Читать книгу Forbidden: A Shade Darker – The Complete Collection - Leslie Kelly, Kira Sinclair - Страница 25

7

BO’S MOOD IMPROVED by the minute. Though he always teased Erin about her fascination with the area’s geologic origins, he always marveled at them, too.

He loved how completely smooth and undisturbed the lakes were. Absolutely mirrorlike on a perfect day, they were very deep. Ancient sediments, never disturbed through the march of time, measured as much as five hundred feet under the two hundred feet of water. Everything changed, but not these lakes, not very much. It was calming to think about, that some things stayed the same.

The fresh air and beautiful views around the lake chased away the nightmares of the past few days. Nightmares that he didn’t really want to share with Erin, though he had to.

She’d listened, asking good questions that, to him, provided more evidence that her experience and her knowledge about firefighting were just below the surface—like the ancient sediment at the bottom of the lake, buried, little bits floating up to the surface.

They paused at a spot on the east side of the lake that had a buildup of solid sediments and minerals in the form of a reef or shelf, unfortunately called Dead Man’s Point. Bo shook his head. He wasn’t exactly sure why, but he was tired of death. It seemed to be everywhere. He didn’t want to be reminded of it in this beautiful place.

“Hey, are you okay?”

Erin was standing before him, her voice reflecting her concern.

“I’m more concerned about you.”

She seemed lovelier, if that was even possible, in the soft evening light. She was still physically fit, but he could tell where her face and her shape had softened slightly, away from the rigors of department work. It looked good on her.

“Why?”

“I was afraid knowing about the fire would be too much, that it might actually make your memory harder to reach. Dr. Newcomb said you needed to feel safe, not pressured.”

She took his hand, squeezed. “No. I’m glad you told me. I needed to know. And you needed to talk about it.”

He blinked, realizing that he really did. He and Erin were always each other’s confidants. Friends and workmates before they were lovers, they could share things at the end of the day with each other that civilians would have a harder time understanding.

He hadn’t known how much he’d missed that until right now.

“There’s one more thing I have to ask you.”

Her tone was apprehensive, and Bo knew she was still thinking about the fire.

“What’s that?”

“If this is a serial arsonist, and if he or she did set the fire that Joe and I were caught in, wouldn’t I be a potential threat? Do you think I could be in danger?”

Bo frowned. That had been the one thing he’d held back from her—he didn’t want to cause more anxiety than he already had, but he should have known she’d reason it out. Or was it that she had other reason to ask?

“Has anything happened? Anything specific?”

She shook her head. “No, not really. I mean, when I first came home, I felt like someone was watching me sometimes, but the doctors said that happened sometimes with amnesia. A level of anxiety or paranoia that usually fades in time, and it did. But what if someone was watching me?”

Bo didn’t like that possibility at all. He tried to approach the subject objectively, like an investigator, not like a man who wanted to hide her away and keep her safe from anything. It was more difficult than he expected. This was Erin, and he instinctively wanted to protect her.

“Well, the cases may not be related, but if they are, you’d pose a definite threat. However, your amnesia is pretty general knowledge now. It was in the paper and so forth. That would mean our arsonist probably knows, too. Since he or she risked setting another fire, I’m assuming you’ve been dismissed as a threat. But if you feel that again, like someone’s watching, or if anything makes you feel like something is wrong, you have to tell me immediately, okay?”

She nodded, her expression relaxing slightly.

“I guess you should stay as close as possible, then. For a lot of reasons.”

“You’re probably right about that.”

Tugging her forward against him, Bo kept hold of her hand and caught her jaw in his other palm, keeping her still as he took his time kissing her, letting the feel of her mouth under his erase all the dark clouds that had been plaguing his thoughts.

Erin had always been the only one who could do that.

The realization was not a comfort, given their current situation. It was too easy to forget that this was not going anywhere. But as she said, they needed to be “all-in” and deal with the fallout later. Bo wasn’t sure he had any choice in the matter, as he’d never really been “all-out.”

She slipped her hand free and wrapped both arms around his neck, bringing herself in even closer to him. He did the same, so that they were as tightly fused as two people could be, almost. Erin loved to kiss, and she was so good at it...but the shadows were lengthening. They had to get back before the park closed.

“Hey, let’s keep going. I want to show you something,” he said against her cheek.

She laughed, a kind of low, soft laugh from her belly that was at once humorous and sexy as hell.

“Yeah, I’m sure you do,” she added, pressing her hips forward into the hard evidence his desire.

He laughed, too, thankful for her humor as he grabbed hold of her hand again.

“Not that. Not yet anyway.” Bo felt reinvigorated, as though his earlier exhaustion had completely gone. “We have to walk a bit farther.”

They ambled down the narrow path toward the main beach and the parking lot, but still out of sight of both. Then Bo stopped and pulled her aside, off into the woods.

“Over here....”

They climbed up to a higher spot where some sun was still filtering through, and a wide ledge sprawled out from beneath an outcropping of boulders.

“Do you have any recollections? Any sparks of memory about this spot?”

She stood, looking around, and peered out over the trees.

“No, not really. It is a gorgeous view, though. I take it we’ve been up here before?”

“A few times.”

“Why?”

He couldn’t repress his smile at his own memories of this private little nook. They’d discovered it one day while hiking and joking around. Erin had taken off into the woods, daring him to find her, and they both found this little bit of magic. He never saw any other foot traffic up here and assumed it was more or less undiscovered.

Her eyebrows rose as she read his expression. “Ah. So this was like our own lovers’ lane, I take it?”

“Something like that. A nice private spot, but we also had to be very quiet, just in case any other hikers heard us from below.”

He was hard again, and suddenly unworried about the hour. Bo could see the change in her mood as well, as her lips parted, her eyes darkening.

“So what did we do here exactly? Can you show me?”

The desire was plain on her face, reflected in her stance as she leaned toward him, and he was relieved. The emotional dependence he’d felt while sharing his thoughts about the fire wasn’t what he wanted, but this—this he definitely wanted. Thinking about sex focused his muddled mind. And they’d had sex here, in this spot, several times. There was one time in particular that came to mind for him.

She went to him, standing before him with her hands at her sides as he backed her up against the still-warm surface of the rock.

“Caught between a rock and a hard—”

He cut her joke off with a passionate kiss, and she melted into him, moaning as the kiss became hotter and deeper.

He broke the kiss, his own breathing uneven.

“Maybe we should play a game,” he said. “You always liked games.”

He spun them around so that his back was to the boulder and she stood in front of him. He waited, her eyes darkening with excitement as he watched her closely, wondering if she would remember what happened here.

“What kind of games?”

“Remember with hide-and-seek, how you would be hotter or colder when you were getting close to finding someone?”

She nodded.

“Well, maybe you should try to remember what we did here last time, and I can tell you if you are getting hotter or colder as you do...”

She smiled. “All in the name of assisting my memory, of course.”

“Of course.”

Erin appeared more than willing to play—she did like games―and stood back for a minute, looking him up and down as if trying to decide where to start. Bo enjoyed how she took her time, her close study.

“Maybe you should sit down against the base of the rock?”

He shook his head. “Colder.”

She stepped forward, pushing up on her toes to nibble his neck, letting her hand drift down to the front of his jeans.

“A little warmer,” he whispered.

“Only a little?”

He shrugged, but there was a sparkle in her eyes—Erin was having fun—that he hadn’t seen in a long time.

“Hmm...no hands then?” she posited.

He didn’t indicate whether she was right or wrong, and waited to see what she’d do next.

Slowly, she pushed up his shirt, flicking her tongue over his chest and then down to his navel. Licks of fire danced under his skin as she did so.

“Definitely warmer,” he said, his voice hoarser.

She continued her barrage of light kisses, driving him mad, and then she took the additional liberty of freeing his painfully erect shaft as she did so.

“Hotter,” he managed, his body tight with anticipation.

Erin lowered to her knees, her hands on his thighs as she tasted him lightly, rolling her tongue around the tip of him, teasing. Bo’s mind blanked.

She looked up at him through her lashes. “Hotter?”

Her tone was all sex kitten, making him even harder.

“Very.”

He put his hand at the back of her head, applying gentle but firm pressure until his cock brushed the back of her throat and her lips closed around the root.

Her moan told him that she was okay with his touch. Maybe more than okay. Bo took it the next step, curling his fingers into her hair and pulling back gently, showing her the pace he wanted. The world spun as he watched her move against him, and his hold changed to a light caress of her silky locks. As she lost herself in the act, he let go, needing his hands to brace himself against the boulder as she took the lead, making him tremble from head to toe.

Bo stared out at the lakes in the distance as dusk fell; a guttural moan came from his solar plexus as hot pleasure rose. When he couldn’t take it anymore, he reached down and drew her up.

The desire and sheer wanton joy in her expression, her reddened lips and hazy eyes nearly did him in.

She read his mind and shucked her jeans, letting him put her back against the rock. She could barely restrain a gasp of pure bliss as he brought her legs up around him and thrust inside.

“So, so hot,” he breathed against her skin.

This he could handle. Erin needy against him, her face a study in sex, her eyes focused only on him.

The boulder was unyielding, and suddenly Erin’s moaning became a fervent cry of release—which triggered his own. A sensation of complete and utter satisfaction overwhelmed him. He eased off Erin, but slipped his hand into hers, not wanting to break their contact just yet.

By the time they caught their breath, it was almost dark. As she put her clothes back on, they were quiet. Then she paused and tilted her head, as if trying to hear something.

“What is it?” Bo asked.

She smiled, taking a deep breath before she spoke.

“Last time, it was in the daylight. I remember looking up, when you were inside me, against the rock, and seeing the sun coming down through the trees.”

“That’s right. It was.” He confirmed her memory with a smile, but behind it, a slight sinking sensation returned.

He should have been as thrilled as she seemed to be. But every memory coming back to her brought them that much closer to what had separated them before. Bo went ahead, making sure they got down the darker hillside safely, though he didn’t reach for her hand again as they walked back to the truck.

* * *

KIT WAS SO tired by the time she pushed the key into the lock of her back door that night she could just about stand. After Hank had saved the day delivering her flowers, the bad luck had continued. A shipment of flowers came in spoiled, and a customer complained, as well, about their delivery being late that day.

Not to mention Erin was MIA and Kit had kind of hoped she might be there when she got home.

To be honest, she was also disappointed about Hank’s not coming back to the store after he was done. She had no right to be—he’d saved her butt finishing the deliveries and following up on the van, which was going to be less expensive than she thought to fix. That was one good thing.

He’d checked in and told her he had something else he had to do that evening, but would see her later. She’d been disappointed—very much so. She’d wondered, if he came back to the shop, where that might lead.

Instead, here she stood, alone as usual. She sat down at the small table by the window that looked out over a very ragged garden—if it could even be called that anymore. How ironic was it that she, a professional florist, had such a messy, unkempt garden?

It had been her mother’s pride and joy. For a while after she died, Kit had kept it up, but gardening took time.

There was a message blinking on the machine—Erin? She almost never got calls on her landline anymore, except for telemarketers. She’d been meaning to close out the account for a while and just go to cell. But Erin thought it was important to have as a backup for emergencies, and for 911. Ever the firefighter.

Kit hit the button and listened to the pleasant male voice calling to inform her that a letter would soon arrive informing her that she had been chosen for a personal tax audit from the IRS.

She dropped back into the chair, shaking her head. Chosen? Like she’d won a prize?

Great. This was exactly what she needed. There was nothing amiss in her files, and she kept meticulous records, but it was one more thing to worry about. The call went on with more details, but she wandered away from the room.

Whatever.

Sometimes when she got home, she’d watch some TV or read, but tonight she was just going to bed.

The house was so quiet, though. Until she heard footsteps on the front porch, and then a knock at the door.

Startled, she switched on the porch light. The sheer white curtain obscured the window, but not so much that she couldn’t recognize Hank’s huge profile.

She smiled and rushed to the door, then felt silly, slowing down and waiting a beat as she opened it.

“Hank. What are you doing here?”

“Hi, Kath. I hope you don’t mind me coming by.”

“Um, no, not at all. But how did you know where I live?”

“Miraculous thing, the white pages.”

Kit laughed, feeling foolish yet again.

“Now I see the definite value in having kept my landline.”

He smiled and looked past her into the house. “I wanted to apologize for not coming back to the shop. I had to go over to my sister’s to help her with her kid for a while. She’s a single mom, so I sometimes babysit at the drop of a hat, but I’m sorry that I left you hanging.”

“We didn’t have any definite plans.”

“No, but there was that date you owed me, and I said I’d see you later. And this is later.”

“That’s true.”

“Do you want to go out?”

“Not really,” she said, and saw him frown. “But I could open a bottle of wine or cook something if you want to come in.”

“I’d like that a lot.”

He stepped inside and waited in the small entryway as she closed the door.

“Nice house. Where you grew up?”

“Yes, thanks. I love living here, though I haven’t been able to keep things up as much as I should. It’s a big house.”

“Your parents left it to you?”

“Yes, well, Erin and I both inherited it, but I’d been living here taking care of my mom when she was sick, and Erin had already bought her own house, so she signed it over to me. She never was as attached to it as I was. So yeah, it’s all mine. Every pipe that needs repair, peeling exterior paint, overgrown garden and all.”

“Hey, you’re only one person, and you run your own business. I think the house looks fine. It has charm.”

“Charm is a nice word,” she said with a chuckle as she started for the kitchen, but he caught her arm, pulling her back around to face him.

“First things first,” Hank said as his arms closed around her and he sought a kiss that she was happy to return.

He felt so good, so big and solid. As if nothing in the world could get through him to her. The kiss deepened, taking on more heat than she expected, and Kit moaned as she pressed against his barrel of a chest.

“You make the sexiest sounds when I kiss you, Kathleen,” he said into her neck, his voice rough.

She didn’t know what to say to that, and settled for letting him kiss her again, this time taking one of his large, gorgeous hands and settling it over her breast.

“Oh, damn, honey,” he muttered, closing his palm over her with more gentleness than she would have expected from such a large, strong man. Kit was learning that everything with Hank was such a nice surprise.

Including his patience. Most guys would have her undressed and against the entry wall by now, but he kept kissing her and moving his thumb over her nipple until she thought she might rip his clothes off and push him against the wall.

“How hungry are you?” she managed to ask, her breath short as she moved her hands over his broad back.

“Do you have to ask?” he countered with a low chuckle.

She giggled and moved her hand down to slide over him, pleased when he made some nice sounds for her, as well.

“I meant...I was going to cook for you, but, if you wanted to wait for a while—”

It was as far as he let her go, when she felt herself lifted off the floor and swept—for the first time ever in her life—off her feet.

“Hank, what are you doing?”

He held her up in his arms and headed to the stairs at the end of the hall.

“Up?” he asked, desire clear in his expression, his eyes, his voice.

She met his gaze directly. “Yes. Up. Top of the stairs, down the hall, on the left.”

He brought her to her room, the one she’d had since she was a girl. She’d never had a man in there, not once. She didn’t bring men home, not here.

But Hank was different. As he set her down by the side of her bed and started kissing her again, undressing her as he did so, she knew something with him was very different indeed.

If she wasn’t so busy enjoying it, it would have scared the hell out of her. But as he took off his own clothes and joined her on her bed, Kit didn’t worry about anything for the rest of the night.