Chance Encounter(40)

He must have felt it, too, but still he pulled away, holding her steady until she stood on her own shaky legs. He found her panties, which had been flung over a branch, and helped her back into her clothing.

But he didn’t speak to her, not once while they hiked down and showed Brian the scarf or when they got him to admit he had indeed been up on the mountain before the fire started, with his girlfriend, the same girlfriend he refused to name for reasons only he could possibly understand.

Chance didn’t speak to her, not even when Brian’s girlfriend came forward on her own, when she confirmed Brian had been with her the entire day, that he’d been protecting her from the wrath of her father, that they hadn’t had anything to do with the fire.

He didn’t speak to her at all.



CHANCE DIDN’T DO “love,” only sex. But he’d had plenty of sex in his life, and nothing compared to what had just happened with Ally in the woods.

Against a tree. Lord. He’d known from the very first kiss it would be more than just a hot coupling, and still, he’d done it. Even knowing she wouldn’t be able to turn back, that she’d expect more from him than just the physical release, he’d gone ahead and taken her.

He couldn’t stop thinking about that, and the reasons why. Ever since he’d discovered women and the pleasures they could bring, he’d done his best to do two things. Always give the pleasure back, and make sure to keep everything on a temporary basis.

He had no doubt he’d done the first. He’d given Ally pleasure back. Her soft cries and low whimpers had assured him of that. The way she’d held him, stroked him, giving every bit as much as she got, had assured him, too.

But as far as keeping things temporary, he’d really screwed up. He didn’t claim to know all Ally’s private thoughts, but he could bet the bank she had taken their actions very seriously.

What now?

He could walk away.

He could take her again.

Definitely the walking away option was the kindest, but either way, the end result wouldn’t change. She would leave Wyoming. She’d get her life back, and…so would he. But there would be hurt.

That had been the one thing he’d wanted to avoid at all costs, and it was now inevitable.

Damage control, he decided. He needed some serious damage control, and quick. Because that made him ache, made the heart inside his chest do a slow roll and a hard squeeze, he rubbed a hand there.

It didn’t matter that he already hurt. He would just get over it. He’d get over it, and her.





11




ONCE AGAIN THEY ALL gathered in the lodge. Jo sat next to Brian and took his hand. Chance stood behind him and put a hand on his shoulder, his face a mask of strength and careful control.

No insight to his thoughts there, thought Ally in frustration. He’d hidden everything, and if he remembered what they’d been doing in the woods only a little while before, there was no sign of it.

And yet when their gazes met, his eyes flickered with that heat that made her knees quiver.

Okay, he remembered.

Then Brian looked up at Chance with an expression of nervousness and fear, and Chance sent him a small, reassuring smile, one that brought both a sheen of tears and a smile of hope to Ally.

See? she reassured herself. Tough as Chance was, his heart wasn’t immune. And if it could accept Brian, maybe it could accept her as well.

She looked at the people she’d grown to care so much about and felt such a burst of warm emotion she could hardly speak. They were a unit.

And she was part of that unit. For the first time in her life, she belonged. Not because of what she could do or provide, but because she as a person was wanted and welcome. She needed them, and they needed her.

She loved that. She’d come for the adventure, was still here for the adventure, but contrary to what she’d once thought, she’d definitely be leaving a piece of her heart here when she left.

“Tell us,” Chance urged Brian.

With a deep breath, Brian did just that. He and Monica had been together, carving their initials into the tree and “messing” around, leaving by three-thirty so she wouldn’t get caught by her father. They’d been gone by the time the fire had started, at approximately four o’clock. He hadn’t wanted to say so before because he hadn’t wanted to get her in trouble, which she’d be bound for if her father had known the truth.

He’d been protecting the girl.

Ally’s heart broke, but for the moment at least, Brain was free from more trouble with the law. She wanted to believe he’d been scared straight by the events, but she wasn’t that naive. Whatever he felt was well hidden beneath his tough bravado.

The boy reminded her so much of Chance, and his equally tough bravado. But she’d seen past the facade now, and there was no going back.

If only either one of them would let her all the way in.



MUCH LATER SHE CAME across Brian. He was alone in the huge, deserted locker room in the lodge, staring at his opened locker. Just staring, all tough guy gone, just one lone teenager, unsure of his future.

Ally’s heart twisted, and she stepped toward him, but it turned out he wasn’t alone at all.

Down the aisle, about fifteen lockers away, stood an equally silent, an equally alone Chance.

Everything inside her reacted at just the sight of him. She thought she’d been quiet, but she must have given herself away somehow, because he turned his head and looked right at her. Though his eyes flared with some emotion she didn’t dare place, he said not a word. Hadn’t said one word directly to her since they’d ravished each other.