by C. J. Miller
Frustration with the situation was evident in Ford’s voice. Ford was trying to provoke him and Nathan ignored it. He had other concerns. Like being trapped on the mountain with Autumn and a few high schoolers for two days with no knowledge of where the killer was lurking.
A pregnant pause filled the line. “How desperate is the situation? Can you handle this or do you need me to snowshoe up there?” Ford asked.
Snowshoe up three miles of mountain? Ridiculous. That plan would lead to someone else being hurt. “I’ll be fine. We have supplies.” Nathan had his gun. It took only one bullet to stop a killer. “We’ve got three others up here. Walked off the trail looking for a place to stay.”
An ambulance sounded in the background. “Give me their names and descriptions. We’ve had people stationed on the trail for days. I’ll make sure they’ve been cleared and their story jibes,” Ford said.
He didn’t need to say he was also considering the boys could be the Huntsman. It was less common, but serial killings were sometimes committed by a group.
Nathan gave the basic description of the hikers, including the names they’d given Autumn to record to rent the cabin for the night. Static crackled in Nathan’s ear. “Better make it quick. The phone connection is getting dicey.”
“If you don’t hear from me in the next hour, I will call Ms. Reed’s sat phone from one of ours. I’ll see what I can do about getting you support from the police or the park rangers to process the scene,” Ford said.
“I’ll wait to hear from you.” Nathan disconnected the call. He sat next to Autumn by the fire. She watched him, her eyes filled with questions her mouth didn’t seem able to form. “The FBI is having problems navigating the roads. They’ll do their best to get here when the snow dies down. Ford is checking with the police and the park rangers to see if anyone else is available.”
Autumn moved closer to him, laying her head against his shoulder. “If the FBI can’t get here, it’s no easier for anyone else.”
The scent of her hair wafted to his nose and he fought the surge in his libido. Now wasn’t the time to make a move on her or panic her with the worst-case scenario. He needed to keep her calm and thinking. “We’ll see. It might be a day or two.”
She sighed and rested her arm across her stomach. Comfort. She needed to be comforted. Nathan searched for words that would make her feel better. Coming up empty, he put his arm around her, securing her against him.
“At least this means I can put off seeing my mom for a couple of days,” Autumn said.
“Do you want to call her to be sure she is okay?” Nathan asked.
Autumn closed her eyes. “I should at least call to see that she found a place to stay. Or maybe she changed her mind and went home. She’s never had a problem leaving.”
Autumn went to the kitchen and picked up the card her mother had left. Nathan listened to one side of a stilted conversation.
“I should have installed alarm systems on the cabins,” she said, returning to the couch.
Nathan stroked her side, trying to infuse some relaxation into her tense body. “You couldn’t have known you’d need it. And a cabin with an alarm system? May as well turn the place into a resort and be finished with the whole facade of an outdoor experience.”
His teasing earned him a smile, the corners of her mouth lifting a few centimeters. “My dad said the same thing when I first told him about my plans to renovate. He couldn’t understand why I’d want to tear up counters that were a splinter waiting to happen and install polished oak.”
Nathan hadn’t seen the before, but he knew the quality workmanship of the current renovation. “This is one of the nicest places I’ve stayed.”
She lifted her head from his shoulder. “Really? Nicest places? Do you stay at a lot of places where a killer runs loose?”
Actually, yes. He worked in the violent crime division of the FBI, and many of his cases were related to serial killers. “I’ve worked in some difficult situations.” He’d leave it at that. He wouldn’t haunt her with some of the cases he’d handled. “I made you tea,” he said, remembering the cup in the kitchen. He braced his arms on the couch to push himself to standing.
Autumn grabbed his shirt. “Don’t go. Not yet. Can we sit here for a while longer?”
His heartbeat quickened. Settling back into the couch cushions, he let her nestle into the crook of his arm.
She inhaled and let out a heavy breath, tucking her knees to her chest. The crackle of the fire and Thor’s heavy breathing remained the only sounds in the room.
“What will we do about being trapped here?” Autumn asked.
He hadn’t had time to formulate a plan. “Wait it out.”
“What if the Huntsman’s out there, watching and waiting? He might decide to come after us now when we can’t get help.”
Nathan was certain the killer wasn’t far. But the Huntsman wasn’t invincible and would need shelter from the snowstorm. “No one can survive in the elements without some protection. He’ll be snowbound with the rest of us.” With any luck, the killer was snowbound away from the Trail’s Edge and would remain that way until Nathan could set a trap.
They sat on the couch, watching the fire. The warmth of the room and the slow letdown of adrenaline made Nathan’s eyes heavy. He couldn’t sleep now. Not until Autumn had fallen asleep and he’d secured the perimeter. It wouldn’t be a bad idea to check on the high school boys in their cabin, either.
Autumn shifted beside him and he glanced down at her. Her eyes were closed, her breathing even. Standing carefully, he laid her on the couch, draping a blanket across her body.
Autumn’s phone rang and he hurried to answer it, not wanting the noise to wake Autumn. Ford confirmed the hikers were enrolled at a nearby high school and they had spoken to an agent farther up the trail. The agent’s notes indicated the young men believed they could take care of themselves on the trail and didn’t see any reason to cancel their trip, which they had been planning since the previous spring before the killings had begun. They had no intention of wandering into the backcountry where other bodies had been found and they had planned to stick together. Since the Huntsman’s victims had been females, they thought it bought them guaranteed protection.
They were young and foolish, a dangerous combination. Nathan used the internal phone system to call the other cabin and let the young men know there had been a break-in at one of the other cabins. He warned them to be cautious, stay in their cabin and not answer the door to strangers. They were to call him if they heard or saw anything strange. Hoping they heeded his advice, he hung up the phone and returned to the living room.
Autumn’s eyes were open, but she hadn’t moved from the spot where he had placed her on the couch.
“Why don’t I take you to bed?” he asked, hearing the double entendre in his words, but refusing to let it elevate his lust. The investigator in him wanted to gauge her reaction, wanted to know how she would respond to his question. He’d been drawn to her from the beginning and that connection urged him to test the waters.
“Bed is good,” she said, without giving away whether or not she’d thought of his question as anything more than an innocent query. She came to her feet and tossed the throw over the back of the couch.
Nathan walked her to her bed and peeled away the blankets. She looked at the bed and then to him, the sleep gone from her eyes. Her eyes flashed with fiery provocation and heat tore through him.
“Where will you sleep tonight?” Autumn asked, taking another step and closing the distance between them.
An invitation? Was he imagining the flash in her eyes? Did she want his honest answer? “Here. With you.” A bold statement.
A long, heated moment passed between them. She looked from him to the bed, to the couch and back to him.
She grabbed his shirt and pulled him
to her, fusing her mouth to his. She let her body fall against the mattress, taking him with her. Her ravenous kisses decimated every last shred of control and he let himself tumble with her, bracing himself on his arms over her, absorbing the impact.
His head warred with his body. Would he let this happen? He was on the edge of being mad with lust—his hands reaching greedily to stroke her side, over her hip, down her thigh.
He needed to focus on the Huntsman. Secure the perimeter. Check the other cabins for signs of the killer. Stay alert for changes.
He wasn’t a possessive man, but something about Autumn, her gentle mannerisms, her confidence on the trail and the wildness of her spirit drew him irresistibly close to her, made him want to claim her and mark her as his. His time in the outdoors and nature had unleashed a primal and possessive element.
Outside her door lay a mess needing to be fixed, but the snow put it on ice. In his arms was a woman who wanted to make love. Her touch and her kisses made it plain, and hunger consumed him.
He tilted his hips against hers, drawing a moan from her lips. She held him close, their kisses taking on a mindless intensity. He reached his thumbs under the waistband of her pants and panties and slid them over her hips. She kicked them away and he stroked the curve of her hip, running his hand along the smooth skin of her thigh. Reaching behind her, he cupped her bottom and lifted, molding her body to his, pressing his arousal into her, and letting her feel his excitement.
Raw need thrummed in his veins. He couldn’t get enough of her, every second that passed driving him harder, satisfying him but at the same time urging him to take more.
Her fingers forked into his hair, holding his mouth to her. He tasted her need, and his body was eager to sate her. His hand skated up her body and under her shirt and palmed her breast.
She let out a low moan and he squeezed gently, rubbing her peaked nipples between his fingers. Her legs went around his waist, hooking him to her, and she lifted her hips off the bed, grinding her body into his. He stripped off the rest of her clothes. Having her naked before him, bare, open, was unbelievably arousing. Lust enveloped his entire being.
Nathan lowered his mouth to her breasts, suckling and kissing until she was panting and tugging at his shirt, begging him to take it off. He shucked his pants and shirt and then covered her with his body. The heat of the skin-to-skin contact, her nipples pressed into his chest, her mouth devouring his, was almost more than he could bear. He thought he might finish on her thigh like a prepubescent boy and worked overtime to slow his intensifying excitement.
This was what got him into trouble with women. Lust ruled him and logic became worthless. He’d never felt quite this intensely about a woman, a woman who was complex and smart and beautiful in an easy, natural way.
They had all night, no rush. He reached for his pants and pulled out his wallet, withdrawing the foil packet and tearing it open. He covered himself and shifted his hips between hers. He wanted to make this good for her, make it last long enough to bring her pleasure.
Her voice broke through his mental coaching. “Nathan, please, hurry.”
His control shattered. He reached between her thighs and found her ready. He gave up concentrating on moving slow and instead let his body free-fall into the rush of the moment. He guided himself into her, biting his lip to keep from pounding into her, giving her a moment to adjust. She shifted her hips left to right, taking him deeper, and arched her back. Her hands clamped down on his butt, holding him inside her, and she squeezed him tight, a smoldering look crossing her face. The heat simmering between them burst into an explosion as his body sank and held inside hers.
She moved her hands to his sides and he pulled away and slammed into her, the friction shockingly sensuous. He worked his hips, plunging into her with wild glides, losing himself in her, conscious thought slipping away until pleasure—hers and his—was his only goal. The sound of her moans urged him on, harder, faster, until she was crying out his name, her fingernails scoring his shoulders, and he felt the quiver of her body around his.
Only then did he let himself fall with her into ecstasy.
* * *
In Autumn’s cabin, buried beneath a foot of snow, it felt as if they were the only people on the mountain. The hikers hadn’t bothered them, likely holed up in their cabin.
The quiet of the forest amid the falling snow created a sense of peace and tranquility. Like animals tucked away for winter, he and Autumn stayed in her cabin, mostly in her bed, the heat roaring from the fireplace. His gun was always within arm’s reach. The killer wouldn’t catch him unaware, but as the hours ticked by, the stillness of the campground made him feel safer.
In two days, they got out of bed only a handful of times—food, shower, refueling the fire, basic necessities. Neither of them mentioned the case or any of the unsettling events that had occurred. It was an unspoken taboo subject. Discussing it would taint this time they had together. For the first time in his career, Nathan let himself become thoroughly derailed from an investigation. He reasoned protecting Autumn was most important now and she was safest in his arms.
Like all good things, it had to end, a point he was sure she understood, as well. When the snow melted and the roads became passable, he had to turn his attention to the case. He would continue to protect her, but he couldn’t afford a distraction or the drama that relationships seemed to shower down on him.
Autumn shifted onto her back, her hair brushing his chest, her fingertips sweeping across his side. She’d showered a few hours ago and her hair smelled of pine, a scent he was fast associating with her. “What are you thinking about?” she asked.
His thoughts hadn’t varied much over the past couple of days. “Just you.”
She rolled over, pressing her breasts against his stomach. Her hair was wild around her head, her smile bright. She propped herself on her elbow. “Oh, come on, that was a line, right?”
He shook his head. Despite how enchanting he found her, she seemed to carry around threads of self-doubt about her femininity. Nathan would wager the ex-boyfriend had something to do with it, another strike against him. “Not a line.” What else would he be thinking about? The snowfall had ground the case to a standstill.
She drummed her fingers against his bare flesh. “Then what were you thinking about me?”
He pretended to think hard, bringing his finger to his lips. “Just that I wasn’t sure if I’d had you every way I could have you and wondered if I could talk you into another shower. With me.” He waggled his brows at her.
She grinned up at him. “A shower, huh?”
He rubbed her arm. “Just you, me and the hot water.”
She slapped him playfully on the chest, threw back the covers and sprang out of bed. “Race you.”
She made it first to the shower and he rewarded her by making her the subject of his absolute concentration—her, her mouth, her hips, her legs, every inch of her skin was the object of his sheer adoration.
* * *
Autumn’s skin was slick with sweat. The heat pouring from the fire, the pellet stove and Nathan’s body had chased away the last of the cold that had set inside her.
Hadn’t that been the point of the past two days? To forget about the Huntsman and the snowstorm and Blaine and Sandra and get lost in the moment. To see if she had it in her to be passionate and seductive. Nathan was leaving and therefore she risked almost nothing in sleeping with him. If the adventure had been a disaster, it wouldn’t have mattered for more than a week. But it hadn’t been a disaster. She had stoked passion in Nathan. He had responded to her touch. Sex had been good. Great. The best of her life.
Nearly two days of making love, eating in bed, building fires and cuddling ended in one sharp rap on the door.
Nathan unentwined himself from her, his posture abruptly changing. He didn’t kiss her or sweep his lips a
cross hers before he stood to answer the door. He didn’t let his hand linger on her body as if contact was the only thing keeping him alive. It was a shift only she could have noticed after two days as his lover, two days of studying his body, watching his movements, his expressions. He was no longer Nathan Bradshaw, lover extraordinaire. He was Nathan Bradshaw, working a case to find his sister’s killer.
She’d bet her role in Nathan’s life had shifted, as well. Autumn wasn’t his lover. Not now. Now she was back to being his partner in this investigation. A pang of sadness struck her chest, but she brushed it away. She’d known things would change when the snow melted, and she’d told herself she could handle it. More than that, a brief affair was all she’d wanted.
Nathan dressed quickly and she did the same, making the bed and trying to hide the evidence of how they’d spent the past two days. As a last-minute attempt to hide the evidence, she threw a pillow and blanket onto the couch.
She heard Ford’s voice, and a chill of cold air blew into the room. The time she’d spent with Nathan was the longest she’d been cooped up inside since she’d had the flu as a teenager. Normally, she ached to be outside and exploring, loved opening the windows in the spring to let in fresh air and hiking the trail whenever possible. But being inside the cabin with Nathan, she hadn’t felt trapped. He had made her feel free and uninhibited in a way she usually felt only on the trail.
“Autumn, Ford needs the keys to cabin twelve,” Nathan said. For all the warmth in his voice, he could have been placing an order at a drive-through fast-food restaurant.
“Morning, Special Agent Ford,” she said, tossing him a smile and hoping he didn’t see through it.
“Terrible morning. The roads are practically impassable,” Ford said.
Brushing aside Nathan’s and Ford’s brusque manner, Autumn scrambled to the kitchen, where she thought she’d left her key ring. She looked around for the keys, knowing Ford had to see the mugs and glasses everywhere, the mess they had let pile up in the kitchen because it hadn’t been important to clean when they had each other. Autumn refused to focus on that. “Sorry to hear that. But you made it.”