She rarely went this way. In fact, she took various and oft times treacherous paths to the falls in an effort to mask the fact that she traveled there often. If the men realized she visited there regularly, they may decide to set up surveillance of the area. They certainly didn’t need that.
Chapter Nine
Liam followed her through the woods, wondering exactly what type of arrangements she made with the person on the other end of her recent conversation.
He’d barely been able to keep himself from breathing the sigh of relief he’d felt when she said they would be here another two days. Two days to lose himself in her scent, kisses and the slick, welcoming softness of her body. Two more days to tell her without words that he loved her. He stopped following her, stunned. Did he truly love her, or was this some strange tie he had with the woman who saved his life? How would he know? How could he? He didn’t even know who he was.
The fact that he’d been upset that she wouldn’t voice her feelings when he wasn’t sure of his own bothered him on a visceral level. Why would he be so upset at her hesitancy if he didn’t love her? He stopped, stunned at his realization. He wouldn’t be upset if he didn’t feel deeply toward her, if he didn’t consider her his in every sense of the word. She belonged to him, and he had two days to convince her of that. And the convincing would start now.
Cammie managed to get quite a bit ahead of him while he’d searched his feelings, so he quickened his pace. He didn’t plan on letting her out of his sight over the next forty-eight hours. Not just because it wasn’t safe, but because he wanted her to get used to him being by her side. She better get used to it, because he intended to stay by her side for the rest of their lives if she’d let him.
“What did your friend say other than he would be here Thursday?” And why hadn’t she told him about me? The thought that she would hide their relationship from her friends hurt him on a level he didn’t know he had.
“He needs to get a team together. He doesn’t want to come in here for a rescue without back-up.” She shrugged. “I can’t say that I blame him.” She stopped to peer at him through the darkness. “You know, those men are going to be able to hear that chopper’s approach from a mile away. There is a very good chance that we could walk right into an ambush when we go to the falls.”
“At least the man who sent them seems to want you alive. That’s a plus.”
She snorted. “He only wants me alive, so he can torture me for answers. He wants to know who knows about his illegal business ventures and how much evidence I have against him.” She lowered her voice and peered through the darkness that surrounded them. “If he knew that I have nothing on him, he would have had me exterminated three years ago just to be rid of the headache.”
“You do have something on him, Cammie. He’s tried to kidnap you. That alone is enough to have him running scared.” At least it should. A tingling sensation ran over his scalp. It felt like hidden knowledge. Something about himself he should know. Something important. Just when he was sure he’d remembered. Pain shot through his head and nearly brought him to his knees. Something about his past did not want to be remembered. Something he knew in his gut could help Cammie overcome her tormentors. But what was it?
“Are you all right?” Cammie asked, resting her hand on his shoulder.
“I don’t know. I thought I was about to remember something for a minute.” He rubbed the center of his forehead. “But as soon as it was there, it was gone.”
“And then the headache came?” She said on a sigh and pushed her fingers through his hair. “I know you want to remember, Liam, but don’t force it. It will come to you in time. I’m sure of it.”
Yeah. That was easy for her to say. Her entire life didn’t comprise of two short days in heaven that could come to an end at any time. What would she do when she took him into the city? Would she take him into a hospital and wash her hands of him, or would she stay by his side while they determined what was wrong with him?
She took his hand and pulled. “Come on. Let’s get back to the cave before someone catches us out here.”
Back to the cave. Back to the only refuge left to him besides that of her soft body. He longed to follow her to the cave and lose himself in her scent, revel in the beauty of her soft curves as he buried himself in her moist depths. Yet he knew he couldn’t. They needed to talk more than he needed to slake this hunger for her that he couldn’t seem to appease.
He had to know how she felt and he must be strong enough to let her go if that was her desire. But how could he? She’d become more important to him than breathing. Than life. He would have died for her yesterday. He laid his life on the line when he tackled that man and fought for her. And he would do it again. Gladly.
He allowed her to pull him through the woods heading toward the cave, toward their only haven in the dangerous forest. Soon, even that would be gone. Somehow, he knew that there was no way to hide from those men forever. If they didn’t stay hidden in the cave, sooner or later those men would find them and take her from him. He may have amnesia, but he still knew that one man against many was not good odds.
“Why are you so quiet,” she whispered in the darkness. “Did you hear something?”
“Nothing out of the ordinary.” He shook his head. “I’m just being cautious. We are getting closer to the caves. Perhaps we should be a bit more stealthy.”
“That makes sense.” She slowed her gait, stopping occasionally to listen to the quiet of the forest. Soon, the animals were used to their presence and the cacophony of insects began anew. It was when the insects and small animals suddenly became quiet, that Liam covered her mouth and pulled her down into a thicket.
Brambles scratched his skin and tore at his clothes. He didn’t make even a grunt of sound when the sharp needles pricked into his skin. Liam held himself wrapped around Cammie, protecting her from the barbed branches.
“I thought you said you heard something over here, Jameson.”
“I did damn it and when I used the night vision goggles, I could have sworn I saw a human body over here.”
“It’s too damned bad they aren’t infrared goggles. We could go hunting. I’m tired of eating that canned crap she’s got stored in her cabin.”
The two men stopped close to their hiding place and Liam wondered how they missed hearing the frantic pounding of Cammie’s heart. He pressed his lips against her temple in an attempt to soothe her.
“Let’s get back to the cabin. It’s Morrissey and Derrick’s turn to freeze their asses off. It’s our turn to sit by the damned fire with our feet up.”
The two men shuffled away. Soon the night sounds became normal again and Liam eased them both from the shelter of the thicket.
“That was close,” Cammie said with a shiver of apprehension. “We need to get back to the cave and stay there.”
Liam nodded, not trusting himself to say anything. He didn’t want the pain from the brambles to carry through on his voice. She had enough to worry about in getting them back to the falls.
When he heard the rushing water, he steered himself away from the mouth of the falls and more to the center of the pond.
“Where are you going?” Cammie hissed as she grabbed his arm.
“I can’t go directly to the mouth of the cave, Cammie. I need to enter the pool as far away from the cave as I can.”
“Why the hell not?” She snarled, still keeping her voice low. “You’re going to get your ass caught, dammit!”
He turned to meet her gaze. “No. My taking a more direct route will get us caught. They will merely need to follow the trail of my blood if I’m losing enough for them to see it.”
Her eyes widened. “Blood? You’re bleeding?”
“Yes, and I’m not sure how bad.” He reached the pond a safe distance from the falls and waded in to his knees. Breathing deep, he sat down in the frigid water and waited to catch his breath.
Desperate for the wounds to stop bleeding, Liam sat in the icy water unt
il his whole body began to shake. He wasn’t sure how he knew, but something, some inner knowledge told him the freezing water would help slow his bleeding. Cammie paced the bank of the pond watching him as he bathed the blood from his body.
“Come on. It’s time to go now.” She insisted. “You’re getting too damned cold. I can’t see your breath any more your temperature has dropped so much. You’re getting hypothermia and I can’t carry your heavy ass to the cave so get the hell up and move it!”
Liam washed the blood from his head and arms then stood to follow her to the cave. He stumbled a few times when he was sure walking had become too much of an effort. He soon realized it was the cold making him feel that way and forced himself to keep moving. She needed him now more than ever.
Chapter Ten
“What do you think, my love?” Leeanau said, watching Liam through the waters of the scrying well. “Should we interfere? I don’t want it to be said that we won his years of servitude because of outside interference.”
She did love a good gamble and a challenge but she did not like to win by cheating or default. No one could say that the queen of the leprechauns didn’t win her bets fairly. She frowned.
“And I don’t want him hurt. Those men could kill him in his current human state.” Then what good would he do her? Better the human woman got him than those men kill her favorite. She glanced over at Danu. “What good would there be in winning then? Better to lose him to the human woman. At least they would have children brought up in the ways of our kind. What do you think? Should we help him?”
Danu shifted in his seat and grunted. “We can’t have him die because we wished for a bit of a diversion, can we?” He waved his hand and took them to the bank of the pond where they watched Cammie half drag, half pull him up onto the rock ledge.
“She’ll never get him into the cave. She isn’t strong enough.” Leeanau waved her hand and suddenly Cammie lifted him to the ledge and dragged him behind the cold spray.
“Do you think we should stick around, Danu?” she asked, her head tilted toward the struggling couple.
Danu grunted, scratching his chin in concentration. “No, but we’ll keep a close watch on the scrying well. If he looks to need our aide, then we shall return.”
Leeanau nodded and glanced back to the falls, the couple now hidden behind the pounding spray. She couldn’t keep the worry from her expression.
“Would it make you feel better if we put their pursuers out of commission for a while? I could put a sleep spell on them.”
With a naughty twinkle in her eye, the Leprechaun Queen smiled. “While you’re at it. Why don’t you make it impossible for those men to get an erection when they wake, no matter how horny they get?”
With his whole body shaking with mirth, Danu wrapped his arms round his mate. “You are a cruel and cunning woman, and that’s why we get along so well. It will be as you wish.”
Chapter Eleven
“Can you make it through the hole?” Cammie asked knowing she would bring the sleeping bag out here and join him in it if she needed to.
He nodded. “I think so.”
She crawled through the hole, still holding the lamp with a prayer on her lips. The last thing she needed was to dump kerosene all over herself.
On the other side, she held the lamp up for Liam and waited while he shimmed through to join her. She looked behind her to the stone steps and wondered how she would get him down to the warmth of the water.
“Take your clothes off. They’re only keeping you cold. You need to let the warm air of the cavern begin to warm you.”
She tried not to think of what would happen to his beautiful body if he fell over the stone unprotected.
“Stay here while you undress and I’ll be right back.” She hurried down the steps to put her lamp at the bottom. That would give her one less thing to worry about. After turning up the wick so they could see from the top, she hurried back to his side.
Taking the wet clothes from his shaking hands, she threw them over the ledge. They hit the ground with a wet plop and she turned back to him and wrapped her arm around his waist. She stayed by his side, keeping pace with him so that he didn’t lose his balance as they made their way down to the cavern. And if she were honest with herself, she held him because she knew their time together was growing short. When her teeth began to chatter, she clamped her jaw shut and told herself she could do this. He was much colder than she and in desperate need of her warmth and support.
It was a grueling trip down the large steps. He was such a big man. She felt herself blush when her mind wandered, remembering just how big he was everywhere. The man had the looks of a male model and the body of a porn star. She would forever wonder why she’d been so lucky to have him literally fall into her life.
When they finally reached the bottom, she helped him over to the warm pool.
“Okay, step in.”
He shook his head. “Not until you get in. You’re trembling from the cold.”
She glared at him and fisted her hands on her hips. “You’re the one suffering from hypothermia, dammit. Get in the water.” She knew there was no chance of warming him too fast, the color had already returned to his face. She just didn’t want to undress while he watched. She wasn’t an exhibitionist.
He held out his hand. Goose bumps still rose on his skin and his nipples were hardened from the cold. How she longed to join him in the pool and kiss every ache, every small scratch that marred his beautiful body. She shook her head slowly.
“Turn around and get into the pool.” She knew her words were breathless. Her voice sounded rough almost. Husky. She cleared her throat. “I just want to put some water in the MREs we’ll have for dinner so they can warm up while we bathe.”
He shook his head and lifted the corner of his mouth in a half grin. “That only takes fifteen minutes. We’re going to be much longer than that.”
Her womb clenched at his words. An answering warmth pooled in her middle. God, the man had a voice to die for. Just a few words left her trembling. Needing. They needed to talk, to plan. They didn’t need to make love again. Though every fiber in her being wanted just that.
His eyes never left hers while she undressed. As if in a trance, she lifted her hands to her blouse and slipped each button free, revealing her breasts to his heated gaze. Her skin warmed under his undivided attention. Still he didn’t touch her and his eyes never once wandered from staring at her face, specifically, her lips.
The blouse slid down her arms to pool at her feet. She pushed her jeans down her hips, embarrassed for him to discover she hadn’t worn any undergarments today. She’d wanted the press of the rough jeans against her sensitive flesh. The need to feel the coarse material of the jeans, as they scraped over her skin was something she couldn’t explain.
She placed her hand in his and stepped into the pool. He led her to the center of the warm water and held her close. Never, in the many years since finding this cavern, had she ever felt so complete here. He made it complete. Hell, he made her complete.
* * * *
“Cammie, it’s time to go.”
She heard the voice, she just didn’t want to listen to it. She was so comfortable. So warm. Natural heat from the spring at her front and Liam at her back soaked into her skin. Between the heat and Liam’s thorough loving over the last two days, she felt sated, languorous.
“Mmm . . .” she squirmed beneath the blankets, rubbing her rear against Liam’s growing shaft. The man was insatiable. Would he never get enough? She turned her head and gave him a sleepy smile. “Can’t we just stay here a bit longer?”
Liam kissed her ear then pushed the sleeping bag from them.
“It’s time we got moving. We only have an hour to pack our things, climb the rock-face and get the flares set up. It won’t do us any good at all to have your friend crash during his rescue attempt.”
She sighed, sat up and pushed the hair from her eyes.
“You’re right. I know yo
u’re right, but it doesn’t make going out into the cold any easier.” Or leaving their little hideaway easier. Soon he would leave her and she would be alone again. She shivered at the thought. She pulled her last set of clean clothes on, trying not to watch as Liam dressed in the too small jeans and shirt she’d given him. She blushed at the whisker-burn on her thighs and breasts, remembering each little caress that put them there.
Liam rolled up the sleeping bag while she wandered around the cave picking up small bits of trash to put in the bag for a later pick up. She didn’t like leaving the stuff here, but practicality reminded her that there was no way she would be able to carry it up the face of the cliff they had yet to climb.
“Ready?” Liam asked when the pillows and sleeping bag were back in their plastic bags. He held the lamp in one hand and the case of flares in the other.
“As ready as I’ll ever be, I suppose.” A part of her looked forward to leaving this place. Another part of her wasn’t ready to go. Yet, she wanted to see the expression on Liam’s face when she took him out for the St. Patrick’s Day celebrations tomorrow. After all, he was Irish, he should be able to appreciate that.
Dragging her feet, she followed him from the cavern—from their perfect two days of lovemaking and getting to know each other. In the last two days, he’d managed to worm his way even further into her heart. What would she do when his memory finally came back and he left her? She put her hand over her stomach and wondered if the last few days gifted her with someone to love once she was left alone again.
They walked to the mouth of the cave in silence. Neither of them seemed to have much to say
when they reached the exit. She quickly lowered the wick on the lamp and exited the cave. Taking a deep breath, she readied herself for the climb. She fastened the handle of the case of flares to her belt and began the arduous ascent with Liam at her heels.
What to do with a Naked Leprechaun Page 6