by Cindy Stark
Love?
"And it's obvious you love him, too." She tilted her head, studying Ariana's face. "Don't you?"
"I do." She did…and that thought didn't sit well with her. None of the scenarios she'd imagined ended well for her or him if they fell in love.
"See? It's all good." She arrowed down on the iPod. "You might find yourself worrying about acclimating to a small town after being in a big city, because really what could be smaller than Aspen, but I think you'll find you love it. The people are just so wonderful."
Ariana smiled. "I love what I've seen so far."
"Do you work? I have a background in marketing, but I've made it work for me here, too. I've helped most of the local businesses, and I'm expanding into the surrounding areas. Plus, I've found a few clients online. With all of the tools at our disposal, we can do so much more from a remote location."
Ariana laughed. "You have this all figured out, don't you?"
"I do. When Luke asked me to stay, I knew I wouldn't be happy just sitting home, so yeah, I worked some things out." She grinned.
"I have degrees in education and mathematics, but I haven't really put them to use yet."
Lily raised interested brows. "Look at you go, girl. I'm impressed. I know they're searching for two new teachers at the high school to replace some retirees. Maybe you'd be interested in teaching there."
If only. "You know, I believe I would enjoy teaching high school. Some people find older kids to be difficult, but I think I'd like challenging their minds in fun and interesting ways." When she spoke to Quinn again, she'd add that to her list of possibilities for her new identity.
"Good. Talk to Milo. He's good friends with the principal there, and he could tell you how to apply and maybe put in a good word."
She nodded, a twinge of sadness pinging inside her. If she were lucky, she would be able to teach kids, but it would never be in this county.
Lily plugged the iPod into a set of speakers and suddenly the sounds of a rocking guitar filled the night air. A sexy country voice followed.
"Jason," Lily said with a smile as she moved her shoulders to the beat. "Mmm…"
"I love this song," Jen said as she joined them. She started dancing to the music, and Lily jumped off the tailgate and followed her lead.
Jen motioned to her. "C'mon, girl. Put that bottle down and get over here."
"Come on," Lily coaxed as she twirled in a circle.
What the hell. She would only live once, and no one knew for how long. She slid off the tailgate, and Lily grabbed her hand, pulling her into a dance.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Milo took a hearty swallow of his third beer. The bitter liquid chilled his throat, and he hoped it would cool the rest of him. A slight buzz cruised through his veins, calming his mind and easing the tension that had been an inescapable part of his life since he'd met Ariana. Normally, he wouldn't drink while on the job, but Ariana was safe here, and his doctor had finally cleared him to consume alcohol again.
God knew he needed the temporary distraction and a chance to let off a little steam. Between the fire and Ariana moving her sexy body to the beat of the music, he'd overheated and fried his brain. He leaned back in his chair, eyeing her over the flickering flames. She laughed as Lily tried to teach her a dance step. He remembered when he'd taught Lily how to two-step back before she'd hooked up with Luke, and now she was teaching Ariana.
Small world.
It made him happy to know the two girls had hit it off. The sound of Ariana's laughter was a balm to his restless spirit. She'd been through a lot recently, and she needed this chance to unwind as well.
Luke turned a log in the fire before sinking into the chair Ariana had vacated a while ago. "I like her."
Milo snorted. "Glad you approve."
"Not that you care. I can't believe you went to Vegas and came home with a wife, and didn't tell any of us. That is not like you at all. Bet your mom is ticked." His beer hissed as he twisted off the cap and tossed it into the fire.
"Yeah. She wasn't too happy." He shook his head wondering why he'd ever thought it was a good idea to keep his mom out of the loop. He'd done it to protect Ariana, but man, had that backfired.
The sound of raucous feminine laughter stole his attention. Lily stood inches from Jen's body, shimming her way down and back up in a series of sexy moves. When she stood, all three women laughed again. No doubt the beer had loosened their inhibitions, but they were having a great time.
"You try it," Lily persuaded Ariana.
Ariana took a long draw on her beer before setting it on the tailgate. She moved in close to Lily. With slow, fluid movements, she gyrated her hips to the tempo. Twisting her hands in sensual moves, she alternated between caressing her own body, tugging her t-shirt up to expose her stomach, and drawing invisible patterns in the air. Good God almighty. He tried to swallow past the dry knot in his throat.
Ariana descended toward the ground and then rocked her way back up. She looked expectantly at her companions who seemed to pause in surprise before they all started laughing again.
"Woo, Anna! You've got some sweet moves." Jen held out her bottle, waiting for the other two to claim theirs and make a toast.
Luke jumped out of his chair. "I'll be damned if I'm going to sit here while my woman's making moves like that." His beer tipped over in the dirt as he walked away.
"Damn," Milo whispered under his breath. Scott apparently had the same thought as Luke and left his conversation with Jerry to dance with Jen.
Ariana leaned on the tailgate, laughing as the men joined in. Lily and Jen practiced their moves on the guys. Luke tried to mimic them, but fell on his ass, making the crowd laugh. Scott was apparently the smart one and didn't waste any time pulling Jen into his arms.
Milo glanced at the other couples still sitting on the sidelines, jerking his gaze back to Ariana when he realized Sierra had him in her sights. He couldn't have her thinking there was trouble in paradise. For the moment, all of his friends needed to fully believe he and Ariana were in love. He'd deal with how to explain the break-up later on.
Speaking of love, he'd better get his ass in gear because now he had Scott alternating between glancing at Ariana and giving him a what-the-fuck look.
If Scott was the intelligent one for claiming his woman, and Luke was the clumsy one who'd still get his wife, what did that make him? The jackass who left his girl sitting alone watching the others.
Yeah. Not good.
He stood, his movement attracting Ariana's attention. There was no mistaking the intense desire burning in her eyes as she watched him approach, and he couldn't deny that her expression made him ache to hold her. With her, it was one tricky situation after another. He held out a hand. "Care to dance?"
She raised a brow as though questioning his intentions before she slid her fingers across his palm. Damn if Quinn hadn't put them in an impossible spot. Of course, there was no way Quinn could have predicted this insane attraction between him and Ariana.
He pulled her into his embrace the way a good husband would, ignoring his senses that fired in rapid succession. It was hard to discount the satisfying way her body molded perfectly against him, so he'd have to find a way to disconnect his attraction from his actions.
If he were still with the marshals, protocol would require he insist to be reassigned. Something he should have done three years ago. Not that he'd been physically attracted to Jane, at least not like he was with Ariana, but he'd come to really care for her, which had kept him from making unemotional decisions. Deep down, he knew it had been her choices which had ended her life, but that didn't erase his contributions to her death. If he had it to do over, she'd be alive today. Now, here he was in another compromised situation with absolutely no way out. He couldn't act on his feelings, but he couldn't leave her, either.
"You have some impressive moves there."
Amused laughter spilled from her as they slow-danced to the music. "My college roommate and I spent
hours watching music videos, trying to learn the dancer's moves. That one is a little risqué, but I think Lily and Jen liked it."
He snorted. "Forget the girls. I liked it."
"I didn't realize you were paying that much attention." She pulled from him ever so slightly, the rocking of her hips and shoulders growing more pronounced as a flash of naughtiness lit her eyes. If they had been alone, he would have stopped her before she could take it further. But with all his unsuspecting friends around, he was helpless to do anything but watch.
Her gaze never left his as she danced her way down his body, her fingers sliding from his neck and trailing across his chest. When they dipped dangerously low, she smiled, and slowly made her way back up.
He leaned close to her ear, ignoring the enticing scent of her hair and the way the breeze tickled the soft strands against his skin. "Oh, darlin'. You like to test me."
"I do." She turned her back, leaning into him. He rested his hands on her hips as she gyrated against him in one sexy move after another.
He couldn't let her continue. He was already rock hard, and each move she made stole more blood from his brain.
In a minute, he wouldn't be thinking at all. In a desperate attempt to regain control of the situation, he twisted her in his arms.
"Sorry. I don't mean to keep encouraging you like that. Flirting is a bad habit of mine, made worse by beer and a pretty woman."
"Don't worry. I'm on to your seductive ways." She traced a finger along his jawline and over his bottom lip.
He swallowed hard. "Ariana," he whispered in a warning tone.
She tugged his head to her. "Anna," she whispered back. She met his gaze, and he knew he was in deep shit. Wanting and need burned as bright in her eyes as it did inside him. Her lips were inches from his, and it didn't take her long to close the distance. He should move. He should pull away, but he didn't.
Her slick, glossed-lips slid against his, and he was lost. He crushed her to him, her soft breasts pressing into his chest. A slight hint of cherry tickled his tongue as he slipped inside her mouth.
She matched the passion of his kiss. The feel of her fingers slipping beneath his shirt, her nails digging into the flesh of his back nearly drove him insane. He slid a hand along the curve of her ass and hauled her to him.
A hard punch to his right arm broke them apart.
"Get a room, ya horny bastard." Scott laughed. "I recognize you're newlyweds and all, but if you keep up that shit, you're going to get everyone all fired up, and we'll be having us an orgy around the fire."
Milo glanced at the group, astounded at how easily he'd lost sight of his goal to remain unaffected. Apparently, everyone had stopped dancing and talking to catch the Milo and Ariana show. Everyone but Sierra. He laughed to cover his embarrassment. "Sorry guys." He shrugged and glanced at Ariana who didn't seem sorry at all. She widened her eyes and bit her bottom lip. He could sense the laugh ready to burst from her lips. The beer she'd consumed had obviously loosened her inhibitions more than his.
He grabbed her hand. "We'll just take a walk," he told the group. "To cool off, you know?"
"Uh-huh," Scott replied. "You do that."
* * *
Ariana allowed Milo to pull her along as he made his way past the vehicles, closer to the pond, away from the flickering flames. There was no doubt everyone expected he'd take her somewhere private and have his way with her. He wouldn't of course, but she did wonder where they were going.
The chill in the air was more noticeable away from the fire. The breeze had grown stronger, but it barely tempered her heated skin. She'd known she and Milo had dipped their toes in dangerous waters, but at the moment, she was drunk enough she didn't care. Flirting and dancing with Milo was like nectar to her love-starved soul.
When there was nothing but silence and darkness surrounding them, he dropped her hand and rounded on her. "I'm sorry, Ariana. I'm totally messing this up. People are now aware of your existence, and you're being forced to live a lie, even if it is only temporary. I've created a disaster, and the more I try to fix my screw ups, the worse this gets." He leaned against an aspen, the moonlight shadowing the contours of his tortured expression. The depth of his concern surprised her.
"Milo." She stepped forward into his personal space, her footsteps the slightest bit wobbly.
He reached out to steady her. "We should keep our distance."
She laughed. "Are you afraid I'm going to attack you in the wilderness?" She took another step, and he put a hand up between them. She took it, pressing it between both of her hands before she wrapped her fingers around it and held it to her breast.
"Ariana," he warned.
"It's okay, Milo."
"It's not."
She opened his palm and pressed it against her wildly beating heart. "Can you feel that?"
"Ariana."
"It means I'm alive."
"It means you're drunk, and we're both going to regret anything that we let happen tonight."
"No," she said with plenty of conviction. "It means no matter what you do, there are no guarantees that either of us will have a tomorrow. Right now, we're alive, and this was turning into the perfect evening. When was the last time you relaxed and laughed like that?"
He pulled his hand away. "I don't relax. Ever. Not when someone's life is at stake."
"Seriously." She pushed against his chest. "You are wound so tight I'm surprised you haven't had a heart attack."
He stood his ground, his gaze boring into hers. She sensed he was on the verge of coming uncorked, and she was just drunk enough she didn't care.
"You've got your life all buttoned up perfectly." She walked her fingers up his abdomen. "You're the hometown hero, with nerves of steel. You tease the ladies, but you'll never commit to one of them. On the surface, you're Mr. Perfect, but deep down, you're the one that's truly messed up."
Several seconds ticked by with nothing but their breathing and the sound of crickets to fill the void. The intensity of his stare shot a frazzled shiver straight to her core. Still, he didn't break.
She heaved out a frustrated sigh and stepped back. "And I thought my life was a disaster." She turned to head back to camp.
"The last time I relaxed while protecting someone, she died, Ariana. Did you hear that? She died." His voice cracked as he said the last word.
She stopped and turned. If she'd thought he'd looked tortured before, his expression was ten times worse now. The pained look on his face broke her heart. "Milo…" He didn't stop her this time when she got close to him. She lifted a hand, resting it on his cheek. "I'm so sorry. Will you tell me about her?"
He shook his head as though gathering his emotions. "She walked. She'd been confined for a long period of time, just like you. She kept threatening to walk, insisting her life wasn't worth living if she couldn't be free."
His words hit home. "Just like me."
It was his turn to cup her cheek. "Just like you."
The sadness in his face made her want to cry. "That's why you were so angry with me the day you couldn't find me. It's why you were so worried."
He nodded.
"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. You're doing this as a favor to a friend, and I'm making your life hell."
"No." He pulled her closer, brushing his lips across hers in a soft kiss. "Never hell."
"What happened to her?" She shouldn't ask. She was far too close to a similar situation, and it wouldn't do anyone any good if she was frightened of her own shadow.
"She's was a party girl. Pretty. Enough that she caught the attention of a high-powered drug dealer. He messed her up one night, and she thought turning him over to the cops would be a great way to get revenge. It worked out for the Feds. Not so much for her. She didn't have the fortitude to stay away. She snuck away one night and called her party friends." He dropped his gaze. "They found her two days later in a muddy ditch on the outskirts of New Jersey. If we didn't have her fingerprints on file, the authorities would have been hard presse
d to identify her."
A stone-cold shiver skittered across her skin. She folded her arms. "That wasn't your fault, Milo. No one can make us follow the rules if we choose not to." She swallowed, thinking of her own infidelities. "She put her life in danger. Not you."
He took off his flannel shirt and draped it over her shoulders. "I could have done more. I should have seen the signs." He shook his head. "It weighs heavy on me."
"It would me, too." That was a huge burden to bear even if it wasn't his fault. "But she lived her life her way, Milo. I know you were trying to help her, but you can't take away her right to freedom. Part of me can understand why she walked." She tucked her arms inside his shirt, loving the way the soft cotton smelled of him, warming her inside and out.
He gripped her hand. "Don't ever do that to me, Ariana. Promise me you won't do anything that might bring harm to you."
"Okay." She tried to give him a reassuring smile, her guilt as heavy as a fifty-pound block of cement. "Don't worry about me. My days are almost up, and then I can have my life back."
* * *
Milo held her hand as they walked through the quiet moonlight. He hadn't said much after he'd given her a peek into his psyche, but she could appreciate how hard opening up had to be for him. Taking her on, doing this favor for Quinn, had cost him more than it would most people. This warmth that now surrounded them spawned from a different place than the sexual heat that forever blazed between them. She liked the comfort it brought her, and she could only hope it brought him the same kind of fortitude and solace.
Their path took them on another downward slope. It seemed they'd gone up and down several times. Tall brush grew just off their path, with pines and aspens giving them solitude. "How far are we from camp?" The full moon hovered high in the sky, and she had nothing to mark their heading. For all she knew, they were completely lost.
He stopped, taking her arms and turning her a quarter of a turn. Coming up behind her, he put a hand on one hip, and pointed past her with his other. "There's a hint of our fire, if you look right through those trees."
Ariana followed his direction until she spotted the glow. "I see it. It seems like we've been walking forever, but we're not that far away at all. For all I knew, we were walking in circles."