. Nothing more. Right now, wrapped around his firm body, Toni could think of nothing but the feel of him between her legs, her chest against his, his breath on her face, and the darkening of his gorgeous green eyes. Being with Hunter kept her from thinking about where she was. It was as if she walked a tightrope, and Hunter was her safety net. A temporary one, but as long as that was understood, she wasn’t about to fold either. Nope, she was all in.

Toni intentionally kept her eyes open as her mouth slid over his, nipping his lips, trying to torment him with the rasp of her tongue. His hands slid from her waist to cup her breasts, which seemed hardwired right to her core. As if her legs had a mind of their own, they tightened around him until she felt his hardness against her. Hunter sucked her bottom lip into his mouth and nibbled as her bathing suit straps slipped off her shoulders. She floated back, pushing off the rock he leaned against. He held her suit as she floated out of it and away from him.