Page 9 of Mountain Rescue
Why had all that spilled out of his mouth? He’d almost told her that he wanted her. That he’d been afraid he’d never feel desire for a woman again. That she made him feel like the man he was before his capture. When he’d wrapped his arm around her shoulders for the cameras, he hadn’t flinched at touching her. What would she think if she knew that he couldn’t stand to be touched now, even by his own family...except for her? And that was something he was having trouble wrapping his mind around. Why her?
“How much what?”
“Nothing. I won’t tell Jack you’re here, but you need to.”
“I told you why I don’t want him to know.”
He’d let it go for now, but this discussion wasn’t over. “What else do you need?”
They finished their shopping and headed back to the cabin. The atmosphere was chillier in the Jeep on the return trip, and he didn’t like her shutting him out. He got why she thought she was right in keeping Jack out of whatever it was she was dealing with, but she was wrong. With his and Jack’s special talents, this Robert dude wouldn’t be able to get near her even with all the money and mysterious resources she claimed he had.
He’d promised her he wouldn’t tell Jack she was here, but maybe there was a way around that. One possibility, he could give Jack a hint that he should make a surprise visit to the cabin. Something to think about.
“I want you to find someplace else to stay,” she said, breaking her silence as he stopped in front of the cabin.
“No can do, sugar.” He glanced at her, almost smiling at the mulish expression on her face.
“Stop calling me sugar.”
“Why?”
She huffed an annoyed breath. “Because that’s probably what you call all your women, and I’m not one of them.”
His smile was getting harder to hold in. “I’ve never called another woman sugar in my life, and that’s the truth.” He only did it with her because it lit that blaze in her eyes that he got a kick out of seeing. That he got a kick out of anything was a miracle, and how was he supposed to give that up?
“I don’t believe you.”
He leaned over the console. “I might be a lot of things, but one thing I’m not is a liar. If I say I never called another woman sugar, that means I’ve never called another woman sugar.” He stared hard into her amber eyes, daring her to call him a liar again.
“Okay, I’ll take your word for it.” Surprising him, she touched the scar on his face, tracing it down to where it disappeared into his beard. “How did this happen?”
He closed his eyes, savoring the slide of her finger over his skin. He asked himself the question he’d asked earlier. Why her? Why did he want her touch when he couldn’t handle anyone else touching him? Even his mother, whom he loved dearly.
“You came so close to losing an eye. What happened, Dallas?”
Hell fucking happened.He’d only shared all that had been done to him in his debriefing while he was in the hospital, and only because he’d had no choice. Once was enough to last a lifetime.
Her mouth was so close and the warmth from her touch was a balm to his soul. Instead of answering a question he had no intention of ever answering, he touched his lips to hers. He hadn’t meant to kiss her, but here he was, doing just that, and in a moment of clarity, he asked himself what the hell he was doing. In the second before he could pull away, and he really did mean to, her lips softened against his, and she flattened her palm over his cheek, right where the scar was, and he was lost. In her. The cold that lived inside him now soaked up her heat. Her scent wrapped around him, and he’d never smell vanilla again without thinking of her.
“Wildcat,” he murmured against her mouth.
She pushed him away. “What are we doing?”
“I don’t know.” And that was the honest to God’s truth. He sat back in his seat. “My apologies. It won’t happen again.” And wasn’t that just sad? “We need to get your groceries in.”
She got out of the car as if the seat was on fire. He’d thought she was as into that kiss as he’d been. Apparently not. He would have been better off never knowing how good she tasted because one taste of her wasn’t enough.
“Who knows you’re here?” he asked after they were inside, while she was putting her groceries away and he was doing his best not to look at her lips.
“My grandmother knows exactly where I am, and a detective, but he only knows I’m in North Carolina somewhere.”
That was an interesting combination. “Why a detective?”
“Huh?” She stared at the head of cabbage in her hand as if she didn’t know what to do with it.
“Want me to see if Jack stuck any corned beef in the freezer? You could make us corned beef and cabbage for dinner.” He’d been pretty sure at the grocery store that she didn’t want the cabbage, now he was positive.
She glanced up at him, eyes narrowed. “I’m not—”
