Authors: Robin Kaye
Of all people, Toni thought she could trust James. He knew how freaked out she was to be there. He was her best friend—her
only
friend really—and understood how she felt about being left behind. The fact that he’d left her with Hunter didn’t matter. He’d left.
She unlocked her cabin and tossed her bag on the couch on the way to the bedroom. Thinking about the stunt James had pulled had her spitting mad, not to mention embarrassed. Did he think she needed his machinations to get a date? If she had wanted to sleep with Hunter, she could have jumped him in her cabin as easily as his. That way, she wouldn’t have to be trapped with him, she wouldn’t have had to sleep with him, and she wouldn’t have woken up with him either. Of course, she had to admit spending the night at Hunter’s was no hardship. She surely ate better at Hunter’s than she would have at the inn. It was nice to have the privacy, and it wasn’t as if anyone cared who she chose to sleep with.
Toni stripped before rummaging through her drawers, wondering what one wore on a photo shoot not involving water in the middle of the wilderness at the summit of a mountain almost nine thousand feet above sea level. She dragged on a thong—always a safe choice considering she had no idea what she’d be wearing over it, pulled on her black poison skull, button-up sleeveless top with a cute little ruffle around the hem, and searched for something that would work. She held up a red, stretchy, short skirt with rivets along the bottom. Cute, sexy, and still comfortable. Good. Now for the shoes. She took out her favorite ankle boots with bat buckles, and after pulling on a pair of black thigh-high stockings and her skirt she stepped into them and smiled. Toni looked like herself again. Better to handle whatever came her way.
As if on cue, there was a knock on the door. She answered it and found James wearing a sheepish grin.
“You’re on my shit list.”
He pulled her into a hug before holding her at arms-length and looking her up and down. “Don’t tell me you didn’t get lucky with our mountain hottie.”
“That’s completely beside the point. You promised you wouldn’t leave without me, and you did anyway. Some friend you are. You know how I feel about being out here. You practically threw me into a full-blown panic attack.”
“Oh, come now. Hunter was there to comfort you. I’m sorry you were upset, but I can’t say I was disappointed to see you and Hunter practicing your full-frontal snogging.”
“I’m here to do a job, and I don’t need Hunter complicating it.”
James followed her to her bedroom and sat on the bed while she brushed out her hair. “A little complication never hurt anyone, especially when a man looks as good as Hunter. I think you’d want to see him complicate the hell out of your time here. He’s just what the doctor ordered. A woman like you needs to learn to live a little.”
“This from the man who only yesterday lectured me about the difference this trip could make to my career. Now I’m supposed to learn to live a little?” Toni parted her hair in the back and smoothed one side, tilting her head before tying off a pigtail. “I live just fine on my own.”
When Toni tied black skull-and-crossbones ribbons on the pigtails, James shook his head.
She looked at his reflection in the mirror. “But they match my blouse.”
He got up and let out a long-suffering sigh. “Yes they do, but Toni, sometimes less is more. Unless more is an improvement, it’s best to leave well enough alone.”
She untied the bow and tossed the ribbons onto the dresser. “The same can be said about men.”
James turned and looked as if he couldn’t believe what he’d just heard. “Are you telling me that more time with Hunter would just be more?”
“That’s exactly what I’m saying.”
“You know, it’s bad enough you’re lying to me. I just hope you’re not lying to yourself.” Shaking his head, James headed toward the door. “Toni, there’s a whole lot you’ve yet to learn about relationships.”
Before she could ask what exactly he was talking about, he walked out and shut the door behind him. She threw herself on her bed and hugged the pillow to her chest. If James didn’t buy it, she doubted Hunter would. Still, what choice did she have?
***
Hunter leaned against Galena Lodge, reading his copy of Toni’s book with the cover rolled back so no one could see the title. With a pen in his hand he made notes in the margins and kept one eye on Toni while she worked. He couldn’t believe he’d been reduced to reading self-help dating books.
He felt more than heard Trapper come up to him. His brother was as quiet as a mountain lion when approaching its prey. Hunter slipped the book into his backpack and straightened.
“Wanna tell me why you’re not wearing the satisfied grin of a man who spent a sex-filled night with a beautiful woman who seems to have a penchant for handcuffs?”
Hunter didn’t shift his gaze from Toni and Yvette’s conversation. He didn’t need to see the look on Trapper’s face. He could hear it in his voice. “Something’s going on with Toni, and I can’t figure out what. For someone who fades into the woodwork, she’s spent the last six hours surrounded by people.”
“She’s doing her job.”
“Yeah, and avoiding me.” Hunter took the cold bottle of water Trapper offered him. Too bad Trapper didn’t come just bearing water—no, it was liberally sprinkled with advice and lectures. Hunter really hated lectures, and for a guy who never had a relationship last more than seventy-two hours, Trapper gave more relationship advice than Dear Abby and Dr. Ruth put together.
“What do you want her to do? Just stop the photo shoot and come over here where you’re pouting so she can ease your worried mind?”
“I’m not worried, and I’m sure as hell not pouting.” Not exactly. He was confused—not something that happened often—and confusion didn’t sit well with him. He wasn’t the type to play games. He cared about Toni and told her so. As of last night, she said she’d cared about him too. So what the hell was going on now?
Hunter finally caught Toni’s eye. She looked up from her conversation with Yvette and gave him a nod before turning away.
“Son of a bitch. She did not just give me the nod.”
Trapper grabbed his arm. “The nod?”
Hunter shook off his brother and anything he might have said.
Toni closed her eyes and tried not to snap at the Lycra-clad redhead who’d been the fourth person to ask about her and Hunter. Fifth, if you counted James, who was still on Toni’s shit list. She was doing her best not to lose her patience. “Yvette, do you have something you need to ask me about the shoot?”
“No. I just wanted to find out Hunter’s status.”
“Don’t you think he would be a better judge of that than I would?”
“I don’t know. I’ve watched the way he looks at you, and I can’t figure out if he’s undressing you with his eyes, or if he’s going all caveman.”
Visions of Hunter kneeling naked beside her, doing the best caveman impression she’d ever seen, swam through Toni’s mind. Yeah, he could play one hell of a caveman all right. She blinked and tried to focus on Yvette.
“Still, what Hunter thinks isn’t the issue. It’s whether or not you’re receptive to him that matters.”
“Excuse me?” Could Yvette be for real?
Yvette looked at Toni as if she had the IQ of a gnat. “If you’re not interested, Hunter’s ripe for the pickin’, and I do love pickin’ up men like him. Very hot caveman types.”
Toni swallowed the urge to claw the shrew’s eyes out just before Yvette pasted on her most beatific smile—the one reserved for the cameras. “Oh, oh, oh. Look out. Caveman at three o’clock.” She sucked in her flat stomach making it look concave and pushed out her surgically enhanced breasts, displaying them to great advantage, before flipping her hair. Toni wondered if Yvette had any idea of how bad a cliché she’d become. Probably not.
Closing her eyes, Toni rubbed her forehead to ease the tension headache taking hold, wondering what in the world she’d done to deserve this. She’d had about all the crap she was going to take.
As if the sun slid behind a cloud, Toni and Yvette were suddenly standing in a shadow. Since the last she looked there wasn’t a cloud in the sky, chances were good the shadow was man-made, so to speak. She took a deep, calming breath only to catch a whiff of Hunter. The guy always smelled really good but was definitely not at all calming.
“Yvette, would you give me a moment with Toni?”
Yep, definitely man-made. Definitely Hunter.
“Sure. I’ll just be in the lodge if you need anything. Anything at all, Hunter.”
It was all Toni could do not to stick her booted foot out to trip the Lycra’d bimbo. If the shoot had been over, Toni would have. She’d have enjoyed the hell out of it too. After getting a glimpse of Hunter’s angry face, she was tempted to turn tail and follow Yvette. “Are you going to speak, or are you just gonna stand there snarling?”
“I’m not snarling.”
“Fine, whatever.” Toni tried on her best smile for size. She still had to work with him after all. “I have two photographers, models, and the rest of the staff waiting for me. So if there’s something you need to say, now would be a good time to do it.”
“You want to discuss it here?”
“No, I don’t want to discuss it at all, but since you’re fired up about something and stomped all the way over here, I don’t seem to have much of a choice in the matter.”
Hunter looked at the proximity of the others and took her arm. “Come over here.” He tugged her to the trees.
Great. She pulled her arm out of his grasp, not wanting to go any farther. “What is the problem?”
“I was wondering the same thing—you’re the one who just gave me the nod.”
“You want to know what my problem is? Fine. I’m up on the top of a freakin’ mountain at nine thousand feet in The-Middle-of-Nowhere, Idaho, and every female and a good portion of the males have a thing for the man they know I spent the night with. And if that’s not bad enough, every one of them expects me to give them a report on my relationship status, instead of doing my job. They should be thinking about the damn photo shoot and not my sex life or theirs. But no, they’re more interested in who gets you next.”
“What?” If the shocked look on Hunter’s face was an act, he missed his calling.
“You heard me. So forgive me if I’m just a tad put off by the situation.”
“You’re jealous.”
“You wish.” Ooh, that arrow looked like it hit home. Shit. She could really be a bitch sometimes; it just popped out when she least expected it. She took another Hunter-scented, not-so-calming breath, and lightened her tone. “I’m just—” Frustrated, horny, and okay, she’d admit she didn’t like the way everyone stared at him as if he was a slab of meat in the prime aged beef section of the Fairway Market. She definitely didn’t want to go there. “Look Hunter, this thing—you and me, last night—is a complication I don’t need.”
He stepped closer, just a hairsbreadth away—so close, so tempting, so damn sexy. “There’s nothing complicated about it.”
He had that bedroom voice going, all low and gravelly, and her body reacted like Pavlov’s dogs to a ringing bell. Shit.
“All you have to do is kiss me and then get back to work.”
“Kiss you? Are you dense? Hearing impaired? Delusional?”
He smiled that crooked smile that made her want to fan herself. “No, but I know people. One kiss is all it’ll take to keep everyone from wondering what’s going on with us. You’ve been avoiding me like the plague. Just give me a kiss, make it a good one, and everyone will know we’re together. Their questions will be answered, and we can go about our day.”
“But we’re not together. We’re not anything.”
“What?” He took a step closer and bent down a little so they were face to face. “We were something several times last night, not to mention this morning. What happened between then and now?”
“This.” She threw her hands up to encompass the mess of a shoot. “This is what I was afraid of. Everyone’s more interested in watching us than getting their work done.”
Hunter set his hands on his hips. “And you’re doing nothing but giving them more fodder for the gossip mill.”
“Me? I’m not the one who stormed over and took me away from my work. I’m not the one who spent the entire shoot glaring at me from the lodge. No, that was all you. I’m putting my foot down. I can’t do this and do my job effectively. I’m sorry.”
“So that’s it? You’re sorry?”
She looked him in the eye and nodded. “That’s all I’m capable of.”
“That’s bullshit, and you know it. You’re not incapable. You’re scared. You’re using this as an excuse to avoid me just like you’ve spent your life avoiding all the other things that scare you.”
“Am not.”
“Are too. That’s why you avoid Central Park, and that’s why you threw away your toothbrush this morning.”
“How do you know about that?”
“I saw it in the trash, and I certainly didn’t put it there.”
“You know what, Hunter? You can tell yourself whatever you want. If that story makes you feel better—have at it.”
“Toni, it’s normal to be scared. It’s to be expected even. But the toothbrush thing surprised me. I’ve watched you fight your demons since you got here. Until this morning, I never took you for a coward.”
She turned and stalked across the grass toward the lodge. “Yeah, well cowards live to tell the tale. Right now, I’d be happy to survive this trip.”
Chapter 9
Trapper stepped out of the shadows. “That didn’t go well.”
Hunter stuffed his hands in his pockets to keep from punching something or someone, namely his big brother. “Thanks for the recap. I’d never have figured that out on my own.” He kicked a nearby fallen limb and turned back to Trapper. “What the hell were you doing? Spying on me?”
Trapper took off his hat and inspected the hatband. “Believe me. Your love life isn’t all that interesting. Especially now. I just came to make sure you were wearing flame retardant boxers—I haven’t seen a crash and burn like that in a while.” He spun his hat around on his finger and flinched. “She threw away the toothbrush you gave her? Man, that’s harsh.”
“It wasn’t an engagement ring for God’s sake. It was just a damn toothbrush. Don’t you have some model to chat up, or God forbid, some work to do? I’m not paying you to hide in the woods and spy on me.”
“You, little Brother, are not paying me at all. So don’t even go there.”
Hunter stared down Trapper for a few beats until he realized how stupid it was to be pissed off at his brother. He broke eye contact, took off his baseball cap, and beat it against his thigh. He still wanted to punch something—a tree would hurt too damn much, and Trapper didn’t look like he was going to do his buddy a favor and give him an excuse to let off some steam. No. He looked like he was going into lecture mode, which was all fine and good, when Trapper was wearing his judge’s robe and had a captive audience as he lorded over everyone in his courtroom. But they weren’t in court, and Hunter wasn’t in the mood for another lecture.
“What are you gonna do to change her mind?”
Hunter hadn’t expected that. “How does anyone change a woman’s mind—especially a woman as difficult as Toni?”
Trapper set his hat back on his head and adjusted the brim to its usual cocky angle. “I guess all you really have to do is give her a reason to question her decision. Since Momma didn’t raise no fools, it shouldn’t be all that hard to figure out, even for a simple mind like yours.” A slow smile spread across Trapper’s face. “I don’t know about you, but I’ve got a job to do. I have two other siblings and a bunch of models to keep a close eye on.” He turned on the heel of his scuffed cowboy boot and ambled back to the lodge.
Hunter pulled his phone off his belt and called Emilio again. He hadn’t been able to reach him the day before and felt the kid slipping away. “Emilio, it’s Hunter again. Give me a call, and tell me how things are going. I always have my phone on me. Call me anytime. I’d like to see you come out here again. Let’s make a plan next time we talk.” He repeated his number twice then hit the end button. “Damn.”
By the time Hunter looked back at Toni, she was walking toward him. He thought she might be coming back to talk. His mood lifted until he saw the trail map she studied and the group that followed.
Toni stopped at the trail marker and nervously fingered her collar before squaring her shoulders and stepping onto the trail. He couldn’t believe it. In order to avoid him, Toni was going to start the next part of the shoot without him. He was the guide for cryin’ out loud. If she didn’t want to go with him, she could have requested Fisher, Trapper, or Karma. But since she didn’t, Hunter really had no choice but to make sure she and the crew got to where they were going safely.
He pulled the water bottle from his pack, took a long drink, wiped his mouth on the back of his hand, and headed toward the trail. He stayed behind her, not wanting to give Toni an excuse to send him packing. He’d let her go on thinking she was without a guide, but he’d do his job and keep her and everyone else safe.
Hunter followed and worked on a game plan to show Toni she was all wrong about them. The only strategy he came up with was to do his job and make sure Toni could do hers. Close proximity wouldn’t hurt either. He just had to show her he was more of an asset than a complication.
***
Toni looked from the little blue line representing a stream on the map to the roaring torrent of water before her and couldn’t believe her luck. The line sure didn’t look like an accurate representation of that raging waterway. How was she supposed to get her crew and all the equipment across that?
The rest of the group formed a semicircle, all probably thinking the same thing—she should have asked Hunter or one of the River Runners to guide them. This was definitely not her brightest move. She could practically read their minds. She sucked, and Hunter would know what to do, or better yet, would have known the creek was too big to cross.
They all stared at the water with such intensity it was as if they believed if they concentrated hard enough, a bridge would suddenly appear. She wished.
Toni looked from the stream to the map and back again, hoping there was another trail coming from somewhere accessible which would give them a less arduous path to their destination. She didn’t see one. The only thing she was sure of was she had to find a way to cross it to get to the spot on the map Bianca had marked with an
X
—the place Bianca described in her extensive notes as the perfect site for the rest of the photo shoot.
A hand came out of nowhere, reaching across her right shoulder from behind. She screamed, jumped, and spun around, losing her balance just as she recognized Hunter. He grabbed her arm, keeping her from tumbling into the raging creek.
“What are you trying to do, give me a freakin’ heart attack?” She took a swing at him. Unfortunately, Hunter reacted like he’d been a prizefighter in a past life, easily avoiding contact. When she didn’t connect, Toni found herself spinning again. Arms flailing, she flew backward toward the water. She was going in. She was going to be swept downstream like those people on the news who do stupid things like playing in storm drains during a Nor’easter.
Hunter grabbed her around the waist, pulling her against his chest, and trapped her arms at her sides. “Calm down, will ya?” He held her fast, whispering in her ear.
“You just scared me into next week, and you’re telling me to calm down? What do you do, spend all your time thinking up ways to torture me?” She struggled against Hunter’s hold.
He didn’t release her until he had dragged her well away from the creek, which was just fine by her. He seemed to swallow back a few responses. One look in his eyes, and she knew he was thinking of all the ways he’d tortured her just that morning and left her wanting more. Damn him. She tried to regret their recent sexual acrobatics. It was an epic failure. Still, he didn’t need to know that.
“I didn’t mean to scare you. I was just trying to show you there might be a place we could cross the creek about a hundred yards up.” He took the crumbled map from her shaking hands and pointed it out. “Here, where this other trail crosses the stream. If that’s the trail I remember, there’s a fallen tree just beyond it that’s large enough to walk over, even carrying bikes and equipment. Do you want to wait here while I go and check it out?”
Stay here and face the humiliation of having been saved twice by a river jockey? Not happening. Toni shook her head. “No, I want to see it for myself. Everyone else, wait here. I’ll be right back.” She turned without waiting for a response and followed the stream.
Hunter cleared his throat.
Toni wanted to hit him again, and Lord knew, except for Hunter, she’d never hit anyone in her life. She wasn’t a violent person. What was it about him that brought out the worst in her? “What is it now?”
“Come and look at the map.”
He was so damn cool and collected. He spoke to her like someone might to an unruly kindergartner, and it didn’t set well. She blew the bangs out of her eyes and stomped back to him, her arms wrapped around herself to keep from hitting him again and losing what was left of her temper.
He stood beside her. “The lodge is here.” He pointed to a spot on the map. “We’re on this trail.” He followed the dashed, black line to the blasted blue line. “This is the stream.” His finger stopped its movement. “The place I mentioned is up here.” He ran his finger along the stream to another trail.
“Oh.” She’d been going in the wrong direction. He could have easily taken the opportunity to make an even bigger fool of her than she had herself, which was saying something. She calmly took the map, and avoiding everyone’s eyes, walked toward the possible fallen tree. When she didn’t hear Hunter, she turned and caught him staring at her with a weird look on his face. She didn’t even want to guess what he was thinking. “Are you coming?”
“I’m right behind you.” He shouldered his pack and followed her.
When they were out of sight of the rest of the group, Toni turned to face him, careful to anchor her hands on her hips to keep them from shaking. He walked so silently through the woods, he was like a ghost—she’d had to look back for him a few times to assure herself he hadn’t vanished into thin air.
She’d been terrified when she took the group away from the lodge and led them into the wilderness. She repeated the mantra, “I’m not alone. I have a map. I’m not lost.” She also replayed the conversation she’d had with James again and again about how important this opportunity was for her. Still, all of that hadn’t stopped the tentacles of terror from creeping over her. By the time she’d hit the stream, she’d been about a minute from panicking—her control had been slipping. Then Hunter had to go and scare the crap out of her.
Sure, she’d overreacted, but ever since she’d realized he was beside her, the terror vanished. Okay, well, maybe not when she thought she was going to be swept away by the rushing stream, but even then she’d had a feeling Hunter would have saved her. He was always telling her he hadn’t lost a client yet—but he hadn’t mentioned how many he’d bedded.
Wow, that thought came out of nowhere.
Hunter closed the distance between them slowly, looking as if he were studying her again. “Do you need to rest? I brought water. You need to keep hydrated.” He crouched down and dug through his ever-present backpack.
Who was she kidding? He probably “made love” to plenty of desperate, willing women. After all, what else was there to do here at night? She wasn’t stupid. She’d seen Yvette and the rest of the models throwing themselves at him.
“Do you want me to take the lead?”
She blinked, wondering what he was talking about. Visions of last night and the way he took the lead in bed sent a tremor through her.
“You should really bring along a sweatshirt. It can get cool in the shade.”
“What?”
“You look cold.”
“Oh no, I’m fine.” She wasn’t cold—she was hot. “I just…” Why had she stopped? She looked down at herself, her hands anchored to her hips, her stockings covered with runs. Her favorite boots were a mess, dusty, with streaks of caked on dirt thanks to almost falling into the stream—twice.
Hunter opened a bottle of water and handed it to her. “Truce?”
“I’m not fighting with you.”
The crooked smile formed on his mouth. “Well, you haven’t taken a swing at me for about five minutes. I guess that’s a good sign, huh?”
“If you hadn’t snuck up from behind me like a ghost and scared the life out of me, I wouldn’t have felt the need to protect myself.”
“First of all, you never need protection from me, Toni. I’d never hurt you.”
He looked so sincere. But then people always judged themselves by their intentions; they judged others by their actions. Unfortunately, that thought did nothing but call into question her actions, something she didn’t want to think about at the moment.
“How much farther do we need to go?”
“You need to drink about half that water, and I’ll tell you.”
She rolled her eyes and took a drink—not because he told her to, just because she was thirsty.
“With the elevation and the dry climate, you have to drink a lot more than you do at home. We only have about fifteen percent humidity here. What’s the average in New York?”
“In the summer? About ninety percent. Sometimes ninety-nine.”
He shook his head. “It’s a wonder you have to drink at all. Here, you don’t feel as if you even sweat, it evaporates so fast. You really need to pound the water, babe. Dehydration can lead to some serious shit. And the last thing I want is my brother examining you.”
“Don’t call me
babe
. I’m not your girlfriend.”
“Yeah, I got that loud and clear.”
“Then why did you follow me?”
“Well, there’s certainly nothing wrong with your self-esteem, is there? I’m not following you. I’m doing my job. If you hadn’t left for the second part of the shoot without a River Runners employee, I, or one of the others, wouldn’t have had to follow you. We would have been guiding you.”
She blew out a breath and looked up at him. “Okay, I admit that wasn’t my brightest move.”
“It also goes against our contract. Bianca hired River Runners for a reason—to keep you safe and on schedule. Whatever happens between you and me is a completely separate issue. It has absolutely nothing to do with our work here. Like it or not, we’d both be a lot more successful if we figure out a way to work together.”
“I don’t have a problem working with you.”
“Good. Because if this job goes well, Bianca might use River Runners again. And with what she pays, it puts me just that much closer to my goal.”
Hunter took the half-empty water bottle from her, twisted the cap on, and stuffed it into a mesh pocket before taking the lead.
He mentions a mysterious goal and then walks away. What was up with that? “Goal?” Toni followed trying not to notice how great his butt and legs looked in those khaki shorts. “You want more than this?” She held out her arms, taking in the whole forest. “Guiding city slickers through the woods and down rivers.” Probably all the while sharing his sleeping bag with willing females—a dream come true for guys like Hunter. “I guess it feeds your need to control everyone and everything.”
Hunter stopped midstride, and the look he gave her made her wonder if she’d finally pushed the man too far.
“I don’t control people. I only control myself. Even when gorgeous Goth women and young gang members do everything within their power to make me lose it.”