Alaskan Heat Read online

  After several minutes of silence, a squeak in the wood heightened her vigilance. Someone definitely crept along the narrow boardwalk. Soon, she’d see his shadow cast in the moon’s light. She pulled her Glock from the shoulder holster. Come on. Let’s get it over with. By now, she was ready for the encounter and would actually be disappointed if it turned out to be an innocent vacationer who’d heard her and became too frightened to continue.

  A twig snapped from behind. The mere thought of a bear attack spurred her to action. She rose, whirled around and ended up flat on her back. The Glock went flying and Hawk straddled her chest.

  “You!” Sophie wanted to slap the grin off his face. She curled her fingers, itching to scratch out his eyes.

  “Calm down. I didn’t know it was you.”

  Some of the stiffness left her body. “Liar.”

  “Is it safe to let you go? Or are you still planning to cause me bodily harm?”

  Trying to ignore her body’s response to his erection nuzzling her breasts, she pushed him until he rolled over and got to his feet. Even though she grabbed his hand, she avoided his eyes as he hauled her to her feet.

  She brushed the spruce needles off her jeans and retrieved her weapon before climbing onto the boardwalk. “Why’d you follow me?”

  “Your description of the spa tempted me. Will it piss you off if I tag along?”

  “Nope. If you don’t mind leaving the campsite unattended.”

  “I left Rueger in charge and asked our neighbors to keep an eye on the place. Let’s move it so we can get back and get a decent night’s sleep.”

  Sophie stood at attention and saluted. “Yes, sir!”

  Before he could make a comeback, she was marching a brisk pace toward their destination.

  The winding boardwalk through the eerie boreal forest reminded her of a Stephen King story. The cool night air battled with the warmth emanating from the surrounding wet areas, creating fingerlike tendrils of fog. The hot water seeped through the entire marsh. A cloudless sky provided enough light that she didn’t need a flashlight. Sophie smelled the warm moisture minutes before they arrived at the beta pool. A walkway circled a good-sized area of water. Beautiful, yet so isolated. Admit it. You’re glad Hawk’s here. She picked up her pace, actually jogging the last few hundred feet. She shimmed out of her sweatpants and yanked off the sweatshirt. She’d looked forward to this every day she’d been waiting for Hawk to show up.

  She started into the pool, wearing her bra and panties. To hell with that. She unsnapped her bra and let it fall to the walkway, hooked her thumbs under her bikini underwear and dragged them down her legs. Quickly, she climbed down the ladder rungs and sucked in air. The hot water stole her breath.

  Her body soon adapted, and the penetrating heat soothed her tense muscles. She swam and imagined how great the pool would feel during the cold winter months. The water’s temperature ran between one hundred ten and one hundred twenty Fahrenheit degrees. Tonight sweat beaded on her forehead.

  Flipping onto her back, she floated and let the water work its magic. Too bad her mental woes wouldn’t join the mist and rise into oblivion. Hawk refused to get out of her mind. No matter how hard she tried to convince herself he was bad news, her heart argued otherwise.

  Restless, she rolled and swam laps. No doubt about it. Hawk was hot in the sack. No man had ever made her toes curl the way he did, and he’d more than delivered the satisfaction he’d owed her from last Christmas Eve’s debacle. After her initial shock at his hold-nothing-back lovemaking, she wanted to experience it again.

  Damn Stan for putting her in this situation. No, she couldn’t blame him. She’d walked into this mess with her eyes wide open. Stan trusted Hawk to keep her alive. She didn’t trust him not to break her heart.

  How could she convince him to quit his vigilante mode and let the feds do their job? Fat chance she’d succeed there. Hawk had erected a steel barrier around his heart and emotions, not letting anyone in. He had legitimate reasons for his trust issues.

  Stan had briefed her on Hawk’s background. He’d been five when his parents decided they didn’t want children. God, how painful that must have been to a little boy. The moment his parents left him at a social services office must have begun shaping the man he was today. To make matters worse, no family ever adopted him. For thirteen years, the system had shuffled him from one foster home to another. At an early age, Hawk had learned to rely on himself. Knowing about his past made him all the more attractive to Sophie. The little voice that dwelt inside every woman told her she might be the one to bring love and happiness into Hawk’s life. Sure thing, Sophie. Dream on. At least she knew first hand why bad boys appealed to women.

  This morning when she’d crawled out of bed, she could have sworn he’d whispered her name. Right, Sophie. And pigs fly.

  Totally into her musings, she swallowed a mouthful of water when something clamped onto her foot and pulled her under. Panicked, she clawed at the overpowering strength. Her attacker dragged her upwards. She surfaced spewing water.

  “Are you crazy?” she sputtered.

  “Me?” Hawk checked his bloody arm. “When a woman scratches me, I’d prefer it to be in the throes of passion.”

  Sophie’s temper could have boiled the water. She wouldn’t have been surprised to see bubbles cover the surface. “I could have drowned. What’s the matter with you?” Then he smiled. The little boy grin that turned her insides to oatmeal.

  “My point exactly. You were an easy target. Totally unaware of your surroundings.” Her breathing quickened in response to his sensuous gaze lingering on her breasts. “What if it hadn’t been me? You had no business swimming alone. Why didn’t you wait? And where the hell are the defensive moves you learned in the academy?”

  She hitched her chin up a notch. Damned if she’d let him see how much his words hurt her. “I know how to defend myself.”

  Hawk snorted in obvious derision. “Right. You did a super job when I dragged you under or when I tackled you from behind earlier.”

  “I wasn’t expecting… I thought you were watching my back.” She tripped over her own words, attempting to defend herself when she knew damn well he had every right to criticize.

  He swam closer and cupped both her breasts. His thumbs along with the water gently lapping the puckered nipples started a fever between her legs. “We shouldn’t…” she stammered even though she leaned back to give his lips better access to her neck.

  “Why shouldn’t we enjoy each other?”

  Hawk swallowed her reply with a kiss.

  She wanted to protest. Meant to protest. Instead, she curled her hand around his cock and squeezed as she joined him in the wet, warm battle of tongues. A fight she’d never win. The thermal energy in the pool increased her eagerness to feel him slowly sliding in and out of her bunny. Oh God, the bunny thing again.

  “Tell me what you want,” he whispered against her throat.

  “Everything you have to give.”

  The tip of his wet tongue licked her earlobe. “That’s probably more than you can handle. Will you ride the guilt wagon tomorrow?”

  Sophie pulled back and searched his lust-filled eyes. What secrets lurked there? “I hope not.”

  Hawk cupped her face. She wondered at the trembling in his fingers. “As long as we give each other pleasure, whatever happens between us is good. There is no sin in a man and woman loving each other’s bodies.”

  “Mindless sex.”

  His muscles tensed. “I didn’t say that.”

  Damn it. If you want him, stop sabotaging the moment.

  She forced a smile. “Perhaps it’s what I need.” She curled her legs around his waist. The water’s buoyancy made her feather-light. “Kiss me. Take me to that special place. The one where nothing exists but us.”

  She sensed his hesitancy and held her breath. Let it out when he groaned, buried his fingers in her hair and ravaged her mouth. Open-mouthed kisses and quick flicks of his tongue at the corner
s of her lips drove her crazy. He grasped her butt cheeks, kneading, teasing. A finger trailed over her breasts and stomach to finger her wet slit. All the while, his cock pressed against her abdomen, nudging her bellybutton, making her need skyrocket.

  “You drive me crazy,” he breathed between kisses. “No matter how I try, I can’t get enough of you.”

  “I need you inside me. Now.” Sophie loosened her legs and reached between their bodies to guide his cock to her waiting entrance.

  Hawk grabbed her hand. “Not yet.”

  He boosted her to a rung on the ladder so his face was level with her pelvis. “Put your legs over my shoulders. That’s it.”

  His thumbs opened her slick lips. She moaned with pent up desire. He splashed water against her clit, driving her closer to a climax. “So soft, so pink.”

  She squirmed in pleasure, raised her hips to his mouth, urging his tongue to all those places that drove her insane.

  On the brink of coming, she bit her lip to stop the scream welling in her throat. Her fingers touched him wherever they could reach.

  Hawk slid her legs off his shoulders and cupped her butt. In one hard thrust, he was fully embedded. “Don’t worry. I’m wearing a condom.”

  “I wasn’t worrying.”

  His face was strained and tendons bulged in his neck as he pounded in and out, stomach slapping against stomach.

  A high keening filled the night. It took Sophie a few minutes to realize that the scream was her own. She bit Hawk’s shoulder to stifle the noise.

  He came and rocked her world. She gloried in the hard grip of his hands as her body absorbed the aftershocks shaking Hawk’s body.

  “Sophie,” he whispered. Just her name and nothing more.

  A flurry of emotions passed between them, all left unspoken.

  In the aftermath of passion came a familiar awkwardness. He didn’t quite trust her, even though circumstances forced him to do just that if he wanted to accomplish his mission.

  Hawk’s hoarse voice broke the awkward silence. “What are you thinking?”

  “Tell me about your childhood.”

  His hands tightened on her waist. “I’m sure Stan filled you in.”

  “Yes, but I’d like to hear it from you.”

  “Not much to say. My parents weren’t cut out for kids. Took them five years to figure it out, though.”

  “Didn’t they have family who’d have taken you in? Grandparents? Aunts or uncles?”

  Hawk released her and floated on his back. Sophie saw it for what it was, a way to end their closeness. “My mother had a sister. She had four kids of her own.”

  She wanted to say “so what?” Wisely, she let it slide. “I can’t believe one of the foster families didn’t adopt you.”

  “I went out of my way to make sure they didn’t.”

  Sophie swam beside him. “Why?”

  “Because I refused to take the chance I’d be rejected again.”

  Sophie ached for the little boy he’d been. “You set yourself up to be rejected. I don’t get it.”

  “If I didn’t love them, it didn’t hurt when they sent me back to the state. “We’d better head back to camp.”

  The words so matter-of-factly spoken doused the tender emotions sprouting inside Sophie’s heart. “Sure.” She climbed to the deck. Feeling vulnerable and exposed, she scurried to her pile of clothes.

  They made the return trip in silence. The thought of Hawk’s stare drilling holes in her back made Sophie insist on walking behind him. She kept her eyes on him the entire distance and wondered if he felt her gaze.

  “Home again, home again,” Hawk stated when they arrived at the camper. His voice was flat.

  Needing a few minutes alone, she said, “I’ll take care of Rueger. Meet you inside.”

  Once she put Rueger in the cab for the night, she bit the bullet and entered the camper, breathing a sigh of relief finding Hawk already in bed. Shedding her clothes for a nightgown, she brushed her teeth then crawled onto the mattress, staying close to the edge. She wanted to cry at the tense friction between them.

  Out of nowhere Hawk’s arm snaked around her and dragged her into the curve of his body. No words were spoken. Sophie relaxed, enjoying the heat emanating from him. She drifted off to sleep with his warm breath on her neck.

  Chapter Seven

  Hawk sipped coffee while Sophie munched on a peanut butter cracker at the same time she maneuvered their rig out of the campground. He was in deep shit. Deep as the seven hundred meter pool where they’d made love last night. Made love? Man, had he thought those words? His feelings for Sophie refused to be ignored. Not only did they fill his dreams, they threatened to screw up his plans. What was it about her that got to him? Her down-to-earth attitude? Her sweetness? Or was it the lusty nature, the one he’d brought to the surface? The one she preferred not to acknowledge.Was she reliving last night’s passion? Or did she regret letting him have so much of her? As much as she’d given, he’d sensed she’d kept a special part hidden. The hot sex they’d experienced made a person vulnerable. Except him. It was easy for him to keep his emotions at bay, especially since he didn’t have any. Hell, who was he kidding? His emotions came close to overriding the pleasure. He hadn’t been able to get close enough to Sophie and not in the biblical sense. There’d been too many tender caresses, soft kisses; simply holding her after sex were all intimate things he normally avoided with a woman.

  Hawk shrugged. Sex wasn’t what he’d had in mind when he’d followed her. He’d wanted… What the hell had he wanted? For Sophie to like him? He’d convinced himself she might be in danger. What a pathetic excuse. He could fight it till the cows came home or pretend it wasn’t happening, but the truth was the more time he spent with this woman, the greater the danger of losing his heart, a heart he’d buried a long time ago. That was worse than thorns sticking into his skin.

  Whatever the hell was happening, he had to shelve it until this charade ended. As soon as Bob Reed and Jack Blair paid for their crime, he’d be free to explore his new emotions.

  “Damn it,” he hollered when hot coffee sloshed on his jeans, a little too close to his crotch for comfort.

  “Sorry. I can’t do anything about the potholes.”

  “There’s a dirt road up ahead on the right. Turn there.”

  Sophie choked on a cracker. “What? Why?”

  “I know the old coot who lives at the end of it. That’s where I’d have headed if you hadn’t showed up.”

  “You didn’t answer the question. Why?”

  “He can fix me up with some fake I.D.s. Once we cross into Alaska, you can drop me off. I’ll finish the trip alone.”

  Other than a tightening of her mouth, Sophie kept quiet. Good. Perhaps she’d learned it would be useless to argue.

  “How long will it take?”

  “A couple of hours, maybe less. There it is.” He pointed.

  She swung the truck into the turn. A hundred feet down the road, he yelled, “Stop!”

  Sophie visibly cringed at the harsh command. “Make up your freaking mind. What’s wrong?”

  “There’s a set of tire tracks going in, but not leaving.”

  “So? The guy has company. Anyway, how do you know the tracks are going in and not leaving?”

  “Pure gut instinct. Pinkie seldom goes anywhere. I don’t like it. As for company? Pinkie’s not the friendly type.”

  Sophie eased off the gas and let the truck idle in neutral. “Pinkie? What kind of name is that?”

  “Long story.”

  “Perhaps your paranoia is rearing its ugly head.”

  “That’s me. Joe Paranoid Hawkins. It’s saved my ass many times.”

  The dense coniferous forest on both sides of the road told him turning around would be a problem. The camper’s weight made the truck tipsy.

  He slid next to her. “Climb over. Let me drive.”

  “I told you—” Sophie squeaked when he grabbed her and dragged her over his body. She hit t
he passenger door with a thud. “Are you crazy?” she asked, rubbing the back of her head.

  “Undoubtedly,” he muttered, throwing the gearshift into first.

  The truck crawled forward for several hundred yards. He saw an opening and took it. Before Sophie could protest further, he backed the truck over a thicket of saplings. The scraping on the undercarriage sounded like fingers on a chalkboard.

  “Stop it. You’ll rip off the exhaust system…or something worse.”

  He ignored her as if she wasn’t even there and drove forward over the same young trees he’d mowed down going in. Finally, they were headed back the way they’d come, going at least twenty miles an hour faster than Sophie had driven.

  He caught a glimpse of her bouncing around in the cab, her head banging the window. “Buckle your seatbelt.”

  Rueger’s mournful howls sounded from inside the camper.

  He almost smiled when she exhaled with relief as the main highway loomed ahead. If he hadn’t caused damage to the Ford, it would be a miracle.

  His relief faded fast, his gut clenching. A scene from a nightmare unfolded in front of them. A dark sedan pulled off the road, blocking their exit. Bastards!

  “Get down and cover your head.” Her terrified expression scared him shitless. He needed her help.

  She unbuckled her seatbelt and slid to the floor. “Who is it?” she croaked.

  “Who do you think?”

  She dared a peek. “What are you going to do?”

  “Where’s your weapon?”

  “Jammed into my rib cage, thanks to your driving.”

  At least she showed some spunk. Maybe she’d do okay. “Stay low. I’m going to floor it. There’ll be an impact when we hit the car. If they fire, fire back.”

  “I can’t do that without leaning out the window.”

  He glanced at her. “Your point? Come on, Sophie. You were trained for this.”