Cabin Fever Page 11

  He caught himself before he could collapse on her heaving body and found the energy to haul her up and reverse their positions until she draped his chest.

  “Alex,” she gasped, raising her head. “Your injury. You shouldn’t have done that.”

  “Tired of being on the bottom. ’S’okay.” She fumbled with the bandage but he caught her hand. “Everything’s fine.” His shoulder and arm ached like a son of a bitch, but the wound hadn’t bled or opened. It could wait.

  She apparently didn’t think so, though, and wriggled and wiggled until he allowed her to peel off the gauze and poke and prod him with knowledgeable fingers, tsking under her breath.

  Alex found himself smiling at her fussiness, warmed by her worry and concern. His mother would love Genevieve.

  He didn’t think he had ever voluntarily brought a woman home to meet his mother, who was a nice lady but one determined to see her eldest son married and settled. But now he’d met a mysterious woman laden with secrets and seemingly more commitment-shy than him on his worst day. And all he could imagine was taking her out to enjoy Sunday brunch and a game of Parcheesi with the fam.

  And then maybe a chick flick, just to make her happy. Something with Matthew McConaughey.

  Alex barely restrained a full body shudder.

  Okay, so they might have to skip the movie. But keeping her happy? That he actually could see himself trying to do. He was in way deeper than he had anticipated. He’d crashed, burned, and he wouldn’t be able to get out of this, wouldn’t be able to leave her with his heart intact. He’d never thought he would be able to just fuck her and go, and now he was sure of it. His mind worked at lightning speed, as if he was on another high-profile case. But in this case the perp he needed to nail was Genevieve’s heart and trust.

  She is yours. You are hers.

  Yes, Papa.

  He’d somehow forgotten his father’s words to him as he lay near death, but now they bloomed in his mind. Call it magic, call it fate, but he couldn’t believe the two of them weren’t meant for one another.

  To distract himself from his heavy thoughts and her from her role as his doctor, he slipped his hand under her and drove two fingers straight into her channel, softened and slippery from their earlier play. She gasped and froze, her hand just finishing moving the bandage back into place.

  “You only came once. I came twice.”

  She shuddered as he started a driving rhythm, her head falling back, her hips moving in time with him. “It’s not a contest.”

  His laugh was genuine and rife with sensual promise. “You’re right. I win either way.”

  10

  “Admit it. This was all an evil plot to kill me, wasn’t it?”

  Genevieve smiled at the rough voice rumbling above her. She lay with her head on his chest, studying the light creeping into the cabin from under the curtains. Her body actually hurt from the fun they’d had all night.

  “Why do you say that?”

  “I was doing great, on the road to mending, and then you decided to lay me flat with some superb sex.”

  Though her chest puffed at that admission of “superb”, she encountered a small pang of regret. “Are you okay? We probably shouldn’t have overdone…” She raised her head, but he pressed it back down.

  “Stop fretting. I’m fine.” He yawned, a jaw-cracking noise. “Just tired. Let’s sleep a bit before the next round, okay?”

  He could sleep. She was too filled with nervous energy. She snuggled close until she heard his breathing even out and then separated their naked limbs from one another. Genevieve looked down at him, sleep relaxing his hard features until he appeared much younger than he was.

  The bruises on his face were gone, the cuts just angry scars. They would fade in a few days, as well. Genevieve couldn’t help the surge of pride that soared through her at the sight.

  She’d never attempted to use her gift on such a large-scale healing, and the possibilities it opened were endless. Maybe she could help other people too.

  Helping people means you have to leave here. Are you ready for that? Genevieve shuddered. No, she didn’t know if she could leave.

  She’d only done penance for two years. Was two years enough time to pay for killing someone?

  Absolutely not. It was all his fault, making her think such things about leaving here and the future and happiness. She didn’t deserve any of that.

  This was just what it was, a grab at some fleeting pleasure. The years stretched ahead of her, and she needed some small spurts of pleasure to hold her through it, that was all. Even prisoners had music and books and the occasional conjugal visit to keep them sane.

  She eased from the bed, wincing a bit at the protest of her leg muscles. God, she needed a shower. Alex hadn’t seemed to mind his scent on her, but she wasn’t used to being marked by someone else.

  When she emerged from the shower, Alex was still fast asleep, so after doing her daily check of the still-dead phone, she decided to go outside. Her horse, Barney, was used to eating at the exact same time every day. It wasn’t good for a horse’s digestion to have the time vary from day to day. Unfortunately, since Alex had come, she’d had to time her slipping out to coincide with his naps. One, because he was fun to hang out with while he was awake, and two, because she figured he would shit the proverbial brick if he knew she was wandering around outside.

  Not that she was scared of him, Genevieve hastened to reassure herself. But why worry him if it was unnecessary?

  The sun was out, so bright it hurt her eyes where it shined against the snow. As Alex had noted yesterday, the snow had stopped falling. She hadn’t listened to the radio yet, but no doubt the roads were on their way to being plowed out. Soon her telephone service would be restored. Since Alex was almost back up to speed, in another day or two, one way or another, he’d be on his way home. Genevieve rubbed at her chest. God, why did that hurt so much?

  She entered her ramshackle barn and leaned her shotgun up against the outside of Barney’s stall. “Hey, buddy.”

  He answered her with a whinny and she smiled. Now this she understood. Her animals had become her friends over the past few years, a silent sounding-board for her worries and problems. You’re starting to sound like a demented Disney princess.

  Genevieve winced. Okay, maybe she’d become as weird as the gossips made her out to be. Alex had reminded her how nice it was to talk to someone who talked back. Though she had to say, she’d never enjoyed the company of any of her friends the way she enjoyed his…

  Drop it.

  She sighed as she finished taking care of Barney and closed the stall. She needed to stop mooning over the guy. As she left the barn and started trekking through the snow back to the house, she contemplated if that was even a possibility. Maybe they could have a sexual marathon for the rest of the day. She could work him out of her system a little faster.

  Genevieve was so caught up in imagining the new sexual positions they could try out that her mind didn’t quite grasp the sharp crack that rang through the air. It was only as she felt the whiz of the bullet near her ear that she comprehended someone was shooting at her.

  Though adrenaline pulsed through her body, her mind remained collected as she swiftly calculated the distance between her and the two buildings. Since the cabin was closer, she ran full tilt toward it, conscious of the bullets spraying the ground behind her feet. The sound of the gunshots was obscenely loud in the still winter morning.

  When she was about four feet away from the house she heard Alex roar her name, and for the first time, pure panic flooded through her. Oh God, no, he couldn’t come outside, he could get shot. When the door opened and Alex ran out into the sun, she put on a burst of speed, hurtling through the door and right into him. She kicked the door closed and dragged them both to the floor. “Get down, get down!”

  “Genevieve, what the hell…”

  They were both breathing hard, her from her flight, him, presumably, from fear. “Someone shot at me.�
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  “I could hear that.” His arms were trembling as they wrapped around her. Taking her by surprise, he rolled them over until his body lay over hers. He was protecting her, she realized. “Were the bullets coming from just one direction?”

  “I-I don’t know. I just wanted to get away.”

  He squeezed her. “Okay. Stay here.”

  He rose on his knees, and Genevieve dimly grasped that he was still completely naked. “What are you going to do?”

  “I just want to see if I can see anything out the window. Give me the gun.”

  She became conscious of her fingers locked tightly around the gun barrel. She’d forgotten she even carried it. Responding to the command in his voice, she almost handed it right over before she pulled back. “Wait. That’s stupid. The shots have stopped. Don’t give the guy a target.”

  “We have to see if anyone’s there.”

  He pulled the gun from her hand and stayed low to the ground as he moved over to one of the windows. He flicked the curtain aside and peered out.

  It took Genevieve a couple of seconds before she understood she was just lying on the ground like a damsel in distress. She firmed her jaw and crawled over to the opposite window.

  “Get the hell down and away from the window.”

  “I’ll do it when you do.” She looked out the window, following his example and keeping her body angled away. She was struck by a strong sense of déjà vu, as she was recreating her exact position when she’d found Alex.

  She had a feeling she wouldn’t be coming across a hunky guy in need right now, though.

  The front yard was ominously silent and empty. A rustle of the trees on the west side caught her eye and she glanced quickly to see a flash of silver and a glimpse of something tan. “Did you see that? Over there, to the left.”

  Alex went stock-still and they both sat in strained silence. Nothing moved. Shaken, Genevieve turned to Alex. His expression was frozen, intense, but he couldn’t hide the paleness of his face or the sweat popping out on his brow.

  Between the sex they’d shared and the way she’d just body slammed him to the ground, he was going to be hurting a bit. “Alex, go lie down. I’ll keep watch.”

  “I’m not letting a woman stand guard over me while I do nothing.”

  “That’s stupid.”

  “I’m not tired.”

  “Alex—”

  “Shut up, Genevieve.”

  She was so startled at the harshness of his tone, she jumped. He took one look at her and gave a rough sigh, scraping his hand through his hair. “I’m sorry, sweetheart. Can you stay close to the ground and check the phone?”

  Since she’d been dying to anyway, she crawled over to the phone. Sure enough, the dial tone was still missing. “It’s dead. Do you think this is the guy who shot you?”

  “What are the odds that there are two lunatics with guns running around?”

  “Do you have any enemies?”

  “Every policeman who does his job properly has enemies. Do any come straight to mind? No. I left my violent work in New York. I’ve been pushing paper around down here, damn it.” He shook his head. “You’re sure the shortwave doesn’t work?”

  “No. Unless you’re mechanically oriented and want to try your hand at it.” Christ, everything that had kept Alex with her took on a sinister glow now. Just think, she’d been bemoaning the fact that the phones would soon be restored.

  “I hand in my man card when it comes to fixing appliances. Okay, how much more ammo do you have?”

  “A few boxes in the closet, in the back.”

  “You stay here with the gun, keep an eye out. I’m going to move it in here. We can barricade ourselves in for the most part.”

  It didn’t take him long to haul the ammunition back inside the main room. The supply, which she’d figured only a couple of weeks ago was more than sufficient, looked pitifully low when it was gathered together. He had a pair of ratty-looking grey sweatpants and a pair of huge sneakers in the pile, which she frowned at. “Where did you get those?”

  “There’s a box at the top of your closet.” Standing out of direct line of either of the windows, he stepped into the sweatpants. Whoever had worn them before must have been significantly shorter and smaller than Alex. The hem barely reached his ankles, and the cotton clung lovingly to his ass. “They aren’t the best fit and the shoes look huge, but if we need to make a break for it, I have to be covered.”

  Desperation welled at his words. Where would they make a break for it? There was no one nearby they could run to. When he was stationed in front of the window farthest from the door again, Genevieve crept to her bedside table and withdrew her .22. She brought the handgun to him. “Here. You can use this.”

  He didn’t look surprised. “I wondered why you had bullets in this caliber. Good. I’m more at ease with this than the shotgun.” He opened the window slightly. Just enough to stick the barrel of the gun out, she noted. She did the same on the opposite window.

  “I tinted the windows last year to keep the summer sun from baking me. If we keep to the side, someone looking in may not be able to really see inside.”

  “Well, that’s something in our favor.”

  She tried to lighten the mood. “Hey, at least I have the police chief in my pocket. I mean, could I get more luck than to get stranded in a shootout with a lawman? And look, he’s not even shooting.”

  As if her words were the impetus, a volley of shots rang forth, peppering the building. She and Alex ducked. Thank God, none of the bullets hit either of the windows. The logs could take it, glass couldn’t. She sat up, ready to shoot back, but he stayed her actions. “No. Don’t shoot him unless you have a clear target. We have a limited amount of bullets. As far as we know, he’s got a whole jeep full.”

  They both peered out the window as the gunfire stopped. Nothing was visible. “He’s playing with us.” Genevieve wasn’t sure if Alex was speaking to her or himself.

  He turned around to sit with his back against the wall, the gun cradled across his lap. He was beyond pale. “We’re stuck in here.”

  “You’ve exhausted yourself.”

  Alex rested his head against the wall and closed his eyes. “I don’t think I’ve ever been that terrified in my life as I was when I heard those shots and realized you weren’t inside. It brought back some bad memories.”

  It was on the tip of her tongue to apologize, but he opened his eyes and pinned her with a hard gaze. “Can I ask what you were doing outside when I specifically said you shouldn’t leave the cabin until I was better?” His tone was soft, but it did nothing to hide the anger.

  Genevieve reminded herself that she was a fully independent grown woman and should not be intimidated by such obvious tactics. “Um, feeding the animals?” Oh wonderful. Nothing screamed strong and brave better than an “Um” and a question mark at the end of a statement. She cleared her throat. “Feeding the animals.”

  His scowl turned blacker. “Animals. Outside. Alone. When we know there’s a shooter on the loose. Brilliant, Genevieve.”

  Okay, so it hadn’t been the smartest move, but she really hadn’t had a choice. “Just so we’re clear, I don’t like your tone. I’ve been careful and I’ve been going outside alone the whole time you’ve been here—I’m sorry if you happened to wake up this time, but my chores aren’t going to do themselves just because I have a cranky guest.” Oh, probably not a good idea to tell him he had slept through her slipping outside, she realized as the muscles in his jaw bunched. But really, what was she supposed to do? She hated being vulnerable, but someone had to tend the horse and the garden and everything else. She tried to go on the defensive to deflect the obvious lecture he was gearing up for. “And, in my defense, I had no idea someone was trying to actively gun you down. What are the odds?”

  He spoke through gritted teeth. “It’s common sense to not make a target of yourself if you can avoid it. Any crazy could take it in their head to come out here and hurt you. You co
uld have just asked me to come along. I can protect you. I can do this stuff for you. You shouldn’t be here alone, you should be…”

  “I should be what?”

  “I don’t know!” Alex shouted, startling her. His genuine concern and worry was written all over his face. “You should be inside. You should let me take care of you.”

  “And what am I going to do when you leave?” she asked quietly.

  His mouth gaped. “You really think I was just going to walk away from you?”

  “Why not?”

  “And you could walk away from me.”

  “Sure.”

  He snorted. “So you’re telling me I’m nothing but a piece of meat to you? Seriously? You weren’t scared for my well-being at all when bullets were flying out there.”

  She’d been terrified at the thought that he might get hit. “I’d be worried for any human.”

  His eyes grew flinty. “You’re lying.”

  She shivered. It was like a cold draft had brushed through the room. Though she was glad they were having the conversation, this wasn’t really the appropriate time. Nonetheless, she pushed out the vile words on her tongue. “I’m not quite sure why you’re not understanding this,” she said deliberately. “When we’re done here, when you go back to town—that’s it. To me, you’re no different from any other man who could have wound up here. I want to not be shot, maybe get some more fucking, and then I want you to leave as soon as you are physically able. Is that clear?”

  His face had hardened during her words, but he flinched at the obscenity. His lips barely moved when he spoke. “Perfectly.”

  Her stomach literally cramped, and she wanted to scrub her mouth with lye for demeaning what they had shared. “Good. We need some sort of plan.”

  He wouldn’t look at her. “We’re stuck here until the phone comes back online. We can’t exactly jump on a horse and go galloping off into the open. We’ll be sitting ducks. In the meantime, I can keep watch.”