“Gavin is a councilman. He’d have access to the autopsy information.” Kiera sighed. “He also has a big motive to leak the results.”
“Why would he want everyone to think Bigfoot murdered someone?” Ben asked. “That’s not going to help city growth and isn’t that his ax to grind?”
“He and John have worked for years to increase tourism here.” Kiera bit her thumbnail. “They once proposed a Bigfoot water park here.” She wrinkled her nose. The idea of a big, loud amusement park plunked down in the middle of the woods seemed ridiculous. Kiera thought it was sacrilege. She fought them tooth and nail on that one.
“And a murdering Bigfoot would help them how?” Ben asked, with a raise of his eyebrows.
“Murder is big news,” Jeremy answered him. “Big news means lots of people get interested. Tell me, if you had heard this news as a paranormal expert, what would you do?”
Ben frowned and nodded slowly. “I’d want to investigate. Good point.”
“Amanda has contacts.” Kiera asked, “What does she say?”
The reaction on Jeremy’s face was fascinating to Kiera. The Sheriff was her closest friend, yet this was an expression she wasn’t too familiar with. She couldn’t describe it in any other way but tender frustration. She had to stifle a smile. He was still in love with the woman and it stuck out all over him.
“She says she doesn’t know.” Jeremy’s tone implied he didn’t believe it.
“Maybe she doesn’t,” Kiera suggested.
Fire shot from Jeremy’s gaze. “Since when have you defended her? She knows alright, but she won’t tell me.”
Ben sighed. “I know that feeling.”
Jeremy smirked and it was Kiera’s turn to glare at him. “Why the hell would she lie?”
“Why does she do anything?” Jeremy threw up his hands and paced the living room floor. “Why would she print Bigfoot crap? Why did she move here in the first place? Why did she steal police files—” He stopped and narrowed his eyes. “Forget that.”
Kiera and Ben exchanged puzzled glances. “She didn’t tell you why she was here?” she asked the Sheriff.
“What are you talking about?” Jeremy glared at her. “What do you know?” His hands were on her shoulders and he shook her.
To Kiera’s surprise, Ben stepped between them. “Hands off, Sheriff.” His voice was thick with menace.
Tension filled the room. Kiera yanked on Ben’s arm. “It’s okay,” she whispered and then faced Jeremy. “You need to talk to Amanda. Talk. Don’t bark out orders or bitch at her. She has good reasons for all the things she’s done.”
The Sheriff was still, frozen. He turned his back on them. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me.”
“A woman will do that to you, Sheriff. Are you going back up to Fanning Creek to investigate?”
“Yes. Tomorrow.” Jeremy still didn’t turn around.
“I’d like to go along,” Ben told him. “I can help. If this is someone trying to cover up a murder with Bigfoot, I can tell you.”
“You’d like to go too, I presume.” Jeremy still hadn’t looked at her.
Kiera answered, “Yes. I would.”
Finally, her friend sneaked a peak at her, and she took in the dark circles under his eyes and the strain around his mouth. This situation was out of his control and he didn’t like it. He nodded. “Okay. Be at the trailhead at six in the morning. I want to get an early start.”
“Will we be able to get to Fanning Creek from the Onion Mountain trail?” Ben asked.
Jeremy nodded. “Dodo said the part that washed out from the rain is easily detoured. You couldn’t have carried Amanda over that way, but we can hike in.”
“How is Amanda?” Kiera asked.
The Sheriff’s smile held no humor. “Spitting mad that she wasn’t the one who broke the story. What does that tell you?”
“It tells me you went in there and ordered her around.” Kiera sighed. “You’re hopeless.”
Her friend’s shoulders slumped. “You’re telling me.”
“Is she still at the clinic?” Kiera picked up her keys and purse.
“No.” Jeremy seemed uncomfortable.
“So, she’s back home?” She frowned. Kiera didn’t want to drive to Eureka.
“No.” Jeremy said again.
“Oh, for God’s sake, Jeremy. Where the hell is she?” Kiera exploded. What was wrong with him?
“She’s at my place for now.” He raised his hands as if to defend himself. “I didn’t want her to leave. She’s a witness and—” He stopped, and his hands dropped to his sides clenched in fists.
“And you’re worried about her,” Ben finished for him.
Kiera stared at Jeremy. “Do you think someone will try and hurt Amanda? But why?”
“Whoever murdered Bobby is out there, and I’m not taking any chances on a witness disappearing,” Jeremy stated.
Amused, Kiera exchanged a glance with Ben. Sure. They were witnesses too and had actually seen the body but Jeremy hadn’t herded them off to his place.
“We’ll be there, Jeremy. Six in the morning tomorrow.” Kiera nodded.
“Where are you staying, Harmon?” Jeremy asked Ben.
“He’ll be staying here,” Kiera interjected. “We’ll see you in the morning Jeremy.” She brushed him toward the door and waved as he got in his SUV and pulled away. She was going to have to face Ben and tell him she’d been a fool.
“Why am I staying here?” Ben demanded to know. His arms were crossed, his eyes blazed. Man, he looked pissed off. There was only one thing to say.
“Because I was wrong.” It must be a record, she thought. She’d admitted she was wrong several times since meeting Ben Harmon. He still hadn’t budged though. Words rushed from her. “You are right. I could try and write off what happened with us as just sex or a mistake, but I don’t lie to myself any better than I lie to anyone else.” She could only hope he’d understand.
He relaxed slightly. “It wasn’t just sex.”
She searched his gaze with hers. “The truth is I don’t care.”
“What do you mean?” He sounded offended.
“I mean, even if it was just sex, it was great sex. I’m not going to pass that up just because we have no hope for a future.”
He stared at her. She shifted her feet and dropped her gaze. The noise she made when she cleared her throat seemed to echo in the room.
His voice was low, like a purr. From a very big tiger. “Remind me again why we have no future?” He stepped towards her and she backed up. Shit. She forgot how tall he was, how intimidating he could be.
“You’re a Legend Hunter, an expert on bullshit.” She deliberately needled him. Against him, she had no weapons, no protection, and the expression on his face made her blood freeze. She took another slide back towards the wall and glanced over his shoulder to the door.
“And you won’t have anything to do with a Legend Hunter, right?” As he prowled forward, she desperately needed to put distance between them.
“No.” Her voice sounded weak to her own ears.
“Except for great sex.” He moved in slow motion and the wall slammed into her back.
Trapped. She was trapped. “Yes.”
“You think this is just sex?” He was a breath away from her and his scent surrounded her. She couldn’t close her eyes and his chocolate gaze melted her resistance.
“Yes. No.” She tried to escape but he blocked her with his body and pinned her to the wall. Her chest tightened and she couldn’t catch her breath.
“Which is it, Kiera? Are we just going to fuck? Is that what this is?” He demanded to know, and Kiera couldn’t think since his hands were clenched around her hips and his mouth a whisper away from hers.
Their gazes clashed, his challenging, and she tried to tell herself it was all just great chemistry. But something deeper lay beneath her need for him and she couldn’t ignore it. He nodded as if she’d spoken. “That’s right. You can try and kill it all
you want but it won’t go away.”
“Ben—” She stopped as longing swept over her body. She wanted his lips on hers more than anything in that moment.
“Listen to me.” His face was so close, his breath drifted over her face as he spoke. His expression was dead serious. “I don’t know what this is and I don’t care. But you mean more to me than just a pleasant interlude in the bedroom.” His voice was low and soft. “And I want to do this in the bedroom.”
Her breath caught. “Why?”
A gleam in his eyes should have warned her. “Because I want to take time. A long time.” He whispered in her ear, “I want you so sore tomorrow that when you hike up that mountain you think of me.” She groaned. “I want to make you crazy.”
“You already do,” she breathed and he kissed the corner of her mouth, her chin, the space beneath her ear. She shuddered. “Please.”
“Please what?” He murmured against her skin.
She grasped his head and lifted his face so she could meet his gaze. “Please take me in the bedroom and make love to me.” She kept her gaze steady even as her heart beat wildly in her chest with fear.
His stillness as he stared back at her made her wonder if she’d said something wrong, but the next instant, his response took all thought from her.
He took possession of her lips and pressed her against the wall. As he covered her with his body, his hands stroked her hips, the sides of her breasts, the concave dip just below her hip. There was nothing frantic or hurried about his actions. He’d said he was going to take his time and he meant it. All she could do was ride the storm.
When he broke the kiss, she thought she’d lose her mind if he didn’t take her right that moment. His hands clasped her face. “Get in the bedroom.” His rough voice scraped her nerves and she bolted for her room.
He followed her, stalked her. She was his prey and he was the hunter. She reached her bed and turned to find him right behind her. His hands sought her breasts and his fingers stroked her through her t-shirt until she couldn’t breathe.
She opened her eyes to find him staring at her, devouring her with his heated gaze. She’d never understood when people referred to being on fire during sex. But now, Ben lit fires in every single square inch of her body and mind. She was crazy for him. When he lifted her shirt over her head, she tried to help him, but he stopped her. “I want to do this. Let me.”
Next, he reached the waistband of her sweats. He fingered it, palmed the curve of her back and slid her pants down halfway. He clasped his hands on the soft flesh of her butt and pressed her closer to him. His lips touched her neck and his tongue flicked her skin as he worked his way down her bare shoulder. Her pants dropped slowly down her thighs as he stroked the curve beneath her behind and bent her backwards. When his tongue flicked her nipple, she lost her balance and tumbled onto the bed. Without a fumble, he followed her and left a trail of kisses down her belly.
Naked, she felt vulnerable and exposed. Her hands reached up to cover her breasts and he gripped them in his. The insistence in his gaze, the force of his hold and the hard press of his body only intensified her need, her desire.
As he forced her hands over her head and knelt over her on the bed, he leaned his lips near her ear. “Let me do this. Don’t hide from me.”
It wasn’t a demand. It was a plea from his gut, and she heard the desperate need in his voice that echoed in her belly. “Ben.” His name slipped from her lips like a prayer and he released her hands as he kissed down her stomach to her inner thigh.
Deliberation marked his every touch. He rushed nothing. From the erotic slide of his hands over her breasts to the hot blast of his breath on her aching flesh, he held back. She arched to try and bring him closer, to finalize their moment. But he stayed just out of reach and yet, kept her hot and begging.
It was torture.
It was heaven.
She, Kiera McConnel, whimpered. She begged him to touch her. She demanded he give her what she needed.
He smiled.
It was both exhilarating and frustrating. Never had she been so stretched beyond her control. She squirmed and twisted as he continued to torment her body with intoxicating pleasure but no relief. When he finally reached his ultimate goal with his tongue, she was so crazy for him that just a light flick sent her reeling over the edge. She cried out as she ached and throbbed.
He gave her no respite as he kept a frantic pace with his tongue and growled when she slid into another convulsion. She pulsed and jumped beneath his mouth as he brought her to the brink and pushed her over it.
Then, he seemed to lose control. He rose and used his knee to spread her legs. When he rested at her entrance, he took a deep breath and closed his eyes. She was mindless and thrust upwards, seeking to give and receive. He resisted.
“Honey. Wait. I don’t have—” He groaned as she drew up her knees and he slid home. It was the most beautiful feeling that washed over her. Home. He belonged here. They fit.
He stayed so still but she couldn’t stop. She gripped his shoulders and rotated her hips, which drove him deeper, harder. Her gaze met his and never left as they found the rhythm that fit them and only them. It was a musical score of their own, a heartbeat, a stroke, and the ultimate crescendo.
Her choked cry and his were simultaneous as he stiffened and she shuddered. The force of his release slammed her over the edge and her body squeezed him tighter. She floated for several minutes afterward and the only sound in the bedroom was their harsh breathing.
His forehead rested on hers and she realized she was wrapped around him like a vine. When she tried to shift away, he tightened his hold to keep her close to him. He murmured in her ear, soft words of how beautiful she was, how amazing she felt and how he loved to touch her. Her body reacted by clenching around him and he groaned.
“I could spend all day like this,” she whispered.
He grinned at her. “I have no problem with that at all.” And began an exploration of her body until he knew it better than she did.
* * * *
Sometime later in the evening, Kiera’s stomach rumbled and she staggered out of bed. Ben was sprawled over the sheets, his butt exposed, but she was too hungry to take advantage of the opportunity though she wanted to bite his skin and wake him up.
How many times had they made love in the last six or seven hours? Four? Five? She stretched and smiled as she yanked on her clothes. He’d wanted her to be bruised and sore in the morning. She already was.
In the kitchen, she caught herself humming. When had she ever been this happy with someone? When had she ever felt so safe, so cared for?
As she heated water for some pasta, she sighed. It was fabulous to be desired. Men had wanted to sleep with her, but none of them had knocked her socks off. They were too careful, too distant.
Or was it them? Maybe it was her fault there had been distance there. If that was true, then what did that say about Ben?
She drained the pasta and sautéed some garlic in butter. Her hand stilled when the frying pan hovered over the pasta. Why did it feel different with him? She was willing to admit it was more than sex. But what was it?
Her hand shook.
It couldn’t be that.
She couldn’t be falling in love with him. He’d break her heart. Not only was he everything she’d avoided all her life, but he’d leave. He always did. He didn’t stay in one place or have a home base. Wasn’t she just another groupie screwing the famous author?
As she dumped the garlic and butter on the pasta, she shook her head. So what? Maybe that’s all it was to him. For her, it meant much more to connect to someone, to feel safe, to trust a little bit. Even if he left, it would be worth it.
Talk about going to worst case scenario.
With a shrug she heaped up one dish for him and one dish for her. She put his on the table and called his name. “Ben! If you’re hungry, I made pasta.”
She heard a low growl and smiled.
A plate in o
ne hand and a glass of water in the other, she headed for the table. As she was about to sit down, she realized it was after five in the evening. “Crap.” She grabbed the phone and called Davis University Hospital.
When her mother came on the phone, a little bit of the tension in Kiera’s stomach relaxed. “Mom, how are you feeling?”
Her mother’s voice was faint over the telephone line. “I’m fine, honey. How was the trip?”
What did she say to that? Did she tell her mother one of the hikers got injured, they found a dead body, and she was sleeping with a best selling author? Um, no. “It was cut a little short due to weather. We’re going back out tomorrow.”
“That’s fine dear. My surgery isn’t for another week and that nice Mr. Peel has been taking good care of me.”
Kiera’s hand clenched over the receiver. “Mr. Peel? Is he a new doctor?”
“Oh, didn’t I tell you? Mr. Peel is a nice lawyer that arranged the surgery and paid all the bills. I thought you sent him. Didn’t you? Oh well. Maybe your father arranged for him to come.” Her mother’s fantasy about her father continued for a few minutes as Kiera tried to think.
“Did he have you sign anything, Mom?” Kiera asked her.
“No. He said his client Benjamin Harmon had all the signatures for authorization or something.”
Ben. Kiera let out a slow breath. “Oh. That’s good.” It was a weird feeling for Kiera, to be cared for, to have things worked out for her.
“Have a wonderful trip tomorrow, dear. I’ll talk to you when you get back.”
“I love you, Mom.”
“I love you, too, honey. Dress warm.” And her mother was gone.
She stared at the phone for a moment and glanced up to find Ben gazing at her with no expression on his face. She asked, “Mr. Peel is your lawyer?”
“Yes.” He told her and seemed brace himself.
“Thank you.” She set the phone down and just stood looking at him. No one helped her with her mother. No one took the burden of caring for a woman with no sense of reality from her. She’d carried the load alone for so long and it felt so good to share it with someone else.
Legend Hunter Page 15