As Colette settled near the fire, Hank sat next to her. Accident or murder attempt?
He’d hoped her memory would return naturally, as she was able to deal with and process everything that had happened in the past year of her life. He feared that if he told her all of it, left nothing out, she’d run once more and this time she’d run someplace where he’d never find her again.
He couldn’t let her disappear. She was a vital piece in a large puzzle.
He watched the firelight playing on her features, noting the way the flickering light caressed the curve of her jawline, emphasized the determined thrust of her chin. Desire hit him in the pit of his stomach as he remembered the hot, hungry kiss they’d shared. And mingled in with the desire was an irrational anger. Was she playing games? Pretending her amnesia for convenience sake?
Again he thought of their kiss. She’d certainly responded to him like a woman familiar with his kiss. The passion that had arced between them like an electrical spark hadn’t been the kind inspired by a first kiss between two people. That instantaneous passionhad spoken of memories, of the special intimacy between longtime lovers.
Yes, he’d hoped her memory would return naturally. If it didn’t, then he’d hoped to seduce her into remembering.
If she did really suffer from some crazy form of memory loss, then he had to walk a fine line. He needed to give her enough of her memory back to make her useful to him, but not enough to make her run again. He stared at her, trying to discern what was going through her head, how far he could trust her.
* * *
IT WAS NEARLY MIDNIGHTwhen Abby told everyone to load up for the ride back home. To Colette’s relief, Billy was chosen as one of the workers to stay behind and do cleanup. Although she had no proof, wasn’t even sure she was right to believe she had been helped off the butte’s edge, she was relieved not to have to feel Billy’s malevolent glare during the ride home.
Hank sat next to her, not speaking, not touching, but his mere presence eased her mind. It worried her a little, how Hank had become a source of comfort in her mind. He’d saved her twice now, once from Billy’s advances, and again by pulling her to safety. But she couldn’t forget she knew nothing about Hank, only that his eyes haunted her dreams and a whisper of memory stirred whenever he was around.
This fact, in itself, made her aware that she couldn’t trust him, didn’t trust him. She had a feeling he’d lied to her about their past association. But why would he lie? What was he hiding?
As the wagon rumbled to a halt, Colette jumped asHank touched her shoulder. “I highly recommend a long hot soak in a tub for you before you go to bed tonight,” he said. “Otherwise, muscles you didn’t even know you had are going to scream at you in the morning.”
“I’m sure I’ll be fine,” Colette replied, refusing to meet his gaze. She needed some distance from him, needed to sort through the myriad emotions that plagued her and she was too exhausted to even try at the moment.
She frowned as he helped her out of the wagon, his hands lingering on her hips longer than necessary. “If you need me, I’ve been told I give one hell of a backrub.”
Heat rushed to her face at his offer. She drew a deep breath, unsure why he seemed to be romantically pursuing her, but knowing she needed to bring it to a halt. “Look, Hank, I’m grateful for all your help, but I’m in a bad position in my life. I don’t remember my past, have no clue what the future holds. The kiss we shared was pleasant, but I think you should chalk it up to the craziness of the full moon. I don’t intend it to happen again.”
“That’s too bad.” His eyes glittered darkly. “When I enjoy an experience I usually try to repeat it as often as possible, and I definitely enjoyed kissing you.”
She crossed her arms in front of her and eyed him with forced lightness. “Then I guess this will be a good opportunity for you to practice a little willpower.”
He reached out and traced her jawline with the padof his index finger. “Willpower is nice, but yielding to temptation holds a certain charm, as well.”
She stepped away from his touch, irritated with his brash appeal, with the expression on his face that subtly told her he expected to kiss her again in the near future. “Good night Hank.” Without waiting for his reply, she turned and hurried toward the house.
* * *
SHE GRABBEDher purse and was heading out the office door when she heard the voices. Until that moment she’d thought she’d been alone. Usually she was the last to leave, always behind in her work, always playing catch-up to avoid getting fired. The voices came from the inner office, her boss’s private sanctum. Moving toward the door, she strained to hear what was being said, to see if she recognized who was in the office with him.
Colors swirled and suddenly she was no longer in an office, but in a bed. And she was not alone. Strong male hands stroked her naked skin, languidly caressing each and every inch of her body. As the caresses grew more intimate, pulling her up in a spiraling whirl of desire, she struggled to see the face of the man hovering over her. A cloud of darkness obscured her vision, and still the passion grew, taking her mindlessly up…up.
With a cry, she felt herself falling…falling…into a black pit of nothingness, off the edge of a deadly precipice. And as she fell, she looked up toward the edge and there was Hank, laughing as she plunged into a bottomless abyss.
Colette woke with a gasp, her hands clutching something, anything to break her fall. In confusionshe realized she clasped the bedsheet, which was hopelessly tangled around her hips.
A dream. She sank back on her pillow, waiting for her breathing to slow, her pounding heart to resume a more normal beat. Only a dream.
She turned her head toward the window where the morning sun snuck in, playing peekaboo along the edges of the curtains. Wincing, she turned over onto her side to face the window. It had been two days since she’d fallen off the ledge and still her shoulder and arm muscles relentlessly ached.
When she’d awakened the previous morning, she’d hardly been able to get out of bed. She’d finally had to confess to Abby what had happened and Abby had sent her directly back to bed for the rest of the day.
Colette didn’t want to spend yet another day lounging around feeling useless, but her aching muscles told her that’s exactly what she should do.
The fall was no more clear in her mind than it had been immediately after it happened. She still didn’t know for sure what had happened, whether she’d imagined the force on her back or not. Nor was she any closer to sorting out her confusing emotions where Hank Cooper was concerned. It bothered her that no longer was it just his eyes she dreamed of, but rather the whole man.
She frowned, thinking of the dreams that had plagued her the past few nights. The segments had been the same…the office, the voices, the man, falling and then Hank.
