License to Love (46 page)

He laughed. “Yeah…I can only imagine, but no, there’s no one
right now. I’ve been so busy with work. A bit driven. Maybe we have that in
common.”

 The silence that followed was a peaceful one, and they
shared a look of understanding. Something clicked, something more than sexual
desire or affection.

Wow, he had gorgeous eyes. In the sun, they looked a rich,
reddish brown. They transformed into a warm, fawn brown in the shade. She knew
that he wanted to kiss her more. She wanted to touch him again, feel his strong
arms hold her.

Cora didn’t want to become overly emotional with him, not
when she needed a clear head. The way he looked at her could break through her
defenses unless she did something quick.

“That river doesn’t sound like it’s too far from here. Come
on.” Nick stood and helped Cora up off the log.

As they trampled down a hillside, she said, “Too bad I don’t
have a swim suit.”

He smiled just a bit too sweetly. “Aren’t you funny?”

It didn’t sound like a question, to tell the truth. She
tried to form a comeback as they reached their destination and emerged from the
trees into the hot summer sun. Under their feet, the grass gave way to small
pebbles at the river’s edge. Nick kept her hand in his as she took in the
oasis. To their right, the water rushed and splashed through large boulders and
pooled to create a perfect swimming spot. The water ran so clear that they
could see the rounded rocks lying at the bottom. Lush, giant leaves grew on the
Maple trees that hugged the pebbly beach. Tree roots showed through the rocks.

Cora kicked off her shoes and stepped ankle deep into the
cold water while Nick pulled off his hiking boots.

From behind her he said, “You don’t need a swim suit around
here.”

She screamed when he picked her up and threw her in. When
she came up, gasping from the cold shock, she found him in the water beside
her, laughing.

He wasn’t wearing a shirt, just glorious tan skin over taut
muscles. Was he wearing his shorts?

“I don’t think that helped my affection for you.” She tried
to glare at him but knew that she didn’t pull it off.

“Alright.” He sighed and dunked, coming up with water
dripping from his dark hair and running down his face. He smoothed it back and
looked at her, his skin glistening in the sun.

She leaned back, dipping her hair while pulling it away from
her face.

He slowly swam to her, his smile growing wider as he inched
closer. He didn’t stop his advancement so she swam back, away from him, but he
came after her.

“Don’t dunk me,” she warned.

“I just want to catch you.” His eyes looked very mischievous
as one eyebrow slowly raised, daring her to make a swim for it. She dove under
and swam the other way.

She came up, wiped the water from her face, and found
herself almost nose to nose with him. She took off in a different direction,
but she didn’t have endless room to evade him. Soon her laughing slowed her
down, and he lurched and caught her in his arms. Now all that skin was touching
hers.

She fell silent when he stared into her eyes. His expression
was soft, solemn almost. 

She wanted to kiss him more than anything, to feel those
full lips on hers, and see if she could drive him past the breaking point.

This could be dangerous
. She broke away from Nick’s
intense look and scanned the trees around them. “We’re not safe here.”

“These mountains are huge. It’d take a miracle to find us.”
He ran his finger down her jaw line and backtracked to trace just under her
lip. “I’m certain they headed back by now, thinking they’re behind us or missed
us.”

While speaking, he looked into her eyes like she was the
only thing in the universe. His brown eyes reflected the greens and blues
around them while showing a wild display of primal desire and promise. She saw
it coming this time, but didn’t swim away. Their lips met in urgency and picked
up where they had left off before.

She felt lost, and there wasn’t anything but Nick, his arms
around her, his hands melding to the curves of her body, his kiss awakening her
feminine side. His hands ran down her hips and shock waves washed through her.
For several blissful minutes, she didn’t have a care in the world. She only
wanted more and more of him.

Then, she remembered her dad. The money. Alexander.

She pulled away from their kiss, but didn’t pull her hands
from his bare chest as she shivered. The water chilled her but she felt heat
radiating from him. It would be so easy to let nature take its course out here,
in the woods, miles and miles away from anyone. The idea was actually…very
nice.

She sighed, almost whimpered, in her want. She just couldn’t
let her guard down, not when Nick could be using her. At the very least, he was
keeping her away from Eugene and finding her dad. They also had Alexander to
worry about.

“I’m not out here to make a move on you, Cora. I didn’t plan
to fall this hard.”

Fall?

His eyes looked concerned, like he didn’t want to worry her
or hurt her in any way.
I didn’t plan to fall this hard.
He just about
had her wrapped around his pinky. It was painfully clear that she couldn’t tell
if he was playing a game or... Or what?

She stretched up and kissed him on the mouth, a lingering
and remorseful kiss, and trudged out of the water onto the sand.

***

That one soft kiss was the most intimate, sensual kiss of
his life. It made him want so much more, but it also felt like a last kiss.
That scared him.

It also scared him that he wanted her not only physically,
but emotionally and mentally.

He watched her from the water, not feeling the coldness
through his burning desire, before he slowly made his own way out and joined
her. She was drying on the grass with the sun shining down on her. She lay on
her stomach with her head resting in the crook of her arm, hiding her face. 

“I’m sorry I got your clothes all wet.”

She mumbled something about clothes in her bag. Nick leaned
against a large boulder and watched her ignore him, although she might have
just been tired or enjoying the warm sun. Her long hair curled a little as it
dried, as if it didn’t want to conform. She was like that, too: stubborn, but
in a graceful way. For some reason, the smallness of her arms and legs struck
him, just how fragile and petite her frame looked stretched out next to his.

Had he been a fool to want to spend time with her? Even if
he never got to kiss her again, he knew he’d dream about it till the day he
died. How could he forget the way her mouth fit perfectly to his, how soft her
lips had been, how electrifying her touch felt? Nick grabbed up two fistfuls of
small rocks and clenched them as hard as he could, but it didn’t relieve the
awful energy eating away at him.

It wasn’t just about how gorgeous she was. Cora had a tough
spirit. She didn’t back down.

That’s how he normally felt. He stood up for what was right
and helped his clients.

***

She awoke to nick gently shaking her arm. She let him lead
the way back up the hillside. The debate still waged in her mind and Cora
didn’t know whether to trust or distrust him. Her heart wanted to listen to
him, but her mind held out for further proof that he truly was on her side. He
could be honestly trying to help her . . . or laughing at her behind those
gorgeous eyes.

One thing was for sure: she needed to get some distance and
cool things between them. She wanted him too much.

She grabbed her bag and hid in the bushes to change. Nick
went the other way. When she came back, he was laying down on the sleeping bag
over a grassy spot.
Really?
She wasn’t sure if he felt exhausted like
she did, or if he had other things in mind.

“Aren’t we headed back to Eugene now?” She knelt down next
to him.

“Hmm, mmm.” He slid a hand up onto her leg. His peaceful
face rested on his arm as he slept. He had a few days’ growth darkening his
jaw. She wanted to touch him, to feel his face and the stubble, to trace his
lips, but why hurt herself more?

While still watching him, she rose to her feet and took
little, careful steps backward. She wanted to trust him, but he had drugged
her. He’d kidnapped her twice now!

He didn’t move. She watched him, her heart tearing in two.
At some point, while lying next to the water, it occurred to her that the river
would lead her out of the mountains. It had to meet a road or town eventually.
That’s what she needed. Thinking about it was just slowing her down, so she turned
and hurried back down to the river. It wasn’t the same spot they had just swam
in, but that didn’t matter. She stood at the edge of a giant boulder, watching
a trout suspended in his world of water before darting out of view.

She was losing her determination by standing here too long.
Her palms broke out in sweat. Just then a wide piece of lumber bumped its way
through the rapids and floated out into the pool before her.

That would work. She dove in.

Coldness washed over her and relieved the heart stopping
tension. She reached the lumber and grabbed on. The water’s surface was smooth,
almost tranquil. The depth of the water hid the current, but she realized the
river was growing more shallow as she floated downstream.

The current picked up and carried her along at a good pace.
With the wood wedged under her arms, she kicked and paddled to speed herself
up. She had no way of telling how long she had before Nick woke up and saw that
she wasn’t there.

His name brought on regret and sickening guilt. What she
just did was horrible, even if it was necessary. She almost wished she had let
down her guard long enough for one passionate night with him. She wanted to
confide in him, really confide in him, but some things are too good to be true,
and Nick had to be one of them. Just like her father’s job for Keith.

Her teeth were chattering already. Her wet clothes rubbed
against her while she swam, but she kept going. She held onto the log with one
arm while stroking with the other and kicking her legs. She stopped every so
often to listen, but only heard normal forest noises. She took one break to
stop by a salmon berry bush, loaded with almost ripe berries. She was too
hungry to care about how sour they were.

Insects flew above the water, but that was the only sign of
life. There weren’t any bridges to pass under or any roads beside the river.
She pressed on, knowing that once out of the mountains, the river had to meet a
town of some sort.

And she kept telling herself she did the right thing by
running away from Nick.

 
There’s nothing out here!
The cold river didn’t numb
her panic. Her endless shivering told her that she needed to get onto dry land,
but she also knew she’d lose a lot of time if she had to hike around the
wilderness looking for a road. Cora scanned ahead for a clear spot beside the
river.

A shadow caught her attention - a bridge. A road! Maybe
there was a gas station, a town, and people. She started kicking again until
she reached the bottom of the bridge, where she pulled herself slowly out onto
the brown sandy beach. Her arms and legs ached from the cold. Her throat felt
sore.

She crawled to the grass in the sun and threw herself down
on her back, closed her eyes, and waited for her plain tank top and running
shorts to dry enough to walk in. She fell right to sleep and was jarred awake
just as quickly. Maybe some time had passed, she couldn’t tell.

Although there wasn’t anyone around at the moment, the spot
had the marks of people visiting often to swim in the shade of the bridge. She
eyed the path up to the road but wasn’t ready to move yet. Although… she could
hear what sounded like faint voices.

She sat up. Three teenage boys were walking along the river,
laughing and joking around. They wore fairly nice clothes and sported high
maintenance boy band hair styles with their bangs hanging down.

Before they noticed her, she tried to pull her hair back and
wipe off any dirt. One of them must have spotted her then because they grew
quiet.

She smiled. “Hey.”

She got three “heys” in return as they walked by.

“Are you guys headed into Eugene?” She had to guess the
river had brought her back to town. All three stared at her.

“Yeah.” The middle one answered with a smile. “Do you need
lift?” He looked like a sports jock – basketball probably – from a well to do
family.

She pulled herself to her feet. “I’d love one. My friends
took off on me.” Maybe they wouldn’t notice her wet shoes.

“Alright, sure. I’m Jace.”

“Cora. Thanks.”

He introduced his friends as they walked up the hill.
Normally she practiced good manners, but today the names went right through her
ears. She wasn’t practicing good personal safety either, but today wasn’t a
normal day.

He unlocked his car at the top of the path. “Here, you can
have shotgun.”

His friends didn’t complain. They all got in and he launched
into a conversation with ease. Even though he curiously glanced at her, he
didn’t pry. When he dropped her off at a convenience store in her father’s
neighborhood, he finally did ask, “Is everything okay?”

She smiled, throwing all her charm into it. “Yes, it is. And
I’m already planning my revenge on my friends.” That story seemed to work.
“Thank you so much!” She shut the door and headed off.

She had a headache and a sticky mouth, probably from
dehydration, but tried to ignore it for now. Instead of going straight to
Jerry’s house, she walked around the block and looked to see if anyone was
watching the place. The police had put up tape, she noticed from across the
street. She slipped through the back fence and found Jerry’s hidden key under a
rock in the flowerbed.