Page 16 of Accidental Mate

“What about you?”

“I’ll either be behind you or not. It doesn’t matter. There are a couple of backpacks loaded with survival gear. Can you handle a gun?”

“Yes, and I’m a pretty good shot with a rifle, a shotgun, or a handgun.”

“Good. Then you take what you need from the staging area at the bottom and get away. There’s survival gear at the end of the tunnel.”

“I’m not leaving without you.” She suddenly felt a strong pull to this man and that she owed him a loyalty she reserved for very few people, not to mention the debt she’d incurred when he’d saved her life.

“You’ll do what I tell you.”

“What’s going on?”

He took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. “It’s a long story and I don’t know much of it.”

“You’re scaring me.”

“Good. Being afraid keeps you on your toes. We’re safe right now. There are traps and alarms. I also go out and check the perimeter once a day.”

“Paranoid much?”

“It’s only paranoia if you don’t believe there aren’t people out to get you. I’m not sure that there are, but more importantly I’m not sure that there aren’t. Now that I know you aren’t going to die, we can start focusing on figuring out what the hell is going on. How good are you with computer equipment?”

“I can send emails and search the internet, but other than that. I’m not much good.”

“Would you recognize a communication system?”

“You mean like a shortwave radio?” He nodded. She grinned. “Finally, I’ve earned my geek stripes. I have an extensive system in my condo. And I can actually do some repair work if needed.”

“Good girl,” he purred, and she felt the praise wash over her in a way that made her believe things were going to be okay.

“Come on, let’s get the pantry put back together, and I’ll finish up dinner.”

“Better yet, you work on dinner. I’ll grab a bottle of wine and then start snacking on that tray you made.”

“Sounds good.”

He leaned over, brushing her lips with his and surprising them both. But not as much as when she grabbed both sides of his face and pulled him in for a proper kiss—one that held passion and promise. Carson said nothing but the grin that split his face reminded her very much of the one in Lewis Caroll’s books.

Spinning on his heel, he walked back out into the main room, whistling a jaunty tune. Oh god, what had she gotten herself into?

CHAPTER10

AMELIA

Amelia wanted to slap her hand against her forehead. What the hell had she been thinking? There was the problem in a nutshell. She hadn’t been thinking, only reacting. That brief brush of his lips against hers had felt wrong and incomplete. Some part of her had wanted to see if the bond she’d felt with him when they’d had sex was truly there. It was. Now what?

She was in uncharted waters—deep, dark, mysterious uncharted waters. She waited for panic to kick in or at least concern, but there was none. Instead, a warm feeling bubbling in her nether regions began to swell and invade every part of her body, leaving her with a feeling of well-being, which was completely out of place in her current situation. She should be upset and be looking for a way out, but she wasn’t. She would be quite content to simply curl up by the fire with this man. A man whose last name was completely unknown to her.

Turning back to the wines, she selected a lovely pinot noir she thought would go with the venison shepherd’s pie. She really hoped he was a good cook, because it sounded amazing. She re-entered the kitchen and stood watching him remove the potatoes from the heat and begin smashing them by hand, adding butter, cream, garlic, salt and pepper.

“I thought this looked good,” she said, sitting down at the island and placing the bottle on the counter.

Carson turned around and smiled. “Good choice. It’s one of Mason’s and my favorites.”

He picked up the bottle and removed the cork to let the wine breathe. Carson turned back to the Dutch oven and ladled the venison, vegetables and gravy into a casserole dish, covering the concoction with the smashed potatoes and setting it inside the oven to heat through.

“I added a nice Stilton cheddar to the potatoes,” he said.

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