“Let’s move, people. We’re burning daylight.” There was no room for procrastination so he urged everybody to get going otherwise they would regret it later. He had done this climb at night, but he had been with Gavin when he did it. Gavin was a climber; he knew how to navigate ridges in the daylight or midnight hours. He was skilled and proficient in the task and this, this ascent, really was nothing for men like them because it wasn’t as if there was much hand to ground action needed. But for this group it would be difficult. They had their hiking poles with them and they could use those to give them purchase, but Sahara hadn’t been prepared for this part of the hike so she didn’t have any, not that she would be able to use them even if she did. And with him supporting her weight he wouldn’t really be able to use a pole himself, not that he ever used one, but right now might have been a good time to start. He had more than just his body to worry about. If he fell, then she was going down with him. He couldn’t risk her life on the climb so he was going to have to be sure to keep his balance even if that meant holding on to the nearest tree limb while getting up one of the difficult parts.
The more he walked with her the more he realized that while she wasn’t expecting this hike she was definitely a woman who knew how to make adjustments and find a way to get by. “You’re doing well,” he mumbled to her.
“Thanks. This really isn’t my thing, you know. Camping, hiking, outdoor adventures—this is so not me.”
“And yet you are still handling the situation like a professional.”
“This is what a professional hiker would do—hang on to the nearest guy to help carry his or her weight?”
He chuckled. “Yep. A pro would be smart and use the help offered him, or her, without protest,” he reminded her.
“Then I’ll have to add that to my mental database. When I’m reliving the craziness that was my four hour hike I can tell everybody that Ranger Cody said I handled it like a professional.”
“You do that,” he laughed as he helped her make it the rest of the way up the steep incline. Once they were up he handed her off to Parker and retook the lead to guide them to the camping ground. It was dusk by the time they got there so he and Parker spread out some of the glow sticks and helped everybody get their tents and bags situated. Parker checked their surroundings to make sure they were safe from wildlife that might be out looking for food tonight. The site was fairly off the wildlife stopping grounds, but nature was nature and anything could happen. Cody would have preferred to have a rifle or a gun with him, but the new owner of the hiking adventure tour company had taken away their gun carrying rights a year ago. As a park ranger Cody carried a gun all the time when in the wild, but when he worked for this company, leading a hike, guns were not allowed. He liked his job so he complied. They did have one tranquilizer gun with two darts, he shook his head at the lack of preparedness they actually had and thanked God that all the stops on the hike were fairly animal free. If he didn’t love what he did so much he would quit doing this. He didn’t need the money. He was doing fine with his park ranger position, but he loved the thrill of the hike and seeing hikers’ joy as they added another notch to their hiking belt. He would miss doing this if he quit. On the other end of things, he hated the new management. He hated the corners they were starting to cut. He figured within a year he probably would have to cut his losses and leave otherwise he would have to compromise his moral compass and continue with a company that wasn’t doing things in the best interest of their patrons. Safety had to come first. He couldn’t continue to lead people into the wild if any additional safety measures were cut.
Cody laid out the bag for Sahara to sleep. The last thing he wanted to do was accidentally shift in the night and cause her any more pain than she was already in, but she had insisted he sleep beside her. “I’ll sleep on the ground,” he said.
“No, you’ll sleep in the bag like you did last night.” He started to protest and she held up her hand. “I’ll scoot over this time as I don’t think I can manage the outside.” She held out her hand, “help me please?”
“Watch your ankle,” he mumbled as he crawled into the sleeping bag. Carefully, he snuggled against her and she let her injured ankle rest on top of his knee.
“I’m okay,” she whispered before he could ask. She knew he was worried about her and she appreciated that, but there was only so much he could do to help her right now. She would just have to grin and bear it as they say. She couldn’t remember any of her relatives’ adventure stories ending with, “and I busted up my ankle,” type statements. She was sure to be the laughing stock of the family now—again. Another family dinner joke, she thought as she lay beside Cody. She couldn’t believe how royally she had screwed this trip up, but she would admit meeting Ranger Cody was the best part of her trip thus far.
“Get some sleep. You’ll need your strength tomorrow.” Cody’s low rumble of a voice graced her ears. Of course she would need her strength come morning, but she couldn’t sleep. It wasn’t the pain keeping her awake—though that was still shooting through her ankle reminding her of why she didn’t do adventurous things more often. It was the close proximity of one Cody Donovan. He smelled like the fresh scent of the woods and whatever he had cleaned himself up with. He smelled like honey and fresh cut grass and she couldn’t help wondering what his mouth tasted like.
The sun had long since set by the time Cody put out the last glow stick that was by their sleeping bag. It was dark enough for her to angle her head up and taste his lips if she wanted without being seen. She hesitated for one infinitesimal moment before realizing that she didn’t want to wait and if he didn’t want to be kissed then he shouldn’t have held her so tight.
She looked up, her eyes meeting the whites of his eyes. She waited for what seemed like an eternity before stretching just enough to reach his lips with a light, sensuous kiss. One little nibble wasn’t enough and she wanted more. Fortunately, he wanted more too. He dipped his head, pressing his mouth to hers with earnest pressure.
His tongue slowly explored her mouth, tasting every drop, drinking his fill, giving her pleasure and taking more than his share. She wanted him to strip her and take her, but the reality of their present situation seemed to keep them both reserved. This kiss would have to slake their hunger.
He slipped his hand through her hair and pulled her closer, pushing deeper as she pulled closer to him. The throbbing between her legs grew with every kiss, pushing her further into a haze. She fought the moan for as long as she could, but then softly, as his erection grew against her she let out a purr, muzzled by his mouth pressed firmly against hers.
“What’s going on over there?” Stacey stuck her head out of her tent. She had insisted on setting up tent closer to Cody this night and while she couldn’t hear every detail, she was close enough to hear the unmistakable moan of sheer ecstasy that came from Sahara.
Cody pulled away. “Good Lord,” he spoke through gritted teeth. “That woman is a pain in the behind.” His words were barely audible, but the emotion was clear.
“I’m just getting comfortable,” Sahara said. Her voice was still husky from her arousal. She hadn’t masked it, she hadn’t even tried.
“Really, because it sounds like something else.”
Sahara rolled her eyes. Her patience was being tried to the fullest extent and it was near its breaking point.
“Good to know it’s not that because tour guides shouldn’t be fraternizing with the paying customers.” Her voice was loud enough for everybody in the camp to hear. “Who cares?” One of the women had said. She thought maybe it was Georgia.
“We should be sleeping, not talking,” came another reply.
“It’s none of your business.” The last response had definitely come from Shell.
“Well I think it is. We should be able to feel safe.”
“Shut the hell up and go to sleep, Stacey,” Sahara said. Then came murmurs of “wow,” “you go girl,” and “was that Sahara” from across the camp. She didn’t care. Rarely did she curse, but what Stacey was implying was that Cody was being unprofessional and making all the women feel as if he were ready to jump them and quite frankly he wasn’t. Though she didn’t really care if he decided to jump her because this was one man she wanted to mount her and take her completely.
“Well that was sexy as night,” he mumbled before pressing his lips gently against the top of her head. She wrapped her arm around him and pulled closer, pressing her entire body against the length of him and loving every minute.
Chapter Five
F
arley Thorpe ran
his fingers along his graying beard before tweaking his mustache. Luck would have it that he had the perfect lesson for his boys Chris and Jed. “Tomorrow I’m gonna’ teach you boys how to hunt some real game,” Farley grinned showing pristinely kept teeth. He had always said one had to keep himself up and take pride in himself if he planned to be a real man. Despite his rotund belly he was in fairly good shape and could put any mountain man to shame in a survival contest. His father had taught him, and Farley had taught his boys. Now he had the ultimate lesson for them—one he had always planned to teach them. The other stipulation to becoming a real man in his family was to hunt—not just hunt, but to be the best hunter in the world—behind him of course.
“We know how to hunt,” Chris sat cleaning his riffle. They had been in Africa, in the jungles of South America and beyond. Chris could take down any animal given the right equipment and Farley knew his boys didn’t take hunting lightly—it was more than just a sport to them. But what he had to teach them wasn’t the same as what they had already done in the past. This was greater than any game they had hunted before.
“Yeah, Dad. We’re hunting already,” Jed said. Both his blond haired boys reminded him of their mother, bless her dead heart. They were three when Farley’s father taught him to do the kind of hunting he was about to teach them. Had Dedra been loyal to him things could have been different.
“Nope son, that was just preparation. There’s nothing like hunting prey that can think and try to outsmart you. Tomorrow, we’re going after us some hikers.”
“Dad?” Jed looked at him.
“Remember when I told you boys I had to take out somebody who threatened our family?”
“Yeah,” Chris said. “You said it was the only way to save the rest of us.”
“It was, son.” He never told them what happened to their mother, just that she had died. In reality he had hunted her in the woods outside their home. She was going to take his boys. She was going to leave him. So he and his father took her out, blind folded, into the woods and turned her loose. They gave her to the count of fifty before they went after her. She was running so hard, and fast, but she, like the uninformed wilderness inhabitant that she was, couldn’t tell north from south if somebody gave her a compass. It hadn’t taken long to find her running around like a chicken with its head cut off. And when he found her his father had been right by his side. “Take the kill shot, boy;” he had said. Farley remembered that day so well. He remembered it because it was his first human kill. When he pulled the trigger and that bullet sliced through her head he felt so good he wanted to party. Of course he had to dispose of the body, cutting her up and disposing of her in his father’s wood chipper had been easy enough. Telling the boys there mommy had gone away to heaven had been easy too. Oh yeah, getting rid of a woman who had no family, and thanks to him moving her out to the middle of nowhere mountain town, had no friends, was easy.
“Well,” he said. “My father taught me how to hunt like a real man—hunt prey that actually stood a chance of hunting us back instead of defenseless animals,” he chuckled. “I’m going to teach you all the same thing. There be some hikers just arrived on our ridge. What do you think of the new game?”
“How many?”
“Enough to bag a lot of trophies,” he said. “But let’s make it fun. Whichever one of you kills the most takes the bounty—two thousand a head.”
“Sweet,” Chris whistled.
“Winner takes all.”
“What about the runner up?” Jed quipped. “Everybody knows Chris is the better hunter. What do I get for this?”
“The pleasure of becoming a real man,” Farley said. He sighed. “Fine, the loser gets a five thousand dollar participation prize.”
Jed shook his head. “Deal. Five grand can buy me that new gun I want.”
“Oh hell, son,” Farley shook his head. “Why didn’t you tell your old man you wanted a gun? I could have bought that baby for you already.”
“You wanted us to be men of our own. I thought that included gun purchases too.”
Farley shrugged. “For my hunters I’d buy you any equipment you needed. Save your winnings for something else. I’ll buy you the gun when we get back home.”
“Thanks, Dad.”
Farley slapped his son on the shoulder and gave him accolades for his gun purchasing goal. His boys reminded him of himself when he was younger. The blond hair, the nicely lean muscled body and the love of the hunt. Chris had green eyes while Jed had taken after their mother with the light brown eyes, but both boys still had his jaw line, his younger body physique and his skill as a hunter. These were his most prized possessions—his sons were going to carry on his legacy—carry on their family legacy. Tomorrow it would all begin.