Saddle Up(22)

He dipped his head, but instead of the kiss she’d anticipated, he nuzzled her throat. His scorching mouth blazed a trail of liquid fire up her neck. Her breaths came short in almost painful rasps at the searing sensation of his tongue licking the tender hollow behind her ear. She shut her eyes on a shudder of pleasure. She’d never experienced a man touching her in such a sensual way. She’d also never been so quickly aroused. It was all she could do to keep her hands off him.

She gasped as he shifted his hips against her. He was aroused and wanted to be sure she knew it. She knew she should pull away but couldn’t quite bring herself to comply. Her body jolted with a shock of pleasure, as pelvis to pelvis, he began a slow, rhythmic rocking. It was primal and erotic.

“Just say the word,” he murmured, “and I’ll give you what you want.”

The single syllable was about to escape her lips when his words jolted her back to her senses. Her eyes snapped open. “What I want?” She shoved hard against his chest. “You egotistical prick! You’re deluded if you think I’m going to become another notch on your…your…totem pole.”

“Wrong tribe.” A hint of a smirk curled his sensuous lips. “The plains Indians didn’t carve totems.”

“You get my gist!” she snapped. How could she have been such an idiot to let him lead her on like that? She knew what he was, and he sure as hell knew what he was doing. She’d seen him work his magic on an entire crowd of women. It was all just a game to him.

Miranda snatched up her camera and scuttled back down the embankment, mostly on her butt. Returning to the campsite, she tossed a few more thick branches on the fire. Hurt and humiliated, she stared into the flickering flames, refusing to look up even when the toes of his boots came into view.

“You forgot this.” Keith offered her ball cap, his dark eyes dancing with amusement. Was he laughing at her? She tore her cap from his hands and shoved it back on her head, but he didn’t take the hint and leave. Instead, he stood watching her, hands in his pockets, rocking back on his heels.

“It’s getting dark,” he remarked after a while. “I’m guessing Dave and Donny found more horses along the way and had to turn back again.”

“Can you call them and find out?” she asked, wishing she was anyplace but out here with him.

“Can’t. Mitch has the other satellite phone.”

Her stomach sank. “So we’re here alone together for the whole night?”

“Looks that way.” He shrugged, the mocking look still lingering in his eyes. “I warned you how it would be.”

Yes, he had. He’d cautioned her from the outset about snakes, scorpions, and even Gila monsters, but she never could have imagined that he’d be the greatest danger. Coming out here alone with him was foolhardy in the extreme. She watched covertly as he collected his saddlebag and rifle, and then cleared a space by the fire where he went to work laying out a bedroll. “Only one?” she remarked.

“It’s all we need.”

She glared at the bedroll. “I’m not sharing your bed, Keith. I thought I made myself clear about that.”

“Now look who’s being egotistical. I didn’t ask you to. This is for you.”

“Oh.” Her face burned with embarrassment. “Thanks. But what about you? Where are you sleeping?”

“I’m not. I’ll be keeping watch over the horses.”

“What do you mean ‘keeping watch’?”

“There are predators out here that make tied horses vulnerable to attack. If Donny and Dave were here, we’d take shifts, but since they aren’t, I’ll have to stand guard.”

“All night?” she asked with a sudden pang of guilt. “That makes no sense when I can help. Why don’t you and I take shifts?”

“Do you know how to use a rifle?” he asked.

“No.” She shook her head. “I don’t like guns.”

“Then what are you going to do if you see a coyote, bear, or mountain lion? Wave your hands and try to shoo it away?”

“No.” She scowled back at him. “I’ll just scream and wake you up.”

His lips curved into a half smile. “I guess that would work.”

“Then we have a plan.” She stood and brushed the dirt from her hands on her even dirtier jeans. “Who takes first watch?”

“You will,” he said. “It’s safer. Most predators prefer the darkest hours before dawn.”

He went to his saddlebag and produced a battery-operated Coleman lantern that he suspended at the near end of the picket line. “Unfortunately, there’s almost no moon tonight. This light and the campfire will discourage them, but don’t grow complacent.” His eyes grew dark and predatory, reminding her once more of her own very real peril. “A hungry beast is always dangerous.”

*

After laying out a tarp as a moisture barrier, Keith arranged the makeshift bed. If he were back in Wyoming, he’d have used it to create a shelter, but there was little chance of getting caught in the rain out here in the desert. Dew from the ground, however, was another matter. After pulling off his boots, he sprawled out full length on the bedroll, pillowing his head on his crossed arms. Once more, he watched Miranda watching him.

“Aren’t you concerned about snakes?” she asked.