Part 18 (1/2)

”Better?”

”Hmmm,” she said and closed her eyes, the fire flickering on her face, the crackling of the flames lulling her.

”You did really well today,” he whispered. ”You're okay, Regina Holland.”

She opened her eyes and smiled to herself before closing them again and falling into a deep sleep. She didn't hear the scream that awakened J.T.

J.T. GOT UP, careful not to wake Reggie and, picking up the rifle, went out of the cave to the edge of the cliff.

The night was cold and clear. He wished to h.e.l.l he was at the ranch and that Reggie was upstairs asleep in the guest bedroom, safe. But he knew he'd made the right decision to wait.

He let his gaze travel down the mountainside to where Will Jarvis had camped, not sure what he thought he might be able to see. Maybe the trees around the clearing on fire.

There was nothing but darkness. Nor did he hear another sound. He told himself that the scream he'd heard could have been a mountain lion. Men didn't usually scream like that. Unless they were in a lot of pain.

He s.h.i.+vered, thinking of Claude Ryan. If Will Jarvis was right, Claude would kill as many people as it took to get to him.

Back inside the cave, the fire had burned down to coals. He covered Reggie with his coat, then went to sit in the shadows at the cave entrance to wait. They would ride out at first light, going down a way that Claude would least expect-straight down to the county road.

A DARK SHADOW moved over her. Startled, Regina jerked back.

”It's just me,” McCall whispered. ”Sorry to scare you.”

She blinked, trying to wake up, the dream still with her, a dark weight that pulled at her. ”I was having this horrible dream....”

”It was just a dream,” he said and sat down across from her, the fire between them.

She sat up, letting herself drift as she stared into the flames of the fire and soaked up the heat. She could tell it was the middle of the night, still dark outside.

”Wis.h.i.+ng you had just gone with a model?”

She looked up at him over the top of the fire and shook her head.

He chuckled softly. ”You still haven't given up.”

”Have you given up getting back to the ranch, getting away from this madman?”

He shook his head, licked his thumb and reached across the fire to wipe a smudge of dirt from her cheek.

She froze, her gaze locking with his. He seemed to hold his breath. The fire popped softly. He drew back his hand to rest it on his thigh.

She reached out to touch his fingers. Her hand was cool on his but it sent a shaft of heat through him.

He shook his head. ”You don't want to do this, Reggie.”

She smiled a little at that. ”I'm a big girl, McCall. I know what I want.” Tears shone in her eyes. ”Hold me?”

He moved around the fire to her. She melted into his arms. The flames flared, sparks rising into the darkness of the cave.

She felt soft and warm and he wanted to envelop himself in her, to feel the pounding of her pulse, to hear the drum of her heart, to a.s.sure himself that she was alive. That he was alive as well.

He tried to think of tomorrow, how they would both feel if he did the one thing he wanted, make love to her. But right now it didn't feel as if there would be a tomorrow. There was only now. The two of them in this cave. A crazy homicidal maniac or two out in the darkness.

Her kiss was soft, a gentle kiss, tentative, questioning.

His answering kiss was fire and heat, all consuming. She had known that it would be all or nothing with him. Like the first kiss, McCall didn't do anything halfway. He wrapped her in his arms, in his kiss.

Her pulse jumped at his gentle touch, his big hands stroking her body until she was the fire, burning hot inside the cave. His mouth moved over her, warm and wet, sparking fissures of pleasure, stripping her bare beneath her clothing until he possessed every inch of her body.

Wrapped in his arms, he took her as she cried out in pleasure and release, her body pressed hot against his damp flesh, his mouth stealing her cries as the fire flamed, shadows flickering on the cave walls.

”IT'S TIME.”

Regina opened her eyes. He still held her, his face inches from her own, their bodies melded together, clothes pushed aside, sleeping bare skin to bare skin.

She didn't want to move. Didn't want to leave this cave. Or his arms. But she feared they couldn't stay here for long. Just as she feared what waited for them outside.

He moved away from her, getting up to dress. Cold air skittered over her exposed flesh. She could feel his eyes on her as she sat up and covered herself.

When she read his expression, she saw that he wanted to make love to her again almost as badly as she wanted him to. But faint light bled into the cave. They had to leave, had to try to get to the ranch. She tried not to think about all the miles. Or the darkness of the trees. The shadows that could be death.

She rose and stumbled ahead of him to the cave entrance, her ankle aching along with the rest of her muscles. She clung to their lovemaking, to the memory of McCall's gentle hands, and tried not to look into the shadows as she stepped outside.

A slice of moon still hung in the dark sky high over the valley, a few stars, a s.h.i.+mmer of light low on the horizon the only hint of the coming day.

Regina s.h.i.+vered in spite of herself. The horses were saddled. McCall must have slipped away to do that, then returned to lie next to her. She couldn't remember ever being this tired. Her whole body ached and she felt cold all the way to her bones.

Just the thought of getting back in the saddle made her want to cry. He helped her up onto the horse as if sensing her resistance.

He walked the horses down the mountainside. She had to lean way back to keep from going over the horse's head, the terrain was so steep. Finally they reached flatter ground and he stepped into his saddle, motioning for her to keep quiet.

She nodded. It wasn't like she had anything to say this time of the day anyway. It was too late to be out on the town, even in L.A., and too early to be getting up. She would have been sleeping in her warm bed, worrying about work, not worrying about dying.

The dream she'd had earlier in the night came back to her. She could feel it around her, hanging over her like a dense awful shroud. She couldn't remember a lot of it, just that horrible feeling of being grabbed by the man. She never even saw his face. He'd come at her from behind, covering her mouth, then her eyes, then binding her so she couldn't move, couldn't scream.

She shuddered at the memory and let the horse lull her, drifting in and out of sleep, her mind like thick fog.

Regina heard the sound first, a noise off to her right. She opened her eyes, startled as she caught movement coming at her from the side.

The man came out of a thick stand of pines, running low, reaching for her, one b.l.o.o.d.y hand out-stretched, the other clutching a knife. The blade glistened in the dull light of the day where the blood hadn't completely dried.