A Moment in Time (31 page)

      
The water's alleviation of his rutting state expired in a single, powerful thud of his heart.
 
His body responded before he could form any rational thought.
 

      
Hard.
 
Fast.
 
Prominent...
 

      
"What," he croaked, forcing his gaze from her bosom to her face, "are you doing here?"

      
She licked her lips.
 
"I think you know the answer to that question,"–her gaze dropped and her eyes widened–"big guy."

      
He crossed his hands in front of his impudent and not-so-private privates.
 
Watching her watch him, he dragged in a shaky breath.
 
A gentleman would grab his clothes and get the hell out of here while the getting was good.

      
And Cole Morrison was a gentleman.
 
Damnation
.

      
"Where's Todd?"

      
"He and Chief Byron are reading
Huckleberry Finn
.
 
It's a long book."
 
She shrugged and flashed a grin that turned his blood molten.
 
"So I decided to come and finish what we started before."
 
Tilting her head to one side, she smiled again.
 
"And here you are."

      
"Yeah," was all he could manage.
 
His arousal flinched and throbbed, reminding him how long it had been since he'd felt a woman's body rise against his in the throes of passion.
 
Gentleman or not, he couldn't drag his gaze from her luscious mouth.
 
Her tongue slipped between her lips and glided smoothly across them again, leaving a rosy luster in its wake.

      
He should be angry at this invasion of his privacy, but he couldn't summon the gumption
 
Only one thing could possibly spur him to action now, and that wasn't about to happen in reality.

      
But he could imagine plenty.

      
She continued to stare at him and he returned the favor, envisioning the endless row of buttons popping open one at a time until her dress pooled at her feet.
 
Underneath, she probably wore the thin white chemise and drawers–Lord help him–he'd seen her cavorting in earlier.

      
If the expression in her eyes was any indication, she was every bit as aroused as he.
 
Were the tawny peaks of her breasts taut and straining against the confines of her clothing?
 
Did her insides feel hot and all aquiver like his?
 
Was she hankering to kiss him as desperately as he was to kiss her–he swallowed hard–all over?

      
Damnation.

      
If he remembered correctly, the narrow ribbon at the front of her chemise was buttery yellow.
 
In his mind, he untied it and slowly opened the soft white fabric until it gaped, revealing the tops of her full, firm breasts.

      
"Jackie," he whispered, barely able to breathe let alone talk.
 
His voice held a warning note, he hoped.
 
One she'd best heed if she expected him to remember he was a gentleman much longer.
 
He forced himself to look at her face again, forsaking the delectable thoughts of how she would look disrobed.

      
She bit her lower lip and a flush crept across her cheeks, almost as if she could read his thoughts.
 
Her eyes were moist and wide.
 
Innocent.

      
Lolita, innocent?
 
What was he thinking?
 
But it didn't matter.
 
Nothing mattered except the ache in his loins and the hunger in his very soul.
 

      
"I came to give you what we didn't get to last night," she said, her voice taking on a sultry quality he hadn't noticed before.
 
"Whether you want it or not."

      
Oh, he wanted it all right.

      
She smiled and looked pointedly to where his hands still tried to hide his blatant arousal from her hungry gaze.
 
"It's easy to forget things.
 
I'd be willing to bet neither of us has been getting much sleep."

      
"Well...but...I..."
 
How the hell did she know he hadn't been sleeping well?
 
"You want to...?"

      
"Oh, yeah, I definitely want to.
 
In fact, I've been looking forward to this."
 
She smiled and opened the top two buttons of her dress.
 
"Warm today."

      
"Hot," he whispered, struggling for every breath.
 
His gaze lingered again at her breasts–full, round, perfect.
 
Don't think about those.
 
He definitely had a powerful weakness for her bosom.
 
A man could never get enough of a woman like her.

      
And she came here to finish what they'd started last night.

      
A roar commenced in his ears as his heart pounded wildly.
 
He couldn't fight her again.
 
If she so much as touched him, he'd ravish her right here on the ground like the wild beast she'd created in him.

      
Surrendering, he let his hands fall to his sides, unable to shield himself from her any longer.
 
Naked, vulnerable, he whispered her name again.

      
She stared at his throbbing manhood, and Cole was powerless to stop her.
 
At this point, he couldn't deny her anything she wanted.

      
And he hoped she wanted plenty.

      
"My, but you are an impressive specimen."
 
She sighed.
 
"Just a sec," she said, then reached into her deep pocket and withdrew something long and shiny.

      
What the hell was that and what was the woman up to now?
 
Her dallying would be the death of him.
 
His mouth went dry.
 
Yes, he wanted her.
 
Desperately.
 
Damn.
 
He didn't feel like a gentleman now.
 
Rutting boar seemed far more appropriate, and there was nothing he wanted to do more than rut at this particular moment.

      
He'd transformed from a single father with a worthless mine to a kidnapper and a lecherous monster.
 
A beast.
 
The thought gave him pause, reminding him of a French fairy tale his mother had loved.
 
Swallowing the lump in his throat, he took a step toward Jackie–no longer Lolita-Jackie to him.

      
She advanced a step and held out one hand.
 
"You might want to get dressed first."

      
He paused, blinking as her words reached his addled mind.
 
"What?
 
I thought..."

      
"What did you think, big guy?"
 
The corners of her luscious lips curved in a mischievous grin and her gaze dropped again.
 
"It seems a shame to cover such a, uh, magnificent specimen, but the hair will make you itch like mad."

      
"Hair?"
 
What the devil was the woman jabbering about now?
 
"What hair?"
 
The only thoughts he had of hair were too crass to mention.
 

      
He stared at her outstretched hand, then back to her breasts, following a thin blue vein up the side of her neck until it disappeared behind her curls.
 
Finally, he met her gaze, forcing himself to pay attention to her words instead of his lust.

      
She held the long silver object up in one hand and made a snipping motion.
 
"I promised Todd he could watch, but since you wormed your way out of your haircut last night,

I–"

      
Cole roared and pivoted on his heel, marching right back into the waterfall, her laughter following him all the way.
 
She'd played him for a fool and he'd fallen right into her little game.
 
No more.

      
His lust waned beneath the sting of humiliation and the icy water.
 
He'd make her turn around while he dressed, then he'd let her cut his damned hair.
 
And if–when–his body decided to rise to her bait again, well, he'd just ignore it.
 
He glanced down at his now flaccid privates.
 
"You hear that?" he whispered through the running water.

      
No answer.

      
Good thing his privates couldn't answer, because the answer he needed to hear would've been a lie anyway.
 
Disappointment pressed down on him as he forced himself to admit the truth, at least to himself.

      
Though he knew it was wrong, during those few moments when he'd believed she meant to have her way with him...

      
He'd felt more alive than he had in years.

Chapter 11

      
Jackie watched Cole stomp back into the waterfall, and she laughed even though she felt more like crying.
 
She'd seen the naked desire in his eyes and the even more naked state of his body.

      
And what a body.
 
Cole Morrison was one
well
-endowed man.
 
He couldn't have been more beautiful if Michelangelo had risen from the dead to create him.
 
But it was much more than his looks that drew her to him.
 
He was a good man–kind, generous, a loving father.

      
And a kidnapper.
 
Don't forget that.

      
Tonight, by God, she would find out why he'd been willing to abduct her for pay.
 
He'd promised and she wouldn't let him weasel out of telling her again.
 
Cougars, bears, Big Foot–nothing would stand in her way tonight.

      
Then after his confession...maybe they'd get back to that other unfinished matter between them.
 
Of course, there were really two unfinished matters between them, but until Henri's broken finger was healed...

      
She cleared her throat.
 
After having seen Cole in his birthday suit–
oh, my
–she couldn't call their attraction a
small
matter by any stretch of the imagination.
 
Not that she had before.

      
Somehow, she'd known exactly where he was going when he'd stormed out of the cabin earlier.
 
Todd had been only too eager to tell her how to find the falls, though she'd worried the whole time that she might become lost again in the mountains.
 
But she'd found the falls.
 
And Cole.