by Karen Anders
For the first time in his life, Austin took and wished for a lifetime with her, so that he could experience this sizzling contact with her every day. Wake up to her every day. But time for them was fleeting, and soon he would have to let her go.
She shuddered as his lips claimed hers, her mouth scalding against his. Her hand was in his hair and he closed his eyes against the wonderful feel of her fingers against the nape of his neck. It had been too long since he’d been touched like this, his responsibilities always overshadowing his needs and wants. His hunger was poised on a keen edge, the hold on his control tenuous at best.
When he raised his head, Maxie said, “Don’t let me go. I’ll fall.”
“I’m already falling,” he said huskily, and her eyes opened to look at him. She was a startling beauty with delicate features, her golden skin lovely, exquisite cheekbones and dark-gold-tipped lashes. She was gilt, sunshine, and he was finding it hard to resist her, just like he’d worried he would.
The desire in him roared and raged when he knew he had to let go of Maxie to keep his distance and his sanity intact.
“No,” she pleaded, but his arms retreated and he set her aside, ignoring the smoldering desire in her eyes.
He knew that once he got a hold on Maxie, he wouldn’t want to let her go. He’d experienced the searing pain of betrayal before—from his father, who’d died and left him to an uncaring and sneering stepfather—from his mother, too weak to stand up for him—from a woman he’d thought would be there for him, a woman who, like Maxie, was on the run and desperate to stay that way. Ready to do anything to get away from him.
He had to do everything in his power to keep Maxie in his custody, turn her in to the authorities in Sedona, and collect his bounty. It wasn’t just about his sister anymore and the money he needed to send her to France. This was about the dream that had been put on hold, since he’d promised to look after his mother, sister and grandmother. It’s what a real cop would do. His duty was tied up with needing to do what his father would have done. He wouldn’t have shirked his responsibilities. He wouldn’t have been less than what he was. Even though his father was dead and buried, Austin couldn’t shake the instinct to be like him. In a sense it helped to keep him alive.
He bent down and picked up the towel. He gently placed it around her and said, “Lift your arms.” She obeyed and he pulled it tight and tucked in the end. His hands shook as he backed away, his heart aching with each step he took.
WHEN THE DOOR closed, Maxie felt as if she’d been drenched with cold water. He was stopping? He obviously wanted her. What could make a man turn away from a woman he wanted—a woman that was so obviously eager for his touch? Did he believe that she would try to trick him? Did he think this was a ploy to get away?
At first, she felt overconfident and smart-alecky when she’d dropped the towel to prove her point. But her plan backfired when she saw the look on Austin’s face. When he’d groaned and touched her, Maxie had lost all her self-assurance.
Now she was aching and aroused and he’d so easily let her go. She wanted him. They should be entwined and hot and sweaty by now. She went to the door and threw it open. “It wasn’t some kind of trick, Austin. I truly had nothing to do with that snake. What happened afterwards was not by design.”
“I don’t deny that I want you, but I won’t do it at the expense of my honor. Whether it was by design or not, I can’t trust you.”
She walked up to him. With need coiling inside her, she slid her fingertips around his well-defined pectoral muscles and along the strong ridges delineating his abdomen.
There was something in his eyes, something that threatened to rip free. She wanted it.
As she moved closer to him, Austin boxed her in with his thick, sinewy arms, causing his biceps to flex and bulge. The quick-as-lightning movement halted Maxie abruptly, causing her to wobble. She caught herself by flattening her hands against the sleek expanse of his steel-muscled chest, her fingertips grazing and lying just below his tightening nipples. The sensation was like pressing against a rock-steady granite wall. Pure unadulterated lust stabbed at her, sending prickling heat skipping across her skin.
“Even if I were to enter you fast and hard like I want to, it’s not going to change a thing. I’m still bringing you in.”
She should be more worried about what will happen if he made good on his threat and got her to Sedona. She should be intimidated to her very soul, but all she wanted to do was get closer to him. It was like a fascination for her—all that prowling energy trapped inside, yearning to get out. There was a savage edge to him hidden in the lethal lines of his body, shadowed in his bright eyes. He was no danger to her, though. She knew it as well as she knew her own name. The caged warrior would stay caged until she set him free. She shivered, thinking about all that energy unleashed.
“Right. The paycheck. I forgot myself there for a minute, but you didn’t did you?”
“Go take a shower now. It’s safe.”
He meant she was safe from him. Well, she didn’t want to be safe. She wanted to be wild and reckless. She dropped her hands. “What is it that you’re afraid of? Making a commitment? Are you afraid that I’ll hold sex over you?”
“Won’t you, Maxie? Won’t you use any means to get away from me?” he asked, his tone strained.
“Yes, I would. I can’t deny it, but it doesn’t mean that I don’t have unguarded…moments when I wish we were just a woman and a man.”
There was something in his eyes, hidden in the desire. Something she almost missed. It was regret. “It’s more than that. More than just taking me back.”
“I have to do my duty. It’s what my dad would do. I can’t succumb to temptation. There can’t be any indecision on my part.”
“Indecision? Are you having second thoughts about bringing me in?” Just when she thought she had him figured out, he changed the rules. It touched her that he wanted to be like the father he had lost. Integrity wasn’t something she thought she’d find in a bounty hunter, but she had to admit to herself that Austin was so much more than that. If he were anything less, it would be easy for her.
“Regardless of what you think, Maxie. I’m not insensitive to your situation, but I have no choice in the matter. Getting physical with you would just confuse an already bad situation. I have one act in this whole mess. To take you back.”
Torn between the tenderness she felt for him and the intense fear that he would follow through with his threat, she couldn’t argue the point with him. He was right. Having sex with him would complicate the matter. It annoyed her that he would have the steely resolve to carry out his convictions, but she couldn’t possibly fault him. In fact, she felt her admiration for him go up a notch.
In the bathroom, she sagged against the sink, her knees weak with thwarted desire. She cursed him for having such amazing control. The tiny rational part of her mind told her that she had dodged a bullet, but the huge demon part of her wanted to push him hard to see how much effort it would take for him to lose it. She was sure Austin was ninety-nine-point-nine percent red-blooded male and only point-one percent saint. She was one hundred percent sure she wanted that hot-blooded male. With a frustrated sigh, she turned on the water. The heated spray loosened her tense muscles. Almost like hot, hard-stroking fingers. She closed her eyes and relived the moment when he’d touched her nipple. Pinpricks of heat traveled over her body down to her mound. Damn the man for having such incredible restraint. She turned off the spray and stepped from the bathtub.
She toweled off, went to her bag and rummaged around inside. All she had were tank tops, shorts and one pair of jeans. The jeans were out because of the heat. She chose a pink tank top and a matching pair of bicycle shorts.
When she came out of the bathroom, Austin was fully dressed.
“I’m starving,” she said.
“When I checked into the Inn, the receptionist said they serve a buffet breakfast.” She preceded him out the door and waited patiently while he s
towed their bags in the car. Then they walked the short way to the main part of the hotel. He pulled out his cell phone and dialed a number. It was obvious he was talking to his sister and the way his features softened made Maxie’s heart roll over. A tender feeling she pushed down because it was something she didn’t want to feel, not if she was going to escape him anytime soon.
The waitress sauntered over. She was a tall blonde with very sensual features. She gazed at Austin with interest. Maxie felt her hackles rising.
Austin didn’t even notice. He kept on talking on the phone. The waitress carefully placed the menu in front of him and the other one in front of Maxie.
Austin ended the call and the waitress smiled at him and he’d have to be blind to miss the sultry invitation.
“Can I get you something to drink?” she purred.
“OJ.” He looked at Maxie.
“Just coffee for me.”
“I’ll give you a moment to look at the menus, then I’ll be back….”
“We’ll just take the buffet,” Austin said, handing her back the menus.
“I’ll be right back with your juice and coffee.” She turned and left after giving Austin another appreciative look. Maxie’s eyes followed the woman until she disappeared into the kitchen.
With his devastating good looks, women must constantly look at him, and her close proximity to him now was distracting her.
There were times when she knew he watched her, intently, his eyes glittering with heat. She wondered what it would be like to have him look at her that way for the rest of her life. Who was she kidding? It was impossible. Her situation was dire, complicated and terrifying. Besides, after he brought her back to Sedona and collected his bounty, he would be out of her life. She would face federal charges and with the evidence they had, she would be convicted. She didn’t have any spare cash to hire a good lawyer and that would leave her with legal aid. Although her parents had money to burn, she’d rot in jail before she called them again, after being rejected the first time.
Suddenly, she felt the need to get away from him. Distraction was one thing, but getting jealous over a waitress was something else entirely. “I have to go to the bathroom.”
“Leave your purse. Don’t try anything, blondie. I’m not in the mood.”
The bathroom had no escape routes. She figured he’d somehow already checked it out, and that was why he was so complacent. She felt dejected. She couldn’t possibly get out the door without him noticing, unless she caused a scene.
Resigned, she left the bathroom and was greeted with the waitress conversing easily with Austin. The anger washed over her in hot waves, igniting her blood deeper and darker than was warranted. She tried to push it back and gritted her teeth. She knew why. She wanted to be able to converse with him in that easy way. She wanted to have a chance at a normal relationship with him. She pushed that thought away. The only place she was headed was jail and he was going to collect money for her after taking her there. There was nothing easy about that at all.
As she walked back, their waitress left just as another one passed their table carrying a large tray of food. She almost lost control. But with lightning speed, Austin was there, steadying the tray until she could gain control of it. The harried waitress turned her face up to his and thanked him for his help. She went on her way and Austin sat down. He stood up when Maxie approached the table and didn’t sit until she did. She gave him an off-center smile.
“You have a chivalrous streak in you when it comes to women, don’t you?”
The glance he shot her was abruptly wary. “Chivalry and women,” he repeated, careful to leave all inflection out of his voice.
Maxie gave him a tender smile, for he clearly didn’t want her to reflect on his character at all. Did he worry she might find a weakness she could manipulate? “Then why did you block the chair at the bar?”
“I told you I don’t want my bounty damaged.”
“If that were the case, why did you help that little old lady in Cimarron? And just now, you saved that waitress from losing all that food.”
He shrugged and took a long gulp of his orange juice. “Just because I help out when needed, doesn’t make me some kind of knight.”
Maxie put her hands in the air and sat back, “Far be it for me to point out any good qualities you have, Austin.”
She added cream to her coffee and took a cautious sip. “After all, you are the guy throwing a monkey wrench in all my plans.”
“So you admit you have plans.”
“I had to have plans. Innocent people who are being framed and then railroaded by the cops and the FBI need to watch out for themselves.”
“It would be easier for you if you turned over the money.”
“I don’t have it. If I did, don’t you think I would have skipped the country by now? Or at least bribed you with a portion of it?”
“I don’t know your plans, Maxie. You could have any number of contingency strategies up your sleeve. I hope bribery isn’t one of them. It won’t work.”
“I only have one hope. I have to stay away long enough for Jake to find out, through electronic means, who embezzled that money. When he has a name, and evidence, then I can return and clear my name.”
“So who is this Jake guy? Someone else you’ve duped.”
“No. He’s a college friend who cares about what happens to me.”
It was obvious from his expression that he was skeptical. “You don’t believe that someone could have concern for me?”
“Maxie, with your face and body, it would surprise me that all a guy was interested in was concern for you.”
“Jake has no interest in me romantically. I think he’s sweet on my sister.”
“Good for him.”
“Dorrie has sworn off men. She doesn’t trust them very much since the last guy she was involved with broke her heart.”
“Not all guys are bad.”
“I didn’t say they were. I said Dorrie thinks that, not me. I happen to think most guys are pretty decent.”
“Let’s get to that buffet and then we’re out of here.”
She rose when he did, but she grabbed his forearm. “Austin if you take me back, I could lose everything. I can’t let my sister down. Please.”
“Blondie,” he said, covering her hand in a gesture that startled her. “I told you why I couldn’t. I haven’t changed my mind and I won’t.”
Maxie sighed and preceded him to the buffet line. What she needed was a miracle. An honest to God miracle.
“DAMN.”
Maxie looked over at him as he peered at the dashboard. After they finished their breakfast, Austin had wasted no time in getting her to the car, but for some reason he hadn’t bothered with the handcuffs. Now, he was looking dead ahead and swearing. “What’s wrong?”
“The oil light is on again.”
“Is that a problem?”
“It is if I don’t want to break down in the middle of nowhere down the road. We still have about eight hours before we pull into Sedona. I even had this checked before I left and on my second trip to Mesa Roja. One mechanic said it was a faulty light, and the other couldn’t find anything wrong.”
“What are you going to do?”
“Go to a garage.”
Maxie felt a glimmer of hope blossom inside her. Maybe, just maybe she was getting a second chance and this was the miracle she needed.
It didn’t take more than ten minutes to find a garage and another ten to find out that Austin now had a serious oil leak on his hands that wasn’t detected in Sedona or Raton. She didn’t understand all the mechanical mumbo jumbo, but it was obvious to her that it was serious enough to keep them in Albuquerque overnight. She wanted to crow her delight to the heavens. It would give her time to find an escape route. There was a modest, one-story motel across the street from the garage, constructed of stone and adobe with a pitched roof. Austin grabbed their bags out of the car and took her wrist as they crossed the four-lane highway.
>
After checking in, they got the key to the room. Maxie rubbed absently at her wrist as they entered the medium-size room with clean lines and a comfortable-looking bed. Outside the window was a small park with a pool. People were around it, enjoying a cooling swim.
Austin threw the bags on the bed. Maxie went to her bag and pulled out the lotion. Suddenly he was there, hovering over her.
He looked at her wrists and then at the lotion, his eyes dark and intent, his jaw tightening. Just like that her knees grew weak, and it was all she could do to keep from losing her equilibrium, and letting sensation sluice over her with a poignant richness, letting herself get lost.
He took her wrists in his hands and studied them. With a soft curse, he took the bottle from her. His big hands were gentle as he poured lotion into his palm and applied it to her wrist with soft strokes. His touch set off a new surge of weakness and she closed her eyes, overwhelmed by the pulsing need that made her heart pound and her lungs seize.
He was quite the man of contrast. He said he’d gone after murderers and she bet other dangerous people, yet his big hands were so soothing and tender. She hoped he had some means to protect himself. Why that mattered to her at this moment she couldn’t understand.
“Do you have a gun?”
His head came up and he frowned. “Why?”
“You said you’d gone after murderers. I bet there’ve been other dangerous types, too. Aren’t bail enforcers allowed to use guns?”
“Yes, in most states.”
“In Arizona?”
“Yes. I carry a gun, but I don’t like using it. If you start off with violence in catching a skip, then where do you go from there?”
“Yeah, I guess they don’t go for the ‘bring ’em back dead or alive’ concept anymore.”
“No. They frown on dead. No one wins then. I like to rely on my street smarts and intuition. Bounty hunting is just really common sense.”
“In what way?”
“There are a lot of reasons wanted people run. First and foremost, they don’t want to go to jail. Some run because they’re afraid, and others because they’re trying to hide from other charges. Most think they can get away with it. I always go to family first. It’s a given that when people are threatened, they’ll seek their family’s help.”